Scattered Siblings 3: To Mate a Werewolf Page 2

  Ellie nodded. “He told my orderlies to throw me out of my kitchen. That was when he thought I was just an Elf. For two years, I’ve heard nothing about Elves except that they’re sadistic and cruel. Their atrocities and the way they treat their women sicken me, but I can’t help that my father was one.”

  Joel growled and not in that sexy way he had earlier, seemingly unsure what to say or how to reassure her. The Lykae kept an uneasy peace with the Elves, but they’d all witnessed their handiwork—massacres, rape, and torture—too many times.

  She swallowed hard and nodded. “Anyway, when the cook saw my scars, he said looking at me made him feel sick. He actually demanded I leave before I curdled his cheesecakes.”

  Claws and fangs extended, Joel sat up abruptly. “Shall I bring you his head?”

  Ellie pulled on her uniform and retrieved her military-style pants. “Definitely tempting, but a maybe a little overdone. Besides I don’t want it on my conscience. Do you know what he did when I told him that I’d cooked those cheesecakes? He put his fingers in his mouth and pretended to gag. I’d reached boiling point by then so I shoved one in his face.”

  “That’s my girl.” He grinned, but deep inside Joel knew she wasn’t. He’d come after her to haul her back to the otherworld even though her enlistment in the Lykae army was up. He’d intended to see her adopted into his Tundra Toughs pack, and watch over her the way he had for the last two years. Now, thanks to his animal passions and the thrill of the chase, he’d screwed up badly.

  He should have kept his grubby paws off her. Even if he persuaded her that her scars didn’t matter, and to him they didn’t, he had to destroy any dreams she harbored of building a new life within his pack.

  Chapter Two

  Joel was a grown man, the next alpha of the Tundra Toughs pack, and he had a man’s needs. He’d taken plenty of lovers—probably more than most—over his five centuries, but never a woman from his own pack. When he finally took a mate, he wouldn’t shame her by introducing her to a woman he’d already nailed.

  A born survivor, Ellie would move eventually, but he’d hurt her. He’d never intended that. To a Lykae, a chase meant flirting and fucking, but he’d known Ellie wanted more. He’d recognized her as special from the moment he’d laid eyes on her, but her Elven heritage disqualified her as mate material.

  Sometimes he dreamed about her, but that was just sex…surely? He hated that, thanks to his out-of-control libido, he’d have to cut any ties with her. That meant hurting her again, and he felt sick at the thought. Maybe things would have been different if she’d been born a Lykae.

  He needed to man up and tell Ellie that fucking the Tundra Toughs’ next alpha meant she was persona non grata to his pack. Ellie had trusted him, and he was about to betray her. Disgust consumed him. He’d used her body as badly as the Elves.

  Stalling, he asked, “Was that cook the reason you ran?”

  Ellie shut down. She lay perfectly still, and her face turned into an emotionless mask. Even her eyes lost their sparkle, and when she blinked, Joel thought he spotted a tear hanging on her dark lashes.

  Finally she nodded. Her voice came out in a strained whisper. “He showed me how nonmilitary Lykae would look at a freak like me. Your pack hates Elves, and with good reason. They’re a treacherous race that preys on the weak. Even the Fae have allied with Lykae against them, even though physically they look like the same species. Honestly, Joel, your pack will despise me, and you’ll get into fights defending me. Despite what just happened between us, I will never put you in that position.”

  A coward would accept that and say nothing, but Joel needed things clear between them even if it hurt them both.

  He wished things had been different, but he wouldn’t have missed fucking her for the world. The best sex I’ve ever had, and now I have to hurt her. “I’m sorry, Ellie. I won’t sponsor your entry into the Tundra Toughs anymore. Not after… You know, because of what we just did. I mean… Well… Damn it. We need to face facts. My father’s desperate to retire and spend the next few centuries doting on my mother. I can’t introduce a woman I’ve bedded into the pack. I still haven’t taken a wife, but when I do, I can’t flaunt my indiscretions under her nose. I know I shouldn’t have… Look, Ellie, I’m sorry, but…”

  Words failed him. Ellie’s smile turned so brittle he thought her cheeks would splinter. She blinked hard, then backed away to fasten her clothes. They dressed in silence that stretched out too long.

  Finally she sniffed and told him, “At least we’re agreed that I need to move on. I can’t stay in Whitby, not with all its otherworld connections. I won’t risk the Elves getting hold of me again. Since my most marketable skill is my baking, I plan to move somewhere inland and open a shop.”

  Joel tried for a lighter note. “I’ll second that. In fact I’ll pay the set-up costs.”

  There. He’d found a way to both help her and keep an eye on her. Mostly, it had been hard, but he’d kept his distance and kept his hands off her. He couldn’t believe they’d just had sex. Not true. They’d just had mind-blowing, amazing sex, but he should have kept his cock to himself.

  Ellie tempted him, aroused him, and set his body on fire with longing. Why didn’t I resist her charms? When he’d seen the desire reciprocated in her eyes, his common sense deserted him—right along with his self-control. Clearly it had meant more to her than to him, but Lykae women were never shy with their favors.

  Sometimes he forgot she was an Elf.

  Ellie stiffened and stared out to sea. Her shoulders shook as if she was holding back tears, but he’d just made her a generous offer. Surely she should shake his hand and accept. Instead she gazed vacantly into the distance. He hated that. His brows drew together as he tried to figure out what he’d done wrong—apart from the fact that he’d bedded a woman he’d intended to protect.

  Unsure what to say or do, he waited for her to speak. Instead she whirled around, eyes glinting like angry emeralds, her lips narrowed into a thin line. Her slap sent him reeling. Mostly because it took him by surprise.

  She spluttered angrily, “Joel Blackheart, you’re a jerk and a user. Keep your payoff for your whores. Just get me out of these grounds and go away.”

  He backed off and rubbed his cheek. He’d deserved that slap and more for giving in to his animal urges. And damn, his inner wolves howled for him to fuck her again. He’d hurt and insulted a woman he’d meant to help. His offer to finance her bakery had been genuine. He knew a good investment when he saw it. Elves’ blood, he knew how to woo and fuck women, but with Ellie he’d wanted so much more. She triggered a protectiveness inside him, and he wouldn’t sleep well until he knew her future was secure.

  He liked that Ellie saw him as someone heroic, a knight in shining armor. All because two years back he’d led the rescue party that freed her from sex-crazed, sadistic Elves. Not that he’d ever wanted to screw her before. Well, once or maybe twice…but he’d ignored the boner he always sported around her. Instead he’d told himself to treat her like his little sister. Today he’d fucked up in so many ways.

  As the Tundra Toughs’ next alpha he should never hurt anyone under his care. After everything Ellie had been through, he hated that he’d used her for sex. Only he hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her. She deserved someone a million times better than him. He growled and let his fingers lengthen into claws at the thought.

  He’d just rubbed poor Ellie’s nose in her weaknesses and failings. As alpha, he was part father figure, part big brother, and always a strong leader. Alphas had responsibilities, but he’d used her to carve another notch on his already well-decorated bedpost.

  His duty was to help her, and after fucking her today, he felt so damn guilty. She was a fine woman, and she’d make someone a good wife. He growled softly when he thought about that. While he couldn’t offer her a future with him or his pack, he needed to watch over her and see she built a good life. Whether she wanted him to or not.

  Earlier today, t
he camp had seemed empty without Ellie supervising the breakfasts. Instead of the warm atmosphere she’d created inside the mess, the place was deserted. It stank of greasy food, and the orderlies had already finished their duties. Ellie had prepared her food with love and served it with a smile. Joel had already heard troopers grousing about the overnight drop in standards.

  When he last visited the camp, the sway of Ellie’s hips had fascinated him. Last time? Don’t lie. Every time more like. As always he’d hurried through his business and left, but he’d fantasized over her curves for days. He’d wanted to swat her rounded ass. Chasing her through the woods would have been good too. When he caught her, he’d have ground his cock in her pussy’s damp heat, just as he had on the cliff top.

  Even as he’d dreamed about taking her, he knew any relationship with Ellie was doomed from the start. That woman was too tempting a morsel, so rather than fuck her, he’d stayed away from the camp. He loved the Tundra Toughs’ squad since it was made up of his pack mates, but as Grand Marshal of the Lykae forces, his business kept him at court. When his father had written and begged again him to take over as alpha, he’d resigned his commission. He’d had to wait until King Caleb had appointed his successor, but now Joel was free to go home and start his new life. He just owed his men a final duty visit.

  His inner wolves howled inside him, eager for another glimpse of Ellie. His human side insisted he keep his hands, and his cockstand, to himself.

  Ellie wasn’t his mate, just a nubile female who made his cock swell. Hell, every time he jerked off, he pictured himself feasting on her pussy or sucking her breasts. He’d loved the way her heels dug into his thighs, and the image of her black hair in sexy disarray was forever sealed in his brain.

  He’d cared for Ellie since he’d first laid eyes on her. That night when she’d been drugged into sexual heat, he’d wanted her in the worst way. He’d not taken advantage of her then. Instead he’d gotten through it by telling himself she was his little sister, and he’d worked hard to make the idea stick. Until today.

  After her rescue, Joel had conscripted her into the Lykae forces. A trained chef, she’d had slipped into the Lykae mess hall. She’d cleaned, polished, and cooked. He’d understood it was her way of coping and left her to it. Once the Lykae soldiers tasted her cooking, they’d eased up on the all-elves-suck thing. It had taken a while, but gradually they’d adopted her as their own. Those two years of military training had stiffened her spine and honed her survival skills, he hoped.

  With hindsight, he should have made Ellie mix with more of his pack. She’d been so delighted the soldiers ignored her scars that she’d stayed close to the camp, even when she had leave due. Her favorite leisure pursuit always involved sitting in the sun with a good book. Her least enjoyable pastime? Honing her fighting skills against Lykae trainers. They’d prattled on about exceptional knife skills, but she was a cook. Of course she could use a knife.

  Since his diplomatic duties kept him away, he’d demanded regular updates on her progress. Something about her had gotten under his skin, but it wasn’t as if she was his true mate or anything. He’d know if she was. Finding a mate didn’t even make his to-do list. To a player like him, the whole idea sucked. Besides he’d blown it when he screwed her, but damn he liked her better as a lover than a pretend sibling. Deep down he knew he shouldn’t have touched her, not when it messed up her future.

  He was an alpha wolf with responsibilities and a pack to run. Besides, there were so many women out there, how could he tie himself to just one for all eternity? Joel preferred endless variety and no-strings sex. Why would he lose himself in one woman when he could sample so many? Maybe with Ellie… No! A half Elf mating with a pack alpha? Unheard of!

  Ellie wasn’t his mate, he felt certain of that. He just needed to look out for her after everything she’d been through. His alpha nature demanded he protect her, but fucking her had put the kibosh on that.

  Joel had known Ellie on and off for almost two years. Okay, mostly off, but when circumstances allowed, he’d kept a brotherly eye on her. No way was she his true mate…but thoughts of her consumed him.

  He hated the bad feeling between them, but he couldn’t change what just happened. Hell, he wouldn’t if he could. Being with Ellie had been the highlight of his boring year, but that still didn’t make it right. His father had suggested an arranged marriage to strengthen his pack’s ties with the Desert Marauder pack. Like a fool, he’d agreed. If not for that commitment, he might have claimed Ellie—mate or not.

  She was strong, sassy, and independent, but she wasn’t mate material. He liked his women wild and demanding in the bedroom, but he never stayed around once they started talking about their future. Mated pairs couldn’t keep their hands off each other in public. All that touching and pawing was plain embarrassing. Ellie definitely qualified in the bedroom department, but he couldn’t get past the obvious. She was half Elf.

  That steel in her backbone had helped her survive her ill treatment at the hands of the Elves. He respected her for that. He thought he’d led a rescue party to free a captured Fae, but they only found Ellie. Somehow, finding her made things personal, and that made him wish his troops hadn’t been so quick to wipe out her captors. Elves’ blood, if I’d have known it was my Ellie they tortured, they’d have died long and slow.

  Then it struck him that his mother was a strong woman too. She always stood her ground with his father—the Tundra Toughs’ current alpha. Even Sylvie, the hereditary king’s gentle-natured mate, dug her heels in occasionally.

  With Ellie, things were different. What you saw was what you got. Her best life skill was that she knew her way around a kitchen, that and she adapted to new situations easily. Since she didn’t back down among Lykae who could kill her with one sweep of a paw, she was spunky and resilient too. Even a Lykae female would have needed help after what Ellie had been through, but then Elves wouldn’t have captured a she-wolf in the first place.

  For all Ellie’s admirable qualities, no alpha would lower himself to mate with an Elf. Hell, I bet I’m the only Lykae to ever fuck one. And now I have to face the consequences. Well…poor Ellie does.

  This afternoon, his lustful Lykae nature had overpowered his common sense, and Ellie got hurt as a result. She stood alongside the high wall around the abbey grounds, eyes narrowed as she tapped her foot at him. She’s that eager to leave me? I never meant to hurt her this way.

  In his haste he’d buttoned his black military shirt up wrong. With an impatient growl, he tore it open. Buttons went flying everywhere. He shrugged and left it loose, giving Ellie flashes of his bare chest as he strode toward her.

  When he reached her side, he started to apologize, but she shushed him. “Forget it. Just shut up and get me out of here. Then I’ll be on my way.”

  He almost begged her forgiveness, but their sex had been consensual. He’d even offered to help her start a new life, but rather than accept his generous offer, she’d slapped his face. He ran his hand over his cheek as she walked away, but the sting of her slap was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. Even if he hadn’t bedded her, he knew that if Ellie joined his pack, she’d sass him whenever she disagreed with anything he said or did. Pack discipline would go down the drain.

  No one but his lieutenants, when he chose them, would have the right to question his orders. They’d be the most dangerous, deadly wolves out there, except for him of course.

  Joel didn’t believe in fated mates. Okay, the feelings between his mother and father ran so deep Joel could almost touch them, but it was all too intense for him. The loss of independence and all that public pawing is just plain wrong.

  He cherished his freedom and the thrill of chasing women. Sometimes, usually, catching them left him disappointed and empty inside. If he tied himself down to one woman forever, he’d be bored senseless in a year.

  His pack mates often spent their evenings around the campfire, discussing what they wanted in a mate. Some demanded good loo
ks, some wanted a sense of humor or a lush, rounded ass they could sink their claws into during sex. To them, a mate was a treasure they’d protect and cherish forever. Those poor fools thought a mate was the greatest gift a Lykae could have.

  Joel knew better. He’d choose his freedom over finding a mate every time. Maybe that was why he was still unmated after five centuries. Even as a pup, his alpha nature had made him the toughest, brightest, and the biggest. Hell, he was the baddest wolf out there, and he liked it that way. Finding a mate left him vulnerable, and gave him an Achilles’ heel for his enemies to attack.

  If he had to take a mate, and as pack alpha he should, he wanted someone cool and elegant. Someone who behaved with fitting dignity in public. Yes, he’d settle for a regal blonde who wouldn’t paw him the way his mother did his father.

  When Joel took a wife, she’d never expect him to mark her as his mate. He still wanted her smoking hot behind closed doors. Probably not as hot as his little Ellie, but he couldn’t allow himself to think that way. Doomed, damn relationship, remember?

  Whatever just happened between them, it was over and done. He didn’t even regret screwing her. Sex with Ellie was primal and savage, a need that burned through his psyche He’d fuck her again in an instant, but his best option was to put some distance between them, fast.

  When he married, he’d need a strong woman at his side—one who would watch his back while he watched hers. Let’s face it; Ellie’s weapon of choice is a cheesecake.

  Chapter Three

  Nothing mattered. Not the seagulls screeching as they soared overhead. Not the tide receding from the estuary below. Ellie lifted her chin and swallowed hard. Her best daydream had involved her curling her legs around Joel’s waist as he pumped his cock inside her. Constantly. Endlessly. Consensual sex was amazing, but Joel’s rejection felt like he’d torpedoed her heart.

  She blushed when she realized she still stared into his eyes—clear turquoise orbs that matched the beads in his hair, and hard as she tried, she couldn’t look away. She didn’t see the arrogance of a pack alpha or the highest-ranking Lykae soldier in werewolf land. She saw the sexiest wolf ever, one with a kind heart and a strong moral code, and she wanted to fuck him again so badly she ached inside.