Claiming His Need by Ellis Leigh Page A

the fabric at my neck before grabbing me by the shoulders to look me in the eye.
    “Are you okay? Who’s hurt?”
    “Pup. Gates needed me.” I was shaking at this point, my knees positively weak from the emotional strain of the past few hours. “He was in danger. I was afraid I’d lose my mate before I even got a chance to know him.”
    “Your mate?” My father’s eyes widened. “You’re mated to one of the bastards that took you?” He roared in his fury.
    “No, Daddy. Not one of them. The shifter, Gates. He came to rescue us.”
    “Gates?” He looked over to Sandman. “Which one is Gates? Please don’t tell me it’s that sniveling little fucker you brought with you.”
    Sandman grinned as he brought Lanie toward us. “Gates is the dark-haired man who came in with me; he’s the Sergeant-at-Arms for the Feral Breed Great Lakes den. He’s a good man, honorable and upstanding. He’ll be a strong and loyal mate for your daughter.”
    “Yes, I think I remember.” His forehead furrowed as he watched me, though what he was waiting for, I couldn’t have guessed.
    A howl went up from behind us, breaking the relative silence. Everyone tensed until two loud yelps followed.
    “Let’s go.” My father grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the howl, away from Gates.
    “Wait! What about—”
    “That was the signal to fall back to the house. Two yelps means success, so your mate should be fine. But there could be more nomads in these woods, and I don’t want to take any chances. The Breed members will stay and search out any stragglers.” He looked over my shoulder as one of my older brothers raced up the hill. “Bernte, take Lanie. We’ll need to let Rex know she made it out before he claws a hole in the earth searching for her.”
    “I already sent the message with Kasen.” His eyes met mine for a moment before hurrying over to give me a hug. “Don’t ever do that to me again, little sister.”
    I pressed my face into his cloak, taking comfort from his familiar smell. “Okay.”
    He pulled back and held me at arm’s length for a moment, inspecting me. When I had passed whatever set of criteria he was looking for, he nodded and switched his attention to Lanie.
    “I’m sorry we failed you, sister.”
    Lanie’s eyes grew huge as she stared at my brother. She swallowed before replying, “It wasn’t your fault.”
    Helina joined the two in a quiet conversation, her hand never leaving Lanie’s arm. My poor sister was about to be the most protected pack member ever to walk Valkoisus land. I hoped Rex could handle all the extra attention on her.
    Hearing what sounded like another fight breaking out across the clearing, I searched out Sandman. The thought of Gates being injured made my stomach turn. I needed to know he wouldn’t be alone. Before I could even ask Sandman to watch out for my mate, he grabbed my hand and looked me in the eyes.
    “I’ll find him right away. And once we rid the world of these nomad cowards, I’ll bring him to you.”
    “You’ll make sure he comes home?” I asked, my voice shaking. Sandman’s eyes tightened, a frown cutting across his face before his expression went blank.
    “No wolf gets left behind in our club. I’ll make sure he’s okay and bring him…to your pack.”

SIX

Gates
    “Fuck me.”
    “Pretty sure you should be saying that to the pretty, white wolf, my brother. Not to me.”
    I rolled my eyes at Sandman as I reached around to check the damage on my shoulder. The shaggy wolf had gotten a lucky break when he caught me staring after my mate. I shouldn’t have allowed the distraction, but her snow-white coat and the way she ran so gracefully had caught my attention. Plus, as much as I loved my Breed brothers and trusted them, she was my mate. There was a deep need within me to take care of her. I’d followed the group far enough to keep her in my sights, and the fucker had caught me looking. It was a lucky break. Still, he wasn’t lucky enough to