“Do you really think this is a good idea?” Ashley asked nervously, her hand trembling against his jaw as her heartbeat sped up, reminding him that his mate was innocent and that he needed to take this slowly.
“Yes,” Kale said, allowing himself one last brush of his lips before he pulled back and moved to sit up only to chuckle when Ashley followed the move, refusing to let him go.
Cupping his face in her small hands, she knelt by his side as he continued kissing her, brushing his lips teasingly against hers as he took his time, letting her get used to his touch before he moved to deepen the kiss. He used his lips to part hers and-
“Sorry!” Ashley said, quickly breaking off the kiss as a slight sting let him know that one of her fangs had nicked his tongue. Before she could pull away, he was cupping her face in his hands and pulling her back. “It’s okay,” Kale whispered as he leaned back in and took up where they left off.
He slowed down the kiss, returning to teasing brushes of his lips as he dropped his hands away so that he could place them on her hips and pulled her closer when he felt her begin to relax again. Kale moved his lips against hers, using the move to part her lips so that he could slide his tongue inside her mouth, using the distraction to pull her even closer and-
Groaned when she wrapped her arms around him and tentatively brushed her tongue against his. It had been a long fucking time since he’d held a woman like this, longer since he’d wanted to, and with Ashley, he realized that he never wanted to let her go. She felt too fucking good right where she was, Kale thought as he placed his hands on her thighs, noting just how smooth her legs were.
Her skin was so soft, Kale thought, unable to resist the urge to run his hands over her thighs as he kissed her. When the hem of her borrowed shirt brushed against his hands, Kale forced himself to slide his hands back down her thighs, refusing to rush this. She didn’t want a mate, which meant that he was going to have to do whatever it took to change her mind.
Even if it killed him.
And it was definitely going to fucking kill him, Kale thought, unable to help but groan as Ashley settled more comfortably on his lap only to gasp when the move brought her against the proof of just how badly he wanted her. He felt her go still in his arms as her body trembled against his and realized that he’d already screwed this up.
If there was ever a need for patience, it was now. She didn’t trust him, didn’t have any reason to, and god knew that he hadn’t given her any reason to, which meant that they had to take this slowly. He wanted her, needed her, and he wasn’t about to do anything to risk losing her, not when she already had him this fucking desperate for her.
They needed to slow down, Kale told himself as he struggled to ignore just how fucking good she felt in his arms as the scent of virginal arousal reached him, making his head spin. It was fucking intoxicating, Kale thought on a groan as the scent of her wet sex sent pleasure down his aching cock.
Knowing that it was probably going to kill him, Kale slid his hands down to her hips to move her only to have another groan ripped from his throat when she shifted her hips, the move caressing the underside of his cock as it pushed harder against the material of his boxers in an attempt to get closer to her.
“It feels so good,” Ashley mumbled on a soft moan as she continued shifting her hips, the movement causing her to rub slowly against him, threatening to snap the last thread of control that he was struggling to hold on to.
“You’re going to be the death of me, mo ghrá,” Kale groaned, his hands fisting in her shirt as he struggled against the urge to grab hold of her hips and move her to put them both out of their misery.
“What does that mean?” Ashley asked, threading her fingers through his hair as she continued moving, her movements becoming more sensual with every roll of her hips.
“Pain in the ass,” he said only to chuckle when she whispered, “Liar,” as she moved to deepen the kiss.
So fucking good, Kale thought as he gave up trying to do the right thing and placed his hands back on her thighs and slid them beneath the hem of her shirt. He moved his hands over her panty-clad hips and back down her thighs again. Her skin was so fucking soft, Kale thought as he was forced to send his fangs back when they started to slide down. He’d never had problems staying in control during sex before, but then again, he’d never wanted a woman the way that he wanted Ashley.
He wanted to-
Chuckle when he heard her stomach growl, reminding him that she needed to eat something more substantial than cookies after a shift, especially after her first shift. With an adorable grumble, Ashley broke off the kiss and pressed her forehead against his shoulder, struggling to catch her breath as she asked, “Is there any chance that we can pretend that didn’t happen?”
“Not a chance in hell, mo ghrá. You need to eat after a shift,” Kale said, kissing the top of her head as he reluctantly picked her up and placed her on the bed next to him.
“I think I need kissing more,” Ashley mumbled sadly with a solemn nod and a hopeful smile that died a quick death when her stomach chose that moment to growl again.
“More than pizza?” Kale asked with a teasing smile that had her eyes narrowing dangerously as they flashed silver.
“Yes,” she bit out only to groan, whimper pathetically, and grumble something that he couldn’t quite make out as she dropped back down on the bed and promptly buried her face against the pillow when her stomach growled again.
“How about this?” Kale said as he climbed off the bed and grabbed his pants, biting back a wince when the move pulled at his wound that was taking a lot longer to heal than normal. “I’ll run out and grab pizza and when I get back, we’ll eat, watch one of those sappy romance movies that you seem to love, and when you least expect it, I’ll steal another kiss?”
There was a slight pause, and then, “I do love sappy romance movies,” Ashley mumbled into her pillow.
“I know you do,” Kale said, unable to help but smile as he pulled his shirt on.
“Can I have extra cheese?” she asked, turning her head to watch him.
Smiling, Kale grabbed his boots as he said, “You can have whatever you want.”
“That’s something, I suppose,” Ashley mumbled with a long-suffering sigh that had him chuckling as he finished pulling on his boots.
“I’ll be back soon, mo ghrá,” Kale said with a teasing smile as he leaned down and stole a kiss, loving the adorable pout and grumble that followed as he headed for the door.
She probably shouldn’t be smiling with all that screaming going on, but as Ashley lay there, snuggling against Kale’s pillow, she couldn’t stop smiling as she thought about the way that he’d kissed her. That is, until the sound of flesh being torn apart caused her stomach to turn. That was followed by her wondering why she was watching this movie when she wasn’t normally a fan of horror movies, especially werewolf movies, but she was curious.
She-
Really hoped that she didn’t drool like that when she shifted, Ashley thought in horror, only to cringe when the large werewolf began devouring the rest of the camper that really should have known better than to try to hide under a fallen log. At least the girl that he went camping with was smart enough to find a weapon first, Ashley thought as she watched the werewolf sneak up behind her, only to howl in pain when she took the silver cross that she wore around her neck and stabbed the large werewolf in the eye.
As the werewolf stumbled around, slowly turning back to human as its eye melted around the cross, Ashley couldn’t help but wonder if she would react to silver like that. She never had any problem touching silver before, but then again, she’d never been able to shift before. God, she had so many questions, Ashley realized as she pushed the comforter away and headed for the door.
She should just make a list of all the questions that she had and go through them one by one, and she should definitely stop thinking about kissing Kale, Ashley decided with a firm nod that lost its effect by the fact that she c
ouldn’t seem to stop smiling.
That kiss had been…unexpected. It had also been worth the wait, Ashley thought as she made her way downstairs towards her room. Kale had been sweet, gentle, charming, and incredibly sexy and she couldn’t wait for him to get back so that she could kiss him again and-
She shouldn’t be kissing him again, Ashley reminded herself with a sigh. She had bigger issues to deal with, one of them being the fact that she was still struggling to wrap her mind around everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours. She’d be lying if she said that she was upset that she’d shifted.
When she was a little girl, she used to dream about the day that she would shift and finally fit in with the rest of the Pack, only that day never came. For a long time after her mother died, Ashley used to lie awake during the full moon, praying that she would shift, thinking that it would somehow make her feel closer to her mother and when it didn’t happen, she felt like she’d lost her mother all over again.
Now, she couldn’t help but feel like her life was finally starting to make sense. She wasn’t a freak. Okay, so she kind of was, but at least now, she knew why it had taken her so long to get to this point. The only thing that she didn’t know was what else she should expect. Was she going to grow horns? Develop an unnatural obsession with fire and all things evil? Develop an aversion to holy relics? Grow a tail?
She really hoped that she didn’t grow a tail, Ashley thought as she walked into her room and headed straight for her nightstand. After a quick search, she found what she was looking for. Not really sure that this was a good idea, she picked up the yellow envelope that Kale had grabbed from her old apartment for her and dumped everything onto her bed.
For a moment, she stood there, staring down at the silver necklace and-
“This is stupid,” Ashley said, sighing heavily as she reminded herself that she would heal no matter what happened to her, but even knowing that, it took her a minute before she picked up the necklace and…nothing happened.
Frowning, she turned the necklace over in her hand, wondering why Kale would give it to her knowing that it could hurt him. He should have thrown it out, Ashley thought with a sigh as she turned around and headed for the trashcan only to stop when she felt it, a small tingle working its way through her palm and down her fingertips.
“That’s not so bad,” Ashley mumbled, looking down at her hand only to frown when she saw wisps of white smoke slowly rise from her hand and-
“Damn it!” she snapped, wincing as she dropped the necklace from her hand as the tingle quickly turned into a burning sensation only to cry, “Oh, god!” when the pain intensified, spreading down to her fingertips and up her arm.
Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to breathe through the pain, but with every passing second, more pain shot up her arm, tearing through her skin and seeping into her bones, making the demon blood look like child’s play.
Trying not to panic, Ashley quickly made her way to the bathroom only to have her legs give out on her, dropping her to the floor with a pained grunt when her knees hit the hard, unforgiving tile floor only to turn into a scream as excruciating pain tore through her hand. Gasping for air, she struggled not to pass out as her head began to spin and black dots played along her vision as pain continued to rip her arm apart. She watched as white smoke rose from her arm as the realization that her arm was on fire had her crawling the rest of the way to the bathroom sink.
Oh, god, it hurt so much, Ashley thought, sobbing as she reached up to grab hold of the counter to pull herself up only to have her legs give out again, dropping her back on the floor as another scream was ripped from her lips as the skin on her hand and arm started to separate and-
“What the hell happened?” Kale demanded, turning her around so that she was facing him only to release a curse when he saw her arm. Ashley opened her mouth to answer him, only to end up screaming as blood began to trickle down her arm.
“You have to shift,” Kale said, cupping her face in his trembling hands as he forced her to meet his panicked gaze. “You have to shift, mo ghrá!”
When she could only shake her head, he yelled, “Shift!”
“I can’t!” Ashley screamed, watching in terror as her fingertips-
“You have to shift!” Kale yelled, pulling her face back towards him as her breaths came faster as she struggled to get enough oxygen, but she couldn’t do it, she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t-
“Shift!”
New pain tore through her body as her eyes darted back to where her fingers had once been, only to whimper when Kale pulled her attention back to him. “Shhhh, it’s okay, mo ghrá,” he said, his voice cracking as he leaned in and kissed her forehead as pain tore through her entire body. She felt her limbs grow, her jaw unlock and extend as sharp teeth tore through her gums, her eyes stretched and shifted as her mouth grew out into a snout while her skin stretched past the point of pain as it filled with muscle, and her hand began to grow back.
“That’s it, mo ghrá,” Kale said, cupping her large face in his hands the entire time until the pain finally stopped and a small surge of pleasure rippled throughout her large body.
“I need you to shift back now, mo ghrá, and finish healing. It’s going to hurt as your body races to fix your human body, but I need you to do this for me,” Kale said soothingly as he gently caressed her face. When she shook her head, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her muzzle and said the one word that made it impossible to say no.
“Please.”
She just barely had a chance to wonder how she was supposed to shift back when she felt a shift in her body. One minute, she was a large werewolf covered in dark brown hair and the next, everything was receding quickly as a fresh wave of pain tore through her body. She barely managed to get the first scream out when Kale was there, holding on to her as she shifted back until she was finally small enough for him to wrap his arms around her and pull her onto his lap.
As soon as she was on his lap, Ashley was grabbing hold of his shirt and burying her face against his shoulder, only to realize that she wasn’t the only one trembling.
Chapter 33
November 25th
Williams Mansion
“I can’t do this,” Kara rushed out only to gasp in pain, squeeze her eyes shut and-
“Push!” Noah said firmly while Drew stood there, struggling to remember how to breathe as he looked across Kara to find Samantha and Cloe, the two Pytes who’d been nurses when they were human, comforting his mate while her grandfather paced the room behind them, looking more nervous than a Sentinel had any right to be.
“I can’t!” Kara cried as her grip around his hand tightened and her eyes flashed silver, letting them know just how badly she wanted to shift to get away from the pain, but that wasn’t an option at the moment.
“You can,” Drew assured her, giving her hand a comforting squeeze as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You’ve got this, baby.”
There was a sniffle and then came the sadly mumbled, “I would really like it if you knocked me out now.”
“I know you would,” Drew said, pressing one last kiss against her forehead as he glanced at Noah and couldn’t help but regret his decision to turn down Michael’s help when the Sentinel doctor offered to stay here to help them with this.
If this had been any other day, Drew would have demanded that the Sentinel doctor stay to help with the birth of his children, but this wasn’t just any other day. Today, ten Sentinel babies, five boys and five girls, were due to be born and that meant the Sentinels were going to need all the help that they could get to find them before it was too late.
All over the world, vampires, demons, and shifters were searching for those babies, hoping to find them before the Sentinels could. Some were hoping to use the Sentinel children as their own personal mercenaries, while others were hoping to sell them to the highest bidders, and the rest just wanted a chance to kill them.
Sentinels were statio
ning allies at hospitals and clinics all over the world, checking every baby that was born for the small cross and crescent moon birthmark beneath their navel that marked them as Sentinels. The problem was, so was everyone else and they outnumbered the Sentinels a thousand-to-one. There were hundreds of demon species on earth, thousands of shifters and vampires, who had thousands of minions, human servants, at their disposal while there were less than a hundred and sixty Sentinels alive, ten of which were only children.
There should have been a hundred and ninety Sentinels, but unfortunately for the Sentinels, more than thirty of them had been killed before their time, which meant that they had to rely heavily on allies made up of humans, vampires, demons, and shifters that had sworn allegiance to them to get the job done. Thankfully, this time the Sentinels had a secret weapon up their sleeve.
Tattletale.
The program was Izzy’s pride and joy. Before she found out that she was a Sentinel, Izzy had been a computer programmer specializing in security. She’d created Tattletale, a program designed to break into other programs, learning as it went, which apparently made it stronger and faster with every program that it encountered. She used it to help the Sentinels and on occasion, she used it for them when they needed a favor.
A month ago, Drew had been curious about something and asked Izzy to use Tattletale to help him figure something out, only to regret that decision when he got the answer that he hadn’t expected. Right after he’d discovered that Kara was his mate, someone had targeted her, destroying the life that she’d carefully built, leaving her on the street without a penny to her name.
At the time, he’d just assumed it was one of the other Packs vying for control of Boston, but now, he realized just how far his Pack had been willing to go to destroy him. If it had been anyone else that tried to bring him down, he would have already killed her, but the problem was, she wasn’t just anyone. She was his Beta’s mate.
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