Beta's Mate (Siberian Volkov Pack Romance Series Book 8) (9 page)

“Why don’t Brenda and I stroll down there? We’ll take a look and I can relay what I see to Jared,” Granger suggested.

“I thought you didn’t want me in the middle of all this,” Brenda said.

Granger leaned down and kissed her on the nose. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” Granger said with a smirk.

“No one will suspect a young couple walking on the docks,” Parker said, smiling at them.

“We’ll follow behind at a slower pace. If something happens we won’t be far,” Jared said.

A zing of excitement ran through Brenda. She knew how to do this. She wrapped her arm around Granger’s waist and sauntered down to the dock. Once on the pier, she flitted from yacht to yacht, pointing and exclaiming over the colors or size.

“What are you doing?”
Granger asked, telepathically.

“Making it look good. Come on, go along with it,”
Brenda replied.

Granger smiled indulgently. Brenda continued with her act. She’d show the men how to infiltrate the enemy camp. As they neared slip 104, Brenda spied one man on the deck of
Ouelette’s yacht. She waved and hurried up to the side of the yacht, climbing up the ladder before the man could stop her.

“Hi, I’m Brenda. I love big boats and yours is one of the biggest I’ve seen.”

“Look, lady…” the man started, before he turned to look at Granger who hurried to the side of the boat.

“Brenda, come down from there. Stop bothering that man,” Granger called from the dock.

Brenda waited for the man to turn away and she gave him a karate chop to the neck. The man went down without a sound.

“
Merde
! Brenda, what are you doing?” Granger asked, climbing up the ladder.

“Taking care of business, handsome. Come on, I don’t smell anyone else around. We need to check out the rest of the yacht.”

“Brenda, this man has a gun. You could have been hurt.” Granger threw the gun he pulled from the unconscious man over the side causing a splash.

“He helped kidnap two women, I hope he has a gun. Hmm, someone likes Chanel perfume,” Brenda said, testing the air, her nostrils flaring. “And I’m betting it isn’t him. Let’s check below deck.” Brenda hurried down the stairs and into a sitting room. “Wow, nice place. Looks like
Ouelette has money.”

“Brenda slow down, someone else might be down there,” Granger said, from the top of the stairs.

“Nope, I don’t hear anyone or smell anyone else. Oh, look a hatch and a ladder leading down into the dark. If my nose isn’t wrong, the women are down here.” Brenda headed down the ladder, ignoring the swearing from Granger.

Brenda blinked as her eyes adjusted to the near darkness. She took inventory of the space, including the small hatch door near the floor. She kneeled and observed the bolts holding the door closed. She looked closely and noticed the hinges on the one side. Grabbing the side of the metal door she pulled with all her might. The bolts gave way a little. She tried again. Metal screeched. She wiggled her fingers under the casing around the door.

“Here, let me,” Granger said, coming up behind her. “Stand back.”

Brenda moved out of the way. He pulled. Brenda licked her lips thinking about her tongue tracing the muscles in his arms. Then the door broke free.

§

A disheveled Margot climbed through the hatch. “Granger, help me. Mom is still groggy from whatever they slipped in her food.”

Granger climbed through the entry and helped Parker’s mate out of the small compartment. “Thank goodness you found us,” Lizette said.

“Granger, what the hell, man? You were supposed to scope things out, not rescue the maidens in distress,” Mathis said, from the top of the ladder.

“Hey, it wasn’t me. Brenda went all commando. She took the guy out before I knew what she was doing,” Granger said, leading Parker’s mate to the ladder.

“Well, whoever it was, thank you,” Lizette said.

Granger handed her into Mathis’s arms. He turned back to find Margot looking Brenda up and down. Granger went over and put his arm around Brenda’s waist, suddenly protective. Margot wasn’t known for being the nicest. “Margot, meet my mate, Brenda. Your savior today.”

“Hmm,” Margot said, before turning and climbing the ladder into Mathis’s waiting arms.

“I don’t think she likes me,” Brenda said, turning into Granger’s embrace.

“I don’t care if she does or not, you’re mine and I’m keeping you. Now let’s get out of here, before someone starts asking questions.”

Brenda turned to the ladder and climbed up to the sitting room. Granger admired the view before following.

“Aren’t we calling the police?” Brenda asked, waiting for him.

“No, they might get an anonymous tip later. We can’t take a chance of drawing attention to the pack. Come on, sweetheart.” Granger took her hand and led her upstairs to the deck.

Jared stood on the dock next to the embracing couple of Parker and his mate. Margot stood next to Mathis, wringing her hands.

“I don’t understand. You’re letting them get away with kidnapping?” Brenda exclaimed.

“We have to walk a fine line here, Brenda,” Mathis said. “We can’t let the humans find out we’re not like them. Throw that into the water, Granger.”

“The door to the compartment?” Brenda asked, confused.

“No human could pull that door from its hinges. We’re getting rid of evidence,” Granger said, throwing the piece of metal into the water.

“Come on, you two. Let’s go,” Jared said, waiting on the pier.

Mathis led Parker and his family off the dock. Brenda waited for Granger to join her before following Jared. He entwined his fingers with hers. “Sometimes, you scare me to death with your bravery and determination. I hate the way you put yourself in danger.”

“There wasn’t that much danger, Granger. Besides, I took care of it.” Brenda said, annoyed with his concern.

“This time, you did. Promise me, there won’t be a next time.” Granger brought their hands up and kissed hers.

“You’re so silly, Granger.” Brenda smiled up at him.

“
Je t’aime
, Brenda.”

“I know. Now let’s hurry. Jared is waiting for us.”

“Ouelette won’t let this stand. He’ll come after Margot again. He’s obsessed with her,” Granger said.

Brenda leaned against the wall inside Jared’s office in the Alpha’s lodge, listening to the men argue about how to proceed. Jared had asked Margot’s father to take his family and go to Paris for an impromptu vacation. Parker refused, wanting to stay and fight.

“Let him come. He touches my family again I’ll tear him apart. I’m not above fighting dirty. Already, my people are looking at ruining him financially,” Parker Martin said.

“We’ll have to stay vigilant. All of you need to be guarded,” Mathis said.

Brenda shook her head and eased out of the room. From what she’d seen of Margot, keeping that woman contained was a full time job. Brenda headed into the kitchen for a drink. Margot and her mother were talking quietly at the table. Margot looked up quickly and wiped the tears from her face.

“What do you want?” Margot asked.

“I’m sorry, I wanted something to drink. I can come back later.” Brenda started to back out of the room.

“That won’t be necessary,” Lizette quickly reassured her. “Come in. You’re Brenda, right? Granger’s mate? I’ve heard you are Asena’s new handmaiden.”

“Wow, news travels fast. How did you find out? You’ve been held captive overnight.”

“Mathis told us. He was very impressed with how you took out the guard on the boat. Mathis wished to ask you to join our security detail. But being Asena’s handmaiden means you are above all others.”

“Why would Asena want a killer for a handmaiden?” Margot asked.

“What? I didn’t kill the guard, I knocked him out,” Brenda said. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen the guard’s body when she left the boat. “What happened to him?”

Margot shrugged. “Maybe Mathis killed him then.”

“The guard was killed? I know he was a criminal, but he should have been tried and put in jail.” Brenda began to pace back and forth.

“Calm down, dear,” Lizette said. “As a race, we have to be very careful. The man was a criminal and got what he deserved. We can’t always follow the laws of the humans.”

Brenda paused. “If you ladies will excuse me, I need to think about this.”

Brenda marched down the hall and walked into Jared’s office. “Did you kill him?” She asked, looking at the four men. “The guard on the boat?”

“Brenda, honey, calm down,” Granger said, coming up and trying to put his arms around her.

“Don’t placate me. Answer my question. Did you kill him?” Brenda asked, poking Granger in the chest with each word.

“Yes, Miss Ross. I killed him.” Mathis said from where he stood next to Jared’s desk, his arms folded over his chest.

“But why? Why didn’t you tie him up or something?” Brenda asked, walking up to Mathis.

“I don’t normally explain myself, but I will this one time, because you are Asena’s handmaiden. I killed him because he knew too much, had seen too much, and was a killer by nature. He was the enemy, Miss Ross. Surely, as someone trained in Special Forces, you understand that.”

Brenda bit her bottom lip. She did understand, on one level. Granger put his hands on her shoulders and she leaned against him accepting his silent support.

“You are too much of a protector and healer, Miss Ross.” Mathis dropped his arms and stepped forward. His eyes looked into hers and she shuddered. “It isn’t in your nature to kill. That’s why Asena picked you to be her handmaiden.

“Asena also made lycans who kill, and will, if the situation arises. She had too, to protect her people. I only kill if the person is evil, Miss Ross. I touched that man’s mind. He was wholly evil. His thoughts and intentions were evil. He had seen you and the other women. I couldn’t leave the threat he posed viable. I took action to protect my pack and the people I am sworn to defend. Think badly of me if you must. I wouldn’t change my actions.”

Brenda nodded. Mathis scared her to death. The fact he counted her as someone to be safeguarded wasn’t lost on her. Is this what she would have become if she had stayed on her
chosen path and joined the Special Forces instead of being diagnosed with stage four cancer? A killer without remorse?

“Don’t judge him too harshly, Brenda. Mathis regret’s every kill he makes,”
Granger sent telepathically into her thoughts.

“Thank you for explaining, Mathis.” Brenda turned to look at the man behind her. “Granger, I’d like to go home now.”

“Of course. Jared I’m taking one of the Jeeps.”

Brenda saw the way the men looked at each other. They probably thought she couldn’t handle what had been done, but that wasn’t it, exactly. She needed some time to think, that’s all. Some time in her own bed, well okay,
Granger’s bed.

§

Granger climbed into the Jeep and headed up the mountain. He searched Brenda’s mind telepathically. It wasn’t blame she felt, as much as sadness and guilt. She was glad the women were safe, but sorry she had started the whole thing by knocking the guard out.

Granger drove up in front of the house. Brenda climbed out, and waited for him on the porch. Granger pulled out his key and opened the large wooden door. A line of clothes on the floor led away from the door to the stairs. Brenda hurried to snatch them up.

“Sorry about that. I was kind of in a rush when I left.” She stopped halfway up the stairs and looked down at him. “I can’t believe you designed and built this house, Granger. If someone had asked me what my dream house would be, this would be it.”

Granger knew how much it took for Brenda to admit something like that. “I built it for my mate and future family.” Granger walked up to the base of the steps. “That’s you, honey.”

Brenda smiled and hurried to the top of the stairs. “I’m going to take a shower. Give me a few minutes to feel clean and then come join me, if you want.”

Granger’s body immediately responded to her invitation. “Oh, I want,” Granger growled.

Brenda fled down the hall to the master bedroom. Granger took his time, knowing Brenda needed a few minutes alone. He didn’t want her to worry about the guard being killed. Granger should have made the kill, and would have, if Mathis hadn’t reassured him that he would take care of it, and to go after Brenda. It was hard to explain what lycans did to survive. Brenda was a strong woman, being in the military she understood that lives were taken and lost. In order for lycans to survive next to their human neighbors, their secret needed to remain hidden. Someone striking against them, and especially their women, was swiftly dealt with. Ouelette and his group would be stopped, one way or the other.

Granger shrugged
off his jacket and laid it on the chair inside the master bedroom. The shower was already on and steam filled the air through the open door to the bathroom. Granger shucked his pants and underwear, his member springing free. Just the thought of Brenda, her body slick with water, was enough to have him wanting her.

He walked into the bathroom and the cloud of steam. Granger opened the shower door and frowned when he saw Brenda, her head down against the wall. She looked so fragile, his mate. He knew she was a strong woman, but he couldn’t help his need to protect her.

Granger slipped inside. The warm water flowed over him as he grabbed the soap and rubbed it between his hands. The soap smelled like peaches. Granger smiled, thinking of the scent on his mate. Brenda stiffened, but didn’t turn when he massaged the soap over her back.

Her skin felt silky soft under the pads of his fingers. Granger wanted to touch her all over. As his hands slid to her stomach and continued to soap her body, Granger rubbed his front against her back. Letting the soap lubricate their skin as he moved back and forth. Brenda couldn’t miss how much he wanted her as she pressed against him.

§

Brenda leaned into Granger’s embrace. She touched his mind through the mating bond feeling his desire, and more, his compassionate need to please and comfort her. The warm water sluiced down her front as Granger’s soapy hands traveled over her breasts and stomach, and then lower to her core. She shivered in delight at the feeling of his body rubbing against her back. The way his slick skin caressed every part of her. He fingered her folds before slipping a finger into her moist heat. Her thighs clenched as she moaned.

Granger drove her crazy, which is exactly what she needed right now. She didn’t want to think of what happened to the guard on the boat, or the implications of the lycans taking the law into their own hands.

Granger pulled his finger from her core and she turned to face him, letting the water wash the soap from his chest and her back. His arms tightened around her waist. She licked at the water drops as they rolled down his skin and mixed with the hair on his chest. When she got to a nipple, she licked and sucked it into her mouth. Next she moved to the other side, and lapped at the nipple before biting gently on the nubbin. Granger growled low and grabbed her hair in his fists as his thoughts thrust into hers through the mating bond.

“You drive me crazy
, mon amour
. Come here,” Granger said, lifting her.

Brenda put her arms around him and buried her face in his neck. She wrapped her legs around his hips and held tightly. Granger lowered her slowly until his member nudged at the entrance to her core. Brenda gasped and trembled. She wanted him to fill her. Goose pimples broke out on her skin. Desire slammed into her and she fed it into the mating bond.

Granger shifted his hips while pushing her down and sank deep into her core. She tightened her inner muscles, trying to hold him to her. He moaned and shuddered. Turning to the side, he pressed her back against the glass shower enclosure before he began to thrust. Harder and deeper, he filled her.

Fire licked at Brenda’s insides. She threaded her fingers through Granger’s blond hair and took his mouth, demanding he kiss her, give her his very breath. Desire flowed into the mating bond, increasing her sensitivity to every caress. Granger responded with a flood of his own feelings. The bond grew until it encompassed them. They became one being, with one body. Their desires mixed, the need to please and possess filled them. Granger continued to thrust. Brenda met each one, tightening her core, never wanting to let go.

Brenda broke their kiss and leaned down to sink her teeth into Granger’s flesh. Granger shouted. His orgasm exploded outward, taking Brenda with him into heaven. Her mind filled with his pleasure and hers. She thought she actually saw stars behind her closed eyelids.

She licked at the new bite on Granger’s shoulder and then let the lethargy take her. Thank goodness, Granger had her pressed against the glass, or she might have sunk into a puddle on the shower floor. Granger’s chest heaved with each breath he took. He lowered his head over hers, kissing and licking at her ear.

“Je t’aime
, Brenda.”

Unable to say the words Granger wanted to hear, Brenda tightened her grip around him, holding him close to her heart.

§

The next morning, Granger woke to an empty bed. He sat up quickly, looking around. Sounds of pans rattling told him Brenda was in the kitchen. He grabbed a robe and wandered down the hall to see her chopping a red pepper.

“What are you doing?” Granger asked, leaning against the door frame.

“I’m starting dinner in the crock pot, then I’m going to make eggs for breakfast.”

“Do you have to do that now? Come back to bed.”

“I have to work today, Granger. You can go back to bed if you want.”

“But, I thought we might spend the day together. Talk about our future and getting married.” Granger walked up next to Brenda at the counter. He lowered his head to her neck, to catch her scent. Desire filled him as quickly as her essence.

“Don’t push it, Granger. You just moved in, yesterday,” Brenda said, turning and waving the knife at him.

Granger took the knife from her hand and laid it on the counter. “Honey, in the eyes of the pack, we are already married. Lycans mate for life, you know that.” His mate was so stubborn. She wouldn’t even admit she loved him. But he felt it through the mating bond.

“Yes, well, I’m not ready to discuss it. I have to finish getting ready for work.” Brenda picked up the knife and went back to her chopping.

“I have more money than I can spend as it is, and as my mate, you are given half. There is no reason to go to work,” Granger said, his tone puzzled.

“I’m not taking your money, and I will work if I want too,” Brenda said, once more waving the knife at him.

Granger held his hands up in surrender. He didn’t understand why it was so important to Brenda, but he could tell it was. “Okay, whatever you want is fine with me. I want you to be happy.”

“Yeah, go set the table and let me cook. That would make me happy.” Brenda continued with her chopping, grumbling under her breath about men underfoot in the kitchen.

Granger smiled and set the table for breakfast, including pouring orange juice into glasses for them.

It wasn’t long after they finished eating that Brenda’s ride pulled into the driveway. Granger escorted her to the door and kissed her goodbye. Her eyes lost focus as she responded to his kiss and his heart warmed. He waved at
Remi and Luc, as Brenda climbed into the backseat of the Jeep and headed off to the resort.