“Stop!” I command before I place Peyton on her feet and rise from my seat. “Think before you speak, Slade. You are not in charge here. You are not even a true Alpha, but someone sitting in another man’s chair. You and I will not sort this out with words if you insult my moon again. You are not welcome here, Slade. If you leave now, there will be no further problems,” I say to him, standing proudly beside my mate.
“No. I will not leave until I get what I came for—your bitch. I will have what I am owed!”
Blind rage sweeps over me as I fall on Slade. My fists drive into his face over and over again. Blood leaks from his split lip and broken nose, every hit causing more blood to splatter on my clothes and face. I pummel him until my arms are heavy and I feel like I have just run a marathon. My arms are so overworked from the exertion that I struggle to lift them.
I stand to move off Slade, thinking that the beating I have given him will be enough to keep him down. Glaring at his prone body, I spit on the ground in disgust. As I’m about to turn away, I watch him roll to his stomach and start to shift. Greed and power are great motivators and are enough to push him to do unimaginable things. The shift is painful if you are already injured, but after the shift, half of your injuries will be healed by the shifter magic. As quickly as he shifts, so do I.
My wolf is ready to tear Slade and his wolf apart. My wolf watches his intently. Grey, with flat brown eyes, his wolf is just as unimpressive as he is. Circling around him, my wolf and I are both more than happy to take this fucker out. He wants what is ours. He wants to take our mate and our pack away from us, and we cannot allow it. Slade’s wolf launches at me. Our wolves clash, and even though Slade claims to be an Alpha, his wolf is much smaller than mine.
Teeth gnash and claws tear. The smell of blood fills my senses, and a metallic taste floods my mouth. Ripping skin, tearing muscle from bone. After this is over I will be on the mend for a couple of days, but I know my moon will be by my side, nursing me back to health.
We dance around each other, each going in for hits when the opportunity presents itself. Pain radiates from every inch of my being, but I will not lie down and die. My wolf pushes me to give everything to ensure her safety. To ensure the safety of our pack. We would rather die fighting than give up.
My wolf sees an opening and goes for Slade’s back leg, ripping it from its socket. The popping sound can be heard by everyone in attendance. Slade’s wolf howls in pain before trying to bite at my wolf’s neck. My wolf sees the attack coming and grabs Slade’s wolf by the bottom of his jaw. He closes his muzzle and starts to shake, dislocating Slade’s jaw in the process.
Slade’s wolf falls to the floor, keening in pain. My wolf walks around his prone form before deciding that we have hurt him enough, that he is no longer a threat. The shimmer of the change flows over Slade’s form, and as he changes back to his human form, so do I.
I glare around the gathering, waiting for someone else to challenge me. There are faces that carry looks of worry, some fear, but most of the pack looks proud. Pride in their Alpha for standing up and defending his mate, his pack, his family. When no one emerges from the gathered pack members, I feel myself relax. Slade will leave with his tail between his legs, taking Sara with him.
Moving away from Slade, I search the gathering for my moon. She isn’t standing beside the chair we were seated in, waiting for me to return to her. I am covered in blood, and just a moment ago I was so tired I didn’t even think I could speak. But as I watch Sara pull my love away, adrenaline rushes through my system. I have to get to her. I have to protect her, but I can’t do it.
Pain slashes through the middle of my back. I should have killed Slade when I had the chance. My knees give out, and before everything goes black, I hear my mate scream. It is the most painful thing I have ever experienced in my life.
Chapter Fourteen
Peyton
I watch as Caine moves off Slade’s prone body. He looks toward me before smiling. It is the last moment of peace and calm before all hell breaks loose.
Sara grabs me by the hair, pulling me back away from the scene in front of me.
“You bitch. Why couldn’t you just let me have Caine? He was mine from the start and you stole him.” Her gaze darts around us. “Now he’s going to die and it’s all your fault.”
“Let go of me,” I snarl at her.
“No,” she replies. “Slade says when Caine dies, all the Alpha power will revert to you. He will mate you for the power, and then he’ll kill you too. I will be Slade’s mate, the mate to a true Alpha.”
The craziness that swirls in her eyes tells me that she really believes everything she is saying. I want to try to talk her out of this insane plan, make her see the truth, but I don’t have any time as Calum walks up behind her and snaps her neck.
There is no remorse in his gaze. He extends a hand to help me up off the floor where I fell, leading me back toward Caine. In the next instant, I know that something is horribly wrong as I watch him collapse before my eyes. As Caine slumps to the ground, Slade stands behind him, holding a knife he had just plunged into Caine’s back.
“No!” My cry reaches the heavens. My vision turns red, and my shift overtakes me so violently there was never a chance to stop it. My wolf howls out at the moon, her pain palpable. She lunges and clamps her jaws around Slade’s jugular before ripping it out. His body falls to the floor with a loud thump.
The silence is deafening as my wolf makes her way back toward Caine. She drapes her form across him and lies there silently, both our hearts breaking.
“Lets us take him,” Calum says, and anger consumes us both. Her hackles raise and she bares her teeth at him.
“Quiet, Peyton,” Xavia murmurs as she touches my wolf. “No one will harm him, but let us care for him.”
Chapter Fifteen
Caine
My eyelids are heavy, and I struggle to open my eyes. The world feels so far away, and I struggle to break my way through. Pain hits me before anything else, and I am jolted back to the world. My memory returns just as swiftly. Slade. Him stabbing me.
Peyton!
Where is my moon? Sitting up quickly, I feel the pain in my side radiate throughout my body. I pull in a sharp breath. Calum pushes me down before he steps back quickly, a growl filling the room.
“Sorry.” He holds up his hands, glancing toward the door. “He was trying to get up. If I let him, he would have pulled his stitches.”
My moon pads into the room, in her wolf form, and jumps up on the bed beside me, resting her large, white head on my lap. Lifting my hand, I caress her muzzle as she whines.
“How long?” I croak out.
Calum looks to Peyton before he returns his gaze to me and answers.
“Three weeks. She won’t change back. She won’t let anyone in here accept me and Xavia. She bit one of my men on the leg last week because he came up the stairs.”
Calum appears to be at his wit’s end, and a laugh bursts forth from me. I have to cut it short because of the pain, and Peyton’s wolf whines again.
“I’m fine.” I lay my hand on her head. “But I need you to come back to me. Calum, leave us so my moon can take her natural form.” Calum turns to me, clearly intending to say something. “I’m fine, but you won’t be if you see my mate naked.”
Calum chuckles as he leaves the room, and Peyton climbs down from the bed. The shift overtakes her, and in moments she stands naked before me. I open my arms to her, and she gingerly climbs into the bed beside me. She lies in my arms before her body starts shaking as she breaks down in tears.
I don’t speak, or try to reassure her, just hold her to me and kiss the crown of her head softly, silently offering comfort. Eventually, she starts to calm down.
“I thought I lost you,” she whispers in my ear.
“Never,” I whisper back before I kiss her lips and hold her tightly against me.
****
One week later
Thank God for shifter h
ealing. My body has finally recovered, and I couldn’t be happier. Peyton has been driving me insane. All I want to do is claim her, remind her that we are both still alive and healthy, but she insists that I’m not healed yet.
Every night I go to bed beside her, I can hold her, but she won’t let me touch her in any sexual way. And the nights are the worst. After the first two nights, her nightmares stopped, but now she has dreams. She whines my name in her sleep and writhes in our bed. I know what she dreams about. She dreams of me between those beautiful, creamy thighs. I can smell her arousal, and it’s driving me up the fucking walls.
As a male, it’s my job to satisfy her, keep her happy, make sure she is loved. And at the moment she isn’t allowing me to be the mate I promised her, the mate I want to be for her. But today that changes.
“Calum!”
A moment later, Calum comes into my study. Every time Peyton leaves the house she makes sure people are watching me. I understand that she was terrified, but the danger has passed and she needs to let me live in peace. Before Calum can speak I cut him off, holding a hand in the air.
“Find Peyton and bring her to me. Then you and your men can get the fuck out of my house. I don’t want to be disturbed for the next two days.”
Calum nods and leaves, moving to fulfill my wishes. Sitting behind my desk, I wait as patiently as I can. After ten of the longest minutes of my life, Peyton enters my office and, in the distance, I hear Calum and his men leave. Peyton stares at me, waiting to hear why I have summoned her. Rising from my seat, I move toward her, cup her face in my hands, and kiss her with everything inside me. For a moment she kisses me back, and I think that I have finally worn her down when she pulls away.
“I’m sorry, Caine, but we can’t. You almost died. We need to wait until you are completely healthy.”
She turns to walk away, placing her hand on the doorknob, opening it. But my hands cage her in and push the door closed. I flick the lock and press her against the door firmly, using my body.
“Caine.” Her voice is strangled. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Pushing her hair from her shoulder as I keep her pinned against the door, I run my lips along the column of her neck, breathing her in deeply.
“I’m healed, my moon. I am not in pain anymore. Except for my cock, which craves the relief of my mate.” I thrust my cock against her ass, pulling a wanton moan from her. “I can’t take it anymore. You call my name in your sleep when you dream of me. I can smell your heat, your wetness, your arousal.”
“But what if…”
My hand moves beneath her pink skirt toward her ass, only to find she isn’t wearing any panties. Pre-cum runs down the length of my shaft, my cock harder than iron.
“Fuck,” I whisper in her ear as I grind my cock into her ass yet again. Slowly I slip a finger between her pussy lips and feel her wetness. She is drenched. Her pussy is slick with her need and hotter than I remember. My cock pulses in my pants, and I fear I might come just from touching her.
“Peyton. My moon. Let me in. Let me remind you who you belong to. I want to fill this tight little pussy with my cock until you scream loud enough that everyone in our pack is reminded of who you belong to.”
“Yes,” she hisses as I penetrate her cunt with first one, then two fingers.
Swiftly I turn her around and drape her over the couch that stands before the window. I push her skirt up, showing her beautiful ass. My fingers continue to fuck in and out of her as she begs for more. The sounds of her wetness are obscene, and the smell of her arousal fills the room, only ramping me up more.
Lowering myself to my knees, I remove my fingers from her juicy cunt and replace them with my tongue. The taste of her coats my tongue and drives me wilder. I eat her pussy like I may never have the chance to do it again. My left hand caresses her ass before my wet fingers dip between her cheeks and start playing with the rosette of her asshole. My mate does not disappoint or shy away from me but instead pushes out, allowing me to slip my finger into her.
My other hand opens my pants and pulls my aching cock from its confines. I squeeze my length violently, trying to stave off the orgasm that’s building. My tongue spears into her pussy as my finger works her ass when I feel the first stirrings of her orgasm. Her orgasm shakes her as my tongue continues to fuck her pussy and my finger fills her ass.
As the last of her pleasure ebbs, her knees start to wobble and I rise from the ground. I remove my finger from her ass, put my cock to her pussy, and plunge into her. Her scream of passion echoes off the walls, and I become more beast than man as I rut into her, bent over a couch in my office. The blinds are open, and anyone could walk past and see us fucking, which only serves to arouse me even more.
My hands leave her hips and grab her shirt. In the slight reflection of the window, I can see us as I rip her shirt down the middle. Pulling the cups of her bra down, I expose her breasts for my viewing pleasure before I return my hands to her hips.
Holding her still, I fuck into her with everything I have. I know my grasp is too tight and will leave bruises, but it’s impossible to let go. Her screams fill the air as another orgasm sweeps through her, her pussy strangling me with every clench. My strokes cause her breasts to shake, sweat covering both of us, my beautiful moon standing on the tips of her toes. My orgasm is so powerful it steals the breath from my lungs and the strength from my legs.
Collapsing to the carpet in my office, I take my mate with me. For long hours we make love and fuck and rut on the floor before finally moving to our room, where we remain for the next two days.
Epilogue
Calum
I watch from a distance, careful not to get any closer. She moves from her house to the forest behind her home. Talon. I have never seen a more beautiful woman in all my days. The problem is, I shouldn’t be watching her. I shouldn’t be anywhere near her. Talon is mated to another man.
Their previous Alpha, Slade, forced members of his pack to mate depending on their compatibility. He also forced women into matings because it was what his lieutenants wanted.
I don’t know if she loves her mate, if she was forced into this mating, or if she hates it as much as I do. But I can tell you that every time I’m near her, it takes everything in me not to drag her away from him. I am so wound up that every time I’m near her, I feel my wolf just beneath the surface, ready to claim his mate and massacre whoever gets in his way.
But today I have had enough. I heard the way her mate, Parker, speaks to her. He demeans her and puts her down. He doesn’t appreciate the wonder that he has in his mate. So instead of doing what I know I should—and I know I should walk away from her—I follow her into the forest.
She is ahead of me, moving at a brisk pace. But even if she started running I would find her. Her scent clings to the air and fills my nostrils. I know where she is at all times, even when I don’t want to. I follow her deeper between the trees, waiting to see where she’s headed. Her scent is around me, flooding my senses and driving me insane.
Which is why I don’t see the attack coming. Before I know what hit me, I am lying flat on my back, with a knife at my throat. Talon snarls down at me, baring her teeth.
“Why are you following me?” she demands.
I can’t say a word. My breath is frozen in my lungs. Her weight is pressing down on me as she watches me carefully. My cock is harder than a lead pipe in my jeans, and I find it hard to believe that she can’t feel it by the way she’s straddling me.
“Caine assured us that everyone from Hatcher pack is welcome here. So why are you spying on me?” Her gaze is trained on my face.
I don’t hesitate as I spin us over, pinning her beneath me with my weight. The knife she has to my throat remains there, her hand steady as she studies me. She doesn’t try to push me off. But I do feel her reaction to me. Her nipples pebble against the thin shirt she’s wearing, and I can smell her arousal in the air.
Her face is a mask of indifference, but her body is
reacting to me. I growl as I watch her.
“I’m following you to make sure you’re safe.”
She smirks before pressing the blade a little harder into my throat.
“I can protect myself. I have been doing it for many years.”
“Yes, I am sure you can,” I reply, “but you don’t have to. If your mate doesn’t appreciate what he has and doesn’t take care of what’s his, I will.”
Her expression is filled with confusion, but she removes the blade from my neck. “What are you talking about?”
“Claiming my mate.”
The End
Other Books by Jade Marshall:
www.evernightpublishing.com/jade-marshall
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BONUS SAMPLE CHAPTER
THE WOLF
Gypsy Bastards MC, 1
Jade Marshall
Copyright © 2020
Sample Chapter One
Hadley
I hate my job.
It isn’t something I say to get people to pity me. I genuinely hate working at Mary’s Rib Shack. I hate the mauve one-piece uniform, made of an awful, itchy fabric. I hate that the owner likes us to show off our assets, which means our uniforms are short around the legs and low around the neck. I don’t particularly enjoy showing off my barely-there B cups, especially not to our clientele. I hate that Mary’s is in downtown Gypsy Falls and the people who show up here are sketchy at best, but most are completely creepy. But Mary pays in cash and I need to stay off the grid.
His Refused Mate Page 5