Taken (Sinful Series - book 1)

Jacob

“Your room is fully set-up. Let me know if you need anything,” Jacob ended the meet and greet quickly on the account of exhaustion clearly seen on both Xander and Violet’s faces. The trip from Devil Creek’s pack lands to his was surely a long trek.

“Thanks for your hospitality,” Violet replied for the sake of being polite, before making her way to her guest’s room to freshen up.

It was clear she was trying to put up bravado in front of him, but the wetness in her eyes, and puffiness of her eyelids told a different story. She was in denial. She was hurting. Nobody should feel that way, yet there were more and more shifters cruelly rejected for the chance of higher rank, money or immature pettiness.

Jacob’s smile disappeared as she made her way around the corner. His attention fully shifted on Xander, who was now taking his turn thanking him for accepting them on his territory, and for helping Violet with the rejection.

“I would never turn my back on someone in need,” Jacob honestly told him then eyed Xander’s neck, scratching his neck where he once held Gia’s mark. Xander immediately caught on the Alpha’s discomfort at asking the obvious question.

“Gagon designated her as a Breeder. When she freed me, she wanted insurance, I wouldn’t leave her behind.”

“Reasonable,” Jacob replied. It was actually a solid plan. A wolf would never leave even a prospective mate behind. Violet had showed resourcefulness, where most would have simply accepted the circumstance. Her story was an inspiration one, even with the latest development, “What’s your Beta’s excuse?”

Jacob still couldn’t quite process how Karim could mate Violet only to claim another in such a short period of time. Logic dictated there had to be a reason.

“His girlfriend, Alyssa, found out she is pregnant,” Xander replied.

“Still he mated Violet,” Jacob sighed. Another example how poor decisions lead to more complications. If Karim had been more cautious, he would have never complicated his mating to Violet with a pup by another. Then he wouldn’t have been faced with another impossible decision – his Fated or Chosen. “She’s lucky to have a claim on you otherwise she could have turned feral.”

“How bad would it be?” Xander inquired.

Jacob shrugged, “Depends. How bad does she want to live?”

“That’s the thing anger is all she has left.” Xander sighed.

“Let’s hope then it would be enough.” Jacob finally replied after a moment of consideration.

Violet

Even the most picturesque scenery from Jacob’s estate could not move her heart. It was frozen, and Violet had no intention of letting it thaw out not now, nor ever. Although it would translate to a very sad, lonely existence, she was simply not going to force herself to pretend she cared about the obvious comfort Jacob surrounded himself with, nor about an Alpha, no matter how nice and sweet she found his gesture to open his pack house for her. She was certainly not going to stress about his motives behind his kindness.

As she emerged from the bathroom, she laid down on the sofa, closing her eyes, resting her hands against her flat stomach. Could she have carried Karim’s pup? Violet took a deep breath, trying to steady her breathing and control the bubbling rage from within her.

The knock on the door drew her attention from any meditation exercises. She shook her head, chasing away the thoughts, clearing her mind before she answered the door. Alpha Jacob was standing in the corridor, looking as dashing as she remembered. His smile though was substituted with concern and a pinch of discomfort if she could read his facial expression correctly.

“May I come in?”

May he? Violet wondered for a brief second before nodding and stepping away from the door. It wasn’t like this wasn’t his pack house on his pack lands already.

“I wanted to talk to you in private,” Jacob started then rubbed the back of his neck while trying to find words.

Now that was interesting. Alphas were never this bashful. Violet patiently waited without saying a word.

“I want you to know you are in a safe space, and you can talk to me for whatever is in your mind. Chances are I’ve already been there.”

“Sure,” Violet agreed.

“I don’t want to be presumptuous but I am also here for you no matter what you decide about the possibility of a pup,” Jacob told her. Violet eyed him suspiciously. “I may have lost a pup and my mate, but my experience won’t prevent me from supporting you completely no matter what you decide. My pack doctor…”

“Alpha Jacob,” Violet interrupted, hoping to spare them both the sensitive discussion.

“Just Jacob,” Jacob offered then quickly explained. “We’re all equal in grief.”

“Jacob, it won’t be necessary,” Violet replied. His name did feel easy on her tongue. He was a good person, if he had thought as far as the repercussions from being cheated out of a mating. Something that even Karim had never considered. “It means a lot to me you’ve not only thought about the matter, but that you’re here discussing a topic few men could, especially if they are not the father. While I appreciate the thought, it’s taken care of.” Jacob’s confused expression made her continue, “I wouldn’t have been able to make the decision if I knew I was carrying. So I took Devil’s Claw.”

“Okay,” Jacob replied then quickly recovered from her unexpected confession, “In such case, do you want to join us for dinner or you prefer to stay here? I can have them send you something light with some tea,” Jacob offered.

“You’re very considerate. Thank you. But Xander doesn’t know, and I don’t wish to burden him,” Violet admitted. Xander had already gone above and beyond their original bargain.

“I won’t betray your confidence,” Jacob replied and then swiftly changed the topic, “So no sea-food or stinky foods, got it.”

“Oh, please, Goddess, no,” Violet replied almost laughing at how much he did think through everything.

“It goes without saying, but if there’s anything you need, let me know,” Jacob smiled heading out of her room.

“Does it happen… often?” Violet asked before she could change her mind, then clarifying her poorly phrased question, “The rejection I mean.”

“Unfortunately more often than any statistic from Pack Order would admit.”

“How do you get over it?”

“You work through it, especially when it hurts the most,” Jacob told her. “Time heals almost anything. Give time, time. But you have to busy yourself so your mind stays focused, and doesn’t wonder off into the darkness. Eventually, you will make peace with the past, so it wouldn’t mess up with your present.”

“Those are quite inspirational quotes but I don’t think I am in a position to detach from the rawness the rejection left me with.”

“There must be something you enjoy doing.”

Violet raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’m flattered and amused you’d be picking up on my words, but you can’t give into the blood thirst or else he wins. What do you want to do with your life?”

“I don’t know…”

“Well, for me, the responsibilities that came with the title defined me. There were months where being an Alpha was all I did, because the person I was died with Gia. It took me quite awhile to find the new me, the Jacob behind the title and her passing. It boiled down to this, there had to be a reason why I didn’t go berserk. So my legacy had to matter in the grand plan of things. My life mission now is to help others get to the point where they are thinking of their own legacies.”

“So you help others even if they don’t know they want to be helped.”

“Is there a better way to honor my mate?”

There wasn’t.

Violet looked at the Alpha, and for the first time saw the man behind the promised help. He was handsome. His facial features hinted a strong-will while his brown eyes showed the compassion few possessed. He was a male of substance, a suitable partner for any she-wolf.

“It’s normal to feel attached to someone who is there for you through the rejection,” Jacob said. Violet’s cheeks immediately colored as he had obviously caught on where her thoughts were headed. “Sorry to disappoint you, but in my experience sex doesn’t solve the rejection for you. It sure helps dull the pain and fill the emptiness for a night, but that’s just temporal. If you want to not just survive the rejection, but move passed it, you need to put yourself first. What do you want to do? Who do you want to be? What is the legacy you want to leave behind?”

“I’m plotting my petty revenge to care about legacy at this point,” Violet sighed. Her motivation was so narrow-minded compared to his inspirational outlook of life.

“We can work with that. What’s the end point of your revenge? Hurt him, show him you’re better than her. What exactly do you want to accomplish? What would make you feel vindicated?

“I want him to feel my pain, and to know my sorrow.”

“He already does, dear.”

“Yeah, right,” Violets sarcasm seeped through in her words.

“Don’t you think Karim already knows he singlehandedly made the biggest jerk of himself?” Jacob asked her.

“Sorry. It’s immature… but,” Violet started to explain only to feel her blushed cheeks to heat up to a new level. Jacob and his words. Violet tried to suppress the giggle at the image of Karim single handedly jerking himself. Yes, her rejected mind was going a hundred miles per hour and the scariest part was Violet honestly didn’t know what she felt towards the concocted image. Did she love Karim? Could she still love him ? No. She was vindictive. She wanted to inflict the pain that wrecked through her body. “Your word choice made my immature brain misfire.”

“It’s good to laugh,” Jacob smiled at her, “You’re strong, and will bury him as a memory of your past. The hatred will give way to indifference for him. Life is just so precious and short to waste on hating someone. In the end, he set you free but chained himself to regret.”

“Regret he never rejected me sooner.”

“Regret he never saw you for who you really are. He might not have understood what he had in you, but I can bet he’s miserable now.”

“Why?”

“Giving up on your Fated is not easy. Even if he is fully mated to someone else, the wolf wants what the moon gave,” Jacob explained, then sighed. “You are on my territory. I am a widower. I am helping you get over Karim. I guarantee you his brain is drawing vivid images of the two of us, his mind telling him how we’d hook up if we haven’t done so already.”

“The stigma of a Breeder,” Violet sighed.

“You’re completely missing the point. The Breeder mark has nothing to do with what I am telling you. The were-society expects us, rejected wolves, to have little or no control of our wolves. While that may be true in regards to shifting or using the enhanced senses the beast part blesses us with, it does not pertain to sexual drive. In all honesty, we are more in control of who we choose to bed than any shifter as we make our own decisions, and do not have the mating pull to shape and guide our impulses. The general perception is that we would live for a quick fuck. That we would never experience love. But they forget that we can still have the human love, which is often stronger. Just as he chose her, you can choose someone else. His wolf won’t allow him to let you go so easily, no matter what his Skin believes.”

“Because?” Violet whispered.

“He’s already in pain, knowing that you moved away. I doubt Xander or Devon allowed him to take a goodbye. While you may think it is cruel and harsh, they were protecting you. He doesn’t deserve a goodbye or an explanation. The time for explanation was after he found she’s carrying. He could have discussed it with you, informed you about his intention to claim her, given you the time to put miles between you, so the pain would be lesser for both you and your wolf. Believe me, he knows what he did was selfish, immature, and unacceptable. It’s slowly eating him inside that soon he’d be nothing but past for you. Mark my words, he will try to reach out to you in a final attempt to stay relevant in your life. Take it as a verification, he knows your pain and sorrow. He’s going through it the same, but on a gradual pace, while you had all the pain all upfront and with every day it will decline, his will increase,” Jacob explained. “He might have marked someone and chosen them, but a part of him will always wonder if he made the right choice. While you have the unique chance to write him off your life forever. Start anew. The question is, after all he had done, would you even think of wanting him back?”

“Hell no,” Violet told him.

“What keeps you up at night? The mistakes you’ve made, or the chances you never took.”

“Damn, you’re good. I love your ‘don’t give a crap’ attitude.” Violet laughed as she said it.

“Not what I wanted you to take out of our conversation but it is better than where we started.”

Violet nodded then quickly admitted the one thing she feared, before she changed her mind, “I can’t feel my wolf.”

“She’s still there. Even though each beast grieves uniquely, there is a veil separating you from her. I’ve heard it being described as a thick shell or see-through shield. Give your wolf some time to heal, take care of yourself, even if shifting does not happen for you until you find a Chosen, it will happen one day. Be as human as humans can be, if that means a chance to run with the wind once more.”

“Can you command me to shift?”

“Could I? Probably, if you were in my pack. Would I? No. It wouldn’t do much good for neither you nor your wolf. It would reaffirm your wolf’s experience with males. The Alpha Command hammers down a will and power in your body, and the natural instinct is to fight it. Your wolf was already betrayed by the Skin of her mate, you don’t want me adding insult to her injuries. On the contrary, I want her to know, I am there for both of you. Does that make any sense?”

“It actually does,” Violet admitted and wondered why she hadn’t been able to come up to the same conclusion by herself.

“Your way of thinking is so different than what I am used to,” Violet admitted.

“I’ve had the best teacher,” Jacob replied then smiled with a far-away look in his eyes. Violet immediately knew who he was thinking of.

“You’re making her proud.”

Landon

Ethan Aberdeen had quickly become a trusted ally. There were only few Alphas he genuinely considered friends, and Ethan was one of them. In light of the new evidence, Noah’s death seemed more like an execution than the unsuccessful kidnapping attempt they first thought. The only problem with such line of thinking was even snarky Aberdeen could not figure out motive for either.

But the Howlers were the most boring, home-body pack of wolves there ever was. Who would even bother with such a laid back, yet powerful pack? Both Jacob and Noah had charming personalities, and the only heated disputes they engaged in were on poker nights. But nobody killed over pretzels that served as their “chips”. Eating them was just as good as cashing ’em. It was a vice Noah enjoyed ever since their days in the Academy.

The Academy was the private college experience high ranked wolves indulged in before assuming their titles. Landon was thankful for his parents for giving him the exact same education they provided for Aidan, and tuition at the Academy was not the exception. Once upon a moon, Beta Noah of the Howlers was just Noah, Landon’s sparring partner during training. The instructors never allowed or encouraged sparring between the twins. Probably because they did not want to admit they still couldn’t tell them apart. Landon smirked. As far as the official record showed such training never happened.

Aidan always trained shoulder to shoulder with Karim, as they were supposed to work together as allies once they received their titles. That left Landon with Noah, the Southie, who the Northerners assumed weak. The shared misconception between that brought Noah and Landon to become great friends. Their friendship only got stronger with time, and the challenges they had both faced in life after the Academy.

When the news of Noah’s passing finally caught up with Landon’s nomad lifestyle, Landon left everything behind to pay respect to his fallen friend. He came to discover a mess of an investigation, met the all Reject group at the funeral, inherited an Alpha as bestie, and the rest was history. It was sad that Noah had to die, for Landon to find a place where he could actually belong. Although it had been Noah’s idea to appoint Landon as his interim executor of his will and affairs, Landon still didn’t feel right on taking over the post of his friend. Landon was a free spirit he didn’t need the restraints of a settled life. No, Landon was going to uncover whatever happened to his friend then he was going to head into the next big adventure, wherever that could be.

Landon worked for his living, and no matter how important the investigation into Noah’s death was, Landon still needed access to cash for living expenses, for back room dealings, bribes and what not. Information was king. The price for an excellent intel was high, and he needed to keep up with the demand.

That meant taking random jobs, driving hundreds of miles in different direction for quick cash tasks. Such trips were also useful to throw off curious eyes off Landon’s true interest. While the money was good, travelling was taking a toll on Landon. Landon was tired, but he couldn’t afford to slack off on the most important murder investigation in his career.

He owed it to Noah.