Hunted Derick

Chapter Five - Carter First, Mate Second

★ Derick ★

The smell of freshly squeezed lemon is what eventually made me open my eyes. The minute I did though, I groaned out. Damn, my head hurt. I sat up and slowly took in my surroundings. It looked as if I was in a motel room and I was alone. How did I get here? I let my head fall into my hands as I tried to remember what had happened. An image of Conner’s lifeless body hit me so hard that I fell back and moaned out loud. Damn it, I hadn’t been able to protect Conner. I sat back up and frowned. Where was Carter? Is he the one that brought me here? I slowly got off the bed and went to the door, opening it up, I could see that I hadn’t left that godforsaken Bubble Gum Diner. No, I was right next door. I searched the parking lot and the bodies had been removed and the only evidence that there had been any bodies in the first place was drops of blood. I went back inside the room and closed the door. It had probably been Carter that had brought me here. I felt the pain in my chest as I hoped he was doing alright. I could only imagine what pain he must be going through. The door of the bathroom suddenly opened, and the smell hit me once again. I didn’t bother to look as I knew it was Carter. Yet the smell was ever so slightly different, stronger and somewhat sweeter.

“Oh, you are finally awake,” her voice was so angelic, cliché I know, but that’s the only word I can think of to describe it. I looked up and there she was. Her long sandy blonde hair was wet from the obvious shower she had taken. Her skin was pale and looked so smooth and creamy, that all I wanted to do was reach out and touch her. To run my fingers over her skin, to feel her. The white towel she had wrapped around her body did nothing to hide her slim, lean and slightly muscular body. Her long legs were shapely, and I watched as droplets of water slid down her calf to her ankle. I glanced back up and she had folded her arms across her chest and from I could see, she wasn’t small there either. Her soft blue eyes held a fire that I didn’t quite understand. “Are you done?” she asked, and I could hear the irritation in her voice. I nodded shamelessly and sat up straighter as she made her way to a bag I hadn’t noticed. She pulled out some clothes and went back into the bathroom. My wolf was raging inside, and I knew without a doubt that this female was, in fact, my mate.

"Mate! Mate!" Parker chanted and I thought about the fact that she held such a similar resemblance to Carter could only mean one thing. She is his older sister. Damn it, what was her name again? I knew it was also something with a ‘C’ and I glanced over at the bag. I had a few seconds to check it out and I didn’t waste any time as I hastily rummaged through her bag. Sure enough, I came across her driver's license. Candice Miller. I quickly placed it back in her bag and sat down on the bed. Thinking back, I could remember Carter’s stories about his sister. Not that there were many and most of it was from what Keith had told him. Candice once again came out of the bathroom, only instead of the towel, she wore a pair of skinny black jeans and a dark blue tank top.

“Candice?” I called out, the sound of her name leaving my lips was such a turn on that I had to bite down on my bottom lip to stop the moan that threatened to escape. Candice continued to brush through her hair before tying it up in a messy bun.

“What is your name?” she asked me as she turned to face me.

“Derick,”

“Oh! Derick!” my name had barely left her lips when she threw herself at me, weighing me down as she pinned my hands above my head as she straddled me. I felt myself harden under her and I squeezed my eyes shut and turned away from her. I would’ve loved this position if it wasn’t for the look of hatred on her face. “Why you son of a b***h!” she let go of my hands and started punching me anywhere she could. My face, my chest, and even my stomach. With each punch, I released a loud ‘ooff’. Her punches hurt, even though my body had healed from the fight with the rogues, it still hurt. I could feel and hear her tears as she finally tired herself out and rolled off from me and laid down in a messy heap. I opened my eyes and turned to look at her. I knew why she was upset. She had obviously seen Conner’s body and she knew Carter was missing. I jumped up and she sat up, eyeing me.

“Oh my f*****g A, where is Carter?” I swung open the door and headed straight to the diner. Ripping open the door, I spotted the table we had sat at. The food and drinks still sitting there, but no sign of Carter. I explored the whole diner and when I got back to the front, Candice was sitting at a booth with her feet rested on the table.

“He isn’t here,” she stated.

“Yeah, I see that but where the hell is, he?” I asked as I shoved my fingers through my hair. I had promised him protection and now? Where the hell is, he? My wolf was going crazy, we were both torn by the fact that we had finally met our mate and the fact that Carter was missing.

“I have no idea, although, I was hoping you would be able to fill in the blanks,” Candice looked out the window and I followed her gaze. “What happened here?” she asked as she turned back to me.

“We came in here for a bite to eat, we had just ordered when the rogues showed up. I told them to stay and I told,” a light bulb suddenly went off and I looked around for her body. “Where the hell is Sally?” I asked.

“Who?” I snapped back to Candice. Her simple question held so much anger and jealousy that I actually laughed. “Shut up,” she growled out as her cute pale cheeks turned pink. Aw,…she’s adorable!

“The waitress, her name is Sally, she served us,” I said as I started to look around.

“Not here, that’s for sure,” she said, and I nodded.

“Alright so both Carter and Sally are missing,” I stated, and Candice stood up.

“Do you think she took him? Or do you think she is part of it?” she asked, and I quickly shook my head.

“No, Sally is human,”

“So? You were a hunter, yet look at you now,” she said calmly and the fact that she knew that caused me to stop and face her. She knew, how the hell did she know?

“How did you-”

“Keith told me,” she informed me with a bored look, and I shrugged. Of course, Keith told her.

“Are we going to ignore the fact that I am your mate?” I questioned as I took a step towards her. Candice put up her hand, stopping me.

“My brother is dead, and my other brother is missing, and you want to discuss the fact that we are mates? Now?” the tone of her voice sent chills down my spine and it was my turn to blush. 

“Um…sorry,” I muttered out as I rushed out of the diner. I had to find Carter. Candice was right. I couldn’t worry about her being my mate at a time like this. Carter first, Candice second. I had to get my head in the game and find Carter. As I started walking around the lot, I noticed the back area of the diner. I hurried over and saw the tire marks on the tar. Sniffing the air, I picked up on Carter’s scent. Oh, bloody hell! I turned to see Candice standing against the back door of the diner. “Is that your scent or his?” I hissed out, annoyed. How was I supposed to find Carter if his scent smelt like hers?

“Oh, um…” she blushed again, and I was momentarily distracted by how adorable she looked. “No, um,” she pushed herself away from the door and came closer to me and then she stopped right in front of me, inches apart. “Take a whiff, you’ll pick up the difference,” she suggested shyly. I was in awe of how stunning she looked up close. I shook my head and then leaned forward, breathing in deeply. Freshly squeezed lemon and oh, I could actually taste the sugary sweetness. That was something Carter didn’t smell like. I pulled away and took a step back. I sniffed the air again and sighed.

“He left here, probably in that car,” I pointed at the tire marks and Candice nodded in agreement.

“Yeah but now the question is, where is he? And who took him? And why?” she looked around before stomping off and I followed behind her. We went back to the motel room and she started collecting her things. “Let’s go back to your pack, I have Conner in my boot,” she said, and I nodded. I felt around in my pockets for my car keys and that’s when I just stopped. Candice bumped into me. “What the?”

“Did you dress me?” I asked and I turned to face her. Her blush wasn’t just a soft shade of pink but a deep shade of red, she was truly mortified.

“I…um…” I wanted to kiss her so badly, but I stopped myself as I smirked.

“Hmm, thank you,” was all I said as I turned and left the room, heading to my truck. I don’t know where she got the clothes from but I didn't care. She had dressed me which meant she had seen me naked. I shook my head as I broke the back window of my truck to unlock the car. I climbed into the front and hotwired the truck. I looked out and watched Candice head over to her car. She waved at me, letting me know she was ready and I pulled out of the parking lot. She followed behind me and I cursed myself for letting this happen. Candice had been able to find some clothes and dressed me but my keys and phone were still lost. I would have to get another. Right now all I wanted to do was call Keith. I put my foot down and sped up, desperately wanting to be back home.

★ ★ ★

By the time I pulled into the driveway and stopped in front of the packhouse, I was exhausted. Members of the pack hovered around as I hopped out. Keith was right there, and I smiled gratefully, happy to see – SLAM. Keith punched me in the face and my nose immediately started bleeding from the impact.

“That’s for getting Conner killed!” he shouted out. Jody pulled him away and threw me an apologetic look as I groaned and got back up on my feet. I took a deep breath and turned to face all the curious wolves.

“Show’s over, head back to your homes!” I shouted out. They flinched from the authority in my voice and I watched as they scattered and left. Candice came to my side and gently reached up to touch my broken nose.

“We should fix that, otherwise it will heal screwy,” I frowned. Screwy? I shrugged and brushed away her touch. I didn’t care if it didn’t heal correctly. It would be a reminder of how I had failed Conner. Keith was right, I had got Conner killed. I headed inside of the packhouse and made a beeline for my room. I paused outside of Carter's room but quickly pushed forward. He wasn’t inside. He was missing. I closed my door behind me and stripped off the clothes Candice had dressed me in. I went into the bathroom and turned on the taps of the shower. Waiting for the water to heat up, I thought about Carter and how he must be feeling. I could only hope that he was alright. Whoever had taken him, was dead. I got into the shower and the heat of the water helped to ease the tension in my body. When the water hit my nose, I growled out. Damn it.

★ Candice ★

I watched as Derick rushed into the house and I couldn’t blame him. It was clearly obvious that he did, in fact, blame himself for Conner’s death. Keith and some other male wolf gently removed Conner from the boot. Jody rushed over to me and I opened my arms. We cried together for a moment and then Keith joined us, wrapping his big arms around us both.

“I’m sorry, Candice,” he said as he eventually pulled away. “I failed to protect him, both of them,” he said, and I shook my head.

“No, don’t blame yourself please. Hell, those two knew what they were doing. They are old enough, twenty-one, right?” I turned to Jody to confirm and she nodded. “I don’t know the whole story, but I can tell you that Conner fought hard, ok?” Keith nodded. “Where’d you take him?” I asked softly.

“Oh ah, Spencer took him to the infirmary. They’ll clean him up and prepare him for the burial,” Keith explained.

“Can they keep him on ice?” I asked. Keith and Jody both looked confused. “I wouldn’t want Carter to miss his twin brother's burial,” I stated.

“Oh, yeah, sure, I’ll ask them to do that,” Jody suddenly said as she rushed off towards what I assumed was the infirmary. That left Keith and me alone and I glanced over at the wolf. He and I had a history and this next part was not going to be easy.

“He is my mate,” I said softly, watching Keith’s reaction from the corner of my eye. He turned to face me and his face paled.

“What? Who?” he asked as if he didn’t already know. I didn’t bother to answer him and then he nodded. He looked so sad, so defeated. “Hmm, Derick,”

“Yeah,”

“Well, I guess that explains some of it,” he said, and I turned to him and frowned.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Just it was obvious from the moment Derick and Carter met that there was something, a connection or something between them. At first, Jody and I thought he was Carter's mate, but Carter was quick to kill that idea. He said he felt a connection but that it wasn’t romantic or s****l and that Derick is definitely not his mate. Now that you say that, well, it makes sense. That’s why Derick felt so protective over the boy,” Keith explained as he gave me a weak smile. “Congrats Candice,” he said as he shrugged, and I knew it wasn’t easy for him. Hell, it wasn’t exactly easy for me either.

“Hmm, ok, well, we have to find Carter,” I said. Keith raised a curious eyebrow and I frowned. “What?”

“Does he know?” he asked.

“Does who know what?” I questioned, curiously. I had no idea-oh, never mind. “No, he doesn’t,”

“Well, you may want to give him that piece of information,” Keith said as he started to walk away.

“Does it matter?” I called out after him and I could see him nodding. I growled out and made my way into the packhouse. I followed Derick’s lemongrass scent up the stairs and stopped in front of the closed door. I knocked on the door and waited. I could hear the shuffling from the other side and soon he opened the door.

“Candice? Come on in,” he said as he stepped back, giving me space to enter. His room was plain. A king-sized bed sat comfortably in the middle of the room and that was it. The wooden floors shone under the light from the bedside lamp and the soft yellow walls made me smile. I heard him close the door and I turned to face him. He had obviously showered as he was no longer wearing the clothes, I had dressed him in, but instead, he wore a pair of black sweats and a white top. “Are you ok?” he asked, and I nodded. “s**t sorry, I didn’t even think to offer you a bed for the night,” he said as he turned back to the door.

“Actually, I just came to talk to you,” I said, stopping him from leaving.

“Sure, take a seat,” he said as he gestured to the bed. His scent surrounded me as I sat down, and I shifted uncomfortably as he stood waiting for me to talk.

“What has Carter told you about me?” I decided to ask instead of just blurting out my whole life story.

“Honestly, not much, why?” he asked. I let out a loud sigh as I looked around the room. I didn’t want to just tell him everything, yet I knew that I had no choice. After all, he is my mate. So much for not wanting to blurt out my whole life story.

“When I was little, I knew my parents didn’t want me. It is kind of hard to explain, mostly because I was so young, I, myself didn’t quite understand it. I just knew I was unwanted. I would often go to our neighbor and she would look after me. When my mother fell pregnant with the twins, my father basically sold me to my neighbor. I didn’t know it at the time, but I didn’t care. Gale raised me up as her own. My parents never bothered to check in on me and by the time they shoved off Conner and Carter over to Keith’s mom, Gale was pretty adamant that we move. Our pack was a nightmare, to be honest. Anyway, I was four when I went with Gale willingly and it wasn’t until I was old enough that she explained to me what had happened and that she’d adopted me. Anger filled me and I rebled against her. I visited my brothers, found out that my parents had disappeared and formed a close relationship with…” I trailed off as I glanced up at Derick, who was listening to my story intently.

“Go on,” he encouraged, and I gulped as I nodded.

“Keith…” I whispered.

“Wait, Keith as in Keith Brown?” he asked, a look of anger in his eyes.

“Yeah, him, but it was a long time ago,” I added quickly. Derick shook his head and clenched his fists and I stood up. “Look, it wasn’t a s****l relationship or anything…” I wasn’t lying, Keith and I never mated. We just…fooled around. Although I didn’t quite feel comfortable in admitting that out loud.

“Ok, go on with your story,”

“Yeah, so I left but I did keep in contact with Keith and I went back home. Gale, she taught me everything I know. You see, Derick, I was raised to be an assassin,” I finally admitted.