Claimed and Mated

by James, Delta

  “Not frightened, but it’s kind of a lot to take in.”

  “I know. It’s not an easy subject to approach with someone who has no point of reference. And there are certain ramifications that we will need to discuss.”

  “Like are you housebroken?” she giggled again and then started to laugh when he did. “I’m sorry... I’m just not sure what one says in this situation.”

  “To answer your questions, yes, I can understand you and we retain all of the information we learn whether as wolf or man. Once you have learned to shift, it is very easy and doesn’t hurt at all.”

  “Are there female werewolves? Do you call yourself werewolves?”

  “No, primitive man labeled us as such to differentiate and classify us as some kind of demon. We refer to ourselves as wolf shifters or just shifters.”

  “Are there other kinds of shifters? Are all shifters male?”

  “There are other kinds of shifters—bears, eagles, lions, horses, elk, just about any animal. And not all shifters are male, although for some unknown reason we are seeing fewer and fewer female shifters born.”

  “So will your kind become extinct?”

  “No, our two species can interbreed and in much earlier times it was far more common. Humans can be turned or changed so that they too become shifters. It is never to be done without their informed consent. Unfortunately there are starting to be some disturbing rumors about missing human females.”

  “How does a woman get turned?”

  “From a wolf bite or blood transfusion. Our blood or saliva can infect your blood creating a virus that overwrites the human DNA.”

  “Oh, my God, did you turn me?”

  “What?” he asked angrily.

  “Well, God knows I’ve had enough of your saliva from kisses and when you go down on me.”

  She felt his anger fade as quickly as it had risen.

  He chuckled. “No, my Catherine. It has to be introduced into your bloodstream. I would never turn you without your consent and without you knowing all that it entails.”

  Understanding started to dawn. “That’s why you have a mysterious side. That’s why you referred to your family and the people who live at the villa as a pack. Is there a true pack structure?”

  “Yes. I am alpha of our pack.”

  She giggled and pushed him onto his back, throwing her leg over him to straddle his body.

  “Of course you are. You couldn’t be anything but the alpha. So can a woman be the leader of the pack?”

  “No. Ours is a male-dominant society. The men are in charge and our women...”

  “Get ordered around and spanked when they don’t do as they are told,” she said archly.

  “Our women are loved and protected above all else,” he corrected. “But yes, my Catherine, as you have found, they answer to their mate’s authority and when they choose to be naughty, get their pretty bottoms spanked in order to correct the behavior. Do not get comfortable up there, mate. It will be a rare occasion that you find yourself in anything resembling a dominant position with me.”

  “I don’t know,” she said, pinning his shoulders to the bed. “I think I’ve got you right where I want you.”

  Catherine was shocked at the speed with which he moved and she found herself flat on her back with Marco towering above her.

  He chuckled as she struggled and could not get away from him. “Enough, my Catherine. Yield to me and I will release you. Continue to struggle and I will keep you where you are until you do. Continue for too much longer and I will think you need your backside rewarmed to remind you who is dominant between us. You, my beloved, are mate to the alpha of the DeMedici pack. We have held our land and our territory for more than a thousand years. And you, my beautiful, spirited mate, will learn to behave.”

  He watched as she balled her fist. He leaned down and kissed her.

  He whispered against her lips, “Strike at me again, mate, and I assure you that the spanking you receive will be more painful than all the others.”

  Catherine relaxed her fist. “Wouldn’t do me any good anyway, would it?”

  “Doubtful. Do you yield?”

  “Yes, Marco. I yield... for now.”

  He laughed and released her, allowing her up but pulling her into his lap as he too sat up. “Now and forever, my Catherine. Now and forever.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  The next morning, Marco felt as though an enormous burden had been lifted from him. Not only had he found his beloved mate, but she had accepted that he was a wolf and not been repulsed by it. He reminded himself that while she knew humans could be turned, they had yet to discuss his desire to turn her so their spirits could truly be one.

  He had left Catherine sleeping peacefully and well sated. She had a healthy libido—one to rival his own. He stood in the shower and allowed the steam to penetrate his skin and make him feel renewed.

  Marco felt the knot begin to swell at the base of his cock. He chuckled to himself. That was another topic he had yet to bring up to his mate. He desperately wanted to mount her and force his knot deep within her, sealing her to him before rocking her and ultimately tying her. While he knew that in human form the initial breach was painful for a woman, he knew most felt that the rapture experienced after that was more than worth it. He closed his eyes and focused on getting the knot to release.

  He also knew that he needed to explain their custom of alphas marking their mates. While the knot had tried to form repeatedly, Marco found it far easier to suppress the knot than the almost overwhelming need to mark her as his own. On numerous occasions when he had been inside Catherine, stroking her powerfully and feeling her experience the ecstasy that had become an integral part of their lovemaking, he had felt his canines elongate in order to allow him to mark her.

  He was drying himself off and chuckling, thinking he was certain he could entice Catherine to accept his knot, but that the discussion around her accepting his mark might be an altogether different story.

  The final papers for the acquisition of the vineyard would reach him today. He planned to invite Griffin to join them for lunch at the hotel before taking Catherine home to the villa. As he contemplated the drive in the vintage sports car, it occurred to him that might be an opportune time to discuss any of the three sticky topics that needed to be addressed.

  Marco heard a soft knock on the door to their suite as he exited the bath and saw a slip of hotel stationery being pushed under the door. He turned to ensure that Catherine still slept in their bed. He walked to the door and reached down to pick up the paper. What he read enraged him.

  Catherine,

  It is imperative that we speak. I had expected to hear from you before now.

  I understand you have allied yourself with Marco DeMedici. I would urge

  you not to discuss our relationship or the reason for our need to meet.

  Salvatore

  How dare this Salvatore presume to speak to his mate and keep that information from him? Marco had been well aware that there had been others before him, but Catherine had indicated there was no one with whom she was currently or recently involved. If this Salvatore thought to take his Catherine from him, he would find himself grievously injured and most likely dead.

  * * *

  Catherine was awakened by a feeling of unrest. Marco had explained to her that fated mates could most often feel if the other was experiencing an emotion that was especially intense. She looked up to see him scowling in her direction.

  “Marco? What has you upset? I couldn’t possibly have done anything between now and when you left me in our bed. I was asleep the whole time.”

  “Who is Salvatore? And why does he have a need to meet with you?”

  It was then that she spied the note in his hand.

  “Is that for me?” she asked, a note of irritation creeping into her voice.

  Catherine knew what he was thinking. She knew him well enough to know that he didn’t really believe there was anyone else, b
ut also knew that she had secrets she had not shared with him. So while she was a bit annoyed that he’d read the note meant for her, she also knew that were the situation reversed, she would be feeling the same way.

  “It was not in an envelope nor was the outside of the paper addressed to anyone in particular. Answer my questions—who is Salvatore and why does he want to see you?”

  “Tell me... in your wolf society is it only a man’s integrity or honor that can be insulted?”

  “Of course not. Answer me, Catherine.”

  “Your tone and your accusation are insulting mine.”

  She let that sink in for a moment. Marco crossed over from the door and sat beside her on the bed, handing her the note.

  “I am not angry or upset with you, my Catherine. And if I made you feel like I was then I am very sorry. But I do not appreciate men I do not know or have ever heard about from you seeking an audience with my mate and trying to keep it secreted from me.”

  Catherine set the note aside without even looking at it.

  “I was going to tell you if you wanted to be forgiven you needed to go stand naked in the corner. Then I realized you’d have to be facing outward and the logistics of my trying to mount you there were just too much for me to figure out at the moment. So I just thought fuck it.”

  Marco smiled slowly. “I see,” he said, his pronounced accent becoming even deeper.

  He drew the covers away from her body. He chuckled as the reveal showed her body flushed with desire, her beautiful nipples as hard as diamonds, and her legs parted so that he could see and scent her arousal. He dipped his head down, sucking in one of her nipples as his hand came up to pay attention to the other.

  “I, however,” he said as he nibbled and kissed his way up her body, “am more than capable of figuring out how to properly forgive my naughty mate after she has been punished. The logistics as you said are quite easy as I have been forced to do it before.”

  “Wait a minute. You’re the one who jumped to conclusions and all but accused me of having a thing with Salvatore.”

  “No, you jumped to the conclusion that I had done so when I never doubted your commitment to me. And you, my beautiful mate, not only thought to try to be dominant with me but used language unworthy of you.”

  “Shit, Marco, that isn’t fair.”

  Marco silenced her with a kiss. He had a hand on either side of her body.

  “On your belly, Catherine.”

  “Why? Are you going to take me from behind again?”

  “You wish that were what I had in mind. Do as you’re told or I will put you over my knee.”

  He waited. Catherine thought seriously about going on the attack and then realized that tactic had never served her well with her mate. Reluctantly she rolled over as he’d told her to do. She didn’t have to wait long for his hand to spank her hard three times, making her cry out.

  He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck.

  “That’s one swat for each word. The next time even one curse word passes your lips, you will get your mouth washed out and your bottom spanked properly. Yes?”

  She nodded. “Yes, Marco.”

  He rolled over and she saw out of the corner of her eye that his cock was engorged and seemed to be swollen at the base.

  “Marco? Are you all right?”

  Marco glanced down and realized there was a knot forming rapidly.

  “Yes. That is a knot and we will discuss that later. Now who the hell is Salvatore?”

  “Are you sure? That thing looks like it hurts.”

  “It is decidedly uncomfortable unless it is lodged within your mate’s pussy.”

  “Uhm, Marco, you can barely fit all of you inside as it is, I don’t think that will fit.”

  Marco dragged her across the bed and into his arms.

  “When the time is right, my Catherine, I assure you I will make it fit.”

  She giggled and eyed the knot again. “If you say so.”

  “I do. Now who is Salvatore and why does he want to meet?”

  “Is that what the note says? I didn’t read it.”

  “Catherine,” he growled. “If I have to ask you again, it will be once you are draped across my thighs with a very warm, red bottom.”

  Catherine managed to straddle him as he reclined on the bed, rubbed her hardened nipples along his chest, and kissed him passionately.

  “To be honest, I have no idea what he wants and am far more interested...” She stopped short and caught herself. She swung her leg back over Marco and tried to get up without him hearing the sob caught in her throat.

  Marco caught her around the waist and hauled her back into bed. Even though she struggled, she found herself forced into his embrace where he used one finger to tilt her head up so he could see her eyes.

  “Listen to me, my Catherine,” he said in a voice as smooth as silk with an underlying seductive growl. “There is nothing you could say to me that would change who and what we are to each other. Whatever secret it is that causes you such pain, share it with me so I can ease your burden.”

  “You can’t fix it,” she said softly, trying to keep from crying.

  “I couldn’t change into a wolf either,” he said, teasing her.

  She giggled. “Yeah, well, we both know I was wrong about that.”

  “Even if I can’t fix it, at least sharing it with me would allow me to help you carry the burden of whatever this sadness is. Please, tesoro, won’t you tell me?”

  He drew her leg back over his torso so that once again she was straddling him. He kept his hands on her hips but waited for her to decide.

  “I have a sister,” she said softly.

  “How did I not know this?”

  “Because she’s been missing for months.”

  “Is she in hiding? Did she run off? How can she be missing? How could she worry you like that? She will have a lot to answer for when we find her.”

  For the first time in a long time, Catherine felt a light begin to shine in that dark part of her heart that feared the worst for her sister.

  “She wouldn’t worry me like that, Marco. We were close. She graduated and went on a long-planned grand tour of Europe. She last checked in with me when she arrived in Rome. She left Rome to go to Milan and then Florence via train. She was last seen at the Ponte Vecchio here in Florence and then... nothing.”

  She could see Marco thinking.

  “The embassy did nothing?”

  Catherine nodded, not trusting her voice to speak.

  “Your country’s embassies are rarely of any help in these situations. I take it Salvatore is someone you hired to find her?”

  “Yes. So if he does want to speak to me, I have to meet with him.”

  “I will meet with him. I will have questions he will need to answer. But we will begin a search for your sister.”

  “I’ve been searching...”

  “Yes, my Catherine, but you are human and do not have friends in Army Intelligence and Interpol. Also Griffin has begun to do a bit of investigating about rumors that have surfaced over the past few years involving human women going missing and being turned without their consent.”

  “Oh, God, Marco, you don’t think...”

  “We don’t know what to think at this point, but we will meet with Salvatore and then we will find the answers you seek.”

  “Thank you,” she said, kissing him. “Thank you.”

  “We haven’t found the answers yet, but we will. Is this the cause of the sadness I often sense from you?”

  “Yes,” she said, speaking so softly it was barely audible.

  “That’s all of it?”

  “You don’t think she’s alive either, do you?”

  “I don’t know what to think, my Catherine. But I believe the answers—whatever they may be—will give you peace and allow the grief you feel to heal. Whatever we find, I will be by your side. You will also have the love and support of our pack. You are no longer alone.”

 
Catherine leaned forward, taking his face in her hands to kiss him and then yelped as his hand connected with her behind.

  “That had best be the only secret you ever try to keep from me,” he said, grinning at her. “Keeping secrets from one’s mate is a spankable offense and the next time your magnificent ass will sorely regret your tongue’s decision to hold itself.”

  “You’re such a jerk,” said Catherine, laughing. “Now can we go meet with Salvatore?”

  “No. I will meet with Salvatore and Griffin for lunch after we have signed the final papers on the new property. I want Griffin to hear what he has to say as well.”

  “I’m going to be there.”

  “No. I will meet with him and see what he has to say.”

  “Marco, this is my business and she is my sister.”

  “Yes, and it will be far easier for him to fool you than Griffin and me. I will get to the bottom of what he knows. As I said, I’ll see what my contacts can find.”

  “Marco, do you think my sister’s disappearance has anything to do with those rumors you’ve been hearing?”

  She got up and tried to move away from the bed. Marco caught her arm and gently pulled her back. He was sitting on the edge of the bed and drew her into his lap. The sad, guarded look in his eyes was all the answer she needed.

  “You do,” she said in a voice filled with anguish. “I should have done more... why didn’t I do more?”

  Marco softly embraced her. “You did all you knew to do. But yes, I fear your sister may have fallen victim to my kind. Promise me this won’t turn you against me or our pack.”

  “Don’t be stupid. I’m sure there are bad wolves just like there are bad humans. Do you think they’ve turned her?”

  He nodded solemnly. “I fear if they took her, she was turned without her consent. The change can be difficult on one who did not choose it for themselves.”

  “Do you think she’s dead?”

  “I don’t know. If she has even a fraction of your strength, she yet lives and we will find her.”

  “Is Salvatore a wolf?”

  “I detected the slightest hint of wolf scent on the paper. It could have come from anywhere. But if Salvatore is a wolf and has been stringing you along, it would go a long way toward explaining why he didn’t want me to know.”