Ram took the baby in his big, meaty hands and went to the living room. They’d been sitting at the kitchen counter, and Phoenix was the first one to get up and follow the big vampire. Dante and Tegan trailed along, and Tegan sat next to Ram because she hadn’t gotten her baby fill yet.
Tegan heard the front door open, and the other sentinels poured into the bunkhouse, including Kendall, the wolf-shifter who’d taken Zane’s place with the cats, and Vance, the cat-shifter alpha.
Everyone crowded around the baby to look at him and ooh and aah for a few minutes. Tegan moved to the opposite side of the couch from Ram to give the others more room since she’d already had a turn.
The group slowly stepped back after holding and talking to Ash, and Reid came to sit beside Tegan. She turned her back to the side of the couch and propped her legs up on Reid’s lap. He drew her legs close to him, and she ran her fingers through his shaggy reddish-brown hair and tucked some behind his ear.
“Your hair’s gotten long. Are you growing it out?”
He shook his hair out, obviously not liking where she’d placed it, and shrugged. “I don’t know.” He looked at her. “What do you think?”
She tilted her head to the side and studied him. She’d known Reid for years, and she didn’t often think of him as a sexual creature. He was her friend, but she looked at him to see how other females might see him.
His eyes were a yellow-green and really stood out among his hair, especially now that it was longer and there was more of it. She’d often thought of Reid as kind of a geek because he was always on the computer, but she didn’t really know why. He worked out as much as the next sentinel and had the body to show it. His form-fitting white T-shirt showed off his strong pecs, and she even saw a hint of his six-pack from where the fabric rested on his stomach. And his biceps and triceps strained against the fabric as he massaged her calves.
Damn. When did Reid get so sexy?
Heat began to travel up her thighs to that special place between her legs. She was suddenly hot all over.
She needed to get ahold of her libido, stat. She was in a room filled with all her coworkers and her alpha.
“I think it looks good,” she said as casually as possible.
Vance clapped his hands. Tegan sent a silent thank-you to anyone who was watching over her upstairs.
“I have some developing news,” the cat-shifter alpha said. “You all probably remember Isabelle Rand?”
Everyone nodded their heads, except the two vampires.
“Isabelle helped us when Payton went missing,” Phoenix explained to her mate and Ram.
“Ahh,” Dante said.
“It turns out that Isabelle has gotten into some trouble.”
This news immediately put Tegan on alert, and all sexy thoughts flew out of her head.
“She got involved with a guy who was bad news. She managed to leave him yesterday and has gone to the wolf-shifters for help.”
Poor Zane.
It probably had hurt him to hear that Isabelle was dating someone else even if that someone wasn’t a great guy.
“The male Isabelle was dating is a wolf-shifter named Bram Varg. His father is the alpha of the Illinois Pack, but it seems he has exiled his own son from Illinois.”
“Oh, shit,” Reid said.
Tegan had to agree. If your own flesh and blood kicked you out, you were bad news.
“It also seems that he made a vow to mate with Isabelle,” Vance continued to explain. “So, our very own sentinel Zane has offered to step in to be her mate so that Bram has no claim on her.”
“Holy shit,” Tegan said. This was like a soap opera.
“I told Zane that we would help protect Isabelle, no matter what, after everything she did to help get Payton back to us, but he’s determined to go through with this.”
Of course he is.
Zane had been going through Isabelle withdrawal since she left. He would never let anything bad happen to her, and if he got to mate with her in the process? Bonus.
“So, you’re saying, we might have an angry, unstable wolf-shifter sniffing around us?” Saxon asked.
Vance put his hands on his hips. “Pretty much.”
The front door opened, and Vaughn and Naya came in along with their eleven-month-old son, Aidan, and daughter, Victoria. Behind them were Sawyer and Kenzie, who was just beginning to show.
“Hey, guys. What’s with all the grim faces?” Vaughn asked after setting Aidan down on the carpet.
Vance filled his son and Sawyer in on the news as Naya put Victoria next to her brother. She sat on the floor next to them and took them out of their car seats. Victoria walked over to her daddy, and he immediately picked her up despite the deep conversation he was having with his father.
Aidan crawled over to Saxon and pulled on his leg. Saxon rolled his eyes but picked the infant up and set him on his lap. Only Aidan knew why he liked Saxon so much.
“Everyone,” Vance said to the group again, “I will keep you up-to-date on anything I discover. Until then, Reid, can you find out whatever you can on this guy and send his picture to everyone’s phones?”
Reid set Tegan’s legs aside and stood. “I’ll get my computer.”
“Great.” Vance nodded. “Once you get the info Reid will be sending you, take a good look at it and be on the lookout. I know the wolves will be on high alert, but it doesn’t hurt for us to have some extra patrols around their homes.” He clapped his hands. “That’s it for now. Let’s get out there, and report anything you see back to me.”
Vance turned to Vaughn. “Now, give me my granddaughter. You’re on watch tonight, too, son.”
EARLY THE NEXT morning, while the moon was still in the sky, Isabelle dragged her butt out of bed and down the stairs. She’d barely slept a wink all night long. The first and only person she saw was Damien.
“Hey, Izzy. How are you?” he asked when he saw her.
“Okay, considering.” She looked around the room and into the kitchen. “Where is everyone?”
“They should be here soon. The ones who just got back from patrol are showering, and the others should be up and getting ready. They don’t usually get up this early.”
Isabelle had been told that, sometimes, they were on patrol all night, and sometimes, they did half the night, so they would all be sleeping during the day. Most of the crime happened at night, but it didn’t mean that nothing happened during the day when the sun was out. Damien had cut last night’s patrol early, so they could all be here in the morning before the sun came up.
“Are you ready to do this?” Damien asked, his face full of concern.
Isabelle rubbed her hands together. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
A couple of minutes later, everyone began filing into the living room. The wolf-sentinels, Payton, and even the vampire named Hunter. But no Zane.
“Where’s Zane?” Isabelle asked the room, hoping someone had seen him.
“Uh-oh, the groom got cold feet.”
“Be quiet, Chase,” Damien told his sentinel.
It couldn’t be true. Had Zane decided to back out?
There was the sound of at least two vehicles coming up the long driveway. Everyone went to the windows and watched as the first SUV pulled up, and Zane got out.
“When the hell did he even leave?” someone asked.
“Fricking cat,” somebody else said.
Isabelle ignored their comments and watched all the cat sentinels empty out of the two SUVs along with the cat-shifter alpha, Kendall, a couple of other vampires, and a human. One she knew was the cat-shifter alpha’s daughter-in-law.
“So, he didn’t bail after all. He brought his people.” Chase was nodding, as if he admired Zane.
Relief came over Isabelle. Now that she had decided to mate with Zane, she definitely didn’t want him to change his mind.
Zane walked through the front door. “Hey, I’ve brought a few guests. I figured, if we were going to do this, then my alpha should be he
re as well. I don’t want there to be any question as to the validity of our mating.”
“Good thinking,” Damien said as the living room became very crowded, and everyone greeted one another.
Payton hugged her father and sister-in law and bumped fists with her brother.
“Isabelle,” Zane said, “you remember all the cat-shifter sentinels.”
She wasn’t quite sure she recalled everyone, but since it was a statement and not a question, she nodded.
“And you met Naya.”
She nodded again.
“That big vampire over there”—Zane pointed to where the vampire stood next to Hunter—“is Ram. He took Phoenix’s place with the cats because Phoenix is mated to this guy.” Zane put his arm around the shoulders of another vampire. Not as tall or as wide as Ram, but there was an air of authority about him. “This is Dante, and he is the leader of the Guardians.” He then walked over to the only human. “And, last but not least, this is Kenzie. She is Sawyer’s mate.”
Isabelle nodded to everyone around the room. “Hello, everyone. New and old. Thanks…for coming.”
It felt weird to thank them for coming to watch a mating that needed to be done out of necessity. Most matings took place behind closed doors. They were so unlike human weddings. But this mating needed as many witnesses as possible.
She rubbed her temples. Oh, Isabelle, what have you gotten yourself into?
Zane stepped over to her and grabbed one of her hands. He squeezed it. His little bit of reassurance meant a lot, and she dropped her other arm from her forehead.
“So, how are we going to do this?” the cat-shifter named Vaughn asked. He was the cat alpha’s son.
“Well, I promised Isa there wouldn’t be any sex, so for those of you expecting a show, you’re outta luck.”
Isabelle practically choked on her tongue, and the room erupted with laughter.
Zane squeezed her hand again. “I was kidding. It was a joke. To lighten the mood.”
She gave him a shaky smile, but she was still too nervous to laugh.
“I have an idea,” Kenzie said. “Since we don’t have an officiant like at a human wedding, what if each of you are asked if you accept this union of free will? Maybe by each of your alphas because it’s someone you trust. And then, instead of exchanging rings, as it were, you bite each other?”
No one said anything at first, and the human looked at her mate.
He put his arm around her. “It’s a good idea, mate.”
She smiled up at him. “Thanks.”
Zane looked at Isabelle. “Sounds good to me.”
As good as it could be. “I agree.”
Zane grabbed her hands, and they faced each other.
Nobody said anything, and everyone exchanged looks.
“Who goes first?” Damien asked.
“You go,” Vance said.
“Okay.” Damien cleared his throat. “Isabelle Rand, do you take Zane Talon as your mate, free from force and coercion?”
She took a deep breath and swallowed. “I do.”
Zane grinned at her, and despite her anxiousness, she smiled back.
“Zane Talon,” Vance said, “do you take Isabelle Rand as your mate, free from coercion and force?”
“I do.”
The two alphas looked at each other and then at her and Zane.
“You may now bite each other,” Vance said.
Zane looked around the room, obviously looking for something. When he didn’t find what he was looking for, he dropped her one hand and pulled her toward the kitchen.
He sat on the stool at the kitchen island. “That’s better. Now, we’re closer in height.” He pulled his T-shirt over his head and laid it on the counter. He drew her close to him and tilted his head to expose his neck. “You first, Isa.”
His skin was smooth, and she could smell him. She suddenly wished they were alone. She wished she could do what she wanted to him, which was trail her nose up and down to take in his scent. Then, she would lick him and suck on his skin.
But they weren’t alone, so rather than doing all the things she wanted, she shifted her teeth, so her sharp wolf canines emerged, and she sank them into Zane’s neck.
His grip tightened around her, and she felt him get hard against her belly. The area between her legs answered the call, and she grew wet.
Someone shifted behind her, and she just then realized everyone had followed them and that they were far from alone. She let go of Zane’s neck and stepped back.
Her mark was there for everyone to see, and he even bled from a couple of spots. They were already beginning to heal, and he made no move to wipe the blood away.
“Your turn,” she said in a low voice, meant only for him. Thankfully, she’d put on a shirt with a wide neckline that morning, and it was her turn to face away and expose her neck to him.
As she bared the vulnerable part of herself, she knew she trusted Zane not to hurt her, and she relaxed in his arms.
He had no reservations in doing what he wanted to her. He nipped her ear and slid his lips from her lobe to the hem of her shirt and then back up to the top where her shoulder met her neck. He flicked his warm tongue out and then sucked her skin into his mouth.
She was abruptly transported back to the last time they’d had sex. Zane had sucked on her so hard; it had been as close to leaving a mark on her without actually doing so. What if she had told him to do it that day? To mark her?
Zane pressed his erection into her belly, bringing her back to the present, and she grabbed on to his shoulders before her knees gave out and dropped her to the floor.
All too soon, he released her neck, and she swayed.
She’d been claimed.
Zane stared at the area he’d just had his mouth against, and he rubbed his thumb over it. It was tender there, but she liked it.
He shifted his eyes to hers, and she licked her lips.
Zane stood, keeping his eyes on hers. “We’re going upstairs.”
Isabelle’s breathing quickened.
Someone cleared their throat.
“Sorry, son, but we need to go over what the next steps are in this plan,” Vance said.
Zane looked over her head to his alpha and nodded.
Isabelle closed her eyes for a moment. She was disappointed but also relieved. Having sex with Zane right now could be a mistake. They didn’t need any more complications.
ZANE WAS DISAPPOINTED, but Vance was right. There were more important things to do than have sex with his mate.
He looked down at Isabelle.
He had a mate.
The thought made him dizzy, and he had to sit down again.
“Are you okay?” Isabelle asked him.
He smiled. “Yes. Just had a surreal moment; that’s all.” He looked past her to the two alphas. “What else do you have in mind?”
“Well,” Vance said, looking at Damien, “we talked last night and had a couple of thoughts.”
He could feel and smell the tension filling Isabelle’s body again. “What were you thinking?”
“First,” Damien said, “you need to go down to the courthouse and legally marry. It’ll be another way to keep Bram away. He can’t take on the human laws.”
Isabelle started chewing on her lip.
Zane grabbed her hand. “Hey, we can always get divorced. Humans do it all the time.”
She nodded.
“What else?” he asked.
“You two are going to be spending every minute together,” Damien said.
“As of right now, you’re out of the rotation,” Vance added.
Zane narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
“Because you two need to spend as much time together as possible. You need to smell like each other,” Damien told them. “We don’t know when Bram is coming, and he needs to believe this claiming is legitimate.”
Vance cleared his throat. “This means, sleeping in the same bed together.” He held up a hand. “Isabelle, you don’t hav
e to do anything you don’t want to do, but you need to sleep next to each other. That will only strengthen your mating bond.”
“What about me?” Zane asked. “Do I have to do anything I don’t want to do?”
This earned him a few, “Yeah, right,” and some, “Whatever,” but Isabelle smiled, so it was worth it.
“I think you can handle Isabelle,” was all his alpha said.
Raven cleared her throat. “Might I point something else out?”
“Sure,” Damien said.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but are you close to your mating heat, Isabelle?”
Isabelle blushed, and it hit Zane. “Is this why you chose to escape now? You didn’t want that asshole getting you pregnant?”
She slowly nodded, and Zane clenched his jaw. He was starting to hope Bram showed up sooner rather than later.
“How-how did you know?” Isabelle asked Raven.
Raven gave Isabelle a sympathetic look. “I can smell it.”
“Raven is our best tracker,” Damien explained. “She’s a super smeller.”
That explained how she’d known Zane’s laundry needed to be done last week. He hadn’t thought it was that bad until Raven barged in his room, demanding he get to work.
“You’re probably not going to like this idea,” Raven said, pushing her long black ponytail over her shoulder, “but, if you were to let Zane service you during your heat, it would only make it that much harder to break you up.”
Isabelle turned red again, and Zane smiled.
“But what if I get pregnant? That’s not fair to the child.”
The way she’d said that made Zane think she wasn’t against the idea of letting him take her during her mating heat. He had to fight very hard not to think about it, or everyone in the room would know how turned on he was. They’d see and smell it.
“Would you love the child?” Raven asked.
“Of course.”
“Would Zane love the child?”
Zane opened his mouth to answer, but Isabelle beat him to it. “Of course.”
Raven shrugged. “Well then, I don’t see a problem. There are so few of us as it is.”
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