Landon wore a lopsided grin that was halfway between a smile and a sneer. He held onto a half-empty bottle of beer, and he said, “Don’t be naive, Addie. The look doesn’t suit you. Makes you look stupid.”
She did not take kindly to being called names. “Oh, yeah? Well, you look stupid.” Oh, wow. What a zinger. Landon probably would have to leave the funeral gathering to go put ice on that burn. So original.
Before either of them could say anything more—and it looked like Landon had a heck of a lot to say in response to that—Maze grabbed Addie’s hand and started to pull her along, saying, “Come on, there’s something I want to show you.” He tugged her away from the group, away from his brothers.
Addie said nothing, but she did shoot Landon a glare, which he only laughed off before starting to talk to Dylan, who’d watched the interaction with quiet amusement.
Technically Landon wasn’t even his brother, but to shifters, everyone was family, which only made Addie wonder about the family trees. Was that why Forest had her mates already chosen? Did the alpha choose everyone’s mates so there was no inbreeding?
In reality, there was so much about pack life Addie didn’t know, because she’d come at a bad time. If all had been quiet, if there’d been no disappearances and no Clay to toy with them, her first impression of the pack probably would’ve been vastly different. Although, with Henry being the first she’d met, well. It wasn’t like her first impression of him would ever have changed.
Once an ass always an ass.
Chapter Sixteen
Maze took her away from the group, bringing her to the woods surrounding Crystal Lake. Away from the shifter crowd, away from the funeral pyre, and away from the lake itself. His hand held onto her firmly, almost possessive. She could not get away from him if she tried, and Addie was far past attempting to put distance between herself and these guys. Her wolf was going crazy inside of her, and the longer she heard her wolf whine, the more she was inclined to agree: whatever was going to happen should happen already.
This get-to-know-each-other, slow-burn thing they had going on was driving her out of her mind. Addie never thought she was the type of girl who’d throw caution to the wind about anything, but Maze? And, by extension, Dylan and that aggravating as all hell Landon? Where they were concerned, she didn’t know what the word caution meant. Not anymore. The definition slowly seeped from her mind the more she was around them.
If her mother had felt anything like this toward her father, Addie understood why she ran. This feeling, like being on cloud nine while the world burned around them, was addicting and intoxicating. It wasn’t something she would give up, now she knew what it was like, now she’d faced her feelings for these shifters.
Addie could focus on his hand in hers for only a few minutes before her mind went back to the previous conversation. “What was everyone talking about?” she asked, her voice quiet. Getting a straight answer out of Maze would be tough; Dylan would probably be her best bet. She might have to give it up, for now.
“Oh,” Maze said, trying to shrug it off as if it was nothing. “Don’t worry about it, Addie. It’s just pack gossip. I don’t know who started it, but I can look into it. Trust me, it’ll pass. Your shiny newness will wear off, and soon enough you’ll be just as boring as us.”
What a long-winded way to not answer her question.
She gave him a look. Addie would not fall prey to his smiles or his winks, and never to his ramblings. Not right now, anyway. “Way to beat around the bush,” she muttered as she hopped over a fallen tree. Where the heck was Maze taking her?
“I’m not beating around the bush. I’m avoiding the bush altogether. You’ll thank me.”
She let out a sigh. “I wish you would just tell me. Treat me like one of the pack, since I am part of the pack now—” The rest of her sentence caught in her throat as Maze whirled on her, yanking her hand and pulling her close. Just as close as she was with Landon in the bedroom, so close she could smell him.
Earthy. Musky.
Hmm…or maybe she was just smelling the forest.
Maze tilted his head down to her, quietly saying, “You will never be just another pack member to me. You’re…I mean, assuming you don’t run from us screaming and you don’t change your mind, you’re going to be my mate. I know you wanted a choice, but I want you to choose me, to choose us.”
Such heartfelt, genuine words coming from the pack clown. Her heart skipped a beat. Or two. She couldn’t really be sure, since she was so lost in the depths of his chocolate eyes, so close to him she could feel the hardness of his chest, the muscles hidden beneath his clothing. How could any girl concentrate when in a situation like this?
“You don’t have to say anything,” Maze went on, his other hand gently touching her cheek, his fingertips lightly caressing, sending tiny shockwaves of pleasure coursing through her, little jolts of warmth. “You might not be a full wolf, but now I can feel you, I can feel her. Your wolf wants me as badly as you do.”
How could she deny the truth? Not to mention the aching feeling in her lower gut.
Hell. Addie would’ve kissed him right there—and probably more, if she was honest with herself—but Maze abruptly pulled away, continuing to drag her through the woods. He certainly missed his chance, didn’t he?
Since she got nowhere with her previous line of questioning, Addie decided to ask something different: “Where are you taking me?” As long as it wasn’t anywhere near the clearing, they’d be fine. From what she could tell, they weren’t heading in the right direction anyway.
“It’s a secret.”
Maze could actually keep secrets. It came as a shock to Addie, because with his big mouth and his way of talking everyone’s ears off, he didn’t seem like the type of person who could.
“I mean, it’s not a huge secret, so don’t go getting lost in that pretty head,” Maze added, tossing her a dimpled smile. Her insides twisted, and she had sudden thoughts of pushing him against the nearest tree and kissing him.
Did guys like it when women took charge? Would she even be any good at it? Addie had never kissed anyone before, let alone thought about getting down and dirty. If she’d grown up with the pack, surrounded by shifters, she knew she wouldn’t be able to say the same. Humans were just…not her thing. Shifters, on the other hand, were totally her thing. Specifically, Maze, Dylan and Landon were her three things.
Three. Just three. There would be no more. Addie wasn’t sure she would be able to handle three as it was. Whatever Caitlin and Landon were talking about…she wouldn’t think about it. Three mates already seemed impossible to juggle.
Maze led her to a spot in the woods where the trees were arranged in an almost perfect circle. Six giant oaks, towering over a flat, circular area. Not a single leaf sat on the floor in the area, almost as if they were pushed aside. A lone, sawed-off log sat in its center with a hollowed-out space for someone to sit on.
As Addie took in her surroundings, she asked, “What is this?”
He sat her on the log, moving to sit beside her. “This is my little getaway. I found it, after my mom died. Cleaned it up a bit. I used to come here all the time.” He pointed skywards. “A few times a year, the moon and sun fit perfectly up there.”
Addie turned her head up. The tall trees were arranged so the person standing—or sitting—in its center could see the sky without a single branch blocking their view. The sky was now a dark orange, dimming with each passing minute. Cloudless, stars already appearing to blanket the sky in a world of night.
“I’m sorry to hear about your mom,” she said, slowly lowering her gaze. “How long ago did she pass?” Should she be asking these things? Was it too early to get to know his life’s story? He knew all about hers already.
“She died when Dylan and I were ten, almost a decade ago.”
She found herself leaning toward him, resting her cheek on his forearm, her arm snaking through his, bringing his hand to her lap. “I’m sorry,” Addie whispe
red. “What about your dad?” She hadn’t heard either Dylan or Maze talk about him, though it seemed like shifters acted differently when it came to parents.
“That’s the thing, you’re not supposed to know who your father is. When multiple mates come into the picture, each male is the father. Dylan and I always suspected we knew, though. He was…” Maze trailed off, fingers weaving through hers. “He went missing last year. You found him when you found the others.”
God. Addie had no idea. The twins hid it well. They’d acted like nothing was wrong. Granted, she didn’t know her father at all, but she could imagine if she did, she wouldn’t act so cavalier about his death.
“I’m sorry” was all she could think of to say.
“It’s okay. I didn’t bring you here to tell you my sob story. Every shifter in the pack has one of their own, you’ll learn. As much as it sucks, it’s part of being a shifter these days. In the past, I’m sure it was easier. Maybe.”
Sensing he didn’t want to linger on his sad tale, Addie said, “I feel like I missed out on so much, growing up around humans.”
“Don’t think like that. Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you. Same with Dylan,” he said. A smile broke out, and he playfully nudged her side. “Landon, well…he might act all grumpy around you, but I’m sure if you bat those eyes at him he’ll give in.”
She sighed. “Landon is hot and cold.”
“It just means he likes you.”
Now was not the time she wanted to talk about Landon, so Addie changed the subject. He said he’d tell her all about shifters? She had at least a dozen questions ready, and she fired them away.
Was there a school here? How did the pack get their money? How did they stock the small grocery store at the edge of town? Keeping the humans away, what they did with their spare time when there wasn’t a maniac running around kidnapping shifters. There was more on her mind, more she didn’t understand, but she figured she’d start small.
Maze traced her knuckles as he told her what he could. A few shifters had gone into the human world, gotten jobs. It was their money that fueled the town. Another few knew all about the internet and taught the children all they needed to know—these were mostly the human female mates of the few shifters that had human mates. Outside humans often stumbled into town, trying to see the lake, because somehow pictures of its clear water had gotten around, but they were easily sniffed out and threatened by the usual human threat get off my property or I’ll call the cops! Worked every time, apparently, because vacationing humans didn’t want to risk it.
The rest of them worked around town, doing house repairs, car repairs, cooking, cleaning, raising the kids. Sometimes they went on runs, but Forest had forbidden most runs since the kidnappings had started to grow more frequent.
No other packs were in the area, so the shifters at Crystal Lake were relatively safe from an invading pack. Because, Addie was shocked to learn, things like that still happened, even in the twenty-first century. Packs invaded like other countries encroaching on borders, claiming the land as their own and often fighting and destroying each other when one would not submit. Female shifters, being as rare as they were, were fought over and stolen. Seemed a barbaric, horrible thing.
Sometimes the females weren’t treated like people at all. Some packs kept them and bred them like rabbits, forcing them to pop out babies continuously to bolster the declining shifter population. A terrible, horrible fate Addie could barely comprehend.
It seemed to Addie some of their animalistic instincts were too strong. Maybe shifter numbers were in such decline because they hadn’t evolved with the times, they refused to change. No cell phones? Cell phones were like air to humans. Even kids had them nowadays—which was a ridiculous, annoying point in and of itself, because ten-year-old Johnny boy did not need the newest iPhone and all the latest apps.
Maybe shifters were meant to die out. Survival of the fittest. Humans proved capable of advancing and changing, but shifters did not, therefore it was only a matter of time before they were gone entirely. It was the logical part of Addie that thought this, though she would never say it aloud, knowing it would anger and hurt any shifter who heard it.
“Anything else you want to know?” Maze broke through her thoughts.
Addie shook her head. “Nothing right now. Anything you want to know about me?” Since they were bonding here, she figured she’d offer.
“Actually, yes,” Maze jumped on it. “There are a few things I’ve been wondering, and until I know the truth, I will continue to lose sleep.” A smile grew on his face, and it was one she did her best not to stare at.
They already sat too close. Staring at his smile, losing herself in those dimples and the twinkle of his eyes, it would only lead to one thing at this point.
“Are there any human males I need to worry about? Any ex-boyfriends you have that might come looking for you?”
Addie stifled a laugh. Of course. She should’ve known where his head would be and what type of questions he’d ask. All about her. “None that I know of,” she spoke with a grin.
“Really? Not one?”
“Not one,” Addie reaffirmed. “I never dated. I just…I don’t know, didn’t feel it. I guess I wasn’t attracted to them, not like I am to you guys.” She meant the you guys as a reference to Maze, Dylan, and Landon, but she supposed he could also take it as a shifters in general thing. “I’ve never even kissed someone before.”
Okay, that slipped out before she could stop it, and once it was out, floating in the air around them, Addie wanted to take it back. Grab it and stuff it in her pocket, pretend it didn’t exist. How embarrassing.
Maze’s eyebrows practically reached the sky. “So you’re saying,” he whispered, his hand releasing hers as he snaked it around her lower back, “if I kiss you right now, it’ll be your first?” The thought must’ve been a pleasing one, for he would not stop smiling. He gave a new definition to the phrase grinning like an idiot.
“Putting two and two together does equal four,” Addie said, wanting to be funny, wanting to forget the shift in the small space between them, the sizzling and crackling in the air. Or maybe it was all in her head. The hand wrapped around her back made certain muscles in her body tighten, and she couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to have his hands everywhere, touching parts of her no one had touched before.
Such tempting, dirty thoughts.
His other hand went to her neck, and her head nearly lost all will to stay up on its own. Addie wanted to lean into him, touch him, get to know him in a way that would make her blush hours later when she remembered this moment.
“Do you want me to kiss you?” Maze whispered, breath already ragged. As if the wolf could stop himself now.
Addie opened her mouth to respond, though she truly had no idea what she was going to say, but she needn’t have worried, for before she could say a single word, Maze’s mouth collided with hers. His lips melded with hers, the hand on her neck tangling in her hair, and she basically turned to jelly.
Warm, gooey, weak-at-the-knees jelly.
This was what kissing was like? This tingly feeling spreading along her body, the instant desire to throw herself at him, to wrap both her arms and legs around him? This was what she was missing?
Hot damn.
Addie would’ve made the comment about not missing out again, but she was too lost in Maze, especially when she felt him nip at her lower lip. The instant his teeth grazed her, her back arched. It seemed she liked that. In fact, she liked it quite a lot.
Just as she regained her mind, as she began to kiss him back, wanting him to drown in the same heated passion she felt—basically, when Addie started to act like a willing and eager participant in the kiss—Maze broke their lip lock, already smiling ear to ear.
“As much as I would like to continue, eager beaver, I think it’s time we head back,” he said, the smile lingering on his lips.
Those blasted lips that left hers much too soon.
Addie knew her face was flushed. Could the shifter not even give her a moment to regain herself? How in the hell did he expect her to walk after such an earth-shattering, mind-numbing kiss? He must have no idea what he did to her, how easily her body reacted to his.
She wanted to argue with him. Oh, how badly she wanted to tell him no, she was fine staying here and kissing him longer, but her words would not form, and before she knew it, Maze grabbed her hand and tugged her to her feet.
As they started walking along, back to the group, Maze said, “I told you I’d be the first, yeah? Who knew I’d be the first in general to touch those lips.” He leaned toward her, fingers tightening around hers. “They’re very soft, by the way.”
Finally, Addie found her voice, “Uh, thank you?” She wasn’t sure what she should say to that, having never before been complimented on the softness of her lips. She did use those fruity Lip Smackers when she remembered to.
And of course, now she was thinking about her lips, they felt rather dry. That, or they missed having Maze’s mouth on hers.
Addie was on cloud nine as they walked back, her mind replaying the kiss over and over again. It was a memory she would not mind having on an endless loop, an infinite repeat. Were all kisses so good, or was it because she knew he was one of her future mates? Maybe she was inclined to like them; it wasn’t the first time she’d thought it.
Or, hell, maybe it was fate.
Maybe it was meant to be.
Chapter Seventeen
Addie never thought herself a ruminator. She didn’t like those books where the main characters wallowed and overthought things, but wasn’t that precisely what she was doing? Sure, she might not be wallowing, but she could not stop thinking about the kiss, no matter how hard she tried to.
It was that good.
She sat at a picnic table beside Dylan, who’d brought a book—which really should not have surprised her. Maze and Landon were off talking to other shifters. Fine by Addie, because if she was around Maze right now, she might jump his bones, and no one needed to see that, especially not the whole freaking pack.
Undying: A Reverse Harem Shifter Romance (Crystal Lake Pack Book 2) Page 13
