One True Mate 4: Shifter's Innocent

by Lisa Ladew

  “I’d have to see her standing to be sure, but she looks like it, doesn’t she? Gotta be at least five or six inches.”

  Excitement hit Cerise. “She does! Look at her cheeks! Her face has filled out, and her knees! They look normal, not too big for her legs anymore.” And her hair had grown! It curled down her back, as thick and long as her mother’s.

  Beckett smiled at her. “Could have been the shift, or the dragon blood. But I don’t think she’s going to be worried about her height anymore.”

  Cerise grabbed his arm and hugged him in delight. This was what Kaci should have looked like all along. Strong, healthy.

  Kaci’s eyes blinked and she lifted her head, staring intently at Wade, who was now talking directly to Bob and Sharon. They had revealed earlier that morning that Bob was a language and computer expert, and he’d been hired by Grey over a decade before to work on his codes. Sharon had gotten suspicious about the content of them based on a few off-hand things Bob had said to her, and stole into his office one night to read everything, even though Bob had only half the story, what looked like every other page of the memoirs.

  As a half-breed, Sharon had never been deeply involved in the world of shiften, not knowing really who was in charge of what. She hadn’t told her husband what she was before that night, not thinking it important since she could not shift and her children would not be able to shift. But when she’d been trying to decide who to take their suspicions to about Grey’s real motivations, she’d told him everything. Kaci had been stolen that night. They’d never connected the two events, and with their furor to get their daughter back, their decision to tell someone something had gotten lost in the years of pain and searching.

  Wade was speaking intently to them and Cerise stilled, trying to hear his words.

  “We’d like you to come to Serenity. We’ll put you up in a house, provide you full time security in case Grey ever reappears, or Khain decides to retaliate against you in some way. Lillian is important, and we want to keep her safe.”

  Bob held up a hand. “Wait a minute. I know your story. You wolves have no females, and that’s why Kaci is valuable to you, isn’t it? Well, you can forget it. I know you don’t have any males under thirty years old, and none of them are going to be sniffing around my daughter.”

  Wade shook his head. “It’s not like that. When Lillian is old enough to mate, she gets to choose who she wants to be with. If she’s interested in a full-blooded wolfen, that’s up to her, but that’s not why we are inviting you to Serenity. We want to train her, we want her to work with us.”

  Sharon went white. “You aren’t talking about the war camps.”

  Wade shook his head. “No. No war camps. She would work with instructors one on one, experts in their field. We need females in the department. She’s only one, but there will be more eventually, as the one true mates are being found, and two of them are pregnant already. We have the future of the police department, the shiften, and the entire world at the forefront of our minds.” Kaci’s eyes flickered with something like excitement. Cerise held her breath.

  Wade looked around to see who was listening, then stepped closer and lowered his voice. Cerise had to strain to hear him. “I also would like to ask her if she would be willing to speak to the police departments in the area, maybe consider a teaching circuit around the country.”

  Bob shook his head, confused. “Teaching what? She’s just a little girl.”

  Wade nodded. “I know she is, and she should have time to play, and run, and grow, but there’s something you may not understand. She’s one of only five wolven in the entire world who have faced Khain and lived to tell about it. Two of those wolven are non-shifting wolves, not able to speak. One of them is Beckett, and he’s got a busy job with the KSRT,” he said, waving his hand at Beckett. “The other is,” he looked around, spotted Mac down the hallway, making a rude hand gesture at Bruin and laughing.

  Wade frowned. “The other isn’t that great of a teacher.” He looked back at Bob and Sharon. “We would like her to, very occasionally, share her experience with other wolven. What it was like. What Khain is like. She is the only wolfen alive who has ever severed one of his appendages. It’ll grow back, I’m sure, but you have to understand how valuable that is. She’s a fierce little girl whose going to grow into a tough police officer, and others will benefit from her knowledge.”

  Kaci picked her head up off of Bob’s shoulder. “I want to do it…” her voice trailed off . She injected strength into it as all eyes swung to her. “I want to do it, Momma. Daddy.”

  Sharon took her hand. “If Lillian wants to, we are on board, right, Bob?” Bob nodded vehemently, hugging his daughter closer.

  Cerise couldn’t help herself. She burst into tears and buried her head in Beckett’s chest.

  She wouldn’t be losing Kaci after all.

  She was going to get her freedom, her sister, and her… wolf. It couldn’t be better than that.

  Chapter 40

  Cerise half-slept through their trip to the hotel, Kaci’s last words ringing through her mind. “I love you, Cerise, you were right about my parents, but call me Lillian, ok?”

  Cerise had gathered her into a hug. “Can I still call you Lemon?”

  Kaci-Lillian had nodded, her face serious, then Kaci had kissed her on the cheek and run back to her parents, her knees straight, her gait fluid. Sharon had smiled at Cerise and mouthed, “Thank you for everything, talk soon.”

  Cerise had almost floated out of there, holding Beckett’s hand as he led her to his truck. It was all thanks to him.

  He pulled up in front of the hotel where they were going to sleep. After that, she didn’t know what would happen. He sat in the parking stall for a moment, then ran a hand over the back of her head. “You wanna come in with me, or stay here?”

  “Am I safe here?” she mumbled, her head against her window, floating in that state between asleep and awake.

  “Yeah, my friends are parked behind us. They won’t let anyone near you.”

  “The wolf and the bear and the dragon?”

  “Just the wolf and the bear. The dragon is home already with his mate. Your sister.”

  That woke her up. A little. She lifted her head. “My what?”

  He grinned and she felt her body respond to him even in her exhaustion. “I told you that, didn’t I? You ain’t the only one, darlin’. You got three sisters at home just dyin’ to meet you. And more coming soon, I’m sure.”

  She laid her head back against the window again for just a moment. He had mentioned there were others like her, but she hadn’t quite made the connection they were her sisters. Her eyes slid shut…

  “Stay here, I’ll be back in two shakes.”

  And before she knew it, he was, knocking on the window so she would move away from it and not fall out when he pulled the door open. She was about to get out when he gathered her into his arms and carried her. She lay her head on his chest, remembering exactly how safe he’d made her feel before, and how much more safe he made her feel now. He’d never let anyone hurt her again.

  Inside, he laid her down on the bed and stripped her shoes and pants from her, then covered her with a blanket.

  “You coming?”

  “Be right there. You sleep.”

  She did. The faint light from the covered window shifted every time she woke for just a moment, from morning light to afternoon light, to evening orange, until one time it was completely dark. She lifted her head and blinked at the darkness, but she could feel Beckett was behind her, and something hard was against her ass. She put her hand back there. He was naked, and oh lord, that was his cock, fully at attention. She curled her fingers around it and fell back asleep.

  When she woke again, light shone around the drapes. Beckett was hovering near the door, talking quietly into his phone. “I want to drive. Take our time. Cerise deserves some downtime after what happened. And we need a couple of days in Chicago.” He stopped and listened to whoever was
talking, then spoke again. “You can’t spare them for a few days? Come on, Wade, be reasonable.” Another pause. “No, seriously, I don’t even want to leave this room until at least tomorrow.”

  When he spoke again she could hear the grin in his voice. “Alright, got it. Whatever you say. Ok, for sure. See you then.”

  He hung up and came to her, still naked, head bare for once, cock soft. It was the first time she’d actually seen it, and as she eyed it, it grew exponentially. “Oh my,” she said, licking her lips. It jutted straight out from his body, just that fast, and she could almost hear it call to her, she was that curious about it.

  He slipped into the bed facing her, pulling her close to him, drawing lazy circles on her hip with his fingertips. She put one finger to his lips. “Hold that thought,” she said, and jumped up to do her thing in the bathroom, getting back into bed with him as quickly as she could.

  She lay down and looked at him shyly. He pulled her close.

  “Can we do that thing where we ask each other questions again?”

  He nodded.

  “You go first,” she said, feeling shy, not knowing how to start, now that they were actually alone together.

  He didn’t hesitate. “Do you know how much I want you?”

  She shook her head.

  He took her hand and put it on his cock. She ran her fingers over the velvety skin, exploring fully. He arched into her touch, his eyes never leaving her face. “I want you so much I’ve barely slept. I’ve just been lying next to you, listening to the sound of your breathing, imagining how it would be when we were finally together.”

  She licked her lips, nibbling on her lower lip for just a second. “Can you be gentle with me?”

  He nodded. “I can be gentle. As long as I can have you.” He brushed her hair away from her face. “Can I make love to you?”

  She nodded and he smiled, leaning close. “You’re mine, Cerise.”

  She sighed as his lips caught hers. She wanted to be his. Wanted to never leave the protective circle of his arms. Wanted to learn more about the pleasures he’d given her the last time they’d been in a hotel bed together.

  His tongue dipped into her mouth, swirling, exploring, sliding over teeth and tongue and lips, the sensations rocking straight through her body. She mimicked the movements of his tongue with her hand, pulling and caressing his cock. He groaned into her mouth with every tug.

  His big hands dropped past her collarbone, down her chest, finding one of her breasts, and he tugged on the nipple, making her gasp, then he pulled away, to hook his fingers under the hem of her shirt. She put her arms up, and off it came, her bra following. He gazed down at her breasts and a grin spread across his face. Her favorite grin. “You’re beautiful, darlin’. Perfection from head to toe and everything in between.”

  She let her eyes drift closed as his words washed over her. Perfection. She could get used to hearing that.

  His mouth went to her breasts instead of her lips and she arched her back, rolling on the bed. “Oh, Beckett,” she breathed, as he expertly plied her nipples, swirling his tongue around each tight bud, making her body tingle in response.

  “Yeah, darlin’?” he asked, a grin in his voice, raising his head. She looked at him in shock, then shoved his head back down. He chuckled and spoke against her nipple. “Don’t stop, got it. Sorry.” He didn’t sound sorry.

  He lavished attention on both breasts, his fingers drawing delicate circles around her belly now, grazing her hips occasionally, never dipping lower, as much as she wanted him to. “Beckett, please,” she finally groaned.

  “Please what?” he said, the tease still in his voice.

  She growled at him and he laughed again, his hand going exactly where she wanted it. He ground his palm against her for a moment, making her gasp, and then he pulled away from her breasts, shooting her a look that made her shudder, all serious now. He moved on hands and knees like some big jungle cat, or maybe a dangerous wolf, to kneel between her legs. She watched his muscles flex, not knowing what he was doing.

  But when he dropped his head to her clitoris and kissed her there, she couldn’t help but cry out. Nothing to bite on this time. She didn’t care. Her pleasure came so much quicker, taking her by surprise, the pleasure building and taking over, until she was weak with it, toes curled into the mattress, back bowed, fingers tearing at the sheets…

  The orgasm rocked her, making her lose all sense of who and where she was as she cried out, giving herself over to it.

  It ebbed enough that she could come back to reality, and when she did, Beckett was pushing her legs farther apart with his knees, his thick length in his hand, his breath coming hard and fast. The sight of him grasping his cock was erotic as hell and she couldn’t stop staring. He ran the head of his cock along her sensitive folds and she gasped. “Beckett…”

  “Gentle, Cerise. I’ll be gentle. But I can’t wait for this. Don’t make me wait.”

  “No, I want it.” She urged him forward, arching into him, encouraging him. She did want it. She wanted to know this final act intimately, to leave who she was behind, and to fully realize who she would be. Beckett’s lover. His… mate.

  He bent over her, still holding himself with his right hand, pressing against her again and again, his eyes glued to the spot where their bodies were meeting. She’d rarely seen him serious, and she took the time to study him, really study his strong jaw, his molded lips, the expression in his eyes. He looked like a starving man staring at the most delectable dinner imaginable. Her.

  “It might hurt,” he said. “I know it’s your first time. But it shouldn’t last too long.”

  “I’m ready,” she said, knowing he would do whatever he could to minimize the pain for her.

  He pressed inside, just a little bit, and it felt good, so good, until he moved inside her more. Then it pinched her, and she felt something give way inside her. She bit her lip. He saw immediately and stilled, staring into her eyes. “I love you,” he said, then looked surprised, like he hadn’t meant to say it. She bit her lip. She hadn’t expected to hear it. But it felt so good. And right. Did she love him back?

  Before she decided, he was moving again, the ache fading, the pinch receding. It didn’t quite feel good, but it didn’t feel bad, either. He pressed farther inside her and she sucked in a breath. She was so full. So stretched. She had never imagined anything like this. This complete and utter joining with another person.

  He lowered his body to hers and kissed her lips, until she was lost in the sensation, meeting his tongue, enjoying his taste, loving his body, and when she came up for air, she realized he was moving inside her, slowly, gently, but definitely moving. The slip-sliding of skin against skin made her smile, as a wave of pleasure began to build in her again.

  She held onto his shoulders, pushing and pulling at him, lifting her hips to meet his. He kept his pace gentle, light, thorough, letting her make it more. She gasped as a wave of pleasure pulsed in her. “Can I…?”

  “Come again? Yes.” His face tightened as if he was determined to make her and he stirred himself inside her, making her cry out. He didn’t tease her though, his expression saying he was beyond teasing, and completely lost to her. As much hers as she was his. That was a good way to be.

  She met him, thrust for thrust, not hard, never hard, but insistent, until she began to pant again and he noticed. “Come for me, darlin’, I want to feel you come all over me.”

  She nodded, digging in to his shoulders, letting him take her… and in a moment she was there. She threw back her head, keened out a lusty cry at the intensity of it all, dimly aware that Beckett had let go also. His breath caught in his throat and he groaned in time with her. Inside her, hot seed spurted against her inner core, and it felt right, like she was finally doing exactly what she’d been meant to do in her life.

  Chapter 41

  Cerise sat in the passenger seat of the truck, watching as Beckett packed their last bag in the back. She’d wanted to help but
he’d said no way, she was only allowed to relax. They’d made love four more times the day before, then once more last night when she’d woken and turned over just to touch him. She was sore, but content, and now they were headed home, the long way, as Beckett put it.

  He climbed into the truck, grinned at her, then said, “You ready?”

  She nodded eagerly. She was. Ready to meet his friends, to see her sisters, to become a part of his life, fully and completely.

  They drove for hours, her occasionally checking behind them to be sure the tiny white sedan was still shadowing them, him just trusting it was. He’d told her the white wolf’s name was Mac, and the bear’s name was Bruin, and they were having some sort of a bromance while they waited for their one true mates to show up.

  He told her all about Rhen and Khain and the creation story, and the wolven, felen, foxen, and bearen, and the one true mates. She shivered every time she thought about it, about who she was and how she fit into this larger picture.

  After they’d skirted around Las Vegas, she’d fallen silent at the sight of the big city, staring out the window. But a thought niggled at her and she had to ask it.

  “Beckett?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “You’ve been gentle with me because I’ve asked you to be, right?”

  He grinned at her. “Yup.”

  She looked away, musing, then spoke. “I can’t help but wonder if it’s fun if you’re rough, too.”

  Instead of answering, Beckett swung the truck into the right lane, then took the next exit, speeding up instead of slowing down.

  “What?” she asked, scared for a moment.

  He grabbed her hand and placed it on what had grown behind his zipper.

  “Ohh,” she said, then giggled. “Am I about to find out?”

  “I can’t leave you wonderin’, darlin’, it goes against my nature.”

  He found a motel in record time, and she went in with him to get their room, sneaking glances at his pants, excitement blooming in her at the way his hardness never faltered.