by Mandy Rosko
They were going to mark their territory. Miranda honestly didn't know whether or not to laugh at that one.
"Everything all right?" Alex asked.
Miranda said it was fine and handed the phone back to Garret.
She watched him as he spoke. She could kind of hear Alex's voice on the other end of the phone, and at first she thought it was because of the already loud volume, but then realized that wasn't it at all.
Her hearing was just very good now that she could turn into a part-animal person, thing, shifter, like everyone else in this house.
"Right. Yeah, good. Okay, just stay there for a while. You can work in shifts, and I'll send others to relieve you in the morning. Yeah."
Garret hung up, and only then did Miranda's mind pull together what he'd just done. "You're going to leave them there?"
He looked at her. "Why not?"
Good question. Why not? At the moment, she couldn't exactly figure it out either.
"Don't they have… I don't know, anything better to do? Don't they have girlfriends or… or mates?"
Garret smiled at her. "They are my trusted friends and part of my pack. They have responsibilities and they know that."
"Not to me they don't."
"Yes, to you," Garret said, his eyes softening. "I know this is new for you, but you are part of this pack now. You are the mate of the alpha. Well, the leading alpha. They have as much loyalty to you as they do to me. That is the way it works."
Miranda bit her lip. "That sounds like a big responsibility. How do you know I won't turn into a psycho and take advantage of this?"
Garret touched her cheek with his whole palm. A jolt of warmth and affection raced through her, making her stand up straight and suck back a soft breath.
It was strange. It felt like… It felt like she could physically feel his affection for her whenever he touched her.
The warmth he brought to her body pooled in her stomach and made her thighs shake, and Miranda felt as heady as though she'd had a couple of strong drinks on an empty stomach.
She swallowed hard. "Th-thank you."
At Garret's smirk, the shaking and trembling in Miranda's legs got worse. "I suppose at this point it's pointless to tell you not to thank me, so I will say you're welcome."
She couldn't stop staring at his mouth.
He leaned down, pressing her lips to his. He towered over her, warm and radiating safety. She was drowning in his heat.
His mouth angled perfectly against hers as he tilted his head and moved his chin in a way that coaxed her mouth open for him. Every romantic kissing song Miranda had ever put on her iPod started playing in the back of her mind. Not all at once, of course. That would have been just a jumble of noise in her head, but she couldn't help but put a theme song to this since her mouth started to sizzle and burn like her body was on fire.
The best possible kind of fire.
That heat increased as Garret's large hands moved, sliding a hot trail across her back and down to her hips before pulling her close so his hard cock was pressing against her pelvis and stomach through their clothes.
A jolt struck her. A pleasurable high filled her senses when she realized what she was feeling. Moaning, she pressed harder against him.
Miranda couldn't speak because her mouth was occupied, so she tried telling him with her body.
Take me. Touch me. Make love to me. Right here and right now. I don't care who sees.
As though he could understand her thoughts, Garret groaned right along with her. The grip of his hands turned almost painful. Heat flushed and rose up inside her. She was burning up. It was too good, and he was going to… She was going to…
A woman's high-pitched shriek snapped the moment in half. Miranda jumped back, stunned and searching for the source of the noise.
Garret pulled back from her lips, his eyes wild as he turned toward the source of the noise.
Miranda couldn't tell if that wide look had anything at all to do with their kiss, or the murderous shriek that came from downstairs.
"What was that?"
"I don't know. Stay here." He was already moving toward the door, his lips swollen and pink.
She might have done as he'd said, might have, if the next scream she heard didn't come from a familiar voice.
"Get your hands off me, you freak!"
"Stop struggling!"
"Lois!"
Miranda ran, pushing past Garret, who shouted at her along the way. "Miranda!"
She ignored him. That was her friend she'd heard. That was Lois. What was she doing here?
Miranda vaguely heard Garret's hard footsteps stomping behind her. He was close enough to grab her and stop her, but he didn't. She was in too much of a panic to be grateful for that as she reached the staircase and rushed downstairs.
A shifter, who looked bigger and much scarier than Garret, whom she could only identify as Dane by the sound of his voice, held Lois over his broad, furry shoulder. His muzzle was twisted into a snarl as she struggled and squirmed, regardless of the danger falling produced. Dane's paws and thick claws, which were longer than her fingers, looked similar to those of a bear.
Lois's short skirt was hiked up high thanks to the position, and Miranda could see her friend's pink panties as she kicked her feet.
"Dane! Dane! Put her down!" Miranda said, hurrying the rest of the way.
He rolled his eyes and was less than gentle when he dropped Lois into a heap on the marble tile.
She froze, as if being released so suddenly was a shock to her system. Then she wailed, "That hurt my butt!"
Miranda fell to her knees next to her friend, putting her hands on Lois's shoulders. "Lois, are you okay? Lois!"
Lois's head snapped to the side. Her normally perfectly groomed red hair was in total disarray. Strands were everywhere, sticking up, swaying across her face, and even contained a dead brown maple leaf, giving off the impression she’d had less than a fun time being brought here.
"Miranda?" Lois looked from her back up to Dane as he melted into a more human-looking shape. Of course, this left his clothes ripped and torn across an impressively muscular chest as he stared down at them, his spine stiff.
Garret came forward, cuffing him on the back of the head.
Lois shrieked, a tiny noise of surprise.
Garret roared at Dane. "Idiot! What were you thinking?"
"She found the car," Dane snapped back, holding the back of his head. "She was going to call the cops. What was I supposed to do?"
Garret grumbled. It seemed even he, as the alpha, didn't have an answer for that.
But they were both alphas, weren't they? Miranda figured she should be impressed a full-on fight for dominance of the situation hadn't broken out, but Anna said both Dane and Jax were comfortable with following orders from other people.
"Fuck, you got me right in the same spot," Dane said, rubbing the back of his head.
"What was that?" Garret asked.
"Nothing," Dane hissed.
"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?" Lois asked, not looking at anyone in particular. "What the hell was that thing?"
"Lois, you're okay now. All right? Nothing bad is going to happen to you." Miranda looked up at Garret, suddenly not so sure of what the rules of the pack were. "Right?"
His lips thinned, but he crossed his arms and nodded. "That's right. No one here will hurt you."
Lois shook her head as she looked at Miranda. "Did you see that thing? What the hell was that?"
Miranda was unsure how to explain, even though she knew exactly what it had been. "That was a shifter."
Lois nodded, her eyes still wide and bright, as if she would go over the edge and panic again at any second. "Right, okay, and what are you doing here? I was looking for you. You've been avoiding my calls. Your job called me when you didn't show up to work."
Miranda had to remind herself that on top of being unconscious for a couple of days, she was still avoiding Lois because of
the whole “owing money” situation and the humiliation that came with it. She'd entirely forgotten that Lois was her emergency contact. "I meant to call you," she lied. "I checked on my mother first."
"What's going on here?" Lois took Miranda by the hand, lacing their fingers together and holding on tight. Lois was always the strong one. She was always the one to tell off the bill collectors on the phone for Miranda and to be her shoulder to cry on whenever the pressure of absolutely everything got to be too much.
In that moment, Lois looked like a small one, like the one who needed protecting. It was such a strange switch that Miranda's brain almost didn't know what to do with it.
"You might as well show her," Garret said. "This idiot already did."
Dane glared at the floor, still rubbing his head.
"Show her what?"
Garret looked at her. There was a hint of pity in his eyes that she couldn't glance away from. She understood what he was trying to tell her, then really wished she hadn't.
He wanted her to show Lois her claws. Maybe even her muzzle and the ears that would come up on top of her head like a fox's.
She shook her head. "No. You said… you said I could be dangerous."
Lois sputtered. "What?"
Garret got down on his haunches in front of her. Miranda was very aware of the way Lois leaned into her, attempting to get as far away from him as possible.
Miranda supposed that, even after seeing what Dane looked like in his other shape, Garret was still a big, scary-looking guy.
"I won't let you hurt her. I don't think you could."
"How do you know?"
"Miranda, what is he talking about?"
Lois sounded about as angry and frustrated as she was panicked. Any second now, she might just let go of Miranda's hand and try to run. Dane wouldn't let her get away after what she'd seen, and Miranda wasn't going to trick herself into thinking, just because Garret said he respected her and wanted her as his mate, that meant he could give Miranda what she wanted if she asked him to let Lois go.
"If she loves and trusts you," Garret said, "then she won't care. But we can't even think about letting her go right now, not until she has a chance to get used to what you are."
"You're not going to let me go?"
Garret ignored her. "Then, when we can trust her, she's free to leave."
Miranda didn't understand how anyone could be released back into the wild after seeing something like this, but there was something in Garret's blue eyes that calmed her. She believed he was telling her the truth, that he had her back and would let her friend go. He wouldn't let Miranda hurt her by some accident during her transformation.
The mating had to be doing this to her, because there was no way she could be naturally trusting him so honestly and openly after less than a day.
Even though it kind of felt like that was the case.
Lois sucked back a horrified gasp. "M-Miranda! Your hand!"
Lois let go of Miranda's hand and crab walked backward, away from her. Her eyes were no longer on Miranda's hand, however; they were on Miranda's face.
Miranda didn't have to look down at her hands to see the fur, the rough padding, or the claws. She didn't have to touch her face to know she was a little different there as well.
She looked into the eyes of one of her best friends, and all she saw was fear. It made her want to scratch at her chest and howl.
Chapter 10
Garret was twitching. He had his mate in his grasp, awake and ready for him for over twenty-four hours now, and he still had yet to stake a claim.
This morning, he'd spotted a fight among his betas. For the first time since his father had died, Garret had taken great pleasure in breaking it up.
Now he was stuck pacing the sitting room, wishing someone would pick a fight with him so he could get all this pent-up energy out of him.
Jax tried to comfort him, but his idea of comfort wasn't throwing a punch. Garret wished he would let that dragon loose from time to time, because right now, Garret needed the distraction, not a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't," Garret snarled.
If Jax touched him, Garret might start the fight he was itching for. His claws were already out.
Jax pulled his hand back. "She's feeling the need for you, too. Just be patient."
He could hardly be patient when he was pacing the sitting room, huffing and snarling like a wild dog. He felt wild. He wanted to shift and run and fuck and fight and run some more. That was a problem.
His goddamned blanket and pillow were on the couch, and yet he still couldn't get away from her scent, or the reminder of what her lips and mouth and tongue had tasted like.
Jax's voice suddenly grew concerned. "You should be sharing that room with her. It's still your room and has been since before she came."
"If I share it with her, I might do something regrettable."
It was an ugly truth, but true all the same. There was an animal side to every shifter. The bigger, more powerful that animal was, the harder it could be to control, especially when aroused like this.
The only explanation for Miranda's monster self-control was the fact that she was in pain. Her friend had not spoken to her since Miranda had changed in front of her yesterday, and Garret felt for his mate.
Literally. He felt her pain, so he did not go to her room.
Even he knew that staking his claim at an hour such as this would be catastrophic.
"Is Dane still with her?" Garret asked.
He felt Jax's glare on the back of his neck. "Let me check." Jax didn't move. "Yes, he's still with her."
Garret growled. "Don't be an idiot."
"Stop asking that question every five minutes. This has to be hard for a human to take in."
Sometimes he hated having other alphas in his pack. It threw him off whenever they got sarcastic and snappy.
"Miranda took it well, and for all she knew, she was still human," Jax said, finally being somewhat helpful.
If he couldn't get those two damned women to kiss and make up—figuratively, though literally would also be nice—he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to hold back from taking what he needed from his mate.
His people were rather liberal with their nudity, but walking around with his cock constantly hard was an embarrassment fit for a teenage boy.
Anna was having too much fun at his expense.
Jax crossed his arms. "I'm sure it can't be all that serious."
Garret glared at him.
Jax lifted his hands and stepped back. "I meant between the women. I understand this is serious for you."
"You're damned right it is!"
Garret immediately sucked back a sharp breath.
The urge to mate was strong, had been strong for over two years now. Waiting another day or two should not have been causing him so much distress, but he couldn't seem to control himself. His body was beginning to ache now that Miranda was in his house. He was starting to feel pain.
What if she was feeling pain? Would she feel pain?
He still couldn't touch her.
"Take her running," Jax suggested. "That might help."
Garret abruptly stopped and looked back at Jax.
Jax shrugged. "You want to go running. Odds are she does too. You said you were going to teach her to control herself. Well, it's day two, go teach her how to control herself. Her friend might be a little less scared of her if she can watch her friend from her window running around and frolicking on the lawn or something."
It was such a good idea, Garret felt stupid for not having thought of it.
"Well?" Jax asked.
Garret marched from the sitting room.
Jax called after him, "You're welcome!"
Smart-ass.
At least he'd produced a good idea. Garret was so focused on the lack of sex that he'd nearly forgotten all about his promise to teach his mate her control.
An alpha couldn't have his mind clouded like that. Not that he th
ought Dane or Jax would try to fight him for control of the pack, but even a day out of sorts could leave the rest of the pack with a bad taste in their mouths toward their leader. The betas might try something one day, but that was to be expected with any beta in any pack.
That, and if he didn't do something, he would start a fight with one of his alphas or betas just to get this pent-up energy out of him.
If the human saw that, or even Garret's woman, then it was quite possible neither would ever trust him again.
He rushed up the stairs to the third floor two at a time. At least he no longer had to worry about his mate wanting to escape from the building, so there was no need to have the door locked.
He was shocked when he let himself into his room, smelled his mate, but did not find her inside.
His body froze. Okay. Where was she?
He backtracked. There was no way. If she did it, if she really did attempt to leave again, he would eat his arm.
Her scent was stronger as he moved farther down the hall, indicating she had recently left their room.
Anna's scent was here, too.
What the hell was his little sister up to now?
Garret groaned, following their trail. It led back to Anna's suite, where Dane was standing outside the door.
Garret frowned. "What are you doing here?"
His arms were crossed as he leaned against the wall. Dane's mouth was set in a grim line, as if he didn't much want to be here either.
"They're trying on clothes."
"So?"
Dane looked at him. "Your mate is in there with them, and the human woman looked like she was going to shriek her head off if I followed them in."
"So?" Garret asked again.
As much as he didn't enjoy the idea of anyone else seeing his sister and woman without their clothes on, regardless of the standards shifters lived by, he liked it even less that Dane was out here. He looked as if he'd decided to stand guard over the room if he could not be allowed inside to watch the human.
Dane scratched his nose with his thumb. "Your sister's always been a little weird, all right. She insisted she could handle it and wanted me out. They're playing music, having drinks, and doing their women things anyway."