No Quarter (3 page)

“Go on,” he croaked.

Plotting Jagger’s demise was a cakewalk next to attempting to discuss her love life with her husband. She took a deep breath and let it out, then sipped at her soda, buying her time to find the courage. She closed her eyes tight and finally, as she opened her eyes, released the words. “My heat is coming and very soon.”

“I see.” His hands slid off the table and disappeared below the surface.

Punching him in the throat wouldn’t help him say any more than ‘I see’ but the thought had crossed her mind.
Say something!

“We’ve yet to get to that, uh, aspect. But I’d rather it not be during a heat. That’s not how I want to—”

He held his hand up, interrupting her. “I know this is uncomfortable, and not to make it worse, but I want to remind you that I’ve been mated before. I am familiar with what you’re about to go through and how difficult it can be. Anything I can do to help. I mean,” His face turned as red as a cherry tomato, “I mean, if you want me out of the room until you’ve recovered or something… or privacy…or, oh man, anything. I’m sorry. I, uh, I mean, uh.”

She lifted her head.

He looked down—a sign of submission by a Lycan.

She felt her eyes widen in surprise.

“Colin, look at me, please.” When his eyes met hers, she smiled. “What I’m saying is I would like us to get there
before
it happens. I mean to say I’m ready to try to move forward, but I don’t have the slightest idea where you are with this because…well because we don’t really talk much, not about anything personal.” As embarrassed as she was to discuss the matter, and as nervous as she had been, relief washed over her now that the words had finally come out. “The problem is we haven’t had much time to act like an actual couple because we’ve been so focused on giving each other space. And now, with my heat coming, we don’t have much time to get there beforehand. I’m tired of things just happening to me. Life has just happened to me. Life stopped happening when I defeated Jagger. I’d like to continue taking control, but this isn’t just me, here. This involves you too.”

She noticed his eyes shift, looking behind her. The waitress was coming and the discussion took a brief halt while their lunch was delivered. Even though the food was in front of them, neither took a bite.

His gazed fixed on hers as she waited for him to speak.

“Dinner tonight with my sister would be a nice start. And when we retire for the evening, we can do things a little differently. We can start turning in a little earlier, so we can talk privately in our room. We can stop avoiding each other quite so much. But there is one sure fire way for us to feel what we both so desperately want to feel.”

She gulped, knowing exactly to what he referred. “I’m not sure bonding is a great idea.”

His shoulders slumped. “Why not?”

Scooting her plate to the side, she placed her elbows on the table and folded her hands, leaning forward, nearly whispering. “Has it occurred to you it is only a matter of time before someone challenges me for my position?”

The realization of her situation had to have hit him, because his mouth fell open. “It’ll be no quarter.”

She gave one short but firm bob of her chin. “And you’ll suffer that loss all over again. You’ll lose your second bonded mate. I can’t do that to you, Colin. We may not yet be in love, but I respect you too much to hurt you that way.”

The silence between them lingered as he stared at her. He broke his gaze and picked up his sandwich. “Don’t you think that’s my risk to take?”

It hadn’t occurred to her decision would take away his choice. “I hadn’t considered it. But in all fairness we haven’t really had any discussions about us at all. As a matter of fact, we’ve hardly had any discussions about anything.” She folded her hands and let them rest in her lap. If there wasn’t already anxiety over simply having the discussion, her impending heat and the strange nature of their union, she now was filled with anxiety, concerned she’d insulted him. Worse yet, she’d been famished when they reached the restaurant and now her stomach was in such knots her sandwich was less than appealing.

“I have to admit, it is a concern.” He finally spoke. “I’m not sure I could survive it a second time. It is just one thing to consider. We were thrown together with so much baggage it might take a life time to sift through it all. It’s one way we can be certain to break through these barriers, to be sure we’re not pushing the other too quickly.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “Either way, let’s table it for now. You need to eat.”

She looked down at the slice of wheat bread resting on the top of her sandwich. It looked less appealing than it had when it arrived. Still, she forced herself to take a bite. The rest of lunch was rather quiet and uncomfortable. She managed to choke down half her meal before she gave up.

As he drove them back to the Belfast pack’s territory, she gazed out the window. Every single decision she made now had a consequence. As Alpha of a pack, they were all subject to the consequences of her decisions. On a personal level, if she did bond with Colin to break through the barriers they’d both built, and was then killed in a fight to the death for her Alpha position, he’d suffer a horrible injustice of nature once again. If she didn’t bond with him, they may never connect the way a Lycan couple should. This left her with nothing more than a feeling of dread.

When they parked the car, she quickly thanked him for the lunch and hurried up to her room to put her things away. In order to make dinner with Wendy, Colin’s sister, on time, she’d have to quickly change, check her messages and be ready to leave.

She was fond of Wendy but had requested she leave and join the new school. Dinner would at least sate her curiosity regarding Wendy’s transition. Standing in her closet, she decided on one of the few pant suits she had and stripped down to her underwear and bra, quickly pulling on the tan pants. Colin had always dressed well and it
was
a dinner. His mate shouldn’t sport jeans and a tank top while accompanying him to a family meeting. Tossing the jacket and flats on the bed as she crossed the room to the bathroom, she worked quickly to get her long dark hair into a French twist and applied a little mascara.

“How do you do that?” Colin asked from the bedroom, staring in at her as she smoothed a tinted lip balm across her bottom lip.

“Do what?”

“Transform, that’s what. You look like a different woman, entirely.” He shook his head. “This is how I saw you the very first time. I distinctly remember my jaw hitting the floor.”

She felt the smile spreading across her face. “All I remember was you could hardly put two words together.”

He leaned his forearm against the door jamb. “Well yeah, I was speechless. You truly are a vision, Nala. Don’t think for one moment I don’t find you absolutely stunning just because our union was arranged.” He winked before abruptly turning and walking into his own large closet.

And there it was. He was flirting again. The ride home was quiet. Why didn’t he choose then to flirt? Why not over lunch? Why now after a long awkward drive home? He left her standing, speechless, at the bathroom mirror.

“Because we spend too much time protecting ourselves. We don’t notice it all of the time.”
Her wolf, which had been entirely too absent finally spoke to her.
“We must learn to relax. He is a good wolf.”

It was now or never. He had flirted, complimented, and assured her of his physical attraction. After a deep, cleansing breath, she put her head forward and marched into his closet.

He was tucking in his dress shirt when he froze, surprised to see her in his space. She took three slow steps closing the distance between them. Easing her hand up, she placed her palm on his cheek and leaned in, hopeful. He didn’t miss his cue, closing the one solitary inch between them, locking their lips in their first kiss. It was brief and respectful…tender, yet full of need.

Her heart raced and she wasn’t sure if it were nerves or butterflies tying her stomach into knots.

“Thank you for the compliment. It feels really nice.” She leaned back on her heels easing back from him, releasing his face. “I’m looking forward to dinner.”

Maybe the ride to the school would be more pleasant than the ride home from shopping. She gave him a quick smile before hurrying out of the closet to let him finish dressing. Silently, she chastised herself for not paying more attention, of noting his reaction. It wasn’t easy when she was so focused on being brave enough to take the first important step.

Her head snapped at a tiny knock on their bedroom door. She began walking toward it to answer when Colin rushed in front of her. “No you don’t!” When he opened the door, Thomas one of the Gnomes stood holding a small black box in his hand.

“Mr. Baker, here is your order. I do hope they are to your liking.” He lifted the box up and Colin scooped it out of his hand.

“I’m sure it’s perfect, Thomas. Thank you.”

“Mrs. Baker,” the tiny man bobbed his head, “have a great evening.”

“What was that about?” she asked as he shut the door.

He closed the distance between them and held the black box in his palm, which was stretched out toward her. “A gift for my wife.”

Her mouth fell slack and her heart throbbed in her chest. He’d procured a gift for her. She could not remember the last time anyone gave her a gift, especially for no reason. She lifted the small box from his hand and opened it, finding two pink garnet earrings, hand carved by the Gnomes. A matching garnet studded bracelet rested at the bottom.

“Colin!” she gasped holding the box away from her. “This is too much.”

With gentle pressure, and a smile plastered on his face, he pushed it back toward her. “No. It isn’t. You are Alpha of this pack. You are my mate. It’s a simple gift I would love to see you wear to dinner tonight.” He stepped closer and ran his hand along her arm. “And that’s nickel, due to your strong aversion to silver.”

At a loss for words, she bravely stepped in and wrapped her arms around him. She could feel his warm arms wrapping around her ribs, then shoulders, pulling her into him. When at last she finally released him, she saw that familiar smirk in his eyes.

“I expected the kiss to happen
after
the jewelry.” He chuckled and tucked his hands in the pockets of his slacks, his eyes pointed at the floor.

“Seems we’re both full of surprises.” She placed the box on the bureau near her and put the jewelry on. When she was finished, she turned to look in the mirror. The pink garnet looked nice against her dark skin. “Thank you very much.”

* * * *

The ride to the school had, indeed, been more relaxed than the ride home from shopping. They chatted about small things, getting to know each other’s taste in everything from music to adult beverages. It felt nice to her, having someone become familiar. Colin had scooped her hand in his and held it during the ride. His warmth oozed into her, relaxing her tension.

As they drove down the long lane toward the school Nala felt her eyes bulge. The center of the building looked like a large castle. The East and West wings were large and rectangular in shape, continuing the same stone work as the castle.

“Wow, that’s huge! I had no idea the school was so grand.” Her eyes darted around, trying to take in every little detail.

He squeezed her hand. “From what I’ve heard the inside is even more spectacular.” After parking in the rear of the school they were approached my two Centaurs.

“Hello, you must be Colin and Nala Baker,” one of them said.

“Yes, and you are?” Nala extended her hand.

He leaned over and shook her hand. “My name is Prometheus. This is Theron. We are to escort you to Wendy’s door since it’s easy to get lost in the school your first time.” Led by two Centaurs thru the building, they walked into a great hall. Her gaze danced from side hall to stairs, to little Gnomes zipping around in their cars. Each hall had been marked at the entrance with carved numbers and letters.

“Glad I chose flats,” she whispered.

Theron looked over his shoulder. “This is the West wing. We will be there in a moment.”

They turned left down another corridor.

“This is your sister’s door. We’ll leave you now.” The Centaurs turned and left them standing.

After a nervous glance at her, Colin knocked.

“Grace?” The color had drained form Colin’s face as the door opened. “Where’s Wendy?”

Grace smiled and pulled him in through the door. “Oh, I’m fine. How are you, Colin? It’s good to see you.” She rolled her eyes. “Hello, Nala. How are you?”

“I’m good, Grace. It’s nice to see you again.” She gave a brief respectful nod to her Queen.

Roman sat on the sofa, looking as if he were avoiding eye contact with Colin. She picked up on it right away, but thought a distraction would serve them well. “Look at the beautiful jewelry Colin just gave me. Isn’t it nice?”

Grace admired the jewelry, stepping between Colin and his view of his former Beta, playfully winking at her. The glint in her eye spoke of good news, though Nala couldn’t understand the subterfuge.

“Wendy will be out in a minute. Dinner is nearly ready. If you’d like to move to the dining room.” A man stood with golden hair and bronzed skin atop bulging muscles which were barely contained in his white shirt. Nala recognized him as Zoltar, the Centaur King.