Mating Brand: 3 (Mating Heat) (11 page)

“What if you’re attacked inside your home with no one else
there, Raymond?” Braden snorted. “Bob is a good fighter and you’d want him at
your side to defend his mate and yours until help reached you.”

The older wolf rose to his feet and bared his teeth. “This
wouldn’t be an issue if your family hadn’t attacked a pride. You invaded their
territory first, not the other way around. You brought this on us.”

Anton moved so fast that Raymond didn’t even have time to
flinch before he landed on his ass after being punched. “They invaded our
territory first to take my mate. They had no right to come here.”

The older man on the floor coughed, rubbing his injured
chest. “Your mother invited them to take that she-cat back where she belonged.
They had her permission to cross into our territory.”

Rave grabbed his brother’s arm and hauled Anton back. “Easy,”
he hissed, shooting a glare around the room. “Our mother had no authority to
allow them here and has been banned from our pack for treachery against her own
family. She’s paying for her crime. Her mate shunned her. That she-cat you’re
speaking of is a Harris now, a member of this pack, and considered one of us.
This is where she belongs. Anyone who betrays this pack will face the same fate
as my mother. She gave birth to me but I packed her bags myself. Remember that,
if you think you’re immune from our wrath just because we’ve known you all our
lives. This isn’t a democracy. Your acting alpha just gave you an order.”

Braden inched closer, shooting him a meaningful glance. It
reminded Brand that he was usually the one who calmed tensions at pack
meetings, with his humor. He didn’t have any at the moment where prides were
concerned or the pack’s stance on she-cats mated to werewolves. It affected
Charma. It wasn’t a joking matter that someone thought they shouldn’t be
defended because they weren’t bitches. He stood, knowing he needed to say
something.

“You can whine about why this happened later,” he stated
gruffly. “Right now our pack is in danger. The pride males are going to be
looking for small groups of us to attack but we won’t give them that.”
Something his mate said surfaced in Brand’s memory. “We’re a pack. We stick
together and back each other up. We work well together as one unit.” He stepped
forward and bent, offering a hand to Raymond. “They are pride. They fight
amongst themselves and won’t be able to spend much time together. Let’s show
them why we’re to be feared—unity.”

Raymond took his hand and Brand pulled him to his feet. He
released the jerk as soon as he could and resisted the urge to knock him back
on his ass. Brand glanced around the room, looking for more trouble, but didn’t
see it.

“You’ve got your orders,” Anton growled. “Move out.
Enforcers, stay.”

The room cleared. Brand waited until the door closed before
he frowned at Anton. “Where is Von?” His cousin wasn’t present, something he’d
taken note of when he arrived. It concerned him. Anton, Rave, Grady, Von and
Braden always backed each other up. It was odd that one would miss a mandatory
pack meeting.

Grady ran his fingers through his hair. “We don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Braden’s alarm was
evident. “Did those damn cats grab him?”

Anton closed the distance and gripped his youngest brother’s
shoulders. “He’s fine. He called my cell and left a message early this morning.
He said something came up. It was an emergency and he had to leave town for a
few days. He used the safe word. He wouldn’t have done that if someone forced him
to make the call. The pride doesn’t have him.”

Worry hit Brand hard. “Didn’t he hook up with someone for
mating heat? Is she with him?”

“He had Debbie staying at his house.” Kane, the pack’s lead
enforcer, spoke. “He didn’t take her with him. He called me and had me go tell
her how sorry he was for leaving. I escorted her to her parents after stopping
at a store on the way.” He actually blushed. “She needed some supplies.”

“Supplies?” Braden cocked his head. “What? They didn’t have
enough food?”

Anton chuckled and released his brother to smack the side of
his head. “She’s in heat too. I’m thinking what Kane isn’t saying is she needed
lots of batteries for her vibrator.”

Rave chuckled. “He blushes.”

Kane flipped him off. “Screw you. It was uncomfortable, okay?
She’s like a kid sister to me.” He stared at Anton. “Von refused to tell me
where he was going or what he needed to do. I’m worried.”

“Me too.” Anton frowned, glancing around the room. “Does
anyone know anything?”

Silence reigned.

Anton studied Kane. “You were on duty with him last night.
Did something happen?”

“Nothing weird. We picked up the scent of a couple of humans
by the pack graveyard. Von said he’d deal with scaring them off and sent me
home.” His cheeks colored slightly again. “The heat was getting to me. I was
sweating bad and he told me to go take care of business. He was fine when I
left him. He’d taken some drugs to dull the desire. He said someone should keep
a clear head, considering the state of the pack. Tension is high since your
father shunned your mother and had to go on medical leave to survive cutting
the bond with his mate.”

“Fuck,” Rave groaned. “It has to be something major for him
to take off while in heat without one of our women with him to keep him sane.
How bad does it have to be for him not to tell us what’s up?”

“Call him,” Braden demanded.

“We have,” Grady offered. “Many times. He’s not picking up
and it goes straight to voicemail. I have no idea what’s up but right now we
have other shit to deal with.”

“Nothing is more important than finding Von,” Rave growled.

“You think I don’t feel the same?” Grady held his gaze. “We’re
worried but he’s tough enough to handle himself.”

“Grady is right.” Anton sighed. “We’ll deal with finding Von
later. Right now we need to protect the pack. Von had no idea of the
seriousness of the threat we’re under or he’d be here. We left messages so
hopefully he’ll hear them and show up soon.”

“This is a clusterfuck,” Braden groaned. “Von is missing and
we’ve got a pride about to attack.”

“We’ll handle those pussies and then track down Von.” Rave
glanced at his brothers. “Where are we staying?”

“Here,” Anton announced. “It’s big enough to house all of
us. The enforcers are taking over the basement and you’ve got an hour to grab
your stuff. I expect everyone to return by then.”

“Fuck no,” Rave rumbled. “I refuse to share a house with
over twenty people.”

“Deal with it. We need to set an example,” Anton reminded
him. “So far you haven’t done a good job of that after we ordered everyone to
double up. You said Braden drove you nuts and sent him to Brand. You demanded
Shannon and I move to Grady’s place. We’re alpha-blooded so two of us could
fight off a few dozen pride members. The rest of the pack wouldn’t stand a
chance against those numbers so we’ll bring the fight to us. It’s best if we’re
all under one roof. We’ll be their main target so we may as well make it easy
for them to find us.” He grinned. “And this is the first place they’ll look.
Rave can find some humans to fill in at the bar and make sure they know where
to send anyone who comes looking for a Harris.”

“Done.” Rave nodded.

“Rave drove me nuts,” Braden muttered. “Not the other way
around. He took over Anton’s old schedule of the prospective out-of-town mates.
Do you know what it was like hearing him constantly nailing different women
every few hours that first night? He took them to the guestroom right next to
mine.” He flipped off his cousin. “Just to rub it in so I’d have to know
exactly what they were doing.”

“Shut up,” Rave growled. “I didn’t want their scent in my
bedroom. I had to listen to you whine constantly about how mean it was to smell
sex when you couldn’t get laid.”

“I could if I wasn’t banned by Dad from touching pack women.”

Grady stepped between them. “Rave, stop needling him and,
Braden, you are happier with Brand. It’s your own fault you had to be banned
from fucking women unless you get a serious girlfriend. You damn near caused
three males to kill you when you crashed that party. Those women’s future mates
weren’t amused when they discovered you’d nailed them.”

“I
was
happy at Brand’s house,” he corrected. “But
now I have to listen to him doing his mate. You would have done what I did too.
I just offered up my bod to three women who wanted one last fling. Those weren’t
love matches.”

Kane groaned. “I’m the one who had to talk their future
mates out of killing your ass the morning after when they arrived to pick up
those women. You were passed out from exhaustion when the shit storm hit.”

Braden grinned. “Thanks.”

Kane glared. “I can’t wait until you mature. Like I don’t
have enough to do without cleaning up your messes.”

“Let’s change the subject,” Brand suggested, wanting to save
Braden some grief.

“I agree. Enough,” Anton softly ordered. “You’ve all got one
hour to pack a bag, grab whoever you’re spending your heat with and get back
here. We’re going on lockdown until this is over.” He stared at Kane. “Patrols
go out in shifts with two of us and six enforcers, no less than eight-member
teams at a time. That’s how it’s going to be until the pride realizes they can’t
win. I refuse to lose anyone on my watch while our father is down. I gave him
my word we’d take care of everyone and that means nobody dies.”

“Easier said than done,” Kane muttered. “But agreed. We
stick together while we’re out and everyone keeps ready to roll if trouble
hits. I’ll call my brother. He took the night shift but he’s slept for at least
four hours by now.”

Brand sighed. “Great. It’s going to be damn crowded here. I
just took a mate.”

“So did I.” Anton gave him a sympathetic look. “Protecting
them takes priority over privacy right now.”

“Is Dad safe? He can’t defend himself while he’s drugged.
Maybe we should wake him.” Braden seemed nervous.

“He’s stashed with the doctor. The prides won’t find him and
I assigned three elder, trusted enforcers to stand guard,” Anton informed him. “We
can’t risk waking him until after the heat. Severing the bond to his mate would
kill him for sure at this time. The best chance he has of surviving is being
kept in an induced coma.”

“We’ve got this,” Grady confirmed. “Dad’s safer where he is.”

“What about my fucking schedule?” Rave arched his eyebrows. “I
have appointments booked with those bitches from other packs. Do I just have
them come here?”

“I’ll call their packs to cancel the meetings. I’m sure
their fathers won’t want to send them into a battle zone just on the off chance
that you’ll pick one of them to mate. I know they want a Harris to add to their
bloodline but they want their daughters alive more.” Anton shrugged. “It’s too
dangerous for them to be here and I don’t want a pack war on top of it if one
of them were to die when a fight breaks out.”

“Then who am I supposed to fuck?” A horrified look crossed
Rave’s face.

Braden snickered. “Your hand. It isn’t so funny when it’s
being said to
you
, is it? I suggest you stop at a store and buy a dozen
bottles of lotion. You’ll want the oily kind.”

Rave opened his mouth to speak but his cell phone rang,
halting whatever response he was about to make. He grabbed it but shot a
menacing glare at his baby brother before leaving the room to answer it. “It’s
my shop. I have to take this.”

“Let’s go.” Anton sighed. “We’ll kick some ass hard and fast
so this ends quickly. I don’t know how I’m going to tell Shannon about our new
living arrangements but it’s necessary. She had a hard enough time not being
embarrassed having one of my brothers within hearing range of us in bed. Now
she’s going to have an entire houseful to deal with.”

Brand said nothing but he hated the idea of subjecting
Charma to so many werewolves too. She wasn’t used to them and he wasn’t sure
how she’d react. Keeping her protected was paramount though. She’d be safer
with plenty of pack to guard the house while he worked his patrol shifts.

Rave returned, his face grim. “Some bitch showed up at my
shop. It has to be my two o’clock appointment arriving a bit early but she
mustn’t have gotten the address I texted her. At least I’ll get in one last
fuck before I return. I’ll make a few calls about the bar too. It will be
handled.”

“An hour,” Anton warned. “One. Make it a quickie and send
her home, damn it. Don’t bring her back. I mean it about not wanting them
endangered if shit hits the fan. Those women are alpha-blooded and their packs
would take serious offense if we allowed her to stay in a war zone.”

“Got it.” Rave sailed out the front door.

Brand turned and motioned to Braden that it was time to
leave. He wanted to get back to Charma. He missed her and hated leaving her
alone.

The phone rang and Charma rolled over on the bed to reach
for the receiver on the nightstand. “Hello?”

There was a pause. “I’m sorry. I must have dialed the wrong
number.”

The other woman sounded perky and young. “Were you looking
for Brand? He’s not home right now.”

“Who is this?” The tone changed from friendly to downright
hostile.

A stab of jealousy pierced her heart for a second and
suspicion flared that the person on the other end of the line was someone Brand
had been seeing before her arrival. She was torn between the satisfaction of
being able to claim Brand as her mate and knowing the right thing to do would
be to allow him to be the one to share that news.

“I’m Charma. Would you like to leave a message?”

“Did he hook up with you during the heat? Goddamn it!” The
woman snarled. “That bastard. He was supposed to meet up with me in the woods
yesterday but never showed. I just heard the runnings were called off so I
assumed he wasn’t able to make it because of the trouble they said is heading
our way.”

Charma winced, her suspicion confirmed. She wasn’t sure what
to say so remained silent.

“I don’t recognize your voice.” The woman was worked up, her
voice angry. “But let me tell you something about Brand Harris. He’s a cold son
of a bitch without a heart. He’ll use you and toss you away as soon as some
fresh meat hits town. Ask any woman in the pack and they’ll tell you how sorry
you’ll be if you think he’s a keeper.”

That pissed Charma off. “Brand is a wonderful, loving man.”

The woman snorted loudly. “Right. You keep saying that until
you realize it’s just sex to him. You think you’re the first bitch he’s fooled
into thinking he’d be a great mate? I could give you a list of people to call
who’d tell you the truth. Don’t get too comfortable, bitch. Your ass will be
booted out of the territory as soon as the heat is over. He’s a user.”

That was it. No one insulted her mate. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Peggy. Did I mention he hates kids? What kind of jerk
does that? He is nothing like Alpha Elroy. Now that’s a real man who values
taking care of his pack and has a sense of honor. He should banish his nephew
and do this entire pack a favor.”

“I wanted to give Brand the chance to break this to you
gently but you don’t seem the nice type who deserves that respect since you
show none for him. Brand is my mate. He loves me. How dare you try to spread
that garbage you just spewed? I know him better than you ever did if you
believe that bullshit. He’s very loving, very kind, and he reeks of honor. He
also loves children. He’s always wanted to have them with me. Did you ever
consider, if he’s cold to you, it might be because you’re a nasty, spiteful
bitch? I’ll tell him you called.” She slammed the phone down.

Charma closed her eyes and cursed. She hadn’t handled that
well. The phone rang again and she gritted her teeth. She lifted the receiver. “Hello?”
She had a sinking feeling it would be Peggy calling back. She wasn’t wrong.

“He mated you?”

“Yes.” Charma took a deep breath and opened her eyes,
staring at the ceiling. “We go way back. I just arrived in town last night.”

“And he mated you?” Peggy gasped.

“We’re as mated as a couple can be.”

“Son of a bitch! That bastard! That rat! That—”

“I’ve heard enough. I’ll tell Brand you called. Please don’t
call back. I don’t want to hear any more.” Charma hung up.

The phone didn’t ring a third time. She rolled out of bed
and entered Brand’s bathroom, grabbing his robe off the hook. It smelled of
him. She decided to go search the kitchen for some chocolate. Brand loved the
stuff so she felt certain she’d find a hidden stash somewhere.

The front door opened as she crossed the living room and
Brand walked in. He grinned, his gaze raking her from head to foot. “I thought
you were going to wait for me in bed?” He closed and locked the door behind
him. He moved purposefully, his intent to take her to bed obvious.

She held up a hand. “Give me a few minutes.” She fled into
the kitchen.

Brand followed. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she lied, opening his pantry. “Where’s your candy
bar stash?”

“Top right, behind the cereal boxes. Hon, what’s wrong? You’re
tense.”

He knew her well but she knew him too. She found the box. It
was nearly full. Her wolf had always loved his chocolate. She removed two candy
bars and spun, holding one out to him.

“You had a phone call while you were gone. Peggy is very
upset. I’m sorry but she said some bad things about you that set me off. I told
her we were mated and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t real kind about it.”

His expression twisted into a grimace. “Shit. It’s not what you
think. I’ve never slept with her.”

That surprised Charma. “She’s angry that you didn’t meet her
yesterday.”

“She set that up but I never agreed.” He tossed the candy
bar on the counter and stalked closer, boxed her into the corner with his open
arms and snagged hers to send it flying across the room. “Don’t let her upset
you. She lost her mate last year and was trying to talk me in to taking on her
and her nine pups.”

“Nine?” That stunned Charma. “She sounded so young.”

“She mated at eighteen and now she’s thirty. Her mate pretty
much kept her pregnant because she wanted a ton of kids. He was a good guy but
I never agreed with his taste in women. She’s kind of annoying with her hyper
personality.”

Guilt struck. “Her mate died? That’s awful.”

“Yeah. It was. She’d asked my cousin to stop serving him
drinks at his place so he went to a bar out of our territory and ended up
taking on some rogues in a fight. He lost his life. We tracked them down and
dealt with the ones responsible.” He flattened his palms on the wall to keep
her in place but didn’t touch her. “I’m sorry she upset you.”

“I was more angry than hurt. She said some terrible things
about you that weren’t true.”

“That’s Peggy. She’s kind of immature and tends to blow
everything out of proportion when she doesn’t get her way. Are you okay?” He
paused. “Are we okay? I never touched her.”

She stared into his eyes, knowing he spoke the truth. She
stepped into him until she pressed against his body. “Why would she say such
horrible things about you?”

He frowned. “What did she say?”

“You hate kids, you’re coldhearted. She pretty much made you
sound like a jerk.”

“I told you that you’re the only one I’ve ever loved, hon.
Some women see me as heartless. I don’t hate kids. I just didn’t want to take
on her nine pups.”

“You offered to love any children I had.”

“That’s because they would have been a part of you. Peggy
wanted a pup wrangler and she sure as hell doesn’t love me. She likes my bank
account.”

“Your bank account?”

“I do well in real estate.”

That surprised her. “You were going to become the accountant
for your pack.”

“Things changed after you left. I doubled my classes to
finish the courses but I just couldn’t stand to be there without you.” His big
hands gently wrapped around her hips. “I discovered I love tearing shit apart
so I started flipping houses. You know? Buying run-down properties and fixing
them up to sell at a much higher price. I started my own company and have done
well. I’m not rich by some standards but we’re financially stable. I also help
the pack as an enforcer. We get a salary for that because it can take up a lot
of hours, depending on the time of year.”

“Like when you guys go into mating heat?”

“Exactly.” His voice deepened. “Speaking of which, I need
you.”

She forgot about the candy bars. She gripped Brand’s
shoulders and jumped, wrapping her legs around his waist. “Take me to the
bedroom. I don’t want your cousin catching us again. Is he here?”

“Yeah.” Brand cupped her ass, carrying her out of the
kitchen. “He’s downstairs packing.”

“He’s leaving?”

He hesitated. “We’ll talk about this at the alpha house
later. I must have you right now.”

He dropped her on the bed, turned and tried to close the
busted door. A frustrated growl tore from him when the broken doorjamb
prevented it from closing. One punch and the jamb snapped off. The door closed
completely and he moved to the dresser, reached down and dragged it over as
reinforcement, to effectively make sure they weren’t disturbed. He turned and
hastily removed his shirt.

Charma sat, removed his robe and tossed it to the floor.
Desire darkened Brand’s gaze, which was locked on her breasts. She leaned back
and centered her body on the mattress. It warmed her to feel so desired by
Brand. He kicked off his boots and shoved down his jeans. She smiled at the
sight of his stiff erection and licked her lips.

Brand advanced. “Don’t even tease. I can’t let you do that.”

Her gaze lifted. “I miss tasting you.”

He climbed on the bed, his hungry stare taking in every inch
of her from head to toe. “I miss your mouth wrapped around my cock too. You
have no damn idea how many times I tormented myself with that memory but I’m
too out of control. I need to be inside you and I won’t be all that gentle once
I am.”

She reached for him, sliding her palms over his firm chest. “Is
that supposed to scare me?”

“Nope. It’s just a warning. Roll over and get on your knees.”

“I’m not ready,” she admitted. “No foreplay?”

“We have to be at the alpha house in less than an hour. I’ll
get you wet but I want you on all fours right now.”

Questions surfaced but he wasn’t in the mood to talk. She
stopped exploring his rib cage with her fingers and rolled onto her stomach. He
moved back as she lifted to her hands and knees.

“Spread wide for me.”

She parted her legs further and Brand made an animalistic
sound. She lowered her head and waited, hoping he wouldn’t just take her. Her
body wasn’t prepared. He fixed that when she realized he’d stretched out on his
back. He gripped her hips, lifted her and settled her spread thighs directly
over his face. His hot, wet mouth located her clit.

Her nails dug into the bed. She’d forgotten how he sometimes
didn’t bother with formalities like kissing her lips or even bothering to tell
her what he was about to do. Her mate growled, sending vibrations to that
sensitive bundle of nerves as he used his tongue. Teeth raked gently over it,
too, and she threw her head back.

“Fuck, baby,” she panted. “Slow down. It’s too intense.”

He ignored her, focusing on one spot that drove her out of
her mind. It was as if he was determined to make her come fast and hard. She
tried to jerk away because the pleasure was too raw and intense but his hands
clenched, holding her in place with no way to escape. Her muscles tensed and
she gave in, not fighting. The climax tore through her with a brutal force that
left her crying out and without the ability to even form words.

His hands released her, she was aware of that much, and the
mattress shifted under her as he moved. She would have fallen over from the
motion but his arm hooked around her waist before she lost her balance and his
cock nudged the entrance to her pussy. He drove in deep with one fluid thrust,
his thick shaft forcing her muscles to part and accept him. He dropped down to
curve around her and used his free hand to brace on the bed beside one of her
hands.

“You’re wet now,” he snarled.

There was no denying that. Brand pounded her, fucking her
hard and deep. His cock was rock solid, thick, and he moved so fast that she
had no chance of matching his pace. A new kind of pleasure began building until
she knew she was about to come again. Time lost meaning until she cried out,
her mind blown a second time.

Brand clenched his teeth to avoid sinking them into Charma’s
exposed shoulder. Her throaty moans and the sound of her coming sent him over
the edge. He drove in deep, his body seizing as his semen blasted out, filling
his mate.
Heaven. That’s where she takes me every time we make love.

He almost snorted at the term when he stopped coming and
could think straight again. He had her pinned under him and he eased his hold
on her waist to make sure she wasn’t being crushed.
That wasn’t making love.
Guilt struck next. She deserved tenderness from him, not what he’d just done.

“Was I too rough?”

She tossed her hair and looked back at him. Her smile
alleviated any apprehension. His hand massaged her hip since he wasn’t willing
to pull his dick out of her, happy to keep them joined at the hips.

“I’ve got nothing to complain about.”

He didn’t agree. “Sorry.”

Her smile faded. “Don’t. If you didn’t notice, I enjoyed
that a lot.”

“I just screwed you when I should have taken my time and met
more of your needs instead of just my own.”

“They were met.” She wiggled her ass and tried to move out
from under him.

Regretfully, he lifted up, allowing her to go. “I just
missed you and hadn’t planned to be gone so long.” It was a lousy excuse but it
was the truth.

She rolled over and sat, peering steadfastly into his eyes. “I
like it when you get down and dirty sometimes.”

His chest tightened and he knew it was caused by the
unbounded love he felt for her. “Is that what you called
that
?”

She laughed and pointed a finger at her lap. “You went down
and then when you were going at me, you were saying dirty words.”

He leaned forward and she flattened on the bed to allow him
to come down on top of her. He was careful to distribute his weight so she
could breathe easily and continue to catch her breath. “I love you, Charma.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips
with a brush of her own. “I love you too.”

“I just worry that I’m going to screw this up somehow. I can’t
take coming home to an empty house a second time.”