by Liza Street
The fight continued, the two bears turning in circles, tackling each other, coming up to advance again. Jameson finally pinned Jake down. His jaws were locked at the back of Jake’s neck, and he shook him once, twice. Jake remained still.
Rex stepped forward. “The challenge goes to our alpha, Jameson Cooper. Let all witness.”
There were murmurings among the clan members assembled, and Nina wanted to shout with joy. She dropped out of her tree, landing easily on her feet in the springy earth. The dark, sucking magic she’d sensed earlier had dissipated. The night air felt like a caress on her skin.
Jameson stepped back and roared. Jake shifted to his human form, brought back by the alpha’s power, and Jameson quickly shifted into his human form, as well.
Jameson said, “Jake Boyd, I banish you from the Rock Creek Clan. Effective immediately. Get your things and go.”
Jake swore. He looked, for a second, as if he’d swing out to knock over the cairn, but Jameson growled. Jake swore again and limped out of the Circle.
He was aimed right in Nina’s direction.
Nina tried to melt into the shadows, not wanting him to see her, but he sniffed once.
“Here, kitty-kitty,” he taunted.
“You’re under orders to leave,” Nina said. A few yards away, Jameson’s stance changed with alarm. He was bleeding, though, and in no shape to rush over. Nina waved him away. Whatever Jake had in mind, she could handle it.
Jake eyed her. “How about a parting gift?”
Before Nina could move, Jake’s fist shot out and slammed into her mouth. Her lip split, and she tasted blood.
Every fiber of her being yearned to hit him back, but she clenched her fists at her side. Laughing, Jake ambled back toward the cabins.
Jameson was at her side in an instant. “I’ll kill him,” he said.
“No,” Nina said, wiping the blood from her chin. “I’ll heal fast. Let him go, just to get rid of him, okay?”
Jameson looked like he’d argue, but Rex touched his shoulder. “You’re in no shape to chase after him, admit it.”
Jameson closed his eyes and nodded. “Come on, Nina.”
They each wrapped an arm around each others’ waists and walked back to Jameson’s cabin. Once inside, Nina went into nurse mode. She’d taken care of plenty of wounded shifters in the Corona Pride—often she was the one they came to because she was the least squeamish about stitching people up.
No stitches were necessary now, thankfully. Jameson was already healing, the skin mending on its own, almost in front of her eyes.
“You have wicked fast healing,” Nina said. She caught a glance of her face in the mirror. Her lip had stopped bleeding, of course, and had already scabbed. But if she had Jameson’s healing, she suspected there wouldn’t even be a sign of Jake’s punch.
“I think it’s a bear thing,” Jameson said. “Not sure, but nobody else heals as fast as I do, except Jake and Nolan.”
She dabbed against the larger cuts. He wouldn’t contract any infections, but nobody wanted dirt stuck in their wounds. Soon he was all clean.
Still naked, though.
“Here’s a blanket,” she said, tossing one at him.
“What happened to my attentive, gentle nurse?” he asked, catching the blanket.
“She’s pissed at you,” Nina said.
“What?”
“You just…left…again. Not waking me up.”
“Nina, I couldn’t have you there. I couldn’t have borne it if you watched. It was too close to what happened last time, and I just couldn’t have handled it. You understand, don’t you?”
He looked up at her beseechingly. “Nina, please. I just couldn’t handle it if you got hurt.”
“Yeah, I know,” she said, feeling her heart soften. “Sit back. I want to give you some TLC.”
Twenty-Two
Jameson watched as Nina knelt on the floor before him. The blanket was on his lap, but she moved it away again.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
“Making you feel better.”
“I thought you were mad,” he said.
“I was. But I understand why you did what you did. Just never do it again. You want me to stay away, just ask. Maybe I’ll argue with you—”
“Oh, you’ll definitely argue with me,” he said.
“Maybe I will. But we should talk first. You don’t get to make all the decisions here, Mr. Alphahole.”
He shook his head. This woman made him crazy in all the best ways and in all the most infuriating ways. “If you call me alphahole again, you are going to be one sorry kitty cat.”
“Oh yeah? I dare you to try.” And without warning, she leaned forward and took his cock in her mouth.
He’d already been sporting a semi, because hell, a beautiful woman in front of him—his beautiful mate in front of him—was bound to do the trick anyway, but when he felt her lips encircle the head of his cock and then slide down with warm wetness, he surged forward with a groan.
She sucked down and then eased back up, and caressed his balls with one hand.
“Nina,” he whispered. “Oh, that feels so good.”
“Yeah, maybe I should stop,” Nina said, a teasing note in her voice. “I should give you some recovery time.”
Her eyes were twinkling, and he grinned but sent her the hottest, most intense look he could manage. “You wouldn’t.”
“Payback’s a bitch,” she said.
“You’re right. Next time, I can drag it out for hours.”
She raised her eyebrows in mock alarm and came back down on his cock. He reached forward, touching the crown of her head. He wouldn’t push her down on him, just a gentle touch to feel the way it was happening, to remember that this was Nina, giving him pleasure, to feel every aspect of this—the scent of her arousal, mixing with his own, the feel of her soft, wavy hair beneath his palm, the taste of sex in the air.
“Touch yourself,” he said.
She had on loose fitting pajama pants, and he watched as she put her free hand down the front of them. “Mmm,” she moaned over his cock, and the vibration had him wanting to take control so he could enjoy her mouth harder, faster.
Her other hand released his balls and came to rest on top of the hand he had on her head. She pushed his hand down, and her head went down.
“You want me to move you at my pace?” he asked.
“Mm-hmm,” she said.
So he did. He took control of her head, moving it up and down. Her mouth slid over him, and he encouraged her to take her own pleasure, to move her fingers in just the right way.
“I want you,” he said. “Oh, Nina, I want you.”
She stood up, shoved her pants down, and climbed onto him. Once there, he slowed everything down. They should enjoy this, enjoy each other. He guided her hips, rocking her up and down over him, and then she started squirming, trying to move things faster, and he let her take control. Her pelvis bumped into his, and he saw that the friction was doing good things for her. “That’s right,” he said. “Take it all. Take everything you want because I will give you everything, Nina my love.”
She came on him, her pussy milking his cock, taking everything he had to give as he pumped a few final times inside of her and froze, his body tense, his teeth clamped down on her shoulder.
She cried out with the aftershocks and finally settled into his lap.
“You’re the best nurse ever,” Jameson murmured, licking the faint bite mark on her shoulder.
“Mm-hmm,” she said. “I feel it all through me. You really did give me everything.” She looked at her shoulder in wonder. “I think that’s a mate mark, Jameson.”
He stared at the wound. He’d barely drawn blood. “I should have asked first,” he said.
“I would have said yes.”
“But I should have asked.”
“Don’t worry,” she said, and she reached forward and bit his shoulder on a spot that wasn’t already bruised from
Jake’s challenge.
“There,” she said, licking the wound. “I didn’t ask, either.”
He laughed. “I don’t think that’s the way consent works, babe.”
“Nope.” She smiled. “But it worked for us, this one time.”
He nodded. “I’m grateful for the mark. Now we’re truly joined, forever.”
*
They slept again in each other’s arms, and Jameson woke to Nina sitting up. Her phone was buzzing, and she picked it up.
“Someone calling?” he asked.
“No. Texts. Lots of them. And a voicemail.”
She listened, but the voice was too quiet for him to hear. It sounded like Marlana’s voice, though. He looked over at his phone—he had a voicemail, too.
“I have to leave,” Nina said.
“What do you mean?”
“I have to leave. Exactly what I said. The clan is in trouble with me here. I’m putting you all in danger, Jameson.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The vampires. They learned where I am. Sounds like the Channing twins were talking about me at some bar. The vampires are coming here, Jameson, to get me and make a statement to the rest of the Corona Pride.”
“I won’t let them do that,” he said.
“That’s exactly why I have to leave. If I go back to the Coronas, they can protect me. This is their fight. Come on, Jameson, this makes the most sense.”
It didn’t make any sense to him at all. She belonged here, with him. Traveling would leave her vulnerable, and take her away and he wouldn’t be able to protect her. “I won’t let you go,” he said. “You said you would stay. I asked you to stay, and you said you would.”
She shook her head. “That was before this, before the vampires were a real threat. We had a treaty, but new vampires came in from Europe. Something about the Nocturne Court or, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter what the fuck they’re called. Things are getting really bad there, is what it comes down to. I can’t do this. I can’t put the Rock Creek Clan in danger. Rex, Gemma, Erena, Margot, Nolan, and even Carl who hates me almost as much as Jake does. That’s not okay with me.”
“But we’ll fight for you.”
“Don’t you understand? You won’t have to fight at all when I’m back in the Corona mountains. My pride will fight for me, and I’ll be there to help them. This isn’t your war.”
“Nina, if you would just listen to me for a minute, you’d see this is a mistake.”
He wanted to block the door. He wanted to tie her up with those damn ropes and talk her into staying. “I’ll do anything to make you stay. Please.”
“I’m sorry.”
With a wide-eyed look, she stepped out of his cabin and marched over to her own.
Jameson texted Gemma. I need some help.
Twenty-Three
Nina tried not to cry as she walked back to her cabin. She would need to get her things together as quickly as possible. The texts from her sister had said they didn’t know how far out the vampires were, but at least a day away, probably. They could even arrive that night, but it was hard to know how fast they traveled.
She threw her clothes into her duffel bag and unplugged all her computer cords. This had been the best place to work. In her tiny apartment in Belnedge, there wasn’t a window like this. There wasn’t the great, beautiful quiet of the Idaho wilderness.
There was no Jameson.
She’d miss this place, but she’d come back.
It wasn’t fair of her to disappear like this, but hell if she was going to let the vampires come here and destroy this beautiful, problematic clan. It was messy here and imperfect, but nothing was ever perfect.
There was a knock at her door. “Jameson, leave me alone. You know I’m not listening.”
“It’s Gemma.”
“Gemma? It’s damn early. Come inside, what’s wrong?”
The door burst open and Gemma stood there, her brown eyes flashing. “What’s wrong is you thinking you need to leave. What the hell, Nina? I thought we were friends.”
Nina’s mouth fell open, and she dropped her computer cord. “Um, we are.”
“Really? Then why are you taking off like this? You think we don’t love you enough to protect you?”
“No, it’s not like that,” Nina said. “I’m trying to protect you.”
“You are a part of our clan, no matter what,” Gemma said. “Even if we hurt for it.”
Nina fell to her knees. “Gemma, I couldn’t live with myself if a single one of you got hurt because of me.”
“Which is why any of us would bleed for you.” Gemma sighed. “Come outside.”
Puzzled, Nina followed her.
In a loose group near the fire pit, Jameson had gathered all of the clan members. He stood before them and his electric alpha power filled the air, clogged Nina’s nose with its tangible force.
As soon as he saw Nina, though, he crouched next to her. “Nina Vidal, you are my forever. I’m declaring in front of the clan that you are my mate.”
Nina knew that Gemma was at her side. She knew that the other clan members surrounded them—Carl, Erena, Margot, Nolan, Rex. She knew that there was a sky and trees and the ground beneath her feet.
But all she could see was Jameson, and all she could hear were his words. She was his forever. Her throat felt full with emotion when she finally said, “I didn’t think I was a part of anyone’s forever.”
“Well,” he said simply, “you’re mine.”
Somehow she was standing right in front of him—she’d crossed the space between them without even knowing it. From the corner of her eye, she could see the clan dispersing, but her attention was focused on Jameson.
“You’re my forever, too,” she said.
“We’ll be stronger together.” Jameson’s voice was a rumbling whisper. “Stay. Please. Let me protect you. Let the clan protect you.”
She sagged against his chest, felt his warm arms wrap around her shoulders. “Okay.”
Jameson looked somewhere behind her. “Rex, Gemma, we’re meeting in my cabin. We’ll get the full story and figure out where to go from there.”
He stood and took Nina’s hand, helping her up even though she didn’t need help. He just wanted to touch her, she figured, as much as she wanted to touch him.
Her man and her new friends were going to protect her, as if she meant the world to them.
They meant the world to her.
Twenty-Four
Jameson wasn’t going to let anything happen to Nina. He kept his hand on her lower back the short walk over to his cabin. And when they sat on the couch, he pressed his thigh gently against hers.
Rex and Gemma followed them in.
“Explain what’s going on,” Jameson said, putting his alpha voice on and looking at Nina.
“The vampire ranks have swelled since I left,” Nina said. “I just found out that a new court has come in from Europe. They’re mad, they won’t honor the treaty we had with the original court, and they want to start picking off the pride one by one. Because of a couple of dickheads in the Corona Pride, gossiping about me at a fucking bar, the new vampires figured out I left the territory, and now they’re after me.”
“Okay. We can work with this.” He ran a hand through his hair, and watched Nina smirk. “It’s sticking straight up now, isn’t it?” he asked.
“Yes, it is. I love it.”
“Oh barf,” Gemma said, but she was smiling.
Jameson reached for Nina’s hand. “So the vampires are coming. This is going to be really dangerous. Can you tell us how to fight them?”
“They’re wicked fast,” Nina told him. “You don’t even see the vampire itself, just the shadows of movement.”
“Is that because it’s dark, or because they literally turn into shadow?”
“I think it’s because I’ve always seen them in dim lighting. Moonlight, or faint candlelight.” She told Jameson, Rex, and Gemma about the couple of times she’d
encountered vampires, and how they’d learned how to fight them. “They do bleed,” she said. “They won’t come out in sunlight. We’ve killed them with fire, and by ripping their throats out. We haven’t tried stakes, since it’s kind of hard to hold one when we’re in animal form.”
Jameson nodded. “We have a lot of preparation to do.”
“You need to leave for the university soon, don’t you?” Rex asked.
Jameson had already thought about this. “No lecture today, just office hours. There aren’t any midterms or papers due this week, so I’ll call in sick.”
Nina squeezed his hand. He felt the heat and the love of her just in that one touch.
*
After lunch, Jameson called the clan together at the Circle. Without Asshole Jake, they were only eight, counting Nina. Not great numbers, especially since Gemma wouldn’t be fighting.
He stood next to the cairn. It reached his shoulder in height, and sometimes felt like a podium.
“All of you are in grave danger, there’s no denying that,” Jameson said. He looked around at his clan. They looked smaller, somehow, dwarfed by the massive trees. “We’re fighters, but this isn’t our fight. At the same time, Nina belongs with us now. She is mine, and I am hers.”
Erena glared, and Carl made a dismissive snorting sound. Not even Nolan looked pleased, but Jameson wasn’t here to win a popularity contest. This wasn’t a fight for prom king, it was a fight for their lives. It didn’t matter whether everyone agreed or approved—this was here, and it was real, and they would protect each other.
“Nina will show us some of the tactics her pride developed when fighting the bloodsuckers. We’ll practice for the rest of the afternoon if we have to, for anyone who wants to.”
“Gemma, you’re going to be inside,” Rex said.
“I…yeah, I know where my strengths lie,” Gemma said. “I’m a lover, not a fighter. I’ll be inside.”
“Thank you,” he said.
Jameson continued, “However, I realize that this isn’t anything you signed up for when you joined the clan. We couldn’t have foreseen a fight against vampires. Anyone who wants out now—you’re welcome to go.”
Erena didn’t hesitate. She grabbed Margot by the hand. “We’re going.”
Margot yanked her hand back. “I’m not leaving. This is my home.”
