A Mate's Sacrifice: (Hot Paranormal Romance) (Ozark Mountain Shifters Book 2)

by P. Jameson

  Kerrigan’s voice was a whispered hiss. “Did you learn nothing from the Three freaking Little Pigs? When a wolf knocks on the door, you’re not supposed to let him in.”

  “Even if he’s like, the hottest wolf you’ve ever seen? I feel like maybe there’s some kind of caveat that goes along with that.” Her sister was overreacting. Vesh hadn’t tried anything. Grumpy? Yes. An axe murderer? Hells no.

  Kerri crossed her arms over her ample chest. “He’s not.”

  “What?”

  “The hottest wolf I’ve ever seen.”

  “Wait, there’s a hotter wolf than the one on the couch?”

  Kerrigan gave her a blank stare.

  “Oh! You mean Trager? No, no, no, honey. Uh, uh. That wolf out there wins in a battle of who’s hotter. Sorry.”

  “Brae, will you be serious? He’s dangerous.”

  The concerned note in her sister’s voice gave her pause. “What do you mean?”

  Kerri sighed. “It’s a long story. It has to do with Trager’s family, his pack. But just know, you shouldn’t trust him.”

  Braeh nodded. “Well, for what it’s worth, I didn’t exactly let him in. He sort of… fainted. I barely made it to the couch with him. Didn’t exactly have a choice. Plus, he was injured. Was I supposed to leave him in the stairwell?”

  Kerrigan frowned. “Injured?”

  “Yeah, he… I dunno. Healed. A werewolf thing?”

  Kerrigan nodded. “I don’t know why he’s here, and I can’t get through to Trager. So, we’ll have to just wait.”

  “Fine with me.”

  Kerrigan’s face took on a horrified expression. “Did he… did you… was he here all night?”

  Seriously? Was she seriously asking Braeh if she’d slept with a guy she just met?

  Braeh gave her sister a wide-eyed look. “Yes, actually. And he was just so swoony I couldn’t help myself. I instantly stripped and we went at it like rabbits on catnip. Banged all night, only stopping for sips of water in between erupting orgasms.” Braeh gave a few hip thrusts to drive her point home.

  Kerrigan cringed. “Dear god, the way you talk, you guys might be a match made in heaven.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “Nothing. Forget it.” Kerrigan checked her phone. “Still nothing from Trager. Damn.”

  “So… what’s the deal with kitten?”

  Kerri shook her head. “I don’t know. I think he does it to irritate Trager.”

  Braeh raised an eyebrow. “Kitten?”

  “Shut up. It gives me the willies.”

  Seeing her sister squirm made laughter bubble to the surface.

  “Oh, sure. You laugh now, but wait and see. He’s horrible.”

  That made Braeh laugh harder. “Come on, Kerri. He can’t be that bad.”

  “You just wait and see.”

  “Okay.” Braeh looped an arm around Kerrigan’s shoulders. “But in the meantime, can I call you kitten? Or is it little kitten?”

  ***

  Vesh was on edge. He had a knack for knowing when something was wrong. His nose tingled. His shoulders itched. He was unsettled. And not in the usual way of him and his wolf not agreeing. This was something else.

  Trouble was coming.

  Or trouble was happening somewhere, with someone, and he’d feel the blowout.

  He checked his cell phone.

  There’d been a lot of that happening in the last four hours, between the three of them. Kerrigan’s tiny living room was stuffed full of tension.

  Surely, if something was happening at camp, he would be notified. Or if his sister was in trouble. Sometimes Besh’s tongue couldn’t be contained, and Alpha would teach her a lesson by shaming her in the great hall before the pack. Vesh made Avan swear to text him if something like that came up. But his phone screen stayed blank, so it must be something else.

  He glanced at Kerrigan. She was pecking away at her phone. Probably sending Trager a text for the thousandth time.

  “I don’t get it. He always checks his phone throughout the day. It’s not like him to not answer back.” Her brows were drawn low over her eyes.

  It was amazing how similar the two sisters were now that he was looking. Same nose, chin, and… habit of tapping their elbows with their fingers when they were nervous. Different hair, different body, different eyes, different mouth, different… yeah, okay. They were not all that similar really.

  His gaze went to Braeh and he found her staring at him with pursed lips and one eyebrow raised.

  Vesh stared too, not sure what was going on inside her head, but not willing to back down.

  She broke the connection when she stood from her seat in the desk chair. “You know what? I’m bored. And starving. I’m going to make love to your kitchen, Kerri.”

  Vesh felt his eyes flare wide at her words.

  “Ew, gross, Brae,” Kerrigan mumbled, her gaze still attached to the phone screen.

  “You won’t be saying that when I’m done.” She looked at him. “You wanna help me?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Help you make love to the kitchen?”

  “Yep.”

  Kerrigan glanced up, a disturbed look on her face. “Just so you know, she’s talking about cooking. Not actually doing anything nasty with you.”

  He smirked. “Aw, is my kitten jealous?”

  She blinked twice, slowly. “I am not, nor will I ever be your kitten.”

  “Oh, now. Don’t make promises you have no intention of keeping.”

  Kerrigan rolled her eyes while he stood and followed Braeh into the kitchen.

  Vesh watched as she pulled ingredient after ingredient out of the cabinets, and then she started in on the fridge. Cream, butter, herbs, cheese. When she was finished, he stared at it all. Together, it seemed like these things would only produce garbage, but she seemed like she knew what she was doing.

  “You do know she’s taken, right?” she whispered as she sorted the ingredients into piles.

  He watched her. There was no expression on her face besides concentration.

  “You do know I don’t really care, right?” he replied.

  “You’re not into her?”

  “No.” Not anymore. She was what was easy for him to connect with. A sassy curvy woman. But was he into her? Not now. Not with his intended mate standing six inches away.

  “Then why are you flirting with her?”

  “For the jealousy. It gets under Trager’s skin.”

  She stopped separating the produce from the dairy and stared at him. “But Trager’s not here. So who are you trying to make jealous?”

  He opened his mouth to answer, but he had nothing. Because besides him and Kerrigan, she was the only other person around to make jealous. Was that what he was doing? Trying to make Braeh jealous? Like a fucking school boy?

  He was trying to make her uncomfortable. Like he was. Trying to set her on edge. Like she’d done to him. He was trying to…

  Fuck, he was trying to tempt her.

  Like she’d tempted him.

  What a dick move. What an immature dick-ass move.

  “What can I do?” he asked, gesturing to the pile on the counter.

  She pulled her gaze away and rummaged through a drawer. “Open these,” she said, handing him a bunch of canned tomatoes and a can opener.

  He did his job while she set to work chopping onions and tossing them in a big pot.

  He whistled to get her attention when the cans were ready, two short notes, just like she had done earlier, and she dumped them in the sizzling pot.

  They went on like this for some time, him doing whatever odd and end task she assigned, and her moving about the kitchen as if she was conducting an orchestra. Watching her so confidently command the place was actually calming him. For a while he forgot the anxiety from earlier. Instead, he tasted marinara sauce when she held a spoon to his mouth. He helped roll the meatballs, adjusting the size when she instructed him to. He even washed a few dishes that she needed to reuse s
ince she was busy tossing the caesar salad.

  But he realized just how much he was enjoying himself when she stepped close, holding a black olive between her thumb and forefinger, ready to pop it into his mouth. It was such a simple gesture, but somehow it made her seem like a seductress. She was fucking delectable with her sauce-stained shirt and messy hair, ready to feed him with her hands.

  He couldn’t help himself. Opening his mouth, he waited until she slid the olive between his lips, then he swiftly grabbed her hand to keep it against his mouth. Sucking her finger in, he swirled his tongue around the tip. He watched her eyes widen in surprise and then become hooded. Her reaction excited him. Gave him a fluttering in his chest.

  He pulled her finger free. “Delicious,” he murmured.

  One side of her mouth pulled up into a soft grin, but then she turned and busied herself with pulling the garlic bread from the oven.

  He felt the inky tendrils of his past start to creep into the moment, but he pushed them back, and stirred the bubbling sauce instead.

  When the meal was finished, Braeh set plates and bowls on the table and called Kerrigan. Vesh sat and realized just how strange these circumstances were. He was eating lunch with his enemy’s mate and her sister, which was his mate, while waiting for the missing wolf to show his face.

  He tried not to think about it too much. Digging in to the food, he had to hold in a moan. Damn, his mate could cook. It was by far, the best spaghetti and meatballs he’d ever had. There should be a different name for it. Something more spectacular to match the flavor.

  He paused, glancing at her, fork halfway to his mouth. She had twice the amount of food on her plate. Surely she couldn’t eat all that. She was just trying to prove she wasn’t starving herself.

  Kerrigan, he noticed, hardly touched her plate. Instead, she kept staring at her phone as if that might make it beep.

  When Vesh was finished and full, he stared at his mate’s second helping.

  “What? I’ve still got room in here.” She patted her flat belly.

  “The only person I know who can eat as much as Braeh is Trager,” Kerrigan said.

  Braeh raised an eyebrow. “Me and the wolf-in-law should have an eating contest. I bet I could win it.”

  Kerrigan opened her mouth to respond, but at that moment, the front door burst open so hard it banged against the wall.

  Chapter Six

  Trager’s furious expression had Vesh out of his seat in the blink of an eye. He looked like he was two seconds away from a change, and Vesh didn’t want that wolf anywhere near his mate.

  “Trager!” Kerrigan ran to him, but he shoved her back so she was hidden behind his body.

  His eyes bore into Vesh. “What are you doing here?” he growled low, his voice distorting.

  Vesh looked for Braeh. She was still sitting at the table. Safe.

  Anger and fighting instinct flared to the surface, causing Vesh to crave blood, but he managed to shove it down. The straggler better hold it together. If he let his wolf out in front of Braeh, Vesh wouldn’t care if the bastard survived his wrath.

  “Calm down,” Vesh ordered.

  “What are you doing here, with my family?” Trager’s voice boomed and his eyes bulged.

  Braeh came and stood next to Vesh. He wanted to scream at her to get back, but she started talking.

  “It’s my fault. He was looking for you and I let him in so—“

  “Braeh, get away from him,” Trager barked.

  “Excuse me—“

  “Don’t talk to her like that,” Vesh snarled. The bastard wolf was a fragile breath away from an up-close-and-personal with Vesh’s fist.

  Braeh raised both hands. “Everybody just calm down okay?”

  “I can’t calm down,” Trager spat. “First, I find out my home has been burnt to the ground. I can’t find my mate, then I come here to find this piece of shit in her apartment.” He turned to Kerrigan. “Where’s your phone?”

  She held it up for him to see the screen with all the texts she’d sent.

  “Damn it.”

  “Did you say the cabin is…?” Kerrigan’s voice dropped off.

  He looked at Vesh, and it was the most threatening he’d ever seen the wolf. “I swear to god, I’ll only say it one last time before I rip your head off. What are you doing here?”

  Vesh’s wolf snarled at the challenge. Let him try. He’d tear the shit-head to shreds first. He stepped toward Trager, but Braeh ran in front of him and stopped, her back slamming into Vesh’s front. Her body pressed against his registered through the haze of rage.

  “He was just here to talk,” she rushed out. “He was injured and looking for you, and I helped him get cleaned up. It’s nothing to be angry about. Both of you, just… chill.”

  “Trager, please,” Kerrigan whispered. “Mrs. Marley is peeking out her window. Let’s close the door and talk about this.”

  Trager ignored her. “He doesn’t look injured to me.”

  Kerrigan shoved him to the side and pushed the door shut.

  “He was,” Braeh said, and before Vesh could stop her, she said the rest. “Busted eye and nose, bleeding from his head. But he healed. It’s fine.”

  Trager froze. “Healed. Overnight?”

  Fuck. Fuck.

  The other wolf glared at him, clearly making the connection Vesh hadn’t quite accepted himself.

  “No,” Braeh said, her voice perplexed. “It only took like, I dunno, ten, fifteen minutes. Isn’t that how it works for you guys?”

  Vesh shook his head at Trager, silently commanding him not to say it out loud, but of course, the bastard ignored him.

  “No,” Trager grit. “Not unless you’re his mate.”

  Kerrigan’s eyes went wide and she shrieked, “What?”

  “Shit,” Vesh muttered. He was thankful he couldn’t see Braeh’s expression.

  “Wait, no,” she said, “We didn’t do anything like that. Not that it’s anyone’s business if we did, but… we didn’t.”

  Trager’s eyes went to her. “I’m not saying you mated, I’m saying you’re his mate. It’s not something you do. It’s something you are.”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m not anything.”

  She was confused, but still her words of denial were like a whip on Vesh’s shriveled heart.

  Turning to look at him, she said, “What’s he talking about?”

  Vesh opened his mouth to answer but couldn’t think of a single easy way to explain.

  “She can’t be his mate,” Kerrigan argued. “There’s no way.”

  “Wait, you mean, like you and Trager?” Braeh laughed. “Oh, no, no. Me and Vesh just met. We aren’t… you know.”

  “It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Kerrigan murmured.

  Vesh scowled at Trager. He’d snap the little shit’s neck if it wouldn’t leave a trail of tears leading to his own mate. But Kerrigan would be heartbroken, which would break Braeh’s, and that would leave him hurting. Self preservation sometimes saved the enemy too.

  “Is this why you set fire to my house?” Trager hissed.

  The hell? “I didn’t touch your house. I don’t even know where it is.”

  “No,” he spat. “You had someone else do it. Farrow, that rat-bastard. I knew he’d tell you the location of my den. I should’ve moved as soon as we left camp.”

  Wait. Farrow knew where Trager lived? Why hadn’t he told anyone?”

  Kerrigan looked worried. “Maybe it wasn’t Farrow.”

  “It was,” Trager snapped. “The Ravendales had people watching our place and they saw him. The entire fucking world knew our location, Kerri. I just thought we were safe.” He turned, wrapping his arms around her. “I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful in the future. I’ll find us a safe place, I promise.”

  Vesh’s head spun. So, everyone knew where Trager’s hideout was? Even Ozarka. Everyone except him apparently. What the hell was going on here?

  He checked his phone once again, but t
here was nothing. Dread hit him hard.

  He’d been sent to “spy” on Trager. Not Farrow or Avan or someone lower on the chain of command. The alpha sent his second away when the pack was under threat. Supposedly to watch for any sign of the Ravendale’s plan of attack. And Vesh had been too preoccupied with his sick wolf and his idiotic pursuit of Trager’s mate to question the decision.

  “Shit.” He stared out the window. What were they planning? And why did they leave him out of it?

  “What?” Braeh asked, but he wasn’t paying attention.

  He’d hardly seen Besh since the meeting in the great hall when Kerrigan revealed that Cael and his pack intended on raiding Ozarka. Alpha had been angry, dragging Besh out by the arm. For the millionth time, Vesh wished he could protect his sister, but there was nothing he could do against the brute who was her intended mate. She’d closed off any avenue of escape the day she stood before the pack and verbally claimed him. Vesh still didn’t know why she did it, but he assumed it had something to do with the man who was now the alpha of the Ravendales.

  Vesh texted Avan: Report.

  She never waited more than five minutes to respond. It was one of the reasons she was next in command after Vesh.

  But he couldn’t wait five minutes for her.

  What the hell is going on?

  Seconds ticked by with nothing except Trager running his mouth.

  “Vesh? Are you responsible for this?” Braeh’s voice was calm and quiet and barely audible over Trager’s ranting.

  He stared into her eyes. “No. I told you, I didn’t even know where he lived.”

  After a moment, she sighed. “I believe you. But your pack, they did this to Trager. Why?”

  He clenched his jaw. Glanced at his blank phone screen. “I don’t know.”

  “… no, we lost everything, baby. All I have is what I’m wearing. I’m just glad we hadn’t moved your stuff in yet…”

  Vesh tried again. Damn it, Avan. Answer me. Is Besh okay?

  Seconds later, his phone buzzed, Avan’s picture flashing on the screen.

  “Talk fast.” He glanced at Braeh and noticed her frown, but when he heard the voice on the other end of the line, her expression was forgotten.

  “I’ll talk as fast or slow as I please.” Alpha’s authority traveled through the cell phone as if a couple hundred miles didn’t separate them. “Avan is… unavailable right now, but let me be the first to tell you, you’ve been expelled from my pack.”