Free Rick's Reluctant Mate by Alice Cain Page A

."
     
    ~*~
     
    Jordan groaned as the truck came to a sudden
stop. He had no way to protect himself the way he was bound, so he could only
grind his teeth and hope he would have a chance to change forms soon. He'd
already considered it more than once but the steel manacles would crush his
human shaped bones and he'd be in even more pain than he was right now. Whoever
these people were, they apparently had enough knowledge to know how to
discourage a shifter from shifting.
    But the sound of voices yelling for the
driver to get out of the truck was music to his ears. He wasn't sure who had
stopped the vehicle—if it was humans he might find himself in the zoo—but at
this stage he didn't particularly care who rescued him, just as long as Rick
was safe from the manipulation these people had planned.
    He was almost embarrassed when Trent climbed
into the back of the truck and came straight to him. The soft chuckle was
unexpected.
    "I'm assuming you're responsible for
the guy with a busted hand and the other one's painful-looking limp. It sure
made it easier to stop them from running away."
    Jordan curled his lips into a wolfy grin. Yeah, he'd been quite pleased to realize that
hyenas didn't heal during a shift.
    "Let's get you out of here. I know
someone who is really looking forward to seeing you."
    It took a good five minutes to find all the
keys and get him completely free, but he didn't hesitate to shift into his
human form as soon as he was able.
    "Thank you, sheriff," he said
respectfully. He was damn tired so he didn't even protest when Rick's stepdad wrapped an arm around his back and helped him lift
to his feet. He was no longer injured but something was messing with his
equilibrium. "How did you find me?"
    "Rick gave us coordinates and a
description of the truck. It was pretty simple after that."
    Jordan grinned and nodded his head. "I
knew he would. My mate is pretty amazing."
    "Cody and I think so too," Trent
said with a soft laugh. "Lukas is worried that you're dehydrated so he's
going to check you over and then we'll get you out of here."
    Jordan cooperated sleepily as someone helped
him drag on a pair of shorts and then he found himself lying on a makeshift bed
in the back of Goldie's white van.
    "Sorry for the location, but I couldn't
take the ambulance without explaining to the humans," Lukas said as he
hooked up an IV to the back of Jordan's hand. "You should be fine, but
this will help you get back on your feet faster."
    "Thanks," Jordan whispered
tiredly.
    "Lukas and Goldie are going to take you
back to Lupinville while we sort out the rest of this mess," Trent said in
a confident tone.
    "Get some rest," Goldie said as he
and Lukas helped him settle comfortably on the mattress. "Rick is already
on route to meet you halfway."
    "Thanks," Jordan said as thoughts
of his beautiful mate filled his head.
    He didn't even realize he'd fallen asleep until
the van came to a halt and his mate climbed in.
     
    ~*~
     
    Rick was a little shocked to see Jordan
looking so pale, but he didn't hesitate to carefully lie down beside him and move
into his mate's embrace.
    "You okay?"
    Jordan was shaking all over but he whispered,
"I am now," before tightening his hold just a little more.
    "I'm so sorry," Rick said quickly,
needing to confess his guilt over the GPS tracker but also to apologize for not
realizing that, as Rick's mate, Jordan might be a target as well.
    "Babe, no," Jordan said sleepily.
"You found me. You have nothing to be sorry about."
    "Well I kind of do," Rick said,
lifting the small crescent moon pendant away from Jordan's skin. "I
planted a GPS tracker in your gift. I felt really bad about it afterward and I
promised myself I'd never use it, even if you didn't come back, but then you
went missing and everyone was sure you'd been on your way back to me, so I used
it and found you, and I'm really sorry, and I promise I'll never do anything
like that again."
    Rick dragged in an unsteady breath and
wished he