Wilde Creek: The Protector's Heart Part 18

"Mal said that all females are automatically omegas except for the alpha female. Why aren't females ranked like the guys?" Nila asked, joining Eveny on the floor.

Jack handed her a block and she stacked it on top of another. Eveny said, "Packs are still very male-centric, even ones that are as progressive as ours is becoming. I heard there are a few packs where females are also ranked, but even in those situations, the females are a separate ranking from the males and not a truly cohesive ranking of everyone together."

Nila thought of Ren and Sam and the other males she'd met in the pack. "I don't suppose there are many guys who would like having a woman be higher ranked."

Brynn snorted. "That's an understatement. As alpha female I get away with the authority because of Acksel. His power, in essence, is mine. The pack knows if anyone messes with me, he'll beat them within an inch of their lives. No one wants to be on the receiving end of one of Acksel's bad moods. My authority is like an extension of his, I suppose. What I say goes, unless it's in conflict with something he's already said, and then his word is law."

Eveny looked thoughtful. "If it weren't for me falling in love with Luke and Brynn getting preggers, the pack would still be the way it was before that stuff happened. Everyone is happier now that the pack's laws are less restrictive. The omegas enjoy being useful to the pack, and the way that Acksel has them working together now - like with the monthly parties for the full moon and working for pack members around town - it's like heaven compared to what it was before."

"Working for pack members?"

"Some of us have real jobs - I work for Ferrity's Construction, for example. But others work for the pack and are paid through a fund. Jeremiah and Adam are pretty much at Acksel's disposal and handle everything from shopping to repairs to cleaning."

Nila thought about Adam and Jeremiah and wondered if they minded being lackeys. Looking at Eveny, she asked, "You don't mind being an omega?"

"Nah." She shook her head with a smile. "Some people get hung up on t.i.tles, but I'm not one of them. There are some omegas who aren't happy because injury or circ.u.mstance have taken them out of the ranking, but for the most part we're the ones that keep everything together. I like that aspect of it. I get to be part of an amazing pack, help it run smoothly, and I don't have any of the responsibility of the ranked males."

Jack yawned loudly and Nila picked him up as she stood. "Someday he might s.h.i.+ft and then he'll be part of the pack as a ranked male, or if he doesn't s.h.i.+ft, then he'll be an omega. I don't care which one, as long as he's happy."

"Who knows what the pack will be like in fifteen or twenty years anyway?" Brynn said. "We don't need to worry about it now. All we need to worry about is our kids being happy and safe."

Nila agreed. Carrying Jack back to the spare bedroom to put him in his jammies, she kissed his cheek and laid him on the bed. "I don't care if you ever s.h.i.+ft, kiddo, just so long as you take after Malachi."

Chapter 17.

Malachi loved hunting. Since the first time his father had taken him out when he s.h.i.+fted at sixteen, he'd been hooked. Being in his s.h.i.+ft meant he didn't have to think about anything but finding something to hunt. Even if he didn't actually catch what he was hunting, it was still fun in a primal way, although he rarely went without actually taking down some animal at some point. When he was younger, he and his friends would hunt all night, chasing deer and rabbits until the sun came up. Then they'd stagger back to the alpha's house, s.h.i.+ft, get dressed, go home and pa.s.s out for a day. Life was simpler back when he was a teenager, but he liked his life now even better. He never antic.i.p.ated mating a female who already had a child from another male, but he couldn't imagine his life without both Nila and Jack in it.

Malachi barked at Acksel, who was nearby with Ren and Dade. It was time for him to head home and get Nila. Thoughts of a different kind of activity - one without clothes - was enough to get his wolf turned off of the hunt and ready to go back and claim Nila. The simple ceremony in front of the pack had been not only for the pack's benefit - to make it known that she and Jack were Malachi's family now - but also for their own. Malachi's wolf wanted Nila and Jack to be pack, because the pack would protect them if something happened to him. Malachi wanted to share everything about his life with Nila, and that meant having her with him during the full moons.

Acksel chuffed at Malachi in understanding and Malachi headed back to the house to take his family home. When the house came into view, he found Nila standing at the sliding back door, staring into the woods. He stopped in the shadows and watched her, wondering what she was thinking about. His sensitive ears picked up Jack's voice, as he toddled to the door and pressed his face to the gla.s.s.

"Carrot!" His voice was m.u.f.fled, but Malachi could still hear it. He grinned inwardly. Jack had felt him coming back to the house. Even as a baby, he was showing signs of being a powerful wolf.

Malachi hurried into the yard and found his clothes folded neatly on the porch step. He s.h.i.+fted and tugged the ice-cold clothing on. Nila opened the back door for him, welcoming him with a warm smile. Jack latched onto his pants leg and began to babble. He'd spent enough time with him to understand some of what he was saying.

"He felt me, didn't he?" Malachi asked, lifting Jack into his arms.

She smiled. "Yeah. He was playing on the floor and then he looked at the door suddenly and I knew you were close. I was watching for you, and he kept pacing back and forth in the kitchen."

"Are you ready to go home, kiddo?" he asked.

Jack answered by yawning, tucking his head into Malachi's neck with a sigh. While Nila got her coat and grabbed their things, Malachi said goodbye to Luke. Eveny was asleep on the couch next to him, and Brynn wasn't around, which told him she was probably in bed already. He and Nila walked out to his SUV. He glanced at the house and saw two protectors in their s.h.i.+fts watching as they got Jack settled inside and then climbed in themselves.

"Did you have fun tonight?" he asked.

"I was just about to ask you that."

Chuckling, he said, "It's always fun to hunt, but it's even better coming home now, since you're waiting for me."

She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. "I had a good time talking to Brynn and Eveny. We talked about the pack and the new laws."

"You can ask me anything, too, you know."

"I know."

He was glad his home wasn't too far from Acksel's. Ten minutes after they'd left the alphas' home, he was watching Nila lay Jack in his crib. He'd stayed awake until Malachi was back from hunting and then he'd fallen asleep as soon as he was in the car seat and hadn't woken up when he'd been carried into the house.

Malachi turned from watching Jack to watching Nila. She stroked a finger down Jack's cheek and said goodnight in a low voice. Switching on the nightlight, she paused at the door and looked at her son for a long moment.

"I can't tell you how much I've wanted this for him. For both of us."

"What, love?" he asked.

She pulled the door shut and faced him. "A home, a safe place for him to grow up. Acceptance. Love. All of it's here, with you."

"Without you and Jack, it's just a house, just four walls and a roof. I didn't know what was missing from my life until you came into it."

She smiled up at him. "That was so freaking romantic."

Chuckling, he swept her up into his arms. "I aim to please."

He carried her into the bedroom and set her on her feet. He wanted to kiss her. Devour her. But first he needed to brush his teeth. On the full moons, his wolf was always a little closer to the surface and he didn't want to scare her if he became too aggressive.

"Why don't you get comfortable and I'll be right back." He pressed his lips to her forehead and then walked quickly to the bathroom. He flipped on the light and shut the door, then reached for his toothbrush on the counter. While he brushed and splashed cold water on his face, his wolf was panting to go into the room and make love to Nila, to claim her again and again.

He turned off the bathroom light and entered the bedroom, his eyes adjusting to the moonlight streaming through the window. Nila was naked, standing next to the bed and pulling the covers back. He moved behind her, fast enough that he clearly surprised her. She gasped softly and then moaned as he cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and pressed himself against her back. Her nipples pebbled against his palms. He nuzzled her neck, stroking his tongue up the column of her throat. She s.h.i.+vered and turned her head, their lips meeting as the world dropped away and it was only them.

Their tongues touched and everything in him relaxed, the tension from being away from his mate during the hunt disappearing as the sweet taste of her and the heady scent of her arousal surrounded him. He pulled her close and slid one hand down the center of her body, his fingers making their way slowly toward the apex of her thighs. His shamelessly hard c.o.c.k was pressed against her lower back and he knew he could just slide into her with a simple s.h.i.+ft of his hips, but he wanted her to come first.

His fingers circled her hipbone and slid down the soft skin of her thigh. He bent slightly, hooking his hand around her knee and lifting it to the bed, spreading her lower body apart. She leaned into his hand, which was tucked between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and he pulled her more firmly to his chest. He trailed invisible patterns up the inside of her leg and then cupped her p.u.s.s.y. She was hot and wet, the silky evidence of her arousal rubbing against his palm as she moved her hips.

Easing from their kiss, he watched her face as he curled his middle finger and slowly pushed inside, the hot walls of her p.u.s.s.y gripping his finger. Her eyes darkened and her mouth fell open. He felt her relax against him and she lifted her arms and locked her fingers behind his head, holding herself upright, her body on display for him.

"You're so f.u.c.king beautiful," he whispered into her ear, letting his teeth sink into the lobe gently before licking away the slight pain.

"Malachi," she moaned.

Rubbing her c.l.i.t with his palm, he slipped another finger into her p.u.s.s.y, stroking her slowly. He closed his teeth on the side of her neck, pressing hard enough for her to feel them but not hard enough to break the skin. Her body began to tremble as she drew closer to climax; he could smell the heady sweetness of her body as it heated. He slipped his fingers from her p.u.s.s.y and rubbed the soaked tips around the tight bud of her c.l.i.t. She trembled in his arms as he pushed her forward to bliss, and her nails sank into his neck as she came, a sharp cry of pleasure on her lips. Her body bowed, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s jutting up as her c.l.i.t throbbed under his fingers and the sweet scent of her climax filled the air.

He unwound her hands from the back of his head and stretched her forward on the bed, one foot on the floor and one leg bent at the knee and resting on the mattress. She curled her arms under her head and smiled, wiggling a little on the bed.

His hands curled around her hips, and he watched as his c.o.c.k pressed into the hot, wet heaven of her body. When their bodies met, they sighed at the same time, and he grinned. Gripping her hips, he watched her face as he pulled completely out of her body and then, waiting only a brief moment, plunged inside again. Her eyes shuttered and she sank her teeth into her lower lip. Pulling out and pressing in again, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm the raging wolf inside him that wanted to f.u.c.k her hard and fast.

He released his grip on her hip and smoothed his hand over her back. She trembled under him, her p.u.s.s.y clenching his c.o.c.k, and he tweaked her side until she giggled.

"Not s.e.xy," she groused, straightening on her arms and pus.h.i.+ng back against him.

He growled. "Feels pretty s.e.xy to me."

Her hair slid off her shoulder as she peered at him. She slipped one hand underneath her and he was about to ask what she was up to when he felt her cup her p.u.s.s.y, her fingers separating so they framed his c.o.c.k. "Oh, f.u.c.k, yes," she moaned the words, her fingers ma.s.saging his shaft, the tips grazing his b.a.l.l.s.

"I think I'm supposed to say that," he chuckled. He pulled from her p.u.s.s.y, feeling her fingers on his d.i.c.k the entire time. Splaying his hands on her hips, he tightened his grip and began to move, flexing his hips in time to the wild thrum of his heartbeat which pounded in his ears. Her fingers moved back and forth against him, and he knew she was rubbing her c.l.i.t, too. He rode her hard, pus.h.i.+ng himself to give her everything she needed. He wanted her to fall apart while he was inside her, to feel her clenching him again and again.

He thrust harder. Faster. Gripping her tighter, he shook the sweat from his eyes and pounded into her, until his vision began to blur and his heart threatened to pound out of his chest. Her fingers curled and she cried out, her body locking down on him like a vise. He came hard, his whole body shuddering as he filled her.

Slumping over her, he pressed a kiss between her shoulders and waited for his bones to resolidify. She wiggled away from him, rolling to her back and scooting up the bed until her head rested on a pillow. She beckoned him, and he joined her. She curled up next to him, her head resting on his chest. He stroked her back and cuddled her closer. This was his heaven. There wasn't anything better than being with Nila. They'd been through h.e.l.l to get here, but the thorn-filled journey was over and their new journey - their life together - was just beginning.

"Sweetheart?"

She didn't answer, and he realized she'd fallen asleep. He smiled. He'd loved her that well. Reaching for the covers, he pulled them up and closed his eyes.

He'd never been happier.

Chapter 18.

Four Weeks Later Nila sat at a large table at Luna's and watched Brynn open another bridal shower gift. Inside the pretty silver and white paper was a set of pots and pans. Everyone oohed and ahhed over them as Brynn thanked the three she-wolves who had gone in together on the gift.

Eveny sat next to Nila, her hand resting on her swollen stomach. As Mia handed Brynn the next gift, Eveny said in a low voice, "When are you and Mal tying the knot?"

Nila's thumb rubbed the underside of the engagement ring that Malachi had given her a week earlier. The simple but stunning diamond solitaire winked in the overhead lights as it wiggled back and forth on her finger.

"Not until after Acksel and Brynn are married. Mal was threatened."

Eveny laughed and Brynn threw a wad of silver wrapping paper at Nila. "He was not."

Mia snorted and said, "Oh yes he was. I heard that Acksel said you'd skin Mal alive and leave him for dead if they got married first."

"Oh, now you're exaggerating," Brynn complained. Then she grinned. "I wouldn't leave him for dead."

"What about you?" Nila asked Eveny when Brynn turned her attention to another gift and began to pull the tissue paper out of a gift bag.

"We're going to get married in March. It doesn't matter to me when we get married, but Luke's grandma threatened to disown him if we weren't married by the time the baby is born. Since I'm due in June, that doesn't leave us much time." She lowered her voice. "I was also threatened."

"I heard that," Brynn said, grousing.

"Mal and I are talking about April because the weather will be nicer. It doesn't matter to me, either, but he wants me and Jack to have his last name as soon as possible."

"Males are territorial, aren't they? Human and wolf."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't have it any other way."

After all the gifts were open and the top of the table was covered with pretty paper and bows, the party guests milled around and talked. Nila, Mia, and Eveny offered to help clean up, but Paula, who owned the restaurant with her husband Quentin, turned them down.

"Thank you so much for the cappucino machine, I can't wait to make one," Brynn said, hugging Nila and kissing her cheek.

"A decaf one, right?" Mia asked.

Brynn grimaced. "As soon as this kid is born I'm having a cup of coffee the size of my head. This caffeine embargo is killing me." Then her face brightened. "You're going to be at Doc's on Monday when I come by for my checkup, right?"

"You bet," Nila said, smiling.

They said goodbye and headed toward the front door. Eveny's mate, Luke, was standing just inside the door, and Nila noticed how his face lit up when he saw Eveny.

"Does anyone need a ride?" Eveny asked as Luke helped her with her jacket.

"Mia and I rode together, but thanks for the offer," Nila said as she put on her coat.

"See you at the full moon," Eveny said, kissing Nila and Mia on the cheek and waving.

"How did the month go by so fast?" Mia groused. "It seems like just yesterday was December's full moon and now the full moon for January is in two days. I'm stunned at how time flies lately."

"Because you've been busy at work?" Nila asked as she gripped the handrail and navigated the salted steps to the parking lot.

"Not necessarily, I just feel like life is pa.s.sing me by. Twenty-nine, single, no kids. I feel like everyone I know is getting mated."

Nila opened the pa.s.senger door and sat down, pulling it firmly closed and rubbing her hands together to warm them while Mia turned on the car and fiddled with the heater.

"There are a lot of single females in the pack, though. You're not alone by any stretch."

"I mean people I care about. Until you came along, Mal never even thought about mating and having a family. I always figured I'd be the first one to get married."

"Well, you don't want to rush down the altar with the wrong guy. Trust me on that."

"I know. I'm just feeling happy for my friends but b.u.mmed for myself. Ignore me."

"Never." Nila knew what Malachi had told her about Mia's crush, Lucian, and how dangerous his life was. She'd never met the man, but Mia seemed despondent, and maybe that's what happened when wolves went without their mates. "When Mal and I get married, will you be my maid of honor?"

Mia gasped and smiled. "Of course, thank you for asking me."

"Well, you're Mal's sister and you're my friend. I wouldn't want anyone else to stand up with me." And, she added silently, with Lucian as Malachi's best man, Mia and Lucian would be together and maybe something would happen between them.

"What's up with that?" Mia asked, slowing the car and peering through the winds.h.i.+eld. Nila looked ahead and saw a car off to the side of the road, hazard lights blinking. Mia pulled to a stop in front of the car and said, "I'm going to see what's up."

Nila watched as Mia got out and walked quickly back to the car. A few minutes later, Mia got back in. "I'm going to call Ren and ask him to send a tow."

"What's the story?" Nila asked after Mia called Ren.