Page 10 of The Alpha’s Forced Plus-Size Mate (Silverfang Creek Wolves #3)

I padded softly across the hardwood floor, two mugs of coffee warm in my hands. Danny was on guard, but I had a feeling he’d been up much earlier than me, so I’d taken the initiative to figure out his coffee maker and brew us a few cups.

The morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a golden glow that felt almost too serene, given the events of the night before. Outside, the world looked deceptively calm. The dew glistened on the grass, and the soft hum of cicadas rose with the heat of the Georgian morning.

But the stillness was a lie. There had been demons in those woods last night, and they would surely still be there now.

Danny sat in a sturdy leather chair near the front window, his broad shoulders hunched as he cradled a shotgun. Its polished barrel glinted in the light, the etched runes along the stock faintly shimmering. I’d seen similar weapons before—it was undoubtedly loaded with shells that were spelled to kill demons. He didn’t look up as I approached, but the tension in his posture eased just slightly when I set the cup down on the small table beside him.

“Thought you might need this,” I said, settling into the chair next to him and taking my first sip. I’d added cinnamon and cream and hummed in appreciation.

Danny looked at me then, the noise enough to get his full attention. There was a warmth in his eyes, somewhere underneath all the concern that was riding him. “Thanks,” he sighed, his fingers brushing mine as he reached for the mug.

I sank into the chair opposite him, casting a glance at the other man in the room, sitting at the walnut dining table behind us. Danny had introduced us when I first came downstairs—his name was Saul Church, and he was the Red Canine’s resident witch. His dark hair was streaked with silver, and he had the kind of angular, sharp-boned face that always seemed to be scrutinizing the world around him. Tattoos covered his arms, runic designs that glowed faintly when he muttered incantations under his breath. His eyes—so pale blue they were almost white—met mine briefly before flicking back to the notebook on the table in front of his. I had dropped a cup of coffee off near him before pouring mine and Danny’s but it sat untouched still.

He creeped me out a little. The Silverfang Creek witch was much less—strange. She could pass for a normal person, but Saul seemed to be leaning heavily into the witchy identity.

“How was the guest room?” Danny asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. The question made my cheeks warm, and I hid the blush by raising my mug up for a drink. Danny had made it all too clear last night that I’d be welcomed in his bedroom with him if I so desired.

The worst part was that I DID desire it, but doing so made me feel stupid. So I stubbornly slept in the guest room, all too aware that he was right down the hall the entire time. Laying in the same bed I had been in when I woke up from my kidnapping had settled my libido some, but seeing Danny in the morning light, ready to protect us, brought it back in full force.

“I did,” I admitted, feeling the weight of his gaze as I continued. “It was—nice. Did you sleep okay?”

“I could have slept better. Felt like something was missing.” Danny didn’t elaborate, but his lips twitched like he was holding back some sarcastic remark. I huffed, refocusing on the view in front of us.

From where we sat, the front yard looked untouched, peaceful even. The trees swayed gently in the breeze, their leaves fat and green, only a few of them starting to change for fall. A handful of birds flitted past the window, their chirps happy and at ease, as if there weren’t demons lurking in the shadows.

“They shouldn’t have come this far,” Saul muttered, finally breaking the silence. He tapped his pen against the page, his brows furrowed. “Demons don’t just wander into werewolf territory without reason.”

“What reason could they possibly have?” I asked, turning toward him.

Saul’s pale eyes flicked up sharply. “That’s the question, isn’t it?”

Danny grunted, setting the shotgun down across his lap. “I don’t care why they’re here. I just care about making sure they don’t come back.”

“Bold of you to think it’s that simple,” Saul said, his tone laced with dry amusement.

Danny shot him a glare, but before he could retort, Saul continued, “They were drawn here. Something—someone—brought them close. If we don’t figure out what, we’re going to be sitting ducks.”

I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. The warmth of the coffee lingering on my fingertips wasn’t enough to dispel the chill creeping up my spine. I had no idea why the Red Canine s would be the target of demon activity, but they weren’t the only ones. I wasn’t high in the pack hierarchy back home, so I only got information as it filtered through the pack grapevine, but even I knew that demonic activity had kicked up around the country. Maybe this was random, or maybe—

Maybe the Red Canine’s Alpha getting ready to take a mate had set off alarm bells with the demons. Danny and his pack would be stronger if we committed to the mating, but would that really make them—us—a target?

“And what happens if we don’t figure it out in time?” I asked quietly.

Danny’s jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing as he stared out the window. “Then we make damn sure we’re ready for them.”

His certainty should have reassured me, but instead, it only made me more aware of the weight of the danger looming over us. The peaceful morning outside suddenly felt like a fragile illusion, one that could shatter at any moment.

Danny’s voice broke the heavy silence. “Naomi.”

I looked up from my coffee, startled by the intensity of his gaze. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees, the shotgun forgotten at his side. His expression was unguarded, raw in a way that caught me completely off guard. Uh oh, he was about to hit me with something really serious, and I didn’t know if I was ready for it.

“I can’t keep you safe if we don’t do this properly,” he said, his voice firm and leaving no room for argument. “I want to mark you.”

Oh, shit. The words hit me like a bolt of lightning. My heart stuttered, then raced, a quiver rippling through my chest that I didn’t know how to contain. I was hit by a wave of warmth that started at the top of my head and continued all the way through the tips of my toes.

“Mark me? Do you mean—bite me? The mating bite?”

“To protect you,” he said quickly, almost like he needed to explain before I could shut him down. “The demons—they’ll know you’re mine, that you’re under my protection. They’ll think twice before coming after you again.”

My heart twisted. For all his dominance, all his rough edges, there was something undeniably vulnerable in the way he looked at me now. He wasn’t demanding or ordering. He was asking. Up until this point, everything with Danny had been on his schedule—forcing me to come to him, planning our wedding, all of it. But now, he was giving me control of one of the most important decisions either of us would ever make, and it was shaking me to my core.

Could I trust him? He saved my life last night, so why would this be any different? It was just another way of protecting me, wasn’t it?

I thought of the Silverfang Creek, of the pack I’d left behind. I’d convinced myself that they would come for me, that they would sweep in and take me away from the evil Red Canine’s Alpha and his suffocating grip. They still hadn’t arrived, but it didn’t offend me as much as I thought it would. In the quiet corner of my mind, a startling truth began to take shape: I didn’t think of Danny as evil anymore. Not by a long shot.

He wasn’t what I’d expected, but he was something else entirely—someone who fought for me, who stood by me when he didn’t have to. And as much as I hated to admit it, the idea of going back to the Silverfangs felt—hollow.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “So, this—mating ritual,” I began, my words measured. “It would protect me from them?”

Danny nodded, his eyes never leaving mine. “It would bind us together. You’d be under my protection and the protection of the pack completely.”

It didn’t sound terrible or like I’d be losing my identity completely. I knew other mated couples, but I’d never been present for the ritual itself. The thought of it made my blood run hot.

“I—I think we should do it,” I said, the decision slipping from my lips before I could second-guess myself. It definitely wasn’t just a reason for me to get closer to Danny like I’d been secretly craving. No, the mating ritual was something I had to do.

Or at least that was what I was going to tell myself so I didn’t feel too guilty for giving in to him so easily.

Danny’s breath hitched, his gray eyes darkening with something I couldn’t name. He sat up straighter, his presence impossibly more commanding. He reached out, and I gave him my hand, loving the way he swept his thumb across my knuckles.

“You can have some time to decide if you need it. Not long—but I wasn’t going to force an answer from you right here and now.”

“I’ve decided,” I replied, squeezing his hand. “I need the protection, Danny. And maybe—” My voice faltered as I searched for the words. “Maybe it’s not the worst thing.”

A genuine smile bloomed over his face. God, he was so handsome that it made my stomach do flips. He was everything that I shouldn’t want, but I really, really did.

“Then we’ll do it.” He raised my hand to his lip and kissed the back of it, his lips lingering a moment longer than normal. It was such a gentlemanly gesture that it was almost comical coming from the rough-and-tumble biker Alpha, but the emotion behind it was real.

And for the first time, the thought of being bound to Danny didn’t feel like a cage. I could make the choice myself, and that seemed to make all the difference.

Saul leaned back in his chair, his pale eyes steady as he regarded the two of us. “The ritual is simple in concept, but it holds deep significance for our kind. It’s rooted in tradition, in instinct.”

“I’ve seen it done before, but I have to admit I’ve never looked too closely into the ritual itself.” Danny rubbed his scruffy chin in thought. “Can you explain it a little more so Naomi and I both know what we’re getting into?”

Saul nodded, and Danny and I stood, walking over to join Saul at the dining table so he didn’t have to keep looking back to speak to us. “Naomi will wear a doe mask, a symbol of the hunted. At dusk, she’ll be taken to the woods and directed toward a torchlit camp. Her task is to run toward the light between the trees. Danny, you’ll shift into wolf form and give chase.”

My breath hitched at the word chase, and my heart beat faster as Saul’s voice pressed on, steady and calm. I could envision it, fleeing through the darkened trees, breathing hard, my hunter hot on my heels. It made a heat burn low in my belly.

“If Danny catches you before you reach the torch, you’ll consummate your bond, and then he’s to mark you with a bite on your neck. That mark will seal your bond and announce you as his mate. But if you make it to the torch untouched—” Saul’s voice trailed off, his expression hardening.

I didn’t need him to finish. I already knew. Female wolves were told about the dangers of being shunned as soon as we were old enough to understand. “I’ll be shunned. I know.”

Saul nodded. “Yes. The pack will see it as a rejection of the bond. It’s rare, but it has happened.”

What none of us said was that it was common knowledge that most female wolves would take a dive and fake an injury to ensure that their mates catch them. It was embarrassing, sure, but worth it to make sure that they’re caught. After all, most of them wanted nothing more than to be caught and marked.

Would I fall to let Danny catch me? I—I think I would. There was no reason to lie to myself anymore. But one look at Danny, the muscles rippling in his arms, told me that he’d probably have no issue catching me. He kept telling me that he was fast, and I believed him.

Danny made a low sound in his throat, a growl that had goosebumps rising up on my skin. “She’s not making it to the torch.”

The words were final, absolute. My stomach churned, a strange mix of fear and arousal. I imagined him catching me over and over, and I had to shake my head to dispel the image before I became too fixated on it.

Saul stood, dusting his hands as if the weight of the ritual had been transferred to us. “Then it is decided. The ritual will take place at dusk. You’ll both wear robes in earthy tones to blend with the forest. Naomi, you’ll be masked to embrace the role of the hunted. Danny, you’ll shift as soon as she begins to run.” He looked between us, his gaze lingering on Danny. “You understand what’s at stake.”

Danny nodded once, his jaw tight. “I do.”

With that, Saul left the room, leaving me alone with Danny in the heavy silence. Finally, I managed to squeak out, “Tonight?”

A hint of amusement passed over Danny’s face, but he still looked so serious. Maybe the most serious I’d ever seen him. “There’s no time to waste. Not when it comes to keeping you safe.”

I stared at my hands, trying to process what had just been decided. The image of myself running through the woods, barefoot and vulnerable, with Danny in wolf form chasing me, wouldn’t leave my mind. What Saul didn’t say was that I’d be completely nude beneath my robe, bare and ripe for the taking. The thought made my skin tingle in a way I couldn’t explain.

“You’re okay with this?” Danny asked, breaking the silence.

I looked up, startled by the gentleness in his tone. We both knew there was really no other choice, but I could tell he wasn’t interested in forcing me to do the ritual. Danny actually cared about what I wanted. Had that happened to me before, ever, with anyone?

His gray eyes searched my face for an answer I wasn’t sure I could give. But I had to give him something. Silence wasn’t going to protect me from the demons that had inexplicably shown up in Danny’s territory.

“I think so.”

His gaze lingered on mine for a moment longer, then he nodded, his expression unreadable once more. “Good.”

I wanted to hate his confidence, but I couldn’t. Instead, I felt a strange flutter in my chest, like my wolf was already preparing for the chase. The thought terrified me, but it thrilled me, too.

I tried to tell myself it was just instinct, just some primal reaction to the ritual. But as I glanced at Danny again, his broad shoulders tense and his hands clenched into fists, I knew that wasn’t the truth.

It wasn’t just instinct. It was him. I wanted Danny. I hungered for him so badly that it felt like I had been starving for his touch much longer than the days we’d spent together.

I wanted him to catch me, bite me, take me. And that realization scared me most of all.

***

There was so little time to prepare that I almost chickened out, but if I’d learned anything the past few days, it was that Danny was going to find me no matter how far I ran. Instead, I waited until I knew Danny was in his bedroom alone, and knocked on the door.

He answered, and looked surprised to see me. “Naomi?”

“Can we talk?” I blurted out.

Confused, Danny stepped aside and let me into his room. It was decorated in forest green and black, and his scent surrounded me like a warm blanket. Everything about Danny, the supposedly evil, dangerous Alpha, made me feel that way—comforted.

“What is it?” he asked, watching as I sat on the edge of his bed and lowered my head to my hands. “Are you having second thoughts?”

“No. It’s not that. It’s just—” I swallowed hard, and looked up at him. “Danny, if we weren’t in danger, would you still want to have the mating ceremony this quickly? We barely know each other—right?”

He didn’t sit on the bed next to me, but instead knelt in front of me and took my hands in his. “Do you really feel that way? Like we barely know each other?”

I shook my head. “No, and that’s ridiculous, isn’t it? How can I feel like I know you so well, like you’re—you're—”

“A part of you?” Danny smiled slowly, his teeth bright white against his tanned skin. “It’s because I am, Naomi. Just like you’re a part of me. We’re mates. Two sides of the same coin. Soulmates, if you want to use the human term.”

I sniffled, but turned my head, the expression in his gray eyes so powerful that it made me nervous. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Naomi, I would have agreed to the mating ceremony within hours of your pack witch pulling those rose petals out of the cauldron.” His thumbs swept over the sensitive skin of my inner wrists, and I shivered. “The fact that we had time to get to know each other will just make it all the sweeter.”

He sounded so confident, so sure, that my fears started to melt away. All except one of them. “But what if you don’t catch me?”

Danny’s hands cupped my face, and he pressed his forehead against mine. When he spoke, there was a lot of wolf in his voice. “Oh, sweet Naomi. I’m going to catch you, don’t you worry about that.”

Despite how twisted my emotions were, I believed him wholeheartedly. Whether that fact made me feel better or worse, I wasn’t sure.