by Susan Bliler
A female voice yelled for everyone to get back and to not touch Alise, but it didn’t soothe Chief’s beast one fucking bit. He needed to get to her, needed his hands on her!
Just as he took his first steps toward Alise, Chief heard that fucker Monroe—the Dominant Skin Walker—snort, “Hmph. Not what I expected, but it’ll do.”
Chapter 3
It’ll do? Monroe’s words ricocheted around Chief’s head like a bullet, but he couldn’t concentrate on them now. No, his main concern was the female who’d dropped him to his knees. Alise. James had said her name was Alise. And little miss Alise had just stricken Chief.
Stricken for shifters was much akin to the Skin Walkers affliction. Undeniable, irrefutable proof of destined mates meeting. The woman suffering on the ground was his! Alise was his mate!
Before he even got to her, StoneCrow’s Chief of Surgery, Jenny Arkinson, had everyone backed away.
Good! Because right now he still wanted to rip the fucking arms off the Sentries who’d dared to touch what was his. Stupid fucks didn’t know that a female stricken by a wolf shifter couldn’t tolerate the touch of another.
Once Chief got to Alise, he instantly lowered his hand from where it’d had been gripping his abdomen and dropped to his knees. Alise was staring up at him, her eyes pleading for him to do something. But when he reached for her, she whimpered, and her eyes grew wide and fearful. He got it. The touch of everyone else had been painful, she assumed his would be too. It wouldn’t. It couldn’t be, not if this was a true stricken. He’d be hers.
Ignoring her fear, he quickly slid his hands beneath her and lifted her gently. Settling her on his lap, he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips into her hair to breathe, “Shhhh. I got you.” The second his skin touched her, Alise’s body went lax. She expelled a harsh breath like she’d underwater and starved for air.
Just by touching her he’d eased her pain. It wasn’t the same for him though, it didn’t work that way for stricken males. Still, he’d gladly endure the torture of contact to alleviate her distress.
Slowly rising to his feet with Alise in his arms, possessiveness so fierce that it was nearly blinding swamped him when Alise lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck with a whimper. As her panting breaths started to slow, she pressed her body more firmly into his and holy fucking hell if everything in his world didn’t feel perfect at that moment. With a snarl at the Sentries standing nearby, he turned and walked right out of the reception area taking Alise with him.
***
Alise didn’t know what was happening. All night, she’d felt that man watching her, but she’d avoided his gaze. She’d dressed super pretty and yeah it was partly because it was her best friend’s wedding day, but mostly she’d spent extra time on her hair and make up for James. He’d been paying her a lot of attention lately, and she liked him. He made her laugh…a lot, and unlike most men, he wasn’t intimated by her loud personality. Nope, from the second he’d met her, he’d accepted her just as she was and for the first time in forever, Alise had been excited.
That excitement had faded ten seconds ago when she’d finally angled her head to try and peek at the guy who’d she’d felt watching her all night.
After feeling his eyes on her all evening, she’d seen him in her periphery and had gotten a basic idea of what he looked like. He was big, massive! He had dark hair, dark scruff on his jaw and was as tall and as broad as a barn with thick bulky muscle, but that’s all she’d been able to make out all night. At first, she’d convinced herself she was being conceited by even thinking he’d noticed her, but the longer the reception went on, the more his gaze on her started to feel like an actual touch. It was odd. At first, she’d been self-conscious about every move she’d made, but as the hours passed, the guy’s attention started to warm her until she felt oddly…safe.
She felt protected under his intense scrutiny and hell yeah it was intense. She knew because she’d been bustling from table to table keeping the candles on the centerpieces lit up and bottles of wine popped open and flowing and all the while, the swivel of his head followed her.
She’d tried to ignore it because it felt like a betrayal to James even though they hadn’t really started anything yet. But finally, unable to stand it any longer, Alise looked. And that had been it.
Now, cradled in the behemoth’s arms, she was still panting and fighting off the residual pain that had seized her for no apparent reason. It had happened the second she’d locked eyes with him. Honestly, it had been the most painful thing to ever happen to her, and it had Alise worried that something was seriously wrong.
The beast carrying her made an angry sound deep in his throat, and it should have scared her. It really should have. Yet, it didn’t. In fact, it had the opposite effect. It had her snuggling deeper into his chest, tucking her arm close between their bodies while simultaneously screaming internally, What are you doing?
She was acting so out of character, she knew it, but for some reason, she couldn’t stop herself.
“You’re safe. Everything’s gonna be alright.”
But was it? She didn’t even know this guy, and here she was all snuggled up to him like he was some sort of life-line. That’s what it felt like too because touching him seemed to be the only thing that made her pain lessen. Still…
“Wh-where are you taking me?” she stammered.
“My place.”
That had her heart rate kicking up. “Why? I don’t…I don’t know you.”
“I’m Chief.”
Chief? Not really helpful. Swallowing hard, she breathed in deeply, glad that most of the pain from earlier had diminished. “I’m Alise.”
“I know.”
O-kay, that’s a little unnerving. “What happened back there?”
Chief didn’t answer, and when Alise finally lifted her head to look up at his face, his jaw ticked once before he angled his head away from her.
“It’s called being stricken.”
“Stricken?” Fear suddenly made her stomach feel sour and had her tone hitching, “Stricken! With what? Oh, God! We need… We need to go to the infirmary!”
“Look, it’s probably a fluke.”
He sounded mad, and Alise didn’t understand why.
“It’s probably some goddamn game that Monroe’s playing. I didn’t know why he wanted me at StoneCrow so badly. This explains it.”
“Explains what?” Alise asked. “This doesn’t explain anything. Nothing is making sense. What were we stricken with? And why would Monroe’s games with you have anything to do with me?”
Chief slammed to a halt, his head jerked down as his lips twisted into a deep frown. “Look, lady, you can cut the shit. You’ve gotta be in on this with him. You have to be. There’s no other way to explain it.”
“You know what?” she growled and shoved at his chest. “Just put me down!”
“Can’t,” he bit out and stared straight ahead as he started walking again. “My animal thinks you’re ours, so now you get to deal with the consequences of fucking with Beast.”
Chapter 4
Chief’s words sent dread shooting through Alise.
“I…I didn’t mess with your animal!” she stammered honestly. “ I wouldn’t! I-I don’t even know how!”
Chief shot her a look that said he didn’t believe her and it pissed Alise off.
“You don’t know me, guy! So don’t you dare go making snap judgments about me! Whatever in the hell game you and Monroe are playing has zero to do with me. Now put me the hell down before I scream!”
Chief’s frown deepened, but he slowed to a stop. When he looked down at Alise, his eyes were flashing gold.
“I mean it,” she fumed. “Put. Me. Down!”
With an angry sound in the back of his throat, Chief bent and set Alise on her feet. The second he released her and took a step back, she gasped as a punch of searing pain hit her so fast and hard that she doubled over.
“Christ,” he hissed and pic
ked her back up. “I’m not just gonna stand here and watch you torture yourself for the sake of your pride, sweetheart.”
She wanted to tell him to go to hell. She wanted to hurl some scathing remark back, but all she could do was swallow thickly around the pain that was slowly dissipating. When she was finally able to breathe normally, Alise asked in a voice rough with tears, “What’s…what’s wrong with me?”
For the first time since she’d met him, Chief actually looked repentant but didn’t answer her. Because he was so tall, his long legs were eating up the ground, and she didn’t realize how far they’d gotten from the reception area and deep into the thick trees until they started to thin as they approached a cabin.
“Answer me,” she pleaded.
“Stricken is the sudden onslaught of recognition. It happens to shifters and the woman when the first lay eyes on each other. It’s instantaneous usually, and it’s undeniable proof.”
“Proof of what?”
One side of his mouth ticked up for just a moment before he answered in a voice that was void of all emotion. “Proof of a mating. You’re mine, sweetheart. Least, that’s what Monroe wants me to think.”
The last part of Chief’s words faded because Alise was still processing what he’d just told her. Mate? I’m his?
Mind whirling, her thoughts went back to his threat from earlier. “My animal thinks you’re ours, so now you get to deal with the consequences of fucking with Beast.”
Panic ripped through her as she eyed the cabin that was only twenty yards away now. “I didn’t,” she stammered, one hand fisting the material of her dress right over her stomach. She looked from the cabin up to Chief and then back. “I-I can’t…I can’t fight you!”
If possible, his frown deepened. “Woman, what’s this nonsense you’re speaking?”
“You said I’d deal with the consequences of messing with your animal, but I didn’t!” He was nearly to the cabin now, and Alise couldn’t stop the whimper that wrenched its way up her throat. “Please! Don’t…don’t hurt me!”
Chief stopped on the top porch step. Eyes going hard he slid his gaze down to her. “I don’t hurt women. I told you you’re safe.”
“You said consequences.”
Heaving a breath, Chief stomped across the wooden porch to the front door. He used the hand under her knees to twist the knob before kicking the door open and carrying her inside. “It means you stay with me until I get this figured out.”
Alise looked around the cabin. “I don’t wanna stay here. I can’t! Just…just take me to the infirmary. They can figure out what’s wrong with me.”
“Nothing’s wrong with you,” he growled and carried her to a leather sofa. He set her down and stepped back cautiously, eyes watching her intently.
As soon as he was away from Alise, her pain came back. Surprisingly it wasn’t as intense, but it still hurt.
“Jesus,” she breathed. Wrapping both arms around her middle, she rocked back and forth before wheezing, “Why does it hurt when you stop touching me?” Her voice grew nearly hysterical as she demanded, “What in the fuck is going on?”
Squatting in front of her, Chief lifted a hand and laid it on her knee. It instantly helped.
“When shifters meet their mates for the first time,” he explained low and calm. “It’s called being stricken. It’s an instantaneous reaction, an acknowledgment.” He frowned, “Both parties are instantly incapacitated.”
“Like the affliction?”
“You know about the affliction?”
She nodded. “Alex is my best friend. She’s Recker’s angel. I know what happens, I know what it means.”
“Yeah, the initial shock of it is a lot like the Skin Walker’s affliction, but for my kind, the female sometimes experiences pain without her mate’s touch.”
Alise looked down at his hand on her knee. Her belly heaved as the knowledge of what he was saying set in.
“It typically doesn’t affect the female as strongly as it has you though.”
Licking her lips, Alise stammered, “A-and you? Do you hurt too?”
“No, not like that.” His gaze lowered to his hand and he explained. “For the male, it actually physically hurts to touch the female.”
“What?” Alise jerked her knee out from under his hand. “That doesn’t make sense! If we’re supposed to be… If it was fated, it shouldn’t hurt for you to touch me. That’s stupid.”
Chief huffed a humorless sounding laugh and pushed himself up off his knees. Rising to his full height, he towered over Alise a moment before he paced away from her and crossed to the hearth where he started stacking kindling and logs for a fire. “The pain is my animal shredding me from the inside out. His need to protect and to claim you is fierce. He’s insanely possessive right now, and it’s extremely heightened because until I claim you, he knows you’re not ours. He’s worried someone else will come in. He’s worried we’ll lose you. This right now is as territorial as he’s gonna get. It only hurts until I claim you.”
Claim me?
A tingling sensation drifted over Alise’s skin as she stared at Chief’s back. He was huge. Wide shoulders pressed against the thin material of his hunter green flannel that clung to his muscles. He wore jeans that hugged his hips and tapered down his long legs while dark hiking covered his feet. He wasn’t built like James. The two were nearly polar opposites in every way. Where James was lean with corded muscle, Chief was bulky and built like a brick wall. Where James was fun and easy going, Chief was dark and serious. Where James had sandy colored hair and an easy smile, Chief was all dark hair and fierce scowls.
“I need to talk to a Sentry named James.”
A snarl blasted from Chief as he turned to sneer at her over his shoulder. “No.”
“I just…”
“No,” he repeated on a snarl, shooting to his feet as his eyes grew dark and icy. “You’re gonna get that boy hurt.”
“I’m not, I just…”
Chief rolled his head on his shoulders and cracked his knuckles before clipping out, “Don’t! You can’t talk about other men right now. It’s too soon. My animal’s too close to the surface. Don’t push him, you won’t like the consequences.”
Alise could practically feel the waves of fury emanating from him. Lowering her eyes, she nodded her head in acquiescence. “So,” she whispered quietly, “what do we do now?”
He hated how she cowered. It was one of the reasons he never wanted a human mate. They were too weak. “We contact Monroe StoneCrow and see what the fuck he’s up to.”
Alise lifted her head, her hazel eyes catching the soft glow from the flames and making her eyes look like warmed whiskey. Blinking up at him she nodded, “O-okay.”
Chapter 5
Booted feet wearing a path on the hardwood floors of his cabin, Chief struggled to keep his attention off where Alise sat on the couch and watched him as he barked into the phone at his ear, “I need to go back to pack territory!”
In a bored tone, Monroe drawled, “A deal’s a deal. You’re mine for a year. You’re oath. Not mine.”
Motherfucking fucker! “Things have changed,” Chief snarled.
“Aaah, yes. Stricken by one miss Alessandra Marie Crane. Congratulations.”
Alessandra? Chief shot Alise a sidelong glance before tearing his attention from her and facing the wall. “Seems a little convenient! Don’t you think?” Yeah, he was fishing. He’d wanted to have this meeting in person because it would have been easier to scent or detect any deceit from Monroe, but it couldn’t happen. Alise wouldn’t be able to handle him being away from her, and his beast wouldn’t tolerate leaving their unmarked female smack dab in the middle of Skin Walker territory with so many un-mated males around. He didn’t want her around Monroe either. His wolf knew what kind of trouble the Dominant could be and he wouldn’t permit Chief to take Alise around him until they were certain she wasn’t his.
“Tsk. Convenient?” There was a pause as if Monroe were actually cont
emplating the word. “Is that what we’d call it? Perhaps you mean fortunate.”
A growl vibrated Chief’s body as he rolled his neck on his shoulders. This was a hard conversation to have with Alise sitting right there on the couch because he had to check his words to make sure he didn’t offend her. It was difficult to do when he wanted to lambast the Dominant Skin Walker for somehow setting this up.
Through clenched teeth, Chief snarled, “You’re well aware that I was just in the shifter battles fighting for a mate.”
“Exactly,” Monroe chirped. “Now you’ve got one. Fortunate. As I said.”
Chief clenched his teeth so hard they creaked. “You got me here because my head wasn’t clear.”
“Yes, yes. Thinking with the wrong one as I recall.”
A growl blasted across the line, and it only intensified when Monroe chuckled. That was all it took for Chief to lose his cool.
“You tricked me into coming here and then forced some woman on me, and for what? So you can study wolves being stricken? Yeah, I’ve heard all about the fucking games you play with your Walkers. I ain’t one! I won’t be fucked with! You will not be testing me!”
Glad that he’d gotten his piece out, Chief’s pride lasted only a moment before Monroe responded, and when he did, there was no amusement in the Dominant’s tone. Voice low and lethal, he declared, “I’ll tell you once and only once. I have zero desire to study wolf shifters or you being stricken. My hands are full with a superior species. A species that require my full attention. A species who’ve earned my fealty. Understand that if you make the mistake of questioning this gift, you will lose it. I’ve got a Skin Walker chomping at the bit to claim your sweet little Alise. A Skin Walker who I assure you wants and deserves her. Don’t think I can’t make that happen. While you’re correct in assuming that I know little about the shifter stricken, understand that’s by choice. But rest assured that I know everything about the Skin Walker affliction. Accept your fate or lose your mate, Chief, and don’t ever forget that you’re here because you lost a wager. You’re here keeping your word. This little tantrum is a bit melodramatic. By your own admission, you were just at the shifter battles fighting for a mate. Now you’ve got one.”