by Helen Scott
“Nic, your phone’s ringing!” she called out to him. Her brain was so addled from sex that she honestly hadn’t realized what it was at first.
He was out of the bathroom and in front of her in a few strides before realizing his pants were by the sofa. Once he was done rifling through the pockets, he held his sleek, fancy black phone that looked brand new in his hand. He pressed it to his ear briefly, and Harper could hear a woman’s voice. Shit. Did he just use her to cheat on someone?
“You okay if I make a call?” he asked, concern pinching his eyebrows.
“You’re not in a relationship, are you? I should’ve asked, but you didn’t seem like the type—”
“Not a relationship. My alpha. She’s probably not all that happy with me right now, so could you do me a huge favor, Lola, and stay quiet?”
She nodded, and added, “I don’t have the energy for much else, anyway.”
He grinned at that, and she smiled back, but in the back of her head, she prepared to listen in to the conversation like a hawk. For once, she was glad her apartment was so tiny. There was nowhere to have a private phone call unless he left, and if he did that, well, then she’d never see him again, because clearly the man would have something he was trying to hide.
“Alpha, I apologize for missing your call,” he said as soon as a woman answered the phone. Harper wasn’t sure who this alpha lady was, but she was going to find out as soon as he ended the call. “Daisy got away from her new owner and I have been helping her search, which is when we ran into the mage. Harper patched me up, but I thought you would want to know where he was and what clan I believe he’s from.”
Harper could hear the woman thanking him for letting her know and saying that she was going to pay a house call to the mage.
“He is powerful. It only took two attempts to force my shift. Please take others with you for backup.”
She was offended by this. Did he think she was incompetent? Or that she couldn’t handle herself? Harper could hear all the quiet rage behind those two questions that spoke of a woman being second-guessed because she had a man’s job.
“Of course not. I didn’t mean to offend you. I just want you to be safe, that’s all. Listen, when are you going to visit him?”
As soon as she could.
“We are going to head out now that the rain has stopped and search around the perimeter of his home for Daisy’s scent. If we don’t find an exit point, could you ask him if he would allow us to look in the back of his property for Daisy?”
Of course she would. He would need to let her know soon, though. Oh, and Imogen would be coming with her, so they could help after the meeting with the search.
“Thank you, Valentina. I’m sure it will mean a lot to Harper.”
Was he still with the human?
“Yes,” he said simply, with no explanation that could lead to more questions.
There was a pause on the other end of the phone before the woman advised him that she would like to meet the human and speak with her about the pack and what she saw today. Harper’s heart thumped in her chest. Clearly, this woman was powerful, and she honestly wasn’t sure if she wanted to meet her or not. Did she get a choice? Probably not.
While Domino wrapped up the call, she ignored the rest, satisfied that he wasn’t cheating on the woman on the phone, Valentina, with her. Cheating was something she absolutely could not stand. After he hung up, he came back over to her and climbed onto the bed, wrapping her legs around him so his hips were pressed against hers once again, but this time, it was just for the pleasure of touch. There was nothing sexual driving it.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Yep, my alpha wants to meet you and will help us look for Daisy.”
“You guys are much more invested in the animals you rescue than I thought you would be,” she said, trying to ignore the fact that the alpha wanted to meet her.
“We like to protect those who can’t protect themselves. Humans and animals alike. It’s why our pack is the way it is.”
“And what way is that?”
He rolled to the side and laced his fingers between hers while pulling her close to him so they were practically snuggling. She’d forgotten how comforting just lying with someone could be. A rough, mangled piece of her heart was soothed by the intimate contact that had no strings attached. He was touching her because he wanted to, not because he was trying to get in her pants. He already had been, and she hoped he would be again.
He took a deep breath, and said, “In the shifter world, most people stay with their animals. Wolves, cats, and bears all stick together but separate from one another. That’s the norm. We aren’t normal. A, we have an alpha who is a woman, and B, we are a multitude of animals, everything from bear”—he gestured to himself—“to jaguar to wolf to who knows what else. Some of our members have never shifted in front of the whole pack, just the alpha, Valentina, and that’s okay. She trusts them, her animal trusts them, and that passes through the pack bonds to us and our animals, so we trust them. And C, we take in strays.”
When he didn’t elaborate further, she poked him in the ribs and raised an eyebrow.
“Like me, for example. Bears are usually solitary creatures in the wild, and occasionally shifters will form packs, but not very often. I stumbled into Valentina’s territory, and she made me an offer, so I joined the pack. Another example is a woman who Imogen just rescued from somewhere. I still haven’t gotten the whole story on that, but she’s under our care and protection now until she no longer wants it. We all came together as strays. Some of us are animals who don’t naturally form packs; others were in a pack and were either abused or unappreciated or ridiculed, so they left. We all have our own stories, and no one in our pack judges. We just look out for one another.”
“Sounds like a nice family you guys are building.”
“It’s pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. Now, come on, you sex goddess. We need to get up and dressed so we can search the property line before Valentina gets there, or did you not hear that part?” He winked at her, letting her know that he’d known she was listening the whole time.
She poked her tongue out at him before asking, “What’s this about me being a sex goddess?”
“You’re telling me that wasn’t the best sex of your life? Because it sure as hell was for me, and the sounds you were making.” He whistled low. “Damn, Lola, you almost had me losing it with that.”
Harper paused and looked at him as she pushed up on all fours, ready to climb out of bed. Before she could say anything, he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “I’ll have you like that later, sweetness.”
She blushed furiously.
“Come on now, you didn’t think that was a one-and-done thing, did you?” His tone was joking, but there was something in the back of his eyes that spoke of hesitation, like if she said yes, she had just wanted a one-night stand, he would be disappointed.
“God, I hope not.” She smiled back at him, feeling brave. “And as for this”—she gestured to her being on all fours—“You can have me any way you want me, so long as it feels good.”
His eyes went dark and hooded at her statement. “Oh, Lola, I’ll make you feel damn good. Just you wait.” He licked his lower lip and bit it gently as his eyes traveled over her naked body. Her nipples stiffened, and blood rushed south as her body prepared for what it thought was going to be round two. “Patience, sweetness. We’ll have as many rounds as you want later. Hell, I might not let you out of this bed for a week once we find Daisy.”
She sighed. That grin of his was positively wicked, and how did he seem to know exactly what she was thinking? They both clambered out of bed and dressed, each touching each other in small ways as they prepared to head back out. Part of her felt bad that he had to put on wet clothing when she could change into something dry, but he seemed to run hot, so she doubted it really bothered him.
Just as they were about to leave, he pulled her to him, tilting her h
ead up to his with a knuckle under her chin. “This wasn’t a one-time thing. I intend to pursue you, if you’ll let me.”
She gulped and nodded. Her voice was barely above a whisper as she said, “Pursue away. I’m not going anywhere.”
Domino leaned down then and kissed her. This time, it wasn’t urgent or overflowing with passion. It was tender, loving. His lips moved against her own as though he were sharing the most intimate of secrets with her. She melted into him and knew she was lost. Any man who could be that tender and love her so thoroughly was worth investigating.
Chapter 9
Domino let his bear come as far forward as he dared in a public space as they took a nice, leisurely walk around a few blocks of the mage’s property so he could try to scent an exit route that Daisy might have taken. That little pup was going to give him a heart attack if they couldn’t find her. The two of them had started the search on the side where he had scented her before, and though the scent was still there, it was much weaker from the rain, before walking around the property. They’d covered two sides and were walking down the last one when he thought he caught a whiff of her but wasn’t sure.
He sent a quick text to Valentina, who said she’d wrap up the meeting with the mage and she and Imogen would be out to help him. It must have been going well if she felt comfortable enough to respond to his text. Mages and shifters weren’t naturally best friends, but if they were going to be neighbors, then it was a good idea to make nice before things went south.
The jingle of the leash and collar that Harper was carrying brought him back to the task at hand. There was still no sign of the dog, but her scent was on the air. Valentina and Imogen would help confirm his suspicions once they got there. Domino looked over at Harper, nerves fluttering in his chest. He didn’t get nervous. He was a black bear, for crying out loud. But the idea of Harper, the woman he wanted to pursue as his mate, meeting his alpha, well, it gave him the jitters.
Harper was calling for Daisy over and over again, and it just about broke his heart. The woman was strong and powerful and just wanted her damn dog back. His eyes couldn’t help but trail over the curve of her body as she paced around where they were standing, waiting for his alpha. Now that he knew what was under those clothes and what sex with her felt like, he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about it. So much so that he’d tucked his cock under his belt because his erection wouldn’t go away. He was sure he would be mercilessly made fun of for that by Imogen and the rest of the pack once he got home. Shifters could almost scent emotions, as well as read body language better than humans, so they would have no doubt that he was aroused when they met up. He tried to focus on baseball or golf or anything that could get his mind out of the gutter, but it was proving to be a monumental task.
“Dominic,” Valentina’s voice sounded behind him, the alpha power flowing from her like a tidal wave crashing into him.
He turned and dipped his head in respect and apology for the trouble he’d caused her that afternoon. “Alpha.”
“Why don’t you introduce us?” she asked as she glanced over at Imogen. Both of them were struggling to suppress a smile.
“Harper?” he called to his future mate, who had started wandering down the street.
When she turned and saw the other two women, she hurried back.
“I’d like you to meet my alpha, Valentina, and my packmate, Imogen. Ladies, this is Harper, Daisy’s new owner.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, and just so you know, I swear I am a responsible pet owner. She just spooked and pulled out of her collar. It won’t happen again, once we find her.”
“The pleasure is ours. I can’t speak for Imogen, but I, for one, have never met a woman who Domino wanted to introduce to us before, much less one who left him flustered.”
“Really? I thought Nic would be quite the ladies’ man.”
“Nic?” Imogen asked with her eyebrows raised.
“Don’t get any ideas,” he growled at her under his breath.
“Sorry, I meant Domino,” Harper said, looking concerned, like she might have put her foot in her mouth.
“Our Domino certainly can be a ladies’ man, but we’ve never met them before,” Imogen responded.
“Anyway”—he jumped in before they could discuss him any further—“I scented Daisy just over there by that lamppost, but it seemed to diverge somehow, so I thought we could split up and check it out.” He gestured to the two directions as he spoke so they knew what he was talking about.
“Certainly. Domino, you and I will go south, while Imogen and Harper will go east,” Valentina said, her voice commanding, not asking.
Harper looked at him, unsure, so he nodded and agreed with his alpha.
As they walked away from each other, he shot a glance over his shoulder and watched Harper walk away with Imogen. His bear was comfortable that the wolf could protect his human, so he settled into step beside his alpha.
“So,” she began, and he instinctively knew she wasn’t happy with him, “is there anything you didn’t tell Harper about us?”
Shit. He should have talked to her first before exposing them so thoroughly. “Where we live?”
“I see,” she said, glancing at him. Her eyes had gone cat, the color changing from a rich amber to a bright gold edged with gray. She left her mouth slightly parted to help her scent the dog.
They walked in silence for a while, looping around the block as they followed Daisy’s scent, occasionally calling her name in hopes that she would come running.
Finally, Valentina asked the question he’d been waiting for. “What are your intentions with the human?”
“I want her to be my mate, and I plan to pursue her accordingly, unless you forbid it, of course.”
“I would never forbid someone from their mate,” his alpha responded, looking slightly horrified. “Does she know that you want to mate with her? Have you told her what that entails?”
“Not yet. We haven’t exactly had time. Plus, I think she would probably like to get to know me better before we have that conversation. My bear has decided, so unless she refuses me, I will take as much time as needed to court her.”
“Careful, old man, your age is showing,” she teased.
He harrumphed at her, but before he could move away, her gentle hand landed on his shoulder.
“Dominic, I know you. You’ve already let your guard down. You need to tell her sooner rather than later so she knows how it will affect you if she decides to leave. Besides, she’s already infatuated with you. That much is obvious.
“I hope so, because my bear is set on mating with her, and I’m just as smitten as she is.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Choosing a mate is not to be taken lightly, as you well know.”
He nodded, thinking about everything he’d seen happen with mates over his lifetime. The thought of questioning the connection he had with Harper briefly flitted through his mind, but they were meant to be mated. He was sure of it.
Chapter 10
Harper’s breath caught, and Imogen’s eyes widened as they overheard the conversation Domino and Valentina were having. Mating? She had no idea what that meant, but she agreed with the alpha. He needed to talk to her about it sooner rather than later.
“Please, don’t tell him we overheard,” she whispered, looking at Imogen.
“My lips are sealed.” The other woman made the gesture of sealing her mouth and locking it before throwing away the imaginary key. “I want nothing more than to see Domino happy. If that’s with you, then I’m not going to screw it up for you two.”
Her mind was reeling, but something felt off. If their sense of smell was so powerful, shouldn’t he have known she was there? Did he mean for her to overhear? Whatever the truth of it was, it didn’t matter in that moment. What did matter was finding Daisy, and Harper dearly hoped that they were getting closer to doing that.
When they rounded the corner, they almost smacked into Domino and Valentina. His eyes locked
on her, and she could feel her blood heat under his gaze.
“Any luck?” The alpha’s voice broke the trance that she seemed to go into around Domino.
“Not as such. There is a faint trail leading off just up there, but I thought this one was stronger, which is why we kept following it,” Imogen said.
“She must have circled the block a few times for her scent to still be so strong. Let’s go check out the other path you found,” Valentina said.
The four of them wandered down and across the street, Imogen and Valentina leading the way while she and Domino walked behind. When his hand found hers, she bit her lip, twining her fingers through his as her heart thumped in her chest. Could she do this? Be part of this strange world she’d never even known existed? Be the mate of a bear shifter? She didn’t know the answer to either of those questions, but one thing she did know was that she was willing to find out, and that thought surprised her.
“Here!” Imogen’s voice was urgent.
Harper’s heart jumped into her throat. “Is she okay?”
“Something’s up with one of her back legs,” Imogen said, her body still hiding Daisy from Harper’s sight. When Imogen turned around, her arms held the little dog that had stolen Harper’s heart from the first moment she’d seen her. There was blood on her back left foot, and she held her leg at a strange angle.
“I don’t have a vet yet,” Harper breathed, unsure what to do.
“We will take her back to the shelter, and our vet will fix her right up,” Valentina’s voice sounded from her right.
When the other woman put a hand on Harper’s shoulder, it was like she was standing next to a fire. Warmth and strength radiated out of her through that one touch, and she could see why Domino and Imogen considered her the alpha of their apparently unusual pack. She nodded numbly to the people surrounding her, and they all moved away back to their cars, speeding back to the shelter and to the veterinarian who could fix Daisy up.
Standing in the staff lounge waiting was the worst part. She just wanted to know what was wrong and how they could fix it. It didn’t help that people kept coming in and out and giving her funny looks. When Domino came back in, her heart froze in her chest. He walked straight over and hugged her. The warm and woody scent of him filled her nostrils, and the steady beat of his heart under her ear calmed her.