Deadly Mates (Deadly Trilogy) (10 page)

“Aidan, I’m serious,” she growled.  Golden veins streaked through her eyes, and she gritted her teeth.  “I can’t deal with all this testosterone.  Everyone needs to calm down.”

I watched as another shiver rushed over her skin and then I forced my eyes closed and I took a long, long moment to breathe.  It was the only thing I could think of doing, to try to calm myself down.  Her hand stayed on my chest, shaking.  I was exhausted and torn-up from the inside out.  My self-control was cracking under the pressure of the rage that crashed through my veins, but for her, I
would do just about anything. So I breathed and breathed, forcing my inner-wolf to stand down.  When he finally receded to a far corner of my mind, I looked down at her and my heart pulled and squeezed as if a hand had wrapped itself around it and was determined to rip it from my chest.

Her hand dropped from my chest.  I almost reached out to grab it.  I hated the disconnected feeling.  Hated it.  But I didn’t stop her.  Her shivers increased and she shouted out a slew of obscenities that I’d never heard from her before.  And as I listened, resolve tightened in my chest.  Whatever game she was playing with Jared was going to stop.  Now.

I watched her closely.  Couldn’t pull my eyes away from her, actually.  She looked up at me, really looked at me, and she whimpered, a deep, throaty whimper.  Her swearing stopped and her eyes softened as she brought her fingers to her full lips.  That small gesture almost did me in — almost — and again, I found myself fighting not to take her in my arms.

And then Jeff laughed, a deep rumbling
sound.  “You son of a bitch,” he said.  I glanced at him over my shoulder before I turned to meet him straight on, ready to throw myself in front of Jade if I had to.  Sharp clarity washed over me.  Jeff — the monster who had been ready to take some of my wolves for his sick, twisted pleasure — stood in front of me laughing.

The blood still trickled down my face, but it was starting to slow.  The pain was dull, just a small throb as my nose began to heal.  The rage was starting to fade, and in its place, someth
ing cold settled in my bones. 
There goes the plan.

But as I watched him, if I
hadn’t known any better, right then I would have thought he actually cared.  Although he was still chuckling, his eyes were glassy as they shifted between me and Jade.  His expression, a mix of shattered amusement.  He pulled in a breath, shook his head, and said, “You made her fight.  Tricked her into competing in the games and then you just let her go.  You’ve been lying to me for days while I’ve been out there risking everything I have for you and your damn pack.”  He laughed again, a shocked kind of sound, and his lips curved into a bemused smile.

“You broke my nose,” I said and grabbed the hem of my shirt, pulling it up to mop up some of the
warm blood that was still dribbling down my chin.  I kept my glare focused on him, as I tried to make sense out of his reaction.  But, oh hell, I couldn’t.  He had to understand that Jade being alpha female put a gaping hole in his plans to secure female wolves from Tiffany, but if it bothered him at all, he wasn’t showing it.  But then, he wouldn’t know that we knew his plans.

I let my now bloody shirt drop and Jade whimpered again, her eyes fixed on my face.  I smiled at her, just a small twitch of my lips.  I couldn’t help it.  Honestly, it was kind of nice to see that she cared for once.  It was just too bad it took a broken nose for her to show it.

“You deserve more than a broken nose,” Jeff said with a chuckle.  “You’re the sorriest excuse for an alpha this pack has ever had.  She’s supposed to be your mate and you let Jared move in here.”  His grin widened and he smacked me on the back as if we were old friends.  “Why the hell haven’t you claimed her yet?”

Okay, so th
at wasn’t what I had expected.  Jeff was grinning at me, all the tension he’d had moments ago was gone, and he looked ... happy?  I looked him over.  His eyes were bright with curiosity, not even a stitch of fear.  His scent seemed … calm and way too human.  I didn’t know if he could mask his emotions the same way he could hide the cougar smell.  My gut was telling me that he didn’t have a clue how much we knew.  If he did, he wouldn’t seem so relaxed, so I went with it.  I shrugged, a lazy lift of my shoulders.  “Jared was your idea,” I said, lifting a brow in question.

Jeff rolled his eyes and grunted.  “Because you told me she lost.  Mating her with one of the enforcers was the next best option.”

~ JADE ~

“Enough,” I hissed.  “I’m not some darn prize.  I’m not a piece of property you guys can just give away to any random guy you choose.”  I spun on my dad, the back of my neck and face burning with a flush.  “God, Dad, how can you even talk about this in front of me?  I’m supposed to be your little girl, remember?”

Dad looked a little ashamed.  He cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other.  I threw my hands up in the air.  This was so not cool.  My dad chatting about me having sex was just not cool.  I figured it shouldn’t surprise me.  I knew what kind of animal he really was, but still, he was my dad.  Blood rushed to my face.  Talk about embarrassed.  At some point, the entire team had crowded in the doorway.  Dominic was there, smirking, so were Marcy and Trevor.  Leave it to my best friends to enjoy this epically embarrassing situation.

Aidan turned to me, staring down at me.  The hem and collar of his shirt was soaked with blood.  I scanned him over, watching the muscles tick in his arms and his neck.  His gaze went to Jared, hard and cold, before shifting back to me.  The blood on his face was starting to dry, crusting up under his nose, down his chin.

And just like that, my humiliation shattered.  I made a sound, a mix of a growl and whimper.  I swallowed hard.  He’d never looked so powerful before, so much like an alpha even with the blood and broken nose.  His muscles were bunched, straining beneath his shirt.  His chin, dipped.  His broad shoulders, squared.  Confidence. Authority. It emanated from him.

My lips parted, my jaw dropped. 
My alpha.  My mate.
  The words echoed through my mind.  Right then, I couldn’t remember why I had been so determined to stay away from him.  My inner-wolf stirred as I deeply breathed in his scent. 
Mine,
she agreed.

Something had changed with him.  Something big.  It was as if he were just now, in that very moment, finally stepping into his full authority as alpha male.  I’d seen him do this before with the pack, but never with me.  Never.  He was soft with me.  I made him weak.  Even when he
had tried to stand strong he always, always relented way before his point was made.  But now he didn’t look weak, not at all.

The butterflies in my stomach awoke, flapping and fluttering with excitement. 
My alpha.
  In that moment all I saw was him.  Everyone else faded, melted, until it was as if they were just gone.  It was just us.

Jared’s hand settled on the small of my back, pulling me back to reality, and I quickly stepped away.  If the plan hadn’t already been blown apart, that small step had done it.  My dad, Aidan, Jared, the team, none of them missed that step.  The step away from the man I claimed to want.  I felt cold.  Cold and drained and tired, as if every ounce of fight I had in me was just gone.  Everything was ruined.  Aidan’s plan.  My plan.  All of it ruined.

I needed to get out of the room.

My thoughts began to leap and jump, nothing making sense.  I needed a new plan, that was for sure, but my brain wasn’t working.  My dad looked so calm, caring even.  It was wrong, everything that was happening was just completely wrong.  I glanced around a little frantically.  There were enough pack members here to make sure he didn’t go anywhere.  I stepped toward the door.  “Move,” I said, pushing at the wall of enforcers blocking my way out, but they didn’t budge.  Clearly
, I wasn’t the only one feeling the shift of power in our alpha male.

I shoved at Beck’s chest, none too gently, but he stood firm, blocking my exit.  He wouldn’t look at me, his gaze fixed over my head, most likely on Aidan.  He lifted a questioning brow, and after a long second
, he stepped out of my way.

I glanced back at Aidan, waved a hand, beckoning him to follow me, and I headed into the bathroom.

~ JADE ~

The bathroom door clicked shut behind me as I grabbed the washcloth from the towel rack.  I didn’t have to look to know that it was in fact Aidan that had followed; his presence filled the room with waves of power.  I took the cloth to the sink, turned on the hot water, and shoved it under the flow.  My muscles bunched and rolled beneath my skin, my inner-wolf begging to come out.

I kept my eyes fixed on the porcelain top of the vanity and the bottom edge of the ornate, copper framed mirror, studying the swirls and twists of its floral design. The bathroom was large.  My parents had renovated it a couple of years ago, pushing walls back and turning it into a spa-like retreat, with double sinks, a walk in shower, and a separate soaker tub, but with the door closed and Aidan’s heady scent filling the space, it felt tight and small and airless.

Once the cloth was soaked, I turned off the tap, and slowly rung it out before finding enough nerve to turn to him.  His expression was void of emotion, a blank slate.  He leaned against the door, arms folded over his chest, his brown eyes watching my every move.

My hands were shaking, my heart, pounding.  I closed the short distance between us.  I looked back up at him and darn it, but I whimpered again. 
So much blood.

The sound softened him a little.  He reached out,
and caressed my cheek, but when I pressed into the touch, he let his hand drop, hanging loosely by his side.  His eyes searched my face, looking for something, but what I didn’t have a clue.  I felt the sting of tears welling up.  I don’t know why.  The last thing I wanted to do was cry.  Not for the alpha that had destroyed my life and ripped out my heart.  His nose had already healed.  He was fine. 
But there’s just so much blood.

I blinked fast, banishing the tears.  “Does it hurt?” I asked, and then swallowed hard.  I lifted my trembling hand and dabbed at the blood, wiping it away as best I could.  “I hope it does.  You’ve ruined everything.”  Even though I said the words, they held no real meaning.  My voice was weak, straining against an onslaught of emotion
s blooming within my chest.

“No,” he grunted.  “It’s already healed.”  He grabbed my wrist, holding my shaking hand still.  “I did what was needed.  You’re not staying here any longer, Jade.  This little game you’re playing ends now.  I’m taking you home, where you belong.”

I clucked my tongue and dropped my gaze.  More butterflies surfaced in my belly and I breathed, “This is where I belong.”

“Look me in the eyes and tell me that,” he said.  When I didn’t lift my head, he chuckled, a deep rumble that turned my knees to mush.  “You can’t, can you?”

“I can’t trust you,” I whispered, my voice wobbly.  My heart started pounding painfully fast.  “I don’t even know who you are.”

He tipped my chin up with his free hand
, forcing me to meet his eyes; his eyes were pleading.  “Your wolf knows me, Jade.  She trusts me.  You feel it.  I know you do.  We can work on the rest.  I can make this right.”

I shook my head, pulling in a deep breath.  He was right.  He was so bang on and it scared me to death.  In that moment
, I wanted nothing more than him.  I wanted to feel delicate, wrapped in his arms.  And I never, ever wanted to feel the dark, frantic need that Jared brought out in me, again.  But the tendrils of longing and desire that weaved throughout my chest scared the heck out of me.  How could I feel this way about a guy who had done nothing but lie and manipulate me?

I heard the shuffling steps outside the door and then the thump of feet on the staircase.  I listened until the last step had been taken, and strained to hear if anyone else had hung around upstairs.  The silence that greeted me seemed too loud and uneasiness wormed its way through my belly.  My nerve started to falter and I squeezed my eyes closed, and then I murmured the words that I was sure could only lead to my heart being ripped out again.  “I don’t know if you can make it right.”  I sucked in a full breath, and let it hiss out slowly.  “But I guess that doesn’t really matter.  I need to ...”

He growled low in his chest.  My eyes snapped open as his grip tightened on my wrist.  I searched his face, trying to read what was there, but all I saw was rage.  “Don’t say it, Jade,” he spat.  “Don’t even think of saying you need to stay with him.”

~ AIDAN ~

Jade was still trying to play the game, and it confused the hell out of me.  Maybe she had changed her mind from last night.  Maybe she wasn’t going to tell me the truth anymore.  I didn’t really deserve it, especially after what I’d done with Erika, but damn, I wanted to hear her say it.

She knew I’d seen her shudder away from Jared’s touch.  She felt the connection, the chemistry, between us.  I could see it in her eyes.  I knew she didn’t believe she should stay here, stay with him, but she still tried to convince me that she wasn’t mine.  It was wrecking her — wrecking me.  Her expression was shattered, her body trembled.