Bound to My Mate Ch. 19

Will had backed Dia against the truck as he spoke and now stood staring down in her eyes. She looked like a sharp retort had been on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it and glared at him instead.

"Dia, baby, just get in the truck and sit still. Lock the doors and let us load this thing up. I'm going to ask the Alpha if I can ride back with you. Can you do that for me?" he asked kissing her neck lightly.

"It's my truck," she whispered fiercely jerking away, "I don't trust anybody else to drive it."

"I know, baby," Will murmured into her ear, "but it's dangerous out here. Please, let me take care of you."

Joel and I had continued to approach and I could see the uncertainty on Dia's face. She didn't seem like the type of girl that was used to being taken care of. My guess was she found Will's concern sweet, but stifling. The proud part of her was going to demand she resist.

I shifted to a human form with Joel and addressed Will and Dia.

"Dia, may I wait in the cab with you while they load the bodies? My mate is also anxious having me stand out here," I said gesturing around.

Joel raised an eyebrow at me, but otherwise said nothing. He understood what I was doing.

"Is it a male wolf thing?" Dia asked watching me carefully.

"Yes, they are very protective," I nodded.

That seemed to decide her. She wasn't being coddled, we were being coddled and it was normal. If I wasn't going to put up a fight, she shouldn't either.

I walked to the passenger side and sat down as she crawled in her side. We locked the doors and waited.

We sat and felt the truck shift and sway as the back was loaded. A wolf stood outside my door, guarding it and I could see the same arrangement on Dia's side.

"He's a controlling prick," Dia fumed staring straight ahead. "I've taken care of myself for a long damn time. I don't need to be treated like a child."

"He'll get a little better once you've been changed," I offered.

I knew how she felt. Joel had initially come across as smothering in his protectiveness. It was disconcerting to get used to. I decided to change the subject, this discussion was just going to aggravate Dia.

"The boys said you came into money and started trucking. What happened that made you start doing this for a living?" I asked.

"Stealing is really hard work," she explained turning to face me. "Every time you go on a job there's a chance you won't come back. I took a big job and made it my last. The trucking thing just seemed to fit me. I'm independent and I like to travel."

We talked about the lifestyle she'd led for a while. It was interesting to me. I'd never known anyone who had been a full time thief.

Suddenly, Dia sighed and stroked the steering wheel. "I feel guilty now, though. I probably should sell the truck and give the money back to the last ones I stole from."

"Why in the world would you do that?" I asked.

"The money for the truck came from stealing from Will's pack," she said bluntly. "Humans hired me to steal business secrets. I snuck into the den and took what they wanted. I didn't know it was Will's family until yesterday. He called his dad, Cedric, and talked to him. I recognized his name."

Dia was the thief that had us all up in arms months ago. Considering her background, I should have figured that out myself.

Suddenly, I saw Will's face behind Dia staring in at her. He must have heard what she was thinking about through the mate bond. As I watched he used one finger to tap forcefully on the glass.

Dia turned, looking guilty, and watched him. Will pointed to the door lock and jumped down off the side of the truck.

"Damn it," Dia muttered before she opened the door, "I can't believe he heard that."

Will stepped back up so he was looming over Dia through the open door.

"As the representative for my father's pack, that makes this MY truck," he told her softly, "so don't give me anymore trouble about who drives it."

Dia fumed at his words, "I said I MIGHT give back the money. I did a job fair and square. It's not my fault your family's security is lax."

"You'll help me work on the security then," he said leaning toward her, "but it doesn't change anything. Stealing is not legitimate business."

Dia glared at him for a moment and I wondered how bad this argument could get. If Dia held to her way of thinking it wouldn't be over soon.

"And, Dia baby," Will continued, "if you want three trucks, I'll buy them all for you. I'm just begging you to stop risking your life."

That last statement seemed to quell the sharp retort Dia was about to make. Her shoulders dropped a little and Will leaned down to kiss her lips. He spent a long minute exploring her mouth as I sat amused behind them.

"Fine," was all she said once he released her lips.

I heard Joel calling to Will from outside and he jumped down grinning at Dia. When she turned toward me her face looked slightly flushed.

"Hell of a debater," she said leaning back on the seat and I had to laugh at that.

Once the truck was loaded, Dia managed to get us back on the main road. The truck had a guard you could not miss as it headed for the den.

Once we were home Joel had her deliver the bodies to the stone circle. They were unloaded and ready to be destroyed as soon as we could.

The pack was already in the den, awaiting our arrival. They crowded the bottom floors and stood watching over the railings on all three levels. The warriors were met with pats on the back and howling. The noise Joel and I received was deafening.

It wasn't like they didn't know what happened, but Joel took the time to formally explain it. He bounded up the stairs holding my hand and addressed everyone as they stood in the entranceway. His speech was short and to the point.

After the speech Joel summoned his warriors out front. He was still concerned we may have missed a rogue or two. The den was placed on lockdown as he busied himself planning the search for any stragglers.

Knowing his search would take time, I went to the infirmary to try and help there. As I opened the door to the infirmary the human women rushed to greet me. I had forgotten about them in the field, but Joel had evidently gotten them home safe. They were all very glad to see me.

Considering their past experience with the rogue packs, the women were remarkably well put together. Even April, although she was trembling, was able to talk with me. They felt safe with our pack.

Joel had sent them in the middle of a heavy guard back to the den. The women had been impressed with the way the wolves worked to protect one another and them from a threat. It made them feel better about staying with us.

With the humans taken care of I looked around the infirmary. Pulling on a pair of sweats I realized I was going to be busy. The girls the rogues had taken were being treated by the healer. I joined her as we set bones and cleaned injuries.

Rick helped us with simple tasks, but he looked apprehensive and afraid. He watched me when he didn't think I noticed. I couldn't tell what he wanted. I just knew I was missing something I should be doing, but I couldn't think of what it was.

Joel came into the infirmary a little while later. His movements were brisk and commanding. From the way he acted his reason for the visit must be to reassure the shaken victims.

Joel stopped at the beds of the rescued females and checked each of them himself. He patted their arms and stroked their faces as he talked softly to them. Several of the girls leaned heavily into his hands. A tinge of jealousy turned my eyes gold watching him act so affectionately with other women.

It took a moment to remind the wolf he was certainly still mine. Caring about the pack was an important part of his job; I couldn't take this away from him or them. They needed to know their protector loved them.

After Joel was done with the women he walked into the center area and his eyes fell on Rick. That heavy blank stare had Rick sinking to his knees before the Alpha. A second later April was beside Rick, wrapping her arms around him and trembling. They watched Joel with wide eyes barely breathing.

I understood now. Rick felt he had done something wrong, he had been waiting for me to dole out punishment. I had never really thought about that as part of my role in the pack. Evidently, I should give it more thought.

Joel pushed me out of my moment of surprise by sending a question into my head.

'What do you want to do with him?' he asked never breaking his gaze on Rick.

I pushed aggressively into Joel's mind and sifted through his memories and knowledge on pack behavior. Rick was in trouble because he put himself and his needs above the pack's needs. Joel felt he should have warned us as soon as he saw the rogues.

'April is pack,' I sent to Joel. 'She is the weakest member of the pack. If the rogues had found her, we would have lost her for good. He came to us as soon as he could, but he should have been able to call out to someone in their wolf form.'

Rick didn't seem to know anybody. It struck me that was because, unlike his adopted brothers who had new friends, he stayed in the infirmary watching April all the time.

'You make a valid point,' Joel mused. 'Rick spends too much time in this infirmary doting on his mate. He has not taken the time to fully integrate with the pack.'

'I think it would be counterproductive to punish him for protecting April,' I said. 'You are right, he spends all his time with the humans. Rick doesn't know the pack at all.'

'He won't like it, but it is time we changed that,' Joel sent into my head.

"Rick," Joel's voice finally sounded and I could see both Rick and April shiver, "you spend too much time in the infirmary. You have not taken the time necessary to get to know the pack. While we appreciate you protecting our most vulnerable member, you cannot ignore the rest. You will work in the kitchen until we are satisfied you are fully functional in this environment. We will talk about your duties once our concerns are satisfied."

Rick and April looked up obviously relieved as Joel continued. "April needs to be changed at the next full moon. Will you do this?" he addressed her.

"Yes, Alpha Latro, I am ready to change," she whispered still clinging to Rick.

Joel came toward me and planted a kiss on my lips before striding out of the room. He still had much that needed looking after upstairs, so he didn't even glance back. I turned back to the female I had come from treating and started back cleaning her cuts and scratches.

"Madam Alpha," Rick said quietly from beside me, "should I go find the head of the kitchen now?"

"Yes," I answered picking dirt and rock out of the girl's cut in front of me. The wound needed to be flushed so it would close quickly.

"Who would I be looking for Madam?" Rick asked hesitantly.

I stilled my hands for a moment and felt guilty. Rick was a friendly guy and I had been hoarding him down here for my own purposes. He didn't know anything about what went on with the pack that wasn't directly tied to the infirmary or our human guests.

"Go the kitchen and ask for Margaret," I sighed, "tell her what Alpha Latro just said. If she has questions she can call me down here."

April was at Rick's elbow as she asked, "What about me, Madam Alpha? May I work in the kitchen?"

As I thought about her question, I heard Rick almost run out. April was doing well with the pack, having a job might help her do even better. The purpose of moving Rick was so he would meet more wolves, though.

"Rick has to integrate with the pack," I told her. "If you are in the kitchen with him he will spend all his time with you. I want you to work and do something you enjoy, but Rick is going to the kitchens for a purpose."

April fiddled with the blankets at the edge of the bed and I turned back to the girl I had been working on. The deep claw mark I had cleaned on her leg looked like it could use a couple of stitches, so I pulled out a suture needle. I'd just use some absorbable sutures to close the deeper tissue.

"I like to sew," April said quietly from beside me.

"I'm assuming you don't mean this type of sewing," I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, Madam Alpha, I like to sew clothes. It was what I was going to school for," she answered still fiddling with the blanket.

My patient on the bed raised her head and looked at April. "We always need more seamstresses, Madam Alpha," she told me. "I work making clothing they sell at a new business downtown. It's all one of a kind, special order type of things. If the human can sew, she could work with us."

As I stitched the girl's leg she and April talked about the job. April was thrilled when I decided she could work with them. Before being taken April had studied fashion design and was happy that information could be put to use. The conversation also distracted my patient from the pain of the stitches, so I was fine to let them talk.

Eventually everyone was patched up and taken care of. I was exhausted, which Sarah believed was due to my blood loss the day before. My body felt absolutely drained.

Finally finished, I trudged upstairs to our suites to wait for Joel. I stripped and showered quickly. Although I wanted to wait for Joel, I didn't make it. My eyes were shut as soon as my head hit the pillow.

It was near dawn when I pried my eyes open. Joel was laying behind me, definitely not asleep. He had wrapped his arms around me. One hand was carefully tweaking and pulling on a nipple, the other warmly cupping my mons. I felt his pole nestled securely between my buttocks.

"I know you're awake," he whispered in my ear kissing the skin underneath.

"And I'm tired and grumpy," I grumbled trying to wiggle away.

The wiggling did not have the intended effect. I separated my legs slightly and Joel's hand moved further between them. He moaned and thrust his staff between my cheeks, so I assume that I had further riled him.

"Don't you need to sleep?" I groused pressing my breast into his hand.

The tweaking got stronger and it was starting to feel very good. The hand between my legs was also stimulating as it sat there warming my nether regions.

"Not yet, I had a very successful hunt, mate," he answered, "but it left me feeling excited once I was done."

"Once you were done killing rogues?" I asked turning to look at him.

"Oh, yes," he whispered placing kisses along my cheek, "several rogues. The strongest managed to get away from us when we attacked the vehicles. The 'leadership' of the pack must have run."

I took a deep breath as he continued to kiss over to my ear. He didn't smell strongly of blood. He smelled like soap and Joel.

"You don't smell like a man whose been fighting to the death," I blurted out.

A sharp tug on my nipple reminded me he still had me in a very vulnerable position. Moaning, I arched into his hand. I wondered what else I could say to make him repeat that motion.

"I bathed before I crawled in bed with you," he growled low in my ear. "You, love, are very particular about what level of sanitation is acceptable."

"It was a big fight?" I asked turning my head to watch his eyes.

The growl low in Joel's chest rumbled through me. The hand that had been between legs left to run along my thigh. His eyes turned gold as he remembered.

"I went with, Dominick, our best tracker back to the service road," Joel started and I interrupted him.

"I know Dominick, he's not that big as a wolf. You really went with just him."

"Dominick doesn't need to be big, love," Joel growled. "I trained him to fight. He's fast, like you, and he listened to my lessons. He's a lethal warrior and he always finds what he's hunting. Now do you want to know what he found?"

I placed a hand over Joel's naked hip and pulled it closer. "Tell me the whole story," I demanded.

"I was right to think we had missed some. Dominick found the trail right away. There were six of them still on our land. They had set up an ambush," Joel said slowly thrusting his hips against me. "Fools thought they knew the lay of my territory better than I did."

It never struck me to worry about Joel, but I suddenly realized I should. "You were outnumbered," I stated trying to wiggle around and look at him. "Were you hurt?"

The sharp tug at my nipple returned and I realized he was upset with me.

"Of course not," he scoffed rolling me flat on my back. "Do you think they could hurt me? Do I strike you as a man who is injured?"

Joel looked down at me with a mixture of shock and disbelief on his face. Rolling to face him, I kissed his lips.

"I forget how strong you are," I murmured stroking his face with my fingertips. "You are always so gentle with me."

I moved my fingers lower across his chest and belly. The muscles slid smoothly underneath my hands, no scratches even. Continuing to watch his eyes, I traced my fingers up his back.

Quite suddenly I found myself with both hands pinned above my head as Joel towered over me. He settled between my thighs and pressed his length between us. I felt it burning warmly against my stomach.

"Are you checking me for injury?" he growled. "Don't you trust me?"

I raised an eyebrow at the challenge. Using a foot I ran the sole down the side of his leg, inspecting it. He, of course, was not at all injured, but appeared very perturbed.

An idea came to mind and I grinned as I spoke, "You may need healing, mate, my tongue might help ease an ache you are feeling."

Joel liked that idea and rolled off of me onto his back.

"Heal whatever you wish, mate," he said folding his hands behind his head.

Joel is a fine specimen and he seemed to radiate power. Leaning down I brushed my tongue across his lips several times requesting entry. When he opened his mouth I tangled our tongues and didn't release him until we were both breathless.

The beast beneath me groaned as I passed my lips over his neck, actually finding and healing one tiny scratch. That nick did look more like he'd done it with his razor, though. It didn't stop me from tasting the tiny cut completely.

"That isn't where I'm aching, love," Joel rumbled.

Inching down the bed I tasted across his wide chest and took his nipples in my mouth. I grazed him with my sharp teeth and he didn't even wince. Joel just lay still and quiet as I worked. He was being much too non-pulsed so I reached down and stroked his tool with my hand.

"Ah," he groaned, "now that is where I ache my love. Put your mouth there and cure me of that ill."

Allowing myself to brush my lips lower over his stomach he rumbled. When I finally encompassed his smooth heat in my mouth he moaned. The sweet sound made me want to hear it many times over.

Kissing and licking, I worshipped his staff. The wet sound of my lips working over his manhood were the only sound in the room.

"Take me deeply, love," he commanded hoarsely from above me.

He was the perfect picture laid out before me. A thin sheen of sweat was slowly forming over his body. He knew what he wanted, but he was trying to let me get there on my own. I had to admire his control.

Grasping the pulsing shaft I lowered my mouth over it. I moved so I was kneeling between his legs as I bobbed up and down. With every downward stroke I took him deeper and deeper. Soon I didn't need my hand to help so I placed them on his rock solid thighs for leverage.

The feel and taste of him was making me crazy. Wetness was pooling between my thighs and my nipples felt tight. I wanted him badly.

Joel groaned and bucked beneath me. He brushed my hair away from my cheeks to enhance his view, but otherwise didn't interrupt as I attended to him.

The moment the wolf started to take over, I knew. The base of Joel's cock became thicker and the entire thing grew slightly in width. Looking up into Joel's beautiful eyes the gold glow was already there.