“Kang’s yelling no, and Ma’s still laughing, like it’s a show on TV and some funny shit just went down. But then Dad points the gun at her, shoots her straight through the head. Then he puts the gun in his mouth—just like that, my parents and my uncle, all dead.”
Janelle couldn’t hold her words in any longer. She reached out to him. “Oh my God. Poor you. Poor Kang. Mag, I’m so sorry that happened.”
Mag’s hands were trembling now. “No, don’t try to comfort me. Let me finish. Let me finish now, because if I don’t, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to talk about this shit with you again.”
Janelle sat back, even though more than anything, she wanted to take him in her arms. Comfort him like he had comforted her just a few minutes ago.
“My main goal in life after my parents died was not to go out like that. I wanted an easy life with a cool girl, and when I met you I thought I hit the jackpot. You’re nice, even when you have no fucking reason to be. And it’s not all about you. You actually give a damn about people other than yourself. I thought you were perfect… but then it turned out you were already with somebody else. At least that’s how it would have looked to somebody sane, who didn’t come from Freedom Town. In my head, it was like you laid down a challenge. If I wanted you, I had to kill your wolf. And I took that challenge—I told myself it was all about revenge, but who trains for three years for revenge on some girl he was only with for three days? No, I think deep down I knew what I was doing. What I was really doing. I trained and I waited for that fiancé of yours to become king. Then I killed him and that bitch-ass Kenny.”
He finally looked at Janelle, his eyes miserable with the story he’d just told her. “You say I’m nothing like my father. I’m just like him. Kang got his lines for solid reasons, but these lines on my face are the same as my dad’s. And that’s why I hired Sofia, because after that pledge meeting, I didn’t know how to let you go, but I was too scared to be with you. Scared I’d become like my father. Scared I’d hurt you like he hurt my mother.”
Janelle took both of his hands in hers and brought them to her chest. “You wouldn’t. You never would. You could put a million lines on your face, and I’d still trust you not to do to me what your father did to your mother.”
Mag shook his head. “I threw you across a table. When I used to think about going into heat with you back in college, it wasn’t like that. Baths, music, I was even going to ask Chloe for some cooking lessons so I could make you something good to eat between sessions. I was going to put my scent on you right. I wanted to give you that. I was keeping my distance with you and working with Sofia so I could give you that. And then Rafe told me what your father had planned, and I went crazy again. Sofia told me not to go to Alaska. She said if I really wanted to break things off with you, I could do it over the phone. But I couldn’t stay away, knowing you were in that house with Rafe, and your parents would be pushing you at him. And when you went into heat, it was like a light switch flipped. I claimed you on the table with your whole family watching—”
His voice broke, and Janelle couldn’t stay in her seat any longer. She climbed into his lap without invitation and pulled his head to hers. “No, no. You do not blame yourself for that. We are wolves. We can give ourselves titles and build ourselves grandiose houses, but at the end of the day, we are wolves. And when a wolf’s mate goes into heat, he claims her. And when the claim is good, as it was between us, when it’s wanted by the she-wolf more than air itself, it doesn’t matter whose watching. They’re going to be together. And as for killing Jeffrey, you act like you did this heinous thing to be with me. But you didn’t, Mag. After what you thought I did, you could have moved on with your life, mated another she-wolf, and never given me a second thought. But instead you came back for me. And you saved me.”
Mag started shaking his head, but she wouldn’t let him this time. She grabbed his face in her hands and said, “No, listen to me. You saved me. I was dead inside after Jeffrey forced me to make that call. I didn’t know how I was going to spend the rest of my life with him. Maybe if I hadn’t met you, I would have been able to muscle through life mated to a prick who truly did see me as a living trophy our daddies gave him as an award for being born with a silver spoon in his mouth. But after you… after you, I didn’t know how I could do it without making myself numb inside. And then one day, my dad called me into his study and he told me Jeffrey was dead. That you had killed him. And now it’s my turn to tell you, I have never been so relieved in my entire life. So just to make it clear, I’m not scared of you. I’m grateful. You saved me.”
And suddenly it wasn’t just her holding on to Mag, it was him holding on to her. “Baby, I love you. I love you so much. Please, don’t leave me. I promise you the guy you fell in love with is still here. I want to be your mate, baby. Please choose me again. I swear I’ll make you happy if you choose me again.”
Janelle believed him. Oh God, did she believe him, and suddenly a new smell erupted between them. Fresh and tangy, like a brand new day.
Mag looked at her in wonder. It was something neither of them had ever smelled before, the scent of her arousal, compelled not by heat or his tongue, but by the fact that she wanted him. Plain and simple. She wanted him now.
“Oh fuck, baby, yes… do it. Your choice. Do whatever you want. I’m yours now. All yours.”
They were pledged to each other for life, yet Janelle felt they didn’t even have time to take their clothes off. The only things she removed were her tights. Everything else would have to be navigated around. Her choice… her choice…
Janelle kneeled and sat back on his lap, her feet curled up beneath her, nestled against the outside of his thighs. She took him out of his pants, and there was no need to stroke his manhood to life. He was already ready, like a rod of flesh covered steel in her hands. She was ready, too, her wolf throbbing inside of her, compelling her to pull aside her own panties, and—oh yes, that was it.
The head of his cock pushed inside her slick folds, spreading her apart as she guided him all the way in, and filling her up so all she could feel below was him. They both groaned when she started moving on top of him, her hips undulating at a speed that matched the urgency of her desire.
And though Mag had claimed it was now her choice, he couldn’t seem to help himself. He pushed up her cashmere sweater and undid the front clasp of her bra like a wolf on a mission, his mouth claiming her breasts like a victory prize, one he savored as she rode him, her hands at his sides.
Janelle lost it sooner than she wanted to, flying apart and releasing even more arousal scent into the air as the electric pleasure of their joining coursed through her.
As soon as she came, though, Mag completely took over. He fused her lips to his, one hand hooking around her shoulder while his other arm wrapped around her waist. He slammed her up and down on his erection, pumping into her with such strength and urgency, it was clear his wolf was running the show. She realized then how restrained he had been with her three years ago, how much he must have held himself back.
The way he was with her now, rough, wild, out of control—this was the real Mag Lonewolf, holding his mate tight as he pounded into her like a runaway train. Her wolf loved it. Her human loved it. Everything inside Janelle loved what he was doing to her, and she let him know, coming once again just as he erupted, hot spurts surging into her, filling her up, making their bodies even slicker as he pumped away, his hips refusing to stop until he was emptied out.
“Baby,” he whispered in her ear, like he was coming down from a miracle. He hugged her so tight against him. “God, I love you so much. Please choose me again, and I’ll make sure you never regret it, baby.”
“I choose you. Only you. Always you,” she whispered back. “And I love you, too.”
They sat in the chair like that, their sexes still joined as they reveled in their newly reestablished love. But eventually Janelle put a reluctant end to the reverent silence. She had no desire to ruin the mood, but there was somethi
ng she had to do. Now, before she lost her nerve.
“Mag, baby… I need you to come downstairs with me.”
26
AS Janelle suspected, Kang was still in the front room. Standing in front of the picture of the royal Alaska family, which Janelle had put on the mantel, but not touching it. Like a six-foot-plus art patron with face tattoos.
However, Janelle sensed he was only pretending to be interested in the picture. Really, he was there for his brother, if needed, but not making it too obvious. He was a good brother, and would make a fine beta, she thought to herself as she and Mag made their way down the stairs, hand and hand.
“Hey, is this the sister that ran away?” he asked, pointing to Alisha’s image in the picture. “Please tell me this ain’t the sister who ran away, cuz if you put her in a pair of fake glasses and gave her some extensions, she’d look just like this girl from my favorite p—”
Whatever he was about to say got cut off by Mag. “Yeah, that’s the one who ran away, Kang. So the rest of that sentence don’t need to come out of your mouth.”
Kang grinned and flicked his own moon-colored eyes back up to the picture. “The other one’s cute, too. I like Afros. She pledged yet—?”
This time he cut his own impertinent question off, sniffing the air. A huge grin spread across his lined face. “Hey! Smells like you two made up.” He tipped his head at his brother. “Yeah, Lonewolf, that’s how you do it! I’m guessing those divorce papers got torn up.”
“Not yet,” Janelle answered.
Mag turned to her with confused hurt in his eyes. “What do you mean ‘not yet?’” he asked.
Sensing now was as good a time as any, Janelle took a deep breath and grabbed on to the front of Kang’s long-sleeved thermal, fisting the waffled material as she pulled him down for a kiss. A real kiss, one so hot she pushed her tongue into his mouth and let it intertwine with hers. Then she squeezed her eyes shut and thought about the first time she had kissed Mag, fully clothed, while he stood naked. And like a good set of pheromones, her arousal scent went off.
Kang was so surprised he actually kissed her back for a few moments, his tomcat instincts kicking in before his good sense could. But eventually he realized what he was doing. He yelled out against her mouth and pushed her away, his eyes wide with horror like she was a creepy old man who had just molested him.
“What the fuck!” he yelled. “What the fuck!”
Janelle turned to Mag, regarding him with the same look hostage negotiators employed for their most high-stakes jobs. “Stay calm, Mag. You can do it. I know you can.”
Mag was breathing hard and ragged, his nostrils flaring, his chest heaving in an out like a bull who’d had a red flag waved in front of him.
Her human did not like this sight. Her human was ready to push the panic button and run screaming upstairs, but Janelle wouldn’t let her. This was the moment that would define their relationship, and she couldn’t run away from it.
“Why the hell did you do that?” Kang demanded behind her. “He’s not going to be able to…”
She ignored Kang and pushed words into Mag’s head. “I don’t want him. I want you. This arousal you’re smelling is for you. Only you. You know that in your heart. Calm down.”
Mag let out a feral growl, raising his fist and taking a step toward his brother, who braced himself for the coming blow.
“Mag, don’t! He’s your brother. And I’ve chosen you. Only you. Know it. You have to know it, or we’re not going to work.”
Mag bellowed with anguish, but at the last moment, he pulled his punch, slamming his fist into the side of the couch instead.
Janelle ran to him, her face near ecstatic with relief. She wrapped him up in her arms. “See, I knew you could do it. You’re okay. You’re okay. We’re going to be okay.”
Mag held on to her tight, as if he were afraid of what he might do if he let her go. “I understand why you did that,” he said. “But it can’t ever happen again.”
“It won’t.”
“I could have killed him. It can’t ever happen again.”
“It won’t. And I knew you wouldn’t hurt him or me. You love us both too much. This was the only way to show you that, to make you stop being afraid of yourself.”
“I wasn’t afraid any more. You asked me for a divorce, so I knew… I knew you would do what was best for our family if I went too far. That’s all I needed. To know you would leave me if I turned into my dad.”
Her heart broke for the twenty-year-old who had so internalized his parents’ volatile marriage, he couldn’t relax unless he knew his wife was capable of divorcing him. “That’s not enough. Not for you. Not for us. I wanted you to know for sure you would never hurt your family. You’re not him, Mag. You’re not him.”
He wasn’t his father. The truth of it seemed to sink into his soul as hard as his fist had sunk into the couch when he had hit it instead of Kang.
“Okay, okay,” he said, and she could feel his spirit calming. “I know now. If I can get through watching you kiss Kang’s ugly mug, we can make it through anything.”
He pulled back and gave her a gentle smile, one so full of love and hope for their future, it nearly made Janelle’s chest burst.
However, out loud he said, “Kang, bro, I love you. Now get out.”
Kang didn’t have to be told twice, he bee-lined for the door, like a man who had just escaped a deadly confrontation with an angry bear.
But before he got to the door, Mag said, “Get a hotel or whatever tonight. But come back tomorrow. We’ve got to get you situated in your beta post.”
Neither Mag nor Janelle looked away from each other to see Kang’s reaction to Mag’s command, but Janelle could hear the smile in the other Freedom Town wolf’s voice as he answered, “Alright, see you tomorrow, bro.”
Then came the sound of the door opening and closing, and they were once again alone. Leaving Mag free to incline his head towards hers and kiss her like nobody’s business. It was a hot, possessive kiss meant to scrub the one she’d laid on Kang from both her head and his.
It worked. In that moment there was nothing but Mag for her…
But then she pulled back. There was still one mystery between them, one secret that had yet to be shared.
“Wait Mag, before we get too far into this again, I’ve been meaning to ask… what’s in the locked garage?”
MAG PUSHED THE SLIDING DOOR of the guest house garage open with a noisy metal clang. Then he stood back and watched Janelle as she took in the sight of what was inside.
When they’d first met, he’d been riding a used Ninja Kawasaki, one so banged up he’d been ashamed to wear the Ducati helmet she’d gifted him while riding it. He still owned that Ninja, it stood as a reminder of where he’d come from… beside three rows of gleaming Ducatis.
Janelle seemed to understand the significance of what she was looking at. Tears welled in her eyes and she brought her hand up to her chest. “I’m… I’m very proud of you, Mag. You had dreams and you made them all come true. How many…?”
“Eighteen,” he answered. “Every single one released from every line since the year you broke up with me. I was kind of obsessed. You can see why I needed Sofia, yeah?”
She raised her watery eyes to his. “I just hope you’ve been wearing a helmet.”
“That’s the funny thing,” he said, walking over to his favorite Ducati, the first Superbike he’d bought after signing his contract with the Suns. “I have eighteen Ducatis, but I only have one helmet.”
He unhooked the helmet from the strap that held it to top of the bike. “And I wore it every time I got on my bike. Never could bring myself to break my promise to you, even after…”
He didn’t finish. Couldn’t finish, because Janelle was suddenly all over him, flinging herself into his arms, like him taking proper safety precautions was the most romantic thing any dude had ever done for any she-wolf ever.
“I love you,” she said between kisses. “I l
ove you so much, I’m going to be teed off about the years we had to spend apart for a really long time.”
“Yeah, me too,” he said, cradling her against his body, loving the way she felt in his arms, long and fitted, like she was a custom job made explicitly for his every loving caress.
But Janelle didn’t let him hug her too long.
“You know,” she said with her head on his shoulder, “You sent Kang away and we could give Mrs. Coates the day off… what was that you were saying about making sure I never regretted choosing you? I think you're going to have to show me I made the right choice.”
He set the helmet aside and lifted her so she was sitting on the Ducati, at just the right angle to wrap her legs around his waist if they needed the extra leverage. Oh, he’d show her all right. He’d spend the rest of his time here on earth showing her just how good life could be with a big bad wolf.
EPILOGUE
MAG didn’t know what to expect when he, Kang, and Janelle’s cousin, Vince, landed in the Alaska kingdom town on Christmas morning. Janelle had flown out a few days before, claiming she had a few things to take care of in Alaska, including some in-person research about signing up for classes at the University of Juneau.
The University of Juneau’s secret werewolf program wasn’t widely advertised anywhere the humans could see it—especially not online, since mentioning anything regarding werewolves online was another thing strictly forbidden on the North American Lupine Council’s long list of stuff werewolves weren’t allowed to do lest the humans find out about them. But Janelle was Alaska royalty. “Just give ‘em a call,” he’d told her during his counterargument to get her to stay in Wyoming and fly in with him and Kang on Christmas morning. It had been a good counterargument, the kind made with kisses and soft touches to sensitive places.
But Janelle had insisted on coming up by herself, and now Kang and Mag were clinging to their door handles as the plane roughly landed on top of the now frozen Wolf Lake.
Wolf and Punishment (The Alaska Princesses Trilogy, Book 1) Page 21