What was she asking? Oh right.
“I don't remember."
Cake. I was talking about cake.
"The cake. You can eat it, right?"
“What do you think?” Ethan asked.
She turned from them to him and back to them. “Right. I guess you're good. Great. Thanks. I suppose I need to head back then.”
Ethan’s brow knit together as she spoke.
“To my bakery. Or well, my now cupcakery.”
“I’ll walk you out,” he said.
As they headed back down the way she’d come a sudden urge to stay hit her. Her mouth opened and closed at the ridiculousness of it all.
“Well, Livi. It was nice to meet you. Any time you ruin something else let us know.”
Turning at the door, she smiled. “Yes. Sure. Be sure to send your girlfriend to the bakery, and I’ll give her any imperfections. The bakery on the corner.” She gave an awkward point to down the alley as her breath stuck in her lungs.
Girlfriend. He had to have one.
The air around them grew thick and hot. Her magic sparked within her, begging to play with the man in front of her.
“I don’t have a girlfriend. Am I allowed to come in myself?”
He braced his arm on one side of the door, not trapping her, but drawing her in closer.
Her eyes grew wide, and she pressed her thighs together.
“Of course. Anyone can. I just figured it was easier since you guys seem to always work odd shifts.”
He smiled. “Yeah. True. We do. Well Livi, I’m Ethan. Don’t be a stranger around here.” The way he said the words she couldn’t tell if he was as attracted to her as she was to him, or only trying to be nice.
“Of course. If I have any other mistakes, you’ll be the first to know. Or the fire station will.”
His body moved closer, his lips almost on her ear. “No, you had it right the first time. I’ll be the first to know.”
Gripping the handle, she turned, and the door swung open with a waft of heat.
“Of course.”
Good God, breathe. She told herself.
“Okay. I need to get back now.” Her body shook from restraint, desire, confusion. Dang it if she didn’t want him more than anything she’d ever wanted in her entire life.
“Have a nice day Olivia.”
Turning away she practically ran, her heart already sprinting.
No one had ever looked at her the way he had.
She pulled open the door of the bakery, nearly hitting herself in the forehead.
The weight of the door slammed closed behind her, and she stopped and smiled. Leaning against the cool metal, she didn't bother suppressing her happiness.
No one ever looked at her that way. She'd always just been little Olivia who didn't get accepted into the most prestigious witch academy even after all her sisters and brothers and parents and grandparents and cousins had.
Ethan, though. He saw her. The magic coursing through her veins a foreign and rich diversion to her normal life was somehow connected to him. Like he was the key to unlocking her.
Closing her eyes all she could see was him. What could she go ruin and bring back over, without seeming desperate?
Chapter 2
He loved the way her hips swayed with every step. She practically sprinted down the alley, and he couldn't pull his eyes off her ass.
His dick throbbed behind the sweats he’d been wearing for his workout before he'd been interrupted. He needed the relief, the burn of his muscles with each added weight and rep. Damn if he didn't want a different kind of workout now though.
Ethan grabbed his crotch and adjusted himself. Fuck. He didn’t think pounding the weights was going to fix this problem. He nearly came in his pants as he imagined burying himself balls deep into Olivia. The sweet scent of arousal still lingered in the air. She’d wanted him.
Once he saw her safely enter the bakery, he headed back to the kitchen.
“Hey man. This cake is better than your mom’s,” said Tristan, one of the guys he worked with.
Ethan scowled. “Do not insult my mother’s cakes.”
Another guy held up a little blue thing from the cake decor. “What is this? A baby booty?” They all tipped their heads.
“Well, if it is, I guess there’s a reason we’re eating this thing,” said Tristan.
“Kian, maybe you should take this home to that mate of yours. Bet she’d appreciate some cake," said Ethan."
Kian shook his head. “She’s eating us out of house and home with those cubs.” He smiled. “They’ll be strong, that’s for damn sure.”
Ethan couldn’t get past the little baker. His pants strained as his mind pictured her naked and smeared in frosting as he slipped inside her. He could practically hear her moaning.
Fuck. His beast, his wolf, was damn near howling as he warred with the overwhelming need to run down the street and mate her. Ethan's eyes widened at that thought. He fought the shift.
Double fuck.
“Ethan, you okay?”
Kian came up next to him with a plate of cake in hand. “You look like you just saw a ghost or something.”
Blowing out a slow breath Ethan shook his head. “Not a ghost. But, uh. What exactly screamed mate about Raine?”
Kian shrugged as he downed a bit more cake. “Eh. This damn cougar of mine really. He can sniff her out of a crowd. She’s just it. She’s the calm in my soul.”
“Awe. That’s so poetic man. You two lovebirds planning to redecorate next?” Tristan moved over to them licking his fingers.
Ethan gave Tristan a punch to the shoulder. Sure, if he had to admit it, these two were his closest friends, at least of the ones he’d picked for himself. They had nothing to do with the pack, and that might be why he liked them.
Ethan needed this job as a break from the pack, and money. Nothing was free.
As they stood there, Ethan watched Kian’s face, his brow knit. Instincts had him turning his attention to Tristan.
“Fuck me. He thinks he found her?” Tristan asked.
Kian shoved in the last of the cake, but his scrutiny made Ethan squirm. “Is that what this is about? You think that little-aproned thing is it? I’d say go for it.”
Ethan rolled his neck side to side. “Fuck. I don’t know. My damn wolf is panting to get to her. My skin itches he wants out so damn bad. But she’s a witch. And according to pack law, I’m supposed to mate another wolf.”
Both men curled their lips.
“You wolves and the pack. I swear. Aren’t you the alpha? Just change it,” Tristan said.
Ethan’s appetite apparently gone, he tossed the plate into the garbage.
“Yeah. Thanks for the little reminder.”
“It's been three years man. Your dad would want this for you. You need to accept you're the alpha even if you want different. Nothing will change the past. Move the pack forward.”
Ethan
“You don't get it. I've tried to do things differently and look where it got me. The packs here are no closer to peace, my dad’s gone, and I have a daughter. Don't get me wrong. That last one is amazing. But seriously. What kind of alpha am I?”
The word Alpha was a damn sucker punch. A pain like a toe you kept stubbing every damn time you went to the bathroom. He was alpha, and it was all by accident or well genetics probably. Whatever. He hadn’t wanted it.
“Have you heard from Amelia’s mom?” Kian asked.
Ethan backed up and leaned against the counter. “No, and I pray I never do. She used my little girl as a bargaining chip. Or well, she allowed her to be used as one.”
He crossed his arms over his chest.
“I don't know how I ever thought she’d be my mate. Who uses a child as a pawn in a pack war? Amelia doesn’t even know her mom’s freedom from that pack was all because of her life. If my daughter doesn't grow up with some fucked up complex, well I'd be shocked.”
Tristan shrugged. “I don't know much about kids,
but I think we all have issues. That little girl is so spoiled by you and your mom. She’ll know who did right by her. She’s smart.”
Kian laughed. “Yeah, she told Ethan you weren’t her daddy’s ‘goodest’ friend. I would say that kid has some instincts.”
God, Ethan hoped that were all true. He wished she knew he loved her regardless of the shit that followed.
“Alright, well if you need help you know we have your back. Pack or not.”
Ethan nodded at Kian. “Yeah. I do. And thanks. I just need to get a mate. Supposedly, if we go by pack law, my claim to both packs will all fall into place once I find her.”
Kian and Tristan nodded. Neither were wolf shifters, and neither were pack shifters for that matter. It wasn't a traditional friendship, but Ethan wasn't exactly normal.
“I don't know about the pack voodoo stuff, but I know everything seemed so clear once I finally accepted my mate,” said Tristan.
A nod of his head was all he bothered with. Ethan tried to rationalize his feelings for Olivia. She wasn't even a damn shifter. How did pack law deal with that? He couldn't go against the magic either. Shifters were all cut from demon blood centuries and millennia in the making. Their histories were sordid, but the facts were shifters were bound to instinct first and foremost. Their animals, their souls, knew when they've met their other half. The half that controls the anger, the aggression, the demon magic within them.
He rubbed at the center of his chest. Times had changed. He accepted a job that allowed himself adrenaline rushes and freedom outside his world, outside pack lands. He took a job to find a mate beyond the borders of his past. His pack needed to change.
Pushing away from the counter, Ethan had one last thought.
“This has got to end regardless of finding a mate or not. I know you guys are aware of the crap that pack is pulling in the neighboring city. That pack is nothing but trouble. They’ve poached on my land one too many times. If they ever threatened Amelia...” he couldn’t say the words. But he’d kill them all regardless of some stupid fucking treaty. He’d do exactly what he should do, thin the garbage out of the pack. But he couldn’t do that out of respect for his daughter. No matter what, she had their blood running through her just as she had his.
Regardless of what was going on right now, he had to stay focused on his job. He needed this job, or he’d go fucking insane. There was only so much you could do all day in secluded mountains.
“Alright sweetheart. Now that we’ve solved world peace, let’s head down to the gym and work off some of this estrogen you’ve apparently decided to drape around yourself like perfume,” said Tristan.
“You’re an asshole. How you found someone to mate you is beyond me,” said Ethan.
As he unfurled his hands, the muscles stretched sore and angry. He fell in step behind Tristan who was bellowing in laughter.
Their footsteps pounded against low pile carpet over wooden steps. Ethan tried to stand up straight, but his chest muscles fought against his shoulders. He took a hand and rubbed at a muscle.
Fuck.
He didn’t know what to do. His body needed to unwind like a spring compressed so far down it threatened to burst through the roof.
Gravel cracked under the tires of his truck, and he pulled up the long driveway. The little white house was dark, and the only light was that of a nearly full moon.
Through the open driver’s side window, he pulled in a long breath scenting the night air. Ethan’s lip curled.
Throwing the truck into park, he scanned the familiar pitch black surrounding the house. Nothing out of place except a sprinkling of fireflies here and there.
The metal of the door creaked as he pushed it open. A heavy clang shot through the night as he slammed it.
“Get off my land,” Ethan yelled gravel crunched with each step. A shadowy figure appeared around the side of the house. Ethan's senses honed in on the exact location of the intruder. His wolf sight, the only thing keeping his from running blind.
Anger boiled to the surface. Had the night been colder he wouldn’t have been surprised to see steam rising from the surface of his skin.
“I’d like to see you make me. Pretty land you have here though. Pretty little girl sleeping in there," said the intruder.
“Kurt, what the fuck do you want? You have your pack, your land, and I've backed off. I don't run anything there."
Kurt strode closer. He towered over most everyone, except Ethan. Ethan was more an alpha than Kurt could ever be and that pissed him off, or so it seemed.
Ethan bit back the storm of anger and frustration. He pushed hard to douse the eruption, he nearly bit through his damn lip.
“You backed off, but they know. Everyone knows that I ain't the alpha. I don't have control. I need you gone. How about I stand here, and you make me leave.”
The wolf inside Ethan started to pace, head low, ears at attention, hackles raised.
“Your leadership might be the bigger issue. An Alpha is not something you come into lightly. You can't force it. You have to win it, and although I'm sure you think your cunning won it, you ignored pack law. I can’t help you."
Kurt spat. God Ethan hoped it hadn't hit his shoe. Or maybe he did. He wanted nothing more than to kill the SOB. Over some spit though? He was more controlled than that. Now.
“Go home. I gave you what you want. I have my child and that was the agreement. Go and actually try and control the pack you wanted so damn bad you traded off one of your own. Go."
"Ethan, don't you dare walk away from me like you are high and mighty. You ain't. You couldn't please Heather and you caused your own father’s death. It's because of you that your father was challenged by our alpha. I hope you wake up proud every day you stare at the little girl and know her mother wanted to get away from you so badly that she'd leave her own baby."
Squaring his shoulders and widening his stance Ethan pushed down the wolf, letting him linger just out of reach. If he weren't controlled, Kurt would end up short an esophagus. Threads of magic within him called out to the pack. Mentally, he pulled at each one and tried to soothe the anger.
Ethan hated that he could feel the other pack, they were his after all. Their anger couldn't be reduced though. Their anger ran deeper than the blood of the pack. He'd tried to keep the peace. In the end, though, Ethan had betrayed them. He'd traded that pack for his daughter.
There had been nothing in pack law to deal with a child outside of a mated pair. Not when the child was the alpha’s, and like it or not Ethan was that true Alpha.
He'd really screwed up. He'd acted on instinct. He'd challenged the alpha that had killed his father. No way would he allow his pack to be subjected to the shit that the Ashburn pack pulled. Now though, they were stuck with Kurt, and he wasn't the Alpha they needed. He couldn't be. Ethan stood tall, staring down Kurt.
Kurt hadn't killed the reigning alpha, and he wasn't going to get that chance either.
" Kurt, leave before you regret this. You can't hurt me, and you can't control me. You tried once and look where we are now. The Ashburn pack is restless. Until you come to kill me, just go. I've kept my end of the bargain. My daughter's safety for your control of the Ashburns."
The white of Kurt’s teeth flashed against the moon peeking behind clouds.
"Don't think you are perfect. You ain't. I can get into that pretty little head of yours and break you. Just you wait. What can a pack be with a broken alpha? Still trying to find your mate? We all know no Alpha is strong enough to keep his pack for long without her."
The muscles of his jaw screamed. Ethan sucked in air as his body shuddered. His wolf fought to come out and play.
"Last I checked you didn't have your mate either. I guess we're both stuck in the same spot, except that I am the alpha, and I won it fair and square. Back down now Kurt."
Deep breaths. Deep fucking breaths. Amelia needed him. The vision of his baby girl had his wolf backing down and the anger starting to simmer, doused in a warm d
rizzle of reality.
Ethan turned his eyes away and looked into the sky. The lunar goddess that seemed to have little to do with them, in reality, did somehow always bring him peace. A flash of a curvy, brown-haired, baker eclipsed the calm. The slow burn of need between his legs traveled up his abdomen. The chill of the night air couldn't stop his dick as it pressed against his jeans. He could practically taste her on his tongue as her moist heat covered his mouth in slick need. He wanted to take her so bad that he nearly came in his fucking jeans.
Fuck. He had found his mate.
"Hey, jack-off. I'm still talking to you. "
Ethan shook off the image of his mate and swallowed.
"No. We're done. Either kill me or go home. I don't know what you expect to change. Get off my land."
Ethan paused and listened. Nothing, then he felt it.
Kurt has denounced Ethan as his Alpha and therefore was little more than a rouge. The desire to be Alpha kept him there, but his lack of strength to acquire the pack by pack law left him somewhere in limbo without a valid claim. That's why at that moment Ethan was shocked to feel a weak connection to the wolf.
You son of a bitch. He was trying to break into the pack mind. What for? Ethan could guess.
"In case you're curious, yes. I found her. And don't bother trying to break into the pack's connection again. No one will tell you who she is."
Minor details. He hadn't told them yet, not formally, although of course, they knew. They were his pack.
Chapter 3
Olivia balanced the boxes as she climbed to the second floor. She entreated the wind to help, but it only lessened the burden, not the awkwardness. If only she was something like Snow White and could whistle for some animals to carry the heavy boxes up to the party.
The boxes teetered. Maybe a second trip would have been prudent. She was a crappy witch, but at least she’d have some killer biceps.
Blowing a strand of hair off her sweat kissed forehead she focused on the burn of her legs muscles. She’d probably have a killer ass for once in her life. Maybe she should do more deliveries instead of Bridgette.
Icing On His Mate (A Move Over Fate Novel) Page 2
