Howl at the Moon (14 page)

“Stop,” Ethane commanded with all the force of an Alpha behind him. The man’s wolf would never be strong enough to challenge Ethane’s authority and nature would make him submit to the Alpha in front of him. “Relax and let your human side come forth. Let your wolf sink into the background. You are okay. You are okay,” Ethane repeated and Collin watched as the man’s wolf let out a small whimper and began to recede. Clyde’s tense muscles relaxed as he settled on the floor in a puddle. He breathed deeply, each exhalation rough and loud as he tried to gain control, but he could not fight his Alpha, even if he didn’t know who Ethane was.

“You have to get out of here,” Clyde uttered and his voice still held the sound of a growl but the sound was not predatory and Collin felt better. Still he readied himself for an attack. As Beta, his job was to also protect the Alpha at any cost and he would do anything necessary. He didn’t want to kill someone who had obviously found his mate but he would do it for Ethane.

“I said stop,” Ethane commanded again and in an instant the wolf faded to the background and nothing but the man was left, no growl permeating the air.

“Who are you?” Clyde asked his voice rough.

“We are people who can help. Tatiana called us. My name is Ethane and my friend over there is Collin. You are a shifter like us. How is it you haven’t shifted until you were older?” Clyde shook his head.

“I don’t know. I never knew that I had this power,” he answered, sitting up slowly and then resting back against his desk. He grasped the shattered remains of his shirt and pulled it off before tossing it away with disgust. “It is like everything in me is clawing to run, to break free and enjoy the freedom of scenting the air. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“We understand and know what it is,” Collin explained. His own wolf wanted to be free but he had much more control. He could just imagine what this man was going through.

“All I know is that I made love to my friend and after that I’ve been going through this. I took a trip away just to get my mind off things and my father was there.”

“What did he say to you?” Collin asked.

“He said a lot of things that I didn’t understand. He said that Tatiana had brought out the wolf in me and that my wolf would need her. He told me that I would have to fight it or he would find a way to kill us both.”

Collin started at that. For a father to threaten to kill his own child was anathema to him. He could not understand. For his godchildren Jade and Ezekiel to be harmed would be impossible. He’d tear anyone into pieces for even trying to hurt them and feast on their blood before he would let them get to the children.

“Did you father say anything else?” Collin asked then to try to bank the anger.

“He said that Tatiana was for me as my mother was for him and that they lost all sight of things that were important. That my wolf would want her and would try his best to take her. My father had done the same with my mother.”

“Do you think they are rogue?” Collin asked Ethane then.

“Quite possibly. I think that is exactly what they are.” Ethane looked down at Clyde. “I believe that you father belonged to a band of wolves that left their pack many years ago. These men wanted to live as humans and not walk with the wolf as well. They chose not to shift into the wolf during their lives and push their human side to the forefront. When they had children, the repression passed on so that the children of their unions would not shift. I think that you are one of the children and only your mate could bring it out.”

“What does Tatiana have to do with all of this and what the hell is a mate anyway?” Clyde asked as he stood and went to a small closet in his office. He pulled out another shirt and put it on. He then put his tie on and Collin felt that he was putting his armor on. The way that he stood and looked at his Alpha with nearly cold eyes told Collin that if he had shifted from birth, he could have very well been an Alpha himself. He had all of the characteristics of an Alpha and Collin could smell it. Ethane chuckled.

“Stand down, cub. I’m not here to take your mate. I have one of my own. A mate is the perfect match to our wolf and, as such the perfect mate to the human. The wolf recognizes her even if you fight against it. Your wolf wants her and will force you to take her and you are fighting against it tooth and nail. It is why you are having so many difficulties resisting the change. You have already had her and the wolf wants more. The wolf wants you to claim her. Without her love to anchor you, the wolf will struggle all the more.”

“I’m not in love with the woman.”

“Not yet,” Collin said, “but you will be. Between mates, it is impossible to deny. Is it really worth it to say no to her?”

“Look, I’m not a man to marry or to be with one woman forever. I can’t take that.”

“You may not be but your wolf is and to deny him could be death to both of you. Just imagine another man with her. Another man between her legs and making love to her. Playing with her breasts and kissing over the mark you gave her,” Ethane said then.

The growl whipped through the room so quickly and Collin streaked in front of his Alpha, growling himself at the lower hierarchy wolf that Clyde was. Clyde’s wolf did not recognize the warning in a fit to protect its mate. Ethane put a calming hand on Collin’s shoulder and moved him to the side. “Be eased, my friend, I was simply making a point. Do you think your wolf will let anyone else be with her after you?” Clyde backed into the corner of his office and Collin could see the struggle in his face as Clyde fought to push his wolf back.

“No,” Clyde finally gasped out.

“Then the decision has already been made for you but I will give you a choice. You can either choose Tatiana and act as a mate should or you can choose death. Those are your only options. It can’t be any other way.” Collin watched the anger at his position flash over Clyde’s face. He knew that anger. When he had felt the pull of a mate when he’d met Sean it had angered and surprised him as well. Yet he had found a love so pure and perfect on the other end that he wouldn’t have it any other way. Still, he did understand.

“Clyde, I know that this is hard for you but it is truly the only decision that you can make. You either have to choose your mate or die. Which will it be?” Collin questioned.

Clyde sat at his desk heavily and his head fell into his hands. He sat there for a moment silently as Collin and Ethane watched him. Finally he looked back up at them. “I choose Tatiana,” he said closing his eyes. If Collin had not seen the same look on his face and Ethane’s when they’d gone through this all with Ayana and Sean, he would not have believed it, but a mate could do that to a man. That look was of a man accepting a love that he did not even realize was inside of himself. Clyde didn’t know it, but he loved Tatiana and eventually that would come out. It was never the love that he’d been fighting. It was the loss of freedom, and Collin understood that as well.

“But I don’t know what to do about my father,” Clyde added interrupting Collin’s thoughts. “He has already threatened that if I take her, he will kill us. I can’t let any harm come to her.”

Ethane growled then and Collin felt his wolf roll into supplication inside. He knew that Clyde’s wolf must have done the same thing. Clyde even mimicked the human form of that supplication, turning his head away and exposing the soft flesh of his neck to his Alpha. He shook himself after a moment and looked back at Ethane. It was a natural thing that he had done, signaling that he had accepted Ethane as his Alpha.

“You are now a part of my pack. We take care of our own. You father will not harm you or Tatiana. If necessary, we can have you both moved to the island until the threat is removed. Otherwise, we can have wolves stationed here with you to keep an eye on you and your mate. I assume after all of this you will not be living separately.”

“I have a business to run here, and I am not a man to run away,” Clyde answered.

“Then it is settled. We will have wolves stationed here to help you. Will that be enough?”

Clyde looked at him then. “It will have to be. I can’t leave here with everything that is going on with my business.”

“Then claim your mate and stay here. She has fears that you will have to assuage but I am more than sure that you will appease her,” Ethane returned.

Clyde laughed and it was a determined sound. “Oh, she won’t know what hit her.”

Chapter Seventeen

“Did you just tell me that Clyde is on a wolf retreat? Wolf retreat? Like church retreat except this one has furry animals in on it?” Tatiana asked staring at Ayana, Sean, and Aaron. The three had posted up in her home while the men and children had run away to have fun times somewhere in the forest.

“Yes. He thought it would be better for him,” Ayana answered. “You have to understand, Tatiana, he did not shift until he was older. It is much more difficult for him to shift into a wolf that is already mature. Ethane tells me that he was a repressed wolf that was from a line of rogues that didn’t want to live with the wolf and were terrified of their powers. They chose to live as humans so that they would not have to hide any longer. When they did this, they refused the shift and passed that on to their children. The only way that they would shift is if they found their mate, if they ever were so lucky. If Clyde had never come across you, he would have never had to battle with the wolf.”

“So it’s my fault,” Tatiana said then.

“No, don’t look at it that way. You are the cause of something wondrous in his life. He will live much longer and be much stronger. And so will you, as his mate. That’s how you have to see it. You just have to get used to it, hon. There is no way in hell you’re going to get away from that man. And once Ethane and Collin are through with him, I don’t think he’ll let you,” Ayana said chuckling.

“Lord knows those men can be very persuasive. Definitely, when they tell their stories,” Sean said with a private smile. Tatiana just knew there was a story behind that.

“Okay, spill,” she said to Sean. He laughed as he turned to her.

“Let’s just say that when Collin told me the story about shifters so that he could make me believe, we were in a delicate situation.” Tatiana burst out laughing watching as Sean undulated in front of her and hoped around the room. She had to say they were entertaining, at least, to have around her. They didn’t let her have any fears. Anytime she felt that emotion swirling inside of her body they seemed to sense it and make her laugh at the situation instead. Was Clyde really much different now that he had become the wolf? It was more like he had something extra with him. She knew mentally she could think like that but when he was around he overwhelmed her and she just didn’t know how she would react.

“What am I supposed to do at the building to cover for him while he’s gone?”

“Clyde put someone called Nique in his seat for the couple of weeks while he’s gone. So you’ll just have to miss him dearly while he’s gone, won’t you?” Aaron replied then.

“Oh yes, Nique can run that company with his eyes closed. He’s been the VP ever since Clyde started the company. They’ve been best friends for years. So what are we supposed to do?”

“We’re supposed to get ready for the ball,” Aaron finished.

“Excuse me?” Tatiana sputtered.

“You know, your annual company dance you have every May?” Tatiana thought of the calendar and ticked off the days. That would give them two and a half weeks. She had completely forgotten about that momentous event, what with everything else that was going on. What a great damn executive assistant she was.

“Holy shit,” she uttered.

“Language,” Ayana said.

“Well I completely forgot about the dance. What am I going to do? I’ve had everything in order for months. Clyde likes to plan things ahead.”

“Well, we’re going to make a slight change,” Aaron said.

“A slight change, like what?”

“We’ve decided to make it a masquerade ball.”

“You can’t just
decide
to make it a masquerade ball. Those invitations have been out for months now. No one is going to be ready for something that big so quickly,” Tatiana tossed back.

“You do realize you have an angel working on your side don’t you?” Aaron shot right back and Lea appeared just like that. Everyone in the room but Aaron jumped when they saw her.

“Hello, everyone,” Lea said with a laugh, turning delicately and then floating down to a seat. She was dressed in her customary hip-hugger jeans, thigh-high boots, and a black corset top. Her hair was in sweeping curls over her shoulders.

“You’re an angel?” Ayana asked.

“In the flesh. I’m the one you’ve been talking about.” Ayana looked at her with a critical eye and Tatiana remembered that she was a fashion designer. “Good mix of material. I like the addition of the boots. Give yourself some accessories and it will tie the whole thing off,” Ayana continued.

Lea laughed and in a second, she had a black choker around her neck, black diamonds in her ears and on a slim finger. A jeweler would have killed to see those. “How about that?”

“Perfect,” Ayana answered. “I need to be an angel. I want those powers.”

“So how are you going to help us, Lea?” Tatiana asked, chuckling at Ayana.

“Easy. With a little twirl of my fingers,” Lea paused and twirled her fingers in the air, “now everyone’s invitations says masquerade and they’ve already been shopping, they just haven’t found the perfect mask yet.”

“That easy?” Tatiana asked.

“That easy. Now that my work is done, I’m going back home. You guys have fun now.” With those parting words, Lea winked out.

“That’s going to take some getting used to.” Tatiana said.

“Don’t even try. It took me enough and I’m still not use to it. I deal with the woman every day. She’s in my head for God’s sake,” Aaron muttered.

“Lucky you,” Ayana answered.

“So now we have to get ready for a ball. I have to get clothing for that,” Tatiana groaned.

“Now you just don’t worry about that. You have your Fairy Drag Mother here that is going to take care and make sure that Cinderella is ready for the ball.”