“Oh my darlin’, I don’t plan on trifling with you. We are most certainly going to be very good friends.”
She spun around and glared at his comment. He sent her a wink with the most charming smile he had but it didn’t work; he could tell she wanted to dig her claws into his eyes. Maybe knee him in the groin.
Blake couldn’t help but chuckle as his fierce mate eyeballed him. Amazing how she showed no fear especially knowing he was her mate and could be associated with Tidus. It was a good sign and displayed her strength and character. She was obviously not rooting for Team Tidus like princess bitch. He couldn’t wait to take her aside and explain he was here to save the day. He could feel his smile and knew it pissed his wee mate off even more but he couldn’t help it.
“Why don’t you move to the side so I can get the bags, sir.” She tossed her head motioning toward Morena who was regarding the two with open hostility, tapping her foot with her arms crossed over her chest, impatiently waiting for someone to get her bags.
Blake sighed, “My mama raised me better than that. I’ll get ‘em.”
Just a smidge shocked Delilah waited for him to sneer a just kidding, bitch. When it didn’t come Delilah swallowed a fierce hope that maybe this man was different. She wouldn’t show any emotion for worry it would be used against her.
Chapter 2
Hefting her bags was embarrassing and, truthfully, exhausting. Who buys this much crap for themselves? Blake was no longer concerned about the pack accepting him. He’d found his mate and she appeared to be alpha herself, a pleasant surprise. They’d make a great match, that is, if she’d accept him. For the most part she was ignoring him and walked quietly, always keeping her eye on princess bitch expecting her to explode into a rage. It was sad to imagine the way she lived, in terror, dreading her leadership’s wrath. That was not the way to lead a pack and he’d personally show them there was nothing to fear in a healthy pack.
Funny how he was pissed and annoyed at being sent on this mission to heal a broken pack away from his friends and family. Meeting one little she wolf changed his mind completely. He couldn’t wait to prove himself to these people, to her. He sent a wave of comfort Delilah’s way in hopes of beginning the healing here and now.
What the hell is wrong with me? Delilah suspected she was going crazy. Every few minutes her tight muscles relax causing a wave of happiness and comfort that she hadn’t felt in years. It wasn’t often she let herself relax, usually only in front of her family and never in the presence of strangers, or Morena. She’d been taught to keep her guard up and never show weakness. If she did her modified pack would take advantage and she’d be left an empty shell.
Back in the old days her pack was strong and whole, before Tidus came along ruining their unity. Looking back, her pack alpha was too trusting; a kind man who maintained a working relationship with all the shifters in the Alaskan wilds. Allowing Tidus into the pack without question was the worst, not to mention fatal, mistake that their previous alpha had made. They were all honestly surprised that a man could be so evil.
One morning Delilah’s alpha was marking their borders when he was attacked by Tidus and a few of his shifter friends that had been hiding in the woods; it took all six of them to take the rightful alpha down. There was no official challenge and no warning. Tidus came back with his ‘friends’ and took over the pack using guns and weapons; unheard of with shifters. He ignored and even spit on pack law and their way of life.
That fateful day was the end; an end to the days of comfort, home, hearth and happiness. Even when the days of contentment had been long gone Delilah held on to the hope that one day she’d exact her revenge. Revenge for her family’s unhappiness, for her old alpha and all of the pack mates lost in battle.
Morena’s worried voice punctuated Delilah’s deep thoughts.
“You don’t think he’s gonna hurt us, right?”
Delilah knew she was going to hell for being so delighted at Morena’s fear. Although she tried not to show her glee her words were a bit singsong, “Nope, I’m sure it’ll be alright.”
“He’s smilin’ like he has a secret. I don’t want him to hurt me. You’ll protect me, right?”
Delilah twisted around to see Blake. She couldn’t help rolling her eyes when he winked at her and hefted a few bags over his shoulder as if they weighed nothing.
Delilah turned cold eyes on Morena, “That’s my job. I’m here to protect Tidus’s belongings; at whatever cost. According to pack law that includes giving my life for yours.” She couldn’t help adding, “Congrats beauty. I’ll take your beatings just like I’ve been ordered to, so relax.”
Not intending to make her words comforting, Delilah was shocked when Morena sighed in contentment and patted her shoulder saying, “Thank you, I knew I could count on you.”
Delilah attempted to contain her outrage. The way she was raised as a wolf in a pack, the alpha protects. He doesn’t designate someone else to do his job and then bolt. Tidus left his evil second in charge of pack business but left her to care for his bitch until his return. Not to mention the fact that he left to find another woman. Tidus’s big plan was to mate the most alpha female of every shifter in Alaska; a bear, a cat, a wolf. He thought briefly about mating Delilah but after her attempt to end his life he withdrew his affections, thank God, and focused on the dim witted Morena. So now Delilah’s job was to protect her because she couldn’t protect herself; she was hopelessly childlike.
Feeling heat and a rhythmic tapping against her back Delilah turned and saw Blake crowding her back, the bags slapping against the back of her legs. Speeding up she was stunned when Morena threw her arms around her and clung. Making multiple attempts to shake her off were unfortunately thwarted. “Morena, get off me.”
“I can’t. He’s so scary.”
Delilah paused in her goal to get to the car as fast as she could and meet her father. “Okay, let’s just get to the car and we’ll leave him to follow us in his own car. Problem solved.”
Morena pulled Delilah behind her and continued to walk to the car. “Can you just stay in between us?”
The bags hit her in the back of the legs again before Blake’s warm body ran into hers propelling her forward, launching her to the ground again. Landing on her hip caused a moment of pain and she was sure she had a scratch on her chin where it bounced off the pavement. She quickly rolled herself and popped up taking a fighting stance.
Blake was so focused on what Delilah and Morena were talking about he didn’t realize someone was being shoved his way until it was too late. He caught himself but Delilah was forced to the ground, hard. He tossed the useless bags to the cold ground in preparation to care and protect her. When she popped up and looked ready to do battle he was not only stunned but shaken at the violence she must have been exposed to. He considered himself lucky for being born and raised in a wonderful pack by amazing parents.
Spotting that the culprits that had knocked into him were teenage boys who were throwing a football, he dismissed them as a threat, but sent them a magical push to back off. Holy shit, they actually stumbled back a few steps. Interesting.
Morena screeched and was only focused on her discarded purchases littering the ground. “My stuff.” Morena ran towards her bags, yet refrained from picking them up. Instead she huffed, shot Delilah an indignant look and stomped her foot. “Well…pick it up before it gets wet.”
Blake could see his mate’s muscles bunch and he had a strong desire to rub her back lingering on the delicate slant of her neck, maybe giving her a playful nip. Her deep sigh broke him from his untamed thoughts as he watched her walk over to the trampled bags and pick them up one by one.
His mate, noticing the boys on the sidewalk throwing a football around, yelled, “Hey, take it across the street to the park. You’re gonna hurt someone.”
They spun around, eyes widening, and whistled as she bent over retrieving the bags. “I’ll get those bags for you, honey.”
Blake growle
d knowing they were taking in the shapely behind he was only moments before entranced with. He stepped in front of her to hide her bottom from the teens view. He twisted around and groaned as it put her taught ass right up against his thighs. “I’ll get the damn bags. Just…stop bending over.”
One single perfectly shaped brow rose in question and he was a little ashamed of his animalistic behavior.
“You’re causing a scene.”
She put her hand to her chest, “Me? I’m not the one growling and knocking people to the ground.”
“Well…if you could turn down your badonkadonk allure I’d appreciate it. I’d hate for you to blind the youth of Alaska to be ruined for life due to the power of your ass.”
“Looks kinda normal to me.” She yelled back to the boys, “Move on kiddos. Why don’t you go home, your mommy probably has your hot chocolate waiting, and maybe if you’re good she’ll give you those little marshmallows too.”
The boys hunched over laughing, “Ah, snap. That was cold Ms. Hunt. We were just messin’ around.”
“Blah blah, don’t make me call your mamas. Go play at the park like I asked or run on home.” Anthony and Chris were her students and they were good boys, a little silly at times but they cared about others. She could confidently say they were her favorite students, always willing to help others with a positive attitude.
“Yes, Ms. Hunt. We’ll go to the park.” The taller one broke away to walk closer, “We dint hurt ya, did we? I could take a look.”
Blake’s growl caused her to shoot him an annoyed look. When will this day be over? Delilah thought. Shopping with Morena, finding a mate, getting knocked to the ground by her star students, and there was a pissing match going on.
“Boys, this is Blake…”
Extending his hand to shake hands with the two ruffians Blake put on his best smile, “I’m Blake, Blake Nunn, nice to meet you two. I love football; maybe someday we can play together. My brothers and I used to have a healthy competition going.”
The tall one that offered to help held a crooked smile, “Sure thing old man. I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Delilah watched the exchange with curiosity and a little annoyance. Shouldn’t the kids be a bit more…restrained after what happened with Tidus? They were all smiles and happy competition. A touch at her hip brought her back to her immediate surroundings.
It all happened within a few seconds. Chris was trying to get her attention and he reached out to apply pressure to her bleeding hip when a growl sounded and Blake’s powerful hand wrapped around the youths wrist; Chris let out a yip of surprise at the pressure Blake must have been exerting. Chris was pushed back and Blake knelt in front of Delilah attempting to unbutton her jeans to get to her wound. His big hands fumbled with the zipper and she knew she only had a split second to take control of the situation.
Firmly slapping his hand away Delilah spun around quickly zipping her pants and buttoning them. “Thank you, but I can take care of myself. It’s a small cut and I don’t need anyone to look,” she eyed Chris, “or touch it,” she shot her narrowed eyes at Blake.
Throwing up his hands Chris backed away, “Sorry Ms. Hunt, I was only trying to help. It seems like you have your hands full though. See ya.” As he walked away he whispered to Blake as he chuckled, “Why don’t you just pee on her dude.”
A nasty growl had Chris running across the street back to his friend. It was Blake’s turn to chuckle. “Time to meet the pack. Let’s just get you home to clean those cuts.”
Chapter 3
His mate was stubborn, and mean, and…obstinate. That’s how Blake found himself following her and princess bitch back to pack lands, stuck in his compact rental car while the two females were in a roomy, clean, powerfully sporty truck. Seeing Delilah hop behind the wheel really yanked his crank. Such power in the hands of his wee mate; what would she do with all that control when they were in the bedroom? Damn it, head in the game, Nunn.
Blake looked down at his straining little alpha thinking, wrong head. He repositioned his cock and continued to follow the truck, taking time to catalogue his surroundings and note that this area was beautiful. The air was crisp and fresh, not to mention freeze your ball off cold. Tons of tall trees lined the highway and roadways all through the area. Wildlife bounded around unchecked free; eagles soaring, fish jumping.
Looking out his car window he noticed the creek where hundreds of fish swam, leaping out of the water and flying through the air gracefully. He was so caught up in the beauty he nearly rear ended the truck carrying his precious future. Slamming on his breaks he watched as his Delilah caught her breath and then rolled her eyes at him in the rearview mirror. He could feel her fear and then relief followed closely by annoyance. Oops, rookie mistake.
Now, focused on driving, he was oblivious to the goings on beyond driving and watching his mate avoid black ice and patches of snow. She’s a damn good driver and a skilled protector; his mind immediately went to her, round with his child in her belly while a little one reached for her comforting arms.
He slammed on the brakes again but not because he’d almost crashed. He’d need a moment to realize the importance of today. Wow, I’ve found my mate; new pack, new dreams, new life. The fact that his family wasn’t here wasn’t that big of a deal anymore. Delilah, she’d be his family and he couldn’t wait to call his parents and brothers to let them know. They’d be excited to meet her and he couldn’t wait to meet her family too.
She pulled up to a one story ranch style home that appeared to be on the outskirts of their ragtag shifter town. The porch was in good condition, obviously well used, with rocking chairs and a glider in front of a big picture window. Wait…where had she brought him?
Blake extricated himself from the annoyingly small car and tried to shake the cramps out of his legs. He bent down rubbing his lower legs and saw movement in his peripheral vision. There was an older wolf with two others who appeared to be teenagers; their heads bent together in discussion. One of the younger wolves paled and shook his head so hard Blake knew he must have rattled his brain. Why were these wolves acting so odd, and where was he?
“What are you doing?”
The question from Delilah startled him. Blake jumped and stood up feigning nonchalance. Not many people, or shifters, could creep up on him. “As you may have seen that car is too small for me. I was rubbing the feeling back into my legs.” There was a slight pause and Delilah looked uncomfortable. “Where are we?”
“This is my parent’s house.” She pointed to the back of the house. “I live around back in a separate smaller house on the property further in the woods. My dad asked me to stop by and pick up a few things.”
Blake inhaled deeply, “Huh?”
Delilah pushed her hood off her head and raked her fingers through her hair in annoyance. “Huh, what?”
Blake enjoyed throwing her off so he smiled. “I’m just wondering why you’d lie to me. It seems odd that you wouldn’t tell me the truth about something so small.” He narrowed his eyes, “Unless you plan on ambushing me.”
Her eyes went wide and she shook her head backing away from him. She knew he could smell her lie. She turned and walked brusquely to the front door and gave a small knock before opening the door and walking in. She turned towards him and motioned to the open door, “You coming?”
He looked over at Morena still seated in the front passenger seat of the truck and sighed. “Coming, dear. Is it already time to meet the family?” He placed a hand on the wound at her hip, “You sure you’re okay?”
Delilah flushed causing him to break out in a chuckle.
“It’s fine.”
As he walk past her he leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You have lovely hair. I can’t wait to wrap it in my fist and feel the silky strands gliding in between my fingers.” She gasped and he proceeded to chuckle again as he walked through the door.
An older man, Blake sniffed identifying him as wolf shifter, stood in front of a well-worn c
ouch with sagging cushions. He had his hand wrapped in a tiny woman’s and she stood slightly behind him, fake smile in place. They smelled similar to Delilah so he knew these were her parents. The old man spoke first, “Welcome to our home, Mr. Nunn, we’re happy to have you.”
Blake sent him a grin, “Ah, so she gets it from her father.”
The man looked puzzled for a moment before asking. “What does who get from her father?”
Blake looked to Delilah and held eye contact as he answered. “Lying. Delilah gets lying from you I suppose.”
Her face flushed and her eyes dropped to the ground in, what appeared to be, shame. A low growl sounded from the old man and the tiny woman behind him let out a squeak of fear. “Del, are you injured? Did he hurt you? I smell your blood.”
Blake looked at the older man. “She fell earlier and I had nothing to do with it. Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? Delilah here must have let you know she was bringing me here since you know my name and that I’m here as an outsider. What is it you plan to do now that I’m here?”
The man pushed the tiny woman into the hall next to the couch and advised, “Delilah, take your mother and go to our room. I want you to lock yourselves inside and don’t come out until I tell you to, got it?”
Delilah shook her head. “Mom, go. Listen to dad. I need to stay here.” Her mother’s eyes pleaded with her to stick with the plan. “I’ll be fine mom, he didn’t hurt me.”
Her mother nodded her head and walked to her room. When they heard the click of the lock the old man began to come towards Blake.
Blake held out his hand for a friendly shake. “Hello, I’m Blake Nunn. Nice to meet you, sir. Care to tell me your name before you attempt to take me down.”
Delilah began, “Dad, I-“
Her father cut her off.
“No, I don’t want you to be involved, Honey. Go outside and let me handle this.”
Pack Law (Fated Mate) Page 2