Her Wolf Mate

by Hannah Lin

  desperately wanted to wrap my arms around Kate’s neck,

  tuck my face against her shoulder, and breathe in the spicy

  scent she wore. But there were guards around, and I

  couldn't put us both at risk.

  “I'm fine,” I said, walking.

  Kate followed a step behind me. “Sorry. I forgot we were

  supposed to be in character. Your father assigned me to be

  your guard. He doesn’t know how much I want this

  assignment.” She chuckled. “At least I get to stare at your

  gorgeous body.”

  I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to find Kate

  smiling at me.

  The taller woman tutted. “We're supposed to be in

  character, remember?”

  My stomach flip-flopped as my pulse took off, skittering

  wildly. Kate and I had chemistry. Boatloads of it. And with

  the crappy way I'd been feeling, time alone with her was a

  welcome remedy.

  “Two can play at that game,” I said. I lowered my eyes to

  Kate's chest and smirked. “If I could see through your

  clothes, I’d bet your nipples are as hard as steel right now.”

  Kate groaned, a low rumbling sound that vibrated in my

  chest. I turned around and resumed my walk, making sure

  my hips swayed. Once I was far enough away from the

  buildings and closer to the trees, I stopped and turned to

  Kate.

  Her blue eyes slammed into mine, dark with desire, and

  my breath caught in my throat. We needed to dial things

  back. A minute of flirting, and not only was my painful

  interaction with Taylor forgotten, but now, my underwear

  was damp.

  I looked at the ground. “Did you get in touch with your

  higher-ups?”

  That broke the spell. When I looked up at Kate, her face

  was apologetic, all signs of arousal wiped away.

  “I did,” she said. “They want me to proceed as originally

  planned.”

  I bit my bottom lip and nodded. I'd promised myself I

  wouldn't put Kate in a tight spot. She'd asked her bosses

  about an alternative, and that was the best she could do.

  Asking her to go against her orders would not only be

  selfish, but harmful to our relationship.

  Kate had mentioned that she saw her colleagues change

  after finding their mates. She believed in what she did and

  was proud of it. I couldn’t ask her to go against her values

  and have her wake up one day resenting me.

  “I understand,” I said.

  Kate took a step closer and lifted my chin with her finger.

  “I already care about you so much, Maddie. Trust me when I

  tell you I gave it all I had.”

  “I know you did, and it's fine. The most important thing is

  that we get out of here together.”

  Kate placed her hands in her pockets and studied me. I

  turned away, not wanting my hurt feelings to reflect in my

  eyes.

  “If it were just me, I would go against those orders,” she

  said. “But my second is here. He's the one with the silver

  streaks in his hair, and he's a hotshot intent on proving

  himself. Even if I wanted to, he'd get in the way.”

  I pulled Kate into a hug and rested my head against her

  collarbone. “I know,” I said. “There are no easy answers.

  Hopefully, after this mission, you and I will be on the same

  side.”

  “So, you want to be with me, then? Despite what I do?”

  I pulled back and looked up at Kate, a smile on my face.

  “Because of why you do it. You're a great person.”

  Kate gently lowered her head toward me. She smiled. She

  was giving me plenty of time to pull back if I wasn't ready.

  But I was. More than ready.

  I finally did what I'd wanted to do since our meeting

  yesterday. I wrapped my arms around my mate's neck and

  pulled her down to me. Our lips touched once, then twice,

  sending an electrifying shock through me.

  Then something within me broke free. I wasn't the

  unwanted girl I'd felt like all my life. The woman that was

  made for me was willing to sacrifice everything for me,

  because she wanted a future with me.

  I threaded my fingers through her hair and parted my lips,

  deepening the kiss. Kate's tongue darted into my mouth,

  tasting me. She groaned and wrapped an arm around my

  waist, pulling me into her.

  Kate's kisses were so soft, yet passionate. Full of heat that

  stoked the fire in my belly, but cool enough that they were

  refreshing. No one had ever kissed me like this.

  Kate wasn't just seeking her pleasure or playing with me.

  No. With every caress and nibble, she learned more about

  my likes and dislikes, driving me higher and higher into a

  state of maddening arousal.

  I tiptoed and pressed my chest against hers, needing

  more contact. Kate placed both hands on my shoulders and

  pushed me back down, placing feverish kisses all over my

  neck, while chuckling.

  “I'm sorry, but we have to stop,” she said.

  I joined her in laughter, then ran a hand through my hair

  as we parted. “I know. This isn't the time or place.”

  Kate nodded. “But when it is, you'll be glad we waited.”

  “Is that a promise?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “The best kind. The one thing you need to know about me

  is that I always over deliver.”

  I burst out laughing, then stopped when Kate gave me a

  frank look.

  Oh, gods, I thought. She means it.

  “I, uh, better go back before anyone wonders where I've

  been,” I said.

  Kate pecked me on the cheek and smiled. “I'll see you

  soon.”

  I walked back faster than I usually would, eager to get to

  my room. Kate had set my world on fire, and while I couldn't

  completely cool things down, I needed some self-love to

  take the edge off.

  I wonder if Kate’s planning on doing it, too? I thought.

  My core clenched, and I murmured a curse as I pictured

  Kate taking matters into her own hands.

  “I am one lucky girl,” I whispered.

  CHAPTER 5

  KATE

  I watched Maddie until she was within a safe distance of

  Carter's men. Then my smile dropped, and I turned around

  to face my Second.

  “You can come out now,” I said.

  Kai moved slowly from behind a tree and placed his hands

  in his jacket’s pockets. The sun was out, but there was a

  slight chill in the air. “You should be careful going off alone

  with her,” he said.

  “Carter assigned me as her guard. It's not a problem.”

  “Something tells me it might be.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek and did my best to avoid the

  jab. I would not get into this with Kai. “If anyone needs to be

  careful, it's you.”

  Kai's eyebrows shot up. “Why me?”

  “I've seen the way Taylor looks at you.”

  “I would never sleep with him.” Kai scoffed. “He's Carter's

  Second.”

  “And a handsome man. Don't get cocky out here. This is a

  much slower pace than what you're used to.”

  Kai
shuffled his feet and looked over my shoulder. “I'm

  fine.”

  I shook my head. Kai hadn’t climbed the ladder as fast as

  he did by being sensible. On the one hand, I wanted him to

  adjust to the slower pace so that he wouldn't jeopardize the

  mission by doing something stupid. On the other, I could see

  the tightly coiled energy in my Second's body. Sitting around

  all day must have been killing him.

  “I'm not trying to overstep,” I said, folding my arms. “But I

  didn't always do undercover work. I know the situations

  you're used to. This is nothing like that. It's low energy, with

  loads of empty hours. That can make you vulnerable.”

  Kai drew a sharp breath. “Low energy situation, plus me,

  equals potentially bad outcome. Got it. Now, what were you

  and Maddie talking about?”

  I furrowed my brows. Kai had dismissed my concern,

  which made me more worried that he'd do something rash

  on instinct. I wanted to express my concern more strongly,

  but now Kai had pivoted the conversation to Maddie. Could I

  trust him?

  “Nothing,” I said.

  He laughed. “I meant before all the kissing. What were

  you talking about before that?”

  “How long were you standing there?” I clenched my fists

  and calmed my dragon down. Maddie and I had shared an

  intimate moment that was not for anyone to see. That Kai

  had stood there watching, then brought it up so casually,

  grated on my nerves.

  “Long enough. So, again, what were you talking about?”

  “Nothing you need to know about.” I turned to leave, but

  Kai gripped my arm. I glanced at his hand on me, then at

  Kai himself. I felt my blue eyes glow with anger and dark

  blue scales covered my back.

  “Let go of me,” I growled. Kai dropped his hand quickly

  and took a step back. While there were differences between

  male and female dragons, size and strength were not

  among them.

  I had always been even-tempered. I loved adrenaline and

  new experiences, but the extremes of emotions weren't my

  thing. Over the years, I’d seen several people lose their rank

  because of dumb decisions, and I vowed to never be among

  them. So, I never drank excessively, slept around, or

  gambled.

  I kept my nose clean and had found that the universe

  usually responded in kind. But now, Kai was calling to the

  beast within me. One that had long been dormant since my

  days in the regular corps.

  “I'm sorry,” Kai said, raising his hands. “I didn't mean to

  be rude.”

  I watched Kai run a hand down his face. The guy was

  clearly sorry about what he did, and it appeared all his

  moving from team to team had denied him the ability to

  develop social skills. The simple kind, like knowing that one

  should never spy on a friend while they were sharing an

  intimate moment.

  I took a deep breath and calmed myself. Kai meant no

  harm. He just wasn't that great at talking to people. Also,

  Maddie being my mate had made me a little more sensitive

  to the situation.

  My scales retracted as I reversed the shift to my dragon

  form. “It's fine,” I said, looking into Kai's gray eyes. “Just

  don't talk about Maddie and me so lightly. She's my mate.”

  “What?” Kai's face crumpled, and I chuckled. Kai had

  reacted like a five-year-old boy that had been forced to hold

  hands with a girl.

  “You have heard of those, haven't you?” I teased.

  Kai shook his head. “But she's Carter's daughter.”

  “Which makes everything complicated.”

  Kai placed his hands on his hips and paced back and forth,

  turning to look at me now and then. “So, what are you going

  to do?” he asked, stopping.

  “Try to convince the Major General that Carter would

  make a great asset if we kept him alive.”

  Kai scoffed. “Good one.”

  “I'm not kidding.”

  The shock in Kai's eyes turned to pity, then confusion, and

  finally anger. “Wait, are you serious about sparing the man

  behind the genocides on several planets, all because he's

  your mate's father?”

  I winced. Worded like that, I sounded like my mated

  friends. But what could I do?

  Maddie said she would be okay, but I could see it as clear

  as day in her eyes that if I killed Carter, a part of her would

  forever connect me to that action. While she may not grow

  to resent me, she'd put my face together with her father's

  every time Carter came to memory. I wanted Maddie to

  have only good feelings whenever she thought of me.

  “I've not forgotten my duty or my mission, but I'm in a

  tough spot. My mate asked me not to kill her father. How

  can I do that, and expect to have her in my life?”

  Kai sighed and parted his lips before pursing them. “I

  could take the kill.”

  I cocked my head. “What kill?”

  “Carter. I could make sure that I was the one that killed

  him. That way, you'd technically fulfill Maddie's wish.”

  I smiled sadly. “She won't see it like that, but thanks for

  offering a solution. And here I thought you were a heartless

  machine.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Dude,” I said, wrapping an arm around Kai’s shoulder.

  “You've moved up the ranks faster than anyone. There's a

  rumor going around that you're a machine. No one should

  be able to pull that many back-to-back missions.”

  Kai shrugged out of my grip. “I'm professional, and I move

  swiftly.”

  “Well, do me a favor and hold off. I've mostly been

  listening to conversations and observing operations for the

  last two weeks. Why don't we kick things into high gear now

  that you're here?”

  Kai's face brightened. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Some nightly reconnaissance. Last night, I couldn't sleep,

  and I heard voices outside. It sounded like Carter had taken

  a couple of men out with him. I'm sure it won’t be the last

  time.”

  “So, we can follow him, and hopefully find out more.”

  “Exactly. We need to know what types of potions he's

  using and who provides them. The same goes for the

  bombs. And all planets have security on each other's

  borders. It's part of all peace treaties. We need to know who

  is going to give him access to Mabos.”

  Kai stopped walking and frowned. “That sounds like a lot.”

  “It is, but just imagine what Testea could do with that kind

  of information.”

  “But how will that help us convince the Major General to

  spare Carter?”

  I smiled. “I appreciate you thinking about how to help me

  with my problem. To be honest, I don't know if I can

  convince him. I want to get the best information I can, and

  hopefully, we'll stumble on something Testea can use.

  Perhaps find a bigger fish to fry.”

  “They don't get much bigger than Carter, from what I've

  seen.”

&n
bsp; I sighed. “I know, but I have to try.”

  “For your mate?”

  “For my mate. Let's meet up later and discuss our—”

  “Where've you been, rookie?” Simon called, walking

  toward us.

  I was careful to widen the gap between Kai and myself. I'd

  been careless and gotten carried away with our

  conversation. What if someone tied me to Kai? If my second

  slipped up, I’d go down with him.

  “Who are you calling rookie, old bear?” Kai responded,

  trying to lighten the mood.

  Simon didn't smile. “Taylor wants to see you. Says you

  have pending duties.”

  I mentally shook my head. I bet I knew what Taylor wanted

  from Kai. I just hoped the silver-haired dragon wouldn't fall

  under his spell. Days and weeks of nothing to do could make

  a person act out of character.

  Once Kai left, Simon folded his arms and observed me, his

  green eyes sharp with interest. “What were you doing out

  here with Kai?”

  “Just welcoming him to the team. I know how hard it is

  being the new guy. Well, girl. You get the point.”

  Simon nodded. “What about Maddie?”

  “Carter assigned me as her guard.”

  Simon dropped his arms and sighed. “I thought that might

  be the case. Look, be careful. Whatever reason Carter has

  for bringing her along doesn't matter. Keep a healthy

  amount of distance. I've heard rumors of guys that tried to

  get close to her getting reassigned or fired.”

  My chest tightened. “You mean she got romantically

  involved with them?”

  “What? No. Maddie’s gay. At least from what I’ve

  observed.” Simon shook his head. “The men I’m talking

  about were trying to be friendly. When you’re surrounded by

  so much toxic masculine energy all day, any feminine

  energy is a welcome reprieve, romantic or platonic. But

  Carter doesn’t care about that. Anyone that gets close to

  Maddie disappears.”

  My head jerked back. Why would Carter go so far? And

  poor Maddie. She probably didn’t know why the friends she

  made kept vanishing.

  I hope she doesn’t think it has something to do with her, I

  thought.

  “Why would Carter do that?” I asked.

  “I'm not sure.” Simon shrugged. “If you ask me, he's got

  someone in mind for her.”

  A flash of heat moved through my limbs. Maddie was mine

  and mine alone. “Well, that will never work.”

  “I wouldn't be so sure. When Taylor first started hanging