Her heart skipped a beat. Her mate was there, all right.
And he wasn’t alone.
The blonde with him was curvy, with bright blue eyes and a smile that would send strong men to their knees. She was laughing at something Steve had said, her head back, the throaty sound causing more than one male gaze to flitter her way. For a split second, Chela imagined taking that wealth of blonde hair and holding on to it while she cut her damn head off and played soccer with it.
Then she did the smart thing and opened her senses, using her Omega power to see how her mate felt about the blonde.
Affection was the first emotion to assault her, and she nearly cried out in pain until she realized that the affection was similar to what he felt around Ben and, to a lesser extent, Dave. This woman was close to him, yes, but not a lover. The woman’s emotions filled her as well, the closeness a friendly one rather than romantic. This woman was no rival.
Chela could breathe again.
She sauntered toward the table, determined to be introduced to the young woman having lunch with her mate.
A whiff of something strange, something shifter, caught her attention. It wasn’t long before she realized it came from the laughing blonde. What was that? She hadn’t scented it before, but they’d been really isolated before Rick came. Dave had even taken online college courses rather than attended college the way he’d hoped to.
There was something vaguely feline about that scent. Cheetah, maybe? It wasn’t Puma, the only really feline scent she was familiar with, but it had the same warm undertones that the Luna scent did.
“Graciela.” She stopped trying to figure out what the scent was, only to find she’d reached her mate’s table. He was smiling up at her with warmth she hadn’t dared hope to see before the mating instincts kicked in. He stood, offering her a short, sweet kiss and taking hold of her hand. “How has your day been?”
She smiled. “Pretty good. Better, now that I found you.”
His answering smile was almost as happy as she was certain hers was. Her cheeks felt hot, but inside she was dancing with glee. “You want to join us? We haven’t ordered yet. Charlie just arrived.”
The blonde wiggled her fingers hello. “Charlene Lowe, but everyone calls me Charlie.”
Chela stilled. Lowe? Smelling like a feline? Oh, shit. She wondered if Rick was aware a feline Lowe was in his restaurant. “Um. Hi.”
Charlie rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Please don’t do that. It’s why I told Dave not to tell anyone who I was until I after got here.”
Steve looked back and forth between them, the bubbly happiness he’d felt the moment he spotted her disappearing. “What’s going on?”
Chela took a seat with a sigh. “Lowe is the family name of the…” She glanced around the restaurant at the humans eating their meals. “The CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Foundation.”
The shifter Senate ran a legal corporation headed by the Leo, the ruler of the American shifters. It was a charitable organization that was mostly concerned with the conservation of endangered species. They only accepted donations from shifters, so they didn’t fall under public scrutiny. The Wildlife Conservation Foundation did a lot of good, helping to repopulate the wolves in Yellowstone National Park and giving the big cats born in the United States a safe environment to live in. She’d heard that there were more tigers living in the United States than any other place in the world, and the WCF helped to take care of them.
Wariness spiked through Charlie, but her gaze was remarkably bland. “He’s my brother.”
“Oh.” Chela felt faint. She was sitting at the table with the sister of the Leo himself. She’d pictured playing soccer with the woman’s severed head.
She was so dead it wasn’t even funny.
“He’s a pain in my ass.”
Steve chuckled. He had no idea who he was sitting across from, but Chela would make sure he found out as soon as it was safe to do so. “Do tell.”
“He thinks that because he runs a huge corporation he gets to tell me what to do.” Charlie sniffed disdainfully. “As if.”
Chela tried to relax, but the fact that the Leo could show up looking for his errant sister had her shaking in her shoes. “Why are you here?”
Charlie actually sagged in her seat. “I’m here to visit Dave, get a job—”
Oh shit.
“—and be just a normal, everyday girl, preferably in that order.”
That was good, because Chela didn’t think she could treat the fucking sister of the fucking Leo like an ordinary girl.
Charlie eyed her. “Relax, little puppy. I don’t bite.” She winked. “Much.”
“Graciela? What’s wrong?”
Steve’s concern was ratcheting up by the minute, as well as a low, simmering protectiveness that soothed her, let her feel safe. She leaned toward her mate and whispered in his ear, softer than she would have if he had still been fully human. “Her brother is the Leo, the ruler of all the shifters.”
He sat back and blinked blandly at Charlie. “Oh. That must suck monkey balls.”
Charlie nearly spewed out the sip of water she’d just taken. “Oh, I like you.”
“Not too much,” Chela muttered. Sister of the Leo or not, she’d still rip her head off if Charlie made a move toward Chela’s mate.
Charlie’s brows rose. “He’s a bow-wow? I didn’t smell anything.” She stared at Steve for a moment, her gaze turning sly. “Oh. You’re so new you still squeak.” She grinned at Chela. “Mates?”
Chela nodded.
“Congratulations.”
Steve’s brows were practically in his hairline. “Bow-wow?”
Charlie made a sound remarkably like Blue from Blue’s Clues, and both Steve and Chela laughed.
“What job are you here for?” Chela was feeling more and more comfortable around the Lion, even more so when she felt the good humor in the feline.
“I heard Dave and someone named Belle need a second-in-command to help with the event planning.” She flipped her blonde hair behind her shoulder. “Partying is my thing.”
Chela bit her lip. “You haven’t met Belle yet, have you?”
The spike of unease told her the Lion wasn’t nearly as calm about all this as she appeared. She genuinely wanted to be here, wanted the assistant’s position. Odd, when among their kind she was considered almost royalty. “Not yet.” She dropped the party-girl persona. “Any advice?”
“Be yourself. Belle will see through bullshit faster than Superman through a brick wall. Trust me. Belle doesn’t mind someone who likes to play, but when she’s talking business you’d better be on the ball.” Belle ran a tight ship in the restaurant, and its reputation had grown as a result.
“That’s what Dave said when I told him I wanted to apply.” Charlie grinned. “We’ve been friends for years.”
“You think it’s a good idea to work with friends?” Steve’s tone wasn’t judgmental, merely curious.
Charlie tilted her head, a slight frown on her forehead. Chela could sense her confusion. Lions might not live in Packs, but they did live in Prides, and the dynamics were similar. Charlie would have an even easier time fitting in than Steve would. “You don’t?”
“Packs are family, Steve.” Chela kept her voice low. No one but Pack should hear what she was saying now. Most shifters did their best to speak about the shifter world in business terms, something the humans around them wouldn’t think twice about. But Steve was still so new he might not understand unless it was stated bluntly. “We’re friends, brothers, sisters, annoying older cousins who steal your dresses and stretch out the ass so you can’t wear it anymore, then ask for it as a cheap gift.”
Steve patted her hand. “That makes things much clearer. Thanks.”
She smiled and kissed his cheek. “You’re welcome, dear.”
Chapter Seven
Steve was damn near hyperventilating as he stared at himself in the mirror.
Right into his golden-brown eyes.
> Steve’s eyes were blue, not brown. Perfectly normal, human, blue eyes.
Not golden-brown wolf eyes.
Fuck. He wasn’t ready yet. Couldn’t the stupid change wait a day or two? Or four?
“Graciela?” He cleared his throat as the raspy squeak left his mouth. “Graciela!”
“Hmm?”
Oh, God. That sleepy rumble had him nearly stumbling back to the bed. She’d moved him into her cabin right after the mating bite, informing him that now they were mated he needed to be close to her. He’d be changing soon, she said, and…
And…
He whimpered as he looked down at his hands.
He had fur between his fingers.
“Graciela!”
He heard her fall out of bed. “Steve?”
“I’m fuckin’ furry!”
She stumbled to a halt in the bathroom doorway, taking in his appearance quickly. A sexy, satisfied grin flitted across her face as she leaned against the doorjamb.
He snarled at her. “You don’t have to look so happy about it.” He knew, intellectually, that he was going to become…like her, but he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon. It was only two days until Ben and Dave’s wedding, three until Christmas, and here he was, all fuzzified and freaked out.
“Get naked.”
He blinked. “Now?” She wanted to make love now?
She laughed, her whole face lighting up. “Perv. No. If you change in your clothes, it can hurt you. You’ll get all tangled up as your limbs change and you go down on all fours.” She waggled her brows. “And you know how much I love you on all fours.”
He rolled his eyes and turned back to the mirror, jumping as he realized he had fangs. He pulled back his upper lip, staring at the white, pointy teeth that looked so foreign in his mouth. “I’m too old to be Teen Wolf.”
She snickered, pulling off the nightshirt she’d thrown on before falling asleep in his arms the night before. Underneath, she was gloriously naked, nearly distracting him from the fact that fur was beginning to sprout on his arms. “You’re going to be golden, amorcito.” She stroked her hand over his T-shirt, his muscles bunching involuntarily under her fingertips. “We need to get you outside.”
“Naked.”
“Yup.”
“In the snow.”
Her grin was pure evil. “Yup.”
“I hate you so much right now.” Steve tore the T-shirt over his head with a frustrated growl.
“Get naked, amorcito. Trust me, it will be worth it.” Then his—girlfriend? Mate? Possible love of his life?—sauntered out of the bathroom, wiggling her hips like a siren luring her prey.
His pants practically flew off as the creature inside him urged him to go after her.
The wolf wanted her too.
“Come on, amorcito. I’m waiting.”
That seductive, slightly accented purr was enough to spur him on. The woman was going to be the death of him. He darted after her, following her laughter out the front door of the cabin—
“COLD!”
He was back inside the cabin before he could blink, shivering and wondering if this was the last he’d ever see of Little Steve, who was pretty pissed at him right about then. And Graciela, naked and glorious, was laughing her very fine ass off at him.
“It’s not funny!”
“You…” She laughed again, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to catch her breath. “Your feet didn’t even touch the ground.”
He shivered as a particularly vicious breeze blew through the door. “I have not, nor have I ever wished to, join the Polar Bear Club.”
She wiped a tear away from the corner of her eye. “Your fur will keep you warm, I swear.”
“Yeah, well, I ain’t furry yet.” His teeth started to chatter, which felt really fucking odd with fangs.
“Do yourself a favor. Relax and let the change flow over you. It’s coming, whether you like it or not.”
Wonderful. He winced as he caught a glimpse of more fur sprouting on his arms.
Graciela grinned. “There you go. Don’t fight it, amorcito. God, you’re going to be a beautiful wolf, all golden and red.”
He grunted, the sensations rocking through him almost too much to bear.
“Close your eyes and scent the wind. Can you smell that? The new snow, the other Wolves, all waiting for you to run with them.”
He could. He smelled exactly what she described. “There’s a Lion, isn’t there?” The scent, familiar yet different from the others, was…Charlie?
“Yes, you’re right. You’re smelling Charlie.”
She sounded delighted, but he still couldn’t believe this was happening to him.
“Our Pack is waiting. Change, amorcito. Change, and let’s run together.”
He didn’t even feel the freezing cold anymore as his skin rippled, flowing over muscle and bone. Electricity danced along nerve endings that were abruptly in different places. His paws hit the wooden deck with a thump as he fell to all fours, his ears twitching as he caught the sound of other Wolves running for Graciela’s cabin.
He ran out the door to put himself between her and danger, snarling as the first Wolf approached.
No one would lay a paw on his mate.
Then a massive red wolf approached, growling, his teeth bared. Steve instinctively lowered his own head, bowing before the Alpha Wolf and baring his throat.
The Alpha knocked him on his side and Steve whimpered, wondering if this was how it would all end.
The Alpha’s teeth were at his throat, the sharp fangs digging in until he could feel them through coat and undercoat. Steve held perfectly still, instinctively giving in to his Alpha, his human half reminding him that Rick Lowell wouldn’t hurt him without good reason.
Snarling at the Alpha Wolf might be good reason.
The Alpha held him pinned only by his throat for a few moments before releasing him. With a quick swipe of his tongue across Steve’s muzzle, he signified his approval, and the Wolf in Steven danced with joy. He’d been accepted into the Pack, and the full meaning of that flowed over him as his Alpha spoke to him in his mind for the first time.
“C’mon, pup. Let’s run.”
Steven followed the rest of his Pack into the woods behind Graciela’s cabin, his mate right by his side.
“You did it!” Chela leapt into Steve’s arms, giggling like mad. Her mate had run with the Pack, had been accepted by all of them. After their run they’d scampered back to their cabin, not changing until they were inside.
There was only one thing that could make her happier.
He grabbed hold of her ass, his blue eyes slowly turning golden brown. “You’re naked.”
She returned the favor, squeezing the firm globes. “So are you.”
His eyes shut for a moment. “I have the strangest urge to bite you.”
Chela moaned. “Oh fuck, please do.”
When his eyes opened, they’d turned completely, his Wolf close to the surface. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Chela licked the mark she’d left on his neck, smiling when he shivered. The mark would forever be a hot spot. “Trust me. You won’t hurt me.”
He buried his face in her neck and breathed deep. “You smell so good.”
“Mm-hm.” At this rate they wouldn’t make it to the bedroom. She’d drag him down to the floor and—
Oh. Oh, fuck.
Chela cried out as Steve bit her, marking her as his. The orgasm ripped through her, shattered her before his touch brought her back together, forever his.
She snarled, aware her own eyes had changed as the colors around her changed, went golden. Before she could do anything more than growl, Steve had her up against the wall.
She whimpered as her mate went wild, sucking and licking at the bite mark on her neck until she screamed for something, anything to make her come. The broken Spanish she’d been reduced to only seemed to spur him on as he sucked up another mark right on top of the mating one.
But he didn’t sink his fangs into her again, didn’t grant her that last little bit that would shove her over the edge. Instead, he tugged on her, twisting until they were both on the floor, his head between her thighs and his cock nudging her lips. She took him in, the salty flavor of her mate exploding on her tongue.
He groaned and began returning the favor, licking and sucking on her clit until she finally, finally tumbled over the edge. She shook under him, barely coherent enough to keep sucking on him, letting him feel her moans on his engorged flesh.
“More.” Steve rolled them to their sides, groaning when his cock slipped from between her lips. “More, Graciela.”
She licked the tip of his cock.
“Please.” He followed up on that pleading demand by lifting her leg and sucking her clit back into his mouth and humming.
Chela damn near came again. Who knew a man could give a woman a hummer?
She took him back into her mouth, savoring the feel of him throbbing on her tongue, her lips wrapped tight around him. He thrust into her mouth, careful even now, when he was damn near feral, not to hurt her.
Soon it wasn’t enough to taste him, to feel his tongue on her. She needed him inside her, to feel her mate pounding into her again. She pulled free of his grasp, ignoring his disappointed sigh.
She had plans.
She tugged until he rolled over onto his back, straddling his hips with a wicked grin. “Aw, amorcito. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this.” She reached between her legs and stroked his cock.
When he grinned, she knew his wolf had almost complete control. His fangs were fully extended, his eyes glowing. “I’ve got this.”
Before she knew it he’d flipped them, pushing her onto her stomach and lifting her ass into the air. She whimpered as he blanketed her, his chin resting right on the mating mark, his cock half inside her. “Good?”
She opened her senses, allowing his arousal to wash over her. “Fuck me.”
“My pleasure.”
The twin sensations almost undid her. The feel of him sliding into her, the thickness of him spreading her wide and the slick heat of her own pussy clamping down on him filled her. She cried out as he began a punishing rhythm, pounding into her with a ferocity that would have frightened her if she hadn’t been inside his head.
Mr. Red Riding Hoode pp-2 Page 7