by Jade Royal
“Gem I-” he was stopped by the vibration of his phone. He was going to ignore it, but something told him not to. When he looked at the device Chloe’s name was bright on the screen. He remembered then that he had committed himself to someone. Cursing he sat back down.
“You were going to say something?” Gemma asked. Tristan simply shook his head. He clenched his teeth and looked at his phone. He read her message.
Hi, sexy. Missing you right now. Can I get my dick tonight? Lemme show you how much I miss you. Tristan read the message over and over. Then he looked up at Gemma. She was looking at him with her childlike eyes and his heart sunk. It felt like someone had punched him in the gut, and he felt like a complete asshole. But he had to do what he had to do at the end of the day.
I’ll be over soon. He sent her the message, turned his phone off and put it back into his pocket. When he looked up, Gemma was still looking at him. He could tell something was bothering her, and all he wanted to do was comfort her.
You okay Gem? He asked in her head.
My nipples feel like they’re going to fall off.
Do you want me to help you?
No. You made a vow of protection. I can’t keep you from protecting Bliss. She got up from the island then, taking the empty plates to the sink. Bliss yawned and slumped over on the island. She was fast asleep before Tristan could stand himself.
“Bliss,” he said tapping her lightly. She slapped his hand away and groaned.
“She’s out,” Gemma smiled.
“Just carry her back to the room. You try and wake her again I think she’s gonna bite your fingers off.”
“Tell me about it,” he sighed. She looked at him, and he saw the question on her face, but she wasn’t asking it.
“Ask me what you want Gemma,” he told her.
“Do you think I’m pretty?” she questioned. His brows furrowed. Why would she ask him such a silly question?
“No,” he said. She looked away from him embarrassed. “I think you’re beautiful,” he added on. She snapped her head back in his direction. The smile that came to her face made Tristan’s heart warm. She continued to smile as she cleaned up, and it made Tristan feel complete, like he’d accomplished something. Turning away, he picked Bliss up in his arms softly to carry her back to her bedroom. He placed Bliss on the large bed before going to the large armchair and sitting down. That’s where he sat contemplating a lot of things. But with the aching in his body, it was hard to think of anything else but a release. And then his mind was traveling towards Chloe.
“There’s no way I’ll get a peaceful sleep with your mind running the way it is,” Bliss said from the bed. Tristan looked over at her and realized she was awake.
“Oh. I’m sorry Bliss I-”
“No, it’s fine. It’s my job as alpha is to see to it that the wolves in the pack are fine, and you sir are not. So what’s going on?”
“Bliss I don’t wanna-”
“Why won’t you mate Gemma? What’s the problem?” she asked ignoring the statement he was about to make.
“Is it because you just don’t want her? Is that even possible?”
“I’ve known her since she was born,” Tristan began. “But I’ve never felt the mating bond until the moment she became an adult.”
“So do you want her or not?” Bliss asked bluntly.
“Yeah, I want her,” he sighed.
“So what’s the problem, Tristan?”
“I feel like some older creep preying on a kid like some type of pedophile or some shit,” he admitted. Bliss gasped. She had no idea that’s what he would have said.
“Gemma, she’s, she’s an adult you know. I know she’s younger than you, but she’s still 18. She’s not a kid.”
“I know she’s not a kid! But for years she’s always been a kid to me. And now all of a sudden I’m supposed to mate her? She’s a beautiful woman Bliss. Everything about her drives me crazy. But then I have this little voice in my head telling me that I shouldn’t be feeling the way that I am and it’s wrong.”
“Forget that little voice, Tristan. You need to go with your gut instincts. You need to do what your heart tells you is right.”
“I see her with Niles, and sometimes I feel like that’s who she should be with. Someone her age. Someone who won’t ask her to grow up sooner than she wants to. I lost control of my hormones, and I realized she couldn’t handle the way I needed to be fulfilled sexually, and that just made me even more so apprehensive.”
“Grow up?” Bliss asked. “Has she told you that she’s not grown up? And furthermore who said mating was all seriousness? Just because you guys are mates don’t mean you have to have pups this minute. It just means you found the one person on this earth made for you to love. Tristan, Gemma doesn’t want Niles. Yes, he’s her age but what does that mean? Do you even know anything about her?” Tristan was quiet. What did he know about Gemma?
“My advice Tristan, get to know her. We all know she has this innocence in her, but she’s also proven to be a tough girl who won’t take no bullshit. If you get to know your mate as a woman Tristan and not the girl that you remember growing up with, then you’ll find that you won’t feel conflicted mating her. And you can’t expect her to know how to fuck you, Tristan. She’s a virgin for Pete’s sake. That’s why you’re supposed to teach her.” Tristan sighed and rubbed his eyes. He realized he was a worse mate than he already realized he was. He should be getting to know Gemma and not using anything from when they grew up as a way to judge her. He was always ten years older than her but ten years then and ten years now were two different things. The woman that shoved Maverick’s dick down his throat was not the ten-year-old that used to run around with her friends.
“Got it?” Bliss asked.
“Yeah I got it,” he sighed.
“Good. Now quiet your damn thoughts. This pup is draining my energy, and I need to get some sleep before I rip someone’s throat out and eat it,” she threatened sleepily. She flopped down on the bed.
“Go on and talk to Gemma now.”
“I can’t leave you,” Tristan said.
“Oh, I forgot. Vow of protection.” Bliss waved him off before she was snoring softly. Tristan smiled down at his alpha female feeling a sense of relief.
Bliss didn’t wake for the rest of the night. The moment Kellan returned that’s when she stirred, the closeness of her mate waking her.
“Everything is good,” Tristan told Kellan. Kellan nodded and got in bed next to Bliss. He rested his head against her stomach before kissing it. Watching them, Tristan longed to have that with his mate. Of course, he would take into consideration if Gemma was ready for that yet at all once they did finally mate. But the idea of having pups with wild curly hair like Gemma’s made him smile.
Leaving the alphas alone, Tristan headed straight out of the cave. He made the journey to the familiar territory of his girlfriend. Her alpha greeted him as usual.
“I hear your alpha is providing protection for the rest of us,” Owen said.
“That’s the plan,” Tristan replied.
“Good. Small packs like ours need the allies.”
“Have you run into any trouble?” Tristan asked.
“One of my enforcers stumbled upon this warehouse. It was abandoned, but he could smell the wolfsbane on the inside. I went and saw the place for myself. It’s brutal. We don’t know what’s going on in there or who it even belongs to. But a warehouse full of wolfsbane, that’s highly suspicious.”
“Where is it located?”
“10 miles south.”
“I’ll tell Kellan, and we’ll go check it out. Do you have my beta’s contact information?” Owen shook his head. Tristan rambled off Jayce’s phone number. Owen stored it in his phone.
“Use that number when you need anything, and we’ll keep in touch.” Owen nodded. He walked away, leaving Tristan to go see Chloe. But in the back of his head, he was thinking about this warehouse. Kellan had to know about it immediately. He
just needed to finish this business with Chloe before heading back.
Tristan knocked on her cabin door. She knew it was him already because she should have been able to sense him. And that’s why she opened the door wearing a white teddy with nothing underneath. Tristan blinked and cleared his throat repeatedly in his shock. She yanked him inside and slammed the door shut. Clutching onto him, she kissed him deeply while trying to strip him of his clothes.
“Chloe wait,” he groaned as she rubbed against his dick. He hardened in his jeans, his balls continuing to ache. He wanted the release so bad. And he could easily slip inside her and fuck her until his release.
“Damn look how swollen your balls are baby,” she commented as she cupped him. She slid down his body and hastily undid his jeans. Tristan’s words were lodged in his throat as his erection sprung out. She wasted no time taking him into her mouth and sucking softly. Tristan’s eyes rolled to the back of his head at the pleasure, but the image of his mate flashed into his mind. His wolf reminded him who they belonged to. Shaking his head, Tristan pulled his erection from Chloe’s mouth.
“Stop,” he told her. He tucked himself back in his jeans and fixed himself up. Chloe stood slowly.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I’m sorry Chloe, but I’m ending it.” She gasped and covered her mouth.
“Why?” she cried.
“I don’t-I don’t have the same feelings for you anymore.” Even though she did mean a lot to him, knowing that Gemma was his mate cancelled all types of feelings of love for another female.
“I’m sorry, but I gotta go now. You can always keep in touch with me Chloe.”
“What changed?” she asked.
“Nothing you can do is going to change my mind Chloe so we can’t dwell on it.”
“WHAT CHANGED?!” She screamed.
“I found my mate!” he exclaimed. Chloe looked him up and down with her eyes wide.
“You found...” She went over to her bed and sat down. Even though she was hurt, she allowed him to feel that she understood that they couldn’t be together anymore.
“It’s not fair,” she pouted.
“We ran that risk the moment we decided to be in a relationship, and we weren’t true mates. What’s not fair is me neglecting someone the universe made for me. You mean a lot to me, Chloe, but at the end of the day, I have to choose my mate. I want my mate.”
“Fine. Then so be it.” Tristan went over to her and kissed her forehead. She said nothing else as he left her cabin. Tristan walked out of there with a huge sense of relief. After the talk with Bliss and now not having to worry about a commitment to another female, Tristan could focus on what was important. And that was Gemma.
Chapter Seven
Tristan walked back towards the caves with a little pep in his step. He felt like a ton of weight was lifted from his shoulders. There was a feeling of remorse that lived inside him for Chloe, but right was right. He couldn’t neglect his mate for another relationship. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to neglect Gemma at all. She was young, yes, but the universe had spoken. And Gemma was his forever.
Nearing the cave, Tristan stopped and did his security check to make sure he wasn’t being followed and that no one was near. Taking a deep breath in, he froze when an unfamiliar scent came to his nose. Chills ran down his body, and his hair stood up on the back of his neck. Something was off. Following his instincts, he headed towards the scent. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it smelled of rotting flesh. Jumping over a fallen tree, Tristan was hit full force with the stench. Just in front of him lay a shifter who looked like he had is blood drained from his body. From his chest, it looked like he was being eaten from the inside out.
“Oh god,” Tristan got closer to the shifter. He shook his head.
Help me! The voice of the shifter sprang into Tristan’s mind. Tristan gasped in shock and quickly got to his knees next to the man.
“What happened?!” Tristan shouted at him urgently.
Wolfsbane. He opened his mouth, and purple smoke swirled from the depths of his throat.
“Shit!” Tristan moved quickly grabbing pieces of wood to start a fire. Tristan was close enough to the cave to call out to Kellan.
I need you right now! He wasn’t far from the cave so he knew Kellan would be able to find him from his scent alone. The shifter still lay there quietly, struggling to breathe.
“My alpha is coming. We’re going to help you.” Tristan told him as he worked the fire to get bigger by adding more pieces of branches and twigs.
Tristan smelled Kellan and Jayce coming towards him minutes later. The both of them stopped in their tracks at the sight of the down shifter. After taking in their surroundings, both Kellan and Jayce sprang into action, helping Tristan. When the fire was roaring with life, Kellan and Jayce went over to the wounded man.
“Who did this to you?” Kellan asked. But the shifter was too wounded. His eyes were rolling to the back of his head as his body began to tremble and quake.
“Take his other arm!” Kellan ordered Jayce. Both Kellan and Jayce picked him up by each arm. Since the middle of his chest was blackened, they all concluded that was the point of entry for the wolfsbane. Using their bodies as a counterweight, Kellan and Jayce lowered the shifters body, chest down towards the fire. They held him over the fire just perfectly that his chest was touching the flames, but the rest of his body was not. The moment his chest touched the fire, the howl that left his mouth was deafening. His eyes glowed, and his canines dropped from his mouth as the fire burned the poison out of his body. The moment he began to gag, Jayce and Kellan pulled him away from the flames. He fell to the ground, vomiting out purple and black liquid. When he was finished, he slumped overdrawing in a deep breath.
“Thank you,” he croaked out. Kellan wanted to question him, but he knew a healing sleep was what the wolf needed. Not answering questions.
“You need to fall into a healing sleep. Me and my pack will keep you safe until you wake,” Kellan told him. The man didn’t even have the energy to give an answer. His eyes closed and he fell into a deep slumber that allowed for the power of being a shifter to restore to his body.
“What do we do about him?” Tristan asked when he heard the man’s heartbeat slowed increasingly. It beat so slow that to the human eyes and ears they would think he was dead.
“We need to figure out what the hell happened to him. Being poisoned wasn’t no accident. He must have been caught up in something,” Kellan said.
“What in the hell has been going on all of a sudden with all this fucking wolfsbane?” Jayce asked. Kellan began to pace.
“I want to keep him protected until he wakes, but I don’t want him in our home until we figure out who he is,” Kellan said.
“Let’s bring him over to a more secluded area. It’ll give us protection instead of being out in the open,” Jayce replied. He bent over and picked the sleeping man up. Everyone followed him to a secluded part of the woods that were lined with bushes and trees packed close together. It wasn’t too far from the cave, so they could easily get back if the she-wolves needed them. Jayce put the man down against the bushes so that way the rest of them could rest against the trees while he slept.
“Kellan there’s something else I was going to tell you before all this happened,” Tristan said.
“What is it?” Kellan asked.
“Owen told me about a warehouse that one of his wolves found. When they went to investigate it was filled with wolfsbane but it was empty. No one was around. And then I come across this wolf dying from Wolfsbane. It’s all too much of a coincidence if you ask me.”
“A warehouse full of wolfsbane?!” Kellan exclaimed. “Jesus,” he sighed scrubbing his face.
“What the fuck is going on?” Jayce questioned. Kellan leaned off the tree trunk and began to pace.
“I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling,” Kellan answered. He looked at Tristan.
“What were you doing with Chloe?
” Kellan asked, smelling the female on him.
“I had to take care of something with her.”
“Please tell me you’re not fucking her and leaving your mate high and dry,” Jayce groaned.
“Well, we were exclusive. I ended it tonight though.”
“Good. Gemma deserves your full attention,” Kellan said.
“So are we gonna be out here until morning?” Jayce asked. “You know he won’t wake from his healing sleep for now.”
“True but I won’t compromise the safety of the she-wolves by bringing him into the cave until I know what he’s about. I already did that when I invited Dell and his pack to stay and so far, besides Mira saving Rita’s life, the decision has been biting me in the ass. Especially with Dell.”
“If we don’t want them in our home then we should have some kind of safe house,” Tristan said. “A place where we can host injured wolves or packs to keep them safe until they can protect themselves again.” Kellan stopped pacing and looked at Tristan.
“I like that idea,” he said. “We’ll talk more about that later. For now, we just have to settle on watching him out here.”
“I’ll go in and get some supplies,” Tristan volunteered. “I’ll get the tent, so he has some cover and bring sandwiches and beverages.”
“Make sure they’re alcoholic,” Jayce joked.
“I’m also supposed to be protecting Bliss when you’re not around Kellan. Would you like me to stay inside the caves with her?”
“Yeah, right almost forgot about that. You can head in after you bring us the supplies. You don’t have to stay in the room with her, as long as you’re close.” Tristan nodded his head and turned to leave. He went the short distance to the caves and entered. Everything was dark except for the dim light setting in the living room. Tristan didn’t investigate. He grabbed up some supplies and packed a bag of food for Jayce and Kellan. He went to the lower floor of the cave to grab one of then tents before he left the cave again to hand over the items.