Urban Wolf

Truce

Nick closed his eyes and tried to gather his self-control. The pain in his chest was overwhelming his senses, causing more adrenaline to race through his blood and soon all willpower, along with rational thought, would give way to the mating call. How could this have happened? Two years, two long years, he and Allyria Koenig had been together non-stop and never a twitch of a sign. One tiny handshake and now he was doomed to mate with a stranger.

No, not a stranger. Keele. The thought of her brought a fire to his blood he’d never experienced before. It was more than a simple desire, it was a complex emotional stew that wanted her, needed her but also wanted to protect her, care for her, be anything she needed him to be. The physical want became an exquisite torment he knew would only stop once he was inside her.

But she also happened to be the youngest sibling of the only man outside of his own pack he’d walk through fire to save. Who had already saved his furry ass more than once over the past hundred years. Holden placed his sisters’ happiness above everything except the will of the pack. Sending Keele was a strong statement, one Holden knew Nick had no course but to accept. To deny Keele and the sign would be a slap to everything their world held dear, their most basic instinct – the love and safety of mate and pack. No matter how much he wanted to deny his base nature, he was still a wolf before anything else.

He noticed she was waiting for him to speak first. Where to start with a familiar stranger? He knew part of the story: youngest of ten, two hundred eleven years younger than Holden, which made Keele one hundred and twenty-five, and highly independent. Nick remembered frequent tirades about Keele and her lack of fear. When in doubt, he decided to start at the beginning.

“What do you do in Vancouver?” The question popped into his mouth with his brain’s approval. “What did Holden’s craziness pull you away from?”

Keele stared at him, exasperation and confusion darkening her eyes to banked green fire. “Excuse me?”

Nick took her hand and walked to the sofa, turning off the stereo so they could speak easier. “We need to know each other, and that was the first thing that came to mind.”

She relaxed a little, leaning back against the pillows and running long, slender fingers through her auburn mane. “I’m a dancer, principal ballerina with the Twin City Ballet. I had to get away from my family, so I headed west for college, wound up in Seattle following a boy I thought I loved, and decided to stay when he turned out to be just the same as all the other male egotistical assholes.”

Nick raised one eyebrow and grinned, “I hope I don’t fall into that category.”

Keele twisted her mouth and pursed her lips in contemplation. Finally, she announced, “The jury is still out on that. Ask me again in thirty days.”

“So, you intend to honor your brother’s argument?”

She shrugged. “Where will I go when Holden throws me to the wind for breaking the will of my Alpha? Of course, I’m going to stay. I like living and want to continue to do so for a very long time. You’re better looking than I thought and not too old, so if I’m forced to marry someone I could certainly do worse.” She winked at him, defusing his ire.

He laughed, nodded at the irony, and stood up. Walking to the bar in the corner, he replied, “Well, I appreciate this. It seems really odd to have this mark with a stranger. I’m sorry about that. I know it hurts.”

“That’s an understatement,” she groused. “You mentioned having some salve?”

Nodding, Nick retreated to his bedroom to retrieve the container. As he turned the corner he paused to contemplate his new companion. Allyria was going to be furious when she returned from New York in a week. Interesting how Keele appeared the afternoon after Nick placed his now ex-fiancee onto a plane for a week's shopping in New York, mainly for a wedding dress.

To say he was relieved when Dmitri offered to make that phone call for him was a laugh. While none of this was his fault, both men were sure Allyria would find some excuse to screech at length. If he were to be honest, he was more than tired of her constant and unending complaining. Allyria hated Atlanta. She preferred Europe, while Nick loved the southern climate and attitudes. Atlanta suited his business requirements in more than one way.

The international airport was close, with many smaller local airports attracting no attention from the local populace. Wilderness was still within an hour’s drive in almost any direction, and the multi-cultural business community was always accepting of him and his brothers. While there were other, smaller shifter pods in the state, none came close to the size of the Petrozas.

He watched as Keele ventured around the room, watching the flow of the city around them from the windows, imbuing everything with her scent, studying the city as it lay below them, a territory of concrete and humans so different from the vast tundra and wilderness beauty of his pack’s native Siberia. Would she understand his need to rule this urban wilderness just as his ancestors ruled there? Could she see underneath the custom suits and high-rise penthouse to the wolf he felt surging just beneath his skin? Turning into his bedroom, he prayed she would find this a pleasant arrangement.

***

Keele stared out at the Atlanta central corridor of interstates and buildings with a sinking feeling in her gut. What had she gotten herself into now? Or more importantly, what had her brother sent her into? How dare he set her up this way? At least her new intended mate was gorgeous. Still, she had no idea where to begin with this whole arranged thing. Things like this just didn’t happen to her. She was the black sheep of the family, not the outsider who would marry Lycan royalty.

The youngest of so many, Keele often felt lost among her siblings. Nothing she did seemed to make them proud, not even when she graduated top of her class from the University of Oregon. Her father considered her career as just another way to tweak her nose at him, as he considered entertaining humans beneath their standing as a superior breed, and Holden tended to be more parent than brother, much to her annoyance.

Most of her sisters had been married off to gain alliances or territory until their holdings in Montana and into Canada were significant. Her brothers had also been dispersed among local packs to tighten the familial bonds to the Doran pack. After years of being told she was too independent to be the wife of an Alpha, she now found herself wondering if one of her many female relatives would be willing to give her lessons, so she wouldn’t embarrass her family.

And she was being traded to a new pack by her own blood. While Nick seemed nice and his brother Alex a likable scamp, with them and the rest came a new set of personalities and avoidances to learn. She pondered which would be harder: not speaking at all and risk being labeled a cold b***h, or to make stupid comments that alienated her from these strangers? No, she knew what the worst would be, rejection from her Alpha, her mate. She would be cast off, sterile and bitter.

She tried to remember the exercises the therapist her parents provided gave her years previous when they had thought her heritage a large enough prize to bring a royal mate calling. Breathe, sit back, say nothing unless directly spoken to, and above all else, say nothing too personal. Guard her thoughts against any trace of sarcasm. Don’t ramble. Let him lead the conversation.

Below her, endless lines of cars snaked through the city, more cars than she had seen in a long time. In the distance she could see the planes landing and taking off from the airport. To the east was the large exposed granite rock known as Stone Mountain, and just in the distance, almost beyond even her enhanced sight, lay the Appalachians. It brought home how big a metro area Atlanta was compared to Seattle. More people, more chances to make mistakes. She sent a silent prayer up to the ancestors for wisdom to not embarrass Nick, or Holden.

Nick. Just the thought of his name and warmth spread inside, turning her legs to goo. The mating sign burned with a pain bordering on orgasmic, and she shifted uncomfortably as her crotch burned with a sudden throb. She wasn’t good enough for him, but hopefully he’d never find that out.

She heard him returning with the salve. Keele spun around to face him, still swallowing the fears of inadequacy and failure. His welcoming smile struck her straight in the heart. He’d replaced the torn shirt with another button-down business shirt, but it hung open exposing his rock-hard abs and perfectly smooth skin. For a brief moment she wondered if he shaved. No Lycan prince could be that hairless.

“Found the jar,” he announced. “It’s something my brother got from our aunt when he mated. This will take the sting out.”

She twisted her mouth, “What do I need to do?”

Nick stopped in his tracks, staring at her. She knew it had just hit him that soothing her pain meant undressing, at least partially for both of them. That, combined with the mating pheromones she knew her body was pumping out, brought a tinge of deep black to his widened eyes. His beast was ready to burst through, and her own was equally unhinged.

Hoping to ease the tension in the room, Keele unbuttoned her shirt, removed it and turned to Nick. The mating sign, seared into her chest, glowed with its own internal heat. Her n*****s crinkled in the cooler air of the room, sticking out from her lace bra like nodes awaiting his attention.

With her eyes focused on Nick’s, Keele removed her bra and stood still, waiting.

***

Nick stared with undisguised need at the half-naked beauty standing before him. Every thought in his head disappeared and his c**k swelled past the point of uncomfortable straight into damn painful. His wolf was pacing inside his mental cage, ready to take what he claimed. He casually shifted his hips in an attempt to hide his discomfort from Keele. It was useless.

The brand of the mating mark lay partially on her left breast, marring the perfect porcelain of her skin. Goosebumps covered her chest and both n*****s were hard, crinkled and stiff. It eased his embarrassment knowing she was turned on by him as well. He had to lock his jaws tight to keep from latching onto her breasts with lips and teeth. To cover up, he stared squarely into her eyes. Slowly he opened the salve, offering it to Keele first.

She wrinkled her nose and attempted a casual smile. The trembling in her voice betrayed her nervousness to him. “I thought maybe you would do my scar and I'd do yours? If that’s okay with you?”

Not trusting his voice, Nick nodded vigorously. Each stuck their finger in the jar, then dug out small globs of the lavender-scented crème.

As soon as the cooling substance hit his chest, the Lycan inside leapt forward, eager to finish the claiming ritual. It took all of his strength and training to keep from phasing right there. He struggled against the beast inside, promised him their time would come, and lightly dabbed the crème on her brand.

Her skin was softer than he expected, the rising pheromones surrounding him with her scent. Covering her mark, his hand lingered on her breast, rubbing his thumb in light circles around her areola. Keele’s eyes closed and a light moan slipped from between her lips. Her hands on his chest paused in their movements as a shudder rippled through her body.

“Nick,” her words were whispered, tinged with hesitation.

“Shh,” he replied. “Don’t think about anything, just let me...”

“I can’t.” The pain in that statement brought Nick short.

“What’s wrong?”

Keele stepped out of his reach, hugging her sides as if she feared breaking into pieces. “I’m not the person you should mate with. There’s a lot you don’t know about me. Things that would bring shame to your family should any of them be made public.”

He reached for her, but she twisted away. Nick sighed, “Keele I know you’ve had some problems with members of your previous pack. Holden is my best friend after all. But, that same openness and willingness to embrace a new model for pack structure is exactly what I need. You are what I need. I intend to increase Lycans world-wide, to make us a force to be reckoned with. Only you can help me do that. Mating signs are never wrong.”

“I’ll only end up embarrassing you somewhere along the line. You're one of the original six Lycan families. You can trace your bloodlines back to the sixth century. I’m a socially awkward, independently minded, train wreck waiting for a place to crash. Just because I’m the Irish princess doesn’t mean I’m fit for royalty. I’m defective. You deserve better.”

Nick pulled her firmly into his arms. Gently grabbing her chin with his hand, he lowered his lips to her mouth. “But I want you,” he whispered as his lips crushed against her. He brushed lightly against first the upper, then her lower lip, his tongue seeking permission into her. As her lips parted, his tongue traced along both lips and then dove into her mouth, dancing with hers as heat pooled in his crotch. Nick felt he could drive a nail through a brick wall he was so hard.

Meanwhile, the mating sign which started when they shook hands, reheated to finish its intricate pattern. The soothing salve prevented the searing pain with this second branding, but the heat between their bodies continued to drive Nick wild. Crushing Keele against him, his erection, by way of introduction, rubbed itself against her abdomen. His ardor was so hot Nick didn’t know if he could stop himself.

Nick feared pushing Keele too soon. She was right about one thing; she did have a problem. Every wolf in the pack knew his or her place. If Keele couldn’t interpret the cues, it could lead to a fight, perhaps even to the death. He also knew that now the mating sign was present, it didn’t matter. Nick was ready to take her, and let the problems come later. However, he had to know her feelings on the whole matter.

***

Keele was floating, her body an object for Nick’s play. Her lips were still numb from his kisses and her n*****s begged for his undivided attention. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a part of her wanted to resist, to rip herself away from the prince and denounce his attempts to tame her, but she knew how pointless that would be. As she told Nick earlier, she had no death wish. It was her duty to obey her Alpha.

For royal Lycans, the mating call was more than finding one’s life mate. To them, it began a process of entwining their physical, mental, and spiritual essences. They had to rule their pack as a team. Relief from the fire the sign ignited would only come from having s*x. Keele still wasn’t sure she wanted Nick to have that much power over her. Though females are important in Lycan society, all true power lies with the male Alphas. Was she willing to set aside her independence for a group of strangers she had yet to meet?

Keele knew the answer. It wasn’t for Nick’s pack she would do this, but for her own. Holden had sent her to the Russian prince as a present. He owned her already, even without completion of the mating. So why did she find herself pulling away from his touch? What kept her from letting go and enjoying the experience? The knowledge that her own brother had betrayed her with a smile.

Nick rubbed the backs of his hands across her breasts, bringing the ache inside them to the point of rupture, yet still she hesitated.

Nick, finally aware of her reticence, growled, “Why don’t you respond to me?”

The words poured out of her mouth before she could stop them. “We’re strangers. I’ve never had s*x with a stranger. I’ve never had s*x before, period, but you probably knew that. Royal Lycan women are watched closer than an overdue soufflé. I accept Holden gave me to you and I accept that this mating mark gives you the right to marry me regardless of my life and dreams. But if I'm going down this particular rabbit hole, I have a request for you, a polite request.”

“What’s that?”

Keele took a deep breath and a deliberate step away from Nick, just to clear her mind. She stared at the gathering darkness as she spoke. “I want to know the real you, the person no one sees. I want our relationship to be based on more than a mating sign. I’ve seen real love, and I’ve seen duty. I want real love.”

***

While his son and his new surprise discussed the circumstances surrounding their meeting, Dmitri Petroza took note of his youngest son’s face. Alex was brewing storm clouds, and it didn’t take an expert to realize there was a problem in the family. Alex was love struck with Keele, and the last thing the pack needed was a fight between the brothers. He needed to head this off now. But at that moment, a nagging warning flashed in the back of his mind.

First he looked in the Book of Lawes to see exactly the wording of the passage Holden Doran was staking his injunction upon. Nothing seemed out of the normal there, but when he went to dig deeper into the mating marks he discovered a passage he didn't remember reading before.

“The more powerful a mark, the greater the bond between mates. Rarely do they live without each other, and they can commune across great distances. Sometimes the beast inside will strive to overtake sanity, especially if there is a perceived threat to the female. During the initial mating, instances of death from power struggles between powerful Alpha bonds have been recorded but are rare. Even if not previously noted in a bloodline, the phenomena, known as “Pure Mates” can be observed although none have been recorded in recent memory. The most combustible pure mates are found between Russian and Irish Lycans, as their proclivity for violence is well recorded.”

As he put the laptop aside for the evening, Dmitri couldn’t help but wonder what s**t Holden Doran had really stirred up.