Fated Legacy Complete Collection

Chapter 5

Chapter

Five

“ S imon,” his mother gasped from where she stood in front of the massive front doors.

He imagined this was not the sort of civilized behavior she expected from her son. She had no idea of the massive control he was currently exerting over the more primal parts of his nature. He was politely introducing himself to the woman he knew to be his fated mate. His actions were in stark contrast to what he wanted to do, which was to fist her hair, drag her head back to expose her throat, and sink his teeth into her neck, leaving his alpha mark behind.

He’d seen pictures of her in magazine articles, but they did her no credit. Mariah Halsey was, by any standards, stunning. Her deep brunette hair was pulled back in a messy style that invited a wolf to tangle his fingers in it and bring it tumbling down. The dress she had on was outrageous but made the most of her dangerous curves and long legs. Simon wanted between those legs with a passion that he had rarely felt in his privileged life.

Calling low to her, he watched her repress a shiver and knew that it had taken a supreme act of will. That was fine; he liked the thrill of the hunt. Especially if she was the prize. His meeting with Oliver Halsey tomorrow was now taking on a decidedly different tone than Jemson had been planning on. Of course, they would talk business, but Simon meant to get Halsey alone and let him know he planned to take his daughter to mate.

God, she was glorious—wild, sexy, intelligent, outrageous. His parents would hate her, but having finally laid eyes on her, Simon knew he would settle for no other. Perhaps it was time to entertain the pack’s entreaties to assume the mantle of alpha. His father had never been suited for it and would not have ruled if it weren’t for his mother’s ruthless determination to be Mistress of the London pack. Simon had often worried about his mother’s iron will and whether or not she would relinquish her position when the time came. Glancing between them—Mariah and his mother—he had no doubt that his gorgeous fated mate was more than a match for his mother.

“Excuse me,” drawled Cameron, stepping between them. “I don’t believe we’ve met. Mariah may not be my daughter, but I have known her all her life.”

Simon smiled at Cameron as he took Mariah’s hand, closing his own around it so she couldn’t escape. “I know who you are, Nichols. The two beautiful redheads at your side are your fated mate and your daughter. I have a meeting scheduled with Oliver tomorrow, ostensibly to discuss what Lloyd’s can do for him, but I assure you the first order of business will be to tell him his daughter is my fated mate.”

“Bloody hell,” snarled Riley.

“Fuck that,” growled Mariah, pulling back and trying to free herself. “Let go of me.”

Simon realized he might very well have a fight on his hands he couldn’t win. Mariah’s father wasn’t present and the four alpha wolves standing in front of him—Cameron Nichols, Micah Grainger, Travis Nichols, and Jed Steele—might feel honor bound to defend her. He suddenly understood the need an alpha wolf had for a gifted omega. He could use someone’s help to ease the tension that was rampant in this situation. Even his own blood was running hot.

“Micah,” he started, tightening his hold on Mariah, who was now digging her fingernails into his hand. “You once asked me to back away from Abriana as she was your fated mate. I knew you far less well than you know me now. I would ask that you show me the same courtesy. Jed, you and I have spent quite a bit of time together over the past few days talking about what Kat went through and why you’re here. I would think, given your relationship history with Kat, that you would know I speak the truth. And Travis, you were gifted with knowing Skylar was your mate for a very long time. You are lucky that your parents are fated mates and you had their example to guide you.”

“None of that applies to me,” growled Cameron. “Take your hands off Mariah.”

Simon called again to Mariah—deep and low—and smiled seductively as her entire body responded, causing her to close her eyes and shudder. He could smell the fresh scent of her increasing arousal and suspected the other alpha wolves could as well. She was truly the most magnificent creature he’d ever encountered.

He looked Cameron directly in the eye. “You all but abducted your fated mate from her home in Galveston within moments of meeting her. And once you had taken her back to Wolf Meadow, you secured her brother’s blessing for your match. As I said, I will be speaking with Oliver at the earliest opportunity.”

He could see Riley Nichols bristle, but Cameron grinned. “You have a point.”

Travis chuckled. “He does. But, Simon, you kind of took everyone by surprise.”

“Including myself,” said Simon, feeling the tension amongst the other male alpha wolves beginning to dissipate. The she- wolves might still be spoiling for a fight, but Simon was sure their mates could handle them.

“Simon are you sure?” asked his mother, looking at Mariah with dismay.

Mariah wasn’t at all what she had envisioned for her son, of that he was quite sure. For one thing, his mother wanted him to find a weak-willed she-wolf who she could dominate, with the intention to remain as mistress to the pack. For another, his mother favored blondes with pedigreed bloodlines and less voluptuous figures.

Oliver Halsey, Mariah’s father, had come from money, but nothing like what her father had amassed through his own business acumen. The man was said to be one of the wealthiest wolves in the world. Mariah’s mother had been one of the she-wolves who had taken on DeMoncada and won. She was the proverbial Jersey girl, who’d once worked as a welder.

His mother might not see the strength or desirability of her bloodline, but Simon did. Besides she was his fated mate and he would claim her as his. There was no other for him, regardless of whether his mother approved or not.

“Quite sure, as the other alphas who saw my mate respond to my call can attest. Why don’t we all go inside? The staff has better things to do than stand around watching us, and I would hate to see dinner ruined.”

“I’ve lost my appetite. I’d rather go back to the hotel,” said Mariah, still trying to pull away from Simon’s grip.

“I’m sure you would, love,” replied Simon, smoothly, “but let’s table the discussion about where you’re going to spend tonight until after dinner. Mother, show our guests inside. I’d do it, but I fear if I loosen my grip on my beautiful mate she will try and steal away from me.”

“You got that right, you English prick. Let go of me.”

Simon pulled her close. “That is enough, Mariah. You will behave yourself or you will find yourself receiving my discipline before anything else.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” she snarled, not appearing to care that she was making a scene.

“Such ugly words coming from such a pretty mouth. We’ll need to work on that. And I believe I answered your question, pet. I am Simon Howard, your fated mate.”

W ho did he think he was? Why was he being allowed to hold her against her will? Why the fuck weren’t her friends doing something to help her? Weren’t alpha wolves supposed to protect members of their pack? Okay, so maybe that defense didn’t hold up, since none of them were her pack. But still.

Digging her nails deep into the back of his hand once more, she tried to jerk away, but he did nothing. He barely seemed to notice. His mother, who reminded Mariah a great deal of the description of Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter books, led the group into a massive foyer. The ceiling had to be at least twenty feet tall, and an enormous chandelier hung down in the center of the cavernous space. The ornate fixture sparkled in the waning sunlight that came through the window opposite it, casting glimmers of contrasting shadows and illumination. She wondered briefly how they cleaned the damn thing.

“I thought we were having dinner at a townhouse,” said Mariah.

“We are, love. This is the pack’s house in London. What many Americans refer to as a townhouse, we Brits call a multi-level flat. The townhouse was the nobility’s...”

“Blah, blah, blah. I wasn’t looking for a history lesson,” seethed Mariah, still doggedly trying to reclaim her hand.

“I thought you might as well begin learning about your pack’s history and traditions.”

“Hot news flash for you. Beans for breakfast? Who does that? Pork-n-beans are served at a barbecue with hot dogs and burgers. You don’t eat those nasty things for breakfast.”

“Mother? Please note, Mariah does not like beans with her breakfast.”

“Your mother doesn’t need to know what I like for breakfast, which by the way, is leftover cold pizza. Now let go!” she ordered, using her free hand to hit the one of his that still had a grip on her. To no avail.

Mariah tried digging her heels in to keep from being pulled forward, but the slick leather soles of her new boots gave her no traction on the inlaid marble floors. Why was everyone ignoring her as this blond British god dragged her along like some Viking who’d just plundered a village? She was not the kind of girl men normally got away with pillaging—her mother had made sure of that.

As she looked at her life-long girlfriends, she realized they weren’t ignoring what was happening, they were being prevented from doing anything by the male wolves in their lives who had the same kind of death grip on their arms as Simon had on hers. How had wolves she had known most of her life suddenly become his staunch supporters? Yes, wolfen society had some really screwed up ways of thinking.

“I told you bitches I should have worn my steel-toed boots,” she snarled, reaching the end of something that didn’t even vaguely resemble patience.

Finally, in utter frustration and exasperation, she brought her hand, with his wrapped around it, up to her mouth. What a fucking idiot! Did he think she was planning to kiss it? Mariah sank her teeth into the skin where her fingernails had done no good. She wasn’t sure if it hurt that much more or if she’d just caught him unaware, but it did accomplish her goal—she was free.

Mariah whirled around and headed for the still-open front door. Were these people brought up in a barn, or did the London pack’s elite wait for someone to do everything for them? They couldn’t even close their own damn doors.

Simon growled as his mother wailed. There was a lot of scrambling behind her, but Mariah didn’t look back to see what was happening. She could feel Simon’s anger and hear him pursuing her; his footsteps pounded on the marble floor behind her. When he shifted from man to wolf, she could hear the difference in his footfalls. Veering to the left, she reached for a huge and ornate tapestry hanging from the wall and snatched it down so that it fell on the alpha wolf in hot pursuit.

Mariah hated to lose the dress she’d paid a small fortune for and had only worn for a very short time, but she had no other choice; so, she shifted too. She bounded through the front door, which was now closing, knocking aside the unsuspecting person standing between her and freedom. She leapt down the front stairs and landed next to the limo. Taking the car wasn’t feasible—she would be naked with no cash or credit cards, not even her passport. And even if she could manage to steal a car, Simon would have plenty of time to close the front gates and trap her inside the grounds.

The loud growl from behind her and the force of the alpha wave behind it sent her tumbling. Unfortunately for the square-jawed, brawny, incredibly sexy beast behind her, one of the things her mother had drilled into the female members of their pack from the time they were small was how to use inertia to their advantage. Instead of fighting it, she rolled with the wave and allowed it to increase the distance between them before getting to her feet again and galloping away.

What her mother had told her about her own experiences now came into sharp focus. Did it really matter that in the end her parents had a wonderful relationship and loved each other without reserve? With a hungry alpha wolf running her down, all she could think about was how her mother must have felt—turned without her consent and then hunted, forced to flee from the home she had come to love. Mariah used that thought to clear her head of the confusion that swirled every time Simon called to her. She would not be forced into a pairing not of her choosing.

The London pack’s townhome in the city was enormous, making her own pack’s estate seem modest by comparison. And was she remembering correctly that they had a castle as well, just outside of London? Who did this pack have to kill to accumulate this kind of wealth? Given the violent history of Great Britain, killing to expand territory probably wasn’t that far off the mark. A few seconds later she spied what she assumed was an enormous hedge maze, which might at least offer her a place to try and lose him. She swiveled her head to survey other possible escape routes and was surprised to find no one but the alpha wolf who sought to claim her was in pursuit. She had to get away.

Not knowing either the solution to the maze or the surrounding area put her at a great disadvantage, and she knew it. She knew that although it was a large, sophisticated world capitol, London also had a lot of green space. If she could manage to get off the Howard estate, she might be able to make it back to the hotel or the museum where the gala was to be held. But what then? She couldn’t very well waltz into either of them as a wolf or a naked woman.

There was no place within the city she could exist for any period of time as a wolf. If she recalled her English history correctly, wolf purebloods had become extinct in the British Isles during the seventeenth century, although wolf-shifters had continued to flourish. She also knew that there had been some effort to try and reintroduce purebloods back into the ecosystem, but so far no real attempts had been made with the support of the government. That meant that running around as a wolf would call undue attention to her, and she didn’t need that.

The relentless sound of footsteps behind her was getting louder. While she mused about too many things at once, his lordship was gaining ground. She knew the simplest method for finding your way out of a maze was to keep one hand touching the same wall all the way through. Choosing to go left or right didn’t matter; consistency did. If you kept walking while keeping the same hand on the same wall at all times, you would eventually find your way out.

The problem was then two-fold. She didn’t have hands in her wolf form, and she had a nasty suspicion that the alpha who was intent on claiming her wouldn’t give her enough time to take the long way out. Surely having grown up here, he knew the various ways to navigate the maze.