The sound that slipped past her lips was a thing of beauty. Relief and frustration coiled together in a grated moan as she undulated between his hand and hips. “More. I need more.”
“You want release, kitten?” A threat would have sounded less intimidating, but he was too far gone to soften his words. Pure wickedness and untamed instinct driving every thought and action. “Want to come with my cock in your ass?”
“Yes! Harder. Please. It’s so close.” Body bowed, her breasts jutted outward and jiggled as he pounded into her. Her nails scored his flanks as she held on with all she had, and every place her skin came into contact with his burned like a white-hot brand.
His own release threatened. Drew his nuts up tight and throbbed at the base of his shaft. But there was only one way he was giving in. One sensation he’d allow to pull him over the edge. “Then come for me, mihara. Come and take me with you.”
Pulling his fingers free, he smacked her sex. Once. Twice. Then drove his fingers back inside, grinding the heel of his hand against her clit.
She bucked and cried out, her muscles clenching around his fingers and cock in a merciless grip. “Priest!”
“Fuck, yes. My mate. All. Fucking. Mine.” He stabbed to the hilt and let himself go, his release jetting free with a force that made his shaft jerk inside her.
Fifty years he’d waited. Wanted and worried anyone could ever accept all that he’d become. The good as well as the ugliness locked inside him.
But Kateri hadn’t just accepted him, she’d welcomed him. Laid herself out and embraced his darkness with a bright abandon that left him free and whole.
Releasing the brutal grip he’d kept fisted in her hair, he circled the front of her throat and sank back on his heels, keeping her flush against his hips as he eased them down from the peak. With his lips, he savored the thrumming pulse at her neck. Reveled in the tiny aftershocks of her sex around his fingers and shaft.
Aside from each languid roll of her hips as she rode the last of her release, his mate sat soft and pliant against him. Utterly replete with the back of her head lolling on his shoulder, eyes closed and every feature that of a woman at peace.
No fear.
No remorse.
No doubt.
He eased his fingers free, but kept his hand cupped possessively over her mound, his other hand still banded around her neck. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.”
Her lips curved in a slow almost sly smile, but her eyes stayed closed. “Which part? The fact that we ended up on the floor, or that I’m officially no longer a virgin in any capacity.”
Oh, he’d planned on the latter. Just not as savagely with no semblance of control. He skimmed his lips along her shoulder. “I wanted to be gentler with you.”
Rolling her head, she opened her eyes. The sincerity behind her gaze was as startling as her blue-gray gaze in the candlelight. “I just wanted you to be you.” She covered his hands with hers, the action somehow demonstrating that she understood more than even he did the trichotomy within him. “I love all of you, Priest. Even the parts you’re afraid to set free. You might be new to my reality, but inside, I think my soul has always known you. Always waited for you. It just took a while for my mind to catch up.”
Everything inside him stilled. No agitation. No unease. Just quiet contentedness.
Even from the darkness.
“You tamed it.” Even as he spoke the words, the truth of it resonated deep. “My brother’s magic has never been this quiet. This calm.”
Her mischievous smile warmed him, scattering what was left of his worry and concern. “It’s probably basking in the afterglow like we are.”
So light. After years of shame’s murky ugliness weighting him down, his spirit soared. A freedom he hadn’t felt since the days before he’d earned his magic taking flight behind his sternum. “No. It’s not the afterglow.” Holding her tight, he shifted forward, gently laid her on her belly and eased free of her heat.
She groaned and rolled to her back, gazing up at him with an adorable mix of playful and sleepy that shouldn’t be possible after the fierce way he’d taken her. “So, what? You’re saying it’s just a case of me wearing out your ugly side? I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or—”
“The darkness loves you, mihara.” He braced himself on one forearm above her and brushed a stray tendril away from her sweat-dampened temple, his hand shaking with the simple act. “Deeply. But still not as much as I do.”
Tears filled her eyes, but her tender smile whispered through him like a benediction.
“I knew you were my light,” he said, “but I didn’t realize you’d be my redemption, too.”
She pressed her lips together tight, but they still trembled. A tear slipped down her temple and her voice when she spoke was little more than a whisper. “That’s pretty heavy stuff after a seriously intense night.”
“Not heavy. A blessing. One I never thought I’d have.” He kissed her. A soft press of lips he prayed conveyed even a tenth of the gratitude and awe moving through him.
“I’ve never seen you sweet and gentle,” she murmured against his lips.
He shouldn’t have chuckled, but he couldn’t help it. After all, it’d been forever since he’d felt sweet or gentle. Let alone acted on such an impulse. “Then maybe I should stop pinning you to the floor and get you into bed where I can tend to your body.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I kind of liked the pinned-in-place part.” She wrapped her legs around his hips, cradled each side of his face and grinned. “And I’m only agreeing to a snuggle in bed if I get to see my mark first.”
So perfect. Everything he’d ever dreamed of in a mate and so much more. He nuzzled his nose alongside hers and gave her his vow. “Anything for you, Kateri. Anything and everything.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
As appealing settings went, the view in front of Priest was something off a Deep South postcard—an old, but well-kept white cottage house with green shutters set far back from the gravel road. A thick swath of willows and cypress trees laden with moss ran behind it. On the edges of the property, tall grass dotted by small white and gold flowers swayed on the breeze, the heavy, damp scent of the nearby bayou carried on it. The only other house they’d seen on the drive in was a blue single story in need of a paint job with three cars suited for the salvage yard parked in the drive, but this one was a thing of beauty. Peaceful. Homey. A downright welcoming sight on a lazy Saturday afternoon.
And he’d still never wanted to leave a place more.
From his place in the backseat of Priest’s Tahoe, Alek sat forward and leaned his forearms on the two front seats. “Isn’t this the right place?”
According to the number on the weathered white mailbox it was, but something wasn’t right. He just couldn’t put his finger on what it was.
“Priest?”
One word from his mate and a layer of his hesitation scattered, just the sound of her voice drawing him back to a grounded center. For the fifth time since they’d pulled in front of the property, Priest studied the road ahead of them, the field opposite Elise’s home, then twisted to check the stretch behind them. “Something’s off.”
Alek took the time to echo Priest’s survey of their surroundings, but the expression on his face said he wasn’t picking up on whatever had Priest tweaked.
“Off how?” Kateri said.
Damned if he knew. None of the scents coming through the open windows indicated a threat or anything suspicious, and every visual sweep assured him there was nothing to be uptight about, but the darkness inside him was restless. “Not a clue. It just feels like I’m missing something.”
“You want to backtrack and scope things out first?” Alek said.
Priest eyeballed the white Honda sedan and sporty electric-blue Nissan in the driveway. Both were older models and covered in a
thin layer of dust from the road, but otherwise in good shape. He shook his head. “I sense people inside. Better to do what we came here for while we can. Just stay sharp and be ready for anything.”
He parked and rounded the front of his truck for Kateri’s door, wishing like hell he’d given more consideration to bringing reinforcements. At the time, coming with fewer numbers had made the most sense—less of an overwhelming impression in an unknown situation. Now, he’d give a lot for Garrett’s experience and Tate’s muscle to back them up.
Like the shutters, the old wood-framed screen door was painted hunter green and shielded a white-washed door with a stained glass upper section with a host of wildlife in a forest setting. Priest rapped on the screen door’s edge and the sound ricocheted around the wide front porch.
Kateri sidled closer and lowered her voice. “You’re sure someone’s inside?”
“Two,” Alek answered from where he stood braced behind them. “Females.”
Glaring at her brother over her shoulder, Kateri grumbled, “I don’t even want to know how you know that.”
“It’s a wolf thing.”
“Or an arrogant brother thing.”
Before Alek could volley back with a smart-ass retort, the door opened just enough to show a woman who looked to be in her early to mid-forties.
Compared to Priest, Kateri and Alek, she was a tiny thing—five feet tall at most and that was probably pushing it. Once upon a time, her chin-length hair had likely been a deep chocolate, but with the amount of gray taking over, what color was left seemed washed out. Her eyes were startling, though, big and wide-set on a classically oval-shaped face and loaded with the wisdom of many hard years.
She scanned the three of them and offered an uncertain but welcoming smile. “Can I help you?”
“We’re looking for the Ralston family,” Priest said. “I think they once went by Rallion?”
Her expression blanked, but a wariness crept into her expressive eyes. “And you are?”
Unwinding his arm from around Kateri’s waist, Priest offered his hand. “I go by Priest, but where I grew up I went by Eerikki Rahandras.”
Her gaze dropped to the high priest medallion lying above his sternum and her lips parted on a near silent gasp. “Oh, my God. It’s you.” She covered her mouth as though the act might somehow pull the words back then realized he was still waiting for her to shake his hand. While small, the force of her grip was almost desperate. “I didn’t think...” She glanced over her shoulder to the small entryway behind her, then lowered her voice to a near whisper. “Are you here for Elise? I didn’t accept my quest, but my father assured me you’d help her when the time came. I just always thought you met them in the Otherworld. Is it time? I’ve been watching for signs, but she’s seemed fine.”
Behind Priest, Alek coughed and muttered, “Guess that answers that question.”
Priest ignored Alek and concentrated on Elise’s mom. “I do meet them in the Otherworld. And I help anyone who answers their quest, but it’s not Elise’s time yet. Not today, anyway. We’re here for something else.” Priest released her hand and motioned to Kateri beside him. “This is my mihara, Kateri, and her brother, Alek Falsen.”
She shook each of their hands, but kept her voice low and peppered each greeting with quick checks of the hallway behind her. “I’m Jenny Ralston. My family hasn’t gone by Rallion since I was a baby.” As she stepped away from Alek, her gaze locked onto the medallion around his neck and her lips curled in a shaky smile. “That’s the warrior medallion, isn’t it? I mean, I’m rusty on all the things my dad taught me but I think that’s the right one.”
“Alek is our warrior primo, yes.” Considering no one had yet to show behind her, Priest took a chance at getting them off the front porch. “I know we’re springing this on you, but would you mind if we talked to you and your daughter?”
The smile on her face slipped.
Kateri stiffened beside him. “Is something wrong?”
Jenny wiped one palm on her jean-clad hip and tried to cover her hesitation with an unconvincing laugh. She stepped onto the porch and shut the door behind her. “No. Not wrong. Just awkward.” She glanced behind her again. “Elise doesn’t believe in our clan, or our magic. My dad was the only one alive when Elise was born, but she was still too little to remember him shifting. Since I never accepted my gifts I can’t prove it.”
“She thinks you’re making it up?” Alek asked.
A rawness borne of deep pain flashed behind her hazel eyes. “Worse. She blames my insistence of our magic on why her dad and I aren’t together. I was young when I met Tommy. Stupid. He laughed at my story when I told him about my clan. Told me it was a bunch of nonsense.”
“You refused your quest because he didn’t believe you,” Priest finished for her. It wasn’t the first time a human had drawn a Volán off their path and it wouldn’t be the last. Priest just hated like hell it had happened to their healer line.
“I was in love with him. Wanted to spend my life with him.” She peeked at Priest with such regret he could almost feel the emotion himself. “It was the worst decision I’ve ever made in my life.”
“Where’s Tommy now?” Kateri said.
“He lives in Lafayette, but talks to Elise on a regular basis.” A warmth crept back into her eyes and her smile softened her features. “My daughter might not believe in magic, but she’s a classic Volán in her love for nature. No matter how many times Tommy’s tried to convince her to move closer to him, she won’t budge.”
“Would you be open to us talking to her?” Kateri offered. “You might not be able to prove our clan exists, but between the three of us, I’ll bet we can get the job done.”
For a second, Jenny considered it, then frowned and focused on Priest. “If you didn’t come for Elise’s soul quest, then why are you here?”
A tricky question he still hadn’t devised an answer for. At least not one that didn’t sound as far-fetched as a magical clan would likely sound to Elise. “How much of our history from your parents’ generation do you know?”
Her gaze slid to the side, unfocused as though she were trolling through long-buried memories. “That my family used to live somewhere in Colorado. They moved here when I was still a baby.” She trained her sights on him again. “Why?”
“Did your father ever tell you why he started going by a different last name? Or how your mother died?”
She shook her head. “He told me lots about Mom. How she was a healer and that her companion was a rare white falcon. But talking about her death was off-limits.” She shrugged, a little of the confused child she must have been growing up flashing to the surface. “Whatever took her hurt him, so I never pushed it.”
Great. And he’d thought being the one to tell her his brother was on the loose and gunning for the primo lines was a shit task to tackle. Now he got the honor of sharing her mom’s death, too. “Elise is home?”
Jenny nodded, but furrowed her brow in the process, a flicker of understanding settling in her gaze. “You know how my mother died, don’t you?”
Kateri moved in tight beside Priest and squeezed his biceps.
Priest let the silent encouragement sink deep and steeled himself for the minutes ahead. “I know how she died. More importantly, I know how she lived.” He nodded to the door. “If you’ll let me, I’ll share what I know along with what brought us here today.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Kateri knew that look. Had felt the roiling confusion and utter shock reflected on Elise’s face. That thick, insistent sludge that twisted and spun in your veins while years and years of everything you’d thought to be true got squarely turned on its head and shaken with the force of a major earthquake.
Jaw slack, Elise held absolutely still, her startled gaze locked on Alek’s gray wolf not ten feet away. Like her mother, she was petite, but her hair
was a sandy gold that spilled in soft waves to her shoulders. The wolf’s size alone would have held anyone firmly rooted in place, but paired with the bold garnet flash that came with his transition, the wolf’s proximity and the sheer intensity behind his amber gaze, even Katy was hesitant to move.
Two weeks since she’d been where Elise was now and so much had changed. An inauthentic life surrendered to truth and new possibilities. A sense of belonging beyond anything she’d ever imagined possible and a mate to call her own. One who shouldered the weight of his responsibilities and past decisions without letting the burden show.
She saw those burdens now, though. Saw the tension gripping his torso and his jawline as he stood beside Katy and gauged Elise’s response. Heard it in the carefully modulated tone of his voice as he’d shared their clan’s truth. Felt the throbbing ache of regret through their bond.
And he still hadn’t told them the ugly reality of why they were there.
Fisting her hands at her sides, Elise finally spoke, her voice a harsh rasp. “You weren’t making it up.”
“No, sweetheart.” A soft response from a mother who clearly not only ached for her daughter, but regretted unalterable choices made too young in life. Inching closer to her daughter, Jenny laid a tentative hand on Elise’s shoulder. “Our clan is real. Powerful and beautiful.”
“It’s your heritage,” Priest said. “One you’ll be given the choice to claim for your own, or surrender the way your mother did. No one will judge you if you choose to walk away, but I hope you’ll wait and make that decision after you learn more about us. More about your family and their role in our clan.”
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