The Heir

by Ariana Rodriguez

  Laura cheeks flushed, looked at Axel under her lashes and shook his hand.

  "What does the note say?" Dasha asked.

  They were all standing around her waiting for her to read the note. Taking her time she flipped open the card and read the four words.

  Have Dinner with me?

  "So?!" The girls asked impatiently.

  Jessica looked at them, "He asked me out to dinner."

  "He? who is he?"

  "Nick."

  "Oh hell yes!"

  "What are you going to say?"

  Jessica dazedly shook her head; she had no idea what to say.

  Jessica stood rooted to the spot, she was sure she was having an out of body experience. This kind of thing just never happened to her.

  "Are you going to say yes?" Laura asked her.

  "Why would she say no?" Dasha demanded, looking at her like she was crazy to even think it.

  Their questions swarmed around her like buzzing bees and she couldn't hear herself think over the noise. Leaving the flowers on the counter she headed towards the back of the store in search of some quiet but everyone just trailed after her. The girls badgering her nonstop to say yes while Axel and Christian silently enjoyed the show. With her eyes she begged them for help but they just shrugged and shook their heads.

  Jessica glared at them, earning herself a couple of smiles, and made a line for the employee restroom. They followed her there too but Jessica stopped them at the door and shouted "silence!" before slamming the door in their startled faces.

  "No need to be rude." Dasha snapped through the door and Jessica heard them walkaway.

  Relieved to be alone, Jessica leaned against the door and closed her eyes; slowly she began to slide down to the floor. What was she going to say? She asked herself now that she had a chance to think. She wanted to say yes, she knew she should say yes, but she couldn't.

  She was scared.

  She'd never had a serious boyfriend before-Shane didn't count-and she'd never been out on a real date either. If she said yes, she would have to find something to wear, and worry about her hair and face. Jessica groaned, if she said yes she would be forced to ask for help. She glanced down at her clothing; sneakers, jeans and a t-shirt, it was all she knew how to wear.

  She didn't know how to dress her hair, that's why she liked to wear it short and she didn't know how to apply her makeup- apart from the basics-which she rarely used. What if he decided to take her somewhere fancy, she would have to wear a dress, and high heels!

  Jessica groaned, she didn't know how to do any of that stuff and she'd probably just end up making a fool of herself. She smiled ruefully, around Nick she didn't need any help from that department; any time he was around her, he turned her brain into mush and she ended up acting and looking like a complete idiot.

  "Why?" She wondered. "Why does he want to take me out?"

  According to him they were already mates, so what was the point? She rubbed the mark he'd left on her with the heel of her hand. Slowly, realization dawned. She'd told him that she wasn't moving in with him and he was just trying to convince her.

  Typical male thing, they just couldn't take no for an answer. Jessica jumped up and swiped the back of her jeans, determination written on her face. Well, he better get used to hearing the word from her, just because he claimed her didn't mean he owned her. She would talk to him and see him when she was ready, not a day sooner.

  Hearing herself, Jessica groaned again, she knew she was just grasping for any reason to say no because she was too scared to go. Maybe she should just say yes, she nibbled on her bottom lip, she could ask her mom and sister for help.

  They would like that; they could go shopping and do that stuff girls did. She looked at her hands, they could get manicures and...Oh hell. That stuff just wasn't her.

  Damn him, damn him for turning her into an idiot. She couldn't believe him, she'd asked for time to think about everything and all he'd managed to give her was a couple of hours. Alpha's, she thought with derision, they wanted everything and they wanted it now.

  Well, he couldn't have her and the sooner he knew that the better.

  Managing to rile herself up, she jerked the door open and looked at Axel, her hand, palm up, extended towards him. "Phone." she ordered "Dial his number."

  Axel knew what her answer was and he was sure Nick wouldn't like it. "Are you sure you don't want to think about it a little longer?" He asked her.

  Jessica snapped her fingers once and opened her palm again without saying a word. If she thought about it a little longer she'd probably go insane.

  Sighing, Axel dug out his phone and did as she asked, he handed her the phone after the first ring. Jessica placed it next to her ear and turned to go back to the bathroom when she remembered that it was futile. Axel and Christian would still be able to hear her.

  She leaned against the wall and waited for her call to be answered instead.

  "Did she like the flowers?" Nick asked as soon as he answered.

  She smiled sweetly even though he couldn't see it. "Yes she did actually."

  "Jessica?"

  "How many other girls do you send flowers to?" She asked and wanted to slap herself silly for it? She didn't want him to think she was jealous, even though she was.

  "Are you jealous?"

  She could hear the smile in his voice.

  "What?" she asked airily "why would I be jealous?"

  "Maybe you are jealous because you like me a little?"

  "If I liked you a little would I be calling you to say no?" She shot back.

  Her question was met by silence and when he finally did speak, his voice sent chills down her spine. "Are you saying no?"

  "Yes, no, yes."

  "It’s a simple question; may I have a simple answer?"

  "With you, nothing is simple." She retorted and after taking a fortifying breath, added. "No, my answer is no."

  "I see." He said slowly. “And why not?"

  "Simple." She mimicked his tone. "Because I don't want to. You can't make me do something I don’t want to." She answered childishly.

  "Watch me." he warned and hung up on her.

  She looked down at the phone and a shiver of trepidation ran up her spine. She silently handed the phone back to Axel and headed back to the store floor. They followed her silently, shaking their heads at her folly.

  "Did you call him?" The girls asked.

  "Did you say yes?"

  "No." Her clipped tone brought the girls up short.

  She didn't want to talk about it. She didn't want to think about it. She didn't need anyone to tell her what an idiot she was. She already knew. She refused to show any fear but deep down inside she knew she was in deep trouble.

  They looked like they wanted to say something else but they got the silent message and dispersed to work around the store, speaking in hushed tones and every now and then sending sideways glances her way. Jessica ignored them, went to the checkout desk and because it was a slow Sunday afternoon, leaned on the counter to stare out into space.

  The rest of the day dragged on uneventfully and she could have sworn that the hands on the clock moved slower than usual. And every minute that Nick didn’t show up, her fear abated; until she was sure he had decided to respect her wishes.

  Closing time came without incident. It was Jessica and Laura’s job to close the store on Sundays. During the rest of the week Lottie, the store owner, closed the store but Sunday's were her nights’ off-bingo- and she had the girls close for her.

  They counted out the money from the cash register and stored it in the safe; turned off the lights, set the alarm and ran for the front door; they had a certain amount of seconds to get out and lock the door before the alarm clicked on for the night, if they were still inside when that happened the alarm would go off and alert the authorities.

  Axel and Christian were waiting by the door when they came running out, Jessica locked the door and stashed the keys before saying her goodbyes to
Laura.

  "See you tomorrow." She told her.

  "Just you?" Laura asked peeking under her lashes at Axel.

  "No, they will be here too-forever more." She finished with false gloominess.

  No one laughed. When she saw that Laura wasn't budging she gave Axel a nudge, and he, unruffled, stepped up to Laura, reached for her hand and raised it to his lips.

  "It was a pleasure meeting you Laura; you made my day seem that much shorter." He told her sincerely.

  Laura looked up at him and smiled shyly; Jessica heard a sigh and wondered where it had come from before she realized that it was coming from her. She looked around to check that no one had noticed and found Christian smirking at her. She stuck her tongue out at him but was distracted by Laura's question. She'd just asked Axel out on a date!

  Axel brought a hand up to his heart. "I would love to," he told her, "but bodyguard is a twenty-four/seven profession." Laura's shoulders slumped, "but hey! We will see each other at the store right?"

  That made her smile, "Tomorrow?"

  "I'll be here." He promised.

  After those words she smiled, said goodbye and they watched as she got into her car and drove off. When the car was out of sight, Jessica looked at Axel admiringly. "You got some moves!" She exclaimed with a smile. "I mean, you had ME sighing."

  Christian agreed and they turned towards their bikes. They'd taken two steps, keys in hand when they froze.

  "Why the hell did you have to say no?!" Christian wailed.

  They pushed her back until she hit the building wall. Then they stood in front of her, hands up and on their guard. Seconds later, she saw two forms barreling towards them, one wasn’t a human and she couldn’t help but let out a piercing scream.

  Chapter 14

  The wolf reached them first, it growled and she tried to back away but there was nowhere for her to go. She was stuck between a hard place and a really sharp...set of teeth. With her adrenaline pumping, everything that followed, she experienced in slow motion. The wolf took a step closer and she shrank back, she had to bite her lip to keep herself from screaming like a little girl again.

  Axel and Christian closed the distance between her until they were shoulder to shoulder and less than an inch away from her. She thought they were trying to protect her from the wolf but, when it moved its head to the side, to her amazement they moved aside to let the wolf stand between them.

  As it turned to face the way it had come, the tail graced her leg and Jessica cringed away. The reality that she was most probably looking at a werewolf became too much to take. To her, werewolves and shifting, it had all been like aliens-just a possibility. Now that she was staring at an honest to freaking goodness wolf she felt like life had just flipped on its axis.

  She'd believed everything Nick had told her but now there was zero doubt in her mind. Wolves didn't act this human; they just didn't approach you and turn around to protect you without being prompted. They didn't, she shook her head, they just didn't.

  "Get away from her Matt."

  The order snapped her attention up to owner of the voice. He was walking slowly towards them with barely contained energy sizzling around him. As he got closer, Axel and Christian shuffled back nervously but the wolf stood his ground. Nick balled his hands into fist and snarled. "She is my mate!"

  His eyes began to glow as he got closer to them and Jessica brought a fist up to her mouth and bit down to keep a scream from escaping. Those eyes, they weren’t human. She knew that most of her fear was irrational, but she couldn't help it. Healing bones, extra strength, speed and super sense, she could handle but furry legs were a-whole-nother thing.

  The wolf crouched down and curled its lips back, exposing his fangs and stuck its tongue out. It was a simultaneous act of aggression and submission. She remembered reading about that before and slowly her irrational fear began to abate. She took a deep breath through her nose and dropped her fist down to rest at her sides.

  The movement was caught by Nick and his piercing stare trapped her, like headlights on a deer. He stepped closer and the wolf let out low rumble that stopped Nick mid step. He looked at the wolf, then at Axel and Christian before looking back at her.

  "They are protecting you." He told her. "My most loyal, my friends, they are standing against their Alpha to protect you."

  Jessica looked at Axel and Christian, they'd promised to protect her but only now did she believe them, truly believe them. She could tell that they were uncomfortable standing up against Nick but they weren't moving.

  She looked at the wolf, wondering who he was, if she'd met him before.

  "That's Matt," Nick told her, as if he'd read her mind. "He is my enforcer, my best friend." Nick spoke the words mockingly. "You haven't officially met him yet, but you will later; if he is still alive." He added ominously.

  The wolf didn't move or make a sound and Nick smiled at him, showing his own set of canines before looking at her again. "Their actions are all punishable by death." He informed her, "They are willing to die to protect you."

  "Because you are a psychopath!" She snapped.

  "Only with you! You make me crazy but I've told you before, I would never hurt you." He tried to take another step towards her, hand out, reaching for her and the wolf growled. Nick lowered his hand and looked at her. "Matt thinks you should have a choice." He told her in a calmer voice.

  "Matt is one smart puppy."

  "Or a dead one, your choice." He shrugged and spoke as if he'd just asked her to choose ice cream flavors. "I would never hurt you but I can’t say the same for them. Come with me."

  "Are you nuts!?"

  Nick sighed. "Why are you always fighting me? Do you want me to fight my best friend?"

  "No, I want you to leave me alone!" She slumped down to the ground. Raised her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

  The sight of her sitting there like that, twisted something inside of him. He turned around and walked a couple of paces away. Taking deep breaths he began to calm down. "I'm sorry," he murmured with his back to them.

  He turned around and Jessica watched as, little by little, his eyes began to return to normal. She knew that the storm had passed when the wolf-Matt- sat back and wagged its tail. Nick sat down on the curb of the sidewalk and the wolf went to him and licked his chin.

  Nick laughed, scratched the wolves head and murmured, "Thanks." Then looked at Axel and Christian and praised their commitment to her. "I'm glad to know that I made the right choice when I chose you two to protect her." They both bowed their heads and relaxed a bit but Nick wasn't done, "but don’t make the mistake of forgetting that I'm your Alpha ever again."

  They nodded again but his concentration was no longer on them; it was on Jessica. He always seemed to be on uneven footing around her and he told her so after he apologized. "It's just that, I've never done this before." He explained to her.

  She raised an eyebrow and Nick took it as a good sign that she was no longer glaring at him or trying to sink into the wall.

  "I've never had a mate before and this is all new to me." He confided "No one ever told me how hard this whole mating stuff would be. I ache to be close to you." He placed a palm on his chest. "And I went nuts when you said no to me. I've never asked a girl out either." He admitted to her.

  Her eyes widened and she looked at him skeptically, "never?"

  He shook his head, "never."

  The admission brought her up short and did all kinds of crazy things to her insides. Even though she refused to put a name to the feeling, she'd hated thinking of him with other girls and had tortured herself all evening thinking that maybe he'd decide to go find someone else when she didn’t hear from him again.

  She scooted up to sit with him at the curb, the wolf between them and Axel and Christian standing behind them, and did something she rarely did. Looking down at her shoes she apologized.

  Smiling, Nick looked at her over the wolf's head-she could have sworn he was smiling too. "
What? Can you repeat that?"

  Jessica raised her head, their eyes connected and she apologized again. "I've never gone out on a date before," she admitted to him, "and I was too scared that maybe I wouldn't measure up and that's why I said no."

  Nick laughed and stood up. "Well at the risk of being rejected twice," He extended a hand towards her and asked. "Will you go out with me tonight?"

  Jessica placed her hand in his and he helped her stand up, smiling at him she asked. "Nothing fancy?"

  He shook his head and agreed. "Nothing fancy."

  "Then it's a date." she told him with her usual confident smile.

  "Mind if we take your bike?"

  She looked at him then over his shoulder. "How did you get here?"

  "The same way Matt did." Her eyes widened and she looked down at the wolf. Nick chuckled and added. "Running, I meant running."

  "But you can." She waved her hand towards Matt. "Do that?"

  Nick chuckled. "We all can. Even you." He added.

  She shook her head. "No, I can do some crazy stuff but I've never had the urge to pee on a tree or lick myself clean."

  Nick threw his head back and laughed, the earlier anger long forgotten, she had that effect on him. She made him feel care free. "Come on, let’s get out of here. One of these days, when you are ready, I'm going to teach you to shift."

  "But not today." She she didn't think she was ready for that.

  "Not today."

  They made their way towards her bike and she stood back while he got on and scooted forward to make room for her. When he was set, he smiled and stretched his hand out towards her. She smiled back, took his hand and jumped on; scooting forward until he was flushed against him and wrapped her arms around him.

  He gave her hand a tight squeeze and turned toward Axel and Christian, Jessica was amazed to find that she'd forgotten about them. Nick seemed to take up all of her attention when he was around and everything and everyone else became irrelevant.

  "Take the rest of the night off," he told them, "she will be safe with me." He looked down at the wolf Matt, "you too."