part0010

T he log I stepped on slipped, the sudden movement flinging me forward into a giant puddle. The mud sucked at me. So much for not having to do laundry this weekend.

“Oh, man!” I pushed onto my hands and knees, but my weight sent my arms sinking wrist deep in the muck. The suction pulled at my hands. “What the hell?” With great effort, I got my knees under me and managed to sit up. Heaving backward, I pulled my hands free. Unfortunately, the momentum landed me flat on my back. Great, now I was completely coated in mud. “And I thought this would be better than planning my wedding.”

Guttural laughter sounded behind me. “You’ll never catch me wallowing around in the mud.”

I tipped my head back, which smooshed my hair into the sopping mess. Marvin leaned against the tree, his spectral form translucent and very naked. “Dude, put on some clothes.”

“Clothes are for the living.” He held his arms out to the side. “Nakedness is for the dead.”

“That is not a thing.” Instead of trying to walk and chance sinking into the mud again, I rolled through the puddle until I hit solid ground. I lifted to my hands and knees and crawled out of the murky pool. Mud caked my entire body, and as I sat there, it began to dry into a hard crust. Ignoring the grossness of my situation, I leveled a glare at Marvin. “I’ve reaped lots of dead people who were perfectly happy wearing clothes.”

“But were they mountain lion Shifters? ”

“So, what you’re actually saying is it’s a mountain lion Shifter thing, not a being dead thing.”

“Yes. We’re the kings of the forest. The fastest. The strongest. The most graceful creatures on earth.”

“I’m pretty sure there’s a pack of wolves that would dispute that claim.” I struggled to my feet. “You know, Mac, the big kahuna of all the Shifters.” He shrugged but didn’t contradict me. “Where is your partner in crime? Usually, you two are joined at the hip.”

“Sleeping. I don’t need to sleep. I can run all night and all day.” He crossed his arms. Unfortunately, he crossed them over his chest and not his private parts. “Where’s that nephew of mine? He’s usually with you, sniffing around.”

It was my turn to shrug. “I assume he’s working.”

“You don’t know?”

“Contrary to what you might believe, I don’t have a tracking device on him. He’s free to come and go whenever he wants.”

He harrumphed. “That will change once you’re married and properly mated.”

I refrained from telling him that I’d been properly mated several times in the last twenty-four hours. “Were you ever married?”

“Nope, never found it to be worth much.”

I arched an eyebrow at him. “And you expect me to take advice from you?”

“I said I never got married, I didn’t say I hadn’t found my mated partner.” He lifted from his leaning position and strolled to the edge of the mud puddle. Crouching, he took the position directly opposite me. “Marriage is a human institution. I’m talking about bonding with your destiny, your mate.”

“Geez.” I held my hand up in front of my eyes. “Would you please sit, or cross your legs, or toss some leaves on your lap?”

“Like I said, so human.” Despite the thread of disgust in his voice, he did as I asked and sat. Since he couldn’t get muddy, he extended his legs into the puddle, which once again gave me an unobstructed view of his junk. I had to wonder if he was pushing my buttons because he didn’t think I was right for Jax.

“Considering I’m sitting here talking to you, it should be clear that I’m not completely human.” I kept my gaze riveted on his face, not daring to look any lower than his neck. “But I take it you don’t approve of Jax and I getting married?”

“Approve? No, I don’t approve. I know you Carlyle women. Wolf in sheep’s clothing. Promising one thing, and then snatching it away.”

I blinked a couple of times, trying to figure out what the hell he was talking about. “What the hell are you talking about?”

He reclined backward, which unfortunately brought his privates directly into view. “Your mother.”

I hadn’t been expecting that answer. I sat straighter. “What about my mother?”

“She was my bonded mate,” he spat. “I’d known it since I was a little boy.”

“That’s not possible.” I shook my head. “She was in love with my father.”

“What does love have to do with it?” He sat up again and jabbed his index finger in my direction. “You should’ve been my daughter.”

My face scrunched and disgust. If he’d been my father, then Jax would be my cousin. I knew our family was a little redneck, but not that redneck. My mother had gone against everybody’s wishes and married my father. According to Donna, if mom had truly been bonded to Marvin that wouldn’t have been possible. I knew how I felt about Jax. There was no way I could leave him for another man. I didn’t think that argument would help my position with Marvin though, so I kept it to myself.

“Listen, I’m sorry about my mom, but it’s not like that with Jax. I’m not going anywhere. The rest of the family has accepted it. Maybe you should too and cross over. ”

A wicked grin stretched his mouth. “I’ll tell you what, if you can catch me, I’ll accept that you’re Jax’s true mate.”

“And if I don’t?”

“It looks like my sweet afterlife will be spent running these woods with Merle.” He jumped to his feet. “We’ve got a whole mess of trouble planned.” His grin widened. “Starting with your wedding.”

“What are you going to do if Merle is in jail?” Though far less gracefully than him, I bound to my feet. “He’s the one that will get in trouble. Are you really prepared to chance his freedom?”

“It ain’t no fun without the risk.”

Wanting to appear defeated, I gave a heavy sigh. “All right then.” My shoulders slumped and I turned as if I was about to walk away. A second later, I spun and launched myself across the mud puddle. The tip of my finger brushed his foot, but it wasn’t enough for me to get a solid hold on him. “Dammit!”

Before I could grab at him again, he shifted into his mountain lion form and sprang away from me. His chuffing laughter vibrated from his throat as if to say you’ll have to be quicker than that. Then he shot through the woods, leaving me sprawled half-in-half-out of the mud puddle.

I climbed to my hands and knees and crawled out of the muck. Rubbing my hands against a patch of scrubby grass, I tried to rid them of as much mud as possible. Chasing Marvin now would be useless. He was way too fast for me, which meant I needed the element of surprise. I wasn’t sure how I’d manage that, but I needed to come up with a better plan.

The drive home was frustrating, not only because I hadn’t caught Marvin, but because I was literally up to my ears in mud. It was impossible not to get it everywhere. No doubt it would take a couple of hours to clean the inside of my truck. My irritation grew.

And what was all that crap he spouted about my mom? From what I remembered; she’d never mentioned anything about Marvin Jackson—ever. Could they really have been a mated pair? That was so weird to think about. The fact that Jax and I could’ve been cousins instead of engaged turned my stomach. I’d always harbored a little resentment toward my mom for running off with my dad and leaving me here. Now I was happy she had. I guess I owed her a big thank you. That is if I could locate her.

As things stood now, the chance that I still had an apartment full of women was high. I wasn’t in the mood to make the life-changing decision between Spring Blush or Heaven’s Glee, tulips or roses, or fish over chicken. What I wanted was to curl up in my favorite chair, binge watch TV, and drink.

Much to my immense relief my apartment was empty when I got home. I glanced at the pile of wedding paraphernalia stacked on my table. Several pages had been marked with stickers, and brief notes about which items they thought would be best had been scrawled on a note pad. Still covered in mud, I ignored the piles and headed to my kitchen where I grabbed a trash bag, and then walked to the bathroom. I stepped into the tub, peeled off my clothes, and shove them in the bag, tossing it outside the shower curtain. As I cranked on the tap, cool water poured over me. I sighed as the mud flowed off my body and down the drain.

It took three washes to get my hair clean, but by the time I finished, my locks were squeaky clean and my skin tingled from the vigorous scrubbing I’d given it.

I’d just finished dressing when somebody knocked at my door. “Ugh, what now?” I groaned, stomping across my living room. Hopefully, it wasn’t my aunts wanting to do more wedding preparations. My southern politeness had been depleted for the day and it was barely noon. The knock came again. “Coming!” I yanked open the door and froze. “Mom?”