Scent of a Mate

by Milly Taiden

  “I don’t like the idea of you up there alone.”

  She grinned. “I won’t be alone. Emma is coming with me.”

  “Not good enough.”

  “Too bad. You’re busy and I’m going.”

  He sighed. “I’ll meet you up there in half an hour to forty-five minutes.”

  She lived about ten minutes from the place. “You got it.”

  “Jordan?”

  “Yes?”

  “Call me if anything seems strange.”

  “Relax, sexy man. You sound so uptight. I’ll have to give you one of my special massages later,” she lowered her voice. “The ones that involve my mouth on your hard c—”

  “I’ll be there soon!”

  She giggled at the roughness she heard in his voice. Good. Now she wasn’t the only one walking around horny as hell all the time.

  Jordan and Emma met up at the same location they’d parked the night of the scenting ritual. It felt like a lifetime had passed since that night at the beginning of summer.

  They reached the spot high on the hill where they could glance down and take clear shots. Emma cursed and turned to her.

  “I forgot my shotgun.”

  “Emma! We walked like ten minutes to get up here.”

  “It was not ten minutes. We’re up here alone and you don’t want me to get my shotgun after all the bullshit you’ve been through? Take some pictures. I’ll be right back.”

  “Grab mine too while you’re there.” She threw Emma her car keys.

  Emma laughed as she walked away. Jordan glanced down at the clearing, raised her camera to her face, and started taking photos. Her mind wandered back to the events of that night. Of the brown wolf that had tried to attack her. Aric said he was just a young wolf looking to get better acquainted with her but he turned aggressive due to the pull of the moon.

  She continued taking pictures of the trees, the area where the lanterns had hung. And then her attention was caught by two men and a woman walking into the open space. The woman was young, wearing a mini skirt with a cropped top. She used the zoom feature to take in the girl’s face. Heavy make-up caked over the youthful features.

  The men circled the girl. Jordan’s heartbeat increased until she thought the men would jump the girl. Their faces were serious, wild. Both had glowing brown eyes. Shifters.

  She swallowed and watched the men grope the woman. One of them yanked at her clothes, but she didn’t fight it. Jordan watched the material tear off the woman’s body. She kissed one man, rubbing his bald head with enthusiasm. The other man slid his hands down her backside, squeezing the woman’s ass. It became clear to Jordan that they were planning on having sex. She glanced away, trying not to gawk as the men shoved their pants down to release their hard cocks. Holy shit. She needed to do something, something like get the hell out of there and stop intruding on that threesome’s private time.

  But she stood transfixed watching the woman give one man oral sex while the other one fucked her from behind. And then the man fucking her grabbed the woman by the hair, jerking her head back. Jordan winced. Damn that looked painful.

  She wasn’t even attempting to not watch anymore. The man getting oral sex roared and thrust his cock deep down the woman’s throat. The woman continued to suck the man’s limp cock until he was hard once again. Then they switched places and she was being fucked by him and giving the second guy oral sex. She glanced down at the camera in her hands. Where the hell was Emma?

  Something made her jerk her gaze back to the sex scene at the clearing. One guy was still fucking the woman while the other pulled his cock out of her mouth. The men stared at each other.

  Jordan stood frozen as one man’s hands turned into claws and he buried them into the woman’s back. A blood curling scream filled the forest. The painful sound reached up to where Jordan stood. The man in front of the woman swiped claws across her neck, tearing her throat wide open.

  She’d seen enough. She grabbed her camera and took photos of the scene. They continued to tear into the woman’s lifeless body. She gasped at the viciousness in both of the men’s faces. One of them looked up then, glancing right at the spot she stood.

  He growled. She ran. Her mind went into a panic. Anger for what they’d done to that woman blossomed inside her, until she could hardly see in front of her. Growls sounded from right behind her.

  She continued to run, until her lungs felt ready to burst. Something tackled her to the ground. Pain shot up her side as she hit the forest floor hard.

  The baldheaded man grabbed her by her neck, tugged her to her feet and sniffed. “Pack.”

  She didn’t know what he was talking about, but she continued to struggle against him as he shoved her to the clearing.

  The other man was still there, as was the dead naked woman.

  “Look what I found.”

  The other guy sniffed and growled from the distance. “Wolfe pack.”

  Hate dripped from his voice with the word. What the heck did he smell? She was far enough from him he shouldn’t smell anything. He narrowed his eyes and moved toward her. Fear worked its way into her system, flooding her body with adrenaline. Protecting herself became her sole focus.

  A shot rang out. The man moving toward Jordan swayed in his feet. A bullet hole appeared on his shoulder, dripping blood.

  Her gaze shot up to spot Emma, shotgun in hand, getting ready to shoot again.

  Bald guy gripped her hair and shoved her. She ran to the middle of the clearing, away from both men, tripped on a rock and fell, landing on her hands and knees. Another shot and this time Emma hit bald guy. Shot number three got the other guy again. He was getting closer to her. Fire took hold of her body. She dropped to the ground in pain. Her muscles felt stretched taut. The gunshots sounded far away while her mind focused solely on the pain in her body. She opened her eyes, but everything was distorted and shut them again.

  The pain she was going through inside was worse than anything she’d ever experienced. She saw the beast then; a large black wolf with glowing amber eyes. The animal was ready to attack. Then her bones popped, broke and reattached. She’d never experienced so much pain come and go so fast.

  The minute she opened her eyes again, she was on all fours. Gunshots continued to ring out. She glanced up. Emma dropped one shotgun by her feet and picked up the other. The two men were bleeding profusely, but continued to make their way toward her.

  A new wild rage took hold of Jordan. She didn’t have time to digest the fact she was no longer a human. Nor did she get a chance to grapple over her animal status and what that meant for her future. And she definitely didn’t get a chance to worry over how much that shit would hurt the next time she shifted. Instead, she ran for the bald guy. Focused on his bleeding shoulder, she jumped and tackled the big man to the ground. He hit her on the side. More shots rang out. The anger inside her urged her to attack the man with her claws and canines. She was no longer in control. She felt the strength of the beast take hold. Her attack on the man didn’t stop. The man fought her, punching her every chance he got. But the animal inside her wasn’t deterred. She took deep grueling bites of the guy’s shoulder and arms.

  An angry growl sounded, and she was shoved off the man. Her attention was diverted by the other man fighting off a large black and white wolf. Aric. He bit down hard on the guy’s neck, crushing bones and tearing through the guy’s throat. Then he moved to the man who’d hit her. The attack was quick with the other man panting from all the injuries he’d suffered from her animal.

  Two dead bodies later and she stared down at her paws, unsure how to go back to being human.

  “Tell your wolf you’re in control. Order her back.” Aric’s voice flitted through her mind.

  She visualized the angry animal from before and ordered it back. Once again her muscles did the stretching and reshaping that hurt like a bitch for all of a minute before stopping altogether.

  Blinking her eyes open to the bloody ground, she glanced up.
Aric helped her to her feet. His jaw was clenched tight. She gasped at the suppressed fury radiating off him.

  “Aric?” She was practically running into the forest being dragged by him. “Aric!”

  Chapter Thirteen

  He stopped suddenly. Her breath caught in her throat. Instinct told her to move, to step back and away. But she didn’t, she stood her ground. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. He grabbed her face with his hands and shoved his tongue into mouth. There was no holding back. His wild passion only served to unleash the one inside her. Her mind spun and her body throbbed with anticipation. She ran her tongue over his lips and down to his neck. He growled, gripped her hips, and pushed her back into a tree. She curled her legs around his waist, depending on him to keep her from falling. Their gazes met and sparks flew.

  “Need you.” Even though she could hardly understand the words, she could read the need in his eyes. The feral hunger for her. One hard thrust and he was inside her. “Almost lost you.” She moaned. He pulled back and drove deep into her again. “Could have lost you.”

  She clung to him. Her pussy gripped at his cock, desperate for him to put out the fire in her core. She ignored the tree bark rubbing her back. Her sole focus became the slide of his cock in and out of her pussy. With each thrust, his chest rubbed her nipples in a friction that turned her mind to mush.

  “You won’t lose me.” She moaned and licked his neck while he continued to fuck her roughly. “I’m yours.”

  The taste of him on her tongue was divine. He tasted of salt, man, and sex. Her breathing turned choppy. Tension gathered inside her at breakneck speed. He pounded her with his cock, adding kindling to her fire. His lips grazed her throat and licked. She bit down on his shoulder. He did the same. The world spun on its axis and pleasure blasted through her veins.

  She held on as his cock grew inside her and filled her with his cum. His rumble on her flesh made her body shudder.

  Her legs shook as her feet touched the ground. Possession filled his gaze. “I love you.”

  She swallowed against the thickness in her throat. “I love you too.”

  He brought his face closer to hers again, brushing his lips over hers in a soft kiss. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. Ever again.”

  His vow, made with so much assurance, made her stomach twist. He was all she’d ever need. She knew that now. “I know.”

  * * *

  “Why is it that you always have to mess up a good thing?” Emma hissed at Mason.

  He grinned unabashedly. “I’m just pointing out that you like getting your friends in trouble. Poor girls have gotten almost arrested or in some kind of trouble more than once thanks to you.”

  Emma glared at Mason.

  Jordan wouldn’t interfere. She realized the scent Emma carried around was Mason. That meant she needed to mind her own damn business and let those two work their own stuff out.

  “Seriously? Women should be at home raising kids? That’s the best you can come up with!” Nicole appeared ready to throttle Jake.

  He in turn smiled in delight. “Mates are meant to be home taking care of the cubs.”

  Jordan got ready to warn Jake to watch his tongue but she sniffed. Sure enough, Nicole also scented of Jake.

  What the hell was going on?

  She continued toward the kitchen of the Wolfe’s house. She heard Karla and Nathan.

  “No.”

  “You know you want to,” Nathan taunted.

  “Are you insane? What in the world makes you think I’ll get a tattoo with your name on it?” Karla hissed.

  And there went that couple, Jordan thought as she passed them by on her way to the kitchen. The scent once again letting her know that no matter what her friends said, there was a deeper connection between them and Aric’s brothers.

  She reached the backyard and inhaled. The strong and pure scent of nature took time to get used to. It was weird to smell so much grass.

  She brought the dessert tray outside to place it on the picnic table where Barbara and Tristan were arranging the barbeque. About to go around the side of the house to the table, she stopped at the sound of the words being exchanged.

  “Quit complaining, Wolfe. Things worked out,” Barbara said.

  “You need to stop meddling in our sons’ lives.” Tristan admonished his wife.

  Jordan peeked around the side of the house and watched the couple embrace.

  “You make it sound like I did something wrong.” Barbara curled her arms around her husband’s neck.

  “Never, love, but you know they’re grown and can get their mates on their own.”

  Aric slipped his arms around Jordan’s waist and rubbed his cock on her ass. She wanted to drop the cookies and turn around, but she was much more interested in the conversation between his parents.

  “They could get their mates if they weren’t so slow. Where do they get that from? Neither of us have ever been that way.”

  “That’s true. I had you in my bed the first night I saw you.”

  Barbara scoffed. “I think you mean I had you in my bed.”

  Tristan chuckled. “Who cares? The outcome was what we both wanted.”

  She smiled. “But back to Aric. All I did was help him out a little.”

  “There was no need to invite those women. The only woman he wanted was right here.”

  “It made him move, didn’t it?”

  Aric’s arms tensed around her waist. He took the cookie tray from her hands and they continued to the table his parents stood chatting.

  “Mom? Dad? What exactly did you do to help me out?” Aric asked as he placed the tray on the table.

  Jordan watched Barbara smile and wink at her. “I only invited those women for you to choose from.”

  Aric frowned. “But you just said you knew I wouldn’t want them, that I only wanted Jordan. So did you invite those women for me to choose one of them, or to push me into mating Jordan?”

  His mother’s gave a slick smile. “Who cares? The outcome is what you wanted.”

  Tristan laughed. Barbara pulled her husband along and made her way to the back entrance of the house.

  Jordan grinned at how happy his parents still were even after over thirty years of marriage.

  “Let’s go.” Aric’s eyes glowed the bright grey of his wolf.

  “Where?”

  “Run with me, baby.”

  “Now?” She squealed, glancing at the house. “Are you sure we’re safe to be out there?”

  “Yes. Those wolves that killed that girl were rogues, not part of any pack. They’re lawless and dangerous. My father put one of his enforcers to handle the case with the sheriff. She was human. It doesn’t stop here.”

  She frowned. “Will the shifters get into trouble for that?”

  “Not our pack. We protect humans. We have people in the department. They’ll smooth things over.” His lips tilted into a sexy grin. “Come on, I’ll protect you.”

  “I know you will, but what if there are other people out there.” She motioned to the woods, still concerned that other rogues would be in the vicinity.

  “This is private property. Our property. The only people in the area are part of our pack, and they don’t trespass.” He tugged her toward the trees.

  She glanced around the forest, looking for people. “What about Caleb and his uncle? What happens with that?” She let him lead her further.

  “That’s not over yet. Caleb has been given some time to deal with his uncle Rocco and take the control of his pack back. He needs to move. Rocco is known to hire rogues for his dirty deeds. Caleb has to take over.”

  “And if he doesn’t?” She worried for Ellie. Now that she was happy, she wanted all her friends happy too.

  He led her into the thick of the forest, where the sun had to fight to peek in through the branches. “We’ll step in. We don’t want to, which is why we’ve given him time.”

  She gnawed at her lip. Her heart constricted for Ellie. Jordan knew things with Cale
b’s pack were far from over.

  He stopped short, turned, and cupped her face. “I want you.”

  That’s all she needed to hear. All thoughts of the danger and negativity rushed out of her mind. She’d always want him and she was glad that he felt the same need for her. Fur pushed at her skin and she knew her own wolf wanted free.

  The End

  ~ Keep reading for a bonus short ~

  Milly Taiden writing as

  April Angel

  A Hero Scarred

  Chapter One

  Jessica Tavarez stared at her wine glass. If only it could solve all her problems. It didn’t even distract her enough to make her forget the hell she’d been living.

  “Come on, Jessie. A getaway will be fun for you.” Kayla watched her from her seat on the other side of Jessie’s living room.

  “I have to admit that she’s right.” Larissa nodded. “You need a vacation. And a nap. You’re cranky as hell.”

  Jessie glared at her friends. “I’m not cranky. I’m just tired of the bullshit. I can’t believe I’m done with Dan. It feels like some other shit is gonna pop up at any moment.”

  Larissa twisted a long, brown curl through her fingers. “Are there any other outstanding or pending items on the case?”

  “No.”

  “And all property is coming back to you.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So you’re done.” Larissa grinned. “I know with this hell you’ve been going through it feels like it’s too good to be true, but all evil, rotten things must come to an end.”

  Maybe for others. It felt like she’d been dealing with this divorce way too long. “He has to move out of my house, and then it will sink in.”

  “Yeah and then you won’t have to live in a rental when you own your own damn house.” Kayla tipped her wineglass and gulped down the rest of her drink.

  Rissa nodded. “Now back to Kayla’s idea of a vacation.”

  Jessie sighed. “I told you all I’m too busy.”

  Kayla raised her brows. “You work with me. I already had some days scheduled for the new house. Come down with me again. We’ve been at the hospital a lot lately and I think you really need a break. Seeing patients day in and day out takes a toll on me as their therapist, I know it takes one on you as a volunteer.”