by Rosanna Leo
“I noticed,” his dad said, clearly testing the waters, “Charlotte left early last night…”
“Don’t go there. Please, do not go there.”
“Fine, son, but don’t you think you’ve been harboring your feelings for this woman too long? It’s not healthy. Your wolf must feel desolate.” He sipped his coffee, eyeing him the whole time.
As if in agreement, the wolf stood, turned, and showed its back to Bart. Dumb dog. “Yeah, well, my wolf can jump in the lake.”
He laughed. “Let me share a story about your mother.”
Bart put up a hand. “Is this a sex story?”
“Not today. When I met your mom, she was the most incredible thing I’d ever seen. I knew right away I couldn’t live without her, but she drove me crazy.”
“She did?”
“Hell, yes. You’d never seen two such different people. I was a young wolf, eager to take on the world, and she didn’t give me the time of day.”
Bart inclined his head, amazed. He hadn’t heard this tale before.
“Now don’t forget,” his dad continued, “I didn’t own my own shops then. I was just a lowly mechanic changing oil for a living. I had no money to my name. Meanwhile your mother was the daughter of one of the richest shifters in the area. When I asked her out, she had the distinct pleasure of turning me down at least three times before she finally took pity on my poor, sad ass.”
“Why did she turn you down so often? Mom’s never been a snob.”
“She wasn’t. And when she finally said yes, I got up the nerve to ask why she waited so long. She said, ‘Because it took you that long to realize you had something good to offer.’” He poked Bart in the chest. “You have something good to offer. Something to offer Charlotte and something to offer the pack.”
“Dad, always with the pack…”
“It’s been my life, Bart. The pack has come before everything else. But at the same time, you need to understand that in becoming Alpha, I didn’t give anything up. I held a job, had a family, did almost everything I wanted to do in life. And I’m so blessed I’ve had your mother every step of the way. I know I’m asking a lot of you, but you won’t be giving anything up either. You’ll find balance and you’ll find love.” He held his gaze for a moment, gave him a fatherly pat on the back, and then stood. “Thanks for the coffee, son.”
As his dad began to walk away, Bart motioned toward him. “Dad. You need to know something. Jason Burns is loose.”
His father stood still, eyes wide, all too familiar with his history with Burns. As his face transformed from that of teasing father to protective Alpha, he asked, “What the hell happened?”
Bart explained how Burns escaped and brought his dad up to speed with the police department’s efforts to recapture him.
“Okay, here’s the deal,” his dad said after hearing the story. “Your mom and I were scheduled to leave a bit early from the reunion to prepare for our trip. Under the circumstances, I think we’ll stay a bit longer, in case you need help. That is, if you don’t mind. You’re the Alpha now.”
“I need to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone here on the resort. I could use an extra set of eyes and ears.”
“Consider it done. Oh, and Bart, if you’d like, I’ll discreetly tell some of the pack members for you.”
“I don’t want to scare anyone, but I think the stronger wolves should know so they can be prepared. I’d appreciate you telling them. It would save me a lot of time.” He clapped a hand on his father’s shoulder. “Thanks, Dad. You drive me insane, but I love you.”
His father offered him a tentative grin. “I love you, too. Now, considering what’s happening, don’t you think you should go claim your mate?” With a wink, he left the porch and walked toward reception.
Mate.
Hadn’t he told Ryland a short time ago he didn’t believe in the word? So why did it carry so much resonance when his dad spoke it? Why did everything seem to make sense, even though his gut churned in awful confusion?
His wolf prodded him with his nose. She’s ours. You know it. You’ve always known it. Keep her close.
“Okay,” he said out loud to the all-knowing mutt. “But how do I convince her?”
The wolf licked its paws, its eyes glowing amber. I can think of a way.
* * * *
That evening, after going over possible conversation starters in his head, Bart marched down to the employee cabin area. He crunched his Kodiaks through the freshly-fallen snow, stomping his way toward her as the sun set over the lake. He saw his breath, curling before him in hot tendrils of steam, and realized he must resemble a bull getting ready to charge.
Mates? He wasn’t sure about that, but dammit if he wasn’t going to lay his heart on the line. Charlotte needed to know his feelings. And if she told him to go play in traffic, he’d deal with it then, but he wouldn’t go to his grave one day with regrets.
As he reached her cabin, he readied himself to whip the door open himself, but she did. She stood before him, plush winter coat overtop her Victorian boots, with suitcases at her side.
Suitcases?
“What the fuck?” he whispered.
“Oh, hey, Bartholomew,” she whispered back. “Lex is waiting with his boat. Can you step aside please?”
“The hell I will,” he roared and crowded into her cabin, forcing her back. Okay, maybe his reaction was a little intense there, but he was pretty sure it was the only possible reaction with her. This was too much. This woman would surely give him an aneurysm one day. “Where do you think you’re going?”
She glared at him for a moment, and he watched as a tiny bead of perspiration appeared on her upper lip, despite the cold. She gnawed her lip for a second and then replied. “I’m moving back to Toronto. Tonight.”
“But…you just got back.” Hot fever assaulted the back of his neck, and his breath came hard. His wolf sprang to attention, its hairs raised, and tried to bar the door.
She nodded slowly. “I realize that. And I’ve also realized I need to get on with my life. It was nice to think I could hide out here at the Ursa Lodge for a while, but I need to get back to the university. I can prepare my lectures better there anyway.”
“But what if you leave Ryland in a lurch for the cleaning job? What if he gives you a bad reference for leaving with no notice?” Okay, he might be grasping at straws now. She already had a job lined up. She hardly needed a reference for her cleaning work.
“Ryland was cool. He knew I was just here temporarily, and he’s already given me a great reference.”
“Oh, he did? How wonderful.” I am so kicking Ryland’s ass next time I see the bugger.
“Bart, calm down. It’s not the end of the world.” She rolled her eyes. “At least I’ll be out of your hair now.”
She’d been out of his hair when she’d been at school in Toronto, and he’d hated it. Every fucking minute of it. He’d never been so scattered and out of his mind. He’d watched her walk away once, and he’d let her do it because he knew her education was important. But now? Oh, no. She wasn’t going anywhere until they talked things out and resolved this…what was the word his mother used? A kerfuffle. Yes, they had to resolve their goddamn, heart-stopping, blue-balled kerfuffle. She wasn’t moving another step while he was alive and kicking, especially not with Jason Burns out there somewhere. He moved into her personal space, making himself bigger, eager to tear down her walls in any way he could. “Who said I wanted you out of my hair?”
“Uh, you. Almost every time we have a conversation! You’ve told me I twist your words. You’ve told me I frustrate you, time and again.” She stepped back, and her chest rose and fell on a shaky breath. “Look, it’s just better this way.”
“Why?” He crowded her again, willing her to drown in his hot desire, and had to clench his fists so he wouldn’t grab her in anger.
She looked around, as if seeking an escape route. “Because.” He saw her neck move as she swallowed, and could almost hear her
wheels turning as she sought for something to say. “I’m tired of this place. I’m tired of small towns and small-town minds. I want to be free in a city that won’t judge me. Free to do as I please. Free to see who I want without having to explain myself.”
He heard his voice come out in a murmur laced with danger. “Free to fuck whoever you want?”
“Maybe. There’s nothing wrong with dating different men. I’ve never been the settle-down-with-the-high-school-sweetheart kind of girl.” She uttered the words with such vehemence, he doubted she believed them herself.
He pushed aside one of the suitcases in his way and backed her up against the sitting room wall. He put his hands on either side of her head, closing her in, and leaned toward her. Soaking up the scent of her talc-scented skin and her womanly heat, he inhaled deeply, knowing she was hot for him. “Did our kiss mean nothing to you?”
She blinked. As she stared at him, tears threatened, pooling at the corners of her eyes, but she banished them with another punishing series of blinks. “Nothing.”
Oh, she was good, but he was better. No kidding a kidder, after all. He wet his lips and pinned his gaze on hers, which were now trembling ever so slightly. “You’re fooling yourself.”
“I’m not,” she said on a gulp. “I’m not…”
“Oh yes, you are,” he warned, his voice low and deep. “But that’s gonna stop here and now, Charles.” He moved his face closer to hers, bent his head, and dragged his tongue up the length of her neck. When she gasped, he felt her hold her breath and moved his tongue as slowly as possible. He ground his hips against her, and his cock thumped violently against her belly.
She slammed her hands against the wall behind her, clearly trying to get purchase on anything but him. Even still, her hips rolled against his in obvious invitation. “I want you to stop,” she cried. Her chest jerked as the plaint escaped her, and her tears finally tumbled down her cheeks.
He moved away, just millimeters so she could breathe. Cupping her face, he stared her right in the eyes. “Say it again, and maybe I’ll believe you this time.”
“I want you to…” she squeaked.
“What was that? I can’t quite hear you, princess.”
Her lips wobbled and her eyes crinkled in what could only be agony of the worst kind. “I want…Oh God! I want you.”
He let out the breath he’d been holding and shots of heat radiated through him.
Yes!
He took her mouth in a savage kiss, meant to illustrate his dominance over her. He nipped at her lips, none too gently, and felt them swell under his touch. Good. That’s how he wanted her. Plump and overcome and ready for him. Always.
As he drove his tongue into her mouth, tangling it with hers, he heard her groan. Ecstasy made his cock riot in his pants, and he would have done anything in that moment to strip her of her clothes and plunge into her sweet moisture. His Charlotte. His woman. He’d make her his in every sense of the word, and soon.
He dragged his mouth away from hers and felt her loss immediately. He fought through the feeling, knowing he needed to say what was on his mind. He dug his fingers through her hair and focused his gaze on her wide, wet eyes. “Now let’s get a few things straight. We don’t fuck anyone but each other from now on. You got that?”
“You’re being presumptuous. Have you forgotten you’re not my Alpha? We haven’t even fucked each other—”
“Yet. But we will. And when we do, baby, I swear you won’t see straight. I will work my ass off to make it so. I’ll do my damndest to ensure you never want to leave my bed.”
The cheeky Charlotte appeared for a second as she curled her lip. “I’m glad your modesty’s intact.”
He offered her a grin full of evil promise. “I don’t believe in false modesty. And I’ve waited too long for this moment to waste my time lying to you. Sweetheart, I will do everything in my power to fuck every last bit of resistance out of you.”
“And if I say no?”
“Again, I invite you to say so.” She gaped at him, and he knew her hunger wouldn’t permit her to say the words. “That’s right. You can’t say it because it isn’t true. You want me as much as I want you.”
“You’re…such a cumwad.”
He didn’t bother to hold back his laugh. As much as he was dying to be inside her, he quite enjoyed this little bit of tease. “Call me whatever you want. Oh, and by the way, you will become very familiar with my cum.” He leaned in and stroked her earlobe with his tongue, nibbling it. He whispered, “I’ll make sure you wear it, that you taste it, and that the scent of it inside your body warns every other man away.”
Her jaw dropped. Amazing. He’d managed to shock experienced, savvy Charlotte. This was turning out to be a good day, the best.
“You’re so full of yourself,” she replied. “What makes you think I’ll be satisfied just with you?”
“Was that a dare?”
“I’m just being honest.” She swiped at her eyes. “I’m not a one-man woman, Bart. I know shifters love to brag about mating for life, but it’s not for me. There’s no way I can be tied to one man for the rest of my life. And if I even considered it, well, he’d have to be something pretty special to keep me amused. And he’d have to be very talented.”
He choked back the ripple of excitement surging through his gut and up through his lungs. “I’ll make you a proposition then, sweet thing. Here are my terms. While you are on this island, I’m the only one who gets to fuck you. Whenever I want, you will be at my disposal and I will demonstrate exactly how talented I am. And when it’s time for you to go to Toronto, you’ll admit you’ve become a one-man woman and you won’t be able to live without me. Do you accept?”
She paused, and tension wafted through the air, thick and sultry. “You’re insane.”
“Do. You. Accept?”
Her head wobbled as she seemed to shake it and nod at the same time, but temptation was clear in her open lips and shallow breaths. “To prove you wrong, I…I accept.”
Fucking awesome. This was the best day ever. He’d need to get it immortalized on a certificate and put it in a damn scrapbook.
Just as he mentally scored the merits of the day, he was distracted by a distant noise, one he knew well.
They both listened, watching each other's reactions, as an outraged wolf howl cleaved the nighttime silence.
She whitened, and he spied her wolf in her startled eyes, as the beast lurched forward in an attempt to gain dominance. He gripped her arm as a new emotion squeezed his lungs: panic. Had Burns already struck? "Charlotte, that's my mom's wolf."
"Oh, God."
Without another word, they both began to shift into their canine forms. Bart ripped through his clothes as easily as diving into a clear pool. Frantic, he barely registered the flying scraps of cotton and wool. From the corner of his eye he witnessed Charlotte's quick change. A warning growl issued from her throat as her lengthened wolf feet slipped out of her granny boots, and she donned her silvery coat.
He nudged her with his nose. Stay here. Lock the door.
She lifted a dainty paw, responding with the telepathy common to their kind. Fuck that nonsense. I'm coming.
Stubborn females. Well, stay with me. Do not leave my side.
They tore from her cabin, their blunt claws scraping over crunchy snow and patches of ice. Careening between the trees, Bart led her on a shortcut to the guest cabins.
Once more, his mother's terrible wolf-like cries rent the air.
As they approached his parents' cabin, he grew aware of other large bodies crashing through the woods around them. He spared a glance.
Other pack members had heard the howls too.
Two other brown wolves, Lena and Nate, joined the fray, their teeth bared for battle. Right behind them, his cousin Fletcher in his gray wolf form. He, too, snapped and clawed, alarmed by the desperate sounds coming from Bart’s mom. And not far behind, some of his other cousins.
Jesus, had Burns hurt his mother
? He’d kill him.
Leading the way, Bart charged into the clearing where his parents’ cabin sat.
The first thing he saw was blood, a thin trail leading toward the cabin. He followed it, his heart hammering in his every vein, threatening to choke the life from him. He expected to find his mom, injured in some way, and braced himself.
Jason Burns was nowhere to be found. Instead, he saw his mom in wolf form, on top of Cousin Flynn’s wolf, snapping at his head. Flynn had his father’s wolf pinned to the ground, and his mother was clearly trying to break up the fight. Despite the blood in the area, none of them appeared too badly hurt, but he felt sure his dad was the one bleeding. Even as they tussled, he could make out the gash on his father’s leg.
Okay, he said to them in their silent language, feeling a measure of calm. Break it up! He dashed over and nudged his mother with his nose, almost getting clocked in the head by Flynn’s big feet.
Panting, his mother tumbled off Flynn, and he, in turn, rolled off his dad. His dad vaulted to his feet and jumped in front of his wife, in a defensive position.
They argued about this silly Alpha business, and Flynn attacked your father, his mom cried. She aimed her glowing wolf eyes at her nephew. You ought to be ashamed, young man.
I’m all right, Shirley, his dad reassured her with a lick of her fur. No harm done. Just two men getting their frustrations out.
You’re bleeding, Dad, said Bart. He turned to Flynn and bared his teeth. You attacked the Alpha.
He’s not Alpha anymore, remember? taunted Flynn, breathing heavily. They made sure of that.
Okay, he was officially done with Flynn’s petulant moods. He’d never known anyone with such a sense of automatic entitlement, and it disgusted him. I don’t care if my father’s no longer Alpha. An attack on him is an attack on this pack.
What are you going to do, cousin? Flynn scoffed. Send me home without any supper? Rap my knuckles?
Bart stared at the man with whom he’d shared a house growing up, and wondered how it was Flynn still managed to deflect his disappointment upon others. Like an addict who couldn’t accept responsibility for his actions, he never saw the wrong in his misdoings. He looked over at his dad, whose leg now bore a long gash, delivered by Flynn’s canines.
