Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Merrik

"Not until I settle my mate somewhere warmer. She doesn't need to be out in this cold."

"Mine either! I suggest the two of you clean this up and Merrik and I will secure the house, and we'll all meet in the kitchen when we're done. Wrap it up quickly so we can all be ready for the moon."

"Yeah, yeah! Whatever you say…Kenny!"

My brother snarls at Dare as his brother Baden snickers and mouths the word ‘Kenny'.

"Unless the two of you want to be around when that moon comes up…I suggest hurrying." I mimick my brother's words so they know it's an official request.

I watch as Piper rushes up the stairs. She mentioned something about trying to find clothes to put on, so she wasn't just in her nightgown. I am all for that, but I also want to have a moment with my mate. I follow her up. When I walk into the room she's standing in the middle of it looking confused.

"Your things are in the closet on the top shelf. I didn't want to overstep by putting them away for you."

She jumps and turns to me, her face morphing into one of surprise. "You…brought my stuff here."

I nod but don't say anything. I wait.

"That's…what happened to Doyle, wasn't it? Those guys helped move the body. Cleaned up the scene."

"It's better that way."

"Why?"

"There are people that would hunt us, try to kill us. Or worse. They would try to use us so they can find a way to be just like us."

She frowns and tilts her head like she might be trying to understand but just can't figure it out, so I move around her to sit on the bed.

"You saw that man out there." She nods. "He was human, Piper."

"H…how did he…? He didn't seem…"

"There's a myth that if you kill thirteen innocent, pure souls and drink the blood of one of my kind you can become like us."

"Thirteen? I thought you said there were only seven?"

"We caught him over two more dead bodies." I finally can't stop myself any longer and reach for her. She lets me take her hand and I use it to pull her closer to me so that she is standing between my legs.

"That only makes nine, Merrik."

"He must have started way before he found our little town because as soon as we found him, he started changing."

"Changing?" Her hands land on my shoulders as I run mine up under the edge of her gown and the back of her legs.

"I thought it was just a myth but…there are a lot of things we don't understand about our own damned…species. When we started seeing him turn into that bastardized version of one of us we pretty much knew…the myth was real. He had a list with him that laid out exactly how to do it. Humans can turn into…wolves if they go through the ritual which includes killing a wolf and skinning it, murdering thirteen innocents, and drinking the urine of a wolf…not one of us but a full, normal wolf."

"Oh my God! Is this…I think I've heard of this. Wasn't it like a German man who said he used the pelt of a wolf or wolf pee or something?"

"I think it was found in Germany and France."

"And he…actually did it. He turned himself into…that thing out there."

I nod. And then ask the question I've been putting off until now.

"You tried to help me." She nods. "Does this mean…you might be alright with being my mate?"

She brings her fingers up to trace across my cheek. "I realized while that thing was at the front door that I felt…safe with you. Even when you were trying to chase me down, I never for a second though you would hurt me. Or let me get hurt. I…I've always…I thought…you wouldn't want to be with someone like me."

"A human?"

"A loser who doesn't have any roots, barely has enough sense to keep herself afloat, and carries everything she owns in a couple of bags."

My mouth tilts up. "You are not a loser. You are a smart, sexy woman who happens to be my mate and the woman I love and want to spend every waking moment with until eternity. And then beyond."

The look on her face is one I will hold in my mind forever. It's a mix of shock, surprise, and underneath all of that…hope.

"You…you love me."

I make sure to stare deep into her eyes so she can read every emotion, every feeling, before nodding, "I do. I love you."

"But…you don't even know me. How do you know I won't make your life miserable? Or that…fate fucked up. You only think you love me because this stupid mating thing makes you think I'm something I'm not. What's going to happen when you find out what kind of mate you've been saddled with?"

I reach around her legs and pull her so that she loses her balance, and I can more easily put her where I want her which happens to be right in my lap. "Sweetheart, I knew before we met that you belonged to me. I smelled you on Annie right away and wanted to find out who she was around. And afterward, everything you did screamed how right you were for me from the way you were with the little kids and how fiercely you stood up for Ralf. But, baby, I especially knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you were made for me when you put yourself in front of those kids that night Doyle came after you."

"They were so small, of course I had to protect them. That's my…"

"Job." I finish for her. "You are everything, and I do mean everything, I could ever dream of for my alpha female."

"Alpha female?"

"Only an alpha female can be with an alpha male, sweetheart."

"I…I'm not alpha…"

"You kept those other girls safe, kept them calm, and attacked something that was five times bigger than you. You are a warrior, baby. And my perfect match."

Our mouths meet and our tongues clash with one another as we explore each other's mouths. It takes all my self-control to pull back. "Fuck! There is so much I need to tell you but I have to get all these people out of here and actually mate with you before the fucking moon comes up."

"Why before the moon rises?"

"I…," Shit! "I don't want to hurt you. I…need to tell you something and I want you to, um, well, it's actually kind of hard to…shit, that's the wrong way to word that."

She laughs at my slip of the tongue before telling me, "Just tell me, Merrik."

"When we mate, my kind…well, we kind of, merge together."

"Merge together? Me and you?"

"No. I mean, yes. Of course, we'll merge together. That's how everybody mates. I mean, we -the Dire people- have a moment where our human self becomes merged with our wolf self and things get…interesting."

Not really the best way but what else can I do with time running out?