by Danica Avet
He didn’t answer her. That’s when Izzy felt the tension in his body and sensed the dread hanging over them. Moving slowly, like something out of a bad dream, she turned her head to look at him. He was gorgeous as usual, his skin still glistening with the sweat of his efforts, his hair clinging to his face and neck. But his skin was pale and those peepers of his were solemn. Something was different, though, and her stomach tightened as she tried to puzzle it out.
The movement of her head pressed her cheek against something small and hard. With a sense of foreboding, she reached to her face to see what it was. It was slightly warm and curved. Izzy plucked it from the pillow and held it up to her face.
It was a ring. A gold ring she’d stared at for the past several days. Her gaze flicked from the ring to Grant and back again as dawning horror filled her.
Jackknifing to her knees, she thrust the ring at him with desperation. “Put it back in!”
He evaded her hand, capturing her wrist in a gentle hold. “Baby—”
“Don’t ‘baby’ me! Put it back in your nose, right now!”
His nostrils flared, but without the ring there, it seemed…strange. “I can’t.” His tone was flat and angry. “We’re m—”
She stopped his words by plastering her free hand over his mouth. “No, no. We’re not. We can’t be,” she babbled, feeling hysteria grip her. “It just fell out, that’s all! Look, let me just put it back and no one will ever know.”
Frantic now, Izzy tried shoving the ring back into his septum, succeeding only in pissing Grant off. “Isola, dammit! Calm down!”
She shook her head as she tried to open the ring with hands that trembled so badly, she thought she was having a seizure. “I can fix this,” she mumbled as she tried and failed to open the ring over and over again.
One of his big hands—hands that could bring so much pleasure—folded over hers, stilling her movements. “Isola, we’re mated.” He gave her cold fingers a warm squeeze. “You belong to me and I belong to you.”
Her brain seemed completely fried. She couldn’t believe any of this, couldn’t wrap her mind around it. It was impossible. She couldn’t be mated, she didn’t fucking want to be mated. Except there was no denying that she held Grant’s ring in her hand. Just like there was no getting around the fact that her Amazon instincts had taken over, completing the mating dance of her people.
Mated.
“You ho!” Rosetta’s triumphant shout came from the door leading to the bathroom.
Izzy jumped, her eyes flying to the doorway where her best friend was posed. The triumphant gleam in Rosetta’s eyes was like a splash of icy cold water. She scrambled off the bed, the ring clutched in her hand.
She couldn’t look at Grant. Wasn’t sure she even wanted to. Panic beat at her like Mike Tyson, threatening to throw her into a tailspin of fear she wasn’t sure she could pull out of.
“Rosetta—” she croaked to her friend, reaching out her hand.
“I’m gonna tell,” the six-foot-seven drag queen sang out as she ran through the bathroom.
Izzy shot off after her friend before Grant could do anything like stop her. She heard him shout something behind her, but there was no stopping her until she stopped Rosetta. Barreling through the bathroom, she slammed open the door to the guest bedroom. The little shit had run into the living area already.
“Shit!” Stumbling over her duffle bag, she snagged a T-shirt she sometimes used for sleeping. It barely covered her ass but it was better than running out buck naked.
Izzy threw open the bedroom door and stalked into the living room. Grant’s mother was gone, thank the gods for that, but Saga and Rosetta stood in the center of the room. Izzy peeked around for Ricky, but didn’t see him either.
“And here she is! Miss Forked Island Whore 2010!” Rosetta announced with a wave of her hand at Izzy.
It was natural for her to reach out for her best friend with hands extended to wrap around her neck. She did it without even thinking and Rosetta looked up for the challenge, but neither of them accounted for Saga, who tugged Izzy to a stop much more gently than she normally would.
“Calm it, kid,” her mentor urged in a soft voice.
Rosetta and Izzy shared a confused glance.
“Why? I was just gonna strangle her a little.” Or a lot. The panic curling in her stomach hadn’t abated. In fact, it seemed stronger than ever.
Saga’s sharp gaze, which never missed a thing, flicked from Izzy’s face to her hand. Looking down, she saw that she’d slipped the ring onto her middle finger and curled her hand inward to keep it in place. Shit. Why had she done that?
“You mated him.” Saga didn’t ask the question, she stated it in a clear, emotionless voice that made Izzy cringe.
“She sure as shit did!” Rosetta responded when Izzy just stood there like a statue. “You shoulda seen the bed!”
* * * *
A large hand landed over Grant’s mouth, prompting him to attack. It wasn’t until he was halfway to the secret door in his bedroom that he recognized Ricky’s scent.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he growled at his cousin while fighting him off.
Ricky made a disgusted sound as he grabbed a pair of sweats from the dresser on the way out of the room. With one arm still on Grant’s arm, he pulled him through the secret door into the small alcove that led outside.
“I’m saving your life, you ungrateful bastard. You’re about to—”
An enraged scream shattered the quiet of the alcove and sent a trickle of unease through Grant. At Ricky’s silent urging, he dressed in the sweats. Sweat slipped down his spine. That scream…it had been a sound beyond pissed off. It had been a sound unlike any he’d ever heard before. It held anger, yes, but it also held betrayal, embarrassment, and a thirst for blood.
“Told you I was saving your life,” Ricky muttered as he hauled Grant out of the alcove to his waiting squad car.
Shoved into the passenger seat of the car, Grant looked back at the house his mate was tearing apart at that very moment. “She’s mad.”
“Mad? That girl is ready to do what her friend threatened to do—skin you alive.” Muttering something about bullheaded minotaurs and Amazons, Ricky peeled away from the house. “We’ll go to my place until things cool down some.” He laughed shortly. “You know, Grant, there was a time when I was the one who used to get you in trouble. Now I see you manage well all on your own.”
Grant said nothing. Isola was beyond furious about their mating. Gods, the look in her eyes when she realized what she held in her hand. He wasn’t sure he’d ever forget it, or recover from it. Her brown eyes had filled with disbelief, terror, and the beginnings of betrayal. She thought he’d planned it.
How could he explain to her that he was just as stunned as she was? Yes, he’d known instinctively that she was his mate and that their making love would result in a bond, but he hadn’t expected the absolute satisfaction he felt. And that was why he felt like a sneaky shit, because he’d wanted her so badly he’d forgotten her fears. And now she thought he had tricked her into bonding with him.
He closed his eyes and leaned his head on the seat. Fuck. He was so fucked.
* * * *
They heard the scream of rage, had even cringed at the sound. Hells, he’d jumped like someone had stabbed him in the ass. There was something in that scream that promised bloody retribution to some poor bastard. Probably the same poor bastard who was driving away as though a gaggle of screaming Japanese schoolgirls was on his heels.
“Do we go in?”
He sighed and leaned his head against the tree in front of him. How did he end up with such stupid clan members? It wasn’t—
One of the women came tearing out of the house. Her scent rode on an errant breeze, bringing back memories he thought he’d long buried. Dark brown eyes narrowed on the figure staring in the direction the car had left. Her brown hair was a lot longer than it had been when he last saw her. She’d filled out a good bit since the
n, too.
He watched as her small hands balled into fists she waved at the sky with vicious curses. A cold, cruel smile curled his lips. His clan members edged away, the stink of their fear mingling with Isola Malone’s rosy, freshly mated scent. He’d found her. After all this time. His family’s murders would be avenged. And Dov Silverman knew just how to do it.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“It isn’t that bad, ma fouine. Just think, if you have children and they misbehave you can always threaten to make a belt out of them.”
Rosetta laughed so hard tears poured down her face, ruining her precious mascara. “Or a pair of shoes!” she howled.
Izzy banged her head on the table she was hunched over. She was mated to the minotaur. No, it was impossible. She didn’t have his ring’s twin. Right? Except…
She’d been the one to take Grant. The Amazon mating instinct had taken over. She was his for the rest of her life whether she liked it or not and she hadn’t even realized it at the time. And he’d mated her right back. How? How was it even fucking possible?
She slammed her fist on the table next to her head. It wouldn’t have been so bad if her closest, most loving friends hadn’t been there. She didn’t mind the teasing, really she didn’t. But it would’ve been easier with Grant at her side, even if she wasn’t sure how she felt about him. But he’d taken off, left her with confusion and fear roiling through her which proved he wasn’t happy about this mating either.
Saga came strolling in with a bang of the door.
“Did you see the bear or bull?” Izzy asked without lifting her head. She’d stood outside for what felt like hours staring at the car driving away until Fallon made her come back inside.
Saga shook her head, her brown hair swinging from its high perch atop the back of her head. “Nah, that bull is long gone.” She sat at the table. “The bear, too. Thank gods.”
Fallon was a little quicker on the uptake. “A bear and bull?” He sounded intrigued, and Izzy could imagine his look between her and Saga. “What did I miss while I was entertaining my adoring fans?”
Blushing hard, Izzy pushed to her feet. She didn’t want to discuss anything, but these were her friends. The only people who, until the recent addition of Grant to that group, she trusted at her back. “I’m not going over this again.”
Saga snorted.
“Well, it’s like this,” Rosetta began, her voice eager and thrilled.
Izzy sat back down, thumping her head on the tabletop. There was no way out of it now. Rosetta would share all the juicy details with Saga and Fallon, leaving Izzy without a shred of pride.
“I came out here before Saga and ended up helping Izzy and her bull-man with a little imp battle. Then Saga showed up when that sexy bear came to get the bull-man.” She paused. “Has anyone else noticed how hot the men are around here? The bear’s deputy was, oh my gawd, hot!”
Izzy couldn’t help but smile into the tabletop. Trust Rosetta to boil everything down to sexiness.
“We kicked a little ass, Izzy got hurt, the bull-man—who is seriously hung by the way—was all worn out and we put them in bed together to recover.” She laughed. “Except I don’t think Izzy got that memo.”
“Shut up.”
“When I went in to check on them, Izzy here was plastered all over him like he was a pair of Jimmy Choos on clearance. Did I mention that Mr. Bull looked like he’d just been tied up and ridden within an inch of his life?”
Heat seared Izzy’s face where it was pressed against the table. Saga and Fallon’s shocked silence was enough to make her want to sink into the floor.
“Wait, wait a minute,” Saga gasped out. “You’re telling me Izzy mated the bull? I thought he mated you!”
“That’s what it looked like to me.”
Saga groaned. “Oh, Izzy, you idiot! What if he doesn’t bond to you? You’ll be bound to a male with a harem for the rest of your life!”
“Harem?” Rosetta’s voice did not sound happy. “If he’s Izzy’s mate, he doesn’t get a harem.”
“I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that, cher,” Fallon said, sounding less than happy himself. “The bull is a shifter, yes? This means his animal half has to bond with his mate. If he does not bond with Izzy, she will not have a mate, will not be recognized by his people.” His big hand came to rest on the back of Izzy’s head. “Ma fouine, is he your mate?”
Izzy banged her head on the table again and unclenched her fist. The gold ring from Grant’s septum piercing made a tinkling sound as it hit the wood of the table.
Part of her—a very secret, hidden part of her—was thrilled that she was Grant’s mate. The rest of her, though, wasn’t so sure it was a good thing. In fact, she wanted to die. She’d promised herself never to get involved with a shifter again and what had she done? She’d mated one. A full-on, Amazon, take-no-prisoners mating and he’d answered her back. Fuck.
“Izzy…” Saga’s voice was tired. “How could you do something so idiotic?”
“I didn’t mean to.” Her voice was soft, embarrassed, and she prayed they couldn’t hear what she’d said.
Of course, her prayers always went unanswered.
“You didn’t…didn’t mean to? What the hell does that mean?”
Really pissed off now, Izzy sat up straight to stare her mentor in the eye. “It means I didn’t mean to mate him. It means that the fucking Amazon instinct took over when I was weak and next thing I knew, I was mated to a fucking minotaur! Is that clear?”
Her friends stared at her, eyes round with surprise and horror. Yeah, that was pretty much her reaction too. Amazons chose to mate, they weren’t compelled to. Normally. Izzy sighed. She so wasn’t normal. She shouldn’t have been surprised that her mating ceremony wouldn’t fit with the rest of her tribe.
“What are you going to do?” Rosetta asked in a hesitant voice.
“Hell if I know.”
* * * *
“So your Amazon mated you,” Ricky remarked as they drove around Eustis.
Grant didn’t bother answering because, yeah, it was a stupid question. He hadn’t looked in a mirror, but he was almost positive Isola’s possession of him had left a mark somewhere on his body. By the sound of fury she’d made, she obviously didn’t feel the same way.
He glared out the windshield of the squad car. He wasn’t giving up on her. There was no way she was getting away from him. She’d marked him as hers and he felt like strutting. He needed her in his life. Now that he’d had a taste of her, he wasn’t sure he could live without her in his arms every day of the rest of his life.
He rubbed the center of his chest. Fuck. He needed Isola. He needed her so much…Hells, he was pretty sure he might…love her.
“Damn.”
“What?” Ricky peered at him from across the car.
He shook his head, too stunned to put his thoughts and feelings into words. Not yet. Besides, Ricky would think he’d lost his mind. And maybe he had. Maybe Isola had fucked the sense right out of his brain. He didn’t care. He needed that Amazon. He knew he’d have to fight to get her to realize they were meant to be.
He knew it.
“I want to go back to my house,” he told his cousin when they reached the edge of town.
“Um. Are you sure? ’Cause she did not sound happy when we were there.”
“She’s my mate. I need to be with her.”
He could feel Ricky staring at him, but fortunately, the bear didn’t say a word. No, he turned the car around and started back the way they’d come.
Grant felt a tingle of anticipation. It wouldn’t be easy making the stubborn woman realize they were meant for each other, but he’d manage it. Somehow. He wasn’t sure how she’d managed to break the spell on his piercing and it wasn’t important right now, but he’d find out. Somehow.
* * * *
“As much as I’d love to hang around and watch Izzy’s life implode, we have work to do,” Saga said as she paced around the kitchen.
“Wha
t did Queen Albreda say anyway?” Izzy asked because that had to be the reason they were here.
“The Council, Ruby, and Queen Albreda met two days ago. It seems your…um, mate may have stumbled upon a conspiracy to wipe out several top-notch Veilerians at one time.” She raised one of her hands when Izzy opened her mouth. “Don’t even ask for details, Izzy. You’re out, remember? All I can tell you is that we’re here and we’ll take care of it.”
Izzy blinked up at Saga, not sure she’d heard correctly. Rosetta looked the other way when Izzy glanced at her. “What? You mean…I can’t even help?”
“You can’t help. In fact, you should have been at the Black Dog Camp, not here, but I’ll overlook that because he’s your mate.” Saga shook her head, her eyes filled with sadness. “But I can’t let you do anything else. You’re not part of the tribe right now, Izzy. You’re outcast until you learn how to control yourself.”
“But…I was the one who brought this to the Council and Queen Albreda’s attention! This is my op!”
Again, her mentor shook her head and as Izzy watched, she cloaked herself in authority. “If it would’ve just been the song at the get-together, Queen Albreda might have let you in on this, but the e-mail about VP Chief Snow to every Amazon tribe as well as every employee in the Veilerian Protection Agency? She might have let that slide as well. But then you were nearly tagged by the human police after molesting male dancers at Lani’s bachelorette party.” She shook her head sadly. “There’s no in for you on this job, not this time. But because you gave us information that has no doubt saved hundreds of lives, Queen Albreda will give you one final chance to redeem yourself. You can walk away from this now, go to the Snow Blind Camp in the Yukon, or you’re out of the tribe indefinitely.”
Shock held her immobile. What had been fun and games had only dug a hole her queen seemed ready toss her into. They weren’t just keeping her out of the operation, they were going to kick her out of the tribe if she didn’t follow the queen’s directives. She felt…numb. This was it. She could tell by the shadows in Saga’s eyes that what she decided now would follow her for the rest of her life.