Shifter Magnetism (15 page)

She couldn’t pick up a scent over all the other new smells she’d had to get used to as a shifter. The eyes disappeared, but Leila wasn’t foolish enough to think they’d left. She just kept pushing herself on the swing. She wouldn’t walk into the woods like a dumb-ass. There could be more than one wolf out there. She also wouldn’t run. This was her mate’s porch, and she had every right to be there.
Screw ’em.

She made herself sit there ten more minutes. Then she gave her watcher a salute and smile before she went back into the house.

Chapter Nine

Leila allowed her surroundings to calm her. Lowen Park was quiet in the early morning hours. Leila walked in a diamond formation with Nic in the lead and Jake behind her. Devin guarded her on the right, and Rico, Nic’s fourth, protected her to the left. The pavilion she’d reserved was near the lake and not the children’s playgrounds or sports fields. It was so quiet they could almost have been alone in the world.

She’d tried to express to the men, loudly, that she didn’t need the extravagant escort against her people. She’d been largely ignored as she stared into four pairs of hard eyes. It had taken Ana to explain that they were essentially going to meet the enemy, and she would be protected and shown full honor as an alpha female. And if a witch or wizard were to make a move against them, she could be shielded and quickly taken to safety.

“Alpha females are rare, Leila.” Ana had then leaned in and lowered her voice. “You’re wasting your breath.”

Leila looked around when Nic stopped their group in the shade of some trees. Nic’s soldiers had spread out to hidden locations around the pavilion and in the trees. Leila watched through the small gap in her guard as witches and wizards began to fill the area. She wasn’t surprised to see some had brought their ornamental stools to sit upon. This was an official meeting. She tried to see them through Nic’s eyes.

They were a flamboyant bunch. Between those dressed severely in suits to those barefoot in flowing multihued garments, they were in sharp contrast to the shifters’ jeans and fitted T-shirts. Leila wore a deep blue sundress with the phases of the moon embroidered into the collar and hem. It was a bit of a tongue-and-cheek homage to her wolfy mate. It still stung that her mother had immediately thought to separate them. Zuria hadn’t even asked Leila what she wanted.

As if she’d summoned them, her mother and father appeared from the back of the crowd and strode toward the head of the group. Nic moved from the trees to the open, and Leila’s entourage left her no choice but to follow. Shock registered on her father’s face. Her mother hesitated for the briefest of seconds before continuing to the front of the pavilion, face as impassive as stone.

Zuria raised her arms, power surged in the air, and Nic’s muscles bunched. Leila touched his back quickly. “She offers a blessing to open the meeting.”

She felt him still under her hand even as the cords of muscle in his back remained tight. He didn’t relax even when her mother lowered her arms, and the magic slowly dissipated. The tension in the air did not.

“Council, we have invited the new alpha of the Coldwell Pack here this morning to speak with us about an unfortunate threat facing our community. Alpha Lobo also travails with the human police force. We hail you, Alpha Lobo.”

The polite applause didn’t mask that her mother had completely glossed over Nic’s connection to her personally. What her mother didn’t want to deal with, she ignored. Nic moved, and Leila realized, as Jake, Devin, and Rico did also, that he wanted her to move as well. Nic took up the spot her mother had vacated and pulled her to his side. The men fanned out around them.

“The Coldwell Pack hails the Council.” Nic’s words were ritual words, seldom used since meetings between the pack and the Council were rare. “My mate Leila and I extend our sympathy in the loss of your Council member, Ametta Best.”

Sadness at hearing Ametta’s name almost made Leila ignore the gasps from the Council. Their eyes were all on her, and she understood their shock was more at hearing she was a shifter’s mate than outrage over Ametta’s murder. She kept her head up and her spine straight. She wasn’t ashamed of being Nic’s mate and had a nice new set of claws for anyone who wanted to make a big deal about it.

Nic’s posture and facial expression didn’t change as a murmur went through the crowd. She struggled for a moment to mimic him, to keep her face blank. She wouldn’t give her mother anything to use against her later. Eventually, she felt Nic’s alpha mojo hit the air.
Shit.
She hadn’t fully mastered her response to it. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. Sharp needle pricks danced under her skin as the new primal voice inside her demanded release. She was so not going to wolf out in front of the entire damn Council.

She pushed back against the wolf. This was an internal battle she would win. She couldn’t just hit the furry train every time Nic decided he wanted to display his dominance. He’d already warned her he couldn’t keep restraining the wolf. By the time their audience quieted, she had herself together. She opened her eyes to see the Council watching Nic warily.

“There are sorcerers among you. Their vile misdeeds are your problem. Leila and I have apprehended one for you. Yet you must be responsible. Evil is walking in your midst. We have personally felt the forbidden magic of another sorcerer. The humans cannot catch your criminals. You also have a serial killer among you. He may be one of these sorcerers or from another Council. In any case, he is killing your women. He tried to kill my mate.”

He paused, allowing his words to sink in.

“I hunt this madman, yet I am not a wizard. I’ve come to demand you clean up your trash.”

Conversation among the assembled descended into chaos as they shouted over each other in an attempt to be heard. Leila eyed Nic.

“What?”

She shook her head. If the speech he just gave was his idea of proper race relations and cooperation building, he needed to let her make all further speeches.

Zuria’s voice sounded as if it came at them from every direction. “Quiet!”

Leila cringed at the amplification spell her mother used to be heard over the assembly. It hurt her ears, and she wondered how the shifters around her showed such restraint.

Zuria glanced at the crowd. “One at a time.”

A wizard in the back stood. “We aren’t martial. How can we hunt down sorcerers?”

Nic said, “I understand you do not all practice the same form of magic. Some of you have to have more aggressive powers. Those mages form a core group; you hunt the bastards.”

A young witch stood. “We have never hunted.”

Nic shrugged. “The pack historian tells me you have.” He simply turned to Zuria and raised an eyebrow.

Dotric Sharp, one of the oldest wizards in the Council, cleared his throat with an amplification spell. “This is no time for prevarication, Zuria.”

Mouth tight, her mother said, “We have had guardians in the past who were tasked with policing the Council and warding off enemies. The practice was disbanded fifty years ago.”

Nic stared at Zuria. When she said nothing further, he spoke. “Today we hunt a sorcerer. Anyone who wants to take responsibility for their mistakes is invited to join us. My mate knows how to reach me.”

Leila didn’t know what signal Nic gave, but suddenly she was back inside her diamond honor guard as he led them away from the pavilion. Apparently the alpha of the Coldwell Pack was done with his audience.

Leila remained quiet on the drive back to pack lands. She wasn’t confident in any way that the Council would heed Nic’s warning or, more accurately, admonishment. Maybe he could have been more diplomatic, yet Leila agreed with everything her mate had said to the Council. They were responsible and couldn’t continue to allow killers free rein.

She noticed the rigidity in Nic’s shoulders. She averted her eyes each time he glanced at her, but she couldn’t fail to note the unease in his expression. Was he concerned she thought he’d antagonized the Council? She wasn’t. Her mate was completely badass and had challenged them when no one else would. He deserved her respect for standing up for what was right. And maybe a little more.

When she stepped from the SUV, her honor guard was just leaving theirs as well.

“Jake, does the alpha have any business for the next couple of hours?” Leila admired Nic’s physique as he leaned against the SUV, watching her. His eyes always had a little heat in them.

Jake said, “Nothing until we leave for the sorcerer’s house this afternoon.”

“Good. Anybody coming to the house before then could possibly get bitten. You might want to pass the word.”

Nic was grinning now, and she wondered where she’d given herself away. “You ready, Alpha?”

“Oh, I’m always ready, mate.”

To prove it, he hustled her across the Yard and into their home. Heading straight for their bedroom, she burst through the door with Nic right on her heels. She crossed to the closet.

“What are you doing?” He paused, now barefoot, leaning against the doorsill.

She kicked off her ballet flats and slid her feet into a pair of petal-pink pumps. Then she applied lipstick, all the while tracking her shifter in the mirror. Lips sufficiently red and shiny, she made sure her tousled updo was still artfully messy and not just a mess. Satisfied, she walked over to Nic.

“Unwrap me.” She could hear the throatiness in her voice.

He pushed away from the wall, his eyes glowing amber. Her breath caught with a slight gasp. His hands settled on her shoulders, and he took his time sliding his palms down her back, gathering the material of her dress as he went. She felt the cool air of the room on the tops of the back of her thighs and the lower curve of her ass, and she struggled not to undulate against him.

There was so much space between them, but she didn’t dare move. Something told her she was going to love his reaction to her surprise. One of his hands cupped her ass. He growled a bit as he molded her naked cheeks. Sharp pleasure shot straight to her cunt.

“Are you naked under here?” His voice was guttural.

Flat-out grinning, she shook her head from side to side. She shivered as his hands continued to explore. He found the little string at the top of her cheeks and tugged on it, sliding his fingers underneath. When he pulled his hand away, she whimpered until her dress was jerked swiftly over her head.

His growl was long and deep. The sound sent shivers along her spine and caused her knees to go weak.

“If this is a gift, I don’t know how you’re going to top it on my birthday.”

He still clutched her dress in one hand and seemed riveted by her outfit, so she turned slowly, allowing him to get the full sheer-petal-pink-lace-teddy experience. There was no way for him to hide that he loved her body. His erection strained the front of his pants, and the gleam in his eyes said looking at her was good. Damn good.

Nic raised his gaze from where he had been devouring her breasts, and she suddenly realized she might have bitten off more than she could chew. Delicious passion laced with a hint of fear ignited in her blood. A wolf stared out at her from her mate’s eyes. And he was hungry.

NIC WANTED TO fall on her and slake his lust until they were sweaty, tired, and good for nothing but sleep. She wasn’t really wearing clothing. The scrap of lace was more of an accessory, highlighting her sexy body. Completely see-through except for the tiny straps, the teddy cupped her ample breasts. Her dark nipples, puffy and distended, strained against the lace. The sides of the lingerie skated her curves, cosseting them.

The back was nothing more than five strings, three mimicking bra straps holding up the top, one resting across her hips, attached to the skinny string between the globes of her ass. He could tear the garment with his teeth. One good tug and it would be in tatters around her feet. Slowly, he knelt in front of her, unsure where to start.

Leila tried to pull him back up. “Wait! I want to touch you.”

“No.” He couldn’t allow her touch. He might not have enough control if she caressed him.

Clutching her ass, he jerked her closer, taking one nipple into his mouth. Her gasps set him further along the edge. He turned to the other nipple as his hands slid down to clasp each thigh. His grasp tightened, and he extended his finger to trace the lace covering her pussy and discovered there was a damn slit in the crotch giving him full access to her sweet nectar.

She bent her knees slightly, pushing her core more firmly into his touch. Her fingers flexed against his shoulders. He let go of her nipple and pressed his face against her belly. Closing his eyes, he struggled for control even as his fingers continued to rub her slippery folds. He pushed his fingers inside her. A shudder tore through him at the combined sounds of her gasp and the click of her heels as she opened her core farther to his touch.

Kissing her belly, he gave in. Her scent enveloped him, and he removed his fingers from her. A murmur of protest dropped from her lips as he stood abruptly and crowded her back toward the bed. He seized her waist, and both the animal and man in him luxuriated in the feel of lace against his palms and lush skin against his fingertips. The combination reminded him that she was fragile and not used to the hard coupling of shifter bed partners.

He picked her up and laid her gently on the bed, though his beast rode him to take her. To make sure she knew she was his. He stalked up her body, legs and arms caging her, preventing her escape. Hovering over her, he stared into her face.

And came face-to-face with her wolf.

Eyes shifted to amber, something wild watched him. And waited. His wolf warned him to be careful; their mate was an alpha female and therefore dangerous. Claws and teeth would be used if he displeased her. His gaze automatically dropped to her lips. Her very red lips. Her tongue peeked out, and she took her time licking them. His cock jumped, clearly stating it wouldn’t mind being next.

Her eyes promised sex and dominance. Her smile exposed the predator within.

It surprised him so much when she pushed him onto his back that he only protested slightly. She surged over him, and he didn’t mind that it put her in a more dominant position because he could feel every one of her curves through his stupid clothing. Along with the claws she scratched along his upper arms.