“And how did that all turn out?” Helena was not letting this go.
“If I’d been stronger I would never have retreated to the forest and none of this would’ve happened. It has nothing to do with my choices at this moment.”
Helena placed her hand on Lily’s shoulder and softened her voice. “The two of you are mates. Neither of you will be complete without the other. You know the pain will only worsen if you separate. Lily, do you love Jensgar?”
“Of course I do,” Lily was quick to answer as she turned around to face Helena. “You already know that.”
“Then stop hurting him and yourself. It’s time to heal and grow together as mates because neither of you would survive without the other. Now pick yourself up off that fence and make your choice.”
Lily looked closely at her friend. Helena had never been quite this forceful before. Was she figuratively sitting on a fence, too afraid to make a choice? It had been two weeks since she’d been released from the medical center and they were still living in a type of limbo. That hadn’t been fair to either of them. Would Jensgar be better off without Lily in his life? Would she without him?
Of course not. It would be hell to live without Jensgar. She loved him and he loved her. She couldn’t throw that away. What am I doing? Why had she been putting the both of them through this? As soon as she asked herself the question she already knew the answer. Lily had wanted the best for him, the same as he had wanted for her. But, in truth, staying together was the best for both of them. It felt as if she was seeing things under a different light. A more forgiving, less cut-and-dry light.
Decision made, Lily turned and headed straight for the gazebo stairs. She had a mate to claim. Not to mention removing any omega still on Black Ridge pack land who wanted to take her mate from her.
“Hallelujah, go get your man,” Helena cheered as she raced after her.
By the time her feet hit the grass Lily was at full speed. Unfortunately, due to her constant limp she wasn’t moving as quickly as she would have liked. Undeterred she plodded forward with Helena by her side, the grin on her face enough for Lily to know how happy her friend was. But even that didn’t beat Lily’s happiness. Jensgar was hers, and she did not share.
They rounded the corner of the community center and came face to face with her greatest fear—her mate in the arms of another woman.
***
Jensgar had tried his best not to be rude. He’d sat and listened to each omega, been polite as they shared coffee. There had been five omegas in total. The other four had graciously left after he announced that he already had a mate. However, the fifth one simply took the news as a challenge and had been attempting to change his mind ever since.
He removed her hands from around his waist and took several steps back. Jensgar had left the meeting on his way to find Lily when the persistent woman ambushed him the moment he stepped into the gardens. Where the hell was her chaperone?
“Miss Fraser, I have to ask you to stop. I have a mate that I love and intend to spend the remainder of my days with.” Whether Lily was agreeable to that, he’d have yet to see.
“Call me Jane, and I can offer you so much more than a powerless ex-omega ever could.” She stepped forward and attempted to run her fingers across his chest, but he was too fast and dodged out of her reach. “With your strength and our combined powers we could rule a pack of our own,” she persisted as if he’d said nothing.
“Rule? Don’t you mean ‘care for’?” Lily’s angry voice came from somewhere behind him.
Sure enough, when he turned around his mate and Helena stood only a few feet away. He must have been really distracted to not hear or sense them approaching.
“Mate, I was coming to find you,” he called as he took a step toward his love.
At the last moment, Jane reached out, grabbed hold of his bicep and held on like a vise. “We were having a private conversation. You’ll need to leave.”
“I’ll be leaving with my mate,” Lily growled before stepping forward. Jensgar noticed her limp had worsened.
“Your leg is hurting you more today,” he stated as he moved to her, intent on lifting his mate into the safety of his arms. The pain was instantaneous when he tried to pull his arm out of the aggressive omega’s grasp. Sharp nails had turned to claws and his blood flowed down his arm. “What the hell do you think you are doing?”
“This broken, worthless wolf is who you have chosen to become your mate?” Jane sneered, as she looked Lily up and down. “What good would she do a pack?”
Jensgar’s canines lengthened and his wolf stampeded to the surface to defend their mate. He ripped the offensive omega’s hand away from his arm, not caring if it caused him more damage. He had to get away from this vicious wolf. He made it half a step before large, fibrous roots burst out of the ground and wrapped around his legs, holding him to the spot.
“You bitch, release him,” Lily ordered as she used her claws to dig at the roots as he too was doing. When he got free there would be hell to pay. Not only had she imprisoned him, but she’d also insulted his mate.
“You are nothing. I could end your life with the snap of my fingers.” As if to prove her point one of the roots pulled free of Jensgar’s leg and went after Lily. Helena was busy warding off her own root attackers. This omega was out of her mind attacking all three of them. He’d never heard of this happening before, an omega using her powers to hurt innocent people.
Frantically, he dug his claws into the already torn-up roots, desperate to get to his mate before the root did. Moments before Lily would have been impaled, the root stopped in midair inches from her chest as if it had a mind of its own. It seemed to be considering its next move. Jensgar had no idea if plants could actually do that but it seemed to recognize Lily the same as the vines and flowers surrounding their home.
Lily stretched out her hand and touched the side of the root with the tips of her fingers. The effect was instantaneous. He and Helena were released as the roots retreated back into the ground until only the one with Lily remained.
“Kill her,” Jane screamed. “I command you to kill the former omega.”
Jensgar covered the distance between him and his mate at a run. He could’ve lost Lily so easily. He gathered her into his arms and held her tight. Now he knew how vulnerable his mate was. The last root caressed the side of Lily’s hand before returning to the earth.
“Care to explain yourself, Jane?” Ceva’s voice thundered through the gardens. All four turned to see the King, Aldric, Ceva and a handful of guards descending upon them.
“That woman attempted to attack me,” Jane cried out, pointing at Lily before throwing herself onto the ground in a hail of tears. “She’s crazy. Please help me.”
Jensgar was so stunned he could only growl his anger and frustrations.
“Guards, take her,” King Leonidas ordered, causing Jensgar to hold Lily even tighter as the crazy omega smiled wide. That was until the guards surrounded Jane instead.
“There are repercussions for attacking my mate and my people,” Aldric ground out between growls. “If I had it my way you’d already be dead.”
They lifted Jane to her feet and placed enchanted handcuffs around her wrists so that she could not use any of her powers.
“What is the meaning of this? How dare you. My father will hear of this mistreatment,” Jane blustered as she was taken in the direction of the holding cells.
“You haven’t seen mistreatment, lady. Give me a chance and I’ll show you what it really feels like,” Ceva threatened as she stormed past the guards. Aldric already had Helena in his arms and a look of death in his eyes when he watched the other woman being taken away.
“Are you hurt, mate?” Jensgar asked before he held Lily at arms’ length to search for any injuries.
“No, I’m fine. I want us to go home,” she replied as she stepped back into his arms. “I’ve had enough for one day.”
Jensgar felt his heart skip a beat. “Us…to go
home?”
Lily looked up at him, her gorgeous eyes filled with emotion. “Yes, my mate. I want us to go home.”
He couldn’t stop himself. He bent and lifted his mate into his arms before heading in the direction of their house. He tried to slow himself but he was so excited that he was having a hard time breathing. Lily had accepted him as her mate. It was everything he’d ever wanted.
“Jensgar, where are you going? We need to talk,” King Leonidas called out.
He felt a slight tremble work its way through Lily’s body as he stopped. No one was going to deter him from caring for his mate, not even a king. “I’m taking my mate home. She is what’s important.” Jensgar had had quite enough of other people trying to make decisions for him. He’d been guilty of that when he decided it was best to let Lily go without talking to her about what she wanted.
King Leonidas looked at the two of them for a moment and then nodded his head. Jensgar was glad the king understood, because they were leaving with or without his permission. He knew the king could kick his ass, but at the moment, he didn’t care.
“We’ll be home in less than a minute,” he said as he rubbed his cheek and jaw over the top of her blonde head. “I’ll start a hot bath so you can soak your leg.”
“Will you be joining me?” she asked. She had been quiet since requesting to go home and he had been getting worried. He wouldn’t blame her for being angry with him. Once again, he’d failed to protect her.
“I don’t want to hurt your leg any further.”
“The way I see it, I’d be safer if you were in there with me. I wouldn’t want to slip and fall.” The teasing in her voice confused him.
He walked up the steps to the front porch before looking down at his mate tucked safely in his arms. She was smiling. Lily should be pissed off about all of this and the horrible things that were said and done to her. He never should have agreed to this meeting but he’d honestly thought the other women would understand when he explained he’d already chosen his mate and loved her completely. Four had accepted that fact graciously. The fifth, a crazy person, definitely hadn’t.
“Why aren’t you angry?”
Lily laughed and he couldn’t help kissing the side of her head. She was his ray of sunshine. “Oh sweetheart, I’m furious, but not at you. On the other hand, I’m quite happy with the way the roots responded to me. But I was shocked, considering I have no powers at all.”
In a little bit of shock himself, Jensgar carried her into their home before closing and locking the door behind them. He didn’t want any more interruptions. This was time to be spent with his mate. The questions, the king, the drama could all wait as he and Lily spent this time alone.
“I believe they recognized you. It was amazing to see,” he agreed before setting her down on the large two-sink marble vanity in their bathroom. He noted that the claw marks on his arm had already healed. He cupped Lily’s face with his large hands and looked the woman he loved straight in the eyes. “Did you mean it?”
Thankfully, she didn’t keep him waiting. “Yes.” She kissed both of his palms before continuing, “You are my mate. I love you and want to spend the rest of my days with you. I know that now. I’m sorry for taking so long to realize it.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” He would spend the rest of their lives assuring her of that. “I love you and could never be whole without you. I was an idiot for ever letting you go. I promise to spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
Chapter Seven
Lily looked at the man standing before her. His strengths and weaknesses were plain to see, and she loved each and every part of him. His heart and soul were shining in those expressive dark brown eyes leading Lily forward into their future. How had she ever doubted their union, or believed he would be better off without her?
“I now understand why you did it. The loss of my powers has given me the opportunity I needed to grasp how difficult it was for you to make that decision. You have nothing to make up for, my love. What I would like to do is begin our lives together, and considering I’m no longer an omega, we don’t require a ceremony for that to happen.” Alpha and omega pairings required a sacred ceremony for the bond to stick. Regular shifters simply made love and bit each other to seal the deal.
Jensgar’s eyes widened and began to shine as his wolf came racing to the surface. He took a deep breath, and his muscled chest expanded, blocking her view of the rest of the bathroom. At times, she forgot how much larger her mate had grown since the gods had declared him an alpha.
“Are you sure?”
She’d never been surer of anything in her life. “Positive.”
He smiled wide, his canines having lengthened before he lowered his head and took her lips in a fiery kiss. Eagerly, she dove in. Her tongue explored and dueled with Jensgar’s, between slight nips with their canines before kissing the slight pinch away. Lily trailed her hands across the plains and valleys of his chest before reaching her goal, the buttons of his shirt.
One by one, she used the claw on her index finger to cut the buttons free, smiling as they tinkled against the tiled floor. The palm of her hands ghosted over Jensgar’s tanned skin, causing goose bumps to rise across his chest. He moaned into their kiss before deepening it even further. He undid the ties holding Lily’s dress together, allowing the fabric to flow away from her overheated skin.
When they ended the kiss, Lily had little time for recovery as Jensgar’s large, work-roughened hands slid her soft blue dress off her shoulders. She arched as her mate kissed and nibbled up and down the side of her neck. The sensations running through her body had her gasping for air. As a former unmated omega, Lily was still a virgin, but she was more than ready, and learning fast.
She pushed his shirt over his shoulders and down his arms until the fabric lay on the floor with its former buttons. Her mate’s wicked lips worked their way over her shoulder before stopping in that one spot where her neck and shoulder met and giving her a soft bite. It wasn’t hard enough to break her skin, but the intent was clear—this was where Jensgar intended to leave his mark, the same as she would on him. Hers would be on Jensgar’s pectoral muscle, not wanting to cover his former mate’s bite. Lily’s blood roared through her veins at finally being able to mate with the man she loved.
Her dress continued to skim down her body until it lay in a pool around her waist. Jensgar’s hands roamed freely, sending flames coursing through her body. Lily couldn’t help but moan as he cupped her breasts and his thumbs circled her peaked nipples. He reclaimed her lips while his hands continued their journey down her body.
Without warning, he pulled away and looked down into her eyes. “I love you, Lily, and want to mate with you. But we’re in here to soak your injured leg. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I trust you, and know you would never hurt me intentionally. How about we take this to our bedroom and have a long, hot soak in the tub later.” There was no way she was going to stop now, but her heart sang at the care and concern he was displaying. It was also a comment on his willpower, considering he meant to stop everything if she were in the slightest pain. “I want to make love to you. I want to officially become your mate and share my life with you.”
Jensgar ran his fingers through her hair, tilting her head back as he did. “You already are my mate, Lily.”
With that, he slid his arms underneath her back and legs, and lifted her close to his chest. Which she took full advantage of by running her lengthened canines down his neck, only stopping to lick around his Adam’s apple. Within moments she was sandwiched between the soft bed and her hard mate. She couldn’t think of a better place to be. Her dress was lost somewhere along the way, and she assumed her panties were with it. She had been so distracted by his muscled neck she hadn’t noticed her clothing were gone.
He braced most of his weight on his arms and carefully navigated her leg, excruciatingly conscious of his much larger body. She was thankful; even with her shifter streng
th Lily doubted she’d be able to lift him.
“Love you.” His voice held a soft growl, his wolf close. “Mine.”
Lily reveled in the words and responded in kind. “Mine.”
He captured her lips in a passion-filled kiss as his strong hands explored her sensitized body from top to bottom. Slowly, he kissed his way down her body, stopping to lave her nipples and nip at her breasts before journeying down to the juncture at her thighs. When his thick fingers and wicked tongue explored her core, Lily couldn’t contain the wanton moans pouring from her lips. The sensations and need raced through her body until she was almost begging him to make love to her.
“I need…to feel you inside of me. My mate, complete our bond.”
He began kissing and licking his way up her body, stopping only briefly to nuzzle her nipples again before reclaiming her mouth. She ran her hands down her mate’s wide back, appreciating the play of his muscles underneath his tanned, warm skin.
After she’d been well and truly kissed, he positioned his body above hers. “Ready, love?”
Lily raised her hands and cupped Jensgar’s handsome face. “I love you. I’ve loved you for a long time and all I’ve ever wanted was to be your mate. I’m more than ready.”
His eyes glowed with the amber of his wolf as his canines grew even longer. Lily had never seen him look more handsome. She felt her body stretch to accommodate him as their bodies joined. He held still and waited until the discomfort was soon replaced by new, all-encompassing sensations shooting through her body.
They both moaned loudly once he was completely seated inside her. Lily wrapped her legs higher around his waist before running her nails down his back. He’d never taken his eyes off her as their bodies joined and she watched the play of emotions and love shining there. Their bodies began to move as one and she was swept away in a sea of emotions and sensations.
She could feel his love for her as if it were her own as he worshiped her with his magnificent body. Lily may have never made love before, but she’d pleasured herself enough times to know she was going to have a massive orgasm. Her nerve endings began to spark as Jensgar’s love-filled words and moans echoed in the room.
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