A Warrior's Love
Chapter 2: Nine years later

It’s been exactly nine years since the Borman family took Becky in. She still missed her parents, but she came to love her new family too. It had taken a couple of years for it to happen, but she eventually began calling Gary Papa, and Julie Mom. Her biological parents would always be Daddy and Mommy, at least in her mind and memories.

Jeff has become a wonderful big brother. Sure, they’d had their fights just like any other set of siblings, but still, she couldn’t help but think the world of him. He was the best big brother she could have ever been given.

Life hasn’t been all sunshine and roses though.

Her leg had been removed roughly four inches below her left knee, and she’d had to learn to walk again with a prosthetic leg. It was a hard thing for an eight-year-old to deal with, and she’d thrown a lot of tantrums. Once she’d finally accepted that it was her reality though, things had gone much smoother, for her and for her new family.

There was also the fact that not everyone in the pack was thrilled to have a human child among them. Growing up, she’d learned that sometimes a wolf would have a human mate, but it wasn’t something that happened very often. Those few humans that were the mates of a wolf were accepted much easier than she ever had been. Over time she’d managed to make a few werewolf friends though and they looked out for her just like Jeff did.

Speaking of friends...

“Mom, I almost forgot to tell you,” Becky said from the kitchen doorway. “Demi asked me to go to the mall with her today after school. Can I go since its Friday?”

Mom turned from the sink where she was washing dishes. She answered, “Sure, just remember to be home before dark. Rogues were spotted close to pack land yesterday. Oh, and your papa mentioned that Alpha Stone will be visiting the pack tomorrow, along with some of the Stone pack warriors. I believe he plans to stop here also.”

“Yeah, I heard something about that,” Becky said as she grabbed a handful of grapes out of the fruit basket on the counter. She then added, “Nobody told me exactly why they were coming here though.”

“It’s almost time for the yearly training of the packs, but because of the rogue problems, they’re doing it a little early this year. Apparently, the rogues are running in a pack of their own and terrorizing legitimate wolf packs left and right. Alpha Bannon thinks someone is leading them, that the attacks aren’t random,” Mom explained as she finished her dishes and turned to face Becky. She then said, “Now, you need to go, or you’ll be late for school.”

“Okay, I’m gone!” Becky said with a grin and a wave. She then ran out the front door and made her way to school.

“Could school get any more boring?” Demi asked as she and Becky climbed into Demi’s car at the end of the school day.

Becky laughed, saying, “It isn’t that bad, and this is our last year, so I’m sure you’ll survive.”

Demi shrugged and grumbled, “Whatever little nerd girl.”

“Hey, be nice! I can always change my mind about going to the mall with you if you’re going to be mean,” Becky threatened as she looked down and started digging through her purse to count up her money.

“Yeah, yeah, enough with the threats,” Demi muttered. “Jake is going to meet us there, so we’ll eat first.”

Becky looked up with a frown as she said, “Jake? Why am I going with you if Jake’s going to be there? You two will be all lovey-dovey on each other, and I’ll just be a third wheel.”

Demi sighed, but explained, “I know Becky, but he’s my mate and I haven’t seen him all day. So, when he asked me if he could go, I couldn’t tell him no. I also didn’t want you to feel left out by telling you he was coming so you didn’t need to anymore.”

Becky sighed before saying, “I know, and I understand, I do. I guess that’s just one thing I’ll never really understand, the urge mates feel to be together almost constantly. I’ve heard some guys, and girls, complain about it being annoying. Sometimes I get a bit jealous of the bond you and Jake share.”

“Jealous, why?” Demi asked softly.

Becky gave her a sad smile as Demi pulled into the mall parking lot and parked. “Because it’s something I’ll never have. I’ve been told enough, by enough guys, that nobody wants a girl with only a third of her leg. I am so tired of being called lame and gimpy. It doesn’t even matter that there are very few things I can’t do, I’m missing part of my leg, and that’s all they see.”

“If that is all they see then they don’t deserve you!” Demi snarled. She then said, “You are a wonderful person that any guy should be proud to call his girl! Now, put those tears away and let’s go spend some of my mate’s money!”

So, with a laugh they headed into the mall where Demi had told Jake they would meet him. When Becky and Demi finally found Jake in the crowded mall, they realized Jake had brought someone with him.

“Hey Jake,” Demi murmured as she walked up and gave Jake a kiss on the cheek. She then turned and smiled, “Tim, good to see you.”

“Hi,” Tim answered, his cheeks a bit pink.

Jake turned to Becky and in greeting said, “What’s up short stuff?”

Becky laughed as she answered, “Not much.”

“Well, I figured Demi roped you into coming before she knew I was going to invite myself, so I brought my little brother Tim with me. I hope that was okay.”

Becky smiled and turned to look at Tim as she said, “Hi, Tim. It’s nice to meet you, I’m Becky.

Tim gave her his own bashful hello and Demi drug Jake off rambling about the first store she wanted to visit.

Jake groaned but followed his mate anyway.

Becky ended up having a lot of fun this time. Usually she felt like a third wheel when Jake was with her and Demi. This time though with Tim there it wasn’t so bad. Tim was her age and they would just walk off and talk to each other when the PDA started.

“So, Tim, how come I haven’t seen you in school?” Becky asked after they’d been following Jake and Demi for quite some time.

“I’m home-schooled. My dad, Jake, and I are all warrior wolves, so the training seems to be never-ending. So, by being home-schooled, I can go half a day to school, then spend the other half training,” Tim explained.

“Oh. Is being a warrior wolf hard?” Becky asked, genuinely curious.

Tim shook his head and said, “No, at least it isn’t for me because I was born one. You have to be in really good physical condition though, so I run a lot and lift weights.”

“I run a lot too and do some weights for extra strength in my legs. It was so hard at first because I was a clumsy person with two legs, now with one and a third, it’s even harder. I had to work extra hard on my motor skills, so Jeff got me started on running. At first, he held on to me and all we really did was walk, then he slowly picked up the pace until we were running. Every day he made me go a bit faster, and eventually, he didn’t have to hold on to me. Funny thing is, now I’m almost faster than he is! Of course, he’s always telling me it’s all about stamina, so I have to run daily to keep in good shape.”

“Wow, that’s really awesome that you can keep up with Jeff since he’s one of our fastest runners. In fact, in wolf form he’s almost unbeatable.”

“Well, I was trained by the best, although sometimes I think he lets me beat him,” Becky told him and they laughed.

“So, maybe we could go running together one day?” Tim asked.

“I think I’d like that,” Becky told him softly. She decided right then that she liked Tim, and that he would make a good friend.

“Alright everyone, time to head back home before it gets dark,” Jake said as he and Demi caught up with them.

The next morning, Becky woke up to a loud commotion going on downstairs. Stumbling out of bed, she grabbed her crutches instead of taking the time to put her prosthesis on. Then, as she opened the door, she hollered, “Hey, what’s all the racket for? Girl trying to sleep up here!”

“Oh, get over it you little monkey!”

Becky was suddenly wide awake at the sound of her brother’s voice. So, she excitedly shouted, “My big tree is home!”

Big tree was her nickname for Jeff, and Becky was so excited that he was home. So, she crutched it down the hall to the stairs as fast as she could. Reaching the end of the hallway, she threw her crutches down. She then hopped on one leg until she was halfway down the stairs, jumping into Jeff’s open arms.

With a laugh, Jeff caught her, and she wrapped her arms and legs around him, hugging him tightly. He wrapped his arms just as tight around Becky and squeezed just as a low growl was heard.

“Oh, how I’ve missed you since you’ve been gone,” Becky told him.

Another growl was heard along with some chuckling.

Becky looked up from where she’d buried her face in Jeff’s neck. That’s when she realized Jeff had brought three other men home with him. She felt her face flush as she thought about how silly she must look in her sleep clothes and bed head! There was also the fact that she only had one full leg, but she hoped they wouldn’t notice that part.

“Are you going to introduce us?”

Turning to look at the man who had spoken, Becky saw he was about her papa’s age. He was looking at her with amusement in his dark brown eyes. He had a head full of dark hair and an aura of power around him. So, she felt he must be the Alpha.

Jeff shuffled her over to his hip as he said, “Sorry Alpha Stone. Becky, this is Alpha Stone, his son Ben, and his nephew Wyatt. Everyone this is my sister Becky.”

Becky gave a slight head bow of respect to the Alpha. She knew her mom would take her to task later about her actions because she had known the Alpha was coming. Her excitement over Jeff being home wouldn’t be a good excuse either. So, with a bit of embarrassment, she whispered, “It’s nice to meet you Alpha Stone sir.”

Glancing over at his son Ben, Becky once more gave a slight head bow of acknowledgment. She then took a moment to take in his features. He looked just like his father, only younger, and slightly smaller, plus his hair was so short it was barely there.

Next, her gaze moved to the Alpha’s nephew, and there it stopped. Her heartbeat picked up, and her mouth went dry.

Wyatt Stone had to be the most handsome man she’d ever seen. His hair was jet black and long, swept back into a leather band at the nape of his neck. Just looking at his hair had her wanting to pull it out of the leather band and run her hands through it. She had to wonder if it was as thick and soft as it appeared to be.

Taking her gaze from his hair, Becky let her eyes roam lower. Wyatt’s skin was the dark reddish brown of someone with Native American blood. His features were hard as if he didn’t smile much. His cheekbones were high, and his sharp nose was slightly crooked. His eyes though, those beautiful dark eyes looked as if they could see all the way to her soul.

I doubt those eyes ever miss anything and right now they were on me, Becky thought as she took another moment and allowed her gaze roam down the rest of him. She took notice of how broad his shoulders were compared to his slim waist. She also didn’t miss the fact that his thighs filled his jeans to the point they looked as if the seams would split if he moved wrong.

Hm… I wonder what he would look like in a loin cloth like the warriors of old? Becky asked herself, then felt her face flush at her thoughts. She then forced her gaze back up and saw he was watching her also. She couldn’t bring herself to look away until someone cleared their throat.

Reluctantly, Becky pulled her gaze from Wyatt to look at Alpha Stone.

Alpha Stone chuckled and said, “I must be on my way now to meet with Alpha Bannon. Your mother was kind enough to provide rooms for Ben and Wyatt since Alpha Bannon didn’t have extra space. It was very nice to meet you Becky and find out that ‘little monkey’ isn’t actually your name,” he said with a wink. He then turned to his son to say, “I’ll let you know when we’re ready for you.”

“Yes sir,” Ben said.

“I’ve made breakfast Alpha Stone, if you would like to eat first,” Mom said then, coming from the kitchen.

“Thank you, but my mate fixed a large breakfast before we left. Thank you though,” Alpha Stone told her with a sight bow before leaving.

“Jeff, could you take me upstairs please?” Becky asked quietly.

Jeff smiled as he answered, “Of course.”

Then up the stairs, they went. Feeling Wyatt’s eyes on her, Becky glanced at him, giving him a bashful smile. When she and Jeff reached her room, he placed her on the edge of the bed. She then began to prepare her stub for her prosthesis.

“Um... Becky, I want to ask you something,” Jeff said softly, hesitantly.

Becky stopped what she was doing to give him her full attention.

“I know you’re human,” Jeff began, “but since you were raised here, I wondered if you realized that Wyatt is your mate.

“I...?” Becky began, only to stop and frown. She began to think about what she knew of mates, but it wasn’t much. She knew the wolf would feel a pull, a longing to be with their mate. Since I have no wolf to give me that pull how am I supposed to know if he is truly my mate? Sure, I looked at him and thought of him as a very good-looking man, and I believe I could have stared at him all day, but surely that didn’t mean...?

Jeff sighed, probably reading her doubts on her face. So, he continued by saying, “Becky, he growled at me, twice, you had to have heard that. Then there was you and him having a stare fest as if the rest of us didn’t even exist, meaning, you felt something even if you didn’t know what it was. The two of you would still be staring if Alpha Stone hadn’t spoken up!”

“I admit, I thought he was good-looking, but don’t you think it’s a bit of a stretch that he’s my mate?” Becky questioned. “Come on Jeff, he’s an Alpha’s nephew! He needs a strong wolf mate, not a broken human like me. Besides, the fact that I am human probably means he wouldn’t accept me anyway. Sadly, I would totally understand if he didn’t want to accept me,” she told him, ending in a whisper as she tried to hold back the tears.

“Don’t think like that my beautiful sister. You are a lovely person inside and out; any man would be lucky to have you. Besides, if he can’t see what a treasure you are, then he doesn’t deserve you anyway, and I’ll personally run him off for you!” Jeff informed her in a low snarl.

Becky stared at Jeff, unblinking as the words he’d just said to her circled inside her brain. The words almost took her breath away because of how close it was to the last words her daddy had said to her. Then, she felt her heart pang with the pain of how her daddy would never meet Wyatt, much less ever tell him to treat her right, or else.

She then began to cry in earnest. They weren’t quiet cries either, they were loud, and pain filled as if someone was ripping her heart out. Throwing herself at Jeff then, she cried for what would never be. She didn’t know why it suddenly hurt so badly, maybe she hadn’t truly grieved for her parents because of the age she’d been when she’d lost them. Or maybe this was a different kind of grief. She didn’t know, but whatever it was, it flooded her heart with pain and all she could do was cry.

Becky never heard the growl that almost shook the house, or the feet pounding up the stairs, but Jeff did. So, he begged her, “Sh... Becky, it’s okay! Please don’t cry! Whatever I said I’m sorry! Please stop crying Becky or he’s gonna kill me!”

The door flew open and hit the wall with a loud bang!

Becky’s head came up and she stared at the angry male wolf standing in her doorway. Her tears were still flowing, but the shock of his entrance stopped her loud sobs.

“What did you do to make her cry?” Wyatt snarled, glaring angrily at Jeff, as his body shook in anger.

Jeff didn’t even try to defend himself. Instead, he just placed Becky back onto the bed and winked at her. He then stood up and said, “I think he just answered your question as to whether he wants you as a mate or not little monkey.” Next, he walked over to pat Wyatt on his shoulder as he said, “She’s all yours.”

Jeff left the room leaving the remaining two occupants staring at each other.

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