"You can shift back now Jade." I didn't have to be told twice but it was hard to concentrate on my human with Dominic standing so close to me. My wolf is more than content with this closeness and doesn't want to submit to changing back but eventually I'm able to reign her in and shifted back right in his arms and awaiting hospital gown, greeted a smile I don't know how I lived without all this time.
God he is so damn sexy! And he wants me! He wants me! Raising his hand to my cheek, he brushes it gently, pushing my hair from my face only to peer into my eyes with an expression I can't quite read until his head slowly moves forward and his lips are about to connect with mine.
A shift in the wind jolts me, drawing my eyes to a fleeing Cameron but I can't seem to make myself care. Aside from his scent that I'd had years to grow used to, my wolf feels almost nothing for him. How is that possible when I was born for him? Through a bite? All it took was for someone else to claim me to erase the pointless feelings and emotions I had for someone that would never return them? Why the hell didn't I run off and let some random bite me years ago?
"I'm going to draw up some discharge papers and notify the alpha. After that Jade is free to go."
I grin again, returning my gaze to a smiling Dominic. Alone time is all that's on my mind and judging by the look he's giving me, he has the same idea. The sooner we get out of here the better! Lacing our fingers together I tugged on his hand lightly leading him back to the building as he tucks me into his side and kisses the top of my head, both of us completely oblivious to the fact that we're being watched.
"Not so fast you two. We are in need of a serious talk."
Oh shit...
Like a true soldier, Dominic straightens his back and faces my father while I cower behind his back still holding onto his arm for dear life. Call me a punk, chicken shit, whatever you want but my father is a scary man when he's in parental mode and even more when his wolf isn't too far from the surface. Sensing my fear, his eyes soften but darken again when Dominic looks away from him briefly to check on me.
"So it was my daughter's scent you wanted me to track. Did you know that all along?"
"No, Sir." How in the hell is he able to speak so calmly. I can feel the heat radiating off of my father even though he is a pretty good distance away. Everything about his presence is demanding and intimidating, yet Dominic doesn't look at all fazed.
"How far did things go, really? What are your intentions?" Dad's eyes dropped down to me even though his question was directed at Dominic. He squeezes my hand slightly and I take it like he is preparing me for what he is about to say and I cut in, not wanting my parents to know I practically threw myself at him.
"Daddy—"
"Quiet, Jade! You're in hot water yourself for not telling us about any of this before now. If you want to live to see your next birthday I suggest you let us talk, man to man." Once again I shrink back behind my mate in fear. I can feel the vibration of a growl rolling through his back before it enters my ears. I look at my mother pleadingly. Her focus seems to be on stroking my Dad's arm to keep him calm.
"With all due respect Lance, do not threaten my mate. She was your daughter first, but now that I'm here, I will not tolerate any disrespect sent her way." Surprisingly my father cracks a small smile and raises a single brow motioning for him to answer his question. Being the nephew of our Alpha, I can tell Dominic is fighting the urge to dominate this situation. Out of respect for his mentor, my father, he's holding back. So I do the only thing I can think to do to calm him, boldly push up on my toes and nuzzle his neck. He relaxes immediately and turns his head to nuzzle me back. A gesture so simple has such an impact on my wolf that I feel myself slowly but surely losing control to her.
"I've always seen you like a son, Cruz, and I owe you for saving my life, but I have to admit that this whole thing makes me uneasy for reasons you are already aware of. One is that you're nearly ten years older than her. I don't play when it comes to my little girl and her heart. After hearing what Cameron put her through and seeing the way she responds to you, I've come to understand that there is something between the two of you that cannot be controlled...even if that were my intention. I give you both my blessing as long as Char is behind it." He looked over at my Mom and she nodded with a growing smile. "Please believe me when I say that if you make her cry even once, cool calm Lance that you see now will not be the man you have to deal with."
"I won't hurt her. That is a promise. She single-handedly brought me back to life after I'd given up on living long ago. You can take this any way you want, but I need her," he looked down at me with warmth in his tone, "more than I've ever needed anything. My intentions are to do whatever I can to make her happy; mend her heart until there are no signs that it had ever been broken."
I could easily fall in love with this man. How do you not fall for someone so gorgeous, so sweet? I know all too well what it feels like to be unloved and unwanted and those feelings are fading away. Have been since this gorgeous piece of a man threw on a superhero cape and forced me to see that life doesn't end with Cameron.
Too caught up in those eyes, I don't notice my father walking over until he puts his hand on my shoulder and pulls me out of Dominic's arms and into his own. As a child, my father's hugs were always reassuring. With his arms around me right now while Dominic's so close, nothing can take my smile away. While we're still in our embrace, he loosens one hand extending it to my mate, "I think you'll have to convince my son a little more, but that was all I needed to hear. Welcome to the family."
***
Standing between Dominic's legs as he leans against the driver's side door of my car, I can think of a million things I'd like to do to him now that we're finally alone. Once we left the hospital we went home with Mom and Dad so I could shower and change only to find the Alpha had already been notified and was there waiting for us to run a few tests of his own which ran into the meeting to reintroduce Dominic and me to the pack. That left us with no time to even breathe in the other's direction without eyes being on us until now.
Being out in the open, I'm noticing things I never would've before. Just how many stars line the sky, the way the craters on the moon form a pattern, and most of all Dominic's scent. With no one else around to taint my senses, his scent alone is sending my body into a frenzy. I could kiss him senseless. I want to so badly but suddenly I'm a bundle of nerves which shows through the only thing I can manage to break the silence between us with; a random question.
"When's your birthday?"
He chuckles but doesn't hesitate to answer. "May 16th. Yours?"
"March 8th. You and my Dad are friends so I'm guessing you're prehistoric?"
He chuckles again placing his hand on the small of my back while he readjusts himself beneath me. "If twenty-six is what you call old, then yes, my teeth sit in a glass beside my bed at night and I rode a dinosaur to school."
His teeth are a little too white and straight to be real. I knew something had to be wrong with him like there is with everyone. He's sweet, gorgeous, and that body...
"Aww you really are an old fart, aren't you? I'll still take you. Dentures and all."
"That's good to know, because I'm joking, Baby." Suddenly his face turns into an expression of conflict. "What was it like not having a wolf?"
"It was like walking around and not knowing who you really are. There is a part of you that's missing and nothing you do can fill that gap. I tried to look beyond it and smile for the simple fact that regardless, I still had a family that loves me and the best friend I could ever ask for. It was still hard. They treated me like glass. Always handled me like every little thing would make me crack and break. They never said it, but I know they saw me as a problem they had to constantly keep their eyes on. That's why I wanted to be claimed and mated so badly. The sooner I mated and gave birth to a normal pup, they'd see that I wasn't as weak as they saw me. It's funny, most people in this world want money, or nice things and all I wanted was to be in love. To be cherished by my mate."
I expected him to smile and he didn't. His eyes mirrored pain and the gnawing of his bottom lips was also telling.
"Jade, I have a past—"
"If this is the part where you tell me that you've slept with more females than you have letters in your name, don't. The past is practice. Everything that happened was for a reason. The things that happened before you—meaning Cameron—was fate's way of preparing me for someone better. Whatever happened was meant to happen and doesn't need an explanation."
"I'm lucky to have you." The tip of his thumb rubs across my chin.
"Damned right you are!" My body shakes with his laughter. I find that I love his laugh. It's deep, infectious, and gives me more than enough reason to smile. If I'm honest with myself, I love everything about him despite knowing it's a bit premature. Technically we just met, so that word shouldn't even be in my head or anywhere near my heart. However, I can't deny it's there. I love the way his eyes change with his emotions and expressions. How much thicker his body is than mine and when we hug, I'm surrounded by his scent. That scent.
Inhaling at that very moment my eyes rolls at the aroma. I inhaled again wrapping my arms around his neck as I pull myself closer to him. "Do you know how wonderful you smell?"
Once again his laughter rumbles through me. I can't return it this time. That scent is tangoing with my senses, stopping the amount of logic running around my brain and fueling my body to take on a life of itself.
"You smell like...like...Goddess what is that?!" Breathing it in deeper until my lungs expand on their own releasing with a heavy sigh I push up on my toes to put my nose in the crook of his neck. "I feel...I feel like I was being starved," each word comes out between whiffs of him, "and you...I could just..." I can't control myself anymore. My tongue flicks out and glides up his neck just to sate my curiosity. Something that smells that good has to taste just as good.
"Jade." He just growled my name. How sexy was that! He stiffened, but arms tightened around my waist so I take that as a sign to keep going. I can't stop now even if I wanted to. Tasting his flesh was like how people describe their first high; so mind-blowing that I'm compelled to do it again to see if everyone after that is the same, just as sweet and addictive. "Remember what happened last time."
Yeah, last time you claimed me. Had I not blacked out we would have done more than kiss. My wolf responds within me and it takes all I have not to pull away and laugh, ruining the mood.
"You're going to be in so much trouble if you don't stop right now." He growls again. I swear I don't know what's sexier. The fact that he just warned me in a husky-serious tone or that he palmed my ass and pulled me closer to him as he said it. Either way, I'm not stopping. Why should I? We're mates and this is going to happen eventually so why not now? Cameron's words, telling me he'd never mate and claim me rushed back. There is no thinking about this, nothing to consider.
I can't think of a better way to reply to him other than with something that says 'bring it on'. Letting myself down slowly from standing on my toes I made sure my lips never left him. Thankfully the black button-down shirt he wore was open at the top, allowing me the freedom to run my tongue down between his pecs. In a flash, our places switched and now my back is against the car with Dominic between my legs sucking at the skin of my neck so hard that his lips smack when he releases me.
My body feels like it is on fire from his touch making it impossible for me to hold my wolf back. The second I let go and allow her to have control my hands roam his chest until I find my way down his stomach to his belt buckle. She can care less that we could be seen at any minute. All that matters is her mate and what she can do to complete their bond. Her eyes flash through mine just as he looks up to kiss me and I can see his wolf has taken over too. If there was ever a choice in this it would have been long gone, blew away in the wind or melted between the heat our bodies create pressed against each other on the cool hood of my car.
A buzz against my thigh isn't enough to make me pull my hands away from the waistband of his boxers but a disturbance within the bushes behind us is. There wasn't even enough time for me to register what was happening before Dominic pulled me off the car and had me standing behind him as he scanned the darkness for whatever it was. A twig snaps in those same bushes before a cat runs out chasing some kind of rodent.
"Aww, Dominic! You were going to protect me from that kitty!"
"Very funny. At least you know I have your back."
"Technically you had my front."
The smirk on his face yielded amusement but still contained a certain amount of seriousness that he used to pin me to the car once again with both his body and his eyes placing both his hands on either side of my head. "So not only is my mate beautiful, spunky, and unique, but she's a smart ass as well. Whatever will I do with such a girl?"
"Take her home and mate her repeatedly?"
Dominic bit his lower lip to stifle the growl my newfound hearing allowed me to pick up on anyway.
"As much as I love that idea, if I let you go home smelling like sex your father will devise a method to kill me the slowest way possible. I think we should give him some time to adjust to us before that happens. Speaking of time, I should let you get home before he hunts me down."
I don't want to go but I have to admit that he's right. A peck on the lips turns into my hands clenching his shirt and his squeezing my ass again before getting in my car and driving off. The whole way I can't get rid of the thoughts of my mate brings me. It's hard to believe that just a few days ago I felt empty like I had nothing left and now I feel like nothing could bring me down.
"Jade."
Except for him. I heard him just as I approached my front door, still thinking of Dominic.
"What do you want Cameron? It's been a long day and I'm tired." He looks hurt by my tone and I could not care less.
"Then I won't keep you long. Sorry. I'm sorry. I just—Jade, I have something to tell you. I've hurt you so much and I know it isn't easy to stand here and listen to what I have to say, but please, just hear me out. When I bit you, I sealed my own fate. The feelings I said I'd never had for you are swarming my heart and the only way I can explain what I feel is to say that I love you."
This is a joke, right? Like a loon I snort and break out into laughter like it is one; the funniest joke ever.
"You love me, Cameron? All of a sudden, YOU love ME? Jade the mistake? The defect? How could anyone love such a thing? It's funny now that I have my wolf, those three little words come spewing from your mouth. I was made the way I was to not just teach you a lesson, but myself as well. I tried to end my being over someone that was never worth me and because I believed that I was the mistake you deemed me. I am still the same Jade. The only thing that has changed is the way my wolf and I see you, now. Good night, Cameron."
I turned my back to him with plans to end the conversation here but his next words literally cause my heart to stop beating.
"Dominic already has a mate. Did he tell you that? About Alice?"
No, he didn't tell me about that. Something in me refuses to believe he wouldn't tell me that he found his born mate. Something else within me wants to believe this is a lie. Cameron's way of trying to win. Then I look at him. He has never looked so sincere before or even sounds like his words hold true remorse as it does now.
Distraught and not knowing how to really react, I let him pull me into his arms and that's when the dam broke. I knew there had to be something. I thought I really had something good with him. That life had finally dealt me a card that would make me a winner at the end of this game, but I guess I was foolish for that kind of thinking. If life was meant to be easy for me, I would have been born with a wolf and a loving mate.
"I'm sorry, Jade. I know I said some really fucked up things and said I'd never want you. I regret everything. I never formally rejected you so we still have a chance. Please, give us a chance."
Desperation and hope are tangled in his words. I picked up on it in his apology and oddly, my wolf reacts to it. He is our born mate so we can still feel his emotions. He hurt us and didn't seem to care until someone else wanted us but still, she wants to ease his pain.
The look in his eyes reflects mine prompting me to take his hands and bring us closer together. We haven't always been one with each other. Still, I know that this is what my wolf had been craving; her mate's closeness. We may or may not have Dominic depending on what he has to say for himself, but one thing's for sure and will remain the same, we never had Cameron.
"No, Cam, you didn't. But I, Jade Marie Emmerson, reject you, Cameron Hoyt. You didn't want me then and I don't want you now."
Fury and rage replace the once calm man in front of me. The hands holding onto mine release them only to grip me hard by my shoulders that his short nails dig into my flesh through my shirt.
"NO! I am not accepting that! I will NEVER accept it! You need to wake the fuck up and realize that he isn't your real mate! His wolf belongs to Alice and his heart will never be yours just like your heart will never be his! You are mine and always will be! You may think that this is over, but I swear to you, Jade that I will have you and never stop until I do!"
Before I even had the chance to reply to him he shifts and runs off leaving me with the echo of his threat in my ears and a heavyweight over my heart. I don't know what he has planned and like everything else concerning Cameron, I just don't care. First thing in the morning I'm going to get to ask Dominic for the truth.
***
Sleep didn't come easy after that encounter with Cam. Every time I closed my eyes I heard the name 'Alice' and even dreamed of Dominic with some overly beautiful girl with the perfect body, perfect hair, and boobs that make mine look like mosquito bites. I saw him hugging and kissing her the way he does with me and woke up with tears drenching my pillow. I called him after the first bird sang its daily song. I couldn't wait any longer. I couldn't get it off my mind or rest until we spoke.
I was pacing the sidewalk in front of my doorstep where I first heard her name and was still pacing when he pulled up and only stopped when he approached me with a warm smile and a kiss.
"Good Morning, mate—"
"Who's Alice?" I blurted and by the pained look in his eyes, I get my answer. "Your mate. Alice is your mate." It's my turn to show my hurt now, but I won't cry. I'm determined not to cry.
"She was my mate but she," he paused shutting his eyes for a moment, "she died five-years ago. I went to Jagged Point after her death with the same purpose as you and I couldn't do it. Something told me I had to live and I cursed myself every day that I couldn't find the strength to just end it. That is, until a strange but sweet scent lured me out to the beach and I watched a girl walk into the water. Jade, I was trying to tell you about this last night, but what you said about the past being practice and everything happening for a reason made sense to me. I never claimed or mated Alice even though I had the chance many times. Yet, I claimed you the first day we met. It happened for a reason. We are meant to be."
All I can do is shake my head. He's right. I cut him off with words that seem to be ringing true. Things didn't work out without first mates and of all the wolves in the world, we find each other. Still, what Cameron said won't leave my mind.
"Jade, Baby, please don't be mad at me. I mean what I said about needing you and keeping you happy."
"I'm not mad, Dominic. I couldn't be even if I wanted to, because you're my second mate just as I am yours. If anything, you'd have more to worry about with my mate still trying to be in the picture. It's just—Cameron was right. Your heart belonged to Alice first, because you were made for her just as I was made for him. We called to each other probably because we were both suffering and lonely. I feel like your wolf wants me out of pity. Like, this is why he picked me. He thought he could turn this piece of trash into treasure."
"There is no pity. The pull I felt for you was very real." I held up my hand to silence him as tears push through my closed eyes. His voice is weakening me. If he doesn't stop talking now, I'm never going to see this clearly.
"This thing between us can't be real," I said more to myself. "It never—I'm going to go for a little while to think. I just need to think. Please, just let me have a little time and don't follow."
Leaving may not be the best thing to do at this time. Staying won't provide me with the peace I need to process all of this. I can't think with Cameron popping up on me last night trying to throw dirt on Dominic to make him look better. The thought of Dominic shooting me smiles meant for someone else isn't helping either. Smiles meant for Alice; his real mate that I could never replace. The true and eternal owner of his heart that right now I feel I have no right to.