Eeek!
Did that stray thought really just enter her mind? She shook her head to clear it. But it was difficult with his scent clouding her senses and making her body react in ways she’d never felt.
Her nipples tightened beneath her dress. The flood between her legs made her wish she’d worn panties. Lust was a deep ache inside of her, but that was all it was, she told herself. Sex was sex, and she wanted more than that from a mate.
So much more. Her she-Wolf howled sadly inside of her, a lonely soul calling out into the ether. Mabel Ann damn near gasped when she heard a response. The deep howl of the one the Fates had designated for her sent shivers down her spine as it resonated inside her mind’s eye.
Liam’s arms tightened around her body for a fraction of a second. For the first time, Mabel Ann felt that touch down to her toes. Her heart squeezed in response and her Wolf yipped happily.
In his arms, she did not feel any of that old loneliness. Not at all. Truth was, Mabel Ann felt good and right, safe and protected, and maybe just a little bit wanted too.
“So, I guess your wanting to stay longer had less to do with the election than I suspected, eh, Jersey boy?” Sonny asked.
“Oh! Ha ha ha! Yes, I guess that is my fault. You know, so much to discuss,” she replied, squeezing the arm Liam had wrapped around her when she felt him tense.
Mabel Ann was grateful and all for the way he’d risen to the occasion, but she did not relish this tense little tête-à-tête happening right then. She did not know what the heck had come over him in the last two minutes, but if Liam didn’t stop growling at her Alpha, all hell was gonna break loose.
“I know we live in modern times, but uh, old customs used to dictate all male Wolves present themselves to the Alpha male to ask for a female’s hand before any mating could take place. Did you know that city boy?”
“Excuse me—” she started, but was cut off when Liam stood taller, tucking her into the side of his big body protectively.
“I am grateful my mate has such a wise Alpha as you then, Alpha Garra, for knowing outdated and misogynistic practices are not the way to lead in our modern world,” Liam answered, and fuck, was that hot.
Mabel Ann tucked her hair behind her ear, trying not to get too cozy pressing up against Liam. The two big males were staring at each other, and the others around them had moved closer, interest gleaming in their Wolfish gazes. Liam must have noticed the attention cause he finally relinquished his stare, baring his neck slightly in deference to the Alpha male whose territory he was visiting.
Fuck, the strength and control that must have taken. Mabel Ann was in complete awe of him at that moment. More so than when she’d seen him kick the asses of those five foulmouthed fools who’d been talking badly about her earlier that day.
He hadn’t noticed, but she’d watched the whole damn altercation. She’d never seen anybody move like that. So fast and self-assured. Like an arrow flying through the wind, hitting its target accurately and with force. The squeals and whines of those bullies who’d crumbled beneath his fists were an improvement to their name calling.
Violence was typical for Wolves. They were creatures who thrived on displays of strength and dominance, and sometimes they were challenged to support those claims. Liam McAllister was extremely dominant.
But he was also smart and kind. She was learning new things about him every minute, or so it seemed. Things she found herself liking very much. All her girly pieces seemed in agreement if the deep, throbbing ache between her legs was anything to go by.
“Good to know you agree with my politics. I take it you spoke with Fred?” Sonny asked.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Was he ever going to shut up?
This time it was Liam who squeezed her tightly to him so she wouldn’t storm off and pop Sonny right on the nose. The asshat. Like she needed to ask her daddy’s permission before she found her mate. In all the stupid macho shit she had ever heard, that took the cake.
“Yes, I’ve talked to Fred,” Liam replied.
Startled, Mabel Ann halted the tirade that was about to come flooding out of her mouth. And just like that her pink bits stopped pulsing.
He did what now?
Oh. No. He. Didn’t.
Her eyes narrowed as she gazed up at his perfectly chiseled profile. Godlike hottie or not, she was gonna punch him right in his nut sack in another half a second. Even her fiercely independent Wolf was kinda pissed at his high handed actions.
Grrr.
“Sonny?” Crystal’s voice pierced the growing tension in the room.
Thank fuck, cause Mabel Ann wasn’t sure she could stop herself from telling the Alpha to go find a circle jerk and get the fuck out of her way if he opened his fat mouth again.
“What’s going on?” the Alpha fem asked, her eyes snapping from Mabel Ann’s to Liam’s, then back to her mate’s.
“Hello there darlin’, oh nothing,” he said, eyes wide, feigning innocence.
“It seems Mabel Ann got herself a mate.”
“No, that can’t be. Oh my Lord, you aren’t joking. And you’re him? Mated to her?” she asked, sounding astounded.
“Did you lose a bet, honey?” she drawled, reaching out with her red painted fingers to try and touch Liam.
Knowing she would be unable to stop herself from charging the Alpha bitch if she saw her hands on him, Mabel pushed herself outside of the circle of his arms. She felt his eyes on her, but she was moving too quickly to stop now.
She needed to get outside, to be free of that horrible couple. How could any mates behave that? It was completely beyond her understanding. Wolves who were in committed matings, especially those who were fated, did not go around touching other people. It just didn’t happen.
Sonny was the Alpha, so how the fuck did he let his wife go around acting that way? Maybe the rumors were true about them and their orgies. She shuddered as she began to run. Mabel Ann might be a curvy girl, but she was still a she-Wolf. She could run and jump with the best of them.
Why the heck did she even come here tonight? She wondered angrily as she picked up the pace. The shortcut through the woods would head back to her father’s house. She could stay in and read a book and let this High Alpha crap play out.
She was almost all the way there when the crunch of paws snapping twigs, leaves, and pine needles had her freezing in her steps.
Turning around, she saw him. There was no mistaking the breathtaking white Wolf for anyone but him. Even in his fur, Liam was the best damn looking thing she’d ever seen. She realized her mistake in stopping against a pile of boulders when he pressed in on her.
The snow white beast stalked her until her butt bumped against the rocky formation. Mabel Ann narrowed her eyes, pushing his big head away when it got a little too close to her privates.
“Excuse me, a little distance please,” she snapped.
The Wolf did back up a step, his blue-green gaze boring into her. Mabel Ann swallowed hard. He was potent even in this form, and her foolish romantic heart didn’t stand a chance.
She’d had only a taste of heartache in her life, and it had been enough to sour her on the entire mating thing that was supposed to happen between Shifters. But this was different. The pull she felt was partly physical, partly hormonal, and partly magic. She had to admit, that wasn’t all that bad a beginning.
But what if the Fates didn’t know what they were doing?
Should she risk her heart with a man she hardly knew? Furthermore, there was the whole incident when they first met. She could see it in his eyes, she wasn’t his type.
You’re my mate, pupcake.
The words appeared in her head, and she blinked hard, stunned that he could communicate like this.
I’ve been waiting for you all my life. I won’t push and I won’t force, but I am not going away either. What do you say? Are you brave enough to take me on?
“I’ve never been called a coward in my whole life,” she replied, eyes snapping.
Oh, he was good. And he knew just how to rile her, too. The arrogant bastard had spoken to her father already, but it was Mabel Ann who’d just announced to the Alpha, his mate, and the Pack that Liam McAllister was her mate.
I see your wheels turning, pupcake, but don’t think so hard about it. Let’s just have a little fun.
“That nickname is ridiculous.”
It’s sweet, just like you. But we can discuss that later. Come running with me.
“Now? But they’re still having dinner—”
I don’t care what the others are doing. I just wanna run with you.
Mabel Ann always was a sucker for a good declaration. It was always her favorite part of the romance novels she devoured on the daily. Nodding, she lifted the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head. It was why she kept wearing these things, easy to take on and off during Pack runs. Mabel Ann had a dozen of them in her closet in different colors and with hand embroidered flowers on them.
Liam’s Wolf growled a bit, his eyes never leaving hers despite her being completely nude, and she had to hand it to him, he was trying to be honorable. Nudity to Shifters was like breathing to most people, but Mabel Ann had always been a bit sensitive.
She didn’t look like the other she-Wolves, and it was never a problem until Sonny brought Crystal to the Pack. That she-bitch loved reminding her of her differences. Mabel Ann pushed the Alpha fem’s cruelty out of her head and concentrated on calling her Wolf.
A familiar rush of magic flowed over her skin, making it warm and itch. Her Change was painful but faster than most in the Zapata Pack. Nowhere near as graceful and instantaneous as his, and she hesitated midway through. Bones cracked, muscles tore, and tendons worked to re-knit themselves, but it burned, and it hurt, and she was frustrated.
Easy now, love, just let it happen. Trust your Wolf. She knows what to do. Let her in, let her take control during the Change.
“Hurts,” she mumbled, halfway through her transformation.
Come on, pupcake. You’re stronger than that. Let go and trust her. She is you.
When his words broke through the haze of pain, Mabel Ann realized Liam was right. She was her Wolf, and her Wolf was her. So why the hell was she fighting so hard?
Once she made up her mind to trust the animal within her, the pain went away as her she-Wolf rushed forward. Taking charge of her Change, the way she was always meant to, and within a blink of an eye it was done.
Looked like there was no turning back now.