Chapter Five
Mundo saw the instant Christie blacked out and winced over it. This was his fault. She’d been suffering because of him and his rebellious, read stupid, ways.
It was the first time another person had been affected by his desire to hit out against the Man—an old-fashioned concept, but he’d been raised by a biker father and an old lady during the time when fighting against the machine of corporate America was de rigueur.
Had he been human, he’d have been middle aged by now. As it was, he was barely past maturity as a Shifter. That lack of maturity was why his mate had suffered and would continue to suffer until her body and his Bear felt certain she was claimed.
He grimaced, clambered to his feet, and bent over to swing her into his arms.
She was disturbingly limp, her arms and legs flopping here and there as he carried her from the hallway and nosed through the open doors to find her bedroom.
His inhuman strength came to his aid because the dragging weight of her lax form would have been difficult to manage. However, he was inhuman so moving her about was more of a pleasure than something to curse about.
Her scent lightened his senses, teased him, and as he entered her bedroom, that essence that was unique to her was everywhere. It was like bathing in pure Christie. It was so pure here that even his Bear reacted to it. Inside Mundo, the creature rumbled at the wonder of having his female close at hand at long last.
The only time Mundo had felt his bear respond in such a way was when he’d finally let himself shift after being released the last time from prison.
He could have put Christie down on the bed as he looked around her quarters, but that wouldn’t have been as much fun. Instead, he carried her as he peered around the small bedroom with its double bed—a fact that made him grimace, as his feet would hang over the side—bedside tables with two vases of fresh flowers atop them, a matching dresser, and a flat screen TV which hung on the wall beside the window.
There was something off about the room. The flowery pattern on the walls, the matching curtain and duvet set… it was all a little worn, like she’d not bothered to buy anything new for a long while.
He looked down at her PJs and then out of curiosity, elbowed open the door to the built-in closet. The last time he’d seen her, she’d been in scrubs, which gave him no clue as to her tastes. But the closet was as revealing as the bedroom. Her clothes were well kept, well-tended, but relatively out of fashion.
Interest piqued, he moved out of the bedroom and down the hall to the lounge where he was greeted with the same kind of setup. It was as if she’d given up somehow, and now that he thought about it, before his Bear had responded to her presence and realized what she was to them both, there’d been an aura of sadness about her that day she’d operated on him. A deep well of sorrow had radiated from her.
The notion upset him, as did the lounge’s decor. Though it was comfortable, it was old, and he could tell the stuff had been bought new. His parents had bought enough second-hand crap for him to tell the difference. The sofa and armchair were floral, interesting considering all of Christie’s clothes held no pattern. The wallpaper on the walls was in need of updating, as were the cabinets and vases atop them.
He wasn’t exactly a pro interior decorator, so for him to have noticed how old everything was meant it really was noticeable. It was almost like, well… like she’d given up.
Was she ill?
That could explain why she’d given up, stopped caring about how her apartment looked. Humans did that, didn’t they? When they knew there was no point in worrying about tomorrow, they just maintained the status quo, not renewing it because being fashionable was no longer a priority. Just getting through the days, taking each one as a blessing, became vital.
Concerned, he bent down and nuzzled his nose against her throat, which was bared thanks to her head tipping back against his shoulder. He breathed her in, taking a second to revel in her essence, before exploring her scent further. He smelled no sickness, no disease or ill health. But he could discern two things—her lust and arousal. She’d been suffering with it for a while for it to have pervaded her scent. That made sense, because she’d had to endure the mating call for a crazy amount of time. But he could also taste her sadness.
He wasn’t sure which of the two nuances disturbed him most.
At least she wasn’t ill, although the mating bond would have done away with that. When the Bear bound itself to its mate, it lent the human its magic. It was a nifty trick—one that eradicated disease, strengthened the immune system, and fortified the fragility within the human form. Humans mated to Shifters lived longer than their peers, suffered fewer health problems, and were capable of taking on some of their mates’ talents.
Had she been ill, their bonding would have taken that issue out of the picture. Lust and arousal could definitely be handled. But sadness? Not so much.
Christie would find herself more content, more complete and satisfied thanks to the binding. Since her birth, her soul and his had been seeking one another. Even though that was unknowing on her part, it just meant she wasn’t aware of the bone-deep ache, the painful need that came with the desire to be with someone who was made for you but whose whereabouts were unknown until the Goddesses figured you were ready to be with them.
His presence in her life would make her happier, but the source of the sadness wouldn’t be handled unless she shared it with him. And that took trust.
What had Mundo done that meant a woman like Christie could trust him?
Now, she was reacting on instinct. Her body doing the talking. But when she was more aware, less crazed with the need for them to fuck themselves silly until they were one, her brain would kick into gear.
Mundo was a felon and an ex-con. Not just a one-off, either. He had a record as long as his arm. She wouldn’t have been made privy to that information, but there’d have been some of his details on his medical records. The last time he’d been in prison, he’d gotten into a fight and the wardens had been the ones to break up the party. Normally, he’d have skunked off to his cell and hidden his wounds because he healed quicker than humans. He sure as shit didn’t want to raise any questions about why his broken arm didn’t even twinge with discomfort the next day. Unfortunately, the wardens had seen and dragged him to Medical.
That, as well as the date, would have been on his records, and Christie would have seen that he’d been inside at least one time before.
So, not only was he a stranger and an ex-con, he’d managed to do wrong by her too. She’d suffered the mating call for an ungodly amount of time thanks to his shenanigans.
What about James Aston would make Christie trust him?
Nothing… save time.
She wasn’t to know that now that she was in his life, he had no choice but to turn over a new leaf. There was no way in fuck he would ever do anything to separate them once more. Going to jail or prison was now a huge no-no whereas before, it hadn’t mattered a damn. That had changed. He’d still be in The Nomads, still be a key member of the Council, but Mars would know without his saying a word that Mundo’s roles in MC business would have to adapt to his new status.
He nosed into the kitchen, saw more of the same decor, then walked back toward the hall. As he did, he wrinkled his nose when he came to a full length mirror that showed his and his mate’s rather crumpled selves.
Christie looked like a buxom angel. He, on the other hand, looked like a reprobate. He’d shaved and showered before he’d come to her, but stubble was already showing through on his jaw. His cock was hanging out of his fly—he hadn’t thought to put it away—and he saw how ridiculous he looked carrying his mate about while his dick was full on display. It was a good thing Christie lived floors up in an apartment and not in a house where neighbors could peer in through the windows, although he took a quick look out the window and noted that occupants of the building opposite might be able to look inside.
The notion that a strange male might be able to look at his female in the nude had Mundo scurrying back to her bedroom. He settled Christie on top of the covers. She didn’t stir, a notion that made his lips twitch with amused disbelief. He quickly stripped, rounded the bed to lift the covers, and then shuffled her beneath the duvet. Then, he returned to the other side and climbed in next to her. Now, she responded, her body searching for his like a heat-seeking missile with its target locked and loaded. Her arms and legs curled about him, her shapely form clinging to his in a way that spoke of her intrinsic need to connect with him.
One thing Mundo had always hated about sex was the octopus-like arms and legs of a clingy female. He’d suffered it for a handful of minutes, going so far as to count the time as it passed in his head before he’d shuffled out of his date’s hold.
But now, with Christie, it was like he was another male.
Maybe he was.
He was no longer simply James ‘Mundo’ Aston—biker, Council member of The Nomads MC.
All of that was almost irrelevant now because first and foremost, he was mated.
A shudder wracked through him, and Christie responded by burrowing her nose against his chest and planting her palm on his belly.
Her proximity was like a soothing balm to the soul that had endured five decades without her. It would take a long time for his Bear to come to terms with the fact he’d found her at last. It would take an equally long time for the man. But a part of him was at peace—that part that had forever been turbulent, filled with the foolish need to rebel, to make waves.
Surrounded by his mate’s scent, Mundo finally felt as though he could relax.
As he lay there, listening to her breathe, hearing the sounds of traffic outside, and feeling her warm curves against his whole length, he dozed, awakening only when Christie stirred with a deep yawn.
She rubbed her nose against his pec then froze. He realized she’d just remembered why there was a huge man in her bed and was poised to defend his actions. But with a huge, shuddery breath, she calmed, her fingers tracing a path on his stomach as though she was helpless in her need to touch him.
He liked the idea and so whispered, “How are you feeling?”
His voice was gruff and like gravel, but that was only because he hadn’t spoken in a while, and he was currently overloaded with emotion. She’d accepted him, had accepted his presence here in her bed.
That was a massive leap forward.
She didn’t jump at the sound of his gritty words and instead sighed. “Better.”
“Than?”
“Huh?”
“Better than when?”
“Oh.” She peered up at him, and in the twilight, he saw her wrinkle her nose. “Since two minutes before you buzzed on my intercom.”
He chuckled. “A job partially well done, at any rate.”
“I don’t want to ravish you, Mundo, so I’d say that’s a job fabulously done.” She shrugged. “I want you, don’t get me wrong, but not like before. I felt like I was going insane with how badly I needed sex. I’ve never…” She flushed, ducking her head to hide her expression from him. He let it go, just this once, but only because they were new to one another. In the future, he’d show her how honesty between them was the only way mates worked.
“You’ve never?” he prompted instead, his tone gentle.
“I’ve never been a very sexual creature,” she whispered, her palm splaying on his belly as though she was trying to feel as much of him as she could—a notion his Bear fully appreciated. “But now, it’s like that wasn’t me before. Or, this isn’t me now. I’m not sure which.”
“This is the real you, Christie. Once the mating call has been heeded, things will calm down,” he reasoned. “You’ll still need me as much as I’ll need you, but the desperation won’t be there so long as we’re not apart for long. But this is the you that was always meant to be. Since your first steps, you’ve been walking toward me, darlin’. You just didn’t know it.”
“Is this really happening?” she whispered, peering up at him again. “I mean, you really are a…”
“Yeah, I’m a Shifter, Christie. And you were born to be a Shifter’s mate. My mate.”
“I-I don’t know anything about Shifters,” she argued. “Nothing save for what I’ve read in books.”
He snorted at that. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll learn. Not that there’s much to learn. We’re deceptively simple creatures. Plus, my friend is newly mated, and I’m sure you’ll like his mate. Annette’s cool.” She stiffened and he sensed her jealousy. That had been stupid of him. A mate only half-bonded was likely to have emotional spikes. “She’s totally in love with Mars, which is nice to see because he is pretty awesome. Still, I was so jealous, and I had no right to be. Mars is fucking ancient in comparison to me. I’m like a baby. It’s unheard of for younglings like me to find their mates so soon.” He squeezed her, sensing he’d soothed her envy at his foolish words about another female. “I’m lucky.”
She preened a little at that, her smile a timeless twitch of the lips that had beguiled smarter men than Mundo since Adam and Eve.
He liked seeing that look on her face. It was an expression that told of her growing confidence in who she was to him, in what she was. The more they touched, the minute they bonded, that confidence would flourish.
He breathed her in, scenting that her sadness had diminished a touch. That more than pleased him. Maybe just his presence in her life would drain away the sorrow that had been eating her up.
It hurt him to think that she’d been suffering, alone, without him. They lived in the same fucking city and had for God only knew how long. She wasn’t from here. She spoke with a Yankee twang, but it had lessened to a degree that spoke of a fair bit of time spent here.
They’d been so close to one another yet simultaneously so far apart.
Her suffering had been unnecessary.
Though anger tried to flood him, Christie seemed to sense it because she began to stroke his stomach, letting her hand slide down his hip and along the top of his thigh as far as her arm could reach.
That she was petting him amused him, but it worked like a charm. His Bear responded to her touch first and foremost, making the piddling anger this half of him was experiencing disappear with the creature’s delight in being stroked.
Mundo knew it wouldn’t be long before his Bear started demanding she stroke him when he was in his fur.
That would be a great conversation to have with her. He almost snorted at the thought. Human females were not known to appreciate being in close quarters with wild animals. They sure as hell weren’t known to like petting them either.
He’d have to gentle her to that side of him because the Bear was as desperate for her gentle touch as the man was.
“Is it like the books?” she asked, breaking into his thoughts. “Do you have to claim me?”
He smiled, reaching up to stroke her hair. When she wriggled, pressing closer to him, he felt his Bear rumble its delight at his mate’s affectionate ways. “I don’t read those types of books, so I don’t know for certain.”
“I guess that makes sense,” she admitted around a chuckle. “They’re not exactly for men, anyway, and certainly not for Shifters who know the score.”
“I take it you’re a fan of those Shifter romances though, eh?”
She grinned. “Appropriate, I suppose.”
“Yes. We’ll call it research for this moment.”
A snort escaped her. “Research—that’s a diplomatic way of putting it.”
“That’s me, a born diplomat.”
“I doubt that. You’re a biker, aren’t you? I wouldn’t say they were renowned for being cautious with their words.”
“No, you’re right, but a man can change, can’t he?”
Her smile deepened, the humor she’d found in his words changing into a bone deep contentment that radiated from her. “He certainly can,” she murmured softly, apparently pleased by his declaration. “However, the books always have it where you have to say like a ritual or something. A bit like vows, I guess, in a wedding ceremony?”
Mundo shook his head. “Some people speak blessings, but it’s more like a thank you to the Goddesses rather than a prerequisite.” He let his hand drop down and then curled his fingers around her throat. She must have sensed the lack of aggression in the move because she didn’t flinch at being caressed in such a vulnerable manner. “I have to bite you here.” He grimaced. “It will be a nasty bite, but you won’t be aware of it. I have to do it when you pass out after climaxing. Then, by the time you’re awake, it will have healed.”
“You’re a bit cocky, aren’t you?” she asked, cocking a brow at him. “What makes you think I’ll pass out?”
“Well, you passed out in the hall and I wasn’t even inside you, so I reckon I’m good.” He laughed at her expression; she looked utterly peeved. He tapped her nose. “I’m teasing, but it’s likely to happen again and again. Your body’s hardwired to mine, sugar. Passing out is going to be a natural part of sex for you now. It’s part of the magic of the bond.”
“You make it sound like a good thing.”
“Well, it’s not exactly bad, is it—being pleasured until you can’t take anymore?” When she squirmed, he knew he’d explained himself well. “When we next connect, you’ll come and I’ll claim you properly—unless your body tells you otherwise.”
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “You had to endure the mating call for a long time. Normally, we’d just need to fuck to claim each other that way, but our claiming might be a bit different.”
“You mean, what we did out in the hall—it’s not normal?”
“Define normal,” he teased. “There isn’t much normalcy in my world.”
“No, I guess not, but you know what I mean. I…” She licked her lips in embarrassment. “I needed you to come on me. Not in me. That’s not a part of a regular claiming?”
“Not as far as I’m aware, honey, but it doesn’t matter. There’s nothing wrong about how we claim one another. We’re just heeding your body’s call to mine. That’s why I said to you we’d go at your pace, do what you needed us to do. It’s my fault I couldn’t answer the mating call immediately.” His tone deepened, lowered with his anger at himself, as well as his disappointment and despair at having failed her from the first. “It’s my fault you suffered. I’ll never forgive myself for not being the mate you needed.”
“It wasn’t like you could help it, James,” she whispered, petting him again, trying to soothe him out of his funk. “You would have come to me if you could, and the instant you could, you did. You’re here now, aren’t you?” Christie hesitated a second then continued, “But if that guilt of yours means you’ll never put yourself in a position where you’re behind bars again, locked away from me, I won’t complain.”
He curled his arms about her, pulling her tighter against him. She stiffened at first, as though uncertain what his reaction would be to her words. He guessed she thought he’d be angry or offended, but he wasn’t.
Anything but.
“Today is the first day of the rest of my life, Christie. I’ve been searching for you since…”
When he broke off, she pulled back to look up at him. “Since?” A laugh escaped her. “James, are you blushing?”
He grunted. “It’s Mundo. And I don’t blush.”
“What’s Mundo?”
“My nickname.” He rolled his eyes.
“What if I don’t want to call you Mundo? What if I don’t want to call you what everyone else calls you?”
Stunned by that remark, he frowned at her. “I don’t know,” he told her honestly, because truth be told, he did like that notion very much. However… “My dad was called James. I’m named after him.” When she didn’t appear to put two and two together, he gritted out, “I hated my father.”
“He’s dead?”
Mundo shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t sought him out since I was old enough to handle things myself, and he hasn’t looked me up either.”
He could tell she was appalled by that. The way she was gawking at him made him feel like a bug under a microscope.
“What about your mother?”
“She did what he did, although if he’s dead then she is too.”
“Huh?”
Her wide eyes were filled with fright. He damned himself for putting that emotion there. “Thing is, when you’re mated to a Shifter, your life is linked to theirs. If something happened to you once I claimed you, then I’d die too. And vice versa.”
“Wow, that’s something they did get right in the books.” She blinked at him. “That’s scary.”
“Is it?” he asked, his tone a little wistful. “Now that we’re together, in each other’s arms, would you really want to be in a world without me?” When she gawked at him, he flushed. “I mean, it’s not like our bodies can’t survive without the other. It’s the heart that can’t.”
She frowned. “What do you mean? We’d die of a broken heart?”
“Yeah.” He amended, “Well, mates in a strong bond do. It’s like we give up. We stop caring whether we live or die, because a world without our other half in it is a world we don’t want to be in. Period.”
“What do you mean? A strong bond? Are there different variations?”
He nodded. “It’s a little hard to explain, especially because we've a strong bond.”
“We do?” When he nodded again, she asked, “How do you know that?”
“For the mating call to have been as urgent as ours was, that says a lot.” When her mouth rounded into a perfect ‘O’, he smiled a little. “My parents had a strange bond. It wasn’t the strongest, but it was strong enough that they’d die without one another.”
“How do you know it wasn’t strong?”
He sighed. “They cheated on each other.” When her eyes widened, he grunted. “That’s a rarity, Christie. And we won’t be cheating on each other.”
She tilted her head to the side. “You make it sound like I might…”
He could tell she was pissed, but he brushed it off easily. “You’re beautiful. What man wouldn’t want you?”
She reared back at that. “What man wouldn’t want me?” she squeaked, repeating his words in astonishment. Her eyes flickered off, down her luscious body, and she started to say something but shook her head instead. “I’m faithful to my partners, Mundo,” she whispered, conceding to using his nickname. “Always have been, always will be.”
“We’re not partners, Christie. We’re mates. There’s a huge difference.” She flinched, but he wasn’t sure why. He didn’t push, sensing she’d explain in a second once she’d gotten her bearings.
And he wasn’t wrong. “I was married before, Mundo. Does that mean…” She gulped. “Does this, what we have, mean I didn’t love him? Ever?”
Though it pained him to know she’d been bound to another man, something that might explain why the Goddesses hadn’t brought them together until now, he murmured, “Where is he? Did you divorce?”
She shook her head. “He got sick. He died.”
“I’m sorry,” he told her, trying to sound earnest and sincere. It was hard going, though. He was sorry for her pain, sorry the man had to die, but if he hadn’t, only the Goddesses knew when Mundo and his mate would have found one another.
“Me too,” she whispered. “But I… Already, the feelings I have for you are so much more. They’re crazy intense. I thought I loved Jake. I really thought I did.”
He reached for the hand she’d splayed against his abdomen and curled it between his own fingers. “You loved him with as much love as you were capable of giving, Christie. Your love for him was real and true. What we have is different. It’s night and day. And there isn’t one that’s better or worse, they’re just different.”
“But…”
He broke her off with a shake of his head. “Don’t overthink this, sweetheart. There’s no point because it won’t get you anywhere. You’re a different woman than the one your husband knew. You’ve endured his getting sick, his dying from that illness, and then the grief of being widowed so young. This Christie is different than the one who married him. He won’t ever know the difference, so you need never feel any guilt about what you feel for me.
“The Goddesses matched us, Christie. They knew when you came to be. They knew where I was and what I was doing when you were born. They guided us on the paths we traversed, and they knew when those paths would cross. We’re ordained, Christie, fated. This, what we have, is rare. Even among my kind.”
“How do you know all this?”
“Because it’s preached to us from the beginning.”
“But you said your parents had a strong enough bond that they’d die without one another but still cheated. That doesn’t make any sense.”
He sighed. “My parents were on the weaker end of the spectrum. Plus, my dad was a jackass. Mom cheated on him because he tried to control her, so she used sex as a punishment. He’d do the same. A mate bond doesn’t stop us from being who we are. It doesn’t change us. My dad was a jackass with or without the bond, and my mom was a bitch before she met him.” Mundo shrugged uneasily. “The Goddesses can only do so much. I will never try to control you, and I will never do anything that would push you into the arms of another man.”
She studied him a second, her eyes wide and bright in the darkness of the bedroom. She’d put on the light in the hall when she’d come to let him in, and through the open doorway, that illumination provided some relief from the heavy blanket of shadows in the bedroom. “You said you’d been looking for me since something happened. What was it?”
He felt himself flush again. “Do you really want to know?”
Her smile was small, still proof of how overwhelmed she felt by all this, but amused nonetheless. “Would I have asked if I didn’t want to know?”
“Since I started jacking off, I’ve been seeking you.”
“Oh!” She blushed, then chuckled, bringing her free hand to cup her hot cheeks. “I didn’t expect you to say that.”
He grimaced. “Expect the unexpected with me, Christie. That’s what my brothers say, anyway.”
She cocked a brow at that, apparently distracted by something he’d said. “You have brothers?”
“Well, they’re like brothers. They might as well be. I’m part of an MC, sugar. We’re like blood.”
She blinked. “Are they all Shifters too?”
“Yes. We’re all Bears. It’s a Bear clan, first and foremost, but in the eyes of the human world, we’re just an MC.”
“Bears… I knew it. I knew you were a bear. You had to be. You’re so…” She seemed to seek the appropriate word. “Big.”
He snorted. “You should see my bro, Kiko, if you think I’m big.”
“Will I see him?” she asked, her voice small.
Mundo cleared his throat. “I vow to you, Christie, that I will never do anything that will put me inside again. I will never be separated from you, but The Nomads are my people. I can’t not be a part of the Clan. We’re the least social on the Shifter spectrum, but we still need one another. We still have to belong to a Clan. Do you understand that? I don’t want you to think I’m laying down laws or anything like that. It’s just how it has to be for me. If you don’t want to be a part of the Clan then it will be weird for the others, but I won’t do anything that makes you unhappy, I swe—”
She pressed a finger to his lips. “That vow was enough for me. I-I’ll not lie, Mundo, I don’t like the fact you’ve been in prison.” Christie blew out a breath. “I mean, I work in prisons. I’ve seen the guys in there. I never imagined I’d want to be with an ex-con. But this, this is so far beyond anything I could ever have expected.
“I had a nice, safe life once. I want that again. But you are who you are; or more specifically, you are what you are—”
“No, Christie,” Mundo interrupted, determinedly shaking his head. “You will never be in any danger. I swear it.”
“That’s my point, Mundo. Danger comes whether you want it to or not. I had a nice, safe life, and guess what? Cancer came and took that away from me. I loved Jake, you’re right. The Christie I was loved him as best as she could… as much as she could. But this, what we have, what we’re going to have… widowhood made me miserable. I missed him so much. I tried so hard to live without him but it was a half-life. And that was then. This is now. That being said, you can’t do anything to put yourself in danger, Mundo. Not knowingly. Do you understand me? Because the way I feel now is nothing to compared to how I’m going to feel when you’ve claimed me fully. I can feel that already. It’s freaking me out, but there’s no use in lying, is there? Not to myself. I’m going to want to die if anything happens to you—you’re also right about that—but, Mundo, I want to live.” She paused, and he heard the sobs gathering in her throat. This was the source of her sorrow and sadness, that misery that had been dormant for so long that it was a part of her unique scent. “I want to live so badly. Please, don’t take that away from me. Not when suddenly I have so much to live for.”
And with that, she shrugged out of his hold to climb off the bed and leave him staring at her with tears in his eyes and an ache in his heart. All for her.
Always for her.