by Briers, M L
Shannon placed Lucas’s keys down on the matt and ran around to the passenger door. Sliding in beside Corrine she reached for the seatbelt and clicked it into place.
“Someone looks… contented this morning.” Shannon offered and even though she didn’t think it could be possible, Corrine’s grin was wider and dopier than before when she looked back up at the woman.
Bone rattler was right, Shannon told herself as they set off down the track for town. The metal frame protested as much as the shock absorbers, if the thing actually had shock absorbers, it was hard to tell considering Shannon bounced up and down and from side to side in her seat. Who needed a fairground ride when you had a car like this one?
“Lycans are very…” Corrine paused in thought, or maybe it was a memory, as she managed to hum a little.
“Aren’t they though.” Shannon retorted on a smirk of camaraderie.
“I’m not so sure I was walking straight this morning.” Corrine admitted and Shannon couldn’t help the chuckle that the thought of her sore muscles brought to her lips.
“Did you let him mark you?”
The twinkle in Corrine’s eyes answered her question, even though Corrine elaborated anyway.
“Several times, in several places.”
“Well don’t offer to show me.” Shannon teased and Corrine spat out a chuckle.
“Did the Alpha mark you?”
“Before. Last night we bonded.” She confessed and Corrine’s eyes went wide with eagerness mixed with fear.
“Did it hurt?”
Shannon knew that was going to be the first question out of the young mate’s mouth. It was a question that she had posed in her own mind since finding out she was a Lycan mate.
“Yes. But it was mixed with the pleasure of mating, and the bond forming, so not as much as if you were savaged by a wild beast.” Shannon thought she might as well be straight with the girl. After all, Corrine had been lied to by Natalie, telling her the bonding bite wouldn’t hurt would just be wrong.
“Can I see it?” Corrine asked tentatively and Shannon questioned her with her eyes.
“Are you sure you want to see? It’s a new mark, so it looks awful. In a couple of days it will be barely noticeable…” Corrine was biting down on her lower lip, her brows drawn down into a frown.
“No. I get it. I mean the bonding is inevitable. I know Zane and I are mates, and I know I’m going to bond with him. I’m just curious.”
“You’re not going to get scared and run off? Because you know…” Shannon was deep into her mother hen persona. She liked Corrine and she wouldn’t want to put the fear of god into the girl and have her do something stupid, not now she and Zane were mating.
“I know Shannon. I kind of… love Zane.” Corrine shrugged off the word. As if she couldn’t let go of the human side of her emotions that told her she couldn’t fall in love so hard and so fast.
“You love him because you’re his mate. There’s an instant connection between you. You don’t have to downplay it or question it.” Shannon was already shrugging off one shoulder of her jacket to pull down the oversized jumper she had liberated from Lucas’s closet that morning.
Exposing the raw bite mark in her shoulder to Corrine, who came to a complete stop at the end of the road in order to turn her eyes towards Lucas’s mark and give it her full attention.
For one long moment the younger woman’s breath caught in her throat and her eyes flared in shock and fear, and then she relaxed, much to Shannon gratitude. For that one moment Shannon thought she had messed up by showing her the bite.
“Does it hurt now?” Corrine asked still eyeing the bite.
“There’s an ache. But there’s also a kind of tingle, a bit like pins and needles, but the good kind. Like when you gently brush your fingertips over your skin and it tingles and makes you shiver.” Shannon didn’t know if she would understand what she was trying to describe. But it seemed to impress Corrine, as the girl turned back to the steering wheel and they set off again.
“Like when he nuzzles the mark in your skin?”
“More. Better. Sexier.” Corrine grinned like a madwoman again and Shannon couldn’t help but laugh. It seemed to her that Zane might just be doing a little bonding sooner rather than later.
Shannon waved Corrine off as she drove down the road, and she stood in front of the shop for a long moment just enjoying the day. It was still too early in the morning for there to be much foot traffic on the street, and she was hopeful to get a couple of cups of coffee down her before she would have to deal with any customers.
A toot from one of the trucks that went past on route to their deliveries, made her jump in place and she turned accusing eyes on the driver, only to see him laugh back at her.
“Men!” She mumbled under her breath as she walked to the shop door and noted the way it had been pulled too, but not locked. Lucas had told her that Julius had to bust the door lock to get in yesterday, and she hoped that the local kids hadn’t decided to investigate her wares overnight.
Pushing the door open and stepping inside, her eyes took a quick audit of her stock and she noted that everything seemed to be in place, just as she left it and gave a sigh of relief.
“Coffee is calling me.” She muttered as she walked to the back, moved the curtain aside and her eyes immediately fell on the broken shelving and the boxes and contents of her stock scattered across the floor.
This time when she sighed it was a deep heartfelt desire to turn on her heels and go back to pack land, crawl into bed beside Lucas, and stay there until the cows came home.
Walking over to the coffee pot she yanked it from its stand as yesterdays remnants swilled in the bottom of the glass jug. Every hair on her body seemed to raise at once, a heartbeat before she felt strong arms come around her from behind. The scent of his aftershave hit her nose and caused it to wrinkle in disgust, as she tried to pull away from the feel of his body against hers the moment he forced her back into his chest.
“Missed me?” His breath fanned out against her ear, and she felt the bile rise within her throat. Her stomach was gripped by disgust, but she felt no fear. She wouldn’t allow him that power over her anymore.
“I have to warn you, Terrence, I’m not in the mood for you.” Shannon was already drawing on the power of her magic within her. If he thought she was going to be his punching bag this time, he was dead wrong.
“You have to pay for your brothers sins honey…” His breath caressed her ear again and she felt an urgent need to take a shower, as he brushed the backs of his knuckles down over her cheek.
Shannon pulled her head back away from his touch. He must have bathed in that god damn aftershave, the stench was so strong it was overpowering.
“Get your damn hands off me you psycho.” She spat out. Slamming the pointy heel of her shoe down onto his toes and grinding it as best she could. The sheer satisfaction of his pain as he cried out filled her with glee, and for a moment his hold on her loosened and she tried for freedom. But he had recovered too quickly and her arms were still locked down at her sides as he tightened his hold to a painful vice like grip around her.
“Kitty cat wants to fight back this time. That should make it interesting.” He growled into her ear, the sound was more like a puppy than that of a grown man, especially after the way Lucas could growl at her.
There was no fire within her belly for this man’s touch, just hate and disgust and when his lips touched her ear, she felt the need to vomit as her insides twisted.
“Oh this cat has some tricks that you’ve never seen.” The acidity in her voice matched the venom within her heart.
‘How dare you touch me. I am mated.’ She growled out into her own mind.
The sound of the shop door slamming wood against wood had him turning in place with her still in his arms, forcing her around so that the first thing she saw was the darkness in Lucas’s eyes the moment he tore through the curtain.
“Get your hands off my woman!” When
he growled out the words his eyes were on fire, and Shannon’s body responded accordingly.
Terrence saw the giant of a man standing there and was in no doubt that this wasn’t about to go as he had planned. He had lain awake night after night just imagining how this would be. He knew when he finally found her, when the old man finally lead him to her, that she was going to pay for what happened to him, what her brother did. Now it looked a little more problematic.
This one who was her defender was built just like her brother, and he had stood little to no chance in defending himself against him. He felt the knot of fear within his stomach. He certainly didn’t need to take another beating because of this bitch. But right now, he couldn’t see a way out of here without going through the giant.
Terrence reached behind him, his fingers searching for and finding the leather handle of the knife that he had brought along just to make the game a little more fun. Even up the score, a scar for a scar, and her brother had made sure he had a whooper right down his cheek. He’d planned to give her the same gift.
The blade had been carefully buffed, night after night as he waited patiently for his revenge, and when he drew it around to her throat, the harsh strip lighting danced off the blade like a mirror and reflected on the walls around them, as his hand shook at her throat.
“Still want to play?” Terrence’s voice was pure venom as he thought himself empowered now. The warm steel at her throat would give the giant pause for thought.
CHAPTER TEN
“Now you’re a dead man.” Lucas growled out. His fists unclenched at his side and he flicked out the claws from his fingers. Small ridges appeared under his lips as his fangs elongated from his gums, and his eyes turned pure black against the tanned skin of his face.
Shannon felt the twitch of the muscles that circled her body. She felt the blade ease against her throat, and then he tightened all around her. The breath that Terrence drew and caught in his lungs was almost music to her ears as she felt the fear within him.
“Stay… Back.” Terrence stammered. Unable to take his eyes from Lucas as his wolf pushed to the front, and when Lucas threw his head back and roared, his fangs catching the light in a fascinating glint that had Terrence both spellbound and quaking in his boots, Shannon couldn’t help the sardonic laugh that escaped her lips.
“You should have cut your losses while you were ahead.” She hissed out at him. The stunned silence that greeted her ears gave her the opening she needed, and she slammed her head backwards into his face. The pain shot through her, but the rewarding crunch of his nose was well worth it.
Terrence reeled backwards form the dazing blow. Immediately releasing her from his grip, he reached up to cover his nose, the handle of his blade making him cry out as it knocked the broken cartilage, and he tried to shake off the wave of nausea that engulfed him, and the dizziness that swept over him, to focus on where the giant of a man was.
Too late he realise that Lucas was right on top of him. With one large clawed hand he wrapped his fingers around Terrence’s throat and hauled him off the floor, locking his arm in place to hold his prey suspended above him, Lucas glared up at him, spitting fire and ready to kill.
Terrence was twisting and kicking out as best he could. The shock and awe of being face to face with something from his nightmares had caused him to momentarily forget the knife still within his grasp. He swung his arm lamely towards Lucas and instantly regretted it. Lucas wrapped his hand in a steel vice like grip around his wrist and flicked his arm backwards. The sound of bone shattering sent Shannon’s teeth on edge.
“Lucas, he’s human.” Shannon reminded her mate calmly. She was well aware of the laws that Julius set his own pack, but she was also aware that not all packs lived by those rules.
“He touched my mate.” Lucas spat out each word with so much venom that even Shannon felt his anger ripple over her skin.
“And I bet he regrets that now.” Shannon’s sarcasm wasn’t lost on Lucas, but it did little to dissipate the anger within him. “Did you notice how he’s turning blue?” Shannon added, as Terrence squirmed and tore at Lucas’s hand wrapped around his throat with his one useful hand.
This time her sarcasm did draw Lucas’s attention towards her. He narrowed his eyes on her and noted the amusement that flickered in her eyes and he wondered at it.
“That was the general idea.” He offered back to her. The growl was no less evident, but it was slightly less potent within his tone now.
“Just checking.” She shrugged her shoulders and held up the palms of her hands in surrender.
Lucas couldn’t understand her attitude. He shifted his stance so he could get a better look at her as she stood there watching him, her brows slightly raised in amusement, a slight upturn to the corners of her lips.
“You find this amusing?” He questioned his mate’s sanity at that moment. Although having a knife put to her throat by a man who beat her so badly probably didn’t help, he still couldn’t fathom her behaviour. He almost wished that his prey was not gurgling and rasping so much above him.
“I find it…” She paused and gave him a pensive look, and he raised one brow in anticipation. “Enlightening. Or maybe that’s the wrong word…” She folded her arms over her chest and lifted her hand to tap her fingers against her lips as if considering it.
“Could you find the right one? I have some unfinished business here.” Lucas shot back. His wolf was losing his grip on his personality. Lucas’s natural ability to suppress his beast came to into its own, as his curiosity was spiked.
Shannon lifted her index finger as though she had the answer and then stopped and shook her head again. The low growl that came from Lucas made her want to chuckle. She had managed to quiet his beast within him, now she just needed to quiet the need for revenge within her man.
“He’s just so worthless and tiresome. Don’t we have some unfinished business?” She teased her finger into her mouth and bit down on it and saw his eyes flare with recognition of the desire that rushed through him.
“Now?” He demanded, still a little perturbed by her behaviour, after what he had witnessed surely she should be, at the very least, slightly shook up? And when she shrugged her shoulders, he wanted to shake his head and check to see if this was some kind of weird surreal dream.
“Not if you can’t manage it at the moment.” She turned her back on him with those challenging words and Lucas huffed a groan.
“What am I to do with him, Shannon, he laid his hands on you, and he has seen too much.” Lucas’s growl was back. But as Shannon turned to look at him over her shoulder, she couldn’t help the knowing look that she gave him.
“Oh trust me. Karma has always got an ace up its sleeve.”
Lucas tossed the man aside like he was a pillow. The sound of his body connecting with the wall echoed out throughout the shop, and Lucas took great satisfaction in watching him slide down the wall into a heap. His nose and mouth were bloodied from Shannon’s blow, and he was in fact turning blue from lack of oxygen.
Lucas didn’t retract his claws just yet. He wanted to see what the pile of filth would do when he managed to drag himself back to his feet, and it was taking some time, as he gasped and coughed in ragged breaths back into his burning lungs.
Terrence seemed to recover enough to remember the sight of the man who had come to Shannon’s aid. His eyes started at Lucas’s feet and ended at the sight of his clawed fingers, and then he was falling over himself to get first onto his knees, and then onto his feet, as his torso seemed to drag his legs towards the shop front before him.
Lucas looked to his mate. He wasn’t sure he was doing the right thing. He wanted to rip and claw and tear the guy limb from limb, but his mate stood there, seemingly calm and carefree on the outside, although, Lucas could feel the raging wave of emotions coming from her. Hate, disgust, uncertainty and even guilt, but for what he didn’t know.
“Are you sure?” He asked turning his whole body towards her. Every inch
of him still poised for the chase, ready to hunt him down at one word from her.
Shannon brought her eyes up to his and for one long moment she seemed to just exist on a breath. Her heart jumped within her, her breath caught within her throat and her eyes widened in anticipation.
The sound of brakes squealing filled the air. The sound of a man’s cry, followed by the sickening thud of a body being hit at speed by a fast moving truck, all of which she could see in her mind.
Lucas spun towards the front of the shop but he didn’t move, he just listened, his eyes narrowed in concentration of the events unfolding outside, and then he turned his eyes back towards his mate.
“It seems my little encounter with the dark magic has left an unforeseen ability to accurately predict the future. I’ll have to look into that.” Now she was calm, serene, both inside and out as he closed the distance between them and dragged her against his chest.
“Are you alright?” He growled down at her, concern in his tone and his eyes.
“I could have stopped that from happening, but then you would have killed a human.” Shannon felt the stab of guilt wash through her. Not for Terrence, but for the driver of the truck, and for Lucas himself.
“But you didn’t make it happen, sweetheart?” He needed that clarification. If she was experiencing side effects from that dark Fae’s magic, he needed to know about it.
“No. But I’m not sorry it did either.” Shannon confessed and he nodded down at her. His fingertips brushed against her cheek and she leaned into his touch. Now her body started to shake with the pent up emotions that she had held onto, and Lucas pulled her against his chest and wrapped his strong arms around her body. She had to be one of the strongest people he had ever met in his life, and he was grateful that fate had seen fit to make her his mate.
Lucas came awake the moment she slipped down over his arousal. At first he thought it was an erotic dream, her hands on his body, her tongue running over his shaft, the feel of her lips around him as she took him into her mouth. But the feel of her body moving over his, as she climbed up over his hips and straddled him, was far better than he could conjure up in any kind of dream about her.
