Climbing the Ladder (7 page)

hard.”

“Play?”

Mesa’s lips brushed her jaw. “Yes. It was good to see.”

She panted softly, soft sounds rumbling from her.

“We like to play. Wolves.” Kody kept murmuring.

“You said. I thought that people played vampires more. You don’t have the dice and stuff

at home, though, not that I’ve seen.”

“There’s a werewolf game, actually.” Mesa was grinning again.

“Is there?” She wasn’t into that sort of thing, and Kody was stroking her hips.

“Yeah. It’s so bad. Really cheesy.” Mesa was kissing her throat.

“So…” She shivered, arched, her belly rubbing against Mesa’s muscle. “You shouldn’t

do that. Kody, tell him.”

“You’re good, honey. Follow your instincts.”

“So pretty. Kody did so good.”

“So good?”

Kody pressed against her back, hot, solid, lean.

“He did. He found you. Kept you safe.”

“I found him. At a faire.” Kody couldn’t keep a rabbit safe.

“Then you were so smart. So good.” Mesa praised her, nibbling her ear.

“It was love at first sight.” She didn’t want to think about that, about how it might not be

true. She wanted to believe Kody had loved her, too. She just wasn’t thinking clearly at all, so tired.

“It was. I wanted to howl to the moon how much I loved you.” Kody smiled gently. “I

still do.”

“You know you’re not really a werewolf, right? You’re not really insane?”

Kody shook his head. “I might be a little crazy, but not about that.”

“But werewolves aren’t real.” She loved him; she didn’t want him to be crazy, a liar. A

cheater.

“We’ll show you, honey.” Mesa stroked her hair some more. The touches made her eyes

cross.

Kody moaned. “That’s it, love. Our Alpha.”

There was something about being here with them, like this. Something that did and didn’t

make sense. It made her head hurt to think about it, too, to worry. She laid her head against

Mesa’s shoulder and let Kody whisper to her.

* * * *

Mesa sighed when Sammy finally dropped off to sleep like a puppy in his arms. Finally.

Wasn’t this supposed to be easier now that they were all together? Granny had told him

things would be weird, but this was exhausting.

Kody looked at him, eyes red-rimmed, put pleased, he thought.

Mate.
The touch to his mind was like a drug.

Mesa reached out with his hands and opened up, letting Kody touch him all over. Love

and need and happiness poured over him, Kody flooding him. He could see Samantha in his

head, lovely and wild, beautiful. That was it. Better. He didn’t say anything aloud, afraid the sound would wake her. He liked her better like this.

Kody pinched him. Hard. “She’s scared.”

“Ow.” Like he didn’t know that. “How are you?”

He got a smile, wide and feral. “You’re here.”

“Mmm. I am. Did I tell you I missed you?” Seeing Kody in his wolf form had been

exhilarating, taking him back to days when they had no idea about pack structure, and who was

Alpha of Beta or needing a third. When they’d just been able to run.

“Yes.” Kody cuddled in, licked his lips. “Sammy was beautiful. So fine.”

“She is.” She was strong, too. Wicked strong.

“She let you hold her.” There was nothing but satisfaction in Kody’s eyes.

“She has good instincts. She just needs to stop fighting.” And fighting, and fighting, and

thinking, all the damned time.

“She doesn’t believe.” Kody shrugged. “And she’s a scrapper.”

“I know. I don’t know how to make her.” He’d never dealt with a wolf who wasn’t one

from birth.

“She has to. She’ll change now, whether she wants to or not, right?”

“She will, yeah, but what if she can’t connect her wolf to her?” He had no idea if that

could happen.

“Then we all go insane, and someone else gets the Clan.”

“Oh.” Mesa blinked. He’d have to work harder.

Kody’s hands were everywhere, touching him, teasing him. Loving on him.

“Love. Love you.” Mesa needed to say it.

“Still? Even after everything?”

“I never stopped.” That was so true. He’d hated Kody for maybe a week, but he’d loved

him still. He felt Kody’s pleasure; it hit him like a runaway freight train, right in the balls. That made it all worthwhile. Just like he knew Sammy’s care and love would be good. Eventually.

There would be Pack. Puppies. His Kody in the water, in the moonlight, in the mountains.

Kody nodded, smiling, loving on him right there in his mind. Sammy murmured, reached for

Mesa, pressed closer.

Just like that. Mesa hummed, vocalizing low, giving her warmth and security. She

relaxed, melted against him, and Kody moaned, curling in behind her.

“She really does have good instincts.” He petted Kody’s hip.

“She does. She’s a stunning woman.” Kody sighed. “When do we get to head home, do

you think?”

“Soon. She’s not going to go willingly any time in the near future, so we just have to take

her.”

“Do we just disappear? Go back and pack?” Kody met his eyes. “I’ll do whatever you

ask, Mate.”

“I won’t ask you to do without anything that’s important to you, baby.” He wouldn’t.

Mesa had never needed stuff, but he knew Kody had made a life.

“There’s nothing that I need, but she’s…a girl.” And human.

“Okay. We’ll get some stuff so she feels there’s something familiar.”

Kody nodded. “Home.” That smile was angelic.

“God, yes.” He was so ready to go home.

Kody’s fingers trailed over his forehead, stroked his skin.
Sleep
.

They needed to sleep.

“Yeah.” He closed his eyes, his body relaxing down on the blankets.

Love.

The word echoed inside him, made him smile.

Yeah.

Love.

Sammy woke up, and Kody and his lover were both asleep. Sound asleep and she

hummed. That’s right.

That’s right.

Sound asleep.

Resting.

She knew what she needed to do. There was something wrong here, wrong with them—

drugs, maybe, or some sexual thing she didn’t understand, but she had to run away.

When she thought the words, Mesa growled, fingers wrapping around her ankle, and she

made herself relax. Think about the moon, about sex, about sleeping.

About being so tired.

So very tired.

So heavy.

Mesa started snoring again, and she slipped to the backpacks. She knew Kody, knew he’d

have rope. God, yes. She tied Mesa’s wrists first, whispering softly to them both about how tired they were, how sleepy. Comfortable. Tired.

She didn’t have the slightest idea why it worked, but it did and she wasn’t going to

complain about it. She was losing her mind, she’d let them touch her, she’d loved it.

Loved it.

She bound Kody’s arms next, her lover so easy, so trusting. She cried as she did it,

mourning as quietly as she could. Tears fell on his skin, and he moaned in his sleep.

“I loved you, Kody, so much. I really did. I…I always will.”

He shifted, long, blond eyelashes fluttering and she shook her head, resting one finger on

his lips. “Shh. Shh. It’ll be okay now. I promise. It’ll be okay.”

She’d take herself out of the equation, make things easier.

Just run away.

* * * *

He woke up yelping, hands numb behind his back. Bound.

He scrambled to his knees, crying out, the nerves in his head screaming.
Mate. Mates!

Kody thrashed, panicked, barking out his pain, his terror.

“Kody. Kody, you have to calm down.” Mesa snarled at him, but the tone snapped him

out of it a little.

“She’s gone. I’m tied down! Tied down!” He face-planted on the floor of the tent, feeling

rough bark under the nylon ripstop fabric.

“I know, baby. I’ve been trying to wake you. I thought I’d lost you for a few.” Mesa was

trying to soothe him, but he couldn’t make it stop.

He cried out, the nerves in his head raw and screaming.

“Shh. Baby. You have to breathe.”

“Mates…” He couldn’t believe she’d left them. Sammy. She’d run away.

“She doesn’t know.”

It made him laugh a little hysterically, that Mesa was defending her. Somewhere in the

back of his mind, he could hear her, telling him it would be okay now. Like this pain could be okay.

“I know.” He breathed hard, trying not to scream. “Can you untie me?”

Please? Now?

“I can if you can get around to my hands.” Mesa slid over to him.

“Okay. Okay. She left, Mesa. She left me.”

“She’s scared, Kody. She thinks you left her first. Scoot over.”

He scooted, whimpering softly, the pain in his head easing when Mesa touched him.

“That’s it, baby.” He could feel Mesa in his mind again, too. Thank God.

“I’m sorry, Mate. I’m sorry.” He’d fucked up again, so bad.

“Shh. Hush, now.” He felt Mesa’s fingers against his hands, then his wrists. The ties were

not as tight as he’d feared. He relaxed as Mesa worked at them, the panic easing a little. “Good.

Almost there.”

“Mesa. I’m sorry. You aren’t hurt?”

Mesa didn’t feel hurt. He felt solid and capable, even tied up.

“No. No, I was just sound asleep.”

“Yeah. Yeah, me too. Sleeping so hard.” There had to be a reason they had both slept

through her leaving. He just didn’t know what it was. He shivered, hands tugging at the ties

again. Off. Off. He wanted them off.

The sudden image of Mesa, turning Sammy over his knee and reddening her ass filled his

mind and Kody relaxed, chuffed softly.

“I will, too, you know.” The ties finally gave way.

“Oh. Oh, thank you. Thank you. Mate.” He turned, needing to get his Alpha free. “You’re

her Alpha.”

“She’s going to fight me every step, baby.” Once Mesa’s hands came free, his Mate

turned him and kissed his mouth. He groaned, pressed himself against Mesa. Hurt. He hurt. His

head pounded.

“We’ll get her back.” He saw them both in Mesa’s mind, looking like bloodhounds and

chasing Sammy down.

“Yeah. I bet she took your truck.”

“Shit.” Mesa sat up with him, holding him close. When Mesa took him to the tent flap to

look out, Mesa cursed again.

Sure enough, the truck was gone, all of Mesa’s supplies left for them. Blankets, coolers,

packs, all there.

“Well, at least she didn’t want us to starve.” Mesa sighed. “We can call someone or we

can go wolf.”

“I’m sorry.” He pulled away, trying to think, to breathe.

“Stop. This is just not a normal bonding, is all.”

“Nothing about me has ever been normal, huh?”

“No.” Mesa reached over to cup his cheek with one hand. “Thank God.”

Kody’s eyes closed, his Alpha’s strength like a beacon. Better. Better.

“We’ll find her.” Mesa hummed low, making him vibrate. “I promise.”

“We will. We have to.” He couldn’t not.

“We do.” He could hear a bit of growl. “I am so kicking her ass.”

He nodded. They needed her. She needed them, just as badly. She just didn’t know it yet.

God, what if she changed when they weren’t there to help her? What if she hurt herself? Hurt

somebody else? And her poor head had to be pounding. His sure was.

Mesa touched his hair, petting him. “I know, baby. We need to get moving. We should

eat.”

“We’ll leave the things here and track her as wolves. Or do you want me to hike out and

get someone to help us?”

“We’ll go together. You know the area well enough for us to avoid anyone

inconvenient.”

“Together.” He nodded. Yes. Together. Okay. Together to find her.

They would find her, make her understand, and take her home. Mesa didn’t doubt that,

not at all. Kody could feel it, bone deep.

“Don’t fucking yell at me, Becky! I’m leaving!”

“Leaving?” Had Becky’s voice always been so shrill, so awful, so fucking tinny over the

phone line? “You can’t just leave! You have a job, a house, email!”

“Watch me.” Sammy hated it here, she always had. She was heading north, she thought.

To the mountains. She kept dreaming about mountains. She would be able to breathe there,

without the smog, with the wide open around her.

“You’re crazy. Come here. We’ll have a bottle of wine, make a plan.”

She shook her head, the pressure at her temples almost unbearable. “I have to go. I’ll call

a realtor, get the house on the market. I’ve already emailed my resignation. I have to get away from here.”

“Did…did he threaten you, sweetie?”

“Kody? My Kody? Are you stupid?” Mesa, on the other hand, Mesa could threaten. It

could be hot, growly, shivery good.

No.

Stop it.

Just stop.

“I’m not the one who’s leaving everything she’s worked for because some circus freak

seduced her!”

“No, you’re not. But I am.” And Kody wasn’t a circus freak, damn it. Weird, sure.

Psychic, if you believed him. “I’m leaving, Becky. I’m serious. I’ll have my phone, but I’m

fucking out of here.”

Sammy hung up with Becky, turned off her phone, then got busy. She threw food away,

pictures. Hired a moving service to come and store everything she owned in one of those weird

pod deals. Then she packed her clothes and her toiletries, her hands shaking with the pain that rocked her head.

It was amazing how a girl could completely disassemble her life in two and a half hours.

Of course, it was two and a half hours she wasn’t sure she had. She’d wasted enough

time; now she had to get out of here. Get her shit, her car, her laptop, and go. Far away. To San Jose. Or Reno. Somewhere.