Projected Pleasure (7 page)

“Wait, you what?” He stood there looking astounded. The slight part of his full lips made her proceed cautiously. The last thing she wanted to do was upset him further.

“We were circling each other. I couldn’t let it get to the house, Zachary.”

“Wait, wait, wait. You’re telling me you were going to try to take on a wolf. Marley, have you lost your mind? It would have slaughtered you! Tell me again, what in the hell you were doing outside at the crack of dawn?”

Twisting her mouth at his rising temper, Marley lathered her body with soap. “I was running. I awoke in a ball of energy. What can I say? Plus, I could have possibly kicked that wolf’s ass. If it wouldn’t have been for my own wolf trying to come out then it might have been possible. I guess now we’ll never know.”

A laugh made her look up. Zachary stood there shaking his head.

“You cannot be serious, Marley. Jesus! You know what? We’re going to find out just how powerful you are. Hurry up, get out and get dressed. I’m going to show you first hand that you can’t beat a wolf in human form. It’s impossible.”

Marley smiled. “Great! I need all the practice I can get. Who do I fight? Nikolas, Mark, oh, I know, Magnus.”

“No, Marley. You’re fighting me.”

The smile melted off of her face. “Well, shit.” Making sure all of the soap was gone, she turned the water off. “You’re not going to be a
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sorry loser if you get beat by a girl, right? Because if that’s the case, then I’m calling it off right now. I don’t want to argue with you.”

Fuck, she was so getting her ass whipped!

* * * *

“Cole, I hope you know what you’re doing. We’ve been to three different places this morning, and now we’re in the same town we live in, again! Do you have any idea how pissed Zach is going to be?”

Gilbert’s voice barely broke through Cole’s thoughts. “Probably extremely pissed, but I can’t help it. I don’t want to waste our time traveling around when I feel no need to look for a mate.”

“What about her?” Gilbert asked, pointing to a petite blonde walking along the main street.

Cole rolled his eyes and fought not to grind his teeth. “Pull the car over,” he snapped.

Not even caring about what the girl generally looked like, he got out, approaching her. Curiously, she looked up at him with big brown eyes. Her heart-shaped face was decent enough, Cole thought as he fought the need to get back in the car.

“Hello, I’m Cole. I’m sorry to stop you like this, but would you like to get dinner sometime? I know you don’t know me, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

The blonde genuinely smiled at him, outstretching her hand. “I’m Josephine, Josie for short. I’d love to have dinner with you.”

Cole’s felt like he was going to be sick. He did not want to do this.

Why couldn’t she have just said no? “Great, are you free tonight? My family always has big dinners. We could kill two birds with one stone.”

Her laugh grated his ears. It wasn’t anything like Marley’s.

“Sounds great, Cole. Here, let me give you my number. You can call me when you’ve chosen a time to pick me up.”

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Forcing a smile, he tried to look into her eyes and see the person inside. He got absolutely nothing. “Dinner’s always at seven, so let’s say I pick you up a little after six. I’ll call to get the address later.”

He left her with an extra bounce in her step. She was cute, but typically not his type. Of course, he couldn’t remember what his type was anymore. Since he’d first laid eyes on Marley, every idea image of a mate went right out of the window.

“See, was that so bad? Now that the hard part is over with, we can go home,” Gilbert said from the front seat.

“Yes, home.” Cole smiled. There was no faking that one. Now, he could go back home where he belonged. Things were looking up.

The cell phone ringing caught him off guard. His alpha’s name appeared on the outside almost as if he knew what Cole was doing.

“What’s up, Zach?”

“You need to come home. Marley was attacked this morning, and I need you here.”

The mix between rage and fear caused his free hand to grip to the seat for control. He had to fight not to shift into werewolf form.

“What do you mean Marley was attacked? Is she okay? Who attacked her?”

“Yes, she’s fine. We’re not sure who it was. A red wolf was followed by someone projecting much like Jordan used to do. We thought at first it was you. Was it? I completely forgot to ask while you were here.”

“Wasn’t me. I don’t know how to project in that form. The only time I projected was last night when I came to Marley. I left before the sun even came up.”

“Ah, that makes sense. Marley said she was a ball of energy this morning. I take it things got steamy without me. Shit, if I wouldn’t have been so tired, I would have joined you both. Maybe then this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Don’t blame yourself because you felt tired.” Cole took a deep breath and prepared to mention the one question he felt needed to be
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asked. He didn’t want to for fear of getting the wrong answer, but his loyalty made him. “Zachary, are you sure what Marley and I have is all right with you? If you want me to stop, I will. You were my best friend before you were ever my leader.”

“No worries. I trust you won’t challenge to take her away from me. Plus, you make Marley happy when she and I aren’t together. It really doesn’t bother me.”

Relief filled every crevice of Cole’s body. The reaction left him short of breath. Hell, he’d probably stopped breathing while awaiting Zach’s response. “All right, thank you. Oh, by the way, I potentially found my mate. She’s coming over to dinner tonight.”

“That’s great, Cole. Where are you? I figured you’d be in New York by now.”

He wiped the sweat off of his brow. Zachary would be so pissed if he knew he planned on taking the easy way out. The fact that he was about to lie only made the guilt eat at him even more, but he couldn’t tell his friend he didn’t want to look for a mate because Cole wanted his.

“I told you she was close to home. All’s good.”

“Great! I’ll see you soon then.”

Cole sat looking at the phone for endless minutes. Fuck, what was he going to do? Things were never supposed to happen this way. Why would fate make him love a woman he couldn’t have? It was so unfair. Worse, even, than taking candy from a child. The child would always have the opportunity to receive more candy, but love, this kind of love, never came around twice. Never.

Looking up, the trees surrounding the estate broke away to the long drive of the mansion. Dread and excitement both filled him.

First, he’d see the woman who’d stolen his heart, and then he’d worry about dinner and the girl he would need to portray as his mate. Just thinking about her put a bad taste in his mouth, a taste he knew he’d have to get used to.

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Marley walked into the large gym with Zachary and abruptly stopped when she noticed it was completely full. The pack had obviously heard about the incident and wanted to see for themselves.

Shit! This wasn’t good.

“All right, Marley,” Zachary said while they stepped into the middle of the court. “All I’m going to do is pin you. I won’t hurt you, but I don’t want you to hold back on me, either. Give me everything you got. Just imagine Demetri is in danger and you need to protect him.”

She nodded, thinking about Zachary stopping the car on the road and the red wolf she felt threatened by earlier. Instinctively, Marley crouched down in a defensive position. Her husband morphed so quickly it looked like he exploded in front of her. Before she could get over the awe of his wolf form, he lunged at her.

The adrenaline began to thrum through her body while she pivoted out of his way. She concentrated on imagining him as the red wolf. The harder she focused, the more Zachary’s black and white coat turned to all black and she saw Jordan.

He stalked around her in a circle, growling viciously. Fear mirroring her moments in the woods so long ago began to consume every rational part of her brain. Jordan stood so clearly in front of her, his eyes glowing a bright yellow. And he wanted her son. The thought and his words echoed in her mind.

“It belongs with me! I want it to lead my pack. I will have that
baby, Marley. With the lycanthropy in your veins mixed with
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Zachary’s, I will rule the north! You can die once the baby is born for
all I care.”

She could not let him have Demetri!

“No!” She screamed, lunging to meet Zachary in midair.

They both hit the gym floor hard, but Marley never felt a thing.

Her body began to contort inside, and she let it, embracing the pain as it took over. Heat rushed through her limbs at a pace so fast she could barely process the feeling. A weird pulling sensation jerked at her insides, and Marley felt herself burst into what felt like a million pieces. Suddenly, there was no pain, just a rage so overpowering she jumped up on her white paws. Everything was clouded and uncertain.

She couldn’t think straight as her instincts took over.

A growl reverberated through her throat while she felt all the hair on her new body stand up. Zachary and Cole standing before her was the only thing that made her stop from lunging forward. When had her husband changed back to a human? How long had it taken her to get control on her wolf form? So many questions and concerns entered her fuzzy mind.

If Zachary would have been a wolf, she would have killed him without a second thought. The fear at the notion shook her to the core.

Her body morphed easily back into human form, and she stood staring at the two stunned men she loved. She wasn’t sure how she just changed, but a part of her felt more complete now that she finally had. Fear still made her uneasy, but Cole being there helped to calm her a small amount.

“How did you do that? You shouldn’t have been able to change before the full moon.”

“What the hell is going on? Since when has Marley been a wolf?”

Cole exploded.

“I don’t know how I changed. I thought you were Jordan. Demetri needed to stay safe,” Marley whispered.

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“Well, so much for training the human in you.” Zachary walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her, comforting her shaking body.

“Is someone going to tell me when the hell Marley started carrying lycanthropy?” Cole asked, angrily.

They both turned to him. “I’ve carried it all along. I just never believed what Jordan told me.”

“It’s true. I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before. Why?” Zachary asked.

Cole took a deep breath, sliding his fingers through his blond hair.

Marley watched him shift his feet, confused by his reaction. Was he mad at her? There was something definitely going on in that head of his.

“Because I think Marley marked me. Twice,” Cole whispered so no one else would hear him.

Zachary stepped back as if he had been slapped. Slowly, he turned and looked deep into her eyes. Her heart began to race. She’d never considered her actions before. Why hadn’t the thought ever crossed her mind? It was so obvious now that he mentioned it.

“Is it true? Did you mark Cole?

The visions of her biting him rushed into her mind. The essence of his blood flooded her thoughts to the point where she could almost taste the heavenly flavor on her tongue. It took everything she had not to go to Cole, to take him in her arms and make love to him so she could experience the wonderful act again.

“Yes. I think I did. What does that mean? What is going to happen?”

Everyone began piling out of the gym through the side doors. It was lunch time, so no doubt they were walking back to the main dining room. When everyone was gone Zachary finally took a ragged breath. His features were drawn tight while his body remained tense.

“It means we have to figure out what kind of mark you put on him. Did you mark him as your mate or is it a blood tie? Or both.” He
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breathed heavily. “Don’t get me wrong, Cole. I wouldn’t mind Marley marking you as her mate. It’s pretty clear you both kind of already are, but Marley’s my mate, and since she’s also now a werewolf, I refuse to let her have any more children. Your line will die with you because I won’t lose her. Do you understand me, Cole?”

“She’s not to get pregnant. I understand clearly.”

“Now wait one damn minute! I think I have a right to decide if I want to have more children. At the moment I don’t, but who’s to say in a few years I won’t change my mind. No one is making that decision for me. And that means you, Zachary Zevgolis.”

Marley stalked out of the gym and right into some blonde-haired girl exactly her height. Their bodies collided, and she had to catch the blonde to keep her from flying backwards. Wearing four-inch spiked stilettos probably wasn’t the smartest thing for the girl to have on.

Since Marley had never seen her before, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. There was something she didn’t like about her. It could have possibly been the skimpy, short skirt she was wearing. Bringing someone like that around a young pack of werewolves was asking for trouble.

“May I help you?”

Marley studied her perplexed face. She was gorgeous, no denying that. But there was something in the eyes she couldn’t place her finger on.

“I’m looking for Cole. I ran into a friend in town, and he said they lived here together. Since we had a dinner date, I thought I’d save him the trip from picking me up.”

“You have a dinner date…here, at
my
house, with
my
Cole?”

Marley slowly advanced toward the young girl. Every ounce of anger she held pushed to get out. She wanted nothing more than to attack this person.

The girls face dropped as she glared not inches away from her brown eyes. Suddenly, she realized how she was acting. Being rude to strangers was not like her, and she felt horrible.