SEALed Embrace (4 page)

“I’m
not letting you mate me.”

He
nuzzled her jaw before rising to his feet. “We’ll discuss it more after you’ve
had time to rest. You need a decent meal and a good night’s sleep.”

Garren
lifted her bag and pulled out a white t-shirt and a soft pair of knit-pink
shorts. He helped her into both, then lifted her into his arms. She felt his
beast recede as she reached down to open the door, his nails returning to
normal. When she looked up at him again, his eyes were back to that beautiful
shade of green she’d become so familiar with in such a short amount of time.

Silence
greeted them as they stepped into the living room. Sean looked torn between wanting
to cry over the loss of his favorite toy or fight Garren for the right to keep
Isi in his home. The members of Garren’s team had various expressions from smug
to outright amused. She was happy someone was enjoying this.

She
nudged Garren’s shoulder. “Put me down.”

“You
don’t have shoes. There’s no way you can walk to the house we’ll be staying at
for the foreseeable future.” Garren transferred his gaze to Lee. “Grab her bag
from the bathroom. It’s time for us to head out.”

Sean
rose to his full height, which was still a few inches shy of Garren’s. “You
can’t take her with you. She needs to stay here, where things are familiar. I
can protect her just as well as you can.”

Garren
cocked a brow. “Really? And if the town riots and comes to drag her away, what
are you going to do then? What weapons do you have to protect her with? Do you
have a military background I don’t know about?”

Sean
set his jaw. “No, but I don’t think it will come to that.”

Dagan
snorted. “What you think doesn’t matter, pretty boy. You hired us to keep her
safe and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Lee
returned holding Isi’s bag and Garren headed for the front door. Sean looked
like he was going to stop him, but something held him back. Isi figured he was
remembering the roar Garren had let loose in the bathroom. It would certainly
make her think twice about going against him. She tried to give her friend a
reassuring smile, but he looked less than happy when Garren carried her
outside.

Chapter Two

“Do
you know where you’re going?” Isi asked.

“To
our temporary lodgings,” Garren answered.

She
rolled her eyes. “Yes, but do you know where that is?”

Garren
shrugged his massive shoulders. “I figured we’d track it down by scent. If a
lot of different people use it, it shouldn’t be hard to differentiate from the
regular homes in town.”

“Or
I could just tell you how to get there,” she said.

Garren
grinned. “Or that.”

Dagan
tugged on a lock of her hair. “So where are we going, sweetness?”

Garren
growled at his friend, but Dagan merely smirked at him.

Isi
watched the exchange curiously. “You’ll need to take the Jeep you used earlier.
It’s too far to walk to town from here. Sean’s cabin is a good three miles from
town and the house you’ll be staying in—”

“We,”
Garren interrupted.

“We
will be staying in,” she corrected, “is in the heart of town, so that’s another
two or three miles. Our town is about seventeen miles across. The houses are
spread out a bit to give the pups running room, all of our shops are down Main
Street, and the pack’s meeting house is in the center.”

Parker
jingled a set of keys and tipped his head toward the driveway. Garren slipped
into the passenger’s seat with Isi in his lap; Parker drove, with Dagan and Lee
taking up the backseat. Isi gave directions as they pulled into town, pointing
out the alpha’s house and her parents’ place along the way.

“Where
do you live?” Garren asked.

“I
have a duplex a few blocks from where we’ll be staying. I’d invite you to stay
with me, but I only have one bedroom. It isn’t much, but it’s home.”

“Why
don’t you live with your parents?” Lee asked.

She
looked out the window and shrugged. It was hard to admit that her parents felt
the same as the rest of the pack. Perhaps they were worse since they felt
betrayed in some way by her inability to shift, her differentness. She stayed
with them every once in a while, tried to be a good daughter, but no matter
what she did she couldn’t make them love her.

“I
like my independence.” It wasn’t completely a lie, but she knew they could
smell the untruth on her.

Garren’s
arms tightened around her.

Parker
pulled into the drive of the cabin they would be sharing and put the Jeep in
park. “Why don’t you take Isi inside and I’ll run and grab our bags?”

“I’ll
go with you,” Lee said. “I think it’s better if we move around in pairs while
we’re here, and Isi definitely should have two of us with her at all times.”

“I
agree,” Garren said.
 
“If what Sean said
is true, then we need to treat this like a hostile situation. No one in this
village can be trusted.”

“That
isn’t true,” Isi said. “I do have a few friends. Well, one good friend and a
few acquaintances. But I know those women would never harm me.”

“Your
duplex-mate?” Garren questioned.

“Yes,
Tomi. She’s my friend and I know she’d never do me harm. We’re like sisters.
Don’t be surprised if she comes by here looking for me once she knows where I’m
staying.”

Garren
caressed her arm. “If she’s your friend, she’ll be welcome here. Just the same,
you won’t be left alone with her. One of us will always be around.”

“Do
you really think someone in the village set out to hurt me on purpose and that
they were behind my kidnapping? How could the people I’ve known my whole life
be so cruel?”

“You
tell us. According to you, they don’t like you. Is it really such a stretch
that they’d try to get rid of you?” Dagan asked.

“I
guess I just hate to think that it’s possible.” Isi rested her head on Garren’s
shoulder. “I’ve thought of these people as my family since I was three. Do you
know how hard it’s been, having everyone turn their backs on me? I went from
having friends and possible boyfriends to being a pariah overnight.”

Garren
rumbled at the word boyfriend.

“Since
the time of my first non-change, I’ve had very few people in my village remain
my friend. Sean remained my best friend through the years, and Tomi and I became
close after I moved into the duplex.”

“I’m
glad you’ve had someone in your life you can rely on,” Garren said. “But now
you have us. We’re here to protect you, and no matter what, we’re going to make
sure you’re safe.”

“I
know Sean paid you to come find me, but I’m sure I’ll be fine, Garren. You
don’t have to babysit me.”

“Is
that what you think? That we’re babysitting you?” he asked.

“What
else would you call it?”

“Making
sure my mate stays in one piece,” he growled. “I didn’t find you to lose you.
Once the danger is behind us, we’ll discuss our future. For now, just deal with
the fact that I’m going to be stuck to you like glue.”

She
had to admit that her heart melted a little. Yes, she had Tomi and Sean in her
life, but no one had ever cared about her. There had never been anyone at home
waiting for her to return, no tender smiles or warm hugs. Prior to her attempted
shift, she’d kissed one or two of the wolves in the pack who were close to her
age, but since then, she’d been a pariah.

Garren
opened the door and stepped out with her in his arms. Shoving the door closed
with his hip, he carried her up the walkway to the front door of the cabin. It
was a rather large structure, with a long front porch and doghouse windows up
top. It boasted four bedrooms and three and a half baths. She’d only been
inside once, but it had left an impression on her. She’d never been inside
anything so grand before. Her parents had a rather modest two-bedroom cottage
near the woods, and her duplex was nothing to brag about.

Dagan
opened the door and Garren carried her over the threshold. She wiggled a bit,
thinking he’d put her down once they were inside, but if anything, he seemed to
hold her even tighter. He tipped his head at Dagan, sending him a silent
signal, and the other shapeshifter disappeared.

“Where’d
he go?” Isi asked.

“To
scout out the place. Since we didn’t require a key to come in, I want to make
sure we’re the only ones here. And we
will
be remedying that. I’m not about to have you stay in a place that doesn’t
lock.”

“Oh
it locks. It’s just that the alpha is the only one with a key to the place.
Good luck getting it from him.”

Garren
grinned. “If he won’t give it to us, we’ll just change the locks on him.”

Her
eyes widened. She’d never known anyone to go against the alpha before.

Dagan
returned a few minutes later and gave Garren some sort of signal, she assumed
it meant it was all clear. Garren slowly eased her down his body until her feet
touched the floor, the polished wood cool beneath her feet. Whoever had been in
the house last had really cranked the air conditioning. Her skin pebbled as the
air chilled her now that she wasn’t cradled against Garren’s warmth. She would
definitely
be burrowing under the
blankets tonight.

“There
are four bedrooms,” Dagan said. “Two have their own bathroom and the other two
share a bath.”

“Why
don’t you take one of the bedrooms with a private bath and let Lee and Parker
share?”

Isi
looked up at him in surprise. “You’re going to sleep on the couch?”

He
gave her a slow grin. “No, sweetheart. I’ll be sleeping right where I belong,
beside my mate.”

He
couldn’t be serious! Surely he didn’t really expect her to share a bed with
him. He was joking, right? She watched him closely, but he seemed to have
spoken honestly. He truly expected to share her bed.

“You
can’t sleep with me. We aren’t mated, and I don’t plan on letting you make me
your mate.”

“Honey,
you’re already his mate,” Dagan said. “It’s just a matter of him getting around
to marking you.”

She
folded her arms under her breasts. “We’ll just see about that. Just because you
say you’re going to claim me, doesn’t mean I’ll let you.”

“You
aren’t still going on about how I don’t deserve to be saddled with a defective
mate, are you? Because I can tell you that there isn’t a damn thing wrong with
you. If you think I care one way or another whether or not you can shift, then
it just goes to show how little you know about me.” Garren glared at her.

“Of
course, I don’t know anything about you! We just met! That’s sort of my point.
You take one sniff of me, decide I’m yours and I’m supposed to roll over and be
thankful? I’m sorry, but I don’t work that way.” She had to admit he was rather
tempting, though. The lion brought new meaning to the word sexy, even when he
was all rumbly and grumbly.

“Well
now, we just can’t have that.” Without giving her time to pull away, he
snatched her wrist and pulled her closer. She watched in absolute fascination,
and a little bit of dread, as his lips descended. The first brush of his mouth
against hers was pleasant, the second made her skin flush, and the third had
her melting into a puddle.

As
her body relaxed against Garren’s, he released her wrist and wrapped his arm
around her waist, holding her to him. Isi succumbed under his expert assault,
finding that it was much better to give in to him than to fight him. It didn’t
mean she was going to sleep with him, but why deny herself the pleasure of his
kiss? The man definitely knew what he was doing!

Garren
pulled away, releasing her, and Isi blinked slowly as she swam out of the fog
of desire her supposed mate had created. The man was dangerous, lethal, and he
had her in his sights. If his kiss alone left her wet and wanting more, what
would happen if he were to touch her? Her breasts felt heavy, aching at the
mere thought of his hands cupping the tender mounds.

“You
may or may not want to admit it, Isi, but your place is by my side. And that’s
exactly where you’re going to be for the foreseeable future. Until we figure
out exactly what happened to you, or more accurately, how it happened to you,
I’m not letting you leave my sight.”

Dagan
rested a hand on her shoulder. “I know he can be a little overwhelming, but Garren
has made a good point. You
are
his
mate and all he wants to do is protect you. Let him do his job. Nothing in this
world is more important to him than you.”

“How
can you know that?” she asked.

“Because
it’s how any of us would feel if we found our mate. I’ll admit I’m more than a
little jealous of Garren. I’d give anything to find the woman I’m supposed to
spend the rest of my life with. What you share, it’s something magical, Isi.
Don’t throw it away because you don’t feel worthy, or you aren’t ready, or
whatever else is running through your mind. Be open to the idea of having a
mate. Shifters wait their whole lives for that one special person to come
along, and you can’t tell me that you’re any different.” Dagan gave her a
reassuring smile. “Don’t be afraid to feel something, Isi.”

She
was feeling plenty of things, but she didn’t want to. Life would be much
simpler if she could turn her emotions off. She hadn’t thought of things from Garren’s
perspective. If she turned him away, he’d never find another mate. Sure, he
could find a woman to spend his life with, but it wouldn’t be the same. Could
she doom him to such an existence? Was that really fair of her? The fact that
she couldn’t shift had bothered her since she’d learned of her inability, and
it obviously bothered those in the village, but Garren didn’t seem to mind. Was
it right for her to turn him away when he was willing to accept her as she was,
flaws and all? He was every woman’s dream—he was
her
dream, her ideal. It was something she’d have to think about.
There was a lot to consider.

“We
have some time before we need to worry about sleeping arrangements. Right now,
I think we should be more concerned with food. Obviously, there isn’t any in
this house and we need to eat something for supper. Are there any fast food
places nearby?” Garren asked.

“No,
the nearest fast food is in the human town of Westlake about twenty minutes up
the road. That’s where I work.” She frowned. “Or where I worked. After not
showing up for work for several days, I doubt I still have a job.”

“So
what do we do for food?” Dagan asked.

“There’s
a pizza place in the village and they deliver. There’s also a sandwich shop.
Otherwise, we have to go to Westlake. The village may be small, but we do have
a few things that are considered creature comforts and necessities. There’s a
small market, a doctor, a dentist and a small clothing store. Really that’s
about it.” She shrugged. “It isn’t much, but it’s enough.”

Dagan
grinned. “I think pizza would hit the spot.
 
But after you’ve been without food for so long, maybe you should stick
with a sandwich. I don’t think all that grease would be a good idea.”

“A
plain turkey sandwich sounds good right about now,” she admitted. “I don’t
think I could handle anything else.”