Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Wolf’s Auctioned Mate Chapter 11

Wendell

"Go on," she repeated. "Just get it over with. I don't care what you have to say. Just say it."

Oh, I knew she cared. I knew so much about her with that bite seated under her chin. The scar tissue had healed beautifully, turning an eggshell white that blended into her skin. To anyone else it was just a mark, but to me, it was significant.

To the extent of its significance didn't make sense to me. Though my heart rapidly beat at the sight of her sweaty and excited from defending herself, I didn't understand why. This woman agitated me. She defied my advice. She turned down my protection. If she wanted to get herself into trouble, then why did I keep running after her?

It's for my alphas, I tried to convince myself while smoothing my hair out of my face. It's my duty dictated by my alphas.

Yet no matter how I spun it in my head, I couldn't shake the feeling that something else was going on, something that I couldn't control.

Laurencia readjusted her bag on her shoulder and tapped her foot impatiently. "Seriously, Daddy. I don't have all night."

My vision sharpened. "What did you call me?"

Dim light fluttered over her face, a shift somewhere in the main market area of those jelly-like lights that floated above the cobblestone and glowed over everything. It revealed the blush on her cheeks and the crimson that spread to her chest, arms, legs. The sight of her flushing like that made my chest rumble with a light growl.

She inched toward me. "Thanks, but I had that under control."

"I had no doubt."

"Then why did you interfere?"

I took her chin with the same firm grip I knew she liked. "Because I told you not to go anywhere without me."

"You never said that."

"I didn't have to say it, kitty cat. Can't you hear it in my heart?"

Eyes resembling exploding stars peered up at me, blinked dreamily, and then slowly closed. She trusted me to hold her chin like this, a realization that came as a strange shock when I recalled what happened in the past. How we stood carefree in an alleyway in the middle of the supernatural market was beyond my reason.

Yet I didn't care about the reason either.

The only thing I cared about with Laurencia right now was safely getting her home.

She wrapped her fingers around my wrist. She didn't open her eyes, yet I could feel her watching me, studying me. The way her energy interacted with mine reminded me that we were intertwined in ways that weren't natural. All the same, they were natural in our special way that was for shifters.

She exhaled slowly. "I told you I can defend myself."

"I saw that."

"So?"

I huffed. "So, that doesn't mean I won't be protecting you. I heard your heart struggling and I came."

Her eyes snapped open. "You heard what?"

What was it with my mouth tonight? I was saying things without thinking, without even knowing what they meant. She was taking me away from reality without giving me the option to stick around. Truth be told, I didn't want to stick around. What was left for me here but the usual work grind?

Loneliness, bitterness-those were my realities. I hadn't noticed such disdain until Laurencia came back. Even then, I hadn't been ready to see it. Her silliness and liberated feet brought out a beast in me, one that wanted to take her over and tell her what to do. Perhaps it was time for me to truly listen to that beast.

"Keep your eyes closed and follow me, kitty cat," I whispered gruffly. "Come deeper into the alley...That's it..."

As I stepped back, I guided her by her chin. Excitement fragmented my ability to think properly. All that was left was instinct and pure unadulterated desire. The more I pulled her into the alleyway, the more I wanted to tear off her clothes and seek that vulnerability she had shown me in her apartment over a week ago.

Halos of light faded behind her. The sounds of the market drifted away. Night took hold and burst with energy as I drew her toward the end of the alley where I paused near a fence. With her chin under my command and her eyes closed, she seemed more like a doll than my kitty cat. Truly a gorgeous doll like her could use some time being pampered.

"Knees. Now."

The moment the words left my mouth, she obeyed. She knelt on the ground in front of me, tilting her chin to keep it in my palm. Though she trembled, she didn't open her eyes.

"Good girl," I praised.

Happiness radiated from her smile. "Thank you, Daddy."

"What do you want most in the world right now?" "You."

So soft, so tender was that word as it slipped past her tongue on bated breath. I adored the way her features relaxed as admiration poured off her in glorious waves. What was it about this moment that made us act this way? It couldn't have been her so-called rescue. Knowing her, she'd claim her defense was better than mine. Not stronger. Just better.

Some part of me was ready to argue against that. For my duty to protect her came above all else. Yet another part of me wanted her to have her cake and eat it too. She claimed she didn't need my protection. So, who was I to argue? Yet the moment her heart alerted me that she was in danger, I ran off without another word.

Fate couldn't have possibly done this. It was the bite. It was insurance, that bite, and it was something that would keep her from embarrassing me in front of my alphas. Being marked like that wasn't funny business. It was serious. As far as I could tell, she was taking it seriously, for following her out here showed me her intentions were entirely pure.

She just wanted to walk the market. She hadn't stopped to talk to any eligible bachelors. She didn't even seem interested in anyone like that. Only me. There seemed to only be me.

I squeezed her chin. "Tongue."

Out came that plush muscle, inspiring me to bow toward her and suck it into my mouth. Hearing the whimper that came with it was enough to harden my cock. I didn't even care that we were in an alleyway near a supernatural market. Nothing could stop me from tasting my kitty cat and reacting to her delicious kiss.

Time stood still. I swore it would stay that way, seconds dreamily ticking by as I played tug-o-war with her tongue and her heart strings. Lively vibrations sprang around us, tickling my skin and invading the spaces I kept hidden from everyone else. In just a matter of days, this woman had changed around pieces of my life in ways that no one else could have accomplished.

What made her so special wasn't the fact that she had been shoved into my life, but the simplicity with which she accepted her position.

It took great effort to release her tongue. She sucked air into her lungs, gasping while chasing after my mouth again, begging in hot whispers for me to continue. Shouts echoed at the alley's entrance. Footsteps clobbered the stones. People were coming. We had to get out of here.

I took her elbow and helped her from the ground, then hoisted her up to hop over the fence. "No time to explain, kitty cat. Let's get going."

Without argument, she hopped over the fence. I hauled myself up and over with little effort, listening with an amused grin to the overlapping voices behind us. Though perhaps I should have thought of our plan a bit better considering I didn't know this area at all. Laurencia took my hand and yanked me to the left. She guided me down a series of alleyways, some of them so narrow I had to turn sideways just to fit. Once we reached an empty street, we heard a whistle, and then hooves on the cobblestones. A mole woman in a blue peasant dress who was so compact that she could have fit in a cupboard rode atop a gallant unicorn-that was barreling directly toward us.

Laurencia held out her hand to the mole woman while gripping mine. "Hang tight."

"But what about-"

No time.

Laurencia grabbed the mole woman's extended hand and both of us flew with the unicorn, buildings whirling past us at a strange speed that felt both slow and fast at the same time. Beyond the fences, beyond the dilapidated structures, and well beyond my understanding of time and space, we rode the unicorn to freedom. I held Laurencia's waist, still unsure about the ride we were hitching and what the mole woman would ultimately want from us.

Though I didn't have much time to ponder for the mole woman clicked her tongue, causing the unicorn to stop near a long line of trees. Behind us, the city was alive with movement, cars and such, music mutedly playing somewhere. No one seemed to be pursuing us. But that didn't mean they weren't.

I slid from the unicorn and then helped Laurencia down. "That was a..."

My knees felt like jelly. Laurencia caught my waist with a chuckle. "Thanks, lyanna. What do I owe you?"

"One free reading," replied the mole woman. She winked at me. "And maybe a massage from your hunky mate here."

Any protestations were lost to the whinny of the unicorn as he raised his hooves and kicked the air. Seconds later, both creatures disappeared into the night, leaving a wisp of glittery smoke behind.

I stared at Laurencia who shrugged.

"I'll tell you when you're older."

I cackled. "You'll tell me now, kitty cat."

"Come on. We just need to get behind these trees and then the city can't mess with us."

"What do you mean?"

She grinned while taking my hand. "Immunity. Blake's property begins about fifty feet that way-" She pointed to the trees. "--and then we're good."

"But we didn't do anything."

"If we didn't do anything, then why was your instinct to run?"

I had to admit she had me there. bashful as I was, I shrugged my shoulders and glanced toward the trees. "Don't know."

"Anyway, things are different in the city with the council and all."

I gaped after her as she tugged me back into the darkness. Was there any end to her troublesome behavior? "I don't understand."

"Aren't you Troy's right hand?"

"I'm his assistant."

She smacked her lips together. "Ah."

"I don't suppose you could be any clearer, could you?"

"I guess I should have said things are different with the market." She sighed. "I injured that creature back there. He didn't have a weapon. He can easily say I attacked him."

"But I saw them attack you."

She squeezed my hand. "I'm just worried about it, okay?"

"So, we ran because you were worried?"

"You ran too."

I shook my head while laughing. "I suppose I did, kitty cat."

"Then shut up already and let's get home before I lose all my energy."

Home.

That word had a certain ring to it when she said it like that. Everything that could have come to knock on the door of doubt remained back at the market where the creatures were likely scouring the place to find us-both authorities and those strange ghastly men. I knew it was too dangerous for her at night, and I had told her as much, though I wasn't as angry as I could have been.

As I should have been.

Through the forest and away from the chaos we walked, hand-in-hand. Her scent took hold of me as tiny streams of milky white sifted through the canopy of branches above our heads. A few more minutes of walking revealed the familiarity of the path we walked, and then the treehouse came into view.

I glanced back. "How did we get so far?" I pulled Laurencia toward me. "Wait, how was the treehouse so close to the city?"

"Unicorns can bend time and space," she explained. "That was why lyanna gave us a ride."

"The mole woman is lyanna?"

She nodded while dropping her bag to the ground and then plopping onto a patch of cool grass under the treehouse's ladder. "We've been friends for a long time. I do all of her tarot readings."

I chuckled as I joined her on the ground. "You read cards?"

"Yep. I can read yours now if you like."

"I don't like that sort of thing."

She shrugged one shoulder. "Suit yourself."

"Suit...like cards?"

"Does anything get past that big head of yours?"

I touched my scalp. "Hey, it's not that big."

"No, just bulky." As she exhaled slowly, she trailed her nails over my skull, tracing circles and other shapes along my scalp. The sensations were so lovely that I ended up resting my head in her lap. Unusual-but not terrible. "I think it's what chases our enemies away." "Those weren't my enemies."

She chuckled. "But they could be."

The way my mate laughed made me smile. She ran her fingers along my neck, traced my shoulder muscle, and then stroked my arm. It wasn't until she returned to rubbing my head that I realized I had referred to her in my mind as my mate. Truly unusual-and perhaps terrible.

The whole point of this thing being set up by our alphas was for protection. While I was trained to protect those in my immediate vicinity, alphas included, I didn't understand why after all these years those same feelings of urgency cropped up. I licked my lips, unsure of how to ask. Subjects like ours were sore from being worn through though and argument. It wasn't something I wanted to bring up again after escaping a scrap at the market.

So, I went in a different direction. "Do you think they would recognize you?"

"Who?"

"Those punks in the alleyway. Would they recognize you if they reported you?"

She breathed deeply. "No, I think they were just looking for some coins to get food. I would have gladly given them some if they asked."

"If you did that, they would keep begging."

"They're not begging, Wendell," she whispered. "They're just trying to survive."

Hearing her perspective slammed my heart into my ribcage. "I never considered that."

"You don't visit the market often, do you?"

"It doesn't really appeal to me."

She hummed while kneading her thumb into my upper back. "There are a lot of creatures who flock there because it's tucked away from humans. Only supernatural creatures can enter the grounds. That gives them some protection." I frowned.

"Creatures like those wraiths-or I mean, I think they're mixed with wraiths-well, that's all they know. I used to volunteer at the soup kitchen until they lost the funds to keep going." "How'd they lose the funds?"

She sighed heavily. "People just didn't want to support it. They thought it made the supernatural market look bad with all those homeless creatures wandering around."

"That just sounds stupid. They're already walking the streets. Having a kitchen would give them someplace to go."

"That's what I tried to tell them."

Frustration bubbled to the surface. "The next time we go, we should speak to whoever is in charge."

"You mean that?"

"Why would I say it if I didn't mean it?"

She hung her head, eyes growing dark with shadows. "Because you've said things before that you didn't mean."

Miniature daggers shot through my heart. "What do you mean?"

"You said a lot of things to me at that bar, in that motel, in the parking lot..."

"Rencie." I sat up and cupped her face. "Dear Rencie, what did I say?"

She shuddered and buried her face in my chest. Whatever she said got lost to my peck, and then she curled up on my lap, refusing to look at me. I took such pride in being a man of my word. If anything had been lost to the cosmos of time, I would have wanted to make it right. That was my nature, and it was something that my alpha knew I would stick to if given the chance.

Yet Laurencia seemed like she didn't want to repeat it. If a promise had been made five years ago in the darkness of our motel room, I would have remembered it. I would have retained the strings of it to sew into the future. Her refusal to speak of it irked me, and further proved her lack of dedication.

Sure, the sex was great. Her obedience was commendable. She had a way with being submissive that brought the wolf to the surface. But if her word wasn't reliable and she didn't want to talk, then what was the point? That bite on her neck meant nothing if she couldn't put in the work.

And if she couldn't do something as simple as talk, then I couldn't be bothered to stick around.