United (The Ushers)

by Vanessa North

  Cover

  Title Page

  United

  The Ushers Book Two

  Vanessa North

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  An imprint of

  Musa Publishing

  Copyright Information

  United (The Ushers 2), Copyright © Vanessa North, 2012

  All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

  ...

  This e-Book is a work of fiction. While references may be made to actual places or events, the names, characters, incidents, and locations within are from the author’s imagination and are not a resemblance to actual living or dead persons, businesses, or events. Any similarity is coincidental.

  ...

  Musa Publishing

  633 Edgewood Ave

  Lancaster, OH 43130

  www.musapublishing.com

  ...

  Published by Musa Publishing, December 2012

  ...

  This e-Book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. No part of this ebook can be reproduced or sold by any person or business without the express permission of the publisher.

  ...

  ISBN: 978-1-61937-430-0

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  Editor: Jennifer Murphy

  Cover Design: David Efaw

  Interior Book Design: Coreen Montagna

  Content Warning

  This book contains adult language and scenes. This story is meant only for adults as defined by the laws of the country where you made your purchase. Store your books carefully where they cannot be accessed by younger readers.

  Dedication

  For Mark,

  thanks for sharing this crazy beautiful life with me.

  I love you.

  Prologue

  THE OLD WOLF REACHED for one of the silver cuffs that were attached to the wall. Tightening it down around his wrist as he did every month, he shuddered against the compulsion to shift. With shaking hands, he locked the second cuff around his ankle. His teeth snapped together as he felt the shift begin. He felt that sweet siren call all the way into his bones, and he began to pray.

  Chapter One

  MONICA ROLLED OUT OF BED, looking over her shoulder at the man behind her. She felt a twinge of sadness as she looked at his handsome face, bronze against her white sheets. In sleep, Angelo looked so much like an angel. She knew when he woke up, his face would be riddled with sadness. He was her best friend, her third-in-command. Seeing him once again asleep in her bed, she felt she was taking advantage of his friendship. She swallowed her guilt. There was no point in dwelling on things she couldn’t change. She walked from her bedroom to her closet, pulling a T-shirt and a pair of jeans over her still youthful body, piling her hair into a messy knot at the back of her neck.

  At two hundred fifty years old, Monica knew she could live at least another century or two, but the thought made her even lonelier. The wolf who was supposed to be her mate, Fionn Murphy, slept across the street in a tiny dormitory room, while Angelo shared her bed. Monica felt a wave of longing tinged with rejection—her mate refused to claim her.

  Fionn was the charismatic brother of Monica’s Second, Jack Murphy. Fionn was tall, handsome, tattooed, and was the most powerful wolf she’d ever met. He was her destiny, yet he wanted nothing to do with her. She heard Angelo stirring, and she closed her eyes against the pain she felt when she thought of what she’d done, calling him in a fit of need. He always came to her. He’d listen to her cry, and then he’d make love to her, trying to ease some of her pain. He wouldn’t ever let it show if he were hurt that she called out another man’s name.

  Angelo stood behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Querida. Don’t do this to yourself,” he whispered in her ear. “This is harder for you than it is for me.”

  She turned to face him. “Angelo. I’m sorry. I keep saying I won’t let this happen, and then—” She held up her hands.

  He took them for a moment and smiled at her. “Shhh. I was mated before; I know how it feels. That’s not what you and I have. Your true mate is across the street, thumbing his nose at you. You need that connection with him, and he denies you. I’m a substitute, and it’s okay. If I could change it, if I could be your mate, Querida, you know I would.”

  “I know.” Monica smiled at Angelo, watching as his brow creased with emotion. She didn’t need to eavesdrop on his thoughts to know how he remembered the way it felt to be mated. She felt it too: nostalgia and grief together.

  “It doesn’t seem like he could possibly deserve you. But the Goddess doesn’t make mistakes. I hope he figures it out soon. If you need a friend in the meantime, I will never, ever say no to you.” Angelo folded one of her hands into his and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

  “I feel like I’m cheating on him,” she whispered. “How ridiculous is that? I’m cheating on a man who won’t have anything to do with me.”

  “Querida…” Angelo sighed. “He hasn’t claimed you. You are not his. You have the right to share your body with whoever you want to. I can’t be sad that it’s me, because I’d rather make love to you than just about anyone, except…”

  “Your mate,” she finished for him, understanding exactly what he meant. Angelo’s mate had died when he was in graduate school. The pain of it was still fresh for him—only decades old. For Monica, it had been over a century since Robert, her first mate, had died and she’d become a ghost wolf. The animal side of her nature had left her to escort Robert to the spirit world. During that time, Monica had been unable to shift, and the pack of her birth had treated her as though she’d died, too. Alone, she’d come east and built a pack of ghosts and outcasts like herself into the strongest pack in North America. Eventually, with her mate’s spirit at rest, her wolf had returned and her spirit had healed.

  She still remembered the way it felt when she was first mated. The way Robert’s love had pulsed through their connection, the way he could make her want him with just a look. She missed him, but time had eased that hurt. Knowing she could feel that connection again—that she would feel that connection again, if Fionn Murphy ever got his head out of his ass—that knowledge kept her sane some days.

  “I should go.” Angelo reached for his T-shirt. He’d left his clothes folded neatly on her dresser, like he always did. “I could use the excuse that I’m early to work if I’d been wearing a suit, but…I don’t dress like this for work.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek after he stepped into his jeans. “You didn’t do anything with me I didn’t enjoy, Monica. And you owe Fionn exactly nada.”

  “Angelo, what would I do without you?” she asked. “You should hate me, but somehow, you don’t.”

  “Hey, you’re my best friend, too.” He grinned at her. “With benefits.”

  “Ugh, I hate that expression. It’s so tacky.” She wrinkled her nose. “But thank you for coming over here last night. I hope you find another mate someday, Angelo. You deserve it so much, I just wish it could be me.”

  He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “I wish that, too.” He dropped a friendly kiss on her cheek and left the apartment.

  “Hey, Monica,” Jack Murphy called as he stepped off the elevator and into her apartment.

  “In the office. Did you bring coffee?” she called back. As pack mates, they could speak inside each other’s heads, but Jack liked to talk out loud. He considered it more polite, and since politeness was never
a crime, she humored him.

  “Yes, Alpha.” Bianca followed Jack through the door, holding out a cup to her.

  Monica breathed in the acrid coffee smell with a grateful sigh as she looked at her two Seconds. Bianca’s belly was round with pregnancy, and her lavender eyes glowed with happiness—and no one deserved happiness more than Bianca. Bianca was the first of the Ushers, and she’d lost her Guide in the terrible fight which had won Amazon’s legitimacy. As she single-handedly fought an alpha wolf on behalf of her pack, Bianca had been attacked from behind by a second wolf. The raven-shifter, Sara, had flown into the mouth of Bianca’s attacker to buy her enough time to end the fight.

  “Bee. When are you having your ultrasound?” Monica asked, sipping her coffee. She gestured for the Guardians to sit in the stately chairs across from her desk. Monica’s office could have sprawled out of the pages of Traditional Home magazine. It was rich with wood and leather and a desk that oozed power, yet it retained an air of comfort and femininity.

  “Today. I have to drive to Springfield. We need a new pack physician…I hate having to travel for this stuff.”

  “Sorry, Bee.” Monica sighed. “Do you think your mother would come back?” Bianca’s mother was a nurse midwife in Boston.

  “Yeah, maybe. Especially with the baby on the way. I’ll ask her at the next full moon. It’s hard for her, being around Pack though.”

  Bianca’s mother, Ellie, lived as a pack outlier, preferring the company of humans. She had been mated many years before, but her mate had killed himself when they learned that she was carrying the Albina. Bianca’s mother had never entirely moved past it.

  “The doctor who is doing the scan knows you’re wolf?” Monica asked.

  Bianca nodded. Most humans weren’t aware of werewolves. Doctors and other medical professionals knew but kept the secret. Lycanthropy, as they called it, fell under doctor-patient confidentiality. Most of the time, the wolves healed quickly from any injuries or illnesses, and doctors weren’t necessary, but obstetrics was different, as the wolf body required slightly different prenatal care.

  “Jack is coming with me.” Bianca smiled. “We’ll find out if the little pupstar is going to be a boy or a girl.”

  “I’m not-so-secretly hoping for a girl.” Jack grinned.

  “Who is going to do security here today?” Monica looked at her Guardians.

  “Ellen will be with you,” Bianca decided. “Teddy is here visiting, so Kathy is spending a lot of time with him, helping him hone his telepathy skills.”

  “Good. Any chance we can lure Ted away from Mid-A?” Monica teased. Ted, the Alpha of Mid-Atlantic Pack, had the rare ability to create a mental barrier, to block other wolves—even pack-mates, even family—from his mind.

  “Not likely. I don’t think Mama and Pop want to come out of retirement.” Jack grinned. “But I miss Ted. I’m glad he’s here for a few days.”

  “Well, enjoy your time visiting with him. Why don’t you take a few days? Ellen can cover for as long as you need.” Monica loved being able to do little things like that for her wolves. Nobody worked as hard as Jack and Bee, and no one had given up so much. A few days off to spend with his brother was exactly what Jack needed.

  “Thank you, Alpha.” Jack ducked his head in a boyish way.

  Bianca groaned. “Goddess it turns me on when he does that.” Bianca let loose a distinctly lascivious growl. “Bye, Monica.” She stuck her tongue out at her Alpha and grabbed her mate, towing him toward the elevator.

  Monica could hear them laughing as they stepped inside and pressed the button to return them to the lobby. Her wolves’ happiness gave her a sense of well-being like nothing else. She closed her eyes and basked in it for a moment.

  “Are you free?” She felt Fionn’s voice in her brain. She closed her eyes hard against the tears. His touch on her mind was so clear and bright and beautiful. It was like that first ray of sunlight to burst over the horizon at dawn. She hated herself for loving it.

  “Yes. Come over any time.” She sighed. For him, she’d always be free, for better or for worse.

  “Annie and I are coming now.”

  She felt that burst of clarity again, and he was gone.

  Mere minutes later, Fionn and Annie came striding into her office like they owned the place. Monica leaned back in her chair, looking him over. Fionn Murphy was perfection in jeans and a white tank top. She could see the outline of his nipple ring through the thin cotton fabric, and her fingers itched to pinch it. He’d dyed his hair again—platinum blond—but it suited him. He wore his beard shaggy; for a moment, she imagined how soft it would feel against her skin. Her wolf sat up and took notice of his smell. He shared that earthy wolf smell that they all had, but it was overlaid by something uniquely him: salt and wood smoke and man. She swallowed hard, realizing her mouth was going dry.

  “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” Monica snapped, her eyes meeting his.

  Fionn winced. He knew how hard this was on her, yet he persisted in his refusal to claim her as his mate. Having never been mated before, he didn’t understand the way it would feel. She found herself forgiving him before he’d even had a chance to talk.

  She sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

  “No, I deserve that.” His voice was quiet. “Annie and I need to go south to meet with the Appalachian pack. They control the Carolinas, Georgia, parts of Tennessee, and into Florida.”

  “Okay.” Monica nodded.

  He was leaving. Again. These road trips with Annie were growing more frequent. Jealousy rose in her throat like bile. Monica had witnessed first-hand the love an Usher could have for their Guide. She had seen Bianca and Sara sweet on each other for years before Jack arrived. As quickly as the jealousy grew, it was replaced with guilt. Hadn’t she taken comfort in Angelo’s friendship just the night before?

  “I’d like to spend a few days with my kids,” Fionn explained. “I haven’t seen Rose and Dev in months. I feel like an asshole.”

  “You should. Kids need a father. Why on Earth you would impregnate humans is beyond me.” Monica rolled her eyes. Then she caught sight of the stricken look on Annie’s face. Fuck. Annie blamed herself for Fionn’s activities in the years she’d been in California. “Annie, I didn’t mean…”

  “No, you’re right.” Fionn shrugged. “I was stupid. It’s not Annie’s fault. And you did mean it. And that’s fine. But they’re my kids, Mo. I love them. I need to see them—and I won’t ever regret being their dad.”

  She felt her stomach flutter when he called her Mo. He was the only person who had ever called her that. Her eyes drifted closed. She wanted to hear him whisper it in her ear in the throes of passion, to feel affection pouring through the bond. She wanted him to burn for her just as she burned for him.

  “How long will you be gone?” she heard herself asking.

  “A month, if all goes well,” Annie answered for Fionn. “We’ll be gone about a month. We can leave today and be back before the next full moon.”

  “You’re not Amazon,” Monica reminded him. “You can shift wherever you like.”

  “Mo, I know you don’t understand my refusal to claim you. I don’t entirely understand it.” Fionn approached her chair, got on his knees in front of her. “But I enjoy sharing the full moon with you. I can’t deny that I’m an asshole and I’m treating you badly. Hell, I’m the one who spent twenty years fucking up, and you’ve forgiven that and a host of other things. I know you deserve so much better than me, but when we’re wolves together—when the Mother’s touch is on us during the full moon—I only want to feel that…here…at home. And you’re part of that.” He laid his head in her lap, and she savored the feel of it, the weight of him against her as he relaxed onto her legs. Her hand stole into his dyed-blond hair, ruffling though it, the texture like silk under her fingers. She felt his wolf within him, reaching for her touch, and knew that he denied himself as much as her. She stroked from his hair down into h
is beard and watched as his lips parted and he drew a ragged breath.

  Annie stood quietly, then tiptoed from the room, closing the door behind her.

  “Fionn,” Monica whispered. “Why are you doing this to us?”

  “I don’t know, dammit.” His eyes clenched shut as he sat back on his heels, burying both hands in his hair. Finally, he looked up and his eyes met hers, agony hovering just under the surface. “I’m falling apart, just being close to you.”

  “Kiss me,” she demanded.

  He looked at her, startled.

  “C’mon, Finny, kiss me,” she repeated.

  “Mo…”

  “No, Fionn Murphy.” She stood up, tugging him to his feet with her. “You need to know something. I’m your mate. I know what that is, how it feels. You’ve never been mated before. You’ve fucked and played around, but you don’t know what it feels like to kiss your mate. Don’t you want to know? Aren’t you even the littlest bit curious?” She stood up on the tips of her toes, pressing her face to the skin of his throat and inhaling his scent. Oh Goddess, up close, he smelled even more intense and amazing .

  “Mo,” he pleaded.

  She met his eyes and saw in them a hunger that sent echoes of need into her. Feeling the heady power of seduction, she leaned forward and licked from the hollow between his collarbones up to his ear, and she bit, scissoring the lobe between her teeth. She felt the rumble of a growl run through him, and he pushed her away. Her eyes closed, tears forming with a sting behind her nose.

  Then his hands were bracketing her face, and his lips crushed down hard on hers. This was no gentle kiss. Nothing like Angelo’s caring caresses, intended for comfort. This kiss wasn’t about caring. It was full of anger, lust, regret. But as his tongue swept through her mouth and his elemental male taste tingled all the way to her toes, she felt her teeth lengthen, and she smiled against his lips. Her mate.

  His assault on her mouth lost some of its fervor, replacing the urgency with languor as he swept his tongue through her mouth again and again, as if he wanted to memorize her taste. Her hands fisted in the cotton of his tank top, pinching the nipple ring underneath; his hands sank into her hair, tugging. She felt with her tongue and realized his teeth had shifted, too. The knowledge sent a victorious thrill through her.