by Golden Angel
The doctor nodded earnestly. He wasn't anything like Steele had expected. He wasn't malicious or sadistic - although he was pretty sure the sisters would disagree - he was just so fucking dedicated to his science that he didn't see what he had done as wrong. Bethany and Bailey's lives were successes, as far as he was concerned, because of what they could turn into.
"For the good of the shifters," the doctor explained. His brown eyes were both bright with excitement and yet somehow dead inside, as if his soul was missing, and scientific ambition had replaced it. "Look at Bailey - we finally got the serum right. It's perfect. She's a small shifter, but she's in perfect health and she has all the immunities to the diseases that have made rabbit shifters so scarce, because she's part bear. This is the answer we've been searching for! This is how we're going to save everyone!"
"So you think everything you did is justified." Steele's voice was flat, because if he didn't keep perfect control over himself, he was going to start screaming.
Dr. Montgomery blinked and frowned. "Of course it was! Do you not understand the significance of what I've done? What I've created?"
"Steele." Eli's voice snapped out, hard and fast, as if he knew Steele had reached the end of his rope. "I understand your frustration, but you can't force a conscience onto someone completely lacking."
Spinning around, Steele stared at his mate. His beautiful mate, with her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing black jeans and a tight blue shirt that showed off her curves. Looking just like a normal woman, despite what the man behind him had put her through. She was safe. That was what mattered.
"I did what I did to save lives." The doctor actually sounded indignant.
"You did it because you're an egomaniac," Bethany said coolly, speaking for the first time. Steele could feel the hate and rage in her welling up, but she didn't show a bit of it on her face. She was almost scarily good at hiding her emotions. "You did it because you don't care about individuals, you think the end justifies the means, no matter who is hurt along the way. And that's why you're a monster."
Turning around, Steele studied the doctor, who was staring at Bethany with a kind of bewilderment. As if he'd been chastised by someone he'd expected to agree with him.
"I didn't choose you, you know," the doctor said, frowning, as if he'd suddenly experienced a small prick of guilt in the face of Bethany’s verbal onslaught. The way he was looking at her was even different, like he suddenly saw her as a person and not just a lab rat. "The Company brought you to me."
She just looked down her nose at him, letting his words hang in the air. The doctor hunched in on himself, looking uncomfortable. Getting up, Bethany patted the bandage Doc had just put on her arm, where the tiny tracker chip had been. Doc glared at Dr. Montgomery, who looked even unhappier by the second, and then Bethany walked out, Bailey and the two doctors quickly following. The silence stretched, and Steele was happy to let it continue.
Nothing he'd said had gotten through to the idiot, so he was happy to see the asshat squirm a bit.
Eli sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "Steele, I'm sending a team to relocate the doctor to me. I'll handle further interrogations."
"I can do it," he argued, more for the sake of argument than anything else. Honestly, he couldn't wait to get away from the man. Just being in the same room made him feel unclean.
"I think it's better if I do," Eli said firmly. "I have some distance from the situation."
i.e. Eli wouldn't blow a gasket just because the man was a soulless jerk.
"Fine," Steele said, nodding to Jacqueline and Jordan, who had been quietly standing off to the side. "Take Dr. Montgomery to a cell until then."
Jacqueline grinned, her honey-badger eyes wicked. "With pleasure."
Whatever. As long as the man wasn't dead before he got to Eli, Steele really couldn't bring himself to care about the treatment of this prisoner. Besides, Jordan would keep Jacqueline from any actual maiming… Probably.
Chapter 8
It was no surprise when Mr. Over-Protective-and-Bossy (-and-Still-Naked) brought Bethany and Bailey back to his house. With guards. Kasim, two other men, and a female in wolf form walked with them, from Steele's office to the house the Bunsons had been staying in, where Bethany and Bailey packed up their meager belongings to bring with them to Steele’s house. Bethany didn't even protest.
Honestly, seeing Dr. Montgomery today had shaken her, especially when she realized that he had no regrets over what he'd done to her and her family. Sure, The Company might have supplied the five siblings to him for experiments, but he was the one who had used them. Studied them. Having him act like that was some sort of achievement...
That was just evil. Not malicious evil, but evil all the same.
It had fucking creeped her out. So she was totally okay with moving their stuff to Steele's house; just being around him made her feel protected. Every part of her wanted to be near her mate.
She still couldn't get over the fact that he was completely okay with her strange beast. Hadn't even brought it up, actually. Some of his people had given her some looks after she’d shifted back to human, but they'd followed Steele's example and hadn't said a word about it. And, even though he'd seen how monstrous she was, he hadn't stopped being protective over her. He hadn’t changed the way he treated her at all. It was more than she could have ever hoped for, and she was grabbing onto it with both hands and never letting go.
The man wanted her as a mate, he was getting her as a mate. And if he wasn't ready for it, well that was his own damned fault.
A little smile played on her lips as she thought about his probable response to her easy capitulation. That was going to be fun. He was already suspicious at the lack of argument he'd received when he'd announced that she and Bailey were staying with him.
"You can put your things in my room," he said, almost daring her to argue, after he'd sent Bailey and Kasim to unpack Bailey's things in the downstairs guest bedroom. Their other guards were outside patrolling. She wondered if she should insist Kasim get some pants on, at least, since he was going to be in Bailey's room alone with her, but Bailey didn't seem to be bothered by all the nudity. Bethany wasn't either, even if she did find it strange, so she let it go.
"Okay," she said, smiling sweetly as she trotted up the stairs.
Bethany had noticed Kasim keeping a watchful eye over Bailey, ever since the battle. He'd been the one to hold Bailey's hair back when her mind had finally caught up with the fact that she'd ripped out men's throats with her tiny bunny teeth and she'd puked. He'd also been the one to talk to her afterwards. Bethany had wanted to, but it wasn't like she had any experience in real battle either... heck, she hadn't done much other than make herself a big fat target. Twice. She didn't know what it was to kill a man, and Kasim was able to calm Bailey down fairly quickly, so she'd left the two of them alone. Her sister took comfort in Kasim's presence, and that was enough for Bethany.
Plus, if a giant lion, trained in combat, couldn't protect her sister, she didn't think she'd be able to contribute much either. Well, other than squashing her sister flat and protecting her with her own body.
Which meant that Bethany could focus on herself and Mr. Grumbling-The-Whole-Way-Up-The-Stairs, which she was grateful for. It wasn't that she didn't want to take care of her sister, but she also needed to take care of her own life too. And she felt safe enough to now. Not just because the trackers had been removed and The Company's mercs had been thwarted, but because it was obvious that Steele would do whatever he had to in order to protect her and Bailey.
He'd made himself vulnerable, just to keep her safe. The weakness that he'd felt when she'd first woken up was gone now, but when he explained how he'd woken her up, and she'd realized what that meant... well, there were worse ways to win a girl over.
Humming cheerfully to herself, she flitted into his room, her duffle bag over her shoulder and plopped it down on the bed. So far she hadn't accumulated much stuff, but that would cha
nge. And she was going to want to put her mark on Steele's room. If they were mates, then this was her room too.
"Do you have a drawer I can use?" she asked, as she looked down at the clothes in her duffle.
Black eyes narrowed at her, his eyebrows bunching together in the middle of his forehead as he stared at her, expression full of suspicion.
"What are you up to?" he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. It didn't escape Bethany's notice that he was standing between her and the doorway, preemptively blocking any escape attempt she might make.
She blinked, widening her eyes at him innocently. "Unpacking? I thought that's what you wanted me to do."
******
This was... far too easy. Steele didn't trust it. His mate had been fighting him every step of the way, and now she was suddenly doing what he wanted? There was a catch. There had to be.
"I do," he said, hesitating as he tried to think of a way to trip her up. She smiled brilliantly at him, making his heart pound.
When they'd stopped in her place, she'd pulled on some yoga pants and a t-shirt to cover herself. Steele still hadn't covered himself, and so there was no mistaking the fact that his dick was started to harden. His mate glanced down at his groin and smirked at him. A taunting, teasing little smirk that only encouraged his cock to rise.
He ignored his dick. The thing didn't run his life after all.
"I didn't think you'd move in quite this easily."
She shrugged, tossing her blonde hair off her shoulder as she leaned against his bed, one hand on her hip, the other resting on her full duffle. "I don't have to if you don't want me here."
She was going to drive him insane.
"I didn't say that," he growled, scowling at her. The smile on her face widened. Why didn't that make him feel any better? "So, you're fine with moving in here."
"Yes." Dropping her hands to her sides, she started walking towards him, a little sway in her hips.
"You accept that you're my mate?" He steeled his emotions for her rejection.
"Yes." She came closer, stopping in front of him and putting her hand on his bare chest, her fingers sliding through the curly hair.
The air in his lungs whooshed out. Steele glared down at her.
"What are you up to?" he asked, growling, his arms still crossed in front of him. He didn't trust her for a second.
Bethany just laughed, and her blue eyes sparked as she wrapped her hand around his cock, which was completely erect now. His knees threatened to buckle.
"I don't think I'm the one who's up," she purred, leaning into him. Her hand tightened.
Aw fuck it. She was definitely up to something, but it's not like he really needed to know right now what it was. He wasn't going to cut off his nose to spite his face. Besides, they'd had a very trying day so far. People often felt the need to celebrate life and affirm themselves with sex after violence.
There was no point in arguing with her, he might as well just let her have what she obviously wanted.
He was giving like that.
"Okay, baby, if that's how you want to play," he said, loosening his arms and sliding them around, bending down for a kiss. For just a second, he stayed on guard, wondering if she was going to try something... but she just kissed him back, hopping up to wrap her legs around his waist.
Gripping her ass with his hands, Steele grinned as their kiss deepened, easily carrying her towards the bed while she rubbed her hands all over his body. His mate was a frisky little thing, who apparently only had one thing on her mind. He still thought she was up to something, but he was willing to be distracted for the moment.
The emotions he was getting from her were mischief and aroused heat, which was steadily growing. Fine with him.
She squealed as she bounced on the bed, scooting away from him. Steele growled, the hunter inside of him perking up at the small chase. As soon as he'd crawled onto the bed after her though, she turned the tables. With her hands on his shoulders, she pushed him onto his back, and he accidentally kicked her duffle off the bed. She ignored it, not seeming upset at all.
"What's this?" he asked, propping up his hands behind his head as she straddled him. While his wolf wasn't too fond of this submissive position, his human side was curious.
"This is me... exploring," his mate said happily, her hands spread out over his chest. The expression on her face was so content that, even if she was filled with mischief, he knew there was no way he was going to stop her. His wolf could deal.
Especially because he was rather enjoying the way she was looking at him; like he was a big chocolate sundae that she wanted to lick up. Speaking of licking... Steele shuddered as she bent over and laved her small, pink tongue over his nipple. Bethany scooted down his body so that her lush ass was pressing against the head of his cock, obviously intrigued by his reaction.
Keeping his hands behind his head was an exercise in willpower as Bethany explored his chest with her hands and nipples, making his cock throb. He had to remind himself over and over that she'd never gotten to do this with any other man. Being able to sense her true delight as she found his most sensitive spots helped. Unfortunately, he couldn't trust himself to return the favor... as soon as he put his hands on her, he was going to take over. It was just the way he was built.
His balls tightened as she lifted herself up and pulled off her pants, dropping them over the side of the bed, and then placing herself back down, squarely on his cock. The wet slit of her pussy parted for him, the thick mushroom head of his dick peeking between her lips.
He actually whimpered.
"Are you trying to kill me, woman?"
She giggled, and then gasped as his hips lifted, rubbing the underside of his cock all along the length of her pussy. "Oh... that feels..."
"That's right baby. Why don't you take your shirt off?" he asked smoothly, his voice filled with heat and sexual promise. She only hesitated for a second before obliging him.
Damn... shifters didn't make a big deal out of nudity, but he knew he'd never get tired of looking at her. It wasn't just because she had a gorgeous body though, everyone would get to see that - what they wouldn't get to see was the way her cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment and desire, the way she bit her lip, and the needy look in her eyes as she squirmed on top of him. That vision was all his and he wasn't sharing.
Now he could watch her breasts bounce as she rocked back and forth on his cock, her focus turned inward, and he could feel her excitement and surprise as she assimilated all the new sensations. Considering that she'd been a virgin a week ago, he wasn't too surprised that she wanted to play a little this time. And hell if he wasn't enjoying being her playground.
"Pinch your nipples, baby."
Her hands started to raise and then she suddenly frowned down at him. "Why don't you pinch my nipples?" she asked, her chin raising slightly in challenge, as if demanding to know why she was doing all the work.
Steele didn't bother explaining to her that as an alpha he liked watching her follow his orders. He just grinned at her wolfishly. "Because, sweetheart, once my hands are involved, playtime is over and you're going to be on your back, screaming my name."
A shudder went through her body, her eyes sparking. She turned her head slightly away so that she was no longer meeting his gaze as she lifted her hands to her breasts, squeezing the soft mounds and pinching her nipples between her fingers. Moaning, she started rocking on him again, torturing and pleasuring him all at once.
He hadn't been lying either. He was holding onto his self-control by a thread, and only her sincere enjoyment in what she was doing was keeping him from letting go. This was not a position he'd ever found himself in before, but he was willing to do it for her. At least for a while. Eventually his control was going to snap though, and he was going to plunge himself into her hot, sweet pussy until she was screaming his name and clawing his back. He wouldn't object to more biting either.
******
Who knew Mr. Alpha-and-You-Know
-It could be so playful? Especially when his muscles were all clenched and his jaw was ticking, and he was looking at her like she was tasty prey and he was a hungry, hungry wolf. Bethany couldn't help but tease him, and herself at the same time, she just hadn't expected him to play along for so long.
It was fun, sliding her hands over his skin, like silk over iron - the man had more muscles than a Greek statue for heaven’s sake - and playing with his chest hair, teasing his nipples. He really liked it when she licked and sucked those. Having his naked body spread out for her like a meal was the most delicious thing she'd ever seen.
Yeah, she could deal with the whole mate thing. Especially since he was her mate.
She'd nearly burst out laughing at his suspicious nature. Funny how when she'd been pushing him away, he'd taken it in stride, but as soon as she'd stopped pushing, he hadn't been able to deal with it. Her brothers were the same way. Nothing made them more wary than innocence and sincerity. That was going to be a lot of fun too.
Now she was rubbing her wet pussy all over his cock and playing with herself like a porn star, just waiting to see when Mr. Totally-In-Control would finally break. She had to admit, she was pretty turned on by how turned on he was watching her. Naked women weren't exactly a big thing in the shifter community, she'd already figured out. No one blinked or even turned their heads... but the way Steele was watching her, it was like he thought her naked body was the most beautiful and desirable thing in the world.
As long as he kept looking at her like that, who cared that she'd never have a buffet of men? All she needed was a buffet of this man. Heck, she'd seen plenty of sexy naked males today, and none of them had gotten her hot and horny like Steele did. Maybe that was the difference between sex with a man and sex with a mate.
Actually, that brought up a question that had been hovering in the back of her mind for a while now.
"Do you think I'd still be your mate if I was still human?"
Dark eyes blinked in astonishment. "Now? You want to talk about this now?"
