by Kimber White
Jagger thrust into my mouth. Carving his fingers through my hair, his breathing grew heavier. He grunted and growled, his need rising to a fever pitch. I redoubled my efforts, loving how I could bring him to the edge.
Jagger threw his head back and let out a howl. It sent heat shooting straight through me. My every cell, every nerve ending tuned to his.
He pulled himself out of my mouth and put firm hands on my hips, turning me. He had me on all fours in front of him and gently pushed my shoulders down until my cheek touched the ground.
His rough fingers found the sweetest spot. He worked me with great skill and no mercy. I shuddered, feeling my building climax. He had me open and wet, dripping for him. I dug my fingers into the snow. With the heat between us, we could have melted it all.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “Look at you.” He ran one finger over my slippery cleft. I felt shameless and wanton, letting him lean back on his heels and inspect me. But, I was all for him. Then, Jagger used his mouth on me. I arched my back and let out a little cry of pleasure. His tongue. His lips. He used them with expert skill, bringing me to the brink then bringing me back.
“Jagger!” I gasped. I was going to come. The need for it thundered through me, making my legs quiver.
Jagger kissed my sex then rose. He gave me a firm, solid slap on the ass that sent fresh desire racing through me. Oh. yes. This. He’d been gentle with me, but I wanted so much more. I still had enough of the beast inside of me to want him rougher, deeper, harder.
From my peripheral vision, I watched Jagger stroke his cock, priming himself to let me have it. “Please!” I begged.
Jagger growled again. With two fingers, he spread me wide apart. I felt his rock-hard tip against me. He put a steadying hand on my lower back, then thrust himself inside.
Lightning exploded behind my eyes. He woke a new desire with that one perfect move. He was in me all the way, igniting my inner beast. Oh, she’d been dormant, but she was still there, raging stronger than ever. I bucked my hips, matching his rhythm. Jagger sensed my gathering strength. He had been afraid of hurting me, afraid of losing me. Now, my body and his instincts revealed the truth.
Howling, he put his hands on my hips and pulled me onto him. I went down on my elbows, angling myself so he could go even deeper. He filled me completely. Thrust for thrust, I matched his power. Magic swirled around us.
I know he hadn’t planned it. He’d wanted to take things slow. Now, the primal power between us could no longer be denied.
He came. His hot seed filled me, calling to my nature. I wanted him. I wanted all of him. I was his mate. The other half of his heart. And he was mine.
I reared up; taking one hand I pulled my hair to the side, exposing the nape of my neck. This earned me a new growl of desire from Jagger. I felt the question thrumming through him.
“Yes! Please! Do it now!
Jagger leaned forward. His breath between my shoulder blades raised goosebumps all over me. A new pulse burned at the base of my neck. Desire. Heat. Destiny. I felt them all as one.
Jagger’s fangs scraped my flesh and I howled with pleasure. But, that was just the beginning.
He bit me. Drawing blood. Marking me. The world opened up and I saw new colors. I saw other things too. I saw Jagger. Whole. Happy. Strong. I saw myself as he saw me. Fierce. Powerful. Beautiful. We became something greater together than we had ever been apart.
I felt his love. I felt his pain. I felt his hope. I felt his grief. Then, I felt his heart reborn. He laid it all open for me as I did for him.
A new flare of desire thundered through me. When I came, the power of it seemed strong enough to split the ground beneath us. It didn’t, but it opened something new inside me. A second sight.
I saw the two of us together as if I could hover outside myself. Jagger was tender, powerful and strong all at once. I came hard and deep. His seed filled me, tapping into a secret part of me that had been there all along.
He was mine. I was his. Everything that had ever happened to either of us had led us to this moment. All the pain, all the battles, it was all so we could have our now. It was as if I could see our past, present and future all at once.
There would be a baby. We would not conceive her today, but someday soon. I saw her as a small but fiercely beautiful child standing at the edge of the dock Jagger would build for us. Her black hair whipped behind her, the color matching her father’s. We would name her Keara, to honor the woman who had brought us together. For, I believed that with all my heart.
I could not tell if our daughter was a shifter or not. This magic wouldn’t let me see that much. But, she was perfect and her life was a gift.
Jagger’s mark flamed at the base of my neck.
I love you. His thoughts filled my head and now we shared that connection too.
I came over and over. Each wave bringing me closer to Jagger and the future we had together.
Then the waves receded. Jagger gathered me into his arms and pulled me close. The first twinkling stars came out and we watched them through the soft shelter of the pine trees.
I kissed him. There was no need for words. Jagger had seen what I did at the moment he marked me. Tears of wonder and joy glistened in his eyes. I touched his face and kissed him.
“I love you,” I said. “I owe you everything.” He opened his heart and mind to me. I saw what he’d done, what he had risked on that boat in the middle of a stormy sea. He’d told me now with words, but until I felt the memory of his heart, I hadn’t fully believed or understood. A dragon. A real-life dragon. She could have killed him in an instant.
It would have been worth it. He told me with his mind.
“You gave me back my life,” I whispered.
Smiling, he kissed my palm. “No, my love. You gave me back mine.”
I snuggled against him, feeling safe and warm.
“I was thinking we’d build the house at the top of that small hill. Have the bedroom facing west toward the lake.”
“So we can watch the sunset from our balcony,” I said, knowing his thoughts before he said them.
“Do you like it? Maybe I should have asked you first.”
I sat up and brushed a hair from his eye. “It’s perfect. You knew it would be. I love it. But, Jagger, if you’d asked me to live in the caves with you for the rest of our lives, that would have been perfect too.”
He laughed softly and pulled me back into his lap. “You know, there’s a part of me that’s going to miss them.”
“Nothing says we can’t go back there from time to time. Might be fun for old time’s sake.” I was half-joking, but there was something practical about it. We were safe now. The Chief Pack was no more. But, someday, there may be other threats to face.
“A dragon,” I whispered, still in awe of what I’d seen in Jagger’s mind. “What do you think she meant about you owing her a debt?”
Jagger shrugged. “Truly? I’m not worried. My sense was shifters pose a bigger threat to her kind than she does to us.”
“Hmm. You’re probably right. And you’re still not planning to tell the others about her?”
Jagger shook his head. “No. She didn’t ask me to keep her secret, but, I don’t know. It’s just a feeling I have. You know. I know. Suzanne knows. Molly never asked us what was in that vial we brought back.”
“I think you did the right thing.” I had more to say about it, but my stomach growled. A strong scent flooded through Jagger and transmitted straight to me.
“I feel like a hunt,” he said, his own stomach creaking.
“Me too,” I said. Adrenaline coursed through me.
On our feet, Jagger gave me a worried look. “Rowan, I think…”
“No.” I went on my tiptoes and silenced him with a kiss. “I’ve been careful. I’ve done everything Molly and Suzanne wanted me to. I’m strong. I’m healthy. And I’m an Alpha’s mate. What could possibly go wrong?”
I meant the last bit as a joke, but Jagge
r wasn’t laughing. Sighing, I stepped away from him. I knew I wouldn’t be able to convince him with words.
His face fell as he realized what I was about to do. Alarm thundered through him. I sent back my own resolve. It calmed him a little.
Then, I shifted. My vision brightened and my muscles tightened and stretched. The air left me in a whoosh and for a moment, I swayed on my feet. Two feet still.
Jagger came to me.
“What am I?” I gasped, feeling unsure.
“You’re beautiful,” he answered. “Glorious.”
Then, he took my hand. A shockwave went through me and Jagger put his hand to my cheek. I saw myself through Jagger’s eyes. The awe of it nearly drove me to my knees. But, Jagger’s kiss made me bold again.
He shifted beside me. His silver wolf standing tall and majestic on the hill where we would build our home.
I stood beside him. I was me. I was human. The only outward sign of my shift was my flashing silver eyes, a perfect match to his. But, there was something else. Magic and brute strength teemed through me like new blood. Jagger’s eyes twinkled and he arched his head toward the new moon. He let out a howl that rippled through me.
When his wolf ran down the hill toward his prey, I ran beside him. Not quite wolf, not quite human, but I was strong and powerful. I met Jagger’s pace stride for stride.
After all, we were perfectly matched.
Epilogue
Jagger
One year later on the first day of spring…
Newly thawed from a late winter snowstorm, the ground was still wet beneath my paws as I climbed up to the ridge. Mammoth Forest lay before me in its lush, green glory. Behind me, in another valley far below, tourists streamed in from Cave City. They would traverse the public caves by the hundreds today, marveling at the huge stalagmites ornately carved by what seemed like a divine hand.
They had no idea what had happened in the hundreds of miles of undiscovered passageways, separated from them in some places by no more than a few dozen feet of Kentucky limestone.
As I stood there waiting for the others, it was hard even for me to fathom what had happened in those caves. We came here for shelter. To hide. To heal. Instead, we started a revolution.
Today, we came to honor those who hadn’t reached the other side with us. Shifters. Humans. Enemies. Friends. And one woman, without whom, I wouldn’t have had the courage to even start.
“I feel her today too.” Another woman, just as brave and beautiful stood beside me. Smiling up at me, Rowan took my hand. My heart swelled with love, pride and wonder. Keara had given me the strength to start this journey. But, it was Rowan’s love that carried me through.
Her eyes flashed silver as she scanned the woods with me. We were the first to arrive. Even that seemed fitting. Her ear twitched, pricking toward the sound of approaching footsteps. Such a strange being Rowan Wilkes was. My wife. My love. My mate. She was born without a name of her own. Now, she honored me by taking mine. When the mood struck her, she could be almost as physically strong and fast as I was. Her keen senses matched mine. Rowan had enough of her shifter essence left over after her blood mixed with the dragon’s. But, her pain was gone. Her body was strong, vibrant, vital. I said a silent prayer of thanks as I did a hundred times a day.
“I see Liam!” Rowan pointed. Sure enough, Liam’s red wolf burst through the tree line down below. His pack was with him. It had grown in the last year. Six more of Valent’s betas had petitioned to join him. He and Molly had settled back in Shadow Springs. My new construction company built them the house she’d always dreamed of. White picket fence and all. They were working on filling it.
A black Jeep Wrangler wound down the trail. It came to a stop and Molly got out of the driver’s seat. Stretching, she put one hand on the small of her back, the other on her growing belly. She was due in two more months.
Eve, Lena and Jett got out of the car after her. Eve leaned over and struggled with a car seat in the back. I couldn’t help but laugh. Little Daniel was putting up a hell of a fight. His inner wolf pup didn’t like being restrained in that thing. He arched his back when she lifted him out. The minute his two chubby legs hit the ground though, he was off and running.
Mac’s red and gold wolf walked slowly out of the brush to greet him. Danny growled. His shifter was awkward and gangly, but he managed all right with his father there to guide him. Danny’s wolf was also red just like his father and half-Uncle Liam. There was a good chance Molly’s son would be too. They’d had the news confirmed by Suzanne’s ultrasound machine, but Liam and Molly had known it was a boy from the moment of conception.
“Impending fatherhood suits him,” Rowan softly laughed beside me. Liam had shifted. Molly tossed him a change of clothes. He was all over her with kisses.
Gunnar’s pack came next. There were just the four of them and Jett. The bond Gunnar forged with the men he’d busted out of Able’s POW camp was just as strong as anything he shared with us. I was happy for him. They were good men. All of them. Jett had formed a little human pack of her own and there was a wedding on the horizon. A second SUV pulled up alongside Molly’s Jeep. Three women got out. I’d only met them briefly, but they’d played their part in supporting our band of resistance fighters. They were among the women who’d escaped Birch Haven. After the Battle of Heartland, Jett had found them again. Melanie, Vera and Caroline.
Gunnar’s second, a man named Finn, rushed out from behind Gunnar and went to Caroline. I could see her blush from here. She went into his arms. Two days after the Gathering, we would celebrate Finn and Caroline’s wedding in a little chapel in Shadow Springs. Even betas could find fated mates, it seemed.
“I’m going down to help Lena,” Rowan said. She rushed ahead of me, eager to meet with the others. We had all found places to settle in different parts of Kentucky. It had been strategic, and was one of the things we were here to discuss.
Lena’s face brightened when she turned and saw Rowan. I was glad of their deep and growing friendship. Once upon a time, Lena was one of the few people who had understood my darkness. Now, we both walked in the light.
Payne, Gunnar, Mac and Liam turned their gazes up to the ridge as they saw Rowan rush down. I raised a hand and waved. My heart soared with joy and a fair amount of relief. Rowan and I had stayed away from the caves since last summer. I’d worried a bit how I’d feel coming back here. In the end, it felt good. My ghosts were good and buried. Hope and love had swept them all away.
After some hearty hellos and bone-crushing hugs, the five us walked to the cave entrance together. Our footsteps echoed through the empty passageways. Molly had cleared out all of her supplies. She ran the veterinary clinic up in Shadow Springs. Liam did the books for her and was starting up a carpentry business.
Later that evening, we assembled in the great rotunda. The LED lights blared though hardly any of us would have needed them to see. Vera, Caroline and Melanie took little Danny into a different cavern. This was pack business. They would always share protected status as friends of the Mammoth Forest packs, but we already had an unspoken rule that only pack members would attend the Gathering.
After a time, our laughter quieted. The mood shifted, and we worked our way to more serious topics. There was no leader here among us. We were all equals. And yet, eyes seemed to drift to me. I cleared my throat. Rowan sat beside me. She squeezed my hand in encouragement.
“Well,” I said. “I don’t know any formal words for this. But, let’s just say we’ve called to order the very first annual pack Gathering. I’ve said most of this all before, but maybe never to all of you at once. The men in this room...you are the best there is. Every one of us here has fought hard...and lost much...to be where we are today.”
As I spoke, Eve moved quietly around the room. She had a bottle of bourbon in her hand. The good stuff. Kentucky made. Lena rose to help her, passing out little plastic cups. Payne raised an eye when Lena poured a tiny amount for herself and another for Molly.
> “Shh,” Lena said. “It’s just a sip.” Joy flooded through me as I realized what was afoot. She wasn’t showing, but Lena had a tiny new life growing inside her too. When Lena handed me my bourbon, I pulled her into a hug. Her eyes misted with happy tears as she pulled away. Rowan was far less subtle. Practically sobbing, she threw her arms around Lena.
“Get on with it, Jagger!” Mac yelled. “We’ve got some shit to celebrate.”
“I guess we do,” I laughed. “Okay. Maybe someday we’ll be more organized. For now, I’ll just speak plain. We’re here because each and every one of us knows what could happen if someone like Able Valent ever tries to get a foothold here again. As the last of the Alphas of Kentucky, we have a responsibility. We’re the only ones strong enough to stop it. So, we’ve agreed. We’ve got a long way to go to have things running as smoothly as they do in places like Wild Lake up in Michigan. But, thanks to Payne...oh and also Liam, Mac and Gunnar, those boys up there consider us friends. Allies. So, I suppose one of the toasts we make today should be to Wild Lake packs. Maybe next meeting, we should invite one of them as a guest.”
“I like it,” Payne said. “But I also like that this weekend is just about our people.”
“Right,” I said. “So, let’s get on with it. Things are quiet near Heartland. There are a few lone shifters in and around Lake Barkley, but it’s calm.”
They were glad to hear it. Mac gave a similar report about the towns surrounding Birch Haven. He and Eve had decided to settle there. When Daniel was a little older, she was going back to school. Mac had taken a job as the town sheriff. With most of Able’s men gone, there was a shortage of law enforcement statewide.