by E A Price
Cain told himself that Carly would have a good reason for being late. She wanted to be there. She was committed to him. For hell’s sake, they’d been talking about how many cubs they wanted earlier that day! Maybe that was it; maybe she’d gotten cold feet after that. After all, he’d wanted to come and help her in the shop, and she’d insisted he do some training. She was blowing him off! She’d changed her mind; she didn’t want to hitch herself to bloody, great oaf like him!
He crushed the empty beer bottle in his hand as his enraged beast roared. A number of the other patrons jumped whilst the Alpha nodded to the bartenders.
A large, red headed she-wolf came over to him and started scooping up the pieces. The large black bear he had spotted at the Diner a couple of days ago hovered a few paces away.
“Another beer,” ordered Cain gruffly.
“I think you’ve had enough,” said the she-wolf peaceably.
Cain narrowed his eyes. “Another. Beer.”
“The answer’s no,” replied the she-wolf placidly.
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the Alpha standing, ready to attack if necessary. The Alpha had nothing to worry about, as far as the she-wolf was concerned. He would never hurt a female. However, the black bear, or the Alpha himself, might make satisfying punching bags.
Cain rose to his feet, his impressive height and bulk causing numerous patrons to gasp. The she-wolf disposed of the broken glass and folded her arms defiantly.
His bear was growling at him, goading him to pick a fight, urging him to work out some of his considerable rage on one of these idiot wolves. The Alpha, he should attack the Alpha. The Alpha thought he was the strongest shifter in town, but he was wrong. The Alpha had touched his mate at the Sheriff’s station. He’d show him; he’d teach him a lesson for daring to put a paw on Carly without Cain’s permission. This Alpha wanted to keep Carly for the pack; he wanted to keep her away from Cain so she could be his Omega. No, his beast would never allow it! Carly belonged to them. She was their mate and only theirs!
Cain started breathing heavily, his sizeable muscles began to twitch, ready for the shift and… he stilled. The soft, comforting scent of cookies washed over him. Carly was here. At last but… no, she covered in another male’s scent. An older, male wolf had been touching her!
Cain swung round to her. She looked so lovely; his heart almost stopped in appreciation of her beauty. But then he caught that damned scent again!
His eyes flashed, and his claws lengthened. Carly blinked at him in surprise.
“Carly be careful…” warned the red headed she-wolf.
Cain could feel the Alpha edging toward him, as well as a few other males in the bar, including the black bear and a small red wolf shifter.
“It’s fine Kim.” Carly sent reassuring feelings to all her pack mates in the bar and sent double the amount to her angry mate. A number of them visibly relaxed, but neither the Alpha, Kim nor Ed Buchanan, the red wolf shifter and Kim’s boyfriend, could.
“I’m sorry I was late, I…”
“What were you doing?” ground out Cain through gritted teeth. He didn’t want to scream, or shout at her, but he feared her answers would lead to that.
Carly could feel his anger, no mistaking that emotion, but she could also sense his hurt. Her face creased in sadness for unintentionally hurting her mate. “I’m sorry; one of my pack mates needed comforting…”
“What kind of comforting?” sneered Cain. “Because his fucking scent is all over you!” His bear prowled, caught between wanting to rage at her, and not wanting to hurt her in any way.
“I held his hand for a little while, and then I hugged him when he left. It was nothing,” she said soothingly.
Carly reached out to touch her mate, but he flinched away from her. Did he really think she was cheating on him? After what they shared last night, did he really believe she was capable of that?
The look of hurt and confusion on her face almost broke his heart. He wanted to take her in his arms, and tell her how much he loved her, but he didn’t trust himself. She still smelt of the male wolf, and his beast refused to accept her logical explanation of how it got there. The scent of another male was the scent of another male. Plain and simple.
“Look Cain…”
“I want you to stop being the Omega. I don’t want you to touch other males ever. I forbid it!”
Her wolf, who up until then had been whimpering, suddenly perked up. He forbade her to be an Omega? She was born an Omega; he might as well forbid her from having light brown hair!
Carly looked at him in disbelief. “You forbid it? How dare you! This is who I am, and I thought you could accept that.”
Cain bared his fangs. He felt a prickle as the Alpha took a step closer to him. “I can accept anything other than you touching other males! You can’t be an Omega and my mate!”
His statement left her cold. It was the same thing her father had said to her mother, over and over. Right before he hurt her…
Carly could never stop being who she was, just like her mother never could either. But she didn’t have to be with Cain.
Her bottom lip trembled as her eyes flooded with tears. “Then I guess I’m not your mate.”
Carly turned and bolted for the door. Cain moved to follow but was hindered by the Alpha, the she-wolf Kim, a black bear, a red wolf, and two other male wolves throwing themselves at him. All hell broke loose.
Chapter Eleven
22nd January
“Do you know how long the Alpha yelled at me down the phone last night? Thirty fucking minutes! I had to listen to him going on and on at me, and I had to sit there and say, ‘yes Alpha,' ‘I’m sorry Alpha,' ‘it won’t happen again, Alpha.’ It was fucking embarrassing!”
Hans was letting Cain know just how pissed he was.
Last night at the bar, after a lengthy struggle, Cain was finally subdued and escorted to the Sheriff’s station to cool off in one of the cells overnight. A little while ago, the stony-faced Sheriff released him and advised him to get out of town. Meaning he wanted the bear out of town, or else.
He’d gone back to his room, pointedly ignored the coyote girl manning the front desk, and stood under a cold shower for an hour, trying to cool his raging beast. He hadn’t got much rest in his cell, so he tried to take a nap, but he couldn’t relax. His bed sheets hadn’t been changed; Carly’s sweet fragrance, and the smell of their sex was all over them. He wrapped himself in the sheets, taking pleasure in their combined scents. His bear howled for their mate.
How could he have been so stupid?
Dejectedly, he got dressed and walked over to Pizza Moon, hoping for some help from Melanie. He was even willing to put up with Hans’ hissy fit if it meant getting Carly back.
Hans, after yelling for ten minutes, finally stopped for breath and Melanie jumped in. “I haven’t spoken to Carly; she wasn’t answering her phone last night. I’ll try her again.”
Melanie pulled out her cell phone but started when she heard a scream. “Was that Rosalee?”
The three of them rushed outside; Cain roared as he scented his mate’s blood. A small crowd was gathering at the side of the road; they jumped back when they saw Cain striding toward them.
His heart stilled to see his tiny mate lying in the road. Fuck she was hurt! His beast growled savagely. Who did this to his mate?!
Cain knelt by her side and carefully ran his hands over her body, checking for breaks. Rosalee sat back on her haunches, not wanting to get in his way.
The Sheriff jogged over to them, followed by two Deputies. “What happened?”
Rosalee was shaking, but she forced herself to be clear. “It was a white Mustang; it came out of nowhere. Carly was crossing the road, and I screamed. She… she jumped back, but she fell, I think she hit her head.”
Carly stirred and whimpered. “Cain…”
His heart lurched. “I’m here beautiful.”
Her eyes fluttered open, and she started to sit up, amidst c
ries of numerous people telling her to take it easy. As he supported her, Cain gingerly felt her head; pulling his hand away, he saw there was blood and almost sobbed.
“We need to get you to the hospital.”
Carly looked at him groggily. “No… I’ll be…”
Cain ignored her and looked at the Sheriff pleadingly. Alec nodded his understanding; he sent a Deputy to fetch a patrol car.
Alec insisted on driving, and Rosalee insisted on coming too. Cain carefully bundled Carly into the back seat and got in next to her, holding her tightly as they sped to the hospital in Darlington.
*
“It’s not your fault,” Carly whispered.
Cain wished he could believe that. He couldn’t help but feel if he had just acted rationally last night, if he hadn’t blown his top, today he would have been with Carly, and she would never have been anywhere near that car.
When they got to the hospital, the nurses tried to whisk Carly away from him, but he roared, bellowed and generally intimidated everyone who got in his way. The hospital staff, with a little calming from Rosalee and Alec, allowed Cain to stay with her. He refused to leave her side. He refused to allow the nurse to help Carly get undressed, and did it himself; it had been an internal struggle not to get turned on by the sight of her naked body. But he told himself to concentrate, she was injured, the last thing she needed was him trying to hump her.
Right now, a very scared looking rabbit shifter doctor was trying to examine Carly, under the watchful and downright terrifying eyes of Cain. His beast was tense, ready to attack, whilst Cain was constantly growling . He sounded like a damn motorboat.
Carly, although groggy, had taken his hand and was trying to reassure him. She could feel his guilt and wanted to soothe him. She doubted there was anything she could do about his ferocious anger; that was there to stay for a while.
The doctor looked at Carly, trying his best to ignore the bear. “You just have superficial bruises, thanks to your shifter genes, they’ve already started healing. You’ll probably be a little achy for a few days. The cut on your head will heal soon, but you have a concussion, so you might experience headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. If any of these symptoms persist past the next couple of days, come back and see me.”
“Thank you.” Carly tried to smile and thought better of it.
“Do you have someone who can stay with you?”
“Yes!” snarled Cain.
The rabbit jumped and ran out the room as quick as he could.
Carly tried to chuckle. “He wasn’t offering you know.”
Cain huffed. “You don’t know that. What kind of man chooses to earn a living feeling up young women?”
Carly inwardly smiled. “The kind who likes earning a lot of money, and driving BMWs. Come on, I want to go home.”
She tried to sit up, and Cain assisted her. He carefully dressed her, delighting in running his hands up and down her body. His bear had been prowling, but seeing that she was okay, he started to calm. A little.
The nurse came in with discharge papers, and when they were ready to go Cain scooped Carly into his arms, princess style.
“I’m sure I can walk…”
Cain shook his head fiercely. “No, I’m taking care of you and that’s that.”
Cain strode through the hospital, clutching his small mate. On seeing his size and the ‘don’t fuck with me’ expression on his face, people automatically jumped out of his way.
Carly rubbed her fingers over his neck. He sighed at the electric feel of her touch.
“Did they find the car?” she asked.
Cain’s face tightened. “Yes, abandoned outside of town. It was stolen from Darlington. They think it was kids.”
“Hmm, didn’t feel like kids.”
His jaw tightened. “Why do you say that?”
“It was just a feeling I got before the car came at me; I got a strong sense of anger. But I don’t know… it happened too fast. I don’t really remember much.”
Carly snuggled into him, trying to dispel his worry. She was fine. Or at least she would be. And hopefully Cain had gotten over their argument last night.
In the waiting room, Cain found numerous other pack members had arrived at the hospital too, including the Alpha, Hans, Melanie, Don, Kayleigh and the older wolf whose scent had been all over Carly the previous night.
His bear roared, but Cain held still.
The older male took Carly’s hand and squeezed. “How are you feeling?”
Carly smiled wanly. “I’m okay, thank you Isaiah.”
Isaiah looked up to Cain. “Take care of her, losing your true mate… I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
Cain nodded. No way was he planning on losing her now. She was his forever.
Chapter Twelve
23rd January
Carly woke to find herself trapped in a very warm, very tight cocoon. It took a few seconds to realize just exactly what was going on.
She was cuddled into the very solid, very warm body of her mate. After leaving the hospital, Alec drove her home and Cain stayed with her. He’d refused to leave her even to get his own clothes from the Bed and Breakfast, and whenever someone came to visit, he stared them down until they gave in and left. She was a little relieved at that; she already had a giant bear fussing and fretting over her, she couldn’t take any more attention.
She was achy, and her head hurt like hell, all she wanted was to relax. Cain fed her, read to her and then gave her a bath. He particularly enjoyed the last part. Finally, when it was bedtime, he put her in pajamas and laid her down before curling his big body around her.
Carly groaned as she realized he dressed her in her cutest pajamas. They were pink flannel with little lambs all over. She usually wore them when she needed cheering up. God, he must have almost had a laughing fit when he saw them. A wolf wearing lamb pjs!
Cain was snoring lightly, and rather than wake him, she relaxed against him. Her head felt a lot better, and the nausea had completely disappeared. Although, reluctantly she did admit her limbs still felt a bit bruised, perhaps if she were a fitter, more active wolf she would recover more quickly.
Carly curled her fingers into his light brown chest hair. She suddenly became aware of something very hot, and very large poking her thigh. Of course! He was naked and… apparently quite excited.
Her body heated. It had been two days since she’d been with her mate. Her wolf yipped encouragingly. It had been far too long. She reached down and snaked her small hand around his massive erection. As far as she could. She started stroking him, enjoying the feel of him growing harder and hotter.
Cain groaned gutturally, his beast growled in lusty pleasure and he was awake. Carly gasped as he pulled her under him, pinning her arms and pressing his lips to hers. Her back arched, pushing her breasts against him.
He pulled back panting, looking down on his mate with hooded eyes. He took in her heaving chest, flushed cheeks, absurdly cute pajamas, quivering lips, lingering bruises to the side of her head… fuck!
He leapt away from her as if scalded; he stood by the side of the bed naked, and pouting.
“What’s wrong?” she asked in puzzlement.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better beautiful, but you’re not well enough for that. And we’re not doing that until I’m sure you are well.”
Carly giggled as his manhood stretched toward her. “Tell that to little Cain.”
“Little?!” His beast roared in protest.
“Fine, not so little Cain.”
Carly tried to sit up and winced ever so slightly. Something that didn’t go unnoticed by her mate.
Cain rushed over to the bed and gently propped her up against the headboard. “See! Until I’m sure you’re okay, we’re not doing that.”
Carly reached her fingers over to his sex, and he batted her away, giving her a disapproving glare.
Disappointment flashed through her. “It’s not necessary, if we take things slow…”
<
br /> “No, I won’t risk it. When you’re better, then we can be together.” It was killing him trying to restrain his beast, but he was going to do this right.
Carly gave him an impish smile. “Do you really think you can last that long?”
Cain smirked and placed a kiss on her temple. “I may have to walk around with a bag of frozen peas down my pants, but yeah, I think I can.”
“Mmm sexy,” she purred.
Cain let out a bark of laughter. He traced the lambs on her pajamas. “Not half as sexy as you look right now.”
“Yeah right.” Carly looked at him searchingly. “Does this mean we’re back together? Does this mean you can live with me being an Omega?”
“Yes,” he answered quickly, his bear howled in agreement. “It might not be easy for me… but I can’t live without you.”
She exhaled deeply. “Thank god. I don’t know what I would have done if…” she trailed off.
“I’m not going anywhere beautiful. Now, you just relax, and let me take care of you.”
*
As the day progressed, Carly became increasingly frustrated. Alright, so she had been glad of this treatment yesterday, but things were different now. All she had was a few twinges, she was fine really. Cain was overreacting.
He made her stay in bed all day; she tried getting up numerous times, but soon learned it wasn’t worth the argument. He brought the TV up to her bedroom and insisted she just sit still and watch it all day. She soon learned how much she hated daytime TV. He turned away all pack members who came to visit, bar for Melanie and Kayleigh.
He allowed them to stay while he collected his belongings from the Bed and Breakfast. The two women joined Carly in bed and ate the chocolates they brought with them whilst shouting at a chat show. When Cain returned he, as delicately as he could manage, asked them to leave. This meant he ordered them to get out, threatening to throw them over his shoulder if they didn’t go willingly. That earned him an outraged phone call from Hans.
Cain adeptly avoided all of Carly’s attempts to kiss him. His bear almost hated him for it. But he managed to dodge her tiny wandering hands, and evade all of her seduction attempts. By the time it came to bedtime, it had been a long day. A long, hard day.