by M. L. Briers
“Told ya.”She grinned, starting to take a step towards her mate, but Evan’s hand shot out and wrapped around her wrist to stop her.
“Not yet…”Evan was cautious. His Alpha could have been caught up in a bloodlust and there was no real way to tell unless he turned on his mate. By then it would be too late.
“Now what?”Dee bit out, annoyance getting the better of her to the point where she actually stomped her foot on the ground like a child.
“He may eat you…”Evan growled down at her, Pulling himself up to his full height as the pain in his ribs subsided. “While I’d probably applaud his choice right now, he’d be inconsolable when the bloodlust left him.”Evan smirked down at her as she swallowed hard, her eyes flashing with understanding as she turned her head to look to her mate.
“You’re a dick…”Dee offered out of the corner of her mouth and she heard the Beta give a slow, low chuckle.
“Just don’t tell my mate…”He shot back and she snorted her contempt for him.
“She already knows.”Dee hissed out as Aidan turned his attention towards his mate. His eyes flashed with recognition. He backed away from the kill, every muscle in his body rippled as he shifted from his wolf into human form. Gathering himself for a long moment between the transition, before he rose up from his haunches and moved quickly towards her.
“Let her go…”Aidan growled towards Evan who did as he was told.
“You’re injured…”Dee stepped towards him, but the dark glare he gave her made her stop in place.
“You deceived me…”Aidan growled out, madder than hell with his mate for what she had done.
“Not deceived…”She started, but he was already on her. His fingers wrapped around her wrist and he yanked her against him as he growled down at her.
“You asked for trust, but gave me none…”Aidan accused and he saw his mate’s guilt wash across her face and felt it rush through her body.
“It wasn’t like that…”
“It was exactly that.”He held her in place with his dark gaze as his eyes narrowed on hers.
“I was wrong to…”Dee started and he cut her off.
“Yes you were.”He growled out. Letting her go so unexpectedly that she stumbled backwards as he rounded towards the beast.
“There is Lacy’s revenge. I hope it was worth it.”He growled out as he stalked away from her into the woods.
“He’s got a little temper on him…”Dee muttered to herself as she winced at Aidan’s sudden verbal attack on her. She felt guilty, but not guilty enough to go chasing after him.
“He’ll calm down. His wolf is still at the surface.”Evan offered on a low growl. He didn’t condone what she had done, but she was Fae, he guessed they needed to get used to things not going exactly to plan around here…
Lacy found her way to the kitchen. Sleeping wasn’t an option at the moment, even with Billy dead, things were still unsettled. She was still on pack land and that was probably the most unsettling thing.
Then there was Dee. She’d recounted how the Alpha had slain Billy, and then she’d taken off to her room, leaving Evan to tell her and Tanya what had happened between Dee and Aidan… and the Alpha still hadn’t come back yet…
Tanya was hormonal and Evan was antsy, either due to Tanya being hormonal or because his Alpha had gone walkabout, either way he was like a wolf on a hot tin roof, if he burst into song or dance she was out of there.
Pushing through the door she saw the pair of male mates turn their attention towards her. Both men looked downtrodden. Both men looked like bookends at a bar, just with mugs of coffee instead of beers.
“Pouty and maudlin is not going to get either of you what you want.”Lacy couldn’t help herself. Both of her best friends were now too far gone to be saved from bonding with their mates. It was destiny and both had fallen into the mating trap. If she couldn’t save them from it, she could do the next best thing and get their mates to step up and act in their own best interests.
“Because your advice was so good the last time…”Aidan couldn’t help himself. He’d listened to Lacy and trusted Dee and it had nearly ended very badly.
Lacy ignored his jibe and shrugged her shoulders. “All I’m saying is you need to be less…”She turned on her heels and walked towards the coffee pot, not really wanting to be facing them for this one. “Male, and start talking about your feelings more.”
Aidan and Evan stared at each other across the table. Evan rolled his eyes and slouched against the back of his chair, draping an arm over it and turning his body towards the little Fae.
“How are you feeling, Evan?”Aidan piped up and Evan turned to look at his friend, the no-good glint in his eyes made Evan smile.
“Good and you, Aidan?”Evan offered back in an exaggerated burst of happiness that he wasn’t feeling.
“I’m good.”From the corner of his eye he caught Lacy turning back towards them, the coffee long since forgotten as she sighed.
“That’s good. It’s good right, Aidan?”Evan shot back and Lacy shook her head.
“It’s good, although it’s not as good as great…” Aidan watched her walk towards the kitchen door. If they wanted to act like morons she wasn’t about to waste her breath.
“No great would be good…”Evan agreed and Lacy gave a small squeal of annoyance as she reached for the kitchen door with her outstretched hand.
“Oh my god you people really are a sub species…”She bit out as she threw the door backwards and heard the loud thud of it hitting something hard, possibly harder than the wood itself, closely followed by a growl.
Lacy didn’t move, at least not her body, there was a definite grimace of her face as she watched the door being slowly pushed back towards her. Six foot odd of muscled beefcake stood in front of her holding his forehead with his free hand as his dark eyes took her in with a menacing look.
Cole went to speak, but his mouth just kind of hung open as he stared at her.
“Oh look, Lacy found Cole.” Evan chuckled and Lacy’s head spun around to the two mates.
“That’s good. Lacy, Cole, Cole, Lacy.” Aidan offered the introduction between chuckles. As he watched his other Beta take in the little Fae.
“ What does the other girl look like?” He growled out, motioning to her battered face and Lacy’s back snapped to attention. She wasn’t about to stand around and be insulted by another Lycan…
“Dead and it wasn’t a girl.”She felt the wave of heat sweep over her body as he took her in from head to toe. Her annoyance flared within her at the same time as her need to get the hell away from these people. No matter how damn good they looked, they were all damn nuts.
Cole took a step towards her and scented the air and she balked at his rudeness…
“Oh my God, Will someone call around and see which village lost their idiot?” Lacy ground out. She wouldn’t be scented like a damn lump of cheese…
Cole took another step forward and Lacy took a step backwards.
“Seriously, back off or lose the ability to sniff for a damn week…”She growled at him and saw the amusement in his eyes as he gazed down at her.
“You’re Fae…”He lifted his hand to her face, but she ducked back away from him.
“Can somebody please put the mutt outside, this one’s a little overfriendly for my liking…”She sneered up at him.
“I think you’d better get used to it.”Evan sniggered with a look of knowing towards Aidan.
Lacy heard the words, and on some far away, nightmarish level they kind of registered, but she felt as if she were dreaming, in one of those endless corridors where the door was far away and getting further the closer she tried to get.
“No-fricking-way.”Lacy swallowed down her need to throw herself face down on the floor and pound the tile with her fists…
In her addled state Cole was too fast for her. Stepping up to her and dipping his head to nestle against her neck, taking in her scent and growling his approval.
�
�Mine.’ His wolf yipped within him.
“Mine.”He growled against her ear.
Lacy’s hands slammed against his chest and she pushed back away from him. He stood like a brick wall in front of her, unmoving, but he made no attempt to hold her in place.
“That’s it. I’ve had it with you people. I’m out of here…”Lacy threw her hands up in frustration and disbelief. Turning on her heels she started for the back door, but Cole was faster. Getting to the door and barring her way just with the sheer size of his body.
“Now, let’s not rush to judgement sweetheart, you don’t even know me.”Cole looked amused. Lacy looked ready to kill.
“And that’s a good thing…”She spat out, spinning on her heels and stomping off across the kitchen towards the door. The sniggers of laughter from the other two degenerates didn’t go unnoticed in her mind…
Cole appeared in front of her again. “My grandmother used to say, less haste more speed.”
Lacy put just one hand on her hip and tipped her head to one side as she glared up at him. “My grandmother used to say, if it looks like a dog, growls like a dog, it’s bound to have fleas…”She sneered back. Before turning once more towards the back door.
“It’s like piggy in the middle…”Evan offered to Aidan and Lacy’s eyes snapped towards him.
“I’m a pig?”Lacy demanded coming to a stop in front of Evan and watching a slow smile spread over his face.
“How’s that mating thing working out for you?”Evan shot back gleefully, and Lacy all but growled down at him as her eyes shot towards her mate as he spread his hands in front of him.
“You can’t fight Fate, sweetheart.”Cole offered her and she did growl this time, long and hard as she turned on her heels and stormed towards the kitchen door.
“I’m going to my room, don’t even think of following me or you’ll be a dog without a damn bone…”She hissed out. Her palm slammed against the wood and it felt good to hit something, maybe the Lycans were onto something there. Maybe she could plant her fist in his face and feel a whole lot better? She dismissed the idea, knowing the only thing she would achieve would be broken knuckles.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“So, it’s been eventful here, how was your trip?”Evan offered Cole as if the last ten minutes hadn’t happened.
“Who did that to her face?”Cole growled out, coming to stand in front of them at the table.
“A lone wolf. He’s dead…”Aidan offered, sensing the rage within his Beta and wanting to ease his pain at the sight of his mate’s injuries.
“Who made the kill?”Cole noted Evan pointing towards Aidan and Cole bowed his head in reverence.
“I’m in your debt, Alpha.”
“It was my pleasure. Grab a coffee, sit and let’s talk about your mate.”Aidan beamed a grin at him. Anything to take his mind off the troubles with his own mate.
Aidan pushed open the door to the bedroom and noted the darkness of the room. His eyes flicked over to the chair that sat next to the window, and his mate cut a lonely figure as she sat with her legs draw up under her. Her head was turned towards the window, but he could hear from the steady beat of her heart and her breathing that she was asleep.
Aidan entered the room and closed the door behind him. Covering the distance to the bed, he pulled back the covers and turned his attention towards his mate. Strolling towards her he took a long moment to watch her sleep. He ached for her to be in his arms, warm, soft and willing as he made love to her, but he doubted she would be receptive to his advances after the row that they had.
Aidan wasn’t happy with her deceit, but he could understand it. Her desire to end the wolf herself, her need for vengeance, and the defence of her pack was ingrained within her as it was in him.
Aidan leaned down and scooped her into his arms. A moment of shock as she came awake, her body tensing for just long enough for it to register in her mind whose arm were around her, and then she stilled, caught somewhere between sleep and acceptance.
“Go back to sleep…”The deep low growl that rolled through his chest and into her soothed her, and she curled into him as he carried her towards the bed.
“I’m sorry I broke your trust in me.”Her voice was quiet against the sound of her heart beating faster now, and he could hear the sleepy tones in her voice.
“Not broken just tested.”He offered as he gently laid her against the mattress. “I’m going to shower, get some sleep.”Aidan pulled the covers over her body and turned away.
“Are you injured?”Dee’s voice broke the almost deafening silence of the room and Aidan turned back towards her.
“Healed by the moon already, and the rain washed most of the blood from my body, but I still need to clean myself…”He watched as she pushed the covers back and sat up.
“Let me help you…”
“You should get some sleep…”Aidan offered as she pulled herself to her feet.
“I should tend to my mate.”Her words caused his heart to misfire within his chest. It was the first real sign that his mate had shown of her acceptance of Lycan ways and he embraced it.
“I’d like that.”He held out his hand to her and she slipped her palm against his. The now familiar feeling of his body responding to hers swept over his skin and made him more than eager to feel more.
Dee walked with him into the bathroom. She flicked on the shower and turned towards her mate. Her hands reached for his clothes and she helped him to undress.
Uncovering his body only heightened her desire for him, but she wanted to tend to his other needs, and she didn’t know if the peace between them was still a fragile thing.
Aidan’s wounds had healed, but the angry red marks they had left behind were still in evidence. By morning they would had faded even more, and by the next moon there would be no evidence of them at all, but that didn’t stop her lifting her hand and running her fingertips over the damaged flesh.
“Do they still hurt?”Dee traced over the long lines at his ribs and felt his muscles contract beneath her touch. His hardness twitched as it stood out proud from his body, and he shook his head.
“A mild ache, like a pulling of the skin…”He watched her slowly lower her hand before he turned and stepped into the shower. Dee pulled off her top and slid out of her sweatpants. Undergarment followed in a pile on the floor before she stepped into the shower behind her mate, she reached for the gel and pumped it into her hands.
Her stomach rolled a deep dip on an imaginary rollercoaster as her hands slide over his wet skin, smoothed by the lubricant in her hands as she cleaned him. Starting at his neck and working down his shoulders and arms, his hands, and then she renewed the gel and worked down his back, revelling in the feel of his hard muscles as they tensed and released beneath her touch.
When she reached his backside she couldn’t help the smile that touched her lips. She was more than grateful for the excuse of cleaning him to be able to make such a detailed physical inspection of his body.
When her fingers ran down the crack between the hard muscles of his backside she saw him palm the wall in front of him with one hand, and heard the low growl that rolled through him.
There was no way in hell that either of them couldn’t be affected by her touch on his body. They could have been screaming bloody murder at each other and yet physically they would still be on the mating page.
Dee took her fill of the gel and crouched to run her hands down the thick muscles of his thighs to his ankles, front and back she worked her way back up, and when her hand brushed against his balls, she heard the harder growl that tore from his lips, as a second hand joined the first against the wall.
The excitement spiked inside her as she eagerly reached for more gel and reached under his outstretched arms for the gloriously muscled chest and abdomen.
Slowly working her way down his body, the back of her hand brushed against his erection and she felt every muscle within him tense. Her fingers were just as eager as the rest of her body to to
uch him, as she closed her fist around the heat of his shaft and stroked down, cupping his balls with her other hand as he dropped his head forward and tried against the odds to keep himself in check.
His mate was cleansing him, he reminded himself, it wasn’t an invitation, although the way she was working over his arousal it damn well felt like it.
The sound of a howl pierced the air and made both of them jump in place. It was more a roar, and Dee tensed around him, unsure of what had happened.
“Evan and Tanya just bonded.”Aidan offered the explanation to sooth his mate’s worries, and he felt her immediately relax against him.
“Sounds like a plan.”Dee whispered against his back as she stroked down his shaft and back up, twisting her hand and leaving him in no doubt that her touch was sexual.
Aidan knocked her hand away and spun in place. Reaching out he wrapped an arm around her waist and dragged her against the length of his body. Staring down at her with dark eyes, he searched for her emotions and found them. Desire showed on her face and in her body, need mixed with want, and she ran her hands up and over his chest, resting her palms against his shoulders as she stared back into his eyes.
“You mean that don’t you?”His growl was deeper, harder, and more feral than before, and it called to the mate within her.
“Problem?”She asked the question lightly, and yet she held her breath for his answer, half expecting him to deny her because of what had happened earlier.
Aidan gave her the answer the only way he knew how. His voice was lost somewhere deep within him, so he dipped his head and claimed her lips, hard and fast, and full of passion, and yet somehow so gentle that they felt like silk brushing over them.
Aidan’s tongue swept over hers as his hands ran down her back and he palmed the cheeks of her backside, lifting her easily against his body and revelling in the feel of her legs when she wrapped them around his hips as he turned her back towards the wall.