by Laina Kenney
Valeri stepped out from the side of the shed and bound the doctor’s wrists and ankles in duct tape shackles.
These vulfen warriors came prepared, Grace thought inanely.
“This is getting old,” Valeri said. “If we turn him over to human law, this will just keep happening. We need a better solution.”
Matsij bowed in acknowledgment, but before Grace could protest, Matsij spoke.
“Unfortunately, I have already informed Grace’s brother John that I was bringing Grace here today.”
Grace was shocked. Matsij had called her brother, even after John had made a point of being such a jerk about their mating? Wow, he was a brave man.
”I expect him to arrive any minute and begin to lecture me on my habit of giving in to my new mate’s every whim even in the face of danger. I would not want him to have to add more material to the lecture on how killing should not be used to solve problems.”
Grace grimaced. “We could be here for an hour once John gets going. He’s very big on safety at all times,” she said truthfully.
Valeri grinned at them.
“Killing to solve your problems, Matsij? Man, has he got you pegged.” He looked down at the man bound at his feet. “Still, it would remove the threat, at least for now. There was another man as well, but I have him tied up over in those trees. He’s not in good shape, but he is alive. We could still—”
A police car roared up to the curb and John Commander jumped out of the passenger side before the wheels even stopped rolling. The door hung open and Grace could hear John’s partner Harden swearing as he tried to park with the door scraping the curb.
“What the fuck?” John shouted as he ran to them. “Why would you come early when you knew I couldn’t get here for at least an hour? You’re so damned arrogant. Where is your head?”
Grace started, until she remembered that he wasn’t scolding her this time. She smiled involuntarily. Someone else was taking the heat. What a nice change.
John passed close to the hedge corner and slowed abruptly. A fist hit the side of his face as a man launched an attack from the only cover available.
John swore and elbowed the man in the stomach. John grabbed the man by the arm and the back of the head and rode him to the ground face down.
“That’s up to five years away for assaulting an officer, you dumb fuck. Happy birthday to you.”
The cuffs clicked loudly but the man appeared to be stunned. Harden walked up to them, but jumped back when the man on the ground rolled and vomited.
Harden’s expression was so disgusted Grace nearly laughed.
“I liked these shoes,” Harden said, looking down at his spattered cop shoes. “They didn’t even pinch much.”
John shook his head. “Where did they find this bag of shit? He’s got a U.S. Army tattoo and uniform, and he just yakked all over the place. Call yourself a soldier? Jesus.”
“I might be able to salvage the shoes,” Harden muttered.
“Oh, shut up about the shoes for a minute. Requisition another pair if they won’t come clean.”
Grace was familiar with John and Harden’s dry comedy routine. It was a bit bizarre, but it eased the tension in moments like this.
“Another pair will be new and new shoes pinch.”
John shrugged.
Dr. Novaks chose that moment to wake and he began to struggle against his bonds.
Matsij leaned down and looked into his eyes. There was a faint buzzing again, and Grace was able to pinpoint Matsij as the source. The doctor shrank away from him and curled into a tight ball.
John frowned and nodded slowly. “Handy little trick,” he said, and leaned down to test the strength of the bindings. He gave the doctor a brief shake with his teeth bared, then stood again, satisfied.
“My focal point needs some fine tuning. I have not worked with sound,” Matsij said. “But I learned it from your Grandma.”
Grace was astonished to see John’s lips quirk upward into a grin.
“Figures,” John said.
Chapter 13
From the moment they arrived at the vulfen Alpha’s estate, Grace was in awe. She had only had a week to get used to her new mate and now there was a big celebration that he had to attend. It was a great excuse to buy a new dress, but her mouth was dry and her palms damp as they pulled up to the mansion.
She had been chatting with Angel in the back seat, both of them anticipating the party and nervous about their introduction into vulfen society, but silence fell as they stepped out in front of the beautiful mansion.
The twilight shadows were lit with so many bright torches that it looked more like midday than evening.
Grace smoothed the skirt of her emerald green cocktail dress. With its ruched bodice and flirty layered skirt, it made her feel like a debutante heading for a ball, and she was just that nervous.
Angel was resplendent in a royal blue sheath dress, but she looked as worried as Grace felt. Surrounded by wolves, even standing beside wolves she knew, her fox wanted to find a place to hide. She raised her chin and stepped forward.
“Is your mother going to be here?” she asked.
“As much as I loathe wasting one single moment of our time discussing my mother, there is something you must know.”
Grace stiffened. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked when she was already so nervous, but if there was going to be a public confrontation, she wanted to be prepared.
Matsij leaned close and spoke softly. “I have sent my mother home to our Russian estate with two long-time family servers to look after her needs. I honor her for giving me life, but she is wrong in this. You are my mate and I love you. If I saw you, Grace, and you were someone else’s mate I would feel cheated for the rest of my life.”
She shook her head. Now that she knew him, she couldn’t imagine being with anyone else, doing the things she did with Matsij with anyone else. There was only one man in the world for her, and she was lucky enough to be mated to him.
“You and I will make our home at Cliffside, where Mirko and his lovely mate will run our house. You will be free to make it your home without fear of prejudice. Cliffside is your home now, fully as much as it is mine.”
Grace hesitated. “Your house really has a name?” was the only response she could come up with. It was such a huge gift to her that she didn’t know what to say.
“Our house.”
Matsij offered his arm and she took it with gratitude. He was in his tuxedo again, and Grace’s heart skipped. He looked so good she wanted to drag him back into the car for a quick bite.
He leaned close to her and whispered, “Later,” and a delicious shiver rolled up her spine. The man was a sex machine and she loved it. Maybe they could cut the party short and sneak home early. Her pussy clenched on a rush of moisture.
“Behave,” Matsij whispered and she grinned at him, unrepentant. If there was one thing she had learned in the past week it was that he couldn’t resist her any more than she could him. The passion between them burned hot and clean.
Valeri and Angel had stopped to talk to a jovial older man who looked a lot like Valeri. She hadn’t met Valeri’s dad yet, but she thought that must be him. She overheard part of the conversation and saw the flush of pleasure on Angel’s cheeks at the older man’s teasing compliments. It was so cool that Angel had found a good family.
Grace let Matsij lead her up to the raised dais to meet the Alpha and his Queen, Rylek Sidarov and his mate Ellie. Grace wasn’t sure of formal protocol, so she tried not to think of them as Rylek and Ellie. She was pretty sure that a total newbie shouldn’t be calling the Alpha and Queen by their first names.
The Alpha nodded to them and Grace didn’t know what to do. She didn’t think a hand shake would quite do it in this situation. She dropped into an elegant curtsey and held the position for a long moment to show respect.
As she rose, she could feel the power and the spice of magic flowing from Rylek and his bea
utiful curvaceous Queen. Their energies blended well together.
“May I present Grace Elaine Commander,” Matsij said, “my mate and my light in the darkness.”
The Alpha inclined his head and Grace felt a flush climbing her cheeks. He was movie-star handsome, and his black eyes almost glowed with power.
“I’m very pleased to meet you,” she said, because she didn’t know what else to say. She clutched Matsij’s hand like a lifeline.
The Queen moved a little and Grace became aware of another source of magic, tiny and so precious. Her eyes flicked down and back up.
“Congratulations,” she said quietly and saw the Queen’s eyes widen.
The Queen wasn’t showing yet, but Grace just knew she was right. She always knew if a woman was carrying a new life. It was as if she could feel the warmth of that new little soul growing.
“I haven’t confirmed it with a doctor, yet. I don’t really have a doctor,” the Queen said and for a moment she looked very young and scared.
Sympathy rose inside Grace. She understood the difficulty. Shifters had to be careful about human doctors and their love of blood tests. Their secrecy had long protected them, but it would be nerve-racking for a first time mother and one who had been human or mostly human, to have no one she could trust at such a time.
Grace reached out and took the Queen’s hand.
“My Grandma will come to help you,” she said without hesitation. “She is a full shifter, Fox Clan, and has delivered many, many babies. Grandma is wonderful and she loves to help bring a new life into the world.”
The Queen stepped forward. She hugged Grace to her and burst into tears. Grace patted her on the back and looked up at the Alpha, startled. That quickly, the Queen was Ellie in her mind, a woman and a potential friend. Grace relaxed and rubbed her back in soothing strokes. Poor thing must have been really worried.
“We would be most grateful,” Rylek said with a small bow. “Our Clan is without a midwife at this time. Matsij, you have brought us a treasure.”
“I know it,” Matsij said. “Her grandmother is a treasure also, a warm and giving person who cares for all those in her neighborhood. The brother is a protector, a police officer. Grace’s family is extraordinary, and not because of their shifter blood.”
Rylek nodded.
Ellie pulled back from Grace and wiped her eyes.
“I’m so sorry. I get so emotional right now that I don’t know myself any more. I was eating breakfast this morning and I started bawling when a little bird hit the window. He was fine, but I wasn’t.”
She laughed self-consciously and Grace and Angel laughed, too. Valeri and Matsij looked startled, but Rylek smiled indulgently and put a hand on Ellie’s back.
Grace and Matsij stayed close as Valeri introduced a nervous Angel to the Alpha and Queen. They were gracious and accepting of her friend, and Grace relaxed.
Rylek leaned over to speak to Grace.
“Ellie has been worried. How soon do you think your grandmother could be persuaded to come for an initial visit?” he asked quietly.
Grace and Matsij shared a grin.
“I imagine she’ll be here tomorrow. I’ll definitely ask her when we get home, but she probably already knows, and once she knows, you couldn’t keep her away.”
Rylek’s eyebrows rose and he looked to Matsij for verification.
Matsij nodded. “She is a woman who sees much. She knows things beyond any explanation I can offer, much like the women in the Reitn family. And when she knows that your mate has been anxious about the child, she will come right away.”
Rylek’s expression relaxed. “She will be most welcome.” He stepped back and raised one fist high. His voice boomed out over the crowd. “To new mates and new friends!”
The crowd roared their answer and raised their fists in the air. The atmosphere of the room changed in that heartbeat. Before Grace could become alarmed, one man reached behind a corner table and pulled out a hand drum. Others produced more musical instruments, including what looked like an old reed flute, and suddenly there was music.
Matsij offered her his hand and the glowing heat in his eyes dazzled her. She took his hand and let him lead her into the centre of the floor. The exuberance of the tuning gave way to a stately waltz tempo and they danced.
Grace wasn’t surprised to find that Matsij was a good dancer. He led competently and his hunting instincts kept them clear of other dancers as more couples joined the dance in droves.
The music was mesmerizing, and the man was also. He smelled so good. Grace leaned into him with a sigh. She rubbed against him subtly as they danced and encountered the enormous bulge that had lately become so familiar.
“Do not think to tempt me away from the party,” Matsij said. His voice set off a tingling reaction in places no other man had ever touched. She snuggled closer in his strong arms.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” she admitted.
“Have a care, Grace. You have changed me. I find I am not above thoughts of dragging you into the cloakroom for a fast sexy ride. So behave.”
He nipped her ear in warning, but the flash of heat went straight to her pussy and negated the serious tone of his voice. Erotic images burst in her mind, memories of her riding him, his body surging into hers, the blaze of his eyes the only light in the little room. Heated moisture trickled down from inside her body.
“What happens if I can’t behave?”
Matsij groaned and squeezed her hard.
“My Alpha is watching,” he said through his teeth. “Every member of my Cadre is watching my uncharacteristic behavior and wondering what has happened to the man they thought they knew.”
Grace was suddenly apprehensive. “Are you afraid they will judge you because you mated me? I’m not a vulfen female. I can’t even shift.”
“Of course not.” His voice was deep, distracted, as he nuzzled the curls at her temple. “And I’m not certain, but you may be able to shift in time. My gifts are strong. In any case, my fellow warriors will judge you beautiful. I am very much afraid they will all know I am led around by the nose by my pretty new mate.”
“That’s not your nose,” Grace teased, relieved, and he groaned again.
“Where is the cloakroom?” he said. He looked around, half teasing, half serious. Grace couldn’t hold back a giggle. It was so much fun to tease and play with her mate.
* * * *
Grace grabbed Matsij’s hand and tugged. The smile on her face was at once confident and full of mischief and her soft brown eyes sparkled with hope. He found himself following her off the dance floor, unable to find the resolve to deny her.
They had almost made it out of the great room before a group of teenage boys halted them.
With a look of apology to his mate, Matsij stopped to talk for a moment. They wanted to ask him about training strategies, and any other time he would be happy to discuss their individual training plans, but with his mate holding his hand, he was distracted at best. He saw the shy glances the three boys gave Grace, and he knew that they were diverted by her beauty as well.
The conversation dragged on until his relentless hard-on was throbbing like a toothache. He was tempted to roar and scatter the boys like startled pups, but he called on his tremendous discipline instead.
“Tomorrow at sunrise, you will meet me in the training yard and we will train together.”
“Sunrise?” one boy squeaked, and the tallest boy, a Sidarov cousin, elbowed him.
The boys looked at one another and Matsij couldn’t tell if they were pleased or terrified.
“Sunrise,” he confirmed. “If you are late, I will know you are not ready to train with me.”
The boys looked at each other and one by one they nodded. Matsij nodded in return and turned on his heel to escape with Grace.
Out in the hall, they were forced to stop behind another large boisterous group of youngsters.
Grace leaned up and whispered in his ear. “You made those boy
s very happy.”
“If that is so, it is only because they do not yet know how hard I will make them work in training.”
Grace laughed. “I think that’s exactly what that taller boy is hoping for. He looks a bit like Valeri.”
Matsij shrugged. “It is what they will get. Perhaps it will keep them alive.”
“You’re such a hard ass sometimes.”
“I am a warrior all the time.”
“I noticed.” Her voice was shy and admiring. It slid down his spine and ignited his constant hunger for her. He wanted to sweep her into his arms and nibble his way from the top of her head to her pretty painted toes. “But you and John should be great friends. You have so much in common.”
“He is a hard ass,” Matsij agreed and she laughed again.
“Yeah, he is. I can’t deny it. But he has some good points. He lives by his honor and he donates a lot of time to training the next generation in a friend’s dojo. Harden does it, too, and he is really fast.”
“Harden is not fully human.”
“I beg your pardon?” Grace asked, surprised. “He’s not human?”
“As you are not fully human. You are more than human. You are different, but perfectly you.”
“I love you,” she said with a little laugh, and his heart jumped in his chest. The surge of emotion swamped him. Of course he wanted the words from her, but not in the middle of a crowd of people.
He looked at the crowd in front of them. They were going nowhere.
He concentrated through his frustration and pulled energy to him. He created a small energy field around them and began to weave through the group, making his way to the other side, a laughing Grace in tow. No one spoke to them or blocked their path. He had never used his talents in such a way before, but Grace’s scent was calling to him and if he didn’t get inside her hot body in the next five minutes he would explode.
He opened a random door and shoved her inside, shutting the door firmly behind him.
* * * *
“My Grace.”
The rough timbre of his voice travelled straight to her pussy and moisture gushed down to welcome him. The feral glow of his eyes was hypnotic in the dim light. She felt dazed, desperate.
