The Jaguar's Mate

SIX

Olivia drove back to the camp fully focused on breathing normally and appearing as calm as possible, though she was losing it inside. She still felt the weird prickle in her fingers and she couldn’t shake his scent off her nostrils, it permeated through the car. At least it was easy to remain quiet as Tamara talked and asked questions non-stop.

“I am so glad your flight was okay! I hope you won't be too jet-lagged. I am guessing you are not used to this humidity huh? It is especially bad because it's the rainy season!” Tamara said with a bubbly giggle.

“Um, yea well the humidity here seems to be quite dense, but I’m sure we’ll get used to it pretty quickly,” Sam responded with a broad smile, flirt in his eyes.

Aiden remained quiet in the backseat as he watched the back of Olivia’s head intently. He stole glances at her face by looking at the rearview mirror, but he could only see her eyes and part of her nose. 

He was mesmerized, and Helios wouldn’t stop with the demands. He was starting to get a migraine.

ASK HER.

I can’t ask her Helios! That is extremely rude, we don’t even know her.

ASK HER.

Helios growled and bared his teeth in Aiden’s mind, being more difficult than usual.

You honestly expect me to say “oh by the way, why don’t you have a scent? My wolf wants to smell you”

YES DO IT!

NO!! 

Even humans have a scent, and yet we can’t smell HER? ASK AIDEN!

NO!!

Aiden closed the door to his mind and tried to distract himself by thinking about something else. He cleared his throat, breaking up the conversation between Sam and Tamara who already seemed like best friends.

“So, Ms. Fierro, at what time are we meeting the elders tomorrow?”

The car fell silent and Olivia's eyes traveled to the rearview mirror, finding Aiden’s eyes there. She broke eye contact quickly as shivers of excitement went down her spine. 

“You may call me Olivia, there’s no need for formalities. I hope I can call you Aiden? Or do you prefer Mr. Conley? Because I am certainly not calling you Al-pha” She answered in a cold tone.

Tamara stifled a laugh and Sam sucked in his breath at the blatant disrespect, had this woman ever dealt with an Alpha before? 

To everyone's astonishment, Aiden laughed out loud, a husky and genuine laugh that Sam had not heard in years. Sam frowned and stared at Aiden, he was acting way off.

“That’s fine by me Olivia, you can call me Aiden,” he said with a smile, waiting for her to give him another glance through the mirror. When she did, he smiled widely, flashing perfect teeth.

Olivia quickly cut contact, but he could see the amusement dancing in her eyes. Was she flirting before? What a strange way to flirt, he thought. 

"Aiden it is. We are meeting them at the town closest to camp at 1 o'clock. Please be aware that no one in the pack except for Ramiro and his mate know that the elders are jaguars. They think they are the indigenous elders representing the community, which they are of course, but they are also our jaguar elders.” 

Aiden nodded even though she wasn't looking. “Thanks for clearing that up. I would like to set a meeting to introduce myself to the pack members before the lunch-time meeting, if you could translate for me that would be great”.

“Yes no problem, we can set that up around 10 am. Most pack members present are of a younger generation, more exposed to English. Some speak more than others so you won't have a problem finding someone to aid you if I am not there.” 

Olivia parked the car and everyone got out. She opened the trunk so the guys could retrieve their suitcases.

“Is there anything else we should discuss before calling it a night?” Aiden pulled his suitcase out and looked at her sideways, asking the question with the hope that she would stay and talk to him. The car ride had been too short. He waited for her answer as she waved with her hand to follow her along. They were walking towards their shack already.

“Hmm let me think. Oh, yea, my brother is here too. He is also on the loop about everything.” Olivia walked in silence, thinking about any other excuse to stay around him longer, she did not want to leave him yet. She glanced at Tamara, she and Sam seemed to be ignoring the conversation about all the technicalities and meetings, instead, they were having one of their own. 

Olivia sighed, talking to Aiden without looking. “There are some Omegas around that Ramiro has placed at your disposal if needed. However, you should know there’s a ZERO tolerance policy to abuse, misconduct, or any form of offense towards Omegas. It will not be condoned and the consequences are dire.” Olivia opened the door, Tamara and Sam walked past them, entering the room. 

“I am guessing this is Ramiro’s policy, I comple--”

“No, it is MY policy,” Olivia enunciated the MY. They were finally alone, and her eyes itched to look at him. She gave in, her face searching his as she looked up at him. It seemed like he would scare anyone, but she wasn’t scared, she was thrilled to have him close.

“Are you imparting the dire consequences too?” He could not hide the amusement in his voice. Who the hell did she think she was? Why did he like her attitude so much, and why wasn’t she intimidated by him?

“Are you mocking me?” Implacable fury rose to Olivia's face. Unfounded anger replacing the butterflies as a flicker of gold splashed through her eyes.

Aiden stared at her, no longer amused.

Did her eyes just change? 

ASK HER!

“I am not, I apologize. We do not tolerate such actions towards our Omegas either.” He tried to cool her down with his words, though he confused himself with the apology. She was the one with the gutsy attitude.

“Glad we are on the same page. So this is it, there is a private shower through that door, it doesn’t heat up. If you walk behind the shack you will find the latrines.” Olivia vaguely pointed with her index finger, waiting for an outraged or at least annoyed reaction, but Aiden just nodded, walking into the shack. Olivia stood at the entrance, Sam was having the time of his life chatting up with Tamara, he didn’t seem to care about the shack either.

Well I guess I judged them too harshly

Olivia, you need to mark him.

Killari's words resounded in Olivia's brain.

WHAT?? What is wrong with you? We can’t mark anyone, much less a random Alpha wolf!

He is not random! He is our MATE! 

NO, HE ISN’T!

Olivia was so furious at Killari’s delusion that she did not realize the growling rumble in her throat had caused everyone to look at her. She avoided Aiden's intent gaze and looked at Tamara, who saved her butt when she spoke. “Okay, it was a pleasure to meet you guys. We'll see you tomorrow! Remember we will be staying in the first shack we passed. Don't hesitate if you need us. Goodnight!” 

Tamara walked quick steps to the door and dragged Olivia outside, slamming the door shut.

“Oh, my goddess I am in love with that wolf! He is SO nice! I don’t even want to sleep with him because I like him that much! Do you know what I mean? Like, I don’t want to be a booty call and goodbye, he is sooo nice!” She squealed in a whisper. Tamara waited for an answer, but something was clearly not right with Olivia, she didn’t say anything at all. She didn't even reprimand her for saying she was ‘in love’ with the guy. 

“Okay Olie, spill! What’s wrong? Did you really dislike them that much? Why were you being extra combative? I mean, more than your usual, especially since you didn’t even know them!”

“I just prefer no-nonsense” Olivia's forced lack of emotion did not fool Tamara entirely.

“Yea, but every time you spoke, you tried to anger that Alpha.” Tamara nudged Olivia playfully. 

Olivia did not want to tell Tamara something that she herself didn’t even understand, much less mention Killari's demands. Tamara already got nervous way too easily. 

“I’m sorry Tami, you are right. I am just really worried about this whole pipeline thing.” Olivia looked skyward, asking for a quick solution.

“I know Olie, me too. We will figure it out together.” 

They entered their shack quietly as Nico was already sleeping. Olivia's nose crinkled, he stunk of she-wolf, and human too. Olivia sighed, wondering if he was having trouble controlling the surges of need and anger. Meanwhile, Tamara let out an exasperated grunt at her brother’s sleeping around.

Olivia ignored Tami and climbed into bed. A growing web of worry expanded from her stomach to the rest of her body. The sense that she might be unable to control Killari around this wolf was overwhelming.

…

Aiden sat on top of a large rock that had been carved out to look like a sofa, it was placed just outside of his shack and it faced the jungle line which spread right in front of him. He could hear the hushed sound of hundreds of animals and insects moving about in peace, completely full of life and wonder. Their life was now in danger by someone who wanted to continue poisoning the earth. 

“Why that face Aiden? It's a beautiful day!” Sam hollered as he walked towards Aiden from who knows where.

“Just thinking about the things that need to be done to save this place. Where have you been already? I lost you after breakfast” Aiden looked at Sam, half-curious. 

“I took a walk with Tamara, she showed me all her favorite little shops and places to eat in the town. I really like her Aiden.” Sam confessed with reluctance. Aiden looked away from his Beta and back to the jungle, the corner of his mouth pulled up slightly. 

“Yes, she is very nice for sure. Quite chatty and welcoming, the opposite of her sister that’s for sure. Aiden’s expression changed at the thought of Olivia and the image of her soft lips in his mind. 

Sam noticed Aiden's edginess and felt compelled to explain. “Tamara mentioned they had a difficult childhood, but she didn’t go into detail. She said Olivia always protected them and still does.” 

Aiden ground his teeth at the possibility of Olivia being in pain. “I see." Aiden stared at the massive amounts of green in front of him, pushing heated thoughts of him and Olivia down. "Please be careful how involved you become, we don’t know much about these humans” 

“Yes, Alpha. Are we sure they are human though?” Sam murmured in an unnecessary low tone. 

“What do you mean?” Aiden’s head snapped back to Sam, an unreadable expression that made Sam uncomfortable. 

“Both women have no scent Aiden. Nothing. Nada!” Sam shrugged his shoulders. 

“I noticed that too…” Aiden trailed off and looked towards the jungle line again.

“Are you looking for something?” Sam probed, noticing Aiden's intense need to keep an eye on the endless green.

“I am just watching for monkeys and waiting for the 10 o’clock meeting that’s all.” Extra rustling came from the shrubbery in front of them just as Aiden spoke. It startled Sam, but Aiden did not even blink. A small woman came through, looking like she had gone for a run in the jungle. 

Who jogs in the jungle? Sam thought. He turned to face Aiden and comment on how silly that seemed until he saw Aiden’s face. 

Isn’t he acting strange Leo?

Yes. I am not sure if he is attracted to her or if he disapproves 

Next time he lets Helios out, ask him what he thinks of her.

I’ll let you know.

At least Leo, Sam’s wolf, agreed that something was going on in Aiden’s mind. 

As Olivia approached them, Aiden shifted in his seat, too nervous for someone like him. 

“Good morning Aiden, Sam.” Olivia said with a short smile, avoiding Aiden's face.

“Good morning.” They both said in unison.

“Are you ready? Tamara assembled the pack members and some of the humans. Many of the humans present for the protest are not aware of werewolves or werejaguars so please be cautious in what you say.” Olivia spoke with such authority that Aiden felt as if he was being directed by his superior.

His eyebrows narrowed and he stood up, towering over her. He had no superiors. “I am well-aware of appropriate conduct around unknowing humans Olivia.” His voice held no more amusement at her attitude. He was an Alpha, not her assistant.

“I am sure. However, you are in a different country, with a different culture, and a different language. This is a superstitious community, and we have worked tirelessly hard to keep the jaguar people safe from hunters who are often fed information by locals.” Olivia walked off and expected them to follow her. She was not going to cater to arrogance just because he was some Alpha, respect was earned not freely given.

“Understood” Aiden muttered, he was not going to argue with this human.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Sam had just observed the interaction with confusion, both Olivia and Aiden spoke in what seemed like a calculated interplay, measuring the other’s response as they both appeared to be on the brink of some sort of eruption. 

While Olivia walked in front of them, unnecessarily far, Aiden's eyes had not peeled away from her. He was enthralled with the sway of her hips. She wasn’t even trying to be sexy, she just was. 

Meanwhile, Olivia’s heart was in her throat as she tried hard to breathe without smelling Aiden’s scent, which was melting her insides. She had never felt so aroused in her entire life, which was an impressive feat considering her jaguar’s nature. But more than that, Killari was pacing, speaking nonsense. Their run and hunt had not helped at all.

When they arrived at the clearing, a group of about 100 people that had gathered for the protest suddenly ceased speaking and looked at Olivia. She stopped in front of the crowd, shocked at their sudden compliance and palpable attention. She then realized that they were not looking at her, but at Aiden who stood right behind her. She narrowed her eyes in annoyance and spoke with confidence. 

“Good morning everyone, thank you for gathering today. The community thanks your efforts and support for this cause. This land is of utmost importance for the already endangered wild jaguar and thousands of other species of animals, insects, and plants unique only to this land. As you know, the large international oil company Laxton, is attempting to buy this area with the purpose of placing a new oil pipeline. We are still working on raising funds with our partners. Here representing them are Aiden Conley and his associate Samuel Moore.”

Olivia took a step back and gave Aiden the floor. She realized half of the crowd had in fact been looking at her, but only the men. The other half, every single female, had been staring at Aiden and basically drooling. She looked from one female to another and she could read the want in their eyes, especially the she-wolves who recognized him as an Alpha.

Olivia fumed with irrational anger and uncharacteristic jealousy, why was she so upset? She never cared if she had to share a man, but the fleeting thought of Aiden with another female enraged Killari so much that Olivia felt her at the surface again. She reached for the dark sunglasses laying atop of her head and she put them on right before her eyes changed to full cat. She was losing control again.

Olivia are you okay? What’s wrong?

Tamara had been standing in the crowd and felt Olivia’s anger through their bond. She looked as a furious Olivia was shook.

No. I have to go for a run again. Please handle the personal introductions with the guys while I’m gone. I’ll be back before the meeting.

But Olie--

Olivia cut communication and turned around, walking away.