by Bonnie Vanak
“You eradicated her power, but you cannot kill her. Neither can I. She is not mine,” Tristan observed.
Then the wizard raised his hands and called out a chant in a loud clear voice.
An explosion of gray mist. Jake covered his eyes, the bright light painful.
When he removed his hands from his face, a tall, dangerous-looking man stood before him.
“Cadeyrn,” Tristan said in a solemn voice. “Karlene comes under the jurisdiction of the Shadow Wizard.”
Dressed in black leather pants, the wizard was bare-chested. Two leather straps crossed his muscled chest and were held together with a brass ring. Twin swords were sheathed in leather scabbards upon his back. His eyes, seemed dark as pitch, flickering with gray shadows like mist. Long, dark blond hair was tipped with dark strands. An intricate tattoo of ancient Celtic runes covered his right shoulder and right bicep.
Cadeyrn ignored them all, walked over to Karlene.
A knowing smile touched Tristan’s mouth. “Heads up,” he murmured.
The Shadow Wizard withdrew the swords from their sheaths and in a lightning quick gesture, sliced off her head. The witch’s scream died as her body collapsed, her head rolling to the ground. Then Cadeyrn flicked a hand and Karlene’s body and head evaporated into a cloud of gray mist.
Jake pulled Molly to his side as she hid her face against his shoulder. He didn’t blame her.
The Shadow Wizard made him sweat, want to run and hide. Gideon was intimidating. Tristan was formidable. But this wizard, ah, he smelled of power, of darkness and mystery and crackled with electrical energy.
Tristan made a tsking sound. “Always with the damn swords.”
Cadeyrn twirled his weapons, wiped them on his leather pants and sheathed them. “The old methods work best.”
The Shadow Wizard turned and saw them. His gaze landed on Jake, who nodded and lowered his gaze in respect.
“Jake Anderson. The Lupine who left his pack, refusing to fight. You stirred my curiosity, wolf. I wanted to meet you.”
Cadeyrn had a deep voice that coaxed an icy shiver to skate down Jake’s spine. Such power, such ancient power. So very, very old.
Jake slid a protective arm across Molly’s waist, drawing her closer.
“You value your bond to pack so little that you ran from those you loved?” Cadeyrn’s deep voice sliced the air like a razor cutting butter.
Jake winced. “I ran from myself, not my pack.”
“You ran in guilt because you could not save Karlene. No one could save her. She sacrificed her soul long ago, trading it for power.” Energy filled the air as Cadeyrn stretched out his hands. White electrical pulses crackled from his fingers as if the wizard was a living generator.
Jake didn’t want to get closer. But he didn’t back away, either. His fear was for Molly, and keeping her away from this powerful being. If Tristan seemed to lack compassion, this wizard had nothing. No emotions. Nothing, but pure, living power.
“And yet you hit upon the one source capable of destroying her dark magick.” Cadeyrn shook his head. “Karlene could not stand against love and unity, the very sources that hold a pack together.”
The wizard looked down at him, his eyes ageless. “So perhaps there is hope for you, Jake Anderson, Lupine.”
Tristan grinned and flicked a finger at the Shadow Wizard. A red cord appeared out of thin air and wound around Cadeyrn’s long hair, pulling it into a tight ponytail.
“Seems my Lupines have you tied up in knots, Cadeyrn.”
The Shadow Wizard touched the cord and it vanished. “You are too much a jokester, Tristan. You must resolve all this.”
“And here I thought we’d just have a party and celebrate with tapas and margaritas.”
When the Shadow Wizard did not smile, Tristan sighed. “You need to lighten up. Get a sense of humor. Or get laid. You’re such a wet blanket, you could extinguish a forest fire. Jake!”
Jake looked at the Silver Wizard, who leaned against a nearby pine tree.
“What do you want, Jake? It’s time for you to decide about your life.” Tristan tapped a finger against his chin. “Make it quick. I have a hot date with a cute shapeshifting otter from a zoo. She’s very flexible.”
“This is serious,” Cadeyrn began.
“Make Molly your mate and you must choose a pack,” Tristan told him. “You cannot divide your loyalty. Be with Aiden and his people or Robert and his pack. The choice is yours.”
“The choice is mine, and Molly’s. Ours.” He rubbed his forehead against hers. “Molls, I love you. I’m more than ready to commit to you, wherever you wish to live. I want you to be my lifetime mate, if you will have me. But I don’t want to take you away from your family, if that is what you want. I’ll ask Aiden to release me from his pack.”
She reached up and kissed him, her mouth warm and soft. “Where you go, I go. I can’t stay here, Jake. There’ll always be those in my pack who question my choice, who think, deep down, that I caused this war. I want to start fresh, with a pack who doesn’t care about my history or my past.”
Tristan clapped his hands. “Excellent. Robert, do you release Molly from her oath of loyalty so she may join Aiden’s pack as Jake’s mate?”
Robert stepped forward, clasped Molly’s hands.
“Yes. I release you. Molly, I’ll miss you. You were such an important part of our family, but I want you to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.” Robert kissed her forehead. “I’ll appoint a new heir. Go, be happy.”
He threw Jake a stern look. “Be good to her, Anderson, or I’m coming after you.”
Tristan leaned against the pine tree. “Your pack is diminished now, Robert. You shall have to choose another heir, quickly, to maintain pack balance. Or a mate.”
Her uncle’s expression tightened. “No. I will not mate until I’m ready.”
Tristan glanced at Cadeyrn. “Any thoughts, O tall, gray and scowling one?”
The Shadow Wizard seemed to consider. He vanished and when he rematerialized, he was not alone. His long fingers gripped the wrist of a pretty girl with long brown hair.
Not a girl. A woman.
Robert’s expression turned to shock. “What the hell?”
Cadeyrn shoved her forward. She stumbled, and Robert caught her by her upper arms and steadied her.
“Here. She is my gift to you.”
“You can’t give her to me! She’s a person!” Robert looked infuriated.
“Not a person, a Mage. A slave. Aurora is yours now.”
“I don’t take slaves! Hellfire, I am not—” Robert released the woman.
“If you do not accept her, I shall kill her.”
Molly gasped. The girl’s expression remained resigned, but fear flickered in her blue eyes.
“What did she ever do to you?” Robert still did not look at the girl, but he stepped in front of her, almost protectively.
“That is not your concern. She is your gift, because you acted bravely and with honor, and I owe Tristan,” Cadeyrn gave the Silver Wizard a look filled with disgust, “a favor after he won our game, I shall spare her miserable hide by allowing you to have her.”
“What was the game?” Jake asked.
“Checkers.”
Molly’s stomach tightened. A girl’s life hung in the balance, thanks to a child’s game played by two powerful wizards? She didn’t dare ask what Aurora had done.
Aurora stepped in front of Robert and fisted her hands. “You have no mercy, you shadow bastard!”
The Shadow Wizard narrowed his eyes and reached for his swords. Tristan sighed. “Enough, Cadeyrn. You agreed to spare her. Put your toys away. They’ve seen enough action for one day.”
“Hush,” Robert told Aurora, gently pushing her aside. He faced Cadeyrn seemingly without fear. “What the hell am I to do with her?”
“Fuck her. Breed her. Get her with child and create a new heir.”
The Shadow Wizard flicked a finger and vanished into a clo
ud of gray mist.
Tristan sighed. “Such a damn wet blanket.” Then his gaze hardened as he studied Aiden, who stood near his pack males, J.J. and Raphael.
“You’re very quiet, Aiden. Have nothing to say about how you nearly killed one of your best friends?”
The Mitchell alpha rubbed his nape. “I’m sorry, J.J.”
“No fault of yours.” J.J. shook his head. “That damn witch—”
“Karlene was only partly at fault. Your own drive to mate, Aiden, and that of your men, came into play. You were easy marks for her.” Tristan flung out a hand, sending Aiden hurling backward into a tree. The alpha hit his head and yelped.
“What the hell, Tristan?” Aiden yelled, getting up and rubbing his injured head.
“Consider that a shot across the bow, so to speak. You will cease this damn waiting and enter the Mating Challenge.”
“Well, duh,” Kyle said mildly. “You think? He’s not the one stalling.”
“I know.” Tristan gave them all a severe look. “But she will stall no longer. I’m laying down the law. Be ready in one week.”
With a wave of his hand, the Silver Wizard vanished.
“Silver-tongued devil,” Jake muttered.
Aiden barked out a curse. “Damn you, Tristan. It’s not me, it’s Nikita who keeps delaying things.” He looked at the sky, colored by the setting sun. “I’m tired of waiting to make Nikita mine!”
“So am I,” a distant voice echoed on the wind.
Jake and Molly’s Skin wedding had been simple and took place in the courtroom to make everything legal. Robert and Martin, Jake’s good friend, were witnesses. After, Robert treated all of them to a wedding breakfast. Martin told Jake he was sad to see him move away, but happy he’d found someone special.
Later that afternoon, the entire Keynes pack, Aiden and the males who’d accompanied him, her best friends and their mates, and even the Silvern pack, sat in folding chairs in her uncle’s garden for the Lupine ceremony tying Jake and Molly together as mates for life. Rodney, the squirrel shifter who had healed from his injuries, had a front seat.
Jake and Molly stood beneath the wedding gazebo. They linked hands and Molly was touched to feel Jake’s palm trembling. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Nervous?” she whispered.
He glanced at her and mouthed, “Only because I want this so much, Molls.”
Then Aiden, as alpha of her new pack, lanced their palms with a silver ceremonial knife. The cut stung, but staring into Jake’s eyes, she felt only the thrill of knowing she was mating him for life.
She and Jake clasped hands, their mingled blood dripping to the earth and sinking into it. Then Robert stepped up with a smile.
“Since you are of my blood, and I am your former alpha, Aiden asked me to complete this part of the ceremony.”
Tears blurred her eyes as her uncle tied their wrists together with a leather cord. “May you always be tied together by the bonds of loyalty, courage, strength and love.”
He kissed Molly’s cheek and shook Jake’s hand.
After the formal ceremony, they retired to tables set up in the garden for the reception. An enormous white tent shaded the tables. Covered with pink linen tablecloths, each table bore a squat glass vase of pink roses and ferns. Jake settled Molly onto his lap and fed her the ceremonial first bite of their wedding dinner; a slice of prime rib.
“So you may never go hungry. I will always keep you satisfied, in every way possible,” he murmured.
Their hands still tied together, Molly lifted the silver cup filled with water to his mouth.
“So you may never thirst for another’s touch except mine. I will always quench your spirit,” she whispered.
He kissed her afterward, his mouth settling on hers with possessive intent. Then they untied the leather cord and settled in for the wedding feast.
As they ate, Luke Silvern approached them. Molly stood, sensing what this was about. Jake wiped his mouth and joined her, his hand resting protectively on her shoulder.
Luke looked her straight in the eye. “I’m so sorry for everything bad I did to you, Molly. I truly am. And I’m happy for the both of you.” He glanced at Jake. “I’d say you chose the better man.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “You’re forgiven.”
“Not quite.” Jake slugged Luke in the jaw. Luke staggered back, blood on his lip.
Her mate flexed his knuckles. “That’s for what you did to my Molly. Now you’re forgiven.”
Luke wiped his mouth with a rueful smile. “I deserved that and more.”
He and Jake shook hands. Luke sighed. “Dad’s sending me off to stay with relatives in Alaska for a few months to live and hunt as wolf. He said I need toughening up. I’m looking forward to the wild.”
Molly blinked in surprise. “I thought you enjoyed the Skin life here.”
Luke shook his head. “Getting out from beneath Dad’s thumb will be great. I can’t do anything right in his eyes.”
With a nod, he strolled off, whistling.
Jake raised a brow. “I guess everyone has their problems.”
When the moonlight touched upon the land, and the guests were merrily dancing and consuming dessert, Jake spirited her away. She saw Jessica and Alexa both wave at her and give a big thumbs up. A thrill raced through Molly.
Time to consummate the mating.
Jake drove to a luxurious home Alexa’s billionaire mate had given for them to use for their honeymoon. It was one of several he owned.
The five-bedroom house nestled against a stretch of pristine beach. Moonlight glowed upon the frothy waves crashing upon the shore.
As Jake unlocked the front door, he paused and jingled the keys in his palm “Everything’s new. J.J. bought all the furniture and the accessories. He never uses this place.”
Noticing the spark in Jake’s eye, she wondered what the accessories were.
After they brought in their luggage, Jake told her to remain in the living room while he went upstairs. A few minutes later, he came back down, a wide smile on his handsome face.
When she opened the door of the master bedroom, Molly gasped with delight. The hand-carved four poster bed had white sheets turned down for the night. Dozens of white candles glowed, making the shadows dance on the walls. Two crystal flutes, a bowl filled with strawberries and a bottle of chocolate syrup sat on the nightstand. Jake pressed a kiss deep into her palm.
Molly stared at the bed, her heart squeezing with joy. “You did this?”
He seemed to struggle for the right words. Then he said in a husky whisper, “Because I’ve wanted you so badly. I wanted our first night together as mates to be romantic and special.”
She touched his cheek. “I love it. I love you.”
Jake nuzzled her throat, licking a line down the slender column. She shivered with anticipation and need. This was the only male she needed. She wanted to make her home with him, raise their young together, stay with him forever.
She had felt obligated to follow her head and save her pack. Instead, she followed her heart and found love. No longer would she ignore her own needs. Emboldened by Jake’s love, she gazed into his dark eyes.
“I need you,” she whispered. “Not only for this lifetime, but an eternity.”
Jake stared solemnly down at her. “We’ll always be together now, Molls. No matter what comes between us. It’s not going to be easy for you, moving to a new state, a new pack. But I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy. You come first. Always.”
“I’m going to make you happy, Jake Anderson. Inside the bedroom and out of it.”
He rubbed his cheek against hers. “Before this night is over, I’m going to know every single, sweet inch of your lush body. I’m going to possess you mind, body and spirit and ruin you for any other male who even dares to fantasize about you. I’m going to make you mine, sweetheart. All mine.”
She stroked a finger down his chest. “You’re mine now, Jake
Anderson. Mind, body and spirit. And if any other female dares to even look at you twice, I’ll deck her.”
“Using that move I taught you?” His teasing smile made her grin.
“That one, and a few others I’ve learned along the way.”
He kissed her. “I’m going downstairs for the champagne. Why don’t you get undressed?”
When he left, she stripped and climbed into the big bed. After a few minutes Jake returned, carrying a bottle of champagne. Molly blinked, her eyes widening.
He was stark naked. “I got undressed along the way.”
His wide grin erased her shyness. She stared, her body tightening with need. Hard muscle lined his flat belly. Hair marched down from his deep chest to the indentation of his belly button, dipping into a line that ended with the thicker, black hair on his groin.
His penis was erect. He wanted her, badly.
After uncorking the champagne, he poured it into the flutes. Jake joined her on the bed and they clinked glasses and drank.
Jake took the glasses and set them down and slid into bed next to her.
“I want you,” she whispered, hooking her arms around his neck. “In every way possible.”
Desire swirled in his dark eyes. Drowning in it, she felt the last inhibition slide away, replaced with a burning need. The space between her legs felt empty, aching to have him inside her, joining them together.
He took a strawberry from the bowl and they shared it, eating it in small bites. Jake took another and held it out. She reached up to bite it, but he snatched it away.
“It needs something sweeter,” he murmured.
A different hunger pulled as she studied his long, leanly muscled torso. His gaze gleamed with equal hunger.
Jake poured chocolate sauce into the bowl, dipped the strawberry in chocolate and dangled it over her. A droplet fell onto her breast. Slowly, he licked it off. She shivered with pleasure.
“Let me see your tongue, and I’ll reward you,” he promised.
Molly licked her lips and he placed the strawberry into her mouth. A vein pulsed in his neck as she swirled her tongue around the fruit, and then bit down.
He tossed aside the stem. “The strawberries are good, but I know something that would taste better dipped in chocolate.”
