Quin and Jaden took their jobs as Alphas very seriously. They had gone to the Pack leader in Chicago and talked to them about her attack. They had no knowledge of any Rogues in the area, but had promised to investigate it. Jo learned then how well her friend had chosen when it came to men. Both had explained things to her and been very patient, even when she freaked out about being bitten by a werewolf. Jo was grateful that she had a friend who knew what was going on. If she had turned into a dog at the full moon all by herself, she would have thought she was crazy.
Chapter 2
Tey had taken a few of the younger Pack members into the mountains to their retreat and worked on their training, when the Alphas had been in Chicago. He returned just last night, and this morning he was back on duty with the little female Alpha. Cami had asked her friend months ago to bring her book to Denver for her Grand Opening. They had planned this party for a long time. Tey was just sorry he had missed finding his mate sooner. If he had gone to Chicago with them, he would have found her then. At the time, the Alphas asked that he remain here to help guard the Pack, and make sure the new trainees would be ready for duty when they returned. Tey had done his job and now it seemed like wasted time, time that he could have been spending with his mate.
Now his mate was here, and he had no idea what to do. He was an Enforcer, a guard to the Pack and the Alphas, a trained fighting machine. Never had he thought he would be given a mate by the Gods this soon. He assumed he would be fated to live his life alone, with his fellow Enforcers, until he fulfilled his destiny of protecting the Pack. The thought that he had a mate was a little overwhelming. He was not all that good with people. He liked things simple, people tended to complicate things.
Tey looked over to where his mate was standing with Cami and growled again. He needed to get her alone and talk to her. He needed to find out everything about her and then claim her. Jaden chuckled and patted him on the back. “Dude, you need to chill. I will go talk to Cami and Jo and see what they are talking about. Hopefully, Cami tells her everything, and then you can be on your merry way.” Quin stood next to him and watched as his mates talked to the woman who was shaking her head and looking at them and frowning.
“Shit, there could be a small problem.” Quin muttered.
“What?” Tey growled and looked at the group in front of them.
“Jo is going to start having a panic attack in a few seconds. It would be best if you just take her back to the office and talk to her.” Quin said and nodded to Jaden.
Cami was trying to calm her friend down, but it was quickly becoming clear that she was in a panic. Her voice began to rise, and she was starting to gesture around wildly. Tey could hear what she was saying when he drew closer, but soon everyone would be able to hear because she was starting to raise her voice.
“What the hell does that mean? Mate? It sounds like something a Pirate would say. I cannot be someone"s mate anyway. You know why, Cami. I can"t go through that again!” She shrilled.
Cami leaned forward, hugged her friend, and then whispered in her ear. “It will be different this time. I can feel it. You cannot let everything in the past keep you from getting what you want now. Look at you, you are a successful author, you don"t have to answer to anyone. I just want you to keep one thing in mind. Tey is the best guy, besides my mates of course, I know. He would never hurt you.” Jo took a deep breath and calmed down a little. Her heart was racing and she looked over her friend's shoulder to see the tall, imposing man approach them. He was too handsome. Long black hair and blue eyes with etched cheek bones and a full mouth, any woman would think he was drop dead gorgeous. He stood at least a head taller than her, and was all muscle. If she saw him in a dark alley, she would run for her life. Hell, she was thinking of running for her life now, and they were in a fully lit store with people surrounding her. People - that was a relative term she decided. When her best friend came to help her after a dog had attacked her. She had discovered that not only was she not attacked by a dog, but a werewolf, and there were hundreds of them around, blending with humans.
She had always had an open mind, and prided herself on her „live and let live"
philosophy, but people who changed into animals? That may be a little far reaching even for her. She did not think she was ready to become a part of their little clan, kennel, whatever they called it.
Jo thought about her upbringing with her alcoholic father and absent mother. She had leaned on Cami for most of her youth. When her friend left, she had been alone and looked for someone to fill the gap. Jo chose badly of course, Tim turned out to be a first class asshole. He used her for her money and sex. Now she was broke and had since figured out the sex was not really that great. It seemed like a relationship at the time, but she learned after a while, that love does not mean you have to be a punching bag for anyone.
The first time he hit her, he sent flowers. The second time he sent chocolate. The third was more stupid gifts in order to make her feel like she needed to be a little more understanding of his feelings. She had fallen for it hook, line and sinker, just so she would not have to return home to her father. Jo quietly got her degree in English after she left home, her ex thought school was a waste of time; basically he did not want her to be smarter than him. Working two jobs to pay for the tuition and for their bills, she still completed her degree. Tim refused to help her out with money. Tim drank most of his paychecks away, and she never thought to stand up to him and demand that he pay his share. The one time that she did, she had lost something precious to her.
Shaking off the bad thoughts, Jo looked at Tey and smiled. Maybe she could use a little distraction. It had been a long time for her. Jo did not think she could ever be anyone"s mate. When they learned the truth, they would not want her anyway.
Jaden stepped forward and gently smiled at her. “Honey, would it be ok if you and Tey went to talk for a few minutes? We have everything ready for tomorrow already.”
“Uh, sure, let me get my things.” She muttered.
“I got them.” Cami called and smiled at her friend.
“Fine.” She grumbled and turned toward the hulking man. “Well let"s get this over with so I can get back to what I am supposed to be doing here.” Tey grimaced and looked at his friends. This was not looking like it was going to be fun.
Finding one"s mate was supposed to be one of the greatest days of a wolf"s life. This was turning out to be as painful as going to the dentist. In fact, that may be more fun, now that he thought about it.
Tey grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the store. Walking across the street, and into the office building that housed the Pack offices, Tey tried to plan out what he was going to say to his mate. He had a small apartment in the building, but he thought if he took her there, they would never get to have the discussion they needed to. Tey was holding on to his urge to claim her by a small thread, and he knew that it would take very little to set him off. He wanted to claim his mate and fuck her into submission.
Jo pulled back against his hand and said, “Whoa there big boy, you are going to pull my arm out of its socket.”
“Sorry.” He mumbled and slowed down his pace. He wanted her in a safe room where he could talk to her and explain what was happening.
Finally, he reached a small unoccupied conference room. He pulled her in and shut the door, locking it, so they would not have any interruptions.
“So now that you have me here, what are you going to do with me?” She asked sarcastically.
“My name is Tey Fare. I am from France and have lived here for the last ten years. I am the Enforcer of the Gevaudan/Denver Pack; I am Cami"s personal guard.” He said gruffly. “I take my job very seriously and work long hours. I don"t date very much. In fact, I have not had any type of relationship since we came here, never seemed to find the right girl. I guess I was waiting for my mate. My favorite color is red, and I hate vegetables, and I really want to kiss you right now.” Jo laughed in delight at the serious man in front of her
. He had said that all in one breath. This was surprising enough, because he looked like a man who spoke few words and she figured that this was the most he had told anyone about himself in a long time.
“Ok, my name is Jo Grand. I live in Chicago, have never been married, but I have dated and was in a very serious relationship that ended badly. I work long hours also, but the good part is that I am my own boss and set my own hours. I like the color red also and do not like vegetables much either, but I do love broccoli. For some reason, standing here and not knowing you doesn"t matter to me much, because I would love nothing more than for you to kiss me. For the record, I don"t think that this is the wisest idea I have had. I think we need to discuss what the hell is going on here. Cami and her husbands, mates, whatever you call them, just told me about the whole wolf thing. I am not quite sure what to make of it in the first place. They said that I was attacked by a werewolf and until that moment, I had no idea they even existed. They said they had no clue if I would change into one of you or not, because it would take until the full moon in a few weeks for me to find out. Personally, I hope he did change me, because I want to kick his ass. So what is the deal here?” She said and took a deep breath. Jo had a lot of questions and needed some answers, before kissing. When Cami and her boy toys had come to her house and announced a werewolf bit her, she had shut down. She refused to listen or believe what they were telling her, until Jaden had changed in front of her.
She had of course screamed, and then she had needed time to think about what they were telling her. She got the basics, but she had a lot more questions that needed to be answered. So far, she had not had enough time to sit with her friend and talk, since they had come to Denver. At one time, they told her she needed to think about joining a Pack. They said she needed protection and did not want her to be out on her own. Jo had protested at the thought of moving to Denver, but things may be looking up.
“What do you want to know?” Tey said and sat down in a chair with a big sigh.
Jo sat down across from him, folded her hands on the table, and hid her smile. It seemed her big hunky man was a little impatient. “So what is this mate thing? Like, are we supposed to be dating or something?”
Tey laughed and said, “Or something. When a wolf finds his mate, it is for life. We can only have one mate, and if we find them and do not claim them, we will go crazy.”
“Wow, no pressure there.” Jo mumbled.
“Just giving you the facts. We can wait for a while, to see if you will change, if that makes you more comfortable. We can spend time getting to know one another. To be honest, I am a little freaked out about all this." Tey said and lowered his head. He did not want to wait, but he also did not want to have a mate who resented him.
“So, if we do this, will I have to move here?” Jo asked.
“Uh, this is where my Pack is. When you and I mate, you will have the same benefits of my status as Enforcer. In a normal Pack, you would be a member, kinda the low man on the totem pole. I am third in line of this Pack. Devon, and of course the Alphas are ahead of me. We are the protectors of the Pack, and we are the teachers of the young members. I personally have been in charge of showing the younger members the rules and the laws of the Pack. The old traditions have not been taught in the United States.
This is one of the reasons we were sent here. To provide order where there has been so much chaos over the years. I would, of course, expect my mate to help with those things and set an example. We have been dealing with a lot of shit also over the last few weeks.
I am sure Cami explained to you, there are Rogue wolves like the one that attacked you, which have been plotting in Denver to try to take over this Pack. Cami was a victim of an attack, and we are working to find those who ordered it. So far, we have not been able to find much and because of that, all of our mates are under protection, especially those who are in the leadership. You will become my responsibility, as well as still protecting Cami, but know that mates always come first.” Tey said.
“I guess it really doesn"t matter where the hell I live. I can write anywhere and I have been missing Cami anyway. I do not have much in the way of possessions that need to be moved, and we can send for them. My agent would be able to arrange for that. There are a few things that I want to tell you though. This may be a deal breaker for you.” Jo said and looked at him.
“There is no deal breaker. You are my mate. I will never find another one that will fit me so completely, and I can promise you I have no desire to do that anyway. Since seeing you and smelling your scent, I have felt more at peace than I have ever felt in my life. I never knew that finding your mate would have such a profound effect.” Tey said looking at her intensely.
“Listen before you make up your mind. There is something I have to tell you.” Jo said and took a deep breath. This was hard to say to a friend let alone a stranger. Cami knew her whole story and that was because she had called her and asked her to come and help her after the beating had taken place. She was in bed for two weeks and needed someone to take care of her. Jo was embarrassed. She had let it go on for so long, and she did not tell anyone until the doctors refused to release her, unless she had someone to care for her. Her relationship with Tim had become so unhealthy because of his jealousy of anything that took her attention away from him. She had been cut off from all of her friends for years. The only one who stood by her and refused to be ignored was Cami, and that is why she contacted her when she needed help.
Not ready to say the words out loud Jo stood up and began pacing the room. Tey watched her as she nervously wrung her hands and then muttered to herself. If it were not so apparently serious, he would have laughed at how cute she was when she was worried.
“Whatever it is, just say it, I guarantee it will not change anything for me. We can work out whatever we have to in order to make this work.” Tey said quietly.
Jo snorted and finally stopped and looked at the gorgeous man. She actually wanted this to work. She had met this man no more than an hour ago, and she felt a strong pull toward him. She wanted to try to see where this was going to lead her. It was crazy that she barely knew the man and yet here she was thinking about the future. Taking another deep breath, she started to tell him her story.
“When I was younger my father was an alcoholic. My mom avoided the whole thing by finding things to keep her away from the house. Because of that, I was the one who had to take care of him when he passed out, or go and get him when he was arrested. I got so tired of it, I ran away when I was seventeen. I went to Chicago and worked my way through a community college. That is where I met Tim. I was so happy about getting out of my house that I never even saw what was coming.” Jo said and looked at Tey, who was nodding and encouraging her to continue. “I thought we were happy. When I look back on it, of course I realize that there were signs. Like, I never asked him to move in, he just did. And when he would make plans for us without asking, I would have to cancel anything I was doing in order to make him happy. He became possessive and then abusive.”
Tey growled and was ready to find that asshole for daring to put his hands on his mate.
Jo looked up in surprise and then laughed.
“That will take some getting used to. What"s with the Scooby impression?” She asked.
“Nothing, continue.” Tey smiled.
“Okay, well it took me a few broken bones and a lot of counseling before I realized that if I did not leave him, he was going to kill me.” She whispered. Tey growled again. “I moved into my own apartment and was getting back on my feet. Tim was pissed, but he would never do something in front of other people, and I always made sure someone was with me. I had a good security system in my new apartment, and I guess I just never thought he would keep trying to get me. Six months ago, after a party for my first book, I was walking home, and there he was. He beat me within an inch of my life. I really thought I was going to die. When I woke up, the cops said, I had been mugged. I tried to tell them that Tim was the one
who did it, but he had an alibi, his loser friend who probably stood and watched. I had a list of injuries a mile long, but the worst is when they told me I would probably never have children.” She said and looked at the man sitting in front of her.
“Okay, but you are recovered?” Tey said trying to keep the rage in check. He could feel his teeth getting longer and his hands clench as he tried to control his change. That would not be good; in the mood, he was in, Tey would scare the shit out of his mate and then hunt the asshole down and tear his throat out.
“Yes, but you understand what I am saying. I cannot have kids. I understand if you want to find someone else. Who wants a defective mate?” She said sadly. Jo had been dealing with the feeling of emptiness at the thought of being childless. She had always dreamed she would have a little girl or boy she would take care of and spoil, as she never had been as a child. Tears started to gather and slip down her cheeks.
Tey stood up and growled again. His mate was distressed and he did not like it. “I don"t care about that. You do not understand the whole mate thing. You were chosen for me.
I do not get another chance at finding my mate, you are it. I do not care if you can have kids or not. We will figure it out. Wolves mate for life, and now that I"ve found you, I will never let you go.” He said and stood in front of her and gently took her face in his hands and raised her face until she was looking at him. Tey wiped the tears with his thumbs and gently kissed both of her eyes that were red and puffy already. Jo always hated when she cried. She was not a pretty crier like some women.
“Stop.” She said not wanting him to be so sweet. She still thought he would change his mind after a few years when he wanted children, and she was unable to provide one.
Then what? She would be left in the cold, and he would find another woman who could provide him with what he needed. She would not be able to stand that type of rejection.