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Once he’d rinsed away the shampoo, he squeezed some conditioner out and combed it through. While that was soaking in, he washed me with a deliciously spicy soap, paying extra attention to the sore area between my legs.
I felt cherished, something I’d not experienced before. The only person who’d ever taken care of me was my grandmother, and she’d died so long ago that my memories of her had faded.
This version of Tanner was unexpected, and I couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take for him to revert to his usual asshole persona. But to my surprise, he rinsed the last of the conditioner off, wrapped me in a large fluffy towel, and then towel dried my hair, carefully combing it to remove the tangles.
Once my hair was smooth and neatly braided, he tucked me into his bed. Instead of disappearing, like I expected, he quickly dried himself off and joined me.
The lights flicked off, plunging the room into darkness. I should have been afraid, trapped in bed with a perpetually angry, damaged man like Tanner. He was no good guy or guardian angel. But I felt safe. Safer than I’d ever felt in my entire life.
Whatever his faults, I instinctively understood that Tanner would protect me by any means necessary.
My eyes drifted closed, and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep with his arms around me and the steady beat of his heart thumping in my ear.
Sunlight streamed in through the blinds, hitting me right in the face. For a moment, I was confused. This wasn’t the bedroom I’d grown accustomed to in the last couple of weeks. The window was in the wrong place, and also, I wasn’t alone.
A heavy arm rested over my hip, a hard male body wrapped around me. For one awful minute, I froze, as my beleaguered brain struggled to make sense of things. Then it all came flooding back: baking blueberry cookies, Tanner’s arrival, and the way he’d…
“Morning, baby.” His deep voice rumbled in my ear and something eased deep inside my chest. My whole body relaxed.
“Morning,” I whispered. A warm hand slid up my ribcage until it reached my breast. I squeaked as he pinched my nipple. Between my legs, I was sore, but it didn’t stop my pussy from welling up with arousal. It seemed my body wanted him, even if my mind was adamant this was a bad idea.
He squeezed my breast and chuckled when I groaned. His thick cock stabbed my backside, reminding me of what we’d done last night. Did I regret it? I thought about it for a moment and then realized that I didn’t.
Our perfect little moment was rudely interrupted when Cole hammered on the door so loudly the frame shook. Tanner grumbled and kissed the back of my neck. I felt a sharp sting across my shoulder, causing a recollection of him biting me to resurface.
“Open the fucking door, Tanner, we need to talk.”
“Looks like the honeymoon’s over, baby. Time to face the music.”
Tanner
Cole stared at me with daggers in his eyes when I strolled out of my bedroom with Eva tucked under my arm. My wolf was smug as fuck. We’d claimed our mate, marked her, and there was fucking nothing Cole could do about it.
I gave no shits that he was butt hurt. He’d had plenty of opportunities to stake his claim on Eva. They both had. Their problem was they were too afraid of messing up the fragile equilibrium we’d found. I, on the other hand, had no such qualms.
I’d known from the very first moment I met her that Eva was important. The sweet scent of her arousal was enough to identify her as my mate. It was biology, pure and simple. Yes, I’d tried to fight the attraction, but in the end, it was pointless.
Fated mates were something we were all aware of. It was rare to find your fated mate, but not impossible. Most shifters settled for finding a regular mate: someone compatible they could build a life with.
This was one of the main reasons for the Full Moon parties, which packs held semi-regularly. The more opportunity unmated wolves had to socialize and meet wolves from other packs, as well as other types of shifter, the greater the likelihood we’d find mates.
Mating with humans was uncommon, and not because humans were weaker. There was a lot of prejudice against humans and also from humans.
We were a superior species in terms of physical prowess, longevity, and more, which meant humans were often afraid of us.
Most shifters saw humans as annoying and sometimes dangerous, although plenty of us cultivated business and personal relationships with sympathetic humans in nearby communities.
Sometimes, interspecies matings occurred. They didn’t happen often, but when they did, both species invariably faced a lot of negativity. Things had improved over time, and these days, when a shifter mated with a human, most packs didn’t banish them, but sadly, not all packs were as enlightened.
Not that I gave any fucks about how the shifters in my old pack would react when they heard I’d mated with a human. I had no loyalty to them anymore. Not since Rufus banished me.
Yes, he was fine with me these days, mostly because he often needed my assistance with issues his pack enforcers couldn’t or wouldn’t handle. But I was under no illusion that he planned to welcome me back to the pack any time soon.
I would always be an outcast. Just like Cole and Silas, who, out of loyalty to me, had rescinded their pack membership not long after Rufus banished me. For years, it had just been the three of us. But not any longer. Now we were a foursome.
“Have you told her yet?” Cole asked, his whole body vibrating with suppressed anger. Silas said nothing. He just perched on a stool, gold eyes flicking between Eva and me.
I sat down on the sofa, ostensibly relaxed, but ready and willing to fight for what was mine. If they thought they could steal my mate from me, they were about to get a very rude awakening.
