by Rae Foxx
“Yours.”
9
Cami
Luke had not let me sleep. I had expected some sort of christening to take place, but what I got was hours of pleasure and desire that never left my body.
Even now, waking up to the sound of running water from the bathroom, my skin was on fire.
God, I needed him. I needed him everywhere. All the time. I moaned and rolled onto my back, simultaneously horny as hell and exhausted beyond reason.
“I’m sorry I kept you up,” Luke said from the bathroom behind me, the water shutting off as the scent of toothpaste reached me.
“You are not,” I teased, curling into a pillow with a yawn.
He chuckled and jostled the bed, sitting next to me and running his fingers up and down my bare back. I shivered and whimpered; my exhale shook as he kissed my bare shoulder.
“You’re right; I’m not sorry. But I will let you sleep tonight, how does that sound?”
“Better. I…” I rolled to face him, ready to say something smartass to him but my breath was stolen from me as I got a good look at him.
“Fucking hell!” I had never seen him in anything other than his biker clothes, but what he was wearing now turned me from hot and bothered to raging pussy fire.
Luke could fill out a suit, and this one was obviously cut for him. The dark gray suit was matched perfectly with a burgundy shirt and dark striped tie that laid lazily around his neck, not tied yet. And I thought he was sexy before.
“Keep looking at me like that and you’re not going to get any more sleep for the rest of your life, female.”
One side of my mouth drew upward in a smile. “I think I might be okay with that… that suit is something else.”
Luke growled and leaned over me, capturing my nipple between his teeth in a gentle bite before he kissed me, biting at my lip the same way.
“I would fuck you all day if I could,” he said against my lips before he stood and straightened his pants. “But I have a meeting to get to. Lots to catch up on.”
I groaned. I had seen only a handful of wolves last night and not many of them were happy to see me. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why. I heard what he had said, I knew where he was going.
“Or lots of wolves to convince I’m not their next meal?” My stomach clenched and he was back down, hovering over me protectively. “Don’t worry about me. Anyone tries anything and I’ll put them in their place.”
I gave two weak jabs in the air and he chuckled, his hand soft as it ran down my face. “I don’t doubt that. Now, I’ve got to go. I’m already late, but Emma is on her way. She is going to take you shopping and make sure you know where everything is. I’ll be home later.”
“Your sister?” I asked, sitting up and not missing the fact that his eyes glowed gold as they roamed my body.
“Yes. Her number one trait is that she’s loyal to family.”
“So, she’s not a hip-popping bimbo who asks what pack I am from?” I had a feeling I was going to be seeing much more of that woman, and I was ready for her.
“No. Be good.” He came over and took my face in his hands and leaned down to kiss me. “I’m already eager to come home to you.”
I laughed. “You are so cheesy.”
“Don’t you tell anyone. If they ask, I’m a rugged, stern, gruff motherfucker. Got to keep up appearances.”
I didn’t know if he was joking or not, but I doubted anyone was going to ask me about him.
“Got it. Go.”
He took one last look at me before leaving. Once the door closed I did the most juvenile, teenager in a rom-com thing I had ever done before. I threw myself back on the bed, squealed, kicking my legs around in celebration.
“Okay, so this is real.” And amazing, I added in my head.
Who would have thought that any of this would end up this way?
I needed to take a cold shower. At least I knew where the bathroom was.
I got up and threw on one of Luke’s t-shirts that were strewn over the back of a chair and looked around. This place was fucking massive. There were French doors that led to a private back porch along with a bathroom that would be able to swallow my old apartment with room to chew. I opened a door that was slightly ajar revealing a closet to match the size of the bathroom, but only one side was filled with clothes. Luke’s side.
I don’t know if that was adorable or sad. He had been looking for his mate. For me. He had been waiting, and now I was here.
A knock at the door startled me and I slammed the closet before opening the bedroom one to reveal Emma, bouncing on her toes with a large shopping bag in her hands.
“Good morning. I have clothes for you.” she barged in, all smiles and dumped the bag she had on the bed, jeans and shirts and bras that were much tamer than I was used to toppled out.
“I think I guessed your size, but we will have to see. Women's clothes are a pain in the ass. I don’t know why they can’t make things in the same size… or with pockets. Gah! I would kill for pockets in everything. Not really kill, but you know what I mean.” She jabbered on as she fished through the pile, finally turning to hand me a pair of jeans that fit like I’d picked them out myself and a V-neck white shirt along with some Converses in my size.
“It’s my specialty,” Emma said, appraising me now that I was dressed. “I can tell your size from a mile away.”
“Is it your wolf gift?” I was going to have to get better at saying the word without sounding like I was choking on it. Luckily, Emma laughed.
“No. I just like clothes.”
I already knew that was true. She was a palate of crazy that somehow became perfection when on her. Her dress didn’t match her shoes or the scarf she wore. But somehow, in a quirky way, she made it work.
“Okay. Clothes done. First, breakfast. You are hungry. I can smell it in here...among other things. But we’re not gonna talk about that because it’s my brother and eew.”
I snorted. Other than her brown eyes, she was nothing like her brother. Where Luke was commanding, she was questioning. Where Luke stood confident and gruff, she was eager and pleasing.
That and she didn’t seem to care that I was a human, which was a plus around here.
I liked her.
I’d figured we were going somewhere for breakfast, but I was soon corrected by the smell of bacon and eggs wafting from another room as we took the stairs to the bottom floor.
I gasped as we hit the last step. This wasn’t just a kitchen. It was a kitchen that all other ones should bow to in awe of its splendor. Every appliance was brand new and shined like it had been polished minutes before my arrival.
The island was filled with food as people wandered in and out, grabbing things to go or taking a seat at the cafeteria-like dining tables. There were so many more people than I had seen last night. Dozens and dozens of people, I was suddenly worried how much of a disastrous pre-show the run-in with Michelle had been.
“The whole pack eats here. Sometimes, like breakfast, it’s every man for himself but usually, dinner is everyone eating at the same time. Come on.”
“How is this managed?” I asked, genuinely curious about the organization of it all, it all looked like madness. I was quite sure two young boys were even growling and snapping over some bacon as some weird rock music blared overhead.
“We all take turns cleaning and cooking. You know what they say about many hands, right?”
“You bet. That I know.” Working at a bar meant cleaning a kitchen. Point me to a towel and I was ready to go.
But first, food.
Trays full, Emma led me over to a table where some of the people she had introduced me to the night before already sat. They grinned and waved us over as though they were air traffic control. “Cami!” One of the girls waved wildly as I sunk into a seat. “I’m Cara, this is my sister Sarah. I know we didn’t get to say much to you yesterday, but we are so glad you are here.”
“And glad that Luke can stop moping about being wi
thout a mate,” laughed the hulking guy with a thatch of dark hair, Emmet, I think.
They all grinned and started chatting and eating bacon as though it were going out of style.
“Eeeek!” I was pulled from buttering my English Muffin as Emma and Sarah squealed and broke out into song. “‘You are the only one for me, the kittens purr!’”
“What in the world?” I asked Emmet, the only one who wasn’t singing along and was instead rolling his eyes.
“River--” he began, cut off by Emma who practically dove over my lap to get my attention.
“Crap on a kayak, Cami. Have you been living under a rock? It’s River Collins. Only the best, hottest, singer ever. Plus, I am ninety percent sure he’s a secret shifter. This is his new single.”
And they were back to singing. I rolled my eyes and went back to my breakfast.
Well, until a cold wind and bitchy attitude showed up.
“Well, good morning, Alpha Female.” And Michelle had officially made her appearance. That took less time than I thought.
“My name is Cami,” I corrected her, suddenly wondering if that was the thing to do with how Emma stiffened. But that might be more from the four other women who were suddenly clogging our table.
“Cami, what a cute name,” one of them said, her hair as much of a bottle blonde as Michelle’s. “Haley, isn’t that a cute name?”
I snorted. Couldn’t be helped. Someone named Haley was supposed to be a mean girl about my name. What were we, in elementary school?
“Totally cute. It’s sooo…. sooo… human.” Haley wasn’t nearly as good at jabs as Michelle was, and I laughed harder.
“Yes, because we are all named ‘Wolf’ and ‘Claw’,” Emmet scoffed and rolled his eyes, causing the entire table to burst out laughing.
Michelle’s sour expression turned bitter. I stabbed a chunk of scrambled eggs off my plate. That wasn’t the response she needed to push whatever agenda she had forward. And there was no doubt in my mind that this woman had an agenda when she sat next to me.
“So what are your plans today, ladies?” Every word dripped from her mouth like bile, sour and downright vomitous.
Emma cleared her throat several times and bumped her elbows into the girls on either side of her, giving herself some space.
“We are going shopping and then I’m showing her around.”
“Oh, shopping? Wow. Must be nice. Shopping on the pack’s dime your first day here? Ah, the life of a queen.” Michelle's voice was rising with every word, more and more heads turned to us as the resident ‘mean girl’ put on her one-woman show. I rolled my eyes and picked up a piece of bacon. “What I wouldn’t give to be in your shoes. You do have shoes, right? I mean, what have you been doing all this time, running around naked?”
Haley got a kick out of that but ended up choking on her bagel to the chagrin of Michelle, while Cara and Sarah burst out laughing again.
“I dropped everything when Luke asked me to come here. He’s my mate after all.” I hadn’t liked the word mate so far, but when it left my mouth, it felt right. Especially when thrown in Michelle’s face.
Michelle huffed out a laugh. “And when exactly was that? I mean, please tell us the Cinderella story. That has to be it, right? You were some low life he found scrubbing floors and talking to mice.” Everyone was watching now, and I pushed my food away. Suddenly feeling even more defensive than I did before. Not for me, either. For Luke. I didn’t like the way this bitch was talking about him. She needed to be put in her place.
“Do tell how our Alpha decided you, of all people, were the trash he wanted to bring home.” Gasps, chuckles, a million different sounds of shock rattled through the cafeteria as Michelle finished. She had everyone eating out of the palm of her hand.
This bitch needed to learn a lesson and words wouldn’t do.
I was done. Fuck it. I was putting a stop to this right now.
“No one talks about Luke like that!” I faintly heard my fork clang onto the plate while rounded my posture to my right and delivered a hook that not only took Michelle by surprise, but felt like it shattered my knuckles.
Fuck me!
Her face must’ve been made out of steel or some shit. No wonder she was cranky.
With the force of the punch to her jaw, she flailed, falling over her chair and landing on the floor as the cafeteria erupted in noise that took me right back to high school. And I hated high school. Michelle snarled as she stepped to me. Her eyes were red as she glared, as she growled. As her entire fucking body trembled.
“What the--?” I stumbled backward, tripping over my chair and anything else in my way to get away from her as she seized or had some kind of medical episode.
Emma screamed something at me, but it was too late. I was captured by Michelle as her bones broke, the sound of them making me slap my hands over my ears. Her muscles and face shifted and contorted as her skin gave way to fur and fingers to claws.
No fucking way.
No fucking way!
I collapsed onto my knees in front of her. It was either that or fainting, and I was so not fainting in front of this rabid bitch. She came forward on her paws and with one swipe cut my face open with razor-sharp claws. The pain must’ve shaken me from my stupor because my brain kicked in soon. This woman had turned into a wolf right in front of me. Right by the goddamned breakfast buffet and was now snapping her sharp teeth right in my face. Spittle dripped from her muzzle as her lips peeled back.
He brought me here to get eaten.
It wasn’t until she swiped her mouth with her tongue that my fight or flight response kicked in.
I jerked forward, not even thinking as I lunged at the wolf that was near twice the size of me, wrapping my arms around her fucking muzzle and punched her right above the eye.
The room was an explosion of sound. I could barely make out Emma’s screams as she warned me of something. But I had bigger problems. Michelle was shaking her wolf head, flinging me off of her and right into the buffet.
Okay, so maybe attacking the wolf wasn’t the brightest idea. I scrambled backward like a terrified crab ready to get out of here.
I was running. I didn’t know how far I was running. But I was fucking running.
It was too late. Michelle, or wolf Michelle, was already in front of me. She opened her mouth and made a lunge for my throat but at the last second, she stopped in the air, mid-jump.
“You goddamn bitch!” Luke yelled, his usual voice only a whisper compared to now.
In two steps, Luke had busted into the room and grabbed the wolf by the nape, tossing her to the other side of the room. He stood in front of me, hands on his hips, and scanned the place. Everyone looked down and some turned their heads.
All except for Emma and the others who stood, looking frightened, but not cowering like the others.
“This is my mate. I’ve claimed her, and she is here permanently. This is the last time disrespect will be shown to her in any way. Are we clear?” Even I felt the power in Luke’s voice as I pulled myself to stand next to him, trying to look like a badass even though I still had blood seeping from the cuts in my cheek.
“Yes, Alpha,” everyone sang as Luke turned to me, grabbing my hand.
“Cami, let’s get out of here and get you cleaned up.”
“No, these bitches interrupted my meal. I need to finish my breakfast.” I said the words, even though part of me still wanted to run as far away from this place as I could.
I was still contemplating it, but when I looked into Luke’s eyes, I was okay. I was safe. Something about the way he spoke to me and I knew he would never let anything hurt me, even if it meant he got hurt himself.
“Let’s see if there is still some bacon left.” I led the way that time, and everyone parted to give us a wide berth.
I hoped that was a good sign.
10
Cami
“Come on, beautiful, up on the sink with you.” Luke didn’t give me much of an option as he li
fted me by my hips and placed me on the far-too-large-for-anyone’s-good sink in the just as large bathroom.
His eyes were yellow and brown as he smirked at me, planted a kiss on my forehead, and began ruffling through drawers. As rough and tumble as he was with his pack, this side of him would always be panty-melting. My heart was already swooning.
He was still smiling when he came back up, a first-aid kit already open in his hand. Pulling out Band-Aids and alcohol packets he parted my knees and stood between them. With his hand cupping my face, turning it this way and that, he said, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
“You really can’t think that was my first fight. Think about where you found me…”
“I should have still been there,” he interrupted with a bark and I rolled my eyes.
“You can’t be here all the time, Luke. I didn’t expect to get attacked on my first day.” I let out a chuckle before it twisted into a wince thanks to the sting of the alcohol on my cheek.
“Had to clean that up. I’m sorry. You don’t heal as fast as I do.”
“You heal fast?” I asked, focusing on the crease in the ceiling as he splashed some hydrogen peroxide on my cut. “Let me guess, that’s another one of your superpowers?”
“Yeah. This would probably be a scab by now…” I jumped again as he prodded one of the cuts, it didn’t hurt, it just surprised me. But Luke responded as though he was the one that had caused this.
“I should never have left--” His voice caught in his throat. Me being hurt had affected him. I was going to have to knock some sense into him.
“Will you settle down? I’m fine. She didn’t eat me,” I grabbed his hand as he moved to dab at my cheek with a cotton pad, my fingers wrapped around his. “And even if she had eaten me, I would have cut my way out of her stomach or something.”
“That was...vivid.”
“I’m fine.” His soft brown eyes took me in, his shoulders relaxing as he leaned forward, his hands on either side of my hips. I gasped as he rested his forehead on my chest, right below my chin. “I might need an ice pack for these knuckles though.”