Rafe's Mate

by Rianne Thaxton

  The Elder’s nostrils flared as his face pinched. “Understood.” Then the man’s gaze went to Bash. “As Guardians go, Ortiz has shown himself to be effective in his duties—if not a bit reckless. But he’s far from worthy to act as your Guardian Regent.” Skidmore’s dismissive gaze went back to Rafe who held onto his rising temper. “The man is undisciplined, cocky, balks at authority, and has had a tendency to mock this body of Elders at every opportunity.”

  “It’s what I live for,” Bash said with the cocky attitude he’d just been accused of having, clearly unconcerned about their opinion. He earned a withering glare from several sets of eyes.

  “Thank you for proving our point,” the Elder said on a slight huff. “And as for your Beta.” Slater’s large body tensed as a low growl sounded from him. “Do you honestly think someone like him is the right choice as your second?”

  “Someone like what?” The temper Rafe had been keeping in check had ratcheted up with each demeaning comment from the Elder and was close to reaching the boiling point at what he anticipated coming next.

  “Well…” The Elder gave Slater a speculative up and down look before glaring at Rafe. Did the man not understand what a challenge was? Because if Skidmore continued eyeballing Rafe he’d find himself just as dead as Blackburn. “Perhaps you were under the misassumption that Garnett’s close relationship with Gideon McKnight might give your choice some legitimacy.”

  Slater let out a chuff. “It is a good thing to be fucking the Guardian Sovereign.” Rafe held in a grin of satisfaction at the several scandalized expressions and murmurs of distress as Slater continued, “but that had nothing to do with Rafe’s decision.”

  Skidmore’s unamused gaze swept over Slater. “Perhaps not. But since you’ve brought this down to your base, and rather vulgar, level,” he said as a low rumble built deep inside Rafe, “while we have nothing against someone living an, how should I say it…” He conferred with the other Elders, who murmured among themselves while throwing out disapproving glares, before he addressed Rafe again. “Let’s just say an alternative lifestyle, we don’t—”

  Rafe’s roar of anger and outrage thundered against the walls of the underground cavern, sending a few gasps through the Elders as one or two of them visibly paled. “You can stop.” His gravely response, thick with his panther, echoed around them. His shift was close. And while his alpha form wasn’t ready to emerge quite so soon after his recent battle, his animal was more than willing to make an example of the bigoted lot of them. Rafe’s challenging gaze skewered one of the other Elders stepping forward. “And I mean now,” he growled when the man was about to say something. The Elder quickly lowered his eyes and nodded before stepping back.

  Rafe moved closer to the dais and let his hard gaze go from first one Elder and then the other as his incisors dropped and sharpened. “I don’t need anyone’s guidance when it comes to the men I trust.” His fingertips prickled. All he had to do was let go and his claws would be out—ready to rend. “Especially not from a bunch of elitist assholes who would just as soon see me dead.”

  None of them denied his accusation, with Elder Skidmore’s mouth going up in a slight grin. He would need to watch this one.

  “And I will not defend my choices to you.” He managed to bring just enough of his alpha out to push his point home, saying in a guttural tone, “But you will show my men respect because they deserve it a hell of a lot more than you do.”

  Most of the Elders nodded and lowered their gazes in deference, but Skidmore and those standing closest to him refused to back down. “You should reconsider.” Rafe contemplated how quickly he could leap to the dais and swipe that smirking grin from the other man’s face as the Elder finished with, “Respectfully, of course.”

  “Of course,” Rafe said with a final glare before turning his back on them. “The subject is closed” he said as he turned away with Slater and Bash following after him. Once more they headed to the exit. He doubted his demonstration of scorn for them and their opinions had made an impact, but walking away was better than leaving a bloody massacre behind he’d have to explain to Law. Besides, he was tired of looking at their smug faces.

  The three of them entered the cold confines of the tunnel and Bash shut the double wooden doors behind them as Slater let loose his anger and frustration. “Goddamned, motherfucking bastards.” The other man wiped a hand over his smooth, bald head and then banged his fist against the tunnel wall.

  “Like I said,” Rafe told him, tightening his towel. “They’re assholes.”

  “I think it’s jealousy,” Bash said, coming up behind Slater and throwing an arm around his neck as he waggled his eyebrows at him. “Gideon’s hot.”

  Rafe held in a laugh at Slater’s aggravated expression as he pulled away from Bash, saying, “Why are you noticing he’s hot?”

  “What?” Bash asked, shrugging and automatically moving forward to take the lead as they went down the tunnel. Slater stayed close behind Rafe on their way to where he could get cleaned up and dressed. “Don’t worry, I don’t have designs on your mate,” Bash said over his shoulder at him and Slater and then winked. “Besides, I’m all about the ladies. But that doesn’t mean a guy can’t notice. Right?”

  “We’re not mates,” Slater groused. “At least… I don’t know. We could be, but something’s missing.”

  “Nothing essential, I hope,” Bash said on a laugh. His seemingly irreverent in all things Guardian continued to rib his more reserved Beta, who let out a couple of slight chuckles as they continued down the corridor. Rave grinned at the quick camaraderie the three of them had fallen into, especially as Bash and Slater had only met less than a week ago. But already the two acted as a team when it came to their duties. It almost took Rafe back to his days as a SEAL and the men he’d served with. While the two men were diametrically opposed in their demeanors, they both brought their own talents and strengths to the table. And both were deadly.

  Together, the two would make a formidable backup for Rafe in any situation.

  Javier would have been his first choice for a Beta—always—and he couldn’t shake the sense of sadness of not having his brother serving alongside him. But Slater was a good man and shifter with a usually calm and level head on his shoulders. He was also a long-time friend Rafe could count on. So, while he and Slater weren’t brothers he trusted the man implicitly.

  And Bash?

  Well, everything the Elder had said about him was true—for the most part. And, yes, the other panther’s contempt for the state Elders was well documented, although after Rafe’s own recent dealings with them, he could understand the other man’s attitude. But what Skidmore had left out when naming Bash’s attributes was the man’s loyalty and willingness to give his all if necessary—something he’d demonstrated again and again in the two years Rafe had known him since being introduced by Javier.

  So, regardless of what anyone else thought or said, Slater and Bash would serve him and their people well.

  “Well, all I’m saying is,” Bash said as they entered the changing area, “if Gideon was my type, I’d be all over him—power, good looks, built like a tank, with what’s gotta be a huge—”

  “Personality,” Slater finished for him on a hearty laugh as Rafe dropped his towel and headed to the shower with Bash joining in on the laughter.

  He’d definitely made the right choice.

  Dex’s quiet chuckle caught Rafe off guard as he passed by the sunroom at the back of his house two mornings later, and he paused out of sight beyond the French doors.

  “It kinda looks like Uncle Rafe,” Dex said, on a louder chuckle. “Except his head isn’t that big.”

  It had been almost a year since he had seen Dex this open and carefree with anyone. And he felt a sense of satisfaction it was because of his mate.

  “It’s all in perspective, Dex,” Aubrey said on a laugh. “All in perspective.”

  He couldn’t resist the urge to look in on them, so he carefully peered throug
h the glass panes with his gaze automatically landing on his mate. Would there ever be a time when Aubrey wouldn’t take his breath? He hoped not. He wanted this feeling to last for the rest of his life.

  Dex lifted his head and sniffed the air—his shoulders stiffening. He then turned his dark gaze on him with his smile faltering and eyes lowering. “Hi, Uncle Rafe.” Then he bent his head back to what he had been working on.

  It was always the same. Dex closed up around him at every turn no matter what he did.

  Maybe soon that would change.

  Aubrey’s eyes flickered to him for a moment, and then she reached across the table and smoothed a gentle hand over Dex’s head. “Keep working,” she said before getting up and walking toward the door. Then she glanced over her shoulder and back before whispering, “How long have you been standing there?”

  “Long enough to know you think I have a big head.”

  “Well you do,” she said, motioning for him to follow her away from the doors. She’d missed his obvious double-meaning.

  But again, soon.

  “When did you get back?” she asked after stopping a few feet from the door.

  “Late last night.”

  This may have been her first sight of him, but he’d been unable to stay away from her once he’d gotten home. After close to a week of stress, he’d decided to let his panther roam freely for a few hours. His first stop had been the small guest house where Aubrey was staying.

  Light had shown out from the living room window, and he hadn’t been able to keep from looking in on her. She’d been curled up asleep in an overstuffed arm chair with a book in her lap. He wasn’t sure how long he’d sat watching her sleep, but he’d finally left when she’d roused and gone to bed.

  He frowned. Hopefully that wasn’t considered creepy.

  “My business dealings have been taken care of… For now.” He wanted to hold her in the worst way. Or even better yet, kiss her. He could still almost taste her sweet breath as he’d been this close to touching his lips to hers the previous Saturday night.

  Damn Max.

  “Dex and I are almost through. So, maybe we could meet in your office in say, um, thirty minutes to go over what I’ve left on your desk.”

  His big desk he’d like to spread her out on. His head had been filled with the memory of her arousal and the scent he’d wanted to wallow in. But he needed more. He licked his lips with the need to taste her—his face heating and cock hardening when her eyes tracked the motion.

  “It’s Saturday, and anything you need to show me can wait until Monday morning.”

  “Oh. Okay. If you’re sure,” she said with a slight grimace. “It’s just you’ve had several official-looking documents from that SEAS organization. You know, the company you said to hold everything aside for. I’d thought you’d like to know.”

  He nodded. “I’ll take a look at them after my meetings with Max and two of my associates.” It was a good thing he’d thought of that little bit of instruction. Having a human as an assistant hadn’t been in the plans, but now he liked the idea of having her close during the day where she could get to know him better. But having her open anything with mentions of shifting, official challenges, or the myriad other scenarios associated with his position as Alpha Regent would have been hard to explain. So, he’d just told her anything from SEAS was confidential correspondence that he would have to handle personally. “You remember Max, right?”

  And there went that scowl. “How could I forget? Besides he’s been here a couple of times this past week.” A soft smile touched her lips. “Dex seems to like him a lot.”

  It was a good thing he’d been the one to send Max over to check on them in between the bear’s investigation of Lewellyn. Otherwise he might have been jealous. Hell, he was anyhow. “Well, they’ll be here in a few minutes. But…”

  She raised one dark blonde brow. “But?”

  “Do you ride?”

  She smiled and he almost forgot what they were talking about. “Dex and I have been out at least once a day. He even let me ride Chaparrita.”

  “Good.” He found himself moving closer to her. Her eyes widened and hints of her arousal subtly blended in with her lilacs and honeysuckle scent. He clenched his fists to keep from reaching out to her. “I thought we could go for a ride and then stop someplace quiet to discuss Dex’s progress—maybe have a picnic by the stream.”

  Her cheeks flushed an interesting shade of pink as she bit her lip and lowered her gaze. His eyes were drawn to the evidence of her hardening nipples pressing against her t-shirt. And then it hit him full force as he breathed in deeply of all that was Aubrey.

  She wants me.

  If he were a wolf, he would have howled, but cats didn’t do that. They did, however, rub themselves all over what they coveted. And right now Rafe coveted his mate—preferably stripped naked. He would cover every inch of her with his scent so it mixed with his own to make something new and unique that would tell the world she belonged to him.

  Her shy glance lifted to his. “Well—”

  “Rafe!”

  He groaned and breathed out a rough sigh at the ceiling. What? Did Max purposely have the worst timing in the world?

  “Back of the house,” he called over his shoulder and then held Aubrey’s gaze.

  “Max is here?” Dex asked as he came out of the sunroom, his eyes lit with excitement. And, again, there went that twinge of jealousy. “He’s funny.”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “There you are, I…” Max’s gaze went beyond him. “Hey, squirt.”

  “Hi, Max, you wanna see your bear I drew?”

  Rafe tensed as Aubrey’s confused gaze went to Max. “You have a bear?”

  “Uh. No. Of course—”

  “Where’s Slater and Bash?” Rafe hoped the diversion worked.

  Max grinned. “Waiting in your office.”

  Rafe surprised himself by taking Aubrey by the shoulders—something he was pretty sure had surprised her too as he crouched to meet her eyes. “Go ahead and finish up with Dex and I’ll see you in less than an hour. Okay?”

  “Um. Sure.”

  “Hey, buddy.” Warmth filled Rafe as Max walked past him and Aubrey to squat down in front of an excited Dex. “I’ll take a gander at your drawing when we’re done. Sound good?”

  His nephew nodded as Max scrubbed a hand over Dex’s head—nearly knocking the kid over. But if the smile blooming on the child’s face was any indication, he didn’t mind at all.

  And then Max said in a loud, conspiratorial whisper, “And then maybe we can raid the refrigerator like we did last time.”

  “Is that why…” What was he thinking? The old saying "hungry as a bear" had to come from somewhere. “Never mind.”

  Max stood to leave, stopping by Rafe to say, “See ya in a few minutes,” before going back down the hall.

  Rafe followed the Beta Prime’s progress as he squeezed Aubrey’s upper arms.

  “Um. Rafe.”

  “Mmm?” He squeezed her soft flesh again and then looked back at her with raised brows.

  “You can let go now.”

  Had he been holding her all this time? He supposed he had. “Right.” He reluctantly released her and took a step back. “So, I’ll see you when we’re finished.”

  “Okay,” she quietly said as he went after Max and then grinned at her whispered, “Your uncle is a confusing man,” as he turned the corner toward his office.

  Rafe thought the meeting was going well, although Max hadn’t been able to report anything new on Lewellyn—not even after a second trip to The Covenant where he’d spoken with members of the staff who had had dealings with him. It was as if he’d just up and vanished. So the consensus among the four of them was the former Alpha Prime had left the country, even though Max could find no record of him flying out from anywhere or taking one of the many cruises offered throughout the state.

  But that didn’t mean he hadn’t found a way. He and his family could
have easily left under assumed names. With the amount of money the man had embezzled, it wasn’t hard to imagine he would have hesitated to find a new place to live with a new identity. In fact, he could afford to do just about anything he wanted.

  The other option, they dismissed.

  Llewellyn being dead wouldn’t explain where his family was. Unless his wife, teenaged son and daughter had killed him and then disappeared on their own, which they’d deemed highly unlikely. So Max was stuck with nothing encouraging to report back to Law when he returned home in a few days.

  “So, are we done?” Rafe asked, his gaze going to the three men as he pushed up from his seat. He was ready to spend some time with his mate and perhaps find a way to get on her good side.

  “I actually have something,” Max said.

  Rafe grimaced as he settled back into his chair and glanced at the time on his open laptop. They’d been here for more than the hour he’d planned on.

  “Bash.” Max turned in his seat toward the Guardian. “How would you feel about heading up a branch of Black Bear Security and Protection?”

  “Me?” Bash said glancing beside himself at Slater and then back at Max.

  “Exactly you.”

  After that, Rafe just sat back while the two of them went back and forth, wrangling over everything from where it would be located to how much money would be involved to “Why in the hell would you want me?”

  Max explained his plans for expanding his business to several states throughout the Alliance after his relocation to the Southeast from Wyoming, and how Bash was one of few Guardians he had tapped to head the operations of those branches. To Rafe, it sounded like a good move and something his Guardian would excel at.

  “So?” Max finally said, a little exasperated, but smiling. “It’s up to you. But I think you’d be a good fit.”

  His Guardian replied in typical Bash fashion, “I’m always a good fit. A little tight sometimes, but I manage to make it work.”

  Max laughed and nodded in satisfaction while Rafe and Slater shared a look of, “What’re you gonna do?”