Soul Mates Box Set 1 Read online

  Zane-wolf stood at the edge of the ravine, contemplating his situation.

  Jackie doesn’t want or need me.

  He thought about what Jackie told him about her pack.

  She will still be protected if I wasn’t around. I can’t use that as an excuse to stay with her or as a reason to convince her to keep me. She seemed to enjoy having sex. Would any wolf satisfy her? He growled at the thought of another wolf touching his mate. Then he remembered how she had pushed him away after they had sex earlier. The regret in her eyes wounded him deeply. His anger gave way to sadness and he howled in pain. The heartbreaking sound echoed through the forest, all the way to the cabin.

  Jackie showered and dressed after Zane left and she felt guilty when she remembered the hurt look on his face when she pushed him away after they had sex. Zane confused her. He didn’t seem like a coldblooded killer.

  Was Lucien right? Had he only acted in self-defense? Zane was so much smaller than Sean. How could he have killed Sean unless he cheated somehow? Maybe he had help from his pack mates? Didn’t Lucien say even Sean’s friends backed up Zane’s story? That only Zane had fought Sean?

  She reached for the satellite phone and called Sean’s best friends. Neither of them answered and she left a message saying she would try again the next day.

  Jackie decided to prepare something for dinner. As she was gathering ingredients, she heard a heart wrenching howl and just knew it was Zane. Her wolf surfaced and she changed in an instant. She ran to the door and was forced to change back to her human form since she couldn’t open it as a wolf. She was shocked at her reaction. Never before had she changed so quickly into her wolf. Only Alphas could change that quickly. Usually it took her several minutes and she had to really concentrate. She opened the door and walked outside, naked. She shut the door and heard Zane’s howl. In an instant she was in her wolf form and took off in the direction of his howl. She ran quickly through the woods, desperately needing to find her mate, to soothe his distress.

  Jackie-wolf followed Zane’s unique scent, leaping over trees and small boulders. His heartrending howls sounded louder and she knew she was getting closer. She slowed to a trot and stopped when she saw him at the edge of a ravine. He was lying at the top, his snout resting on his front paws as he looked down the ravine. Not wanting to startle him, she barked softly. Zane-wolf slowly lifted his head and noticed Jackie-wolf. She was Grizzled, a beautiful combination of tan, brown and black.

  Even her wolf form is beautiful, while mine is plain gray, Zane thought miserably.

  He turned away and lowered his head, ignoring her.

  Jackie-wolf was stunned at Zane-wolf’s behavior. On some level, she really had expected him to be happy to see her. Cautiously she walked closer to him. His head turned in her direction, his ears flattened and he growled low, warning her to stay away from him. Jackie-wolf froze.

  What is wrong with Zane-wolf? Doesn’t he want me? Why is he threatening me? Jackie-wolf wondered.

  She was his mate and she refused to be sent away. She walked closer. Suddenly Zane-wolf was on his feet and leaped toward her. Before she knew it, Zane-wolf knocked her down, pinning her under him.

  Zane-wolf’s jaw was clamped securely around her neck. She was vulnerable in this position. If he clamped his jaw down further, he would sever her jugular and she would bleed to death in minutes. Jackie-wolf froze and made a whimpering sound of submission. He released her neck and backed away from her. He growled again, a low sound and raised his tail in an intimidating manner. Jackie-wolf rolled onto her stomach, keeping low to the ground. Though her head was lowered, her eyes were not. He growled again and this time she growled back. She would not be intimidated by her mate. Slowly she rose to full height and he growled, louder this time. Jackie-wolf refused to back down and he turned and resumed his post at the edge of the ravine.

  Jackie-wolf inched forward and plopped down several feet away from him. He didn’t growl at her, nor did he cry out any more heart breaking howls. They stayed there for hours, Zane-wolf ignoring her and Jackie-wolf unsure of how to reach her mate. Her belly grumbled and she caught the scent of a rabbit. Jackie-wolf chased after the rabbit and within minutes, caught and killed the rabbit. She carried it back to Zane-wolf and dropped it at his feet, a peace offering.

  Zane-wolf, surprised at the offering, transformed back into his human form and stood. He stared at Jackie-wolf and after a minute, she transformed as well. She was famished. Changing forms took a lot of energy and she had done so many times in the last few hours.

  “Why?” he asked Jackie.

  “I thought you might be hungry.”

  “That’s not what I meant. Why do you care if my hunger is sated? Why are you even here?”

  Jackie was surprised at the anger in his voice.

  Where is my meek Zane? And when did I start thinking of him as mine?

  “I…Zane, I heard you howling,” she began uncertainly.

  Zane clenched his jaw and his fists, wondering, Will she mock me for being weak? For allowing my wolf to grieve the rejection by its mate?

  Jackie walked over and stood directly in front of him.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Zane,” she said softly. “I’m just so confused by everything. This whole situation is…overwhelming.”

  Zane wanted to reach out and hold Jackie, to comfort her, but fearing her rejection, he stood still, arms stiffly at his side.

  Jackie noted his reluctance to touch her and she felt hurt that he didn’t try to soothe her. It suddenly dawned on her that he wouldn’t touch her because of the way she treated him. She slept with him then pushed him away. She used him for her own selfish pleasure then kicked him out when she was done with him. She felt awful for treating him that way. Especially since in her mind, she had expected him to treat her that way.

  It must be driving his wolf insane to stand by idly and not comfort its mate. He certainly has a strong will, she realized. What other hidden talents does my mate have?

  “Zane?”

  He watched her expectantly. Taking a deep breath for courage, Jackie continued, “I think…I think maybe we should take things slowly. See where it goes?”

  His eyes widened. He never expected her to agree to give their relationship a chance.

  “The whole sex thing is messing us up. I think we should…um…refrain… from…you know…not have sex,” she finished quickly. Jackie was naked and standing before her naked mate. Suddenly she was embarrassed to find herself discussing what they had both enjoyed only hours ago.

  “You want us to see if we can have a relationship…without sex?” Zane asked quietly. Blushing, she nodded.

  “As long as you agree that no other male will fuck you.” Surprised at his demand, Jackie nodded. The thought of any other male touching her was suddenly... repulsive.

  Satisfied that only he would fuck his mate, Zane suggested, “We should change and head back. Do you want me to carry the rabbit back to the cabin? I can cook it for our dinner.” Jackie agreed and smiled at him, relieved her old Zane was back.

  They shifted into their wolves and ran back to the cabin, Zane-wolf carrying the rabbit in his mouth. When they returned to the cabin, they resumed their human forms. They dressed and Zane began preparing their dinner.

  Once again, Jackie was amazed by Zane’s cooking skills, the way he moved around the small kitchen. Remembering how aroused she became the previous evening as she watched him prepare dinner, she forced herself to take stock of their pantry. She found some marshmallows, graham crackers and a few Hershey bars.

  Perfect for making S’mores, she thought as she set the items aside.

  She discovered a bottle of red wine in the fridge and decided it would go well with their rabbit dinner. She set the table and filled two glasses, setting the bottle down on the table. She walked over to the stove, both glasses in her hand. She offered one to Zane and he rewarded her with a warm smile.

  Jackie felt breathless as Zane smiled at her. Her he
art sped up and she felt a sharp but pleasant spasm in her belly. Zane’s wolf eyes flashed momentarily as he scented her arousal. He had the sudden urge to lean over and kiss Jackie. Remembering that he had agreed to her ‘no sex for now’ terms, he kept still. He knew he wouldn’t be able to stop at just a kiss. He took the glass from her and took a sip, his eyes never leaving hers. Her wolf eyes flashed and he forced himself to look away, focusing on the various pots on top of the stove.

  Soon after, Zane was finished and they dined at the small table. Jackie enjoyed the savory meal and couldn’t help exclaiming, “Mmmm.” Zane sucked in a breath and Jackie blushed slightly when she noted Zane’s reaction. He was gazing at her intently with his wolf eyes and his fists were curled on the table top. It took everything in his power not to get up, carry her to their bed and fuck her. He forced himself to close his eyes and take deep breaths to calm down.

  Feeling slightly guilty for unintentionally arousing Zane, Jackie tried to think of something to distract them.

  “Zane, what did you do in your pack?” Zane took a deep breath and opened his eyes. She could see the pride in his eyes.

  “I’m a tracker,” he stated proudly. Jackie was impressed.

  Trackers were the highest ranking pack member, other than the Alpha pair. She realized he must have worked very hard to achieve that status. Trackers had the difficult job of tracking and killing Rogue wolves. Sometimes the Rogues stayed in the forest, but sometimes they hunted in the cities. That made tracking them more difficult because of the multitude of other scents that hid theirs. There was the added danger of being seen by humans. Trackers had to tread very carefully when hunting a Rogue in the city. Trackers were always alert, looking for any threat to their pack and other werewolves. Unlike soldiers, Trackers had more authority in the pack hierarchy. They answered only to the Alpha. Because they were extremely loyal to their Alpha, always putting him and the pack first, Trackers rarely had to obtain permission from their Alpha. It was a powerful position, not given lightly to just any pack member. Trackers had to earn that position of power and respect.

  “What was the most dangerous thing you had to do as a Tracker?”

  Zane described how he had to hunt down two Rogues who had planned on killing Blake, the Alpha of the Faeger pack. One of the Rogue werewolves, Marcus, had been a former member of the Lost Souls Pack and Murdock, his Alpha, had ordered him to kill the Rogue. Murdock feared that if Marcus successfully killed Blake, and became the new Alpha, he would use his wolves to attack Murdock. At the time, no one knew that two wolves were involved in the plot to kill Blake. Jackie was intrigued with Zane’s tale of betrayal and conspiracy between so many wolves from dissimilar packs. Before either realized it, dinner was over and they had passed the time amiably. Side by side, they cleaned up the table and washed the plates, pots and pans. Jackie dried the dishes as Zane handed them to her, noting Zane’s light scent of happiness.

  Zane started a small fire at Jackie’s request. She went outside, found some long twigs and came back inside. She gathered the S’mores ingredients and knelt beside Zane in front of the fireplace.

  “What’s that?” he asked, indicating the ingredients she carried. Jackie gave him a puzzled expression.

  “Haven’t you ever made a S’more?” Zane shook his head.

  Jackie put a marshmallow on each end of the stick and showed him how to toast it over the fire. Zane spent too much time gazing at her profile and his marshmallow caught on fire. Jackie laughed as it went up in flames and grabbed the stick from him. He smiled, enjoying her laughter. She scraped off the burned marshmallow, replacing it with another. This time, he paid attention to the marshmallow and when it was toasted just right, she showed him how to assemble a S’more.

  Zane bit into the odd looking sandwich carefully. The sugary sweetness of the warm marshmallow combined with the bittersweet melting chocolate and crunchy graham crackers was heavenly. Now he understood why Jackie grinned happily as she consumed her S’more.

  Zane finished his S’more and Jackie noticed a smidgeon of chocolate on the side of his mouth. She reached over and wiped it off with her thumb. Zane caught her hand, brought her thumb to his mouth and licked it. Jackie’s entire body came alive. Sharp spears of desire laced through her abdomen as her womb contracted and she felt a flood between her legs. Her breathing became shallow and she leaned in with a sudden urge to kiss him.

  “Jackie…don’t tease me, please,” Zane begged, his voice strained as he tried to maintain control.

  “Just one kiss, Zane. Just…one….” Jackie hoped she had enough control to stop at one. She leaned closer and just as her lips were about to brush his, they heard a loud knock on the door. Startled, they jumped apart and stared at the door. Zane swore as he rose. He walked over to the cabin door. The moment he opened it, a fist connected with his face. Zane fell backwards, ass hitting the floor. Jackie jumped up, rushing to his side. Zane wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood. His lip was cut and bleeding.

  “Let’s go, Jackie,” Damian commanded. Damian and his two friends walked into the cabin. All three of them were at least a foot taller and each about a hundred pounds heavier than Zane, all pure muscle.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Damian?” Jackie asked, annoyed at the intrusion, irate at his blitz attack on Zane.

  “We had a date, remember?” He sniffed around, caught the lingering scent of sex and his eyes glowed with anger.

  “How can you fuck this boy after you’ve been with a man like me?” He sneered at Zane. Zane stiffened, trying to control his resentment and jealousy as he watched Jackie’s lover.

  “Zane isn’t a boy. He’s a man and he’s my mate!” Damian and his two friends gaped at her then laughed.

  “A man? Look at this runt. My brother just hit puberty and he’s bigger than your mate.”

  They all laughed at his small stature. Zane was used to being mocked for his small size. ‘Runt’ had been the nicest thing his pack mates had called him. Jackie wasn’t used to such cruelty. She clenched her fists, angry that her pack mates could be so vicious.

  “Get out of here!” she demanded. Damian and his friends stopped laughing.

  “You can’t be serious. You’re coming with me, Jackie. I was planning on fucking you tonight and I still intend to,” Damian stated confidently.

  Damian stepped forward as Jackie protested, “Didn’t you hear me? He’s MY MATE. That means you and me are done.”

  I can’t believe Damian’s arrogance. What did I ever see in him anyway? she wondered.

  “That little man can’t possibly satisfy you, Jackie.”

  “How does he measure up, Jackie?” Richie asked and the others snorted as they laughed.

  Zane had enough of their childish taunts. He knew he could satisfy his mate, had done so twice already. He would have done it again if they hadn’t been interrupted.

  “My mate asked you to leave. We won’t ask again,” Zane said calmly.

  “Oh, really? What do you intend to do, Little One?” Damian challenged.

  “I’ll call Lucien and he’ll deal with you.” Jackie turned, intending to pick up the satellite phone. Zane grasped her arm and she turned to face him.

  “Don’t bother the Alpha, Jackie. It’s late and I’m sure they’re already in bed. Besides, his mate needs her rest,” Zane said quietly. Jackie was touched at Zane’s thoughtfulness about Lanie, who only recently became his Alpha Bitch.

  Zane released Jackie then turned to Damian and his friends.

  “Leave on your own or I will make you,” Zane said in a dangerously quiet voice. Jackie was surprised at the determination she heard in his voice.

  “You?”

  They laughed at Zane, disbelieving he could do anything to the three of them. Wanting to return the favor, Zane moved swiftly and sucker punched Damian, hitting him squarely in the throat. Damian staggered backwards, almost out of the cabin. Zane quickly turned to one of the other men and threw a punch. Josh dodged the
punch as Richie tackled Zane from behind. Soon all three of them were on the floor rolling around, grunting and punching each other. Damian recovered, stomped over to the pile of bodies and kicked Zane in the ribs. Jackie heard the distinct crack as his rib broke. She heard Zane exclaim, “Ooof,” as he sucked in air.

  Zane rolled onto his back, grasping his rib. They took advantage of his momentary distraction and began pummeling him. Jackie was stunned at the melee in front of her. Damian moved his leg back to kick Zane again. Noting his stance, Zane grabbed his foot before it connected and pulled hard, sending Damian onto his back. His head hit the floor with a loud THUD and he swore loudly. Zane moved quickly on top of him and began punching him in the face, breaking his nose, splitting his lip and giving him two black eyes. Richie and Josh were momentarily stunned by Zane’s swift attack on Damian. They recovered and each grabbed an arm, pulling Zane off of Damian. Damian moaned in pain.

  Richie and Josh maneuvered Zane so that Richie was holding both of his arms behind his back as Josh punched Zane in the stomach. Zane brought his foot up, connecting with Josh’s crotch. As Josh doubled over, Zane kicked him in the face and he was knocked out cold. Zane threw his head back, connecting with Richie’s nose. Stunned at the impact, Richie released him and Zane turned around, punched him in the stomach several times. He punched Richie in the mouth, splitting his lip. Zane spun and kicked the back of Richie’s knee, dropping Richie onto his back.

  Zane breathed heavily trying to regain his breath and Jackie stood frozen, mouth hung open, surveying the scene in front of her. Her mate not only survived an attack by three very large males, he kicked their asses. Zane was certainly full of surprises. After seeing him in action, she could now believe that Sean had underestimated Zane. Zane had defended himself against her much larger, much stronger brother and won.