by Jenny Penn
Like Kristen hadn’t heard them all before. She certainly didn’t need to hear them now. What Kristen needed was help, and she’d lowered herself all the way down to coming to Lilly Masterson to ask for some. At least she got to enjoy shocking the normally unflappable private detective.
From the surprised look on the other woman’s face, Lilly clearly hadn’t expected that greeting. Her amazement didn’t last long, nor did she respond to Kristen’s desperate request. Leaving Kristen standing there on the porch, Lilly shuffled off without so much as a second look in Kristen’s direction.
Taking the open door as an invitation, Kristen stepped into the cabin buried out in the marsh. Lilly’s house sat on a scrap of land that barely managed to rise over the water that flooded in every six hours. The dark wood structure blended in with the wild, tropical feel of the tiny tidal island. Accessed by a dirt path that had been built up wide enough to fit a car, there were signs all the way down the wandering drive to beware of alligators.
None of it fit what Kristen had expected of Lilly’s home, not that she’d ever given it much thought. Still, some part of her had been expecting something more lavish and modern to go along with Lilly’s smart, wealthy image. This aged shack with all its outdated and worn furniture seemed much more an abandoned rental than a home.
Kristen could really care less. Turning to find Lilly moving around behind the island that separated the galley kitchen from the rest of the main room, she confronted her a second time. “I need your help.”
“Does your brother know you’re here?” Lilly shot back, clearly annoyed and obviously not totally awake yet. Kristen eyed Lilly’s pink nightshirt and matching plaid bottoms. Even with the overtly girly getup, Lilly still moved with a kind of lethal grace and spoke with the authority of a person used to wielding power.
“This doesn’t concern him.” Lilly snorted. Shoveling more coffee grinds into the maker, she didn’t even bother to look at Kristen as she dismissed that statement. “He’s your brother and your Alpha, every aspect of your life is his concern.”
“This isn’t something he is capable of handling,” Kristen amended, unable to argue with Lilly’s reasoning.
* * * *
“Now that, I believe.” Turning around to study Kristen as the coffee machine started to sputter and pop, Lilly slowly started to grin. “So you’re here, which we both know means you’re desperate. You don’t want your brother involved, which means your problem is either embarrassing or you’re afraid he’ll get hurt. Add that with the two fresh bite marks you got on either shoulder and I bet I can guess what has you all weirded out this morning.”
“How did you know?” Kristen asked, tensing as Lilly worked it out too perfectly too quickly.
The bite marks weren’t visible, and Lilly didn’t have a werewolf’s sense of smell, so how the hell had she known? A creepy kind of cold slithered down her spine, but Kristen consoled herself with the reality that all the wolves she’d ever known to deal with Lilly had the same reaction to the woman. Point-blank, nobody liked her.
“Given there are two,” Lilly completely ignored Kristen’s question to continue working out the problem, “I’ll go out on a limb and say you got tagged by a set of Covenanters.”
“How did you know?” Lilly just grinned, antagonizing Kristen all the more. “How?”
“Oh, relax.” Lilly waved off Kristen’s growl. “I’m just good at guessing. What I’m still confused on is why you are here.”
However Lilly had figured it out, Kristen didn’t have the luxury of worrying over that now. What she needed was help, and she didn’t have anybody else to turn to. “I need you to undo it.”
Lilly snorted. “Please tell me you’re not talking about the mating, because you should know better than me that’s not possible.”
“Then make it possible,” Kristen snapped, tired of being toyed with by the smart-mouthed detective.
“Okay, I’ll just go get my jar of magic fairy dust and—”
“Don’t fuck with me, Lilly.” Normally Kristen didn’t give in to the temper of the wolf. Then again, normally she was dealing with people she cared about, or at least didn’t want to see get hurt. With Lilly, though, it felt good to give in to the need to roar at her enemy. “I want this mating undone.”
“Not. Possible.”
“Then make it,” Kristen snarled back.
“And waste my time?” Lilly shook her head. “Even if I found a way, by that time you’ll be all settled in with your mates and probably chunk my bill out the window, just like your kind always does.”
“No. I won’t be,” Kristen vowed. “I don’t know even know who the two idiots are that bit me, but I know that there is no way in hell that I would ever end up matched to two arrogant sons of bitches that think they can turn me into some kind of sex slave they don’t even have to bother to say hello to before they stuff me full of dick. I won’t stand for it!”
“Well then go tell them that,” Lilly shouted back, making direct eye contact with Kristen and tempting her into a full transformation. “You are going to help me.”
Expecting Lilly to snap back another denial, she surprised Kristen when she suddenly relaxed into a smile. “Not unless you help me.”
Every one of Kristen’s hairs prickled. She should have known. The devil had measured how desperate she was, and now Lilly would ask for a payment that would match. “You’re not talking about cash, are you?”
“No.”
“What do you want?” Kristen braced herself for an answer she knew she wouldn’t like, but she didn’t have any other option than to ask.
“Richard Payne.” Lilly repeated a name that Kristen didn’t recognize.
“Who?”
“He was arrested last night for robbing a few banks. He needs to stay in jail.”
“I’m a defense lawyer,” Kristen informed Lilly, just in case the detective didn’t know. Somehow, though, she kind of suspected Lilly already knew, given that her grin only widened.
“Who better to make sure somebody stays in jail?”It had been nothing short of stupidity to go to Lilly’s. Kristen’s fingers tightened on the wheel as she imagined wringing that bitch’s neck. To even have the balls to ask Kristen to take on a client for the sole purpose of throwing the guy’s case went to show that every bad word her brother had ever said about Lilly Masterson was true.
None of that changed the fact that Kristen didn’t have but two choices. She could break every ethical code and violate several laws to screw over Richard Payne, or she could spend the rest of her life on all fours servicing the two horny dicks that had broken into her house last night. A lifetime of guilt versus a lifetime of submission, Kristen didn’t know which one would be worse.
It really came down to which one she could live with. Right then nothing sounded shoddier than living with two Covenanters. Their women didn’t tend to work, mostly because they were turned into baby making factories. While the idea of kids didn’t bother her outright, the vision of her having to throw away her successful career to spend the next ten years wading through poopy diapers did.
She really didn’t have a choice. As Lilly herself had pointed out, even if she could find a cure it would take time. Meanwhile, there would be no keeping this news from her brother. Claire would have told him already and hopefully tried to blunt Derek’s temper because Kristen bet he didn’t take the news well.
Soon enough, Derek would be on a collision course with her mates. Kristen really had no idea of how to prevent that from ending badly, partly because she had no clue who her mates were. Not that she needed their names to know Derek could kick their asses.
Then again there were two of them and only one of her brother. Two very large, very savage Covenanters, meaning Derek might win, but he’d definitely get hurt. Kristen couldn’t allow that. He had a family to look after and the pack to tend to. The repercussions of last night could throw her entire community into turmoil.
Lost in her morbid thoughts, she di
dn’t know what her speed was, but guessed it had been excessive when a set of blue and red lights went off behind her. The cop gave her the normal single wail of his siren and then tracked her car into the grassy shoulder bank. Kristen knew the drill and began digging through her purse for her license. She’d just leaned over to find her registration in her glove box when a knock on the window alerted her to her company.
With a sigh of recognition that life just intended to crap all over her, she rolled down the window. “Good afternoon, officer. I got my license and—”
McBane. The words froze in her throat as her eyes widened over the unsmiling face of the Covenanter Alpha. It couldn’t be a coincidence after what happened last night that her mates’ Alpha now stood glaring down at her.
Acutely aware that this situation could turn sour, Kristen plastered on her best smile and hoped he’d only pulled her over to give her a ticket. “Sheriff—”
“Please step out of the vehicle.” He cut her off, opening her door for her.
* * * *
“I don’t think—”
“Now.”
Kristen obeyed the harsh command, instinctively submitting to the authority of an Alpha. Almost immediately she wished she hadn’t. She hadn’t taken any vows to obey the Covenanter Alpha’s authority and owed him no loyalty, but with her compliance she created the appearance that she had.
“Listen, Sheriff McBane,” Kristen began, trying to keep her tone reasonable and not panicked. “I don’t—”
“This way.” He took her elbow in one large hand and tried to direct her toward the back of the car.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” Kristen jerked free of his hold, allowing her own anger to guide her for a moment. It was a mistake to challenge an Alpha, especially when she didn’t have the strength to shake his hold a second time. His fingers curled around her arm, tightening almost to the point of pain as he yanked her toward the trunk of her car.
“Don’t make this more difficult than it need be.” That was a warning, not an attempt to soothe, but Kristen dug her heels in and refused to be intimidated by this man.
He couldn’t do anything to her without her brother’s consent. Kristen knew Derek wouldn’t give it. An Alpha in his own right, Derek had the strength to handle McBane, but she didn’t know if he could take on two.
Fortunately, JD’s twin didn’t look to be around anywhere. Kristen knew that might not make a difference as disputes tended to be settled in a more ritual manner. A ritual that could gather the two packs together as witnesses. There was no way that could end well.
Kristen went cold at how badly it could all go. The Covenanter Alpha must have smelled her sudden fear and guessed at its cause. Releasing her by the bumper, he offered her no reassurance as he turned to pin her with his hard gaze.
“Your brother will be here shortly.”
“My brother?” Kristen could feel the blood rush out of her head at that statement.
“We’ll have this all sorted out when they get here.”
“They? Who are they?” Kristen could feel the panic start to tingle through her body. “Sort what out? Damnit! I demand to know what is going on here.”
As if in answer to that, the passenger side of the patrol car opened up. It could only have been worse if one of her mates had stepped out. Instead it was him. The one who had watched, the witness.
That thought had a growl rolling out of her. Kristen should have figured out what they’d been up to before now, because now was too late. In that grim moment, Kristen realized how badly she’d underestimated her mates. She’d thought them nothing but sex-crazed frat boys and forgotten completely that every werewolf knew how to hunt, the Covenanters better than most.
She should have run far, far away because now she had no choice but to stand there and await her fate. Something she didn’t think would take too long in coming given the pickup truck blasting down the highway.
“Keep an eye on her.” McBane shoved her at the last man she wanted to be with. “I’m going to go keep the Nickel brothers entertained.”
“The Nickel brothers?”
McBane shot her a pitying look, making Kristen bristle. Not that he took notice as he turned his scowl on the man who’d come up to leer at her. “Behave yourself, Tex.”
With that, the sheriff strutted off, leaving her alone with the sole witness of last night’s debauchery. The pervert giving her lewd looks wasn’t her only problem. He wasn’t even her biggest.
Watching the black bumper of the pickup slide almost right up to the patrol car’s thinner one, Kristen forgot all about Tex in the mad rush of nerves that nearly overwhelmed her as she caught sight of the two Covenanters filling in the cab. Her mates. Awareness spread through her like a warm, soothing sensation that had the wolf inside her almost purring as it settled down.
That only enraged Kristen more because her mind knew it wasn’t fair. She didn’t know these men other than they were willing to do anything to get what they wanted. What they wanted was her, naked in their bed, but Kristen was more than simply a pussy to be fucked. She wouldn’t let them or the wolf inside her reduce her to such a thing. “Don’t even think about it.” JD blocked Kort’s path with a shift of his body. “The party is only going to get bigger, and we don’t need to start it with trouble. So try to keep your head and remember fighting isn’t going to get that woman in your bed tonight. You hear me, Kort?”
Kort’s eyes shifted from where his mate and Tex stood to JD. He didn’t like seeing his mate standing so near another male. Knowing that Tex had already seen Kristen naked and climaxing only made it harder not to want to tear out the man’s throat. As satisfying as it might be to hear Tex scream in pain, it obviously wouldn’t go over well with JD.
They needed JD’s help. They didn’t need to make this situation any messier. JD had it right about that, but all the logic and reason didn’t change the fact that Kort wanted to rip Tex’s arms off and beat him bloody with them for standing so close to his woman.
She was his. Mine, the wolf growled with a hunger that Kort knew wouldn’t be appeased any sooner by picking a fight with anybody or everybody that bugged him today. Not that he could relax no matter how hard he tried to force the tension from his muscles, but Kort did take a step back, a silent signal he’d heard his Alpha’s advice.
Right now, he had to remain focused on a single goal, keeping his temper from screwing him out of having a pleasant night. Jakob and he had been plotting all sorts of ways to ease their mate’s anger over the previous evening. They freshened all the linens in their house and even went out and got some flowers and baked apples to make their home smell inviting.
If only Kristen would glance back, Kort could smile at her. Then she’d know everything would be all right. She’d be able to see that they were just relaxed, normal guys who did what they had to last night. Kort knew it would be important for her to realize that they would have done things differently if they’d had a choice.
After spending most of the day on the phone talking with almost every woman he knew, Kort had gotten some perspective on how their mate might be feeling. Sensitive of how Kristen might feel about having her personal information spread around and aware that JD hadn’t wanted it spread around, Kort had wisely phrased everything in hypothetical terms.
Unfortunately, more than half the women he knew had liked the sound of what he’d described and thought he was propositioning them, which didn’t help Kort at all. It had dawned on him after receiving so many invitations to come over that he might not be asking the right type of woman.
So he’d turned his attention to calling all the older, mated women he knew. That had put the uncertainty back in his ego as one and all of the mated women became angry, indignant, and a few had even issued threats. Painful threats, ones that he certainly hoped hadn’t occurred to Kristen because Kort knew she liked certain parts of his anatomy right where they were.
As mad as she might be now, she had to realize she’d want to
use those parts again in the future. Kort would feel better about his conclusion if Kristen would just glance back for a moment. The stubborn woman didn’t, leaving him with not much of a view.
With her hair in a tight bun and her suit hiding every damn curve, Kort wouldn’t have recognized her at all as the sensual woman who had so mesmerized him last night if it wasn’t for the restless need his beast aimed at her. The wolf wanted her, wanted to shred all that ugly fabric away from the soft, sweet skin he knew it hid and devour her.
Kort swallowed, trying not to drool as the beast started filling his head with one bad idea after another. They might have been stupid, but they all looked like so much fun Kort’s balls started to ache with the need to try at least one.
He couldn’t because he’d never get past JD. His Alpha would probably whip his ass, which would not only fail to impress his mate but probably piss her off even more. The madder she got, the longer he’d have to wait to get a chance at any of those ideas. Given how stiff Kristen looked right then, Kort figured he’d be in pain for a while.
He might as well not make it worse by thinking about all the things Kristen wouldn’t be letting him do. Taking a deep breath with the hope of clearing his head, Kort tried to focus on anything beyond bending Kristen over the trunk of her car and giving in to all his lustful urges.
That outfit really didn’t do justice to the luscious ass he knew it hid. That thought gave him some pause as he wondered why she’d wear such an uptight getup in the first place. She’d been wearing something similar last night in the grocery store, so he had to figure Kristen dressed like that for her job. What job, though, Kort didn’t have a clue.
Maybe he should have spent some time learning about his mate today instead of trying to figure how to deal with her. That thought came a little too late given the three pickups that were bearing down on them. The Narin had arrived, and he’d brought backup.
“Remember,” JD turned a hard glare on Jakob and Kort, “let me handle this.”