Love Bites (Bitten Book 4) (2 page)

I grabbed three bottles and made a beeline for the check out.

Calder

T
wo days after
seeing Ricki, I was still pissed off. For the last forty-eight hours, I’d fought the urge to track her down and show her exactly who she belonged to. The only thing that stopped me was knowing that I would see her at Donna and Conner’s tonight.

The tension was killing me. I had to release it or I would drag her away from the party kicking and screaming. Centuries ago, that was how the strongest males claimed their mates. They would scent her, cut her from the pack, and carry her off, regardless of her protests. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that option. Being the human mate of a werewolf would be a difficult adjustment for any woman. Essentially kidnapping her wouldn’t put her in the best frame of mind to deal with the transition. But there would be a transition. I marked her last week and being away from her for eight days had my inner wolf howling for his mate. Abstinence wasn’t a state either of us, wolf or man, were accustomed to, so I couldn’t wait much longer to claim her or I would lose control and hurt her.

To get a handle on my simmering temper, I spent the afternoon at my home in the pack compound. Though I kept a small house in the city, the farmhouse was truly my home. It had been in my family for three generations and I’d remodeled a couple of years ago, adding upgrades throughout the entire house.

After I arrived at the compound, I stripped to my skin and shifted, welcoming the burn as my muscles and bones moved into a new position. My skin tingled as thick golden fur spread across my body. When the transformation was complete, I took stock of my body, shaking the last of my humanity away.

In this form, the wolf could take control and I could let go of whatever thoughts or problems were bothering me. I took a mental step back, letting the wolf stretch his legs, running hard and fast through the forest. In the cool fall air, I could smell the smoke from nearby fires, the scent of earth, and the inviting trails of prey.

I let my thoughts wander as fast and wild as the speed of my paws when they hit the ground. As it had been for the last couple of days, my mind centered on Ricki. Who in the hell did she think she was, questioning my honesty? Wolves might be cunning and sneaky, but we hated liars. How could she think so little of me?

I ran in circles and zig zags through the woods for over an hour until I finally collapsed next to one of the ponds on the property. Despite the chilly temperatures, I was hot and panting from exertion. As I lay on my side in the grass, I released the wolf, my body changing back to human form. Immediately, sweat began to collect on my skin and dry in the light breeze.

I rolled over onto my back and stared up at the sky, my thoughts going back to the night I made Ricki mine. The only thing that had stopped me from going after her when she ran was the knowledge of how she would be received in the pack. Chloe hadn’t batted an eyelash at the fact that my mate was human, but her grandmother had been human before she was mated and turned. I’d never met Sophia MacArthur, but her reputation was formidable and fierce, though she was closing in on five hundred years old. Fucking with her or the MacArthur family was an invitation for an ass kicking the offender wouldn’t forget. If they lived to regret it at all.

The rest of the pack wouldn’t be as tolerant as Chloe. Human mates were rare and almost entirely made up of women taken by male wolves. A female wolf taking a man as a mate was practically unheard of. Either way, most packs shunned humans, even if their mate turned them. Often, males refused to turn women because of the danger, even if it meant there would be no pups. Some got lucky and found a mate that had wolf ancestors. Though they didn’t have enough shifter genes to change form, they could have children with a werewolf.

Human females were usually treated like shit by the bitches of a pack. If things went too far, a male would step in, but that would result in even more resentment and vicious behavior behind his back.

I didn’t want to put Ricki in a position that would make it even more difficult for her to accept me. I wasn’t experienced with human women, but I did know that they didn’t recognize their mates the way wolves did. It would take me time to convince her that we belonged together. Hostility from the pack wouldn’t help me reach that goal.

Still, I couldn’t wait much longer to put my plan into action. Though my father explained it to me on more than one occasion, I never fully understood what it felt like to be mated. The driving urge to be near her. It was almost a compulsion and after only six days, I’d given in and followed her from her work to the grocery store.

Though our conversation pissed me off, I finally understood why she ran from me. She thought I was without morals. I liked sex a lot, but like any male wolf, when I took a mate it was until death. I knew enough about humans to know that vows of love, commitment, and marriage weren’t always enough for partners to remain faithful.

Wolves, once committed, wanted only their mate. I could appreciate a beautiful female, but Ricki was the only one I burned for, the only one I needed as much as I needed my next breath.

I shivered as the wind blew across my rapidly cooling skin. I got to my hands and knees and shifted once more, not wanting to make the walk back to my house stark naked in the cold. The run released a great deal of my tension and cleared my head. Tonight, when I saw Ricki, I would make sure she understood exactly what was going on between us. I wouldn’t let her to run from me again.

*     *     *

Hours later, some
of that screaming tension had returned. The ballroom at Conner Savage’s mansion was crowded with people. Though the party was under the guise of yet another engagement celebration for he and his fiancée, I knew better. Now that Conner was pushing the Council to ally themselves with the pack and the witches’ coven, this was a gesture. Witches, wolves, and even some cat shifters mingled with vampires. I caught the occasional whiff of humans, but none of them were the scent I was eager to find.

Ricki still hadn’t arrived and the party began an hour ago. The need to see her, hold her, was so acute it hurt. The animal side of me wanted to wallow in her scent until I carried it with me everywhere I went. Though I thought I was doing the right thing last week by not pursuing her, I regretted it. I underestimated the desperation I would feel to be close to my mate. Until her, I had never fucked a woman I couldn’t walk away from.

I smelled her before I saw her, but the sight of Ricki in a slinky red dress turned my muscles to stone. What in the fuck was she doing? Wearing red to an event full of vampires was essentially hanging an
Open for Business
sign around her neck. Every fanged bastard in the room would be circling her like sharks who scented blood. While the shifters here tonight would respect the mark on her neck, I doubted vampires would care.

As I watched heads turn to follow her progress across the room, I whispered, “Fuck.”

“Problem?”

I turned to glare at Chloe but didn’t answer. She smirked at me. If I wasn’t a little worried that she would hand me my ass, I would have shoved her away like I did the disrespectful pups in the pack. Unfortunately, she wasn’t a member of the MacIntire pack, but an enforcer for another. She definitely must have taken after her grandmother in terms of ferocity because females usually didn’t last long in the upper levels of pack hierarchy. I had no interest in testing out her fighting abilities, mostly because I wasn’t entirely certain I would win.

“So, I’m guessing the little human in red is your mate?” When my scowl turned to a snarl, she had the balls to laugh.

“How did you know?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Her scent was all over you last week when we talked. Also, the way you’re staring at her as though you want to club her over the head and drag her out of here by her hair is kind of a dead giveaway.”

I growled. “Shut up.”

“Suit yourself.” Laughing, she walked away.

I ignored her, searching the room for Ricki. I knew she was still near because her scent hadn’t weakened, but I’d lost sight of her while I was talking to Chloe. I saw her with Kerry and another woman. I thought the female’s name was Shannon. I recognized her but hadn’t spoken to her before.

Since she was surrounded by her friends, I knew that talking to Ricki right now wasn’t an option. After what happened two days ago, I doubted that she would be eager to speak to me again. I would wait for now, but we
would
talk sometime tonight. In the meantime, I wanted her to know that I was nearby.

Stalking across the room, I glared at several vampires who were about to approach my mate. To make sure my message was clear, I projected one clear, aggressive thought.
MINE!
Everyone around the group of women, vampires and shifters alike, moved away.

Some of the tightness in my muscles relaxed as my mate was no longer crowded by hungry vampires and horny werewolves. Knowing that Ricki would run if she saw me approach, I angled my path in order to flank her. As I neared, my eyes widened. The red dress clung to every curve of her body and had no back. Though the back of the dress wasn’t indecent, I didn’t like that the sleek lines of her muscles and the tanned skin stretched over her spine were on display for everyone.

The urge to strip off my suit jacket, wrap it around her, and haul her out of Conner’s house was so strong, I paused. Clenching my fists, I took a deep breath. I would have my chance to talk to her, I only needed to be patient. Though my patience was definitely wearing thin.

My goal was to make sure she knew I was close enough to touch her and to throw her off balance. I wanted her to be unable to think of anything but me, just as all I thought of was her. As I closed in, I realized the group of females were talking about me and smiled.

Suddenly, the edginess I’d been feeling all evening lost its sharpness. Deliberately, I walked past her, dragging my fingertips across the smooth skin of her lower back. She jumped and turned to stare at me with wide brown eyes. I didn’t stop moving. My eyes met Kerry’s and I winked at her. When I saw the corner of her mouth tug as though she was fighting a smile, I knew I had an ally.

I headed toward the bar and ordered a beer. I found a spot that allowed me a clear line of sight to the group of three women. As I took my first sip, I watched them. Well, actually, I couldn’t take my eyes off Ricki. I couldn’t figure out what it was about her that drew me the most. I noticed things about her I’d never noticed about any other woman. While I appreciated the same sort of assets most males did, I watched the gleam of her silky golden skin under the lights and the way her hair moved. I was definitely a mated wolf if I paid attention to things like her hair and skin, even when the sexiest parts of her body were covered.

Shaking my head, I drank more of my beer. Lachlan was going to get a kick out of this, my being mated. Still, if it meant I had Ricki in my home and in my bed every day, I could handle the teasing.

As I watched, Ricki’s face paled and her eyes went wide, as though she were fighting tears. Straightening, I set my beer on a table and began moving before I could think about it. She never even noticed me when she turned and hurried out of the ballroom.

Veering to the left, I wove my way through the crowd, trying to keep my eyes on her. For some reason, I felt a strong urge not to let her leave my sight. When she disappeared through the doors leading out of the ballroom, I cursed under my breath and rushed forward. I must have been projecting some violent thoughts because the vampires parted in front of me as though they knew that I was on the verge of throwing them out of my way.

The hall was all but empty when I exited the room, so I relied on my nose to lead me to Ricki. I turned down several hallways, surprised as usual by the size of Conner’s home. It was like a maze. While I liked my space, a home this large just made me feel twitchy.

I followed her trail to a powder room at the back of the house. As I lifted my hand to turn the knob, I heard the muffled sound of crying. Instead of opening the door as I planned, I tapped lightly.

“Ricki?”

The choked sobs ended abruptly.

“Ricki, open the door.”

“Calder?”

“Yeah, baby. Open the door.”

After a short pause, I heard the click of the lock in the door knob as she turned it. The door cracked open, revealing half of her face. Something twisted in my chest when I saw the remnants of tears on her cheeks and the slight redness to her eyes. It was obvious she tried to wipe away the wetness on her face, which turned that twisting in my chest into something more violent.

“What do you want?” she asked, her voice shaky.

Without a word, I slid inside the small bathroom with her. I used my foot to shut the door behind me. I cupped the back of her head, tilting her face up so I could see her clearly. Her breath hitched when I rubbed my thumb across her cheekbone, wiping away a stray tear.

“Why are you crying?”

She blinked furiously. “I’m not.”