Chosen Mate Read online

  “No. We can head out in an hour. Go give him cuddles.”

  That was one of the nice things about being part of a good pack. They all worked as a unit and family was always going to come first. So she never felt guilty about taking time off during the day to spend time with her son.

  Soon she’d be alone in a vehicle with Malcolm. The thought was exciting and…nerve-wracking. That non-date had just driven home exactly how perfect Malcolm was. Unfortunately, she didn’t think he would ever see her as anything other than a packmate.

  * * *

  “So what do you think of the numbers?” Malcolm asked Leslie, though he was pretty sure he knew what her opinion would be. He’d already run them himself—he just wanted an excuse to spend time with her.

  She looked up from the tablet and glanced out the car window at the beautiful passing scenery. Fresh flowers and bright greenery covered the fields and mountainside, the explosion of color welcome after the long winter.

  When she looked at him, her expression was thoughtful. “They look good. They could be better, but it looks as if there was a shift or something six months ago and they stopped making as much of a profit. I can’t figure out why, though. Their online sales are fine and none of their vendors changed and nothing else discernible changed, but the sales directly at the winery’s retail shop have plummeted so it’s got to be something internal with their employees.”

  “The owners are going through a divorce and everything hit six months ago. A few of their staff have quit over all the volatility.”

  “That makes sense then. If you’re going to invest, I say scoop it up now. Before it gets even worse. Will you have packmates run it or leave humans in charge?”

  “Maybe both. Probably both.” His pack didn’t know anything about running a winery and from what he could tell, they had very qualified humans running the place. It was the couple who owned it who had completely lost control and their finances were starting to suffer because of it.

  She nodded thoughtfully. “For purely selfish reasons, I’m glad you asked me to go today. I’ve been wanting to check out some of the local wineries, this one included.”

  He knew that. She’d mentioned it more than once, and he hadn’t actually needed her to come with him today. He just wanted time alone with her so he could make it clear that he was interested.

  “So tell me about your date.” He kept his voice casual even though his claws were ready to extend and rip into the steering wheel. He needed to know what he was up against.

  She shifted against her seat. “We decided to be friends.”

  He let out a snort. That male had made the right choice in walking away. Though the human was a fool if he just wanted to be friends with her. While Malcolm did treasure her friendship, he wanted more. So much more that he could barely contain his wolf sometimes. Every night when he closed his eyes, he saw her, thought about her…fantasized about her.

  She shot him a frown. “Why is that funny?”

  “You’re holding back on me.”

  “And you’re being exceptionally nosy today.” She sniffed slightly and looked out the window.

  He lifted a shoulder, feigning a casualness he didn’t feel. “I haven’t gotten any good intel in a while.”

  She laughed at that. “I think you mean gossip.”

  “Same thing.” Wolves were the worst gossips, males or females. It didn’t matter. They were always up in each other’s business and he could admit that he kept a pulse on his entire pack. It was easy when shifters liked to share so much damn information about each other. Sometimes too much.

  “Fine,” she said, sighing. “He was perfectly nice, funny, attractive, but there was no attraction for either of us.”

  “Then he’s a moron,” Malcolm muttered.

  She whipped around to look at him. “What?”

  “You’re stunning. He’s an idiot.”

  Her scent shifted ever so slightly and for a moment he thought she might say something but at the last minute she murmured, “Nah. He’s just trying to get over someone and thought going out with me would help.”

  Whatever, the guy was a fool, but that was good for Malcolm. He was done waiting.

  Leslie cleared her throat. “So, are you dating? Because turnabout is fair play, Mr. Nosy.”

  He made a sort of strangled sound. “No.”

  Now she was the one who snorted.

  “What?”

  “It’s just hard to believe.” She glanced at him for a second before turning to look back out the window. More flashes of color bloomed as they drove into slightly flatter territory.

  “Trust me, if I was dating someone you would know with the way our pack gossips.”

  That got a light laugh out of her but she didn’t respond. Or look back at him. And he couldn’t get a read on her scent. It was too muddled.

  “I’m not looking to date or fuck anyway. I’m looking for a mate.” He needed to lay it out. He wasn’t going to make her feel uncomfortable or get in her face when they were on a car ride and she had nowhere to go, but he might as well be honest about this. Because it was important that she understood where he was in life. What he wanted—her.

  She shifted in her seat slightly. “Really?”

  “Yes, really. I’m over two-hundred years old. I don’t date. And if I’m being honest, I’ve been ready for a while.” Even before he’d met Leslie, his wolf had grown far too dissatisfied with just sex. He wanted to mate, and for wolves that meant for life. Usually. Unless the mating turned out to be an absolute disaster, but again that was fairly rare for their kind. No, he wanted a partner, someone to have his back and vice versa. Being the alpha got lonely sometimes, but whenever he was with Leslie, something deep inside him felt at peace.

  She made a sort of humming sound and then spoke, her voice strained. “Well, any female would be lucky to have you.”

  He froze for a moment at the strain in her voice. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but he would find out. At least now she knew that he wasn’t looking for a quick fuck. And damn he was tired of these baby steps, but she was worth it. He needed to change the subject though, to put her back on steadier footing. “Since we’re headed to the winery, what’s your favorite wine?”

  She seemed startled by the change in subject, but smiled. “I’m not sure about their brands, but in general, for red, I prefer pinot noir and for white, pinot grigio. But it kind of depends on what I’m eating too. Oh, and I love champagne regardless of food. I feel like you can’t go wrong with it. It’s bubbly and light and makes me feel like I’m celebrating something when I drink it.”

  He smiled at her description. “Well I think since we’re going to be touring this place, we’ll have to do a tasting. A very in-depth one.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Of course. For research purposes only. I am a serious alpha and this is serious work.”

  She laughed, the sound unrestrained and throaty, her amusement wrapping around him in a tight embrace. Damn, but he wanted to spend the rest of his life making her laugh like that.

  “Well, if it’s in the name of research, I am totally here for this. I feel a little guilty to be out of work though.”

  “Why should you feel guilty? You deserve to enjoy your life.” The words came out far harsher than he’d intended them and they weren’t directed at her. He knew where the “guilt” was coming from. Her stupid dead ex had put that there.

  Luckily, she didn’t seem to shrink into herself. If she had, he wouldn’t have been able to stand it. Instead, she shoved out a sigh. “I know. I was so full of life before… Just before everything. And now that I’m getting back to normal, I have to remind myself that it’s absolutely okay to take time for me even if it takes me away from Elijah. Though I do feel a little guilty leaving him sometimes. And that has nothing to do with my ex.”

  “That pup is surrounded by love 24/7 and he knows it.”

  “I know. I guess there’s just a small part of me that’s terrified h
e’ll somehow get taken away. I know Jude and his brothers are dead, but…that fear still lingers inside me.”

  His wolf prowled inside him, restless and edgy at the thought of anyone looking to threaten her or her son. “If anyone tried to take him away from you, I would kill them.” His tone was far more savage than it should have been, even if the words were true.

  To his surprise, she gave him a startled smile. “That’s good to hear. No one would stand a chance against you.”

  Her simple words of praise did something to his wolf. He felt like a freaking peacock wanting to preen under the warmth of her faith in him. Instead, he grunted and looked back at the road.

  Slowly, he could see the walls she’d built up coming down. Slowly but surely.

  Good, because he wasn’t going to stop until he pulled them all down.

  Chapter Five

  “Okay, this is incredible,” Leslie said as they sat down at the little table on the veranda outside the Mediterranean-style winery.

  Malcolm had asked the staff to set this up for them so he and Leslie could relax. He’d already put in an offer even before this trip so they were eager to do anything he asked. Now that he knew she was dating, it was on. And he wasn’t above being a sneaky wolf when it came to claiming her heart.

  They’d spent an hour and a half touring the place and looking at the vineyard plantation and the winery itself. Through his research, he’d learned that some nearby places were simple vineyards and they sold their grapes to outside wineries, but this place functioned as both and was a licensed winery. Which was good for his business intentions. Now, however, he wanted her to relax and kick her feet up and enjoy dinner and nice wine. And him.

  She looked at the preset menu with the list of recommended wine pairings and grinned as she set it down. “I’m already looking forward to that tiramisu.”

  “Me too. You deserve a break, and hell, so do I.” As alpha, he rarely took off time for himself. But he wanted to make time with Leslie.

  “I’ll definitely drink to that.” She reached for the delicate-stemmed wine glass in front of her and lifted it up to him.

  He did the same, toasting her.

  First the appetizers were brought out and, once they were alone again, he said, “So how are you liking your job? I don’t want you to feel pigeonholed, like you have to be stuck in this role if you want to try something else out.”

  Candlelight flickered between them on the table, playing off the delicate features of her face. Her hair was down today, the curls now a soft wave that he wanted to run his fingers through. “I really like it. I get to set my own schedule and I’m such a numbers nerd. I love math, which I know sounds crazy to a lot of people. You already know that before I lived here, I was an accountant for a few shops downtown. That was before I had to quit.” She blinked, looking down at her glass.

  Malcolm frowned, not liking that. “Can I ask…ah.”

  She looked at him again. “It’s okay. Ask anything you want.”

  “How did you and that asshole end up together? Your mom talks about your dad in a way that lets me know they had a true and loving mating before he died.”

  Sighing, she absently ran her finger along the stem of her glass. “I wish I had a better answer for how I ended up with such a loser. But the short answer is, he fooled me. He fooled everyone. By the time we were mated, it was too late. You know that he threatened my mom—and that’s what took so long for me to leave. Otherwise I would have run immediately. Before that, however, there were no signs. Or if there were, I didn’t see them. He didn’t get possessive or jealous, and he said he liked that I worked and was so smart.

  “All the time, he told me how beautiful I was. Then once we were together, he started to hate the way I would get my hair done or go to the salon to get my nails done. Any type of grooming seemed to annoy the hell out of him. It was like there was this weird shift in his personality, so different from the man I’d mated. He thought I was showing off or trying to attract attention from other males. It was all ridiculous and overbearing. So I went to my alpha, told him I wanted out of my mating.”

  Malcolm rolled his shoulders. Yeah, he knew she’d gone to her alpha. He’d killed the other alpha—something he’d never told Leslie. It wasn’t a secret but it had never come up and it felt odd to tell her. But once she and Luna had run and other packs had gotten wind of the way Leslie’s former pack had been treating their she-wolves, all surrounding packs had descended on the male packmates who’d tried to escape the area.

  That was shifter justice for you.

  “He ran right back to my mate and told him to keep me in line. At first I was so angry at myself for not seeing him for who he was, but I don’t feel like such a fool anymore for trusting my alpha.”

  Malcolm reached across the table. “You’re definitely not a fool for trusting your alpha. He should have protected you, should have looked out for you.” The male should have taken care of Leslie’s former mate for good and made sure his pack was happy.

  “I know. I do know that. They were my first pack. My mom roamed with various wolves over the years, so he was my only experience of what an alpha should be like. Seeing how you are with our pack, the difference is so stark. I see what a real pack, a community of wolves, should be like.”

  “I need to tell you something,” he said quietly. Now was definitely the time to tell her, because if she found out some other way that he’d killed her former alpha, then she would wonder why he hadn’t told her after this conversation. He didn’t want any secrets between them.

  She stilled, her fingers going stiff in his grip. But he didn’t let her pull away.

  “I killed your former alpha. I wasn’t there to hunt down those wolves when they attacked Sapphire and Eli, but I went after your alpha when I heard what he’d condoned, what he’d allowed to go on in his pack. He allowed your abuse to continue.” And for that, the male had needed to die. He’d been everything a good shifter hated. Malcolm was just glad that Leslie’s mom had turned to her oldest friend Sapphire—a she-wolf from another pack that Malcolm was allied with—and asked for help escaping. In turn Sapphire had teamed up with a jaguar named Eli and those two would forever have sanctuary in Malcolm’s pack if they ever requested it.

  She blinked in surprise, letting out a nervous breath. “I wasn’t expecting you to tell me that. And I already know.”

  Now he blinked in surprise. “You do?”

  “Yeah. I’ve known a while. I heard Hudson and Erica talking about it.”

  “It doesn’t bother you?”

  She snorted. “Why would it bother me? He deserved what he got. I found out later that other she-wolves had gone to him for help and he’d betrayed them too. I’m glad he’s dead. And I don’t care what that says about me.”

  Malcolm started to say more, then their server returned, chattering about the next dish and carrying a new bottle of wine. So he sat back and listened, but his gaze was on Leslie as she watched the human with a bright light in her eyes, clearly interested in what the man was saying.

  He loved seeing her so relaxed like this, just enjoying herself. This was the real Leslie, not the scared woman who’d come to his pack a year and a half ago.

  And he was going to do everything possible to make sure she never felt afraid again.

  * * *

  Leslie inhaled the fresh summer air as they approached her cabin hours later. She would never get sick of being outside, surrounded by so much nature under a blanket of brilliant, bright stars. Before, she’d used the woods and running as an escape from an impossible situation. Now, she had a bigger sense of freedom because she’d found safety with her new pack. “I know today was for work, but I had fun.” And she hated that it was coming to an end far too quickly.

  “I’m glad.” Malcolm was walking close to her, closer than was necessary, and she soaked up all of his warmth and dark, wild forest scent.

  Something about it reminded her of the Highlands, all wild and free and savagel
y beautiful. Like him.

  “How long has it been since you’ve been back to Scotland?” He’d lived there long before he came to the States and formed his own pack. His accent was so faint now, having been here for a century, but every now and then she heard hints of it and it warmed her from the inside out.

  He glanced at her in surprise as they reached the bottom step of her porch stairs. “Too long. Why?”

  “Nothing,” she murmured. She didn’t want to tell him she was scenting him and dissecting what he smelled like in her head. That sounded weird.

  He narrowed his gaze slightly, but thankfully let it drop. On the porch, in front of her door, she felt as nervous as if she were a teenager on a date. Which was just stupid. This had not been a date. He was her alpha and he’d asked for her advice with a work thing. He hadn’t given her one hint that he was interested in anything more. She needed to get her head out of the clouds and stay firmly grounded in reality. The one where Malcolm was the alpha and she was just a beta packmate. Man, reality sucked.

  Malcolm placed his hand against the door as he looked down at her.

  Her breath caught in her throat as he watched her carefully, his blue eyes bright even in the darkness. His wolf flashed in his gaze for a second before fading back to human.

  She wasn’t sure why he was looking at her like that. Like he wanted to claim her.

  She was hopeful, yes, but she’d been burned so badly, and the last thing she could stand was embarrassing herself. Because if she made a move on her alpha and he wasn’t interested, then he would let her down gently and that would make her feel a thousand times worse. Because then he would just pity her, and she wasn’t sure she could recover from that kind of rejection. “Thank you again for today.”

  “My pleasure.” His words were softly spoken, a rumbly growl she felt coursing all the way through her. Good God, she wanted to bottle up his voice, it was so sexy. Then she could listen to it anytime she wanted.