by Emilia Rose
I was his.
When his thrusting became too much, I dug my claws into his thighs. He pulled out of me almost immediately, tugged me to my feet, ordered me to place my hands on the mirror, and thrust into me from behind.
“Roman!” I screamed as he filled me.
Not bothering to stop or slow down, he curled his fingers into my hips. Brown hair flopping against his forehead, sweat dripping down his muscular chest, canines bared at my reflection, he let out a ferocious growl. My cunt tightened around his cock, and I glanced out the window.
Just outside our bedroom window, Kylo stood as a large brown wolf and watched my mate destroy my sopping tight pussy. Two golden eyes glowed in the darkening forest the same way they must’ve for the past seven thousand years.
I curled my fingers into the wooden mirror frame. “Harder, Roman.”
Roman looked out of the window, lifted one of my legs into the air to showcase the way he rammed his cock into my wet bare cunt to Kylo, and then rubbed my clit hard. I tightened my grip on the mirror.
“Please, come inside of me,” I pleaded. “Please, I need it.”
“I’m not finished with you yet. I’m going to fuck this pussy until I’m ready to come. You understand that, right, Isabella?” he asked.
I whimpered but nodded.
He grasped a fistful of my hair again. “You respond with, Yes, Alpha.”
“Yes, Alpha,” I said in a raspy breath. As he continued to fuck me with his fingers moving faster around my clit, I gazed out of the window, unable to handle the pressure anymore. “Don’t you want to claim what’s yours in front of Kylo?” I asked. “Don’t you want to come inside of me and let him watch, so he knows who I belong to?”
Roman groaned in my ear, his entire body shuddering behind me, and slowed his thrusts. “Isabella, you’re testing me.”
“Let him watch you fill me with all your cum.”
“Isabella.”
“Do you want me to scream your name when you do it?”
He grasped my hips, thrusting hard and deep one last time inside of me. I grasped on to the mirror, watched him part his lips almost instinctively as he came, and moaned as wave after wave of pleasure washed through me.
Our raspy and ragged breaths filled the air. Roman pulled out of me, picked me up, and laid me on his chest on the bed. I rested my head right over Roman’s heart and drew patterns on his abdomen, trying to calm my racing heart.
“Are you okay?” Roman asked after a few quiet moments, gently rubbing my throat. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
My lips curled into a smile. “No,” I said softly. “You didn’t hurt me.”
Slinging an arm around my shoulders, he pulled me up to him and kissed my nose. “Why are you quiet then? You always have something coming out of this bratty mouth of yours.”
I brushed a strand of hair off his forehead, my stomach tightening. “You’re comfortable with Kylo watching?” I asked. Sure, I knew he had a thing for people watching us have sex, but I hadn’t thought he’d ever want Kylo to join in on the fun.
“You don’t like it?” he asked, pulling away slightly to look at me. “I thought you would.”
“Oh no, I loved it! I just … it’s Kylo,” I said, whispering the last few words.
After blowing out a hesitant breath, Roman gave me half a smile. “You know that Kylo and I have done that before, when we were younger. We talked last night about Scarlett, my mom, and you …”
“You never told me that Kylo’s dad did that to your mom …”
He ran a hand across his face, sat up, and leaned against the headboard, staring out into the now-desolate forest. “He did, and I blamed Kylo for it, ripped away his mate, and made him feel like shit. I shouldn’t have done it, but I didn’t have anyone by my side at the time. Jane was always with Vanessa, and I had to man up and lead this pack before the rogues killed us all. I was stupid and broke a bond that couldn’t ever be replaced. I never apologized or even talked to him until yesterday.
“Listen, I’m not going to lie and say that I’m on board with this entire thing between you and him—because I’m not yet. But I took away his chances with his first mate, and you and your wolf mean so much to me. I want you both to be happy.”
I pressed my lips together, feeling the warmth spread through my body.
Moonlight flooded in through the window and bounced off Roman’s golden eyes. “But,” he started, grasping my chin, “if you ever moan Kylo’s name when you’re with me, like you did with Cayden, I will lock you in this bedroom, fuck you until you’re carrying my pups, and kill him.”
While I knew Roman was deathly serious, all I could think about was, “Pups?”
“Pups,” he repeated softer this time. The word sounded so satisfying, coming out of his mouth. He interlocked our fingers and pulled our hands against his chest. “I want pups. Do you?”
Pups! My wolf purred. Mate wants pups!
It was the first time since meeting Kylo that my wolf had decided to speak up about Roman.
We want pups!
“Do I want pups?” I asked myself.
These past few weeks, I had been too caught up in the Lycans’ business to even think about our future. And that was a mistake because with this war coming, I didn’t know how much longer we had together. Nothing was certain in this world.
Butterflies erupted inside my stomach. I jumped into his arms. “I want a bunch of them.”
I could only imagine Roman running around the property, chasing the kids through the forest, tossing them over his shoulder, and glancing at me when they fell asleep in his arms.
But where would Kylo fit in? How would he fit in? Would he even fit into my future at all?
Roman held me tight to him. “I promise to always protect you and our pups. Whatever trouble comes our way, Isabella”—he lifted my chin just enough so I could stare up into his eyes—“I will protect you with my life.”
Burying my head into his chest, I held on to him for dear life because maybe it wasn’t me who needed the protection from the corruption barreling our way; maybe it was he who needed it.
Chapter 28
Isabella
Roman tensed and instantly sat up in our bed, ripping the gray blankets off us. “Fuck, I wanted to check on Jane today.” He tugged on a green henley shirt, which brought out those piercing hazel eyes.
I sat up with my mind in a daze and tugged my dress over my head. “I can mind-link Raj if you want me to,” I said, brushing out the knots in my hair with my fingers.
Moonlight drifted in through the window, glowing against the moonflower petals. I swept my fingers against the soft edges and stared out into the eerie forest. While some wolves howled and ran through the woods, it all seemed a bit too calm out there.
“It’s late,” I said to him. “She and Raj are probably asleep.”
“I still need to make sure she’s okay. I check on her every day.”
“I thought you said at lunch that you assigned Derek to oversee her, after learning about Dolus?” I asked, following him to the door. “Wouldn’t he mind-link you if she wasn’t okay?” When he walked out of the room, I followed him. “Never mind. Let’s just go.”
Turning around, he grabbed my hand and paused. Instead of telling me to stay here and that he had this under control, like he had so many times before, he smiled. “Thank you.”
My chest tightened, butterflies buzzing around in my stomach. Whatever had happened these past few days when I was gone and when Roman and Kylo talked must’ve really changed Roman. Instead of getting angry and telling me what to do, Roman was actually communicating with me now.
I wasn’t just a liability to him anymore. I was his luna.
After shifting into our wolves, we ran to Jane’s house to find all the upstairs lights on and Raj’s car not out front, like it usually was at this time. Maybe Raj was still getting Naomi settled in at the Lycans’ … but I had left him to do that hours ago. He should’ve been home by no
w.
Roman lifted his nose to the air and sniffed. “Derek isn’t here. I told him to watch her whenever Raj wasn’t here.” He knocked on the front door with the side of his fist.
Nobody answered.
When he knocked on it again, Jane ripped open an upstairs window. “What the hell?”
We stepped away from the door and glanced up at the window.
“Open the door, Jane,” Roman said.
She pulled her silky maroon robe tighter around her body. “What do you want? It’s almost midnight, and I was about to fall asleep.”
“I need to see you,” Roman said.
“And where’s Raj?” I added.
Once she rolled her eyes, she slammed the window and appeared at the front door a few moments later. I followed Roman into the house, glancing around at anything that seemed out of place. Raj didn’t just disappear, and Derek always followed orders.
“Did Derek come by?” Roman asked Jane, eyes scanning the room and lingering on the stairs. He knew that Derek wasn’t here. It was almost obvious by the way this house reeked of perfume and only Jane’s scent.
Jane pointed to the stairs. I hurried past her, my heart racing at the thought of Derek possibly being gone, and pushed open every door on their second floor to find any sign of him. Yet there was nothing, except a bag of Derek’s clothes and a couple of his journals scattered over the bed, as if they had been searched through.
Typical Derek move to make a mess of things, but … something still didn’t seem right.
Derek always followed orders. He wouldn’t just leave without telling Roman or Jane.
“Derek,” I said through the mind link. Yet I received no response.
Uneasiness built in the pit of my stomach. Derek couldn’t be gone. He was just out. He had to be out. Maybe on a run in the forest or back at his home, getting some underwear or something else that he had forgotten.
When I rushed back down the stairs, Jane scowled at Roman with her arms crossed over her chest. “Can you not butt into my life?” She seethed at him. “I’m not having any nightmares. You don’t have to worry about me. That’s my mate’s job.”
Before Roman could say something snarky back to her, I placed my hand on his forearm, curling my fingers around it. “Where’s Derek?” I asked her, only thinking the worst. What if Dolus had taken him or corrupted him already? Vanessa had said he was acting weird.
“He’s upstairs,” Jane said, hiking back her thumb toward the stairs. “I told him I was going to bed half an hour ago. He said that he wasn’t going anywhere because someone”—she glared at Roman—“told him that I needed to be watched.”
Claws digging into Roman’s skin, I shook my head to keep myself from growling viciously at her. “Well, he’s not here,” I said through clenched teeth.
Derek was my best fucking friend, and Jane seemed like she couldn’t give two fucks about him missing from her own house.
Roman gently rubbed my shoulder. “Calm down. We’ll find him.”
But I couldn’t just calm down. He wouldn’t have left. Something wasn’t right.
“He did seem a bit”—Jane tapped her index finger against her lips—“weird.”
“Isabella,” Raj suddenly said through the mind link.
“Where are you?” I asked, annoyed, through the link. “I—”
“We have a problem.”
I stormed away from Jane and Roman, walking out of the house and shutting the door rather harshly behind me. “What the hell do you mean? Derek is gone, and Jane has been here alone. Where are you?”
Cranberry bushes rustled on the side of the house. I lengthened my claws, readying to attack whoever was hiding in them. A raccoon popped his head out of the bush and scurried into the forest with three cranberries in his small hands.
“Derek was gone when I got home,” Raj said through the link, breathing hard, as if he was sprinting. “I went out to find him while Jane slept. I picked up his scent leading off Roman’s property. And …” He paused. “Hold on.”
The mind link went silent, and I prayed to the Moon Goddess that wherever Derek had gone off to, he was safe. But deep down, I knew that he wasn’t. A sane Derek wouldn’t have left the property without telling anyone.
“Meet me at the pack house, Raj,” I said through the mind link. Tears brimmed in my eyes.
Plagued with fear and anxiety, I ran back to the pack house without telling Roman.
And when I made it to his office, I collapsed in his seat and thrust my hands into my hair. “Roman, stay with Jane. I ran back to the pack house. Meet me here in an hour with any information that you can get out of Jane about Derek’s disappearance.”
As I turned on my phone to text Derek, Raj rushed into the room and closed the door. Pushing a hand through his thick black hair, Raj paced back and forth. “It doesn’t make sense. I settled Naomi into the Lycans’ and came home to see Jane in the living room. She told me that Derek had gone to sleep, but … something was wrong. I could just feel it. I brought Jane to bed, wanting her to try to get a good night’s sleep tonight, and went to check on Derek.” He paused for a long moment. “He wasn’t there.”
My stomach turned. “Why didn’t you tell me this when you found out?”
Raj rubbed a hand over his face. “I thought that he went out to shift or to run, so I went to look for him.”
“And?”
“And his scent led me to the borders. I talked to some patrol guards, who told me they saw him leave with a woman.” He blew out a breath through his nose. “None of them saw the woman’s face.”
After shaking my head, I walked to the window and stared out into the never-ending forest. “You know that Derek wouldn’t just leave and go against Roman’s orders. Roman would have his ass if anything happened to Jane.”
Unless Derek had found his mate at Jane’s house, this had to be the workings of Dolus.
Suddenly, the office door swung open.
Vanessa rushed in and threw her arms around me. “Goddess, I’m so glad you’re safe.” She pulled me tight to her chest, rubbing my back. “I’m sorry. Roman told me what happened.”
Overcome with anxiety, I took a deep breath, inhaling her scent, and relaxed slightly. “It’s okay, Vanessa.”
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” I lied.
Who the hell was the woman that Derek had been with? Why couldn’t anyone see her face? Where had she taken him? She didn’t have a recognizable scent, so she couldn’t be in this pack or even anyone that Raj had met before.
So many scenarios played over through my mind.
Raj leaned against Roman’s desk, staring at the floor, as if he was deep in thought. “What do you want to do?” he asked.
I squeezed Vanessa’s hands harder. If this were Dolus, our Goddess must’ve been in trouble, and this was the beginning of a long, arduous war. I hadn’t thought that he would be here so soon. I’d thought that we’d have some time even if it was just a few more days.
“We prepare for war,” I said, straightening my back, drawing my hands from Vanessa’s, and crossing my arms. “I want five of our best trackers out there, searching for any trace of Derek and this woman.”
“We have trackers,” Vanessa said.
“I only want trackers from the Lycans. Everything that happens from here on out needs to be overseen by us. I know how each of the warriors on my team acts. If something is off with them, I will know. I can’t keep track of the corrupted warriors I don’t know.”
And if something happened, it would be my fault.
Chapter 29
Roman
Derek was Isabella’s best friend, was one of my best warriors, and was gone because of me. After learning about Dolus and about Jane having nightmares that she couldn’t remember, I’d assigned him to watch Jane at all times. I hadn’t thought that this would happen.
Thirty minutes ago, Raj had told me he’d watch Jane until morning, so I could work, but all I could se
em to do now was pace around my office in panic as Isabella and Kylo talked tensely outside. I ran a callous hand over my face and shook my head.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
This shouldn’t be happening. Not in my pack. Not so soon.
The last time I had seen Derek, he’d seemed perfectly fine. Nothing had seemed off about him.
When my phone buzzed in my pocket, I pulled it out without checking the number and held it to my ear. “Did you find anything?” I asked, hoping to the Moon Goddess that Cayden had found something.
For a few moments, the line was silent, except the steady and soft sound of breathing.
“Roman,” Scarlett purred on the other end. “Roman, do you miss me?”
My breathing hitched, and I tensed. “Scarlett, what did you do?”
She giggled. “I didn’t do anything.”
“I’m not playing games with you.”
“You should, Roman. I know how much you always liked playing games with me,” she said.
Memories of us that I desperately tried to suppress flooded through my mind. I didn’t try to forget them because I still thought and cared about her like that, but because I hated myself for ever getting involved with her in the first place.
I hated that I hadn’t waited for Isabella for my first time to be special.
I hated how Scarlett had taken advantage of me while I was hurting.
I hated that I had driven a barrier between Kylo and his mate.
“Whatever you’re doing,” I said, “needs to stop. Where is Derek?”
“Don’t you ever think about all the games we played together? All the late nights of sneaking out and fucking in Kylo’s own bed?” she asked, mischief in her voice. She was holding something back and was waiting for the perfect moment to say it; I could hear it in that screechy little voice of hers.
I growled.
Scarlett giggled through the phone. “I heard that Kylo’s sneaking around with your mate now, just like we used to. How does it feel, knowing that your Isabella wants to fuck your ex–best friend?”