Page 30 of The Bear's Fated Mate
Sudden clarity rushed in, and he was certain he knew what was going on. “Oh, hell. Your pack is up to something. What are they doing, Lara? What are they involved in that you can’t bear to tell me?”
“Up to something? What are you talking about—ohshit.” She hesitated.
Dammit. He lowered his tone and spoke as sincerely as he could. “At the risk of bringing up dangerous memories, I once told you friends were willing to help each other. I was trying to manipulate you back then, but now I mean it. Lara, I consider you my friend. You can tell me what’s wrong, and I will help.”
Brave and courageous wolf.
She looked him straight in the eye. “You want the truth? Then here it is. Yes, I suspect my pack is up to no good, but that’s not what’s setting me off right now. The reason I don’t want to go back is that my sister kindly sent a note to let me know she thinks it’s time I find a partner. And since I didn’t click with anyone in our local pack, she’s invited a half dozen potential mates to come for a visit. The instant I go home there will be a horde of power-hungry wolves sniffing around to see if I want to hook up with any of them.”
His bear shot past alert to nuclear fury.
Alex really wanted to respond to Lara, but at that moment he had to work on leashing the animal or who knew what would happen.
No leaving us,his bear demanded.She’s ours.
I know. We’re not done playing. Calm down and let me talk to her. Alex used a stranglehold on his animal side.
Wolf is mine,his bear screamed.
What followed wasn’t easy to describe but mostly involved Alex fighting for control while his bear attempted to stomp around the room and shred things. Utter confusion, utter chaos.
Dangerous and deadly because most of him didn’t give a damn who got hurt as long as Lara stayed safely by his side.
A firm grasp landed on his ear and hauled him to a stop. The connection grew from slight pressure to high-pitched pain, and then Lara was in front of him, her beautiful amber-flecked eyes glaring as if she were an avenging angel.
“You will stop this now,” she said, power rolling out with the order.
A flash of fang and the sensation of claws had Alex’s bear staring in rapt amazement. The wolfie power didn’t really affect him other than by being hotter than hell, but the entire package of Lara laying down the law worked like a set of hand cuffs with an aphrodisiac chaser.
When he returned to his senses, he was sitting in the middle of the kitchen with killer wood. Lara straddled his hips, one hand knotted in the front of his shirt, the other running through his hair over and over in a move that had his inner beast purring like a kitten.
“I think I’m back,” he informed her. He chose to ignore his aching hard-on, instead leaning forward to press his mouth to hers for a brief kiss. “Thank you.”
One side of her lips curled upward, the twisted expression slightly amused and mostly sheepish. “Rule number three. Don’t mention potential rivals without some warning. Trust me, Alex, I have zero interest in getting involved with any of the visiting wolves. But that’s not important. We need to talk about how I help you finish dealing with the mating fever.”
Screw that. At that point their problems were interconnected as far as he was concerned. “It’s a simple solution. I figure we need at least four more days for me to be completely done with the fever. If you need to go home, then I’m coming with you.”
Her jaw dropped. “I live at the pack house.”
He offered a wide grin. “Then I guess this bear is moving in with the wolves.”
14
The last fifteen minutes had been some of the weirdest of her entire life. Maybe she was dreaming. That would explain why Lara had just heard the impossible come out of Alex’s mouth. “You want to move into the Orion pack house,” she repeated.
His gaze drifted over her face and down her torso, fingers moving to the front of her robe to slowly untangle the knot she’d hurriedly put in position when she’d had to go ninja warrior on his bear.
“Yup. The pack house is adults-only, yes?” When she mindlessly nodded confirmation, a low growl rumbled up from his chest. “Perfect. I hope you have decent soundproofing between the bedrooms.”
She snorted then covered her mouth with a hand. “Maybe I should request a room change. We can use the guest suite next to the common area.”
Not that the soundproofing was any better there. But if she wanted to encourage the visiting wolves to leave her alone, the blatant sound of sex blasting from the room would be one way to ensure her unwanted guests knew she was currently occupied.
Alex slid his knuckle down her torso and over the swell of her breast, watching the progress of his hand intently even as he continued to speak. “Seriously, I mean it. I think we need to work together. I’ll help you hold off the wolves, and we can figure out what mischief your pack is up to that’s got both of our senses tingling. I’m right about that, aren’t I?”
Lara struggled for a moment before admitting it. “You are, but I want you to promise to talk to me first if you find anything suspicious. I swear I don’t want the pack doing anything rotten, but you can’t go off half-cocked and bite off heads before we have a chance to let them make things right.”
He nodded briskly. “From the stories you’ve told me about your sister, it sounds out of place for her to get involved in something truly hideous. We’ll work together and figure this out.”
