The Fourth Mate

Chapter 10: Blissful H*ll

Edge sat there holding Lucky the entire time that Andrew drove to their pack. He sat so long admiring her beauty and the odd things about her that he did not even notice four hours had passed. His sons had even stopped for Lucky’s and their meal. The smell should have pierced through this happy bubble surrounding him, except it didn’t. He had looked at his mark on her neck that was still a bruise and her pink tipped hair. He saw the sparkles in it, and it felt silky smooth to the touch with calm threaded through each strand. It gave him a bigger indication that she was a special wolf and why she was so protective of her hair.

Then, there was her smile. He could only see half of her face, but it was enough to show a small dimple near her lips. He could not help a contented sigh occasionally.

At the same time as he was in bliss, he was in h*ll, too. His body demanded that he mate her. Everything about her was sexy, from her soft sighs to the breath on his neck. He had to focus on other things that drew his attention, or he was going to give his kids a show. The smell was bad enough.

“Mmm,” Lucky moaned.

Dad, she’s stirring.

I can see that.

Then, she woke with her eyes fluttering, and a yawn coming from her. He found it cute until a frown perched on her face and anger flared in her eyes.

“I’m sorry the doctor did not calibrate the sedative right,” Edge said quickly. “I told him you were a newborn and that you may get anxious from being in a car. He is at fault, not me. I just made sure you slept well.”

“I’m sure you did it on purpose,” Lucky growled along with her stomach.

“Here,” Edge said as he snatched the bag from Rick and waved it in front of her. “We stopped and got you something to eat a few minutes ago.”

She licked her lips and her eyes flashed ice blue in her hunger. He could see that she was ravenous, which is normal for any growing pup at this stage. She will probably have the burgers gone in seconds if not a few minutes. Then, he would give her the chocolaty surprise at his feet.

The next thing any of them knew, Lucky was tearing into the wrappers and eating the burgers like she was starving. It almost reminded Edge of Andrew when he was a teenager and Dorran’s mother, Penelope, had tried to make him eat slower. It was interesting when he had to intervene, so he would not eat his stepmother’s arm off.

“She is almost like you, Andy,” Rick laughed. “I remember how no one could touch your food.”

“We, Rick and I, acted better than that,” Dorran added with a laugh.

“Yes,” Edge agreed. “Your mother had to intervene and make sure he would taste what she fixed him. I had to threaten him with no food if he hurt her. We all thought he was going cannibalistic because of how rare he liked his meat.”

“It’s not my fault that I am hungry,” Lucky huffed haughtily between bites. “Plus, this is so delicious.”

“When you’re done, I have something even more delicious,” Edge told her.

“What?” she asked as she finished her last burger.

He reached down for the bag, then held it in front of her saying, “A chocolate pie.”

She snatched the bag quickly, then opened it to her pies. Carefully, she pulled out one and opened it. That is when she began eating slower. Each bite drew a moan of delight, which made him harder than he would have liked to be in front of his children. He felt d***ed with her acting like it was heaven. The worst part was Andrew got her two chocolate pies, which meant he would be aroused all the way to the packhouse. He was cursing his son in his head for this. She was licking the plastic fork, too, with care that he felt like he was going to pop. His eyes were glued to her tongue each time she did it.

He really wanted a taste of her.

Father, please tone down your arousal. We are going to see your grandson in a few hours.

Tell Andrew to grow up! He’s mated, for the love of the goddess.

Liken was enthralled as he was over their mate. There were so many things they wanted to do for her that he did not know which one to do first. He does know what he is going to do on their date to prove he is a good man, though. She is going to fall in love with him and want him.

After Lucky finished her pies, she crawled over Edge to practically stick her head out the window. He was shocked she would do that, but he did not mind. He worried that she would be seriously hurt if they got into an accident, though. His pack may not understand either, but it let him stroke her back. Her wolf purred over that, which made him happy to hear that he made both happy.

“Uh… Dad!” Dorran called worriedly. “Lucky grew a tail.”

“What!?” Lucky screeched.

They whipped their heads around to see a long tail with no fur wagging its delight. It was whapping Dorran’s face, too, which almost made him laugh. Edge would have released it if he were not worried that she may be shifting too soon. He looked her over for any signs that her body was readying for it, while checking with Liken. Her smell did not have pain in it, only happiness. He would believe that she was overly happy and that is why a piece of her shifted, but that was ridiculous. There is no possible way, he thought cynically.

I think we need to read up on special wolves before crossing that out, Edge. She may shift from pure happiness.

“My tail has no fur,” Lucky whined sadly.

“Father, we are ten minutes from our pack,” Andrew informed him calmly.

He knows how far they are away from his pack. He could feel the lines stretching out to greet him. It was relieving to be back, but he was as worried as his children were about Lucky’s sudden development. Rick, though, looked fascinated by it.

“You’re not ready to shift yet,” Edge consoled as he pulled her onto his lap. “I don’t know what made it grow, but you need to calm down to push it away.”

He had wrapped his arms around her, but she wiggled out of them and sat beside him. She did not sit on her rear but on her hip, so she could be comfortable. It let her tail free to whap Dorran some more. He wanted to laugh at this. His lips even twitched to do it.

“I won’t be a bald wolf, will I?” she asked, sadly.

“Like I said,” Edge spoke softly. “You are not ready to shift yet. That is why you have no fur. The moon must be full for it to happen. And no, I do not know why you grew a tail. I can look it up in the many books I have regarding newborns and parts forming early.”

She nodded and closed her eyes to focus, as they passed through the iron gates. He is sure that she heard the brief call to their alpha, which made them snap back open to see the points on the posts. Pine trees lined behind the gray stone walls that would make someone wonder if there was anyone in them. Her head jerked to the left, looking at the small hills on the other side of them greeting her. She did not look panicked or frightened at seeing his pack’s land. Instead, there was awe molding her face, and a smile grew there, too. He felt relieved that she would not feel trapped or scared to come to his pack.

Edge smiled that she missed most of the wooden, reddish-brown guard shack, where he waved to the wolf inside. She probably would have freaked out, but thankfully, she only looked after that point. Her tail had reduced to nothing, too, when she became saddened, which was a bigger relief for him. He did not want anyone to know what she was yet.

He made a mental note to count how much chocolate he gave her until after she shifted. She may be able to have it as normal then.

Soon, the asphalt road turned into dirt that went up and down all the way to Edge’s mansion. He watched Lucky look at it with her mouth parted in shock. He was ready to chuckle except he wondered if it was too dark and dreary for her. Colors seemed to affect this she-wolf, he thought worriedly. It looked like one gray slab of stone with no “glue” to hold it together or wood to frame the windows. Some windows are jutted out and some are pushed inward, showing darkness inside this very large place. The clouds are darkened over it, too, which is normal, including around the center where the tower was placed.

He turned his eyes to the green slanted roof, feeling grateful that the beta had it repaired from where the fairies blew a hole in it. It was the last time that they got to congregate in any room without a chaperon. It made his lips lift at the memory of them looking at his half-shifted form and trembling in fear. They were frightened and thought he was angry, but he did it just to make sure they knew what happened was wrong. It made him look at the battlements in the front with a few peaks in the back, thinking about what they could do if they were under attack.

There are a few clusters of bushes and long, rectangular flowerbeds sprouting beautiful flowers that might balance her. They vary from tulips to roses to irises and seem to rake the hillside. Some Lilies grew with them, too, which should give her the brightness she needs to be happy. He may have to make a deal with a fairy to alter the color of his home to suit her.

“Everything looks beautiful,” Lucky gushed as she leaned over him to look out the window.

Pride filled Edge at the way she sounded like she was happy about her new home. Liken is happy, too, but he had to fish for her full approval.

“I’m glad you like it,” Edge said softly. “I hope that the colors are not too much.”

“Huh?” Lucky said before her eyes lit up. “Oh, Star and I like our clothes one way, but someone else’s home is theirs. We would not dare put our color on it.”

Edge frowned and wanted to correct her, but he kept it to himself. It did not stop his anger, though. He breathed in her scent when she plopped back down to look out the other window. It calmed him until the car stopped, and she bolted out of it. He growled loudly at how swiftly she managed to climb over Dorran, knee him between the legs, and then leaped out the door. He moved just swiftly as she did, so he could chase her.

"She cannot just run from me," he grumbled.

Liken joined his anger, which nearly had him shifting. He was lucky to be able to get out of the car in human form instead of half shifted. He stopped, though, as he saw her at a tree.

Lucky was trying to jump to catch a leaf that was hanging down. It was odd for this time of year, but it is not unlikely that one of his pack members caused it to loosen. He was trying to figure out why she wanted it. He marched to her angrily to find out just that, even though the sight of her smile made his heart thump with happiness. She needed to understand that she disrespected his beta who stood waiting to greet everyone.

“Lucky,” Edge snapped angrily. She whipped around, startled before she just looked at him from head to toe. “What are you doing?”

“Lift me up,” she ordered urgently. “There’s something up there.”

“It’s probably nothing,” Edge scoffed as he lifted her up by the waist.

He knew it was not true. It could be a fairy or pixie hiding precariously. It is their usual, but none have hurt themselves. They are mostly curious about the newcomers and if he has come back home. They like to cause havoc while he is gone, since he has more control over them than anyone else in his pack, including his sons. It is another among many reasons why he has not let his sons become alpha of the pack.

“Got it!” Lucky cried.

Edge saw that she carefully pulled the leaf from the low-hanging branch and used her other hand to hold it. He could not see what it was until he lowered her. A glowing light hid the body of what he knew was a fairy, which made his lips curl inward. He knows exactly who this is, and he was not happy that it was the biggest troublemaker in the pack. However, he was not surprised that his mate would find him either. He had hoped it would be later… like fifty years or more later.