The Alpha's Temporary Mate (Fated Match) (18 page)

She moved beneath him to lock her legs around his waist. His guttural groan filled her ears as she pressed her heels into his back, driving him deeper into her.

“Just like that,” she breathed, undulating under him.

He bent down to catch her lips as he rocked within her. Framing his face with her hands, she returned the kiss with enthusiasm. Maybe it was their surroundings, but this embrace was far different from their first time under the stars. That had been a desperate, consuming need followed by a night of exploring every inch of each other’s bodies.

This was different. Intimate. Kieran touched her as if she were precious.

Loved.

“Yes,” she whispered as he increased his speed. “A little more.”

They rocked together, striving toward their mutual release.

“Come with me, witchling,” he whispered to her.

Chloe arched her head back, her fingers digging into his shoulders. So close.

A few more strokes were all it took. She flew apart in his arms as her climax over came her. Holding on to her partner, she tried to ride out the sensations flooding her body. Kieran’s harsh groans filled her ears as he found the same release she had.

He collapsed by her side, pulling her close even as he stayed pressed inside her.

“Good way to wake up,” she said.

Kieran rested his forehead against hers. “Agreed.”

“Kieran, I—” She stopped, biting back the words the endorphins flooding her body pushed her to say.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she murmured. Wrapping her arms around him, she nestled against his chest. “Nothing at all.”

No need to borrow trouble. Not when lying in his arms was as close to perfection as she’d ever found.

Chapter Eighteen

T
he smile wouldn’t leave her face. Chloe pulled her coat closer around her as she sat on a picnic table. The lake lay before her, sparkling in the sunshine. Kieran was meeting with a few of his advisors, and she hadn’t wanted to be in the way. Besides, after the athletics of last night she needed a few hours to recharge before she’d be ready for soccer games and pack bonding.

A scratching noise reached her ears. Turning, she saw a white wolf trotting out of the woods.

“Hello,” she called as the beautiful creature moved closer.

She’d seen most of the pack in their wolf forms, and while there were some with white patches, none were the pure snow white of this wolf.

“Who would you be?” she asked as it stopped before her. “I don’t think we’ve met yet.”

Even as she said the words, she remembered seeing a flash of white the night Kieran had chased her through the woods. Had this wolf been there?

“You’re welcome to my coat if you’d like to change,” she offered. Not that weres had much of an issue with nudity. Still, she shrugged out of the coat and held it out.

The wolf tilted its head before it began to transform.

She could see the process a thousand times and still never get bored with it. Seeing a wolf change into a human was like watching an optical illusion you couldn’t quite explain. Her eyes tried to reconcile two forms overlapping each other, but her brain didn’t have the capacity to explain the phenomena. Instead she just watched in appreciation as the white wolf faded away, leaving a naked woman in its place.

“Thank you,” the woman said, rising to her feet.

As she held out her coat, Chloe had to admit the woman was just as stunning as her wolf form had been. Long black hair hung to her trim waist. Every inch of her body was lithe and honed, with legs that seemed impossibly long. The woman took the coat and tossed it around her perfect body. It fell to mid-thigh and Chloe couldn’t help but think it added another layer of sex appeal to a woman who looked like she’d stepped out of some lucky man’s fantasy.

“I haven’t seen you around,” she said.

Clear blue eyes flicked to her. “I’ve kept to myself. It’s been a while since I attended a gathering such as this.”

“Well, you’re welcome to join me,” she said, shifting to the side.

Inclining her head, the woman climbed onto the tabletop with her.

“I’ve missed this place,” she said. “I stayed away too long.”

“It’s beautiful,” Chloe agreed. “I wasn’t sure about coming here, but I’m glad I was able to see the Clearwater land.”

“The alpha brought you.”

She nodded. “We thought it was time his people met me.”

“Because he’s serious about you.”

A soft smile curved her lips. “I hope so.”

The nameless woman studied her for a long moment before sighing. “It’s been a long time since he was happy.”

“Yes.”

“So he told you his tale, has he?”

“Enough of it,” she replied. “It’s taken him a long time to get to the point where he can let someone else in.”

“It was her fault,” the woman said. “She was too young to be what Kieran needed. Selfish and undisciplined, she didn’t understand what it meant for an alpha to rule.”

“Did you know her?” Chloe asked. “Lisette, that is?”

“Oh yes. I knew her.” She tilted her face up to the sun. “She’s been traveling the world, you know. Trying to figure out what went wrong. She thought if she could fix herself, maybe she could fix their relationship.”

A shiver ran down her spine. Lisette always seemed like a phantom presence. One she’d never come across in real life. She was a ghost from the past that Chloe had never expected to reemerge. If Lisette had spent decades trying to become what Kieran and the pack needed, she’d be a formidable opponent indeed.

One you couldn’t best,
her inner voice whispered. Kieran had loved the wolf to distraction for over forty years. A fake girlfriend couldn’t compare to that kind of devotion in any way.

Not fake. Not anymore. He cares about me.

But he didn’t love her.

“I hope she’s had luck with her self-discovery,” Chloe said, choking out the words. “Everyone deserves to find their happiness.”

Blue eyes met hers. “Aren’t you sweet?”

“Not sweet. Hopeful.”

A smile touched the woman’s rosy lips. “I can see why he is drawn to you. Your youth, your naïveté… It’s like he found the anti-Lisette.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t mistake kindness for weakness,” she said. “Just because I choose to see the good in people doesn’t mean I won’t fight for those I care about.”

“And what would you do if someone tried to take Kieran from you?”

Magic coiled through her. While this wolf didn’t appear to be a threat, she certainly wasn’t a friend.

“I’d make them regret it,” she replied.

Cool eyes studied her, as if taking her measure. “Yes,” she said. “I think you’d try.” The woman slipped off the table. “I should be on my way. Mind if I borrow your coat? I’ll return it next time we cross paths.”

“Take it,” she replied. The coat was a small price to pay to send the woman on her way.

“I’ll see you soon, Chloe.”

As the white wolf walked away, Chloe realized she’d never asked the woman her name.

Nor given hers.

“T
here you are.”

Chloe glanced up from her spot curled up on one of the cabin’s armchairs to see Kieran entering the room.

“Sorry,” she said. “I needed a little break.” To think. To wonder if Lisette was a threat she needed to be on guard against.

To puzzle whether Kieran was the man she’d been waiting a lifetime for, or whether her desire to belong was clouding her judgment.

With a grin, Kieran collapsed onto the chaise. “You’re only two days in. Just wait until we get closer to the mating ceremony.”

Pushing from her chair, she crossed to the chaise and shimmied into place next to him. He automatically adjusted to give her room, wrapping an arm around her as she rested her head against his shoulder.

“You’re doing well,” he said, running his fingers along her arm.

“Thanks,” she murmured.

“The older wolves are still standoffish, as you predicted.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “If you’re happy, the pack is happy.”

“And I am,” he said, tipping her face up to his. “Very happy. Though I’d be happier if you lost a few of these clothes.”

She huffed out a laugh. “You’ll be missed.”

“No one will begrudge me a little break.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “One thing I’ve discovered in the past few days is that you’re always needed. Everyone wants a word with you.”

“It’s the one time of year we’re all together,” he said with a sigh. “For those who don’t live in the city, this is their chance to touch base with me. Make sure any concerns are heard.”

“You’re good at your job.”

“What I do in the city is my job. This is…”

“What you were born to do,” she supplied. “And you take that responsibility seriously.”

“There was a time when I didn’t.”

“Why?”

His fingers stroked her hair, and she closed her eyes, perfectly content.

“My father stepped down partly because he was ready but also, I think, because he wanted me to gain a purpose, a direction. Lisette wasn’t pleased.”

“I thought she’d like the power dating the alpha would give her.”

He snorted. “Oh, she did. She just didn’t like the responsibility that came with it. And I only saw her. She was my priority.”

“It’s okay to love a partner and care for your pack.”

Silence stretched. “I’m not sure I can do both,” he told her, his voice soft. “I can’t lose myself the way I did with her.”

Her breath hitched. Was this Kieran’s way of telling her they could be together but love wasn’t something that would ever enter the equation?

“Good relationships find balance,” she whispered. “Yes, you’re beholden to another person, but so are they to you.”

“Would you leave me, Chloe, if I couldn’t be that for you?”

Pain flared through her chest. “I don’t know,” she said to avoid the answer she deeply feared was yes.

He wasn’t ready to talk about love. It wasn’t a surprise. Really, it was too soon for both of them. But what hurt was the knowledge that he’d once loved someone so completely that it had consumed him. He was capable of the darkest kind of passion, but with her he still held himself apart, despite their physical intimacy. She didn’t want their relationship to follow the pattern he’d set with Lisette, but she wanted to know that…

That someday she would be as important. More so even. She wanted a guarantee that there would come a day when someone asked Kieran about the great love of his life and her face flashed to his mind.

She wanted to be better than Lisette.

An impossible dream for wholesome, plain Jane Chloe Donovan.

The stranger’s words at the lake crept into her mind. If Lisette were here now, would Kieran still hold Chloe with such tenderness? Or would she find herself once again passed over in favor of something, someone, better than her?

“We’re borrowing trouble,” she said, pushing out of his arms.

He caught her before she could leave. “I know I can’t tell you what you want to hear,” he said.

“That’s fine. It’s still new.”

“I do care about you Chloe. I like everything about you.”

Like. Not love. It was too soon for that lack to hurt so much. What was wrong with her? Maybe the pressure of their ruse was finally getting to her. They just needed to get back to the city, back to normalcy.

But a part of her whispered, that wasn’t the answer. That no matter how much time passed, she’d always be waiting for three little words her wolf might never say.

“Come on,” she whispered. “We should be getting back to the group. I think I heard there were field games or something up next on the schedule. Everyone will be waiting.”

She walked toward the door, only to be pulled back when he hauled her into his arms and kissed her.

Closing her eyes, she gave herself up to his touch. When his hands were on her body she could almost believe they’d be okay.

That it wouldn’t matter if he never learned to love her.

H
er kiss tasted of disappointment.

Kieran shook his head, trying to focus on the games being carried out on the field before him. No matter what he did, he couldn’t shake the unsettling thought.

Inside his mind, the wolf whined. The woman it wanted was unhappy and there was nothing it could do about it.

I’ll fix this
. Once they were alone again he could—

What? Drive her into oblivion with pleasure and hope she forgot that this retreat that was all about love and commitment was happening to everyone but her?

You need to take a chance, Clearwater
. Four hundred years and he’d never met anyone like Chloe. It couldn’t be a coincidence she’d walked into his life right when he was facing the truth that he needed to find a mate.

“You are ridiculously easy to beat this year,” Niall said, slapping a hand on his back. “Get your mind off your witch and focus on the game.”

“One’s more fun to think about than the other.”

Niall laughed. “Women often are.”

Shaking his head, he followed Niall back toward his team. A handful of “stations” were flung around the field, each with a task or challenge that the teams were racing to fulfill. The one before them boasted a tug-o-war rope.

“Come on,” Niall said to his half of the team as they moved to pick up the rope. “Who wants to best the alpha?”

Kieran gestured to the four wolves by his side to take their places. He grabbed the rope with them and waited for the station monitor to blow her whistle.

With ten werewolves pulling on the poor rope from either side he was surprised the damn thing didn’t snap in two. Still, he pulled with all his strength, grinning to see the strain on Niall’s face. There was a reason he was the leader.

Inch by inch they gained ground, pulling Niall and his wolves ever closer to the middle line on the grass.

“A little more,” he called to his team.

He should have been focused on Niall, would have been under any other circumstance, but an awareness brushed against his senses. His eyes shifted from Niall to the woods just as a figure came into view.

The rope dropped from stunned fingers, causing the other nine wolves to stumble off balance to the ground.

“What the hell?” Niall grumbled.

Kieran barely heard him. He only had eyes for the woman walking toward him.

“Christ,” Niall whispered, moving to his side. “Is that who I think it is?”

She looked different and yet achingly the same. Long black hair hung free and unadorned down her back, swinging with each step. Her body was clothed in a simple white dress that brushed her ankles when she moved. It left little to the imagination, clinging to every killer curve he’d once spent a lifetime worshiping.

Leaving Niall behind he moved forward like a possessed man. Nothing mattered beyond getting closer to her.

Silence had fallen in the field. Every eye was on them. He didn’t care.

Her lips curved in a smile that used to light up his world. The crystal clear of her blue eyes met his as she refused to let the dominance of his wolf cow her into submission. She’d always been like that. Beautiful, stubborn, strong.

“Lisette.” The word left him like both a prayer and a curse. How could she be here now? He hadn’t seen her since the day he’d walked out of their home. The memory of her clutching the sweat soaked sheets to her naked body still haunted his dreams.

“Hello, Kieran,” she said, her voice soft and lyrical. “I’ve missed you.”

“H
er name,” Chloe said to the wolf next to her. “What is her name?”

Pitying eyes turned her way. “Lisette,” the man replied.

No.

The woman from the lake stood in the center of the field, staring at Kieran as is transfixed. Neither member of the pair touched but even so, Chloe could physically feel the longing between them. The anger and confusion.

Lisette had told her she’d wanted to get Kieran back. Apparently she was true to her word.