by Celia Kyle
“Come, Ally.” He pounded her again and again and again, not stopping. “Come on my cock and I’ll claim you.” Harder and harder still, his muscles straining and teeth clenched as he fought his own pinnacle. “Come and I’ll fill you with my. Fucking. Scent.”
He punctuated the words with sharp thrusts and then he knew she was there—body frozen, heartbeat stuttering, lungs no longer drawing in breath for a split-second. That was when she broke around him, shattered and gave into the pleasure. Which was his permission, all Kade needed to let himself go and let his inner beast snatch control.
Kade grunted as his balls went tight and cum snaked up his aching length, pouring unadulterated ecstasy through his veins. At the same moment he struck, mouth open and fangs bared. He bit into his mate’s flesh, sinking his teeth deep and binding them as mates for the rest of their lives. He swallowed the sweet coppery blood that bubbled to the surface and filled his mouth, savoring the taste as it slid over his tongue.
All the while he fucked her. Fucked her through his orgasm and hers. Fucked her until the bleeding from her claiming mark slowed to no more than a trickle. Fucked her until not a drop of cum remained inside his body, his scent now coating his mate.
Bodies melded until he wasn’t sure where he ended and she began and for the first time in his life, Kade felt… at peace.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ally wasn’t sure if she’d ever felt so content. Being near Kade, enjoying the outdoors, while he stood nearby and spoke with his brothers and a few other wolves… She’d never felt this way in her adult life. She had her mate and a pack that truly cared about her health and happiness.
As for the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae her life had become… that would be catching Brian.
Which was what the men discussed. It was the only thing anyone talked about since they’d found Charlie the morning before. They’d lost his trail and several enforcers had spent all day trying to sniff it out again, to no avail. Mason had decided the pack’s Ruling Circle—he, Kade and Gavin—would join the hunt.
“We’ll start where we found Charlie,” he instructed the group. “Emotions were wound up pretty tight yesterday, so we might have missed something.”
“We might even get lucky and find the criminal has returned to the scene of the crime,” Gavin said.
No one agreed.
Ally could smell the tension and anger, all the way from where she stood. It overpowered the travel cup of steaming coffee in her hands. Yet she remained strangely calm. That familiar creeping sense of dread that usually followed the mention of his name never surfaced.
Now that she’d been mated to Kade, her soul felt free and light—as if her wolf was finally in balance with the rest of her psyche. She had a pack now, a family bigger than any she’d ever known before, and a chance at happiness she’d never let herself hope for in the past
And it was all because of Kade.
She smiled at him—at her mate—enjoying the way his jeans accentuated his firm backside as he moved, and her wolf purred again at the thought of him. They’d sealed the bond between them in every way. If not for Brian, she would have been delirious with joy.
Anger flamed in her heart at what he’d done to sweet, innocent Charlie, and they were fanned by the guilt over her role in the matter. As the group of men climbed into their SUVs, Ally’s faith that her new pack would find the bastard gave her a modicum of comfort.
She returned Kade’s wave as the trucks sped off, then went and knocked on the pack house’s front door. Kade had explained that she didn’t need to knock every time, but she wasn’t quite there yet. Almost before the last knock split the air, Mathilda cracked open the door.
“Ally, you never have to knock. Come in, come in.” Mathilda glanced around behind her before opening the door wide. A kitten tried to bolt past, but the older woman blocked his escape with her foot. “Not so fast, little one!”
Ally hurriedly closed the door behind her and scooped the troublemaker into her arms. He was a tiny gray and white tuxedo kitty with a little dark splotch under his nose that looked like a mustache. The moment she tucked him against her chest, he started purring. Loudly.
“I think you have a new friend,” Mathilda chuckled and led Ally down a long hallway. “You just missed Drew.”
“And? What did he say?”
“He says Charlie is coming along nicely, though slower than he’d hoped.” Mathilda’s voice, along with her words, soothed Ally’s worry a bit. “Thanks to your knowledge of what Charlie was poisoned with, Drew believes he administered the antidote in plenty of time avoid any permanent side effects. Unfortunately, the maniac who did this terrible thing gave Charlie an adult-sized dose.”
Despite Mathilda’s calming ways, the guilt crept back into Ally’s heart. “It was probably meant for me. When he couldn’t find me, he grabbed the easiest prey he could find.”
Mathilda placed a soothing hand on Ally’s shoulder as she opened a bedroom door. “Don’t worry. It may be taking longer than expected, but Charlie will be back to terrorizing the pack in no time. Isn’t that right, Charlie?”
The boy lay snuggled deep under the covers, his eyes transfixed on a handheld electronic game. When he looked up, Ally was nearly blinded by his beaming grin, once again amazed by how quickly children bounced back from illness.
“I’ll leave you two alone.” Mathilda gave Ally a quick wink.
Ally perched on the edge of the bed, careful not to jostle the young boy. “Hey champ, how are you feeling today?”
“Terrible! Mama won’t let me have my comic books until after I finish my stupid homework. Doesn’t she know I’m sick?”
“Yes, I can see your life is truly terrible,” Ally drawled and raised a questioning eyebrow as she looked pointedly at the game in his hand. He gave her a sheepish smile and tucked it under his pillow. “You know, Charlie,” Ally started cautiously, “I actually came by because I owe you an apology for putting you in danger. I’m so sorry for what happened.”
The little boy’s brows pulled low over his eyes. “You can’t help what other people do. You can only help what you do, and you’ve always been nice to me.”
Ally blinked at the wisdom in his words. “Did someone teach you that?”
“My mama.”
“You’ve got a good mama—even though she makes you suffer without your comic books.”
Charlie looked ready to agree, especially with the last part, when Mathilda popped her head back into the room.
“Will you be here for a few minutes, Ally?”
“I can be. What’s up?”
Mathilda sighed. “One of our younger pups is having a little trouble controlling her shift this morning, which upsets her, which leads to even less control. I’d like to go calm her down. She can’t very well go to school with a tail and wolf ears.”
Charlie snickered, drawing a smile from Ally.
“Sure, Charlie and I have some catching up to do anyway. Isn’t that right, champ?”
“I can show you my new game!”
“Great,” Mathilda waved, chuckling as she disappeared from view.
As the woman’s footsteps receded, Ally realized that this was what a healthy pack was supposed to be. Wolves caring and supporting one and other. Coming together in crisis. Protecting the pack.
Ally was one of them now, and none of them blamed her for what Brian did to Charlie. Not even the boy himself. They all just wanted to keep her safe, like they’d do for any of their pack mates.
The sound of Mathilda’s tires crunching on the gravel driveway echoed down the hall, pulling Ally out of her reverie. Before she could ask her tiny charge what he wanted to do, he spoke up.
“Hey Ally? Ally?” Charlie tugged on her shirt until her attention was on him. “I don’t think that guy was very smart.”
“What guy?”
“The man who took me,” Charlie spoke, as if he was talking about someone who hadn’t tried to kill him.
Ally str
uggled not to show any emotion, even though her anxiety shot through the roof. “Why do you say that?”
Charlie squinched up his face, thinking hard about his answer. “It was kinda like he’s never been around a pup before. He never even shifted to his wolf. I did though, and he couldn’t catch me.” His little chest puffed up with pride before his face fell. “But I got tired, and I was so scared and then I kinda tripped.”
He looked so ashamed that Ally’s heart broke a little. “It’s okay, Charlie. You fought really hard. You were very brave.”
The encouragement helped him smile again. “I did fight! When he finally got me, I bit him so hard he said words Mama won’t allow me to repeat.”
“Good for you!” She leaned in and whispered. “Were they the good ones?”
Charlie nodded. “I didn’t know some of them and when I told them to Mama, her face got all red. I was lucky I was sick otherwise I would have gotten in biiig trouble.”
“You are lucky indeed.”
He shrugged, his expression changing from sunshine to rain in a split second. “I’m still mad he caught me. At school, I’m always the fastest in tag.”
“I bet,” Ally said, leaning back against the bed’s footboard. She had the sense Charlie was about to launch into one of his epic chatting sessions.
“I’m actually good at all my schooling. I know my ABCs, wanna hear?”
“That’s okay, I’m already pretty familiar with the alphabet.”
“Do you know math? Because I’m really good at adding.”
“What about subtracting?”
His gaze darted away, and his mouth twisted into a grimace. When he thought of something else he was good at, he snapped his attention back to her. “I’m also really good at shifting. Better than Lucy even, and she’s a grown-up! Sometimes when she shifts back to human, she still has her tail!”
They giggled together over that, and Ally couldn’t wait to tease her friend. She remembered having the same problem all too well during her early days as a wolf. Except when she’d done it, Brian had smacked her for being so stupid. Shaking the memory away, she changed topics.
“I know something else you’re good at,” she said, poking his nose.
His eyes grew wide and then crossed as he watched her finger, then he grinned up at her. “Crossing my eyes?”
“No, silly. At taking care of Ghost Kitty.”
His smile faltered, then fell until his lower lip pooched out. “Papa won’t let me keep all the kittens, even though I’m the one who saved them from burning up when that crazy man burned down Lucy’s house.”
Ally shook her head with exaggerated remorse. “So unfair.”
“I know! He says it’s my responsibility to find homes for them all, where they can live long and happy lives.” His eyes went wide with the spark of an idea. “You and Kade should take one home! You’re so nice and they deserve nice homes, don’t you think?”
The kid was a natural born salesman. Ally managed to avoid giving an answer—she naturally gravitated to dogs, but Ghosty’s kittens were pretty freaking adorable — and let Charlie ramble on about each individual kitten’s unique traits and funniest habits. She laughed right along with him as he described them slipping and sliding all over the hardwood floors, play fighting with each other until they crumpled into a mass of purring fur, and their penchant for climbing Mason. Each chuckle lightened the load of guilt she’d been bearing.
After what seemed like minutes, but was probably closer to an hour, Ally heard Mathilda’s tires crunching on the gravel again. That and Charlie’s deep yawn were her cues that their visit had come to an end.
“Thanks so much for letting me visit, Charlie.” She tucked him in.
His eyes drooped as he snuggled under the covers, then they shot open wide. “Will you take care of Ghost Kitty and the kittens while I’m sick? Please?”
As if to punctuate his request, the critters in question rounded the corner and clambered onto the bed. Each kitten curled into Charlie, effectively outlining his entire body, then Ghosty snuggled again his head. It didn’t look as if he needed any help, but no one in their right might could say no to his pleading, worried face.
“Sure, champ. You get some sleep now, okay?”
He mumbled something that sounded vaguely like “okay”, then cuddled up to Ghosty and promptly started snoring. Poor thing was wiped out and she couldn’t blame him. She remembered quite vividly how exhausted she’d been after her own ordeal. At least Charlie had a loving pack to care for him.
Ally stepped lightly to the door—even though a nuclear blast probably wouldn’t have woken the kid—and left it ajar as she headed down to greet Mathilda. Now that Charlie had forgiven her, she stepped lighter. Hell, she felt lighter. A load had been lifted, that much was certain.
The click-clack of claws drew her attention. Ghost Kitty trotted along behind her, but thankfully the brood of kittens must have been as tired as Charlie. Recalling the cat’s Houdini-like instincts, Ally hatched a game plan. The last thing she wanted to do was chase the cat around the yard while Mathilda laughed her ass off. Not that she would, being an Omega and all, but still… Not a great first impression to make.
“Back, Ghosty,” she muttered, nudging the cat with one foot as she reached for the doorknob.
She cracked the door open just enough to warn Mathilda to be careful, but it wasn’t the Omega who stood on the other side. It took a moment for her brain to process what she saw. A tall, gaunt man with a scruffy beard and piercing pale green eyes. Then the aroma of rotting oranges and wet dog hit her nose and her blood ran cold.
“Brian.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The hunt for Brian had only been underway for about ten minutes when Kade’s phone buzzed, calling him back to the scene of the crime. They’d agreed to start the hunt in human form, so they might spot any small clues their wolves might overlook. If they found nothing, they’d shift and let their noses lead the way. Except they’d barely got started!
Gritting his teeth and balling up his fists, he tramped through the forest, hoping one of them had finally found something that might lead them to the bastard. Otherwise, every second they weren’t searching was another second lost.
When he reached the clearing, Mason, Gavin and about a dozen sentries stood in a cluster at the base of the tree Charlie had been chained to. Whatever was going on, their grim expressions hinted that it wasn’t good news.
“What’s up?” Kade asked.
Mason frowned, gesturing with his phone. “Just got word from the National Ruling Circle.”
“Why’d you get them involved?” Kade tried to keep the growl out of his voice. “This is our turf, our problem, not theirs.”
“And Brian Riverson is a criminal at large,” Mason shot back. “I have a duty to report to the National Ruling Circle, you know that.”
Kade rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Well? What’d they say?”
Mason heaved a sigh. “They’re sending a few of their own sentries out to help us hunt and capture Brian.”
The entire group growled in response.
“I know, I know,” Mason said gruffly.
“We don’t need them,” Anders, one of the sentries, grumbled. “This asswipe hurt Ally and Charlie. They can’t expect us to let that go. It’s our right to avenge our pack members, not the Ruling Circle’s.”
Everyone rumbled their agreement.
“Do you know what?” Mason asked Anders, who looked confused. “We have no idea what Brian did to people or wolves outside our pack. If he changed Ally almost ten years ago, what else has he done in the meantime? Nothing good, I can promise you that.”
Kade’s wolf paced inside him, growing more impatient every second they stood here not looking for this monster. He didn’t care what the NRC wanted — if he got the chance to kill Brian Riverson, he would take it. He’d happily accept whatever punishment the NRC gave him.
“Listen,” Mason continue
d, his tone relaxed, but Kade caught the undercurrent of dominance. “The best thing we can do right now is find this guy before the NRC arrive. Got it?”
“And if he gets killed along the way, no big loss,” Quinn, another sentry, added with a snarl.
Mason held up a hand. “We have direct orders to capture Brian, not to execute him.”
“Bullshit,” Colin grumbled.
“Ignoring an order like that would make us no better than the Riversons,” Mason said, all hint of easy-goingness vanishing from his voice.
Kade’s upper lip twitched as he held back a snarl. Intellectually, he knew his brother was right, but his heart was doing the talking now. He wanted to taste his enemy’s blood on his tongue as he ripped his flesh away from the asshole’s bones and watch as the light in the other man’s eyes blinked out forever.
“Mason’s right,” Gavin said, drawing groans from his men. “Brian used to be my best friend. I know for a fact he’d rather die than be imprisoned for the rest of his life. He doesn’t deserve a quick, merciful death. He deserves a long life, rotting away in a tiny cell.”
A few of the sentries nodded, but Kade held his tongue.
“I still say if he dies along the way, good riddance,” Anders said, glancing around for support.
“Nobody is to kill him,” Mason growled, leaving no room for argument. “That’s an order.”
Kade was about to tell his brother exactly what he planned to do to Brian Riverson, orders or not, when a wave of fresh, desperate fear consumed him. Sniffing the air, he looked around to see what had set off his wolf. Maybe Brian was nearby—it was the only reason he could think of for reacting that way when he was surrounded by his pack.
“Kade, what’s wrong?” Mason asked. “You look tense.”
“I don’t know. One second I was ready to rip out someone’s throat, the next I felt some strange, disconnected fear. Like it was me, but not me, if that makes any sense.”