Scent of a Mate

by Milly Taiden

  “I don’t get drunk. Stop acting like you don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m sure by now you know about being marked. You and Aric have been glued at the hip, or better said, the crotch,” she giggled, “for the past few weeks. At some point, he had to have discussed your marking.”

  “What marking?”

  Surprise lit Ellie’s gaze. “He really didn’t tell you?”

  Panic started to build inside her. Had Aric kept something important from her? “No. Tell me what? Stop hedging and talk already. What is this about a mark and mating?”

  She’d caught more than Jordan’s interest with those words. For as long as she’d been friends with Ellie one of the things she’d learned about shifters was that they only mated with a person they were willing to spend their life with. It was marriage, wolf-style.

  Ellie put her drink on the napkin and licked her lips. She appeared unsure of what was going on. “Jordan, Aric marked you.”

  “I don’t remember any marks. And I’m pretty sure I’d know if he had.” She glanced down at her body expecting some strange new symbol to appear out of nowhere on her skin. Not that she could see through her dress, but she instinctively made a visual assessment for anything strange. Nothing.

  “Oh, you’re marked. I can still smell it. It’s waning, but it’s there.” Ellie lifted her brows with a grin. “You’re a marked woman.”

  Jordan laughed at Ellie’s reference to the Scarlet Letter. “Where in the world am I marked?”

  She sipped her Wild Paradise cocktail and lifted the tiny colorful umbrella stabbing a cherry. “Somewhere behind your right shoulder is my guess.”

  Her hand went to the back of her shoulder, feeling over her skin to encounter a small bite scar. “That is my mark? He bit me during sex, big deal.”

  “Yeah, that’s usually how it happens.” Ellie giggled. “Unless you’re in a scenting ceremony, in which case it happens in the vicinity of a bunch of relatives.”

  “Are you saying Kelly and Marco had sex in front of everyone?” She had to watch the rest of those videos. None of the others had caught anything that X-rated.

  “Not in front of everyone, but in the vicinity. Like you and my perverted brother,” she mumbled.

  “Did he tell you about that?”

  “Didn’t have to.”

  Jordan gasped. “Oh. Em. Gee! You knew!”

  Chapter Nine

  Ellie gulped her drink down.

  “Did you tell him I was there?” She watched guilt creep over Ellie’s pale feature to turn her face a dark crimson. “You sent him to me? Ellie Wolfe, you best start talking before I kick your butt out of this place.”

  “Alright.” She sighed. “I did send him, but only after he told me what his intentions were. I don’t ever want anyone hurting you and that includes anyone in my family.”

  She was confused as hell. “What were his intentions?”

  “To take you for a mate.”

  He’d said all that stuff about having a relationship, but she thought he meant in time. Like at some point in the future after he got to be with her as a couple. Not right frickin’ now. It was one thing to date; this mate stuff was a whole different level of commitment.

  “How could he want that type of relationship with me?”

  Ellie motioned for the waitress to bring her another drink. She leaned forward, cupping her cheek with her hand. “Here’s the thing. We have these wolves that are part of us. They pick their mates based on some kind of blazing sexual attraction combined with the perfect scent. That’s the best way I can describe it.” She smiled at the waitress and took a sip of her glass. “If we’re lucky, the person our wolf wants is someone we can envision wanting to be with forever.”

  That only brought up more questions. “Do your people mate someone they don’t like?”

  Ellie nodded. “Happens quite often. Chemistry of the sexual kind is one thing if you have that spark that makes you both explosive in sex. It can lead to mating with people that are completely wrong for each other in the heat of the moment.”

  “So, Aric and I…”

  Ellie’s smile made her eyes sparkle. “You’re meant to be. My brother has wanted you for years.”

  She slapped her on the arm. “Well, why the hell didn’t you say something before?”

  Ellie rolled her eyes. “I do not make it my business to involve myself in any of my brothers’ love lives, but he was really dragging ass. I gave him a little help. You can thank me by naming your first born after me.”

  She laughed. “You’re retarded and quite lucky I love you enough to not kick your ass for keeping this from me.”

  Ellie lifted her drink. “And you are welcome.”

  Jordan grinned, but couldn’t stop the excitement buzzing inside her. It wasn’t the liquor either. Aric had wanted her for longer than she’d realized. It made her feel mushy inside. Maybe that was the liquor. Whatever. There was little doubt in her mind now that the past few weeks had been the right way to approach things. She and Aric had been spending a lot of time together, time which had helped them see each other in a new light. He was more than just a sexy man now. He was a sweet, aggressive, and strong male she had intense feelings for.

  “Stop looking so sickeningly happy. It’s annoying.” Ellie laughed. “Between Aric looking like he had his cake and ate it too, and you practically glowing, it’s making us girls with no sex-life depressed.”

  “Alright, I’m sorry.” Sympathy for Ellie’s current stress over Caleb tamped down the laughter.

  “It’s kind of late and the others aren’t here yet. Have they called you?”

  Jordan groaned. “I left my phone plugged into the car charger.”

  Ellie gasped. “What? I left mine in my bag with papers to grade.”

  “Oh, damn.” They stood at the same time.

  The waitress approached them with new drinks. “We’ll be right back,” Ellie handed the woman a bill to cover the drinks they’d already had. “We forgot something in the car. Hold our table; we’ll only be a minute.”

  Making their way to the building entrance, they continued to chat. “I can’t wait to get home now, and demand for Aric to do the whole mating thing.”

  They stepped out into the warm night air and strolled to the darkened lot next to the restaurant.

  “You mean bite you while you’re having sex.”

  She sighed. “Yeah.”

  Their heels clicked on the pavement, resonating in the quiet evening. “Isn’t that what you’ve been doing all these weeks?”

  “Pretty much. But I’ll use any excuse to get him to do it again.”

  Ellie laughed as they reached her energy saver and unlocked the door. They had opened the doors, but Ellie suddenly stopped. She sniffed and growled.

  “What—”

  Four men jumped out of the darkness in front of them.

  “Get inside and lock your door!”

  Jordan didn’t question her friend. She rushed into the car and shut her door. Ellie threw her the key and shut the driver side door, moving with increased speed.

  “Ellie!”

  The men rushed it. Windows broke before Jordan had a chance to think. She watched in horror as Ellie attempted to shift, only to get hit by one of the men. Jordan’s attention was diverted by a pair of hands yanking her from her seat by her hair.

  She curled her hands around the metal pipe Ellie had left under the passenger seat. The small metal was the only weapon she could grab before being pulled out of the broken window.

  The man flung her on the ground. She scraped her leg and hit the gravel with a thud. Pain shot up her leg to her hip. Holding the bar in a death grip, she watched three of the men attack Ellie at once. Ellie struggled to fight the men off, but they hit her repeatedly, punching and kicking her. She snarled, attempting a shift again, but the blows kept coming.

  Concern for her friend made her forget about her attacker. The man grabbed her by the front of her dress and slammed her over the ho
od of the car. The windshield broke under her. She screamed. Everything shifted, spinning in circles. For a moment spots danced in front of her eyes.

  Her grip on the bar loosened for just a moment before she squeezed the metal in her grasp. His eyes glowed bright gold. A combination of pain, anger, and fear for Ellie filled her. She had to help her friend, but breathing alone hurt. He snarled and jumped on to the hood of the car, landing with his legs to either side of her.

  She swung the metal bar up hard slamming it against his groin. He howled in pain and punched her in the face before jumping back. Something, which she knew had to be blood, made a wet trail down her temple. She struggled to breathe. Goddamn she should have had her car instead of depending on Ellie. At least she kept a shotgun in hers.

  Ellie was bleeding from multiple scratches. She growled. Her beautiful white top was drenched in blood and blood matted her blond hair. Using her claws as weapons, she tried to fight off the three men. But they were smart. By attacking Ellie at the same time, she couldn’t stop all of them. One of them ran his claws across her chest. Another grabbed her by the hair. The third guy punched her in the stomach.

  Jordan tried to get her legs to move, but the pain at her hip and head made it near impossible. Struggling to slide off the hood of the car, she groaned. Then the man was there again, digging his claws into her thighs and dragging her down the front of the car. She gripped the bar and swung it hard to hit the man in the face. She split his cheek and blood spurted out of his wound.

  “I think I’m done playing with you now,” he snarled.

  He grabbed her by her throat. Fight or flight kicked in. She struggled against the forceful hold. Her mind whirled. She kicked, every move ratcheting the pain in her thigh. Tears gathered in her eyes, turning her vision hazy. Her lungs burned. The bar fell from her hands. She dug her nails into the hands squeezing at her throat.

  “Jordan!” Ellie’s voice was panicked.

  She gasped for air. The squeezing of her throat tightened. Jordan continued to slap and scratch the giant cutting off her air supply. Sounds started to drift away. Darkness took hold of the edges of her vision, closing in on her. Her chest felt ready to explode. Then everything went dark.

  Aric and his brothers decided to join the women for dinner. He’d already gotten the green light from Jordan’s friends to pop in at the restaurant uninvited. They reached a deserted parking lot, all of them excited at the prospect of a fun time. As they rounded a corner, Aric’s gaze met a horrible sight. Ellie was being attacked by a group of men. Two of the men took off at the sound of the approaching vehicle. The third one was slower to stop punching at Ellie’s body on the ground. Another ran from the front of the car and caught up after the others.

  Fury bubbled up inside him. They jumped out of the truck. Aric’s wolf pushed at the skin. The anger riding him was hard to contain the closer he got to his sister. His wolf snarled, urging the shift to happen. Aric had to tamp down the urge to let the animal free. They ran for Ellie. She struggled to stand. Jake and Nathan took off after the men.

  “Jordan…” She whimpered, pointing toward the car.

  Aric’s heart froze. He jerked in a circle until he saw Jordan’s body lying by the car’s front bumper. Blood covered her arms. He ran to her in a blur, stomach tightening with each breath he took.

  “Jordan?” He could hardly say her name around the thick knot in his throat. She lay on the ground, face down. Her back bled from multiple cuts. His hands shook as he carefully turned her over. Fear almost held him immobile. He was terrified of how badly she’d been injured. Her bloody face and bruised torso angered the wolf. A painful bone-deep howl left Aric’s throat. His mate.

  God, she looked to be at death’s door. She had to be okay. Their relationship had just begun. It wouldn’t, couldn’t end this way. He wouldn’t allow it. He repeated the thought in his mind, but it did nothing to freeze the fear spreading through his chest. Nor did it diminish the anger and pain stabbing at his gut.

  He listened to her lungs struggle to take wheezy breaths. With quick moves, he picked her up in his arms. Once he had her securely in his grasp, he turned back to Mason, who held a passed out, shifted Ellie in his own arms.

  “She’s hurt badly.” Aric growled. Keeping the animal at bay took all his control.

  “So is Ellie.” Mason’s face was set into worried lines.

  * * *

  They’d taken them to their pack clinic. Shifters didn’t suffer injuries like humans, so it was deemed best by his father to have a place to take care of their kind. He’d held Jordan in his arms the entire ride back. Even when they’d ordered him to put her in the gurney, he’d held her hand. He didn’t want to be away from her for a single moment. But the staff had been very clear about needing to see about her health before he could be with her again.

  Nerves strung tight, he paced the waiting area along with his father, mother, and brothers. His wolf pushed at his skin in agitation. Aric knew how he felt. His own fear and distress were taking over his mind. His thoughts all circled over how badly Jordan had looked as he’d picked her bloody body up off the parking lot. He’d had a hard time breathing through the need to see her whole with the smile lighting her eyes. Her pain became his pain. He knew she’d suffered profusely, and inside, he felt as if he were being stabbed repeatedly every second he remembered her injuries.

  “Did you catch any of them?” His father asked, his voice a low growl. The beast was riding him and the anger he displayed in his features only urged the animal to want out.

  “No,” Jake replied, gripping the back of a waiting room chair.

  Nathan jumped in. “We chased them, but we didn’t want to be gone long in case issues arose and they needed us.”

  Aric’s father nodded. “I understand. There could have been others.”

  “We didn’t want to take the chance with Jordan and Ellie’s other friends set to arrive at any moment, and both of them badly injured.”

  “Did you get a hold of the other girls?” His mother asked, leaning into her husband. Her eyes sparkled a bright gold. She was angry and sad. As if seeing it in her face wasn’t enough, Aric could smell the fear and pain radiating from her.

  “I did,” Mason answered. “They were stuck in traffic, but wanted to come here.”

  “Son––”

  “I understand, Dad. I told them we’d call them as soon as we got word, but it was best if they went home.”

  “It’s not that we don’t want them here,” his mother added. “But we know they’ll feel better being here once we know the extent of their injuries and what we are looking at for an outcome.”

  All Aric kept visualizing was Jordan’s bloody face, the shallow breaths she took, and the cuts and bruises she had all over. Fury had taken hold. He was having a hard time thinking clearly. He wanted to kill.

  He glanced up. His father was watching him intently. “You’ll get your chance at finding who did this, son.”

  Aric turned at the sound of footsteps. A short, older man with greying hair, whom he’d known all his life as Uncle William entered the waiting area. His father’s right hand man went straight to the Alpha.

  “Ellie is stable. She’s going to need hours to recover, maybe tomorrow, or possibly longer, but she’ll be fine.”

  His mother buried her face into his father’s neck. She sobbed silently while he held her.

  “And Jordan?” His father asked.

  “She’d going to be more difficult. She’d not only had a bad concussion, but the number of wounds and cuts, we had to do some blood transfusion.”

  Aric swallowed down the acrid taste of fear, willing the man with his mind to say Jordan would be fine. “Will she be okay?” He choked out.

  Uncle William smiled. “I think so. Due to her brain trauma, we had to put her in an induced coma.”

  “Oh my God.” His mother sobbed louder.

  William gripped Aric’s shoulder. It took him a moment to realize he was growling. “I’m so
rry. As soon as the swelling in her brain decreases, we’ll take her out of the coma and see how she reacts.”

  Intense throbbing took hold of his chest. He couldn’t breathe. Jordan, his sexy, sassy, Jordan, was in a coma, in pain, and he didn’t know what to do to help. He didn’t now who did it. And that person was still out there.

  “When you were chasing the attackers, did any of the scent smell familiar?” His father’s voice pulled him out of the dark hole he was mentally digging.

  “No. I know that we’ve had an influx of rogues and wolves in the area, which could make this an attack against humans, or something else.”

  Aric’s wolf snarled inside. The beast wanted loose, to bite, to hunt, and to kill those who had hurt his mate.

  The pain in his chest expanded with every thought of Jordan. Thinking of her beautiful smile and sexy come-hither eyes made sharp pain shoot to his heart. Memories of her soft husky voice jerked the wolf inside into an almost feral distress.

  He dropped onto a black leather chair and covered his face with his hands. There was no way he could go on if she didn’t return from that coma. He loved her. The revelation felt more like tearing a hole into his heart. One woman. She was it. And now she was in a bed, tubes inside her nose and mouth, fighting to survive.

  “I need to do something,” he growled.

  A soft hand caressed the back of his head. “Baby, she’ll be fine.”

  The conviction in his mother’s voice made some of the pressure inside his heart lessen. He raised his face from his hands and turned to her.

  “She will be fine.”

  “I––”

  “Listen to me very carefully, Aric. You’ve been given a gift. A mate. One you love deeply from the look in your eyes. And you can’t let doubt enter your mind now. You must believe it with every fiber of your being that things will be okay. She will be fine. Jordan is a fighter. You know it. We know.”

  He nodded. It was one of the things he loved about her. She didn’t cry or wait on someone to help her, she tried to save herself. He knew she’d make a fantastic leader when his time came.