by Amanda LeMay
Taber gave a short nod then looked to Sorin, who gave his own short nod of agreement.
“Doesn’t it go both ways, this challenge thing? He can’t challenge for his daughter, so you can’t challenge either? I mean, you can’t kill him for choking me, can you? Please don’t misunderstand, I am in no way defending his actions, I just don’t want to see you standing in front of a full tribunal because of me.”
“When I say unchallenged, I’m not talkin’ about a contest, baby.” Gunner growled. “He took you from my territory, my home. He threatened you, which means he threatened me, and my entire pack. He fucking assaulted you, Simone. I can’t let that go. It’s my right to deal out some payback of my own. And that mark I put on your neck trumps any fatherly rights he ever might’ve had.” His mouth touched mine, his full lips moving softly over mine as if he were purposefully restraining himself. He pulled back. “You’re mine, Simone, all mine, and no one fucks with what belongs to me, even if that sick sonofabitch happens to be your father.”
And you’re mine, too.
I unclenched my fists and moved my hands along his strong back. “Funny, I was under the impression that you belonged to me,” I murmured against his lips.
“I do, baby, I do. Flesh, blood, and bones. All the way down to my soul.”
His hand wrapped around my neck as his mouth opened over mine. The fine silk threads of his moustache and goatee teased my cheeks, chin, and nose. Our tongues twirled together and caught on our exposed fangs. The sharp, little cuts lit up my body. I burned to feel his fangs on me, in other places. I tasted our blood as it blended in our mouths and again, the vision of Gunner coming to me covered in Rule’s blood invaded my mind. I pulled away, panting, knowing that if I didn’t stop kissing him, his kisses alone would make me come right there in the SUV, with his brothers sitting only a few feet away.
I laid my forehead against Gunner’s shoulder, trying to cool the fire he had built between my legs. “Why can’t I stop picturing you coming to me covered in Rule’s blood?” I whispered, though I knew Sorin and Taber could hear every word we exchanged in the suddenly small, enclosed space of the SUV. “Why does the thought of you wiping his blood on me make me so...?” So incredibly ready to spontaneously combust?
“It’s ingrained into our genetic code. He’s your enemy. It’s my duty and my honor to protect and defend you.”
The words rumbled out from deep in his chest and I could feel their impact inside my body.
But...killing Rule? Wanting his death as badly as I did, didn’t feel wrong, but this bizarre emotion also didn’t seem right.
I held Gunner’s palm to my face and gazed into his eyes. “Does this desire for his blood make me more like him?”
Gunner blinked. His face softened as his fangs receded back into his gums. “No, baby. Absolutely not. He has to pay for the lives he took: your grandmother, that poor, nameless female, and all the other pitifully misguided members of his pack who suffered or died because of him.” His lips touched my forehead as he pulled me tighter into the shelter of his arms. “You’re nothin’ like him, Simone.”
I was safe. Brenin and Neeta were safe. In little more than six hours, Rule would stand in front of the tribunal. They would pass judgment on him. At some time after that, there would be blood.
“Gun, what do you think Rule will do to Blaze?”
“Don’t know, baby.” Gunner’s hand slipped down my arm until his thumb rested on the inside of my wrist, stroking back and forth. “One thing’s for sure, he’s not gonna take kindly to Blaze and Neeta having a connection, not when she’s already promised herself to him. Don’t worry though. I sent Seff, Dain, and Jessy out to San Antonio to make sure Blaze arrives at the ranch in one piece. Seff’s a great tracker. All he’s gotta do is step inside that hotel lobby, and he’ll catch Blaze’s scent. Anything happens to Blaze, Seff will be able to find him.” Gunner’s lips touched my forehead again. “Fuck. If anything does happen to Blaze, I don’t know if Neeta will survive losing another sakana.”
I snuggled closer into Gunner’s arms and tucked my head up under his jaw. “Then we’ll have to make sure Blaze makes it through this.” And Rule doesn’t.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
THE MINUTE WE’D ARRIVED back at the ranch, Gunner sent me off to shower Rule’s scent from my body. He gathered enough food from the kitchen to feed several wolves and brought it back to his room.
Before I had a chance to towel off completely, Gunner pinned me against the steamy bathroom wall, one arm supporting my weight and the other arm braced against the wall next to my head. His lips took mine in a long, deep kiss as he slid his naked body between my legs and covered me in his wonderful, rich, masculine scent.
“That shoulda never happened.” His voice rumbled roughly in my ear.
“Shhh.” Running my fingers through his hair, I leaned his head to the side and tasted the tight flesh of his throat with my tongue. “I need you inside me.”
“Swore I’d keep you safe.” His fist pounded the wall.
“Never blame you, Gun. Never.” I kissed my way up his jaw. His soft goatee tickled my lips. Every nerve in my body was on fire and needing what only he could give me. “Now, fuck me or feed me. I’m starving for both.” I wiggled my hips, trying to maneuver his hard, jutting cock right where I needed him. I nicked his bottom lip with my extended canine. “Make a move either way, because this foreplay is torture.”
His shoulders shook with laughter he didn’t let go. What he did let go was his tight hold. The tip of his cock slid inside, barely enough to make me moan and beg.
“Please, Gun, please.”
With one hard thrust, he was buried deep. I caught the flesh of his shoulder between my teeth. The taste of his blood fueled the fire that burst, uncontrolled, where our bodies joined, and spread along every muscle fiber in my body.
Gunner groaned. “I love you, baby...I love you...I love you...” Each declaration punctuated with another deep thrust. He wrapped his hand in my hair and pulled my head back. “I’m givin’ you all of me. Not just this once. Not just tonight, but for the rest of your life. You ready for that?”
“Yes. I am so ready.” I panted.
“Give me your sweet mouth.”
I caught the deep growl that traveled up from inside his chest. All I could do was hold on as his tongue drove into my mouth in the same rhythm his erection surged in and out. His cock was so huge and hard, I felt the rhythmic pulsing as his seed shot into me. He threw his head back and howled, and I joined him as the rush of my own orgasm hit in a sudden explosion.
We eventually made our way to the bed, making love again, his amazing Breeder’s cock moving slow and easy, giving me one incredible orgasm after another, as if we had all the time in the world, instead of only a few short hours before the tribunal took place. When fear of my brands threatened to rise up and steal pleasure from us, I slammed it down and locked it away. Nothing and no one intruded—no muffled voices outside the bedroom door, no phones ringing, no one barging in to call us out to a meeting. Even though the house was filled with others who no doubt heard everything going on in Gunner’s bedroom, Gunner and I focused on each other, and the world outside slipped away.
I WAS LIGHTHEADED FROM lack of food.
Gunner made sure I ate as I filled him in on what had happened from the moment I stepped from his bedroom out onto the front porch, until I jumped into his arms on the side of the freeway. He stayed calm, though I could tell it took everything in him to remain that way. He listened and took it all in, with a few questions here and there.
When nine o’clock came around, Gunner helped me dress, something I knew he enjoyed almost as much as he enjoyed removing my clothing. He walked me out to the kitchen to leave me in Taber and Derry’s care while he and the other Alphas met out in the barn. Tan, Sky, and Denny had joined us in the kitchen, leaving Les, Albert, and Brindle to tend to the horses and cattle.
If I didn’t know for a fact that everyone congregat
ing in the kitchen was common for the wolves in this house, I’d be suspicious that they were all there to guard over me, which they probably were. All this love, care, and protection was the new and strange sort of opposite I had become used to since I’d been welcomed into Gunner’s home.
Because my kidnapping had screwed up Derry’s dinner plans—she blamed Rule, not me—she had ordered pizza—boxes and boxes of pizza—and tossed up a wonderful antipasto salad, though she didn’t call it antipasto salad. Even though I’d already eaten, I indulged in one slice of pizza. Thick, soft crust, gooey, stringy cheese, tons of sausage and onions. Heavenly. Pizza was like chocolate. I’d eaten it only a few times in my life, and even then, had to sneak it and hope my mother didn’t find out. Pizza was definitely not on the foods-approved-for-consumption list, along with beef, lamb, pork, and all sweets.
My wolf guard of Tan, Sky, and Denny stood in their socks and faded jeans, white T-shirts, and cotton button-downs. Their muddy boots and chaps had been left on the back porch. Each held a beer and ate pizza while I leaned against the granite-topped island and sipped the glass of Cabernet Sauvignon Derry had placed in front of me. I’d tuned almost everything out, listening and waiting for the meeting in the barn to break up. With all of the new information Neeta had to relay, I knew it would affect changes in any decisions the tribunal had already made.
The sun had set only twenty minutes before, leaving the sky dark purple on the horizon. The clouds that had dropped hail and rain were nowhere to be found, though they did leave a blanket of humidity in their wake. The ground appeared damp, the muddy puddles gone, as the soil had soaked up the precipitation like a greedy desert.
I sighed and suddenly every muscle in my body tightened. My heart started racing. Nausea swept through me as anguish clenched my stomach. The energy in the kitchen changed from relaxed impatience to high alert. I glanced around the room and locked eyes with Gunner’s brother.
“Taber, something’s wrong.” My voice shook with every word.
“Oh shit,” Taber muttered as he lifted Derry up off his lap and set her on her feet.
He was out of his chair and racing out the back door just as the barn door slid open with a bang. Deep, male voices traveled across the yard from the barn into the house. Denny, Tan, and Sky crowded around the kitchen window, blocking out my view as they stared out at the commotion.
“Gun, listen.”
“Gunner, there are no exceptions. The law must apply to all of Rule’s offspring.”
“Don’t.” Gunner viciously growled the single word.
“Gun, you need to calm the fuck down, brother.”
Whatever words Gunner meant to say were lost in a guttural, inhuman howl that made my hair stand on end and my skin break out in goosebumps. My brain screamed run to him but my feet wouldn’t move.
Male voices shouted out Gunner’s name, and warnings to others to get out of his way. Something was terribly wrong. Gunner would come to me. He’d explain. Whatever law the tribunal set forth, we would deal with it together.
“Holy shit, he’s pissed,” Sky mumbled from in front of the window.
Another howl filled the air. Gut-wrenching. Mournful. So full of grief...as if someone had...died.
I pushed Sky aside and stared out the window.
Gunner’s eyes locked on mine. Then...he ran.
Ran away from me.
My heart sank, squeezing out from behind my ribs and sinking somewhere below the pit of my stomach.
Had the tribunal condemned Rule’s entire pack? Had they decided to put Rule’s incestuous lineage to death?
I’m okay. I’m okay.
A warm arm wrapped around my shoulder. “Simone, honey, everything’s gonna be okay.” Derry squeezed as she attempted to comfort me. “Gunner’s just working off some steam.”
“He ran away.” Hot tears streamed down my cheeks.
The three males moved away from the window. I stared out into the darkness. Hemming stood a few yards from the barn, his huge arms around Neeru, her hands covering her face buried in his chest. His gaze found mine through the glass and there was no mistaking the sorrow he felt.
Please, no.
“Simone,” Neeta whispered from the doorway. I turned to see her cheeks glistening with tears. “I’m so sorry.”
Sorin stepped in behind her, his sparkling copper eyes locked with mine. He moved past Neeta and stood towering over me in a strange, gentle way. His mouth opened, his deep voice filled the room, informing me of the tribunal’s decision.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
MY PAWS HIT THE GROUND, my claws digging into the damp earth and as I ran, Sorin’s words rang in my head. The decision the tribunal had made and applied to all of Rule’s offspring was more than fair—it was just. It was needed.
And the blame fell fully on Rule’s shoulders.
Gunner’s scent stood out like a luminous beacon in the dark night. The smoky leather and lemon essence coated my nostrils and seeped into my lungs, beckoning me with a force I couldn’t deny, dragging me forward to the only place Gunner would retreat to.
The true wolves that patrolled the ranch joined me as I ran. Though they stayed several feet behind, their collective anxiety filled the air. Gunner was in pain and they didn’t understand why.
The wet rocks lining the banks of the Guadalupe River and the moist, green foliage of trees and grass nearby gave off their own unique fragrances. I’d only been out there once, but there was no doubt, I was close.
Gunner’s deep, rich scent seemed stronger than usual, almost overwhelming, but in a way that drew me to him as if a rope were tied around my neck, dragging me along, because my feet barely kept up.
Another howl split the sky. The wretched anguish twisted my heart.
Gun...I’m coming.
The small, stone cabin came into view. I raced faster. The other wolves fell behind—not only because I outran them, but because they were wary. The scent of their distress had fallen behind with them and for that, I was thankful.
Against the black background of dark trees, a shadowy figure stood upright, unnaturally tall and broad, with massive arms and legs. He threw back his head and howled to the waxing moon.
Gunner?
I didn’t slow my pace. His miserable howl pulled me forward. The moon glinted off his incredibly long canines. His paws were enormous hands, each finger ending in an extended scythe-like claw.
A wolf monster. A gigantic beast. The most magnificent creature I had ever seen.
Some dark, primal part of my soul recognized my wolf mate and I wanted him, needed him, inside me. My wolf craved the weight of his body slamming into mine. I wanted him to rut and fuck and claim me—mate with me—just the way he was.
I skidded to a halt. His enormous head swung around. Bright green eyes glowed luminescent, as if lit from behind. His savage snarl set my teeth on edge. From upwind and blacker than night, I wasn’t sure he saw me, much less caught my scent—an advantage if I were trying to sneak up on him, but I wasn’t. I shifted to my human form as another vicious snarl curled his muzzle.
I stood still, making a conscious effort to slow my rapid breaths, careful not to make any sudden moves. I didn’t know what part of Gunner was more in control, the wild animal or the devoted male. Not that it mattered. Gunner would never hurt me.
“It’s me. It’s me.” The words came from my lips as a gentle command, soothing and confident. “Gun, it’s me.”
With each heavy breath, the light of the moon flowed in sparkling waves over his fur. His coloration was much like his regular wolf form, though it now covered an over-seven-foot frame—white arms, legs, torso, and face, with a mask of varying shades of brown, starting from his forehead and traveling down his back through his incredibly long, bushy tail. He stalked toward me, slow and deliberate, moonlight flashing over his rippling muscles, his clawed feet silent on the damp, hard-packed soil. He stopped his advance a few yards from me.
A wonderful, tingling sensation ra
ced up my spine. Everything inside of me was already on fire. Part of me wanted to offer up my belly in submission while the other half of me wanted to go down on all fours and beg him to take me with total abandon, in a wild, animalistic mating frenzy.
I licked my suddenly dry lips as I struggled simply to stand quiet and still.
Low-pitched whines came from his mouth, traveled through every cell in my body, hit my brain and my heart, and somehow I understood his meaning: no fear. Not a command. A statement.
I nodded in agreement. “No fear.”
The last few feet that separated us disappeared. I slammed my body into his, wrapped my arms around him, and held on as his arms clenched around my back. My cheek barely reached his sternum.
“Never.” It was the only word I spoke before his arms squeezed the breath out of me.
His chest expanded and he howled deep and low. She is safe.
Answering howls rose up and echoed around us. I recognized each separate voice as they sang.
Bending over me, Gunner rubbed his muzzle, cheeks, and ears over my face and hair before his tongue slowly licked away the few stray tears of relief that had leaked from my eyes.
His tenderness killed me. I didn’t want tenderness, I wanted him in all his beastly glory. I slid my hands down his lower back and pressed my breasts deeper into him as his cock stirred against me. He let out a deep, rumbling growl. I answered with one of my own as I rubbed my face over his chest. His clawed hands grabbed my upper arms, pulling them out from behind him. I spun against him, turned, and pressed my lower back and bottom into his hardening cock. A low, guttural growl rolled through him again—my name.
“Gun, please...” I begged as I pushed deeper into his body.
His hands left my arms, only to wrap around my waist and lift me. I squealed as he tucked me into his side in a football hold and stalked toward the stone cabin. His clawed fingers wrapped around the door handle and threw the door open to slam against the interior stone wall.