I know my mate was enjoying our kissing as much as I, since she started to moan softly in the back of her throat. Her moans were all the encouragement I needed to feel her body. I started roaming my hands over her body. I took my time touching every part of her that was exposed. Her face, her neck, her upper arms, down her shirt finally resting them on her lush hips.
I pushed her shirt up just a bit, and found my hands moving over to caress her flat warm stomach. She must have liked the feeling of my hands on her stomach because she moaned louder and buried her hand in my hair. The noises she was making were driving me crazy. I had shivers moving down my spine. I was rock solid hard with need for her. I pushed her down against the couch so that I could press my whole body into hers. I was on top of her covering every square inch of her body. I started to press my lower half into hers. She continued to moan and started to grind herself against me. Oh god, it felt so good. She feels so good.
Cohesive thinking was leaving me. I hadn’t intended to go this far. I wasn’t going to be able to stop myself from completing the bond with my mate and marking her as mine. If we kept this up for even a moment longer, she wasn’t going to have a choice. I wasn’t going to be able to stop. I needed my mate completely. I needed to bury myself within her body and spread my seed within her womb. My wolf wanted to bite her and leave our mark on her body for the rest of the world to see. I needed Kalli to be all mine.
I found myself pulling at her clothes. I wanted her top and bra off. I wanted to get my lips on her breast. I wanted to see my mate naked before I completely mated with her. I heard her shirt tear and knew I had rid us of her top and bra. I pulled my lips from hers, and gazed down at her now naked chest. It was even better than I’d imagined. Kalli had beautiful pert breast that were made for sucking. I leaned down and took one nipple into my mouth. Kalli was making the most adorable noises. I teased, licked and nipped at her nipple. I blew my hot breath across it and saw it tighten. I moved to her other nipple and did the same.
I started reaching towards her pants with the intention of getting them out of our way as well. I had the button undone, and started to adjust us on the couch when the shrill sound of my cell hit me like a blast of cold water.
Chapter 8
(Kalli’s POV)
I think I might be in shock. I can’t believe Lucas just stopped. One moment things are as hot and heavy as I think they can be, then bam the phone rings and he jumps up and runs out of the room.
I never knew being with your mate could be that amazing. I never knew being touched could feel so good. I never thought I would be touched so much. Everything about touching was wonderful. My wolf and I want to spend the rest of our lives just like that in Lucas's arms. Each stroke of his tongue, every movement of his hands brought us closer to feeling complete. We would not be able to deny him. We wanted to be mated to him. Even if he rejected us tomorrow morning. Being with him was perfect right now.
My wolf felt hurt, hell I felt hurt. We both couldn’t stop from wondering if it wasn’t as perfect for him as it had been for us. How else had he managed to pull away and leave us alone on the couch? I felt tears in my eyes and I tried desperately to blink them back. I am so confused. Does he want us? Doesn’t he want us? How can this possibly work out? Even if he does bond with us, the pack will reject him like they rejected me. Will he come to hate me for losing his position of alpha and being forced out of the pack? Why did my mate have to be an alpha? Why not someone who could have been happy with just our family?
I looked down and realized my shirt and bra were in tatters. I tried to pull them back together as best as I could, not that it helped. I noticed a black hoodie on the end of the couch and pulled it on over my head. I took a sniff and knew that it belonged to Lucas. I could smell the spring woody scent that clung to my mate.
I heard Lucas returning to the room and wiped my face so that he wouldn’t see any trace of tears. He sat down next to me and pulled me back into his arms. He rested his chin lightly on the top of my head. He just sat there and silently held me that way for several moments before he started to talk.
“Hey Kalli, it’s been a long night. How about I show you the room upstairs and you get some rest.”
Wow that was totally not what I had been expecting, but I nodded. He grabbed my hand and walked me upstairs to a bedroom that was semi-finished. It had a bed and a single dresser, otherwise the room was barren.
“The bathroom up here isn’t finished yet, so you’ll need to come downstairs if you have to go.” He reached into the dresser and pulled out a white t-shirt.
“I’m sorry for ruining your shirt, you can use my t-shirt. It will be more comfortable sleeping with the tee than in my old hoodie.”
Then he sat on the bed and patted next to himself indicating he wanted me to sit down. I took a deep breath, walked over and sat down next to him.
“That was my dad on the phone. I need a little time to work through some of the things he said. I am going to let you sleep up here tonight and I’ll stay on the couch downstairs.” He paused looking into my face then reach up and put his hands on both sides of my head.
My heart felt like it was going to burst from my chest. This is it. He is going to change his mind. His dad had to have told him to reject me. No way is the Alpha going to allow Lucas to bond with me. I was struggling to breathe. I could hear a buzzing sound in my head. I knew it had to come to this; I just got caught up in the moment. Stupid me, how could I let myself get caught up in the dream. His rejection was going to tear my heart out.
“Kalli, please don’t doubt that I want you. I will always want you and no matters what I am going to mate and bond with you. No one and nothing will take you away from me. You have to understand that I mean it, and nothing is going to change that. Please believe me.”
Oh god, I wanted to. I wanted to believe him. I just can’t. Instead of answering, I stretched my neck out and lightly touched my lips to his. I felt him shudder in what I could only hope was pleasure. I pulled back quickly and said
“I’ll stay here tonight. We can talk more in the morning if you want to. I believe you want me Lucas, and I know I want you, I just don’t know”
I paused not knowing what else to say. Lucas sighed and stood up
“Good night Kalli. I’m right downstairs if you need me.”
I felt myself starting to cry the moment the door closed behind him. I didn’t want Lucas to hear me, so I moved more fully onto the bed and let my tears and pain fall into the pillow.
I awoke to some kind of soft scratching noise. I strained my ears trying to figure out what it was that I was hearing. I sat up in the bed and looked around the room. I couldn’t see anything. It was really dark in the room. I moved over to the window and looked out. I could see a figure in the distance. My heart did that little flip it always does when I see my mate, and decided that Lucas must have taken a walk. I wondered how long I had been asleep. I picked up my cell and looked at the time. It was just after four in the morning.
He must have realized I was watching him because he stopped moving and turned towards the window. I opened the window and called out to him. He blew me a kiss, then turned and started to walk deeper into the woods. I guess he needs more time. I wonder if Lucas is going to get any sleep at all tonight.
I decided that I would go downstairs and use the bathroom since he was outside. I realized I was still wearing my torn clothing under the hoodie and decided to change. I quickly removed the hoodie, my torn shirt and bra and put on the tee. I shivered a little and decided to pull back on the hoodie as well. The moment I finished, I quietly moved through the room and down the stairs.
The second my foot hit the bottom step, I knew something was off. I took a deep breath and caught the scent of my mate. It was too strong to have been lingering around. I paused for a moment and looked around. That’s when I realized that Lucas was lying on the couch. I could hear his rhythmic breathing. It was apparent to me that he had been sleeping for some time and wa
s in a deep peaceful sleep.
Crap, I thought. If he is in here sleeping, who the hell was outside? I found myself moving towards the front door. I opened it as quietly as possible and stepped out. I sniffed deeply to see if I could smell anything. I was blessed with enhanced senses from both my wolf and vampire blood. I had a great sense of smell and hearing from my wolf. Not quite as good as my mother’s but still it was pretty darn good. I also had excellent night vision from my vampire. Better than any of the wolves in my pack.
I didn’t sense any other wolves in the area. I silently closed the door behind me and stepped out a little further. I started walking towards where I had seen the figure from my window. I walked as silently as I could. I know that I am silent enough that a wolf can’t hear me if I don’t want them too.
I moved closer and finally started to pick up a scent. Definitely not wolf or human. I sniffed again trying to make sense of the smell. That’s when it hit me. Vampire. An adult blooded vampire. Had to be since the smell of decay was missing. Vampires always smelled like decay until they met their beloved and blooded with them. Then, their hearts started to beat again and their bodies stopped ageing and decaying.
Vampires were made not born. Humans turned vampire. I’m not sure my if mother got it one hundred percent right, but she told me that a blooded pair was necessary to make a new vampire. She said, instead of having their own children, they would snatch human teens and turn them. The teen would continue to age but very very slowly until they found their beloved and the process started again. Wolves age slow, vampires age slower. I once met an unblooded vampire that was over five hundred years old and she didn’t look a day past thirty.
Oh hell, I thought what the hell was a blooded vampire doing out here, and where the hell was his beloved? This was a bad idea. No way could I take on a blooded pair of vampires. I needed to get back in the house where it was safer.
I took a step backwards and stepped on twig. Damn it. I froze on the spot. The snap of the twig seemed to reverberate through the woods. The pair would have heard it loud and clear. I slowly moved my head side to side to see if I could spot either of them. His smell was getting stronger and closer to me. Wow he smelled really good.
I found my eyes closing as I let the scent of him wrap around me. It smelled like the beginning of a rain storm on a warm summer night. Clean and refreshing, I felt my eyes gently closing; I could feel my body swaying gently back and forth as I continued to breathe in his wonderful scent. I knew he was moving closer to me, but I didn’t care. I was no longer afraid. I just stood there and waited.
Chapter 9
(Lucas’s POV)
I don’t know how I knew it. I just did. My mate needed me. I awoke abruptly and started running upstairs. Terror was driving me. Somehow, my wolf was convinced if we didn’t get to her immediately, we were going to lose her forever. I pulled open the bedroom door and dashed towards the bed. She was gone. I looked around the room for some kind of clue. How could she be gone? I am a god damn alpha wolf I should have heard something. I felt a light breeze and realized the window wasn’t completely closed. I moved towards it and threw it wide open.
Looking down, I spotted her footprints on the dirt below and leaped to the ground. I immediately picked up her scent and started traveling towards it. My heart was thumping out of my chest. My wolf was agitated and was screaming at me to move faster. That’s when I picked up the other scent. Vampire! That was enough to throw me into overdrive.
Fear and a sense of dread slammed into me. My heart started thrashing and pounding even faster. My wolf pushed towards the surface trying to burst from me. For some reason my wolf and I were convinced my mate was in acute danger and we were going to lose her. I bolted towards her and the vampire and shifted in mid air. I moved through the woods like a blur at my top speed almost slamming into a tree before I finally caught sight of my mate.
The vampire was mere inches away from her. If I had been a moment longer he would already have her in his clutches. I leaped into the air and landed directly in front of my mate, snapping and snarling towards the vampire. I wasn’t going to let the dirty vampire get any closer to my mate. He would need to kill me before he could lay once stinking finger on her. My fur stood on end, and I intentionally took a step towards him snapping my teeth at him while growling loudly and possessively.
The vampire seemed shocked to see me. I wasn’t really much of a threat to him, so I expected him to immediately attack. I braced myself for impact. Vampires were stronger than wolves. There was a reason we hunted and protected in packs. We are more than double the strength of a human, but It took several wolves to take down a single vampire.
I couldn’t worry about that right now. I had a mate behind me that needed to be protected. I was going to fight to my very last breath. I would make sure this was a very bloody nasty battle. One the vampire wouldn’t soon forget.
The vampire stood his ground. He looked intently at my mate, then back at me. I saw him breathe in deeply through his nose. He blinked slowly, and raised his eyebrows quizzically. Then he did something I really hadn’t expected, he lifted his hands in a gesture of peace. I watched as he took several steps backwards.
“Not tonight wolf” he said.
Then moved like lightning away from us. I don’t know why he ran. He would have won in a fight, but I was glad he decided not to kill me and my mate. I also knew he was gone for the night and wasn’t coming back.
I let out the breath I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding, and turned to face my mate. She was still not moving. It was like she was hypnotized, her eyes were closed, her lips were slightly parted and her body was swaying gently with the breeze. My wolf howled at her, then rubbed back and forth across her legs. There was no reaction.
I phased back to human, and reached to pull her towards me. She was so soft and pliant in my arms, but still she hadn’t opened her eyes. I wondered what the vampire had done to her, and how long the vampires’ effect would hold onto her. I lifted her into my arms and carried her back into the house. I took her straight to the bedroom and laid her on the bed. I climbed in beside her and pulled her tightly into my arms. I laid there waiting for the sun to rise and my beautiful mate to come back to me.
Minutes became hours. As time moved slowly past, I found myself replaying the conversations I’d had with my father, mother and several pack members last night. My father had been angry. Angrier than I think I’d ever heard him before. He was very clear that he felt I needed to quickly reject my mate and return home. He threw out some ultimatums, and made sure I understood his comments were really orders from my alpha. It was very clear; if I wanted to come back I had better not be bonded to Kalli. If I was, that meant I had gone against a direct order from my alpha. I would be immediately thrown out of the pack. I would lose my right to challenge my father and become alpha. Kalli and I would be forced to live as outcasts unprotected by pack.
Last night’s little adventure showed just how dangerous that could be. Pack was important if we wanted to survive. I was going to have to hold off on bonding with Kalli until after I officially challenged my father to become the new alpha. I was sure I was strong enough to win a fight against my father. I just wasn’t sure I wanted the responsibility of leading the pack yet. I’d taken Kalli upstairs after that phone call, so I could have some time to think and call a few of my closest friends.
I started my calls with Rob. He was my half brother and would be my beta when I became alpha. We shared a father but had a different mother. I called Ryan next, Robs twin brother and my other half brother. Rob and Ryan were just three months younger than I was. Rob is older than Ryan by mere minutes. Had they been born first dad would have married their mom and they would be the next in line to be alpha instead of me.
I then called in quick succession Joel, Lance and Cody. Each call I made was worse than the one before it. Everyone one of my so called friends turned their back on my mate, which really means they turned their back on me. Eac
h of them had a different take, but all of them thought it would be better if I’d rejected my mate.
First they would get excited and congratulate me on finding my mate. Then, when they realized it was Kalli, they would get shocked. Here’s where it varied. Some would be sad for me; some would get quiet and afraid to say anything, Lance was actually stupid enough to say bad things about my mate.
Eventually the conversation would move on to what my dad said and my need to issue an alpha challenge. Everyone believed I would easily beat my father in a fight with no problem. All of them however, thought it was foolish and that I should just leave Kalli here and come back unmated.
In desperation, I called my mother. The one person I thought would understand why I needed to keep Kalli and bond with her. My mother cried harder with every word I said, until she too finally said I was better off without Kalli. She was wrong. They were all wrong. I was nothing without Kalli. I was never going to let her go. She was going to accept me, and we are going to bond and nothing is going to stop me.
I would return to the pack unmated, but Kalli would be with me. I would make an alpha challenge to my father and I would win. I would be Alpha and Kalli would be my Luna. There was no other option. I just wanted a few days alone with Kalli before going home. Hopefully, she would understand when I explained it to her and agree to stay with me for a few days here before we headed back.
Mated & Blooded, A Blood Ties Novel, Book 1 Page 4