Page 10 of The Pack Next Door (The Wolfverse #4)

Jace

“What the hell happened with Gideon?” Mads said as we rolled up our street. The taxi driver was trying really hard not to listen in the entire time.

“He worked out who our fated mate is.”

I opened the door and got out, leaving my brother to pay the driver, because as I did so, I heard her. A perfect silvery howl, it had me jogging towards the house, then running into the back garden, the fence the only thing stopping me.

Briar needed us.

The wolf couldn’t explain what her howl meant, just that we were needed, so my shirt was up and over my head, my hands going to my pants to undo the button, when company arrived.

“Is that—?” Mads said, staring at the dark shape of the forest beyond.

“Yes.” Gideon materialised out of the shadows, the freaky prick. “Our mate.”

He said that, then looked at us, like he was announcing something we didn’t know. I shrugged and then shucked off my clothes and shoes, ready to shift, when Mads turned to Gideon.

“What the hell is Briar doing out there if she was with you?” he snapped, getting into Gideon’s face.

I shook my head slowly. Here we go again.

“She was perfectly happy after I brought her home,” Gideon shot back. “I walked her home?—”

My wolf put up with this kind of bullshit most days, but not when our mate was howling for us. He made clear he was coming forth and I could either fight him and lose or just surrender to the inevitable.

“Hey, if you two want to get into a pissing contest right now, that’s fine by me.” Fur prickled across my skin. “But I’m going to find Briar.”

Without looking back, the wolf sprung free, leaping over the back fence and then racing up the hill towards the forest. We wanted to howl, announce that we were coming and that we would do anything to make things better for Briar, but something kept our jaws closed.

We padded through the trees, our wolf eyes turning everything into shades of deep bluish grey to white, right before we came to the clearing.

The wolf sat down on his haunches, letting out a low rumble as he saw her. Head thrown back, the neat lines of her compact body had us staring openly, right up until her cry was cut off abruptly. Golden eyes stared at us, and that’s when I knew it.

It wasn’t just that she was mine. That had hit me hard the moment I set eyes on Briar, but right now?

Her wolf knew that too. Why else would she let out a little chuff, then whirl away, sprinting off into the forest?

My brothers’ wolves appeared beside me, but we didn’t bother acknowledging them.

Our haunches bunched, our paws clawing at the earth as we went tearing after her.

Her wolf knew what her human side didn’t, that we were her mates.

Briar would resist the bond, forcing us to chase after her, but that was the way things worked.

We had to prove ourselves to her. That certainty, that the fates themselves had deemed that she was the one woman in the world for me, was what had my body moving faster, chasing that white tail.

Her wolf looked back over her shoulder, our eyes locking for a moment, right as she jerked sideways.

So it was like that.

Her wolf wanted to test us and that was just fine.

We slid sideways, recovering speed fast before streaking after her.

A toss of her head as she glanced back at me made clear she knew exactly what she was doing.

Pushing me harder, forcing me to chase her, but what would happen when she was caught?

As if to answer that question, my brothers emerged from the forest, blocking her path.

Briar’s wolf came to a sliding stop, whining as she looked at each one of them, then me.

Her little paws danced across the forest floor, looking for a way forward but not finding it.

Two instincts rode her: one to find a way to race away, keep playing this game, and the other? To start a whole new one.

We padded forward, slowly but surely, giving Briar’s wolf plenty of time to adjust to us.

Her nose worked, thrust upwards to breathe us in, drawing in our scent.

We watched her body quiver, all that power kept tamped down for now.

Our jaws opened, and we panted as we drew closer, ready to sprint after her if she broke.

We were unable to take our eyes off her until finally we were close enough to shove our muzzle into her fur.

Gods, had any one person ever smelled so good?

Roses, that’s what I got. The wild rambling ones that grew like weeds along the fence lines at home.

That and something sweet that reminded me of my mother’s cooking.

Vanilla, I thought as we drew our muzzle back.

My brothers’ wolves came closer but much more carefully, trying to get a read on her, before Gideon’s black wolf stepped up to one side.

His head went over her back, a clear sign of dominance, and that’s when Briar exploded.

She leapt to one side, throwing Gideon’s head off and slamming into me for good measure.

When we were off balance, she spun around and faced down Mads.

A snap in the face of his wolf and he fell back, shaking his head, looking befuddled.

If I was in human form, I would’ve burst out laughing, but in wolf form, I attacked.

Wolves play. Betas like to make up stories about us being slavering monsters that steal children in the night, but in reality wolves, all wolves, played.

Part tension release, part continual shift or reinforcement of the pack hierarchy, it had my soul singing.

I was no good at sorting out an unhappy woman’s problems, but play fighting?

I wasn’t raised in a pack of brothers for nothing.

I lunged forward, forcing her to shrink back, but Gideon had recovered.

He nipped harmlessly at her hindquarters, which had her wheeling around to snap at him.

My wolf glanced over at Mads and we nodded, both of us attacking at the same time.

Nipping at her hindquarters had her turning to face us, her jaws snapping, when Gideon threw his front paws over her back, stilling her.

His muzzle snapped around the fur at the base of her neck, gentle, but insistent, and that’s when she went very still.

Not because she was cowed, but because she accepted our presence.

Gideon pulled away slowly, dropping back down to the ground, and Briar’s wolf faced us.

Her tail wagged slowly, then she let out a little whine before taking off again.

This time we ran together.

We were a pack, my wolf was utterly convinced of that.

The moon, the scent of fresh earth, the pine sap of the trees, and her drove out all other thoughts.

We ran for the fun of it, the three of us taking up position around her, protecting her from anything that might get in her way, until finally we came to a river.

When she dropped her head down, we did the same, lapping at the water noisily.

I’d slid into the space right by her right shoulder, the wolf and I eyeing her the entire time, catching every single drop of water as it fell from her jaws when she lifted her muzzle free.

I stayed in this position as she trotted over to a nearby tree.

The pine needles were thick and deep, forming a suitable bed, and she turned around three times before settling down with her tail curled around her nose.

Those yellow eyes, they stared at the three of us, despite the fact her eyelids were getting heavy, and that was all the encouragement we needed.

All three of us padded over. I went to her side, curling my wolf’s body around hers.

My reward was her sigh, becoming one with the sound of the breeze in the trees.

What would it be like to hold Briar in my arms just like this?

I thought as my wolf body pressed into hers.

What if we were lying in our room, staring out the window at the forest beyond, but not really seeing it?

Would my breathing even out, matching the pace of her sighs, just like it did now?

My eyes closed for just a second, needing to dive into that fantasy.

I’d press a kiss to the back of her neck and then my nose into her skin, her scent perfuming my every breath as I fell into sleep.

Only to wake up doing exactly that the next morning.

We’d all reverted back into human form during the night, which made the air a little chilly. Catching sight of my brothers’ morning wood was not fun, but my grunt of disgust was swallowed as I looked down.

Briar was beautiful.

Like, I knew that when I was checking her out as I reversed the moving van backwards, but knowing and seeing was a whole other thing.

A need to piss wasn’t the only thing that had my dick aching.

The swell of her breasts, partially covered by her arm, the way her waist nipped in, only to flare out at the hips.

I wanted to trace every curve with my lips, waking her up slowly, only to see heat spring to life in her eyes.

But staring at a naked woman without her permission was no way to win my mate, so I pulled away very, very carefully, taking fur seconds later.

Feed Briar, that was an impulse that beat hard in both of us, so we trotted out of the forest and towards a nearby house.

I considered going home and raiding the kitchen, but we didn’t have any food yet.

As I pondered whether to get dressed and drive somewhere, I heard a clucking sound.

Chickens are stupid creatures but also very tasty.

As we stalked closer, watching the silly thing through the chain link fence, I concocted a plan.

Drag the bird back to my mate, dispatch it quickly, then create a fire to cook it on or eat it raw in fur.

Seemed like a perfect plan, right before I trotted back to our impromptu camp site.

The chicken was not happy at all to be carried in my jaws, announcing its displeasure to the entire forest, including Briar. Her head popped up from the pine needles, blinking to take me in, the chicken, then my brothers, before she scrambled back.

“Oh…”

She raked her hands through her hair, frowning when a shower of leaves fell to the ground. I came back to skin, letting the chicken drop to the ground, only to scoop it up into my arms before it could run away.

“Brought you some breakfast,” I said with a grin, treated to the sight of my mate checking me out.

I would protect her, provide for her, and I needed her to see that. Rather than stare up at me adoringly, she frowned and got to her feet.

“Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”

“Breakfast?” I replied with a grin, even as my brothers groaned awake. “Guaranteed free range, organic, and most of all, delicious.”

The chicken squawked in protest.

“You stole one of the Henderson’s chickens?”

That frown made me think Briar didn’t appreciate my gesture.

“Well, I didn’t see any wolf friendly supermarkets anywhere,” I replied, hitching the chicken higher on my hips. She watched every movement and I liked that a lot. “Apparently that kind of thing is ‘against policy.’”

Mads groaned and then rolled into a seated position, staring blankly at the trees around him.

“You can’t just go around stealing people’s chickens,” she said.

“It’s romantic,” I insisted. “You hungry.” My thumb jerked back against my chest. “Me provide.”

“Jace can return the chicken to where it belongs.” Gideon never sounded this hoarse and growly in the morning.

Pretty sure the hard drive he had instead of a brain just kicked in, getting him up and ticking off his endless to-do list from the moment he woke up.

“We will make you something more suitable for breakfast at home.”

“No, thanks.” I tried really, really hard not to stare at Briar’s tits as she stood up.

Not sure if I managed it as she snatched the chicken from me and started to walk away.

“It was nice of you to go on a run with my wolf, but I…” Real pain marred her expression, forcing me to follow after her, wanting to ask why. “I need to get home.”

“So we’ll see you tonight, then?”

Mads shot her a cocky look, making clear he was making a very thorough inspection of her backside.

“What?”

Briar turned around with a frown. The chicken clucked along with her in an act of avian solidarity.

“You and your mum, you’re invited over for dinner tonight.”

She was? Damn Mads for not keeping me informed. We need to get to the supermarket, stat. We’d make her roast chicken, complete with that amazing gravy of Mum’s. I’d ring her and get the recipe. Some potatoes and?—

“We’ll see,” she said, right before she took off.

Something about what Mads said had her scent souring. I wanted to follow her all the way home, peppering her with questions about the food she liked and the kinds of music she’d like playing in the background, when Gideon rose to his feet.

“You invited our fated mate to dinner tonight?” I glared at Mads. “And when were you going to tell me?”

“You’re hearing about it now.” Mads strolled past, slapping me in the stomach. “Last one home gets to clean the house up ready for tonight.”

I took off at a run, chasing after Mads.