by Crissy Smith
“Yes, Gray, I want you forever. I know I have to let you go, but I wish I could hold onto you,” she confessed.
“Beth…” He moaned her name like he was in pain.
He started to move again, to pound deep inside, filling her like no one else, pushing her to the edge.
“My Beth!” he called out, plunging his hips faster and harder.
She tightened her legs and met him stroke for stroke. “Yes, yours,” she egged him on.
God, no one ever… It was so good… She needed more… “Gray!” She screamed his name as she climaxed.
“Mine, mine, mine,” he chanted, pounding into her over and over. “Mine!” he growled out and exploded inside her.
She hung on as he filled her with his seed, wishing she could keep it inside her for the rest of the night. He shook while he came down, moving his hips slowly once again, never pulling out.
“Not done,” he told her and smacked off the water. He hefted her up higher in his arms and pushed open the stall door.
They only made it as far as the bathroom rug before he laid her back and, still hard inside her, started to thrust once again.
“Look at me. Show me,” he demanded.
She locked her gaze with his, grabbed his lower arms, and gave herself over completely. His eyes glowed and she could feel the power pouring off him.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she chanted.
He snarled, threw his head back, teeth elongated as his wolf pushed to the surface. “Mine.”
“Yes!” she yelled as she came once again.
He growled and slammed into her once, twice, then one last time before releasing again himself. He collapsed on top of her, his panting matching hers and filling the small room.
“Don’t let me go,” he breathed out.
“No, no, I won’t,” she promised, hugging him close.
Beth didn’t know how long they lay on the floor but finally she started to shiver and Gray lifted his head.
“That was intense,” he said, looking a little sheepish.
She giggled. “That was awesome.”
He dipped his head and kissed her gently. “You are amazing.”
She hummed, kissing him back. As long as he thought so, she was happy. Once they had broken their lip lock, he stood, lifting her with him and towelling her off before drying himself.
She loved the attention he paid to her, making her feel so cared for. He was a strong man. A wolf who could have come in and tried to take over the town like the others. Instead he had worked with her family and other shifters for a Prince who wasn’t even his species. She was so proud that he had chosen her. But she was still scared that he would have to leave—that what had been said in the shower had been all passion and not reality. She had known before she’d even joined him in the shower that he was it for her. She was in love with him.
Once dressed, they sat on the bed together while he held her hand, both not sure what to say.
“Beth…” he started but paused, pressing his lips together.
“It’s okay, Gray,” she assured him. She didn’t want to hear him say that he had to leave.
He shook his head. “I have to call my Alpha. Give him an update on what happened and have him pull the other wolves from the search.”
“Oh,” she said, confused. Not what she had thought he was trying to say.
He squeezed her hand. “When I call him, I want to tell him I’m not coming back right away. That I might not come back at all.”
He didn’t look at her when he made the announcement. She dropped down in front of him to make sure she was really hearing the words.
“Say that again,” she asked, holding onto his knees.
He blinked and met her eyes. “I want to stay here. I know it’s only been a couple of days, so I can give you time. Stay here at the inn and maybe take you on a couple of dates. To get to know you better and let you get to know me.”
“You want to stay? You want to date me?” she repeated.
He snorted. “Well, actually I want to mate you and make you mine. Become a family with you—your mate, a nephew to Toby, a brother-in-law to Dawson and Casey, and someday a parent with you.”
Tears filled her eyes but she held them back…barely. “Mate me?”
He nodded, never looking away. “Twice almost did already. Last night and again just now. I would never do that without your permission, but yes, in the long run I want to be your mate.”
“Gray,” she cried, her tears spilling down her cheeks.
“I have no idea how it would work. If we can even mate being two different species. But you told me that we were more human than animal. I have to believe you. And the thing is, both the human part of me and the wolf want you. You and your bobcat.”
“Oh God!” she sobbed. It was everything she wanted. More than she had allowed herself to hope for.
“I don’t know what is going to happen but I know I want you,” he told her, sliding down the bed and kneeling just as she was.
“Yes, please, Gray. I will love you forever. I’ll be the best mate. Stay with me!” she begged, so happy that her words tumbled out without thought. “I love you.”
He yanked her to him, hugging her hard. “Thank God,” he said over and over into her ear. “Thank God.”
The shrill sound of a cell phone interrupted their moment.
“That’s Tyler,” he told her, letting go. “Stay with me?”
She nodded and moved into his lap, and he reached for the phone on the nightstand.
He held her tight as he answered. “Hey, Tyler.”
“Gray, are you okay?” his Alpha asked.
Beth rested her head against his chest, hearing both sides of the conversation easily.
“I’m good, man. You can let the others know that it’s over for us. We captured twelve men. Casey Williams said they would be leaving soon to gather up the other men that were involved.”
“Good, good,” Tyler said over the line. “I called the sheriff’s office and spoke to Jim already. I thought you would be there but he said you headed back to your room to clean up. You weren’t hurt, were you?”
Gray grimaced so Beth stroked his chest. “No, no—I’ve already healed. Just wanted to shower before I called in.”
“Grayson.” Tyler’s voice took on a stern tone. “What is really going on?”
Gray sighed and gripped her hand hard. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“Okay,” Tyler encouraged. “You know, whatever it is, I’ll support you.”
Gray blew out a breath but didn’t continue.
Tyler waited a few minutes then a heavy sigh came over the line. “You’re not coming back, are you?” the Alpha asked.
“No, I’m not,” Gray admitted.
Tyler’s voice was sad. “I see. Tell me about her.”
Gray smiled and started talking to his friend, not his Alpha. Beth could tell the difference immediately. The dynamic between the two men was something more like brothers than Alpha and Pack member.
Gray sang her praises and Beth blushed a little, glad the Alpha couldn’t see her.
“She sounds great, I can’t wait to meet her,” Tyler told him sincerely. Beth grinned. She couldn’t wait to meet the other man either.
“But what else? You had to know I would support you taking a mate, what else is going on?” Tyler dug deeper.
Gray was running his thumb over the pulse in her wrist. “She’s not a wolf.”
She jerked and glanced to him. Did it matter that much to him?
“Okay, that is not unheard of—” Tyler started.
“She’s a bobcat,” Gray finished.
Tyler was silent on the other end. Beth even pressed closer just to make sure she didn’t miss his reaction. When it came it surprised her. The low chuckle slowly turned into a loud belly laugh.
Gray actually took the phone away from his ear to glare down at it before putting it back up. “Tyler!” he snapped.
“Sorry! Sorry!”
Tyler sniggered just a little. “But I can just see you obsessing over the fact that you were in love with a feline and what were you going to do.”
“It’s not funny!” Gray exclaimed. “I don’t want to hurt her. What if we have kids?”
That set Tyler off all over again. Gray rolled his eyes and frowned.
“Oh, don’t pout, Gray!” Tyler teased. Beth didn’t know how the Alpha knew that was what Gray was doing but she found it funny. She started to giggle herself.
Gray threw the hand upward that wasn’t holding the phone as he scowled at her. It just made her snicker more.
“Gray, listen to me,” Tyler demanded, serious even though his voice still held amusement. “You can mate a bobcat. You can even have children. You found your mate.”
Gray was nodding, relief filling his face.
“Now go celebrate. I’m leaving tomorrow to come down there. When I get there we can talk about this more. I’ll give you the numbers of a few couples that I think can answer some of your questions.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Gray stammered.
“Grayson, I will see you in a few days. Now hang up the phone, go eat dinner, and love on your mate,” Tyler ordered.
“Yes, Alpha,” Gray answered, smiling, and hung up the phone.
He looked down at Beth and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Before she could start on the loving on the mate part, Gray’s stomach growled.
“I guess that’s my cue to feed you,” she teased, standing and offering her hand.
Gray grumbled—he could have used a little bit of loving—but followed Beth easily out of his room and down to the dining room. He was starving. He’d shifted four times during the day and each shift, plus healing his shoulder, had taken a lot out of him. He’d been exhausted standing in the shower wishing he’d dragged Beth with him upstairs. But when she’d stepped into the shower stall with him, it was like she’d shared her energy with him and all he had wanted was to claim her.
And so much had happened since he’d stepped into the shower. God, was that only an hour ago?
Inside the dining room, they saw RJ, Mike and Jesse at a large table.
RJ waved them over. “Dude, they have homemade chicken pot pie, mashed potatoes, and rolls from scratch.”
Gray took the seat next to him, pulling Beth down beside him. The way the men were shoving the food in, he had better order before they ate it all.
Dorothy waved at them, sending Toby to his aunt, and motioning she would bring them plates.
“I drew you a picture!” Toby came rushing over.
Gray accepted the picture and looked down at the drawing of three cats and a wolf.
“That’s me, Daddy, Aunt Beth, and you,” Toby told him proudly.
Gray lifted the boy into his lap. “It’s wonderful! I love it, Toby.”
“Really?” The young boy sounded so excited.
“Really,” he promised.
“Into your seat, Toby, so everyone can eat,” Dorothy ordered the boy while she held a large tray of plates of food.
“Okay.” Toby scrambled around to sit next to Beth while Dorothy started to fill the empty space in front of them with plates. RJ was right—the plates were filled with the best food he’d ever smelt.
“Told you!” RJ said smugly, leaning over and snatching one of Gray’s rolls.
“Hey!” he protested with a laugh.
“Homemade, dude!” RJ taunted, waving the roll at him.
Dorothy smacked the back of his head. “You behave, RJ Cross, or I’ll be giving your brother a call.”
“Yes, ma’am,” RJ said, dropping his head. Gray noticed he kept the roll tucked in close, though.
Dorothy shook her head and smiled. “I’ll bring you boys a beer.”
“Yay!” RJ cheered, digging back into his food.
Everyone laughed and Gray picked up Beth’s hand, placing a kiss in her palm before he started on his own plate, feeling true happiness for the first time in what felt like forever.
Chapter Eleven
Casey Williams pulled out his Desert Eagle and met RJ’s eyes. He nodded and waited while the other man held up a hand to the other members of their unit behind him.
Five seconds. He watched RJ’s fingers come down one at a time until he held up a fist. Once the countdown was up, they moved into action. Casey kicked in the front door and heard the other part of the team break down the back door. They ran into the old house, weapons drawn and ready.
There in the centre of the living room with a rifle in his hand was the man responsible for the kidnapping of his mate.
Casey raised his own gun. “Please try,” he encouraged. “Please.”
One twitch and his team would fill the man with dozens of rounds of bullets. The man’s eyes darted around before he threw the rifle down.
“Damn it,” RJ groused. “I really wanted to shoot someone.”
Casey watched as Mike and Jesse secured Zach’s cousin, making sure it was done properly. He pulled out his cell phone and hit the first speed dial button.
“Got him,” he told Zach when his mate picked up the other line.
“Bring him to me,” he was ordered.
Casey walked over to their prisoner. “Your presence is requested by the Prince,” he said with a nasty smile.
The man’s eyes widened and Casey felt a deep satisfaction in getting to him. “Get him out of here,” he told his men.
He turned to see a grinning RJ leaning against the wall.
Casey nodded to the other man. “Let’s get out of here. I have a mating ceremony to attend and you need to get to your brothers.”
They walked out side by side. Their last mission had been a success.
* * * *
Gray glanced around the inn’s backyard, looking for his mate. He found her lounging in the grass with Toby, his good friend Kiley, and his Alpha’s daughter Jessie.
“Great party,” Tyler told him, coming up and handing him a beer.
Gray grinned at him. “I’m glad everyone could make the trip.” Not only had his Alpha driven down, but Kiley and her mate Austin, almost every member of his Pack, plus most of his friends he’d made from the other Packs had as well. Even Prince Zachary, Casey, Jesse and Mike had arrived the day before. The small ceremony he and Beth had thought they were having had ended up being over one hundred shifters.
One of the greatest things was that everyone who had arrived in town had simply fallen in love with the community and the people. Even the town folks had come out and opened up to the wolf and his friends. And no one had eaten Toby, either.
He chuckled at the memory of Toby’s face when all of the wolves had started showing up. But, as children would do, Toby made instant friends with everyone. Jesse, Tyler’s daughter, had declared him the most awesome cat ever. He couldn’t wait to see what would happen once those two were actually able to shift.
The event had proven that mixing the different species and coming together could be accomplished. They had not run into any negativity about the cross-species mating. It gave him hope for the future when in just a few months they would be announced to the world.
“We wouldn’t have missed it for anything,” Tyler said, throwing an arm around his neck.
Casey and the Prince joined them, both giving Gray a hug and congratulations. Gray thanked them when they welcomed him to the family. Tyler looked on proudly.
“RJ sends his well wishes also, though he couldn’t be here. His brother’s ceremony is coming up and there have been some issues,” Casey informed him.
“Everything okay? Anything we can do?” Gray offered.
Casey waved it off. “He says it’s just grumbling for now. I’m sending Mike over to check on things tomorrow. He’ll let us know.”
Gray nodded. “If you need me just say the word.”
Casey slapped his back. “Oh, don’t worry, we will. That’s what families are for. So remember that when I want to borrow a lawnmower or something.”
“Zach and I bought a house here. We’re going to split our time between here and his home.”
“Awesome! Beth will be so happy.”
“Congratulations, guys,” Tyler told them.
They made small talk for a while before wandering off to grab some food.
“You look happy,” Tyler pointed out.
Gray looked around. “I am. I really am.”
“I was going to tell you that you would always be a member of the Pack. Always welcome, both you and Beth. Then I got here and realised I didn’t need to.”
Gray turned and looked at him. “No?”
“I can see your Pack is here now,” Tyler pronounced with a smile at the crowd and hugged Gray close.
“You’ll still always be my family,” Gray whispered to his best friend.
Tyler slapped him on the back. “Oh, I know—you’ll not get rid of us that easy.”
Gray knew he was lucky as he watched his Alpha walk away. After what had seemed like forever, he’d finally found his mate and a new home. Jim had offered him a job with the sheriff’s office, which Gray had gladly accepted but only after he took Beth on their honeymoon trip. They were going to spend some time visiting different attractions in the country. First stop would be the Grand Canyon in Arizona. He thought Beth, who had never left her community, would get a big kick out of the canyon. He couldn’t wait to shift with her there while they explored.
“You have a sappy smile on your face,” Beth teased, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist.
“I can’t help it. You turned me into a sappy, smiling man,” he joked back.
“I thought I just turned you on,” she taunted, slipping her hand lower.
“Why, Beth!” he exclaimed with a smile, turning in her arms. “I’m shocked you would try to seduce me at our mating party.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, I’m not trying.”
She tugged forward towards the kitchen.
“Where are we…?”
She opened the tall, walk-in closet door and shoved him inside.
“The closet, babe?” he chuckled.
“Oh shut up!” she ordered with a smirk, opening his jeans and finding him already hard. “Or I’ll have to shut you up.”