Sassy Ever After: Mate of Honor (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read online

  “No shit, Sherlock.”

  “Bailey!” a female voice called out.

  Bailey turned and saw Lara Hout almost sprinting her way. She wore a short white dress.

  Here comes the bride, Bailey thought.

  The skirt danced around Lara’s shapely thighs as she moved. “Bailey! I’m so glad you’re here.” She embraced Bailey. “The dinner is about to start. You have to come in and see everyone.”

  She glanced up at Forrest but didn’t meet his eyes. “Hey, Forrest.”

  He grumbled something unintelligible and brushed past the group of three women. Bailey’s stomach jittered as his arm made contact with her hand. He gave her a sharp look when she jerked her fingers back as if she’d touched a live coal but he kept moving into the ballroom area.

  Bailey turned her attention back to Lara. She gestured to Tory, who’d stood patiently quiet during the entire exchange which had lasted less than a minute. “This is my friend Tory. The one I told you about.”

  Lara’s smile brightened. “Oh, I’m so glad you came. I’ve been aching to hear all about Bailey’s life as a lawyer in the big city.”

  “I’m ready to dish,” Tory said, shooting Bailey a grin.

  Bailey stuck out her tongue, and they all giggled. The bell jangled for dinner service, and Lara grabbed Tory and Bailey by the hands and led them into the room. More than twenty pack members were making their way to a large dinner table that stretched at least forty feet. Even so, wolf shifter men tended to be broad shouldered, so every extra inch counted when it came to elbow room. The seating was boy-girl-boy-girl, which meant Tory was seated away from Bailey. So much for a buffer.

  Bailey recognized Mach Larson, her nemesis in school. Ugh. His father was on the board of Blackthorn Sporting Goods, so it stood to reason he’d been invited. She prayed to the god of chocolate and caffeine that she wasn’t seated next to him. It took a few minutes to find her seat. It was on the left side of the table, fourth from the head where Burn Blackthorn would sit, and stood behind her chair and waited for the alpha to arrive and sit first. She was relieved to see Mach standing behind a chair at the far end on the right.

  Two seats down from Mach, a man with pale blond hair, thin lips, and brown eyes stared at Bailey. She didn’t know him, but she recognized the sharp undercurrent of fear and anger in his expression. When she stared back, he quickly looked away. So weird and disturbing.

  The nameplates on either side of her were Dorian Blackthorn on the left and Steph Daniels on the right. She remembered Steph as a shy, quiet boy. Dorian was a joker and prankster. One time when Evan was in fourth grade, Dorian filled his pillow up with shaving cream and put a layer of talcum powder between his white sheets.

  If Bailey hadn’t known he was a wolf shifter, she would have guessed the second to the oldest Blackthorn as a coyote. She wondered what tricks he had up his sleeve for Evan and Lara’s wedding night. Amused by the thought, the corner of her mouth tugged up.

  As the rest of the party found their chairs, it surprised Bailey when Lila Blackthorn took the second spot across the table. The alpha’s mate generally took the seat next to him. Bailey glanced at Lara who stood behind the chair opposite Lila and mouthed, What’s going on?

  She shrugged then gave Bailey a quick shake of her head.

  Another bell rang and the double doors at the end of the ballroom opened. Bailey expected it to be the food servers, but instead, Burn, Forrest, Luke, Dorian, Blessing, and Evan Blackthorn entered the hall.

  Evan’s sandy brown hair was styled to be purposefully messy and playful. He had a day’s growth of stubble adding to the charm of his appearance. After all these years, he still wanted to be seen as someone who didn’t follow rules. His eyes, blue, like all the Blackthorns, were paler than his brother’s. Bailey held her breath, waiting for him to notice her, but his gaze made a beeline to Lara. She watched her friends, both of them, as their eyes lit up when they looked at each other, and she felt a piece of her heart shrink in size.

  She stared at her fingers as she gripped the back of the chair and stifled the grief of young love lost. What did she expect? It had been years, and she needed to let go of the past.

  When she regained her composure, she once again focused on the two men walking toward the table. Her pulse, which had managed to keep steady when Evan walked in, leaped in her throat when she found herself under the scrutiny of Forrest’s dark stare. She glanced away and noticed there wasn’t a single person at the table willing to meet Forrest’s gaze. She wasn’t pack, she was a Corsac Fox shifter, and the wolves in the room might have to show him deference as the oldest Blackthorn child, but Bailey was through letting Forrest make her feel like a scared rabbit.

  She narrowed her gaze at him, pleased when his brow raised and his lips parted with a hint of incredulity.

  That’s right, buddy. I have gall for days. She kept her eyes locked on him, trying to ignore the creeping flush of heat along her skin until Burn’s voice broke the hold.

  “Friends and family, I want to thank you for coming out tonight to celebrate Evan and Lara’s upcoming nuptials. Honestly, I never thought my last born would be the first to settle down with a mate, but Lila and I couldn’t be more pleased with his choice of Lara Hout. She would make any family proud to have her as a member.”

  Evan beamed, and Lara happily blushed at the compliment. Her father, Jesiah Hout, stood near his daughter and nodded his approval.

  Burn continued with his speech. “There is nothing quite so miraculous as mates finding each other. When two souls know instantly they are connected and never want to be apart. Knowing they would share the same breath, the same heartbeat, and that their wills have been combined into an unshakeable force, is something no one can understand until it has been experienced.”

  Hearing Burn talk about what it was like to have a mate burned inside Bailey like cancer eating away at her soul. She would never know what it was liked to be loved so completely. Finding a mate was more than just an emotional connection—biology was involved as well. She had to let the idea of Evan go. His biology and Lara’s were fixed.

  Not that she wanted to break them up. The adult part of Bailey would never be so immature as to think she could make someone love her even if the teenager in her wanted to throw a fit and break things.

  “My son Evan’s mating has reminded me that I too have a love that I would give up everything for.” Burn gestured to Lila. “And I want to spend as much time with her as possible. And so, as most of you already know, I am stepping down as alpha of the pack.”

  Nods and murmurs followed his announcement, which seemed to come as no surprise to nearly everyone but Bailey. She felt the blood drain from her face as Burn added, “I am happy on this occasion, to turn the reins of the pack over to my eldest and most capable son Forrest. He has proven his strength and loyalty to the pack.” He stared out at the group and crossed his arms as if daring anyone to say different.

  The room remained silent other than a nervous giggle and some light throat clearing. Forrest frowned as he walked to the table and took his spot at the head. His father sat to his left next to Lila. Dorian plopped down in the seat beside Bailey. He tilted his head back and peered at her. “What’s up, buttercup?”

  Bailey groaned. The meal would take an hour. She cast a sideways glance at Forrest who, once again was staring at her. She bit back a retort of, “Take a picture, it lasts longer,” and sat down.

  The rest of the party systematically took their seats. Bailey stared at her empty setting, feeling Forrest’s eyes on her and wishing the plate would open a portal into another dimension. She needed a place to hide, especially since she’d challenged the new alpha and his first order of business would most likely conclude with her on the wrong end of a hunting trip. What in the world had possessed her?

  She hadn’t known he was the alpha at the time, she reminded herself. Even so, he was next in line, as she had well-been aware. And instead of respect, she’d stared the man down,
basically challenging him to a confrontation. And why? Because her inner child couldn’t let go of the shitty way he’d treated her all those years ago.

  Grow up already. Her inner child had had nothing to do with the way her skin flushed, or her nipples tightened when he’d brushed past her.

  The appetizer course was finely diced steak tar-tar, vibrant red and seasoned to perfection. The perfect opener for a table full of carnivores. Every once in a while, Bailey would sneak a glance at Forrest. He’d turned his attention to his own food and off of her, thank heavens. She told herself to quit looking at him, but man, there was something about Forrest that demanded her attention. Although, the misery on his face was unmistakable. She’d resembled that expression once or twice. For a brief second, Bailey felt sorry for him. This is a man who has it all, she thought. Money, family, and power. There was no sane reason on earth he needed her pity.

  Lila Blackthorn leaned forward and drew Bailey’s attention. “It’s lovely to see you again. I was so pleased when Lara told me you were going to stand up for her at the wedding.”

  “Oh, uhm, thanks, Mrs. Blackthorn. It’s nice to see you too.” Lila had always been kind to Bailey and her mother, but there had been an invisible line between servant and mistress that was never crossed. “Your home is as beautiful as I remember.”

  “I’ll be glad to leave it behind for Forrest,” she said with a blunt honesty that amazed Bailey. “Burn promised me the world when we mated, and I plan to make him keep his word.

  Burn chuckled and leaned forward, took her hand in his, and dipped his head and kissed her knuckles. “It’s only taken me forty years.”

  “I won’t hold it against you,” Lila said. She kissed him, and Bailey’s heart squeezed. Their love was like that out of a fairytale. True soul mates. If she ever wanted something like that in her life, she’d probably have to move back to Siberia.

  “You could’ve have waited another forty years,” Forrest muttered.

  Dorian snorted his amusement. For some inexplicable reason, his attitude toward Forrest pissed her off. “It’s a poor man who makes light of someone else’s misery.”

  Dorian was unfazed. He winked and with a grin said, “You haven’t seen my bank account.”

  “Enough,” Burn said.

  Bailey caught Forrest’s gaze again, and this time, there was something in the way he looked at her that sent a zing straight to her lady bits.

  Lord, help me. Please don’t let me get turned on in a room full of wolves. Everyone in the room would scent her pheromones. She made it a point to pretend Forrest didn’t exist for the rest of the meal.

  Chapter Four

  With each course, Evan and Lara looked more in love, Tory happily flirted with Luke Blackthorn and Landon Gilly, Dorian cracked jokes about marriage, the Pale Blond kept sneaking secretive looks at her, and Bailey fought the urge to run to her car and flee the estate.

  “Who is that guy?” she asked Dorian and gestured toward the stranger with the staring problem.

  “Oh, got your eye out for a man tonight, eh?”

  “Just tell me who he is, and without all the innuendo.”

  Dorian frowned, but the smile never left his eyes. “Dale Comfry. He’s a friend of Evan’s.”

  “Is he Blackthorn Pack?”

  “I don’t think so, but I don’t pay much attention.”

  That didn’t surprise Bailey one bit. “Thanks.”

  “Save room for me on your dance card, tonight, kiddo.” He nudged her with his shoulder. “I can show you a real good time.”

  Ugh. A rumble at the head of the table kept her from telling Dorian to dance off the edge of a cliff. Forrest’s lips were pulled back from his teeth. He glared at his brother and growled. Though he wasn’t directing anything at her, the rawness in his eyes as he stared daggers at his brother made Bailey’s heart skip a beat. She guessed Forrest was as disgusted with Dorian’s behavior as she was.

  This. Meal. Could. Not. End. Soon. Enough.

  Finally, the dessert came. It was a seven layer cream cake that featured orange sponge cake and chocolate cream filling. If this were any other night, Bailey would have been salivating at the sight of the yummy cake, but by the sixth course, her stomach had soured.

  Tory gave her an appraising look as she took one bite then pushed the plate forward a few inches, indicating she was done.

  She was done. There was nothing in the maid of honor codebook that said she had to participate in a rite of humiliation. Bailey refused to let a wedding game turn into one more embarrassment on a long list of embarrassments when it came to her and men. In half an hour the scenting ceremony would begin, and Bailey planned to be on the road and on her way back to the safety of her two-bedroom townhouse.

  “I’ll be right back,” she told Lara and Tory as they party headed outside to the backyard.

  “Where are you going?” Tory eyed her suspiciously.

  “I just need to pee. Is that okay? Can a girl pee without being interrogated and indicted?”

  Tory threw up her hands. “You know I’ll kill you if you bolt, right?”

  “I’m not going anywhere but the bathroom.” Bailey crossed her heart. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

  She remembered where the nearest bathroom was and made a beeline down the hall toward the library. Since she didn’t have to pee, just needed a moment alone to breathe, Bailey went inside the large room lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves stuffed with literary, educational, and instructional works. This had been her favorite room. She curled up in the big, leather seat and thumb through the pages of whatever tome Burn might be studying while her mother would sing as she cleaned. The acoustics of the room made her sound like an angel.

  Bailey sat in Burn’s chair and smiled when she saw The Must Have Travel Guide sitting on the end table. He really planned to give Lila the world. She picked the book up and flipped through a few pages before setting it back down where she found it.

  She closed her eyes and began to softly sing on of her mother’s songs, a favorite lullaby about a snowball tree, “Kalinka, kalinka, kalinka moya. V sadu yagoda malinka, malinka--”

  “What are you doing in my father’s chair?”

  The abrupt question put a halt to her reminiscing. Forrest Blackthorn stood in the doorway, his wide frame taking up most of the space. Her mouth went dry as his dark gaze raked over her body. Was that heat in his eyes? Her breath quickened, her pulse raced, and her skin flushed. The throbbing ache between her legs scared her more than the new alpha temperament.

  She sat up straight, squeezing her knees together and hoping upon hope that Forrest Blackthorn was scent-blind. “That’s the second time you’ve asked me that same question.”

  His eyes narrowed as he studied her. His voice was rough, coarse, and low. “I would have remembered you.”

  She wanted to shout, I’m the daughter of the help. The lowly maid’s offspring. The one you didn’t hesitate to treat like a slug when I was a child. Bailey shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.” She stood up. “Don’t you have a ceremony to attend?”

  “Don’t you?”

  “There you are, bro,” she heard Evan’s voice out in the hall.

  Bailey tensed at his presence. Forrest raised a brow at her.

  Evan said, “Dad says you have to get things started out back.”

  “Tell him I’ll be right there,” Forrest replied unhappily, but he kept his gaze on Bailey.

  “What you looking at?” Evan peeked his head around the corner. He smiled and gave a little wave. “Hey, Bailey. Lara and your friend were looking for you. You coming?”

  The throbbing ache that Forrest had incited dulled to a thrum. “Yep. Heading there now.” She shoved past the Blackthorn brothers and fled down the hall toward the back of the house.

  ****

  That was the second time Forrest had bumped into the strange and stunning woman. The light green top she wore brightened the green in her own eyes turning them to a pale shade of peri
dot. It hadn’t escaped him that the top also featured her lush breasts like displayed artwork. And her scent…God, she smelled like sweet berries after a summer rain. He’d never smelled anything more delicious. And when she hurried down the hall, the view of her wide hips and rounded ass made him want to take a bite.

  Forrest grabbed his brother’s arm before he could get away. “Tell me who that woman is?”

  Evan gave him a strange look. “That’s Bailey Corsac.”

  “You act like I should know the name.”

  “Dude, she grew up here at Blackthorn.”

  “I would have remembered someone like her.” A memory came back to him. He’d come home for Evan’s high school graduation at his father’s insistence. There had been a girl at the window. He’d felt her eyes on him before he’d even turned around. For a second, he’d felt as if he were being seen for the first time. Was this her? It had to be. He’d looked for her in the house, but the noise of Evan’s friends proved to be too much.

  “Her mom was Lana. You know, the housekeeper. Dad and mom took her in after she and Bailey immigrated to America.” He squinted his eyes for a moment, then said, “About twenty years ago. The lived in the carriage house. How can you not remember?”

  “I wasn’t around much back then.”

  Evan chuckled. “You aren’t around much now.” He shook his head. “That’s not fair. I’m sorry I said it.”

  “Don’t be,” Forrest said. “It’s true.” He pursed his lips and studied his little brother, who was not so little anymore. Evan was twenty-six now, about the same age Forrest had been when he started running the company. Was Evan ready for that kind of responsibility? “I guess I’ll be around a lot more now.”

  That was at the same time he’d left for college. His visits home were infrequent. His parents cycled through the domestic staff, not because they were unkind, but because they tended to place them in better situations when opportunities arose. “I don’t remember.”