by Kele Moon
Brandi ran her fingers over his sweaty shoulders. “No. I meant—”
Jason laughed. “I know. I was messing with you. Now I think I can sleep. How about you? Not minding me sleeping in the buff now?”
She grinned. “I’d never complain about that. I just didn’t love the idea of your crew downstairs listening to us.”
“I’m marking my calendar. That’s a special event for you not to complain.”
She swatted his back. “Don’t be a jerk. Not after this.”
He chuckled. “I could collapse on you and sleep right here inside you.”
“You’d crush me.”
Jason lifted his head and brushed his mouth against hers. She returned the kiss, before he pulled back and said, “I wouldn’t want to crush you. You’re a little thing. I’m rolling us, but I’m not leaving your body. I’m exactly where I want to be.”
She was shocked when he rolled them all the way over, still buried deep inside her, so she ended up lying on him. He ran his hands down her back to her ass before he grabbed it possessively. “I love your soft little ass.”
Brandi turned her head and got comfortable on Jason. She could hear his heartbeat under her ear as she smiled and drifted to sleep.
Chapter Eleven
The bedroom door came crashing open. Jason reacted faster than Brandi could. He rolled, his body withdrawing from hers as the comforter was thrown over her.
The bedroom was awash in early morning sunlight. Confused and still fighting off deep sleep, Brandi stared at the man framed in the bedroom door. Then her gaze jerked to a naked Jason who was standing next to the bed, putting himself between her and the attacker.
“Get out!” Jason growled.
The man was someone Brandi had never seen before. He wasn’t one of the men from last night. He was about thirty, with blond hair. Like all Werewolves she’d met, he was thick and muscled. He growled at Jason, making it obvious he was definitely one of them as he moved into the room. Brandi grabbed the comforter and yanked it up to her chin when she saw him staring at her. The Werewolf looked furious, and was terrifying because of it.
“I said get out,” Jason snarled.
The man sniffed the room. He growled back at Jason. “Where is she?”
The low rumble of fury that came from the center of Jason’s chest was completely inhuman. “Not here, Kurt. Get the hell out of my room, and while you’re at it, get the hell out of my home! I didn’t invite you here.”
“Where the fuck is my mate?”
Jason reached down and grabbed his jeans from the floor. He snarled curses as he jerked them on. “Why in the hell do you think your mate would be here? I wouldn’t touch her if you paid me, and you have a lot of fucking nerve breaking in my bedroom door looking for her.”
Brandi heard pounding, and then four more men were in the bedroom. Jazz and three of the men from last night showed up. Jazz only wore sweatpants. His broad, muscular chest was bare. His blond surfer hair stood up at odd angles, but his easygoing demeanor was gone as he snarled, “What in the hell is going on?”
“Kurt thought he’d break in my fucking door looking for his mate. She’s not here. She’s never been here. You know I wouldn’t touch her.” Jason sounded violent as he turned back to the intruder. “What is your problem? Do you have a death wish? Do you want to challenge me? You stormed into my home and broke down my bedroom door.”
“I smelled female and sex. Noreen is good at masking her scent, so she smells different, even to me. She’s made it a hobby of hers, and I know damn well she’s after you,” Kurt accused Jason with a snarl. “She talks about you and tells me how much she wants you.”
Jazz cursed. “Your mate is not right, Kurt. We’ve told you to get her under control or you need to find a new home. This is the kind of shit we’re talking about. We had to crash here last night because of the storm and I’ll personally guarantee that your mate was never here.”
Kurt took a deep breath. “I can’t find her, Jazz.”
Jazz groaned, some of the tension leaving his broad shoulders. “We can send a few people to the last location she was at to see if they can track her, but you need to get a handle on her. You can’t go around making wild accusations and breaking in wolves’ doors at seven in the morning.”
“It’s not my fault. She hasn’t been right since her accident.”
“This is not our problem! We have our own issues.” Jason turned and eyed Brandi. He growled as he turned back to Jazz. “And where the hell were you four when he was breaking in? I have three enforcers and an alpha in my home and no one heard him?”
“We were sleeping. Like you.” Jazz pointed down the hallway unapologetically, reminding them of the guest bedroom he crashed in. “I guess the guys downstairs are still too drunk and tired from fighting the flood.”
“Just get out. I want everyone to get the hell out! This many males looking at her is making me irrational! I’m about to kill someone just because I fucking feel like it and you’re at the top of the list, Kurt!”
Kurt obviously wasn’t too bright. He didn’t seem to want to leave; instead he looked around Jason, as if expecting Brandi to morph into his mate.
“Out.” Jazz shoved Kurt none too gently. “As you can see, the female in Jason’s bed isn’t your mate. She’s Jason’s mate. This is supposed to be his honeymoon, so unless you feel like dying, get the fuck out.”
“What?” Brandi gasped.
Jason growled and jumped so fast all the men stumbled back. Except Jazz, who stood his ground without fear, but he did wince. “It just slipped out. I haven’t had coffee yet.”
“It’s not raining anymore. I want them all out of my cabin.” Jason pointed at the door. “Now!”
All the men disappeared quickly, and Jazz said, “You were putting it off too long anyway,” as he closed the door behind him.
“What is he talking about?” Brandi asked, knowing the men walking down the hallway could probably hear her. “Why is he saying we’re on a honeymoon? Is that some sort of Werewolf joke for one-night stands?”
Jason’s dark eyes looked at her with an emotion she couldn’t gauge. He took a deep breath. “I did something without asking you first and I shouldn’t have, but the urge was unexpected and overwhelming.”
She gaped at him, not liking the sound of that. “What did you do?”
Jason folded his arms over his broad chest. “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”
“The good news,” she started hesitantly. “I think.”
“The first time we came together, I bit you pretty hard.” Jason spoke slowly, like he was choosing his words carefully. “And I partially shifted when I did it. That’s, um…a unique combination. Shifting and biting at the same time during sex, it’s actually illegal in my world to do with a human without warning her of the consequences, which is why Des and Jazz were so pissed at me. They could smell I did it the second they got near us.”
Brandi let his words sink in and she felt the blood leave her face. “I’m going to turn into a wolf now, aren’t I?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t finish it. Right now, you’re just immune to disease. Your aging process has slowed and you’ll heal much faster, but you’re still human. I could turn you all the way if you wanted me to.”
“No,” she said instantly and looked away. “No, thank you.”
Jason frowned. “Is it so bad to be like me? You don’t know the freedom, darlin’, of changing and running in the woods. Your vision is better, your sense of smell. Hell, it’s like a whole new world opens up around you.”
She turned to face him once more. “The fleas, the ticks, sprouting a tail without warning, the fact that you have an uncontrollable desire to fetch.”
Jason’s eyes widened before he laughed. “I don’t have an uncontrollable urge to fetch and the fleas don’t like our blood. Ticks either. And even if they did, when you change back to skin they wouldn’t have fur to hide under anymore.”
�
��I am what I am, Jason. I wouldn’t ask you to change. Don’t ask me.”
He stared at her for a long minute, and then nodded. “I accept that. It’s going to make our life a little more complicated, but we’ll be fine.”
“How is it going to complicate our lives?”
Jason’s grin faded. “My world is different from yours.”
“No shit. Really?”
He laughed again. “I love your mouth and the things you say. You make me smile all the time.”
“Thanks. Now get to the bad news. You and your friends have been acting strange since yesterday. Strange for Werewolves, that is, and you’re already strange by default.”
Jason was quiet for a long time rather than laughing at her joke, and then he finally admitted, “I mated you that first night, Brandi. That’s why it’s illegal to do it without explaining it first. It bound us together, but it was an instinct, almost like breathing, and I don’t regret it. I can’t. From the moment I found you running for your life in the woods and I saw how you were still fighting to the end, I knew you were the woman for me.”
She was shocked. “What does mated mean exactly?”
“It means we’re…” Jason looked away for a second, and then he glanced back and locked his gaze with hers again. “It’s like marriage in my world. I married you. It made you mine and it makes me yours too. We belong to each other. Forever.”
She was speechless.
Jason shifted where he stood, looking anxious. “Speak to me. Say something.”
Brandi just stared at him.
“I know I should have asked but damn it, you were in heat and I wasn’t thinking clearly either.” Jason sighed. “I promise you a great life. I’ll always protect you and your happiness will always come before my own. We have a nice home. We have room for children. I know it’s kind of remote out here, but it’s really not. There are a lot of homes in the woods of other mated couples and their families. The majority of the unmated males live at the pack house in town. You’ll make plenty of friends, and if you want to work, I won’t try to stop you. I’d prefer you stay home, especially if you agree to have kids with me, but either way I’ll support you. Our pack is human friendly now that Des and Jazz took over. Our children would be protected even if they can’t shift. I just want you to be happy. That’s all that matters. I’d even—” Jason swallowed hard, as if he was trying to say something especially difficult, “I’d move to your world if you don’t like it here. I’d do that for you. I’d leave my pack for you, and I know you don’t understand how hard that is for a wolf, but it’s huge.”
Brandi’s mind was spinning. She’d gotten married and hadn’t even known it. She just stared up at Jason. He’d stopped talking and was watching her with his beautiful eyes. He looked so worried.
He should be.
“Talk to me. Yell at me. Just say something.”
“Something,” she choked out.
Jason laughed. “You always make me laugh. Say something about what you’re thinking or feeling.”
“Shocked. Deeply shocked.”
“I know. It happened fast.”
“Fast?” She shook her head at him. “We met three days ago, had sex a few times, were almost killed a few times more than that, and now you’re telling me we’re married?”
“The sex is pretty fucking fantastic,” he reminded her as he crawled onto the bed. He got under the covers and pulled Brandi to him. “And I love sleeping with you in my arms.” He pressed a kiss against the curve of her neck. “I’m falling for you. Hard.”
“I guess that’s good since we’re married.”
He grinned. “You’re taking this well. Jazz and Des thought you’d come unglued. Jazz even told me to hide the knives when I finally told you.”
“Jason, I don’t even know what to say.”
“Then don’t. Kiss me.”
Jason shifted her in his arms, because he was so unbelievably strong. He lifted her like she weighed nothing, and then turned Brandi so she was straddling his lap. He brushed strands of wild, curly hair off her forehead and cupped her face in his large hands.
“You’re all I want, Brandi. I won’t be like your ex-husband. Mates are for life. They don’t cheat. You’re the only woman I’ll ever touch and I’ll kill any man who touches you. Any other wolf you meet will know it because of your scent that’s tied to mine. You’re safe with me,” he promised her. “Your happiness comes before my own. You are my world, and my loyalty is yours before any others, including my pack. I wasn’t lying when I said I’d move to the human world with you if that’s what you needed to be happy.”
Her heart almost skipped a beat. Jason was telling her he belonged to her, that he’d never cheat on her and would stay loyal forever. Then she frowned, more than a little skeptical, because life had taught her if something seemed too good to be true, it probably was. “If that’s true, what happened with your buddy Kurt and his mate?”
Jason sighed. “That’s something that can happen with my kind. They didn’t have a love match to begin with, and then his mate had an accident. Her mind isn’t right anymore. She’s kind of crazy.”
“So if you don’t fall in love with me you can cheat on me?”
Jason shook his head. “Their mating was arranged by their families and they both agreed to it. Hell, I don’t even think they liked each other. We have a bonding. Don’t tell me you feel nothing for me.” He almost looked afraid for a split second, before his gaze grew hard, as if he was hiding on instinct.
“Jason.” She reached down and cupped his face like he’d done to her. “You scare me because of how much I feel for you. It’s happening too fast.”
“There’s no such thing.” He grinned, the tension slipping out of him as easily as it showed up. “We follow our animal instincts and they’re usually right. Mine were yelling at me to claim you because I know in my heart you’re my mate. My animal knows it, and so do I.”
“I don’t have an animal hiding out under my skin. I’m just plain ol’ human and I’m scared to death.”
He laughed. “Humans are animals too. You just don’t grow fur and…what did you call it? Sprout a tail? And you don’t follow your instincts like we do. We’re free with both halves of ourselves. You could become like me. I could change you.”
“I’m not ready for that yet.”
He nodded. “We have time.”
She stared at him. “Do we have a time limit?”
He shook his head. “I could change you now or in fifty years. If you want to stay the way you are, I’m happy with that as long as you’re happy with it.”
She lifted her head and brushed her lips over his. She smiled at him when he pulled back. “Next time you partially shift inside me, you better tell me because if I’d seen that, I would’ve freaked out.”
He nodded. “I am sorry. When we mate, I need to sink my teeth into you and I need to do it in both forms. I have to keep my teeth locked in. It’s something in our saliva. You’re going to smell like me now. All of my kind will take one whiff of you and know you’re mine and you’re mated.”
“Are you going to do that again? Change while we’re having sex,” she asked hesitantly. “Is this something I need to be on the lookout for?
“It was a one-time thing. I’d never do that to you unless you decide to change over and we’re both wearing fur.”
“That’s so not funny.”
“It’s a little funny,” he said with a laugh.
She was quiet for a while, before she whispered, “So we’re married?”
“Not legally like in your world, but in mine, hell yeah.” He grinned. “Want a honeymoon, darlin’? I know I want one. I want to spend a few days in bed with you.”
“I haven’t agreed to it, Jason.”
His smile faded and he lightly growled at her. His eyes narrowed. “You’re mine. I’m yours. I’m not letting you go. I can’t. It would tear my heart out of my chest. Don’t ask me to let you leave me. Anything but that.”
She didn’t see anger in his gaze. She saw raw pain and fear, and it was too much for her. She shut her eyes and kissed him instead. Jason rolled her over and shifted his hips until she was under him again. Then he reached down and pulled at the button to his jeans. “I guess I’ll just have to work harder at convincing you if you’re going to be stubborn about it.”
She smiled. “I won’t argue with that.”
Chapter Twelve
“No,” Jason snarled.
Jazz and Desmon sat shoulder to shoulder across the table from Jason and Brandi. The two of them were as different as two alpha wolves could be, but they’d been best friends since they were pups. They each had different strengths, and were able to compensate for the other’s weaknesses. It made them almost invincible as a team, and more than a little intimidating.
Very few wolves were capable of standing up to them, but Jason added, “Not just no, but fuck no!”
Jazz frowned, then he looked over to Desmon. “He seems really opposed to your plan.”
Desmon ran his fingers through his long black hair, and his shoulders were noticeable tense, since he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt today. “I know she’s your mate and you’re protective of her, Jason, but we need to draw this asshole out. We’ve got patrols all over the place. We’re stretched thin because of the flood cleanup. It’s been days and there’s been no sign of trouble. Someone brought your mate here to challenge us. I doubt they changed their mind. They are bidding their time. We need to get the alpha out of hiding and deal with him. I give you my personal promise she’ll be safe. Let her decide.”
Jason growled, everything in him opposing their plan. He shook his head, but Brandi turned to Jason and shrugged, like risking her life wasn’t worth more than the casual gesture.
“No,” Jason said softly as he looked down at her. “I won’t have you in danger.”
“They could grab another woman like they did me.” Her voice was soft, reasonable, as if begging him to understand. “What if one of your pack isn’t out there like you were when you saved me? I know what it’s like to be kidnapped from my life, terrorized, and chased like an animal, all the while knowing the horror of what they planned on doing to me. I lived it and was almost torn apart by those bastards. It’s a good plan, and you said yourself that asshole will be looking for me since I saw his face.”