Mated & Blooded, A Blood Ties Novel, Book 1 (14 page)

It was all so damn confusing. The only thing
I was really sure of at the moment was that Kalli, Nikoli and I
were moving into uncharted territory. To my knowledge no one had
ever been in our situation before. It was going to take all of us
trying to work together to do what was best for Kalli.

It also meant that I would have to leave the
pack behind. I was going to have a hard time getting the pack to
accept Kalli as my Luna, there wasn’t a prayers chance in hell they
were going to accept her vampire beloved as well. I would have to
call my brother Rob later tonight and ask him to step up to the
plate and become alpha of the Northern Star pack. I was going to
live with Kalli wherever she was and that meant her and Nikoli were
now my new pack.

I made an excuse to get sometime alone once I
was finished feeding. I decided to go up to the master bedroom and
call my mom. I found myself choked up in tears the minute she
answered the phone. I cried off and on the entire time we
talked.

I was so confused about what was supposed to
happen next. I’d been so angry earlier today that I hadn’t even
gotten a chance to think about how I felt about what was happening.
My life was getting out of control fast.

Mom just listened while I ranted and raved
about everything that had gone on. Every now and then she would
throw in an

“Oh that’s a surprise, how do you feel about
that?” I wanted to scream

“How do I feel?”

Then I found myself really thinking how do I
feel? That’s when I realized I had no idea. I had just accepted
Lucas because he was my true wolf mate. My wolf said he was ours
and I since it is tradition to bond and mate with your wolf mate I
was going to just do what was expected. I knew that I didn’t really
love him yet but I thought with time I was sure to love him. Right
now, I barely knew him but I know my wolf loves his wolf already
and she’s very fond of Lucas. She’s probably had been his mate many
times before this current life. I on the other hand had only met
him a few weeks ago.

I certainly liked him. I loved the way he
makes my body sing when he touches it. I love the way his eyes seem
to devour my body. It’s so physical and I have craved being
physical my whole life. I love to touch and be touched. I love to
feel and be felt. Lucas seems to be the perfect match for my body.
He also tends to suffocate my spirit. He keeps trying to push me
behind him and be the big macho man. While I appreciate him trying
to protect me, I might enjoy it a bit more if he asked me if I
wanted to be protected.

I also feel like my vampire side is a cross
for Lucas to bear. I know he wants me bad enough to accept it and
even Nikoli if he has to, but I am positive that he wishes none of
this was necessary. I am sure when he talks to god he asks why he
has to be the one to carry this burden. I can see in his eyes some
times when he doesn’t know I am looking. It hurts me to know that
with Lucas I feel like he wishes I was something I’m not.

When it comes to Nikoli, I am even more
confused. Nikoli is the exact opposite of Lucas. He has never
touched me, yet I felt we had in some ways become more intimate
than Lucas and I. He is my perfect match mentally and spiritually.
He treats me as a true equal. He doesn’t try to fight my battles
for me, he tries to teach me how to fight my own battles. It’s like
the old adage give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a
man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. With Nikoli it would be
a lifetime of being accepted for exactly who I am. I don’t need to
be anyone but me.

I just wish that my wolf would allow me to
explore my feelings for Nikoli more. I’d spent an entire week with
him, and only had snippets of time without my wolf barking and
howling in my ears. She behaved so badly that at times I wished she
would go away. I even hollered at her to leave me alone or I would
astral project for weeks at a time and leave her in my empty shell
of a body. That shut her up for a while.

Strangely though today she barely made a peep
with both Lucas and Nikoli in the room. It was a blessing not to
have to hear her whine and carry on all day. Throughout my musings
about my feelings mom kept pushing me to explore them even
more.

She started to ask embarrassing questions
like if Lucas and I had been sexually active yet. I didn’t want to
have this kind of conversation with her but found myself answering
honestly. I told her that we hadn’t but that I really felt like I
wanted to. That in fact we almost had the first day we’d been
together just before all hell broke loose but that we hadn’t been
alone long enough since then.

Then she moved on to asking me if I’d already
danced with Nikoli’s soul. I admitted that I’d had and that it had
been the most wonderful experience I’d ever had in my life so far.
She told me that from a vampire’s perspective the blending of souls
was more intimate than having sex.

She also asked if I thought I would allow
Nikoli to drink my blood and complete the blooding if he asked. I
found myself blushing but then surprised myself by answering yes. I
think I would want to be blooded with him, maybe even a little more
than I wanted to mate with Lucas. I couldn’t help but want to
experience life through his emotions as much as mine. There was
something so visceral about my relationship with Nikoli that I
found myself at a loss for words.

I think my answer threw my mom for a loop
because she got quiet and then told me she was coming to live at
BlueRidge with Lucas, Nikoli and I. She said we were her pack and
she couldn’t wait to come home to her ancestral lands.

After a while I had cried myself out and just
didn’t want to think or talk about Nikoli or Lucas. I asked my mom
to tell me about her and dad. I listened to her the entire time she
drove to BlueRidge. Turns out my mom and dad actually took the time
to date and get to know each other before bonding. She made it
sound so sweet. The dates, letters and the time they spent getting
to know each other before taking the mate thing for granted.

I realized that’s what I wanted. I wanted a
chance to date Lucas and Nikoli. I wanted the chance to fall in
love on my own not have destiny force me to be with someone. I just
wondered if destiny would give me that chance. Even more I wondered
if Lucas or Nikoli would give me that chance. Mom arrived just
before Lucas finished making us dinner. The three of us sat in
silence while we ate our meal. When we were finished mom suggested
that the three of us go for a run around the property.

The moment we stepped outside mom did
something neither Lucas nor I expected. She dropped to the ground
into a kneeling position and turned her neck baring her jugular
towards Lucas as a sign of respect. Then she motioned towards me to
do the same. She looked up and Lucas and said.

“Declare yourself Alpha of the BlueRidge wolf
pack. It's time and it will help to keep us all safe together.”

Lucas looked back at the house then at mom
and I before saying the ancient words said by all alphas in a voice
filled with pride

"I Lucas Madison do hear by claim myself as
Alpha of the BlueRidge wolf pack. Any who oppose me say so now and
prepare for a death challenge. Otherwise bow now and pledge
allegiance to me!”

Mom and I couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.
It was so formal; then again there was more at work than just the
statement. Those formal little words just made the three of us
official members of BlueRidge pack. This really was our new home.
We all shifted into our wolves and ran the pack territory boundary
together.

I had no intention of returning to the
BlueRidge pack house but found myself moving in that direction
anyway. That’s when I’d heard three distinctive howls. Having lived
so many years with BlueRidge allowed me to immediately recognize
the daughter of my old friends pitch. Marie had obviously come from
Northern Star to join her daughter and Lucas.

I thought about turning around and going
home, but suddenly I remembered how invigorating it used to be
running with the pack. I took off in the direction of the howls. I
spotted Lucas’s wolf first. His wolf was traditional grey and white
coloring but he was double the size of my Kalli or her mom.

Over the years I studied the BlueRidge pack I
had actually come to admire the beauty of the wolf. Lucas, as much
as I hated to admit it is a very beautiful wolf in a classic sort
of way. He had the most amazing amber eyes that shone like gold
when the moonlight caught them just right. His fur was smooth and
thick with atypical grey and taupe coloring with black tipped ears
and his left black paw was grey.

I saw Marie next. I would recognize her
petite black wolf anywhere. She was solid black with the brightest
green eyes. Then I saw my beloved. Her wolf looked nothing like I’d
have expected it to. She was she was light brown with a solid black
ridge that ran from the tip of her head down her back and ended on
her tail. She was medium sized larger than her mother but still
much smaller in than Lucas.

Her eyes were a muted brown which also
surprised me. In all my years of watching wolves I had never seen
such unremarkable wolf eyes. Generally speaking the wolves just
enhance the human eye coloring. That would mean Kalli’s should be
some shade of blue or purple given her wonderful amethyst eyes.

I expected Lucas to immediately attack once
he noticed my presence, instead he shocked me to my core by turning
towards me then howling a welcome. Marie ran towards me and rubbed
her fur against my legs. Feeling her fur brush up against me
brought back many warm wonderful memories. I felt myself becoming
very happy that I hadn’t stayed away.

Then my beloved wolf moved closer to Lucas
and started rubbing herself against him. I knew this was a
customary way of showing me the newcomer that they were a mated
pair. Kalli’s wolf was trying to show me in no uncertain terms that
Lucas is her mate and I need to back off. I wanted to get upset,
but I knew her wolf was in total control and that it had been
trying for day to tell me to back off. I couldn’t help myself I
actually felt my lips twitch in amusement. Lucas howled again and
started to run. I ran besides them and closest to Marie.

We ran the entire border of BlueRidge pack
three times over. It was energizing and wonderful. I genuinely
enjoyed myself not even Kalli’s wolf marking herself on Lucas could
put a damper on it.

I could see my new little pack was getting
tired of running and I knew it was time to go home. I brought
myself to a stop and gazed up at the moon. It was amazing how much
had changed in just the past few hours. Today had been one hell of
a day and had brought so many changes to my life. More than anyone
should have to deal with in any twenty four hour period of time. In
a way I found my mate and almost lost her again in the same day. I
went from thinking I would have happily ever after, to resigning
myself to hell.

I went from having a pack, to having no pack
then ended up being alpha to my very own small pack. I went from
spending my every moment wanting to behead the vampire to actually
allowing him to run with my pack. Like I said one hell of a day!
The good news is, I know Kalli’s wolf picks me since she was very
aggressively rubbing herself all over me in front of Nikoli. It is
the most traditional way for a shewolf to show her choice in mate.
I threw back my head and howled my frustration at the moon. Kalli
and Marie howled with me then as a pack we headed to our new
home.

I was so pleased to be home in my ancestral
land. My wolf was ecstatic that Lucas was our new alpha and soon to
be son in law. The moment Lucas made the declaration, she burst
from my body and damn near bounced around the entire border. It was
so wonderful being home and running BlueRidge territory with my
daughter and new alpha.

We yipped and howled as we made our first
full trip around the boundary. That’s when I smelled Nikoli. I knew
earlier today when my daughter spoke of her vampire beloved that it
was most likely the same vampire. It thought it would have been too
much of a coincidence to be anyone else.

I had known Nikoli my entire life. He was
part of the BlueRidge pack even before I was born. He had
established himself just outside of our territory during my
grandfather reign. He sat and watched the BlueRidge pack for years
before finally befriending my father.

My father had actually allowed Nikoli
entrance into territory and our lives. For all intent and purposes
he had become a BlueRidge pack member. He lived in our territory,
he participated in our runs, he ate at our table and played with
our pups. He defended us against intruders and cried when we buried
our dead.

I wanted to be angry with him for claiming my
daughter as his beloved, but I couldn’t help myself or my wolf from
running to him and greeting his as a friend. The truth was, I’d
missed Nikoli almost as much as I missed BlueRidge. It felt great
to be home and the truth was Nikoli is a big part of being home. It
felt fantastic to brush myself against him. My wolf damn nearly
purred with satisfaction. Nikoli had been my father’s best friend
in life and he’d been like an uncle to me.

We ran the boundaries several more times as a
pack, before pausing for a few moments to howl our pleasure at the
moon then headed back to pack house.

As was tradition, Lucas shifted back first.
He stood there with his back to us in all his naked glory. Kalli
and I shifted simultaneously. I turned to watch her face when she
spotted Lucas’s naked form. I heard her deep intake of breath and
was pleased that she was attacked to her mate.