The Wolf's Mate Book 2: Linus & The Angel (16 page)

“Pops?” Linus questioned.

“Well,” his grandfather drawled, “Abraham,
Peter’s father, was one of the most powerful alphas I’ve ever had
the pleasure of knowing. When his wife was shot and killed by a
hunter, he was paralyzed, devastated by the loss and unable to
handle his duties as alpha. Peter took over, partly out of fear
that the other males in the pack might try to take him out and that
he was in such deep grief that he would just give up and go to the
grave. But also, partly because he didn’t want the pack to splinter
under poor leadership. Peter is powerful enough to be alpha but he
didn’t have the drive for it. The…hunger I guess is the right word.
He didn’t want to spend the time teaching the cubs about the old
ways, because he had never wanted to follow them himself. And then
he was injured and Jason took over. He’s a good alpha, because the
pack is safe in its territory and relatively small, but if another
pack ever really came against us, I shudder to think what might
happen.”

Linus tensed and his voice was edged in
defense. “He proved his ability to lead when he hunted down and
killed the rogue that kidnapped Cadence.”

“Yes, out of necessity. But that wasn’t pack
business, Linus, not entirely. That male took his mate. Ask
yourself if Jason would spend all night chasing a rogue for one of
the lesser wolves’ human mates or an unmated female?”

He opened his mouth and then he sighed, “How
can I teach my own children things I barely know myself?”

“Our family will help you, Linus,” Pops said
with a gentle smile. “And I’m certain that Karly’s family will be
more than happy to share all they know. It’s about time that some
grandcubs scampered around this dusty old place.” His eyes twinkled
in happiness before he turned and moved slowly out of the room.

She smiled at the empty space where he had
stood. “Are your grandparents still alive?” He asked, turning her
gently by the shoulder to face him.

“No, my mother’s parents were quite a bit
older by the time she was born. They lived into their late 80s and
died within a few years of each other. I have some memories of my
grandmother, but they’re very faint. And my father’s parents died
when I was a teenager. What about your dad’s parents? Are they
still here with this pack?”

Every feature in his face changed from
curiosity at their conversation to unhappiness in a blink. “We
should get something to eat for breakfast and then make
arrangements with your parents to do the angel mating
ceremony.”

He nearly ran out of the room and left her
sitting there in surprise. Unfortunately, they really didn’t have
time to deal with his demons, since her own were blood and flesh
and stalking her. She wasn’t sure if she entirely believed that
doing the angel mating ceremony would change Phoenix’s mind about
her, but being around her family and the pack might. She could
hope, anyway.

Linus’ mother made breakfast while Karly
talked to her mother about the mating ceremony. They decided to
wait a few days to see if Phoenix would show himself again, before
they headed to West Virginia and they would plan to spend a few
weeks there on an extended vacation. Linus’ family was going to
join them, and after a few phone calls, the third ranked of the
pack, Bo, was going to come with them, along with a few of their
lesser ranked wolves and the former alpha Peter and his wife, Tina.
Linus and her father both believed in safety in numbers, and they
would only stay for the ceremony and celebration and then head home
the following day. Her parents, along with members of the pack,
would escort them back home unless Phoenix showed himself and was
dealt with.

And she didn’t even want to think about that.
She knew that wolves were fiercely protective of their mates, but
she'd also seen Phoenix fight, and there was no telling what this
time apart had done to him, how he’d trained and changed. If he was
unbalanced before, he could be a total fruit loop at this point. A
dangerous one, but a fruit loop nonetheless.

Aside from talking to her mother about the
orange blossom garland for the ceremony, there wasn’t anything that
had to be prepared special until the males went hunting. She’d
heard the story about her parents mating time, and how she’d waited
for her mate to come back to her after he hunted. She’d always
pictured the angel mating ceremony in her mind and was thrilled
that it was going to happen so soon, even as a tickling warning in
the back of her mind told her that it wasn’t going to be the be-all
and end-all of their problems with her ex. She was just not that
lucky.

Chapter 12

Stroking down the soft curve of Karly’s
waist, Linus pressed his mouth to hers and pulled her closer. They
were leaving in the morning to head to her father’s pack in West
Virginia. All the plans were in place and everyone was ready to get
his mate safely to her parents’ pack and mated by angel standards
before they headed home. He was nervous to meet her parents and be
under the watchful eye of an alpha that expected wolves to know
their history and laws, but he was also grateful to be taking her
someplace that held her safety in such esteem. With her father as
second of the pack, he knew that every male there would be
patrolling for that bastard Phoenix.

Yesterday he took her home so they could pack
and then she sat in the shop while he closed up his workspace and
handed off his jobs for the next few weeks. He felt like they were
running away from the problem, but every time he mentioned his
feelings, she promised him that she didn’t feel that way. It warred
with his beast that he felt a kernel of unease in her mind. He
should be able to protect her. She should have no doubt that he
could keep her safe from harm, and not just her but their future
children.

Karly’s whispered voice teased his ear, “If
we make love, your family’s going to hear and I just don’t think I
can handle that.”

Underneath the edge of her satin panties, he
felt the warmth of her body as it heated for him. They hadn’t made
love in two days. If his family hadn’t come to his house with them
while they packed, he would have pounded Karly through the mattress
to make up for everything, but it wasn’t to be.

He licked the edge of her jaw and she
shivered. “What if I promise to go very, very slow?” His finger
traced the lips of her sex, her silky honey coating the tip of his
finger.

“Slow’s not the problem,” she breathed.

“No?” He chuckled.

“No, it’s, oh, Linus,” she moaned softly,
dragging her teeth over her lower lip as he slid his finger inside
her heat. The scent of her arousal spiked on the air and his
already hard cock turned to stone against her side. He could guess
she was worried about what his family would think about their
lovemaking, that she didn’t want to be embarrassed. She should know
better, though. His mother was so happy for them, and his
grandparents, too. And wolves were notoriously horny. No one in the
house would think twice about them enjoying each other and this
small bit of time alone.

He felt her legs tense as she tried to resist
spreading her luscious thighs apart to give him better access, but
a press of his thumb to her already swollen clit made them slide
apart and he buried his finger inside her. Keeping his thumb tight
on her little pleasure button, he added a second finger, twisting
it in his search for that one place that would rocket her to the
heavens. She wriggled under him, her eyes closed and her nails
digging in his shoulder, and a heartbeat before she came, he
clamped his hand over her mouth and she screamed into his palm, her
back arching off the bed in pure ecstasy.

Her body rocked on the bed and it shook and
creaked but she was too lost to the sensations to notice, and he
rolled on top of her, tearing her panties off with one hand and
guiding his cock inside her. He gripped her ankles and brought them
up to his shoulders so that her legs were locked together and
straight, her channel perfectly tight and hot around him. After a
few experimental thrusts, she groaned at the position and he gave
her a devilish smile and bit down on the arch of her foot.

With such sensitive feet, his angel whimpered
and ground her teeth together while he thrust into her to drive
them both to the edge and over. He felt the tremors in her belly as
another orgasm bloomed to life in her, and he pulled her ankles
away from his shoulders and spread her legs high and wide apart so
he could watch his cock disappear into the depths of her body.
Completely at his mercy, she clutched at the blankets on the bed
and whimpered and moaned. She was just made so perfectly for him;
he couldn’t get enough of her. Sweat dotted his brow as he watched
himself hammer into her willing pussy, oblivious to everything
except the sound of her breathing and the hitch in her throat when
she came. Her body squeezed him tight and he groaned, dropping her
legs and going into a pushup over her to power the last few thrusts
to his own climax.

She pulled him down and he took the brunt of
his weight on his arms and settled into the cradle of her body. She
kissed his cheek with a feather light touch, and hugged him
tightly. “You come so hard, baby, it’s like you’ll break my cock in
half.”

She breathed out a chuckle and tilted his
face to kiss him on the mouth. “It’s because you love me so well,
my sweet wolf.”

Eventually his arms protested the angle he
was holding himself away from her body, so he rolled to his back
and pulled her with him to cuddle into his chest. “My heart,” she
said with a light yawn.

“It’s beating just for you, baby,” he
promised, and closed his eyes.

Armed with directions, their caravan left
Allen at 7:30 in the morning on February 3. In the back of the
truck were their two suitcases and her angel book and camera
equipment. She was determined to take a picture of him in the snow
in his shift, and they’d not had an opportunity to do it before
now.

Peter and Tina drove his mother and
grandparents in their minivan and led the way. Behind them, Bo and
the rest of the wolves followed in two vehicles. Bo had been
curious if there were any single females in the pack, and Karly
said that most of the females her age were already mated or had
moved to other packs to escape the alpha’s rule. Unlike in their
own pack, the alpha female, while powerful, wasn’t the boss of
anyone and fell under her mate's thumb just as any other wolves
did. Karly had thought it was odd that the males and females in the
Tressel pack had their own hierarchy. For her parents’ pack, the
females were not ranked, meant to be mates and supportive of their
males. When he told her he thought it was slightly on the barbaric
side and not all in keeping with women’s lib and the like, she had
just shrugged. “All packs are different, Linus. None of them are
entirely right, and the only thing that keeps the wolves in the
pack is their freedom of choice. Alpha Krayne runs the pack with an
iron fist and has fought for their territory alongside his people
many times. There are females that think they should have a say in
the politics of the pack and should be thought of as more than
mates and mothers and caretakers, but they’re free to leave. It’s
all I’ve ever known, and besides the fact that I was born to be a
wolf’s mate, his leadership has saved the lives of nearly every
wolf in the pack more than once.”

“You don’t have to defend the pack’s way of
life to me, Karly,” he picked her hand up and kissed the back of
it.

“I’m not trying to. I’m not a wolf so the
politics of your pack don’t interest me. What does interest me is
you being happy and our children growing up with a love for what
they will be and the desire to see harmony and law within their
pack.”

“I want that, too.” And he did. While they
both allowed the subject to drop, he couldn’t help but think about
how inadequate he felt in going to her old pack. He was worried
he’d make a complete jackass of himself and embarrass her.

Three hours into their drive, Peter called on
his cell to say that all the women in the minivan needed a bathroom
break even though they hadn’t planned to stop for lunch for another
hour. It sounded like complete anarchy over the phone so Linus had
no trouble agreeing to stop. He knew just how feisty his
grandmother could be, and if she wanted to stop, she’d crawl over
Peter and put her foot on the brake herself.

The rest area in Ohio was surrounded by woods
and a small clearing with picnic tables. The building was brick and
typical, with one side for women to enter and the other for men.
Another glass building housed vending machines.

Parting with Karly at the juncture of the two
sidewalks, he kissed her briefly and watched her follow his mother,
grandmother and Tina around the corner and into the bathroom.

Lowering his zipper at the urinal, he sighed
and rolled his neck. He was tense in more than one way. “So, do you
think her folks will like you?” Bo asked from next to him.

“I hope so. She said the only way that they
wouldn’t like me is if she’d ignored her nature and just picked
someone to be with.”

“It’s wicked cool, man.” Bo sighed. “That she
was made for you.”

“I know, I’m really lucky. I really thought I
blew my chance at happiness before, but it turns out that I didn’t
really know what happy was until I met Karly.”

He joined the men out at the vehicles after
grabbing sodas for himself and Karly. No one was in a hurry to get
back on the road so they chatted about the trip and stopping for
lunch and meeting the pack.

Glancing at his watch for the hundredth time
he looked at Peter. “They’ve been in there for ten minutes. This
place isn’t so busy that they would be standing in line.”

“Maybe they’re just talking.” Pops said,
“Your grandmother could talk a monk into breaking his vows if only
to tell her to be quiet.”