Claiming Shayla (16 page)

She chopped up a few more noodles as she answered. “Because I’ll be meeting them—” She broke off as she remembered Rory said he was calling the pack together but didn’t say when. “When exactly are we having this little shindig?”

“Tomorrow night.”

“
Tomorrow
?” Her eating utensil clattered onto the table. “Why so soon?”

“This is a small town, a small pack. Word travels quickly. I wanted to have you to myself for a few days before having to share you with the others. That won’t be possible now that members of the pack know about you. Better to take control and make an official announcement.”

Shay rubbed wearily at her forehead. “All the more reason for you to give me an idea what to expect.”

Rory nudged her fork closer and motioned for her to continue eating. He waited until she’d eaten another mouthful to respond. “Wouldn’t you like to form your own opinions of them?”

Shay held up a finger until she’d swallowed. “I will, but forewarned is forearmed.”

“Makes sense. Something I’d do myself.” He rose, went to the refrigerator, and pulled out a gallon of milk.

“If that’s for me, I’m not drinking milk with tomato sauce.”

Rory ducked inside and came out with a bottle of apple juice instead.

“Don’t you have any punch, lemonade, soda? Anything with sugar?” she demanded.

“This is better for you.” He poured her a glass of the juice, grabbed a bottled water for himself, and returned to the table. “Where do you want to start?”

She motioned with the fork. “Who takes over if you’re”—she searched for and discarded several words before settling on—“incapacitated?”

He arched a brow. “It’s not that simple. There’d be fights to see who’d take control of the pack if I’m no longer able to lead.”

Shay thought for a moment. “Your second—what’s his name?—he wouldn’t automatically step into the gap?”

“Caleb Jones,” he supplied.

“The dude with the dreads?”

He nodded. “In the short term, as second he could act on my behalf.”

“And who’s his backup?”

Rory frowned. “MacDougal, my third.”

He didn’t seem to like this MacDougal guy too much. The tone he used when he said Caleb’s and MacDougal’s names was totally different. “Ranks are based on strength, right?”

“Yes.”

“So who’s after this Mac guy?’”

“If we’re speaking pecking order based solely on strength, next would be Wesley. He’s one of the council. A strong beta, but brash and impulsive. His wolf is powerful but unseasoned in combat.”

“Is he one of the shifters you fought when you assumed leadership?”

Something flashed on his face. “No.”

Hmm, something there. Something Rory didn’t want to talk about. “You said there were five contenders,” she probed. “If Wesley wasn’t one of them, then who?”

Rory looked over her shoulder. “MacDougal.” The response was clipped.

When he fell silent, Shay pushed a little harder, aware she was treading on dangerous ground. “Caleb too?”

He shook his head. “No. He’s never wanted to be alpha.”

It was obvious he didn’t want to talk about it. Should she let it go? Shay wanted to. She could literally feel his agitation, his internal distress. But what if one of these guys hadn’t let go of the desire to be alpha? What if they were going about it in a subtler, more treacherous way? She couldn’t take that chance.

“And the others?”

“Dead,” he stated flatly.

Shay felt her eyes bulge, and her mouth dropped open. “You killed…?”

Rory lifted his head, and she trailed off. His eyes were pure gold. But what got her was the pain in them. “Aye. I killed five men that night. Four of whom their only crime was wanting to improve their status within the pack. My first official act as alpha was to ban dominance fights to the death.”

“Shannon said your father forced you to kill him,” she stated slowly.

“He set the terms of the battle, yes. To the death. No surrender.”

Shay placed her hand on top of his fisted one where it rested on the table. “I’m sure, if there’d been any other way, you would have taken it.”

Rory gazed at his hands, flexed them a few times before holding them up. “There’s blood on these.”

“Did they give you a choice?” she asked quietly. “Any of them?”

He swallowed hard, then placed his hands under the table, out of view. “No.” When he looked at her again, his eyes were bleak. “My mother called me a murderer. Screamed it at me.”

Shay felt such rage it was a good thing the woman was already dead. Shay would have killed her otherwise. “She was wrong,” she bit out. She wanted to curse, but more importantly, Shay wanted to soothe her hurting mate.

“I could have walked away.”

“Could you, really? And leave the pack you grew up expecting to lead to someone else? And Shannon—don’t alphas typically mate the strongest female? Could you have left your sister unprotected?” Shay knew the answer. Rory knew, but he hadn’t accepted it yet.

“No.” It came out strangled.

“Then you had no choice. Are you going to eat that?”

Rory frowned at his half-full plate. “I’m no longer hungry.”

Shay rose and gathered both their plates. “Where’s the foil?”

He grabbed her wrist and held it so that her plate lowered to the table. “You need to eat to keep up your strength.”

“I’ve had enough. I ate more than you.” She tugged free and placed the leftovers on the countertop, then hunted in the pantry until she found what she was looking for. After putting the food away, she took a dish towel, moistened it, and wiped down the stove and table.

“You don’t have to clean after me.” Rory rose to help.

“And you don’t have to slave for me. I’ll do my share.” She took one last glance at the room to make sure everything was in place. As she tossed the dish towel into the sink, she told him, “Let’s go take a shower and snuggle. It’s been a long day.”

Chapter Nine

Shay’s dreams were filled with dark and disturbing, yet strangely erotic images. She woke with a gasp on her lips and a fire between her legs. In the way of dreams, all faded but one startlingly vivid picture of Shay on her hands and knees while a half-shifted, furry Rory claimed her from behind as the faceless members of their pack watched angrily. Shay found herself rubbing enticingly against Rory’s morning erection, strategically positioned between the crease of her buttocks.

“Does my hellcat want her kitty stroked?” Rory asked in a low, rumbling murmur. The heat of his breath on her earlobe sent a shiver racing through her.

“Your mate wants your cock in her pussy,” she half pleaded, half demanded, arching her hips to get that hard, thick part of him where it would do the most good.

Rory trailed his hand down her stomach to lazily stroke her clit. “And does my mate want it hard and fast, or long and deep?”

“Decisions, decisions, decisions,” she gasped out. “Why can’t I have both?” Shay rocked forward and backward, unable to determine which she wanted more, the finger shooting sparks through her or the head of Rory’s penis teasing her opening.

“Greedy this morning, aren’t you?” he asked with a husky chuckle.

“Very.” She reached an arm behind her and caught a handful of his hair, adding a small tug for emphasis as she ordered, “Now give me what I
need
!”

“Your wish is my command.”

“Can I get
that
in writing?”

“After I’m dead and gone,” he promised as he lifted her leg and curved closer, sinking his shaft deep. They both moaned at the contact.

“Deep enough?”

“Let me see.” Shay swallowed. “I don’t taste you at the back of my throat, so no.”

“Darling, if you want a taste of my cock, I’m in the wrong end.” He nibbled on her neck and pinched a nipple, but otherwise didn’t move.

Shay canted her hips and pushed back. “Don’t toy with me, wolf boy. Give it to me.”

“Like this?” Rory braced a hand on the mattress, lifted his hips, and thrust deep.

Matching his movements, Shay nearly hummed in pleasure. Instead she taunted, “If this is the best you can do, I guess it will have to suffice.”

“Feeling sassy, huh? Brace yourself.” He shifted them until Shay was on her belly, shoulders pressed to the mattress, ass in the air. Shay felt his fingers part her sex where they’d been joined, widening her opening for his possession.

She pressed her forearms down and dug her fingers in, readying herself for the pounding to come, only to almost leap out of her skin when she felt the broad swipe of Rory’s tongue. “Ahhh! Rory, what are you doing?”

“Eating breakfast. Now be quiet!”

He took his time, capturing every drop of cream her body produced. Incoherent, Shay wondered if this qualified as the long or the deep, as the tongue he used couldn’t possibly be human and reach the depths of her core as it did.

Just when she was ready to come out of her mind, he stopped. Shay emitted a small scream of protest. He growled in response, his breath hot on her pussy. One last swipe of the tongue curling around her clit set her off. Shay bucked in his hands, her squeal muffled by the bed.

Rory rose over her, and Shay felt the bulbous head of his erection nudge her nether lips. As he tightened his grip on her hips, the pinprick of his claws nipped her skin. His muscles tensed, and the phone rang.

“Answer and die!”

He slid in an inch. Shay tried pushing back to take more, but Rory held her still. The phone rang again.

“You wanted long,” he reminded in a gravelly voice.

Another ring.

“I wanted hard and deep too. We did the long. Give me the rest.”

The answering machine clicked on, loudly in the room. “
Rory, I know you said not to bother you, but we have a situation at the McCormick site. You better get down here quick. The city inspector’s here, and it’s not looking good
.”

Rory’s body tensed. Then he lunged for the phone, cursing. A rapid-fire conversation followed, and minutes later he was dressed and striding out the bedroom door, casting one longing look at her still-naked form.

Shay sighed. So much for morning nooky. Next time she’d pick option A instead of being greedy and wanting it all. She roused her still-quivering flesh and trudged into the bathroom to shower. Then she cooked and ate a full breakfast, heavy on the protein. Rory still hadn’t returned by the time she cleaned the kitchen, so she took advantage of the opportunity to give Shannon a call.

Shannon’s cell phone rang a number of times before her groggy voice answered. “Shay?”

“Keeping vampire hours now?”

“Vampires aren’t the only nocturnal being. Wolves are too.” She yawned. “How are things with my brother?”

“Fine. He gets a little stubborn sometimes. Nothing a good two-by-four upside the head won’t cure.”

Shannon chuckled. “I’ll remember that the next time we get into it.” She could hear Shannon moving around, the whisper of bedcovers. “Seriously, Shay, is everything okay between you?”

“He said he loves me,” Shay heard herself admit. And this, she realized, was the real reason she’d called.

“You don’t believe him?”

“Yes, no…maybe. I think he believes it.”

“But you don’t.”

Shay sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know what to think. Part of me thinks, if he really loved me, he wouldn’t have tried to get rid of me. But another part of me knows that was simply Rory being stupid and in a strange way, it is actually proof that he does.”

“Did he ever say what that was about?”

Face flaming, Shay explained how Rory had claimed her in front of his men.

“Oh man. No wonder he went off the deep end,” Shannon murmured.

“I’m the one that was embarrassed,” Shay muttered.

“No, Shay. I’m not making light of what you may have felt. It’s just that, well, my mother was a very beautiful woman. Even as she grew older, men would make plays for her. My father’s answer was to publicly claim her, every time. When I was younger, it would horrify me. As I got older, I realized she provoked him. Rory swore never to be like our father, in any way. Now do you understand?”

“Yes.” The idiot. “No offense, Shannon, but the more I hear about your father, the less I like him.”

“Try having to live with him. You know, Shay, I used to blame my father for a lot of things. It’s only since I’ve been with Nikolai that I realize how much of a role my mother played in my father’s behavior. Their relationship was really sick and sometimes twisted. It left scars on us. Be patient with Rory.”

There was a small pause as Shay let that sink in. Then, unable to hold it in anymore, she hesitantly asked, “Shannon, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“You told me about you and Nikolai, how you came together. What convinced you his love was real?”

“Boy, you don’t ask easy questions.” She was quiet for a bit. “I think the first thing to catch my attention was that Nikolai wanted me, in spite of my wolf, not because of it. And he stopped having sex with me,” she added with a laugh.

“What!”

“After my heat had passed, he stopped. Oh, we kissed and touched, but he refused to mate with me. Nikolai
romanced
me instead. Said he didn’t want sex clouding my mind. That he wanted me to come to him out of love, not lust.”

“Rory’s introducing me to the pack tonight,” Shay blurted.

Shannon, well used to Shay’s manner of conversational ball play, bounced right along with the change of topic without a quibble. “He called a howl? You want me to come?”

Shay thought for a moment. “While I’d welcome the support, I think you being here would send the wrong message. I need to handle this on my own. I just wish I was more confident in my relationship with Rory.”

“If you change your mind, let me know, and Shay, the rest will come. Give it time.”

Time was the one thing Shay didn’t have.

“Since you don’t want me there, tell me how I can help,” Shannon said.

“I need information. I asked Rory what to expect, but he’s a man. They don’t see things like women. Give me a handle on what to expect and who to watch out for.”

They spoke for another half hour to forty-five minutes before Shayla was content that she had the knowledge she needed to handle the coming night. Once she hung up, she realized Rory had been gone now for three hours. Rather than sit in the house and twiddle her thumbs, Shay decided to go outside and explore the grounds.

She tucked her cell phone in her shorts pocket and made sure both the front and rear doors were unlocked before venturing out. Stepping off the front porch, Shay walked into the yard before turning to study the structure. The house appeared to be a ramshackle hodgepodge of additions that had been added to the main one-room log cabin and modernized. Between the basement, the main and upper levels, the building could comfortably house twenty. The kitchen and main rooms were huge. Shay knew that upstairs were seven comfortable bedrooms and four bathrooms.

Shay glanced over the yard. The front lawn was manicured, containing trees and rocks and a bubbling brook running on one side of the property. A few feet in any direction and the land sloped up, fading into trees. She walked down the drive to the one-lane road and glanced in either direction. Though she could see no houses, she noted a few driveways branching off, indicating the presence of neighbors.

Turning, Shay took one of the paths leading around to the rear of the house. At first glance the backyard appeared to be more rugged, less cultured and slightly overgrown, but someone had installed a freestanding wooden swing in the midst of it. Shay sat and set it in motion.

In the calm quiet, Shay reflected. What direction did she need to take next? Her family wasn’t particularly religious, but Auntie Miri had been, or at least she’d become that way after her husband died. She’d dragged Kiesha and Shay with her to a little Baptist church. Shay hadn’t really minded going but had felt obligated to complain because Kiesha had.

One sermon in particular had stuck with her through all these years, the one on reaping and sowing. The minister had taught it in such a way that even as a child she’d understood the concept. Everyone reaps what they sow so be careful how you treat people, because what you do to others comes back to you threefold.

Based on what the minister had taught, Shay had a decision to make. She could continue to sow mistrust, disbelief, and fear into her relationship with Rory and receive a crop full of the same. Or she could believe in him, in his love for her, and the mate bond forming between them. An intelligent woman, something she prided herself as being, would do the latter.

Shay rocked in the dappled sunlight, face lifted into the breeze, and allowed the rest of her doubts and concerns to drift away.