Deadly Mates (Deadly Trilogy)

  He studied me with a strange intensity, almost as if he were seeing something new in me, and if I had to guess, whatever he was seeing wasn’t something that he liked much. “Go wash that smell off of you,” he said roughly, as if his throat had been shredded and was raw.

  I laughed nervously, placing a hand on the swell of his rounded pec. “There’s no way I’m leaving you with him, not with you all growly.” I poked him in the chest. “And don’t look at me like I’ve done something wrong, because I haven’t and you know it. You need him.”

  If Aidan heard me, he clearly wasn’t processing my words. “Jade, please go shower,” he said, and nudged me toward the door.

  I took his hand. It felt warm and it felt good, solid and strong and perfect. “Come with me?”

  I figured it was the right question to ask because his sudden grin was one hundred percent male. He bent, scooping me up in his arms in a motion so quick that I squealed. My arms flew around his neck, holding on, as he yanked open the door and stepped inside.

  ~ AIDAN ~

  “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m yours before you’ll believe me?” Jade asked. Her head was cradled in the hollow space between my neck and shoulder, as I carried her through the network of hallways to the gym.

  Jared’s bitter scent clung to her, but it was the underline sharpness of his arousal that stirred the beast within me into a wild, rage-induced frenzy. Another male had been turned on while touching my mate. Another male touched my mate. Another male … A growl ripped from my throat.

  “If it were really true, we wouldn’t be waiting.” As soon as I said it I knew I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t hold it back. My inner-wolf was pressing under my skin, itching to break free. He wanted his mate, craved to mark her with his scent, claim her as his. But, oh hell, so did I.

  “That’s such a guy thing to say,” she said, cuddling closer. It was as if she were oblivious to the turmoil that was thrashing around within me. My muscle flexed; my grip on her tightened. “I don’t need your scent in me to make us real, Aidan.” Her lips, soft and moist and warm, brushed along my neck, but it did nothing to calm my inner-wolf. Her brush off only agitated him — me — further. “You shouldn’t need it either.”

  I shouldered the door to the gym, and stalked to the back changing rooms. My nostrils were flaring, my heart, thundering with adrenaline. My inner-wolf urged me to lock her up, shift, and kill the bastard who had dared to touch her. He wanted to hunt. He wanted blood. And then he wanted to bathe his mate with his scent. It was as if I’d lost all rational thought. I needed to hunt. Kill. Claim. Protect. My mind was functioning on the most primal level, lost within the need of my inner-wolf.

  Two pack members ran on treadmills in the far corner of the room. “Out. Now,” I growled, my voice sounding far more animal than human. The whirl of the treadmills halted immediately, and they vacated the gym in a rush, keeping their eyes glued to the floor as they went.

  I pushed through the doors to the changing room and flipped the deadbolt on the door, locking us in. I set her down and she twirled around. Her head came to the bottom of my chin, as she faced me. She glanced up, her big brown eyes full of concern, and when she met my furious gaze, she took a fast step back.

  “You’re right, I probably shouldn’t,” I said, following her as she continued to back up with every step I took. Her eyes were wide, and I watched closely, waiting for alarm or fear to show. If she showed fear, I would have stepped back in a second, but her scent was screaming excitement so I continued my advance. “But when you throw yourself at another male, come back to me smelling of him, of his arousal, it makes it hard to believe you.”

  Her lips quirked into a sexy as hell smirk. She backed into the long row of showers, unzipping her hoodie and shrugging it off. My pulse quickened.

  “How am I supposed to lead this pack when I can’t even keep tabs on my mate?” I growled. “You blatantly lied to me, Jade. You were supposed to be here with the team, but you snuck out to meet him instead.”

  She kicked off her shoes, hopping around from one foot to the other as she yanked off her socks. Her eyes, flecked with gold, were trained on my lips as she licked hers. I continued my slow advance and she stopped, letting her eyes rake over me.

  I was pretty sure she wasn’t listening, her scent thickening in the air, calling me to her, but I had to get it out. She had to hear it all. “Do you really think no one notices this crap? That the pack doesn’t see it? You’re single handedly ripping apart our pack and you’re doing it with a damn smile.” I took one more step, and reached out, cupping her cheeks in my hands. “I love you, Jade. Probably more than I should and I’m beginning to think that’s the problem with us. We’re the alpha pair. Caring complicates our job.”

  Jade flushed a rosy pink. “I didn’t throw myself at him,” she said, her voice husky. “And I don’t think he was aroused. We’re just friends, Aidan.”

  I let my hands fall from her face. My jaw locked with tension. “I can smell it, Jade. He wants you.” My voice was stiff, low, furious, and my inner-wolf howled for blood.

  My inner-wolf challenged me for dominance. I pressed myself against Jade, letting him take control, and I leaned in, taking her mouth with mine. She whimpered. Liquid fire ran through my blood. There was nothing careful about how I held her. I was done with being careful. She was mine. And by the sugar sweet change in her scent, I could tell she didn’t mind what I was doing.

  I stepped into her, pushing her back until she was pressed against the tiled wall, caging her between my arms, and she melted against me. Heat crawled across my skin as her lips parted and her hot tongue pushed and tangled with mine.

  The kiss helped to calm my inner-beast, but having our mate near, tasting her, wasn’t enough. I broke the kiss, and growled against her plump, swollen lips, “You’re mine, do you understand me?”

  “Yes,” she whimpered, her inner-wolf flaring up in her golden eyes. Her fingertips ran along my back, her nails lengthening into claws as they descended along my spine.

  “Say it,” I growled against her mouth, my voice thick with need even to my own ears. “I want to hear you say it.”

  Jade took in a shuddering breath. I could scent the alpha within her, pushing for control, and it shocked the hell out of me when she tilted her head back and cocked it to the side, presenting her delicate throat to me. My inner-wolf howled with joy at her quick submission. “I’m yours,” she murmured, her voice knotted and rough.

  I growled, a soft rumble in my throat, and her alpha scent thickened in the air. Almonds and mixed fruits came at me in waves. My heart was pounding hard.

  Her lips curved into a bemused smile. She cocked her head a little further, exposing more of her neck. “Looks like you’re stuck with me, alpha,” she said, lifting her shoulders in a delicate shrug. She sounded totally confident in that, but then she clucked her tongue, shifting her gaze to her feet. “Something happened that I should tell you about.”

  “What’s that?” I asked, dreading the answer.

  She looked up and touched my face with her fingertips, delicately running them along my cheekbone. “My inner-wolf ...” she started, stumbling over her words. Her face paled and she pulled in a ragged breath. “Well ... she didn’t respond to him.” She shook her head, her hair falling forward, covering her eyes, and she dipped her chin, fixing her gaze on my chest. “Like at all.” Her voice was whisper quiet, as if what she was telling me was wrong to say out loud, and I waited for the bad part, because I was certain there had to be a bad part to this, but so far I wasn’t seeing it. “She was quiet, calm, even when he hugged me. It was as if she didn’t even notice he was there.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  “No, not a bad thing.” She took my hand in hers. “I didn’t really get it at first. Actually, I kind of thought something was wrong with me. But I understand now.”

  She didn’t seem willing to say more, but I was still simmering over her me
eting up with Jared, and I needed to know. “You’re killing me here, sweetheart,” I said, trying to keep my voice gentle. I brushed her hair from her eyes, tucking it behind her ears. “What do you understand?”

  She sighed, a painful and more than a little frustrated sigh. “That I’d never give you up. Not ever again. As soon as I saw you, even all growly and pissed off, my inner-wolf wanted to come out. She wanted to run to you, rub against you, feel you. But it’s not just her. I wanted to do it, too. Me. All of me.” She ran her fingers over my lips and I shivered. “I adore you, Aidan David Collins, and it scares the hell out of me.”

  She straightened then, leaned up, brushing her lips against mine, and smiled up at me. The featherlight brush was nowhere near enough, and I tried to capture her mouth again, but she giggled, pushing at my chest. She tucked a long strand of dark hair behind her ear as she tried, and failed, to force her smile away. “I wasn’t really inviting you into the shower with me.”

  “Sure sounded like it to me,” I said, giving her the crooked, half grin that I knew made her knees weak.

  Jade giggled and ducked away from me. I reached out to pull her back, but she sidestepped and headed toward the line of showers.

  I stood there, looking after her for a stunned moment, and she glanced over her shoulder, grinning. That grin was all it took for me to follow. I closed the distance between us in a few long strides, letting a low growl rumble from my throat. She squealed, a delighted kind of sound, and I pulled her into my arms.

  I dipped my head, pressing my lips to hers. She gasped as I pulled her bottom lip between my teeth. Her gasp quickly turned into a soft moan. She wound her hands around my neck, stepping back into one of the open stalls, pulling me with her.

  Her silky hands gripped at my shirt, tugging and pulling, lifting it up. Her fingertips traced along my stomach and up my chest and she pulled back from me, just enough to tug off my shirt, before leaning in and placing a trail of burning kisses along my shoulder.

  I buried my lips against her neck, kissing and nipping my way up to her ear. Her skin was warm, smooth, sweet. I let my hands roam down her back and slip under the edge of her tank top, pulling her as close as I could get her.

  “Aidan!” Dominic shouted, as a round of thumping bangs against the locked door reverberated through the change room. “Open the damn door!”

  “Not now, Dom,” I shouted back, before focusing back on Jade’s sweet and smooth neck.

  “You live with her, man,” he bellowed. “You can do whatever you’re doing later. Get out here!”

  I opened my mouth to tell him to screw off when Jade said, “He’s right. You should probably go.” She squirmed in my arms, pulling back and breaking away, as she blushed, a deep red.

  “He can wait,” I said, smirking down at her and leaning in for another kiss.

  “Aidan,” she said against my mouth. “I don’t think I’m ready for this. You should go.”

  I leaned back a little, searching her face. Her lips were red, plump, and swollen. Her skin, flushed, and her scent full of need, but her eyes held a hint of uncertainty that twisted my gut. I nodded, stealing a quick kiss, and smiled down at her. “I’ll go get you a change of clothes,” I said, and before I could change my mind, I turned from her and went straight for my locker.

  CHAPTER 23

  ~ JADE ~

  Aidan grabbed me his spare gym clothes, jogging pants and a T-shirt, told me not to even think about putting back on the clothes that smelled of Jared, and then left me alone to shower.

  My entire body was thrumming. My inner-wolf was a bundle of tender nerves, pressing against my heated skin. I didn’t know whether to be glad or furious that Dominic interrupted us. I was trying to be sensible about the whole thing. Yes, I wanted Aidan, but I was only eighteen and him, nineteen. Wolves mate for life. It wasn’t like we could change our minds later. It just didn’t happen. And really, once our scents mixed, it couldn’t happen. I would be his and he would be mine. So yes, I was trying to be sensible, but my inner-wolf didn’t want to be sensible. And her instant need to claim him was driving me crazy.

  Keeping Aidan’s jogging pants up on my hips took three bunching knots along the waistband. His T-shirt was baggy on me, too, but I didn’t care. After securing the clothes the best I could, I gave my wet hair another tight ring-out and twisted it into a messy knot, and then I went to find Aidan.

  The headquarters was relatively busy for a Saturday morning, or I guess it was early afternoon now. As I walked through the brilliant white hallways of the hulking maze-like building, I passed quite a few pack members. A few cut me dirty looks and a few offered causal greetings, but most of them just ignored me, which kind of sucked. But I was working on that and it would change, definitely, hopefully.

  “He hasn’t woken up yet. There’s a stench to him, but that could just be him. The boys have clammed up, too, since Jared got back.”

  I heard the lazy, gravelly voice drifting past the slightly ajar door of Aidan’s office as I walked through the lobby. I paused for a moment and took a deep breath. Aidan’s scent flooded my nostrils and I went to the door, nudging it open. “Who hasn’t woken up yet?” I asked.

  Aidan looked up, smiled, and then exchanged a look with Tommy, Chris, and Dominic, who were sitting on the couch. He gestured for me to come in and I shook my head, cracking a smile, because, well, I wasn’t really asking for an invitation. As I padded across the room, and rounded his desk, he pushed back his chair and I hopped up on the edge, facing him. “Well?” I said, folding my arms over my chest. “Who hasn’t woken up yet?”

  He scanned me up and down a couple times before his eyes settled on my chest. He let out a frustrated groan, and tugged a hoodie off the back of his chair. “Put this on,” he said hastily, tossing his sweater at me.

  I glanced down at myself, not sure what his issue was. I noticed it fairly quickly, though, and I rolled my eyes at him. I pulled on the sweater and said, “You told me not to put my clothes back on, Aidan. I was wearing a tank with a built in bra.”

  “I want you to go home, sweetheart,” he said.

  “Good for you, but I’m not going,” I said, glancing over the scattered papers that littered his desk. Status reports on the team, bank statements, and income statements for the different establishments that the pack owned in town were strewn everywhere. “I’ve got work to do. I was thinking about going out with the team, too, help them search the next section of land.” I folded my arms over my chest, looking back at him. “Now tell me, who hasn’t woken up?”

  Dominic chuckled, and I was pretty sure the gravel sounding snicker came from Tommy. I swiveled, cutting them each a dirty look, and the laughter died abruptly, although all three of them were grinning.

  Aidan’s warm hand clasped my hip as he moved in closer. His emotion shone bright in his eyes, a deep stormy sea of anger and adoration and dread. He puffed out his chest, his lips drawn tight. His scent increased and, well, I laughed. I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help it. I knew what he was doing; trying to distract me and it wasn’t going to work.

  He leaned forward and kissed me on the lips, sweet and warm, with none of the intensity from before. It was gentle, tender. Full of all the emotion that I knew was growing inside him, the same emotion that was building within me. “You’re not going anywhere with Jared,” he said. “If you wanted to go out with the team, you should have thought about that before you brought him back.” He said it as if it were simple and something I should have already thought of.

  “Be serious, Aidan.” I nudged him back a little and tried to laugh it off.

  He let his scent trickle into the air and gave me a grin that was at least half wolf. “Oh, I am, sweetheart. I’m very …”

  I put my hand over his mouth, stopping him from saying something stupid, and I stared him right in the face with a no-nonsense glare. “Tell me what’s going on, Aidan.”

  I took my hand away slowly, keeping my glare fixed in place. He laughed a lit
tle, as if he were in shock. “Go home, Jade.” There was an unmistakable command in his tone, one that clearly told me he was the dominant one. He was to be listened to.

  “Aidan, cut it out,” Dominic said dryly. There was a little smile on his lips and amusement in his eyes. “Of course she isn’t going home. You wouldn’t be able to watch her if she did.” Clearly, whoever was sleeping was important to them if they felt the need to hide it from me. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

  “Don’t think he’s interested in watching her anymore,” Chris said. His face twisted into a frown and he cut a sharp look in my direction.

  Aidan’s body went tense, but he didn’t break eye contact with me. I cocked my head to the side, narrowing my eyes, trying to ignore the others as he was. I could feel the push of his alpha-wolf, trying to bend me to his will. It was strange. I had no idea what was happening, or why there was a shift in him. But there was a shift, one that sent my inner-wolf into a panicked, angry frenzy in my belly. Was he trying to protect me from finding out the truth or manipulate me?

  Silence fell. I wasn’t really sure what Chris meant, but his words rattled me nonetheless. After what had just happened in the showers, I hadn’t thought Aidan would let me out of his sight, at least not anytime soon. But as the silence stretched, and I tried to make sense out of what was happening, Jared’s first piece of training surfaced. “The moment you show weakness you’ll lose my inner-wolf, Jade,” he’d said. “No matter what, you need to stay dominant. No matter how much you want to submit, don’t. There is a place for submission, but only to your mate and only when it is necessary to appease his inner-wolf. You do it to show your respect. You do it to show you agree, to show others you are backing him. But submit when you shouldn’t and my inner-wolf will decide you are weak. He’ll forget you. Never let him forget, because if he does, so will I.”

  Aidan held strong, his eyes wide, unforgiving, commanding. Was his inner-wolf forgetting me? Had I already lost that piece of him? I had shown my submission to him twice. Once to show I wouldn’t argue with his decision to take me home, and once to show him I was his during a heated moment, but I wasn’t really his mate — yet.