Clover's Destined Mate

by McKayla Schutt

  “It’s not that.” She bit her lower lip regretting the words slipping from her mouth.

  “Then what?”

  “Forever.” Clover licked her lower lips and he nodded. Once they completed the bond, they would be linked together no matter what. Yet trying to run away from him seemed crazier than accepting their bond. Her soul called to him in a strong consuming way.

  “Just think about the now and we’ll make it to forever.” He kissed her, and the rest of her resistance vanished. His lips were magic on her skin. When his tip pressed against her entrance she welcomed him in. She didn’t want to fight her need anymore.

  Ever so slowly he inched into her core, sweet pleasure rolled up her body, demanding more. She wrapped her hands around his back and pulled him closer. Her lips parted as pleasure rolled through her nerves.

  “Don’t hold back,” Clover whispered and bit at his neck. A soft groan rumbled against her throat. He rocked into her once sending more heat into her belly.

  “You sure?” Ash nipped at her ear making her moan.

  “Yes.” Clover tipped her hips up and took every inch of him inside her. He pulled out and slammed into her, white-hot pleasure zipped up her spine. “More.”

  He gripped her hips tight and pumped into her body, each thrust building toward a strong orgasm. She grabbed onto the sheets trying her best to ground herself from coming too quickly. The need to enjoy every sweet entry pulsed through her belly. Her breath hitched as the bliss threatened to take over. When she met his heated gaze she almost lost it then, the intensity burned away any insecurity she had about forever. And no matter how hard she tried to stop the orgasm, nothing worked. She cried out his name as her back bowed up while he slowed his punishing pace.

  “That was beautiful.” Ash slowed down and pulled himself away. “Now bend over, my dear. I need to see your sweet ass.”

  She sucked in a shaky breath and rolled onto her stomach. With his help, she pulled herself onto her knees and he pressed his tip into her entrance. Need pooled in her belly as she slowly slid herself onto his shaft. His groans spurred her on. After a few strokes by her, he gripped onto her hips and took over again. This time her pleasure built slower but still stronger than before. Her nipples brushed against the soft sheets sending zips of heat and desire right to her core.

  The fear of being with Ash forever didn’t consume her like before, instead, the pleasure from his sweet thrusts consumed her thoughts. His grip tightened on her hips and he picked up his pace. He leaned forward and nipped at her shoulder sending more heat to her core. Oh, so close! She gripped onto the sheets and seconds later she spilled into her second orgasm, only this time Ash followed her seconds later. His cock swelled inside her body as he spilled himself inside her.

  The zip of current sent a wave of aftershock through her system and she cried out. Her legs shook under her and she fell onto the sheets as he slipped out.

  “You, my dear, are amazing.” He rolled her to her side and kissed her lips. Forever, I’m now his till we die. She sighed with relief and relaxed into the mattress. Ash fell onto the bed next to her. His hand wrapped onto her chest and she slipped into a dream…

  “Run, Patrick!” His mother’s voice screamed through the house. Clover tried to reach for Patrick, but he wasn’t on the stairs this time. A thud sounded to Clover’s right and she ran up the stairs searching for the little boy.

  She opened the bedroom door and fell into a dark room with chains all around the stone walls. Fear clenched at her soul trying to consume her.

  “Patrick?” Clover hissed. She tried to stand but her feet were bound. What the hell? How did this happen? Clover scanned the room again and found Patrick with a chain around his neck, tears rolling down his face.

  “Sweetheart, look at me.” Clover lifted herself up onto her knees and then reached for him.

  “Move any more and you’ll die,” a creepy as fuck voice spoke behind her. When she turned around, a dark shadow loomed over her. “You didn’t listen.” Heat seared her chest.

  Clover bolted up in the bed, sweat covering her flesh and curls sticking to her face.

  “What’s wrong?” Ash rubbed her back as he sat next to her. Light cascaded into the room from the part in the window coverings.

  “Nothing just a really bad, no, fucked-up dream.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “No.” Clover rolled her shoulders. “I think I’m going to shower then make breakfast.” She climbed out of the bed and left her new mate. She didn’t want to tell him about the dream and scare him.

  Why do I have this bad feeling something evil is coming my way? She slid into the shower hoping to wash away the tingling sensation.

  Chapter Twelve

  Ash

  Ash sat at his desk and rubbed his stomach. Clover had made a mountain of pancakes with bacon and eggs for them. His wolf rumbled in the back wanting to go on a run instead of working. I need to find the pups. The computer finally turned on and the brown W logo on the bottom corner popped up. The software he had been using for the last few weeks waited for him to click on it. Trying to track down the fucking hunters kidnapping kids had been a royal bitch.

  Images of having Clover in his room rolled around in his mind thanks to his wolf and Ash shook his head. I need to focus, damn it, he reminded his beast, but the fucker didn’t care and pushed ideas of different places to take her into his thoughts. One of the images was on the very desk he tried to work at. Come the fuck on! There’s not enough room. He hoped it would stop his wolf, but it only spurred him on more as in his fantasy he shoved all the computer crap onto the floor before fucking Clover from behind.

  Ash let the images play out and when he opened his eyes, his cock was harder than freaking steel. Happy now? His beast chuckled. Ash stared at the dark monitors and rolled his shoulders.

  His set up had two screens for better multitasking, so he pulled up the software for the wolfbase and let it load. While it took its sweet time, he faced the other computer and after a few clicks of his mouse, had Clover’s social media profiles all pulled up. He liked how all of them had the privacy settings fully engaged. Tara had tagged her in a few photos from college which weren’t covered because Ash was friends with the wolf.

  “Ash?” Patrick’s little voice called out as he opened the door.

  “What?” Ash didn’t turn to look at the little guy. Instead of answering, the pup climbed up into his lap and pointed at the picture of Clover.

  “She was pretty with those colors.” Patrick pointed at one of the pictures where her curls had blue and purple. The brightness of her smile made his wolf rumble.

  “Yes, she was.” A small bark vibrated through the speakers as the database loaded up. Whoever found the little noise to be amusing deserved a punch in the face. “I need to get to work. Go find Clover and play.” Ash lifted Patrick up and set him on the floor. Tempting as getting lost on social media was, he clicked on the x to close the browser. He didn’t want to start scrolling through social media and lose track of time.

  He scrolled down to the satellite maps and clicked on the link. The wolfbase held pack information, news alerts, and the map section he’d been working with for the last few months. The pack information section had been a mess for a while until someone thankfully stepped in, making all the information flow easier instead of a million packs all listed on the same page.

  When the current map page loaded, he sensed Patrick hovering by the door.

  “What?” Ash kept his focus on the screen instead of the pup.

  “Read to me,” Patrick pleaded.

  “I can’t right now.” Ash dragged his mouse around the pad and spotted Rayne’s house when the hunters tried to take Annmarie. His mind raced, trying to figure out a way to track them down because after the attacks they always managed to turn onto a road in the city with a ton of cars and no security cameras. He’d managed to catch a few breaks but the trail died after the damn shacks they took the kids to.
>
  Scanning each screenshot, hoping they stayed on the same road, had been a freaking nightmare. He’d lost them in neighborhoods a few dozen times because of all the parked cars and those coming and going. The satellite overview pictures were only so good. If he zoomed in too much, the pictures became pixelated and useless. They managed to keep falling off the grid which only pissed him off every time it happened.

  “But,” Patrick whimpered. Ash turned to face the pup who jumped back.

  “I have to work to keep you safe, Patrick. Now go ask Clover to read to you.” Ash pointed toward the door to make his point extra clear. He faced his desk while Patrick shuffled away.

  He checked the time before refocusing on the screen. After a few clicks, his wolf shook his head inside when he had to back up to find them again.

  “Ash?” The pup’s voice grated on his nerves.

  “Patrick,” he growled back.

  “She finished the story.” Patrick ran up to his side and Ash checked the time. Less than five fucking minutes since Patrick came into the room. He shoved his hands through his hair.

  “Go ask Clover to play outside in the back,” he suggested, and Patrick scrambled from the room. Ash rolled his shoulders and scanned the screen for the last spot he verified the hunters were. Found it.

  “She wants to know if it’s safe!” Patrick called out, ruining Ash’s focus again and the screen kept scrolling up. He ground his teeth.

  “As long as you stay in the backyard.” Ash wanted to close the door and lock it. When Patrick left this time, he stared at the door, waiting for the little boy’s feet to return with another question. How on earth is this going to fucking work? Ash needed to do his job but having a little one bug him every few minutes broke his concentration so badly it felt like he started over when his eyes returned to the screen.

  Most of his leads were from sightings about odd activity reported from the team or the patrols. But hardly any of them panned out, only the trails from the kidnapping days managed to get him farther. And yet they kept slipping away undetected.

  Ash zoomed out on the map then refocused on Patrick’s old house and adjusted the day to when Clover saved him. A little dot leaving the house was Clover holding Patrick. The four-minute delay to the next slide always pissed him off. So much could happen in fucking four minutes. He zoomed out just enough to find Clover again and clicked on the next slide. Tracking individual people was harder on this system because it didn’t give much detail and the images were always pixelated

  When Jaiden had been over helping him a few weeks ago, he said it reminded him of Google Maps with an up-to-date street view program. Ash wondered if the creator of the system had bought the software from Google or even been the one to create it.

  “Ash?” Patrick called out and Ash’s shoulders dropped.

  “Patrick, what do you need?” He let go of the mouse, so he didn’t accidentally hit a button.

  “Actually, I was trying to wait for you to stop clicking to call your name but he’s impatient. Sorry to bug you. I wanted to see if you needed anything.” Clover’s calm voice helped relax his wolf.

  “Just some quiet time.” He glanced back at his mate to find Patrick at her side.

  “That’s pretty hard with a little guy in the house.” Clover smirked and lifted Patrick into her arms.

  “Well, he needs to learn that this room is just for me to work. Not for playing.” He motioned toward the area and his wolf pushed the image of taking Clover on the desk back into his mind. No, this room is for work. Not play.

  “He’s also scared to do anything without you or me,” Clover snapped back.

  “Then what’s your solution?” He folded his arms over his chest and turned his chair to fully face her.

  “Take me and Patrick to Tara’s house. We can hang out till you’re done working. We’ll be safe with her and you can work in peace.” His mate adjusted the pup and he smiled and nodded quickly.

  “Tara’s cool.” Patrick bounced in Clover’s arms. The idea had merit, but his wolf didn’t want them out of the house.

  “Or you could keep being interrupted every few minutes.” A smirk lifted her lips and he ground his teeth together. He hated losing his damn focus because Patrick needed something.

  “Let’s go to Tara’s house.” Ash logged out of the system so no one would be able to get in. Even the log-in had to be memorized because the wolf community didn’t want anyone to be able to get the information who shouldn’t. Like the blasted hunters taking the children. Just last week, Raymand had to change the password, every alpha had two months of access with the same password so they were heavily rotated through. Ash thought it should be weekly changes but Raymand pushed the idea to the side. ‘I don’t have time to change the thing every freaking week,’ Had been the alpha’s response the last time Ash brought it up.

  “I did try to keep him out but he’s persistent.” Clover nibbled on her lower lip before walking away. Ash snatched his phone from the desk and followed them.

  “Did you tell Tara you’re coming? I don’t want him over when someone else is there.” Tara had a reputation of being overly flirty with men in general and a complete handful.

  “Tara doesn’t bring guys home. She makes them go to their house, for your information.” Clover shook her head. “And to answer your question, I asked if she was free before I suggested it.”

  “Good.” Ash nodded. The sooner they left the house the sooner he could get back to work on hunting down the fuckers putting Patrick and his mate in danger. The failure of not getting them sooner ate at his soul with every passing day.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Clover

  “Don’t give me that damn look.” Clover glared at her friend while Patrick chased after Tara’s cat. Normally the tabby slept in Tara’s bed but he was running around now.

  “What look could it possibly be?” Tara smirked and plopped down onto the couch.

  “Don’t play dumb. You already know.” She loathed the look of ‘I knew I was right’ on Tara’s face because it always had a smug side to it.

  “You mean my best friend has a werewolf mate?” Tara tipped her head with a smile on her lips.

  “We completed the bond last night, but I don’t know if I should’ve.” She lowered her gaze to her fingers.

  “Second thoughts so soon? I didn’t expect anything different.” Tara shook her head and glanced at Patrick. “I mean, you did just become a mom when you completed the bond.”

  “Oh goodness, I did.” Clover dropped to the couch but still faced Tara. “I’m a mom without even giving birth.” She shoved her fingers through her hair.

  “I think some women would prefer to skip all the birth crap.” Tara rubbed Clover’s hand and Clover gave her friend a half grin. She already bonded with Patrick, so it didn’t feel any different to be his other mother. Yet the whole implication of being his mother still made her head spin.

  “Clover, I’m hungry.” Patrick pulled on her arm and she wondered if he might want to call her Mom or if it would be too much for such a young boy. She knew better than to push the subject. If he wanted to call her anything other than Clover, she’d have to let him decide.

  “I have burgers on the counter. Give me ten minutes and we can eat lunch,” Tara pitched in.

  “No lettuce. It’s gross.” Patrick shook his head; his brown locks covered his eyes.

  “You’ll need a haircut soon.” Clover pushed his hair away, his little eyes met hers.

  “Mommy said next week for haircut.” His shoulders fell. Clover lifted him onto her lap and he wiggled a little before relaxing into her hug.

  “I’ll be back.” Tara patted Clover’s leg before standing and strolling to her kitchen.

  “I know it hurts, honey, I may have been older when I lost my mom and dad but I know the pain.” Memories of the nights she spent crying when she lost her parents filled her mind. She had a sister to watch over though so she had learned to be strong.

  “I mi
ss them.” He sniffed before rubbing his arm over his eyes.

  “They will always be with you in your heart just like mine always follow me.” They sat there while Tara cooked and slowly Patrick went from sobs to shaky breaths. She wanted to give Patrick the one thing she never received, love and comfort in a time of need.

  “Lunch is ready.”

  “Thanks.” Patrick cleared his face of tears and jumped off to run into the dining room. Clover didn’t want the little guy to be in this kind of pain, but she knew he needed to mourn. The pain would turn into a dull roar and he’d be able to adjust to the new situation.

  French fries sat in a large bowl and everything to make a good burger covered half of Tara’s table. Within a few minutes, everyone had their plates full and Patrick already dove in.

  “So good,” Patrick said with a mouth full of meat.

  “I’m glad, but you need to chew with your mouth closed.” Clover tapped on her lower lip as she sat. He nodded. Tara tried to cover her chuckle as she sat in her seat. “Shut it, Tara.” She took a sip of water while Patrick devoured his meal.

  Tara turned her head toward the door and her body tensed up.

  “What’s wrong?” Clover glanced at the door but didn’t hear anything. The need to eat vanished as she studied her friend’s worried eyes.

  “I thought I heard someone whisper out there.” Tara rolled her shoulders. Clover stood and inched toward the window nearest the door. Her mouth dried as she wrapped her fingers onto the soft curtain fabric. When she pulled back the curtain the door banged open making her jump back. Her breath froze in her lungs as the male with dark eyes stepped over the threshold.

  “Get the boy,” a male voice boomed through the house sending fear into her heart. One turned on her while others headed toward Tara and Patrick. Fuck, I can’t slip past him to get to Patrick.

  “Patrick, get in the bathroom and lock the door!” Clover yelled as a man punched her in the gut. Air whooshed out of her lungs and she barely managed to stay upright. A growl vibrated from the kitchen, but Clover couldn’t see if it came from Tara or Patrick.