by Lucy Monroe
She yawned again, cuddling in closer. "Stop trying to be such a hard ass. I don’t understand all that’s going on here, but you could have watched over me from outside the cabin and you made love to me like you meant it. Those facts say something about your feelings for me even if you’re too stupid or obstinate to see it. Or both."
He made a sound of frustration but it was drowned out by the eeriest growling she had ever heard.
She sat bolt upright and looked toward the window again. Another wolf was there. This one even bigger than Ty and he looked mean. His eyes had that same human quality as her lover's, but they were filled with a repudiation she had never seen in Ty's.
He bounded off the bed, putting himself between her and the window. He growled in unmistakable warning at the other wolf.
The wolf barked back and then bared his fangs.
"What's happening, Ty?" she demanded in a voice she couldn't quite keep steady.
"My pack leader is not happy with our mating."
"You said he'd have to accept it. That there was no other option."
"There isn't." But the words didn't ring true. They sounded desperate.
King barked viciously and she flinched beneath the quilt. "Don't lie to me, not even to protect me. I have a right to know what is happening. He looks like he'd like to rip my throat out."
King's attention shifted from Ty to her and his huge wolf's head nodded. He disappeared from the window and she sat in paralyzed fear, not understanding what that meant. A second later, the unmistakable sound of the front door opening could be heard and then King walked into the bedroom.
His naked human body gleamed pale in the moonlight.
Ty growled again, moving with blurring speed to position himself between them again, his muscles coiled to spring.
King ignored his son and his own nakedness, locking his attention solely on her. "Pack law states that until you die, my son is mated."
"So you want to kill me?" she asked, her body trembling with the implication of the big man's words.
"You trapped my son into a mating he did not want."
Ty barked and it sounded like he was disagreeing, but she couldn’t know for sure.
"I didn't know," was all she could think to say.
Suddenly another wolf jumped in through the window, landing only a couple of feet from Ty and she screamed. She shoved her fist in her mouth to stop another sound from emerging as she recognized Duke, but that recognition gave her no comfort. Was he here to help his father get rid of the unwanted complication in Ty's life?
"He told you to leave him alone," King accused.
"He made love to me like he would never get enough," she responded, knowing only the unvarnished truth had a hope of saving her now.
Ty couldn't win against both of them.
"If you touch her I will leave this pack and never come back," a feminine voice sounded from the doorway.
Ty's mother was here...in human form...as well.
King spun to face her. "What the hell are you saying?"
"I watched you mete out pack justice on your best friend, a man you loved like a brother, because he broke pack law. I hated it...I hated you for a while after you did it, but I understood the justice. It's been our way of life for millennia. But what you are proposing isn't justice, it's murder and you will have to go through both your son and myself to commit it."
"She tricked him into the mating, that has to be punished."
"He withheld the truth from her even though she loved him. What did you expect, King? She needs him as much as I've always needed you. They made love. How that happened isn't as important as the fact that it did. They're mated and you have no right to undo that mating just because it angers you."
"She's a human."
"So is part of you as much as you'd like to forget that."
Suddenly, Frankie realized that by staying in the bed, cowering, she was feeding the bad opinion King had of her. So, she stood up, but Ty wouldn't let her go near King.
She looked at him, her own eyes filled with a love she wasn’t sure he would ever accept she felt as readily as his mother did. "I'm not afraid of your father."
"You should be. My mom's not exaggerating. He killed his best friend for breaking pack law."
"You saw it?" she asked.
"Yes."
"You can hear my son in your head?" Carolyn asked.
Frankie looked at her. "Yes. He said mates could do that sometimes."
"Sacred mates, yes." She turned to her husband. "She could be pregnant with your grandchild right now. You will not hurt her."
King glared at Frankie. "Carolyn believes you love Ty."
"I do."
"I won't kill my own son for breaking pack law if you walk away and he can't stand the loneliness. I'll kill you first."
The words were meant to frighten, but they didn't scare her at all. "I'm not the one who's been running from a relationship between the two of us for the last decade."
King said nothing. He simply turned and walked away.
Carolyn smiled at Frankie. "Welcome to the family. Rose and I will so enjoy planning the wedding and don't worry about King. He'll soften up when the grandbabies come along."
Frankie didn't know what else to say, so she said, "Uh...thank you."
Then Carolyn was gone too.
She turned to Duke. "Do you want to kill me too?"
He shook his wolf's head, said something to his brother she thought by the way Ty's body clenched and then disappeared through the window.
She shivered and without her realizing how he got there, Ty was nudging at her back, pushing her toward the bed. "You need to get back under the covers. You still need to sleep."
"I don't think I can after the adrenalin rush I just got. Your family certainly has an interesting way of welcoming a person into it."
Ty made that wolf sound that emulated humor again and climbed up onto the bed with her, so he could cuddle her like before. "You're safe now. You may not have realized it, but my dad actually put his seal of approval on the mating."
"Is that what that was?" she asked, tongue in cheek, her heart rate finally slowing down a bit.
"Yes. And Duke never intended to hurt you. He was here to fight by my side if I needed it."
"He would have fought your father with you?"
"Yes."
"But he doesn't like me anymore than King does now."
"He likes you well enough."
She snorted.
He nuzzled her. "No more talking. Sleep, sweetheart, you're going to need it come moonset."
Remembering what he wanted to do when he returned to his human form, she thought he might be right and did her very best.
***
Ty lay beside his sleeping mate, savoring the feel of her warm body against his fur, her scent and the sound she made when she breathed. She was fully human and yet she intrigued his wolf's senses like no femwolf ever had.
She also challenged him in a way few females of his species had the courage to do. She'd called him both obstinate and stupid and he had to wonder if she wasn't right. He had refused to acknowledge his feelings before because of his determination not to mate with a human, but there didn’t seem to be much use in hiding from the truth any longer.
He loved Frankie.
He always had and God help him, he always would. She was more than his sacred mate, though that was miraculous enough. She was the mate of his heart and he never could have gone through with mating with Olivia in the fur because of it.
He could only hope that Frankie’s ability to stick it out for the long haul was greater with him than it had been with her ex-fiancé.
He waited until just before the change to wake her up.
She came alert instantly and sat up to watch with the attention she’d always given her studies.
He felt the change overtake him and he knew what she was seeing. Nothing. One minute he would be a wolf and the next a man. The change could take longer, he could even stop partwa
y through now that he had control of it, now that he was mated. But right now was not a time to play with his new control over his dual nature.
She gasped as he took his human form and then screeched in shock when he reached and grabbed her to him.
He’d been aching to touch her like this all night.
"How do you feel?" he asked, barely in control of his primal urges.
She smiled, her eyes filled with a warmth that melted the icy places inside him. "Like I want you."
He was careful to arouse her before taking her. So careful that she was begging for his possession by the time he gave it too her. They came together again, the miracle of their shared pleasure rolling through him with a powerful force he had no longer had any desire to deny.
This time, she let him bathe with her and they were both very clean and very sated when they got out of the claw footed tub.
She was frying corned beef hash while he opened a can of peaches for breakfast when she asked, "So, what did Marigold do that made Leah leave town and Duke hate her like poison?"
He didn't like having to tell her about her cousin’s behavior, but he’d promised. "You know a werewolf only mates once, right?"
"That’s what you said yesterday, but your dad implied that if a mate dies, the survivor could mate again."
"That's true, but once mated, it's for life."
"I got that part."
"Well, the closer to the change we are, the more in control our wolves become."
"That makes sense I guess."
"A wolf’s first instinct is to mate and procreate."
"Well, you all certainly don’t give into it if you’re anything to go by."
"No, we don’t. We know that the decision is irrevocable, so we’re careful to make the right one."
"I see."
"But we have a time limit. At least our breed does."
Breed? Oh, wow...there was so much she was going to have to get used to with all this. "What do you mean?"
"If a male of my breed doesn’t mate by the age of thirty, he’ll never control his change."
"What about the females?"
"Things are a little different for them. Mating any time gives femwolves control of the change after the age of twenty."
"There are no limits on time for them?"
"No."
"That’s seems really strange."
He shrugged. "It’s just the way God made our breed."
"Okay...get back to Duke."
"Marigold knows all of this and she also knows that the scent of an ovulating female will put a werewolf in a lustful frenzy. His need to mate will become all but uncontrollable."
Frankie spun to face him, her expression horrified. "What do you mean?"
"It’s pretty simple. A male werewolf stuck in close confines with an unmated ovulating female will try to mate. His only hope is for her to say no, but even then...it’s iffy. We’re careful to stay out of that kind of situation when we can."
"You mean an ovulating femwolf, right?"
"Or human."
She paled. "And Marigold..."
"Got Duke in a room alone close to his change and at the right time of month for her. To add incentive, she was stark naked."
"He mated her?"
"No, but it was damn close and his hand was between her legs when Leah walked in on them."
"Oh, my gosh. No wonder she left!"
"She didn’t understand."
"Does she know about him being a werewolf?"
"Yes, but I don’t think she knows about the other."
"The whole overpowering urge to screw a single female who is ovulating thing?"
"Right."
"Poor Leah."
"Poor Duke. He managed to turn Marigold away, but it was too late to fix things with Leah. And he’ll be thirty in a few months."
"If Leah doesn’t come back...he’ll be unmated then?"
"Yes."
"Because he’d rather have her than control of the change?"
"Yes."
"He must really love her."
"I think he does, though the way he talks now, he can’t stand her."
Frankie turned back to the stove, the set of her shoulders tense. Marigold’s antics must really have upset her. A betraying sniff told him she was crying and he was across the room in a heartbeat.
He turned off the stove and pulled her around to face him. "What’s the matter? Is it what Marigold did?"
Frankie shook her head, her face was a mask of tragedy. "It’s what I did," she said in a pain-filled voice.
"What you did?"
"I raped you...or as good as."
"What?"
"I was ovulating...in heat. I’m a vet. I know what kind of effect a female in heat has on the male of her species. You were close to your change...your wolf instincts were in control. You told me to go, but I wouldn’t listen. I thought it meant you wanted me despite what you’d said, but now I know the truth. I might as well have held a gun to your head and forced you to have sex with me." She tore herself from his arms and ran to the bathroom, where she slammed and locked the door.
He raced after her, unable to fathom the workings of the female mind. He pounded on the door. "Open up, Frankie."
She didn’t answer, but he could hear her hiccupping sobs from behind the door.
"We’ve got to talk, little bit. You took me wrong."
His words were met with nothing but the sound of her grief.
Shit. He had screwed up so bad, he should be a professional at it. He had to get to his mate. He couldn’t stand the sound of her tears.
"Step away from the door, little bit."
His superior hearing could discern no movement on the other side of the door, but then there was a bump and sliding sound.
She was sitting against the door on the floor.
Now, what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t knock down the door with her on the other side. Then he remembered the other one. The bathroom opened to both the bedroom and the living area.
He went quietly into the bedroom and approached the door. He tried the handle, but she’d locked it too. "Are you still against the door, Frankie?"
She didn’t answer, but he put his ear to the wood and could hear no heartbeat on the other side.
He kicked, one swift hit against the handle and the door swung inward. She was sitting on the floor, huddled up in a little ball and sobbing as if her heart was broken.
It probably was and it was his fault.
He joined her on the floor, pulling her into his lap over her protests. "Let’s get one thing straight, you did not rape me."
"I did too! No wonder your dad was furious at me. He had a right. I deserve to have to marry a man who doesn’t love me. Rapists have to go to prison. I guess mine’s a life sentence."
"Marriage to me is not a prison," he growled out, offended.
"No, but it should be and it will be for you, won’t it? You didn’t get to choose." She started crying again in earnest.
"You didn’t rape me, damn it."
"What would you call it?" she demanded between sobs. "You told me a werewolf couldn’t control himself around a female in heat."
"I said the urge to mate is almost uncontrollable."
"But you were really mad at me yesterday and now I understand why. It was all my fault! It really was. Oh, gosh...and I just thought you were shirking responsibility. You've never done that in all the time I've known you."
"No. Oh, baby...I’m sorry. I was mad and I said stuff I shouldn’t have because I get stupid and stubborn when I’m angry."
She grabbed his shoulder and tried to shake him. "You’ve never lied to me. Don’t start now."
"I’m not." He'd all but forgotten how unreasonable Frankie got in guilt mode. "Remember, I told you Duke didn’t mate with Marigold. She was still in heat when Leah stormed out, but he walked away. Just like I could have walked away from you...if that’s what I really wanted."
"No. I didn’t give you the
chance."
He’d have to tell her about Olivia and hope it helped, rather than hurt. "Olivia was in heat too."
She looked up at him with rainwater grey eyes. "She was?"
"Yes, but I had no desire to mate with her."
"None? I don’t believe you. You said you wanted to marry her."
"I thought we agreed I don’t lie to you."
"Then you really don’t want to marry me. You said so."
"I wasn’t lying to you then, I was lying to myself."
She shook her head. "Olivia..."
"Was another moment of male idiocy for me. I never really courted her, but planned to mate her in the fur. She was in heat and I knew it. So did she. She would have sought a mate if she ran with the pack, she couldn't help herself and I planned to be the mate she found. But when we saw her at the ranch, the only female I wanted was you."
"You were going to use her impulses against her?"
"She would have had a choice."
"But you just said..."
"Even in our wolf forms, our humanity exists. If she really wanted to avoid a mating, she could have. In fact she did."
"That's why she insisted on going out of town."
"Yes. She planned to run alone."
"Is that safe?"
"It depends on where she ran. I'm sure she chose where she went carefully, but that’s not the point right now. The point is, I made love to you because I wanted you. And you are my mate because it is meant to be that way."
"If that’s true then why were you so against mating a human, why were you so furious this morning when you were telling me we had to be together forever?"
He explained about pack law and watching a man as close to him as an uncle have his throat ripped out by King.
"That must have been horrible."
"It was and it made me determined never to risk putting myself in that position. King wanted it to be a life lesson for me and Duke and it worked."
"A little too well. You just assumed that if we mated, I would walk away some day? That's ridiculous."
"The risk was there." He'd seen so many human relationships end, even ones where both parties said they loved each other more than life.
He'd spent high school watching one couple after another have sex, say they loved each other and then break up to move on to someone else. By the time he'd gone to college, he was totally convinced that affection between humans was a very precarious thing. As he'd gotten older, he'd seen more lasting relationships, but his mind had already been set.
