Coti's Unclaimed Mate

by Elle Boon

  Bodhi tilted his head toward the inside. “They went into his office, but then, the girls decided they wanted to talk, and well, shit sort of went south at that point.”

  He heard some chants, and female growls, but surely, they weren’t allowing the women to fight. “What the fuck’s going on?”

  “Sometimes, women need to slap the shit outta each other in order to get their heads on straight, ya know?”

  No, he didn’t know. His female wasn’t one to hit anybody.

  A deep rumble shook the room, making the fine hairs on his arm stand up. “Fuck me, is that my little warrior?” He and Bodhi moved away from the door, heading toward the back of the bar. In through the back entrance, there was another door that led to a shifter only area, one where they held fights. The cage sat in the center, lights overhead illuminated the area, showing him NeNe surrounded by his female pack members. “Fucking bullshit. They all going to take her on?”

  Bodhi grabbed his arm. “You know our females aren’t like that. If they’re all in there, then there’s a reason, Coti. Don’t do something stupid, brother.”

  He shrugged Bodhi’s hand off of him, picking up his pace till he was outside the cage. “NeNe, what the hell is going on?” he yelled.

  NeNe turned to face him, black eyes stared out at him. “Don’t,” she snarled.

  “Fuck, her bear’s in control.” He walked to the door, knowing the big beast would tear the females apart.

  Kellen stepped in his way. “No, let them be. They got a beef they need to settle, or the pack will never be level, feel me?”

  Coti pointed behind Kellen. “She’s going to go killer bear on those females, and then all you are going to be mateless,” he warned.

  “NeNe’s in there, and I’m banking on the fact she still loves her friends. Loves them enough to not kill them. Smack them down a little for being beotches, her words not mine, yes. Kill, not gonna happen. Come on, let’s get on with it then,” Kellen yelled.

  Unable to believe the alpha of his pack was taunting NeNe, he waited, knowing he’d step in before she did something they’d all regret. He met Rowan’s intent blue gaze across from him, knowing the man had to be worried seeing his mate in the cage, but the ex-SEAL nodded, then looked back at the women. Bodhi, Turo, and Kellen surrounded him, the three men clearly thinking to hold him back. He mocked Kellen’s stance, folding his arms over his chest. “NeNe, do what you gotta do, armina. I need to talk to you.” Her head swung around, pinning him with an angry glare.

  “Dude, she looks ready to bite your head off. I’d shut the fuck up if I were you,” Xan said. “I’m glad my girl never pissed in your female’s pool.”

  “Please excuse him, sometimes I forget to walk in first with a warning sign,” Breezy announced.

  Xan grinned, wrapping his arms around his mate. “And what exactly would that sign say? Warning, sexy man walking?”

  Breezy snorted but a sigh escaped as Xan’s hands slid under her top. Coti turned away from the couple, jerking as the cage rattled. A feminine cry of outrage erupted from the center. The tiny woman mated to Turo, named Joz, jumped back up, but he’d missed why she’d landed against the far side. “Can you shut up, so I can focus?” he growled the angry words directed at Xan.

  “FYI, your girl just tossed little Joz across the cage like she was a doll she was tired of playing with,” Bodhi explained.

  Joz stood up, her hands flexing at her sides. “Ah, you wanna play like that?” She ran at NeNe, jumping up and kicking out toward NeNe’s head.

  The sound of the other woman’s foot connecting with NeNe, along with the way his mate’s head twisted to the side as if in slow motion, made Coti’s stomach drop. His mate lifted her hand, wiped her lip, then turned to face the women who stood in a group. “Nice kick,” she said, cracking her neck. Her nails clacked together, black claws had sprung out after Joz’s attack. “Next time, don’t stop when you got the momentum. All you did was piss me off.”

  “Aw, sheot, I think we might’ve bit off more than we can chew,” Lyric whisper yelled.

  Syn clapped her hands. “Ain’t nothing we ain’t done before, girlfriend. Remember that one time,” she laughed as Lyric said, ‘At band camp’, finishing Syn’s sentence. Both girls laughed and gave each other a high-five, then like two crazy women, they attacked.

  If Coti hadn’t seen them in action before, he’d have wished for a recorder, so he could hit rewind and see exactly what they’d done. Instead, he focused on NeNe, and her reactions. She spun, trying to figure out where they would attack. Only problem was each female moved fast, and in opposite directions, punching, kicking, and then moving out of NeNe’s range. The scent of his mate’s blood filled his senses, sending his beast a rocking.

  “Settle, Coti. She’s got this,” Kellen pointed at the cage.

  NeNe fell to one knee while Joz leapt over her from behind. She reached up and grabbed one of Joz’s feet pulling hard and fast. Joz hit the mat, the wind knocked out of her. NeNe put her face close to Joz’s, her hand now holding her throat. “Submit,” she roared.

  Lyric jumped on her back, some sort of war cry that hurt his ears coming from her mouth, her fist beating at NeNe’s head. Fuck, his woman’s dome was taking a beating, but she didn’t even rock from the hits. Instead, she reached up with her free hand and tossed Lyric up and out of the cage, yelling, “incoming”. Her aim was true, giving Rowan a chance to move a step back and catch Lyric.

  Syn stood in front of NeNe where she held Joz, her face bruised and battered. “If I were to say, run and aim a kick at your head, what would you do?” he heard the female ask.

  In a very bear like way, NeNe tilted her head. “I’d catch you like I did Lyric, then I’d probably knock you and this stubborn one’s head together. Both of you submit and we call it done,” she rumbled.

  The sound of an angry growl had him looking over at the door to the bar. Turo stood with one of his babies, an AR-15, in his hand. “Joz, don’t make me unload this fucker. Submit.”

  “Fine, but I’m not showing her my throat,” Joz growled.

  NeNe released her. “I don’t want your throat. I don’t want anything from any of you. You all thought I was nothing but trash, while you were too good to hang out with me anymore, well now, I’m trash that just whooped your asses.”

  “Baby, I’m gonna need you to hold that gun for a bit,” Joz called out, then the crazy little female wrapped her legs around NeNe’s head, flipped her over while Syn hopped on her chest. That same damn war cry came from outside the cage, then from inside as Lyric joined the fray. He made to stop them, coming up short as his alpha, along with the mates of the other women, blocked his path.

  “You all realize I can dematerialize and ghost right through you, right?” he asked them.

  Each man nodded but didn’t move.

  “Just for clarification, if I scent she’s hurting, physically, nothing will stop me. I won’t hurt your females, but I will get mine. Feel me?” He looked Kellen in the eye, not blinking.

  “I would expect no less,” Kellen agreed. “When they finish, and you settle shit with her, we got shit to sort out. I gave you a reprieve, because you weren’t level. I can tell you’re as level as you’ll ever be. I’ll give you twenty-four hours.” Kellen stepped aside, turning his back to Coti.

  He knew his alpha wasn’t disrespecting him, just letting him know he trusted him not to do anything stupid. If Kellen only knew, stupid was his middle name. However, he kept his feet planted while the women held NeNe down, screaming back and forth.

  “Can any of you understand what the fuck they’re saying?” Xan asked.

  Breezy elbowed him in the stomach. “Sssh, they’re talking it out.”

  Xan looked around, whisper yelling to Coti. “Is this like one of those telenovela things where you have to understand their language to get it?”

  “That’s what I just said,” Slater agreed.

  LeeLee rolled her eyes. “Be quiet so we can hear.”

/>   NeNe pushed her beast back, listening to her friends yell as they explained why they’d kept their distance. Yeah, she got they had to keep the whole shifter business a secret, but they still could’ve called her.

  “Beotches, if you don’t get your skanky asses off me, I’ll bite whatever part of you is closest to my mouth. Syn, that’s your left tit. You like that tit, don’t you?” She warned the other woman.

  Syn moved back, shoving NeNe’s arm back toward the floor. “Now do you understand? Lyric and I have always been this way, so it was easy for us to blend into the human world. We didn’t have uncontrollable shifts. Joz here, she’s not as controlled as us, or wasn’t. She’s got super wolf over there for a mate. He’s been working with her, plus a dragon or something in her line.”

  “Plus, we had all this shit hitting us, accidents that nearly killed us, yet here we are a couple days later looking fine. How do we explain that to one of our besties? If we told you, then Jenna would have to come and mindfuck you. Trust me, you do not want that.” Lyric shivered.

  She huffed out a breath, her arms falling beside her, making Syn and Lyric collapse as well. Their oof made her smile. “Newsflash, I got the mindfuck from Jenna, it was a doozy.”

  Joz touched NeNe’s teeth. “My what big teeth you have.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Wrong fairytale, that’s for the wolf. I’m a damn grizzly bear.” She shivered, thinking again how different she was from her friends.

  “Well, I for one think that’s fucking awesome. I mean, hello. When someone claims they’re being a bear in the morning, you can actually mean it. Am I right?” Lyric asked, her smile bright.

  NeNe lifted her head up off the mat, staring at her friend. “Did I hit you too hard? You got a few screws loose or what?”

  Syn lay down beside her, staring up at the ceiling. “Yeah, she’s a little looney, but we love her. But seriously. Imagine when you have kids, we can say, don’t mess with mama bear.” She held up her hand, waiting for someone to high-five her.

  She closed her eyes, hearing a loud clap followed by another, knowing her ex-friends, maybe still friends, were slapping palms. “I’ll totally bitch slap you all back into yesterday if you don’t quit it.”

  “Alright, ladies, I’m gonna have to ask you to break it up,” Kellen called from the side. “I have a mate and four little ones at home I’d like to go see, but until I know the shenanigans around here are over, I can’t.”

  “Did he just say shenanigans?” NeNe asked in a tone loud enough everyone heard.

  Chapter Eleven

  Coti waited until the women exited the cage, then he entered. NeNe sat with her legs drawn up to her chest, looking a little lost. “Hey, how you feeling?” he asked.

  He was glad to see her eyes were no longer the black orbs of her bear. Her bruised and battered face from before she’d been taken to Fey had healed. Even from her brawl with the females from his pack, she didn’t seem to be showing the amount of damage as the other females when they’d limped out. Seconds ticked by without her answering. Coti got down on the mat next to her, then decided he needed to wrap himself around her even if she didn’t feel the need like he did.

  “What’re you doing?” she asked.

  Her scent was the same, the sweet combinations of nutmeg and peaches would forever be etched in his mind, reminding him of NeNe. His mouth watered, thinking of what she’d taste like, wondering if she’d have a different flavor since her turning. “I’m holding you,” he answered.

  She twisted her head to the side, looking up at him with narrowed eyes. “You realize I’m not like you, like any of you, right?”

  He inhaled, rubbed his jaw over her hair. Hell, in the wild, they’d say he was marking her. Shit, in the club, he was totally marking her. He’d stop just short of pissing on her, because golden showers weren’t his thing.

  “Did you hear me?” NeNe nudged his abs with her elbow.

  “Of course I heard you, and yes, I know you’re not like me. Nobody here is like me.” He buried his nose in the thick mass of her hair, relishing in the fact she was there, alive.

  “Coti, you’re kinda freaking me out,” she said, but she relaxed against him.

  He nudged her head to the side with his, nuzzling along her shoulder to her neck. His teeth ached to sink into her flesh and taste her, claim her, mark her for all to see. Goddess, he needed her like he needed air. Scratch that, he probably didn’t need air to live. “I missed you, my little warrior.”

  Her hands came up, covering his where they held her around the waist. If she tried to get away from him he’d let her go, but his beasts wouldn’t be happy, neither would be the man. Shit, he tensed, waiting for her to pull his hands apart.

  “I missed you too,” she whispered, running her fingers over his.

  His heart thudded against his ribs while his wolf did somersaults inside his head. Shit, he imagined his two beings were rolling around and hugging each other as NeNe relaxed against him, letting him take her slight weight. “What do you say we blow this place and go back to my house?”

  He heard her heartrate increase, the sweet smell of anticipation wafted off of her. “I’d like that. Um, I should apologize to the others,” she mumbled, looking around the room. “Where’d everyone go?”

  Coti took advantage of her distraction, floating them to their feet. “Kellen said the party was over, so everyone left.”

  NeNe turned in his embrace, blinking up at him. “Except you and me.”

  “Except you and me,” he agreed.

  “You still want me even though I’m—I’m a bear. Fuck, I can’t believe I’m even saying that, and it’s not like a joke. Not that I’m not a bear in the morning before coffee, but I’m a freaking grizzly bear, Coti.”

  Her voice broke at the end, making his heart stutter. “NeNe, we’re all a little different, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t the same inside where it matters. Now that you know I’m not just a man, do you not still want me?” His mother’s people called their one and only a Hearts Love, while his father’s people called them their mate. Waiting for NeNe’s reply had his heart thudding hard. He was sure if she looked down she’d see his shirt moving from the pounding, but she didn’t break eye contact with him. Goddess, he wasn’t sure if he was still breathing while he waited what seemed hours for her answer.

  “I’ve wanted you even when I thought you were a criminal. The fact you’re a wolf isn’t even a blip on my radar.” She stood up on her toes and kissed his chin.

  He opened his mouth to tell her everything there was about him, giving her the entire truth of what he was before she tied herself to him. The jangle of keys had him stopping to see one of the pack members walking through. He paused, raised his hand in greeting, then he inhaled, his eyes widening. “Oh shit, what the hell?” He backed into the wall, fear shadowed his face.

  Coti decided he’d had enough. His pack was either going to accept his mate and him, or they wouldn’t, but they wouldn’t be afraid of them. With ease, he jumped with NeNe in his arms from the center of the cage, landing in front of the young shifter. Not asking for permission, he pulled his name from his mind, making sure he didn’t hurt the kid. “Erik, you have nothing to fear from my mate or me. Reach out to Kellen. Do it now,” he ordered. The alpha in him he kept leashed rose.

  Erik’s eyes were as large as saucers, but he did as Coti instructed. His head bobbing up and down while he spoke with Kellen through the pack link. Slowly, his scent went from fear, to one of embarrassment. He looked at the floor, the walls, anywhere but Coti.

  Taking pity on the kid, Coti placed his hand on his shoulder. “Be at ease, kid. Things are changing around here, but it just means there’s more protection for all of us. Go on, I assume your staying in one of the apartments.” He jerked his head toward the doors that led to the housing area behind them.

  “Yeah, my parents are the new managers. They took over after the, um, other couple left.” Erik nudged his tennis shoe on the floor, clearly r
eady to go.

  The other couple didn’t leave but betrayed the pack, which led to their ultimate deaths. No, Coti wouldn’t be correcting the kid, but he’d be keeping an eye out. If he or his parents had a prejudice against other shifters, Kellen would need to know.

  “Go on home, Erik.” Coti moved to the side, feeling NeNe’s hand grip his tightly. She didn’t say anything. He was proud of her for not gasping or screaming when he’d launched them into the air like he’d done. Brave mate, his wolf growled.

  Erik stepped around them, his steps hurrying toward escape.

  “Hey Erik. Where were you tonight?” NeNe asked.

  His mate turned around, meeting the younger man’s gaze before he could disappear through the door. “I was with friends.” Came a petulant reply.

  NeNe stalked him, her face up close and personal to his. “Your friends, huh? Do they happen to be from the other side of town?”

  Erik pushed NeNe away, his wolf rippled beneath him. “What’s it to you? You’re not pack. Kellen said I had to be nice and treat you with respect. I will do as my alpha says but keep your nose out of my business.”

  Coti let the young wolf skitter out the door, waiting for NeNe to explain what the hell just happened. She held her hand up, her finger against her lips. He gave a nod, waiting for her to join him by the door. There was a lot they needed to discuss once they got to his place, their place if he had his way.

  NeNe allowed Coti to take the lead, followed him like a docile little woman when her bear was roaring at her to go back and beat the little shit named Erik senseless. She could smell her brother and his friends on him. How she could, she didn’t know, but her bear filled her with rage and knowledge as the kid passed her. “How we getting home?” she asked.

  Coti looked at her and then the seatbelt, waiting like he had all the patience in the world. “My truck was here getting an oil change.” He waited with a brow raised.

  “You realize I’m a damn grizzly. A little accident ain’t gonna kill me,” she snarled but snapped the harness into place out of habit and to get the big man moving.