by M. L. Briers
The taste of her blood over his tongue and down his throat, the sweet scent filling his mind and senses, made his wolf roar within him. Hard and fast his hips pounded against hers, taking his own pleasure, looking for his own release as his mates channel massaged his shaft, trying to claim his seed.
He reached for her with his mind as her magic touched him, caressed his inner senses, his wolf recognising her touch. The rush of emotions that passed through him was hers. Her very essence was open to him and he shared his own with her.
Flynn released his fangs from her shoulder and the very nature of his beast soared within him. He could feel her body tightening beneath his as he took her hard and deeply. His very real need to fill her with his seed, find his own relief, take his pleasure in such a feral way, had him pushing through the tightness of her swollen walls. The muscles still massaged him in tight pulses as she tensed so tightly around him that he growled with the pain and pleasure it caused, as the feel of her orgasm tore through his mind and his body.
Flynn tossed his head back and roared with the intensity of his release, it devoured his body in a way he had never experienced before as he thrust against her womb and exploded his seed deep inside her. His hips yanked backwards of their own accord, and he thrust into her again, over and over in what felt like an endless cycle of release that ripped through him.
His mate’s body instinctively responded as her inner muscles tightened around him, massaging his seed as he climaxed again. His inner beast was sated, but he couldn’t find an end to his own appetite for his mate, his hips still moved against her, his shaft was still rock solid with need as he took her over and over until her body bucked beneath him with the ferocity of the orgasm that she shared with him, and he spilled inside her again, thrusting deep and grinding his hips as he rolled the tip of his penis against the entrance to her womb, delivering his seed as deeply as he could.
Flynn’s whole body seemed to shut down. His muscles quivered and it was as much as he could do to keep his entire weight from crushing her beneath him. He slipped his hand against her back, and with one final pull on his energy he pushed their bodies up in the bed and rolled her with him, before he lost himself within the feel of her mind, her body, curled around his as he instinctively cared for her wound.
Summer didn’t move, even the feel of his tongue working over the bite he had placed in her shoulder, and the sting of his healing tongue, only brought a slight acknowledgment of a whimper to her chest. She explored her mates mind. His emotions were in overdrive, even if he couldn’t register the fact. He was lost to the bond between them and the pleasure that still ravaged his body.
‘I feel you…’ She tested the link between them and heard his gentle growl within her mind and through his chest where her hand rested.
‘I should damn well hope so after that, my love.’ He teased and felt the amusement rise within her, even if her body couldn’t find the energy to raise even a chuckle.
‘That was wild…’
‘Are you hurt? It was a rough mating between us.’
‘I’m not hurt. I might walk a little funny for a day or two. Sit with a little more care than normal…’ She teased back and he growled again.
‘I’m sorry…’
‘I’m not…’She felt his arms instinctively tighten around her. Possessive and protective in one movement, and it felt more like home than she had ever known.
Flynn found the energy to move them up the bed. Turning them together as he reached for the covers and wrapped them together inside a cocoon of cold sheets and warm bodies.
‘I think you need to sleep.’
‘ I think I need to sleep too. Don’t let me wake up alone, Flynn…’
‘Never again, sweetheart. I’m always going to be beside you from when you close your eyes at night to when you open them in the morning.’
Summer nestled further into the warmth of his body and let sleep claim her. For the first time in her life she had what she had always sought in her life, perfect love and perfect trust in another.
Abe didn’t have the luxury of sleep. He lay awake through the night with his mate in his arms. Every time she moved, every time she twitched in her sleep, he soothed her back to stillness. Slowly her muscles eased through her body as her mind processed what had happened to her with the Warlock. Picking apart the nightmare over and again until her mind could comprehend the dark magic that had tried to steal her powers, weaving through her like a million writhing snakes and trying to devour her very soul.
She knew that if her mate had not saved her when he had, then her white magic would have been overpowered and overwhelmed by the darkness. She would have lost the very essence that flowed through her being and ultimately her life.
She had seen Abe at his fiercest. Claws and fangs out and ready to rip apart whatever stood in his way, but he had not been like the rogue that had attacked her. There was a need to protect her that flowed through him, but it wasn’t a bloodlust as the rogues had been, because he stopped himself. Stopped himself from tearing apart the Warlock to protect her, to care for her, even at his most feral, when the wolf had pushed forward to claim his place within his human body, his eyes were soft when he looked at her. His touch was gentle, and she didn’t fear him as she did the human Warlock.
“You’re not in pain?”Abe’s deep tone rolled through his chest under her hand and through the stillness of the darkened room towards her. For a moment her pulse raced with knowing that he knew she was awake, with knowing that they were lying practically naked against each other, and then her pulse steadied to a mild trot, and then feeling the peace that his body brought to hers.
“No. A mild headache at best and my muscles feel a little sore. There’s a tingling feeling in my wrists and on my ankles, is that where you healed me?”Her voice was muted and she felt so docile within his arms that he had to wonder if it was the effects of what she had been through, or the fact that she had slept beside him for most of the night, strengthening the mating pull between them.
“Yes. Tell me what you need.”Abe didn’t move, even though he yearned to roll her onto her back and look down into her face, her eyes, and make sure that she was telling him the truth. He couldn’t feel any deceit from her, but they weren’t bonded yet and her eyes would tell him more than her words could. But if he moved she might pull away from him and he wanted this feeling of closeness with her.
“Just…”She stopped, bit off her words. “This.” She added, even though the word –you- echoed in her mind like an unfulfilled need. She knew it was the mating pull. She knew it and dismissed it. He was her mate that was evident in every part of her body and mind, and it wouldn’t be so easily dismissed. Not from the very moment that she had seen him at his worst, and yet at his very best, ready to die or kill to protect her, and yet filled with so much love and devotion for her.
“You can have this for as long as you wish, love.”Abe’s gentle growl rolled through him and he felt her body curl closer against his and his heart soared.
Porter leaned his shoulder against the dankness of the cave wall and blew out a long breath. It was taking more energy to heal his wounds than he had expected, more dark magic than he wanted to consume. He had expended enough on the abortive spell he had used against the white witch to claim her powers as his. Then more energy to cloak himself so thoroughly from the pursuing Alpha that sought his blood on its tongue and his flesh between its jaws, and now he was practically draining what he had left in the healing process.
He needed to leave this town. He’d walked among the pack without them even knowing for longer than he thought possible. Taking their Lycan strength inside him a little every day to bolster his magic, but now that was over and he needed to move on.
The source of his power lay in the amulets and tokens within the basement of his home, and he would claim them before he set forth on his journey to a new town, a new place, and a new pack where he would work his magic and gain even more Fae powers from those around h
im.
He’d lived too long in one place. He’d become complacent, that couldn’t happen again. He’d known the first witch was the property of the Alpha and he hadn’t touched her, but how was he to know that the second had been claimed as a mate, especially as she wasn’t marked.
Porter bit down on the pain that wracked his body as his flesh knitted together. It felt like a thousand bugs were eating at his skin, devouring the flesh of the wounds and making them over again, and he wanted to make that damn Beta pay for every second of torture he was going through. But he wasn’t insane. He wouldn’t challenge the pack. He needed to heal, collect his things, and get the hell out of there before they found him.
Perhaps vengeance would come to him another day, and he relished that thought.
Abe stood with his arms folded across his chest and watched his mate brighten slightly at the sight of Summer crossing the room and slipping up onto the bed beside her.
“How are you feeling?”Summer reached for her hand and rested her palm against it.
“According to my mate, I’m not well enough to leave this bed.”Tina pouted, even though she knew the overprotective Lycan was now grinning at her over-exaggerated posturing.
“Not so, you can go to the bathroom.”He growled out with a little more force than he felt inside him. He was about to go out and run the perimeter of their lands and around the town. He wanted her safe and sound inside their bed, and the guards outside would guarantee that even if she did get up, she certainly wasn’t leaving the house. Nothing out and nothing in.
Tina huffed again and flicked her eyes towards him. A blush settling on her cheeks as she took him in. The mating pull was getting stronger within her and she’d had a hard time keeping her hands off him when she lay in his arms this morning.
“That’s big of you.”Tina moaned and he grinned wider.
“You’re welcome.”He turned to leave the room and Tina gave him a parting shot, just because she could.
“I just might pee on your side of the bed.”She hissed and heard him chuckle as he carried on walking.
“There’s something I’m not staying around for.”Summer teased as Tina finally wrenched her eyes from the empty space of the bedroom doorway and back to her friend.
“Lycan’s.”She hissed again, seeing the amusement in Summer’s eyes and dropping her own to the sheets in front of her.
“Tell me about it. But oh boy can they give you that happy morning after buzz…”It was Summer’s way of determining if Tina had mated with Abe yet, and when Tina didn’t respond, verbally or physically, Summer knew that she hadn’t. “There’s something to look forward too.” Summer added and watched Tina’s cheeks darken even more.
“Apparently I’m going to need all of my strength for that.”Tina muttered, rolling the thought around in her mind and her eyes snapped up to Summer’s when she giggled.
“Trust me, he’s not bragging on that one.” Summer scooped her legs up under her and watched Tina mull that over. The smile that curled her lips said she was looking forward to it.
“So do you remember anything from yesterday?”Summer saw the smile fade and wished she didn’t have to prod, but even though it wasn’t the pack that was responsible for the Fae deaths, it was still supernatural by design, and they needed to gather all the information they could on Porter for future reference.
“That dark magic was potent…”Tina hissed with a little more venom this time. “If I ever get my hands on him…”
“Relax, he’s long gone.”Summer assured her. “Would you wait around now that a vengeful pack knows what you are and what you did?”Summer added. She wished that Abe had killed him last night, ripped him limb from limb. She’d seen what he had done to the other Fae. She’d felt the pain that the woman had to endure, and she knew that Tina had felt it too, firsthand, and there was nothing she would like better than to know that Porter was gone from this world.
“Abe said that Flynn warned him. That you’d accessed the remnants of our sister’s death…”
“Yeah, that was…”She was going to use sarcasm to cover the coldness inside her of the memory that lingered. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it knowing what Tina had been through.
“Not something to be repeated.”Tina assured her on a knowing look that passed between them.
“I still don’t get how he could channel that much dark magic into literally pulling a witches essence from her body.”Summer ground out. It was practically unheard of. Sharing magic was different, it was a conscious effort between the participants, but to devour someone’s very life essence the way he had…
“The amulets and charms in his basement might have something to do with that. We’ll need to get the council to destroy them so that no one could ever harness the power for their own ends again.”Tina still felt drained. Not like the flu exactly, it was more soulful than that.
“Have you tested your powers to see what he took from you?”Summer asked as tactfully as she could.
“I don’t think it worked like that. It was as if he was trying to take everything as once, so when he was stopped they bounced right back inside me, but he was close, Summer.”Tina snuggled down further into the bedding. She missed the strength of her mate around her, missed his arms holding her tightly, knowing that he was there, that nothing could hurt her when he was with her made her long for him.
“You should get some more sleep. You’re mate isn’t going to be able to keep his hands off you for long, and you may not need your beauty sleep, but you’re certainly going to need your energy.”Summer informed her. She knew what needed to be done now and she was going to do it. But she needed to do it alone and if she shared her thoughts with her friend then she wouldn’t get that opportunity.
CHAPTER TEN
Flynn hated to be this exposed in his wolf’s form this early in the day. He was thankful that it was winter and that the sky was grey with the low clouds that could mask them as they travelled over the land, but still they risked being seen.
Hopefully someone would think them to be Malamutes, maybe even Huskies from a distance, if they couldn’t judge the size of their beasts, and yet it still nagged deeply within him. He longed for the coming of the night and the cloak of invisibility that it gave them to move about the land.
His mind wandered back to his mate and the bonding that had occurred the night before and it stilled the anxiety within him some, but not completely.
‘I know you’re thinking about Summer.’ Abe growled through the link as they travelled across the familiar territory looking for a track or a scent that would point them in the right direction.
‘Like you’re not thinking about your mate.’ Flynn answered.
‘Yeah, but I don’t get this dopey, tongue hanging out the side of my mouth look that you do brother.’ Abe chuckled and heard his brother growl at him. If he wasn’t intent on tracking he might just have sunk his claws into his brother’s backside for the hell of it.
‘I make that look, look good, brother. Your sorrowful puppy eyed needy look is what makes your mate think twice about mating with you.’ Flynn teased back, knowing damn well that his brother hadn’t yet claimed his mate, even though he could smell her scent on him, there was no mating scent to go with it.
‘When this is over, I’m going to enjoy sinking my fangs into your arse, brother.’ Abe shot back, gruffer now. He knew he could have mated with Tina this morning, but he had chosen not to. He had a duty of care to his mate and he would put that before his own needs. Even though the thought of her warm soft body pressed into his made him soft in the head for a long moment.
‘As I will enjoy putting you in your place, brother.’ Flynn knew his brother would never challenge him for Alpha, but still, the very Alpha spirit within him always rose to even the slightest challenge offered. ‘Somewhere at my feet.’ He added for good measure and heard his brother growl out a chuckle.
‘Well right now I’m staring at your arse and I don’t much care for the sight. You
go right and I’ll go left and I’ll meet you around the back of the caves.’ Abe informed him, waiting for his alpha’s approval before he set off.
‘Don’t go scaring any old folk.’ Flynn teased as he shot off away from him, and Abe laughed, taking the track to the left under steady paws.
Summer noted the damn guards outside the cabin and sighed. Standing in the kitchen she watched as the wolves patrolled the area and pounded her fingertips against the counter top, trying to push down the annoyance within her.
The sight of one lone wolf heading towards the back door made her heart skip within her chest. She knew it wasn’t Flynn’s wolf, she could tell by the markings, although it was similar, and she was betting that it was Abe come to check on his mate.
She turned at the sound of the back door opening and got an eyeful of just how well endowed Abe was as she quickly turned back again.
“Stop flashing your wares at me and go flash them at Tina…”She teased and heard Abe’s deep chuckle and the sound of clothes being pulled on.
“You need to get used to the sight of naked Lycan’s strolling around sister, especially in the good weather…”He teased back at her and she giggled.
“I’m definitely going to be accused of ogling for a while until I get used to it.”
“Ogling’s fine, but any more than that and Flynn will go native.”Abe came up behind her and reached for a couple of mugs as she scooted down the counter. Happy in the knowledge that he was wearing jeans at least. “How’s she doing?” Abe bit out, still smarting from not ending Porter when he had the chance.
“Missing you. She needs your strength right now, in more ways than one.”
“I didn’t want to leave her, but if there’s any chance that Porter could be found…”Abe growled out his frustration and Summer nodded.