by Jess Buffett
He couldn’t contain his grin. “I found my mate.”
Chase halted in his tracks, mouth gaping wide. “And you're just telling me this now! Why the hell aren’t you with her? Where did you meet her? When do I get to meet her? Dude, start spilling.”
“Whoa,” he chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender. “I only just met her. She was lost and I helped her find her way into town.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you aren’t with her right now, getting all sexed up,” his brother snorted.
“No, but that right there explains why you don’t have a girlfriend,” he drawled, rolling his eyes at the other man.
“Why would I want a girlfriend? Or boyfriend?” Chase scoffed. “No way do I want to risk having one if I meet my mate.”
He winced. His brother had him there. They had seen the mess first hand with their cousin, Tony. Damn, that had been unpleasant to watch.
“Besides it’s not like I can just walk up to her and tell her she is my mate. She’s human.”
Human and had a lot of responsibilities. The moment Tessa had stepped out of her car, he knew she was his. Her chocolate brown eyes had stared back at him, framed by her flame like red hair and he had momentarily forgotten how to breathe. When he had finally dragged air back into his lungs he had smelt the children. Tessa had then asked for directions to New Hope, and he realized he was not only staring into the extraordinary big brown eyes of his mate, but his new tenant.
Well, at least I made sure things were ready for them. Should earn me some brownie points.
“So how do you plan to tell her?” Chase raised a brow. “You’re going to have to at some point. I mean, how close did you get to her? Has the mating heat kicked in?”
“No, of course not,” he growled. He would never take away his mate’s choices like that. Even a kiss could lead to the mating heat being initiated, a tug on the lips, breaking of the skin. No, he would be careful not to force her into anything.
“Sorry,” Chase said quickly. “You know sometimes it can happen without meaning to. When a pair are so compatible it happens naturally.”
Sage laughed. “They’re old wives tales, little brother. Don’t tell me you believe in that? A mating will only begin if it is initiated by one of them through an exchange of blood.”
Chase shook his head. “How can you not? It has happened. Granted not for a long time, but still...”
Fairy-tale. That’s all they were. But if his brother really felt the need to believe in them, then Sage would let him.
He opened his mouth to say something when he suddenly heard a snapping sound. “Someone’s coming.”
Tilting his head to the sky, he took a deep breath. Rourke and Dominic. A few minutes later his brothers broke through the tree line.
“Hey, big brother, sorry we’re late,” Dominic said as they approached. “Rourke took a little longer to make himself pretty.”
“Oh, fuck off,” the other man chuckled, punching Dominic in the arm.
He chuckled. “All right. Break it up. I’m freezing my arse off here, and I want to get going.”
“Got a date or something?” Rourke asked, raising a brow
He saw Chase grin, and knew his secret was out. “He’s got a mate.”
“Holy shit! Seriously?” Dominic asked in astonishment. “Congrats, man.”
“Yeah, damn. Alpha’s got a mate. That shouldn't take long to get around.” Rourke thumped him on the back. “Who is she, and where is she? Or is it a he? Whatever, details.”
Chase was quick with the answer. “She’s human.”
“Should I just take out an ad, or leave that to you?” he asked, rolling his eyes at his brother.
Chase seemed almost as excited as he was. “Oh, come on. You found your mate. Sure, she’s human, so you have that whole explaining thing to do, but this is a time of celebration.”
“You’re right,” he conceded. “And it helps that she’ll be living so close.”
“True,” Chase said. “The town isn’t that large, so she can’t live far.”
He chuckled. “Oh, she’s even closer than that. My mate is Ella’s friend, Tessa.”
All three men gaped at him.
Unsurprisingly, Chase was the first to speak up. “Seriously? The woman who just moved into the apartment behind your house, is your mate?”
“Yep.”
“Wait,” Rourke said, holding his hand up. “Doesn’t she have, like...five kids or something?”
“No. They are her brothers and sisters.” He shrugged. “Not that I’d care either way. She’s my mate.”
Dominic laughed. “So the mighty Alpha has fallen.”
“Watch it,” he grumbled good-naturedly.
“I’ve got a question,” Chase said.
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t you normally.”
“Well, yeah, but this is different,” Chase said with a shrug. “If she’s Ella’s friend, then it’s safe to say she knows about us, but the real question is does she know about mates?”
That there was the multi-million dollar question, he didn’t have the answer to. He had forgotten Ella had told Tessa about them, so at least he didn’t have to face that, but still, there was the whole mates thing. “I’m going to call Ella, see what she has told Tessa. I’ll figure it out from there.”
Sage sure as hell hoped she knew what it meant. Would make his life a hell of a lot easier.
He had a mission in front of him. He not only had to help Tessa adjust to her whole life being turned upside down by her parents, but now he was about to do it to her all over again when he told her she was his mate and what that meant. Shouldn't be too hard though, right?
“Ah, fuck.”
Chapter Two
Tessa sighed in relief as she lifted her legs to rest on the ottoman in front of her. The ache and strain from the drive finally setting in now the four youngest were in bed asleep, only her seventeen year old brother, Oliver left to keep her company.
“You look like you could pass out,” he said, taking a seat on the lounge opposite her.
She groaned. “I feel like it, but I still have to unload everything from the car that we’ll need in the morning.”
“Can’t it wait? The Alpha seems to have set things up here.”
“True. I just want the kids to feel settled, you know.” She shrugged. “I figure if they can wake up and find familiar things around the house, it might make it feel more like home for them.”
Her five younger siblings had been through hell lately, and she wanted nothing more than to make everything better. Tessa knew she couldn’t take away the pain her parents had caused before and after their deaths, but she had to try. What kind of big sister was she if she didn’t?
As if reading her mind, Oliver shook his head. “You know none of us blame you, right?”
“I know.” Even to her own ears she lacked conviction.
Oliver gave her a look as though he thought she was a lost cause. “No, you don’t. But I love you anyway.”
“Shut it, twerp,” she muttered, pegging a cushion at him.
Mouthy little thing.
Her brother dodged the flying object, chuckling at her. “On that note, I’m going to bed. And don’t worry about the rest of our stuff. It’s freezing outside and it can wait.”
Dropping a kiss to her forehead, her too-mature-for-his-own-good little brother shuffled down the hall to the room he was sharing with their brother, Bailey.
“Don’t worry? Easier said than done,” she whispered to herself.
Forcing herself up and out of the comfortable chair, Tessa lifted her arms and stretched, letting out a yawn. She knew Oliver was right, and the bags and extra belongings could wait until morning, but it wasn’t like she would be going to bed anytime soon. Sleep had become a treasured commodity Tessa had given up on. With her eight-year-old brother, Jay, waking up with bad dreams in the middle of the night and the five-year-old, Ryder, waking up at the crack of dawn, Tessa knew she wou
ld only be woken up in a few hours.
A light flicking on in the main house through the window caught her eye. The Alpha?
Just remembering the delicious man she had met earlier set her pulse racing. Sage Ashcroft was a hell of a man, large and fierce looking. And those eyes. Damn, they could make a woman melt.
She had only experienced that exact feeling one other time in her life about a month earlier, after meeting a man who lived nearby her university. Leontis. Even now just thinking about him caused her heart to stutter. They had only been on a few dates when she had heard news of her parents, before her entire life had been uprooted. The mere thought of the sexy, chocolate skinned hunk had her pulse racing. It hadn’t been a feeling she was used to, until now. When she had gazed back into the smooth honey orbs of the Alpha, Tessa had to admit she was affected.
What she wouldn’t give to have that heated gaze pinned on her as those muscular arms surrounded her.
Wait? What?
Oh hell, she should not be having thoughts like that. About any man let alone the Alpha. Not only did she already have her hands full, but there was no way an Alpha shifter would even look sideways at a little human like her. She knew other shifters, and they were all ridiculously gorgeous. Even her friend, Ella, was all tall, leggy, with chocolate brown hair. Whereas Tessa...well...she wasn’t overweight, but she wasn’t model like either, and her hair was red, standing out against her pale skin. To top it off, her eyes were plain brown, nothing special or unique. Two words that would never be used to describe her.
She imagined what it would be like, for even just a second, to have a chance with a man like Sage Ashcroft. Tessa had been amazed Leontis had even looked her way. No chance in hell that she could be that lucky again.
Shaking her head, trying to rid herself of those silly thoughts, Tessa slipped on her boots. Heading for the front door, she unexpectedly heard a knock. Frowning, she swung her gaze to the clock. Nearly midnight. Who the hell?
Fear suddenly gripped her at the thought of someone from her parents past tracking them down. What if they owed more people money? Could someone really come this far for it? With the amount she had been told her father had been in debt, she thought it a possibility.
Another knock came and she jumped. Nerves skittered through her and she reached for her phone.
Unsure what move to make, her eyes fell on the note Sage had left for her by the door with his number on it. Dialing the number quickly, she held her breath as it rang, frowning when she could hear a phone ring outside the door followed by a chuckle.
She groaned, suddenly knowing exactly who was standing on the other side of the door.
Turning the lock and the knob, she pulled the door open to reveal none other than Sage Ashcroft himself.
Crap. He really was handsome.
He grinned. “Sorry to call on you so late, but I saw the light was on so I figured I’d come and say hi...again.”
“Um, hi.” She laughed nervously, her heart still racing from fear.
Tessa noticed Sage drew in a deep breath, a frown formed on his face as he tensed. “What’s wrong?”
She blinked at him. “Um, nothing. Why?”
“You were scared.” His eyes roamed the room behind her. “What happened?”
Her jaw dropped open. “You can smell that?”
His eyes narrowed on her. “So you know? Ella told you?”
“You do realize that neither of us have actually answered each other’s questions, right?” She chuckled, feeling slightly more relaxed. “Come in, it’s freezing out there.”
Tessa bit her lip, struggling to hold in a moan when Sage brushed by her. The man smelled so damn good. Her eyes raked down his large body, hypnotized at the way his muscles moved as he walked. His arms were thick, sprinkled with a fine layer of black hair, and she couldn’t help but wonder again, what it would be like to have those strong, firm bands wrapped around her. She shivered at the thought.
A deep chuckle had her eyes shooting up, heat infusing her face when she realized she had been caught.
“Sorry. Um, yeah...sorry.” She gestured toward the living room. “Did you want to take a seat? Or have a coffee, maybe?”
Damn, she was nervous.
“A bit late for coffee, but I remember stocking some hot chocolate mix in the pantry,” he suggested. She practically felt his eyes trailing down her body. Like the softest caress.
“Yeah, it’s there, I made some for the kids before they went to bed,” she said, making her way to the small kitchen.
She busied herself with making the hot beverages, trying to think of anything but how good the man smelled, or how attractive she found him. At this stage in her life, and with the kids depending on her, she couldn’t afford this type of distraction, and that was exactly what Sage Ashcroft was. A distraction.
They continued this way, in silence, while she made the drinks for them. She’d flick her eyes to him, only to find him staring at her intently, as if trying to solve a puzzle. When his gaze became too much for her, she would look away, only to repeat the process again.
Stirring the ingredients, she finally turned to face him, handing over one of the mugs. Nothing was said as they headed for the lounge room, sitting down on separate arm chairs.
Tessa had grown so used to the silence, that she was startled when he eventually spoke. And what he said, caused her to bristle.
“I was sorry to hear about your parents,” his deep voice rumbled. “Taking care of your siblings is a huge responsibility.”
Her eyes narrowed on him. “Are you trying to tell me I’m not up to the task?”
Sage chuckled. “Not at all. Merely that it’s a very selfless thing, it shows that you’re a good person.”
“Oh,” she said lamely. “Sorry.”
Ever since she had agreed to take on the kids, people had been telling her left, right, and center that she wasn’t up for the job. No one else wanted the responsibility, but they were more than happy to tell her all the many ways in which she was lacking and unable to care for them properly. So it was only natural that she would assume the same from someone else. Christ, the man was Alpha of his own Pride. He had dozens of shifters answering to him, relying on him. And the pressure of it didn’t seem to weigh on him like it did for her, with only five children.
“Something tells me you’ve had a lot of people tell you that you can’t do this, am I right?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she whispered. “Something like that.”
He nodded. “While normally they would be right, they didn’t take into account that you won’t be doing this alone.”
She blinked up at him. “I won’t?”
“No. You won’t.”
Tessa nibbled on her bottom lip. “I know that shifters are pretty tight knit, but I’m not one of you, why would you help me?”
Sage placed his drink on the table in front of him, reaching out to place his hand over hers. She shivered at the sparks that lit up her skin at the contact.
“For starters, Ella sees you as family, which makes you one of us. Second, I’m glad you know about us, I wasn’t sure at first and had been wondering how to tell you.” He chuckled. “And third, you're a good person who has had a lot asked of them, I would never stand by and watch you struggle.”
His words, and the conviction behind them, settled something deep inside her. The part of her that had been screaming out since this had all began. Hell, since she was a child herself and learned early on that she couldn't rely on her parents.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Oh, Tessa,” he sighed, slipping out of his chair and coming to kneel in front of her.
He pushed himself forward until she had no choice but to widen her legs and make room for him. Such close contact was making it difficult for her to breathe.
Sage brought his hands up to cup either side of her face, and her pulse picked up in pace. “You aren’t alone, do you hear me? I can see, hear, and smell your sadness, but yo
u don’t have to be. Things will be better now, I promise.”
His words broke something inside of her. “I feel so lost. Like every time I try to catch up, something else is thrown my way. And I’m scared, Sage.”
She felt him shudder as she said his name. “Scared of what?”
“Of someone coming for us. It’s what you could smell earlier when you knocked.” She laughed mirthlessly. “I live in constant fear that someone my father owed money to is going to track us down and demand that I pay. These people killed my parents, Sage. Over money. I mean, who does that?”
Her voice raised at the end, all her fear, anger, and frustration boiling to the surface. “They took a mother and father away from young children, and didn’t even care who found the fucking body. What if it had been one of the kids and not the neighbor? Would they have gone after the kids if they had been there? And what the hell did they think they were doing borrowing that kind of money from people like that? They were goddamn parents, Sage. I sent money home all the fucking time, and for what? So the bastard could waste and gamble it?”
A sob broke from her chest, and that seemed to be what Sage had been waiting for. He gathered her up tightly in his arms, his hand rubbing up and down her back as he whispered soothing words into her ear. They sat this way until her tears finally abated. Her body and mind suddenly extremely exhausted.
Sage slipped a finger under her chin, tilting her head up to his. She gasped when she realized how close they were.
“You’re not alone,” he whispered against her lips. “I promise.”
The kiss that followed was soft and sweet, so unlike anything she had imagined sharing with the man.
*****
The taste of his mate exploded on his tongue as it swept out, seeking entrance into the warm cavern of her mouth. Delicious and spicy, it left him craving more, but Sage knew he couldn’t, shouldn’t push her. Tessa was so strong, and so fragile. He thought she could crumble at any moment, yet pure stubbornness and love for her siblings kept her going long past her breaking point.
“Tessa,” he groaned against her lips. “If only you knew what you did to me.”