Bonded Read online

  Bonded (Pacific Northwest Shifters Book Two)

  Copyright © 2020 Reese Knightley

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Warnings

  Please be advised that this book is intended for adult readers aged eighteen and older due to sexually explicit content, language, and violence. Trigger warning: violence.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to the actual person, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. This is a work of fiction and should be treated as such.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Art: Ron Perry

  Disclaimer—Cover content is for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted on the cover is a model.

  Editing provided by Heidi Ryan of Amour the Line Editing

  Interior Design and Formatting provided by

  Stacey Ryan Blake of Champagne Book Design

  Copyright and Trademark Acknowledgments

  The author acknowledges the following copyright and trademark owners in this work of fiction.

  TITLE PAGE

  COPYRIGHT

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  OTHER BOOKS BY REESE

  WITHOUT WARNING SNEAK PEEK

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  (From book one)

  Drew—Head of the Pacific Northwest Hunters

  Leopold—Leader of the hunters.

  Cage Ashwood—Pack Alpha of the Swiftcrest wolves

  Jace DeLeon—Member of the Pacific Northwest Hunters

  Roman Saint—Alpha of the Alaska wolf pack

  Alister Bane—Warlock

  Marcus—Hunter who tortured Jace

  * Swiftcrest wolf pack

  Griffin Raines—Enforcer

  Trent

  Alex

  Wyatt

  Brock

  Lucas

  “This is your mate?”

  Jace DeLeon of the Pacific Northwest hunters sat stunned, staring first at the alpha, Roman Saint, then at his lover and mate, Cage Ashwood, before he glanced down at the photo Roman had handed him.

  It was a picture of Marcus. The same hunter who’d kept and tortured him for days. Supposedly, Marcus was a hunter-turned-wolf shifter by the alpha’s bite, and Marcus had died in battle.

  Dead? Not hardly, but Jace kept that fact to himself and he wasn’t exactly sure why, but he was pretty sure it had to do with trust. Who the fuck could he trust? If Roman associated with men like Marcus, then could he really be trusted?

  There was something really off about Marcus, and until he figured it out, the less said, the better. He’d get Cage alone and find out what the fuck he was supposed to do with that information.

  And while the question of who to trust was vital to their safety, there was something more significant. The council had lied; lied to them all.

  Council, my ass. It was one untruth in a long line of untruths that Leopold had fed the paranormal community. The hunters really didn’t have much of a council when they all answered to Leopold.

  Roman’s mate, Marcus, had lived through the bite. He’d been blood-bonded and bitten by his alpha mate and had lived through it.

  “Yes,” Roman replied, and Jace handed the photo back to the alpha.

  Jace walked to the window that graced the back wall of the motel room. Beyond, stood thick trees that allowed the wolves to shift and run without hinderance.

  They’d arrived in town earlier and had dinner with Roman. In the morning, they were set to travel to Pocatello, Idaho, to meet up with one of the leaders of the shifter council.

  Roman said he felt more comfortable with Cage’s pack with his pack instead of vulnerable at the cabin. Plus, being in town would make it easier to gather Roman’s forces and leave together.

  Roman Saint and his pack would accompany them to the shifter council and help them fight to clear Cage’s name. All of Cage’s pack… no, he corrected himself, all of his pack filled the other motel rooms. As mate to the alpha, the Swiftcrest wolves were now his pack.

  “I’ll see you both in the morning,” Roman said quietly and let himself out.

  Jace didn’t turn from the view of the Alaskan terrain.

  How many times had he questioned whether or not to kill someone sick with the virus? Not once. How many times had he killed a wolf, accepting the hunter’s word that the wolf was infected? Every single damned time. Not once had he thought to stop and ask.

  Until it had been Cage.

  The horrific part of all this was Leopold could have been using the hunters as his personal hit squad for years. He felt sick to his stomach at the thought of how many innocent shifters he might have killed. Leopold had done an appalling thing and he’d blindly followed.

  “Stop,” Cage rumbled, coming up behind him and slipping his arms around his waist to pull him back against him.

  He sighed and brushed his palms over Cage’s forearms.

  “I can’t believe we just accepted everything without questioning him or any of them.”

  “We did too, Jace.” Cage set his chin to his shoulder and the alpha’s breath caressed his ear. “We got the alerts, and just like the hunters, shifters didn’t take a chance. We shot first and asked questions later.”

  “I know,” Jace whispered and turned in Cage’s arms. “But I’m going to hang onto the hope that the shifters knew nothing about this, because if I thought otherwise… that they were killing their own kind…” He swallowed hard, unable to continue.

  “Roman already spoke to one of the shifter leaders. He didn’t tell them what happened, but he confirmed that the shifter council gets the alerts from the hunters and they go from there.”

  “So, my clan started all of this.”

  “And we’ll end it,” Cage assured him. “Every single one who is involved will pay,” the alpha finished, drawing him toward the bed. The night was growing late and with such a big day of travel coming up, he knew he needed to rest.

  Sliding off his clothes, he climbed naked into the bed and held the covers open.

  Cage slipped in beside him, naked and warm, and Jace snuggled as close as possible and stared into Cage’s soft, brown eyes.

  “Mate,” Cage whispered, and the kiss he delivered was slow and achingly sweet.

  “Yes,” he whispered back, relishing in the feel of Cage’s body as their legs rubbed together.

  Cage slid one leg over the top of his own and Jace slipped his between Cage’s thighs, their cocks rubbing together, and he groaned, undulating gently and insistently.

  Reaching between them, Jace grasped their lengths together and lifted his mouth to Cage’s. The kiss was hot, wet, and explosive. Their tongues tangled and collided in a mutual rhythm that matched the twisting stroke he had on their dicks. Several long, hot minutes later, he spilled over the top of his hand. Cage grunted as he thrust into the moisture and released with a low groan while suckin
g on his tongue.

  “Cage,” he gasped and pulled his head back to suck in much needed air.

  “Love,” Cage whispered in return. The alpha reached over and snagged a t-shirt from the floor and wiped them up.

  “What will the blood bond feel like?” he murmured once he’d settled deeply into Cage’s arms.

  “A thousand times more potent. Everything will intensify. When we shift together, we’ll be able to communicate with our thoughts. When we are in human form, you’ll be able to find me no matter where I am and vice versa.”

  “Totally connected,” he said, holding Cage’s gentle gaze.

  Cage cupped his face, brushing a thumb over his bottom lip.

  “It’s the ultimate bond between mates. The only way to sever it is if one of us dies.”

  He closed his eyes and nuzzled into Cage’s palm. Fingers slipped into his hair and his head was drawn to rest on Cage’s chest. He kissed the skin near his mouth before drifting to sleep.

  “Will you help me with my math?” Cage overheard Lucas ask Jace.

  The look of horror on his mate’s face made him want to laugh, but Cage held it back. On the verge of interfering, he paused and decided to wait and see what Jace would do.

  “I suck at math,” Jace told Lucas. At the crestfallen look from the pup, Jace brushed a hand over the boy’s cheek. “But I can help you with reading. Now, that’s something I’m really good at.”

  “Yeah?” Lucas’ eyes lit up with an expression of hero worship.

  It had been like that the entire day as they waited for Roman’s pack to get ready. It wasn’t easy for an alpha with the size of Roman’s pack to just up and leave for an extended period.

  Cage left Jace and Lucas without either knowing he’d been there and stepped out of the motel. He made his way down the sidewalk to Roman’s office and found the alpha on the phone.

  Roman motioned to a chair at his desk and Cage poured a cup of coffee before he settled into the seat. From here, he could see the town. Some of the shops had their closed signs up. Those were the wolves set to accompany them.

  “Morning,” Chet grumbled at him.

  “Morning.” Cage nodded at the enforcer. He didn’t know the cranky shifter very well, but he was fierce and loyal to Roman and that was all that really mattered.

  “Are you coming with us?” Cage took a sip of coffee.

  Chet opened his mouth, but before he could reply, Roman hung up the phone.

  “No, Chet is staying here to guard the pack.” Roman gave his enforcer a nod.

  Chet nodded back. “I’ll guard them with my life, Alpha.”

  “I have no doubts.” Roman stood and gripped Chet on the shoulder. Roman handed Chet a list. “This has our cell phone numbers if you need us for anything.”

  “Take care, Alpha,” Chet said, and after a moment, the wolf quietly left them.

  “He seems capable.”

  Roman turned from gazing after Chet and smiled. “Very capable.”

  “Oh?” Cage quirked an eyebrow.

  Roman smirked, but didn’t take the bait. “We’ll head out at first light. I’m bringing thirty of my pack.”

  “Think that’s enough?” Cage gave Roman an amused look.

  Roman chuckled. “Just in case.”

  “You really think they’ll go to war with us?” Cage took another swallow of coffee.

  “They’d be pretty stupid to do that. A wolf could crush a hunter and we far outnumber them,” Roman responded.

  “Which makes this whole thing seem so odd. It’s like Leopold has lost his fucking mind.”

  “That’s a possibility. Perhaps the power of being in control has gone to his head.”

  “The way Jace tells it, Leopold never really lets the council make decisions for the hunters anyway. The council is all for show.”

  “Now, that sounds like what I’ve heard of the guy.”

  “Who do you know that knows him?”

  “Franklin.”

  “Our East Coast Region leader?”

  “Yeah. I don’t think they are close or anything, but I know that Franklin has spoken to Leopold about hunter matters in the past and of course, we all met Leopold briefly during the summit.”

  “Well, hopefully, Franklin can talk some sense into Leopold.”

  “We can only hope.”

  Cage finished his coffee and stood. “I better get back. Jace is probably wondering where I am.”

  “I’ll walk with you.”

  Roman locked the door and they headed down the sidewalk. Several people waved at Roman. The alpha was well liked in his community.

  “We’ll take several SUVs and have the majority of the others running in groups. “That way, it’s not so noticeable with the amount of us moving all together.”

  “Sounds good.”

  A savage roar caught the air and Cage heard Jace shouting.

  “What the fuck?” he hissed and charged down the block, running at top speed, which was impressive even in human form. Roman easily kept pace.

  They rounded the corner and two wolves were going at it with Jace shouting at them to knock it the hell off.

  From their left, Griffin appeared around the motel, took one look at the fighting pair, and shifted into his massive enforcer form. Griffin barreled into the pair and the smaller wolves went flying.

  One wisely dropped to its belly, but the other came at Griffin, teeth snapping and snarling in warning.

  Griffin didn’t take the bait. He snarled and snapped his massive canines at the other wolf. The enforcer wouldn’t hurt the wolf unless the fucker didn’t show his submission.

  “Yours?” Roman asked.

  “No, I thought they were yours,” Cage said just as Alex’s dark-colored form hurled around the corner and slammed into the wolf confronting Griffin.

  “Alex!” Cage growled, his voice low, deep, and commanding, but he was too late to stop the fight.

  Griffin howled with rage when the wolf turned on Alex and took him to the ground in seconds. Griffin locked his massive jaws around the shifter’s neck and flung him halfway across the back graveled lot. The wolf went rolling over and over until it crashed into a tree. Scrambling up, the wolf charged off into the woods with the other one following.

  Alex scrambled to his paws, holding his front paw aloft. His tongue hung out, so he was either panting in pain or with glee, Cage couldn’t tell.

  “Shift,” Cage snarled.

  Both Griffin and Alex shifted to human and Alex was left cradling his arm.

  “What the fuck were you thinking?” Griffin raged, storming to tower over Alex.

  “I…” Alex’s voice trembled, tears welled in his big eyes, and then he spun and ran.

  “God damn it all to hell!” Griffin hissed and turned to him. “Sorry, Alpha.”

  “It’s not your fault. He’s protective of you.”

  “It’s causing a problem.” Griffin tugged his fingers through his hair with a heavy sigh.

  “Don’t let it.” Cage frowned.

  “He cares about you,” Jace said softly. “He’s hurt.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Griffin grumbled and left them.

  “Are you okay?” Cage breathed, pulling Jace close.

  “Yes, I’m fine.”

  “What the hell happened?” Cage growled.

  “I don’t know. They came out of nowhere.” He ran his hands slowly down Cage’s biceps.

  “Crap.” Roman frowned, looking around. “Two renegades in town? They’ve never been this bold before.”

  “Did they say anything?” Cage asked Jace.

  “No, but they seemed to be looking for somebody. I wonder if they were hired?” Jace responded.

  “It wouldn’t surprise me,” Roman agreed.

  Great, Cage thought, now they had renegade wolves to worry about.

  “If you need to stay here,” Cage said. “I’ll understand.”

  “No. I’m coming with you. We’ll only be gone a week,” Roman replied
.

  “How big is this renegade pack?” Jace asked as Cage looped his arms around the man’s waist.

  “They aren’t really a pack. I mean, I call them a pack, but they’re wolves without a pack. They run in pairs, sometimes three or four,” Roman explained.

  “Sounds like trouble,” Jace replied.

  “Chet is more than capable.”

  Cage snorted. “Your enforcer rivals Griffin.”

  “That he does,” Roman chuckled as he clapped him on the shoulder.

  Jace laughed. “Then I think your pack will be in safe hands.”

  Jace stretched and yawned as he stepped out of the room and strode toward the front of the motel. They had coffee in the lobby, along with breakfast sandwiches. His mouth watered at the thought. He typically ate one meal a day and it was usually breakfast.

  “Aren’t you forgetting something?” a sleep-roughened voice said from behind him.

  He whirled around and found Cage in the open doorway, wearing a pair of unzipped, hastily tugged on jeans, bare chest, and mushed hair.

  Jace smiled and quirked an eyebrow. “Your order?”

  “My kiss,” Cage said grumpy and sexy-like all at the same time.

  “I gave you like a hundred kisses,” Jace huffed.

  “I want one more,” Cage coaxed.

  “Come with me,” he said.

  To his surprise, Cage shut the door and headed toward him, not giving a flying fuck about his just fucked appearance.

  Jace laughed and when Cage tossed his arm around his shoulders, Jace slipped his own around Cage’s waist.

  Entering the lobby, they grabbed coffee and food and then stepped back outside to sit at one of the iron tables.

  Jace toyed with the edge of his cup.

  “What?”

  He glanced up at Cage’s question.

  “What? I didn’t say anything.”

  “You’re thinking loudly.” Cage ate half the sandwich in one bite.

  Jace rolled his eyes. “You can’t hear my thinking.”

  “True.”

  “Speaking of hearing my thinking,” he said slowly.

  Cage froze with the other half of the sandwich to his lips, eyes wide.