“Lauren has been wolf for months, even if she has no control over her phase, she has more experience. You wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Jay, where did she come from?” Rory asks from his chair in the corner. “Do you know her parents?”
“She told me her father was changed by Lowell Duke, and her mother died when she was a baby. She was raised by her father.”
“It’s so Disney I wanna puke.” Raine makes a gagging sound. “Can’t we ban her from the ceremony or something?”
“If we ban her, we’re no different than our parents. This ceremony is supposed to be about inclusivity.” Ozzy is gentle with Raine, like she is a stick of dynamite ready to blow everything up.
“Anyone who walks through the smoke has the right to do as they please after the ceremony. That includes following Lauren.” Jay gives me a look that reminds me of our plan to skip out at the last minute.
“Once they phase, the wolf traits kick in. That means a pack mentality. Everyone down there will be loyal to the alpha. We’re leaving them vulnerable to manipulation. They need direction. A leader.”
“She’s right,” Monte says, announcing his arrival. “Sequestering newly turned wolves was for their protection. Finding your place in a pack is crucial. The people here tonight will be sent back into the world feeling lost, looking for guidance and leadership. The only way to stop Lauren from creating a pack is to claim the old one.” Monte has an ulterior motive. He needs to control the newly turned wolves. R-49 creates a fiercely loyal wolf. He needs them on his side if he’s going to contain the spread.
We watch Lauren gyrating on the dancefloor, a group of infatuated girls around her.
“We’re choosing to give them free will, and Lauren is swooping in and taking it away.” Raine pounds on the window in frustration.
“You’re saying they will follow us? Do what we say?” Rory looks a little too excited by this discovery.
“You can’t control their thoughts or actions,” Monte clarifies. “They will feel loyal to you, to your ideas. That is where the power ends. We don’t take away their free will.”
Rory’s heart races when I touch him. “We have a huge responsibility to everyone out there, we can’t screw them over like our parents did to us.”
His eyes sparkle and he smiles at me. It’s something different. Primal. I need to speak to him alone, but Jay will never let that happen.
Jay nudges him. “Dude, go get another beer.” It isn’t a suggestion.
Rory snaps back. “Anyone else need a refill?”
Ozzy finishes his cup with a loud burp. “Grab a pitcher.”
“Do you know anything about her?” I ask Monte.
“She was turned during the uprising and raised in the Midwest. We traced the name, Lauren Price, back to a girl who died in a car accident in 2017.”
“Lauren isn’t even her real name?” Jay shakes his head.
“Most likely her last name was changed to conceal her identity.” Monte pretends to watch the people below. I see him glaring at Jay in the window.
“How did we not see this?” Ozzy addresses Jay. “She was playing us.” He’s careful not to insult Jay. Ozzy’s demeanor is subdued, almost passive.
“Um, hello.” Raine waves in Ozzy’s face. “She played Jay. He wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for that snake down there.”
Jay’s attention is fixed on Lauren. His face is unreadable, but his heartbeat gives away his thoughts. As much as it pains me to admit it, he cares for her.
“I thought I knew her,” he mumbles, more to himself than Raine. As if she senses him, Lauren looks directly at Jay. Raine makes a throat-slitting gesture to Lauren. Lauren is oblivious to Raine, or me, or anyone vying for her attention. For a few painful seconds it’s just her and Jay. An annoying cow bell rings downstairs, announcing dinner, and everyone below disperses.
Monte says, “Ozzy, you and Raine are a power couple. Your presence in the ceremony will make this a true Altum Lunam.”
If Monte reinstates the pack, only a trueblood can lead. That takes the pressure off me and Jay. I never wanted to be a leader. Jay shifts uncomfortably. The realization isn’t as comforting to him.
Monte places his hand on Ozzy’s shoulder. “Son, you are the only true male Tallac heir. You will be the next leader of the pack”
The dejected look on Ozzy’s face isn’t missed by anyone.
“We….” He looks at Raine. “We were going to opt out of the ceremony, sir.”
“That’s absurd,” Monte bellows. “All of this was made possible because of you. Both of you. Why on earth would you opt out?”
Raine moves to Ozzy’s side. “He’s doing it for me. I was afraid he’d match with another female.” Her meek admission increases Monte’s wrath.
“The Lunam Ceremony is a sacred ritual, not a game of spin the bottle!” Monte’s attention shifts to me. I cower under his gaze. “Do all of you feel this way? Is it just about who matches with whom, or is anyone here actually taking this seriously?”
“I am, Grandpa.” Rory returns with a pitcher of beer. He sets is down and moves to Monte’s side. “I’ll be the next leader.”
“Rory, I believe you could’ve been one hell of a leader. Unfortunately the serum worked on you. You will not phase tonight.” Monte turns to me. “If you don’t turn, you cannot lead.”
“I don’t understand, Rory says. “I thought the ale would trigger the gene.”
“You received a stronger dose than the others.” Monte has no idea that I know he’s lying, yet he still refuses to make eye contact with me.
“Sir, what happens if I match with another female?” Ozzy asks.
“This will not matter tomorrow.” Monte gestures at Raine, crying quietly in a corner. “To either of you. Life will go on, you’ll find happiness, whether together or apart.”
Raine shouts, “If we don’t phase, or we don’t find a soulmate, then what?”
Calming hysterical woman isn’t in Grandpa’s wheelhouse, but he’s doing a great job. “You’re a trueblood, a born leader. The odds of you matching with Ozzy are very good.”
Raine perks up. “Really?”
“Yes. Now come here.” He holds his hand out. She takes it, and he joins it with Ozzy’s. “The two of you represent the power families in the pack. Duke and Tallac. Gaia will bless this union.”
“But what if—”
“No more of that,” Monte demands. “We need to focus on stopping Lauren. Building unity is an ancient tactic. Someone is backing her, giving her information. I need to find out who.”
“Mr. Tallac.’ Jay addresses Monte formerly. “What will you do to Lauren?”
Her name on his lips makes my insides burn. His concern breaks my heart.
“I don’t know what you’re suggesting, Jay.”
“I mean, will she be harmed?”
Ozzy and Raine pause their cupcaking, and even Rory looks up in anticipation.
“We’re not in the business of hurting people,” Monte says. “If Lauren participates in the ceremony, she will be part of the pack, obligated to follow pack rules. If she breaks them, the pack will decide her fate.”
Raine smiles mischievously. “Sounds good.” She winks at me. As pack leader, Raine will decide what to do with Lauren. Gaia help her.
“If Lauren doesn’t walk through the smoke?” I ask even though I know the answer.
“If she continues to wreak havoc on our lives as a mutated wolf, we will take action.” Monte gives a warning look, I don’t push further. In the journals punishment was harsh. R-249 will save the human race, but it’s also a weapon against our kind.
Monte suggests we break into groups. “You guys ask around, see how many people have the bracelet. We only have a couple of hours left. I better go find Layla.” He doesn’t look too thrilled as he follows Ozzy and Raine into the hall.
“What about us?” I put my arms around Jay. My desire to be alone with him may be trivial in the grand scheme of things, but it’s all I can t
hink about. I have no other reason to be here.
“We’ll figure it out.” His feelings pass through me like an electric surge. “I have faith in us. Everything is going to be fine.”
I want to tell him what I learned from Dr. Wyatt. Part of me knows he’ll understand, but I can’t quiet that nagging voice of doubt, the one that reminds me he fell for Lauren because she was the first woman he met with the ability to phase. Jay was so adamant about me phasing. Being wolf is important to him. Sexy to him.
“What are you plotting?” His right eyebrow goes up.
I kiss his chin. “Let’s make a vow.”
His other brow rises.
“Not that kind of vow,” I assure him. “I want you to promise me something.”
“Anything.” He’s quick to please me. I’ll use that to my advantage.
“Promise I won’t leave here a virgin.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Jay
Her hands find mine, then her lips. Abbi wraps herself around me, and we fall on the couch. There are so many other things I should be doing right now, like warning Lauren her plan isn’t going to work. She still has time to take the money and run.
“Let’s go back to my room,” she says. “I’m not taking no for an answer.”
There is no way I can say no to her now, and I don’t want to. I lead Abbi into the hall. “Which one is yours?”
She points to the room on the end.
As we pass the door next to hers, laughter and moaning comes through the wall.
“Ozzy and Raine’s room.” She shakes her head.
I should’ve known. They’re trying to soak up as much of each other as they can before the ceremony now that Monte has convinced them to participate. I can’t blame them. The thought of Abbi with another male sends a chill up my spine. I block the mental picture by pressing her against the wall and kissing the noise away. She moans, grabs the back of my head, and hooks a leg around mine. Her back arches, lifting her breasts closer to my willing mouth. I bite and kiss them through her T-shirt as I reach around and open her bedroom door.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Finally.
He sits on my bed and kicks his shoes off. Muffled laughter from the room next door reminds me if I can hear them, they can hear us.
“Window open or closed?” Light blue sheer curtains float on the breeze.
He crosses the room to me. “Open.” Laughter and music drift into the room from outside. “Are you nervous?” His lips gently sweep my neck.
I cock my head to allow him full access. “Yes, but don’t stop.”
Jay and I sit on the bed. “I want you, Abbi.” A sound escapes him that is part moan, part growl. “But this is your show. We only go as far as you feel comfortable.”
I pull my shirt off and toss it on the floor. “Do you have a lighter?”
“For what?”
“We’re burning my V-card.”
Jay kisses the tender area above my belly button. I hold my breath and wait for him to look up, to see more of me than I’ve shown to anyone. He continues to kiss and lick unexplored areas of my body. Staking claim. I lift his head. His eyes are closed.
“Jay,” I whisper.
“Abbi.” He lays back, pulling me on top of him. The button on his jeans digs into my bare stomach. I yank open his fly.
Jay doesn’t tell me I’m beautiful, not with words, but his eyes say it all. Suddenly I’m on my back, and he’s removing my jeans but leaving my pink panties in place. The last barrier between me and womanhood. When he takes off his pants, exposing all of him, my heart stops. I have internet, so I’ve seen a naked man, but nothing prepared me for his beauty. He catches me staring, and I vomit words.
“You look nice. I mean it’s nice. I mean it’s, you are everything I thought it’d be… you’d be. Sorry, I’m making this awkward. I’m not the first naked woman you’ve seen. In fairness, it’s okay for me to be awe... it’s, you are awe-worthy.”
He smiles. “In fairness, you are the first naked woman I’ve seen who made me want to murder every man in the house for looking at you.”
“Your word vomit is so much better than mine.”
“Not sure if vomit is the most romantic term.”
“You clearly don’t know me.”
Are banter lightens the moment.
Propped up on his elbows, he angles himself between my legs, and by some miracle the beast between his legs isn’t touching me. “Are you ready?”
As much as I want to bring levity to the moment, I decide to be an adult. I grab his ass with both hands. Forcing his mouth onto mine. He eases my panties come off and lowers himself between my legs. I feel his warmth before we are skin to skin. He slides inside with ease. For a brief torturous moment, he remains still, as if he’s forgotten what to do next. If he’s waiting for me to guide him, he’s screwed.
“We need protection,” he says, frozen. Throbbing. “I have something.”
“Don’t go. Just…. wait.” He rocks forward. My body is a live wire of feels. The breeze coming through the window electrifies my sweaty skin.
“Abbi,” he moans into my neck. “You feel….” He pushes deeper, feeling all of me.
I kiss anyplace I can reach. “Don’t stop.”
He pulls out, and I tense. I don’t ever want him to stop. I want him inside me forever.
He pulls out slowly and reenters me with a force so magnificent, so unapologetically fabulous, I scream. He does this repeatedly, until I’m on the verge of losing consciousness.
This is the most amazing feeling. Why do people ever stop doing this?
I open my eyes and watch him. The muscles in his arms contract as he holds himself above me. He kisses me, presses into me, he makes love to me. his name out loud, just to hear it. I want him to hear my thoughts. Every word in my head needs a voice, needs to be said. “You feel unbelievable.”
He does a pushup so he can see my face. “So do you. So good, Abbi.”
“I don’t want you to stop. I want this forever.”
It could be the euphoria, or maybe it’s my heart. I don’t care. I sound like a madwoman. I sound like a woman in love. I’m in love with Jay. I love him. “I love you.”
Jay freezes mid-thrust to stare at me. Even if he never says the words, I know he loves me by the look in his eyes. “I told you.” He breaks into a smile.
“Told me what?”
“We were meant to be.” He rolls us over so I’m on top.
I squirm, unsure what I’m supposed to do. He presses up. The room is dim, thanks to the setting sun, but I’m still on display as I straddle him. He guides my hips back and forth. His knowing hands reminds me he’s done this with other women. It’s my turn to feel homicidal jealousy at every woman who came before me, especially the one downstairs. She came to reclaim him. When she couldn’t get him, she redirected her wrath at the Lunam Ceremony.
“Abbi,” Jay strains. “Slow down.”
I dig my nails into his chest. Anger and desire are unlikely partners. I force him deeper. He seems to enjoy it, right up until the moment he tosses me off him and onto the bed.
He goes into the bathroom. When I hear the shower turn on. I feel empty and abandoned.
He doesn’t take long, a few minutes, then he’s back.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Jay rubs a towel over himself. “Are you insane?”
“Maybe.”
He wraps the towel around his waist and sits on the bed. Water runs down his back. “I almost lost it and finished inside you.”
“Oh.” Oh.
“That wouldn’t be the best thing right now.”
“Agreed.”
The light is gone, and night has fallen. “It’s almost time.”
“What happens now?”
“We leave.” He kisses me. “I can’t risk losing you.”
“You won’t lose me, Jay. I’m yours forever.” I crawl to him and I pull the towel from his waist.
�
�We should go,” he manages between kisses.
“We’re not finished here.”
Chapter Forty
Jay and I remain in my room until the ceremony is about to begin. It kicks off with a speech from the pack leader. Jay holds me from behind as the crowd waits for Monte to take the stage.
Our plan is to meet behind the main building after everyone leaves to change for the ceremony. Jay booked us a room at a bed and breakfast nearby. We’ll hide out there until morning, then comeback to say goodbye to everyone before we head north. Jay wants to introduce me to his great-grandmother, Grace.
“We can still phase you know.” Jay kisses my neck and presses against my backside. “Sex in the woods could be interesting.”
I need to tell him the truth about me before the ceremony. I don’t want him to find out later and feel duped. I find in the crowd standing intimately beside the DJ. He couldn’t care less about phasing. Trevor wants to find love. From the looks of it, mission accomplished. I want to go to him, but there is no time. The crowd begins to cheer as Lauren walks onto the stage.
“What is she doing?” Jay seethes. “Is she trying to get herself killed?”
Monte and Dillan stand below the riser as Lauren addresses the crowd. Monte would never stop her, or anyone, from speaking their mind. My grandfather is a born leader. Ozzy and Raine may be the new faces of the pack, but Monte will be the one in control.
“Friends,” she says, silencing the chatter. “I want to thank each and every one of you for welcoming me into your lives today. I feel like I’ve gotten to know the people here on a level that transcends our humanity.”
Lauren’s speech isn’t a death wish, it’s insurance. Monte can’t make a move against her in front of her disciples. Daisy walks through the crowd with a tray of cups, passing them out to her inner circle, she hands the last cup to Lauren.
“I’d like to toast to our hosts, the Tallac family.” Lauren holds the red cup in the air, and her minions echo the gesture. “Thank you so much for bringing everyone together. For making all this possible.” Her bracelet catches the light. “Cheers!” She downs her beer and tosses the cup in the air. The others do the same. It looks like a redneck graduation.
The Lunam Legacy (The Lunam Series Book 3) Page 19