Dire Wolf Mates - Chapter 39: Chapter 39

Holy. Deliciousness.
Sheila blinked slowly. A wide grin cracked her face as she stretched her well used body. She throbbed and ached in places she’d forgotten she had. She was exhausted, deliciously so.
Good dream. Sexy.
The ache in her muscles was a good ache. A welcomed one. Who knew a pussycat had moves like that? Speaking of, where was he? Sheila shot up like a rocket and looked around. His scent was everywhere. That thick, spicy masculine musk was in the sheets, the pillows, on her skin. That was no dream.
Oh. My. Gods.
Sheila had done the dirty with Leo the Lion. Holy. Fucking. Hell. She’d made the beast with two backs, knocked boots, shook the sheets, got down and dirty, shtupped, rutted, balled, boinked, bumped uglies, got laid, got lucky—no matter how you said it, she did it and done it with the pussycat.
Slightly panicked, she realized Leo was gone. Well, at least she did not have to face him first thing. Squashing the tiny bubble of disappointment that threatened to rise, she got out of bed and made her way to the connected bathroom.
“Is that a bidet?” she murmured, shaking her head as she took care of her business, trying to wrap her mind around what had happened during the night.
And with Leo. Her pretend nemesis.
So much for keeping him at arm’s length. She’d actually jumped him. And hot damn, the man was a monster in the sack. He’d truly matched her every inch of the way. She washed her hands and face, looking in the mirror at her reflection.
For the first time in like ever, Sheila looked content. Happy. Satisfied. And she was. Imagine that? She ran her hands along her neck, but he hadn’t betrayed her. True to his word. no claiming bite marred her skin.
Sheila did not want to dwell on the feeling of disappointment that sprung up on her suddenly. Instead, she looked around the ornate bathroom and opened the door to the bedroom. He had not returned, her Wolf hearing would have told her if he had.
This space was just as fine and expensively decorated as the rest of the huge house. Not what she imagined Leo’s childhood home would look like. He was a detective, so she’d pictured normal, middle-class suburbia for the pussycat. Not this Palace, which was also the dwelling place of the Lion Pride’s current King.
Sooo…. what did that make him? Was he the son of an Enforcer? A Guard? Whatever the fuck these pussies had for hierarchy? She really didn’t know a thing about Prides. Maybe he was involved or related to the head honcho, somehow?
It was sort of bizarre they had an actual King, but whatever. To each his own. She’d been in such a fury of hormones last night, her body and emotions both went haywire, and Sheila had gotten none of the answers she needed. But he sure made her feel good last night.
Yes sirree. Really, really good. Grrrrr.
Grabbing her cell, Sheila balked at how many hours had passed since they’d arrived, and she’d basically attacked Leo. Had she really slept that long? Sure looked like it. But in her defense, she’d had the best sex of her entire life, so yeah. Some good, all through the night, sleep time was well earned. Seriously, she had never come so long or so hard with anyone ever before.
And you won’t with anyone else. He is ours. Mate.
OMG. Can you just let me enjoy this? Sheila growled at her Wolf’s inner bitchiness.
From what she knew of mates, the need to consummate their relationship, to lay claim with fang and claw, would only grow until they finally went through with it. Afterwards, there would be even more amazing sex. That’s how it went with Shifters.
Sniff. Insta-lust. Sex. More sex. Claiming marks. Then even more sex.
Not bad, if you didn’t mind the whole out-of-control lusty sexy times, followed by bitey claiming marks, then forever stuck together, and finally, the almost always pregnant thing. Hell, even swollen like a cantaloupe, there was still the sex, right? At least, according to Lucy. She’d already told Sheila, with way too much TMI than any cousin-in-law should share, that sex with her mate got better every single time they did it.
But it was not the need to be with him that scared Sheila. It wasn’t the sex. Or even the pain of the bite marks, and sometimes clawing, that went along with claiming your mate. Sheila would stick like glue to someone she was loyal too. After all, she’d stuck with Derrick and her Pack since she was a teenager.
But the possibility of motherhood, being an actual mom to a fragile, needy little cub—that scared the shit out of her. And for good reasons. Sheila had no real parental role models. Derrick was about as close to having a parent as she came.
What if she sucked at it? She loved her mother, but the woman was no kind of actual parent. Sheila had grown up with the other cubs, hanging around the graybeards of her old MC when the others went with their moms and dads. Those old Wolves had been patient when it was called for, and stern, too, when she needed it. She earned diplomas on the road. Got her real education from life. And any milestones were achieved with and witnessed by her cousin and friends.
When she left the Pack of her birth to follow the Pack of her heart, Sheila felt positive she’d made the right decision. Being the only female was tough, but she liked having a bunch of honorary brothers. They had her back, and she had theirs. Her Pack mates were loyal and tightknit, but not exactly demonstrative about their feelings.
Fuck.
Sheila would make a terrible mother. But even acknowledging her greatest fear didn’t stop her body from reacting to the mere idea of being with Leo. Wearing his bite mark. Bearing his young.
Shit.
Her heart started pounding, and pulse raced up just thinking about the big, sexy Lion. Where was he, anyway? She grabbed the sheet and inhaled, breathing in his musky scent. Want, need, longing filled her. She missed him. Even though it had only been a few hours, she missed him. Her Wolf whined, beast in agreement.
It was sort of like nature’s way of ensuring destiny didn’t fuck things up. That attraction, that never ending need to be with him. Wow. She really didn’t appreciate waking up to an empty room. One night of good sex, and Sheila was turning all clingy, dammit. What the heck had happened to her life? Sheila was out of control and all because of one overgrown, presently absentee, tabby.
The fucker.
One minute she was all aloof, handling the whole pretense of their mating just fine with no howdy dos about the whole damn thing. She’d agreed to this ruse not to be near him, but so he could solve the mystery of whatever the fuck was happening here. Still, that didn’t explain why one minute she was touring the sprawling mansion, and the next minute she was butt ass naked, and wrapped around the big pussy like a cheap suit.
How was that his fault? Her snarky she-Wolf seemed to laugh as she asked that question.
Fine, she admitted.
That was all on her, even if he didn’t exactly resist. Leo made no secret of his desire for her from the beginning. It was flattering, but also pure biology. Fated mates and all that jazz. Whatever. Sheila knew just how to get her swerve on. So, what if she was horny? The big ol’ pussycat had the goods, and he wasn’t shy about using them.
They’d both had fun. It didn’t have to mean more. She’d help him with his Pride’s issues, then she could move on. Fuck it, he could move on too, with whomever he wanted. Find a nice Lioness to settle down with, have some cubs, live a good, settled life.
GRRRR.
Her she-Wolf was really not having any of that. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Tears welled in her eyes, and she punched the mattress. What the heck? She did not do crying. Ever.
Shit.
She wiped her face.
Goddammit.
She was crying.
Sigh.
Way to stay strong and resist the mating fever. Not. She rolled her head on her neck and then her shoulders, stopping the tears and stretching her exhausted body. Sex with Leo was better than good. It was fanfuckingtastic. But she couldn’t let it happen again.
She’d almost bitten him. Then where would she be? Mated for life. And that could only be disastrous. Okay, so it was a near thing. A one off. Done and done. She had just made up her mind, sitting down on the large luxury bed as a hurricane in the form of two waspish felines came crashing into the room.
“Alright, you hussy, where is my nephew?” the older one with silver hair, and a cute as fuck pair of printed capri pants topped with a gold, off-the-shoulder blouse, demanded haughtily.
“Oh my gah!” The younger of the two snapped her chewing gum and pointed at Sheila. “Mom, she’s a Dog!”
“What?”
Sniff.
“You’re right! She does smell like a canine, doesn’t she?” the older woman addressed the younger, as if Sheila wasn’t even there.
“Excuse me?” Sheila asked.
She was starting to get more than annoyed with these two intruders. Not bothering to cover herself, she worked to rein in her she-Wolf, the beast definitely didn’t like them, until she knew who and what they were. For all she knew, these could be Leo’s relatives.
“There is no excuse for humping my nephew in his childhood bedroom without even introducing yourself to us,” the older female said.
Sheila’s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline as she watched the two felines lay down and settle on one of the two sofas in the bedroom. Sheesh, this room was fucking huge. Four times the size of her own bedroom at the Pack house. Still, how had she missed the gold-trimmed pieces of furniture? Probably because she was too busy attacking her mate’s sumptuous body.
EEEP!
She really had to stop calling him that. She looked around again and tried to ignore the tingle of anxiety that shivered up her spine. Everything in the room was of the highest quality. Looking down at the crumpled sheets, she recognized the checked pattern of the mattress beneath it.
The Vividus was a luxury mattress upwards of fifty-fucking-grand. What the fuck kind of money did Leo have? The hand carved dresser, mirror, and chairs all reflected the same top quality craftsmanship. Like most Shifter wares, it was specialty built to withstand the antics of a growing Shifter. In Leo’s case, a Lion cub.
Shifter furniture artisans responsible for pieces such as these would undoubtedly charge tens of thousands of dollars for each one. They were beautiful works of art, and they were well-cared for. The entire mansion was full of them. Everything was top of the line, cleaned and polished.
Void of Lions, though. Sheila frowned. It was odd, seeing a Pride house empty like this one.
The plush carpets were spotless, the furniture shiny. For a she-Wolf who’d slept under the stars on an old bedroll for most of her life, this place was over the top grand. It was way out of her league.
Sheila didn’t react outwardly—the Lionesses would be all over her if she did—but she couldn’t stem the tide of panic that welled up deep inside. She was good at keeping her crazy to herself, and she would have to do just that right now.
Once she got hold of that sneaky pussycat, she’d let it all out. What was he, anyway? Some rich flunky of the King’s? How could he not tell her? She thought he was just a detective, and that had been bad enough, but finding out he was rich too.
Ugh.
Sheila did not belong here. This place was top shelf, and she was more a dollar drafts kind of gal. She didn’t want an audience for this little breakdown she was having. Did not want to reveal too much to these two strange Lionesses. That would be incredibly foolish, and Sheila was not that.
Nope.
She needed to think. She needed to know more about their agenda, at the very least. The two felines watched her with that same steady glare of house cats, and Sheila’s Wolf snarled. Should they prove to be enemies, her animal wasn’t opposed to using them both as chew toys.
Grrr.
“What I want to know is what was that hairbrained nephew of mine thinking bringing a Dog inside the Palace?”
“Well, she has good boobs, Mom,” the younger said, and Sheila looked down.
Shifters were usually comfortable with nudity, and Sheila was no different. The fact they called their Pride house a Palace was something only a fucking Cat would do—haughty little shits.
“Thanks. I need to shower,” she told the females, who seemed perfectly fine just lounging around.
She needed answers, but her pussycat ran away. It was a sneaky move. Definitely not straightlaced, and she didn’t know whether to be angry or proud of him. Leo always followed the rules, as far as she knew. It was kind of sexy to see a mischievous side of him. OMG, she really was sick. How could him hightailing it out of there turn her on?
“Easy there, Spot,” the younger Lioness said, sniffing the air and picking up on the effect Sheila’s naughty thoughts had on her body. “We don’t swing that way.”
“I swing a lot of ways actually, but incest is not my thing. Seems like my nephew has finally been having some fun with—say, just who are you, anyway?” the older Lioness asked.
“Yeah, what’s your name, Doggy?”
“Okay, first, I’m a Dire Wolf Shifter, not a Dog, so you’re going to want to watch it with the insults or you two kitties are going to lose your tails,” Sheila replied.
She turned away from the bathroom door to face them, naked as a jaybird. The two blonde-haired females slunk further into Leo’s sofas and eyed her with casual interest. Nothing icky, eyes on her face, but they definitely knew something she didn’t. Best to make friends, she decided.