Jordan's Marked Mate [The Ward Brothers] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Mackenzie Williams

  After several seconds of just breathing, Jordan finally lowered his head. Sweat ran down the side of his face. Riley ran her hands up his arms for a while until he took his hands off her breasts. He slowly started to slide his cock out of her.

  Riley gasped as his dick left her. The change in her body was dramatic and it wasn’t just the sudden emptiness in her cunt. That warmth in her chest turned icy in an instant. That feeling could easily become addictive.

  Jordan crawled next to her on the bed and laid down on his back. She could feel his harsh breathing through the mattress. She was unsure how to act in this moment. They were still basically strangers, after all. She lifted her hands to her breasts without thinking.

  Her Master took a deep breath and she worried for a moment that her small movement had offended him. After a few seconds, Jordan sat up and leaned off his side of the bed. What’s he reaching for? More concern tightened her throat until she saw what he was doing.

  Jordan exhaled as he lifted a large, fluffy, white blanket onto the bed. He was soon covering her body with it. When she was fully covered, he laid back down beside her. Riley turned her head toward him to see he wore a sated smile.

  “You should sleep now. You’ve had quite the day.” His smile fell off while he rubbed his cheek.

  Riley snuggled under the blanket. The icy feeling in her chest had disappeared, but now her skin was feeling the absence of his heat. She turned her body toward his, inching closer. He didn’t react much except for his returning smile.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  Jordan finally turned his head toward her. She was momentarily frozen by his handsome face. He really was gorgeous. His smile became lopsided.

  “Size thirteen.”

  It took Riley a second to get his joke. She giggled. “No, not your shoe size.”

  Jordan lifted an arm and laid it under his head while his other one came up to rest on her covered knee.

  “What?”

  “I’m new to this shifter stuff, but how did you do that floating blue orb thing?”

  Jordan’s smirk grew and she had the feeling that he enjoyed her curiosity into his world.

  “We wolf shifters have limited…magic, for lack of a better term.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. We can do a few simple things like creating light orbs, materializing clothing, making-”

  She swiftly cut him off. “Clothes?”

  Jordan huffed out a humorous snort and turned onto his side, toward her. “Yes. Didn’t you ever wonder why we don’t shift into a naked human being?”

  Riley lifted her head off the pillow, thinking. “Well, I guess it never crossed my mind.”

  “All right, next time I won’t use it. I’ll shift nude.”

  Riley’s eyes widened and went straight to his cock which was just starting to soften. She heard Jordan chuckle and she returned her stare to his face.

  “That’d certainly get more attention.”

  Jordan laughed again. “Yes, I guess so. If I needed more attention, that’d do it.”

  He leaned in and kissed her forehead. Riley felt his smile as he did it a second time. She laid her head back down on the pillow and her eyes suddenly felt extremely heavy. She yawned and snuggled down under the blanket a little farther.

  “Tell me more about this magic.” Her eyes fluttered shut, but she soon opened them halfway again.

  “Some other time, pet. You need to sleep.”

  Riley’s eyes closed on their own just as Jordan leaned in and left a soft kiss on her lips.

  Chapter Seventeen

  A horrific scene played in Riley’s head. A gigantic black wolf snarled from behind a tall oak tree. Riley took a step back. Was it a memory?

  “Stay away!”

  The wolf stalked out from behind the tree. Its eyes glowed an eerie yellow color. It took several slow steps toward her. Riley took another step back and stepped wrong on something. Her ankle twisted and she fell onto her ass.

  The wolf stopped walking and spoke. “Let me see your mark. Let me touch it.”

  Riley inhaled sharply before her whole body jerked forward. She cried out and her legs kicked violently on their own. Riley’s eyes flew open and she looked around the room. She was still in bed. She had been dreaming. Jordan. She lifted her hand to her chest as the fear from her dream started to fade.

  She sat up, taking a deep breath. She was alone. The image of the dark wolf stayed in her mind for several seconds before another image took over. It was Jordan. His expression was serious. A feeling of regret started to fill her. Why was she here? What was really going to happen this week?

  I should run again. No, I can’t. It won’t work and it will only hurt him. Do I care about that? The answer floated through her head. She did care about his feelings, strange as that was. Riley lifted her hands to her face and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

  She climbed out of bed and noticed that she was still nude. Riley briefly worried that she would have to wander all the way to her bedroom to find clothes, but Jordan had already thought of that, it seemed. Riley looked around and saw that some clothes laid out on the chair in the corner of the room.

  Riley walked over to it and inspected the female clothes. There was a thin, pink tank top with a matching button-up sweater. Under that was a short, gray skirt with pink stripes. On the bottom of the pile were a pair of white panties and a bra.

  She smiled to herself as she picked them up off the chair. Why did this small gesture feel so important and nice? Jordan had purchased these clothes at some point, thinking of her. He had obviously woken before her and retrieved them from her closet. He did care about her. Maybe even more than she realized.

  Her smile faded a bit as she thought about how insane this all seemed. How could he care for her, maybe even love her, when they barely knew each other? Maybe she should just give into it.

  Riley started to dress and another thought popped into her head. What do shifter slaves do? Am I just here as a fuck toy? Am I like his maid?

  When she was dressed, Riley smoothed her hair as much as she could. She then went in search of Jordan. Riley wandered out of his bedroom and looked down the hall. She didn’t see anyone. Riley walked to her temporary bedroom and stuck her head inside. She still saw no one.

  She stepped back into the hallway. “Jordan?”

  Riley stood still, listening for a few seconds. Nothing. She decided to head to the kitchen. Maybe I’m supposed to cook him breakfast. Will he be angry if I don’t? Riley was starting to feel weird again. Just how much did she want to be here? A large part of her was beginning to want it more and more, but she wasn’t allowing that part of herself to surface completely.

  She walked into the kitchen. “Jordan?”

  Riley started to walk toward the fridge. She wasn’t a world class chef, but she could certainly make a mean omelet. What if he didn’t like eggs? Well, she could make pretty good pancakes, too.

  Do wolf shifters only eat meat?

  She shrugged and started to open the fridge but stopped when she noticed that the small kitchen table was full. Riley walked over to find that there was a plate already there and it had scrambled eggs on it, plus toast.

  “Is this his?”

  There was a glass of milk near the plate which was also near a blue vase that held two white daisies. The scene was so pretty but almost painfully lonely.

  “Is this how he eats breakfast? Alone?”

  “Not today.”

  Riley jumped as his voice boomed behind her. She spun around to find Jordan staring at her. He was shirtless and barefoot, wearing only jeans. His expression was kind, but his eyes looked a little gloomy. She hoped her words hadn’t offended him.

  “Sorry, Master. I mean, Jordan.”

  He just nodded at her and then turned away toward the stove. A full plate sat next to it on the counter. Jordan grabbed it and walked back to the table.

  “Sit. Eat.” He pointed toward a chair as he set his plate dow
n on the table.

  Riley timidly walked over to the chair he had gestured at and sat down. Why did she suddenly feel so nervous? Jordan took his seat next to her and watched her. He looked like he was waiting for something. Maybe he’s just waiting for me to eat first. Gentleman.

  She reached for her fork but didn’t start eating. “Thank you for leaving out my clothes.”

  “You are very welcome.” His expression softened. “Eat.”

  Riley smirked at him, suddenly feeling more comfortable. She dug her fork into the eggs.

  “I’m your slave. Shouldn’t I have made you breakfast?” she said with a bit of humor before taking a bite.

  “Yes. You will tomorrow.” Jordan’s lips lifted into a small grin.

  He grabbed his fork and took a bite, as well. The word “tomorrow” had a bit of panic trying to surface in her heart. One week. I can do that.

  Jordan took a small sip from his orange juice before speaking. “Oh, my brothers will be here for lunch, so you’ll need to make extra.”

  Riley swallowed the food in her mouth and tilted her head. She eyed him for a minute. “Slave, huh?”

  Jordan looked up at her with a gorgeous smirk, nodding. “Slave.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Breakfast was over and Riley was quietly cleaning the kitchen. Jordan told her it wasn’t necessary this morning, but she had insisted. Was she starting to like the idea of being his slave? Jordan hoped it was that easy.

  She was wiping down the counter when Jordan walked up behind her. He lightly ran his hand down her arm. A soft sigh came from her and Jordan had the urge to bend her over right there and take her again. Instead, he left a soft kiss on her neck.

  “Thank you, pet.” Jordan reached up and moved her hair off her shoulder.

  He slowly pulled down the top of her light sweater to reveal his mark. He leaned down and left another kiss on it. Riley inhaled sharply and stopped moving her arm on the counter. He had often wondered how much she had known as a young girl. How much had she been looking forward to or been afraid of this?

  “Riley?” He kissed the scar-like mark again.

  She shivered slightly. “Yes?”

  “You knew I was coming for you?”

  He let her shirt cover her skin again. Jordan placed both hands on her shoulders, slowly massaging them.

  “I knew it, but I didn’t really believe it. My grandma had told me stories, but…maybe I didn’t want them to be true.”

  Jordan’s hands stilled on her shoulders. He had wanted her for a long time. He had needed her more than his next breath, but she had wished for him to be a fairytale. For him to not exist. Jordan knew he couldn’t really blame her, but that didn’t take the sting out of her words.

  He let go of her and started to turn away. Her soft voice stopped his walking, however.

  “Why me? Why am I marked?”

  Those were easy questions. She was his. She was given to him by the universe, but she would never really understand that. Well, maybe someday.

  Jordan spoke over his shoulder. “It just is, pet. You were made to be with me.”

  “You know, my parents died in a car crash?” Riley took a step toward him.

  “I know.” He wasn’t telling her everything. Jordan knew all about their deaths and he even knew why they had been in that situation. “I’m sorry.”

  “Did you know I was in the car? I always felt guilty that I survived and they didn’t.” Riley placed a timid hand on his arm. “Did your mark have anything to do with that?”

  My mark is the reason your parents are dead. You surviving was a lucky gift. He turned fully toward her and Riley’s hand ran down his arm.

  “No.”

  Her expression was one of a lost little girl. Jordan lifted a hand to her cheek, stroking it with his thumb. There was so much more he needed to tell her, but it was too soon. Jordan leaned down and kissed her forehead.

  Just then, a loud bang came from his living room. His front door had been slammed shut. Jordan took a second to look at Riley, who looked up at him with instant fear. Jordan released her and started to jog toward his front door, but was stopped when his brother Ryan rounded the corner.

  “What the hell?” Jordan stopped just in front of him.

  Ryan was breathing heavily. Jordan could tell by his eyes that he had hastily shifted moments before. Brody then appeared behind Ryan looking just the same way.

  “You’ve gotta come with us.” Ryan’s tone was stress-filled.

  “Now,” Brody added.

  Riley walked up closer to Jordan’s back. She gasped and he knew that the sight of his agitated brothers was a shocking one. Especially since they were all identical.

  “What’s going on?” Jordan tried to sound calm for her sake.

  Ryan’s eyes trained on Jordan’s. “Dark Leader.”

  Jordan’s hands automatically balled into fists. “Shit.”

  Riley’s hand trembled against his arm. “Jordan?”

  He turned around with wild eyes. “Stay.”

  “Jordan?” She gave him a worried, nervous look.

  “I mean it. You step one foot out of this house and you’ll force me to really show you what being a shifter slave means.”

  He realized his words were harsh and maybe too dramatic, but it was for her own good. Jordan needed to scare her into following his directions. He couldn’t afford for her to be outside in danger with Dark Leader nearby.

  Riley removed her hand from him and took a frightened step back. It hurt his heart to see her afraid of him, but it would hurt his heart even worse if she wound up dead.

  “Say you understand, slave.”

  Riley nervously twisted her hands together. Tears were starting to form in her eyes and Jordan clenched his jaw, sick with himself.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Jordan growled and turned toward his brothers. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Dark Leader was exactly who he sounded like he was. The Ward family and the Dark clan had been enemies for centuries. The Dark shifters hadn’t shown their faces in these woods for years, though. Jordan had no doubt that the timing wasn’t a coincidence. The triplets were of Prime age now. They would be tested. Jordan just hoped that this had nothing to do with Riley being claimed.

  The Ward brothers were in wolf form as they ran through the dense forest. Before he had left, Jordan placed a simple alarm spell on his home. Being merely a shifter, he had little power, but the spell should alert him if anyone exited or entered the house. The problem was, the spell would only last an hour or so. He needed to deal with this shit and get the hell back to his woman.

  The three white wolves slowed as they entered a meadow clearing. The day was hazy, making the sunlight filtered and seeming almost dirty. Jordan paced slowly, keeping his eyes searching for any movement from the surrounding tree line.

  A howl split the air and Jordan’s fur stood up on his neck. He didn’t need to get a glimpse to know that it was someone from the Dark clan. The howl came again and then he spotted a large bush, not far away, swaying wildly.

  Ryan started to growl while he paced in front of Jordan. Brody, the most impulsive of the brothers, started to stalk straight toward the rustling noise. Jordan growled loudly, trying to halt his youngest brother, but Brody didn’t stop.

  Jordan swiftly and gracefully transformed into his human form. A brief image of Riley hung in his mind as he materialized his pants and boots. The humor from their conversation last night seemed a world away now.

  “Brody, wait.”

  The white wolf looked back at Jordan but then continued forward. Ryan let out a howl before he started after his brother.

  “Damn it.” Jordan was about to shift back when someone jumped out from behind the large tree that stood next to the moving bush.

  A tall man wearing a black duster coat strolled away from the tree line. Brody immediately whipped his body around, growling louder. He lowered his head while arching his back.
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  Dark Leader pointed at him while still walking toward Jordan. “Down, Lassie.”

  Suddenly out from behind the same tree, two more men appeared. One was quite a bit younger than Dark Leader. He wore a bright white baseball hat and matching white pants, but no shirt. The other man looked more normal with jeans and a shirt.

  They also strolled nonchalantly away from the trees and bushes. The man in the white hat pulled a toothpick out from between his teeth and flung it at Brody. The wolf snarled and started to lunge toward the others. Thankfully, Ryan jumped in front of him before he could start the war early. Brody was unappreciative. He grumbled at his brother.

  Ryan shifted into his human self and spoke. “Brody.” His tone was a warning.

  Brody snarled one more time before joining them all in his human body. The three from the Dark clan walked closer still, until the men were standing in a tense circle. Dark Leader folded his arms over his chest and chuckled condescendingly.

  Jordan clenched his fists at his side, trying to hold in his rage. As the oldest, he had to keep calm. If he made one small move, he knew that Brody would waste no time and attack the others. Jordan wasn’t even sure if that was the wrong course of action, however.

  “See, men? They’ve reached their Prime birthday and they still look pathetic.” Dark Leader unfolded his arms and placed his hands on his hips, flinging his long coat back some. “Do they look powerful to you?” He looked at his men and then pointed at the Ward boys.

  “Fuck you.” Brody took a step toward them.

  Jordan held his arm out, halting his brother.

  Dark Leader chuckled annoyingly. “And see? That’s why these three are confined to this small piece of shit forest.” He dropped his arms to his sides and took a step toward Jordan. All humor was gone from his face. He lifted his lips in a menacing way when he spoke next. “Three cowardly puppies that are too afraid to hurt humans.”

  Ryan stepped up to the man in white. “We aren’t fucking cowards and we’re no young pups. Do you want to find out just how unafraid of you we are?”