A Wolf's Desire (A BBW Paranormal Romance): The Holiday Ball by Marie Mason

quit playing around and bring him in here. I’m sure he’s hungry.” The black haired woman Hayden had danced with the night before stood in the doorway of the dinning room, a chiding expression on her face. The woman was definitely Hayden’s mate if the big, red hickey, aka mate mark, on her throat was anything to go by.
    The other alpha was wearing the same mark of passion.
    So was Daphne.
    Now that his brain wasn’t so heated with rage the other wolf had provoked, he caught her scent again. It was coming from inside the room. Striding past the other couple, he stopped cold when he found her sitting at the table, an older woman he vaguely remembered from the night before by her side. The woman’s arm was wrapped around his mate in a comforting gesture. Daphne looked up at him and his heart broke when he realized she had been crying.
    “Daphne? Honey, what’s wrong?” He dropped to the floor beside her chair, turning her to him.
    “Apparently, you forgot to mention that you loved her. Women like that you know.”
    Hayden had taken a seat at the head of the table, lounging back in the antique wooden chair as if it were a comfy recliner. His mate, Autumn, was perched on his lap, feeding him what looked like sugar coated grapes. Damn, the man looked smug. As if to prove it, he spoke directly to Daphne. “If you want, I can ask my wife and her mother to turn Townsend into a toad for you.”
    “Shut the fuck up,” Kade ordered. He blinked and looked around, realizing he was surrounded by the Barringer family. Gunner also held his mate on his lap, the pixie Kade had danced with last night. The wolf gave a low growl as Kade’s gaze roamed over her. He caught the flash of pink as the woman patted the scarred wolf’s shoulder, no doubt using her pixie powers to calm the savage beast. Adam, the former alpha of the Barringer pack sat next to the woman comforting Daphne. A woman who looked suspiciously like Hayden’s mate. The older wolf seemed completely at ease and in complete control.
    When Kade sent a questioning glance his way, the man’s brow arched and he said, “Love is not only for the young, dear boy.” He bent over and kissed his mate on the top of her head.
    Mate.
    “Daphne, baby, tell me what’s wrong? I’ll fix it, I promise.” The rogue had taught him an important lesson. To ask for help. And if he had to ask for help from every damn wolf in the room, he would. He’d do anything to keep his mate.
    Daphne bit her lip feeling foolish at all the fuss that was being made. She’d woken up this morning, sore and satisfied. But when she’d seen Kade sprawled across the covers in all his masculine glory, doubts and insecurities had risen up, threatening to choke her.
    She’d slept with a man she hardly knew, even though her heart was telling her she’d known him forever. She’d panicked and ran, barely taking time to pull on her clothes. She’d been trying to sneak out of the mansion through the kitchen when the Barringer pack alpha had stopped her. She’d figured she would blend in with the rest of the wait staff as they left. If she hadn’t fallen into bed with her handsome shifter, she would have still been helping. Again, panic threatened to overtake her. They were worlds apart. Last night seemed surreal. How could this handsome wolf want her for a mate?
    “Because I fucking love you!” Kade yelled when he read his mate’s thoughts. She had yet to realize he could do that despite the many times he’d done it last night.
    As he looked at her, he still saw the shadow of disbelief coloring her beautiful eyes. “Damn it, Daphne. Why won’t you believe me?”
    He resisted the urge to take her by the shoulders and shake her. Trying to get through to his stubborn mate was like trying to walk through a wall of granite. He cupped her face with an almost bruising force as he kissed her as if his life depended on it. As she continued to hold herself rigid and away from him, he realized that it did.