Jodi_ByTheLight (24 page)

“Well, maybe you’re just a late bloomer. Maybe that’s why you haven’t shifted.” Granny shrugged.

“Or, maybe I’m not a werewolf. Maybe I’m just ordinary.” Her voice held a hint of disappointment. “I’ve never shifted. Surely I would have done that by now.”

“You’re a werewolf.” He turned to her. “Make no mistake. You are far from ordinary.”

“How do you know that for certain?” Her beauty took his breath away. He knew some other male would be waking up next to her every morning for the rest of his life. He also knew that male was not him.

“I can smell it on you.”

She looked up at him with eyes so green they must have been cut from emeralds. If he stood there much longer he was going to throw her over his shoulder and take her into the kitchen where he would mate her, forever binding them together. The Were Law be damned.

“Fuck it.” He stepped toward the back door. He swung, putting his fist through the sheetrock, leaving a five-inch hole. Flinging open the back door, he hurried outside, needing to put as much distance between him and Ava as possible.

He smelled her as she tracked behind him. He always smelled her. Whether in his sleep or awake, her scent haunted him.

“What’s wrong, Damon?” She put her hand on his shoulder. He flinched. Did she not understand that she was putting him through hell by her touch? Of course she didn’t. She didn’t understand any of this.

“You used to like it when I touched you.” His heart clenched at the hurt in her voice.

“That was before I knew you were a Queen.”

She snorted.

“This is serious, Ava.” He faced her.

Her expression changed, her smile gone, her eyes hardening. “I know it is and I want to know more. What does me being a ‘Queen’ have to do with us?”

He closed his eyes. “The Were Laws state that when a Queen arises, she will be mated to the strongest Alpha in the Pack.”

Ava’s lips turned upward into a devastating grin. “That would be you.”

His heart broke, shattering and splintering into a thousand shards, each cutting as they made their downward spiral into the nauseating pit that was his stomach.

He swallowed back the lump in his throat. “You don’t understand. There is already an Alpha in charge, the Pack Master.” He watched her grin slip, the blood rushing out of her face.

“You are to be mated to Barrett.”

Chapter Eleven

Ava’s knees buckled. Damon’s strong arms came around her, keeping her upright, preventing her from performing a face plant.

“Jesus, Ava. Are you all right?” His voice was warm against her ear and for a few precious seconds she let him take the weight of her body and the weight of the world off her shoulders.

She sucked in a breath

“I’m okay.” She tried to keep her voice light as she chuckled weakly. “It’s not every day that you find out fate has picked out a husband for you.”

Damon’s face grew stoic, that mask of indifference he always tried to wear. But Ava knew better. His emotions ran a lot deeper than anyone knew.

“Barrett is a good leader.” Damon didn’t bother looking at her when he spoke.

Hot liquid anger raced through her veins. She shoved him away. “So you’re telling me I don’t get a say in this? That I don’t get to choose who I want to spend my life with.” Her face heated.

He stood perfectly still, the muscle in his cheek working furiously.

“What if I told you I had already chosen a mate?” She crossed her arms.

His head jerked up, pure rage burning in his eyes. “Who?”

Some of the anger melted away. Did he really not know that she loved him? Of course he didn’t. She’d never told him. He’d probably never heard those words in his whole life. She stepped closer and placed her hand on his chest.

“You.”

His eyes widened with surprise. He pulled her against his hard body. She lifted her mouth to his, feeling his breath coming in hard pants. She closed her eyes, waiting for that moment when he would take her mouth.

But he didn’t.

He grabbed her wrists and pushed her away. She tried to step closer, but he held her at arm’s length.

“Don’t say that.”

“Don’t say what? That I want to be with you?” She stopped struggling and looked into his eyes. “It’s the truth.”

They stood in silence, eternity thrust between them. He released his grip and let his hands fall to his side. “Barrett is a good leader.”

“You already said that.” She growled. God help her, she actually growled. And judging by the growing bulge she saw in his pants, he liked it. “I will not marry or mate someone I don’t even know.”

“It’s the Were law, Ava.” He looked away, grief etched into the corners of his eyes.

“Fuck the Were law.” She turned and headed for the door. Damon grabbed her arm before she reached it.

Spinning around, she braced herself for an argument.

Her heart caught in her throat at the tender expression on Damon’s face.

His fingertips grazed her cheek. “If you don’t accept Barrett as your mate, you will be put to death.”

Blood raced from her face down to her toes.

“That’s murder.”

“That’s the law.”

She narrowed her eyes. “As Queen, what am I expected to do?”

“Rule with your mate. Make decisions regarding the Pack.”

“What about the bedroom, Damon? Am I expected to spread my legs for Barrett as well?” She wanted to needle him, wanted him to feel as bad as she did. Damn it, she wanted him to fight for her.

He stepped close, pulling her hips against his, all stoic expression gone. He opened his mouth, his white teeth looked a little larger than she remembered, but still she wasn’t scared. Excited and aroused, but not scared.

“How would that make you feel, knowing I’m with another man?”

He growled. His entire body trembled against her. She traced his handsome face with her fingertips.

“I don’t think you would like that at all.” She licked his jawline.

He pressed his hips into hers, and she could feel herself getting wet. She wished he would pull her jeans off and unzip his own, and pound himself into her until they were both worn out.

“Do you know why I know you wouldn’t like it, Damon?” She nipped the corner of his jaw. His breathing increased, ragged and fast.

He said nothing. She didn’t need him to.

Licking her lips, she pulled back just enough to make sure he could see her eyes. “You wouldn’t like it for the same reason I wouldn’t like to see you with another female. If I ever saw you touching another female the way you’ve touched me, I would rip out her throat.”

He rested his forehead against hers. “There will never be another female for me.”

She smiled, but it quickly vanished as he pulled away from her. “After I get you back home safe, I’m leaving the Pack.”

She stared longingly after Damon’s retreating back. He was leaving the Pack. Worse, he was leaving her. He wasn’t going to fight for her.

The reality of it hit her in the chest and she reached her hand to the area just above her breast, making sure there wasn’t a hole.

It sure as hell felt like someone had ripped out her heart.

***

Damon strode to the front of the building. He knew for the rest of the mission, he was going to have to stay away from Ava. And that was going to be mission impossible.

Damn, he must be fucked up in the head to be making with the corny ironies.

He threw a hasty glance over his shoulder, making sure Ava wasn’t following.

She wasn’t.

His heart sank.

He leaned against the wall, the scratchy cinder blocks digging into his back as he closed his eyes.

Barrett. Ava was to be Barrett’s mate.

The one male that he respected was to be bonded to the only woman he’d ever loved. Wasn’t fate a fucking bitch?

His gut twisted painfully and his heart reacted the same. He palmed his left pec, trying to erase the pain. He knew better. He wasn’t sure the pain would ever go away.

“Damon!”

He pushed off the wall in time to see Jeff rushing out the front door. He wanted to tell him to fuck off and leave him alone.

“It’s Jayden.”

“He called?” The hair on the back of his neck stood up as his senses went on high alert.

Jeff shook his head, his expression somber. “No. Someone else called using Jayden’s cell phone. The caller sounded a lot like that bastard, Jenkins.”

“What did he want?” He narrowed his eyes.

“They want to exchange Jayden for Ava.”

Rage boiled in his gut and he clenched his hands. Every animalistic instinct came alive at that moment, wanting him to shift into wolf and kill.

“Damon, stay in control,” Jeff warned.

It was no use. A growl started building until it came out of his mouth.

“Damon, you’re in broad daylight. You can’t shift. Not now.”

He looked down at his fists clenched so tightly that his nails were biting into skin, leaving blood-shaped crescents on his palms.

“What’s happening?” Ava came to a stop beside Jeff.

“It’s Jayden.” Jeff finally spoke, his tone tense, drawing Ava’s attention away from him. It gave him the seconds he needed to force his body back under control. “Someone called from his phone.”

“David Jenkins?” Ava’s brow creased as she narrowed her green eyes.

“We think so.” Jeff kept his gaze on the ground.

“Jenkins has Jayden.” Ava’s voice cracked as she looked at Damon.

He nodded.

“What are his demands?” She started at him, eyes wide, face pale.

He stayed silent, unable to force the words to come to the surface.

She nodded slowly in understanding. “He wants me, doesn’t he?”

He didn’t break her gaze. “I won’t let him have you.” He’d protect her with his life; he’d known this from the moment he set eyes on her.

“He’s not going to let Jayden go without me.”

“She’s right, Damon.” Everyone turned to look at Granny. “The second you walk into that bar without Ava, he won’t hesitate to kill Jayden.”

His expression changed from anger to sympathy. He had to choose between his friend and the woman he loved.

“Granny, I’m going to get Jayden out, okay? But, I can’t risk Ava’s life to do it.”

“Why not?” Ava asked.

He gave her a stunned look.

“I said, why not?” Ava lifted her defiant chin, waiting for an answer.

“Ava.” The breath left his chest as his lungs tightened. She wanted something from him, something he could no longer offer.

“You are under my protection until I can ensure your safety.”

“Then what?” Ava kept her gaze glued on his.

“Then I will deliver you to Barrett.” His stomach pitched as his heart dropped.

“Well then, I guess it’s a good thing I’m here.”

***

Ava’s heart dropped as everyone turned at the sound of the male voice.

“Barrett?” Granny’s eyes widened.

Leaning up against the corner of the building was a large guy. He was taller than Damon, but just as broad. His sandy blond hair hung down his back, and his eyes were hidden under dark sunglasses. He looked like a sex god.

So this was Barrett, the one they expected her to mate.

While Ava appreciated the package, he didn’t make her body hum, not like Damon did.

Barrett pushed off the building and walked toward them in an unhurried swagger.

Ava felt her heart plunge like an out-of-control elevator. She reached out to steady herself against the wall just as everything started to tilt.

Just as her vision began to narrow, Damon’s strong arms wrapped around her. Clutching his shirt between trembling fingers, she hid her face, refusing the reality of everything around her.

“Ava, are you okay?” Damon’s tender voice made her heart break all over again.

“Get her inside.” Jeff’s barked out orders. Damon swung her up into his arms. She forced herself to release Damon’s shirt when he set her down on the couch in the office.

Granny pressed a cold bottle of water into her hand. She took a long drink, letting the cold liquid slide down her throat.

“Are you feeling better?” Barrett knelt and whipped his Oakleys off. His green eyes searched her face. Damon sat beside her on the couch, holding his fingers on the pulse point in her neck.

“Your pulse is racing.” Damon pained gaze made her heart catch.

She blinked at him, trying to slow her breathing.
Of course it’s racing. It does that every time you’re near, you idiot.

“Maybe you should give her some room,” Barrett commanded.

Damon let out a growl. Barrett stood, rising to his intimidating height and glared.

Her breath caught in her throat as Damon stood, meeting his Pack Master’s unflinching gaze. Tension rose in the room as the two males looked ready to do battle.