“Don’t lay the blame on me.”
Whatever. You weren’t helping.
Hallie and the other girls laughed again.
“Let’s get you home then, so you and your wolf can dream about all the naughty things you want to do to that fine specimen of a man you just sent packing,” Maggie said, a smirk growing on her face.
Margaret knew she’d never live this moment down. Maggie would tease her forever, but it didn’t matter. She assessed and read people for a living at the casino. It was her job to make sure guests had everything they needed before they knew they did. Time away from the pull of the rapidly growing mate bond should give her perspective on the situation. At least, that’s what she hoped it would do. It might just drive her over the edge instead.
They left the bathroom quietly and walked to the parking lot. Hallie had texted her father and the Demakis limo was waiting at the end of the sidewalk. She and Maggie had ridden to the wedding with Sam and her sisters, and the girls insisted that they ride back with them, too.
***
After dropping off Maggie, it only took a few more minutes to reach her street.
Her heels clicked on the concrete sidewalk and up onto her porch. The motion spotlight blinked on and her patio was flooded with a warm yellow light. She turned and waved at the limo before slipping inside and locking the door behind her.
She kicked off her heels by the door. They landed softly on a pile of discarded shoes. Over the course of a week, most of her shoes would end up there. When it became a nuisance she’d ceremoniously load them all into a hamper and haul them upstairs to her closet so the whole process could begin again.
Her purse she tossed onto the oversized red suede sofa and then sank into the matching chaise lounger at the end of the sectional. Her feet hurt and she was hungry, but a glance at the dimly glowing clock across the room told her it was nearly one in the morning. She could wait a little longer and eat breakfast after she slept a few hours.
Peeling her body from the comfy chair, she started for the stairs when the phone on the counter shattered the peace and stillness of her house. “Mom,” she groaned, twisting in midstride and walking quickly into her kitchen. One pressed button put the base on speaker. “Mom, it’s one o’clock. I’m going to bed.”
“How was the wedding, honey? I just wanted to check on you. I saw your porch light come on. Why didn’t you just have your dad or brother come pick you up? You didn’t need the Demakis’s to make a special drive all the way out here.”
“Mom, seriously. The wedding was good and the girls wanted me to ride with them. They took Maggie home too, so it wasn’t just me.”
“Oh.” Her mother paused. She could tell more questions were coming. “How is Maggie? I guess the Michaels think they are a little higher on the food chain now? Do they think they will be over your father now?”
“I’m going to bed. I’m not having this conversation with you.”
“But, Chase will take the heir’s seat on the Council. Their family will become royalty through the marriage. At least their children will.”
“Mom!”
The questions and the stress of the evening were not helping the pounding headache developing behind her temples. She pulled a glass from a cabinet and filled it with cold water from the refrigerator spigot. Between the wine, the dancing, and Scott’s announcement that he wanted to sweep her away to the Teton Mountains…gods, she just needed to get some sleep. She grabbed a bottle of aspirin from a drawer and turned back to the phone.
“I don’t know anything about the Council seat, nor do I want to. What I really want to do is take the aspirin in my hand and go to sleep. Give dad a kiss for me, okay? I love you, mom.”
She smiled at the heavy sigh on the other end of the line. “Alright, honey. Get some rest. Love you.”
Clicking off the phone, she downed the painkiller and the rest of her water before heading back to the stairs.
“How long are you going to hide from our mate?”
I’m so not in the mood.
“We need him.”
Not tonight, we don’t.
She rolled her neck, popping a few vertebras always made her feel better. The stairs were endless…maybe she was just climbing really slowly.
At the top, she pushed open her bedroom door, gently pulling the zipper on her dress down as she walked in. It slid from her body and she laid it carefully over the back of a chair in the corner of her room.
The bra and underwear were next. They landed in the hamper next to the closet. Her nightlight illuminated the room just enough to see her reflection in the wall mirror. Hair would just have to wait until tomorrow. She pulled an over-sized t-shirt from the dresser, a fresh pair of underwear, and some short yoga shorts. After pulling them on, she climbed into her bed and snuggled underneath her fluffy comforter. Her cares and worries floated away as sleep closed around her like the arms of a warm lover.
***
The morning alarm came unexpectedly. She reached from her cocoon of bedding and slapped the off switch. Then she pulled the little digital clock under the covers. Blinking her eyes into focus, she groaned when she read six-thirty am.
“I forgot to turn the damn thing off.”
Didn’t matter. She was awake now. No matter how hard she tried, she knew she wouldn’t fall back asleep. Throwing off the powder-blue comforter, she stretched and cracked a few joints. Her head still felt like someone had stuffed it with peanut butter. Damn headache. But even through her haze, she could smell Scott’s scent clinging to her dress. She slipped out of the bed and walked across the room to pick up the dress. Pressing it to her face, she inhaled deeply.
He smells so good. It’s wrong for a man to smell so good.
“He’s our mate.”
I know! You keep reminding me, but I know.
“So you are finished denying it?”
Maybe.
She laughed. It always tickled her that she could feel her wolf’s emotions even when they weren’t voiced. Though her wolf was pleased that she’d accepted Scott, she was still irritated by her lack of enthusiasm. It couldn’t be helped. He wanted to drastically alter her life without any concern for the one she’d built here.
“You don’t know that. You won’t talk to him.”
Just chill. I need to run.
A jog always helped clear her mind.
She put the dress down and sighed, enjoying the cool breeze blowing through her open window.
WAIT. Why is the window open? Did I open it last night?
“No!”
Her wolf’s anxiety heightened hers.
Pushing aside the curtains, she poked her head out. An unfamiliar male wolf scent still clung to the windowsill, though the actual man was nowhere to be seen. Magick rolled across her vocal cords, changing the human growl to a very nasty wolf’s snarl. Who would violate her privacy so blatantly? What the fuck did they think they were doing on her roof?
Great. Now I have a bear pursuing me as his mate and a creepy wolf stalker watching me sleep.
Funny thing was, all she wanted right now was Scott in her house. One whiff of a territorial grizzly would give any sane wolf pause. But she hadn’t gotten Scott’s number and he only had her work business card. Damn.
The urge to go take a relaxing jog vanished.
Her brain rattled through how to find him. She knew Chase would have it, but they were out of the country on their honeymoon. Maggie! A glance around her room reminded her she’d tossed her purse on the couch downstairs. She made a beeline for the stairs and hurried to her living room. Her purse was on the couch where she’d thrown it last night. Pulling it open, she grabbed her cell and clicked on Maggie’s number.
Her friend picked up after the first ring. “Whaaat? It’s like, not even seven, Margareeeeeeet. I’m going to come over there and bite you.”
“Maggie, wake up. My window was open when I woke and some stranger’s scent was on the windowsill.”
A crash echoed fr
om the other side of the phone line, followed by a stream of curses.
“Okay, what?” Maggie asked.
“Someone got my bedroom window open last night and was watching me sleep.”
“A human?”
“No, wolf.”
“Did you recognize the scent?
“No.”
“Have you called your parents yet?”
“No, I was hoping that you had Scott O’Hearn’s number.”
“I thought you were avoiding him for a couple of days.”
There was a definite snigger in Maggie’s voice. It didn’t matter. Every cell in her body said she needed that man at her side.
“Creepy-stalker-guy has changed my mind. Somehow I just know I’ll feel better if he’s here.”
“Of course you will. He’s your mate.”
Yep, she’s definitely laughing at me.
“That’s what my wolf keeps saying,” she sighed and leaned back in her couch.
“I just texted him. I’m going to get dressed and come over to your house. Call your parents so they can at least check out the house and sit with you and until we get a better handle on the situation…and, Margaret, don’t leave.”
“I won’t. I was going to go for a run, but I’m too creeped out right now.”
“Good. Call your mom.”
The line went dead and Margaret clicked her mom’s number. She picked up in seconds.
“Honey?”
“Mom, I need you and dad to come over. Someone got my window open last night and was watching me sleep.”
“Oh, my! Keith!” her mom screeched.
The line went dead again.
What? Has everyone forgotten how to say ‘bye’? She tossed the phone over on the couch cushion.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.
A rap on the front door signaled her mother had arrived. She walked to the door. Pulling it open, she couldn’t help but laugh. There was her mother, standing on the front porch in a fluffy pink robe, white furry slippers, and rollers in her hair. Her dad and two of her cousins were only a minute behind her, crossing the street while buttoning their shirts.
She’d managed to convince her parents to let her buy her own place three years ago, the only stipulation was it had to be walking distance from them. It had been just her luck when the previous owners of this house decided to move into something bigger. It was every daughter’s dream to live across the street from her over-protective territorial father. Not. Most everyone in the pack lived in the same neighborhood, but they tried not to live directly across the street from their parents. She’d not had that luxury. When the house had gone for sale, her parents insisted. It was either that or stay at home.
She’d bought the house.
“Honey, are you okay? Did you see him? Did he hurt you?”
She stepped aside as her mother rushed in, enveloping her in a hug.
“No, mom. I’m fine, just creeped out.” She loosened herself from her mother’s death-grip.
“Margaret, sweetheart,” her dad hurried through the doorway. “Was it your bedroom window?”
“Yes, dad.”
He leaned over her mother and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.
“You are okay, though?” He sniffed her hair and a low growl rumbled from his chest. “Why do I smell a bear on you? Was it a bear?”
“No, dad. The stalker is a wolf. The bear was at the wedding last night.”
“There was a bear at the Demakis wedding?” Her mom’s mouth was hanging open. The shocked expression was quickly replaced with a suspicious one. “Why is his scent on you?”
“We danced.” Margaret took a step back. “Can we please focus on the fact that some strange man was watching me sleep last night?”
“Yes, yes, of course, honey. Keith, you and the boys go up and check the bedroom. Margaret and I will get some coffee and breakfast started.”
Her dad grunted, but the three males hurried up the stairs without another word. One of her cousins gave her a sideways grin though and a thumbs-up. And Kyle gave her a suggestive wink.
Horn dogs.
“Kyle, Allan, do not encourage your cousin. It was just a dance at a wedding,” her mother hollered after the disappearing boys. Nothing got past Rachel Taylor’s scrutinizing eyes.
Shaking her head, she followed her mother into the kitchen.
In no time at all there were eggs, sausage, bacon, and pancakes started. The smells from the kitchen would rival any breakfast diner in town.
As expected the doorbell rang several more times over the course of the next twenty minutes. More cousins and pack members file into her house, each with well wishes and promises to eliminate the intruder. Most of them grabbed a plate on their way back downstairs from her bedroom. Thank goodness she kept her fridge stocked to feed an army at a moments notice.
Her father entered the kitchen and leaned against the counter.
“We are going to start in the alley behind your house. See if we can track his vehicle. You mom is going to stay with you. Don’t leave the house.”
“I won’t, Dad. Thanks,” she answered and gave him a hug. “She might want to go home and get dressed once after Maggie gets here.”
“That’s fine,” he said and turned to his wife, “Rachel, hon, stay here until Maggie arrives. The wolf is an outsider. I don’t like it. He had no business in a pack neighborhood without announcing himself.” The tone of his voice spoke to a degree of discomfort Margaret didn’t hear often. He was holding something back.
“I will,” her mother replied, pouring several more circles of pancake batter onto the sizzling skillet.
Commotion and growling at the doorway after a heavy knock seemed uncalled for and Margaret hurried from her father’s side to the foyer. Scott and Maggie stood arguing with one of her cousins about who was going to tear who’s head off if they weren’t allowed inside.
“Allan, let them in.” She took another step toward the door and met Scott’s gaze. He brushed past the bristling young wolf and pulled her into his arms. No one spoke, but the rumbling growls from every male in the house vibrated off the walls.
She could have cared less. Big strong arms wrapped tightly around her. His scent filled her nostrils and she sighed contentedly. He came. She snuggled deeper into his soft silk dress shirt. Damn, the man knew how to dress nice. Here she was in a t-shirt and yoga shorts. Not even a bra. No make-up. Her hair was in a pony-tail.
He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head and released her. “How are you? Maggie filled me in about what happened.”
She glanced briefly around. The growling had not ceased, but he was talking to her as if no one else was in the room. He was concerned only for her well-being. In all honesty, he probably wasn’t worried about being attacked by her family. Most of it was just posturing anyway.
“Margaret?”
She turned and met his gaze. “I’m okay, just a little freaked out.” Looking back at her dad, she frowned. “Can you please cut it out? You are going to rattle the art off the walls.”
“Why is there a bear in your house?” Her father’s disapproval coated every single word. “And why is he acting as though you are his responsibility?”
“Mr. Taylor, this isn’t exactly how I wanted to meet Margaret’s family, but the time for small talk has passed. I’m Scott O’Hearn and I met your daughter last night at Chase Michaels’s wedding. She is my mate.” He extended his hand to her father, but it was ignored.
Her father glared at Scott, but didn’t say anything. Strangely enough, she could see a grin beginning to pull at the corners of her father’s mouth. What was that about?
“He’s a…a bear,” her mother choked out.
“Yes, ma’am, I’m from a long line of grizzlies,” Scott answered with an academy award-winning smile.
“Really,” Margaret stepped back, “That’s what you break the ice with?”
“Margaret, do you claim him as your mate?” Her dad wai
ted, his face void of emotion. The smile was gone. Growls still rumbled from the other males in the room.
“I…” she paused and glanced at Scott again. Then to her father. She wasn’t getting out of this. It was all or nothing. “Yes. The magick between us is very strong. My wolf calls it a perfect match.”
Scott’s hand squeezed her hip and he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. He was with her. He would support her, even if the rest of the pack wanted nothing to do with her after this…
“Dad?”
“At least he’s honest. I’ll have to give him that,” her father managed to rumble. “And, we can always depend on your mother to state the obvious.” The grin was beginning to return.
“Keith!” Her mother’s voice held feigned offence, but the beginnings of a smile were evident on her face as well.
Wow. She’d been scared her parents would object outright, but they were adjusting rather quickly. Perhaps this wouldn’t be as terrible as she’d thought.
“We’ve already checked her room.” Her dad addressed Scott. “The intruder didn’t enter and he’s definitely a wolf.” He rolled his head from side to side, popping the joints in his neck. “Trying to find one particular wolf in Vegas is like a trying to find a dog hair in a wolf’s den.”
“How big is your pack, Mr. Taylor?” Scott’s voice vibrated out from deep within his chest. The power in his voice reassured her of the choice she’d just made. He was her mate. He would protect her.
“There are three family lines here, the Taylor’s, the Michaels, and the O’Brian’s. We all fall under the Demakis jurisdiction with the royal Council. But this wolf didn’t bear the scent of any of the local families. He’s an outsider.”
“Three alphas? One for each family?”
Her dad nodded.
“You all live so close together. How do you not fight?”
“We are very organized, Mr. O’Hearn.”
“Please, call me Scott.”
Margaret jumped into the slight pause in conversation, “I’m going to go get dressed while you both discuss pack politics.”
Scott tightened his grip on her hip. She looked up to meet his twinkling gaze. “I like what you are wearing, darl’n. Why do you need to change?”
Saving Margaret (Vegas Mates Series) (#2) Page 3