Mate Magic by Shannon Duane

to talk to Jake and Shana. Please.”
    “You’re about to pass out from pain and you want me to take you home. You need a doctor.”
    “ Paul, I appreciate your concern, but all I need right now is another staple gun and to speak with Jake.”
    Paul was flummoxed. “I really want you to go to the hospital. This isn’t right.”
    Bailey pulled her hand from her side and placed it lightly on his forearm. “I’m fine. Please, we need to get to Alpha house and warn them. I know I’m protected with you.” And then she passed out again.
    Paul called Jake and updated him on the situation. He changed coarse so he could take her to Alpha house. He called Blake and asked him to pick up Bailey’s purse that was probably on the sidewalk in front of Insatiable.
    He looked over at his mate and placed his hand on her thigh. He wanted so much for her to be okay. When he felt heat in his hand he looked down and saw his hand was glowing and so was Bailey’s thigh. Shit, shit, shit. What was happening? Oh God, did he hurt her?
    Bailey ’s eyes opened and she turned her head to the side to watch Paul. Surprisingly she didn’t have much pain anymore. How long was she out? She sat up and had a slight twinge in her side. “Whoa, I feel good. How long was I out?”
    Paul looked over at her. “I’m a bit freaked out actually. You looked pretty bad and I was trying to give you comfort so I touched your leg, and we sort of glowed. I thought I hurt you but you started to pink up. How do you feel?”
    “Great actually.” Bailey remembered their previous encounter and she blushed. “Paul, I’m really sorry I acted poorly earlier. In the store.”
    Paul ’s mouth fell open. “You have to be kidding me. It’s not your fault, Bailey. I shouldn’t have gotten mad and acted like a bull. I should have just told you that I…like you.”
    Bailey smiled. “I like you too. You’re a great friend.”
    Paul sighed. “Yeah, I’m a great friend, and I will be until you are ready to see that I like you…more than a friend. I think you are honorable, honest, smart, funny and sexy.”
    Bailey stuttered. “But you like that mean woman. She made you smell…ya know…” Paul smiled at her blush.
    “No, Bailey, it was you. I don’t like that evil mean woman. I could never like someone who was blatantly mean for no reason. You have all the qualities I look for in a woman, or a mate. Have you had that talk with Jake about mating yet?” Paul knew he was pushing it but he couldn’t stop. All this pent up lust was getting to him.
    The truck pulled into the gravel driveway of Alpha house but neither Bailey nor Paul moved. She scrutinized him waiting for him to say ‘just kidding’ or ‘who would like a scarred virgin dummy.’
    Her door was pulled open by Jake who ran his hands over her bloody wound. She heard Paul’s low snarl and held her breath. Jake removed his hands and said. “I apologize. Bailey, can you walk or would you like Paul to carry you?”
    What the heck was going on? Paul had convinced her that he liked her but he was acting like a beast when Jake touched her, no matter how innocent.
    “I’ll walk. I need to tell you what happened.” She turned to Paul whose eyes had turned the color of his wolf, golden with brown flecks. Uh oh, “Paul, would you be kind enough to get my purse where I dropped it in front of the store? Please.”
    “ Blake’s getting it. I want to hear this.”
    Jake looked in between them and then his gaze settled on Paul. “I thought you said she was severely injured.”
    Paul closed his eyes and tried to reign in his enraged beast. “She was.”
    Jake was getting impatient. “Care to explain?”
    Bailey stepped between the two and said, “Maybe we can go inside and talk about it. I’d like Shana to hear this as well.”
    Jake motioned for her to walk in front of him. “Ladies first.”
    They walked into the house and Shana was sitting in the easy chair, with the staple gun in hand and a solemn