“We find a house in neutral territory and move in together,” Jake said.
Sam sat up. “What about our packs? I’ve got a house already. You two should move in with me.” He had a great house, an awesome pack. He loved his job, which was in Pack territory. If he left the pack he’d lose everything.
“And join your pack?” Jake said. “No, thanks.”
“I’m highly ranked. It would be no problem for you two to join,” Sam said. He was fourth in line, actually. Fourth, and inordinately proud of it. It had taken a hell of a lot of work to get there.
“I said no.” Jake’s voice was sharp.
“What do you have against packs?” Sam said. Maybe he’d had a bad experience. Maybe Sam could show him how good packs could be.
“None of your business,” Jake said.
Deirdre slid her hand up Jake’s back. “It is our business now. If you’re not ready to tell us, that’s okay. But don’t shut us out forever.”
Jake took a deep breath. “What about you?” he said to Deirdre. “I suppose you want to stay with your pack, too.”
She got up and wandered over to the window, pulling aside the curtain. “No. But I can’t leave my sister there.”
“So bring her with you,” Jake said.
“You don’t understand.” She dropped the curtain and turned toward them. “My pack leader is really possessive. I don’t know if he’ll let either of us leave.”
“It’s not up to him,” Jake said.
“You belong with us now.” Sam walked over to her and put his arms around her waist. “Wherever we end up.”
“I’m not sure he’ll see it that way.” She looked worried.
“Then we’ll have to challenge him to a duel,” Sam said, his voice deep and sinister. He twisted an imaginary mustache between his fingers while his hips moved her in an almost-dance.
Deirdre laughed.
Success. Sam had never heard anything as beautiful as the sound of his mate’s laughter. He kissed her, long and slow. At least Deirdre wasn’t a problem. She’d go where her mates were.
“Already want more?” Jake said.
Sam pulled back. “Not yet. But soon.”
“I need to get back,” Deirdre said.
Sam glanced at his watch. 11:00 AM. “Me too, and I’m late.”
As they put their clothing back on, Jake reached out and snagged Deirdre around the waist. “When can I see you two again?” He buried his nose in her neck. “Tonight?” His voice was muffled.
Sam thought about his calendar over the next few days. “I’m supposed to have dinner with friends tonight. You guys could come.”
“Where?” Deirdre said.
Damn it. Of course, they were eating in Roanoke Pack territory. “I guess that won’t work. How about we meet someplace for drinks later tonight?”
“Then come back here,” Jake said, his voice a low purr.
Sam felt a stirring once again. He didn’t want to wait until tonight to be with his mates again. Now would be a much better time.
Deirdre kissed Jake quickly, then pulled away from him. “I really need to go. Text me and tell me when and where tonight.”
The three of them exchanged cell numbers. After another several minutes of goodbye kisses and nearly tumbling back into bed, they managed to part ways. For now.
***
After work, Deirdre went home. She really wished she could just tell Ted the news over the phone. But he had this thing about respect and showing your face “in court”—in other words, in the bar where he spent most nights—when you wanted to ask for boons or favors or give him bad news. So she freshened up, put on as concealing and severe an outfit as she owned—a white button-down shirt with a short black jacket and black jeans—and went to the bar.
She knew most of the wolves there. They nodded their hellos as she made her way to the room in the back. As she’d expected, Ted sat there with a pool cue in his hand and a young girl on his lap. Not too young, but just barely eighteen. Ted himself was in his fifties. Yuck.
“Hey, Deirdre,” Ted said. “Come over and join us. I’ve got some more room here on my lap.” He patted the inside of his thigh.
She sucked in a breath, and did her best to keep her face blank. She’d always found Ted repulsive, ever since he’d seemed to put the moves on Bridget when she was only twelve, but now that Deirdre had mates, he positively turned her stomach. It wasn’t just comparing them—there was no comparison—it was also partly the biological response she had to any male she other than her mates. Except with Ted it was magnified.
She stopped in front of him, a good two feet between them. “Hi, Ted. I’ve got news. I found my mates.”
A look flashed across his face, though she wasn’t sure what it was. Anger? Malice? Mere displeasure? “That so. When are they going to present themselves to me?”
Her stomach clenched. She knew he’d expect them to join his pack. He wasn’t going to take this well at all. “They want me to go with them instead.” She’d mention Bridget later.
Ted stood, the girl tumbling off his lap. “Tell them no. Tell them to get their asses in here and kneel to me.”
Deirdre took a step back. How to play this? She couldn’t give in to him. She wouldn’t. “Sam’s in Roanoke Pack. He doesn’t want to leave.”
Ted took a step toward her, looming over her. His little, petty personality always made her forget how big he was. “You’re not leaving my pack. Tell them that. If they want to be with you, they’ll get their asses in here and pledge their fealty. Otherwise, they can forget it.” He stalked off before she could respond.
He had to be kidding. No one came between mates. It just wasn’t done.
The wolves standing around them, all of whom must have overheard, wouldn’t meet her eyes. They knew this was wrong. They knew it and not a single one would stand up to him. Cowards.
Before, she’d been worried about telling him, scared of what he might do. Now she was pissed. How dare he think he could keep her from her mates? She and her sister were leaving. And there was nothing he could do to stop them.
***
Jake called Deirdre in the late afternoon. “You doing something for dinner?”
“Sam has a thing,” Deirdre said.
“I know. But I was wondering what you’re doing. Just cause he can’t be there doesn’t mean you and I can’t have dinner together.”
She laughed, so softly he barely heard it. “Won’t Sam be mad?”
“Serve him right for deserting his mates on the same day he meets them.”
She laughed again, louder this time. “Dinner it is.” She told him about her favorite restaurant, The Weeping Widow, and they arranged to meet there at six. “Just one thing. Could I bring my sister with me?”
He’d been hoping to spend some time alone with her. Then again, he’d have to meet the sister at some point. Especially if Deirdre planned to bring her with her when they moved in together. “Sure.”
“She’ll just stay for dinner. I just— Well, I’ll tell you about it at dinner.”
He didn’t like the tone in her voice. “What is it?”
“It’ll keep. I need to get back to work or I won’t make it there by six.”
“Of course,” he said. But he felt sure that was just a dodge. Whatever it was, she didn’t want to tell him, and she was procrastinating. “See you then.”
“See you.” They hung up.
He couldn’t wait until six. That’s part of why he’d arranged dinner with Deirdre; he didn’t want to wait any longer than necessary to see his mates again. Maybe when they’d been together a long time, he’d lose this driving need to be near them, but he couldn’t imagine it going away any time soon.
He also wanted to know what had his mate worried. Whatever it was, he’d fix it. As soon as possible.
Jake spent the rest of the afternoon beating the street looking for work. He put in several applications and got some leads, but nothing turned up yet. So he got to the restau
rant a little early. After putting his name in with the waitress, he sat at the bar nursing a beer.
Several minutes later, little tingles covered his skin. He’d never felt anything like it, but he knew what it meant. His mate was here. He turned. Two seconds later, Deirdre walked through the door with a younger version of herself. Sam stepped in behind them. Jake’s stomach jumped at the sight of them. They saw Jake immediately and crossed to him.
“Thought you weren’t coming,” Jake said.
“I realized what an idiot I was being.” Sam clasped hands with Jake, their hands lingering a little longer than normal. “I can see my friends anytime.”
“Good call. Especially since Deirdre has something to tell us.”
“Oh?” Sam put his hand on her shoulder. “You didn’t say anything on the phone.”
“We’ll get to that. First, Jake, this is my sister Bridget. Bridget, Jake.”
Just as all the pleasantries were done, the hostess showed up to take them to their table. It was square, one person on each side. Deirdre sat to the right of him, and Jake made sure their legs touched.
“So tell us,” Jake said.
Deirdre took a deep breath. “I’ve told Bridget that you want us to go with you, to leave the pack. But the rest of this is new to her, too. Earlier today I went to Ted, our pack leader, and told him I was leaving. He pitched a fit, and said that if you two didn’t join Stonewall Pack, then you couldn’t be with me.”
“What?” Sam said.
Jake had to hold himself back from growling. Keep him from his mate? Ted could rot in hell. Jake would be happy to send him there.
“I don’t know what to do,” Deirdre said.
“You leave,” Jake said.
“He can’t make you stay,” Sam said. “If he does, he’ll have to go through us.”
“Ted’s a bad guy,” Bridget said in a soft voice. “I don’t know if he’ll let us go.”
Sam put his hand over Bridget’s for a few seconds. “He doesn’t have the right to keep you against your will.”
“I don’t think he cares whether he has the right,” Bridget said.
“He’s funny about the women in the pack,” Deirdre said. “He never likes to let any of us go.”
“He got worse after Maeve left,” Bridget said.
Deirdre’s face clouded over.
“Who’s Maeve?” Sam said.
Deirdre pulled her napkin out from under the silverware and put it on her lap, clearly fidgeting. “Maeve’s our sister. She ran away almost ten years ago, when she was thirteen. We haven’t seen her since.”
“You think Ted was involved?” Jake said.
“No, no,” Deirdre said. “But he went kind of crazy after she left. He had everyone searching for months. And after that, he kept all the women close. The little girls, too.”
“And…” Bridget said.
Deirdre fiddled with her glass. When she spoke, her voice was low. “And, a few months after Maeve left, Ted made a pass at Bridget. She was twelve.”
Jake felt his hands fisting, and fought an overwhelming urge to sprout claws. “What happened?” His voice sounded dangerously grumbly, enough so Deirdre put her hand over one of his.
“It was a long time ago,” she said. “It’s okay.”
“What did you do?” he said.
Deirdre squeezed his hand. “I saw it happen. Probably stopped it, actually. I was on the other side of the room when he came in, and he must not have seen me. He started to—” She broke off, her eyes meeting her sister’s. “He left as soon as he realized I was there. I told our parents, and our fathers went to talk to him. Everything was fine after that.”
“And now he wants to keep you in that pack. You, and any daughters we might have. Sick bastard,” Jake said.
“No way in hell am I letting him anywhere near our kids,” Sam said.
“He’ll try to stop us.” Deirdre held her water glass loosely where it sat on the table, running her thumb up and down the surface.
“He can’t. Just pack your bags and move into the B&B with me. Get out of Stonewall Pack territory. You already told him you’re leaving. You don’t owe him anything else. We’ll find a human to sell your house or rent it or whatever. And movers to move the rest of your stuff,” Jake said.
“I didn’t tell him I was taking Bridget.”
“Why not?” Bridget said.
“I knew he’d be mad about me leaving. I guess I thought I’d break it to him slowly. But that means we have to let him know she’s leaving too, before we can go.”
Jake knew there were lots of rules about how things had to be done within a pack. It was one of the many reasons he didn’t want to be part of one. Having to kowtow to idiots like Ted was another. “Move out first. Then call him.”
Sam leaned forward. “You think they’re in danger?”
“I think I don’t want that wolf anywhere near my mate or her sister, ever again.” He consciously reined in his wolf. If he didn’t, he might break all the rules, go onto pack territory and beat Ted to a pulp.
“It would just cause trouble,” Deirdre said. “We need to do things by the book, or we haven’t got anything backing us up.”
He knew what she was saying, but he didn’t like the idea of her going back to that jackass. Especially when neither Sam nor Jake could go with her. Damn territorial rules. “Take someone with you,” he said. “Someone you can trust. Someone big.”
Deirdre and Bridget shared another glance. One day he hoped Deirdre and Sam and he could communicate like that—without a single word. At the moment, it was damned annoying being on the outside.
“There isn’t anyone like that,” Bridget said. “All the males are either Ted’s cronies or they’re weak.”
“What the hell is wrong with this pack?” Sam swore.
“It’s Ted. He won the pack leader spot then one way or another got rid of anyone strong, anyone who might fight him,” Deirdre said.
“Like your fathers?” Sam said.
“That was an accident,” Deirdre said.
“A tragedy,” Bridget said.
“No, he never killed anyone outright. He just made things harder and harder for them until they’d leave on their own,” Deirdre said.
“He’s lucky no one ever came in to challenge him.” And it was a damn shame, too. “Sounds like the pack could be taken over pretty easily.”
“Taken over by a group, maybe,” Deirdre said. “But Ted is still really strong. The few males who’ve come to challenge him have ended up dead. The rest stay away.”
“What a mess.” But a mess his mate was going to get out of, ASAP.
“We’ll be okay. I’ll pack up our things and then tell Ted Bridget’s coming too. Then we’ll leave. Simple.” She didn’t sound quite as confident as her words made out.
“Do it tomorrow,” Jake said. “Get it over with.”
“I will.”
Chapter 3
Their food arrived, and after a short pause, Deirdre changed the subject. Sam regaled them with stories of his childhood antics, Deirdre talked about her job, Bridget talked about their parents. Jake soaked it all in, realizing only belatedly that he had nothing to contribute. His childhood had been hard, he didn’t currently have a job, and nothing he said about his parents would be heartwarming. He stayed silent instead.
Besides, he had other things on his mind. Jake couldn’t wait to get his mates back into bed. As dinner wore on, it got harder and harder to keep his hands off them. He rested one hand on Deirdre’s knee, but it wasn’t enough. And now he had a mission, too—get both his mates comfortable with the idea of accepting a cock into their backside. That way all three of them could be joined together, one way or another.
Dinner ended. The waitress put the check on the table and both Sam and Jake reached for it.
“I’ve got it,” Sam said.
“This one’s mine,” Jake said.
“It’s okay. I’ve got a good job,” Sam said.
“An
d I don’t, is that what you’re saying?”
“You’re the one who told us you were between jobs.”
That didn’t mean he was destitute. “I can cover dinner.”
Sam tossed him the check. “Fine. Take it.”
Jake stuck his credit card in the flimsy little plastic slot and handed the check back to the waitress as she walked by. Then he met Sam’s eyes. “You can get the next one.”
“Well. Just so long as we all know who’s the alpha in this relationship,” Sam said.
Jake chuffed a laugh. “That’s right.”
“And now, less than 24 hours into this thing, we’ve passed a major milestone,” Deirdre said. “Our first fight.”
“Nah,” Sam said. “It doesn’t count as our first fight until all three of us are in it. And you, wisely, stayed silent.”
“Yes, well. I don’t think I need to prove how big my cojones are,” Deirdre said.
Bridget laughed. “Yeah, cause hers are bigger than either of yours.”
Deirdre laughed, too. “She said it, not me!”
Jake made himself smile. He’d expect nothing less from his mate. Sam, too. But they were both dreaming if they thought either one of them was in charge.
The check paid, Bridget left them to go home and pack, and the three mates headed for Jake’s room. It was only a short walk from the restaurant, so Deirdre and Sam left their cars behind rather than trying to find new spots on the streets around the B&B.
They clambered into Jake’s room and he immediately pulled off his shirt and dropped it on the floor, then unbuttoned his jeans.
“Getting right to it, are we?” Deirdre said.
“Hell yes.” Jake saw no need for coyness. He wanted to get naked with his mates as soon as possible, and that’s what he was going to do.
“We didn’t take any time at all for foreplay earlier today,” Sam said. “I think we should remedy that. Starting with me licking Deirdre’s sweet, sweet pussy.”
“Sam!”
He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her, a quick smack. “Are you saying you don’t want my tongue on your clit?”
The Alpha's Pack Page 2