Enforcing Boundaries (The Boundaries Series Book 1)

by Eva Harper

  “I watched my parents die,” I whimpered. His grip on my chin loosened, but he kept his fingers against my cheek. “The old Alpha and Luna of my pack murdered my parents in front of the entire pack when I was four. They whipped my father until he bled out, and then they raped my mother over his body until her spine snapped. That’s why I don’t want to become a shifter,” I spat.

  “Sweetheart,” Theo sighed, letting his hand drop.

  “Our pack doesn’t harm humans,” Gabriel said sorrowfully.

  “No one will ever hurt you here, Margo,” Reese bit his lip.

  “We’ll leave you two,” Gabriel murmured, grabbing his older brother’s shoulder sympathetically. Theo’s brothers left, and we remained a foot apart in the living room, staring each other down.

  “I’m sorry,” Theo eventually said. “I’m sorry they did that to your parents. You should have never had to see that, but that doesn’t mean all shifters are like that.”

  “I know that,” I told him. “I know there are good shifters, and there are bad shifters, just like there are good humans and bad humans. Caddy is my best friend, trust me, I know what most shifters are like, but I can’t do that to them. I can’t willingly let myself become what killed them.”

  Theo nodded tiredly. “Okay,” he relented. “Can we go up to bed?”

  I followed him as he went to the bedroom and laid on top of the covers. I crawled in next to him, laying at the far edge of the bed. His hands found their way behind his head as he stared at the ceiling.

  “A lot of Alpha’s used to do horrible things because they were arrogant,” he said unexpectedly. “They thought they were the most powerful people on the planet. That’s why my position was created. If there had been an Enforcer when you were little, your parents would have never been killed. Or there would have at least been consequences.”

  “I can’t let them down again,” I said back, keeping my back turned so he couldn’t see my tears. “I was too young before, but I can’t do that to them.”

  “Margo,” he sighed, tugging on my arm until I rolled flat on my back. His face fell when he saw my red eyes, and he lifted one hand to stroke my forehead lightly. “I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do, but if it comes to a choice between turning you or letting you die…I’m going to do everything I can to protect you.”

  “You should let me go, Theo,” I said softly with conviction, looking up at him with immense guilt. “It won’t be worth it.”

  “I can’t wait to show you how wrong you are,” Theo smiled crookedly. He leaned down and placed a kiss on my hairline, closing his eyes as he did so. “Go to sleep, Margo. We can argue to your heart’s content tomorrow.”

  Intoxication

  The next weeks were quiet, with no intrusions, no stress. Theo worked on paperwork and made phone calls while I decorated my room, hung my clothes, and read in front of the fireplace. I was trying to find where I fit into this new life, but it was more difficult than simply changing packs. I was somebody’s somebody now, and with that came new rules, new routines, and new feelings.

  When Theo wasn’t on a business call, I stole the phone and called Caddy, who was always excited to hear my voice. He wept when I first talked to him because he believed I would end up dead in Theo’s control; they all had believed that. As angry as Caddy was at Theo, he also understood his actions.

  After a while, Theo found it bothersome to only have one phone in the house and bought me my very own. The shifters could communicate through mind-link if they were acquainted, and they only made phone calls in business settings. Caddy, Theo, and Theo’s brothers were the only numbers programmed into it, which was more than I needed since I only called Caddy. Theo was always with me.

  Although I tried to keep my distance for my own selfish, unavoidable reasons, Theo was starting to grow on me. He didn’t speak to me like I expected an Enforcer to, he was patient and respectful, and as much as it pained me to admit, I found myself opening up to him. He was easy to talk to, and I didn’t have anyone else to talk to besides Caddy, who was busy with his Alpha training. Even when he asked to mark me, he was considerate of my hesitations and explained everything to me multiple times.

  “Marking is sort of like me asking you to be my girlfriend,” he had chuckled as I sat on the edge of his desk. “It’s not as serious as mating, by any means, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

  “Well, what does it do?” I bit my lip, immediately releasing it when Theo’s eyes darkened.

  “In very blatant terms, it puts some of my DNA in your body, and you will put some of your DNA in mine. It binds us so that we can feel each other’s emotions and pain. If you were ever in trouble, it would help me find you faster. It’s also very sacred to shifters because it shows that you are spoken for; any shifter will be able to smell my scent on you and know that your mate is a high-ranking wolf with Alpha blood.”

  “So, you want to mark me as your territory? Your property?”

  Theo paused, noticing the spiteful tone in my voice, and moved his office chair closer to me. He placed his hands on my knees and cleared his throat. “I guess I didn’t say that as well as I hoped. It’s not me marking my territory; it’s me claiming you as mine. It means that I want you all to myself, and I don’t want anyone else’s hands on you. It means I’m taking on the responsibility of a mate, and that you are as well.”

  His thumb moved circularly on my thigh as I peered at him suspiciously.

  “Will it hurt?”

  His face scrunched up in guilt, and he ultimately sighed, dragging his hands off my legs. “Honestly? I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I’ve never marked anyone, Margo,” he said chuckling, shrugging his shoulders. “From what I was told, it’s very pleasurable for wolves. After the initial break into the skin, the marking bite releases all kinds of endorphins and chemicals in your brain. I’ve just never heard what it’s like from a human standpoint. There hasn’t been much research done on human mates because it happens so infrequently, and it’s not like there’s a blog about it.”

  “Well, what if it feels like you’re stabbing me in the neck fifty times?” Theo laughed at my example. He reached for my hands, bending his head down to kiss my knuckles before looking up at me through his dark eyelashes.

  “Margo, I would never do something that causes you pain like that. The worst it would ever feel like is an actual bite, but it would be over in thirty seconds, and I could give you some of my blood to heal you if you needed.”

  “Why do you want to feed me your blood?” I asked horrified. I knew I was only focusing on the negative parts of his explanation, but I couldn’t help it. Watching Theo get flustered and try to reel back his statements was too fun. Most of the time, I was the one fumbling over my words, and I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass without evening the playing field.

  “Did you learn anything from your pack?” he asked in exasperation, looking at me with wide eyes. I fought back a chuckle and kept my scared look. “Margo, it’s not like drinking someone’s blood for sport. One of the amazing things about finding your mate is their blood can heal wounds. I don’t think it would work on me because you’re human, so it’s a good thing I never get hurt.” He smirked. “But, a small amount of my blood will stop the pain from the marking bite, though I don’t think you’ll actually need it.”

  “So, you bite me, then I bite you, and then we’re marked?”

  “Essentially, yes.” He pursed his lips, waiting for my next remark.

  “And how do I know that you won’t give me the shifter’s bite instead?” I raised one eyebrow and crossed my arms over my chest.

  “Do you really think I would do that to you?”

  “No,” I admitted. “But I’d like to know the semantics of that as well.”

  Theo chuckled, squeezing the bridge of his nose as he settled into his seat. “This is going to be a long night, isn’t it?”

  “No. I just want
to know what I’m getting myself into. If you were a human and your big, scary mate asked to bite you on your neck, you’d feel the same way.”

  “Well, if my big, scary mate was half as cute as you, I’d let them,” he teased, loving the dark red blush that crept onto my face. “And then my big, scary mate would reassure me that the marking bite and the shifter’s bite are completely different. In order for a shifter to turn their human mate, the shifter has to be…shifted for lack of a better word. I’d have to be in my wolf form to turn you. I think that would give you a little heads up, so if I suddenly shift in front of you and go for your neck, you’d have plenty of time to find a lamp or something to bash over my head.”

  “That’s comforting,” I noted sarcastically.

  “The hardest thing is going to be you trying to bite through my skin with these little baby incisors,” he said, reaching to move my upper lip, and run his thumb over my tooth. I shoved his hand away as he laughed. “Can you even bite through an apple with those little guys?”

  “Of course I can,” I gritted, clenching my jaw tightly. “Sorry, I don’t have dog teeth like you.”

  “Wolf teeth, sweetheart. Not dog.” I rolled my eyes. “I guess you’ll just have to bite really hard, find some pent-up aggression and let it out.”

  “Because I have no aggression towards you at all,” I smirked. “And it can’t be that hard.”

  “Shifter’s skin is a bit tougher than human skin. It’d be pretty hard to be fierce predators if we got paper cuts and slivers,” he chuckled.

  “Well, fine,” I declared, sliding off the desk. “I can do it.”

  “Not here, Margo,” Theo shook his head. I grabbed his hand and tugged until he stood up from his chair and followed me to our bedroom. I dropped his hand and stood with my hands on my hips as he sunk into the bed. “Don’t you think it’s a bit strange that we’re about to mark each other and you still haven’t kissed me yet?”

  “I know where you’re going with this, and you can have your kiss after we do this,” I said determinedly.

  “Why not now?”

  “Because if we wait too long, I’ll chicken out, and also because you said I couldn’t do the bite.”

  “So, that means we have to do it right now?” Theo concluded. I nodded. “Of course.”

  “Why?” I asked, stepping back. “Do you not want to?”

  Theo grabbed my hips and pulled me onto him, my legs between his and my hands resting on his shoulders. “Of course, I want to. I’d love nothing more than to bear your mark. I just want to be sure you’re okay with this.”

  “As long as it’s not the shifter bite, I’m fine with it.”

  “Well, okay.” He nodded, digging his fingers into the soft skin of my hips where my shirt rose up. “Do you want to go first, or do you want me to? Traditionally the male goes first, but I don’t mind either way.”

  “That’s okay with me,” I whispered. A bout of nervousness hit my stomach as we finalized everything. Theo saw it and kissed my cheek softly before lifting me up and gently tossing me on the bed beside him. I let out a squeak and the sudden movement, but before I could comprehend, he was above me.

  “If you want me to stop, now would be the time to tell me,” he warned, leaning over me.

  “I don’t,” I said quickly, smiling for a second before it disappeared. Theo grinned calmly, leaning down the place a kiss on my collarbone. He moved the black sweater I was wearing down my shoulder along with the strap of my bra, which at any other moment would send him into a lustful fit. Now he was calm, sensuous, loving, unperturbed by the strap of my brassiere.

  He trailed two kisses up the left side of my neck, gently trailing his tongue along the line of my veins. It was important that his bite did not nick an artery or vein, because no amount of his blood would be able to stop the pain of me bleeding out on his bed. He paid careful consideration to that and found his opportune place in the crook of my neck, two inches below my ear.

  He kissed the area firmly. I felt his shifter’s incisors grow as he placed his mouth over the area. He took a deep breath and lifted his left hand to hold my cheek in place as his teeth dove into the soft skin of my neck.

  I let out a small noise of discomfort as the pain of his bite seared into my skin. Once he stopped moving and allowed the bite to take action, a rush of happiness flooded into my brain. I nearly felt drunk as his teeth slowly receded, and he licked the area clean of my blood. I closed my eyes as he gently set my head back on the bed and sat up straighter.

  “Margo?” he whispered. I moaned lazily but didn’t open my eyes. “Margo,” he chuckled, shaking my shoulder softly.

  “What?” I breathed.

  “Are you okay? Did it hurt?”

  “It felt,” I slurred. “Delightful.” Theo laughed loudly, his booming voice startling me, and I jumped slightly.

  “I’m glad it felt good. It’s your turn now,” he told me.

  I groaned and reached up for his help. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into a sitting position. When he noticed me slumping backward, he lifted me up and placed me on his lap with my legs and arms around him. His hand came around the back of my head, and he positioned my mouth over the point on his neck that I was supposed to bite.

  “Okay, whenever you’re ready,” he prompted, stroking to back of my head. The gentle motion lulled me, and I fought to keep my eyes open. “Margo, you’re almost done, and then you can take a nap, but right now, I need you to open that cute little mouth of yours and bite me.”

  I opened my mouth and sat up in his lap, grabbing onto his shoulders to steady me as I placed my teeth in the correct position. The first time I tried to mark him, he laughed at my attempt and told me, “You’re going to have to bite a little harder than that.”

  I gritted my teeth and bit down harder, getting frustrated that my incisors weren’t sinking in as easily. “It’s okay, Margo,” he soothed, gently rubbing my back. “Just bite a little harder, you won’t hurt me, I swear. Just a bit more, there you go,” he cooed as my teeth finally broke the surface.

  A rush of his blood came into my mouth, and I choked back the urge to gag, knowing it would only be a few more seconds. His blood tasted like metal, but when a small bit of it glided down my throat, I felt my own mark tingle as it healed.

  “I think you’re fine now,” he whispered. I slid my teeth out of his neck and wiped my chin of the line of blood that cascaded down it. He smiled brilliantly and tilted my chin up towards his mouth. His lips gently pressed against mine, and he added just a touch of pressure. It wasn’t a long kiss, and it wasn’t deep and seductive, but I felt a small sizzle in the pit of my stomach.

  He pulled away after a few seconds. I kept my eyes closed, and my lips slightly pouted as he leaned me back against the bed.

  “That was my first kiss, you know,” I said breathlessly as he lifted a blanket over me.

  “It was not,” he denied, looking down at me in shock.

  “Yeah, no one in my old pack wanted to kiss the poor, weird, little human girl. I was sort of the black sheep. Although Caddy kissed me once when I was seven, I don’t think that counts, do you?”

  “No,” he laughed. “I don’t think that counts.”

  “So, yeah.” I nodded, never opening my eyes. “That was the first one. Do you feel special now?”

  “Of course, I do,” he said sincerely, kissing my forehead as he stood up. “Get some sleep, sweet girl. I’ll give you your second and third and fourth kisses when you wake up.”

  The Valkyries

  With my eyes still closed, I felt Theo’s warm breath on my face. I groaned, scrunching my face up, and then opened my eyes to see Theo staring at me.

  “Come on, sleepyhead. We’ve got a big day ahead of us,” he encouraged, getting out of bed much too cheerfully.

  “Go back to sleep,” I whined, covering my head with the comforter. He yanked the covers off me, pulling them down by my feet. I instantly pulled my legs up to my chest as the cool air hit me.


  “We can’t, Margo. You’ve got to get ready. Gabriel is gathering the wolves, and they’ll be ready for us in about an hour.”

  I shot up, nearly bashing heads with Theo. “He’s gathering them now?” I wailed. Theo nodded, walking into his closet. “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”

  “I reminded you last night before I went to bed, but you were still kind of bite-drunk, so it doesn’t surprise me you don’t remember.”

  “Ugh,” I growled, fighting my way past him to my side of the closet, fishing through all my shirts and pants and dresses to find something suitable.

  “Margo, are you okay?”

  “No!” I shouted with my head in a pile of clothes. Theo chuckled and walked over to me, removing a shift from my head and fixing my hair. “What do you wear when you’re going to be on display in front of thousands of wolf shifters?”

  Theo crouched down and smiled at my disheveled appearance. “I don’t know what to tell you, little one. Dress warm; we’re going to be outside of the packhouse, there’s a sort of stage and podium area where Gabriel talks, but it’s in the open, and it’s windy today.”

  I nodded and started sorting things into piles of warm and cold clothes. Eventually, I found a calf-length olive dress with bell sleeves. It was very chic, something Caddy’s mom would be proud of me choosing, and it was longer than most of my other dresses. I fixed my hair in the bathroom mirror, cursing that I didn’t know how to put on sophisticated makeup, and settled for mascara and lipstick, the only staples I was ever taught how to use.

  As I pulled a pair of tan, ankle boots on my feet, Theo wandered out from the closet in his usual black slacks, and his white shirt rolled up to his elbows.

  “Margo, your legs are going to be cold,” he scolded.

  “The few inches that are bare,” I giggled. “I wanted to look nice, Theo.” He nodded, grabbing my hand to lead me downstairs, where we put our coats on.