Monsters & Guardians

by Kay Elle Parker

  Well hell. That she didn’t expect. “Why are you doing this?”

  “Because this is what you need.” His hand rested on her belly, spanning nearly from one side to the other it was so big in comparison to her. He stroked her, sensitizing the skin. “If you relax, the heat will come. It will wipe away all the fears and doubts and pain. When I’m inside you, you’ll want more of me, all of me. Take all of me without feeling so scared.”

  “It’s a lie,” she mumbled numbly, drifting into the tender dance of his palm over her flesh. Her breasts felt heavy and full. Beneath his hand, a dull ache brewed. “It’s all a lie. There is no heat.”

  He shifted beside her, fingers gliding whisper-soft to her breasts. With little plucks and tweaks, he teased her nipples to aching points. The ache grew, making her hips twitch restlessly. “Is it really? Look at me, Raine. Show me those gorgeous eyes and tell me what you’re feeling now.”

  Heavy-lidded, she met his gaze, breaking from her trance when she realized nearly all of the blue had been stolen by darkness. The trembling started; the ache receded.

  “Ah now, precious, none of that.” Dubh’s mouth replaced his fingers, sucking on the rosy peaks until a startled moan gasped free and the ache doubled in strength. “That’s better. My wolf is getting impatient, but he knows the value of waiting. Just because my eyes are changing color doesn’t mean he’s suddenly going to appear and ravish you. Not until we’re both sure you’re ready.”

  The ache became a fire in her blood, sparks of light and warmth rejuvenating tired, bruised muscles. The tug of his lips on her nipples, alternating from one to the other, and the scrape of his teeth was like a shot of gasoline to the source, ramping warmth into an unbearable inferno.

  Lavender hit her system, calming and soothing, but it barely took the edge of the pulsing need in her system. Neither did the rasping caress of his rough palms down her body or the funny growling-purr emanating from his chest.

  Fingers thrust between her legs, probing the sore channel with infinite care. She arched, her brain anticipating familiar pain, but Dubhlainn’s penetration was smooth and easy, delving into distended flesh with the aid of copious amount of slick fluid.

  Feeling high, Raine lifted her head, struggled to keep it raised as she looked down her body. Eyebrow lifted, Dubh abandoned her breasts so she could watch his fingers fuck her without the anxiety she’d experienced before, and see the clear liquid coating his hand.

  “W-What’s that?” she rasped.

  Dark eyes glimmered with satisfaction. “That, precious, is all you. It means you’re nearly ready, Raine.” Fingers crooked up, tapped a spot she’d never known existed and sent pleasure spasming through her limbs. “My knot will sit just here, precious. It’ll make you feel divine.”

  Dubhlainn removed his hand, and she whimpered, feeling bereft by the loss. Burning alive from the core of her outwards, she needed relief. Her eyes widened as he sucked the juice from his fingers and licked his lips in appreciation. His voice turned dark and rumbled from his mouth. “Later, I’ll drink it direct from the source, precious.”

  “Dubhlainn, please.” She snagged his hand, tugged him down to her. The few brief moments of fear that gripped her when he settled over her, his weight pinning her to the mattress as he adjusted himself, vanished when he smiled at her, pride and what might have been love in his eyes.

  Like the last trace of daylight on the horizon as night took over, the black devoured the blue.

  “He’s taking over now, Raine. Don’t be scared. I’m with you, I won’t leave you. Just relax and let the heat guide you, precious.” Dubh grunted, and the next voice she heard was the wolf’s growling tone of lust. “Relax, my mate.”

  He speared into her, cleaving inside her sheath like a sword. Pain erupted for a monumental moment before it morphed into electricity, zinging through her nervous system and lighting up every pleasure point from the roots of hair down to the tingly nerve endings in her toes.

  Her scream was high and delighted, almost triumphant. Her body welcomed Dubh’s, hips spreading to accommodate the width of his, thighs cushioning his thrusts. Black eyes alive with passion never left hers, held her in thrall. He was feral in his rutting, hammering for every extra inch he could get while she clenched tightly around the thick girth, squeezing the shaft.

  “Good girl, precious mate,” the wolf groaned.

  Something terrible built like a tsunami, a spiral of contracting aches, driven hard and fast by the cock destroying her and rebuilding her bit by bit. Her fingers dug into his shoulder, gripped thick black hair as detonation exploded from her womb, sending scattered shards of orgasm shrapnel ripping through her body.

  In the depths of her belly, she felt a vicious sting, a huge tearing pressure. She shoved at Dubhlainn, panicked, but although his thrusts slowed, he didn’t stop. She writhed, unable to dislodge the bad feeling, and pleaded with him.

  “Shush, mate,” the wolf said, nuzzling at her neck. “All is as it should be. Another few moments and the discomfort will mean nothing. Dubhlainn tells me I should say trust him.”

  Pathetic little cries vibrated at the back of her throat. Holding on tight, she gasped, absorbing the several deep, rough snaps of Dubh’s pelvis into hers. The pain escalated to fever pitch, then more pressure stretched her entrance.

  And more, and more.

  As she realized she was knotted, that the pain was from her violated cervix, Raine’s brain clicked off. Orgasm came from nowhere, a shovel around the head that wiped her consciousness of everything but overwhelming stimulation.

  She heard the wolf howling but didn’t understand why. Felt her belly distend as Dubhlainn officially mated her, his cock jetting spurt after spurt of seed inside her fertile womb but found she couldn’t remember how she’d gotten here.

  Orgasm after orgasm racked her body. The knot pressed and rubbed until she was limp and weeping and her body was long past the point of any muscular control. But strong arms gathered her up, a warm chest rested under her cheek as her head lolled, and the scent of the woods and lavender was potent and soothing.

  It was to the pleased hum of Dubhlainn’s voice praising her over and over that she fell asleep, pussy still sucking at his cock, milking every last drop as the knot tied them as one.

  Chapter Eight

  Dubhlainn

  His wolf was entirely too smug when they exchanged the reins of control, Dubh thought with a smirk. Not that he blamed the beast in the slightest—they had a mate, a bred mate, and with any luck the line would continue in just a few months.

  Sprawled on top of him, she was asleep. He wouldn’t disturb her until she woke of her own accord, not when his knot was still lodged deep and those ridiculously strong internal muscles kissed his shaft with little fluttering ripples. His balls were empty, finally, but it was kind of blissful just laying here with his mate draped over him.

  His mate.

  Dubh nuzzled and sniffed her hair, pleased to note she smelled of him. He wanted her marked with his scent, a warning to his brothers and any other males that she was taken. Eventually he would need to bite her, to leave a physical scar on her flesh as a visual reminder of his ownership, especially as one of his asshat brothers had already sunk his teeth into her nape.

  That was...annoying.

  Raine snuffled against his chest, face tightening as she moved her hips. Her eyes started to flutter open, confusion and discomfort flickering over her stunning features, but Dubhlainn pressed a hand to the back of her head and crooned to her. “Shush, precious. Everything’s fine. Go back to sleep for a little while, you need the rest.”

  Not to be deterred, those gray eyes blinked open, dark and heavy. She stared at him blankly, her brow furrowing with cute little wrinkles. He lifted his hand to stroke them away and she jerked back, using his chest as a springboard to escape his touch, then moaned as he did when the knot refused to give.

  Dubh tried again, slower this time, and Raine shook her head vehemently, looking sic
k as she focused on where they joined. “Raine, look at me. At me. You’re fine, you’re safe. You’re mine.”

  Suddenly furious, her eyes lifted and met his with undisguised rage. “No.”

  No? Dubhlainn cocked his head curiously. This was something he had not expected. She should be pliant, sated by orgasm and the knowledge she was mated to an Alpha. Her life would be different from what she was used to, but she would be loved and taken care of. By him, always. By his brothers if that was what she chose.

  As the first to tie with her, breeding rights came down to him. No other would be permitted to knot with her, to bring new life to this world with her but him. His pack, however, was a unit and if she chose, they would please her any way she demanded.

  Part of him hated the idea of sharing her, of knowing this insanely tight pussy could welcome another cock after he’d claimed her fully under the traditions of the pack. But the other part...what would it be like to mount her as his brothers watched, touched what was his? To watch Quinn and Cabhan fuck her together while she sucked his cock, took Finn and Malachi in hand?

  He throbbed painfully.

  Her breath was starting to come faster; she slapped his hands away when he attempted to soothe her for a third time. “I don’t want this. Get it out of me!”

  Dubh latched onto her hips before she could do something stupid like try and yank the knot free. Crippling them both with intense agony wouldn’t prove anything, but she was wound up and anxious, and she didn’t know the damage she could deal to them both.

  “Relax,” he commanded in a stern voice. “It’s too late for regrets, Raine. Hurting yourself isn’t an option. Take some deep breaths and lay back down. The knot won’t recede for a while yet.”

  Pinned on his cock, she had the balls to snarl down at him. “Don’t tell me what to do, asshole. How the hell did I let you do this to me?” God, it hurt to see the bewilderment on her face. This was supposed to be a happy moment, a joyous occasion. Life could—should—be forming within her even now, but she was not happy, not joyous. “Fuck, it hurts.”

  “Because you’re fighting it, precious. Fighting me. There’s no need to anymore.” Frustrated she wouldn’t listen, wouldn’t take the comfort he offered, Dubhlainn reared up and wrapped his arms around her slight frame. Their connection became tight, twisted, and he rolled them both before the pain could register for more than a second. With her pinned beneath him, he relaxed again.

  “I hate you.”

  “Wasted energy,” he commented, sighing contentedly. He ignored how tense she was and concentrated on knowing she was safe. Nothing could get to her, harm her. He thought he might doze for a while himself. “Go to sleep, Raine. It’ll all be good in a couple hours.”

  So much for post-coital bliss, he mused as she wriggled and pushed and threatened him with all manner of inventive punishments. He ignored her, which only infuriated her more.

  “Get off me!”

  “We are quite literally tied together, Raine. Neither of us are moving for a while longer unless you want a world of pain. So close your eyes, rein in that temper of yours and change the damn tune.”

  Her growl was impressive.

  “No, no growling. I get you’re pissed off, I understand you’re scared and in pain, I really do. Unless your heat and the estrus breaks, we’ve got this to do all over again, and precious, you’re pumping out pheromones all over the place.” He didn’t take pleasure in the harshness of his words, nor in the sickly horror growing in her eyes before they blurred with tears. “Don’t cry, Raine. It wasn’t so bad, was it, compared to the rest?”

  Her lips trembled as the first tear slipped down a pale cheek. “At least your brothers fucked me and left me alone after.”

  Yet another fault to strip their hides with, Dubhlainn thought in disgust. Had their beasts taken over them so completely they could brutalize a woman and just walk away? Even if he’d neglected to knot Raine this time, he would have stayed with her, comforted her as much as she’d permit. And perhaps that was the issue, he decided. She didn’t want the comfort, the tending to, the connection.

  They’d hurt her badly enough she didn’t want them near her when the rut was done. Something he understood but couldn’t let happen again. Any progress he made now with trust and building a tentative link between them as mates would be irreversibly damaged if he allowed her to take so much as a step back through fear or distrust.

  “Being alone isn’t the best thing for you right now. Stability, your mate, and your heat to break is what you need. I’m all three in one big package, Raine. Your body chose me, trusted me to bring on the heat and bring us to here. If your body can trust me, why can’t the rest of you?”

  “Because you hunted me down like a fucking deer!” she screamed at him, slapping at his face and chest. “You chased me and terrified me and treated me like a fucking doll with no feelings or emotions!”

  Unfortunately, he couldn’t argue with that. He had smelled her, craved her, attained her. Brought her to his brothers’ attention and driven them to the brink of madness with the idea of her, of a compatible mate after so damned long and too many mistakes. “I can’t disagree, precious. Our—no, my behavior—comes into question, no doubt. You can’t be more disgusted with me than I am with myself.”

  She scorned him with a look. “Really?”

  “Honestly. My pursuit of you was primal instinct, but I don’t condone using the animal as an excuse for what I’ve done. A choice was made, consequences accepted, and considering you’ve kicked all our asses so far, we keep paying the price.” Nestling himself on top of her more firmly, using weight and height to restrain her, Dubhlainn sniffed down her throat. “I’ll pay whatever price needed to keep you here, Raine. You are my future, the woman I want by my side when I rule the pack. Your blood and mine combined in the legacy of our children.”

  Goddamn it, did the female never relax? Dubh pressed a line of kisses along soft skin, licking her gently to reassure her. Still she lay stiff and unyielding beneath him, and it was starting to infuriate man and wolf both. They demanded she rest and give her tired body an opportunity to recharge, to accept the bounty of pregnancy, and finally surrender herself into their safekeeping.

  Did she like the growl we gave her earlier? She seemed to enjoy that, the wolf reminded him eagerly. It was as tired as Dubh, required downtime. See if that will settle the anxious female into submission. If all else fails, we will bite her and order her to rest.

  Firm breasts crushed against his broad chest as he lowered himself further. Her squeak of alarm and desperate struggles went unnoticed; he concentrated on the rumbling growl he’d used to subdue her before the rut. Low and soothing, a pleasing thrum, he let it slide into her, skin to skin. Enveloped her in the sound of his devotion to her.

  “Stop it,” she whined, but he could tell her heart wasn’t in it. Already she’d stopped squirming, her feet still kicking restlessly but the rest of her fell slave to the vibrations he urged into her. Strong waves of comfort. “Dubhlainn, stop.”

  So this was how to calm her when her distress became overwhelming. Smug at the discovery, Dubhlainn didn’t stop until she was limp, her body finally relinquishing control and her vocal protests fading into incoherent murmurs. He breathed a sigh of relief and kissed her forehead. “Doesn’t that feel better, precious?”

  Her mutter was sleepy and indecipherable.

  “We’ll talk,” he promised, running his fingers through her hair, against her scalp. Her already glazed eyes became unfocused and then fluttered closed. “When you’re not prepared to rip my head off and dance around with it clutched in your fist.”

  Her lips twitched a second before she sighed and drifted into sleep.

  Keeping her guarded in his arms, Dubhlainn followed.

  *

  Quinn

  Running was not easing his guilt. Two hours of feet pounding the ground in laps around the house hadn’t erased a single ounce of the damn emotion, and neither had the punish
ing trek he’d made himself take through the endless expanse of woods.

  Her fucking screams were on repeat in his head.

  The wolf loped along, tiring after so much exercise so soon on the heels of an energetic fuck. It viewed their rut with Raine as natural, somewhat disappointed that they hadn’t achieved a tie, but satisfied with its performance and eager to try again. The female, in its opinion, had taken their cock which was an excellent start. She would take the rest of them when they returned to her.

  Quinn knew different. His take on the whole goddamn fiasco was the absolute opposite of the beast’s—he’d felt the dryness of her sheath tear with the wolf’s thrusts, had tried to pull the beast under control when Raine screamed as though he’d ripped her guts out with his bare hands. While he wanted to wipe away her tears, beg for forgiveness when her body twisted and writhed in agony beneath him, the wolf had sunk its teeth into her flesh as punishment for the bite she’d inflicted upon their arm.

  God, he’d fucked things up royally.

  Making amends was a virtual impossibility but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to give it his best shot. He couldn’t remain in the pack if he couldn’t mend the bridge he’d poured gasoline over and set alight. Which meant a painstaking task of rebuilding from scratch.

  Alone, his brothers left in the dust hours ago, Quinn slowed and finally let himself breathe. He didn’t know which was worse—betraying Raine by acting like the monster he’d never wanted to be or disappointing his brothers by not being the perfect choice they’d expected him to be when they voted him in as Raine’s first.

  To make matters worse, his heart was involved. He loved her spark, her kick-ass attitude that seemed indestructible. The month they’d spent following her, studying her life and habits, had proven she was an independent woman, reliant on no one, and resourceful. No family they could find evidence of, and no friends. She was more alone than the stars in the sky, and he found that unbearably sad.

  He wanted to know why she had no one in her young life, why there was no one to go home to, no one to come looking for her. Why she spent her nights hunting down their kind, who’d taught her to protect herself so well and fight like a demon.