by J. K Harper
Cool green eyes looked at him again, the dark slip of the woman's hair curving along one cheek and down over her neck. He felt the stupid crazy desire to reach out and touch it, to see if her hair was as smooth as it looked, her skin as silky soft as it seemed. Almost shuddering with the intensity of his sudden longing, he forced himself to focus on his training to maintain control.
"I did notice that," she said.
Did he hear admiration in her voice? Oh, yes. He definitely heard admiration there. And something else.
"And here I thought these Guardians were some of the toughest ones around. Very interesting that you took them out like that.” Her lip tugged up into a real smile this time. “I don't believe we've met," she said, rising again and reaching out a hand to his. A tiny little growl erupted near her feet, instantly silenced as Briana thwapped her brother over the head with her paw.
"Ouch!"
"Hush," Briana said, her wolf voice lisping just the slightest bit. "Don't you remember your manners? Mama just said he isn't a danger to our family. You have to be nice now."
Young Liam cast a suspicious eye at Jace, who looked back with as much innocence as he could muster. Then, he looked at Liam's gorgeous mother again. Carefully, trying to appear as cool as she seemed, he reached out to lightly clasp her hand in a shake.
He expected some enormous spark to arc between them as they touched. That didn't quite happen. But there was no way he could miss the sudden tension around her eyes and the little flare of her nostrils as she took in his scent. Maybe nothing was going to spark, but there sure as hell was going to be a moment. A long moment in which he looked into those clear green eyes and started to lose himself.
A moment in which he saw the same sudden recognition in her that he felt in his own soul.
“I'm Jace," he said softly, not wanting to let go of her hand. "Jace Canagan."
"Caitlin," she answered, her voice catching a bit. The coolness of her tone was still there, the slight wariness. But Jace heard something else as well. A targeted interest. Something in her eyes was definitely shocked now. And her wolf began to glow out of them as well. Close to the surface. Just like Jace's own wolf.
Mate, his wolf insisted again. Jace knew his wolf was looking out of his eyes, making them also glow in the sunlight of the late afternoon.
The air suddenly charged with electricity. For a heady moment, Jace thought the spark was actually happening between them. Then reality came crashing down as a heavy hand suddenly thumped onto his shoulder, trying to pull him back from the utterly absorbing Caitlin.
"Rendall, she forgot to say," Kieran Rendall said, his voice darker than thunder. "As in, Kieran Rendall. As in, she's my younger sister. You did catch that part, didn't you, Canagan?"
Reluctantly, Jace let go of Caitlin's hand as his wolf growled in pure annoyance at the interruption. Ripping himself away from Kieran, he leveled a look at the other wolf that would frighten those who knew him. But Kieran didn't really know him at all. None of the Black Mesa wolves knew him any longer. They didn't know his more recent history. They didn't know what he was capable of.
At this moment, he was pretty damn capable of shredding any wolf that thought to stand between him and Caitlin. Even one who was her extremely overprotective brother.
“I managed to figure that out,” Jace said. His voice was calm, though once again his entire body was tensed. “Is there a problem here I should know about, Rendall?”
The pups laying frozen at his feet, the sudden tension rolling off the closely watching adult wolves, and the beginnings of a new, darker anger building on Caitlin's face all conspired to make the moment even more fraught. But before Kieran could answer, his stunning sister calmly said, “Kieran, enough. I can handle this myself.”
She looked at Jace again with her heart-stopping face. Although her voice came out in a very light, almost formal tone, he caught the heated energy beneath it. “It's very good to meet you, Jace,” she said, looking directly at him.
Jace felt the deep, wild impact of her simple words tremor through him. There was no denying the truth.
He had just met his mate.
3
Caitlin felt all the air squeeze out of her body as the gorgeous strange wolf, Jace, stared at her like a starving man. Oh, no. No way was this happening. She knew exactly what the sizzle and zip of recognition meant, despite never having felt it before. Somehow, she just knew.
Mate.
Mate, her wolf agreed, head-spinningly thrilled with that knowledge. Yes.
Besides the unshakeable certainty flitting around inside her, making her stomach clench with nerves, she was looking at him like a man. Like a wolf. Like a man wolf.
And for heaven's sake, she was stuttering like an idiot in her own mind. Smooth, Caitie. Really smooth.
Not smooth, her wolf thought, also utterly absorbed by the man standing before her. Rough, wild. Strong wolf. Protector. Good for pups.
Cold water seemed to splash over Caitlin's body at those dreamy words. No, she snapped reflexively. He is not a protector. I am the protector for this family. And I haven't got space or any need for a man.
Her wolf refused to listen. She simply stared back at Jace like she wanted to go and lick his face, nuzzle against him. Like she wanted to feel his strong body next to hers. And this, Caitlin thought, was why she didn't have anything to do with men. They made her all stupid. Well, not that there'd been a single guy who made her feel stupid in, ah, ever. Because she didn't have anything to do with men. She was a single mother, and the twins were her priority.
Even so, that didn't mean Kieran had to go all snarly, rage-y big brother on her. For heaven's sake, she could take care of herself. She'd been doing just that for the past six years, hadn't she? He and Jace could battle it out on the practice field. She didn't need her big brother to watch over her anymore.
Especially not when she'd finally met her mate. A mate she definitely didn't need.
Definitely especially not like this, in front of the twins and the pack's Guardians. All of whom, she noticed with serious dismay, were watching the scene in total surprise.
“Back off, Kieran,” she said again. Force of habit still kept her voice coolly in control. Smooth. She generally liked to appear self-possessed and confident, for the pups' sake. They needed stability in their lives. She was perfectly happy to role model that to them every single day. “The protective older brother act hasn't been in vogue since we were a lot younger, you know.” She smiled a bit to take the sting out of her words. Not that it mattered. Kieran was still glaring at Jace like he'd prefer to rip him apart right on the spot. Men, she sighed to herself. Her wolf growled an agreement, though she still looked at Jace through Caitlin's eyes with unsettling intensity.
Mate, she murmured again. The enormous power behind that one word threatened to bring Caitlin to her knees with its implications. Unwilling to examine it more closely right now, in front of everyone from whom she desperately tried to keep her abrupt new knowledge hidden, she hurried on.
“Now then,” she went on casually, “I'm not sure what's going on here, but clearly we interrupted a training session. Well,” she amended, leveling another fierce look at the twins, who at least seemed appropriately chagrined, “my children did, that is.”
Despite her deliberately calming words toward him, Caitlin saw Kieran's mouth tighten as he continued to stand there glaring at Jace. Her dear brother started to open his mouth again, but she sensed more trouble coming and beat him to the punch. "Really," she said in a slightly more firm voice, flicking a glance at Kieran she knew he would recognize. A glance that said, Shut up now, please, big brother.
"Come now, Liam, Briana,” she went on. Still cool, still mild on the surface. As if her heart wasn't rat-a-tat-tatting in her chest wall due to the closeness of the dark, sexy, strong wolf she'd just met, whose mere presence seemed to be setting her, ah, her panties on fire. Damn this Jace and those molten eyes of his. He needed to stop looking at her like that. She focused on her c
hildren. “Everyone thanks you for your apologies. It's time for you to go back into the den now. You're to go straight to your room and not budge until I come get you for dinner. Is that understood?"
An immediate chorus of traumatized, protesting whines started up at her order, but she shook her head, well used to her children's shrewd efforts at manipulation. They were adorable little munchkins, and they knew it since everyone always said as much. They'd learned by a young age to use their charm to their advantage. Caitlin, however, had six years of hard-earned experience with her little darlings. She knew how to deflect their best efforts quite easily. Even though she adored them with her whole heart, she also knew perfectly well it was only in their best interests that she stand a firm ground with them as they grew. They needed guidance, boundaries, and double the effort from her since she was their only parent.
And always would be. She didn't need a mate to help her raise them. She'd managed just fine since they were born, thank you very much. Her own family helped her, and that was enough. Her wolf protested that with several tail lashes against Caitlin's mind, but Caitlin ignored them as best she could.
Keeping her smile fixed on her face, she looked at her twins and pointed toward the den. Then she gave them her best raised eyebrow look, which they knew meant she was truly serious. Abruptly giving up, the two raced and scampered back to the house, tumbling along and occasionally bumping into one another as they began a low murmur between themselves that didn't quite carry to the adults behind them. Plotting insurrection, no doubt.
"And remember to shift when you're inside!" she called after them. "No dirty paws inside that—"
Faster than one could blink, in the place of two small wolf pups were her two naked little human children, racing pell-mell towards the den. Their little bare butts caught the sunlight as their legs churned, sweet giggles carrying back to the adults who by now unsuccessfully smothered outright laughter.
"Oh, my god!" Caitlin said, exasperated and briefly distracted from an intense pair of dark blue eyes she could feel still staring at her. "You don't shift like that in front of a pack that isn't your home pack, you hooligans!" she called after them. She felt her cheeks tinge a bit pink, even though she had to smile with enormous affection at the sturdy little bodies racing across the ground. Although shifters were always comfortable with casual nudity since it was needed in order to shift, as well as the fact that their animal sides meant overall they were more in tune with natural things and less beholden to some of the sillier human conventions, there was an unspoken courtesy that shifting in front of those from different packs wasn't done quite as offhandedly as one did at home. Certainly not in front of all the Guardians as well as the alpha of her brother's pack.
Looking at said alpha, Caitlin felt the usual tingle of power whenever she was around him. Not to mention the sincere need to drop her eyes and be somewhat deferential. Channing Bardou was one of the most powerful shifters in the country, if not the most. Even Caitlin's own dominant, influential father, alpha of his own pack, acknowledged the Black Mesa Wolf Pack alpha as exceeding him in rank among all the alphas.
The fact that he was also Jace's alpha wasn't lost on her. However the alpha led, all his wolves would follow, Jace included.
And really, why did that matter to her, anyway? She'd just met the man. She didn't care what he thought of her and her sweet pups. Stiffening her back, she tried to firm her resolve.
Mate. Care, her wolf insisted.
Right. Caitlin sighed and did her best to stand steady, despite the small tingles racing up and down her body at the thought of a mate. Her mate.
Alpha Channing, however, smiled and waved an indulgent hand at her still slightly rosy cheeks. “They are headstrong pups, Caitlin. I think you are doing an excellent job raising them. They've gotten their tongue-lashing for the day, and I expect they'll remember it for some time to come. And we're all used to pups being silly. They haven't offended your pack's honor in any way.”
At that, he flicked an inscrutable look at Jace before facing Caitlin again. It happened so quickly Caitlin almost missed it. Unsure of what it meant, she kept her face composed.
“Tate,” the alpha continued, gesturing toward his son as he began to head back toward the den. “I'd like you to tell me more about your plans for adding onto your house on the grounds here. I take it that means you've finally convinced Claire that we won't assimilate her into our nefarious pack ways if she moves in with you here?”
Tate fell into step with his father, raising a cheerful hand at Caitlin and Jace as he passed by, already talking with animation and, Caitlin noted with a sudden stab of what felt like envy, for heaven's sake, immense love for his mate, Claire. Caitlin knew Claire had been a wild wolf, raised without a pack. She was naturally suspicious of all packs and pack wolves, although she and Caitlin had hit it off the first time they met during Caitlin's last visit with the pups. The fact that she apparently was now willing to actually live on the pack property spoke magnitudes about the depth of her bond with her mate.
Love my mate like that, her wolf whispered.
No mate, Caitlin retorted, although it was soft. I don't even know him. How could I possibly love him?
The very thought made her wolf shiver with some deep awareness that Caitlin still refused to consider. She'd never felt that sort of bond before. A true love bond, the love between mates. Not even with the pups' father. They hadn't been mates, not remotely. Just two shifters whose only mission together in life, it seemed, had been to create the two cutest, most wonderful little children in the universe.
Pups, her wolf agreed in fierce devotion. Protect pups. She sent an image of Jace guarding over them in wolf form. Large and strong, his dark coat touched here and there with golden-tipped patches, and the same dark blue eyes as his human self.
He might not look like that as his wolf, Caitlin thought back, somewhat amused yet also intrigued.
Does, her wolf insisted. Caitlin shrugged to herself and gave up. Her wolf side was like a dog with a bone—not dog, her wolf muttered at that—once something tickled her fancy. That was definitely a very good reason not to shift around Jace while she was here. She knew without a doubt her wolf would abandon all control and go—rub up against him, or something.
Carefully, Caitlin glanced at him again.
Dark blue eyes looked back at her as if he could understand what she was thinking. Mouth suddenly dry, she tried to swallow, but managed only to choke and cough a bit instead. The light breeze and warm sunshine tempered the moment as things weirdly spun and tilted while she remained staring at Jace like an idiot.
Then again, he was staring right back at her. Both staring at one another like silly fools. Two to tango, mm-hmm, she thought with an inane sort of clarity.
If her wolf could roll her eyes, she would have. As it was, she sighed and flopped her head down on her paws in a show of disgust with her nonsensical human side. But she kept her gaze fixed on Jace.
A small throat-clearing jarred the moment. Lily's red hair caught the sunlight as she suddenly turned to grab Kieran's arm and pull him in the direction of the den. "Come on, love." Her term of endearment sounded slightly pointed, although she smiled. "You and I need to get back to the den as well. I have to grab some things from my office before we go home."
"Wait just a—"
Lily gave Kieran a harder yank. She firmly said, "As the sister of several overly protective brothers myself, I'm completely with Caitlin on this one, my love." She grinned up at her mate, threw a commiserating look at Caitlin, and continued to haul Kieran toward the den after the alpha and her brother. It was funny, actually, to see the much smaller woman man-handling her large mate. "Caitie,” Lily called back, “I'll check on the twins and make sure they're in their room. Don't you worry about them. Just—take your time." The mild sing-song of her voice said that even though she'd just been sparring with Jace, she didn't at all mind if he and Caitlin stayed back here for a little longer. She'd caught some underly
ing meaning in Caitlin's words to him, even if she didn't know the details.
Caitlin fervently hoped her friend hadn't caught onto the fact that Jace was her—mate.
As the others retreated to the den, Caitlin and Jace were left alone. Her wolf highly approved of this turn of events. Caitlin, however, wasn't sure if she approved or felt even more disconcerted now. Alone with a man who was making her fidget from one foot to the other as a low, delightful clenching now rippled through her lady bits and even her womb, for heaven's sake. Caitlin felt her neck and cheeks pinking up again as she and said man remained locked eye-to-eye, while the sounds of Kieran's protests and Lily's unyielding responses faded into the distance. She glanced at Lily and Kieran's disappearing backs, Kieran obviously still being tugged on rather hard by his mate, before she looked back at Jace. The man still was looking straight at her. Self-confident yet not cocky, definitely strong, and basically covered in muscles. A fighter. A Guardian. Around her age. Ready to make his mark on the world.
Not father material. Especially now that he looked just as wondering, and worried, as she felt.
Will protect pups, her wolf immediately insisted, whining a bit in slight agitation. She nudged against Caitlin's mind, flooding it again with her images of Jace's wolf playing with the twins. She pictured Liam biting Jace in the leg again, and Jace firmly yet kindly correcting the young wolf. Caitlin softened just the teeniest, tiniest bit. Fine, yes. She had just seen him do that herself.
But no. That wasn't enough. Just because he can handle one situation doesn't mean he can handle a lifetime of them, she thought.
Mate. Protect pups. Her wolf shot those thoughts back at her with all the unmoving certainty of a granite mountain. She settled down into a silent, watchful crouch in Caitlin's head, tail lashing again to underscore her annoyance that Caitlin did not seem to get it yet.
"So." Jace's voice, deep but not so deep that she could barely understand him, rumbled through Caitlin's body, doing interesting things to it.