The Wolf's Mate.

Lindy & The Wulfen.

By R. E. Butler.

I'd like to sincerely thank Iliana Gkioni for her help with elements of this book. I so appreciate your knowledge, time, and friendship. XOXO * * * * *

I'd like to thank Devin Govaere for editing this story.

Many thanks to Amanda Pederick for beta-reading, line editing, and being there for me when I thought bears were coming to stay in Allen.

Much love to my sisterfriend, Joyce.

To Aunt B. L. and my husband, B.B., I love you both.

Special thanks to the most awesome group of gals I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, the Shifter Babes Street Team - you guys rock!.

Chapter 1.

Lindy was vaguely aware of the toilet flushing and groaned softly, turning over and burying her face in her pillow. Then she was very aware of two things. First, that she had rolled over onto underwear that was definitely not hers, and second, that someone had just flushed her toilet and she lived alone.

As she sat up and her head swam with a hangover to beat all hangovers, the previous night's activities came rushing back with alarming clarity.

Drinking at Jake's with Faith and McKenna to celebrate McKenna's impending mating.

Way too many Rum and c.o.ke's.

Accepting a ride home from...oh f.u.c.k.

Someone sat down on the bed hard enough to bounce her in the air. Bruce Smith, a fellow Tressel Pack member, reached next to her for his underwear and gave her a smarmy smile as he lifted the briefs into the air. "Unless you want to keep these for a trophy?"

She stifled the desire to gag, but just barely.

Oh, how the h.e.l.l had she fallen so low that she'd let Bruce not only take her home when she was drunk but also have s.e.x with her?

He stood and pulled on his jeans and turned to face her as she sat staring numbly at him. He looked at her, his blue eyes regarding her for only a brief moment before he walked to the end of the bed, picked up his shirt and shoes, and walked out of her bedroom without a word.

It was just a few moments later that she heard the front door open and close. She hadn't even rated a goodbye from one of the biggest a.s.sholes in the pack. But she hadn't expected to be respected by a drunk one-nighter, had she? It's not like she was dating him, or ever would.

A little bit of anger rolled through her. Why had her best friends let her leave the bar with him? They all had firm no-a.s.shole rules about going home with guys. Bruce was definitely on their a.s.shole list.

She spied her cell on the nightstand and grabbed it, noticing it was only three a.m. Dialing McKenna, she was surprised when her friend didn't answer. As she dialed Faith, she stood slowly, waited for her stomach to stop rolling, and walked to the bathroom.

"What do you want?" Faith's frosty tone stopped Lindy in her tracks.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you serious? You have a lot of nerve calling me after that bulls.h.i.t you pulled last night, Lindy. I'm too p.i.s.sed to talk to you."

The call ended, and Lindy stood in her bathroom, naked, staring at the phone. What the h.e.l.l had just happened?

Putting the phone on the counter, she clicked on the overhead light, squinted at the brightness, and reached into the shower to turn the water on. Finding aspirin in the medicine cabinet, she tossed back several and then drank a few gla.s.ses of cold water. As she put the cup down, her eyes strayed to the wastebasket, and she noticed a used condom inside it.

Well thank goodness!

At least she'd had enough sense in her stupor to have him wrap his d.i.c.k. Shoving the unwanted thoughts of having s.e.x with Bruce into the back of her mind, she stepped under the warm spray. As she poured rose-scented body wash onto a scrubby sponge and began to wash away the scent of Bruce from her skin, she replayed the evening over in her mind.

Earlier that day, Faith and McKenna had shown up at the bookstore where Lindy worked, and McKenna had proudly shown off the mating marks on the back of her neck from her boyfriend and fellow Tressel Pack member, Drake. Lindy had smiled and congratulated her friend, but inside she'd been green with envy. Not because of Drake. He was too young for Lindy's tastes. But jealous of her friend moving on with her life. The three girls had been best friends since preschool, and they'd had their share of arguments over the years. But what had bothered Lindy most was that McKenna hadn't been looking for a mate and had landed one. Sure he was young, but he had a steady job and was cute.

Over the course of their celebration, Lindy must have gotten a loose tongue and told McKenna her true feelings on the mating. Closing her eyes as she soaped her body, she tried to remember what she had said. All she really got from that experiment was more pounding in her head and a bit of dizziness that made her want to retch.

Letting the spray rinse the soap off her body, she shampooed her hair, then soaped her skin once more for good measure. She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her head and then another around her body. After brushing her teeth, she flipped off the light, and went back into her bedroom. Detouring past the bed, she headed down the hallway to the front door of her small ranch home and threw the deadbolt.

Sure, her pride was hurt that Bruce had walked out without any common courtesy, but she was glad he was gone. That tumbling into bed with him had come in some way because she had hurt both her best friends with some drunken tirade just made waking up with that slime ball even worse.

Blowing out a breath, she headed back to her bedroom to strip the bed and change the sheets before settling down for the night. She just hoped things would be better when she woke up.

After a few hours of sleep, Lindy woke up feeling less hung over and definitely glad to be the only one in her bed. She still didn't know what she'd said or done at the bar, but she knew that she needed to apologize to both of them, in person, and that meant getting her b.u.t.t in gear.

Lindy dressed for the warm June morning in shorts and a tank and then headed out the door. Lonestar's, the only restaurant in town, had a bakery counter that sold amazing cinnamon rolls and other mouth-watering items. She waited in line, picking at the chipped polish on her nails, and ordered a box of cinnamon rolls and a box of blueberry m.u.f.fins along with four cappuccinos.

Faith and McKenna shared a rental home on the other side of town from Lindy's own rental. When Lindy's mom had decided to leave the Tressel Pack to follow a male she met at a bar, Lindy had moved in with Faith and McKenna. Lindy wasn't sure if McKenna and Drake were going to get their own place or if Faith was going to move out. Lindy had been living by herself for only about six months, after deciding that she'd spent long enough not having her own place.

She parked in front of the home that her friends shared, and turned off the car. Gathering her purchases, she got out of the car and headed up to the front door. She kicked the door a few times, wincing as she stubbed her toes, holding two boxes in one hand and the cup carrier in the other.

After several minutes, the door opened, and Faith squinted at her in the sunlight.

"I come bearing a peace offering and many, many apologies, proverbial tail tucked between my legs and everything."

Faith tilted her head to the side and gave her a narrow look and then said, "I smell blueberries."

"And an apology?" Lindy asked hopefully.

"What does an apology smell like?" Faith asked in confusion.

"I don't know. Something bitter at first that gets sweet at the end?"

Faith smiled and opened the door wide. "I forgive you, you big b.i.t.c.h. Mac and Drake are still asleep. I'm tired as h.e.l.l; those two went at it all night."

The door shut, and Lindy handed off the boxes. "Guess the walls aren't as thick as we thought originally."

"Not even close." Faith smirked and carried the boxes into the kitchen.

Lindy extracted a cappuccino from the carrier and took a sip as Faith opened the box of m.u.f.fins she had set on the kitchen table. "You can move into my place," Lindy offered.

"Thanks, but I think I'm ready to get my own place. You had the right idea to move out on your own. I haven't ever lived by myself. I think I'd like to do that."

Lindy put the cup down on the table and took a deep breath. "About last night. I don't remember what I said because there's this big hole in my memory, but I know that I feel like s.h.i.t because I hurt you and Mac and I'm so sorry. You're my best friends, and I don't know what I'd do without you guys."

Tears blurred her vision, and she tried not to cry, but she couldn't help it. "Oh, babe," Faith cooed softly, pulling Lindy into a hug, "I shouldn't have been such a b.i.t.c.h to you when you called. I was just p.i.s.sed because Mac was upset and Drake was ranting about not just you but me, and...it was just a bad night all around." Lowering her voice slightly, she said, "I'm jealous, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You just said out loud what I was feeling. Mac never showed any interest in settling down, and one damsel-in-distress rescue from Drake and suddenly she's all about mating."

Lindy nodded, tearing a small piece of m.u.f.fin off and popping it into her mouth. "She never went after the males like we did."

Lindy and Faith had systematically worked their way through every unmated male in the pack trying to find a mate. After a while they became the pack jokes, the toys that no male would actually date but many of them would f.u.c.k. The last-chance for a f.u.c.k when all the other options were gone.

Lindy related how she'd woken up with Bruce that morning, and Faith stared at her in shock. "I didn't know you'd sleep with him!"

Shaking her head, Lindy tried to ignore the memory. "I guess I was upset enough to say yes. I'm kind of glad I don't remember it. And I'm really f.u.c.king glad he used a condom! Can you imagine if I had gotten pregnant with his pup?"

Faith choked on her m.u.f.fin, and Lindy whacked her on the back a few times. Gripping her hand tightly, Faith looked at her sincerely and said, "I promise I will never let you go home with Bruce again, no matter how p.i.s.sed off we get at each other. Promise the same for me."

"Swear on my hair," Lindy said, using the vow they had used as kids.

"Why are you swearing on your hair?" Mac asked as she and a half-dressed Drake came into the kitchen.

Lindy related the story, and Mac made a face. "s.h.i.t, Linds, I'm sorry."

Drake snarled. "She insulted you, McKenna. Why are you sorry?"

"Because we're best friends, Drake. Friends don't let friends f.u.c.k a.s.sholes, and Bruce is the biggest one in the pack."

Mac stepped away from Drake, and Lindy hugged her, apologizing again and letting the tears loose once more.

Mac cupped her face and said, "I'm sorry that things turned out the way they did, Linds, but you'll find your knight in shining armor the way I did."

Lindy snorted. "I don't want to get groped in a parking lot by an a.s.shole so a guy can rescue me."

"Worked for me." Mac winked, hugged Lindy again, and stepped over to the box on the table. "Oh, cinnamon. You're definitely forgiven."

"Even you, Drake?" Lindy asked. "I am sorry that I wasn't happy like I should have been."

The young male looked at her with eyes that showed a lot more wisdom than she had expected. "You're my mate's best friend, Lindy. If she forgives you, then I forgive you. But if you make her cry again, then I'm going to make you cry. Understand?"

Faith said, "Oh, I just got shivers. That was f.u.c.king cool."

"I promise," Lindy said, and she meant it.

Lindy didn't have the luxury of having a ton of friends or being well liked. She had caused a lot of trouble over the years for pack members with her behavior. She was a virtual pariah.

Drake swiped a cinnamon roll and went to take a shower, leaving the girls to talk. McKenna picked up a second roll. "I know I surprised you guys with my mating. Truthfully, I wasn't sure if he was sincere even though my wolf really liked him. My grandparents love him, and I think they knew there was something between us before we did."

Faith said, "You denied liking him for a long time."

She shrugged. "He's young. At first I told him that he was just infatuated with me because he didn't know any better. He wasn't entirely innocent, you know, but he's got a very naive outlook on life. He honestly believes that if you're mates then you just get together because it's the right thing to do. I was the one with the issues, saying he was too young, too inexperienced, afraid he would leave me if I let my guard down."

"What made you change your mind? Was it just him rescuing you at the bar?" Lindy asked.

"Not totally. I had to see him at the guard gate every time I visited my grandparents in the retirement community, and he was slowly wearing me down. But when he fought that drunk human who tried to rough me up in the parking lot, and I thought he might get hurt, I knew I didn't want to waste any more time. I mean, he fought for me. He was willing to risk getting hurt before we were even officially mates, and that meant a lot." Her brown eyes sparkled with tears. "You know, there were males in the pack who told him I was trash. That I wasn't worth more than a f.u.c.k or two before settling down with a proper mate. Gram said I shouldn't worry about what anyone else said, but it hurt that his friends tried to talk him out of mating with me."

"He didn't listen, though," Faith pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's scary to think that he might have listened. I didn't want to believe we were mates regardless of what I was feeling, and if he had just left me alone, then I wouldn't have fought it. I might have spent the rest of my life alone if he'd listened to them."

After some much-needed girl talk and reconciliation, Lindy left their home and went back to her own house to enjoy the rest of her day off. She didn't work weekends at Books & Beans, the bookstore and coffee shop where she had been working since she graduated from high school. Stella, the owner, had taken Lindy on even though she had no experience and hadn't read anything other than fashion magazines in high school. Stella made her read at least one new book a week as part of her job so she could make recommendations to people who came in to shop. After six years, and a few hundred books later, she really loved reading and talking to people about books and even lead a weekly children's story hour on Friday mornings.

But it was easier in Grawly, where no one knew her name or her reputation for being a pack wh.o.r.e. There, she was simply Melinda Vincent and nothing more. And that was okay with her.

Chapter 2.

The following Thursday night was the full moon, and Lindy and Faith stood in front of the pack in the full moon meeting place, watching as Jason and Cades presided over McKenna and Drake's official mating.

As Jason unwound the mating strap from their joined hands, Lindy and Faith led the pack in cheering and howling in happiness for their friend. Lindy hugged McKenna tightly.

"I'm so happy for you, babe," Lindy said.

"Swear on your hair?" McKenna rubbed at the tears on her cheeks.

"Definitely."

"I'm going to miss hunting with you," Faith said as she stepped in to hug Mac.

Drake sidled close and pulled Mac against him. "Sorry, ladies, she's mine on the full moon."

"Just on the full moon?" She batted her eyelashes at him.

"All the time," he said with a growl.

Smiling, Lindy and Faith both rolled their eyes as Drake and Mac began to kiss.