Aric nodded. “Everything worked out better than I imagined. Hell, they did amazing considering they didn’t know what to expect from our girls.” Aric smiled at me. “Celia, maybe we can incorporate your evasive techniques for our graduates next year. You gave everyone a great chase.”

Aric said a few more things, but I was still stuck on the “next year” comment. Maybe I wasn’t his mate. But he’d introduced me to his pack and he’d refused to let me go.

I just prayed the year he anticipated wouldn’t be our last.

CHAPTER 20

I woke up at ten in the morning to an empty bed scattered with pillows and twisted sheets spilling over the sides. The gentle scrape behind the closed bathroom door told me Aric was shaving the beard he’d grown during his past week away from me. I found my discarded shirt and replaced the panties he’d torn off with his teeth. I’d missed him so much. His deep insatiable kisses and our multitude of romps throughout the night confirmed he’d missed me, too.

The blistering July sun brightened the room as I spread the drapes and opened the blinds. I thought to make the bed, but the tap of Aric’s razor against the white ceramic sink beckoned me to my wolf. His absence had left me restless and unable to sleep. And it wasn’t just because I desired him next to me. I feared what he hunted because of what, and how easily, it could kill.

A trail of bodies had led Aric and neighboring were packs as far out as Utah. Maybe I should have felt a sense of relief that the attacks had left the Tahoe region. My tigress warned against it. A demon lord and his vampires lurked somewhere out there. He and his legions continued to stalk, continued to feast. The escalating reports of missing men and women verified as much and promised more death.

I opened the double doors and stepped through, unable to stop the smile my Aric’s presence brought me. He was home. At least for the moment. And, more important, he and his Warriors remained safe. So I put aside my reservations and fears and continued toward him.

He grinned when he saw me. “Good morning, beautiful.”

My hair was mussed from our antics and my eyes puffy from lack of sleep. Still, I appreciated him believing so. I stepped behind him and hugged his waist. Aric’s clean, strong scent at the start of the day was at its most addicting. I kissed along the slope of his spine, making him groan. “Good morning, wolf.”

My hands wanted to play. Instead I sashayed to the other sink, adding a little more sway to my naturally exaggerated catwalk. Aric leaned back and locked on to my backside. And that’s how he stayed while I brushed my teeth. “I’m going to shower after I finish shaving. Want to join me, baby?”

I rinsed my mouth and pushed out my butt just a little more, swinging it slightly. “Sure, if you want me to.”

Aric stopped his razor midstroke. “Well, you know what they say, ‘Save water—shower with a werewolf.’”

“Mmm. Yes, your kind is all about saving the environment.”

“Damn straight.”

I laughed as I dried my hands. Aric lathered his jaw and made quick work with his razor. He scowled at his cell phone when it rang. “Could you tell me who’s calling, sweetness?”

I flipped his iPhone over and read the out-of-state number on the screen. Aric wiped his hands and took it out of my hand. He answered with a big, affectionate grin lifting the edges of his mouth. “Hey there, pretty lady.”

Pretty lady?

A female responded in a playful voice. “Hello, handsome.” She paused. “You were supposed to call when you got back to your place. I was worried.”

I stood there with my jaw inches from the russet tiles. What the hell?

Aric winked my way. “I got distracted.”

“I’m sure you did, but that’s no reason to forget about me,” she teased.

“How could I ever forget about you?”

I stormed into the bedroom, completely pissed off and ready to set everything Aric owned on fire.

So I’m not the only one. None of this was real. I’m just another one of his freaking playthings. Damn it. DAMN IT!

I opened the window and knocked the screen out, ready to throw Aric’s crap on the lawn in true Diary-of-a-Psycho-and-Scorned-Latina-who-can-change-into-a-tigress-and-beat-your-ass fashion, when he strolled in and sat on the bed. He did a double take upon catching my tigress eyes blinking back at him and my fangs ready to tear flesh. I thought I saw understanding fill and soften his expression, until the bastard grinned—grinned.

He reached out, trying to grab me. I smacked his hand hard, breaking a few of his fingers. “Ouch!” he mumbled, before laughing. His fingers realigned almost immediately, making me want to break them again, along with a few other body parts.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” the hussy asked.

Aric spoke through his increasing chuckles. “Hold on a second.” He held the phone out to me. “Celia, my mother is on the phone. Would you like to say hello?”

“Your mother?” I asked in a small voice.

Aric lurched off the bed and shoved the phone into my hand. He snickered and brought it to my ear when I gawked at it like an idiot.

“He-hello?” I dissolved my fangs, though they weren’t the cause of my stutter.

“Oh, Celia!” Her voice was warm, and her thrill at speaking to me as clear as if she stood before me. “It’s so nice to finally talk with you. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you from Aric.”

You have? I covered the phone. “Does she know we’re living together?” I whispered just above a breath.

Aric tugged off his boxers, not bothering to keep his voice quiet. “That’s not all she knows about us, hot stuff.” He danced his eyebrows at me.

I reeled away from him, ignoring his come-hither physique, and tried my best to start a half-intelligent conversation with his mother. Aric, of course, just had to seek revenge for his broken fingers. He pushed me onto the bed and held me with one hand, while the other wandered under my shirt.

“I’m looking forward to meeting you, dear. Would you and Aric like to fly out to Colorado and spend Thanksgiving with me?”

I couldn’t answer. My free hand was busy trying unsuccessfully to push Aric off me.

Aric’s teeth latched onto my nipple. “I think my mother just asked you something, Celia,” he muttered through tiny nibbles.

“Um, I don’t know.” That was me, goddess of wit, charm, and self-control.

Aric yanked off my panties and took in my flushed skin. “Sure, Mom. We’ll fly out for the holiday.”

I don’t think Aric’s gruff voice registered with Mama Connor. She continued in that same lovely pitch. “Of course, Aric has explained how close you are with your sisters. They’re also welcome. It would be nice to have all the boys home.”

I rolled onto my stomach and tried to scramble off the bed when Aric’s hands went from daring to downright naughty. “I’ll have to ask them about it,” I choked.

“Yeah, and maybe you can come spend Christmas in Tahoe,” Aric said. He clasped my ankles and yanked me back with one tug. “We have to go, Mom. We’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay, dear. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.”

He pounced on my now na**d body. “Oh, we will. Give our love to Aunt Suzie.”

Aric disconnected the call and started laughing again. I smacked his shoulder. “I can’t believe you just did that while I was on the phone with your mother!”

“And I can’t believe you thought there was someone else.” His humor ceased and his rough voice deepened. “Damn, Celia. Don’t you know how much you mean to me?”

My voice quieted. “I guess I don’t.”

A bee flew in the window and buzzed around the room. Aric snatched it from the air and tossed it outside. It flew in swirls, temporarily stunned, before disappearing toward Mrs. Mancuso’s house. He adjusted his position on top of me. “What the hell happened to the screen?”

“Oh, it’s not important.” I pulled one of the sheets from the edge of the mattress and fanned it out around us. “Tell me about your parents.”

The aroma of Aric’s raw need floated into my nose, demanding that I pay attention. “I don’t want to think about my parents. I’d rather focus on you.”

Aric disappeared beneath the covers, but I pulled him back up before it was too late. “Come on, wolf. I’d like to know more about them.”

“Now?” he grumbled.

I batted my eyelashes at him. “Please, baby.”

Aric paused, watching me closely as he stroked a few strands of hair off my cheek. “Okay, but only because I can’t resist that face.” He kissed my lips so softly I barely felt their gentle sweep. “My parents were mated. But I guess you already knew that.”

I nodded. “They connected spiritually.”

“Yeah. They sure as hell did.” Aric’s face reddened. “But it took them years to establish that connection. My father was forty when he realized my mother was his mate, though he’d known her all her life.”

My head angled beneath him. “I thought for sure it was a love-at-first-sight moment. You know, staring at each other from across a crowded room and such.”

Aric didn’t laugh at my humor. Instead he grew serious. “Sometimes it is, but other times it takes a physical act for a wolf to recognize his mate.”

I angled an eyebrow. “Dare I ask what kind of physical act took place?”

Aric chuckled. “My mother was twenty-five at the time and had always had a crush on my dad. He considered her his good friend’s little sister, so he never paid much attention to her. One day she got mad when she saw him hitting on another were at a bar. She went up to him, kicked him in the shins, then kissed him.”

“Good for your mom. Was he mad?”

Aric shook his head. He’d probably heard the story of his parents’ union a thousand times. Yet he didn’t appear tired of it or hesitant to retell the tale. But he did seem a little sad. “The kiss made his wolf identify my mom as their mate. They became inseparable and married days later. Crazy, huh?”

My nails grazed Aric’s arms. “I guess.” He kissed the knuckles of each hand, then rolled me on top of him. I positioned a pillow behind his head and tucked my head against his shoulder. “When did you come along?”

“Not until my mother was forty-five and Dad turned sixty. Mom had trouble conceiving and maintaining her pregnancies, a rare occurrence when you have two purebloods. She lost favor among the were elite. The pack Elders encouraged my father to take a mistress.”

I stiffened. “Aric, that’s horrible.”

“It was a difficult time for both of them and one they didn’t speak of much. But given that they were mates, Dad refused to have anyone but Mom.” Aric adjusted his position so he could see me better. “They had the last laugh, though, when I was born.”

“Because you were so damn adorable?”

Aric grinned back at me. “Yeah, that . . . and when I proved as an infant to possess the power of an Elder.”

My hand slid across his chest to rest against his other shoulder. “How could they know something like that if you were just a baby?” Aric didn’t answer, his indecision raking against my skin. “What’s wrong, love?”

His fingertips skimmed the edges of my ribs. “I’m going to tell you something about me, but I don’t want you to freak out and think I’m weird.”

I sighed. “I’ve split my atoms in front of you and changed into a damn chicken.” Not that I wanted to remind him of the “feathered ass” incident when we’d first met. “I think it’s safe to say I’m the weird one in this relationship.”

Aric’s hard laugh forced his head back. “Okay. Fair enough.” He cleared his throat, trying to quiet. “As weres, we’re born resembling human babies. We obtain our first change during a full moon before our first birthday. The younger we are when we first change, the more powerful we’ll be as weres. The strongest usually change between six and nine months of age.”

“How old were you when you first changed?”

“How old do you think?”

“Considering you’d make the Hulk your bitch? I’ll go with not a day past six months.” He didn’t answer. “Babe, how old were you?”

Aric smirked before answering, “Not even two months old.”

I didn’t move, or breathe, or blink. “Okay. You are a freak. Welcome to the club. We have a secret handshake.”

Aric slid his hands slowly down my back, immediately warming my body. “Can’t wait to learn it.”

I placed my chin on his chest. “So you really are the big, bad wolf. Aren’t you?”

Aric’s voice turned distant. “I suppose. But unlike you, my strength didn’t come with any special gifts. I’d have given it up for the power to see the future.”

I shook my head. “That can be more of a curse than a gift, love.”

“Maybe. But at least it would have saved my father.” Aric drew me closer. “When I was fifteen, my dad and Martin, our current Alpha, were sent with a team to Africa. Martin’s mate, Nala, also accompanied them. Their mission was to dispose of an extremely powerful witch in Lesotho protecting diamond smugglers. In exchange for protection, the smugglers paid her well and gave her sacrifices. When my father and his team caught up with her, they weren’t prepared for how powerful she’d become. She bespelled Nala with moon sickness and disappeared.”