Connors Pursuit (Amber Woods Shifters)

by Rose, Arabella

  13

  The morning sunshine filtered through the curtains, the room slightly chilled. So, today was the day, it had finally arrived. Should she not be jumping up and down with excitement? That feeling you get when you know something big is happening to you on the day, like your birthday or it’s Christmas day? All she got was fluttering’s in her stomach, not from the most mind blowing sex she had just had with Connor, but nervous energy. What if it did not work? This was quite literally last chance saloon. Groaning she rolled out of bed, took a quick shower and got dressed. Her feet drudged down the corridor to the smell of cooking, Connor insisted he made breakfast. Again. He honestly treat her like a princess and she loved it, thrived on it. What would it be like once they bonded? Stopping dead in her tracks, she replayed what she just said. The fact that she had even took that next step mentally sent another wave of fluttering’s to her stomach. Bonded? Life-mates? Did she want that? That would be a big Yes, she could not imagine spending her life without him now. He totally accepted her for everything she was and never complained, had all the patience in the world for her. And that was worth taking that final bond for life. Continuing on her path, she was glad she had finally made that decision. More so now seeing him standing at the stove in just loose fitting jeans, bare chested and bare footed. Her eyes ran appreciatively over him, as she nibbled her lip. Without turning, he spoke with a low gravelly voice.

  “Keep thinking those naughty thoughts baby and you will have to be punished”

  Startled, she ran her fingers through her hair as he turned with a smouldering gaze.

  “Oh, I was just, you know”

  “No enlighten me, your scent went off the scale for a moment”

  Placing two plates on the table he stalked her slowly, eyes searching.

  “I was just wondering what it would be like once we bonded that’s all”

  Connor felt his wolf stop, paying attention. Did he just hear right?

  “Baby, don’t tease about this, will you just repeat that?”

  Lizzy swallowed, her mouth suddenly feeling very dry.

  “I said I was wondering what it would be like to have what we have now but be bonded for life?”

  Connor pounced so fast she hardly had time to catch her breath. Picking her up, he pulled her legs around his waist, reigning kisses on her face.

  “Lizzy, you are sure? You will bond with me?”

  “Connor, I want to bond with you more than anything in the world, I was just afraid that you would not want me with the extra emotional crap I was carrying”

  His lips nuzzled her earlobe.

  “Baby girl, I want you, body heart and soul, especially the body”

  She yelped when he nipped her ear, growling playfully.

  “Then I have one condition”

  Quizzically he tilted his head back to look at her.

  “And that is?” he frowned.

  “Let’s wait until after today. I want to focus on getting my wolf unbound, to be united with her again. I just don’t want anything to screw that up”.

  Nuzzling her neck again, she gasped as he hit just the right spot, sending her arousal up high again. Damn wolf! As soon as he had started he had stopped.

  “Ok baby, you have just made this wolf very happy, I want to spend my whole life with you, to have an eternal bond is the most sacred thing between mates. I am so glad you came into my life. Besides, at least I will be able to hear all your thoughts both pure and tainted from now on”.

  Lizzy jumped out of his arms before he could reach her, placing the table between them.

  “Oh god I forgot about that, can I take a rain check?” she giggled.

  “No rain check, no going back baby, now come over here and let me show you the appetiser to bonding”

  Her legs ate up the distance across the living room, before feeling his large body barrel into her, landing on the sofa, his weight taking the impact. Laughing hard she tried to wriggle free of his fingers which were tickling her sending her into hysterics.

  “Hello?”

  A man’s voice shouted from the doorway. Connor huffed and stood, looking very delectably ruffled.

  “Tristan? It’s early, what you doing here at this time? I thought we arranged to leave at ten?”

  Lizzy straightened her clothes the best she could and peered over the sofa at the giant head enforcer. He smiled softly, acknowledging her presence with a gentle nod.

  “The order have brought the meeting forward an hour due to some festival that is happening later tonight, something about an important event of the year, anyway, I have loaded the SUV, everything is ready to go, Luke is going over some last minute discussions with Michael”

  Lizzy padded over to the two men.

  “Sooner? Do we have to go sooner? Can we not change the date or something?”

  The nervous energy rolling off her had Connor placing his arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close.

  “Baby, we were lucky to get this meeting at all, I know you are scared but there is nothing to be afraid of, I will not let anyone hurt you or take you away”

  Tristan’s eyes flickered to the table with food still steaming and ready to eat. The smell of bacon eggs, toast and fresh coffee had his stomach growling. Both Connor and Lizzy laughed out loud.

  “Hey I’m a growing boy I need feeding, is that food going to waste?”

  Connor rolled his eyes, pulling out a chair for Lizzy, encouraging her to start eating. Tristan smiled wide when Connor plated up a spare offering, before making himself comfortable at the table. Lizzy looked at the two men tucking in with vigour, then back at her plate, fork held in her hand. One look from Connor and then to her plate and she tried to eat at least something. Something told her in a couple of hours from now she would need all the energy she had.

  Mile after mile of woodland past her vision on the road they had been travelling on for what seemed like all day. Tristan drove whilst Connor sat next to him going over some last minute default plans. Luke sat next to her reading some papers, going over and over them. Michael on the other side going through his medical bag. Everybody was doing something but her, her fingers itched to be doing something, anything. Sighing she glanced at Michael, god was that a syringe? He caught her eye and smiled.

  “Do not worry Lizzy, all standard equipment I carry in this bag, just checking that’s all”

  “Phew, that’s good for a moment I thought you were bored and wanted to do some target practice”

  The sound of Michael laughing had Connor craning his neck around to look at the back seat. Reaching around, he stroked her hair back off her face.

  “Okay?” he whispered.

  She nodded, worried she would either get turned on by the simple action, like everything he did turned her on or that she would go totally girlie and gush at his words.

  “Lizzy, I need to ask you, have you had any illness since birth or any allergies that I should know about?”

  Michael’s words distracted her from her thoughts. Clearing her throat she shifted in her seat to face him.

  “No, none that I am aware of, why?”

  “Again standard procedure, nothing to be worried about”

  Lizzy could feel her anxiety creeping up. Trying to keep her voice calm and stable she asked him.

  “Michael? Are you going to inject me with something if I freak out and something goes wrong?”

  Michael flicked his eyes to Connors. She noticed that some sort of silent communication was obviously going on, even Luke had popped his head up, joining in no doubt!

  “Oh for the love of god, I wish I was integrated into this pack fully so that I could communicate with you all, this is my body we are talking about so will someone tell me what the fuck you are actually talking about?”

  All the men in the vehicle swallowed hard, wincing at her loud tone.

  “Baby calm down, no one is trying to keep you out of the loop. If you must know we don’t want you distressed at any time, if things got ou
t of hand then Michael can help you settle quickly”

  Lizzy looked around at all the men in the truck wide eyed.

  “You mean sedate me?”

  Michael intervened before any else could speak.

  “Lizzy, your wolf has not been free for years, added to the fact that if your gift has been suppressed then all that energy has to go somewhere. That can put a hell of a lot of stress on the organs of your body, it would be like going for a marathon run when you have not trained in years”

  Connor knew that Michael was being professional and caring, they had discussed yesterday the possibilities of what could happen, and if the worst should happen he would rather rip out his own heart than see Lizzy in torment. He watched as she looked back out of the window, fingers fidgeting in her lap.

  “Hey” he quietly asked.

  “Hey back”

  “Lizzy don’t shut me out, especially not now”

  “Like I said I’m fine Connor I just need some time out, let me think”

  She heard his sigh as he shifted back to face the front of the car. They had gone over the plan many times, who, what, where, if. She was so well versed in the bloody way that things would be handled that she could do it with her eyes closed. What Ifs he did freak out, would it be painful? What if her power literally exploded out of her? Jeez Lizzy what the hell are you thinking? Explode? Maybe a sedative was a good idea after all. Leaning her forehead against the glass she decided that whatever happened, no matter how painful or how frightening it may be, she would get her wolf back and when she did Lawson better run because when she caught up with him her wolf had a lifetimes worth of revenge to bestow upon him. Sensing Connors gaze on her, she flickered her eyes to the side, his eyes watching her, almost like he had heard her thoughts. At least for now her thoughts were her own, Marcus may be her new alpha but it was her job to protect her little brother, she had failed before and she was not going to fail again. Breaking her locked gaze with him she watched the first snowflakes of the day drift around the car.

  14

  Connor had to tame his wolf many times on the journey over, every time he looked at Lizzy she was lost in thought, he could smell her anxiety, excitement and trepidation, but there was one emotion he was unsure of and that bothered him. Damn he would have bonded with her right there in the kitchen if she had let him, maybe they should have then he could hear what the hell she was thinking.

  The meeting point was in sight, primal oak trees reaching to the sky. Tristan brought the car to a halt, just as Lizzy released a slow deep breath, one she had been holding as she caught sight of the clearing where the two parties would meet. It was in a beautiful part of ancient woodland, specifically chosen by the order due to the forest magic that had been a part of the place for centuries. As she exited the vehicle, she inhaled the air as did her male counterparts. An amazing energy warmed her, an unknown calling she could not describe. Flicking her eyes to the men they did not seem to be having the same reaction she was. To her it was like dangling a box of luxurious chocolates in front of her, temptation and sin. Before she knew it her feet were already crunching the snow covered leaves towards a stone circle, a magnetic pull had her quickening her steps. Connor watched as Lizzy had almost a trance like quality, he had called her name but she had not answered, her feet if anything were speeding up. Moving quickly, he grabbed her around the waist, halting her movements anymore.

  “Lizzy?”

  Her eyes remained fixed on the circle ahead. Gently he shook her shoulders, bringing his face down to eye level with her.

  “Baby girl, look at me”

  That got her attention, her confused expression had her looking at him with a frown then to a worried Tristan Luke and Michael.

  “What?”

  “You tell me your feet had a mind of their own just now”

  She looked to the clearing again, shaking her head.

  “You did not feel that?”

  Connor tilted his head, tuning into the area. As soon as they were on the ground they automatically assess the area, sight, smell, sound, but other than the tranquil sound of the forest, nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

  “No, what did you feel?”

  By now the rest of the males had gathered around her.

  “That energy, its strong magnetic pull, it was amazing”

  Connor looked to the others who were shaking their heads. A breeze picked up sending snow flurries down on the ground and with that the scent of four wolves. Pushing Lizzy behind him, the men flanked all sides of her. Oh for goodness sake I can take care of myself! From the treeline four men gracefully formed a unified line. As they stopped, one man stepped forward hands held out in a non-aggressive greeting.

  “I am sorry if we startled you”

  “You were stealthy is that’s what you mean” Tristan answered.

  Lizzy assessed the man that had spoken, he was tall with long black hair, greying at the sides. He was obviously a very old shifter, and those artic blue eyes held so much mystery.

  “Forgive us, we have learned to keep our scent masked over the years due to the nature of our work, we are a very secretive order. I am Samuel and you my dear must be Lizzy”

  Smiling softly, she felt such a connection to this man, not in the same way as Connor but more like a tutor, a father figure. She moved around Connor, to face Samuel but Connor held her waist fast. Glancing down at the intrusion, she raised her eyebrows at him.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, baby, really, stick with the plan”

  Connor again gently pushed her just behind him. He could feel the calming energy of the seer and did not perceive any threat but still it was ingrained in him to be cautious.

  “I am Connor, Lizzy’s mate”

  Nodding at each man individually, he introduced his enforcers.

  Samuel mimicked the action, of the other seers.

  “This is Dominic, Miguel, and Joshua”

  Lizzy could feel only warmth and understanding from the newcomers. She squeezed Connors arm as this time he let her take step forward. Even though he was not touching her she knew if she turned around suddenly she would walk into his muscular chest, he was that close to her.

  “I am Lizzy and I am so grateful that you agreed to meet with me. I am really hoping you can help me, it has been many years since Duncan bound my wolf so I hope that I can still try to get her back”

  At the sound of Duncan’s name all of the seers took a sharp intact of breath, a subtle ripple of anger flowed out. All the enforcers felt it. Connor was on the edge to start with, each step she took closer to them he felt his wolf coming to the surface one claw at a time to protect their mate. Once again Lizzy gave a gentle squeeze on his arm, before turning back to Samuel.

  “I know we can get your wolf back Lizzy. I have been having discussions with your alpha and Luke who have told me about your gift. Have you had any more attacks like you did a few nights ago?”

  Clearing her throat she suddenly felt embarrassed that everyone knew of her little hiccup. But it was time to put the big girl panties on and face the music.

  “No, but I have been feeling restless, I put that down to the journey over here, but when I stepped into the forest all that anxiety disappeared”

  Connor sharply turned to look at his mate. When she just shrugged her shoulders he rolled his neck to ease some of his own tension.

  “Ah yes, when Duncan bound your wolf, he left almost a magical mark on you, his energy is part of the order. In essence it was pulling you to us, which is why you must also be feeling like you have been called home do you not?”

  “Yes that’s exactly how I feel”

  Wow this guy was good.

  “What you have to understand Lizzy is that Duncan made his choices and was no longer a part of the order the day when he turned to the dark magic. It is not what this order is about or ever has been and I am so sorry that you have suffered for his greed for power. Which brings me to my next point. I can sense you gift wi
thin you and it is strong, once we release your wolf there will be a surge in your power. I cannot guarantee that any harm will come to you once this happens, you will feel pain but our magic can help ground you until the energy stabilises again. I know that Michael has also brought his more conventional approach with him as a precaution”.

  Michael took two steps forward.

  “How did you know that?”

  “It is my business to know everything that we are involved in. So, Lizzy with all that in mind do you wish to proceed”

  Taking a long deep breath in she looked up at Connor, his eyes had changed to deep amber and she could feel the raw protective energy coming off him.

  “Connor I have to do this, you know I do, I will be safe, besides you promised to always protect me and not let anything happen to me”

  “Damn right baby girl, and you just have to say the word and we will leave right now, wolf or no wolf as long as you are safe that’s all I care about right now”

  She looked at Tristan, Luke and Michael all standing awaiting her answer.

  “I have to ask something of you three”

  “Of course” Luke answered for all of them.

  “No matter how much distress I appear to be in you do not step forward and you keep my mate back”

  Connor growled loud, staring her down.

  “No Connor, this is really important to me and if I have to experience a little pain then so be it, I want my wolf back”

  Her eyes caught the sharp edge of his claws by his side, unsheathed and ready to shift fully. She knew he was hanging on by a thread. Gently she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his lips, slightly colder by the snowfall and drop in temperature. He closed his eyes, she heard the inhale of his breath, a sign that he was taking in her scent soothing his wolf. Finally she planted both feet back down, awaiting his answer.

  “Ok baby, I would do anything to make you happy, but know this, it will take more than those three wolves over there to stop me getting to you”

  Lizzy looked over her shoulder at three disgruntled men.

  “Hey, I take offence at that Beta” Tristan grumbled.

  Rolling her eyes she walked toward Samuel.

  “I’m ready, what do I need to do?”