“Feelings change all the time. I was in love with a man whose mission was to kill me; he claimed to love me and left the medicine to heal me. See… definitely a change of feelings.”
Jasmine rolled her eyes at her mom’s comments. Lately, no matter what they discussed all roads seemed to return to Mark, her mom’s deceased fiancé, and his betrayal. How her mom worked it into a conversation dealing with her babies growing up showed just how creative the woman could be.
“Definitely,” Jasmine murmured. Another discussion on the folly of loving Mark was not on her agenda today. Her husband and sons were leaving on a dangerous mission in a few hours, which captured all her attention. Nervous energy zipped up and down her spine as she went over all the instructions Silas had been giving her the past few days on how to secure the compound. On the one hand, she was proud to be in charge, and on the other, her stomach quivered in fear of making a mistake.
“You’re ignoring me now, too?” her mom said standing.
“Huh?” Jasmine pulled her thoughts back to the present and stared in her mom’s direction.
“I asked you a question… a couple of times. Are you ignoring me like Jacques?” There was a smidgen of concern in her mom’s voice that surprised Jasmine. Jacques had stuck close to her mom throughout her recent illness, never allowing his mates’ brutal words to affect him. As far as Jasmine knew, Jacques could not leave her mom or ever deliberately hurt her.
“My mind was on my mate and sons leaving to take out our enemies today, what did you say?” Jasmine asked as calmly as possible.
Her mom’s hand flew to her throat as she walked closer swinging her hips before stopping near the high pen. Jasmine gazed up into hazel eyes similar to hers and waited. The purple velour jogging suit her mom wore hugged her full curves and complemented her short chic hair style. “You’re worried.”
Duh… she wanted to say. “There’s been threats to our lives since day one, yes, I am very worried.”
Her mom nodded. “I hope they return the same way they leave, healthy and whole. I cannot imagine a world without my grandsons. I need to kiss them before they leave.”
“I’ll make sure and tell them or call you, before they leave. Are you going to your room?” She moved over as David returned to her lap, Renee picked up her art book, and Jackie grabbed the Rubik’s cube from Adam.
“No, I thought… well Jacques has been inviting me to have lunch with him and I’ve… I haven’t had time before. I figured I’d join him today, you want anything?”
Jasmine smothered a grin. Her mom had been rebuffing Jacques since the debacle with Mark. Once Silas set a date for their departure, Jacques had been working around the clock making sure everything in their data was current. Chances are he hadn’t been as attentive to her mom which appears to have worked in Jacques favor.
“No, thanks. Silas is on the way and we’ll eat together.”
Her mom snorted as she left the nursery. “I was talking about food, not the two of you…eating.”
Chapter 2
Silas followed his mate into their suite. His gaze locked on her perfectly rounded hips, small waist, and a peek of her high full breast made his mouth water. If the Goddess granted him another three hundred years, he wanted to spend each day with his mahogany Queen. He had no idea how she’d done it, but somewhere along their journey she had captured his heart and soul, giving him a fresh new meaning to his existence. They argued like political adversaries coming from different perspectives, but at the end of the day, whatever was best for their nuclear family, and his family of wolves undergirded their decisions. A leader could not ask for better. After closing and locking their door, he grabbed her around the waist before she took another step forward.
“Mine,” he growled near her ear, his wolf rising to the surface. Her hand touched the side of his face as she leaned back against him.
“Mine,” she said as stroked him, easing his beast.
Turning her so that she faced him, they met each other’s gaze and he opened himself completely, allowing her to see him as he was. Needing her to bathe in his love for her, to accept and cherish him, to recognize that she owned him; he tightened his grip as a shudder ripped through her.
“Sweet bitch,” he whispered as a euphoric wave of caring, understanding, patience, and lust slammed into him. He faltered beneath the onslaught of feeling roiling through their link. Her admiration of his strength pleased him. Her confidence in his wisdom and abilities to always care for his family and people humbled him. Her desire to be with him above all others set him aflame. Pulling her close, he leaned down and kissed her, telling her with his body how much he loved and trusted her.
Her hands pulled his head down, smashing their mouths together. Breaking for air, he gasped as her hands grabbed his face for another kiss. His wolf howled, picking up the need for their mate to join with them.
“Love you, love you so much,” she said, her words muffled against his lips. He picked her up and laid her on the couch without breaking their physical connection. When they stopped to take in air, her hands were all over him, pulling up his shirt and pulling down his pants.
“I got this, take off your clothes,” he panted, seeing the feral lusty gleam in her eyes. In a few moves she removed her dress and undergarments, but left her heels on. He smiled, sensing her mood. This was gonna be a wild ride.
She opened her legs in invitation. His gums itched as his eyes watered as the scent of her arousal hit him. The feel of her leg rubbing against his outer thigh cost him a breath. His wolf batted against his skin edging him to take her now. But experience had taught him to allow her to tease him until he broke and they would hit the level of completeness they both needed. Gritting his teeth, he tried to think of anything except the way her hands rubbed across his hypersensitive nipples. Pings of need shot straight to his core. His cock pulsed with the need to be sheathed inside her tight, heat.
Her teeth nipped across his chest, lingered on each nipple and then laved the tiny bites with her tongue. He shuddered beneath her onslaught. Each touch, each caress, each kiss took him higher. He could not hold out much longer. When her fingers wrapped around his long length, he snapped. Pulling her beneath him, he surged into her.
She moaned as he settled his weight, and willed his throbbing dick to be patient just a bit longer. When immediate eruption was no longer a threat, he moved. There was no way to describe the delicious pleasure enveloping him at this moment. Her silken walls accepted him as owner and pulled him deeper inside. As he thrust in and out, she tightened her legs across his back as if to hold him in place when there was no place he would rather be. She shifted and he slid deeper, her heel dug into his back as he picked up the pace.
“Yesssss,” she moaned as he continued to slam into her.
Sensing her nearness to the peak, he howled his pleasure as they collided and took the leap together. Waves of inexplicable bliss shot through, and flowed over him as he shot ropes of cum into her clenched pussy.
His entire being shook from the strength of his release. It took a moment for him to realize Jasmine was shaking as well beneath him. When he could breathe, he rolled to the side and pulled her into him. Inhaling their combined scents calmed his wolf. They had claimed their mate again and all was well in his beast’s mind.
“Ummmm, thank you baby,” Jasmine murmured as she wiggled closer into him. Cuddling was totally human and totally one of the best things his mate insisted they do. He always looked forward to the times when they were simply close to each other for no specific reason.
“You’re welcome, Sweet Bitch.” His palm ran up and down her back a few times before resting on her hip. As much as he hated to break the mood, they only had so much time before he had to leave. “How was the discussion with Asia? She isn’t going to become a sacrificial lamb is she?”
She patted his chest and then slowly ran her fingertips across it. “No. She promised to return. It was…an interesting conversation.”
H
earing her hesitation made him pause. “What happened?”
“She kneeled, told me she would serve me and promised to return.”
That sounded normal to him, but he sensed it bothered his mate for some reason. “There was a problem?” He placed his hand over hers, stopping her movement so he could concentrate.
“Yeah… I mean she pledged her all to me…”
“So have I.”
“And I have returned that pledge to you. But…there was no reciprocity with her pledge, I feel as though it’s all one sided, like she gave me her life and all I said was thank you. I mean, really, who does that? I didn’t know what was appropriate to say.” She shrugged. Her confusion buffeted him.
“You are her Mistress, mate of La Patron. I am the ruler and caregiver of all wolves in this country. Your vow to protect and cherish her as a wolf is included in your title, you don’t have to say it, she knows.”
She relaxed against him. He smiled as he rubbed his chin on the top of her head. This was one of the many things he loved about her, she genuinely cared about representing him correctly, and about the people he had sworn to lead and protect.
“I am sure you handled it well, and she is ready for our mission. Cameron and Lilly will be here when I leave later. He thought to travel with me to clear the lab. But I gave him instructions to seek out the rest of Corrina Griggs followers and detain them just in case one of them decided to take over where she left off.”
The feel of her lips on his naked chest as she chuckled warmed him. “He’s been the Alpha of West Virginia for what, a week? Two? He wants more responsibilities? I’m glad he’ll be here today because I’m locking this place down until you come back. No one in or out.”
He nodded. “You’ve put that notice on broadcast and people have been scampering to load up on supplies. I think they are taking you seriously.” Which made him happy. Wolves were all about strength and ability. His mate had proven she had both.
She snorted. “They’d better. I meant what I said. The only person who gave me any problems was mama. She acted as if not being able to go shopping in town would kill her or something, like there’s a real mall within fifty miles of here. Anyway, she pissed me off. Jacques promised to keep her close to him so I can be available to you.”
Pulling her close, he pressed his lips against her forehead and inhaled. “This is all new to her, she’s struggling to believe and make sense of our lifestyle just like you did. Don’t take it personal; once she mates with Jacques, things will change.”
She snorted again, this time she rolled over in his arms. “You and your everything is better when people are mated theory. I hope you’re right this time because she is getting on my nerves and I’m afraid we’re going to bump heads.”
He heard the regret beneath her words and held her tighter. “You’ll do the right thing at the right time. She’d been poisoned by someone she thought she loved and dumped into a new reality. Eventually, she’ll turn to her mate, but in the meantime the personal demons she’s fighting… we can only imagine.”
She nodded and sighed. “I know, I know. I need to make sure she sees the boys before you leave.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh, guess what?” she laid her hand on his and threaded their fingers as she told him about her mom going to see Jacques.
He chuckled. “He has been busy, but so have I. Let me just say, no one is ever too busy to see their mate. Perhaps he’s doing this so that she can get an idea of what it feels like for them to be apart.”
“Hmmm, can a mate do that?” she asked in a considering tone.
He pinched her arm lightly, laughing when she swatted him. “Yes, but there’s a price… which you know.” She had locked him out before and his wolf could not tolerate it. Breeders were not affected the same as wolves. He had begged her to keep their links open for his peace of mind and she had ended his suffering by reopening their links.
“Yeah, but they aren’t at the same point we are, so it’s not really affecting them the same, right?”
He thought about everything he had to do in a short amount of time, and nodded. Discussing Jacques and his problems with his mate were nowhere on his list. “They’ll both feel some discomfort, like an incompleteness, or emptiness until they mate. Once connected, things will escalate. I placed Tomas with Matt and Davian until I return.”
She stilled for a second and then turned in his arms to look up at him. “Who? What? Davian?”
“Griggs youngest son. He’s been giving Froggy a hard time and I can’t deal with it right now so I gave him to your ex-husband to hang onto for the time being.”
“Oh… how did he respond?”
“Davian?”
“No, the kid…Tomas. How did he react being placed with gay men?”
Silas chuckled. “Your human thinking is showing. Those … gay men are mates, so the relationship is respected the same as any other in our world.”
“What made you choose them?”
“Davian has experience with teenage breeds. I figure he can shake some sense into Tomas. Froggy threatened to kill him if I did not intervene.”
She nodded. “Am I going to have to deal with him while you’re gone?”
Silas stilled at the thought of his bitch in the company of her former husband. A sliver of dark energy snaked through him as his wolf snapped pressing to break free. “Only if you want him to die.”
She jerked and turned to face him. “Baby.” She placed her hands on the sides of his face and kissed his clamped lips gently. “I was talking about Tomas. Not Davian. He knows better than to come on the grounds when you’re not here. That’s why Matt lives in town.” She kissed him again and again until he could see her clearly.
“Tomas will live in town as well; you won’t have anything to do with him. If he runs away and comes here, he’s on his own. Have Rose call Davian to pick him up. I do not want Tomas here while I’m away.” He paused, staring into her concerned eyes. “Froggy really will kill him.”
“Got that. I’m not worried over that.” She kissed him lightly and looked away.
“What worries you?”
“Failing you. I have nightmares about it, actually.”
He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. “You won’t fail.”
“I made bad decisions before. Like the christening, having it at the wrong time. I made a mess of that.” She turned her face into the crook of his neck.
He ran his palm down her back to soothe her. “You can look at it in that manner or you can see the events this way. The christening brought your mom and Jacques together and saved her life. Flushed out an assassin, which alerted us that our enemies can still pinpoint Asia. With the upcoming assignment in Pennsylvania, that’s critical knowledge which Matt used to create a collar that will block anything, which gives us an edge. Plus, you realized you had super powers.”
She laughed and hit his chest as he intended. “Not super powers. Just poorly channeled energy.”
“Which you handle much better now.” He’d been teaching her how to manipulate her power surges into more manageable streams.
She nodded and curled into him. “Thanks to my wolfie.”
He stroked the side of her face with his fingertips, enjoying the softness of her skin. “Remember, however you want to be treated by the pack, while I am away is your time to train them. I am simply telling everyone, my mate is in charge.”
Chapter 3
Silas sat in the large conference room with Alpha Samuel, Asia, Tyrone, Tyrese, Leon and Borian, Samuels’ beta.
“I’ve sent a couple of my top wolves to scout the area Jacques suggests the underground lab is buried. Flat land for the most part. We cut down the few trees within that area. Most of it is brush, not very dense, although the trees grow thicker not far from there. Very little wild life which is surprising considering the river’s not that far.” He tapped his pen on the table. “They found nothing. Not even a hint of fuel, or gases released in the air. Tha
t area appeared dead and my team has been unable to substantiate anything Jacques has sent,” Alpha Samuel said, his dark gaze meeting Silas’ for a brief moment before settling on his beta.
Silas nodded as his eyes lowered to the wicked scar on his Alpha’s chin, a permanent reminder why humans and wolves did not mix. Or at least why they hadn’t before. Silas’ gaze shifted to Borian, remembering the Siberian wolf from one of the Alpha training groups. The large white wolf had been a fierce fighter and rose through the ranks quickly. Unfortunately, there were no Alpha positions available at that time and Samuel had offered him the beta position.
Turning slightly Silas realized anger rolled off Leon in waves which could cause problems within such a small group. Leon’s golden colored eyes flashed and long gold-blond dreads brushed against his face as he glared at the Alpha but remained silent for the moment. But that would not last. Silas always thought the tawny complexioned breed resembled a lion and was aptly named. The young wolf had worked long hours with Jacques in locating the lab, no wonder he was pissed at the Alpha’s words.
“The lab is there, hidden like most things, but it’s there,” Asia said into the silence earning a frown from Borian. Obviously, he did not appreciate anyone disagreeing with his Alpha.
“And you are an expert on hidden things?” Samuel asked in a conversational tone.
BirthDate (La Patron, the Alpha's Alpha) Page 2