I’m in tears when Carter rolls to a stop and I jump out. Buddy barks as I run to him and wrap my arms around his shivering body.
“That asshole evicted me,” I say in disbelief when I see the yellow paper taped to my front door. I’d bet my life that he changed the locks as well. The coward is not even here to tell me in person.
“What happened?” Carter asks as he comes up to me.
Buddy starts barking his head off at him and lunges forward with his teeth bared. He knocks me over into the snow and continues barking like a mad dog as I try to get him to stop.
“I’m so sorry,” I say to Carter as the two males stare each other down. “He’s never done this to anyone before. It must be from the cold.”
“Bring him inside the truck to warm up,” he says. “I’ll get your stuff.”
“But…” I have nothing to say. I have nowhere to go. I don’t even have enough money for a cheap motel. “I have nowhere to put it.”
“You’re staying at my place,” he says in a firm dominant voice that I couldn’t argue with if I tried.
I just stare at him as I kneel in the snow. I’m not used to people being so nice to me like this.
“Aubrey,” he says in a deep commanding voice that goes straight to my core. “Go wait in the truck where it’s warm. I got this.”
Without another word, I untie Buddy from the pole and pull him to the truck. He’s snarling and pulling me with everything he has to try and get to Carter. To my surprise, Carter just stands there staring him down. He’s not at all afraid of the crazed dog who seems to have a grudge against him for some reason.
“I’m sorry,” I say as I pull him with all of my might. “He’s not usually like this. I guess he’s a little protective of me.”
A softness appears on Carter’s face as he watches the dog. “That makes two of us,” he whispers under his breath. It wasn’t meant for me to hear it, but I do.
I pull Buddy into the backseat of the truck and close the door. He leaps on the armrest and barks at the window as I wrap my arms around him and pull him back down. “Easy, boy,” I whisper to him. “Please don’t make this harder than it already is.”
Carter loads my stuff into the back of his pickup truck until it’s overflowing. I watch in awe and confusion as he easily picks up heavy furniture like it’s nothing.
“I’ll have my friend Westin pick up the rest and deliver it to my place,” he says as he gets in the driver’s seat. “He’s got a truck too.”
I’m holding Buddy with all of my might as Carter turns around. “You okay?” he asks.
My eyes are wet and I have a killer headache now. I thought we were going to have a fun date and instead… this.
“I’ll be okay,” I say after taking a deep breath. “I’m not much of a date, am I?”
He locks his sexy eyes on me and I feel my heart flutter. “You are more than a date,” he says. “I don’t know how to explain it to you, but this is a good thing. You’re coming to stay with me now and that’s exactly where you belong.”
My head starts spinning with his words as he turns around and begins driving the truck.
Buddy is still growling as he watches Carter.
This is all happening so fast. It was only supposed to be a date.
I should be freaking out right now, but I’ve never felt more calm, protected, and secure in all of my life.
And I don’t understand any of it.
* * *
“This place is amazing, Carter,” I say as we pull up to a gorgeous private log cabin nestled on the side of a hill. There are views of spectacular mountains and there’s even a river running through the property. “This is your house?”
“Our house,” he corrects as he looks at me through the rearview mirror. “You’re living here too now.”
He gets out of the truck and starts unloading my stuff as I sit here for a minute, taking it all in with Buddy.
My heart starts drumming with excitement as I watch Carter walk into the house with my night table under one arm and my TV under the other.
The pull toward him keeps growing and it’s so strong that I can’t deny it now. I decide not to fight it anymore and instead let it pull me wherever it wants to go.
“Come on, Buddy. Let’s see what happens now.”
I open the door and Buddy springs out and runs around the property, peeing on every tree he can.
I grab my rolled-up rug, but it’s so heavy and I slip on the ice. I fall backward and am about to hit the ground when I feel strong arms wrap around me. I look up and see Carter’s dark eyes boring into me. “Go inside and settle in,” he says as he puts me back on my feet. He grabs the heavy carpet from me and tucks it under his arm like it’s made of paper. “I’ll take care of this. It’s okay. Go.”
“Thank you,” I say as I make my way to the front door. I’m so excited to see if the inside is as cute as the outside that I forget to get Buddy and the stubborn dog runs right to Carter.
The hair on his back is standing straight up and his teeth are showing.
“No!” I scream as I start to rush over. “Buddy! No!”
Carter just puts his hand up, motioning for me to stop and I do. There’s an assertive alpha energy emanating from him, which Buddy seems to read immediately as well.
He slides to a stop in front of Carter and the hair on his back goes down as they stare into each other’s eyes. Carter is totally calm and his commanding dominant presence has a real effect on Buddy who instantly becomes submissive around him.
Once his ears are back and his tongue is hanging out, Carter pets him and the two look like they’re best friends.
I take a breath of relief as I head back to the door.
He won over my dog and he’s quickly winning over me.
Who the hell is this guy?
Chapter Six
Carter
My bear is not taking this well. Every second is a struggle.
I have my girl moved into my place and instead of enjoying this like I should be doing, I’m being tortured by my grizzly.
He won’t stop growling in my ears and snarling angrily at everything I do. His intentions are clear and I know exactly what he wants.
Claim her! Mark her!
He won’t let it go. Her wonderful smell is wafting through my house, and it’s turning him into a monster. I don’t think he’s ever going to stop until I’ve claimed her soft curvy body and unloaded the hot cum building inside of me into her young waiting womb. We both want her bred. I want to see her stomach nice and round with my child. I want her bound to me in the way that only comes with breeding her.
He wants our mark on her neck. My grizzly won’t rest until she’s clearly ours. Hopefully, he’ll calm down once she has our mark on her neck. Then whenever another man sees her they’ll know she’s ours. They’ll know she’s taken and if they dare touch her, they’ll have Carter Lamb to deal with.
Aubrey is in the spare bedroom going through her things. She thinks she’s staying in this room, but she’s got another thing coming to her. It’s going to kill me, but I’ll allow her to sleep in here tonight while she settles in and becomes more comfortable. But after tonight, she’ll be all mine. I’ll have her in my bed with my cock lodged in her fresh little pussy and then she won’t ever be allowed to leave.
I can’t have my mate running off into the world without me. I can’t have her living somewhere else where I won’t be able to keep my protective eyes on her. I need to be around her. And she needs me, even if she doesn’t realize it yet.
I step into the doorway and lean on the frame as I watch her. She’s mesmerizing and I can’t get enough of her.
I’m completely captivated by her in every way, and I’m totally on board now.
It was stupid to think that mates were a waste of time and energy. I know that now. I know I could never fall out of love with this curvy beauty. Ever. I can feel my love for her flowing through my veins and it’s not going away.
“Thank
s again for letting me stay here,” she says when she sees me. “They evicted me because they didn’t like the way Buddy was always barking. But don’t worry, I’ll get a new apartment as soon as I can.”
I cringe when I hear that. I don’t want her to ever leave.
Buddy gets up and rushes over to me with his tail wagging. He’s a dominant alpha, just like me, but after smelling me face to face, he realized who the real alpha was and he submitted.
I could tell he was just being protective over Aubrey and the smell of my bear was making him nervous. I think he knows that I want to keep her safe as well. Dogs always seem to be able to sense that about people.
“I want you to stay, Aubrey,” I tell her as I kneel down and pet Buddy. “Don’t think about leaving just yet. Stay here and see if you like it. If you do, then you’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”
She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she watches me with her shy honey-colored eyes. I still can’t believe she’s in my house. Fuck, the things I want to do to her… Her loyal protective dog wouldn’t be groveling at my feet if he knew what I had planned for his master.
“Thank you,” she says as she watches me. “You’re too sweet.”
The doorbell rings and I head over with Buddy by my side. It’s Westin with the rest of her stuff.
“Thanks for coming,” I say to him as he walks in.
“Are you kidding me?” he says as he looks past me with a big goofy grin on his face. “I have to see the girl who cracked open your stone heart. Does she know she’s mated to the one shifter who refuses to have a mate?”
Just as he finishes talking, Aubrey comes walking down the hall with her mouth hanging open. Her face is as pale as snow as she stares at us.
“You’re a shifter?” she says as she stares at me in disbelief. “And I’m your… mate?”
“Oops,” Westin says as he takes a step back toward the door. “I’ll just unpack and leave the stuff in the garage.”