S. Yule - Lycan Christmas

“Settle down, babe.” Rose patted Knox on the chest. “I’ve had a hunch about that for a while now. Besides, what’s the harm? You can’t change the fact if it’s so.”

“Why hasn’t he claimed her?” He turned to Rose. “And why the hell didn’t you tell me about this hunch of yours?”

“Good grief, Knox. Cut the kids some slack. You know Lorent is shy.

He’s had a tough past. He’s trying to fit in here, meet with everyone’s approval, and then his mate shows up. It’s a lot on his plate.”

“You sure are the generous one.” Knox raised a brow at her.

“And as for the me-not-telling-you part, I was going to a while back, figured you needed some time to get used to the idea, but after thinking about it, I decided not to. What if I had been wrong? I would have gotten you all worked up over nothing.”

Knox yanked her to him. “I like when you get me all worked up.”

“Ew.” Melony rolled her eyes, and Rose smiled.

“Melony, do you love Lorent?” Rose asked.

“Yes.”

“Then that’s that. If you want him, go after him.” Rose unwrapped herself from Knox’s embrace and hugged her. “Now, let Knox walk you home.”

Knox looked from Rose to Melony then back at Rose with his mouth open. Finally, he shrugged and muttered, “Women. Okay. Let’s go. But if he hurts her, I’m kicking his ass.”

“If he hurts her, I’ll kick his ass,” Rose said with a fierce scowl marring her pretty features.

“Let’s compromise.” Melony held her hands up. “If he hurts me, I’ll kick his ass.”

Lorent finished putting the clothes on Piers had brought him, and stared down at the mangled body of Rufus. He cast a surreptitious glance at Piers when he sighed.

“It was necessary, but I still hate it every time we lose one of our own.

It’s a damn shame.” Piers squatted and hauled Rufus over his shoulder. “You all right, kid?”

Lorent cringed at the “kid” label, even though he knew Piers didn’t mean it as an insult. He was, after all, an ancient, which definitely made Lorent a kid in his eyes.

“Yeah.” Lorent nodded.

Lorent had nearly killed Rufus by the time Piers had intervened and swiftly broken the rogue’s neck. While he had felt a shudder of disappointment at the time that he had not been the one to end the life of the bastard who’d tried to harm his mate and who he’d personally witnessed perform countless acts of cruelty and brutality on others—himself included—he wasn’t sure how he’d feel about taking the life of another.

He accepted that there would come a time when he had no choice but to kill a rogue, and he would do what had to be done when it came to it. Had Piers not stepped in, he would have, without hesitation, put Rufus out of his sorry-ass misery. But he couldn’t deny that a part of him felt relief that that time was not today. Death might be easy, but it wasn’t pretty.

He followed Piers deep into the woods and helped him build a fire so they could dispose of Rufus’s body. After the flames had done their job, they dug a hole and buried the bones. When they were on their way back to Sanctuary, Lorent knew the time had come to claim Melony as his mate.

“Melony is mine,” Lorent said to Piers, holding his breath as he waited for the ancient’s response.

“I kind of got that feeling when I saw how you ripped into Rufus. It appeared personal.”

“It was. He was going to kill her. I knew him from my past. He was brutal, did horrible things to so many people, and there was no way in hell I was going to allow him to take Melony from me.”

“Do you love her?”

“I don’t know. I want to, but I’m not sure I know what love feels like,”

Lorent admitted.

Piers blew out a long breath. “Can you picture yourself without her?”

“No.”

“When you found out she was in danger, did a perfect maelstrom of anger and fear like you’ve never felt in your entire life swirl inside you? Did the thought of her possible death spark an urgency to get to her so strong it felt as if your skin could not contain it?”

Lorent thought for a moment. “Yes. That was exactly how I felt.”

“How do you feel when she is near you?”

“As if everything is right in the world. She can touch me, and all of my past sins seem to melt away. She makes me want to be a better man so I can be good enough for her.”

“That’s love, my boy. That’s love.” Piers grinned. “It’ll twist you up so bad inside that no matter how far or hard you run, there is no getting away from it. It makes you think you will never be good enough for her, and while you are arguing with your own bloody self that she can do so much better, you will never let someone else try to be better than you. Because the mere thought of someone else touching her will drive you insane.”

“Holy hell. I do love her.”

Piers chuckled. “What are you going to do about it?”

Lorent smiled. “I’m going to go get my woman.”

It had been several hours since they’d made it back to Sanctuary, and Melony paced in her living room. She hadn’t heard from Lorent, and she was worried. She’d already taken a shower and fed Puss, and was about to rip her hair out in frustration, when her front door flew open.

She spun around and gasped. Lorent stood in the opening watching her, his hazel eyes glowing brightly. His hair was damp and tousled, and he looked sexy and . . . wild. He took her breath away and made her heart flip-flop. He had changed his clothes, and his T-shirt hugged his broad chest but wasn’t neatly tucked in under his waistband as normal. His dark jeans hugged his hips and muscular thighs, and a sudden urge to see him naked made a dull ache throb between her legs.

She cried out and flung herself into his arms. “I was worried about you,”

she said against his chest.

She pressed her nose to him and took a deep breath. He smelled good, and he was warm. But when he remained still, she looked up at him and realized he didn’t look happy. She frowned, then worried her bottom lip with her teeth as anxiety settled in her chest.

“You were worried about me?” One of his dark brows slowly rose.

If she had any sense, the warning in his voice would have put her on guard, but apparently, where he was concerned, she’d lost all common sense.

“Of course. It’s been hours. I was scared you got hurt.” She stepped back and started running her hands over him, inspecting him for injury.

He grunted and stilled her hands with his fingers. “What the hell were you thinking?”

She tried to back away from him, but he encircled her wrists and held her to him. She huffed in indignation. “I already got the second degree from Knox and Rose. I don’t need it from you.”

“I disagree. Actually, I think you need a good spanking.”

Now it was her turn to raise a brow at him. He’d never talked to her that way. Then it dawned on her. He was angry. Well, too bad. She wasn’t a child, and he wasn’t her keeper.

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t you ever do something like that again. Putting yourself in danger is reckless enough, but putting others in danger along with you is irresponsible. Do you have any idea what it did to me when I got your call on the walkie?”

“Don’t tell me what to do. You have as much to answer for—more—

than I do. You didn’t tell me about dreams between mates, and you didn’t tell me I was your mate.”

“What I did didn’t endanger me, you, or anyone else.”

“How was I supposed to know that a simple trip to town would endanger anyone? I would never put anyone—myself included—in harm’s way on purpose. Do you know what it would have done to me if something had happened to Sherry or the baby? It was a bad decision. Nothing more.”