“Here we are! This is my room, my office is at the end of the hall. We’re moving into a house that’s a little more secluded, it’s still being furnished. But it’ll be all ready for us to move in soon, not long after you get your wolf,” he said, laying me down on a large bed.
I immediately sat up straight, and fixed my shirt that had ridden up.
“Here’s her things,” Ryan said, popping his head in.
“Thanks dude, have dinner brought up to us in about an hour okay,” Zach said.
“You got it,” Ryan said, and I looked at him long enough to catch him winking at me.
I looked down at my hands, never more confused in my whole life. If Zach truly was my mate, what would that mean? The children of the two worst Alphas on record … a match made straight out of hell. What would our pups be like? Shit.
As soon as Ryan left, Zach put my stuff down on the floor by a dresser. The room was pretty basic, a queen size bed, two dressers and a small closet, but there was a bathroom. There were two small windows and a TV on one of the dressers. There weren’t any decorative things on the walls or really anything with color.
“I know you’re probably nervous, you probably have a million questions, so … whatever you wanna know,” he said, sitting down next to me.
I had basically stunned myself into a state of shock. I was always so confident, sure of myself, Sure of my body and my ability to control my emotions. But suddenly, I felt like a lost little girl. The lost little girl I was when I fled Blood Claw. I felt like I didn’t know anything anymore.
“Talk to me Tyra,” he said, taking my hand. Electricity sparked between us, almost making me jump but I managed to compose myself.
I turned to look at him, wanting to ask the big question, but terrified of the answer. Did he smell me in a mate way? Did he feel this too? Was I losing my mind? And what the hell was Reba doing?
“I just don’t know what to say,” I said, looking into his eyes.
He smiled, and stroked my hair. I had it down, brushed straight but it had a bit of natural wave to it. It fell in layers and rested over my shoulders. I had actually contemplated shaving my head to spite Zachary, but I settled on dying it bright pink about a week ago.
“I like the pink hair, and I’m curious as hell to see all your tattoos, maybe you could give me a tour,” he said, lifting up the bottom of my shirt to peek underneath.
I flinched and pulled back a bit, making him grin with pleasure.
“You feel it, don’t you? Our bond? It’s not just the oath baby, it’s real. We’re mates. My wolf has been freaking out since he first smelled you, and now he’s losing his shit. When you get your wolf, you’ll really feel it,” he said, looking hopeful.
My jaw fell, and I couldn’t control my face. His free hand immediately went to my cheek, and I felt his warmth flood through me. I’ve spent the last several years training myself, pushing my body to the brink, to fight … to run away … I wasn’t sure for what exactly I just knew I had to be strong. But now that I was here, I wanted to crawl into his lap and let him have his way with me.
I felt like my body was betraying me, throwing out the window everything I’d worked so hard for … I trained myself to HATE him. How could this happen?!
His perfect smile widened, and his face came closer. I froze, completely unable to move. He kissed my cheek, then trailed his lips down my neck, over where my marking spot would be. I clenched my jaw together, suppressing the urge to moan. Fuck he felt so good, he smelled good. His scent filled my nostrils more than ever, his hair tickling my skin. He was freshly shaven and his smooth skin caressed mine.
“You’re absolutely perfect,” he said, holding me tighter, kissing me more.
One of my hands was still in his, and the other was a fist, unsure what to do with itself. His hand that was on my face suddenly moved to my bare thigh, playing around with the bottom of my shorts. I pushed it away and forced myself away from him, leaping off the bed. I ran into the bathroom and shut the door.
I fell against the door and slid all the way down until my butt hit the floor.
“Tyra it’s natural, I know you’re nervous. I know you haven’t even kissed another, and I can’t tell you what it means that you saved yourself for me, it’s going to be perfect I promise,” he said.
He seemed so … nice? Sincere? Damn it! I wanted to talk to Vanessa in the worst way. I desperately wanted to know what she’d think of this shit. It really never even remotely occured to me that Zachary could legitimately be my mate. Did my father know that somehow, all those years ago? How could he?
“Can you just, give me some privacy for a bit,” I said, trying to keep my voice level.
“Sure baby. Tell you what, I’m going to go check on dinner. What do you like to drink,” he said.
“I like lemonade,” I said, simply.
He snickered.
“All right, I’ll be back in about half an hour. You can shower, whatever you want to do, this isn’t a prison, this is your pack now too,” he said. I heard his feet shuffle across the floor and then the door closed.
I let out a hard breath and stood to look in the mirror. There was a huge hickey on my neck, right over my mating spot. Shit, that would likely be there for a couple days and surely everyone would see it. I sat back down on the floor, my back against a wall. Now what?
Dinner was awkward, but Zach tried to make the best of it, I could tell. He had a small table brought into the room and we sat on the edge of the bed and ate. He made small talk about different things going on in the pack, mentioned some of the top people I should know. He talked about our house and how excited he was to show me, he wanted to take me to see it soon.He was really trying. He was doing everything he could to make me comfortable. And yet I was sitting here fantasizing about jumping him. Thinking about what was under his clothes. Wondering if we were in fact staying together in this room tonight, and I was pretty sure I already knew the answer.I was so ready to hate him, I wanted to hate him. I hated that I couldn’t hate him. Fuck this was so confusing I couldn’t stand it!When
~Zach’s Point of View~ Last night with Tyra was the best night of my life. I hated that I hadn’t saved myself for her, but I had urges I couldn’t resist. I made it very clear to the she-wolves I did fool around with that it would never be anything more than just casual, and I always wore protection. Actually allowing a woman to feel me fully, that would only be for Tyra. My beautiful mate, my Luna. She was everything I could have wanted and more … well a lot more. The piercings and tattoos were a shock. I knew she did it to piss me off, to let me know she was in control of her body, not me. I knew she probably hated me, had a ton of preconceived notions about what her life here would be like. I knew my father’s reputation, and I knew she was forced into our blood oath. But she was my real, fated mate so none of that mattered. I just had t
~Tyra’s Point of View~I hated to take out my piercings and something just told me that he wouldn’t let me put them back in. I had mixed feelings about it, but I was sure his parents definitely wouldn’t approve. Now that I thought about it, I was feeling ridiculous with my pink hair. I was going to make a fool out of myself. How the hell could I be presented as a Luna to the Long Tooth pack looking like a damn troll toy?The she-wolves were busy in conversation, I had just gotten out of the shower. I bit my lip and sighed.“Do any of you guys have dark brown hair dye, do you think we’d have time to do it,” I asked.“Oh my god … yes I do. Would you really? Zach would love that. I mean I haven’t heard him
Zach quickly led me to a large tree and we hid behind it, even though it didn’t hide much.“You can lose your shoes babe, you won’t need those,” he said, licking his lips, his eyes focused on my cleavage. I wasn’t fully gifted in the boob department but the girls gave me a hell of a push up bra.I kicked off my shoes and looked back at him for the next direction. He grinned wide and pulled down his shorts. My eyes instinctively looked away but he grabbed my face.“I can’t tell you what it means to me that you fixed your hair. I mean the pink was hot but I want you pure,” he said, kissing my forehead.I felt my body heat up all over at his praise, his touch and I felt … helpless. Suddenly a mist surrounded
~Ridge’s Point of View~It was the day of Zachary’s party and I was nervous. I couldn’t pinpoint it, and I never get nervous. I prided myself on having confidence at all times. I never appeared like I wasn’t in control of myself. But something had me on edge. I had to confide in Pike about it since he noticed I was off, and he thinks it’s a sign from the Goddess I’ll get my mate tonight.I sure hoped it was but after nearly a decade of waiting, I had to imagine nothing was going to be that easy. For him though, it was … he just locked eyes with a girl and that was it. She jumped into his arms, came home with him and that was that.“Is that what you’re wearing,” Mindy said, gaping at me over lunch.
~Zachary’s Point of View~The party was already popping off, and my little minx of a mate was looking hot as hell. Just about two more hours, and I’d be ripping off her dress with my teeth.“Are you sure I look okay,” Tyra asked.I snuck up behind her and put my head on her shoulder. I’d had to be away from her most of the day which was probably just as well. I was so close to jumping her I could hardly stand it.“Baby you look absolutely delicious,” I said, growling and kissing her neck.She giggled and it was the sweetest sound. Just then there was a knock at the door, Ryan … I could tell by the scent. I swung the door open and he was there with a bunch of our w
~Ridge’s Point of View~We’d been running for about half an hour, and I helped her catch a little rabbit. Forrest was elated at how quick she was, how curious and how easily she picked up on hunting. She seemed very athletic and I loved that. I was kind of a fitness freak, well an Alpha should be.We’d rubbed against each other several times and I was desperate to talk to her. I couldn’t mind-link her since she wasn’t marked and she wasn’t in my pack yet.We’d touched so much though that her scent was all over me, and I was simply in heaven. I thought about taking her back to my tent tonight, and that suddenly didn’t seem good enough. Not for a Luna, my Luna. Maybe she had a bed in the packhouse? It wouldn’t be too private but it was better than a t
~Zach’s Point of View~What the hell did I do wrong to deserve this? I was told my whole life basically that Tyra was my mate, and I never even remotely questioned it. I spent my every waking moment, and a lot of my dreams fantasizing about her. I had people follow her, take pictures of her, ensure she was safe. Even though she hadn’t wanted to see me, I took care of her in my own way.Now the Goddess gives me Beth, who has no concept of any of this and who is totally innocent and good. Logic tells me I can’t have them both, but I don’t care. Seeing Tyra with another, with a fucking ALPHA no less, makes me blood absolutely boil.People have always looked at me in shock that I’m not my father, they wait for me to lose my temper, to be the brute that he is and it doesn&rsquo