Smiling, Daya ran a fingertip across the tattoo that was just below his collarbone before placing her hand flat on his bare chest.
Garin sighed and shifted her into a more comfortable position on top of him, which made her blush, but his eyes caught the edge of her scar from her mate mark.
“Daya.” Garin’s voice was filled with a question and Daya sighed leaning down to put her head against his chest.
“When I was 16, the next chosen Alpha of the pack identified me as his mate,” Daya felt Garin stiffen underneath her and she closed her eyes again. “I was shocked because I hadn’t been expecting that, but he talked with the Alpha who suggested that he should accept me. He did, but only to appease his Alpha.”
Garin growled in his throat and opened his mouth to say something only to stop when Daya shook her head.
“My uncle and aunt didn’t have any children, so my uncle had to choose his next in line,” Daya explained. “He was hoping that he saw my potential other than the human that I was, which he never did. From the moment he marked me, he had been messing around with a woman in the pack and five years ago, I had enough and accepted admission to the college here. Of course, he made sure to let me know what he thought of me and how he was going to break our bond. I spent the weekend with Grandma Ana and then I left on that Sunday.” Daya rolled her eyes a grim smile on her face. “Just my luck, though, to end up in another town full of shapeshifters.”
Garin smiled at her choice of words before lifting one hand to trace the beginnings of her light scar.
“It started fading after he marked the other woman, and now five years later, it looks like a tattoo I’ve had removed.”
Garin pulled her down to lie on his chest when she shrugged her shoulders after saying these words.
She yawned again snuggling into a more comfortable position for some reason weary all of sudden. “Why did you…”
“Shh,” Garin stopped her from asking the question he had been waiting for since he brought her into the room. “I will tell you about it later.”
“Okay,” Daya uttered sleepy, and Garin stroked her hair feeling her body relax even more against him.
Garin found himself enjoying the feel of her against him closing his own eyes, and he thought his wolf utter It’s about time.
Almost an hour later, a knock on the door jarred them both awake.
“Yes,” Garin called out in a sharp voice while Daya blinked open sleep clouded brown eyes.
“Just wanted to make sure you were in there, Garin,” Kala said hesitating briefly. “Is Daya still with you?”
“Yes, Alpha Female, she is,” he admitted with a smile. “We fell asleep after our conversation.”
“Oh, okay,” they heard her mutter evidently in shock at what he told her.
“We will be downstairs in a few minutes,” he answered pulling Daya closer into his side and she snuggled up against him without a second thought.
They heard her footsteps walking away from the door and they glanced at each other a blush staining Daya’s cheeks.
“He marked you, but you two never mated,” he surmised quietly feeling her jerk at his words.
“I assumed that answer was obvious, so I didn’t think I needed to clarify it,” Daya confirmed lowering her lashes so he couldn’t see her eyes.
“You don’t,” Garin assured her leaning down to kiss her softly. “But that’s his lost, and right now, my gain.”
Daya lifted her lids to look at him, and Garin lowered his head kissing each eyelid closed again before settling on her lips kissing her sweetly holding back the passion he could feel raising within him.
Another sharp knock on the door drew them apart and Garin growled watching Daya dissolve into giggles.
“Garin, Alpha Female Kala wants you down stairs.”
There unwanted guest walked away, but Garin could hear them laughing even as they walked away, and from the laughter on Daya’s face, so did she.
He leaned down to kiss her again, but this time he couldn’t hold back, and passion flared between them.
Finally, Garin pulled back with a reluctant groan and Daya shivered trying to calm down the fever overcoming her.
“We should head down before she sends someone else,” Garin muttered in a harsh voice although it wasn’t aimed at Daya.
“Okay, but you need to let me up,” Daya teased much to her surprise and Garin’s delight.
After another quick kiss, he got up and Daya followed him smoothing down her shirt, and then her hair.
“Before we go down,” Garin said heading for the door. “Who is you uncle, Daya?”
At the silence of his question, he turned with a frown only to still seeing the look of suspicion on Daya’s face.
“Why do you want to know?” Her tone was wary and cautious, and Garin found himself studying her intently.
She thinks we want to use her, his wolf stated making Garin realize that her uncle and aunt’s pack had did a number on her confidence. Not that her ex-mate helped, his wolf growled angrily.
“Daya, I need to know so I can tell Alpha Trevor,” Garin told her honestly watching Daya’s eyes widen with understanding before she nodded her head.
“My uncle is Jordan Stevens of the Red Moon Pack.” Her voice was quiet, and she turned away to run her hands through her hair.
Garin was stunned while his wolf was strangely quiet for the first time since he had come to the surface.
“We should get going,” Daya repeated his words turning for the door only to be stopped by Garin with a hand on her arm.
“Your uncle is the Alpha of the Red Moon Pack,” Garin repeated in a sharp voice.
“By marriage, not blood,” Daya informed him with a frown.
Garin shook his head lifting her face up so he could see her eyes. “Yet, he accepted you just because you were his mate’s niece and although he made a promise to her, I don’t think it was hard for him to do it if I’m not mistaken the care in your voice.”
Daya stared at him. “Yes, he is the closest thing I had for a dad and I wouldn’t change having lived with him for those five years.”
Leaning down, Garin kissed her temple before putting a hand at the base of her spine escorting her out of the room closing the door behind him.
“Why the third floor?” Daya asked in confusion when they started down the stairs.
“First floor is the common room, Alpha and Alpha Female’s office, kitchen, and the backside of the house is the infirmary,” Garin explained while they descended. “Our pack doctor, Brianna, has a room off of the infirmary but she isn’t here now since she went to spend time with her parents. The second floor is where most of the mates stay including Alpha Trevor and his mate, and then the rest of us unmated males have the top floor.”
“So, you haven’t found your mate,” Daya asked feeling the hand at her back tense suddenly. “And that is a subject for a later date, I assume.”
Garin didn’t know how to respond to her, not just yet.
“Just do me one favor, Garin,” Daya uttered so low that Garin had to strain to hear it. “I don’t know what is happening between us, and I must be crazy after my experience, but I’m willing to find out. So, when you meet your mate let me know. Don’t drag it out, so in the end, the only one with a broken heart is me.”
They reached the first floor just as she finished making this statement, and Garin couldn’t do anything when the door opened, and other pack members came in greeting him while giving Daya a cautious look.
“Kala is probably in the kitchen,” Daya suggested nodding her head and smiling before turning in that direction, and Garin followed her after a brief greeting with the others.
When they entered the room, Kala and Trevor were kissing near the refrigerator, and Daya blushed shifting her gaze away when she saw them.
Garin laughed getting Kala and Trevor’s attention who turned to them with a smile.
“Garin, Daya, I was wondering if you were coming down,” Kala greet
ed with a narrowed look at Garin.
“He was sure if we didn’t, you would be sending someone else up to get us,” Daya spoke truthfully eliciting a laugh from Kala while Garin protested next to her.
“Garin, you left one pissed off woman down here,” Trevor replied folding Kala next to his side while eyeing Daya who bowed her head in a sign of respect.
Garin shrugged his shoulders. ‘You said it was my choice.”
“Yes, I did,” Trevor agreed with a chuckle. “Did you two have an honest conversation?”
“Yes,” Garin confirmed with a wink at Daya.
“But he still didn’t explain what exactly happened with Tammie,” Daya admitted throwing him a narrowed look, but her mind was busy wondering how she missed something so significant while staying with her uncle.
Garin grimaced at her words while Trevor laughed outright sharing a look with Kala who admitted dryly, “When a human female is on their monthly cycle, it seems to have the effect of an aphrodisiac to all male shapeshifters, mated and unmated although it is harder on the unmated for some reason.”
“Oh,” Daya uttered giving Garin a look, which he correctly understood.
“I wanted you, but…” he said honestly stopping when her eyes begin to glimmer with laughter. “Watch it, young lady.” He growled playfully watching Daya laugh at his words.
Trevor and Kala silently observed their playful banter sharing a smile until Kala’s slipped away and a puzzled look cross her face. “Wait a minute, you are taking this too easily, Daya.”
There was silence at her words, and Daya sighed pushing her hands into the pocket of her jeans. “That’s…”
“Honey, Daya is the niece of Alpha Jordan,” Trevor intervened with a quick look at Daya who stared at him in surprise while Garin’s jaw dropped.
“You already knew what we were,” Kala uttered on a breath, and Daya nodded a rueful look on her face.
“Yes, ma’am,” she admitted quietly in the silence of the room following Kala’s sentence.
“I should’ve known something was suspicious when you joined the study session since you do really well on my tests,” Kala said softy giving Daya a sharp look only to receive a smile in return.
“Although I did need some help, I really wanted to prove my suspicion wrong about you,” Daya admitted with a wince. “Instead I only proved myself right.”
“Why did you leave early?” Kala asked tilting her head to the side.
Daya sliding her eyes to Garin who was watching her steadily. “How does a young woman deal with about ten of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen striding around shirtless?” She smiled widely seeing Garin’s eyes narrow. “You take yourself away from the temptation.”
A small snarl escaped Garin’s mouth shocking everyone in the room, and Daya shook her head.
“Yet, the day you came to the classroom, and afterwards,” her eyebrows lifted at Garin who found himself blushing at the remainder, “something in me trembled which hadn’t happened here with all those gorgeous men.”
Her words had the effect of calming him down to the astonishment of Trevor while Kala shook her head a bright look in her eyes.
“You are hard to read, Daya,” Kala stated now giving her a direct look, and Daya merely shrugged her shoulders glancing at Garin who took her hand in a firm grip.
“But, Trevor, how did you know who her uncle was?” Garin asked turning to look at his Alpha. “I only learned who he was coming down from my room.”
“When I realized that you were interested in her, I did a little digging and then called Alpha Jordan. He was surprised to hear from me since he hadn’t realized that Daya had moved onto another pack territory, and he asked me to keep an eye on her.”
Daya eyes narrowed slightly at his answer knowing that she should be upset, which she was in a way, but at the same time she understood that Trevor was only looking out for his pack and one of its members.
“I’m sorry, Daya,” Trevor uttered with sincerity.
Daya gave a slight bow of her head. “It would have been nice if you asked before calling my uncle, Alpha Trevor,” she said without missing a beat. “But I understand that the safety of your pack comes first, and my uncle would have done the same thing without hesitation.”
Daya smiled, but she hooded her eyes thinking about the reason behind his digging unaware of Garin staring at her.
“Don’t do that in front of me,” he whispered in her ear yanking her toward him, and Daya gave him a bewildered look although Garin wasn’t going to clarify what he meant right now.
Trevor and Kala looked at them in confusion, and Garin catching it shook his head at the questions in their eyes. Later, after Daya left, he would explain how Alpha Jordan’s pack had treated her making her feel inferior because she was human.
Glancing over at her while she chatted with his Alpha Female, Garin realized that although he didn’t know much about Daya, which he was going to rectify soon, but there was one thing he was certain of; Daya wasn’t just another human female.
Chapter 6
“Garin.” His name came out on a moan while he kissed down her neck and lightly tickling her sides as they laid on the bed. “We need to stop because I need to get going. I have to work tomorrow.”
Garin leaned up to kiss her one more time before he rested against her on the bed.
“We got the call,” Garin told her feeling her stiffen slightly at the news although he had informed her about the mission since she had watched practice often in the last two weeks. He knew she was worried about his safety while at the same time waiting for the day he finds his mate. “We are leaving tomorrow.”
It has been two weeks since he showed Daya what he was, Garin realized, and he had enjoyed every minute of his time with her.
He started laughing and she leaned up to look at him questioningly. “What’s so funny?”
He ran a hand through her hair giving her a wicked grin. “I’m starting to get some weird looks from the other unmated males in the pack.”
He watched her bite her lip at his comment which made lust flare through him, but he surpassed it. Although they’ve had some extremely hot and wild foreplay, they hadn’t made love yet, and that wasn’t because neither was unwillingly.
For the first time since his mate rejected him, Garin was enjoying his time in learning about the woman he wanted an intimate relationship with, so he was taking his time. He knew that Daya was grateful to him for that even though his wolf was getting a little anxious, but he hadn’t told her about his mate yet. Before they made love, he wanted Daya to know all about her including the fact she rejected him, and yet he kept stalling.
Shaking his head, Garin got up after another kiss and helped Daya up from the bed. “Let’s get you something to eat before you leave me,” he said reluctantly making her laugh.
They headed down to the kitchen after leaving his room talking quietly with each other, and when they entered, Trevor and Kala were in a heated discussion.
Garin frowned when they stepped into the room. “Is there a problem, Alpha?” He asked worriedly.
Daya looked at them curiously watching them share a look before turning to them.
“I think I’m pregnant,” Kala revealed in a hesitant voice.
Trevor rolled his eyes stating quickly, “She is pregnant.”
Kala glared at Trevor while Garin and Daya smiled at each other before she moved forward to give Kala a hug.
“Congratulations!” Daya smiled brightly her brown eyes flashing with excitement.
Kala blushed causing Garin and Daya to laugh before Garin turned to Trevor. “My friend, you are going to have your hands full.”
“Hey!” Daya and Kala exclaimed at the same time.
Garin raised his hands in mock surrender while Trevor laughed. “Maybe, but it is going to be worth it. We have been trying for a long time.”
Daya shook her head leaning back against the counter. “That your first mistake. I’ve noticed during my work
that when couples try too hard, it rarely gives them the results they want. When you relax and let nature take its course, it opens up a world of possibilities.”
They all looked at her in astonishment and she just shrugged her shoulders glancing up at the doorway when Tammie came striding into the kitchen.
“Baby,” she squealed running over to Garin and wrapping her arms around him. “I missed you. Where have you been?”
Since the day he confessed to Daya, Garin broke things off with Tammie, but for some reason, she took it as he was joking and threw herself at him every time she came over.
“Busy,” Garin replied firmly pulling away from her to go to the refrigerator.
Tammie narrowed her eyes at him before she turned to Daya who was still leaning against the counter.
“Daya, why are you here?” She snidely taunted her not seeing Kala glare at her, or Trevor frown. “Are you falling that bad?”
Daya merely looked at her before turning her attention to Garin who walked over to her.
“Here, sweetheart.” Garin handed her a bottle of water before dropping a swift kiss to her mouth.
Daya kissed him back and even though he didn’t touch her, the kiss turned heated fast before Garin pulled back eyes almost a dark blue-gray hinting his wolf felt the same way.
“I love your lips,” he muttered winking when Daya flushed her brown eyes widening at his tone.
“Why, thank you, kind sir,” she flirted in a breathless voice. “I do try to please.”
He laughed letting his lips feather across hers one more time before he pulled away leaning against the counter next to her.
Daya closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to calm down her racing heart. “The man is going to kill me,” she whispered aloud.
Trevor and Kala laughed at her words while Garin grinned wickedly before slanting his gaze over to Tammie who looked shocked at what was transpiring.
“Garin, what the hell are you doing?” Tammie demanded her eyes narrowed on him and Daya.
Garin raised his eyebrows in confusion at her question before shifting his gaze to Daya who opened her eyes to stare at Tammie.
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