Haven's Wood Ch. 07

Natasha felt good, her muscles were sore, and she'd probably be walking funny for a while, but she felt good. She tried to roll over to tell James, when she realised that she was stuck. She reached down and felt the bulge of his knot just inside of her.

"James is there something you need to tell me." She asked, a hint of worry creeping though the veil of sleepiness.

James sighed, not wanting to upset the moment, he propped himself up on one elbow so he could look into Natasha's face as he explained.

He was momentarily distracted by the beautiful sweep of her neck. He ran his finger down from her ear, along her neck and across her shoulder. Natasha shivered slightly under his touch, goosebumps following the wake of his finger.

Pleased by the reaction James lowered his mouth and trailed kisses along the route his finger had just followed. As he laid his kisses on her skin his 5 o'clock shadow tickled along her neck, sending delightful shivers down her spine.

"James." Natasha said, in the best teacher voice she could manage given the situation.

James looked up into her eyes, and could see that she wouldn't be distracted from her question.

"It's called a knot." James said, before lowering his mouth back to her skin.

Natasha wrinkled her brow in thought. When she felt his mouth on her neck again she gently pushed him away, giving him a stern look at the same time.

"Is that like what dogs have?" Natasha asked.

Getting little response from James, Natasha continued, trying to remember what she'd learnt in biology class.

"With dogs, the male's penis, swells at the base so that the two dogs are locked together. If I remember correctly, it's to improve the chances of the bitch getting pregnant."

The moment Natasha said the word pregnant, she could feel James's chest begin to vibrating intermittently, in the way he had before when he'd told her he was murring.

She narrowed her eyes at him a little, before continuing.

"I take it it's the same with wolves then?"

James nodded this time.

"Well if you were hoping to get me pregnant you're out of luck." Natasha briskly informed him. "I'm on the pill. Beside don't you think it's a little soon for that? What's more don't you think you should have warned me?"

James sighed, realising that he couldn't remain a bystander in this conversation any longer.

"I'm sorry that I didn't warn you. I forgot about it until it was too late. I've never been with a human before and I forgot that things are a little different." James explained

Natasha looked a little mollified by his apology, but not satisfied yet.

"As far as getting you pregnant goes." James began, unable to resist the urge to smile at the very idea. "I won't deny that I'm looking forward to the day that you are. However I know that you are not in heat, so there was no danger of you getting pregnant."

"Humans don't go into heat" Natasha explained, a little exasperated at his attitude.

"Terminology!" James exclaimed. "The idea is the same."

James continued before Natasha could ask any more questions. He didn't want to have to explain that he knew she wouldn't become pregnant as long as she was human. This wasn't the time for that conversation.

"Just relax, it will subside in about half an hour, then we can have a soak in the bath."

Natasha liked the sound of floating in the huge tub and having the jets massage her tired muscles.

"I could massage you tired muscles you know." James offered.

"I thought you said you wouldn't look at my thoughts." She said, not pleased at the intrusion.

"I'm sorry, but it's hard to ignore when you push them at me"

"I don't even know what that means!" Natasha replied exasperated.

Suddenly James's eyes seemed to go out of focus; Natasha recognised the look from before. James's face suddenly went pale, he obviously didn't like what he was being told. After a moment his eyes flashed in irritation, before a hard resolved look settled into them.

Natasha watched the emotions flick over his face, worried about what could be going on that would upset him so.

James let out a long held breath before refocusing his gaze onto Natasha.

"You're going to have to take that bath without me." He said not trying to hide his disappointment. "Mother has just arrived."

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Katie and Dean were among the last left in the great hall. After all the drama, the pack had eaten quickly before heading off to gossip about what had transpired.

Dean was furious with Katie, he hated it when she put herself in danger, and the way she had bated James was unforgivable in his eyes. They'd spent so long arguing about it that they're food had gone cold.

Dean had only dropped the subject when Katie had promised that to make up for it, he could do whatever he liked to her. After that Dean had eaten quickly so that he could take Katie outside for a romp in the woods.

Katie was just finishing up under the impatient eyes of her mate when the doors to the great hall opened. The scent that wafted through them caused Katie to freeze, her fork halfway to her mouth. She snapped her head round to look at the doorway.

In the frame of the big doors stood a woman. She appeared to be in her mid-forties. She was immaculately dressed in a stylish trouser suit, and wore a look on her face that defied anyone to cross her. This was a woman with iron in her bones, and she did not look happy.

Katie dropped her fork and scrambled to her feet.

"Mother! I didn't know you were coming, James didn't mention a thing."

The moment Dean heard Katie say 'Mother' he sat bolt upright as if someone had replaced his spine with an iron rod. He slowly got to his feet and turned to face, his mother-in-law. He bowed his head respectfully

"Welcome, Mrs Haven. I'll go and make sure your bags are taken to your room and that everything is ready for you."

Mrs Haven, looked coldy at Dean before responding with ice in her voice.

"I would expect the Omegas to be perfectly capable of preparing my room without a lumbering wolf like you hovering over them Dean. You will, instead, go and fetch my son. Tell him that I expect him in this room within 5 minutes and I will want to meet this human he's brought to the manor."

Dean nodded in ascent and swiftly exited the room. He intentionally avoided looking at Katie knowing that she'd be staring daggers at him for leaving her alone with her mother. He'd decided long ago that he'd rather spend a week placating his mate, than 5 minutes in a room with her mother.

He slipped out the hall and headed to the bottom of the main stairs to have a seat.

"I really hope I'm not interrupting James, but you need to come down to the hall. Now." Dean projected as gently as he could.

"Dean, I'm not coming downstairs anytime soon. What's so great of a problem that you and Katie can't deal with it?" Came the annoyed response from James.

"Your Mother is here."

"SHIT!"

There was a long pause before either of them spoke.

"Tell her I'm in the middle of a meeting and I'll be down as soon as I'm done." James finally sent.

"She said you had 5 minutes and she expected you to bring Natasha with you."

"Is Katie with her now?"

" Yes."

"Fine, go find somewhere to hide I'll sort it."

Dean let out a sigh of relief before, hurrying off to find one of the less used entertainment rooms to wait out the storm.

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Katie was less than pleased when Dean managed such a quick escape, mostly because she was jealous that it was an option for him. Katie loved her mother dearly, but she was very uncompromising in her views and Katie had found that the less time they spent together the better they got along.

"Do want anything to eat or drink Mother?" Katie asked, hoping to put off the questioning until James arrived.

"I want to know why neither of my children bothered to pick up the phone to call and tell me about what has been going on here."

Katie sat back down at the table.

"It's not my news to tell Mother." She said.

Mrs Haven was not impressed with this response and she didn't bother to hide it. She gracefully sat herself opposite Katie never once compromising her perfect posture.

"You have been around enough male wolves to know that they don't always think with their brains, especially if a pretty girl is involved. I would have expected you to tell me the moment that he started to get involved with anyone, never mind a human."

Katie was already biting her tongue. There was a lot she wanted to say to her mother but, she didn't want to make things harder for James. It was just then that she felt James's presence in her mind.

"Mother won't let me into her mind. Can you tell her that I will be there as soon as possible, I'm just a little 'tied up' at the moment."

Katie couldn't help but giggle when she caught James's meaning, earning her another disapproving look from her mother.

"James sends his apologies. He's indisposed at the moment, but will be here as soon as he can." Katie informed her mother with a perfectly straight face.

"In the meantime," She continued, before her mother could interrupt with questions, "why don't I make you a pot of tea? I believe we have some Earl Grey"

"Very well, but do remember to make sure the water is properly boiled before you add the leaves." Her mother responded.

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When James arrived at the grand hall, he found only his mother and sister, in the cavernous room. The Omegas on cleaning duty for the evening had cleaned up in record time before making themselves scarce.

As soon as he entered the room his Mother fell silent. She didn't bother to turn round to look at him as he walked over.

When he reached the table she pointedly looked at her watch, before taking another sip of tea. James sighed before sitting at the table. He poured himself a cup from the pot on the table. He took a quick sip and smiled appreciatively at his sister.

"How are you Mother?" He asked calmly over the rim of his cup.

"Wondering where I went wrong" She replied equally calmly. "I tried my best to raise the two of you to be good, honest, respectful wolves. Instead I have a pair of ungrateful pups who can't even pick up the phone to call their own mother, and when I come to visit them, I am kept waiting for 20 minutes before my son deigns to greet me!"

"If I had known of your plans I would have been here to greet you. I did try to talk to you when you arrived but you shut me out." James was trying not to let his irritation creep into his voice. "I'm here now though, so what is it that you wanted to say to me?"

"You know perfectly well why I'm here James." His mother snapped, her calm facade evaporating. "I want to meet this 'girl' you brought back to the manor."

"I will happily introduce you to my mate in the morning mother." James gently stressed the word mate.

"Just because you're lusting after this girl does not mean that she is you mate James. She's human. It has been centuries since a wolf found a human mate, why do you think that you would be the one to be different. I know that you're frustrated that you haven't found your mate yet, but that's no reason to settle for the first pair of pretty legs you see. I'm sure there are plenty of women around here that would be willing to help you scratch your 'itch'; you didn't have to resort to a, human. How do you think she's going to react when she realises what we are? The poor girl will be so terrified she won't know what to do. We can't have her screaming the place down, now can we."

James felt his wolf begin to rise to the surface. It was something that rarely happened around his mother. James was often infuriated with her but his wolf always stayed out of it.

James's eyes began to softly swirl with amber as he replied to his mother.

"She is my mate, Mother. She's mine! You will remember that if you want to meet her and you will be nice to her. If you can't do that then I suggest you leave, permanently."

His mother paused, she'd never seen his wolf challenge her before. She knew that he was a strong Alpha but had never, herself, been on the receiving end of his dominance. She automatically found herself acquiescing to his instructions.

"Of course James. I'm simply concerned for you, you know that. If you think that this girl might be your mate then of course I want to meet her."

James narrowed his eyes at his mother, not missing her implication. He quickly drained his cup before rising.

"Very well then, we will meet you in Father's study at 10 o'clock. Now if you will excuse me, I am needed elsewhere. Thank you for the tea, Katie. It was lovely."

That said he turned and strode from the room. He'd left in a hurry and wanted to get back to Natasha. He hoped that if he got back quickly he could catch her still in the bath.

Katie watched James stride from the room, in no doubt about why he was in such a rush to leave. She turned to her mother and was surprised by how sad she looked.

"She really is his mate Mother. I don't understand why you aren't happy for him."

Mrs Haven slipped her hand over her daughter's and squeezed gently, the gesture filled with affection.

"I know you don't understand my dearest daughter. I hope that you never have to."

She rose and headed for the door. Just before she walked through she turned back to Katie.

"You'd best get that hulking mate of yours out of hiding. James is going to need him around."

Katie was perplexed by this statement, but decided not to worry about it now. She decided that she was going to get her mate, but certainly not for James.

"I'll be in the woods, catch me if you can." She playfully sent to Dean. It had been a long night and they deserved a bit of fun. It sounded like the manor was going to be busy for a while.

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James returned to his room to find Natasha sleeping. To his confusion and disappointment though, she seemed to have decided to sleep on the sofa. She'd taken a pillow from the bed and found the spare blanket in the cupboard, then made herself a little nest on the sofa.

When she'd said she was going to stay he had assumed she would be staying with him, in his bed, where she belonged. He hadn't thought that she'd try and pull away from him again, not right after they'd been so intimate.

He paused a moment. He was the one that had left her. He'd taken her innocence and then the moment he could he'd walked out the room. There was more to it than that but, thinking about it that way he could understand that she'd be feeling less than happy with him. He had the sinking feeling that he'd messed up again.

He stood by the sofa looking down at her sleeping face and tried to decide what to do. She'd probably not be happy if he moved her back to the bed. Not when she clearly didn't want to be there. He, however, didn't want to sleep in his bed alone, not when all he wanted in life was lying here on his sofa. He also didn't want to wake her up. If she was cross with him, he'd rather not make it worse.

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Natasha awoke when the early morning sun began to filter through the blinds into her face. Her muscles felt a little sore so she began to stretch herself out on the sofa. She froze when she realised that she couldn't move far because there was something else on the sofa with her. She hastily rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked towards her legs.

Her sleep addled mind had some difficulty interpreting what she saw. For a moment it looked like a big pile of black clothes, but that didn't make sense. She reached her hand out towards it, to see what it felt like. Her hand paused mid action when the black thing moved.

In amongst all the black there appeared two amber points of light. And a moment later she felt a warm rough tongue graze across her out stretched hand.

A moment of panic washed through her, as she wondered how a dog had gotten into her house. When the last couple of days came rushing back. Not a dog, a wolf she thought to herself, well sort of.

"James" she whispered, confirming the identity of her companion.

The wolf licked her hand again and then turned to rest his head on her legs, watching her.

"You scared the life out of me." She told him.

He blinked silently at her in response, waiting to see what sort of mood she was in.

She studied the wolfy face that was rested on her legs, searching his eyes and was surprised to see that she could 'see' James in those amber depths. Without really thinking about it she began to run her fingers over his head, gently massaging his temples.

"I was really upset with you last night" She told him. "I didn't expect my first time to be so good, but I also didn't expect that the man I slept with would rush off right after we were done."

She tapped the end of his muzzle with a finger as she said this last bit. A moment later though she went back to rubbing his head, letting her fingers rub circles at the back of his ears.

"It does occur to me though," she mused out loud, "that I also didn't expect to wake up with a wolf."

She sighed before continuing

"And that perhaps it was a little childish of me to come and sleep on the sofa. I should have told you how I felt, rather than 'throwing a tantrum'. If anything like that happens again, I expect more than – 'my mother's here' before you rush out the door."

She paused her hand when she noticed that James's eyes had shut.

"Are you listening to me?" She asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

James's eyes snapped open and he pushed his head into her hand as if to say that she should continue.

"This is really unfair you know, it's very hard to be cross with a wolf!" She exclaimed.

James wagged his tail in response, before curling back up on the sofa.

Natasha extracted herself from the blankets and headed to the bathroom. She relieved herself and washed the sleep out of her eyes. When she came back out to the bedroom James had moved from the sofa, she could hear him in the walk-in closet so stuck her head round the door. She was surprised for a moment when she didn't see a wolf, but an all too appealing, half dressed man. All these changes were going to take some getting used to.

She watched him for a moment as he pulled on a shirt, enjoying the way his muscles rippled as he did so. James glanced over to see her watching him.

"Enjoying the view?" He asked jokingly.

He was amused to see that she turned bright red when she realised that she'd been caught watching him.

"I was just going to ask you what was happening today, I didn't know if I had time to take a bath or not." She blurted out, feeling a little flustered.

James glanced at his watch and sighed, not wanting to disappoint her.

"I'm afraid that I have promised my mother that I would introduce you to her. We're due to meet her in about 30mins."

"Oh," was all that Natasha could get out. She could feel a knot growing in her stomach.

"I thought you didn't want her to meet me. I mean yesterday you went off to see her without me."

James sighed, and rubbed his hand through the stubble on his chin as he thought about how to explain 'his mother'.

"It's complicated." Was the best he could come up with. "I need to shave and you need to get dressed and then I'll try and explain." As he said this he indicated to the opposite side of the closet.

Natasha looked to where he was pointing and noticed for the first time that half the closet was filled with women's clothes. On closer inspection she realised that some of them were the clothes she had had in her bag, the one that he'd given to Sophia. There were far more clothes there than she had had with her though.