Impossible Mate (The Impossible Mate Series Book 1) Read online

  Before I could do anything, darkness encompassed me and my vision turned black.

  Chapter Four

  The sound of fighting filled my ears as consciousness trickled into my mind.

  I groaned as pain exploded from the back of my head and radiated outward to encompass my spine. My eyes blinked open to reveal a dark and dirty street and a flickering streetlight above me. The coppery scent of blood was thick in the air. What the hell had happened?

  Memories flooded my mind, and I jerked upright before immediately regretting it as my vision swam and my stomach roiled. I swallowed down the nausea and glanced around. There was a body of a human lying next to me surrounded by a widening pool of blood, his arm savaged beyond repair and his throat torn out. Who the hell was that and how long had I been knocked out?

  A yelp on my other side caught my attention. Turning, my eyes bulged as two wolves faced each other. One was the black wolf that had attacked me while the other was a black, white and tan wolf with steel gray eyes. I cracked open my sense and sucked in a sharp breath as the familiar torrent of green energy slammed into me.

  What the fuck was James doing here?

  The other wolf still had no soul, nothing to indicate that it was a living creature other than that I could see it with my eyes. There had to be something blocking my sense.

  The wolves snarled as they circled each other, the black wolf still holding its paw against its chest from the wound I’d inflicted on its shoulder.

  In a blink of an eye, they surged toward each other in an impressive display of speed, strength and agility. I could barely keep track of their movements as they danced around each other, snapping their teeth at each other’s legs and flanks while dodging attacks. Even though the black wolf was injured, it didn’t stop it from catching the other wolf on the side, causing blood to splatter across the pavement.

  James’ wolf howled and leaped backwards as the wound knit itself back together before jumping back into the fight. The two wolves attacked each other again, more brutally this time as they bit and clawed at the other wolf. Blood and fur flew as their snarls and yelps filled the air before James clamped his jaws around the other wolf’s throat.

  The other wolf squealed as blood dripped onto the pavement beneath them and struggled against James’ hold. James growled, the sound low and menacing and caused the air on my arm and the back of my neck to stand on end. That was a sound I hoped never to hear again.

  Somehow, the other wolf slipped free of James’ jaws and with a last look at me, turned tail and bolted for a nearby alleyway. Its black coat sunk into the shadows and disappeared from view.

  James huffed and turned to look at me. The tugging in my stomach flared to life, urging me to sink my hands into his soft fur, but that was quickly overrun by the alarms of danger blaring in my mind.

  As he took a step toward me, I drove for my knife, feeling the familiar weight of it in my palm. I had no idea what the hell was going on between the black wolf and James and I didn’t want to risk it. Yes, he’d scared off the other beast and probably saved my life, but was that because he wanted the kill himself?

  James paused mid-step and blinked at the knife in my hand before pinning his ears back and huffing again. He clearly wasn’t amused by the fact I was brandishing a silver knife at him for the second night in a row. Too fucking bad.

  “Stay back,” I told him as I struggled to my feet, biting back a groan as pain shot up my leg. I glanced down and winced at the jagged wound on my thigh. Jesse was going to kill me for getting myself hurt like this. Well, that was if James didn’t kill me first.

  James cocked his head and studied me with his gray eyes. The air around him shimmered as his fur receded and his body elongated into his human form.

  His naked human form.

  The man had a magnificent body with wide shoulders, arms bulging with muscle and powerful thighs. His stomach, while flat, held a hint of strong abdominal muscles with a dark trail of hair that led down to his—

  I snapped my gaze up as my cheeks heated. I’d obviously hit my head too hard because this was neither the time nor the place to be checking out a shifter, especially one that might be trying to kill me.

  James’ blue eyes, still flecked with gray, flicked to my knife and a frown formed on his lips. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Then what are you here for?” Hell, how had he even known I was in danger?

  He sighed. “We should get you back to the club. I’m sure Charlie has some healing salves to help with that wound on your thigh.” He took a step toward me with an out-stretched out.

  I recoiled and stumbled backward, almost losing my footing, and scowled. “I’m fine.” I definitely wasn’t fine, but I didn’t want to admit that to him.

  He cocked an eyebrow and glanced down at the wound on my thigh. “You could have fooled me.” He reached me in a blink and grabbed my upper arm.

  I struggled against his hold but my attempts were feeble as the blood loss from my thigh and head wounds took their toll. I wavered as the world lurched violently to the side and bile burned my throat. “I don’t need…” My words trail off as the edges of my vision darkened and my knees gave way beneath me.

  James scooped me up into his warm, powerful arms before I could hit the ground and cradled me against his chest before striding down the street. I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut as the throbbing in my head intensified. Electricity bloomed in my chest as what felt like a thin, ethereal thread burst from my sternum and wrapped its way around James.

  I must have hit my head hard.

  Violent banging jolted me and I blearily opened my eyes to see that we were at the staff entrance to the club. Charlie stood on the other side of the door, a thunderous expression on his face.

  “What the fuck are—” His words were cut abruptly as he eyes fell on me and his nostrils flared. “Take her to the main room of the club.”

  I wanted to tell him I was fine, that all I needed was some salve and maybe a healing spell from Jesse and I’d be fine. But I couldn’t speak and darkness encroached on the edges of my vision. I sighed, too exhausted, and closed my eyes.

  Something soft pressed against my back.

  “Here, that should slow the bleeding while I call Jesse,” Charlie said, his voice sounding so far away.

  Someone tugged on my jeans. I groaned and tried to pull away but my body refused to obey. Something thick and cold was smeared on my upper thigh and I sighed as some of the pain subsided. I relaxed into the softness pressing against my back and slipped into the darkness.

  “What the hell happened? And where are your clothes?” Jesse’s voice cut through the darkness.

  “I lost them when I shifted, but that doesn’t matter.” I could hear the exasperation in James’ voice. “Lucy got attacked by some rogue shifter. She’s stable now but she’s lost a lot of blood and needs some healing.”

  My eyes refused to open as I heard the clinking of Jesse’s potion bag as she placed it next to me.

  “I’ll get you healed up,” she breathed as her small, warm hand pressed against the side of my neck.

  Her whispered chanting filled my ears as the energy from the earth was pulled upward. The hand on my neck heated as Jesse’s power swirled around us before surging through her hand and into my neck. My body jolted as her magic raced down my chest and stomach to my thigh. My upper thigh itched intensely as the edges of the wound knit together and the pain and discomfort melted away.

  I sighed as Jesse’s magic receded and she pulled her hand away.

  “Sleep,” she whispered in my ear.

  Unable to do anything else, I did as I was told as darkness enveloped me.

  ◆◆◆

  The sudden brightness of the room roused me from the darkness. Slowly at first, until a hot beam of light focused on my eyes.

  With a groan, my eyes fluttered open and I glanced around the room, expecting to see my small apartment bedroom with my plain white walls and
small desk pushed into the corner of the room. That wasn’t what greeted my eyes. In fact, the opulent and cozy bedroom was the exact opposite of what I was expecting.

  It was then that the full force of the multiple green souls bombarded my sense, too many to count and all around me.

  What the fuck?

  I slammed my sense shut as panic clawed at my throat. Where the hell was I? My eyes widened and I shot upright and peered around the room.

  The walls were painted a warm cream color with large oak beams jutting out from the walls and ceiling. A painting of a wolf hung just to the left of the bed over what appeared to be an antique desk, the dark wood polished to a high shine in the sunlight. On the other side of the room was a towering wardrobe made of the same dark polished wood as the desk. Next to the wardrobe was a half-cracked open door that led to a bathroom, the bright white tiles peeking from around the corner.

  My attention turned to the massive bed I was lying on, made of the same dark wood as the desk and wardrobe. The cotton sheets were a deep red and felt brand new and soft against my skin. On either side of the bed were wooden end tables with a clock on the left and a vase with a sunflower on the right table. Sitting next to the vase was my phone, slightly cracked and covered in dirt.

  I reached for it and sighed as the screen turned on in greeting. At least I wouldn’t need a new phone, not that I could really afford one at the moment.

  Fragments of what happened last night flashed in my mind; the black wolf and then James. I snapped my gaze down and for the first time noticed that I was wearing a large men’s T-shirt. From the coppery scent, it was probably Charlie’s and I quickly ignored the thrum of disappointment in my chest.

  I snatched up the T-shirt, expecting to see a barely healed deep wound on my upper thigh, but there was nothing but smooth skin. The only evidence of the fight was the blood smeared on my skin and the dirt and gravel matted in my hair. I slapped my hand against my chest and sighed as the familiar outline of the pendant greeted my palm.

  Gingerly, I slipped out of bed, relieved that there was only a slight twinge of pain. Damn, Jesse had done a good job last night. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind and concentrated on the issue at hand; where the hell was I and why was I surrounded by shifters?

  I padded across the cool wooden floor to the window and peered outside. I was greeted with a sea of trees with the shimmer of a lake in the far distance and the small town of Lakeview nowhere to be seen. Just in front of the tree line was a small patio area complete with cast iron outdoor furniture where two men sat. I didn’t recognize either of them although their faces were obscured by the angle so all I could see were the top of their heads.

  Neither of them were James. I knew that for sure.

  With the window not giving me any more information, I quickly used the bathroom before making my way to the other door. As much as I would have loved a shower, I had bigger issues, like the fact I was surrounded by my mortal enemies. Maybe I could sneak out of here since the shifters didn’t appear to be paying much attention to me.

  I cracked open the door, relieved that it didn’t squeak, and peered through it at a long and dimly lit empty hallway. Multiple doors led off into other rooms on either side of the corridor with a small bay window at one end and the telltale handrail of stairs peeking from around the corner.

  Satisfied that no one was around, I opened the door further and sneaked my way towards the stairs, phone clutched in my left hand. Each creak of the wooden floor had me pause and cringe while listening out for movement, but each time there was none. I wanted to open my sense so I could know where any of the shifters were but each time I did, the force of the combined souls was enough to have me gasping for air. So, my one edge over the shifters was completely useless here.

  Finally, I made it to the staircase, surprised by how grand it was with red-carpeted stairs and a carved wooden handrail. Various paintings of wolves and deer and forests hung from the wall beside the staircase, appearing to be from the same artist as the picture in my room.

  Looking down, the staircase wound its way to what appeared to be a large entryway with large wooden double doors leading outside. Two small windows on either side of the doors gave me a glimpse of a gravel driveway and the forest outside of the house. Several sleek black cars were parked outside but I couldn’t see anyone out there.

  That was it, my exit.

  I slipped down the stairwell, using the carpeted area of the stairs to muffle my steps while straining my ears to listen to any movement. With my soul sense completely out of commission, my human senses were all I had, and it was pretty hard to hear over my pounding heartbeat.

  Reaching the bottom of the staircase, I glanced around the entryway. There was an archway leading to a gigantic kitchen on the left while there were doors underneath the stairwell and to the right of it. Wherever the hell I was, it was fancy and if I wasn’t surrounded by shifters, I would have loved to have explored. But now was not the time.

  With the kitchen empty and the other doors closed, I made a break for the front door. I wrenched open the right door, surprised by how heavy it was and stumbled outside.

  Multiple cars were lined up in a neat row in front of the house, all from luxurious car brands and all of them black. I scanned the area, half-expecting a shifter to come running over, demanding to know what I was doing, but there was no one. I stepped outside, the sun warm against my skin, and tiptoed over to the nearest car.

  I tried the driver’s side door, pleasantly surprised to find that not only was it unlocked, but the keys had been left in the central console. I guess shifters didn’t have to worry about car thieves since only the pack were here and they’d have to have a death wish if they stole from their alpha.

  I slid into the car, the leather soft against my bare thighs and with one last look around the place, I turned on the engine and gunned it down the driveway. I had no idea how to get home, but I’m sure I’d figure it out.

  Chapter Five

  After a few missed turns and eventually using the gps on my phone to get me back on track, I finally made it back to my apartment.

  I parked the car just off the main road and took the keys and locked it since I doubted James would be very pleased if it got stolen. He wasn’t going to be happy either way, especially when he found one of his cars missing, but the last thing I wanted to do was add fuel to his anger. I’d figure out a way to return his car once I’d had a shower and put on clean clothes.

  I made my way toward the entrance to my apartment complex, glad that all I needed to get in was a code. Stepping inside, the place was eerily quiet but not unusual for this time of the day since most people would still be at work. The slapping of my feet against the tiled floor echoed around the stairwell as I bounded up the stairs, the call of my shower urging me onward.

  However, as I reached the floor my apartment was on and neared my front door, my stomach dropped. “Fuck,” I hissed as I looked down at the broken lock on my slightly ajar door. Someone or something had been inside my apartment.

  I ripped open my sense but only found some animals, a fae and a couple of humans, none of which were in the apartment complex. I cautiously pushed open my door, my heart hammering against my chest as I waited for the pendant around my neck to vibrate. It never did, but that barely registered as I looked upon the state of my apartment.

  It had been ransacked.

  The place looked like a bomb had exploded inside it. My old couch lay in pieces, strewn across the living area floor, its white stuffing bulging out of large tears. The wooden table and chairs were completely obliterated and everything had been ripped out of the kitchen. Pieces of wood from the kitchen and table and chairs littered the floor alongside shards of glass that glinted in the afternoon sun. The walls and floors hadn’t been spared either, with deep gouges and claw marks marring the surfaces.

  Whoever had done this had been a shifter and an angry one at that, so much so that their residual rage permeated the a
ir. My first thought was that it could be James that had done this, but I immediately pushed it away. There was no reason that I could think of as to why he’d do it. Maybe this had something to do with the wolf that had attacked me last night?

  I picked my way deeper into the apartment and peeked into my bedroom. It was just as trashed as the rest of my apartment, with my bed smashed into pieces, my bedding shredded and my wardrobe broken into large fragments. The books that had been resting on the small end table next to my bed were strewn across the room, but appeared to be unharmed.

  I glanced around the room with a frown. Where the hell was I going to stay since this place was now inhabitable? I suppose I could go to the club and ask Charlie if I could stay there; he had a small apartment set up next to his office that he barely used. Although the idea of living in the club wasn’t all that appealing. Jesse had a spare bedroom at her house and while I hated the idea of asking for help, there was nothing else I could do.

  I grabbed my phone and dialed her number. A few rings later, Jesse answered.

  “Lucy, thank god, how are you?” she asked, worry in her voice.

  Hearing her voice after waking up surrounded by shifters gave me more relief than I cared to admit. “I’m fine, thanks to you, but my apartment…” I glanced around the ruins of my bedroom and bit my lip. “Someone broke in and trashed the place. Do you think I could stay with you?”

  Jesse sighed. “If James allows it, sure, but that guy has a fucking hard-on for you right now and not the fun kind.” She paused. “Or maybe it is.”

  I frowned. Since when did James care about where I stayed? The last thing I remember was trying to stab him after the black wolf ran off. “What do you mean?”

  “He’s taken it upon himself to keep you safe and refused to allow anyone else to take you in.”

  So that’s why I was surrounded by shifters when I’d woke up earlier. He’d probably taken me to his weird shifter place. Ugh. “Well, he’s not in charge of where I stay, I am and I’d love to stay with you, if you don’t mind.”