Mate Magic (3 page)

Chapter 3

Dante stood on the side of the house worrying over his mother, and even more alarmed by his sister. He’d never realized she held so much resentment towards him. He couldn’t be mad because she was right, he had been a coward, and she was the hero; yet all the respect went to him as Alpha. He knew if he tried to up her position in the pack or demand respect for her, she’d be furious.

Paul
approached Dante, who seemed to be deep in deliberation. “Penny for your thought?”

Dante tried to control the instant fury at hearing his voice.
“Why does my sister’s scent linger on your skin? I told you to stay away from her.”

“I tried Dante.
She went into the woods and fainted. My brother Blake caught her and tried to help her but she ran off. I was worried so I followed her to make sure she was safe.”

“That is my job as her Alpha and brother.
You should have notified me immediately.”

Paul
was beginning to become annoyed. “She is not anyone’s job. It was my pleasure to care for her and I’ll do it again whenever I feel it’s needed, or whenever she lets me. Funny, but if I didn’t know better I’d say you have a direct connection to your sister through the bond I saw today. Ever think about using it? She’s in pain, fearful and scarred.”

Dante grabbed
Paul by the throat. “Don’t you ever presume to tell me how to treat my sister. She will be fine…she is fine.” Who was he convincing, Paul, or himself?

“I’d like your permission to court
Bailey.”

“Not a chance.”

“I can’t stop thinking about her.”

“Try harder.”

Paul sighed. “I request a transfer of pack to the American Canyon pack for Bailey.”

“Denied, she’s the only one who can make that decision, and I hope you’ll not suggest it to her or risk my anger as Alpha and all of the trust our pack’s share.”

“
You don’t get it!
I’m not worried about you or pack politics. I want her to be safe and happy. I’d like to get to know her.”

“Forget it.
Stay away.” Dante turned away from the simmering anger he felt for Paul and directed it toward his sister and mother.
Women?

Paul
knew he was pushing his luck but he couldn’t stop the words from coming out at a yell. “She’ll not be happy without me.” His voice softened to a whisper but he knew Dante could hear him, “I think we are fated.”

Dante stopped dead in his tracks.
He thought he had maxed out his anger but a fresh wave of fury overrode all his thoughts. He turned towards the man he found assaulting his sister when she was at her weakest. “If that is the case I will happily end you so that she may be free. I doubt she wants someone as perverse as you. So you know, as long as she was under Allen’s tender care,” sarcasm noted, “She has remain untouched. Maybe a better word for it is un-licked because your lack of tongue control was evident when she was laid out in the hospital.” Dante didn’t know if he could prevent himself from hurting Paul. “Bailey is a special person and I will not allow you to hurt her.”

Paul
flinched. “I would never hurt her. I want what’s best for her. She’s independent and beautiful and strong.”

A furious voice from behind Dante bellowed, “
You don’t even know me!
Neither of you know anything about me. Stay away from me, both of you.”

The men turned to see a red faced
Bailey shaking with anger. She wanted to change and run far from these people who assumed they knew what was best for her, but she’d used up her magic for the day. “I mean it. I’m leaving.” She looked over at a shocked looking Dante and added, “Without you.”

Paul
could see she wanted to change. Shifters have a great deal of magic but it seemed as if Bailey had maxed hers out. She must not be caring for herself. She was vibrating with her anger and resentment. She wanted control of her life just like everyone else. What was it like, he wondered, to always be under someone else’s thumb?

Paul
walked over to Bailey and briefly wondered if what he was going to do would work. He reached his hand out touching her shoulder and felt his magic drain as she gently pulled it out of him with a surprised expression. He pulled back with a small smile on his face. “Enjoy your run. If you have a need to leave this place my Pack will assist with your needs.”

It was the hardest thing
Paul had ever done; turn his back on Bailey while she was upset. He saw the alarmed look on Dante’s face before he walked past him and into Pack house. He needed to talk to someone, but whom? He felt wetness to his hand and looked down to see a wide eyed beautiful wolf nudging his hand with its nose.

Bailey
was amazed. She’d never known someone to care enough for her to lend her their magic for the day. Paul must have seen the desperation in her eyes. How was he able to read her so easily? She went to him and rubbed her nose on his palm and gave him a small lick. He smelled great and tasted even better, she found herself wildly attracted to him. She wasn’t sure if her reaction to him was hers or because she was currently borrowing his magic. One thing she did know was that she wouldn’t be controlled or live in fear anymore. She wanted to be independent.

Paul
went down on his knees next to Bailey’s wolf and ran his hand through her fur. Her eyes closed and she made the smallest noise in her throat that sounded similar to a purr. When her eyes opened Paul could see her gratitude, and maybe something more. “No need to thank me, Bailey. I want you to know that here, you can be free. Free of the past, the pain and the fear. I will support you and honor your strength by giving you mine when needed. Please enjoy the freedom.”

Paul
stood and knew exactly who he was going to see. He turned and looked at the beautiful wolf that, he feared, had captured his heart. “I have to get back. I’ll see you again.” He saw her turn and run past her brother, who appeared to be shaken, and ran into the woods bordering Alpha house. She would be safe.

*****

Paul went and sat down at his family table, surprised that the reception was still going on. There was so much happiness here in the great hall, totally opposed to the scenes that he had witnessed outside. Bailey’s family and pack were broken; they would heal in time, but at what cost.

Paul
turned to his mother and father seeing their love and passion for each other. His father had leaned over and was whispering in his mother’s ear while she smiled. His mother’s cheeks turn pink as his father cupped her face in his large hands and placed a soft kiss to her mouth. His mother, Eva, pulled her face from his father’s strong grasp and turned away from the love of her life to look at her son.

Paul
felt like a peeping tom watching the play between his parents. He heard his mother’s soft voice, “Paulie, what’s wrong? You smell upset? Has something happened?”

Paul
gave his mother a genuine smile and replied. “Everything is fine. I just want to talk if that’s okay.” He looked to his father and nodded his head in respect.

Paul
’s parents were wonderful people. His father towered over his mother by more than a foot and all of their kids had gotten his olive toned skin and dark brown hair. For the first time, Paul noticed the streaks of grey at his father’s temple and the tiny crinkles at the corner of his eyes. Paul’s father was the hard balancing out his mother’s softness. They were amazing parents and filled the house with a great deal of love and laughter.

Paul
’s father, Kenneth, reached over and ran his hand through Paul’s dark brown hair like he was a small boy. Looking to his wife and mate, “I’m going to dance. When you’re done talking, come boogie with me, my love.”

Eva
stretched her neck to kiss her mate and smiled. “Save me a dance handsome.” Looking back to her son she sobered, “Okay, what’s going on?”

Paul
suddenly felt like a child. How did he begin this conversation with his mother? He wanted her advice so he better just spit it out. “I think I like a girl.”

Eva
could see her son was having a hard time talking to her, so it must be important. When she smelled his embarrassment she had an idea what was going on. At his comment about liking a girl she laughed. “You’ve liked many girls in your time. What do you mean?”

Paul
blushed and turned away. “I mean I think about her, a lot.”

Eva
smiled and turned her sons face back to her. “We saw you watching Bailey during the ceremony. Is she a nice girl? Does she think of you too?”

“I don’t know.
She belongs to another pack, and her family doesn’t like me, but I don’t want to be apart from her. I feel…different.” He didn’t know how to describe his reaction to her, especially to his mother.

“Do you love her?
Is she your mate?”

“I wouldn’t know the slightest thing about mating.
I just know I like her and need her in my life.”

Eva
gave him a small smile before continuing, “You like her scent?” he nodded. “You think of her often?” he nodded. “You want to be with her always, protect her?” he paused a moment then nodded. “You want to…bite her?”

Paul
rolled his eyes, “Mom, I can’t have this conversation with you. I just don’t know what to do. I need you to tell me what to do.”

Eva
grinned at her son. “You’ll know what to do, and when the time is right. If you’ll excuse me I have to go dance with your father.” She stood and kissed the top of his head. “You’ve grown into a wonderful man and I know that you’ll do the right thing. If she’s able to accept your magic into her, it’s a sign.”

Paul
’s eyes widened, “How did you know?”

“Your magic has…changed.
It’ll return to normal but right now you smell…different. Not mated, but…”

Paul
closed his eyes and looked into himself. He’d given Bailey his magic but he didn’t feel like a piece of him was missing, in fact, he felt complete. Odd.

He heard his mother leave and sensed his Alpha approach.
Paul stood to show Jake the proper respect. Jake inclined his head. “Please, let’s sit.” Uh oh, something was up.

Paul
took his seat and Jake sat next to him and sighed. “I want to talk to you about Dante.”

Paul
looked taken aback. “What about Dante?”

“He approached me about the incident at the hospital and asked that I keep you away from his sister.”

Paul was embarrassed but wasn’t going to deny it. “I’m sorry I let you down. I couldn’t help what happened. She smelled so good and I know I should be ashamed of taking advantage of her while she was…out, but it was innocent.”

Jake
simply smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. Take a walk with me.”

Chapter 4

Paul wasn’t sure why Jake wanted to walk, but when your Alpha asks you to do something, you do it. “Alright.”

They both stood and
Jake led Paul out the back doors and into the backyard. Paul couldn’t help but break the silence. “What’s on your mind?”

“I wanted to let you know how proud I am of you.
You contribute a lot to this town and I’ve seen you sacrifice for our pack numerous times. As a sheriff, you excel at your job, and are constantly willing to go above and beyond with the pack duties.” Jake sighed.

Here it comes.
Paul thought.

“Dante’s a good man but his Pack is troubled.
I understand that Bailey put in for a change in pack today, and I offered for her.” Paul’s eyes became wide. “She will have the ultimate choice, but I have a feeling she’ll accept…in time. She’s a strong woman, but she has been carrying a heavy burden for a very long time. I won’t go into the history of her pack semantics but I want to let you know how they treated their women, so that maybe you can understand.”

Paul
looked into the knowing eyes of his leader. “You knew. This whole time I have been tip towing around, but you know. I don’t know how to act or what to do.”

“You did nothing wrong at the hospital.
There’s no way a man can resist the draw of his mate. Dante doesn’t understand, but one day, God willing, he will. You need to know that you are not wrong and you’ve done the noble thing in not chasing after her and challenging Dante. He is trying.” Jake went on, “Their mother Victoria went along with the pack values, stating that the men worked and had sex to continue with the Shifter genes. The women were not allowed to work. They were educated in healing skills and how to care for young, as well as pressured to breed. The women were not allowed free thought and were at the mercy of the men.”

Paul
closed his eyes and placed his palms over his face. He wanted to cry for the lonely lost girl he saw when he looked at Bailey. “Please, I can’t hear anymore. I…want to, um, I need…I just want to care for her.”

Jake
looked to Paul with pity. “I was worried about that. She’s fiercely independent and needs her freedom. She needs to know that she can be herself. I know this’ll be hard for you but you need to let her live, be independent and free. Can you do that?”

Paul
did let a tear slip out of his eye before he angrily brushed it away. “I want what is best for her. I stayed away for months while she was healing and it killed me a bit each day. I will do what’s best for her; you can count on me Alpha.”

Jake
looked at Paul and wondered if he would have had the restraint to do what he was asking of his friend. “You’re a good man, probably better than I. Understand, Bailey’s probably confused. She was never taught what she should expect from mating. She probably has no clue you’re her mate. I know this is hard and I’m sorry.”

Paul
knew he was going to suffer but said. “Just get her here so we can show her what a real pack is like.” Paul turned from his Alpha and left. He couldn’t take anymore wedding cheer. He wanted to be alone.

Paul
walked into his house wanting to be tough, but he felt out of sorts. He went to the bar and poured himself some blue label scotch whiskey. Why not drink the expensive stuff? It was a time to celebrate, he’d found his mate. But he couldn’t have her.

Paul
heard the screen door open and close and wondered why people couldn’t just leave him alone. Blake walked into the kitchen and straight to the bar. “The good stuff, huh? What’s the occasion?” He poured himself a small amount that he promptly chugged.

Paul
looked mildly annoyed, “It is supposed to be sipped you shithead.” And then he downed what was in his glass, enjoying the burning and warmth in his stomach.

“Whoa there big brother.
I’ve never seen you so upset, is it the chickie?”

Paul
grimaced. “Please, let’s just drink and forget about what happened today. I want to enjoy the rest of my day off. And don’t refer to Bailey as a chickie; it’s disrespectful and degrading.”

“No problem, Bro.
Do you mind if I stay? We can watch a movie or walk to The Burning Moon Saloon and get shitfaced, like the old days.” Blake waggled his eyebrows, “I’m buying.”

Paul
stood, “I’m game. Let’s drink, dance and drown our sorrows.” They clasped hands and made their way out the door.

*****

Bailey was running through the woods for the second time that day, however, she felt different, energized. Although she had never felt free before, this was the first time she felt like it was possible. She’d informed Dante of her wish to leave the Sacramento Pack but truly she had no idea where she belonged. Alpha Jake and the American Canyon Pack had welcomed her, but she didn’t want the extra attention. She still felt uncomfortable from Decker and Tara’s speech. Maybe she could just talk to them and ask that they treat her like everyone else.

As
Bailey thought of staying in the American Canyon Pack she thought about Paul. She was wildly attracted to him and it freaked her out. She’d never been attracted to anyone and wondered if it was the borrowed magic. She knew that had nothing to do with it because she’d been attracted to him before.

Bailey
was lying in the same field she had snuggled with Paul when she heard a twig snap and bushes rustle. She hoped it was a rabbit, she was getting hungry and she didn’t want to release Paul’s magic. It felt warm and good.

She was lost in thought when she sensed a presence and smelled something foul.
She scrambled onto her feet only to feel something hard slam into her flank. What the hell, not a rabbit. She whirled around and bared her fangs at the intruder. She saw a…what the hell? Is that a bear?

It was huge.
She was pretty big in her wolf form but this creature was about seven feet tall and looked menacing. Maybe if she just walked away he would leave her alone. Bailey backed up slowly and considered running full out until she reached the house, but she didn’t want it to follow and put everyone else in danger. She sniffed and realized she was dealing with a shifter bear.

Bailey
knew nothing about bear shifter’s other than they ate a lot of sweets, and they were dangerous if you tried to take their food. She wasn’t taking food or being aggressive. She kept backing away until it charged and then she twisted and ran.

She was running when she felt the large paw swipe at her flank again, claws digging into her skin as it knocked her into a nearby tree.
She felt a sudden sharp pain in her upper chest and got back to her feet running again. She was out of breath but she’d made it to the house, the smell of her blood making her nauseous. Bailey hobbled in from the back porch and saw people cleaning up after the wedding. Her head was getting light and her vision was fuzzy and she tried to yell but it came out as a whisper. “Please help me. Help.”

Jake
turned and saw Bailey as she was slowly lowering herself to the floor. “Shana, come here!”

Bailey
saw Jake and then Shana running toward her and knew that she was going to get help. She closed her eyes and let the darkness take her.

*****

Paul was on the barstool, beer in hand, when he felt like he’d been hit by a truck. He fell off the stool and the left side of his body was killing him. What the hell? He looked around to see if he’d missed some unknown threat, he saw nothing. Blake jumped down from his stool and bent to help him. “What’s wrong, Bro?”

Paul
’s side hurt extremely badly, like the time he’d broken his ribs. He felt his side and winced. He turned to Blake, “Did something happen? I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.”

Blake
raised an eyebrow, “Maybe it’s time to go.” Blake paid the tab and they were walking out the door when the pain hit again. Paul was slammed into the doorjamb and then fell to the floor. “Damn brother, looks like you had a few too many.” Blake pulled him off the floor again.

“Something’s wrong.
Call Jake or Conner. Do you feel anything? There is a threat somewhere?” Paul was holding his ribs on the left side looking around franticly.

Blake
took out his cell phone and called Jake, no answer. He re-dialed, no answer. Blake called Conner and on the third ring Conner answered with a terse, “What?”

“Yo man, what’s doing with y’all?
Paul’s worried there is a threat. He’s got some weird shit going on right now.”

Conner was silent for a few moments then said, “What’s wrong with
Paul?”

“He’s fallen a couple times, he’s holding his ribs but no one hit him.
We’re down at The Burning Moon drinking and he started hurting.”

“Shit!” was Conner’s reply.
“Bring him to the hospital. We’re on our way right now with Bailey.”

Paul
could feel his heartbeat speed up. “What’s wrong with Bailey?”

“Just meet us there and we’ll talk then.”
Conner disconnected leaving Paul and Blake wondering what could have happened.

The hospital was only about three blocks away, and they’d both been drinking, so they started down the block at a brisk walk.
Halfway there Paul became so short of breath that he had to stop. He was sweating and pale, still holding his rib area on the left side. “You gonna make it?” Blake could see and smell his brother’s pain, it was making him crazy. “We could get a cab.”

Paul
shook his head and rose to his feet just as a white dodge pulled up. The automatic window came down and Conner barked, “Get in.” The brothers complied and Paul closed his eyes to the pain as they drove the rest of the way to the hospital.