"Regardless of your feelings on her humanity, will you a.s.sist, or do you accept that my pack member will be doing whatever is necessary to ensure he can mate Nila properly?"

Isaiah's eyes narrowed. "Do not threaten my son."

"Release Nila."

Isaiah threw up his hands with a growl, and then he leveled a calculating gaze at Malachi. "We'll settle this in the old way. Tomorrow at sunset, you will bring the human here to the park and she will watch you and my son fight for her. The winner keeps her; the loser walks away forever."

Malachi bared his teeth.

Acksel raised his hand and Malachi bit back the growl in his throat. "I have some ground rules."

Isaiah snorted. "You would."

Acksel ignored the barb and said, "The fight is limited to human form. If either shift, they forfeit. When Malachi wins, Damien will sign the divorce papers within a week and you will swear as his alpha that he will never bother her again."

"If your wolf wins, then I will agree to those terms." Isaiah said the words, but Malachi didn't trust him.

With the details set, Malachi and his pack left. Acksel was quiet on the way back to Wilde Creek. Malachi didn't mind, because he needed the time to think as well. Nila was not going to be happy about this. She was human and hadn't spent much time around wolves, so she wouldn't understand this was the way things needed to be so that he could set her free. Her human marriage to Damien was like a tether around her neck. Malachi could mate her, but he couldn't make her his wife and Jack his son until Damien was legally out of the way.

Malachi stopped in front of Acksel's house and shifted into park.

Acksel cleared his throat. "You need to mate Nila tonight."

"Uh, not that I don't want to, but why tonight?"

Acksel turned in his seat until he was facing Malachi. "Aside from the fact that she's your mate and you care deeply for her, going to the fight tomorrow night with her already marked will go a long way toward showing that she's yours to Isaiah's pack."

Nodding, Malachi's mind raced as he thought over how little time there was between now and when they needed to leave tomorrow for the fight. He should be training, and not s.e.xing up his mate, but he couldn't deny that officially mating her a tonight a was extremely appealing.

"I'd like to take her to the altar and talk for a bit tonight."

"Of course. You can drop off Jack here before you go, and tomorrow he can stay with Brynn while we're gone."

"Thanks, Acksel."

His alpha smiled at him. "You're one of my oldest friends, and you're also a pack member. That means a lot to me. I want you to be happy, and if that means we have to take a posse up to Dorlan so you can kick her ex's a.s.s, then that's what we'll do."

Acksel got out and Malachi headed back to the clinic. It was almost time for the girls to stop work for the day, so he didn't have much time to wait before Brynn and Nila were in the SUV and they were heading to the daycare. Acksel had contacted Brynn and told her what was going on, so Malachi only had to explain things to Nila. He waited until he'd made dinner for her and himself and they'd fed Jack together.

An hour after they'd been home, they headed back out and took Jack to Brynn and Acksel's house, where Mia was also waiting to play with Jack. He noticed that Nila didn't seem to mind leaving her son with pack members, and it made him happy to know she trusted them, and trusted him as well.

He'd made sure she was dressed warmly. As a shifter, his body ran hotter than a human's and he didn't mind the cold as much as she would, and he didn't want her to be uncomfortable.

The snow from several days earlier had hardened, and it crunched under their boots as they stepped off the back porch and down into the yard. Malachi stopped and Nila did, too. He pointed up. "Wolves have been tied to the moon forever. When the moon rises in the sky, it's a compulsion that we can't ignore. We have to shift a hunt and run and commune in our wolf forms. We're pack by nature. Although there are lone wolves out there, those that have been banished by deed or choice, wolves feel a need to be with other wolves on the full moon."

He clicked the b.u.t.ton on the battery-operated lantern he carried and took her gloved hand in his. The lantern illuminated the area in front of them as he led her toward the woods.

"Wolf packs are traditionally wolf-only. Our laws have always stated that if a member chose to mate a human or another type of shifter, he or she would be banished. Some wolves take the banishment willingly for their mate, believing it's better to have their mate without the pack than the pack without their mate, but some wolves don't want to be that n.o.ble and stay with the pack, ignoring their mating needs."

"Why would your laws say that a wolf can't mate with whoever he or she wants?"

He sighed. "I don't know. Call it specist or exclusionary or whatever, but my pack was the same way until recently. Acksel's sister, Eveny, knew that mating with Luke, who is human, would mean she'd be banished from the pack, but she didn't care. Acksel didn't mate with Brynn until recently because of the laws, but now he's changed the laws so that our people can mate with whoever they want."

They walked through the woods in silence, the snow and ice crunching under their feet the only sound. The altar came into view and he stopped in front of it and placed the lantern on the smooth marble surface.

He looked down at her and she tilted her head back until she was looking into his eyes. Sometimes he felt like she could see right through him. He clasped both her hands and said, "It wouldn't matter to me if being with you meant I lost the pack. I'd gladly go rogue for you and Jack. My pack laws are different now, though, and that means that I don't have to leave. When we mate together, you'll become an honorary member of the pack. The protectors will protect you and Jack the same as they would any other member. You won't be shunned for your humanity; you'll be revered as my mate."

His heart started to pound as he stared into her eyes. She looked at him expectantly, and he pushed back the desire to strip her and mount her on the altar, fairly certain it wasn't what the creators of the stone monument had in mind when they'd carved it.

"Nila, since the moment my wolf urged me to follow the sound of your tears and I found you in the storage room at the clinic, I've known that you were mine. Everything that I've done since that point was with you and Jack in mind. I took over the house that Brynn had been renting from my folks and completely redid the interior, and I willingly sat next to Brynn every day so I could catch glimpses of you. I also shifted and watched your house from the woods sometimes, and I occasionally drove by your house."

Her brow rose. "You were stalking me?"

He made a face. "It's not stalking if you're my mate."

She rolled her eyes. "Sounds like semantics to me."

"Semantics?"

"Sure. You say mate, I say stalker."

He huffed her name. "Nila."

She giggled. "I'm kidding. I knew you were watching me, at least at work. I didn't know about the other stuff, but I'm not surprised. You're a very determined guy, but you never crowded me or pushed yourself on me. I'm here now by choice, and that means the world to me." She paused and said, "If I told you I wanted to go get Jack and go to Diane's for the night, would you stop me?"

His wolf clawed at him from the inside, howling in dismay. Although he wanted to snarl and tell her no, he knew he wouldn't. He couldn't. "I'd drive you there myself."

Her face softened and her eyes glittered suddenly with unshed tears. "That's why I want to be your mate, Malachi, because you gave me the choice. You accept me for all my flaws and my humanity, and you care about Jack as if he were your own flesh and blood. I don't want to be anywhere but where you are for the rest of my life."

Now his wolf wanted to howl for joy, and Malachi would have danced a jig if he wouldn't have looked like an idiot. He settled for wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close, dropping his mouth to hers. He loved kissing her. She tasted as sweet and wild as she smelled, and her body fit against his perfectly. He loved how he could hear her heart beat faster and scent her arousal even in the frigid night air. His attraction to her had started with his wolf's recognition of her as his mate, but his attraction to her now wasn't based on some wolfy knowledge or physical things. It went far deeper. He loved how much she cared about Jack, and how great a mom she was. He loved how she wrinkled her nose when she thought something was particularly funny, and the way she cared about her patients.

He'd fallen in love with her. He'd been aware of his slowly deepening feelings for her as they'd grown closer, but he hadn't really admitted the words to himself.

Breaking the kiss, he stroked his thumb over the curve of her cheek and said, "Nila, I love you. I want you to be my mate, and when things are settled with your past, I want you to be my wife and I want to adopt Jack. Will you mate me and marry me?"

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. For a heartbeat, she said nothing, and then she grinned and tears slipped down her cheeks. "I love you, too, Mal. I will absolutely mate you and marry you, and I know that you'll make a great father for Jack."

A great weight lifted off his shoulders as he pulled her even closer and they kissed. In his mind, his wolf was doing cartwheels, and he grinned inwardly. It hadn't really been that long since he'd found her a just a few weeks a but the journey to get to this place had seemingly taken forever.

He pulled from the drugging kiss and nipped her lower lip. "I need to explain some more things to you, sweetheart."

"I'm all ears," she said, hugging herself closer and laying her cheek on his chest.

His wolf growled in approval and Malachi smiled. She'd said yes. Everything else was just details.

Chapter 11.

After spending two cold hours in the snowy woods, she and Malachi walked back to Brynn and Acksel's house and took Jack home. She was quiet on the drive to Malachi's house, looking at Jack as he tried to fight to stay awake. The girls had worn him out, and she smiled as she realized that not only was she getting a family when she married Malachi, but Jack was, too. A big family that wasn't just Malachi's parents and sister, but also the pack. Acksel had made it clear before they left that when she mated Malachi and he adopted Jack, her son would become a pack member, able to join the ranks when he shifted sometime during his sixteenth year.

She'd always been worried about Jack growing up in Damien's pack. He would have been encouraged to see her as unworthy because she was completely human, and she'd always a.s.sumed that Jack would be treated differently because he was only half wolf. But Acksel's pack didn't care about that anymore. Brynn was carrying Acksel's child, and Acksel had ensured that the pack laws were changed so that Brynn and their kids were considered full pack members. Nila wouldn't be a true pack member like Brynn, because she was the alpha female and that was special, but Nila would be an honorary member, and Jack would have full membership rights. So would any children she and Malachi had.

The time spent in the woods had been eye-opening. He'd told her not only about his people and their ways, but also the truth of his feelings for her. Love. He said he loved her. She loved him, too. She wasn't exactly sure when it had happened, and maybe it was fast, but it felt right. She felt connected to him on a superior level, as if they really had been made for each other. Their relationship might have gotten off to a rocky start, what with her trying to push him away and him secretly stalking her, but they were solid now. It wasn't just a connected feeling, she just flat-out loved him. Loved how sweet he was to Jack, how he treated her like a queen, and how he let her know that he supported her no matter what her choices were.

When he stopped the SUV, he got out and opened the back door and removed a nearly-asleep Jack from the car seat, lifting the diaper bag over his shoulder. She stared at him in surprise as he walked around the front of the SUV and then opened her door.

"What's with the look?" He asked as he held the door for her.

"You just constantly surprise me," she answered, stepping down onto the snow and standing next to him as he shut the door.

"Oh? I like being surprising."

He held her hand as they walked into the house together. She'd lifted her hands to take Jack from him and put him to bed when he said, "Why don't you go run a nice hot bath for us? I'll put him to bed."

"There you go again, surprising me."

He pressed in the code to secure the house and she listened as the electronic deadbolts on the front door engaged. She kissed Jack's cheek and whispered goodnight to him. He kept trying to stay awake, his eyelids staying closed for longer and longer periods of time.

She sat down on a small bench at the door and took off her boots, putting hers and Malachi's on the rug at the door and hanging up their coats while he took Jack to bed. Her stomach clenched with antic.i.p.ation as she thought about taking a bath with Malachi. She nearly ran back to the master bathroom, but instead forced herself to walk slowly. Peeking into Jack's bedroom, she saw Malachi standing at the crib, rocking Jack in his arms, whispering to him. She couldn't hear what he said, but Jack was smiling as his eyes fluttered shut. She blew him a kiss and walked to the bedroom, tugging off her sweater and dropping it into the laundry basket.

The tub was a shower/tub combo with frosted gla.s.s doors. She pushed the door open and turned on the faucet, testing the temperature with her fingers and then closing the drain when it was just right. She'd never really been a bath person, but the idea of sharing a bath with Malachi made her want to reconsider that stance. Maybe baths were s.e.xy when her mate was involved.

She stripped and leaned out of the bathroom to put her clothes in the basket when she saw Malachi come into the bedroom. His face lit up when he saw her, and she smiled at him, stepping back into the bathroom. He carried a tray in and set it down on the marble counter; on it were two mugs, a carafe, mini marshmallows, candles and a matchbook.

He tipped the carafe and poured what turned out to be hot cocoa into both mugs, dropping mini marshmallows on the top. Then he set the candles on the counter and began to light them. She glanced at the tub, decided the water was high enough, and turned off the faucet.

Malachi flipped off the light, and the small room was filled with the golden flickering candlelight. She watched him strip. His thick sweater came off first, and then the t-shirt underneath, revealing his chiseled upper body. His arms were thick and roped with muscle, and his abdomen was a study in masculinity. Her gaze drifted down to his waist as he undid the b.u.t.ton and zipper of his jeans. As he shoved his jeans down his legs, her mouth watered at the sight of his thick c.o.c.k.

He moved in front of her and touched her chin with his fingertips. She looked up at him. "The way you're looking at me is driving me crazy."

She placed her hands on his waist. "How am I looking at you?"

He smirked. "Like you could eat me up."

"I thought the big bad wolf was the one who did the eating?"

He chuckled, picking up the mugs and stepping into the tub. "I know I froze you outside while we were talking so I wanted to warm you up the right way."

He handed her the mugs and sat down, stretching his legs straight out and leaning against the tub. She knew it had to be freezing against the back of the tub, but he didn't show it. He patted his thighs and she straddled him, handing him one mug.

"Let's toast getting warm," she said.

"And our mating," he added.

"You warm me from the inside out, even without the hot cocoa and bath."

"Me, too, sweetheart."

Their mugs clinked softly and they both sipped on the cocoa. It was sweet and chocolately, and just warm enough to make her groan in pleasure.

They drained the mugs and she set them on top of the toilet and looked at him. "I want you to know that even though it was suggested to me that we do this tonight, I'm not mating you because my alpha thinks it's a good idea. I'm doing it because the thought of you going one more day without my mark in your neck would make me insane." His hands rested on her knees, his fingers kneading the flesh. "If you don't want me to mark you tonight, I won't. It's your choice."

"Can it be undone?"

His eyes narrowed slightly. "No. Mating is like marriage for my people, more important than a piece of paper from the government."

"I just...it's not that I don't want to be yours forever, I just wanted to make sure you'd be mine, too. You won't have any marks; how will anyone know that you're mated?"

He relaxed. "I'll smell like you, for one. It would be hard for anyone to not realize a male is mated, because they'll scent his mate on him. If you want to bite me, you can."

"It won't be like your marks though." He had explained that when he marked her, his fangs would be elongated and would cut through her skin, leaving two permanent marks on the side of her neck. She knew it would hurt, like getting poked with two big needles, but she didn't care. She wanted to belong to Malachi in every way.

"No, but I don't care. I want you to trust in me, and if that means you want to bite me and mark me, I'm okay with that. Whether I wear physical marks or not, when I bring you before the pack on the full moon as my treasured mate, everyone will know that I'm taken. I would never betray you, Nila. There will never be anyone else for me but you, forever."

She could have cried at the sweet words, but she didn't want him to think she was an emotional nutcase. Instead, she leaned forward, placing her hands on the cool tile on either side of his head, and kissed him.

His fingers slipped into her hair and he took over the kiss, angling her head the way he wanted to deepen it. d.a.m.n she loved him. He rocked her world in every possible way.

One of his hands slipped from her hair and inched its way down her chest to brush his fingers against her nipples. She wiggled on his lap as he tugged them lightly, alternating from one to the other as his tongue swept possessively into her mouth. His hand fisted in her hair and he gently pulled her away from him, arching her neck and bending his head to suck on her nipples. He plumped her breast and licked at the tip as she wiggled further up his lap. Her hands left the tile and she gripped his shoulders, arching her back and pushing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s into his face. Grinning against her flesh, he nipped at her nipples, tugging and teasing them in turn until she was writhing on top of him.

With a soft growl, he lifted from her and kissed her hard. She moaned as his hand slipped down the front of her body. He rubbed her c.l.i.t lightly.

"d.a.m.n you're wet, babe," he groaned against her lips.

Her hips canted as he stroked her c.l.i.t with the tip of his finger. "You do that to me." She reached for him, fisting his hair in her hands and kissing him. He teased her, flicking her c.l.i.t with quick strokes until her body shivered and her p.u.s.s.y clenched. Need filled her like something wild and alive, and she couldn't think of anything better than his c.o.c.k inside her as he claimed her.

"Please," she whispered as she lifted from his mouth and gazed into his eyes.

His finger slipped to her entrance and he stroked her lightly before lifting his finger to his mouth and sucking off the silky evidence of her arousal. "You taste so sweet." His lips parted and she saw a hint of his fangs. She shivered in response.

Gripping her hips, he lifted and pulled her forward until she hovered over his c.o.c.k. She reached for him with one hand, grasping his thick length and holding him until the hot head of his c.o.c.k breached her. She gasped and he froze, holding her in place. She shifted her hips, wiggling on him, and her knees spread wider until she straddled him completely and then she sank down on him slowly, feeling every inch of him as he filled her. His hands gripped her hips tightly and she inhaled deeply and looked at him.

He looked so s.e.xy, teeth bared in concentration, his fangs elongated slightly. The steam from the water around them made his skin glisten. She leaned forward and touched the edge of one fang with her finger. It seemed to get bigger as she touched it, and his c.o.c.k throbbed in her p.u.s.s.y.

She lifted her hips slightly, letting him slide nearly free before she pressed herself back down onto him, until the backs of her thighs were flush with his legs. He touched her c.l.i.t again, his thumb pressing against the bundle of nerves and making her close her eyes in pleasure. She hooked her hand behind his neck and leaned in to kiss him again as she began to lift herself from him in a slow rhythm. His thumb stroked her c.l.i.t and she sucked on his tongue, her stomach twisting as heat flared through her. Their bodies moved together as one, his hips lifting as hers descended, the water splashing as they made love. His chest vibrated as he growled, and his thumb began to work her c.l.i.t faster. Her p.u.s.s.y clenched his c.o.c.k as he rubbed her just right. Sparks lit her vision, and she lifted her mouth from his and moaned.

She couldn't move fast enough; the tidal wave of pleasure that rose inside her was fueled by his firm touch on her c.l.i.t and the growls that rumbled in his chest. Her nails dug into his chest as she came, her body quivering as heat rolled through her and she shouted his name.

His thumb kept rubbing her c.l.i.t, and his other hand pressed into the small of her back as he moved her on his c.o.c.k. He latched his mouth onto the side of her neck and she moaned loudly. She felt the heat of the bruise that would form as he licked and nuzzled her neck and pushed her body to another climax. The pressure on her c.l.i.t increased, as the bud throbbed under his attention. She wanted to tell him that it was too much, but her body revolted at the idea of him stopping. He did things to her body that no one had ever done before. She wanted everything that he could give her.

"Oh, yes," she moaned, closing her eyes and letting herself go into the sensations. He sucked on her neck in the same spot, his thumb driving her wild and his c.o.c.k moving in and out. She felt herself draw close to the edge, the pleasure spiraling tightly inside, pushing her forward to another dizzying height of bliss.

Her body jolted as pleasure flooded her. She cried out his name as she came, and felt his fangs press into her neck. She was so overwhelmed with her climax that she couldn't even muster a complaint as he pierced her with his fangs and marked her. He growled and she felt his c.o.c.k spasm deep inside. He extracted his fangs and licked across the tender wound, then pulled her close and leaned back. She was cradled against him as the pleasure slowly ebbed.