by Lauren Dane
“Nina, I think your business is great. I’m not trying to belittle it. I just don’t think flowers, or anything else for that matter, are more important than your life. You’re my mate, I am biologically determined to want to protect you. And I quite happen to like you in one piece.”
“There are three weddings and a business reception that I am contractually obligated to provide flowers for. These couples shouldn’t have their wedding plans ruined because you people want to kill everyone in your sights! I have a business to run! It’s a small business, I do well but if I just let it go I stand to lose everything. You grew up rich, you have no idea what it means to have built something like this on your own.”
He could see the hurt in her eyes but the way she assumed that he was handed everything was hurtful, too. “I went to college to get my degree, Nina. I worked to become an architect. I work damned hard to protect Cade and this Pack. I wasn’t handed anything. In fact, I have been trained since birth to be an Enforcer. It didn’t matter that I may have had other plans. So I’m sorry that I said something insensitive but don’t compound that by doing the same.”
“Hey, you two. Come on. Nina, baby, we both love you and want you safe. But we understand you are a small business owner and we’ll work out something to be sure you get your obligations taken care of. And Lex, you’re taking what she said the wrong way too. I’m sure she knows how hard you work and the sacrifices you make every day. Let’s not make things worse here. You love each other. Remember that.” Cade put an arm around each one of them and leaned his head against theirs. He could feel the anger and the hurt drain out of each of them.
“I have to go change. Lex, I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings,” Nina said softly, looking up into his face.
“I’m sorry too, gorgeous. I am proud of your business and like Cade said, we’ll work something out. Go on and get changed, we’ll be down here waiting.”
She kissed Lex quickly and then tiptoed up to kiss Cade’s chin and ran up the stairs to get dressed to go to the Pack house.
Lex turned to Cade and sighed. “Thanks.”
Cade shrugged. “It won’t be the last time you two will butt heads over her wanting to do something you think is dangerous or foolish. It’s very clear she has a hot button about the whole class issue. You’re both going to have to find a way to work through it and to figure out how to talk to each other without hurting the other.”
Lex nodded. “Yeah. In the meantime, I’m putting guards on the shop and extra on you here too.”
Cade had long since given up bristling at such measures. It was Lex’s job after all.
* * * * *
Lex kept stealing looks at her. Really, the transformation was quite stunning. She had appealed to him as the buttoned up, pursed-lipped matron—but the Nina beside him blew his socks off.
Her long brown hair was gathered in a pretty clip thingy at the base of her neck and curls had escaped and framed her face in wisps. She didn’t have a lot of makeup on, which was fine with him—he hated too much makeup. But what she did have was artfully applied. Her eyes looked huge and her lashes long. Those lips shimmered just enough to make him have to move around and adjust himself quite a bit. She was wearing a skirt that came to mid-calf and boots to go with it and she was one sexy woman in a red sweater.
She was every inch his mate and he thought she looked like a queen. When she became a wolf she’d be even more stunning. Pride radiated from his heart at how beautiful and strong she was but he also felt possessive of her. Putting an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her close and kissed her temple.
“What?” she murmured.
“You’re beautiful. They’re going to love you.”
“Ha! Some of them maybe. But those girlfriends I keep bringing up—you know, the ones you keep changing the subject right after—I don’t think they’re gonna love me.” She looked at him and narrowed her eyes. “But too bad, cause I don’t share.”
Cade chuckled from the backseat and Lex made a disgruntled snort of annoyance that only made Cade laugh harder.
They pulled up in the driveway of a large, colorful Victorian in Queen Anne and she made a low whistle. “This is really beautiful.”
Lex got out and opened the door for them both, the guard standing discreetly but protectively at the ready. Cade brushed off his clothes and Nina watched as he pulled the mantle of leadership around himself, cloaking power at his shoulders. He was impressive before but this—she realized with a start—this was an Alpha.
Cade walked ahead of them up the grand porch that had really lovely furniture in small clusters from one end to the other. A glider swing, small tables, comfortable chairs and planters filled with seasonal greenery. Nina gave it a quick assessing look, critical. The plants needed some major attention. Hmph, she’d talk to Lex about it later.
The large double front doors opened up and a tall dark-haired woman stood there with a smile. “Alpha! Enforcer! It’s been several days, I’m glad to see you. We were just ready to serve dinner.”
Cade touched his hand to her cheek and she stepped back, her eyes lowered.
Lex urged Nina in after his brother and the tall woman looked up in surprise. “Oh! She bears your mark. Congratulations, Enforcer.”
“Melissa, this is Nina Reyes, my mate. Nina, this is Melissa Warren, she’s ranked fifth in the Pack.”
Melissa looked at her with recognition. “Oh, you’re Rey’s sister. I’m so very sorry. I’m shamed that it was one of our own. Welcome to our Pack, although I do wish it was under happier circumstances.”
Nina smiled. She felt that the other woman was genuine. She knew she was one of the suspects though and it wouldn’t be wise to let her guard all the way down. “Thank you.”
Cade took one of her hands and Lex held the other. They’d explained on the way over that everyone would know that Cade was her tri-bond and that in many ways, she’d hold a position much like his mate, even after he found his true mate she’d still have that connection to him and her place in the Pack.
As they walked through the long foyer deeper into the house, Nina took in all the details. The place was gorgeous. The details were authentic for the time period the house was built in. the colors, deep greens, deep wine and burgundy and creams and yellows, highlighted the furnishings and drapes. It was obvious that an interior designer had seen to all of those very important details. The wood gleamed, the banisters curved, the rugs were ornate and classic. The house was a masterpiece.
They walked through to a large dining room dominated by a large table. At their entrance, everyone in the room stood up.
Nina could feel the surprise ripple through the group as they took in the way that both men were holding her hands and she supposed they got her scent. She also couldn’t help but be impressed at how everyone seemed to view Cade with deep respect and Lex with deep fear. She chuckled inwardly and thought about what a big pussycat he was deep down.
Cade stood at the head of the table, Lex and Nina to his right. “Everyone! We have had much sadness of late. Losing two of our own in such a short period of time. But there is reason to celebrate tonight. Lex, your Enforcer, has found and performed the Claiming with his mate. Better still, she is Nina Reyes, our Gabriel’s sister. We have lost him, but she is here with us now.”
The room got very quiet. Nina wasn’t psychic but she could read people really well. She saw faces that were happy and faces that were not. She snorted inwardly when she noted that most of the unhappy faces were female. That didn’t worry her as much as those faces she could not read at all.
She wanted to talk to Lex about it but she knew that their hearing was very sensitive and it would have to wait until they were out of there before she could bring it up.
“Well, let’s eat shall we? And raise our glasses to Nina and Lex.”
Nina saw Tracy there and grinned in her direction. She really did like her sister-in-law and she felt a bit more comfortable with a few friendly faces in the room.
/> Everyone in the room raised their glass and took a drink. A happy buzz of conversation filled the room once Cade nodded to Lex, who pulled out a chair for Nina, and they sat down.
Heaping platters of food were passed around and Nina watched with awe as they loaded their plates. Several of the Pack smiled at her, sending waves or tips of their glass in her direction.
Her eyes goggled when Lex tipped three pork chops onto her plate. “Whoa! One will do there, Hoss.”
“You need to eat to keep your strength up. You’ve had a rough few days,” Lex murmured and then frowned as she forked two of the chops back onto the platter and passed it to Cade.
“Lex, thank you for worrying about me but there’s no way I can eat three pork chops. Hell, if I did that, I wouldn’t have room for that pie I see over there.” Nina tipped her head toward the sideboard that was heavy with desserts.
Melissa heard that and laughed. “Lex, you need to remember that humans don’t have the same kind of metabolism that we do.”
“Why on earth are we discussing humans at the dinner table? Don’t ruin my appetite, please!”
The entire room’s attention moved to the doorway where a blond man was standing in a very nice suit.
“Sorry I’m late, Alpha. I had to go to Issaquah earlier and traffic was nuts on I-90.” He swept into the room.
Nina felt a wave of irritation bordering on rage and turned her head to see Cade stand up. He growled low in his throat. All the other wolves except Lex and the studly dude with the black hair across from her, Eric, lowered their heads and sat very still.
Nina’s skin crawled with the power that rolled off Cade and that buffeted off Lex as well, who’d risen, shielding her with his body. Nina picked up her steak knife and held it, not knowing what was going on.
“Carter, would you like to apologize for that remark or choke on your teeth?” Lex said in a menacing tone and Nina stifled a squeak of fear as she thought she saw the flesh of his forearms ripple.
Cade, feeling her fear, put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Stand down, Lex. Let me handle this,” Cade said softly.
Lex remained standing and Nina peeked around his body and saw the blond looking up at Lex in confused terror. His eyes then moved to her and he jerked in surprise and he blushed furiously.
“Oh, man! I didn’t know!” he stuttered.
Cade moved next to Lex. He turned and looked into Lex’s face. “Alexander, I will handle this. Attend to your mate.” Cade’s voice was steel, his eyes unblinking and Lex let out a breath with a tremble and after several long moments, he sat down and turned to Nina, putting an arm around her shoulders.
Nina though, only had eyes for the exchange between Cade and the blond, even as she snuggled into Lex.
“Alpha, I apologize.”
Cade looked at the other man without speaking. The tension in the room was thick as the moments ticked by.
“I’m waiting, Carter.”
Carter? Oh! Blondie was one of the suspects and a bigot, too. Lovely. Well, Nina had to admit she’d had a few of her own ignorant thoughts about wolves herself. She made a mental note to really work on that.
Blondie nodded quickly and fell to his knees. He bent, forehead to the floor. “I apologize most sincerely for my ignorant remarks about humans.”
Cade nodded once and looked down at Lex, who narrowed his eyes and then gave a very slight shrug.
“Get up, Carter and get some dinner. Then you can meet Alexander’s mate, Nina. Rey’s sister,” Cade tossed this back over his shoulder as he turned and moved to his seat.
Carter’s eyes widened as he stood up and looked at Nina. She couldn’t tell if the shock was more than just, oooh, shit I just talked smack about the boss’ wife, or her being Rey’s sister or that he was guilty over something.
“I do apologize. It was stupid and insensitive of me,” he said to Lex. Nina wondered if the reason he wasn’t apologizing to her was another werewolf thing. Whatever the case, she didn’t like this guy at all.
Lex nodded once and turned back to the table and everyone picked up their utensils and began to eat as the tension eased from the room.
Carter moved around the table and sat at Cade’s left hand and looked down as he filled his plate.
“So, Nina, Rey said you own a flower shop?” Eric asked her smoothly.
Nina liked him for trying to ease the tension for her. “Yes, in Bellevue, as a matter of fact.” She deftly blocked Lex’s attempt to put three rolls on her plate, taking one and passing them on to Cade, who winked at her as he took the basket.
“Her shop is about three miles from the coffee shop,” Lex said and frowned at her when she stabbed his hand with a fork when he tried to put another spoonful of potatoes on her plate.
Nina looked down the table. No less than four people rushed to ask her what she needed.
“Green vegetables? Salad?” Nina looked at the food laid out on the table.
They all looked at her blankly until Tracy laughed. “We’ll have to lay in supplies of green vegetables for you. Wolves aren’t much for salad.”
“Oh my goodness! Let me run to the store,” one of the wolves down at the far end of the table called out.
“No! It’s okay, really.” Nina held her hand up to stay her.
“Are you sure?” Cade asked.
“Of course. Sheesh, I was just looking for some green beans, I didn’t mean to start anything.” She barely held back her snarky comment but she didn’t want to challenge his authority here with his Pack.
Lex kissed her temple. “We’ll be sure to provide them for you next time.”
She smiled at him and looked back to Eric. “So anyway, yes, I own a floral shop. I know Carter runs one coffee shop and Melissa the other, what do you do?”
“Oh, I help with the construction business. I do accounts payable and receivable and the ordering.”
Carter steamed as he watched them all. He smiled and made nice but he couldn’t believe he’d been made to prostrate himself like that before Cade—and over a human! She was pretty hot, though. He’d lay odds she’d be a tiger in the sack. Maybe he’d order the Rogues to subdue her so he could have a bit of quality time with her before he killed her.
That would be win-win for him because the grief, even with the tri-bond, would drag Lex down and he could be killed too, leaving Cade vulnerable. Maybe Carter would be running this Pack six months from now.
After they finished dinner, they got up and moved into the large living room where they mingled and Nina met the other Pack members who were there. It was nice that Tracy and Layla and Sid were there and their other sisters Megan and Tegan were part of the guard. It was a relief to have friendly faces that she knew were in her corner.
Lex kept looking toward the door until Nina finally rolled her eyes and sighed. “Jeez, what is it already? You keep looking at that door and it’s working my last nerve.”
“I need to go deal with something. Pack business. I’m going to get Megan over here before I do though.”
Megan was part of Cade’s guard but she was also being chatted up by a very cute wolf at the other end of the room. Nina put a hand out to stop him. “Oh for heaven’s sake! I’m surrounded by your family, I’ll be fine. I’ll find someone to talk to.” Which was part of their plan anyway.
He looked around and then back at her. “I’ll be back in five minutes. Just don’t leave this room.”
“Okay, Dad. I won’t run with scissors either.”
He tried not to smile and failed. God, she was so totally irreverent. He dropped a kiss on her lips and left the room.
“You’re a lucky girl,” one of the women who’d had a not-so-friendly face on said as she sidled up to Nina. “You hit the jackpot with Lex.”
“Yes, well. I think so.” Nina smiled and resisted cracking on the cow, who was totally asking for it.
“He’s very good in bed.”
Nina smiled. “Yes, I know.”
“This must be so aw
kward for you, being the only human here and all. Surrounded by people who all know your…man, better than you,” Red said with a pout.
A laugh burst from Nina’s lips. “Not as awkward as it must be for you. Honey, please. If you bent around any harder trying to let me know you fucked Lex to try and make me feel bad, you’d be a pretzel. Although you’re about as smart as one.”
Red’s eyes narrowed and she moved in to try and menace Nina with her body. “Well! I was just trying to be friendly. It’s not my fault Lex can’t get enough women in his bed. He particularly likes the way I give head. I’m sure that it won’t be a threat to your mate bond when he seeks me out. After all, you’re only human. You can’t possibly give him what he needs.”
Nina didn’t move an inch. “Look, Floozy McSkank, get the fuck out of my face or you’ll find out just how well a human can defend herself,” she said in a low voice.
Suddenly Tracy was at her side and Melissa on the other. “Cindy, you need to apologize for your behavior right now,” Melissa said.
The room got silent again and Nina groaned and rolled her eyes. “It’s fine. Ol’ Floozy here was just about to move along. Right after I told her that if she ever so much as looked at Lex again I’d carve her eyes out with a plastic spoon.”
Cindy’s eyes widened and she took a step back and lowered her eyes. “I apologize.”
Nina sighed and turned her back and saw Lex moving back into the room with alarming speed. “What is going on?” he demanded. “Are you all right?” He looked to Melissa and Tracy accusingly.
“She’s fine, Lex. She held her own just fine.” Tracy patted his arm and laughed as she and Melissa moved away. Frowning, he pulled Nina out into the hallway, away from the crowd.
“I was only gone for six minutes! Damn it, Nina! I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
“Lex, chill out or you’ll pop a vein for god’s sake. Everything is fine. It was a stupid girl thing. One of your chippies wanted to try and tell me you’d fucked her. As if that was news. You can’t rush to my aid when stuff like that happens, it undermines me.”