by Tigertalez
“Yes, and not only him, but Slate’s ecstatic I can work around here instead of running into town.”
Lois giggled. “How’s he doing?”
Katie scrunched her nose. “He’s really happy to have his mother and sister around. He’s in a meeting with the inner circle right now. He’s been working hard on some projects pertaining to security. He’s been working long hours. He and the other inner circle have been running themselves ragged on patrols added to their day-to-day business.”
“How is his mother? Where is she?” Lois looked around and back at Katie.
Katie leaned her shoulder against the wall. “She’s getting better. She’s with Dex and Elise exploring the walipini.”
“I’ve heard about that thing. Haven’t been in it though. What exactly is it?”
“It’s pretty cool. A walipini is an in-ground greenhouse structure. They’re built into the ground because, below the frost line, the earth maintains a temperature of thirteen Celsius, or fifty-five degrees. That helps keep the inside both cool in the summer and warm in the winter. With the winters we have here in Canada, it makes it possible to continue to grow veggies or whatever during those months.
“Dex is crazy about the thing, and Elise seems to have an interest in it as well. She was taking biochemistry, and I guess there’s a connection between the path in her field she’s studying and with what Dex does.”
“Yikes.” Lois rubbed her belly.
Katie straightened up. “You all right?”
“Yeah, the little guy is an eater. He gets physical when he’s hungry.”
Katie snorted. “Then he’s a perfectly healthy shifter cub. Come on, I’ll walk you to the kitchen. Thank you for doing this, Lois.”
Lois held her stomach and her back as she stood. “Not a problem. Reese is sweet and has a promising future in the field. The doctor’s plan for a hospital is a good one, and Reese would be a good help with that.”
****
On Sunday morning, Katie groaned as she rolls over in bed to hit the alarm clock. “It’s too early.”
Slate’s deep vibrating chuckles reverberated off her spine as he leaned forward to kiss her on her shoulder.
“I know, Baby-Kate. Sorry, but it’s my day for sentry duty, and I’ve got to meet with Alphy before that.” His soft, warm lips pressed along her back, and a shiver of pleasure quaked down her spine. Katie groaned. Slate straddled her hips and rubbed his naked erection between her curved butt cheeks. She could feel the hairs on his balls tickle her. His heated breath rolled over her skin. “I’ll help you wake up.”
Katie squeezed her cheeks around his engorged appendage and rocked up against it. Slate leaned to the side, and with a loud smack, Katie felt her ass cheek sting. With the contact, she let out a yelp then hummed as desire bloomed through her core. Her ass cheeks spread apart when Slate rubbed the sting.
“Naughty, naughty mate.” Slate’s teeth nipped at her bare shoulder, and then he laved his tongue over the slight mark. His hands slid up her arms, slowly pinning them above her head as his knees spread open her thighs. With her crease more open to him, he rutted his length, once again, between her mounds. “Keep your hands there.” His voice was low and breathy, and she could feel liquid rubbing on her slit as his cock glided over her crease.
Humming out a moan, she turned slightly to look back at him. “Or what?” she asked with a playful tone.
Another smack sounded through the room as his hand came down on her rump.
“Eep.”
“Oh Baby-Kate, you like that, don’t you?”
Katie didn’t answer but instead rubbed her butt against his hand that was massaging her ass cheek.
Whap! Katie gave a pleasured yelp. Whap! Two swats before he rubbed the sting. Katie moaned loudly and could feel her juices warm between her folds. Her pussy clenched and released with every swat.
Slate grabbed her ass in both hands and pulled her cheeks apart. “It’s going to be fast, Baby-Kate. You ready for me?”
“Mmm, yes, please. Take me hard.”
Katie felt his bulbous head push against her folds and retreat. Slate spread her legs slightly wider, and while he held her cheeks with a bruising grip, she felt his cockhead push against her again then ram into her to the hilt. Slate didn’t stop when he bottomed out. He pulled back until he was almost out then slammed into her again. After repeating himself a few more times, he began speeding up until their skin was clapping together like applause.
Katie kept her hands up against the headboard as Slate drilled into her. Her orgasm built fast, and the volume of her shouts of ecstasy increased. Slate was slamming into her so hard she felt her teeth smack against each other.
Katie arched her neck and tilted her head. Without losing momentum, Slate leaned over and sank his canines into her neck. Katie screamed as her orgasm overtook her, clamping painfully around his plundering phallus. She heard him roar around her neck and stiffen. Hot warmth flooded between her legs as his cock pulsed inside her.
Katie slowly came back to awareness just as Slate carefully removed his teeth and licked over his mark. Both breathing deeply, Slate hovered over her, looking down at her with a soft expression on his face.
“I love you, Baby-Kate.”
Katie situated herself until she was on her back looking up at her mate. Her fingers glided over his stubbled jaw. “I love you, too.”
The ringing of her cell interrupted their moment. “And that is my cue.” Slate leaned over and planted a soft kiss on her puckered lips as his spent cock slid out of her heat, then rolled off the bed. Katie leaned over and grabbed her cell.
“Hello?”
“Is this Katie Williams?” The feminine voice came cheerfully.
“Yes.”
Katie watched her half clothed mate walk out of the room as she listened to her caller. “This is Elsa Thomas, your realtor. I’m sorry to call this early, but I just got word of a house that just came on the market that I thought was perfect for your father and sister. It has everything you were asking for, in the price range you asked for, and is even close to where you are currently living. Would you be interested in viewing it this morning?”
“Yeah, that’d be great. What time and where?”
“How about at nine? Do you have a pen and paper to write down directions?”
“Hold on.” After Katie got off the phone, she was excited. Dressing, she joined Slate in the shower. “Did you want to go with me to look at a house for my dad?”
“Sorry, Baby-Kate. Remember I have to work. Why don’t you take one of the others? Take one of the girls and make a date of it. Take the car. The key’s in a dish by the door.” Leaning over, he gave her another kiss before leaving her alone to finish her shower.
Katie pouted. Reaching down, she grabbed her shampoo and tried squeezing some into her palm. The bottle sprayed out a small, a messy amount. “Great, I’m running low.”
After her shower, she dressed and prepared for a run into town. Downstairs, breakfast was loud, and Katie started to feel closed in.
Maybe I’ll just go alone. I can use the quiet, she thought. I may like everyone, but I just don’t feel up for the company. After Slate disappeared into the office with Alphy and the others went their way, Katie made a list of what she needed at the store, grabbed the car keys and headed out.
Her cell was kept on for navigation as she followed the instructions it gave. It wasn’t a terribly cheerful looking day. The clouds were heavy and filled with rain and the forecast called for rain showers and lightning, but with the radio on, she started to feel herself relax.
The sound of an incoming call had her turning her radio down and pulling over. She grabbed the phone and saw it was Slate. Before she could even tell him “hi” his panicked voice rang in her ear.
“What the hell! Nix just came in and told us you drove off. Where are you?”
Being trained to handle irate and irrational patients, she wasn’t too concerned with his outburst. “Calm down, I
’m pulled over right now to talk to you, but I’m headed to town.”
“Did you take anyone with you?”
“Now’s not the time to play jealous. I’m not with anyone, I’m alone. I didn’t feel like taking anyone else. I just had a few things in town I needed to do, so I won’t be long.”
“I’m not playing jealous! No one is supposed to leave the property without an escort. You shouldn’t be alone. It’s too dangerous.”
Katie didn’t know what to think of this. She was frustrated and more than a little bit embarrassed. She had thought he had meant to take someone for friendly reasons, but as she thought about the dangers, she really should have known better. She sat there for a few moments trying to get her emotions under control while her mate ranted about safety and protocols or something. She wasn’t really paying attention.
“All right!” she snapped into the phone, cutting off whatever it was he was saying. Still feeling the burn of embarrassment, she couldn’t think how else to cut him off. Really, how else was I supposed to shut him up long enough? “I’m turning around!” Before he could say anything more, she hung up. Letting out a tense breath, she tried to relax before pulling on the wheel and making a U-turn.
Nearly halfway back home, she spotted a black van gaining on her rapidly. Huh, that isn’t suspicious. Just as the sarcastic thought crossed her mind, her rear window exploded into flying glass shards. She let out a high pitched yelp. Grabbing the steering wheel in a white knuckled grip, she put more pressure on the gas pedal and started to steer erratically. She weaved from side to side as another thunderous sound exploded beside her.
Seeing the driveway, she had to slow down. Driving on dirt wasn’t the same as on asphalt, and she didn’t want to crash. The van gained and slammed into her bumper, sending her out of control into the driveway anyway. Her arms pumped and her hands gripped and released quickly, trying to keep enough control to keep the car moving. The driver’s side rear end hit a tree, but she kept her foot on the pedal, shooting dirt and rocks against the side of the offending van.
Steering over the slick dirt felt more like the road was covered in ice than dirt as she kept up as much speed as she could. Going as fast as she was over the dips, bumps, and grooves, she was sure she hit air a couple of times, jarring her entire body and smashing her teeth together. More shots rang out as the van continued to pursue her into the forested driveway.
She saw another van coming from in front of her. It was white, which made her think it was from the pack, so she darted up on the side as far as she could and slammed on her brakes. The pursuing van slid to a dusty stop. Seeing the muzzle of the rifle pointed her way while the van’s tires sped in reverse, she ducked, and more glass exploded around her.
She was a bit too dazed to make sense of all of the sounds around her for a few moments. The warmth from the trickles of blood sure to be painting dark red trails across her arms and hands could be felt falling in droplets off her face. She knew the glass had cut her but felt pretty certain everything else was all right as she tried to take stock of herself.
She didn’t hear the door being opened, or even felt when the seatbelt was ripped off, but she did feel the hard rolling muscles of the warm arms that carried the familiar scent of her mate, surround her and his strained voice almost pleading with her.
“Keep your eyes shut, Baby-Kate.”
Katie could feel the sting of glass pricking her skin. She kept her hands over her face as the arms stretched beneath her and lifted her out of the car. The sound of a bird of prey overhead screeched while others around her cursed and argued about how close the offenders had come.
With keeping her eyes shut so she wouldn’t get glass in them, she could only feel and hear her surroundings, but she could tell they were speeding down the dirt road because even in Slates arms, she felt like she was going to launch through the roof. Slate had kept her on his lap the whole way while someone else drove the car.
The sound of Alphy’s voice rumbled through the cab silencing Slate’s mumbled assurances to her. “Did you see who they were, Katie? Did you recognize any of them?”
Katie shook her head. She heard them debating over who it was until they reached the house.
They didn’t ask her if she was all right; they just kept telling her to hang in there. She wasn’t about to correct them. She knew she was all right, but she figured she was in enough trouble and felt terribly embarrassed right now. She should have known better than to go anywhere alone, and because of her lapse in judgment, she was nearly killed, and it endangered the others, and scared her mate. She could hear how worried for her he was, in his voice. That compounded her guilt. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, and her emotions were hypersensitive. She didn’t want to say anything she would regret.
Slate’s arms steeled around her as they skidded in the dirt to a sliding stop. She coughed from the dust cloud it created as her body was jolted against her mate while he ran with her. She could smell the antiseptic and medicines of the medical space above the garage before she had time to process the gym smells. Damn, my mate is moving fast.
“Doc!” Slate sounded frantic, but she didn’t know why. She was just fine.
“Over there on the examination bed. Let’s have a look, shall we?” Seamus’s voice was soothing. “You have glass everywhere, keep those eyes closed. Slate, take her in the shower and wash the glass and blood out. Careful not to scrub or you could…”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it.” Slate’s urgency was evident in his voice as she felt him carry her again. The sound of water hissing from the showerhead and splattering on the tile floor of the shower in the apartment bathroom was a comforting sound, until she was dunked under it and felt that it hadn’t heated up yet. She let out a line of curses and was about to tell her mate off when the water stopped hitting her and his soothing voice rumbled in her ear.
“I’m sorry, Baby-Kate, I wasn’t thinking. I’m so upset with myself for allowing this to happen to you. I’m so worried about you. I love you so much. Please be all right.”
She could hear the grief in his voice, and even if he wasn’t crying, she knew his heart probably was. Her anger started to dissipate, and the feel of his gentle hands over her skin and in her hair, further calmed her. “You didn’t let this happen. I’m sorry. I really should have known better. I really just wanted out of the house, and I was maybe a bit too excited about checking out a house for my dad. So am I never allowed to go anywhere without an escort?”
She heard his heavy sigh as he removed her clothes. “At least until this threat passes. I’m sorry, baby.”
Katie didn’t dare say anything more. She was so frustrated, and yet at the same time, her mate’s tender care and concern for her warred with her frustration. After the third time Slate had washed her hair and body, she had to stop him. “Slate, I’m sure all the glass is gone now.” But she could still see heavy worry pulling at his handsome features. He was overprotective, sure, but she started to get the feeling something else was adding to his worry.
Reading her face, Slate answered the question she conveyed through her eyes. “It’s the blood, Baby-Kate. I can smell your blood. My lion is going nuts that you were hurt enough to draw blood.”
“My blood? Oh. But the cuts are superficial at worst.” Now being able to see again, she saw Seamus had put a hospital gown in the bathroom while they were in the shower. Slate carefully helped to dry her off.
“It’s more than enough. And it’s something else.”
Katie tried to ask him what the “something else” was, but he just silently put on a pair of sweats Seamus had supplied for him and refused to even let her go after he put them on. He carried her to the exam table behind a room divider and hovered closely as Seamus did another examination. She had only minor cuts that weren’t even bleeding any more.
Alphy asked for permission to come in. He gave her a serious look that made her sick in the stomach and angry at the same time. What’s with all the emotions?
Vexed with it all, she kept her eyes on the empty medical tray nearby as he drilled her about the rules.
“I realize you are used to doing things yourself.” Alphy stood straight with his legs slightly apart and his hands behind his back. “And I know you weren’t around a pack or herd much to understand our ways. My mate is human, so I do understand some of your frustration. So let me appeal to your nursing side. In any hospital, and doctor’s office, there are rules and regulations that are there for both the patient and the medical staff’s safety. Am I right?”
Katie saw his point, but she hated being the one in the wrong. It stung to hear him lecture her, and continue to do so even after she conceded. She nodded briskly and continued to listen to the proverbial salt being rubbed into the wound.
“Add to that, that you have a mate. You are no longer just thinking for yourself, but whatever decisions you make, no matter how minor, will have an impact on him. Add further to that, that your mate holds a position in this pack, and the choices you make can have a serious impact on everyone in the pack. True mates come first. It’s hardwired into us so if there’s an emergency in the pack, but your mate is worried about you, then it can have serious negative consequences.”
Katie inwardly cringed as that thought struck her. There was no doubt in her mind that Slate would let others be put at risk if he thought something was happening to her and she needed him. He would do anything for her. She nodded again, letting the alpha know she was listening.
Alphy’s voice turned to one of concern. “Are you going to be ok?”
Before she could answer, Slate interjected. “I need to speak to the doctor about some concerns.”
“All right, I’ll head back into the house. When you’re done here, we’re going to need to have a security meeting. We have too many threats against us to allow a slip like this.” With that, Alphy left.
“Doc, can you run more tests on her? She has another scent. It isn’t the same as the first one, but I’m worried.” Slate wasted no time waiting for Alphy to fully disappear before asking.
“You are concerned about something?” Seamus asked, almost with a smirk.
