Runt of the Litter Read online

  “She’s my mate, Dad. I couldn’t just let her die. I had to do everything I could to protect her.” He stared at each man in turn, the alpha and the beta. “You’d do the same thing if you were in my position. I love Tori with all of my heart. She could have died today. I was willing to do anything to help her.”

  “You could risk banishment or death, Jack,” Luke said. “If Tori wishes no mating bond with you she could request this. If she doesn’t make it through the night her parents could demand it.”

  “If Tori wants nothing to do with me, I’ll do whatever she says. I’ll die loving her or I’ll leave the pack. If Tori doesn’t live through the night, I already asked for Marshall to take my life.”

  “What?” David asked.

  “Being without a mate is no life at all. You both know it. If Tori doesn’t make it, I’m not going to wait around.”

  “You can’t take your own life. You could mate again,” David said. His father looked so sad.

  “It’s unlikely, and I wouldn’t want anyone but Tori. Please, let me know if she makes it.” He entered the cage in the alpha’s house, presenting his bound hands for Luke to remove the cuffs.

  Jack watched as Luke locked the door. “I hate doing this, Jack. You’re best friends with my son.”

  “But I broke the rules. I know that, and I don’t blame you for what needs to be done.” Jack wouldn’t have done anything differently. He was prepared for whatever decision the pack came to.

  Chapter Ten

  A couple of days later

  Tori stood in the garden staring up at the morning sun. She was fully turned, and her wolf was no longer bound in a cage within her mind. The last couple of days had been a nightmare. This was her first chance outside. Her transition had been a nightmare, too. Days and nights filled with turning, changing, getting stronger. She stared down at her body shocked by the transformation.

  The years of eating heartily had actually taken its toll. She looked healthy, full, and strong. Her stomach was rounded, her breasts huge, and she had a large set of hips and thighs. She loved her body. Some would call her overweight, but to her, she loved it, and wouldn’t change a thing.

  It was all because of Jack. She touched her mating mark on her neck, yearning for her mate.

  She was going to go to him.

  All this time he must have been going through torture knowing who she was and yet fearing her transition. She didn’t have any idea what he’d been going through until she finally transitioned, feeling him as her mate.

  “You’re out here,” Rachel said, moving to stand beside her.

  “I’m here.”

  Her sister was slightly smaller than she was now.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Good.” She didn’t look away from the sun. Where was Jack? From that first transition when he helped unleash her wolf, she’d not seen him. Her parents had bombarded her with questions about him, what he’d done to her, if she was afraid of him.

  She missed him. Rubbing at her chest, she felt her wolf mourning him the same as she was.

  “What’s the matter, Tori?”

  “Jack. I’ve not seen him, and everyone keeps talking about him. Why isn’t he here?” She turned to her sister. The tears she’d tried to hide finally decided to fall. “I miss him, and he’s not here. I’m alive, but where is he, Rachel? Where’s my mate?”

  “He’s in lock-up,” her mother said, walking out of the back door.

  “What?”

  “Jack is where he’s meant to be. He shouldn’t have laid a finger on you.” Carl added, coming toward her.

  She took a step away from her parents, shocked by the happiness on their faces.

  “Honey, what’s wrong?” her mother asked.

  “Jack’s my mate. Why haven’t you taken me to him?”

  “He broke the rules, baby. He has to either die or be banished. We thought he was there to protect you.”

  “He did protect me. Jack called to my wolf as I was dead. He opened the door for her to be set free. He’s my mate, and you can’t keep me from him.” Tori moved toward the door intent on going to see her mate.

  “You can’t save him, Tori. He broke the rules. They may banish him as well,” Carl said.

  Turning to face her parents she couldn’t believe their anger. “Don’t fucking lie to me, Dad. I can save him because he’s my mate, and I love him. I’m the one he broke the rules for, no one else. He saved me when everyone else was prepared to let me die. Jack broke the rules to make sure I lived. You owe him, and if Jack’s banished, then I’ll go with him. He’s my mate. The love of my life and I will not be parted from him.”

  She turned back to the back door.

  “Tori, wait,” her mother reached out, grabbing her arm. With a quick turn, she was out of her mother’s grasp.

  “I’m going to him, and I can’t believe you would let them take him. Jack’s done nothing wrong.”

  “He mated you, and you’re not even eighteen.”

  “If he’d not given me his mated mark,” she pressed a hand to her neck, “I would be dead now.” Staring at her father, her mother, then her sister, she shook her head. “He broke the rules to save the runt of the litter. He shouldn’t be locked away. He should be allowed to walk free because he did something that no one else would do. Jack was willing to risk everything to save my life. None of you would do that. The rules, they don’t count here. I’m going to get my mate.”

  She walked through her house ignoring her brothers and sisters as they called out to her. Opening the front door, she heard the gasps of neighbors, of fellow members of her pack. No one had seen her since before her transition. They only remembered the runt that she’d been.

  Tori spotted Marshall on the steps of his home with Scarlett in his arms.

  The moment he saw her, he stood.

  “Where’s Jack?” she asked, wasting no time with pleasantries.

  “He’s in my father’s keeping.”

  “Take me to him.”

  “I can’t. You’ve got to go through the alpha.”

  “Then take me to the alpha. There has been a big mistake.” She needed to see Jack, to be close to him. The desire was so shocking, scarily so. She was going to be eighteen next week, but she didn’t care about her age. Jack was all she could think about.

  Marshall stood. “Come on, I’ll take you to him.”

  She followed him inside the house. They walked down the long corridor, and Scarlett walked behind her. Marshall knocked on the door.

  “Send her in, Marshall.”

  He glanced at her. “Are you okay to go in on your own?”

  “Yes.”

  He opened the door for her. She spotted Luke sitting behind a large desk. Entering the room, she closed the door behind her.

  “You may have a seat, Tori. I’m pleased to see that you’re alive and well.”

  “Thank you.” She took a seat, rubbing her hands down her thighs.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I want to see Jack. He shouldn’t be locked away like this.”

  “You’re aware of why he’s been locked away?”

  “Yes. I’m aware, and it was wrong.”

  “He mated with you, Tori. You’re not eighteen, and you hadn’t gone through the transition.”

  “I love him. We’re mated, and he only did it a couple of weeks ago. Please, I’m begging you.” She leaned forward, gripping the edge of the desk. “He’s my mate. The only one who should have any say of what happens to him is me. He’s my mate.”

  “You don’t want him to be punished?”

  “Jack is a gentleman, alpha. He would never do anything to be ashamed of. The connection he created between us with the mating mark, it helped call my wolf. Nothing else happened.”

  Luke sat back. “I had to follow the pack rules, and your parents demanded that he leave.”

  “I don’t care what they demanded. This is down to me. I love Jack. He’s my mate, and I miss him. He has the righ
t to see me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m not going to change my mind.”

  He took a set of keys out of his desk. “Follow me.”

  Marshall and Scarlett were waiting outside. “What’s happening?”

  “I’m handling this, son. You can go.”

  Luke walked away, moving toward the kitchen. She watched as he moved down, going past the basement toward a door at the far end. The scent of Jack hit her, and her wolf took note. Her body heated at the smell.

  The door was unlocked, and she didn’t hesitate. Walking into the room she found Jack sitting on the bed. The moment she came into sight, he stood.

  “Tori.”

  Going to the cage, she wrapped her hands around the metal. “Jack.”

  He touched her hands, and she grabbed his shirt, pulling him to the cage. Slamming her lips on his, she melted against him. “I love you. I love you so much,” she said, breaking away.

  “I’ve opened the door. It’ll be easier for you both to kiss and be together.”

  Luke left them alone, and she entered the cage. Jack pulled her into his arms, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “I love you, baby. Fuck, you’re alive. They told me you survived, and I’d never been so happy in my life.” He cupped her cheek, sinking his fingers into her hair.

  “I’ve grown up.”

  “You’re beautiful, Tori. You’re so fucking beautiful.” He slammed his lips on hers. Their wolves brushed along each other, happy and content to be together.

  “You broke the rules for me, Jack. Why would you do that?”

  “I love you. I’d break every fucking rule in the book to be with you.”

  “My parents are pissed, but I don’t care. We’re mated. When did you know the truth that I was your mate?”

  He smiled. “That day you came back.”

  “When I was sixteen?”

  “I’d always been connected to you, worried about you, but until that moment I didn’t know you were my mate. The moment I saw you that day, I knew you were mine.”

  “I can’t believe we’re mates. I always thought I was going to die. I’m pleased you didn’t tell me the truth. I’d have spent the last two years panicking.”

  “You’re not dead.” He stepped back, admiring her body. “And you’re hot.”

  “I’ve always been hot.” She raised a brow, laughing even as a tear fell out of the corner of her eye.

  “To me you have been.” He held her close. “I’d do it all again, Tori. I’d break the rules to be with you. To help you.”

  She closed her eyes, relishing the feel of his arms around her. He kissed her neck.

  “If you’re banished or if something comes from you breaking the rules, I’ll follow you, Jack.”

  He stroked her cheek. “You’ll banish yourself with me. Tori, you didn’t break the rules.”

  “I know, but you’re the love of my life. I’ll follow you, mate. I love you.” She kissed his lips. “I’ll follow you where I have to.” She touched his cheek before taking his hand. “You don’t deserve to be here.”

  Tori moved out of the basement, finding Luke waiting in his kitchen. She nodded toward him, taking Jack with him.

  “Wait, am I allowed to go, alpha?”

  “The only person who has a say is Tori. She’s the one you broke the rules for, and it’s up to her if you’re punished or not.”

  “I don’t want him to be punished.”

  She walked out of the house, and Luke followed.

  Her family was outside waiting. Carl and Emma, her mother and father, were holding each other.

  Several of the pack had gathered to see what was going on.

  “I love him,” she said, speaking to her family. “I don’t want anything to happen to him. If you can’t stand us being in the pack together, we’ll leave and never come back.” She held Jack’s hand a little tighter. The last thing she wanted to do was leave, but she wouldn’t be taken from Jack.

  “Is this what you want? He mated you.”

  “What does it matter, Mom? I’m his mate anyway. We’re a fated pair.” She smiled at Jack. “He saved me.”

  “We don’t want to lose you,” Emma said.

  “Then accept him. Accept us.”

  Silence fell on the pack, and she waited for her family to make that final choice. Her father stepped forward. He stared at Jack. “I know you were mates and you’d do anything to protect my daughter. She needed to make a choice for herself, and I see she has made that choice. Welcome to the family.”

  She breathed out a sigh of relief, resting her head against Jack’s chest. Everything was going to be fine.

  ****

  Four months later

  Jack swung the axe above his head, bringing it down on the log. Winter would soon be upon them, and he didn’t want to spend too much time out in the snow when it was. The last four months had been a test for both him and Tori. They were mates, but because he did break the rules, he’d followed all of her parents’ rules during that time. They were a mated pair, but he was waiting for Tori to finish up her school. She was in her last year.

  “Hey, you,” she said, walking around the back of his home.

  “Hello.” He touched the tiny box in the back of his pocket. They were not allowed to move in together until they were married and Tori finished school. Jack had asked for Carl’s permission to propose marriage. Dropping the axe to the floor, he walked over to her, picking her up in his arms. “How’s my best mate?”

  “I’m your only mate, Jack Rowlands, and you should know it.”

  “I do.” Gripping the back of her head, he tugged her down for a kiss. “I’m a one woman man.”

  “Good.” She held him close, biting his bottom lip into her mouth.

  His cock swelled as he held her close to him. “God, I love you.”

  “You’re a charmer, Jack. Anyone ever tell you that?”

  “You tell me all the time.”

  “I wish my parents would get over their issues. I want you, Jack. I love you.”

  Tori was ready for the next stage in their relationship while he was holding her back. When they finally made love it was going to be as man and wife.

  “I’ve already broken rules for you, Tori. I’m proving to your mom and dad that I’m a trustworthy guy.”

  “What does it matter? I know you’re a trustworthy guy, Jack.”

  “Since your transition, mate, you’ve become rather insatiable.”

  “I can’t help it. I want you, Jack.” She rubbed her body against him, and he groaned. “You’ve got to stop before I do something I regret.”

  “I won’t regret it.” She kissed his lips, moaning. “I dream about you all the time.”

  He smiled. “There’s something I want to ask you, Tori.”

  “I’m listening, Jack. You should know I’m always listening.” She gave him the most amazing smile that it simply stole his breath away.

  “Tori, you’re the love of my life. There’s no one else I want to be with in the world. You’re my soul mate, my fated mate, and you mean everything to me.” He pulled out the ring, opening up the box. “I would die for you, Tori. I love you with my whole heart, and I don’t want anyone else in my life but you. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  He was shaking. They were mates, but he didn’t believe it gave him the guarantee that Tori was going to be his, and marriage was a big step.

  “Oh, Jack.”

  “Is it too soon? It’s too soon.” He went to put the ring away, but she stopped him.

  “No, it’s not too soon. I love you, Jack. I love you with my whole heart. I didn’t know if you were ever going to propose. I’ve been waiting, hoping that you’d propose.” She took the ring. “Put it on me.” Her eyes were glinting as she smiled back at him.

  “You’re sure?”

  “More than sure. Rachel told me it’s up to the man to propose. I’ve been waiting. I almost gave in loads of times. I l
ove you, Jack.” He slid the ring on her finger and caught her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and slammed her lips down on his.

  He moaned, opening his lips as she slid her tongue into his mouth. Ever since Tori’s transition her body had developed into a full woman, slightly bigger than Scarlett. He’d loved Tori when she was the runt of the litter, and he loved her now as his beautiful mate.

  “What are we going to tell my parents?”

  “That you’ve agreed to be my wife and that means they can’t make us wait much longer to be together.” He sank his fingers into her hair, holding her close.

  “I never thought I could be this happy.”

  “I intend for you to be the happiest mate in the pack.”

  “I’m already the happiest mate in the pack. Jack, you’re everything a woman could want.” She held his face between her hands, kissing his lips. “Does this mean you’ll make love to me?”

  “No. I’m not making love to you until I’m your husband.”

  She growled. “Why wait?”

  “You’re worth waiting for, Tori.”

  He tilted her head back, licking over the mating mark on her neck. She gasped, moaning as he inhaled the scent of her neck.

  “You’re killing me.”

  The scent of her arousal permeated the air. “Just think the moment we’re married, I’ll make love to you, Tori. In fact, I’ll fuck you so damn hard you won’t remember your name. All you’ve got to do is wait until you belong to me.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Tori’s parents made her wait until after she finished school before her wedding. It was a lavish white wedding with the whole street decorated to celebrate the event. Luke, their alpha, conducted their ceremony binding them together as man and wife, and as mates.

  Her parents cried throughout the wedding, and Jack’s family embraced her as a daughter. Marshall was Jack’s best man while Rachel was her maid of honor. The titles never affected Tori. She was only happy that her life was now bound to Jack’s. Once the ceremony was over, they enjoyed the after party of the pack welcoming another mated pair. She’d finished school and would be going to college with Jack.