Riley flipped her onto her side, taking them back into their original spooning position. He was still buried inside her, moving his hips in punishing waves. All she could do was hold on, her fingernails digging into his arm that was banded around her stomach.
“I’m going to come,” he panted into her ear. “Tell me you’re coming, too. I need us to do this together.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, his words sending her over the edge of the precipice. Her whole body came alive, nothing but nerve endings firing with pleasure.
He stilled behind her, his breath hot and harsh between her shoulder blades as he filled her, but not just her body. She felt him filling her mind and soul too.
She’d finally found her mate.
She’d finally found her home.
Chapter Eleven
Riley finally loosened his grip on Layla and pulled out of her slick heat. She’d been incredible, and now he could feel her contentment wrapping around him like a warm blanket. Nuzzling her neck, he pulled her against his hips.
“Get some more sleep, baby,” he said softly into her ear.
“Where are you going?”
“Down to the basement to see if my brothers need any help.”
She sat up and twisted around to look at him. “What’s in the basement.”
He opened his mouth to lie to her, to protect her, then shut it. She was his mate now, and he couldn’t hide shit from her even if that meant scaring her. “Lucas.”
She flew off the bed, snatching at clothing as she did. He felt her fear fluttering against his chest like a hummingbird going to work on a flower. Leaping from the bed, he caught her mid-step, bringing her into the comfort of his touch.
“It’s okay. He’s in the containment cell… the one with fewer creature comforts than the other.”
“You have two containment cells?” Her words were muffled against his chest.
Riley chuckled. “Let’s just say Casey was a little wild a few years ago, and my dad didn’t want to subject her to the other sort of punishment. Layla shivered, and he tightened his arms. “He can’t hurt you.”
“No, but he can find me wherever I go.” She cursed and pulled away, her expression torn. “He’s the one who bit me, Riley!”
He turned back. His hand was on the door handle, his vision losing color by the second.
“You have to get dressed,” she murmured, handing him his clothes but meeting him in the eyes this time.
“You aren’t going to try and stop me?”
“I’m going to come with you.”
“Fuck that,” he yelled, cursing when she flinched. “I’m sorry, but no. I don’t want you anywhere near him.”
She shook her head, her blonde hair shifting with the movement. “He’s my nightmare, not yours. You owe me this.”
He cursed again because she was right. This male hadn’t done anything to him, but he had broken Layla. His outrage was on her behalf, and he would protect her from the whole world if he could. This situation he could mitigate.
“Can I ask that you stand behind me the whole time? I don’t want the fucker’s eyes on you.”
Reaching out, she touched his arm. “I can stand beside you, Riley. I know he can’t hurt me now because you’ll be there.”
She was goddamn right about that too. Begrudgingly, because every one of his wolf’s instincts were blaring like a foghorn in his ear, he nodded. He would do this for her because it would be the last time she would ever be associated with her old pack. She was an Alfheim wolf now.
Together they got dressed, but before he opened the door for her, he gave her a long, lingering kiss. “You know I’ll protect you forever, right?” His words were a snarl, and he blamed it on the tension of what he was about to do. What he wouldn’t give to go back to that relaxed, blissed-out state they had both been luxuriating in only twenty minutes ago.
Twenty minutes and his life had changed. Although, if he were honest with himself, he knew he was done for the moment she walked into his garage wet and shivering. Hunter said shit happened quickly when you met your mate, but Riley was stunned by the speed.
Together, they walked down to the basement, where the sound of rattling chains echoed up the stairs. Layla gripped his hand a little tighter.
It was just Dylan down there with Lucas. Being the Captain of the Guard, it was his duty to dole out punishment and bring in any wolves breaking the law in their territory. His dark red hair was slicked back from his head as sweat trickled down his face. His eyes were rust-red—his wolf was close to the surface.
“Gotten anything out of him yet?”
Dylan spat onto the floor, and when he spoke, his voice was twisted and rough. “Nah, the dipshit doesn’t know what’s good for him. He made a good punching bag, though. Personally, I’d rather he sang like a canary because at least then, his death would have resulted in something useful.” His brother eyed the other wolf. “He’s Mitchell’s rabid little dog, though, so I never expected to get anything from him other than aggression.”
“Where’s Hunter?”
“He’ll be back in a few.” His nostrils flared then, his gaze darting between Layla and Riley.
“You bitchhh,” Lucas hissed from between his broken jaw and busted teeth.
Beside Riley, Layla began to tremble. He squeezed her hand a little tighter, and the trembling stopped.
“Now, now,” Riley said. “You’re in no position for name-calling.”
Lucas’s yellow eyes didn’t leave Layla’s face, even as he spoke to Riley. “She’s mine. I made her. She’s mine.”
“Well, you are shit out of luck there, asshole, because she’s mine now.”
Lucas flared his nostrils and snarled. “You’ve mated her?”
“You’re goddamn right I did, which means she doesn’t belong to your pack anymore. She belongs to mine… with me.”
Lucas rushed toward the bars of his cage, jerked to a stop by the chains around his wrists, ankles, and neck. “Mine. I made her. Her pain is mine! ”
Riley glanced at Layla. “He’s a bit of a broken record, isn’t he?”
She stared at him with wide eyes, and he dropped a kiss to her nose. “I’ll make it quick.”
She gripped his arm as he moved away. “I want to be the one to do it.”
Shaking his head, he told her, “And I can’t let that stain your soul. Let me take this burden for you.”
He prayed that she’d let him go. As a male, he was outraged that this had even happened. As her mate, he was going berserk being this close to her tormentor and not having a gun trained on his head. For a long minute, she stared at him, her wolf the dominant participant in a wordless conversation. Eventually, her grip loosened, and she stepped back.
Leaning in, he kissed the side of her neck and walked to the table full of torture tools. And killing tools. Hell, it was just a gun filled with silver bullets.
Behind him was the whisper of shoes on the concrete floor, and he turned to see she’d stepped closer even though he was doing his best to shield her from the ugliness.
“If you kill him, it’s a declaration of war against the Rogues,” Dylan said.
“If I don’t kill him,” Riley replied. “It’s a declaration that we don’t look after our own, and we goddamn do.”
Dylan smiled, but it was too filled with teeth to be happy. More like wicked anticipation. “I didn’t say don’t do it. I just said strap yourself in for some fun.”
He looked over at Layla. “Life has been a little boring up until now, anyway.”
Taking aim, he put three bullets into Lucas’s head without a second thought. The bastard had taken from his mate her human life, and he had tortured her. He wouldn’t stand by and let Lucas keep breathing after all that he’d done. Besides, he’s done it once, and he could do it again.
“Hunter is going to want an official report,” Dylan told him, walking away from the cell.
“Hunter doesn’t need one. This was my right. Lucas hurt Layla, and
I was only making it right again.”
Riley clapped his brother on the shoulder before he left, then escorted Layla back up the stairs.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” he said.
“I’m not. This was closure for me. I’m not squeamish about death. I was a nurse, and I know all about it. But with Lucas dead, it means he can’t hurt anyone else.”
He growled softly. “You’re goddamn right about that.”
“Come and take a shower with me?”
Her tentative question shoved any thought of murder out of Riley’s head and filled it with images of him worshiping his mate’s body, erasing the past pain, and etching his own love onto her.
“I hope you like them hot because things are going to get steamy.”
She laughed and wrapped her arm around his waist.
Chapter Twelve
Layla fussed with picking something out to wear while Riley was finishing up in the shower. They hadn’t left his room all day, although maybe it was fair to say it was their room now. They’d spent their time making love between Riley feeding her and generally being the sweetest male she’d ever known. She’d forgotten all about Lucas the moment those bullets had left the gun because he didn’t matter. He may have molded her past, but he had no power over her future. Riley was her future now.
Although they hadn’t talked specifically about it, it was clear that this was now her home. There was nothing to return to Maine for except for a niggling unease about Ben and Gia. She wanted to get Gia out of that situation. Ben, too. But how was she supposed to make that happen?
She jerked back when water dripped on her face and turned to see Riley standing there, fresh from the shower and sans towel. Her greedy eyes drifted down, drinking in the male who now belonged to her.
“Like what you see?”
She stepped into his body and gripped his cock tightly, making his head kick back. His Adam’s apple bobbed when she stroked him. “I like everything I see.” She released him and went back to looking for clothes. “But if we give in to our impulses every two seconds, we’ll never get to dinner with Hunter and Ava.”
He swatted her playfully on the ass, making her yelp. “You’re a tease.”
“And you’re a sex fiend.”
He wrapped his arms around her from behind, nuzzling his face into the side of her neck, nibbling her gently. “No, I’m a you fiend. I love you, Layla.”
She turned in his arms, melting a little at the expression on his face. “I love you, too, Riley.”
With a happy grin, he kissed her nose and stepped over to the walk-in closet to get dressed. Layla hadn’t even gotten around to unpacking what was in her suitcase. Although she probably should.
Pulling out the only pair of jeans she owned and a sweater, she let out a sigh.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have nothing to wear.”
He appeared at the entry to the closet, jeans pulled up to his waist, but the zipper and button were still undone, giving her a tantalizing look at his body. “Baby, you could wear a potato sack, and I’d still think you looked good. Why don’t you just wear what you’re holding right now?”
She stared at her old clothing with disdain. “Because it reminds me of the shittiest four years of my life, and I hate having to put on these clothes.”
Riley was suddenly there, his front pressed to her back. His pine and snow scent wrapped around her body, calming her. “Then I’ll take you shopping. I’ll get you a whole new wardrobe.”
She spun around, wrapping her arms around his neck. “What? You’ll be my sugar daddy?”
“I can be anything you want me to be, baby, but all I want is you. Naked. On the bed.” He gave her a salacious grin. “Maybe in the shower. On the countertop in the bathroom. Outside in the forest.”
Laughing, she stepped free of the warmth of his arms. “Not now. We’re already late for dinner because we were screwing like bunnies all day.”
“And I still haven’t had enough,” he replied, taking her hand and letting her feel the bulge behind his jeans.
“I have a feeling you’re just trying to distract me.”
His expression sobered.
“You don’t need to distract me. I’m okay with what happened. But…”
“But? I’ll defile his corpse if that will make you happy.”
“Riley,” she admonished. “But, I can’t help thinking about Ben and Gia.”
“I know, and we will be helping them, too. Hunter came up with a plan to at least get Gia out of there.”
“He did?”
“Why do you think he invited us around for dinner?” He grinned. “Now, stop distracting me and get dressed, female.”
* * *
Forty-five minutes and one quickie later, she and Riley arrived at the door of a small cottage behind the larger packhouse. Riley didn’t bother knocking, dragging her into the comfortable little space the alpha shared with his mate and daughter.
“Layla, you’re here,” Ava said, taking her by the arm and dragging her away. She threw a look over her shoulder at Riley, who only shrugged and walked into the kitchen.
“Tell me everything and leave no details out,” the other woman said, shutting the door of Grace’s bedroom. The little girl was playing with colorful blocks on an equally colorful rug in the center of the room.
“Ah, I’m not sure what you need to hear,” Layla hedged.
Rolling her eyes, Ava perched on the arm of the chair in the corner of the room. “You and Riley?” she prompted.
“Me and Riley,” Layla said, unable to stop the smile from splitting her face in two. “He’s amazing, Ava,” she gushed, enjoying this feeling of being able to talk to someone. She hadn’t been able to share much with her mother on account of being a werewolf and all.
“So, you’re mated?”
She nodded. “Oh yeah, we’re mated.”
“And you’re staying? Please say yes because although I love Patricia, I can’t talk to the woman without becoming a submissive puddle, and Casey doesn’t spend a lot of time socializing.”
“Yes, I guess I’m staying, too.”
Ava punched the air in celebration. “I love that you’re staying. Okay, so what will you do for work? Have you thought about my offer to work at the clinic?”
She hadn’t because up until twenty-four hours ago, she thought she was leaving once her car was fixed. “Are you sure you want me on the team?”
“Absolutely! As if it’s even an option for you not to join my staff.”
Layla smiled, feeling truly happy for the first time in a long time. “Then, I accept the offer.”
Ava got up and hugged her, then dragged her down onto the floor where Grace was playing. “Fantastic. And now that we’re sisters-in-law, tell me everything that happened with Riley.”
* * *
Riley passed Hunter some more beef patties to put onto the grill, the scent of smoke and charred meat filling the air.
“How’s Layla holding up after the attack? She seems so fragile.”
Yeah, he’d thought so too. However, he was starting to see the fierce wolf she always was but had to hide while being in the Rogue Wolves. “She’s not fragile, brother. She’s amazing.”
Hunter grinned. “I told you your mate would slap you on the ass, and you’d ask for more.”
He popped a chip into his mouth and said, “I’d be happy to have her slap my ass anytime.”
“Dude, TMI.”
“What, like Ava doesn’t get frisky?”
Hunter growled. “We’re not talking about Ava. Or our sex life. Ever.” He jabbed a finger at his chest. “Got that?”
“Loud and clear, boss.” Riley hid his grin behind his beer bottle.
“You mated with her, though? She’ll be staying?” Hunter slid the spatula under the first patty and flipped it, sending small flames dancing around the meat.
“Yeah.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his head, reliving every damn second of it. “I
t was…”
“Yeah, it’s pretty fucking great. You don’t have to elaborate, though. I just felt the pack magic and wanted to know it was what I thought it was. I assume this means she’s staying then, that you’re both staying?”
“She has nothing to return to, plus, why would she? Mitchell is a fucking loose cannon who needs to be put down, especially if he’s holding a female captive.”
Hunter grunted and flipped a few more patties. Riley took a long drink of his beer and put it onto the same table that held the bowl of chips.
“Please tell me you’ve thought of a way to make this right.”
“I have. I sent Dylan to Maine this morning after he incinerated Lucas’s body. We’ve figured out how to get Gia out of there.”
“What about Ben? The guy managed to get Layla out of there. He deserves a chance, too.”
“Dylan has his instructions. They include Ben if he also wants to leave.”
“What is the plan?”
Hunter took a drink then flipped another patty. “In short, the plan is either destroy Mitchell, and we take in those Rogue Wolves who want to join us or the Helheim wolves, or destroy the pack altogether, and Rhett and I split Maine.”
“How will he destroy them? Are you sending enforcers with Dylan?”
His brother shook his head. “No. He’s going alone for the first part of the plan. It’s imperative he gets Gia out at this stage. We can worry about the logistics of phase two after the female is safe.”
Riley understood the implications of what they were about to do. They were bringing war to their doors if it all went wrong. He just had to pray that everything went as they wanted it to.
As they stood out the back, he looked up at the first stars of the night. He couldn’t remember a time when he felt more content in his life, and he had Layla to thank for that. He glanced at Hunter, finding him holding out his beer bottle in a toast.
“To our mates,” he murmured. “For without them, we would just be animals.”
The Helheim Wolf Pack Novellas: The Complete Collection Page 14