What Will Be...

  ~

  A moment of panic filled my mind as I slowly shifted around the bed. Someone was in here with me and I couldn’t remember who. I could feel a hand slowly making soothing circles across my hips as I wiggled around trying to break free of the person holding me.

  “What’s the matter Rox?” Baydon’s voice filled my ears and calm replaced the panic, memories from last night crammed my mind.

  “Nothing, everything is fine. Just getting comfortable is all.” I didn’t want to tell him I had forgotten about our conversation last night.

  “Don’t get too comfortable, I have to get up shortly to go see some people, get some things sorted. Did you still want to come?” He still sounded so sleepy. Twisting myself around in his arms I could see his face. Eyes still closed and face completely relaxed as though he were still asleep. The injuries he sustained had healed while we had been sleeping, all traces of the fights yesterday gone.

  “I need to buy a laptop and one of those portable internet stick thingys. I have an online course on Wednesday nights and I want to be prepared for that. Can we do that first and then I’ll come with you?” Wednesday was still a few days away but this course was important to me, I knew my parents would sort out something at school for me but I didn’t want to miss anything else if I could help it.

  “You do an online course? What for?” Baydon sounded shocked, I didn’t really like to tell a lot of people about it but I figured he would need to know about it now.

  “I started my teacher’s degree early. My grades meant that I could enrol in it now and do the first year while still finishing high school. I have an online lesson and group discussion Wednesday nights and then I work on my assignments and online materials during the week.” Only my parents and Anna knew about my course up until now and I was waiting for Baydon to call me a nerd.

  “Wow, that’s impressive Roxy. We can get the supplies you need with the money your dad gave us to use and then we will head out to see my family for lunch. Is that alright?” He sounded nervous as he asked me, which I couldn’t understand. There was no need to be nervous, was there?

  “That’s fine. Let’s get organised and head out. Can’t stay cooped up in here all day doing nothing.” I climbed off the bed and went to my bag of clothes, selecting out an outfit, the sound of Baydon mumbling under his breath caught my attention.

  “I didn’t quite catch that, what did you say?” I knew exactly what he had said but wanted to make him say it out loud.

  “I said, I can think of plenty that we can do cooped up in here all day.” Even though there was a sexy looking smirk on his face I could also see a slight pink tinge covering his cheeks. He was embarrassed. I took a few steps back towards him as he clambered off the bed as well. Pressing my body up against his I wrapped my hands in his hair and pushed my face close to his so that our lips were almost touching.

  “And what would they be boyfriend of mine?” My voice was husky, my lips gently brushing against his as I spoke. A growl left his lips before his hands wound their way around my body and he planted his lips on mine in a passionate kiss that had my knees turning to jelly. All too quick for my liking the kiss was over and Baydon was looking at me through lust filled eyes.

  “Your actions would show you know exactly what I’m talking about you little minx.” His voice was gruff and his lips slightly red from the pressure of the kiss we had just shared.

  “I have got absolutely no idea what you are talking about.” I threw back at him as I turned to leave the room and get changed.

  My butt was given a sharp slap as Baydon laughed his reply, “I’m sure you have no idea.”

  Laughing at him as I made my way out of the bedroom I knew I had made a good decision last night in giving the two of us a shot together. Baydon made me feel happy and safe, which was something Blaze hadn’t managed to do, a sigh escaped me at the thought of Blaze. My wolf was angry with me for being with Baydon, but I refused to be with such an out of control moron. Wolfie could just suck it up and get used to the idea. As long as I stayed away from Blaze, nothing would happen. My wolf wouldn’t force me to be with him and we could both be happy.

  After changing and fixing up my hair I waited in the lounge room for Baydon. Why he was taking so long to get ready was beyond me, but the bedroom door was still closed and I didn’t want to go in there just in case I was presented with a view I wasn’t sure I was ready to see.

  “You coming or are you just going to sit there looking pretty all day? I’ve already packed all our baggage into the car.” Baydon stuck his head into the motel room from the front door, completely confusing me as I stood up.

  “But I thought you,” gesturing towards the closed bedroom door as though that would explain what I was doing.

  “Do I look like a chick who takes hours to get ready?” He pointed to himself while laughing at me. I took a long time checking him out from head to toe before answering.

  “You definitely don’t look like a chick to me,” I giggled as I took in the smug expression on his face.

  “Don’t look at me like that Roxy, or we might just never make it out of this room.”

  Shrugging as I walked past him, I let my hip sway into his side, and let out a chuckle when I heard him growl in frustration at me.

  “Dammit woman, don’t mess with me.” He growled out, which only cause me to laugh harder.

  “Yeah, yeah laugh it up. I’ll get you, you just wait.” Shaking his fist at me in a mockingly, threatening manner had me rolling on the ground with laughter as he too started to chuckle. Pushing myself up from the ground I held my stomach as I headed for the car.

  “Let’s go shopping!” I yelled in his ear when he flopped into the seat next to me, causing him to jump and me to laugh uncontrollably again. We took off out of the motel parking lot and headed into town, Baydon mumbling about ‘bloody women’ the whole way.

  Our shopping trip had been successful and I now had everything I needed to continue on with my course. We had just pulled up in the driveway of an enormous house on the outskirts of town, and I was about to open the car door to get out when suddenly it was ripped open for me and an excited woman was standing there beaming down at me.

  “Hi, I’m Baydon’s Aunt Shell. I’m so glad you guys have come to visit; I haven’t seen Baydon for so long now. Come on inside and meet the rest of the family.” This woman was bouncing around clapping her hands like a teenage girl in all her excitement. I gave Baydon a questioning look as I got out of the car and he mouthed ‘crazy’ at me in answer.

  “Don’t you even think about telling this girl I’m crazy Baydon or there will be hell to pay.” She hadn’t even turned around and yet she seemed to know exactly what had just occurred between Baydon and me.

  “I don’t have to tell her Aunty Shell, you are proving it to her right now.” His tone was laced with amusement as his aunt turned around and smacked him in the back of the head.

  “No-one asked you anyway,” she answered back at him in mock anger. She turned back to me quickly and said with a dead straight face, “I’m not crazy, the hospital gave me a certificate that said I was all fixed.” An outburst of hysterical, girlish giggling followed this comment as she shook her head and started walking towards the house.

  Again, I looked at Baydon, confused on whether or not she was serious. Baydon just smirked at me, and continued towards the house. Sighing I followed suit and was soon crash tackled at the door by some unknown force. Glancing down at my pinned body I realised the ‘unknown force’ was actually a couple of little girls.

  “Girls, get off our guest, I’ve told you both there is no crash tackles until you at least know someone’s name.” Aunt Shell was laughing as she scolded the small girls, who slowly climbed off me mumbling their apologizes.

  “Sorry Mum,” they responded in unison, ducking their heads down as though upset with themselves. I knew they couldn’t be feeling too bad, their shoulders were shaking from held in laughter. These were obviously two v
ery playful girls, and I did love kids, so I did the only logical thing I could think of. Slowly and quietly I climbed to my feet and snuck up behind the girls, grabbing them in a crash tackle all my own and falling to the floor with all of us laughing wildly.

  Snickers were surrounding the crumbled pile of girls on the floor and I looked up to see the source, Baydon and his Aunt.

  “You think this is funny Baydon?” I stood with my hands on my hips and glared at him, hoping he couldn’t tell I wasn’t really mad. He seemed to have no idea as his chuckles suddenly stopped and his face becoming serious before he shook his head in disagreement, looking down at his feet. Perfect.

  Lining him up as discretely as possible, and without missing a step, I ran and crash tackled him to the ground. Laughing, I made to move off him but he wrapped his arms around me in a tight bear hug I couldn’t escape.

  “Stacks on,” he shouted at the top of his lungs. I could have sworn my ear drums had burst but I was left with no time to think about that as I felt two small thumps on my back followed by the laughter of two girls. The shock was next to come though as I felt another four or five thumps. Both Baydon and I let out gasps of breath as we were squashed together in this human pile.

  “Alright. Everyone off, Roxy and Baydon can’t breathe.” Aunt Shell’s voice sounded muffled as she spoke and slowly the weight on top of me lifted until it was completely gone. A hand appeared in front of my face to help me up and I took it. Grateful for the assistance I looked to see who had offered it and was greeted with a boy around my age, who was the splitting image of Baydon.

  “Uh, thanks.” I mumbled, unsure who this guy was. Baydon stood up and grabbed onto my other hand sending a quick evil eye at the figure in front of me.

  “Back off Vince, don’t even try it on her.” Did he just growl at the boy I now knew to be called Vince?

  “Wasn’t gunna Cuz,” was the reply. Although the mischievous twinkle in his eyes said otherwise.

  Turning away from the testosterone filled boys, I looked around the room taking in all the new people now standing in the entrance of the house. A tall man stood next to Aunt Shell, two teenage looking guys were there, as well as the two little girls and another girl slightly older than them. Aunt Shell noticed me looking and flew straight into introductions.

  “Roxy, this is my husband and mate Tom, our eldest son Alex, youngest son Sammy, eldest daughter Clara and the twins Bobbi and Charli. Family meet Roxy, she is a friend of Baydon’s.”

  “Girlfriend, actually, Aunt Shell.” Baydon interrupted anything his Aunt might have been about to say.

  “Well, excuse me;” Aunt Shell sarcastically replied, looking at me to continue, “It’s lovely to meet you Roxy. We have lunch all set up out the back. Sorry about the unusual greeting, we are a family who love our stacks on.”

  Nodding at everyone in a simple gesture of hello before resting my eyes on Aunt Shell and asking, “Did you all come in here just to jump on us? Did you jump on me Aunt Shell?” Aunt Shell looked a little sheepish before nodding that she had indeed been one of the culprits of the thumps on my back.

  “I’m now a huge fan of this game, it’s just like football and I love it.” Aunt Shell looked shocked as I spoke, but a grin lit up her face almost instantly.

  “You are going to fit into this family just fine Roxy. Come, let’s have some lunch.”

  Baydon tightened his grip on my hand and bent down to whisper in my ear, “You are really amazing, you know that right?”

  I blushed and tugged on his hand, following everyone else outside to have lunch.

  “Come on Romeo, I’m hungry.”

  I knew I was going to find this lunch very interesting and enjoyable.

  Blaze

  It had been a couple of days and I was still being kept in the prison room. I had eventually gained some control over my wolf, although he was still popping out on occasion. Dad had been visiting me several times a day to see how I was going, bringing me food and drink. He was the only one permitted in to see me until he deemed it safe enough for others to come in. Obviously he was worried I would lose control and attack someone else, which I could understand now that I had had time to think about my actions of the last few days.

  The door of the room creaked open and I sat up straighter to greet my father.

  "Hey Dad, what’s happening today?" I asked trying to appear offhand, but secretly hoping today would be the day I could get out.

  "Blaze, do you remember Alpha Lucas from the neighbouring pack?" That seemed like a bit of a random question to start the conversation with.

  "Yeah?" I dragged out my answer, making it sound like a question.

  "Well he is here; we both wish to talk to you. Do you think you can maintain control so we can do that?" Dad seemed a little off in the way he was talking to me. I couldn't put my finger on what seemed different; he just didn't seem like himself.

  "I think I got him in control now Dad. Is Alpha Lucas coming in here or am I actually going to be let out?"

  "You can come out; we will be meeting him in my office. Are you ready to go now?" Dad was fidgeting as he spoke which had me instantly worried.

  "Why is Alpha Lucas here? Are we under attack or something? Why are you fidgeting?"

  "Everything will be discussed when we are all together, come on son. It's time to go see Alpha Lucas.” He walked out the door, pausing in the doorway to wait for me to follow.

  'Go. Hurry up,’ my wolf growled in my mind.

  'Shut up you,' I replied without hesitation. He had caused enough problems for me already and I really didn't need to be hearing his voice right now.

  Dad and I walked to his office to be greeted with Alpha Lucas sitting patiently in an armchair, awaiting our arrival.

  "Ahhh Blaze. It's good to see you out and about. I'm not sure what your father has told you about our meeting today, but I wanted to be here in person when you heard the news." Excitement filled the Alpha's voice as he spoke, his eyes lighting up in happiness at whatever this news was.

  "Well it must be big news for me to be here with the two if you. Hit me with it straight, don't beat around the bush. I need to know what we are dealing with here." I was certain there must have been a threat somewhere nearby and we were joining packs. Nothing else I could think of would warrant the attention of two neighbouring Alpha's and myself.

  "Alright Blaze. Sit down and we will tell you what's going on," Dad waited for me to sit in one of the armchairs before continuing. "Alpha Lucas and I have decided that it is in the best interest of both our packs to unite as one when you take over leadership."

  I interrupted, "I knew it. What's the threat? Is it hunters? Wilds?"

  Alpha Lucas and Dad shared a confused look with each other before Alpha Lucas responded.

  "As you know my pack is only small and my daughter and her mate were set to take over leadership when they came of age. Sadly my daughters mate has passed on and I don't believe she can lead at such a young age on her own." He stopped there as though he were finished his explanation.

  "So with the blessing of the two pack’s Alphas that are involved and the Elders we have come to an agreement to merge packs.” Dad seemed to be getting slightly more nervous as the conversation continued. For the life of me I couldn't understand why, it was a good thing we were merging, wasn't it?

  Dad took a deep breath and rubbed his hands over his face. "You and Emily, Alpha Lucas' daughter, will be mated in a few months at a formal ceremony to join the packs and have everyone fall under your direction." Dad's shoulders slumped as he finished this but I couldn't have cared less at that moment.

  "We are going to WHAT?" Anger filled my voice as it echoed around the room.

  "Blaze, you need to be mated before your wolf and hormones take over. I can't risk you being so out of control any longer. Your behaviour these last few days has proved difficult to say the least. You tried to force a mating on someone, and you have barely mainta
ined control over your wolf. Mating will calm your wolf and allow you full control over yourself with your mate near-by."

  Fury filled my every thought. How dare they? Forcing me to mate with some bitch rather than my beautiful Roxy. It was ludicrous and absurd. I refused to be forced into this; they would just have to find another way because I wasn't going to play their game.

  "Roxy is my mate. No-one else. No-one else will ever replace her and she WILL take her place by my side when I become Alpha, it is her duty as my Luna to do so." Growls were erupting from my mouth as I struggled to speak my words calmly.

  "It has all been approved by the Elders. You WILL mate Emily, and leave Roxy to live her life. Don't you think you tormented the girl enough on her birthday? You will be mated in the next six months Blaze; to Emily, and that is final. Roxy deserves to be with someone who doesn't terrify her and try to force themselves on her."

  That did it. The thought of Roxy being with anyone but me filled me with a white hot rage and I began the seemingly never ending battle to reign in my madder than hell wolf.

  "Blaze? You alright there son?" Worry filled my father's voice as I struggled within myself.

  "Mine!" Was all that escaped my lips as I admitted defeat and took a backseat to the crazed wolf now controlling my body.

  "Aaawwww shit, Lucas, we lost him. His wolf is in control again." The voices around me seemed far off and muffled as my point of view changed and I felt the faint changes in my body. My wolf had shifted into its natural form and I landed on all fours.

  Leaning back on my haunches, an angry howl echoed in my ears, followed by an aggressive growl as I felt rather than saw, my body charging towards the closed window of the office and launching out through the glass.

  ‘Don’t you worry, we will find her and she will be ours. Whether she likes it or not.' My wolf growled internally as he took off at a sprint to the nearest line of trees.

  This was bad. Really bad. And there was nothing I could do about it. My wolf was obviously a lot stronger mentally than I was.

  And he was determined to claim his mate.

  Baydon

  Once lunch was finished with, and cleaned up after, the girls moved inside while us guys made our way to the garage. They knew I wanted to ask them something, they just weren’t sure what.

  Asking for help away from Roxy was important to me; I wanted to keep her separate from the gritty side of our little ‘holiday’. She had already been through enough in the last few days and she didn’t need to worry about Blaze finding us already.

  Uncle Tom was the first to speak up when we reached our destination.

  “Roxy; she isn’t your mate is she?” It sounded more like a statement than a question. I was puzzled at how he came to this conclusion and yet he seemed so sure about it.

  “What makes you say that?” My curiosity won out when I opened my mouth to respond.

  “Well you guys are dating, you seem pretty close and yet neither of you are marked. If she was your mate and you were that close it would be impossible for you not to mark each other.” Uncle Tom said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  “No, she isn’t my mate. I would love her to be, but she is Blaze’s mate, which is the reason we are here.”

  My body tensed involuntary as I mentioned the name of my soon to be Alpha, an action which didn’t go unnoticed by the men around me.

  “Blaze? As in Blaze Aston? Soon to be Alpha? Baydon what is going on, it must be serious if you are running from your Alpha, with his mate. Does she know she is his mate?” Uncle Tom’s voice held a combination of concern, fear and anger as he fired off questions at me in quick succession.

  “Yes, Blaze Aston, my soon to be Alpha. Yes she is his mate and she is fully aware of this fact. The reason we are on the run from him is because Blaze tried to force her into a mating and he scared the shit outta her. We left with the blessing of her family and the current Alpha because she was too scared to stay at her own home because of that arse.”

  Explaining the basics of our situation to my present family members only increased my anger about the whole situation. I could only hope that they would still help us after learning that we were hiding from an almost Alpha.

  Alex spoke up first, which was surprising as Uncle Tom seemed to have been in charge of the decisions and questions so far.

  “What do you need from us?” Determination laced his voice as the question filled the space of the once silent room.

  Looking between my cousins and uncle, I licked my lips.

  ”I was hoping you could just help keep an ear out and give us a heads up if you hear about Blaze being in the area. Or if you hear of anyone else asking around about us.”

  I wasn’t sure what the reaction would be, but laughter hadn’t even crossed my mind as a possibility. Yet, that was what I got. From everyone. I couldn’t understand why they were laughing. Mentally repeating what I had said only left me more confused. Nothing had even been remotely funny; it was all quite serious actually.

  “What are you all laughing at?” I demanded, fed up with trying to figure out the intricate workings of their brains.

  Between laughter, Uncle Tom managed to blurt out, “That’s all. You were so serious. We thought you wanted to kill Roxy’s mate or hide in our basement or something.”

  They were laughing out of relief that I hadn’t asked them to do something illegal by the sounds of it. They were obviously expecting me to ask something completely different and a lot more involved than just warning us if Blaze was in the area sniffing around.

  “Of course we will help you. Now that that’s all over and done with, help me figure out what’s wrong with this.” Vince slapped his hand down on the bonnet of the car we had been standing around. The impact of the slap knocked the driver’s side bumper loose and it swung down, clattering against the oil stained, cement floor.

  My mood had changed instantly when Vince had said they were prepared to do what I had asked of them. Having some people looking out for us would be a great help in our mission of avoiding Blaze. The longer we stayed away from Blaze the more time I would get to spend with Roxy and that was something I would never get enough of.

  “Where did you get this piece of junk Vince? It’s a piece of crap.” Clearly I was mocking him and the rust bucket before my eyes. Vince’s eyes widened as his mouth dropped open, a glare then slid its way across his face.

  “Don’t knock my baby. You don’t know what she is, do you?”

  Shaking my head in response, I took a closer look at the car itself. Rather than look at the rust and dents I took in the body shape, style and interior. Like a punch from Muhammad Ali, it hit me hard, and I recognised what I was looking at.

  “Holy shit man. This is a 1969 March 1 Ford Mustang Fastback. How the hell did you score one of these?”

  Vince, Tom, Alex and Sammy all just stood around with smirks on their faces as I almost jizzed in my pants. This was an amazing piece of machinery and I would kill to own one, and they knew it too.

  “Shall we start working on it now before you’re on the move again Baydon?”

  Without answering I went and grabbed a toolbox and started lifting the hood to see what was going on with the engine. I couldn’t wait to hear the rumble the motor would make when we got it going.

  Roxy

  After lunch Shell, Clara, Bobbi, Charli and I all headed inside while the boys went to the garage to play with cars or something.

  I was loving this family. They were so crazy, yet down to earth; laid back and yet you could tell that there was a lot of mutual respect and love amongst them all. Just the way a family should be in my opinion.

  Bobbi and Charli had run upstairs to get their dollies and Shell had gone to the kitchen to get us all something to drink.

  Clara was sitting opposite, fidgeting with her hands and looking down at her feet as though she was nervous about something.

  “What’s up Clara?” I figured the direc
t approach was the best here; she was only two years younger than I was so I had decided to treat her like a friend and not a little kid.

  “Well, ummm, I was wondering if maybe you wanted a make-over? Not that you need one or anything, it’s just that I want to be a beautician and –“

  I cut her off to save the poor girl from herself. “I would love a make-over Clara. Go grab your supplies and we can do it down here if you like?”

  She let out an excited squeak before taking off upstairs to collect her makeover kit.

  “You don’t have to have a make-over if you don’t want too, you know.” Shell was leaning against the door frame with arms full of drinks; she obviously heard the interaction between Clara and me.

  “I really don’t mind. It’s nice to get girly every so often and I really like Clara.”

  “You’re a lovely girl you know Roxy. I’m glad Baydon has you in his life and that he introduced you into ours. Now if we are being girly we better get right into it. We need chocolate, ice-cream and movies. Let’s all get make-overs.” By the end, Shell was clapping and hopping from foot to foot in excitement. Clearly forgetting about the cans of drink she was now shaking up in her arms.

  Dumping the suddenly remembered drinks onto the nearby coffee table, she spun on her heel and skipped into the kitchen.

  What Shell had said about me had caused my cheeks to heat up, although I don’t think she had noticed. The fact that she had accepted me into her home and family so quickly made me feel wanted. Happiness also filled my mind and heart as I thought about the fact that she approved of Baydon and I being together and that she thought it was a good thing, it helped ease any lingering doubts I had been having had about being involved with Baydon.

  Shell and Clara returned to the living room at the same time, Clara with make-up kits and hair styling objects. Shell had blocks of chocolates, tubs of cookies and cream ice-cream and a bunch of lollies in a bowl.

  Bobbi and Charli ran into the rooms to announce they were going to have a very important tea party and could not be disturbed. They then raced back upstairs giggling wildly about who knows what.

  Shell put ‘He’s just not that into you’ into the DVD player, hitting play before jumping onto the chair beside me. She grabbed a bottle of bright, neon purple nail polish, propped her feet up onto a nearby footstool and began painting her toenails.

  “Let’s get this girly party started,” she sang as Clara started brushing out my hair.

  Bring on the girliness, I thought to myself as I settled in for an enjoyable afternoon.

  Blaze

  My paws were muddy and aching. Fur matted with twigs, leaves, grass and unknown murky substances pulling it into painful clumps. I had been running and searching for a few days now, my wolf never once giving me control of our body so I could return home. He was on a mission to find our mate and claim her, and I was scared of what would happen when he did find her.

  I couldn’t remember the last time we had slept. Killing game for food as we ran, stopping only for seconds when we crossed paths with a water supply. The wolf within me was acting like a crazed lunatic and his actions were going to get us killed if he didn’t give up this wild goose chase soon.

  Dirt and mud flew around my body as we leapt over fallen logs and tried to dodge low branches and large puddles. I don’t know what it is about being in the wild but there are always puddles, even if it hasn’t been raining. Moss covered rocks flew passed as we continued our run. I had repeatedly tried communicating with my wolf ever since we left my father’s office, but he was yet to respond. Better try again you never know when I may be successful in stopping this insanity.

  ‘Oi, Wolf. Do you have any idea where we are going? Wouldn’t we be better to wait for her in pack territory? She is bound to come back sooner or later. Right now we are just running around like headless chickens.’ It was such a weird feeling projecting those thoughts into a section of my own mind. This must be how people with multiple personalities feel.

  No response. I wasn’t really surprised though, he hadn’t thought a single thing to me since the transformation and the escape. My paws were abruptly dug into the soft, muddy ground we had been running on as the wolf halted our run. I had no idea what he was doing but I was so thankful he had stopped. Maybe he had seen reason and decided to hand the control back to me so we could return home and wait for Roxy to come back to us. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to look for her it was just that I had no idea where to start. At least from home I could send out spies to look for her.

  ‘No home. Mate.’ Holy shit, my wolf was talking to me. Why he spoke in such broken English I have no idea, I thought wolves were supposed to be smart.

  ‘What are you talking about? You make no sense?’

  ‘I said we aren’t going home. Pay attention and smell what I smell.’ We lifted our nose into the air and inhaled deeply. ‘You smell that? That is a faint trail of Roxy. She has been this way; we will find her and take her as ours. Now stop trying to talk me into going home and I might stop for a rest when we get closer. And for the record, I usually dumb down my words as it’s a well-known fact that humans cannot fully understand the intellect a wolf brain possesses.’ He sounded so smug and sure of himself about the intellect quip but I had no time for that right now. Two points he had made stood out in my mind. Roxy went this way, and when we get closer we will stop for a rest. My wolf was getting ready to start running again so I had to say something quickly to guarantee we made that stop.

  ‘We have to stop for a rest when we find her. At a motel or something, we need to freshen up before we see her. You know, look good for our mate?’ Surely this would persuade him into taking a break, I would get control back, hopefully, and have the chance for a shower, decent feed and a good sleep.

  “Good idea, ok, we will find a motel when we find where she is. Until then shut up.” Pain in the arse that he is, I wonder if anyone else has this much trouble with their wolf?

  We took off faster than we had been running before, occasionally stopping to sniff the air and change our path if we needed to. I was trapped in my own mind again as we ran through the wooded land, I have to admit I was getting overly excited at the thought of finding Roxy and taking her home with me. She needed to accept me as her mate and be by my side when I take over the pack.

  My mind started to flood with sinister ideas I could inflict upon Baydon for taking her away from me. A quick death would be too good for him and my mind peeled off into some of the nastiest and most evil actions I could think of to punish him. Perhaps I would find his mate and force her to mate someone else in front of him. Or kill her. Or kill him when he finds her so he can never have her.

  I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t notice the trees around us thinning out until we were at the edge of a road that led into town.

  “She is here, I’m sure of it. The scent is so strong as though she has been here for a while. We are going to change back to human and you are going to find a motel for us to rest in. We will go and claim her in a few hours after we have had time to prepare ourselves for her. Our mate deserves the best and we should show up clean and dressed nicely to take her.”

  My body began changing shape as my wolf handed control back over to me.

  “Don’t try to do anything stupid or I will take control again and you will have to take a backseat as I take Roxy home and claim her.”

  Damn annoying wolf. So damn bossy. Even though it would have seemed as if I was against it, I was actually insanely excited at the possibility of finding her now. She is my mate and I want her by my side. I just don’t want to scare her again and give her more reason to run from me. Although I guess if I mate her she will eventually grow to love me and no longer fear me as time went on. Maybe after we have a family she will settle down and fully accept me as her mate.

  Perhaps my wolf was onto something with this forced mating thing. At least if I marked her the danger of her dying would be gone and she wouldn’t be able
to leave me again. We would be united as one; mind, body and soul.

  Walking down the road that led into town I began planning our future together. Where we would live? How many children we would have? The way she would look at me, eyes full of love and belly swollen with child. She would be fine, she was made for me and no-one was going to take that away from me. Whoever did would pay for it dearly, with the first sufferer set to be my former best friend.

  Roxy

  We had been in town for a few days now and Baydon had decided we needed to go out on our first date; seeing how we were now officially in a relationship.

  I had no idea where we were going; all he had told me was to dress comfortable and casual. Seriously, who dresses casual for a first date?

  Considering my clothing selection was limited, it didn’t take too long for me to decide on something to wear. Pulling on my red skinny jeans, soft grey, short sleeved off the shoulder top and my black flat heel ankle boots. I decided to just leave my hair out and slip in a head band to hold it off my face.

  Baydon’s jaw dropped as I walked out into the main section of our motel room. I’m sure my reaction must have been similar as I took in his appearance. He was wearing dirty denim jeans, worn in the right places, a deep blue collared shirt and black shoes.

  My feet took on a mind of their own as they carried my body towards the hunk in front of me. Without thinking I reached up and tangled my hands in his already ruffled hair, pulling his still shocked face towards mine and planting my glossy lips on his soft ones. Instantly our mouths moved together and the kiss heated within seconds, our hands running all over each other’s body. First to break the kiss was Baydon, which left me feeling shocked and slightly rejected as I glanced up at him.

  “Please don’t look at me like that Roxy. If we don’t stop kissing we will never make it out on our date and I’m determined to show you that you made the right decision in being with me.”

  How could I even get mad at him when he says something like that? He obviously really wants to make a good impression and not leave any room for doubt in my mind when it comes to us. Still, I wasn’t finished kissing him yet.

  “I’ll forgive you if you kiss me again.” My voice held a sexy crispness I wasn’t aware I was capable of possessing.

  “Deal. Now let’s go. I have lots planned for today and I want us to be able to fully enjoy everything.” Baydon grabbed my hand, squeezing it in a loving manner, leading me to the door.

  “Hold on a second Romeo, where’s my kiss?” I pouted like an upset child, halting in my tracks and waiting for him to answer.

  “You didn’t specify when I had to kiss you again, soooo I think I’ll surprise you. Now let’s go Rox.”

  I wasn’t happy with his answer, but he was right. The anticipation of my ‘surprise’ kiss was already filling my mind and body, and I had only been waiting a few minutes. Hopefully he didn’t leave me waiting too long, I already felt as though I was ready to explode.