Claimed by the Mate, Volume 3

by Kate Douglas

  The shirt was huge on her, but she’d tied the tails at her waist and he’d spent the morning waiting for glimpses of her smooth belly. They’d even managed a little bit of down and dirty in the meadow. Spreading his flannel shirt on a patch of green near the creek, he’d made love to her as if it were their first time, though, in so many ways, every time with Nell was like their first, and always unbelievably good. She never failed to surprise him. He loved her. It was as simple as that.

  He couldn’t wait to make her his. They’d already decided to do it Sunday night after the reception ended and everyone headed out. Meg and Zach were planning a morning wedding, a luncheon reception, and then a honeymoon on one of Zach’s yachts, tooling along the northern coast and up to the San Juan Islands.

  Someday, that was a trip he’d like to take with Nellie. So many things he wanted to do, places he wanted to go. So many dreams, and Nellie was featured in every single one.

  * * *

  Dinner was over, the kitchen cleaned up with everyone helping out, and the entire pack—except for Trak, who always seemed to have more to do—had gathered on the deck. Chelo had parked her butt near Darnell, and Meg joined them a few minutes later. All the other women were in the vicinity, tossing barbs back and forth at one another. Laughter really was infectious, and Chelo couldn’t ever remember laughing as much or as hard—or at such silly things.

  Zach was busy pontificating on something of utmost importance, over in the corner with the guys, where the humor tended more to the raunchy side. Trak had just rounded the curve in the long drive, walking back up the road from Growl, where he’d gone to check the liquor supplies. Preparation was important, he’d said, for a party that would most likely begin tomorrow afternoon once guests began to arrive and then last through the wedding and possibly well into Sunday night.

  There was a wonderful, relaxed sense of celebration tonight, a last blast before the human guests began arriving tomorrow. Darnell laughed at something Evan shouted to her across what they were calling the great divide, between the group of men and the growing group of women, and Meg merely flipped them all off. That nonexistent space between men and women who loved to laugh and tease had never seemed so wonderfully infinitesimal. Chelo had never laughed so much, nor loved so freely.

  Meg followed up her timeless hand gesture with more laughter. “That was meant for all the males of the species, Evan. Not merely you, so don’t think you’re special.” The women applauded; the men laughed and offered sympathy and suggestions. Evan merely whimpered, but the smile on his face was obviously meant for Darnell. Chelo was so relieved that Darnell finally knew the truth about them, and all was as it should be. Evan had promised to turn her Sunday night, after the wedding.

  They all figured they’d be so tired after Meg and Zach’s big party that no one would even notice if Darnell slept a few days away. Chelo took another sip of her wine—she was finally figuring out which ones she loved and those she didn’t care for. She was fascinated by the scents of the various kinds of grapes, the mixture of fruits that seemed to come from every glass.

  She held her glass of sauvignon blanc to her nose and tried to pick out the various scents. A hint of melon, a bit of peach, the slightest touch of apple. All from something as simple as a grape.

  Closing her eyes, she drew in another breath and jerked away in disgust. A new scent on the evening air fouled the fruity wine. She set her glass down and closed her eyes, turned, and inhaled into the evening breeze coming out of the east. She stood, continuing to sniff the air. Still concentrating on the unexpected scent, she walked over to the railing. Down the stairs, moving quickly now toward Trak. Suddenly the stench hit with familiar nauseating force.

  She knew that smell. It could only be the alpha from the Rainy Lake pack.

  A glimpse of movement at the edge of the woods, much too close to her man. “Trak! Look out. To your right!”

  A large, burly, naked man stepped out of the dark trees, faced Trak, and shouted, “I challenge you, you bastard!” And then, without giving Trak a chance to respond, he shifted. A huge black wolf charged Trak.

  Chelo screamed. Cain flew by her, stripping his clothes off as he ran. Trak was fully dressed with jeans and boots and a heavy shirt and vest against the night’s chill. There was no way he could get out of his clothes and shift. Spinning away from the wolf, he nimbly sidestepped the animal’s leap for his throat, throwing up an arm to ward off the attack.

  He shoved, using the weight of his human body to throw the wolf off course. The beast landed hard, rolled to his side, and came up snarling. Cain ripped off his jeans and shifted, launching himself from human feet and catching the alpha with wolven jaws. Trak was out of his clothes and on all fours by the time Cain brought the interloper to the ground.

  As soon as Trak reached them Cain backed away. The alpha twisted and leapt to his feet, but Trak grabbed him by the throat and brought him down once more. Cain shifted, essentially ignoring the action behind him as he walked over, recovered his pants, and slipped them on. Then, tugging his sweatshirt over his head, he walked back to the alpha, now flat on his back. Trak held him down by the throat.

  Cain squatted down beside the two wolves. “Ya know, Trak, I’ve got a simple and relatively painless solution to this irritating situation. It certainly wouldn’t hurt you or me any.”

  Trak snarled around his mouthful of hair and wolf.

  “We’ve got a really good vet. He does a lot of spaying and neutering. I imagine Tuck could take care of this guy pretty easily. Might make him think twice before challenging a pack leader for no apparent reason. Hard to get it up over a fight when you’re missing your gonads.”

  Frantic now, the wolf struggled, twisting and turning in Trak’s grip, but he couldn’t break free.

  The rest of the pack, along with Tuck, had meandered down during the conversation. “I could do it easy enough,” Tuck said matter-of-factly, “but I don’t know if he can shift back without his balls. Of course, I’m just guessing. I’ve never neutered a werewolf before.”

  “One way to find out,” Cain said. He glanced at Tuck and winked. “How long does the surgery take?”

  Tuck just grinned. “Ten minutes, tops, maybe less. Depends on how long it takes to knock him out. Unless you want me to do it without anesthetic. Might make a better impression on him, make him rethink his stupid challenge.”

  “We’ll have to discuss that one,” Cain said. “After Trak shifts and he can be part of the discussion.”

  “Sounds good. I’m going to give him a shot now so Trak doesn’t have to hang on to him all night. As far as cutting the bastard’s balls off, it will definitely take care of the aggression, and if he can’t shift we can just turn him loose here on the preserve.”

  Cain shook his head. “That won’t work. He strikes me as the kind who’d hold a grudge.” He stood back while Tuck pulled a syringe out of his bag and injected the wolf. Once he finished giving the wolf the shot, he grinned at Cain. “That conversation’s going to give the bastard some nightmares.”

  Chelo waited until the wolf’s body went lax. “I figured you didn’t mean it. Cutting his balls off. Personally I think it sounds like a great idea.” She glared at the wolf.

  Trak stood, shifting so quickly that he was fully human by the time he was upright. Grabbing his pants off the ground, he slipped them on. Bare-chested and barefoot, he stepped over the wolf and held out his hand to Cain.

  “Once again, it appears I owe you my life. You’re one hell of a fighter, Cain. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in action before. I’m definitely glad I’ve never seriously crossed you. Just let me know when you want to take over so I have time to get the hell out of town.”

  Cain chuckled as they shook hands. “It’s all yours, Mr. Jakes. I am not pack leader material. This came under my job description as enforcer.” He glanced down at the wolf. “I’m sorry I didn’t kill him. At least he heard the discussion about removing his balls.” Cain laughed. “I think I saw h
is pickup down by the road. I noticed one earlier, just figured someone was hiking, but I think it might have had Minnesota plates. Didn’t get close enough to pick up any scent. The idea of the alpha coming all the way here to attack never even crossed my mind.”

  “Why should it?” Trak stared at the unconscious wolf. “I’m sorry he’s still alive, too. I’d prefer he went the way of Rube, but I think just putting the fear of losing his balls into him should make him think twice. Anything you can inject him with, Tuck, that could make him think he’s had the surgery?”

  “Yeah. I’ve got some hormones I use when we’re trying to get a mare to ovulate. Doubt he’ll be pumping out eggs, but he’ll know something’s different. Might develop breasts after a while, but they won’t stay once the drug wears off. I’m going to keep him sedated until the wedding is over. I don’t want to have to worry about him trying another attack, though if there is a next time I say we get rid of him permanently. Any pack alpha that would allow a woman to be mistreated by members of his pack deserves whatever happens to him. His life has very little value in my book.”

  He squatted down and grabbed the wolf by his front and back legs, picked the huge beast up, and slung him over his shoulders. Chelo watched as Tuck walked back down the road toward his cabin carrying almost two hundred pounds of deadweight wolf as if he were nothing at all. Elle went with him, his black satchel in her hand. Tuck had a small surgery in the back of their place and there were cages for wolves being treated. Closest thing they had to a jail cell.

  Chelo was actually sorry they weren’t really going to do it. She thought it was only fair. But Tuck was right. He was going to think they’d castrated him when he woke up in the clinic. She was mostly hoping the wolf would leave and be afraid to come back.

  Trak and Cain cleaned up and joined the women and the rest of the guys on the deck. Meg was snuggled up with Zach, looking very content and not at all nervous about the wedding on Sunday. Trak took the chair next to Chelo, but he easily lifted her and set her in his lap. Cain did the same with Cherry, and that was when Chelo noticed that all of the couples were paired up.

  She leaned close to Darnell and whispered, “Are you ready, Darnell?”

  “I am, though I was a bit disappointed when Evan told me I wouldn’t be able to shift as fast as Trak. Guess that’s something I’ll need to work on, right?”

  “It is. But just think how much fun you’ll have, learning about your new life.”

  Darnell laughed and snuggled close to Evan. She looked about as satisfied as any woman possibly could.

  Chapter 15

  Sunday, late afternoon, after the wedding . . .

  Meg had her bags in the car and a wad of tissues in her hand. She and Zach had said good-bye to the last of their guests, the mess from the wedding and reception was all cleaned up and put away, and it was time for them to head back to Portland and their honeymoon aboard the yacht Zach had built especially for Meg as a wedding gift.

  He’d named the sixty-five-foot boat Wolfsong, and it was all loaded and ready for them to head out. In a flurry of hugs and tears, they were on their way. Once the car pulled out and headed down the driveway, Trak thought the resort seemed unnaturally quiet.

  All the guests had left—Monday was a regular workday for a lot of the spouses, though not for Zach’s employees. He’d closed the business down for the entire month of October.

  For the Trinity Alps pack, this was the end of a very busy, very productive summer. Trak should feel better about everything, but he was still worried about that damned alpha in Tuck’s wolf cage. Sighing, he got up and walked into the lodge.

  Tuck followed him, so Trak led him into what was now Cherry’s office. She was most likely taking a nap about now with her guys. They’d all worked hard to make Meg and Zach’s wedding a success. It had gone off perfectly.

  Tuck closed the door behind him. “I’ve still got the alpha in the clinic. I’m planning to take him out to a rest stop east of town in the morning and leave him. Elle found his clothes in the woods, along with the keys to his truck. She checked and the one Cain saw is definitely his, so she’ll follow me out; we’ll give him his keys and tell him to get the hell out of here, not to come back. We photocopied all the stuff in his wallet so we can sort of keep track of him.”

  “Is that safe? Traveling with him?”

  “I’ll sedate him for the trip, try to time it so he’s coming out of it when we get him where we want to leave him. I’ve got a hundred pounds on him, easy, and close to a foot in height. I don’t expect much trouble. He’s still in a locked cage in the clinic right now, but the guy is definitely scary. I’m almost sorry we didn’t just get rid of him when we had the chance. Trak? Honestly, I don’t know if Chelo will ever be safe. For some reason, he’s fixated on her, blames her for all sorts of bad things that have happened to the pack.”

  Trak thought about that for a moment. “Do you think I should take care of him?” Trak wasn’t a killer. His only thought when fighting the alpha on Friday night was to keep his pack safe. Killing the other man hadn’t even been on his radar. He hadn’t been able to quit thinking of Evan, of the look on his face after he’d killed Rube. None of them were killers, but there were some animals that really needed to be put down. As pack alpha, administering justice was Trak’s job. Dealing with the alpha was his responsibility. But cold-blooded killing?

  He wasn’t sure he could go there.

  “No.” Tuck was shaking his head. “No need. I gave him some hormone shots while he was out and added an estrogen implant in his sac. He’s got stitches and there’s enough swelling that he thinks I actually removed his nuts. He’s pretty pissed off at me right now. The female hormones in his system are going to cause some feminization for a while before the implant wears off. It’s actually good for a couple of years. He should be losing a lot of the aggressiveness that had him going after you.”

  “So, he’s shifted?” Trak hadn’t even asked.

  “Yep. I let the sedative wear off after the wedding this morning to see how he was doing. He’s pissed and was still woozy, but he did manage to shift.”

  “Thanks, Tuck. It’s not the ideal solution, but at least he’ll be gone for now.”

  * * *

  Evan and Nellie finally made it back to the cabin. Nellie flopped on the couch and threw her arms over her head.

  “What a day!” She glanced at Evan and thought he was absolutely gorgeous in the dark suit he’d worn today. The wedding had been perfect; Meg and Zach’s guests were really nice people and loved the fact that there were wolves wandering around the reception. The guys had all taken turns shifting so that no one would notice any particular person gone for very long. It had turned into a game for them and gave the guests plenty to talk about, along with lots of photo ops.

  Evan slipped out of his black suit coat and hung it over a chair. Then he removed the tie he’d worn since this morning, unbuttoned the white shirt that still looked damned hot on him, and toed off his black leather loafers.

  “Did I mention that you clean up really well, Mr. Dark?”

  He nodded. “That you did. But no one was as beautiful as you, Ms. Deya.”

  “Oh . . . this old thing?”

  She’d worn a designer gown, one that Darian had loaned to her. They were fairly close in size around, though Darian had a good five inches on her height. Darian said the dress hit her above the ankles—on Darnell it swept the floor—but she’d felt so beautiful today.

  “That old thing makes you look like a goddess. Come upstairs with me. I want to make love to you, and then I want to make you mine. You’ll sleep all through tomorrow, but when you awaken you’ll be able to run with me in the woods. I can’t wait to see what your wolf looks like. I bet you’ll be gorgeous.”

  He carried her up the stairs, and when he made love to her Darnell had absolutely no doubt that Evan was hers and this huge step they were taking was right. She came apart in his arms, her body pulsing around his, her heart pounding i
n her chest, and her mind spinning. He kissed his way down her throat, across her breasts, and then along her ribs to the flare of her hip. Then she watched, awestruck, as he shifted and the wolf nipped her there, a tiny bite that felt more like a pinch than an actual bite into her skin. She was aware of the hot flow of blood and the warmth of his tongue as he licked the wound he’d left.

  Then he shifted again and the mystery and the beauty of the change that was going to be hers brought tears to her eyes. Evan made love to her again, slowly, sweetly, his big body over hers, his thick cock filling her, owning her. She remembered her climax, a world of shooting stars and soft mountain breezes, and then she drifted away on the night with the sound of Evan’s heart thundering in her ears.

  * * *

  Trak’s climax was so powerful he could have sworn he saw stars. Chelo arched beneath him and her fingernails left long red streaks across his shoulders. He held his chest off her, blowing as if he’d just run a mile, head down, resting his weight on his elbows and forearms, but then he leaned close and kissed her, and just like that, he wanted her again.

  “Chelo, you are magnificent.” He kissed her again. “But I swear you’re going to wear me out. Will we ever grow tired of this?”

  “I hope not.” She nipped his chin and ran her fingers along his ribs. “Because I will never let you go. ‘Never’ isn’t just a euphemism with us. You realize that, right?”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  He was hard again and so ready when his phone rang. Glancing at the clock, he groaned. “It’s after eleven. What could they want me for now?”

  “You’d better get it. Your phone doesn’t ring this late.”

  She certainly thought like a pack alpha’s mate, always putting the pack first. He could not have found a more perfect woman. “I know. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Regretfully, he crawled off his woman and walked over to the dresser where he’d left the phone. Tuck’s name flashed on the screen. “Tuck? What’s up?”