Every Were Gets A Mate

Chapter 9

As soon as we sat down on the end of the bed, Cade asked, "Why did you tell James your name was Ellsbeth? Do you often go by your middle name?" He clearly wanted to talk, and that pleased me.

"No. I go by Jessica, but my family calls me Jess most of the time."

He nodded for me to go on.

"I didn't want to give James my real name, but I couldn't think of a totally fake one fast enough for it not to be obvious."

Cade's eyes narrowed. "Are you in trouble, Jess? Running from something?"

I spared a half second to like that he called me Jess. He was family now, and that made me smile. My mind turned to Colton. Fear and panic washed over me like a tidal wave. "Oh God, he's going to kill you." Had I even felt true fear back in Fury Pack? If so, it was a flickering candle flame next to the nuclear bomb going off inside me now.

I jumped to my feet, my instincts roaring at me to run, hide Cade, and wash his scent from me so Colton would never know of his existence much less ever track him. I couldn't decide which way to go but kept turning, pacing the floor erratically. Words gushed out of my mouth. "Not you. No, not you. It's one thing he turns me into a zombie baby factory. Who cares? I'm sure I won't after it's done. But he'd kill you, murder you, not even torture you. Might regret that later, but no, it'd be quick. I can't let him—"

Cade grabbed me to his chest and wrapped his arms around me. "It's okay, Jess."

The heat and pressure of his body against mine instantly soothed some of my panic but far from all of it. "No, it's not. You don't understand." I pressed my nose to his chest, seeking his scent.

Cade's voice was measured and slow. "I don't know what you are talking about. But I do know that you just found me. Your emotions are unusually strong right now. It's like the tingles. Each new emotion, like each new touch, causes a tidal wave. It crashes, flows over you, and evens out. You're feeling much more fear and panic than you normally would."

I instantly recognized the truth of this. Attraction, desire, joy, curiosity, and now fear and panic had each overwhelmed me since he walked in the door just minutes ago. It wasn't normal for me to react to emotions without thought. Without control of myself, I would have been killed long ago. I nodded, rubbing my nose against his t-shirt.

"Just breathe and let it go. Then we'll talk about it and figure out what has to be done so none of your fears come true."

That sounded good. I wasn't alone anymore. I didn't have to make all the decisions or come up with all the answers on my own. The roaring freight train of panic about to run me over was pushed back several miles down the track by relief from that burden.

I squeezed Cade's body tight to my own and breathed in his soothing scent. A minute or so later, curiosity returned. I pulled my nose back from his shirt and looked up at him. "Why weren't you panicking? I just told you someone was going to kill you."

"I was, but more about the zombie baby factory thing." His arms tightened around my waist. "You need to explain that. But I'm accustomed to the rush and intensity of emotions from being in battles."

Another spike of fear for him stuck me, but I breathed through it. "Battles?"

"Traveler Pack is a mercenary pack." He smiled down at me. "Whatever trouble you're in, Jess, you just got yourself an army."

~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N

Sorry it's so short, but that seemed like the perfect place to stop. I haven't had much time to write over the holidays. Been doing important things like watching movies with my dad :) Hope you're having a great holiday too.

Yes, I'm a tease. No steam yet :) 

Thanks to everyone who answered my question about level of detail in intimate scenes. I clearly won't be able to please everyone as it was all over the board. :) The majority were between PG and R, so that's what I'll aim for, probably just mild enough to not have to mark this mature. It is coming eventually. I've written scenes at every level but fade to black, which is not my style.

If you do like my style and read things otherthan werewolf, I've got three completed novels here on Wattpad. Two are young/newadult – PG to R – Busting Up and New Neighbor. One is post-apocalyptic sci-fi –R to X – Post Plague Kidnapping. All full of the unexpected.

Thanks for voting and commenting!

Happy New Year!