by T. S. Ryder
***
Logan's tail flew in wide circles as he pounced into the stream, biting the water. He went under, yipping as he surfaced before he jumped on a floating leaf and tore it in half. Amanda grinned as she watched him play, loving the feel of the cool breeze brushing against her fur. With the dirt under her paws, she felt utterly relaxed–far more relaxed than she had been in months.
She splashed through the water towards her son, and when he saw her coming, Logan jumped onto the bank, then tried to bounce onto her back. He missed, hitting a deep spot in the stream. He went under all the way and began kicking wildly. Amanda grabbed the scruff of his neck and pulled him out of the water, setting him down on the bank. He wasn't hurt at all, just a little scared, and she licked the water off his face to comfort him.
"Amanda?" Her ears rotated backward at the sound of the voice.
It was Jace. Logan yipped, then threw his head back and let out a thin howl. Amanda's wolfish face smiled as she gazed at her son and his attempts at howling, then faced the direction Jace's voice was coming from and howled, letting him know where they were.
She could smell him before he arrived. His rainy cedar scent stood out all the more in the midst of the birches and pines in this area. He wasn't alone, though. Clarissa's lilac scent came with him. Amanda's tail drooped in momentary disappointment, but as Logan ran towards the sounds of the two people headed their way, Amanda jumped into the bushes where she had left her clothes and shifted back into her human form.
"Hi, Logan," Clarissa said, sounding a little unsure. "Wow. He looks just like you in his Wolf form."
He did. Amanda smiled. In human form, he looked like her father, but as a Wolf, he was all Jace. Both of them suddenly let out protesting cries.
"Logan!" Jace cried. "No! You don't shake off around people like that. You got us all wet. Come here, you."
Amanda couldn’t stop a chuckle as she pulled on her clothes.
"Where's your mom?"
"I'm just getting dressed," she called, slipping on her shoes. She headed out of the bushes to find Logan still in his Wolf form, curled up in Jace's arms, dripping. She grinned at the sight. It was so sweet to see her son with his father. "So you two came up."
Jace nodded. "Yeah. We set up our tent already. We brought stuff for s'mores."
Logan yipped, wriggling so much that Jace almost dropped him. The Alpha laughed and set his son down. Logan immediately made a break for camp, Jace chasing after him. Amanda smiled at Clarissa as they headed back to the campground.
"How long will you two be staying?"
"I'm staying overnight," Clarissa said. "I don't know how long Jace will stay."
There was a mild edge to her voice, but Amanda didn't comment on it. Instead, she nodded as they continued. Camping was something that she and Logan were going to have to themselves in the future, it seemed, if both Jace and Clarissa weren't that fond of it. And that actually made her feel a little better.
Chapter Nine
It was midnight before Logan fell asleep nestled beside Jace, and the Alpha carried his son to the tent Amanda had set up for the two of them. Amanda sighed, stretching her feet towards the low-burning fire. This was her favorite time of camping: it was dark in the woods around her, and the fire was at the point where it was more smoldering coals than flame. The stars were so bright in the sky that she could see thousands of them.
"You just can't see the stars like this in town, or even at the farm," she sighed, staring up through the trees at the beautiful sight above them.
"It is pretty," Clarissa agreed. She smiled at Jace when he came back to sit next to her.
"Did you find the person that took the photos of Logan at the amusement park?" Amanda asked, still staring at the stars.
"Yeah. It was a journalist wanna be who thought that it was his big break." Jace shook his head. "Just a coincidence that he happened to be there the same time as us and overheard our conversation. He's a member of the pack, too. I'm still going to sue him to make sure that all the others out there get the message, but he seems like a good kid otherwise."
Amanda snorted. No doubt Jace was going to pay the kid's tuition for a journalist course. He was that kind of man.
"And you offered to help him out some way, didn't you?" Clarissa asked, laughing.
"Uh… yeah." Jace chuckled. "Am I that obvious?"
Amanda raised her head. "Yes."
Jace shrugged.
"So I have a question for the two of you," Clarissa said. She smiled at the two of them, her stance relaxed. "Why aren't you together?"
Amanda's hands went cold. She grabbed the stick she'd been using to stir the fire and poked around, watching Jace out of the corner of her eye. What had he said or done to prompt that question from his girlfriend?
"It's obvious that you two are still madly in love with each other. What I don't get is why after all these years, you can't just admit that you belong with each other. You," she pointed at Amanda, "just tell him that you love him. And you," she smiled at Jace. "Do the honorable thing and break up with me so you can be with your mate."
"But I'm not his mate," Amanda blurted. "If I was, he wouldn't have broken up with me—"
"When he was a teenager, you mean?" Clarissa gave her a severe look. "Everybody is stupid at eighteen."
"I graduated at seventeen," Jace muttered. "But she's right, Amanda. I was an idiot for breaking up with you. I could have just as easily been at the place where I am right now if I hadn’t."
"With a baby?" Amanda shook her head. "It's why I didn't tell you about Logan. You needed the freedom for your education."
"No." Jace tugged his hair, a nervous tick of his. "I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
"No. The first three months I could hardly do any schoolwork because I missed you so much. It would have been hard with a baby, yeah, but we would have made it work."
"I'm going to go back to the city tomorrow," Clarissa interrupted. "I'll release a statement that we broke up because I'm pregnant with another man's baby."
Amanda's eyes widened and Jace's jaw dropped. Both spluttered, but Clarissa shook her head, still smiling. It was like she was enjoying this.
"I'm not pregnant."
Jace's shoulders relaxed. "Then why are you going to say you are?"
"Because in the big scheme of things, it doesn't matter what people think about me. I have a job offer up in Alaska, which is what I've always wanted, but it won't be enough for the townfolk to forgive you, Amanda, for being with the man you should be with." Clarissa shook her head, a brief look of anger crossing her face. "They'll blame you for breaking up the 'perfect' union even though it should be obvious to everyone that you two are mates."
Amanda and Jace looked at each other. Her heart pounded. All these years she forced herself not to hope while it broke her heart not to be with him. She always thought she was just a pathetic girl to keep pining for the high school boyfriend who broke up with her. The thought that they were mates often occurred to her, but she stubbornly refused to believe it.
"My indiscretions will keep the public eye off of you for a while," Clarissa continued. "And hopefully, it will be enough that the pack will start accepting you as their Alpha's mate. In a few months, I'll announce that I had a miscarriage."
"You shouldn’t have to lie and ruin your own reputation," Jace said, taking Clarissa's hand in his. "I'm sure that we can figure out—"
"No. You two have already lost a lot of time together. I'd rather just get out of your way. I'll miss you," she added, touching Jace's face. "You're a great guy, and I would have been a really lucky girl if you had actually loved me. But I want you to be happy."
Jace kissed her lightly, making Amanda turn away. Her heart was still pounding so hard she thought it might just burst. What if Clarissa was reading too much into the situation, and Jace didn't actually still love her? After years, repressing her hopes was too ingrained in her life for her to just flip a switch and jump back into his arms. Even if they were m
ates, they had been apart for so long. They had to get to know each other again; they still had to learn how to act around each other. And then there was Logan to think about.
"I'm going to bed," Clarissa said, standing. "I think you two have some things to talk about."
"Clarissa," Amanda started, but the human shook her head.
"There isn't anybody I'd rather give him up for than you. I've put a lot of thought into it and it's the right thing to do." Her fingers trailed over Jace's shoulders. "Although it would have been nice to have sex just once."
With that she left them alone, staring at each other over the flickering light of the dying fire. Despite how late it was, Amanda was brimming with energy. Grabbing the bucket of water she had to put out the fire, she poured it over the coals.
"I'm going for a run," she said. "Want to come with me?"
Jace nodded. Soon they were off, their paws pounding the earth, dodging trees and ducking under branches as they ran side by side. To her surprise, Amanda actually outstripped Jace. He was in such good shape that she thought she would be the first one to give up, but when he barked at her to stop, she ducked behind a bush to shift back and slip the loose dress she had brought over her head
"It's been far too long since I've run in my Wolf form," Jace said when he emerged from his own spot wearing a pair of jeans. "I can run further than that as a human, but…"
"You're going to have to do better than that as Alpha," Amanda teased.
"Yeah." Jace groaned as he lied down on the forest floor.
Amanda laid down beside him and he put his arm around her. The familiarity was so relaxing and she smiled. "So do you think it's true?"
"That we're mates?"
"Yeah."
Jace rolled, gazing down at her. "What do you think?"
Amanda stroked his cheek. "I love you. I have from the first time I saw you."
"When I broke up with you on graduation, you didn't fight me."
"I was trying to do what was best for you. I thought if you knew I was pregnant, you wouldn't go to Harvard. You'd give up your dreams and end up never leaving the town to become the billionaire lawyer you are now. I wanted to fight. I wanted to follow you to Harvard and never let you go, but…"
"But you did what you thought was best for me. I did what I thought was best for me, too. And I'm so sorry." He cupped her face. "I never stopped loving you, either. Throughout these past six years, I wondered if I ruined my chances with my mate because of my pride… Did I?"
Amanda shook her head. She rolled, pressing her mouth against his. The familiar sensation of sparks heating her blood surged back and she moaned, pressing her body against his. His hands tangled in her hair as he answered her urgency with his own. He rolled, pinning her under his body. Their lips parted—
"No." Jace scrambled away, shaking his head. "No, I can't. I'm sorry."
Amanda lay there, stunned.
"Half an hour ago I was dating another woman. It's not respectful to her or fair to you to jump into this so quickly." Jace inched forward again. "I'm sorry."
Amanda pushed herself up, her cheeks heating. "I understand."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. We'll get there, Jace." She found his hand and squeezed it. "We just need a little time. We should get back to camp now."
Jace squeezed her hand back. "Thank you, Amanda."
"For what?"
"Being you."
"Oh. Well, in that case, thank you for being you, too. And I love you."
Jace smiled. "You don't know how good it is to hear you say that again."
"Probably as good as it feels to say it. I love you."
"I love you, too. But you're right. We need to get back to camp. Clarissa isn't the outdoorsy type… will it bother you if I sleep in the tent with her tonight?"
Amanda shook her head. "I know you love me. That's all I need right now."
Chapter Ten
True to Clarissa's word, she left the next day. Logan asked where she was going, but was satisfied with the simple answers he got. Unlike his parents, he didn't need any prompting to happily fall into the new dynamics that the three of them had. They stayed out in the bush for a week, just getting to know each other better, until their food ran out. Logan would have gladly stayed and forged, but Amanda was concerned with the amount of school he had missed already, and they packed up and headed home.
She had a dozen missed calls from Betty, who eagerly told her every scrap of gossip related to Clarissa's supposed infidelity. The media storm lasted for several months, but just as Clarissa had hoped, the pack and humans who lived in town had an instantly improved view of Amanda and Jace's relationship. Instead of people stopping her in the grocery store to accuse her of trying to destroy the pack, they were now asking when the mating ceremony would be, or if she was pregnant, or assuring her that Logan would be perfect as the next Alpha.
During this time, Jace built the house he promised for Amanda, and the three of them quietly moved in together (much to Betty's dismay; when Amanda was packing the last of her boxes, the human tearfully declared she would never again have a housemate as good as Amanda). By the time the papers started publishing that Jace and Amanda were living together, they had been doing so for so long that the pack didn't so much as bat an eye.
The official ceremony where the Alpha leadership of the pack was passed from Jace's father to Jace happened without much global attention. The town was in a happy frenzy for days, but soon enough everything settled into a new normal. And it was good.
***
Amanda sat in bed, a book on her knees as Jace entered the room, scrubbing his hair dry after a shower. She didn't bother pretending to read the book as she admired the contours of his body. His physique was amazing, everything from the sculpted pecs to his six-pack. She loved him just as much as the gangly, pimply teen as she did now looking at him as a heartthrob, but the improved view didn't hurt anything, either.
Jace grinned at her, moving the book off her knees. Amanda's heart rate spiked. There was something that she needed to tell him, but it looked like he had an idea that she wasn't going to say no to… His lips brushed hers gently as he crawled onto the bed, caging her with his body, leaning her back against the headboard.
"God, I missed you," he whispered, nipping at her lower lip.
"We've been together all day."
"No, I mean the past six years." Jace's gaze warmed with love as he cupped her face with a hand and kissed her again. "If I could go back and change things, I would never have left you behind."
"You've said that." Amanda smiled at him. "All is forgiven, my love."
Jace buried his face into her neck, sending shivers down her spine. Amanda hummed in satisfaction, digging her fingers into his scalp, pulling him closer. It took a few months of getting to know one another again before they first allowed themselves to abandon themselves into passion again, but now it was a regular occurrence–making up for lost time.
"I love you," Jace said, for probably the hundredth time that day. He was definitely making up for lost time. "I've always loved you."
"I love you, too." Amanda ran her hands down his back. "I love you more today than I did yesterday."
"Why?" Jace pulled back, looking worried. "What did I do yesterday?"
"Nothing." Amanda shook her head. "I was just trying to be romantic."
"Oh." Jace laughed softly, returning to her neck. His hands worked their way under her nightgown, tugging it up over her head, leaving her bare to his gaze. His hands roamed her body, igniting a fire deep inside of her, and Amanda returned the favor, loving the way his smooth skin felt so warm under her fingers. She didn't think she would ever get used to how right she felt when she was with him.
The fires grew hotter as Jace kissed her collar and moved lower, stroking her thighs with a soft touch until Amanda let her legs fall open. She grasped him as his fingers slipped over her skin to her pleasure center, answering stroke for stroke until they were both undulating
towards each other, gasping and writhing while their lips pressed together and parted.
"Always so good," Jace sighed.
"Always," Amanda agreed, rolling her hips towards him, indicating she was ready.
Jace chuckled at her impatience, kissing her breasts and continuing to use his fingers for several moments until she was trembling on the edge, almost ready to beg.
He slid inside her easily; they found their rhythm without effort, the fires in their blood mixing together, making both of their bodies hot. Everything felt tight. Pleasure blinded Amanda until it was too much and she bowed her body towards her mate, dragging her fingers over his back and locking her ankles over his hips as she pulled him deeper inside her. Jace made a choking, growling noise, kissed her hard, and they plunged together, bodies snapping back and forth, cries mingling as their rhythm grew haphazard.
Eventually, they stilled and shared a tender, chaste kiss while their bodies were still twined together.
"I love you," Jace groaned. "I wish I could stay inside you forever."
"I do, too. But then who would take care of Logan and the pack?"
Jace flicked his tongue over her collarbone. "Speaking of which… I'm certain that you're my mate."
"Me, too."
"So?" Jace leaned back on his elbows, raising a brow at Amanda. "How about it, Mandy?"
"How about what?"
"We do a mating ceremony for the pack. Maybe a wedding, too, for the media to report on so that we don't have paparazzi trying to break into the mating ceremony. I officially name Logan as my successor, and then we all live happily ever after."
Amanda considered for a moment. Jace was the Alpha, so after the official ceremony, his mate would be recognized as the Alpha female by the pack. He had already been easing her into her new responsibilities. She wanted to continue working, but with everything she was going to have to do for the pack, it meant she had to cut back her hours at the office. On the other hand, she had taken up a position as a receptionist for Jace, which meant she wasn't just going to be a housewife or arm candy at important ceremonies.