Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Wolf’s Forced Mate Chapter 7

Tanner

I had no idea what made me change my mind about Leah.

It was less about her and more about the fact that sailing had put me at a great disadvantage-it didn't exactly get me laid.

Years of pent-up aggression trembled on the surface of my body as I walked briskly toward the mansion. The long walk up the driveway gave me time to think, time to breathe.

The scent of her pheromones clung to my nostrils. Breathing her in was second nature. But wanting her? That was entirely new.

At least from my current perspective.

She had been easy to please in the past. Our initial attempt at mating had taken us to second base, but never third. We had danced through the outfield, clearing the seats, soaring over the dusty roads beyond, yet not once had I plunged my cock between her legs. It hadn't even occurred to me until now the separation that resulted between us. Intimacy had always been different with Leah. That wasn't particularly new.

But having penetrative sex would lace us together in ways that would be hard to unwind.

And I wasn't sure if I was ready for that.

Smoke swirled near the entrance of the foyer. Guess Jermaine is still smoking that pipe.

Inside, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and donuts led me into the basement. Jermaine and Blake stood near Milton, the security desk teeming with weapons.

I shut the door behind me. "One of those days, huh?"

"Tracks have been spotted around the perimeter," Blake explained as he rustled his black hair. "Wolf tracks that don't match any in our database."

My eyebrows shot through the roof. "You've been cataloging pack members?"

Jermaine looked somber. Knowing him, that face meant he was heatedly against such a weirdly 1984-inspired task. Milton wore his usual blank mask. Nothing new there.

Blake sucked air into his lungs. "It's the best way to ensure safety."

"You gonna tag us all like cows? Keep us in pens?" I pushed away from the security desk. "Is that what's happening next?"

Jermaine stood up and planted a firm hand on my shoulder. "Stand down. It's not ideal, but it's what we have to do."

"So, you're just going to let him lose his mind? Is that it?"

He growled as only a bear discovering his rations had been rummaged through by smaller creatures would. "He's thinking clearly, Tanner."

Blake sighed. "He's also in the room."

Jermaine and I turned simultaneously to face our alpha. While Jermaine's irritation was evident, his hand never left my shoulder. It comforted me to feel his support, yet confused me all the same.

What stick was shoved so far up his ass that made him act up every other time I was around?

Milton gestured to the screen. "Neil is already checking part of the perimeter, but we need to go in teams."

"So, why aren't you with Neil?"

"Because he's fucking grumpy today," Milton snapped. He scrubbed the worry lines from his forehead. "Sorry, man. I didn't sleep well."

My teasing smirk appeared. "Our accommodations not fancy enough for the billionaire?"

"Actually, yes." He squinted playfully. "There's a shortage of hot tubs."

"While all this is cute," Jermaine cut in while tightening his grip on my shoulder, "we should create a plan. My men are standing by!"

I bowed my head toward Blake. He was the alpha. He was the one with the plan-or at least the one who knew what we should be doing next.

Blake straightened up. "I need you and Jermaine to head to the beach. Scout the area near the perimeter. Scout inside the perimeter." He looked at Milton. "Head into town and see if you can spot anything there. Since you don't live here, chances are that Raymond's men won't have any idea who you are."

"The only perk of him not living here," Jermaine mumbled.

Nobody else heard it but me.

I cocked my ear toward him. Was that the stick up his ass? That his best friends weren't close enough?

Before I could ask, Blake clapped his hands. "Alright, spread out. I'll take Veronica with me to the other side of the estate. She knows every single face in that pack."

"You sure she isn't setting you up for a long game?" I blurted.

Bad move.

Blake was on me in seconds, his growl vibrating the air between us. His canines descended as his eyes glowed an iridescent blue. "Take it back."

Milton peeled Blake off me while Jermaine yanked me back. Though my instinct was to protect my alpha, my body still responded to threats-even if they were from my best friend. My heart beat furiously as my blood rushed through my veins. I was close to shifting. I had to calm down. Jermaine clamped my shoulders to keep me in place. "Chill. You offended his mate."

"We were all thinking it," I rasped. "Weren't you, Milton? Jermaine?"

Milton frowned. "We have to trust each other, okay? We can't fall apart over our alpha's mate. She took a vow and she's keeping it."

My eyes closed. My breathing leveled. My heart stopped hammering.

I leaned into Jermaine, choosing his competence to lead the way forward. Milton had a point too. It just irritated me to no end. How could Blake trust a woman from the enemy pack? "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I won't doubt you again."

Blake cleared his throat and fixed his shirt. Once he was free of Milton, he crossed the room and yanked me into a brotherly embrace. That melted away whatever anxiety remained.

As I clapped him on the back, I inhaled his energy. Comfort, presence, protection, confidence-no ill feelings. No ill will.

That was why he made a spectacular alpha.

My mouth repeated the apology.

He shook his head. "You're looking out for me. It's what all friends should do. But let me put to bed any fears you have, Tanner. Veronica loves me. She loves this pack. She'll protect us." "Yes, Alpha."

Nothing else could be said. He was right. His mate was committed to him and his pack. While doubt threatened to make my body ache, his embrace soothed my worry and made it easier to accept his words.

I had to get the notion out of my head that destruction was coming.

But that was difficult to do when everything seemed like it was falling apart. Even as it was coming together.

Once we received our specific orders, Jermaine and I headed for the beach. The sandy shore was a welcome sight and settled some of my energy, easing the tension that teased its return.

Jermaine knelt next to a patch of moist sand. "Wolf tracks."

"Could have been ours."

"No, these are too big for our pack."

I knelt next to him. "Well, I'll be damned."

"Did you get a good look at the ones that attacked the other night? Jesus."

"Jesus had nothing to do with it."

He snorted. "Somebody made those wolves gigantic. It wasn't us. Couldn't have been." He craned his neck to peer up at the sky, pupils dilating when clouds crowded over the sun. His voice trembled low. "Not us." "How can you be so sure?"

A growl caught my attention. My eyes swept the tree line, searching for a pair of eyes among the brush. But I found none.

Jermaine rose slowly, touching the butt of his gun. I started stripping before I could even catch sight of whatever was following us. "Watch my back."

He unholstered his gun and checked the chamber. "Always."

While he set up a perimeter, I shifted into wolf form, circling to check my surroundings. It was odd to be cornered on a beach like this. Nothing but the ocean sat behind me and thick woods crowded the edge of the beach. We were boxed in. This was a trap.

Water sloshed behind me, forcing me to flip around. A great white shark burst from the waves, wiggling its way toward me. Gunfire cut through the air, three distinct pops that forced me away from the water's edge. Crimson mixed with the white tide, sending the massive creature back to where it was less shallow.

"Son of a bitch!" Jermaine yelled. "Where the hell did that-?"

Three hulking wolves burst from the tree line. I barked at them, drawing Jermaine's attention away from the ocean. If one shark shifter was in there, there were likely many more. But we couldn't ignore the danger coming our way.

One of the wolves headed directly toward me. His mass was triple my size, paws the size of my head or perhaps even bigger. What kind of natural shifter grew to such a size? Unless someone was doing something to them that was beyond the realm of nature.

Razor-sharp teeth snapped me back into reality. I shot forward, wrapping my jaws around the neck of the beast. Beside me, Jermaine shouted while firing off one, two, three more shots. A great wave crashed behind us and then the weight of another beast joined the fray.

I swung the wolf as hard as I could. With his great size, he was difficult to take down. But not too difficult to injure. A chunk of his flesh came with me as I hurtled over his body and landed on the other side of him. Blood trickled from my maw as I stepped forward, crouching to prepare for another lunge.

Mighty jaws from another great white snapped at Jermaine. The two wolves were sending him closer to the shallow water where the shark could easily reach him. Fear and adrenaline jolted me into action, propelling me toward the wolf that tried to separate me from my best friend.

My claws dug into his eyes, sending him howling to the ground. I used his head as a springboard and launched over his body, landing on one of the wolves that threatened Jermaine. More shots rang through the air. The massive wolf on my left went down easily, but the one beneath me still had a fight in him.

"Tanner, off!"

He didn't have to tell me twice.

I jumped from the wolf and rolled on the sand, making sure to stay as far away from the water as possible. The other wolf that had originally attacked me bit wildly at the air, trying to capture one of us-or trying to find one of his pack members. A head-butt knocked him out.

But the effects of the fight were wearing me out. The last of Jermaine's ammo was used on the third wolf, sending the creature to the sand with a whimper. Within minutes, all three wolves were neutralized and the sharks that had attacked were nowhere to be found.

The only evidence of sea creatures being involved was the blood that washed over the sand from the water.

I shifted into human form. Exhaustion gripped me, sending me to my knees in seconds. Jermaine worriedly dropped next to me and checked my limbs.

After a moment, he sighed with relief. "You're fine physically. What's wrong?"

"I could barely handle that shit."

"Me too."

I shook my head. "No, it was..." I licked my lips while trying to catch my breath. "It was weird. It was like I didn't have the energy even though I got plenty of sleep last night."

"The bond should strengthen you too."

Surprise slapped me in the face.

The mating bond should have given me more energy. I frowned. But it's siphoning me instead. Is that because we haven't bitten each other yet?

"Don't tell me you two haven't..." Jermaine trailed off as he checked my neck. "I don't know why I bothered to look. I would have noticed it earlier."

I shrugged. "We just haven't slept together."

He blinked. "So you weren't lying."

"No, I wasn't lying. Why would I lie, Jermaine?"

"I don't know. Because you're too proud to be wrong."

An irritated growl sprang forth. "When did that happen?"

He shook his head and stood up, extending his hand to me. "With the bond. With the pack. With that schooner."

I snatched his hand and yanked myself to my feet. "What?"

"You left us here, Tanner. You abandoned your pack because your bond fell apart. You didn't even try with her. We all saw you do it."

"You have no goddamn idea how hard I tried with Leah. She lied to me, Jermaine!"

His face reddened as his eyes darkened. "No, you threw her out the moment she didn't give you what you wanted. That's not how mates bond, Tanner. And then you did it in front of the entire pack." Embarrassment swelled in my chest.

Was this why he was being such a d**k to me lately?

I frowned at the sand. "I don't know why you're defending her."

"Because you deserve a chance at happiness together, okay?" He marched to where my clothes were surprisingly still sitting. Once he had them in his hands, he balled them up and threw them at me. "You threw away a perfectly good chance with someone over having f*****g kids. And then you ran. Like a damn coward."

"Why are you so mad about it?"

He puffed up. "Because you're my best friend and I don't want to see you suffer!"

Agitation dissolved as I realized his eyes weren't shimmering from the reappearance of the sun.

They were glossy because he was trying not to cry.

I had never seen a man brought to tears over his friends. But then again, shifters were a different kind of species. We were pack-bonded. We were pack-focused. We were as involved with our friendships as we were with our romances. No bond went unfulfilled. To neglect any of our connections was to deny our very nature.

And that was what I had done.

To my pack. To my alpha. To my friends.

I yanked my pants on and snapped my shirt over my head. When I was fully clothed and had my sneakers on, I bowed my head to Jermaine and crossed my hand over my heart. "Forgive me. I had no idea you were so worried."

"We couldn't tell you, Tanner. You cut yourself off from the world by staying in that lighthouse."

My mouth twitched with a grin. "You could have sent one of the bird shifters."

His eyes narrowed. "Sweet and unforgiving gods, you just always find a joke wherever you can, don't you?"

"Does it bother you?"

He sighed. "No, it reminds me of home." He stepped toward me and touched my shoulder. "Welcome back, Tanner. Let's make sure you don't risk getting hurt again."