Mated (10 page)

The demon obeyed the order, then silently retreated from the tent.

Cole moved toward the box, but Cain’s voice stopped him. “I have every confidence you’ll repay this kindness when I need your help for something.”

The wolf grimaced. He’d made a quite literal devil’s bargain to secure the safety of his pack. “You have my word.”

“Good. Say hello to Jane for me.”

A low growl rumbled in Cole’s chest.

“Ha! I knew it. I knew I smelled something between you two.” Cain smirked as if he’d won a betting pool on the matter.

Cole collected the box from the table and left without another word. He passed through the portal into the woods outside the hive. He’d patrolled the area before crossing into the demon dimension and thought it wise to check things out once more.

As he made his way through the forest, the sweet scent of human blood assaulted his senses. In his human form he was revolted, knowing in this area of the forest it was likely a werewolf kill. The killer was getting sloppy, taunting the alpha with how clever he was.

The wolf part of him salivated at the heady scent, and he had to fight the urge to shift into his animal form to scavenge over the remains. He took a few steadying breaths. When he was sure the beast was under control, he hid the golden box under a pile of leaves and broke into a run.

As he drew nearer he could smell the crisp scent of lilacs, possibly a shampoo or body lotion, then the copper smell of blood, and something else . . . something he knew. He fought back his mind’s desire to give the thought form.

When he reached the body he doubled over, his head swamped with dizziness. No. It wasn’t possible. But the scent was unmistakable . . . and the warm honey-colored hair.

Jane.

His stomach heaved, and he threw up. He crawled to her prone form, praying for a miracle to let it not be true. Entrails spilled from a gash in her stomach, and he fought back another wave of nausea. He shouldn’t have left her.

When he rolled the body over, he let out a long shuddering breath.

Not Jane.

The woman in his arms had similar features and build and the same hair. But it wasn’t her. He realized she smelled like Jane because she was wearing the jeans and sweater he’d borrowed on her first day in the hive.

Now that the panic was receding he could smell the woman’s true scent underneath the clothing. The sweater had been ripped apart down the center, and on closer inspection, he could see that the torn fibers were embedded in her flesh. She’d been made to put the outfit on before she’d been killed.

Cole growled with disgust, rage seething beneath the surface. The clothing had been supplied by Ed’s mate.

***

“Read ’em and weep.” Jane laid down a full house.

Blake looked like she’d kicked his puppy.

“Oh man, I think he’s going to,” Mara said.

“You now owe me three hundred dollars,” Jane said, triumphantly. She was about halfway to paying Cole back for her wardrobe.

Blake had fronted her a few chips to start her off, and she was kicking their asses. Living with vampires had given her a great poker face. After all, she’d pretended to be a vampire groupie fairly convincingly for nearly a decade, so convincingly even she had almost believed it. At least from a fashion standpoint.

She looked up to see Cole shaking his head. “Maybe you should have played me instead of Paul,” he said. He was smiling but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

Probably so. Paul sucked at poker. Maybe he hadn’t been a vampire long enough to be a good gambler. He was still a fledge and not old enough to have developed that stony stillness a vampire got to his features after a few hundred years.

Over the past couple of weeks she’d casually socialized with all the wolves. She’d been surprised by how nice most of them were. This wasn’t the picture she’d expected when she’d thought of what the wolf pack did in their spare time.

Of course, Cole had reminded her she was a friend of the pack, given that role by the alpha himself. It probably made a difference in how they behaved around her. But knowing Charlee and being with Paul hadn’t given her any special status with the vampires or caused them to be any nicer to her.

Cole had remained true to his word and hadn’t pushed her. He’d stayed on the couch, though it was a pointless exercise. By the end of each night he always ended up in the bed with her. His presence soothed her. When he wasn’t holding her, she had the dreams, waking up screaming, gasping for breath, to find herself in the den. Not the coffin.

Blake threw his cards on the table. “That’s it. I’m out, chickadee. You’re killin’ me here.”

Jane grinned at him and raked the chips toward herself. “I’d like to cash them in now.”

Blake laughed. “You would. Cole, this girl is dangerous to the pack’s finances.”

Jane expected Cole to laugh, but all he did was stare at her with such intensity she felt compelled to look away. She pocketed the money and went to the kitchen, uncomfortable with the strange mood that had emanated from him since he’d gotten back.

“Oh. Hi,” she said when she saw Rhonda with her head poked in the fridge.

After the first day shopping, the wolf had been standoffish. Jane could understand why. She’d been after Cole since before puberty, and Jane had just waltzed in and taken his attention in less than a day. She knew that feeling. She’d been there with Greg, not understanding why he didn’t want something more. But it wasn’t like she could give the other woman a pep talk about it, so she’d kept her distance.

“Hi,” Rhonda said, her gaze still on the contents of the refrigerator.

The blonde wolf finally chose an unidentifiable bag of snack food and started to leave the kitchen. She gave Jane one slow look up and down, then took a long whiff. “Well, I don’t smell him on you,” she said, her voice flat of emotion.

“Excuse me?”

“He hasn’t fucked you yet. The second he does, you are out of here. He’ll use you just like he used me. Screwed me, then tossed me out of bed the next morning. So much for the afterglow. Cole is a confirmed bachelor. He’ll never settle down, and the second you give it up to him you’re out on the street, girlfriend. Back with your vampires where you belong.”

Jane drew back, Rhonda’s words as sharp as a slap to her face. “Whatever happened with you two isn’t my fault.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to help you, sweetie. You seem to have a habit of walking into the most fucked-up relationships you can’t handle. You aren’t vampire enough for the vampires and you aren’t wolf enough for Cole. So get that out of your head right now.”

Rhonda gave her one last sneer before turning on her heel and leaving. Jane had lost her appetite. When she returned to the main den, Cole was gone again.

“Where did Cole go?”

Blake looked up from the card table. “He had to take care of something. He’ll be back soon.”

“We’re going to put a movie in,” Mara said. “You should watch with us.” The female wolf patted a spot on the couch between her and another girl named Lucy. Lucy was sixteen and just coming into her wolfiness. She had remarkable control of herself. Cole had said she was alpha female material, and some day she’d have to leave the pack to find a place more suited to her power.

It had weighed on Jane’s mind considerably. Sure, Lucy was a bit young. Cole was old enough to be her father and then some. Still, the fact remained that if Cole were younger, Lucy would be a prime candidate to be his mate.

He needed someone strong, someone who was commanding and powerful. Not a human with vampire blood running through her veins. It might be different if she’d inherited some physical strength, instead of just a higher pain threshold and borderline freaky psychic senses.

She settled between the girls as they started a movie and passed the popcorn.

“The Wolf Man?” Mara said with a groan. “Jane’s going to think awful things about us.”

Lucy laughed hysterically and winked.

***

After his discovery in the woods, Cole had wanted to get Jane alone, wanted to touch her, to be sure she was real and alive. But he’d stepped back into the shadows when he’d realized she wasn’t alone in the kitchen. He was livid over the way Rhonda had spoken to her.

The moment the wolf was in the hallway, he’d clamped one hand over her mouth so she couldn’t scream and wrapped the other tight around her arm, jerking her through the interwoven caves and outside into the sunshine. He knew he was hurting her, and he didn’t very much care.

He finally let go of her and growled. “What the hell was that back there?”

She crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged, her eyes averted from his. Whether it was an act of submission or to cover deceit, he couldn’t be sure.

“You will NOT speak to her that way. She’s a part of this pack now.”

Rhonda’s lip curled in a snarl, “She’s human! You can’t possibly think a human can live with wolves. She’s weak.”

“Says the pack omega.” It was a cheap shot, but Rhonda deserved it for that display in there. He considered banishing her from the pack. Between her jealousy and Ed’s murderous rampage, he needed them both gone if Jane was going to be able to run free. He couldn’t keep her locked up forever.

A tear slipped down the blonde wolf’s cheek. “You want to make her your mate? You can’t do that. You have to think of the pack. You wouldn’t take me because I’m so weak. You think you can take a human? You think they’ll answer to her as the alpha female? What happened to the way you felt about me? You were going to marry me. If you hadn’t taken over the pack, we could be together now.”

“Rhonda, we were pups. It’s true, an alpha needs a strong mate, but there are different kinds of strength. You’re like a sister to me.”

Her expression turned hard. “Don’t give me that, like a sister bullshit again. You slept with me, and I was there too, Cole. There was something between us. You felt it. You had to have felt it.”

It was true, he’d been incredibly turned on when he’d taken Rhonda to bed. But he also hadn’t been laid in six months, he’d just lost a member of the pack, and he’d had a moment of weakness. She’d said no strings, and he hadn’t realized that her
no strings
really meant
fuck me, then never let me go
.

He’d lost himself in her for a few hours, and he’d felt awful afterward. But he’d never been able to verbalize these feelings to her and thought it best not to start now. He didn’t want to hurt her, but her psychological battle with Jane had to end.

“You know the circumstances that led up to that. I told you I was sorry.”

Rhonda wiped the tears with the back of her hand and stalked off toward the woods.

“Leave Jane alone.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Chapter Ten

The Wolf Man
had scared Jane as a child because the image on the screen had reminded her of the real monster she’d encountered. The movie seemed ridiculous now, even with the flashback. The lights had been turned out, leaving the cave in darkness.

Every few seconds a tear crept down her cheek, and she wiped it away. She wondered if the wolves beside her would smell the salt of her tears and know it wasn’t the popcorn. She didn’t have to wonder for long. Mara leaned toward her.

“Are you okay?” She whispered.

“No,” Jane whispered back.

The wolf grabbed her hand and led her out of the room back toward the kitchen, no doubt able to see perfectly well in the dark.

Jane sat at the large kitchen table while Mara fixed them ice cream sundaes.

She grimaced. “My metabolism isn’t as fast as yours.” Sure, she used to consider sugar a separate and necessary food group, but now she cared if she got fat.

Mara ignored her protest and set the ice cream in front of her. “Okay, so spill it. Did Cole do something? Men can be such morons.”

Jane forced a weak smile. “Did he say anything to you about my past?”

“He said you hated vampires and that you’d been through a lot, but he didn’t give details. The pack thought you could be dangerous because they could smell vampire on you. Cole needed to reassure everyone you’re on our side.”

Jane nodded. She didn’t know if she’d put it that boldly. Jane was on Jane’s side. It was the only way she’d known to live. Just survive, appease, hope they don’t kill you.

She looked up to find Mara staring at her, curious.

“So what gives?”

Jane shrugged and took a careful bite of the sundae. “Rhonda said something that made me think Cole said something about me and the vampires. But if that’s all he told you, he wouldn’t tell her more, would he?”

“Oh, hell no. It’s been odd between him and Rhonda for about three months now. They were real close for awhile, and then it got weird. She came into the main den one day smelling like him. Then they weren’t close anymore.”

Rhonda must have smelled Paul on her when she’d first come to the hive and made assumptions.