Nicole's POV
How dare that little urchin steal my mates. How dare Nikki command me I growl low. I try hard to fight his will. Just when I think I've broken free Jason and Jacob reinforce his command. I have no Alpha I roar pushing back at them mentally. I try to nip and claw. I can't. I feel Nikki gently stroking my fur in an attempt to soothe.
"Relax Nicole." he whispers.
"No! she took what is mine!" I howl.
"We need her to sleep through Ava's heat. I need you both to back me up." Jake speaks quietly.
"No!" I argue. I hear their combined command to sleep. I can't fight it I close my eyes.
Nikki's POV
I look at the other men around me. We're all breathing hard from exertion. I've never had a battle of wills like that before.
"Damn Jason I think she gets stronger every year." Jake groans. "I'm really glad you were here Sixx." Jason lifts Nicole off my lap and Jake helps me to my feet. I take my wife's hand as we walk back to the porch she looks very pale. We sit quietly for a long while before I break the silence.
"Can anyone explain what just happened?" I ask.
"It was breeding lust." Jason explains. "I usually make sure she's asleep when another is heat. Ava caught us by surprise. Nicole was red zone before I knew it. I'm sorry everyone."
"Not your fault Jason." Jake reassures him.
"None of the other women reacted like her." I comment.
"That's because they have an Alpha and a mate. Nicole has neither which makes her a wild card." Jake answers. "Breeders might not be mated but they still have an alpha. Nicole is a child of an alpha but they broke ties. She never affiliated with a new pack. It makes her very hard to deal with in an emergency. All I should have had to say was relax." He goes quiet a worried expression on his face.
"What is it Jake?" Jason asks.
"I just can't shake what might have happened if she had gotten passed us. She could have hurt Ava. She might be undersized for a Wolf but she still very strong. If she is going to stay with us between breeding I need to be her Alpha. She is a danger to my pack otherwise. If she won't she needs to leave." he sighs.
"Please don't Jake. Don't make it an ultimatum " Carol says reaching out to him. "She's been bred. She can't go to the LA pack now."
"Who would be brazen enough to breed her knowing she was promised to Damon's pack." he blurts out. Carol and Jason point at me. "When will we know for sure?" He asks.
Nyx starts laughing.
"If it happened on the mountain we'll know by the time of the pack gathering." Nyx answers and giggles winking at me.
Courtney buries her head against my chest. I squeeze her gently. I would do anything to make this easier for her.
"This isn't a laughing matter." Jason tries to get his daughter to take it seriously. "Damon is going to pitch a fit at the council meeting. They've waited years for a breeder."
"Maybe if he wasn't a sleaze, fathers would be willing to send their daughters to his pack as mates. He has four sons and no living mate." She huffs.
"What happened to his mate?" I ask.
"His human mates die in childbirth. He can only get human women now, wolves and hybrids know what he is." She says angrily.
"If he's so horrible why was your mother going?" I reach over and stroke Nicole's fur.
"She wasn't going for him. She knows there are good men in his pack. She was going for them." She answers.
"Damon's behavior has sentenced his pack to being all male. Mother nature seems to agree too since they have only sons." Jake adds.
"The council is afraid to start bloodshed or their members would have been separated and absorbed into other packs long ago. They risk our exposure to humans with their actions." Jason pauses as if thinking something over. He sighs heavily." Nicole just informed me tonight of the real reason she was willing to go. They've kidnapped a thirteen year old human girl and bred her. Nicole was going hoping to trade herself for the child."
"Oh my god poor baby." Carol says softly. "She won't survive the birth without aid."
"Nicole is still thinking she should go." Jason says.
"No she can't she won't be able to hide her pregnancy from them. By the time they come to the gather for her everyone will know by her scent." Nyx objects. She looks at me. "They are your cubs you have to tell her no. They will force her to miscarry and back into heat."
"If she's pregnant. I won't let her risk it." I reassure her. The more I learn about Damon I won't allow it even if she's not.
"Even if we get them to back off now they will want her later." Jason continues.
"Maybe we can request the run to be on our territory." Carol suggests.
"That would be a good Idea." Jake says with a smirk. "Damon would hate it."
"If she agrees to join our pack. She could stay and give birth here in safety and they get to add their genes to the next generation. It's a win for everyone." Carol grins liking her idea.
I'm not sure I want anyone of those sleaze bags touching Nicole. Jason is ok. The thought of Damon touching her. I growl low. I look over and see Nicole's daughter eyeing me with a grin on her face. I realize she was catching some of my thoughts. I keep forgetting about the mind thing. The closer I get to them the more open our minds are to each other.
"Hey why didn't my kids wake up during the heat?" I ask curious.
"You are their Alpha, you stayed in control so they slept right through it." Jake smiles.
They continue to talk about ways to free the child without endangering Nicole. I'm all for that. I feel so protective of her now. Reaching over I stroke her head. I hope Nicole will except Jake as her Alpha. I'm thinking it won't be so easy. Her defiant words are still ringing in my head. "I have no Alpha!"