Page 59 of The Alpha's Mystery

“I think you need the rest as much as I do,” Natalie murmurs, her voice already drowsy. Trailing her fingers up and down my bare back, her touch lulls me into a state of calm, my fight or flight reflexes turning off for the first time in… well I can’t remember how long.

“It’ll be nice to have some time off while we find a place to set up and hire some staff.”

It’s unlikely I’ll be able to set up a business smack in the middle of someone else’s territory, not doing the kind of work we do, and operate outside of the pack hierarchy. As a human, fine, but I can feel the power growing inside me. It won’t be long before my wolf makes a full appearance.

My gaze drops to Natalie’s flat stomach, and I know in my heart that the catalyst will be protecting the life we may have created already.

‘That’s not time off,” she points out. I give her shoulder a gentle shove and she pouts, immediately returning to her little spot curled up into me. “And if you need staff, I know a few recently out of work tough guys with nothing better to do with their time.”

She’s joking, but her comment lodges itself in my brain, stored away to come back to for further consideration at a later date. There are lots of potential employees around Grey Ridge and Black River. But, for now, I put that aside and watch my mate. I memorise the slope of her nose, her full rosy lips, and the dark eyelashes fanning against her cheek, and rein myself to enjoy the feeling of contentment like nothing I’ve ever known.

Brushing her hair back from her face, I kiss her cheek and settle against the pillows, loving how her head nestles into my shoulder. She slings a leg over my thighs and rests a hand on my stomach, slotting into me like she’s the missing part of my jigsaw puzzle.

Peace washes over me as she drifts into unconsciousness. It won’t always be like this. I’m not an easy man to get along with and getting a wolf is unlikely to mellow me out, but if there’s any woman that can fight my fire with fire, it’s Natalie. She’s well able to put me in my place, and I’m going to love every minute of it.

CHAPTER 44

NATALIE

Bang, bang, bang.

Chase is out of our bed and across the room before my groggy brain has even processed what’s going on. He pulls on dark jeans and storms toward the front door which is rattling on its hinges from the loud knocking on the other side.

“Natalie? Natalie, we know you’re in there, open up.”

Throwing on a dressing gown, I race for the door, but it’s too late. Chase yanks it open and hits the gathering on the far side with a blast of his power. Even my knees wobble with the strength of it.

Normally, I get the fun side of it rather than the displeasure he’s blasting at my brothers, where they’ve gathered on the porch with crates of beer.

“Woah!” The twins hold up their hands and take a step back, turning their faces away as though they stepped too close to the fire. “You weren’t joking. This fucker is strong.”

Mason and Maddox retreat, but go back to joking among themselves, letting Mitch take the lead. He ignores Chase’s bad mood and steps up to congratulate him with a sharp nod and a punch in the shoulder. I can see how conflicted Chase is. His protective and grumpy, anti-social side wants to tell them all to get lost, but he loves me and wants to make sure he gets off on the right foot with his new family.

Or as much as you can when they already know you got locked in a shed for stalking their sister.

“You’re not coming in here,” Chase growls, snatching a t-shirt out of his go bag. The atmosphere goes tense, my brothers trying to get a read on my new mate and not happy with the welcome they’re receiving. “The least I can do is buy you a few drinks and feed you. We’ve nothing in the house and Nat’s out on her feet. Is Taaffe’s okay?”

Stepping into his boots, he throws me a put-upon frown as my brother’s grin and laugh.

NATALIE: I love you

Chase crosses the room in a couple of strides, wrapping an arm around me and taking my lips with a kiss that leaves me breathless. Whooping and hollering from outside has me shimmying out of his grasp.

“You don’t know what you’ve just done, though,” I whisper as Chase gives me a squeeze. “There might just be three of them here, but now the rest will definitely turn up.” My brothers crowd inside, their sheer bulk filling the small space instantly. Billy trails in behind, seemingly appearing from thin air, conjured by the promise of free food and a party. “See.”

“Nat, you’re going to need a bigger place if you’re going to start doing Sunday dinner instead of Mum,” Mason comments, pointing at my four-seater dining table.

“Who said I was going to?” I ask. “Why don’t you start doing Sunday dinner?”

Mitch scowls. “No. Nobody wants that.” Mitch pulls me into a tight embrace and whispers in my ear. “He’s a good man, Nat. And your secret’s safe with me.” The island. That’s a conversation for another day, but I’m relieved he’s mentioned it. We have another couple of months to figure out what to do. “By the way, Maude? The crazy lady who snuck up on me with a shotgun while I was waiting to see if you two were okay? She says if you don’t go to see her and confirm face to face that you’re alright, she’ll, and I quote, ‘come for my balls’.”

Pulling back, I grin. That sounds about right. Chase points me toward the bedroom.

“Go get dressed, and call Leah. The least she can do is round-up the Joneses to come and celebrate with us. We can kill two birds with one stone.”

As I duck into the bedroom to pick out something to wear, I glance back into the living room to see Chase accepting one of Billy’s homemade beers with a sceptical look on his face, while Mitch shakes his head behind Billy’s back, grimacing as Chase lifts the bottle to his mouth and takes a sip.

Marcus saunters through the door, giving Chase a hard slap on the back and shaking his hand. “Welcome to the family. I hope you’re ready.”

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