Bound to My Mate Ch. 20

Joel winked at me and strode back out of the room.

Maryellen seemed hesitant now that she was being left with Dominick. She stepped back from him and came to stand beside me.

"Ah, Madam, in all the excitement I forgot why I approached you originally," Dominick said digging into his pants pocket. "I've been wanting to return these to you."

Dominick handed me a set of earrings. Tiger's eye surrounded by a band of silver, I had been wearing them the day Cedric arrived. When I shifted they had been thrust out of my ears.

"How did you find these?" I asked.

"I saw the first one land, so I looked and found the other one," he said and then assured me. "They fell in the dirt, but I washed them."

He had found the backs to the earrings, too. I looked at the delicate jewelry in my palm and then watched Dominick.

"You saw where my earrings landed from inside the den while standing at a window?" I asked suspiciously. "That seems difficult."

"It would have been difficult, from inside the den," he said glancing over at Maryellen and smiling.

There were brushes and shrubs that decorated the outside of the den. We had them searched before the women arrived. No one but us should have been out front. It would have taken a damned sneaky and persistent wolf to be outside watching the caravan. Especially, close enough to see where my earrings landed.

"They're yours," I said handing them back to Dominick, "you earned them."

"Ah, I have very little use for earrings," Dominick said, "but Maryellen, you don't seem to have any on."

Maryellen blushed and stammered out an answer about not wanting to get dressed up for this.

Dominick reached forward and pushed her thick hair away from her ear on one side. He carefully inserted the post and affixed the earring. The same process was repeated on the other side. He took his time with the simple task, making sure to brush his fingers lovingly against her as he worked.

"I like them on you," he said to Maryellen admiring his handiwork. "The brown and gold reminds me of how your eyes spark when you are angry."

"They are hers," Maryellen stammered, looking at me. "I can't keep them."

"I gave them away as a prize," I told her. "Tell me," I said addressing Dominick, "should I be giving out prizes to anyone else from that day."

"Hardly," he snorted running a finger down Maryellen's arm.

"You're a tricky one, Dominick," I complemented, "but I know Alpha Latro trusts you."

"I am the best tracker he has," Dominick boasted, "no one hides from me for long."

Maryellen looked at Dominick with the oddest expression.

"I'm a tracker, too," she told him.

That didn't seem possible. Maryellen was soft with generous curves. She didn't seem like a rough and tumble type of girl. Tracking was grueling work and only attracted the toughest in the pack. I would have thought the same for the human equivalent.

"I am...I mean I was a forensic accountant," she told Dominick pushing her glasses up her nose slightly. "People try to hide their money, it was my job to know where it went. I was the best in my department."

Dominick took her hand and led her to a small sofa off to the side. "Tell me how you did that," he said very interested.

Luckily the rest of the afternoon was boring. I didn't think I could stand another scene like Dominick nearly caused. When the meeting was over I was thrilled.

Walking with Joel toward the circle later that night, I spoke to him about new concerns I'd realized.

'Cedric's pack members were picking on Rick. It's not safe to send him around, they may try to hurt him,' I sent to Joel through the bond.

Joel laughed out loud before he sent his thoughts back to me, 'That idiot wasn't after Rick, he was after you. They wanted to see if all the gossip about the new Alpha bitch was true. Some of the packs believe there is no way you are as strong or fast as they've heard.'

Joel threw an arm around me and continued with good humor tinting his thoughts, 'He was just goading you into a fight to see how you'd react. I personally enjoyed the show you put on. I imagine he expected you to come screaming to me.'

Joel continued to chuckle thinking about it.

We made it down to the circle and Joel started stripping down. A very nervous Maryellen approached with Dominick close behind her. He seemed to be trying to stop her without grabbing and restraining her.

"Please, Alpha Latro," she begged quietly, "please don't hurt him."

Her eyes behind the glasses got wet with tears and she was shivering.

Dominick looked really irritated and tried to tell her he'd earned a round with Joel in the circle, but she started to cry harder. Joel moved to touch her and she jerked away, utterly terrified.

I stepped forward and held my arms out to her. She rushed into them and pleaded with me to make them stop. Evidently over the course of the afternoon, she'd gotten really attached to Dominick. Stroking her hair I soothed her.

"Wolves like to fight," I whispered low in her ear. "I have a feeling Dominick likes to get a chance to battle the Alpha one on one. You know as well as I do he brought his bad behavior to our attention intentionally. He probably wants to impress you with his skill."

She had stopped crying and just rested in my arms. The men took that as a signal they could head into the circle.

"Will the Alpha maim him?" she asked.

I couldn't imagine a world where the Alpha would really injure a member of his own pack. However, I had not seen the horrors she had.

"Never," I told her. "The Alpha loves his pack, he just wants them to follow his rules. Dominick is just going to get a reminder of who is stronger."

"What if Dominick wins?" she asked.

"Then you'll be the Madam Alpha," I told her and the shivering started again. "I don't think you have to worry about that, though."

The battle began and it was fierce. They bit and slashed at one another with Joel drawing small streams of Dominick's blood on several occasions. Joel certainly didn't want to permanently harm Dominick, but he was showing him who was boss.

It was too much for the young woman beside me. Maryellen tried to watch but she ended up with her face buried in my neck. I sighed, my wolf was really enjoying the battle, but I had to pay attention to her.

Watching out of the corner of my eye, I saw the match finally end. Dominick submitted and Joel stood over him and howled. The pack cheered as Joel did a victory lap around the circle.

"See," I said forcing Maryellen to look at Dominick, "he's fine."

The lanky brown wolf rolled to his feet and stretched. He didn't seem injured to me. When Joel saw him get up, he ran at him and the brown wolf rolled on his back again. Joel didn't stop soon enough and they tumbled together.

Maryellen made a sound of horror as the started to fight again.

"No, no," I ordered as she started to cry again, "they are playing. Watch them closely."

There was no threatening growling, just occasional bark as the men attacked and retreated. Both of them looked like they were having fun now, rolling and scuffling in the middle of the circle.

"They are playing," she said awed, wiping away tears.

"Alpha Latro and Dominick are friends, Maryellen," I assured her.

She finally seemed to believe me. Now the fight was fun for her to watch. The wolves sparred and separated. Everyone around the circle cheered and howled.

I kept an arm around her as we watched the men and noticed how silky her shirt felt.

"Cashmere?" I asked rubbing her arm.

"Yeah," she laughed, "Dominick had it in his room. I guess he must have gone shopping. He gave me new clothes to wear, all in my size. Everything is really nice."

I could appreciate why Dominick had picked the new clothes. The light gold sweater was fitted to Maryellen's ample bosom. The pants hugged her figure, accentuating her rounded hips and generous ass. He had chosen wisely, conservative yet alluring.

"He said the shirt matched my earrings, but I can give them back, Madam," she said lifting her hair so the tiger's eye caught the light.

"They were a prize to him and a gift for you," I said, "and I must agree with your mate. It is a lovely stone on you."

Joel forced Dominick's submission a second time and the pack roared its approval.

My mate sauntered toward us, quite pleased with himself.

Rick and April had appeared beside me and they took a confused Maryellen with them.

"What's going on?" I heard her ask as I started to strip and shifted in the circle to join my mate.

I was glad they were there to explain.

I circled Joel and he panted watching me.

'Submit, mate,' he ordered.

I thought about running to make him chase me, just for fun, but we had guests. Instead I ran my body along his and stopped with my tail at his nose.

'If it wasn't for all the damned humans, I'd take you for a run,' he said licking across my backside.

'Crawl on and take me,' I demanded dropping my front half to the ground.

Joel was more than happy to oblige.

I sat with Joel in a pack meeting and thought about the last couple of weeks. It had taken me a long time, but I was finally accepting my duties as Alpha. Meetings were an expected part of my job, so I attended them. When it was necessary, I knew when and how to dole out punishment. Overall, I was getting better at this life.

Things were still crazy. Rick and April had just gotten back, they had been to visit the rescued humans in every pack. The reports we got back all said it had made an enormous difference.

June had finished Lucas' healing process and there was no longer any trace of the loner he had once been. She refused to let him live in the past and kept him busy keeping up with her. They had become dynamic and active members of the pack.

Maryellen was back to forensic accounting, with a twist. The pack made too much money and kept it for much too long. It had to be hidden and moved around. She hadn't been lying, she was very good. She taught our guys tricks they had never dreamed of, some of it legal and some of it not.

"I was never able to say it to my boss," she told me one day, "the only way to be good at this, is to think like a thief would. I would spend hours thinking about how I would hide money, if I every had it."

Besides all of that we were getting ready for Dia's changing ceremony. She had, at some point, decided to forgive Joel. Feeling more at home with our pack, she agreed when Cedric stated he would allow her to be changed here.

When I heard raised voices outside our meeting chamber just before lunch, it surprised me. For all the stress of planning everything, there had been no new threats. I feared what would happen as Emily went out to investigate.

Coming back in, Emily addressed all of us respectfully. "Our human guests wish an audience with the Alpha pair."

Joel shrugged and I nodded. We technically still had fifteen minutes before they started serving lunch. Joel excused the Council and we waited.

Dia came in first, followed by April, June, and Maryellen. The women looked like they were geared up for a fight. Behind them, sheepishly, came their mates.

"Sir," Will started to say to Joel and Dia raised a hand to shush him.

"It isn't your decision," Dia snapped. "It isn't your ceremony. You aren't making any changes. This is about us, not you."

'Okay,' I thought to Joel, 'there must be a problem. Maybe they don't want to change yet.'

Joel sighed audibly. He didn't want to go through with them what he went through with me.

"We have some demands," Dia stated flatly.

"Please, I can't wait to know what they are," Joel said plaintively.

I could see the images in his head. He was imagining having to deal with four human females wandering around fighting the change for months. Joel took some initiative before Dia could speak and offered a compromise.

"You know, ladies, victims of rogues are not expected to go through the change in the circle. I think I've made that quite clear. Maryellen and April are exempt from a public change. Dia, if you and June are against the idea, I would make the same exception for you. It's a tradition the pack likes, but isn't forced to adhere to."

"No," April said and Joel groaned sinking into his chair.

If it would be fair to say a man as large as Joel was pouting, he was.

"Sir," Dominick started to say and Maryellen stopped him from talking.

"We want to go through this together," Dia said. "All of us in the circle at once in three days under the full moon. They don't want to wait and I don't see why one Beta," she said pointing at Will, "gets precedence over others."

I spoke up finally. "Dia, Will's not really a Beta, you know that."

"Here," she said pointing around us, "he is. My friends do not want to wait a month. We want to change under the moon with our mates. Don't make them wait another month."

"Cedric-," Joel started to say and Dia interrupted him.

"Cedric has agreed to my demands. I have already spoken with him. The others are not expected to prove their metal before the pack, but I should. As long as I force him," Dia gestured to Will with her thumb, "to subdue me, Cedric doesn't care if the rest of it is a shared ceremony."

"The other girls do not have to do that, the fight or the public ceremony," Joel said sounding relieved.

"We know that Alpha Latro," April said. "It's very understanding of you to offer me privacy, considering my past. I want to change in front of the pack and become one of you."

Rick shrugged his shoulders at her statement.

Maryellen seconded what she said, but Dominick shook his head violently.

"No," he said looking at her. "You are not doing this in the circle with the pack."

"Dom, I want to," she said turning and placing a hand on his chest.

"No, I won't risk it," he said caressing her arms.

She started to disagree with him and he placed a finger over her lips. "No, Maryellen, your health is all that matters to me. We came today to support your friends, but you are not doing this. I know the Alphas will agree with me on this."

"April is going to do it," Maryellen begged pointing. "I'm strong enough. I can do this, too."

"You are a fighter and a survivor," Dominick told her, "but no."

"I love you, Dom," she said looking at her friends and trying to find one of them to back her up. "I know it means a lot to do this in the circle. We can get through this together."

"It is just a ceremony, Maryellen, and it is not necessary to me," Dominick stated.

I was unsure about what was happening. In an effort to be a better Alpha, I spent a lot less time in the infirmary. If Maryellen was having problems, I didn't know about it.

"Dominick," I said, "tell me why you are so against this."

I had to admit, Dominick looked angry I was asking. He probably thought I was going to try to force him to do this with Maryellen. Quite the opposite, I wasn't sure it was a good idea for any of our humans that had been traumatized.

Changing in the circle was not something I would want a rape victim to go through. It seemed like it could re open old scars or even make new ones. Just based on that principle I already agreed with him.

"Madam Alpha," Dominick said formally, "Maryellen still becomes frightened if other males get too close. Someone stepped behind her yesterday and too spoke loudly; she panicked and screamed. The nights I patrol, she doesn't sleep. I leave her with my sister, but she stays awake all night."

Maryellen looked at the ground and seemed to be trying to disappear. I felt bad dragging this out, but it had to happen this way. Joel and I had to have justification for making this decision for her.

"April is going to do it," Maryellen said pointing and pushing her glasses up her nose.

"Rick, April," I said addressing them, "are these problems you all suffer with?"

"No, Madam," April answered. "I was afraid like that before, one day it just stopped. It just takes time and it gets better," she soothed Maryellen.

"A changing ceremony," Dominick said, "is loud and boisterous. Someone would be touching her intimately all night and I'm afraid she would feel fear."

I looked at Maryellen and waited for her to speak. "I'm not weak," she told us. "I can do this. I will make it through. I'll force myself."

I looked at Joel and he looked at me. Health, the human women, and the pack's women were all my purview. That put this squarely in my court.

I stepped around the table we were at and stood in front of Maryellen.

"You agree with him, because you're a wolf, too," she said softly.

"I agree with him, because I don't want to see you hurt anymore than you already have been," I said gently.

Maryellen looked crushed when her eyes met mine. She really had wanted to prove she was strong enough, but I agreed with Dominick. There was a reason Joel didn't force the human women to have a public change and this was it.

Turning on her heel, Maryellen left the conference room. When Dominick tried to stop her, she pushed him away and slammed the door. Dominick looked at me gratefully and apologized for his mate before excusing himself politely.

Everyone that was left seemed embarrassed by what had transpired. None of us would have chosen to make that a public conversation. Joel cleared his throat and broke the uncomfortable silence.

"We should have enough slabs for all three of you to erect altars," he said.

"Alpha Latro," Lucas said, "I checked the slabs myself. There are more than enough. The actual altar, we'll need to construct a few more. I checked around. Some of the guys might already be working on those."

"Three days Lucas, but build them well. The girls deserve the finest," Joel warned.

It was a relief when we finally went to lunch.

I was sad not to see Maryellen and Dominick in the dining room. I hoped they would work through her disappointment quickly. As we ate, I thought about the ceremony. All the pack would be there and most of them would be distracted. It was a potentially dangerous time.

"I want security around the circle," I told Joel. "I don't want some freaky rogue pack or witch cult or even an evil fairy interrupting our night."

Joel put down his fork to look at me.

"Evil fairies?" he asked. "That's what you worry about?"

"Eh, I get tired of the mundane stuff like rogue werewolves intent on killing me," I shrugged.

"Well, I'll have the whole pack on evil fairy detail for that night," Joel laughed continuing his meal.

The pack was really excited about the change. They seemed grateful to Will and Dia, as though they were giving up something precious to share the ceremony. Perhaps they were, but neither of them seemed to mind.

Dia's only concern was looking tough in front of the pack. I heard she had managed to convince Shawna to train her. Dia was spending her last three days as a human trying to learn to beat up a werewolf. Will was going to suffer for his mate the night of the full moon, that was for sure.

As the day of the full moon rolled around the den was in a tizzy. Everyone was excited about the night time activities. We made sure to plan it so everyone got to take part.

We were worried about security on a day as special as this, but we split up the watch over six shifts. None of the warriors would work more than four hours today. It was a concession they were quite pleased with.

I went with Joel to the circle in the afternoon. The real party didn't start until the girls got here, but it was still fun. Radios pumped out music and food was brought from the den. We ate, danced, and lounged in the area around the circle.

Joel and I had long since lost our clothing. I sunbathed nude in the clearing as Joel snoozed beside me as the giant black wolf. He told me he was conserving his energy for tonight. I laughed at his obvious enjoyment of his afternoon nap.