by Ava Mason
“You okay, babe?”
He nodded, but his feelings were telling me something different.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just… I just had a weird dream.”
“What happened?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t really remember, except that it made me feel sad.”
I held him close, stroking the back of his hair with my fingers and he relaxed against me. His breath was warm on my neck and I clung to him, so conscious of Easton behind me and Avery in my arms. I was tucked tight into the middle and I never felt more cherished and guarded.
His eyes on me grew darker as his fingers ran down my side to my hips. He clung to my side, his breath growing shallow and I suddenly became more aware of the way Easton’s and my naked bodies pressed against Avery.
Suddenly Easton moved, sliding his hands from my stomach. I expected him to move away, to give Avery and I space or to go for a drink of water. Instead, he gripped my elbows and pressed them back, towards him. It caused my chest to press forward, giving Avery an eyeful. His voice was stern in my ear. “You’ve made him wait long enough, babe. He needs this now.”
Avery grabbed my chin and kissed me, forcing his tongue through my lips. I groaned as he claimed me with his mouth, clasping my jaw and stroking my tongue with his. I gave in to the kiss as I drowned in the fucking mixing of masculine scents that surrounded my senses. I wanted to scoot forward, to wrap my arms around Avery but Easton’s hold on my arms held me firm.
It was delicious, sweet torture, unable to move, unable to touch Avery’s skin as it wrapped around my body, his lips moving, traveling down, between my breasts to my stomach.
“Touch her, Avery.”
His hands came up to squeeze my breasts, then he flicked the tips of my nipples. I moaned, jerking my hips towards him, needing, wanting him so fucking bad.
“Yes, Avery.” My voice was a breath, betraying my desire. His teeth scraped my thigh as his hands clasped my hips, pressing and squeezing them tight.
Both Avery and Easton’s emotions moved through me and I drowned in their greed and lust, their fucking neediness, their yearning. Their fucking love and crushing rapture.
Avery’s hand skirted over my skin and Easton squirmed at my back, moving to allow Avery’s hands to squeeze my ass. My breasts were still pressed out into the air and Avery moved back up to suckle each tip. Easton’s breath was over my shoulder, causing goosebumps to trickle down my chest. His thick dick pressed at my ass, just begging to fill me.
“Please, Eastie.”
“Please what?”
“I need you.”
He growled. “Not now, babe.” He pressed into my arms tighter so that I opened myself more for Avery. “You need to eat her cunt, Avery. I took her earlier but we both showered afterwards. Take your seconds; it’s your fucking place until you earn the right to have her all to yourself.”
Avery jerked my legs apart and I was completely open and exposed before him.
His tongue swiped through my pussy lips.
I lay my head back on Easton’s chest, my moan loud in the room. The wetness of his mouth made me drip down my cunt. I wanted, needed more.
“That’s right, Avery. Taste that sweet nectar that you know will be yours, very soon.”
I wrapped my legs around Avery’s shoulders and ground myself into his face, feeling the heightening of my emotions, the building, the sharpness of the edge of my building orgasm. He inserted two fingers inside me and rammed them against my pussy. I cried out and he did it again. Easton’s dick was like a steel shaft against my ass, a fucking invitation to take both of them at once, but all I could do was grate my hips harder against Avery’s face and give in to the sensation of him eating me out.
Avery’s fingers moved in sync with his lips until my orgasm crashed over me. It took me hard and I came in shuddering waves, feeling the tightness in my stomach as it pulled against me. I lay my head against Easton’s chest, breathing heavily.
Then Avery licked up my body again until he met my lips. He held my face again in a kiss, forcing me to taste myself on his lips.
“Go to bed now, Avery, I’ll take her again tonight. You’ll get yours soon enough.”
Avery gripped the back of my neck, kissing me once more, then he pulled away smiling. I felt a twinge of guilt that he didn’t get the release he needed but Easton let go of my arms and flipped me on my stomach.
“He’ll be fine, Princess. Don’t you worry about that. Now open yourself for me, I need you again.”
He didn’t wait for me but he yanked my legs open, entering me from behind. Then he leaned over, grabbing my neck to yank it back to smother my neck with his lips.
“So fucking sexy.”
His other hand came around to slide up my stomach to my breast, squeezing it as he pounded me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging to it tight as he took me. Fucked me. Loved me, brutally and beautifully.
Then he came, and a wave of emotion washed over me, his feelings pounding into me just as strong and savage as his fuck.
Then we fell into the bed and he wrapped his hand around my chest, pressing tightly against my boobs. I leaned my head back to nibble at his chin and he smiled, his arm snaking around my neck to press my face into his.
“I fucking love it that you take it, babe. You are the only woman for me.”
I moaned against his mouth, feeling proud and strong. Feeling like I could be everything to every guy in my clan and loving that power. It was my right.
I wrapped my arms around him, growling out. “Mine.”
He chuckled. “Fucking yours, babe.”
Then he moved me to his side so that he could hold me tight. “Now go to sleep princess, and think of how Avery’s finally going to make everything straight, and then you will fuck him. And make the clan complete before we leave next week.”
I smiled as Easton settled into me, and our hot and sticky bodies clung together in the darkness and fell into a dreamless sleep with him by my side.
The deadline to leave was approaching fast, and plans were coming together. I felt pretty confident with our plans and any emergency procedures. But the closer we got to the date we were leaving, the more all my feelings and memories about what had happened before I left kept cropping up in my mind. I started having nightmares and flashbacks and it was causing me a lot of stress. I was also having a hard time keeping my mind in the game. My stomach rolled when I thought about seeing my old house and the pack.
“Lizzy.”
I snapped my head up to see Avery staring at me, a look of concern on his face. He’d been especially in tune with me lately, always seeming to be by my side whenever I was thinking about my home. Now, we were all sitting at the table in the kitchen and Easton was going over everything he’d discovered.
“Hmm?”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m not sure.” The twisting feeling was back in my stomach.
Sitting across from me, Easton scooted his chair forward. Then he leaned down to put his head on his fists, and stared up at me. “What’s going on?”
Hunter put his hand on my thigh. “Is it your parents? Going back to that?”
I blinked hard, trying not to cry but I couldn’t help the stinging sensation in my eyes. “Maybe.”
Reaching over, he pulled me out of the chair and into his lap. He ran his hand through my hair in a soothing motion. “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay to feel sad.”
I folded myself into his chest, unable to stop the tears streaming down my face. “I just miss them so much sometimes.”
“I know.” He leaned his head on mine and I cried into his chest. No one else spoke, but I felt their concern for me. And their helplessness. They didn’t know what they could do to help me.
But the truth was, there was nothing that could help me. I was going home to an empty house. My dad wouldn’t be there to tease me, or offer me chocolate. My mom wouldn’t make any more cakes, or lecture me on the
importance of keeping the pack happy.
“I’m sorry,” I took in a sucking breath, as sobs wrecked my body, and the table erupted in protests.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Easton’s voice came out a growl, as if he was angry that I was apologizing.
“Grieving the death of people we love doesn’t happen when we want it. It’s okay, Pink.” Christian rubbed my back.
“It never ends.” Avery’s voice cut through the others and I sat up.
“What?”
He fiddled with the table. “I’m sorry, Liz, but you’ll never get over the death of your parents.” He looked up now, his eyes meeting mine and I could see the pain in them. “Someone told me it’s like a suitcase that you inherit when they die. You have to carry it, every day. You can never leave it behind.” He shrugged. “And some days, it’s light. You laugh, you have fun.” Then his eyes darkened, and they looked sad again. “And some days, it’s heavy. You feel the pain in your chest, and it’s stifling and dark inside. It’s your burden to carry, but it’s also your privilege. Because if you’re still grieving them, even years after they die, then that means that they meant something to you.”
His eyes moved to Hunter, who was nodding, agreeing, and I wondered if it was Hunter who had told him that.
I wiped at my eyes. “I thought it was just me.”
Hunter shook his head, clinging tighter to me but Avery stood up. “I think we can finish this later, Easton?”
Easton nodded and Avery walked over to me and put out his hand. I took it and he pulled me up. “Come on. There’s something I need to show you.”
The guys didn’t react, except to watch Avery closely. I noticed his hand was shaking and I clung to it tightly. Easton stood up and walked to the table by the door. He grabbed his keys. “Here,” he held them out to us, “take my car.”
“Thanks, man.” Avery took it, and Easton squeezed his arm lightly. Then we walked out the door.
4
It took us a while to get there but neither of us felt the need to talk. Avery was lost in a world of his own and I couldn’t stop the thoughts that ran through my mind. My worry for my pack, the way my mom’s blood had pooled on our wooden floor, the worry that my pack had moved on without me. Would they even need me anymore?
Avery’s shoulders were bunched up like he was taking the world on and he gripped the steering wheel tight. I grabbed his hand and played with his fingers, trying to get him to loosen up. He relaxed a little bit and I kissed his cheek.
Finally, we pulled up to the gates of a huge mansion. My mouth dropped as Avery stopped, putting the car in neutral. “Grab the keycard from the glove compartment.”
Leaning forward, I shuffled through the maintenance manuals and oil change receipts until I found the white keycard. I gave it to him and he rolled down the window. It beeped and the gates rolled open, and I stared at the mansion as we pulled in.
It was even bigger than Sophia’s house, with a gilded dome roof and spread out to show off its spacious building.
Avery stopped the car and I looked at him, surprised that he wasn’t going all the way up to the front door. “Ostentatious, isn’t it?” He was looking up at the house.
I shrugged. “It’s okay. A little too tacky for my taste, but I can see why someone would want to live here.” I looked at how far it spread out. “Seems like it would be large enough for a huge clan.” I winked. “Maybe we could all live here, once I have a million of your babies.”
He grinned, then leaned over to give me a gentle kiss. “Except that the team stayed here with Sophia before I joined.”
I jerked my head back. “Suddenly, I hate the place.”
He laughed. “I agree.”
He got out and opened my door. I turned towards the place but he took my hand and began to pull me towards the large brick fence surrounding the property. The ivy blossomed, snaking up and over the brick wall, and its bright green was a beautiful contrast to the red brick. He found an iron door that was also controlled by the same keycard and it slammed behind us as we found ourselves on the road again. The wind blew lightly, gently moving the bottom of my summer dress and making it skirt across my thighs, tickling them.
I followed him down the street and he took my hand again. “Did you know that Hunter didn’t cry about his parents’ death until two years after they died?”
Wow. I stared at him, eyes wide. “Really?”
He nodded, giving me a tight smile. “He said he had to be strong for Riley. Plus, everyone at his parents’ company was watching him and the media was constantly taking pictures of him when he went out. They were even caught trying to break into the funeral and later on, into his house. It was said that anyone who could catch a picture of him crying would earn over two hundred and fifty grand for the picture.”
“Holy shit. Those people have no respect.”
He shook his head. “But no one ever got paid that. He kept it all in, putting everything into keeping his identity a secret since the killer was from one of his missions. He participated in the company more and spent a lot of time with Riley. Once the shitstorm died down, he channeled his anger into finding the killer.”
“He found him, right?”
“Yeah. Shot him through the head.”
I noticed that the further down the street we got, the tighter his grip on my hand got.
“And what happened?”
Avery shrugged. “Technically the guy was still wanted, but since the Authority hadn’t sanctioned it, he could’ve gotten in serious trouble. But Sophia got him out of it. Falsified documents that showed she’d sent him on the mission.”
“Wow.” I thought about that as we walked, noticing that we were beginning to slow down. “Was it worth it?”
“I don’t know.” Avery stopped, we were at the corner now. “You’ll have to ask him. But I do know that with certainty, he didn’t shed a tear for his parents until two years later.”
“And what made him give in?” I had a feeling that this was important.
He looked into my eyes, and I could see the fear in them, feel it radiating from him. “It was the day that he went to the hospital.” His hand on mine was really tight now. “The day that he saw me, right after Mia died.” He didn’t speak for a moment and his face was tight. “He said it broke something in him, seeing me upset like that.”
I traced my hand across his cheek, catching a tear. He turned away, turning left and pulling me up the street and I waited for him to speak again. He was playing with my hand, trying to breathe evenly. He wouldn’t look at me, but glanced toward the houses across from us. He suddenly stopped and when he finally looked at me, I saw that his cheeks were wet. “We used to live there. Mia and me.”
He pointed to a small, dark blue craftsman house, with a white wraparound porch and a swing tied to the tree out front.
“This was where it happened. Maybe about five more meters up.” He nodded his head up the street. “I haven’t been here since. I sold the house without even packing up our stuff. Hunter and Riley and everyone did it all for me.”
He suddenly turned and stared up the street, his breath heaving. “We just went for a walk. I remember the weather was so beautiful that day. We just wanted to enjoy the sun.” He paused, trying to speak through the catch in his voice. “Hunter and them were setting up at that stupid house, and they heard the fight. They came to help.” He finally looked into my eyes and I couldn’t look away. His eyes were red and tears rushed down his face. His guilt and anguish pulsed into me, crushing me. We clung to each other, trying to keep on our feet even though the pain was so heavy. His face crumpled. “There were so many of them, the wolves. We were just out for a walk and they attacked her, without warning. They were targeting pregnant, pure-blood dragon females. It was so sudden, out of nowhere they were attacking. And I couldn’t keep them off her. I tried to shift but I couldn’t move her, and she was in too much shock, she couldn’t shift.” His tears turned into sobs and his knees buckled,
taking me with him to the ground. I held him as his sobs wrecked his body. Images flashed through my mind of wolf teeth tearing into her flesh, of Mia’s body being torn from his arms. Of Hunter and Easton fighting the wolves around them, their wolf tails painted red. Of Avery flying through the air, clutching Mia in his arms, and white coats splashed with red surrounding her in the hospital. “I couldn’t stop them. I couldn’t save her.”
I didn’t know what to say. I felt so fucking helpless. I wanted to just pull all the pain from his chest and replace it with only happiness and love. But I couldn’t do that to him, take his experiences from him. And I also couldn’t stop the tears that now flowed down my face or the snot that dripped from my nose.
I just held him, rocking him, taking in his pain and utter heartbreak into me, using my Alpha powers to steady me. Taking in his utter loss and pain.
I held him, feeling so fucking lucky that he was sharing this with me. That he trusted me enough to bring me to face his past for the first time. We both knew that there was a chance we weren’t coming back for a long time, and he wanted to face his demons, to say goodbye one more time, before we left.
I held him as his pain and mine own mixed together, and we both cried together, each sharing in the other’s loss. And I knew that he’d done it for me. To show me that he did trust me. And to show me that he understood my pain, too. And then we both cried until we had no more tears left to shed.
I thought about his life, and everything he’d been through. How his pain had only made him stronger.
And even though I would never wish something like that on him, I was glad that at least it had brought him to the team. That Hunter had sought him out, brought him into the team… to me.
The day grew old and the sun set, and we both watched it go down behind the mountains, and then he turned to me, his eyes still red. He wiped the leftover tears from my eyes.
“I love you, Lizzy.”
I leaned into him and he put his arms around me, surrounding me with his love. This whole time, I’d felt alone in my grief. Even dumb, like it was shameful to feel so sad sometimes. But now I realized that I wasn’t alone in this. That it was okay to have bad days. And, even though it didn’t make the pain any less, at least I was feeling something. And I knew that both Hunter and Avery could understand me, if I ever needed to talk about it. “I love you, too.”