by Marissa Teng
Tok Tok Tok
Keep them away from the wolf.
Tok Tok Tok
Keep them away...from me.
Tok Tok...DARKNESS...
Six
As Lucia walked out of the bathroom, and back into Jaxson’s, her mate’s, bedroom, she inhaled deeply. His scent was strong here, and she was pleased that there were no other scents mixed in with his.
Jaxson’s scent was not at all like a wolf’s. Where a wolf’s scent was powerful and wild, she’d guess a bear’s scent was strong and calm, like it wasn’t stalking or hiding, it let itself be known. She imagined that must have been what bears themselves were like. Bears never had to hide or creep up on its prey, like wolves.
She wondered what she should do. She never imagined she even had a mate. All those years locked up with Sterling, made her think she would never be free. Being free became her only thought and finding her mate had become a lost dream.
But now she found him and... she like him. She liked his strength, his protectiveness of her and her son. Most men would hate a child that wasn’t theirs, but Jaxson claimed Stellan as his son. It was like the Moon Goddess really did hear her prayers all those years. She helped them escape and she led them into the arms of her mate. A mate that wasn’t even a wolf, but a bear. That unnerved her. If she carried his...cubs would they be wolves or bears? Or...both. Would they be a strange hybrid? Would they be monsters?
No, no, they wouldn’t be monsters. They would be perfect just like her Stellan. A son she bore for a man who really was a monster.
She left the room and made her way back to the kitchen when she heard someone run into the cabin.
“Trouble.” The person, another man, told her mate. She panicked. Surely the trouble couldn’t have anything to do with her.
“What is it?” she heard her mate ask, his voice changing from the soft tones he was using with her earlier, to an authoritative tone which she had to admit shook her core.
“At the border. Alpha Sterling of the Blood Pride Pack. He’s demanding entry to our territory to find his lost wife and son.” Her knees went weak and her stomach dropped. He was here, he was looking for them and Lucia felt like vomiting.
“No.” she whispered making her presence known though she was sure they knew she was there the second she left the bedroom, just like she knew about them. She looked up at her mate with a look a fear on her face. “I told you he would come.”
“Let him.” He said as his green eyes held hers. “You are my mate, not his. My pack, our pack, will protect you.”
“A group of bears is called a sleuth or sloth, not a pack.” Stellan announced suddenly.
Jaxson laughed. “Yes, but I draw the line at calling my pack the High Mountain Sleuth. We are the High Mountain Pack, and I enjoy that name much better.”
“You can’t fight him,” Lucia said walking up to her mate. He stood and looked down at her. He was really tall, not that Lucia was big, to begin with, she was only 5’3 and was pretty sure she was only around 110 pounds. Jaxson had to be at least 6’5 and with his massive muscular frame, he had to double her weight if not triple it. She suddenly couldn’t wait to have herself wrapped in his arms with her skin flush against his. The thought made her cheeks redden and she lost her train of thought.
“He has an army,” Lucia said, grasping it back. “I never saw it, but he would brag about it to me.”
“Well, so do I.” Jaxson turned to the man who entered. He looked a lot like Jaxson, she noticed. He wasn’t as big as Jaxson, but he was big nonetheless. His muscles were smaller than her mate’s but that didn’t make this guy look weak at all. His eyes were a more bluish shade of green, but they both shared the same sandy brown hair. “Holden, have the enforcers meet us at the border and tell our warriors to ready for war if it so comes.”
“You’re going to fight for her?” Holden spat and Lucia felt her mate’s anger. “A wolf?”
“She is my mate! That makes her your Astéri. You will show her the same respect you show me because remember, dear brother, I did not ask to become your Alpha. You and everyone in this pack chose me because of my strength!” Jaxson pulled Lucia into him and she rested her forehead on his chest. She felt bad, wrong, for all this. She brought trouble to all of them.
“But you haven’t even claimed her!” Holden shouted. “She has a child and we don’t want a fight with—"
“Enough! Holden, I gave you an order and I want you out of our house right now. I will meet you at the border and we will handle this my way! Now leave!” Jaxson shouted.
“Yes, Alpha.” Holden said through gritted teeth. He left, slamming the door behind him.
“Stellan,” Jaxson said once the house stopped shaking from the door being slammed. “The TV in the living room works. Why don’t you go watch some...cartoons or something while I speak with your mother?”
Stellan looked at Jaxson for a long time before looking over to his mother for permission with a hopeful look in his eyes. She smiled at him and nodded. Stellan grabbed his plate of food and went to the living room turning on the TV and flicking through the channels before he found one with a cartoon playing. He sat in on the carpet with his plate on his lap, eating as he watched.
Lucia smiled gratefully at Jaxson. Jaxson’s hand caressed her cheek and she leaned into his touch. Lowering his hand, he grabbed her hand in his and led them back into the bedroom shutting the door behind them. Before she could think, Jaxson lifted her up in his arms. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.
Jaxson crashed his lips to hers, sending a shock of electricity through her body. She responded with a hunger she didn’t know she had nor would ever have for a man. She feared Sterling had ruined her but no, she felt alive the second Jaxson’s lips touched hers.
Lucia moaned into his mouth in a way she never had before. It would have embarrassed her if it wasn’t for the strong growl that came from Jaxson in response. He pressed her up against the wall as his hands roamed her body. One squeezed her ass as the other ran up her side under her shirt. His touch was everything to her in that moment.
She felt her body react to him in such a strong way. She didn’t fear he was going to hurt her, she just wanted him and only him. It was too many feelings at once. She threw her head back gasping for air. Jaxson took that time to suck and kiss at her neck. She dug her nails into his shoulders and he let out a groan that sent such pleasure through her body.
Her wolf howled from within.
Mark him. Mark him.
Jaxson gripped her tighter to him, grinding his hard ridge against her hot center. She ground back in kind, giving him just as much as he gave her. Her lips found his neck. She kissed, licked and sucked, tasting him.
Mark him!
Her mouth found the spot it wanted, she licked it hungrily and her teeth elongated and before she could think twice about it, she bit. At the same exact second, she did, she felt Jaxson biting into her neck.
Pleasure like she never felt before soared through her as she clamped down harder drawing blood, tasting her mate’s blood. She gripped him tighter making sure there was no space between them and wishing she didn’t have her clothes on.
Jaxson snarled as he also clamped down on her just as she did to him. She shook her body growing hot, her senses heightening to the peak of pleasure. She felt it, her orgasm was near. She released Jaxson’s neck and threw her head back, letting go and letting her orgasm hit her full force.
Jaxson let out an animalistic roar as he slammed his body against her and gripping her so tightly, she thought her body would break. But it didn’t. It felt like every nerve in her body was on fire with pleasure. There was only one word that could describe this feeling:
Euphoria.
Lucia’s body shook with aftershocks as she came down from what had to be the most magnificent orgasm in the world, and they hadn’t even had sex. She listened to Jaxson’s heavy breathing and her own. Jaxson pulled his head away from her
shoulder and she looked at him. His mouth was red with blood, the blood from the marking that she knew covered her mouth too.
Softly, Jaxson moved his mouth to hers, kissing her. In that kiss was such love in it that she felt she would break from it. Tears fell from eyes as she felt her soul repairing itself. Her soul that was so beaten and battered from the years of torture from Sterling was finally starting to heal.
Jaxson pulled away and wiped her tears away with his thumb.
“Mate.” She whispered to him and smiled. A real smile for the first time in a very long time.
“Mate.” Jaxson echoed then kissing her forehead. He let his lips linger there for a while just relishing in the feeling of her and everything that had just happened between them.
“I... uh, I have to change.” Jaxson muttered. “I came in my pants.”
Lucia giggled then it turned into a laugh as she hid her face, which she was sure was red with embarrassment, into his chest. A rumble came from his chest as Jaxson also began to laugh. She loved the sound, it was strong, manly and warm at the same time.
A sound of loud laughing followed by crashes and comical sounds suddenly reached her ears. She pulled away from Jaxson trying to figure the sound out. Then, a look a pure horror crossed her face as she looked at Jaxson with dread.
Stellan, her six-year-old son, had put the TV on full blast.
Seven
Jaxson lowered his mate down on her feet and kissed her. Even with the blood around her mouth, she was still beautiful. He tilted her head to the side looking at his mark. It was red and screaming so he bent down to gently lick it. His bear growled his approval at the sight of it. Lucia let out a moan as his tongue ran across it. It had him already ready for her again, but this time without clothes on.
Sadly, there was too much to do before he could finally claim his mate in every way possible. It took a lot of willpower, but Jaxson pulled himself away from his mate and pushed her towards the bathroom.
“Go, take a shower.” He told Lucia. “I’ll go talk to Stellan, man to man.”
“Are you sure? I think I should be there.” Lucia insisted but Jaxson just shook his head.
“I need to talk to him anyway. Just go and shower quickly, then meet us out there.”
Lucia nodded in agreement and walked towards the bathroom.
We should join her. Said his bear. Jaxson agreed with him but there was something he had to do first. Jaxson grabbed a pair of clean pants and threw off his current pants wiping off the proof of what just occurred between him and Lucia. He wanted her again. He wanted to be inside her as she moaned his name underneath him. But that would have to wait. He had to make sure his mate her son were protected.
He threw on some boxer briefs, jeans, and a polo shirt then went out into the living room, where the TV was at a volume he never even knew it had. Stellan sat very close to the TV watching what looked to be a documentary on lions.
“When the new male takes over the pride, he kills all the cubs. This may seem cruel, but the male does not want to waste time protecting cubs that are not his.” The narrator on the TV said. That made Jaxson scowl. He wondered if that’s what Stellan thought of him.
Jaxson walked over to the couch where the TV remote was and shut it off. Stellan remained where he was and didn’t turn to acknowledge him. He sat with his back straight and faced the turned off TV.
“Stellan we need to talk about what you heard.” Jaxson said in what he hoped was a calm voice.
“I know what I heard.” Stellan said without his voice even wavering. “And I know what you did.”
“What do you mean? How do you know?” How did he know? The boy was only six years old.
“My mom and I lived in a big house. But we were only allowed to use a small part of it. There was the room where we would eat, the room where we would shower, a small living room, my room and... the room where Sterling would take her. My mom hated that room. I hated it too. But that room was right next to mine and I could always hear everything he did in there. Sterling would lock me in there because he knew I could hear. Sometimes he would make me watch but I would always close my eyes.” Jaxson saw red for a second. What kind of monster was this man? He would kill him. He would reach into his chest and pull out his heart as it was still beating then show it to him as he crushed it.
“What I did with your mother was nothing at all like what that monster did to her!” Jaxson said trying to reel in his anger.
“...I know.” Stellan said after a long moment. “I know it was different because...she didn’t cry after.” Finally, the boy turned to him. Jaxson saw his eyes then. Eyes full of pain and anger and so much hurt. He had to grow up too fast. But Jaxson also saw strength in Stellan’s eyes. A strength that was created from years of abuse and horror, but never letting it take you under. A warmth of pride coated his body as he saw that strength in the small boy. He wondered how many times he had stood up to his father to protect his mother.
“I will never hurt your mother.” Jaxson told him. “And I will never hurt you.”
Stellan turned back to the TV even though it was off. Jaxson knew he was remembering what was said about the lion killing off all the cubs that weren’t his. He didn’t want him thinking like that.
“Why?” he asked Jaxson. “Why do you want to protect us when you have just met us? I understand you said Mommy is your mate, but there are wolves that reject their mate and I’m guessing bears do that too.”
“No. We don’t.” Jaxson almost roared but kept his tone in check. He didn’t want to scare Stellan, but just the thought of rejecting Lucia had his bear roaring with anger. “When we find our mates, we find the other side of our souls. It’s like our hearts finally really start beating and we cherish that bond and protect it so that no one could take it away.” Jaxson told him. “I can’t even imagine why a wolf might want to reject such a gift.” All Stellan could do was shrug. Jaxson knew he had no idea why, regardless of what he saw happen to his mother or not, he was still just a boy.
“Do you love her?” Stellan asked and for the first time since he met him, Jaxson heard the boy’s voice waver.
“I do. She is my other half and without her, I am incomplete.” He told him truthfully. “And without you, she is incomplete.” Jaxson stared at the boy whose eyes held his. He was impressed that Stellan didn’t look away but held eye contact. He would make a good Alpha. Finally, Stellan nodded and the tension in the room sizzled out.
“What are you going to do about Sterling?” Stellan asked him.
“Tell him the truth. Your mother is my mate and since I am the Alpha of this pack that makes her, in turn, the Astéri of the pack.”
“What’s an Astéri?” Stellan asked.
“I believe the wolves would refer to your mother as a Luna.”
“Oh...Mommy and Sterling weren’t married plus he never claimed her as his mate, so she was never a Luna to the pack.”
“Well, here she is. And that was also his mistake. He never marked her as his. Now, we have both marked each other and my pack now knows. Unless Sterling wants a war with not just me but all the bears in the country, he will stay away. We do not mess with another’s mate. It is a crime not to be taken lightly or forgiven to ever do so.”
“What about me?” Stellan asked and he heard the touch of wariness in his voice.
“She is my mate and you are her son. When I decided to mark her and accept her mark, I accepted every part of her, including you. Blood or not, you are my son now and everyone in the pack will see you as my heir. Even after your mother and I have our own children, you will still be considered my oldest son.” That actually got a response of the boy and his jaw dropped.
“So...so, you’re my dad now?” Stellan asked shocked.
“Yes.” Jaxson said simply.
“And I never have to go back to Sterling?”
“Never.” Jaxson growled. “Not unless you want to.”
“I’d rather die.” Stellan told him with such a hard
look on his face. Once this was all over, Jaxson swore to himself he would give the boy a childhood he was well deserving of. He would do everything his father did with him. He would teach him everything he knew and he would make sure he was always happy, just like he would make Lucia.
“I won’t let him take you, and neither will the pack.” Jaxson told him. He heard a door open behind him, and heard his mate walking out of their room and into the living room.
“How are you feeling?” Jaxson asked her as he walked up to her. He kissed her forehead softly and pulled her towards him.
“I feel...really good. Something happened when you marked me and...and, now my body feels healed.” Lucia told him. She was looking at her arms for scars that weren’t there. Good. Jaxson didn’t want her to have to see those scars as a reminder of what that bastard did to her. He considered this a blessing from the Star King.
“Good.” He told her pulling away to grab her hand. “I’m sorry to have to do this but you need to come with me to meet Sterling. He needs to see that I have claimed you and you have claimed me.”
Lucia visibly stiffened but nodded. “Ok. Yes, this needs to be done. He can’t...he can’t take me now.”
“Or ever.” Jaxson added sternly. “He can’t take Stellan either, not unless Stellan wants to go willingly.”
“I don’t!” Stellan yelled. Lucia looked at her son with a sad look in her eyes.
Jaxson heard his brother tell him through the pack link, that they were all gathered and waiting for them at the southern border of their territory.
“Ok, they are waiting for us. We have to go now.” Jaxson told them. They both nodded.
“Wait, Stellan doesn’t have to go, does he? He’s just a child.” Lucia started.
“No, Mommy, I want to go. I want to tell him to his face that I want nothing to do with him or his pack.” Stellan told her with a determined look in his eyes.
“The boy is right, he needs to tell Sterling that himself.” Jaxson told her. Lucia stared at the ground sadly in thought. He knew she must be having some type of internal battle about protecting her son from that monster. He felt her worry and fear clear as day through their bond. He tried to pour reassurance through their bond to her. He wanted her to know that he would protect both of them with his life and so would his pack if it came down to it.