The Wolf and His Earth Goddess

by Maia Dylan

  “Holy shit! Olwen!” Casey yelled and pointed. Not so much poignant and powerful as shocked and filled with awe.

  The face in the wall smiled at her. “Yes Casey, it is me.” Her voice was almost musical and was so beautiful Casey found herself moving forward. She managed two steps before Micah halted her by pulling her back against his chest and placing an arm around her waist to hold her still.

  “I don’t know how much longer I can hold the portal open, Aeron is coming for me.” She cast her eyes behind her. Casey shivered when she saw them fill with terror. “He will break through my protection shields soon. We must get this portal open only to me. Casey, you must unlock it, here in this place, and then it will stop Aeron and his followers from opening for him.”

  “Okay, Olwen tell me what to do?” Casey reached forward as Olwen suddenly flinched and cried out in pain. “Olwen!”

  “The key, Casey.” Olwen was yelling and trying to fight closer to the portal. She moved like she was fighting against someone or something. Casey could see her straining to get away and there was blood forming on her arms, almost as if whatever was trying to pull her back had claws. “Micah! The key! Your claim is the key!”

  Olwen was suddenly pulled back from the portal and a man’s face suddenly filled it. He would have been someone Casey would have considered attractive except for the evil and crazed gleam in his red glowing eyes. Yeah, red eyes were pretty much a mark in the con column too. Not to mention the distinctive odor of sulfur replaced the floral aroma of lilies and almost made her gag.

  “You fool!” This was Aeron. Casey felt her skin crawl and doubt fill her mind. The day suddenly darkened as clouds filled the sky and the wind kicked up blowing cold and hard around them. “Who the fuck do you think you are! You think you can go up against me? Olwen is mine and I do not give a damn what you think you are capable of!” His face started to change before their eyes. The bones in his forehead suddenly protruding behind the skin and Casey could see ridges forming along his jaw as it protruded and filled with sharp teeth.

  “You are nothing but two little girls with no power and no chance of winning against me!” Casey felt fear rising through her body, until she was drowning in it. What the hell was she doing here? She felt tears start to slide down her cheek. Micah was suddenly yanked from behind her and her sense of loss was immediate. “You were never worthy of a man like that.” Aeron suddenly spoke directly to her.

  “What in the hell would a man like that see in a nothing like you?” Aeron ran his eyes over her body and Casey cringed, actually feeling his hands on her, touching her. She screamed. “You have absolutely nothing to offer a man like that. You are pathetic and ugly and you have no chance in hell of defeating me.”

  She heard Fiona whimper and cry out beside her, both of them falling to their knees. Casey dropped her face into her hands. All was lost. There was nothing left. She felt her heart stutter, and it became harder to breath. Perhaps there was one thing left—death could be the escape she needed, right?

  Chapter 8

  “Casey!” Micah roared. “Give her back to me, you son of a bitch!” He slammed his fists ineffectively against the barrier that surrounded the table and the area immediately around it. He had been standing there with his mate and had been just about to grab her and run when he was suddenly thrown backward and away from her.

  He had landed about twelve feet beyond his mate, and his two brothers had been tossed right beside him. He scrambled to his feet and ran back only to encounter this barrier that held him back. He had punched, kicked, and yelled at the fucking thing, but it held strong. His brothers stood on either side of him trying to break through it as well.

  “Casey!” Micah was going out of his mind. He could see his mate kneeling there, facing that bastard by herself. Fiona had keeled over to the side and he wasn’t even sure she was conscious. Or breathing. Cole was beyond words and was just raging at the barrier.

  “Casey! Olwen, please! Goddess, please!” he pleaded, dropping to his knees, clawing at the barrier keeping him from his heart. Because that was exactly what Casey was to him. She was his goddamn heart, and if she died here, then so would he. She would not go onto the Otherworld, the afterlife, or whatever the fuck existed after this life, without him. He would follow her anywhere.

  Micah. He heard Olwen’s voice in his head, so quiet he almost missed it. He heard the determination it, but there was a ton of pain too. You must get to her, but solid matter will not breach that barrier, and you must shift as you pass through it. Micah frowned. Control the shift as he moved through the barrier? Was that even possible? Having found his mate he could partially shift at will, but could he do it incrementally to the point he could breach the barrier?

  He heard Casey suddenly whimper in fear or pain. Oh, hell yes, he fucking could! Micah was going for his mate no matter what he had to do or endure to get to her. He stepped back, noticing for the first time that Cole had shifted already and was trying to dig through the barrier with his claws, so hard that blood flowed steadily where he had ripped his claws out. Ryan was trying to break through using a large stick, and his hands were bleeding too.

  If anything happened, he was going to miss his brothers. “Ryan, Cole.” He spoke loud enough for them to hear him as he started to strip off his clothes. “I can get in to Casey and Fiona, but I don’t know what to do once I’m there or how I’m going to get us the fuck out. If something happens—” Both his brothers growled at him. Micah grinned at them both. “Yeah, that’s not high on my wish list either, but you have to know that I love you both. Travis, Mom, and Dad too.” He took a deep breath as he dropped naked to all fours, thinking it would be best to control the shift from head to tail, so to speak.

  “If I don’t make it—” He growled as he looked first Ryan and then Cole in the eyes. “Find that fucker Aeron and eat his heart for me.”

  “You know we will, brother, but I’d rather share that delightful morsel with your ass so just do what you have to do then come back safe!” Ryan reached his fist down and Micah bumped it with his. He turned to Cole, who stood in wolf form beside him, his eyes burning with rage.

  “I’ll get to her for you, Cole.” Micah held his fist out and Cole bumped it with his wet nose. Then he faced the barrier.

  All right, you ornery bastard, Micah spoke internally to his wolf, who stood absolutely still inside him. Tensed for action but knowing that control was what was needed here. Let’s get in there and get our mate. The deep growl Micah heard was as definite a yes as he had ever heard.

  He called down the change and, for the first time, wrangled it to do his bidding. As he imagined the change taking place through his hand first he pushed it into the barrier and as the change came he slid through. Fuck me, it worked! Then he concentrated and worked through the change as controlled but as quick as possible until just moments later he stood on the other side of the barrier from his brothers in full wolf form.

  Aeron roared with rage, obviously sensing that Micah had made it through the barrier. Micah walked forward even as the wind picked up. Growling and snarling low, he made his way toward his mate. He could feel Aeron trying to instill fear and doubt in his mind but Micah just shook it off. There were definite benefits to being an alpha wolf with a huge ego. Self-doubt and failure were simply not something he ever had, so he wasn’t about to let them control him now.

  He made it over to Casey and stood over her, caging her body with his wolf. He looked quickly to his left and saw Fiona lying there. Eyes squeezed tight, fists clenched, and tears falling freely. When he looked down at Casey, he saw that her face looked just as tense.

  He shifted back to his human form, kneeling down so he could stroke Casey’s face. “Baby, can you hear me?” He had to yell to be heard over the wind and the mad ramblings of the asshole god trying to fuck up his life.

  Micah felt his heart stutter when she made no sound or indication that she heard him. He rubbed his thumb gently across her cheek and he saw her move t
o nuzzle into the move. “Casey! Come on back to me, baby, please!” He yelled, petting her face, desperately trying to get her to come around. She moaned. “That’s it, Casey. Come back to me, my mate. We have a lot of living to do, my love, so don’t you fucking quit on me now!” She frowned at that, obviously she did not like being called a quitter. Then her eyes fluttered open.

  “Micah?” He could barely make out her voice, but he couldn’t miss the fire that leaped in her eyes. Whatever hold that bastard had on her was broken. She put a hand to her head and took a steadying breath. “That fucker made me doubt myself and worse, made me doubt you! What a prick! Help me up, and let’s get this thing done.” Micah gripped her under her arms and lifted her to her feet, standing behind her arms clasped around her waist.

  “Oh look, one last stand,” Aeron growled through the portal. He looked larger and more three dimensional than before. That couldn’t be a good thing. “I do so love it when my prey has more fight in them toward the end. One final death throe before finally giving in to the inevitable and rolling over and dying.”

  “Oh shut up!” Fiona snapped from their feet and Micah grinned as she suddenly pushed up to stand beside them. She was a little unsteady on her feet, but she was at least on her feet. He heard his brother yell her name from beyond the barrier. Fiona closed her eyes in relief at the sound, and when she opened them, they were glowing.

  “What’s your plan here, Aeron? Drive us to suicide through your incessant self-posturing or bore us to death with your inane chatter?” Fiona folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot as if she dealt with powerful gods every day.

  “How dare—”

  “Oh, I sure as hell dare!” Interrupting his enraged scream, Fiona stood before him, hands clenched, which incensed him judging by the growling and spitting that was coming from the portal in the wall.

  Casey spun in his arms and looked up at him. “Fiona’s figured it out. Olwen told us that the claiming was the key. You have to claim me here in this place.” Casey grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the table.

  “What! You think me claiming you here in this vortex of craziness is the key?” Micah was never one to put the brakes on anything that led to him getting his hands on his mate, but this seemed a little crazy.

  “Yep, I do.” Casey jumped up to sit on the altar, placing her hands on his shoulders and tugging him closer. As he always had and no doubt always would, he stiffened as he got closer to her perfect body. “I think that us making love on this altar, and you claiming me as your mate for life will cleanse this place. Our bond will give Olwen the opportunity to take back the Pagan Stone. All you have to do is bite me!”

  Micah glanced over his shoulder. “What’s Fiona going to do?” Casey turned to look at her too and grinned at the sight of her reading the riot act to a snarling god.

  “Fiona’s gonna make him burn.” Casey’s voice dropped low and when he looked at her, he saw an almost bloodthirsty light in her eyes. So all he had to do was fuck Casey and claim her as his for all eternity. Not exactly a hardship.

  Casey felt Micah reach up and turn her face to his. Her breath held at the fierce love and satisfaction that shimmered there. “Oh hell yes, you are mine, Casey. Mine to love, mine to protect, and sure as hell mine to claim.” Casey drew her shirt up over her head, and was about to unclip her bra when a thought had her pausing.

  When she looked over her shoulder she could see both Ryan and—oh shit! She spun back to Micah—a naked Cole, not something she needed to see right this second. Although the boy had some serious-looking muscles there.

  Casey, focus on what you need to do, and not on my—on Cole! Fiona growled down their link.

  Okay, sorry, give me one minute and then make with the flame-throwing, she sent back. Then she waved her hand, and the rock at the end of the table suddenly grew, blocking the altar from Ryan and Cole’s view. Micah tensed and she gripped him tighter with her arms.

  “No, it’s okay! That was me. As much as I think we are damn hot when we make love, I kinda draw the line at doing it in full view of my future brothers-in-law.” Micah grinned as he waved a hand that turned into a claw in front of her, that he used then to cut through the straps of her bra and cut her out of the rest of the clothing until she was sitting on the altar amid scraps of cloth that used to be her clothes, completely naked.

  “Take me, my wolf”—Casey spoke low—“claim me as yours for all to see.” Micah gave her a grin filled with smug anticipation. Apparently her wolf liked that idea a lot. Then he slammed his mouth onto hers, and she gave herself over to him.

  Somewhere in the back of her mind she heard Aeron’s roar and knew that Fiona was using her power to distract him from what they were doing. “This is going to be hard and fast, baby, but I promise I will make it up to you later.” Micah growled against her neck as he fed his cock into her pussy. Did it make her a hussy that she was turned on and wet for this man in the middle of all the chaos going on around them?

  Micah chuckled. “No, baby, that doesn’t make you a hussy, it makes you fucking perfect.” Casey grinned, not realizing she had voiced her thought out loud and then held on as Micah began to slam his hips against her. He was still standing beside the altar, and the height aligned him perfectly to be able to slam into her, driving her up high, hard, and fast. Casey leaned back on the Pagan Stone to watch her mate fuck her.

  “Damn, Micah, that is so beautiful. Watching you fuck me, so hard and strong for me,” she whispered as she tried to push her pussy forward to take more of what he had to give her. Micah growled and then sped up, slamming his hips into her, his eyes riveted to her breasts as they moved to the demands his body made on hers. He gripped her hips hard and when she looked into his eyes, she saw they were blue, his wolf close. She knew her eyes would be glowing, her power welcoming them both as much as her body was.

  Micah started to growl low in his chest and the muscles in his shoulders stood out in stark relief. “Fuck, Casey, I love you baby.” He reached down and started to rub her clit, making her mewl and hang precariously to the edge of her sanity, a hair’s breadth from coming and coming hard.

  His eyes locked to hers as he shouted, “I claim you, Casey, as my mate!” then struck. Casey screamed as she flew of the edge of the world, pleasure slamming through every cell of her body. When she felt Micah’s teeth slide into the part of her neck where it met her shoulder, she screamed again, flying higher than she just had, coming again and then again when she felt him lose himself within her.

  “Micah!” She threw her head back, shouting her pleasure to the sky, Micah adding her name as a roar, both of them shuddering in completion. Casey felt a surge of power flow through her, and she gasped and then threw her arms out toward the portal, calling for Fiona to get down along their link.

  White light flew from her hands, aimed directly at the portal. Micah’s arms banded tightly around her, holding her to him. She watched as Aeron roared in outrage and pain as the light pushed him back through the portal, taking with him the barrier and vortex he had created, but still the light came. Then Olwen pushed forward into the light, bathing in its strength. Casey watched as Olwen’s wounds healed right before her eyes.

  “Olwen!” a voice called out, filled with longing and love. Casey watched as first shock and then pain filled Olwen’s face. “Stay strong, my beloved, I will come for you.” The voice weakened as it spoke, not the strength of his conviction but as if he were moving further away. “I love you!”

  Casey slumped as the light stopped, leaving her weak, and she struggled to catch her breath. Micah was wrapped tightly around her, and he too was breathing heavily. As her surroundings became clearer Casey looked around her to make sure everyone was okay. Ryan was standing the furthest from the stone, back firmly to her and Micah, welding a huge log like a bat.

  Fiona was being helped to her feet by a naked Cole. Casey looked away quickly and laughed when she heard Fiona tell him, “Cover your junk, for God’s sake!” Then
she turned to Olwen, who stood tall in the portal. Her eyes were closed, her head was thrown back, tears fell unhindered down her check, and her hand was pressed to her chest as if it ached. If that voice had belonged to whom Casey thought it had, then yeah, her heart would definitely be aching.

  “Olwen?” she asked gently, inhaling and noticing the smell of lilies in the air. Olwen took another deep breath and then looked at Casey with tears still shimmering in her eyes. “That was Rohan, wasn’t it?”

  Olwen sobbed and nodded. “Yes, he has been trying to get to me all these years, and I never knew. Not until you claimed the portal and the Pagan Stone in my name. He will never give up,” Olwen took a deep breath to settle herself. “And knowing that makes everything I have been through worth it. Now, Casey, you have fulfilled your part of the prophecy.” She looked between Micah and her. “I am so glad the two of you found each other.”

  Casey hugged Micah tighter and became aware that they were both naked. If they moved, then Ryan or Cole might catch sight of her hoo-ha which wasn’t something she really wanted to share with anyone other than her mate. Caught literally between a rock and a…er…hardening place because her mate had an amazingly short recovery time, she was stuck on what to do next. Olwen laughed and waved her hand in their direction and they were both suddenly clothed. Right down to socks and walking boots.

  “Thanks, I really didn’t want to walk back to the car naked!” Casey ran her hand over the soft cotton of her mate’s T-shirt. Micah grinned at her before pressing his lips to hers.

  “I’ll just rip them off you when we get home.”

  Casey grinned back at him.