by Vivian Arend
Dani shoved down a momentary rush of jealousy. Nadia was not a girlfriend, and Cole was her mate. “That does seem strange.”
She motioned for him to go ahead and break the seal. He slid a finger under it carefully, unfolding the paper and holding it so they could both read.
With great responsibility comes great reward. Blessings on your mating, the wild and the way, and may the north rejoice as its horizons expand and love becomes a bright, shining beacon.
Cole let out a somewhat strangled sigh. “I wonder if she’s capable of speaking in plain English, or if it’s some kind of challenge to always throw a bit of prophetic confusion into the mix.”
Dani took the key that was attached to the paper, examining it closely. “She does seem to like dramatic effect. Do you understand any of that past the blessing business?”
Cole considered. “I’m pretty sure I’m the wild, because it’s mentioned a few times in the original prophecy.”
“Wild Prince, huh?” She grinned.
His eyes narrowed.
“What? I have ears. I can’t help it if I hear things.”
She snickered as he attempted to get all grumpy and gruff again, his next words coming out scratchy and rough. “Which probably means you’re the way.”
Dani gave a decisive nod. “Oh, I like that. My way or the highway, dude. You know it.”
She did not expect him to roll his eyes so when he did, with great emphasis and vigour, she laughed out loud. Dani curled against him and squeezed tight, happiness all but vibrating through her.
He tilted her head until their eyes met, and she could see his happiness as well. Still gruff, still a wild wolf, but oh so very much her wild wolf. “So this probably means nobody is going to catch me and give me trouble for climbing the fortress?”
“I think she’s pretty much left us in charge,” Dani said in agreement. She waggled the key at him. “Come on, let’s explore. I want to find out what this opens.”
Her mate’s face contorted. “Please, don’t let this be another thirty-three-year-long mystery.”
She held it forward for him to get the scent. “Come on. Use your super sniffer and let’s see if there’s a trail to follow.”
Cole obeyed quickly, turning and guiding her out the main door. The trail led them away from where she’d raced earlier in her search to find him.
He guided her up one more set of stairs to a plain wooden door, stopping to glance around suspiciously. “That was too easy.”
“It’s okay, Pookie, I’ll take care of you.”
She inserted the key in the lock and turned it before he had stopped sputtering.
10
The door swung open on well-oiled hinges to reveal a beautiful sitting room with floor-to-ceiling windows. Comfortable furniture was strategically placed, sparse but piled high with cushions and blankets. A small kitchen was visible off on one side, and two doors were tucked discreetly out of the way along the sidewall.
Cole marched across the floor to the windows, shaking his head. “Whoever Charlene got to build this place knew what they were doing. Look at that view. We must be right at the top of the bluff.”
Dani kicked off her shoes and walked across the thick warm rug, wiggling her toes with appreciation as she made her way to his side. She curled an arm around his waist and tucked herself against him as he stared over the landscape. Tall trees, the river winding through them—it was everything beautiful about the north. A stark beauty, wild to the core, and the perfect place for people who needed a chance to find themselves. Safe, secure.
A lone sentinel moved along the thin path far below them. “We have security guards. That’s so…weird.”
“We have security guards who need to learn to look up,” Cole muttered. Turning toward her and wrapping his arms around her. “But that’s not on my immediate agenda.”
“Oh?” She arched a brow. “You have an agenda. How leaderly of you.”
“I’ve had an agenda my entire life. Getting to finally check things off my to-do list is going to make me one happy wolf.” He brushed his lips over hers, far too briefly considering the way he’d been looking at her, eyes full of passion and lust.
Sex, and something more. “Oh, I hope I’m on your to-do list.”
His smile widened as he tugged her by the hand toward the two untried doors. “The very top, all the time, from now until eternity.”
It was unfair he was being so romantic while nearly dragging her across the room. “You’re supposed to be staring into my eyes when you say sweet things like that,” she informed him.
He cracked open the first door. A large bathroom, towels hanging on the rail that said guests. “We’ll get to the eye-staring in a minute. I have a good feeling about what we’re going to find behind that second door.”
“And this place is really for us?” Okay, she’d been there when Charlene had lit up like a supernova, but things like this just didn’t happen. People didn’t set up secret fortresses in the wilderness then hand them over to total strangers.
In fact, the whole thing was impossible, and the more she thought about it, the more confused she got. When Cole pushed open the second door, crowding after her to force her into the space, her brain was whirling so hard her eyes could barely register what she saw.
A bedroom, wide and spacious, with more of those amazing windows and that astonishing view. The glint of chrome and marble through another set of doors showed there was a bathroom attached to this room as well, and what looked to be a closet, but most importantly, front and center, was a king-size bed.
Piled high with pillows, one side decorated with bears, the other with images of wolves.
Again with the impossible. She turned to Cole to discover her mate had begun to laugh, returning her gaze with happiness written on every inch of him.
“So, mate. What side of the bed do you like best?” he asked.
What kind of a question was that? “The middle.”
He snickered, tugging her forward. “Doubtful. I have a feeling that you like this side of the bed best.”
He turned at the last second and caught her up in his arms. Kissing her, hot and passionate, sending her mind blank as he wrapped himself around her.
The next second he finished twirling and let her go. She flew through the air, arms spread wide for balance only to land on the bed, pillows bouncing everywhere. Dani laughed, shrieking as he threw himself after her, pouncing so she was trapped. The long heavy length of her wolf poised over her.
She had a mate. A smart, incredibly handsome wolf mate who was going to work with her to help people. This was the most wonderful, unbelievable answer to every dream she’d ever had.
He spoke before she could.
“I’ve done everything wrong.” He spoke softly, his gruff voice trickling over her with the sensation of fingers caressing her skin. “I’ve been impatient, and I’ve been rude. And yet somehow, I’m still here with you, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure you know how cherished you are. How much I need you in my life as my mate, my partner and my love.”
Her throat tightened. “You love me?”
The answer was in his eyes before he spoke. “I think I’ve always loved you. And not just because I’m a wolf and you’re the one fated for me to love. I’ve always loved the idea of you. Of a woman bold enough to go after exactly what she wanted, and crazy enough to want me at her side.”
He kissed her, and another amazing sensation rushed through her system. Bears might not take mates, but they did fall in love. And she was humbled by the fact he had figured out why, in spite of it being a very short time, this was so right.
She cupped his face stroking until he pulled back. “I’ve been waiting for you my entire life as well. And I don’t think you’re impatient—look at everything you learned while you were waiting. And I don’t think you’re rude—”
He tilted his head in reproach.
“Okay, I don’t think you’re any ruder than you ne
ed to be, because sometimes you have to lay down the law. Sometimes you have to speak in a language that people understand.”
Bears might not do mates, but wolves did, and here was a thing that she understood. He needed her. Completely. To be his on every level.
He was still hovering over her, which meant she just needed to tip his balance point to reverse their positions on the enormous mattress. Cole grinned as she wiggled position to kneel firmly over his hips, her sex resting over his growing erection.
“Now that I have your attention,” she said softly.
“Complete and utter.”
Dani reached up to undo the first button on her shirt. Then she leaned forward and undid the first of his as well. Back and forth until both of their shirts were hanging open.
Cole didn’t say a word, but it was clear she was his only focus.
Perfect. She laid both hands on his chest then leaned forward until their torsos came in contact. His gaze didn’t leave her eyes.
That’s when she did it. “I love you.”
The flash of fire that rippled through his entire body as her words sank in was gratifying. Whatever else they still needed to figure out, and that to-do list was going to be long enough to cover a wall as big as the bed they were currently lying on, the list wasn’t the most important thing right then.
Cole caught her hands in his, lifting her fingers to his mouth to kiss them briefly. “You don’t have to say that yet. I mean, I love you, and we’re going to kick ass at this job, but—”
“Are you really going to argue with me about this?” Dani demanded. “Like, do you think I’m too young to not know my own mind? Do you think we have to have spent so much time doing something to really understand what it means, or can you just accept the fact that you’re very lovable?”
Her mate laughed as he tumbled her again, catching her unawares. Somehow taking her shirt off in the split second before he loomed over her. His heavy weight pinned her to the mattress as he stripped the shirt off his torso as well. “Lovable. Now, that’s a description I’ve never had bandied my direction. Loathable. Laughable. I think my brother has used both of those.”
“Well then, I’ll have to say it until you believe it. I love you, Cole.”
The sheer joy in his eyes as she said it made her tingle inside nearly as much as the sensation of his hand caressing her torso. “Say it again,” he demanded.
“I love you.”
She sighed happily as he lifted both hands to cup her breasts, and then he was nuzzling her. Licking and sucking and driving her mad as he touched her everywhere.
When he stripped her pants away and settled between her thighs, Dani was glad that her mate was a very thorough, determined wolf.
“I love you,” she repeated contentedly.
“I love everything about you,” Cole responded. “I love how soft your skin is, and I love how you smell, all peaches and cream and spice. And I love how you taste.” He lowered his head between her legs and licked, his talented tongue streaking over her clit in a way that demanded her attention. His fingers teased her, circling and thrusting, circling and thrusting as his tongue did wicked things to the sensitive parts of her sex until she squirmed.
Pressure building, heat growing, but it wasn’t just sexual pleasure, it was because it was him. Her mate.
“I love you.”
He growled. “I need you.”
She was so close to the edge already, but those words were enough to tip her toward the chasm. He moved in a blur, rising over her and replacing his fingers with his cock, and a second later he had thrust in, burying himself in her. Shoving the air from her lungs as he pushed himself so deep they were never going to be apart.
“Love…” It was the only word she could gasp as her orgasm hit, blurring her vision and tightening her body around the thick part of him joining them together.
Cole swore then increased his pace, pounding into her in a way that should have left her a ruined mess on the mattress, but instead, was perfection. Her strong shifter body was more than able to provide what he needed. To accept what he gave. Another thrust, teasing sensitive nerve endings that were already pulsing with pleasure. Another, and she was nearly hyperventilating, death-gripping his arms, sliding her nails over his back as he growled in appreciation.
She wanted this. She needed this. She caught his head and dragged his mouth to her neck. “I love you.”
Inside her bear grew very still as the wolf over her realized what she was offering. Cole set his teeth to her skin, and as he rocked forward once more, pleasure burst free, her orgasm washing over her as if she were being swept down the river. Out of control yet perfectly blissful because he was there with her, pulsing into her depths, his teeth piercing her skin and finishing their mating. Making her truly his.
The room continued to spin for a good long time. Long enough to have Cole settle his weight over her, a heavy blanket of wild passion.
He licked her shoulder, then begun to kiss her again, tiny brief kisses that he dusted over her face and neck and shoulders as if he couldn’t stop.
Dani purred. Or the bear equivalent of a purr.
Cole rolled, draping her over him before dragging the quilt from one side to cover her as best he could. “At some point I’ll stop being a damn animal when I take you.”
“I like animals. I’m kind of one myself,” Dani pointed out.
He snorted. “I suppose you are at that.”
They stared at each other cheerfully, content to be tangled together. “So now what do we do?” she asked. As long as they did it together, she really didn’t care.
Cole stroked her cheek. “Now we check out our master bathroom. Then, after we dress in some of the ninja clothing that I’m positive are waiting for us in our closet, we should go and explore our new home.”
Dani wiggled upright until her forearms rested on his chest. “You’re taking this very coolly.”
“Thirty-three years of preparation, sweetheart. I still might not know exactly what we’re doing, but we’re ready for it, you and me. We’ll figure it out as we go along.”
Which was pretty much what she’d thought as well. “Okay. And Cole? By the way.”
He paused in the middle of bringing them to vertical, a question in his eyes as he waited for her to finish.
She was never going to be done saying this. “Remember, I love you.”
Heat and happiness danced back at her. Yes, they would figure it out as they went along, but this part at least she had down pat, one hundred percent.
Epilogue
Cole took the stairs two at a time, a spring in his step he wasn’t attempting to hide. He passed a group of new recruits who all stood at attention at the sight of him, and though he had a deadline to meet, he pulled to a stop beside their head trainer, Michele.
“They’re looking very eager and determined,” he said with approval.
Michele nodded. The cat shifter had turned out to be a good instructor after she’d learned to loosen up a bit. “They were hoping to give you a demonstration sometime this week.”
Cole was already moving away, but he nodded his consent. “Contact Erika and set up an appointment. Keep up the good work everyone,” he shouted over his shoulder, dodging his way around a group of children who were rushing from the play area toward the cafeteria.
Over the last six months, the Northern Lights Retreat House had become a reality. The infrastructure Charlene had put into place had been more than sufficient once Cole had made contacts with a few key people he’d met over his “prepare and learn” years. And once he tossed a little money at it, everything had fallen into place beautifully.
His phone rang with his secretary’s tone. He chuckled over that as he pulled to a stop to answer. He had a secretary…life was so weird.
“Yo, Erika.”
“Yo, boss-man. You wanted a heads-up, so tilt your chin—the shipment you’ve been waiting on arrives tomorrow. Also, by the by, the kitchen needs an additional
chef, and the IT department says woohoo, they’ve gained access to a new satellite.”
He filed the info mentally even as he snickered. “You’re ad-libbing. The IT crew don’t say woohoo, but that’s great news. What country are we invading next?”
The young arctic fox shifter who’d become a good friend to Dani had far too much glee in her tone as she answered. “It’s a NASA Satellite, so that would be the US of A, correct?”
Life was so very weird. “Great job. Tell IT I’ll stop by this afternoon, and no aiming the Sat cameras at any nude beaches. We don’t want NASA to think kinky aliens have taken control.”
“You’re no fun,” Erika complained, but her tone said she was happy. “Give Dani a kiss from me.”
“It’s time you found a mate of your own, and stop trying to hog mine,” Cole teased, but he hung up with a grin on his face, his feet light—
Or they would have been light if not for the little fingers tangled around Cole’s leg, pinning him to the spot. One of the small cougar shifters temporarily relocated to the retreat house while their pack land was under threat from forest fires had taken advantage of his pause to wrap herself around him.
“Come for lunch,” she demanded.
He scooped up the little girl, tossing her in the air just to listen to her laugh, while her mother looked on protectively, but content in the knowledge that Cole would never hurt her little one. “I might be able to join you this afternoon for cookies, but I have to find my mate. She’s expecting me, and I shouldn’t be late, should I?”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “Princess Dani needs you.”
He stifled his snort of amusement. Dani had not been pleased when their recruits had taken up calling her princess. Once refugees started arriving, it was impossible to get them to stop. He tweaked the little girl’s nose and put her on the ground by her mom. “She does, so if you’ll excuse me, my lady.” He bowed regally as he backed away, waving to all the short little shifters bouncing up and down in the lineup for food.