A Mate's Sacrifice: (Hot Paranormal Romance) (Ozark Mountain Shifters Book 2) (8 page)

“I told you I wasn’t sharing.” Her attempt at arguing was halfhearted.

“Sorry, sugar. The floor is cold, and you are warm. Hate me for it if you want. I don’t care. But do it in the morning.”

Braeh’s teeth chattered. “It
is
freezing in here.”

He was quiet. Sleep pulled at her but she was too cold to go with it.

“Turn over,” Vesh said.

“Why?”

“Just do it.” His voice was soft.

Braeh complied, turning her back to him, and then pulling the blanket even higher so it would catch her breath for extra warmth. Slowly, he slid closer.

“Lift your head.”

She did, and he slipped his arm under. His other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her tightly against him.

“Body heat,” he said. “We’ll stay warmer this way.”

Braeh didn’t answer. Couldn’t. His body pressed against hers. His heat, his strength… it did weird things to her. Weird and wonderful things. She’d spent her fair share of time in the arms of a man, but this time, it felt different.

It felt like home. Warm fire and apple pie and fuzzy blankets.

Minutes passed and the shivering stopped, and she felt herself drifting once again.

Vesh buried his face in her hair, inhaling, and then nuzzling the nape of her neck, but his hands didn’t roam. “I’ve never done this before.”

“What? Cuddle?”

He hesitated, probably trying to think of a different word for what they were doing. “Yeah.”

“That’s a shame. Cuddling is one of the great joys in life.”

Squeezing her closer, he sighed.

“You know what? I think you’re right.”

The next time Braeh awoke, it was to the light of day. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes, was Vesh staring back at her. He was still as could be, his head resting on his bicep. She’d think he was asleep if not for the intensity of his gaze.

Second day in a row waking up to him staring. This was the beginning of an odd trend.

“Why are you doing that?” Her voice was hoarse from sleep.

His gaze dipped to her mouth. “What?”

“Staring.”

And back to her eyes. “You’re beautiful. I like watching you sleep.”

Braeh’s cheeks heated, but she brushed his compliment off with a joke. “You know that sounds creepy, right?”

He shrugged. “You asked.”

To escape his watchful gaze, Braeh braved the cold and ran to the bathroom. She knew exactly what happened to her bobbed hair after a night of heavy sleep. Glancing in the mirror, she winced. Yep. It was bad enough to scare small children.
Halloween costume, here I come
. Forget Zombie Queen, she could just be Braeh In The Morning.

She finger combed the locks back into place for a temporary fix, then used the toilet and brushed her teeth. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Yep. That would have to do.

Opening the bathroom door, she ran back to bed, curling in the warm covers. Vesh had rolled onto his back and was glaring at the ceiling.

“So…” Everything felt very awkward in the light of morning. Normally, she’d busy herself making breakfast, but that wasn’t happening. “I wish this place had a kitchen.”

He glanced at her. His jaw was set and harsh, but his two day beard growth softened it slightly.

“And a gas fireplace would be nice.”

Just then, her phone beeped. Rolling over, she grabbed it from the night stand and opened the text from Kerri.

Meeting in the cafeteria at 8
.

Braeh texted back,
Got it
.

“Don’t people have their own kitchens here?” she asked.

“I’m sure they do.” Vesh stood and threw chunks of wood into the fireplace, along with a starter log. “These are guest cabins, used for temporary housing. For visitors or if someone is displaced for some reason.”

“So there’s a cafeteria.”

He nodded, striking a match and lighting the starter. “For gathering. We like doing things as a community. As a pack. I’d guess it’s used for lunch mostly. But they probably serve breakfast too.” He glanced at her. “You hungry?”

Oddly, she was. Waiting for lunch seemed impossible today. Maybe it was all the excitement catching up to her. “Yes. And it’s only the first day but I already miss cooking. Also, Kerri says we need to meet there at eight.”

He rummaged through his duffle bag and came out with a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. “I’m taking a shower,” he mumbled. “I’ll leave the door unlocked in case you need to use the bathroom to get ready.”

He was in the bathroom with the water running before she could answer. And yeah, no way was she stepping foot in that steamy room with only a thin plastic sheet separating her from his naked body. Not when simply thinking about what he looked like shirtless made her feel shaky.

Braeh sat on the edge of the bed as the realization hit her hard: she was in trouble. She was feeling too much, too quick. This never happened. Not to her. She wasn’t the type to fall fast and brutal. Or to fall at all. That was the problem with every past lover. She’d never
loved
them. And she didn’t love Vesh either. Hell, she’d only known him two days. But… she could see it. See herself falling for him. And that was the problem. Loving someone like Vesh wouldn’t be easy. Instinctively, she knew that.

She’d dressed and had her shoes on when he strolled from the bathroom wearing the jeans and nothing else. A black band peeked out from the waist.
Oh
. The black t-shirt was not a t-shirt.

Braeh bit her cheek and turned away from the sight of his damp, smooth skin. She yanked the sheets to the top of the bed, followed by the blanket, and fluffed the pillows. When she looked up, he was pulling a shirt over his head. His muscles flexed with the movement, and she swallowed hard.

Vesh was powerful. She’d never seen him on the attack, but she’d bet he was terrifying. Braeh had never wanted to be a damsel in distress. It wasn’t her thing. Truthfully, she’d always found it kind of annoying. But… there was something to be said for a powerful man swooping in and saving the day. For once in her life, the idea made her knees quake.

She ducked into the bathroom with her spray bottle, and went to work on her hair. When she’d finished, she examined her reflection in the mirror. Not terrible. Could be better. Her eyes looked tired, but she decided to skip the makeup. She’d never worn much anyways. Being in the kitchen made any effort melt, so she’d given up on it long ago.

Sliding past Vesh where he stood by the dresser, she put her things back in her suitcase and went to stand by the fire. It was small, but enough to warm her hands and take the chill off the room.

“You smell good, mate.” Vesh’s voice was low. Any time he said something nice to her, he did it carefully. Almost as if he was treading unsafe waters.

She glanced at him. His hands gripped the edge of the dresser like it was keeping him upright. White knuckles and all.

“So do you.” She said the first thing that came to her mind, and apparently it was the right thing, because when he pulled his eyes from the floor to look at her, he didn’t scowl. “You ready to go?” she asked.

He nodded, releasing his hold on the dresser and grabbing his jacket. Braeh slipped hers on, and then he held his hand out to her. She only hesitated a second before threading her fingers with his.

And it felt right.

***

So right.

But also, wrong.

If Vesh could sort out his twisted feelings he’d be doing them both a favor. For now, though, this felt right, and he planned on relishing the moment.

They walked down the path that led to the main part of camp. Others milled about. Parents walked their young to school. Vesh and Braeh received looks that ranged from curious to hostile. For the most part though, people seemed decent. Some even smiled. Vesh didn’t smile back, but he made an effort to not glare.

This was his temporary home. He might as well make the best of it.

The overall feel of the camp was night and day different from Ozark. These wolves were
happy
. Vesh knew little of how the Ravendale Alpha ran his pack, but it was clear he wasn’t a raving mad dictator like Jax. However, the fact that Cael had kept leadership of the second largest wolf pack in the area was a testament to his ferocity. He wouldn’t have gone uncontested. Which meant he was no lightweight.

The cafeteria was mostly empty when they arrived. A few people behind the counter were cleaning up the remnants of breakfast while a spattering of customers finished eating.

Vesh spotted Trager and Kerrigan at a table in the corner of the room, and headed in their direction. Braeh broke away and went straight to the counter for food.

Kerrigan glared at him the whole way, but at least Trager looked like he was in a better mood.

He pulled out a chair and straddled it. “What’s the plan?”

Trager sighed. “Cael should be here soon, and we’ll talk. Everything’s up in the air right now.”

Vesh checked his phone. Something he’d been doing all morning, but there was nothing. For some reason, he’d actually expected some sort of contact from Avan. Even if it was just a “fuck off”, but no. His messages remained empty.

His eyes went to Braeh. She was chatting animatedly with the server. Her smile grew to megawatt when he piled the bacon on her tray. A twinge of jealousy hit Vesh. He wanted a smile like that from her.

Carefully, she wound her way through the maze of tables and chairs, carrying two heaping full trays, until she’d reached them. He thought of helping her, but by the intense look on her face, he figured he might lose a limb if he tried to take one of the trays from her. He remembered that she usually went light on the breakfast and wondered why she’d gotten so much food.

She set the plates on the table without looking up. “You guys already eat?” she asked.

“Yeah. Trager wanted to be here early,” Kerrigan groused. Obviously, she wasn’t a morning person.

“Good.” Braeh still hadn’t looked anywhere other than her food.

Vesh stared at the trays. Each one held several full plates. It looked like she’d taken one—or more—of everything they had to offer. She bit into a strip of bacon and nodded. “Bacon’s good. Eggs look iffy, but doable. The waffles… now, someone back there knows how to do waffles. I’ll have to thank them later.” Lifting a piece of buttered waffle to his lips she said, “Here Vesh, try this.”

He opened his mouth and let her slip the food between his lips, before she went back to sampling. The waffle
was
good. It was missing syrup, but he didn’t mind.

Braeh took a sip of orange juice. And then another drink. This time, a gulp. Her eyes grew big. “Ohhhh. The OJ is fresh squeezed.” She slid it Vesh’s way. “Try.”

He did.

She arranged an assortment of foods on one plate and passed it to him. “Here, these are the best of what they offer,” she said. “And you’ll probably like those eggs. They aren’t like the ones I made you yesterday.”

Vesh took the plate, but the lump in his throat kept him from saying thank you. He examined it. She’d given him all of the waffles and bacon. The eggs. Strawberries. And then she scooted the orange juice in front of him too. He looked at her plate. She’d kept the sausage, some of the eggs and fruit, and the miserable looking biscuits and gravy.

She’d given the best to him.

He stared at her, but she was too busy sampling breakfast to notice.

It was a little thing that seemed huge. Perhaps little to her, but to him, gigantic. A small kindness with a huge impact. He wanted to ask why. He wanted to get her alone and find incredibly dirty ways to say thank you.

It would have to wait until tonight. And on that note, he would do whatever he had to, to get back into that bed again. With her body pressed against his, he’d had the best night of sleep in years.

Vesh stabbed his fork into the pile of eggs. “Your eggs were delicious,” he muttered, in lieu of ‘thank you’.

Braeh turned her head to look at him, but he stopped whatever she might’ve said.

“Trager, you gonna tell me how Farrow knew where you lived?” Vesh took a bite, but the eggs were like sawdust compared to the ones he’d had yesterday.

Trager stiffened. “Same way Ravendale did, I suppose.”

Vesh raised an eyebrow. “You’re telling me you did a shit job of guarding your land? That what you’re saying?”

The wolf’s jaw clenched. “Sure. Yeah.”

Vesh finished his eggs and moved on to the waffles. “I don’t buy it.”

Trager shrugged.

“You lived there how long? And only in the last three days were found by others? Nah, I don’t buy it.”

“No one cared before.”

“Call me a cocky son-of-a-bitch, but I’ve been looking for you for two weeks and came up dry at every turn. I know I’m a hell of a lot better hunter than Farrow. There’s no way he could’ve found you before I did. Unless…”

Kerrigan shifted in her seat. The woman was an open fucking book. Those two were hiding something.

“Look, I thought we were working together on this. We want the same thing.”

“No. We don’t. I want a place to live quietly and happily with my mate, away from all the shit that comes along with having a pack. You want to kill Jax and save your sister, and probably take over as alpha.”

“Both of our sisters. Have you forgotten about yours?”

Trager’s face turned hard. “She’s dead to me now.”

Vesh put his fork down. “Have you ever wondered why she wasn’t there the night you and Kerrigan came to the camp?”

“It’s pretty obvious isn’t it? She didn’t want to see me.”

“That’s not what I heard. Farrow wouldn’t let her. He commanded her to stay home.”

Braeh snorted. “Commanded? I would’ve told this Furrow dude to go lick his own balls.”

“Farrow. And he’s probably already done that,” Kerrigan said, raising an eyebrow. “Wolf. Remember?”

Braeh turned a disturbed gaze to Vesh. “Do you guys do that? Like… when you’re wolfy?”

“No. God.” He shot Kerrigan an irritated look.

“Good. Because, I don’t know how I’d feel about kissing if that were the case.”

At the mention of kissing, his eyes went to her full lips. He still hadn’t experienced them. It was both a relief and a regret. Heavier on the regret.

“Farrow wouldn’t let her? Why would he do that?” Trager brought him back.

“That was my understanding.”

Trager shook his head, staring out the window.

“Sorry,” Vesh said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “I guess I thought we were in this together. But I know how you don’t play well with others, so I’m not surprised you’re holding back information. Go ahead and try getting through this on your own. Let me know how that works out for you. In the meantime, I’ll go ahead and make sure your family’s safe.” He glanced pointedly at Kerrigan. “All of them, not just your mate.”