Page 27 of Fated to the Wolf Cowboy (Cowboys of Collier #1)

Brady

“Is this really necessary?” I asked for the millionth time.

We were all gathered out at the range for Thomas and Luke’s testing of Tricia. I was not happy about it. Twice already Oliver and Cruz had to hold me back as Thomas and Kyle attempted Alpha powers on Tricia to force her to use her powers.

I was furious.

“This would have gone a lot easier if you’d have just sealed the deal already,” Oliver said, and not for the first time.

While it did make me happy to see his desire for me to claim her, I didn’t need the added pressure of it or the reminder that it should have already happened. Maybe if they hadn’t barged in and taken over my house yesterday then it would already be done.

By the time we’d gotten home, she’d been emotionally spent talking with Kelsey, but also excited and somehow stronger, more self-assured.

But this now was infuriating.

“I think you’re going about it all wrong,” Luke said. “She doesn’t want to use her power to control anyone. Do you, Tricia?”

“No!” she admitted quickly.

“Look at me, Tricia. You told us you have commanded rats back home. What were you doing the first time that happened?”

Guilt was written all over her face.

“Come on. You aren’t going to get in trouble for it. I promise.”

“I was starving. My dad had been gone for the three days on a gambling binge. I had no one to turn to. The rats brought me food.”

“How about the last time it happened before leaving the city?”

She sighed and all I wanted to do was shield her from this. “The trackers were right there. The rats covered me and then one of them took off through the tunnel. It carried my scent and confused the trackers who followed it instead of me so I was able to get away.”

“That’s good. And tell me about Clementine.”

Her eyes darted around searching for me.

“It’s okay,” I told her.

“Clementine was out on the range while I was laid up with a broken leg stuck in my wolf form. I needed food, shelter, and first aid supplies so I sent her into town to gather things and bring them back to me, but I was rescued before she returned.”

Luke grinned. “That’s it.”

“What’s it?” Thomas asked.

“Yeah, we’ve been at this for hours. I’m not convinced she can control a shifter,” Kyle admitted.

“Great, so testing over?” I asked optimistically.

“Not yet,” Luke said. Then he turned to the two Alphas. “Be ready. I’m about to try something stupid.”

Luke stripped out of his clothes and quickly shifted. His wolf stood tall and strong, then lowered to home in on my mate.

“Luke, no,” I warned, but he continued to stalk her.

“He won’t attack me,” Tricia said. “I’m okay.”

“If you’re trying to get her to go into self-preservation mode, it won’t work,” Sydney said. “She already knows that none of us want to hurt her in this trial so your logic is flawed. But Brady’s strong. He’ll likely heal in a few days.”

“What the hell, Syd?”

Luke turned and began stalking me.

“This isn’t funny.”

“No. Not him,” Tricia said.

I didn’t shift. I was still in my skin, so Luke couldn’t attack me. Surely, Tricia knew that. But this his large paw lashed out and smacked me. Three big cuts ran down my arm and blood started dripping to the ground.

I howled in pain.

Luke reared back for a full on attack.

“No!” Tricia screamed and suddenly Luke was nearly suspended in mid-air on the attack. His body fell to the ground. “Stop it!” she demanded. “Leave him alone. You want to hurt someone, hurt yourself.”

Tricia was furious and physically vibrating.

Luke got up and shook himself off and then he walked to the edge of a nearby cliff.

“No!” Sydney cried out. “Get back here, you big idiot.”

But Luke didn’t listen.

“Shit! She’s doing it,” Thomas screamed.

He led a group that took off to try and physically stop Luke. Kyle and Kelsey hung back and projected Alpha power on my mate to try and break the hold she had on him.

“Stop!” I told them.

I walked over to Tricia and pulled her into my arms, rubbing my hands up and down her back.

“Babe, I’m right here. I’m okay. No one is hurting me. Luke is a friend, a great friend. Please stop this.”

She blinked and then threw her arms around me crying hysterically.

I held her close as the rest of our group ran to check on Luke who was back in his human form.

“Good call on going after her mate, Syd,” Luke said, earning himself a loud smack before she attacked him with kisses to assure herself he was really fine.

“Are you okay?” Tricia asked me through sobs.

“I’m fine. Look, it’s already healing. I’ll be good as new in no time.”

“Test over,” Kyle said.

“Everyone take a few minutes and then we’ll meet back at the house,” Thomas informed us.

All I wanted to do was take Tricia home and lock her away from all this nonsense.

We hung back while the others left.

“Are you okay?” I finally asked.

“No,” she confessed.

“Want to go home?”

“Yes, but I have to face this. Kelsey was right. No matter how terrifying, I have to know what I’m capable of so I can ensure something like that never happens again.”

“I make you weak and more susceptible to something like that happening.”

Was she going to second guess our mating now because of this?

“No,” she said, and it felt like she had just answered my internal question.

“You don’t make me weak. You make me stronger than I ever knew possible.

That’s a lot of power to control, Brady.

I don’t like it, but I’m okay with knowing I can protect you, myself, and our family.

I’m not a victim anymore. I don’t have to be afraid.

Let them come if they have to. I’ll be ready. ”

“That’s terrifying, Tricia.”

She wiped her tears and sniffed. “I know. I don’t ever want to do that again.”

“See, something else we have in common.”

She laughed.

“Do you think Thomas is still going to be okay with me living here?”

“I guess we need to face that head on, too. But babe, if he’s dumb enough to reject you from this Pack. You aren’t going alone.”

“Kelsey said I was always welcome in Westin Pack. Think she’ll keep that promise after this?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I know, but I’m a lot stronger than I knew, a lot stronger than they probably expected too.”

My head was spinning with every possible scenario as I drove us to the Alpha house.

I had to have faith that Thomas could handle this.

But the truth was, until now, I’d never even considered his stance on witches.

Right or wrong, it wasn’t something that really concerned me.

But now, I was all in for witch protection.

No one should ever have to feel less than or live in constant fear because of a special power they were given for some unknown reason.

Only God knew why, but who were we to argue with him?

When we finally walked into the house, everyone stopped talking.

“You okay, man?” I immediately asked Luke.

“I did warn everyone it was a stupid idea. But holy shit I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had no free will. It made me feel like her personal puppet. Good call on going after Brady, Syd. I don’t think Tricia would have reacted otherwise, at least not purposefully.”

“Did you feel that root of your power?” Kelsey asked my mate.

“Yes,” she confessed.

“And do you think you could recall it this time without a threat?”

“You really want to test that right now?”

The whole room laughed.

“No,” Thomas said. “We’re good.”

The only thing keeping my wolf sane was the lighthearted vibe around us.

“You’re an idiot,” Thomas teased him.

“I’ve got to agree with him on this one, Luke. That was a terrible idea,” Kyle said.

Luke just shrugged. “Worked, didn’t it?”

“So your powers flare naturally when you are in danger and spike tremendously when your mate is,” Kelsey pointed out.

“They’re still mating though. That could calm down some,” Lily advised.

“Not likely, slugger. Not on something as basic and primal as this. You should have seen her out there. I’ve never witnessed anything like it before. No wonder the Council is so terrified of her,” Thomas said.

“But there’s no way the Grand Council can know about this. I didn’t even know I was capable of this,” Tricia blurted out.

“It’s not the truth of it that matters, it’s the possibility of it that scares them. You’re a threat to them because they cannot control you and they don’t like anything they can’t control,” Kyle said.

“Brady, we do have a problem, and I can’t just turn my back on it and ignore this. The whole Pack could be in jeopardy,” Thomas said.

I growled. I didn’t give shit that he was the Alpha and I was in his house.

I grabbed Tricia and pushed her behind me, protecting her with my body.

“So that’s it? Well screw you, Thomas. You pushed her to that break point. That was your idea and now you’re going to make out like she’s the problem? You wanna get to her, you gotta come through me.”

The entire room went silent and tensions flared. I was pretty sure I had just challenged an Alpha.

Thomas looked around the room and then rolled his eyes.

“This is exactly the problem. She has potential trackers on her, Brady. They want her dead. Her own Alpha turned his back on her and sold her out. He didn’t even know the half of her actual power.

I don’t have a problem with her. My problem is with you.

Technically Tricia isn’t part of my Pack.

She isn’t one of my wolves. We need to fix this.

If you’d like to give allegiance, Tricia, I’ll accept it, but know that I’m bound by law to notify your former Alpha and the Grand Council.

Or Brady, you dumbass, take your girl home and claim her already. ”

“Westin and Collier both along with several of our allies have a documented stance against the Grand Council interfering with fated mates. We don’t even report them anymore.

So seal your bond, keep your girl, live happily ever after and all that shit, and she’ll become a Collier wolf by proxy without screaming to her enemies that she’s here now,” Kyle said.

All the flight fled from me.

“Oh. That’s it?”

“Unless you have some objection to claiming her,” Thomas said sarcastically.

“Asshole,” I muttered under my breath.

“And I can stay? Morris and the Grand Council don’t even need to know I’m living here? And despite everything, sorry Luke, you’ll still let me stay?” Tricia asked.

“Girl, there was never a question on that. I wanted to keep you even before I knew you and Brady belonged together,” Lily said.

“She’s not kidding. The first time you guys met she came home and said, ‘I found us a new wolf. She has a story, I just know it. It’s not a good one, I can tell, but none of that matters because she’s supposed to be one of us.

’ And you know what? She was right. I certainly don’t relish in the idea of a war with the Grand Council, but if it comes down to it, we’ll be ready. ”

“All of us. Westin stands with Collier,” Kyle proclaimed.

“The rest is up to you, Brady. So go and finish this already,” Thomas laughed.

He didn’t need to explain it twice. I grabbed my mate and tossed her over my shoulder as I ran from the house.

I was ready for the next chapter of my life, and it started with claiming my mate once and for all.