First Date

Talia’s POV

Great River Bluffs State Park

I stood there by Randall, my fated mate, the man Luna herself had made for me, and ran through all the reasons why I couldn’t be his. I was under a Council death sentence. I wasn’t a full-blooded werewolf anymore. I was working with the Vampire Council, and my mating bite would kill him slowly and painfully. Surely, he would see it was a mistake and reject me, because I wasn’t worth loving.

He listened to everything I told him, but I could tell he wasn’t accepting any of it. It was maddening. Here I was trying to save us both from the pain of a failed relationship, and he kept looking at me like I was a precious gift. I’d had enough of this, it was time to end this, no matter how much my wolf wanted his, no matter how good he felt when he touched me. I took a deep breath. “That is why you must reject me, here and now. I am an abomination, a creature with the form of a wolf and the bloodlust of a vampire. I will never be accepted by a Pack, I will never be an Alpha. The Council will never forgive what I have done at the behest of the Vampire Council. If that wasn’t enough, I can’t even complete a mating with you.” My heart was breaking, my wolf was howling, but I had to do this for him. “I love you enough to let you have a chance at life, Randall. I, Talia Ann Stillwater, reject..”

He pulled me into his arms and kissed the hell out of me.

I was shocked, but my wolf was in full agreement. The passion and the feeling of the mating pull combined to push my rational thoughts out of my mind, and my heart took over. I stopped pushing him away and grabbed his shirt instead, seeking to FEEL loved by him. My mouth opened as his tongue pushed between my lips, and I moaned into him as he took possession of that too. I was floating in the pleasure of our love, and for the first time in my life I felt like I was whole.

I was gasping for air by the time he released me. “I won’t let any of that stop me, Talia. Let me mark you, we’ll figure out the rest later.”

I couldn’t believe it, he still wanted me. ME. Faults and judgements and changes, full disclosure, star-crossed lovers and all and he WANTED ME. My wolf was giddy, turning circles in my mind before dropping her front lets to the ground and raising her tail to him. It was no secret what she wanted from him.

I grabbed onto the bond like a drowning woman to a lifeguard. “Do it, quickly, before I can run away,” I said. I showed him my neck, the whole time telling my wolf she couldn’t bite him back or it would kill him. He bit down, the pain was sharp but quickly turned into pleasure as the bond tied us together.

I’d been marked by my mate, and it felt amazing.

“You’re mine now, and I am yours,” he told me over the mate link that had just formed between us.

“For as long as I live, I am yours,” I answered. “Even if that is only a week.” I kissed him again, and it was like we went from black and white to high-def color television. The tingles, the closeness, the love I felt pouring into me from him took my breath away. I melted into him, letting the contact between us calm us down until I could trust my legs to hold me up. “Wow,” I told him as he pulled me to a bench and sat me on his lap.

“Exactly. I’ve been told dozens of times what it feels like to mate, and it’s way beyond what I expected.”

“I never expected to find out.” I sat in his lap, enjoying his strong arms around me and his muscled chest. He was a fine example of a Alpha line male, tall and broad in the chest, narrow waist, powerful legs. I could feel his need for me under my legs too, but this was not the time or place for that. “What do we do now?”

“Your sister is heading back to Pack lands with her son, they’ll both need time and support to get over everything that has been happening. Luna Rhoda is heading for the cells. The Council should be heading to Colorado; my investigation gave them plenty to get an arrest warrant. If they do a proper investigation, it should expose everyone in that Pack involved in your sister’s rape and you parent’s murder.”

“Do you trust them? I sure don’t.”

He sighed. “I’d like to be able to, we need them to work with us. If we can show you were justified in what you did, we can get the judgment rescinded. We can’t do much with a death sentence hanging over you.”

“It will be over you too, they’ll go after anyone who aids and abets me in evading their justice. I’m counting on a lot of aiding and abetting from you, my mate.” I pulled his face to mine and kissed him deeply. “Especially tonight.”

He had a sharp intake of breath, and I could feel him shift uncomfortably under me. “Alpha Clark is going to contact the other Packs and arrest Alpha Todd as soon as the Council issues the warrant. He’ll get what he deserves, your family will make sure of it.”

“I’m not just going to sit around,” I said. “I have a blood oath to avenge my family.”

“Then don’t,” he told me. “Look, I have to head back to Dallas sooner or later. Let the Council handle the werewolves, because there are a lot of HUMANS that hurt your sister they aren’t going to touch. She gave me everything in her statements; names, locations, descriptions, everything I can use to track them down. That’s my job in the FBI, going after these human trafficking rings. Come back to Dallas with me and help me find them.”

“And then what? Have them arrested? Let them take years to go through the justice system?”

“Maybe,” he said. “I will have to work though my people, and that’s not a bad thing. They have hurt, they ARE hurting more than just your sister. You freed twelve girls that night you took your sister away from those bastards. That’s a drop in the bucket for these people.”

“I want blood, my beast does too.”

“There may be a chance for that, but you have to follow my lead. I can’t have you getting caught, and we have to do this in a way that doesn’t draw attention to the supernatural among them. Blissfully ignorant, remember?” It was what my Dad always insisted on when it came to humans. What they didn’t know couldn’t hurt us.

“So if I go to Dallas with you, we leave my sister here?”

“Why not? She has Erica and Michelle in the Pack, your aunt and uncle will be there for her as well as your grandfather. The Pack loves her, even without a wolf she will never be alone there. Bobby will be there every step of the way.”

I just laughed. “You mean Snacks?”

“Yep. When the time is right, he will reveal himself as her mate. Right now it’s enough that she trusts him and is starting to love him.”

All I had wanted since I found her in that shitty hotel was for her to have a life again. Here, she would have family, her son, her mate. They would get her the help she needed. It was everything I couldn’t do for her. “All right. Are you riding bitch to Texas or flying?”

“As much as I love having my arms around you, I do have my Jeep here. I have to drive it back.”

“I can’t be without my ride, so I guess I’ll follow your cage.” A cage was what a biker referred to a car as. “What about your family?”

He told me about his big family and life on the Texas ranch. It sounded like it was flat and hot there, but you rarely had to shovel snow, so they had that going for them. “They’ll love you as much as I do,” he said. “There’s no pressure for you to be Luna or run a Pack. I’m FBI because I’m so far down the line for Alpha I’m out the door. You can finish school, go to college, do whatever you want. We will have to live in Dallas for my work, but if the city gets to be too much we’ll head back home and run around together.”

“They won’t accept me. Even your wolf smells my vampire part and is afraid. It is instinct, something our wolves hold deep. A predator only fears a stronger predator.”

He kissed me, his hand running up my side, brushing the side of my breast. “I don’t fear you, Talia. I love you. Everything you have done to make yourself stronger, I love all of it, because it is you.” His hand moved around to my back, fingers caressing my lower back, before coming around and dancing across my hard stomach.

Which promptly growled like a bear waking up from hibernation.

We both lost it, the romantic moment was ruined. I laid my head on his shoulder as the pressure of the day finally broke free. “I think I need a burger,” I said into his chest.

“Let’s find one.” He set me back on my feet, and we walked down the trail to the motorcycle. I kept my hand in mine, not wanting to lose contact with his skin. It was like I was afraid he would leave me if I let him go.

We drove back to French Island, south of the airport. I had verified with Alpha Clark that they were home and the Council was gone. We went to a place called River Rats and got a table on the deck overlooking the river. The burger was good, the fried cheese curds better, and I allowed myself to just be happy for a few hours.

“We should be going,” he finally said. “My Jeep is back at the Pack House.”

“I shouldn’t go on their land, it’s dangerous for them if I’m seen there,” I said. “My sister is fine, I will ask the Alpha to have someone pack your stuff and bring your Jeep here.”

“They are your family too,” he said.

“That’s why I can’t involve them. You are right, they can and will handle the werewolves involved. When it’s all done, though, the Council will come for me, and now you. I can’t let my shit splatter all over those I care about.”

He stood up. “I need to use the restroom. Can you see what you might like on the dessert menu?”

“I don’t know, I don’t need the calories.”

He just laughed. “Oh, you’re going to need your energy tonight, Talia.” I blushed as he walked away, my eyes looking at his jean-clad ass and his strong back that stretched his T-shirt. The women in the bar stared at him like he was a piece of meat, and it stirred my jealousy. He was MINE… but he couldn’t wear my mark because it would kill him.

This sucked.

I opened the dessert menu, thinking back to his promise to give me a workout tonight. The thought of being with him on a road trip made my wolf excited and my body respond. “Oh Selene, he’s going to smell that when he returns,” I told my wolf.

“Good,” she replied. She wanted to see all of him, to shift and run with him. She wanted him to dominate her, pin her neck down and pound into her like a mate should. Nope, my first time wasn’t going to be in the woods, he could spring for a nice hotel suite with a whirlpool.

I waved over the waitress and ordered dessert. He came back, kissing me before sitting down across the small table. “What did you get,” he asked.

“You’ll see.” The waitress brought it over a few minutes later; it was a true work of art. A large fudge brownie on the bottom of a bowl, covered with a big slab of mint chip ice cream. A second brownie topped it, and the whole thing was covered with hot fudge and whipped cream topped with a cherry.

“Wow,” he said as he looked it over. “What the hell is this?”

“A Hot Fudge Goopie,” I said. “Better grab your spoon because I’m digging in.” He took the cherry and set it aside before we started working our way down. It was fantastic, and as the last spoon of brownie and fudge went into my mouth, I let go the last of my many moans of pleasure.

“Wait,” he said as he leaned over and cupped my face.

“What? Is it on my face?”

He picked up the cherry and put it in my mouth. “Enjoy, I’ll get my cherry tonight.” I gasped in shock and that was enough for him to cover my mouth with his, kissing me possessively. We broke apart when someone cleared their throat by us.

“Your Jeep is outside,” the kid said. “Good luck, and thanks for bringing her back to us,” he said to me.

He paid the bill and we walked outside together; his Jeep was parked in the back of the lot, a motorcycle trailer attached to the back. “Did you do this,” he said.

“No.” I sent a thank you to my Uncle, who wished us a good trip.

“Good, now I get to hold your hand while we drive.” It sounded good to me. We loaded up the Harley and tied it down, then pulled out and headed back to Interstate 90 west.

We were almost to Rochester when my phone rang, it was Marcy. “Hey Marcy, I’m sorry I didn’t call you earlier. Tania’s back home and I’m on the road.”

“Talia, it’s bad,” she said. “Our familiars have been watching the Copper Mountain Pack. Two hours ago, six SUV’s left, filled with warriors and the Alpha and Beta.”

“They are probably looking for me,” I said.

“They headed to Denver International Airport and bought tickets on the next flight to Minneapolis. They’re coming for you, Talia. You have to warn your family, because this is going to be a Pack War very soon.”

She hung up and I looked over at Randall. “Someone had to have talked,” I said.

“We’ve got a mole. Call your uncle now.”