by Rae Foxx
“It is not.” Matt was snarling.
Luke’s jaw was grinding, and one vein bulged on the side of his neck. Yeah, nothing was right around this.
“What’s the problem?” I asked, pushing pseudo-confidence into my tone.
Matt grinned at me before he stepped closer, his voice lifting so that everyone could hear him. “I’m concerned, and I think I speak for a good bit of the pack, that Luke has brought in a human to this pack. Not only has he brought her in, but has taken her as a mate. The strength of a pack lies in their Alpha and his mate. This pack doesn’t have room for a weak link, and Luke brought the weakest of all.” That motherfucker did not call me a weak link. Matt grinned at me, and I jerked, ready to punch him, but Luke held me close, his hands like iron bands. “I’m not sure Luke, with these new erratic decisions, is fit to lead us at all.”
As fast as I’d ever seen a person move, Luke moved in front of Matt, shoulders squared, a look of determination on his face. The two dueled with stares and growls for a few minutes before Trevor came to stand in between them, the guy was quite a bit smaller than both Matt and Luke, but he looked as pissed as he held his arms out like a traffic barricade.
Okay, something was wrong. Could they throw Luke out because of me? Had I caused him to lose his place in his pack?
Fuck that shit. Luke wasn’t losing his spot because of me.
“Hold on, everyone,” Trevor began, his voice strong, and pulling everyone's attention. “I know this is...a unique situation, but Luke is the Alpha. We will respect his decision in a mate. Let’s everyone cool down before we say or do something we cannot take back.”
Luke’s chest was heaving, and his fists were balled at his sides. Matt’s attention had been brought to Trevor and now those two were having a showdown.
“Fine. But this isn’t over.” The man targeted me with that sentence, and it took everything in me not to climb him like a tree and tear his fucking head off for it.
Matt snarled before he walked away, about half the pack following him out the front door of the cabin, leaving the previously full space feeling ominous and empty.
“Alpha, we need to talk,” Trevor said as the door shut behind Matt and the others.
Luke didn’t relax, every part of him was tight and angry, I could practically feel the emotion inside of me, rattling my own aggression.
“Okay.” Even his voice was tight as he planted a kiss on my head. “I’ll be right back, Cami.”
I didn’t even get a chance to rebut before he was walking one way, and Emma was pulling me another.
“Come on, Cami. Let’s sit over here while the boys do their thing.”
That thing seemed like something I needed to be there for, but I didn’t question, I followed Emma to a seat by the corner.
“Okay, what the fuck was that?” I hiss-yelled the second we were out of earshot. Or human earshot, Luke gave me a look, so I dropped my voice more. “Who the fuck cares that he mated with a human. That doesn’t mean he can’t do his job, right?”
“You would think,” she sighed, collapsing into one of the chairs, and sagging into it. “There are still those in our pack who have some antiquated thought about humans and our relationship to them.”
“Okay, I get that. But what was that dick measuring contest?”
She giggled and her cheeks reddened. “That was a power struggle. Happens a lot, but not normally with the Alpha. I think Matt was about to challenge Luke for his place.”
Okay, I had read enough books to know what that was. I turned and Luke and I locked eyes, but I could see the anger in them, not at me but at the situation.
“So what…? Fight until…” I didn’t want to say it. Hell, I didn’t want to think about it.
She nodded. “Until one submits. There’s only a handful of Alphas who have been unseated by another, so if Luke was unseated it threatens his place in any pack.”
I screwed up my face. These wolves were weird. “And all because of me? Dramatic much?”
Emma laughed. “Crap on a sombrero. You have no idea. And um, you looked like you were about to jump in there.”
I turned to Luke. “I would’ve. I wanted to tear his throat out.”
“You know, I believe that.”
12
Luke
“Let’s take this into my office,” I growled, the second Emma had pulled Cami away, although I could still hear her ask about what was going on.
I would have to leave that to Emma. I had bigger wolves to skin.
Trevor followed me diligently, both of us darting into the small room where Grant already was ruffling through some papers on my desk.
“What the hell are you doing?” I barked, he didn’t even jump, he sighed and sagged into my seat.
“Waiting for you. I saw what happened…”
“Saw?” Trevor asked with a harsh laugh, for once he seemed as upset as I was. “Where were you when I was trying to stop Matt from howling intent?”
“Calming down all the other male wolves in that little coup that just tried to happen.” Grant was scowling, Trevor was fuming, and I was starting to regret not getting a fight out of the whole thing.
“I told you this would happen,” Grant hissed as I kicked him out of my seat and shuffled him to one of the others opposite my desk. “I warned you--”
“Oh shut up, Grant,” Trevor snarled, his teeth were bared as he leaned toward the other beta. It was always a risk having two of them, but we didn’t need more fights and more challenges right now.
I growled in warning and thankfully they both settled down. Not that my wolf did, I was still ready to fight.
“I knew that some of the pack had some reservations about humans,” I sagged into my chair, my muscles so stiff that I barely moved. “But this is my mate. Where is the respect?”
Grant huffed and rolled his eyes; something was bothering me as it was setting my instincts on edge. Even my wolf was testy, the creature pacing as he watched him. Weird, my wolf had always trusted Grant, but something had changed.
“It’s more than reservation and you know it,” Grant let out a breath and leaned forward in his chair, I instantly followed suit, both of us looking like we were ready to pounce. “Let’s be real fucking honest about this. They don’t like humans and they especially don’t trust them around us, and you brought one right to the head.”
“She’s my mate, Grant,” I snapped, my focus wholly on Grant even though I was aware that Trevor was watching us like we were in a tennis match. “She’s not some girl to fuck around with. She’s my mate. The one and only. The others will have to fucking get over it. I’m marked. She’s marked. It’s done.”
I was firm. My wolf growled behind every single word as I expressed my command. My wolf was growing more and more frustrated. None of this should have happened.
Trevor inclined his neck, revealing his throat to me in submission as all of my pack would when my wolf challenged dominance.
Grant did not.
He leaned forward, his eyes flashing dangerously, “It would’ve been so much easier if you had taken her first rejection and gotten the fuck out of there.”
I laughed then, hard and loud as I forced the sound out. I wasn’t looking away from him, I knew what game he was playing.
“Yeah, because that’s what you would’ve done, right?” I meant the jab to hurt, and it did. Grant jerked, but he did not move away. His focus was just as lasered in on me.
“Don’t deflect. You brought the enemy here, not only here but as your mate.” Grant laughed before standing, his body uncoiling slowly. I followed him move-for-move, my wolf now growling loud enough that everyone could hear. “Humans aren’t someone you sleep with and have kids with, Luke. She’s got influence over you whether you would admit it or not. Her opinions sway yours. Her human ways will press against the way you lead this pack. Can’t be helped.”
“Grant, where is your fucking brain? Where’s your pack loyalty?” Trevor jumped up as Grant took a
step forward, the guy was not going to let anything happen. At least I had one Beta who was loyal to me.
Truth be told, I was kind of upset to hear that Grant wasn’t on my side. I was counting on it.
“You ask me that when your Alpha brings in a filthy human?” I hadn’t missed that he had said your alpha.
“How dare you question my pack loyalty?” I was yelling now, leaning over my desk, my hands firm against the surface. I could vault over it easily if needs be. “I brought my mate here, knowing that she would be refused in one way or the other because of my duty to this pack.”
Grant laughed, “You think that makes up for your years of neglecting us all. Even Trevor knows that. He told me so last night.”
Trevor jerked as though he had been punched, glaring at Grant before he turned to me and my glare. He knew he had no choice but to answer. My wolf would have the truth either way.
Trevor leaned forward in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees. “Luke, let’s be real. For the last year or so we’ve been taking these excursions to find your mate. It’s taken you away from the pack, away from your responsibilities just to find your mate. From the way I see it, Cami has taken center stage in your thoughts and actions for a long time before you even met her. You’ve been letting our pack take a backseat for a while now. Even yesterday, she got hurt and you were holed up with her for the rest of the day over one spat and a scratch to the face. I’m being real with you. See it from our perspective.”
“Tell me a little more about this alternate perspective, Trevor. It seems like you want to say more.” I ground the words out between my teeth like pepper on toast. Vile and pungent.
“It’s not just me, Luke. I mean, I’m fine with it,” Trevor was trying to clean up the damage he had done, but I was fuming. “Maybe now that you’ve found her, you can settle down and handle your shit again. I’m confident you can.”
“He says that,” Grant huffed out a laugh, but I found nothing funny about this whole fucking conversation. “But he isn’t the only one who isn’t happy with this mating. They aren’t happy about Cami being a human, and they think you’ve made a mistake. It’s not disgruntled gossip, either. More than one person has mentioned challenging you for your position as Alpha.”
“Is that person you?” Grant smiled and leaned back at my question.
“Luke, it’s time for you to put your nose to the ground and get back to work,” Grant rested his chin on the tips of his fingers so that he looked like an evil villain. It was an unwanted image of how I was feeling. “Show them that this mating hasn’t deterred you, or your allegiance, to this pack. They will see from your example that you were who you were born to be.”
“I love her already,” I said, needing to hear the words out loud. “I’ll do anything to protect our future.”
“And what about the future of this pack? Are you as committed to us as you are to her?” I didn’t like where Grant was taking this. Not that he had veiled his intentions very well.
“This position was handed to me by my father, and I took the oath of Alpha seriously. I still do. My focus is on this pack. Yes, I have a mate now, but that simply grounds me more to this place and my people.”
“Then show us,” Grant stood, already moving toward the door even though I hadn’t excused them yet. “You need to give some thought to this. Get your fucking head on straight. If you don’t...well, if you don’t...this pack is going to rip itself apart and all over a human.”
With that, and without my dismissal, Grant stormed out.
13
Cami
I had never been woken up by a hard erection pressing itself between the globes of my ass before, but with Luke… I was getting used to it.
“Good morning, darling,” he whispered in my ear as he slid against my bare skin, his teeth nipped at my ear lobe and I jerked.
“Morning,” I half moaned as I tried to roll into him, but his hands gripped my shoulders and pushed me forward, bending me away and fanning my ass to him.
I stretched out a yawn as I slowly woke up, arching my back, and fanning my ass even closer to him. Damn. I should have thought that through.
Luke’s stiffness slid from my ass to between my thighs, whispering against the wetness that was already pooling there. It didn’t take much for Luke to turn me on, and feeling him slide slowly against me was doing me in.
“Gods, Cami,” he moaned, gripping my hips to enter me.
“I’m not a god,” I teased pulling myself away from him as I arched back and puffed out my lower lip.
“You are to me, and I will worship you every day.” Luke kissed my forehead as he rocked into me, the wide head of his cock lingering against my opening. I couldn’t help it. I groaned.
I tilted, my body aching for him to enter me…
“I love you, Cami.”
Holy fucking gods on a bicycle in the pouring rain.
I froze, twisting around in his arms so fast that if he had tried to stop me, he probably would have burned the skin of his palms.
“I… Ummm…. Uhhh…” I stammered and he grinned, his heart stopping smile spreading as he reached over and traced the still healing bite mark on my shoulder. The smile, the touch, the words… I had never turned to goo before, but this man was doing me in. He didn’t even look ashamed of his admittance, no matter how much he took me by surprise, except, in a way, it didn’t.
I had wanted to say the words as much as I wanted to hear them. I had even almost burst them out last night.
“I love you, Luke,” I said once my heart rate had settled down.
His grin turned to surprise as he pulled me closer, our naked bodies flush against one another. “You do? I mean, I know it’s different for a human. I’ve watched movies.”
I snickered. “Well, yeah, I don’t think there’s a movie that could’ve prepared me for this, but yeah. I’m sure. I love you.”
Luke’s grin turned into a chuckle, his arms wrapping around me in a tight basket as he pulled me on top of him, his lips pressing against every bit of skin he could reach.
“You’re mine, Cami,” he said between kisses, his rough beard scratching my skin. “I swear I won’t let anything, or anyone come between us.”
He kissed me again, but I pulled back. The way he had said that wasn’t a lovey-dovey promise, he was dead fucking serious. The tone of his voice scared me.
“What are you talking about? You’re making it sound like the boogeyman is out to get me.”
His eyes flashed in shades of yellow and gold, the color the same as the wolf I had seen burst from him. I could practically feel the creature's protective growl rattle in my chest.
“My wolf... I’m so glad he chose you. I’m going to keep you safe. I’ll tear down the world making sure you are safe.” Again with the rumbly promise. I didn’t miss that he hadn’t answered me.
I cupped his face in my hands. “Luke, talk to me. What happened yesterday? Tell me. Share with me. There’s nothing you can’t tell me.”
He breathed out long and hard before thumping his forehead against my chest. “There are those in my pack that don’t like the fact that I’m mated to you.”
“I gathered as much,” I sighed, my body relaxing. “Let me venture a guess. It’s because I'm human.”
I was already fuming. He didn’t want me to start listing all the ways that was wrong.
“That’s part of it, they are also questioning my loyalty. They are questioning my commitment and duty to the pack.”
“The fuck?” I almost yelled. I sat up so fast I might have given myself whiplash. “I thought the point of you finding me was that you could settle down and run this pack. I mean, even a lowly human like me can understand that.”
He growled at my sarcastic degradation of myself, but I glared him down. He saw how ridiculous this was, so I didn’t need to remind him. I mean, I was committed. I lived here now and let him bite me. I was invested fully. He made me promise not to say it again even in jest.
“Then go run your pack. I’ll serve them beers until they see how cool I am. I’ll still be here. It’s not like I need a babysitter.” It seemed like the perfect solution, but he didn’t calm down.
"They want to take Alpha from me.”
Fucking wolves. All riled up because little ‘ole human girl walked in. Who knew I was so fucking threatening to a pack of rabid wolves?
Not me.
Damn, I must’ve been fiercer than I knew.
“Fine. We fight this together. You’re the fucking Alpha, Goddamnit. I might not have claws or razor-sharp teeth, but I will cut anyone who comes at you or me. I can’t believe them. I’m human. So fucking what? It’s not like I have the plague or something and am trying to kill off their race of shifters. I’m here because I belong here with you.” And my ranty floodgates had officially broken free.
He stared at me like he couldn’t believe it. “And here I was expecting to have to hogtie you to the bedpost if you didn’t come with me.”
I made a big show of rolling my eyes. “Oh, please. I was yours already. I was being stubborn. I’m here now and I’m with you no matter what. What’s his name? Matt? Oh, that giant dickhead thinks I’m going to stand aside like the little woman should and watch while he tries to take something from my man. That’s complete bullshit. I’ll tear him a new asshole.”
He was quelling a smile, but barely. It only took one sharp look, or what I thought was a sharp look, before he was trying to disguise a belly laugh as a cough.
“Are you laughing at me? I’m serious. I’ll kick his balls right up into his throat before he can shift.”
That was it. The dam was broken. Luke laughed, hard and loud, kind of deflating my ego. “The gods knew what I needed in a mate and here you are. So fucking strong and fierce. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not laughing at you. I’m so damned happy to have found you. And... now I’m a little scared of you, too.”