by M. L. Briers
“Good to know,” Landon’s eyes sparkled with amusement.
He was older than Justice. His black hair was starting to grey at the temples and the weathered lines upon his face showed how many summers he’d been working the land.
Given a different set of circumstances, the clan and pack not butting heads so often would be a start, Justice thought they probably could have been friends.
“About earlier?” Justice said and Landon lifted a big hand and waved it away.
“Unavoidable.” Landon offered and Justice nodded his understanding.
“Still, I’ll buy you and the boys a beer next time were in town.” Justice offered.
“Yeah, sounds good.” Landon agreed. “Appreciate the visit.”
That was alpha talk for showing respect. Landon noted that Justice had also come alone. That showed the courage that the man had, should the clan have felt retribution was in order, and the trust he’d put in Landon not to take advantage of it and to play fair.
In truth, it would have been a one on one fight between alphas. In reality, it was just a neighbour stopping by.
“Well, I get the feeling that with Mari and Cole mating, there’s gonna be a few complications ahead.”
“You’re probably right.” Landon agreed. “Might be a good idea to head that shit off at the pass before things get out of hand.”
“Glad we’re on the same page.” Justice respected the man. From what Tyler had told him, his clan weren’t the easiest to keep in line, but somehow Landon had managed to do it, and apart for the odd fist fight between the clan and the pack, nothing major had come up under this alpha’s reign.
“Give me a shout if you want anything.” Justice said as he started to walk away, still keeping one eye and both ears trained on the alpha bear. “Or, drop by. I’ll tell my out-runner’s that you’re welcome.”
Landon’s head tilted to one side a little and he nodded again.
Yep, things were certainly changing for his clan.
~
~
~
Cole lifted his fist and battered against the front door of Mari’s cabin one more time.
“Say you’re sorry.” Mari snapped back from the other side. That was a new one on Cole, she’d just plain blanked him or snorted her contempt for him up until now.
“I’m not sorry,” Cole blurted out with a half growl, and then paused, considering it. “Wait, what am I not sorry about?”
“I have a list,” Mari shot back.
“Start at the damn top then.”
Cole was fast losing his temper. His bear wanted inside. Hell, he wanted inside… but the damn stubborn female wasn’t budging, and if he had to kick the door down, then that might just bring him a little more attention from the pack than he wanted right now.
He had a mate to woo, he couldn’t be wasting time breaking heads and noses. Right then, he wished he could, it might have relieved some of that pent up tension inside of him.
She-wolf as a mate. A one that liked going around driving her truck into other people’s bumpers too.
Tyler got a witch and he got a wild cat. He’d take a little zapping over this one’s fierce temper. That woman was sure to drive him to an early grave, but boy was he going to have some fun getting there…
“Tyler!” She exclaimed and Cole’s head shot around and his body followed as he looked for the bear shifter.
“Where?” He growled out.
“Nowhere.” Mari said and he relaxed a little, groaning and grumbling as he turned back towards her front door. “You need to say sorry to Tyler.”
“For what?” Cole bit out in disbelief. He’d tried to help that dumb bear when the man was hold up in a damn cave brooding over what he’d done to Mari…
His bear growled at the thought of it. Tyler’s beast attacking his mate… what he needed to do was put his fist in the damn man’s face a few times… he might very well even kill the damn man.
~
CHAPTER TEN
~
“For being an ass and making him leave the clan.” Mari growled.
“Nobody made Tyler leave the clan, he chose to come and live with wolves.” Cole snorted.
“I’m sure that was his first choice.” Mari’s voice was full of acid and sarcasm.
“It was his only choice.” Cole shot back.
Nobody had forced Tyler out. The man had gone soft for fighting and blooding, and his clan liked to fight. That was Tyler’s decision to make and the bear hadn’t done badly out of it, he’d found himself what he always wanted, a mate.
“There you go, and as the clan second, you could have made that not be the case.” Mari sounded slightly victorious in her assumptions and Cole’s nose twitched in annoyance.
“You’ll see when you come to live with the clan-”
“I don’t want to live with the clan.” Mari scowled on the other side of the door.
In her mind Cole was as stubborn as he was sexy. She liked the sexy, but she couldn’t say that she was overly fond of his other attributes.
“Tough.” Cole was done with playing nice. His bear wanted out, and if it got its way it wouldn’t be too friendly with her front door to get inside to her.
“Tough?” Mari growled. He could practically feel her on the other side of the wood – she was so close that if the door hadn’t of been in the way then he could have reached out and pulled her close to him, placated his bear, soothed himself.
“You heard me,” Cole growled back, sounding fiercer than he thought might be needed, but he was a man on a mission, and that mission was to win his mate.
He couldn’t do that through a door…
Tough… Mari snorted her contempt for him.
Tough is my foot up his backside.
Tough is telling him to go shove his head where the sun don’t shine.
I’ll give him tough…
I’ve got a damn alpha, I don’t need a mate who thinks he can boss me the hell around.
Tough is me putting a chair over his damn head when he gets all rowdy…
I’ll shove a chair leg so far up his damn backside his eyes will bulge…
You know what? Start as you damn well mean to go on, I say!
“Well, hear this, Cole the bear…” Mari snatched the front door open and glared at him.
The trouble was that she hadn’t taken into account the fact that the man was over a foot taller than her. Her glare found those ripped muscles of a chest that practically spanned her doorway, and with those broad shoulders; he blotted out the outside world, and all she could see was him.
Her wolf yipped and clawed within her…
Traitor, behave. I’m trying to prove a point to a daft bear… She growled back at her beast, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember what that point was.
“My eyes are up here, baby,” Cole’s gravelly deep tones ran over her skin and her nerves like velvet with a hint of claws.
Her womb contracted, literally clenched and sighed out its own version of a breath again. Her stomach did the kind of backflip an Olympic gymnast would have scored a perfect ten for. Her heart stopped beating, only to kick start against her ribs a second or two later.
Mari almost licked her damn lips. She was sure her wolf had. The damn beast had practically tossed itself over onto its back, stretched out, and was begging for its belly to be rubbed… by him.
Him, her mate, and what a fine specimen of glorious manhood he was.
Her eyes took a slow downward tour. She couldn’t help it. His body was like catnip to her senses…
Damn the mating pull… She cursed inwardly as her eyes devoured his hard body.
Damn my breeding cycle… Slowly, lower and lower…
Hello, big boy! If her damn tongue wasn’t hanging out of her mouth at the sight of that long, thick, pleasure pole of an erection that stood proud of his taut stomach, jutting out and doing a little dance for her as it sensed her gaze touching it, then it soon would be.
“Eyes are still up here,” Cole’s gravelly voice got a hell of a lot deeper. There was a low, deep rumble within that broad chest and she snatched her eyes up to where it grumbled at her, knocking on her womb…
Cole took one step towards her, and that seemed to snatch her out of her daze. Her eyes snapped up to his and she saw the hungry look that he was giving her. His eyes were on her lips, and she suddenly realised that she’d been licking them…
Oh, hell fire. Talk about a damn invitation…
Her wolf was practically chafing at the bit to get to him.
Mari had the urge to take a few steps forward, claw her way up his hard body and wrap her legs around those hips. She wanted to rub her sex against his length like a damn cat in heat… take him inside of her and ride him like he was a bucking bronco…
Wild and wanton…
Willing and needy…
Her breeding cycle kicked up a notch and she bit down on the cramp that shot through her…
“You’re starting to hurt, aren’t you?” Cole’s smile had faded. There was a serious look in his eyes as they took her in.
“Tough?” She demanded, and Cole’s head tipped slightly, confused. Those dark eyebrows almost touched over his nose, and he looked so damn adorable in that moment, like a cub… “You said tough.”
“That’s not the damn point right now, Mari.” He wanted in that cabin and he wasn’t about to take no for an answer.
His mate was in pain. She needed him. It was more than the mating pull, more than the need to bond with her and make her his. It was his duty to protect her from pain, and she was in pain…
He used his size to back her inside, as she took backwards steps.
Her eyes widened as his body seemed to only get bigger the closer that he got to her. He filled up her doorway, took her breath away as excitement and anticipation rolled through her waves, and sparked even more of an interest deep within her psyche.
“What are you-?”
“Easing your pain,” Cole growled as he tossed the door closed behind him and the thud of wood hitting wood seemed to echo within her mind.
“I never said you could-”
“You never said I couldn’t either,” Cole grinned.
His eyes fired with hunger as he took her scent, so strong inside those four walls, so damn potent that his bear roared with intent. His cock ached with wanting to be sheathed within those glorious satin walls…
She was still backing up. Another pain stabbed inside of her, as if her body knew who he was, what he offered her, and it was more than content to take everything that he had to give…
“Cole,” she warned as her wolf got all antsy.
A moment ago her wolf was practically showing him its furry white belly to stroke - now it felt caged, trapped by the size and potency of the man.
“I know sweetheart,” Cole growled. His beast felt it too. Her wolf was up for the challenge.
Cole needed to prove himself to her, to her wolf. He needed to show her that he was a worthy mate. Strong enough to claim her as his.
His eyes took in the sight of her fangs elongating, and his bear responded, forcing his fangs down from his gums. Then in a heartbeat she flicked out her claws, and his bear roared at the sight…
It was game on, and he had a feeling he was going to get bloodied.
~
CHAPTER ELEVEN
~
Connor sat with legs dangling over the branch of the old oak tree. He’d wedged his back against the trunk and kept his eyes on what was happening at Mari’s cabin, and his ears open just in case things went south.
He didn’t expect they would. Cole and Mari were fated mates and there shouldn’t be a lot standing in the way of them mating now that Cole had managed to get inside. Nothing but Mari’s wolf, but he didn’t envisage Cole’s bear not being able to subdue the beast.
He’d heard the heavy footsteps from a distance away, and the scent on the air said it was nothing to be worried about. He’d waited patiently for Tyler to take the walk down through the path between the trees, and then, when the man rested his shoulder against the tree trunk below and thrust his big hands deep into the front pockets of his jeans, he acknowledged his existence.
“Slow-bear,” Connor said with a smirk that Tyler never even bothered to look up for. The bear had scented the vampire long ago.
“Bloodsucking leech,” Tyler huffed back.
“If you came for the show, as usual, you’re too late.”
“Was just out for a walk, happened by this way.” Tyler lied.
“Sure you were.” Connor shifted on the branch so that he could look down at Tyler from above. “You thinking about what’s going to happen when Cole’s mated the woman and figures out that he wants to kill you for what you did to her?”
Tyler’s shoulders showed no sign of the tension that Connor expected there.
“Nope.”
“You think he will?” Connor asked and Tyler shrugged.
“Cole came to the cave one day. Told me it wasn’t my fault. Said I should get on with my life-”
“Not as stupid as I figured him for then.”
“He might see things differently now.” Tyler shrugged again.
“And…?”
“That’s life.” Tyler’s eyes were fixed on Mari’s cabin, they hadn’t left it since he’d gotten there.
“Why are you here?”
“I got to thinking that Cole might not have Mari troubles right now if it wasn’t for you saving her-”
“Oh, please tell me we are not back to the guilt again,” Connor groaned.
“Not so much. Just reflecting on how things could have been different.”
“Go home to your mate, shag her awhile, make little slow-bear-zappy-witch cubs. Eat honey, stop brooding. Fate has a plan, as you well know.”
“Yep. What’s fates plan for you?” Tyler looked up then.
“To be burdened with a pack that keeps doing really stupid damn stuff that keeps me from having a life.” Connor bit out. But he was more than grateful for all that he had.
The sound of breaking furniture and broken glass, muted by the wooden walls of the cabin, echoed into the clearing and both men paid attention.
“Sounds like Mari’s wolf’s kicking his ass,” Tyler grinned.
“That is one feisty she-wolf,” Connor chuckled.
“Serves Cole right.” Tyler turned on his heels and started back the way that he’d come. Then he paused, but he didn’t turn back.
“Please don’t tell me that you’ve forgotten your way, or that you want me to hold your hand home.” Connor chuckled to himself.
“Get a damn life, Connor. You deserve it.” Tyler said over his shoulder before he set off again, and Connor turned his back against the trunk again, settling in.
“I got the life that I want.” Connor whispered, the words never reaching the bears ears.
~
~
~
“Yeeeeoooowwww!” Cole bit out as Mari’s claws sunk right into his backside. His back snapped straight as his head shot upwards, and his bear roared at the indignity that he felt.
Cole just felt the damn pain.
His mate had gotten in a lucky shot, but there wasn’t much he could do to get those claws out of his backside without losing some flesh.
“Thought you were a big, bad, bear brawler…” Mari snorted and growled.
“I – don’t – want – to – hurt – you,” Cole growled out, as he wrapped her wrist inside of his fist and tried to pry her claws free without too much damage to his pride.
“Thankfully, my wolf doesn’t have the same problem,” Mari announced with glee as she wrapped her leg around the back of his and planted her free hand against his chest, pushing him backwards, just as he got her claws out of his ass.
Cole went down, hitting the floor with his pride, and taking her with him. The hell if he was going to let her go now that he had a hold of her. She was more agile than he was, and she’d le
d him a merry dance around her damn living room, smashing furniture, as they went.
Each thing that had been broken; she’d assured him that he was paying for, one way or the other. She’d already had a pound of his flesh on her damn claws.
The feel of his mate, sprawled out across his body, both of them naked, and with her squirming to get away was too much for his libido to handle. He was done being nice, now he would prove to her wolf that he was more than capable of being her mate…
Mari felt the tight grip that he had on her wrist and tried to break the hold. Her body felt as if it was on fire. The breeding cycle had kicked up a gear and her wolf wouldn’t be satisfied until Cole had proved himself, but she wanted him… damn did she want him – every last inch of that thick cock that was pressed against her stomach…
She couldn’t contain the hungry growl that rumbled inside of her chest and got caught in her throat as she pushed upward with her hand braced against his hard muscled chest.
She wanted to sink her claws into him and ride him like the wind… those claws sunk into his chest and cut five lines against his skin, deep enough to open the flesh.
She scented his blood thick in the air and it only heightened her awareness of who he was to her. There was a gravelly rumble that started low and deep, and she could see in the curl of his top lip and the jet black of his eyes that he was done playing with her…
The moment that her back hit the floor, her heart got lodged in her throat. The man was raw power and strength, and he was above her, blocking out the rest of the room – those powerful, broad shoulders spanning outwards with the promise of containing anything that she or her wolf had to give.
Mari knew that she had one shot left to down him – with her hands braced by his giant hands back against the floorboards – right then, his crown jewels were the only thing that she had a chance of reaching.
She lifted her knee, but found that before she could connect, she was facing down upon the floor with the weight of his body pinning her there.