The Mating Challenge Read online

  Stunned, he started for her. She held up a hand like a traffic cop. “No!”

  Niki ran water into the sink, and sipped some. She tore off a paper towel from the nearby roll and wiped her mouth.

  “I’m fine,” she said. “Just need rest. Please, leave me alone. I need to get back to bed. Sleep.”

  Suspicion filled him. “Did you eat some bad meat?”

  “No. It’s nerves. I’ll be fine.”

  Hmmm. Nerves, the woman who faced dangerous gnomes with a dagger and kicked one of his best fighters in the gonads?

  He took a step forward and she backed off. “How about a good-night kiss?” he asked.

  Now Niki looked like she would throw up all over again. Blowing him a kiss, she backed up toward the door. Then she turned and raced away, out the door, down the steps.

  Confused, Aiden stared at the opened door. What the hell was wrong with his intended mate? Was she ill? Or did the thought of being intimate with him make her sick?

  It wasn’t a good omen.

  And yet, deep inside, he suspected it wasn’t him, but something else. Nikita Blakemore was hiding secrets on this ranch.

  Sooner or later, he would discover every single one of them.

  Chapter 6

  Rose and purple streaked the sullen, leaden sky the next morning. A chill hovered in the air as birdsong filled the trees near her cabin.

  Nia barely noticed the beauty of the sunrise as she headed down to the pond, shovel in hand. Dressed in old, grubby jeans, a gray sweatshirt, her long hair pulled back in a ponytail, she hurried down the gravel pathway.

  Mandy had called and told her she’d timed the patrols of Aiden’s men. Every hour they passed by the old well. Her aunt had managed to dig for the map, but found nothing.

  Aiden’s men would not return to the area of the well for another hour. Nia had exactly sixty minutes.

  Forty minutes later, she had a series of small holes ringing the well. Nia sat on the ground, wiped sweat off her brow with the back of one dirty hand. Two minute break, and then she’d resume…

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  Aw hell. A shiver raced down her spine. Should have known Mitchell would look for her, but she figured he’d be exhausted from fighting yesterday.

  Nia shrugged. “I buried a bone out here and my wolf wants to find it.”

  Aiden squatted down before her, picked up a handful of dirt. Thick waves of his ink black hair were brushed back from his face, still damp, as if he’d just showered. In his black T-shirt, tight jeans and faded Western boots, he looked rugged and every inch the alpha. Her female parts tingled and paid attention.

  He peered into the holes. “Looks like you’re searching for buried treasure.”

  As she looked away, he dusted off his hands. “Or looking to bury another body.”

  Suddenly weary, she sagged her shoulders. “There would be too many of those and not enough ground.”

  “Talk to me, pixie.” He slid a hand around her neck, his warm palm chasing away her inner chill.

  She relished his warm and drew closer. Aiden gave her a thoughtful look. “You feeling better?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “You seemed pretty sick last night. I thought you ate some bad meat.”

  Puzzled, she shook her head. “The meal was terrific.”

  “Good. Now answer something else for me. Why did your males die? Why do you want me, and my men, off your ranch?”

  Instead of answering, she studied his angular face, the darkness of his gaze, his sculpted cheeks and full nose, the firm, thin mouth accustomed to giving commands…

  “You shaved off your beard,” she said, realizing the difference.

  Aiden gave a rueful smile. “For tonight. I told you, your skin is tender.”

  Tonight. The tingle between her legs intensified. She cupped his cheek, rubbing her thumb across the smooth flesh. With the beard and mustache gone, he looked younger, almost vulnerable. More approachable.

  “I like it.”

  He closed his eyes as her thumb rubbed the corner of his mouth. “Had I known you liked it that much, I’d have done this sooner.”

  Nia smiled, liking how he seemed to almost purr as she stroked him. What other sounds would he make if she touched him all over? A shivery anticipation raced through her. Tonight they would make love and this big, handsome alpha would be exclusively hers.

  Except technically, he belonged to Niki, the true alpha. Her twin.

  Don’t do this. Don’t fall for him.

  Aiden took her hand and brushed a kiss against her dirt-stained knuckles. He rubbed her hand against his cheek. “I can’t wait for tonight, pixie. I’ve wanted you so long, it’s driven me wild. I promise I’ll make it good for you, despite the formalities. And after, we’ll stay at your cabin, let the world pass us by for a few days. I’m going to keep you trapped in bed, feed you, pleasure you, and see to your every need. You deserve a rest from ruling the pack.”

  She indulged in the fantasy, the dream she’d entertained each night for the past year: Aiden making love to her every morning, and each night, his strong arms wrapped around her, making all her cares vanish…

  Nia’s gaze dropped to the ground littered with holes. Aiden couldn’t make them vanish. Two boys who would soon celebrate their birthdays would die instead if she didn’t find the chest.

  “You can’t stay here,” she whispered, panic pushing aside her wistful dreams.

  His eyes opened and he studied her with sharp intensity. “Why?”

  “My people will resent it.” She thought rapidly. “After tonight, take me back to Mitchell Ranch with your men, and let’s settle in at your home. Roxanne can take care of things here. While your people are getting adjusted to my presence, it will give my pack time to adjust, too.”

  “They need to adjust together.”

  “You need to be home running things!”

  “I have Kyle, Jackson, and Jake in charge, and now Darius. J.J. is there as well, helping out. He even brought Rafe, who left his new pack to help out. I have everything covered, Niki.” He framed her face with his warm palms, searching her eyes. “Why are you so damn eager to get me the hell out of here?”

  She resisted the temptation to close her eyes and bask in his touch. Aiden could make her melt with a single stroke of his finger.

  “It’s my ranch.” She gazed up at him. “I worked hard to keep it together. I don’t want you taking over.”

  There, a partial truth. If he discovered the full truth, would he leave her to protect himself? Or be furious that he’d been deceived?

  He seemed to consider, and lowered his mouth toward hers. “I don’t want your ranch. Just you, and your very tempting, very beautiful body.”

  The kiss was so sweet, so soft, his mouth silken as he rubbed it against hers. Nia’s eyes fluttered closed as she parted her lips. But he didn’t slide inside. Instead, he gently nipped her bottom lip with his teeth, then sucked it into his mouth. She moaned, clinging to his wrists, leaning into him.

  Aiden broke the kiss and she opened her eyes. Stepping back, he tugged his shirt over his head.

  Her gaze widened. “What are you doing?”

  “Let’s go swimming. You’re dirty.” He chucked the shirt aside and grinned. “I like you dirty. I get to wash you all over.”

  Nia didn’t reply. She was too busy staring.

  His chest was sculpted muscle, the dark hair stretching from one small brown nipple to the other. She wanted to run her fingers through that mat of hair, then downward, following that naughty line of hair dipping down to the waistband of his jeans… She’d unzip those jeans, tug them past his narrow hips, and then she’d reach for his very long, and very thick…

  “Sausage,” he murmured.

  She blinked. Dear goddess, could he read her mind? Was this mate bonding between alphas?

  “I’m not thinking of your needs. You haven’t had breakfast yet. Sausage and eggs ok?”

  She wanted t
o giggle. Nia rubbed her chin with her dirty knuckles. “It’s fine, Mitchell. And you can’t go swimming in that pond. It’s filled with bacteria.”

  “I’m a wolf. A little bacteria won’t hurt me.”

  “You don’t know what’s in there.” She stepped in front of him, fear filling her. What if swimming in the pond accelerated exposure to the disease?

  Sweat poured down her back as he stared at her. Could he guess something was amiss? But finally he nodded.

  “I’d rather shower with you after we’re mated,” he murmured, putting his shirt back on. “Come on. I’ll make you a breakfast fit for the queen that you are.”

  As they trudged up the hill, she glanced over her shoulder. Maybe later, she could return to dig.

  Because she was running out of time. And options.

  She saw little of Aiden after they ate breakfast. He vanished to attend to the formal requirements of the mating ceremony, while she remained busy in the kitchen and dining hall, overseeing details of dinner. Truckloads of food for tonight’s celebration had arrived, along with the finest Lupine chefs in the country. All courtesy of J.J.

  J.J. was Aiden’s best friend, a billionaire rancher in Colorado who had turned out to be Nia’s ally. It was J.J. who had supplied her horses with quality feed for free, and when she finally had to face facts, J.J. had bought all the horses at a ridiculously expensive price.

  Letting go of her beloved mare was one of the hardest things Nia had ever done. But at least she knew Windstorm would be well cared for.

  Nia went to her sister’s basement apartment and paced, too anxious to sit.

  “Sweetie, you’re making me nervous.” Niki looked up from the ancient Lupine texts. “It’s going to be fine.”

  “How can I say these vows, knowing I’m a liar? What if Aiden finds out?” Nia ran a hand through her hair.

  “Eventually he will. We can’t keep this up forever.”

  “If it means keeping you away from Tristan, I could playact for the rest of my life.”

  Niki stared at her. “You can’t protect me forever, Nia. The truth will come out. But by then, I’ll have found a cure for the parvolupus and our boys will be saved. That’s what matters the most. And by then, my life will have finally gained meaning. I’ll have contributed some good to our people, instead of hiding here…like a fungus.”

  Guilt speared Nia. She went to her twin’s side and knelt down, taking her hands. “I’m so sorry. I never wanted you to feel like a fungus.”

  Niki smiled and squeezed her hands. “Actually, I do like mushrooms. I didn’t mean to sound bitchy or ungrateful. You’ve spent your entire life caring for me. I’m just a little antsy because I’m so close to finding the answers. And I’m worn out.”

  For the first time she noticed her twin’s paleness and her air of exhaustion. “What’s wrong?”

  Niki shook her head. “Nothing. I’ve been working extra hours, that’s all.”

  She kissed her twin’s cheek. “Then rest. I have some things I need to wrap up.”

  Late that afternoon, Nia held a meeting in the ballroom. She gathered the elders of her pack, the women who held influence among the younger set, the ten women who knew the truth about herself and Nikita. The women had lost their mates, their older sons, to the disease striking their lands.

  They had protected the twins’ secret fiercely over the years.

  Usually these meetings were best handled by her twin. Nikita had a gentle manner and winsome way of talking with the elders. But Niki was hunkered down in her basement apartment, and switching places with her this close to the mating ceremony was not advisable.

  None of these women knew the disease was caused by Pandora’s Chest. Nia herself didn’t realize it until last year, when she found her father’s diary. Up until then, she thought it was an illness caused by toxic fertilizer her father might have used, or another environmental cause. Or even bad magick.

  In folding chairs assembled in a circle, they gathered around her. Dolores, the eldest, sat in her place of honor to the right of Nia’s chair. Gray hair tied back in a prim bun, her floral dress tugged over her knees, Dolores exuded a grandmotherly air that soothed raw nerves.

  Dolores alone had lost two sons, five grandsons and her mate to the disease. Now she stood to lose her beloved great-grandson as well if a cure was not found.

  Too tense to sit, Nia paced. Her lower lip wobbled tremulously as she studied their careworn faces, the worry in their expressions. These women had helped hold the pack together, and their loyalty was astonishing. When everything collapsed and their men died, they remained out of sheer determination and a spirit of survival. She adored these women. Among them, she could be herself, and not her twin. They called her by name, and it felt wonderful.

  But now it was time to let go.

  Because I can’t take care of you anymore. I’ve tried and tried, but it’s not just the land that seems cursed now. It’s as if a pall has settled over the entire ranch. I can’t do this alone anymore.

  “I wanted to meet with you to ask your help over the coming weeks to integrate our pack with Aiden Mitchell’s,” she told them. “And I need your help to keep guarding Niki’s secret. She is getting close to a cure for the parvolupus and we need to keep her attention focused on the cure and her life as stress free as possible.”

  “Anything, honey. You okay?” Dolores asked.

  Nia rubbed the tense muscles in her neck.

  “I will be. The younger, unmated females will be selecting mates from Aiden’s pack. They’ll need level heads guiding them, and I can think of none better than the women in this room. Throwing a group of innocent, sexually frustrated females in their prime at a group of male Lupines who are, ah, filled with certain urges…”

  “That they haven’t been able to satisfy with their hands because they’re horny as hell,” Dolores quipped.

  Everyone laughed and the ice broke. Nia smiled. “They’ve probably been too busy roping calves. But yes, they will be very eager, and while I trust Aiden to control his men, I am entrusting all of you with the control of the women.”

  For the next several moments, she talked with the women, hearing their concerns, trying her best to answer them. Finally, as conversation died, she looked around the group.

  “That’s about it, unless there’s anything else you wish to add.”

  “Nia, honey, is there anything else you need our help with?” Dolores asked.

  At her headshake, Dolores stood and went to her. “On behalf of all of us, thank you.”

  Nia blinked. “For what?”

  The elderly Lupine sighed. “For being our leader, honey. For working your fingers to the bone to care for us, make sure we never went without, keeping us together when everything seemed to fall apart. For putting us first, even when you lost your own.”

  “I thought you were disappointed in me,” she whispered so the others wouldn’t hear. “We don’t have much food, and we’ve lost nearly everything. We have no money. I nearly lost the ranch…if Aiden hadn’t have bought the note and kept the bank from foreclosing…”

  “But we have each other and that’s what counts most. We’re family,” Dolores said, her hands soft and the skin like velvet.

  Guilt shot through her. “You lost your boys and grandsons and Arlen.”

  Dolores’ eyes grew misty. “Honey, I not only lost them, I nearly lost my mind. And that didn’t happen because of you. You spent every day and every night at my side, telling me to never give up and keep fighting. You forced me to eat, to drink, to live for my daughters and my granddaughters and great-granddaughters. It’s because of you I’m standing here today, instead of swinging from that old oak tree by the pond.”

  Nia gawked. “Are you serious?”

  Dolores hugged her tight. “You kept several of us from making that terrible decision. You were there for us in our darkest hours, refusing to let us surrender to the dark nights of our souls. You are one hell of a leader, Nia Blakemore. We love you
. Thank you for leading us.”

  The women stood and applauded. And then they came up, one by one, and engulfed her in a huge bear hug.

  “I love you all,” she whispered. Fighting tears, she looked away.

  When the last Lupine hugged her, she scrubbed at her eyes with a fist. “It’s not going to be easy, and there will be adjustments, but it’s for the best.”

  A noise from the doorway drew her attention. Roxanne hurried into the ballroom, her entire body tensing. “Niki, are you finished with the meeting yet?” she asked in an overly loud voice.

  She wiped her face with a lace hanky one of the women handed her and stuffed it into her pocket. “I’m done. Why? Do you need me?”

  “Not me. But he’s been pacing outside for twenty minutes, waiting for you.” Roxanne jerked a thumb at the double doors. “And I think he’s getting a little impatient.”

  The doors burst open and Aiden walked inside.

  Nude, he held a length of rope in his hands. A black Stetson tilted at a rakish angle on his head, Aiden walked toward her. Nia gawked as the women gave him several admiring glances.

  The naked cowboy. Dear goddess, he was stunning.

  Aiden twirled the rope as he advanced.

  “Mitchell! Put some clothes on!” Nia snapped.

  “Why? Everyone here has already seen me naked. And for what I plan, I don’t need clothing.”

  She backed away until hitting the wall. Aiden looked at the women. “Goodbye, ladies.”

  They scurried toward the double doors. Dolores glanced over her shoulder and gave Nia two thumbs up.

  “Things will be looking up soon, dear! Remember that!” Dolores called out.

  Oh yeah, it was going to be all up from here on. For Aiden, anyway.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” she snapped, her earlier melancholy gone.

  “I’m tired of waiting, Nikita. Come here. Now. It’s time.” He advanced, determination in his hard gaze. She couldn’t stop staring at those powerful thighs, the fluid way he moved as he walked, the rippled muscles of his abdomen. He was a beast.

  A magnificent, noble beast intent on claiming her.