Saved by Wolves (Shifters Meet Their Mate Book 1) (7 page)

“Serena doesn’t like humans,” Jackson said.

“Yeah, I picked up on that,” she said. “Can you take me to Blue’s Hollow?”

“No.”

“Why not?

“Because I have duties here, and we have already been away from our post for too long.”

Serena stomped past them, went up the porch steps, and whirled around. “She’s not staying here,” she yelled at Marcus and went in, slamming the door behind her.

Face flushed and hands in his pockets, Marcus came over to them. “Sorry about that,” he said. “Serena can be a bit... opinionated.”

“It’s fine. And I understand that you can’t take me. You don’t have to. All I need is a map.” Desperation tinged her voice, and her hands shook. Kirra clenched them into fists.

“It would be at least a four-day hike for you. You’d never make it. I have a better idea,” Marcus said. “You can stay with my gran while we’re on duty. You’ll get along great with her. Come on.”

J
asmine Carver, or “Gran,” as she insisted on being called, was a short version of her grandchildren. Shoulder-length, snow-white hair framed a strong face, and vibrant green eyes took in and catalogued everything about Kirra as they shook hands. If her steady gaze wasn’t friendly, at least it wasn’t condemning. She was reserving judgment.

“So tell me what all the yelling was about,” she said, settling in a pine chair at her kitchen table. Marcus and Jackson pulled out chairs, so Kirra followed suit, studying the room as she sat. The kitchen, a ten by ten space, was just big enough to fit a wood burning stove, a counter, cupboards, a small hutch filled with rolled up maps and books, and the table. It had a homey feel, and the scent of cinnamon hung in the air.

“It was just Serena being Serena,” Marcus sighed.

“There has to be more to it than that,” his gran said.

“Well, Kirra’s human—”

“I’ve got a nose, boy. What I don’t have is a lot of time. Cut to the chase.”

Marcus saluted. “Yes, ma’am. Kirra needs a place to stay while she waits for Jasper to come back from the council meeting. Jackson and I have to go back on patrol in the morning, so we hoped she could stay with you.” He gave her a charming smile that sent warm tingles running through Kirra’s body. It didn’t have the same effect on his gran.

“Fine. She can stay in your room. You’ll bunk in the barracks with Jackson.” She shoved away from the table and began pulling food out of the cupboards. “I’ll bet you haven’t fed this girl a proper meal in days. She looks like she’s wasting away.”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Kirra protested, but her stomach chose that moment to gurgle.

“I can hear how fine. We’ll eat, then we’ll send those two lugs on their way.”

***

M
arcus and Jackson plowed through piles of food as if they truly hadn’t eaten in days. Marcus caught her staring and grinned, stabbing a piece of rabbit with his fork. “We can’t always hunt while on duty, and we burn a lot of energy, so we’ve trained ourselves to eat when we can.”

“Hmmm.” She had no idea where all the food went—she’d seen his chiseled abs, and there wasn’t an ounce of flab to be seen. Heat flowed through her as she remembered what else she’d seen. It was going to be a long time before she forgot waking up to the sight of his bare ass and Jackson’s cock. Moisture pooled between her thighs, and she pressed them together under the table, hoping her face didn’t give her away.

“How often does the Shifter Council meet?” she asked, desperate to distract herself.

Marcus polished off his third serving of rabbit and washed it down with a glass of cold, pristine well water. “Once every couple of months unless there’s an emergency.”

Waiting that long wasn’t an option. Kirra stabbed her fork into the potatoes on her plate in frustration, then let the fork fall. She had to tell them. Even if they thought she was crazy, surely they’d still take her to the meeting just in case. She studied the men from under her lashes, getting up the nerve to tell them her story. Across from her, Jackson suddenly stiffened in his chair, looking sterner than ever, and beside her, Marcus was taking short breaths, practically panting. What was wrong with them?

Gran stood up and dusted her hands together. “Supper’s over. It’s time you two were on your way. The poor child looks exhausted, and I want to go to bed soon, too.”

Kirra glanced out the window by the door. The sky was streaked with purple and reds, the sun just setting. It couldn’t have been later than eight. A bit early for going to bed, but maybe it was different when you relied on candles for light after the sun set. 

“I’m not done yet,” Marcus said, reaching for the coffee pot to refill his mug. His gran swatted his hand away.

“Yes, you are,” she said.

Though his nostrils flared, Jackson took the clear dismissal in stride, picking up his dishes and placing them in the sink before crossing to the front door. “We’ll be back in a few days,” he said, meeting Kirra’s eyes.

“I know,” she said.

He stared at her as if trying to tell her something important, then just pointed a commanding finger at her. “Stay here until we come back.” With that, he prodded a protesting Marcus through the doorway, and the door fell shut behind them.

She hadn’t had a chance to convince them to take her to the meeting. And beyond that, a feeling of loss swept over her. What if she never saw them again? She couldn’t leave things like that. They didn’t know how she... She hadn’t told them... “I didn’t say thank you,” she blurted out, surging to her feet. “I have to thank them.” Ignoring Gran’s knowing look, she ran outside and scanned the area. They were already halfway across the field, heading toward the barracks by the meeting hall. She sprinted, arms pumping, not caring how ridiculous she was acting. She couldn’t let them go without... She wasn’t sure exactly. It was hard to put into words.

Jackson said something in his low, rumbly voice, and he and Marcus swung around, stopping in their tracks. They must have heard her panting or the thud of her footsteps.

“What’s wrong?” Marcus asked. “Did something happen?” He and Jackson automatically angled themselves so they had all directions covered, ready for any threat.

Kirra shook her head. “No. Nothing like that. I just...”

“Just what?” he rasped, taking a step closer, until they were so close their breaths mingled. Her mind went blank. Going on instinct, she flung herself into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck, standing on her tiptoes to reach.

“I just wanted to say thank you,” she whispered in his ear. “For saving my life and bringing me here, and well, for everything.” She pressed a kiss against his cheek and released him.

Off to the side, Jackson waited, a scowl on his face and arms crossed. Before she could lose her nerve, Kirra crossed over to him and took his hands, gently tugging his arms down. “I wanted to thank you, too, Jackson,” she said. “I know you don’t really like me—or any humans—and I understand why, so it means a lot to me that you didn’t leave me to the Cats.” She released one of his hands and beckoned him closer with her index finger. He bent his head toward her, and she leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “I think you’re a lot nicer than you let on.” Rough stubble on his jaw rasped against her skin, and she turned her head, ready to plant a kiss on his cheek too.

Jackson’s head turned at the same time, and their lips met in a featherlight touch, sending a jolt of electricity running through her body. He groaned and tugged her closer, pressing her against him with a firm hand on her lower back. His warm tongue traced the line of her lips, and Kirra parted them to let him enter.

Their tongues tangled, and the rough caress had her nipples hardening in response. Breaking away, his breathing ragged, Jackson wound a hand into her hair and tugged her head back, exposing the length of her neck to him. He worked his way down it with his mouth and lips, and she felt an insistent pressure nudging at her belly.

Her hands were reaching down to stroke his cock through his jeans when a throat cleared, breaking through the fog of arousal consuming her. She realized what she was doing and pushed at Jackson’s shoulders, trying to put space between them. Her head was spinning, but one thing was clear. She’d been making out in the middle of a public space—anyone could have seen them.

Marcus had seen them. His eyes glowed in the dim light, and Kirra dropped her gaze, unable to face the accusation there. What had she been thinking? 

“I-I sh-should go back,” she stuttered, fingers pressed to her lips.

***

F
lushed and shaky, Kirra left the men, forcing herself to stay to a brisk walk. She wasn’t running away. She was making a tactical, measured retreat back to Gran’s house, away from the wild, wounded jealousy in Marcus’s eyes and the burning lust in Jackson’s.

The blue curtains in the front window twitched as she reached the porch. Great. Gran had watched the whole spectacle. From Gran’s vantage point, it had probably looked as if she’d thrown herself at both men. Which she kind of had.

Desire and arousal still burned through her, making her breath come short. She’d never in her life reacted to a man as quickly and violently as she had with Jackson. But it wasn’t just Jackson. Every touch of Marcus’s body against hers, every glimpse of their hard bodies, and every daydream and fantasy about them that she’d indulged in over the last two days, had left her body primed for action. If they hadn’t been in a public space...

Kirra paused with her fingers on the door handle and willed her cheeks to cool. When she felt semi-composed, she straightened her spine and entered the house.

The dishes had been cleaned and put away, and Gran reclined in her chair at the table, obviously waiting for her. She motioned to another chair, and Kirra sat, back straight and hands tightly clasped in her lap.

“They’re good men,” Gran said. “I’m a bit partial to Marcus, seeing as he’s my grandson, but I can see the appeal Jackson would have for a young woman like yourself. Big, strong, good-looking. Yes, I can see the appeal.” She leaned forward and placed her palms flat on the table. “Nothing can come of it, though.”

Kirra had been about to protest that there was nothing between them, but Gran’s words brought her up short. “Why not?” she found herself asking instead. “Do they have mates?”

“No. No mates. Females are scarce around these parts. It’s part of the reason Heloise—my daughter—and her mate went to Europe. They’re trying to find an answer to why our birth rates are so low, or at least to convince some European shifters to move here. That’s not what we’re talking about, though. The problem is you’re human. Oh, you could have a wild time rolling around in the woods if you want, but that’s all it could ever be, and you don’t strike me as the rolling around type.” She tilted her head at the hutch. “Bring me that book over there, the one on the far right. And the candles in the top drawer.”

Thinking that she was afraid she very much could be the rolling around type, Kirra found the book Gran wanted: Half Moon Wolf Pack History and Laws.

Gran lit the beeswax candles and cracked the book open. Its pages were yellowed and parchment-like. “It’s an interesting book,” she said, flipping through the pages. “ Every Wolf learns it by heart before their first shift. Ah, here it is.” She bookmarked a page with the ribbon attached to the book and handed it to Kirra. “You’ll want to read that section.”

“I’m really just here because I need to speak to the council. Not for anything else.” And she still hadn’t convinced the men to take her to the meeting. That was why she’d gone after them, not to make out. What was happening to her brain? When had she become like a TSTL character in a movie who forgot everything important when a sexy man paid her any attention?

“Take it,” Gran insisted.

Kirra reluctantly took the book back, knowing she wasn’t going to like whatever it said.

Gran picked up a candle and stood. “I’m going to bed. Douse the candles when you’re done.”

Kirra drew a candle closer and laid the book down. It opened at a section under Pack Law, titled Mating and Genetics.

T
he sun was just inching up over the horizon when Marcus rolled out of bed and donned his clothes. He’d lain awake most of the night and needed fresh air to clear his head. He snagged the boots he’d left at the foot of his bed and crept out of the barracks, barely resisting the urge to land a kick in Jackson’s gut when he passed his sleeping partner.

After Kirra had run off the night before, they’d cleaned up and gone to bed without saying a word about what had happened. Maybe Jackson knew that if he’d opened his mouth or gloated, Marcus would have snapped and tried to strangle him with his bare hands. The asshole went on and on about not wanting anything to do with humans—heck, if it had been up to him, they would have left Kirra in the river, at the mercy of the Cats!—and then he mauled her right in front of Marcus. The hypocrite asshole.

Jealousy wasn’t an emotion he was used to, and Marcus didn’t like the way it burned through his body and made his teeth clench. Outside, in the crisp morning air, he took a deep breath and held it, attempting to think rationally. He’d really only known Kirra for two days. He’d extended his protection to her, but that didn’t mean he had a claim on her. She could kiss anyone she wanted, and it shouldn’t affect him at all.

Visions of her kissing a parade of handsome men danced in his head, and Marcus felt his body shifting, morphing into his Wolf form in a response to the threat he felt. Taking another deep breath, and another, he forced his body to remain in human form.

It was time to face facts. The contentment he’d felt when she’d chosen to kiss him, and the fury that consumed him when Jackson had taken advantage of her, neither emotion was going to go away anytime soon. He wanted her. He wanted her more than anything he’d ever wanted in the world before, and when the scent of her arousal had smashed into him with the force of a freight train at dinner the night before, it had just reinforced his feelings.

She was going to be his.

Goal set, Marcus laced up his boots and set across the field to his gran’s, forming a plan as he walked. The first step was to find out exactly what kind of a mess Kirra was in, and why she needed to speak to the alpha. He shouldn’t have let her avoid the questions before. If he’d known what the problem was, he might have solved it already.