The Alpha's Toy (15 page)

Her eyes were glazed over with tears.
Her skin was running hot from a mixture of his kiss and the
pregnancy.

You’ve got to tell her
about the pregnancy.

First he needed for her to understand that
they were a mated pair. Right now he felt his wolf purring at her
closeness.

“
I love you, Mary. This is
right
, and
you know we’re meant to be together.”

Her hand was shaking as she pressed
her palm against his chest. “Then show me,” she said.

“
What?”

“
I’ve never seen a proper
mated pair apart from Roger and Dani. Jane and Max I only ever
really saw briefly. Show me a mated pair.”

Grabbing his cell phone from his
pocket, he dialed his father’s number. “What’s the matter, son?” he
asked.

“
This Friday, is it okay if I
bring Mary to a pack gathering? She needs to see other mated
couples, and I think it’s time for her to see what it’s all about
to be a proper wolf.” He didn’t break eye contact with her. Zeke
needed permission from his father before entering a pack gathering.
William’s pack was far bigger than his own because of how old his
father was. Zeke hoped to create a good pack without fear of
starting a war.

“
I will accept. You’ll need to
let Mary know the laws of respect within a
gathering
,
but I’m more than happy to have her be there,” William
said.

Zeke agreed and hung up the phone. “You
want to see other mated couples? Then this Friday we’ll be entering
my father’s territory. You’ll see other mated couples, and there
will be rules you’ll have to abide by.”

“
What rules?” she
asked.

Taking her in his arms, he led her over to
the sofa. He needed to touch her in some way for him to know she
existed.

“
We’re going into another
territory
,
and with that we’ve got rules to follow.”

“
It’s your father,” she
said.

Smiling, Zeke shook his head. “Just
because we’re related doesn’t mean we don’t follow rules. My father
doesn’t like conflict within his pack. When we go I’m submitting to
his rules, and he is the Alpha while we’re there.”

“
Which means?”

“
We’ll both be under his
protection. Any arguments that happen will be handled by him. We’ll
be entering the gathering with you known as my woman, my mate. You
cannot approach other males. This is purely for mated couples to be
together. It’s not sexual, but some nights it can lead to sex as
tensions run high.”

Teasing strands of her hair,
Zeke couldn’t stop touching her even if he wanted to. She leaned in
close to him allowing his touch. Every move she made opened her up
to his touch. The wolf within her was
stroking along the surface trying to get
closer once again. When they ran together he knew they’d be a force
to be reckoned with.

“
What else do I need to know?”
she asked, breathlessly.

“
You can’t judge at all. There
will be full breeds and half breeds, along with
se
veral
couples with mixed breeding.”

“
Why would I judge? Love is
love.” She nuzzled his hand as she stroked his thigh.

Laughing, he cupped her cheek feeling the
softness of her skin. “You’d be surprised how many people would
judge my father or myself. You were the first half breed to join
your old pack. From what I can gather you were the
last.”

She shivered, pulling away as he
brought up the old leaders. “I hate them for what they did. How is
Jessica doing?”

“
She’s getting better. Her
memories are returning, and she hates the fact they’ve taken them
from her.” Zeke was sad thinking about the other girl.

“
I bet. My time with them is
fuzzy, but as the days go by I’m remembering more and
more.”

“
I hope we caught them before
they did something far worse,” he said.

“
What could be far
worse
?” she
asked.

“
If they’ve told someone
about what they’re doing. There are others out there with enough
greed to look past experimenting on their own.” Running a hand down
his face, Zeke felt tired all of a sudden. Knowing there were
people out there who wouldn’t care about taking out other packs
scared him far more than anything else.

“
I hope you’re right.” She
snuggled in against him. “You’re so warm.”

They were silent for several minutes.
He stroked her hair relishing the time they had together without
any fear or worry. His biggest concern was his missing sister. Zeke
really hoped she was safe somewhere away from any
danger.

“
Tell me everything is
going to be all right?” she asked.

Chuckling, he kissed her head.
“Everything is going to be all right. I wouldn’t let anything
happen to you. That I can promise you.”

The rest of the day was spent with her in
his arms as they watched movie after movie. Zeke was content to
simply hold her and never let go. Friday couldn’t come soon enough,
but he’d have to bide his time. He made sure not to speak of his
feelings until then.

He wondered if
Mary realized that
everything she asked for he gave to her. They were mated, and
denying her anything was no longer possible for him. He couldn’t
tell her she was pregnant yet. She clearly didn’t know her
condition, but she’d not long gotten used to being a wolf. Roger
and Dani had taken away a lot of time for her to grow accustomed to
her wolf and the change. He knew her wolf liked him, which was why
the little bitch had been calm. It was only a matter of time before
the wolf wanted to have one final run before she remained dormant
for the baby to be born. The wonders of their kind were connected
to the magic of birth. Before she entered the second month she
could have one final change, but after that, she’d kill the
baby.
Crap.
What was she going to do when she found out he’d knocked
her up as well as claimed her?

Chapter Eleven

Staring around the room Mary saw
over thirty different couples, mingling, talking, making
out
, or just
sitting, petting each other. She wore a pair of jeans with one of
Zeke’s shirts. His scent surrounded her, and in the last the few
days she’d found his scent calmed her nerves. Every now and then
her stomach would turn and her wolf felt close to the surface, and
that alone scared her. Whenever Zeke was with her the wolf within
would settle.

She was starting to wonder who the
actual master of her was, herself or Zeke.

He stood beside her dressed similarly in
jeans and a shirt. At first Mary had been horrified by their lack
of formal clothing. Zeke had laughed, reminding her that they were
going to a room full of wolves. There was no need for formal
clothing.

William and Helen had greeted them at
the door. The couple seemed to be more in love than Mary
remembered. Holding onto Zeke’s arm she looked around at all the
couples.

“
How do you know they’re
mated?” she asked.

Zeke took her to a corner of the room,
which gave them privacy but meant they were able to look around.
“During a mating the male is not always gentle,” he said, reaching
out to stroke the raised flesh of her neck. “Most men will lay
their claim around the neck for most wolves to see. It’s a mark of
ownership, love, and claiming but to also warn other males not to
touch their property.”

“
So I’m your property now?” She
folded her arms trying to cover her nipples, which had
budded.

He laughed. “Baby, your pussy is dripping
wet. You’ve been mine a lot longer than you’ve been my toy.” He
stroked a finger up her denim-clad thigh. “I’m being polite. Look
around you, Mary. I know you can see the love, the need in every
mated couple.” He closed the small gap between them. “I also know
you feel something for me. I know you’ve changed around me, and I
also know that you’ve not been my toy for a long time.”

“
That’s a lot of stuff you
know,” she said, moaning at his closeness.

Her body was on fire once again for his
touch.

“
It’s not all I know.” His hand
slid up to cup her mound. “You’re mine,
Mary. Look around you. See for
yourself.”

She saw Max and Jane sat on the
sofa talking with another couple she didn’t know.
Helen and William
were close as they made their way around the room.

“
These people are your
family?” she asked.

“
Not all of them are related, but
we’re all close.” His other hand sank into her hair, tilting her
head back. “All wolves feel related in some way. It’s how I knew
Roger and Dani had done something wrong. They no longer smelled
like pack but of something corrupt and not very nice at all. They
repelled me.”

“
What do I smell like?” She
whimpered as his lips kissed along her neck. The air between them
changed. It became suddenly charged with need, sex, and something
far more. Mary knew Zeke was right. She was in love with Zeke. He
was the first man to ever make her feel this way. She couldn’t
imagine her life without him, and that scared her.

All of her life she’d been under
the impression that it took a lot longer than a couple of weeks to
fall in love. Her wolf connected with his
, and she found her dreams filled
with images of them both together. Mary knew her future was with
him, but she needed to be totally sure.

Seeing the couples together, Mary knew
they were exactly the same.

“
Heaven, like the best fruit or
dessert on the table. You’re everything I ever wanted. I could
smell you in a crowded room or in the city. They took you away from
me, but I won’t let it happen again.” His lips covered hers, and
Mary accepted his word and his love.

The sound of someone clearing their
throat pulled Zeke away from her body.

“
Son, please, we try to
keep things simple a little longer,” William said.

Helen chuckled. “It’s lovely to see you
both here. When William told me you were coming I couldn’t wait to
see you again.”

“
What’s the matter, Dad?”
Zeke asked.

She sensed him tense as he took hold
of her hand.

“
I need to have a word with
you, Zeke. Alpha to Alpha. Helen has offered to keep your mate
company.”

“
Is it important?”

“
Very. Otherwise I wouldn’t ask
at a mate gathering for a private word,” William said.

“
Okay.” He turned to her. “I’m
going to go, but I promise you Mom will take care of
you.”

Mary nodded. What else could she
do?

“
Zeke, wait,” she said, wanting
him to know how she felt. “I get it.” Glancing down at the floor,
she tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “I love
you
,
too.”

He paused
, and then the biggest smile she’d
ever seen brightened his whole face. “You pick the worst time to
make me feel like the happiest man alive.” Zeke caught her up in
his arms. “I love you, baby, and I promise you I’ll make this up to
you.”

His lips were hard, and she melted against
him. Seconds later he wandered off, and she was alone with
Helen.

The other woman wrapped her arms
around her. “I’m so happy.”

Laughing, Mary hugged the older woman
back.

“
My boy has spent so much time
talking about you and how he’d find you. I didn’t doubt his effort,
but I started to think he’d been taking weed and simply imagined
you into existence.” Helen chuckled. “I know he’s not a young boy
anymore.”

“
Zeke talked about me?”
Mary asked.

“
Yes. He didn’t know your
name, of course. Zeke told us he knew you were the one. That boy
will never back down from anything.” Helen led her toward the sofas
where several couples were groping or in different stages of
undress.

“
I, erm, I didn’t even know
his name.”

“
He’s a good Alpha. Zeke knows to
keep his feelings
close to his chest. Like his father he has a select few
people close enough to him that he can trust.” Helen handed her a
glass of dark liquid. “It’s scotch, my dear. It’ll keep you warm
while they’re away. Business will come first.” There was a smile on
her lips.

“
How can you stand for the
pack to come first?” Even as she said the words Mary knew she
didn’t care if the pack came first.

“
I know, honey, that when my man
gets me alone later tonight or even tomorrow or maybe in a week,
he’ll
make it
up to me.” Helen closed her eyes.

Feeling like an intruder, Mary glanced
away.

“
Honey, I know my son, and he’ll
make it up to you in his own personal way. You’ll be protected, and
you’ll never want for nothing.”

Sipping at the scotch Mary tried not
to cough at the strong burning taste.

“
I wouldn’t want anything from
him. I’m happy just being around him,” Mary said.