The Heir

by Ariana Rodriguez

  Nick banged his head on the back rest and wondered, "Will it always be like this? Will always have to prove myself?"

  "It won’t take them long to shed the fear," His bodyguard tried to assure him, "As soon as they spend time with you they will see that you are nothing like him."

  “Am I that transparent?”

  "You are to those who know you, and we've all been busy praising your good character. Five minutes around you and they will see that we were right...either that or run back into hiding?" He added jokingly.

  Nick chuckled and shook his head, "Thanks, and I hope you didn't embellish my good virtues too much."

  He cringed, "Actually, you volunteer at the soup kitchen on Wednesdays, read to the kids at the library on Thursdays, Friday nights you volunteer as the designated driver at some of the local bars, coach kids sports on Saturdays, go to church on Sunday and Monday you spend it at the hospital."

  Nick's eyes grew wide and smiled, "you forgot Tuesday."

  "Oh no, that’s your resting day.” He was informed, tongue in cheek. "But you can't sit still so you usually bake cookies to take to the soup kitchen the next day."

  "Have I killed anyone with those cookies yet?"

  "Of course you haven't!" His bodyguard took his eyes off the road for a second to glance at him. "You don't watch Martha Stewart for nothing."

  Nick threw his head back and laughed. "You are right. They will be running for the hills! Thanks" He added soberly. "I needed that."

  "Glad I could help."

  They reached his house and as soon as the car was parked Nick opened the door and jumped out. He looked around, wondering where everyone was and went to the front door. As soon as he opened it, a horrible scent bombarded his senses.

  He followed the smell into his living room and froze in the doorway.

  "Surprise!"

  "Welcome home!"

  "What the hell are you doing here?" He asked them in a deadly low voice.

  “We heard you were coming home," Kate explained as she walked towards him. "And we thought it would be a great surprise to come visit you."

  As she reached him, she raised her hands for a hug and he took a quick step back to avoid her. The thought of her touching him had vile rising up his throat. Kate lowered her hands slowly and pouted but he ignored her, sidestepping her to look at his sister.

  Nick smiled at her, opened his arms and Sarah rushed into his embrace. He held her tight and she murmured into his chest. “I missed you big bro."

  He gave her one last tight squeeze before pulling back and placing his hands on her shoulder to look at her. "Missed you too Sarah but how many times have I told you not to wear that crap around me?"

  "Sorry Nicky, that's me." Kate admitted and sidled up to him, "I know you hate it but I wanted to look my best for you."

  She wrapped her arms around one of his and he had to bite back a snarl. The strong scent of her perfume, mixed with the smell of her disgusting make up and her desire for him were making him dizzy. He'd always been repulsed by her, but never like this, before he couldn't stand her touch now he flat out hated it. He had to fist his hands -and remind himself that she was a female- to keep himself from flinging her away and through a wall.

  "Where's Matt." He asked his sister and did his hardest to ignore the leech on his arm.

  Sarah shrugged and tried to act like Matt's name alone didn't disturb her but he wasn't fooled. For ages he'd known that his best friend and sister had a thing for each other.

  “He's out back I think." She answered him indifferently, cutting into his thoughts, and turned around to look out the window before he could ask her anything else.

  Nick got the hint and eyed her back contemplative. Sarah and Matt had tried like hell to hide whatever was between them and it had worked on almost everyone but him. He knew them too well; they'd gotten along well until around the time she turned eight-teen.

  Unfortunately things seemed to have turned sour after her last visit. She’d even stopped coming for months and when she did come visit again, she wasn’t the same.

  "Sarah, do me a favor and go get Matt. We have a lot of things to talk about today."

  Sarah knew a dismissal when she heard one. She walked out mutely, praying for the strength to keep herself from flying into Matt's arms. One day, she told herself, one day the danger will be gone and I will be able to shout it to the world that we are mates.

  Nick watched the doorway until he heard his back door open and close.

  "Great idea, now we can be alone." Kate purred. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she took a deep breath to breathe in his scent and froze. "What is that smell?" She asked with disdain and dropped her hands to her hips.

  As soon as her hands were off him, Nick wasted no time in stepping away from her. "What are you talking about?" He asked blandly. "What smell?" Nick lifted his arm to smell his arm pit. "I don’t think I smell that bad; do I?"

  Kate glared at him. "Don’t be smart." She snapped. "Why do you smell like cheap girl perfume?"

  "It's not cheap." He corrected, taking exception to the word and her haughty tone of voice. "Cheap is the crap you are wearing, and it's not perfume." He clarified. "It’s just the smell of the detergent she uses on her sheets."

  "And why do you smell like her sheets?"

  "Because I slept in them." He answered her silkily and experienced immense joy when her nostrils flared in anger.

  "Who is she!?" Kate demanded her hands still on her hips. "Does she know that you are taken?"

  Nick crossed his arms and looked down his nose at her. "Yeah, she does know actually."

  "And she still slept with you?" Kate curled her lips in disgust and continued contemptuously. "What a slut."

  "Don't, don't call her that." He bit out through clenched teeth.

  "Really Nicky." Kate realized she'd overstepped her bounds and tried tact. "What am I supposed to call her, your mistress?"

  Call her my mate, he thought but knew that now wasn't the time to drop his bomb. For the first time since he woke up in Jessica's bed he found a reason to be thankful that their mating was yet to be completed. He could hide the new mark that had appeared on his shoulder the moment he marked Jessica but he couldn't hide his scent. When wolves completed a mating, their scents morphed; two halves became one.

  "I'll just let you know right now" She continued over his thoughts. "That I will not tolerate infidelity when we are mated."

  Nick looked at her, jaw hanging open and not bothering to hide the horror in his eyes that he felt from the thought of being her mate. He opened his mouth then snapped it shut again. He was tired of telling her that even if they were the last wolves on earth...he would pick extinction over her.

  Instead, with fingers on his chin, adopting a thoughtful look, he asked her. "What are your favorite flowers?"

  At first she looked startled by the question; she'd been expecting his usual rejection, but then smiled coyly and answered him. "Orchids, white." She clarified and looked at him dubiously, "why?"

  He shrugged nonchalantly. "No reason,"

  Kate smiled excitedly and clapped her hands once. "Tell me!"

  "Do you really want to know?"

  "Yes!"

  Nick curled his finger, asking her to come closer, she did so eagerly. Head bent close together he whispered. "I want to send..." He paused for effect and she held her breath. "HER some flowers."

  "What?"

  "Yeah, I'm taking her out on a date and wanted to surprise her with some flowers but didn't know what kind to get her." He slapped her back as if she was his best friend. "Thanks for the help, I'm sure she'll love some white orchids."

  Kate glared at him. "You wouldn't!"

  Nick just smiled and nodded. Slowly a new scent began to envelope him, letting him know he'd achieved his goal. He loved the smell of burnt peppers, make up and perfume before lunch, he thought sarcastically.

  A combination of scents that was sure to keep his stomach turning for hours and hours
. He looked around the living room, the house needed a new air system, but he would wait until Jessica moved in. His home was a bachelor pad and he was sure there were a lot of things she would want changed.

  He smiled wryly to himself; before, the thought of a female disrupting his cave would have caused him to break out in a cold sweat but not anymore. Now he was looking forward to it.

  "You called for me?" Matt asked from the doorway, snapping him from his introspection.

  Nick barely managed a nod when Sarah rushed in face flushed and snapped. "Let’s go Kate."

  Nick raised an inquiring eyebrow in Matt’s direction and was ignored; his best friend just kept looking at his sister. A stranger would have said he was mad, but Nick wasn't a stranger. Sarah gave him a good bye hug without making eye contact and as she walked past Matt, she took great care to avoid contact.

  Kate followed his sister out and the door was banged close. The silence was deafening.

  "I don't want to talk about it." Matt told him in a low tone.

  Nick thought about that for a second and nodded. "Fine." He made his way past him and headed towards his office, "tell me about all my new wolves."

  Matt was thankful for the reprieve and immersed himself in detailing all of the new arrivals. Nick was attentive and made all the right questions; that's why he was such a great Alpha, because he cared about his pack and tried his best to get to know them. To that end, Nick called a run for later that night, so he could meet all the new wolves and officially accept them as members if they swore their fealty.

  Throughout the last couple of months they'd kept in regular contact and Nick was well informed on all other pack issues. The only reason he didn't know about the new wolves was because they feared discovery and such information had to be passed on personally.

  No one could know that Cade's pack members were slowly coming out of hiding. If they did they would wonder why they chose this particular pack and soon they would come sniffing around.

  "What are you thinking?" asked Nick as they both took a seat.

  "That I'm glad your back." He smiled ruefully. "Your absence helped to remind me why I don't ever want to be an Alpha."

  Nick rocked back on his chair and laughed. "Not easy?"

  He shook his head. "Not easy at all. He could have killed her," Matt added, self-disgust dripping from every word. "Shane could have killed her whenever he wanted and I allowed him near her." He raised tortured eyes to him. "I never again want that kind of responsibility. I don't know how you deal with it."

  "Cold hearted remember?"

  Matt didn't know how to respond to that. As his best friend he'd always known that Nick wasn't that. He'd always known that Nick just exercised a tight control to his emotions. He'd always thought that he understood what it meant to be an Alpha but only when he experienced it firsthand did he really understand. As the leader, every decision, good or bad, rested on his shoulders and he had to live with the consequences for the rest of his life.

  "Did you find out anything about him?" Nick asked

  Matt shook his head. "We think he was a rogue that probably slipped past us."

  "Never again" Nick vowed and Matt could say nothing, knowing that it shouldn't have happened in the first place. "So what happened with you and my sister?" Nick asked, trying to distract him, seeing how much he was beating himself up over Shane.

  "Nothing." Matt answered him in a clipped tone. He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to talk about the way his heart broke every time he saw her and could do nothing to convince her that they belonged together.

  "I don’t know why you don't just claim her."

  "Because she doesn't want me to."

  "So?" Nick asked with the arrogance of an Alpha who went after-and always got-what he wanted.

  "If Jessica was your true mate you would know what I mean. All I want is for Sarah to be happy and if it’s not with me ...then so be it."

  "If you two are an example of what I can expect from soul mates; no thank you!"

  "You have no idea what you're missing." Matt warned.

  "Then tell me, what am I missing?" Nick sat up in his chair.

  "Love like no other." Matt simply proclaimed. "And even though we aren't together I am thankful to have found my true mate."

  "True mate!" Nick scoffed "How do you know that? How do you know that it's not just some sick obsession?"

  "Didn't anyone ever talk to you about it? Explain to you the signs, what to expect?"

  "No, why would they fill my head with fantasies?" He asked. "Father always wanted me to marry Kate and never allowed anyone to talk to me about true mates." Matt already knew that, in the Pacific Pack, everyone had been threatened with exile or worse, death, if they spoke about true mates. The idea that soul mates existed threatened the pureblood. "So tell me, how you know that Sarah isn't just some sick infatuation." Nick asked him.

  "I can't stand any other females touch." Matt told him and scrubbed his face in agitation "I don’t know how to explain it."

  Nick told him to give it a try.

  "Fine, when a girl wants you, you can smell her desire right?" Nick nodded, "That scent, if directed towards me, makes me sick to my stomach. If she touches me, my skin begins to crawl. I can only stand Sarah’s touch, that's when I figured it out. I told her but she denies it. "

  Nick could hear the bitterness in his voice and wished there was something he could do about it. Wished he knew how to help his best friend. Unfortunately it was hard for him to believe in true mates, his father grilled it into him that they didn't exist from a young age.

  "Other than that, your heart, it tells you when she is the one. You know," Matt eyed him thoughtfully, "the way you act with Jessica, one would think that she was your soul mate."

  Nick scoffed in rejection of his idea. The only female that made his stomach hurt was Kate but that was nothing new. Kate seemed to have that effect on everyone. "Sorry to disenchant you, but she is not my soul mate." He waited a couple of seconds before adding, "But she is my mate."

  Matt shot up off his seat. "What?!"

  Nick smiled triumphantly. "I'm a marked man." he turned to the side and lifted his shirt.

  There on his shoulder was a light blemish that would darken upon the completion of his claiming. The Agape, meaning true love, looked like a birthmark to the untrained eye and was meant to be a reminder to every one of the true love that the mates felt for each other.

  "How did you get her to agree?" Matt asked in awe and walked around the desk to take a closer look at the mark. He couldn't help the twinge of envy that he felt upon seeing his best friends mark; he would give anything to be able to claim Sarah.

  "I didn't," Nick admitted, they took their seats again and he proceeded to explain everything that happened from the moment he stepped into Jessica's bathroom to him confronting Kate a couple of minutes earlier. They had a good chuckle as he described the look on Kate’s face when he told her that he was taking a girl out and sending her orchids. Nick would never dream of sending Jessica the kind of flowers Kate liked, he wasn’t so crass but it still made them laugh.

  When he was finished, Matt got up and headed towards the liquor cabinet that Nick kept in his office for such special occasions. "This calls for a celebration." He told Nick and began to pour two shots of whiskey from a decanter.

  "Not just yet." He picked up his office phone and hit the speed dial. "Where are you?" He asked when his call was answered. "All right thanks." He hung up the phone and asked Matt. "Do you have the address of the store where she works at?"

  Matt dug out a business card from his wallet and handed it to him. Nick dialed another number and waited patiently for it to be picked up.

  "Yes, do you deliver?"

  Chapter 13

  "Jessica, how do you do it?"

  Jessica looked at Dasha innocently "Do what?"

  "How do you get all of these hot guys to chase you around?!"

  "Oh my god!" Laura exclaimed as she dashed in
from the street. "Did you see those bikes outside and the riders? Two of them are outside! Oh damn I can see me riding him!" She pointed at Axel and Jessica had to hold back a laugh.

  Before any more words could be said the doorbell chimed and all three girls stood in awe as Axel opened the door for a guy caring an arrangement of flowers. Long stemmed red roses and lilies. Axel led the way towards her while Christian followed behind.

  Now she understood why they'd decided to go stand outside.

  "Jessica?" The delivery guy asked and Jessica nodded mutely. She'd never gotten flowers delivered to her before and she was speechless.

  Smiling, the guy handed her the flowers and turned to receive a tip from Axel. Laura and Dasha shrieked but she was deaf to the sound. She was too busy running her cheek over the rose’s soft petals and inhaling their sweet fragrance.

  "There should be a note in there somewhere." Christian told her.

  Jessica glared at them. "You guys knew about this."

  They shrugged and smiled and Laura gasped.

  "You know them?!" She shrieked.

  Jessica ignored her. "So much for the loyalty." She grumbled with mock annoyance as she walked to the checkout counter. She placed the flowers on the counter and looked for the card. She was about to open it when Laura came to stand next to her.

  "You need to introduce me to the serious one!" She demanded in a whisper. "He's the one!"

  Jessica looked over her shoulder at Axel. Christian’s shoulders were shaking and Axel looked a bit uncomfortable. Laura didn't know that even though she was whispering, they could still hear her. "Axel?" She had to fight down her laughter, "You think he is hot."

  "Hot with capital letters! Introduce us please!?"

  Jessica looked over her shoulder again.

  "Hey Axel," He raised an eyebrow and tried to act unaffected like he didn't already know what was coming. "Meet my friend Laura."

  Christian couldn't hold back anymore, he doubled over with laughter. Jessica chuckled, but Axel being the gentleman that he was walked up to Laura and offered her his hand. "It's nice to meet you Laura."