Due North by Kelsey Gamble
Paxton
I know you can hear me, Tasha.
Her eyes flash with irritation, and I’m so damn relieved. She can hear me, and it’s pissing her off. I was starting to think Tasha Jarreau might be too proper and too much of a doormat to handle me. Her eyes light up with something that says otherwise.
My mate has some fight in her after all.
That’s right. I tilt my head to keep our eyes locked as she tries to look away. You can’t outrun or ignore me. So stop running.
Nothing. She says nothing back.
I can tell she wants to, but I can also feel the disconnect between her and her wolf. I wish I could forget the mate she had before me, but the evidence of her loss is right in front of my eyes. No wonder she isn’t acknowledging the fucking mate bond.
Callie told me to take baby steps. This is where baby steps have gotten me.
My mate is running from me, and every day I waste not marking her, it becomes more likely she’ll move up to the Luna Sovereign house where I might never get another chance. It’s not like rogues are welcome to just walk on in anytime. And I’m pretty sure the wolves in that house take some kind of vow to live alone.
That can’t fucking happen.
Just take her, my wolf urges. I don’t realize the words have traveled the mate bond until Tasha’s eyes widen with horror.
I’m suddenly thrust back, streams of light practically blinding me as they flash between us. What the hell? My wolf growls, already tensing as my eyes dart around us to look for the source of this interruption.
But the light starts to clear, and all that’s left is my mate struggling unsteadily to her feet.
Tasha’s eyes are flush with confusion as her wolf seems to absorb the light into its fur. I’ve never seen anything like it. I have to glance down to make sure my fur isn’t singed where it touched me. There’s a distinct burning sensation that’s left in the wake of what felt like a mini explosion between us.
What the hell was that?
She finally speaks to me. I… I don’t know. She shakes slightly, and I can see the shock kicking in. She shifts back to human form unsteadily. It’s bittersweet as I watch her faint, her legs giving out and depositing her on her side for my taking.
* * *
“You’re insane.” Zeke eyes me warily as I step out of the woods. I have Tasha carefully draped over my shoulder, my hand on the back of her thigh to steady her. I’m hoping like hell to get her into the Jeep before she comes to and realizes we’re both naked and I’m stealing her away.
I point my free hand at Zeke, his green eyes flashing with humor as he runs a hand over his head to smooth out his brown hair that’s sticking up messily in every direction. Zeke is one of the only rogues I know reckless enough to tag along for something like this. I hadn’t exactly planned on things going this way… but I also hadn’t ruled it out.
Now I’m thankful that I asked Zeke to tag along just in case.
“Don’t look at her,” I grind out. He’s keeping his eyes on mine, and it needs to stay that way. “Where’d you put my bag?”
“Back seat.” He grins, shaking his head as he drops the joint he was smoking.
“Are you good to drive?” I eye him warily. Now that I have my hands on my mate, I’m not letting anything put her in danger.
He jerks his chin. “Yeah. I just lit that before you showed up. I expected you to be gone a lot longer. So much for doing things the right way, eh?” He laughs as he heads for the driver’s side of the Jeep. I don’t bother correcting him.
I tried to do things the right way. I did. She left me no choice but to let it come to this; she wasn’t listening.
I pull the back door open with my free hand and carefully slide Tasha inside. Her eyes fly open the second her ass hits the seat.
“Get off of me!” She recoils from my touch.
“Shit,” Zeke mutters in the front seat, drawing her attention to the fact that we’re not alone.
“No.” She shakes her head as her eyes widen, desperately searching for her best escape route. She can’t get past me in the open doorway, so she scoots backward, further into the car. Unfortunately for her, it leaves room for me to climb in after her.
“It’s okay.” I try to keep my voice low to calm her, but the words come out sharper than intended. I’m so damn tired of her trying to get away from me.
“What about this is okay?” She lets out a sharp cry and throws herself at the door on the other side of the Jeep. I wrap an arm around her waist before she can get her hand around the door handle and drag her back to me.
“Calm down,” I snap at her. “Zeke, just fucking drive.”
I meet his eyes in the rearview mirror. I’m sure he thinks this is fucked up, but I saved his life once when he pissed off a bunch of bikers in a bar. I fought three guys and fucked my hands up for months to save his ass. He doesn’t get to question how I ask him to return the favor.
“Don’t worry, pretty girl. You’re in safe hands.” Zeke’s voice is light and teasing, totally at odds with the mood in the car. At least he finally turns the key in the ignition.
Tasha tries to pull away from me as Zeke pulls the Jeep out of the cover of trees and onto the nearby road. “Stop before you hurt yourself.” She jerks her elbow into my side, but it barely fazes me. With a sigh, I try bargaining instead. “If you’ll chill the hell out for a minute, I can give you clothes to put on.”
Her jerking slows and then stops altogether. She shifts on the seat to eye me warily.
“You’re going to give me clothes?” She sounds skeptical.
Zeke snorts, his amusement punctuated by mechanical clicking noises. “I put the child locks on back there. You might as well take the clothes and get comfortable.” He winks at her through the rearview mirror, ripping a growl out of my throat. “Down, boy. We’re on the same side here, remember?”
This time when Tasha reaches out for the door handle, I let her. Her sharp tug doesn’t make the door budge. She releases a strangled groan and turns, resting her back against the door to keep as much distance as possible between us.
I let it go for the moment and lean over to reach into the bag I packed. I knew I would need to shift at some point to get onto Sovereign Pack land, but I didn’t actually prepare for Tasha to shift too. I only have my own clothes, but the idea of her wearing them sends an intense bolt of awareness through me.
I grab a plain black t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants and hand them over to her. She takes them cautiously, eyeing what I’ve given her.
Either you didn’t plan on kidnapping me, or you didn’t plan on letting me live long enough to need clothes. The snarky words travel across mind link. I look up from pulling my own clothes out and offer her a lazy grin. Why can you hear me?
Why do you think?
I look away from her as I pull on sweatpants, carefully pulling the waistband over my cock that’s all too aware of her presence beside me. I’m lucky shifters have good nudity etiquette or she would risk getting an eyeful right now. I can already feel the nervous energy radiating off of her, and the longer it goes on, the more pissed off I get. No need to add a bad reaction to my dick to the mix.
If she would stop fighting me every step of the way, her wolf could tell her exactly what this is. A mate claiming his mate. The oldest tradition that shifters have.
“Paxton.” Tasha’s voice is so soft and smooth saying my name that I still with one arm in my t-shirt.
She’s already dressed in my clothes. The sight of her—her cheeks flushed, her curves hidden by my oversized shirt—makes something savage rise in me. I could mark her right here and now and put an end to her questions.
“You have to take me back.” She crosses her arms defensively over her chest. “Everyone will be looking for me the second word gets out that I’m missing. Not just the Sovereign Pack. Everyone.”
She’s fucking unbelievable. “I don’t care.”
“But—“
“No.” My tone is sharp enough that she presses her lips closed.
“Dude…” Zeke shakes his head in the front seat. “You know, I dated a human once, and we did this couple’s counseling thing. Maybe that would help.” He turns his head enough to see me glaring. “Or not.” He shrugs and turns the music up, drowning out the awkward silence that’s suddenly descended.
None of this is happening how it was supposed to.
Callie was so damn wrong. All trying to woo Tasha did was creep her out. And she’s clearly too caught up about the mate she lost for her wolf to feel the bond with me. This situation is completely fucked.
And now I’ve gone and stolen the replacement Luna Sovereign. Tasha is right, every wolf in existence will be looking for her by the end of the day.
I’ve taken too many chances these past few months. Someone is bound to mention my interest in Tasha and give away the fact that she’s with me. So we have to go somewhere where no one will see us or think to look for us.
I only have one idea, and it’s not a pleasant one.
But then I turn my gaze to Tasha again, and I know I don’t have any choice. Besides the risk of someone catching us, I also have to consider that she might take any opportunity she can find to run away from me again.
So I swallow my pride and lean forward. “Zeke? I need to borrow your phone.”
* * *
“Okay, I have to admit this was not what I was expecting when you said we had to go by coordinates instead of an address.” Zeke leans forward and gapes at the Roman-style fountain that sits ostentatiously in front of a sprawling white house.
Tasha stays silent, the same way she’s been the entire trip. Not that I helped much. I’ve been fucking brooding the whole damn time.
My plan went to shit, and now I’m stuck asking a favor from one of the last people I ever wanted to see again.
Speaking of which…
Leah steps out of the mini mansion in a fuzzy hot pink robe with her hair piled high on her head and a martini glass in her hand. “Fucking hell,” I mutter. I really shouldn’t be surprised.
“Who is that?” Tasha finally asks, leaning slightly toward me so she can look between the front seats through the front windshield.
Zeke lets out a low whistle followed by a booming laugh that finally eases some of the tension that’s settled in the car. I catch Tasha just as she glances curiously at me. I’ll tell her anything she wants to know if she’ll just fucking stay put.
“Come on,” I mumble, reaching out to grab her hand as Zeke pulls to a stop in front of the spot where Leah is now leaning against one of the two-story tall columns at the front of her house. I have no doubt that the mashup of styles means this must be a custom built home.
No one else would ever live in a monstrosity like this.
I’m surprised that Tasha comes along with me as easily as she does, sliding across the seat to climb out the door behind me. The second she has her feet on solid ground, she tears her hand from my grip. I barely manage to bite back a comment. I’m worried I’m going to make this situation worse before it gets better.
I keep my gaze trained on Tasha as she turns a slow circle to take in the empty expanse of land surrounding us on all sides. The land out here is rolling pastures. There are a few trees dotted here and there, but there’s no forest to get lost in.
Like everything else about this place, it works to my advantage. Even if she runs in the middle of nowhere, there’s no place to hide out here.
Only belatedly do I realize Zeke and Leah are carrying on a lively conversation without us. He’s swinging the key ring on his finger, so I don’t bother dragging Tasha along with me as I walk toward them. There’s nowhere else for her to go.
I hug Leah briefly and when I pull away, Tasha is standing beside me. Whatever she’s thinking right now, I’m relieved she at least chose to stand close to me instead of by Zeke or running straight to Leah.
I highly doubt Leah would lift a finger to help her since she’s secretly nervous of strangers, but Tasha doesn’t know that yet.
Leah takes a long pull of her mostly full drink and then eyes me speculatively. There’s half a minute of silence before she hauls the drink back and then splashes it right at my chest. I don’t bother feigning surprise. She’s always been unpredictable.
“At least you didn’t throw it in my face this time.” The last time it was vodka right in my fucking eyes. I give her my best unimpressed look as I drag the t-shirt over my head and drop it beside me on the front walkway.
I can feel eyes on me, and I know none of this makes any sense to Zeke or Tasha. Zeke doesn’t know me nearly well enough to understand this dynamic.
“Every week that old bastard calls to ask me if you’re coming back. As if I, who you never come to visit anymore, would have any idea what your plans are or why you’re still avoiding that poor fool all these years later. You’re bad for my soul, Paxton Glass.” She reaches forward and pinches my cheek affectionately. Of course my old trainer still calls her. I stopped answering his calls when I lost interest in fighting for profit, but I’m sure he still wishes I would come back to pad his wallet. He only has Leah’s number because he was forced to call her the only time I was actually injured in a fight. It wasn’t even that serious, but Leah has blamed the man for putting me in harm’s way ever since. I’m surprised she hasn’t blocked his calls.
“You’re lucky you’re one Glass I happen to like,” Leah continues, looking at my guests once more. “Now, who are you people again?”
Her gaze lands on Tasha and stays there, so I know she’s the one Leah is really asking about. On the rare occasion we do speak or see each other, she always comments on the high likelihood of me dying young and alone.
I’m well into my thirties, so the first part doesn’t feel like such a threat anymore.
And now there’s Tasha.
“Hi, I’m Tasha Jarreau,” Tasha speaks up, pointedly introducing herself by her full name. I can see the calculated way she studies Leah, no doubt trying to figure out her chances of getting help.
I press my fingertips to Tasha’s back and try not to grit my teeth when she instantly moves away from my touch. Fuck this is getting harder by the minute. I grunt and wave from Zeke to Leah. “Zeke’s a friend. Leah is my sister-in-law.”
“Ex sister-in-law.” Leah smiles with pride as she corrects me.
“Oh. Where’s your…” Tasha looks around like she’s hoping another person might appear to help her escape me. She’s out of luck on that one because no one else is coming.
“My brother is dead,” I explain quickly, taking a little too much joy in dampening her hopes. “Leah killed him.”
“You killed him?” Tasha sucks in a sharp breath, and the wary look returns to her eyes.
“He deserved it,” Leah and I say at the same time. It’s a familiar refrain for our family.
Leah laughs.
I don’t.
Tasha takes a hesitant step back as if she’s worried that she might be next. As far as I know, my brother’s the only thing Leah’s ever killed. The woman is practically a saint to all other living creatures. And just in time to prove that point, a three-legged cat leaps off the edge of the front porch and struts past us.
The whole situation might be funny if I didn’t still have so much anger lingering under the surface. If I don’t get time alone with Tasha soon, I’m going to snap. She’s already been kept from me for too damn long.
“Would anyone care for a drink?” Leah bats her eyelashes and reaches for Tasha, dragging her close enough to fling her arm around her shoulder. “And then you can explain to me how you were so unfortunate as to be mated to this prick.”
Oh, fuck.