The Jaguar's Mate

EIGHT

Nico?

Olivia’s voice had an immediate effect on Nico’s temper. He visibly relaxed and stopped growling at Aiden, who had also begun to growl.

I’m okay Olie, where are you? This alpha-jerk is looking for you, they know we are jaguars. And I swear there is something off about him, he seems obsessed with you.

Silence.

Olie? 

Yes, sorry. The meeting is in 15 minutes so we don’t have much time. Bring them to our shack right now, we’ll clear things up before the meeting. 

Will do.

Aiden and Sam glared at Nico as he went from rage to tranquility within seconds, they could tell he was mind linking someone.

“Is that Olivia?” Sam asked Tamara cautiously, she was shaking a little bit with what seemed like fear towards Aiden and apparent worry for her brother, or maybe for Aiden? Sam kept calm for Aiden’s sake, but he was upset at his Alpha’s uncontrolled emotions and the effect he was having on Tamara.

Tamara nodded and softly spoke without looking at Sam. “Yes, follow us.”

Olivia had shared the mind link with Tamara, the siblings had a unique pathway that connected all three of them. Tamara had shared in better detail what occurred just moments before. 

They made their way towards the jaguars’ shack, no one spoke and Tamara still held Nico’s arm, staying close to him and not looking back. The grounds in the clearing were large and open, but the shacks lined up one behind another, so they only saw Olivia leaning against the outermost wall of their shack only when they were a few feet away. 

Aiden pushed Nico and Tamara out of the way and to everyone’s astonishment, jogged those last feet towards Olivia and picked her up in a hug, pulling her into his chest so that their bodies touched from head to toe, no space between them while her feet were dangling in the air.

“For the Goddess’ sake where were you? I couldn’t find you anywhere.” Olivia didn’t move a muscle, arms to her sides and feet hanging as Aiden crushed her in his arms. She relaxed against him, with her head against his chest she took a deep breath, taking in his scent. She instantly stiffed when she smelled over three dozen she-wolves on him. Anger flourished, but Olivia forced reason to take over and reminded herself he was nothing to them, to her.

You know that’s not true

Olivia ignored Killari’s angry whisper, and right when she was about to ask Aiden to please put her down, he slammed her down to the ground, gripping her arms right below her shoulders, his nails digging in her skin. He held her in place, his voice thundered through the clearing. “You were rolling around with someone else this entire time?!” 

Olivia didn’t respond, she had instantly regretted the encounter with the human male. Guilt and humiliation soaked her like a bucket of cold ice water.

“Answer me! You are covered in a human’s stench. A male’s arousal is all over you!” Aiden shook her, hardly using any force, but it was the flames that danced in his eyes that filled Olivia with a feeling she had never experienced. Shame.

Sam, Tamara, and Nico had glared in confusion as Aiden crushed Olivia to him with strange relief one second and then slammed her down shortly after. When his words had blurted out, Olivia had been visibly embarrassed, and completely silent, a reaction Tamara had only seen their mother cause. Tamara’s fear of Aiden was replaced with her jaguar’s anger at the way he was treating the person she loved the most. 

“HOW DARE YOU?” To everyone’s surprise, it was Tamara who spoke or rather yelled in her characteristic high-pitched tone, but this time her own eyes held a menace atypical of her easy-going personality. No one was going to make her sister feel like she was less than the amazing woman that she was, much less a chauvinistic asshole who had probably slept with more women than he could count.

She let go of Nico's arm, who just snickered in amusement because Tami rarely showed any claws, but when she did, she was scary. “She doesn’t have to answer to YOU!” Tamara poked Aiden in the chest when she said ‘you’, digging her own nail through his shirt and using enough force to somewhat nudge him away from Olivia. 

Aiden dropped his arms from Olivia and turned his gaze to Tamara, remembering they weren't alone and he was acting like a maniac.

“Who do you think you are? You don’t know us, you don’t know my sister. You came here willingly, to aid us in saving this land, not harass my sister. She is free to make her own choices and she does not need permission from ANYONE! Much less a wolf with a ridiculous double-standard, do you think we are virgins waiting for our prince charming?? We are women with NEEDS Mr. Alpha who has probably slept with who knows how many she-wolves. And YES we ARE jaguars! So we have vast needs. DEAL WITH IT!”

Tamara reached for Olivia’s hand and pulled her, dragging her away from Aiden. Olivia turned, looking over her shoulder at Aiden briefly before entering her shack. 

The three men stood there, watching as the women walked inside. Nico was intensely amused at the Alpha and the Beta's stunned faces, they were priceless. He assumed no female had ever spoken to these men in such a manner.

“Well, well, well,” Nico said mockingly, inspecting his nails. “I guess it is true,” he looked up from his nails towards Aiden, whose eyes had turned full wolf. Nico smiled maliciously and tilted his head, “you have never dealt with a female jaguar.” His smile broadened from ear to ear as Aiden's eyes began to turn back to human. He turned around and began to walk off. “Let’s go wolves. We have some elders to meet.”

Aiden and Sam followed Nico as they made their way through town. He didn’t dare ask if Olivia was coming, Nico just ignored them, while Sam seemed angry at him for some reason. When Tamara had screeched at him, he had snapped out of his furious trance. He was confused as to why he was having so many emotional up-and-downs because of someone he had just met. He felt distraught for having talked to her like that, but part of him still craved to know who she had been with. 

But Tamara was right, Olivia was nothing to him and she was a full-grown woman. A full-grown jaguar. It was the realization that Olivia was nothing to him that bothered him the most, not that she was a mythical creature that would probably go extinct this century. Aiden had never been so confused in his life, and now all he wanted to do was beg for her forgiveness. 

What’s wrong with us Helios?

I don’t know Aiden, I am confused too…

Do you still want to smell her scent after knowing she’s a jaguar?

Yes! ask her!

Helios’ response was eager, hopeful. But Aiden just shook his head as an unbidden thought passed his mind.

Could she be…no way... I am really going insane.

Aiden halted as they approached the little restaurant. Olivia was already sitting at an outdoor table facing an older woman that had a ferocious appearance. Tamara wasn’t present and Aiden wondered how on earth Olivia got here faster than them. 

As if reading his thoughts, Nico explained, “she left through the back, Tamara stayed in camp because Olivia asked her. Tami wanted to rip your neck off.” Nico laughed as if the thought of Tamara jumping the Alpha was the funniest thing in the world.

“Oh and jaguars are faster,” Nico winked, patting Aiden's back excessively hard. He looked at Sam once, and the Beta followed him. They walked around the restaurant and Nico greeted everyone, joking around as he introduced Sam to the locals. It seemed to Aiden he knew everyone, and he noticed that Nico had avoided the elder, who watched Nico intently for a few moments. 

Aiden was unaware that every single one of Nico’s actions was judged harshly by the female elders. He was a rare full-blooded jaguar and his behavior was under scrutiny constantly. 

Aiden sighed, he approached the table and introduced himself to the elder by extending his hand, sitting next to Olivia. He looked at her, but she didn't turn around. “Olivia, about before I am so--”

“NO!” Olivia cut him off, looking at him with wide eyes. Hidden emotion expanded behind her pupils, black pools of worry took over any desire for Aiden she felt at the moment. She glanced at the old woman, the elder she had known for many years. “We have a problem…” Olivia's concern made her eyebrows nearly touch as the frown deepened. 

"What happened?" Aiden looked between Olivia and the Elder, whose eyes saddened at the question.

“The other elder that usually resides in this area has been missing for the last 48 hours” Olivia swallowed hard as she looked at him. 

Aiden’s face changed from personal to business right away. “What about the third elder?”

“The third elder is safe in the city.” Olivia said confidently, looking at the elder again, who nodded in permission. "She is my grandmother, I spoke to her just before this meeting.” 

Aiden let out a sigh, Olivia was more important to the community than he realized. “Has a search party been assembled?”

“Yes, people from the community have begun looking for her. But she might be in the deep of the jungle…” She trailed off, looking at him, she seemed to be trying to communicate something with her eyes. He understood right away that it was better to keep their identities as jaguars unmentioned in public. 

“Understood. Please tell the elder that we are doing everything in our power to raise funds for this land and protect every single species” He looked intently at her and then turned to the elder as Olivia translated. 

The elder nodded and smiled at him, she spoke in Spanish to Olivia. “Me gusta este lobo Olivia, agradécele. Se que contamos con ellos. Me tengo que ir, pero hablamos tu y yo más tarde.” 

“She said umm that she thanks you and that they know they can count on you.” Olivia purposely omitted the part where the elder said she liked Aiden and that she would meet with the elder later tonight. She also tried to pretend like the elder wasn’t looking at her funny.

The elder stood and shook Aiden’s hand, cutting the meeting short and walking away with age-old strength. 

Aiden turned to face Olivia and he sensed she would flee and avoid him again. Before she could stand, he reached for her hand and took it in his, enveloping it completely under his palm. He saw as she sucked in her breath, freezing in place.

Is she afraid?

Before she protested or said anything at all, he spoke hurriedly, without letting go.“Olivia, I am sorry for the way I spoke to you before. Your sister was right, it's none of my business what you do.”

Even though he was sincere, Olivia saw the flash of anger pass through his face, it still bothered him to think of her with someone else. He shook his head sharply when she narrowed her eyes. “I would like to start again with you, and maybe we can be friends.” He smiled tentatively, looking right at her. He kept trying to decipher what she was thinking, hoping she would be willing to be at least his friend. 

YES YES YES! 

Killari’s excitement thundered in Olivia’s brain. She had to give it to him, he apologized and seemed sincere, plus she had to provide Killari something or she wouldn’t be able to function.

“We would like that.” She said returning the smile tentatively. 

“We? I think Tamara hates me.” He said while chuckling. The sound made Olivia’s insides melt at a slow pace. Focus. She told herself as she tried to calm the billions of nerves springing to action around her hand from his touch. 

“No...I don’t mean Tami.” She smiled broadly this time and waited for him to get it. He stared at her for a few seconds before she saw recognition in his eyes.

“Oh, you mean your…” He looked around, he didn’t want to say it out loud. 

When she nodded, he smiled wider and felt overjoyed at the fact that Olivia might want to share her jaguar with him.“We would love that too.” He stroked her hand, and that simple motion made her shoulders relax.

“Who is 'we' and what will you love?” Nico’s amused questioning startled them both, quickly realizing they were holding hands. Olivia immediately removed her hand from Aiden, ignoring Killari's protest.

“None of your business dum-dum. Come on, there's no more meeting. I'll tell you on the way. We have to get things ready. More protesters are arriving in the next few days and we don’t have enough shacks, so we’ll have to manage with tents. Plus one of these days those assholes from the Laxton oil company are arriving.”

They began to walk back, Aiden stayed as close to Olivia as he could without touching her. But she wished he would. 

“They can’t do much without the majority of elders signing off the rights of the land correct? Since they are the indigenous representatives of the community too?” Sam asked, confused.

“Correct, but if we don’t find the other elder, a new one may be appointed and we don’t know who it may be. If it’s a human we might be able to have them on our side, but if it's a jaguar we don’t trust…” Olivia trailed off, looking around, worry bubbling in her heart.

“There are jaguars we don’t trust?” Sam asked again, and Aiden just observed Olivia’s anxious reaction. 

“Yes, there is someone.” Nico spat, venom in his voice. He growled in between clenched teeth “Our mother.”

Everyone fell silent. Olivia decided she wasn’t going to let her mother be in the way of the protection of this land. “That is why I will go into the jungle tonight to search for the elder.”

“I am going with you.” As soon as Aiden said it, Nico laughed.

“No little wolf! Her in-house ‘she’ is going, if you know what I mean. You can’t keep up with her.” Nico said with a snort and a condescending tone. 

Aiden turned to face him, displeasure rising together with a low rumble at the base of his throat. “Who are you calling little wolf?” 

“Guys...stop.” Olivia sent a mental scold to Nico and at the same time, she reached for Aiden’s hand. She didn’t know why she thought that would help, but Killari insisted. It worked like a charm, and Aiden not only calmed, but he wrapped his fingers around hers. When she tried to pull her hand out, he held on tighter and stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. 

She loved the feeling, and to her surprise and everyone else's, she stopped trying to pull away. She decided she wanted him to come with her. “You can come, but you have to follow my rules. Understood?”

“Understood,” Aiden said triumphantly, looking at Nico, who just rolled his eyes. Helios was overjoyed in his mind at the prospect of being near the jaguar and spending more time with Olivia. 

Sam stayed silent, puzzled by Aiden’s attitude, but holding no judgment. He was looking forward to spending time with Tamara as well. 

Nico carefully eyeballed Olivia sideways as they walked, she was acting weird. 

Can you believe this!? She is holding hands with him again.

Nico communicated his shock to his jaguar, who apart from Tamara, was the only one who understood how strange it all was.

Why? I have never seen her do that!?

I have no f*****g clue Rio, but she won’t even run with us.

Yea she always wants to go off alone...

Nico stayed silent for his own good, he didn't need more scolding from Olivia. He would talk about this with Tamara before confronting his eldest sister. 

Something was definitely off, and he wasn’t sure what to think of that werewolf.