Whisper Pride Pack

by T. Cobbin

  * * * *

  As the days went on, Cassie showed her dislike toward Josie more and more, but only when Conan wasn’t around. It was getting on her nerves. In fact, by the time Friday arrived Josie was getting so fucking fed up she was growling back out of habit.

  After Josie and Conan spent some time moving what little she had into the cabin they enjoyed a drink and meal with Randale, Conan’s brother. Josie found it very hard not to laugh around the bloke. Although he had a serious side, he also had a comical side too. She could see sadness in his eyes as well sometimes, and she wondered what gave him that look.

  After being told of their Alpha’s mating, the pack began to visit. It had turned into a full shift-and-run one night after so many had turned up. She had sat on the bench, meeting each of their wolves, loving the fact many of them were different colors, but more so that she was accepted. Conan had promised on the next full moon that they would have a ceremony and full get-together. It gave them a few weeks to get to know their female Alpha.

  Josie fell in love with the pups that came over to visit most nights, much to Conan’s irritation. He wanted to spend time with his mate, fucking her into next week and making his own pups. But after a reprimand and compromise from his mate that it would only be for a few hours each night he stopped grouching. He actually began to enjoy the pups playing around their cabin. He even went as far as joining in once or twice.

  Conan had also taken her shopping for a few clothes, and much to her embarrassment he picked out several pairs of lacy underwear, telling her she would need a lot more as he liked tearing them from her luscious body.

  He had started telling her about the pack hierarchy and where she stood in it. They talked about many things, and her mind finally begin to relax a little. She didn’t feel so stressed or worked up about their mating. Yes, it had happened very quickly, but she didn’t have any regrets at all. And she could feel the overwhelming love coming from Conan.

  The next hurdle was meeting his mother, who was currently on cruise holiday. Conan swore that no matter whom she was or what, his mother would love her simply because he loved her.

  It was Friday when Josie finally had enough of Cassie. She had walked into the office kitchen and poured herself another cup of coffee. One drawback about all-night sex was the next day you were knackered, and there had been a lot of all-night sex that week.

  Cassie was sitting at the small table eating a rather limp salad. At hearing yet another low growl come from Cassie, Josie sighed, placed her mug to the side, and turned toward the offending woman. She had really and truly had enough. She had finally stopped sorting everything around in her head and was relaxing in her new life, but having the constant pure dislike coming at her from this blonde, skinny bimbo who wanted her man was a problem she could no longer ignore.

  “You know what,” Josie snapped, staring straight into an angry pair of brown eyes. “If you growl at me one more fucking time, you will regret it!”

  “Oh yeah, what you gonna do, run to Conan?” Cassie taunted her.

  “One last warning, I’d advise you to stop now before I hand you your arse.”

  For years at school Josie had been bullied by a group of girls who had taken it upon themselves to make her life miserable. She had been prodded, poked, made fun of, and finally taken a beating. After that beating though Josie had found she had a decent fucking punch behind her. Alas, punching the lead girl and breaking her nose in front of the headmaster had been a massive mistake. However, the next time the girls had come at her no one was around to see Josie knock the shit out of all of them. They never bothered her again.

  Cassie growled again, and Josie launched herself at the blonde. Josie would have laughed if she hadn’t been so angry—Cassie’s face was a picture of shock when Josie landed on her, toppling the chair behind them. With a quick right hook to Cassie’s nose she looked on in satisfaction seeing blood spurt from it. Grabbing hold of the woman’s short blonde locks, Josie tugged Cassie’s head up then slammed it down on the floor, hearing a resounding thud.

  By now Cassie had begun to gather herself. Josie watched as sharp claws appeared from the end of the woman’s manicured hands and swiped along the skin of Josie’s side. She didn’t feel anything at first, but then gradually burning strips of pain hit her. She felt slightly winded, but still having her hands wrapped tightly in Blondie’s hair, she tugged up and slammed her head down again with more force. This time the swipe from Cassie’s claws hardly registered.

  “If you don’t start showing me some fucking respect...” Josie shouted in the blonde’s face, spit flying everywhere.

  She was halted for a few seconds when Cassie’s claws dug deep into her sides. Gritting her teeth, she moved her legs, placing them on top of Cassie’s forearms and pinning them to the floor. She resumed with her hands in the female’s hair, tugging up then slamming her down again.

  “I told you!” Slam! “Fucking!” Slam! “Respect!” Slam!

  Cassie began to whimper. Even with Josie’s hand in her hair the blonde tried to offer her neck.

  “I think she’s had enough, baby.” Conan’s deep and husky voice came from the doorway.

  Josie looked up in shock. She had been so involved in beating Cassie she hadn’t noticed him standing there. Shaking her hand out of the now sweaty and tangled hair, Josie stood on shaky legs, taking a deep breath. She hadn’t realized just how shaky she felt until her knees nearly buckled. Conan was there in a millisecond to catch her before she hit the floor.

  Shit, she had just beat the crap out of one of his pack. She looked up into his face, dreading what she would see, but she was surprised at what she saw.

  Chapter 10

  Conan was so proud of Josie for standing up for herself. He knew that Cassie had been getting worse as the week went by. He had heard the none too subtle growls and the occasional offhand remarks, but he was waiting until he blatantly caught her. But to be honest, he didn’t think it would have gotten any further as he was getting fed up himself. No one disrespected his mate.

  He had been in his office when he heard the clatter of furniture hitting the floor and a yelp. Rushing toward the noise, he came across his mate with Cassie underneath her, slamming her head against the floor. When Cassie’s claws came up and dug in his mate’s side he nearly went in and tore the woman a new one, but taking a breath and pausing for a second, he watched as Josie subdued her and went back to pounding the pain in the arse woman’s head on the floor.

  When Cassie finally tried to submit he knew he would have to intervene. There was showing who was boss, and there was going too far. Josie would learn their ways as time went by. When a shifter showed his or her neck they were submitting, but Josie didn’t know that yet. Also, as a shifter Cassie would heal quickly, but she would need some help with her injuries. The scrubs that Josie wore were bloodied down both sides. It killed him to see it, but if he had intervened, it would have been telling his pack that she couldn’t take care of herself.

  He watched his mate as she lifted herself off Cassie, who was now whimpering on the floor of the kitchen in shame. Seeing Josie’s legs wobble, he rushed over and wrapped his arms around her waist. He could scent her worry. He looked down at her as she lifted her head, her eyes meeting his.

  “You aren’t angry?” she asked, confusion filling her features.

  A massive grin covered his face. “I am so fucking proud of you.” If only she could see his heart right now, she would see it glowing. “Let’s get you fixed up and I’ll explain why.”

  He kissed the top of her head and then swept her up into his arms.

  “Go home, Cassie. If you decide to show your Alpha female the respect she deserves, then you can come back on Monday. But if you decide to question her again, don’t bother coming back,” he growled and walked out of the kitchen, ignoring the whimpering.

  Josie was definitely fitting into the pack. She had now shown a pack member that she was Alpha and wouldn’t take any shit. He would ma
ke sure his pack heard about this. The visits from the pups had been a tedious pain in his butt at the beginning, because all he wanted to do was fuck his mate stupid, but as the week had gone on with the constant flow of the pups and their parents coming to visit, their cabin had become the hub instead of the pack house. He often sat on the swing or stood drinking a beer with some of the males, all of them watching the pups and females muck around together. He secretly hoped that Josie would be with child soon. With the amount of times they had been together he hoped she already was. He wanted her to bloom with their own pup.

  Josie sat quietly as he applied butterfly stitches to the long claw marks along her sides. The small pinpoint marks where Cassie has dug her nails into her sides just needed to be cleaned. He placed gentle kisses on each wound afterward. Pulling a new scrub top down over her bare skin, he moved between her legs, wrapping his arms around her neck. Looking down at her sweet face, he kissed her luscious lips.

  “You were fierce in there, but next time maybe a little less on the violence.” He chuckled. “Sometimes shifter don’t fight fair. She could have really damaged you, baby.” He placed another tender kiss on her lips. “But after today I can’t see the other female shifters challenging you.” He let the pride in his heart show in his voice.

  “I thought you were going to be so angry. I mean, I just kicked the crap out of not only your receptionist but your pack member too. All she did was growl a couple of times and say some other shit. I totally overreacted.”

  “There you go again.” He moved a few strands of hair that had blown in her face. “Cassie was seriously out of line. You are now the Alpha female in our pack, which means if you aren’t openly respected you get to put them in their place. After seeing you sort out Cassie today I know you can handle it. I will be right behind you.”

  Was it wrong for him to feel so proud watching his mate go at Cassie like that? If Cassie had made a full shift and outright attacked Josie, he would have killed her on the spot. What Josie had done was acceptable in pack law.

  “If I was honest, I would love to see you kick her arse again...well, kinda—seeing you hurt was the down side.” He kissed her gently. “Let’s close up shop, we have no overnighters. I bet you’re tired, you hardly got any sleep last night.”

  “Yeah,” she muttered rather sarcastically. “I wonder why that would be?” She looked up at his face. “But I am a little sore and would love to take a hot bath.”

  * * * *

  Josie relaxed as the water lapped around her. The cuts on her sides had stung like a bitch at first. Conan wanted her to take a shower because of the wounds, but she insisted that only a bath would help, and it was. She had always been a water baby, it chilled her. Anytime she was stressed, moody, or hormonal she would jump in a bath or go swimming.

  The delicious smell of food kept wafting over her, making her stomach rumble, and she realized she hadn’t eaten since breakfast that morning. Getting out of the tub, wrinkled and relaxed, she wrapped one of the huge, fluffy, white towels around her and padded silently to the kitchen.

  Conan had insisted that if she had a bath then he would redress the wounds. She had glanced at them before getting in the tub. Four deep claw marks raked across her right side, there were also four tiny pinpricks just above them where Cassie had buried her claws in her skin. The claw marks looked pretty angry and red, but the pricks weren’t so bad.

  Conan’s face lit up as she walked into the kitchen.

  “Come on, baby, let’s get you sorted. Dinner is nearly ready.” He lifted her up onto the kitchen counter as if she were light as a feather, and she knew damn well she wasn’t—she loved her food too much.

  She was suddenly hit with doubts. Oh dear God, what if she put more weight on? What if she had kids and never lost the baby weight? As if sensing something was whirling around in her head, Conan turned from under the sink with a first aid kit in his hand.

  “Whatever you’re thinking, stop it now. I love you. I love everything about you. You are my mate, baby. Everything from the top of your head to the tips of your toes was made for me.” He reached out to her, cupping her cheek and placing a tender kiss on her lips.

  “That makes everything about you mine too, right?” she asked with a secret smile.

  “Yes?” he said with suspicion.

  With her right hand she tugged him more between her legs so she could feel the never-ending erection she knew he had whenever he was around her, especially when she was wrapped in a towel with water droplets over her body. She loved it when he licked them off, growling. With her left hand she tugged on his hair, bringing his face closer to hers. While kissing him she moved her right hand from around his waist to caress his hard shaft through his jeans. He gasped and moaned into her mouth while rolling his hips into her hand. She knew her pussy was wet underneath the towel; she was also just at the right height for him to plunge his cock into her core.

  He pulled back, breathless. “Baby, if we continue, I won’t get to feed you. Plus, you’re hurt.”

  Her stomach chose that exact moment to rumble. Crap!

  With a knowing smile, he peeled back the towel and started to redress her wounds, kissing each one when he was done. Having a vet as a mate was pretty handy after a fight.

  * * * *

  They sat curled up together on the swing outside the cabin a little while later. Josie was stuffed, comfortable, and very tired. Various members of the pack had come and gone, not staying for long, but long enough to hear about Cassie, and to Josie’s surprise, making sure that she was okay. Conan had quietly whispered in her ear “Alpha female,” which had made her smile.

  Before Randale left Conan asked him to keep an eye on Cassie in case she decided to retaliate. Josie knew he didn’t trust Cassie, because while she had submitted, as of yet she hadn’t shown any respect or apologized. His brother had nodded and reminded them that he was picking up their mother from the airport tomorrow. Josie inwardly groaned at the news. That’s going to be this weekend’s hurdle, she thought.

  After everyone had left Josie and Conan continued sitting together on the swing under the stars in a comfortable silence. It wasn’t long before Josie’s eyes closed, and she fell asleep breathing in her mate with the feeling of rightness.

  She woke to the clattering of pots and pans in the kitchen and the smell of food. Putting her hand out to Conan’s side of the bed she came across cool sheets, so didn’t panic much thinking it was just her man cooking breakfast. She then noticed she was naked and in bed. She must have been so bloody tired she hadn’t even felt him bring her to bed, let alone undress her.

  Stretching her arms above her head, she yawned and winced a little when the wounds on her side pulled. Shit, she had forgotten about them too. Looking down and pulling the gauze from her sides, she was happy to see the wounds didn’t seem as red and angry as they were yesterday.

  She practically jumped out of her skin when the bedroom door opened and a tall, elderly woman with long gray hair in a plait stood there with a breakfast tray in her hand.

  “Morning,” she chirped breezily, walking forward and placing the tray over Josie’s legs. She glanced down at Josie’s wounds. “Oh, they don’t look so bad. Conan was going on about them this morning as if Cassie had maimed and scarred you for life, but looking at that, you won’t be left with a mark. I think he secretly wanted me to feel sorry for you in case I didn’t like you. Silly boy!”

  Josie studied the woman; seeing her features in both Conan and Randale she guessed that this was their mother.

  “Hi,” she whispered, pulling the sheet back over her breasts while her face heated in a blush. This was not how she’d imagined meeting her.

  The woman was beautiful. Her eyes were a sparkling shade of pale blue. Her gray hair was currently in a plait, but it was very long, coming to her waist. Her face had hardly any wrinkles. She didn’t look old enough to have adult kids, let alone a son that was fifty-five.

  Looking down at the tray which cont
ained a plate of eggs and bacon, and a huge mug of coffee, she suddenly felt sick in the pit of her stomach. “I, umm...I...could...We...”

  For God’s sake, get your words out, woman. You sound like a babbling idiot, she thought, annoyed at herself, but she just couldn’t get any words out.

  A long, thin finger lifted her chin so she was staring into a motherly pair of eyes that seemed to shine with love.

  “It’s okay, honey. I didn’t mean to embarrass you, I was just so excited to meet my new daughter.”

  Josie could only smile as the woman beamed back at her with the most stunning of smiles.

  “You must have gathered by now I’m Rosemary, Conan and Randale’s mother.”

  “When Randale said he was picking you up today from the airport, I didn’t realize it would be so early, or else I would have been up and dressed,” Josie said, finally managing not to sound stupid.

  “Oh, that doesn’t matter,” Rosemary said, waving it off. “After hearing that my son had finally found his true mate and mated her I got an earlier flight. As I said before, I couldn’t wait to meet you. I sent the boys off on an errand so I could get some alone time with you. You should have seen their faces—like two naughty boys being told off after being caught with their hands in the cookie jar.”

  Josie watched their mother’s face light up with pure giddiness. She could see where Randale had learned his antics from. Watching Rosemary pinch a piece of bacon off her plate, Josie relaxed and laughed along with her mother-in-law. Yes, she liked this woman already.

  Chapter 11

  Conan was driving home after running his mother’s ‘get out of the house so I can meet my daughter-in-law’ errand, listening to Randale talk about Cassie. Last night she had hit on his brother, walking into his room naked and trying to get him to sleep with her. Cassie was shown none too politely out of his room and warned never to try it again. Conan shook his head at the depths the female was going to.