"I know you're at the door. I can smell you. I just want to talk."
Considering Lexi had said Brand was a man of very little words, Kamryn would have thought talking to her would be the last thing he'd want to do. "We have nothing to talk about," she said through the door.
"Yes, we do. Open the door. Please."
Looking through the peephole again, she saw the determined look on Brand's face. It didn't take a genius to guess he wouldn't leave until she'd done as he'd asked.
All she needed was for him to make a scene or something. With a hand that shook only a little, she turned the lock and opened the door.
Lifting her chin, mostly in a show of bravado she hardly felt but also because she craned her neck to look at Brand in the face, she said, "I opened the door. What do you want?"
In answer, he pushed past her—as if she would have been able to stop a man his size—and moved to stand in the middle of the room. He turned to face her. She let the door shut and crossed her arms over her chest while she gave him a hard stare. It didn't seem to faze him.
"I want you."
She blinked. Surely, he didn't mean it the way she was thinking? "I beg your pardon?"
"You heard me. I want you. I'm going to take you back to the manor and you're going to put Algar out of his misery."
At the mention of Algar's name, she barely managed to stop herself from asking about him. Instead, she said, "No."
He frowned. "That wasn't a request."
"I don't have to take orders from you." Kamryn watched Brand tense, realizing she was refusing a man who was not only twice her size, but also a werewolf. "You can't order me around."
He cocked his brow as if to say, 'who do you think you're kidding' . "This has gone on long enough. You're Algar's mate."
Kamryn crossed her arms tighter around her. "No, I'm not. And there isn't any proof that I am." The last part rushed out of her mouth.
Brand narrowed his eyes. "Then show me."
"What?" She took a step away.
"Show me your back."
"I don't have to show you anything."
Moving faster than she'd ever seen a man move before, Brand grabbed her and spun her around. "I'm hearing too many don'ts. The time for me to be polite is over." He took hold of the back collar of her shirt and pulled it away. He then snorted. "I thought so."
She let out a squawk when Brand picked her up with her back held to his chest and started to walk toward the door. Kamryn smacked the arm anchored around her waist. "Put me down."
"No. The mark is starting. You belong with Algar."
In hopes to stall him, she said quickly, "The keycard and my purse."
Brand spun around and walked over to the small table where both those items set. Once he had her out the door there would be no escaping him. So she lowered her head and then snapped it back, hitting him right on the chin. Brand didn't as much as stumble. It probably hurt her head more than it had hurt him.
He put her down on her feet, and holding her by her upper arms, he turned her and bent so his eyes were level with hers. "Enough, Kamryn. Algar needs you. You need him. He's a werewolf. Get over it. Algar has waited for you for over a thousand years. If only I was half as lucky to find my mate."
Brand didn't give her a chance to say anything before he scooped up her purse and the keycard. Silently, he led her by her upper arm out of the room and down to the lobby. He kept her moving until he reached the parking lot and deposited her into the passenger side of a silver Lexus.
Kamryn settled back into the seat when Brand pulled out onto the street. With her choice taken away from her, she prepared herself to come face to face with Algar for the first time in a week.
* * *
Nathan stepped out of the shaded part of the parking lot and watched Brand's Lexus drive away. He wore a large smile. He'd decided to follow the large warrior when he'd left the manor. Unbeknownst to Brand, or the rest of the immortal warriors, Nathan had been discreetly watching the front of the manor for most of the week. He'd followed Brand in his travels more than once. But today he'd come up lucky.
On a whim, when Brand had gone to the hotel, Nathan had followed him inside.
When the warrior crossed the lobby and took an elevator, Nathan waited until he saw what floor it stopped on and stayed on, before he rode the other elevator. Following Brand's scent, it hadn't been hard to find which room the warrior had gone into. Nathan hadn't needed to get close to hear Brand talking to a woman. Hearing him tell her he wanted her, it had Nathan thinking he'd just found the leverage he'd been searching for.
Another warrior had found his mate.
It would only be a matter of time before Brand left, so Nathan went back down to the lobby and out to the parking lot to wait. Seeing Brand leading his mate to his car had been a bit of a disappointment, but at least Nathan now knew what she looked like.
Since she had no luggage with her, he had to assume she would return to her hotel at some point. The question would be whether Brand let her go by herself.
Deciding to have a pack member watch the hotel for her return, Nathan got into his car. He needed to take out all the warriors if he ever wanted to see his plans come to fruition—to free Fenris and bring about Ragnarok. Only then would his kind rule.
Chapter Eight
When the manor came into view, Kamryn started to get nervous. She didn't know if she could do this. Being at the manor brought back bad memories of Algar turning into that . . . creature. Now that she'd had a few days to think about it, Kamryn hadn't been too bothered with Algar shifting into a wolf. A wolf was somewhat normal.
His werewolf form had scared her the most. It still gave her the willies just thinking about it.
Brand parked the car and turned to her. "I can smell your fear. Algar would never hurt you."
Kamryn took a shuddering breath. "I don't know if I can do this. You guys may be used to it, but your werewolf forms scare the hell out of me."
"It shouldn't. We're still us. If you were ever attacked by a werewolf sired by Fenris, you would be happy to have one of us defending you. It only takes one bite to turn a mortal into one of them."
She swallowed. That had been a lot of words for Brand. "I don't know if I'm ready to hear that."
"The time to hide is over. It's time to accept your fate."
Brand got of the car and walked around to help her out. She had to take deep, cleansing breaths to stop herself from hyperventilating. Brand didn't seem to notice. He pulled her by her arm ever closer to the front door of the manor. Once he had them through it, he slammed the door shut.
Dolf hurried out into the foyer. When he saw her with Brand, he whistled low.
"Bloody hell, you did it. You forced Kamryn to come with you. Raed may not be too pleased about this."
"It needed to be done. Where's Algar?"
"I doubt you'll have to go looking for him," Dolf said. "Once he catches a whiff of her scent he'll come running."
Sure enough, Kamryn heard the sound of heavy footfalls coming from the upper level. Algar appeared at the top of the stairs and his gaze latched onto her. The sight of him made her heart beat faster. Kamryn had had no idea how much she'd missed him until she saw him again. When he started down the stairs, she ran her gaze over him.
She made note of the dark circles under his eyes. He looked as if he hadn't slept in a week. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Algar crossed the foyer in two long strides. He moved in front of her and stared while he clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides.
Brand let go of her and shifted a little away the same time Dolf did. "She has the start of Tiw's mark. She's yours. Fix the problem."
Algar said nothing. He scooped her up in his arms and took the stairs back up two at a time. He didn't put her down until he had them in his bedroom with the door locked.
Kamryn swallowed when he stared down at her. His eyes had changed. They no longer looked normal. The hazel irises had taken over most of the white of his e
yes.
Algar did nothing to hide them from her. He met her gaze, holding it, as if daring her to look away. She couldn't. Being this close to him again, smelling his musky scent, Kamryn wanted nothing more than to have Algar hold her.
Looking at him, she could see their separation had been harder on him than it had been on her. Lines of stress bracketed his mouth and the corners of his eyes. Even his face looked thinner, as if he'd lost some weight since the last time she'd seen him. He looked to be a man who had suffered . . . who was still suffering. She swallowed again.
She'd done that to him. While she hid like a coward in her hotel room, he'd obviously been going through hell.
She didn't understand what it meant to be mated to a werewolf, but a part of her longed to be with him. All week she'd been trying to convince herself she could turn her back on Algar, get on a plane, and leave him behind. She would go back to the States and forget him along with everything they had done together. She'd been kidding herself. She couldn't walk away from this werewolf, this man. Not now, not ever. Yes, she had some fear when it came to his werewolf form, but it didn't make Algar the animal she'd called him. An animal wouldn't be standing in front of her with such hope and longing shining in his eyes. All she could think about was taking away his pain.
Kamryn cleared her throat. "You look like crap." Algar flinched, but he didn't say anything. She tried again. "I was an idiot. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I'm sorry." He continued to stare. When the silence became too much, she said, "Algar, say something. Please."
"Show me," he said.
"Show you what?"
In answer, he lifted a hand, tipped with claws, and used one to rip her shirt open from the collar to the hem. Algar parted the material and pushed the ruined top down her arms so it landed on the floor. He then spun her around, unhooked her bra and stripped it off her.
She kept still when claw-tipped fingers ran gently up the length of her arms.
They stopped at the top of her shoulders and held on. She sucked in a sharp breath when Algar kissed the mark on her back with reverence.
Once he'd kissed every inch of the mark, he put his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his hard body. He moved her hair to the side and continued to kiss the side of her neck. Goosebumps broke out over skin.
"Don't run from me again, Kamryn," he said in a husky voice. "I don't think I could survive it. I've felt as if a piece of me was missing."
She relaxed against him, his words causing her to melt. "I won't run."
He lifted his hands from her waist and covered her breasts. He plucked at her nipples until they went taut. Her pussy clenched and wetness started to pool. Algar rocked his hips against her, letting her feel how hard his cock had gone. She lifted her arms to wrap them around the back of his neck and bent her head to the side to give his lips better access.
Algar continued to play with her breasts. He licked and kissed a path to her earlobe and gently bit it. "I want you, Kamryn. I've done nothing but ache for you."
Her body on fire, she moved restlessly against him. "I need to feel you inside me."
With a low growl, he shifted his hands to the top of her jeans. He undid them quickly and shucked them down her legs. She kicked them away. Her panties, he carefully tugged off. When she kicked those away as well, she looked down her body to watch Algar's clawed hands skim up her sides, across her ribs and slowly move lower to her stomach. When he moved even lower and dropped one hand between her legs, she moaned. He parted her folds and found her clit, circling it with one finger until her juices leaked from her pussy.
Releasing a sound between a growl and a moan, Algar moved to yank off his shirt. She whimpered when he pulled his hand away. He turned her face toward him and took her mouth in a searing kiss while he rid himself of his jeans. Kamryn buried her fingers into his hair at his nape and rocked back against his straining erection. All her fears of him melted away as the urgency to feel him inside her body took over.
Algar sucked her tongue into his mouth, twining his with it, and once again, fondled her between her legs. In a careful manner, so as not to scratch her sensitive skin with his claws, he played with her clit. Arousal beat at her. She was more than ready to take him.
Pulling away from his mouth, she moaned, "Now, Algar. I have to have you inside me."
"Yes."
Instead of moving to the bed, he spread her legs, gripped her hips, and surged into her from behind. He practically lifted her off her feet when he pulled back and then pushed up inside her again. Kamryn kept her arms locked at the back of his neck while he thrust in and out. His cock filled her, deliciously stretching her with each hard stroke.
The sound of their harsh breathing filled the room, along with the slap of their bodies meeting. Kamryn squeezed her inner walls around Algar's shaft, wringing a groan out of him. He continued to thrust into her pussy as he reached around her and stroked her clit. Her body coiled tighter, her orgasm inching ever closer.
"Come for me, Kamryn," he panted into her ear. "I need to feel your pussy milking my cock. I can't hold back much longer."
His words, and the way he continued to stimulate her clit, were enough to send her into climax. Whimpering and moaning while intense pleasure ripped through her, Algar's cock hardened even more as her inner walls fisted his shaft.
Once her orgasm ended, he brought them both down onto their knees on the carpeted floor. He pushed between her shoulders until he had her on her hands. Taking a firm grasp of her hips again, he pumped into her with long, hard strokes. Kamryn rocked back, meeting his thrusts. Another orgasm started to build.
Algar pumped his hips faster. "You feel so good," he ground out. "I'm going to come."
With a strangled moan, he surged into her one final time and his cock pulsed deep inside her. Kamryn cried out, thrown into a second orgasm. While her pussy clutched, Algar's cock swelled, locking them together. He took them to their sides on the floor and held her flush against his chest. She fought to catch her breath.
When she could breath evenly again, she said, "I'm sorry I ran from you, Algar."
She followed her words with a moan when she felt another jet of cum.
Algar kissed the mark on the back of her shoulder. "I'm just glad you decided to come back to me. I thought I lost you."
Kamryn bit her bottom lip. "Thank Brand for that. He was the one who decided to interfere and came to get me."
"What do you mean by 'interfere'?"
"He kind of took matters into his own hands."
Algar growled into her ear. "Did he hurt you?"
"No. No, he didn't hurt me," she reassured him. "He told me I had to put you out of your misery, and if I wasn't willing to do it, he wouldn't be taking no for an answer.
For a guy who doesn't talk much, he can be very convincing when he wants to be."
Algar relaxed against her and chuckled. "Brand is one of a kind. I guess I'm going to owe him one." He nipped gently at the top of her shoulder where it met her neck.
"And you did put me out of my misery." Then in a serious voice, he said, "If you stay, you know what I'll want from you."
She nodded. "I know. You want me to be your mate."
"Can you handle being a mate to a werewolf? There are going to be times when you'll have to see me in my werewolf form. It's a part of who I am."
Algar's cock had softened enough for her to pull away and turn so she faced him.
"I'm not going to lie and say seeing you in that form doesn't scare the hell out of me. But maybe if we get me used to it a little bit at a time, I could get over my fear."
"And my wolf?"
She smiled. "That form I can handle. Your wolf looks close enough to a dog that it doesn't bother me."
He gently slapped her ass. "I'm no dog."
Algar pushed her away and his body started to blur while he took on his wolf form. This time, Kamryn was able to keep it together. She sat up and reached out a hand to stroke the top of the wolf's hea
d. He turned it to the side to give her better access to scratch behind his ear.
She chuckled. "You may not be a dog, but you liked being petted like one."
Kamryn couldn't hold back a burst of laughter when Algar moved his head to give her a wolfy look that said he wasn't impressed. He then turned and leapt up onto the bed.
He softly barked and settled down on the mattress.
Kamryn stood and joined him on the bed. She ran her hand through the soft fur along his back. Algar's tail wagged back and forth while she continued to pet him. He may be a wolf, but he liked being petted. She decided to keep that comment to herself.
After she petted him a few more times, she said, "I like stroking you in this form, but I think I would enjoy it more if you were a man. In human form, you have some interesting body parts I wouldn't mind getting my hands on."
From one heartbeat to the next, Algar was back in his human form and had pinned her onto her back on the bed. "You were saying?"
Kamryn sighed when the head of Algar's hardening cock brushed up against her slick entrance. "Maybe I can fondle you later since you have one of those interesting body parts just where I like it best."
Reaching between them, Algar fisted his cock and led it to her pussy. He kept his hand wrapped around his shaft while he thrust, giving her only the head. "You can pet any part of me whenever you want."
"Hmm, I'll be taking you up on that offer very soon."
Algar took his hand away and sheathed himself to the hilt inside her. She put her legs around his waist and dug her heels into his ass to get him to move. He complied by rearing back then thrusting inside with a hard stroke. He kept up the slow, hard pace until he had her moaning and lifting her hips to meet his.
When their climaxes hit at the same time, Kamryn let herself get swept away on the tide of pleasure. Algar threw back his head and groaned as his cock emptied deep inside her. After he collapsed on top of her, she put her arms around him and held him tight, luxuriating in the feel of his much greater weight pushing her deeper into the mattress.
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