Too crowded. He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. His six-foot eleven-inch frame intimidated human and supernatural beings alike. They gave him a wide birth and rarely did anyone ever even attempt eye contact.
His gaze followed Margaret. She was situating a few clients at a private poker table. He swallowed a jealous snarl when one of the men bent and kissed Margaret’s hand. Her gaze flitted to meet his momentarily and he could feel the sense of calm she was projecting along their newly developing bond. She’d felt his jealousy, even as weak as their bond was. She’d known.
I’m making a complete fool of myself.
“No, you are in love with your mate. Nothing wrong with that,” his bear countered.
***
Once her clients were settled, she moved quickly to where Scott was standing and leaned against him. He responded by curling his arm around her shoulder and squeezing. His piney scent filled her nostrils and she sighed.
“You don’t have to worry, Scott. I’ve known most of these clients several years. They bring me flowers and chocolates and flirt with me every time they are in town, but that’s all it is…harmless flirtation.”
“Someone was watching you sleep outside your bedroom window. That’s not harmless.”
“Yes, a wolf. Those men are all human.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“I’m glad, but no interfering. This is my job and my reputation.”
He huffed —the very annoyed bear-ish sound that always made her giggle.
“When are you finished for the night?”
“I need to drop off a few files in my office and then I’ll be ready to go.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“Of course,” she answered and smirked. “Come on.”
He followed her through an employee only door and then up an elevator to the third floor. They got off, and walked into a suite of offices. She waved at Carrie, her boss’s secretary.
“You heading out for the night, Margaret?” Carrie asked from her desk.
“Yep, just dropping off a couple of client files I’d pulled.”
“Bye, Scott.”
Margaret grinned at Scott’s curt nod to the secretary. The girl flirted with anything male, she wasn’t surprised she was batting her lashes at Scott.
“Evening, Miss Marshall.”
Margaret dropped the files on her desk and then backed out of the office, locking the door behind her.
“We’re good to go.” She waved goodbye to Carrie.
“Excellent,” he answered, looping her arm around his and practically hauling her out of the offices and back to the elevator.
The elevator dinged, the doors opened, and they stepped inside.
Margaret laughed. “Was Carrie making you nervous?”
“That woman is without shame. All she did was stare at my pants.”
“Well, you are quite the impressive male specimen.”
Scott snorted through a laugh. “If your family would quit interrupting us, I could show you how impressive.”
“Yeah, good luck with that. My family has the worst timing on the planet. Most of us have seen everybody in at least one compromising position.”
He scowled and escorted her off the elevator. They walked quickly to his truck and he helped her into the passenger seat before getting into the driver’s side.
“Oh, and Dad called. We need to stop by the Michaels for a meeting before we go back to my house.”
“Did they find the stalker?”
“No,” she sighed. “It’s about Peter and Renata. Dad has something to tell you.”
“What?”
She shook her head. He wasn’t getting anything else out of her. Scott would be pissed, but her father had made her promise to let him be the one to break the news.
***
A quick drive from the strip had Scott and Margaret in the Michaels’s driveway. They walked up the stone path to the Michaels front door. It opened before either of them could knock. Maggie met Margaret’s gaze and nodded. They followed her inside and found a place to stand in the corner of the large living room.
“What has he said so far?” Margaret asked her friend.
“Just giving out patrolling assignments for the next couple of days.
“Scott, any unusual activity at the casino?” Her father’s voice projected from the back of the room.
She snapped her gaze to Scott’s face and narrowed her eyes, waiting for him to speak.
“Sir, nothing seemed out of place. It was an uneventful day.”
“Very well. Margaret, you may continue to go to work, but only under Scott’s supervision. The Council has at least two agents in the city. Until we can eliminate the threat, he and pack will be watching your every move.”
“Dad,” she protested.
“You don’t get a choice in this one, honey.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Scott, I need to speak with you privately with my brothers. Connor and William, I need you to stay as well.”
The younger men and all the women dispersed to the kitchen or out into the back patio area. Margaret stretched up toward Scott. He leaned down with a smile and gave her a gentle kiss.
“What’s going on?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
She shook her head and ducked out of the room.
***
He watched her disappear up the stairs and frowned. She was hiding something and he didn’t like it. Secrets were dangerous. Mates did not keep secrets from each other —ever.
Scott sunk into an armchair next to William Michaels, Chase’s father.
“We have located Peter Demakis and have put plans in motion to take him back from the Council agents that arrested him,” Keith started.
“So you know who Margaret’s stalker is?” Scott perked up.
“No, both men are unfamiliar. Which is why we suspect there are other agents separate from these two.”
“How many people would the Council have sent to collect one woman?” Scott asked.
“The woman you speak of is Renata Antipas. She is descended from Reginald and Carlotta Antipas, great-grandchildren of the original werewolf royal family. She is old, powerful, and very pissed off.”
“Chase told me she had history with his Uncle.”
William growled next to him. “More like she was in love with him. The Council made sure he didn’t survive that hunt. They didn’t want one of the precious royals to breed with just anybody.”
“What about Chase and Sam?”
“Yes, same problem. Renata knew, but she was fighting so hard against her wolf already, it was hard to tell them apart.” Keith interrupted. “Sam and Chase’s mating is the catalyst for all recent Council movement. Peter made sure the mating was completed the night of the hunt. If he hadn’t, Chase would have been eliminated by the Council immediately.”
“They would have killed him?” Scott asked, quelling a rumbling growl.
William nodded. “Chase knew the risks.”
“Renata losing her mind over the pairing is only part of our trouble. The Council is the bigger part,” Keith continued.
“Are Chase and Samantha safe?”
“Yes,” Keith answered. “They are of little consequence to the Council now. The process has begun to eliminate Peter and Renata. Samantha will not be recognized as royal any longer. Their grandparents, however, are trying to get their hands on the other three girls.”
“What’s keeping them from killing Peter now?”
“They can’t find Renata,” Keith answered.
“So now what?”
“We are starting a war, Scott. North American supernaturals are breaking from the Council.”
“What about the other royals that are here?” Scott swallowed nervously. Politics were not his forte. He hated all of it. These wolves were planning a mutiny against the very powers that governed the existence of supernatural beings.
“Everything will go down within a few weeks.”
“My parents knew what you were doing, didn’t they?”
Keith nodded.
“You expected the agents to arrest Peter, but this other guy has y’all stumped.”
Nathan, one of Keith’s brothers spoke, “We needed you to know what was going on. The only reason they would be stalking Margaret is if they suspect the entire pack of disloyalty. A direct threat to the Pack Beta’s family is a warning to everyone in the pack.”
“All the more reason for me to take Margaret and leave,” Scott argued. These wolves were going to get everyone killed. What were they thinking? A war with the Council?
“No, everything must continue as normal. If we make them suspicious we won’t have a chance. Just watch her carefully, please.” The strain in Keith’s voice was evident. His daughter was being targeted, but pack loyalty to the Demakis royals overrode everything.
“I have to put the safety of the whole pack first, Scott. I know you think I’m being callus, but if we don’t move forward from where we are, the Council will come down on all of us with an iron fist. My brothers and I will be forced to split up and each placed in new packs. If they find out Siobhan is a witch, they’ll take her from Connor and her kids. Or they could just kill us. Our family is hanging in the balance and we aren’t the only pack in this predicament.”
“I don’t get the timing. Why now?”
“It was Peter’s call. He’s been planning the break for years, but the timeline got fast-forwarded when Sam mated with Chase. He can’t ignore the Council any longer. He broke the unwritten law. He let his daughter mate outside the royal line. They are coming.”
“What do the other royals say?”
“Melinda Demakis Faeux, Peter’s sister, has already pledged her support and her mate, John Faeux as well is on our side. They head up the New York and east coast region packs for the Council. The cougar prides in the Midwest and the lion prides in Texas have also have sent word they will stand with us as well. Your parents spoke for the bears.”
“What?”
“Apparently they convened over the Christmas holiday and voted,” Keith answered.
No wonder my parents already knew what was going on.
“That must have been fun,” he chuckled. The thought of all the mid-west bears in one place at the same time was unheard of. “I’m surprised no one died.”
Keith’s eyes widened. “I was informed there were two casualties over the course of the meeting.”
Scott huffed. “Must not have been direct family, or I would have at least been informed.”
William, Chase’s dad, turned in his chair. “Bears really don’t like politics, do they?”
“No, we don’t need them either. We live alone and leave everyone else alone. If someone bothers us, they don’t ever do it again.”
The room was silent.
“The fact that two bears died when this choice was made just goes to show how much opposition there was to supporting you.”
“Will you support us?” Nathan Taylor spoke again, rising from his chair across the room. “Or will you take her and leave now, tipping the Council to our plans?”
Scott stood and huffed a small breath. The accusation was plain to be seen, but he wasn’t about to let one wolf’s insecurities get him riled up. The other males stood as well and Scott knew they were waiting for his next move.
“I will do anything to protect my mate and her family, but I will not openly go to war against the Council…until I speak with my father about the agreement that was discussed.” He crossed his arms over his chest. They better take it, because that’s where he was leaving it.
“Fair enough,” Keith answered, and waved a dismissing hand at his brother. “It was not our intention to force your hand, but when you spoke with your father about taking Demakis’s daughters to hide, I realized you were not aware of the developments. We needed to be sure you would not move against us.”
“Again, I will repeat. Bears do not like politics. We stay out of them if at all possible.”
“You have royals and Council members just as other supernaturals do,” Connor O’Brian spoke softly. “Why do the bears consider themselves different?”
“We don’t care what anyone thinks,” Scott responded calmly. “And as for royal bloodlines. That’s a rumor the Council promotes to make everything sound balanced. There are no royal bears any more. We mate when we find our match, bloodlines be damned. The last Council member that tried to tell us we weren’t following the rules was never heard from again. Every ten years for the Council Gathering, the heads of families draw straws to see who has to show up.”
Muffled snorts of laughter erupted from a couple of Keith’s brothers, allowing Scott to relax his stance slightly. He wasn’t sure where this conversation was going, but he sure as hell wasn’t declaring war on the Council without at least chatting with his parents again.
Even then, this was uncharted territory. The Council had governed the supernatural communities for thousands of years. They would not take lightly to a mutiny.
“What’s your plan for the Council’s retaliation?”
“We will fight,” answered Keith. “The pack is in agreement over this. You were the only wild card inside the pack.”
“Does Margaret know?”
“Yes,” he nodded.
Scott sucked in a quick breath. That’s what she’d kept from him. He turned and slipped around the corner out of the living room.
“Margaret!” he roared. All he could think about was that she’d known. He’d been blindsided by her dad and she had known all along. “You better not be in a fucking bathroom, because I’ll just take the door out of the frame this time.”
“We are all outside, Scott,” Margaret’s mother, Rachel, called from the patio. “The girls went for a quick run.”
He stalked out the back door. Four wolves were sprawled out on the floor around Rachel and a couple of other ladies. He recognized Breena, but the other’s names escaped his mind.
“Uh oh,” Breena piped up and smirked at Scott. “Are the girls playing hard to get?”
A loud huff in her direction wiped the smile off her face. The sandy wolf with black markings barked, but didn’t move. He swung his gaze down to meet her brown eyes. She held her ground and didn’t cower.
Brave girl.
“Change.” His voice rumbled with authority. Magick rolled in waves from his body. The three other wolves beside her fled.
“What is going on, Scott?” Rachel Taylor stood up and stepped between him and his mate. His bear was not pleased and a menacing growl escaped his throat. The Beta’s wife’s eyes sparked yellow, but Scott ignored her and moved to the right until he had locked gazes with Margaret’s wolf again.
“Leave us,” he bellowed. He was a strong alpha and the women began to move aside. Even Rachel stepped away, leaving Margaret to face an angry mate.
“Stop,” Keith’s voice carried out across the patio. “You have no right. My daughter was following my express —”
“She withheld information vital to protecting her,” Scott snarled, turning to face the Taylor alpha. Keith snarled back. Scott didn’t care. No wolf had ever intimidated him and it wouldn’t start with Keith Taylor. “You ordered her to lie to her mate. I have every right. She is mine.” He swung back around to face Margaret. “Change!” His roar echoed under the porch awning and Margaret shifted instantly.
The mate bond between them flared with magick. Her connection to the pack was weakening. As it should be. She was his mate and they would not stay with her pack after the bond was completed.
***
Margaret stood slowly before her mate. Her heart pounded like a jackhammer. The power of Scott’s magick completely overwhelmed her ability to control the shifting. Her wolf submitted willingly, even though they were not fully mated.
She crossed her arms over her bare breasts and waited calmly for Scott to speak. He just stared, his eyes greedily devouring her nakedness. Nudity around family, esp
ecially after shifting wasn’t uncommon, but she suddenly felt very exposed. Her body heated and her sex swelled as her arousal grew. Even her nipples betrayed her and pebbled, enticing her mate to approach and admire.
He stepped closer and leaned down, putting his mouth next to her ear.
“I’m not pleased with you.”
The fullness of his pants led her mind in a completely different direction and the corners of her mouth curled up into a smirk. “I think you are.”
He huffed.
“You know what I mean.”
“I was following orders.” Even if he wasn’t used to pack rules and hierarchy, he’d been in the army. He had to understand there was an order to things. She couldn’t just go against her alpha and the pack beta. It was against everything she’d been taught and against every basic instinct in her body. Her father, her alpha, was there to protect her. She followed his direct orders.
Surely he didn’t expect her loyalties to be to him only. They weren’t even completely bonded yet. Though the pull to his bear was very strong. She’d been sorely disappointed when Allan and Kyle had spent the night at her house yesterday.
Gods, she been so horny. It had been painful to walk away and leave him in her living room. Her body ached to hold him and to feel him within her. The throbbing need had plagued her most of the night and had started again in the morning. Working at the casino today, taking care of her clients, had taken her mind off of him at least temporarily.
But now, standing naked before him. The ache burned within her again and she moaned just a little.
His breath hitched on her ear. He’d heard her.
“No more secrets, Margaret.”
She shook her head back and forth just the slightest. No more secrets. Her breathing grew heavy. His piney scent filled her nostrils. Thoughts of leaping into his arms and tearing his clothes from his body flitted through her mind.
Saving Margaret (Vegas Mates Series) (#2) Page 6