Contents
Copyright
Summary
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
About the Author
Discover other titles by Diana Persaud
Protective Mate
Soul Mates Book 3
Published by Diana Persaud
(Previously published as Lover’s Delight Soul Mates Book 3)
Copyright 2013 Diana Persaud
Digital Edition, License Notes
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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. These characters are products of the author’s vivid imagination and are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark ownership of all trademarks, service marks and word marks mentioned in this book. All sexually active characters in this work are 18 years of age or older.
This book is for sale to ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It contains substantial sexually explicit scenes and graphic language, which may be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.
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Cover design © 2017 Diana Persaud
First Edition October 2013
Summary for Protective Mate
Soul Mates Book 3
Formerly titled Lover’s Delight (Soul Mates Book 3)
Delia, formerly of the Lost Souls Werewolf Pack, is dismayed to discover her true mate is a Last Hope Soldier. After suffering years of abuse by a male she was forced to mate, Delia is suspicious of her true mate’s intentions.
Nicolai is infuriated when he learns his mate was abused. Determined to win her affection, Nicolai embarks on a mission to show Delia how kind and loving a mate can be.
Nicolai has to overcome Delia’s distrust and prevent her former male from claiming her. Can Nicolai earn Delia’s trust or will fear keep her from true love and happiness?
~ Chapter One ~
Lucien, Alpha of the Last Hope Werewolf Pack, looked around Billy Rae’s Bar and Grill at the males and females gathered before him. At his request, all of his single pack mates, male and female, were gathered along the restaurant walls. All of the former Lost Souls pack members were gathered in the middle. In front of him, a handful of females stood in front of their males. Not a single male reached out to comfort his female, though their distress was evident in their stance as well as their scent.
He shook his head and sighed. They had been in his pack for six weeks and still they acted as if they were members of the Lost Souls pack.
“We are gathered here tonight because we need to discuss the issue of mates. I realize that your previous Alpha, Murdock, rewarded males by giving them females as mates. This is not done in our pack. Only true mates are recognized and allowed to live together. As of this moment, your relationship with the person you call your ‘mate’ has been severed. You no longer have any duty to that wolf.”
He heard surprised gasps and murmurs.
“It is my sincere hope that you will all find your true mate. That is why my pack is in attendance. I am hoping that some of you find your true mates tonight. This will help you assimilate into our pack.”
The crowd parted from the back, allowing someone to pass through. Lucien swore as he scented his mate.
“Didn’t I expressly forbid you from coming here tonight?” he asked his mate as she stood before him.
Lanie smiled mischievously as she responded, “I vaguely recall such a conversation.”
Shaking his head, he held his hand out to her.
She placed her hand in his and he pulled her up, onto the raised dance floor. The females in the front row cringed, fully expecting him to beat her for her disobedience. Surprised gasps were heard as Lucien pulled Lanie into his arms and kissed her softly. His love for her was evident to all of his pack mates.
Lanie stroked his face and replied, “They don’t understand, Lucien. They probably think you are going to give them to other males.”
Lucien swore as he realized she was correct.
“You’re right, as usual, My Love.”
All eyes were glued to him. He turned to his pack and addressed the newest members.
“No one is going to force you into a relationship. When you find your true mate, it will take your breath away. You will just know he or she is The One.”
He held Lanie close to him.
“You will want your mate more than the air that you breathe. You will do whatever it takes to make your mate happy. It is impossible to deliberately cause your true mate pain. If you have ever felt pain or caused your mate pain, they are not your true mate. You do not have to stay with that wolf.”
He paused to let that information sink in.
“You are all part of my pack now, so please, socialize with your new pack mates.”
No one moved. Lanie stepped off the raised dance floor and walked towards the females in the front row. Being human, she couldn’t smell their fear or distress, but their body language spoke volumes.
“You are safe here,” she addressed them softly. “As your Alpha’s Mate, I promise you, you are safe. I will not allow anyone to hurt you.” A male laughed behind one of the females.
“How are you going to protect anyone? You’re a mere human,” he said with contempt.
“She is my mate,” Lucien growled as he stepped down.
“She might be a human, but she is as fierce as any wolf. In fact, she took down one of your young wolves while two others held her. She did this to protect one of our younger females.”
They looked at her in astonishment. She fought a male? And won?
“Lanie has me, has the entire pack to enforce her wishes. If she says you are protected, then rest assured, you are protected.”
“Did you have a question?” Lanie asked the female next to her who was biting her lip.
In a voice so low, she barely heard her, the female asked, “Is…is he going to pu...punish you later? You disobeyed him.”
Lanie laughed, shaking her head.
“Punish me? Lucien loves me. He would rather die than cause me any pain. No, he will not punish me later.”
“I don’t know, My Love, I think you are in dire need of a spanking,” Lucien said wickedly as he reached for her.
“Lucien! BEHAVE!” She laughed and stepped out of his reach. “I’m trying to work here, so stop distracting me, or I’ll give you a much deserved spanking.”
Lucien laughed as he pulled his mate into his arms.
“Promises, promises….”
He nuzzled her neck and his hands moved down her back to cup her bottom, pulling her closer to him.
Lanie wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the feeling of his hard body pressed up against hers. Her body reac
ted instantly to his touch. Her nipples pebbled and her channel tightened suddenly. Six weeks had passed since the birth of their daughter and she ached for him.
“Socialize damn it, so I can take my mate to bed!” he ordered and they moved. Lanie just shook her head.
Her mate was incorrigible!
~ Chapter Two ~
Delia stood quietly in the corner, knowing it was best not to speak to anyone. Her male would beat her badly if she so much as made eye contact with another person, male or female. He enjoyed causing her pain. She thought about what her Alpha’s Mate said. She wished it were true, that her male would stop hurting her.
Nicolai wandered around the room, stopping to look at each new female. None of them were his mate. He had hoped that one of them would be his. Disappointed, he turned around and saw her, huddled in the corner, hugging herself. Her dark brown hair hung past her shoulders. Her head was lowered, her face partially obscured by her lovely brown locks. He was inexplicably drawn to her. As he neared, she glanced up at him and the air left his lungs. Her brown eyes widened as her wolf recognized him.
Nicolai heard a threatening growl and turned his head.
“Delia, you cheatin’ BITCH! I’ll teach you to flirt!” yelled a gruff voice belonging to a former Lost Soul wolf. His fists were closed and he moved towards the small female.
The room became silent as everyone turned to look at them.
Nicolai scented her fear and stepped in front of her, protecting her from the advancing male. The angry male stopped, clenched his fists as he assessed Nicolai.
“Get away from my female!” the male demanded.
“She’s my mate. I claim her as my own. Smell her fear. If you were her true mate, you would never threaten her. Nor would you cause her fear,” Nicolai said angrily.
Lucien stepped closer to them. He had expected this to happen.
“There will be no fighting here. Nicolai, I know you wish to injure him for causing your mate pain, for causing her fear. You forget that he was following his Alpha’s lead. He is no innocent, but he is not entirely to be blamed. For them to feel safe and assimilate into our pack, we have to forgive them their past deeds.”
Nicolai shook his head in disbelief.
“If it were your mate—”
“I would want revenge. I would want to tear him apart with my bare hands. But think of this, he is someone’s mate. Would you deny her a chance to be with her mate? IF he finds a mate, he will learn very quickly that to hurt her, is to hurt himself. He will learn, Nicolai. Would you rather fight him or care for your mate?”
For Nicolai, the choice was clear. Caring for his mate was far more important. Nicolai relaxed his stance but remained standing in front of his mate, offering her protection against her former mate. Lucien turned around, loudly addressing all of his pack mates.
“You are forgiven for your past…misdeeds. You didn’t know better and followed your Alpha’s poor example. As of this moment, you all have a clean slate. It is the only way to move forward, to make you feel safe. You will not be punished for your past. Listen well. To threaten any female is to court death. If she is mated, her male will kill you. If she is not, I will kill you!”
His wolf eyes flashed brightly.
They believed him.
Nicolai turned to his newfound mate. He didn’t need to ask how she had been treated by her former male. In the six weeks since they joined his pack, Lucien and his soldiers learned from Zane how the females had been abused at the hand of their Alpha and their ‘mates.’ All of them had been horrified at the way Lost Souls females had been used by the males in their pack. Not wanting to scare his mate, Nicolai buried his anger at her mistreatment.
“You still scent of fear. May I hold you?” he asked softly.
Delia was terrified. Her small frame shook slightly as she faced her mate.
Nicolai was tall and muscular. He held the confident stance of a soldier. He had powerful arms that could hurt her. His blond hair was trimmed neatly and he had kind blue eyes.
Delia was afraid to hope that her painful life had ended. Afraid to hope that she had found her true mate, someone who would care for her, make her happy.
Because he asked instead of demanded, she decided to take a chance. Very slowly and almost imperceptibly, she nodded. Nicolai pulled her gently into his arms and held her, stroking her hair. She trembled in his arms, unable to believe he offered comfort instead of pain.
“My name is Nicolai and you are my mate. I promise you, I will never harm you.”
His powerful arms held her until her fear subsided.
Lanie walked up to the couple, carrying two plates loaded with food. She indicated a nearby table and Nicolai lifted his mate and carried her there.
Fear gripped her and she worried that Nicolai planned to harm her. Nicolai sat down and placed her on his lap. When she realized he wasn’t going to hurt her, she relaxed slightly, her fear dissipating. Lucien sat across from them, pulled Lanie onto his lap and began feeding her. Nicolai did the same to his mate.
Delia enjoyed the feel of her mate’s arms around her. It seemed that he enjoyed feeding her. The male that she had been with would eat his fill, only giving her scraps. This male, her mate, she corrected, fed her the most delicious things. He ate nothing himself. She noted how the Alpha’s Mate fed him and wondered if her mate would mind if she did the same. Cautiously, she picked up a strawberry and held it to his mouth.
Nicolai opened his mouth and bit into the strawberry. His eyes never left hers. When he bit into the strawberry, some juice ran down her fingers. He held her hand gently as he licked her fingers. The slightly rough tongue on her fingers shot a spear of desire through her. Her womb clenched unexpectedly. His blue eyes darkened and he smiled knowingly.
Nicolai nuzzled her neck, placing small kisses along her neck as she squirmed against him. Enjoying the feel of her bottom rubbing against him, he held her even tighter.
Delia felt his erection pressing against her bottom and she shuddered in terror, remembering how the male had hurt her countless times.
Nicolai felt her shaking and stopped kissing her neck. He held her face, gently turning her so she faced him.
“You cannot hide your desire from me any more than I can hide my desire from you, Little One. It angers me to think of how you have been hurt. I would never hurt you in such a way. I promise, I will only do as you command me,” Nicolai vowed as he caressed her cheek.
Delia’s eyes widened at Nicolai’s declaration. She shook her head in disbelief.
“It’s true, Delia. When I met Lucien, I ran away. In fact, it seems like I was always running away from him. Eventually he caught me.”
“You enjoyed running from me!”
“I did not! I really didn’t enjoy falling on my face.”
Lucien laughed as he remembered how his mate had fled.
“Graceful, you are not!”
Lanie raised her eyebrows and pointedly ignored him, turning back to the couple. Lucien chuckled and slid his hand up her thigh, squeezing it gently.
“Anyway, Lucien caught me. We were all alone in a cabin, in the middle of the woods. He was a perfect gentleman.”
“I didn’t undress until she commanded me to.”
Lanie blushed and buried her face in his neck. She knew Lucien wasn’t trying to embarrass her. He was only trying to put Delia at ease with her newfound mate. She sighed.
“It’s true. If I hadn’t asked him to, he never would have….”
Lanie blushed again.
“You…you commanded him?” Delia was sure she heard wrong. Lanie smiled slyly and leaned towards Delia.
“You are mates. Equals. I’m sure your mate will follow every single one of your commands, especially in the bedroom.” She winked at Delia. Delia was suddenly anxious to find out if this was true.
Delia’s male stormed out of Billy Rae’s, unable to stand the sight of Delia feeding her mate, Nicolai. Jacob and Theo noticed his angry departure and follow
ed him.
“FUCK!” he yelled as he kicked a tire. Scenting his pack mates, he turned, spotting Jacob and Theo.
“Can you believe this shit? Delia’s been mine for ten years and that son of a bitch took her from me!”
“They are mates,” Jacob stated, earning him a glare from Delia’s male.
“You think I’m going to stand around and do nothing while he fucks Delia?” He thought for a moment then added, “Lucien severed your ties with your mates as well. What will you do when you find out Sue Ann and Mila have been fucking Last Hope wolves?”
Jacob and Theo growled, clenched their fists at the thought of their former mates fucking other wolves.
“They wouldn’t dare.” Delia’s male laughed at Theo’s naïve response.
“What makes you think they won’t? Lucien has freed them. They look up to Delia and they will follow her example and let other wolves fuck them. Unless we show them they still belong to us.”
“What do you intend to do about it?” Theo asked, interested in keeping Mila away from other wolves.
Lowering his voice, he confided, “I’m going to kill Nicolai in front of Delia. Once her mate is dead, I will claim her as my mate. Lucien won’t be able to stop me.”
“Nicolai is a Soldier. Do you think you’ll be able to kill him on your own?”
“I will have the two of you to help me kill him. Or are you going to do nothing while your bitches fuck every Last Hope wolf?”
Angry at the loss of their females, they agreed.
“What’s the plan?” Theo asked.
“First we have to find out where he lives. It will be easier to ambush him when he is away from other wolves.”
A short while later, Delia and Nicolai left Billy Rae’s. Her male shifted into his wolf form and followed them home.
~ Chapter Three ~
Once the former Lost Souls pack members joined Lucien’s Last Hope pack, he had ordered them to move into his town. Currently, single Lost Soul males were distributed throughout town, living with mated pack members until more permanent housing was built. Mated Lost Souls pairs had stayed in the local bed and breakfast inn.
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