3. Battle of Self

Commander Dale Cleaver

This mission was supposed to be a simple one.  Track the money for the kidnapped she-wolves back to the root and then tear the root out.  It had been an uncommonly easy route to follow.  Surely the pack behind it couldn’t be that stupid?

Apparently, they were.

They didn’t have proper border control, nor did they have early warning of the attack.  It had been surprisingly easy to take the pack house, so much so that he had expected to find an ambush inside.  But there was nothing besides a greedy alpha and Luna and a muscle head future alpha.

The Luna had even offered to warm his bed in exchange for her life, not once asking for leniency for her mate or son.  He had taken her out, first, especially when his men informed him that the Luna had come up with the idea of trafficking the she-wolves.  Turned out she was the brains and her mate and son were just the muscle to make it happen.

Then he had worked through the files through the night and found that there was a secretary involved in the business plans of the recently started bar, clothing store and car wash.  Some of the companies were where the she-wolves were grabbed.

He also noticed that the secretary had shuffled their finances around, which helped the pack to survive on their dwindling inheritance until the companies started bringing in funds and work.  It was a shame she was involved in this pack; she really was talented with how she had worked things around to keep the pack running.

Dale considered that she might be the real master mind behind it, but Grant, his right-hand man informed him that the only place they had not searched was a small apartment in the nearly empty south wing where they sensed a human.  When they asked around it turned out that the Omegas had a key and the future alpha had one.

The secretary was locked into the apartment.  Could it be that it was for her protection, for some reason?  A human in this pack of meat heads might not be safe, all things considered.  He’d sent Grant to collect the secretary for questioning.  He’d expected her to have some more information, at the very least.

What he didn’t expect was to have his mate walk into the office as the secretary; his human mate.  How could he bring a human mate into his world; he was a commander!  She would be the first target of anyone with a vendetta against him and she would not be able to defend herself. 

Not to mention that he had never wanted to have a mate so he would never have to worry about his past coming after the one thing that could take him down; she would have a huge target painted on her back.  And that was not taking into account that he didn’t know if she was involved at all.

His mind was racing with chaos as he talked to her.  His wolf wanted to claim her immediately but he wasn’t sure how he could protect her; he wasn’t ready to decide how to handle this.  He needed time to think, but he had to get everything ready for Elder Stuart, first.  And how could he possibly claim his mate if she was part of this whole operation that sold she-wolves.  He knew Grant was waiting just outside the door and probably heard everything, but he trusted the wolf with his life.  He knew he would keep things quiet.

When Dale was sure that she was not involved in the trafficking and was, in fact, their first abductee; he made the decision.  Grant would have to keep her safe, because he couldn’t reject her and risk his wolf taking over; not now.

But he didn’t want to claim her either, despite his wolf, Duke, demanding it.  His jaws had ached at his wolf trying to come forward to claim his mate.  He needed time to consider it all; he had been blindsided when he found his mate on the mission.

He had seen the horror in her face when she realized that she had basically just changed captors.  Duke was livid at him for making his mate no more than a prisoner.  But he refused to claim a weak human; it would be cruel to her to make her the center of so many attacks on her life from his past missions.

He might be of alpha blood, but he was not an alpha of a pack, so there was no need for him to sire a pup as an heir.  That was his eldest brother’s job as the alpha of their pack.  Dale had left the pack to find his own path in life, since he didn’t have a good relationship with his family.

He was considered the fuck-up, since he had been somewhat of a rebel in his teenage years and had thus ended up in a military school for werewolves.  There he had found people who believed in him and pushed him to be better, Grant was one of them.

And that was why he wasn’t surprised when Grant stormed into the office not even a half hour later.  “What is wrong with you?  You are keeping your mate as a prisoner?  How do you intend to build a relationship with her like that when she already has a low opinion of wolves?”

“I don’t intend to build a relationship with her; she’s just here to keep Duke from losing his mind.  And she seems well taken care of, so why would she have any reason to have such a low opinion of wolves?”  He answered indignantly.

“Guess you’re no better than your father then.”  Grant snapped angrily.  “That woman endured an attack by the alpha’s son for not doing what they demanded and then constant coercion as he attempted to have a sexual relationship with her.  Thank Goddess he didn’t lose patience and try to rape her.”

Dale couldn’t help the growl that escaped his lips at Grant’s words.  Both when he was measured to be like his father and again when he heard what Grant had said.

“She could have just told you that to get sympathy.”  He answered angrily.  He wanted to make completely sure that she was not involved before he even considered anything to do with her.  They had no way of knowing if she was just a good liar.

“Like being kidnapped and forced to bring in money for your kidnappers isn’t enough to get sympathy for.”  Grant retorted angrily as he paced in front of the desk he was now sitting at.

“Look, I have a shit ton of work to get through before Elder Stuart shows up tomorrow.  Is there a point to this conversation?”

“Yes, you’re an idiot!  I would give anything to have my mate and you disregard yours like she’s not a gift from the Goddess herself.”  Grant snarled at him and then stalked out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

Dale sighed and rested his head in his hands.  He was too tired and too stressed to have the needed information ready to deal with this.  They still needed to find where the she-wolves were being kept.  He had already sent out teams to all the businesses, but he had not heard back from any of them.

Finally, he heaved a sigh and decided to go through the drawers like his mate had suggested...Gemma.  His mate’s name was Gemma according to her e-mail signature.

He had gone through all the drawers and was just about to give up.  He slammed his fist on the desk, not hard enough to break it, but then something happened.  Something fell off the bottom of the desk and right into his lap.

It was a file; slowly he opened it and found first, a ton of information on his mate with pictures; they’d been smart enough to research her well.  She had just qualified highest in her business and accounting classes.  She was beautiful; he couldn’t deny that, despite the look of grief in her eyes.

Duke had pressed forward from the dark recesses where he had been sulking to gain as much information as he could about their mate.  The next file contained information about the she-wolves.  Where they were grabbed, what they did to them and then where they were keeping them.

Grabbing the radio, he informed the teams that there were hidden dungeons under all the businesses.  The five missing she-wolves would be in there.

It wasn’t long before they all called back that they had found the she-wolves, but they needed medical attention.  He called them back to the hospital in this pack.

He breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that he had managed to secure the missing she-wolves.  It was getting late and he was getting tired.  His elbow moved the mouse on the computer and he noticed there was an odd program that he hadn’t noticed before.

He opened it and found video footage of what looked like an office.  At closer inspection he saw a long list of videos saved by date.  Scrolling down them he clicked on one of the earlier videos and then stared in shock.

*TW: assault*

It was a video of his mate.  She was standing up to the future alpha of the pack.  There wasn’t sound, but he could see from her body language that she was angry and her words angered the wolf.

Then without warning he reached out and slapped her so hard that the force flung her against the wall, then he bent down and snarled in her face, pointing towards the computer on the desk.

*TW End*

Then he walked away, just leaving her where she was crumpled on the floor.  Duke was going insane in his mind and even he was angry with what he saw.

He watched as she tried to push herself up and then flinched, before using her other hand to push herself off the floor.  The side of her face was swollen and one eye was bleeding and turning the entire white of her eye red.  He could already see the large bruise forming on her shoulder and upper arm that was bared by the too large T-shirt she was wearing.

Damn!  She had been hit very hard.  Painfully, she raised herself from the floor and then glared up at the camera before she stumbled to the desk and switched on the computer.

He clicked a few more videos, they showed her working, always alone.  Then she would get up and do exercises that he knew from training was meant to strengthen her body and help with fitness.  Some showed the future alpha coming in and bringing her coffee or a snack, his body language flirtatious, while hers remained stiff and guarded.

She hadn’t been lying about it.  They had been keeping her locked in a room alone; the only other person she saw was the future alpha who had attacked her.  He could see her body stiffen up every time he came into the office.

It took very little urging from Duke for him to find himself headed to the still nearly abandoned wing.  Grant apparently had taken up residence across from her room and he glanced out the moment he came down the hallway.

Without a word, he tossed the key to her apartment to him before he ducked back into his own room.  Dale caught the key and stared at her door in silence for a few minutes.

It was late; he should really find a bed to sleep in.  Instead, he found himself quietly unlocking her door and glancing inside.  She was fast asleep on the queen bed, unaware of his presence.

He found himself stepping inside, breathing deeply of her scent that calmed Duke and permeated every inch of the room.  He closed the door and locked it; still she slept through it all.

Dale sat in the chair nearby and watched her for long moments, then Duke took over and pulled off his boots and clothes, down to his boxers and slipped into bed behind her.

She had to be awake.  No one could sleep through all this.  And yet, when he wrapped his arm around her and pressed his body against hers, she only sighed in her sleep and snuggled into him.

Damn, this felt better than he could have ever imagined.  Her scent relaxed him so much that he was soon fast asleep, his face in the crook of her neck.  His last thoughts were that he should stay away from her because her scent and feel was addictive.