by Crissy Smith
As soon as everyone was on their feet and heading to the door, Kiley glanced back at him. Her intent was clear, and Austin tensed. He would chase her. He met her eyes squarely and tried to convey that to her. If she ran he would follow.
“Kiley…” Tyler called in warning.
Her expression didn’t change. She shifted to the balls of her feet.
“Kiley, I would like to speak with you for a minute. I’ll allow Tyler to stay with you if you’d like,” Austin tried speaking softly.
Confusion and doubt covered her face. She obviously wasn’t sure about trusting him. The room had cleared out, and Austin watched as Gray pushed her gently further into the room before closing the door behind him.
Terror began to set in as soon as she was alone with them, Austin noticed. Trying to put her at ease, Austin sat back in the overstuffed chair he’d occupied earlier and gestured to the couch. “Would you like to have a seat?”
She watched him warily as she walked around the room so she wouldn’t pass in front of him. Tyler, to his relief, stood behind him, giving him the opportunity to address only her.
She sat. Too far away in his opinion, but at least she did face him.
“I’m sure this comes as much as a shock to you as it does me. But I’ve waited my entire life to find my mate,” Austin started to explain. “It’s very nice to meet you, Kiley.”
Kiley was biting her bottom lip. “I’m not your mate!” she blurted.
Austin felt his mouth drop open and it was all he could do to stay seated. When he recovered, his voice came out more harshly than he intended. “You most certainly are.”
She shook her head. “No! No, I can’t be.”
Austin leant forward. “There is no doubt and we both know it. You are my mate.”
She dropped her head and Austin watched her try to calm herself. After several minutes, she looked up at him. Her eyes were clear and he could see her resolve. He felt proud of her for being able to get her emotions under control. That would be very important as mate to an Alpha.
“You are mistaken,” she said boldly.
“One of us is,” he practically growled. “Even the members of my Pack recognised you when you came in.”
“Pack will form the same opinion as the Alpha. They were just following your lead,” she told him with a sad smile.
“Not my Pack. They can think for themselves,” he argued. “What kind of Alpha would I be if I didn’t let them form their own opinions?”
She sighed.
“You’ll get to know them and find out for yourself I guess. The Pack scented you as their female Alpha.”
“I am sure you are a wonderful Alpha,” she told him. “Unfortunately, at this time I do not wish to join any Pack, even yours.”
Austin snorted. That wasn’t even an issue. “Oh, you’ll be joining my Pack, all right.”
She opened her mouth but he cut her off. “It would be impossible to be the mate of the Alpha and not be a member of the Pack. It has never been done,” he informed her.
“Then it would be impossible to be your mate,” she said quietly.
Austin jumped to his feet. He’d tried to stay calm. Really, he had. But this was his life and he couldn’t allow a scared female to throw away what they should have together. Despite his best intentions, his emotions got the better of him. “You would deny me my mate?” he demanded loudly.
She jerked back.
“Answer me,” he said as he stood to tower over her. His hands shook so badly he had to stuff them in his pockets. His whole life he had waited for his mate—the one person who would complete him. A mate was the most valued and loved person a shifter could have. His heart breaking, he asked one last time, “Do you deny me as your mate?”
Austin held his breath. She had every right to deny him. Whether she was Pack or not, a female could make the decision not to be with their mate. He’d never met anyone who had denied their mate but he’d heard stories.
God, it was just so frustrating. He would be good to her. If she would just give him a chance, he could prove she would be cherished and loved. He just needed her to agree.
“No,” she responded quietly. “I don’t deny you.”
His breath rushed out. Oh, thank God!
“I…just…you can’t be my mate.”
Austin went from relieved to irritated. “I am,” he repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.
“I need to think…I just need time to think,” she told him honestly as she met his gaze.
“Time,” he repeated. “I can give you time.”
Kiley smiled a small smile and her blue eyes sparkled. Austin knew he would never deny her anything.
He tried to convey honesty and caring as he cupped her chin. She gasped but didn’t pull away. “I will do anything for you,” he whispered. “Just ask.” Austin released her and took his seat. “Hopefully you will agree to spend some time getting to know me,” he said as he sat back and relaxed. Yes, that would be best. Give her time in her own territory to feel comfortable with him. “There is quite a bit of Pack stuff going on, but I would like to see you later, if that’s all right. You will be staying here at the house, won’t you?”
Kiley frowned. “I have my own place off Pack land.”
Austin shrugged a shoulder. “But I thought…”
Tyler cleared his throat, drawing Austin’s attention. “I haven’t had a chance to speak with her before this. She doesn’t know anything about the call.”
“I apologise, Alpha,” Austin said formally.
Tyler just grinned. Usually they weren’t very formal or worried about Alpha protocol. They’d been friends for too many years. Austin hadn’t spent a lot of time in Tyler’s territory, though, so he didn’t want to assume their relationship would stay the same in front of Tyler’s Pack members. An Alpha deserved respect, and Austin wanted the other man to know he had Austin’s.
“Thank you, but unnecessary,” Tyler told him before speaking directly to Kiley. “Kiley, I asked you to the house because I need a favour.”
She nodded. “Gray said you had a job for me.”
Austin bit back a growl at the casual way she said Tyler’s Enforcer’s name. While she was wary of him—her mate—she spoke the other man’s name naturally. Austin wondered how close they were.
The wolf inside him started to get agitated, so he took several deep breaths to calm himself while Tyler continued to talk.
“You may have heard that we have meetings set up to discuss the issue of going public. I have a few guests coming to speak with Austin and myself about it. It’s been planned for several months.”
Austin watched Kiley take in the information. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head. Her eyes were sharp and she nodded, showing she was listening.
“We started getting anonymous calls as soon as the meetings were set. Austin was already planning to come down to be in the meetings with us, and he also started to get threatening phone calls,” Tyler told her.
Kiley glanced over at him, and he sent her a reassuring smile.
She nodded and gave her attention back to Tyler.
“I can’t not have the meetings. It doesn’t matter if we choose to go public or not, I cannot back down. It would put the entire Pack in danger,” Tyler explained.
Kiley nodded. “Makes sense. What do you need from me?”
“Jesse,” Tyler said simply.
“Oh God!” Kiley exclaimed. “The threats aren’t against her, are they?”
Tyler frowned. “They’re against all of us. I just can’t take the chance of something happening to her.”
“I’ll do anything for Jesse, you know that.”
Austin grinned. That boded well for their future together. He wanted cubs, lots and lots of cubs.
“I want you to stay here with her as her guard. You can spend time with her and keep her from getting worried and hopefully out of trouble.”
“Yeah,” Kiley laughed. “No problem there.�
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Tyler shook his head with a wide smile. “I know you’ll try your best. So will you help? “I’ll help,” she agreed.
“Wonderful,” Austin commented, standing. “And that will give us some time together too.” Austin thought of all the possibilities. He had meetings to concentrate on but nothing would keep him from getting to know his mate. And letting her get to know him.
Chapter Three
Kiley lifted Jesse into her arms and carried her aeroplane-style into the kitchen. Thanks to her wolf shifter abilities, she could easily hold the girl above her head without too much strain.
Jesse giggled happily as they stepped through the open doorway.
Kiley stopped short when her gaze fell on the men that occupied the kitchen. She lowered Jesse to her side and wrapped her arm around the girl’s shoulders—more for her benefit than Jesse’s. Not paying close enough attention to her senses, she hadn’t realised the men had taken a break from their meeting.
Austin, Gray, Dominic, and two other men sat around the large oak table. The men had stopped talking and looked over when they’d entered. Kiley shifted from foot to foot, trying to think of something to say.
Right after she’d left Tyler’s office earlier so the men could take a phone call, she’d gone up to Jesse’s room with her. She’d been able to avoid everyone else in the house. Jesse had kept her occupied and she hadn’t had time to dwell too much on her problem.
Now it seemed she had run out of luck. Not only was her new mate in the room with her, but so were a few others. Strangers—she hated strangers.
When she didn’t say anything, Gray started to stand. Austin growled, freezing the other man in place. Kiley glanced between the two. She could feel the tension from Austin. It seemed nothing had been settled earlier. She’d tried to convince Austin that he wasn’t her mate—she’d tried to protect him—but he wouldn’t buy it. Gray looked to be another problem.
Gray looked unsure, while Austin had his teeth clenched. Immediately Kiley knew Austin was aware she and Gray had a relationship and that she needed to calm her mate down before the situation exploded. She might still be uncertain about him, but she didn’t want Austin unhappy or Gray hurt.
She swallowed hard and offered a smile to Austin. “Hi,” she greeted him.
He seemed to make an effort to relax and nodded. “Hello, ladies,” he replied.
Jesse, who was unaware of any tension, escaped from Kiley’s hold and ran to her uncle. “Uncle Dom! Uncle Dom!” And just like that all the tension left the room.
“Yes?” Dominic answered the little girl.
“Kiley is going to stay the whole weekend with me!” Jesse exclaimed happily.
Dominic chuckled and lifted Jesse into his lap. “I heard that. What do you girls have planned?”
“Kiley said we could make cookies!” Jesse shared enthusiastically.
All eyes turned to her. Kiley shrugged a shoulder. “It shouldn’t be too hard.”
Dominic and Gray groaned in unison.
“It’s just cookies,” Kiley growled in reply.
Dominic grinned at her, not saying anything. Kiley glared back and then looked around the table. “I’m sure I can handle cookies.”
“I’ll be sure to keep the fire extinguisher handy,” Gray quipped.
Austin and the two strangers didn’t say anything, but Kiley could tell they were amused too. She huffed out a breath and fisted her hands on her hips. “Oh, ha ha,” she muttered.
Austin stood and walked over, swinging his arm around her shoulder. It took everything she had not to pull away. She didn’t want to embarrass him. “I’m sure you can do whatever you set your mind to.”
The compliment from her mate was unexpected but made her heart swell. She knew the others were just teasing her, but it felt good to have someone on her side for once. She found herself leaning in to Austin’s embrace.
So close to her mate, she could feel the contentment and care coming from the man. A sudden surge of emotion hit her. She made him feel that way. Trying to hide her feelings, she cleared her throat.
“Thank you,” she whispered for his ears only.
He tightened his arm for just a second then pulled her forwards. “I’d like you to meet some people,” he told her.
Kiley let him lead her over to the table where the men sat and Jesse was happily swinging her legs in her uncle’s lap.
“Kiley, this is my Beta, Colt,” he introduced an attractive blond man. Like the other wolf shifters, he was big but the smile lines around his eyes and broad grin on his face made him a little more approachable.
“Hi,” she said awkwardly.
His smile still in place, he bowed his head. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” he responded.
Kiley knew he wasn’t talking about her so much as about his Alpha’s mate. Strangely that didn’t bother her.
“And this is Tony. He is visiting from the Blue Ridge Pack in Oklahoma,” Austin continued.
The other man at the table was just as big as Colt but much more serious. His eyes held so much worry in them that Kiley felt a strong urge to offer him a hug. And she never wanted to do that. It surprised her, so she simply dipped her chin in respect.
If she had to guess, this man was the one who had come to talk about the wolf shifters going public. Kiley wasn’t sure of what that would entail, but she’d heard others talk about it for the last few months.
Being Rogue, she didn’t have to worry about whether or not her Pack would choose to agree. Or, she hadn’t been worried about it. But Austin had been right earlier—if she mated with him she would have to join his Pack.
She lifted her face up to her mate’s to ask what he planned, but they were interrupted before she could.
“Daddy!” Jesse yelled and was out of Dominic’s lap and across the room.
Tyler laughed and bent to scoop her up as she ran to him. “Hey, baby girl.”
“Me and Kiley…”
“Kiley and I,” Tyler corrected before she could finish her sentence.
Jesse scrunched up her face and sighed heavily. “Kiley and I…” she repeated. “We’re gonna make cookies!”
The Alpha’s eyes darted to her. “I don’t know if I carry that much home insurance.”
Kiley’s mouth dropped open. Oh no, he had not just said that! She threw her arms up in the air. “One time!” she cried. “And it wasn’t even my fault!”
“Kiley, you caught a table on fire,” Gray reminded her.
She glared over her shoulder at him before looking up at Austin. “It wasn’t my fault.”
He nodded in agreement.
She sighed and relaxed against him again, thinking about the day they were talking about.
Kiley had avoided going up to the main house as much as she could. But it had been Jesse’s birthday, and she couldn’t have missed it for any reason. Somehow while she was there, Gray and Dominic had put her in charge of the grill while they went to get Jesse’s new bike out of the house.
And that was when all hell had broken loose. The flame had somehow caught on a tablecloth, which had blazed up so quickly that Kiley was still staring at it when it moved to the chairs.
No one had been hurt and the guys had been able to put the fire out quickly, but to this day they still teased her. She didn’t mind too much—except it made her feel like family, like Pack. And she wasn’t either of those things.
Kiley shivered when Austin’s mouth pressed close to her ear. “I have plenty of home insurance,” he promised.
It felt so good to have his arm around his mate, Austin could have died and gone to heaven happy. It surprised him a little that Kiley allowed him the privilege, but he wasn’t going to complain.
When the teasing had started from the others, he could feel her embarassment, amusement and, surprisingly, sadness. He didn’t know what about it made her sad, but he never wanted her to feel that way again.
As soon as they had finished with the meetings scheduled for the d
ay, he planned to spend some alone time with his mate, getting to know her better.
He liked the fact that she seemed to have a strong will. He’d hoped for a mate who would be able to stand up and challenge him when she needed to. He had never been attracted to submissive women. He worried Kiley might be just a bit too stubborn but knew he could handle any conflicts that might come up. He couldn’t wait to take her home and see how she would get along with his Pack.
His Pack was so small that they were more like an extended family. While Tyler had over two hundred members, Austin was very happy with his intimate fifty or so. Okay, fifty-three, to be exact.
He wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation around him until he heard Kiley say she would head to her apartment to pack a couple of bags.
“One of my men will accompany you,” he told her automatically.
She stiffened. Instantly he knew he should have phrased that better.
“It will be safer for you to have an escort,” he tried.
She whirled on him, eyebrows raised and hands on her hips. “An escort? For me to drive ten minutes, pack a bag, and drive back. Thirty minutes tops?”
Austin nodded, glad she understood.
“Will I sit in the back like a good little pup while my chauffeur makes any stops I want?” she asked.
Okay, the sarcasm was not lost on him.
“Umm…well,” Austin was at a loss for what to say.
“So the little bitty woman needs a strong man to act as her guard?” Kiley continued to taunt.
Austin glanced at Tyler and saw the other man’s lips twitch. No help there. He looked over at Gray, hoping that since the other man knew her so well he would maybe convey something to him. But Gray had his head bent to the table. The one time he needed the other man’s experience, he didn’t get anything. Beside Gray, Tony was avoiding looking at him. Dominic was turned away, with Jesse on his lap staring at them. He darted his gaze to his best friend, but Colt just sat there with his eyes wide and mouth open.
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
Kiley cut him off. “Of course it was. Get one thing straight. I may be your mate but that does not mean you get to dictate everything I do. We are either equal partners or we’re nothing.”