War For Her Mate

Chapter 11

Once we got back to the office building I wait for Joe who trots up behind me, motioning toward the parking lot. I follow him, wondering where we are going, when he stops, shifts, and opens a car trunk. He pulls out a pair of basketball shorts and a tee shirt, slipping them on quickly. He reaches in again and throws out a tee shirt toward me. "Shift, I'm not having a wolf in my car." I shake my head, I'm not going to shift just upon his request, I'm better then that! Grunting, Joe walks toward me and grabs the tee shirt, throwing it into the car again. "Fine, follow behind the car, don't get any ideas on leaving." He says, slamming the trunk and opening the door, "just as stubborn as the day you where born." He mutters before shutting the door and turning the engine over, pulling out of the parking lot and down the street. I follow behind, weaving through the woods but keeping the small blue car in perfect view. After about twenty minutes of running in wolf form I let the Lakin take over, not wanting to focus on Joe anymore. I wonder back to Carter, how he left me, used me, marked me out of spite. How can you trust Joe and not our mate Melrose? The Gods meant for Carter to come into our lives for a reason, to love us, care for us, protect us. The Lakin puts in, trying to back our mate up yet again. He left us Lakin, he used us. Why would he leave us if he was our real mate. We have to let the bastard go and focus on our task at hand. I kept repeating the last few words, trying to convince her to change her train of thought.

I feel myself turn sharply and am looking at a giant, white, part glass mansion. The windows where huge, all scattered around the house. There was about four floors, all with their own patios. It was a beautiful house, big enough to fit the whole werewolf race, but it was too modern. Extremely too modern, as if it was built in the future.

I trotted behind Joe's car, sliding in behind it into the garage below the house. The purring of the engine slowed but I still heard Joe talking to someone in the car. "Yes sir. It won't happen again sir. I understand." Joe's voice quivers slightly, but he gets a burst of confidence in the end, "Kill the damn wolf, like I give a flying fuck!" Slamming his hand onto the steering wheel I hear a loud beep, ending the call.

Go, go, leave. Your where just ease dropping on VERY private call. The Lakin takes me over to the side, a dark corner, my red fur being concealed in the shadows. Joe gets out of the car, slamming the door behind him. He leans his back against the car while holding his head in his hands, breathing hard and labored. Finally, after a few minutes his head jets up, looking toward the garage door, probably noticing my absence. Cursing to himself, he presses a button, and the garage opens. I swiftly move from the corner to the opening, slipping through and then stood front in center.

"Sorry," Joe mutters when he notices me and just turns, going toward the door leading into the house. I following him quickly, not wanting to be left outside. He opens the door, stepping to the side to let me through. I walk into what looked like a mud room. "You need to shift so the pack doesn't know your the Lakin, I plan on telling them in two days." He mutters again to me, eyes not meeting mine as he stripes off his tee shirt and hands it to me. I bit my tongue and changed back into my human form, quickly throwing on the shirt. Joe grabs my hand and leads me out of the mud room and into a living room, complete with leather sofas, a 40" plasma and matching sound system. The glossy white marble floors clash with the black furniture.

Joe grabs my waist, not letting me take in more of the room, and leads me to the front of the house, and up some stairs attached to the side wall. One the next level it was all bedrooms and bathroom doors lining the walls. It looked like you just stepped into a hotel lobby, the open feeling for the two floors of living quarters.

My mouth drops open slightly at the vastness of the house, but I snap it shut immediately, not losing my guard. Joe has already notice and shakes his head slightly, before leading me around the corner to a locked and guarded door. The wolf just bows his head respectively, muttering a 'welcome Luna' to me when I pass. He punches in a four digit combo and it opens effortlessly, showing me another set of stairs. My mind wanders as to what is on this last floor, it being protected so effectively. After the two story climb from the second floor to the fourth, Joe punches in the same combo before and the door opens. Joe moves to the side, holding the door to a dark room open for me. I walk in, expecting the worse but secretly hoping for the best to come out of this ordeal.

Joe flicks a light on and it reveals a living room, wet bar, and a small two person table facing the window. There was a large patio off the kitchen, stretching half the length of the rest of the apartment, perfect spot to sit and gaze at the amazing view of the valley below. "I think we should get some rest, it's been a long day." Joe says, letting go of your hand and leading you to one of the two matching doors in the apartment, it's twin on the opposite wall. Opening the door, Joe reveals a king sized bed, covered with a grey blanket and four navy blue pillows sit on top of it. Eying the bed, then looking back at Joe, only one thing comes to mind. *we get to sleep on the floor tonight!* the Lakin says, her words dripping with sarcasm. This is going to be a long night.

"You can sleep in that for tonight, I'll have some clothes brought up for you by tomorrow." Joe mutters as he throws back the covers on the bed and slides in. I walk over to the other side, the one facing the window, and grab the pillow off the bed, plopping it down onto the floor. Then, purely out of spite for him forcing me into this arrangement, I take the blankets off his body and settle down on the floor. Joe just flips over on the bed, now facing the wall. I smile slightly to myself as I snuggle in as much as possible into the hard floor. Want me as your mate and Luna? Fine, I'll be your Luna, it's my birthright, but never your mate.

The first sound I hear in the morning is the door opening and closing, Joe mumbling something I couldn't hear. I open my eyes when I know he is out of the room, I find myself in the big fluffy bed, facing the window. I remove the sheets quietly and put my feet onto the marble floors. I ease my weight off the bed and onto the floor, careful to avoid any squeaks. Shuffling to the door I press my ear to it, making the muffled sounds more amplified.

"What are you doing calling this late?" Joe says, there is no response, and I figure I was blown, but I heard no footsteps coming to capture me, so I stayed put. "Do not put a hand on her, or I swear to go our deal is off." Joe growls out, obviously pissed about something. "You already had me screw up so much of my life. I need her. Please forgive me for earlier." He says, almost pleading. "No, she's asleep in the other room." I creep back a few feet, in case he comes running. "Give me some credit, I'm not stupid enough to tell her about you, she's the Lakin, she'd go insane, uncontrollable, even deadly, if she found out." Joe says in now a hushed voice, afraid of being heard obviously after his outburst a few moments ago. "I'll wait for your call." He says, then I hear a beep, ending the call.

I slide across the floor, to the bed, getting into the position I was in before I had gotten up. I focus on my breathing, slowing it so it looks as if I'm still asleep. Joel's footfalls are heard throughout my room as he comes in, closing the door silently. I hear him walk over to the bed and I command my body not to tense up. He reaches over and removes a piece of hair from my cheek. "My dear, what am I going to do with you." I smell the coffee on his breath, he's defiantly planning on staying up all night. He gets up from the bed and starts pacing in front of the window, not saying a word. I slowly drift back to a restless sleep, waiting for the next piece of information to come.

The sun blasts through the window, shining at my eyelids, causing me to wake up. I squint, quickly getting used to the new light, it's dawn. I roll onto my back, stretching my arms as they touch the headboard of the bed. "Good morning Luna." A female voice sounds through the room, my eyes jolt back open to the chair in the corner that previously held Joe, now holds a beautiful blonde girl, about 20 years old, with a big strong build and tall legs, which are crossed in front of her. She's wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, and a red blouse flowing around her torso. "Good morning?" I ask more of a question than a statement, I hadent gotten any literal sleep last night, only think about Carter.