Rane's Mate (4 page)

Shaking her head, Kirby moaned. “He is so overbearing. I
really pity the poor woman—” Kane’s chuckle cut her off. Kirby sighed. “I
really am fine, Kane, just some cuts and scratches. I don’t think it’s anything
serious.”

Kane walked closer to her. “Let me just have a quick look.”
Carefully, he checked her over, stopping at the deep cut on her arm. “I don’t
like the look of a couple of bites and cuts, but this cut on your arm will
definitely need some stitches.”

She winced when Kane gently touched the deep cut on her arm.
She took a couple of steps back as she heard a loud growl. “What the fuck are
you doing to her, Kane? I thought with you being my brother and a doctor that
you would be gentle.”

Kane rolled his eyes, then winked at her. “I just touched
her arm. She’s fine, Rane, but she is going to need stitches. Since she’s a
childcare worker, I know she’s up to date with all of her shots. She did really
well to come out of her first minion fight with only some bites and one major
cut.”

Rane looked at her, his electric blue eyes caught hers and
she straighten her back and stood to her full height of five-four…well three
and a half, but she rounded it up.

She glared back at him. “What does it matter to you? See, I
survived, and Faith’s experiment worked. So stick that where the sun doesn’t
shine.” Before she lost her nerve she turned her back on him and walked over to
Faith, who she didn’t realize had left and was now talking to the group of
teenagers.

* * * *

Rane smiled, his little red was as fiery as her hair. Kane
chuckled and patted him on the back. “Good luck with that one. You’re
definitely not her favorite person.”

“She’ll get over it.”

Kane laughed. “This is going to be so much fun to watch.”

“Your relationship turned out in the end.”

Kane laughed harder. “I really do feel sorry for her.”

Rane ground his teeth. “The major is looking for you. Aren’t
you supposed to help with the medical?”

Kane nodded, still laughing. “Yes, but some overbearing werewolf
wanted me to check their mate first. Also, I’m not the only one Major Black
wanted to see.”

“Great, fine, thanks, I’ll see you back at your house. I
know it’s going to be a late night.” He grinned at Kane. “Good luck to you.
After everyone leaves, the girls are going to want to discuss it and get more
information. You probably won’t get any rest at all tonight.” Rane walked away
chuckling.

Kane yelled out, “Coward.”

Rane found Major Black and several other army personnel
setting up work stations.

Major Black turned to him. “I have contained everything, no
one can get out or in. The security is working with us, and we have the media
contained, telling them it was a terrorist attack. We were lucky that only a
minimal amount were killed. Most are injured. It’s amazing more weren’t killed.
I just had confirmation that the last group of demons have been killed at the
main stage. The reinforcements are ready, at all exits and weak points.”

Rane nodded. “Can we start letting some of the civilians out
of the containment zone? Let’s get rid of those people who don’t know what
happened. I’d like for as few people as possible to know what really went on
tonight. So anyone who was attacked, or knows that it wasn’t a terrorist
attack, or was part of the show, keep them here for debriefing.”

The major nodded. “We feel this is a major statement of
things to come. We’re stepping up our program and sending you six more of our
top men. They’ll be arriving within the next two days. A national meeting will
be held in three days.”

Rane raked his hand through his hair and grinded his teeth
in frustration. “I expected as much. I agree, this was a huge statement. We
need to organize a backup plan for any other major events.”

The major nodded and moved in closer and said, “I would also
like Faith and the alpha to attend the meeting.”

“I’ll talk to them about it.”

“We have problems that cannot be discussed here, Rane. I’ll
come by the base tomorrow at nine hundred hours. See you then.” The major
turned away, gathering one of his teams.

Rane turned and gathered up his human military team. They
all looked in pretty bad shape. Sighing, he looked every one of them in the eye
before he told them the new information. “Command is sending six more of you
sorry lot tomorrow. I need you all back at base now. Get some sleep. You all
look like shit. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. You will join a night
patrol.”

Rane looked down at his watch. 1:45 flashed. He let out a
long, draw-out groan. He needed to go talk to Kane and his brothers about the
new military news he’d just been told. With Arden away for another two months
he had to find someone else to help him with all of these extra humans. Not to
mention in the mess he had made with his mate. He needed to woo and claim her.

Kirby looked around at Faith’s packed house. All the new
werewolves she had met, plus some she hadn’t yet, were filling the huge house.

Glancing around again, she told herself she wasn’t looking
for him, but when she spotted him in the corner talking to a werewolf that she
hadn’t seen before, Kirby fought herself not to sigh. Looking Rane over from
his massive feet, and slowly moving up his toned, leather-clad legs to his
muscle-clad, tight white shirt, Kirby involuntarily licked her lips and bit her
tongue to stop herself from sighing. Damn! She couldn’t help it, Rane’s body
was what she imagined a god would look like. She glanced up at his face,
sighing, he was better than a god. When she noticed his full lips turned up in
a smirk, her head shot up to his eyes only to groan when she saw him staring
straight at her. Shit, shit, shit, she’d been caught. Staring into Rane’s eyes,
she didn’t dare turn away, especially when the bastard’s smirk turned into a
full-blown smile.

Groaning, she turned her head away, hoping to find someone
she knew. Kirby saw Sara looking around frantically for someone to save her as
Tray was coming her way.

* * * *

Coming over, Rane patted Tray on the shoulder as he noticed
Tray’s mate had walked away after yelling at him.

“Well, at least your mate is talking to you and knows she is
your mate. Mine has no clue.”

“Yeah, she said that she thinks I’m hot and I caught her
checking me out earlier, but then she went on about how we’re not mated or
whatever the hell we werewolves call it. Then she said something about me not
having meet her family, or even gone on a date. Argh, women are so confusing!”

Rane chuckled. “I agree one hundred percent.”

Faith came up on her tiptoes to whack both of them on the
back of their heads. “You are both idiots.” She whacked them on the head again.
“What have you two done to my friends? You werewolves have no clue about women.
You are so lucky it’s my birthday weekend and they can’t run away, because I’m
telling you now, I’m the only reason those girls are still here. I heard some
of that conversation and I will spell it out for you, Tray, like I would one of
my six-year-olds.”

She turned to Rane. “You might want to listen too.” Turning
back to Tray, she continued. “Sara has been planning her wedding since she was a
little girl. For Christ’s sake she has a book with picture cutouts of dresses
and cakes. She also loves her family and is a major daddy’s girl, through and
through, so if I were you, I would woo her and give her a big wedding, meet her
parents, and give me a chance to wear one of those ugly bridesmaid dresses.
Suck it up, not all women are like me. Go home, tomorrow come with some peach
roses—they’re her favorite. If I find out that you have humiliated her again,
you’ll wish that you were dead. Got it? Do I need to say that slower?”

Tray stared wide-eyed at Faith and nodded his head as he
replied. “Got it, woo her, family, big wedding, all of that crap.” He growled
as Faith kicked him and shooed him away to a room full of werewolves’ laughter.

Chuckling at his sister-in-law shooing away one of the
meanest enforcers, Rane was too distracted to see Faith elbow him in the
stomach.

“I would so not be laughing, Rane. Your mate thinks you’re
an arsehole and that you don’t like her.”

“What! Why would she think that?”

Faith shook her head, muttering. “Dumb idiots, all of them. Look,
the way you acted tonight made it look like you didn’t want her there, or
fighting with us. I, and all the werewolves, know why you acted the way you
did, but she’s human, so she doesn’t. Think about it, what do you think she
thinks? I’ll give you a hint, she definitely doesn’t think she’s your mate. She’s
not too fond of you. She just got away from her controlling brothers.”

“Fuck! What am I supposed to do? You said not to claim her
tonight.”

“Idiot.” She yelled the next bit, looking at every werewolf
in the room. “If I find out that anyone claims their mate like Tray did with
Sara, I will personally castrate them. A girl wants to get to know a man first,
or at least meet him more than once before she’s mated for life.” She turned
away from the group and back to him. “Talk to her, Rane, get to know her. Stop
with the frigging insults, be nice. Do you know what that means? Give a
compliment.”

“I have had a relationship with a woman, Faith.”

Faith punched him.

“Ouch! What was that for?” he asked, rubbing his chest. She
might be little but she was lethal.

“I hit you because you’re a fucking idiot. Your mate is not
just some woman, this is the one woman meant for you.” She turned and walked
away, headed in the same direction that Kirby and Sara went.

Kane walked up, patting him on the back. “What did my evil
mate do to you to give you that look?”

Rane turned to Kane. “Are you sure that your mate is only
twenty-one tomorrow? Because sometimes I swear she’s older.”

Kane smiled. “I know, it is freaky. Sometimes I even forget.”
They sighed, both shaking their heads.

“What did the elders and Dad say about tonight?” Rane asked.

“Everyone is worried more than ever. This was bold of them,
the demons did this in full view of the public, not just back alleys and small
places. This was a major statement.” Kane raked his fingers through his hair as
he continued on. “I’m really worried about Faith. She’s having a lot of
visions, and she even talks in her sleep sometimes. She said something the
other night that terrified me—all mates will be found to intervene and help
with the balance, many will come from places that they shouldn’t have been. If
they are not found, demons will rule this world.”

“Holy shit.”

Kane shook his head. “I don’t know how far and wide Faith
wants us to look for people’s mates. I don’t even know if she’s just talking
about our pack, or the whole world’s werewolves and weres population. I asked
her when she woke up, but she told me it wasn’t important for me to know at
this time.”

Rane felt sick. “This is huge. What have the other packs
said?” He looked around, noticing every werewolf was quiet now, intent on their
conversation.

“They’re all fighting, wanting to send wolves over or for
Faith to help, or for us to go over to their country or place and help find their
mates and demon hidey-holes.”

All the werewolves growled at this.

Kane continued. “We have found where Bengie was being held
captive. We need to have your military teams ready by Thursday, because we’re
going underground to the demon fortress. Faith says that they’re still there,
but she doesn’t think that they’ll be there for long. I want Bengie to come,
but Faith is not allowing it as she doesn’t want him to live through that again.
So, Rane, you need to have everyone ready by Thursday.”

Rane gritted his teeth, knowing that they were going to be
stretched to the limit.

Kirby followed Sara outside where they found Remy sitting in
an outdoor chair, literally playing with fire, throwing it from one hand to the
other. Kirby and Sara pulled chairs out and sat on either side of her.

“They have a whole heap of us, you know. After they saved
them from those things, they brought them back here,” Remy said.

“Yeah, I think they’re trying to sort something out with the
people they saved tonight. Faith told me the same thing earlier.”

Remy started crying. “Bengie won’t come anywhere near me
now. He says I probably hate him now that I know what he is.” She cried harder.
“It took me some time, but Faith finally explained that he is only a half-breed,
that those creatures took Faith’s biological mother and forced her to do
unthinkable things with those demons. Faith says it’s one of the reasons why
they want us. They figure if we’re strong enough to carry a werewolf child, we
could carry one of theirs.”

Kirby was shocked. “Every time I have meet Bengie he has
been nothing but sweet. He’s just like a little kid, and he doesn’t have horns
or thorns...” She trailed off.

“I know, but he is reddish and massive, he does have black
eyes, and his skin is extremely hot.” Remy sighed. “I know he has a crush on
me. Right now I don’t know myself. I don’t know how I feel. That’s why I’m out
here. I need to think about everything. What about you two?”

Kirby thought over everything that had happened today. “They
know now that we have paranormal gifts, so will they let us leave? Do you think
that they will keep us?”

Sara and Remy frowned. “Who?”

“The werewolves.” Kirby shook her head. “I want to help, don’t
get me wrong. I will admit that it felt good saving all of those people, but
I’m nothing special for these werewolves to want to keep a hold of me.”

Faith came up behind their chairs. “Yes, you are. We all
are. We’ll all play a part whether we want to or not.” Faith pulled up a chair
so she was facing the three of them. “Could you at least give my brother a
chance? He’s only twelve, believe it or not.”