Snap. Jump away. Bite again.
He attacked faces and closed his jaws around ears. Those that stayed in their human forms felt his mark on their arms and legs. He didn’t care where he attacked or who he bit. He wanted them cowed enough to send in their alpha to subdue him.
Other sounds pressed at him over the blows to his body. Some of the attackers peeled off enough for Ellis to see between the legs of the others. A black SUV tore down the same path taken on the flight away from clan territory.
Maylee sat behind the wheel, yelling words he couldn’t hear.
No!
Maylee twisted the wheel and took out two bears on the outer edges of the cluster. They rolled over the hood and landed on the ground with pained groans.
Dust billowed in the air from her hard stop, but she flung herself out of the vehicle and slammed the door closed.
“He’s not the one you want!” she yelled.
Bodies shifted all around. Fists clenched. More than one glance shot toward Dustin, to Ellis, then back to the woman who’d caused the early morning brawl.
“Let her pass.” Dustin dropped down to the ground.
Ellis’s hackles rose. He placed himself between Maylee and Dustin. The asshole had no business getting near her.
She had no business rushing back into the fight, either, but his beast was proud she took a stand with him. Infuriated by her death-wish, but proud.
“You trading yourself for the wolf?” Dustin threw his arms wide, then shoved a finger at Maylee. “I should kill you where you stand.”
“Oh, I’m not trading myself. I’m not giving you Esme. You’re not killing Ellis. You’re going to let us walk away from here.”
Dustin barked a laugh and made a show of wiping at his eyes. “Now that’s the best thing I’ve heard all year! I chose the wrong twin. You’d have kept me better amused than the one that couldn’t even give me a son.”
A low growl worked out of Maylee’s throat. She stepped around Ellis and closed the distance between herself and Dustin. “She was so much better than you could ever be. You were beneath her.”
Dustin stroked his knuckles over Maylee’s cheeks. “Maybe I should keep you. Maybe you’ll give me my heir.”
Behind her back, silver flashed.
She slammed the knife under his chin, forcing him to arch his head high. “You killed Helena. You killed your own mate. Admit it, and let us go.”
Everyone froze.
Not a single breath released in the silence that followed. No feet shifted, either.
Dustin bared his teeth, eyes flashing. “I did it,” he growled. “Bitch didn’t know her place, just like you.”
Ellis’s muscles bunched even as Dustin began to move. His leap carried him forward as Dustin raised his hand, dark claws extending from his fingertips.
Time slowed as the bastard slashed downward.
Ellis slammed into his enemy, taking the brunt of the blow and shoving Maylee back at the same time. He snarled with the utter desperation of a man needing to protect his mate.
Claws dug into his sides and belly as Dustin struggled to shift. His shape shimmered and cracked as it rebuilt itself, but Ellis was quicker. He latched his jaws around a fur-lined throat and tore through flesh and bone.
Silence, again. Unease. Shock.
Until a tiny roar sounded from within the SUV. Ellis looked up to see furry paws clawing at the glass and a bear cub struggling to break out of her vehicular prison.
Safe. She was safe.
Maylee turned hard eyes on the clan. They’d let her down, over and over, her entire life before their utter disregard culminated with the murder of her sister, their alpha’s mate.
Ellis understood the disappointment in her scent. The rage, too. And the pity in her eyes.
They’d lost. She wouldn’t be the last to speak up and question their bullshit. They could drag themselves into the light and try fixing themselves, or they could see their numbers picked off one by one through infighting or simple slinking away into the night.
There would be no going back, however. Their normal was as dead as their rotten alpha in the dirt.
Maylee pointed to her former alpha, her wannabe killer, and her sister’s murderer. “Fight over whatever scraps you want,” she declared, “but leave me and my new pack alone.”
Chapter 18
Ellis left the steamy confines of the bathroom and padded down the hall toward Maylee’s room. He needed to check that she was where he’d left her and hadn’t ridden off under his nose again.
He pushed the cracked door open enough to get a whiff of her sweet scent. Another inch, and he spotted Maylee curled around the sleeping Esme on a bed that’d been freshly made.
Hell, the whole house had been put back together after the whirlwind of Dustin and his clan busted down the door. He had his pack to thank for that. They’d turned chairs upright and replaced windows while he’d been otherwise occupied with becoming a prisoner and fighting his way free.
By the Broken, two days. Only two days had passed. He scratched at his beard. The fight and flight routine used to be another day in the Vagabonds, but he’d gone straight when Jensen put down roots in Redwater. He was too old for that sort of action and adventure.
Had too many others depending on him, too.
Maylee peeked over her shoulder and he stopped dead. Caught in the blue beams of her gaze, Ellis was struck dumb.
He could have lost her. He could have lost them both.
His wolf paced under his skin with agitation that went untouched by the knowledge that he’d set them free. Dustin lost his claim with his life, and Ellis didn’t feel the slightest bit of guilt over what he’d done.
The bastard killed Maylee’s sister. Tried to kill Maylee. He could rot where he’d fallen.
Maylee pressed a finger to her lips, then gently rolled off the bed. She gathered Esme in her arms and settled the cub in her crib with the care given to high explosives. Esme stretched and snuggled further down, but otherwise didn’t stir.
Ellis was glad to see the girl back where she belonged.
The narrow walls of the hallway closed in sharply when Maylee tiptoed out of the room. She cracked the door and again pressed a finger to her lips.
Ellis followed her into the living room, eyes stroking down her frame. He itched to run his hands over her skin and feel the proof that she was real.
His wolf howled his agreement and flashed him sendings that pressed for more.
Mate.
Ellis shook clear the thought. He’d made his choice, but he needed to know hers.
“You came back for me,” he rumbled.
The words tumbled out of his mouth where they’d stayed stuck since they sped out of clan territory. They’d stopped long enough for clothes and a car seat, then found a place to rent a new car. The thought of spending any time apart because they were caught with stolen wheels was too much to risk.
The result was a quiet drive back to Redwater. They both stayed lost in their thoughts, neither one willing to crack open the silence that sat between them. Esme slowed the trip down with needs for diaper changes and feedings, but she also kept them distracted.
No cub seated just behind them meant they could pick through what was strewn between them.
Maylee sank down onto the couch and laced her fingers between her knees. “Yeah, well, someone once told me they were in this till the end. It seemed like the right move.” She hesitated, then added, “I don’t know how to be someone’s mate.”
“I don’t, either.”
The smooth objection didn’t put her off for long. Maylee made a face and slashed her eyes away from him. “Helena stayed because Dustin was her mate. She stayed, knowing what her end would be. That bond held her as tightly as silver shackles around her wrists.”
“I’d never treat you—”
“That’s not it,” she dismissed the concern before he could even finish. “I don’t want to lose myself like she did. Good or bad, that’s what really bother
s me. She stopped being the Helena I knew. I don’t ever want to be just someone’s mate. I’m still me.”
“You know what I see? What I saw that first night?” She stayed quiet as he peeled away from the edge of the hallway and took a seat next to her. “You’re stronger than you look. Stubborn, too, but you had to be to survive without anyone on your side for months. Months, Maylee, and you didn’t back down. You have an incredible capacity to care, evident by that determination to keep Esme safe while you lacked any support. And the wrong call to leave us in the dust in the name of protection, but we don’t have to mention that.”
“We don’t, huh?” she teased with a small smile.
“I thought we were talking about your accomplishments, not your failings.” He pressed her palm to his lips to take the sting from his words. Ellis raised serious eyes back to her face. “You’ve walked through fire. I would be an idiot to try changing any part of you.”
“Except the part that tries to stop you from suffering for my choices.”
“Except that part.” He canted his head. “You know what I want most when I look at Jensen and Noelle or Wyatt and Alanna? They’re a team. They don’t try to make each other be who they aren’t. They don’t fight over who is in charge. They’re just trying to be the best versions of themselves for each other and their pups. That’s what I want from my mate.”
He’d done bad, the same as Jensen and Wyatt. And maybe they didn’t deserve good, but he wanted to reach out and take it anyway. Maybe that was still bad of him, but he didn’t care. He’d watched Jensen and Wyatt pair up with good women who challenged them and put smiles on their ugly faces.
He wanted that with Maylee. Whether she bore his mate mark or needed some fancy ring or just wanted to skip all the claiming entirely, she had him at her back for the rest of her life.
Bright blue eyes connected with his.
She didn’t run. She didn’t pull away. Flinching away wasn’t her style.
Ellis tightened his grip around her hand. In his head, his wolf bounded back and forth like an excitable lap dog in danger of giving itself a heart attack.
“That,” she dragged down a long breath and let it go slowly, “doesn’t sound too bad.”
* * *
The mate bond transformed a person. For better or worse, the signs were all there. The way her skin flared whenever he touched her or her heart ached when she tried to put miles between them. He brought a smile to her face whenever he entered a room or simply crossed her mind.
But most of all, the way he accepted her the way she came.
Ellis sat back with a hungry light in his eyes. He landed his palms on his thighs and cocked his head to the side. “Not too bad? If that’s not an overwhelming vote for mating, I don’t know what is.”
Ellis wasn’t Dustin. He’d proven that over and over. He cared when he didn’t need to, backed her when it went against his own protection, and saw her out of hell and back to the calm of his den.
His only demand? Nothing to do with obeying his commands or making herself so small that she disappeared. He wanted them to be equals who made decisions together. He wanted to be on her team.
Helena had been robbed. Mates weren’t like Dustin or the other men of their clan. They were good and strong and stood up for what was right. They offered a hand up when needed, not a smack back down to the ground.
Maylee stared straight ahead. “Esme comes first. Can you honestly say that you have no problems raising a child that isn’t your own?”
He was quiet for a moment. Her inner bear rebelled against the silence and the reasons behind it. All the good will Ellis had earned since yanking Greg off her vanished in those seconds.
“Family isn’t just what blood runs in your veins,” he finally answered. “Jensen and Wyatt feel more like brothers than my actual family. They’re all the pack I need.” He slid off the couch and went to his knees in front of her. “I’d be honored if you let me share that with you and Esme both.”
He kissed her softly, a gentle giant after all the fighting he’d done on her behalf. She followed his lead when he pushed off the ground, barely letting their kiss break apart. His hands ran down her sides, over her back, then steadied on her hips as he dragged her against his hard frame.
He picked her up and carried her straight to his room, mouth trailing down her neck. “I want you forever,” he murmured against her skin.
Maylee met his gold eyes. “Yes,” she breathed. “I want that, too.”
The undressing came just as slowly and gentle. He refused to let her touch any part of her clothes or even toe off her socks. She took her own sweet time bunching his shirt up and over his head, then pressed her lips to his stomach and powerful thighs as she stripped him down.
Ellis pulled her back to her feet as soon as he kicked free of his jeans. Strong hands cupped her cheeks and tilted her face to his for another slow, simmering kiss that made her head swim and her stomach churn with need. Heat blasted off his body, warming her from the outside while desire spread through her insides.
When he finally closed a hand around her breast, she arched into his touch and moaned, heart slamming against her breastbone.
He eased back enough for her to feel the dirty grin stretching his lips. “That’s a sexy fucking sound, beautiful,” he rumbled.
She lifted her chin and met his eyes. Liquid gold stared back at her and she knew her own were just as inhuman. “What are you going to do to make me make it again?”
His hands tightened around her hips. A leg between hers urged her backward. “I’m going to make love to you,” he said in a husky voice. A little shove sent her sprawling backward to the bed. He followed her down, draping his body over hers. “Then I’m going to make you mine.”
Heat unfurled inside her, hot on the heels of needy anticipation. Her mouth dried under the gaze that swept down her body and back up to her face. Ellis’s jaw tightened and his fingers dug into the comforter underneath her back. He kept himself under control.
For now.
He took his time kissing down her neck. Over her shoulder. Maylee let out a hiss when his teeth clamped over her skin. Desire rushed through her so sharply that she clamped her legs closed to relieve a fraction of the pressure, only to have Ellis drop his weight against her with a heavy thrust and a growl.
One bite. One little scrape of his teeth had her rolling her hips for more.
Ellis chuckled darkly and continued his slow exploration of her curves.
He skimmed a palm up her side to cup her breast just as his mouth closed around the tight peak of her nipple. He lashed his tongue against her flesh and stroked her with his thumb, over and over until her breath gasped out in short pants.
The noise pulled rumbling growls from his chest that vibrated straight to her core. His fingers dug into her skin; his teeth caught her nipple. The ragged breaths dumping out of him and the steady roll of his hips shot what little control that remained to her.
“More,” she demanded and was answered with another cocky, throaty chuckle.
Torn between letting him have his way and giving him a little payback, Maylee ran her hand over the head of his cock. A growl rattled in her throat as more anticipation built inside her. She wanted him. Now. No more waiting, no more teasing. She could hardly keep herself from twisting her hips and taking him for another ride.
She fisted his thick girth and slid her hand down, dragging a groan from him as he thrust between her fingers.
Ellis growled and wrenched his hips away. The touch broke apart whatever held him back. He slipped his hand down her stomach, chin high and eyes blazing with the challenge, until he found her entrance.
Maylee slammed a hand over her mouth as he drove into her center. Pleasure exploded up her nerve endings. There was no give like before, no teasing. Ellis drove her hard and fast until she writhed under him again, a much-needed release detonating under his touch.
“That’s it. Let me hear how much you love this. Love me between y
our legs.” His eyes flared brightly again and he trailed his gaze over her body. Another rumble bloomed in the air between them as he stared at his fingers plunging in and out of her body.
“Need to taste you,” he groaned.
Firm hands held her in place as he sank down her body. His mouth met his fingers and Maylee turned her face into the pillow to keep from crying out. Pressure built inside her, pressed down all around her, narrowed everything she knew to singular pulses between swipes of Ellis’s talented tongue.
A growl hit the air. Hers, his, she didn’t know. His thumb swirled over her hip as she bucked against his mouth. Her thighs shook as another storm built in her core, thundering with the lightning strike that was about to flash through her.
Fire burned through her veins. Maylee arched hard into his touch, a moan on her lips.
Ellis was on her in a second, hoarse growl on his tongue, jaw clenched as he drove into her and rode through her aftershocks.
The moment froze them together.
Hers. He was absolutely hers. Wanting her pleasure, her safety, those were the qualities she needed in a mate. She didn’t come to him with reluctant acceptance at the fire of fate that forged them together. She wanted to be there, in his den and bed, with him settled between her thighs.
She wanted him. All of him. The sweet side and the hard edges.
Helena made her choice to mate Dustin, and the asshole abused his power to keep her locked at his side. She’d forever mourn the loss of her twin, but that didn’t mean Maylee had to dance to the same tune with Ellis. Ellis wasn’t Dustin, and taking a mate wasn’t inherently bad.
She picked Ellis.
He lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. Soft. Gentle. Searching for more.
At the swipe of his tongue, she opened for him. And he began to move.
Maylee hissed at the first retreat and gasped at his hard thrusting return. She dug her heels into his thighs and dragged her nails down his back. Muscles bunched under her hands, between her legs, the movement of him driving the pressure higher.
She tilted her head to the side. He nuzzled against her skin, his beard scratching at her and building more pressure in her middle. Heat exploded everywhere their bodies met; fire consumed her from the inside. Close. So close.
Bourbon and Bears: Book Three: Shifters and Sins Page 12
