His Curvy Mate (Alpha Prime Book 2)

by Georgette St. Clair

  “I attacked my mate’s former pack,” Creel snapped at him. “They went into her store and trashed it, and attempted to assault her, after I told them she was under my protection.”

  Angrim started to speak.

  “Which ones did that?” Miles interrupted him quickly.

  Creel pointed at Clegg and Beauford’s bodies. “Those bastards. A few more of them just ran off. I will find them, and I will end them.”

  Brandon and Miles glanced at each other.

  “We do not begrudge you taking your vengeance on anyone who attacks your mate,” Miles said. “Angrim is correct. We agreed that all the construction workers who came up here would be under our protection, which extends to the Coldwater Pack. However, in order to stay under our protection, they had to agree to obey the laws of the territory, and the wolves that you killed clearly violated that agreement by threatening your mate.”

  Angrim scowled and made a low growling noise, but he couldn’t argue with that. “The rest of the Coldwater Pack remains under our protection,” he said belligerently.

  Several of the other wolves from the Coldwater Pack, who’d scurried off when the fight started, came skulking up, hanging their heads and whining. They shifted back into human form and looked nervously at Creel, careful to avoid eye contact.

  “I am Filbert. Thank you, sir, thank you for saving us from this feral, dangerous maniac,” one of them whined ingratiatingly at Angrim.

  “I happen to owe that maniac my life,” Miles said. It was true; Creel had joined him in battle to drive out some of the worst scum in the new territory a couple of years back. “Our agreement to protect the construction crew is the only thing that’s keeping your blood inside your body right now,” he told Filbert with a glower.

  Filbert swallowed nervously. “If you just let us stay and finish the building, we promise that we will only travel between our campsite and the construction site, and we will not go into town again. We will stay away from his mate, and we will not cause any trouble.”

  “Yes, you will do all of that, and your pack will pay triple damages for everything you destroyed at her shop,” Brandon cut in. “She will tell us the dollar amount by the end of today. I expect the money to be delivered to my territory’s meeting house by the end of tomorrow in an envelope with her name on it, or I will not only withdraw our protection, I will help Creel hunt you down. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Triple damages?” the wolf gulped. He glanced pleadingly at Angrim, who growled and looked away. Angrim wasn’t strong enough to take on Brandon, so he didn’t dare contradict his word.

  “But it’s just that we…” Filbert started to argue.

  Creel snarled and sent out another blast of fury, which made the wolves scream in pain. “Of course, sir, very reasonable request,” Filbert sniveled, glowering at the ground.

  He and the other men scampered off, naked and bleeding, the shreds of their clothing lying in the street.

  “I still don’t like it,” Brandon grumbled. “I don’t like the Coldwater Pack, and I don’t like letting them stay here.”

  “Neither do I,” Creel agreed, glowering after them as they scurried away.

  “I know,” Miles said. “But we gave our word, and we need every man working to finish the new facility in time for the gathering. As soon as the facility is completed, the Coldwater Pack will leave our territory, and are banned from ever entering it again.” Angrim started grumbling, and Miles glared at him, his eyes glittering with anger. “What?” he snapped. “You have something to say?”

  Angrim dropped his gaze and stalked away, muttering about disrespect and shifters who couldn’t follow rules.

  Chapter Eighteen

  On Wednesday morning, Miranda still hadn’t heard from her grandmother.

  The shop was swarming with customers, but Hephzibah and Suki had it under control. Miranda had hired Suki to be her business manager. Creel had already started building an addition onto the store so they could also make soap and hold classes. He and Douglas had poured a foundation and were waiting for it to cure.

  Hyatt was there helping because he was now surgically attached to Suki via their crotch-parts and could not bear to be away from her, and he’d talked Rory into coming too. Nobody could figure out whether he liked Hephzibah or not. He’d volunteered to go with her to the Mathers brothers’ property even though he would have been murdered immediately – but ever since then, he’d gone back to being polite but mostly avoiding her. Hephzibah had no idea how to deal with it, so she just kept floating around the room being polite and confused and giving him mournful looks from her big owl eyes.

  Creel walked up to Miranda, all sweaty from his carpentry work. He had a few curls of sawdust in his hair, which she plucked out.

  “Hello, sexy,” he said, with that growl in his voice that made her heart quiver. Then he glanced over at Hephzibah. “That is truly a sad sight.”

  “I know, I know. I actually got so annoyed with it that I walked over and flat-out asked him if he liked her or not. What?” she said at Creel’s shocked look.

  “Do people actually just talk about their feelings like that?” Creel asked.

  She shrugged. “I do. Anyway, it didn’t help, he just went pale and ran out of the store without answering me, and hid for an hour. Weirdo.”

  Creel put his arm around her shoulders. “It was decent of you to try to help her, but I think that it may be hopeless.”

  “I’d give up if I thought he didn’t like her. But I can tell he does. He keeps sneaking looks at her.”

  “Well, can you take a break from solving other people’s problems long enough to have lunch with your mate?”

  “My mate? Well, he is one sexy devil and I love spending every minute with him that I can.” She stroked his arm, her brow creasing with worry. “But I’m worried about my grandmother. I was thinking of going to the cemetery to see if any of the ghosts have seen her. Hank might be hanging out there.”

  “I’ll drive you there,” Creel said.

  The cemetery where Grammy Edith tended to hang out was in the western territory. There were about a hundred grave markers there, and Miranda wandered among them, with Creel trailing behind her. She felt herself sinking into that half-trance state that made her more receptive to communicating with spirits.

  “Miranda! Have you seen your grandmother?” Hank’s voice sounded right behind her.

  She squeaked and spun around. “Damn it, why do you guys always have to sneak up on me like that?”

  Hank stood there, wavery and see-through, with an apologetic grin on his face. “Hey, I’m dead. Gotta grab my fun where I can find it.”

  “I haven’t seen my grandmother in over a week now. She was defending me when some guys came into my shop and tried to attack me, and she manifested physically and threw candles at them. So she used up a lot of energy,” Miranda said. She glanced over at Creel, who was watching her with a slightly quizzical look on his face. “And you haven’t seen her either?”

  He shook his head. “No, not in the last week.”

  “Have you ever heard of a ghost using up…too much energy? Maybe she’s never coming back?” Miranda blinked away tears.

  “I haven’t heard of that particular occurrence, but sooner or later, she must cross over. We all do,” Hank said, his face somber. “I’ll miss her here, for the time being, but I know that I’ll be able to see her on the other side someday.” He broke into a grin again. “And I hope they have a Lover’s Lane there so we can go spy on them.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, you’re never going to grow up, are you?” Miranda said in exasperation.

  Hank gestured at himself. “If I haven’t grown up by now, then no, probably not.”

  Miranda couldn’t help but laugh, despite her worry over her grandmother. Hank’s juvenile behavior was both his charm and his affliction. “And nobody else has seen her?” she persisted.

  “No, I’ve been asking around. She might not be gone forever,” Hank ad
ded hopefully. “Don’t give up yet. She could just be gathering her strength.” A frown creased his forehead. “If I’d been there, I could have helped her manifest. I could have rounded up some of the guys and we could all have joined in.”

  He gestured at the rows of grave markers, and Miranda squinted really hard. She could just barely see a half-dozen men sitting in a circle, playing cards. They were so see-through that she really had to concentrate. If she wanted to see them clearly, she’d have to use up so much mental energy that she’d probably pass out.

  “It’s not your fault,” she said to Hank. “It was pretty much a spontaneous emergency kind of thing.”

  Then she turned to Creel. “Hank hasn’t seen her either. Let’s go.”

  As they drove back to her shop, Creel said, “So you can actually see and hear him?”

  “Yep. Clear as day. I mean, he’s kind of see-through, but he’s there. Like a hologram in a science fiction movie.” She glanced at him. “You believe me, don’t you?”

  He frowned at the road ahead. “I don’t disbelieve you.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  A few days later, there was a big Alpha Prime welcoming party in Granite Flats, with invitations extended to pack, clan and pride members from all over the territory.

  “Another social gathering?” Creel groaned as he and Miranda headed there. “All those happy couples? Listening to Hyatt recite poetry and watching him make goo-goo eyes at your friend all night long? You’re lucky that I luu— uh…love food. And there will be lots of food. Because there’s dinner there.”

  “You were about to say that you love me,” Miranda said happily.

  “Was not!” Creel growled. “I don’t love anybody, starting with myself. If I were to love anybody, it would be you first, then me, but I don’t.”

  “Ooh, do you know how romantic you’re being right now?” Miranda was grinning from ear to ear.

  “Are you crazy, woman? What do I have to do to be not-romantic? Maybe if I burped. Would that work?”

  “Too late. I shall treasure this moment forever. And you sort of admitted that you love me.”

  He shook his head, his brows knitted in frustration. “Look. I claimed you. I promise to protect you with my life, and try not to be too much of an asshole – most of the time, anyway – and to devote myself to giving you screaming orgasms every night. And I’ll work and provide for you. That’s all I got, babe.”

  She patted his shoulder. “It’s enough for now. Because I know the feeling that’s underneath it.”

  The gathering was held in an open clearing near the downtown area. There were tables laden with food, several roasted pigs, and barrels of beer on tap.

  There were hundreds of people there, including all the Alpha Primes who were going to be attending the summit. There had never been that many Alpha Primes gathered in one place before, and therefore the event had been planned very carefully. The food was being served at about a dozen different stations scattered across the clearing, to ensure that there weren’t too many of the Primes gathered in one place.

  Angrim stood at the entrance to the clearing, beaming and self-importantly introducing himself to everyone who walked by. “Welcome, welcome!” he said loudly. Creel walked by him without responding. Miranda had to admit, he was a little much. More than a little much. Angrim had only arrived in the territory a couple of months ago, and he was already acting like he owned the place. She thought that electing him chief of security had been a mistake.

  They met up with Douglas and Sophia, who were waiting for them near the entrance, and scanned the crowd, looking for more familiar faces. The air smelled of wood smoke and roasting meat, and Miranda’s stomach rumbled appreciatively. Country music blared from speakers that were scattered throughout the clearing.

  “Yoo-hoo! We’re over here!” Dakota yelled, and waved them over to a space towards the very back of the clearing. Miles was there, along with Miles Jr., a coyote shifter friend of Dakota’s named Naomi, her mate Baldwin, and their twin cubs Jo-Jo and Peyton. Brandon wasn’t with them; Dakota said that he was across the field having dinner with his wife and the rest of her clan. John was there too, along with several siblings of his, whose names Miranda couldn’t keep track of. One of them, a teenager named Sarah, was helping to babysit Jo-Jo and Peyton.

  They all settled in on folding chairs and dove into their meals as Miranda chattered nonstop with the other shifters and Creel shoveled food into his mouth.

  Hephzibah was wandering around nearby, scribbling furiously in a notebook as she scanned the crowd.

  “I wanted to give you a heads-up,” Douglas said quietly to Creel. “Your brother is here, talking to some of the other Alpha Primes, but they’re all the way over there.” He pointed across the field to a stand of oak trees.

  “I know,” Creel growled. “I felt him. I always know when that asshole’s nearby. As long as he doesn’t show his snout over here, we can get through the evening without me killing anybody.”

  A little while later, they were joined by Suki and Hyatt, who were beaming from ear to ear. They both had claiming marks. Everyone joined in the chorus of congratulations, except Creel, who pretended that his mouth was too full. He seemed to relax a little bit, though.

  “See, isn’t this fun?” Miranda said, nudging Creel. “Or at least not terrible?’

  “Fun? I don’t know about fun. Food’s not bad. And I don’t have an overwhelming urge to kill anyone.” Creel shrugged, gulping a healthy swig of beer from a red plastic cup.

  “I’ll take it,” she said cheerfully.

  “He’s just a little ray of sunshine, isn’t he?” Dakota murmured. “Did I ever tell you about the first time I met him? What a dick. Believe it or not, ever since you’ve been with him, he’s actually gotten way better.”

  Creel shot her an annoyed look, but Miranda just laughed. She could sense Creel’s emotions these days, and even though he was putting on a front of being grumpy, he was happier and calmer with each passing day. Well, maybe not calmer; less tense would be more accurate.

  When Creel had finished his paper plate of spare ribs, he tossed it into the trash and wandered off to get another one.

  Something must have happened on the way to the food table, because when he returned, he was empty handed and his face was dark with anger. Miranda could feel the rage crackling off him like heat lightning.

  “What is it?” she asked him. He was staring across the clearing at a slim, beautiful blonde who was scanning the crowd, clearly searching for someone. The blonde had bleached, perfectly flat-ironed hair, and she moved surprisingly fast considering she was wearing sky-high heeled pumps.

  “Son of a bitch,” Creel growled. “Or no, make that actual bitch.”

  “Oh,” Miranda said, her stomach turning to water. She had a sinking feeling that must be Jazmin.

  “He brought that bitch to the picnic?” Creel shook his head and jumped back up out of his chair. “Hell no. We’re having it out right now.”

  He bolted from their little group and began making his way towards Benjamin, and Miranda and Douglas ran after him.

  Benjamin was sitting with a small group of people, including a petite woman with a cap of curly brown hair with a boy who looked to be about five leaning against her.

  “You invited Jazmin here?” Creel roared at him.

  Benjamin shot to his feet. “Of course I didn’t invite Jazmin here, you idiot,” he snapped. He pointed at the woman who was holding the cub. “This is my wife, Phoenix. This is my son, Jasper.”

  “You’ve got some nerve naming him after our father, after you betrayed his memory with your cowardice,” Creel growled.

  “Creel,” Miranda said, laying a hand on his arm, but he furiously shook it off. The anger in the air was so thick she was having a hard time breathing. She turned and walked away so she could clear her head. She was a little hurt, but she wasn’t angry at Creel. She could only imagine how raw his feelings were when it came to the subject of his pa
rents.

  “Creel,” Benjamin gritted out. “Can you pull your head out of your ass long enough to listen to me? Phoenix was pregnant when I made that truce. And she is from the Sheridan Pack, which is why we hadn’t told anyone. We both wanted this war to end, Creel. She lost her father and her sister and her brother. You and I lost our parents. I do not want Jasper to grow up facing death from an unnecessary, stupid grudge-match that’s almost a century old. Yes, I’m an Alpha Prime and that comes with a certain amount of risk, and I accept that. But to lose the ones I love, or to die in a pointless battle? That’s not brave, that’s stupid.”

  “Then why did you come up here?”

  “Because I want to reconcile with my brother, no matter how much of an asshole you are. And because I want to help contribute to planning with the other Alpha Primes.”

  Creel pointed at Jazmin. “And what is she doing here?’

  Benjamin looked at her in confusion. “Good question. I haven’t seen her in years. I had no idea she was here.”

  Jazmin stalked over to them with a smirk on her face.

  “Hello, lover,” she purred to Creel, and pointed to the claiming mark on her neck.

  Miranda went pale. She thought she might throw up.

  Creel had put his claiming mark on Jazmin? Why had he never told her that? At the same time, as if to make matters even worse, Angrim came bustling towards them – and he had a half-dozen other Alpha Primes with him.

  Miranda took a step back, in shock. Joseph was among them. He’d dared to show his face up here?

  Creel’s fangs descended and he let out a growl.

  “So this is the whore who stole my mate?” Jazmin spat, pointing at her.

  “Creel. She’s wearing your mark.” Miranda stared at him in astonishment.

  Jazmin let out a deep breath and bellowed at the top of her lungs. “This man claimed me and then abandoned me!” she shouted to the shifters who had started to gather around.

  Creel shook his head. “Bullshit,” he snapped, talking to Miranda, his gaze boring into hers. “I put my mark on her, and told her to mark me. Instead she told me that if I didn’t agree to the truce between our packs, she was leaving me and marrying my brother. When I told her to go ahead, she got up and walked out of our bedroom – with my fresh claiming mark on her neck.”