Carol's Mate

Chapter Three

Thoroughly sated, Carol straightened her clothes and finished putting on her jewelry, checking to make sure her makeup wasn‟t smeared. Before leaving the room, her gaze fell on the family portrait in a prominent position on the dresser.

The man sat behind the woman, his hands possessively cradling her bulging stomach. The expression on his face as he gazed at his mate was lovingly intent, as though his entire world began and ended in her.

The woman looked at the camera with a Mona Lisa smile of contentment.

Anyone looking at her could see she was well loved and knew it. Staring up at the couple with adoration in her eyes was a little girl with pigtails. Her small hands also rested on the woman‟s belly, and there was a sparkle in her eyes as though she knew something no one else did.

Carol remembered that day vividly. She and her parents had posed for pictures to insert into their Christmas mailings. Afterward they were headed to the ice-cream shop, where her father had promised her two scoops of her favorite flavors. A month later, both her parents and her unborn baby brother were gone.

Sighing deeply, Carol kissed her forefinger and touched it to the glass protecting the photo, refusing to give in to the sadness lurking in her heart. Today was a good day. A day of possibilities. Shaking off the past, she went out to greet her former guardians, Mona and Tom. They were seated in the living room and stood when she entered the room. Mona gave her a hug, and the alpha pecked her on the cheek. She could tell how pleased they were to see her.

The move to Arizona had been good for them. When they‟d left, Mona‟s long, thick, straight black hair had fallen to her waist. Now it was cut in a short, stylish bob that lightly touched her jaw. Her gray eyes had a few more lines around them, from squinting in the bright desert sunshine, Carol was sure. Her olive complexion, which showed her Mediterranean roots, was even more tanned.

Thomas Wolfe was just as handsome and muscular as ever. Though he was in his eighties, you couldn‟t tell it by looking at him. His black wavy hair, cut military short, had very little gray in it. His black eyes were just as piercing, and other than his face being more tanned than usual, he didn‟t look a day over fifty.

“Look at you. You‟re positively glowing,” Mona stated. “I don‟t have to ask if Mark‟s treating you well. I can see for myself that he is. Pregnancy agrees with you.”

Carol smiled a bit nervously now that the moment was upon her. She‟d told Mark what she intended to do and had his full support. Mark nodded encouragingly and clasped the hand she held out to him, holding it. “That‟s what I want to talk to you about.” She motioned for them to be seated as she settled beside Mark on the arm of his chair.

Mona and Tom exchanged glances and then sat as instructed. Mona seemed tense. “Is something wrong with the baby?”

“No, everything‟s fine. There have been no complications.”

“Oh. Then what‟s this about? The last time you were this nervous is when you told us about Mark.”

“Honey, give her a chance. You keep asking questions, and we‟ll never discover what this is about,” Tom said to Mona.

Carol took a deep breath and, with another glance at her mate, began. “First, I want you two to know how much I appreciate all you‟ve done for me. The way you took me in and raised me as your own after my parents died—”

“There‟s no need to thank us, honey,” Mona interrupted. “We were happy to do so.”

Tom motioned for Mona to be quiet. “Let her finish.”

“When you wanted to adopt me, I refused because I thought letting you claim me as your own would somehow take away from my parents, like you were trying to erase them from my life. I thought accepting your offer would be a betrayal of their memory.”

Mona gasped. “Oh, honey, I had no idea. We would never do such a thing.” Carol smiled. “I realize that…now. Being pregnant has given me a new perspective of the whole situation. God forbid, if anything were ever to happen to me and Mark, I‟d consider my child very fortunate to have someone as loving as you two to raise him. I know it‟s too late to agree to that adoption, but my baby—”

“Our,” Mark interjected.

“Our baby needs grandparents, loving grandparents who understand who and what he is, who will be a source of wisdom and encouragement in his life, the way you were in mine. I‟d be honored if you‟d fill that role.” Mona and Tom looked at each other again, the silent communication she remembered from childhood taking place. Carol dug her nails into Mark‟s shoulder.

He gently pried them loose and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping both arms around her. She settled into him, trying to relax as she waited for them to come to a decision.

Mark had told her it was foolish of her to be so nervous, that she was blowing this whole thing way out of proportion. Tom and Mona loved her, considered her their child, and any child she had would automatically be their grandchild, but Carol didn‟t want to assume. Not on a matter this important. Not only that, Carol knew in her heart that the apology she‟d just given them was long overdue.

Tom indicated for Mona to answer for the both of them. “Yes, we‟d be honored.” Carol let out the breath she was holding. Clearing her throat, she added,

“Since you‟re being so agreeable, is it okay if I call you Mom?” Mona‟s eyes filled, and the tears overflowed. Overcome, she simply nodded rapidly.

“I object,” Tom said firmly.

Carol sucked in a harsh breath, and Mark squeezed her, a silent command for her to be quiet and wait.

“You can‟t call my mate Mom unless you agree to call me Dad,” he finished with a smile.

She laid her hand on her heart and let out a sigh of relief. “You scared me. Yes, I‟d be happy to call you dad, Dad,” she told him.

Mona rose with arms extended. Carol stood and walked into them. At five-six, Mona was much shorter than her. Despite Mona‟s petite stature, she was a fierce little thing, able to make grown men back down much bigger. As teenagers, neither Carol nor Alex had been able to get away with anything. Mona—make that Mom—

had somehow always known what they were up to, and she was as protective of them as any mama bear with her cubs.

Carol hoped that when her baby was born, she‟d be at least half as good and understanding a parent as Mona had been.

“Let‟s go into the kitchen,” Mona said. “The pack should begin arriving any minute. I know you have things under control, but two hands are always better than one.”

“I appreciate the help,” Carol told her and ignored the way Mark pretended to have a heart attack at her words.

“From your reaction, I can see my cub hasn‟t changed much,” Tom stated.

“You have no idea,” Mark stated.

“Trust me, we do. Why do you think we made her the pack‟s beta?” Both men laughed.

Carol rolled her eyes and, as she led the way to the kitchen, asked Mona,

“Would you like a tour of the house?”

“Of course.”

Carol showed her around the multilevel, three-bedroom/two-and-a-half-bath home she and Mark had built. They‟d moved in less than six months ago, and this was the first time her parents had seen it. It was set on a half acre of land with lots of trees for privacy.

“This is beautiful. You two have done well for yourselves. I still wish you would have let Tom and I help you,” Mona said as they reentered the kitchen.

“You‟ve done so much for me already. This was something Mark and I needed to do for ourselves,” Carol explained.

Mona shook her head, causing her hair to swing into her face. “So stubborn, just like your brother, Alex.”

Carol winced. “Never say those words.”

“Which words?”

“That Alex and I are alike.”

Mona laughed. “Of course you are. Why do you think you two fought so much when you were younger?”

“Jealousy on my part because he still had his parents and I didn‟t, and resentment on his because he was no longer the only child?” Mona turned serious. “Maybe in the beginning, there was a little of that while you two adjusted to each other. Later I believe it was because you‟re such a fiercely independent little thing and Alex is extremely protective of those he cares about. He wanted to wrap you in cotton, and you wouldn‟t let him. Wouldn‟t let any of us. It used to bother me the way you held yourself apart from the family. I understood, but it was hard not to push for you to let us in. I thought maybe if we adopted you by human standards, it would give you a sense of security.” Carol turned to the smaller woman. “One thing I never doubted was your love for me. I could see it, sense it, smell it. If I feared being turned away, I wouldn‟t have acted out nearly as bad. You and To—I‟m mean Dad—were patient but firm with me, treating me the same as you did Alex. Looking back, I can see I was angry my home had been torn from me and my family lost, instead of being grateful that there was someone as wonderful as you waiting in the wings to pick up the pieces.” Mona shook her head. “You hurt in a way that you didn‟t know how to deal with. Grief counseling would have helped. Unfortunately as shifters, we couldn‟t take the risk. There wasn‟t anyone trained that we trusted enough with your safety.”

Carol pondered Mona‟s words as she took the party platters out of the fridge and handed them to Mona to set up. She was right. She‟d been hurt and angry, but so had her wolf. Any counselor she‟d seen would have had to be capable of handling both.

Losing her parents had been bad enough, but it was the manner in which she lost them that had caused her the most heartache. By pack standards, Carol was just as much the alphas‟ child as Alex, but until she‟d become pregnant, it was something she had never wanted to acknowledge. Being the kindhearted people that the Wolfes were, they‟d never pushed the issue, though it had to have hurt.

They worked together in silence, having done this many, many times when Mona and Tom were still in their position as alphas of the Raven pack before turning control over to Alex and her. When finished, they settled at the breakfast table with cups of hot chocolate.

“How‟s the pregnancy coming?”

Carol smiled. “So far so good. A bit of nausea from time to time, but that‟s to be expected. Otherwise I feel great.”

“That takes care of the physical. What about mentally? Any concerns?”

“No, it‟s all been great,” she cheerfully replied.

Mona pinned Carol with a look she remembered vividly from childhood. As the silence grew, Carol fought not to squirm. In the end, she did what she‟d always done: cracked under the pressure. “Okay, I‟m a little nervous. As a medical professional, I know what happened to Momma was a fluke, but the woman in me…”

Mona wiped her hands on a paper towel and then cupped Carol‟s face. “Things are different now. When your mom started having complications, there was only the pack‟s midwife and Tom to handle things. Unfortunately Tom had the knowledge but not the equipment to handle placental abruption.” Placental abruption, a condition in which the placenta separated from the uterus, didn‟t only affect human women. Shifters suffered too, and often bled out if swift medical treatment wasn‟t given. Her father had been rushing her mother down the mountain in an ice storm to get to Colbyville‟s emergency room when he spun out on one of the curves in an effort to avoid an oncoming vehicle in the wrong lane, went over the railing, and down into a ravine, where the car had exploded.

“You know one of the reasons Mark and I decided to wait before getting pregnant is for things to be settled with the pack. Then there was his business. We wanted it to be firmly established. But a deeper reason, for me at least, was that I wanted to make sure the clinic was equipped to handle any kind of medical emergency that could arise before we made an attempt, just in case.”

“That‟s very wise of you both,” Mona said approvingly.

“At first, there was a whole bunch of excitement. Now that it‟s tapered off, I find myself thinking about the past a lot.”

Mona gave her the same gentle smile that had comforted Carol more times than she‟d ever admitted while growing up. “It‟s only natural. You‟re entering a new phase of your life. Reflecting on the path that got you to where you are today is only to be expected. And it won‟t stop, either. Trust me. Your child will do or say something, and a memory will come out of nowhere. It‟s part of the cycle of life. I look at you now, all grown-up and married, carrying a child of your own, and I remember the day we brought you home. How lost you were. I wanted to wrap you up in my arms and promise that nothing would ever hurt you again, not if I could help it. You were such a fierce little thing, trying so hard to be brave and strong.

Your pride was all you had to cling to, and I knew I had to give you space, let you handle things your way.”

Carol reached out and laid her hand on Mona‟s. “Thank you for that. My parents had taught me that wolves were strong. That day, when you told me what happened, their words were all I had to cling to. Now I‟ve been blessed with another family to replace the one I lost: you, Dad, Alex, Mark, and the cub on the way.”

“And Christmas is a wonderful time to count and share with others the many blessings the Creator has given us in our lives.” The doorbell rang, and they went out to greet their guests. Soon the house was overflowing with neighbors and pack members bearing presents and food. Gifts were exchanged, food eaten, and laughter and conversation rang throughout the house.

Despite the snow on the ground, one of the guys produced a football, and before she knew it, an intense game was in progress. With her mate‟s permission, Carol was roped into playing. Not that she minded. She loved the game. Being a nurse and the pack‟s beta didn‟t allow her nearly enough time to play. Since both Alex and Mark were on one team, she joined the opposing one. After an hour, she decided she‟d had enough fun and retreated to the sidelines to watch the game. She knew the guys would have more fun, be more aggressive without her in the way.

One of the women brought Carol a drink and a chair, and she sat, feeling protected and coddled by her pack. The birth of a new pack member was something they all celebrated and took part in. Though they hoped for a girl, most likely it was a boy. Not that it mattered. Every shifter child born was one step further away from their extinction as a species.

Her attention was drawn back to the field as Mark scored a touchdown. Her mate. As he played, she could see the steely determination that was so much a part of his nature, which had allowed him to claim her as his own. Under the weight and pressure of “doing the right thing,” she would have walked away and been miserable for the rest of her life. Thank God Mark hadn‟t let that happen. Even though she‟d pushed him away countless times, he kept coming back. She remembered the last time vividly…

Carol stared at the open textbook in front of her and sighed. Unfortunately she couldn‟t concentrate worth a damn. Not since The Kiss. It had happened over a week ago—ten days, three hours, and twenty-two minutes, not that she was counting—and she still hadn‟t been able to put it out of her mind.

Once again she went through her litany of reasons why a relationship between them wouldn‟t work. They were two completely different species. Her kind were known for their rough sexual play. She might do serious damage to his fragile human body, and he didn‟t have a shifter‟s ability to change and heal. Already she‟d had to stop herself from clawing his back and sinking her fangs into his neck. And then there was the fact that he didn‟t—couldn‟t—know what she was. Sex brought out the beast. In orgasm, it was impossible to control the shift. Glowing eyes, fangs, and nails turned to claws were a little difficult to explain.

Strong sexual attraction aside, this guy really got to her on an emotional level.

Getting more deeply involved with Mark would only lead to heartache. Once these last two semesters were finished, she was returning to Refuge and her pack to complete her internship and, later, to work. She‟d settle down with one of her pack mates, push out some pups, and life would continue on.

She couldn‟t see a city boy like Mark being willing to settle in some small, one-traffic-light town way up in the mountains, surrounded by a bunch of shape-shifters and humans with extrasensory perception. Even if he was, there was still the fact that they were genetically incompatible. She‟d like to have children one day—at least two. Maybe more. That wouldn‟t be possible with a human as a mate.

Resolve once more firm in her mind, she focused her attention on the text, only to have a determined knock at the door interrupt her. Carol groaned. She had end-of-semester exams coming. She needed to study.

She rose, went to the town-house door, and looked out the peephole. It was Mark. She was too stunned to question how he‟d discovered where she lived. She‟d certainly never told him. Not that it was a big secret or anything.

She leaned her forehead against the wood, breathing hard as the arousal that had never completely dissipated since their kiss coursed through her body, gaining strength. This close, she could smell him. His lust hit her like a tidal wave.

Carol took a step backward as he pounded on the door again.

“Carol, open up. I know you‟re in there.”

With her car in the driveway, there was no way she could pretend the house was empty. She had to deal with him, with this. “Go home, Mark.”

“I‟m not leaving. Open the door.” When she didn‟t respond, he continued banging, causing the whole frame to shudder. “Carol!”

“Go away. I‟m studying.” She couldn‟t open the door to him. If she did, all the reasons in the world wouldn‟t matter. She‟d be on him in a heartbeat.

“Carol, please.” He sounded like he was pressed right against the wood. “I know I promised to leave you alone but…”

She came forward and placed her hand on the door. “Mark,” she sighed.

“Baby, let me in.”

She could fight his demand, but his pleas? Her hand moved and slid back the chain, almost with a mind of its own, then flipped the dead bolt. When she reached the doorknob, she hesitated, her conscience warring with her instincts.

“Baby, please don‟t send me away,” he begged.

It was the nudge she needed to let him in. “This is a bad idea,” she stated as she slowly opened the door.

“Then we‟ll just have to make it good,” he pronounced as he strode inside and kicked the door closed. He stripped off his jacket and let it fall to the floor as he reached for her. “Woman, you‟re driving me crazy. I can‟t sleep. I can‟t eat. All I can think about is you.”

“This is nothing more than an intense physical attraction. We‟ll get over it,” she said a bit desperately, hands braced on his chest in a weak attempt to hold him off, fighting what she knew to be a losing battle. Already her wolf was stirring, adding heat to the lust coursing through her system.

“Too late,” he muttered before his mouth claimed hers in a kiss that blasted apart the last of her remaining barriers.

Carol raised her arms to circle his neck and clung to him, plastering her body against his. Mark‟s head twisted from side to side, searching for that perfect angle, his tongue deep in her mouth, tangling with and stroking her own until her senses were overwhelmed with the taste and scent of this forbidden human.

They fell against the wall in a tangle of groping hands and fevered kisses.

Carol heard herself growl and tried to stop.

“Shit, that‟s sexy. Do it again,” he ordered, gasping for air.

The growl morphed to a moan as his mouth latched on to her T-shirt-covered breast. She clutched his shoulders and had to make a conscious effort to keep her claws from sprouting.

“You make me crazy the way you go around braless. I see these tits, and I want to taste them, tease them. See how much of it I can fit into my mouth.” He stripped her T-shirt over her head and tossed it to the side. Gazing at her breasts with what appeared to be reverence, he said, “They‟re even prettier than I imagined.”

Mark flicked one of her nipples with his thumb, and it instantly hardened, while her hips jerked forward. His gaze flew to hers. “How sensitive are they?” She hissed. “Very.”

The grin he gave her was savagely sexy. “This is going to be fun.” He dipped his head, mouth opened wide, and latched on to her breast. He consumed the whole thing. Carol had never been happier that her breasts were small.

Mark drew so strongly on it, her nipple was flattened against the top of his mouth. She let out a keening cry, and grabbed his head, holding him to her.

He switched sides. She went a little crazy, clawing at his shirt, trying to get to skin. He stopped long enough to help her remove it before his mouth was right back at her breasts, his hands cupping her ass.

Carol ground herself on his cock. The feel of his hard flesh pressed to her soft contours was exquisite. Mark inserted a leg between her own and rubbed his sex against her. Back to the wall, she arched into him and rode the ridge of his erection, the flimsy material of her gray jersey shorts and cotton panties no barrier.

“Need…to…be…in…you…now,” he panted as he ripped open the zipper and shoved down his pants.

His penis—tall, strong, and thick—fell out of the opening. Carol wrapped her greedy little fingers around it, instinctively pumping up and down.

“Shit, that feels good. Too good. Stop or this will be over before it gets started.” She removed her hand and pushed her shorts and panties down her legs, stepping out of them when they dropped around her ankles. Mark went still as stone, barely even breathing.

“Is something wrong? Am I moving too fast?” she asked worriedly.

He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. When he re-opened them, they held so much heat she felt seared where she stood. “You are so damn beautiful. Even more than I‟d imagined.”

Having always been somewhat of a tomboy, she was embarrassed by Mark‟s praise. Carol could feel her face flushing.

“Baby, I hope you‟re ready for me, ‟cause I don‟t think I can wait much longer,” he confessed on a groan.

“Take me,” she said, reaching for him.

His mouth slammed down on hers in a kiss that another woman might have called brutal. To Carol, it was an indicator of how far gone he was. He grabbed under her left knee and lifted her leg. One of his hands felt along her slit and slid inside her sheath, testing her readiness. “Fuck, you‟re wet. Tell me it‟s all for me.” “It‟s for you.”

In a display of brute strength worthy of a shifter, Mark lifted her up high on the wall. “Wrap your legs around me,” he commanded.

Carol curled both legs around his waist. Mark lined his sex up with hers, rubbing back and forth until he prodded her opening.

He played with her, drawing the moment out until Carol thought she‟d lose her mind. “I thought you couldn‟t wait,” she bit out.

“I can‟t,” he said and slammed home. “Shit, condom,” he stated as he withdrew.

“I need…”

“I‟m protected,” she cried as she desperately tried to get him back where he belonged.

“Thank you, God,” he breathed out and, gripping her ass, pulled her down to meet his thrusting cock as he impaled her again.

Carol bit down on the tendon between his neck and shoulder, her fangs locking, while taking a layer of skin off his back with his claws.

“Ahhhh! That‟s right. Bite me. Scratch me. Show me how good it feels to you.” He adjusted his hold on her and began a pounding rhythm.

Mark quickly took her to the edge and then shoved her over. She bit down so hard trying not to howl that she tasted blood. He accepted her abuse and demanded more. “Give it to me, baby. Let me feel that sweet pussy tighten on my cock. Milk me, baby.”

His upper body pinned hers to the wall. Holding her by the ass and bending at his knees, he drove into her with his whole body. Growling noises rose up from her chest.

“Oh hell yeah. Growl for me, baby.”

She growled and snarled and muffled a howl as she came again. She‟d thought a human couldn‟t handle her, but Mark was proving her wrong. He worked her until she saw stars.

“Give it to me. You feel so good. Come for me again. Just once more,” he demanded, and her body obeyed.

As she climaxed for the third time, Mark drove into her to the hilt, the force of his thrust denting the thinly plastered drywall behind them as it gave under their combined weights. Limp with pleasure, Carol could do nothing but hold on as his knees buckled and they slumped to the floor.

She glanced over her head. “We broke the wall.” Mark‟s head rose from her shoulder, and his gaze followed hers. “I‟ll help you fix it.”

Now that she was sated, sanity returned. She pushed on his shoulders, trying to rise and free herself. “This was a mistake.”

“No.” His hand wrapped in her braids and tugged so that her face lifted to his.

“You will not push me away. Not now, not after this.”

“What this? It was just sex,” she lied, knowing it was so much more.

He gently shook her. “It‟s more, and I‟m not going to let you run from what‟s between us.”

She vigorously shook her head from side to side. “You don‟t understand.”

“Then tell me. Tell me why we can‟t be together, and don‟t give me some bullshit about not wanting to get attached until you get your studies out the way.

I‟ve never felt about any woman the way I feel for you. I‟ll be damned if I‟m going to let you toss away what could possibly be the best thing that ever happened to me without at least giving us a try.”

Carol stared at him. She couldn‟t tell him the truth, and he‟d already shot down her only other reason.

“Carol, give us a chance,” he said, gazing deeply into her eyes.

Unable to see a way around it and knowing she really didn‟t want to, she hesitantly nodded her head. “All right.”

He smiled in relief and leaned forward, then laid a gentle kiss on her lips. She could feel his cock stirring inside of her. Unable to help herself, she arched her hips and tightened her sheath around him.

Mark planted his hands on the wall, caging her in. “You said something about studying?”

Carol rocked on him again. “It can wait.”

“Exactly what I wanted to hear.” He lifted her off him, rose to his feet, and helped her stand. “Which way is the bedroom? That was nice, but this time I want a bed.”

She pointed up the stairs and started toward them. Mark caught her from behind. In a quick motion, he had her turned and flipped over his shoulder. Letting out a Tarzan yell, he carried her upstairs and into her room. After tossing her playfully on the bed, he removed the rest of his clothes, then pinned her to the mattress with her hands above her head.

“I don‟t know what it is, but you bring out the beast in me,” he told her.

“It‟s only fair since you do the same to me.”

His eyes lit up, and he smiled. “Now…where were we?” Carol wrapped her legs around his waist, opening herself for his possession.

“Right about here.”

“Oh yes, now I remember,” he stated as he sheathed his cock inside her.