by T. Cobbin
Of course, it might have been avoided if Randale hadn’t chosen to stay at the pack house rather than taking a cabin for himself, Conan knew why but he never let on. There was a small two-bed cabin that remained empty for when he changed his mind.
When they arrived at the cabin and went inside Conan glanced over at the sofa and saw was his mate sitting next to his mother with tears streaming down her face. Shit! Rushing to her side, he was shocked to scent happiness. He was even more amazed when his mate and his mother both burst out in uncontrollable laughter. He glanced at Randale to see a stunned look on his face too. Although that didn’t last long as he too began to chuckle.
“Man, you should really see your face right now,” his brother said with glee.
Frowning, Conan glanced at his mate once more to make sure she was okay and then stomped to the kitchen, throwing a well-aimed punch at his brother’s arm.
He stood in the kitchen feeling a little silly. When he’d walked into the cabin his first impression was that Josie was upset, only to find she was simply laughing so hard she was crying. The laughter tapered off from the other room and it grew silent, then he heard his mate’s soft footsteps coming up behind him, and her arms engulfed his waist. He was pleased to see her relaxed and happy. He knew she had been dreading meeting his mother. He quickly picked her up, making her yelp, and swung her onto the counter, placing his body firmly between her legs. The yellow flowered dress that she was wearing moved up around her thighs, and he could feel her heated pussy through her skimpy panties.
“Hey,” she said, lightly punching his shoulder.
“Hey you,” he replied and pulled her toward him, kissing her sweet lips. “So you like my mother then?” he asked.
“Honey, I love your mother. I can see exactly where Randale gets his funny side from. She told me all kinds of stuff about your childhood. The time when you fell out of a tree thinking you could turn into a bird, the time—”
He slammed his lips down on hers again, not wanting to hear the foolish things he had done as a kid.
“Hey, no making my grandbabies on that counter,” his mother snapped sharply at them as she walked into the kitchen.
He groaned at being caught out and at having company when he wanted to be balls deep inside his mate. He was horny as hell. He hadn’t been able to wake up with Josie because of a foolish errand his mother had sent him and his brother on. His mate smelled fantastic, tantalizing and just yum. Placing his nose in the crook of Josie’s neck, he breathed in deeply. He could feel the heat from her cheeks on his.
“I love it when you get all embarrassed.” He lifted his head and kissed her chin, moving all the way up to the burning skin.
“Conan,” she complained, wriggling against his cock, causing him to groan again.
He couldn’t take another second without being inside her. Not saying anything to his mother, he picked his mate up, threw her over his shoulder, and practically ran to their bedroom, shutting and locking their door behind him. He threw her on the bed and immediately covered her with his body. Lifting her dress as he went, he kissed his way up from her stomach to her neck, lapping over his mark.
“Conan, your mother.”
“Don’t worry, baby, I’ll just tell her we’re making her grandbabies.” He watched her face as he said it, waiting to see some kind of reaction. He was pleased when he saw a smile and not a frown. “You like that idea, huh?”
“Well, we haven’t exactly been using anything, and to be honest, although everything has happened so quickly, it feels right.”
His heart danced the mambo. Yes, it felt right, there was no question about it.
A knock at the bedroom door made them both groan.
“Conan Channon Lyall, that was rather rude. Dinner will be ready in an hour or so. Make them babies, then come and join me.”
He groaned and ducked his head down on his mate’s chest. Damn, his mother could be so embarrassing. He was Alpha of a pack for fuck’s sake, and yet his mother always made him feel like a boy. He had to lift his head up when his head began to vibrate with his mate’s laughter.
“Now who has a red face?” She chuckled.
“Oh, no you don’t,” he muttered, sliding down her body and pulling her panties off with his teeth. He ran his tongue through her nether lips and was satisfied to hear her laughter stopping and a moan of pleasure instead.
* * * *
Conan and Josie didn’t emerge from their room until Sunday morning. His mother had left their meal outside their room on a tray when they didn’t make it to the table. He walked into the kitchen with a satisfied smirk on his face, but seeing his mother sitting at the table with Randale and a rather worried Daisy startled him.
“What’s going on?” he asked gruffly.
“Paige is missing,” Daisy said in a small voice. “She wasn’t at tea last night and her bed wasn’t slept in either.”
This worried Conan. Paige was the bookworm of the twin girls. She was the close-to-home child, and she would never disappear without making sure her father knew where she was, which was normally either the library or work.
“Where’s your father?”
“He was rather agitated, so I sent him off to search the area with a couple of enforcers,” Randale replied. “If she crossed our boundaries, we’ll know.” He stood up and walked to one of the tall windows, looking out.
“Go, brother. I know you want to get out there. Report back with any info. I’ll stay here with the females.” Conan knew his brother’s secret and now that he was mated didn’t know how he had stayed away from Paige so long.
Without looking back, his brother left, stripped, and shifted.
“Daisy, has Paige fought with anyone or had any kind of problem?” Josie asked, sitting down next to the young woman. Conan smiled as he watched his mate become the Alpha female he knew she was.
Daisy fiddled with her fingers tightly balled up in her lap. “Cassie,” she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. “Yesterday morning Cassie discovered Paige was Randale’s mate, and went she ballistic. She trashed her room.”
“Fuck it!” Conan cursed. “I knew that bloody woman was going to be trouble.”
Going to the front door he called out to Trey, who was one of the pack’s top enforcers. He knew the man would be in wolf form, circling his cabin. A huge black wolf with a white stripe on his head came darting out of the woods and stood at the bottom of the porch stairs waiting for instructions.
“Go tell Randale it could be Cassie. Send Kyle to investigate her room for anything, and bring me her parents and brothers.”
The wolf nodded and ran back into the woods.
* * * *
So this was how it would be in a pack, Josie marveled. She was still sitting at the kitchen table an hour later with Daisy and Rosemary and a few of the other pack women, two of them human like she was. The mugs of tea had kept coming but were left on the table, mostly cold now. Conan was good to his word and had never left the cabin except to stand on the porch.
Most of the male pack members were out sniffing around the borders. It turned out Cassie and her car were missing along with Paige. Her family, except for her mother who was waiting outside on the porch, had joined the pack looking for her. Suddenly all heads in the kitchen turned toward the front door. Josie realized their shifter hearing had brought something to their attention. She stood up and followed the group of women now walking in that direction.
Outside, to Josie’s embarrassment, three very naked men were standing, holding an extremely untidy and also naked Cassie. Surrounding them was a group of wolves in various colors and sizes. Randale walked out of the woods, also naked, carrying an unconscious female. Daisy’s knees buckled, and she fell to the porch with her hands over her face. Josie could hear the heart-wrenching sobs coming from the girl. Her mother stood frozen to the spot behind her.
A salt-and-pepper colored wolf to the right of Cassie shifted into an elderly man with short gray hair, and he rushed to
ward Daisy. “It’s okay, honey. She’s okay, just sleeping,” he said, reassuringly brushing the girl’s hair. “We found her drugged in the back of Cassie’s car when she tried to leave pack land.” When the girl’s sobs quietened, he walked to his wife and engulfed her in his arm.
The elderly man and his wife, Daisy, and a young lad—Josie couldn’t remember his name, but she knew he was Daisy’s mate—followed Randale and Paige into the cabin, all of them followed by Rosemary. Josie went to stand beside Conan and watched in amazement as the firmly held Cassie still tried to fight the men holding her.
“Enough!” boomed Conan, making Josie jump a little. “Why?” he asked Cassie who had now bowed her head to him.
“Why do they get to have you and Randale as fucking mates when I can’t! I wanted you! I was supposed to be your mate! Then fucking Paige tells me yesterday she thinks Randale is hers. What about me? What about fucking me?” Cassie’s face turned red as she sneered and spat with fury ripping through her.
Josie watched as if in slow motion Cassie suddenly shifted into a muddy brown wolf and darted forward. She jumped up, reaching the top of the porch stairs, lunging at Josie in one quick move. Conan’s huge white wolf stopped Cassie from reaching Josie. He had shifted so fast that strips of material that had been a white shirt and jeans still hung from tatters over him. They rolled down the stairs, landing at the bottom with Conan’s wolf subduing the female on her back and standing over her, placing his teeth around her neck. When Cassie still didn’t give in, he swiped a paw along the stomach of the female wolf as another warning.
Conan had told Josie an awful lot over the week, so she knew he was trying to get the wolf to submit, showing her who was boss. If she didn’t submit, he would rip her throat out, condemning her to death. Josie watched in amazement with only a little fear. It had been a shock to see the wolf lunge at her, but it was a little hot to see her man shift so quick to protect her.
Josie walked to the top of the stairs but couldn’t get any closer to her man or the still snarling wolf under him as two other wolves stepped forward, stopping her momentum. She stopped only because she knew they were protecting her. She placed a hand on each of their heads, letting them know that she understood.
It didn’t take long for Cassie to shift back to her human form. Conan shifted and stood towering over the now cowering woman.
“You have sentenced yourself today for your actions. Jealousy? Come on, Cassie, I thought you were better than that. I feel sorry for your family having to watch their only daughter do something so despicable. Do you have anything to say?”
Josie watched with a heavy heart as her mate paced in front of his pack. She could hear his anger and sadness. She wanted to rush over to him and wrap her arms around him, but knowing now wasn’t the right time, she held herself still and waited.
Cassie didn’t answer Conan’s question but did look remorseful. She raised herself up so she was kneeling in front of the gathered pack with her head lowered. A brown-haired male wolf entered the circle with Cassie’s mother walking beside him and stood before Cassie. The woman leaned over and kissed Cassie’s cheek, tears rolling down her face through red, puffy eyes. Josie thought she could almost hear the woman’s heart breaking. The wolf must have been Cassie’s father. He didn’t even shift or approach the girl, he just turned his back on his daughter and walked out of the circle, nudging his wife before him.
Conan nodded toward the couple of men who stood around Cassie, then he followed her parents. Josie watched the pair as they quietly spoke to her mate. After seemingly making a decision, he walked back into the circle and stood again in front of Cassie. From the expression on his face, Josie could tell his heart was heavy.
The two men behind Cassie pulled the woman up and made her stand before her Alpha.
“For kidnapping Paige, a female pack member, and for the attempt on my mate’s life right before my eyes, it would be nothing short of death for you. But...” Conan paused, glancing around at the surrounding pack before returning his gaze to Cassie. “This is only for the sake of your family, Cassie. You will be banished to the east cave where you will live out your days. You are forbidden to leave pack land. If you do, it’s an instant death penalty.” He turned again to the pack. “No one is to see her from now on!” he declared, then turned back to Cassie. “Now shift!” he barked.
Josie watched as Cassie shifted to her muddy brown wolf form and turned her flank toward Conan. He swiped a long raking claw over the wolf’s hide, leaving four undeniable deep claw marks on her hide. The pack turned their backs on Cassie as she was led away by three wolf enforcers, her parents following behind.
Chapter 12
The pack had quickly dispersed after Conan announced that the full moon ceremony for the mating of Daisy and Raff would still take place next weekend. He also added that with the permission of the pair that he and Josie would be sharing it. It evened out the emotions they were feeling. Banishing or losing a pack member was a big thing. He couldn’t have killed Cassie, but he wanted to. When he had seen her wolf lunge at his mate he wanted to sink his teeth into her throat and rip it out.
Conan had never had any reason to banish anyone before. Females shifters were a rare thing and it was shame to lose one. Even with what Cassie had done, banishment would still be a hard thing to deal with. But her hair extensions and manicures were now a thing of the past. She would live her days away from the pack. The cave would be her only comfort now, and it had no amenities. She would have to hunt using her wolf, and use the streams and lake for bathing and water. She would only have visits from her parents and brothers. They, of course, could take her some luxuries that didn’t require electricity, but from the disgust of her father, Conan knew it would only be her mother that visited for a long time. It would take her brothers a while too.
The mark he had placed on her flank would scar in both human and wolf. It would forever be a warning to any shifter who came across her that she wasn’t to be approached. Conan honestly thought living without the company of a pack would be worse than death itself, but it would have killed Cassie’s mother to lose her daughter by the Alpha’s hand.
After making sure that Paige, her family, and his brother were okay, he had pulled his own mate to their room and explained what she didn’t understand about the afternoon. He then made slow but passionate love to her for the rest of the night, making sure she knew that he would always be there to protect and love her.
He lay there for ages watching Cassie over and over in his head shift and lunge for his mate. It was quite a while before he slept even though he knew she was safe and wrapped up in his arms.
The next week flew past. He hired Daisy as the new receptionist, it would help when she and Raff moved in together after their mating. She worked hard and fitted into the office well. With his mate working alongside of him as well it made time more enjoyable.
Randale had also begun to finally accept that Paige was his mate. It was their mother’s constant badgering at her son that brought them together. But the pair had chosen to wait until the next full moon to have their mating ceremony.
Conan was enjoying being mated. Josie could be as horny as he was, like this morning he had been dreaming about her sucking his erection only to wake up as he came and finding himself jetting his seed down his mate’s throat. He repaid her in kind by taking her from behind over his desk later at dinner time. Well, the woman had bent over, what was a man to do?
It was Friday and they were locking up for the weekend. There were no overnighters, and with it being a full moon weekend and the mating reception taking place, they were free to have some fun. A banging on the emergency door had them both rushing toward it. They were shocked to see two uniformed men covered in blood, both trying to tell them about an injured police dog in the back of their van.
Taking quick action, the four of them carried in the wounded Alsatian and placed it on the treatment table. The police had been raiding a nearby crack house, taking the
dog in to sniff out the drugs. Thinking a certain area was empty, they sent the dog in, but it had startled a drugged-up bloke hiding in a huge box. The bloke had jumped out and cracked the dog over the head with a crowbar.
A few hours later the dog had been x-rayed, shaved, cleaned, and stitched. The poor thing would wake up with a decent-sized headache but was pretty damn lucky to get away without a skull fracture.
“Are you sure you don’t want to leave him here overnight so we can watch him?” Conan asked one of the officers.
“No, thanks. My wife is a nurse at the hospital, so she’ll know what to watch for. We’ll call if she suspects anything is wrong. You know where to send the bill.” The officer shook Conan’s hand and walked out to his van.
Conan turned to see Marty, the other copper, talking to Josie. Sniffing the air as he walked toward them, he got wind of her fear and walked quicker, his wolf growling in his head.
“Thank you, sir,” Josie replied, taking hold of the small white card the officer gave her.
Marty nodded and shook their hands, then left the building.
Conan quickly gathered his mate up in his arms.
“He recognized me,” she whispered into his chest. “My mother reported me as a missing person. Marty identified me from a circulated picture she gave them. I have to go down to the station tomorrow and sign a statement saying I’m okay.”
He looked down at her sweet but pale face. “I’m here, baby. We’ll go together.”
“They aren’t allowed to tell her where I am, only that I’m safe, but what if she finds me? What if he finds me?”
Smacking his lips together in a comical way, he replied, “Mmm, breakfast,” and smiled down at her.
“Seriously, Conan,” she objected. “What if he does?”
“Sweetheart, I will be here. My wolf and I are both in agreement that he won’t touch a hair on your sweet body.”
Safe! His wolf growled.
“Come on, baby, let’s go home.”
