Claiming Their Mate (4 page)

“I’m his mate,” Madison said firmly, thinking she needed to establish her position with the woman.

“What a sad excuse for a mate. It must make him sick to watch all that fat jiggling around when he takes you.”

Madison gasped, allowing a bit of doubt to creep in at the cruel words before pushing it aside. One thing she had never been from the moment she met Jared was self-conscious or worried about her body in any way. For the first time in her life she felt beautiful and sexy because he was so very obvious in his desire for her, for Madison Anders.

She might have some doubts about their relationship and the whole idea of being a mate to an alpha wolf, but Madison had no doubts in the area of their sex life. No man could take a woman again and again with such a storm of passion it overwhelmed them both and not want her with every fiber of his being.

Then just as quickly another thought occurred to her; what if Jared was a chubby chaser? What if the sex wasn’t really special to him? What if any fat girl would do?

Madison smiled at the girl watching her with such malicious intent. There was no way she was going to show any doubt to Selena. “Jared wants me and enjoys everything about my body, jiggles and all. In fact if he takes me again today I might collapse from exhaustion.”

Selena growled in response to the boast; the unmistakable scent of sex on the woman gave truth to her claims. The alpha had taken her very recently. Then she smiled maliciously. “You think he would choose you if he wasn’t trapped by the mating heat? Your pheromones would call to him if you weighed 800 pounds and had a full beard. It’s not you, its pheromones.”

Madison gasped. “No! Jared wants me!” she said firmly, unsure if she was trying to convince the other woman or herself.

“Keep telling yourself that, but deep down I think you know the odds of a man like Jared picking a little fat nobody like you unless he had no choice.”

“Please leave my room. Nothing you can say will change the fact that I’m Jared’s mate,” Madison insisted, pretending the girl’s words had no effect on her.

“You’ll ruin his standing in the pack! He will lose everything if he takes you for a mate!”

Madison watched as the girl turned to run from the room, wiping tears from her eyes as she left. The thought of Jared losing his position because of her didn’t sit well at all, and what if he really was trapped by the mating heat and didn’t really want her beyond the hormonal pull?

She needed to think about this newest turn of events. Madison decided to go for a walk around the vast estate. Walking had always been a way for her to clear her mind and focus when dealing with a problem.

Dressing quickly in a pair of capri jeans and a lightweight t-shirt, Madison pulled on deck shoes and headed out the door. The layout of the large house was thankfully simple and it was easy to find her way down the stairs to the front door.

She took a deep breath as she stepped off the wide porch and into the grass. Madison realized she’d slept longer than she’d thought; it was twilight.

Looking to the right she spotted a trail of sorts leading into the tress and fireflies lit the way down the well-used path. It was a beautiful night and a short walk was just what the doctor ordered to give a little clarity to her situation.

* * *

“Alpha, Lady Madison has left the mansion.” Jared turned from his discussion with Ethan with a frown as the young guard reported.

“You allowed her to leave the house?”

The guard flushed guiltily. “After what happened at the office building I wasn’t sure I should touch her.”

Jared closed his eyes and shook his head with a growl. “You wouldn’t have had to touch her, pup! You should have suggested she come talk to me before leaving.”

The youngster gulped, staring down at Jared’s feet. “Selena followed her, Alpha, and I fear for your lady’s safety.”

Ethan cursed, surprising Jared and causing him to frown in concern at his second.

“The girl is strangely obsessed with you, Alpha. I’d hoped it would be remedied with the mating but I fear it has pushed her over the edge. We’d best find Madison now.”

Jared stripped quickly. “Gather the pack to hunt Madison and our little wayward wolf. We must find them before any harm comes to our mate.”

Jared changed and leaped out one of the open windows, catching Madison’s scent as he landed gracefully in the grass. He lifted his muzzle and howled once before loping down the path to the right of the house after his mate.

* * *

Madison laughed with delight when she found the small lake in a clearing about a mile from the main house. No wonder Jared and his pack picked this land. There was plenty of room for them to roam.

She turned when a stick cracked, echoing loudly across the open space. The woman from the bedroom stepped out from behind a tree; she was completely naked.

“I won’t let you hurt my alpha,” she said vehemently.

“I would never hurt Jared!” Madison exclaimed.

“You won’t mean to,” the girl said grudgingly. “But you will dilute the line. Your children will be mongrels. Half-breeds and that can’t be allowed. The pack will drive him away from this land his family has held for centuries.”

Beginning to realize the girl in front of her was more than a little unbalanced, Madison tried to placate her. “I’ll go. I would never do anything to jeopardize his position in your community.”

The girl shook her head. “Jared would never allow you to leave. No, you have to die. It’s the only way. With you gone he will see me. I will be the perfect mate for him.”

Madison began to back away as the girl’s eyes began to glow with amber intensity; she bit back a scream when the girl shifted before her eyes into a large blond wolf.

It was everything she could do not to run as the wolf began to stalk toward her with deadly intent. Madison knew if she ran it would trigger an immediate charge; it was better to move slowly and try to anticipate the attack when it came.

“You can’t force Jared to love you,” Madison said softly as she leaned down to pick up a large branch; it wouldn’t do much good to ward off a wolf but at least it was something.

The wolf growled angrily at her words and came toward her more quickly, rushing at her and leaping past her to clip her with its hind legs, knocking her to the ground.

It was playing with her. Great, it was just her luck to catch the attention of a wolf that played with its food!

“You really think killing your alpha’s mate will endear you to him?” Madison taunted, trying to keep the wolf’s emotion high as she rose back to her feet, clutching the branch tightly as she prepared for the next charge.

All she saw was a blur of blond fur as the wolf’s body hurtled toward her, this time all with the intent to kill.

Just as Madison was about to close her eyes, expecting the sharp jaws to close over her at any second, another form hurtled between them, black fur blending with the blond as they tumbled to the ground.

The huge black wolf had the smaller wolf pinned in seconds, his powerful jaws wrapped around the blond wolf’s throat.

Madison knew instinctively her savior was Jared, but she couldn’t let him kill the girl. “Stop, Jared! I’m not hurt, she’s unbalanced. Please don’t hurt her; we need to get her help!”

She ran toward the two wolves only to be surrounded by the whole pack, gently herding her away from danger. “We have to stop him from hurting her!” Madison cried frantically.

A large brown wolf pressed against her legs in the front, preventing her from moving any closer. Strangely, the wolf made her feel safe and protected and she couldn’t resist sinking her fingers into his rich fur.

The wolf groaned loudly, pressing closer to her for a moment, then changed into Ethan. “He isn’t hurting her, my lady. He is expressing his dominance and disciplining her for her actions. We know she is unbalanced but her actions cannot go unpunished.”

She tried desperately not to notice he was naked and very visibly aroused. Madison couldn’t keep from dropping her eyes to his prominent erection that was every bit as impressive as Jared’s and her naughty bits jolted in response to the sight. She really had to get a handle on the way her body responded to her mate’s second.

Ethan led Madison to sit on a boulder by the lake, the wolves following to press around her protectively. She fought the impulse to lean into Ethan, sure the desire to snuggle against him would not be received well by her alpha mate.

As she watched, Jared shifted, standing tall and magnificent in the moonlight. He glared down at the blond wolf lying on her back, offering her belly in submission. “Shift, Selena!” he commanded.

In seconds the small blond woman was kneeling at his feet. “Who takes this woman to discipline?”

“I will, Alpha.” Ethan came forward and pulled the crying woman to her feet.

Madison had to bite her tongue to stop herself from protesting; she didn’t want Ethan anywhere near the woman. She shook her head in an attempt to clear the inappropriate possessiveness she felt toward Jared’s second.

“She is to be disciplined and then sent to the pack in Oregon. They have doctors and counselors in their pack who can help her. Selena,” Jared waited for the woman to look at him before he continued. “You tried to harm my mate and for that you are banished forever from this pack. Once you are disciplined and sent away you are never to return.”

She hung her head and gave a small nod before Ethan led her away.

“Madison Anders, I claim you as mate before my pack beneath the moonlight. Never are we to be parted. I promise to love, cherish, and care for you always, providing for all of your needs. Even the ones you don’t realize you have.”

Jared shifted back into his wolf form and lifted his head to howl triumphantly. The wolves surrounding Madison raised their own voices in response before each of them came to her and rubbed lightly against her, accepting her as pack.

Once each of them had greeted her they parted, leaving a path open to where Jared sat watching and waiting. Madison rose to her feet and ran to her wolf, throwing her arms around him and burying her face in the dense, soft fur of his neck.

“I’m sorry I left the house, Jared. I needed to think. Selena was there when I woke up and said the pack would reject you if you took me as your mate. I wasn’t running away, just trying to figure out what to do.”

She gasped in surprise when he shifted quickly and rose, cradling her high in his arms. “My pack would never reject me or my chosen mate. You are the mate God destined for me as I am yours. We were made for each other and none of them would ever dispute that fact. They just welcomed you as my mate and a sister in their pack. You are a part of them because you are a part of me.”

Madison pressed a kiss to his jaw. “I’m so glad you came for me.”

“I will always come for you, Madison.” Jared walked back toward their home as Madison snuggled down, happy to be safe in his arms.

Once he had her back in their room Jared quickly divested Madison of her clothing. His need for her was palpable.

Madison frowned, a moment of uncertainty filling her even as her body heated, eager for his possession. Was sex all there was between them? Did he like her for her or just because of the mating heat? Would he have ever picked her otherwise, with her overgenerous curves?

After all Jared didn’t really know her as a person, just as his mate. They’d never even really had a conversation that didn’t involve sex or discipline and domination.

There was nothing real between them, it was all an illusion; it wasn’t as if Jared loved her. He didn’t even know her, not really.

Madison blinked back tears; an unbearable sadness filled her as she saw her life stretched before her, a life as Jared’s mate. Not a partner, just a sexual being following his dictates. She would cease to be a person in her own right.

Though Jared said his pack accepted her as his mate and a sister of the pack, what could it really mean? She couldn’t run with them, fight with them, or truly be a member of the pack. Madison was the silly human woman who spread her legs for their alpha.

Shaking her head, Madison tried to sidle away from Jared, no longer interested in sex.

Jared frowned at the dejected posture of his mate. “What’s wrong, Madison?”

“Why ask a question you don’t really want the answer to?” Madison muttered as she headed to the bathroom.

Jared was suddenly in front of her blocking the way. “Why would you say something like that?”

“Are you a chubby chaser, Jared?”

“What? What does that even mean?”

Madison shrugged, studying his feet.

“Madison?”

“I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

Firm hands grasped her by the waist and lifted her until her face was even with his, “Look at me, mate.”

“No, put me down.” Madison frantically grasped at his hands and tried to look anywhere but at his face, once she met his eyes she knew she’d be lost again. Sucked into the vortex of passion he wielded so expertly.

“Madison, look at me.” The command implicit in his voice couldn’t be denied. Her eyes were pulled to his.

She gasped at the heat filling his gaze. “Jared… please, I just want to take a shower and…”

“No. You will talk to me and tell me what has you so upset first. Why did you ask if I was a chubby chaser?”

“I don’t want to talk about it!” Madison yelled at him angrily. “I may be your mate but you can’t dictate my thoughts and feelings! Put me down!”

Jared blinked a little at the heated command. “I do not wish to dictate your thoughts and feelings, but you will talk to me about them,” he told her firmly.

“I told you, I don’t want to talk about it!” she shouted into his face and then kicked him as hard as she could, her bare foot connecting painfully with his thigh.

He pulled her tightly against his body to prevent her struggles and carried her back to the bed. “You will stop fighting me, mate, before you injure yourself. I want to know what you’re thinking about to cause such foolishness.”

Madison was enraged at the way he’d wrapped her arms and torso in one arm and her legs in another preventing movement. His tight hold left only one avenue of defense open to her. She sank her teeth deeply into his shoulder where her face was pressed against him.