Tristan walked into the kitchen and leaned on the counter. When had Erin's father managed to get people into his pack? He would have assumed it was a bluff to scare him, but not if they were going to attack Erin. He could smell the truth on her, she wasn't lying, and he could taste the fear in her words. Her own father was willing to harm her just to start a war.
His mind went back to the scars he'd seen on her stomach and her back. They wrapped around her as if they were claws that had almost torn her apart. He glanced over at the mistletoe that they had kissed under. No mating mark, but he had a fierce urge to protect her. Part of him wanted to attack before the Ridge Pass pack had a chance, but he knew that wasn't a smart move.
He shoved off the counter and went to the fridge to pull out the eggs. He needed to focus and not let any of the pack know that something was off. He put the eggs on the counter and unhooked the massive cast iron skillet. He clicked the burner on and put the pan over it and gave it a few minutes to heat up.
He couldn't get his mind off her sitting in front of the fire, her cheeks red from the cold. The small smile on her lips that tried to hide the fear she was feeling. He shook his head. Focus on war first, women next.
"Hey, Erin seems a bit off." Molly walked into the kitchen and went right for the sack of potatoes. "She okay?"
He nodded. "Yep, I don't think she slept well last night. We went for a walk this morning, so she's probably just tired." He tried to put a tone in his voice that hinted that they did more than just a walk.
Molly laughed. "Not being mate isn't stopping you two is it?"
"A gentleman does not kiss and tell." He laughed and started cracking eggs. "We went for a run together last night too."
"You're going to get attached to her."
She was right, but it was already too late. "I know she's not my mate and come New Year's she'll be going back to her pack." Thank God he was an alpha and could get away with lying to one of the lower pack members.
"And then what?"
He shook his head. "I don't want to think about that right now. Let's just get through the holidays okay?"
"Wow, defensive much?" She snorted. "Sorry, I'm sure you've got a lot on your plate. Why don't I take over breakfast? Jared will be down in a few to help, and you can go snuggle the cold werewolf in front of the fire."
He wanted to do so much more than snuggle her. "Are you sure?"
"You can cook dinner tonight instead." She motioned to the exit of the kitchen. "Go."
He saluted her and then turned to walk out of the kitchen. He expected to see Erin still wrapped in the blanket in front of the fire, but her spot was empty. His heart skipped a beat. He didn't want to risk her being alone with pack members until he knew who was planning on betraying them. He sniffed the air and followed her scent to her room. He knocked and didn't get a response, but the door swung in. "Erin?"
A rush of cold air came through the window, and his heart pounded as the light of the sun caught the broken glass of the window. How come he hadn't heard anything? He rushed to the window and looked out. Below was an imprint in the snow with two sets of paw prints leading out. What the hell?
He ran down the stairs, threw open the front door, and raced through the snow. He needed to find her.
He followed the sounds of snarls and growls that were carried on the wind as the storm blew in. The paw prints in the frozen ground were disappearing with each gust, and the scents were being whisked away with each step he took. Finally, he broke through a tree line to see two wolves circling each other.
One was one of his wolves, Keith. He'd taken the wolf in a few months beforehand. Large snowflakes dotted his dark fur, getting stuck to the thick strands. The other one was Erin.
He gave it a moment to see what the two of them would do. Erin didn't even glance his way when he entered, but Keith's head tilted toward him, taking his eyes of Erin. Huge mistake.
Erin launched for Keith, but the wolf turned back to her and rushed to meet her, knocking her down mid-jump, and grabbing her by the throat.
Tristan stepped up. "Enough." He let his powers slide out so that both wolves knew he was alpha, that he was the one that controlled the pack, and they needed to listen to him. Both of the wolves stopped moving, but Erin was down low, her ears back, snarling at Keith still.
"Both of you, back to the house so we can sort this out."
Erin started to move back toward the house. Keith jumped on her from behind, grabbing the scruff of her neck and taking her to the ground. Tristan let his wolf take over, shifting after taking two quick steps. He grabbed Keith by the throat and slammed him into the ground, letting the wolf know exactly who was in charge.
Keith crawled onto his belly and lowered his head, ears back and tail down. Erin shook the snow off herself and shot toward the house in a run. He assumed she was trying to minimize the chances of someone else attacking her. Keith darted in front of him, but Tristan kept right on his haunches. There was nowhere for the wolf to go, giving him no choice but to return to the house.
When he and Keith entered the house, Erin was already sitting on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her, and her hair still wet from the snow. Tristan noticed a fine tremor running through her and wondered if it was from the cold or fear. She glanced at him but wouldn't meet his gaze when he shifted back. He looked at Keith. "Shift back, now."
The wolf complied and then stepped away from him. "It's not what you think. She attacked me."
"I did not." Erin shot up from the couch. "You followed me to my room and attacked me there."
Tristan rubbed his eyes. "Clothes now, then we'll talk this all out."
Keith nodded and stormed his way upstairs, but Erin didn't move. She pulled the blanket tighter around herself. "I was defending myself. Is that not allowed here?"
He cupped her cheek in his hand. "Of course it's allowed here, but as alpha, I need to allow you both to tell me your side of the story. Keith made it pretty clear that even if he didn't start the fight, he was determined to finish it."
She closed her eyes for a moment and wrapped her hand around his. "I never wanted to bring your pack trouble. I just wanted a new home. A chance to leave my pack, and a mating with you would have been perfect."
"I know." He kissed her head. "Go get dressed, and you, Keith, and I will have a little chat."
Erin stepped back and put the blanket back on the couch before she ran up the stairs. He did a quick survey of her body to make sure there weren't any major wounds, and nothing caught his eye. So either Keith had been toying with her, or she was stronger than he thought. Of course, she had mentioned that her father said wolves, plural. One wasn't going to be enough to make it look like an attempt at murder.
He shook his head before also heading upstairs to his room to find clothes. When he got to his room, he dressed quickly and then headed out. He paused outside Erin's door when he heard her growl.
"You said after Christmas. After the full moon, not fucking today."
He couldn't make out the muffled words on the other end of the conversation, even with the advance hearing of a wolf. He didn't budge though.
"He threw me out a second story window and chased me into the woods. Continuously attacked me, I was lucky he was weak because I'm pretty sure he aimed to kill me." She paused, and the scent of fear hit Tristan's nose.
"I understand that, Alpha, but Keith's attack on me may have blown your cover." She let out a frustrated growl. "Claiming that I attacked him isn't going to work. Tristan is smarter than that."
He leaned against the wall to listen. It seemed that Keith was already in on the cover-up since he claimed that Erin had attacked him already.
"If I play up being a victim we might be able to pass it off as one of his wolves just getting pissed off. But only if Keith plays along."
A longer pause this time, as the muffled voice spoke.
"I understand." He didn't miss the shaking in her voice. If only the mark had appeared, they could be avoiding this all together. No, he knew that wasn't true. Her father would have found a way to cause a war anyways. He ran his hand through his hair and waited a moment. Once he was sure the conversation was over, he knocked on the door.
"Hey, you ready to talk about what happened?"
She shuffled around in her room for a moment before opening the door. "I guess so."
That small shake was still in her voice. He motioned to the window. "I'll get you moved into another room, so you don't freeze to death."
She snorted and started to say something before shaking her head. "I'll have the window replaced for you. I'm sorry."
"I have a feeling that it's not your fault. Unless you threw Keith through it."
She shook her head. "No, he threw me. I don't know why."
He brushed the back of his hand over her cheek. "Please don't lie to me."
She blushed slightly under the touch of his hand and pulled away, embarrassed. "You overheard the phone call then." She wasn't asking, just confirming with her statement. "Then you know that Keith went against orders and attacked me tonight instead."
"I do, but the question is why."
"That I honestly don't know, neither does my father. He just told me Keith would be dealt with after this is all over. I'm supposed to tell you that Keith was upset because the mating mark didn't appear, so he thought I was a threat to the pack."
He laughed. "It's a good thing you're a terrible liar then."
"Only because you know that there's something else going on. Had I not told you, I could charm the pants right off you."
Tristan smirked at her words. "You've already charmed the pants off me, if you want them off again, all you have to do is ask."
She blushed again, and this time he was sure it wasn't from the shame of being caught lying. "You rejected me last time."
Her words hit hard, and he frowned. "I did because we shouldn't have been having meaningless sex after a shift."
"Ah, meaningless." Her voice went flat, and he rushed to find an explanation.
"Gah, okay, what I mean is because after a shift our emotions are heightened, and I didn't want you to think it was just because we ran together." He ran his fingers through his hair and tugged a bit in frustration. "Not that sex with you would be meaningless. I'd love to fuck you, there's something in me that calls out to you, that wants to claim you, but we haven't got the fucking marks. So I can't even call it the mating call. Just some fierce need."
She walked to him slowly. He didn't miss the sway of her hips with each step she took. "I think that may be the nicest thing a male has ever said to me."
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him, crushing his lips to hers. "Because you aren't theirs, you're mine."
His words played through her head as the heat of his kiss disappeared from her lips. It wasn't the mating call, just a fierce need. She was his. And yet, she could be the reason that his pack was slaughtered, but judging by the burning look in his eyes, that didn't matter to him.
Her wolf howled in her mind, answering that fierce need with its own, allowing it to grow in herself, forcing her to stop denying that she wanted the man in front of her in more than just a physical way. This was what she had expected when they first kissed, but it didn't happen. And if the mark didn't show up then, it wasn't magically going to show up now. There had been very few stories that told of marks showing up later on. Fate didn't work like that.
"Erin?" His voice had softened, and he kissed her cheek, drawing her out of her thoughts.
She raised up on her toes and kissed him, running her fingers into his hair. She parted her lips as his tongue danced at the edges, begging to deepen the kiss. His hand skimmed down her side, tracing the curves of her body, stopping at the waistband of her clean jeans.
His finger traced the band to the front, and with a flick of his wrist, he undid the button. With a steady motion, he unzipped the front and slipped his hand inside her underwear, his fingers finding her slick folds.
She let out a small moan as his fingers stroked over the delicate bud. Erin stepped away, and slid her hands up his shirt, removing it in a quick motion. She licked her lips as her eyes wandered over the chiseled lines of his chest and abs. Her gaze stopped at the straining bulge at the zipper of his jeans. She took her time with his belt, tracing her fingertips over the rough fabric.
He let out a low growl and grabbed her wrist. "Don't tease me, lass."
At the low rumble of the accent, moisture grew between her legs. She bowed her head and looked at him from under her lashes. The clicking of the belt filled the silence of the room as she undid it. She twisted her fingers to undo the button, and then pulled down the zipper. His cock sprung out, and she wrapped her hand around it, squeezing just slightly.
His breath caught, and she smiled at the reaction. She lowered herself to her knees and wrapped her mouth around the head.
He moaned and threaded his fingers through her hair, urging her to take him deeper into her mouth. She closed her eyes and swirled her tongue around his shaft and began to move him in and out of her lips in a slow, steady rhythm.
Tristan pulled gently on her hair to guide her off the ground. He kissed her, and their tongues swirled together as he flipped them around and pressed her up against the wall.
"Naked, now."
She nodded and stripped off her shirt and pants while he finished removing his pants. He pushed her up against the wall again, and she could feel his cock pressing against her.
She rocked her hips a little bit trying to encourage him to enter her. She wanted this. She needed this. She wrapped her hands around his head and pulled him down for a kiss. She nibbled at his bottom lip, drawing a moan from him. He nudged her legs apart with his knee and thrust into her. She cried out and wrapped her legs around him as he rocked in and out of her.
Her hips found a rhythm with him as the bliss started to build inside her. He sped up, driving her to the brink of her orgasm. He pulled her close with a final thrust and brought her over the edge of pleasure as he came. She leaned her head against his chest, trying to find her breath as the tingling of her orgasm danced through her body. Her heart pounded against her chest as they rode out the aftershocks of the pleasure together.
Erin curled up against Tristan's side on the floor and let out a deep sigh. It all had felt so right, but she had to remind herself that they couldn't get attached because one day their mates would come. Or her pack would slaughter his in the name of war. She knew whose side she would be standing on when it came down to the war. If she managed to avoid being maimed by her pack, she would be standing by Tristan's side, even if she wasn't his mate.
He showed that you could rule without threatening everyone at any given moment. That those who lost control could be treated with respect and given the help they needed, not beaten down and left to learn on their own. Yet, they all respected him.
She pushed off of his chest. "We should get up and go talk to Keith. I can't wait to hear what his side of the story is."
There was no telling what her father told Keith to cover up with, even after she got him to agree that it would best for her to play the victim. "He's going to know that we had sex."
He started laughing, and she stared at him. "What?"
He kissed her forehead before standing up. "Lass, the whole house is going to know. They probably heard it. Hell, they'll smell it." He winked at her and walked out, leaving her to get dressed. She covered her eyes and sighed. She'd fucked the alpha after an attempt on her life, and there was no mating mark. This wasn't exactly how she had pictured the holiday going.
She stood and grabbed her clothes from the floor and quickly got dressed. The sooner she dealt with Keith the better.
Erin walked down the stairs and saw K
eith and Tristan staring at each other. "Hello, boys."
Keith turned to her and snarled, but Tristan held his hand up. "Back off Keith. I've already warned you."
"You can't do that. There's no mark, so send her back where she came from."
She crossed her arms. "The negotiations were for me to stay here through the holiday, regardless of the mark or not. You're lucky I didn't tear your throat out."
"Either way, that was no excuse to attack her." Tristan pegged her with a glare that clearly said to back down.
Keith bowed his head. "Sorry Alpha."
Tristan stepped closer to him. "You touch her again, and I will make sure you regret it in every way."
Erin didn't miss the threat in his voice, but it was the paling of Keith's face that made her wonder exactly what Tristan was capable of.
"Understood." He gritted his teeth and spun to leave.
He stopped next to Erin and lowered his voice to a harsh whisper. "Your time is coming."
He pushed past her, knocking his shoulder into her. She didn't flinch but closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Do not provoke him," Trista said from the others side of the room.
"I wasn't provoking him. I was simply speaking the truth." She uncrossed her arms and walked over to the fireplace.
Tristan wrapped his arms around her. "If you're capable of that, then why didn't you defend yourself better?"
"Because I didn't want to hurt him." She sighed. "I don't like violence if I can avoid it. I was trying to give him a chance to make the right decision."
"After he threw you out a window."
It wasn't a question, and she shrugged. "I was hoping he'd decide not to come after me."
He kissed her head. "Oh, mate, you're too nice."
Her head jerked up, and he snapped his mouth shut like he realized what he'd said. "We're not mates," she whispered and stepped away from him. "And if we were, this wouldn't be happening." She didn't really believe that. Her father probably would have gone through with the attack anyways.
A Werewolf Kind of Christmas Page 4