Deadly Mates (Deadly Trilogy)

by Ashley Stoyanoff

  “I can’t trust you,” I whispered, my voice wobbly. My heart started pounding painfully fast. “I don’t even know who you are.”

  He tipped my chin up with his free hand, forcing me to meet his eyes; his eyes were pleading. “Your wolf knows me, Jade. She trusts me. You feel it. I know you do. We can work on the rest. I can make this right.”

  I shook my head, pulling in a deep breath. He was right. He was so bang on and it scared me to death. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than him. I wanted to feel delicate, wrapped in his arms. And I never, ever wanted to feel the dark, frantic need that Jared brought out in me, again. But the tendrils of longing and desire that weaved throughout my chest scared the heck out of me. How could I feel this way about a guy who had done nothing but lie and manipulate me?

  I heard the shuffling steps outside the door and then the thump of feet on the staircase. I listened until the last step had been taken, and strained to hear if anyone else had hung around upstairs. The silence that greeted me seemed too loud and uneasiness wormed its way through my belly. My nerve started to falter and I squeezed my eyes closed, and then I murmured the words that I was sure could only lead to my heart being ripped out again. “I don’t know if you can make it right.” I sucked in a full breath, and let it hiss out slowly. “But I guess that doesn’t really matter. I need to ...”

  He growled low in his chest. My eyes snapped open as his grip tightened on my wrist. I searched his face, trying to read what was there, but all I saw was rage. “Don’t say it, Jade,” he spat. “Don’t even think of saying you need to stay with him.”

  ~ AIDAN ~

  Jade was still trying to play the game, and it confused the hell out of me. Maybe she had changed her mind from last night. Maybe she wasn’t going to tell me the truth anymore. I didn’t really deserve it, especially after what I’d done with Erika, but damn, I wanted to hear her say it.

  She knew I’d seen her shudder away from Jared’s touch. She felt the connection, the chemistry, between us. I could see it in her eyes. I knew she didn’t believe she should stay here, stay with him, but she still tried to convince me that she wasn’t mine. It was wrecking her — wrecking me. Her expression was shattered, her body trembled.

  “Will you just shut up,” she hissed, keeping her voice low so no one would overhear and her defeated gaze dropped to my chest. She shook off my hand which was still clamped around her wrist and when I let go, she hugged her arms around her waist, pressing the damp washcloth into her side. The water seeped into her light blue night shirt, the thin cotton soaking it up and darkening where it touched, but she didn’t seem to notice. “I’m trying to confess here,” she huffed, “and you are so not making it easy.”

  “Confess?” I asked. I shook my head. Damn, clearly I had read her wrong. The way she had closed her eyes, squeezing them shut, as if she couldn’t handle looking at me, and that sad, sad smile that curved her beautiful lips. I sucked in a breath, steadying my racing heart, and I tapped her chin again, tilting her face back up to meet mine. “You want to confess?”

  “Never pictured this happening in a bathroom,” she muttered. She puffed out a breath and tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. She held my gaze for a moment before pushing my hand away and letting her eyes drop again. “Jared and I aren’t really together,” she whispered.

  I held my breath, waiting for more. I craved to hear her say that she was mine, that I was hers. I needed to hear it, needed to watch her say it, but she didn’t say it. Her shoulders slumped, her breath hitched, as if talking to me was physically painful for her.

  My inner-wolf howled within me, and the alpha in me shot to the forefront of my mind. Pieces I hadn’t even considered last night started to fall into place. I’d been so busy feeling like an ass that I hadn’t seen the whole picture. But in that moment, I saw it all in crisp, clear threads playing out just behind my eyes. Not only had my mate been lying to me but the head enforcer, probably the whole damn team, had also been. My inner-wolf took over and through my teeth I said exactly what my inner-wolf wanted to do, “I’m going to kill him.”

  “Oh no, you’re not.” Jade shuddered back a step and jammed a pointed finger into my chest, the cloth still clutched in her hand, leaving a wet print on my shirt. “You’re going to stay away from Jared.”

  A growl rumbled in my chest, and I closed the small space she’d placed between us, pressing against her and glaring down at her. My biceps flexed, and my eyes washed over with a golden haze.

  “I’m serious, Aidan,” she whispered. She took another step back and then turned away from me. The back of her shirt was shredded, and angry, red welts littered her skin, the remnants of Jared’s claws raking over her. Her shoulders rose and fell quickly, and she said in a soft, airless tone, “You will leave him alone. None of this was his idea. I care about him and I’m asking you to leave him alone.”

  I growled again. I couldn’t seem to do anything else. Right then I was more animal than human. Course hair layered my forearms and then receded. Shots of adrenaline pounded through my veins. Another growl erupted, and another shot of adrenaline followed.

  Jade spun on me, narrowed her eyes, and planted her hands on her hips. “Will you stop this! God, when did you turn into such a freakin’ caveman?” She sighed long and loud and shook her head a few times. “Jared was following my orders. I put him up to it all. I didn’t want you to know. He lied to you for me. Maybe I wanted to hurt you as much as you hurt me, I don’t know. I tried to tell myself I was doing it for the pack, for you, even. But I guess that doesn’t matter anymore. I asked him to keep it real, and keep it quiet. And he did exactly what I wanted.”

  “You’re just digging his grave, Jade,” I said in a low growl. “Word of advice, keep your confessions to yourself. Don’t give me another reason to get rid of him.”

  Her eyes narrowed further until they were only little slits. She swallowed a few quick swallows and then asked, “Who are you?”

  “I’m still the same person you fell for. The same person you fought for a few days ago. The same person you killed for. I haven’t changed. I’m your mate.” She made a shocked noise from the back of her throat and brought her fingers to her lips. Her eyes widened. “What? Did you really think I didn’t know how you felt?” I’m not sure what made me say it. The truth? Until yesterday, I’d actually believed she hated me.

  “Of course I didn’t think you knew,” she muttered, turning the cutest shade of rosy pink. She took a step back toward me and reached out, running a finger along my cheek. She cocked her head to the side and her nostrils flared, then she smirked. “You need to chill out before you end up shifting in my bathroom.”

  I chuckled, but it sounded strangled and forced. There was something I needed to know and I was pretty sure the answer would completely suck. “I can’t believe I’m going to ask this, but why him? Why would you pick someone that you knew wanted to mate with you?”

  She lifted her shoulders in a small, delicate shrug. “Because at the time he was a better choice than you. At least with him I knew where I stood.”

  Yep, completely sucked.

  Her answer burned and the small ounce of peace I’d started to feel under her touch splintered. I growled again. I couldn’t stop it. My inner-wolf was going crazy. I was going crazy. I reached out, cupping her cheeks in the palms of my hands. “I’m taking you home. Your Dad knows who you are, Jade. The best thing we can do right now is walk out of this house together.” I paused for a second, searching her face, waiting for her protest, but she said nothing, so I pushed on. “You’re going to tell him you freaked out after taking Tiff’s life. You’ll tell him you were scared about mating, that you weren’t ready for that kind of commitment, and that the pressure of it all was too much. And then you’re going to pack your bags and you’re going to finally come home.”

  For about half a second she smiled, a soft, sweet smile, but it didn’t last, and before I knew it she was frowning. I ran a hand over her forehead, desp
erately wanting to smooth out the lines and bring the smile back. As I tried to brush them away, she said, “This is my home.”

  “Not anymore.” I dropped my hands from her face and took a step back toward the door, ready to walk away. I couldn’t listen to her try to tell me any different. I didn’t trust myself to keep in control. Not right now. “I’m not arguing about this. Right now, I need to fix what just happened. I need to cover this up and the best way to do that is to take you home with me.”

  I waited for a second, hoping to see something — anything — to tell me that she agreed, that she felt the same as I did, but she gave me nothing. I sighed, and started to turn away from her, but as I did, she placed a hand on my chest, stopping me. “Lean back,” she said. “You still have blood all over your face.”

  CHAPTER 11

  ~ JADE ~

  I finished cleaning the blood from Aidan’s face. My pulse was pounding, my ribs aching, as if my heart was trying to break through with each frantic beat. I had to admit that telling him the truth had a freeing effect, even if I hadn’t been able to say everything I had wanted to. It was as if there had been a barbed wire cage around my heart, squeezing and cutting, but as I told him that I wasn’t actually with Jared, the barbs had loosened, although they hadn’t completely vanished.

  I wanted to say something. He had to know how ridiculous he was being. He had to know that there was absolutely no way I would just pack my bags and follow him home just because he said so, even if that was exactly what I wanted to do. He’d had his chance and what had he done with it? He had set it on fire, and watched it burn. And I really didn’t think I was ready to give him a chance to do it again.

  The problem was I couldn’t make my voice work. Maybe it was because deep down I didn’t really want to fight it or it could have been that my inner-wolf was clamping down on my protests, reminding me that I had essentially done the exact same things that I’d been blaming him for. Whatever it was, it was definitely annoying.

  His shoulders were set, a determined glint in his eyes. There was no reasoning with him, at least not now. His scent raked through me, calming my nerves, and at the same time, doubling my heartbeat. All I could do was focus on breathing, slow steady breaths.

  I rinsed out the cloth and draped it over the edge of the sink. I sighed. I could feel his eyes on me, scanning down my backside, most likely inspecting my tattered shirt. I’d felt the gashes close up some time ago, and the dry crustiness of blood was starting to itch. I grabbed another cloth from under the sink, wet it down, and tossed it to him.

  Aidan caught it easily and moved in behind me as if he knew exactly what I needed. His fingertips, warm and smooth, teased my skin as he lifted the hem of my shirt and I really had to focus on not leaning into him as he gently stroked the cloth along my tender skin. But darn it, I wanted to.

  I knew he was waiting for me to tell him no. During the last few minutes while I couldn’t find my voice, he had been coaching me. Telling me exactly what I had to do. He was sure my dad didn’t know everything. He claimed that the Jared cover being blown was just a hiccup. And he had made it very clear that I would be in a crap-load of trouble if I didn’t make the story I needed to tell Dad believable.

  I, on the other hand, had been trying to think of a way out of this. I knew I could make the story believable. It was all the truth. I had freaked out. But really, who wouldn’t have? I had killed someone. I had fought to the death for a pack that for the last two years I had loathed with every fiber of my body. And, yeah, Aidan was right. When I really thought about it, in the end, I’d been fighting for him. It had been his voice, his encouragement that had helped me win. His cries to me had been full of heartbreak, desperation, fear, and it was all of that that had given me the strength in the very last second to finish Tiffany off; I was sure of it.

  But I knew in my gut that moving in with Aidan wasn’t such a smart idea, even if it was only until we dealt with my dad. I didn’t trust him, I didn’t trust myself to be alone with him, and I was sure that staying here, near my dad, would be more useful. Really, that had been the reason behind everyone agreeing that I should pretend to be with an enforcer, so we could keep an eye on things.

  When Aidan finished up on my back, he tossed the cloth into the sink and I slowly, almost reluctantly, turned around. And again, I found myself wanting to tell him how stupid he was being. He was acting like a freakin’ caveman, puffing out his chest, giving me a look that clearly said, You’re mine, accept it and deal with it. The same look he’d given me when I had won the games and had melted into his arms. But again, I couldn’t because, darn it, no matter how I looked at it, I was his.

  Like the earth needed rain, I needed my mate.

  He leaned back against the wall and gave me a thorough once over before he asked, “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

  “I’m not sure I can do this,” I said, feeling a slight tremor in my bottom lip. “He’s still my dad. I feel like ... like I’m betraying him.”

  He frowned. “Your dad betrayed your pack.”

  “You’re not helping, jackass,” I snapped, cutting him a dirty look. “It’s not that simple and you know it.” But then, maybe it was that simple. I knew I was desperately trying to hold on to an image of my dad that couldn’t have ever really existed. It was just that a part of me, the scared little girl within me, really, really wanted her father not to be the devil.

  “Come here, sweetheart.” Aidan’s voice was soft, soothing. He held a hand out to me. I took a tentative step and then another, and as soon as I moved close enough, his arm coiled around my waist, pulling me flush against him. The gesture felt so incredibly right, so perfectly natural, that I found myself liquefying, melting into him, and leaning my head against his chest. As he brushed some stray hair from my forehead, the barbed wire around my heart loosened a bit more.

  He pressed a kiss onto my brow line, and all it took was just a light brush of his lips and my heartbeat tripled. “You’re the strongest person I know. You can do this.” He squeezed me tighter, and rubbed a small circle on my back. “Nothing needs to be decided today. We can go on the defensive. We’ll watch, learn what we can about his pack and his involvement. Figure out what they want with our town. That’s it.”

  “Okay.” I nodded against his chest. “Okay, I’m ready.” He didn’t say anything else as I wriggled out of his arms, straightened my shoulders, and raised my chin. And he didn’t try to stop me as I nudged him out of the way and went out the door, but then he’d already said everything he’d needed to, giving me the strength I needed.

  I found everyone in the living room. Dad sat in his recliner, completely at ease. Dominic was grinning at me. Trevor, too, with Marcy pressed against his side. Jared was scowling, but thankfully he had ditched the towel and gotten dressed. The team, all five of them, were squashed together on the couch. Tommy and Chris stood behind them like statues. They looked incredibly out of place amongst our young pack members, but for a split second, I was really glad they were there, their strong, controlled presence balancing out the young recklessness of my team.

  The glad feeling didn’t last nearly long enough. There was so much tension, I could barely breathe. Aidan was behind me. I could feel the heat of his glare hitting my back in waves. I could only imagine the furious, determined glint that had to be in his eyes because honestly, I was a bit too freaked out to turn around and actually see it. You can do this, I coached myself. Too bad my little pep talk wasn’t working for me.

  As we approached, heads bowed and shoulders drooped. I gritted my teeth. Again, I felt like something big had changed. And I really didn’t know if I liked it. Since when did my team show any kind of respect to the alpha? They hadn’t with Ray and they had challenged Aidan’s every move since he took over. I knew the show of respect wasn’t for me. For me, they would have grinned and said something ridiculously annoying. Whether they meant to or not, their silent show of reverence only managed to make my nerves waver.
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  I stopped beside the couch, wishing I could squeeze in with the guys and hide. I was about to try it, too; I even took a step closer.

  Aidan must have figured out what I wanted to do. His hand clamped down on my shoulder, stopping me. The profound silence that followed the gesture and the dark look from Jared twisted my stomach into pinching knots.

  It was my dad who spoke up first and I couldn’t stop myself from cringing at his question. “Is what Dominic told me true, Jade? Did you turn your back on your mate?” The disappointment I heard in his tone pulled the knots in my belly tighter and made me want to throw-up. My cheeks cramped, and my mouth flooded with water. I didn’t know how he could sit there looking all heartbroken, like he actually cared. Not with everything he’d done, was doing, and was going to do again and again until we stopped him. I swallowed a few times, trying to bury the sick feeling.

  At least his question explained Dominic’s grin and I cut my former best friend a dirty look. He winked, clearly enjoying my discomfort.

  “I did,” I whispered, dropping my head. Aidan squeezed my shoulder, probably trying to reassure me, but it didn’t help. I pulled in a breath. “I was scared. I’m still scared.”

  “Do you understand that he could have you killed for this?” Again, the disappointment. Again, the heartbreak. Bile rose in my throat again and I swallowed it down.

  “At the time, no, I didn’t,” I said, shaking my head from side to side. “I thought I actually had to go through the mating process to break that law.”

  Dad sighed and said, “As soon as you won the games, your mate was chosen, pumpkin. The alpha male and female always mate. It’s what makes the alpha pair such a strong force. The combination of your scents mixed with your imprints, it would give you both complete authority over your wolves, being able to draw on each other’s scents or use them both together ...” He sighed again, long and loud. “A mated alpha pair is the strength behind any pack.”