Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Alpha’s Forced Mate Chapter 23

Blake

An odd sense of finality hung in the air as I walked into my grandma's suite. Lush cushions of salmon pink and yellow fur throws came into view as I passed through the living area. The setup was similar to mine with the only differences being the colors, choice of decor, and size. "Wow," Veronica whispered. "Your grandmother sure is..."

"Bright?"

She giggled. "Yeah, that's one word for it."

"Pink and yellow have always been her thing."

"That's shocking, considering she looks like a bog witch."

A cackle broke through my exhaustion and filled the space around us. Delirium settled in as the chuckles faded and I swayed slightly, catching myself on the mantel.

Veronica rushed to my side. "Take it easy."

"You take it easy, gorgeous."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't suppose your grandmother has a potion hidden in here for vitality, does she?"

"I don't know. Check the kitchen."

She blinked. "There's a...kitchen in here?"

I chortled as I slid my arm around her waist. "Come on, sweet rose. I'll show you around."

The suite was impressive even by my standards. Double the size of the usual ones, Mamaw had an entire home to herself that was situated on the third floor's east wing. Multiple levels rose above us in an expansive display of bookshelves housing small balconies where she could read. Who knew what she kept up there?

Probably a lifetime of memories.

Veronica whistled as we wandered into a sizable kitchen. "I can't believe it."

"Well, there's plenty stocked up from Regina. Take your pick."

She tightened her robe while giving me a concerned frown. "Blake, you need to sit down. You really put all your energy into fighting."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine. You're struggling to stand."

She caught me before I could tumble to the ground. While dragging me over to the nearest chair, I sensed her hesitation, a striking vibration that made me nauseous. I cupped her face as she tried to drift away.

"You're worried about something," I pointed out.

She sighed heavily. "I'm worried about you, Blake."

"No, it's something else." I squinted up at her, studying the pools of hazel-yellow flecked with storm clouds. The colors swirled together to create an iridescent shade of honey.

Like the poison.

My eyes widened. "Does it still hurt?"

"What?"

"The toxin in your system."

She shook her head. "I don't feel it anymore. I just feel..." She rubbed her arm. "I don't know."

"You're worried."

"So you've said."

She floated to the fridge and inspected the contents. After checking each shelf, she grabbed two small vials and extended one to me. "This should heal us faster."

She popped the cork, clinked her vial against mine, and then chugged it.

This woman was covered in battle scars, dirt, blood, and a medley of other unspeakable things, her voluptuous frame barely covered by a pale pink robe that cut low into her cleavage. Her lovely hips invited my gaze while her fiery hair recaptured my attention every time she moved.

Hardly damaged. Certainly more powerful than she gave herself credit for.

I had never been more in love in my life.

"You're staring," she groaned. "It's rude."

"I'm not sorry about it."

She plucked the cork from my vial and tilted it toward my lips. "Drink, you idiot."

Affection poured from my heart as I consumed the potion. Within minutes, my vitality had returned, a fresh awakening that made me want to get up and move around. I kept my robe tied as I drifted into an adjoining powder room and toward the massive shower. The knob creaked when I turned it.

Veronica stood in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest.

"You're protecting yourself," I observed without looking in her direction. "You're still worried about what you have to tell me."

Her breath hitched. "I thought you forgot."

"I told you to tell me after the battle, didn't I?" I teased. I dropped the robe and stepped into the hot stream of water. "So, tell me."

My mate stared at me as if I had just sprouted three heads. While soothing hot water flushed my body, I turned around, exposing every inch of my muscular form to her. Another few minutes was all it took for her to join me. She hugged me from behind, her slender fingers working circles into my pecks.

The way she felt pressed against me was beyond compare. Nothing could ruin this moment.

Except for the memory of her attempted assassination.

"Would you do it?" I hissed. "Would you still kill me?"

She shuddered. "I couldn't."

"I don't know if I believe you."

"Then, why did you mate with me? Why are you going through with the rest of the ritual?"

It was a perfectly reasonable question. What didn't make sense was why I didn't believe her at all. There was a part of me deep down, a miniature piece of my wolf, that suspected she had been waiting this whole time to get me alone and vulnerable. Was this it? Now that we were alone without any cameras to capture our movements?

I bowed my head. "Because I love you, Veronica. And I think if I wanted anyone to kill me, it would have to be you."

She sucked air into her lungs and held it for a long time. For several seconds, the only sound around us was the rush of water shooting from the spout, the sound of it raining on the tiles beneath our feet, and the dynamic beat of our hearts. Their rhythmic drum immediately became one.

When I closed my eyes, I felt the threads connecting us. Not one. Not two. Several. What bound us was far more than a couple of ropes and common interests. It was fate herself. It was the very bones of the universe that created this structure. Nothing could rip us apart. Not even death.

"The first time you came for me," I whispered. "Did you fail because you knew?"

She tightened her arms around me. "I don't know, Blake."

"Was it because you weren't up for the challenge?" I turned around and pressed my forehead to hers until she was backed against the tile wall. "Or was it because, deep down, you knew you weren't a killer?"

Her chest heaved as unshed tears billowed in her eyes. She stared at me while I traced her hips, watching the way her breasts rose and fell with each breath without breaking eye contact. Her heart bulged in her chest. Her carotid artery throbbed.

And as much as it was fear, it was lust too. It was pure arousal. It was our connection overwhelming every other thought, anxiety, fear, and assumption. None of those things could prevail with a connection like ours.

How could those things win when love was the most powerful force in the entire universe?

"Why are you doing it, Nica?" I whispered huskily. "Why are you mating with me when you don't know why you failed to kill me?"

Her eyes glistened with admiration. "Because you forgave me the moment you found out."

"I never said-"

"You didn't have to say it." Her hand fell to my chest where my heartbeat doubled. "All you did was feel it."

My spirit swelled with devotion. "Sweet rose..."

"I was supposed to try again, but I never did. I couldn't do it. I didn't want your family to suffer another loss."

A grating texture had settled in my throat. I swallowed repeatedly to get rid of it.

"Your mother, she..." Veronica hiccupped. "She's such a sweet woman. She cares about you. And I care about you too." She shivered. "And you clearly care about her. That makes me care even more."

My lips ached. Why hadn't she kissed me yet? I just wanted to taste her on my mouth.

She smiled weakly. "You're so impatient. Yet you're so patient with me."

Can she feel how much I want her? I thought. Can she sense my feelings?

She nodded. "I just know now. And..." She put a few inches of space between us, peering between our bodies. Her hand rested on her stomach. "I'm doing this because I want you to be a father to our child."

The news struck me.

A father? To our child?

I caught myself against the wall. "What did you just say?"

"Blake, I'm pregnant."

"How did-? When did-?" I laughed once, a crazed sound, feeling both panic and joy at the same time. "You're kidding."

She grinned deviously while peering up at me. "Do I look like I'm joking, Blake?"

A million different feelings circled through my system at once. All I could think about was what my child would look like-how our child would be. What kind of personality would they have? What kind of name would they want when they were old enough to choose? How would we determine the next heir? Would we rely entirely on gender?

Veronica caressed my face. "Come on, champ. Stop thinking so hard. You're making me dizzy with all those questions."

"I can't help it. I just want to be prepared."

"I'm barely in my first month here. We have all the time in the world to prepare."

I shook my head as a mischievous grin stole my lips. "No, we need to start thinking about it now. Names, clothes, colors, designs." I flipped around to face the shower stream. "Crap, we have to clean up and get ready for this ritual."

We sprang into action, grabbing bars of soap and scrubbing each other generously. Laughter erupted while we struggled to clean each other. We rinsed and kissed our way out of the shower, stumbling toward the counter where towels waited for us. My head was still spinning by the time we got back to the powder room.

A series of bottles sat on the shelf near the mirror. Instructions were propped up near the sink. It seemed my grandmother had been planning for this to happen whether we were sure or not-or maybe she had just wanted to be prepared. The truth was that it didn't matter which was true.

I was just excited to start a family.

Rose oil was the first on the list. It made me laugh to see the name and I couldn't help chuckling while grabbing the bottle from the shelf.

"What?" Veronica asked. "Don't laugh at me."

She covered her breasts self-consciously.

I shook my head while approaching her. "Don't hide. You're gorgeous. I'm laughing because this is rose oil."

She smirked bashfully and slowly dropped her arms. "What a coincidence."

"I knew your scent when you first got here."

I dipped my fingers into the oil while she looked up at me with a concerned look. "What do you mean?"

"The rose and powder scent," I explained as I dragged my fingers over her chest. I glanced back at the instructions to get the right symbol. "It was all I could smell on you."

"Really?"

I nodded while drawing a circle with a line going through it horizontally. "You're my earth, Veronica. That's what this symbol means."

She blinked rapidly to keep herself from crying. "Yeah?"

"And I'll be your sky. If you'll have me that way." I extended the second bottle to her. "This is..." I sniffed the contents. "Mint."

"I like it."

She accepted the bottle and peeked at the instructions, drawing the symbol of a circle with a vertical line through it on my chest. "You're my sky, Blake."

I smiled warmly while tracing her jaw. The way she shivered into my touch-nose first, unabashed and ready to accept me-drove me wild. A renewed desire stole over me then as I cupped her face, keeping her still as my lips sought to make contact with hers. The intoxicating scent of mint and rose swirled in my nostrils. Fingers coated in oil traveled down her arms and rested at her wrists, affectionately locking her in place. As I slid my tongue into her mouth, I sensed her surrender, a soft mewl signaling all the things she wasn't saying-and all the things she felt.

Heat coiled between us as I backed her into the counter. My cock bounced to life, hardening the longer I lingered in her presence. It was surprising that I had lasted this long without becoming aroused. Between her performance on the battlefield and her strength in the face of her previous leader, I should have been drilling her into the ground.

But our bond had tempered my desire. While my wolf desperately wanted her, another part of me had stepped in to make sure my lust stayed in check. This wasn't sheer desperation anymore. This was admiration. This was everything I never thought a bond could be. And it was so much more.

Her hands climbed my back as she hooked her leg over my hip. She rubbed her slit against my cock, warm and wet arousal slicking her movements. Temptation broke me apart as I clung to the counter to contain my need for her, my previous barrier suddenly gone now that we were alone.

Because nothing could stop me from taking her now. Nothing could stop me from properly claiming her. It didn't matter that we had somewhere to be. She was mine. And I was hers. And there was nothing that could ever get in the way of that again.