by Delta James
“I wouldn’t advise that. They’re still quite a few of them that are fairly undisciplined. And Rowan would most likely take exception.”
“Do you think she’ll ever truly accept her place at your side and not as alpha to her pack?”
“I doubt she will ever be what we were raised to believe was a traditional mistress of the pack, but we suit each other, and I would see her happy with me. If that means allowing her to act a bit outside the norm, then so be it. But again, I would urge you to stay and find your elusive fated mate. I tell you, Gareth, nothing compares to knotting and tying her to you and feeling your souls soar above the heavens together.”
Gareth snorted. “It must be a powerful thing if it makes my brother the warlord speak like a poet.”
Alaric reached out and clasped his arm. “It is, Gareth. I would see you truly mated this time.”
“My pack needs me to sire heirs and daughters. If you will not consider a match between Arielle and me, I may well have Ruari begin searching for another alliance.”
“That will take months if not a year or more. Stay at least through the end of the week. Promise me you’ll think about it.”
Gareth shook his head. “How would I even know,” he whispered sadly. “How did you?”
“It was as though suddenly I was more aware of everything. It wasn’t just that I could see her standing at the top of the turret. I could feel her there. It was as if I could reach out to her. Rowan now admits she felt it too. And from the beginning, I knew Arielle was meant for another. I knew the warrior that looked down at me and prepared for war was my destiny,” said Alaric. “I know how that sounds to someone as pragmatic as you. But remember, I was always even more cynical than you.”
“If this was so powerful and so all encompassing, why is it you had to force your mate’s vows from her?”
Alaric laughed. “Just because one’s mate is fated, does not change her quarrelsome nature, especially if she is determined to resist your call.”
* * *
The next evening, Rowan confronted Sloan. “Are you angry with me? Do you feel somehow displaced by Alaric?”
Taken aback, Sloan stammered, “Oh, God, no. I want you to be happy. I’m glad you found your fated mate. I just wonder if I fit in here anymore... or even if I want to.”
Sloan watched as Rowan’s face darkened and she asked, “You can’t mean to leave me, can you? This is all new to me too; I don’t know that I can do this without you.”
“You have Arielle.”
“That’s not the same. As you pointed out, my little sister is untried in the ways of the world and of love.”
Sloan laughed. “So it’s back to the blind leading the blind?”
“It’s worked in the past, hasn’t it?” said Rowan with a grin. “Is that what has been bothering you? I’ve been worried about you.”
Sloan placed her hand on Rowan’s arm.
“That’s part of it but it’s this general feeling of unease.”
“Have you ever considered the idea that perhaps your sense of unrest is because you feel your fated mate is near?”
“I’m not wolf, remember? I think all this knotting and tying has gone to your head.”
“Apparently I haven’t explained the phenomenon to you correctly if you think it involves my head.” Rowan laughed and then continued in a more serious tone, “If what you’re experiencing feels like a wildfire in your blood, then I fear, my dear friend, your fated mate is near.”
“Oh, no. I’m not having any of that shit.”
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but that’s not your decision.”
* * *
Two days after their discussion, Gareth and Alaric had planned a ride with Rowan. Alaric wanted Gareth’s input on some of the improvements he sought to make. Gareth had been able to harness the power of the wind that blew in from the North Sea and Rowan had asked about the viability of such windmills at Calon Onest.
Gareth watched as his brother helped Rowan onto the sidesaddle she detested. Both he and Alaric mounted their horses as well. Although it was uncommon for a lady to ride a stallion, Alaric had made the exception to allow Rowan to continue to do so. Gareth suspected it had a lot to do with Edwyn’s protests about having to leave behind the valuable animal after cooling his heels in the dungeon. He also guessed it was an easy exception for Alaric to grant his mate.
As they were ready to leave, Sloan came running into the bailey calling for Rowan. As she wove her way between horses, Gareth caught her scent on the morning breeze. There it was... the sweet perfume he had known all of his life. No, it couldn’t be, he thought. A human? And a belligerent, ill-tempered one at that? He shook his head and stifled his laughter... and sniffed again.
“Alaric, as Rowan is none too fond of the idea of having to learn to ride sidesaddle, perhaps it would be helpful if we had someone along that is skilled in doing so. Rowan, didn’t you say Sloan has an excellent seat?”
“What?” said Sloan, turning to look at him. “I have things to do.”
She backed away and looked as though she were afraid to get too close. Gareth smiled; he knew she could feel it too. From the look of dismay on her face, his guess was that she knew the cause for her unrest.
“Isn’t one of your chief duties helping your mistress? I would think this qualifies,” he said pleasantly.
Alaric looked askance at him. “You want Sloan to ride with us?”
Gareth grinned. He knew his brother’s surprise was not because Sloan might prove an excellent teacher, but because he seemed to be encouraging Rowan and Sloan’s close association. He had yet to figure out what Gareth was slowly beginning to accept.
“Why not? I think it would be most helpful if she came along,” Gareth replied, looking archly at his brother, trying to clue him in.
“You do?” laughed Alaric as understanding began to dawn.
“I do. And as I am still here at your request, I would think you would indulge me.”
Gareth saw Rowan looking back and forth between them with concern. He smiled at his brother as Alaric leaned over to her, placed his hand on her back, and nuzzled her neck.
“Here, let me get a horse saddled for her,” Gareth said, dismounting. “Would you mind holding him for me?” he said, handing Sloan his reins.
Not knowing what else to do, Sloan took them. As she did, Gareth felt her presence as he had never felt another’s. He looked at his brother and grinned as he went to fetch a mount for her. He returned with another charger.
“I hope you don’t mind, Sloan. But as the rest of us are on fighting horses, I felt this one would be better able to keep up. He is one of mine and is well trained. If you are even half the rider Rowan says you are, you should enjoy him.”
He took his horse’s reins from Sloan and lifted her onto the saddle, inhaling deeply as he did. Convinced that he was in the presence of his fated mate, Gareth experienced a clarity he had rarely known before. Only in the case of overwhelming odds in battle had he felt the kind of calm focus that permeated his being. He would need to remember to thank his brother for his persistence and unwillingness to allow him to settle.
The low rumble he felt bubbling up from his chest seemed to come out of nowhere. He felt it venture forth and watched Sloan’s involuntary shiver. He was quite certain he had made no sound but had called to his mate in the ancient way of his kind and seen her respond.
* * *
Sloan felt as though she was going to throw up. Rowan had described the feeling of being called to Alaric as a kind of wildfire in her blood. When Gareth lifted her onto the horse it was all she could do not squirm out of his hands and run to lock herself in her room. This could not be happening to her. She did not want to be anyone’s mate, much less a fated mate. And she sure as hell didn’t want to be mate to the Alpha of Ravenscar. The man had a commanding presence that made his brother’s pale in comparison.
Sloan removed her foot from the stirrup and started to slide down.
“You will ride with us,” growled Gareth.
Rowan turned to challenge him.
“Nay, Rowan, let them be,” ordered Alaric soothingly but in a tone that signaled to his mate that the topic was not open for discussion.
“I’ll do what I want,” said Sloan in a voice she hoped did not give away her unsettled fear.
“You will do as I command,” rumbled Gareth.
She felt the command and the power behind it more than she heard it. She took a deep breath and slid out of the saddle, handing the reins back to Gareth.
“I am not yours to command. Alaric is my alpha and, therefore, the only one I answer to.”
“We both know that isn’t true,” Gareth said in the same smooth, seductive tone she had heard Alaric use with Rowan so many times. She now knew what Rowan meant when she said it almost compelled you to do as they wanted.
“Alaric, do something,” said Rowan, starting to grasp the enormity of what was taking place.
Turning to Gareth, Alaric asked cordially, “What would you have me do, brother?”
Sloan heard Rowan growl at him but could not seem to focus on anything but the powerful alpha who leaned down close to her.
“I would have you validate my claim to my fated mate,” Gareth said, looking Sloan unflinchingly in the eye.
“No,” she whispered, trying to back away.
“Yes,” he growled in a way that sent shivers up and down her spine several times, coming to rest in the lower part of her belly before swirling down to the place between her legs.
“Alaric,” pleaded Rowan.
“Nay, beloved. It is easy to see that Gareth speaks the truth. Sloan is his fated mate, which frankly I find quite amusing.”
“Well, at least mine never sent a suitor’s head home in a basket,” laughed Gareth.
“I could remedy that,” said Sloan with a growl that surprised her.
Gareth took a step forward. “You do not growl in defiance at me.”
Sloan whirled to look at Alaric. “You’re my alpha. Aren’t you supposed to protect me?”
“What would you have me protect you from? A lifetime of happiness at the side of your fated mate? No, Sloan. I am a far better alpha than that.”
By now they had attracted a crowd.
Sloan turned back to Gareth. “You need someone who is a wolf...”
“That can be dealt with,” said Gareth in a dulcet and seductive tone.
He began rumbling at her in a very soothing way as he closed in on her. He reached up to stroke her hair enticingly.
“Don’t do that,” she cried as she knocked his hand away, backing into Alaric’s horse. “I don’t want to be a wolf.”
“That’s not true, Sloan. You’ve told Rowan on more than one occasion that you have often considered it. But she has a point, Gareth, I would think you’d want to turn her before marking her as your own,” remarked Alaric conversationally.
“Alaric,” Sloan heard Rowan cry, “you cannot let him do this.”
“Not only can I, beloved, but I will. If my brother makes a formal claim that Sloan is his fated mate and he wishes to claim her, I will grant it. It is clear that she is, but like her mistress is choosing to be difficult.”
Sloan turned to run but found the Alpha of Ravenscar too quick for her to escape his grasp. She felt herself being pulled into his body. It wasn’t just the bulge contained within his breeches that let her know of his arousal, but every fiber of her being was being assaulted by his need and wanted desperately to respond in surrender.
“In front of these witnesses,” Gareth started; Sloan tried to still his voice by covering his mouth with her hands. He kissed her fingers briefly before reaching up and pinning her hands behind her back and continuing, “I Gareth, Alpha of Ravenscar, claim you, Sloan of Calon Onest, to be my one true and fated mate. What say you?”
“No. I won’t do it. I won’t.”
“Well, brother,” said Alaric, clearly amused by the entire thing, “it would seem we have a tricky problem. You can’t force her to run as she isn’t yet wolf. You can’t make her wolf without her consent unless she is your mate.”
“As I recall, brother, your mate’s vows were forced from her as you spanked her in front of your beta and a company of your men. We could adjourn to your council chambers with your beta and omega and I could do the same.”
Sloan struggled against him. It wasn’t just his physical strength with which he held her that prevented her from breaking free. It was the rumbling that continued to be transmitted from him to her that seemed to have overloaded all of her senses.
“Alaric, stop this,” cried Rowan.
“Enough, mate, or Sloan will not be the only one to find herself across her mate’s knee feeling his displeasure at her behavior this fine morning.”
“Rowan, think! There must be some way that I can make them stop,” cried Sloan.
“Alaric’s right. You can’t force them to let you run as you aren’t wolf...”
“Does it say I have to be wolf? Couldn’t I be given a good horse and try to outrun him?” Sloan asked in a voice bordering on panic.
Gareth’s rumble to her changed resonance—it had gone from one filled with lust and anger to one that now sought to soothe and comfort her.
“The problem is, the old way was that they could chase you for as long as they wanted. It was a fairly empty gesture. And when they caught you, you were theirs to do with as they will.”
“And that’s different from this how exactly?” asked Sloan. “At least I’d have a chance...”
“Alaric, my mate grows more distressed by the minute. Let’s adjourn to your council chambers and discuss the best way to proceed.”
Sloan saw Alaric step down off his horse and draw a protesting Rowan from the back of hers.
“I think, Gareth, your suggestion is a good one. We will leave these two in their rooms. I’ll have guards in the hall outside their doors and in the tunnels to ensure they are there when we have found a solution. Perhaps they will use the time to consider their true feelings on the subject.”
Both alphas quickly hoisted their respective mates over their shoulders and took two wildly protesting females—one wolf and one human—to their chambers. The one time Sloan had been tossed over Tristan’s shoulder, she hadn’t liked it, and her feelings about her present position were not improved.
Gareth entered her chambers and set her down with his back to the closed door.
“This is not a fight that you can win... even if you wanted to. You know from Rowan’s experience that resisting the call of your mate is pointless. You will yield to me and you will be my mate.”
“I don’t want to be your mate,” she spat.
He smiled at her. “You wouldn’t have been my pick, but then fate is often holding cards that it refuses to show. For what it’s worth, my little brother will have great fun at my expense. I scoffed at his notion of a fated mate and yet, here you are.”
“Then if you don’t want me, why do this?”
“You misunderstand, Sloan. I might not have picked you, but when fate revealed your existence to me, claiming and possessing you became the thing I wanted and needed most in this life. We will be together.”
“You underestimate Rowan’s ability to get Alaric to do as she wants.”
“No, I don’t. What you don’t understand is that with or without Alaric’s blessing for our union, I will make you mine. I can be away from here with part of our men before the first streaks of dawn kiss the sky, leaving behind the others to harass and bedevil him if he tries to pursue us. I am not unaware that the prospect of abandoning your humanity and becoming mate to the alpha of a place you’ve never been is daunting to say the least.”
“You think?” she snarked at him.
“I do indeed,” he said, smiling.
His calm demeanor was very unnerving.
He continued in the same, smooth tone, “I feel the longer I allow you to wallow in this fear and stubbornness,
the more difficult it will be for you to acknowledge what we both already know to be true. I am going to propose to Alaric that he get both of our betas as well as his omega and return here where I will put you over my knee and spank you until you declare yourself to me.”
“And it won’t bother you that you had to force me like that?”
After a moment’s consideration, he shook his head. “No, not at all. Would I prefer that you would simply yield and agree? Of course, but I will have my way, Sloan. You are my fated mate and you will be mine.”
Sloan was unprepared for the speed with which he closed the gap between them, wrapped her in his arms and claimed her mouth with his. This was not the kiss of a man asking for her permission; it was that of an alpha male wolf demanding her surrender. He punished her lips with his, forced his tongue into her mouth and attacked hers in a way that called forth a primordial response. Sloan fought for only a moment before all resistance left her body and she melted into his strong frame and wrapped her arms around his neck. His low, seductive growl of satisfaction wrapped itself all around her, weaving through every tendril of her being.
Once she had completely capitulated to him, he softened the kiss before relinquishing her mouth and nuzzling down the side of her neck, placing butterfly kisses all around the base before nuzzling back up the other side to kiss her deeply and passionately.
“There’s my good mate,” he rumbled as his hands loosened their grip and he stroked her back soothingly. “Do I need to get Alaric to gather his men and bring them up here or will you yield to me and take your vow?”
“I can’t; I won’t.”
Gareth growled at her as he swatted her backside. “You can and you will.”
He left without another word. The instant he was gone, Sloan barred the door and crossed to the bed, reaching under it.
From the moment Alaric had found them in the tunnels, Sloan had been gathering rope, hiding it in her room and knotting it together. She had found a grappling hook, smuggled it up to her chambers, and attached it to the lengthy line. She figured she now had a means of escape through the window, lowering herself down to the steep cliff below. Ideally, she would have waited until nightfall, but she feared she didn’t have the luxury of time on her side.
