Downstairs, they were wrapping up their discussion about using Grace’s backyard as a secondary training ground when Artur frowned.
“Will Grace be okay with this?” he said seriously.
Amy looked at him, as Ted answered, “Artur, Grace has had no one in her home in a very long time. If she did not want you here, believe me, you would not be here.”
Amy added her voice, “She told me herself that I was the first person to come into her house besides Ted in six years. I think Grace enjoys having people around especially༤ she hasn’t had anyone around in a long time.” Artur flinched at her words for he wished he could take away her pain from the past, but he could not. The only thing he could do was try to make her present and future happier.
He nodded his head at Amy who smiled at him before turning her attention of Steve.
“We will patrol in shifts so there will always be at least six or seven men here at one time,” Steve said.
“Six,” Artur said, and Steve only smiled for he knew that meant Artur was not living Grace alone in a house with other males whether they were mated or not.
“Okay,” Steve said as Ace gave Artur a thoughtful look.
“Hopefully we find some answers soon about the rogues,” Susan said with snarl, and Ace pulled her into his arms. “We will, honey,” was all that he said.
Steve nodded his head as Artur looked out the kitchen window. We will, Artur promised himself.
Chapter 9
Grace walked away from Kale, a member of Steve’s pack who knew Artur’s first mate, and her heart was thumping in her chest. For the past week, she had been talking to every person who knew Artur’s mate, Lana, as she learned her name was; so far, what she learned hurt her heart in many ways. All the males she talked with, she noticed the look of uneasiness in their eyes as if they were ashamed of something. She walked into her kitchen were Ace and Susan were eating lunch.
“Hi Ace, Susan,” Grace said distracted. Ace and Susan looked at her, and Ace hesitated before saying, “Grace, I heard that you have been asking about Lana.” Susan looked at her and Grace recognized in her eyes the look of sadness and anger.
Grace turned her attention to Ace, and she blushed softly, “Yeah, I know it is none of my business but I was curious.”
Ace sighed before he told her, “Lana was a gorgeous woman who every man wanted, but Artur wanted her the most. When he discovered that they were mates, he was so excited although that did not last long. Lana loved Artur, but she loved men as in plural. She slept with almost every male who was willing to sleep with her, and the bad thing is Artur knew.”
Susan gasped, but Grace just kept her gaze on him, as what he was saying was sinking into her head explaining those embarrassed looks she had seen on the others faces.
“Ace…” Susan began.
Ace shook his head, “He knew, sweetie, of that I am sure because I saw the look on his face whenever she was gone for too long. Artur was obsessed with her, and he wanted her enough to overlook the other men even though it killed him.”
Ace looked at Grace, and he realized that he phrased that wrong. “Grace…” he began, but before he could say anything else, Kale and his mate walked in talking and laughing. Ace’s attention had been distracted for a moment, and when he turned back, Grace was gone.
“Ace,” Susan said softly, “I know she wanted to know about Lana, but now you got her thinking that Artur loved her more than anything, which we all assumed he did. But you have to admit the look in his eyes when he looks at Grace is so much more passionate and powerful than when he looked at Lana.”
“I know,” Ace said sadly, and thought about the look that crossed over Grace’s eyes before she blanked them out. He had to talk to Artur, and soon.
Grace went up to her room quickly after Kale and his mate went into the kitchen, and she sat down on the bed.
He wants us, her wolf said.
However, will that be enough? From what Ace said, he loved her enough to deal with the pain of her having sex with other men, Grace commented to her wolf. Her wolf went silent for she did not know how to answer that question. Grace sat there for a moment until she got up and going to the closet, she grabbed a backpack. She put an extra set of clothes along with overnight things, and as she zipped it, she thought about Artur. Artur was staying at the Moon Star’s pack house tonight as he told her this morning before they left, and she had not been shocked to know that she was going to miss him. She needed to get away for the night because she had some thinking to do. As she looked around her room to make sure that she had everything, she knew that she had a choice to make and she needed to do that somewhere where she felt answers would be easier to find.
She picked up the backpack and walked down the stairs quietly as she listened to the noise and laughter coming from the kitchen. She did not tell anyone where she was going, but neither did she sneak out. She looked at her house as she strapped on her helmet, and then she was gone.
Ace was talking when he heard the motorcycle and he stopped in midsentence as he bolted from the table. He had the door shut, but he had assumed it was another pack member coming in until the start of the motorcycle.
“Hey Ace,” Kale called out coming after him, “why did you run off…” Kale’s sentence came to abrupt stop as he realized what had Ace moving so fast. Ace and Kale watched as Grace’s motorcycle drove away in a cloud of dust.
Kale ran a hand through his hair as he said, “Artur is going to kill me. He asked me to keep an eye on Grace tonight because he had to stay at the pack house.”
Kale paled as he thought about what Grace had asked him, and he looked at Ace, “Is she by any chance his second mate, Ace?” Ace did not answer him but walked back into the house, and Kale followed as he swallowed for Artur was not the right werewolf to piss off.
Ace headed straight to the phone and he took a deep breath as he picked it up. Susan watched him with concerned eyes for she knew Artur was not going to appreciate this phone call, not at all. Ace looked at her as he held the receiver, and they both prayed that Artur would be in a good mood.
Artur scowled as he walked through the pack house to get to the kitchen. Steve and Amy were in there having lunch when Artur stormed in. He was pissed, and if Star came up to him one more time, he would end up doing something that he never even thought of doing not even to Lana.
“What is wrong, Artur?” Steve asked. Amy rolled her eyes as she guessed, “Star.” Artur growled again as he went to the refrigerator to get him a beer.
Just then, Star came sashaying into the kitchen and her eyes shined with lust that she directed at Artur. It did not help that right behind her was the new female, Sandy, that Bryan was currently sleeping with, and she smiled at Artur as she said, “Hi, I have been looking for you. You have not been around lately.” She put a pout on her face that never failed to get a male’s attention, but Artur did not look at her.
She frowned as she realized that she was not getting his attention, and Star smirked at her as she started toward him. There was a commotion at the front door, and everybody was surprised when Bryan came storming into the kitchen. Artur glanced at him before turning his attention back to the backyard and sipping his beer.
“Hi, babe,” Sandy said with a smile that was aimed at getting men to drop to their knees, and Bryan was no exception as she saw the lust flair in his eyes before he turned to Steve and Amy.
He scowled as he said, “I just came to get Sandy.”
“Okay,” they said as he turned to her, and he grabbed her hand as Star looked at them.
“Look Artur,” she said with a giggle, and the triumphant look she gave Sandy let all know that she thought she won this battle. The only problem was she or Sandy was never in the running as there was only one person on Artur’s mind, and he frowned as weird feeling came over him causing his wolf to get antsy.
Just then, Davis came into the kitchen. “Artur, Ace is on the phone for you,” he said, handing him the phone and beating a
hasty retreat. Steve watched him leave with a frown for when their own pack members were quick to leave around Artur, it meant that he was not going to like what Ace had to say. He sighed silently and looked at Amy who knew something was wrong.
“What did you say?” Artur said softly, and every single person within hearing range of his voice shivered at the tone.
Artur listened again as Ace told him that Grace had left on her bike, and she did not tell them when she would be back. There was a hesitation before Ace explained what happened before Grace left and Artur paled as he realized that he should have talked to Grace before now.
“Okay, Ace,” Artur said softly, “Call me though when she returns.” Ace assured him he would, and Artur hung up the phone. He swallowed the rest of his beer, and throwing the bottle in the garbage, he headed out.
“Artur,” Steve called out.
Artur did not stop but he did say over his shoulder as he left the kitchen, “I need to talk to Ted.”
He got into his car and drove off not thinking about anyone except for one person; the one person he needed to talk to, but he would have to wait until she came back. Right now, the closest thing to a father figure to her is his next best choice.
Steve watched as his Beta and best friend walked out of the house.
“What was that about?” Bryan sneered not about to admit that his tone had scared the hell out of him, and it took all that he had to not run out of the house.
Sandy’s eyes gleamed with lust as she felt again that shiver that went down her spine at his tone, but Star was different. Artur’s tone had terrified her, and Star knew that he could destroy her without a second thought.
“Tell Artur…” she began then shrugged her shoulders and walked out. Amy hid her amusement at Star's terrified expression, but Sandy worried her for the girl looked like she was on a pleasure high.
Steve looked at Bryan and Sandy, and he said, “Something Artur needs to figure out, and I am sure it has nothing to do with either of you.”
Sandy purred with conceit, “I am sure that it may concern me.”
Amy looked at her and realized she was not all there. Bryan looked at her with black eyes and said, “Let’s get going.” He could care less what Sandy wanted with Artur as he was losing interest in her although she still turned on him, but lately his interest span in women had been growing shorter and shorter, and he scowled as he thought of a possible reason for that.
Maybe we need to get rid of her, his wolf said without any emotion, and Bryan had to agree that it might help his situation.
“Bryan,” Sandy pouted blinking her blue eyes up at him as she got into the car and he felt his lust stir again.
“In a few minutes, honey,” he told her driving away without a backward glance and he decided to enjoy the rest of his time with Sandy because he was definitely going to mark as his mate. Sandy was good for one thing, and one thing only and he was going to make sure that he got what she was willingly offering.
Artur pulled into the restaurant parking lot, and he sat there for a few minutes after he turned off his car. He stepped out and noticed absently that Grace’s motorcycle was nowhere in sight even though he had a feeling it was not going to be here. He sighed loudly as he walked into the restaurant. There were only a few people in the restaurant and Artur sat down at an empty table to wait for Ted.
Ted came out of the kitchen and saw Artur sitting down at a table, and he knew that he wanted to talk. He delivered the food to the awaiting table, and went into the kitchen to tell Dave that he was taking a break, to keep an eye on things.
He poured two Pepsis and headed for Artur’s table.
“Hi,” he said sitting across from him and Artur gave him a nod as he slid the Pepsi toward him.
He took a long drink before he sighed again, and then he started talking.
“When I first met Lana, I had just shifted and she was so beautiful that I was shocked she was my mate. I was attracted to her from the first sight, but I did not notice how many others were besotted with her at the time. I marked her when I was 18, as she had wanted to wait until I was that age. She had been two years older than I was, and it shocked me to know that my mate was older, but I was so obsessed with her that the fact she was older did not deter me. Even when she said that there was a condition in order for me to mark her, I did not hesitate although something inside me shriveled up when she told me that she wanted to sleep with other males including me. I agreed to it like the fool I was, and I thought that I kept it pretty quiet until we came here.” He laughed without humor at himself. “Steve told me that the rest of the pack had known about Lana’s indiscretions. I did not want to know whom see was sleeping with, but I assumed she would give me the respect and not sleep with our own pack members. It seems she did not, and I am surprised that my own pack is not laughing at me.”
Ted had listened without interrupting, and now he said, “I know why they did not laugh at you. Artur, you are loyal to your pack and from what I hear in your voice, you were loyal to her.”
Artur looked at him and then he said, “But I did not feel the same way about her that I do for Grace. When I looked at Lana, I saw a beautiful woman and I wanted her, but when I look at Grace, it is something entirely different.”
“How,” Ted asked as he looked at Artur for he had a feeling he knew what he was going to say. There are times when wolves find their mates but fate is weird for the ones that they find beforehand are not their true mates. Fate decides to give these mates a chance, and if the match works and the mates are happy then fate leaves them alone, but if the match is not working or the couple is not happy then fate decides to intervene, and try to fix the problem.
“How is it different with Grace?” he asked again to see if he was right in his assumption.
“When I met her eyes that first night at Tomas’ house, my wolf was so excited and confused. He claimed her as soon as he scented her, but he was confused as I always assured him that Lana was our mate. Every time I am around Grace, my wolf goes crazy and I am so enticed by her that I cannot think straight. Even before you asked me to stay with her, my wolf and I were going to offer because I wanted to stay with her more than anyone and so did my wolf.”
Ted leaned forward and asked, “Do you want to know why your feelings are different for Grace?”
Artur took a deep breath as thought about Ted’s question for he needed to know so did his wolf, and he nodded his head.
“What you felt for Lana was real, but it was not the feelings of true mates,” Ted commented and he noticed Artur giving him an astonished look.
Ted sighed as he explained, “Sometimes finding ones true mate is really difficult for the simple reason that she, or he, could be anyone. So Fate gives us a chance to finding someone that is close to our true mate, someone we have feelings for, and then Fate waits to see what happens. In your case, Fate decided that you were unhappy enough that finding your true mate would be better for you.”
Artur nodded his head slowly as he understand some of what Ted was saying, “But what about Grace, I thought Bryan was her mate?”
“From what Amy was telling me, Grace does not remember how it felt when she and Bryan met for the first time. However Amy believes that Grace just did not want to admit that the feeling had not been like what Amy was describing to her,” Ted explained, “You need to talk to Amy about that, or better yet, you should talk to Grace.”
“I can’t,” Artur, said honestly, “Grace left home this afternoon, and we do not where she went.” Ted was disturbed at the news, but he had faith in Grace.
“Artur, she will come back, and when she does, make sure that you sit her down and tell her exactly what you told me. If you want her to take you as her mate, you need her to listen to you and you better hope that she is in the mood to listen,” Ted said with a narrowed look.
Artur nodded his head and he said, “I will, and I will find a way for her to listen to me no matter what it takes.”
Ted l
ooking at his expression smiled to himself as he felt that Grace had met her match in determination and stubbornness.
“Then I will trust you to do what is best,” said Ted finishing his drink before he stood up. He gave him one last piece of advice, “Just remember, Grace is still wary although I have seen the looks that you two give each other, but do not push her too fast, or too hard. She may back away completely if you do.”
He nodded his head and walked away, and Artur finished his own drink as he thought about what Ted told him.
We are not messing this up, his wolf growled at him, and Artur had to smile at the aggressiveness of his wolf something he never showed when it concerned Lana.
Chapter 10
Grace returned home three days later after visiting her father’s birthplace again. She needed somewhere that would let her be close to her parents, and for some reason her father’s birthplace seem to be the best place. She was not surprised to see that the land was still for sell, so she camped out there while she pulled her thoughts together. The first night there, she had heard the whispers again, and she confided her fears to them although she felt a little silly.
He loved her very much so how do I compete with that feeling he had for her, she had said.
The wind whispered what do you feel when you are with him. Does he make your heart thump in your chest, or does it just lie dead as if there is nothing there?
She had frowned at that question because if she had to answer it, that was how she felt when she thought about Bryan. Thinking about Artur, and it felt like her heart would beat out of her chest. He made her feel as if she could not live without him, and her wolf was calling for his wolf so often that she felt like she was going crazy.
She answered honestly, if you had asked me that about my first mate then I would have said that I felt nothing but a shock. With Artur, he makes my whole body come alive, and I feel as if I cannot live without him. My wolf calls out for his wolf constantly that it is driving me crazy.
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