Matefinder by Leia Stone Page A

out
of here without alerting the police or the Scottsdale pack.”
    Jake swallowed hard and let himself
into the room. After the door closed, Kai looked at me. “There are two ways I
see this going down. We take her out of here by force and anyone in our way
gets wolfed, or we try to create a lie.”
    I snorted. “Wolfed?”
    He smiled. “Your laugh is cute.”
    “Focus,” I reminded him playfully.
    He stared at the nurses’ station.
“You go tell the nurses you would like to take her home to pass on in peace. I
call the Scottsdale Alpha and tell him we will be leaving shortly with a
college friend of my new mate. What can go wrong?”
    I took in a deep breath. “Let’s find
out.”
    After getting all of the necessary
paperwork in order, the hospital staff was pleased to release Anna into our
care. Jake had found out her name was Anna after chatting with her and
explaining that he was here to help her with her treatment.
    “You what?” I shouted, getting stares
from the nurses in the hallway.
    Jake rubbed the back of his head
nervously. “I told her we were from a private research group and we wanted to
try a very risky gene therapy procedure to cure her cancer. Now she is willing
to hop on the next flight to Oregon.”
    Kai groaned. “Well, it’s not like we
can change her here. Poor thing will be in for a scare when we really
tell her who we are and what we have to do to save her life.” A look passed
over his face. I knew he was thinking of when he bit me to save my life. I
could already see he was becoming protective over Anna. He was already
accepting her as pack.
    After introducing myself to Anna as
Vice President of the research company, and Kai as President, we made our way
out of the hospital. Jake tenderly pushed Anna in her wheel chair.
    “How did you hear of my case? Did Dr.
Pasternick call you?” She asked in a frail voice.
    “Yes, he called us. Like I said, we
have a very high success rate. Once you get to our clinic in Oregon, we can
tell you more about our methods,”  Jake offered. We all exchanged a look.
    “Well, I am surprised my case passed
your approval. I had given up.” The look on Jake’s face was torture. Anna was
slumped in her wheelchair and her skin was translucent. Her hair was gone, even
her eyebrows, but her eyes were a deep hazel and there was so much life, so
much fight left in her. I could see that she would survive the change ; she
had no fear of death. Maybe that was the key. Even in her sickened state, she
was beautiful. She was ready for a new beginning.
    The Scottsdale Alpha had sent two
wolves to tail us from the airport, and they leaned against our rental car.
Jake let out a low growl. Kai motioned for Jake and Anna to hang back. I
approached the men with him, ignoring his gesture for me to stay back as well.
    Kai stood tall, nodding to the men. “We
are just retrieving our friend and we will be on the next plane back to Oregon.
Give our thanks and respect to Steven for allowing us to spend the day in your
territory.”
    One of the men, a tall, broad-shouldered,
thirty-something guy with a scruffy beard, nodded his head and locked eyes with
me. I inhaled deeply. Second in command, I could tell. He wasn’t looking away
and neither was I. I wasn’t sure what the protocol was for meeting other packs,
but I sure as hell wasn’t going to look weak in front of a stranger. ‘ Threat ,’
my wolf told me. Should I look away? I didn’t want to start a fight. ‘ Stare
for as long as you are able. Don’t look weak,’ Kai told me. With that
permission, I stood taller and took a step towards the man lifting my chin. The
man grinned and I could see tension creasing his forehead. I flared my nostrils
in anger. How dare he challenge me. I came with permission, with my Alpha to
retrieve a frail human. Who the hell did he think he was?
    ‘Stop it. Calm down. You’re shifting,’ Kai told me. Shit! I could feel my
fingers turn to claws. The man broke his gaze and I took a