Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Wolf’s Forced Mate Chapter 5

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Dawn felt crisp with a cool breeze blowing in from the ocean. Everywhere I looked, the gardens were decorated with all sorts of white and blue ribbons, their tails fluttering in the wind.

"A gesture of faith from the pack," my grandmother whispered to me. She rested her bony fingers on my shoulder. "You should try a little faith too."

I smiled warmly at her. "I'm trying, Grams."

"Try harder," my mother hissed from behind me. "She's counting on you. We're all counting on you."

Shit, when she put it that way, the weight of the boulder on my shoulders grew even greater. The fact she was saying that about Leah at all meant that this whole thing was a lot more important than I could have ever considered.

I peered down at my white cotton pants. Nothing else indicated my status in this pack. It was all free of interpretation-as it was supposed to be when I stood in front of my elders and my alpha.

There were parts of me that were ready to put the mystery to bed. All of those strange nights had left me wondering where Leah had disappeared and what she had done with her life. It was clear that she hadn't had much trouble moving on from me. She'd married right after she left.

Her prospects were likely many.

But here in the pack? No one would have touched her if I had said the word. She would have been left to rot by herself, exposed to the heartache of a broken relationship. At the very least, that would have been easier to handle than a broken bond.

My eyes roamed to the right. Leah came into view wearing a strapless cotton white dress and nothing else. Even her underwear was white. The only reason I knew was that the breeze had caused her skirt to fly up a few minutes earlier. Leah thought I hadn't seen the slip, but I had. That satin looked cute on her.

Weird. I didn't want her. Why was I checking her out?

A frown stole across my features. Hey, if I'm going to be stuck with her, I might as well like what I see, right?

It was rude. I knew it was rude. Yet I couldn't stop myself from taking a peek at her every so often. Pregnancy had enhanced her curves. Where she used to be a stick, she was now thick, plenty voluptuous in ways I hadn't ever anticipated. It was distracting. And it was appealing.

And it made me want to shift into wolf form so I didn't have to deal with how my human side was responding to her.

It wasn't like the wolf side would react that much better. His bestial tendencies were far easier aroused than mine. Nothing could stop my response to her.

Except focusing on my grandmother.

Grams raised her hands above her head. Oils and herbs decorated her fingers, a distinct scent that made me close my eyes as my nostrils flared. Honeydew, citrus, maybe a hint of melon-the combination of which seemed to hide beneath a layer of snow. Frosted. That was how the air tasted, even with humidity staining each inhalation. It was the oddest thing to experience.

And it made me look at Leah.

The rest of the ritual unfolded without much attention to detail on my part. Grams blessed our necks where our bites would soon be-if our bites would happen at all-and then stepped back to announce our union. "May this union provide peace."

Our elders before had said much the same. We would become elders too, and we would say that phrase when the day came. Everyone in attendance, if they weren't already revered by age, would eventually meet that responsibility.

Cheers echoed around us. It shocked me back into reality, forcing me to face Leah and the little girl who ran up to us.

A weird feeling struck me then. It was small at first, almost innocuous. But it expanded within me, swelling like a tidal wave. It rose so high that I thought I might drown beneath it as soon as it crashed.

I inhaled deeply. I braced myself. I waited.

But nothing ever came.

Inez grabbed my hand and yanked on it with inhuman strength. She was still a pup, but the way she gripped my fingers showed promise of her future strength. Like the elder I would become, she would become a leader of her age, someone the other children would lean on in uncertain times.

That was how we did things around here.

She pulled me toward the ribbon-speckled garden. "Dragon! Find a dragon!"

I gave Leah a searching glance. It was more out of confusion than resistance. If Milton had shown up, he hadn't shown a damn sign of it.

Leah shrugged. "She's obsessed with them. Good luck telling her no." "But I-"

Grams shoved my shoulder. "You're her father now. Spend time with her."

Father! Me?

But I couldn't bring myself to deny it. Grams was right-I had stepped up to the plate for Inez. That meant I had to act the part. There was no turning back from here.

And honestly, I couldn't complain.

Babbles rose from Inez as she dragged me to the first bush. She pointed confidently at the leaves and said, "Green. Like scales."

Interest crossed my features. "Is that so?"

She hummed affirmatively and then dragged me toward the maze. "Big. Like wings!"

"Ah, so that's how they do it."

"Huh?"

I grinned. "That's how they build mazes. They use dragons for size."

"Ohhhhh..."

Her little fingers clamped around two of my fingers. The way she clutched me made me feel needed yet set my anxiety on fire.

All of a sudden, I was afraid of losing sight of her.

"Careful." I caught her before she could tumble into a hole. "Looks like one of Blake's cousins was digging again."

"Dig," Inez repeated. "Like a dog?"

"Like a wolf."

Her face lit up as she extended her arms wide. "Like me!"

I raised her up and made airplane noises. Giggles burst from her as I swung her around the garden, dashing over flowerbeds and weaving between concrete pillars. I flew her all the way to the back of the garden where the fountains rose aplenty in every direction. When I set her down, she stomped her foot and pointed to the sky. "Dragon!"

"There isn't a-"

Screech.

A massive beast covered in iridescent teal scales bounded over the mansion and flapped his gigantic wings. Unearthly growls vibrated the air as he swung his long neck, craning to peer down at the pack gathered in the gardens below.

I shook my head. "Fashionably late, I see." I cupped my hands over my mouth. "To my own mating ceremony!"

The dragon's glassy eyes slid over to me. I could have sworn a smirk sat on those reptilian lips.

And then, the dragon dropped his wings, barreling like a missile toward the other side of the treeline.

Inez looked like a kid watching fireworks for the first time. She babbled incoherently for several seconds while bouncing on her toes, pointing excitedly in the direction where Milton had landed.

"Yep," I told her. "A real-life dragon. Want to meet him?"

Maybe I shouldn't have offered so soon. She practically blew a fuse, her eyes going so wide that they looked like tea saucers rather than actual eyes. For a long time, she stood with her arms frozen in the air and her lips tightly shut. And then, she screamed.

Leah sprinted between the pillars, a nervous sweat soaking the armpits of her dress. She scooped Inez into her arms and frantically looked around. "What's wrong? What happened?" She checked Inez from head to toe. "Did you get bitten by a bug? A snake? What's wrong?"

Milton cackled from the trees. "Think I gave her a scare!"

I smacked my forehead. "Buddy, if you don't put on some pants-"

"Well, someone was supposed to bring me some clothes. It ain't easy flying under the radar during the day from the dang city, Tan."

"Nobody told me to bring you clothes!"

Leah swung around and cradled Inez to her chest. "I'll uh...I'll go see what I can find."

I gave her a grateful grin as I held my hands up in a prayer position. "Thanks, Leah."

Once she was gone, Milton slipped out of the trees. He placed his hands on his hips while observing the countryside, tilting his head to the sky. "I need to get out of that building more often."

"You need a tan, my man."

"No kidding." He grinned and opened his arms. "Been a minute. Sorry I missed the ceremony."

How could I ever stay mad at one of my best friends? One step forward pulled us into a brotherly hug, my inner wolf yipping with contentment at the feeling of him being close. Now that all my friends were in one place, I felt complete. Not a bone in my body was irritated.

Even with Leah around.

"How does it feel?" Milton stepped back, his green eyes burning like Greek fire as he stared at the garden path marked by cement pillars. "Wait, was that her kid or yours?" "Hers."

He blanched. "Does that mean she-?"

"Fucked someone else and got pregnant? Yes."

He whistled. "Damn, that must be-"

"Not in need of commentary?" I nodded firmly. "You'd be correct, my man."

He bowed his head. "I meant no offense."

"I understand."

"But none of that matters, right? You must have patched everything up by now if you had to basically get married."

I sighed. "We're not married. We're just bound."

"Eh, tomatoes."

"That's not the saying."

He shrugged, his chalky white skin glimmering like diamonds in the brightening morning. He almost shimmered after shifting. It made for some great vampire jokes.

His eyes narrowed. "Don't."

I hid my smile. "I don't know what you're talking about, buddy."

"I know what you're thinking."

"That you chiseled up a bit? Yeah, I'll admit it. I checked you out."

He grinned. "Somebody has to check me out. My parents are breathing fire down my neck again. Literally."

"About getting mated?"

"You bet."

Voices rose from the other side of the pillars. Milton retreated to the safety of the trees as Leah and Inez returned with my Grams in tow. Inez clung to Grams as she had to me. The kid seemed to bond rather easily despite her circumstances. Leah held up a box of clothes. "Blake wasn't sure about size because-"

"Because Milton tends to bounce based on the season. I know."

"Yeah, sorry." She rubbed her arm awkwardly after I accepted the box. "Anyway, thanks for keeping Inez entertained. She seems to like you."

I shot Inez a grin. "I like her too."

"Surprising considering your rigid standards," Grams teased.

I tried not to frown. A grimace did the trick. But not for long given the way Grams eyed me like I was the next frog to be dropped into her stew.

I cleared my throat and turned around to deposit the box behind the trees. Milton elbowed me. "Damn, she's gotten hot."

"Shut up."

"I'm just saying that her ass is-"

I grabbed his shoulder. "Off limits."

He held up his hands and backed away. "Alright, I get the picture. Don't lose your temper on me, wolf boy."

With a sneer set on my face, I returned to Leah, Grams, and Inez. Inez slithered from Grams and bounced toward me, gesturing to the trees. "Dragon?" "The dragon needs to get some rest."

A twig snapped behind me. "The dragon has a name, you know!"

I smiled and knelt in front of Inez. "His name is Milton. You can ask him anything about being a dragon as long as you give him some shiny coins."

Milton sighed as he sidled up next to me. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Ha-ha, that's so funny. I forgot to laugh."

"He gets grumpy too," I added in a stage whisper. "But don't let that bother you. All dragons get grumpy if they don't get their naps."

Inez nodded with understanding. "Me too."

Leah and Grams chuckled. The sound drew my attention, making me realize that they were both staring at me.

And it was weird.

Grams leaned over to whisper in Leah's ear. Leah turned red and then giggled, covering her mouth like she was a schoolgirl sharing a dirty secret in the bathroom between class periods. Something about the way she looked at me scared me.

It wasn't the spark in her eyes. It wasn't the inquisitive glance or the way her smile widened when she looked at my grandmother.

It was something else. Something far more ancient and untouchable.

Milton laughed. And just like that, I was snapped out of my trance.

I stood up. "We should probably head home soon."

"But the party just arrived," Milton complained. "Unless you need to consummate your bond or something."

I growled while Leah made an irritated face. Grams looked a little too proud of herself as she lifted Inez.

"I can always watch the pup while you two-"

"No," Leah and I stated together.

We exchanged an anxious glance and then focused on Grams at the same time.

"No," I repeated gently. "I think we all need to adjust to our new living arrangements first."

Milton smiled mischievously. "First."

"Shut up, you overgrown reptile."

Inez giggled. "Lizard."

A crooked smile appeared on my lips. "She knows what reptiles are?"

Inez spread her arms wide and babbled at me.

Leah nodded. "She knows a lot of things. She loves to look at science books. I read them to her all the time."

"Sheesh, we got an Einstein on our hands, huh?"

"Dragon!" Inez insisted. "Fly!"

Milton chuckled. "Maybe another day, kiddo."

He breezed past me and kissed Grams on the cheek. As soon as he disappeared, Grams gave me a withering look and then followed after him, taking her judgment with her.

While blaming her was an option, it wasn't in me to put the responsibility on my grandmother. It was Leah that needed my attention-Leah and Inez. They were tied to me whether I liked it or not. And part of me was starting to like the idea of having a stepdaughter.

Anger refueled my agitation from years ago.

Don't forget she lied, I reminded myself as I nodded toward the garden path. And if she lied four years ago, then she can lie again.