“You don’t have to do this.” Heidi pleaded with her. “Please, Maura.”
Maura lifted her head, looking at Heidi while Pete started pulling her to the truck.
“I’ll be okay,” she said quietly.
“There is no bitch there for you to talk to,” Pete said, speaking confidently now, although he hastened to get her into the truck and climbed in quickly after her.
Doors slammed shut and Bob climbed in last, turning his attention to Dimitri and not once focusing on her.
“If the humans pull another stunt in your territory, you may call me for assistance if you feel the need.” Bob looked sad.
There were too many emotions clogging the air, her own swarming around her too hard to control. It was impossible to smell what she swore she saw. Bob didn’t want to shun her. She had to believe that. It kept her heart from completely shattering when he closed his truck door and started backing out of the driveway.
Nicolo pulled her into his arms so tightly she almost couldn’t breathe. He kissed the top of her head, keeping her there when he straightened. She should move, face Dimitri and Josie, take on and accept whatever this pack leader would dish out.
“She will not remain in the cold,” Nicolo announced, moving suddenly and managing to almost lift and turn her as he headed for his den.
“Damn it to fucking hell, Nicolo,” Dimitri growled, bounding into the den right after them.
He slammed the door closed behind him. Josie hadn’t entered and she wasn’t sure if he’d take the den being closed to him as an insult or if the werewolf had his own private agenda to tend to. There wasn’t time to worry about that.
Nicolo let her go, facing his littermate. “You’ll announce to the pack that she’s my mate,” he ordered.
“No.” Dimitri shoved his fists into his hips.
“You’ll say nothing of her being shunned to anyone.”
Dimitri scowled at his littermate.
“And you’ll accept her here in our den until spring, when we can build our own den.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.” Dimitri looked ready to pounce.
“Then don’t be a fucking idiot about this,” Nicolo hissed.
Dimitri leapt through the air, tackling Nicolo and knocking both of them off their feet.
“Stop it. God! No!” Heidi leapt to the side, barely managing to get out of their way as the two giant werewolves snarled and attacked each other.
“There is no way I’ll allow you to destroy our pack like this,” Dimitri yelled and raised his fist, holding Nicolo to the ground with his hand on his neck.
Nicolo howled, throwing Dimitri off him and leaping forward, pushing his littermate backward. The couch made a horrible screeching sound when it slid across the floor. Nicolo got a good punch in, but then Dimitri turned into a wild beast, his teeth growing and a scream ripping from his throat, curdling Heidi’s blood.
“You will destroy this pack if you don’t pull your fucking head out of your ass,” Nicolo growled and then slid backward on the floor when Dimitri hit him hard on the jaw. Nicolo leapt to his feet, pressing his hand against the wall and then pushing, leaping through the air and falling on his littermate. “Your anger blinds you. And I won’t be miserable simply because you want to be.”
Heidi had never seen such outrage sketched in Nicolo’s face when he took Dimitri down, the coffee table crashing and shattering into pieces underneath them. She jumped out of the way, pressing against the far wall while Nicolo and Dimitri continued attacking each other. Something told her the aggression they released stemmed from more than Nicolo’s demands that Dimitri accept her.
Her teeth pricked her lower lip, having sharpened as her defenses kicked in. The two werewolves blocked her path to the door. Although for the first time in her life, running didn’t appeal to her. No matter whether they had approval of any pack leader, Nicolo was her mate, her life partner, and through battle and happiness, she’d stand by his side. Even so, her heart pounded so hard in her chest, she had to fight to keep the change from taking over. The intensity of emotions filling the small cabin made that damned hard to pull off.
“I will not have our pack shunned and attacked again. You won’t be the cause of us losing everything when we barely have it again.” Dimitri pushed Nicolo off him.
Blood trickled down Nicolo’s chin. His black hair hung wildly around his outraged face and his dark eyes flickered with silver when he opened his mouth and showed off dangerous-looking teeth. His words were garbled when he spoke.
“We will only be destroyed if we continue to live as if we were extinct, hiding and refusing to allow other breeds to be part of our lives. We aren’t any better than any other werewolf on this planet.”
“How dare you speak that way of your own kind.” Dimitri’s words were also muffled from his body fighting to change and turn into the deadly creature that ached to come forward.
Heidi shrieked when someone pounded loudly on the door. She turned, staring at the closed wooden door, and then glanced at the two werewolves who glared at each other.
Dimitri shoved Nicolo off him, standing and straightening his shirt over muscles that bulged with enough fierceness that the material barely stretched over them.
“Who is it?” Dimitri barked, glaring at the door but then looking back at Nicolo when he stood slowly.
He wiped his mouth, smearing blood over his dark skin while he breathed heavily. Even outraged, his large presence made Heidi’s heart skip a beat. She had to be insane imagining how aggressive a lover he’d be after this fight was over.
Whoever was at the door pounded again. None of them spoke, and the werewolf on the other side didn’t identify himself. She waited for either Dimitri or Nicolo to move. Something filled the air—an eerie calm that tickled her scalp and sent a rush of nerves over her skin. The den grew deathly quiet.
Dimitri growled and yanked open the door, then almost stumbled backward into her.
“What the hell?” he whispered.
Heidi jumped out of the way so that he wouldn’t knock her over. She stared at the older werewolf who sauntered into the room. Silver streaked his black hair, and his relaxed expression and movements smothered the animosity in the den with a calmness that made her dizzy with the quick shift of smells.
“Damn cold out there,” the old werewolf said, rubbing his arms. He didn’t wear a coat and didn’t smell like the outside. “My old bones will never get used to this harsh winter.”
“Bruno,” Nicolo whispered, quickly grabbing the pieces of the broken coffee table and shoving them to the side. He suddenly acted like a pup who’d been caught scrapping when he shouldn’t have been. “Please forgive us.”
Heidi frowned at him, baffled by Nicolo’s suddenly strange behavior.
“You can’t be Bruno. I don’t believe it.” Even Dimitri suddenly seemed humbled, an emotion she’d never noticed on the werewolf before.
“You see and still you don’t believe.” Bruno shook his head and walked into the middle of the den where he then turned and looked from one werewolf to the other. “I remember when you two used to fight as cubs. Now look at you, all grown up.”
He chuckled and then looked around the den. “Of course, if you’d destroyed your den then like you have now, your sire would have whipped both of your hides.”
“Don’t speak of our sire,” Dimitri said.
Bruno pointed a dark, wrinkled finger at him and Dimitri straightened, shifting his weight to one leg and then the other. Heidi swore Dimitri almost smelled nervous. She watched the old werewolf, whose dark eyes seemed glassy against his weathered, almost leathery-looking skin. Many werewolves didn’t live to be so old, and in a pack like Nicolo’s, where they fought for territory and rights not only here but in Malta as well, she’d guess there were few old werewolves. That wasn’t what hit her as odd though. This old male, Bruno, didn’t smell. Not of old age, or the outside, or of emotions. If she weren’t staring at him, she wouldn’t know he was in the r
oom.
“The day you quit honoring the great warrior who sired you is when you die inside,” Bruno said. “Look at you two. Will you fight each other until you’ve destroyed all that I’ve taught you to cherish?”
“I’m fighting to improve Malta werewolves.” Dimitri turned to point at her, although he didn’t look away from Bruno. “Don’t tell me you approve of diluting our bloodline.”
Bruno waved his hand in the air, sighing heavily. “Leading a pack in anger will only spawn more anger. That will dilute our line faster than any other breed could.”
He didn’t look at her, and when she glanced at Nicolo, he’d clasped his hands behind his back, standing tall and looking like a proud, strong werewolf. His expression wasn’t readable, but she got the impression he had a lot of respect for the older werewolf. She had no clue who he was.
“It’s time to let go of the pain from your past, Dimitri,” Bruno said in a quiet tone. “Lead our werewolves with pride and honor. Don’t howl over the small stuff and always sniff your way toward the larger picture.”
He turned toward the door and both Dimitri and Nicolo jumped, moving to his side and opening the door for him when he reached it.
“The Americans and lunewulfs will work with you. Show them your strength, not your weaknesses.” Bruno put his hand on Dimitri’s arm. “You’ll be a great leader, Dimitri. Now that your anger is gone, you will see things so much clearer.”
Bruno walked out the door, and Dimitri and Nicolo blocked her view of the outside as they stared into the growing darkness.
“Son of a bitch,” Dimitri muttered, looking down as he scrubbed his hair with his hand.
“Have you seen him since we’ve been here?” Nicolo asked, reaching around his littermate and closing the door.
Dimitri shook his head, smelling confused.
“Me either.” Nicolo finally turned and looked at Heidi, the torment in his expression creating a lump in her gut. He held his hand out to her and she moved to his side. “Acknowledge the mating,” he told Dimitri quietly.
Dimitri took his time looking up, and then glanced from one of them to the other as if he didn’t quite understand what Nicolo had just said.
“We’ll leave and find a pack that will take us in if you don’t.”
Dimitri stared at him, the two werewolves no more than a foot away from each other. She felt the strain in her neck looking up at the two of them. They stared at each other, both so deadly, although at the moment turmoil and pain washed over their expressions.
“You aren’t waiting until spring to build your own den. And for the safety of your bitch, you might consider claiming some of the land higher up on the mountain.” Dimitri opened the door and walked out of his den, not bothering to close it behind him.
Heidi stood, watching Dimitri’s backside as he strolled into the woods. She didn’t dare breathe. Suddenly, the overwhelming scent of Nicolo hit her. Victory. Satisfaction and his rich, musky scent of desire attacked her senses.
Slowly Nicolo closed the door.
“Who was that old werewolf?” she asked.
Nicolo didn’t turn around. “Our old pack leader.”
“You had a pack leader here before Dimitri?”
“No.” He turned around slowly, his hooded gaze looking tormented. “He was our pack leader on Malta. When our pack burned, he died with his mate.”
“But,” she stammered, shaking her head. “Obviously he didn’t die. Maybe the rest of your den lives too.”
“No.” He shook his head. “They all died. I know it for a fact. We spread their ashes.”
“What are you saying?” She remembered not being able to smell the old werewolf, but that could have been because of the hostile feelings clogging the room. “You can’t mean that he is a ghost.”
“Before Erin mated, she swore she saw Renee, our old queen bitch. I didn’t believe her, since Dimitri and I found their carcasses and spread their ashes into the ocean. We spread the ashes of our sire and our mother and other littermates too. Dimitri still carries a lot of hatred from that time. It’s what you smell on him. But I now owe my youngest littermate an apology for doubting her when I didn’t smell a lie.”
“Are you saying we just saw a ghost?”
“I’m not sure.” He stared into her eyes, something softening inside him, opening up to her while he shared with her thoughts she doubted he’d voice to any other werewolf. “I believe the gift has levels to its power that you and I may never understand.”
“Oh.”
“Heidi,” he whispered, his voice scraping over her flesh with its husky tone.
She looked up at him—at the slow swelling of his lower lip, at his tousled black hair that fell straight around his dark gaze—and she shivered. But not from cold. Warmth spread over her. Her heart pattered in her chest so quickly she could barely catch her breath. Never had he looked so damned good.
“Will you be my mate?” he asked.
She exhaled quickly, coughing and then placing her palm against his hard chest. The steady beat of his heart turned the warmth inside her to scalding heat. She shook her head, unable to stop her grin and fighting a sudden fit of giggles that seemed rather inappropriate at the moment. Nicolo looked so serious.
“Don’t you think it’s a little late to ask me that?” she asked.
“No. It’s never too late. I won’t have you feeling trapped or forced into something simply because you have nowhere to go at the moment.” He grabbed her arms, squeezing just a bit. “It won’t be easy being mated to me.”
“Life isn’t always easy, Nicolo. We both know that.” She stroked his chin and frowned at the bruising there, barely visible against his dark skin. “Come with me. You need ice on that.”
Her large werewolf let her lead him like a pup and sat obediently when she pulled out one of the kitchen chairs. She grabbed a slab of frozen meat from his freezer and tilted his head, applying it carefully to the swelling.
“I don’t want you to take me as a mate because you know I’m denless.” She watched his dark eyes, got lost in them, stared into them as they smoldered like rich, dark chocolate coming to a boil. “I’ve been without a pack before and I made it through that.”
Nicolo grabbed her wrist, pulling it to his mouth and then scraping his teeth over the sensitive flesh. She almost fell onto his lap. Her knees went weak while a steady beat began between her legs that matched the thud of her heart.
“I want you, Heidi. Not some other bitch, but you. Please be my mate.” Long black lashes hooded his dark eyes, and he slowly kissed the spot he’d just nibbled.
“What if your pack shuns you?” she asked.
“That won’t happen.”
“You know they’ll hate you for taking a lunewulf bitch.”
“Those who do will suffer.”
“No. I don’t want more fighting in your pack because of me.”
“I will always fight for you, little bitch. Always.” He raised his gaze, still holding her wrist to his mouth so that his lips brushed over her skin when he spoke. “And if you say yes, then this is your pack too.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “You knew it was yes.”
“I needed to hear it,” he told her honestly. “Just as I need to know why you would take me as a mate.”
“Why?”
“Do you love me?”
Now her legs did go weak. She crumpled onto his lap and he quickly wrapped his arms around her, holding her firmly against his warm body. She adjusted herself as best she could, all too aware of how hard his cock was underneath her and how long and thick it felt against the side of her leg.
“Yes,” she said, suddenly nervous. There would always be honesty between them, and she knew more than anything that she’d never felt for another werewolf what she felt for Nicolo. “I really do think that I love you.”
“Damned good thing,” he growled.
She put the slab of meat on the table and cupped his face, then gently kissed him. The metallic taste
of blood lingered in his mouth. She ran her tongue over his teeth, feeling their still slightly lengthened shape. Her tummy twisted, raw desire unleashing inside her. When his cock jerked between them, her pussy swelled. More than anything, she needed him inside her, but there was more to say, more she needed to hear.
He bit her lip, and a low rumble escaped him, making his body vibrate against hers.
“Nicolo,” she cried out, breaking the kiss and wrapping her arms around his neck.
She held him while resting her forehead against his. In just a minute, she’d gather her wits about her. With her every breath she inhaled his rich scent, which made it damned hard to think straight.
“What about you?” she whispered, her voice sounding ragged.
“What about me?” he asked.
She hated how controlled he sounded—so in charge of his thoughts and emotions while hers raced around in her head like a pack of pups, out of control and with no direction.
“How do you feel about me?”
“I love your free spirit and the way you smell right after I’ve fucked you,” he whispered. “And when you’re angry and your blonde hair turns white, you are an incredible sight. I love how you fought for me and fought for your happiness. But little bitch, you stole my heart the day you told me you ran into Valle without an escort because you wanted to be with me. You fought for me. And you’ve won. Every inch of me is yours.”
Chapter Fourteen
Nicolo stood, lifting Heidi into his arms. She barely weighed a thing, but she displayed a decent amount of strength when she twisted and then easily wrapped her legs around his waist.
He cupped her ass, instantly tortured by how smooth and soft it was. “Our lovemaking in the past has already mated us. Even now, I smell my scent coming from your pores.”
She lifted her head, holding on to his neck and hoisting herself up his body so her face was close to his. “I think you better mate with me again, just to be sure.”
He had to look like shit. When he grinned, his swollen lip stretched, feeling like it stuck out half a mile. She didn’t seem fazed by his appearance though. Her blue eyes glowed, so sensual and beautiful. The slightest shade of silver bordered them, adding to how erotic she looked.
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