Page 6 of Love Bites Hard (Mated to the King #2)

six

IZZY

I took a long bath before curling up in bed. I’d locked the door, but assumed that Porter had a key and could get in easily enough.

My sisters had texted me again, but I didn’t answer them.

There wasn’t much to say.

I’d screwed my mate, and it was amazing, but he was still an angry bastard who I genuinely didn’t want to share my life with. Period.

So, I just closed my eyes and let myself drift off. Like all parasitic magical beings, I couldn’t sleep well without a coffin of sorts to make me feel safe. We called them canopy beds, with a lid of sorts that could raise and lower to let us in and out.

But, I would try to sleep anyway.

After tossing and turning all night, I finally gave up on sleep around 5 AM. The sun wasn’t up yet, and wouldn’t be for a while.

And my mate?

He hadn’t come to bed.

I had no idea where he’d been, who he’d been with, or what he’d been doing. All night.

Which was just fantastic .

Our traded threats the night before were far from a guarantee that he wasn’t actually going to cheat on me, so that didn’t feel great.

I ran a hand over my face and grabbed my phone off the side table. The battery was lingering at a solid 17%, so it still had a little juice left.

There were a bunch more texts from my sisters, and a few missed calls.

Though Avery was the one I usually turned to when I needed to talk, I hit the button to call Blair back. She was the only one with a mate, which made her much easier to talk to about this shit.

She answered immediately. “Hey, Iz. Are you okay?”

“I think so.” I sat up, making myself comfortable with a few pillows behind my back, and tugged my fingers through my hair. When they caught on the knots, I winced.

I should’ve brushed it out after my bath the night before, but laziness had prevailed. And tossing and turning hadn’t helped anything.

After a beat of hesitation, I blurted the question on my mind. “Don’t men usually want to sleep with their mates? Not just for the sex—but for the actual sleeping? Wasn’t that a big deal for Hale?”

“Yeah, he won’t sleep without me,” she agreed. “I don’t know if it applies to all mated men. Want me to ask him?”

“I don’t know. Maybe?”

“Maybe, or yes?”

“Yes,” I admitted reluctantly. “I’m kind of scared Porter’s going to cheat on me or something. He said he won’t, but…”

“But you don’t trust him.”

“No.”

“You just met him, and you don’t know him. I think not trusting him is fair. He’ll have to earn your trust if he wants it.”

Her words eased some of the tension in my shoulders. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Okay, I just got to the office. Let me ask Damian about the sleep thing and I’ll call you back.”

“Alright. Thanks.”

“Of course.” She hung up, and I dropped the back of my head against the wood behind me.

Closing my eyes, I let out a long breath.

The pack’s voices were still running through my head, but they were a little quieter and more subdued.

A kid was playing tag with a bunch of other little wolves.

Someone was washing their hair, singing along passionately to a pop song that played.

As small group of men and women were gathered together, arguing about whether or not I was a suitable mate for their new alpha and if the pack would be better off with me dead.

That last one had me jerking upright, my eyes widening.

I tried to focus on that person, but my phone rang again, distracting me. The distraction pulled me too far, and I couldn’t find them again.

Letting out a soft groan, I answered my phone.

Suddenly, whether or not Porter wanted to sleep with me didn’t seem to matter.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey. Damian says it’s a security thing, and nearly all mated men should feel the same way about it. It’s pretty much impossible for a guy to sleep without his mate next to him after he’s bound to her. I didn’t tell him that you asked, by the way—just in case you wanted to keep it a secret. If he asks, I don’t want to lie to him, though.”

“It’s fine, you can tell him.” I tugged my fingers through my hair again, still wincing. “So you think if a mated guy didn’t sleep by his mate, he didn’t sleep at all?”

“Probably not,” she agreed.

Damn.

I reached out to Porter’s mind, trying to do so carefully so he wouldn’t feel my intrusion.

He was focused on the forest around him; he was running.

Had he been running all night?

He couldn’t have, could he?

I’d have to pay attention if he didn’t sleep next to me again the next time I went to bed.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” Blair checked.

“I don’t know.” I closed my eyes. “Apparently, wolves screw their mates in public to claim them.”

Blair sucked in a breath.

“Yeah. There’s this gazebo in the forest. He closed the curtains over it, so no one could see us, but I’m sure they could hear.”

“Holy shit. Did he force you?”

I laughed softly. “No. He wouldn’t. I don’t think so, at least. He definitely didn’t have to. It was fucking incredible. Mated wolf sex is not like normal siren sex.”

“But he didn’t sleep with you afterward?”

“No.” I bit my lip. “He carried me back to the Manor and left. I haven’t seen him since.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. I don’t know what to do, now. Or what to think. Or even how to feel. I usually have an idea, but I’m freaking clueless. What’s my next move here?”

“Well, what’s the pack like?”

“Some of them love me. They gave me presents. Chocolate, a bath bomb, and a vibrator.”

Blair snorted. “So it’s heaven.”

“Right?” My lips curved upward just a little, but my smile faded. “I think some of them want me dead, too.”

“Well, that’s not good.”

“Nope.”

“Do they respect or fear Porter enough not to try to hurt you? Is he doing anything to try to get them under control?”

“I have no idea.”

“Then I think that’s your next move. Figure out the situation. Learn how much of the pack wants you dead, and how much of it loves you. Decide whether or not Porter can remove that risk.”

“Okay, I can do that.” I’d need to focus on the pack bond. If I spent enough time submerged in it, I could decide where to go from there. “If he can’t remove the risk…”

“Then you leave,” Blair said simply. “Not everyone at Vamp Manor likes sirens, but they fear or respect Damian enough that we’re safe here. If Porter can’t make that happen for you, you’ll come back. If he tries to keep you there, we’ll break you out.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m your sister. No thanks required. Do they have a pool there?”

“No, but there’s a lake.”

“Oooh. I want a lake.”

“I’m sure if you tell Hale, he’ll figure out a way to make you one.”

Blair laughed. “Or he’ll just fuck me in the pool until I decide I’m fine without it.”

I snorted. “TMI.”

Despite my remark, I couldn’t hide my smile. It was good to hear her happy. She’d struggled with feeding our entire lives, so I was glad she was finally healthy, happy, and safe.

“Sorry! Love you. Call me soon, okay?”

“Alright. Love you too. Bye.”

I hung up, dropping my phone on my bed and forming a plan in my mind.

I gave myself two more minutes to stay in bed before I forced myself to get up and moving.

There was shit to do.

An hour later, I’d grabbed a plate of food from the buffet-style cafeteria the pack ran, accepted a few more presents (many of which were sex toys), retrieved the gifts from the night before, dropped all of said presents back in my room, and finally headed out on my way to the lake.

Despite my uncertainty about my mating situation, the people in the pack who did seem to like me really liked me. Which was nice. I definitely couldn’t complain.

Thanks to them, I had a hand-drawn map to the lake. And a basket of snacks to leave next to the water, in case I decided to make my swim a long one. And a stack of towels. And a brush, plus a bunch of hair ties.

All of that, on top of a dozen vibrators and dildos. Porter would’ve been pissed, but he would’ve had to actually be there to care.

A guy I’d met in the cafeteria had even offered to French-braid my hair. I usually had to ask Zora or Clem to do it when I wanted it done, so I accepted without hesitation. It was a little uncomfortable to have some random man’s hands in my hair, but absolutely worth making my day easier by getting my hair out of my face.

I headed out and walked down the paved path like I’d been instructed. My basket of snacks was hanging from my elbow, and my towel was draped over my shoulder. My hair was tied back in two surprisingly-perfect French braids, and all I had on was the same black, sporty bikini I’d been wearing the day before.

When I reached a branch in the road, I paused and squinted down at the napkin that held my map, trying to decide which way to go.

Considering I’d spent most of my life hiding from magical beings who’d want to use me for my magic, I was a shitty navigator.

A shadow caught my attention as it stretched over me a minute later, and I looked over to see who it belonged to.

When I saw a tall, blond guy who looked kind of like Curtis had, my stomach clenched. There was a band around his throat that marked him as mated, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t part of the group that wanted me dead.

He grinned. “Hey, I’m Evan.”

Oh.

It was Kim’s fiancé. One of Porter’s closest friends.

On second glance, the mark on his neck was the dark blue of an unsealed bond.

“Hi,” I said. There was no point in keeping my name a secret anymore, since Porter clearly knew it. “I’m Izzy.”

He sniffed the air. “Why do you smell like Arthur Long?”

“Some guy braided my hair for me. His name might’ve been Arthur. There were a so many people, their names went in one ear and out the other.”

“Porter’s not going to like that,” Evan warned, stepping up closer to me and sniffing the air above me. His lips twisted in a grimace. “ Definitely not going to like that.”

“Porter’s been out all night doing who knows what with who knows who, so he doesn’t get a say.”

Evan snagged the napkin from my fingers, and I bit back a huff. “Trying to find the lake?”

“Yeah. I’m shit with maps.”

“Whoever drew this forgot to include this intersection. Left takes you toward the other entrance into Wolf Manor. Right takes you toward the sidewalk that wraps around the other wings too. Straight takes you deeper into the forest, so it’s the default choice for a wolf.”

“Maybe I’m not as bad with maps as I thought.”

“Only time will tell. Do you have a pen?”

I dug through my snack basket, handing it over when I found one.

The people who loved me were prepared for anything.

I kinda loved them too.

He held the napkin against his palm as he added a few more roads to it, along with labels as to where they went. When he handed it back, I snapped a picture with my phone, then stuck it back in the basket.

“Thanks,” I said, heading straight again.

I expected Evan to walk the other way, but he kept pace with me. Considering his long-ass legs, it wasn’t difficult for him.

“You should have someone with you all of the time until we get the pack settled. We’re still making our way through the people who were loyal to Curtis. Some of them who aren’t willing to follow Porter are being removed from the pack, and killed if they pose a threat,” Evan said. “I thought Kim was putting together your bodyguard rotation. She must’ve forgotten.”

“Is Porter helping with that? Last I checked, he was in the forest.”

“His help isn’t necessary at this point.”

“If some of Hale’s vampires were working against him, he would personally hunt them down and kill them,” I said matter-of-factly.

I may not have liked living with the vampires, but I paid attention. Hale was directly involved in everything that mattered. If Blair had been at risk, she wouldn’t have left his side.

That obviously wasn’t the case with Porter and me.

“The pack is a family,” Evan said. “We trust each other to take care of business. Porter trusts us.”

“He doesn’t want to be involved, does he?”

Evan let out a slow breath. “Not particularly.”

Yeah.

That was what I thought.

“We both know he’s only here because he wanted a siren mate—even if I’m not sure why he did. Can the pack ever be safe if the alpha doesn’t actually want to run it?” I asked bluntly.

“Considering our situation before he came here, it’s already significantly safer. Even if he leaves us to do everything else, we’re not being controlled by a dictator anymore, and no one can take him down in a challenge. That’s good enough for us.”

“Is it?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t reply to that.

It didn’t sound good enough to me.

“Why do you think he wanted to mate with a siren?” I asked Evan, when he still didn’t leave.

“I probably shouldn’t say,” he said.

“Then I probably shouldn’t stay here,” I tossed back, my anger flaring. “My mate is off somewhere in the forest while people in his pack are trying to decide if and how they should kill me. Does that sound like a safe situation to be in? I agreed to mate with him—I didn’t agree to sacrifice my life because he’s too fucking lazy to get his pack in order.”

“It’s not laziness . Porter has been in a very dark place ever since he lost his family. If he could pull himself out of it, he would, but he can’t. Honestly, I think he mated with you because he thinks it’s his only shot at making his way back to who he used to be.”

“Then why isn’t he with me?”

“I imagine coming back from hell hurts.”

“Then he needs to rip off the band-aid and get it over with.”

Evan snorted. “If he was himself, he’d be fucking obsessed with you.”

“Considering I slept alone last night, that clearly isn’t the case.”

Evan nodded. “You want to know what I think?”

“Enlighten me,” I drawled.

He flashed me another, smaller grin. “I think he needs a distraction. And you’re the perfect solution.”

“I’m his mate , not his distraction .”

“Right. And there’s one easy way to distract a mated man.”

We continued walking.

I wasn’t sure I liked Evan. He definitely seemed to be on Porter’s side, not mine.

“I am not going to try to seduce him. He ditched me right after he screwed me in front of his pack,” I reminded him.

“Not his best move, but hear me out. I’m not talking about seduction—I’m talking about jealousy.”

My forehead creased. “How am I going to make him jealous? He’s nowhere near me, and he knows I’m his.”

“The pack link. I’ll mention Arthur doing your hair. It’ll piss him off, and he’ll come running back. When he gets here, he’ll smell Arthur in your hair, and he won’t let you out of his sight for a while. As soon as he tries to leave, we’ll figure out another way to make him jealous, to drag him back.”

“That sounds like a good way to get Arthur murdered.”

Evan grinned. “I’ll tell him what’s going on and hide him away until Porter’s anger has died down. He’ll be on board with it. This is going to be perfect.”

“I’m headed out for a swim. If Porter doesn’t find me before I get in the water, it’s going to be too late. I’m not waiting around for that asshole.”

“He’ll beat you to the lake,” Evan said without hesitation. “You’ve got a thirty-minute walk, and he’ll be racing back here like hell is on his heels.”

“We’ll see,” I said, continuing forward as Evan stayed back.

“Just follow the map, and you’ll find it easily. I have work to do, so I’ll send someone I trust to follow you for your protection. Tell me what happens when he catches you.”

“I don’t have your phone number,” I called over my shoulder, when he started jogging away.

“Use the pack link!”

Right.

The pack link.

I reached out to Evan mentally, and found him with ease . “If this blows up in my face, I’m blaming you.”

He chuckled. “Go ahead. Porter’s lost too many people to kill me.”

The words made my throat swell, but I forced myself to keep walking.

Losing people hurt like hell, but it wasn’t an excuse for the way my mate had treated me. So, I wasn’t going to excuse him for it. No matter how jealous Evan made him.