Scent Of A Mate: League Of Gallize Shifters

by Dianna Love

  He sucked in air and held still.

  Muscles on his neck stood out with the strain of waiting. His eyes pleaded for something he didn’t put in words.

  Human disease couldn’t live in a shifter’s body.

  She covered him with her mouth and continued what she’d started. Her fingers rolled his balls at the right moment and he came hard.

  Gan made a deep growl when he let go, but it was hearing her name that touched her. He knew exactly where he was and who he was sharing this moment with.

  Not just some camp bitch.

  When his muscles were limp and his eyes were closed, she grabbed her T-shirt and wiped her face then cleaned him as best she could. She’d deal with herself when she went back up to shower.

  Her gaze roamed over Gan’s sprawled body. His arms fell to the sides, legs were just as boneless-looking as the rest of him.

  As she started to lift up, his hands came back to life, grasping her and pulling her to him. He hugged her and kissed her hair.

  When had she cuddled with a man?

  Too many years ago to count, back when she was barely out of her teens. She wrapped an arm around him, content to just be.

  “Thank you,” he said in a hushed voice.

  “For the blow job?” she teased.

  He pinched her bottom and sounded serious. “No. My words are not many, but to kiss you is gift. Yes, my dick love that. Never had before, but to hold you in my arms. That is ... I have no words.”

  Her eyes burned with unexpected tears.

  She wasn’t a crier. She would kick ass and make someone pay for crossing her, but Gan’s admission grabbed her heart and squeezed.

  He was telling her that being with her was more than before. Different.

  Just as this felt different for her.

  “You’re special, too.” She struggled not to say more, but she acknowledged the truth to herself.

  Gan mattered to her.

  More than just mattered, she cared deeply for him.

  It hurt to not tell him. He deserved to know, but they had no future. How much worse would it be for Gan if she opened up and then had to say goodbye?

  She’d thought to share one time with him, something for both of them.

  Talk about getting it wrong.

  She’d just screwed up big-time.

  The idea of telling him goodbye was tearing her heart apart.

  Chapter 19

  Gan used long tongs to flip over the steaks and turn the corn. His gaze kept drifting to the lake.

  He’d had streams in Wyoming and small ponds near camps, but no large body of water. The Cadell guards feared losing a captive who swam away.

  Just looking at the moon’s reflection in the lake brought him a peaceful feeling.

  Scarlett leaned close and inhaled. “Smells good. How long before the steaks are done?”

  “Cook for you. Raw is okay for me.”

  “Ugh. I don’t like super hot, but also not icy cold.”

  He grinned.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “No.”

  “What?”

  “My words get me in trouble.” Of course, he couldn’t help smiling when he said that.

  Her lips tilted with a grin. “Tell me. I won’t get mad at you.”

  “You like steak hot. You like shower hot. You like me hot.” He slashed a questionable look at her. “We need condom.”

  Her eyes darkened.

  Good woman. She had the same idea.

  He shared the big shower with her this time and had sex again. He thought about it. Not just sex. Maybe this had been making love. He’d heard others talk about that when no one realized he snuck around the camps.

  He’d asked one woman to explain.

  She said it was having sex with someone you loved.

  He had never experienced love, wouldn’t know what it looked or felt like, but this ache in his chest had to be something important. He shook off the thought. He confused what people said. Scarlett had said he was special to her.

  But did her words mean the same to her as his did to him?

  He would not ask her about love. Not when she was happy with him. He made problems too often when he spoke.

  Still, he didn’t like the idea of leaving Scarlett in a few days, but he couldn’t stay. Once they took care of Fayth and her baby, he had to go or he’d miss his only chance to get away from the Gallize.

  Why did just thinking about leaving her hurt?

  Stay with me, his tiger said in Gan’s head.

  He had not missed the animal, but while he continued to cook the steaks, he asked, Stay with you? What do you mean?

  Mate go with me.

  Mate? Is that what Gan hadn’t been able to put into words. Was Scarlett his mate? Could she even be his mate?

  Would she want to be?

  She’d have to run away with him. She had a sister, Jazlyn, and women at a shelter all depending on her.

  He could not take her from all of that.

  Lifting the steaks and corn off the grill, he turned the knob she’d used to change temperature until the grill turned off. That would have been nice to have in a camp.

  Scarlett had the wooden patio table set for the two of them with a candle glowing.

  Today had been a gift, too.

  He’d never enjoyed one day in the past. Even with the fight inside the barn with bad shifters, he proved he was more than someone to sit and watch. He’d saved his people, protected Scarlett and the female shifters.

  His people? No, the Gallize were not his people.

  Placing the platter on the table, he loaded each plate and sat, looking at the bowl of berries. “What are those?”

  “Blackberries. I found a bush on the far side of the house.” She spooned some on each plate.

  He tasted one and was sold. “I would like these every day.”

  She paused in cutting her steak. “They aren’t always in season, but a lot of them grow wild.”

  Saving the sweet treat for last, he started on his steak. “They grow in cold land?”

  “I think they grow as far north as Maine,” she replied, not looking up.

  Maine. The land that had snow and wilderness, but blackberries? He had to go there to live.

  Stay with mate, his animal growled.

  That tiger could not let him be happy even for one minute. Gan silently replied, If you want to live, we must be far from people. You want to kill all the time. You are reason we must leave.

  Gan finished his meal and the tiger still had not responded.

  That was odd, but he had no complaint.

  Scarlett jumped up and cleared the table. Gan picked up what she’d left and delivered the rest to the kitchen.

  His tiger said, Want water. Want swim.

  Gan did, too, but he couldn’t turn his tiger loose. Maybe the animal could enjoy the water with Gan swimming.

  He asked Scarlett, “Want to swim?”

  She finished loading the dishwasher and turned to him, casting a long glance at the lake. “That’s a great idea. My cougar needs to get out and stretch. She loves water. Let’s let our animals out for a break.”

  She wanted him to free his tiger?

  Mate good to me, his tiger crooned.

  She waited for his reply.

  Gan had to tell her the truth. “I never turn tiger loose.”

  “Maybe you should, Gan. I’d like to see how much control you have when you aren’t in the middle of a battle. If you can’t control your tiger to go swimming, I need to know that so I don’t take you somewhere you, or anyone else around, will be at risk.”

  He considered everything she said. “What if your cougar does not like tiger?”

  Scarlett smiled, making him think he worried for nothing. That was until she said, “Oh, my Chica does not like your tiger at all after he slapped her with a claw, but she’s capable of handling your tiger if he makes another bad decision.”

  Gan wished he had stayed quiet. He shouldn�
��t do this.

  “Come on, let’s do this. Show me what you got, wild man.”

  His damn tiger had boxed him in a corner. He told the beast, You must do as I ask or this will not happen again.

  In response, the tiger hammered his insides, raring to be free.

  Scarlett flipped off the overhead lights in the kitchen leaving the subtle under-counter lights on, then left the house. Gan walked outside behind her, watching as she neared the lake.

  She took a moment to look everywhere. “No houses close enough to see even during the day. We should be good out here in the dark.” She turned to him. “You first.”

  Determined to prove he could do this, Gan tossed off his pants. He drew hard on the energy he had become accustomed to feeling like a furnace thundering in his body. Even so, he’d expected this to be a slow change.

  His tiger must have wanted out bad. The shift seemed to happen in half a minute and not as painful as usual.

  His animal came up on all fours and stood eye level with the top of Scarlett’s head. She stepped forward and raised her hand to brush her fingers over his ears, scratching the backside.

  His tiger lowered his head, emitting a soft growl that rumbled peacefully.

  Scarlett said, “Whatever you two are doing right now is working. That’s what you need to think about Gan. How to make this work.”

  He told his tiger to nod.

  The animal actually obeyed.

  Backing up a few steps, she pulled off her T-shirt and shorts, making her shift quickly. When finished, she rose gracefully as a stunning cougar. Her long tail swept back and forth as if content, but the cat’s eyes showed other thoughts.

  His tiger’s tail moved in the same happy sway.

  Gan told his tiger, Be careful. Cougar does not like you. You hurt her.

  Mate likes me, his tiger replied with no doubt.

  Arrogant animal.

  When his tiger walked forward and moved his head to sniff the cougar, Scarlett’s animal sidestepped out of his path and walked away.

  His tiger’s jaw dropped and his tail drooped to the ground.

  Gan chuckled. I thought you want to swim.

  In a growly sound, his tiger said something Gan couldn’t figure out, then headed for the water.

  The cougar jumped in, splashing and paddling around, ignoring the tiger that sulked at the edge of the lake. But it took only a moment for the tiger to forget the rebuff and start splashing too.

  Before now, Gan had struggled and fought every day with his tiger from the first second of realizing what he had become. He’d endured long miserable weeks in Wyoming, never rested and never happy.

  But to have his animal behave so ... freely had Gan sitting back to watch and think. He had not wanted the tiger, but the tiger had not wanted him either.

  They had both been wronged.

  Regardless, they both had to figure out how to make this work for what time they had left to live. Why spend every minute of being free in a battlefield?

  What would happen if he and the tiger could find a way to survive together?

  An hour later, the cougar stepped from the lake and shook the excess water from her coat.

  Gan’s tiger had been only a few steps behind her, pausing to shake before he reached her.

  When his tiger did not move, Gan asked, What is wrong?

  Cougar does not like me.

  Gan would have laughed at the forlorn words, but after the past hour he’d gained some understanding for his animal.

  If Scarlett didn’t like Gan, that would hurt, too.

  He told his tiger, She is good like Scarlett. You must be nice to cougar.

  How?

  His tiger had never asked his opinion on anything. Gan said, Walk up to her and show her you are sorry.

  Taking a tentative step, his tiger padded toward the cougar then past her, turning to face Scarlett’s cat. They stared at each other for several heartbeats.

  Gan started to worry until his tiger dropped his head and held it there for a bit. When his animal lifted his head, he carefully moved closer.

  Then his tiger licked the cougar’s cheek and pulled back quickly, waiting.

  Nothing happened.

  Gan felt bad for his tiger, because the animal was confused and unhappy. It surprised him to realize he could feel the animal’s emotions.

  Her cougar started to walk past his tiger, then paused and swiped a fast lick over his cheek. She continued another step, stopping only to slap a paw at his tiger’s rump.

  His animal snarled, but without any heat.

  When his tiger swung his big head around, Gan could swear Scarlett’s cougar smiled then continued on to the patio.

  His tiger said, She likes me.

  Gan laughed. Do not make her angry again.

  If I do, I make her happy again.

  Where did his animal get so much confidence?

  Watching Scarlett shift back to human form, Gan told his tiger, I would like to be human again. That would make Scarlett happy.

  I will do for mate.

  Gan asked, Why do you think she is mate?

  His tiger countered, Why do you not see her as mate?

  The shift back to his human form started before Gan could reply, but he had no answer to that question. He could feel Scarlett in his chest as if she were a part of him, but was that mating? Would she ever feel that way about him?

  Once Scarlett had her clothes on again, she said, “I can’t sleep unless I wash after that swim. Let me do that and dry my hair, then I’ll be back.”

  “Leave wet. Please.”

  “Why? It’s a mess to brush out.”

  He ran his hand over her wet hair. “Is natural. I like.”

  Was she blushing? The woman who battled like a hardened warrior and made love as if the world ended today? He smiled to himself at that.

  Yes, she had made love to him.

  Kissing her hair, he suggested, “I wash for you.”

  She laughed, pushing him away. “Not this time. Save that thought for when we find a condom.”

  “Why need condom to wash hair?” he said, teasing her.

  “Yeah, right, wild man. We both know what will happen if we’re in the shower together again.”

  “What happens?” he pressed, trying to sound serious, but failed. He couldn’t keep a straight face no matter how hard he tried to smother his smile. He had never enjoyed being with a woman so much.

  Just looking at her made him happy.

  She stepped over and hooked a hand on his neck, pulling him down nose-to-nose. “You know exactly what would happen. Also, you should never play cards. You have no poker face.”

  “What is poker face?” He didn’t care. He just wanted to keep her close.

  “Poker is a card game where players bluff often. Bluff means to hold losing cards, but pretending you have winning cards.”

  He rubbed her nose. “You are right. I would not be good bluff person. Hard to find right words to tell truth.”

  Her eyes twinkled. “That’s okay. Your words are just fine. I like truth and honesty when I talk to someone.”

  “I like truth, too. I think about wash more than hair.” He grinned.

  Her laugh hummed through him like a deep breath of spring air. “I knew that,” she admitted. “I would be game, but we need to get some sleep and be ready for the minute Jazlyn shows up tomorrow. You can use the big shower after I’m done.”

  He sighed. “You will miss me.”

  Scarlett kissed him hard and shoved off, striding to the door. “We’re going to have to work on that self-esteem problem.”

  She’d confounded him again. “What is this? I have no problem.”

  Opening the door, she said, “That’s called a joke, Gan. We’ll work on your vocabulary so you know when someone is only teasing.”

  Shaking his head, he waved a hand. “I hope you wash hair better than make jokes.”

  The door slapped shut, but not before she yelled something that
sounded like, “You. Are. Impossible.”

  He wanted to say, “And you make no sense.” But he knew she teased him. Some people had said cruel things to him as a young boy trying to understand languages everywhere he ended up, but Scarlett had a kind heart.

  She played with words, using them to know him better. She knew exactly what he’d had in mind for washing her hair.

  He should have asked her where they could find a condom.

  Standing there as he thought through all that had happened, he realized he had never been at peace like this. He’d never just stood still because he wanted to or swam. He’d suffered mental and physical torment nonstop in camps before the tiger showed up. Then he fought Adrian’s wolf in Wyoming or had to follow Vic’s directions when they traveled with Scarlett.

  No one had ever walked away from Gan, trusting him to just do what he wanted.

  No one until Scarlett.

  She had not told him stay here, go inside, don’t shift, or many other orders he’d been given in the past.

  Taking his time looking at the property that had short grass and a walkway from the house to the lake, he considered the size of the land. Fifty yards out on each side of the house, short grass spread out until it stopped at a straight line of thick woods.

  Turning in a circle, he took it all in. This would be somewhere to raise a family. He would never have a family, but he could see it in a place like this.

  A dark cloud passed over his soul.

  No, he would not be sad on the best day of his life.

  Gan had an idea for another first.

  He took a walk, just because he could. He would hold fiercely to every freedom, no matter how small.

  After circling the left side of the land where he followed the grass near the trees, he walked the edge of the lake then started back up the tree line on the right side.

  He’d made it halfway back to the house when he felt energy brush up against his.

  His tiger said, Change now. Kill wolf.

  Gan struggled to hold the tiger in while still watching for what had set off his animal. “Who is there?”

  Adrian emerged from the black shadows. “What the hell are you up to out here, Pyscho Cat?”

  “How are you here?” Gan squeezed out when his tiger battered his insides. “Go away. Tiger want out.”

  “Shit. I knew it was a bad idea to let you go alone,” Adrian grumbled. “I just saw you shift back earlier. This is important, Gan. Hold your tiger in.”