Nehalem Pack 17

His Unbreakable Mate

It only took two weeks to change Samuel Cruz’s life forever. Now four years later he’s still trying to put the pieces of his broken world back together. Nothing will ever be the same but he refuses to admit that to anyone because it would mean accepting defeat and he will not allow his past to control his future.

CJ Durie never knew his father dealt in human trafficking and when he did discover the truth it was too late to save Samuel. He’s kept his distance, keeping their mating bond a secret. It tore his heart out to do so but it was the right thing to do. Seeing Samuel after four years apart, CJ knows he can’t live without him. But the question is, does Samuel feel the same?

Love and the promise to never hurt Samuel is all CJ can offer, but is it enough? Will Samuel allow a reminder of his past to enter his future?






Chapter One



“Brake! Hit the brake!” Samuel shouted as he put one hand on the dashboard and grabbed the passenger-door handle with the other. The car he was in sped toward another car stopped at a street light. Sweat beaded up along his forehead and his eyes went wide from the fear colliding inside him. For the fifth time since sitting down in this car, he started to question why he wanted to be a teacher.

“Crap.” The car jerked to a stop. “You all right there, Sam?” Ryan asked. The young teen bit at his bottom lip as he ran his worried gaze over Samuel.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he snapped. Samuel took a deep breath and let it out very slowly, doing his best to get control of his nerves. “Pull over in that parking lot right there.” Samuel pointed to his right. Once the car came to a complete stop he unbuckled his seat belt and turned to face Ryan. “What exactly happened back there?”

“I guess I got distracted.” Ryan shrugged.

“You got distracted?” Samuel narrowed his eyes at Ryan. “Are you freaking kidding me?”

Samuel had lived in Silver Creek for four years now. Most days he enjoyed it, but today wasn’t one of those days. He’d been up all night battling nightmares and then he had to sub for the regular Driver’s Ed teacher at the local high school for the day. He didn’t have the patience to deal with Ryan’s lack of concentration at the moment.

“Sorry.” Ryan shrugged again and looked away.

“You are a piece of work, you know that?” Samuel chuckled. He didn’t feel he was being out of line with Ryan. Yes, he was his instructor for the day but he was also a friend of the family and fellow pack member. In his four years living here and getting to know all the members of the Nehalem pack, he felt confident in saying Ryan was a spoiled brat. Samuel sympathized with the kid. He and his brother did lose their parents in a horrific way but still it was no excuse to be a flat-out dick to everyone else. “You damn near killed us both and you act like it’s a bother to you to take responsibility for it.” Samuel rolled his eyes. “This, my friend, is why Caleb and Seth wouldn’t allow you to take driver’s education until you turned seventeen.” Samuel pointed his finger into the dashboard as he spoke.

Ryan huffed out a breath and his lips pinched tightly together. His cheeks flared a nice pink and he shook his head. “I am sorry, Samuel. It’s…it’s just I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Such as?” Samuel widened his eyes and raised a hand for Ryan to spill what great weight distracted him from driving. “You do realize a car is like a bomb on wheels? Get hit in just the right manner and boom!” He clapped his hands together. “No more Ryan or me for that matter.”

“Okay, I get it.” Ryan ran a hand down his face then looked over at Samuel. “I really am sorry, Sam. I promise to pay better attention.” Samuel opened his mouth to ask Ryan what had him so distracted but the teenager shook his head. “Please don’t ask me what’s bothering me because I don’t want to be rude or have to lie to you.”

Samuel gave the kid an assessing glare then nodded his head. “Fair enough.” He could respect Ryan’s honesty. “Pull back out onto the street and head toward the square. We can practice parallel parking.”