Misgivings

Cullen again brushed his thumb over her lower lip. His gaze was molten, not with anger but with desire. "This is not what you think, Ivory." He said, releasing the grip on her hair. His body stayed pressed to hers as his hand cupped her cheek breathing in her scent.

Cullen continued to keep her eyes with his as he spoke to Edgar. "Tell Miss Moller that I am unavailable and that I will call her at my earliest convenience." He watched Ivory as she looked away. He moved his head and eyes to keep her looking at him. "Ivory."

Ivory's eyes narrowed, searching his face for clues. Had she honestly spent the morning with him? Was this some cruel game he was playing? She tried to look to pull away, but he seemed to outmaneuver her. "If you will forgive me, I think I should go." She laid her hand on his chest, confused. "Yes. I should go." She patted him twice.

"No, no, look at me." He said, cupping his hand over hers. "Let me explain, please."

"Cullen! You heard your little friend. She wants to go." An extremely angered female voice said. Kellee walked into the kitchen, her arms folded over her chest. The fire in her eyes was unmistakable. "Ivory, is it?" Her voice was sharp, and her teeth gritted. "I suggest you run along now." Kellee used her fingers to shoo her away. "Your Alpha and I need to have a few words." Her tone was dismissal.

Ivory was trembling under his touch. Although she felt the electricity in his touch, she also felt a strong urge to run, but a stronger urge to stay allowed her feet to remain firm. There was an intense burning in her chest. She looked at Kellee. The woman was tall, had great angular cheeks, dark brown eyes, and a slightly flat nose. Her hair was a cinnamon brown and fell just below her shoulders. All in all, she was a beautiful woman. And she oozed Alpha-Bitch.

The young woman returned her attention to Cullen. "He is," she bit her lower lip to keep from saying her true internal thoughts. He is my mate. "Not my alpha. If you will excuse me,” she forced the words. “It seems your lunch date is here." She shoved Cullen the ham-wrapped peppers and walked around the island. Her eyes met Kellee's again and held her to the point of challenge before quickly leaving.

"Ivory!" Cullen called after her using the alpha command. Ivory didn't seem affected by it. He started to chase her, but the tall she-wolf standing near the door stopped him. The Alpha looked to Edgar, and the unspoken command passed. Edgar nodded and backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Kellee cleared her throat as her hand landed on Cullen's chest. "Cullen, when you agreed to this mating earlier this week, I asked you if this is what you wanted. I asked if you were,” she waved her hand. “Done with waiting and sick of being alone. Your exact words before we agreed to meet were ‘yes’ that you were ready to mate. You assured me there were no she-wolves here pining away for you. Now today you blow off our meeting so you could play with your little girl? Is she even old enough!" Kellee was blunt. There was venom in her words. "My father would be disappointed. Fuck, I'm disappointed."

She smoothed her hand down the center of her chest, before adjusting her sleeves and taking a deep breath. "But all can be forgiven. We are civilized creatures. I don't care who she is, as long as you understand it's my bed that you will be spending your time. I can forget this minor bump."

He crossed his arms over his broad chest. "I called you today to postpone our meeting for one important reason. It wasn't to hurt you or betray you. When I got back here this morning, I discovered something after two hundred years of waiting." He stepped closer, pulling Kellee's hand from his chest. "I discovered my mate." Cullen had an apologetic expression.

Kellee wasn't entirely convinced about his sincerity, and her disbelief showed in her eyes. "It's terribly convenient of you to find a mate." She half growled. "Am I supposed to believe this female, who is part of your pack, suddenly is your true mate? For fuck sake, do you think me that stupid? If all you wanted or needed is a quick fuck, I would have been fine with that." She ran her hand down his chest, palming her fingers over his still rock-hard cock.

He pulled her hand away from the bulge in his jeans and considered his words carefully. "Kellee, I'm not lying to you. This morning is the first time I have ever seen Ivory. She showed up while I was at the meeting. I'm sorry. Truly I am, but I can't take you as my mate, not when the other half of my soul found me." Cullen sounded so sincere.

Kellee straightened her shoulders and nodded. "I cannot say I'm not disappointed, but I will never stand in the way if this is natural mating." She stepped to Cullen and kissed his cheek. "If you don't mind, I think I will stay around for a day or two." Kellee wasn't ready to believe that the wisp of a wolf was the alpha’s mate, and she wanted to investigate more.

"You will always be welcomed here, Kellee." He said, smiling at her understanding. Weres would wait centuries on their mates, but Cullen had given up, and now he had that spark in his eyes. "Get with Aaron, my second in command and head of security. He will find you a place to stay while you are here."

Kellee nodded and watched as Cullen left her standing in the kitchen.

~~~

Ivory felt panic rising in her chest. Her wolf acknowledged it and was prancing and whining. She needed to burn off the anxiety with a run. It started with a fast walk across the compound, back to the cabin she shared with Cedar and Fern. She opened the door to get Fern to run with her but decided something different. She stripped, leaving the jeans and shirt on the porch. Ivory took off into a sprint and fell forward on all four paws taking off out of the compound and towards the south trail.

Aaron and the others had told her to stay away from the southern borders because they came closer to the humans. Three farms crossed that portion but wolves were not common in this area of Georgia, so it was to be avoided. It was by strict rules that they could exist here unseen. Every once in a while, a human thought they spotted a wolf, but the local DNR (Department of Natural Resources) would convince the reporter that it was most likely a coyote that was native. It also was a perk that the local DNR Agents and numerous police were Weres.

Ivory let her mind go blank as her wolf took complete control. She ran fast through the underbrush, crossed over a creek, jumped a fence, ran through a corner field, jumped another fence, crossed a paved road under construction, jumped another fence, and again weaved through more cornrows. She saw the tree line ahead of her and ran faster. Her head was still in a fog with Cullen and his kiss. Fifteen yards from the fence, she was struck from the side and rolled to the ground with a heavy grunt.

She twisted and slid over the growing corn, finally stopping as stars and lights flickered in front of her eyes. She tried to get up but remained pinned by three wolves. Each had one of her limbs. She snapped and growled, but it did nothing. These three were quick and able to keep her under them. A fourth and bulkier grey wolf walked up in front of her. Ivory recognized him as Arthur, one of fathers Betas.

Arthur shifted, squatting before her. His pointed cock bounced against his belly, already unsheathed and hard with need. "You are one hard wolf to track down. I was worried when we heard you were with them." He reached out to touch her head. "I cannot tell you how immensely happy I am that you decided to leave their protection." He looked to the side.

"Samuel, go to the truck and get the collar." The tall man commanded. He turned his attention back to her. "You are going to shift, and we are going to have a nice chat. If you so much as snarl at any of us, I will muzzle you. Do you understand?" He nodded to Roy and Carl to be ready.

Ivory considered refusing, but she could not fight all four of them, she conceded. Ivory closed her eyes and shifted under the two wolves still pinning her. When she was fully human, the other two reverted to their human form. Her eyes darted between them and settled back on Arthur. "I know who you are. What are you going to do with me? Take me back? I won't go back, Arthur."

Ivory took a moment to check the air and see if they were alone. There was a tiny part of her that hoped Cullen might have come to look for her. But she had seen Kellee and knew she didn't compare to the she-wolf. Kellee was older and far more confident than Ivory ever could be. She sighed and closed her eyes, and the wind was blowing from the wrong direction. She couldn't scent anyone following her.

"As I said, that depends on you." He spotted Samuel returning. "Your father issued a decree. Whoever found you and captured you could have you." He held his hand out to Samuel and gripped the custom-made collar. It had six three-inch spikes attached to a three-inch metallic strip with a padlock over the clasp. He leaned into her, scenting her. He could smell the other wolf's scent all over her. He growled, leaning to her center and scented. "At least he didn't spoil you for us."

Samuel, Roy, and Carl all moved to hold her down. Carl gripped her upper left arm and held her hair in a fist. Ivory hadn't planned on fighting them. But when she saw what he intended, she started to shift. That was a mistake. Her head jerked to the side as Roy's fist landed on the side of her jaw, sending her to the dirt below.

Ivory felt the cold metal stinging her neck and hot breath over her face before a warm tongue licked over her shoulder. "Let's get her in the truck. We have better places to use her. And I don't want her screams attracting the rift raft that lives near here." One of them said from her side. Ivory was still trying to shake off the dancing lights as rough clawed hands picked up her tiny body, tossing her ribs into a massive set of shoulders, taking her breath away. Each step drove his shoulder into her ribs, forcing the air out of her lungs.

It only took a few minutes to reach the truck, but Ivory felt as though it was an hour. The four, very naked men walked out of the corn carrying a naked woman as though they had no cares in the world. Arthur laid her on the floorboard in the backseat of an old Ford pickup. He climbed in above her, instructing Carl to take them to the motel. As he reached for the door, a man walked up wearing a construction vest. Arthur could tell by his movements he was a Were.

"You can't park here," William warned. He had seen them emerging from the field carrying the woman, and when he was close enough he could scent that they were all wolves. He seemed concerned about the way they were treating her. The collar hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Fuck off," Arthur growled and slammed the door in his face.

Carl smirked and pulled back on the road, waving bye-bye to the younger man as he blew a kiss. Arthur took that moment to place his foot over her neck and hold her to the floor mat.