A Mate's Bite

by Milly Taiden

  Kass slapped at Jordan’s inflexible hand.

  “You tell me what we want to know, or I will send you home with two broken legs. Karla can’t scent the disgusting reality of your feelings for her, but I can. And I will be damned if I let you anywhere near her again. You start talking or you will regret it.”

  Karla watched Kass grip Jordan’s hand, tugging it to let loose. Guilt nagged her. Kass had brought danger into the Wolfe’s lives. Into Jordan’s life.

  “This isn’t your fault, Karla,” Jordan said gently.

  “Yes, it is.” She swallowed at the knot in her throat. “She’s my sister.”

  Jordan shook Kass in her grip and growled. “She’s a poor excuse for a human being. And you’re not responsible for her actions. Now stop feeling guilty because I can scent your distress, and it’s making me want to rip holes into her face.”

  Kass tried to jerk out of Jordan’s hold.

  “Tell us what you know, Kass. And Jordan will let you go.”

  Kass’s fulminating look did nothing to garner Karla’s sympathy. The things she’d said had two effects on Karla. She realized she’d been an idiot waiting so long to open herself up to the man who loved her. And she was grateful Nate’s family and her friends were such wonderful people. The type of people she’d always wanted in her life.

  “Restaurant. Other side of town,” she wheezed.

  “Which one?” Karla asked.

  Jordan loosened her hold on Kass’s throat and dropped her on her ass on the floor this time.

  “Forked Steak House,” Kass muttered from the ground, glaring at both of them with an angry pout as she rubbed her throat.

  Karla and Jordan glanced at each other. They knew the place. It was near Mason’s club. It had also been closed the past couple of weeks for remodeling. Karla picked up her cell phone and dialed Nate.

  “Hey, we’re waiting for you guys. We have a surprise for Jordan.”

  “Nate we figured out where the people that want Jordan are located.” She rushed the words out so fast they tripped over each other. Finally, she’d been able to help get some information that would help find a bad guy. Running sweaty palms on the sides of her dress, she shifted on her feet. Her stomach knotted, and fear and anxiety built inside her. What would happen now?

  “Tell me.” His tone went from soft and sweet to deep and low. She heard the rumble of his wolf in his words.

  She gave him the information she’d gotten from Kass.

  “We’ll take care of it. You stay with Jordan and don’t do anything to get yourselves in danger.”

  “We won’t.” She cleared her throat, slipped a strand of stray hair behind her ear, and tugged on her earring. “Nate?”

  “Yes, love?”

  “Be careful.” She hated sounding like a worrywart, but the last thing she wanted was anyone getting hurt.

  “We will be.”

  She hung up the phone to a sick sensation in her stomach. Giving Nate that information would help find the people looking to harm Jordan but also placed him in danger’s path. She wasn’t sure she liked that. She didn’t want Nate hurt. She loved him. But she knew he was a protector, and he’d do whatever was necessary to keep his family safe.

  Kass coughed and threw herself on a sofa. She rubbed her hand on her throat. Though Jordan hadn’t left any marks, it appeared she’d scared Kass senseless.

  She dug through her handbag, ignoring the little voice screaming for her not to give her shit.

  Karla shook her head at the way Kass glared at Jordan. “Kass, you should go back to your hotel. Don’t try to leave. The enforcers will want to talk to you, and if you leave, they will hunt you down, and it won’t be pretty.”

  Kass shoved to her feet. If looks could kill Karla would definitely not be around with all of Kass’s evil glares. “You and Kel never loved me.”

  “We will never have the relationship you want. Life is not all about you. It’s not about you getting whatever you want without care for others feelings or repercussions. And that’s not love. You don’t love family with the actions you’ve taken. You certainly don’t love me. Love to you means what you can get from the next person. My life is here, with people that love me for me, not for what they can get out of me.” Saying the words had a deep cleansing effect in an area of her soul that had suffered years of pain and abuse.

  Kass left without another look back. The door slammed behind the woman she once thought family. Karla’s heart had already been broken when it came to her sister and mother. But it felt like spikes were being hammered into her chest when she realized the lengths Kass would go to for money.

  “I’m sorry.” Jordan hugged her close. “But you’re right about something.”

  She turned to her friend. The one out of all of them that could probably understand why Karla was the way she was. “What?”

  “We do love you. And we’ll love your babies as much if not more than you can imagine. There’s no need to be scared to have sisters anymore.” She smiled. “You have me and Ellie and Emma and Nic. We’re all here for you.”

  She was right. For the past eight years, they’d been more family to her than Kass and Laura. Time and again, they had stood firmly by her side, helping her cope through bad dates, awful days at the job, illness, and now pregnancy.

  “Thank you.” Karla threw her arms around Jordan to give her a tight hug for being such a wonderful friend. One of her real sisters, their bond stronger than any other out there. Bubbles of happiness expanded in her chest. She pulled away with that knowledge. Jordan, Ellie, Nic and Emma were the sisters she’d always wanted. The sisters who had never deserted her and would always have her back. “I didn’t stop to think that I already had a great family with you guys. That I didn’t need to be closed in.”

  Jordan smiled, the golden ring slowly seeping from her eyes. “It’s okay. I had Aric in my life for what felt forever, but I couldn’t understand why he and his family wanted me around. But there comes a moment where you have to dive in and take a chance on those who have proven they care.”

  She nodded. “I know.”

  “And Nate?”

  Nate. Her man. The shifter whose touch felt like a new brand. The man whose smile or deep words had her heart beating double time. The future father of her children whose look turned her legs to jelly. “I’m going to embrace our relationship. No more hiding.”

  “Wonderful!” She turned to grab her bag. “Now let’s go eat. I'm starving.”

  Karla clucked her tongue. “I thought I was the pregnant one.”

  “Come on!” Jordan groaned, wiping the accumulating sweat off her brow. “Food.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think we should be going anywhere. There’s bad guys looking for you, Jordan. We need to keep you safe.”

  Jordan bit her lip in thought. “What if I call us some enforcers to escort us?”

  Karla nodded, a little less worried to leave if they had enforcers guarding her friend. “I guess that could work.”

  It was another ten minutes before Shaari and three other enforcers showed up.

  “Okay, they’re outside. We can go now. The question is, where should we go?” Jordan asked.

  “Well, we may as well go over to Barbara’s house. I don’t want anyone to worry about where we could be. Besides, she’s always cooking.”

  Jordan nodded as they marched toward the front door. “It’s what happens when you have a bunch of kids.” She patted Karla’s tummy. “That’s gonna be you soon.”

  Oh, hell no. She wasn’t a cook. Not that she didn’t like to cook, it just didn’t work out for her. At all. Things burned even when she sat there and watched it. Food was undercooked, overcooked, or plain inedible. There was no way she’d put her kids through that. She’d just have to hire someone to feed her kids. “I can’t even boil water. I’ve burned enough pots to know I shouldn’t try.”

  “I guess it’s a good thing Nate can cook. Barbara ensured all her boys could take care of their women.
”

  “I really like Barbara.”

  “I know. I do too!”

  NATE’S FEAR FOR the women twisted his gut. He sent a quick text to Shaari to head over to Karla’s house with a few of the enforcers and guard the women. He wasn’t leaving anything to chance. The idea of Kass having access to Karla and Jordan fired up his wrath. He turned to his brothers and shut off the phone. Aric had returned from the meeting down south and had planned on surprising his mate at the bridal shower they’d set up for her. They’d been sitting around Aric’s bar talking about the need for Caleb to make a move as soon as possible. If he didn’t do something in the next few weeks, there could be other Alphas ready to move in on his land and possibly try to fight Rocco for the pack. It was the last thing Caleb needed and the one thing they needed to prevent.

  “We need to go.” Nate focused on Aric. “The ones hiring humans to go after Jordan are at the Forked Steak House. They’d hired Karla’s sister to lead them both there.”

  Aric jumped to his feet. The chair tumbled backward, slamming on the floor with a crack. “Do we know who it is?”

  “No, but if we hurry we can end this.”

  Aric called Jordan and verified she was fine as they headed out the door. Nate grinned at Aric’s booming order for Jordan to “sit her ass still until it was safe for her to be out.”

  They piled into two trucks. Aric and Jake in one and Nate and Mason in another. They stopped far back down the road. It was a possibility that it was a set up. They needed to stalk quietly.

  The restaurant was desolate from the outside—which wasn’t new. The place wasn’t due to open for another week after being remodeled. Though it had a sign saying come in, most of the locals knew it was still closed.

  Spread into two sets, Mason and Jake marched toward the front entrance while Nate and Aric closed in on the back side. A dusty old Nissan pulled up at that moment. Kass hopped out of the driver’s side and a tall man in pressed sweats from the passenger side. Fury burned at his throat. He’d never been tempted to throw a woman into a jail cell. Or to shred her into tiny pieces with his claws. She slammed the car door and went around the gray car, the other guy following close behind.

  “Hurry up, Charlie. These people are going to be pissed,” Kass muttered.

  “Of course they are. You had one job, and you couldn’t do it,” Charlie argued.

  A moment later, a loud shout sounded from the restaurant. “What the fuck happened?” A male voice yelled from inside.

  “They realized she was lying,” Charlie answered.

  “It’s not a big deal. I’ll get you information on where she is later on. Why didn’t you tell me she knew when I was lying?” She accused.

  “She’s a shifter you idiot! Of course she can tell you’re lying. It’s part of all of us,” the same voice said with an angry tone. “There are no more chances.”

  “What are you talking about?” Kass asked, voice trembling. For once the woman sounded scared.

  “Listen, I can still get them for you,” Charlie promised. “I work with them.”

  Aric grumbled low. Nate glanced sharply to his right. His brother’s features had turned feral. The anger came off in waves from him. Nate didn’t blame him. He recognized the name Charlie from the night he scented a male on Karla. He’d love to get his hands on the bastard.

  “I’m done with both of you. I’ll get her myself.”

  “What the fuck are you doing…Let go of me, you asshole!” Kass yelled.

  “Ronnie, Vic, Rob, get rid of them,” the same guy said.

  “Listen, guys, I can still help—” Charlie’s voice was cut off.

  Kass screamed.

  Aric chose that moment to make their presence known. He kicked the back door in, both of them rushing inside to confront the other shifters.

  Mason and Jake moved in from the front.

  “Lewis,” Aric snarled. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  Nate glanced inside the empty restaurant. Lewis Cane. Future Alpha to the central pack. The same pack the white wolf female Jordan killed belonged to.

  “Wolfe.” Lewis turned to Aric, his blonde hair and ice-blue eyes adding to the paleness of his skin. “I heard you were out of town.”

  “I’m here now.”

  Kass struggled to be let loose. The man holding her arm slapped her unconscious, the blow so loud it rang out in the open space. She dropped on the ground with a thud next to Charlie’s body. Karla’s co-worker had his throat torn open. He lay there, in a pool of blood, eyes wide open in shock.

  Lewis’ features started to shift. His massive frame rivaled that of Aric or his brothers. “Your family killed one of mine. My sister.”

  “She went after my mate.” Aric’s growl was barely human now.

  “Someone has to pay.” Lewis’ bones popped. A sure sign of the coming change. “I’m not leaving without retribution.”

  “You’ll have to go through me to touch her.” Those were Aric’s last words before the shift.

  A whirlwind of bones popped. Growls and snarls and all shifted into their wolves. The pure whites rushed to the attack. Mason, Jake, and Nate handled Lewis’ backup, swiping claws and biting back to keep the men from interfering between Aric and Lewis.

  “I’m going to kill you. And her,” Lewis threatened through the wolf link all their animals shared.

  One of the whites rushed around toward the center of the room where the two alphas were locked in battle. Nate growled, jumped, and landed on the white wolf, knocking him off his feet. The other wolf hit the ground hard, an angry snarl sounded from him.

  “Let them fight,” Nate ordered.

  The wolf got up on his feet again and attacked. He swiped at Nate’s muzzle with his claws, but Nate was faster. Bigger. Meaner. He bit down on the front leg of the white. Bones gave under his at the same time he heard them break. Nate’s beast took control then. The white kicked Nate on the side, attempting to push him off before he delivered a death blow. The other animal bared his canines in threat, but couldn’t get on all four due to the broken front paw.

  Nate rocked back on his hind legs and growled, pawing at the ground and keeping the other animal from getting away. “I’m telling you, man. Let them resolve their own shit.”

  “Fuck you! Lewis is going to kill your alpha, and then we’re gonna get rid of your whole family.”

  There was no fucking way that guy was going to threaten his people and get away with it. Nate attacked. He launched on to the other wolf. Ignoring the teeth trying to bite him, he shoved the animal off his attempt at standing. They landed hard, with Nate pinning the white down. The white whined at the amount of weight on his broken limb.

  A quick look and he saw Aric had the upper hand on Lewis. Not that it surprised him. Aric was future alpha. He could take on anyone. Both animals were bloody and Nate got a quick view of gashes and bite wounds. Lewis tried to bite down on one of Aric’s hind legs, but it was no use. Aric’s wolf growled loudly. Then, in a blur of movement he bit down on the white, holding him hostage by the neck. He crunched down until the life leeched away from the animal from a broken neck.

  The white under Nate tried to shove him off, but he knew what was coming. With a massive bite, he locked jaws on the wolf under him. And bit down hard. The wolf struggled below to get away. It was no use. Nate’s canines squeezed shut until they broke through bone, muscle and the wolf lay there, dead. Practically decapitated. Like Lewis and those who’d tried to hurt his family.

  NATE SAT IN the tub filled with warm water and Karla’s lavender scented bubble bath. He’d tried to explain he was fine. That she didn’t need to worry about him or the minor wounds he was sporting. He was used to it and after a couple of shifts, they’d be gone. But she hadn’t listened. She’d gone out of her way to set up a bath for him, claiming it would help his aching muscles. Her change in attitude had knocked him off kilter. She’d fully embraced him. Them. It was like she’d broken down the wall that had been there before, a
nd he could see the rest of her finally. And he loved what he saw.

  “Need more bubble bath?” She poked her head in from the bathroom entrance.

  His heart felt lighter at the smile she gave him. It was no longer wary or filled with insecurity. It was pure joy.

  “No. But I could do with you joining me.” He winked.

  She shook her head, long dark curls bouncing around the curve of her breasts. “Nu-uh. You’re hurt. You need to rest and relax and—”

  “And if you come in here with me, I’ll feel better sooner.” He used the wash cloth she’d given him and slowly slid it down his torso, watching her eyes latch on to the movement. The scent of her arousal filled the room, and he knew he had her. “I need help reaching some spots.”

  She gulped, her gaze riveted on the bubbles covering his nipple. “Help?”

  “I promise I’ll behave.” He almost choked saying that. Behave? Not if he could get her in there naked.

  She licked her lips, need flared bright in her eyes. “Okay.”

  His cock turned rock hard watching her shrug out of her clothes. Her curves were more voluptuous with pregnancy. Her breasts larger, her hips wider and the small flare of her belly only added to the beauty that was his mate.

  He’d yet to bite her. And it was time.

  Though Karla’s house wasn’t large, she’d mentioned having the bathroom redone to be bigger and fit a massive soaking tub inside. She said she liked bubble baths. He was glad she had. Now he could do more than just sit in the tub alone.

  He held her hand and helped her sit between his legs, her ass cushioning his cock. His arms went around her torso, instantly grabbing on to her breasts.

  “Nate…” she said breathily.

  “Um?” He kissed the side of her neck, enjoying her move to display more of it for his access. Pure submission.

  “You’re….oh!” She gasped when he squeezed her nipples.

  He knew her nipples were sensitive and loved her body’s responses to his touches.

  “Nate…oh, God!” She thrust her breast out into his palms, the large mounds overflowing in his hands from their new size.