“So, your message said you wanted to show me something?” Jules left Rose at the lake. Ty was with her. She’d be safe while Jules followed Ben’s lead.
He smiled and gently took her down the shoreline. “Just a little farther, love. You’ll never want for anything again.” Ben’s deep voice promised so much that it sent shivers of excitement down her spine.
“Kiss me again. Gods, your voice just fires me up.” She turned toward him, and he picked her up. He presented her back to the rough back of a tree as she wrapped her thighs about his waist. Gods, she felt so different. So free and powerful. Jules gasp when she realizes she could feel Ben respond to their now intimate embrace.
“Be careful, little witch. You might not like where this ends. I’m not playing games.” Ben’s lips were exploring hers, demanding more each time she gave up a little more. She couldn’t help but bury her fingers at the base of his dirty blonde hair. Jules loved the soft feel of his hair. Just long enough to grip and maintain the kiss. He eventually tore his lips from hers. “That’s it, baby. I’m keeping you forever.”
Jules gasped. His fangs had dropped. If they went any further, he might mate with her. “Ben! We can’t. You need to let me go.”
“No, can do. You aren’t safe here. I can’t allow you to put yourself in danger. You’re coming with me, mate.” Jules couldn’t believe what she heard him say. Her body thrummed for more of this. But she feared the finality of what he said.
His fangs glinted in the light as he spoke. “Don’t lie to me, darling. You want this as much as I do. But you’re going to have to wait. You’re no longer safe here.”
“Why wouldn’t I be safe in my home? This is my home territory.”
“Your father and your Alpha believe you and Rose are now liabilities to your pack. We have word they plan to get rid of you both.”
“Get rid? Gods, must you do that? I can’t think straight.” His figures explored her core as they spoke. Jules became breathless and flustered.
“Shh… I’ll explain later.” His fingers withdrew from her, leaving her with a longing for their return. “Now, into the SUV.” Jules didn’t see the SUV until he mentioned it. It’s dark finish masked it’s presence in the woods. His nose dipped just behind her ear, and he drew in her scent. “Don’t do anything stupid. You’ll be safe with me.” The side door opened, and he lifted her into the back. “Ty’s behind me, someone with the other. Keep an eye out for him. Then we get out of here as fast as we can go.”
“Sure Ben. Hey, I’m Jay. You must be Jules.” The guy sitting behind the wheel smiled. “Ben, you’re a lucky guy.” He breathed in the scents within the vehicle. Jules blushed furiously.
“I want out Ben. This is insane. You’re kidnapping me.”
“Jules, I’ll do more than kidnap your if you don’t settle down. This is serious. You are my mate, and your home is no longer safe for you.”
“My father doesn’t care whether I stay or leave. Why would he want to kill me?”
Ben clearly was close to shifting. His voice was far closer to a growl than human speech. “He let Russel kill your mother, and he killed Rose’s mother. Do you truly think your being his daughter matters if he destroys his mate?”
“What? No. She died birthing me. That’s what everyone has told me. Why wouldn’t they tell me about that?”
“Really? How would they control you if you knew you weren’t safe with them?” Jules looked at Ben, horror-struck. Rose was right looking for a new pack for them to go to. Gods, this was worse than she expected.
“How can I be sure I’ll be safe with you? If my father doesn’t care whether I’m alive or dead?”
“I hold the mate bond sacred. Your life is mine. Understand. Your body and soul are mine.” Jay was hearing this.
“Okay enough Ben. Stop before you can’t take it back if you regret it.”
“My body and soul are yours for all time.” He finished it. It had been a witness. This was the closest thing a shifter could have to a human engagement. The documents are all but signed and sealed. They only needed to consummate it.
“Wow. That was… fast. Congrats. I think.” Jay mumbled from the front seat. “Oh, hey. Heads up. Wolves.”
“That’s Rose! Why is she in wolf form?” Jay must have triggered the door open again. “Rose! Here!” Jules didn’t get to say anything else before the wolf ran headfirst into the SUV followed by another enormous wolf. SUVs weren’t made for three people and two enormous wolves.
“For crying out loud, shift!” Ben yelled as he struggled to slam the side door shut. “Go Jay. Get out of here. We’ll sort this out.”
“Gods, we’re in so much trouble.” Jules said as she shifted in the seat behind Rose.
“You’re both safe.” Ty stated to her as he accepted a couple of blankets from Ben. “This is all part of the plan.”
“That’s open for debate. I assume you’re talking about what Ben said about our fathers’ planning on killing us or something. Do you have proof?” Rose had to give it to Jules for demanding proof. Rose’s brain hadn’t gotten that far.
“Sadly, we have too much proof. There’s several people who know and they’ve been afraid to tell you. When we get back into our territory, we’ll talk about it.”
Rose felt betrayed, but she wasn’t sure by who. Her father or her possible future mate. She didn’t know which one could put her faith and trust in. Only time would tell.
Ty didn’t give her a choice. He put the blanket over her. Then he turned his head. “Did the others get out?”
“Yeah, no one seemed to be around. They just walked in and got everything, then walked out. No one stopped or questioned them. I guess we need to get someone to pick up your clothes?”
“Gods, yes. That wasn’t part of the plan. Why did you run, Rose?”
“You weren’t being reasonable.”
“Me? Rose, you’re the one who’s in danger from someone you should trust with your life. They shouldn’t be plotting to take it from you by force. Since I’m your mate. It’s my job to keep you well, happy, and, most importantly, alive.”
Rose noticed Jay’s eyes on them through the rear-view mirror. He seemed extremely interested in Ty’s words. “Is there a problem, Jay?” she asked.
“Just witnessing another wolf taking the plunge. I’m taking notes so I don’t make any mistakes.”
“You do that. Jay, are you listening? I hold the mate bond sacred. Your life is mine. Understand. Your body and soul are mine. My body and soul are yours.” Rose couldn’t believe Ty was saying the oath. Jules protested his words. It was archaic. The other wolf didn’t get to accept or decline this. Now she understood. He’d waited to say it with witnesses. It was now binding.
“You set this up, didn’t you? You made sure there were witnesses, so I couldn’t call you a liar.”
“I’m not stupid. I knew on sight you’re my mate. When I got evidence handed to me, your father planned to deal with you when you were useless to him. I didn’t question it. I know your father’s ruthlessness from personal experience.” Ty wrapped the other blanket around himself as he informed them.
Ty struggled with so many people near Rose right now. She’d got him going and he just wanted to go down on her something fierce. The mating heat between them was showing and he couldn’t be happier. Rose was his key to getting the Hollow Wood Pack back without a return to the wars. She was the current Alpha’s daughter and Russell didn’t have any sons. That meant he either gave his pack away to another, or he makes his daughter’s mate the next Alpha. It seemed like a nice and ironic outcome to Ty. He got the beauty beside him and the pack. Russell got nothing in the end, because Ty would make sure that Russell learned exactly what it felt like for his father to be burned alive. He knew it made him no better than Russell, but it would end there. Rose would be with him, and their pups would fear for nothing. The wars would truly be over and done with. Being in heat complicated things. Ty knew there were pack injured to look after. Russell’s men chose to rough them up. It was done to
The vehicle pulled up to the entrance of the small packhouse. It wasn’t much, but they weren’t a big outfit yet. The Shadow Pack was selective about who they allowed in, because there wasn’t room for egos or selfish fools. “We’re here. Come on, we’ll show you around. Let you meet the guys.” Everyone piled from the vehicle as Ben announced this. However, it all came to a stop when a guy ran down the front steps to meet them. “Ty, we have a bit of a situation inside that needs your undivided attention.” He came to a stop, looking very flustered. “We’ve tried to keep them out of the way and quiet, but they’ll only talk to you.” “Eric, what are you talking about?” Ty tried to figure out what Eric was talking about in such a vague fashion. It wasn’t easy with how distracted he was by the blanket covered minx beside him. She wasn’t giving him an inch to work with, and he was desperate to get her in private. The blanket he held up around himself wasn’t hid
The small group followed Ty up the few stairs into the packhouse. It was chaos. Clearly, they were moving into the space. Boxes and bags were everywhere, and the furniture needed to be setup properly in the building. Large men were busy dealing with this, while in what Rose believed would be the dining room, a group of people she knew very well grumpily harassed several other men. The men didn’t respond; they stood there as if they were on guard and didn’t answer anyone’s insistent questions. She had to be careful not to get the blanket caught on anything on the way there. “What is going on here?” Ty didn’t waste a moment. His tone went straight to that of an alpha. It told everyone in the room, he would not accept any back talk or disrespect. The fact he wore only a blanket didn’t matter a bit. What Rose liked was that he chose not to focus that tone on an individual. He used it to take command of the room and to cut through the chaos. “Why are you all here? Can you not see
Rose let Tyler guide her through the packhouse. She didn’t remember this place being here before, but it didn’t smell like new construction. What pack used this as their home? Where had they gone? She was pondering this as he guided her up the stairs and into an apartment at the end of the corridor. The place was massive and looked like it was in fairly good condition. The apartment itself was fully furnished and ready to live in. “When the guys realized I was bringing you home, they insisted on having this ready for you.” “The guys? A pack of rogue male wolves thought to have a place for me to sleep ready. Now, I can safely say I’ve heard everything.” Rose raised an eyebrow and looked over her shoulder with a slight smile. She dared him to continue claiming that story as the truth. “We are far from animals, Rose. You’ll find we’re quite reasonable and civilized. Though if you keep looking at me, like I might not stay civilized.” A lazy feral smile
They were mating. Rose didn’t care about anything but how right this felt. Ty leaned over her now and her nose was buried in the base of his throat. Her senses were on overload. His chest kept her breasts wanting more, his shaft pushed her core toward new heights of pleasure. His hands held her wrists on either side of her head. Ty’s head was against her throat. She could feel his wolf so close to the surface as it drew hers out. “Not like this. We aren’t a couple of humans. We’re going to do this right.” Suddenly he pulled away and was moving her. She barely had time to register the hollow abandoned feel of him leaving her body open, exposed, and wanting. “Ty. Please! I need to end this.” “Not yet. Soon, baby. I’ll give it to you like you really need it.” No guy was ever this dominate with her before this, and she thrilled at knowing he planned more. Ty placed her on her hands and knees, her buttock up and her thighs wide. Then he was back
Ty opened the door, unhappy at being interrupted. What greeted him on the other side was the last thing he expected. Ben stood there with just as unhappy a look on his face as he had. “What’s wrong now? We’re busy. Is the packhouse on fire?” “No, but your uncle is asking for permission to enter your territory to talk to you about something. Before you ask, he won’t say, and he doesn’t look thrilled.” “Bad timing. Fine, she’s asleep, anyway. I’ll leave her a note. This better not take long. What does he want now? Stay there. I just need some pants.” Ty left Ben at the door. He took a notepad from the nightstand and wrote a note for Rose. With it on the pillow beside her in case she woke up, he left the room and followed Ben. “What did you do with Jules?” “I may have locked her in my room. Just like you, only she wasn’t asleep. I’m surprised we can’t hear her yelling at me through the door still. I guess the apartments are soundproof for each
Ben stayed back well out of the way of the two alphas as they argued on the front lawn of their new packhouse. Ty at least gave a good show of strength, even if some of what he was standing up for was iffy. But Ben could only tell him so many times before it became nagging or fear mongering. However, who would have thought that both girls would be their mates, and he dreaded going up there to him? She was not happy with him right now for locking her in his apartment. That temper of hers would be fun to turn into passion. Yup, he was smitten really good. Ty’s uncle finally left with a nod to Ben, and an angry huff for Ty. Nothing really was solved by his visit. But at least now they’d gotten a warning out to the town and local packs to prepare for this war. Ben’s mind went in several directions with thoughts of security, among other things. He’d need to speak to Jay and make sure that there were enough people on guard duty at all times. It wasn’t just the mai
Rose awoke to hear muffled yelling and a piece of paper that read, “I’ll be back.” Who writes something that vague? Tyler did. It appeared he was nowhere to be found in the apartment and the door to leave by would not open. Rose was bound and determined not to panic yet, but someone was going to have to help him if he didn’t give her some answers when he got back. What was the yelling about? When she finally located a window that faced where the yelling was coming from, she saw a Jeep leaving rapidly and Tyler returning to his pack’s house. She couldn’t tell at this distance his mood beyond he wasn’t happy by the way he stalked toward the house. Gods. He’d bitten her while they were… Her father was going to kill him for ruining any chances of benefiting from having a daughter. She wasn’t sure Ty understood stood that. This would come back to bite them on the backside if they weren’t careful. She wanted to hate him for being selfish, but how much more did