The Contrary Mate

Jack

Aura was so beautiful. She had begun talking with Kylie about the baby and the sight of it spawned visions of her bonding with our own offspring in my mind.

My imagination was getting too far ahead of itself. She hadn't even agreed to be mine yet and I could sense that she wasn't convinced, even if she was warming up to the idea of not flat out rejecting me. It was still early, but as long as she gave me more time, I'd prevail. I had to. Kylie's friend Lys, who had joined them, suggested another refill, and Aura went along willingly enough.

The thought of her with her inhibitions down was not unappealing to me. Of course, I wouldn't take advantage of her, but even one drink had relaxed her, and I might get a more candid peek at what was holding her back from simply accepting me. It wasn't conceit that I believed she was attracted to me, I could tell in the way she kept sneaking looks at me when she thought I wouldn't notice and the way her body leaned in unconsciously towards me like it wanted to be closer to me without conscious thought.

Or maybe it really was just her worries about the fae not approving of me that was holding her back. Obviously I wasn't going to let that stop us if I could help it. I'd bust in there and convince them all if that was what it took to keep her by my side for the rest of my life. Every moment I had with her made me more certain there was almost nothing I wouldn't do to win her over.

She sipped her drink, and met my eyes. I smiled at her and I meant it like I had never meant one before. It had been so long since I had felt this happy, where I'd smiled without an ulterior motive, not to charm or to finagle or convince everyone around me that I was as happy as I wanted them to believe. I hadn't even known I was so tired of pretending.

"So, she's the one," Vander said in low tones. Being in separate packs from my closest friend was still very inconvenient.

I kept my voice low. "I can't confirm that."

"Uh huh. So it's a secret. I get it. Not a very well kept secret, since you keep looking at her that way, but..."

"We're just getting to know each other right now."

"Seems like a challenge."

"I'm up to it. And no worse than having a mate torn between two mate bonds, I imagine."

"True. That was far from ideal. But Kylie's healing from what he did to her, as much as one can heal from any tragedy." The low growl in Vander's tone told me that death had not lessened his wolf's hatred of Kylie's first mate.

When Vander had come to me for help, panicking after she had went missing, I had done everything in my power to help my friend. The first step had been to stop him from rushing off to Stonemason to challenge the alpha and get himself killed. He was a strong wolf, a delta from a powerful pack, but it still would have been a close battle against an alpha.

I'd managed to talk him down—an interesting new experience with my easy-going, logical friend, he was never one to rush into things without forethought—and we'd hacked our way into the Stonemason security system. It hadn't been too hard considering their main security system was Meteor tech. I'd guided him through the buildings as he found her and got her out. It had come down to battle, but he and Kylie had won in the end and that was what mattered.

Still, if the shareholders ever found out what we did, I'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble. Not even taking into account that the Alpha Assembly's overwhelming desire to keep the existence of werewolves secret would likely make them disapprove as well. And then, if our company came under scrutiny from the mundane humans in authority, and if anyone saw what the surveillance equipment picked up...there would be questions from the humans, at the very least, why the weird Stonemason cult had large wolves wandering around their halls. And the hunters might come knocking...

I personally didn't have a strong opinion on werewolf secrecy, other than it was inconvenient. I'd grown up in schools full of humans, went to post secondary school largely with humans, dated a couple of humans, and I worked with and employed humans. They really weren't any worse or better than werewolves as far as personalities were concerned. Maybe a little less savage than a werewolf with poor control, but they were alright. I didn't understand the fear that a lot of supernaturals held for them.

But I also wasn't going to rock the boat, because I liked keeping the people who might award us contracts happy. It was my duty to the other shareholders to maximize profits and not pissing off the Alpha Assembly was a good place to start with that since they'd been a fantastic source of revenue over the years. It was annoying that I had to play nice with the assembly when they'd done nothing to help with the Stonemason situation, but they had a lot of resources, so like everyone else, I ignored that little fact. And everything had worked out, at least for my friend and his mate.

"So have you got anything planned to woo her?" Vander asked, bringing me back to what we had been speaking about.

"Lots of ideas, no idea what might work yet. For now I'm just letting her set the pace."

"Good idea. I wonder if she feels the bond the way we do."

I shrugged. "I have no idea. Have you ever heard of anyone mated to one of the fae before?"

"Never."

"Me neither."

Vander smacked me on the back. "I guess you get to trail blaze all over again. Lucky you."

Aura's eyes met mine from where she stood by the bar, a new drink in hand. I could just stare into hers forever. I felt lucky, especially as she began to walk back towards me. I kept my eyes trained on her face, but I could see her curves in my peripheral vision. She was mouth-wateringly appealing.

She brought her drink to her lips. At the same time Kylie passed their sleeping child to Vander and he propped Nadia on his shoulder. They conferred silently, looking into each other's eyes for a long moment. It was exactly the sort of moment I had secretly envied in the past, but that sting was lessened as I looked at my own mate. I wanted that with her, that silent, steady connection, along with everything else.

"What is that scent...?" I heard Kylie's friend ask, her eyes scanning the room. I didn't pay her much mind, but my mate was watching her curiously and that interest piqued my own. Lys took a step forward, away from us, and then stopped mid-step on the next, staring across the room.

"What's wrong?" Aura asked me.

"Well, if I had to guess..." Even without the gaping eyes and the frozen shock on Lys's face, a glance at Vander and Kylie who were exchanging knowing glances would have confirmed they were guessing the same thing as I was.

I scanned the area, and spotted Delta Carter. No doubt he'd been working late and thus the last to arrive at the celebration. He clearly hadn't spotted Lys yet, but he seemed to be trying to figure something out as well.

"What would you guess?" she asked, still watching the scene playing out before us.