Priscilla watched as Lake hurried out the mansion door to talk with his brother. She hated that he looked so worried. He’d said it had to do with his pride. She had no idea that a group of cats could be so high maintenance. Was this something she could handle as the alpha mate? It didn’t matter. She loved Lake with everything in her, and she would learn to do whatever it took to stay beside him.
“Where’s he going?” Maya asked.
“His brother called and said something was wrong with the pride, and they needed to talk.”
“There seems to be a lot going on with his people. Noah’s group isn’t nearly as drama queen as the tigers seem to be.”
Priscilla wondered if it had always been this way. She needed to ask. Maybe she could help with processes that made communication easier between everyone. Of all the things she had learned while working in corporate America, the lack of communication was the biggest problem in most companies. So many things went wrong when one person decided to keep things to themselves.
Maybe that should be her priority after she was introduced to the pride. Her stomach churned at the thought of being in the spotlight of his people. But she had to get over being shy and become the alpha Lake needed her to be.
She glanced at the entrance to see Lake come back inside. His eyes met hers instantly. Her heart flipped with the thought that someone was so perfect for her.
Lake waved her to him.
“Maya, Lake’s back, and he needs to talk. We might be leaving if something requires him to meet with the elders or something. I’ll talk with you tomorrow, okay?”
“You got it, girl. Have fun tonight if you can.” Maya giggled with that look that told Priscilla what was going through her friend’s mind, and it wasn’t baking cookies.
After getting her coat and leaving, Priscilla was so excited about her mate’s surprise, that she didn’t register that anything was wrong. But now, after sitting in the car so quietly, she wondered what Lake’s brother had said. Obviously, it wasn’t anything that Lake had to respond to. But there was something different about him.
She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something was off. Maybe she was just nervous. This special getaway was probably for her and Lake to officially mate. She knew there was a bite on her shoulder involved but didn’t know much else. Maya hadn’t told her a lot about it.
Mate. Basically, she was getting married, but no backing out of it, ever. Once bitten, the deal was sealed. Butterflies flipped in her stomach. How long had she dreamed of this day? A day when she and the man she loved, who loved her in return, would be together forever.
Outside, snowflakes began to fall, covering the ground in pristine perfectness. Lake took his hand back and fumbled with the steering wheel. Finally, he twisted the wiper knob on the steering column.
“Fucking hell,” he snarled. “You’d think in a car this expensive, they could make things easier to find.”
That was strange. Lake had been driving this car for a while. Maybe he was as nervous as she was about tonight. At first, she’d held his hand, but after a moment he seemed uninterested in that so she’d pulled back, waiting for him to get comfortable driving. But he didn’t seek her hand to hold, so she kept her hands in her lap, wrapped around her clutch.
After they got to wherever they were going, she would do her best to settle his and her own nerves. She had to reassure him that she cared…no. What she felt for him was stronger, deeper than caring. She loved Lake. How or when it happened didn’t matter, but the new Lake from the photoshoot began to win her over instantly. No matter if they were “official” or not, she loved him. A bite wouldn’t make a bit of difference to her. She still loved him and always would.
Maybe she needed to break her shyness when it came to sex and make the first move. Be more aggressive and take control. Alphas were always in control, but tonight she’d show her man that there was more to her than a weak inability to face what was natural between a man and a woman.
Besides, he’d shown her more than once that he loved her body as it was. Curves and all. There was no embarrassment when she was with him. Instead, she was sexy and alive under his touch.
A rush of heat nearly seared her to the bone. A hot flash? She was much too young for menopause. But something had been released inside her. It was familiar, like it had always been there, but just out of reach.
What the hell? What had she been thinking when it hit? Oh, right, being more assertive and confident. Like an alpha should be. Her heart stirred. Confidence reared up in her. She had finally realized that it did not matter what she looked like. There would be some who tried to bring down her positivity, and there would be others who would let her soar on their wings.
She had to choose who she wanted to be with and fuck anyone else. Those others had no bearing on her life. Thinner people had heart attacks too. And strokes and got cancer. Hell, they all could die in a wreck, no matter your size. So when it came down to it, they were all the same. Trying to live on this planet and make it as good as possible until their time was up.
After half an hour of driving, she wondered how long they would stay wherever they were going. She didn’t have clothes or anything else one needed when not at home.
Her phone rang in her purse. When she started to open it, Lake snatched her purse from her hands and threw it in the back seat.
“Lake,” she gasped, “what are you doing?”
“I don’t want anyone to interrupt us tonight,” he said, his voice holding a steely edge. “It’s just you and me tonight, baby.”
“But what if…” She didn’t finish her question. Her mate was right. Tonight was just him and her. There wasn’t anything that couldn’t wait until tomorrow. “Will we be there soon?” she asked.
Lake smiled and glanced at her. His smile was kiltered–his eyes didn’t shine like they usually did. “Almost. Are you anxious to be under me while my dick is deep inside you and I fuck you senseless? Pounding and stretching you to the point of…”
She couldn’t help her eyes growing wide. Lake had never used those kinds of words before. Well, he did, but not like that. The way he said it was almost violent. Like he wanted to hurt her. The words weren’t warm or sexy. They worried her. Lake breathed deeply, then exhaled with an “ahhhhh.”
“That’s what I want to smell from my female. Her pussy wet and willing.” His hand reached over and rested high on her thigh, squeezing and scooting higher. Automatically, she slid her hands over to block his upward movement. The smile left his face, and he turned back to the road.
Why had she done that? She usually welcomed his advances. Wow, she really needed to chill out, or there would be no mating tonight.
“I’m sorry, honey,” he said. “I’m not myself right now. I love you so much, and I’m looking forward to our time alone. With everything going on with the pride and company, I haven’t been able to show you how you make me feel. Please understand if I seem more like my pathetic brother than myself.”
That confused her. Not the part about his love, but him putting down his brother. He didn’t think Lyle was pathetic or any other negative term.
“Why did you call Lyle pathetic?” she asked. “I’ve never heard you say one bad thing about your brother. On the contrary, actually.”
His body stiffened for a moment. “I, uh, I meant his way with women was pathetic. His ex-wife and all the others he’s bedded just makes me sick to think about. He doesn’t know the first thing about love or keeping a woman as wonderful as you.”
It was true that Lyle was a male ho. He screwed anything that breathed, but she didn’t want to voice that since it wasn’t nice, even though mostly true.
A moment later, they turned off the highway onto a side road tightly bordered with trees. With the accumulating snow, it was hard to discern the road from the beginning of the forest. When the road became steep, the car almost didn’t make it over a hump. Hopefully, when they left, they wouldn’t have any problems.
When they reac
hed the top, Lake stopped the car in front of a cute little cabin surrounded by woods.
“I love it!” Priscilla said. “It’s adorable.”
Lake stepped out of the car, and she waited for him to open her door. Instead, he hurried to the cabin’s door and unlocked it. He definitely was distracted by their upcoming mating. She let herself out and rushed inside to get out of the blowing snow.
This would be a great night. She just needed to put on, or rather, take off her big girl panties and be the alpha mate that Lake needed.
Chapter Eighteen
Lake couldn’t believe the cubs were at it again. They and the wolves had been school rivals for the longest time, but the aggression had always played out on the field, not at the county line.
What was happening to make the smack talk personal? When had the lines between healthy challenge and individual respect blurred? He’d better keep up with this shit because he had to deal with this generation for the rest of his alpha life. And who knew what the following cubs would be dealing with as they grew up.
He was impressed with Lyle’s car. The absolutely unnecessary extravagance his brother had spent on a chick magnet seemed to be somewhat worth it. The traction was pretty good on wet roads at high speeds, and it took corners like nothing. Of course, he preferred his Mercedes with all its safety features. He wouldn’t trust this vehicle’s safety in a wreck with a shopping cart.
But the sporty car did give his brother points with the cubs. The girls wanted to ride in it, and the boys wanted to be the ones driving it. Hopefully, the kids matured soon enough to keep them from killing themselves or someone else, trying to prove something stupid.
He wondered what was going through their heads right now. Too much pride? Some sense of vengeance? He knew kids dealt with all kinds of pressures his generation hadn’t, but a fight between groups seemed over the top.
He would find out when he got there. He had called the wolf’s alpha to let him know what was going on. Alpha Sampson said he would meet him on County Line road, the literal line separating pack from pride.
Sampson said he had noticed some rumbling among his cubs, but nothing more than murmurs and a bit of negative name-calling. He wondered what was going on also.
Lake geared down the car and turned onto the narrow two-lane road. Far enough back to not be seen from the road, a dozen cars were parked along the side. Shit, this was more than he’d hoped were involved.
In the headlights, he saw movement in both lanes ahead of him. The yellow center line being the mark in the sand. He screeched the tires to a stop and climbed out.
“Hey, Lyle,” one of the boys on the right side of the line called out. “Glad you could join us to take care of these furry pieces of shit.” Bodies on the left side stepped forward.
“Hold,” Lake hollered, putting his born ability into play, and everyone stiffened. Even the wolves knew the power of an alpha, their species or not. Behind him, headlights added to his car’s. A black SUV parked, and Sampson climbed out. The pups slunk back a bit.
Lake waited for the wolf alpha to reach him.
“Figure this out yet?” The wolf asked.
“Nah. Just got here.” Lake walked toward the split group. “All right, Chet,” he hollered, “what is going on?”
Chet was one of the young leaders Lake recognized.
The boy marched out of the crowd. “We heard that the dogs were going to paint our place up.”
Sampson leaned closer to Lake and said, “That means graffiti if you don’t know.”
“We were not,” one hollered from the other side. “We don’t have one can of paint. That’s stupid, anyway.”
Sampson called to his side. “What do you know, Alex?”
Lake figured the wolf boy was probably the same status as Chet.
“The rumor going around said the pussies were going to smear shit, I mean, crap on doors and cars.”
Sampson’s brow raised. “You mean feces?”
“Yeah, that.”
“That’s disgusting. Nobody over here would do something so stupid and childish,” Chet yelled.
“So, let me get this straight,” Lake sighed ready to rub his temples.He raised his hands at both sides, a silent command not to move. “Both of you are here based on rumors that aren’t true. Is that correct?”
Groans and mumbles came from everyone. God help him with these young ones. Both sides retreated into the forests on their side of the road. Lake heard more shouting.
“Hey, wolf boy, we’re kicking your furry asses come Friday night.”
“We don’t think so, pussies. We’ll see you on the field.”
Lake shook his head, but that type of catcalling he could handle. Productive and competitive.
Sampson sighed beside him. “Sorry for the drama, Lake. I don’t know where the pups got their information.”
“Same here, Sampson. Sorry I had to drag you out on Christmas Eve.”
“Eh, not a problem. I need to walk off some of the turkey and stuffing from dinner anyway. See ya later, Lake. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you too. Tell Helen and kids I said hi.”
“Will do.” The wolf alpha slipped into his truck and backed down the lane.
“Chet,” Lake hollered and waited for the boy to get to him. The cubs had reached their cars and were leaving.
“Coming, sir.” The teen jogged up to him, eyes toward the ground. He knew they were in trouble.
Lake sighed. He would’ve done the same thing had he been in Chet’s shoes.
“Chet,” Lake started, “you did good rallying the cubs to protect our pride.”
The boy looked up with surprise on his face. “Really? You’re not angry with us?”
“I didn’t say that,” Lake added. The smile on the young face dropped. “But I don’t see any reason for punishment since things turned out peacefully. Where did you hear that the wolves were going to spray graffiti on our property?”
“Lyle said he overheard some pups in a store or something. Why are you driving his car? We thought it was him coming to help us out.”
“We swapped so I could get here faster to stop a bunch of young lunatics.” Lake frowned at the boy.
“So Lyle told you too?”
“All right. I’ve heard enough. Get on back home and enjoy the holiday with your family.” Chet turned toward the one car remaining. Lake added, “Chet, next time you gather a group for something like this, you’d better include me. Got it?”
“Got it, sir. Merry Christmas.”
Lake slipped back into the low-sitting car. Good thing the woods kept the wind from where they stood, but the snow had covered the road. Time to get back to his mate.
He hadn’t been gone much more than an hour and figured his beauty would still be at the party. He hadn’t danced with his little mate yet, and that he wanted to do. He couldn’t wait to have her luscious body pressed against his. His cock pressed up against her. Maybe he’d give her a little rub against her mound just to let her know what he wanted when they were alone.
Later tonight, he was going to ask Priscilla to marry him and then complete the mating ritual. His tiger was more than ready to claim her. But Lake didn’t see a need to rush her. She was a human female and had insecurities, worries, and strange emotions to deal with. Pushing her too much would end in disaster. They didn’t need both brothers to be single again.
He thought about Lyle. Why didn’t his brother tell him what the wolves threatened? One call to Sampson would have stopped all that before it started. Did Lyle not take it as being true? But then why pass it on to the teens?
As if he didn’t have enough on his plate with the alpha house needing repair from the fire and the company’s near-disaster on the new ad campaign.
Lake should’ve kicked his brother’s ass for screwing over their original model. But then, he wouldn’t have met Priscilla. She certainly saved him from being chewed on by the board. They’d worked long and hard to push their new l
ine. He needed to teach his brother how to keep it in his pants.
Maybe he’d let it go this time since Lyle had prevented his home from burning down. Good thing Lyle had been out and about that late at night. What had his brother been doing out in the snow anyway? He’d have to ask later.
Pulling into the mansion’s drive, there were still so many cars that he didn’t think anyone had left. Just the opposite. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too difficult to find his mate. All he had to do was follow his nose.
Along the drive ahead, the valet was moving a car from its space, so Lake pulled in there. This would be quicker for Lyle. The man hated waiting for anything.
He hurried inside then stood in the foyer looking through the crowd. He saw Maya with her mate, but no Priscilla. Maybe she was in the ladies’ room.
He made his way through the crowd to his mate’s friend. When she saw him, she raised her brows.
“You’re back?” Maya asked, a note of confusion in her voice.
“Yeah. Turned out to be sort of a mistake on both sides.”
“Mistake?” Maya repeated, frowning. “What are you talking about? And where’s Priscilla?”
“What do you mean, where’s Priscilla? She’s here with you.”
Her eyes popped wide. “No, you came in from talking with your brother and called her over, then you guys left.”
A strong sense of doom settled at the pit of his stomach. “After talking with my brother, I left to stop a fight between our cubs and another group. I just got back.”
She gasped. “What? Oh, my god. It had to be Lyle then. His hair was down and curly, just like you wear it.”
Lake thought back to his conversation earlier. Lyle had his hair combed straight back like he always wore it. Lake would’ve noticed if his brother had it different. And now that he was thinking about it, Lyle was wearing a black suit the same as his.
There wasn’t anything wrong with that. But Lyle had said he was staying home all day and night. Lake would’ve been in jeans and a sweatshirt at least. Was he wearing the suit to attend the party? He was invited. But then why leave with his mate?
Scrooged Over: Paranormal Dating Agency Page 8
