Guarding His Mate

by Jenny Tia

  “Raspberry cream, sir.”

  “Good choice. We need to see Eli.”

  Mikel brushed crumbs off his shirt and swiveled the monitor around so we could get a clear view of it.

  Eli was clearly feeling the power of the moon. Instead of his usual spot at the edge of his bed, he was pacing back and forth, dragging sheets from his bed behind him. He was topless, just in his underwear. The shower was running in the background, and the glow of blue light from the local water cast an eerie tone on the scene. A single beam of stark silver light poured in from the tiny window above the bed, and Eli’s track around the room avoided it completely. I was right, he was going out of his mind from the moon.

  “Is he saying anything?” I turned to see Casius standing behind me. I hadn’t heard him come in, and I immediately felt sorry that he had to leave Julian and Destiny to come here. He should be with his family. Like we all should.

  “No. For once, he’s quiet. It’s kind of creepy, actually.” Mikel turned up the dial on the speakers, and all we could hear was the soft pad of Eli’s bare feet on the ground.

  As Eli turned toward the camera, I caught sight of his face. I gasped. “He looks terrified.”

  “He does,” Casius agreed, but he didn’t seem to share my strong instinct to just let the kid free. Eli was shaking, his expression tortured. He glanced at the window like he was looking at a monster who was waiting in the wings to consume him. I had to grit my teeth to stop from begging the Alphas to just let him go, let him run.

  Alpha Hughes looked at his watch. “The moon is full tomorrow, but it’s obviously big enough to influence him now. It’ll be at its maximum height tonight in just ten minutes. I’m going to speak to him.”

  “Maybe I could—”

  Alpha Hughes shook his head quickly. “We’re running out of time. If we’re going to get anything out of him, we need it now.”

  I caught his meaning. He was an alpha. He was the Supreme Alpha. He’d use all his power to keep his people safe, even if it meant freaking out one human—or half-human—kid.

  Casius pulled me close and gave my arm a squeeze as we watched in the monitor. Eli stopped in his tracks as the door to his cell opened. He stared, slack-jawed, and Alpha Hughes entered.

  “You guys want a doughnut?” Mikel asked, sitting back down and opening up a box by the monitor. My stomach growled but I shook my head. I was worried about what was going to happen. The last thing I needed was to feel nauseous with a stomach full of doughnuts.

  Eli was shaking like a leaf. I caught a flash across his eyes, but I couldn’t tell what color they were, just that his wolf was at the surface.

  “Stay calm,” Alpha Hughes instructed.

  Eli scowled but sat down on the edge of his bed in his usual spot.

  “Good.” I could hear the strong power in Alpha Hughes’s voice, and I flinched, imagining how strong it must have been in that cell, being as close to him as Eli was.

  “Tell me about your leader.”

  “No!” Eli shouted, then winced. He gripped the bed and curled in on himself until Alpha Hughes growled.

  “Look at me,” the Alpha commanded. Eli immediately complied then grimaced at his own obedience. I chewed my bottom lip, nervous for him.

  “Tell me about your leader. Now.”

  “He’s a man more powerful than you. More powerful than anyone.”

  “Where does he get his power?”

  Eli cried out and I thought I saw a flicker of claws coming out, but when I looked again, they were gone. “He has access to old government resources. We have the power of the old world.”

  “What’s his name?” Alpha Hughes’s voice was so gruff it made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Mikel gripped the arms of his chair.

  “No!”

  “The moon is up. You’re going to shift,” Alpha Hughes warned. “Tell me, so I can help you.”

  “I-I can’t, I won’t. No, I won’t.” Eli gritted his teeth so hard it looked like they would crack. As the moon reached its peak, its silver light lit the whole room up, like an electric beam. Eli’s body quivered and quaked.

  “Shit.” Alpha Hughes ran a hand over his face and groaned.

  Eli spasmed and looked at him, his expression full of fear.

  “Give me a name, and only then can I help you,” Alpha Hughes demanded.

  But Eli was beyond help. He was shifting, probably for the first time. There was no way he could speak. He was caught in that in-between stage where bones and ligaments cracked and popped; where everything was confusion and pain. He needed an Alpha’s help, but it wasn’t safe, not when Eli had no control over his wolf.

  Alpha Hughes did the only thing he could, he left the young wolf to do it on his own. My stomach turned. I looked away. Mikel and I stared at each other as Eli howled in agony with his first shift, the horror and fear on Mikel’s face reflecting mine.

  20

  Stefan

  When Nic got home he was a husk, an empty shell, all energy gone. He sighed as he sat on the bench at the front door and began to slowly unlace his boots.

  “Hey, are you alright?” I frowned with concern.

  He smiled at me wanly. “Yeah. Just… It was tough.”

  I knew he’d been involved with trying to find out what the human at the hospital had meant when he’d talked about fire and the damned and the righteous. In the last few days, Nic had spent a lot of time at the station, and I felt sorry for him. I also admired his tenacity and willingness to what he could to keep us safe.

  As he pulled his boots off and stowed them under the bench, he sighed again. My wolf whined, wanting to groom and nuzzle him until he felt better.

  “I have an idea for something that might help. Get undressed and meet me out back.”

  I ignored the way his eyebrows shot up, and I got to work pulling the lid off Nic’s hot tub in the backyard. For some added ambiance, I lit a few lavender-scented candles and placed them around the edges. Then I scurried back inside and led him outside in his boxer briefs. When he saw the hot tub, his eyes lit up.

  “Oh, man. That’s a great idea.”

  “Hop in.”

  “Aren’t you getting in with me?”

  “No, I have a better idea.”

  “Better than being in the hot tub with you? I’d like to see—ohhhh!” He moaned as he sunk into the hot water. “Damn, that feels good.”

  “How about this?” I walked up to the edge of the hot tub where I could rub his shoulders. I kneaded my thumbs into his neck and pulverized the muscles there as best I could.

  He groaned and leaned his head forward. “Oh my god. That’s incredible.”

  I loved feeling his huge muscles lengthen and relax under my fingers. After a while, I skimmed my hands over his shoulders and rubbed his pecs. I couldn’t help but circle my fingers around his nipples once or twice, and when I felt the top of his abs, I gave in to the temptation to dip my hand further south, entering the hot water. Nic turned his head and put his hand on my cheek, pulling me in for a kiss. As he inserted his tongue into my mouth, I pushed my hand lower and found his cock, which was huge and hard.

  Nic pulled his mouth away from mine to give me a command. “Strip.”

  I bit my lower lip in excitement and did as he asked, then extended my hand, which he grabbed to guide me into the tub. I climbed in with one foot on either side of his hips, then sank down into the water. My ass landed on his hard cock while my own dick rested against his abs.

  He ran his hands up my chest, caressing my skin all the way up to my cheeks, which he cupped as he pulled me in for a kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and moaned as his cock throbbed against my ass crack. It was sitting snugly between my cheeks, and even though I was tempted to grind against it, I savored the feeling of him growing slightly harder each time I kissed him.

  Nic gave in first, thrusting his hips ever so slightly, causing his cock to rub against me smoothly in the warmth of the hot tub. He reached down and wrapped
one hand around my cock. When he started to slide and twist his hand around my shaft, I lost control of any patience I had left and started to grind against him. I pressed my mouth into his and moaned desperately. Right away he reached down to angle his cock against my hole. He used the thick head of his dick to push me wide open, helped by a release of my slick. Nic grunted, and I wiggled my hips to slide myself further down onto him.

  “Fuck!” He threw his head back to face the stars in the clear sky above us. His pleasure just made me crave him even more. I used my feet for leverage and started riding him harder and harder.

  “Fuck, Stef. Fuck, you know how to make me feel good.”

  I gripped his shoulders and swung my hips around in a small circle, massaging my insides with his long dick.

  “You’re not in heat, are you?” he asked me suddenly.

  “Not anymore. Why?”

  “It’s hard to tell in the hot tub, and…” He hissed and then bucked his hips into me.

  “Are you gonna come inside me?” I asked excitedly.

  Nic grinned. “Oh yeah, I’m gonna come so fucking hard inside you.”

  I yelped as he gripped my hips and began driving his shaft home, pummeling me with a vigor I hadn’t thought him capable of but absolutely loved. I leaned back slightly so he’d he could slide his cock just…

  “Oh there. Right there.”

  Nic tightened his grip and water sloshed everywhere as he slammed into me. I think I would have laughed if I wasn’t coming. Within seconds I was crying out, my body convulsing, my ass squeezing Nic’s cock so tight I could hear him groan. And then I felt the warm rush of his cum flooding my insides. I shuddered and collapsed against him, and then I did laugh—a joyful sound from deep within my heart.

  In that exact moment, I’d never felt so animated, so…happy.

  Several minutes later, Nic, stood and carried me indoors, dripping water all over the floor but not caring. Once we cleaned up, Nic led me to the couch, and we relaxed with a couple of glasses of wine. That’s when he finally filled me in on how he was feeling about the insane pressure he was under at work.

  “It’s my job to keep this city safe, but I don’t know how to do that when we have hardly any information on our enemies.”

  “Yeah. But you’re doing everything you can, right?”

  He nodded but pulled his mouth tightly to one side in uncertainty. “Most of all, I want to keep you safe. So I need you to promise me you’ll stay vigilant.” He spoke softly, looking at the wine swirling in his glass before turning to gaze at me.

  “Of course I will.”

  “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

  My heart swelled, and, to my surprise, I felt like I could have said the same thing to him. I took his hand in mine and pressed the warmth of our palms together.

  “I need you to stay safe too,” I said quietly.

  Nic smiled at me, his eyes glowing a soft orange. “I have to, otherwise how can I court you?”

  At the sound of the words “court you,” a memory flashed, unbidden. I saw my ex Justin’s face, his carefree smile I fell for, only to discover it was a facade. How careless his attitude had turned out to be. How little he really did care for me, after all. As if reading my mind, Nic tilted my chin up so my focus was on him.

  “I know you haven’t had a positive experience with courting in the past. But I hope you can see this is a very different situation. I truly believe I’m fated to be with you. And if you’re not ready for that, I can wait. But it’s not like I’m going to go pursue someone else. There’s no one else out there for me.”

  I swallowed. It sounded all too good to be true. But maybe I could believe it… Maybe it really was for real.

  “I’m not saying yes, but I’m not saying no, either. I know you might not mean to, but with what you do for work, there are lots of other ways you could end up leaving me alone.”

  He inhaled sharply. He caught my meaning.

  “I couldn’t stand it if you left me, Nic. Do you understand that?”

  Nic held my gaze. Energy dashed between us. “I do, Stef. I really do.”

  In that moment, I believed him. I trusted him with my whole heart, and for the rest of the night, I indulged in fantasies of how this could really work out. Maybe I had found the one for me. Maybe it was time to settle down. Maybe I could even be happy in Everglow…

  The next day I went to visit Julian and Destiny. I fed her from a bottle in a rocking chair so Julian could relax on the couch for a little while. I was cooing at her and listening to her cute gurgles as Julian read a book. But soon enough, his curiosity got the best of him. He let the book fall open on his chest.

  “Okay, I have to know. How are things going with Nic?”

  I sighed dreamily and looked out at the lake. A sparrow darted down to pick a bug off the surface of the water, leaving infinitesimal ripples in its wake.

  “He wants to court me.”

  “He does? And what did you tell him?”

  “Nothing yet, but I’ve been thinking about it.”

  “After Julian left you after asking to court you? I would have thought you wouldn’t even consider it. I mean, it’s not exactly necessary. Yes, it’s traditional, but you’re basically already living with him. If you decided to mate, he could claim you…whenever.”

  “I know, but—”

  “Plenty of couples mate without courting. Your relationship won’t be any less real without it. I don’t think he should put you under that kind of pressure.”

  I understood Julian had my best interests at heart, but I actually felt a little defensive because maybe I did want Nic to court me. It was my right to go through the process if I wanted, and to be honest, it meant something that Nic asked me. It made me feel…special. I was trying to figure out how to explain all that when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I shifted Destiny to my left arm and managed to pull my phone out of my right pocket.

  “Hey, sexy.”

  “Hi, Nic.” I smiled at Julian, who gave me a knowing smirk.

  “How’s it going?”

  “I’m holding a little angel in my arms, so I’d say things are pretty good right now. Oh, hang on… What’s that, Destiny? You think your Uncle Nic is a sillyhead? Sorry. They grow up so fast these days.”

  “That little rascal.” Nic chuckled. It felt good to hear him sound relaxed for a moment. But it didn’t last. “Hey, listen, I have to work late tonight, and I think you’d be safer at Casius and Julian’s, if you don’t mind staying there until I can pick you up.”

  Ugh!

  But I remembered how serious he had been last night about wanting to keep me safe, and I didn’t want to stress him out any more than necessary. “Yeah, that’s fine. Destiny and I have lots to catch up on.”

  “Really? I was ready to fight you on it. I had lots of supporting evidence already prepared.”

  “Once you’re out of harm’s way I’ll be back to full sass, I promise.”

  Nic let out a short laugh and then fell silent. “I love you.”

  I don’t think I’d ever been struck speechless before, but the silence that followed seemed to hang in the air while I tried to think of what to say in response. My mind was as blank as a freshly erased chalkboard, but my heart—my heart felt like it was overflowing. Like an ornate fountain in a botanical garden. Surrounded by little statues of angels and delicate butterflies…

  “Um, I mean, I love, uh…the way you…always sass me. That’s all I meant—”

  “Maybe just try that again, later. When we’re face to face.”

  Nic sighed happily. “Alright. I can do that.”

  21

  Nicolas

  Eli stared right past me as I pulled in a chair and sat down in front of him. His eyes were alert now though—nothing like the vague, glazed over stare he’d had just days ago. The cell smelled like wolf musk, and it sort of put me at ease. It felt safer talking to him now we both knew what he was—or at least, part of what he was.


  I knew I could stay in there for hours if I needed to. I had all the time in the world, so I sat in silence as he looked everywhere around the room but at me.

  Eventually, Eli sighed. I caught his gaze. He grinned sadly. “The medicine is all out of my system. The beast burned through it.”

  I bit my tongue to stop myself from correcting him. Beast was such an ugly word for wolf, but trying to assimilate him into my way of talking wasn’t going to win me any points. I felt like this was such a narrow doorway he was opening for me, and I needed to squeeze in the questions that really mattered. More importantly, I needed to squeeze out the information we needed.

  “What that your first time shifting?”

  He raised his eyebrows, as though shocked I’d be interested in that. He lowered them and shook his head. “No. But I’d forgotten how horrible it is.”

  I ignored the sharp pain in my chest as I remembered the look on his face in the monitor that night.

  “When was your first? Why was it horrible?”

  Eli looked me over like he was sizing me up. I guess whatever he saw was satisfactory. “I was fourteen. I freaked out because I had no clue what was happening. I hadn't known I had a beast inside me. I didn’t know how it got there.”

  “Do you know now? Do you know about your parents?” I hoped my voice didn’t give away how badly I wanted to know the answers.

  “My mother was a human. She raised me.”

  “In the… Uh. With the other humans?”

  He smirked. “Yes. We’ve always been a part of The Resistance.”

  “The Resistance…” It sounded strange on my tongue, but it rolled off his like he was saying the word home or woods. “Do other people in The Resistance know about your…beast? Does your leader know?”

  Eli scoffed. “Of course he does. He gave me medicine as soon as my mother brought me to him—after the beast came out in me. Now I take it every week. An injection, every single week. And it’s not cheap. That’s why I became a soldier. To pay for it. To keep the beast out. But look where that got me.” He laughed shortly and looked down at his hands. “Look where that got me.”