‘We should have waited, and honestly, I had every intention, but we didn’t.’ He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. Brody growls and attempts to break free.
‘Brody, it was my fault.’ I try, but it’s no use. It’s like he doesn’t even hear me.
‘At the end of the day it’s done. She’s an adult and big brother or not, you can’t make the decisions for her anymore.’
‘And I suppose you think you can?’ he snarls.
‘As her bonded mate—’
‘FUCKING CUNT,’ Brody screams, cutting Howard off. Everyone in the room knows he marked me. Everyone knows that once that happens, that’s it. Brody too—he just has to accept it. It doesn’t happen unless you are meant to be together. It’s fate if you find your mate. We were destined to meet. Fated Love. It was always going to be him. Brody knows that now, but accepting it is what he’s struggling with.
‘Brody, please. Stop it. It was inevitable, whether now, or a month from now, it makes no difference. We’re meant to be together—our bond proves that. You’ve always said you hoped we’ll find our true mates. And I have. I hoped you would be happy for me?’ I say barely above a whisper. He looks at me then, but I don’t see Brody there, his eyes are vacant. He’s so mad. I sigh, resigned to the fact that he isn’t going to accept this. I walk over to Howard and kiss him on his lips. ‘I’ll be in my room,’ I tell him. I need to leave the room. I can’t see Brody this way anymore. It hurts.
***
Howard
I’m majorly pissed. Willow is upset, and I took enough hits from Brody to last a fucking lifetime. He’s lucky Willow loves his sorry arse because I am fucking desperate to hit the fucker back. I’m not denying he has a good swing and it landed hard. A lesser wolf would be out cold. He picked on the wrong one though. Takes a tank to put me out. Willow leaves, and all I see is hurt in her eyes. Today should be a good fucking day. I wanted to make it special for her.
‘Well, I hope you’re pleased with yourself because all you’ve achieved is hurting your sister.’ I shake my head at him. He looks like that upsets him for a second, but then the hate for me burns bright in his eyes again a second later.
‘Don’t put this on me. She’s seventeen!’ I flinch at his words. That’s exactly the reason I wanted to wait.
‘Legal age is sixteen,’ Jared states. Brody ignores him, still glaring at me, his teeth gritted, and his lip curled.
‘Right, are we done with our little pissing contest? Because I want to get back to your sister who is probably breaking her fucking heart upstairs, thanks to you’ He struggles to get free again. ‘Let him go,’ I tell Jared, and both he and Brad let go at the same time. Brody comes flying at me. I step back with my right foot and cock my arm. Crunch. My knuckles connect with his nose. And with the speed he is coming at me, the hit is hard. He’s out. I move to leave.
‘Oh, we’ve got this, don’t worry yourself,’ Brad mocks, ‘we’ll clean up your mess.’
‘Fucking leave him there for me,’ I tell him over my shoulder.
‘Aww, fucking hell, his nose is broken. We need him on form tonight. I hope he fucking heals fast,’ Brad continues to whine as I make my way up the stairs.
I find Willow on her bed—she’s not crying, but she has been. I can tell by her eyes and the red cheeks. I don’t fucking like it.
‘This is why I wanted to wait,’ I tell her. ‘I wanted to avoid all this shit.’
‘Oh, so it’s my fault?’
‘I never said that.’
‘Well, what did you mean then?’
‘I didn’t mean anything. I’m just stating a fact. I knew this would happen, and I wanted to avoid it. Too late now though.’
‘I don’t understand why it bothers him so much. Me being eighteen is irrelevant. I could be fourteen, and I’d still be your bonded mate. It wouldn’t change.’
‘No, but he’s spent the last, however many years, protecting you from that prick in the U.S. I guess at eighteen he thought his job would be done. I see his point. If I had a sister, I’d do everything in my power to protect her from bastards like me.’
‘You’re not a bastard.’
‘You might change your mind in a minute.’
‘Why? What happened?’
‘Broke his nose.’
She lets out a huge sigh. ‘Well, I can’t deny he had it coming after what he did to you, but he is my brother, Howard, and as much as he’s acting like a complete idiot right now, I need to check he’s okay.’
I nod my acceptance. I knew she would. Fucks me off because like I said, I wanted today to be memorable in all the right ways. Not for this. I watch her leave, deciding there isn’t any point in following her because it would only cause more problems, and I’ve had my quota of fuckwits today. I lay on her bed. I can still smell us on the sheets. Inhaling that scent, I drift off, waiting for her to come back.
BRODY IS SITTING at the table with a wad of tissue stuffed up against his bleeding nose when I return to the kitchen. Jared and Brad are standing up against the kitchen worktops, arms folded and looking mightily pissed off. Their stance, a mirror image of one another. Brad smiles sympathetically as our eyes meet. Jared continues to look stony-faced at Brody, who has his back to me.
‘Are you okay?’ I ask him
His shoulders slump a little. ‘Broken nose,’ he mumbles through the mass of tissue.
‘Well, you kind of deserved it,’ I tell him quietly not wanting to argue anymore.
He turns to scowl at me though. ‘I don’t care if he can knock me out a million times over—he shouldn’t have touched you or marked you before you even had a chance to experience anything else yet…’ he trails off shaking his head.
‘I’ve told you, you don’t choose when you mark your mate, it just fucking happens if it’s right. If you’re lucky enough, you’ll find out yourself one day,’ Jared tells him, and from the way he speaks, I think it’s not the first time he’s said it.
‘He should have fucking waited. Instead, he’s taken her choice away.’
‘Do you seriously think I slept with Howard because I didn’t have a choice?’
He just looks at me like it was a dumb question.
‘You’ve done as you’re told for so long back home—’
‘I let them boss me around because I didn’t want to make waves, Brody. One of us got beaten when we broke the rules, this is different, and if you think I would let anyone force themselves on me, you seriously don’t know me at all. Honestly, I’m pissed off that you think I’m so weak, and Howard so cruel.’ His eyes widen a little at that. ‘If you must know, he wanted to wait, really tried to force the issue, but it was me who moved things along. Because I knew he was the one.’
Brody looks away then, and I’m done talking about this. ‘Brody, I love you so much, but you can be a real asshole at times. I don’t want to have this between us. You need to accept it and move on. You have to let me go, Brody. Howard is my mate, and I’m going to be with him whether you accept it or not.’ He doesn’t reply. I sigh and shake my head before I leave the room. I hear Brad tell him to stop being a ‘stupid twat.’ Normally something like that would make me laugh, but I haven’t got it in me right now. Inside, I just feel miserable.
I open my bedroom door and find Howard sleeping on my bed. I close the door as quietly as I can and smile as I watch his chest rise and fall. His mouth is closed, so he isn’t making any noise other than his breathing. He looks so peaceful, not at all like someone just has tried to beat the crap out of him. I move to sit on the edge of the bed, and I can see a dark bruise forming on his jaw. I reach out to smooth his hair from his face, and his eyes flutter open, and he smiles like I’m the best thing he’s ever seen. My heart stutters in my chest, and my own face splits into a grin.
‘Hey, you.’
‘Sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. How long have I been out?’
‘Not long. I’ve only been downstairs about half an hour—not even that really. You mus
t be tired, go back to sleep,’ I tell him stroking his face.
‘No, I want to take you out for a run and then for some food before I have to leave tonight,’ he says sitting up. ‘Your brother’s okay, I assume?’ he asks in a bitter tone.
I sigh. ‘Yeah, he’ll be fine.’
Howard arches a brow in question. ‘His nose will heal, and he will have to get over his issue with you eventually.’
I shrug. ‘Yep, he will. So, a run?’
He wiggles his eyebrows at me. ‘God, yes! Let’s go.’
He picks me up and wraps my legs around his waist, his arm coming up the centre of my back, his hand gripping my hair at the nape of my neck. He looks at me for a second, a smirk on his face, then he takes my lips with his in an unrelenting kiss. It goes from chaste to passionate to hot-as-hell in a matter of thirty seconds. And before I know it, I’m pushed up against the door, his hands grasping my ass and our tongues dancing to their own tune. I squeeze his biceps before moving to his broad shoulders. He’s so muscular and perfect—I can’t get enough. My fingers grip his hair, keeping our lips locked and ensuring he can’t pull away too soon. Anyone would think we hadn’t already had sex this morning, but the fact that I now know what it feels like to be with him, makes me want him all the more. I crave him already. And despite losing my virginity today, I don’t feel sore in any way. I know he’s feeling conscious about that and I have a feeling he will stop this before I even get started, so, I try to move things along so he can’t help but carry on.
Howard leans me against the doorframe, still in his embrace. Against my lips he chuckles, making me smile. I bite my lip smiling back, and he licks the end of my nose playfully.
‘Behave,’ he admonishes. I roll my eyes and sigh.
‘A girl can try.’
‘You already won that one, sweetheart. Now get your arse in gear, I’m taking you for a run.’ He drops me to my feet and looks at me seriously. On my tiptoes, I stretch and kiss his lips.
***
The forest smells amazing today. It rained earlier, and I love the smell of rain. All the scents seem to be enhanced by it, and the ground is still damp—not like home. It would storm and dry out so fast because of the heat you’d never even know it had rained. Howard holds my hand as we walk through the tree line. I stand, inhaling, just taking it all in.
‘You like the woods here?’
‘I love it, so much more to smell and hear. It’s so different, like a sensual… I don’t know the right word, but it’s so beautiful.’
‘I guess I’ve always just taken it for granted.’
‘Are they all like this? All over the country? Lush and green?’
‘Pretty much, yes. Our country is very green because the weather allows for it. We don’t have the kind of heat that you get in the U.S. Even our summer is cold in comparison.’
‘I can’t wait to see more of it.’
‘When we’re off lockdown, and we have this shit sorted, I’ll take you wherever you want to go.’
I bite my lip and smile. ‘I’d love that.’ He smiles then, but the thought of him leaving later for a job I’m yet to be told about suddenly sits like a weight in my stomach. He notices the change in me.
‘What is it?’
‘What is the shit that needs sorting? I know you said you wanted today and that you would tell me everything, but you’re leaving later, and I don’t think I’ll get through the night if you don’t tell me what you’re doing?’
His face turns serious, and he takes a deep breath as he leans up against a huge oak tree.
‘Tonight, I have to go to the police station and remove our DNA samples from the database and the actual samples from the lab.’
‘Why do the police have them?’
‘Because there was a human murdered on Christmas day, and the body was dumped on our land.’
‘What kind of murder?’
‘A wolf one.’
‘Not someone here?’
He shakes his head. ‘No, we don’t kill humans unless it’s absolutely necessary. This wasn’t our pack.’
‘So is someone is challenging the pack? A nomad?’
‘No, sweetheart.’
‘There’s something you’re not telling me, Howard, why?’
He sighs and takes my hand in his. ‘It’s your old pack.’
‘What…? I don’t understand. Why?’
‘They want me. I killed their alpha.’
‘Fuck, I should have known it wouldn’t be as easy as that to just leave it all behind.’
‘It’s nothing we can’t handle—we’ve dealt with much worse.’
‘I don’t like it. We need to take them out first, Howard. You can’t leave tonight. What if they are watching… what if—’
‘Sweetheart, listen, nothing will happen to me, I swear. Brody and Jared will be with me tonight. I’m not going alone. And we have Brad here on surveillance, okay?’
‘Brody, too? Shit, that’s both of you leaving on the same job. What if something happens?’
‘It won’t.’
‘Howard, I’m going with you. I’m good in a fight. I’m a good shot and handy with a blade too.’
‘No, you’re not going into any fight.’
‘I can help.’
‘I don’t doubt that you can handle yourself, but you’re my female, and fuck if you’ll ever go into a fight again. You damn near gave me a heart attack the last time.’
‘Well, you’re my male, and if you go, I go.
‘Jesus, you’re gonna be a pain in the arse aren’t you?’ I just smile. ‘Willow, I need you safe here tonight, okay? I want you here so I can do my job and get out fast. If you’re involved, I will be going out of my mind with worry, which means I won’t be on my A game.’
I twist my lips, not happy, but completely understanding his reasoning, so I leave it at that. I nod my okay.
‘Thanks, sweetheart. I was crazy with it before we bonded, but now I think I’d tear my fucking hair out.’
‘Okay, I’ll stay.’
‘Good, now, you want that run?’
‘Hell, yes!’
Howard starts to strip under the oak, so I do the same. I’m excited, to say the least. I ran with Brody, at the Alpha’s home, but I haven’t run since, and the prospect of running with Howard has me feeling giddy. In a split-second, Howard is gloriously naked. I’m down to my underwear.
‘If you want to change in private, I’ll go over there.’ He lifts his chin in the direction of another huge ass tree. I bite my lip nervously, thinking about it, but I shake my head. We’re bonded. I know it hasn’t been long, but I should be comfortable changing with him. Or at least I need to get comfortable with it.
‘Do you prefer privacy?’ I ask because that may have been his way of telling me. He laughs.
‘I can’t say I have ever changed with anyone willingly before. In the heat of a fight we don’t have a choice, but here, we all get our own spot. We try to avoid each other’s naked arses as much as possible.’
I nod okay. ‘I’ll find a spot then.’
‘You can share mine if you want to?’
‘Well, since I can already see your naked ass, I guess it’s a moot point.’ I grin. He winks at me before getting on all fours. I follow suit, and together we start the change. It’s never pain-free, but you get used to it. When in my wolf skin, my hair colour comes through, and my eyes are dark too. The same can’t be said about Howard. I’m surprised when I see his fur is almost identical in colour to mine. He’s fair in human form with bright green eyes. In wolf form, he is dark brown, but his eyes still glow with that emerald green. He is just as handsome too. We stand in the shadow of the tree for several minutes, just looking at each other, checking each other out, and getting accustomed to one another in our wolf skin.
I’m not sure what Howard thinks of me like this, but I find him just as handsome. Definitely confident. He comes across as a prime candidate for alpha if I’m honest, and he takes his role of second in co
mmand very seriously. I don’t doubt for a second he could have ruled over the pack in Phoenix with ease, but I’m glad he didn’t. That place held nothing but bad memories for me. And Howard wouldn’t have stayed if I hadn’t. I realise that now.
He must have subconsciously known from the off we were to be bonded—even if he fought it then. It all makes sense now: his weird behaviour with me, him being outside my house all the time, making sure I was okay, checking me over every time we came in contact for any sign of injury. At the time, I pegged him as a weirdo—then an asshole. Until something just clicked inside me, and I saw him for what he really is. Dominant for sure, but kind and caring and, dare I say, loving.
Sure, he’s brash and comes across moody, but I see a different side to Howard. Even though he’s struggled with our age difference, I don’t feel we’re too far apart in age that we can’t work. If I was twenty-two and he twenty-seven it wouldn’t even be an issue. But for him it’s hard, and I get it.
Slowly Howard moves from his spot and comes toward me. My body shudders at his nearness, and I inhale that musky scent of his which is so much more prominent in this form. I stand with my head held high so we’re at eye level. He tilts his head then runs his muzzle down the side of mine. He’s claiming me in my wolf skin too. I return the affection, and we spend a good five minutes working each other into a frenzy. He laps at my rear end, and his teeth are chattering in anticipation. Scared as shit about any such behaviour in my wolf skin, I take off running, but I don’t get far before he’s at my side, keeping pace. We run for what feels like hours, just playing around and playing catch.
He suddenly stops abruptly, and I do the same, noticing the change in his demeanour. I panic for a second, wondering what I missed because I was goofing around when I get the scent of humans. Howard yips a little, telling me to stay down. He crawls slowly toward a bush, turning every so often to make sure I have stayed put. I do, simply because I don’t know my surroundings yet, and I don’t want to hinder whatever he is trying to do. His huge head disappears into the bush—so carefully done that he doesn’t make a sound. I’m afraid to move a muscle. All of a sudden, I hear him grumble low in his chest. I move slowly, so as not to gain attention. His growl gets steadily more menacing. Through the bush, I finally see what he does, and I want to laugh. There is a young couple laying on a dirty blanket—must be young teens, maybe fourteen at most, getting more and more intimate by the second. They notice the sound, and they disengage their lips long enough to realise there is a threat. One boy stands while the other notices where the sound is coming from. He yanks on his friend’s hand.
Fated Love Page 8
