Ethan took in the fresh mountain air, this might be his last breath. The way she glared at him wasn’t promising. His mom lived on the pack land all the time, and he would too, someday. When he finally found his mate. His wolf stirred, he needed the balance. The calm to his storm. He needed a woman strong enough to handle him and pack politics. He needed a woman that didn’t seem to exist, until now. But, fuck him. What if she couldn’t handle the pack?
A whimper caught their attention, and they turned to see Amelia in wolf form sitting on her hind legs.
“Amelia? Put the bunny down. You’re going to ruin your dinner again,” said Ethan.
“Oh shush, Ethan. The child is following instinct. Look at her. She’s a natural. Besides, that damn thing has eaten most of my carrots.” His mother smiled and held out a hand. “That’s a good girl. You’re just helping out granny, aren’t you? Not like this useless father of yours.”
“Now, let’s go inside so your daddy and I can talk.” She looked at him. “There are ears everywhere.”
Ethan got up and followed. His knees weak and his heart skittering. His mom’s wrath was not a good thing. He’d only ever been on the receiving end one other time. The day he’d been blackmailed.
“Sometimes mom, I really don’t think you love me at all,” he said, trying to lighten her mood. “And we talked about treating Amelia like a house pet. Stop petting her mom, she doesn’t need to be encouraged right now. I gave you a grandbaby, didn’t I? Hardly useless.”
They entered the house, and both disappeared around the corner while Ethan took up perch in the kitchen. His mom would come back, and he needed to be ready to hear the truth. She was his voice of reason most of the time. Ever since he had to figure out how to be an alpha.
His thoughts stopped wandering as his mother walked in.
“Alright young man. Why won’t you just embrace yourself? That wolf of yours is going to get mighty impatient if you don’t shape up. And, I meant for you to give me a whole litter of grandbabies, but I assumed you understood I wanted that with your soulmate. I failed as a mother. Now, maybe I can fix my errors with Amelia. She’ll be a good Beta someday.”
Ethan’s hackles rose. “I don’t see why she can’t be an Alpha. She comes from a long line of Alphas.”
Shaking her head, his mother tsked. “Ethan my dear, perhaps you should start by being a good role model.”
He winced. “I’m trying. Everything I’ve ever done was to help. I’m trying.”
He leaned against the counter, his hands gripping the ledge on either side of him. “You didn’t mess up. I finally know what you meant. And this time, I picked a strong woman. Even Amelia’s mom, she’s a strong wolf and how was I to know she despised her life? I hate having to go outside the pack, but now with everything going on, I’m forced to. We need to be stronger. Granted,” his voice fell. “I really screwed up this time. She wasn’t even a shifter. “
“Alright. We will straighten this all out, and by straighten, I mean you are going to go win this woman over before she realizes what you did.” His mother paused mid-stride. “Or does she already know, and I need to send out a search party? Or worse yet, is she out for your hide?”
His eyes cast down sheepishly. “She doesn’t know. From what I can tell. I’m not getting all her thoughts yet, the connection is too new. She hasn’t shifted. She’s strong though. I need to figure out how to get on her good side before she shifts and freaks out.”
A loud laugh he hadn’t heard since before his father’s death came from his mom. “Oh dear boy, this is the worst mess yet. The only good thing is that she can’t deny you. Fate is fate. She will want you regardless if she hates your guts. In wolf form though, she’d be drawn to the pack. You make sure you get to her before the next full moon. It’s rare for a newly bitten mate to turn, but with you my dear boy, you generally have the worst luck.
“I have been a plague to this pack. Maybe I should just go rogue.”
“Bite your tongue. You are a good alpha, but you won’t be whole until you get her here. You need a strong woman, but she needs to be your opposite as well. You need her to calm the pack, to be the balance. Ever since your father was murdered, there’s been so much unrest.”
A whiff of fresh coffee permeated the air as he watched his mom start a pot.
He closed his eyes trying to focus on the here and now. He couldn’t go back. His father had died because of him because he’d made the wrong decision. Peace. What was peace exactly?
“Ethan. Look at me. You are a good boy. You need to believe that,” she said, turning to look at him. “Don’t you doubt that. Your heart was in the right place when you tried to mate the daughter of that horrible, horrible alpha. You can’t beat yourself up for your father’s death. I know what you wanted to happen.”
Ethan bit back the churning in his gut and opened his eyes. He was a serious fuck up.
“Yeah? Why didn’t you tell me it was a terrible idea? That pack seems more pissed than ever now. I still don’t doubt she will come back for Amelia. I know Amelia was her bargaining chip for her freedom, but what mom leaves? That’s not a wolf thing. She’ll come back, and then I have one more pissed off shifter to appease. Let’s just start handing out numbers.”
His mom’s strong arms wrapped around him and he let her. The warmth of her hug was a healing touch that only a mom could have, but it wasn’t the touch he needed. Habit had him wrapping his arms around her. Looking down at her head, he caught himself thinking that she looked smaller.
Lines he swore hadn’t been there three years ago seemed to have sprouted like a million rivers of tears. His mom had made it through the mess of his father’s demise, but not as unscathed as he thought.
“I’ll fix it all. Have you heard from Brody or Wes?”
Her eyes softened.
“Yes. They were just by the other day. Your brothers have been careful about keeping their distance from that pack while still keeping a good eye on them. They came by earlier and asked you to meet them at the ravine tonight. Now enough chit chat. Amelia is only little once. Go spend the rest of the evening with her, and we will fix your issue tomorrow. Then you can fix this pack.”
Chapter 7
“Livi, what did you change?” Bridgette asked. Icing caked her mouth.
“You have a little something, well everywhere,” Olivia said, holding in a laugh.
“These are amazing. Not that you haven’t always been great at baking, but this is something out of this world,” Bridgette said.
Olivia shrugged, eying the rows and rows of new flavors she’d spent all night baking. One idea after another had invaded her sleep until she couldn’t take it anymore and went to work.
“Mm,” said Bridgette as she bit into another. “No Livi, I don’t know what has gotten into you, but these are going to get us noticed. It’s almost like I can feel the flavor. This one.” Bridgette grabbed at a blue iced cupcake of edible art and bit in. She chewed, her eyes closing.
“It’s like I can actually feel the ocean breeze and taste the salt of the ocean. And this one.” She picked up a bright pink cupcake and bit into it. “Oh my God. It’s like an orgasm. This one needs to be rated X and hidden behind some damn curtains.”
Olivia’s face heated. That flavor might have been created somewhere between wanting to have sex on a beach and finding a cupcake that would calm her ass down. She darted from one surface to the other, all colored in a different shade of the rainbow. Perhaps she’d gone a little crazy.
“I think it’s time to get these out front into the cases. After I finish this one.”
Bridgette shoved in the last of the orgasm in a paper cup. “Oh God,” she said, around chewed cake.
Olivia threw her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle the hysterical laughter. “Do you and the cupcake need a room?”
The two laughed. “You have no idea how long it’s been since someone touched that spot and I don’t mean my va-jay-jay. I mean actually figured out how to give
me a damn orgasm. I have a better relationship with my vibrator than I do with the current warlock. Granted, if I take this little pink flavor of the week with me...”
Olivia watched her eye the cupcake.
“Do you think he’d notice if I were eating a cupcake while he did his thing?”
Olivia’s eyes widened. “Bridgette! That’s awful. Just get rid of him. Believe me. There are men out there that can give you the most amazing pleasure by simply whispering your name.” Her body shivered as she remembered the tickle of Ethan’s breath across her collarbone as he worked her like he had a map of every erogenous zone within her. In her mind, she swore she could hear him calling her.
Bridgette paused, filling a tray with cupcakes to place out front.
“Are shifters really that good? You still haven’t told me.”
Olivia squirmed. “I don’t know if it’s instinct or what, but well,” she paused. “It really was the best sex I’ve ever had. It beat out my imagination. He ruined me for every other man out there.” That thought sucked. What if he didn’t come to her? Heck with that. She’d hunt him down. Deep within her a growing need to find him boiled. It’s as if she’d been a shell and he was the catalyst to her soul.
“Stop fantasizing while I’m standing here. I'm taking these damn pink cupcakes and hiding them,” Bridgette said.
They both laughed.
“Alright. Hold that thought. Cupcakes in the case. Then you are spilling the beans. I can’t believe you. Sex in an alley and suddenly your magic is amazing. Maybe you’re part succubus or something?” said Bridgette.
Olivia paused, brow furrowed. “I doubt that. My mother would have said something, she hates my dad right now anyway. She really would have said something.”
With a knowing look, Bridgette headed out front, Olivia trailing after.
The clean gray and lilac of the storefront welcomed them. Olivia breathed in and realized she could catch new scents, not just the cake batter and frosting that surrounded her all day.
The fresh paint smell still lingered. This was her bakery now, and she’d finally claimed it. A tingle of satisfaction ran up her. She’d claimed it. That felt right. This was her territory, and no one was going to take it.
“These cupcakes need special names. I’m going to take one for the team and try each and everyone one. I’ll have names printed and out here shortly. Oh, and seriously, keep the pink ones for adults only. You might want to make something for the kids.”
Olivia shook her head. She was okay. No, she was better than okay. This was a whole new her. How in the heck had she not had sex in an alley before? If that’s all she needed to awaken the magic in her. No one ever said sex could be the key.
Humming to herself she gently placed each flavor into rows like happy little children lining up for school.
The front door dinged, and she stood up.
Out of habit, she greeted the customers. “Welcome. How can I help you today?” Taken aback, she took a step towards the register.
She scanned each guy, floor to ceiling. Not her standard clients for sure. She sucked in the air identifying them as shifters by scent before her brain caught up with what she’d just done.
“You all seem familiar. Have we met?” she asked.
They glanced at each other before one approached, the largest of the group.
“No. We haven’t. And that would be why we are here.”
Okay.
“Sure. Wait what?”
“My mother mentioned that our brother had finally found his mate and needed a little help.” He leaned over the counter, his eyes flashing between gold and human brown. She didn’t back away instead, she reared up in an attempt to make her five-foot-five inches more than they were.
“I have no idea what you are talking about, but if you want a cupcake, we have all new flavors.”
He didn’t turn away. “I don’t think our Alpha needs any help. His scent is all over you. We followed the scent from the firehouse. He wouldn't tell us who you were, and we can’t figure out why.”
“I’m Brody. Guess we should get introductions out of the way.”
Why do I care?
“Okay. You seem nice Brody, but I have no idea what the heck you are talking about. Smell like what? I smell like a damn cupcake. Again, if you want one I am happy to give out samples. I hear the pink ones have quite the kick.”
Another one of the guys stepped forward.
Big. They were all big, like Ethan.
Slow and steady, her brain worked the pieces.
“I’m Wes. We’re Ethan’s brothers, part of his pack. And you have a very odd way of greeting your pack. Making us come to you.”
“I’m sorry. What?” A soft, sticky substance squished in her hand before she realized she’d crushed one of her new creations.
“Uh oh,” said one of the others from the back.
“What’s your name? Mom didn’t say,” Wes asked.
She ground her molars. “Olivia. Who is mom and why does she care? What the hell do you mean by my pack?”
They all froze. “Can I see your shoulder?”
She cocked her head. “That’s a really odd question.” Pulling aside the neck of her simple yellow cotton tee, she let the shifter see.
His eyes grew wider as they flicked from her shoulder to her face and back again.
“You really have no idea?” asked the one who called himself Brody.
Alarm bells went off as she watched their eyes go to her shoulder. It had been a bruise, a little-puckered skin, but a bruise nonetheless. She still couldn’t recall what the hell it was from exactly. That all being said, she slowly turned her head away from the linebackers in front of her.
The bruising nearly healed, a new light pink crescent was visible. Her eyes followed the circle, her index finger reaching out from her opposite hand as the other kept her shirt pulled away.
“What does that even mean?”
Wes nudged Brody. “Well, that is a mark. Shifters have to bite their mates while at the height of mating. Sex. It’s the way we bind ourselves to our mates.”
“What!” she shouted.
The men all backed up.
“Get it off. I am not anyone’s mate! I am a witch. I'm supposed to marry a warlock.”
A few chuckles pissed her off further.
“What’s so damn funny?”
Wes chocked down his humor. “You can’t get it off. It’s for life. And it's rare to have non-shifters, but it’s happened. We figured you knew. Unless our brother is that shitty in bed.”
Cupcake smeared along her shirt as she released the neckline.
She didn't speak.
"You accepted him, didn't you?"
"You're marked. You had to accept him," said one of the others.
“Excuse me.” She stomped around the counter. “Bridgette, you're in charge,” she shouted to the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” asked one of the shifters.
“To deal with my damn mate. He’s at the firehouse, right?” She didn’t even know why she knew that some kind of shitty otherworldly GPS or something most likely, because she didn’t bother waiting for an answer as she stormed out.
The large garage doors of the station were open, and she took the liberty of marching in past several curious eyes. She could feel him, and knew exactly where he was. Hurricane Olivia was heading straight for the target.
Her footsteps echoed off the walls of the hallways.
That son of a bitch.
She turned at the top of the landing and found herself sniffing the air. Yeah, it was odd, but at this point, she didn’t care. She could smell him. The scent of soap mixing with his musk.
Following her instinct, she slammed her palm against the door separating her from him and flung it open.
“Ethan, what did you do?” she growled.
His familiar head peaked around the shower curtain.
“Hi Olivia,” he said, his voice an octave higher than she remembered.<
br />
“Don’t you hi me. You're a jackass. Who the hell marries someone they just met?” She stepped in as a stall door opened to her right.
Her eyes didn’t leave the shower.
“I’ll just leave you two,” said the voice.
Her peripheral vision caught movement and ignored it.
“I can explain. Let me get out of the shower.”
She crossed her arms and stood her ground. His head disappeared behind the curtain just to reappear.
“So, you plan to stay there then?” Ethan asked.
A wild heat crawled along her body. “I’m pretty sure that I’m prepared to see little Ethan in all his glory. Just get your ass out here and explain this.”
She yanked aside her collar, baring the mark again.
“Yeah. Okay.” He poked his head back in, and the water turned off.
His arm darted out, and he grabbed the towel on a hook next to the shower stall.
Pulling aside the curtain she noticed a scowl. Apparently, he didn’t like being called out.
“I don’t see why you’re the one that looks all dejected. I’m the one who’s married and can’t get a damn divorce.”
He ran a hand through his wet hair.
The muscles of his arm flexed at the motion and her eyes couldn’t turn away from his bare chest.
The muscles between her legs contracted. Her body tingled as she took him in, the proximity to Ethan making breathing hard. She gasped.
“I can explain,” he said.
The words reached her ears, but her body was on autopilot. Fisting her hands into her apron, her brain wrestled with the ache to run her tongue along the ridges of his peeks, around his nipples, tracing the lines of his abs to his navel.
Oh hell. She was not ready to see Ethan in all his glory.
“Look Olivia. I’m sorry.” The edge of his deep voice traveling straight down a nerve to her core.
Oh, God.
“I lost control. Well, the wolf took control. We’re the alpha, and we need our beta. I’ve screwed things up so bad lately; he doesn’t trust me. And-”
She cut off his rambling with a kiss. He tasted so good. This was the flavor she’d tried to recreate in the kitchen. The deep taste of male.
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