Stalking the Pharmacist

by Desconhecido(a)

  Jack panted, running out of words as his anger peaked once again.

  “You’ll what, Jack?”

  Scott’s words were soft in the room, and Jack marched over to the exit and wrenched open the steel door.

  He turned around so he could leave his parting shot, angry snarls punctuating the words.

  “I’ll slit my own fucking throat and leave you alone in your misery.”

  He slammed the door behind him and clenched his fists as he stormed out of the large building and into the sunshine. Jack cried out and closed his eyes, letting the heat and light filter through his skin and inside his soul.

  He always tried to put his best face first. He got the most out of every situation because he wanted to, and found it easy to smile even in the worst situations.

  But this was fucked up!

  “Gah!” He started running, pumping his arms as fast as he could by his side. He desperately needed to shift into his animal form. His heart pumped as he weaved through the car park and made his way to the forest a few blocks away.

  He hated that he had to count on not just one person but two for his happiness. It left him powerless and totally out of control. Which were two things he swore he’d never allow himself to be.

  ****

  Scott lifted his trembling hand, mentally fighting the intense urge he had to run. He knocked on the intricately carved wooden door, hard.

  Oh fuck, oh fuck.

  His heart was thundering in his chest, and his brain was tearing him apart. There were so many different thoughts and emotions running through him that he felt like a ping pong ball in an Olympic match. His base instincts wanted him to turn and run, yet a stronger, more primal force made him stay planted firmly in place.

  He had to do this for his brother.

  The door swung open and his younger cousin greeted him with a smile.

  “Hey, Scott, how you doing?”

  Scott nodded and waited, but Tyler didn’t invite him in. Instead he crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows.

  Great, so I’ve gotta go through you too? Like this isn’t hard enough.

  “Pretty good, Ty, how are you?”

  Tyler laughed, the sound so vibrant it almost brought tears to Scott’s eyes. He wanted to feel that way. To be able to make a sound that was so strong and carefree.

  “Bloody awesome, actually. Married life definitely suits us.”

  He grinned and again Scott felt a stab to the heart. Was this really possible for them? He cleared his throat and indicated inside Tyler and Brandon’s house.

  “Is Ashleigh here?”

  Tyler cocked his head, studying him for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, she is.”

  Good, then Jack had been right.

  Scott waited for the invitation to come inside, but his cousin just stared at him.

  His belly jumped and his heart beat a little faster. It’d been so long since he fought for something, anything, that actually mattered. And no matter what he tried to tell himself and the rest of the world, Ashleigh mattered.

  “I need to see her, Ty. Can I come in?”

  Tyler stepped back and made a waving motion.

  “Of course. Come on in.”

  Scott stepped through and gave his cousin a playful shove. “What’s with the bodyguard treatment?”

  Tyler punched him back and chuckled. “I’m the easy one. You have to get past my wife next.”

  Scott stopped and looked down the hall with a nervous smile. “Are you serious?”

  Tyler pushed at him. “Yep, and you think we’re the lions? Ha! You haven’t seen a mate protecting her family yet.”

  “Oh shit.” Scott’s heart fell as he trudged along the hallway. His mother had always been pretty fierce when it came to her husband and children; would Laura be the same? The answer to that was in the slightly evil sounding chuckle he heard behind him.

  He stepped into the modern kitchen and saw Ash sitting with her cousin, drinking something from a mug. His spine straightened as he stared at her. A wave of something quite primitive, similar to possession, passed over him.

  Would Ash be like Laura, and his mother? Would she attack to protect those she loved? Like a true woman and alpha female would. That would mean she was the complete opposite of his ex-wife, who chose to tear him down any time she was able.

  Both women turned toward him and he stopped walking, pinned by the pain in the depths of Ash’s blue eyes.

  “Hi.”

  A smile trembled on her lips. “Hey there, Mr. I-turn-into-a-lion.”

  Scott’s mouth turned up into a grin, unable to stifle it when he heard the teasing tone behind her words. Whatever he’d prepared himself for, this wasn’t it.

  “I came over to check on you and explain. I’m so sorry we didn’t tell you earlier, and you were forced to find out like that.”

  Her face fell and she glared at him, that strength and fire he loved about her returning. “You mean before your bitch of a daughter came in ranting and raving and got so mad she made all three of you shift?”

  Scott’s cheeks heated and he clenched his teeth as he struggled not to jump on Ash for calling his daughter a bitch. She deserved it for how she’d behaved. Meaghan was a manipulative miniature version of her mother, but it still cut him deep to have someone insult his daughter.

  “Ah, yes. We should have explained it before any of that.”

  Laura stood up and glared at him. “You both handled the whole thing badly, Scott. I expected better from you and Jack.”

  Scott raised his eyebrows. She barely knew him. Who was she to judge him? He ignored her comment and continued to address Ashleigh.

  “And I’m very sorry, but children, teenage daughters especially, are very temperamental.”

  Both Laura and Ash grumbled and he took a deep breath in through his nose. That wasn’t the important point here.

  “Ash, can we go somewhere private and talk, or can I take you out for dinner?”

  Laura’s hand slid over to Ash’s and she glared at him. “No, she’s staying here until we’re sure she’s safe with you guys. I know you’ve had your fair share of shit, Scott, but Ash isn’t strong enough to deal with it at the moment.”

  Ash interrupted her cousin. “Stop, Laura, it’s okay…”

  “No!” Laura used that stern expression to make Ash stop talking before returning her hard gaze to him.

  “Ash just escaped a poisonous environment with her ex-husband, and I won’t let you subject her to an even worse one. If you can’t be honest, or control that family of yours, then perfect pair or not, you need to back off until you can.”

  Oh fuck. This is so much worse than I first thought.

  He was so used to ignoring Meaghan’s teenage tantrums, he hadn’t even considered the effect her outburst would have had on Ashleigh. He’d hoped it would be as simple as apologizing about the shifter thing, then taking her home to Jack.

  Ash finally lifted her eyes to his and for the first time he saw the fragility of his mate. He hadn’t asked much about her past, and guilt hit him like a punch to the gut. He’d been so focused on his own scars, he hadn’t even considered that she’d have some of her own.

  “I’m ready to be completely honest with you, Ash. Please give me a chance to explain everything to you.”

  He held out his hand and waited, his arm trembling with fear as adrenaline pumped through his system.

  Ash stood and moved over to him. Relief flowed over him like a warm shower.

  “Ashleigh, you know you don’t have to talk to him alone. You can take Brandon if you want. He’s in the garage.”

  Brandon? Seriously? He was insulted! As if he was going to hurt his mate.

  He growled a little at Laura, and Ash squeezed his hand. “It’s all cool, Laura. You told me they wouldn’t hurt me even in lion form, yeah?”

  Laura nodded with a begrudging look on her face.

  “Well, you can use the backyard if you want. There’s a table and chai
rs out there.”

  Scott inhaled through his nose and nodded sharply at his cousin’s wife. He wasn’t sure he should speak at the moment. His tone would give away his feeling toward Laura a little too obviously.

  “Come on, Scott.”

  Ash tugged his hand and they were soon out in the warm air.

  Scott took a deep breath and let his shoulders slump.

  “I can’t believe she was going to send Brandon out to chaperon us, for fuck’s sake!”

  Ash chuckled and dropped into one of the padded outdoor chairs.

  “What’s wrong? Couldn’t take him in a fight?”

  Scott growled again, his lion ready for anything.

  “At the moment, I think I could.”

  She laughed again and patted the seat next to her. “But he’s the brawn of his pair and you’re the brains of yours. I’d expect you to work out a way to get out of it without using your fists.”

  Scott bent over and grabbed Ash’s face, kissing her hard and fast.

  “We have lots of similarities too.”

  He fell into the chair next to her, his hormones raging, his breathing fast and erratic. He still felt so confused. One moment he’d convinced himself he was just getting her back for Jack, then he couldn’t help grabbing her and acting possessive and needy.

  “You okay?” Ash’s gentle voice and soft hand on his arm cleared his mind, and he automatically focused on her.

  “I really am sorry about Meaghan, Ash. Her mother uses her like a puppet to do her dirty work. It’s a horrible situation.”

  Ash nodded and smiled gently. “Yes, I can imagine it is, and it’s a situation I’m not sure I want to be forced into the middle of.”

  Pardon?

  Scott cocked his head to the side, his belly jumping as she spoke. “What do you mean?”

  Ash withdrew her hand from his, and he almost cried out as he felt a wall come down between them. What the fuck was happening here?

  “I think I can handle the shifting thing. Laura’s explained it, and it doesn’t seem like such a big deal now that I’ve had time to get over the initial shock of it.”

  So what was the problem, then?

  Ash bit her lip and looked away, her generous mouth pulling down on one side.

  “But this blended family thing is going to be so hard to live with.”

  She sounded so defeated. His heart, which had just begun to settle down, surged up into a higher gear once again. She couldn’t break their connection due to his children, surely? She hadn’t even met them all yet!

  “We don’t have to blend anything, really. Jack and I will look after our children when we have to, and we’ll focus on you the rest of the time.”

  Now that he thought about it, that would be the perfect solution. With him and Jack, one of them would always be with Ash. He could still have everything he needed. Maybe it really was possible to make it work, and he wouldn’t necessarily have to live with her and Jack. He could just visit, or maybe build something nearby. They could work out a balance for everyone to be happy, surely?

  Ash stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. “You don’t understand me at all, do you?”

  Scott cleared his throat and shifted in his chair. He needed to be very careful here.

  “We only met on Friday, Ash. I’m not going to lie and claim to know everything about you, that’s impossible in the short time we’ve had together. But what I do know about you, I like. A lot. I also know you are the one for me, and for Jack. That is enough to build on, to create an incredible relationship in the future between the three of us, but we need time to do that.”

  Wow. What the fuck just came out of my mouth?

  Scott blinked. When had he decided she was the one for him?

  The first time you touched her, you idiot!

  He grimaced and focused back on his woman. It was true, he had a long way to go to understand her, but the fact that she was designed for them was obvious.

  “I know that, but you don’t understand. I want to love you, all of you, with all my heart. That means being a part of all your lives. I don’t want to ignore the fact that you have three children. I want to be a part of their lives too! And with an ex-wife like yours, how the hell are we going to make it all work?”

  Scott laughed. He didn’t mean to, but it just burst out of him.

  She glared at him and crossed her arms over her beautiful breasts.

  “Come here.” He grabbed her elbow and pulled hard, arranging her so she was across his lap, all stiff and indignant.

  “Don’t make fun of me!”

  He wrapped his arms around her wriggling body and chuckled.

  “My gorgeous woman, I adore you. Please stop, I’m only laughing because you have more heart than any woman I’ve ever met.”

  She slapped his shoulder once more before settling to stare at him.

  “What the hell are you talking about now?”

  Scott moved his hands up to her face and cupped her cheeks, loving the feel of her warm skin.

  “You want to love me that much? Bloody hell, woman, where have you been all my life?”

  The soppy words kept spilling out and he knew he should feel like a fool, but he was too happy. She really was the intelligent, loving, sensual woman he’d always hoped for. She was their mate, their perfect woman. Now he just had to win back her trust.

  Ash slipped her hands around his neck and cocked her head to one side.

  “Aren’t you the least bit concerned about how the hell we’re going to get this to work?”

  He pressed his lips to hers and moaned as she responded with a sweet little groan of her own.

  He pulled back and stared at her.

  “No, I’m not. Jack and I tried to make our own lives and failed miserably, and I finally know why.”

  Ash grinned at him, a playful light entering her sparkling blue eyes.

  “And why’s that?”

  He growled, letting his lion come out to strut a little.

  “Because we were both meant to love you!”

  She giggled and wrapped herself tighter around him, kissing him until they both were panting.

  “Shall we go home?” he asked her, rubbing his nose against hers and hoping to hell he’d done enough to convince her to give them another chance.

  She slid off his lap and stood up on slightly wobbly legs. “Yes, but don’t think you’re totally off the hook yet. I want to see you guys in your lion form, and you have to prove that I’m safe around them.”

  From what Laura had said earlier, it also sounded like he had a lot to learn about her past. But he’d get there.

  Scott took her hand and proceeded to lead her inside to get her things.

  “It will be our pleasure, sweetheart.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Jack paced up and down Scott’s kitchen, sweat on his brow and adrenaline pumping through his system. He’d gone to the gym, but it hadn’t helped to quell his building panic. He was slowly losing control, and his bloody brother was nowhere to be found.

  His phone rang and, seeing it was Scott, he picked it up within the first vibration.

  “Where the fuck are you?”

  Scott’s soft chuckle made its way down the phone, and Jack slid onto one of the kitchen stools out of shock and relief. Something good had happened.

  “I’m in my car on my way home. Where are you, my brother?”

  Jack cleared his throat. He hadn’t heard a happy tone like this one in Scott’s voice for a long time.

  “Ah, I’m at your place. I let myself in.”

  “Good, we’ll be there soon, then we can sort all this stuff out tonight.”

  Thump, thump, thump. Jack’s heart hammered against his chest, and the vibrations pulsed in his ears.

  “We?”

  Could it be possible? Had his brother done the right thing and fixed things up with their mate?

  “Yeah, I’m bringing Ash home with me.”

  Oh, thank you!


  “Awesome, see you guys soon.”

  He hung up the phone and put both hands on his knees, unsurprised when he felt tears, his first since he was a child, leak from his eyes.

  “Thank you, thank you.”

  Jack wiped away the moisture and laughed at himself. It was time to start living their lives.

  ****

  Scott opened the car door for Ash, took her hand in his, and led her up the path to his house. She was still trembling and wasn’t sure she wanted to stop the feeling. It made her feel alive and reminded her that she really was awake. She’d spent the whole day planning her return to her old life. Her house, her business, her old friends.

  Now that she was back in his arms, her morning’s plans were just ridiculous. How stupid had she been? All she’d ever wanted was a man who would love her for who she was and make her feel loved, and thanks to this impromptu wedding trip, she was closer than she’d ever been before to that dream.

  She’d had more moments of pure love with Jack and Scott than she had in the years she’d spent with her ex-husband. Surely, there was the possibility of so much more in the years to come, if that’s what they’d accomplished in mere days.

  The front door swung open as they approached, and Jack bounced out in jeans and a grey singlet, looking sexier than any man had a right to.

  “You’re back.” He grabbed her and swung her up into his arms.

  She squealed like a schoolgirl as her feet left the ground and Jack planted kisses on her face at a frantic pace.

  “Oh, sweetheart, you’re here. You’re really here.”

  He thrust his tongue into her mouth and grabbed her ass, his movements unsophisticated and desperate. She pushed at his chest, feeling squashed and overwhelmed.

  “Please, Jack. Can we go inside?”

  “Oh, yeah. Sure.”

  He threaded his fingers into hers and placed a hand around her waist, lifting her and swinging her up into his arms.

  She shrieked and giggled, shaking her head as he propelled her down the hallway. Her big footballer was in such a rush!

  She wanted one specific thing from them both before they got intimate again, which she knew was probably going to happen soon. Jack’s hormones were creating an incredibly masculine smell and she knew that the best way for them all to feel more secure was to get as close as possible. But whether that was best done through sex, she wasn’t one hundred percent sure. Their physicality had been so overwhelming so far, it may be smarter to take it back a notch.