CHAPTER 8

After a short drive over a rocky trail, they finally arrived at Lilas. She found it amazing that even with light coming from some of the windows it didn"t stand out at all. It was one of those things that unless you were looking for it, you"d probably miss it. "Who did all this?" "Apparently the ancestors of the last pack started it yonks ago. It"s been added to and modernised over the years. We did a lot of improvements to it ourselves." "There are actually hotels in places like Dubai that are luxurious cave dwellings just like this," Duda told her as he drove through an opening in the bottom of the mountain which Danica soon realized was actually a concealed parking lot. As she hopped out of the Lexus , she noticed Chris parking her Lamborghini a few spaces away. His sulky expression as he got out of the car was the same one he had worn when Gio ordered him to drive it here for her. "I need to get my bag out of the trunk," she told Gio as she took a step toward her car. "Chris will get it." The Head Guard froze and a muscle ticked in his jaw. Begrudgingly he retrieved her bag and Danica couldn"t help smirking at his petulant behavior. The ass shook his head when she went to take the bag from him and stormed past her. They came to a large door that appeared to be at the centre of the other entrances. Then they were going through an indoor maze of tunnels that took them deep into the mountain. Danica was pretty sure she would get lost if left to wander anywhere alone. Eventually they came to a black door that led to the same kitchen she had sat in only a few days ago. Realized that she had been pretty much dismissed as unimportant right now, Danica hopped onto the counter and grabbed herself a peach from the fruit bowl. Munching happily on it, she listened as all five male wolves sat around the table discussing strategies for when his uncle made his challenge. They were so cool about it that anyone would think they were referring to a Play station game or something as opposed to an actual life or death situation. There was even a kind of child-like excitement there. Rolling her eyes, she dug out her cell phone from her purse and read the dozens of text messages she had received from several members of the pack. All were asking if the rumor that she had mated Gio Wright was true. Suza and Rick had sent several, both expressing concern about his reputation and trying to convince her that she was wrong about him being her true mate. She knew she would have to respond to them soon, but right now she was feeling too raw. Aware that all had suddenly gone quiet, she looked up from her cell to find several pairs of eyes focused on her. Surprised, she pulled her finger from her mouth having sucked off the peach juice. "What?" Gio cleared his throat. "Nothing." Not liking even the thought of the other males ogling her, he shot them all a cautioning look. Of course he couldn"t blame them. She was so damn sensual. "By the way," said Duda, grinning from ear to ear, "welcome to the pack, Danica." "Why were your dad"s enforcers following you around?" asked Gio. "When Cody came to visit I wasn"t very nice and they considered me a flight risk. The mating ceremony was supposed to take place in a few days." "Do you think her dad will keep fighting this?" asked Andrew. Gio shook his head. "He might be pissed off and wish things had happened differently, but it"s like Danica said. He"ll be worried I"ll defeat him and make him look weak to the rest of his pack. He recognised that my wolf was more dominant than his." "And the alliance? Do you think we have any chance of getting it?" Gio looked at her. "What do you think?" "I"d say yes," she said. "I saw the look on his face when you asked if an alliance with you wouldn"t have meant anything to him. It gave him something to think about." Duda tilted his head at her. "He"ll switch loyalties that easily from Cody to Gio? "As long as he gets an alliance with a powerful alpha out of this, he"ll be content. Give it a few weeks for him to finish sulking and he"ll make contact, wanting us to meet up. I"ll put money on it." "You"re that confident?" "He"s that fickle." "Well, we"ll know for sure on Sunday," said Gio. "If he comes along with Cody, he"s stating that he allies himself with him, no matter the outcome." "Do you think Cody will come as soon as he realizes you"ve mated Danica?" asked Duda "Yep. What time"s he due to arrive on Sunday?" Gio asked her. "Early in the morning." "Lindy"s not due back "til after lunch. She"ll be disappointed she missed the confrontation." "Actually she called earlier to say she"d be arriving in the morning," Andrew informed him. "Lindy?" Danica was glad that none of the possessiveness and jealousy had leaked into her voice. Her wolf snapped to alertness, wondering at the mystery female. "Grandmother," explained Gio. Danica didn"t like the way he was grinning. It said he was aware of her wolf"s immediate response to him having said another female"s name with such familiarity. She shot him what she knew was a petulant scowl. He laughed silently. "She doesn"t go out much," said Duda, "but occasionally she goes to stay with her sister who mated into another pack. I think she might be hoping to try and secure an alliance between that pack and ours. It could have been done a long time ago but Gio was never interested in making them until now." "Does the Alpha of that pack have many alliances?" "Not really, but it would be more than what we have now." "Then I guess it"s a good thing my dad"s so fickle." Sighing, she smoothly slid off the countertop. "Where"s my bag?" "Gio's room," Chris told her, his tone unwelcoming. "It"s the same room you woke up in last time you were here." Duda gestured with his hands as he spoke. "Just take a left at the end of this tunnel. You then need to take your second left after that. Then go straight until you come to a junction and take a right." When her eyes flicked to his, Gio thought he might have seen hesitation there. "Go anywhere else and I"ll just hunt you down and drag you to bed." She rolled her eyes. "Easy there." "If you"re Alpha of a place like this. I have no intention of hiding from you. You"re mistaking me for one of your submissive Jane"s. That"s not to say there won"t be some struggling involved if you expect to get in that bed with me." "I"ll be following you there in about twenty-minutes. We"ll let the struggling commence then. But, what with your wolf riding you so hard to complete the mating, I can"t see you struggling that much." The sound of Duda"s throaty laugh followed her out of the kitchen. Damn if psycho boy hadn"t been right about her wolf"s eagerness though. It wasn"t just that her wolf craved the feeling of his body possessing hers. The drive to consummate the claiming also had a lot to do with her wolf being anxious that the mating was incomplete. Being back inside Gio"s bedroom where his scent was overbearing made her wolf a little less restless, but still she didn"t like being separated from her male. Not while the mating was half-finished. Opening the door at the opposite side of the room, she found herself in the most amazing luxurious bathroom. She very much liked the look of the bathroom.It was so humungous you needed to climb a few steps before you could get into it. Unfortunately she didn"t have time for a leisurely soak, so corner shower it was. A thought struck Danica as she entered the shower…It was well known that mates found it uncomfortable to be apart for the first few months. Would that apply to her and Gio or would they be spared that because they weren"t true mates? She suspected that, in any case, things would always be more trying for her and Gio due to how both their wolves constantly reached for the surface. If it was going to be really uncomfortable then that could prove a problem. Although she hadn"t known Gio for very long, she had picked up that he wasn"t a touchy-feely person. For shifters, touch was a need. It was as basic as eating and breathing. But Gio didn"t seem to experience that craving, or had conditioned himself to ignore it somehow. Yes, he had slid his hands all over her at the club, but that had been for the purpose of their ‘true mate" act. He always seemed to sit apart or stand apart from the others. If this continued while they were mated, it would be damn hard for their wolves. As she stepped out of the corner shower she wrapped a thick blue and green towel around herself and went back into the bedroom, all the while ignoring the way her stomach was clenching at the mere thought of having Gio inside her. Not Gio as her mate, but Gio as the man who had an overwhelming effect on her body merely by looking at her. It was no wonder that he had always reeled in females with little effort. Not that there would be any more reeling. A split second later she realized just how much possessiveness had been in that one thought, and she had to roll her eyes. Hearing a low growl, Danica slowly turned her head. Closing the bedroom door was Gio, staring at her with such heat in his eyes that she sucked in a breath. "You have tattoos," he all but growled. Gio had never really thought of them as sexual but the sight of them on Danica"s body had his cock throbbing. He couldn"t decide which he liked best, the anklet or the howling wolf on her shoulder. She grinned wickedly. "So I do." "Lose the towel," he ordered. Not many people would dare to ignore an order from him, but of course Danica Hart did. "Lose the towel," he repeated. But she only smiled. "Honestly, does that usually work?" She could understand if it did. Hell, that implacable, uncompromising tone had very nearly worked on her. She was just so damned horny and her wolf craved his possession, but even her wolf knew he had to prove he was worthy of her surrender. "I know you"re an alpha, Danica, but I think you might be forgetting that so am I. Believe me when I say that I will have your submission." "Unleash the beast if you want. I"ll try not to laugh, I promise." His wolf stretched within him, ready and content to catch and subdue his little mate. "Don"t make me chase you, baby. Don"t make me have to spank that ass." Not that that would be such a bad thing. "Come. Here.Abruptly he dived at her but she swiftly and skilfully dodged him. "You want this, Danica." He grinned as her gaze zoomed in on his hands as he unsnapped the buttons of his fly. His painfully hard cock sprang out and she licked her bottom lip. He groaned then shoved down his jeans and stepped out of them. "I can smell your arousal," he added as he unbuttoned his shirt and had her backing up toward the bed. "I can sense how hard your wolf"s riding you." "You"re denying me what"s mine. That hot little body is mine now."