Phoebe stirred. Her body felt heavy. She ached with a particularly odd sensation between her thighs. Her mind slowly stirred and memories filtered back to her: playing with the pups, meeting parents, the audience with Thomas and Katrina and then…
Her eyes widened at the memory of what she and Jason had done. They didn’t…
‘Oh, you did,’ Máni hummed.
‘This isn’t funny.’
‘I agree. What he did was quite serious. Didn’t it feel amazing?’
‘But…’
‘No buts. This is what Mates do, sweetie. I know I should have made you watch some filthy movies once in a while.’
‘What is he going to think of me after that?’
‘He’s going to wonder how he can convince you to let him do it again.’
‘Máni!’
‘Well, it’s true.’
‘It’s not even nighttime!’ Phoebe wasn’t sure what time it was, but she had been summoned to the office shortly after noon.
‘What does that matter? I’m surprised he didn’t take us right there in the office. I suppose he wanted your first time to be special.’
‘How am I even going to look at him again?’
‘Even better…let him take you from behind.’
‘Máni!’
“Angel, you smell fantastic right now,” Jason lazily stirred, tightening his embrace. “Do you know you get a spicy note to your scent when you’re aroused?”
“D-do I?”
“Mhmm. I’ve always loved Indian food. Now I know why. It was all to stimulate my appetite for you.”
Phoebe shivered. He nuzzled her, nibbling her ear. The stimulation seemed to go right to her core and she felt herself tighten. He groaned. She felt his erection press against her back as the sweet undertone of his scent grew stronger.
“Shall we keep going, angel?” he whispered, just as there was a knock at the door. He growled at the interruption.
“What was that?” Phoebe asked.
“Just dinner. It’s nearly six. I linked the cooks to bring something up and leave it at the door.”
“Oh.” Her stomach rumbled.
“Seems my angel is hungry for something other than me,” Jason chuckled, kissing her. “We’ll have to take care of that so I’m back at the top of the list.”
“Jason?” Phoebe looked over her shoulder as he slipped out of bed.
She caught sight of his ass as he ducked into the bathroom. Blushing, she looked away, trying not to picture his lean, muscular form.
‘So yummy,’ Máni sighed. ‘I can’t wait to meet his wolf.’
Phoebe tried to marshal her thoughts as Jason emerged. He had slipped on a pair of sweats and was pulling on a t-shirt as he stepped out of the large closet. Studying him, she couldn’t help but picture him in all his glory. Sensing her gaze, Jason smirked. Phoebe blushed, hiding her face in the pillow, but it was soaked in his scent.
“You shouldn’t be embarrassed, angel,” Jason leaned over her, turning her face to his and kissing her tenderly. “All of this belongs to you. You can undress me mentally or physically anytime.”
“Jason!” she squeaked, her blush growing fierce as he chuckled, kissing her neck.
“My angel is so innocent, but I like that. I’m afraid I’d have to kill anyone who had been with you if that wasn’t the case.”
“Y-you wouldn’t,” Phoebe jerked away, staring at him wide-eyed.
“An Alpha is very possessive of his mate, angel. I wouldn’t put anything past me. You have no idea what it takes to keep from hunting down your former mate and putting him out of your misery…and he didn’t even touch you.”
“Jason.”
“Shh.” He kissed her gently. “Don’t defend him. Don’t even think of him. Think about me instead.”
Leaving her with a smile, he went to retrieve their waiting meal before it got cold, though he expected them to use hot plates to keep it all fresh. Phoebe hesitated a moment before she slipped out of bed. It felt strange to move and an odd wetness dribbled between her thighs. Ducking into the bathroom, she used the shower to clean herself before wrapping up in a robe.
I should get dressed.
‘Or just wear the robe,’ Máni suggested. ‘Our Mate will appreciate the view.’
Ignoring her wolf, Phoebe slipped into the closet. It seemed they were eating in so she didn’t need to wear anything extravagant. Still unsure, she selected a pair of shorts and a hoodie.
Stepping out, she found Jason had wheeled a cart in from the hall. He arranged the dishes on the coffee table in front of the large couch and was uncorking a bottle of wine that was chilling in a bucket of ice.
“Wine?” Phoebe asked as she approached.
“Seems the kitchen wanted to make dinner as romantic as possible,” Jason grinned, pouring them glasses.
Like beer, there were special werewolf wines blended with aconite to enhance the alcoholic stimulations, but knowing their Alpha didn’t enjoy such things, the kitchen had chosen a human variety without the addition. They didn’t want to be the reason his mood was ruined.
“Romantic as possible?” Phoebe repeated, her face suddenly going red. “Don’t tell me…they know!”
He glanced at her, raising a brow, “About what?”
“About what we did…”
“Their Alpha and Luna disappeared in the middle of the day and then requested dinner in their room. I’m sure they have a fair idea what that means.”
“Goddess!” Phoebe hid her face in her hands. How would she face any of them again?
“Angel,” he chuckled, embracing her and kissing her forehead. “It’s fine. When Luke and Mona were first mated, I didn’t see him for two weeks. Ben and Lucille were even worse.”
Phoebe slowly relaxed.
“I can’t disappear for a week, but half a day won’t be begrudged. Besides, it comforts the pack to know their Alpha and Luna are together.”
“Right,” she leaned against him as he nuzzled her.
“Now let’s eat.”
He led her to the couch and revealed the kitchen’s hard work: beef stroganoff, green bean casserole, tossed salad and rhubarb crisp for dessert. They enjoyed the meal with little conversation. Jason concerned himself with making certain she was satisfied.
Hunger satisfied, they sat together on the couch, enjoying their close proximity. Jason held her, letting her recline against his chest while she relaxed. His fingers slipped under her hoodie, gently caressing her skin.
“So what do I normally smell like?” Phoebe dreamingly asked. She couldn’t remember feeling so relaxed.
“Lilac and sage.”
“And it gets spicy when I’m…”
“Mhmm.” He nuzzled her, catching the slightest hint of it now. His chest rumbled with pleasure.
Phoebe fell silent, thinking about that. The lilac and sage she understood. After all, she spent a lot of time in her mother’s herb garden, but she couldn’t stomach spicy foods. Her mother never used anything stronger than turmeric at home because of that.
“What about me?” Jason asked.
“Dogwood and campfire,” Phoebe answered, hesitating, “and when you’re…stimulated you smell sweet, like roasted marshmallows.”
“That’s weird.”
“Why?”
“I really don’t like sweets, especially marshmallows.”
“Well, I don’t like spicy food,” Phoebe snorted. “But my parents used to take me camping in the backyard all the time. My dad told stories while we made s’mores.”
“So I smell like marshmallows, which you love, and you smell like spices, which I love,” Jason said.
“It’s quite a coincidence.”
“Is it?”
Phoebe fell silent.
“Is it really a coincidence that we would be fated mates and smell like each other’s favorite things?”
Phoebe pondered that, suddenly remembering something she had forgotten a long time ago, “Oh.”
“What is it, angel?”
“When I first scented Graham and knew he was my mate, he smelled like evergreen and chocolate. I liked the smell, but it didn’t make me hunger for him. What do you suppose that means?”
“That he didn’t deserve you. And you shouldn’t think about him anymore.”
“Because I have you?”
“That’s right, angel. You have me.” He kissed her, nibbling her ear and working down her neck.
“I love you, Jason,” Phoebe sighed.
“I love you, Phoebe. Shall I so you how much?”
“Yes. Show me.”
* * *
Graham growled, stirring from his drunken state in the middle of the abandoned cottage. At that moment, he lay in what had been Phoebe’s bedroom. Her scent had been strongest here, but now it was stale and fading.
Alpha Jason had not been joking when he instructed his pack to take everything. Every scrap of furniture, every shelf, even the fridge had been removed. There wasn’t a trace that a wolf ever lived in the cottage, except the beer cans that littered the floor.
Every room was littered with cans, evidence of his obsession since her departure. That day replayed in his mind endlessly as another alpha claimed what was his. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Phoebe seemed to reciprocate, calling out to Jason for comfort. Then, before Graham knew whether she was all right, Jason swept her away and took every last part of her with him. His parting words still burned in Graham’s ears.
“She’ll call my name as I fill her up.”
Graham growled, throwing a can through the window he broke the night before in a drunken fit. How dare that alpha touch what was his. Graham would make him pay and then he’d take back what belonged to him.
Suddenly, his chest felt tight and he struggled to catch his breath. A burning sensation crawled out of the pit of his stomach, bringing an acrid taste to his mouth. He convulsed, emptying the scant contents of his stomach onto the floor.
He managed to catch his breath only for the same sensation to erupt through him like he was injected with pure wolfsbane. Graham clawed at his skin as the feeling trailed through his veins. Writhing on the ground, he howled in pain.
What’s happening!
‘Mate is with him,’ his wolf whimpered vaguely.
Graham almost didn’t recognize the voice. It had been years since Grim spoke to him, not since he marked Kristie. So surprised by his wolf’s response he didn’t immediately register what was said. Suddenly, he howled in rage.
‘She’s with him!’
His wolf whimpered.
Graham crumpled as the realization hit him. This was the pain of betrayal as she mated with someone else. Though he rejected her and marked another, his wolf still maintained a tenuous connection he had not known. Over the years, she never took another male, so he never felt anything through the bond though his betrayal cut her deep. Now he felt the pain she endured when he was with Kristie. It seemed like hours before the pain eased and he passed out again.
Michael found him still on the floor. Sneering at the dozens of cans littered around the alpha’s prone form, he hoisted up the unconscious body and hauled him to the packhouse. Reaching it, Michael ordered a pair of omegas to follow him up to the alpha floor where he dumped the body into the tub, instructing them to clean him up. They complied without a word.
“What’s going on?” Kristie asked, looking in and wrinkling her nose.
“Nothing to worry about, Luna,” Michael answered.
“He’s drunk again.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“Was he there again?”
“I said I’ll handle it.”
Scoffing, she spun on her heels and disappeared. Michael sighed. Between his drunk Alpha and w***e Luna the pack was descending into chaos. Their patrols had stopped completely. In fact, the warriors didn’t even train anymore. Instead, they lounged about, ordering omegas around like barmaids. He had to lock up a few to sober them up after they tried to force themselves on the young she-wolves.
Paperwork wasn’t getting done and proposals were lying in waste. As much as he and the Gamma tried, there was only so much they could get done without an alpha’s authority. The deterioration had been going on for years, but increased quite recently and now he knew why.
When Graham returned to the pack, announcing Kristie was his mate and Luna, none of them questioned it. It wasn’t until later that Michael suspected Kristie was not his fated mate. By then she was already mated and marked.