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

  She slid her hands up his arms, rounded his strong shoulders, and laced her fingers together at the back of his neck. “Jason Gerrick, you saved my life and my body from harm. You brought me back from the darkness and you showed me that I’m more wolf than I ever believed possible, that she’s part of me and not a separate entity. I can see you’re beating yourself up about what almost happened, but that will eat you alive if you don’t get over it. I’m not almost-safe; I’m safe. I’m very real and here in your arms.”

  Using his own technique against him, she dug her thumbs into the pressure points at the back of his neck and he closed his eyes with a deep sigh. “I love you, Cades.”

  “I love you, too.”

  She relaxed her grip on his neck and turned back to the eggs. He seemed slightly more relaxed, but he didn’t stop from hovering near her while she cooked, and then scooting his chair as close to hers as possible as they ate at the kitchen table. She left the dishes for later, and took him to the bathroom where they washed each other and made love on the bed, slow and tender, eyes locked together while their climaxes wove hot fingers through their bodies. They both needed to rest, and it was the first time since they had joined together that she was able to give him the comfort that he was used to giving her.

  She lay on her back and he cuddled against her, his arms around her tightly and his head nestled against her shoulder. She played her fingers through his hair and across his shoulders and arms, trailing gentle touches across his back until she felt him relax into sleep. She drifted off finally, and slept soundly and without nightmares like she might have expected because of her ordeal. The difference was that her mind knew that Chris and the men that had abducted her were dead, except for Zan, who was under house arrest with Jake until they could decide what to do with him.

  They woke at the same time and his rough and possessive growl left no room for argument that he wanted to make love again. He drove her higher and higher with pleasure until he took her roughly and her screams of pleasure shattered the quiet afternoon silence in the house. If how he wanted to reassure himself that she was safe was to fuck her within an inch of her life, well, she was totally on board with that.

  “I think we should have the meeting at my dad’s,” he said, watching her dress in jeans and a black sweater after her bones had resolidified.

  “That makes no sense, Jas. Your dad isn’t alpha. You are. So either the meeting needs to be here or at my house. If you’re worried I’m going to freak out at being home, then just know I really don’t remember anything after falling asleep with a pillow between my thighs.”

  His face split into a smile. “You did that?”

  “Of course. I wanted your face there.” Silly wolf.

  “Alright. I just, I thought you might not want to be there so soon.”

  “It’s my house. They’re gone. I wouldn’t give his memory the satisfaction of knowing he got to me like that.”

  His smile widened. “You’re one tough alpha, sweetheart.”

  She snorted and pulled her hair into a ponytail, “I have to be to deal with you.”

  He drove them on his bike to her house after calling Michael and having him send for the top ranked to join them and then the rest of the pack to show up an hour later. Jason didn’t let go of her hand once they were inside the house, and he kept growling every time one of the men approached her, so they finally gave up.

  She leaned against the kitchen counter while they waited for Linus, the last of the high ranked wolves. “You’re a nutcase, you know that?” She chuckled.

  He tugged on her belt loop with a scowl. “I am not. You’re mine and no one touches what’s mine without risking fingers and the ability to breathe.”

  Linus walked in finally and they sat down at the table. Peter sat opposite them at the other end of the table. Michael, Bo, and Linus lined one side of the table and the three elders, Lon, Dae, and Getty lined the other side. They were in their 70s at least, but they were as spry as any other wolves around. And feisty, too.

  Jason glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall, “We’ve got about 45 minutes before the pack shows up for reassurance that their alpha is home safe.”

  They all congratulated her again.

  “Now, first order of business is what Jake broached to you this afternoon, dad. Floor’s yours.”

  Peter cleared his throat, “Jake wants to take the pack and leave town. He wants to sign over their pack holdings to our pack, which includes Lonestar Restaurant and the bar, plus their homes.”

  “When would they go?” Michael asked.

  “After November full moon. They’ll take the month to close down and get ready to leave, and he said they would plan to head south. Renee is apparently very insistent that they cannot stay here, and I don’t expect that any of us can blame her for feeling that way.”

  “If we say no to taking over their holdings, they’ll let them go untended. Eventually, from missing taxes and what have you, the bank will step in and we’ll have the potential of losing two important wolf owned businesses, not to mention some key real estate with several homes on large chunks of land,” Jason said, running his hand up and down her thigh under the table. It was distracting but she knew he felt the need to keep a hand on her. But couldn’t he have picked her actual hand?

  She interjected, “We don’t have anyone knowledgeable to run either business if the Garra Pack takes off. I could do the books, but it would be a stretch to do accounting for three very different businesses. And the bar needs more than a bookkeeper...the restaurant, too.”

  They all nodded and the room got quiet. Finally, Bo said, “So we take their holdings and let them sit until we decide what to do with them. We can’t let humans come in and take over for us. They don’t really understand anything about us, and more than that, they won’t give us the leeway we need to be ourselves.”

  Murmurs of agreement came from everyone. Jason sighed, “We’ll let the two businesses shut down after their pack leaves, but make sure that we have a few of our people shadow Grey at the restaurant and Jake at the bar, get all the books and everything so we can open them again when the time is right.”

  Getty scrubbed fingers across his wrinkled jaw, “If you put out feelers to some of our pack alliances, you could potentially bring in more to the pack that can run the businesses. Expand the pack to protect the town. It’s not unheard of.”

  She looked at Jason, “We need to protect ourselves, Jas. If that means sitting on a few empty buildings until we have people to run them, then we should do that.”

  Although he didn’t need to call a vote because he could make his own rules as he pleased, he did anyway, “All in favor?”

  Every hand at the table rose. “Motion passed. We’ll meet with Jake tonight after our pack meeting and get the arrangements in motion to take over their holdings.”

  They talked more about running the bar on the weekends only until it was operational enough to be open every day, what might be needed to run the restaurant, and what to do with the inventory until that time occurred. They were waiting on the back porch when the rest of the pack showed up. 37 wolves looked to her and Jason as leaders from the grass, even men who were three times her age. It was humbling and powerful at the same time.

  Jason tapped into his beast and the power of his wolf came through his voice as he said to the crowd, “Pack justice was delivered this morning. Those responsible for the kidnapping of our female alpha and the injury of our two wolves that were standing guard have been destroyed. Let it be known far and wide that no one that comes against the Tressel Pack, wolf, human or otherwise, will prevail. Syskeyazo Protos, Syskeyazo Panta!”

  The pack howled at his words, the ancient anthem of the Tressel Pack: Pack First, Pack Always. He gave her a nudge as he lifted his head to the sky and howled and she touched the wolf in her mind and let loose with her version of a howl and joined in the chorus of her pack. Her pack. Her people. Her family. Men and women who would die for her. Kill fo
r her.

  It was so much more than the family she’d always longed to have, so much more than what she had thought that pack meant. It was a sword that cut both ways. They would die for her, but she also knew at that moment that she would die for them. Her oath as alpha was strong and true: She would protect and counsel because she was their leader. As the first hybrid female alpha of the Tressel Pack, she could do no less than give them her all. Because they gave their all to her.

  Chapter 14

  Jason curled his hand around Cadence’s shoulder as they sat in the front room of her home with Jake, Renee, his parents, and Michael. It was as much for his own comfort as it was for hers. He hadn’t been able to shake the possessive thoughts from his wolf at the potential loss of his mate and he stopped trying to fight them. Cadence had been more than willing to indulge his touch all day and he was glad for it.

  Renee had cried on Cadence’s shoulder and he knew that at least part of her tears were because she was hurt by Chris’ actions herself. He could see the question in her eyes as she pushed away from Cadence gently: why had he gone over the edge? That was a question that would never be answered.

  “You are certain that Zan was not part of the plans to kidnap you, love?” He looked into her eyes and searched them carefully. She was feeling raw and emotional right now, and she knew that four men had lost their lives just that morning because of the man-who-wouldn’t-be-spoken-of-again’s dangerous attachment to her. She was feeling a little bit like there was blood on her hands, and he expected that. Because he felt like it, too.

  “I’m sure,” she said confidently and repeated herself, “Zan was at the cabin near the bonfire when they brought me there and said, ‘that’s what you went to get? Cadence?’ and then he said, ‘I went to get my mate’ and when Zan saw the mating strap after my shirt came off, he protested that it was against the oldest laws to rape a mated wolf.”

  Jason mulled over her statement and then looked at his father. He was quietly speculative as well. He wondered what his father would have done if his mother had been taken like Cadence had been. Zan had taken a beating for his protest and appeared to be an unwitting accomplice in the kidnapping. Assuming he would have participated in the planned rape was a speculation that no one could answer for certain. In the end, Zan had not participated in the actual terrorizing of his mate and that meant something to him.

  “Jake, I’m going to give over my right to any punishment of Zan back to you. Although he was part of the splintered pack, from his and Cadence’s statements, his only crime appears to be the one to leave your pack without your permission. I’m satisfied that those responsible for her abduction have been dealt with appropriately.”

  Jake nodded. “I know it doesn’t mean much, but he is sorry that he was part of it. He was swayed by my son’s claims of starting a pack that would be more modern and leave the ways of the ancients behind. I’m loathe to send him away from the pack and make him a rogue without honor. We’ll bring it before the pack, but I believe he will benefit from being watched carefully and punished for his infraction. And we’ll take him with us when we leave.”

  Jake and Renee left shortly thereafter. Cadence sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder, “The town will seem really empty with the Garra Pack gone.”

  “We’ll rebuild it. It’s not normal for two packs to be so close like we’ve been anyway. It only worked because there was no direct competition between the pack leaders.” Jason promised. She tilted her face up to his and he pressed his lips against hers for just a brief moment.

  “I’ll volunteer to shadow Jake for the bar, J. Toby’s been head of security there for years and he’s our pack, so he’ll be invaluable.” Michael offered.

  “Good. Mom, the restaurant?”

  “It was Cadence’s father’s before it passed to Grey,” she pointed out.

  “Um, unless you want it belly up in a month, someone else has to be in charge of it,” Cadence laughed. “I’ll be happy to keep tabs on the books for a while, but I think we need to focus on one first and just let the other sit.”

  “I vote bar,” Michael quipped.

  “Second.” Cadence laughed and they bumped fists and Jason growled slightly and pulled her back against him. No touching other unmated males. Ever.

  “Fine. Cades, you can have Grey come over this week and talk to us about the restaurant. We’ll go this weekend, get a lay of the land and make sure that all the outstanding bills are paid before they leave.”

  “I can go on my own, Jas.”

  “Uh, no.” Hell no. “We’ll do it together or I’ll assign someone else.”

  He caught the little flash of defiance in her eyes and was half glad to see it still there in spite of her ordeal. He was very glad, though, that she squelched it in front of the others so he didn’t have to deal with that. The last thing he wanted to do was reprimand his mate for being disrespectful. She could rake him over the coals in private, but in public she had to treat him like he was the boss because he was.

  She nodded silently and he could actually see her brain working to come up with ways to make him pay for that. His little vindictive sweetheart.

  She went into the kitchen to make dinner for them and his mother joined her. His father said, “She seems to be recovering fine. How are you holding up?”

  “It was just a lot to take so soon after she was in the hospital. It’s enough that she’s safe with me. I won’t take her safety for granted again.”

  “Well, none of us will, son, that’s for sure. Have you decided where you’ll live yet?”

  “I think she wants to be here, but she hasn’t said yet. We could be in the trailer for a while, but once we have kids, it’s not big enough for more than just us two. And really, with the full moon gatherings, it would be better to be here anyway. I think the pack's been drifting long enough without me having a place big enough for everyone to join in.”

  “Your mother will be thrilled that she won’t have to clean up after the pack.”

  Hmm. Cadence probably wouldn’t like that aspect of playing den-mother to the pack. But at least as alpha she could count on the females helping her. He tuned out as his father and Michael started talking about the bar and the restaurant and the impact of losing half of the wolf population of their town. Jason contemplated moving into the house and living together like they were meant to.

  They were called in for dinner and Cadence seemed to sense that he was still feeling a tangle of nerves about her. When she sat on his lap at the table and kissed his ear, he knew that although she may not realize what she was doing, she was showing the wolves at the table that she had complete faith in him as alpha and as her mate to keep her safe. Even if it was just Michael and his parents, he cherished the action and the emotions behind it. He loved this woman with every fiber of his being.

  The atmosphere relaxed as they ate. Cadence and his mother traded stories from the past, the silly things his mom remembered them doing together and his father quipped in here and there with things he remembered.

  As the house emptied for the night, he watched her quietly while she loaded the dishwasher and wiped off the counters. “You given any thought to where you want to live, sweet?”

  “I was hoping you’d want to move in here. Once we’re married for real, it’s simple enough to put the deed in your name as well. I don’t want you to think of it as my place or your place, but our place.”

  “It’s important to me, too. And I’m game to live here, if that’s what you want. With taking over the bonfires for the pack now that we’re a mated pair, we need the space. The trailer park is fine, but not for that sort of gathering.”

  “Plus, eventually we’ll have kids.” She smiled and slid her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his chest.

  “You want to?” He wrapped his arms around her. Held her tight.

  “Yeah. You?”

  “Only with you, love.”

  “Well, put a cork in that thought for a few months,
cowboy. At least until we’re married.”

  “Yes dear,” he teased, and she lifted her face to his and her mouth parted on a soft moan and he sank his mouth against hers. His need to claim her roared to the surface like something hot and alive. His plan to carry her to bed and strip her slowly, kissing every inch of her sweet body went flying out the window when she shoved her hand down the front of his jeans and gripped his cock like it was a life preserver and she was adrift at sea.

  He pulled her away from his mouth with a hand wrapped tight around her ponytail. “You want me to fuck you, baby?”

  “Yes, Jas, please.” She whimpered, her eyes dark and flashing with heat and need.

  He shoved her around and planted her hands on the counter. Nipping at the pulse in her neck as he jerked the button of her jeans apart and ripped the zipper open, he growled, “Begging comes later, Cades.”

  Shoving her jeans down, he kicked her legs apart as far as they would go and dropped his own jeans and shorts to the floor. He smoothed his hand over her ass and she shivered. He delivered a stinging slap to one cheek and she hissed in a breath. Nice. Sliding one hand up the front of her sweater and under her bra until he held that tantalizing globe, he used his other hand to guide himself into her depths.

  When the head of his cock was just past her tight entrance, he clamped his hand on her hip and jerked her backwards as he shoved his cock straight into the deepest part of her body. She cried out when he bumped the end of her, as deep as he could go, but he gave her no relief. Sliding his hand from her breast and out from under the sweater, he put it on the back of her neck and pushed her towards the counter to hold her where he wanted her. Pounding into her, he dominated her, forced her to remain still under his onslaught, unable to move on her own, only able to take what he gave. She was wet to start with, but as he fucked her harder and faster, her body responded with even more sweet honey and the sound of their bodies coming together was like music to his wolf.