by Vivian Arend
Hey, this was his first time with his mate, but he supposed he had a few tricks up his sleeve she didn’t know about. He adjusted position until he was supporting her full body weight with his arms then pulled his hips back slightly. Ever so slowly, so that inch by inch her body caressed him. Inch by inch he was squeezed in welcome on the return journey. A slow, thorough pace, slick heat and dangerous pressure building rapidly.
Her head fell back against the door. “Yes. That is a good something.”
A little faster. A little faster again until the two of them were huffing and puffing like they were both the big bad wolf, but the only thing they were about to blow over was one hell of an orgasm.
Cole gritted his teeth to stop from placing them on her neck. Sex was one thing, marking was another, and until he got an all clear from her on that subject he wasn’t going to presume.
What it appeared he was about to do was fuck her straight through the door. Especially when she began rocking against him, tilting her hips at the end of every drive so he slipped in that extra bit. Pounding together created a faint echo as her hips hit the door over and over, but neither of them cared. Caught up in the moment, caught up in each other.
Dani gasped and broke apart in his arms, body quivering, breasts rubbing his chest. Her pussy squeezing so tight she sent him over as well, the explosion damn near taking off the top of his head.
Their lips connected, the scent in the small room sex-filled and one hundred percent a mixture of him and her.
Satisfaction roared through him. He gathered her against him, cradling her tightly as he reversed their positions. His cock speared into her as she draped over him, soft and pliant.
Utter dark surrounded them. Her fingers came up to his face, caressing the rough stubble on his chin. “I liked that,” she said, surprisingly shyly.
“Good. Because I plan on us doing it a lot.” Not necessarily the up-against-the-door part, although there was a certain charm in the portability of said location.
She hummed happily.
Unfortunately, that’s the exact moment footsteps dancing past the door stopped. Cole froze, Dani did too.
There was definitely somebody outside the door because the next second, a knock sounded.
“Excuse me. When you’re done, Charlene would like to speak with you.”
Something thumped against his chest. It was Dani’s forehead.
“Excuse me. I said that wrong. When you’re done, Charlene would like to speak with you both.”
“We heard you,” Dani said, her voice laced with annoyance. “Fine. We’ll be there when we can.”
“I think she meant right away—”
“Go away, Michele,” Dani ordered. “You delivered your message, now be a good kitty and run along.”
The woman in the hallway gave a disgusted sniff. “Well, I’ve never.”
“And that’s one of your problems,” Dani said softly before twisting Cole’s head toward her until she could reach his lips. She kissed him gently before wiggling free. “Come on. We’ll grab a shower and find you some clothes, then I’ll take you to my leader.”
What the hell?
9
Cole let Dani lead him through the maze of corridors. They took a brief stop in a room with a shower where they both scrubbed up quickly—Dani making sure it was brief as she batted his hands away when he tried to help her.
Then she opened some cupboards to reveal a supply of what he was coming to consider her ninja clothing—all black, nothing loose. The same stuff the sentries below had been wearing.
The pants and shirt she handed him were decidedly comfortable.
“How long did it take you to figure out where everything was here?” he asked quietly as she led him down another corridor.
“I’ve never been here before,” she confessed.
The hell? She continued to surprise him and impress him. Cole laced his fingers in hers and gave a squeeze. “You are one hell of a woman.”
The gaze she turned on him was brightness and light, and it looked as if she was ready to jump him right there in the corridor. Which, okay by him.
“She’s waiting for you.”
It was the same voice he’d heard while in the closet, and Cole turned to glare at the woman. He also recognized her scent—
“You’re the cat shifter who took Dani from the cabin,” he growled, barely keeping his wolf from snapping at her.
Michele blinked. “Hey, don’t look at me as if I did something wrong. It was time to come in, so we came in.”
Dani sighed in frustration. “Now’s not the time, but at some point you need to spend a little time studying the parts of our training that talk about winging it and paying attention to your surroundings.”
The other woman rolled her eyes, obviously more impressed with herself then Dani was, and as far as Cole was concerned, that meant the other woman’s opinion meant nothing.
His mate pulled him after her through an ornate opening into a grand room decorated with hangings and carvings. It was beautiful, like entering a holy place. Cole hesitated, carefully examining the entire room.
Ice drove up his spine the instant his gaze fell on the older woman rising from where she’d been meditating.
“You.” The word was part frustration, and part irritation, with a whole lot of disgust, and just enough reverence to make sure he wasn’t being outright rude.
Dani twisted toward him, confusion on her face. “You know Charlene?”
Cole lifted a finger to shake it at the old woman. “I know her. She’s the one who’s kept showing up and spouting the mumbo-jumbo that’s made my life a pain in the ass.”
The wolverine raised her hands in the air. “Don’t blame me for your lack of understanding. I simply came and spoke the truth.”
“When the sun descends over yonder peak, the wild shall follow the way? There’s nothing simple about that, woman.” Cole folded his arms and glared. Respectfully still. Barely.
She was a wolverine.
At his side, Dani stepped forward a couple of paces and pivoted to put herself between him and the woman. “Years of training and etiquette demand I do this, even though it would appear to be a moot point. Cole, this is Charlene Alpha, the woman who trained me and is in charge of this facility and everyone who lives here. Charlene, I’d like to introduce Cole Masterson.”
“Danielle’s mate.”
The instant the words escaped his mouth, he knew his timing had been bad. Okay, spectacularly bad, considering both women’s reactions.
Dani recovered first, but the look of absolute horror on her face was not very encouraging. “Mate?”
He stepped closer, reaching for her hands. “Yes.”
She skittered away from him, out of reach, her face still contorted.
“You don’t look very pleased about his announcement,” Charlene offered dryly. “Mates are a big deal to wolves, but if you’re not interested—”
“Shut up, woman,” Cole snapped.
“Oh, no. It’s not that.” The words burst from Dani as she turned toward him and crossed her arms over her chest. “You big, dumb galoot. That’s how you choose to tell me? After all the time we spent together, you just toss it right out there in the middle of an introduction?”
“Umm.”
“Of all the uncivilized, unthinking, unromantic moves. But I don’t know that I expected anything more of you, considering your background and all.” She hunched her back and stalked toward him. Lowering her voice as if in imitation of him. “Me, wolf. You, mate. Grrr, growl, ruff.”
Cole used her proximity to catch hold of her wrist and tug her against him. “I do not ruff.”
She wiggled one hand free so she could smack a fist on his chest. “Bad wolfie.”
She was so damn adorable, Cole ignored the other trouble in the room the same way he had for the past thirty-three years. He tucked his finger under Dani’s chin and lifted her face to bend down and press a kiss to her lips. Soft and sweet, with
a whole lot of promise. He pulled back the slightest bit to speak quietly to her. “Sorry I tossed it at you like that, but yes, you’re my mate, and I promise to do everything I can to make you happy.”
She blinked back tears and nodded briefly. “Okay, I forgive you. Now, can we deal with the employment issues I’m facing at the moment?” She inclined her head toward Charlene.
Cole tucked Dani against his side and turned to face the wolverine. “Whatever it is you’re doing to annoy my mate, stop it.”
Fingers dug into his ribs. “Great use of wolf tact and diplomacy. How about you let me do the talking,” Dani suggested.
The wolverine was watching them with too much amusement to be truly offended. “I think my question from earlier today has been sufficiently answered. It seems perhaps you giving up your future with me is not completely outrageous, Danielle. At least he seems to care somewhat for you.”
Cole broke off his growl of frustration when Dani gave him the evil eye.
“If he’s my mate— No, let me start again. Since he’s my mate, you know that means he wants what’s best for me. And that means I want what’s best for him.” Dani twisted toward him again. “How do you know Charlene? This is something to do with your secret future employment, yes?”
“Maybe, and that’s not me keeping secrets from you, that’s me not knowing what the hell the answer is.” Cole looked at the old woman. “Do you think you could try a modern version of that prophecy on us?”
“There’s a prophecy on your head?” Dani whispered. “Damn…”
“Yeah, one I will fully admit to being too dumb to understand, but it’s time to move forward.”
He’d put brashness and force in his tone, but as he spoke, he realized it was the one thing he had never truly done.
Accept his future.
There was a difference between the two paths. One was not understanding and trying to be prepared for anything, while fighting against his lack of control. The second was not understanding yet being willing to take whatever the journey offered.
At this point he was ready for anything. Not because he was finally smart enough or strong enough or powerful enough to accomplish good things. No, he was ready because he had Dani.
She made him smarter, she made him stronger. She made him want to do the impossible, and be so much better just so he could pull a smile from her lips. To see her look at him with approval, and to have her hand curled in his as if she trusted him with everything in her…
This was what it felt like to have a mate.
He was already in love with her, and he was going to make damn certain that over the years to come, she would fall in love with him too.
He looked straight at Charlene. “Whatever it is I’m supposed to do, I want Dani at my side.”
The wolverine’s expression didn’t change as she turned to Dani. “I take it that’s how you feel, as well?”
Dani nodded. “Although I’m a little confused about exactly what’s going on right now, I trust Cole.”
A beautiful smile lit the old woman’s face, and she held out her hands as if welcoming children into the fold. “I’ve been waiting such a long time for this. I’m glad to know you two are finally ready.”
She turned, pacing slowly along the perimeter of the room, pushing back tapestry after tapestry to let light pour into the space. The room had to be located in the corner of the fortress because she walked in nearly a complete circle until the entire room was filled with light, bright sunshine making dust motes dance before their eyes.
Charlene began to hum, an ancient tune that echoed off the rock and formed a multilevel song from just the single source. It was beautiful, it was eerie, and it made the hair on his arms stand upright.
The old wolverine swayed her way into the center of the room, sunlight hitting her white robe and reflecting back off the myriad bits of shell attached to the surface.
The air went ultra-still, the soft scent of springtime drifting on the air in a complete contradiction of the icy snow lying outside the complex.
Cole braced himself. Force of habit—the whole prophecy thing had a tendency to leave his fur ruffled.
At his side, Dani pressed against him tighter, and he curled his arm around her, protective and yet knowing that if something happened, she’d be trying to take care of him as well.
The next moment voices joined in. An entire roomful, crying for help. People with tears in their voice as they begged. As they wept softly, hopelessly.
Inside, all of the frustrations Cole had felt in the years of waiting were bundled into one enormous tightly spring-loaded ball. “What is that?” he demanded.
“Who are they?” Dani asked at the same time. She turned to Cole, her eyes wide with concern. “Oh my God, we need to help them.”
Yes. That was exactly what they needed to do. “Charlene, tell us,” Cole ordered. “What’s going on? Where are those people?”
“They’re everywhere. All across the cold, quiet places. Shifters who have lost mates. Those who are struggling, like your sister used to, Dani. Alone, without anyone to help them.”
The old woman stepped out of the light, moving toward them, and it seemed the light came with her. “I’ve tried, but the best I could do was set the wheels in motion. It’s time for someone else to make a difference. It’s your time, Cole. It’s your time, Dani.” She raised her arms and pointed around them as the whisper of voices echoed in their ears. “Together, you can use this place to train people to help them. Use it to have a safe place for people to find new families before they go back into the world.”
A small crack in Cole’s unending confusion appeared as the faintest bit of light shone in. “You want us to move here?”
Charlene nodded, her smile widening. “It’s what you were meant to do.”
Oh. Oh. “This is where the prophecy leads.”
“This is what I trained for all those years,” Dani added in awe. She twisted toward Cole. Her mouth hung open in perfect circle. “Oh, wow. I can see it. It makes sense.”
He knew what she felt like. “It’s a bit overwhelming.”
Dani nodded.
Okay, time to prove that he’d learned his lesson from earlier. He faced Dani straight on, holding her hands as he looked her in the eye. “Do you want to do this? Do you want to stay here and—”
“Are you kidding? It’s everything I’ve ever wanted.”
He cupped her cheek in his hand. “Charlene’s not just talking about us going out and ninja-style helping others, Dani. She’s talking about us leading others, which is what you didn’t want to do on Kodiak Island.”
Dani’s eyes widened then she shook her head rapidly. “Oh, not the same. Not the same thing at all, because on Kodiak Island it was all politics and politeness. It was all about making money and making a good impression, not about helping people.”
A sudden rush of excitement hit him. “You know that’s the part of the whole thing that worried me. There will be politics, and politeness, unless I’m mistaken. Charlene?”
The old woman nodded. “Another reason why I’ve kept all our work to now very quiet. I don’t have the manpower or the voice to impress people in some realms. But someone else could… Now that she’s old enough.”
She gave a pointed glance in Dani’s direction, and Cole smiled.
It was another false defeat he could let go. His years of frustration at how long it was taking for his destiny to arrive weren’t because of some flaw in him or his preparation, because it wasn’t about him, it was about them.
Him and Dani. She was a vital part of this, not only as his mate, but as a voice for the people who needed it.
They’d been waiting for her to grow up, and she had, perfectly.
He offered the old wolverine a smile and dipped his chin in respect. Then he turned back to his mate. “Can you do that? Can you be the Queen of Lockpicks, but also the Princess of Politeness to countermand anything I might do wrong. Because me and my wolf are not alway
s tactful.”
Dani snickered. “Oh, please. I bet people are going to love their Wild Prince.”
“Which means you’ll do it? Both of you?” Charlene moved in on them, swaying as she walked. “You’re ready to take your rightful place?”
Cole glanced at Dani. She dipped her chin firmly.
They turned to face the wolverine who stood with her hands out reached, one extended to each of them. Cole took one hand and Dani the other, then Cole answered for them both.
“We’re ready.”
The room lit up, as if the sun had rapidly changed angle to once again spotlight Charlene. But with them holding her, all three of them were surrounded. Blinding brightness struck, and Cole instinctively closed his eyes.
That spring-like freshness bounced through the room, and he felt energized from head to toe. Ready for anything, so much energy in him he was a step away from exploding.
With a rush of sound, the light faded until nothing remained but cool winter sunlight filling the room and Dani’s warm hand in his.
Charlene was nowhere to be seen.
On a scale of one to ten that had been a twenty-three on the woo-woo
measuring system. Dani blinked hard, the stars in her eyes slowly fading. Cole’s grip on her hand was firm, and she leaned against him, a sense of awe continuing to sweep through her.
Cole reached forward, scooping up a thin piece of parchment from the floor that was sealed with a drop of dark red wax. “I’m not sure where Charlene went, but this entire thing is getting a lot more tangled than I expected.”
He held the paper so she could see that pressed into the wax were the initials NLRH.
“I don’t know what that means, but I am pretty impressed Charlene can move that fast.” She pointed toward the side of the room where one of the wall hangings hung slightly out of line. “Hidden exit would be my guess.”
“Northern Lights something something? NLT stands for Northern Lights Theatre, or at least it does in Chicken. That’s the place that Nadia runs.”
Dani shoved down a momentary rush of jealousy. Nadia was not a girlfriend, and Cole was her mate. “That does seem strange.”
