Lycan Christmas

Chapter Nineteen

Lorent finished putting the clothes on Piers had brought him, and stared down at the mangled body of Rufus. He cast a surreptitious glance at Piers when he sighed.

“It was necessary, but I still hate it every time we lose one of our own.

It’s a damn shame.” Piers squatted and hauled Rufus over his shoulder. “You all right, kid?”

Lorent cringed at the “kid” label, even though he knew Piers didn’t mean it as an insult. He was, after all, an ancient, which definitely made Lorent a kid in his eyes.

“Yeah.” Lorent nodded.

Lorent had nearly killed Rufus by the time Piers had intervened and swiftly broken the rogue’s neck. While he had felt a shudder of disappointment at the time that he had not been the one to end the life of the bastard who’d tried to harm his mate and who he’d personally witnessed perform countless acts of cruelty and brutality on others—himself included—he wasn’t sure how he’d feel about taking the life of another.

He accepted that there would come a time when he had no choice but to kill a rogue, and he would do what had to be done when it came to it. Had Piers not stepped in, he would have, without hesitation, put Rufus out of his sorry-ass misery. But he couldn’t deny that a part of him felt relief that that time was not today. Death might be easy, but it wasn’t pretty.

He followed Piers deep into the woods and helped him build a fire so they could dispose of Rufus’s body. After the flames had done their job, they dug a hole and buried the bones. When they were on their way back to Sanctuary, Lorent knew the time had come to claim Melony as his mate.

“Melony is mine,” Lorent said to Piers, holding his breath as he waited for the ancient’s response.

“I kind of got that feeling when I saw how you ripped into Rufus. It appeared personal.”

“It was. He was going to kill her. I knew him from my past. He was brutal, did horrible things to so many people, and there was no way in hell I was going to allow him to take Melony from me.”

“Do you love her?”

“I don’t know. I want to, but I’m not sure I know what love feels like,”

Lorent admitted.

Piers blew out a long breath. “Can you picture yourself without her?”

“No.”

“When you found out she was in danger, did a perfect maelstrom of anger and fear like you’ve never felt in your entire life swirl inside you? Did the thought of her possible death spark an urgency to get to her so strong it felt as if your skin could not contain it?”

Lorent thought for a moment. “Yes. That was exactly how I felt.”

“How do you feel when she is near you?”

“As if everything is right in the world. She can touch me, and all of my past sins seem to melt away. She makes me want to be a better man so I can be good enough for her.”

“That’s love, my boy. That’s love.” Piers grinned. “It’ll twist you up so bad inside that no matter how far or hard you run, there is no getting away from it. It makes you think you will never be good enough for her, and while you are arguing with your own bloody self that she can do so much better, you will never let someone else try to be better than you. Because the mere thought of someone else touching her will drive you insane.”

“Holy hell. I do love her.”

Piers chuckled. “What are you going to do about it?”

Lorent smiled. “I’m going to go get my woman.”

It had been several hours since they’d made it back to Sanctuary, and Melony paced in her living room. She hadn’t heard from Lorent, and she was worried. She’d already taken a shower and fed Puss, and was about to rip her hair out in frustration, when her front door flew open.

She spun around and gasped. Lorent stood in the opening watching her, his hazel eyes glowing brightly. His hair was damp and tousled, and he looked sexy and . . . wild. He took her breath away and made her heart flip-flop. He had changed his clothes, and his T-shirt hugged his broad chest but wasn’t neatly tucked in under his waistband as normal. His dark jeans hugged his hips and muscular thighs, and a sudden urge to see him naked made a dull ache throb between her legs.

She cried out and flung herself into his arms. “I was worried about you,”

she said against his chest.

She pressed her nose to him and took a deep breath. He smelled good, and he was warm. But when he remained still, she looked up at him and realized he didn’t look happy. She frowned, then worried her bottom lip with her teeth as anxiety settled in her chest.

“You were worried about me?” One of his dark brows slowly rose.

If she had any sense, the warning in his voice would have put her on guard, but apparently, where he was concerned, she’d lost all common sense.

“Of course. It’s been hours. I was scared you got hurt.” She stepped back and started running her hands over him, inspecting him for injury.

He grunted and stilled her hands with his fingers. “What the hell were you thinking?”

She tried to back away from him, but he encircled her wrists and held her to him. She huffed in indignation. “I already got the second degree from Knox and Rose. I don’t need it from you.”

“I disagree. Actually, I think you need a good spanking.”

Now it was her turn to raise a brow at him. He’d never talked to her that way. Then it dawned on her. He was angry. Well, too bad. She wasn’t a child, and he wasn’t her keeper.

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t you ever do something like that again. Putting yourself in danger is reckless enough, but putting others in danger along with you is irresponsible. Do you have any idea what it did to me when I got your call on the walkie?”

“Don’t tell me what to do. You have as much to answer for—more—

than I do. You didn’t tell me about dreams between mates, and you didn’t tell me I was your mate.”

“What I did didn’t endanger me, you, or anyone else.”

“How was I supposed to know that a simple trip to town would endanger anyone? I would never put anyone—myself included—in harm’s way on purpose. Do you know what it would have done to me if something had happened to Sherry or the baby? It was a bad decision. Nothing more.”

“I stopped by Sherry and Piers’s. Sherry told me what you did for her and the baby. Piers said he’d made it clear that he was not happy with you, but after he heard how you risked your life for Sherry, he asked me to let you know all is forgiven.” He squeezed her wrists gently. “You’re amazing.”

God, the man was perplexing. One minute he was scolding her, the next he was praising her.

“The rogue killed my mother.”

Lorent nodded. “I know. Rufus was always a braggart, and today was no different, but believe me when I tell you he’s paid for what he did.”

She knew what that meant and couldn’t seem to bring herself to feel one ounce of sorrow for Rufus, maybe a general sadness for a loss of a life that could have made a difference, but she wasn’t upset that her mother’s killer was dead. In fact, Rufus’s death gave her some closure.

“It was my fault. My scent is what got my mother killed.”

“No, it wasn’t. It was one of those things that just happened. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was not your fault, and you know she wouldn’t want you to feel that way.”

“No. It was the scarf I gave her for Mother’s Day. Rufus told me it had my scent on it. It’s what led him to her. He killed her because she wouldn’t tell him where to find me.”

He tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes with those unwavering hazel pools. “Listen to me. It was not your fault. If your mother was as wonderful as you say, I believe it would make her sad to know that you are blaming yourself for her death.”

He was right, and in her mind, she knew that, but her heart refused to completely let go of the guilt she felt. It would take her time to fully accept the fact that she had played a part in her mother’s death. For now, she pushed it to the back of her mind.

“Lorent, why didn’t you tell me I was your mate?” She could see some of the tension drain from him as his shoulders relaxed.

“I’m not good enough for you. You deserve better.”

She cupped his jaw, and the dark stubble scraped against her skin. “You are good enough for me. You came to me and told me about your past.”

“But I couldn’t do it in person. I did it through a dream.”

“Doesn’t matter. You still trusted me enough to tell me. And you know what else?”

“What?”

“You love me.”

“I know.”

“You know?” She swallowed hard.

“When I saw you lying on that dirt road with Rufus standing over you, I thought I’d go crazy. The thought of losing you put a kind of bone-deep fear in me I’d never felt before. I don’t want to live without you, Melony. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.”

“That’s definitely love.” She choked back a sob. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” He hugged her to him and nuzzled her hair. “Melony,”

he whispered by her ear.

“Yes?”

“I need you.”

“I need you too.”

Someone started knocking rather insistently on her front door. She wanted to ignore it, but when the sound continued, she figured that whoever it was wouldn’t go away until she answered the door.

She gave Lorent an apologetic shrug. “Talk about bad timing.”

He nodded, and she went to the door only to find Shannon standing behind it. “Shannon, what—”

Before she could get the question out, Shannon ran past her and wrapped her arms around Lorent.

“I heard what happened. Are you okay?” Shannon looked up into Lorent’s face and remained plastered against him.

He set her away from him as gently as possible. “I’m fine, Shannon. I’m sure the others already told you that.”

“Yes, but I had to see for myself.”

Enough was enough. Melony shut the door and went to Lorent, reached for his hand, and was happy when he pulled her close and put his arm around her shoulders. This was her man, and it was time for Shannon to get the message loud and clear.

“Shannon, I need to tell you something.” She smiled up at Lorent, and he nodded. “I am Lorent’s mate, and I’m not comfortable with your interest in him.”

“She’s your mate?” Shannon’s mouth hung open in a very unappealing way.

“Yes. I love her, and she’s the only woman for me.”

Shannon frowned. “I thought for so long that maybe I was your mate and you were just too shy to admit it. I love you, Lorent.”

“I’m sorry. I tried to make it clear that there was nothing more than friendship between us. I never wanted to hurt you, but please understand once and for all that I don’t return your feelings.” Lorent’s voice was strained.

Melony knew Lorent hated hurting Shannon, but it was way past time for this conversation to happen. Even if she’d never come to Sanctuary, Lorent needed to tell Shannon that he didn’t love her, make her understand.

Melony felt a little sorry for Shannon when tears started falling down her cheeks and she looked as if someone had just run over her dog.

“Shannon, I know we’ve had our differences, but I would really like it if we could be friends.”

Melony wasn’t sure if they could ever be friends, but she was willing to try.

“You still want to be friends with me?” Shannon sniffled.

“Yes, but I don’t think it will work out if you continue to flirt with Lorent. I love him, and he’s mine.”

“I’m sorry I’ve been so horrible to you, Melony, but I really care for Lorent. I understand that he will never return my feelings now that he’s found his mate. I need some time to get over this, but I would like very much if we could be friends.”

Was this the same Shannon? Melony was surprised at the ease of her acceptance. She’d expected more drama, maybe a tantrum, but not grown-up cooperation. Maybe they really could become friends. Shannon headed for the door.

“Wait,” Melony said before Shannon left. “Let Lorent walk you home. It would make me feel better to know you got back safely after everything that’s happened today.”

“Oh. Thank you, Melony. Um, I know it’s not a good time, but when I got my laundry back, my favorite red panties were missing. Have you seen them?”

“Yeaahh.” Melony cast a mischievous glance at Lorent. “You know that huge tree about midway down the path to Rindy and Brent’s?”

“Yes.”

“They are about halfway up it. Sorry. I was little irked about the laundry thing.” Melony tried hard not to laugh at Shannon’s surprised expression.

“Well, I guess that solves that mystery.” Shannon gave a halfhearted lopsided grin. “I suppose I deserved that one.” She turned and walked out the door without a further word.

Lorent bent and placed a quick kiss on Melony’s lips before following Shannon out the door. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’m counting on it,” Melony answered.

She watched Lorent go and hoped when he got back there would be no further interruptions. An insistent bump at the back of her legs brought a smile to her face, and she leaned down to pick up Puss. She lightly scratched her behind the ears, her favorite spot to be petted, and Puss started to purr.

“You and Lorent are going to have to learn how to get along. I know it’s been you and me for a while now, but I love him. He will be good to you because he knows how much you mean to me.”

Lorent was back a few moments later. He went to her and gently took Puss from her arms. It usually took time for Puss to warm up to strangers, but she leaned against his chest and continued to purr when he rubbed her under the chin.

He smiled at Melony, and her heart did its usual Lorent-induced flip-flop dance. “She likes you.”

“Seems that way. She’s not so bad herself.” He set the cat down on the floor and stroked her one last time. “I need to talk to your mom right now, Puss.”

Puss rubbed against his legs once, then trotted down the hall as if she understood what he’d said.

His heated gaze sent shivers of anticipation down her spine. With one step, he was toe to toe with her, a scant inch barely separating them. She wanted to touch him, taste him, make love with him, and she had no doubt that tonight all of her wishes and more would come true.