Miss Matched: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Raging Falls Book 2)

by Milly Taiden

  “You’re important to me.” His quiet words dug deep into her heart, flooding her with a new kind of emotion she’d been afraid to let loose. Love.

  SEVEN

  Aric led Jordan back to the main street where her friends were parked. He watched Emma and Nicole jump out of the car and embrace her in a group hug.

  “Thank God!”

  “We called Ellie, but she said Aric was already aware you were in there.” Emma glanced from Jordan to Aric. Jordan’s hair was a mess, her makeup had run with the heat of their mating, and she looked unsteady on her feet. Not to mention, she had red marks from his kisses all over her neck.

  “I’m fine.” She ran a hand over her hair. “I just want to go home.”

  “We’ll––”

  “No.” She turned to him. A small smile played over her lips. “Aric will take me home.”

  She slipped her hand in his. The beast inside him calmed instantly. Jordan appeared ready to understand his need for her safety. Screw holding hands. He put his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to his side.

  “Are…you…sure?” Nicole stared wide-eyed from one to the other.

  “Positive.”

  After waving her friends away, he led her to his truck. Once inside, he watched her stare absently at the road.

  “There are things about me you should know,” she started after he got on the main street.

  The way she said the words, with so much apprehension and nerves, made his animal worried. He could scent her fear. But why? There was nothing she could tell him that would make him feel any different for her.

  “We don’t have to talk about it now.” He tried to make her more comfortable. She was sitting stiff on the passenger seat, and it worried him.

  “I know, but I want to.” She glanced at him with pain filled eyes, before she looked away. “It might help you decide if this is what you really want.”

  He almost put the car in park to shake her. She still didn’t understand that he’d wanted this––her––for years. For much longer than he was willing to admit to any other person.

  “Jordan––”

  “My parents were drunks,” she rushed out. “Angry drunks.”

  He stopped the truck. Anger started to rise at thoughts of what they might have done to her.

  “When they had me, they were having a dry spell. Until I was about four. Then everything went down hill.” She twined her fingers together tight on her lap.

  He swallowed hard, listening to her heartbeat increase in her chest with her embarrassment. Sharp spikes of pain jammed his heart. He’d never realized how much she’d suffered. How much she’d needed for someone to care for her.

  “It was difficult to grow up with nothing. No love. Nobody who cared. In a household where the money they got went to liquor. When I met Ellie…” She cleared her throat. Pain drifted from her, filling the truck with her sorrow. She didn’t have to deal with telling her story alone. He undid her belt and pulled her to his lap. The pain in his chest increased with each thick swallow she took. She dropped her head on his shoulder and took a deep breath. “Ellie became my salvation. I was a fat girl with parents who didn’t care, with old clothes that didn’t fit, and I had a shit attitude. I hated everyone. I hated me. But I loved Ellie.”

  He hurt for her. No, he mourned for her. For the girl he remembered and the woman who’d lived with that. He’d been so close and yet had distanced himself to allow her to grow without realizing she needed people who cared. Guilt stabbed at his gut.

  “Do you know why I love Ellie?”

  He shook his head. He’d seen Ellie walk through their door one day with a quiet thirteen-year-old friend, but he’d never known the back-story.

  “I was being teased one day. I could have handled it. They weren’t saying anything I wasn’t used to. Calling me names. Talking about my old hand-me-downs. I was getting ready to break a nose or two. And that’s where Ellie came in.” Her voice started to wobble. “I was used to dealing with that stuff alone, but Ellie came up beside me and asked if I wanted to sit with her at lunch.” She sniffled. “The prettiest, most popular girl in school became my friend instantly.”

  Jesus. He’d need to buy his sister a serious gift for being so amazing. A knot formed in his throat. He couldn’t say anything.

  “But that’s not all. She didn’t just become my friend. She tried to protect me. Whenever someone made an attempt to bully me, she jumped in to defend me. Ellie was the first person that was truly on my side. And she never asked for anything in return.”

  Pain and pleasure made holes in his heart. He was furious Jordan had suffered so badly at the hands of other kids, but was happy Ellie had taken it upon herself to befriend her. His sister was a natural born protector and he couldn’t be more proud of her.

  “Then I met your parents and you and your brothers. And… I didn’t understand how you could have such a loving family, but my parents didn’t even want to look at me.” She laughed bitterly. “Not unless they needed some of my babysitting money. Or to disappear on my sixteenth birthday, taking with them the money I’d saved for college.”

  His chest tightened with rage. He was having a hard time reigning in the urge to snarl.

  “How did you go to college if your parents stole your money and took off?”

  He knew she’d attended alongside Ellie, but wouldn’t have imagined she’d gone through so many hardships. Obviously Ellie hadn’t shared enough of Jordan with him.

  She lifted her face to his. Surprise filled her gaze. “Your parents helped.”

  “What? What do you mean my parents?”

  Where the hell had he been that he didn’t know about this?

  She straightened. “It’s true. After what happened with my parents, they showed up to my house and promised to help me continue going to school.” She glanced down at her lap before smiling softly. “They became my lifeline. They bought me food and encouraged me to continue going to school. I felt wrong depending on them so much, so I worked two jobs, but it was thanks to them I went to college.”

  He had no idea. No one had ever said anything.

  Her eyes widened. “You really didn’t know?”

  He shook his head.

  “I…I don’t know if I’m the person you should be with, Aric. I have a hard time trusting people. Hell, I have a bit of an attitude if you haven’t noticed.” She laughed. “Your parents and Ellie are the only ones who have been on my side before I met any of the other girls. I’m broken.”

  She wasn’t broken. She was scared.

  Pain fisted around his heart in a vice grip. The last thing he’d ever want was to hurt her. He turned to face her fully.

  “I’ve wanted to be with you for years,” he admitted.

  Doubt sparked in her eyes. He nodded. “It’s true. Ellie’s known for years that I wanted you. She thought it was just lust at first, but recently when I admitted to her you were more than someone to be with for a night, she warned me to not push you.”

  “Push me?”

  “Into a relationship unless you were ready.”

  Her brows lifted. “Oh.”

  “She’s always been very protective of you, and I didn’t realize why until now. Ellie loves you like the sister she never had.”

  She sniffled. “I love her so much. She’s more than family.”

  “Jordan, I can’t promise you I’ll be anyone other than who I am. But I can’t fathom not spending more time with you, helping our relationship grow.”

  She bit her lip. She folded and unfolded her hands, agitated. “You really want to do this? I should warn you I have a jealous streak.”

  He grinned. “I do too.”

  When she didn’t appear convinced, he tipped her head up. “I’m not perfect, far from it. But what we have, this connection that’s deeper than I’ve ever felt for any other woman. I want it to grow. Do you feel the link?”

  She raised a hand and placed it over his heart. “I do.”

  “Tr
ust me. Give me a chance to prove to you we can make it work.”

  “But…”

  “No buts. Life is what we make of it. You made a decision at sixteen to not allow your parents failures keep you from the life you wanted. Now you need to make a decision again. Will you allow fear to hold you back from what’s right for you? For me? For us?”

  She grinned. “I hold the key to everything, huh?”

  “You may not think so, but you do.”

  The smile dimmed on her lips. “What about your animal? Does he get a say in this?”

  “Baby,” he let her see the wild side of his beast in his eyes, “my wolf claimed you as his the moment he first saw you.”

  Her nails curled on his T-shirt and she tugged him. It was a different kiss. One filled with more emotion than he’d anticipated. Their tongues rubbed in a sexy dance that turned his cock to steel.

  She moaned. “I think I need therapy.”

  He kissed the corner of her mouth and her jaw. “Why?”

  “Well,” she panted, “every time I see that wild look on you, my panties get wet and I want to rip your clothes off.”

  Hell. If she felt that way, they may never leave the house again. Thinking of her sexy body and slick pussy surrounding his cock made the animal inside him push at the skin.

  “Let’s get you home,” he said and put the truck back in drive.

  She slid a hand over his thigh and ran her nails over the bulge in his pants. He took a quick glance at her. She licked her lips and grinned. “Let’s get me home and get me laid.”

  That was an even better plan.

  * * *

  Jordan glanced at the speedometer on her car, but couldn’t figure out how the vehicle kept slowing down without her pressing on the breaks. It got to the point the damn thing stopped in the middle of the road.

  “Are you kidding me?” She slammed her hands on the steering wheel. Thankfully she wasn’t too far from her house to get there by foot. Aric was supposed to pick her up for dinner. The last thing she wanted with their new relationship was to have him get to her house before she did and realize how untidy she really was. While she wasn’t the most organized person in the world, she didn’t want to scare the man with the reality of her disorganized ways just yet.

  She grabbed her dead cell phone and walked along the side of the deserted road.

  “Nice time to wonder if living so far out town was a good idea,” she mumbled.

  Fifteen minutes later, she reached her door. Throwing her bag on a sofa, she rushed into the kitchen to get a drink of water. Soft tapping sounded from down the hall where her bedroom was located. She put the glass of water down. She listened intently. The sounds drew closer and closer until she was sure there was someone in her house. Her attention snapped to searching the vicinity for a weapon. Someone had broken in and she wasn’t taking it lightly.

  Grabbing a cast iron frying pan and a butcher knife, she took soft steps around her kitchen island, toward the hallway the noise was coming from. It was coming closer. A sound from the front yard made her glance to the door.

  Before she had a chance to react, a woman rushed out of her hallway.

  “Who are you?” Jordan asked, gripping both the pan and knife in her fists.

  The woman was petite, dark, with incredible green-gold eyes and short, curly hair. Jordan recognized the distinct eye coloring from the white wolf that chased her.

  “I think the better question is who you are. I came here to be mated to the Alpha’s first born. But instead, I was snuffed… for a human.” Her soft voice dripped with condescension.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  The woman took steps toward her, lengthening her fingers into claws. Her features turned feral, proof that the wolf was ready to attack.

  “I was promised a future Alpha. And as an Alpha bitch, I get what I am promised.” She ran toward Jordan with her claws extended. “Even if that means taking a little human out of the way.”

  Jordan dropped the knife on the ground and gripped the pan with both hands. The woman ran toward her. She swung hard, hitting the woman on her wrist. Bones popped on the female. She shred her clothing as she shifted. Jordan swung the pan again, but the woman moved. A white wolf had taken place of the petite woman. Adrenaline rushed through Jordan’s veins. The wolf was on the other side of her kitchen island.

  Using the pan as a shield, Jordan walked around the island to face the wolf. The wolf jumped faster than she expected, and was taken by surprise. The white struck her, digging her claws into Jordan’s arm.

  Jordan screamed. Anger burned in her gut. This stupid woman was attacking her for her rights to Aric. As if any woman could tell an Alpha what to do.

  She swung the pan and hit the white wolf on the side. “Think again, bitch. Aric picked me.”

  The wolf growled, salivating and showing large canines. Another swipe of the claws and she got Jordan on her shoulder.

  “Fucking bitch. The man doesn’t want you, go find someone who does,” Jordan growled.

  Blood dripped down her shoulder, soaking her white T-shirt until it clung to her body. The animal came close again. She swung the pan with all her might. Her grip on the iron was hard to keep with blood turning it slippery.

  Jordan hissed at the burning running down her arm. Before she had a chance to take a breath, the wolf jumped on the counter and then on to her. She fell backward on the ground, lost her grip on the pan, and landed on her back with a groan. The wolf was right over her, digging her paws into her shoulder.

  She grabbed the wolf by the fur and yanked its head back as hard as possible to keep it from biting her. She held the wolf back with her left hand tight on its fur, while feeling toward her right for the pan. Sharp metal made contact with her hand. The knife. She wrapped her fingers around the handle and gripped it tight.

  Her hold on the fur slipped, and the animal reared back to open her jaw wide. Jordan used that moment to drive the knife straight into the wolf’s neck. A loud yelp and the animal hurled itself off her. She gasped, watching it struggle to remove the knife.

  Jordan stood, wiped her bloody hands on her pants, and picked up the pan. She marched toward the retreating animal. Loud noises took hold of her front yard, but she was too busy with the wolf. She swung the pan on the wolf’s head and smashed it on the side of its furry muzzle.

  The noises in her yard turned louder. Jordan stared at the bloody wolf. The shape of the female took hold with the knife lodged in one side and poking out the other side of her neck. Blood oozed from the wound, creating a large puddle on her floor.

  Her front door burst open. She watched Aric and Ellie run inside. They appeared to have been in a fight. Only they weren’t bleeding like Jordan was.

  “Are you okay?” Aric rushed to her side.

  “Just peachy.” She swallowed against the bile trying to push up her throat. The longer she stared at the woman on her kitchen floor, the more she wanted to throw up. Aric helped her stand, both of them staring at the blonde’s body.

  “I know that woman. She’s one of the daughters to an alpha in another region. But I didn’t know her wolf was white. We didn’t really talk the night of the ceremony.”

  “Jordan?” Ellie looked into her eyes, her brows dipping in a frown. “She’s in shock.”

  “I am not.” But everything had started to feel surreal. Her body felt cold all of a sudden. She’d swear she was watching things play out from a movie screen. “I’m just a little shaken.”

  She was more than a little shaken. Shudders racked her body until she dropped the pan on the floor with a bang.

  “I’ll take her to the shower, you clean up here,” Ellie ordered Aric.

  Concern filled his gaze, turning the already nervous tension residing inside her into a massive knot in her stomach.

  “Jordan?” Aric’s deep voice soothed some of the anxiety she felt. “I’ll be right here.”

  She nodded and let Ellie guide her to her bedroom.
More voices sounded from inside her house. She knew them all. Mason, Jake, and Nathan were there.

  In a trance, she showered and allowed Ellie to dress her wounds.

  “I’m sorry, Jordan. I’ll get one of the guys to bring you something more powerful. That arm is going to start throbbing really bad soon. At least these painkillers have something to help you rest for a little while.” She gave her some pills and winced. “These wounds will take more time to heal on you now than they will once you and Aric mate.”

  Her mind was a mess. Pain radiated outward from her wounds to her muscles. She wouldn’t try to figure out what Ellie was talking about. Though she hated to admit it, even to herself, she’d been scared that the animal would best her. That added a whole new level of reality to her situation with Aric. What the hell was she doing with someone who had been promised to someone else?

  “Did you find out what the white wolf wanted?” Ellie asked.

  She nodded. “Aric.”

  “When we arrived there were a handful of them outside. They attacked, and we were forced to fight. None retreated so we have some cleaning up to do in front of the house. I wonder why she said she wanted Aric.”

  Sand dunes formed in her throat, making her inability to swallow past the dryness even more difficult. She licked her lips, but it did little to help. “She said she was invited here to mate with him and I wasn’t going to stand in the way.”

  “I highly doubt that. I know we’ve seen that woman at the scenting ceremony, but I never saw her in her wolf form. You heard Aric. He recognized her human body, but he didn’t talk to her. And I’m sure none of the others did either. It’s probably why we didn’t know what white wolf you were talking about.”

  Jordan winced at the pain growing by the second. The throbbing sharpened like steel blades cutting into her flesh. “Was she telling the truth? She came here with the sole intent to be his mate.”

  Ellie turned her face away from Jordan “I…I don’t know that part. I know my parents invited women for the guys to meet, but I wasn’t told any of them were already chosen as mates.”

  Had Aric lied to her? They’d started this tenuous relationship out of nowhere and she wasn’t sure she wanted to see where things went if this was what awaited her.