“Oh really, Adrianna. I am here if you need something, anytime, just let me know. I want to work and help. I really do.”
She left work with a smile on her face. Jacob was the greatest friend. Jacob taught her things that nobody else knew, he made her part of the pack. She felt accepted for the first time in her life. Jacob was a good friend and it was clear they were only that and she was very happy about it. They cooked dinner some nights at the cottage, cutting up until late at night, and if they didn’t have dinner together, they talked on the phone, laughing about everything and nothing. Lexy took Jacob with her to her parent’s house to meet them. They were very pleased that Lexy was finally happy and making friends.
Lexy went inside her cottage taking off her clothes as she walked toward her bedroom. She was tired and the worrying made it worse. She was happy here, but Malcolm and Mace were in her mind all the time. She turned on the water to her bathtub, deciding to take a hot bath before Declan showed up to get her for her date. She needed to relax before she met more of the pack. She leaned back in the water, sighing as the hot water flowed over her tense muscles. The water felt heavenly against her body. Lexy rubbed her fingers over her arm, rubbing the hot water into her aching muscles.
As she rubbed, thoughts of Mace kept creeping into her thoughts. Before she knew it, she was rubbing the ache between her legs. It became an urge each time she was in her bathroom. Her mind was drifting and she couldn’t stop thinking about that night when he came in her bedroom. She pushed one finger inside her wet lips, groaning as she pulled them out. Lexy closed her eyes as she continued to daydream about Mace while masturbating in the bathtub. She couldn’t control the whimper that released from her mouth as the orgasm gushed out of her. She shuddered as the thoughts of whom she was thinking about came to her. She shook her head back and forth trying to get Mace out of her head. Dammit, why does this man make me feel this way all the time? I need some type of distraction. Lexy removed her fingers, looked over, and saw her radio sitting on the small table. With shaky hands, Lexy used her magic to turn the radio on. She grabbed the shampoo and washed her hair as she sang to the song that came on the radio.
***
Mace stopped by Adrianna’s every day for lunch. He watched Lexy as she interacted with everyone. He could tell she was genuinely a sweet and caring person. He wanted to keep his distance but the urge continued to pull him to Adrianna’s house each day. Mace watched as Lexy spoke with the different children that came to Adrianna’s house. Lexy was beautiful inside and out. The kids loved her and opened up to her like nobody else. They clung to her as she spoke and hung on to every word. He lingered and stared as long as he could before everyone started staring at him wondering why he was still at Adrianna’s house.
Damen had worked with Reece getting him squared away with the pack’s paperwork and backgrounds that needed to be done. Reece met with the other Protectors and with the Supreme Alpha. He was doing a great job and was a fast learner. The wolves liked him and appreciated his warm ways. Even though he came from a military background, Reece drew people to him. They liked his personality. They compared him to the Alpha. Said he was generous and kind like Mace. Mace noticed that Star had made some great friends, too. She stayed at Nancy’s house a lot hanging out with her new friends. Reece knew Nancy and Josh loved having Star in their home. After talking to Reece, Mace knew he appreciated it, too. She needed that type of nurturing. She missed her mom and dad.
Mace couldn’t stop the feeling he got every time he was around Reece. It wasn’t sexual, but he felt an urge to be around him just as it was with Lexy and that wasn’t normal. They talked for hours about the different tours each one of them took and the troubles they experienced. Something was missing though and he couldn’t figure out what it was.
Mace decided that he wouldn’t go to Adrianna’s on Friday to eat. He needed to get some stuff done and he needed to try to stay away from Lexy as much as he could. Mace knew that tonight he needed to go by the Pub and order some supplies for his office staff, but he knew Declan was taking Lexy there. Mace paced back and forth until he couldn’t take it anymore wondering if Declan would make a move on her, or if someone else would, for that matter. The 'what-ifs' were getting to him and a decision was made. He was going to the Pub, if only to watch. Mace knew he was stalking Lexy now. All he could hear was his wolf saying ‘Mate,’ and he was sick of him, too.
As Mace walked out his front door, his eyes clouded, a door opened and Mace watched a person sit on the ground inside what looked like a pentagram. Sitting on the outside of the pentagram was a circle. The man wore a wizard robe as he sat. Sitting on the outside of the circle with no clothes on were three wolves. They sat on opposite sides from each other. The wolves stood facing out toward the woods as if they were guarding the man. Black smoke weaved in and out around the wizard. Mace watched as the man placed a rock of some kind at the front of where he was sitting then the vision left.
Mace was shaken by what he saw. He knew it had to be bad and he needed to tell Selena first. He didn’t want Adrianna getting upset or worrying about something that she couldn’t do anything about. However, Selena needed to know and they would work together to find out if this was who was behind Magnus McPherson.
***
Cain looked down at the wizard, “Tie him down now,” Cain spit out. Amanda jerked the wizard’s hand out and tied them with the rope. The wizard was fighting her as she slapped him hard across the face. She smiled as the wizard’s head slammed back onto the table as she hit him again drawing blood for the ritual. Brandi grabbed his other hand and tied it, rendering the wizard helpless.
“What are you doing, Cain Holliday? Everyone will know what you have done. I’ll make sure of it,” the wizard slurred, spitting blood out of his mouth.
“Who do you think will hear you? You will be dead,” Amanda laughed as she whispered in his ear. Cain started chanting the spell as dark magic flowed all around him. The smell of death was in the air as Cain held his hands up, then laid them around the wizard’s head. The wizard’s body started thrashing as Cain chanted harder.
“What are you doing?” the wizard screamed.
Amanda and Brandi looked on as the wizard’s magic started lifting out of him and into Cain. Amanda laughed as she watched Cain perform the ritual. She loved to watch Cain. Her body ached for him. This was a turn on for her. The more of the witches’ and wizards’ powers he took, the more aroused she became. Power was the biggest turn on for her and Cain held it in the palm of his hands. He was going to be the most powerful wizard of all time and she planned to be right by his side the whole time. Lexy Redden was next if she had anything to do with it.
“No, no, not my magic. You can’t take my magic. No Cain,” the wizard screamed as Cain lifted the knife and slammed it into the wizard’s chest. The look of fear and total shock was carved into the wizard’s face as he screamed for the last time. The wizard gasped for air as his body submitted to death.
***
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Declan replied as he spoke to Damen on the phone. “Man, if you get me killed, I’m going to kill you.” Declan listen for a second, “Yeah, dammit, I know that sounded stupid, but if this goes south, man, then I will kill you. You see how the Alpha looks at her. She is his mate, and boy if I piss him off too much, shit, I have to go. I’m pulling up at Lexy’s house now.” Declan got out of the truck and walked up to the door to knock, but the door jerked open as Lexy stood smiling at Declan.
“What is it?” Lexy asked as she smoothed the front of her dress down. She looked up at Declan who had the look of hunger in his eyes. He cleared his throat then he smiled at Lexy.
“You are one hot woman,” Declan muttered.
Blushing, Lexy looked down at the floor. “Thanks, Declan. Adrianna gave me the dress. Since she is pregnant, she needed the space in her closet so she gave me a whole bunch of clothes. I could never afford this dress. So thanks, Declan.”
Declan smile
d at Lexy. He knew her story about how her parents never had enough money to buy clothes so she didn't have a lot of things to call her own.
“You got it, Lex,” Declan replied. “I must say, girl, that red is your color and I’m going to have to beat all the guys off you tonight.”
Lexy giggled then shook her head. “Declan, you are such a flirt, but hey, you don’t need to do that.”
“Do what?” asked Declan, as he titled his head to the side, waiting for her to answer.
“You know, say that to me when it’s not true,” Lexy responded.
Declan looked at her, narrowing his eyes. “You really believe that, don’t you? You have no idea how beautiful you are or how damn sexy you are?”
Lexy blushed again then pushed Declan in the arm. “No I’m not, Declan, but thanks for saying that. I never hear that, but it does make a girl feel good when she does.”
Declan grabbed the back of Lexy’s head and pulled her head toward him, then he placed his mouth on hers licking her lips until she opened up to him. He pushed his tongue inside her mouth, tasting her. Then he pulled away just as quickly. He rubbed against her, letting her feel the erection so she would know how much he was attracted to her. “You feel that, Lexy. That is how much I’m attracted to you. I don’t say those words if I don’t mean them. Now let’s go to the Pub.” Declan shook his head, if it wasn’t for Mace, he would probably date Lexy, but she was off limits. He had to at least show her how sexy he thought she was, and that was the only way he knew how.
Lexy didn’t have time to catch her breath before Declan took her keys and purse sitting on the table then grabbed her hand, and dragged her out the door, locking it. Lexy stood staring and then she looked downward at Declan watching as his pants tented out.
“Caught you looking,” Declan said as he pulled Lexy by the hand toward the truck. Before Lexy knew it, she was picked up and placed in the truck with her seatbelt around her, traveling down the road toward the Pub.
“Okay, Lex, we need some ground rules. Tonight you are going to meet some good people, but there will be a lot of unmated males here tonight so don’t get upset if they flirt with you or even smell of you.”
Lexy looked over at Declan and squinted her eyes. “Look, my dad told me all about you guys and how you smell people. It gave me a complex in the beginning thinking that I smelled bad to everyone.” Declan laughed. “When I was younger, I always wondered why Peter would smell of my mother so much.”
Lexy laughed as she remembered all the times she would smell under her arms to see if she stunk or even walked up to her mother and smelled her to see if she smelled bad.
“What’s so funny?” asked Declan.
Lexy was still laughing when she tried to explain to Declan about her parents. “My dad would smell of me, too, and finally I asked why he was smelling me. He told me he was checking to see if any boys had gotten fresh with me.” Lexy looked away thinking about how much Peter meant to her. He always watched out for her.
“You sound like you really like Peter even though he isn’t your biological father,” said Declan.
“Of course I do. Peter might not be my biological dad, but he is my father. He means more to me than anybody except my mom. He counts as being my dad. He has done everything for me and my mom.” Declan smiled at Lexy.
Lexy wanted to learn more about mates. She felt shy asking Peter so she decided to take a chance and ask Declan. “Hey, Declan, I’ve been told that when you meet your mate their scent can be smelled from a pretty far distance away.”
Declan laughed softly as he tried to explain to Lexy how he viewed his parents. “My dad told me when I was young that when he first caught my mom’s scent it just about blew him away. He said she smelled like fresh cut flowers. Her scent was a floral. He would go up to her and stick his nose in her hair when she was washing dishes or just sitting at the table. He would inhale deeply then close his eyes because her scent made him want her,” Declan explained.
“You mean sexually, right?” Lexy blushed as she leaned forward listening to Declan tell her more about mates.
Declan laughed because he could see Lexy blush when she said sexual. “Yes, Lexy, I mean sexually. When I saw the look on my dad’s face, well, let's just say we knew supper would be late getting to the table,” Declan said.
Lexy smiled as she watched Declan talk about his parents. She envied Declan’s parents. She hoped one day that she could meet someone who would look at her like that and want her all the time. “So what you’re saying is that I should be looking for a man who wants to sniff my hair and body to see if I smell good.” Declan looked over at Lexy and they both burst out laughing.
“I guess so, Lex. I guess so. Just remember, there is a difference in taking a whiff of someone to scent them but when a shifter scents his mate, well, it becomes intense, and hell have no fury in trying to break up mates.”
“Thanks, Declan, for just being my friend.”
“Sure thing, Lex. I aim to please.”
Lexy reached over and grabbed Declan’s hand. He looked at her and saw the concern in her eyes and heard her say, “I hope one day you find your mate and she takes a big whiff of you and just knows what a special person you truly are, Declan Maxwell.”
Declan smiled because he didn’t know what to think of Lexy Redden. She was a true, honest, and sweet woman. She really believed that about him and her goodness flowed out of her.
***
Reece sat on his couch flipping channels. He felt restless as he flipped through more channels then he had ever had. Star had gone to Nancy Johnson’s house. Apparently Nancy was in charge of the young girls training in the pack. Nancy was having a sleepover party with all the girls and Star was invited. He had called to check on her, but she was having so much fun with the other girls she couldn’t talk to Reece long. Reece was happy she had found friends and was having a great time.
His thoughts kept going to Lexy and Mace, wondering what they were doing. Was she alone tonight in her cottage or was she with someone? He was about to go outside and find out when he heard a vehicle pull up in his driveway. He walked to the door as Damen got out.
“Let’s go, buddy. Tonight we drink and party,” yelled Damen.
Nobody had to tell Reece twice. He grabbed his keys, locked the door, then jumped off the porch and into Damen’s truck. “Where are we going?” Reece asked, excited to be out of the house.
“The Pub. The absolutely best place to meet women,” answered Damen.
Reece would have jumped at that statement but now that he knew who his mates were, well, it felt kinda like he was cheating. Reece knew he needed to meet more people in the pack so he decided to go along for the ride and do just that.
***
Mace hung up the phone from talking to Selena about his vision. He was feeling nervous about his sister. He knew she would be there tonight with her mates so he wasn’t worried about her safety, but he needed to let her mates know so they could put more guards on her. Plus she had a Warden guarding her and that fucker was damn right scary. He got the feeling the Warden would always protect her. Mace wanted to relax. His muscles were tense and now these damn visions were plaguing him.
***
Declan pulled up outside the Pub. They had to park in the back parking lot because the Pub was crowded tonight. It looked like the whole pack was here. Declan turned off the vehicle then turned to look at Lexy.
She was looking at all the vehicles parked in the parking lot. Declan could tell that it was making her nervous. “Hey, Lex, don’t you worry, you just stick with me tonight. You’re going to be a big hit.” Declan kissed her hand then got out of the truck.
Lexy muttered, “I hope your right.” Declan held Lexy’s hand as they walked into the Pub. Lexy knew Peter was working tonight so she would always have a ride home if Declan found someone he wanted to take home tonight.
***
Mace was standing beside a table talking to Cade and Samson while drinking his beer. He
knew the moment Lexy walked into the Pub. He could smell her strawberries and caramel scent floating through the air. He couldn’t control the growl that came from deep within him. His wolf eyes glowed as they took in Lexy’s body draped in a red baby doll dress. It looked incredible on her.
Adrianna, Jacob, and Sleepy were all sitting at the table watching Mace as he tried to control the mating pull. Then they watched as Mace’s demeanor changed when he watched Declan kiss the side of Lexy’s cheek. Cade and Samson both grabbed Mace, telling him to calm down. Mace’s eyes had turned to yellow and were glowing as he tried to control the wolf from coming out and tearing into Declan.
Declan and Lexy walked up to the table, they both turned to see an almost feral Mace. His nostrils were flaring in and out. Declan removed his arm from around Lexy. He could tell that Mace was fighting for control of his wolf and he knew Lexy wouldn’t understand. Adrianna asked Lexy to sit down as he walked up to Mace and bowed his head. He whispered, knowing that Lexy wouldn’t be able to hear what he said.
“Mace, look at me. I wouldn’t hurt her or touch her like that. I know she is your mate, but you better get your head out of your ass and do something about it before someone who isn’t like us wants her. She is a good girl and she deserves to be happy and not strung around by you not accepting what is right in front of you.”
Everyone looked up at Mace, whose eyes turned back to green. He finally started to relax and listened to what Declan said to him.
“I’m telling you, my brother, that she is worthy of being your mate. If I thought for a second that my true mate wasn’t out there, I would sweep that girl off her feet and take her away from you. She is that special and deserves so much better. You better make her happy or so help me, Alpha or not, I’ll beat the every living shit out of you,” Declan finished.
Mace didn’t know what to say about how Declan was talking to him. First Jacob, then Damen, and now Declan.
Bryce Evans Page 13
