by Amanda Clark
After letting Jack out the back door. Emma made herself a coffee and sat at the table, watching Mike reading the paper. Mary walked in and wished them both a good morning,
“So, what do you need me to do today, Mary?” Emma asked.
Mary sat down and thought for a moment before replying, “We are all ready for the group that is booking in later I’m going into town to the market if you would like to come?”
“Oh yes, that would be nice, what time do you want to leave?” Emma asked.
“Half an hour, because I’ve got a meeting just after that,” Mike, rather than Mary answered.
“Okay,” Emma said.
She finished her coffee and left the kitchen, with Jack at her heels, to get ready.
Half an hour later Emma was seated in the back of Mike’s Land Rover heading into town. Jack laid at her feet thumping his tail in excitement. They stopped where Emma had parked the night before and climbed out, waving to Mike, who said he would be back in about an hour. Emma, Mary and Jack wandered down the street and looked around the stalls. Mary bought vegetables and then went to a stall selling local meat and practically cleared the man out, there were steaks, sausages, bacon, chops and mince. Emma had never seen so much meat bought in one go.
All Mary said was, “My boys like their meat.”
The man at the stall said he would have it ready for Mike to collect and then they moved on.
Mary said, “I usually meet my friends for a brew and a catch up, would you like to join us?”
“No thanks, I’m going to have a wander about if that’s okay? I will make my own way back to the B & B, see you later.”
Emma wandered around the market a little longer, it wasn’t a large market, but most of the stalls sold locally made products such as cheese, pies and locally bred meat. The other stalls held handmade jewellery and candles.
There were a couple of clothes stalls selling jeans, T-shirts and kids clothes. After looking at the stalls, Emma window shopped. There were lots of shops selling walking gear, gift shops to cater to the tourists. Emma still hadn’t seen a super market or a high street store.
“You’re not in London now, girl , ” Emma mumbled to herself.
Emma looked around and saw a sign for the lake, and decided to head that way. The sign said it was only half a mile away, the walk would be good, she thought and set off with Jack. The road led to a pretty park, with beautifully maintained gardens, a good play area with lots of equipment for the children. There were several there playing, whilst their parents chatted. One little boy spotted Jack and toddled over to say hello.
“Doggie, doggie,” he said excitedly.
Jack sat immediately and wagged his tail, loving the attention. The little boy patted him on the head and then reached in and hugged him tight. Emma smiled and longing hit her, she had always wanted a family. Better find a man first, she thought. The little boy’s mother came and pried him away from Jack. She thanked Emma for her patience and Emma carried on with her walk. The view looking down at the lake was spectacular.
“Wow, what a beautiful place this is, Jack, I think we are going to like it here,” she said.
They got to the lake edge and Emma removed Jack’s lead, he immediately ran straight into the lake. He spotted some ducks off to the side of him and ran towards them. They started quacking and flapping their wings and Jack bolted back to Emma.
Emma laughed. “What a wuss you are Jack.”
They walked a little further and Jack found a stick and brought it back to Emma. They spent the next ten minutes playing fetch, until Jack lay down at Emma’s feet panting. Emma remembered seeing a little cafe when they first got to the lake and decided to head back that way.
* * * *
Mike headed to his pack meeting with Emma on his mind. On arriving at his uncle’s house he got out and headed inside. His Uncle Shane sat talking to Paul, his cousin and Enforcer of the pack, they both stood when Mike walked in.
Mike shook his head. “Sit down you two, you know I hate all that crap unless it’s a ceremony.”
Paul stuck out his hand and Mike grasped it and pulled him into a one armed hug.
“How are you doing? When did you get back?” Mike asked.
“Last night and I’m good, thanks. Two weeks away definitely helped clear my head,” Paul said.
Paul had taken a couple of weeks to get his head in order after splitting up with a lass he believed was his mate. S
he ended up taking up with someone from another pack she met online. Scott arrived and the four of them sat and discussed what was happening in the pack, everything was fine. So after forty-five minutes they broke up the meeting, Paul and Scott left. Mike turned to his uncle and asked, “Has a human ever been a mate?”
His uncle cocked an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”
Mike sat back in his chair before replying, “Emma, the girl we took on to help Grams around the B & B, she confuses me. My wolf wants to claim her and has since we met last night. But my human side is confused, she is human. When I’m near her she feels like home, I want to grab hold of her and never let go. From the first moment I saw her picture attached to her resume, I’ve had a reaction to her. I’m constantly hard since she turned up, no woman has ever made me this horny. I know these are all signs of her being my mate, but how can she be, if she is human?” Mike said.
“Sounds to me as if she is a half- breed, unable to shift but having the longevity of the were. Stronger and faster than the average human. Do you know anything about her family?” Shane asked.
“I know from our emails, her mother died in child birth, but she knows nothing about her father. From what you have said, I would assume her father is the were because our females don’t die giving birth,” Mike said.
“I would suggest you go claim your mate and then suggest getting a DNA test done to see if we can find out who her father is,” Shane said.
Mike thanked his uncle for his help and advice and left.
Mike drove back into town and pulled up where he had dropped them off, Mary stood waiting for him, but no Emma. He jumped out, taking the bags from Mary,
“Where is Emma?” he asked.
“Off exploring town. She said she’d meet us at home later.”
He snapped at his grandmother, “How could you let her go off by herself?”
Mary looked at him with censure. “What has gotten into you, you never speak to me like that?”
“I’m sorry, Grams, but I think she is my mate,” he replied.
“That’s wonderful, dear, but tread carefully. We don’t know how she will react to finding out about us,” Grams said.
Mike collected the meat order before driving home, worrying the whole time about Emma.
Once he had dropped Grams off at home with the shopping, he got back into his car and went looking for Emma.
His wolf was restless not knowing where she was, he opened the window and took in the scents around him. He picked up her strawberry and cream scent in no time. He followed it, she had a good wander around the market and then headed towards the lake. He parked his car and walked because she had gone through the park rather than walk around the road. As he passed the playground several pack members were there with their young.
They called out greetings to him, he would have carried on, but Amy a two year old, came over to him.
“Plane, pwlease?” she asked so sweetly.
Mike didn’t have the heart to say no, so he picked her up under her arms and proceeded to move her around as if she was an aeroplane. This then led to two boys, Jamie and Robbie wanting a go.
I started something at the last gathering, he said to himself as he moved off.
He picked up her scent again at the lake edge, she had been here for a few minutes, letting Jack paddle he thought. As he turned he caught sight of her sitting in the garden of the cafe.
* * * *
Emma sat outside the little cafe that looked over the lake, the sun was shining and she felt relaxe
d for the first time in six months, no looking over her shoulder. Jack lay at her feet, sleeping after his dip in the lake. The waitress came over with Emma’s cappuccino and a bowl of water for Jack, Emma thanked her and sat back to watch the world go by for a while. Jack woke and lapped at his water greedily before promptly falling asleep again. After about twenty minutes Emma had finished her drink and was thinking about heading back to town, when a man caught her eye. He seemed to be watching her, but what confused Emma was she had seen this same man quite a few times in London, in and around the clinic she used to work at with Craig. She knew it was him because she got the same feeling of safety, which was odd because they had never spoken. He always struck her as a handsome man, Craig thought he looked like Alcide off True Blood. Emma had to concede he had the right look, his hair and beard were dark brown, the checked shirt added to the look. He was just not as tall, but as broad. Strange also, because she thought Alcide was lush, but for some reason thinking about this man like that was wrong, very odd. For a few moments she panicked and thought Brian had found her, but then the feeling of security wrapped around her making her relax. If he was one of Brian’s men she wouldn’t feel safe, she thought to herself. All of a sudden Mike appeared at her side, making her jump. Once again Emma was caught up in her own thoughts and she never saw or heard him approach.
“Emma, what’s wrong?” he asked.
“Mike you scared me, you snuck up on me again. I will have to start being more aware.” Emma laughed.
Mike took a seat beside her, stretching out his long legs. They brushed against her legs, making Emma sigh. His touch soothed her for some reason.
“So what has you thinking so hard?” Mike asked.
“The man over there, I’ve seen him on a number of occasions in London. It just surprised me to see him here, that’s all.”
Mike looked around and saw no one.
“What did he look like, Em?”
“It doesn’t matter, he didn’t scare me, he never does.”
“Come on let’s get back to the house,” Mike said standing and offered her a hand up.
“I’ve got to pay first,” Emma told him before walking inside.
Emma came back out and picked up Jack’s lead before heading to Mike’s Land Rover.
“So how are you finding our little town, Emma?” Mike asked.
“It’s absolutely beautiful, so very different from London. I didn’t see a single high street store in town, where do you all shop, other than the market?” Emma replied.
“We have a supermarket at the bottom end of town, or we travel to the nearest city, which is an hour drive. But the internet has made life so much easier,” Mike said.
“Doesn’t it just.” Emma laughed.
She was pleased with the lift, because all of a sudden she was feeling really tired, probably all the driving yesterday. A nap was in order when she got back, she decided and settled back into the seat. Emma watched Mike’s hands on the steering wheel, they were big, with long, thick fingers, she began to wonder how they would feel on her body and in it, her pussy quivered and wept at the thought. Emma was just getting into her fantasy when Mike made a noise that sounded like a growl. Emma turned to look at him to find him staring at her, she felt herself flush.
“Carry on making those little noises and I won’t be able to control myself, Emma,” he said.
Emma couldn’t look away from Mike’s eyes, they seemed to glow for a second, but there was something she couldn’t place. She found herself leaning closer and her gaze dropped to his lips, she was so close she could feel his breath on her face. Her mind was telling her to pull back, but her hormones were urging her on. With barely any space left between them she looked back up into Mike’s eyes, they were filled with what looked like arousal. She was about to close the distance between them when Mike’s phone started ringing. Emma pulled back abruptly, to realise they were parked outside The Den, she got out of the car with Jack and hurried inside away from temptation.
* * * *
Mike watched Emma disappear into the house and pulled his phone from his pocket. It was just a pack member informing him that Brian Roads had entered pack lands. He ended the call and sat back, pulling in deep breathes, trying to alleviate the pressure in his pants. He still didn’t know how to break the news to Emma that werewolves were real. She would probably run screaming, thinking she was in a nightmare.
He shook his head and climbed out of the car just as Scott and Paul pulled up behind him, they always greeted visiting packs like this, it showed strength and solidarity within the pack. They headed inside to his office, Mike was pleased with the distraction, but he was starting to realise Emma was constantly there in the back of his mind, no matter what he was doing. Grams came in with coffee for them all and informed them dinner would be ready at six o’clock. They heard a car driving up and headed out to meet Brian.
Mike had never liked him, but hadn’t been able to figure out why, so he always watched him closely. A black Land Rover pulled up and Brian and two of his men climbed out. Brian was a little over six foot, broad shouldered with bright ginger hair he kept closely cropped to his head. Brian came forward and offered Mike his hand, Mike shook his hand and welcomed him to the Derwent pack. Mike also informed them of a new human in the area and asked that they be careful before leading them inside to get checked in. Brian and his men got their keys from Grams, who then showed them to their rooms. Mike, Scott and Paul retired back to the office to drink their coffee.
“Is it just me or is there something about Brian that’s not right? Paul said.
“Yeah, I get that impression too. I just can’t put my finger on just what it is,” Mike replied.
“I’ve heard he can be a brutal at times, he doesn’t like to lose. Do you remember the rumours that he killed a mate and a baby, years ago because he lost a challenge?” Scott said.
“I vaguely remember something about it, but it happened as we took over the pack so we were preoccupied getting the pack settled, do you remember the problems we had. I can remember thinking will things ever settle down. I think you had the hardest time, Scott, the elders unsure if a gay man was tough enough to be beta, you soon showed them, when you were challenged,” Paul said laughing.
“I said at the time it was ridiculous, the elders where just getting over the fact that gay men were coming out, it was all right till it happened in our pack. Thank God their less prejudice now, it took time, but we got them there. The next test for them will be when you meet your mate, Scott,” Mike said.
“Don’t remind me, do you remember them saying as long as he is the one doing the fucking I don’t suppose it matters, a hole’s a hole. Talk about bigoted, they better have improved their attitude because elders or not, I won’t stand for them giving my mate grief like they gave me,” Scott said.
Mike noticed this line of conversation was getting Scott worked up so he decided to change the subject.
“Now the weather is improving, when are we gonna have a pack barbecue? The pups will be ready to burn off some steam,” Mike said.
“Let’s do the games we did two years ago, they really enjoyed that. Wolf races and wrestling went down well,”
Paul said.
“Yeah great idea, and the five aside wolf football was hilarious, do you remember we ran out of balls. If I remember right, your team lost, Paul, didn’t they? The big hard enforcers guards lost to the women’s team,”
Scott said, whilst trying not to laugh.
Paul playfully punched him in the arm.
“They played dirty, they kept going for our dangly bits, it’s very distracting having someone clamp on to your dick and not in a nice way,” Paul said.
Scott pushed him on the floor, laughing.
“That’s no excuse, they did that to every team they played. Hey, Mike, next time the pack has to fight send the women, they’re tougher than the guards,” Scott said.
Paul grabbed Scott and they started wrestling on the office floor, Mi
ke sat back and laughed at their antics.
They all froze when they heard a scream from upstairs and pounding feet.
* * * *
Emma entered the house and met up with Grams. Ascertaining that dinner was at six and she wasn’t needed for a few hours, she headed upstairs for a nap. She laid out on her bed and thought about how close she had come to kissing Mike, just thinking about it caused her panties to be soaked. This is getting out of hand she thought as she drifted off to sleep.
Emma was having a really good dream about Mike. She was kissing him in the car, their tongues rubbed and duelled with each other, Emma ended up straddling his lap with her hands buried in his hair. Mike’s hands where under her T-shirt and kneading her breasts, it felt so good and then all of a sudden the kneading became painful squeezing and Brian’s face appeared before her. It jolted her out of her dream, but in reality Brian was leaning over her with a hand squeezing her breast to the point she knew it would bruise. Emma went to scream and he put his other hand over her mouth.
“So, you thought you could get away from me you little bitch, imagine my surprise when I was heading up to my room and I picked up your scent, and here you are, all horny and waiting for me. I may just get to finish what I started.” He laughed.
He ripped her T-shirt down the front, exposing her white bra. He tried to undo his jeans, but struggled, so he released her mouth to use both hands. Emma knew this was her only chance to escape, she lifted her leg, kneed him in the face and rolled away. The kick had made him lose his balance and Emma had the precious seconds she needed to bolt out of the bedroom and down the stairs, screaming Mike’s name. As she ran down the last flight of stairs, she knew Brian was hot on her heels.
The relief of seeing Mike, Scott and another man, running out of the office nearly made her legs give way, she made it down the stairs and into Mike’s arms as Brian bellowed, “Get back here, you little bitch, I ain’t finished with you yet!”
He appeared at the top of the stairs with his cronies and Emma whimpered. Trying to get closer to Mike, who already had her plastered to him. Mike was growling and Emma could feel it vibrating through his chest, he loosened his hold on her and she whimpered even more.
