Dire Wolf Mates - Chapter 87: Chapter 87

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to do it!”
Dean Jr. wailed as he clung to his mother’s knees, naked as the day he was born. Phoenix patted the cub on his head, pacing as the doctors looked his mate over.
“I know, baby. It’s okay. The nice lady will wake up real soon,” Violet Romero, the cub’s mother, cooed in a pleasing voice.
Unfortunately, the boy’s father, Dean Romero, Neta of the Island Stripe Pride, was not as easily appeased. He growled at Phoenix with the force of his beast, irritating the fuck out of his inner Dire Wolf.
“A human? You brought a human here? What the fudge, man,” he spat the non-curse word with as much ferocity as if he’d dropped the f-bomb in front of his son.
“I am sorry. I expected to have told her by now. NO disrespect intended, Mr. Romero. And, yes, Tracey is a normal, just as your Nari once was.”
Phoenix tried reasoning with the man. After all, Violet was a human before she’d been claimed by the Tiger king.
“That is irrelevant. She could out us all, man. There are laws for a reason,” Dean retorted.
“She is my mate, Neta. And I am not of your Pride. Please, do not try to use your Alpha voice on me. It just pisses my Wolf off.”
Phoenix spoke in an even voice, trying hard to keep control of his beast. It happened now and again where a Shifter would try to challenge his prehistoric monster of a creature. Usually, the result was a gory mess of epic proportions. He really, really did not want to go there.
“Sorry. I am protective of my family, and the woman startled my cub,” Dean hissed, running a hand over his face. “Look, I’ve heard of your kind. Dire Wolves are tough, secret creatures and my Tiger can feel your dominance. It is making me anxious. Truly, I have no quarrel with you. I have enough to keep me busy with my Pride and my family,” he explained.
“I get that. NO worries. I am not here to challenge you. I was just trying to take it slow,” Phoenix explained, cursing himself ten times the fool for the bad way he’d handled this whole thing.
His animal had chosen her the moment he saw her. The Fates had brought them together, yes, but it was his human side falling in love with the beautiful woman. More and more with every second that passed.
“So, she is yours?” The Tiger king asked.
Phoenix nodded. He applauded the man’s efforts to rein in his own dominant as fuck cat. It was not easy, being a monster.
“Yes,” he said, his voice full of his Dire Wolf as he gazed upon Tracey’s still unconscious form, where he placed her on her bed.
The animal was not fucking happy. Not at all. His beast snarled and scratched inside of him, but he kept his skin. Phoenix refused to allow his Wolf to master him. After all, the child was not to blame, and Dean had a point. He should have explained things to her as soon as he knew she was his.
Fucking hell.
“Dean, take it easy. Our cub is fine, and she is his mate. Naturally, he is trying to take things slowly,” Violet said to her husband. “I’m going to take Junior back to our room for a bath to get him settled down. Good luck, Phoenix. I hope for the best,” she replied kindly.
She kissed her mate on the cheek and offered Phoenix a small smile. The cub turned his big eyes on him, and his Wolf relaxed, allowing him to smile for the child.
He had no quarrels with cubs. The boy was just doing what boys did. Besides, this rooftop was his playground. A Shifter-only floor at the hotel, where the rest of the human guests were off-limits.
“I am sorry, little one, if my mate scared you.” Phoenix told the cub in a gentle voice.
“S’okay mister. But she’s gonna be really mad at you. Daddy buys Mama flowers when he makes her mad. Maybe you should try that?”
“Thanks for the advice, sport. I will take it into consideration.”
He grinned at the tyke and nodded. It was sound advice, after all.
“Okay, we will leave you to it,” Dean said, smiling at his boy. “Oh, and uh, I’ll intercede with Rafe Maccon. I will explain the situation since he’s already been apprised by the guards here,” Dean said, surprising Phoenix with his generosity.
“I appreciate it, Neta.”
Phoenix bowed his head slightly in reverence to the man’s position. His Dire Wolf would not allow him to submit to anyone but his own Alpha, but the beast was not interested in asserting his dominance at the moment.
No. He was far more concerned with how to approach the precarious situation he found himself in. The Pride doctor came out of the room, explaining she was fine, just in shock.
The moon was low in the sky and a thousand stars sparkled above them. It was beautiful, but nothing compared to his sweet mate. He watched as her chest rose and fell with every breath. The tempting little dress she wore revealed her petal soft skin and stirred him like no one else ever could.
Tracey moaned, creamy green eyes blinking slowly as she came to. A smile teased the corner of her bow of a mouth and Phoenix dropped a soft kiss there, unable to stop himself.
She was all things tempting and tasty. His own personal beauty. A sultry seductress who could bring him to his knees without even trying. And the incredible female did not even know it.
“Phoenix, what happened? How did I get back in my room?” Tracey asked, and sat up slowly.
He noticed the very moment she remembered. Fear and curiosity seemed to war within her. Eyes wide, she scrambled up and out of the bed.
“There was a tiger outside my room. I tripped over him. W-what? How? I think, uh, I’m losing my mind,” she said and covered her eyes.
“Hey now, sweetheart, come here. Let me explain.”
“Explain what? How I’m going crazy?” She shook her head, near hysterics.
He hated she was so upset. Knowing he was to blame didn’t comfort him. But he was a man, a Dire Wolf, and he would do what he must in order to bring any degree of peace to his mate’s mind. He took her hand and tugged her close, wrapping her in a tight embrace.
Her ready submission to his touch unnerved him. Fuck, she was so trusting and sweet. Generous with herself in ways he had never imagined possible.
“I’m so sorry, love. This is all my fault. I should have explained better.”
“Explained? How can you explain my delusions?”
“Tracey, you are not delusional,” he said, cupping her face gently in his hands.
“Phoenix?”
“What you saw was real, and it’s all part of the secret I’ve been keeping from you.”
“What? Are you part of some underground exotic pet ring or something?” she asked, confused.
“No, of course not. The cub you saw was a Tiger Shifter.”
“A what?”
“A Shifter. Like a Werewolf, but different. This hotel is owned and operated by Shifters, and they specifically cater to families. This rooftop is supposed to be a haven for those families to be who they are naturally, without fear or consequence. When I told Marco to give you a room up here, it was because I knew the moment I saw you, you were mine.”
“What are you talking about?”
Phoenix exhaled a breath and tried to find the right words. He was fucking this up.
“They were out of regular rooms, and I had to beg Marco to allow you to stay here. I told him I would tell you immediately what we were to each other, but I did not want you to run, Tracey. I waited. It was a mistake, and I am very sorry,” he told her.
“You aren’t making any sense, Phoenix.”
“I am a Shifter, Tracey.”
“What? You’re a Tiger?”
“Huh? No. I’m a Wolf. A Dire Wolf, actually, and you are my fated mate. Supernaturals exist in the world, under the radar of the human world. We have since the beginning of time,” he explained.
“Are you making fun of me?” she asked in a small voice, and he hated he made her doubt herself.
“Never,” he told her earnestly. “Shifters and other supernaturals are very real. Part of our connection to the universe is an understanding with the Fates, who we believe have selected our mates before our births. You are my fated mate, Tracey Donner. I knew it the second I saw you.”
“You’re saying impossible things,” she whispered, tears welling in her beautiful eyes.
Fuck. He looked at her for the first time tonight and was stunned. Tracey was a knockout anyway, but tonight she’d put more effort into her appearance. The smoky accents around her eyes made their color so much more intense. She was so beautiful, he could hardly breathe.
“No. Not impossible, beautiful,” he told her, cupping his hand around her neck. Thank fuck, she did not flinch from him.
“I should have told you right away. But I wanted to wait until you got to know me better.”
“Phoenix, I confess I thought you were too good to be true since day one,” she began, and this time, she did pull away from him. “Now it makes sense. You’re delusional, too!”
“No! No, I’m not delusional, and neither are you,” he growled impatiently.
Shit.
“Great. Just great. You’re the first guy I’ve considered sleeping with in like a year and you’re batshit crazy. I think I liked it better when I thought you were a male prostitute,” Tracey muttered and shook her head, wiping the stray tears that rolled down her cheeks.
“I never should have left Fairfield. My mother was right, I’m a mess. I have to go.”
“Tracey! Wait! I will prove it to you.”
“You know, I poured my heart out to you. How could you do this?”
“Do what? I am just trying to talk to you,” he tried again, but her mixed emotions and reactions were wreaking havoc with him.
Her myriad of feelings was egging his Wolf on to a near fucking panic. And that was so not good. The beast was wild to calm her down, to do anything to make her feel better.
“You don’t have to pull this kind of stunt to get me to leave you alone. Making fun of me is not okay,” she replied, and her misery was so clear it gutted him.
“What are you talking about? I don’t want you to leave me alone, Tracey. I can’t live without you!” He roared.
Shit.
He was really losing it. Fear, unlike anything he ever felt, gripped him as she walked away. He could not let her go. Not until he got her to listen! That he caused her fear and pain was nauseating. Phoenix would never hurt her.
Fucking hell.
He would chew off his own paw before he did that. But it looked like he had without trying. He wanted to hunt down every single person in her life who made her doubt herself.
All of those ingrates who’d savaged her pride and esteem that she would believe herself unworthy of his affection or attentions. Those people did not deserve to know her. But what now? She thought he was playing games.
Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!
“Wait!”
“What? What is it you want? To make up some more crazy stories?” She turned and yelled back, causing his own eyes to widen and lips to quirk.
Holy shit.
His Wolf growled appreciatively when he saw what was really in her eyes. Tracey wasn’t afraid of him. His mate was royally fucking pissed.
Joy spread through him like wildfire at the prospect of his sexy little mate being madder than fuck at him. Her pain would eat him alive, but her anger? Well, that he could deal with.
“Want to know what I want?” he growled, stalking her until her back was up against the railing overlooking the sand.
“Yes. What do you want?” she asked, eyes flashing in the moonlight and chest heaving.
Fuck.
His dick was being strangled by the jeans he had on. He’d dressed for a ride, and was walking languidly to get her, trying to give her time to finish dressing.
He’d heard her screaming and cursed himself for wasting time, daydreaming about the night to come and what he had planned for them, when her panic slammed into him. He’d climbed the stairs three at a time and found her on the floor and the cub in tears.
Fucking denim had no give, and he was ready to burst just from being near her. He backed her up till she was stuck between him and the guardrail.
Phoenix slammed his hands down on either side of her, noting her sharp intake of breath and the heady scent of her lust that filled his nostrils. It was better than any other scent or drug he could ever have imagined. She was fucking dynamite—and like it or not she was his.
“What I want is you, Tracey. Only you,” he growled, making sure she saw his Dire Wolf shining out through his gaze before claiming her mouth in a kiss neither of them would ever forget.
Mine.
His Dire Wolf howled in that metaphysical plane where he dwelled, waiting for Phoenix to call him forward. The sound pierced his eardrums till he thought he would never hear another thing in reality.
“Wait a minute,” she grunted, pushing against his chest.
Phoenix loosened his hold. It would always be her choice to give him access to her body or not. He would never force any woman, much less his mate. Her needs and desires were everything to him.
“You said I’m yours. Does that mean you’re mine?” she asked, and he nodded.
“This isn’t just some game to you?”
“No games, Tracey. My Wolf has already bonded to you. We pick one, one mate, and I knew the moment I saw you what you were to me.”
Watching her closely, he waited for her to decide, satisfaction humming through him as her eyes lit up like fire. Holy fuck, her creamy jade eyes seemed circled with orange red flames, and he growled deep in his chest. She was breathtaking.
One minute, she was watching him with those hypnotizing eyes, the next, Tracey grabbed the collar of his t-shirt and tugged him back down to her welcoming mouth. Tracey moaned and wrapped her arms tight around his neck, giving as good as she got, and Phoenix knew it would be okay.