The Mate Challenge (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Sassy Mates Book 4)

by Milly Taiden

  “Let’s just go and see if we see anything suspicious,” Emma muttered. She didn’t want to open the doors to her pain at that moment. When she was home, alone, and drunk she would. Right now, there was no time for that.

  Nic whispered something that sounded very much like ‘hard head’ under her breath and put the car in drive. Emma had researched the location for Embraced. Unlike the Wolfe clubs, it was located in a desolate part of town. An area known for empty warehouses and large distances between houses.

  NINE

  The club, if it could be called that, was in what looked like an abandoned building. There was no signs out front and the only way they knew they’d gotten the right spot was because fangs dripping with blood were spray painted on the metal entrance.

  “Looks cozy,” Nic drawled.

  “Yeah, top of the line,” Emma wiggled in her seat. “I wonder what it looks like inside.”

  “Uh, no. You don’t. Because that would mean you are thinking of getting in there and we do not, I repeat, do not go into vampire territory.” Nic slapped Emma on the arm to get her to stop staring at the entrance and pay attention. “Especially you. Or have you forgotten that you are human?”

  “Of course, I didn’t forget,” she whispered when she saw a couple heading for the door.

  She watched them look around before the woman tapped her nail on the door. She mouthed something that Emma couldn’t make out and the door flung open.

  “Crap,” she mumbled, “Get down!”

  She tugged on Nic’s side and both dove their heads under the dashboard.

  “Why are we hiding?” Nic whispered.

  “Shhh!” She didn’t want them to chance getting caught. Not by vampires.

  The bouncer had come out with a flashlight on, lighting the entrance to all the cars in the area. The door slammed closed and Emma peeked up slowly to see if there was anyone outside the club.

  “Okay, you can come up.”

  Nic frowned and glanced outside the car to see if there were any others headed for the club. “Why were we hiding?”

  “That bouncer had a flashlight. When my brother and I used to sneak into illegal clubs, we’d see them do the same thing. Someone would all of a sudden open the door and flash the cars to make sure nobody was out there watching or sitting in their cars.”

  Nic curled her lip in distaste. “Didn’t they hear of cameras?”

  Emma giggled. “I’m sure they weren’t worrying about security systems when the party would be in a different location the following week. It seems Embraced does it more to catch random passer byers. I wonder if they have trouble with people trying to get in.”

  “Why anyone would want to go into a hole filled with undead is beyond me.”

  Emma shrugged. “Someone recently told me that she couldn’t understand why I wanted to sleep with a dog.”

  Nic blinked. “What did you say?”

  “Nothing. What could I say? He hasn’t given me rabies, fleas or ticks, so things are looking up.”

  Nic laughed. “You are nuts.”

  They sat in the car for a while but nobody else came near the building. “I guess we can go home. It’s late and I bet Jake is wondering where you are.”

  Nic gave her a sad smile. “He’s off helping Caleb round up Jaxon’s men and teaching them the area. They’re going to help clean out some of the rogues Rocco hired.”

  “How’s that going, by the way. Mason won’t tell me what’s going on with Caleb. And Ellie is so tight lipped I’m having a hard time getting her to give me any info on it.”

  Nic bit her lip and shifted in her seat. “Don’t get mad.”

  Uh-oh. Sounded like she was about to get really angry. “What did Mason do?”

  Nic winced and turned the car on. She waited until they were far enough away from the club’s entrance to speak. “He sort of told us to not tell you anything about the pack problems.”

  Hurt and anger expanded in her chest. “What? Why would he do that?”

  Nic had sped down the main highway before short-stopping on the side of a road near Emma’s house. She turned off the engine and turned to face Emma, her face pinched in distress. “Please don’t be angry with him. He’s just worried about you. He loves you and he wants to keep you safe.”

  “Do I look like a little kid? No. So he needs to stop trying to decide what I can and can’t do. Telling you all not to tell me what’s going on is going too damn far!”

  Nic’s shoulders slumped. “I told him it was a bad idea. He thinks if you know too much you’ll decide to go off and do something dangerous.”

  “I’m not a brainless moron.” But clearly Mason thought she was. The anger and pain from finding out how little he trusted her exploded in her veins.

  “I know you’re not. And he knows that too. I guess he is just worried...” Nic’s words slowed until she dragged the last one out.

  She knew Mason loved and worried about her. She loved him too. However, his whole trying to control what others told her was going too far.

  Nic left her at her house and Emma couldn’t find it in her to invite her in for more conversation. She wanted to be alone.

  Mason entered his mother’s house with quiet steps. He knew something was up when Ellie said their mother wanted to see him. If he knew what was good for him he should show up asap. Barbara Wolfe did not give her children orders and get ignored.

  “In the kitchen,” he heard her say.

  Fuck. She didn’t bother calling him ‘son’ or some endearment. He was fucked. Whatever he’d done he was about to get told off about it. He sighed and dragged his boots into the kitchen.

  “Stop dragging your feet, Mason. You don’t polish my floors.”

  “Um, yes I do.”

  “Oh, well stop unless you want to have double the work,” his mother said and flipped a T-Bone on an indoor grill.

  “Mom,”

  “Sit down.” She ordered softly. “I made you something to eat.”

  Oh, well okay then. Whatever he’d done couldn’t have been too bad if she was feeding him. His spirits rose and he sat at the kitchen table to wait for her to finish his steak. It smelled delicious. Good thing she’d cooked because he was starving.

  “Smells good,” he smiled, hoping whatever she wanted to tell him would soften her up with his compliment.

  “I know.”

  Guess not.

  “Mom, Ellie said you wanted to talk?” He decided to set the table. His mother loved when they did stuff like that. Besides, couldn’t hurt.

  She raised a brow as he grabbed napkins and utensils to set his place on the table. “I do need to speak with you. Why don’t you sit and I’ll bring your food over.”

  Great. He loved his mother. She was such a sweet and understanding woman. Always going above and beyond for her kids.

  He watched her place the steak next to a baked potato sprinkled with cheddar. She’d made his favorite meal. Then she grabbed a second plate with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He hated that stuff. She smiled at him and placed the plate with the sandwich in front of him and the one with the steak in front of her as she sat down.

  “Mom?”

  She raised innocent brows. “Oh, did you think this was for you? No, honey. You see, you are acting like a kid, so I have to feed you kid food. When you start acting like an adult again, you will be treated like one.”

  He blew out a breath and sat back. “Alright. What did I do?”

  “Mason Wolfe! Have you lost your mind? Telling everyone to keep things from Emma.”

  Oh. That. “It’s for her own good. She’s going to get herself killed.”

  His mother glanced at the ceiling as if praying for patience. “No. You’re going to get yourself killed, because when she finds out she’s going to hurt you. Do you honestly think that will endear you to her?”

  “I wasn’t really worried about that. I’m more concerned with keeping her alive.”

  “Oh, son,” she whispered. “Emma is no
t going to like that at all.”

  He lifted a hand and ran it through his hair. “Well what else am I supposed to do? She won’t listen to me.”

  His mother shook her head. “Talk to her. Listen to her. Communicate. Relationships can’t work if you don’t communicate with each other. It’s not all sex, you know.”

  He knew that. Boy did he. A man could wish, though. “I know a relationship isn’t all sex. I talk to her.”

  His mother cut into the juicy steak and lifted a piece of meat to her lips. “Oh? What do you talk about?”

  “Stuff.”

  She rolled her eyes and put the fork down without eating the delicious smelling meat. “Stuff is not talking. I bet you don’t even know about her family.”

  He forgot all about the steak, though his stomach was growling for it, and met his mother’s gaze. There was frustration and concern in her eyes.

  “What about her family? She never goes into depth about her family but she’s mentioned them once or twice.”

  “Arrrrggh! You’ve made me lose my appetite,” she complained.

  “I can finish that for you. If you want.” He offered.

  She sighed and passed him her plate. “Mason, Emma has no family.”

  He’d just bitten into the piece of meat on the fork and felt the food turn to sawdust in his mouth. He swallowed quickly and took a drink of water. “What do you mean she has no family? I’ve heard her talk about things her father taught her. Stuff her mother likes. She even mentioned a brother.”

  His mom’s lips tipped downward. “They’re dead.”

  “How?”

  “I can’t tell you that. That’s something she has to share with you. Do you honestly think hiding things from her will get her to mate with you?” She blinked her blue eyes at him and pursed her lips. “If your father had ever done something like that to me, he’d still be hearing about it now.”

  Ouch. “Fine. I know it wasn’t my brightest idea, but I’ll try talking to her instead.”

  She leaned forward and patted his hand on the table. “A little trust goes a long way. Emma’s a grown woman, son. She’s been alone since before you met her, so you can’t come now and try to tell her what to do. It’s not going to work.”

  Dammit! His mother was right. He needed to get Emma to see that putting her life on the line wasn’t the way to do things instead of keeping things from her. “I don’t want her hurt. Ever.”

  His mother nodded. “I can understand that. It’s the animal and man in you wanting to protect your mate. But you also have to understand that she’s an individual. Capable of her own decisions and ideas. Talk to her.”

  He eyed the food, no longer hungry or interested in eating. “Do you think she’s mad?”

  His mother smiled. “Oh, honey. I can guarantee you she’s going to rip you a new asshole. You can’t expect anything good to come out of keeping things from a woman. Ever.”

  Crap. “I guess I’ll go see her and tell her what I did.”

  His mother pulled the plate back from him and cut a new piece of meat. “Yeah. You should go now, before she gets too worked up about it.”

  He watched her eat the meat. “I thought you weren’t hungry?”

  She cut another piece of steak. “I’m okay now. Your life is the one on the line, not mine. Good luck, son.”

  Way to rub it in. He hoped Emma didn’t have any sharp objects nearby when he got to her house. It was probably too much to hope for her to have made dinner.

  TEN

  Emma finally entered her bedroom after the longest bath of her life. She struggled with the pain of knowing Mason had no faith in her. Not only did he not trust her to be an adult and take care of herself, but he also didn’t trust her to do what she could for others.

  She sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the photo of her family on her nightstand. Nic’s words returned to her mind. It had to be her disappointment from the night, but a wave of pain crashed through her at the memories of her family.

  Her vision swam and hot tears rolled down her cheeks. She was alone. That hurt. The one person who she thought she was connected to enough to build a new relationship with didn’t trust her.

  A broken sob tore from her throat and she doubled over from the piercing pain in her heart. She missed her family.

  She missed her mother and all the creative things she tried to teach her about maintaining a well-decorated home. Cooking. How to be a good hostess. More than all that, she missed her mother’s smiles. The hugs she’d given her when Emma was sad or upset.

  Another loud sob filled the quiet room as she cried. Images of her father flickered through her mind. In his uniform. Explaining to Emma and her brother the importance of being self-reliable. Knowing when to back off and always keeping family first. She missed the fact that even though she’d been a grown woman when he’d passed, he’d saved every Father’s Day card she’d made him since she’d been a little girl.

  God, the moment her brother came to mind she gasped for breath at the stabbing pain in her chest. It felt like daggers digging into her sides. There was no holding it back. He’d been her best friend. Her constant companion. She’d lost them. Been left behind with nothing. No one.

  Through the tears and her loud cries, she felt a pair of arms envelope her in a warm embrace. There was no stopping the flow of pain leaving her. Sorrow had built inside her to the point the pressure had broken down the place in her heart she’d pushed it all into. Now, she couldn’t hide away any longer. She had to face her demons once again.

  “Sweetheart, please. Tell me what’s wrong. I’m sorry,” Mason murmured into her hair, rocking her as she continued to sob into his arms. “If my keeping things from you made you this upset, I can’t tell you how sorry I am. It won’t happen again.”

  She couldn’t seem to control the tears any longer. They just kept coming. The raw anguish bled through each of her cries. It was like losing them all over again.

  “I...hurt,” she choked out. The agony of the memories still managed to destroy a new piece of her heart.

  “I know, Emma. God, I know. Your distress is driving my wolf insane. I want to help you but I don’t know what to do. Tell me how to fix this.”

  She shook her head in his chest, tears clogging the back of her throat. He couldn’t fix this. She’d been living with this pain for ten long years. Mason held her in his arms while she cried. It wasn’t pretty. There was nothing nice about the grief rolling through her, tearing her down from the insides. But he sat there, holding her, trying to soothe her with soft words and rubbing a hand up and down her back.

  It felt like forever before the cries died down to quiet sobs and then to hiccups. Once she’d stopped altogether, he pulled back and marched to her bathroom, got a wet wash cloth and a dry towel. He wiped her face with the wash cloth and then dried it with the towel.

  “Thank you,” she said, her voice raw from crying.

  He frowned, stood and walked out of the room again. Moments later, he returned with a glass of water. “Do you want tea, coffee or something else?”

  She shook her head, biting back the urge to cry anew. “I’m okay.”

  He motioned to her bed. “Lay down. Get comfortable.”

  Good idea. All that crying had given her a headache. She did as he suggested and got under her covers. He went around the bed and yanked the other side of the covers up and slipped in next to her. To her surprise, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to lay on his arm.

  “Want to tell me what brought that on? I can sense you’re still holding back a great deal of pain, Emma. I don’t like it.” He turned to her, cupping her cheek with his hand and lifted her face up to meet his gaze. “I want you to talk to me. Not just about your job. I want you to feel comfortable enough to tell me anything.”

  She sniffled and blinked. “I’m sure at this point someone has to have told you my family is dead.”

  “Sweetheart, I don’t want anyone to tell me anything that should be coming
from you.” He pushed her hair away from her face and caressed his hand down her arm. “I’m sorry about your family.”

  She swallowed hard, pushing back the knot still sitting at the back of her throat, urging her to cry all over again. “I was in college when it happened.”

  “Emma,” he breathed softly. “If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”

  She shook her head. “I should talk about it. When they first passed, the therapists used to tell me to talk and not bottle it all in, but that was hard because the only people I could talk to were the ones that were dead.”

  Mason struggled to keep calm. The pain Emma was feeling came through clear enough that he felt as if his own heart was being torn apart. “What happened to them?”

  She met his gaze. The red rim around her eyes and her nose only made him want to hold her harder. “Plane crash.”

  His hold on her tightened. “That’s terrible.”

  Her lip trembled and he felt as though he were being punched in the gut. “We were going on vacation,” she said, clearing her throat. “My mom and I had planned this getaway for a year. We all had busy lives, but one of our rules was to make time for family.”

  He nodded, wiping the tears falling from the corner of her eyes. He could tell she was so involved in the story she didn’t even realize she was still crying. “Family is important.”

  She nodded. “We all thought so. My dad had gotten a friend to fly us all to an island in the Caribbean where we were going to spend a few weeks just relaxing and bonding.”

  “Sounds like it was going to be great,” he said.

  “It was,” she said, her voice cracking. “But then my mom wanted to invite some son of their friends, hoping we’d hit it off and I got angry.”

  He understood. “You didn’t want someone else in your family time.”