Mate for a King

Chapter Nine

Nathan stood just inside a stand of trees at the back of the large manor's grounds.

The house sat off in the distance, but not so far away he couldn't watch the back of the building. He'd had to move deeper into the trees so as not to be seen a few times when Raed, the warriors' king, had done a quick sweep of the area. Thanks to a mixture of certain flowers, bark and leaves he carried in a cloth bundle tied around his neck, he'd managed to mask his presence. To a mortal, the scent wouldn't be detectable. To a werewolf, the combination of herbs had an acidic smell that camouflaged his true scent.

Having seen Raed out on his patrols, Nathan now knew for sure the werewolf he had sent out to find the warriors' home base hadn't lied about where to find it. Nathan had made a point as soon as he became pack leader to learn the identities of each of the warriors. The task had taken some time, considering they didn't usually hunt together, but he persevered until he knew each of their names and what each man looked like.

He'd only waited until now to find where they went at the end of the night. It had taken him some time to clear the unwanted baggage out of the pack and rebuild it the way he wanted. No longer did they turn mortals indiscriminately. He handpicked the ones he wanted as members, usually mortals who had a reputation for success in the shadier side of life. When it came to kills, he gave the pack free rein.

Nathan cursed under his breath as Raed stepped out the back door of the manor and headed toward the trees for the third time since he'd arrived. Nathan had intended to stay and watch the manor for the entire night with the hope of maybe catching sight of the woman, but Raed's continued patrols weren't going to make it feasible. He found them to be more than a nuisance.

He'd found the woman's flat empty when he had gone there earlier, but he had been able to pick up her scent, and the scent of the warrior she had slept with. The bitch had been spreading her legs for the king himself. It also explained why Raed had stayed behind to patrol his property instead of going out to hunt with the rest of the warriors.

The woman had to be somewhere inside the manor. And if the idiot he had chosen to do reconnaissance hadn't shown himself to the warriors, Nathan knew Raed would have probably felt safe enough to leave her there alone.

Just thinking about what the fool had done made him want to kill him for a second time. He'd worked for too many years to reach this stage to have one fuck-up almost ruin everything. As Raed came closer, Nathan lingered a little longer then stepped deeper into the trees and silently made his way through them. Knowing now the manor was indeed the home base of the warriors, he would have to send one of his werewolves to watch the building. He had plans for the woman. He just needed to get her away from the warriors. Nathan already had a werewolf in mind for the job.

Raed stopped at the edge of the stand of trees and took a couple of deep breaths.

There it was again, the same acidic odor that had been on the dead werewolf's body.

He'd caught a whiff of the faint scent on his other passes, but this time it smelled a bit stronger. He looked past the tree line and scanned the area around it. Nothing moved.

If Lexi hadn't been inside the manor, he would have investigated further, but he didn't like leaving her alone, even for the small amount of time he needed to run his patrols.

Raed looked from side to side as he left the trees and resumed his circuit. Lexi had not taken the news of his being a werewolf well; in fact, the telling had come pretty close to being a disaster. He counted himself lucky she had been able to accept what he was in the end. He had no idea what he would have done if she hadn't. The connection between them each time they made love seemed to be growing stronger, to the point where now he couldn't picture his life without her. Somehow he would have to convince her not to go back to Florida.

Raed headed for the back of the manor. At least his men hadn't balked at the idea when he had told them there could be a chance Lexi would be moving in with them. Of course Garrick turned out to be the only one to make a crack about it. He'd told Raed to start thinking with his head and not his dick, which earned Garrick a hard slap to the back of the head by Dolf.

He hadn't been too sure how Lexi would act around the others now that she knew what they all were, but having accepted him, she seemed to have accepted them as well. She'd told them if they could trust her with their secret, then she could do no less than accept them for what they were—a bunch of ancient werewolf warriors. The ancient part had caused more than a few grumbles with quick reassurances that they were far from old and decrepit.

Stepping into the manor's kitchen, Raed decided he would run a couple more patrols later then call it a night. The others would be returning from the hunt soon anyway. Lexi had fallen asleep before he had left to do this last one. The idea of her in his bed, warm in slumber, made his cock harden. No matter how many times he made love to her, his body craved more. One touch of her hand, and he hardened almost to the point of pain. Now he didn't have to hide his eyes or claws when they came to the surface while making love, their joining was so much better.

He pulled a bottle of beer out of the fridge, took a big swig before he left the kitchen and headed for the living room. Time seemed to be dragging by. Instead of doing patrols while Lexi blissfully slept upstairs, he wanted to be up there with her, making love to her again. But he couldn't leave the place unmanned before the others returned. He collapsed on one of the couches and turned on the television. He needed the distraction, because if he didn't stop thinking about Lexi he knew he would throw caution to the wind and race upstairs to be with her. After warning his men they needed to be more vigilant than usual, that would make him a hypocrite. Raed sighed.

If only the time would pass faster.

Lexi quietly slipped out of Raed's bedroom and shut the door behind her. He needed to sleep longer as it had been extremely late when he had finally joined her in bed. He'd also made love to her again. The man was insatiable, not that she turned out to be any better. Every time they came together the sex seemed to get hotter and hotter.

At this rate, Lexi knew it wouldn't take much on Raed's part to convince her to stay.

After a quick shower in the en-suite, Lexi dressed and decided to head for the kitchen to look for something to eat. Given the amount of calories she burned in Raed's bed during the night, she'd worked up quite an appetite. As she headed down stairs, she frowned. She examined the bruises on her back again before she'd gotten dressed.

Strangely, they seemed to be getting darker, not lighter.

She found only Brand inside the kitchen. He stood at the stove cooking fried eggs. Lexi smiled when he looked in her direction then headed for the cupboards to find a mug. A full pot of freshly brewed coffee sat on the countertop.

Lexi opened two cupboard doors before Brand silently opened one closer to him, pulled out a mug and handed it to her. She quietly thanked him, poured herself some coffee and sat at the table to wait until he had finished making his breakfast.

A few minutes later, a plate with two fried eggs and two pieces of toast was plonked down in front of her. Lexi looked up to find Brand standing next to her chair.

She shook her head. "You made this for yourself. You don't have to feed me. I was happy to wait until you were done before I got something for myself."

She tried to shove the plate over to him, but Brand only pushed it back. He then placed a fork next to the plate. "Eat. I heard your stomach growling."

Without another word, Brand returned to the stove and cracked two more eggs into the hot frying pan. Knowing Brand wouldn't take no for an answer, Lexi picked up the fork and started to eat. A short while later, Brand sat beside her at the table to eat his eggs and toast. Silence stretched between them, the only noise in the kitchen the sounds of their forks hitting against their plates.

Lexi glanced over at Brand a few times as she ate. He pretty much ignored her as he consumed his food. A bit uncomfortable with the silence, she figured she might as well at least try to start a conversation. If she ended up living here, she needed to make a concerted effort to get to know Raed's men better.

Lexi put her fork down and picked up a piece of toast. She cleared her throat.

"So, Brand, how come you're up so early? I thought you would still be in bed like the others after your late night out hunting."

Brand looked over at her and shrugged his massive shoulders. "I got enough sleep." He focused his attention back on his plate.

Okay, now what? Trying to have a conversation with Brand was like having your teeth pulled—slow and painful. "Oh. I guess you guys do pretty much whatever you want during the day."

"Uh, huh." Brand didn't even bother to look up this time.

Since he wasn't supposed to be very talkative in the first place, and she didn't know him well, Lexi couldn't tell whether he was only tolerating her or being his normal self. "I'll shut up now and let you finish your breakfast in peace."

She ate the rest of her eggs and toast. Before she could get up to put her plate in the sink, Brand clamped a large hand around her wrist.

Lexi gave him a questioning look and he met her gaze. "I think you should stay with us. Would be nice to have a woman around. Raed cares for you a great deal. I thought I would let you know how I felt before you made your decision to move in with us or not." Brand gave her wrist an affectionate squeeze before he released her.

Lexi found herself shocked speechless by the amount of words Brand had said, and by the fact he had basically told her he wanted her to move into the manor. She quickly pulled herself together. "Well, thank you, Brand. I won't lie; I was worried you guys wouldn't want me here. Your approval does help with my decision."

Brand nodded. "Good."

She stood and crossed the room to the sink. After she rinsed her plate, Lexi left it to drain and walked out of the kitchen. She had thought Brand would have been the hardest out of Raed's men to win over. Obviously she had been wrong. He may not talk much, but it didn't mean he wasn't a nice guy. One warrior down. She only had four more to win over.

Lexi quietly opened the door to Raed's bedroom and poked her head inside. He was still dead to the world. She tip-toed inside the room, retrieved her purse, then tip-toed back out. Raed sighed in his sleep as she soundlessly shut the door behind her.

She went back downstairs and headed for the front door. Left to her own devices until Raed woke up, she decided this would be the perfect time to do some of the sightseeing she had planned to do.

She had just put her hand on the door handle when a deep voice boomed.

"Where are you going?"

Lexi turned to find Brand standing right behind her. She wouldn't have even known he was there if he hadn't spoken. She smiled. "I figured since everyone else is asleep I would go see some sights."

"You should stay here. Not safe to be alone."

"No offense, Brand, but I'm a big girl. I don't need a babysitter. I'll only be gone a few hours. You can tell Raed I'm going to the cathedral then I'll be back."

"What if you run into a werewolf?"

She shook her head. "It's still morning. Raed told me they don't move around during this time of day. So I should be perfectly safe."

Lexi turned, unlocked the front door and stepped outside before Brand could try to stop her again. She knew he only thought to look out for her, but she wouldn't let herself be cooped up in the manor just because she promised to stay the rest of the week with Raed.

She got into her rental car and drove down the long drive. Once she reached the street, she headed for the city center where the Norwich Cathedral was located.

There weren't too many tourists milling around when she arrived, which pleased Lexi. She went inside and stared up at the high arched ceiling of the 11th century cathedral. She pulled her digital camera out of her purse and started to take some pictures. Before she had left for England, her dad had made her promise she would take a lot of photos.

Lexi wandered around, admiring the architecture. She found it hard to believe Raed had been there to watch the large cathedral being built. He would have already been four hundred years old by then. Just the thought blew her mind.

She headed back outside and toured around the cathedral's grounds. The day had turned out to be sunny and warm, the perfect English summer day. Lexi had to admit she didn't miss the hundred degree weather Florida got during this time of year.

In some ways, being in England almost felt like coming home, as if a part of her deep down inside knew this was where her roots were.

She sat on a bench and gazed up at the cathedral. England's history was so much older than the States, and here she was sleeping with a man who was part of Britain's ancient past. She shook her head. When she first started to plan her vacation to England, never in a million years would she have expected to fall for a thousand year old immortal werewolf, who used to be an ancient King.

Could she stay permanently with Raed? Give up her home, her job, in Florida and live happily ever after with him? The idea wasn't as scary as she had first thought.

She had a feeling she'd started to fall head over heels for him. Yes, she would miss her parents terribly, but her living here didn't mean she couldn't go home to visit them from time to time. Raed hadn't asked her to give up her family. He just wanted her to give their blossoming relationship a chance.

Lexi sighed. This would be a hard decision to make, but if she wanted to make the right one, she would have to learn more about the man Raed used to be. For a start, his fake burial at Sutton Hoo, as it marked the end of his old life. She could find some of the information in the book she had bought for her father. All she needed to do was make a quick stop back at the flat before she returned to the manor.

She took a few more pictures of the cathedral's exterior then headed for her car.