Pack Ebon Red (The Seven Mates of Zara Wolf Book 1) Read online

  “Nic,” I snarled, the heavy fur cloak hanging wet and sopping around my neck. His and Tidus' were dry since they'd had to ditch them for normal clothes to go out with Faith and now, the rain was gone and weak yellow beams of sunshine were starting to peak through the clouds.

  He sighed dramatically and Tidus grinned.

  “That must mean she's okay then,” I said, and it wasn't a question. If Nic was sighing like that and the Alpha-Son of Amber Ash was smiling, then my best friend had not turned into a revenant and leapt out an upstairs window. Last night, even though Tidus seemed like one of those upbeat-all-the-time sort of dudes, he hadn't been smiling. And Nic … I had definitely caught Nic crying once, in the downstairs bathroom as he washed the dogs' blood off his hands.

  “Define okay,” Nic said, lifting his hands up, palms out. I noticed Silas, Che, and Anubis hovering nearby so they could listen in. I think Montgomery had gone upstairs to change and Jax was lying on the porch of Pairing House in wolf form, tongue lolling in a wry grin, also probably listening in but pretending like he didn't give a shit because he was just too damn cool to care. The lavender bushes near the porch steps swayed in the late afternoon breeze and perfumed the air with their sweet scent.

  “Just tell me why you look like you're about to puke,” I said, noticing that Nic, who usually tried so hard not to get caught up on the way I looked … was checking me out. I realized with a small amount of shock that … we were free—almost encouraged—to do that as much as we wanted now. That is, until the Pairing Ceremony ended at the close of the twelve month period and I was forced to pick a mate for life … I wouldn't think about that yet.

  “Get this,” Nic started as the trees danced in the gray-blue sky above his head. “I didn't just have to drop Faith off somewhere, sniff Owen out, and check for vampires. Fuck, I would've fought a frigging vampire if it would've gotten me out of that mess sooner.”

  “And what would mess would that be?” I asked, breathing out a strong sigh of relief. Now I knew why Nic looked like was about to throw up—he'd had to spend more than five minutes with Owen Tiaffay.

  “So we get there,” Nic started and Tidus' grin ratcheted up a notch. The two of them exchanged a knowing look that made me hopeful they'd actually be able to become friends with one another. I wasn't sure that Nic had any friends except for me and Faith—if you could even count either of us. “And the guy has no car. Faith begs me to take them to that creepy check cashing place downtown. Even as a werewolf, I was afraid I was going to get mugged down there.”

  “Why'd you take them there?” I asked, raising one red brow and shivering as Nic reached out to play with the sharp ends of my freshly shorn hair. It was so long that it didn't make much visible difference, but I kept telling myself that my scalp felt lighter.

  “Because Owen wanted Faith to cash a check from her grandma so she could load it onto his prepaid debit card,” Nic said, clenching his jaw and following me toward the house as I started to walk backward. After a moment, he reached into the tight leather pocket of his pants and handed me my phone, charms swinging as he passed it over. Our hands touched and a spark of heat flared between our fingers, dancing across my skin and forcing some of the bad memories from the forefront of my thoughts so they could be replaced with good ones.

  Zara, you know I love you, too. I always have. Always.

  Hearing Nic finally say it out loud the other night … that was better than the sex.

  “No offense to your friend or anything,” Tidus said as I stepped over Jax's long white form and into the house, “but her boyfriend is … like, a serious piece of shit. I mean, I know you were worried about Blood or witch involvement, but … you don't really need to be.”

  I flipped open one of the doughnut boxes we'd left on the table and grabbed a slightly-less-good-than-it-was-this-morning maple bar from inside. My head was still bleeding so I headed into the living room and flopped down on the couch to rest. Theoretically, I could've had one of the boys touch it, see if it healed, and hopefully start figuring out ways to understand the magic. But I decided to let my natural healing abilities take care of it over the next hour or so instead.

  “No self-respecting vamp, witch, faerie, angel, demon, street gang, public library, or frequent diners' club would let Owen Tiaffay become a member,” Nic said sarcastically, punctuating the words with an eye roll. “After that, Faith confided in me that they had nowhere to go since her dad was back in town and had called the police about her mom …” Nic trailed off for a second as a few of the other guys joined us inside, collecting doughnuts of their own and then taking various seats around the living room. Maybe having to clean that house, to see so intimately into Faith's life, had made them all feel connected to her somehow. I hoped so because if any of these guys decided he didn't like Faith Cassidy, he was done; I would not choose him as my alpha male. I wouldn't even let him sleep in this house.

  “She told her dad about the drugs,” Nic continued, raking his fingers through his red hair and looking down at me with eyes clouded by sympathy. He had a good heart, Nic Hallett did. “And they'd both obviously noticed Notch and Mila were missing …” He licked his lower lip and took a deep breath. “Anyway, surprise, surprise: Faith's dad hates Owen and didn't want him at the house when the detectives were there. Since my parents are spending the night at the Hall to mingle …”

  “You didn't,” I said, kicking him lightly in the boot. Now that I knew Faith was okay, I kind of didn't want to know what else she'd done or might do with Owen. No thank you. But I also sort of wanted to string the conversation along so the guys would stay here, wearing their leather pants and not wearing shirts. It was a beautiful sight, all those abs and chests and nipples. Looking at the sea of males around me, I didn't have to think about the other issues in my life. For just a split second there, I got to pretend I was a normal eighteen year old girl … with seven boyfriends? Eh, close enough. “You let them stay at your place? Nic, you'll have to burn your sheets.”

  “I'm burning my bed, Zara,” he told me and Tidus laughed.

  “Basically the whole time we were in the SUV, they sat in the far back and made out, cried, or fought with each other. Faith seems like a cool chick, but her taste in men is … actually worse than my brother's.”

  “At least we know that Silas isn't the biggest douche on pack property right now.”

  “Hey,” Silas said from the carved wooden rose chair, “fuck you, Nic.”

  He lifted his tattooed hands up and lit a cigarette—effectively clearing the room.

  “Never mind,” Nic said as he wrinkled up his nose and shook his head in disgust, “I take it back. Screw you, Silas. I'd rather hang out with Owen.”

  I stood up from the couch, stopping him on his way out of the room to plant a kiss on his mouth, one that felt like it was lighting an ember under my tongue, scalding me and prepping me for a bonfire at the same time. In a strange way, his lips tasted both comfortingly familiar and startlingly new at the same time—probably because I'd been staring at them for years, wishing they were mine and knowing they never could be.

  Until now.

  “I can actually get some sleep knowing that Faith's safe tonight, Nic. Thank you.” I kissed him again, closing my eyes and savoring the splendor of a mouth I'd wanted for a long, long time. Now that I had it, it was better than I'd ever dreamed.

  “I used my new alpha powers to put a guard on Craig, too,” he added, referencing Faith's dad.

  I smiled against his lips and gave him another lingering kiss with my tongue.

  It felt weird to kiss Nic so … casually, like this was our new normal. The best part about it was that it was our new normal. In the back of my mind, I tried to calculate exactly what numbered kiss I was on. Twelve? Thirteen? I don't think I'd be used to it until I was at a point where it was almost impossible to count.

  “You're the best, Nic.” And when I said that, I meant it.

  I pulled away from him, tangling our fingers together an
d watching them slide apart as he headed for the stairs, walking backward and yawning two, three, four times in a row. I swear, I could see wolf teeth in there when he did that.

  I smiled.

  “I'm gonna put some sweats on and take a nap. You want to come?” he asked softly, resting his hand on the newel post. I could hear a certain sense of longing in his voice, a deep-seated desire that I felt mirrored inside my own chest. Between my thighs, the slick, slippery warmth of longing bloomed. That, too, was a weird sensation, one that made my heart beat as fast as the rapid flutter of a hummingbird's wings.

  The spell … Before I did anything else, I needed to ask Majka about it, find out if she'd spelled me into dry humping Che and straddling Silas and all the other wild, crazy, lusty things that'd happened during the Bonding.

  “Toss me jeans and a cami,” I said, staying safely positioned at the bottom of the stairs. I had a feeling that if I went up there, I wouldn't come back down again. I'd take Nic's leather pants and peel them over his muscular hips, pull him into that giant ass bed, and encourage him to ride me until the sun set and rose all over again. I bit my lower lip absently. “I need to go see Majka.”

  He waited a moment, breath hitching, eyes taking in the plunging neckline of my dress and landing on my navel. I hadn't forgotten our silver, how I'd chosen the belly button piercing just for him. He'd inspired it, by flicking his tongue in there the other day. Really, it was all his fault.

  “Okay,” Nic said finally and then he disappeared up the stairs. A moment later, some clean clothes came tumbling down over the railing and he peered over to make sure I'd caught them. “See you soon?” he asked and I nodded.

  I didn't intend for this to take long. I just felt like it was time to get some answers from my grandmother. Or maybe I was avoiding the upstairs room for a reason? The whole floor was just one, big room … and a huge bed that had been built on-site for me and my mates to sleep in. Together. When I thought of it with my wolf brain, it didn't seem weird at all. Sleeping in big, warm cozy piles was what we did; it was natural. When I thought of it with my human brain, I thought of seven guys (most of whom I didn't know, all of whom were hot) and all the, um, penises that went with them.

  I mean, I'd just lost my virginity and that, that was a lot of dick.

  I ducked into the downstairs bathroom, changed my clothes, and headed out to ask my (most likely) naked grandmother if she'd cast a lust/love spell on me during my pseudo-wedding to seven werewolves.

  Just another normal afternoon in Pack Ebon Red.

  Majka was indeed naked, sitting in a massive red brocade throne with her hair frothing like dark blood over her thin shoulders. She had her crown and anklet on as she usually did, and was enjoying some of the wine that seemed to be flowing like water across pack property.

  “What do you want, Zara Wolf?” she asked me when I approached her chair. It was sitting atop a grassy knoll near the Hall, overlooking a sea of banquet tables piled with food. I could smell the sweetness of cherry tarts and the sour bite of fresh lemonade from here. Tiny purple flowers were blooming in the grass near my grandmother's feet. “Shouldn't you be at the Pairing House mating with all those strapping young men?”

  “Yes, Majka,” I said, kneeling down next to one arm of the chair, wondering if her cheeks were pink because she was simply enjoying the afternoon—or because she was drunk. I was betting on the latter and decided it was probably just better to agree with everything she said lest I get cursed out in Croatian or some other language I didn't know. “But I'd like to ask you something.”

  “Make it quick,” she said, bringing the heavy gold goblet to her lips. The wine she was drinking smelled like spring rain and peaches.

  “Did you cast a spell on me the day of the Bonding?”

  She snorted but didn't answer right away, her purple-black eyes gazing out over the celebration with interest, probably gathering up things to gossip about with my great aunt.

  “Why would you think that?” she said finally, casting that sharp stare my direction.

  “Because I … felt things for men I'd never met. Because all I wanted was more, more, more. One kiss didn't feel like enough when I was standing there—even near the end when I was getting weak, I couldn't stop the feelings.”

  Majka's thin mouth twisted up in a wolfish grin.

  “That's what those rituals do, Zara, stir up the blood like that. Your generation scoffs at them, but they're not just games made up by some moon-mad wolf. They have purpose. The purpose of the Bonding rituals is to make sure you want your mates. Don't make the mistake of thinking it forces feelings that aren't there; it just amplifies natural attraction. If you had such strong reactions,” she continued and I sort of got the idea that she was laughing at me, “then you must like your males. Good for you. Now go.” Majka waved her hand to shoo me off. “Go mate with someone other than that Ebon Red guard you're so obsessed with.”

  “There was no spell then?” I asked, my heart fluttering wildly. I had felt spelled, drunk almost with lust and want and need.

  “There's always a spell, Zara Wolf. The universe weaves them daily, the forest casts them in shadows, and the moon spins them out of stars at night. I thought the old magic was dead; lucky for you, it looks like it's not.”

  She thrust her goblet out at me and I held back a careful sigh, rising to my feet and moving to one of the banquet tables to refill it.

  If she'd cursed me to bleed to death for answering a text, I did not want to know what tipsy Majka might do if I neglected to pour her more wine.

  The idea that the Bonding Ritual itself had called up some sort of magic to—almost quite literally—bond me to my mates wasn't exactly surprising. I had had some indication strange magic was at work, but …

  I paused outside the Pairing House and narrowed my eyes on Jaxson Kidd.

  I'd have liked to blame my grandmother for my attraction to this guy (this a-hole), but I guessed that wasn't going to happen. Either the magic was inside of me, part of the ritual … or it wasn't magic at all, just biology. Did it matter?

  'Have a nice talk?' he asked as I moved past him, stepping right over his back and pausing straddling his lean, muscular form. Since he was already lying on his back, it looked like he was exposing his belly to me and I smiled.

  “Thanks for telling Che and Tidus about me and Nic,” I said sarcastically, and he let his tongue loll out the side of his mouth.

  'You're welcome.'

  “Dick,” I said, and went inside to find Silas sitting alone on the old sofa. It still reeked of tobacco in here, but at least he wasn't smoking currently. “Everything okay?”

  I took a seat next to him and studied his muscular right arm, the elbow propped up on the knee of his leather pants. He'd shed the boots and the cloak, but hadn't bothered to change out of those yet. They looked like a second skin on him, all of that slick leather molded against his long legs. The scar on his face caught some of the dying rays of the afternoon sun when he turned his head to look at me.

  “Zara,” he started, paused, rethought whatever it was he was going to say. Silas narrowed his golden eyes and tilted his head back, chocolate dark hair sliding across his forehead. “Should we just save ourselves a year of trouble and say you're going to pick Nic as your mate? Wouldn't that just be easier?”

  “Who said I'm picking just one?” I joked, but Silas didn't smile. There was something else on his mind, something besides my relationship with Nic. I figured it was probably the hell that was last night, or maybe even his dad, but I wasn't sure. I mean, we'd shared a stolen kiss together once but if I was honest with myself, I had no idea. It'd been a while since we'd spent any significant amount of time together … since I'd cost him the unmarred perfection of that beautiful face.

  I decided not to say anything aloud but … I kind of liked the scar.

  He tapped his inked fingers against the leather of his pants and stared at the sleeping darkness of the stone fireplace. Outside on the porch, Jaxson ya
wned and flopped his head down on the wood.

  “If you don't want to talk about whatever's bothering you, we can discuss sports instead.”

  “I hate sports,” he said and then glanced my direction. “So do you.” There was a ghost of a smile threatening his perfect lips.

  “Then we'll talk about the Hunt tomorrow.”

  “No ritualistic stuff,” he said and I sat up on my knees, giving him a look in those gold eyes of his.

  “Then you decide on the topic. You have five seconds to come up with something. One …”

  “Zara,” Silas said, turning to face me, putting a leather clad leg on either side of me.

  “Two … three …”

  “I think I should … maybe tell you something …”

  “Four …”

  Just before I got to five, he reached up and took me by the shoulders, tattooed hands curving over my bare skin, leaving flames in their wake. In the span of an instant, Silas was leaning forward and kissing me. It was almost an exact replica of our first kiss—except then it'd been me that was the instigator.

  Silas' sharp tongue split my lips and I groaned, leaning into him, falling into him, ending up lying across his chest as he wrapped his colorful inked arms around me. Our hearts beat in tandem as we stirred our tongues together, summoned some of that teenage attraction that had beckoned us into taking such a huge risk. We'd both known the volatile anger of the Obsidian Gold Alpha and yet, even that fear couldn't stop us.

  Just like with Nic, I knew my attraction to Silas was definitely not magic induced.

  I think I was just going to have to accept that the whole theory had been debunked.

  I dug my fingers into Silas' bare chest, into the designs that bled from his shoulders to his pecs. He tasted like cherries and cloves and tobacco as he romanced my lips with his own. No, no, he didn't romance my mouth, he sexed it. Silas put all that cocky swagger and bad boy sprawl into the movement of his lips against mine, sliding his hands down to cup my ass.