by Sara Summers
I moved my mouth in time with his, eagerly pulling him closer. Our tongues danced, and the longer we kissed, the hotter it became.
When I finally pulled away, we were both breathing hard.
“Wow.” Ty brushed his thumb over the cotie on my neck, sending a wave of heat through my body. If I hadn’t had a billion-pound cast on my leg, I would’ve kept right on kissing him. Unfortunately, there was a cast, and my entire leg was itchy and throbbing. “You’re incredible.” His voice was husky.
“Thanks.” I leaned my forehead against his. “What time is it?”
“1 AM.” Ty admitted.
“What?” I wrinkled my eyebrows. “Why aren’t you asleep?”
“I was at a meeting…” His voice trailed off, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t worry about it, okay? I promise it was nothing.”
“How did it go?”
“Eh…” he tried to distract me. “Let’s go to bed.”
“Ty.” I protested.
“It sucked. Someone almost died. Like I said, it’s really not worth worrying about. Come to bed with me?” he tried to distract me again.
“No. Tell me about your meeting.” I folded my arms. “I’m not sleeping with you if you aren’t going to be honest with me.”
“You’re infuriating.” He muttered.
“Thanks.” I gave him a satisfied smile, and he sighed.
“I met with the Alpha of the Rockies. We were both angry, and both of us said things that could’ve been phrased in a nicer way. I left before anyone died, but that was definitely next on the list.” He explained.
“Yikes.” I grimaced.
“Yeah.” Ty nodded. “Now, sleep?”
“As long as you’re not going to complain when my cast attacks you during the night.” I grimaced.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He promised.
Ty carried me back up the stairs, and cuddled against me. Though I still wasn’t sure about the way things were going, being close to him felt right.
His strong arms holding me close, his stomach pressed against my back… despite all the uncertainty I was feeling, for some reason, I was sure of him.
Chapter 11
When I woke up, Ty was still sleeping. Even in his sleep, he looked exhausted. I guessed that was the life of an Alpha, and hoped he wouldn’t be like that for the rest of our lives. I wanted to see him happy, not worn out.
Somehow, between the meals he’d cooked me and the times he insisted on sleeping over, he had wormed his way into my heart. I cared about how he felt and what he was going through.
I stayed in bed for a few minutes, running my fingers through his soft brown hair. A few minutes after I realized I had no chance of getting free, even if I needed to pee, someone knocked on the door.
Ty didn’t budge.
“Ty.” I whispered, pushing on his shoulder.
No response.
“Ty.” I tried again.
He didn’t move.
I sighed, then began my long journey to escape. Ty’s arms were still wrapped around me, so I had to push them off before I could start trying to get free. It took a few tries to lift both of them away from me, since I was still sore and weak, but I managed.
The cast was going to be the hard thing, though. It weighed more than the rest of me, I was positive.
But, I scooted to the edge of the bed and yanked the cast out from under Ty, hoping it wouldn’t hurt his leg or anything.
When I started seeing stars, I decided I didn’t care if it hurt him. If he wouldn’t wake up, any damage was his own fault.
Someone pounded on the door again.
“Ty?” a man’s voice called out.
I yanked my casted-leg to the ground, wincing when a flash of pain ripped through it again.
Ty still wasn’t moving, though, so I had to get down the stairs.
It was quite an experience, dragging my leg and therefore the cast behind me. When I got to the stairs, I shook my head, but forced myself to go forward.
That was also a new experience. I stepped down with my good foot, then pulled my cast down to the stair. At least the steps were carpeted. It would’ve sucked even more if they weren’t.
Every time my cast hit, a new wave of pain washed over my leg and the rest of me. It progressively got worse, sucking more each time it hit, but I kept moving.
The man banged on the door for the third time.
“Ty, get up or I’m breaking down the door!” he shouted.
I was only halfway down. Stepping out with my foot to take another step, I forgot to look down at where I was moving. Rather than landing on the next stair, my foot hit the edge, hitting the stair two under me.
My ankle, still weak and shaky from rolling and crashing my car, seemed to bend in half. I tumbled down the stairs, screaming as I went down.
There was a crash as someone broke down the door, and I heard noise on the stairs that had just become my worst enemy.
“Leah?” I opened my eyes to find Ty crouching at my side. He had his hand on my head, which was still spinning.
Kyle was on the other side of me, and he looked concerned as well.
“Are you okay?” Ty checked, lifting my arms and my good leg, making sure everything still worked.
“Fine.” I groaned and closed my eyes again.
“Why didn’t you wake up Ty?” Kyle frowned.
“I tried.” I muttered, trying to pick myself up off the ground. “He was tired.”
“Here.” Ty pulled my arm over his shoulder, then wrapped his arm around my waist. He picked me up without much effort, then mostly carried me over to the couch. “What’s up?” he asked Kyle, though he was still poking me and prodding me, trying to figure out if I was okay.
I swatted his hands away a few times, but he went back to touching me.
“It’s Thanksgiving, remember? You’re supposed to be at the feast.” Kyle said.
“Frick.” Ty sighed, his hand going up to rest on my cotie.
“It’s okay, you can go.” I gave him a small smile.
He and Kyle both raised their eyebrows at me.
“You’re coming too. Everyone wants to meet you.” Kyle told me
“I really can’t.” I protested, gesturing down to the wrinkled, probably smelly clothes I was wearing.
“A few women in the pack already brought you everything you’ll need.” Ty leaned his head toward a pile of clothes and a few grocery bags by the TV.
“I can hardly think, I’m on so much medication.” I still resisted.
“Getting out of here will help.” Kyle sounded sure.
I sighed.
“Fine. I’m gonna need twenty minutes, though.”
“Deal.” Kyle agreed, then left Ty’s little townhouse.
“I need to shower.” I told Ty.
“Your cast isn’t waterproof.” He objected, and I folded my arms. “I’ll get you a wet rag, and I’ll help you clean yourself up if you want.” He smirked at me, and I smacked him on the shoulder.
“I hope there’s deodorant in one of those bags.” I muttered.
“There is.” Ty grinned. He piled the clothes on my stomach, grabbed the bags in one of his hands, and then pulled me into his arms and carried me upstairs. My cast didn’t even hit the wall once, and it felt like a miracle.
Ty deposited me on the counter in the bathroom, then went to the bedroom to grab his clothes. When he left, I finally got a look at my hair. It looked like it had been hit by a tornado and then rolled around the floor for a few days… there was no fixing it without a handful of conditioner.
I could try to brush it, or attempt at taking a shower, but I knew those would result in even more pain, and I wasn’t sure I could stomach it. So, I threw it up in a bun, then looked around for the bags so I could find some makeup.
A quick glance found the bags that would most likely hold makeup, if there was any. They were in the far corner by the shower, and I was on the counter.
I tried to grab them
with my free foot, craning my toes and wishing they could stretch about a foot and a half.
Unfortunately, they stayed where they were.
I contemplated trying to shift just that one leg, to see if it would give me any extra distance, but my wolf was hiding pretty far away thanks to that medication. Plus, it could easily end with me shifting all the way, which wouldn’t be good for the healing of my leg.
“Need some help?” Ty smiled wryly, leaning against the doorway. I nodded, though reluctant to accept help.
“Yeah.” I admitted. He bent over and grabbed the bags then handed them to me.
I swiped on some mascara, not bothering with any other makeup. Ty carried me to the room, setting me on the bed to decide what to wear.
I grabbed a pair of leggings and a big sweatshirt, which I recognized as the one I’d carried to the diner in my mouth. It was good to see it again, since I didn’t have anything else that was mine with me.
Ty left to give me some privacy, however reluctantly.
I managed to take off the shorts I’d been wearing, but when I tried to pull on the leggings, I realized my conundrum. Not only could I not bend to even get the pants on, I also couldn’t fit them over the thick cast I was wearing.
“Can you come in?” I called out to Ty, though reluctantly. He was in the door a few seconds later, trying not to let his eyes focus on me in my underwear. I was still wearing a shirt, though it was thin and I wasn’t wearing a bra.
Suffice it to say, he was getting an eyeful, but trying hard not to focus on that.
I had to give him a handful of brownie points for that.
See, the thing humans tend not to realize about shifters is that we’re different. Though most of us stay human more often than animal, our animal sides are a huge part of us, and animals don’t date.
Animals try to impress each other, to win each other over or dominate each other, and then they choose each other. As shifters, nature did that for us by giving us coties to help us identify our other half.
Like our animals, we didn’t need to date before knowing that we belonged to each other. Ty was mine, and I was his, and it was as easy as that no matter how much we argued. Whether or not we were ready to act as a couple, we never questioned that we were one. My dreams were the only drama in the way of us being us, in more ways than one.
We didn’t need a wedding to declare us married; by shifter and government law and culture, the second our coties changed, so did our status as single. That made it really hard for males, the more dominant ones in particular, to hold back when their animal told them we were already theirs.
More dominant males meaning Ty.
“I can’t get any pants on over my cast.” I sighed. Ty came over and put his arms around my shoulders.
“Then just wear the shorts.” His whisper tickled my ear.
“It’s freezing outside.” I protested. Ty brushed his hand down my bare leg, sending goosebumps all over my body.
“I’ll keep you warm.” He promised, grabbing some black exercise shorts that had fallen on the floor.
He helped me slide into them, though he touched a fair amount of my skin in the process.
“Alright, turn around so I can put my bra on.” I instructed. He raised his eyebrows at me, and I shook my head at him. “Don’t argue.” I threatened.
He sighed, but turned to face the other direction. I maneuvered my way out of the t-shirt I was wearing, and pulled the bra against my skin. It took a few tries to get the clasp, but I managed.
I pulled the sweatshirt over my head, then wrestled it for a few minutes before giving up.
“Can I help you now?” Ty turned around, finding me laying on my back and panting.
“I can do it.” I forced the words out, closing my eyes to gather strength for a minute.
Ty pulled me to my feet, gently untangling me from the sweatshirt. He helped me get my arms through the sleeves, then pulled it the sweater into into place.
“Better?” he checked.
“I’m not weak.” I frowned, sitting back down on the bed. My heart was still racing from the effort of trying to get myself dressed.
“No, you’re not.” Ty agreed. He brushed his thumb against my cotie, and I closed my eyes to relish the soft, peaceful feeling that drifted around inside me.
“Why does it feel different every time you touch my cotie?” I asked quietly. “Sometimes it’s hot, sometimes it’s calm. I thought I knew everything about shifters, but I’ve never heard of that before.” My dark brown eyes met his light ones.
“As far as I know, it’s one of the changes you were talking about the other day.” He shrugged. “Coties didn’t used to be so sensitive, but now, they’re sort of a way to communicate without communicating. I can touch you and let you feel what I feel, and you can do the same.” He explained.
“Telepathy without words?” I lifted an eyebrow. “Cool.”
“Glad you think so.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and I reached up to put my hand against his cotie.
Ty groaned and pulled me onto his lap, reaching his hands under my sweatshirt to grab my hips.
“What? I wasn’t turned on, was I?” I asked, alarmed. Could he feel emotions of mine that I couldn’t even feel? Was that a thing? If it was, it was terrifying.
“No.” he slowly pulled his hands off my skin, placing them on the outside of my sweatshirt. “It’s nothing, don’t worry.”
“Ty.” I gave him a dirty look, and he sighed. “Come on. I’ve been honest with you.” I reminded him.
“It’s just, I’ve been dying to feel you.” He admitted.
I lifted an eyebrow, and he chuckled.
“Not your skin, though that does feel good. My wolf wants so badly to feel connected with you. He has since the first moment he saw you in the diner, and the desire just gets stronger. Feeling what you feel,” he swallowed, letting out a little growl. “That was the sexiest thing I’ve ever felt.”
“I thought male wolves were shallow?” I frowned. “All the shifter info I’ve learned talks about how you’re more animalistic than girls, completely focused on pleasure.”
“That’s bogus.” Ty wrinkled his eyebrows. “We don’t want females so that we can make love to them, though it’s definitely a plus. Males want females because you make us whole. You remind us that the world can be soft and sweet, and you help us be better. That’s why the Creator made mates, and nothing else.”
“Huh.” I tried to swallow the ideas, but my brain wouldn’t have it. “No, men are supposed to be horny and always on the verge of losing control. Not emotional and loving, and definitely not turned on by feelings. This is weird.” I couldn’t quite grasp it.
“Sorry, but you’re wrong.” Ty shrugged. “Maybe that’s how shifters used to be or something, but things are different now. We’re different now. My mom left my dad, and he was the one who suffered. Not her. I’ve seen it multiple times since becoming the acting Alpha, and it’s always the same.
“The woman leaves the man, and he fights to keep a hold on who he is. More often than not, he loses. Male shifters need their mates more than they need to breathe.” Ty said.
“I just can’t believe that.” I shook my head.
“How many males have you ever known?” Ty checked. “How many mated couples have you seen interacting together, outside your pack, which we know has issues?”
“Not many.” I admitted, folding my arms.
“I’m not trying to be mean, but maybe you don’t understand what it really means to have a soulmate, or what it can be like. It’s not awful, you know.” He gave me a small smile. “Come on, we have a feast to attend. Try not to insult the Alpha this time.”
He scooped me up into his arms.
“No promises.” I teased, and Ty shook his head.
I decided that maybe he was right. I hadn’t had much experience with male shifters, and maybe they were different than I thought.
My eyes and ears were open, ready to figure it out d
uring the pack’s Thanksgiving feast.
Chapter 12
“Leah? Did you hear me?” Ty asked.
“Hmm? Yeah.” I tore my eyes away from the loving couple I’d been staring at, looking at my mate instead.
“What did I say?” he lifted an eyebrow.
“Uhh…” I grimaced. “Okay, I was distracted. What’s up?”
“Do you want crutches? Some people in the pack offered to let you borrow them.” He repeated, though it was the first time I’d (consciously) heard the question.
“Yeah, sure. That would be great.” I agreed, my eyes flashing back to the couple.
“What are you staring at?” Ty couldn’t hold back his smirk, and I sighed.
“I’m creeping on this cute couple over there.” I admitted. “Don’t look though.”
He looked anyway, and I groaned.
“I told you not to look. Now they’ll know I’m creepy.” I complained, pushing some corn around on my plate.
“They didn’t notice. They are cute, though.” He noted.
“Now you’re being creepy.” I muttered, reaching up to fiddle with my bun, which had hair falling out and hitting me in the face.
Ty put his arm around me, trying not to smile.
I’d been studying a few different couples throughout the feast. There were three or four hundred people there, so I had plenty to choose from. I’d discovered a few different things from my spying, but the number one thing was this:
For the most part they seemed happy. There was some tension between a generous amount of couples, but they were still having conversations like normal people.
I’d never seen happy couples before. Not my friends, not my pack, not even my friends’ parents (at least that I met). I had never actually witnessed two people being happily soul-mated.
Seeing them made me question everything I’d believed, but I pushed away my questions to try to seem normal for the rest of the feast.
“I have to meet with the Alpha in a few minutes.” Ty told me. “Do you want to come with me or stay here?” he checked.
“I’ll go with you, but I’m not talking to him.” I warned.
