Leader of the Pack (8 page)

“
Yeah, you could say that,” Jared grinned. He took her elbow and made his way through the crowd.

“
So Shawn and Maria are your brother and sister?” Emily couldn’t shake the feeling she was suddenly the center of attention but when she looked, no one was staring.

Jared shrugged his shoulder. “Yeah, I suppose you could say that. It’s difficult to explain. We are brothers and sisters in the sense that we are all of one species.”

“
And I guess the blonde eyeing you from the bar is your kissing cousin?” she said. A surge of jealousy rushed through her as the woman toasted Jared with a frosted beer mug. Emily wanted to jump across the counter and tear out the trashy blonde’s throat. Jared belonged to her.

Whoa now, she cautioned herself. Just because she’d accepted his crazy tale about being a wolf, didn’t mean she was ready to shack up and start having his puppies. A momentary flare of panic hit her as that possibility became an instant nugget of reality. They had, in no way, shape or form, practiced safe sex.

Suddenly she pictured herself large and burgeoning with his child, her body cradling new life. They’d have to become creative in their coupling, she mused, picturing herself nine months pregnant and even bigger than she was now. His favorite position would come in handy she thought with a grin, and of course they could always try hers. The one where she straddled his hips as he sat on a straight back chair. His long, hot cock would slide so far up her pussy that –

Emily’s breath left her body as Jared slammed her against the wall. His eyes darkened and streaks of golden flames appeared.

“
Damn it, woman, you can’t feed me images like that in a crowded room where I can’t do a fucking thing about it.” He lifted her legs and rammed himself against her. The fearsome power of his erection threatened to burst through both sets of their clothing.

“
What are you talking about?” Emily demanded. Instantly the same erotic images she’d had of herself pregnant, naked and in his arms flooded back to her. She gasped and creamed her panties as he added his own fantasies and feelings. “Oh.”

“
Damn right, oh.” Following his lead, she ground her hips against him and tried to ease the pain of her arousal. Jared thrust back, forcing her to ride his hard length. Their breathing turned harsh as they sought relief. Emily spilled over the edge first.

But a second later, her sex drugged senses cleared. She opened her eyes and saw her worst fear had come true. No one made any attempt to hide the fact that they were watching the couple copulate fully clothed. Emily tried to lift Jared’s head which was buried in the side of her neck.

“
Be still woman,” he snapped and anchored her hips back in place. “I’m almost there.”

“
Jared,” she hissed. “Stop.”

“
Not in this life time, babe.” He humped faster.

Emily’s face flushed as the burning heat flashed in her loins. God, she could come again in just another minute. Through her half closed eyes, she saw the smug expressions of the people in the bar. She caught his ear between her finger and thumb and pinched as hard as she could.

“
What?” he roared. Slowly, he became aware of the quiet around them.

“
Shit.”

He let her slide down the wall and turned to growl at their audience. Immediately conversation resumed.

“
My sentiments exactly.” Emily pushed the hair from her eyes and tried to regain a little of her dignity. “But are you upset because they were watching or because you didn’t finish?” she asked, sarcasm threaded her tone.

Jared grinned his wolfish grin. “What do you think?”

He grabbed her hand and led her through the maze of bodies. At a secluded table in the back of the room, he bent to kiss a gray-haired woman and shake the hand of an older version of himself. “Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. This is Emily.”

The distinguished looking gentleman rose from the table and extended his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, my dear.”

“
It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.” Emily took the hand, unsure how to react now that the moment had arrived.

“
What were you expecting?” Jared asked. His lips curled in amusement at her speechlessness. “Wolves?”

“
Don’t tease,” the older woman scolded. To Emily’s relief her smile was wide and welcoming. “My name is Amanda, and this is my husband, Steve.”

“
It’s alright, baby, there’s no pressure. Let me get you something to drink.” Before she could stop him he walked away, leaving her alone with his parents. She sat down on the opposite side of the table.

“
So, do you believe in werewolves?”

Emily winched as Jared’s father cut straight to the chase. Did she believe in werewolves? Vampires, leprechauns and fairies?

Did she believe in Jared?

That’s what his father was really asking.

She glanced behind her, drinking in the sight of his hard, masculine body. He winked at her then placed their order with the bartender. She felt the last of her fears and doubts fly away.

Oh yeah, she believed.

When she turned back to his parents, she knew she didn’t have to say a word. They knew.

“
With your eyes, you’ll have such beautiful babies.” Tears filled the older woman’s own blue eyes as she patted Emily’s hand.

From the bar Jared watched the exchange between his parents and the woman he loved. His father gave him a small nod of approval and he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. As leader of the pack he needed no one’s approval to mate, but he was glad his parents had accepted her. If they had forced him to choose between her and the pack, Emily would have won hands down. She amazed him on so many levels. Her beauty, her intelligence, her courage. And her body. While she might think she was too curvy or too rounded, she was perfect for him. And the sex. Man, he’d had some pleasurable experiences in the past, but Emily singed his fur.

“
You shouldn’t wear your heart on your sleeve. Somebody might decide to have it for dinner.” Jared’s smile widened as Maria sat down beside him.

“
Is it that obvious?” He took a long drink of his beer and decided to give Emily a little more time with his parents.

“
To those of us who’ve been there.” She motioned the bartender over and ordered a beer.

Her past relationship remained him of the duties he still had to fulfill. “Val’s hunting tonight.”

“
It’s not Cord, is it?” Maria’s voice quivered as she asked even though it had been a long time since Cord had been a part of her life.

“
We don’t think so.” It was all he could say. They didn’t know who the vamp was. Not yet.

“
What about Emily?”

Jared took another long swallow of beer. “What about her?”

“
She’ll want to be there when you find out who took her friend.” When Jared didn’t reply, Maria sent him a look of censure from beneath her long lashes as if to say men were so dense. “You don’t honestly think she’s going to sit back and do nothing, do you? This is her friend, she needs to be involved. Look how she took off without you today.”

“
I made sure she was safe today and I’ll make sure she’s safe when the time comes. She will not be there when I take the bastard down.” The neck of the amber colored bottle splintered into tiny shards.

Maria patted his shoulder and swept away the mess with a napkin before she grabbed her beer and the one he’d ordered for Emily. “You have a lot to learn about mates, my friend. Human mates in particular. You just stay here and think about that. I’m going to go say hi.”

The older couple left as Maria approached. She handed Emily a beer and Emily took it even though she usually didn’t drink. But glancing around at all the blue eyed individuals, she swallowed a quarter of the bottle in one long gulp.

She was a Midwestern farmer’s daughter for heaven’s sake, how had she ended up here? In a bar. In a werewolf bar. “What have I gotten myself into?” she mumbled when the figures on the dance floor started to swirl and weave. And it wasn’t from some new dance move.

“
Tell me. Tell me what I need to know.” She had to ask before she lost her courage.

Maria took a sip of her own beer and Emily could tell she was debating what she should and shouldn’t reveal. “Lupines are shape shifters. We’re able to take the form of a wolf.”

“
During a full moon, right?” Emily tried to keep the skepticism from her voice. She needed to know. She had dived head first into the arms of a wolf. She took another gulp of beer.

Relationships failed every day in the human world, and she could only image the difficulties faced between two entirely different species. Species, for God’s sake. She finished the beer and looked around for more.

“
If need be. But unlike legend portrays, the full moon doesn’t cause the change, not anymore. The cycle of the moon is an important part of our culture, don’t get me wrong. The change enhances our gifts. We become stronger, swifter, sharper. And our physical characteristics become more pronounced.”

“
I guess that’s why there’s not an ugly one in the bunch,” Emily said, thinking of the blonde at the bar. That woman was built like a brick shit house.

It surprised her that her words came out slightly slurred. She’d only drunk one beer.

“
Damn, Emily. Did you drink it all?” Maria grabbed the empty bottle from Emily and slammed it against the table. “I have got to get you sobered up.”

Emily started to protest as the woman grabbed her arm and lifted her from her chair. Lifted her from her chair. Emily giggled. She outweighed Maria by a good forty pounds.

“
What the hell is wrong?” Hearing the thud of a bottle against the table, Jared had known his mate had been threatened in some way. His brows drew together in a frown when Emily threw her arms around him and pressed open mouthed kisses across his chin and licked the underside of his jaw. His cock hardened in an instant. “What’s wrong with her?”

“
Maybe she’s just happy to see you.”

Jared’s eyes flew to the empty bottle on the table. “Damn it, Maria, you let her drink the whole fucking bottle!”

She bowed her head in submission to her Alpha. “I didn’t mean for her to drink so much.” The woman looked stricken.

The beers served in the bar were for werewolf consumption only. Because of the wolf’s incredible metabolism, the potency of the special brew had to be almost five times that of a normal beer. It took a lot to give a wolf a buzz.

Jared sighed. He knew his friend would never intentionally harm his mate. No one in the pack would. But now he had to deal with the consequences. And what consequences they were. Emily tried to climb his body as she sucked and licked his throat. His dick almost exploded when she grabbed his ass.

To add to his frustration, he knew she was starting her cycle. He could smell the dark, rich, blood gathering in her womb, ready to exit her body. Nothing brought the beast to the surface quicker than a mate menstruating. Even after centuries of evolution, a woman’s scent when she was in heat still called to the animal inside, reminding him it was time mate, time to perpetuate the species.

He gave Maria one last glare and tossed Emily over his shoulder. Howls of laughter followed in his wake as the pack realized what had happened.

“
You can, uh, sniff me if you want.” Emily’s words drifted over his shoulder as he carried her to his SUV.

“
What did you say?” Maybe he’d heard wrong. God, he prayed he’d heard wrong.

“
You can smell me. I know you have this, uh, thing, about smelling me and it’s okay if you want to.” When he didn’t speak, her voice became a mere whisper as if his silence had hurt her. “I just wanted you to know.”

What could he say? Do? Whether she knew it or not, he had already sniffed her like a dog ready to mount a bitch. The half moons of her derriere were mere inches from his face. The beer had done more than made her drunk, it had aroused her. It took a tremendous amount of will power to keep from throwing her on the hood of his car and pulling off her jeans so he could bury his nose in her sweet, pink folds.

Jared put her down when he reached the car. He braced her against the side of the vehicle and held her in place with a hand on her hip. A hand he was not surprised to see tipped with thick claws. His beast was freeing itself and Jared didn’t know if he could stop it. Or if he wanted to.

He fumbled in his pocket for his keys. He needed to get her home. And fast. She moved the hand he had on her hip and placed it on her breast. He bit down hard on his lip and drew blood to keep from howling at the moon. The last thing he needed was for the pack to come running to see what had happened to their leader.