Chapter Two
“Are you sure they’re going to be okay with me coming with you to this big, alpha tracker whatever meeting your father’s having?”
Zach turned to smile at his new mate as they drove down the main road to his pack’s place. Nissa had been fidgeting for the past three hours, her fingernails chewed down to the quick, her hair pulled in and out of ponytails more times than should be possible in that amount of time. “They’re going to love you because I love you. Now, stop messing with your hair. It looked fine the first twenty times you put it up.”
She scowled and ran her fingers through her long strawberry-blonde locks. “What do you know about hair? Yours is cropped short, and you can only wear it one way. I’m meeting royalty for the first time ever, and my new in-laws. I’m not sure how to act, how to be dressed, what to say.” She grimaced. “Okay, wolves like displays of dominance, right? Should I go in and punch one of your guards? Wait, do you guys have guards? I mean, does a wolf shifter need a royal guard? Then again, who protects you when you sleep?” She furrowed her brow and pulled the ponytail back out with an angry mutter. “But you’ve got good hearing. The royal family of Trackers is supposed to be the best. You can probably hear someone climbing in the window to kill you in your sleep, right. Gah! Who do I hit? What do I drink? Do you work outside in, or inside out with the silverware? Or do you not have fancy meals. Shit.”
He slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. “What? What’s wrong?”
“I didn’t bring anything dressy. We packed so quickly, I didn’t even think about dressing up. Oh my God, they’re going to hate me. Then they’re going to tell you to cut our mating and go find someone new, like a princess. Someone who looks good in a tiara and waves. I don’t know how to wave! I—”
He shut off her escalating shouts by kissing her. Hard, fierce, licking, sucking her lips and tongue and taking her completely over with his mouth until they both parted, breathless and well kissed. Zach released her from his firm grip and smiled at the lipstick smeared up her cheek and the pink spots flushing her whole face. “Take a deep breath and relax, little bear. There is nothing about you that they could possibly hate.” He stroked her cheek and wiped off the lipstick smudge running up to her nose. “You don’t have to project any extra power by attacking anyone. You don’t have to dress up and wave or wear a tiara. And you definitely don’t have to eat with multiple silverware. We are normal, average shifters. My mom is the one with the royal blood in her, and she’s pretty down to earth. And my father is about as roughneck, blue collar as you can get. But, for the most part, they’re going to be just like your family in Bear Paw. Our family,” he added. Zach kissed her on the forehead and pulled a strand of blonde behind Nissa’s ear. “I like how your hair looks like this, if that means anything.”
Nissa smiled and started arranging her hair down.
“It’s the just-fucked look you have after we sprint through the woods, roll along the trails then shift back into human form so I can take you from behind while you shout my name.”
Her high-pitched shriek came right before she launched out of her seat at him.
Somehow, he was able to grab his feisty mate and turn her so she lay beneath him across both front seats. His cock was ready for another round with her gorgeous body, and it ground into her thigh as he held her squirming form beneath him. He disregarded the steering wheel poking into his shoulder. “Now, this position, I remember.”
Nissa growled and halfheartedly batted at him. “Yeah, you attacked me on my own lands.”
He laughed and nuzzled her cheek, reveling in the tiny shivers from her. His mate loved it when he touched her, when he dominated her body. “If I remember correctly, it was you who attacked me.”
“Yeah, well, I couldn’t let a wolf run around unmonitored in my forest. Could I, Dog Breath?” The glint in her eyes showed lust and humor as she lowered her hands to stroke up the legs of his jeans.
“Of all the people who could have tried to kill me, I’m glad it was you, little bear.”
She giggled and kissed him. “Thanks.”
“Feel better?”
She nodded, and they sat up, as he carefully worked his way around the steering column.
“Good. Now, let’s go meet my parents, talk to the elders of the pack that hired me, and then go to my place.”
She climbed over him and put her seat belt on. “Peace and quiet to decompress after all the stress?”
“No. Loud shrieking, howls, and roars as I claim your body in every room.”
“We haven’t done anything in your car yet.” She cocked her head with a sassy grin.
“There’s the whole drive home for that, baby. Let’s get this over with. The sooner we get done, the sooner I can be in you.”
She giggled and snuggled up into his side as he pulled his Chevy Impala back out onto the road. “Yeah, you really don’t act like royalty.”
“Just being myself. Do the same, and we’ll be a hit.” He gazed once more at his gorgeous mate. She seemed to glow from every pore in her body. “Love looks good on you, by the way.”
They pulled around the curve and up to the massive iron gates, and Zach wondered what Nissa thought of their compound at first glance. Their lands stretched for miles, and the high gate and walls gave the impression of wealth and exclusivity. “It’s to keep humans and other shifters without permission to enter out. My parents wanted our pack to have freedom to run at will, so you’ll notice a few extra walls than you’re used to.”
“It’s okay. I get it. We got really lucky to back up to the wildlife preserve and mountains. It’s our very own natural wall.”
Zach waved as a guard nodded at them and opened another set of gates for them to drive through, and he followed the long driveway through the center of the compound. Some small stores were set along the main road then a bar, a restaurant, a laundromat, and a school. It reminded him of the small main street in Bear Paw. Only this one was surrounded by walls. And there were no humans in here. As they drove, they passed the driveways to different houses. Plenty of space between for each wolf family to have their own privacy, but close enough that they could call on each other for assistance. Wolves were very big on the pack life. But his father had long ago realized pack didn’t have to be right on top of each other to be close. This was the perfect compromise for everyone.
“It’s interesting that everything looks so good, new, even the streets and driveways,” Nissa mused as she gazed out the window.
“My parents share their wealth for the good of the whole pack. If a fellow wolf has a leaky roof, another goes over to help fix it. If someone falls sick—which is rare, but it does happen, because of the new strains of viruses out there—there’s always someone to help heal and someone to help pick up the slack. We work for ourselves and make our own lives, but we all come together for the common good.”
“It’s beautiful. It sounds like my family.”
“It does.” He smiled, proud of his pack and his family. He might have hated being royal, always treated like a step above everyone else, but he never felt bad about the rest of the pack. Because no one in his pack suffered while he bathed in wealth. It was another thing he could attribute to his father’s good character. Zach wouldn’t admit it out loud. That would be too much to ask for since he was still pissed off at the old man for not finding his sister. But he’d say it in his mind. This was a good place to live. And if Nissa ever agreed to leave Bear Paw—which he wouldn’t force her to do—this would be the place he wanted to be.
“I don’t see a castle.”
Zach chuckled. “I told you we don’t have a castle, silly.”
She frowned playfully. “So, no moat. No crocodiles. No fire breathing-dragons and hoards of treasure?”
“Our money is in many different banks and accounts, no dragons—unless you wake up my mom from a dead sleep—and no moats. But we do have a pond on the other side of the compound.”
“Cool. I’d love to see it if we have time.”
“We should have plenty of time on our hands. After we meet Mom and Dad, we can sneak off and tour the area. And then I can tour you.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“What about the other packs visiting?”
Zach shook his head. “Royal pack business is always done in the morning, except for emergencies. We probably won’t see them until tomorrow or the next day. We can just chill, get to know each other better—by better, I mean try out every position in that book you bought—and... What?” He glanced over at his pale-faced statue of a mate and followed her gaze out the window as they drove up his parent’s driveway.
Balloons and streamers decorated both sides of the long driveway, and children shouted and waved as they passed. One of the kids, the youngest of them from his father’s omega, held a huge sign and waved it back and forth as he jumped up and down.
“I think he spelled my name wrong.”
Zach chuckled at the backwards and missing letters on the huge, handwritten poster. “Well, it’s probably hard for a seven-year-old to spell Congratulations, Zach and Nissa.”
“So, nothing big, huh? No fancy dresses or silverware?” Nissa’s eyes crinkled inward.
“Uh, I can’t promise that anymore.” The main house that centered on the hilltop was adorned with even more flowers and balloons congratulating them and welcoming mating celebration party guests. “Did I mention my mom is a bit excited about me getting mated?”