You Are My Mate, Ever

I Wanted To Kiss You

Aileen had pissed off the damn Beta at the company. "Just f*****g awesome." She hated herself. Really hated herself. She sat in the Jeep, processing this information, wondering how much more uncomfortable Black could make her life if he held a grudge. John parked the Jeep near the guard post.

Aileen's eyes scanned the four four werewolves guards keeping watch. Two of them were on the inside of the gate, and two more were standing on top of the thirty-foot wall that surrounded the entire perimeter of the area. All four were carrying weapons.

“I don't see any protesters.”

“Yeah. There won't be any. We recently bought the land adjacent to this section and haven't extended the walls yet, but we plan to. It's private property now, so if protesters come near, we'll arrest them for trespassing. Just come to this gate in the morning. Your car is parked there.” John pointed to the small parking lot where Aileen's car was parked.

“Thanks.”

“I'll get your keys. Stay here.”

Aileen got out of the Jeep, grabbed her purse from the car, and waited. She watched as he spoke to two officers and laughed before taking the keys from one of them. He came back and handed them to her.

“They'll let you in in the morning. Park your car where it is now and leave the keys in the ignition. The officers will need them in case the car needs to be moved at any point. It's a security measure. They'll also search the interior, looking through every inch of it, to make sure no one has planted a bomb.”

Aileen stared at him, too stunned to respond. The man just smiled at her reaction.

"Good evening!" He climbed into the Jeep, started it, waved goodbye, and drove away.

"A bomb? s**t. No wonder the pay is so good. I get hazard pay." She walked up to the car and noticed that two wolves were watching her closely at the gate. She pulled the door open, threw her bag on the passenger seat, started the car, and backed it up. The gate was already open when she drove slowly through it. One of the officers nodded, and she was off the Reservation.

She drove about a mile down the winding forest road before she noticed a black Jeep blocking both lanes of traffic. She slammed on the brakes and winced, wondering where the driver was and why he was blocking the road.

She scanned the surrounding forest but saw no one. She turned off the car and decided to wait, hoping that the driver would return soon, as there was no way to get around the Jeep due to the trees growing around the road. Several long minutes passed before she decided to yell and see if the Jeep driver would hear her.

The second she opened the door and stepped out of the car, she heard human screams. She turned in the direction of the obscene curses and bit her lip as she realized the sounds were getting closer.

"I swear I'm lost!"

“Really,” growled another voice, “I'm sure it was.”

“You're going to let me go right now, you son of a b***h! How dare you lay your ugly, damn claws on me? Get the f**k out!”

“You're trespassing and you'll be arrested for it.”

“Well, holy s**t! Let me go!”

About fifteen feet to the left, she saw movement. She had a strong urge to climb back into the car and turn around. The gate wasn't far away, and she was afraid of the scene that was about to unfold in front of her. The man was cursing rather belligerently.

As he stepped out from behind the trees, she got a good look at him. He looked like a real villain, about twenty years old. His face was flushed with anger, but his hands were tied behind his back. Someone taller was walking behind him, pushing him forward, and she felt a twinge of recognition as soon as she saw the other man's face.

She froze. Black didn't notice her right away, focused on holding the man he was leading in front of him. The man was angry and trying to run away, but he would grab him by his denim vest and pull him back into place.

"Don't make me track you," Black growled. "You won't get far with your hands cuffed behind your back."

"f**k yourself, freak! Let me go! You have no goddamn right to touch me or cuff me! I'm going to sue you and kick your goddamn wolf ass!"

"Keep it up, redneck. I can file more charges against you. You snuck into pack territory with a rifle. That doesn't bode well." Black growled.

Black looked up and met her gaze. He blinked but did not seem surprised by the meeting, and continued to push the man toward the jeep. She stood still, while he lifted the intruder and threw him into the back seat.

The man screamed loud curses and continued to threaten lawsuits. He pulled another pair of handcuffs from his pocket and used them to fasten the man to the metal bars.

“You goddamn p***y!” The man screamed. “Let me go! You're damn wrong to do this!”

“Shut up,” he growled, “And since you're going to jail anyway, I wouldn't yell "p***y" too often. I heard your kind likes to bend men over in prison. If there's someone as stupid as you in there, he might take that as an invitation.

She couldn't help but smile, even though she knew it was wrong to find this funny. Black finally turned away from his prisoner and met her gaze. She saw his nostrils begin to flare as he slowly walked toward her. Her heart started beating faster. They were about to talk, and she had no idea what to say to him.

"Where the hell are you going? You can't leave me here, freak. I have rights!" He ignored the words. She didn't move as he closed the distance between them until he was only a few feet away from her. They stood there, looking at each other.

"Hey, kitty. Let me go right now, damn you!" The intruder struggled against the cuffs.

"Hello.” She breathed out, deciding to speak first. She was tense and needed to say something, anything. “How are you?”

“I'm fine. Have you been avoiding fights since then?” Beta's handsome eyes narrowed slightly.

The reminder of her unwise decision to visit the bar made her feel ashamed again.

“Yes.”

“You're too young to be involved with men fighting.”

“I wasn't involved. I was sitting quietly at a table in the far corner when the fight started. It all happened too fast, and I only realized what was happening when I felt trapped and everyone started pushing towards me.

I had no choice but to climb onto the table. And I would have been fine if someone hadn't broken a table and dropped me on the floor," she studied him closely, still convinced that he must be the sexiest man she'd ever seen, "Thank you for saving my life."

Black tilted his head slightly, studying her as intently as she was studying him.

"So that's why you kissed me? Out of gratitude?" She knew her cheeks were getting redder with embarrassment, but she wanted to explain her behavior to the man.

"No."

"Then why did you do it? I'm curious."

"Do you want to know the truth?" she tried desperately to think of a reason that wouldn't seem stupid, but nothing came to mind. This man had messed up her thoughts.

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know."

"I..." The girl sighed, deciding to be honest. “I was drunk, and I thought I was dying. When I came to, I was sure I was. You'll think it's stupid, and I doubt you want to know what I thought.”

“But I do.”

“I thought I was dead, and you were there.”

“I don't understand.” He frowned.

She wished the ground would open up beneath her feet, but it didn't.

“I thought you were some kind of guide who came to take me to hell.”

“I see. You decided I was the devil.” His mouth tightened, and the man looked angry.

“No!” she shook her head, hating the look he was giving her. She wanted to dissuade him. “I thought you were an angel.” She slumped.

He relaxed, and his gaze softened a little.

"Have you always wanted to kiss an angel?"

"No." Her face should have been heating up by now. "I figured since I was going to hell anyway, I might as well do what I wanted. And what I wanted was to kiss you." "And more." But she left that part out.