Suddenly Wolf(15)

Andrea took a deep breath, trying to find the calm that she usually possessed. It wasn’t like her to make snap judgments. She’d learned as a police officer that a situation was often more complex than it first seemed.

She leaned over to Xavier and whispered, “Why did you invite her?”

“I didn’t,” he said with a shake of his head. “We ran into her as we arrived at the restaurant.”

“I’ll bet,” she said sarcastically. “Rather convenient for her, don’t you think?”

“What I think is that my mate needs to claim me so that the others know I’m taken.”

“Claim?” What was he, baggage on an airport carousel? She was still riding a green haze of jealousy, so she couldn’t have heard that correctly. “What does that mean?”

“It means, sugar, that until you are able to control your wolf well enough to be able to bite me and claim me officially, then you better make sure I’m covered in your scent.”

“What?” Did it say something about her that she had a vision of a dog marking its territory? Eeew. But Xavier must have interpreted her expression correctly because he leaned closer and licked her ear.

“It means,” he whispered, his warm breath caressing her earlobe as he laughed softly, “that you need to fuck me hard and long.”



* * * *



Daegan glanced at his watch. It was still quite early, but he was so impatient to get their mate somewhere private that the meal seemed to take forever. It didn’t help that Sheila had stayed, despite it being clear to everyone else that she hadn’t been invited and was not really welcome. It was almost as if she expected Xavier to choose her even though his mate sat at the table.

It seemed that nothing short of an order from her alpha would make her leave the restaurant, and Daegan knew his brother well enough to know Xavier wouldn’t do that. Xavier would feel guilty for what he considered leading Sheila on for the last few years. But Daegan could see the woman for what she was—an ambitious, power-hungry, young bitch who’d set her eyes on Xavier and wouldn’t back down without a fight. But, of course, she kept that side of her personality carefully hidden from the alpha.

“Do you make the jewelry yourself?” Jessie asked with a gleam in her eye. Daegan knew Jessie and Dave’s first anniversary was coming up and wondered what the woman had in mind.

“Some of it,” Andrea replied. Daegan noticed she was caressing the top of Isaac’s hand as Isaac caressed her thigh. It was obvious by her squirming that her mind was elsewhere, but she was trying valiantly to be polite. He was grateful for her attempt. Being the alpha’s mate came with responsibilities that she probably had no way of understanding just yet. Her life would have been far simpler if she’d only been his and Isaac’s mate.

Although, simple didn’t quite describe the dynamics of such a complex relationship. Even without Xavier involved, a triad relationship would have been hard to maintain—although he had no doubt he and Isaac were capable of it—but with Xavier involved, the situation had the potential to spiral out of control.

Just because destiny had chosen Andrea as their mate, it didn’t guarantee that they’d all get along. Hell, he’d seen mated pairs who’d made each other miserable.

“Relax, Daegan, you’re making Andrea nervous.”

“Sorry,” he sent back to Isaac in a strained telepathic voice. “I just don’t know how much more polite conversation I can take. I need to mark Andrea as our mate. I need her to mark me.” He glanced to his right and added, “And I need to get as far away from Sheila as possible.”

The fawning expression Sheila wore every time Xavier spoke was absolutely sickening, especially since Daegan knew that it was completely fake. Sheila had been careful to hide her real personality in front of Xavier, but both Isaac and Daegan had seen what the woman was really like.

She had no time for anyone she considered beneath her, and since she considered herself superior in every way, that meant she treated just about everybody with contempt. If her brother wasn’t the beta, and a genuinely nice guy, many in the pack would not have tolerated her this long.

“Do you want to order some dessert?” their waiter asked in a friendly voice.

“No,” Daegan replied sharply. He cast an apologetic glance at Andrea, but didn’t miss the grin plastered on Dave’s face. “I mean, no thanks. The meal was delicious. Could we have the check please?”

“I think that’s our cue to get going,” Dave said with a laugh. He helped his wife from her seat and then cast a pointed look at his sister. Sheila seemed not to notice until Xavier cleared his throat and wished her good night. She looked momentarily stunned by the dismissal, but hid her reaction quickly and hurried to catch up to her brother.