“I should’ve known.” he shakes his head. We make our way to the bar and promptly order our drinks (a beer for Pike, and a Long Island Iced Tea for me). Sitting on the stool I turn my back to Pike so I can face Bonnie and Tucker.
“Sooo, how’s it going?” I ask on a grin.
“Darlin’, they’re being good don’t start trouble.” Pike warns me through our bond as he leans into me, wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me and my stool closer to him.
“I would never.” I reply in my most innocent voice.
“Uh-huh. And a wolf doesn’t bite.”
Bonnie turns to me, gripping the stem of her martini glass so hard I can see the white of her knuckles. She plasters a smile on her face, and through gritted teeth says. “It’s going abso-freakin-lutely wonderfully. Your brother here...”
“Your mate!” Tucker interrupts her.
Bonnie takes a deep breath, lets it out, and then continues ignoring Tucker. “Your brother, won’t stop following me around like a lost dog. He scares off any single guy that gets within thirty feet of me!”
“They’re lucky I let them that close.” Tucker mumbles, as he takes another drink of his whiskey.
“Who do you think you are?” Bonnie turns and glares at him.
Tucker lets out a sigh, sets down his drink, and then turns to his mate. “I don’t think I’m anyone. I know that I’m your mate.”
“No. You’re. Not!” Bonnie punctuates each word.
Tucker leans in, pulls her off her stool, and on to her feet. Pressing her body flush against his. “I know you feel this, Bonnie-bean, so you need to stop denying it.”
“I feel nothing.” She tries to sound strong, but her words come out a husky whisper.
Tucker chuckles comes out roughly, as he runs a finger down the side of Bonnie’s cheek. “You feel it. That sensation that your whole body is throbbing, waiting on a release that never comes.”
Bonnie gasps, but doesn’t respond otherwise.
He grips her hip tighter with one hand, and uses the other to force her head up to look him in the eyes. “I can give you that release, Bonnie. All you have to do is give in to our bond.”
Bonnie continues being uncommonly silent as she bites her lip and watches Tucker.
Tucker takes advantage of her silence, and leans into whisper in her ear. “Give in to us and I promise I’ll make your whole body sing.”
A strangled sigh leaves Bonnie’s lips seconds before I watch her visibly pull herself together. She wiggles out of Tucker’s arms, knocking the bar stool behind her over as she puts distance between them.
Grabbing her martini glass off the bar she downs the remainder of her Cosmo without taking her eyes off Tucker. When there’s not a drop left in the glass she sets it back down and tells him. “Nice try Lassie, but dogs don’t sing they howl. And I have no intention of letting you hump my leg long enough to get your howl out.”
While Tucker stands there in shock at her words, Bonnie takes the opportunity to sneak away through the crowd of guests.
He turns to watch her leave, and once she’s out of sight he asks. “Did she really just?”
“Refer to you as a dog and insinuate you wanted to hump her leg?” I finish for him.
“Yeah, that.” He mumbles, still partially in shock.
“Yep, she did.”
“What the heck am I going to do with her?” He asks more to himself than to anyone else.
“No clue. But whatever you do try make sure to tread carefully, because that girl’s tongue can do more damage than our claws.” Pike says shaking his head.
Chapter 4 – Bonnie
I stomp over to where Emily and her mate, Kit, are sitting. I grab his glass of whiskey and down it. It burns my throat, causing me to cough. I take Emily’s glass next, a fruity mixed drink, to soothe the burn. Neither of them say anything, but I can see them watching me with worry in their eyes. I ignore that. I can’t process anything at this moment. Well, that’s not correct. I can talk about how lovely the ceremony was, or how beautiful Bloom looks in her dress, or even how the caterers screwed up the steak. But I absolutely cannot process anything to do with me possibly being mated.
My only goal today was to celebrate with my best friend. She deserves to be happy. She’s been to hell and back this past year. I never thought I’d see her smile again. But somehow Pike’s pulled her from that darkness. I’ll forever be thankful to him for that. But, because of the giant shifter who keeps following me around like a lost puppy, I’ve added on to today’s goal. Not only am I going to help celebrate, I’m going to be doing it with alcohol. Lots of it. I’m going to keep downing it until I can’t hear his damn voice in my head anymore.
“Bad idea, Bonnie-bean.” Tucker warns.
“I think you mean brilliant!” I hold up Emily’s glass like I’m making a toast, because I know he’s somewhere close watching. Then I bring it back to my lips and down the remainder. I slam it down on the table, wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, and ask. “Who wants a shot?”
“Bonnie!” Tucker growls his warning.
I, of course, choose to ignore him.
Emily and Kit look at each other, probably doing the talk in their heads thing. Finally, Kit stands and leaves the table. Emily turns back to me and explains. “He’s going to get your shots.” She pats the seat beside her and directs me. “Sit with me.”
I slide into the seat and cross my legs. My forearms are on the table, and I drop my head down on them and grumble. “How do you handle it, Em?”
She reaches out and pats my hand. “For one, you don’t fight it.”
“I feel like I need to though.” I tell her, turning so I’m facing her with my cheek still pressed to my arms.
“That’s not a natural reaction to a mating.” She explains with a worried look on her face.
“What would be natural?”
“Giving in.” She takes a moment to find the right words before she continues. “Tucker was made for you. You’ll balance each other perfectly. Every other person in your shoes would be feeling that truth down to their very soul. They’d feel the draw to him. That absolute need we all have at the very beginning to be with him every moment. They’d be etching every sweet and good thing about him into their hearts, so they’ll always remember why they love him. But they definitely wouldn’t be fighting him.” She looks towards the bar where Kit is ordering our drinks and sighs. “I can’t imagine why someone would want to fight their mating.”
I pull my head and arms off the table. I need her advice. She’s been around all of this mating stuff her whole life, so if I’m going to get her best advice then I have to give her everything. “I feel the draw to him. He’s smokin’ hot. How can I not? But at the same time I feel like I need to fight his control over me.”
At that moment, Kit, arrives back at the table. He sits a shot and a martini back in front of me. And another shot and a new fruity drink in front of Emily. Then reclaims his seat on the other side of her. He got himself a bottle of beer. He takes a swig and then sets it back on the table. He apparently had been spying on our conversation because he picks right up where we left off. “Your mate doesn’t want to control you. Protect you? Yes. But not control.”
“Doesn’t feel that way to me.” I pick up my shot and down it.
“I don’t want to control you.” Tucker tells me through our bond.
“Stop butting in, Cujo.” He tries to respond but I block him out by picking up Emily’s shot and downing it too.
She shakes her head. “Getting drunk isn’t going to stop this.”
“It’s worth a shot.” I hold up the now empty glass and grin. “Speaking of shots. I need some more.” I don’t wait on them to tell me my plan’s bad. I know it is. But I already have enough alcohol in me to ignore the intelligent part of my brain.
Thankfully, Tucker is no longer at the bar. I don’t order the shots, instead I swipe a full bottle of Jack. I drink a quarter of the bottle. I’m way past buzzed and
heading straight for smashed. For some stupid reason I decide I need to dance. I’m not even sure what the band’s playing, but in my inebriated state it doesn’t matter. I’m waving my stolen bottle of Jack around in the air, and swaying my hips to the music.
I grab the closest unattached guy and pull him out to join me. I wrap my arms around his neck, dumping some Jack down the guys back, and pull him close to me. If I was sober I would’ve realized this wasn’t a great idea.
I feel the guy being jerked out of my arms, I look up and up and up, and find glowing amber eyes staring back at me. Tucker pulls the bottle out of my hand, and throws it over his shoulder. I hear the smashing sound as it connects with something and shatters. But I can’t give it a second thought, because by then Tucker is gripping my waist, lifting me up off the floor so we’re face to face.
“Keep trying to fight this all you want. I won’t be going anywhere. But no other male is allowed to put his hands on you. I see that again and their life will be forfeited. Do you understand me?” Tucker’s voice is dropped into a low growl, and even in my drunken state I can tell his words aren’t just an empty threat, but a sincere promise.
I swallow the lump in my throat, and decide this isn’t the best time to fight him. “Completely.”
“Good.” His eyes scan my face, and I know if I was on my feet I’d be squirming when his intense gaze lands on my lips. “I should kiss some sense into you.”
I bite down on my bottom lip to stop myself from screaming “Please do.” I don’t want to fight him. I can’t, tonight. I want to feel the needy burn he causes in me. A burn the whiskey in me is fueling instead of dousing.
He sees the need in my eyes or maybe he’s just reading my thoughts, but either way instead of taking my lips, like I want, he places me back on my feet. He pushes some loose strands of hair away from my face. His fingers brushing the skin of my cheek cause me to shiver. Then he leans down to my ear and whispers. “Not tonight. I want you to remember our first kiss, so I’ll wait until you’re sober. But don’t worry it’s coming. Soon.” I shiver, at his words this time. He feels it and chuckles. Then he presses a soft kiss right below my ear, turns around, and leaves me standing drunk, lonely, and turned on beyond belief in the middle of the dance floor.
Damn it!
I’m not sure I can keep fighting him when the gentlest of touches from him can cause my body to react.
“Don’t fight it.” Tucker advises softly.
“I have to.” I whisper back as I wrap my arms around my middle in an attempt to strengthen my weakening resolve.
Chapter 5 – Pike
Emily and I are swaying around the dance floor to Carrie Underwood’s song “Whenever You Remember”. It’s still hard to believe where the two of us are today compared to where we were just a month ago. We both still miss our parents, but we’re healing. We have our mates to thank for that.
I scan the reception until I find Bloom. She’s sitting at a table with Billy, and while I’m watching she throws her head back laughing at something he says. I treasure the moment because I’ve learned that her laugh is one the most precious gifts she has, giving it only to the people she loves. A gift that this past year very few people received. I love knowing I’ve helped bring her laugh back.
“She’s perfect for you.” Emily squeezes my shoulder to pull my attention back to her.
“She is.” I smile at my little sister. She’s dressed in a knee length blue dress that almost matches both of our eye’s perfectly. At Bloom’s request she’s wearing cowboy boots instead of heels. Knowing my sister she hated that idea, but since she loves my mate she gave in. Emily is beautiful tonight, but in my eyes she always has been. She received most of my mother’s traits and at times she’s such a spitting image that it causes memories to come back that make my heart swell. As her big brother I thought it would be hard to see her grow out of the little girl I used to tease and protect, but it isn’t, because I’m proud of the woman she’s become and I’m happy she’s found her mate. I know just like Bloom is my perfect half, Kit is Emily’s.
“How are the plans coming for your ceremony?” Her mating ceremony is in a few days. We wanted to seal their bond before the search for Bloom’s aunt took us away so I could be here to help celebrate.
“They’re finished. Only thing left to handle are the day of details.” She smiles warmly at me. “Thank you for staying for it. I know how important the trip you’re going on is.”
"It is. But being here for my only sister’s mating ceremony is just as important to me.” Her eyes fill with what I hope are happy tears and she pulls me closer for a hug. We continue to sway like that, hugging each other close, through the rest of the song. When it ends I hand Emily off to Kit who was waiting close by for his mate. Then I make my way to mine.
I push the curls hanging down her back over one shoulder and use my fingertip to trace a pattern over the other. Right where I plan on putting my mark. She shivers under my touch, but continues her conversation with Billy. I’m so focused on that little spot that I have no clue what the two of them are discussing. After I don’t know how long I feel her hand cover mine and she turns her head to look at me.
“Time to leave.” It’s not a question, but a command. One I’m more than happy to follow. I nod in response. Honestly, it’s all I can do. This is a huge moment for the two of us. A moment we’ll both remember until our last days. And I can’t find the right words to say.
She lets me take her hand and guide her away from the party. We both throw out goodbye here and there to guests we pass, but I refuse to let us stop and get caught up in any conversations.
Once we’re locked away in our suite I turn her so she’s facing forward, with her back pressed firmly to my front. My arms are wrapped around her middle, her’s are laying over top of mine. I’m guiding her towards our room. All the while taking the time to whisper in her ear how much I love her. Not that those words will ever do justice to what she means to me, I still need to say them. Just inside our door I stop us so she can take in the full scene. Our normal bedding has been switched out for a comforter and sheets that are as white as freshly fallen snow. Every surface is covered in lit pillar candles of various sizes. And there’s an instrumental melody filling the air that’s both sensual and somehow sweet. Just like my Bloom.
She turns in my arms so she’s now facing me. She wraps her arms around my waist, and looks into my eyes. “It’s perfect.” Instead of responding I shift my fingers through her hair to pull her lips to mine for a deep kiss. Bloom pulls back, and with passion burning in her hazel eyes whispers. “Mark me, Tennessee.”
I move us further into the room, press my lips to my favorite freckle right in the crook of her neck, and whisper against her skin. “As you wish, Darlin’.” I let my teeth sharpen into that of my wolf. I place one hand at the small of her back, holding her closer to me. The other is sifted into her hair at the other side of her neck. Her breathing is heavy against my own skin, from both fear and want. Or maybe more from need. A need so thick it’s pulsating around the room. We need each other. We’ve always needed each other, even when we didn’t know who the other was. And we always will need each other. It’s how we’re made. I give into that need I feel to the very core of me, and through the bond I feel to the core of my mate, and I sink my teeth into her soft flesh.
I close my eyes, letting the pure pleasure of the moment wash over me. She’s now unmistakably mine. I don’t want the moment to end but I know there are still good moments ahead of us, so I retract my teeth and lick the spot to clean it. She’s still in my arms, but now that my mind is clearing I feel how tense she is. I pull back, still holding onto her, and take in her face. It’s scrunched in to one of pain.
“Bloom?” I ask, confused as to what’s happening. She pulls out of my arms and crumples to the floor, letting out a blood curdling scream. Her pain hits me so hard it knocks me to my knees, so I’m right in front of her on the bedroom floor. I hate doing it. I never want
to block my mate, but if I’m going to help her that’s what I have to do. Blocking her causes the pain to dull to a bearable level. I pull her into my lap and run my hands through her hair, trying to soothe her.
Through the pack bond I call for help. Tucker finds us there huddled in the middle of our bedroom floor. Bloom is crying and in so much pain she’s unresponsive to anything around her, including myself. I, the big bad Alpha, have my own tears streaming down my face. I’m rendered useless when my mate needs me the most.
Chapter 6 – Tucker
The whole pack hears the scream. Even if we hadn’t, we still would’ve felt the pain coming through the pack bond from both our Alphas. I’m already taking the stairs three steps at a time when Pike calls for me. I skipped the elevator because I don’t have the patience to wait, plus I can get there faster running up the stairs like I am now.
I make it to the top floor in record time. The pain still filtering to me through the bond tells me no-one will answer their door if I knock, so I kick it open and swiftly move to find them. I hesitate just inside their bedroom to take in the scene. Pike, a person I’ve seen deal with not only one of his parents deaths, but both, a man I’ve only ever seen as strong, is sitting in the middle of his bedroom floor, looking broken, while he rocks my sister in his arms. She’s curled in on herself and though she’s stopped screaming I can still hear her whimpering in pain. Tears are pouring out of both of their eyes.
Swallowing back my hesitation I move into action. I send a call through the bond for our pack doctor. Then I crouch down in front of my Alphas. It’s on my lips to ask what happened, but before I can get the words out Pike sends me the image of him marking Bloom and the aftermath that happened. I’m at a loss. I haven’t marked Bonnie, yet, but I know this isn’t a normal reaction. I take a deep breath and release it, and then I try to help the only way I know how.
“Alpha, maybe we should move your mate to the bed so she can be more comfortable. I’ve called for Doc and he’ll be here any moment to help.” I tell Pike, making sure to show respect and submission. His wolf is so close to the surface that anything could set him off.
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