Jager's Mate Read online

  Nick gave her a look that said he’d probably already repeated himself more than once. “I said if you do happen to see the wolf, don’t do anything stupid. You never know. The damn thing could have rabies.”

  “I doubt I’ll see it. And I doubt it’s a wolf. It’s more likely some mongrel stray that happens to be on the large size.”

  “Even then, be careful.”

  Daylen started to walk backwards toward her cruiser. “Stop worrying, mother hen. You know I don’t do anything rash. If I don’t catch you at the end of your shift, tell Allison I said hi.”

  “I will. Hopefully I’ll be calling you from the hospital over the weekend.”

  “I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.”

  ———

  The night turned out to be pretty uneventful for Daylen. Being a Friday night, she kept a closer watch on the patrons that filed in and out of the bars and nightclubs. Fridays tended to a lot busier, and people also seemed to drink a bit more than they did during the week. Not too often, but at times, fights would break out as well.

  Near the end of her shift, Daylen made one final sweep of her patrol route. With dawn fast approaching, things had settled down for the night. As she neared the alley where the sword fight had taken place the night before, she slowed the cruiser, something she had done each time she drove by it. Not that she thought the man would be stupid enough to show up at the place where he’d resisted arrest. She just couldn’t stop herself from looking at the last place she’d seen him.

  Daylen’s foot slammed down on the brake when she saw the figure of a man standing just at the opening of the alley. His long hair was pulled back in a pony tail, the ends of it fluttering in the breeze. He wore the same black duster he’d worn when she had first seen him. He waited until he’d made eye contact with her before he turned and ducked into the alley.

  Not wanting him to get away from her this time, Daylen hit the gas and sped up to the alley. She slammed the cruiser into park and jumped out, slamming the door behind her.

  Inside the alley, she stopped short when she swept the length of it with her gaze and found it empty. Where has he gone? It had taken her all of ten seconds to get to the alley.

  He couldn’t have run the length of it and disappeared in that short amount of time. But then again, he’d moved incredibly fast the first time she had encountered him. Just to make sure he was indeed gone, Daylen walked down to the very end of the alley that opened onto another street. But there was no sign of him. She had to wonder if her mind had made him up since she seemed to be spending so much time thinking about him.

  Just as she turned to head back to her cruiser, Daylen heard someone call her name.

  She looked to the opposite end of the alley and found Nick walking toward her. She met him at the halfway point.

  “Nick, what are you doing here?” she asked.

  “I saw your cruiser at the curb. Considering you weren’t in it, I thought I’d see if you needed any help.”

  She shook her head. “I just thought I saw something and decided to take a closer look is all. If I had seen the wolf, dog, or whatever, I would have radioed in. There’s nothing here. I thought you would have already gone back to the station. This part of the city isn’t that close to your patrol route.”

  Nick gave her a sheepish grin. “Okay, I came looking for you. I just wanted to make sure you were all right. I had a bad experience with a big dog when I was a kid, and I never really got over it.”

  “That’s sweet, but totally unnecessary. I’m perfectly capable of looking out for myself, as you know. Having a black belt in karate, I can pretty much kick butt when I need to, be it man or dog. Now go back to the station so you can go home and enjoy your weekend. I’ll be right behind you.” Before Nick walked away, Daylen gave him a kiss on the cheek. “That’s for thinking of me.”

  A loud animal-like growl echoed through the alley. Both Nick and Daylen put their hands on the butts of their guns at the same time.

  Nick swept the alley with his gaze. “Can you see anything? It sounded like it came from somewhere close by.”

  They did a thorough search of the alley but didn’t see the animal that had made the growl. “Nope. Nothing. Whatever it was, I don’t think it hung around. Let’s go.”

  “You don’t have to ask me twice.”

  As Nick and she walked out of the alley to their cruisers, Daylen couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. Before she got into the car, she looked one last time down the alley. It remained just as empty as it had been when they had left it.

  ———

  Jager stood up from where he’d crouched on the upper level of the fire escape attached to one of the buildings that made up the alley walls. He’d had a good vantage point from up there to see what went on below. The shadows had also helped to hide his presence. When he’d let Daylen spot him, he’d climbed up the fire escape before she’d followed him. Being able to move faster than a mortal did have its advantages.

  He’d been quite happy to watch Daylen when she’d done her search of the alley. Her scent had drifted up to him on the slight breeze, making him ache for her. His cock had hardened the instant she’d stepped into the alley. His gaze had run over her face and body. She wasn’t supermodel pretty like female werewolves were, but she was far from ugly with her full, kissable lips, high cheekbones and sharp brown eyes that didn’t seem to miss anything. Even dressed in her uniform, Jager had been able to see the faint outline of a small, curved waist and more-than-a-handful breasts. The uniform did more to hide her body than not. He wanted nothing more than to strip it off her and see what she would look like out of it. He also wanted to free her hair from its tight bun to see how long it was while he ran his fingers through it.

  Then the male cop had arrived. Seeing how friendly they were with each other, Jager had had to put a tight rein on his wolf. The wolf didn’t like any other males around his potential mate. Neither had the man. Until he claimed Daylen as his own, her being around other males would make the mating urge ride him all the harder.

  He’d been able to keep himself in control up to the point where Daylen had kissed the male cop on the cheek. His wolf had wanted him to rush down to the alley and warn the other male away from his mate. Jager hadn’t been able to stop the growl that had rumbled out of him.

  Once he figured Daylen would have driven away, Jager headed down the fire escape.

  Thanks to Dirk, he’d found out in which precinct Daylen worked. Dirk hadn’t been able to find a telephone number or a home address. Obviously being a cop, Daylen didn’t want that kind of information to be common knowledge.

  Reaching the alley below, Jager took off at a fast run to where he’d parked his Camaro. From the conversation he’d heard between Daylen and the male cop, he figured she would be on her way back to the police station since it was the end of her shift. He drove to the street where it was located and parked at the curb across from it where he had a good view of the cars leaving the parking lot. He fully intended to follow Daylen home. Fifteen minutes later, Jager watched a dark blue Ford Focus pull out of the lot with Daylen behind the wheel. He quickly started his car and merged into the traffic and followed at a discreet distance behind her.

  The sky had completely lightened by the time he saw Daylen pull into the driveway of a bungalow in a quiet neighborhood. He drove past the house and parked his car a couple blocks away. He’d had all day to come up with a plan to be around Daylen without her trying to throw him in jail. There was a good chance it would backfire on him, but Jager was willing to take that chance.

  Getting out of his car, he quickly made his way back to Daylen’s house. When he reached it, he went to the side where the sun’s rays had yet to touch. With a quick look around to make sure none of Daylen’s neighbors would see him, Jager reached for the magic inside of him that would allow him to shift to his wolf form.

  With his hand held out in front of him, Jager watched it begin to shimmer and then bl
ur as he shifted. In a matter of seconds, a wolf with light brown fur took his place. On silent paws, he made his way over to the front door of the bungalow. He then scratched at it. When it didn’t cause any reaction from inside the house, he threw his body up against it. Still not hearing any movement from the other side of the door, he threw back his head and let out a loud howl. If that didn’t get Daylen’s attention, nothing would.

  Chapter Four

  The sound of a loud howl coming from the front of the house had Daylen rushing to the front door. She’d just finished changing into her pajamas. Knowing she wouldn’t get any sleep until she found out what had made the noise, she yanked open the front door to peer outside.

  No sooner had she gotten the door open then a large furry body darted past her and into the house. “What the hell?” Daylen turned around to find what suspiciously looked to be a wolf sitting in the middle of her front entranceway hall staring at her. On closer inspection, she noticed it was a male. Not sure what to do next, she stared back at him.

  The wolf soon broke off the staring contest, got up and headed down the hallway that led to her bedroom.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” she called as she followed him after she shut the front door in case there were more strays out there.

  This was one headache she didn’t need. All she wanted to do was get a few hours of sleep. Since she didn’t have to work for the next couple of days, Daylen usually shifted back to sleeping at night instead of all day, which required her to only nap for a few hours before she got up again. That being the case, she didn’t want to waste what little time she had chasing after what she thought was a wolf to get it out of her house.

  Sure enough, the wolf had made a beeline straight to her bedroom. When she entered the room, he opened his mouth in a way that almost made it look as if he were smiling at her. Almost as if he knew exactly what room this was.

  Trying not to make any sudden movements, Daylen edged nearer. “All right, you, it’s time for you to leave.” While she spoke, the wolf cocked his head to the side and wagged his tail. At least he didn’t seem to be vicious. Actually, Daylen was starting to get the feeling he was used to being around humans. It made her wonder if he was someone’s pet and had somehow gotten loose. It would explain why he had been so quick to run into the house after she’d opened the front door.

  As she edged nearer, the wolf remained where he was, still watching her every move.

  Just before she reached him, he closed the distance between them. He gently took her wrist in his mouth and pulled her toward the king-sized bed. Daylen knew better than to try and yank her arm free. She could feel the sharp points of the wolf’s teeth against her skin, but he wasn’t biting down hard enough to break it. If she tried to free herself, there was a good chance those teeth could do some damage.

  Once he had her at the end of the bed with her back toward it, the wolf released her.

  Daylen straightened to her full height and looked down at him. “And what exactly do you think you’re doing? I’m not a new toy to play with, you know. You obviously have to belong to someone. You’re pretty tame. I really should call animal control right now, but I have no idea how long it will take for them to get here, and I really do need to sleep.”

  As if he had understood what she’d said, the wolf jumped up and put his paws on her chest. Not expecting it, Daylen lost her balance and fell back on the bed. The wolf jumped up onto the mattress beside her and lay down next to her with his head on her upper chest.

  Daylen tried to push him off, but that only caused him to put a paw on her stomach to keep her in place. She lifted her head off the mattress to look at him. “Look, buddy, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I said I needed to sleep.” A pink tongue came out and licked her chin. Daylen chuckled. “Kisses aren’t going to butter me up either. But since you seem friendly, I’m going to lock you in the bathroom, and once I wake up, I’ll call for animal control to come and get you. Maybe they’ll be able to find out who owns you.”

  Grabbing the wolf by the scruff of his neck, Daylen lifted him off her. She kept her hold on him as she sat up and then urged him to jump down. The wolf didn’t try to resist when she pushed him inside the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Reassured that he wouldn’t be able to get out, Daylen locked the front door and headed back to her bedroom. Being locked in the bathroom for a few hours shouldn’t bother the wolf too much. At least he would be safer there than wandering loose outside.

  Covering a yawn with her hand, Daylen crawled into bed. She’d sleep, then she would take care of her new furry friend.

  ———

  Jager waited a half hour before he shifted back to his human form, willing his clothes back on at the same time. He then let himself out of the bathroom. That had gone better than he’d expected.

  Silently, he made his way back to Daylen’s bedroom. He stood in the open doorway and gazed over at her sleeping form beneath the covers. Her long reddish-brown hair spread over her pillow. When she had changed out of her uniform, Daylen had also taken her hair out of the bun she’d worn. It hung just past her shoulders and had a slight curl to it.

  Tiptoeing closer to the bed, Jager looked down at his sleeping mate. The urge to touch her, to feel her under him became a living, breathing thing inside him. Just being around her made him so hard he ached. All he wanted to do was join her on the bed and sink his cock deep inside her body. He took a deep breath and drew her scent inside his lungs. It was a heady mix of woman and Daylen’s own scent. Forever etched in his brain, Jager would have no trouble picking her scent out in a crowd.

  He stiffened when Daylen shifted in her sleep and then opened her eyes. As she opened her mouth, Jager jumped on top of her, pinning her beneath him, and put his hand over her mouth. Her brown eyes glared up at him. He needed to keep her calm. From the number of minivans he’d seen parked in the driveways around her house, Jager knew this had to be a neighborhood with a lot of young kids around. Which meant Daylen’s neighbors probably looked out for one another. That being the case, if Daylen kicked up enough fuss to be heard outside, one of those said neighbors would undoubtedly come running.

  He locked gazes with her. “I’m not here to hurt you.” From the expression in her eyes, Jager knew she didn’t believe him. “I just want to talk. I’m going to take my hand off your mouth, please don’t scream. And, if I’d wanted to hurt you, I would have done it before you awakened.” When she just continued to glare at him, Jager slowly moved his hand off her mouth.

  “You have some balls breaking into my house. I may be off duty, but I can still arrest you.”

  He grinned. “When you talk to me all cop-like, it turns me on.” He shifted so the hard length of his cock pressed against her thigh.

  Daylen stiffened. “So you aren’t going to hurt me, but you’re going to rape me instead?”

  Jager scowled. “No. I don’t need to force my attentions on a woman. When we make love, you’ll come to me willingly. I can’t help the way my body responds to being near you.”

  “I don’t think that will be happening any time soon,” she said as she started to struggle beneath him to get free.

  He let more of his weight rest on top of her to keep her in place. “Stop squirming.”

  The more she moved the more turned on he became. With his duster open and only a thin sheet separating them, her breasts under the large t-shirt she wore were flattened against his chest. He wanted to reach between them and mold them in his hands, to pluck at her taut nipples he felt pressed against him.

  At her sharp intake of breath, and by the way Daylen’s gaze had become riveted to his eyes, Jager realized they must have started glowing. He closed them for a few seconds while he got himself back under control. Whenever he became aroused, or angry, his eyes would start to glow mutedly.

  He opened his eyes and said, “I think it would be better if we continued this conversation without you under me. It’s playing havoc with my self-control.”

 
; “Look, whatever your name is—”

  “Jager.” When Daylen gave him a questioning look, he said, “My name is Jager.”

  “Well, Jager, you can’t really expect me to calmly lie here and have a conversation with you. You’re a criminal who has broken into my house.”

  “I’m not a criminal.”

  “Yeah, right,” she scoffed. “In my books, resisting arrest, and now being here, would make you a criminal.”

  Jager sighed, starting to feel a bit exasperated. “Can you give the cop thing a rest? I’m trying to do this right. As for the sword fight in the alley, it’s no concern of yours.”

  She shifted beneath him, which had Jager biting back a growl of need that threatened to push past his lips. “I hate to tell you, but it is my concern. You broke the law.”

  “Stop thinking like a cop.” He was getting nowhere with Daylen.

  “It’s kind of hard when that’s what I am.”

  Feeling as if he’d run up against a brick wall, Jager did what he’d been dying to do since he’d walked into her house in wolf form. He bent his head and took her lips in a heated kiss. At first, Daylen resisted him, but after he swept his tongue along the seam of her mouth and nibbled at her lips, they softened beneath his and she started to kiss him back.

  Encouraged by her response, Jager kissed her deeper. He pushed his tongue inside her mouth and stroked it against hers. The taste of her filling his mouth made him groan.

  This was what he craved—holding Daylen in his arms with her scent surrounding him and the taste of her on his tongue.

  As he sucked her tongue into his mouth, Jager shifted and put a leg between hers and pushed up so it connected with her pussy. Daylen sighed softly as she rubbed herself against his thigh. Jager knew he should stop this. It would only make the mating urge ride him even harder, but he wanted this too much.

  When Daylen tried to pull her arms free where he’d trapped them at her sides, he freed her. She then yanked the hair elastic out of his hair and tossed it aside. His long hair spilled forward, forming a curtain around their heads. Jager moaned against Daylen’s mouth at the feel of her hands tunneling through his hair, holding him in place as she angled her lips across his.