Scattered Siblings 3: To Mate a Werewolf (16 page)

Surrounded by imaginary friends, Ellie had lived in a daydream. Things had improved when she started catering college. At least the other trainee chefs had accepted her, and the hair covering she wore for hygiene reasons kept her ears covered. No one there had called her a freak.

After all that, the Elves had kidnapped her and used her…badly. She’d always love Joel for the way he’d rescued her. Two years back, she’d been drugged up and desperate for sex. She’d pleaded for him to screw her. Instead he’d held her tight, and stopped her from fucking anyone.

He’d been the one who conscripted her into the Lykae forces. Cooking for Lykae soldiers had been challenging, but she’d enjoyed every moment of her military service—especially when she caught occasional glimpses of Joel. Sure, the unmated male soldiers had hung around her in droves, but that said more about her cooking than her charm. She’d been satisfied with the occasion glimpses of her hero, and she’d treasured every word Joel he’d spoken to her.

Running the Lykae mess hall was the highlight of her life. She’d found acceptance and friendship despite her scars. Then the new cook showed her that, as usual, she lived in a daydream. No one wanted a woman with a scarred face, especially one who was part Elf.

She lost track of time as she sat alongside the water. Her future was a blank page, and she hadn’t a clue what to do next. Eventually, the chill wind and the twilight brought her back to reality. She’d shelter in the cave and hide out until the tournament was over. Then she was free to leave Tundra Toughs’ territory for good. If she hadn’t wept until her eyes were red and her throat was raw, she’d have sobbed again.

She hadn’t eaten, but the thought of food nauseated her. She kept imagining Joel getting together with Olivia. Would he kiss Olivia as passionately as he kissed her? She whimpered when she imagined him ripping Olivia’s clothes from her body.
Maybe their loving would be as cold as Olivia’s heart
. Once the tournament finished, Ellie didn’t plan on sticking around to find out.

Finally she lay at the back of the cave, but sleep eluded her. An icy chill crept into her bones, but she couldn’t make herself care, let alone leave. Outside she heard a stone plop into a pond. A couple of minutes later she heard a second stone hit the water. Someone moved about outside.

When she crept to the edge of the cave, she stuffed her fist in her mouth to stifle her gasp. Joel Blackheart paced the limestone hillside, muttering curses under his breath.
He’s still furious over what happened back at the wrestling ring
. She wondered how the pack would punish Titus. Whatever pain they inflicted on him, it couldn’t be worse than the pain Joel inflicted on her heart.

Unwilling to face him again, she edged deeper into the cave, careful not to dislodge any loose stones. Once she reached the back wall, she’d picture Pamela’s home and flash away from Joel again. Even though she concentrated on every little detail from the tapestry hanging on the walls to the pots and pans of the kitchen, her flashing ability deserted her.

All that weeping had left Ellie exhausted, and flashing to the limestone cascade had extinguished that spark of power inside her. All she could do was cower at the back of the cave and pray Joel didn’t find her. Outside she heard him howl.
Gods, he’s picked up my scent.

Chapter Sixteen

Even though he stayed in his human form, Joel howled and bounded up the hillside. His body thrummed with excitement, and his wrestling leggings outlined every inch of his erection.
Damn Caleb for making us all wear Lycra
. He scented his mate—all seaside freshness and hyacinths. The need to claim her drove his inner wolves wild.

A sense of anticipation coursed through him. He grinned so wide his cheeks ached, and there was a new spring in his step as he raced up the cliff toward the cave. He was born to track her and claim her. Tonight she was his. He’d never felt more alive.

He was beside her in an instant. “Ellie, please, stay put. We need to talk. Just hear me out.”

Elves’ blood, don’t let her flash away again.

Even with her red-rimmed eyes and stark white face, she was beautiful, but the blue tinge to her lips showed him how the cold had seeped into her blood.
Foolish mate. I know just how to warm her, but she doesn’t trust me to touch her like that yet
. He wrapped his arms around her, cradled her against his chest, and rubbed her back.

She didn’t resist, but she stayed stiff and distant. When his cock pressed against her stomach, she closed her eyes. “Don’t. Just don’t.

He kept one arm around her waist and swept her into his arms. “Shush, Ellie. Just let me get you warm and fed, then hear me out. Please.”

She shook her head, but he flashed her into his cabin. Usually when he was home, he stayed with his parents, but sometimes he needed a place to hole up and reconnect with the land. He’d built this solid, one-room cabin as a retreat.

He’d never brought anyone here, not even his parents, but he’d dreamed of sharing his favorite place with his true mate and raising their children there. The land above the cascades plateaued into verdant meadow. His cabin stood close to the cliff edge, with panoramic views down the valley. It was just one room with a cooking area, bed, sofa, and wood-burning stove. As an unmated wolf, he’d never needed more. For Ellie, he wished he’d built a mansion.

As a dominant alpha wolf and high-ranking soldier, he never had a goal he hadn’t reached. Ellie pulled the rug from under him. No. Strike that. She was an earthquake that shook his foundations, but he’d rebuild stronger—more loving—and never cause her a moment’s anguish again.

This cabin, his most private place, was his sanctuary, but if it didn’t please Ellie, they’d move on and find somewhere she loved. His woman was the other half of his soul, and he’d do anything just to make her smile.
I’m as besotted with my mate as Caleb is his. And, damn, I like it this way. I’ll give her everything she ever wanted
. He just prayed that after the way he’d behaved, he could make her want him.

He didn’t care about the tournament, and the pack could survive without him. He couldn’t survive without Ellie, and he’d follow her anywhere, even if it disqualified him from the tournament.

She shivered in his arms, too cold to speak, but the pained look in her eyes showed how much ground he had to make up. He laid her gently on the sofa, pulled the comforter off the bed, and tucked it around her.

Once he lit the wood burner, he lifted her onto his lap. “I can’t believe how badly I’ve treated you badly, but I never meant to hurt you. Well, I did back in Whitby, but I thought it was for your own good. I didn’t want to be bound to one woman or dote on my true mate, but honestly, Ellie, I can’t live without you.”

He talked to himself. Ellie had fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder and her slender body curled against his chest. Briefly he considered immersing her in the hot pools, but much as he wanted to see her cotton T-shirt cling to her breasts, he wanted her out of the chill winds more. Besides, it felt so right having her in his home.

He’d stay here on the sofa all night if that was what it took for her to rest and warm up. His ignored the pins and needles creeping up his arm and concentrated on Ellie. He felt her relax against him, and when he gazed at her sweet face, her lips had lost their blue tinge. He wanted her sleeping in his bed, her body shivering with desire. Instead, thanks to his stupidity, she shivered with cold.

He needed to taste her honey-sweet lips again.
Damn, but my mate’s addictive
. Her body was small and delicate, but her breasts were made for him to lick and caress. When he fucked her, his cock fit perfectly inside her tight pussy. More than that, she made his world bright, shining, and fresh. He couldn’t believe he’d almost lost her. Hell, he still might.
It’s time I wised up and stopped acting so dumb around my mate.

After the way the Elves had abused her, he thought she’d have shied away from sex. Her hunger to explore his body had delighted him, and her soft, pleasured moans as she orgasmed had thrilled him. Once he won her back, he’d screw her until she moaned again.

He groaned when he imagined his cock seated inside her, her pussy gripping him like a velvet-lined steel band. Everything about her amazed and surprised him. Loving Ellie made him think he’d discovered a rare flower and watched it unfurl. Each petal, every facet or her personality, enthralled him. She was his, but she didn’t believe him yet.

Ellie enchanted him, and except for the red rims around her eyes, she was perfection.
I’m a poor sort of mate to make my woman weep
. Even as she slept in his arms, he stroked her hair back off her face and whispered, “You’re mine. I’ll move heaven and earth to make you happy. Sleep well, and when you wake, we’ll talk.”

* * * *

Ellie woke a couple of hours later, disoriented and confused, but toasty warm. A thick quilt swaddled her, and two strong arms held her tight. She blinked and sat up abruptly.

“Welcome to my cabin,” Joel murmured in her ear. He held her in his lap, and she could feel his erection press against her back.
His cabin? Did he mean the love nest where he brought his legion of lovers?

Joel could charm a wyvern into giving up its prey, but she wasn’t going to succumb to his wolfish ways again. “Keep your welcome. The instant my flashy thing recharges I’m out of here.”

He kept his arms locked around her waist. Did he really think she was the next notch on his bedpost?

It’s tempting, but I need commitment not just wham, bang, thank you, ma’am.

He’d use her and walk away. He’d done it twice already, and she expected him to do it again. She didn’t want to be here, and she didn’t want to be with him—not when he planned to marry the coldhearted head case from the Desert Marauder pack.

Joel’s lips brushed her ear, and pleasure exploded through her. If he did that again she’d surrender her principles in exchange for one night of bliss. Then she remembered he had the last event of the tournament tomorrow. “You need to rest and conserve your strength. Just take me back to Pammy and get some sleep.”

His voice came out in a sexy rumble that sent shivers down her spine. “Ellie, I keep trying to tell you how much I love you, but things…people…keep getting in the way.”

He loved her? Really? Then why did he keep shoving her away? Back before Olivia mauled her, he’d announced Ellie was his true mate. She’d no idea what that meant for their future. Nothing made sense except for the smoldering tendrils of desire unfurling inside her.

After six months as a sex slave, she’d almost become a man-hater, but two years surrounded by Lykae soldiers cured her of that. The occasional glimpse of Joel had helped too, but she’d never imagined she could burn for a man the way she did for him. The more he held her, the more she needed him—and he’d just told her he loved her.

He buried his face in her hair and breathed deeply as if pulling her essence into his lungs. The gesture was animalistic and possessive, so damn hot her pussy creamed. Finally, he lifted his head and gazed into her eyes. When he spoke, his voice broke with emotion. “Ellie, you’ve got to listen. I’ve already told Olivia that any contract between us is null and void. She broke our bargain when she publically refuted me. Besides, I don’t want anyone but you. My true mate.”

She studied his face. He held his breath, and his forehead furrowed as if he doubted her, but she wasn’t the one with a coldhearted fiancée. The Elves had drugged her until she became a sexual predator, but the concept of love or affection was beyond them. Damn it, she hadn’t even kissed a man before that time on the cliff top with Joel.

As he stroked the tip of her ear, words tumbled out of him. “You’re my world. While I’m glad to shunt Olivia off to Lysander, whatever’s going on between the two of them pales alongside the soul-deep need I have for you. Tell me what I have to do for you to forgive me, and I’ll do it. I won’t… I can’t… Damn it, I love you so much, and I’m so afraid I’ve lost you.”

If this was a dream, she didn’t plan on waking up anytime soon. Since she wasn’t the sort of woman to play games, she curled her arms around his neck and buried her fingers in his hair. “You hurt me, Joel. I won’t deny that. I love you, but I’m scared you’ll hurt me again.”

So much for staying strong and standing on my own two feet. He shatters my resolutions and knocks me sideways.

His dropped a brief, tender kiss on her lips. “I’d die first. Does that mean you’re giving me a second chance?”

Ellie laughed. “How can I not, when I love you so much? But that still doesn’t mean I’m spending the night here. Take me back to Pammy’s place, then you can rest up for the final challenge tomorrow.”

A slow grin spread over his face, and he looked so wolfish she knew he was up to something. His cock pressed against her, and desire burned through her blood. She wanted her happy-ever-after with Joel so much it scared her, but the tournament’s finale loomed.

She shook her head, her teeth worrying her lower lip as she scrunched her fingers in his hair. She wanted Joel inside her, loving her until she begged for mercy. Then she wanted him to love her some more, but his pack mattered more than her selfish desires. Besides, if he’d meant what he’d just said, they had the rest of their lives. Sadly, Joel needed a good night’s sleep, not a night of wild sex and passionate loving.

He looked too innocent when he turned her in his arms and kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re the only person I’ve ever brought here. It feels right having you here. Will you spend the night in my bed? I’ll sleep better just knowing you’re near me.”

Tricky Lykae, tempting me into his bed. One night or forever? Guess I won’t know until the morning.

She didn’t dare trust him, not yet. But maybe… What if she left now, and he changed his mind? Then she remembered how he’d claimed her as his true mate in front of the pack. She prayed this really was more than a fling to him. She deliberately set aside her doubts, willing to see where this evening led them. She prayed it didn’t end in tears.