His Fated Mate: A Werewolf Romance

Rowen & Fiona

Rowen

I noticed Fiona stand up and shove Viona into the SUV and then sprint toward Rian, who was again struggling with Cormac.

As I rushed to stop her, Cormac heaved a silver powder at me, but I moved just before it made contact. However, the wind wasn’t playing nice, and the powder blew into my face, causing my eyes and skin to burn.

“I’ll seize a bunch of your pack mutts today and return the favor you did me back in my lab.” Cormac let out a crazed cackle.

A snarl left my lips as I lurched forward, my razor-like teeth ripping at his leg. The taste of blood invaded my mouth as he cried out in agony.

As we grappled, Cormac drove a silver blade into my back, and I hissed from the pain but rolled away before he could do more damage. His bloody weapon fell to the snowy ground, and I hurtled myself at him. Cormac sailed through the air before landing a few feet away.

Rian’s frantic voice sounded inside my mind. We’ve got to get Viona and Fiona out of here!

Then a group of vehicles appeared. More hunters. We’ll never make it out alive, Rian. I swallowed hard, waiting for him to respond.

Rian’s voice resounded in my head. The Sexflex goblins must have delayed them, bro. Those monsters will attack anything they see, but I have bigger issues right now.

I watched as four of Cormac’s hunters charged toward Rian’s wolf, and one of them landed a shot.

“Rian, no!” The words booming from my mouth sounded devastating, even to my ears. It left me shattered, seeing my brother drop to the ground unconscious, but I rushed to him, wounded or not. Then I heard Fiona and Viona let out a scream behind me.

As I turned around, I saw one of the hunters holding my baby sister, Kyra. My mind whirled as I glanced between my brother and sister. At that moment, I didn’t know what to do. Then another hunter threw Fiona down, tackling her on the cold ground.

Kyra! I howled in my mind.

Go help Rian, she called to me. The sound of her voice caused my throat to constrict, and I blinked back tears.

But I couldn’t leave three females to the mercy of Quinn and his hunting pack. Before I could decide, Fiona let out another piercing scream, crushing the rest of my control. Then the deafening sound of an explosion rocked beneath my feet and smoke engulfed me. As the air cleared, I noticed Viona throwing out her fist with balls of bright red and orange fire. Most of the hunters scattered, and I breathed a sigh of relief when Fiona jumped to her feet. Viona had saved Fiona’s life by sending the hunter running for safety.

Get in the car while I help Rian and Kyra; I told Fiona through our bond. I watched her turn to Viona and yell something at the witch. But it seemed Viona still had work to do. She scrambled toward Rian’s slumped form, throwing balls of fire and ice. Viona raised her arms, screaming a chant of jumbled words. The wind picked up, knocking me over, and my eyes widened witnessing a tornado taking out the goblins rushing toward us.

The tiny witch was fierce.

When I whipped my head around, I stared in horror as two hunters drug Rian away, throwing him inside a black van. Rian! Wake up. Wake up! My words fell on deaf ears. All the while, Viona continued to wreak havoc. I searched through the smoke and debris, my eyes blurry and burning from the silver dust, to find Cormac holding Kyra in front of him like a human shield. My vision turned crimson as rage washed over me.

“Where’s Kat?” Cormac’s expression now appeared stony.

“She’s not here, Quinn,” I shouted.

“That’s too bad.” He stroked Kyra’s hair, grinning. “Looks like you won’t be reunited with your sister after all.”

“I can’t do anything, Rowen. To do so would put Kyra in danger,” Viona yelled.

“We wouldn’t want that, now would we?” Cormac passed Kyra to a large man behind him. I stood helpless, hearing her cries as she kicked and squirmed in the man’s tight grip.

Filled with indignation, I lunged at Quinn, knowing he deserved something worse than death.

While we fought, I monitored Fiona, who had followed Viona to the SUV. All around me, I recognized the chaotic roar and the frenzied cry of the fallen. You could smell it in the air. The essence of burning flesh and the blood covering the frozen, snowy ground. Death clouded my vision as I slung Cormac Quinn left and right before dropping him and rolling to avoid bullets coming from the few remaining hunters. My warrior’s heart growled out for my siblings and wounded or dead pack members.

Then the sound of Guns N’ Roses singing ‘Civil War’ wafted in the air, and I saw the SUV barreling toward me, running over all in its path. The vibration of the vehicle and music silenced the shouts of the surrounding battle, and the remaining goblins and hunters fled. I rolled away just in time, but Cormac wasn’t as lucky. He staggered to his feet, trying to dodge the SUV, but Fiona sped up, striking Cormac and sending him flying before he landed with a thud in the bloodied snow.

I shifted back into naked human form and jumped in, pushing Fiona over to the passenger seat.

“Oh, my God! Did I kill him?” Fiona looked at me with fear-filled widened eyes.

“He’s not dead,” I said through ragged breaths, wiping blood from my face and eyes.

“But my father… Are you sure he’s—”

“I’m sure, Fiona. He’s not dead,” I replied, harsher than I wanted.

A sigh left her lips, and I glanced around at the carnage of ravaged bodies and corpses of wolves, humans, and creatures that had perished in the battle. There were not as many dead wolves as humans and fairy goblins.

“What happened to the rest of your pack?” Fiona asked, her voice sounding tired and hoarse.

“I told them to retreat.” I gripped the steering wheel, concentrating on the road, and noticed the black vehicles following us. “Hang on, girls. We have company.” My foot slammed on the gas. “Buckle up.” Just before a bend in the road, I hit the brake pedal while jerking the wheel to the right. The SUV careened in the middle of the road and I headed off into the snowy forest and turned off the headlights.

After driving miles into the woods, I pulled into an opening between two massive oak trees. The hunters were no longer on my tail, but I glanced in the rearview mirror just in case.

“Where are we, Rowen?” Fiona touched my arm, and I flinched. My nerves felt tight as a rope.

“At the entrance to a hidden tunnel.” I turned, giving her a wan smile.

“Hidden tunnels are cool,” Viona whispered, staring out the window.

“We have security systems in place around Dublin so we can thwart the hunters if necessary.” The idea of having to resort to such a measure had my voice twitching with anger.

“Who, the wolves?” Fiona asked.

“Not just us. All the Creatures of Primordial,” I explained.

Finally, I pulled into a deserted park. “Fuck, Feckin’, Fuck!” I shouted, letting out my rage. “Sorry lasses.”

My pain is hers, my anger is hers, I reminded myself. I sensed it welling up inside me and I took a calming breath. “Viona, can you grab me some clothes from the back, lass?”

“Sure thing?” She chuckled. “It must feel very freeing to drive in the buff…” Fiona giggled, igniting us all. Perhaps all the tension, grief, and overwrought emotions caused us to become hysterical as the SUV filled with raucous laughter.

I dressed and hopped back into the vehicle. “How’s your arm?” I glanced at Fiona, taking in her face, bathed in blood and her rumpled hair.

Fiona glanced down at the bullet wound. “Fine… it’s fine.” She raised her head, and tears spilled down her dirty cheeks.

“Don’t cry, lass,” I whispered, stroking her hair, causing Fiona to cry anew.

“Too many… have… died,” she choked out.

“I know, love. I know…” Hearing sniffles from behind, I peeked in the rearview mirror at Viona, swiping at her eyes.

“And they… they took Rian and Kyra…” Viona exclaimed between distressing, agony-filled sobs.

“We will find them,” I said, desperation lacing my tone. “But God only knows what he will do. And by now they could be—”

“No,” Fiona said, shaking her head. “My father won’t harm them… He needs them to get Kat back! You saw Queen Celestria’s fury at us… Imagine how she feels about Cormac. She left Kat in his care. He was supposed to care for her!” She gaped at me with rounded, wet eyes. “It’s crazy! I’ve been living with kidnappers and killers.”

“Take it easy, love. Breath.” I grabbed her hand, placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

“I can try to find them,” Viona announced. “Let’s go to my apartment. It’s above the bookstore.”

“You can?” I asked, looking at her over my shoulder.

“Remember what Tiana told you… There’s not another witch who can find or hide people or things like me.” She winked.

I wasted no time driving to the bookstore in the hippie district. “Let’s go in the back way just to be safe.” Viona led us through a small door and up some narrow stairs to an apartment that made up the entire second floor.

The place was nicer than I imagined, given the threadbare appearance of the crowded bookstore. Viona guided us into a sunny kitchen filled with plants. She ordered us to sit down before brewing tea.

“Drink this,” she said, placing a mug in front of Fiona.

“Is this some kind of magical tea?” I asked with a frown. Viona glared at me.

“Yes. It’s a hypnotizing tea.” She rolled her eyes and sat a cup before me.

Fiona blew on the hot brew and took a sip. “That’s it. Drink it all down.” Viona patted Fiona’s back before grabbing things from the fridge and making breakfast.

“We don’t have time for this.” I let out a frustrated growl. “We have to find Rian and Kyra.”

I stood, but Viona pointed at me and my arse hit the chair. I hated when she did that shite! “We have to arm ourselves, Alpha Wolf. And I have to prepare. Eat and gain back your strength.”

“I don’t get it…” I frowned. “At first you refused to help us with Cormac? So, why are you so keen to help us now?” The acidity in my voice rang clear.

Viona smiled, shrugging. “It’s not up to just one race to destroy Cormac’s hideout and liberate those prisoners,” she snapped. “But this plan is risky, and I feel responsible.” She lowered her head. “I tried to rescue Kyra and now Rian and your sister are both captured.”

“You were brave.” Fiona stood and grabbed her hand.

“And I appreciate your efforts. They could have killed you, Viona. You also saved Fiona’s life and I’m in your debt. But I can’t risk any more of my pack members.” I raked a hand over my face. “We have lost too many, and the survivors are trying to heal the wounded and protect the helpless.”

“I know, but we don’t need many wolves for this…” Viona winked.

She pointed to our plates. “Eat and I’ll ready myself. We’ll leave in a couple of hours.”

Fiona

After a short time, we finished our meal and tended to our injuries. We needed the food and rest, but neither of us wanted to talk about the elephant in the room. Yet since Rowen gave in and accepted me as his mate, it was difficult to hide our mutual thoughts. This was all my fault, thanks to my father, and I realized the council only accepted our Moon-Blessed union because Rowen was their alpha. Now they had even more reasons to oppose and hate me… Luna O’Connell or not.

Rowen hesitated, but after a moment, he stood and placed a hand under my chin, causing me to lift my face. His lips crashed into mine.

His kiss tasted of tea, blood, and suffering. “When this is behind us, we’ll talk about it. I promise.” Rowen cupped my cheek.

I nodded, breathless and unable to look away from those captivating stormy eyes I’d been obsessed with since we met.

Viona strode into the kitchen. “Oops! I’m disturbing something…”

She stood dressed in all black, looking ready for battle, with military boots, black cargo pants, a Metallica T-shirt, and a black leather jacket.

Viona grinned, reminding me of a rebellious teenager, but as I studied her eyes, I saw wisdom beyond her years. She placed a bag loaded with stuff on the table and held out items for each of us. “It’s time,” she said.

Viona handed Rowen a small jar, and he looked at it with skepticism. “What the feck is this?” He grimaced.

“Must you always doubt me?” She sighed and shook her head. “You are reminding me of that wolf pup, Rian.” Her tone was sarcastic, but I watched her face fall.

“We will get him back.” With a smile, I reached out and squeezed her hand.

“I know. I know, but Rian isn’t here for me to taunt,” she announced without a drop of smugness. Instead, she just appeared somber.

She pointed to the jar in Rowen’s hand. “That is a special oil to repel silver and other poisons, such as wolfsbane. So slather it all over yourself.”

Viona then gave me a small vial of cloudy liquid. “You’re allergic to metal,” she added, with a decisive nod.

I squinched my brows together. “I am?”

“Yes, because of your fairy blood. Metal affects the fae by weakening their powers. That’s why most fairies don’t leave their realm.”

“Do I put it on my skin?” I asked, taking the vial.

“No. Drink it to enhance your magical abilities. It will suppress the effects of the metal and boost your powers.”

“But I don’t know how to use my powers…”

“But you still possess them.” She smiled.

I heard a pecking sound and turned to see the black raven standing on the kitchen windowsill. He let out a loud caw, and Viona strode to the window and opened it. “Hello, Merla.” She grabbed a piece of bread from the table and held it out to the bird. “That’s my good boy. Now do as I asked. We leave soon.” The raven cocked his head, chirped, and flew off.

“I’ll be right back.” Viona dashed from the room

“She’s even pushy and overbearing with birds…” whispered Rowen while rubbing the liquid all over his skin.

I popped a hand over my mouth to stifle the giggle and grinned at him. “She reminds me of this guy I know…”

Rowen rolled his eyes and threw me a smile. “Very funny, lass.”

I uncapped the vial and drank the liquid, which tasted like bitter perfume. Once gone, I heard Viona’s footsteps heading back into the kitchen. But judging by the sound, she wasn’t alone.

When the redhead appeared back in the kitchen, three people were smiling at us. A tall handsome guy with a brilliant smile, a girl with caramel skin and short, dark hair that showed off her heart-shaped face. Then Kat emerged from behind saying, “Ta-dah!”

“Kat!” I shouted, running over and throwing my arms around her.

“Lucas!” Rowen rushed over to hug his beta, too.

Tiana hugged me next. “What are you guys doing here?” I asked, shocked to see them.

“Viona told us what happened through the raven,” Kat explained. “We came to help.” Behind her smile, I noticed Kat’s look of anguish. “My mother… I’m so sorry for what she did. And it’s all my fault.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Rowen said. “It’s not your fault, Kat.”

She nodded at him with a watery smile, but I knew she blamed herself.

“I mentioned that we’d have a little help,” Viona declared.

“But can we fight off a horde of hunters?” I glanced at Viona.

“Don’t underestimate the power we have working together.” Viona winked at me. Tiana grinned at her and followed the redhead toward the door. “All right. It’s time to go.”

“Go where?” I glanced at Viona.

“I know where Cormac is keeping Kyra, Rian, and a bunch of others.”

“That’s amazing! Is it close by? We must go now. Where and how long will it take?” Rowen’s excitement warmed my heart, and I chuckled.

“We’ll be there soon, trust me, but this time we won’t be using any vehicles,” Viona assured, laughing too.