Chapter 33: Jamie

33

JAMIE

T ipping my chin up and with nothing left but defiance, I stare right back at him.

“Looking for evidence,” I say boldly, dredging up some last remnants of confidence that I don’t feel.

“Evidence?” he asks, looking confused, those grey eyes stormy, as he takes two more steps forward, eating up the distance between us. There’s a dangerous edge to his tone that doesn't sound like the Dean I've come to know.

“I’ve caught you snooping before, Jamie, and you weren’t as sloppy as this.”

Papers and books litter the floor, and drawers hang open. I’d be a terrible spy.

“Yes, well no, this isn't my finest work but nonetheless, I had to do something.”

His power fills the room and suffocates my own confidence. It’s a struggle to get a proper breath, and I inch backward, needing to escape the overwhelming effect his presence has on me.

“Do something?” Dean says in disbelief. “About what? To stop me having a moment's peace? Or running this competition effectively? Or proving to my Alpha that I'm able to control my pack?”

One step, then another, he stalks forward, and I retreat, my mind registering how strong and impressive he is, and also how he could snap me like a toothpick if he wanted. Is it wrong to feel scared and turned on at the same time?

“Because all you've done, Jamie, since you got here, is test me,” he continues in a growl, his eyes dropping to my mouth when I bite my lip. “You’re plaguing my dreams. My every waking moment is consumed by you. You’ve been interrogating my pack, even my sister about me, and this is the second time I’ve found you somewhere you shouldn’t be.”

I can’t argue with that. And while I should be concerned about how angry he is, my wolf latches onto the part about him dreaming of me. Despite the fact he’s growling at me, she thinks this is progress.

“You're not fooling me. You're not this new, improved version of the Reynolds men that you claim to be.” I curse myself when my voice waivers, coming out breathless instead of strong and angry. Focusing on the hard line of his jaw and the way he grinds his teeth, I pretend I don’t find him ridiculously sexy when he’s angry, and that the way he moves like a true predator toward me isn’t turning my insides to jelly.

“Who do you think I am then, little rogue?” He’s practically on top of me now, coming around the desk to box me in, and damn it, I want him to be even closer.

“It's all an act,” I whisper, struggling to stay angry as his scent invades my senses. “You don't deserve to have a pack. Maybe if Blake knew you were keeping a family apart, there’d be two packs up for grabs.”

Dean's wolf flashes in his eyes, and a terrifying rumble starts deep in his chest. Fucking with an alpha's pack is a sure way to get yourself killed. His wolf isn’t going to take disrespect like that lying down. I may as well have challenged him.

“Everything I have done has been to improve the lives of my pack members.”

That old chestnut. From where I’m standing, it looks more like he’s got something to hide.

“Don’t give me that bullshit. That’s just an excuse.”

Dean’s expression is pained, his gaze falling to my lips as he cups my cheek.

“It’s not bullshit, Jamie. Do you think I wanted to kill my father? Do you think I wanted this responsibility? Do you think I enjoy apologising for what my father did, over and over, knowing everyone still hates us?” When he opens his eyes again, they blaze with white-hot fury. He leans his forehead against mine, and whispers. “Do you think I want to hurt you, when you’re the most beautiful, spellbinding woman I’ve ever met? No, but sometimes it’s what a good alpha has to do”

He says all the right things, but actions speak louder than words.

“A real alpha does the right thing. He takes what he wants. Does as he pleases.”

It was meant as a taunt, but it comes out like a dare. Dean’s fingers trace the column of my neck, across where my mating mark would go. Pleasure courses through me and I moan. Dean’s eyes blaze as he dips his head to whisper close to my ear.

“You’re asking for trouble, Jamie.”

Hands flat against the wall behind me, I stare into his eyes as his big body looms over me. I gasp, a timid squeak falling from my lips, as Dean's hand goes from stroking my neck to wrapping itself around my throat, pinning me in place.

He doesn't squeeze, just adds a little bit of pressure to remind me exactly how strong he is as he dips his head down and presses his nose to the crook of my neck. He could snap my neck in an instant if he wanted.

Feeling bratty, I’m all worked up, adrenaline pumping through my veins. I decide to push him.

My anger at Dean, and my lust for him, manifests itself in a sharp nip to his neck. Not hard, not enough to break the skin, but enough to get his attention. He jerks back and stares at me, stunned, for just a split second not sure what to do. But when I lick my lips and curl my fingers into the front of his t-shirt, there’s no more indecision.

It’s like I’ve flicked a switch and irritatingly calm Dean is gone. I’ve triggered something within him. He looks wild and hungry, and I love it. My wolf calls to his, urging him on as he growls, loud and possessive.

His big hands grip me under the thighs and lift me. He spins us, dropping my ass onto his now bare desk and runs them down to my knees, shoving them apart. Stepping between my spread legs, he grabs my hair roughly in his hand and tugs, forcing me to lift my face to his so he can take my mouth.

This kiss is not gentle. It’s demanding and dominant. He’s showing me what an alpha taking what he wants looks like.

“Dean,” I whimper as he moves his lips to my ear and down my neck, sending jolts of ecstasy straight to my core. I arch into him, pressing my breasts against his hard chest and grinding my pelvis against his.

“This is what you do to me,” he growls, sliding his hand under my top and taking the weight of my breast, his thumb grazing my stiff nipple. He pinches it hard, the pleasure and pain travelling straight to my sex. “Is this what you wanted? For me to take you, like I’ve wanted to since the moment I saw you. Like a fucking animal.”

He presses forward, forcing me to put my hands behind me to keep my balance. Shoving his hand down the front of my leggings, he cups me and wastes no time sliding one finger between my folds.

“So wet, little rogue. So needy.”

I can’t deny it. My pussy clenches, wanting desperately to be filled. Rocking my hips forward, I give him better access but as he slips two fingers inside me, he growls at how the thin material restricts his movements. I bury my fingers in his hair, scratching my nails across his scalp, biting his earlobe as I grind against his hand.

In a moment of rage, he rips the black fabric along the seam, then yanks the torn leggings off me completely. Fuck, that’s hot. He throws them across the room, eyes locked on to his prize.

“Better,” he mumbles, shoving my underwear aside and thrusting his fingers deep inside my eager body.

“More, Dean,” I demand. “Stop messing around and fuck me.” It’s good but it’s not enough. I don’t want teasing or edging. I want hard and fast.

Again, the challenge in my tone seems to drive him wild. Without breaking eye contact, he places one hand on my chest and shoves me flat onto my back, while the other opens the front of his trousers and pulls out his very long, very thick and very hard cock. He strokes it firmly as he looms over me, giving me one last chance to tell him no as he lines up with my dripping entrance.

“Do it,” I whisper. Dean groans, but does as he’s told, yanking me toward the edge of the desk and impaling me on his cock as he thrusts forward, hard. Over and over, he pounds into me, hard and commanding, using his hold on me to keep me tight to his body.

“Fuck, Jamie. Fuck!”

It doesn’t take long for all the built-up sexual tension between us to detonate. A few strokes of his thumb over my sensitive clit and I come, chanting his name, the walls of my sex fluttering around him and pushing him over the edge.

“Yes.” Dean comes with a roar, shoving hard into my body and falling down to cover me as he stills, hips pressed tight to mine and shoots stream after stream of cum into me. He nuzzles my neck, and I moan, a fresh wave of arousal washing over me at the feel off his big body wrapped around mine. I feel protected and safe, and utterly sated.

Until a deep rumble vibrates in his chest and his mouth clamps down on my shoulder. His sharp teeth, too long to be his human ones, pinch my shoulder and I gasp.

As the pain snaps me out of my daze, I breathe him in, moaning as his addictive scent spikes my arousal once more. It’s even more alluring, and I crave it, sucking more of him deep into my lungs. My skin tingles all over. It’s bliss.

Mate , my wolf whispers, proud as punch of the situation we’re in. She’s got her man. We’re about to become his forever.

Then it dawns on me. I’m about to be marked by the alpha who’s hiding my mother from me. Who’s lying to me.

“Shit! What do you think you’re doing?” I shout, shoving Dean off me and scrambling away from him across the top of his desk, almost tumbling onto the floor in my haste to put some distance between us.

Dean growls, reluctant to let me go, but then he blinks hard, his senses returning and stares down at me. He shakes his head, coming out of his trance, his eyes returning to the usual smoky grey. When he realises what he almost did, he looks horrified.

“What the hell was that?”

“We’re mates,” I whisper, thinking that much was obvious. My wolf pouts. She’s disgusted I’ve ruined her fun. She was more than happy to seal the deal.

“We’re mates? But how?” Running his two hands through his hair, he looks distraught, like this is the worst thing that’s ever happened to him. It’s hard not to be offended.

“Well, I don’t fucking know. Ask your wolf.”

Fixing my underwear, I climb off the desk and stare at my tattered leggings. It kind of makes sense, even if I’m panicking inside. My wolf is mad about him, even if this is the first time she’s thought to mention the mate part.

Dean is shaking his head, equally freaked out. “Fuck. I almost marked you. I didn’t want a mate. My wolf never told me you were mine and this pack is the only thing I have. It comes first, always.”

His words are like a knife to the gut.

“The only thing you have?” My voice gets louder as I grow more hysterical, the rollercoaster of emotions from the last twenty-four hours sending me spiralling. “You have everything. You have money, a roof over your head, a family.”

Poking myself in the chest, I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m the one left with nothing. And still, you pretend you don’t know where she is.”

“Did it ever occur to you that maybe I can’t tell you? That it’s not my call? I thought we had something, that you’d trust me. Did you not feel the same thing I did?”

My gaze falls to his lips, the lips that even now, I want to kiss, no matter how fucked up that is. I’m drawn to him, even when I want to hate him. He moves toward me, pleading with me to listen but I place one hand on his chest. He stops, and I try to push him back, but he doesn’t budge. It’s like pushing a concrete wall. He leans into my touch.

“How can I trust you when you never told me about this? About him.”

I stoop down and pick up the picture of a younger version of Wyatt, taken here, in Dean’s pack. The picture of my brother.

Dean doesn’t react. His calm exterior pushes my frustration to the next level. How does he not even have the grace to look guilty for keeping this from me?

“Tell me the truth,” I demand. “Is she locked up somewhere? Does my brother know you did this? About us? He’s going to hate you too when he finds out you kept us all apart.”

I wait for his admission, for him to do something more than just stare at me.

He reaches for me, but I dodge his arms, knowing I’ll melt if he touches me. I cling to my anger. I want to hurt him. To make him feel as out-of-control as I do. I want to see his perfect alpha act crumble, so I know I haven’t ruined something good for no reason.

“Jamie, please. Calm down. We’ll figure this out.”

I go straight for the jugular.

“Calm down? You’re not the one mated to a liar. Your father killed his mate. Why would I sign up for a repeat performance?”

The look that crosses his face is one of complete devastation. Dean shakes his head and moves further away, like he can’t bear to even be near me. “I think you should leave.”

I can’t believe this. He still won’t tell me anything.

"Go," he says quietly. "You can stay until the competition is over, but you keep away from me, and you keep away from my pack.”

Finally lifting his head, he looks me in the eye. “Your mother cared for us like we were her own. I would never do anything to hurt her. I am not my father.”

A sinking feeling washes over me as I take in his closed off body language and obvious hurt. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that…”

“GO,” he roars, his face twisted in pain as he turns and points toward the door. “Get. Out. Before I do something that I’ll regret.”

I scramble to the door and flick the lock open, afraid to look back. Thundering up the stairs, I race through his beautiful home and out into the fresh air.

When I step outside, immediately shifting into my wolf, she whines pitifully and stares back at the cabin. Mate.