My apologies for not updating sooner - internet has been down and I'm posting from my phone!
The next morning, Elise woke to the feel of Kane sliding his hand up and down her stomach. For a few moments, she pretended to be sleeping. Memories of the previous night drifted through her mind, and she couldn't keep a smile from appearing on her lips. Never had she imagined that her body was capable of such feelings. Mating with Kane was definitely a special experience. She stretched and sighed happily, then snuggled in closer to him, inhaling the male scent of him.
"I know you're awake." Kane's voice was gravelly, revealing that he hadn't been awake that long either.
"No, I'm not." She kept her eyes closed, wanting to prolong this companionable moment.
"I beg to differ."
"Well, you're wrong. I'm sleeping and I'm in the middle of a very pleasant dream, so don't bother me."
"I could make reality even more pleasant." He allowed his hand to drift upward and cup her breast, gently kneading the soft flesh.
"Mmm... Maybe I am awake." Elise opened her eyes, her lashes brushing against Kane's cheek as he nuzzled her neck.
"Good morning." His breath feathered over her ear and she giggled in response.
"That tickles."
"Really? How about this?" He ran his fingers lightly up and down her sides and she bubbled with laughter, squirming away from him.
"Hey! I'm just waking up. No fair!"
"Who said I play fair?" He reached out and pulled her closer, tickling her one more time.
"You're the Alpha; you're supposed to set a good example." Elise pressed her hands to his chest, involuntarily caressing the muscled surface as she tried to move away, but he was too strong for her.
"True, but no one's here to see except you."
"And I don't count?" She tried to look affronted.
"You..." he leaned in to kiss her forehead, "count very much." He kissed the tip of her nose, then pulled her close and tucked her under his chin. "You're my mate."
Elise smiled at the possessive way he said that. It was strange, but even after such a short time together, she found herself inexplicably comfortable with the idea of belonging to him. Maybe it was some ancient, instinctual thing that made her feel connected to the first male who mated her. She supposed in the olden days such a bond would have been nature's way of ensuring that two wolves stayed together to raise their young... Oh well, analyzing it wouldn't affect how she felt, and at this moment she was happy to be with Kane, in his bed, knowing that he was happy with her.
Somehow, when they were snuggled in bed, she felt more at ease with him than she did during the rest of the day. Possibly it was because at least here she knew what to expect. In the bedroom, they had a physical relationship and that was it. The rest of the time, however, she wasn't so sure. She was his mate, but exactly what did that mean? What was she supposed to be doing? How should she be acting? Whether it was true or not, she had a feeling that the others were watching and judging how she interacted with Kane. Was she being too bold or too submissive? Too affectionate? Too distant? She really wasn't sure of her role in Kane's life, or within the pack for that matter.
Suddenly a recollection from last night popped into her head. "Kane, in the middle of the night the phone rang, didn't it?"
His hand, which had been drawing lazy circles on her hip, stilled for a moment before continuing its movement. "Did that wake you? Sorry. I tried to be quiet."
For some reason that she didn't even understand herself, she didn't want him to know that she'd overheard him talking. She wanted him to tell her himself. "Was it an emergency?"
He sighed. "Kind of. It was Marla."
Elise inwardly smiled. He had told her the truth. That must mean he wasn't harbouring any secret feelings for the woman. "Oh. I met her yesterday—twice in fact."
Kane shifted beside her and his voice subtly changed from one of teasing indulgence to a quieter, sterner Alpha tone. "Well, that's one of the things she called about. Apparently, you were rather rude to her yesterday morning."
"What?" Elise sat up and stared down at Kane, incredulous. "I was rude to her?"
"Marla said that you took whatever she said right out of context and were very aggressive towards her. Now—" He raised his eyebrows when Elise opened her mouth to protest and she subsided. "I know yesterday was your first full day, and you might have been stressed, wondering where you fit in, but asserting your authority as my mate in that manner won't win you many friends."
Totally flabbergasted, Elise stared at him. What exactly had Marla said to him?
Kane continued before she had a chance to enquire. "Then at the mall, when she tried to approach you, you wouldn't even talk to her, but just fell in with Zoe, who—before you say anything—I will be speaking to later on."
"I didn't say anything inappropriate to Marla!" Else finally got her wits about her and started to protest.
"Possibly not. She was a bit unclear about that part, but you were aggressive towards her, weren't you?"
"Well, maybe a little bit at breakfast, but I was only standing up to her—"
Kane interrupted her again, "And at the mall, you didn't try to stop Zoe's verbal attack, did you?"
"Well no, but Phoebe and Rose..."
"Yes, I know they were there too. Frankly, I'm surprised at you ladies. You're behaving like a bunch of nasty schoolgirls. Marla's had a hard time of it lately and really needs a friend."
"Well, she sure has a strange way of showing it," Elise muttered.
Of course, Kane heard what she said, "Elise, Marla isn't like you, and she willingly admits it. She's more comfortable around men and has trouble getting along with her own sex, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't want friends." Kane reached for her hand and laced his fingers with hers, his tone becoming gentler. "Elise, you managed to make friends with several of the pack within one day of being here. Marla's just like you. She wants to fit in, but the difference is, she doesn't know how. Over the years, she's been pretty good about it, never complaining about how the females treat her, but it's been hard on her always feeling like she's on the outside. Did you know that she was the next thing to engaged to Ryne? When he left, she was devastated and she's still trying to come to grips with the loss. She doesn't have the energy right now to deal with women being catty to her."
Kane put a finger under her chin and tipped her head so that she was looking him in the eye. "I'd really appreciate it, if you'd cut her some slack. Maybe even try to befriend her. If the others see that you like her, they might be willing to reach out to her as well."
"Me? Befriend Marla?" Elise knew her voice betrayed her shock, but she felt she was justified. After all, according to Zoe and Phoebe, the woman had purportedly been after her mate less than a week ago.
"It won't be so bad. Once you get to know her, you'll see." Kane squeezed her hand gently and gave her a tender kiss. "Please? As a favour to me? Knowing that someone is watching out for her would really ease my mind, and it would be one less thing I have to worry about."
Elise sighed heavily, knowing she was already defeated. "All right. I'll give it a try."
"Good. She's coming over for lunch today." Kane stood and started to walk towards the bathroom.
"Lunch today? But I'm meeting Julia for lunch!"
Not seeing the look on Elise's face, and apparently not noticing her tone of voice, Kane casually answered her over his shoulder. "Well, that's perfect. Marla can go with you." With that, he shut the bathroom door.
Huffing indignantly, Elise got up and began picking up last night's discarded clothing from the floor. Great. Now she had to spend time with a woman who most likely wanted to steal her mate. All of Elise's happiness from her early morning cuddle with Kane rapidly disappeared at the prospect of the coming day.
She could hear the shower flip on and mentally pictured Kane stepping under the hot spray. He was her mate and belonged to her. Darn if she was going to let Marla take him away. So what if Marla had a relationship with him before? Kane had chosen her... She paused in the middle of picking up her shirt. Well, really he hadn't chosen her exactly. He'd simply gone along with the idea of mating her. But, she assured herself, he hadn't protested...at least not that she knew of, anyway. Elise pondered the situation as she dropped her clothing into the hamper. What if he hadn't really wanted to bond with her, but had done it for the good of his pack, pushing his personal wants and needs aside? What had he said? "Sometimes our lives are filled with moments of great disappointment." At the time, she'd thought he was referring to her feelings for Bryan, but what if he'd been referring to himself?
No! It couldn't be, not after the wonderful sex they'd had. Kane had been so kind and thoughtful, putting her pleasure first. He couldn't be harbouring feelings for Marla, just as she was no longer harbouring feelings for Bryan... Wait! Where had that come from? Of course she still cared for Bryan... But...not in the same way as she cared for Kane. Bryan was...well...a dear friend; someone she'd known her whole life. Hmm... Maybe that was how Kane felt about Marla.
Nibbling on her lip, Elise tried to logic the situation through but couldn't come to any conclusive decision. Maybe she'd just ask Kane. Mentally, she played the scene out in her head. 'Kane, what exactly is your relationship with Marla?' He'd answer that they were simply friends and then she'd feel much better. She gave a satisfied nod and started to make the bed.
'But,' a nasty little voice asked, 'what if he says they used to be lovers?' Elise paused, the pillow clutched to her chest. What would she do then? Well, she'd just straighten her shoulders and ask if it was definitely in the past. He'd say it was all over, and that would solve the problem. She fluffed the pillow and then dealt with its twin. The nasty voice returned. 'How will you know if he's telling the truth? What man is going to admit to his mate that he's having an affair with someone else?'
Elise growled in frustration and pulled up the bedspread with more vigour than strictly needed. This was getting her nowhere. Possibly, she should start by telling Kane her side of the story. How Marla had insinuated that she knew Kane sexually and that Elise wouldn't be able to handle him. Oh, that would be a fun conversation! Her face burned in anticipated embarrassment as she pictured that talk going in all sorts of uncomfortable directions.
By the time Kane exited the bathroom, Elise was still trying to sort things out. His hair was slicked to his head and little drops of water decorated his back where the towel hadn't reached. Elise boldly decided to start a conversation about Marla and see where it went. As he walked past her to the closet, he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. "I'm done in the bathroom, if you want to use it."
Nodding, Elise took a deep breath. Kane was a good man. He wouldn't be cheating on her, even if he had, at one time, harboured feelings for Marla. Gathering her resolve, she decided to explain her side of what happened with the other woman. Then Kane would understand why she didn't want to spend time with her and he'd realize that Marla had twisted everything around to her own advantage. "Kane?"
"Hmm?" His voice drifted out of the closet, where he was gathering a shirt and pants.
"I wanted to explain to you—" Just then the phone rang. Kane tossed a smile her way, raised a finger to indicate she should wait a minute, and answered the phone.
"Kane here ... Yes? ... Uh, huh ... I see ... Well, if you feel that's necessary ... All right ... I'll meet you there in about half an hour ... Right, I'll see you then." Kane hung up and stood pinching the bridge of his nose, stress radiating from his very pores.
"Kane? What's wrong?" Elise stepped closer and laid her hand on his arm.
"What?" He looked at her as if he'd forgotten she was even there. "Oh, that was the lab that tested our water after the oil spill. They want to take another sample and also do testing on the surrounding soil for possible contaminants. If it leached very deep into the ground, we'll have to do a major clean up that would involve digging down deep enough until we reach 'clean' dirt, removing all the contaminated soil and taking it to a toxic waste facility, then replacing the soil and plants... It would be a massive undertaking and extremely costly, not to mention having people traipsing all over our land." Kane rubbed his hands over his face. "This is not the news I wanted to hear this morning." He sighed heavily before looking over at Elise. "You wanted to tell me something?"
"Uh—nothing important." Elise decided her problem with Marla was insignificant in comparison to what Kane already had on his plate. She squeezed his arm and kissed his shoulder. "I'll just go take a shower. I hope your day doesn't go too badly."
"Thanks. And thanks for helping out with Marla, too. I really do appreciate it."
Elise smiled and headed for the shower.