Rescued by His Lone Wolf Mate

Rescued by His Lone Wolf Mate

Lone Wolf Pack 5.1

Copyright 2014 Anya Byrne

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

All Romance Edition December 2014

All Romance Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This
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hard work and livelihood of this author.

This book is a work of fiction, not to be confused with fact,
advice or suggestion. The characters are products of the author’s imagination.
Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons is purely coincidental.
Cover art is for illustration purposes only.

Blurb:

Connor is a lone wolf. Having been banished from his pack at
a very young age, he's spent his entire life evading others of his kind, while
still yearning for a home.

Dani is a rabbit shifter. Cast out from his warren, he feels
lost and alone in a world that doesn't welcome those who are different.

They have one available course of action—finding the Lone
Wolf Pack, the family of outcasts who stood their ground against the entire
werewolf world. This illusive spark of hope leads the two men to meet in a
diner as lonely as their hearts, changing their lives forever.

Warning: Gay erotic romance. The material in this
document contains explicit sexual content that is intended for mature audiences
only. All characters involved are adults capable of consent, are over the age
of twenty-one, and are willing participants.

11,259 words

Table of Contents

Rescued by His Lone Wolf Mate

About the Author

Other titles by Anya Byrne

Coming Soon

Rescued by His Lone Wolf Mate

Lone Wolf Pack 5.1

Anya Byrne

Copyright 2014

Chapter One

Willow Cove. Willow Cove.

Connor spread his map on the diner table, tracing the line of
the freeway with his index finger. He hummed thoughtfully as he pinpointed his
location and the distance that still separated him from his destination. Quite
a while to go, a day at least. Enough time to change his mind, if he so
desired.

He took a sip of coffee, staring at the map and wishing it
held the answers to the questions in his mind. Of course, it didn't. If
anything, it taunted him, reminding him why he couldn't even use GPS, smart
phones, or any sort of Internet-connected device that could draw attention to
him.

He was a lone wolf, an exile from his former pack, and had
been for most of his life. He was used to it, used to the loneliness, the
abandonment, the cold that settled deep in his bones and never went away. At
one point, that chill had become comforting, numbing the memories. Did he want
to risk it, risk what little anonymity he had left for the vain hope of finding
refuge?

Connor took a sip of his coffee and sighed. He didn't have
much choice. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here to begin with, considering throwing
himself at a stranger's mercy. In past decades, being a lone wolf had become
harder and harder. He could barely stay for a week in one single location
before an enforcer or a silencer passed through and sensed him. Sometimes, they
left him alone, but other times, they hunted him, and there was not much he
could do about it, since lone wolves had no rights.

Neutral territory had always been his best bet—like the area
around Willow Cove. But even there, he couldn't risk staying too long. Not
unless someone was willing to help him and include him in their pack—such as
Saul Simmons, the leader of the Lone Wolf Pack.

By now, most everyone in the werewolf world knew the man's
story. Moon be blessed, even non-werewolves had learned of it, which was how
Connor had found out to begin with. Saul Simmons had found his human mate and
left his original pack to start a new one, just so that they could be together.
His brothers and his father had followed, with their respective mates.

It hadn't come without a price. TJ St. Claire, the feline
shifter Connor regularly kept in contact with, had told Connor that the choices
of the Simmons family had caused quite the mess at the Gathering. Nonetheless,
in the end, the Lone Wolf Pack had prevailed, and that had convinced Connor to
make the attempt to reach out to Saul Simmons and his family.

It was also through TJ that Connor knew the pack included an
enforcer, and now, even a silencer. Still, they had all distanced themselves
from the ways of regular werewolves, and Connor had hope that, once they
listened to his story, they would understand.

At some level, Connor knew his chances of success were slim
at best. He should be trying to find a remote location, maybe shift into a wolf
on a more permanent basis. It gave him a better chance for survival than a
ragtag bunch of crazy werewolves who'd gone against the Gathering and somehow,
through some twist of fate, managed to win. They would never chance drawing the
eye of the werewolf world on them, not for a stranger. Someone like Connor
wouldn't be welcome in Willow Cove—or anywhere else for that matter.

Shaking himself, Connor folded his map and packed it up in
his jacket. He took another sip of his coffee, letting the warmth of the liquid
soothe the chill in his heart, at least for a brief second. He needed to
decide. Should he go through with his original plan, or turn back?

Before he could figure out an answer to his dilemma, the bell
announcing the entrance of another customer snapped him out of his trance.
Well, to be fair, it wasn't the actual sound that startled him. Plenty of
customers had come and gone while Connor had been sitting in the booth, eating,
then poring over his map. But this time, the distinctive noise came accompanied
by the most tantalizing scent Connor had ever scented in his entire life.

Fire burst through his veins, and for the first time in many
years, Connor felt. The warmth the coffee had provided paled when compared to
this new emotion. Shocked, he could barely move a muscle, even if his entire
being screamed to trace the source of the scent.

Thankfully, he'd chosen a booth that was both out of the way
and provided him with a clear view of the entrance to the diner. He looked up
just in time to see a vision of beauty hesitantly approach the counter.

Slender, almost tiny, the young man looked fragile, but the
way he moved—each step precise and careful—suggested he was very in tune with
his body. His light brown hair seemed to shine in the dim glow of the diner
lamps, and when he smiled at the waitress, Connor almost melted in his seat.

"Excuse me?" the stranger said softly, addressing
the human woman. "I'd like some information, if you please?"

That voice did things to Connor, stirring each and every one
of his instincts, both protective and otherwise. His wolf reared up inside him,
growling fiercely.
Claim. Protect. Take. Mate.
Oh, moon help him, the
beautiful young man was Connor's mate.

So far, he didn't seem to have noticed Connor, which startled
and somewhat alarmed the wolf. Nonetheless, he took advantage of the
opportunity to further admire his mate and consider his approach.

Connor's mate was skittish, that much was obvious. He tapped
his slender fingers nervously against the counter as he struggled to make
himself heard. "Excuse me?"

The waitress finally turned toward him. Her somewhat hostile
expression melted when she saw Connor's mate. "What can I get you,
sweetie?" she asked. "Information, you said?"

"Ah, yes." The young man fidgeted and bit his lower
lip. "I was wondering... I'm trying to get to a town called Willow Cove.
You wouldn't happen to have a..."

All of a sudden, he trailed off and every muscle in his body
went rigid. Slowly, as if afraid of what he would see, he turned toward
Connor's table. Their eyes met, and Connor's world tilted on its axis.

He had searched for a home and a purpose for so long. He'd
been lost and alone, with nothing and no one to call a friend or a companion.
But when his gaze met the dark chocolate orbs of his mate, he suddenly knew.
This was right. This was why he'd survived all the silencers who'd hunted him
down, year after year—to be here, in this moment, for his mate.

Those soulful brown eyes held a spark of something that
looked an awful lot like hope, before it quickly vanished under an overwhelming
shock of fear. Connor would have deemed his mate's reaction to him
disheartening, but then, he noticed several human men passing by his table,
zeroing in on the beautiful stranger.

Connor's mate pivoted on his heel and ran out of the diner so
fast he left the waitress gaping. The humans followed, cursing under their
breaths.

Connor didn't think twice about what he was about to do. He
just knew he couldn't let anyone hurt his mate. The beautiful young man needed
him. He shot to his feet and was almost out the door when the waitress called
out to him. "Hey! You didn't pay!"

Connor reached for his wallet and retrieved a few bills,
probably far more than what was needed for the coffee and his lunch. He did his
best not to use his superhuman speed, since the last thing he needed right now
was to breach the Secrecy Accords. He highly suspected his mate had done the
same. His distinctive scent didn't seem human. Not werewolf, but not human
either.

The diner where he'd stopped was basically in the middle of
nowhere. Connor had no idea how his mate had gotten here—perhaps he'd walked or
hitchhiked. Either way, it was far easier to track him down than it would have
been in a city, where the scent of gasoline, sweat, fast food and everything
else under the sun could overwhelm even a werewolf's nose.

Unfortunately, it was just as easy for the humans, who seemed
to be pursuing Connor's mate in their truck. Without a moment of hesitation,
Connor got on his bike. He prayed and hoped that he would not be too late, and
that when the moment came, he'd know what to say and do. If he didn't, if he
failed his mate... He didn't think he could handle it.

****

Dani was scared—but that wasn't anything new. He'd been
frightened out of his mind ever since he'd been kicked out of the warren. The
humans were so strange and different from his kind. They looked at Dani like
they knew he was fundamentally flawed. Sometimes, they tried to touch him,
although that never ended well for them.

Dani might be a rabbit shifter, but he was still far stronger
than humans, and a kick from his powerful legs could fracture a human's hipbone
with ease—as he'd learned, the hard way. He didn't want to hurt people, so he
tried to keep his head down and not draw attention to himself. He simply hadn't
known where to go... Until he'd heard about the werewolf pack of outcasts who'd
stood their ground against their own kind. They all had male mates, some of
whom were already pregnant. They wouldn't be affected by Dani's strange pull
and would understand Dani's predicament.

It was his only chance, Dani had thought before he'd set out
on this long journey. And now, here he was, fleeing once again from a group of
humans who had decided to make Dani their target.

He was scared, but he knew how to deal with fear. Run, like
his kind did, or face it, like he had been doing since his banishment. He had
chosen flight, largely because this fear he felt... It wasn't like anything
he'd experienced before.

The humans' hostility wasn't the only thing that frightened
him. There had been another man in the diner, a man who made his heart race in
ways he wasn't wholly comfortable with. Was the reason behind it even fear? He
simply couldn't understand it, and the not knowing, the uncertainty—it was
scarier than anything else.

He would have stayed, Dani realized, if not for the humans.
He would have approached the stranger, because he had seen something in the man
that called out to him. But yet again, Dani's anomaly was betraying him, and he
could not choose for himself or have what he wanted.

To a certain extent, he was not surprised when he heard the
car approaching. He had seen it in the diner parking lot, and had known that if
it belonged to his pursuers, he would be in trouble. Since Dani was on foot,
they had a clear advantage in that regard.

But then again, even if he'd decided to go trekking through
the rough terrain and avoid roads—which would make his trip take forever—he
would just let the fear win. And maybe it didn't make sense, but something
inside Dani rebelled against that.

Of course, that didn't mean he was about to wait for them to
make a move and attack him. "Hey there, pretty," someone called out
from the car. "Why don't you stop and chat with us for a bit?"

Dani ignored them. He was used to such words by now, and if
words were the only weapon they used, he'd be fine.

"Oh, playing hard to get, are you? Come on, don't be
shy. You know you're just waiting for a man to give you what you want."

Dani almost gagged at the image of any of these humans
touching him. He resolutely kept walking, his heart racing even as he tried to
control his instincts. If he let go, if he used his speed to escape, he'd be
risking the secrecy of his kind, and that was one thing that he could not
allow.

The humans didn't appreciate being ignored. Dani heard the
car stop, and the humans running toward him. A hand landed on his shoulder, and
Dani couldn't take it anymore.

He lashed out, freeing himself from the human's hold before
his pursuer could capture him. "Leave me alone."

Predictably, his words fell on deaf ears. The three men just
stared at Dani, nostrils flaring, eyes glazed with a mix of lust and anger.

The situation could have gotten really bad had the sound of
an approaching motorcycle not interrupted them. Dani risked a glimpse in the
direction of the vehicle, although he'd already recognized its owner without
having to even look at him.

It was, naturally, the man from the diner. He parked his
motorcycle next to the humans' car and got off. He moved slowly, like he was
prowling, and his gaze remained fixed on Dani and his attackers as he spoke.
"I'd listen to him if I were you."

"Stay out of this," one of the humans snapped.
"It's none of your business."

"I disagree."

He stood in front of them now, looking completely at ease and
not in the least bit intimidated. Not that Dani was surprised. Predator
shifters—which Dani had identified the man as—were nothing if not determined.

A particularly unwise human decided to test this
determination and threw a fist at the handsome man. Dani's rescuer caught it
without moving an inch. He squeezed, and Dani could almost hear the bones
grinding together. "We don't want any trouble," the strange shifter
said pleasantly. "Simply back away and leave. It's as easy as that."

Thankfully, not even Dani's anomaly could be stronger than
fear and the instinct for survival. At some level, the humans must have
realized they were in the presence of a far more dangerous individual, because
the moment the shifter released his attacker, the three men bid a hasty
retreat.

Dani let out a sigh of relief once they were gone.
"Thank you," he said tremulously. "I... I didn't really know how
to handle that."

The stranger's dark eyes fixed on Dani. Now that the threat
was averted, he looked a little uncertain. "You don't need to thank me.
Are you all right?"

Dani nodded jerkily. "They didn't get to hurt me."