MatingCall Read online

  They both grabbed a fork and dug into the cake. Wendy was appropriately solemn, not making her usual cake noises.

  “Wendy, do you think…” She sighed. “Can I spend the night here?”

  “Of course you can. Though we can go kick them out and I can stay with you.” Wendy waved her fork. “You shouldn’t be afraid of your house.”

  “I’m not afraid, Wendy. They won’t do anything. Hell, you know they’re already gone, looking for her, whoever she is.” She sighed, ate another bite of cake. “I hope she’s got warts.”

  “And love handles and unwanted under-boob hair.”

  Steph cracked up. “Is there wanted under-boob hair?”

  They looked at each other and leaned together, laughing long and hard, and while it didn’t make it all okay, it sure as shit helped.

  Chapter Four

  Jordan headed up the stairs of Steph’s place, hat literally in hand. They’d fucked up, bad. He knew it now, bone deep.

  He taken Shaw home two days ago and the pup had done nothing but cry out in his sleep. When Jordan fell asleep, he dreamed of their mate—dreamed of chasing her, touching her, adoring her.

  The problem was that their mate was Stephanie.

  Something had gone wrong.

  Terribly, totally wrong.

  So here he was, to apologize. To ask her to forgive them, to take the spell off. Ask her to…

  The door opened and she looked like shit—hair mussed, eyes bruised. “What the hell do you want, Jordan?”

  His lips opened to talk, but he was a little stunned by the sight of her. “I…”

  “I have a client coming, man, and a vicious headache. Did you two leave something behind?”

  He nodded. “Our mate.”

  Her pretty, pretty eyes filled with tears, lips parting. “You asshole. You come here… I did your goddamn spell. I did what you asked. Now you have to go away.”

  “But we…” They needed her.

  “I don’t care, Jordan. I don’t. I gave you what you wanted. I did it. You want a wolf; I’m just a girl. Go find someone else.”

  The door slammed in his face, the sound of her sobs lost in the clicking of the locks.

  He stood there, staring at the wood, a deep growl rumbling in his chest.

  Stubborn bitch.

  Aggravating, stubborn…

  He was going to bite something, and possibly kick one of her fucking cats on the way to his truck.

  * * * * *

  “Shaw. Shaw, please. I need you.” Steph’s voice echoed inside him, Shaw growled, deep in his chest.

  “I’m coming. I’m coming, Steph. Jordan? Jordan, do you smell her?”

  Jordan stalked beside him, rumbling deep in his chest, head shaking. “She’s not here.”

  “She has to be here. I can hear her.” He snarled, ducking Jordan’s swat. “Can’t you hear her?”

  “Yes. Damn it.”

  Then they had to find her. Protect their mate.

  The city was unfamiliar, the scents more desert than mountain, more sand than pine needles, and they confused him, made him go in circles.

  Shaw figured he was just going to go crazy. He ran, barking, his wolf form screaming at him.

  When he smelled blood, he snapped, howling himself awake.

  Shaw sat up, barking once, eyes rolling as Jordan snarled. “Wake the fuck up, pup.”

  “What?” He pushed into Jordan’s arms, needing comfort, and it stung when Jordan pushed him away.

  “You were dreaming again, pup. Get the fuck up. We’ve got stuff to do today.”

  Jordan was growly and angry and so touchy that if you looked at him sideways, he bit you. Not in a sexy way, either. They hadn’t heard a peep from Steph in two weeks, the alpha, Brett, was all over them—also not in a sexy way—and damn it, Shaw just kept having the dreams.

  He dreamed of Steph sliding up over him in the moonlight, her lips on his belly. Jordan driving into her softness as her lips wrapped around him. Their girl laughing with them. Hunting with them. And those were the good dreams.

  The bad ones involved Steph hurt and scared, hunted by some strange male, alone and injured, calling out for them. They left him feeling bruised and exhausted. Scared.

  He got out of the damp, tangled sheets and threw on a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt, padding out into the kitchen, hoping for bacon.

  Jordan dragged him in as he passed, offering him a kiss that was I’m sorry and Forgive me and I love you all at once. “Baby, can I have the coffeepot?”

  “Uh-huh.” He headed for the sink, stumbling over his own feet.

  “Hey. Hey, what’s up, Shaw?” Jordan moved fast, catching him in a solid grip. Oh, it felt so good to touch.

  His eyes rolled a little bit, his whole world tilting. “Why isn’t she coming?”

  “You mean our mate?” Jordan rumbled. “I think we fucked up.”

  “How do we fix it? She’s in that house. Alone. Another male could come for her. Someone could hurt her. Someone could rob her!”

  “You mean Steph?” Jordan raised a brow. “She can’t be our mate, baby.”

  Shaw looked at Jordan, shocked to the core. “Have you lost your mind? You were there. You know she is.”

  How could Jordan deny it?

  “She’s not a wolf! No matter what the dreams say.”

  “She has to be. She has to be our mate.” Maybe she was broken. Maybe she needed to be bitten. She was always freaking out about being bitten. Maybe that was all Steph had to have to change like a regular werewolf.

  Jordan tilted his head. “You—huh. Maybe… Shit, don’t give me hope, baby.”

  “Why not? She’s ours. You know it. You’re having the dreams, aren’t you? Can’t you feel the call?” He stomped one foot, the cabin actually rattling. “Could you go to another woman? Fuck her?”

  Jordan’s face drew down into a thunderous frown. “Stop it. You know I can’t. Yeah, I’m having the fucking dreams. We can’t just go tell her that, though.”

  “So, what? We just don’t have our mate?” That didn’t work for him. He knew it couldn’t work for Jordan.

  “No.”

  That didn’t work for Shaw. Not at all. No way. “She’s ours. I’ll just go talk to her. Tell her I’m sorry.”

  Jordan growled, deep in his chest. “Like that’ll work.”

  “It might.”

  Steph was a reasonable girl. She was way smarter than Shaw and magical. She could talk to her goddess and stuff, right?

  “Shaw, baby. She’s…we really hurt her. She doesn’t want us.”

  His eyebrow arched and Shaw frowned. “You went to her, didn’t you? You talked to her.”

  “I… Yeah. Yeah, I might have tried, yeah.” Jordan sighed. “She wants us to go away.”

  “No. No, she can’t mean it. She’s ours. You can’t tell me you don’t feel it.”

  “I feel it.”

  Oh, thank the moon. “So,” he asked. “What do we do?”

  They sat together at the kitchen table, the air beginning to buzz with energy.

  “I guess what we’d do with any female.” Jordan’s forehead wrinkled. “If she’s ours, then she’s a wolf, somehow. We do what our kind does. We’ll have to take it slow, though. Woo her.” Jordan waved a hand, looking so frustrated.

  “Woo her?” He could do that. “Beer? She likes steak.”

  “Presents, dork. Flowers. Girl shit.”

  “She likes…apples. And chocolate.”

  Chocolate was girly.

  “Exactly. We’ll start today.” Jordan nodded, the look on that hard, handsome face utterly resolved. Once Jordan decided on something, that was that.

  “Okay.” Whatever. So long as they got their mate back. Here. With them. Making cubs.

  Jordan grinned. “Let’s go to town.”

  God, he loved how Jordan thought.

  Chapter Five

  Jordan watched, his tail straight out, not wagging a bit. No, he couldn’t afford to move. She might
see him. She might see him and he needed to be still to see how she reacted to the flowers. The stems only had a few teeth marks…

  Stephanie bent down, picked the flowers up off the porch steps, a curious look on her face, then a smile lit her right up.

  Score. His tail tried to wag again, but he held it still ruthlessly. Thank God Shaw had stayed back at the truck. His pup would have bounded right over and licked her.

  She looked lickable.

  She was wearing a tiny pair of shorts, a t-shirt and she’d been running—he could smell her. Jordan whined deep in his throat, wanting his mate. Their mate. He knew she was, even if he didn’t know how. Shaw was right. He couldn’t deny it anymore.

  She headed up the stairs, into her little house, whistling softly.

  She’d taken the flowers with her. That was a good sign, right? He turned and loped back to the truck. He had to tell Shaw.

  Flowers were good. Next time they should leave a nice rabbit. Maybe a fat squirrel.

  Definitely something with fur. It always meant love.

  * * * * *

  Shaw bounded over to Jordan, the rabbit he held still very fresh with not very many tears and nicks on it. He’d only chewed on it a little. Just a tiny bit. It would be perfect for their girl.

  Jordan chuffed softly, admiring him, his catch. He was good.

  He was a good pup.

  Shaw preened happily.

  Jordan licked his muzzle, then his chest, cleaning him a little. Oh. That made him want to roll to his back and kick.

  Soon. Soon. First he had to feed their mate. She was in her house, the TV on, cleaning. He would take her dinner while it was still hot, still fresh. Shaw bounced again. She would be so pleased.

  He dropped the present on her doorstep, batted at her door with his paws, then bounded off, tail high.

  He heard the door open, then he heard an alarmed squeal.

  Not a happy sound. That was a shriek. Oh. Oops.

  Jordan came padding over, tongue lolling, almost as if his alpha was laughing. Not fair. He jumped up and bit Jordan’s ear.

  Shaw barked, tail thumping the ground. They’d done good. Food. Flowers. Jordan had left Brotherhood of the Wolf, Teen Wolf and Underworld. They’d talked about the sparkly vampire movie, but decided she’d just bite them.

  They’d even left wine. Her favorite kind. She just had to know how they felt.

  She was the prettiest, best, most wonderful woman he’d ever seen. He couldn’t stop dreaming about her and he was glad he’d asked her to do that spell, even if it had made everyone grumpy. That way they knew for sure she was their mate; they didn’t have to look anywhere else.

  He really wanted to bite her.

  He knew that he probably have to wait, let Jordan do it first, but that was okay. Jordan would let him bite second.

  Steph had gone inside, but she came back out with a plastic bag and a roll of paper towels. Shaw whined. She didn’t like it.

  She stopped, head tilting as though she heard him.

  Jordan bit his ruff, holding him when he would have bounced out of hiding. But— she was there!

  She was there and she’d heard him. Steph was looking for him.

  She cleaned up the rabbit, depositing it in the trash can before spraying her porch with the hose. Shaw danced a little next to Jordan. They could make her understand. They could.

  Just as he was about to run to her, though, a car turned into her drive. A sheriff’s car. Her friend Wendy, he guessed, though they’d never met her.

  Shaw sniffed when the tall blonde stepped out of the car. How…odd.

  He looked at Jordan, whining softly.

  Jordan’s ears swiveled, that sensitive nose working and working. Then Jordan nudged him away, back to where they’d parked the truck.

  He followed, claws digging into the dirt. Why did that Wendy woman smell like pack?

  Jordan hopped up in the back of the truck before shifting, grabbing clothes to put on. The whole time Jordan cursed quietly.

  “What’s wrong?” He tugged on his clothes, shivering at the change.

  “The cop woman is pack. Well, wolf at least. She’s not one of our pack.”

  “How? No one’s told anyone about a new wolf. Why’s she with our mate?” That was…weird.

  “I don’t know. I mean, I know they’re friends, but how did we not know this?” Jordan pulled him close, kissing him to keep him from shaking.

  “Are they…are they pack? Like together? Can—”

  “I don’t know. How could they be? If Steph doesn’t know?”

  Maybe that was it. They were pack and Steph knew it? Shit. It made his head spin a little, the thought that she’d been hiding something like this all along. Maybe her magick allowed her to.

  Was she a liar? Their girl?

  No. No, she shone so bright.

  Right?

  Jordan sighed, kissing his neck. “We’ll figure it out, baby. As long as she didn’t call the police over our gift, we’ll be fine.”

  “You swear, mate? She’s… She’s ours.” Steph was theirs. All of her.

  “I swear it. We’ll get her back, take her home. I promise.”

  Jordan had never once lied to him and Shaw knew it. That had to be good enough.

  * * * * *

  “This is asinine.” She displayed the dead critter in the trash. “Dead animals, melted chocolate, wilted flowers. They just keep coming, Wendy. What the hell?” Stephanie couldn’t decide whether to be tickled or scared.

  “You think this is those asshats you were seeing?” Wendy tapped a finger against her pursed lips, peering into the trash can.

  “Why would they do that? They have a girlfriend coming.” A mate. Someone way more important than her.

  “Hell if I know. It’s harassment.”

  “It’s weird.” Maybe a little cute. A little. If she knew it was the boys.

  “Well, what you need is a hot guy who doesn’t leave dead animals.”

  She blinked over at her best friend, then started giggling. “Do they make those?”

  “Yes.” Wendy went to the fridge and grabbed a root beer, popping the top easily. “I’m on duty, but I wanted to stop and tell you about the one I’m lining up for you.”

  “Oh God. No cops, Wendy.” She sat at the kitchen table, listening to the cats hiss and snarl, rumble.

  “Nope! He’s an EMT.” Wendy frowned at Wacky and made this amazing noise. A growl.

  “That’s pretty cool.” She tried it out. Nope. She sounded as though she had a hairball.

  Wendy raised a brow. “You’re not coming down with something, are you?”

  “Stop it.” She threw a napkin across the table. “So, an EMT? Really?”

  Was she ready to date? Was there any reason not to be? A girl had to move on, and she’d been the one to insist she didn’t want to be serious.

  “Really. He’s a doll baby. Big, strong, funny, with his own house and a killer smile.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “Why aren’t you dating him?”

  “I don’t date.” The flat words left no room for debate. Wendy just never talked about her personal life.

  “I’m sorry.” She reached over, squeezed Wendy’s hand. “I wasn’t trying to be a bitch.”

  “I know that.” Wendy brightened up a little, shrugging it off visibly. “Anyway, he’s not wolfy, not already with some other guy and not likely to ask you to magically make him a girl to love.”

  “That’s three in his favor.” The problem was, whoever he was, he wouldn’t be Shaw and Jordan. She missed them so bad, from Jordan’s growly morning face before he had coffee to Shaw’s love of steak salad to the bouncing that Shaw couldn’t contain.

  “Stop it.”

  Steph looked up, surprised. “Stop what?”

  “You’re thinking about them.”

  “What?”

  “Those two bums. You’re missing them and they don’t deserve it.” Wendy blew out a sharp breath, eyes narrowing.

 
“I know. It’s stupid. Really.” She felt her cheeks heat. “But I liked them. A lot.”

  “I know, honey.” Wendy gave her a hug. “We just need to get you back on the horse.”

  “Oh God.” She met Wendy’s bright eyes. “Tell me they don’t make werehorses.”

  Chapter Six

  “So, you boys come to tell me something good?”

  Jordan liked their pack alpha, Brett. He really did. The guy was a cross between a lumberjack and a Colorado backcountry guide. He wore denim and flannel and had the curly dark hair and beard that said “I live in the woods”.

  He had a great sense of humor too, which made the frown that greeted them even more harsh.

  Shaw was vibrating beside him, making this unnerved little sound. Someone wanted to offer Brett his belly, and it wasn’t Jordan.

  Jordan shrugged. “I need to talk to you. Something’s going on.”

  “Something I need to know about that bad, huh?” Brett waved them into the big log home he’d built just outside town. The view was amazing from up there. They were low enough in the hierarchy that they hadn’t been inside much, but it was masculine, solid, strong and the scent was just right.

  They sat together, the vibe in the place pure wolf, pure home, and Jordan felt himself relax. Brett had their backs. Jordan knew the man hadn’t been serious about the banishment threat or anything. He’d just been serious about them settling down with a mate, getting the balance of his pack under control. That was Brett’s job.

  “We’ve been looking for our mate,” he murmured, taking the ginger ale Brett handed over. “Hard. We even had a spell done.”

  “And? Did she come?”

  Shaw nodded, then shook his head, then nodded. Then Shaw hung his head, red hair flopping over his forehead.

  Brett chuckled. “Wow. That sounds damn confusing. So, what’s the issue?”

  Jordan sighed. “Well, it’s her. Steph, I mean. The girl we’ve been seeing.”

  “She giving you trouble? I mean, she seems like a decent sort.” Brett sucked on a root beer. The man had the weirdest fizzy drinks in his fridge and not a beer in sight. Maybe he got a little wild when he drank.

  “No. Yes. She’s not seeing us anymore, but she’s the one.” Shaw wasn’t making any sense.