Wolf's Kingdom: (COBRA Coalition) (Caedmon Wolves Book 8)

by Amber Ella Monroe

  Her blood was beyond the boiling point. She wanted to tell her father to shove it, but she wouldn’t stoop to that level.

  Arianna had tried with all her heart to have a normal life like a normal person. She even believed that obtaining a college degree from Northwestern, graduating at the top of her class, and being recruited by one of the top investment firms in the world would help her father see her worth as an individual and as a career woman. Living up to her father’s expectations had been important to her.

  Until now…

  “I have a proposal to review,” her father said, jolting her from her thoughts. “Would you mind telling the maid to bring me some coffee?”

  Arianna frowned. “I wish mother was still living. She would never—ever—let you do this!”

  The pained expression that washed over his face told Arianna that she’d hit a nerve, but she didn’t care. What he suggested was disgraceful and an insult to her intelligence.

  Arianna took one last look at her stubborn father, stormed out of his office, and slammed the door behind her.

  It was time she lived her own life.

  Jayson Truman rode his Kawasaki into the wrought iron gates of the Caedmon Mansion and parked beside a row of a dozen other bikes. He tore off his helmet, pushed his unruly hair back off his face, and took in the scenery before him.

  The heavy metal music blasted from every open window of the decades old mansion, and the bass seemed to rock the foundation under it. Lively bodies were everywhere, either standing about in groups or dancing around to the vibrant beat. Most of them were half-clad, showing too much skin and rejoicing as the winter season ended and spring began. The thick and boisterous crowd overflowing outside told him that there was a full house tonight…and rightfully so.

  When he’d received the invitation to Dawson Caedmon’s eighteenth birthday party, he had no doubts that there would be a crowd. Many from the Caedmon Pack and anyone connected to it were likely in attendance given Dawson’s rank and reputation.

  Jayson slid off his motorcycle, and his boots settled down in the wet dirt. Heavy rains had hit this part of town last night, and the pavement and ground were still soaked with it. The damage was even evident on his bike.

  Grinding his teeth in annoyance, he ran his thumb against the side of his ride where mud had splattered against it. He’d washed and waxed her only days ago. Riding around on a dirty bike irked him, so it was back to the shop again tomorrow morning to clean this baby like new again.

  Jayson hung his helmet over the handle bar, left his bike, and headed up the gravel path leading toward the entrance.

  This used to be Devin’s place before he moved out with his mate and wife, Tamara. But when the Alpha had married her, he’d handed the home down to Dawson. The eighteen-year-old whiz kid was having the time of his life with a dozen servants and cooks at his beck and call twenty-four hours a day. Dude held biweekly, if not weekly, parties. Like this one, most of the gatherings were by invite only. No one held Dawson’s high-life bachelor ways against him. The guy was still a teenager; he had his whole life ahead of him. But when it came to business matters—especially where the pack was concerned—Dawson took care of his responsibilities. His smarts and dedication was precisely why the teen had graduated at the top of his class and would have his Ph.D. in Law before his twenty-first birthday. He was also the youngest member on the Caedmon Council—current and past.

  “Jayson. Hi.”

  A good-looking chick fell in step beside him. She smelled of fruit, vodka, and cigarette smoke. A faint underlying scent also told her that she was part human.

  Jayson wasn’t surprised about this given the fact that Devin had lifted the rule, which prevented anyone who wasn’t a full-bred wolf from identifying with the pack. Reversing the ruling had increased Caedmon resources and tripled their followers. Since then, many half-breeds had come out of the woodwork.

  “How do you know my name?” he asked her.

  The woman pouted her lips. “You mean you don’t remember me?”

  These days, many of the women in the pack were looking for one main thing. A mate. The majority of them weren’t shy in their pursuit. They needed someone to fulfill them on a regular basis. And until they found that someone, their appetite for sex remained out of control. A Caedmon gift to some…and a curse to others.

  Jayson examined her face again. She was cute. Bouncy blonde curls. Pretty lips.

  His eyes fell to her breasts, which overflowed the top of her dress. They were a nice size. Rounded hips. Long slim legs. Creamy skin. But still…“Should I remember you?”

  “We met at Boyd’s costume party a couple months ago. There were five of us in the one room. It involved Jell-o shots and a game of twister.” She winked. “Ring a bell?”

  “Not a one.” Sounded like naughty fun, but he couldn’t remember her. He recalled the night of the party and seeing a dozen female faces, but her’s didn’t quite stand out.

  She folded her arms under her breasts and huffed. “Men!” She came to a stop directly in front of him, preventing him from moving any further. “I can jog your memory.” She lifted a hand and traced the outline of his chest through his shirt. “We have all night…for a recap.”

  Not only were the Caedmon women affected by the inclination to mate, so were the males. Being a full-bred Caedmon himself, it was harder for him to control his urges. However, the wolf inside him could not be denied. If the wolf wasn’t happy, neither was he; they fed off each other’s emotions and desires. Sexual satisfaction in abundance was one way to keep the unmated wolf content for a short period of time. But his wolf was no fool. No amount of sex could make up for the lack of a life-long companion.

  He caught the woman’s hand just before it landed on his manhood. “What’s your name?”

  She smiled. “Christy.”

  “Look, Christy…I just got here. I need to chill, have a round of drinks, and chat with my peeps. If we happen to cross paths again tonight, I might be game.”

  Christy’s grin grew wider. “Alright.” She stepped aside.

  Once he made it inside, the vibrations from pounding music jolted through him, giving him a much-needed rush of momentum. The large ballroom was flooded with gyrating bodies amid the dense colorful smog added for visual effects. The air was thick with strong wolf pheromones, sweat, alcohol, and sex. When this many wolves came together in celebration, one could bet on that combination.

  As Jayson pushed his way past the crowd to find an open seat at the bar, he observed as two males sandwiched a female. Her skirt was hitched up about her waist as the men shoved their hands between her legs, and played with her pussy while they danced. He tore his gaze from the sight before he fed off too much sexual energy.

  Taking the first empty seat, he nodded at Charlie, the bartender. They were old high school buddies, went to the same college, and Jayson had even advised him on a couple of matters concerning his investments.

  Jayson smiled as Charlie slid a scotch on the rocks across the bar into his hand. He turned the glass up to his lips, and rolled the smooth, crisp whiskey around with his tongue before letting it run down his throat. He slammed the empty glass on the coaster. “Thanks, man. Needed that.”

  “No problemo. I was wondering when you would show up,” Charlie said, wiping up some spills in front of him with the bar mop.

  “Believe it or not, I had some work to do.”

  “Work? Yeah right.” Charlie laughed. “You still living in the city?” He had to raise his voice a bit above the loud music.

  “Yeah. I’m renting a condo until I get my shit together. Even though it’s been a good two years since pops passed away, I’m still not on top of things like I used to be. Between finishing up his dealings and keeping current clients happy, it’s been pretty rough.”

  “You’re doing the best you can.” Charlie nudged him on the shoulder. “Blow off a little steam. Have fun.”

  Jayson grinned. “Which is why I’m here. Quite a turnout,
I see.”

  “This party jumped off as soon as the sun went down. What was supposed to be a four-hour shift for me has now become a six-hour one. I have another engagement at the strip club across town. It’s damn near midnight and I’m still in this bitch. Dawson owes me for this one.”

  “I could cover for you,” he offered. Before working nine to five as an accountant at his father’s firm, like Charlie, he’d earned extra money as a bartender.

  “Thanks for the offer, but I’m cool.” Charlie glanced over Jayson’s shoulder. “Besides, there’s more entertainment here than you can get at any strip club in the city. Plus, I needed to catch up on the scoop anyway.” Charlie leaned against the bar counter. “Speaking of the scoop, what’s up with you and Melanie?”

  Jayson drew a circle around the coaster. Leave it to Charlie to bring up old news. Very old news. Melanie was long gone from his life, and she was probably on a mission to con some other man out of his money. “I broke it off with her this past summer.”

  “Man really?” Charlie looked surprised. “The way it looked to me, she just about had you on lockdown.”

  “Looks are deceiving and that’s how the cookie crumbles…and crumble it did. When things aren’t meant to be, you let them go. You know how that is; there’s no fooling the wolf.”

  “Yeah.” Charlie nodded. “I know what you mean.”

  “Where’s the birthday guy?” Jayson wasn’t here to dabble in his love life or lack thereof.

  “There’s no telling.”

  Jayson chuckled, and got up from the bar. “I’m off to wish him well…and get in a little trouble of my own.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Arianna nudged her way through a hallway full of wolves. Of course, they were all in their human form. Some eyed her spitefully. While others—mostly the males—looked on in lust. Not much time had passed since the law had been enacted permitting all Caedmon whether human, half-bred, or full-bred to unite with the pack. Some still held on to the old customs, thus were less than thrilled about the current leader’s visions.

  If her father knew that she was in the Caedmon village now, he’d likely have a fit. But she didn’t care one way or the other. This was her life, not his.

  As she exited the ballroom where the bulk of the crowd was dancing, the blasting music followed her. Only moments before, she had been on the dance floor moving to the beat of the eclectic mix of rock, heavy metal, rap, and hip-hop music. One thing she could count on was that the Caedmon parties were always the best.

  The walls were lined with couples as they whispered to each other and necked, oblivious and uncaring about indecent PDA. The clusterfuck of bodies made it harder for her to quickly find a bathroom.

  A tall guy stepped out in from of her, halting her in the middle of the hallway. “You’re lost.”

  “And you’re in my way.” She looked up at him, praying silently that he’d move without giving her any trouble.

  Instead, he grinned and cocked one eyebrow. “You’re unaccompanied, human.”

  “I didn’t know I needed someone to accompany me to the bathroom,” she said.

  “I can, if you want.”

  “No, thank you, wolf.”

  The feral look in his translucent gaze gave him away. She had to admit; this one was cute. Cocky, but cute. Still, she wasn’t interested. She’d come here to defy her father’s orders, but only to a certain extent. Luring one of the Caedmon wolves would definitely land her into deeper trouble. It was a sure way to make her father mad. Would she even dare…?

  “I don’t need an escort. Just show me where the bathroom is around here, will you?”

  He stepped out of her path. “At the very end of the hall. Right door or left door. I can’t remember.”

  “Thanks.” Arianna excused herself and once again made her way through the frenzy of sex crazed bodies.

  She understood the Caedmon hormones. The need to mate. And procreate. Heck, she had the same genes in her blood. But she wished the wolves would be a little more discreet about it. If she passed by another couple fondling each other’s genitals in broad fob lights without regard to anyone around them, she would puke.

  As she neared the end of the hall, the feeling of being boxed in faded. Sure enough, as the wolf had advised her there were two doors on either side of the end of the hallway.

  She choose the door on the right, knocking first to see if anyone occupied the toilet. When no one answered, she turned the knob and went in.

  “Shit!” It wasn’t the bathroom. It was another room. Damn, she needed to go. Maybe she should have left the pineapple daiquiris alone. Before she backed away, a noise caught her attention.

  There was a tall shelf near the door obstructing the view, but as she peeked between the trinkets that lined the wooden surfaces, her eyes widened at the image before her.

  Three women knelt before a man as he sat in a chair in the center of the room. Arianna immediately realized that it was the groaning sounds that caught her attention.

  At first thought, it seemed the women’s heads were resting on his lap. Closer inspection revealed that they were pleasuring him and taking turns sucking him off.

  Arianna swallowed, and her head reeled back in shock, but she failed to tear her gaze away from the show. She couldn’t see the man’s face, as it was raised toward the ceiling, and his eyes appeared to be closed.

  She focused on the object of interest—his dick. It was standing vertical and at fierce attention. It was big enough and long enough, that all three women pleased him at the same time. One sucking the swollen head. Another dragging her lips along the rigid column. The other teasing his testicles with her tongue.

  The man gripped the edge of his seat and the veins in his neck seemed to pulse with the force of his emotions. He moaned once again, and Arianna’s breathing quickened. Her body grew heated and a wicked sensation awakened between her legs.

  She could tell he was on the verge of orgasm by the way he thrust his pelvis upward.

  “Damn it,” he growled.

  Arianna gasped. The sound of his voice stirred something carnal inside of her.

  Her hand accidentally hit an object in an attempt to cover her mouth. She caught the trinket just in time, and leveled it before it crashed to the floor.

  When she looked up again, her eyes locked with the heated stare of the man.

  Jayson.

  She knew him. Those smoldering gray eyes were something that she’d never been able to forget. There was a hint of blue around the irises. It reminded her of the sky right before a thunderstorm.

  He squinted and focused on her. A wide grin spread across his face.

  Her mouth fell open as her heart beat wildly against her chest. Her nipples tightened against her top. The dampness between her legs embarrassed her. Yet, his hypnotic gaze kept her rooted to the floor.

  Arianna shook her head and forced herself to back away slowly, but by that time, she knew it was too late. She’d been discovered.

  Suddenly, he bit his bottom lip but his intense gaze still bore into her. Her attention dropped to the three women. One of them was now sucking him ferociously. Her pretty blonde curls fell against his thighs like a curtain as she took him deep into the back of her throat while the other two licked his taut sac.

  Jayson groaned, flashed fang, and pumped into the woman’s mouth. He never took his eyes from Arianna. Not even when he climaxed. It was as though he was teasing her…taunting her.

  And worse of all…feeding off her blatant arousal.

  Arianna finally tore her gaze away and ran out of the door. It slammed shut behind her.

  Without bothering to knock on the adjacent door, she rushed inside.

  Arianna was relieved to find that no one occupied the room. She bolted the locks, pressed her back against the wall, and dropped her face into her palms.

  What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she contain herself? She was stronger than this.

  It took a while before her breathing re
turned to normal, but what did not return to normal was her raging libido.

  Dashing toward the sink, she turned on the cold water, and began splashing it against her face. As she stared at her bewildered expression in the mirror, specks of gold flashed around her irises. She closed her eyes, took several shallow breaths, and willed the powerful spirit coursing through her veins to settle down.

  The sound of the running water aided in calming her.

  She still couldn’t believe her misfortune. After all this time, she’d run into the man she’d been successful in avoiding for almost a year.

  Jayson Truman.

  She was over him. Well…she was supposed to be over him. So why did it feel like she wanted to be the one between his knees…pleasuring his cock and bringing him to climax as the woman back there had?

  Arianna cringed. She would never give into her weaknesses again.

  She turned the faucet off, and after relieving herself, she washed her hands and exited the bathroom.

  Before Arianna even turned the corner, she knew Jayson waited on her. His scent had been magnified twice as much now that he’d indulged in such a carnal sex act.

  He leaned up against the wall with one sole of his boot on it. She tried to fly past him, but it was no use.

  Jayson caught her by the wrist, pressed her back to the wall, and molded his body to hers. He grinned, sliding his tongue across his fangs. “Arianna,” he whispered against her face.

  He smelled of sandalwood and hot arousal. The combination sent her into panic mode once more. She fought to hide her lack of control over her emotions. Her body shivered as he held her tightly against him.

  His six feet five inch frame towered over her.

  “Let go.” She struggled against him.

  “You smell good. I always preferred you like that…wet with fiery desire. If I can remember correctly, you taste of warm caramel. The kind that melts in my mouth.”

  Her pussy clenched with need. “Fuck you.”

  He caught her ear between his lips, and teased the earlobe with his tongue before whispering, “Bend your sexy ass over, spread those long legs, and I’ll oblige this request.”