Chapter 6
One minute, Thyme was having a leisurely run through the woods tracking some bunnies and the next she was being chased by a group of wolves that didn’t seem to know she was a shifter and not a natural wildcat. Then out of nowhere, three wolves had jumped between her and the other wolves and saved her.
The moment the middle wolf turned to her, she knew in her heart that he was her truemate.
And what were the odds of that?
That she’d been drawn to this particular section of Kentucky on this night when her truemate was out with his family for a full moon run? It seemed impossible, but fate was like that she supposed.
Remy.
He was tall and broad-shouldered, and while she couldn’t make out his features exactly, what she’d seen she liked a lot. Her cat was purring so loud she could hardly think straight.
Remy snarled as she told him that she was at risk of being killed if she didn’t find her mate. She really liked his protective streak.
He felt powerful to her, like he was a born alpha.
“Are you alpha of the wolf pack?” she asked. Because it was a bit of an issue if he was already in charge of a group of shifters. He might not want to leave everything and join her in leading the pride.
He rocked back on his heels. “No, actually. I’m from Allen, but I don’t live here anymore. My mom’s an Angel Mate. Do you know what that is?”
Thyme shook her head.
“Before I launch into the story, are you safe?”
She blinked with a frown. “What?”
“You said you were in danger if you didn’t find your mate, and first and foremost, I want to make sure you’re safe.”
“Oh yeah, I am. It’s a bit of a long story, too, though.”
“Do you need to call anyone? Let them know where you are?”
“I can leave a message for Liam, one of the elders, but he’s out with the pride until close to dawn. Is there somewhere we can go to talk?”
“Yep. I’m staying at my folks’, I drove an RV to town. It’s close enough that we can walk to their house and we can hang out in the RV so we have privacy.”
“That works,” she said. “So tell me about Angel Mates.”
“You should tell me your story first, it seems like things are dangerous for you.”
They started walking deeper into the woods. She took his hand, grateful to have found him. Not just because he’d stepped in and saved her from having to fight a few wolves, but because he was her truemate and who she’d been hoping to find after so long. He was exactly what she’d been wanting: a big, strong, protective male to help her lead her people. Alpha pairs for wildcat prides were a duo, both equal in power and relying on each other to take care of their people. Even though the authority of the position came through the family line, her mate’s authority would be equal to hers.
Her parents, according to what her dad had said, were a perfect alpha pair and balanced each other well. Her birth mother was kind and gracious, slow to anger, and the direct opposite of what her dad was: a bit of an asshole with a hair-trigger temper who didn’t trust most people.
Thyme took after her mom.
But Remy didn’t seem like too much of an asshole, at least at the moment.
She told him about her family and pride, about the laws that gave her the right to lead, but only after she took a mate.
“So Leif petitioned the elders to take over. He secured a mating promise from a pride female and wants to battle me for the position of alpha. I can fight. Human or in my shift. But Leif is stronger and faster than me, and he’s ten times more volatile and dangerous. Even if the elders said he couldn’t kill me, I believe he’d try and possibly succeed, or at least hurt me gravely.” She sighed. “Liam, the elder, gave me until the June full moon to find a mate. And that was after he found out that Leif and my stepmom threatened or cajoled the unmated males to promise not to mate me. They’re deliberately making me fight because no male will mate me.”
Remy gave her hand a squeeze. “It’s different now, though, because you and I are truemates.”
They stopped walking. Just beyond a line of pines was a house with every light on and several people who appeared to be standing guard. “That’s Alpha Jason and his mate Cadence’s home. The young pack members, and non-shifting mates hang out here while the pack hunts.”
“That’s neat. None of our people have non-shifting mates, but the young stay home with a parent on the full moons.”
“How big is your pride?”
“Sixty-five.”
He stared toward the house for a long moment, then said, “Let’s go talk to Crimson and my brother, and then we can walk to my parents’ house.”
They crossed into the yard, past a group of picnic tables, then stopped near a deck. A male with dark blond hair stood with his arms folded, his eyes flashing red. A younger male, who looked a lot like Remy, stood on a lower step.
“Crimson, Lennox, this is Thyme. She’s my truemate, and I met her near the edge of the territory.”
Crimson introduced himself. “Nice to meet you, Thyme. Lennox told me what happened, and I’m sorry that you were chased by some idiot youngsters. Sometimes their brains don’t work as well as their noses and they just chase whatever passes in front of them.”
“I wasn’t harmed, so it’s okay.”
“Where are you headed?” Lennox asked as he stepped off the deck and handed a phone to Remy.
“Thanks, man. And we’re going to the RV,” Remy said. “Would you tell Mom and Dad what happened, and that I’ll check in with them in the morning?”
“You bet. Nice to meet you, Thyme.”
“You too, Lennox. Thanks for helping keep me safe.”
“Anytime.”
Remy and Thyme said goodbye and walked through the yard to the street, hanging a left.
“So let me get all this straight,” Remy said. “Pride law says next-in-line can take over at twenty-one, but can’t assume leadership until they’re mated? And once a younger sibling reaches twenty-one, they can force the oldest to take a mate or fight?”
“In a nutshell, yes.”
“Did that happen to your dad when he took over?”
“He was an only child, so no. I’ve known that Leif wanted to take over for a while now, I was just hoping to meet my truemate before he turned twenty-one, which is happening in a couple weeks.”
“Why can’t your stepmom be alpha female and get another mate?”
“Because the authority belonged to my dad. Like when you and I mate, you’re alpha male, but if something happened to me, you wouldn’t be alpha male anymore.”
He hummed.
She continued, “I’m sure he’s being pushed along with help from my stepmom, but I don’t actually blame the elders, at least not about this. Leif is working within the bounds of our laws, it’s what alphas are supposed to do.”
She did, though, blame Leif for the way he’d treated her, which was sucky at best. Coupled with the way her stepmom treated her, she’d been made to feel like a stranger in her own home, an intruder among the new happy family once Leif had been born. Something had always been off about her stepmom to Thyme, but she’d never been able to figure it out. It wasn’t just that her mom had been replaced so fast by her dad, but that her dad had never really seen the poor treatment Thyme had gotten.
“We need to move the pride to a new location, because of the hunting grounds. The elders won’t make the move, the next alphas need to do it. I was hoping to find new territory tonight, but then I stumbled into a wolf pack.”
“I’m glad you stumbled here, though,” he said, giving her a sweet smile.
They stopped walking underneath a lamppost, which offered her the very first full view of her truemate.
He was…gorgeous. Dark hair cut short, a day’s worth of stubble on his cheeks. His lips were full and kissable, and he had a dimple in one cheek when he smiled.
She put her hand on his chest and felt the steady beating of his heart and a wolfy sort of purr that made his chest vibrate.
He cupped her face. “Damn, you’re beautiful.”
She smiled and nearly purred, her cat enchanted by him. “You’re pretty damn sexy yourself,” she said, her voice going surprisingly husky.
“Fate brought us together. I was in the right place at the right time to help you out of a sticky situation. We’re truemates, but I still want to ask you something.”
“What?”
“Will you be my mate? I don’t want to take anything for granted with you, and even though I want to kiss you in the worst way, I don’t want to do that without asking you to be mine, first.”
She licked her lips and his gaze tracked the movement.
“Yes, Remy,” she said, “I’ll be your mate.”
He lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers and everything dropped away but him. His lips, his heat, the way she could hear his wolf growling happily. Her cat was purring up a storm in her mind, so happy to have found their truemate.
She still needed to find a new place for her people to live, but she’d found the answer to something she’d been longing for since she’d learned as a child what a truemate was.
Remy, this strong, sexy male, was holding her like she was made of glass, but kissing her like he could climb down inside her.
Her body heated and her skin tingled as their tongues danced and slid together, until she was dizzy and breathless, leaning against him after the kiss had ended.
Holy crap.
He held her in his strong arms under the spill of light from the lamppost, and she could have stood there all night because she felt so safe.
She hadn’t realized how unsettled and unsafe she’d felt, adrift with so many things to worry about with the pride.
She didn’t have to face any of that alone, because now she had Remy. Finding her truemate was fucking awesome.
“Wow,” she said, when she’d eased from his warm embrace.
He grinned, that dimple showing up again. “Damn straight.”
He took her hand and they started walking again.
The street was lined with modest homes, some with large trees and some with flower beds full of flowers and shrubs.
“You were going to tell me about your mom?” she prompted as they turned down another street.
“Oh right, sorry I got distracted by how sexy you are.”
Okay, a girl could get used to compliments like that.
“So an Angel Mate is a perfect mate for a wolf. It’s a hereditary ability passed from the mother to her daughters. Once she turns twenty-one, her nature kicks in and she leaves her home to find her truemate, who she recognizes on sight. When an Angel Mate and a wolf get together, their daughters are Angel Mates, and their sons are born to be alphas.”
“Really? I’ve never heard of that.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s a wolf thing. I have three sisters. They’re waiting for the youngest to turn twenty-one, which will happen soon, and then they’re going to head out together and start traveling from wolf pack to wolf pack until they find their mates.”
“That’s pretty awesome. So you’re an alpha but you don’t have a pack?”
“Yep.”
They reached the RV and he opened the door, flipping on a light switch and then holding the door for her. “I came back for my friend Kash’s mating ceremony and I planned to leave in the morning to start looking for a new place to settle. I figured I’d start a pack and hope to hell that my truemate showed up.”
She stepped into the RV and he shut the door behind her. She sat on the couch and he stopped at the small fridge and grabbed two bottles of water. When he joined her on the couch he handed her a water.
“Did you know where you were going?”
“Nope.” He took a long drink. “Alpha Jason said he had some ideas for me, of towns without shifter groups, so I was going to check in with him before I took off. But you need a place for your people anyway, so we can still see what he has to say.”
She took a long drink and then put the lid on the bottle, setting it on the windowsill. “That would be really awesome. I’ve scouted before and never had luck finding a place for our people to move to.” She paused and then said, “Are you sure you’re okay with being my mate?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you’re a wolf and I’m a wildcat. You wouldn’t be alpha of a wolf pack if you mated me, you’d be part of the alpha pair of a wildcat pride. I think wolves like the alpha male to be in charge, but the wildcat alpha pair are equals.”
“I don’t care about any of that,” he said. “I’m just so happy to have found you, Thyme. I wouldn’t care if you were alpha of a box of puppies, I’d still want to be with you. And I’m not one of those males who has to be in control or be the top dog, so to speak. I’ve always thought the alpha male and female should be a cohesive unit.” He lowered his voice. “In this pack, Jason is in charge, even over his mate Cades. She has authority, but he’s the supreme authority. I think it’s better to have them working together, not one always more important than the other.”
She relaxed as he spoke. He wasn’t looking to take over and be the boss, he was looking for his truemate and to lead with her. It’s exactly what she’d needed to hear.
“I’m so glad to hear it, honestly.”
“Will your pride accept me, though? I’m not a wildcat.”
“There’s nothing in our laws that says only wildcats can be part of the pride or part of an alpha pair. Hell, half my people don’t even believe in truemates and think males and females should just choose a mate and start a family as soon as possible.”
“There are wolves like that too, but I’ve always wanted to wait for my truemate. I knew she’d be special and just the right person for me, and turns out I was right.”
He gifted her with another of his sweet smiles that made her feel all warm.
He let her borrow his cell and she texted both Liam and Dana to explain she was in Allen and had found her truemate, and that she’d be bringing him back to the pride later in the day.
She yawned as she set the phone between them.
Remy brushed his fingers lightly down her jaw and she shivered.
“You look like you’re about to drop,” he murmured.
“I think I was just running on stress for a long time, I haven’t been sleeping well.”
“Let me make up the bed for you.”
“Only if you join me.”
His eyes darkened slightly and she caught the hint of his arousal, which made her cat sit up with a curious purr.
What if they mated each other tonight? What if she did something impulsive like ask him to mate with her so they could belong to each other, and he’d be her alpha male while the full moon was still in the sky?
What if… she yawned again and her cheeks heated.
“You’re so tempting,” he said, leaning in close and kissing her gently. “Let’s go to bed. We can talk in the morning.”
“Talk?”
“At the very least.”
The couch pulled out into a bed, and after shedding their jeans and shoes, they climbed in together. He curled around her back with his hand on her stomach, and she snuggled into his embrace.
“You’re very tempting too.”
“Hmm?” he asked.
“You said I was tempting. You’re tempting too.”
He chuckled in a low, soft way and kissed her neck, which made her shiver again. “We’ll still be tempting tomorrow.”