The Mating Project (15 page)

"The
perfume was a nice trick, but did you really think I couldn't smell him on you?"
His smile could only be described as evil incarnate. "His stink is all
over you. You can't fool me, my sweet."

"I
have no idea what you're talking about, Anton."

His
laugh chilled her to the bone.

"Of
course you do, but that's okay. I'll let you have your little bit of fun—for
now." As abruptly as he grabbed her, he released her, and Maria darted
away from him to the opposite side of the gazebo. This had always been her
favorite place to hide out as a child, but right now, she wanted to tear the
damn thing to the ground.

"I
shall make this simple for you, sweet thing." She grimaced at the inane
pet name. "I've been after Silas Deacon for ages. I want him on the Mating
Project, and you, my sweet little Maria, will make sure he agrees to my terms,
or…"

He
flashed his elongated canines at her, and Maria knew full what he meant.

"What
makes you think you can threaten me? You just wait ‘til my father hears of
this, he'll—"

"He'll
what?" Anton interrupted her and leant back against the very place he'd
held her captive, and lit up one of the sickly cigars he favored. He took a
deep draft and then crossed the measly distance between them in one leap and
blew the smoke straight into her face.

Maria's
eyes watered, and her lungs burned as she coughed the smoke she'd inadvertently
inhaled, back up again.

"I'm
an original, Maria. Your father is a mere councilor, and whilst he has
influence it won't reach very far. What do you think the council will say to
the fact the he has allowed his only daughter and a pure blood cougar to boot,
to run about town screwing whoever she fancied for the last ten years? Somehow
I don't think they'll be too pleased, will they, now?"

He
paused again, and his eyes bled back to their usual silver grey orbs. His stare
was no less menacing, though, and Maria crossed her arms and inched away from
him some more.

"So
I tell you how it will be. You will make sure Deacon
signs
up to the project, and I will let him live." He smiled at her gasp.
"I'll even let you fuck him for a while, and once he's signed the
contract, you and I will be mated in front of the council, and then, my little
cat, you're all mine."

Cold
sweat trickled down Maria's back, and hearing Silas's pet name for her coming
from this man's lips turned her stomach.

"Don't
you dare call me that, and you're deluded if you think you'll get away with
this. I'd rather kill myself than sleep with you."

If
Maria had thought to get a reaction out of him she was mistaken. Nothing seemed
to shake this guy, and her cat whimpered and burrowed in deeper into her skin.

"Words
are easy,
little cat."
He
chuckled to himself when she flinched at the moniker. "And if you really
have a death wish that can be arranged. Once you've given me a litter of cubs.
You're strong and healthy, and your family is clearly fertile, unlike the dud I
was married to before. Stupid bitch couldn't carry one of my babies to
term."

Maria
closed her eyes and shook her head. No, this was a nightmare. He couldn't be
allowed to get away with any of this. She wouldn't let him. Malachi would know
what to do. How she could be so sure of that, she had no idea, but it gave her
the strength to summon her cat. The animal snarled, and Maria growled at Anton.
His stoic smile slipped slightly when she unsheathed her claws and cut that
vile cigar in half.

"Those
will kill you, and if they don't, I will. No one threatens what's mine,
original or not."

Anton
growled low in his throat, the sound so menacing it sent a chill all over her
body, but before he could say or do anything, Carter's familiar scent enveloped
her, and Maria sprinted toward her brother.

"Hey
there, sis.
Anastasia is tired and antsy and wants to get home to the cubs. This is the
first time she's left
them,
see, so she asked me to
find you. Want a lift, seeing that you've drunk your bodyweight in wine
tonight? Mum says you could stay here in your old suite, but Jake and I figured
you'd rather go home, right?"

He
frowned at Maria's overenthusiastic nod, and she froze when Anton approached.

"If
she needs a lift home, I'm more than capable of providing her with one. After
all, we'll soon be family, won’t we, Maria?"

Carter's
frown increased, and he pulled Maria behind him and faced up to the older man.
The air was suddenly thick with tension, and Maria swallowed nervously. Carter
was close to shifting, and it had been a while since she'd seen her brother
this agitated.

"Nothing
is settled yet, on that score, De Souza. My father might yet withdraw his
permission, so I'd tread carefully if I were you. I don't take kindly to
finding my little sister this perturbed."

Anton
growled, and Maria pulled on Carter's arm to get him to move.

"Stop
the caveman act, dumb-head. I can look after myself, and you don't want to keep
Anastasia waiting, do you?"

At
the mention of his mate, Carter's tense stature relaxed, and he nodded.

"Let's
get you home, sis."

Maria
didn't need to look back to know Anton's gaze burnt a hole into her back. What
had she ever done to deserve such a fucked up life?

Chapter Eleven

"Maria,
dear, are you all right?" Anastasia's concerned voice drifted into the
miserable fog for brains that was her thoughts, and Maria sat up with a start.
She must have dozed off in the car. She'd shut her eyes to avoid any awkward
questions when they'd made it back to her brothers' car, and Jake had given her
that
look that always made her squirm
and confess all.

Anastasia
had come to her rescue and told him to butt out, but it seemed she, too, now
wanted answers. Her friend's worry coated itself around Maria's senses like a
suffocating blanket, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I
will be, don’t worry."

Carter
snorted in the driver's seat, and Jake turned round and glared at her.
Anastasia ignored her mates and grasped hold of Maria's hand.

"You
don't like him, do you?"

She
didn't need to clarify who Anastasia meant, and Maria blinked away useless
tears. Anastasia sighed and nodded.

"Me
neither. There is something about him that gives me the creeps. Surely your
father will not force you to go through with it. I know I'm relatively new to
all this, but this
custom,
for sake
of a better word is … is … well, it's just not right. You should be free to
choose to mate who you want."

"It
is what it is, little one." Carter interrupted his mate and glanced at
Maria through the rear view mirror. As quick as that glance was it conveyed his
concern for her loud and clear, and it calmed Maria's agitated cougar. She
should have known her brothers would have her back, no matter what. They always
did, after all. Maybe she needed to confide in them.
About
Silas anyway.
Malachi would be a step too far even for them, she was
sure.

"However,"
Jake said. "Anastasia is quite right, that Dad wouldn't force you into
this. He simply wants what's best for you. In his eyes, and I agree with his
thinking, being mated to an original like De Souza will keep you safe, out of
the politics, and strengthen the status of the entire family.
Especially with your past."

He
threw his hands up in defeat as Anastasia growled at him.

"Hey,
sweetheart, don't kill the messenger. I'm merely playing devil's advocate here.
I'll back my
lil
’ annoying sister in whatever she
wants to do, but the truth of the matter is, she is not getting any younger,
and people are starting to talk. Not that either one of us gives two hoots
about that, but there's the triplets to consider now. I will not jeopardize their
future in any way—or yours."

"Oh,
poppycock.
You two have managed to make a life for yourself outside of the council
perfectly well, and our babies will do so, too. I've lived perfectly well as a
human for years before I met you, so I'm not buying into this bullshit for one
minute. You will not sacrifice your sister to that man on some imaginary path
for our babies. I won't let you."

"Please,
stop arguing.
You never argue. This is why I haven't said anything." Maria yanked her
hand out of Anastasia's hold and put both of her hands over her ears.
"This isn't your problem. It's mine, and I'll sort it one way or the
other."

Her
brothers’ snarls filled the car, and Anastasia pulled Maria's hands off her
ears.

"This
is very much our problem. You're my closest friend, and you're family. If
you're in trouble I want to know about it, and we'll try and help, won’t we,
boys?"

She
glared at her men, and both Jake and Carter smiled.

"Of
course, we
will,
little one."

"You
don’t even have to ask that, sweetheart."

"Good,
now that's settled. Tell me who the man is whose scent you've been trying to
hide under a cloud of perfume?"

Anastasia
laughed at Maria's astonished look, and winked at her.

"Did
you really think that would work? Clearly he means something to you for his
scent to be that strong, and…
Oh My God!
Are you mated?
To a human?
Geez, Maria. You don't like
to make things easy for yourself, do you?"

Her
amusement turned into horror when Maria burst into tears.

"Okay,
that's it. You're coming home with us, so we can keep you safe, and you can
explain all of this."

Maria
shook her head and wiped the useless tears away.

"No,
I will not put you or the babies in danger. This is my mess, and I need to sort
it out. If you want to take me anywhere, take me to his place. They both live
there."

"Both?"
Anastasia's voice rose in
amazement,
and her brothers
swore.

"Goddammit,
Maria, you better start talking, or so help me I'll forget you're my sister and
stop this car and put you over my knee." Carter's blue eyes blazed at her
through the mirror, and she didn't miss the white knuckled grip he had on the
steering wheel. Jake, too, looked close to shifting. She could almost see his
cat's fur stand on end, and her own animal wasn't much better.

"Stop
it all of you. If you ruin my car's upholstery, I'll never forgive you."
Anastasia pulled them all back from the brink, and despite the situation Maria
smiled at her grumbled words of
damn
stupid ass men. I swear I've got five kids instead of three.

"You
best give Jake the address of this human, and spill the details, girl."

By
the end of that car ride, Maria had filled them all in as best she could. Her
brothers' reaction to the news that Malachi was back in town had been as
predictable as it had been terrifying.

"I'll
string that damn mutt's balls up for the birds to pick apart."

"That's
too good a treatment for the asshole. Where the fuck has he been all this
time?"

In
a strange way, her brothers' fury had been reassuring. They'd been the ones to
pick her up and build her back up again back then. And whilst she had never
divulged her rescuer's true identity they'd known he was a wolf, and it hadn’t
taken them long to put two and two together.

"You
do know when Dad finds out he's back he'll go ballistic, right, sis?"

Maria
nodded, and her heart tried to beat itself out of her chest as they pulled up
outside Silas's block of flats and Malachi stepped into the glare of the
headlights.

"Well,
talk of the devil. You stay here, while we have a word with that wolf of
yours."

Before
she could stop them, Jake and Carter had shot of out of the car, and half
shifted the three men circled each other in an eerie dance of testosterone
fuelled madness that really shouldn't excite Maria. Anastasia, too, was not
unaffected if her increased scent and rapid breathing were anything to go by.

"Oh
my," she whispered and tightened her hold on Maria. "Aren't they a
sight for sore eyes?"

"They'll
kill him. I've got to stop this." Maria tried to yank herself free, but
Anastasia had a surprisingly strong grip on her.

"No,
they won't. They might just rough him up a bit. Let them. They need to do
something, and how he reacts to this will show us all how he truly feels about
you. Besides," Anastasia pulled back and winked at her. "When they
get this worked up, you know the sex you'll have afterwards will blow your
mind, right?"

"
Anastasia!"

Maria
tried for outrage, but her protest came about far too breathy. In truth, she
couldn't tear her gaze away from the sight of Malachi. He'd been magnificent as
a young man, but in the years since, the boy she remembered had grown into a
man. Muscles bunched and released under his tee, and the bulge in his jeans
made her wet just looking at it. A three day old beard graced his square jaw,
and the hands that formed into claws were strong and long fingered. The dark
hair on his forearms led her gaze up to his bulging biceps and the wide chest.
It tapered down to lean hips and thick thighs that strained the denim of his
jeans as he hunkered down slightly ready for the attack that didn't come.