by R. E. Butler
“Me?”
“Yeah, smarty pants.”
“Watch it doggy. I’m your boss now.”
“Uh oh.”
He walked her into the building, back to the staff room where she put her purse in a locker, and then to the reception desk. He left her there, did a perimeter sweep of the building, and checked out the interior. His wolf was satisfied that no one aside from the humans working in the building had been inside. Checking in with the doctor, who insisted that Malachi call him Dr. Frank, he settled into a chair in the small security room and began to work.
Malachi had a degree in computer science and loved technology. Security was right in his wheelhouse, allowing him to use not only his superior senses but also his computer know-how to aide in keeping those that mattered to him safe. Brynn, as Mia’s friend, had mattered to him, but now as his alpha female, his wolf had a new appreciation for her safety. Acksel had asked him and a few others to be her personal protectors during the day. He was proud that his alpha trusted him with such precious cargo. Not only the alpha female, but also their pup.
After setting up the security system to his liking and linking everything to his iPad, he checked in with Brynn and then set up a small station behind the reception desk where he could keep an eye on things. He’d keep her safe. It was his honor and privilege.
* * * * *
“Luna’s?” Brynn asked, as Malachi pulled into the parking lot of the town’s only restaurant.
“I called ahead so we won’t have to wait for a table. Going forward, you’ll have a table reserved for you every day for lunch.”
“Cool.” This was a definite perk. She ordered out from Luna’s for lunch sometimes, but it was difficult to get a table during the lunch rush.
“Being alpha has its benefits,” Malachi chuckled as he opened her door and ushered her into the building.
“This should be in the pamphlet. I might have agreed earlier if I knew it came with a driver and reserved lunch table.”
“Only you would want to write up a pamphlet on the perks of being alpha female,” Malachi groaned.
She had thought it would be weird to have Malachi in the clinic with her, but after the first few minutes of him sitting just to the side of the big desk, she had pretty much forgotten he was there. Just a big, comforting, protective wall. Not as good as Acksel, but decent nonetheless.
Mia waved as they walked into Luna’s. She was standing near a table with a pink card on it that said Reserved for the alpha. Brynn tried not to grin too hard. It was pretty cool how the pack was already accepting her.
As she followed Malachi through the crowded restaurant, she swore she heard someone say, “Human trash.” She stopped and turned, trying to determine who had spoken, but no one was looking her way. Shaking her head, she moved on to the table and sat down.
Mia frowned. “Why did you stop?”
She lowered her voice as Malachi moved to lean against the nearby wall, his eyes roving through the crowd. “I swear I heard someone say human trash.”
Mia bared her teeth. “Who? I’ll punch their teeth in.”
Brynn put a restraining hand on her best friend’s arm. “I think I must have misheard. I mean really, who would say such a thing?”
She snorted. “I can think of a few females. You can’t allow anyone to talk like that to you, B. You’re the alpha female.”
“No one can hurt me,” Brynn said, uneasiness flowing through her.
“Physically, no, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be bitchy. You need to let them know you won’t tolerate any kind of bullshit. Right, Mal?”
Malachi’s blue gaze flicked to hers for a moment and he nodded. “No one would say such a thing to you if Acksel were here, and you shouldn’t allow it either. If I had heard it, I would have done something about it.”
She frowned. “I can’t go punching people just because they call me names. It’s not in my nature.”
Mia tapped her finger on the worn tabletop. “If they don’t respect you, then you’ll never feel like you’re part of the pack. You have to assert yourself as the alpha female, and sometimes that means you have to throw a few punches.”
“Shit,” Brynn shuddered. She was taught that violence didn’t solve anything. She’d grown up in a house where shouting was more common than talking, where insults were hurled instead of endearments spoken. She hadn’t expected to be bullied by pack members.
She looked at Malachi. “This is definitely not a perk.”
He smiled at her ruefully, but the cut of his gaze told her he was not happy by a long shot, and frankly, neither was she.
* * * * *
Malachi dropped Brynn off, walking her to the front door of her home. She’d had two run-ins with she-wolves during her first day at work. One at Luna’s, and then later when a female came into the clinic to get a physical for a job and made a face at Brynn, refusing to acknowledge her. Brynn had brushed off the verbal assault and snub, but he could see it wore on her.
Acksel stepped outside after greeting Brynn and shut the front door. Malachi explained what had happened. Acksel snarled angrily. “She should have put the bitch down.”
“I agree. I would have stepped in for her, but she waved me away.”
“That wouldn’t work anyway. The females are testing her. Instead of fighting her for me, they’re bullying her. Fuck. What if she decides I’m not worth it?”
Malachi didn’t like seeing his alpha torn up.
“You need to tell her to stand up for herself. She should have reached across the reception desk and throttled that female. She only really needs to stand up for herself a few times and they’ll back down.”
“I’ll talk to her. Thanks.”
“It’s my job.”
The following day, Brynn had a few more issues related to her station as female alpha. The seats at the restaurant table were coated in ketchup, which she almost sat in. Some kind of grease had been smeared underneath the door handle of his SUV on the passenger side; thankfully he was the one that opened it. Then there were a few hang-ups on the clinic phone when she answered. He couldn’t get the scent of anyone who had messed with her, so whoever it was had hidden it somehow. He bet it was the three females that had been vying for Acksel’s attention all these years in hopes of being alpha female — Hailey, Ava, and Carissa — but he had no proof, and Brynn seemed unwilling to do anything about it.
He left his station at the front desk and walked back to the security room where he kept his coat. On the way, he heard someone faintly crying. He wasn’t one of those guys who was affected by a woman’s tears, since Mia had spent a good portion of their childhood getting him in trouble with her crocodile tears, but his wolf was suddenly clawing at him to do something.
Following the sound, he opened what turned out to be a supply closet, startling a female sitting on a stack of boxes.
“Shit!” she gasped, almost falling off the boxes.
He stopped her from falling. He had meant to only keep her from hitting the floor, but one touch of her silky golden skin and he found himself pulling her close. She smelled like wildflowers.
“Are you hurt?” His voice came out rough. His wolf rolled and stretched under him, desperate to get closer.
She hiccupped and rubbed a tissue under her eyes. “N-no.”
Fuck but she was gorgeous. Warm brown eyes with thick lashes, dark blonde hair that was tucked into a messy knot at the back of her head, long tendrils escaping, and judging from the way she fit against him, plenty of curves.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
“Malachi Slattery.”
Mate, his wolf panted in his head. The thought brought him up short. He scented her quickly. Human.
Don’t care.
She pushed him away, her eyes flashing with fear. “Let me go, wolf.”
He released her slowly even though it was the last thing he wanted to do. “I’m sorry,” he started and she put her hands up, scooting off the stack of boxes and
moving away from him towards the door.
“Don’t. I don’t mess around with wolves. If you touch me again, I’ll call the cops.”
“Wait!” He roared the word and she froze, her eyes wide and her face paling. The scent of her fear wrapped around him and clogged his nose. Forcing his wolf to the back he said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. Tell me your name.”
“Doesn’t matter. Stay the hell away from me.”
He didn’t much care for that. What did she have against wolves anyway? And she was his mate, damn it.
“Tell me your name,” he said again as she pushed open the door.
“None of your business.” She stormed away and his wolf whined.
Well, that hadn’t gone well at all.
Brynn was standing at the reception desk when he walked back into the waiting room. Her purse was over her shoulder and she looked worried.
“What happened?”
“I don’t think the nurse likes me.” Shit, he sounded as bummed as he felt inside. Shaking it off, he shoved his feelings aside. He was here as Brynn’s protector, not to get a date. He’d figure what was going on with the human later.
Not later, sooner. Now.
Fucking mutt.
He escorted Brynn to the SUV and drove her home. On the way, Brynn said, “I saw her run down the hallway. She’s had a hard time of things.”
His mouth went dry but he managed to ask, “What’s her name?”
“Nila Caruthers. She’s a nursing assistant and one of my friends.” She paused for a moment and said, “If you’re her mate, you’ve got some big problems ahead of you. Her ex-husband is a wolf and a total whack-job asshole. She also has a kid with him and he showed up at the daycare yesterday and beat up one of the teachers who wouldn’t let him take Jack. That’s why she wasn’t in the office yesterday and was late coming in today.”
He swallowed hard. “What makes you think that she’s my mate?”
“Well, your eyes are flashing like Acksel’s do when he talks about us being mates. And this is going to sound weird but you smell different now. Spicier.” She groaned. “Ick. I can’t believe I just said that.”
He blushed sharply. She was smelling his arousal. Well, he wasn’t going to clue her in to what the scent was. Clearly the baby was having an effect on her, giving her some of their wolf tendencies.
“I won’t pressure her.”
Nila. His Nila.
“I know you won’t,” she put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “You’re a stand-up guy. I know that I’m human, but I do feel drawn to Acksel. Even before we spent the night together, there was always something that drew me to him. If Nila is yours, then she’ll feel it, too.”
She dropped the subject and he was glad for it. He wasn’t sure he could handle talking about the beautiful blonde that had been crying in the closet. He wanted to go to her and comfort and protect her. He wanted to eviscerate the male that had turned her against wolves. And he wanted to bring her and her pup into his house and take care of them forever.
Oh wait. He didn’t have a house. Well, he didn’t have Nila, either. Yet.
After walking Brynn to the door and seeing her safely into her mate’s arms, he told the alpha about the issues with the she-wolves that day and headed back to Mia’s, where he was sleeping in a guest room.
If he was going to be a proper mate to Nila, he was going to have to prove that he was the right male for her and nothing like the asshole that she’d married. First things first, he needed a place of his own to live. And if things went the way they appeared to between his alphas, then he had a feeling that his parents’ home was going to be empty in the next couple of weeks and it was just right for a family.
His family.
Chapter 19
Acksel grinned as he watched Brynn look at the rectangular box on her lap. This was his third gift. His third bit of ‘proof’ that he knew her and cared for her. He honestly believed that at this point she knew without a doubt that he had always cared about her, but she was letting him dangle for a while, and he didn’t mind. Well, he minded a bit, but not too much. He’d put her through the wringer for six weeks. He could twist in the wind for a bit, and deserved it.
She lifted the lid and pulled out a necklace. The day before, the cinnamon-scented flower that Jeremiah had found for him from a small greenhouse had been met with genuine surprise and pleasure, and lots of kisses. He would have liked more than just kisses from her, but he was okay with taking things slowly.
This gift he had purchased himself, spending several hours the day before on the phone with a jeweler who crafted the locket that Acksel described. He’d paid a hefty fee for the rush delivery, but when he picked it up earlier that afternoon, he knew it was perfect.
She rested the heart-shaped locket in the palm of her other hand. The exterior of the white-gold locket was carved with the image of a wolf, a woman, and a pup. The woman sat next to the wolf and held the pup in her arms, and the wolf stood watching over them protectively. It was such an intricate carving that it looked as if the wolf would leap off the locket at any moment.
Touching the side, Acksel opened the locket, revealing recent pictures of them.
“Oh, Acksel,” she whispered in a thick voice, “it’s perfect.”
Her hand closed loosely around the locket, she turned to him and he drew her close. “You’re perfect, sweetheart,” he kissed her cheek.
“Not remotely, but I like that you think so,” she chuckled and sniffled, resting her cheek on his shoulder.
“Well, I’ll believe it enough for the both of us.” He exhaled slowly. “I know you wanted me to show you that I care about you as more than the mother of my pup, and that’s so fucking true it’s not even funny. But the locket is…it’s the image in my head when I think of us, I—”
She froze his words with a kiss, pushing against him with a soft moan and crawling onto his lap. She cupped the back of his head with one hand, her fisted hand with the necklace pressed tight to his back.
“It’s good, Acksel, so good,” she lifted from his mouth long enough to pant the words before kissing him again, stroking his tongue with hers in a wild, frenzied dance. He kneaded her sides with his hands, desperate to take things further than kissing but unwilling to take the next step. He wanted her to lead, to tell him and show him that it was okay for them to move forward in their relationship.
She moaned in her throat and leaned heavily against him, her breasts pressing to his chest and her tongue licking the curve of his bottom lip. “Acksel,” she said softly.
“I’m right here, sweetheart.”
“You have been, haven’t you?” Her head tilted to the side as she looked at him.
“Yeah.” He brushed his fingers along her temple and let them slip through the silky stands of her hair. “I love you, Brynn.”
He’d never uttered more truthful words in his life.
“I love you, too, Acksel. I want to be yours.”
“You already are.”
Shaking her head slightly, she rubbed her thumb along the pulse in his throat. “I want to be your mate. I want you to mark me for real.”
He froze as his wolf panted in happiness. “Are you sure you’re ready now, sweetheart?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I don’t want to wait another day, even though I like your little gifts.” She smiled and her eyes crinkled at the sides, the way they did when she was really, truly happy.
He wanted to say something meaningful, but he couldn’t think straight with her body pressed against his and his wolf howling in his head. He stood with her in his arms and walked back towards the master bedroom. He’d had meetings that day at his home, so she’d suggested they stay at his house that night instead of hers. He was instantly glad for it. To have her in his bed was one of his fantasies come to life.
He stepped inside the darkened room and carried her to the bed. Setting her down, he clicked on the small lamp on the nightsta
nd and cupped her face. Kissing her gently, he ran his thumb along her jaw and said, “When I mark you tonight, it will be like we’re married, and marriage for wolves is forever. Are you sure?”
Her hand gripped his wrist and she locked eyes with him. “I’m sure. I’m positive I’m ready to be your mate, to be yours forever.”
He managed to not rip her clothes off and fuck her within an inch of her life, by just a bare thread. His wolf thought that was a fantastic idea. But the human part of him knew that this time was the most important and would set the tone for the rest of their lives.
He took the necklace from her hand and laid it on the table and then he pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor. She inhaled slowly, her eyes widening as she looked him over. And then she tilted her head again, the way she did when she was studying something.
The tattoo.
She stood slowly and peered at the wolf on his chest with her name buried in the fur. His silent vow that she would always be in his heart. Her fingertips ghosted over the wolf and it felt like she was stroking the beast inside him. He would have purred if he’d had the ability.
“When did you do this?”
“A few weeks ago. It was a way to keep you close when I was going out of my mind.”
She cupped his face and drew him down for a kiss. He threaded his arms around her waist and slipped his hands under her top to touch her back. “There you go again, being all sweet.”
“You’re worth it,” he promised.
She lifted her hands over her head and he took the cue and pulled her top off, letting his eyes roam over her bared flesh. She reached behind her to unhook the lacy bra but he stopped her. He wanted to do it.
Her hands dropped to his biceps as he slid his hands slowly up her back, feeling the silky warmth of her skin. It wasn’t their first time, but it felt like it. He wanted to take it slow and make it the best, most memorable time for them both. He opened the catch on the bra and raised his hands up her back to her shoulders, pushing the straps down over her arms and then pulling it away from her body entirely. His eyes wandered slowly down the column of her throat to her shoulder and the ridge of her collarbone. Her chest rose and fell quickly with her quickened breaths as her nipples pebbled under his gaze, and the lush mounds of her breasts beckoned him. He bent, kissing first one nipple and then the other. She made a soft sound, a moan and groan combined, and sank her nails into his biceps. He played his fingers across her breasts, cupping their warm weight and rubbing his thumbs around the peaks. Inhaling the sweet fragrance of her skin, he licked and sucked her nipples in turn as she buried her fingers in his hair.
