by Lola Glass
Roman stood immediately, taking my hand and tugging me toward his bedroom.
“You’re still hungry.” I protested, pulling my hand from his grip and stopping with my arms folded. He paused, his eyes raking up and down me slowly. Goosebumps blazed along my skin.
“Not for food.” His low growl turned me the freak on.
“I cooked for you.” Even I knew how weak the protest was.
“I’ll eat it after.”
With a dramatic sigh, I slowly caught up to Roman and took his hand. Now I was the one leading him to the bedroom. He didn’t push me to move faster this time, letting me stay in control of the moment.
“We should take the sheets off so we don’t ruin them.” I decided. Roman ignored the comment and carefully lowered himself to the mattress. The way he moved broadcasted how much pain he was in.
“Where’s the worst of it?” I checked, stepping out of the leggings I had on. His eyes followed my every movement.
“My shoulder.” He stared as I turned away and stripped out of my underwear. Those eyes of his could’ve set a glacier on fire. His finger trailed down my spine and I shivered. “One day, you won’t turn from me.” The gravel in his voice was going to kill me.
I shifted into my wolf form and turned back to the man I was fighting feelings for. One step put my body up on the mattress with him. Roman’s hand reached out and met the fur on my head, trailing down with a reverence I’d never seen from anyone before, let alone an Alpha.
In wolf form, the scent of his blood and pain was too much to focus on anything else. I gently moved closer, my eyes on the gnarly bite in Roman’s shoulder. The rough satin of my tongue met the scabbing wound and Roman’s fingers gripped the fur on my sides so tight it was almost painful.
Almost.
His grip encouraged me, and I let myself focus on my feelings for a moment. My heart thrummed in my chest, excitement blooming inside me. Roman needed me. He wanted me. He was there with me, wholly and entirely, touching me and feeling me and having feelings for me.
And he was mine.
I could practically feel the bond between us thickening and growing as I licked his wounds and any other skin that called to me. As I finished the last injury on his calf, I went back to his shoulder for another pass. Roman’s body shuddered as the licking stopped and I pulled my tongue back into my mouth.
He turned to face me, hands catching my large furry head the way he’d grab me in human form too.
“Thank you.” His voice was hushed.
My head bobbed and I stepped back. Although I wanted to stay close to him, I wanted to do so in my human form. Even in wolf form I knew I wasn’t ready to be his mate, so I shifted and pulled my clothes back on.
The silence in the room was heavy, Roman’s glacier-melting eyes burning me with desire—both his and mine. I turned around, dressed in my bra and leggings once again, and stalked back to my man.
My man.
Mine.
Roman waited with legs off the bed, watching me intently. I dropped into his lap and wrapped myself around him, capturing his lips. Like a dam bursting, Roman’s chest rumbled with a growl and he met me movement for movement. With every stroke, every touch, every brush, I gave him the permission he’d been waiting for.
I’d planned on kissing him, but this wasn’t a kiss. It was a freaking bonfire.
I gasped as his lips ripped from mine to my neck, trailing lips and tongue along the sensitive skin there. His teeth scraped the base of my neck and I moaned with desire.
Roman’s grip on me tightened, pulling my pelvis into his. I cursed the clothing between us for all of the half-second before his fangs sunk into my skin.
My breathing stopped. The feeling of my soul colliding with Roman’s overwhelmed my senses, our bodies stilling for the faintest moment before the wolf inside me surged to the surface and my own fangs bit into the man I’d chosen.
Roman’s low groan pulled me out of the otherworldly moment we’d shared. I pulled my teeth from his skin and lifted my gaze, meeting his eyes. He held my eyes as he moved forward and ran his very-human tongue over the place he’d bitten me. Lust hit me so hard I shuddered, and his eyes shifted as I licked his neck again. As his wound sealed, the crazy heat between us burst and we fell to the bed together, panting. I was on top of him, holding myself up over him on shaky arms.
Roman cradled my face with his hands and pressed a soft kiss to my lips, tilting upward so our foreheads met softly. No words were exchanged, only gazes that said things I wasn’t ready to speak out loud.
We laid there in silence until we fell asleep, cradled in each other’s arms.
I’d always wondered what it would feel like to know I belonged somewhere. Now I knew.
TWENTY-THREE
“Is Henley here?” A feminine whisper that didn’t belong in my space caught on the edge of my sleeping mind. Roman’s arms cradled me so securely that the noise didn’t actually wake me up.
“I think they’re in bed together.” Another female commented.
“It’s about time.” A third grumbled.
Roman stirred and I made a noise of protest. He chuckled into my hair when I rubbed my face against the crook of his neck.
“Are you finally mated?” Arla shouted from the living room.
“Get out.” I shouted back.
Roman rose from the bed, lifting me in his arms and carrying me to the living room. He’d put his pants back on when he got up to eat the rest of his sandwich the night before. “We’re not mated.” He told his sister, who we found standing in the open doorway with London and Jamie. They must’ve known how he felt about his space.
“It’s time for another girls’ day.” London announced. “Put on a shirt and we’ll get out of here.”
“I haven’t fed her yet.” Roman sat me down on the countertop.
“We’re getting breakfast.” Jamie offered.
“The Alphas of All are demanding answers as to why those guys challenged you yesterday.” Arla leaned up against the frame of the door. Roman shoved a hand over his buzzed hair. He made hair seem totally unnecessary.
Maybe I should shave mine.
“Any ideas?” He looked between Arla and her two enforcers, leaning against the counter beside me. Roman caught a strand of my hair and fiddled with it, his forehead creased as he considered his options.
Better not shave it.
“You could tell them that you found the girl you want to mate with in one of their territories and they didn’t want to give her up. It’s close enough to the truth that it could stop them from coming out for a visit.” Jamie offered. Arla’s eyes narrowed in on her brother’s neck while Jamie was talking.
“And if they demand they meet her?”
“Did she bite you?” Arla turned fiery eyes on me. “Did you bite him?”
I shrugged.
No point in denying it.
“He bit you too?” She glared at both of us. “What the hell is wrong with you people? You’re doing everything out of order.” She sighed in defeat and leaned her head against the doorframe. “We need pastries for breakfast. Something chocolate”
“You and I can agree on that.” I slid off the counter and headed for the girls. Roman caught my hand, spinning me around and planting a kiss on my lips before releasing me. I stumbled toward them, Jamie and London wearing knowing smirks while Arla grimaced.
We stopped at a fancy café for artisan coffee and the best chocolate croissants on the planet before heading to some boutique the girls had been wanting to check out for a while. It was getting close to Christmas, so they were all looking for gifts. I’d never bought a Christmas present for anyone and had no idea who I was supposed to buy things for so I looked at the bracelets, considering a thin one with a star on it that reminded me of my mom.
I figured I’d get something for Roman and the other girls at some point, but there were still a few weeks to figure out what I wanted to get them.
Arla walked over, checking
out the earrings. Her hair was in its typical high ponytail, and I noticed the way piercings studded up her ear.
“Did they hurt?” I gestured to the piercings. She lifted her hand to fiddle with them.
“Not really. You’ve never had your ears pierced?” She frowned.
“My mom told me I had to be twelve. She died before I got there and I never really had the chance afterward.” I lifted my shoulders. “They’re pretty.”
“Thank you.” She seemed surprised by the compliment, looking back to the display of earrings. I looked back at the bracelets, and she pulled out her phone to type a bit. “The guy who does my tattoos and piercings can fit us in about an hour from now if you want.”
My eyebrows lifted.
“Usually the good ones are booked out for months but he pushes appointments back for me. It can be your Christmas present.” She gave me a tentative smile. I mirrored the expression.
“Sounds cool. What tattoos do you have?” I hadn’t noticed anything, but the two of us had never shifted together so we’d never seen each other naked.
“My ribcage says, ‘survive’, and I’ve been thinking about getting a tramp stamp but Lilac and Roman keep talking me out of it.” She made a face. “My brother is a protective son of a bitch. He nearly tore the door off my office the first time he saw the first of these lovely ladies.” She ran her finger over the earrings studding her ear. “He prefers all things natural, so you getting a piercing will be the highlight of my year.”
“Who says I’m only getting one?”
We shared a grin.
“What are we laughing about?” Jamie wandered over, a few articles of clothing draped over her arm.
“Hennie’s getting a piercing. Maybe we’ll talk her into a tattoo, too.” Arla wore a devious smile.
“Ooh, testing the Alpha’s control, are we?” Jamie wiggled her eyebrows.
“I think it’s been plenty tested already.” I said. “This will be testing his attraction to me.”
“Those sweats did nothing to hide his boner this morning. The man clearly passed that test.” London declared, waltzing over with a hand full of hangers.
“An unfortunate truth.” Arla looked ill.
Jamie and I laughed.
We shopped around for a bit, but I didn’t buy anything. Despite the large chunk of change in my bank account after my months with the pack, I was still the fourteen-year-old girl who worked in a bar of all places just to afford life’s basic necessities.
After everyone checked out, we piled in a cab that drove us all the way to the Bronx to Arla’s tattoo and piercing guy.
He had his own storefront, and he’d named the place ‘Full Moon Tattoos and Piercings’.
“I wonder if he’s a werewolf.” London drawled. The rest of us grinned.
Arla pushed the doors open. The inside of the place looked like an alley covered in graffiti, but this graffiti was really freaking beautiful. My eyes caught on an image of a forest, bigger than anything else on the walls.
“Look who finally made her way out of the doghouse.” A hot blond guy came waltzing out of a back room. My eyes lit up when I realized it was Zack from the slip ‘n slide. “Didn’t think our girl’s brother would ever let you out of his sight again after he nearly killed me upstate.”
“I’d say he means well, but he doesn’t.” I smirked
Arla laughed and gave Zack a quick side-hug.
“He wanted to kill you long before you grabbed Henley’s ass.” She teased.
I looked between the two of them.
“Roman caught us kissing once in the tenth grade. Zack nearly lost his head.” She explained to me.
Zack exchanged greetings with London and Jamie too as he led us into a room in the back of his shop. The walls were just as busy in there as they were outside.
“So this is your first piercing?” Zack grabbed an odd-looking needle-gun from a table to the side of the room. It smelled like bleach, so I knew it was clean. I picked out a set of ruby earrings—mine and my mom’s shared birthstone. The deep red color brought the pink out in my strawberry-hair, but for once I didn’t care.
“Yep. Never had the time or money to do it before.”
“Well it’s your lucky day.” He drew dots on my ears with some sort of marker and backed up, making sure they were even. Nerves fluttered in my stomach. I’d never chosen to change any part of my body before; the only permanent change was on my collarbone and I kept that tattoo-covered pretty much all the time.
He did the piercings quickly, but feeling them in my ears weirded me out so I decided to wait on getting more.
“I want a tattoo.” Jamie blurted after my second piercing was done.
We all gaped at her.
“Perfect, flawless Jamie? With a tattoo?” London demanded.
“You drink peanut-butter in your smoothies because your mate likes them.” I scanned her, checking to make sure she was alright.
“I don’t think I’ve ever even heard you swear.” Arla agreed.
Jamie’s face was so red it may as well have been on fire.
“I’m undergoing a period of self-actualization. Google says it’s a real thing.” She defended herself. “If Oliver doesn’t like it, he can add it to the list of reasons we’re barely friends.”
Arla held out her hand for a high-five and Jamie slapped their palms together.
“I’ll have my assistant push my appointments a couple hours.” Zack was grinning broader than ever now. He probably liked all our drama; he seemed like the kind of guy who’d be into that. I slid off the tattoo chair and stepped to the side so Jamie could take the seat. She did, a determined expression on her face.
“I want a flower, something like this.” She handed Zack her phone so he could see a picture. He nodded.
“Just below your collarbone?”
The words made my stomach clench, reminding me of my hidden tattoo. Jamie shot me an apologetic look.
“Yeah. I love the way yours looks there, Hennie.” She sounded sorry. It was a compliment though, so I forced a smile and nodded.
Zack got things ready while the rest of us grabbed chairs and got comfortable. Zack started up the gun. Because Jamie’s tattoo was a simple one, he told us it wouldn’t be long.
“You know, I could fix your tattoo.” He said as he focused on Jamie’s collarbone.
When everyone looked at me, I realized who he was talking to.
“You keep it hidden. If you liked the way it looked, you wouldn’t feel the need to.”
My face warmed but I kept my expression neutral.
“Hiding it keeps away the memories.”
“You could make new ones.” Arla met my eyes. “If you already hate it, what’s the worst that could happen?”
Why did she have to have a point?
“Do it.” Jamie encouraged me, despite the grimace on her face. As I recalled, getting a tattoo freaking hurt.
“It’s her body, guys. Don’t pressure her into anything.” London’s words were sharp. All of us girls glanced over at her, a bit surprised.
But they had a point. It wouldn’t be possible for me to hate my tattoo more than I did; maybe I wouldn’t be so self-conscious of it if it looked a little more attractive.
“They’re right.” I told her, a heavy sigh slipping from my lips.
My foot tapped anxiously as I waited for Zack to finish with Jamie’s tattoo. It turned out pretty, so I felt slightly better about the future of my own skin. He cleaned his instruments while I sat down in the chair and wrestled a bout of nausea.
“Don’t go adding a bunch of flowers to the thing.” I warned. My mind went back to some hideous tattoos I’d seen. “Or a skull. Or—“
“Relax.” He interrupted me. “I know what I’m doing.”
When he gestured to the walls, I didn’t deny the truth. The man had a gift.
He took the gun to my skin and I shut my eyes against the pain, fingers going white as I gripped the armrests. Memories of the time I�
��d been strapped to a chair as a little girl, held down by many massive hands as I screamed and cried surfaced.
Jamie took one of my hands and squeezed it. Arla took the other.
I forced my eyes open.
This was my choice.
I wasn’t eight anymore; I was free now.
My eyes fell down to the top of my left wrist and the scar Roman had given me when I joined the pack. It represented the life I was creating for myself.
When Zack finished, I didn’t want to look at my old tattoo yet.
“I need you to do one more thing.” I went with my gut. Detangling my hand from Jamie’s, I held up my wrist and pointed to my Alpha mark. One scar, much neater and smaller than any of the ones on my back thanks to an Alpha who cared enough to try not to hurt me. “I want you to write the word, ‘free’ in cursive. Don’t go outside the lines of the scar or I’ll kill you.” That last part came out a growl.
Zack did as I said. Not much later, I had two tattoos, one new and one improved.
I stepped into the bathroom afterward and locked the door behind me. Looking into the mirror, I reminded myself that I was alright. I was a fighter. With shaking hands, I slowly pulled my shirt down. The bandage over it wasn’t supposed to come off yet, but I needed to get a look while I was in the right mindset so I peeled it away carefully.
My eyes stung as they traced over the tattoo I despised. One that ruled my closet and made me afraid of my own skin. The word was still there, the “WOLFSBANE”, but he’d made the ugly, stretched, and faded letters pretty. The new look to my tattoo didn’t take away my hatred for the nickname or the terrible things that had happened to me because of it, but it did make me feel slightly better about my own skin.
After a few minutes to regain control of my emotions, Jamie knocked on the door.
“You okay?”
I nodded in the mirror and shut my eyes, steeling myself once again before answering by pulling the door open.
“I’m good.”
Zack looked a bit worried, cleaning his tools on the side of the room while London and Arla chatted quietly on the other side. He was probably worried I’d hate it and Roman would try to kill him again.