The wolfs forced mate, p.5
The Wolf’s Forced Mate, page 5
My fingers twitched. Don’t touch it, silly. The paint is still wet.
Old memories swelled in the back of my mind. I had forgotten that Tanner was such a brilliant artist. The vibrant colors screamed at me from the canvas, speaking of a hurt that resonated just beneath the false joy.
Yeah, he was hurting. And I had no clue what was hurting him. That was the way Tanner did it. He hid his feelings away behind lush paintings that made people happy.
He called it the way of the shifter.
I can transform any feeling into something new, something useful, he had claimed back then. And I can make it look like I never felt anything bad at all.
Good, bad, ugly—those were the ways he described his emotions, as if any of them could be pinpointed by something distinct and polarizing.
But I knew the truth. Emotions were as messy as the mixture of paints on that plastic palette. It wasn’t the result that told me about the person. It was the way they mixed everything together to get their desired result.
That was all that mattered to me.
When I returned to the hallway, I couldn’t hear Inez humming anymore. Curiosity led me to the stairs and then to the living room below. Steady snores rose from the couch.
Gods, it was like stepping into a time machine. Tanner reclined on the cushions with one arm draped over his stomach and the other over his face. The smell of whiskey wafted from his body, informing me of his activities last night. So, that was where he had gone. To celebrate.
Or to prepare for the oncoming storm.
The only difference was Inez, seated patiently on the carpet next to the couch. She stood up when she saw me.
A girlish giggle rose from her. “Wake him up?”
My smile darkened. “Sure, go for it.”
In a flash of movement, Inez stripped out of her pajamas and shifted into her wolf form. The mischievous little pup landed on Tanner’s stomach, rousing him instantly from his sleep. He shot up from the couch so quickly that he hurled Inez across the room.
I gasped. “Inez!”
But the silly pup landed on her feet, spun around with a loud yelp, and then darted back to Tanner. He didn’t miss a beat, capturing her in his arms and hoisting her above his head while he darted into the next room. Just like the previous afternoon, he was spitting airplane noises, chugging along with the happiest puppy in the world barking above his head.
It should have made me happy to witness such a thing. It should have even made me feel proud.
But all I felt was a deep, resonant sadness.
Edward should have done that with his daughter. Edward should have done so many things with the pup he had spawned. But Edward was a human. He didn’t know about shifters—and I hadn’t exactly been open to sharing those things with him.
I’d thought I could forget my pack life and move seamlessly into the human world where I could shift once every month and get it all out of my system. Something like a cycle.
But then Inez came along.
And her appearance changed everything.
It made Edward work later in the evening to keep up with the bills. It made me yearn for my community. It made everything ten times more challenging.
Satisfaction cut through my disappointment.
None of that mattered anymore. Edward had left. He didn’t want the responsibility of a family. If anything, it was a good thing I hadn’t told him about wolves or dragons or owls. Telling him would have simply advanced his hidden desire.
“Brefkast!” Inez shouted from the kitchen. “Mommy!”
I blinked rapidly to clear my thoughts. No more morbid thinking about the past. The future needed my attention. More importantly, the present was where I needed to be.
And right now, my daughter wanted what she called brefkast.
Tanner set a couple of pans on the stove. “Have a seat. I’ll handle it.”
“No, you’re not taking the joy out of this stove from me,” I argued playfully. “You sit down. I’ll make pancakes.”
Inez bounced. “I’ll help!”
Tanner grinned while hoisting her up. “You want to help us both?”
“Yes, please,” Inez said pleasantly. “Mommy, can I do the eggs?”
Gods, there was no way I could say no to that face. She was doing her best puppy dog eyes, the trick she’d picked up just last year when she saw me do it to Edward. That was when times had been good.
Polarizing, I reminded myself. None of that now.
That was when times had been steady.
My daughter tugged on my hand, dragging me back into the present. Where I belonged. With her. “Yes, darling?”
“Eggs!”
I nodded. “Of course. Help Tanner get them from the fridge.”
As soon as the orders were given, each of us dove into action. Inez helped me crack eggs while Tanner heated up butter in a pan on the stove. I made the batter. Inez seasoned the bacon strips. Tanner placed the strips on another hot pan he had set up.
Our little trio reminded me of worker bees. Each of us contributed to the hive with small, manageable tasks that were easily completed. And the overall result would be magnificently delicious so long as we were patient.
I wasn’t sure if I could be patient. After all these years, it was hard to imagine being anything with Tanner, least of all patient.
But his calm demeanor and tame energy were infectious. Soon, I found myself cracking jokes as easily as I cracked eggs, even dabbing batter on the tip of my daughter's nose. She scooped a glob and aimed it at Tanner. My laughter doubled as I scooped her up and held her closer to him.
When Tanner turned, he met a handful of batter. A bubble formed around his lips and then popped, spattering us equally with the gooey mixture. Tense silence erupted next, interrupted only by the crackle of bacon and the sizzle of pancakes.
Tanner grinned. “You two are going to get it later.”
My heart skidded. “I don’t think so.”
“You’re afraid of my brilliance. That’s the only reason you said that.”
Inez giggled maniacally while waving her batter-covered hand at Tanner. “Dragon says roar!”
“Dragon complains a lot, actually,” Tanner joked. “He’s kind of cool once you get to know him though.”
“I don’t remember Milton coming around that much in the past.”
Tanner shrugged. “He really didn’t. His parents didn’t want him hanging around us that much. But we’re all stubborn, so…”
“So Milton kept doing it.”
“Yeah, Brandi always had something to say about him too.”
I rolled my eyes. “Probably because he bullied her.”
Disbelief exploded on his face. “My best friend? No way. He’s always been good to Brandi.”
“Have you ever asked her yourself?”
Something like confusion settled over his features. And in the same instant, it disappeared. He shook his head. “She would have told me.”
“Would she?”
“You don’t know Brandi like I do.”
I arched my right brow. “Funny. I can say the same thing.”
“Mommy, plates!” Inez pointed to the cabinet, trying to reach it at the same time. “Eeeeee, help me!”
I chuckled while holding her closer to the cabinet. While she held the door open, I grabbed three plates and then carried her to the table. She helped me set up while Tanner finished cooking. Within just a few minutes, we had a delicious spread of breakfast food in front of us.
Inez didn’t miss a beat. She snatched Tanner’s hand and yanked him to the table, going on about how the “grumpy dragon” was probably hiding a hoard of gold. She asked many pertinent questions about what kind of coins he preferred and whether he would gift her a shiny new scale.
Heat flushed my face. “Sorry, I read her a lot of fantasy books too.”
“Don’t even worry about it,” Tanner assured while setting Inez into a chair next to him. “She’s just curious and alive.”
“She’s a lot.”
He laughed. “So are you, princess.”
My eyelids fluttered as fast as hummingbird wings. Did he really just call me that? At the breakfast table? After four years of hating each other?
Do I still hate him?
Just as he lifted his fork, realization spilled through his expression and he locked eyes with me. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I know you didn’t mean it.”
But he did mean it. The symbol on my chest that had long since been washed off tingled slightly. It felt as though I was still wearing the oil and herb mixture where Angel had pasted it. And my neck ached too.
Like I had been bitten.
I scrubbed the area, feeling a slight twinge of embarrassment when Tanner did the same thing.
A phone rang somewhere in the townhouse. Both of us sprang to our feet and searched the living room, heading upstairs when we couldn’t locate either of our phones nearby. Inez seemed content at the table, so I didn’t mind her leaving my sight for a few minutes.
Tanner found his phone first. He frowned at the screen. “Alpha is calling an emergency meeting.”
“Another one?”
“Yeah, this one involves the inner group.”
I nodded slowly. “Right.”
“I mean, I didn’t mean to say you’re not in the pack. It’s just that—”
“Y’all need to have a jerk circle, I get it.”
He pierced me with crystalline silver eyes. Those weren’t just eyes anymore. Those were moonstones. Those were glimmering orbs of hope. “Sounds like you want in on that.”
“No, I just—”
“You’re just blushing, princess.”
Fury laced my lips with a frown. “Don’t call me that. The first time was a slip and I forgave it. But now you’re just being rude.”
“Is it rude to want to play with you?”
A mixture of arousal and confusion shot to my slit. My thighs clenched together, the pinch causing my center to ache. Something about the way he looked at me made me realize how badly I wanted him to close the distance between us.
Had we done role play? Sure, plenty of times with plenty of heavy petting. But it had never been like this.
This was different.
This was much hotter.
He gave me his famous movie-star grin. “If you want to play with fire, I won’t stop you.”
“Whatever, Tanner.”
“You’re welcome to initiate that whenever you want.”
I took a step back despite my body screaming for me to do the opposite. “I thought you hated me.”
“I don’t hate you. I’m just mad at you.” He took two large steps toward me, boxing me into a wall with his chest. “And as far as I’m concerned that’s good enough to fuck it out over.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
But he wasn’t ridiculous. Not by a long shot.
Because I was thinking the same exact thing.
Chapter 7 - Tanner
I had no idea what made me change my mind about Leah.
It was less about her and more about the fact that sailing had put me at a great disadvantage—it didn’t exactly get me laid.
Years of pent-up aggression trembled on the surface of my body as I walked briskly toward the mansion. The long walk up the driveway gave me time to think, time to breathe.
The scent of her pheromones clung to my nostrils. Breathing her in was second nature. But wanting her? That was entirely new.
At least from my current perspective.
She had been easy to please in the past. Our initial attempt at mating had taken us to second base, but never third. We had danced through the outfield, clearing the seats, soaring over the dusty roads beyond, yet not once had I plunged my cock between her legs.
It hadn’t even occurred to me until now the separation that resulted between us. Intimacy had always been different with Leah. That wasn’t particularly new.
But having penetrative sex would lace us together in ways that would be hard to unwind.
And I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that.
Smoke swirled near the entrance of the foyer. Guess Jermaine is still smoking that pipe.
Inside, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and donuts led me into the basement. Jermaine and Blake stood near Milton, the security desk teeming with weapons.
I shut the door behind me. “One of those days, huh?”
“Tracks have been spotted around the perimeter,” Blake explained as he rustled his black hair. “Wolf tracks that don’t match any in our database.”
My eyebrows shot through the roof. “You’ve been cataloging pack members?”
Jermaine looked somber. Knowing him, that face meant he was heatedly against such a weirdly 1984-inspired task. Milton wore his usual blank mask. Nothing new there.
Blake sucked air into his lungs. “It’s the best way to ensure safety.”
“You gonna tag us all like cows? Keep us in pens?” I pushed away from the security desk. “Is that what’s happening next?”
Jermaine stood up and planted a firm hand on my shoulder. “Stand down. It’s not ideal, but it’s what we have to do.”
“So, you’re just going to let him lose his mind? Is that it?”
He growled as only a bear discovering his rations had been rummaged through by smaller creatures would. “He’s thinking clearly, Tanner.”
Blake sighed. “He’s also in the room.”
Jermaine and I turned simultaneously to face our alpha. While Jermaine’s irritation was evident, his hand never left my shoulder. It comforted me to feel his support, yet confused me all the same.
What stick was shoved so far up his ass that made him act up every other time I was around?
Milton gestured to the screen. “Neil is already checking part of the perimeter, but we need to go in teams.”
“So, why aren’t you with Neil?”
“Because he’s fucking grumpy today,” Milton snapped. He scrubbed the worry lines from his forehead. “Sorry, man. I didn’t sleep well.”
My teasing smirk appeared. “Our accommodations not fancy enough for the billionaire?”
“Actually, yes.” He squinted playfully. “There’s a shortage of hot tubs.”
“While all this is cute,” Jermaine cut in while tightening his grip on my shoulder, “we should create a plan. My men are standing by.”
I bowed my head toward Blake. He was the alpha. He was the one with the plan—or at least the one who knew what we should be doing next.
Blake straightened up. “I need you and Jermaine to head to the beach. Scout the area near the perimeter. Scout inside the perimeter.” He looked at Milton. “Head into town and see if you can spot anything there. Since you don’t live here, chances are that Raymond’s men won’t have any idea who you are.”
“The only perk of him not living here,” Jermaine mumbled.
Nobody else heard it but me.
I cocked my ear toward him. Was that the stick up his ass? That his best friends weren’t close enough?
Before I could ask, Blake clapped his hands. “Alright, spread out. I’ll take Veronica with me to the other side of the estate. She knows every single face in that pack.”
“You sure she isn’t setting you up for a long game?” I blurted.
Bad move.
Blake was on me in seconds, his growl vibrating the air between us. His canines descended as his eyes glowed an iridescent blue. “Take it back.”
Milton peeled Blake off me while Jermaine yanked me back. Though my instinct was to protect my alpha, my body still responded to threats—even if they were from my best friend. My heart beat furiously as my blood rushed through my veins. I was close to shifting. I had to calm down.
Jermaine clamped my shoulders to keep me in place. “Chill. You offended his mate.”
“We were all thinking it,” I rasped. “Weren’t you, Milton? Jermaine?”
Milton frowned. “We have to trust each other, okay? We can’t fall apart over our alpha’s mate. She took a vow and she’s keeping it.”
My eyes closed. My breathing leveled. My heart stopped hammering.
I leaned into Jermaine, choosing his competence to lead the way forward. Milton had a point too. It just irritated me to no end. How could Blake trust a woman from the enemy pack?
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I won’t doubt you again.”
Blake cleared his throat and fixed his shirt. Once he was free of Milton, he crossed the room and yanked me into a brotherly embrace. That melted away whatever anxiety remained.
As I clapped him on the back, I inhaled his energy. Comfort, presence, protection, confidence—no ill feelings. No ill will.
That was why he made a spectacular alpha.
My mouth repeated the apology.
He shook his head. “You’re looking out for me. It’s what all friends should do. But let me put to bed any fears you have, Tanner. Veronica loves me. She loves this pack. She’ll protect us.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
Nothing else could be said. He was right. His mate was committed to him and his pack. While doubt threatened to make my body ache, his embrace soothed my worry and made it easier to accept his words.
I had to get the notion out of my head that destruction was coming.
But that was difficult to do when everything seemed like it was falling apart. Even as it was coming together.
Once we received our specific orders, Jermaine and I headed for the beach. The sandy shore was a welcome sight and settled some of my energy, easing the tension that teased its return.
Jermaine knelt next to a patch of moist sand. “Wolf tracks.”
“Could have been ours.”
“No, these are too big for our pack.”
I knelt next to him. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
“Did you get a good look at the ones that attacked the other night? Jesus.”
“Jesus had nothing to do with it.”
He snorted. “Somebody made those wolves gigantic. It wasn’t us. Couldn’t have been.” He craned his neck to peer up at the sky, pupils dilating when clouds crowded over the sun. His voice trembled low. “Not us.”
“How can you be so sure?”
