We’re going to have a little talk.”
He laid his sword back down on the mattress. “Can’t it wait? I think I got all of two hours sleep.”
Roxie crossed her arms over her chest. “No, it can’t wait. Now get up.”
When it didn’t look as if Roxie had any intention of leaving his bedroom, Jager figured she’d asked for it. Flipping back the sheets, he got out of bed to stand in front of her.
She let out a little squawk and turned her back to him. “You’re naked! And…and…”
Jager chuckled. “Well, you did tell me to get out of bed. And I do sleep naked. As for being aroused, with the mating urge riding me, I don’t have much control over that at the moment, as you very well know.”
“Just put something on.”
Reaching for the jeans he’d worn earlier and thrown on the floor, Jager slipped them on. “I’m decent. You can turn around now.” Roxie turned and then went to sit down on his bed. She reached for his sword, but he picked it up before she could grab it. He shook his head. “No you don’t. This is not your house. It’s mine. I’m not going to let you take it.”
Roxie wasn’t always thrilled with the idea that he carried his sword wherever he went. She especially didn’t like it when he came running with it drawn when he heard something out of the ordinary while he was protecting her. One simple mistake and Roxie was forever trying to take his sword away from him. If he’d known that she and Beowulf were only having sex, Jager wouldn’t have busted in on them with his sword drawn. He’d apologized more than once, but so far Roxie had yet to forget about that particular incident.
“Fine. Keep the damn thing,” she said. “We’re still going to have our talk.”
“About what?”
“About you having found your mate.”
“And why exactly does that warrant you coming into my bedroom and waking me up to talk to me?”
“Since your brother almost blew it with Ansley, I thought I would lay down some ground rules for you.”
He gaped at Roxie. “Some ground rules?” he asked warily. “There are no ground rules when it comes to a male werewolf claiming his mate.”
“With your mate being a mortal, there are now.” When Jager opened his mouth to protest, Roxie stopped him. “I’m the one who holds the power to turn a mortal mate into a werewolf, remember? If you want her to have the lifespan of a werewolf instead of a mortal’s, you play by my rules. I know what it’s like to be blinded-sided with this whole werewolf mating business without having a clue as to what is going on. Lately it seems to be a trend. Now sit your butt down.”
“Ah, fuck me,” Jager said as he glared down at Roxie.
She smiled. “No thanks. I’ll leave that job to your mate.”
He ran his hand through his long hair and pushed it behind his ears. He’d kept it down ever since Daylen had pulled out his hair elastic. It still had to be on her bedroom floor somewhere. Jager could still feel her hands buried in his hair. His cock jerked in his jeans before he pushed thoughts of Daylen away. They would just work him up even more than he already was.
“Roxie, is this necessary? I really don’t need you to add any more stress on top of what I’m already feeling,” he said.
She patted the spot on the bed next to her. “Stop your griping and sit down. You’re giving me a sore neck having to look up at you like this.”
Reluctantly, Jager sat down next to Roxie knowing full well if he didn’t let her say what she wanted to he would never get her out of his bedroom. “Okay, I’m sitting. Hurry it up already.”
Roxie shook her head. “I hope you aren’t this rude when you’re with your mate.”
“I haven’t had a chance to be rude. Most of our conversations have consisted of her ordering me to put down my sword so she can arrest me, or her telling me I’m a criminal who has broken the law.”
“I heard your mate was a cop.” Roxie started to laugh. “I also heard she got the take on you and almost managed to cuff you.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m glad everyone thinks it’s so funny. Can we please get on with this?”
“All right. No more laughing at your expense. I promise.” Roxie’s face grew sober.
“Now, the rules. First, you are not to take any advice from Beowulf on how to claim a mortal mate. He’s the one that gave Roan the oh so excellent advice of not giving Ansley the chance to refuse him as her mate. And that worked out so well too. Ansley freaked when she found out Roan was a werewolf. Just as I freaked on Beowulf when I found out about him.”
Jager clearly remembered the day Roan had told Ansley. He’d been at Roxie and Beowulf’s place when Roan had brought Ansley there to tell her. He’d thought Roxie would have been able to help Ansley better accept what he was. Ansley hadn’t exactly reacted well.
“All right. I won’t go to Beowulf for advice, not that I intended to anyway.”
“Good. Rule number two. You will not claim your mate until you have told her what you are and what being mated to a werewolf entails. Which means no getting carried away with the moment.”
“So far I’ve managed to stay in control,” he said.
“Rule number three. No using head games or coercion to get your mate to allow me to use the spell to turn her into a werewolf. It will be her choice when, and if, she wants to take that final step.”
“Not a problem.” Jager knew Roxie meant well, but her rules were starting to grate on his nerves. All this talk about claiming mates was only causing his mating urge to dig its claws deeper into him.
Roxie nodded. “Rule number—”
He cut her off. “I think that is more than enough rules. Give me some credit for not being a complete idiot. I know claiming a mortal as my mate is not the same as claiming a female werewolf. I saw how Ansley reacted. I was there, remember?”
Roxie’s eyes narrowed as her gaze landed on the sword he still held. “I remember. I also remember you came in running with that weapon in your hand ready to do battle when you heard the raised voices.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Jager said as he moved his sword well out of Roxie’s reach.
She sighed then stood. “Just promise me you won’t sleep with that thing in your bed once you’re mated. I’m sure your mate doesn’t want to find you cuddling your sword instead of her some night.”
“I don’t cuddle my sword. I sleep with it so it’s always on hand in case I need it.”
Roxie smiled. “Sure. I believe you.”
After Roxie left the room, closing the door behind her, Jager grabbed two fistfuls of his hair and gave it a good yank. He’d have to get things settled with Daylen very soon. If he didn’t, he could easily see Roxie driving him completely insane.
Early that evening, Jager went to talk to Saskia before he left to go see Daylen. He found her down in the basement with her mate, Eli. She was giving Eli another sword lesson. Since Eli had been a mortal up until recently, the same as Ansley had been, he’d never had an occasion to learn how to handle a sword. But given how Saskia was the leader of Roxie’s Protectors, Eli had decided he should learn.
Jager watched Saskia cross swords with Eli. She was definitely taking it easy on him, though Jager could see Eli’s potential to become quite skilled. At least he already had the muscle mass that was required to swing a sword for any length of time. As a personal trainer at his family’s gym, Eli had been lifting weights for years.
When Saskia noticed Jager, she signaled Eli to lower his sword. She pushed her sweat-dampened almost white blonde hair out of her eyes and walked over to where he stood. “Are you going to see your mate?”