“Focus, Jade,” he growled. “In training, you don’t stop fighting to apologize unless you cause massive amounts of blood loss to your partner or knock them unconscious. Keep going.”
They worked through the paces for another twenty minutes. Hope arrived with her mate, Ranger, and took a seat on the bench while she waited for Jade to take a break from training with Booth.
When she finally came out of the fighting trance she was in, Jade looked around the room and blushed slightly. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“No, no, that’s fine,” Hope said excitedly. “I loved watching you. That was great.”
“Can I have a moment?” she asked Booth.
“You can take ten minutes,” he offered. She removed her gloves and walked over to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and downing it in a few gulps. She took a seat next to Hope and leaned her head back against the window.
“So, we are doing ground work?” she panted, rolling her head to look at the other female.
“Sure are,” Hope answered with a smirk. “Unless you want to quit.”
“I don’t quit,” she warned and climbed to her feet. “Let’s do this, because I am getting hungry, and if the master over there will allow it, I’d like to eat sometime today.”
Booth’s laugh echoed throughout the room. She was not only strong, she was sassy, and he was starting to realize he liked it a lot more than he should.
Hope and Jade circled each other, both of their eyes flashing amber. Jade went in first, taking Hope to the mat with her strength. Booth watched as his fellow Guardian leaned in to observe his mate and the moves she was making. He called out to her as she scrambled to get Jade in a hold, but Jade came out on top, almost pinning Hope to the mat.
They went on like this for the next half-hour. Both of the women were fierce, and they ended the match with Jade as the victor. Hope tapped out and Jade rolled over on her back just as she’d done outside earlier. Hope did the same, and both males looked on with pride.
Booth was surprised his beast didn’t object to seeing a small cut just above Jade’s eyebrow. The bloodshed was minimal, but he was okay with it. He realized the female could actually take care of herself in a fight.
He was due in Talon’s office after lunch, and decided to call the training for the day. He’d put Jade through the paces, and he was well aware of how exhausted she was. “Okay, we are done for the day. Shower and grab some food.”
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“I have a meeting with the alpha,” he grunted. “I’ll come find you later.”
“Oh, okay,” she replied, tucking her chin. She looked disappointed, but he had to take care of this thing with Talon so he could hurry back to her.
His beast was pacing, wanting to stay, but he pushed the beast into the back of his mind so he could focus on his report to his leader. Jade was worthy of the Guardian name, but he wasn’t so sure his alpha would agree.
Chapter Fourteen
Jade threw her dirty clothes in the hamper by the bathroom door with a little more force than necessary. She was full of adrenalin and a bit hurt Booth bailed as soon as they were done. He didn’t praise her for her training today. While she didn’t expect it, she really wished he’d said something…anything. Maybe a “good job” would’ve sufficed?
No, he ran off to his meeting with Talon, and Jade wasn’t stupid. She was going to be the topic of discussion. The pride was watching her every move. The alpha claimed she was of alpha blood, but Jade knew she wasn’t. Couldn’t a female just be capable of running with the males, fighting alongside them?
She took the longest shower known to man, and when she finally emerged, she changed clothes, again. At that point, she needed to either find a clothing store or spend the day doing some laundry. When she’d left her home, she only packed about five days’ worth of clothes. Whatever was left at the pride in Missouri held no sentimental value.
She wondered why her father had come to Olive Branch to find her. Well, the question was obvious. It hadn’t been her father’s idea. It was her old alpha. Cedric hated her, and she didn’t know why the fuck he cared where she went. Obviously, dear old dad was still stuck to the alpha like glue.
There was something else going on. She and her panther snarled at the thought. Why had she been beaten into submission? And when she refused to stop training and had run away, why did they come after her? Why were they so concerned?
She sat there for the longest time, not caring to put on clothes. She’d had no contact with anyone from her pride since then, and she really had no desire to catch up with any of her so-called friends. Her phone never rang, and she hadn’t cared to reach out to the few females she’d grown up with. They were all mated now, and probably felt the same way about her sneaking off to train as her alpha and father had felt.
“Jade?” Booth’s concerned voice broke through her thoughts. He was standing in the threshold of her bedroom door, his brows pinched with worry. “I’ve been knocking for five minutes.”
“I’m sorry,” she replied, shaking her head. Her beast purred in her mind as she caught his unique scent. It was his mating scent, and she realized she hadn’t noticed it all day while they had trained. It made her sad, because she’d been so used to having it wrap around her at every moment they’d been together since she had arrived.
“Are you feeling okay?” he worried, walking into her room. She didn’t try and cover herself, because being naked in front of another pride member was common. For once, his eyes never left hers, and while she could deal with the flirting and heated glances, she couldn’t handle the look he was giving her now.
“No,” she answered honestly. “My beast is bubbling under my skin every time you are around. I’m confused.”
“Confused, how?” he asked, kneeling in front of her.
“She’s confused because you didn’t give off your mating scent today in training.”
“We were in training, Jade,” he stressed.
“Did I do a good job today, Booth?” she wondered. God, if he disagreed, she would leave. She needed a pride who accepted her for who she was, and if these Guardians were going to think she wasn’t worthy, it wasn’t worth her time staying.
Her panther pushed at her skin in anger, making her body jerk from its force. Booth’s eyes widened, his mating scent getting stronger with each breath. She should tell him to leave, maybe get some food and take a nap, but she didn’t.
“You are an amazing female warrior,” he praised, his normally deep voice softening as he looked up into her eyes. Her panther relaxed a little when they noticed his eyes matched her own. His were glowing so bright, she wanted to touch his face and rub her thumb under them to calm his beast.
“But I’m not Guardian material,” she stated. It wasn’t a question. She could see the answers in his eyes, and it gutted her. “I can’t stay here, Booth. I came to prove myself to a pride I’d heard was accepting of females who wanted to fight, but I can see it in your eyes. Your talk with Talon didn’t go in my favor.”
She started to rise, leaving him kneeling on the floor. When she stood, her sex was right at eye level with him, but he didn’t lower them to look at her body as an interested male would. He just kept staring at her. His eyes hardened, the amber sparks fading. The pupils widened, pushing away the color of his beast.
“Excuse me, Booth,” she said through clenched teeth. “I don’t want to touch you, so you better back off so I can dress and pack my things.”
“No,” he barked. “You are not leaving the pride.”
“It’s best I do,” she said softly, closing her eyes. She wouldn’t cry. She’d dealt with many years of abuse from her father and leader without shedding tears, and one decision to find a new life wasn’t going to make any fall from her eyes now.
“I won’t allow it,” he declared, and she raised her eyes in disbelief.
“There is only one way you can keep me from going,” she warned.
�
��And what’s that?” he asked, but by the way his eyes heated, he knew exactly what she was saying.
“Don’t play with me. Booth,” she growled. “It’s obvious staying here is not an option for me. I know of a few other prides who allow females to fight. The Shaw pride is not the only one.”
“You belong here,” he snarled and climbed to his feet. The large male changed, his body swelling with his words. The mating scent overpowered her so much her beast whined, not only inside her head, but through her human voice as well. “You know it, and your panther knows it.”
“I don’t belong somewhere where I can’t be free to be myself!” She was angry at his attempt at keeping her, and she brushed past him, barely missing his bare arm as she grabbed her bag. He growled something low in his throat, but she ignored him and opened her dresser drawers, mentally calculating how much money she had in her account.
“If you leave, I will find you and return you to the pride, Jade,” he swore. His voice was rising, but she didn’t care.
It was time to go.
“Well, that’s better than my own fucking pride and my father,” she scoffed. “At least they let me fucking run away. They only came here because they want me back so they can beat me into submission.”
“What?” he yelled. “Are you sure about this?”
“No, Booth,” she cursed. “I’m not fucking sure! It doesn’t make any sense why they came to the bar that night looking for me. The only thing I’ve come up with is they need me for something, and I refuse to go back. No one else in that pride has come looking for me, and not once has my phone rang with a call from one of my old friends. None of the females my age, who I used to hang out with, have even sent me as much as a message to check on me. I am unwanted.”
“That’s not true,” he replied, shaking his head. “You are wanted here. I want you here.” The last sentence he spoke was full of pain and rage. When she looked at him, his face had shifted, his canines thickening in his mouth.
She couldn’t look at him anymore. Knowing he was probably her mate, and knowing she would forever be just a mate who liked to fight with the other females, wasn’t going to make her stay. If he was her mate, he’d let her go.
“Even if you touch me, I’m still leaving,” she stated.
Landon checked on one of the animals that had been brought in for care after being hit by a car. Fortunately, the German Shepherd would make a full recovery, but he’d be in pain for several days to a week. They’d done surgery to repair his leg, and all they could do was wait for him to get better.
He headed out to the front desk where Sofia was working. She looked up from the computer and sat back in her seat. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” he lied. No, it wasn’t, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. “Just ready to go home. Do we have anymore appointments today?”
“Only Ms. Jones in room two,” she supplied, handing over the chart.
“Go ahead and get your things ready to go,” he said, looking over the paperwork in the file. “All I have to do is shots and a checkup on this one, then we can go.”
“Sounds good to me,” she replied with a smile.
Landon spent some extra time with Ms. Jones and her Great Dane, Harvard. He loved animals, and he loved the interactions with them. Humans were harder to deal with. They caused pain for reasons other than their own protection. Dogs would bite you if they felt threatened or they were in pain. A pet wouldn’t brutalize you unless they were defending themselves.
As soon as Ms. Jones paid, he and Sofia locked things up and headed back to the pride. She sat in the passenger seat as quiet as usual, but she was fidgeting where she sat. There was something off about her. “What’s going on with you?”
“Oh, me?” she blushed hard. “Nothing. Nothing at all. Just ready to go home myself.”
“Big plans?” he asked. When she glanced at him, he saw her eyes glaze over and a few amber sparks lit her vision. The blush never left her face, even though she tried to hide it with her long, curly brown hair. Her naturally large eyes were easy to read, too.
“Um, no,” she lied.
“So, which male fancies you?” he guessed. He laughed when her eyes grew larger and her mouth dropped open. “You have it written all over your face.”
“Oh no,” she hissed, looking down at her lap. “I’ve never been good at lying or hiding my expression. Geez.”
“Well, who are you sneaking off to see?” he continued.
“I really don’t want to say,” she hedged. “If I don’t say it out loud, it can’t get back to my brother. Sorry.”
“So, Savage doesn’t like this one?”
“God, no,” she laughed. “He doesn’t like any of the males around me. I’m his baby sister, and he thinks none of the males are worthy.”
“Ha! I imagine so,” he chuckled, realizing he wasn’t thinking about himself for once. Seeing Sofia lighten her spirits with the talk of a possible suitor made Landon happy for her. For a moment in time, he didn’t dwell on his past or the scars that marred his body.
“Please, don’t tell him I told you anything,” she begged.
“Technically, you didn’t tell me anything.”
“Thanks, Landon,” she grinned. Taze waved them through the gate, and Landon stopped at her family’s home to drop her off. She said her goodbye and disappeared in the house with a little more pep in her step.
He backed out and returned to his brother’s home. Instead of heading to his room as he usually did, Landon made his way into the kitchen where Olivia and Dane were busy preparing their dinner. He loosened the tie around his neck and reached for a beer, pausing when Olivia greeted him with news.
“Noah is stopping by for dinner,” she announced. There was a gleam in her eye, and he wondered why all of the women he’d come in contact with today were so cheerful.
“Oh, okay,” he mumbled and closed the refrigerator door.
Noah was coming to the house, and Landon didn’t know how he felt about it. He wished he could be like Sofia and carry the glow of a new relationship on his features, but that wasn’t in the cards for him. Not now. Not ever.
Landon longed to be loved like Olivia loved his brother. Even though their relationship included Dane, there wasn’t a shred of doubt about the feelings between those three.
Chapter Fifteen
Booth’s temper was at a boiling point. The female was leaving, and his panther was going insane. The scent coming from her skin was getting stronger, and it had been like that anytime she showed any dominance in training.
Booth had a feral need to protect her, but the need to fuck her was outweighing everything else. He didn’t want a meek female, and he sure as hell didn’t want one he was going to have to treat like a cub. His beast roared inside his head, reminding him she was different.
He wanted to touch her to see if their instincts were right. The need he had for her to accept him as a mate was building, and he didn’t know how to handle those feelings. He wasn’t a soft male, and with his temper, he tended to be a bit dominant in his needs.
In his fucked up mind, he wanted to mount her, biting into the spot on her neck that all males marked when they complete the mating. His panther’s need for her had been at the forefront of his mind since that morning. His canines ached to bite her. Her blood called to him, and while they were not ones to drink the blood from their mates after a mating bite, Booth craved to do just that.
His cock ached as he imagined their mating once she agreed. He wanted to mark her and keep his canines imbedded in her skin while he held her down, forcing her submission. She was more than capable of showing her alpha tendencies, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t when it came to the pleasures of a mating.
“Put your bag down,” he snarled as she lifted the strap to her shoulder. She froze, turning to face him. Her eyes were glowing, and they narrowed on him as he stepped forward. She still hadn’t dressed, opting to pack and toss a tank top and pair of workout shorts on the be
d.
“I’m packing my bathroom next,” she argued. “If you’re thinking you are going to stop me, Booth, I assure you, I’m not going to stay here.”
“You’re staying,” he replied, moving closer to her. They were only inches apart, and she couldn’t get around him if she tried. She was blocked between the bed, dresser, and wall. Going through him was her only way out.
“Put your panther away, Guardian,” she warned.. “My claws are sharp, and you’re backing me into a corner. It’s not wise.”
She wasn’t bluffing. Her panther’s claws pushed through the tips of her human fingers and she bared her fangs at him when he didn’t move. Booth’s head tilted back, his nostrils flaring with her mating scent. She was aroused.
“You like it when I tell you what to do, don’t you?” he accused, leaning in to carefully inhale her scent.
“No,” she lied. He scented that, as well.
“You are an alpha, Jade,” he informed her, knowing it now. There was no question about it. Talon was right. “You may not realize it, but we all do. You are too strong for a female. You have better speed, better agility. You think clearer and more precisely than any Guardian. That includes me.”
“And you think that makes me an alpha?” she asked in disbelief. Booth’s eyes traced her jawline, her neck. Bumps raised on her skin, and he inhaled her scent again.
“I know you are,” he stated. “We all do.”
“I’m not,” she denied. “I’m just a female who has trained to prove my worth to a pride who will accept me.”
“You’ve found that pride, Jade,” he said, lifting his eyes to hers. His cock hardened, and he didn’t care if she saw it. The scent of her sweet pussy was driving him and his beast insane with need. He wanted to use his own claws to rip his shorts to shreds.
“If that’s the case, I am not the only alpha,” she noticed, locking eyes with him. “You are one, too. I feel it.”
Booth (Rise of the Pride, Book 9) Page 11
