The Wolf's Mate Book 1: Jason & Cadence Read online

  He hummed in his throat. “It’s not for lack of attraction. She’s very pretty and she’s sweet. But I guess she’s just always been family to me. Besides you, she’s really the only female I haven’t been with. I don’t think my mate will come from any wolf around here. I’d have found her by now.” He looked a little sad, wistful.

  “She’s one lucky girl, and she doesn’t even know it yet.”

  That night, she and Jason made love twice. He’d been worried about exhausting her even though she promised she felt fine. When she suggested that she wasn’t sure which way she liked best – hard and pounding or slow and tender – he’d been more than happy to give her hard and pounding since the first round that night had been sweet and tender. One thing for sure, he knew just how to touch her, and he wrung so many orgasms from her that she felt like her insides had disintegrated from the heat.

  Great sex lead to aching bodies in the morning, but it was worth it. All of it was. However long it took them to get to this place, she didn't regret anything now. It was all fuzzy, all the bullshit and drama, and all she could see clearly was his love for her and that’s all that mattered.

  The full moon happened on Friday night, with a special second bonfire on Sunday for the 31st, the annual Halloween cookout. The full moon bonfire was held at Peter’s and the Halloween one at Jake’s.

  On Thursday, Jason sat down with her at the kitchen table in the trailer and told her about the marking ceremony.

  “The full moon ceremonies, sweet, are one of the most important traditions that we have. Things that pass between wolves on the full moon are sacred, unable to be broken by simple means. It’s why we say that mate-markings are permanent, because they are bound fully on the full moon. We aren’t completely mated, but tomorrow night we will be. Married in the eyes of the pack, untouchable by others. The only thing that separates a mated pair is death.

  “We’ll meet together in the sacred circle deep within the woods. I will tell the packs that I’m taking you as my mate for life, and then offer a small window for objections.”

  “Objections?”

  “Sure, like in a wedding when the priest asks if anyone can say why the couple can’t be married. It’s just a formality. I can’t ever remember someone protesting a mating, but when my father was young, a set of brothers fought over the same woman and when the one lost, he still protested the mating.”

  “What happens if someone objects?”

  “First off, I’m the alpha, so no one in their right mind would object. But in a traditional situation involving others, the alpha decides what to do. Most normally, if the alpha believed the pair were meant to be mates, if he knew them well and knew they loved each other, then he would allow the mating to go forward. But in the old days, if it were a political mating, something arranged that wasn’t necessarily about love, then he could ignore the objection or offer the choice to the one in question, or he could offer a fight. In that one case, it was the alpha’s twin sons that were fighting over the female, and since they’d already fought and the one lost, the father punished the other son for trying to stand in the way of a just mating.”

  “Seems harsh.” She twirled her fingertip over the top of his hand while they talked. Now that she could touch him whenever she wanted, she didn’t want to stop.

  “Well, it is and it isn’t. We are what we are, Cades. There’s no shame in abiding by our ancient laws and traditions. They are in place for a reason and stand the test of time. But that situation was from another time, back when the elders of the packs would trade children for political matings with other packs to create an alliance. A smaller pack might give the alpha’s daughter to another, larger pack so that they would have backup if someone came against them.”

  Ick. “Sounds like what they used to do in Europe, trading the princes and princesses for armies.”

  “Something like that. But with fur.” He grinned and his eyes danced.

  She wanted to go to the garage, but he wanted her to wait. He said they were still in the process of cleaning it and she could tell that he worried she might go off the rails if she saw the place where she could have died. Maybe he was right, she didn't know, but she decided that his worry was enough for her not to pick a fight about it. She was becoming damn genial. Must be all the hot sex.

  Friday afternoon, she joined Jason and his top four at his father’s home and they gathered the supplies for the full moon celebration and took them deep into the woods on the property between Peter’s home and hers that belonged to both packs. It was Jason’s pack’s turn to set everything up. The two packs rotated monthly. On four wheelers, two pulling trailers, they drove to the site, a circular clearing about the length of a football field. The trees that bordered the clearing were trimmed back so the moon would shine directly over the bonfire.

  She slid off the back of the four-wheeler that Jason had driven and walked around the circle. When they were little, they had explored the clearing. It had seemed so mysterious back then and scary, too. And they’d gotten busted by his father for being back there without being part of the pack. She looked over at Jason and found him watching her intently.

  Straightening from where she had knelt in front of the empty fire pit, she smiled, “Your dad was a real downer, you know that?”

  He barked out a laugh that told her he’d been thinking about the same thing. “You know he told me that I was a bad influence on you, because you were sweet and innocent. I didn’t have the heart to tell him it was your idea.”

  She crossed the distance to where he was unloading firewood and he gathered her in his arms with a soft kiss on her forehead before tucking his head into the crook of her neck. “We’ll be chasing our kids out of here, someday, right?” She asked.

  “Probably. If they take after their mother, at any rate.” She felt him smile against her skin and she tweaked his side.

  “You better hope they don’t.”

  “Nah.” He straightened and squeezed both her hands in his. “They’d be damn lucky to have your spirit and intelligence. Not your memory, of course, but still.”

  She laughed hard, and he kissed her once more and went back to unloading the firewood. She took one of the rakes and began to clean debris from the clearing while the guys talked quietly about the ceremony while they worked and how tonight was going to change everything for the pack.

  Several hours later she had a blister the size of Oregon on her hand and her shoulders ached from all the manual labor, but it had been sweet to work with her mate on something that was very close to an actual wedding ceremony. For all intents and purposes after tonight, in the eyes of the pack, she and Jason were as good as married. After leaving the four wheelers in the barn behind his parent's home, they walked to her house and he swung her up into his arms and carried her inside. They made love in the shower, which was less about getting clean and more about him trying to pound her through the tile wall, and then she climbed up onto his back in bed and gave him a thorough massage.

  “I thought we could head down to Tennessee, to one of those touristy places and get married. Maybe in December, before Christmas?” His voice was muffled slightly into his muscular arms.

  “That’s not very romantic.”

  He turned his head slightly and opened his eyes. “What’s not? They have those nice chapels; we can stay in a cabin alone for a week, no pack, just us. Sounds pretty romantic to me.” Of course it did.

  “No, I mean that proposal of yours isn’t very romantic. Where’s my ring? Why aren’t you on one knee? You could have at least taken me out to dinner and I’ll point out that we’re naked.” She groused.

  He turned underneath her and pulled her down for a kiss. “You are a needy thing, aren’t you?” There were those dancing blue eyes again. All he had to do was smile and she was a big pile of goo right then.

  “I told you what I wanted. You of all people know how high maintenance I am.”

  He massaged his fingers behind her ears and her brain went de
ad. “Stop with the pressure points, it’s not fair.” Her voice sounded dull and slurred in her ears.

  He laughed, hell she loved his laugh, and stopped. “Fine, I will most definitely get you a ring and give you the proposal you want. But tonight, after the ceremony and the hunt, I’m going to take you home and spend the night the way I want to spend every night for the rest of our lives: hearing you scream my name to the sky.”

  “Nice.” She kissed the inside of his wrist and slid off him, cuddling into his side. “Why can’t we stay here tonight?”

  “We can, love, if you want.”

  She murmured that she did, already nearly asleep.

  Several hours later, somehow her house had become food central, and when she came downstairs, half of the Tressel pack was milling around in her kitchen. Lindy came over to her with a plate, a hopeful smile on her face. “I saved you a plate, Cadence.” She clearly wanted to know that they were okay, that she had forgiven her for her slights over the years.

  “Thanks, Lindy.” She took it from her and a relieved look passed over her face. She and Jason went to sit down at the table and younger wolves scrambled up to give them their seats. It was going to be fun to be alpha.

  As requested, she was wearing a shirt that she could take off and something underneath that wasn’t too revealing. They were going to anoint each other over their hearts with sacred oil during the ceremony and he didn’t want her in nothing but a bra. And it wasn’t about the cold. She’d noticed ever since the first time they had sex that he’d grown progressively more possessive of her. Although she’d been giving him a hard time about it, teasing him just to see him turn red, she secretly loved it.

  Eventually it grew darker, and the time for the full moon ceremony drew close. Jason held her hand tightly as they walked through the woods to the sacred clearing. “Are you nervous, love?”

  “No.” She squeezed his hand reassuringly. “I get you forever. That’s all I’ve ever really wanted.”

  “Good. Me, too.”

  “So if I hadn’t been under the edict and everything, would we have done this earlier?”

  “Definitely. I would have started bringing you into things when you were 16, and then when you were 18 I would have asked you to be my mate publicly and we’d have started things right.” He tugged on her hand so they stopped a handful of feet from the clearing where both packs were milling around.

  He pulled something from the pocket of his jeans and held it up in front of her. Dangling from his fingers was a delicate chain with a gold heart shaped locket. He urged her to open it, and on each side of the locket were pictures of them when they were kids, and she recognized them from the summer he’d marked her. After he put it on her neck, she hugged him. “Oh, Jas, I love you so much.”

  His hands pressed into her lower back and he lifted her off the ground into a hug. “I love you, too, Cadence.” He put her down and smiled. “When my dad got hurt and I had to take over, I needed you in the worst way. I wanted you by my side; I wanted your affection and your love. That you’re mine now,” he stopped and swallowed hard, like his emotions were getting the best of him. She loved that he was struggling to maintain his control because he was feeling so much.

  Michael, ever the mood-breaker, called for them and broke the tension that had settled over him. “Guys, we’ve got like ten minutes.”

  Jason pulled her to him roughly and kissed her until her toes went numb. “When I get back tonight after the hunt, I’m going to take my time getting to know my mate by slow inches.”

  Not so much the sexy threat but the heat in eyes told her that her afternoon nap had to be enough, because she wasn’t going to get any sleep once he showed up. With a gentle tug, he pulled her through the throng of wolves that parted for them, and they stepped inside the circle of stones that marked the place of power, the center of which glowed brightly from the roaring bonfire. Standing in the circle were the elders of the Tressel pack, each holding a small jar in their hands. Peter came forward and stepped across the stones. Usually the alpha performed the ceremony, but since Jason was the alpha, he chose his father as one of the elders, to join them together.

  She untucked Jason’s shirt and helped him lift it over his head. He slid her jacket off her shoulders, tossing it away from them so that Callie caught it. Then he unbuttoned her long sleeved shirt slowly, his eyes darkening with each button that fell free, until he pushed it roughly from her shoulders and revealed the black strapless corset she’d put on underneath it.

  “Nice.” He breathed and the raw heat in his voice made her whole body shiver.

  They faced each other and Peter stood in front of them, facing the packs, theirs in the front. She and Jason grasped left hand to left hand and Peter wrapped a length of one-inch thick leather from Jason’s wrist, around their hands, and ending wrapped around her wrist.

  “We come tonight to join our alpha to his true mate. Are there any among you who would protest this joining? Speak now or remain silent forever.” Peter cast his gaze across the pack slowly and she had the urge to look around, but didn’t. There was a part of her that had expected Chris to show up and make some idiotic run for her hand, but he was gone and she was glad. She didn’t want their mating to be marred by anything unpleasant.

  Satisfied, Peter put his hands on both of theirs and began to speak in what they call the Old Tongue, ancient Greek that sounded pure and powerful in his mouth. The elders stepped forward, one by one. The first one came to Peter’s side and held out a jar. Peter put his index finger inside the jar and it came out dark. He brushed a line up the inside of Jason’s wrist, following the vein, and then did the same to her.

  “The ash of our ancestors that have gone on before us to the great spirit of the wolves, mark this occasion. The history of our people is now in your hands as alphas of the Tressel pack, and it is your responsibility to ensure that your children carry on our traditions.”

  The second elder joined Peter, and he dipped another finger into the jar in front of him and it dripped dark on his finger. He touched the back of Jason’s neck, dipped again, and then touched hers. The scent of blood tingled her nose. Jason told her earlier that the blood would be from a freshly slaughtered animal, a sacrifice of blood to appease the wolf spirits.

  “With this blood, we show our thanks for this joining, and set sights on prosperous hunts tonight, and in the future.”

  The third elder joined them, and this time Jason put the index finger of his right hand into the jar and it came out thick and clear. He drew an infinity symbol over her heart and then rested his hand on top of their joined hands. Her finger was shaking as she dipped it into the cool oil, and she marked over his heart a sideways figure eight and rested her hand on top of his.

  His smile assured her that they were nearly done. Peter’s hands rested on top of theirs. “The oil of our sacred olive trees and the symbol for eternity marks this joining underneath the full moon, consecrated for all to witness and never forget. This joining is forever and ever, until death parts you and you join again, together, in the great beyond.”

  With a happy growl, Jason pulled her to him, their bound hands tight between them, and kissed her. The packs cheered and clapped as long as they kissed and then Peter unwound the leather strap from their hands. He and the elders stepped out of the circle and the females of their pack came forward. Jason wrapped the tie around her wrist and secured it. With a hot whisper in her ear he said, “Keep that on until later, and we’ll play with it.”

  Ah, she might just combust from all the threats! He stepped aside and she turned to the females. The Tressel pack had 37 members, 38 now with her, and 16 of them were females. They knelt in two rows.

  Jason growled and his voice was deep and powerful. “Cadence, do you accept your place as female alpha of the Tressel pack?”

  “I do.”

  “Do you swear to lead and protect the pack? To counsel and guide when required?”

  “I do.”

  “Then st
ate your name, alpha.” His approval was clear and her heart pounded with joy.

  “Cadence Darah McIntyre.”

  Jason lifted his head and a howl pierced the night air. The females joined in, and then the rest of the Tressel pack, and the night was filled with the howls of a wolf pack that finally was whole. Her eyes filled with tears at the gesture, and she fought to get them under control. She didn’t want to cry in front of her pack.

  The wolves began to shift, dropping their clothes in a flurry and Jason grabbed her in his arms and kissed her. “I fucking love the hell out of you, Cades.” He kicked off his shoes and let go of her. “A couple of the guys are going to stand guard at the house in their shift. You wait in bed for me, yes?”

  “Yes, my alpha.” She kissed his chin and he laughed.

  “Do me a favor, baby?”

  “Name it.”

  “Put a pillow between your legs, okay?”

  “What for?”

  “It’ll hold my place.”

  She was still laughing when he dropped his jeans and went down, and for the first time she got to watch him shift. She’d seen him as a wolf but she’d never watched the process. It was fascinating to watch him go from handsome man to beautiful black wolf in seconds. Shaking out his fur, he licked her palm with a happy growl and she gathered his clothes and they began the walk back to her house. Their pack followed them and Jason trotted right at her side. If she could shift, they’d be hunting right now together.