A Mate's Revenge

Cael is an alpha who has no mate, and he isn’t looking for one. His heart forever belongs to his long lost childhood sweetheart. Years ago, her intended mate laid claim, ripping the two of them apart. Cael has never forgiven him for the injustice. Or her, for betraying him. But even with his bitterness riding him like a bad omen, he can’t look away while she is brutally mistreated. There’s only one thing to do: exact revenge on his enemy, and deal with the woman who betrayed him later.

Isabesh is in trouble. She’s played her last hand in her alpha mate’s game of control and now her brother might pay the cost. Vesh has been exiled for treason he didn’t commit, but he’ll be left alive as long as she cooperates. The problem is, cooperating means helping her mate wage a war on the man she gave her heart to as a wolfling and his Ravendale pack. When word gets back to Ozarka that one of their own is the intended mate of the Ravendale alpha, Besh knows she’s running out of time to tell Cael the truth: that sometimes protection can look a lot like betrayal.

A Mate’s Revenge

By P. Jameson

A Mate’s Revenge

Copyright © 2014 by P. Jameson

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, redistributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in any database, without prior permission from the author.

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead,is coincidental and not intended by the author
.

Other Books by P. Jameson

Ozark Mountain Shifters

A Mate’s Denial (
Book 1
)

A Mate’s Sacrifice (
Book 2
)

A Mate’s Revenge (Book 3)

Stand-Alone Holiday Novella

A Mate’s Wish (
Amazon
)

“Tell me the story again! Please, mommy, it’s my very, very favorite.” Dark curls bobbed around the little girl’s shoulders as she used her knees to bounce on the mattress. “I promise I’ll go to sleep this time.”

Her mother stood in the doorway, one hand on hip, contemplating her excited request. There was no way her girl was going to sleep anytime soon, promises or not. The wolf in her was amped up on anticipation for tomorrow. It was going to be a big day.

“Alright, Stella. One more story, but then it’s lights out or I’m calling your dad.”

The girl’s grin belonged in Texas for how huge it was. “Daddy loves the story too. He wouldn’t mind.”

She sat on the bed next to her squirming eight-year-old. “Your daddy does like this story. Do you know why?”

Stella sighed dreamily. “Because it’s a story of true love, and how no matter what, love always wins. No matter what bad guys try to destroy it.”

Her mother nodded. “That’s all true, but Daddy loves this story for another reason.”

A tiny line formed between the little girl’s eyebrows. Her mother brushed random curls from in front of her face so she could see the big blue eyes that reminded her so much of another wolf.

“This is a story about family. It’s the story of how daddy’s sister, and others, were saved from a big bad wolf.”

“Like the one in Little Red Riding Hood?”

“Sort of. But this wolf was real.”

The little girl nodded somberly.

“Climb under the covers, Stella, and I’ll tell you this tale once again. At this rate, you’ll know it so well, you will be able to tell your own young.”

She anxiously pulled the blanket up to her chin and settled back against the fluffy pillow. “I’m ready.”

“There once was a boy who fell in love with a girl, but no love story is ever that simple…”

***

Vesh stared skeptically across the table at his new alpha. He’d recently sworn allegiance to Ravendale, and instead of feeling trapped by his oath, he felt oddly liberated. This was the right decision for him and his mate. After marking Braeh, she’d insisted they return to the Ozarks and find their place here. With their family.

Family. It wasn’t a term Vesh could put a good thought to, but when he considered his sweet mate and what the future held for them, the idea that they’d one day have young, that they would have their very own family… the word started to really mean something to him deep in the recesses of his darkened heart.

He’d have to thank Lexar for letting him flee the Ravendale camp so he could get to Alaska. He would’ve made it there anyway, but if Lexar hadn’t let him go, he would’ve arrived bloody and beaten, and with Lexar’s blood on his hands.

But there was still one thing Vesh needed to do before he could finally settle into feeling safe. He had Braeh and he had a home. Now he needed his sister. He needed to save her and the other innocents of the Ozarka pack. He needed to kill the sick alpha who held them all captive.

But Cael’s plan?

“It’ll never work,” Vesh argued over the blaring music of Bullseye. “You won’t get past the guards. I trained them myself.”

Cael’s returning grin was wicked. “We already have.”

“When?”

“Last fall. A few weeks before Trager’s cabin blew.”

“No way. I was in charge of securing Ozarka land. There’s not a chance you or any of your wolves snuck in there.”

His alpha raised a sharp eyebrow. “Someone left a basket of fruit on the doorstep of the school.”

Vesh remembered Farrow mentioning the mysterious gesture during one of their guard meetings, but he’d brushed it off as an act from a well-meaning pack member.

“That was you?”

Cael jerked his chin upward.

“You snuck into our camp and left a
fruit
basket
? Not a knife stuck in the door with a note or something, but a basket of fucking fruit?”

“Pretty clever, really. It’s not threatening, so it didn’t put you on guard, yet it’s enough to acknowledge we breached your boundaries.”

Sneaky brilliant bastard. “Just… how?” Vesh bit out.

Cael took a swig of his beer. “We made friends with the cats. The panthers from Ouachita? They’re very sly. Taught us a thing or two.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“I don’t kid.”

Magic and his little faction hadn’t left their commune for years. Or… that’s what he’d thought.

“The mountain cats are Ravendale allies?”

Cael smoothed the long part of his hair back so it wasn’t hanging in his face. “Of a sort. Yeah.”

Well, damn. Infiltrating the Ozarka camp in the middle of the night was risky, but if the cats could teach an old dog new tricks maybe Cael’s plan could actually work.

Vesh’s gaze traveled to the dance floor where his mate was moving in a way that should be for his eyes only, and behind closed doors. He clenched his jaw tight. But he could hardly get mad since she was trying—and failing—to teach Kerrigan how to dance.

“Would we do it before or after the mating ceremony?”

“Before. I’ve already talked to Trager. He agrees, we can’t wait any longer.”

Vesh nodded. Good. His sister had suffered long enough.

“Yeah, okay. I’m in. If you say it’ll work, I believe you.”

Alpha nodded as Vesh rose from his seat, eyes lasered on the swaying hips of his mate. In unison everyone on the dance floor stopped moving and let out a loud
owwoooooo
before the music cut back in.

Braeh caught sight of him looming and passed Kerrigan off to Trager. “Isn’t this song perfect? Like, I dunno, your theme song?” She spun around, locking her arms around Vesh’s neck and sliding up and down his body.

He palmed her ass. “I’m not sure Maroon 5 is who I’d choose to sing my theme song.”

She turned, popping her butt against his front. “Why not?” she called over her shoulder. “Adam Levine is hot. And he sounds very wolfy in this song. As you know, I like wolfy.”

He yanked her backward so she was flush against him, wrapping one arm around her chest, palming her shoulder to hold her in place, while the other hand wandered over her hip and across the taut skin of her belly. “Oh, he sings a good game but the follow through is what really counts. Could he really hunt you down and
eat
you… like I can?” Vesh inhaled deeply as his mate’s scent strengthened at his blunt words. He nibbled at the shell of her ear, his finger gently tracing her belly button. “Could he
really
smell your scent for miles? Like an animal… animal… animal-al?”

Braeh shivered in his arms. “He’s a total poser, isn’t he?”

“Yes.” Vesh pulled the strap of her shirt aside to see the mark he’d left when they’d mated. He loved looking at it. It grounded him. Soothed him. Worried him. But mostly comforted him. He licked it, thrilled when her skin broke out in goosebumps.

“Maybe,” he said, running his nose along the curve of her neck, “I’ll prey on you tonight, Brae.”

Her quickening breath made her chest heave, pushing her perfect breasts up and down in a way that had him mesmerized.

“Maybe. Or maybe
I’ll
prey on
you
.” She turned her head, snapping her teeth at him, and his erection went from
hi, how are ya
to
let’s get it onnnnnn
.

His mind was already thinking of the fastest way out of the bar and the most secluded place to have his way with his mate, when Trager’s voice cut through. “
Vesh
.”

He pulled his gaze away from Braeh’s body to clash with Trager’s in a warning. But the look on the wolf’s face gave him pause. Trager jerked his head to the side and Vesh followed the action to the problem.

Cael paced a frantic path from the corner pool table to the crowded bar and back again while Lexar seemed to be trying to calm him down.

Vesh frowned at Trager. “What happened?”

“I don’t know.”

Vesh took Braeh’s hand, pulling her along with him to the corner of the bar. “What’s the problem?” he asked Lexar, but the man just shook his head. “Alpha,” Vesh barked. It was enough to get Cael to pause his pacing. “What is it?”

“I don’t need this shit right now,” Cael muttered. “Motherfucking
fuck
.” And then he resumed his carpet-stomping routine. He was angry, but also, for the first time ever, he seemed… flustered. As if the likes of Thumbelina had kicked him upside the head and knocked him on his ass. His control was shattered. He needed to get it back, and fast.

Vesh let go of Braeh and stepped in the path of his raging alpha. Cael came up short, and glaring. “Out of my way.”

“Talk. What has you all tied up like this?”

Cael’s nose twitched and his face scrunched up like he’d eaten a lemon. “I can
smell
her. She’s all I can smell and she’s not even in the fucking building.”

“Shit,” Lexar breathed.

“Who? Who can you smell? What are you talking about?” It was all Vesh could do not to take Cael by the shoulders and shake the answers out of him.

He ran a hand through his hair, making the long strands on top fall over his face. Two deep breaths later, he finally answered. “My mate.”

Vesh jerked his head back. Mate? Alpha had a mate, and no one thought to mention this to him before?

“What the hell, Cael?”

Alpha stiffened, his face turning deadly. “Don’t talk to me like that,” he growled.

Well, at least he wasn’t floundering anymore.

“Who is she?”

Cael’s face was stormy, as he stared down at Vesh. But before he could answer, his troubled gaze was drawn to something past Vesh’s shoulder.

“You should have mentioned this before. It could throw a huge wrench in our plans. How are we supposed to get—”

“Vesh.” Trager could fuck off. This was a potentially devastating development.

“—my sister free if you’re out of your mind trying to—”

“
Vesh
.”

“
What
?” He turned a fuming stare on Trager.

Trager nodded his head toward the door. “We have a problem.”

“She’s not your problem,” Alpha snarled. “She’s mine.”

Vesh’s hair stood on end at the tone of Cael’s words.
She’s
mine
. His mate.

Turning to see who’d just walked into Bullseye, Vesh had a moment of foreboding before his eyes landed on the last person he expected to see near Ravendale land.

Avan.

A traitor. Or maybe just another victim of Jax’s control. Whatever the case, Vesh didn’t want her anywhere near him or his family.

Her eyes scanned the room and when they landed on Vesh, a slinky, cat-like grin spread across her face.

Vesh glanced at his alpha. He looked furious enough to turn at any moment.

Shit. This was going to be fun.