by Abigail Owen
“Morning,” Marrok rumbled as she stepped off the bottom rung of the ladder.
Damn, the man had a sexy morning voice, all gravelly and low, the sound skittering up and down her spine in a delicious way. That, combined with the fact that he wore only boxer briefs, the band sitting just low enough that the ridge of muscle arrowing downward was on stark display for her greedy eyes, was enough to make any woman drool.
She cleared her throat and ignored the sweet ache now lingering. “Morning.”
He stood at the stove cooking again—scrambled eggs.
Good mate. Tala pointed out to her wolf.
The fickle creature huffed, unimpressed.
Tala scooted around him, tempted to “accidentally” brush up against that fabulous ass, grabbed a mug on the counter she assumed he’d gotten out for her, filled it, then stirred in buckets of cream and sugar. She dropped into a chair at the table, pulling one leg in close, her foot propped on her seat, knee up by her chest, and took a long, grateful swig.
“So you take coffee with your cream and sugar?” Laughter lurked in his voice, and she glanced over the rim of her mug to find him watching her, lips quirked.
She put her mug down and grinned. “It’s basically dessert. I can’t drink it too often or I’ll get chubby.” She pulled a face.
“Somehow I doubt that.” He eyed her slender form, appreciation sparking in those electric blue eyes.
How he managed to touch her without physically coming near her was a mystery, but Tala’s body was on fire, nonetheless. She shifted in her seat, trying to ease the need, so tempted to scratch the itch instead of resist. “What’s on the agenda today?”
He turned back to the eggs, lifting the pan off the stove and turning off the burner. “Breakfast. Then discussion. I’d like you to make a list of the issues you want to hit first. I thought we’d cover those, then, if there’s anything else on my list, we’ll hit them afterward.”
Sounded reasonable. “Okay.”
Already her mind was ticking over the countless items on her side. Everything from living arrangements, to feeding both packs, to sharing of assets, to dealing with multiple people in the same positions—two alphas, two seconds-in-command, two sets of councillors, various enforcers, and so forth. Combining their packs was like combining two fully functioning corporations or townships with all the complications each entailed.
And the added fun of mutual, senseless hate. Don’t forget that part.
Marrok set her plate down in front of her and took his own seat. On autopilot Tala took a bite and had to stuff down a groan. Spaghetti and scrambled eggs, the two meals he’d made, weren’t exactly cordon bleu, but the man could cook. “These are fantastic.”
“They’re just eggs.” Eyebrows lifted, he eyed her curiously.
She scrunched up her nose. “I live on power bars mostly.”
Something he’d know if they had any time to themselves. Instead they always seemed to be rushing from meeting to meeting, putting out fires, grabbing what they could to eat along the way.
“Ah.” He took a bite of his eggs.
That was it? “I can’t cook. I don’t clean. I’ve never changed a diaper in my life. I don’t do soft and cuddly. I’m ultra-competitive. And sentiment makes me…uncomfortable.”
He paused mid-chew and cocked his head, searching her expression. Then he swallowed the bite. “Why are you telling me all this?”
“You need to know what you’re getting with me.” She glanced outside the window over the sink. “Maybe I’m not the mate you need.” The last she murmured softly.
“Hey.” Marrok leaned across the table and took her chin in his fingers, forcing her gaze back to him. “You’re exactly the mate I need.”
The conviction in his words, in his eyes, chipped away at the cold block of ice and fear surrounding her heart.
Marrok released her, letting her breathe more easily as he leaned back in his chair. “I can cook; in fact, I like it. I don’t clean, either, but pay one of the ladies from the pack to come in for me, though I’m neat. I’ve never changed a diaper, either, but when babies come, we’ll figure it out together. I suspect I’m more of a cuddler than you, but you’ve been cuddly enough for me so far.”
The heat turning his eyes even more blue brought warmth to her cheeks. “I’m also ultra-competitive, which should make for an interesting life together.” He grinned now. “But I don’t give up, either, and no matter how mad you get at me, this mating is for life. While I’m not sentimental in general, I have a feeling you may change that for me, so you’ll just have to deal with it when I get mushy on you.”
“Oh.” Tala bit her lip as another piece of ice fell away. He’d managed to get to the heart of every one of her fears. At the core of Marrok Banes existed a solid, decent man. Someone she genuinely liked, which was rare for her. Maybe he did see her, the real her, and didn’t appear intimidated…or put off.
Maybe they could do this.
Time to see how he negotiated. She sat forward in her chair and picked up her fork. “What are your thoughts on choosing a new neutral site to reestablish both packs together?”
Chapter Nine
Marrok’s gaze followed his mate as she paced back and forth in front of the stone fireplace. Damn, she was amazing. But everything she’d wanted to talk about had to do with the packs and running them together.
At least they’d decided on what seemed like a reasonable splitting of alpha duties, outlining different roles that only one of them would take on. Tala would be in charge of defense, education, social needs, and dealing with humans. Marrok had agreed to take on training of their fighters, living quarters, settlement development, and dealing with outside supernatural groups like the Alliance of dragon shifters and the Covens Syndicate of witches. They’d also agreed on areas that they both had to be in on the decisions and discussions.
This was good, if frustrating, progress.
Three days. Three days of nonstop discussions about the packs while resisting touching her, reaching for her, and sleeping on the fucking couch, got worse with every passing day.
His cock might petrify, it had been hard for so long.
It didn’t help that Tala showed him her more casual side, discarding her usual fancier suits and dresses.
They’d both opted for jeans each day, including today. While he’d pulled on another black T-shirt, his go-to casual wear, she’d gone with a white tank top with glittery stuff highlighting her lovely breasts. He particularly liked how the soft jeans she’d donned hugged her tight backside. Oh, to be those jeans.
Trying to be stealthy about it, Marrok shifted in his seat for the umpteenth time, in a useless attempt to relieve the pulsing pressure in his crotch.
Their scents—his earthy and hers with a hint of wildflowers—mingled in the small space. They’d both foregone shoes, and their bare feet gave the impression of intimacy. Or maybe he was entertaining wishful thinking? They’d been talking today already through the morning, through lunch, and now through part of the afternoon.
And not one word about the “them” part of coming together as alphas beyond the logistics of it. The pack came first, as it should. Was that all she was interested in saving?
Protect our mate, his wolf pushed at him.
Protect? But she wasn’t in danger. At least, not right now, and he doubted she’d appreciate that kind of effort.
Protect, his wolf urged.
Did he mean care for? His wolf nosed at him.
Take care of his mate. The idea settled in Marrok’s heart. Tala was independent, strong, tough. Had she ever let anyone take care of her? Would she let him? Worth a shot if it meant winning her. But he’d have to be subtle in the way he went about it. She’d already shown a disdain for overt signs of caring.
“We need a set of laws concerning the mixing of the packs, or they’re likely
to kill one another.” She flung her hands up in frustration.
“I agree.”
“You don’t—” She stopped and swung toward him. “You agree?”
That she’d expected him to argue was clearly a mark against them both. “Yes. Until we all view each individual as family, as pack, rather than as ‘us versus them,’ or as enemies, it won’t work.”
“Exactly.”
“I also think it’s time we take a break.” He glanced at his watch pointedly.
Tala peeked at the slim band on her own wrist and grimaced. “We have been going at this a long time.”
He set down his laptop, which he’d been using to take notes, and held out his hand. “Come on.”
Tentatively, she placed her hand in his. “Where are we going?”
“For a run?” he suggested. His wolf was begging him to get out and stretch his legs, explore this area, play with his mate. Maybe. The animal yipped excitedly in his head. Marrok was less sure that could happen.
Tala pulled back at that, but he tightened his grip, keeping her close.
“I could kill you,” she said. “My wolf—”
“Was pissed about me stepping all over your alpha-ness. Right?”
“Maybe,” she said slowly.
Through the tentative connection binding them as mates he sensed the give in her, though her body remained tense.
“Let’s do this… I’ll shift first. Then face me as you shift. Last time, she seemed surprised I was there. If you go at me, I’ll be ready.”
Tala’s gaze slid away from his.
“We need to be able to shift together,” he insisted. “Do you want to figure it out here, where no one else can witness it? Or back with our packs.”
Tala sighed. “Here.”
Good. “I’ll go first.”
After her nod, he proceeded to shift. Tala held herself still as he moved through the process slower than normal, not wanting to pose any threat to her. He’d been told his black coloring gave him a more sinister appearance. He also stood several inches taller than most male wolf shifters, broader in the shoulders. Not as big as their werewolf ancestors, who were twice his size, but still, intimidating.
Shift complete, his wolf took over for a second, approaching his mate cautiously until he stood directly in front of her. Then loosed a small whining sound which made her eyebrows go up.
“I’m okay,” she said softly.
He butted her hand with his nose, then proceeded to rub against her. Tala gave a low chuckle before giving in and running her fingers through his thick fur, gaining a rumble of satisfaction from the wolf before Marrok regained control.
As much as he wanted to enjoy her touch, they needed to do this. Backing up, he gave her space to make her shift without feeling threatened. Deliberately he stood beside the open door to the cabin.
Gaze trained on his, Tala took a long breath, then called her wolf forward, ceding control to the animal, though not completely, he knew. If she could hold that edge where her human side was in charge even as the animal was freed, maybe she wouldn’t attack. A delicate balance of give and take. Her body shimmered and shifted until the white wolf stood before him.
“Tala?” he called out softly. Could she hear him this time?
She blinked for a moment as though reorienting herself, then, with no warning, lunged for him.
Plan already in place, Marrok leaped for the open door, got around it, and put a shoulder to the back side, slamming it shut a heartbeat before something hard and heavy bashed into it. Tala, based on the snarls ripping from the wolf’s throat on the other side of the door.
Practically feral, no amount of trying to get her to talk to him helped.
Marrok gave up and shifted, defeat gripping him so hard his heart ached, then he waited her out, sitting with his back to the door, arms draped over his knees.
Fuck.
Her wolf wanted to kill him still. Why? They’d been doing better. He’d been doing better.
Quiet eventually descended outside, even the birds in the trees going silent. “I’m okay now,” Tala called through the door.
Standing, Marrok swung the door open to find her there, pale, with an apology in her eyes, reaching down that connection to him. A connection he hadn’t felt with her wolf.
And different. He couldn’t put his finger on different how. But something in her had changed, he could feel it.
Tala let loose a low sigh. “Maybe we’re trying to force something that will never work.”
No. Panic clawed at his insides. She couldn’t give up on him, on them. He stepped across the threshold and took her face in his hands and waited until she looked at him. “Don’t ever say that—”
The shrill ring of a phone interrupted him. Shit. What now?
“I’ll get it.” Tala moved around him to the kitchen.
“Hello?” she answered as she dropped heavily into one of the wooden chairs. She paused and listened, suddenly intent. “Damn,” she muttered. “Send a car. I’ll be waiting.”
She hung up and turned to Marrok. “I’ve been challenged for alpha formally. I have to go.”
Chapter Ten
Marrok placed his hands on the roof and door of the SUV and leaned inside to stare at his mate, who stared back with a frustratingly calm expression. Calm? Hell, she was blank. Not a single emotion. The mating connection was a dead line, not even static reaching him. Meanwhile, his wolf raged inside him.
“You’re really going to do this alone? I should be there. At your side.”
She shook her head. “I need to show them I’m still alpha. Without you.”
Bile rose in his throat, sour in his mouth. He got the logic of her decision, but the thought of not being there when she could die gutted him, went against every protective instinct he had as her mate.
Letting her go was the hardest thing he’d ever done, a physical pain inside him, razor blades against his skin. Every cell screamed at him to go with her. His wolf clawed at his insides, trying to force him to do something. Go with her.
“I’ll stay away tonight,” he agreed, his voice gone hoarse with his wolf so close to the surface. “But I’m coming tomorrow. No matter what.”
A tiny smile pulled at her lips, and she gave a quick nod. His panic didn’t ease, but at least she hadn’t said no. She wanted him with her. He’d take that as progress.
“You’re not allowed to die on me.”
“I’m not planning to.”
“Swear it,” he pressed. “By the moon.”
The air within the car stilled as Tala lifted her gaze to his, searching. For what? “Not by the moon,” she said softly. “The moon is inconstant, ever changing.”
Marrok huffed a laugh tinged in bitter reality. “Not unlike a woman.”
She would not swear, he could see it in her eyes. Unable to not touch her any longer—these were special circumstances, dammit—Marrok leaned in and kissed her. Their lips clung, lingered, and the fire of need blazed in him at the sweet taste of her, the way she sighed into him, opened for him.
Tala pulled back first. She kept her eyes closed and breathed deeply. Her heart rate even picked up a fraction. Good. He wasn’t the only one affected.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he promised. The plan was for her to return to him here after she was done.
She opened those amazing green eyes and he almost took it back as she allowed him to witness her fear and worry, like the shadow of the moon over her features. “Tomorrow,” she said.
Marrok stepped back and shut the door. He tapped the roof with the flat of his hand and the driver hit the gas. The SUV bumped away on the rudimentary dirt track.
Marrok’s wolf gave a howl of mixed fury and terror for his mate. Marrok didn’t feel any better about watching her drive away. Tala was right. This was her fight. But instinct wa
s a bitch, and every cell in his body screamed that he should be with her.
…
Tala refused to look back to see if Marrok watched as she drove away. If she did, she might turn around and run straight back into his arms.
A few basic meals, some decent discussion, and I almost take his wolf out. Now being away from him made it harder to breathe, unforgiving bands trapping her lungs.
With sheer force of will, she pushed the sensation down and instead opened her laptop to pull up the reports Astra had sent. Running a pack was like being mayor of a small town or CEO of a medium business. The job came with all the same headaches and complications. Basic services like electricity, water, trash. People management, including employment, health care, regulation. Financial needs were huge. Although their communities were essentially self-contained, they still had to function in the wider world or they would draw human attention. There were also the special needs of wolf shifters—keeping new wolves from attacking humans, intra-pack issues, inter-pack issues.
Feuds.
The lists went on and on, and she’d neglected those duties these past few days hidden away with Marrok.
Dwelling on the challenge she faced was a waste of effort, so Tala tried to lose herself in the reports, making notes of things she needed to check on or investigate further, meetings to set up, and other needs. She glanced up briefly when the ride abruptly shifted from bumpy to smooth as they hit asphalt road about an hour from the cabin. Another hour later, she glanced up again.
She twisted in her seat, taking a closer look at their surroundings. This area wasn’t remotely familiar. “Dolph?” she called to the driver. “Where are we?”
“Road closures meant we had to reroute.”
His words made sense, but something in his tone snagged her attention. As she listened, his heart rate increased.
“I see.” She deliberately relaxed into her seat and pretended to go back to her work, and his heart rate reverted to normal.
