Finding My Mate

by Rylee Winters

  Rachel whirled around wildly, an almost crazed look in her eyes when they found mine, and I cocked my head. Slowly, so arduously slowly, it began to dawn on her what had happened. The fire raged across her expression.

  “Alpha Jackson asked me not to kill you, so I will not. Be relieved at my mercy and please leave me alone.” An ugly feeling clawed at the back of my throat, and I grimaced at the taste that coated my mouth. “If you try to attack me a third time, I will not be merciful.”

  Turning around, I only managed a few small steps before the hairs on the back of my neck stood up straight. Threat weaved between my vertebra, and I stretched my wings out as wide as they could go.

  The sickening thud of a body hitting the ground was lost under Rachel’s writhing and screaming and gurgling. Closing my eyes, I slowly twirled on my heel before setting my gaze on something I had watched time, and time again. She foamed at the mouth and out of her nose, and blood welled from her eyes and ears. The skin stretching down her neck began to swell and boil, and I wrapped my arms around myself even while Derek’s warm, comforting palm slithered up my back and between my wings.

  ‘So, you have finally decided to rid the world of this insipid creature…’ Smug and deep, Muss’ superior tone couldn’t drag my eyes away from the sight before me, and I only nodded dumbly. Rachel’s gurgling turned to choking, and she flopped weakly like a fish that had gone too long without air.

  I watched the life drain from her eyes, and pure, untainted satisfaction ripped through my chest when she finally stopped twitching.

  “Did that make you feel confident enough to go back to Melinda’s, babe?” Leaning in to mumble quietly in my ear, Derek didn’t need a verbal answer when I squeezed his hand tightly. “I hope you can ride this wave of confidence for a day or two – you worked out hard. You’re going to be sore for a while.”

  “I will not waste this opportunity.” My mind whirred furiously, and I flexed my wings as I released Derek’s hand to crouch next to Rachel’s cooling body. Questions swirled behind my eyes, but one of them was louder and more insistent than the others.

  She knew she had no hope of winning, so why did she choose to die?

  The notion was troubling, and I nibbled my bottom lip absently as I gazed at Rachel’s blue-tinged face and boggled eyes. My gut churned, toes curling against the mat’s plastic shell, and I inhaled deeply through flared nostrils. Images bombarded my inner eye of the past three minutes, but she didn’t do anything I would consider out of the ordinary.

  “Linne?” Humming without looking away from Rachel, I sighed heavily as Derek set his palm on my shoulder. “Come on, babe.”

  I could hear in his voice the same concerns that raced through my brain, and I jerked my head in a nod before pushing myself to stand. Twisting on my heel, I frowned deeply at the young face contorted in green sickness and disgust. The boy was still, but I couldn’t think on it when Muss spoke up as he hovered with wide beats of his wings.

  ‘I do not have a good feeling about this. That was much too easy… almost planned.’

  “I know, but we’re not going to talk about it here, bird.” Grumbling the response, Derek palmed my back to usher me out of the gym, and I pursed my lips tightly under furrowed eyebrows. Muss was right – which meant there was a traitor somewhere.

  Hopefully Rachel was the traitor. That would be easier to deal with considering she was dead.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Derek

  “You fucking let Linne kill the only avian shifter I have!” Jackson’s snarl rattled the whole room, and spittle flew from his mouth as he slammed his hands on the desk. The objects seated there jumped from the force, and I clenched my jaw as my own hands curled into fists. “I fucking told you explicitly to avoid Rachel! She was still useful no matter how fucking damaged she was. Jesus Derek, I thought you were fucking smarter than that! Not only did Linne kill her, but she did it in front of the clan!”

  “The bitch attacked Linne – twice, Jackson. What was I supposed to do, huh? Linne warned Rachel that she’d kill her.” My lip curled in a snarl of my own, and Jackson’s glare only became more intense at my explanation.

  “You were supposed to get your mate out of there! Did you seriously think that this would fly? Ever since Linne showed up, you’ve been getting softer Derek. Now, both of you are going to pay the price.” Stiffening at the threat that washed off Jackson in thick waves, I growled low as my heart raced in its cage. Adrenaline surged through my veins, and my fingernails cut into my palms. “Get out of my fucking sight.”

  “Fuck you, Jackson.” Storming out of Jackson’s office, I slammed the door behind me as the urge to shift overwhelmed me. My chest heaved, and invisible fire blazed from my nostrils with each harsh breath I took. Leaving the pack offices, I burst outside into the hazy glow of a late summer’s early evening before my mind was able to catch up with the argument I’d just had.

  Linne had expressly disobeyed Jackson, and she wasn’t exempt from punishment. I had practically goaded her into killing Rachel because I just wanted this bitch gone. The avian shifter had become a fucking problem for everyone since she was released from the clinic – snapping between psycho and not at the drop of a dime, and physically assaulting other clan members for no reason. It was hard to get a new avian shifter since they were so prized.

  But getting rid of one problem only made a dozen more, and I reached to swipe my hand down my face roughly. Jackson and I were on bad terms now; he’d punished me before for letting my lack of sympathy get in the way of his rules. The only difference now was that Linne was also going to be punished.

  “Derek!” Twisting to watch my mate jog along the sidewalk through narrowed eyes, I frowned deeply at what I would guess was shame, flushing her cheeks. “I am sorry – I did not think there would be an issue if I made several attempts to warn Rachel. I did not mean for Alpha Jackson to be so mad. He must have known about her deteriorated mental state, and that killing her was the merciful thing to do, right? Yet, he is not relieved?”

  “Linne, that’s not what he’s pissed about.” Confusion blossomed on Linne’s face, and I wrapped my arm around her waist as I rubbed my neck harshly. “He’s mad because you disobeyed him in front of the clan. He doesn’t care that she’s dead so much as we put him in a bad position. Everyone knows you could overpower him easily, you just choose not to… That wasn’t a problem until today. Now, the clan could decide that they don’t want him to lead them.”

  “But there is no one else? You will not lead, and I cannot lead. I am not even from this realm… there is no one else to spearhead a coup.” Grunting absently as we slowly wandered the deserted walkway, I shook my head roughly as Linne’s confused gaze bored holes into my cheek.

  “If Jackson is seen as weak, then someone from his pack could cause dissent and unrest. Some male that has no experience and an inflated sense of self could think he could take on Jackson. Then, Jackson would have no choice but to kill that male, and that wouldn’t sit well with the clan. It’s one of the problems with having a clan like ours. Wolves would accept that Jackson killed the male that challenged him, but some of the other shifters would have big problems with it.”

  “Oh…” Linne’s troubled tone drew a low grumble from me, and she fell silent for a few steps before speaking up again. “When will he punish me?”

  “Us. He’s punishing both of us… you for killing Rachel, and me for allowing it to happen. He didn’t say; I think he wants to resolve this issue with your nightmares before he does anything. I almost wish we hadn’t planned on going tomorrow.” Annoyance laced my tone, and I did nothing to hide it from my mate. Her fingertips crept up my arm to circle the discolored skin stretched over my bicep, and her guilt clung to the roof of my mouth. “Jackson was right. I should’ve known better.”

  “But we know better now, Derek. There is nothing Alpha Jackson can do to me that I have not suffered a hundred times worse. We will be okay.” Linne’s declaration didn’t stop the k
nots from roiling in the pit of my stomach, and I only squeezed her to my side. We reached the training fields within minutes, and I stripped quickly to shift with the hope that it’d help with the anger that flowed through my veins. Shaking myself out roughly, I dug my claws into the dirt as my mate gazed at me with an intensity that bordered on glaring.

  Long, nimble fingers threaded through my mane, and Linne let out a breathless moan at the pleased grumble that rattled my chest. My muscles stiffened, shifting under my thick hide as her palms glided down my side, and I leaned into her touch. Inhaling through my mouth, my lips curled up from the faint scent of her arousal clinging to the roof and the length of my tongue.

  “You are so beautiful, Derek.” Linne’s worshipful tone caused my ears to twitch, and I craned my neck to nudge her ass. The smell of her slithered up my nostrils, and she jolted forward as I crouched low. Warm thighs straddled my back, and I bristled in pleasure when she draped herself along me to press her breasts against my shoulders. “So big…”

  Smirking internally, I started off at a smooth gait around the field while my mate relaxed her tired body. Her fingers kneaded either side of my neck, buried deep in my mane, and pride blossomed in my chest at the progress she’d made this week. Monday to Thursday, she’d worked out religiously in addition to going to work. The pills allowed her to sleep, and the relief of going to Melinda tomorrow had put her in a great mood.

  “Mm-m…” I’d only ambled halfway around the field before Linne’s soft moan wafted into my ears, and the sound shot straight down my spine to stiffen my muscles. My fur stood straight up as she ground lightly against my back, and the electricity her tiny boy-shorts generated spread through my nerves down to the pads of my toes. Breathy gasps and shallow pants weaved through my mane, and I grumbled loudly as the smell of her weighed down the air.

  But I didn’t stop my moderately fast pace because I would be well and thoroughly fucked if I couldn’t get my mate off – and not the good kind of fucked, either.

  Besides, it wasn’t every day that a non-shifter mate was sexually attracted to a shifter’s animal form. In fact, I couldn’t remember a time when sexual tension started and ended as animal. Most shifters just changed back to their human form for whatever reason.

  Granted, I personally didn’t know if sex as a lion was as good as when I was human, but Linne clearly didn’t give two shits as she tightened her grip on my mane.

  “H – ha-a-h…” Grinding harder, faster, Linne gasped as a growl built up in my chest, and her firmed nipples dug into my shoulder blades. Blinking hard, I managed to catch a glimpse down her top of the darkened, tight peaks between a fraction of dark fur, and I strode stiffly onwards with flashes of her tight body seeping into the corners of my vision.

  I only circled the field once before making my way down the sidewalk, and Linne didn’t notice my claws clicking on the concrete as her wings grazed my outer thighs. Delicate feathers scraped against the sidewalk, and I tilted my head to watch as she arched her back. Her thighs tightened around my sides, body stiffening as she buried her whimpers in my mane.

  Boiling in the throes of my own desire, I only ran hotter knowing I couldn’t act on my need even as Linne came closer and closer to release. I couldn’t walk faster than a brisk pace to keep her from cumming in her shorts, even as pride danced on my ribs.

  Finally, after what seemed like hours, I reached my house, and I shifted easily into my human form. Linne wrapped her arms tightly around my neck, and blood roared in my ears as I pushed open the front door.

  Bang.

  The doorknob hit the wall, sounding like an echo through a long tunnel. But I hardly paid any attention to it as I grabbed my mate’s leg to jerk her body underneath mine.

  The closest piece of furniture was still too far away, and I dropped to my knees to set Linne on the floor. Spreading her legs wide with trembling hands, I grappled with her boy shorts to tear them at the seam. Her gasp sounded faintly beyond the blood pounding against my ear drums, and I pulled her ass up, all the way to my chin to bury my nose between her silky, wet folds.

  “O-oh, Dere-e-e-eah-h!” Licking Linne’s weeping slit from bottom to top, I groaned as her squeal filled my house. Her wings flapped wildly against the floor, beating into my legs, and I wrapped my arms securely around her waist while her quivering thighs locked on either side of my head. My tongue tingled down my throat, and my cock throbbed painfully as I thrust against the middle of her back uselessly.

  But she wanted this, and she would get it. Every fucking-thing else could wait.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Linne

  “Hey, come in. I’m just setting up. How are you feeling today?” Melinda’s cheerful voice brought a small smile to my face, and heat rushed to my cheeks. Stepping into her home, I folded my wings carefully against my back and licked my lips heavily before answering.

  “I am very well. I am happy that these nightmares will end.” Excitement bubbled up in my chest, and Melinda smiled over her shoulder at me as we entered her living room. “What have you found out since we last met?”

  “Some good things, surprisingly. I did some more research on this spell I’ll be casting on you, and I discovered that I can cast it on both of you at the same time, which is nice.” Relief surged through me, and my shoulders slumped dramatically as Derek wrapped his arm around my waist. Twisting around to face us, Melinda’s smile grew wider before she continued speaking. “I am also fairly positive that because you’re Unseelie, and with your particular abilities, you should be able to travel the threads, to the witch giving you the nightmares without her knowing. Otherwise if she finds out what’s happening, she might have time to run and disappear. If that happens, all our efforts will have solved nothing.”

  “But you still do not know how the nightmares are happening in the first place?” Seating myself on the longer of the two sofas, I frowned deeply when Melinda shook her head. Her coffee table was littered with stuff I couldn’t even recognize, and Derek sighed loudly, irritation rolling off his shoulders in thick waves.

  “How do you know this’ll work if you don’t know what’s causing the nightmares? I thought that you have to put something on someone to cast a spell on them.” Gruff, strung on anxiety, Derek’s skepticism didn’t perturb Melinda at all, and she perched herself on the loveseat with a slight nod.

  “That’s true for humans and shifters, but not for other witches. Linne is literally made of magic – at least, her wings are. A witch doesn’t need to have a connection to another witch to cast a spell. I don’t even need you to be here, as long as I can recognize your magical signature – I just thought it’d be safer.”

  “Then… how did someone obtain my magic sign?” Confusion laced my voice, and my mind raced through every single thing I had done since being banished to this realm. I had never met a witch before Melinda, and I only rarely used my abilities on anyone that wasn’t human. Staring blankly at the coffee table, my eyes narrowed, and my frown twisted into a grimace. “Do you think it would have to do with the wolves I had destroyed? That woman Alpha’s brother had escaped.”

  “Maybe… I don’t think that little cunt is smart enough to figure out what happened, though. There’s a reason his sister was Alpha.” My only response was a soft ‘oh’, and Derek palmed my lower back as he leaned against the couch cushions with a gruff groan. “I can’t think of anyone that would be able to do that. The timing wasn’t right for Rachel to set this up before you fucked up her head.”

  “No one else knew I was Unseelie but the human Chad. He would not betray me.” Absolution firmed my voice, and I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth until Melinda caught our attentions again. She was unaffected by our little chat, and serene confidence radiated from her like the sun.

  “We’ll find out sooner rather than later. You can follow the threads, incapacitate the witch, and we can go pick her up once I scry for her. There’s always the possibility that she’s been communicating over the Veil – th
ere are several witches that do it on a regular basis to compensate for their magical input. But, there’s one other thing…” My gaze flickered to Melinda as she paused to inhale, and I cocked my head as my miniatured wings ruffled slightly. “When you’re asleep and in your nightmare, nothing will be able to wake you up. You’ll be trapped in there until I find the witch casting the spell.”

  “You can’t wake her up if – ” Reaching to cup Derek’s cheek and stop his outrage, I smiled into his narrowed eyes before returning my gaze to Melinda.

  “Let us begin, then.” Stiffening at my declaration, Derek growled threateningly, and my smile drooped. Moving my palm to my lap, I twisted in my seat to face him fully only to find him scowling deeply – almost sneering. “I will be fine. You will be with me, Derek. We will be fine.”

  “I’m going to fucking kill myself.” Licking my lips, I could only nod at Derek’s vicious snarl, and his eyes flashed with unbound hatred and bloodlust. Jerking himself around to lay on the sofa, he held me with unrestrained possession tightening his grip, but I didn’t try to protest.

  My nightmares had nearly driven him insane at first; knowing that I was having such terrible dreams about him was like a large fist down his throat. Resting my cheek on Derek’s shoulder, I inhaled as much as I could to heave a sigh while I watched Melinda rifle through the things on the coffee table.

  “This will put you into a lucid sleep. You have to snort it, but it shouldn’t be too bad.” Lifting two small, thin vials between her fingers containing pale green powder, Melinda smiled apologetically before rounding the low table. “Just give me a couple seconds to start the spell before taking it.”