Fierce Mates Read online

  "You're not the boss of me."

  "I rank higher than you in the pack."

  "We're not in the pack anymore—we're rogue until the RCC takes us in."

  He shot her a look. He was more dominant than her, and they both knew it. However, he didn't feel like arguing the point to death. Arguing might lead to questions, and he didn’t want to lie to Kayla if he didn’t have to, so he shrugged and went back to driving.

  The trees were thick on either side of the highway, but not so thick snow hadn't reached the ground beneath them. The landscape would be a perfect January page for an Idaho calendar, all trees and mountains and snow. And within the wilderness, he knew, there were battling factions of monsters, all intent on keeping territory and gaining power.

  And Matt—he was just a pawn in Bronson’s game.

  "What are you gonna do there, anyway?" Kayla asked.

  "Whatever Jameson wants me to do. I can run patrols around the territory again, or find a job working construction." Matt didn't really care. He just wanted to get in and get out.

  They went around a curve and the little gas station came into view.

  "There it is," Kayla said. "Pull over." Then, seeming to remember that he actually was the more dominant of the two of them, she added, "Please?"

  Matt groaned, but he did as she asked.

  Another SUV sat at the pumps, so Matt pulled up on the other side, thinking he might as well feed the beast while he was here. "Give the man a twenty for gas while you're in there," he told Kayla.

  She gave him a mock salute and then hurried into the convenience store.

  Matt climbed out of the car and checked out the two women standing next to the other SUV. Attractive, in their early thirties.

  "Hey, handsome," one of them said, eyeing him appreciatively.

  Oh, he knew how to play this game.

  "Hi," he said, giving his most flirtatious grin.

  "Is she your significant other?" the brunette asked, pointing to the store where Kayla had disappeared.

  "More like a sister," he said.

  The blonde spoke up. "Oh, you're traveling with your sister? How nice."

  Kayla wasn't really his sister, but that was a minor detail. Humans couldn't scent his lies. No one could scent his lies.

  "Except she's a pest," he said with a smile directed at them both.

  They chuckled.

  "Still," he continued, "I love her. And with our parents gone, well, she's all I've got."

  What was taking Kayla so damn long to pee? Matt gave a sad smile to the women. They both looked enamored, and he mentally gave himself a fist bump for the charm working once again.

  He uncapped the gas tank and pumped some fuel into the car while the women peppered him with questions about his life with his sister. He answered their questions with a mixture of truths and falsehoods, entertaining not only himself, but the two women. By the time he was done pumping the gas, Kayla had emerged from the store, carrying another giant cup of soda and bearing an armful of junk food.

  She took one look at him with the women and rolled her eyes. "Stop flirting, butthole."

  Matt turned to the women and grinned. "Like I said, she's a pest."

  Kayla hurled a pack of Twinkies at him, which he caught easily. "Stop talking about me—let's go."

  With a last grin at the women, Matt said, "It was truly wonderful chatting with you two beautiful women. I hope we run into each other again sometime."

  They beamed at him and waved goodbye as he got into his car and pulled away from the station. He tossed the Twinkies into Kayla's lap, ignoring the way she was staring at him.

  "So, we're going to Helene to find a motel?" he asked.

  "Yeah, sure, whatever." She sounded annoyed.

  "What?" he asked. "And hand me one of those Twinkies."

  "I'll never understand how you do it," Kayla said. "Even I believe you're in love with them. You're not, are you?"

  "Nope."

  "I just don't understand how you can be so convincing," Kayla muttered, tearing open the Twinkies package. She handed one to him.

  He popped the pastry into his mouth. "I don't understand it, either."

  It was an outright lie.

  Despite being a shifter, Kayla would never know he was being dishonest. Because Matt Camden had a rather unique talent—as far as he knew, he was the only person in the world who could successfully lie to shifters.

  Chapter Three

  Marking the page in her book with her granola bar wrapper, Erena checked the time on her phone. It was fucking eleven p.m. and Erena could barely tear her eyes from the pages of this stupid book. Gemma had brought it over after dinner, saying she, Nina, and Margot had all read it and enjoyed it, and maybe Erena would, too.

  It had been a peace offering, most likely, but now the stupid thing was torturing her. The fictional shifters in this book were called "were-lions" and they ran a dating agency. Despite the inaccuracies in the shapeshifting world, the story was addictive and she found herself identifying with the characters.

  Erena's eyes burned. She definitely needed to sleep, but she first had to find out whether or not the heroine, who owned the dating agency, would continue to go through with setting up the client with other shifters. He was obviously her mate because all this magical weird light happened when they first met, but the guy hadn't seen it and remained oblivious and it was just killing Erena, killing her, to think of him dating other people when he really belonged to the heroine.

  She picked up the book again, knowing it was a bad idea.

  BUZZ. BUZZZZZZ. BUZZZZZZZZZ.

  Erena opened an eye and glared at her nightstand where her phone was currently vibrating so hard it was in danger of falling to the floor. She grabbed it with a groan, already knowing who would be calling her when it was still dark outside.

  "I just came in yesterday, Margot," she said, answering without even looking at the caller ID.

  "I know, I know, and I'm sorry," her sister said. "But Millie's still sick and you know I can't handle the morning rush on my own."

  "So hire someone else." Erena was already clambering out of bed, searching for the jeans she'd tossed on the floor last night.

  "I'm working on it," Margot said.

  Erena suspected Margot would be working on hiring someone maybe a little harder if Erena wasn't around to save her ass every time she was short-staffed. She wondered, not for the first time, what Margot had done for help when Erena had been off following Jake around. Had one of the guys, or Gemma or Nina, come to her rescue?

  "I'll post another ad today," Margot said when Erena still hadn't responded. "Please? I need you here in thirty."

  "I'm getting dressed now," Erena said. "I'll see you in a few."

  "Thank you, thank you, thank you, love you, sis!"

  Erena ended the call and frowned at her phone screen and whispered, "If I help out this time, will things get less tense between us?"

  She guessed the honest answer would be no. Shrugging off the hurt, she quickly dressed, brushed her teeth, and headed outside to her car. Only once she was behind the wheel did she see the time on her dash's clock—4:35 a.m. Cursing under her breath for staying up too late to finish Gemma's worn copy of Dyin' to Be Your Lion, she drove to the bakery.

  Margot was already sweating in front of the oven when Erena came in the rear entrance. Erena waited while Margot maneuvered a giant cupcake tray into the oven's jaws and slammed the door shut.

  "Thank you for saving my ass," Margot said, her focus already on her next task.

  "Sure." Erena set her bag and coat in the office and walked straight through to the dining room of the shop. First thing was turning up the thermostat. As shifters, she and Margot weren't bothered as much by the cold, but their human customers expected toasty heat when they came into shops during winter. For Fox Sake Cupcakes wouldn't be the exception to that rule. Erena listened as the heating system clicked on, then got to work readying the rest of the front counter.

  The next couple of hours passed in a blur. It was only when Erena's head began to ache that she realized she hadn't had any caffeine yet, so she chugged a cup that was still too hot and burned her throat.

  Staying up to read that "were-lion" book had been stupid, but Erena had been too hooked to set it down. And the sex scenes—whoa. She hadn't felt like that about any man, ever. In fact, she remained unconvinced that those feelings were actually possible. Maybe for some women, but not for Erena.

  Chapter Four

  "All right, sleepyhead, wakey wakey!" Kayla said.

  A flat motel pillow landed on Matt's face. He threw it off and sat up, glowering at Kayla. "Has anyone told you lately that you're—"

  "Wonderful?" she said, batting her eyelashes. She wore a bright pink long-sleeved shirt underneath a short-sleeved tee bearing an illustration of a unicorn with a rainbow coming out of its ass.

  Too much color. Too much happy.

  "Coffee," Matt muttered. "I need coffee if I'm going to be around you."

  After getting ready and checking out of the hotel, Matt pointed the SUV toward Osprey Road and the Ring of Fire, home to the Rock Creek Clan. They hadn't gone one mile through downtown Helene before Kayla gave the kind of high-decibel squeal he'd associate with two-year-olds or piglets.

  "Look at that shop!" she said. "We have to stop there."

  "No."

  "Yes, we do. This place wasn't here when we were in the RCC. It's new and exciting!"

  "Don't care."

  She pointed at his motel coffee, a free offering from the dinky check-in office. "This coffee is shit, and you know it. Their coffee is going to be wonderful."

  "It's a cupcake shop, not a coffee shop."

  "Pull over. There's a parking spot right in front."
r />   As Matt did as she asked, he started to think maybe he wasn't quite as dominant of a shifter as he'd once thought. He climbed out of the car, but Kayla still hadn't moved.

  "Aren't you coming?" he asked.

  "If I go in, I'll come out with twenty-five cupcakes. I have no willpower when it comes to sweets, and then I get headaches from all the sugar, and then I'm horrible to my friends."

  He looked at her and sighed. "What flavor do you want?"

  "Surprise me?" She widened her brown eyes at him.

  Hanging out with Kayla was like having a demanding puppy. All excitement and want-want-want. Matt wished again that he was doing this trip to the RCC alone. But once Kayla had found out about it, there was no talking her down. In the end, Bronson had said Matt should go forward with the plan because Kayla's presence would be distracting and convincing, and Sloan, the fucking dickhole, had agreed.

  Bells chimed over the door to the cupcake shop. The scents of chocolate, vanilla, and brown sugar filled Matt's nostrils. He gave the place a quick glance. Five small tables, an old hardwood floor, large framed photos of local vistas on the walls. A long counter spanned the rear of the shop, full of colorful cupcakes and other pastries. A blond woman stood behind the counter wearing a pink t-shirt with silver writing emblazoned on it and a waist apron with some kind of pattern. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail and her blue eyes looked tired. She was frowning. He took that as a challenge.

  "Hi," he said, giving her his most charming smile.

  "What can I get for you?"

  Her voice was low and melodic and made him think of chocolate icing for some reason. Must have been all the cupcakes in the display case.

  But he noticed she didn't smile.

  He leaned against the counter. "I'd like a regular coffee. And which cupcake is your favorite?"

  She looked at him. Her blue eyes were almost gray. "I don't have a favorite cupcake."

  "For fox sake," he said, chuckling at the pun that was the name of the shop, "you work here, don't you? You've got to have a favorite."

  "No, I don't."

  "You don't work here?" He leaned back on his heels, hoping she'd notice his muscles, his body. He wasn't shy about it. As a mountain lion shifter, he was lean but powerful, everything well-defined. The woman in front of him was fit, too, so surely she'd appreciate his physique.

  She turned around, ignoring him as she poured some coffee. He frowned. Did nothing work on her?

  She brought the coffee back to the counter next to the cash register and placed it in front of him. "Are you getting anything else, or just the coffee?"

  He glanced over at the cupcakes, wondering which one Kayla would like. They were cupcakes, dammit—it wasn't like there could be a bad one, right? "Uh, sure you don't have any recommendations? Do you like chocolate icing?"

  "No."

  He could smell the lie, which delighted him, but at the same time, why wasn't she interested? There was no ring on her fourth finger, although he supposed she could be in a long-term relationship. Or maybe she didn't like dudes, or maybe she didn't like anyone.

  From the grouchy look in her eyes, he suspected she didn't like anyone, but he wanted to rule out a boyfriend first. He stepped all the way up to the counter and subtly inhaled.

  Her eyes widened, mirroring his surprise. She was a shifter, and she'd scented him, too.

  He tried to figure out what her animal was. Then he realized. Pointing at the writing on her t-shirt, he chuckled. "You're a fox."

  She nodded. "And you're some kind of cat."

  "Mountain lion, yeah."

  "So what kind of cupcake do you want?" she asked, her voice still low, still melodic, and still as disinterested in him as ever.

  He had so many questions, though. He'd bet his left nut that she was in the Rock Creek Clan, which meant she had to have joined after he left. Did she know Asshole Jake? More importantly, was Asshole Jake still around? Matt hoped to hell he wasn't—that guy was the worst.

  "Cupcake?" she prodded.

  "Yes, dear?" he answered.

  She growled. He didn't think she intended it to be sexy, but it really was.

  "You can just go," she said. "Take the coffee and get out of here."

  "Wow," he said. "You're like a cranky old lady in a hot chick's body."

  She pointed at the door. "Out."

  He took the coffee and set a ten-dollar bill on the counter. "Can I get a chocolate cupcake?"

  "If I give you one, will you leave faster?"

  Loathing seemed to be leeching out of her and into the air around them. She hated him—she really, truly hated him. How was that possible? He was charming, he had always been responsible with money, he never left dirty clothes on the floor, and every other heterosexual woman he'd met—well, other than Kayla, who was a special case because they were practically siblings—had wanted to see him without his clothes on.

  It made absolutely no sense.

  He thought of turning around and leaving. But if he went back to the car without a cupcake, Kayla would complain until he came back for one. And as much as he enjoyed looking at this beautiful woman in front of him, he had a feeling she was ready to claw his eyes out.

  "Yes, I'll leave as soon as you give me the cupcake," he said, holding up his hands in a "no harm" gesture.

  Did her gaze flick to his biceps, or had he imagined that?

  She took a chocolate iced cupcake from the case and set it carefully into a pink box that had little orange foxes stamped on the sides. Then she set it on top of the glass counter and nudged it toward him.

  "Thanks," he said. "I guess I'll see you later."

  She furrowed her eyebrows and looked like she was about to ask him what he was talking about, but he quickly spun around and walked out of the shop. He felt his shoulders pull back with pride. Nothing like having the last word.

  He got into the car and handed Kayla her cupcake, then took a sip of the coffee. It was perfect—way better than the swill they'd given out at the hotel.

  "See? Told ya," Kayla said, delicately opening up her cupcake box.

  Ignoring her gloating, he asked, "Are you still too scared, or are you ready to be a big kid and go see Jameson now?"

  She lifted up her cupcake and took a giant bite. Around it, she said, "I'm scared, but I'm ready. I'm eating my fear."

  Chapter Five

  "I just don't see what the rush is," Margot said.

  Erena yanked off her fox-patterned waist apron and tossed it on the hook in the kitchen. The mountain lion shifter had left half an hour ago, the morning rush was over, and Erena needed to get the hell out of here.

  That man—that mountain lion shifter—had made her feel things. For a few moments, despite her annoyance with the guy, she hadn't felt flawed or incomplete. She'd felt stirred to awareness of everything in the shop, every sense awakened. The firm, cold counter beneath her hand, his scents of sage and something dusty and clean—rain. And his sexy smile had been as maddening as it was arousing.

  "Seriously," Margot continued, "you don't have to hurry home."

  Erena shook off her reverie. "I have to tell Jameson."

  Margot held up her phone. "I can text him right now. But what am I going to say? We saw a new cougar in town and he bought a cupcake?"

  Erena stopped her frantic movements and faced her sister. "See, that's exactly why I can't text or call him. It doesn't sound bad or alarming when you put it like that. But you should've talked to this guy, Margot. He's definitely up to no good, he has an ego the size of Texas, and he said he'd see me around. Which means he's not just passing through! Jameson needs to know, and he needs to hear it from me."

  "I guess..." Margot said uncertainly.

  Erena closed her eyes and inhaled, taking in the strong scents of the cupcake shop, as well as her sister's subtler, floral scent. Erena didn't feel like she belonged here—truth was, she never had belonged. Not here, or anywhere else. Something was missing, some piece of her that prevented her from fitting in. Going off with Jake, she'd thought, would fix her, but instead, her temporary absence had done nothing other than emphasize just how flawed she was.

  Jameson, their grizzly shifter alpha, had welcomed Erena back with open arms. Outwardly, the entire clan had done so, even Nina, Jameson's mate, who had every reason to hate Erena. But their acceptance didn't change whatever was fundamentally wrong with Erena.