by Vivian Arend
Alex breathed a sigh of relief. He dipped his chin firmly. “Then in a couple of weeks we can start dating.”
Sweet, innocent, silly bear. Now that her wolf had gotten even an inkling that he was interested, he wasn’t getting his furry butt out of her clutches. “Nope. Your timing sucks.”
His eyes flared open. “Okay, then. A couple of months—”
She slid off the couch and landed in his lap, legs on either side of his hips. Her hands went to the top buttons of his shirt. “Your bear had the right idea. Not next week, not tomorrow, but now.”
“Really?” Big hands grabbed her hips and held on as if he was never going to let go. “Oh, hell yeah.”
She leaned forward to tell him the rest, but his lips caressed hers, soft and gentle. Ghosting smoothly with a tease that promised so much more.
He rose to his feet, still kissing her as he manoeuvred to the king-size bed. His shirt fell off his shoulders as she pushed it away, hands reaching down to work the button and zipper on his jeans.
Alex’s hands were there as well, helping remove her clothing and tossing garments aside until he could crawl over her on the mattress, naked skin to naked skin.
He stopped, staring down at her, his dark eyes twinkling in the low light from the bedside table. He ran his fingers through her hair, spreading it out on the dark burgundy pillow. Then he shook his head, all muscles and firm strength pressed up against her gently, as if she were delicate.
“I was going to wait, but maybe my bear is right about this part as well.”
His eyes—
Oh, his eyes were filled with wonder, and his expression was adoring, as if he were looking at a miracle.
“Lara? I love you.”
A thrill shot through her so hard she felt it in every cell of her body. “Seriously?”
He stroked her cheek so tenderly. “No demands you say it back. Not until you’re ready, but just so you know, I plan to work my ass off to make sure you feel the same—”
“You’re my mate,” she confessed. “My fated mate, as in, it’s a wolf thing. I’ve known for months, but that’s not the important part because I love you too.”
Hopefulness mixed with confusion. “You’ve known I was your mate for months and you never said anything?”
She made a face. “We weren’t exactly bosom buddies.”
Alex looked horrified. He rolled off her and sat upright. “You knew we were mates when you handcuffed me to the handrail? I mean, when I was an idiot and tried to trick you into trusting me, and then you handcuffed me to the handrail as I so rightly deserved?”
“Yes, but could we get back to where we were a moment ago with you on top of me and us about to—”
Alex pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head as if his brains were rattling around and he was trying to make them settle. Then he lifted his head sadly, hand reaching to grasp hers. “Now it makes sense. There were so many times I couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on, and why you weren’t just flattening my ass, but it was because you were trying not to burn bridges.”
She fought to keep from smiling. “It’s a little hard to try and convince someone you’re worthy of forever when you’ve got them in a headlock on a regular basis.”
“But that’s not all, is it?” He scooped her up, and suddenly she was sitting in his lap naked, his fingers stroking delicately along her collarbone and down her shoulder and biceps. “I’ve heard stories. Knowing that I was your mate and not getting to be with me—God, that must’ve been killing you.”
“I was pretty happy to share mating fever with you, even though it wasn’t a forever thing,” she admitted.
The heat rising in his eyes said it all. “I swear I’ll make it up to you,” he promised. “Every one of those months you spent in pain, I’ll give you pleasure ten times over. For every month your wolf was lonely, I’ll give you decades of companionship.”
Accepted, her wolf shouted. Signed, sealed, and delivered, please.
Lara giggled.
Alex raised a brow.
She pressed her hand to his chest and wiggled in close. “My wolf would like to know if we could consummate that proposal with a bit more than a handshake.”
“With pleasure.”
He took control and proceeded to kiss every inch of her body, sliding over the mattress and adjusting her as he pleased until she was quivering with need and trembling on the edge of the precipice.
Of course, that’s when he pulled back, eyes widening as he stared down at her where he had her pinned, his cock hovering at the entrance to her sex. “I just realized something.”
Lara shrieked, pounding her fists on his shoulders. “Oh my God, I’m going to kill you. Sex now, revelations later.”
“No, this is important,” Alex insisted. “You see, during the mating fever, you already knew we were mates. So did your wolf and my bear, which means that whole everybody needs to be on board thing? The only holdout keeping us from becoming full mates was me.”
She hadn’t thought of it that way. “And…?”
A steady forward thrust of his hips brought his cock into contact, and as he slipped into her body, something magical happened.
Perfection wrapped tight, comfortable and yet binding in a way that she knew meant never being lonely or separated, no matter the distance between them. Pleasure streaked up her spine, radiating into her limbs and tingling up the back of her head.
“When James and Kaylee went through the mating fever, he accepted it and felt the possibility of it right away, but she didn’t. It wasn’t until she accepted the bond that it came into being.” Alex was moving in her now, joined intimately as he leaned his lips next to her ear and whispered. “I choose you. I want you. I love you.”
“I love you too—”
He notched his mouth against the curve of her shoulder. A sharp pain seared through her as he bit down. Words vanished and a blinding light filled the room. Oh my God, this is really happening.
Alex groaned, hips pumping until he came as well. Spine arching, a cry of fulfillment on his lips. He lowered himself gently, their chests still heaving and bodies shaking with satisfaction.
Lara couldn’t hold back any longer. “Please tell me you can hear this,” she thought at Alex.
He jerked upright, staring at her in astonishment. “Lara?”
Hearing her name in her head, spoken with every nuance of his tone and absolute wonder, was the cherry on top. She wrapped her arms around him and used momentum to flip them so that he was flat on his back and she knelt on top. Then she thrust her arms into the air and squealed with happiness.
A second later, she clapped her hands to his chest and again spoke the way that mated wolves did. Private, and intimate, and oh so perfect. “Looks as if we’re mated, sweetie.”
His smile was huge, his happiness clear. “Which means you’re stuck with me.”
She laughed, the sound rising and growing stronger as she realized what else this meant. “Looks as if a few others are stuck with you, as well,” she pointed out. “Welcome to the Orion pack, Alex Borealis.”
Joy filled every part of her as his expression morphed into shock as Alex realized exactly what fate had signed him up for.
He got to deal with wolves from now until forever.
19
In the spirit of cooperation, they held their mating celebration at the high school. The wolves provided the food, the bears brought the alcohol. The local authorities agreed to turn a blind eye to any shenanigans as long as everyone stayed off the roads, which seemed a completely reasonable request as far as Alex was concerned.
They’d waited a month to let things settle down a little, and winter had arrived in Yellowknife. The October wind blew cool across the snowdrifts, but inside the school gymnasium, it was warm and cozy, the scent of good food lingering in the air.
The feel of his arm around Lara’s waist was pretty damn perfect. He’d taken to coming up behind her wherever she stood and silently j
oining her as she chatted with the pack or communicated with people from the diamond mines. He didn’t need to be front and center, but the part that made him feel a million miles tall was how she’d ease slightly closer, settling against him and relaxing as if she didn’t need to worry about pulling out her bad-assery when he was around.
Although she still did, moving like a lightning bolt when it was required by the pack, because his ninja warrior woman was awesome to the core.
He did it now, walking forward and slipping into position as Lara chatted with Auntie Amethyst. Today the older woman’s outfit was fluorescent orange with bold splashes of purple. It would’ve looked fantastic with her dyed hair, except she gotten that redone so it was now a brilliant red that clashed with her orange scarf.
It was enough to make a bear go blind, but Lara had relaxed back against him, so everything was right in his world.
He acknowledged Amethyst politely. “Auntie. You’re looking particularly fine today.”
The older woman sniffed delicately then cracked a smile. “Go on with ya, mischief-maker. You bought the clothes for me, and you know it.”
Lara glanced at him in surprise. “You did?”
He grinned at having pulled one over on her. “I did. A gift in exchange for a promise.” He held out a hand to Auntie. “Show me.”
She gave him her wrist and pushed up the fitted sleeve of her jacket to show the nicotine patches decorating her arm. “Wolf metabolism being what it is, I hope you know I’ve got the chemist down at the Shoppers Drug Mart horrified by my recent bulk purchases.”
He leaned in and offered her a kiss on the cheek. The scent of stale smoke had vanished, leaving a far more pleasant aroma like the wind across the snow in its place. “Enjoy yourself tonight, Auntie. But be careful around that one.” He pointed across the room to an elderly gentleman who was tapping the floor with his cane and smiling eagerly at all the single women walking past. “He’s a bit of a charmer.”
Auntie Amethyst straightened, quickly replacing her eager hunter enthusiasm with nonchalance. “Well, I’d hate to have anybody bored at your party. Later, gators.”
She vanished.
Lara linked her fingers with his as they sauntered toward a different corner of the room. “Please tell me you didn’t sic her on somebody defenceless.”
Being able to respond through their mate connection instead of whispering was so amazing. “Old man Jenner is a grizzly nearly my size. Trust me, he can take care of himself.”
They pulled to a stop beside where Crystal and her mate were chatting with Gramps and Grandma. It had taken a while, but his bear was no longer completely offended at the old man’s rude behaviour and comments about Lara.
Crystal and Chantelle were so in love, it was wonderful to see.
Lara laid a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “You two are staying for a few days, yes?”
Crystal nodded. “It’ll be nice to spend time at the pack house without having to sneak around so nobody spots us.”
“We can stay for a week, then I have to get back to work. But you’re all welcome to come and visit us any time,” Chantelle offered. Her dark hair was pulled back into a puffy ponytail, and she twisted on her chair to face Grandma Laureen. “My clan owns plenty of land, and if you come in the winter you can ski. If you come in the summer, we’ve got lots of beautiful areas for running. Plus, we’re going to open a spa next year, if you’re interested, Mrs. Borealis.”
Alex’s grandmother nodded enthusiastically. “I’m not much of a skier, but I like hot tubs, and running, and definitely the spa. Giles and I will be gone in a few weeks to the spa in this area. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it. Shimmering Delights?”
Chantelle smiled. “It might have been mentioned a time or two.”
Grandma Laureen sighed happily. “We have an entire week booked. I had hoped we’d be able to get away back in August, but Giles had to cancel our reservation at the last minute. The Grand Salon is so wonderful. And the food is fantastic.”
Gramps was suddenly looking everywhere except at Alex and Lara. Fidgeting as if his change of demeanour would make him invisible. “Well, look at that,” he said pointing across the room.
“You had a reservation in August?” Lara spoke sweetly, but she’d obviously picked up on what had caught Alex’s attention as well. “How disappointing that you had to postpone your trip.”
Grandma waved it off before poking Gramps in the arm. “Stop fidgeting like you’re a two-year-old. I don’t know why he gets like this sometimes,” she said conspiratorially to them, right in front of his face. “It’s as if he gets so distracted he simply can’t concentrate for longer than a couple minutes. I think I need to increase his doses of leafy green vegetables. Brain food, you know.”
Alex laughed out loud. “Definitely. I hear kale and spinach are fantastic for memory.”
“Your grandfather hates kale,” Lara shared with amusement before speaking out loud and adding a nail to the coffin. “Brussel sprouts as well, Grandma Laureen. Very important. He should have large servings of those vegetables.”
Alex squeezed Lara’s waist then made their excuses, pulling her away and walking briskly into the hallway.
They barely made it into the more private location before breaking out into gales of laughter.
“Oh my God, the only thing Gramps hates more than kale are Brussels sprouts.”
Lara wiped away her tears. “I know. And maybe that was a little mean, but oh my God, it was him. He somehow manoeuvred to get me up to the spa.”
“You don’t know the half of it. I had snuck into the pack house and found out the information about you going to the spa, but he didn’t know that. That’s why he called and set me on your tracks when I was coming down with the fever.”
Lara blinked. Her amusement fading slightly as confusion rolled in. Then she smacked him on the arm briskly. “Alex Borealis, you snuck into the pack house? What kind of move was that?”
“A brilliant one?” he offered. She continued to glare. “Hey, don’t give me that look. I successfully snuck in and out without any of your wolves catching me. I think that probably means I’ve got the upper hand when it comes to the question of who’s better at security.”
She wrinkled her nose.
“I promise I won’t gloat.” He stole a quick kiss. “I won’t gloat too much,” he amended.
A sharp snicker escaped her, but Lara wrapped her fingers around his arm, and they marched back into the gymnasium.
“There they are.”
“Guests of honour need to get into position.”
“Hurry up, we want to see the show.”
Alex escorted Lara through the eager gathering of wolves, settling her in one of the folding chairs that waited front and center festooned with balloons and streamers.
His brother James came forward and draped a sash around his neck. “Figured you’d need something special to identify you.”
Alex glanced down. There was an arrow pointing to one side above the words Mated to this Beautiful Woman. “It’s awesome, bro. I’ll wear it proudly.”
His brother finished placing one over Lara’s head then stepped back. Way back, far enough that it was impossible to smack him as Alex read the words on Lara’s sash. I’m Stuck with Him.
He glared at his brother. “Be careful or I will use my superior sleuthing skills to find out what pet names your mate calls you, and I will do something devastating with that info.”
Kaylee shouted from a few rows away. “Is my cute furry baby bothering you, Alex?”
“There you go. Superior sleuthing skills achieved.” Lara leaned over the back of her chair and pointed a finger at her sister-in-law. “They are cute. You mean when they’re in their polar bear forms, right?”
“Totally. I mean, they’re big and impressive, but so gosh darn cute. I just want to snuggle him all the time.”
Alex exchanged glances with his brother, both of them sighing heavily. “So much for us being the
most feared predators of the north.”
James shrugged. “I suppose it’s better this way. More snuggles.”
Brisk clapping sounded from the side as Auntie Amethyst marched forward, leaving the older gentleman bear she’d been canoodling with grinning happily in the background. “Okay, kids, gather around. We’ve got some home movies that we thought would be appropriate for today’s party.”
Chairs were scuffled and voices lowered as the motley crew settled into position.
Alex linked his fingers with Lara’s, arm curled around her shoulders to keep her close. “Family movies. You realize if I see any signs of you lying on a bearskin rug, I’m going to be very put out.”
Laughter rose from the pack, but Lara was the one who spoke quietly into his mind. “I seem to remember lying on a bear’s skin lately. Very naked.”
Damn. He shouldn’t have said anything. Now he was going to be uncomfortable for the rest of the evening until he could convince her it was time for them to go back to their private quarters.
Or maybe he could convince her that they should check out the broom closet there at the school.
Someone dimmed the lights and queued up a Bluetooth connection. Just as the projector started, Mac the cat prowled by, sliding in front of the light to create an enormous monstrous shadow on the screen.
The wolves howled and the bears clapped. Mac glared at them haughtily before slowly, very slowly, pacing off.
The background to the video was music with a catchy beat, and Alex was tapping his toes before he realized what was happening on the screen in front of him.
It was him sauntering up to Lara. He was dressed head to toe in black and she was holding Mac, and within a few moments he realized he was watching video footage of their meeting outside the school.
Parts moved in fast-forward, but every detail of the most important moments were played out or repeated in slow motion.
When Lara flipped him and slammed him into the ground, there was a collective ohhhhhh from the gathered wolves and a “you go girl” from Amber.
And that wasn’t the end. The next scene was a shot of Lara in the pack house, happiness in her expression as she jotted down a note and left it on the desk. Then she was alert, moving like the ninja she was toward the door. The screen split, and suddenly she was on one side, sliding like a ghost toward where a shadow lay on the floor. The other half showed him, back against the wall, inching his way toward where she would inevitably find him.
