Protective Mate (5 page)

"Thank you for a wonderful evening. Dinner was delicious. I look forward to getting to spend some more time with you all." With that, Zack stood, Hayley in his arms.

Alex stood and extended his hand to shake. "It was our pleasure. You're welcome anytime you like. You're family after all. We'll organise to have you officially join the pack next week after you're settled in." Zack extended his hand and clasped it in the strong grip of his new Alpha. Letting go, Zack stood back and felt electricity shoot up his spine as Simon placed a hand at the middle of his back.

"I'll walk you out." Zack couldn't reply as all the saliva seemed to have disappeared from his mouth. God, this man's touch sent his body into overdrive. Nodding his assent, he turned and followed Simon through the passage and out the front door.

They walked together to Zack's car and Simon kissed Hayley again on the cheek before wishing her a good night. He waited as Zack unlocked the car and got Hayley settled in her seat and buckled in. Closing the door, Zack turned and found himself engulfed in the strong arms of his mate. "Hmm," Zack snuggled in against Simon's strong chest. He felt a soft tongue against his neck and moaned at the wonderful feeling. Lips followed the tongue before Simon slowly pulled away.

"Drive safe and think about me tonight." Simon's smile was addictive.

"No worries there. I'll be lucky if I can get you out of my thoughts tonight." Simon laughed at his confession. He stepped back and walked to the driver's side. Biting his lower lip for a minute, Zack asked the question that was burning in the back of his brain, dying to get out. "Can we see you tomorrow?" His cheeks heated at the desperate note in his voice.

The reply was quick in coming and calmed his nerves a little. "Absolutely. I'll be counting down the hours. Maybe we could all go out for dinner or something?"

"Sounds great." Zack knew the smile on his face was a mile wide as he got in his car and started it. Putting the car in gear, he looked out the window at his mate one last time before he pulled away from the house. He watched in his mirrors as he drove down the street. Simon stayed standing on the curb the entire time.

Zack drove back to the motel, his thoughts back at the house he'd just left. He groaned as his cock twitched in his pants, reminding him he was still hard and wanting with no relief in sight. Zack loved his daughter, but he really would have loved some alone time with Simon as well. Looking in the backseat, he noticed Hayley was happy sitting and chattering away to herself.

Pulling up outside his hotel room, Zack turned the car off and got out. He adjusted his hard cock so it wasn't quite so painful before getting Hayley and making his way into their room. "Okay, Pumpkin, shower then a story and bed. How does that sound?"

"Okay, can we read the ladybird book?"

"Sure, sweetheart. Get ready for your shower while I try and find it." The Ladybird book was Hayley's favourite story; she just about knew all the words and loved the pop-up illustrations. Zack had made a point to pack the book in his case so he would be able to get to it easily.

Once Hayley was washed, dried, and dressed in her favourite pink princess pyjamas, they cuddled up on the bed so Zack could read her the story. Halfway through, Zack heard a little snore and looked down. Smiling at the angelic look on his daughter's face, he moved her gently and placed her in her cot. She was getting to be too big for a cot, he would have to think about getting her a big girl bed when he found somewhere for them to live.

Zack made sure woofy was within easy reach and tucked her in tight. He then had a quick shower and crawled into bed wearing a pair of boxers. Zack usually preferred to sleep naked but with his daughter in the room decided a little modesty was in order. He was exhausted; he had started a new life today, in a new town with a new job and apparently a new mate. Zack hadn't expected to meet his mate but after spending a little time with Simon he couldn't be happier with who the fates had chosen for him. Now if only they could get some time alone together. With that thought Zack drifted into a peaceful sleep filled with images of Simon and himself curled together in bed.

Chapter 4

Simon hadn't been able to concentrate all day. Work passed slowly without any major drama, which was great as he wouldn't have been in the right frame of mind to deal with it anyway. As it was, the spreadsheets he worked on made no sense to him today and no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't get the damn things to balance. Simon was thankful he didn't have any meetings and that it was Friday.

He called Zack during lunch and just the sound of his mate's voice soothed his soul. They talked for his entire lunch break as Hayley had her afternoon nap. Zack was going to pick him up tonight since he had a seat in his car for Hayley and they would all go out for dinner.

As soon as five o'clock came round he was out of the office and headed home. He wanted to have a shower and get ready for his date. Could you really call it a date if you had a two year old with you? Shrugging his shoulders, Simon decided it was a date no matter who was with them. Hayley was a part of the package and it would be nice to spend time with the both of them.

Pulling into the driveway at home, Simon waited for the carport door to open, As he wasn't using his car tonight he may as well put the vehicle away and leave room for everyone else's cars. They might have to start thinking about expanding. With everyone finding their mates, they kept adding cars as well as people to the house. There were currently six different types of vehicles that were vying for parking space and if he could convince Zack to move in with them then he would add a seventh. Deciding to talk to his brothers about the space issue over the weekend, Simon locked his car and went inside.

He found Brian in the kitchen making a start on dinner. Walking to the fridge, he grabbed a beer and took a seat to chat with his brother-in-law for a few minutes.

"So are you going to be in for dinner?"

Simon could feel the smile breaking out across his face at the thought of going out with Zack. "Nah, man."

"Ohhh! Does someone have a date?"

Simon laughed at Brian's teasing tone. "Zack and Hayley will be by to pick me up; we're going out for dinner."

"That girl is so cute. You're so lucky, Simon." Simon frowned slightly at the wistful tone to Brian's voice now. He knew Brian and Marcus really wanted kids.

"Hey, man, none of that. You and Marcus are going to make great parents. It will happen for you. You just have to wait and see. I'm right." Simon downed the rest of his beer before walking over and giving Brian a gentle squeeze. "It'll happen when the time is right. I don't know how, but you two were meant to be parents. Same with Jason and Alex," and with that Simon headed to his room to start getting dressed.

Simon knew deep in his gut he was right, his brothers were meant to be parents. He didn't know if they would have to get a surrogate or if they were going to adopt, he just knew they would have the kids they always wanted. Getting undressed, Simon made his way into his bathroom.

After a quick shower and a shave, Simon grabbed his favourite pair of jeans and pulled them on; when he wasn't working he preferred to go commando. He loved the freedom and the feel of not being constricted. Plus he was already half hard and didn't want anything in the way if he should get at all lucky tonight. Simon did up his belt and pulled on a nice deep blue button up shirt. He'd been told he looked great in the shirt and wanted to look nice for Zack.

Simon sat on the edge of his bed and pulled on his black boots. Alex was the only one in the family who rode a motorcycle but all the brothers seemed to have similar fashion with the boots and leather jackets. He walked into the bathroom and checked his appearance in the mirror. "Not too bad, if I do say so myself." Simon chuckled to himself.

Being a werewolf, he forewent any cologne as the smell irritated his senses. Simon grabbed his jacket and headed into the living room. Everyone else was home from work and they were all relaxing, having a beer on a Friday afternoon. Simon snapped his head to the left when he heard a wolf whistle.

"Well, don't you look hot." Jason said grinning at him. Simon laughed as Alex growled and pulled Jason closer against his chest. "What? He does." Jason said as he smacked Alex's chest.

"You aren't supposed to be looking at my brothers." Alex's growl came out deep and grumbly.

"Oh don't be ridiculous. You know you're the only one for me." Jason said as he leant forward and placed a soft kiss against Alex's lips. Alex growled again and deepened the kiss. Simon just chuckled and took a seat. Alex was so possessive over Jason. Although after everything the little man had been through, he couldn't really blame his brother.

Simon gave the pair thirty seconds to quit what they were doing before he picked up a cushion and threw it at them. Brian and Marcus laughed at the shocked expression on Alex's face. Simon would have laughed as well if the doorbell hadn't rung. His heartbeat accelerated at the thought of seeing his mate again. Getting up from his seat he headed to the door.

Opening the door he had just enough time to see a pink blur and hear his name being called in a sweet little girl voice before he was nearly knocked on his ass as a pair of little arms wrapped around his legs.

"Hayley, please be careful. You nearly knocked Simon over." Simon looked up into the beautiful face of his mate and smiled.

"Hi," Zack managed to get out before Simon reached out to him and threaded his fingers behind his neck and dragged him close. Their lips sealed together and Simon groaned at the first taste of his mate all day. The kiss was cut short however by an insistent tug on his jeans. Breaking away from Zack, Simon reached down and picked Hayley up in his arms.

"And hello to you too, Princess. Don't you look pretty in your pink dress!" Simon honestly hated pink. He thought there couldn't have been a worse colour ever invented, but looking at the girl in his arms who was swaying back and forth holding the skirt of her dress proudly, Simon had a bad feeling there would be a lot of pink in his life from now on.

Hayley beamed up at him. "Daddy said I look cute as a button. Do you like my piggy tails? Daddy did them. Are we going out? I'm hungry and Daddy said we were having dinner with you." Simon's head was reeling as the little girl spewed one question after another.

"Whoa there, sweetheart! One question at a time." Simon chuckled. "You look adorable, your hair is beautiful and yes, we are going out to dinner."

"Sorry," Zack said. "She's at that stage where she wants to know everything."

"No problem. I'm sure I'll get used to it in time. Now how about we head out so this little one can get something to eat." Simon said as he tickled Hayley in the belly. Her squeals of laughter were met with a smile from Zack. "Come in and we'll say goodnight to the guys."

Simon reached out and took Zack's hand while he moved Hayley to his hip. Turning around, Simon led them towards the full living room.

Simon watched as Zack greeted his brothers and their mates and settled into a comfortable conversation about their days. He wasn't really paying much attention to what was said until Rick's voice broke through his thoughts.

"You three look good together." Simon was surprised by the comment from Rick but couldn't help the smile that broke across his face. He looked at Zack and noticed the pink staining his cheeks. Simon squeezed Zack's hand before turning back to his family.

"Thanks, man. We're heading out so you guys have a good night."

After all the goodbyes, they went outside to Zack's car. Zack took Hayley and buckled her into her seat. Simon slid into the passenger seat and was surprised at how clean the car was. With a two year old and after a long road trip, Simon wasn't expecting the clean interior. The car couldn't have been more than a couple of years old.

Once Zack joined him and started the car, they pulled out of the driveway.

"So where to?" Zack asked.

"I was thinking about the steakhouse. I know it's not real romantic but they do a hell of a steak and I believe they have stuff to keep kids entertained." Simon wasn't sure what type of food Zack liked but he figured as he was a werewolf he would go with steak. It seemed pretty safe.

"Steak sounds fantastic. I've haven't had a decent one in ages." Simon gave directions and within 10 minutes they were pulling into the car park of the local steakhouse. Zack and Simon got out of the car and Simon headed to the backseat to unclip Hayley. Once she was out of the car, Simon took one of her hands and Zack took her other one.

Walking into the restaurant they stopped at the counter to wait to be seated. It didn't take long before one of the waitresses came up to them.

"Hey Simon, what brings you out tonight without your brothers?" Isabella was pack and her parents owned the place so he wasn't at all surprised to see her working.

"Hey Bella, we're on a date. This is my mate, Zack, and his daughter Hayley."

"Mate… Oh wow… You must be so happy. I can't wait till I find my mate." Simon could see the genuine happiness she had for him on her face. "So table for three, then?" Bella went around the counter to consult her book before coming back with the menus and some crayons for Hayley. "Right this way."

Simon and Zack followed Bella through the restaurant until she stopped at a table and placed the menus down. Once they were seated, she set a couple of colouring pages and a cup of crayons down. "There you go, sweetheart."

"Thank you."

"Oh, what wonderful manners. Can I get you boys something to drink?" After taking their orders, Isabella walked away promising to return with their drinks. Looking around, Simon noticed the restaurant was about half full. It was still early and new; the place would pick up soon.

Five minutes later, they had their drinks and their orders placed. Simon reached across the table when Zack put his beer down and took his hand, running his thumb across the back of Zack's hand. Simon let his gaze wander around the restaurant and groaned when he realised who had just walked through the doors.