Conall's Mate: A Macconwood Pack Novel (The Macconwood Pack Novel Series Book 6)

by C. D. Gorri

  “This is why I am here, si?”

  “Thanks. Uh, I have a little situation-”

  “With Ygrette? Yes, I am aware. This is why you must choose your bed partners carefully, my friend,” he grinned showing those needlelike teeth that made him more than lethal.

  “I turned her down before anything happened, Bal. She’s been leaving dead rats and black roses on my window for weeks now. I’ve had enough.”

  “And you would like me to talk to her? That is a pleasure, I would rather not have.”

  “Come on, dude, she’ll listen to you,” he said.

  “I will do it, but I ask a favor in return.”

  “What do you want?” Conall frowned, but still his eyes remained riveted to Elia.

  Damn she looked amazing under the flashing lights of the bar. The band was loud, but good, and she was swaying her hips and holding her drink high. Having a great time, though her eyes wandered over to him now and again. Much to his secret joy.

  “I will let you know when the time comes and I see I will have to honor my part of the deal sooner rather than later,” he nodded his head to the corner and Conall glanced over to see Ygrette slink across the floor.

  Her red vinyl dress looked cheap and obvious he realized with distaste. How the hell had he ever thought the woman attractive? Her severe hair and makeup, the too high heels, none of it warmed his blood. Not the way Elia did.

  Her soft cropped t-shirt revealed an inch of pale skin around her slender waist. She was curvy, it was true, but still retained an hour glass shape he found positively hypnotizing. The image of her nude and glistening was forever burned in his memory. Was that only a day ago? Fuck. He had it bad. Maybe this was love.

  Yes. Mate, his Wolf agreed.

  Conall pushed thoughts of love to the back burner for now. That was too new to even consider. Desire he could handle and he knew he wanted her more and more with each passing moment. He licked his lips as he watched her sip from her glass.

  The Thirsty Dog always drew a good crowd and he was surprised to find himself happy just watching her be happy. Like her joy was somehow his joy. He rubbed the place in the center of his chest as it warmed and beat a tattoo inside of him.

  I do love her, he thought. Conall gasped and stood not listening to the words the Vampire was saying. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about Ygrette or her dead pet fetish.

  Elia was the only thing that mattered. Whether she loved him or not, it wasn’t important. Well, he wanted her to love him, but he had to tell her. Had to show her. He was going to look like a damned fool. Fuck it. That was unimportant.

  The moment he made up his mind to race across the bar and proclaim his love two things happened. First, Baldassare diCapua, Vampire and friend of the Macconwood Pack, beat him to the punch. The fucker was across the room with his arms around Elia’s body, rocking her to the beat of the music blaring from the band.

  Second, Ygrette, the crazy female Vamp with the fatal attraction had her claws on his chest and she was smiling up at him with an expression he supposed she thought was attractive.

  “There you are!” she purred and Conall took her hands and removed them from his chest.

  “Ygrette, I’ve told you before, I am not interested.”

  “But you were once, my love. I know we fought, but we can be good together once again,” she continued to press against him using her superhuman strength.

  Only, Conall was no normal. He was a Werewolf. He stood his ground, sparing one glance to show him Elia was watching the exchange from the dancefloor with Bal whispering in her ear. he would chew that fucker out later.

  “Ygrette, we never had anything good or otherwise. We were over before we ever started. Now, a lady like you has plenty of options without me.”

  “You wanted me once. You want me now,” she ran her finger down his chest to his belly, and further, but he grabbed her wrist before she took his cock in her claws.

  “No. I don’t want you. Your behavior is bordering on desperate, Ygrette.”

  “Ha, it wasn’t so long ago you were desperate to have me!” she sneered and he could see it in her eyes she was not taking the hint.

  “I have tried being nice, but it seems you need the truth,” he exhaled trying to gather patience, “I’ve found my mate. I am not interested in anyone but her.”

  Chapter 6

  “My you even smell of the emerald isle, sweet Wolf,” the Vampire whispered in her ear.

  Elia jumped in surprise. Of course, she scented him the second his lips opened, but he sure did sneak up on her good there. He’d fed, and recently at that. The AB+ clung to his breath despite the mints he’d chewed afterwards. Elia had always had a nose for blood.

  “Aye, you’ve been to Ireland?” she asked pretending to be interested.

  “Indeed, fair one.”

  “Hi Bal!” Aleeza greeted him and nodded almost imperceptibly to Elia which told her the man was a friend to be trusted.

  Well, maybe that was a stretch. Who really trusted a Vampire these days? He was a friend of the Macconwood Pack though, and that was very interesting indeed to a Werewolf who’d grown up in place that held as many prejudices as it did wonders.

  Ireland was famous amongst supes for its diverse Fae population, and yet there was so much unknown about the magical humanoid creatures. She herself had a little Fae friend when she was just a pup. Her da had dismissed it as fancy, but Aleviella, as was her name, had been the most darling thing. Ah, well, she hadn’t seen the sprite in decades.

  “Tell me,” the Vampire brought her mind back to the present, “what do you think of our lupo biondo?”

  “Our what?”

  “Lupo biondo meaning blonde Wolf over there. The one who even now wants to rip my head off for daring to talk to you, bella.”

  “Blonde Wolf? Oh, you mean him,” she thrust her chin out in Conall’s direction surprised to see the man staring holes through her as it were.

  For Pete’s sake, he should get a clue. She wasn’t interested in some Werewolf playboy as a mate! And from the stories the Crescent sisters and Aleeza had all told her, Conall was that and then some.

  “So you managed to snag Conall?” Delia said.

  “Snag him? Ha! I can’t get rid of the beast.”

  “But he’s your mate?”

  “Might be, but I don’t even know if I want him,” she’d replied.

  As if to prove her point, a slutty looking woman walked right up to him and wrapped herself around him in that shameful excuse for a dress she had on. Ha! The man was a pig, not a Wolf. And she was nobody’s fool. The Vampire started to dance with her and she allowed it. Why not? She was there to have fun and to experience what life had to offer.

  Fated mates! Bah! Obviously, the universe was mistaken. She couldn’t tolerate being one in a long list of conquests easily forgotten. Not when she’d been saving herself her whole life! Damn it. And damn him. Angrily, she turned in the Vampire’s embrace and hushed her Wolf when the beast growled at the man’s too familiar hands. She was not mated yet.

  “Do not be too hard on him, cara mia, he has made an enemy and is now learning to deal with her,” Bal pointed out the exchange and she found herself mollified to see Conall push away the female’s hands.

  “She’s a Vampire?”

  “Yes. Not of my coven, but she is visiting the area.”

  “I see,” but she didn’t, not really.

  Werewolves and Vampires might be friendly in America, but she’d never heard of such an alliance elsewhere. Supernaturals were secretive where she came from. Even of each other.

  “It seems she believes Mr. Truman is available.”

  “Does she?”

  “Indeed. Is he?” he inquired.

  “How the heck should I know?”

  “I think you’d know quite bit actually,” he grinned and she could see why normals went for the cold-blooded beasties. Not her per se, she preferred warm-blooded supes, Werewolves in fact. Or to be honest, one particular
American Werewolf.

  Grrr. Mine.

  Shite. Just seeing him speaking to the fanged female made Elia’s Wolf growl and snap. The beast was possessive already, and here she thought he was going to be the ass. Red-faced she turned her head, but Bal wrapped his steel band arms around her and she couldn’t take her eyes off the byplay. In the end, Conall took the woman’s hands off his chest and stepped back.

  He’d remained calm, though firm in his refusal to allow her to grope him. Good thing too, because Elia was practical vibrating with the need to remove the foul woman from her mate. Shite. There she went again calling the man her mate! She didn’t want a mate. Period.

  Yes. Grrr.

  No. She wasn’t doing it. She refused to be tied down and to let anyone tell her what to do ever again. In an angry huff she stormed away from the Vampire whose throaty chuckle barely reached her ears over the haze of her own anger.

  The bar was just a few dozen feet from the sandy shores and Elia could really use the fresh air. She whispered to Aleeza where she was going and waved the woman away when she asked if she needed any company.

  “I’m fine. You stay here and have fun. I’ll be back in a few.”

  The warm evening air was nice compared to the air conditioned interior of the New Jersey bar scene. She hadn’t had much of that kind of thing before, and in all honesty, her Wolf preferred the natural night air. Especially that close to the ocean. Elia inhaled deeply, taking a moment to savor the briny air before she ran a hand over her unruly dark locks.

  She should get it cut. She should dye it pink. Hell, she should do a lot of things. Finally she was free of her cousin and her village. She actually had the opportunity now to go and do all those things she wanted. There was so much to experience, but why the heck did she have to meet him now.

  Her body longed for the man, ached for him, but her mind was just so unsure. True, nothing was quite the same here as it was in her village Thank God for that. But still, was she ready to give up her first taste of freedom?

  “Hi,” she jumped up when his voice reached her ears.

  Shite. Since when had she allowed herself to relax so completely that another Wolf could sneak up on her? Even so, the second she scented him her she-Wolf seemed to reach for him. Calmness settled over her, followed by a pang of unmitigated longing she had never felt before.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Conall’s deep voice stroked something inside of her as he rubbed the back of his head and avoided her eyes.

  His embarrassment was obvious, but she ignored it. For the first time since meeting the man, she allowed herself to really look at him. The sky was clear and dotted with a million stars, all of which seemed to gaze down adoringly at the blonde Werewolf.

  Good Lord, he was handsome as sin bathed in moonlight and starlight as he was. He had a straight Roman nose and clefted chin. His piercing blue eyes were the stuff of legends, not to mention golden hair even screwed up into spikes the way he wore it. It was natural as told by his eyelashes and the bit of scruff on his cheeks that was just a tad bit darker in color.

  He was amazingly tall, at least six and a half feet. Not to mention wide, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist that any professional athlete would kill for. She especially liked his muscular legs in their tight jeans, and truth be told, she couldn’t wait to get her hands on his spectacular arse.

  Oh jeez. There she went again. Curse this mating fever! Aleeza had told her all about it. At this rate, her hormones were going to see to it that she was claimed and bitten before she tasted her first American cheeseburger.

  “Are you okay?” he said interrupting her thoughts.

  “Yes, perfectly alright,” she said belatedly, “I shouldn’t have let my guard down.”

  Not knowing what to do next, Elia sat down on the sand near to where the waves were breaking but far enough away to ensure her jeans did not get wet. She really liked the denim pants and was grateful to whoever it was that got them for her.

  It was like that person had known what she wanted. Anticipated her style and went ahead and indulged her, which was more than she could say for her old life. She would be more than happy if she never saw a skirt again.

  “Are you just going to stand there?” she asked, surprised at his sudden endearing lack of confidence.

  Who knew the cocky Werewolf had a heart? Oh, well, that wasn’t fair, she reasoned. Just because her hormones were going crazy didn’t give her the right to question his sincerity. Truth was she felt foolish, and out of her depths.

  Conall looked around for a moment, then sat down beside her. She smiled at the space he’d left between them. A good ten inches there. Must have been difficult for a Wolf in heat. At the very least, it showed excellent self-control. Which was more than she could say for herself.

  To hell with it, she inched closer. It was all she could do to not crawl onto his lap and crash her mouth to his. Mating fever was aptly named. Her blood was burning for the man and he was a bleedin’ stranger at that!

  “What are you thinking about?” his deep voice cut into her thoughts.

  Elia felt her cheeks grow warm. Well, hell, she couldn’t very well tell him what she’d been thinking now could she? Lord knows, it was hard enough for her to not jump his bones, she could only imagine he was having a difficult time of it as well.

  Suddenly, she appreciated his restraint a bit more. He was respecting her wishes. Or he was just trying to win their bet. Either way, Elia was glad to have him sitting next to her.

  “I’m thinking I wanted to thank the person who did my shopping and I wanted to find a way to repay them.”

  “Your shopping? Oh,” he said and she was surprised to see his cheeks turn reddish in the moonlight, “no thanks necessary.”

  “You mean , you did this? You had clothes arranged for me?”

  “Um, yeah, well, I saw what you had on in the plane, and I just guessed from there.”

  “But you even got the size right, and the pants I had on then weren’t even mine,” she said, eyes widening with surprise when he growled.

  “They were my da’s you dolt,” she shoved him playfully.

  “Sorry,” he said cutting off the sound, “I guessed the size after we, um, well I mean, after I saw you-”

  “After we kissed and you saw me naked?”

  “Uh, yeah, that,” his voice dropped an octave.

  Elia was all too aware of Conall as a man. He was potent and charming, cocky too if the tales she’d heard from the she-Wolves in the bar were to be believed. But he seemed different there, with her. She wondered if she could trust it.

  “So, what’s with the Vampire?” she asked abruptly.

  “Bal? What did he do? Did he say something to upset you,” his eyes glittered ferociously and she had to admit she found his ready defense of her attractive. At least, her she-Wolf sure did.

  “I was thinking more of the one with the shiny little dress painted on her skin,” she asked lips pursed and brows raised.

  “Oh,” he looked most unhappy and rubbed his neck before exhaling, “I apologize that you had to see that. There’s nothing for me to say other than I am not a saint, Elia. Before I met you, I had many meaningless relationships, but I swear I never had one with her.”

  “Then why was she hanging all over you?” she asked with feigned nonchalance.

  “I admit, before I knew you, I flirted with Ygrette. Yes, I even asked her out, but nothing happened between us.”

  “I see,” she said, and knew instinctively he was telling the truth.

  Clearly, the female Vamp wanted a taste of the yummy Werewolf. Well, not if she had anything to say about it.

  Grrr. Well! Where did that bit of nasty come from? She wondered briefly, before she changed the subject.

  “Let’s go for a run,” she jumped up on the balls of her feet.

  Excitement seemed to pulse through her and she was happy, she realized, quite surprisingly. Being in a new place like this was positively overwhel
ming, but when he was there she felt like she could do anything. And wasn’t that startling?

  He made her feel good, strong, brave, and free to do anything she liked. She had no idea why that was . The most amazing thing, she realized, was that he made her feel beautiful and wanted.

  “What?” he followed suit not bothering to wipe the sand from his clothes.

  “I want to run. As Wolves.”

  “Oh, I see,” he flashed her a smile guaranteed to melt any woman into a puddle at his very large feet. The cad.

  “Okay, we can go for a run, but we can’t do it here,” he took out his cell phone and shot off a text message, “I’m just telling Dib we’re leaving. Come on, we can walk somewhere safe to Change.”

  He took her hand, and she allowed it. Hoping to get to know him better as he led her down a path along the surf Together they walked in companionable silence for a little more than a mile. Elia looked up and gasped. In the near distance she saw a site that caused her to stop in her tracks.

  “Do they have a lot of castles in New Jersey?”

  “Oh,” he smirked, “no, actually we don’t. IN fact, that one is fairly new. So, tell me Elia Spark, are there Dragons in Ireland?”

  Chapter 7

  For a moment, she thought maybe he’d lost his head. But he was still intent on the sky and she followed his gaze with one eyebrow higher than the other. Was he teasing her? She supposed she would just have to find out.

  “Dragons? No, they’re just fairy tales.”

  “Ah. Like Werewolves?”

  “I imagine they were real at one point, but we have not seen them in centuries. Even our lore doesn’t suggest them. Now, Banshees and Fae we have aplenty.”

  “Okay. Just watch,” he nodded up at the sky and she hated to admit it, but she studied his strong jawline, and the handsome chiseled features that must have made him oh-so-attractive to the local girls.

  “If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to drag you down in the sand, Elia Spark, and kiss the hell out of you,” he growled, still focused on the sky.