Dire Wolf Mates - Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Derrick frowned as he listened to his mate pacing around in the bedroom upstairs. A week had passed since the bar had opened, and as usual, they closed at three o’clock. Instead of staying to clean with the rest of the Pack, he’d left Brock in charge, and hauled Lucy on home.
Home.
The word sounded right, but his animal was not feeling it yet. It could be a real home at long last, if only the sassy little feline would accept his claim already.
Fuck.
He was losing his mind. Yes, she had only known him for a couple of weeks, but his beast knew the second he’d seen her, she was his. It was driving his Wolf insane, being so close, and shoved in the corner. Her refusal to acknowledge they were fated to be together was breaking him.
Patience. Be patient. Be worthy of her.
It was difficult, but he had no choice. He needed her. Doubts assailed him whenever he got this bad, and even now he wondered if he could be wrong. Maybe Lucy didn’t feel the pull, the bond, not like he did.
No.
That couldn’t be true. His Dire Wolf snarled. He was impatient, but he was completely sure Lucy Corwyn was his one and only. Sassy, pigheaded, smart, funny, beautiful, infuriating, perfect, gorgeous, sexy ass woman. Fuck, he loved her.
Feeling it, and admitting it, were two different things, but right then, he had no choice. He loved her, exasperating little tidbit that she was. They had a working garage and a top class mechanic right there, but did she listen? No. She’d insisted on keeping her car at that damn human pervert’s garage instead of letting him bring it here. Kept right on ignoring him about everything and anything until he thought he would lose his damn mind.
Furniture moved, and she whimpered softly, but he still heard her. Fuck. She was not going to make it through tonight. He felt it. His animal had been attuned to her every molecule, and it was just getting worse. He’d made some calls, found out about feline Shifters, and knew the hell that was coming for his sweet Lucy.
Feline Shifters experienced a different kind of heat cycle than others. More intense, designed to propagate the species. Sometimes, the pain was so intense, it caused females to accept males they would never look at otherwise. The thought made Derrick furious. He would kill anyone who touched a hair on his mate’s head without her consent. Himself included.
I am fucked. So fucked.
The scent of her incoming heat cycle had grown each minute they spent together. As a male Dire Wolf, the closest he would ever come to that was the mating fever. It was a compulsion, a biological imperative that would soon take over rational thought and any semblance of reason. Mating fever threatened to consume him, but he was fighting it.
Things were so intense between him and Lucy right now, the rest of the Pack had taken to going out for long rides on their bikes after their shifts, trying to give them space. The rides were hard on them, the open road calling, but every day, they came back. His Pack was trying to settle, but instead of being there for them, he was caught up in his own battle of wills.
His Changes were out of control. Man to beast and back again. He could not go a few hours without shifting into his massive black Dire Wolf, something unheard of for most Shifters. But trying to control his animal, like his emotions, was like trying to keep a tidal wave from hitting the shore.
Please, Lucy, he begged inside his mind’s eye.
He saw more than she knew. Understood her reticence was partly because of a childhood she could not control. Trust issues were bound to be a problem, but he could only hope by being steadfast she’d see he was in it for the long haul. She was not getting rid of Derrick. No way, no how.
Stopping his Wolf from taking what the beast already saw as his was hard fucking work. But Derrick was not kidding when he said he would never harm a hair on her head. He would never trick or force her into accepting him. That was not the way he wanted to claim her. No, he wanted her to come to him, ready and willing. Not forced by some side effect of their supernature, she could not even begin to manage.
In his hand, he held something he’d had to search long and hard for. An elixir, a potion, of sorts, he’d learned about from Thor and his contacts with the Guardians of Chaos. That elite group of Shifter warriors had a calling all their own, but among them was a Witch and scientist who’d developed an agent that could theoretically stop or stifle a female Shifter’s heat cycle.
Derrick was uncertain about it, but he trusted Thor. He knew what he had to do, and as he listened to her moving upstairs, her discomfort loud though she tried to be quiet. No more stalling, his Wolf snarled and chomped inside his mind’s eye. The huge, prehistoric Wolf’s instinct was to be everything his mate needed, and that meant claiming her before her heat began.
No. We will give her the choice.
Derrick heard the stories. If he denied her during her heat, she would suffer immeasurable pain, and there was no way he could do that. Already his feelings echoed with love and complete devotion for his Lucy. Crazy or not, it was just the way he was built. And every inch of him, heart included, was built for her.
His hands clenched tightly at his sides, Derrick was aware of her every move as he stalked her to the bedroom he’d originally claimed as his own. He hoped they could make it theirs together, but he could wait. For her, he would wait forever.
He never expected to be this caught up in her, but it was out of his realm of control. Not something an Alpha could admit easily. The sound of one of the other bedroom doors opening broke his concentration, and he turned to find his cousin waiting, staring at the floor.
“I came to apologize for the uniform and other things this week, you know,” Sheila said, and he could tell from her scent she meant it. “I didn’t mean nothing by it, Derrick, just thought maybe you needed a little prodding.”
“Thank you, Sheila. Unnecessary though. But I don’t need any prodding. I know what I want, and I will get there. You don’t need to help me, cousin.”
“Alright, I guess, I’m just kind of hopeful now that you’ve found the one. I mean, she’s really your mate, right?”
Big green eyes met his for a flash before she averted them in reverence to his position and dominance.
“Yes,” he said, and fierce pride filled him with the admission. “She’s my mate.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
Derrick thought carefully before speaking, his eyes riveted to the door that kept Lucy separated from him for the moment.
“She needs time, Sheila. I’m going to do everything I can to give it to her.”
“Why don’t you go for a run? I can keep watch,” Sheila offered.
“That’s not a bad idea. Might help me expel some of this energy. Will you give this to her? It’s supposed to help with her heat,” he murmured, handing the vial to Sheila.
It was probably best if he did not see her right now. Once whiff of her delicious scent, and his animal might wrest control from him. Derrick refused to do that to her. He wanted her so badly, but only when she was ready. Not one second before.
“I will,” Sheila said, taking it from him. “You know, you are going to make a wonderful mate.”
Outside the Pack house, Derrick growled. He felt on edge and angsty, knowing his mate was inside and about to imbibe a potion to stop something he wanted to revel in. That made him a selfish prick, but he could not help it. He wanted to see her through her heat cycle. To be there to sate her every need and desire. To put a cub inside her belly.
Fuck. He got hard just picturing her swollen with his young. A little feline that looked just like her would be his choice. Derrick had only seen her Shifted once, and the female had knocked his socks off. She had soft, gold fur and gorgeous violet eyes. So sleek and majestic, powerful though petite. He fucking loved her animal, wished she could run with him tonight.
Tucking away his human skin, Derrick shifted into his midnight black Dire Wolf with hardly any effort. His change was so quick, he moved from skin to fur in the blink of an eye. His pile of clothing rested next to the largest pine in the woods behind their house, and he gazed over at it, checking to make sure all was right. He lifted his lupine head towards the room where Lucy was.
Safe. Inside. Mine.
Turning around, he prepared to run. His Alpha Wolf ready to scout the area, make sure it was secure for his mate and his Pack. It was another one of those Dire Wolf things, an instinct as old as time to care for and protect what was his.
The property they’d bought was bigger than he’d hoped for, with almost five acres' worth of land surrounding them. Putting their mark on all three structures, the house, bar, and garage had settled something in his beast, and over the past few weeks, he and his Pack had roamed these woods and marked the lands that belonged to them, warding off any other predators in the area of the wild and supernatural persuasion.
Security was extremely important to Derrick and his Pack. They’d had run-ins before with other supernaturals who thought taking on a Pack of beasts as powerful as Dire Wolves would give them some sort of up in the paranormal world. The problem was, there were not many who could take on a full grown Dire Wolf and live to talk about it. As he’d gotten older, Derrick had found he’d lost the taste for blood and vengeance. He had nothing to prove to anyone.
His black Wolf took off at a run, leaping over the roots and rocks that littered this part of the forest floor. It was early spring, and though the days were pleasant, the nights were cold. But the wind felt good against his thick, dark fur, and Derrick relished running through it.
His animal refused to stray far from the house, knowing his mate was inside, Even with Sheila’s reassurance that she would stand guard, Derrick wasn’t comfortable leaving Lucy for long. He imagined it would get worse after he claimed her.
When? Soon. Soon. Soon. Please soon.
Shaking his impatience off, Derrick leaned down to drink the cool, clear water that bubbled from a small brook a few hundred yards behind his house. Lions roamed the other side of his property, but this watering hole was used by both. A neutral ground they’d agreed upon after he’d met with the Blue Valley Pride’s own Lion king.
Interesting times, he mused as the refreshing liquid slid down, soothing his beast’s throat. The constant growling ever since he’d met Lucy was the reason for the ache there and the water felt good, healing the mild hurt he couldn’t help inflicting on himself. But there was only one thing that could soothe the fire inside his blood.