by Bryce Evans
“She tries to take care of everyone in the pack and it doesn’t matter if you are old or young. But here is the important stuff you need to know because, let me go ahead and break it down for you, Jade isn’t going to give in on these deal breakers.”
Lennox paused, checking the woods just to make sure nobody from his pack was watching. He would never live down letting a wolf tell him how it was going to be. He couldn’t smell anyone or see them, but that didn’t matter. Like him, they could mask their scent and sure as hell stay hidden.
“First, Jade wants to get married with a white dress, flowers, the whole shebang. And she wants to wait to have sex until after she gets married—”
“What? Like the humans? She’s a shifter, for fuck’s sake. Why the hell does she want to do that? We consummate the mating and that’s all we have to do.”
Before he knew it, the damn wolf actually knocked on his head. “Didn’t you hear me? Jade isn’t like the other shifters. She’s special.”
Pointing his finger at her, Lennox gave a growl that would let everyone know he was there. He could feel the don’t-go-there vein pop out in his neck. “Woman, if you do that again, I’m going to spank that little ass all the way back to your house. Then I’m going to tell your mate exactly what you did.”
Crossing her arms, Quinn shook her head. “Really, do you think he is going to care. He can’t stand you and now that I know you’re not even going to listen to what Jade wants. Well, let’s just say you’re a typical man, no excuse me, typical alpha male.
“You only think with one head and you don’t care how this is going to affect Jade. You have already lost and you don’t even know it. I feel sorry for Jade. She has a mate who doesn’t care at all about her and what she wants in life. It’s all about you.”
Before he could tell this woman what he thought, the little alpha shifted and ran toward her house. Shit, she was supposed to tell him everything. “Jade wants to get married,” he said out loud. Now he was talking to the trees. He didn’t even know how to make that happen. This was crazy. Maybe he was mistaken about the wolf. Maybe she wasn’t his mate.
“So, your mate wants to get married like the humans?” Cosmo asked, falling from the tree.
“I knew someone was around.” Lennox walked right past him without answering.
“Of course, I’m your beta and I protect you and the hunters at all times. When I heard the little wolf in the tree, I knew it was going to be good, so I waited. I thought she was going to jump down on your back and claw you, but she doesn’t seem like the type. She seems the kind of woman who would jump down but with an ax in her hand. Man, she scares me.”
He stopped and stared at his beta. “You scare me with the stuff that comes out of your mouth. Where do you come up with this nonsense?”
And in Cosmo style, he gave a lopsided smile and said, “Movies, of course. Come on, man, you’ve watched them with me, where the woman waits for the ex-lover and jumps out and kills the new girlfriend with a knife or, no, with a machete. Except this one wasn’t your ex and she didn’t try to kill you. However,” Lennox waited for it. Shit, he’d seen it and he would never let him live this down.
Clearing his throat, Cosmo broke out laughing, “When she knocked on your head, I just about fell from the tree.”
There it was. No matter what he did to the man, he would never stop talking about this.
Cosmo held onto the tree holding his side, laughing. He laughed all the way to the small cabin they had built. Even the other members watched with smiles on their faces. This was it, he was going to kill his beta. Might as well, because he would tell them what happened and that would be. He couldn’t even say it.
Lennox grabbed hold of Cosmo and dragged him around the cabin. “If you so much as breathe a word of this, I’m going to…”
“What?” Cosmo said still laughing.
“I’m going to tell the guys you have a flower shop.” And that did it, his brows drew together. “Yes, Cosmo, I know you love those little white daisies and make sure the store has them on hand at all times. Just so you can smell them.”
“Okay,” Cosmo cleared his throat. “Okay, I won’t say anything if you don’t. But just so you know, everyone loves flowers and it’s a very profitable business.”
“Deal, but we shake on it,” Lennox said, throwing his hand out.
“Deal.” Cosmo shook his alpha’s hand, but he could see the wheels turning in his beta’s head. “How did you know that?”
“I know everything, Cosmo. I know everything,” Lennox said, tapping the side of his head.
“Well, you better know how to get married like the humans do or you won’t be consummating anything with the wolf who wants to do it like the humans do,” Cosmo said, walking off.
Even though he hated to admit it, Cosmo was right. He heard Jade say it. She wanted to get married. That meant having a ceremony and standing in front of everyone, looking at each other in the eyes. Damn, then he was going to have to hold her hand and cut the cake together so they could take pictures. Dear God in heaven, this was a total nightmare.
Sliding down, Lennox had to come up with a plan. That’s what he did, he planned, then acted. Usually, it meant killing someone, but Jade was special and she did deserve everything she wanted in life. Now he had to find out what kind of magic was inside her. As if he didn’t have anything else to worry about.
Hopefully, tomorrow would be a better day. It had to be.
Chapter Six
Jade glanced around making sure nobody was watching. This property was off the main road, but her pack was always running through the woods. She couldn’t believe she was even here. “Why am I doing this?”
“Because you want to be a bad ass.”
Swinging her fist, Jade could feel her fingers making contact. She could feel her heart racing. “Damn, girl, didn’t you see or hear me.” Cosmo grabbed a hold of his nose. “I think you’ve broken my nose.”
Putting her hand over her mouth, Jade rushed to Cosmo’s side. “I’m so sorry. You scared me. I didn’t mean to hit you, but you scared me.”
“At least, I know you have a right hook. We need to work on it though. Before I’m done, I want you knocking me off my feet. You know why?”
“God no…why?” Jade said, shaking her head.
“It gives you enough time to catch the perp off guard and gives you a chance to escape or jump on him and kick his ass or kill him. I would prefer you killed them. Less problems.”
Jade stepped back, placing her hand over her heart. “I…I don’t want to kill anyone. I could never do that.”
Before she knew what hit her, Cosmo grabbed her, tying her hands behind her back then pushed her to the ground. “Now what?”
Jade froze in shock. “What are you doing? Let me go.” She could feel the rush of her blood. Her voice was shaking. Sweat rolled down her face and she had to do something. Then the helpless feelings started coming back. The bear was on top of her. All she could see was the ground and the bright light. Her face was pushed so hard against the dirt, she couldn’t breathe. The pain. The bear’s claw racked across her back. It was going to eat her alive. Just stay awake, she kept telling herself. Fight, Jade, fight.
“Let me go, let me go.” Jade was in a full-on panic, screaming. She couldn’t breathe.
“Hey, hey. Look at me!” Cosmo jerked her up and pulled her chin toward his face.
“No,” she screamed, breaking the rope and pushing him away.
Cosmo flew through the air slamming against the wall. The cracking noise echoed in her ears, but it wasn’t enough. The bear was going to kill her.
Shaking his head, Cosmo yelled, “Jade, Jade! Stop!” He put his hands up and started walking toward her. “Listen to me. I’m not going to hurt you. Okay?”
Cosmo moved slowly. “Hey, look at me. I’m going to sit down. Let’s talk about this and what just happened.”
He held his hand up to her and helped her to the ground. “I can’t do this.
I can’t.” Jade jumped back up and started for the barn door.
“That’s right, run, little wolf. When you can’t control it, you run. Someone will fight your battles for you. They always have. But you can’t run forever. Sometimes you have to fight or you’re no use to your pack.”
Jade stopped, leaning her head against the door she muttered, “I would never do that to my pack.”
“Really? That’s what it looked like to me.”
Jade flinched. She hated what he said. Did everyone take up for her? She would never run from helping her pack. Never. She loved every one of them. Turning, Jade faced Cosmo. “I don’t like being tied up. I was mauled as a child and my hands got caught behind my back and I can’t stand it now. But you don’t have the right to say that about me. You don’t know me, and I love my pack. I would never run and leave without helping any one of them.”
“Then learn what to do when or if that happens to you again. Your opponent wants you to panic. They get off on it. The more you panic, the stronger they get. I can teach you all the tricks of the trade, Jade, but it’s not going to be easy. I will not go easy on you. Just because of who you are.”
“Why are you wanting to help me? You don’t even know me,” Jade asked.
“Because my alpha is your mate, and one day you will submit to the mating pull and you will be my alpha’s mate. That means you will be my alpha, and before I can support you, I have to know I can depend on you.
“Trust is everything to the Hunters. I trust each and every one of them. I know what they will do and I know that I can count on them. Think about it. When something comes at you, you need to know how to protect yourself from whatever or whomever. If anything, ever happened to you, Jade, your mate, Lennox will die too. He isn’t the kind to keep on living. He already cares deeply for you now. I’ve never seen him give up anything for anyone.”
“What did he give up?” Jade asked, inching toward Cosmo. What did the alpha sacrifice for her?
“He went to the council and told them he would give up his post as alpha over the Death Hunters if they didn’t allow him to take a mate and move to the land he had purchased for us. Lennox was born to be an alpha and he’s good at his job. Even the past alpha said he was the best he had ever seen. And I know he’s the best alpha.”
Recognition dawned on her face. “You care for him?”
“Of course, I do. He’s my best friend and I want to see him happy for once. You make him smile and I’ve never seen him smile. When he gets so intense, it shoots through the pack and we all feel the pressure he is under, but now we feel like we can breathe. It’s because of you, Jade.”
Jade shook her head, glancing down at the ground. “But he doesn’t even know me. I’m not like the other girls. He won’t be happy with me. I know he won’t. He’s more experienced.”
“Okay, so what, you’re a virgin. Doesn’t change anything. Everyone had to learn during their first time.”
Her voice hitched. “How do you know? Who told you?”
Cosmo chuckled. “Jade, I’ve been around a long time and I’ve seen a lot of women and you have it written all over you that you’re an innocent.”
Jade gasped. “I have it on me. What? How can you see that? Oh God, do you think everyone knows?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Cosmo answered, “Of course, they do, but there’s nothing wrong with it.”
Now everyone knew she was a virgin. She could never hold her head up again. Everyone was probably laughing at her behind her back.
“Do you know how many males would give their weight in gold to have a virgin as a mate? They don’t have to contend with any jealously or see another male who had you before. That will drive a man crazy dealing with that, but you, you will be perfect. I’m sure you will run into some women from time to time that, well, you know, have been with Lennox. But I think you can handle that. Now, are you ready to start training because I don’t know how long I can keep Lennox from finding out. He doesn’t need to know about this, okay?”
She didn’t know where it came from, but her heart felt like someone had knocked her in the chest. It made her blood boil. What was this feeling? She knew he was experienced, but she couldn’t control hearing about other women.
“Other women? What women? Will there be women in your pack that have, you know?”
“No, never with Lennox. He always went outside the pack.”
“Are you trying to make me mad. Why are you telling me this stuff, Cosmo?”
“I’m hoping it will piss you off so you will want to learn how to take up for yourself. There may be women out there that don’t want to give him up.”
“He has other girlfriends? The man has other women that he’s sleeping with now?” Jade wanted to throw up, but the urge to hit something was becoming overwhelming.
“That’s what I want to see. Your eyes are bright yellow right now. You’re good and pissed off, aren’t you?”
Jade couldn’t believe this. Why was he deliberately trying to hurt her? “You…you are. . .”
“Mean? Nah, not really, but I want you to understand that an alpha’s mate has to know how to defend herself and her pack if need be. I’m not trying to hurt you, but I want you prepared. So, Jade Cross, what’s it going to be?”
What if her pack did believe she was a big fat chicken and would run from trouble. She wanted them to know they could count on her. She couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t react the way she should. Bane practically said she couldn’t handle any kind of stress. He wanted her to see a doctor about it. She wanted more. She wanted to be a bad ass like Quinn and Simone. Someone they could depend on if trouble came knocking. Biting her bottom lip, Jade blew out a breath and said, “I’m in.”
“Good girl. We have a lot to learn today, and Jade, how did you kick me so hard that I flew into the wall?”
Lennox carried the log to the cabin site and laid it on the ground. This was going to be the perfect site for Jade’s new workshop. He was still worried that it wouldn’t be good enough for her. Quinn told him she was going to be a multi-millionaire by the end of the year. What Jade didn’t know was he, too, was a millionaire. When his parents were killed, they left him a lot of money. He invested wisely, and it had paid off. Plus, not having to pay for anything while working with the council made him even richer.
“Do you think she will like it, boss?” Reed McDaniel asked.
Glancing down at the plans he had drawn out, Lennox made sure he had every detail on the paper. “I think so. This one will be twice as big as the building she works out of now. I’ll make sure she has all the bells and whistles that she needs to make her business thrive.”
Reed sat on the log, looking around at the land that belonged to the Death Hunters. “When are you going to tell everyone that you found your mate, Alpha?”
“When the time is right. I don’t want to throw too much at the team.” Lennox watched as the Death Hunters built a log cabin that would soon be their new home. Glancing at him, Lennox asked, “How do you feel about it?”
Reed just laughed. “To be honest, I’m hoping that this will be the beginning of something new for all of us. I like having a place to call home. I doubt I will ever find a mate. I’m just made like that. I like to be alone too much.”
Lennox liked Reed, he always knew where he stood with him. If he wanted to know what he thought, all he had to do was ask. But nobody needed to be alone. He prayed that Reed and the other hunters would find a mate. He wanted to see a new generation live on this land.
“Are you looking for a mate, Reed?”
“No, I don’t know what I’m looking for. Like you said, Alpha. Maybe this is the beginning for all the hunters.” Reed got up and started notching the log into place.
If his plan worked, once the other Hunters saw him with a mate, they, too, would give in and allow a mate to come into their lives. Lennox had a lot to accomplish before Jade became his mate. He had to go to town to pick up the equipment he had pre-ordered for
Jade’s new workspace. Now, he was waiting on Cosmo. He should have already returned from getting supplies. That boy was always into something besides work. Lennox sighed as he picked up another log and helped Reed nail it down.
Chapter Seven
Oliver Park stood at the bar watching the waitress wipe it down, again. That’s what he liked about Harvey’s. It was his kind of place. Clean, but not high class. A small dance floor in the middle of the room, but hardly anyone danced. His pack could hang out and nobody bothered them. Glancing at the juke box, one of the regulars searched the song list. If he played another love song, Oliver was going to put his fist through it.
He had seen other shifters passing through town come inside to drink. They even had a cross dresser who came in from time to time.
Harvey’s was going to be his one day. The owner just didn’t know it. He had set up his pack here in South Carolina for a reason. There weren’t too many shifters around and there wasn’t a lot of law enforcement to contend with. Oh, he always paid the owner for broken chairs and tables his pack broke. Even a window or two, but nobody said anything when they saw a claw come out. There were scratches marking each and every table in this place.
“Did you hear the news?” Carter ran into the bar, out of breath. The man was nothing more than a fool. The only reason he kept him alive was for information. His parents worked at council headquarters and they lived in council territory. If he needed intel, Carter could get it.
Oliver leaned against the bar shaking his head. “Calm yourself, wolf. What now, UFOs landing?”
The rest of the pack laughed as Carter pulled out a chair from the table and sat. Oliver narrowed his eyes at the weakest link of his pack.
Oliver’s beta, Danny kicked the chair and the stupid idiot finally got the message and got up.
“Oh, sorry, Alpha. I didn’t know that was your chair. I guess you haven’t heard?” Carter smiled but it never reached his eyes. The fool was enjoying himself too much.
