“I can do that.” I walked to the valet and took off my suit. I hated wearing the blasted things, but when it came to formal legal appointments, it felt necessary.
By the time I got undressed, Corey’s soft low snores were already reaching my ears. Just as I suspected, he wasn’t well as much as he had a burst of energy. Being sick sucked.
I carefully laid beside him, but not too close, wanting him to have a peaceful sleep, only to find him rolling over until he was pressed against me, his soft snores still reaching my ears. He needed me, my panther, my warmth—his mate.
I put my arm over him and let my eyes close, listening to his breaths and planning to stay awake while he slept.
That plan failed, the exhaustion of the stress I was facing with all the legal crap and now organizing people to excavate our land in the name of archaeology—it was wearing on me and I found myself dozing off.
I awoke with a start, pain from a smack on the shoulder turning to ecstasy. Ours.
“Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.” Corey scrambled away from me. I reached for him and he froze, his eyes wide with fear. I dropped my hand to the mattress not wanting to exacerbate his panic.
“Don’t run from me, love. Please?”
“I...I hurt you.” He stared at my shoulder. “I was sleeping and I guess I must have slapped you.”
I shook my head. “It was nothing. Just gave me a bit of a shock.”
“What do you mean? You’re bleeding. I was sleeping and dreaming and now there’s blood on you and the sheets are streaked with it.” He hid behind his hands.
““No, my love.” I outstretched my arm and he crawled back to me—to where he belonged. “You have it wrong. You were sleeping and dreaming and then you marked me—mated with me. You bit me, Corey.” My panther was purring and I waited for Corey to notice the vibration.
“Wait, what? But I’m human.”
“Apparently, that doesn’t matter.” I’d assumed our mating would be me marking him...this...this was everything I wanted but was too afraid to speak of.
“But doesn’t mating come with sex?” He squished his nose.
“Usually.” I didn’t want to talk about some claws who forced matings and did so with a bite, sealing them together even in protest. That wasn’t this claw and that certainly wasn’t us.
“But not always?”
“No. Not always.” I pointed to my shoulder and he cringed, the exact opposite of my intent.
“So you're my mate.”
“I already was.”
“But it’s official—official now.”
“It is.”
“And you look—not mad.” I couldn’t help but kiss his forehead. I wanted to kiss more, my cock already rock hard.
“Of course I’m not angry.” I cupped his cheek, “I’m ridiculously happy.”
“But I don’t have a mark.”
“And when you ask for one, you shall.”
“So if I said I wanted one right now you would just bite me?” This was a talk we should’ve had earlier and not while I had a raging boner and he was feeling insecure, and that was on me.
“If you asked for one right now, I would do that if you wanted or…?”
“Or?” he asked, his voice dropping slightly. Sexy as fuck.
“Or I’d wait until I filled you with my knot and you called out my name as you shot your cum between us, your body quivering in climax.” His pupils dilated at my description.
“That. I vote that.” His body pressed close to mine. “In my dream, that’s exactly what happened.
“That?”
“Will you mark me, alpha, mark me as I call out your name when your knot fills me so completely and I come undone beneath you?” His hands were already working my boxers. “I’m already so slick for you.”
“How can an alpha refuse an offer like that?”
“You don’t.”
And I didn’t. Both of us naked and needy within seconds, zero pretense of a slow afternoon of making love. No, this was raw and feral, our bodies joining as one, moving together in a frenzy until my teeth descended and I sank them into his shoulder, his cum between us just as I had predicted.
“You’re stuck with me now,” he panted.
“Not stuck—honored, blessed, privileged to be with you. Never trapped, my love.”
“Mine.” He wrinkled his nose and then said it again. “It’s in my head—just that one word.
“Mine,” I repeated back to him. “It’s in mine too, only in my case it’s my panther telling me.”
“I don’t have a panther.”
“Yes, love, you do...me. I’m your panther.” I kissed him, rolling around so he was on top. “I’m. Your. Panther.”
“My mate.” He kissed my lips hard and fast. “My panther.” Another kiss. “Mine.” And another. “My alpha.” This time he kissed me slower and longer. “My everything.”
21
Corey
Now that we were mated and in what we considered a long-term relationship, Bryce said we were ready for the next step. Not marriage. Many of the shifters didn’t bother with that human ceremony. Mating was what bonded them for life. Gabe and Brad were married because the bear shifter wanted to do that for my friend. And even though I teased him about the limerick he’d written, it was the sweetest way of committing to his human.
But we hadn’t discussed marriage. Today we were all set to meet the claw. And I was terrified. I’d messaged Gabe and he’d reassured me the bear den loved him. But that was him and bears. I was more snarky than my best friend, something Brad said rubbed off on Gabe when the two of us humans were together.
My palms were sweaty and I kept wiping them on my pants which is a habit I despised. I’d raced to the bathroom and peed so many times and my belly was jumbly. Bryce wasn’t home but was due any minute, and I spent every moment I wasn’t in the bathroom, checking for his car. I’d become a curtain twitcher.
Earlier I’d nibbled on crackers and been sick. It was insane that my nerves were so bad, I was throwing up. Checking myself in the bathroom mirror, my shadows betrayed my lack of sleep in the past few weeks and my pale cheeks were sending a message that I should be in bed.
As I splashed water on my face, a car drove up and the ignition turned off. Maybe it was a delivery. Bryce might have been delayed. He could be in an urgent meeting with Brad, or be doing an interview about what the government was trying to do—we’d had huge success with drumming up public support for our cause. Or he might have met a friend and decided to grab a coffee. Please don’t let it be him.
But a key turning in the lock left me in no doubt that it was Bryce. He used an app for the office downstairs but we preferred an old-fashioned key for the apartment. He broke into a broad grin when he saw me, hovering near the bathroom door. Despite the stress he was under, his face was lit up and I was certain it was because he was so proud to introduce me to his claw. His family. His best friends. I was honored but didn’t want to do it now. Maybe not ever.
Does that make me a bad person? Probably. My fingers itched to call Gabe. There was no one else in the world who’d experienced what I had. Not 100% true. Colin, the Love and Hate developer was in a human/shifter relationship and there were no doubt others scattered around, maintaining the facade of a regular human family on the surface.
But I didn’t know the faceless people, nameless apart from Colin. I’d searched everything I could about him, studying pics of him and Bentley. There was nothing that gave them away, whereas I was terrified that once I met the claw, I’d be branded somehow and the rest of the world would look at me differently.
I couldn’t express my fears to Bryce. He’d be so hurt, assuming I saw the panthers as less than humans and that so wasn’t true. But I was terrified of making a mistake, saying the wrong thing, my ignorance of their rituals and norms putting a big red mark on my chest.
“Hi, love. You ready?” His eyes roamed over my track pants and sweatshirt, and I picked the exact second uncertainty clou
ded his eyes. “Is that what you’re wearing?”
Bryce didn’t give a shit about my wardrobe normally, but he knew me well enough to get that I wouldn’t be seen dead in this outfit outside the house. It was for lounging about on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Or jogging which is a habit I’d never picked up.
And that was why he was gazing at me, his eyes narrowed and head tilted to the side. “I can give you five minutes if you want to get changed.”
I picked at my sweatshirt with two fingers, a nervous habit I’d never managed to quit. “Not really.” I couldn’t look at him. Refused to witness his disappointment. “I’m not well. Threw up a while ago…” My voice trailed off because I could hear myself and it sounded like a weak-ass excuse.
“Corey! Please don’t. We’ve discussed how important this is to me. To the claw.” He raked his fingers through his already messy hair. “You’ve been so supportive while we’ve been working on the court case, organizing the petition, helping me prep for interviews, and I love that.”
His hands fell to his side as he fisted them and his nostrils flared. “But I asked you to do me one favor. This is for us, not just for me.” I sensed the anger humming just below the surface. While Bryce would never hurt me, that fury had to be channeled somewhere and I hoped his fist wouldn’t connect with a wall.
My Bryce disappeared. A snout with immense canine teeth and dark fur took the place of my man. It was awe-inspiring and hair-raising and I was glued to the spot at sharing the moment of transformation. The magnificent big cat snarled, but I wasn’t gripped with terror. I was a witness to something primitive that had survived wars, destruction of old habitats, and centuries of human selfishness.
But his shifting, amazing as it was, represented his frustration with me. And I wished it had happened under different circumstances. Before I could utter one word, the panther bounded out the door, down the stairs, and I finally discovered why his yard backed onto a narrow, tree-shaded lane which led to the woods as I raced after him, my human legs too slow—he was already gone.
“Bryce!” Too late. Without thinking of what I was wearing or my upset stomach, I grabbed my keys. Jumping into the car, I roared down the road and around the corner to meet up with the lane where the sleek, black panther had escaped. There was an old narrow road, unpaved and with plenty of potholes winding through the trees, and the car and I bounded along, which didn’t help my jumpy stomach, while my eyes darted in every direction
Winding the window down, the brisk breeze ruffled my hair and sent goosebumps crawling over my skin. I shivered as the road became impassable for cars, but I guessed panthers in full flight had no such trouble.
I grabbed a blanket from the back seat and wrapped it around my shoulders as I stumbled over the uneven ground, rocks, fallen logs, and dead leaves. “Bryce. Come back, please. I’m sorry. Please can we talk about this.”
The wind ruffled the leaves and I hugged the blanket to my chest. Were they talking to one another? I swung around, ready to head back to the car but couldn’t see it. I clutched my stomach as I floundered over the rough ground, the aroma of decaying foliage clogging my nostrils, my stomach churned and I sank to the ground when my legs gave way.
“Bryce, I need you!” I pleaded as tears blinded me and the putrid odor of the forest floor had what was left in my belly reappearing. Not having any idea in which direction the car was and with not enough strength to stand up, I huddled on the ground, cursing I’d left my phone in the apartment and wondering if this was my final resting place.
22
Bryce
I hated myself. Even as I was being an irrational ass, I could see it, but somehow all of the nerves I’d bottled inside me turned me into a shitty person—a shitty alpha—an alpha that Corey didn’t deserve. And then what did I do? I made it fucking worse by letting my panther take control, not even turning back as Corey called my name.
I was officially unworthy of my mate. And with each step away from him, anger at myself built up. But distance somehow made my mind clearer, my panther no longer wanting to run—instead needing to get back to him.
Mate. Mate. Mate.
We were ready, beyond ready to turn around, to return to where we needed to be. I had groveling—so much fucking groveling—to do.
I circled round, needing to see him, to beg his forgiveness, to somehow make it right.
Bryce, I need you! The words echoed in my head on repeat. My mate, the person who should be able to count on me above all others, needed me, and I was what, throwing a tantrum like a child.
I picked up speed, racing back home only to catch his scent in the wrong direction. Running, running, running, I needed to get to him, his words still replaying in my head until they were no longer in my mind, but instead were in the distance.
“Bryce,” he sobbed...maybe just over the hill or maybe farther, but I was close.
I leapt over a rock and that was when he came into sight, his body huddled on the ground, the stench of stomach bile saturating the area, his sniffling almost breaking me. I shifted as I reached him, immediately kneeling down beside him. “I’m so sorry. I...let me fix this.” I didn’t even know how, but I had to make it right.
“Car,” he sniffled.
“I’ll get you there.” I took his subtle nod as permission to pick him up and carry him the short distance. What had he been thinking bringing his car out here? He’d be lucky if there wasn’t any damage to the undercarriage.
“I got you,” I promised as I set him in the back seat.
“You’re naked.” He hugged the blanket closer. “Trunk.”
“Okay.” If my nakedness was his concern, that was a good sign. His color and breathing were good. I just needed to get him to a healer.
I popped the trunk and grabbed his change of clothes, the ones he left there after he got stuck wearing grape-juice-saturated jeans while babysitting one day.
I pulled on the too-small sweatpants and snug hoodie. It would have to do. We were going to see the claw healer. It wasn’t like we were attending a fashion show.
“I want to take you to a healer.”
“It hurt—it hurt so bad when you ran.”
My eyes teared up at his confession. “I will make this better. I promise. I’m not even sure what happened back there—I don’t—I promise I will make this better.”
I climbed into the front seat, and backed us out of the woods and got us to the claw healer, unable to let them know I was coming via phone and instead having to tap into my Alpha abilities, something I hated to do, the power too easy to abuse.
We drove up to their cabin and Pia was already there, waiting.
“We’re here and Pia will take care of you,” I promised.
I carried him in and set him on the bed as Pia peppered me with questions about what had happened.
“You don’t need to—that isn’t important,” Corey interrupted as I started explaining my fears to Pia.
“Oh but it is,” she clapped, her face breaking into a grin. “It is.”
“How so? I ate something that is making me puke. Done.” Corey started to sit up and gave up halfway.
“You are human, I don’t expect you to see all the signs, but you, Alpha...think about it. You’re irrational near him, it clearing up as your distance grows. He is sick to his stomach…”
“I hear him call me in my mind.” I was in awe. Could it really be—was he pregnant?
“Now, you understand.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “Now, mate of my Alpha, let me tell you about panther bonds and pregnancy.”
“Pregnancy?” This time Corey did sit up all the way, his hand going to his belly. “Pregnancy, like in a baby.”
“Actually,” Pia sat beside him and placed a hand on his belly. “If I am correct, you will bear twins.”
“Twins?” I stood up. Earlier Corey was ill and I’d left him alone, and now he was having a baby. My baby, except there were two babies!
“Yes, Alpha, you will be blessed with two lit
tle ones.” Pia leaned in and scented Corey. “When an omega is pregnant with twins, hormones are rampant and it messes up your body, but your mate—they can absorb some of the side effects from you as you saw earlier.”
“What?”
“My irrationality—that was my body taking some of what was overwhelming you. Chances are I’ll be sick in the not too distant future too.”
“Can you take away my getting fat? I’m sure there will be plenty to share,” he teased.
“Pretty sure that’s a no, but I’ll probably be piling on the pounds in sympathy.”
Pia got up off the bed and excused herself saying it was time for tea.
“We’re having a baby.” He leaned into me.
“Two babies.” I pulled him onto my lap. “I’m so sorry I was awful. I couldn’t control my emotions.”
“When Gabe was pregnant he was kind of a hot mess.” He laughed. “Glad I won’t have to worry about that with you taking on that role.
“Feeling better?” I kissed his forehead.
“Yeah.” He brought my hand to his belly. “Are you okay with this?”
“I’m more than okay. I’m going to be a father and I have you. What more could anyone want?”
“Your land to be safe and an omega who could handle claw life.” He shrugged.
“Nope. None of that matters. Not really.” I held him a bit closer. “As long as I have you—our family, the rest is just noise.”
“Speaking of noise...can you hear my thoughts or something?”
“No, I only heard you because you needed me and you reached out.” I thought. I needed to clarify that with the claw elder, Nadja. She would know. I didn’t know any panthers with human mates, so in some ways this was all new.
“I didn’t—can I do that? Do I have a new skill now that I’m pregnant?” He studied his belly. “Maybe it was the babies who did it?”
“I don’t know but it was quite useful today.” The image of him huddling under the blanket was going to haunt me for a long time. “The thought of you there, alone, and needing help...how about we don’t have a day like this again.”
Matched To His Panther Page 9