Crying Wolf, Shoot for the Moon, Thrown to the Wolves

by Rochelle Paige

  "Ich beanspruche dich als meine Gefährtin, von jetzt an bis in alle Ewigkeit,” I whispered into her ear right before I sank my fangs into her shoulder.

  As I bit down, my breath seized in my chest and lights burst behind my eyes. I enjoyed the moment as her taste filled my senses. Then I released her shoulder and licked at the wound while I continued to thrust into her body.

  “Parker!” she screamed just as her pussy clamped down tight and milked my orgasm out of me.

  My hips jerked against her as my body shuddered with the force of my climax. My cock twitched with each thrust, my come coating her pussy and mingling our scents together. Although I’d only just met her, I felt closer to Annora than I ever had to any other person before—even my brothers. The mating and marking had created a bond that would be cemented by our claiming, making it unbreakable.

  And it was through our new connection that I was able to feel when the pain and exhaustion hit Annora. As much as I wanted to spend more time getting to know my mate right now, I knew she needed sleep so her body could recover from the accident. I could wait until tomorrow to learn exactly what happened and get our healer to make sure she was going to be okay.

  “I’ve got you, baby,” I whispered in her ear as I rolled onto my side and gathered her limp body into my arms. “I won’t let anything hurt you. Never. I know you’re tired, but it’s safe for you to rest now.”

  Spending the next couple of days with my new mate in my cabin was better than I had ever dreamed. I had to be careful not to take her too often since she was still recovering and the healer had said that she needed rest, but we had time to learn more about each other. Hearing about her childhood made me want to hunt her parents down to make them pay for the hell they’d put her through, but that would have to wait until later. I had my mate right where I had always wanted her, and I didn’t want to ruin it with thoughts of vengeance.

  There were a couple of other things that were bugging me too. She hadn’t yet shared with me what had happened with the car accident that had left her so badly injured that it had taken more than a week for her to heal. With Eliza’s impression that Elias and Annora had been running from danger when she’d dreamed about them, I had a bad feeling that my mate’s accident might have been connected to that somehow.

  As I held Annora in my arms while she slept, I found myself wishing we could stay secluded in my cabin forever. Then the sound of a truck in the driveway reached my ears, and I knew the real world was about to intrude. The time was drawing near when I’d need to convince her to tell me everything.

  If only I’d met her one damn day earlier. The passing of the full moon the night before we’d met meant I had to wait weeks before the claiming ceremony. After the problems both of my brothers had faced with their mates before they could claim them, I wished I could keep Annora all to myself until it was done, but I knew that wasn’t possible. I had responsibilities to the pack and my brothers that couldn’t be ignored that long. It was time to face reality with my mate at my side.

  Peeking out the window, I saw that Spencer, Eliza, and Elias had arrived. I was surprised they’d given us this long before intruding, but I wasn’t shocked to see them pulling a ton of shit out of the truck before they walked towards our home.

  “Hey, baby,” I whispered in her ear while lightly shaking her shoulder. “Time to wake up. We’ve got company.”

  “We do?” she murmured tiredly. I figured she probably wanted to roll back over to get some more sleep since I’d woken her up in the middle of the night with my tongue in her pussy when I hadn’t been able to resist the need to taste her any longer.

  “Spencer brought Eliza and Elias over for breakfast,” I explained.

  “Breakfast?” she repeated as she jumped out of bed. “We haven’t been to the store and there isn’t anything I can make for that many people in the fridge.”

  “Not to worry,” I assured. “I saw them dragging a crap-ton of shit out of the truck. Eliza hasn’t been mated that long, so she remembers what those first few days are like for new couples.”

  She began to frantically dig through my dresser drawers, probably searching for something she could wear downstairs. “Shit,” she complained.

  There wasn’t a chance in hell she’d find anything decent in there since she was too damn small for anything that fit me, even with all her curves. Luckily, I heard footsteps outside the door and a light thud before they retreated towards the stairs again. Chucking softly, I opened the door and found some shopping bags and a backpack on the floor. When I grabbed them and shut the door again, Annora was glaring at me for laughing at her predicament until she saw the items in my hands.

  “Oh, thank God!” she exclaimed in relief.

  After we both pulled some clothes on, we made our way downstairs and found everyone waiting for us in the kitchen.

  “I hope you don’t mind that we dropped in for breakfast,” Eliza said. “We probably should have called first, but this big lug assured me it would be fine if we just stopped by.”

  Spencer grunted when she elbowed him in the gut. “Hey. Family never needs an invitation,” he complained.

  Annora’s hand flexed in mine at my brother’s words, and I worried she was upset until she spoke.

  “I don’t mind at all. It’s nice to see a familiar face.”

  “Other than mine, you mean,” I argued, a little put out by the suggestion that she needed anyone other than me.

  “Yes, other than yours,” Annora giggled in response. The sound of her laughter rolled through my body, making me feel triumphant since she didn’t do it often. “I just meant it’s nice to have family who care for us enough to stop by to have breakfast. Especially the kind who bring me much-needed clothes and enough food to stock the fridge and fill the pantry.”

  “I figured you needed just about everything after my dad and I talked, but we wanted to give you guys some alone time first,” Eliza said.

  “Today seemed like a good morning since we really need you at The Den tonight,” Spencer said apologetically. “Sorry it couldn’t be longer, bro.”

  “I’ve been helping out behind the bar, but payroll needs to get done, and I didn’t want to fuck up your system,” Elias added.

  “Shit!” I swore when I realized it was Wednesday and I really did need to go into the bar so I could get everyone’s paychecks approved so they’d hit their accounts on time.

  “It’s okay, Parker,” Annora reassured me. “I understand you’ve got work that needs to be done.”

  “I’ve got a brilliant idea!” Eliza interjected. “How about you bring Annora in with you and I’ll meet you there for a girls’ night out?”

  “Eliza,” Spencer growled. “You know I’ve got shit to take care of tonight and can’t go with you.”

  “Oh, please,” she snorted. “Parker will be there to watch over me.”

  “Me, too,” Elias added. “And you know I won’t let anything happen to either of them.”

  “Girls’ night out!” Eliza shrieked as Spencer shook his head at her.

  “You wanna come in with me tonight?” Parker whispered into my ear.

  I rubbed my cheek against his before answering. “Yeah, I think I do.”

  Six

  Annora

  After Eliza and I made breakfast for everyone, the rest of the day flew by, and I quickly found myself getting ready for a night out. So much had changed in my life recently. One short month ago, my biggest concern had been that I was a disappointment to my parents because I couldn’t shift. Now, I was on the run from a psychotic wolf who wanted to mate me—an alpha to whom my own parents had practically sold me for Christ’s sake! On top of that, I’d been injured in a car crash I’d engineered to escape my father and found myself mated and marked within hours of meeting Parker.

  What I needed more than anything tonight was a break from it all, and I found myself feeling relieved that Eliza had suggested this girls’ night out. I knew that Parker was worried about me since h
e kept asking me all day long if I was really sure I wanted to go. After having spent my entire life doing what was expected of me, it felt damn good to put my foot down and do what I wanted instead.

  Not that I wasn’t willing to compromise with Parker. I knew it would be difficult for him to let me out of his sight tonight since we’d just mated, especially since I could still be in danger.

  “Are you sure you’re up for this tonight?” he asked after he’d parked in the lot outside the bar. “You should be home, resting. You’re still recovering from the car accident.”

  “You heard what the healer said,” I pointed out. “I’m fine.”

  “Maybe she was wrong,” he grumbled.

  “Parker,” I sighed. “She’s the pack healer. The one you insisted come to your house to care for me immediately. The same person you told me I could trust.”

  “Shit,” he muttered. “That was before I found out I don’t trust anyone when it comes to you.”

  My heart warmed at the frustration in his tone. It probably should have irritated me, but I took comfort in the fact that he cared so much for me in such a short period of time. I knew it was probably futile, but I was trying to protect my heart from him. Even though I’d willingly accepted his mark, I wasn’t ready to trust anyone with my whole heart yet, either. Not after what I’d been through. But that didn’t mean I wanted Parker to suffer needlessly at my expense.

  “You’ll be here with me the whole time,” I reminded him. “I promise to let you know if I get tired or need to go home. And I’m just going to have a couple of drinks with Eliza and Grace.”

  “Grace is coming too?” he asked.

  “Yeah. That’s what Eliza said when she called the cabin earlier,” I confirmed.

  “You ready to meet Hunter?”

  “He’s going to be here too?” I yelped, a little nervous to meet him since my mating Parker made me part of his pack.

  “There’s no chance in hell he’s going to let Grace come to The Den alone,” he explained. “Not when she’s almost eight months pregnant.”

  “I guess I can see why he’d feel that way,” I whispered. It was nice to hear the affection my new mate felt for his brother and his wife.

  Parker’s lips tilted into a grin. “I’m not even sure how she got him to agree to coming out at all tonight. He’s been keeping her close to home lately as her time draws near. They both must be excited to meet you.”

  It was weird to think there were people out there who would be happy to have me in their pack, who would be looking forward to meeting me. I’d spent years feeling like an outsider and being treated like an unwanted child. When I’d made the decision to crash my father’s car, I’d done it feeling like I was escaping from the only people I’d ever be connected to. That, even though I might get away from an unwanted mating and a life of being mistreated by my parents, I would have to face a life alone as payment for my safety. Now, I’d built a friendship with Elias after he’d saved me, mated a man I hardly knew, and apparently gained a whole new family with brothers, sisters, and a niece or nephew on the way.

  “I like the sound of that,” I admitted softly.

  “Then let’s get you in there,” he replied before hopping out of the car.

  I watched as he scanned the parking lot before coming around to my side of the car to open my door. Knowing he was on guard for my safety, even here in his hometown, chipped away at some of the wall I’d tried wrapping around my heart.

  We walked hand in hand through the lot and into The Den. We were swarmed by well-wishers as soon as we made it inside. Since I was only eighteen, I’d never been in a bar before, so I didn’t really know what to expect, but it wasn’t dark wood paneling with matching floors, big-screen televisions, and tables packed with shifters like I’d thought it would be.

  “A bear, huh?” one of the guys said as he clapped Parker on his back and pulled him in for the guy version of a hug. My body tensed, expecting a wisecrack about how I wouldn’t fit into the pack. “Damn happy you found her, bro. Can’t wait to see if my nieces or nephews are wolf or bear. It’ll be even more fun that guessing their sex.”

  “Shut up,” Parker grumbled before the man, who I had figured out was his other brother, Hunter, turned to me.

  “Welcome to my pack, Annora,” he said, his voice ringing loud and clear through the bar.

  His announcement was met by cheering before he lifted me in the air for a hug and twirled me around.

  “Put my mate down,” Parker complained as laughter bubbled up and out of my throat while relief coursed through my veins. “Go maul your own mate.”

  “I’ll save the mauling for later ‘cause she’s been looking forward to spending some time with her new sister,” he replied. Then he nodded to a table in the corner, where a very pregnant woman was sitting with Eliza. “You better head over there or I’ll never hear the end of it for ruining her big night.”

  “Alrighty, then,” I muttered before flashing Parker a reassuring smile and walking over to the women.

  “Annora,” Eliza greeted me with a hug. “This is Grace.”

  “Hi,” she said as she waved at me before rubbing her stomach lightly. “I’d get up to hug you too, but I don’t think I’d ever make it up and out of my seat without some help.”

  I found myself doing something out of character for me. Leaning down, I wrapped my arms around Grace and gave her a hug since she couldn’t get up.

  “How about I just hug you instead?”

  “Awww,” she sighed, and I noticed tears in her eyes when I pulled away. “Damn hormones.”

  As soon as I sat down, the waitress came by to take my order.

  “I have no idea what to get,” I admitted. “Can I even order alcohol since I’m underage?”

  The waitress probably thought I was crazy to admit that out loud in a bar. “You’re in a shifter bar owned by your mate’s family in a shifter town where his brother is the alpha. You can order anything you want.”

  “You can never go wrong with a margarita,” Eliza said as she lifted her glass. “Here. Try mine to see if you like it.”

  I took a sip and enjoyed the salty, tangy flavor, so I ordered the same.

  “You guys suck,” Grace complained after taking a sip from her cup of tea. “No liquor for me. Hell, Hunter won’t even let me have the caffeinated stuff. Not even one tiny, little cup.”

  “You don’t have much longer to wait,” Eliza reminded her.

  “I’m pretty sure the same rules will be in place while I’m nursing too,” Grace pouted.

  “Probably,” I agreed.

  The waitress came back with my drink, and we sat there in silence for a couple of minutes as I enjoyed my margarita. The moment was an odd one for me since I’d always felt so different from the she-wolves in my old pack. Once we’d hit our teen years, I had rarely been invited along with them, so I wasn’t certain how to act during a girls’ night out.

  “Thank you,” Eliza finally said, breaking the silence.

  I assumed she was talking to Grace since I hadn’t done anything to deserve her gratitude, but when I looked up, I found her staring right at me.

  “For what?” I asked.

  “Helping my dad with his guilt for not finding me sooner,” she answered. “He spent so much time searching for me that it got to him. When we talked, he admitted he was scared of how I would react once he got here. Finding you injured and in need of rescuing? It gave him the chance to do something to make him feel worthy of being my dad again.”

  “Never giving up on finding you should have been enough,” I pointed out, a little irritated that she might not have been appreciative of all of his efforts on her behalf.

  She held her hands up in a sign of surrender. “I don’t think he had anything to make up to me, but he did,” she explained. “He felt guilty for not being able to stop my shunning. For never knowing about my gift. For my mom dying while she was helping him with pack business. And for me thinking he was dead too. Rescui
ng you from danger made him feel like he had done something to balance the scales a little bit again.”

  I understood almost everything she’d said except one thing. “Your dad didn’t know you could walk in dreams?”

  “I hid it from everyone for years,” she began. “Even my dad because my mom had drilled into my head that it was dangerous for anyone to know. It’s something I’ll probably regret for the rest of my life because it caused distance between my dad and me. Plus, it cost me two years of happiness with Spencer. It wasn’t until I dreamed about the trouble stalking Grace and was caught by Hunter and Spencer trying to figure out what it all meant that I talked to anyone about my dreams.”

  “Thank God you did, because I don’t even want to think what would have happened to me if you hadn’t dreamed about me,” Grace said. “As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, we have that in common. Not only are we all mated to a Tate brother, but Eliza dreamed about each of us.”

  “You dreamed of me?” I gasped.

  “That’s how I knew my dad was alive,” Eliza replied. “And how Parker knew for sure you were out there. We hoped like hell it meant you both were on your way here to us. He even called the bears for help finding you since I pictured you as a bear in my dream.”

  “Is that why Parker was so accepting of me? Even though I’m not a wolf?” I asked. “Why he was ready to take me as his mate within minutes of our meeting?”

  “It could be,” Eliza agreed. “But I guess you’d need to ask him to be certain.”

  “Nah,” Grace disagreed. “I don’t think he gives a shit that you shift into a bear. Hunter certainly couldn’t care less that I’m human.”

  “You do realize I committed to being with Parker for the rest of my life and I have no idea who he really is,” I bemoaned.

  “Yeah, and in our world, that sounds a hell of a lot more normal than the ridiculous amount of time it took before Spencer and I became mates,” Eliza replied. “I bet if we asked the next hundred wolves we see which of our stories sounded believable and which was made-up, they would almost all think my story is a bunch of bullshit.”