by Raven Stone
“She wasn’t going to do it,” Degarr replied.
“You don’t know that,” King Gabriel said.
“I do know that. She didn’t want to kill me. I could tell,” Degarr said.
Something went soft and gooey in me, and I almost bit my lip to chase it away.
“I had a stake in my hand.” I reminded him.
He gave me a soft smile. “You want so desperately to be the bad girl. To be hard, and cold, and ruthless. But deep down, you’re not. It’s why you push everyone away. You’re afraid they’re going to figure that out. But in spite of your best efforts, that good part of you comes out. It’s why you got that ticket for Honeygirl.”
“I got that ticket because I knew it would be a great payment for her.”
“And it was, but you could have gotten her a ticket to the next big festival and she would have been happy. You didn’t. Instead, you got her something that fed her dreams. That let her know you believe in her.”
“It was strategic,” I replied.
His lips twitched. “It was your good side, trying to escape.”
I shoved my fork into my spaghetti. “I don’t have a good side. I threatened to take one of Oleg’s balls, remember?”
“And yet you didn’t,” he replied.
Dammit.
He was right. I’d forgotten the threat altogether once we’d started talking about the contract. “Shit. We have to go back. I forgot to do that.”
Degarr laughed. “No, you don’t. Oleg’s an asshole, but you can leave him with both of his balls. He’s partially responsible for us meeting.”
He was right again.
I played with my food. I didn’t like the thought that the piece of shit had inadvertently led to Degarr.
“He’s still a shithead,” I said.
“He is,” Degarr agreed.
“So,” Zine gave the two of us a confused look, “if you tried to kill him, why are you here?”
Jamie sighed noisily. “Stop. Please, I beg you.”
I held back a smile at the ginger’s obvious discomfort.
“Oh, now you have to tell us,” Cerone said, leaning forward.
Jamie shot me a pinched look, so I took mercy on him.
“Degarr promised me something, so I found him to make sure he’d deliver,” I answered.
Degarr’s heated gaze met mine, his hand slipping under the table and resting on my thigh.
“How did you find him?” The King’s voice was silken, sending a shiver down my spine.
I tore my eyes away from Degarr and faced the King.
Dark eyes bore into me.
I knew he was dangerous, just as dangerous as Degarr, if in a different way. I also knew that concern was driving him at this moment; concern and fear for Degarr.
“My methods are proprietary, King Gabriel. They’re how I make my living. But I assure you, no matter what happens between Degarr and me, I will not find him for others, or willingly turn him over. And I make the same assurance in regards to this place, and the people around this table,” I said.
“Swear it,” he said.
His voice was much calmer than the storm in his eyes. It seemed an odd request, but I didn’t see any harm in humoring him.
“I swear it,” I said.
The moment I spoke those words, I felt a tingling sensation along my skin. It quickly deepened into something that tightened, then dipped into my body, coiling around my heart and throat like a golden, sparkling rope.
For a moment, I struggled to breathe, before it released and disappeared.
Degarr’s hand wrapped around the back of my neck. Then Degarr and Gabriel shared a look, as if they knew exactly what had just happened to me.
But that was impossible wasn’t it?
Then again, wasn’t all of this impossible?
Chapter 63
Nadia – New York
“You did well, love.” Degarr brushed his lips against my temple, and I swayed against him.
I was dead on my feet. I hadn’t been up for twenty-four hours yet, but it was damn close.
“Good,” I replied. “Degarr, I’m sorry, do you mind if I cut out? I’m exhausted,” I yawned, “and I really need to go to bed.”
He laughed softly, sweeping me up into his arms. “Of course, love. I’m sorry. I should have thought.”
I curled into his wonderfully broad chest with relief.
He raised his head. “King Gabriel, thank you for dinner. I have to get Nadia back, before she falls asleep standing up.”
“Understood.” I could hear the smile in the King’s voice. “Nice to meet you, Nadia.”
“Nice to meet you too,” I replied.
Degarr turned, heading for the exit with me in his arms.
“Jamie, Gideon, come with us too,” he said.
I glanced up at Degarr in surprise as he carried me out of the office, the two wolves trailing behind us down the quiet, carpeted hall.
“Degarr?” I prompted.
I had fully expected to climb all over his luscious body, as soon as I’d had some sleep. Having the two werewolves with us would put a cramp on things.
He gave me a warm smile. “Soon, love, I promise. But wolves have needs too, and I can’t take one on and abandon him the very first night.”
“You don’t have to,” Gideon said. “I didn’t mean –”
Degarr stopped, and the wolves stopped too.
“Jamie, take her,” he said softly, holding me out to the ginger like I was made of porcelain.
“I can stand,” I protested.
But my protest stopped there, as Jamie took me easily, holding me against his body like I was light as a feather. He smelled of wolf, and pine, and Jamie, and I couldn’t help but breathe him in and rest my head against his chest. It felt good, and warm, and right to be in his arms; even if it was different than what I felt with Degarr.
Degarr wrapped one large hand around the nape of Gideon’s neck, and brought the man directly into his chest. “I wouldn’t have invited you, if I didn’t mean it.”
Gideon swallowed.
“I forced you into it. It means nothing. I just wanted one moment of feeling that again, and you gave me that.” He put his hands on Degarr’s chest, and gently pushed himself backwards, so he was out of the other man’s grasp. “You owe me nothing.”
“I’m glad we agree that I owe you nothing, and you owe me nothing.” Degarr reached out again, wrapping one large hand around Gideon’s neck, then sliding his fingers into the other man’s hair. The gesture had a sensuality of its own, and a little shiver went through me.
Then Degarr turned Gideon around, wrapping an arm around his waist, and running an open mouth over the back of Gideon’s neck. The man shivered in Degarr’s arms.
“I’m giving you this invitation freely, Gideon. No strings. Nothing forced. Just an invitation, from me to you,” Degarr said.
Gideon’s throat worked, his eyelids dipping.
“Do you want to be a member of my pack, Gideon?” Degarr asked.
Gideon’s hands wrapped around Degarr’s arms. “Yes, Alpha. But –” he stopped.
“But what?” Degarr demanded darkly. “What other protests do you have, before I start the process of making you mine?”
Fuck.
Heat bloomed through me, Degarr’s seductive behavior and that sexy voice doing wicked, wicked things to me. I had no idea how Gideon could resist.
“I’m supposed to be on duty today,” he said.
“I’ve already talked to Allura. She’s secured another guard for King Gabriel today.” Degarr stroked the side of Gideon’s neck.
A whimper escaped the wolf, then he turned his gaze to me and Jamie. “I don’t know if this will work. You’ve made them yours. I don’t know if it will work with me.”
“I don’t know if it will work either, but I’m willing to try. Are you?” Degarr asked.
“Yes, Alpha. More than you can imagine.” Gideon’s voice was rough; his intense blue eyes
staring at me and Jamie with an emotion I couldn’t even begin to describe. “Make me yours. Please.”
God.
Degarr shot me a look, then dipped his head and closed his mouth over the back of Gideon’s neck. The wolf trembled, his eyes turning a deep blue before his eyelids slid shut.
Degarr’s hand wrapped around the front of his neck. At any other time or place I might have said the gesture seemed threatening, but Gideon melted into that touch, as if it was exactly what he needed.
“Stay the day with us, Gideon. Stay the day in bed with me, my human, and my wolf.” Degarr’s voice was warm, and sensual. He shot me an apologetic look, before returning his attention to the wolf in his arms.
“Yes, Alpha,” Gideon replied, all resistance in him gone.
Chapter 64
Nadia – New York
That was how I found myself in Degarr’s giant ass bed, with him and two other men. I had changed into a shirt that covered all of my womanly parts, while the werewolves had shifted into their wolf forms. Gideon and I were bookending Degarr, while Jamie was tucked on the other side of me.
“Wolves need a lot of touch,” Degarr was explaining, while running his hand through Gideon’s fur.
I copied his movement on Jamie, and the wolf put his giant, warm head on my thigh. Degarr gave me a look of approval before continuing.
“I promise that tomorrow will be just you and me. Today’s important for bonding,” he said.
“It’s okay.” Frankly, I was so exhausted I didn’t care who I was sleeping next to, as long as it wasn’t Oleg.
Degarr gave me a soft smile, then pressed a kiss into my hair and wrapped his free arm around me.
I melted into his strong body, and was asleep within moments.
When I woke up again, I was hot as hell. Turned out that werewolves were just furry heaters with legs. I threw off the sheets and curled into Degarr’s cooler body. I threw a leg over him for good measure, and sighed with relief as my temperature started to drop. Then I heard a knock on the door.
I crawled out of bed, then padded out of the room and down the hallway. When Degarr told me he had a room here, I hadn’t realized that meant a suite of rooms that was the size of my condo.
I reached the front door and opened it, only to immediately wish I’d put on more clothing. Allura, Zine, and Fiona were standing there.
“Hello,” I said. Given that two out of the three were vampires, I was guessing that the sun had gone down. “Degarr’s not awake yet.”
Allura snorted.
“The sun’s down. Degarr just likes to sleep in,” she said, then walked right past me.
“Hey.” I frowned at her, but her back was already to me. I shot a glance at Fiona and Zine. “Come in. Just shut the door.” I trailed after Allura. “I don’t know if he’ll want you in there.”
“Relax,” she replied. “I’ve seen everyone in there naked. And one of my wolves is in there.”
Allura had seen Degarr naked?
When?
Why?
“Allura,” I protested, feeling absolutely ineffective as she went into the bedroom. If this had been my condo, I would have stopped her, but this was Degarr’s place. For all I knew, he was fine with her being here, especially since she’d seen him without his clothes. Hell, for all I knew, she could be one of his exes, although I thought he would have mentioned that to me.
I followed her into the bedroom.
Degarr lay there in a tight pair of boxers that kept his private parts from touching the others, but left nothing to the imagination. He was well-gifted, and I licked my lips, letting my eyes roam his marvelous body, aching to feel him again.
“Dammit.” Allura stared down at the bed with her hands on her hips.
The two wolves had drifted to Degarr in my brief absence, and their bodies were now tucked into his side.
“Don’t tell me he’s already done it,” she murmured to herself, then crawled onto the bed.
“I don’t think you should be doing that,” I said.
She ignored me, and in the next moment, Degarr’s hand shot out, his eyes still closed as his hand wrapped around Allura’s neck.
“Allura, what are you doing in my bed?” His voice was a bit rough. His eyes opened, instantly landing on her.
“You are not my alpha. Dakari is my alpha,” she said steadily, even though the rest of her had gone very still.
“Agreed,” Degarr said softly. His thumb stroked her throat, and she leaned into that touch before tearing herself away. “What are you doing here?”
“Checking in on another wolf.”
“He’s not yours.” His voice was still soft, but something lit in his eyes as he said the words. “Not anymore.”
“He was never mine,” she said in that same even tone, and in spite of what she had just told me.
Degarr stared at her for another moment, then gave a small nod and released her. A quiet sigh escaped her lips. Then she put her hands flat on the bed and leaned forward, bending a little as she sniffed all over Gideon’s body. There was no way he was still asleep, but the wolf stayed still as she examined him.
“Christ. Twenty percent of his scent is already wrapped in yours.” Allura sat back on her legs.
“He slept next to me all day.” Those grey eyes were unreadable.
“That shouldn’t wrap his scent with yours. Not yet. I understand Jamie and Nadia; they’ve been around you. But this,” she gestured towards Gideon, “shouldn’t happen this quickly. Not with a baby Alpha.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“Admit there’s something extraordinary happening here, heartwolf,” Allura said.
She reached over and put her hand on Degarr’s bare stomach. Her touch was light, but his skin jumped.
He didn’t try to move away, or even take her hand away from him. I had no idea what was happening between them, other than the fact that Allura seemed back to her bold self, all of the submissiveness I’d seen from her moments ago gone.
The two of them stared at each other.
“Fine,” Degarr said finally. “There’s something extraordinary happening here. Something I can’t explain.”
She made a noise low in her throat, seemingly satisfied.
“And what do you think will happen, when you make the King yours?” she asked.
“He will be mine,” Degarr said simply. His eyes searched her face. “You’re loyal to the King. I think you may even love him.”
“I do,” she said softly.
“But you’re afraid,” he continued. “You’re afraid that when he becomes mine, that you’ll somehow become mine too. How? Why?”
She bit her lip, and glanced away. “I lied earlier.”
“About?”
“Dakari isn’t my alpha. No one is. It’s one of the things that brought me and Gideon together,” she jutted her chin towards the wolf, “but I’m not like him. I don’t want an alpha. An alpha might –”
“Might what?”
“Order me away from the King,” she said softly. “I don’t think I could stand that. The time in Europe was too long as it was.” She took her hand away from his stomach, and gripped her arms, suddenly looking soft and vulnerable.
“Allura,” Degarr said quietly, “if I become your Alpha, whether by choice or some weird math, I won’t order you away from him. Not unless you hurt him, or you pose a risk to his life or safety. And if another alpha tries to claim you, I’ll stand in their way, alright?”
She nodded, biting her lip, her eyes shiny.
Degarr swiped a thumb across the base of her eyes, and I felt a lump in my throat.
I turned away. The lump was growing, spreading down my throat and into my chest, making it hard to breathe.
Water. I needed water.
I rushed out of the room, ignoring the thud behind me, ignoring the startled looks of Zine and Fiona as I went into the kitchen and rifled through the cupboards for a glass.
The thing in my
chest had spread, choking me, making my limbs heavy, the pain bringing tears to my eyes.
And then Jamie was there.
He was in his human form, mostly naked except for a pair of shorts he’d pulled onto his body before following me into the kitchen. He forced the glass in my hand down, then wrapped his hand around the back of my neck.
“Nadia.”
His arms wrapped around me as that touch of his made me boneless. We both drifted to the floor, and he gathered me into his lap.
I turned into him, choking, desperate to breathe.
“Shh,” he said softly.
Caring.
That was my problem, I realized. Seeing the obvious signs of caring all around me was making me react this way. These people loved each other, and cared for each other, in ways that left me weak and breathless.
I snuggled into Jamie and caught his scent, and my entire body relaxed. Suddenly I could breathe again, in spite of the thoughts and fears thundering through me.
“What are you doing?” Zine asked.
Her tone was curious. I heard no anger or jealous in her voice, or any of the dozen things I might have heard in her tone at the sight of her boyfriend cuddling another woman.
I glanced up to see Zine and everyone else, staring down at Jamie and me. He raised his head too, taking them all in without a word.
“He’s being a good Beta,” Allura said simply, her hands on her hips, her tears gone, and her expression clear. “He’s making a member of his pack feel better.”
Oh.
That’s when I fully realized that I was a member of Degarr’s pack too.
Chapter 65
Nadia – New York
Degarr carefully knelt in front of us, as if we were wild animals that might be startled off at any moment.
“How long has this being going on?” he asked.
I tensed, remembering very well the first time Jamie had done this. It had been right after that night at the abandoned house. Jamie’s hand pressed into my stomach, comforting me.
“The day after she first saw my wolf,” he replied. “I’m not fucking her, Garr.”