“I know you aren’t offering love, Devon and that’s fine by me. I don’t love you either. I may come to care for you, but I will never love you like I do Sam. And the only reason I would take your offer would be to free Sam to find his real mate. My Eseni would go away, and he would be free of its spell. I’ve heard a powerful Eseni could make a man think all sorts of crazy things, but unless the woman feels the pull as well, then what the man feels is nothing but blinded lust. Hell, even Bodie and Soren seemed to be drawn to me, and I know Bodie has a thing for Jett’s sister.”
Devon leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “So, even though you say you love Sam, you would be willing to give him up?”
“Of course. If you love someone, set them free. Isn’t that how the saying goes? I would never forgive myself if we mated, and I let him claim me under the false pretense that I felt the pull as much as he did. I would never want our mating to be a lie. And that is exactly what it would be. I would always be reminded every time I looked at him, every time I was near him that our mating was a lie.”
“You didn’t feel even the slightest thread of attachment?”
MJ thought back to the previous Sunday and the tiniest connection she had felt. She couldn’t put her trust in it though. The feeling had been too small, barely noticeable. It was like something was telling her to trust her instincts, as she well knew, that never turned out well. It didn’t help when she thought back to it and recalled the overriding lust that filled her while she was pressed up against his chiseled naked body. Her mind hadn’t been clear and she hadn’t felt it again. “No.” The word sounded pained and sad even to her own ears.
Devon reached out and folded her hand into his. He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. It felt…nice.
“Then you have made your decision,” he said solemnly.
MJ stared at Devon for a long time. He was right. She had made her decision. She was just too afraid to admit it. Too afraid of what it meant. Now she just had to find the words to tell Sam she was moving on, and that what he was feeling would pass once she was out of sight, out of mind, out of his senses. It would break her heart, but she knew in her gut she was doing the right thing.
Devon pulled his car into what Mary Jane called the old lot, parking next to a black vintage muscle car. He took a deep breath, releasing it slowly before looking over at Mary Jane. This wasn’t going to be easy on either of them, but if he meant to make MJ his companion, and he did, then this was the time to start treating her as such.
The first obstacle, and that’s precisely what he felt it was, were her friends. He hadn’t exactly made the effort to get to know them, and he didn’t doubt they had the ability to influence her in a different direction. He was so close to having what he was sure he needed for his family; he couldn’t let anyone stand in his way, even if a part of him was telling him to stop the madness.
Mary Jane looked nervous and a little pale. He didn’t blame her. She was about to tell her best friend she was taking his offer and would eventually be moving to Garden, where he lived. Devon wanted her to leave with him immediately, she refused, standing her ground when he tried his damnedest to get her to see how much better it would be to make a clean break from her life here. He understood she had obligations just like he did; however, he wasn’t egotistical enough to believe his were more important. As a compromise, he agreed to her staying in Cascade for the next two weeks to get all of her affairs in order. A week before the Gathering, he could come down to get her. They agreed she wouldn’t move directly into his house, deciding it would be better for them both for her to stay with her parents. He wanted her to meet the children, spend time with them, and get to know them. Then after time, and after he announced his intentions at the Gathering, he would slowly move her in with him and the children. Giving them all time to adjust to the new situation.
He knew the sacrifice she was making for him and her parents. He meant what he said earlier, too. If she and Sampson Hart were true mates, he would step aside in a heartbeat. But that didn’t seem to be in the cards for them. That lack of connection ultimately deciding their fate.
He knew a part of her decision was because of his children. They would be the children she could never have.
He didn’t even know if he could have more children, but even before that—if he wanted more. Though, he had found his mate before he was thirty; therefore, ensuring his ability to reproduce; he didn’t know if he would be able to have children with another female. His body and his mating genes were geared toward his dead wife. For all he knew, his ability to reproduce could have gone dormant the day she died. Then, there was the fact that he didn’t see a sexual relationship happening between MJ and him, at least not for a very long time.
He wasn’t sure if his kids being half-human, half-shifter played into her decision either. If it did, then that meant she was on board with helping to guide them, and would stand next to him, support him, as he dealt with the uncertainty of whether the children would be shifters, or how much of the shifting gene would affect them. In theory, if his wife had been his true mate, the children would be Tiger-shifters. The shifting gene that lay dormant in his wife would be triggered, passing onto their children.
As the days went by, though, he questioned whether she was truly meant to be his. He felt attraction to her, lusted after her and pursued her like the hounds of hell were on his heels, but was he mistaking all of that for a true mating? He just didn’t know anymore. She was taken away from him before they really had a chance together.
With Mary Jane, he did know. She was not his mate. She was someone he admired and could see he would come to care for in the future. Maybe with time they would be able to form a bond of sorts and he would be happy again. If his children could be happy with her, how could he not be?
Mary Jane was a sweet woman. She wore her heart on her sleeve, though, she would never admit to it. He liked it when she told him what she thought or talked back to him. He got a strange thrill when she said what was on her mind. His wife certainly never did that. She always went along with whatever he said or decided. She never got upset or tried to argue her point of view.
Not many people in his life were as bold as Mary Jane. They were all afraid of his power in the community and what he could do to them if they crossed him. Sadly, if they took the time to get to know him, they would find out he would never do anything to hurt anyone. He knew too well what mourning for someone you loved did to a person. Revenge and inflicting pain on others wasn’t for him.
He wanted—no—had to move his grief into the past and get on with living. He had three children to care for, a community that looked upon him for guidance and healing, and a desire for female company that was getting harder and harder to ignore.
“Everything okay?” he asked. Devon didn’t know how long they had sat in the car, him staring at Mary Jane, Mary Jane staring unblinking out the front window.
After a few more moments of unanswered silence, he was about to start the car, back up and leave. She looked at him, blinked a couple of times and took one last big breath.
“Are you sure you want to go with me? It might be better for me to do this on my own.” She looked over at the black car next to them. “Sam’s here,” she whispered.
“I’m sure. I intend on claiming you, Mary Jane. They need to know, I stand by your side no matter what.” He tried to reassure her by putting his hand on her tightly curled fist lying on her lap. He squeezed once and was surprised when she uncurled her fist and twined their fingers together and squeezed back.
“Okay then.” She let go of his hand quickly and got out of the car. She waited for him as he climbed out, locked the car and pocketed the keys.
They walked up the long driveway and instead of going to the front door; she grabbed his hand and walked around back. It was strange to be holding hands with her. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done that with a woman. It was nice.
The sounds of multiple conversations and the scent of
burgers on the grill clung to the air around them. An unfamiliar feeling hit him as they rounded the corner. His chest tightened at the sight of men and woman hanging out, drinking and just relaxing. This is what he’d always wanted at home…friends and family enjoying time together. Spending time together like family should. The only thing missing here were kids running to and fro screaming and laughing.
That dream never happened. He was always too busy with work. Or his wife was too busy with the kids or volunteer activities in the community.
Devon stopped in his tracks, yanking Mary Jane back, when he saw Sam. It was stupid for him to feel shock at the other man being there. Mary Jane told him not ten seconds ago that he was there. She looked back at him, confusion written all over her face.
Devon saw the man’s eyes light up with excitement when they rested on Mary Jane. Slowly, he tracked the other man’s gaze as it travelled over her, then down to their linked hands. The smile on Sam’s face fell and fire burned in his eyes. He was definitely angry seeing them together. Sam was going to have to get over it. She made her choice. Insisting she never felt the connection to Sam that everyone said she should feel.
At the time, when they were talking about her and Sam, Devon chose to ignore the voice in the back of his head telling him to slow down. That something was off. Now, he was stuck trying to rehash their entire conversation to see if he missed something. He knew Sam and MJ were physically attracted to each other. She claimed to love Sam, but refused to let him settle without a true connection, a true mate.
Sam got up from the chair he was lounging in and made his way over to where they stood. He barely spared Devon a glance, instead focusing all of his anger on Mary Jane. Devon could feel it roll off him in waves. It was nothing compared to the power of the Blood Legacy that flowed through Devon’s veins. He hoped he wouldn’t have to use it against Mary Jane’s friend.
Devon decided to wait and see what Sam was going to do. He didn’t have to wait long.
“What in the fuck are you doing here with him, Mary Jane?” The words were ground out, but Devon was able to pick out the confusion and pain in them. Interesting.
“Don’t be an ass, Sam. Devon came to see me.”
“What the hell for? Didn’t you tell him you found your mate?”
“No!” Nervous tension washed over Devon. It was an overwhelming sweet vanilla scent. Much like Mary Jane’s own natural aroma. He glanced at her and saw a slight tremor slide through her body. He let go of her hand, placing his on her lower back, hoping to provide her with some of his strength. She stiffened just a bit, and then relaxed minutely.
Devon noticed the rest of the people at the party stopped what they were doing. The men moved forward, while Corrine and another woman stood off to the side.
“Why the hell not?” Sam’s tone was harsh and MJ reacted by taking a step back.
“Because I haven’t found my mate,” she whispered.
The urge to protect MJ hit him in the gut. Devon had had enough. “That’s enough, Sampson. You need to leave her alone.” He let some of his Blood Legacy flow out. Just enough to grab Sam’s attention. He had years of honing his inherent ability.
Sam turned toward him, oblivious to the power. Never reacting at all. “Stay the fuck out of this, Andersen. It has nothing to do with you.”
“It has everything to do with me.” More of the Blood Legacy pulsed out of him. Sam flinched, but held his ground. Devon felt Mary Jane wobble next to him. He pulled her close and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Mary Jane has agreed to be my companion. The little experiment is over. You slept with her on the night the feelings would have been the strongest. She didn’t feel the mating pull. If she was going to, don’t you think she would have by now? Go find your true mate and let her, us, get on with our lives.”
Sam’s mouth dropped open for a second. Before he could say anything, his sister Corrine rushed over to them, placing a hand on Sam’s chest to stop him from doing who knew what. If Devon had to fight Sam, then he would. It wouldn’t be the first time he had gotten into a fight over a woman.
Corrine whispered into Sam’s ear. Even with his heightened hearing, Devon couldn’t make out what she was saying. Whatever it was, though, it calmed Sam down.
“This isn’t over.” Sam turned and stomped away, ripping his clothes off as he went. Shifting in the blink of an eye, Sam took off into the woods.
CHAPTER NINE
MJ couldn’t believe Sam ran off like that. She had no clue how telling everyone would go, but she didn’t expect that. She never would have thought the man who claimed he was her mate and swore she was his would just turn away from her and leave. Without putting up some sort of fight, if not for her, at least for what he thought was going to happen.
She should have called Corrine to warn her they were coming, but she just couldn’t do it. Maybe there was a part of her that hoped Sam would put up a fight. That he would win her over through his actions. That some grand gesture would kick start that damn mating pull.
It sucked to admit that even after the time they spent together, the only thing she felt was attraction; physical and emotional. She felt nothing like what she was told she should be feeling toward a mate. No clawing need to be with him. No pull to spend every waking moment with him. Her Liger barely made a noise, other than to bump her conscience to get out and play like she always did. Her Liger never insisted she needed to be near his Tiger. At least not that she could tell.
MJ would be the first to admit she wasn’t in tune with her inner beast. She spent so much time trying to pretend that side didn’t exist, pretending to feel what others felt, that she was certain her abilities would one day disappear.
That was why she made the decision she had been putting off. When she talked with Devon, she finally realized what she had refused to see up to that point. She had to let Sam go. He was not the one for her. It was time to give up on her girlhood dreams of a happily ever after with Sampson Hart.
Corrine stood anxiously in front of her. Devon’s hand was around her waist, basically holding her up. She was glad for the support. She swore she could feel hot blasts of anger roll off of Sam, but it couldn’t be Blood Legacy. Only members of the founding families, people who could directly be linked to the original shifters, carried it. From what she knew of Sam’s family, they couldn’t. They were a mix of Tigers and human breeding over many, many generations. It was only in recent years that their bloodline was filled with Tiger-Tiger mating.
Devon folded her into him, giving her a much-needed hug. “Are you okay?” he asked, quietly so no one could hear.
MJ nodded her head, and then took a step back, out of the comfort of his arms. He really wasn’t such a bad guy. She turned toward Corrine, who MJ knew had a bazillion questions.
“I’m sorry about all of this Corrine. I didn’t really think about what would happen when I showed up with Devon. We’ll go so we don’t ruin the rest of the day for everyone.”
Corrine looked over to where Sam disappeared, then back to them. A bit of sadness shone through her face. “No. Please don’t go. Sam will be fine. He just needs a little bit of time. I’ll have Jett or one of the other guys go find him later.”
“Are you sure?” MJ couldn’t help but ask the question. MJ wanted to stay. Wanted the time with her friend to explain. But Corrine and Sam were siblings. If anyone had the right to be there, it was Sam. She was the guest, even if this used to be her home.
“Of course I’m sure, MJ. I want you here and Devon too.”
Devon spoke up behind her. “Thank you, Corrine. It is very generous of you.”
Jett walked up then, inserting himself in the small group. “MJ is part of our family and if want I heard is correct, that makes you part of the family too.”
Jett stuck his hand out at Devon. MJ waited, holding her breath to see what Devon would do. She didn’t realize how much she wanted him accepted by her friends until the men shook hands.
“It’s good to see you agai
n, Jett,” Devon said finally.
“Let me introduce you to the other guys. You may recognize them from the wedding.”
The men walked off together and left MJ and Corrine standing in an awkward silence. Finally, Corrine linked her arm with MJ’s and guided her to the kitchen.
“MJ and I are going to make dessert while you guys…well, I don’t know, whatever guys do. Jamie, could please tend the grill for me?”
“Sure thing Corrine,” the younger woman chirped.
The slider door was barely closed when Corrine started in on her.
“What the hell, MJ? Where was I when you were making this life changing decision? You picked Devon, then thought you should bring him to the house where you know Sam is going to be?”
MJ wasn’t able to just stand and hash it all out. She dug through the panty and refrigerator and got out the ingredients to make brownies. Once she had everything in front of her, she let the task soothe her frayed nerves.
“You were living your life with your husband, Corrine. You’ve been having this wonderful time moving onto the next phase, and I didn’t want to burden you with my problems. Listen, I didn’t come to this decision lightly.”
“Burden me with your problems! That’s what friends do. You were there for me when I was having problems with Jett.”
“No I wasn’t. You didn’t tell me what was going on at all. You kept most of your feelings for him and what was going on to yourself. It was only after the big showdown with that crazy ass bitch that you finally filled me in.”
“I told you the day Sam came back,” Corrine scoffed.
“That was the last time we talked about it too. You shut me out.” MJ could feel the conversation get out of control. She didn’t think bringing Devon here would mean the downfall of her and Corrine’s ten-year friendship within the first fifteen minutes of showing up.
“So now you’re going to do the same?” Corrine queried
“No! I never intentionally meant to do that. It’s just that this whole thing was something I needed to figure out on my own. There was too much going on in my head, and I didn’t want to get you involved. Sam is your brother. I don’t think you can be biased when it comes to him.”
Claiming More (Tiger Nip) Page 8