Heart Mates - 2nd Edition

by Mary Hughes

  She was so serious, so gray. Even the gold of her eyes had gone dull. He would have agreed to anything she asked, but especially this. Skin-prickles reminded him of the hard man. Noah used a big word he’d heard but never understood before now. The hard man had betrayed them.

  He never wanted to think about the hard man again.

  “Yes, Mommy.”

  “Good.” She seemed relieved. “Now wipe the magic away, as Simon…wipe the magic away as you’ve been taught.”

  Noah closed his eyes and didn’t think of the hard man. He pictured the squeegee his mommy used to wipe down the showers and scraped the skin-prickles off himself. They trickled down his body into a pool at his feet. He was about to shake them from his toes when his mommy spoke again.

  “Good. Here.” His mother drew a thong over her head. It was attached to a medallion the size of his palm. Her black wolf. She’d let him play with it before, but she’d never taken it off.

  She kissed the wolf and whispered a single word. Hide.

  She looped the thong over Noah’s neck. The wolf fell onto his tummy.

  As if the wolf called the skin-prickles, they rose like a rope of water. They spun through the medallion into his belly button as if sucked in. He watched the tail of magic disappear. “Mommy, why are you giving me your wolf?”

  Her eyes glistened. “It is—was—your father’s. He gave it to me because he loved me, and I’m giving it to you because I love you. You’re a big boy now, Noah. A brave boy. The wolf will help you remember that I love you.”

  Two days later she was dead.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Noah opened his eyes, dazed from the most spectacular climax he’d ever had, and was immediately riveted by the sight of Sophia’s eyes in the mirror. Magic eyes, irises like a warm sea sparkling with moonlight. Paradise at night.

  Paradise. He closed his lids and savored the scent of her, the feel. What they had done was the most amazing…she was the most amazing…well. He admitted to himself he’d wanted to do this since the moment he’d first seen her. He opened his eyes again to look his fill. Caught sight of his own eyes in the mirror.

  Gold.

  His irises were gold, the color of…bloody claws and paws. He spun away, yanked his pants one-handed to his hip, and started to hunt for his clothes.

  “What’s wrong?” Sophia said.

  He glanced at her. She looked confused, beautiful, hurt. He nearly ran back to her, to hug her and kiss her and make the confused and hurt go away.

  But damn it, he’d mated with her. He’d mated a witch.

  He wanted to howl, wanted to run away from the reality of it. Mating was the most intimate thing a wolf could do, like inviting another soul under his skin.

  A witch. Like the hard man who’d betrayed his mother and him. Like the evil warlocks who’d come that day.

  His head throbbed. He’d sworn to never trust mages again. And now he was mated to one?

  He stared at her, echoes of memory made flesh. He wanted to escape, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t leave her unprotected—nor could he leave her looking so hurt.

  Veiling his gold irises with half-shut lids, he returned to her and wrapped arms around her. He only relaxed after he cupped her head against his heart. Without his hand to hold his still-open pants, they started sliding down his hips.

  She snuggled in, a warm, soft bundle, and none of that seemed to matter.

  He sighed. What did he do now? She felt so absolutely right in his arms. He didn’t know if his brain or the mating was telling him that. It no longer seemed to matter.

  Fucking marvelous. His body had settled right in, accepting her as his mate, even glorying in it.

  His brain and emotions were way far behind. This was a disaster. For years he’d tried to believe he was a full-blooded shifter, even though he’d suspected his mother’s relationship with the wizard was something closer than employer and employee. So, all right, sex with a witch could happen. Even having children was possible. But mating? Never. Happened.

  Right?

  Except his mother’s eyes had been gold, too.

  But the wizard’s eyes were silver. Even if Noah’s mother had mated, it was one-sided. How else could the wizard have abandoned them? If they’d truly been family, Noah would’ve felt remorse amputating his connection with magic afterward.

  “Your eyes changed color,” Sophia said from the depths of his embrace. “What does that mean?”

  He throttled a groan. She’d seen. The only bright side was that she didn’t seem to know what it meant.

  He thought about lying for all of a second. No. Even if this was the most unnatural mating on the planet, she was his. He couldn’t lie to her.

  He could, however, equivocate. “It’s complicated.”

  Was it ever. He was riding a roller coaster between extreme joy and scared shitless.

  He could just imagine how she’d react if he told her. You are now a wolf’s mate. Disgust would be the least of it. Witches were even more prickly about purebloods than shifters, just look at the hereditary council. “Hereditary” had the stamp of bloodline all over it. He was sure every last royal witch and wizard would be horrified—right before they cut off his balls, or whatever penalty they had for this particular taboo.

  “It’s always complicated,” she said dryly. “Look, I know we started out to prove the nature of the hex, but what happened…I mean, I want you to know I don’t sleep with every guy I meet. Not that we did any sleeping…well.”

  He felt her blush more than saw it, a heating between his pecs, and smiled. It was so sweet, so cute… Bite his wolfie ass, his emotions were lining up with his body. He groaned.

  Only his mind remained the holdout, detached, doubtful. Sane. This could not be happening.

  Therefore he had to find a way to make it unhappen.

  His body froze at the thought. His emotions ran like knives through him. His heart thumped painfully.

  She said, “But I think we have to do it again.”

  “Again?” Where’d that eager little yip in his voice come from? He’d been the dog King too long. “Why?”

  “I think it worked—I think the hex was revealed—but, um, I didn’t have my eyes open to see it. Not my physical eyes and not my third eye.”

  “But we climaxed together.” And how special was that? “Proof positive everything is good. So you can stay.”

  “Good sex proves… Where did you get that idea?” She leaned back in his arms to look into his eyes.

  He didn’t want her to see the gold, didn’t want to remind her he was evading her earlier question. He tucked her face back into his chest.

  Then her words seeped through. “Good sex?” That wasn’t just good sex, it was exceptional. The best sex of his life.

  The most fabulous orgasm he’d ever had wasn’t the shared paradise he’d thought? Was this like his mother, a one-sided mating bond? Worse, was this all his pitiful ego, needing Sophia to be as overwhelmed as he was?

  “The sex was amazing,” she said. “But it doesn’t prove alignment. Even evil can indulge in pleasure.”

  Of all that, he only heard the sex was amazing. Yeah.

  “Noah, are you listening?”

  “Of course.” Mostly. “If you can’t tell the hex’s alignment by the climax, how can you tell?”

  “By looking into the mirror at the moment of climax. A positive alignment reinforces. It makes everything glow. Negative dims the reflection. I don’t suppose you were looking?”

  “No.” He’d been feeling. “We really have to do it again?” He couldn’t help the hopeful little catch in his voice. “It’s the only way?”

  “It’s the only non-magical way. But not the only way.” She wrestled out of his hold. “There’s a reveal spell. It’s pretty simple.” She started hunting for her clothes, finding her little white top first and pulling it on.

  For an instant, he thought she’d figured out his secret. That she wanted him to do the reveal.

&n
bsp; Then she picked up her skirt and pulled a serious-looking black wand from its pocket. She fingered the stick. “It keeps coming back.”

  “You? You’re going to do magic? After you locked it away?” He was appalled. “No. Not for me.”

  “It’s not like you can stop me.” She scrambled into the skirt then looked at him and blushed hard. “Aren’t you going to dress?”

  He stood straighter. Even after they’d satisfied the itch, she liked what she saw. Yeah.

  “Please?” She looked away.

  For her, he pulled up his pants, zipped, and belted. He left the shirt unbuttoned. “Sophia, I remember when Killer chased us from his trailer, you tried to use that wand. You were in obvious pain. I don’t want you doing anything that distressing. If we can find out the hex is good simply by having sex again—”

  “No!” She put a hand on her cheek as if to cool it. “Sorry, but I’ve reconsidered. Last time, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Nothing makes me think this time would be any different. Can you promise you’d keep your eyes open?”

  He gave her a grudging, “No. But would it hurt to try?”

  “Something is driving us together.” She glanced at the mirror and her cheeks turned downright ruddy. “Something incredibly strong, which makes it very, very dangerous.”

  His gold eyes in the mirror were as bright as coins. Strong? She had no idea.

  “Reinforcing it with sex is too risky, especially when a simple reveal would tell us. Then if the hex is beneficial, great. But if it’s not, I’d get out of your life, pronto.”

  Get out of his life? “Too late,” he muttered.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Can you promise me there’s no price?”

  “Yes.” Her hands clenched, and she couldn’t quite hide the agony flashing across her face.

  He scowled. “Don’t lie. Not to me.”

  She sighed. “No, I can’t promise.”

  “Then no, you can’t do it.”

  She opened her mouth as if to argue then simply shook her head sadly and turned toward the door. “Then I have to go.”

  Anguish shot through him, sharp, breath-stealing, as if she’d ripped out his heart. “You can’t go.” His tone revealed more of his pain than he meant. “You can’t go…without your car.”

  He’d said it automatically, to cover. But the more he thought about it, the more he liked it. A walk to the garage would buy him time. “Mason might have it ready. Let’s go check.”

  “Well…I suppose.” She reached for her coat, still on the carpet from when she’d dropped it, and picked it up.

  He intervened, nabbing the wand from her with one hand and the coat with the other. Surreptitiously, he dropped the treacherous stick into one pocket. He snagged her elbow, spun her away, and steered her toward the door—nonchalantly tossing her jacket onto the coat tree as they passed.

  “But I’ll need my coat—”

  “It’s too warm. You want to sweat? When we get your car, you can come back for it and your suitcase. If the car’s ready.” He steered her outside.

  “I suppose.” She locked up then started west on the sidewalk.

  He followed. She swung along in her skirt and heels. His eyes felt glued to the swing of her hips. He kept remembering that under that skirt was a pair of thigh-highs, lacy panties and nothing else.

  Distracted. That was bad. If they were attacked, he’d be no protection for her. He caught up. As they walked, his hand sought hers. She took his without seeming to realize she was doing it.

  They walked hand in hand. Also bad if they were attacked, but he couldn’t seem to stop touching her.

  He opened his mouth to say something, anything, and couldn’t think of a safe topic—sex, hex, mating? So she was the first to break the silence.

  “You know, you don’t look forty years old.”

  “I’m not.” He finally focused to stare at her in consternation. “I’m twenty-nine.”

  “So young?” She stared back at him, incredulous. “Wasn’t it suicidal to challenge?”

  “Well…yes.” Shifters lived long lives and didn’t come into their full strength until their forties or fifties at the earliest. He’d only won because he’d matured early, and because he’d pulled on his mage heritage at the last minute.

  “Why’d you do it?”

  “Instinct?” He’d never put his reasons into words before. Now, for her, he tried. “Jobs are scarce here. Seems like half the pack moved away to find work. The ones left…well, stronger is supposed to help weaker, but the alpha, Scauth, and his inner circle were lazy. Living off the sweat of the iotas and omegas. The pups were starving, their mothers overworked. Mason tried, I tried… It was just wrong.”

  “Starving children?” Her spine stiffened with affront. “My aunt would never tolerate that.”

  “I doubt she knew. Pack takes care of pack.” He slid an arm around her waist, his excuse to guide her around the corner, but his real reason to smell her better, to feel her heat, her vitality. Her compassion. “Linda might have known something and tried to help in a way we wolves would accept,” he amended. “A couple years ago, before Mason asked me to come to Matinsfield, I got an anonymous message hinting that I’d find answers about my childhood here. I think now maybe that was your aunt.”

  Her gaze was on his mouth. “So you’ve been here a year with starving children and didn’t fight until now?”

  “Before, you thought I was nuts to fight at all, now you think I was nuts to wait even a day?” He wanted to take up the unspoken invitation in those beautiful eyes, those slightly parted, soft lips. “Slan Scauth got his position through backstabbing and trickery. I was trying to build up a power base first, so I’d have solid support for my leadership against his deceit—and his inner circle of bullies. But Scauth went through his midlife crisis in a rather spectacular way, and I couldn’t wait.” Nearly raping a teenager had been the last straw. “Now I have five ex-lieutenants who hate me, and only Mason to support me.”

  He snapped his snout shut. He hadn’t meant to say that, hadn’t meant to worry her. But she was so easy to talk to.

  “Even more reason to get you unhexed as soon as possible.” She fell silent, a frown on her face.

  She was silent as they entered the shop, silent all the way to the garage, a silence that began to worry him.

  Finally she said, “Look, I’ll stay as long as what I’m doing helps. But if I do one thing that crosses the line, I’m leaving. And if Rodolphe attacks me again, you let me handle it, do you hear?”

  In all that, he only heard she was staying. He was relieved—until Mason appeared from under Sophia’s car, scowling.

  “Damn, Noah, I’m glad you’re here. I just had a visit from the Fucking Five. It’s a disaster.”

  Mason rarely got upset. With his size, strength, and smarts, he could handle anything, so why stress?

  Yet from his words and the way he kept pulling hand wipes and cleaning his hands—and the fact that he didn’t seem to notice Noah’s golden eyes—he was definitely perturbed.

  “The anti-alphas? What did they say?”

  “I don’t think she—” Mason jerked his head at Sophia, “—should hear.”

  Definitely pack business. Noah turned to tell her to leave.

  His wolf howled denial. Unnatural or not, she was his mate.

  Noah shook his head. So much for wanting to keep the mating bond secret. “I understand. Now you understand. Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of Sophia. I don’t have any secrets from her. I can’t have any secrets.”

  Mason blinked. His nose twitched. Frowning, he sniffed. His eyes met Noah’s, and his eyebrows jumped into his hairline. “Oh shit. Oh shit, shit, shit. You two are ma—”

  “Made up, yes. We’ve resolved our differences and are working together.”

  “What are you talking about?” Sophia touched her pearls. “What’s wrong?”

  Mason opened his mouth. “You two. You’re—”

>   “Getting impatient.” Noah glared at the blabbermouth. When Mason still hesitated, Noah used his alpha growl. “Beta, report. Now.”

  “Yes, sir.” Mason didn’t look happy, but after a deep breath, he started. “A group of pack ‘representatives’ came here an hour ago looking for you—the usual crew of five.” He grimaced. “They said the majority of the pack was behind them.”

  “On what?”

  “What else? Your leadership. They’re full of crap. The majority of the pack is not behind them, but the females are so used to being pushed around and abused by the males—” Mason’s wolf rasped into his voice, “—instead of being protected and supported like they should’ve been, well, they probably just gave in.”

  “Even though they’re safe now?” Sophia said.

  “It’s only been a few days,” Noah said. “They have to unlearn years of fear.”

  Mason said, “Those assholes have been constantly grumbling since we packed Scauth up and carted him off. I’ve been here longer. I should’ve seen this coming.”

  Premonition ruffled Noah’s fur. “Bottom line it.”

  Mason cut a glance at Sophia. “They’ve issued a full Alpha Challenge.”

  “The fuck they have!”

  “What’s that?” Sophia practically vibrated with her need to know, her need to help. She wasn’t going to wait quietly on the sidelines, apparently. No missish little mate, but one who could match him stride for stride… Bloody claws, I did not just think that.

  With a reassuring squeeze to Mason’s shoulder, Noah turned to her. “Nothing big. When the alpha isn’t taking responsibility and control of the pack, it’s a single twenty-four hours to prove he’s up to the challenge of leadership on all counts.”

  “But usually it’s only issued after plenty of time for him to try,” Mason said. “The minimum before this was nine months, and that was only so short because Doghouse was obviously screwing the pooch…literally.”

  “Ew.” Sophia grimaced. “So it’s like impeaching an elected official? There’s a vote?”