Chapter 9 - Zander

Jeez, what the hell is the matter with me? Zander thought, stroking the sole of Layla's foot with the pad of his thumb. It was just a foot, Layla Keely's foot, and he had never been a just fan of feet before, but somehow his cock was rock-hard beneath the shorts he had found in one of the cabin trunks.

Her skin was warm and inviting against his own, and it made him feel more confused than ever about the woman sitting before him. She had gotten them into a heap of trouble. She was the most infuriating she-wolf on the planet. They had argued more times than he cared to count. And yet, the feeling he had felt as he stepped up onto the porch several hours earlier with her unconscious in his arms still lingered in him. And somehow, he couldn't stop from massaging.

The urge to sweep his hands further up her leg, to pleasure her until she begged for him to enter her, was almost impossible to resist. He knew he could. It was not a case of fearing that he couldn't. What he feared was that if he allowed it to happen, even once, he would never be free of the knowledge again, the knowledge that she was in fact his fated mate and the world he had always promised himself he would never have would be entirely open to him.

He had always assured himself he would never have a mate. Of course, he enjoyed the company of she-wolves. He had lain with women all over the world on his black ops missions, and yet this one was different.

Looking upon her as she half-sat, half-lay against the wall of the cabin, her head tilted back and eyes closed as if she were enjoying his attentions, Zander was in very real danger of doing something stupid.

"Fuck," she breathed out, and Zander's hands paused immediately.

"Shit, sorry, did I hurt you?"

The fear was real. The mere notion that he might have actually hurt her made him feel a guilt like none he had ever felt before. He struggled to hold back a growl of frustration.

This wasn't him. He wasn't the kind of man to drop everything, to change who he was, all for one woman. He loved his life the way it was, carefree and on his own terms, not pandering to some she-wolf who would have him playing house and popping out two point five pups.

It wasn't him. He had never seen that for himself. And yet, as he sat there, staring at her with concern, he saw an entirely new life unfolding before him. One that terrified him.

"No, no!" Layla exclaimed, her eyes flying open, her head lifting to meet his gaze. The way her cheeks flushed red suggested that her exclamation had been something entirely the opposite of pain, and Zander was forced to bite the inside of his lip.

How had he not heard the pleasure-filled inflection in her tone before? Was his concern for her so deep that he was losing sight of everything else?

Somehow, not being aggressive and angry toward her was even more infuriating than what had come before. And yet, he couldn't take his hands off her. They were still practically glued to her damn foot. It was just a foot, for goodness" sake, and yet the softness of her skin in his calloused hands was all too comfortable.

"You didn't hurt me," she shook her head, meeting his gaze in a way that made his insides flutter. They actually fluttered. He no longer felt like a man, not even a wolf. He felt all warm and gooey inside, and the sensation was one he had never felt before. It both sickened him and left him feeling overjoyed in a way that was confusing, to say the least.

For a second, he allowed himself to imagine what it might be like to simply give in to those feelings, to run his hands up her leg, squeeze her calf and the back of her thigh and pull her down the bed so that he could come down on top of her.

Having seen her naked after they had shifted, it took little imagination to think of what lay just beneath the blanket that still draped loosely over her. All that creamy soft flesh was just screaming at him to be kissed, touched and caressed.

His palms itched to do just that, and his lips tingled with the need to kiss her. The hardening of his cock was growing exceptionally painful.

It was all too easy to imagine all of the naughty things he could do to her here in a cabin, alone in the woods. The doors were locked, the windows shuttered, and they were far from anywhere else. Nobody would hear them. There was nobody to hear the way that he would make her scream his name. He would make her scream louder than she ever had before.

And yet, he still couldn't bring himself to do it.

Struggling against the overwhelming desire that filled him fit to bursting, he slipped out from beneath Layla's leg and adjusted himself on the bed, praying she would not see how she affected him in the downstairs department.

Though a werewolf and in no danger of freezing, he suddenly felt entirely underdressed in only shorts. She would know exactly what was wrong if he tried to use that as an excuse.

Instead, he tried his hardest to change the subject quickly, to get his own mind off of what was going on down below. Even the wolf inside of him was clawing to be released, to get to the woman in front of him and do terrible, terrible things to her.

"How did you say you knew about this place?" he asked, looking about the small cabin. One room with a bed, kitchenette and dining table and a second room for the bathroom. It wasn't much, but it looked as if it had once been cozy. With a little tender love and care, it might be so again.

Fuck! he growled silently. He was not in any mood for making a home, he told himself over and over again, and yet Layla was right there with him, making him think of things he had never even considered before.

"It belonged to my grandma before she passed," Layla explained.

Zander cocked his head. "I thought you said it was a messenger outpost."

Layla's face grew pale. "I've used it as one, but nobody really knows about this place. She left it to me, and well…I don't know why I lied. I wasn't thinking straight. I was in pain. I…I've never brought anyone here before."

Zander saw the discomfort on her face. He didn't like the fact she had lied, nor did he understand why, but somehow it didn't really matter. All that truly mattered was that they were safe.

And so he changed the subject again. "Tell me what happened."

"To my grandma?" Layla asked, looking confused and perhaps even a little suspicious.

Zander bit the inside of his lip. "Another time, perhaps," he said, feeling as if he meant it. Oddly, he felt as if he'd like to get to know everything about her, past, present and future. But now wasn't the time. "Tell me how we ended up here. Why were those wolves chasing you?"

He heard Layla gulp, saw the way her throat constricted. He gritted his teeth, certain he wasn't about to like her answer.

She shrugged. "Nothing really out of the ordinary. They targeted me because they'd figured out who I was, I guess."

"Were they Pine Valley wolves?" Zander asked. The urge to run right to the neighboring town and give the entire pack a good hiding for allowing her to be hurt by any of their number made him grip the edge of the cot to stop himself.

"Oh hell, no!" Layla exclaimed, looking horrified that he would ever think such a thing. "The Pine Valley pack is one of the most peaceful I've ever delivered messages to."

"Then who were they, Layla? Because I'm pretty sure they wanted to kill you, and me too for helping you."

Layla pulled back visibly then, looking at him as if he had bitten her.

"I didn't ask for you to get involved!" she yelled at him. "You could have passed right on by, and I'd have figured it out for myself."

"It looked like it," Zander scoffed. He shivered as he imagined what might have happened to her if he hadn't come along. If they hadn't argued at the bonfire the night before, he might never have felt the need to go for a run so far from home. She might have been torn to shreds without any member of the pack ever knowing what had happened to her.

If that wasn't fate, he didn't know what was, and he felt even more terrified than before.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Layla growled at him. He saw the way her gaze darkened, glimpsing the woman who was always quick to draw his temper.

"It means if I hadn't come along, you would probably be dead right now," Zander said, meeting her gaze challengingly.

Hell, she was even hotter when she got angry. The way her nostrils started to flare was actually a little cute.

"You have no idea what you're talking about!" she snapped back at him, crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive and grumpy manner. It only made him want her more.

He would teach her a lesson or two, he was certain of it. Though he feared she might have a couple to teach him, too.

"Tell me then," Zander said, leaning closer. He didn't so much as blink, meeting her angry gaze unflinchingly. "What did they want from you? Why were they trying to kill you, if they weren't Pine Valley wolves?"

Layla scoffed at that. "For an army guy, you don't know much, do you?"

Zander gritted his teeth and bared them at her. "Don't test me, Layla."

Something flashed in her eyes then, and he was almost certain that was exactly what she was going to do. She continued to meet his gaze for a moment longer and Zander prepared himself for whatever came next.

Then, she lowered her eyes from his and said, "It's nothing I haven't faced before. Messengers carry secrets. It's only natural that enemies would try to get them."

That's when her head whipped up again, her eyes growing wide as saucers.

"What? What's the matter?"

"My bag!"

Zander tilted his head. "You she-wolves, always more bothered about designer this and designer that than the fact you almost died."

Layla lashed out at him quickly, shoving him hard. "It wasn't designer, and it isn't the bag I'm worried about. It's what was inside!"

Layla glanced around the cabin as if she half expected to find her bag lying around somewhere.

"Where is it? Did you pick it up?" she demanded, her legs swinging down from the bed as if she were about to jump up to search for it herself.

"I was a little preoccupied with saving your ass," Zander pointed out, and before she could get up, he grabbed her arm and yanked her backwards. "Don't even bother trying to get up, or I'll tie you to this bed until your leg is healed."

"If my bag is out there, then so is whatever message Pine Valley had for Jack," Layla protested, pulling her arm free of his grip.

"If it was that important it not fall into the wrong hands, they wouldn't have sent it with you alone," Zander snarled, and when he saw the look on her face, he added, "No offense."

"Offense taken." She glowered at him, her arms crossed again. "Those guys clearly thought it was enough to try and kill me over it."

"Some wolves are just bloodthirsty," Zander said, wondering what else it could possibly be. He had seen enough mindless violence in his time to know that sometimes there wasn't a reason. "How did they get so close to Nightstar, anyway? If the Pine Valley wolves are such angels, why didn't you turn back for help?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you," she snapped. Zander laughed, and it only seemed to anger her more.

"Actually, you do," Zander said, and then he pointed at himself square in the chest and said, "Me, beta, you, messenger."

Layla scowled at him deeply before growling, "I thought you were a werewolf, not a caveman."

And here they were, returning to old habits, taking chunks out of each other with their tongues.

But for the first time ever, Zander looked at her rosebud lips, wishing he could kiss her just to shut her up.

"And I never realized you were a damn viper, woman," Zander growled back at her. "Just tell me what the fuck happened, and we can worry about whatever message is lost out there later."

At first, Zander didn't think she was going to answer. She dropped her gaze again and he fought the urge to grab hold of her chin and force her eyes back to his.

Just when he was about to order her as beta to obey him, she finally let out a huffing breath and said, "They first confronted me in PV, and at first I thought they were wolves of the pack, but they tried it and I got away. The PV wolves were acting nervous. I tried to ask their alpha, but he didn't say a word. He told me I could stay the night or hurry home. I chose to hurry home, only those idiots found me again. I got away again, but they chased me all the way into the woods where you found us. The end."

She shrugged as if it was no big deal, but Zander's blood was boiling.

The thought that these guys had tried to lay hands on her not once, but three times, made him feel sick to his stomach.

"I should have torn them both to pieces when I had the chance," he snarled, jumping to his feet with his hands tightened into fists. "When we get home, I'm taking you off messenger duty."

"Excuse me?" Layla gaped at him. "Like hell you are!"

"I am," Zander said, turning on her. "And don't even try to go above me to Jack, because he'll agree with me as soon as he hears of this."

"You can't do that! I'm a grown woman!" Layla snapped at him. She rose as if to stand before him, but the second she put down the foot of her injured leg, she yelped and started to fall sideways.

Zander lunged forward instinctively and grabbed her before she could fall, easing her back down into the bed.

"Get your hands off me! Don't touch me!" she yelled at him at the top of her lungs, flailing at him.

"Shh!" Zander growled through gritted teeth. There was no telling who might still be out there. Any raised voices might bring their enemy to the doorstep. So far, they had been lucky. At least, she had been. He wasn't sure being locked alone in a cabin with her was any good for his health.

"We'll talk about this once you're healed up and we're safe," he told her, forcing her down onto the pillows. She barely fought him this time, though she continued to glare at him, her lips pursed.

"You won't keep me from doing my job, Zander," she protested as he let her go. "I'm the fastest messenger Nightstar has, and I've been doing it as long as I can remember."

"We'll see about that," he said, and he could see from the look on her face she wasn't about to give it up and rest.

Before she could protest again, he grabbed a spare pillow and blanket from the trunk at the end of the bed and laid it out on the floor.

"Go to sleep, Layla, before I put you to sleep myself," he threatened. How he would do so, he wasn't sure, but what he did know was that he had multiple ways, some fun and some not so fun. He almost welcomed the challenge.

"Has anyone ever told you you're an asshole?" Layla asked, glaring at him with green fury blazing in her eyes.

"Once or twice," Zander said as he dropped down onto the floor. He had slept on worse surfaces than that.

Layla huffed and rolled over to face the wall, huffing again as she crossed her arms.

Determined not to be outdone, Zander rolled the opposite way and huffed loudly himself. Yet the joke was on him; angry and frustrated, he lay awake for hours, just wishing he had jumped on her when he had the chance.

Never in his life had he felt quite so sexually frustrated. He was almost certain if he looked down his shorts, his balls would actually be blue. Layla was the worst torture he had ever endured.