Page 13 of The Wolf Prince’s Mate (Marked Beneath the Moon #2)

thirteen

NOVA

“So, he gave you a cabin and a studio as an apology gift?” Sydney asked.

“And a Jeep,” I agreed, though we were walking on foot. The cabin was a few miles down one of the pack’s newest roads, but I wasn’t ready to get back in a vehicle yet. Not while I was still pushing away memories of rolling my car down a mountain.

I’d loaded up a duffel bag and backpack with my stuff. Charlie said he’d carry a massive suitcase for me, since he was still on guard duty, so I packed one for him too. When I told Syd where I was going as I passed the garden, she insisted that she would carry my stuff too, so we went back for another set.

“I want an apology gift,” Sydney joked.

“You don’t want to trade a year of your life for it, believe me,” I said.

“Still. The new cabins they’re building out here are legendary. They’re only giving them to the top enforcers. And mated pairs whose men used to be part of the pack and rejoined after their mates were turned.”

“I don’t know how you hear these things—but I’m pretty sure that means you’ll get one when you seal a bond with Fletcher.”

She shrugged. “The other people who work in the gardens talk a lot. And I listen. Plus, I have a lot of friends. I’m not close to them, but they talk to me anyway.”

“You’re a good listener.”

“Thanks.” She flashed me a smile. “So, did Hunter convince you to abandon your feelings for Clay and run off into the sunset with him after he apologized?”

I laughed, hard. “No. He says he’s going to figure out a way to stop his wolf from losing his shit if I decide to date Clay. And that I don’t need to take a mate, which is a relief.”

“ Are you going to date Clay?”

“I have no idea.” The admission wasn’t an easy one. I did like him as a friend, and I was attracted to him, but things were complicated between us.

“Does it bother you that he would never be able to seal a mate bond?”

“I’m not sure. That’s part of my hesitance, I think. I can’t imagine how badly it would hurt to end things if we were together when I realized I couldn’t handle the connection without the bond,” I admitted. “I know it’s silly to think I might want that commitment, but I don’t know whether or not I will.”

“It’s not silly to think you might want it. A mate bond is a guarantee that your partner will be yours forever. A promise to stay true to each other, no matter what. A connection between both you and your wolves, that no one and nothing can break.”

“Yeah. Right now, I can see myself being okay with the possibility of a relationship ending eventually, you know? All relationships seem to end on me. Even Silas doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore, and I thought that bastard would be around forever, just as a friend. But if I really got attached to a partner, and he changed his mind in ten years, or twenty, or thirty…”

I shook my head. “I could probably survive it, but wolves mate for life, you know? She would always be yearning for that kind of connection, through the relationship and after it. And she’s already so scared all the time, I don’t know if I could risk putting her through that.”

“By that logic, wouldn’t his wolf be yearning for the bond too?”

“If he wasn’t insane, sure.”

“He’s not insane,” Sydney reminded me. “Just misunderstood.”

I snorted.

She flashed me a grin. “You’ll see.”

“How are you and Fletcher? Still surviving having him gone all the time?”

Her smile faltered just a little. “We’re good. He comes to find me as soon as he can after getting back, and I grab food for us while he showers. We eat in one of our rooms, and spend most of our time together until he goes out again. When he’s not hunting, he’s not working at all, which is nice. He wants to cut his hours back more, but I guess Enzo’s worried about it. Eventually, they’ll agree on someone else who can split the time.”

“That’s good. I don’t know if I could handle that.”

“Have you ever had a boyfriend?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Nah. The closest thing I ever had was a human tattoo artist I’d hook up with sometimes when I worked at that studio in Greenview. He’s insanely talented, but I didn’t miss him when the Savages made me quit going there.”

“Do you miss working there?”

“Not really. The views were good, and I liked the people, but it wasn’t home.”

Not any more than Crimson River was home.

“Did you have a boyfriend?” I checked.

She laughed. “No. Even before my dad went rogue, he was overprotective, and all the wolves in the pack I grew up in were obsessed with the groupies. I flew under the radar for the most part, and I was fine with it.”

“Well, you don’t need a mate to be happy.” I bumped her arm lightly.

“No. But the right one can be really fun to have around.” She winked at me, and I smiled.

I guess I hadn’t ever really experienced that, other than in the short amount of time I’d spent with Clay, and that hardly counted. And he couldn’t have been the right one, all things considered.

Could he?

When we finally reached the cabin, I had decided that I was definitely going to have to get over my car aversion. Maybe exposure therapy would help.

I triple-checked the address on the cabin—6635—and then checked again, just to make sure.

“Shit,” I whispered, staring at the building.

It was modern, but cozy. Large, glass windows with black frames met creamy-white siding and a sage green door. Young plants grew around it, and Sydney was already inspecting them by the time I blinked away the burning in my eyes.

It wasn’t just a tiny spare room in the Lodge.

It was a house. A place I could make my home.

And it was beautiful.

“I’m getting really tired of holding this suitcase,” Charlie remarked. “Care to open the door?”

My head jerked back toward him, and I found him wearing the tiniest smile.

He was teasing me.

Still, it was rude to make him wait.

“Sorry.” I strode toward the door, typing in the code Hunter had left on a sticky note in the folder before pulling it open. The interior smelled like paint, and when I looked around, a smile stretched my cheeks.

The cabin was a blank canvas.

It could be anything I wanted it to be. The wood-looking tile floors were a neutral-light shade. The walls were white. The cabinets were the same sage green as the front door was, and the countertops glittered with white stone.

I walked through the house.

Four bedrooms. Three bathrooms. The master was a monstrosity, with a ridiculously large bathtub.

It was so much more than I needed… but I loved it. Desperately. There was no furniture, but I knew without a shadow of doubt that I’d be sleeping there that night, even if it meant shifting forms and letting my wolf get cozy.

All of the paperwork in the folder showed my name. Pretty much everything on the pack’s land belonged to the Alpha and his brothers, and would transfer to whoever the next Alpha was. It all belonged the pack.

But the short note Hunter had left told me that because I was a born wolf, and the Savages were the only people who could really keep me safe, I deserved to have my own space on the pack’s land. That this house was mine , in every way.

He'd had some guys clear out an unused conference room on the ground floor of the Lodge to turn into a studio, too, so I didn’t have to go into town for work every day anymore.

And he included a link to websites for both the professional gear and furniture I would need, along with the necessary information to access credit that had been added to accounts for me on both sites.

I wasn’t entirely sure if I would spend his money furnishing everything yet. I did have a lot of savings, considering how much I worked vs my nearly nonexistent expenses while living in the Lodge for the past year.

But I wasn’t against letting him make up for all the shit he’d put me through.

So… maybe I’d spend his money.

Time would tell.

After we put my stuff down, Syd dragged me back to the Lodge with her for dinner, refusing to take no for an answer. The sun was going down, and we had a long walk to get back.

Plus, there was no food in my house.

And Syd was worried about me being trapped there without a vehicle, despite the fact that I could sprout fur.

My broken arm did make the fur more difficult.

So, I agreed to leave.

Sydney and Charlie ditched their clothes and shifted, leaving the fabric in the decorative box outside my house. It was empty, but every cabin on the pack’s land, as well as the Lodge, had a space for people to leave and pick up their clothes.

The Lodge had community clothing too, so they wouldn’t have a problem finding something to wear when we got there.

I had to ride on Sydney’s back because of my damn arm, but it was nice to feel the wind on my face again. I needed to shift and let my wolf roam again—though it was rare that she actually enjoyed doing so. Everything scared her too much.

By the time we got back to the Lodge and they shifted back, I was feeling good.

Everything was going to be okay.

I went over to the clothing box with Charlie, planning to grab a shirt for Sydney. As I pulled it out, Fletcher came jogging out of the front doors with one of his sweatshirts in his hands.

Syd shifted back, laughing when he tugged the fabric over her head and covered the rest of her. It fell nearly to her knees as she grabbed his face and kissed him.

They were so adorable, it made me nauseous.

“Get a room,” I crowed, tossing the shirt I’d grabbed at Sydney.

She threw it back at me, her smile teasing. “Don’t be jealous, Nova. We both know you could have a man waiting for you too.”

I threw the shirt back in the bin. “We’re not talking about that right now.” There were way too many people around, with everyone arriving back from work and heading inside for dinner.

I itched to take the keys to my new Jeep and get out of there, but they were in my room upstairs. And if I didn’t eat at the Lodge, my stomach was going to growl all night.

So, dinner in the dining room was a necessary evil.

We all went inside together. Halfway to the room, there was a tingle at the top of my spine that made me stop.

Immediately.

Panic coursed through me.

Heat.

It was coming.

How had I forgotten that?

I usually only had about a day until it started, after I felt that tingle. Assuming I did notice it. I’d start getting warm in twelve hours or so, and that would get progressively worse until heat hit.

“Do you have your phone?” I asked Fletcher, when he and Syd shot me curious looks.

“Sure.” He pulled it out and tried to hand it to me, but I just looked at the time.

5:45.

That sucked. I’d need to leave in the morning, to… wherever I was going to go.

Where was I going to go?

“Are you okay?” Syd checked.

I would’ve told her what was going on, but I knew Fletcher would tell Hunter. Or Clay. Or both of them.

I swear, my life should’ve been one of those novels where the chick was screwing both brothers and didn’t have to choose. But it wasn’t. And I didn’t actually want it to be, because Hunter was a bastard, and I couldn’t handle one man. Let alone two.

“Yeah, I’m good,” I said.

Fletcher’s nostrils flared.

He hadn’t learned how to sniff out a lie too, had he? I sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one to ask.

I fell back into step with them, and tried to act normal as I grabbed my food and sat down at a table with them and a bunch of other guys. A few of them asked me how I was doing before Syd changed the topic, and I tried to sell that I was alright.

But I wasn’t.

Because what the hell was I going to do about heat?

I had moved all my stuff out of the apartment I used to go to in Greenview.

Calling Silas up sounded awful.

But turning to Clay seemed like a terrible idea, given my current uncertainty.

So…

I was in trouble.

“You’re being weird,” Sydney whispered, when all of the guys were distracted by a loud argument about football. “What’s going on?”

I waited until everyone’s attention was focused before I murmured, “I’m going into heat tomorrow night.”

Her eyes widened. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Rent a hotel room in Greenview, maybe, and stick it out?”

“Will Clay let you?”

I didn’t know that, either.

He had been pretty vocal about not letting me suffer through heat anymore. And though he didn’t have any claim on me, we were still friends.

Who had screwed.

And wanted to do so again.

Wow. Yeah. What a mess.

Maybe I should’ve been angling for the screwing-both-brothers thing from the beginning, because my existing situation was a pain in my ass.

“If you disappear for three days, he’s going to realize where you are. If he doesn’t, he’s going to panic and search for you anyway.” She squeezed my hand. “Either way, you’re going to have to tell him.”

“I don’t have a phone.”

She grabbed Fletcher’s off the table and pulled up Clay’s contact, then handed it over. He glanced sideways at us, but didn’t seem to care that his woman had given me his phone. Considering how much time he spent in the forest, I doubted he was attached to it.

I typed out a quick message, biting my lip between my teeth as I did.

Fletcher

Hey, it’s Nova. I don’t have a phone right now, but I’m going into heat tomorrow. I’ll drive myself to Greenview alone and deal with it myself, so you’re off the hook. Just letting you know

Clay

Why do you have Fletcher’s phone?

Where are you?

Me

Dining hall

His girlfriend let me borrow it

K, giving the phone back

See you in a few days

I gave him a minute to answer, but he didn’t.

That was… unlike him.

My confusion thickened, so I finished shoveling food into my mouth and stood up, planning to head to my room.

“Wait.” Sydney waved me closer, so I sat back down.

She flipped Fletcher’s phone toward me so I could read the message.

Clay

Don’t let her leave

“He said the same thing through the pack link, just to make sure I got it,” Fletcher said with a shrug.

I scowled. “He doesn’t get to decide when I can and can’t leave.”

“He probably wants to argue with you about the thing,” Syd said.

Neither of us needed clarification on what the thing was.

It was definitely heat.

“Clay doesn’t argue,” Fletcher said. “He pretends to listen to you, then tells you what’s going to happen.”

“That doesn’t work on me.” I stood up again, but the dining hall quieted as I stepped away from the table.

There were only three people in the pack that an entire room quieted for. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to put together who they were.

It was rare for any of them to visit the dining hall, though. There were a dozen rumors about why the Savages almost never ate with the rest of the pack. Some people thought they spent a fortune on a private chef to cook for them. Others thought they were on strict diets to keep up their ridiculously chiseled physiques.

Aspen had refused to confirm or deny any of the rumors, though she’d rolled her eyes at a few of them.

I figured it was more along the lines of the latter option than the former, but honestly had no idea. I had seen Clay reheat frozen burritos though, so he couldn’t have been watching his abs too closely.

The room obviously wasn’t quieting down for my sake, so I looked at the entrance, hoping it was Enzo or Hunter.

It wasn’t.

I sighed. Audibly.

Of course Clay was already there, striding through the double doors in a pair of dress pants and a white, linen button-down. The sleeves were rolled up his forearms, flashing just a few inches of the ink I’d put on his skin.

His feet were bare, which somehow only made him sexier.

His lips curved upward when he saw me, and I didn’t bother waiting for him to reach me. I met him in the middle of the room, and he casually draped an arm over my shoulders as he joined me on my way out.

“Hey, Gorgeous.”

“I told you I was going alone, Savage.”

He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “I told you I wasn’t letting you go through it on your own anymore. It could kill you. Your options are to spend it with me, or pick someone else.”

The edge to his voice told me we were going to have issues if I picked someone else.

I would be pissed if he screwed another woman after washing me and letting me sleep in his bed too, so that didn’t surprise me.

“I called Silas,” I said, forgetting he’d smell the lie.

“Don’t bullshit me.”

“Fine, I’m going to call Silas.”

“Don’t lie, Nova. I just don’t want you in pain. You looked like you were about to keel over when I found you in that bathroom.”

My face warmed when I remembered exactly what he’d done after that.

And exactly how much I wanted him to do it again.

“If you would rather spend heat with Silas, I’ll call him myself,” Clay said. “If you want Hunter, fine. I’ll convince him to do it. But I’m not going to let you go through that again.”

We were still walking.

People kept looking at us, but Clay was ignoring them entirely.

“I don’t want to spend it with Silas or Hunter,” I said, as we finally reached the elevator. My room was on the top floor, so it was a lot of stairs. Especially while Clay’s arm was over my shoulders, feeling ridiculously nice.

We stepped into the elevator, and the doors closed in front of us. I clarified, “I just don’t know if it’s a good idea for us to keep doing this.”

“Being friends?”

I flashed him a look. “You know this isn’t just friendship, Clay. Between washing my underwear and offering to let me live with you, we crossed that bridge during heat, and I don’t think we can uncross it.”

“Who said I wanted to uncross it?”

“You did, when you kept saying we were just friends.”

The doors opened on the fourth floor, and a few people got in. They were chatting—and stopped abruptly when they saw me and Clay.

He nodded at them, so I tried for a smile.

The way they turned back around quickly told me I had failed. Oh well.

We got off on the top floor, and they disappeared down one hallway while we headed down the other.

“Hunter said he has a new phone for you in his office, but he forgot to give it to you when you were there earlier,” Clay said.

There was something in his voice.

Curiosity, but darker.

“I told him I’m done with the meetings. Dates. I wasn’t interested in any of the guys, and I felt like shit for basically leading them on. Hunter agreed that I can be with whoever I want, and he’ll figure out how to control his wolf. We’re done.”

Clay’s arm seemed to relax on my shoulder. “Finally.”

“Yeah.” We reached my door, and I typed in my code to unlock it. I didn’t bother trying to hide it from Clay. “Our conversation about the friend thing isn’t over. You can’t just change the subject to avoid it.”

He stepped inside the room beside me, and inhaled.

Then checked my closet, and dresser. The smell must’ve been off.

“Where did your stuff go?” he asked.

No matter how I answered, he was probably going to be pissed. So, I picked the blunt route.

“Hunter gave me a cabin as an apology present. He also turned a room on the ground floor into a studio for me, and bought me a new Jeep.”

“He what ?” Clay’s words came out a growl, his eyes flickering with his wolf. He clenched his jaw, closed his eyes, and took a staggered breath in. “Fuck. Give me a second.”

I stayed where I was, studying him.

Those didn’t look like the eyes of a wolf who didn’t give a shit about me.

He looked furious.

“Are you sure your wolf isn’t claiming me?” I checked.

“Yeah. Just—” Clay grabbed my shoulders and pulled me to his chest. I collided with an oof , and he inhaled the scent of my hair deeply. “You don’t smell like Hunter.”

“Of course I don’t smell like him. We’re not together. I don’t think he’s ever even hugged me,” I said against his chest, since he was holding my head smashed against him.

Clay’s chest rumbled. “Good.”

“Clay…”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t seem fine.”

He inhaled again, and his grip relaxed fractionally. “Well, I am.”

“Lying to me and yourself isn’t going to get you anywhere worth going.” My voice was still muffled by his shirt, but I was sure he understood me. Or pretty sure, at least.

“It’s not a lie. Let’s just go back to the part where Hunter gave you things he had no right giving you.” Clay’s voice was still strained. “While I’m holding you like this.”

“Is this helping you calm your wolf?”

“Nah. Doesn’t need calming. His cage is impenetrable.”

I didn’t believe Clay.

The wolf was a part of him, after all. I didn’t see how he could legitimately keep half of himself caged.

“Hunter handed me a folder when he was leaving, after he apologized for everything he’d done and basically said he was finally going to let me live my life. He all but held me captive this past year. You do realize that, right? I spent heat suffering in the basement of his mansion—which wasn’t as perverted as it sounds. But still.”

“Mmhm.” Clay’s voice was straining more. It was gritty, too. “I still want to kill him for that. Just a little.”

I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see it. “This behavior is a problem, Savage.”

“Nah. Continue.”

I huffed, but figured I might as well get it over with. “I opened the folder and found the titles and deeds for the house and Jeep. The house is gorgeous. I haven’t seen the room for the studio yet, but it’s probably fine. I still have to pick out furniture, but he gave me credit to some stores, so?—”

Clay smashed me against his chest harder. His nails dug into my skin, and I was pretty sure I felt the prick of claws.

I raised my voice, still speaking into his shirt. “He basically stole the last fifteen months of my life. He gave me all this shit to say he’s sorry. He’s not trying to woo me or anything. He’s just a rich bastard who?—”

“Stop,” Clay said harshly. His wolf was heavy in his voice. “Sorry. Just—stop. Something else. Say something else.”

“Something else about your brother, or?—”

“Not about him.” He snarled the words.

His claws didn’t dig any deeper though, so they didn’t break my skin.

“I… think I want to buy a pink couch. I saw one on the internet once, and it was freaking amazing. Also, I want to paint one of my walls red. Probably not the one behind the couch, unless I find the perfect shades of pink and red.”

“I’ll paint your wall red,” Clay said with a strained voice.

“That would be cool. I don’t know how to paint walls, so a lesson would be helpful.”

“It’s not hard. Just messy.”

“Sounds like your cock after my last heat ended.”

Clay snorted.

Then he laughed—hard. Until his shoulders were shaking and he leaned against my mostly-empty dresser, pulling me with him.

Finally, his grip on my shoulders eased, and he released me. His lips were still stretched in a grin, but there were creases at the corners of his eyes that weren’t from smiling. He was amused, but he was still pissed. And possibly struggling with his wolf.

“I don’t want to be your backup plan now that you and Hunter aren’t happening,” he said.

I lifted an eyebrow. “Hunter and I were never happening. Neither of you have ever been the plan.”

He let out a breath. Then nodded.

“And you and I are just friends, remember?” I tossed out, since he couldn’t let that one go.

“That’s bullshit. We’re not uncrossing that river.” He put his hands on my face, cupping my cheeks as he tilted my head back and kissed me lightly.

Slowly.

Sweetly.

I never would’ve thought Clay could manage sweet, but he did. And he did it perfectly.

When he pulled away, my heartbeat had picked up.

“It was a bridge,” I whispered.

His forehead creased.

“We didn’t cross a river. We crossed a bridge.”

The crease smoothed, and his lips curved slightly.

“What are you suggesting?” I asked.

“Friends with benefits.”

“Friends with benefits don’t wash each other’s underwear or suggest living together.”

“In the right situations they do, and both of ours were the right situation.”

I didn’t agree, but I wasn’t going to fight with him about it.

“But we can nix that. You can decide what friends with benefits are and aren’t allowed to do. As far as I’m concerned, as long as you’re spending heat with me, I’m in.”

“And here I thought you wanted to screw me outside of heat too,” I tossed back.

His eyes flashed with the wolf, and he hauled me off my feet, spinning me around and setting me on the dresser. My legs went around his ass, and he kissed me again.

Harder.

Rougher, too.

His hand slid under the massive shirt I had on, finding one of my tits before he dragged a thumb over my nipple.

He took my bottom lip between his teeth as he pulled me tighter against him. “Are you wet for me yet?”

“No,” I breathed, knowing he’d hear the lie.

His lips stretched against mine. “Good girl.” He parted my thighs further, and pulled his cock out. “I’ve been fucking my hand for weeks. I want you here and now.”

“Now? The walls are like paper. People will?—”

“Hear you come for me? They better. I want this whole pack to know that you belong to me.”

I sucked in a breath as he brushed the tip of his cock over my entrance. “You didn’t mention that this arrangement would be exclusive, Savage. Or that we’d be telling people about it.”

“I would think my friend knows damn well that I don’t share.” He took a fistful of my hair and used the grip to tilt my head to the side so he could lick and suck on my neck.

“How long are we doing this for?”

He bit my throat lightly. “A long time, if I do it right.”

My hips jerked. “You’ll get tired of me before that.”

“Say that again and I’ll have to start updating you on exactly what I picture every time I wrap my hand around my cock.” He lifted his lips back to mine and murmured, “Even when you’re working. Or eating. Or sleeping.”

It was becoming very clear that screwing Clay while we weren’t affected by pheromones was going to be an entirely different experience.

His lips trailed down my neck before he found my collarbone, sucking and biting. The head of his erection was still against my entrance and my clit as he played with me. My entire body was flushed with need, and our conversation was forgotten.

My chest rose and fell quickly. “Don’t tease me.”

He chuckled darkly. “You tease me constantly, with these sexy tattoos and those tight pants. Taste your own medicine for once, Gorgeous.”

“You already want me to announce to the whole Lodge that we’re screwing, and now I have to taste my own—ohhh,” I hissed, as he finally pushed inside me. The stretch of his cock burned a little after so long without having him, but it was a good burn.

I dragged him closer with my heels on the tight bubbles of his ass, taking him deeper inside me.

He growled, tilting my hips and driving in deeper. His wolf flickered in his eyes again, but I wasn’t afraid. I was starting to think Syd might be right about the beast.

Clay finally bottomed out inside me, and I gasped.

“You’re so fucking perfect, Gorgeous.” He captured my mouth and kissed me brutally. Gripping my hair, he tilted my head back so his tongue could taste more of me, and I grabbed the wavy strands of his to hold on too.

We made out while he drove into me until we were coming together, my cries loud as he snarled through his release.

Both of us panted as we came down from the high.

“That was…” I trailed off.

“Yeah. It was.” He pulled me to his chest, and I leaned my face against his neck.

Hot damn.

He was right about the benefits thing.