Chapter 123: Chapter 17

COLE

It’s just after nine in the morning when I pull up to Dorothy’s.

“Sweet. I love Dorothy’s stuffed French toast. We should really get a diner in our territory. The nearest one is Papa Pete’s in Bennington, but that’s a thirty-minute drive,” Bristol says as she stretches.

I crack my back, then we head inside. The rest of the blessed are all here with Emmett and Jason. Even Madison, the water blessed from the Weston Pack, is here, and Ian is sitting with Natalie and Emily.

The only blessed that aren’t here are Lacy, who is in Connecticut with her mate and heavily pregnant, and Freya, whose gift is not exactly needed for what we’re doing.

I grab Beta Jason’s attention to fill him in on the drug-dealing fuckers.

“Jason. The Smith Pack needs a visit from Alpha Redd. I caught some asshole trying to rape my mate after slipping her GHB. He had a whole bag of the stuff.”

Everyone at the table growls.

“Your mate?” Emmett asks. “Talk about having a death wish. Why would he slip it to a wolf? It would wear off in like an hour.”

“Only the alpha and beta family knew who I was while I was there. I showed up unannounced. It wasn’t an official visit. My mate’s wolf is repressed. She appears human to anyone not looking close enough.”

“I barely felt her wolf when I was healing her,” Bristol volunteers.

“What did you do with it?” Jason asks, referring to the drugs.

“It’s in my truck, in the console. You can grab it,” I tell him as I rub my tired eyes.

“And the asshole that tried raping her?” he asks.

“He’s alive. I made sure of it. Cole dumped him at his pack. He’s locked up there,” Bristol answers.

“He better be,” I say as I wave Dorothy over.

“I’m glad you found your mate, Cole. And I’m relieved she’s all right,” Aunt Realta tells me with a hug.

“Hey Emmett, are you coming with us?” Emily asks him.

“Not this time, Em. Looks like I have pack duty while everyone is away.” Emmett has had to step up a few times and he’s just as competent as any other beta. Jason will accompany Alpha Redd to the Smith Pack.

Dorothy drops a mug of coffee then takes mine and Bristol’s order. I sip the hot nectar of the gods then relax into my seat.

“Natalie, how is Ang?” I ask, inquiring about my sister.

“She’s having a boy.”

I almost drop my mug. “What? Are you sure?”

Natalie looks at me with a cocked brow. It’s hard to believe she’s as old as my parents; she looks almost the same age as her daughter Emily. Hell, they could pass as sisters, not so much twins though. Emily has Damon’s dark hair, eyes, and tanned skin.

“Sorry, it’s just…”

“I know, you’re not supposed to have boys, but don’t forget both of your sisters are mated to alphas. Alphas need heirs. I think the Goddess understands this.”

I wonder if Ellie will have an heir at some point.

“I agree. It would be so devastating to a pack to lose their alpha line,” Aunt Realta, a former Starlight Sister, explains.

“Mom, will Aunt Dara be coming too?” Natalie asks.

Dorothy brings our food and Bristol and I dig in.

“I haven’t asked, but you know the Starlight Sisters are limited when it comes to interfering in mortal matters.”

I haven’t thought to ask her either, but the thought of seeing Dara makes my heart race and my mind reel. I have no idea how it’s even possible for me to think of another woman after finding my mate, but I still think of Dara regularly.

Bristol hits me in the ribs with her elbow and I grunt as I turn to look at her.

“Pay attention. Our wonderful Oracle asked us all here for an emergency, but neglected to fill us in on what the situation actually is.”

“Oh.” Everyone is looking at me expectantly.

“Forgive the alpha beast, he’s had a long night of dealing with drug dealers, rapists, and a strung-out mate then driving here while I slept in the back seat,” Bristol excuses me.

I drink the last of my coffee and almost pout that my cup is empty.

“There’s a forest fire in California that is going to wipe out the Branston Pack. We need to move the fire away from their territory. It was started by some stupid drunk hunters. It’s not exactly a natural disaster, so we are allowed to step in.”

I look around at the group, deciding how to divide them up based on their abilities.

“Let’s do two teams. Nat, Em, and Ian. Bristol, Madison, and Uncle Dave. Aunt Realta, if Dara is able to help, the two of you can be a third group. If not, team up with Bristol’s group.”

“I linked her. She’s checking,” Aunt Realta informs us.

I give her a nod, then finish eating.

“I’m going to go home and take a shower and a nap. I still smell like that little bastard whose ass I had to kick. Take off is 1:30. Be at the airstrip by one so we can load up and get going.”

“I need to get going too. Virgil wants us at the Smith Pack by dinnertime,” Jason says as he stands up.

I pay the tab and head home.

I’m exhausted, but I have to shower. Hopefully, I can sleep on the plane. My head is stuck on Dara. I’m dying to see her. Visions from my night with her flood my mind, so I switch from a hot shower to a cold one. When that doesn’t do the trick, I leave a splash of my fun gel on the shower floor to run down the drain. I dry off, then walk into my room, still erect.

My fantasy comes to life, and I think I’m dreaming when I see Dara sitting on my bed in black leggings and a long white sweater, looking like the Goddess she is with her hair flowing around her and her eyes shining brightly. Her eyes immediately trace my body lower, then back up to my face.

“Are you turned on because I am here or is that why you were making those noises in the shower?”

I can’t help but smirk as I crawl across my bed, then pull her legs out from under her. She lays under me as I kiss her perfect lips.

“It’s a little of both. I’ve missed your beautiful face.” I inhale her sunflower and ice scent, and my teeth salivate to mark her. “My Dara.” I look into her captivating emerald eyes.

She holds my cheek, and the warmth ignites a fire under my skin.

“Do you feel that, Colton?” she asks.

“Yeah, sky angel, I feel it,” I tell her, then lean in and kiss her deeper. I feel our hearts beating together as she pulls me closer. I rub my hardness against the apex of her leggings.

She moans, and my hands grip her hip and shoulder. Her skin is like burning embers under my fingertips. It’s hypnotic, and I’m in a trance that is all her.

She pulls back to catch her breath, so I move to her neck to continue kissing her. Her hips move with mine, her wetness glides up and down my extended cock.

Her nails scratch down my back, and I press harder into her. She closes her eyes as her head tilts back, and she moans out her pleasure.

“Oh, Colton. You made me do that, and my clothes are still on.”

“So take them off, and I can give you all the pleasure in the world.” I slip my hands under her sweater and start pulling it up and off her. “Dara. I need you, you’re mine. My mate.” I nibble on her neck, right where my mark belongs.

She pushes at my chest.

“Colton. What did you just call me?” she asks as she stares into the depths of my soul.

I can’t hold myself back, and I kiss her again.

“I feel you, Dara. Like you’re connected to me.” I realize that my attraction to her isn’t just physical, but ethereal. She belongs to me.

“I am not a wolf. How can we be connected, Colton?”

She keeps me at a distance, but I need my mate. I need to mark her and mate her.

“Dara, let’s finish what we started. Let me mark you. Let me mate you.”

“Colton. Did you not already find your mate?” she asks, just as confused as I am. I don’t know why she’s acting this way.

“You’re here in my arms right now.”

She shakes her head.

“The wolfless wolf. I watched you in your truck. She is your mate.”

Lexi is brought to the forefront of my mind, and I get to my feet, leaving Dara on my bed. She sits up, and her eyes get moist while she watches as I pace my room.

I’m so confused right now. Just a second ago, I was ready to mark Dara. My mate is Lexi, I’m sure of it. I’ve never known anyone that felt the mate pull to two different women, neither of which has an actual wolf.

They’re both my mates is the only conclusion I can arrive at. How can that be?

“What’s happening, Dara? How is it that I think of you, but Lexi is my mate? When I’m with you, I forget about her and I think you’re my mate?”

Dara wipes her eyes from the tears that have begun to fall.

“I am not your mate, Colton. I truly wish that I could be. You found your mate in another.”

I get behind Dara and set her across my lap.

“If she’s my mate, why do I think of you? If you’re not my mate, why do I have the desire to mark you as mine?” I pull her in to lean her head on my chest and run my fingers through her hair.

“You did not sleep last night, Colton.”

“I’ve gone days without sleep. It doesn’t change my mate instincts. Dara, I’m connected to you. Can you honestly tell me you don’t feel it?”

“I do not wish to tell you a lie. I feel connected to you, Colton. I have felt connected to you since your birth. I know better than to think I am your mate. I do not have a wolf, no matter how much I wish otherwise.” I wipe the tears from her eyes.

“Dara, is it possible that I have two mates?” I question out loud.

“I have never heard of nor seen a wolf with two mates simultaneously. Besides, I would not wish to share you if you were mine. I am certain your true mate would agree.” She stands off of my lap. “My purpose for visiting was not to get into your bed, but to inform you that I have permission to assist with the fire. I must go.” She leans down to place a kiss on my cheek. I close my eyes as she dissipates from my grasp.

I am so confused. What is happening to me? I know that Lexi is my mate. I feel it when I’m with her. So how do I have a connection to Dara, a Starlight Sister?