by Kate Rudolph
“Did you just say ‘of course?’” It couldn’t be him. Werewolves were one thing, but talking werewolves. She had to draw a line.
Dom stumbled back and in a flash, he was a man again, standing in her living room like nothing happened. “You could understand me?”
Her mouth dropped open. “Talking werewolf!” she squeaked out and jerked back, pulling her legs in close and wrapping her arms tight.
“It’s called ruhi. It’s not talking, it’s… telepathy. And I’m not a werewolf.” He picked up his pants and sat down on her ottoman, laying them across his lap in a futile gesture of modesty, as if his naked form hadn’t been imprinted on her mind.
Or his werewolf form!
“Telepathic werewolf?” Was that better or worse?
“I told you, I’m not a werewolf.” He reached out a hand as if to give her comfort and then let it drop.
Cam didn’t know whether she wanted him to gather her close and tell her everything was alright, or if she wanted him to leave and never come back. But her mind was starting to put pieces together and she found she was capable of complete sentences. “You were a wolf a second ago, now you’re a man. Werewolf.” She didn’t ask how. It had to be magic. Or a science experiment gone wrong. Or something. It didn’t matter. Not yet.
Dom sighed. “It’s not the full moon. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the full moon or not. We can shift whenever. We’re called shiften. I’m a wolven.”
“Okay, so you’re a fancy werewolf.” And then her mind caught up to the rest of it. “We? There’s more than one of you? Do I know them? Oh god, do you have to kill me? Or change me?” Scenarios from every horror movie she’d ever seen flashed through her mind.
“No!” Dom held up his hands and pulled them back again when he almost touched her. “Yes, you’ve met shiften. Many of them. All of the police are wolven. The firefighters are bearen, bears. The felen, cats, are… capricious. And the foxen don’t really matter that much. Except to annoy the shit out of us.”
If she’d gone crazy, this was one detailed delusion. “All cops are werewolves?”
He nodded. “Wolven. Not werewolves.”
“Even Detective Litchfield?” He was a surfer bro. Maybe she’d believe it if he were a weredolphin, but there wasn’t anything wolfish about that guy.
Dom nodded. “Even Logan.”
“It can’t be okay for you to tell every woman you sleep with the big secret. Right? Or is this just… foreplay?” She uncurled from the chair and stood, pacing the room in broad strides. Dom’s eyes followed her with every step and she might have exaggerated the roll of her hips when she turned around just for the thrill of knowing he was watching.
Her werewolf boyfriend.
“I’ve never told another woman this. You’re special.” The way he said it set her heart on fire and Cam stopped pacing.
She sunk down next to him on the ottoman, their sides touching, the skin of his legs hot against her. “My mom left me something before she died. I always thought it was just a story. Aunt Grace always said it couldn’t be true. But you’re here and you’re a werewolf—”
“Wolven.”
“Whatever.” Cam could practically recall the words from memory, though she only gave Dom the summary. She’d basically learned to read because she knew that Aunt Grace hadn’t read the entire thing to her whenever she asked. “My mom said my father was an angel named Azerbaizan. He came to her one night and asked if she wanted a child who could help save the world. He promised that he’d come back and teach his daughter to control her special gifts and that one day she would meet and fall in love with a wonderful man and they and their children would be part of a war to defeat an evil demon who threatened to destroy the world. He gave her a pendant that would belong to me and guide me through my trials.” She leaned down and scooped the necklace up from where it had fallen on the ground. “Except he never showed up, and I never saw the necklace until two days ago. And, well, Aunt Grace always said Mom was a bit flighty. She liked to make up stories. And being touched by an angel was way better than saying she’d picked up some loser at a bar and forgotten a condom.”
She didn’t realize that she was shaking until Dom put an arm around her shoulder. She burrowed into him, seeking his warmth and comfort.
“You’re taking this a lot better than I hoped,” he said, pressing his lips into her hair.
“I—” His cell phone rang, cutting her off. Two seconds later, she could hear her ringtone chiming from upstairs. “You should get that. I need to see who’s calling.”
Dom let her go. She ran upstairs, knowing she didn’t have much time before the final ring and the phone switching over to voicemail. She didn’t even glance at the caller ID before swiping to answer. “Hello?” she panted, out of breath.
“Cam?” June was on the verge of tears. “You need to get down here. The store is on fire.”
Chapter Eleven
It could have been worse. The bearen got to the scene quickly and doused the showroom before the fire could spread out to the kitchen. Arson would have been obvious, even if the two idiots who set the fire weren’t sitting, stewing, in the back of two squad cars and under careful watch by several officers.
Foxen were slippery and it wouldn’t do to let them get away.
Though he and Cam had driven from her place to the bakery together, she’d left him to comfort her employee, June. The older woman had been walking down town and spotted the fire just as the foxen started it. In an impressive feat of dexterity, she’d tackled both of them and kept them in place until the firefighters and police could arrive on scene.
Logan was talking to Brenner and Maurice Insco, the fire chief. Though Dom had been doing his best to stay out of his citlali’s way, he walked over and joined their group.
“No injuries,” Insco was saying. “The arson inspector will come by to do a full investigation, but I’m sure those two boys will give a full confession before this is all done.”
Brenner nodded. “The red headed one already told Rodriguez that this has to do with June Jackson, Miss Watson’s assistant. She’s a quarter foxen through her mother.”
Dom looked through the chaos of flashing red and blue lights and found his mate easily. She stood next to an older black woman with curly brown hair. They were too far away for him to hear, but June seemed to be explaining the situation to Cam. Or, at least, some version of events that could be told to a human. No one here knew who Cam was—what Cam was. And while Dom secretly thrilled at being in on the secret, he knew it couldn’t last for long.
It couldn’t even last the night. But he’d warn her before telling Brenner. He could do nothing less for the woman he loved.
“What are you grinning about, Soto?” Brenner demanded. “Would you like to share with the class?”
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Logan turn away and cough quietly, probably to suppress a laugh. Wonderful.
Dom cleared his throat. “No, sir. I’ll go see if anyone needs anything.” He backed away before Brenner could give him a different order, or think to forbid him from speaking to Cam.
From the citlali and the fire chief he went straight to his mate, only just restraining himself from wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. Not yet, he told himself, just a little while longer.
But Cam brightened when she saw him, a grin blooming on the grim face she’d been wearing. “Have you met Dom, I mean, Detective Soto?” she asked her assistant.
June shook her head and stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “Can’t say that I have.”
Whether she was oblivious to the undercurrent of distrust or purposefully ignoring it, Dom didn’t know. Cam breezed on. “Can you tell her that this isn’t her fault? She’s saying the idiots in the cop car came after her and she should have never come here.”
Dom met the woman’s eyes and gave a serious nod. “This isn’t your fault. I’m sorry that this happened. I’m sure one of the officers or detectives will ne
ed to take your statement.” He nodded back towards Logan, who was walking their way. Then, with a deft arm on Cam’s and a few steps, he pulled her away and stopped between a fire truck and a cop car, half-shielded from the rest of the crowd. “How bad is it?” he asked. He’d seen the damage, but she was the expert on this place.
Cam sighed. She reached out and laid her hand on his, squeezing his forearm as if he could give her strength. “We won’t be open tomorrow. Or all of the next week. Or more. But I have insurance. And I don’t think any of the damage is structural.” Her eyes grew shiny and a tear escaped. Cam swiped at it with an angry hand and tilted her head back, as if that would help her prevent the tears from falling. “Assholes! They came after June and me for fun. What the hell?”
Dom gathered her close and let her cry.
Her tears subsided in only a few minutes. Dom didn’t let go and she didn’t pull back. But soon the noises from the other officers started to draw near and Dom knew that their time alone was coming to a close. He kissed the top of her head one more time before letting go. “I know the timing is horrible, but we have to tell the captain.”
Cam’s forehead wrinkled. “About the fire?”
“About us.”
“Us?” She blushed.
He wanted to kiss her until he the rest of her body was that same pretty red. But that was for later. “Not every detail,” he promised. “But you’re kind of a big deal.”
He started to pull her towards the congregated detectives, but she latched her hand onto his arm and said, “Wait!”
Dom stopped.
Cam swallowed a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut before straightening her shoulders and turning her determined gaze on him. “When you say ‘us’ what do you mean? Like, we need to tell him that we’re dating. We are dating, right?”
“We need to tell him that you’re my mate.” Maybe he should have made that a question, but they were long past that point. She’d chosen him just as much as he’d chosen her.
Cam’s mouth opened and closed, a small sound escaping as she processed what he said. “I’m… I’m your mate?”
But before he could respond, Brenner was on them, sneaking up on silent feet. “Soto, what the hell is going on?”
***
They were in the captain’s office, not an interrogation room. But Cam knew that this was more than just an interview about her store. Captain Brenner hadn’t said much after Dom’s declaration, but they’d both been ordered to report to the station immediately.
Dom sat next to her, his hand clasped in hers. She’d expected them to be separated, but none of the police seemed interested in that. The police werewolves. What had she gotten herself into?
“He’s a hard ass and he doesn’t like me,” Dom whispered, “but he won’t hurt you. I promise. We just need to get through this one meeting and it will all be okay.”
Would it? Though she wasn’t sure about that, she nodded.
Brenner came in on the heels of Dom’s statement and stared at him for several seconds. “A hard ass? I wonder what you’d call me if you weren’t sitting in my office.” He was older than them, maybe in his fifties or sixties, with short gray hair, pale skin, dark eyes, and a scary amount of muscles for a man his age. He exuded authority and Cam found herself sitting up straighter just because he was there. Dom didn’t need to warn her that he was tough, that much was clear just from looking at him.
Showing heretofore unseen restraint, Dom said nothing to the captain.
Brenner took a seat behind his desk. The place made Sparta look cluttered. There was nothing on the desk and the shelves behind him held neatly arranged binders with precisely labeled spines. Nothing in the room hinted at who this man was when he wasn’t busy being a police captain. Cam got the strange idea that maybe he wasn’t anyone when he took his uniform off.
How sad.
And then he smiled, and the hard ass transformed into something almost jolly. “I wanted to welcome you, Miss Watson. And to say that we couldn’t be happier to have you here.”
Dom jerked and stared at the captain with wide eyes. “She’s my mate.” He seemed to be daring the captain to say otherwise.
But Brenner kept smiling. “We may not have expected it, but nothing could be better.” He turned his attention back to Cam. “I realize that you’ve had a trying day, but news has begun to spread. If you’re amenable, I’d like to introduce you to the men. Most of them have never met a One True Mate.”
Cam didn’t know what to do. He was looking at her like she was the last best hope of a dying people, and she’d never been anyone’s hope before. A cowardly part of her wanted to hide away, to take Dom somewhere deep into the woods where no one would ever find them. But then she remembered that these were wolves, and the forest would be the last place she could use to escape.
No. She didn’t need to escape. What Dom told her and the story her mother had left for her told her just how important this was. These were men who’d been pushed to the brink and hadn’t dared to hope that they might one day find salvation. She didn’t know if she could be a savior. But she could smile and shake a few hands. “Let’s do it,” she said.
Dom squeezed her hand and smiled beside her.
It was fairly late in the day, but when they left the captain’s office, the bullpen was stuffed with men in police uniforms or suits. They all had the same look on their faces: dazed and cautiously happy. Dom kept his hand on her arm and as she was introduced to the first officers, he growled as they got close. She looked over at him, eyebrow raised.
He took several deep breaths and stepped even closer. “I’m okay,” he promised. “It’s just… a lot.”
They’d work on his protective streak.
Though Brenner had implied this meeting would be quick, Cam’s brain already supplied the countdown and she knew that she and Dom would be here until nearly midnight. But as the minutes ticked on, she grew less wary and more excited. She exchanged a cookie recipe with one of the youngest officers, and several made promises to start patronizing the Thorny Rose instead of that damned coffee shop across town. Even Dom calmed down by degrees once the other men established a safe distance and didn’t come too close.
By the time eleven thirty rolled around, she was dead on her feet and Dom put a stop to the celebration. Even though she insisted she could walk, he scooped her up like she weighed nothing, much to the delight of the men around them. Wolf whistles followed them out the door, but she was asleep before they made it to the car.
Chapter Twelve
Cam woke in a strange bed to sunlight streaming over her face. A warm arm wrapped around her stomach told her she wasn’t alone, and the masculine woodsy scent in her nostrils told her that it was Dom with her. She snuggled into him and felt the hard press of his cock against her back.
He groaned in her ear and pulled her close, flipping her over until he was on top of her and wide awake, eyes bright with desire.
She grinned up at him. “Good morning.”
He grinned back and dipped down, catching her lips for a hungry kiss. “Good morning.” He mumbled it against her lips, nibbling at her and making her squirm. “Mmm,” he hummed, “tastes like my mate.”
Cam’s brain stuttered. That was going to take some getting used to. When he turned his attention to trailing kisses down her jaw and neck, Cam moaned. “Where did my clothes go?” she asked as his hands drifted lower, down and around her naked hip.
“Somewhere else,” was all Dom said, and Cam found that she didn’t really care, not when he was kissing her like that.
She let her own hands quest, tracing the contours of his abs and up until she found the tight nipples mounted on strong pecs. Her thumb brushed against them and Dom groaned again and then found her breast with his mouth.
Thoughts flew out of Cam’s head and she rocked back, holding him close and letting him work his mastery on her. Her legs fell apart and she cradled his thighs between her own, ready and wet and wanting him now.
And Dom was of the same mind. She guided him to her entrance and he pushed in, filling her with his thick cock and making her whole. He kissed his way up her neck and thrust in deep, seating himself to the hilt. “I’m going to make you mine,” he whispered against her, nibbling on her earlobe.
She clutched him close and let out a mindless “yes!” She’d do anything he wanted so long as he stayed inside her, pumping her with pleasure.
It mounted, that mindless thing that was all sensation and need. His cock was in her, thrusting in and out, hard and fast and everything she wanted. She gripped him and he kissed along her neck, his lips tracing the line of her throat down to her shoulder. Cam turned her head, giving him better access, giving him anything he wanted.
She shuddered over him, exploding with orgasm, her mind going completely white in an eternal instant of pleasure.
Dom growled out, “Mine!” and teeth buried themselves in her flesh, but there was no pain here. They lived in a world of pleasure and it exploded behind her eyes as things settled clearly within her. He came with a gasp, his cock and his teeth still inside her. Wings burst out from her back, the gossamer weight wrapping around them and dissolving as she gasped, her arms locked tight.
When he pulled out and pulled back, she expected a throb of pain, but there was nothing except that luxurious stretching that came over her as she came back to herself. She reached up and gently touched where he’d bitten her and found a trail of blood.
She looked up at her lover, a question in her eyes.
If anything, he looked even more smug. “I warned you,” he said. “You’re mine.”
Her heart burst. She wrapped her arms around him and cuddled in close. “Good,” she said. “I love you, too.” And even though she’d slept the entire night, she drifted comfortably, safe in his arms. They’d have battles to fight and demons to conquer. But they could do anything as long as they were together.
