The Mating Rite (Big, Beautiful Werewolf) (Werewolves of Montana)

by Vanak, Bonnie

  Sienna’s green eyes flashed bright red. A nagging suspicion seized him.

  “James is one as well. He said he was Fae, but the bastard has to be Elf. His eyes do the same shifting in color. How many of you work for Comairise Energy? “

  The Elf’s cool green gaze met his. “More than you realize.”

  “If so, I should be able to detect their scent, just as I did with you and James.”

  “We have perfected the art of disguising ourselves from both Skin and OtherWorlders. It was necessary for survival.”

  Darius thought hard, his mind clicking over all the executives he’d met since the breakfast meeting at the Heathman. And then it clicked…

  They were all blond. And all wore the same damned cologne, Armani, and laid it on heavy to disguise their natural scent and avoid being outed as Elven. He shook his head. No wonder they wanted his account. Elves and Lupines distrusted each other greatly and Lupines seldom allowed Elves onto their territory. By gaining access to the Mitchell ranch, the Elves could inspect the land and even cast warding spells to protect the trees and the small game the pack needed to hunt.

  “All of you. You bastards, you want access to our ranch because we’re Lupine. Every single manager in this company is Elven. Ken, Sam’s boss. HG, Tom, every senior staff member is Elven.”

  The stunned look in her eyes assured him he’d nailed the truth.

  “How did you know?”

  “I may be a savage wolf, but I’m not stupid. Why are you here?”

  The Elf’s mouth turned down. “It has nothing to do with your ranch, wolf. I arrived at Comairise Energy to work with others on clean, renewable energy.”

  He smelled a lie. “No, you didn’t. You’re here for something else. What is it?”

  The Elf’s expression remained smooth. “What makes you think so?”

  “Don’t answer my question with a question. Who are you, in truth? Give me your true name.”

  “My true name? Never.”

  Darius went still, thinking fast. “You’re all in the same clan, working together and it’s not to advocate clean energy.”

  Sienna blinked. He’d surprised her.

  “If this has anything to do with my Sam…”

  The Elf’s green eyes glowed with fierce intensity. “I will tell you this, wolf. Get Samantha out of here. The longer she remains in Skin, the more dangerous it is for her at this firm. If you wish to protect her, you will take her to a safe place where we cannot touch her.”

  Whoa. He narrowed his eyes. “Why do you want to hurt her?”

  “I do not. I wish to protect her.”

  “Then who does?” He wrapped his fingers around her wrist. Darius squeezed tight. “Tell me or I’ll break it. And unlike me, you won’t heal fast.”

  Sienna stared at him impassively, but her mouth worked. “Break every bone in my body, wolf, and I will not tell you. We are sworn to ourselves, no other. But you take care to get her out of here. Or next time, she won’t awaken from the sting of death, no matter how hard you try.”

  Darius decided to press harder, but the shower shut off. He released her wrist and watched her rub it. A red bruise marked her pale skin. “I will find out who or what is threatening Sam. Mark my words, you or your people won’t lay a finger on her. She’s mine to claim and protect. I spent ten long years mourning her death only to find out she’s alive, and no one is going to harm her. Get it?”

  Something flickered in Sienna’s eyes. “She is fortunate to have a worthy male to keep her safe. Do it, wolf. Take her away from here.”

  Darius dragged in a calming breath. “Conference call still set for noon on Monday?”

  She blinked and slid into business mode as smoothly as he had. “Mr. Mitchell and his team will be present?”

  Nodding, he kept his gaze trained on the closed bathroom door. “Aiden will be there. Have all the figures ready to go over with him. But I’m warning you now, he’s going to refuse the contract after I talk with him.”

  “Because you know we are Elven.”

  “Because of what that son of a bitch Ken did to Sam.”

  Sienna blinked. “I saw them go outside.”

  The Elf was not stupid.

  “I’m not at liberty to discuss.”

  She gave him a long, cool look. “Later then. I will expect the truth from you, when all this with Samantha is resolved. For now, she is my primary concern.”

  “And mine.”

  Sienna left, shutting the door behind her. Darius collapsed upon the bed, rocking back and forth, holding his stomach and shaking violently.

  He wanted to throw up.

  Seeing Sam lying so quiet and still, her lips blue, he’d thought he’d lost her all over again. No more. And now Sienna the Fucking Elf had confirmed his worst fears. Something wanted Sam dead.

  He didn’t care if he had to steal her away and chain her to his side, he would not lose her.

  Finally, he regained his composure. Pacing the bedroom, he made a phone call to Simon from the Portland pack. When the alpha answered, Darius told him what happened with Todd back at the bar.

  “Level with me, Simon. Why did Todd toss a drug-laced drink in my future mate’s face? Find out from him what he wanted with Sam, other than insulting her when he broke their date.”

  Silence hung in the air for a moment. Then Simon spoke. “Todd’s dead. He killed himself last night.”

  Darius’ heart leapt to his throat. “Why?”

  “He left a note saying he couldn’t take the guilt anymore.” The alpha sighed. “He was gay. I knew it, but no one else did. If the other males in my pack knew he was gay, no matter how much I intervened, Todd would be an outcast. He wanted to date women to avoid suspicion, probably the reason why he asked Samantha for a blind date. I suspect someone found out he was gay and was blackmailing him.”

  “Tell me everything you know,” Darius demanded.

  When he finally thumbed off the phone, he felt deeply worried.

  The bathroom door opened and Sam emerged. The white robe swallowed her small frame, making her look delicate and vulnerable. He liked the idea of his robe covering her, his scent marking her.

  But he’d like it more if they weren’t here in this house.

  Gripping his comb, Sam sat on the bed. Taking a towel, he gently began to rub her hair dry.

  “We’re alone, in your bedroom. On your bed, Darius. Will Sienna accuse me of sexual impropriety? Or is it okay since I nearly died and you saved me?”

  He ran a thumb along her soft cheek. “No one’s going to accuse you of anything, Sam. I want you to be safe.”

  “So your bed is the safest place?” She looked up at him from beneath her long, damp lashes and that look went straight to his groin. Darius bit back a groan.

  “I want you naked in my bed. Now.” He shuddered with the raging need to rip off her robe and take her. Bind her to him in the flesh, and keep her close so nothing could ever hurt her again. Passion held him, but did not rule him. He could control it, for he must. Darius knew he had to get her out of this place and quickly, before something else happened.

  Sam moistened her mouth and he tracked the movement with his eyes, fisting his hands to fight his lust. Darius dragged in a deep breath.

  “But we have to talk about what happened.”

  She sighed, and the sound carried a note of disappointment, as if she’d wanted him to rip off her robe. Normally, this would delight him, but he was too worried about her.

  “It’s my fault, wading out that far. I can swim, but that was a wicked undertow. And then that thing bit me. Some kind of shark or fish. It hurt, badly.”

  He set the damp towel aside. “That was no undertow.” Taking her face into his warm hands, Darius touched his forehead to hers, craving the connection. “Something targeted you and tried to drown you. Something Other.”

  “What?”

  “A Torathar. Sea demon.”

  Picking up the comb, she worked it through the tangled knots. �
��I don’t understand. Why would it try to drown me?”

  “Torathars seldom strike on their own and they never trouble Skins, only Others. Someone sent it to kill you.”

  Sam set down the comb, her face troubled. “I came to Portland to forget the Lupine life. And anything associated with it. And now someone’s after me because I am Lupine?”

  He put a hand on her knee, feeling her quiver under his touch. “You can’t forget your heritage, your life as Lupine. No matter how long you live in Skin, you will always be Lupine and everything Other will sense it. We mask ourselves from humans, but you and I both know there are good and evil magick creatures in this world.”

  With a shaky hand, she pushed back a lock of damp hair. “I’ve worked hard to adapt to the Skin world and forget about being wolf. I thought… I could hide among the Skins.”

  Darius went to the desk, and picked up the plate of beef. “Then it’s time to return, for your own protection. Remember your training when I worked with you? You must have the ability to shift into wolf in an emergency.”

  “I haven’t shifted in years.”

  “Eat.” He took a cube of beef and held it to her mouth. “I bought this fresh at the market and it’s barely cooked. You need to eat meat again and regain your ability to shape-shift.”

  Blinking hard, she took the plate from him and began to eat, making a face as she did so. He stood and paced again, wishing he had pounded the truth out of Sienna. But Sam was hiding something from him as well.

  When she’d finished, Sam placed the empty plate on the desk. “It’s hard to believe someone would go through all this trouble to target me. It seems very elaborate and clandestine.”

  “Much easier to shoot you with a gun. That’s the Skin way.”

  She paled a little. He hated this, damn it, but had to know what they faced.

  “Maybe this Torathar didn’t mean to drown me.”

  “You think it was playing?” He eyed her with incredulous disbelief.

  “It was an isolated incident.”

  Darius began to pace around her, his wolf restless and wanting out, now, triggered by the instinctive need to protect and defend.

  “No, it wasn’t. Todd is dead.”

  She stared at him, her mouth opening.

  “While you showered, I called Simon, alpha of the Portland pack. Simon found him in his room. He OD’ed on wolfsbane. The same drug that was in the drink he tossed in your face.”

  “Why would he want to kill me? And put the drug into that woman’s drink?”

  “Probably he meant to use it all along on you. In small amounts wolfsbane lowers a Skin’s inhibitions. It works differently with us. Makes us confused, and enough can kill us.”

  “Why would Todd want to hurt me?” Sam rubbed her face.

  “Simon suspected someone blackmailed Todd into hurting you. Simon kept Todd’s sexuality a secret, but there are prejudiced males in his pack. If word got out he was gay, even with Simon’s orders to leave Todd alone, those males would have made his life a living hell. He’d have been forced to leave. A lone wolf, even an adult one, lives a lonely life, without the comfort of pack.”

  She stood looking at him, her lower lip wobbling precariously. A core of steel existed within her soft body, but living in Skin for so long had made her vulnerable.

  Eyes rounded, she looked at him. “That’s why he said…what he did when we met. He said “I can’t do this. No matter how desperate I am. No fucking way.” I thought he was talking about our date.”

  Darius’ heart dropped to his stomach. “He wasn’t. He was talking about killing you. There was enough wolfsbane in his room to kill 10 adult Lupines.”

  Blood drained from her face. “Todd, and now this sea serpent. I’m not safe here. I don’t know if I’m safe anywhere.”

  “Do you know anyone who’d want you dead, Sam?” His grim gaze met hers. “I need to know what you’re not telling me. Right now.”

  A loud knock came at the door. Darius looked up with impatience. “What?”

  The door burst open and James rushed inside, trailed by Sienna. He grabbed Sam by her upper arms. “Samantha, are you all right? What happened?”

  She blinked hard, and tears glistened in her eyes. Surprise turned into shock as his mate hurled herself into James’ arms and began to sob. James patted her back as she cried against his chest.

  For a full moment, Darius stood there like a dumbstruck fool, then anger built up, a slow burning rage. How dare this James comfort his mate?

  Sienna, impassive, watched them for a moment then went to the window, staring out at the ocean. Darius forced himself to speak in a calm, even tone.

  “Sam.”

  Looking up, she looked so damn woebegone, he forgot his anger, though he wanted to punch James in the face. Darius fetched tissues from the bathroom and handed them to her. She stepped away from James, wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

  James glanced at him, bones stretched tightly over his skin. “You saved her.”

  What else would I do, stand by and watch? He nodded brusquely.

  James moved over to the window to join Sienna. “Sienna and I have been called back to the city to help with the Graves’ account.”

  “Tell her what you both are,” Darius demanded. Enough of this cloak and dagger crap. Sam deserved the truth.

  Turning to face him, James and Sienna exchanged glances.

  “Tell her, or I will.”

  James’ mouth thinned, but he nodded. “We are not human, Samantha. Sienna and I are Elven, from the Glen Daire clan. We came to work for Comairise Energy to perfect the art of clean energy and spread its use across our territory.”

  She staggered backward, looking stunned. “Elves? You’re an Elf and not Fae? And you both knew I was Lupine all along?”

  A wry look touched Sienna’s face. “We knew you were not a very good one. You were easy to fool.”

  So cold and confident, as emotionless as the trees they guarded. Darius clasped Sam’s cold hands. “There are others at Comairise Energy.”

  “How many more?” she asked dully.

  “There are a few of us,” Sienna said.

  Damn Sienna and her slyness. “They’re all Elven. HG Jenner, James, Sienna, Tom and even your manager.”

  “Ken?” Her mouth wobbled as she looked at Sienna. “He and Jenner set me up without my knowledge. They wanted Darius to sleep with me so he’d sign the contract.”

  Sienna’s eyes widened.

  Fury filled him. Claws emerged from his fingertips. “And they wanted the contract to set foot on our land to protect the game we hunt. If you had anything to do with this, you fucking bastards…”

  James held up his hands. “Not me, wolf. I am Sam’s friend. I had nothing to do with this.”

  “Tell her why you’re really at Comairise Energy,” he snapped, but James and Sienna remained silent, guarding their secret.

  He went to James, held up a hand. “I can shred you to ribbons, slowly, and make you tell, or you can give us the truth. Now.”

  “Darius,” Sam cried out.

  “You don’t know what they can do, Sam. Stay out of this,” Darius warned.

  Finally James glanced at Sienna, who nodded. “I initially came to Comairise Energy to oust HG from power and install a new president. He had adapted too well to the Skin lifestyle and enjoyed the money that came with the position.”

  “We thought he was not obtaining enough accounts in this state to satisfy our need for clean energy,” Sienna added.

  James scoffed. “He did obtain enough accounts, but not the ones we desired. With Ken’s help, HG is taking kickbacks from a powerful developer interested in constructing on our land in northern Washington, land we are sworn to keep pristine and natural and safe for all wild creatures. He negotiated to change zoning to construct condos and in return, the developer promised a fat contract for solar energy. Our woodlands are threatened, the small creatures who rely upon us for protection are endangered.”

&n
bsp; The Elf’s eyes glowed bright green. “We plan to remove him from power. Either by Skin methods of a hostile takeover, or by other methods.”

  Sam looked stunned. “Other methods? You mean you’ll kill him.”

  “Not quite,” Sienna said flatly. “We will make it extremely uncomfortable for both him and Ken to remain. We have power and know how to use it.”

  Sam’s mouth twisted. “That’s why I could never get ahead. I worked for a company run by Elves, who wanted to promote only Elves. And as Lupine, or a Lupine living in Skin, I never had a chance to advance. Not if I brought in the Mitchell Ranch account, or ten others. I was manipulated by management to use my contacts, but I’d never get ahead. Ken made a promise he had no intention of fulfilling. Right, Sienna?”

  She nodded. “The firm does hire Skins and OtherWorlders, but it is rare they get promoted. We had no wish for you to get hurt, Samantha.”

  Sam glanced at Darius and the defeat in her eyes made his heart sink. He wanted to draw her close, comfort her and promise her the world.

  But she’d already been disappointed by too many promises made by those who didn’t deliver. Including himself.

  Darius slid his hand into Sam’s, pleased she didn’t draw away. He glowered at James and Sienna. “I don’t believe you. Your explanations don’t hold water. A company run by Elves, and it’s too damn coincidental how Elves are always near when something is threatening Sam, or wishing to hurt her. What’s the real story here?”

  A flicker of guilt in Sienna’s green eyes. “There is no story. Samantha is a good employee who does excellent research. You may still remain at the firm, Samantha. We could use your skills.”

  Sam remained quiet and then stared out the window. “Not anymore. I’m resigning Monday. I already informed Ken.”

  At James’ blank look, she added in a voice dripping with contempt, “You thought I’d remain with the firm, knowing that I not only lost a promotion to a new hire? Working with Elves who have powers far beyond any skill set I could acquire? And the company president, another Elf! He wanted me to sleep with a Lupine so the firm would land a big contract? I wanted to work in a Skin firm where I could achieve success. I want nothing to do with the sly underbelly of the OtherWorld. I’d be better off slinging tacos at the greasy spoon downtown. There are no paranormal creatures there.”