Ariel (23 page)

And the sex? Well, the sex between them was for her like having a freezer full of all her favorite ice cream anytime she got a bad craving. Matt typically gave her two or three orgasms every time he touched her, consistently satisfying her body. Even the first time had been spectacular. She was still feeling the influence of how right it had felt sitting in his lap afterward.

What if Reed was right about him not being able to control her alpha? If that was true, she had nothing to lose in committing to him.

Pulled from her thoughts by the sign heralding Wasilla, Ariel turned and pointed the truck down the main street of town. She slowed and stopped as she saw the leering guy—the one Matt had called Quentin—locking up the office.

She pulled into a parking spot and rolled down the window. “Hey, Quentin. Where’s Matt?”

“Town hall meeting out behind Gareth’s place.”

Ariel narrowed her gaze. “Werewolf town hall or human town hall?”

Quentin snorted. “Which do you think? He’s been mad all week about something. I think he intends to fix his mood by punishing Cheryl and her friends. At least he’ll get it over with.”

“What’s he going to do to them?” Ariel asked. She’d like to kick Cheryl’s ass, but she was concerned for the five women who had only offered moral support to her would-be murderer.

Quentin shrugged. “Matt will do what he thinks is best. He can’t let a pack member go around doing what Cheryl tried to do to you. If he lets her get away with it, who would she try to kill next?”

“Good point. Are you heading out there? And do you want a ride?”

“Yes, to both. My place is near there and my truck is being worked on. Gareth was supposed to give me a lift home—but then this happened,” Quentin answered, walking around to get in on the passenger side.

They drove three miles out of town until he directed her to turn toward a painted barn down a farm lane between two pastures. A few cattle grazed on each side. She saw a symbol on the flank of one.

“Whose farm is this?”

“Gareth’s. Why?”

“Are these his cattle?”

Quentin turned to look. “Yeah, and that’s his brand on them. He had to mark them a couple years ago when his new bull kept busting through the fence. His cattle kept getting mixed in with Mark LaFayette’s bunch. Those brands have saved him a lot of arguing over what rightfully belongs to him.”

Ariel snorted at the comment, but she had to admit it made sense—at least with cattle. “Are you married, Quentin? I mean,
mated
?”

“Why are you asking? I thought you belonged to Matt.”

His surprise, and his assumption, had her snorting and laughing. “I wasn’t asking about your dating status. I was asking in general. What makes you think I belong to Matt?”

Quentin shrugged. “The mark on your collar for one. Then there’s the fact you still smell like him even though you’ve been gone for more than a week. But the biggest thing is that you’re driving his truck. A man has to be deeply in love to let a woman drive his only vehicle.”

Ariel belly laughed at his male logic. “You really think Matt’s in love with me?” She smiled when she heard him snort.

“Everyone knows Matt’s in love with you. He’s never kept steady company with a female this long before. What we don’t know yet is whether or not you love him back.”

Ariel’s smile widened as they neared the barn. “Well, I love him back—but I hate the idea of him thinking of me the way Gareth thinks of his cattle. Blame it on my human side.”

Quentin must have thought her statement was funny, because he genuinely laughed.

“Your instincts seem to be pretty good about him. Matt’s way worse than Gareth ever thought about being when it comes to his stuff. His name is carved inside his desk at the office
and
etched on the bottom of his chair. I’ve never seen a man so adamant about people knowing what’s his. I can only imagine what form the need to mark might take with a female he wants other males to stay the hell away from. You have my sympathy.”

“Thanks for warning me.” Ariel smiled and got a smiling head nod in return. Quentin was turning out to be surprisingly nice. “So Quentin…what’s the werewolf equivalent of a wedding ring?”

Quentin shrugged. “I don’t know. Some couples wear rings, but they have to be real gold, not any of that cheap crap you get nowadays. As you know from Reed’s situation, certain metals are poisonous to werewolves. Instead of wearing rings, most pairs just mark each other. People respect mating marks.”

“So
pairs
mark each other? I hadn’t heard that before,” Ariel said. “Thanks for the conversation. I’m still learning and I appreciate the information.”

“Okay. We need to be quiet as we head around back. If they’ve started, we don’t want to interrupt.”

Ariel nodded, thinking hard about what Quentin had shared as they walked.

***

Matt paced in front of the five crying women. “What you did was not some high school prank or college hazing. If Ariel had died, you wouldn’t be standing here crying, you’d be dead too. There is no other way to look at this other than you were willingly helping Cheryl commit a murder. How am I supposed to trust you won’t do something like this again?”

Their murmurs of apology and sobbing didn’t even begin to appease him.

“Enough whining. I’m too angry to listen to your apologies. You will all do a year’s worth of community service—three times a week—beginning tomorrow. See Gareth for your assignments. Your schedule will be posted in the Sheriff’s office. Now get out of here before I change my mind and do something worse.”

Standing at the back of the crowd, Ariel crossed her arms as the five frightened, chastised women streaked past her without looking up to see who she was. Their fear of Matt literally stank on them and she didn’t like knowing it was because of her. But she also thought they had gotten off pretty lightly considering Matt continued to look like a volcano about to erupt.

She watched as Gareth pushed her nemesis over to stand in front of a still pacing Matt.

“It has been three years since I intentionally took someone’s life in order to save the pack. If Ariel had been as normal as any other member, she would be dead by your hand. That would have made my decision very simple, Cheryl. Since Ariel still lives, I am torn. You remain a potential threat to the pack because of your self-centered outlook. How can the pack trust you won’t turn on one of them?”

“This was not about anyone else in the pack. I have only one complaint. The unnatural blonde alpha is not worthy to be the Gray Wolf Alpha’s mate,” Cheryl insisted.

“You have no idea who is worthy and who is not,” Matt yelled in reply. “My mate is
my
choice—
and mine alone
, Cheryl. You have no say in who I choose. Neither does anyone else in the pack. And I tell you now—Ariel Jones is the only female I have ever in my life considered
worthy
.”

Cheryl cringed from his anger, but lifted her chin. “Kill me then because I won’t change my mind. I would rather be dead than see the pack be shamed by such a pairing.”

Matt growled in warning and gave her a look that had her shrinking. “What does our pack need with a female as selfish and narrow-minded as you? The hardness of your heart is why you have been shunned by every male you’ve dated. Killing you would be doing the pack a favor.”

“Can I do it?” Ariel asked in a loud voice, striding around the crowd. She walked forward and stopped on the edge of Matt’s judgment ring. She was thankful Quentin had explained it to her as they watched. “I killed and unseated the Black Wolf Alpha a few days ago. I think I can handle killing one spoiled child who thinks she has the right to control other people.”

Matt stopped pacing and crossed his arms as he stared. “Who’s running the Black Wolf pack while you’re away, Alpha Ariel?”

Ariel smiled and shook her head. “I gave the pack to Reed to run because I wanted to be with you instead. I figured you’d find something for me to do here.”

Matt rubbed his nose, wondering how he could finish his detestable task with Cheryl when all he wanted was to sweep up the woman in front of him and run off with her.

“I’m sure we can think of something to keep you busy. But right now I have to kill someone. Step back so you don’t get blood on your clothes.”

Ariel winced at his flat declaration. “How about you give me Cheryl’s life for a mating present? I think I’d like a chance to change the way she thinks.”

“Why would you want to save the life of someone who tried to outright kill you? You’ve killed several people yourself—one just recently—so I know you’re not squeamish about death.”

She shrugged at Matt’s question, and his suspicions about her motives. She wasn’t completely clear about them, but that didn’t stop her from giving him her most imploring look.

“I’m not sure why I want you to spare her life. I just do. Maybe it’s one of those pesky alpha things you warned me about…”

Matt snorted. “Cheryl has to be punished for her crimes against the pack. What will you do to punish her if I agree?”

Smiling, Ariel turned a wicked gaze to meet Cheryl’s wide-eyed shocked one. She looked far more nervous facing her than she had with Matt. Both she and her wolf were pleased.

“Well, for starters, I think I’ll buy Cheryl a book about improving her self-esteem so she doesn’t need to measure her worth by the pack value of the man sharing her bed. Then after she reads the book, I thought I would quiz her on it. Maybe Brandi can think of something suitably obnoxious to do to her each time she gets an answer wrong.”

“Reading a book?
That’s
your idea of punishment for attempted murder?” Matt asked in disbelief.

“Don’t worry, Matt. I’ll make sure it’s a
really big
book,” Ariel replied.

A ripple of laughter and snickering ran through the crowd of pack witnesses. There was nothing like public humiliation to get a point made quickly. Cheryl blushed and hung her head, shamed by their discussion.

“Anything else?” Matt asked.

“Yes. I think Cheryl should have a front row seat for whatever part of our mating you need to make public with the pack. I want there to be no doubt in her mind, or anyone else’s, that we are voluntarily choosing each other. Witnessing our mating will be a hard lesson about how life is full of surprises—bad ones and good ones. I know I’ve certainly had my fair share of surprises lately.”

“Which category have you put becoming a werewolf into?” Matt asked.

Ariel smiled. “It’s been a good surprise—mostly.”

“And my mating proposal?”

“Definitely
good
,” Ariel said, pleased when Matt smiled and laughed.

His smile fell away as he looked at Cheryl again.

“I still crave your death, and if you give me another reason, I will have it. Be grateful I’m desperate enough to bargain your life in exchange for mating your savior. In addition to reading Ariel’s book and taking her
quiz
, you will report to Gareth who will assign you to one year of community service work
at the jail
, even if it involves nothing more than sweeping out the holding cells. I want you to check in with the Sheriff
five days a week
.”

“Since her life is a gift to me, I guess it makes her my responsibility too. Can I step into the circle with her for a minute?”

Ariel waited until Matt nodded, then walked to stand in front of Cheryl.

“Matt is right about your elitist views. I am not an abomination, and neither are the other women who were created when I was. For now, I am a werewolf belonging to the Black Wolf pack. Soon I will belong to yours as well. I am
exceedingly
worthy to be your alpha’s mate if he wants me.
Don’t
make me carry out his wish to see you dead just to prove my loyalty to him.”

She stared until Cheryl nodded and looked away.

“My public mating will be done tomorrow,” Matt said loudly so everyone would hear.

Ariel turned and stepped out of the circle. “Sounds good to me. Can I be your werewolf-girlfriend-with-benefits until then?”

Matt smiled wickedly. “You can be whatever the hell you want, just as long as you be it in my bed.”

“In that case, can I be your alpha?” Ariel teased.

“Oh, you are definitely
my
alpha,” Matt teased back. “But I don’t think you mean it the same way I do. I’ll explain my definition to your logical mind later, Dr. Jones.”

“How about you explain it now?” Ariel paused. “Well, after we drop Quentin off. I gave him a ride. His truck is in the shop. I picked him up on the way here.”

Happy with the pleasant disposition of the female he loved, Matt slung an arm around her shoulders as they walked away. “You’re a very nice person when you aren’t fighting for your life. I have missed you, Ariel.”

“I’ve missed you too. Let’s go home and stop missing each other,” she suggested.