by Sabrina Rue
“Excellent. I’m glad to hear it.” Harmony winked.
“You are?”
The Alpha stood and said, “Let’s take a walk.”
Leaving the house, they walked several hundred yards to a large metal enclosure that had been erected weeks earlier.
At the heavy main door, Harmony nodded at the unfamiliar Were who stood guard. He opened it without a word and they passed him.
Standing just inside a sort of foyer beyond the main door, there was another massive door of iron manned by another Were. His hair was a strange mix of gold and red. His eyes were the same colors.
“Alpha!” The Were pulled himself to sharp attention. His gaze landed on Desiree. “Ma’am.”
“Hello, Steele. This is my Second, Desiree Blackwell. Ryker’s sister.”
“Understood. A pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”
Harmony explained, “Steele is one of the males who returned with us from Montana. He’s proven to be a valuable addition to Texas Pack.”
Desiree nodded. A rogue Were. “Nice to meet you, Steele.”
Clasping her hands behind her back, Harmony asked, “How are our guests today, Steele?”
“Quiet, ma’am.”
“Hmm. Are you sure?” she asked with a smile.
“I-I…” He sighed. “I brought a few movies in. They looked bored.”
Their Alpha laughed warmly. “You’re one of the sweetest and gentlest Were males I’ve ever met, Steele. Have you spoken to my niece yet?”
Inhaling slowly, the guard shook his head.
Harmony walked close to him and stared up into his face. “She’s just a little girl. Nothing to be afraid of, soldier.”
The frown on his face changed to an expression of surprise. “Ma’am! I don’t fear young Juliette. No, it’s nothing like that. I simply worry about what she’ll tell me. I’ve had a bad feeling for two decades now, Alpha. I’d rather not have it confirmed.”
“I see. Then you’ll talk to her when your curiosity gets the best of you. In your own time.” She smiled. “Even if you receive bad news, I like to work from a place of knowing rather than uncertainty.”
The huge Were nodded slowly. “You’re right, ma’am. I’ll consider your words and determine if I have the courage to hear it.”
“Excellent. Now, I’m going to take Desiree inside but I’d like you to explain the special construction of the holding cells. I’m certain her Mate will ask.”
“Yes, Alpha. Miss Desiree, the building is constructed of melted iron and concrete, poured into solid forms. The foundation was created from slabs of iron over iron bars that was then covered in concrete.”
“To mute Daemon power inside.”
“Yes, ma’am. Every surface is coated in paint mixed with finely ground iron. The ceiling supports are two-inch iron bars. The outside is indistinguishable from the air. It’s painted to blend into the landscape around it.”
“Just in case they explore the area in flight.” Steele nodded. “You sound like you’re well-versed in the construction of such a place.”
“Gregor recruited me from one of the rogue settlements. We’d created bunkers in this way to protect us from Purists. He had me build a similar enclosure for Juliette.” His expression contorted to one of pain. “I was told it was to be used to protect women and children in case of an attack. It was really to be able to transport her if the Kassis siblings ever attacked his compound.”
Harmony chuckled. “Only Juliette and Justice aren’t weakened by iron. Their Were natures cancel out the intolerance.”
“Really? So we can bring them inside to help…”
“Eventually, yes.”
“Gregor was truly frightened of Juliette. I’m glad. She’s a fierce and intelligent girl who could have easily bested him if given an opportunity.” Desiree grinned. “You built this structure?”
“When Alpha Harmony explained her desire to rehabilitate the Daemons she’d captured and her wish to capture others for the same purpose, I felt she was viewing the problem differently than all who came before her. I was glad to help.”
“This is incredible.” Smiling at Harmony, she added, “How is the rehabilitation going?”
“Fantastic. The female stopped spitting at me and the male has finally stopped describing my mother’s sexual relations with my father as fucking the family pet. Once we got them to eat, they healed and moving them to more comfortable accommodations settled them down more than I thought possible.”
“May I meet them?”
“Open it up, Steele.”
Dragging back a door that would have been impossible for a human to budge, they crossed the threshold to the prisoner holding area.
It was set up much like the chambers females of their Pack used during their Heats. Six rooms on each side of a long hall. Each cell had its’ own bathroom for privacy.
“There’s iron covering every surface around the cells but there’s no iron inside. Even light exposure can lead to terrible burns. Alpha Harmony was explicit in her instructions to make the spaces as comfortable as possible while remaining secure.”
“I’m glad,” Desiree replied. “No one should ever be tortured.”
The Daemons Harmony had single-handedly defeated were housed in the cells furthest from the door. They were standing when their threesome approached.
As was usual, the captives were stunningly beautiful examples of Daemon kind. The woman’s hair was dark blonde, her eyes were a deep brown. The male’s hair was black, his eyes a blue so light it was almost clear.
“Good morning, my little rays of sunshine.”
“The bitch is back,” the female Daemon muttered.
“She brought a bitch friend,” the male added.
Desiree couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing. Her hand on Harmony’s shoulder, she laughed until tears ran down her cheeks.
Taking several deep breaths, she straightened and wiped her face. Fanning her skin, she released another giggle. “Sorry. Okay.”
Harmony grinned. “Introduce yourself, Desiree.”
“Gladly. My name is Desiree Blackwell. My brother is Alpha of Texas Pack.” She paused and as they opened their mouths to tell her how much they didn’t care, she added, “Lord Titus is my Mate.”
Both Daemons stumbled back from the bars.
“Impossible!” the woman shouted.
The man told her through gritted teeth, “You lie!”
“I’m certain you can smell him on me even though we haven’t had a chance to complete our Mating.” Their expressions were filled with shock. “He was captured by three dozen Purists and tortured for ten days until I could get to him.”
The female whispered, “Lord Titus was…tortured?”
“It’s against every law of our people,” the male uttered in disbelief.
Harmony nodded seriously. “Hmm. It seems they discovered Titus had found his Mate and she was a full-blood Were. They decided to torture and kill him for daring to have a non-Daemon Mate.”
“It’s a lie. It cannot be. I don’t believe it.”
Desiree walked close to the cell and held out her hand. “I’m a Were empath. Would you like to see the rescue mission?”
The male Daemon stared at her hand and back at her face. “It’s a trick.”
“Ridiculous,” Desiree hissed. “See if anyone is familiar to you. Watch the mission to take back my Mate. Don’t be a coward.”
His growl made Steele step closer to the bars.
Desiree smiled. “I’m a Were of only twenty. My life has revolved around Were kind and Texas Pack since I was a child. How would I know your people? How would I know of Daemon kind? Even if I knew one or two, which I didn’t until recently, how would I know dozens? Take my hand and see for yourself.”
The male carefully put his hand between the bars and took her hand. She sent him several minutes of saving Titus as well as a couple of minutes of him being treated by Drake.
Releasing her abruptly, he stumbled back, sway
ed, and fell to one knee. “No. They would not cross such a line. They wouldn’t torture a member of the royal family.”
“It’s a trick, isn’t it?” the female prisoner yelled.
He took several deep breaths. “No trick. Take her hand.”
“I won’t touch her filthy…”
“Take the Were’s hand!” he roared. The sound echoed painfully. “Do it or cease speaking to me from this moment forward!”
Angry, the female put her hand through the bars, seething with rage. Desiree approached her and took it.
Several minutes later, the Daemon jerked her hand inside the bars of her cell and raced to the small bathroom. The sound of retching was loud in the silence.
Their captives sat on the edges of their beds.
Desiree looked back and forth between them. “If you found your Mate right now, if that man or woman stood here beside me…and happened to be a being that was not of Daemon kind…would you kill them?”
The woman whimpered and the male inhaled sharply.
“I want you to think carefully about your answer and I’ll return to speak with you again. I wonder how your Mates would answer.”
Desiree turned to go and added, “Daemon kind don’t have Shamans. Were kind do. Titus and I believe we’ve found a way to locate Daemon Mates. Hopefully, you haven’t already killed yours.”
The Daemons rushed to the bars to watch her walk toward the exit.
“What do you mean?” the woman shouted.
The man cried out, “It’s impossible to locate Daemon Mates!”
“Strange. How do you think Titus found me?” Desiree left the building and lifted her face into the bright sunlight. She could feel Harmony beside her. “You’re right. We can rehabilitate them.”
“We sure as fuck can.”
“I need to check on Titus. When he’s strong enough, I’m going to ask him to take me to his home. The sooner we’re fully Mated, the faster he’ll heal. Drake confirmed that. I want him safe and I want enough of his blood to kill me if I lose him.”
“Desiree…”
“No. This is my choice. I hope you can respect that, Alpha.”
Harmony sighed. “Yeah. I really do.”
“Thanks.” Desiree walked back to the house.
Titus was rising from the bed when she entered her bedroom. She opened her mouth to greet him but didn’t get the chance.
Her Mate transitioned to her, spun her in his arms, and took her from the dimension where her family and Pack existed.
It seemed he was tired of waiting as well.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Desiree’s feet touched solid ground and she wanted to open her eyes to examine her surroundings but she didn’t. It had been far too long since she’d felt her Mate’s lips on hers outside of a dream state.
His flesh was still healing so she was careful about how she touched him, held him. Titus didn’t have the same hesitation. He picked her up to hold as much of her against him as he could.
Carefully wrapping herself around him, she leaned back to stare into his bright silver eyes. “Titus, I don’t…”
“I’m alright, Desiree. I’m healing faster than anyone believed possible. You gave me more blood than you could afford to lose, Mate.”
“The twins…”
“Drake told me.” Reaching up, he stroked her hair back from her face. “He and Killian confirmed you would have let me drain you. That you almost did so twice until the children arrived to help protect you.”
Holding his cheeks, she brushed her thumbs beneath his eyes. “My life means little now without your presence, Titus.” Inhaling carefully, she explained, “My mother has been without her Mates for years now. There are days she wants to die but she continues on for the sake of the children she bore my Father and Tin.”
“You read her?”
“She doesn’t know. She doesn’t block me when she sleeps. Whenever I’ve been ill or hurt, she’s slept beside me. I wanted to know why she sometimes wept when she was alone. Even absorbing her thoughts and emotions, it was nothing compared to feeling it with my own Mate. Should I lose you, I won’t care about being strong.”
He frowned. “Desiree, Weres don’t…”
“Perhaps most Weres don’t. I’m not like others of my kind. As an empath, I feel the emotions of others deeply, to the center of myself. My own emotions are violent in comparison. Destructive, even.”
Pressing his palm to her neck, he accessed her emotional state during his rescue and she let him.
Eyes wide, his fingers tightened at her nape. “Desiree.”
“When you’re healed, I’ll consume enough of your blood to ensure I follow you into death if you’re taken from me. It’s my right to remain with my Mate. No matter where the journey takes us.”
“If we have children…”
“Our families will guard them, teach them, love them in our absence. Our children will know and understand my choice.” She shook her head slowly. “You are mine and I am yours. For ten millennia, you ached for me, searched for me. In this world or another, you’ll have another ten thousand years to know the wait was worth it.”
Blinking against tears that made the silver of his eyes shimmer, he whispered, “It was worth it, Mate. You’re worth every second.”
Slipping her fingers into his hair, she kissed his lips lightly. “I endured three Heats alone. My body is as strong as I can make it. The rest of my strength will have to come from you. Waiting a year is impossible, Titus. I need you now.”
With a nod, he carried her across a great hall with marble floors and high ceilings that featured a spectacular mural. Up a wide set of stairs to a second floor, then a third.
“Your only tour will have to be as I carry you to our bedroom. Not transitioning us to bed fully naked is the extent of my restraint.”
She laughed and his arms tightened around her.
Tall carved doors opened as they approached and she gasped as they crossed the threshold. The view through the wall of windows opposite the massive bed in the center of the room was mesmerizing. Snow-capped mountains covered in ancient trees dominated the horizon.
“Where are we?”
“The Daemon dimension is layered over the human realm. The topography is identical but represents a time before humans spread around the globe. This is what Norway looked like thousands of years ago, when we realized we needed a place separate from mankind. Some areas of the country in your dimension still resemble this.”
“It’s beautiful.” Her voice was filled with awe she couldn’t restrain.
“No, Mate. It’s nothing in comparison to seeing you here, in this room, to take it in at last at my side.”
Pulling her eyes from the view, she smiled. “Thank you, Titus.” His body vibrated with tension. “You know, I’m not like human virgins. Weres are exposed to sexual situations early and often.”
In a low growl, he said, “I don’t want to…”
Fingers over his lips, she murmured, “You won’t scare me or hurt me. I give all of myself to you gladly.”
The turn he made was almost too fast for Desiree to detect.
In the center of the enormous bed, fully naked together at last, she stared up into his face with a smile. The necklace he’d given her was the only item remaining on her body.
It was fitting that she wear it.
The underside of his cock was impossibly hot against her sensitive folds. Hard as stone and yet softer than she imagined he would be.
Trailing her palms over his upper body, she fought tears as she inspected the remaining injuries on his skin. She lifted her head and pressed a kiss to one of the worst stripes across his chest. The outline of the iron chain used to beat him was still visible.
What he’d endured would have killed a human. Even a Were would likely not have survived.
Across his chest and shoulders, she planted kisses on a body healing from brutal torture. She didn’t realize she was crying until he smoothed away her tears.
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“Don’t think of it, Desiree.”
“When you’re better, perhaps I can set it back from my conscious mind.” She shook her head. “Not yet, Mate. It’s still too fresh, too horrific. I almost lost you.” Raising her face, she whispered, “Kiss me, Titus. Remind me that we’re still alive to love each other.”
Powerful arms held her sealed to him as he claimed her mouth. She breathed him in, let him settle at the core of her, and tightened her hold on him as well.
Her body trembled as he moved his hips lightly against her. She could feel the slickness ease from her pussy, the heat of her entire body rising.
“I don’t want to wait. Take what belongs to you, Mate.”
His lips coasted along her jaw and down her neck. “Your first time should be everything you’ve ever dreamed it would be.”
“Your body inside mine, Titus. I’ve never thought much beyond that.” She sighed as a hot palm cupped her breast. “Please give me everything and go slow later. Don’t make me wait. Give me all of it.”
“My greedy little Wolf.”
Gripping his ass with her legs, she moved her hips on him. “Yes. I’m wet and you’re hard…a match made in heaven.” She lifted his face and knew he could see and hear her Wolf. “Fuck me now. Make love to me later.”
“Relinquish…”
Her smile was slow. “My Wolf isn’t in control, Titus. It’s your Mate, your Desiree, who begs you to fuck her.”
Canines glinting as they extended fully, his silver eyes went brighter. “I’ll hurt you in my desperation.”
“I’ve heard a little bit of pain is a good thing.” A sharp growl escaped his control. “Show me. Show me all of it, Titus. Only you can teach me what our bodies can do together. Don’t make me wait.”
There was a slight prick of his claws where he gripped her ass.
“You’ve waited long enough, love. Let me feel you.” She rocked her slick flesh against the underside of his cock. “Fill me up with what I need and let’s see if your fantasies were accurate.”
He braced her hip and dragged himself back and forth along her clit. “I’ve dreamed of driving myself into you until you scream for me.”