Legacy (Blackwater Pack Book 3)

by Hannah McBride

  His body shivered, his arms wrapping around me like steel bands as he clung to me.

  I held onto Remy with all I had, glad I wasn’t alone in the storm any more.

  36

  Remy

  My hand swept slowly along the curve of Skye’s hip, her soft skin warm against my fingers as I mapped the terrain of her body while she slept. It was barely after midnight and part of me felt like an ass for not making sure she was fed before I attacked her.

  She had passed out almost immediately after I screwed her into the mattress. The idea of waking her seemed wrong judging by the dark circles under her eyes. Instead, I curled my body around hers, watching as she slept soundly. At some point my hands started roving over her, possessed by the need to re-familiarize myself with all the dips and swells of her lush body.

  I loved her curves. Fucking loved that she had them now. Her body had filled out in all the right ways now that she had access to food on a regular basis.

  It still gutted me to remember the first time I had seen her, all skinny and pale. She had been scared as hell the when our eyes connected. The scent of her fear rolled in bitter-tasting waves off of her. My wolf had reacted before I did in equal parts rage and protectiveness.

  But it was the fire and defiance in her eyes that really set me back, catching me off guard.

  It was a good thing I had perfected the art of schooling my features because I probably would have scared the shit out of her with the rage that erupted like wildfire in my blood, spiraling out of control and consuming me from the inside out.

  Dad had been vague—too fucking vague—on the details about her joining the pack. He glossed over the way they came to our pack, mentioning Skye and her mom hadn’t been treated right at the former pack.

  Fucking understatement of the year.

  I understood why. He wanted to protect Skye and let her have her secrets. I couldn’t ever fault him for that, but there was clearly more to the story when she followed Larkin up the path to the cabin at school.

  She was skittish and wary, her eyes moving from Rhodes to me, as she tried to figure out which of us was the bigger threat. She looked for an escape, and her shoulders sagged in defeat when she realized there likely wasn’t one.

  My wolf had known she was ours even then. Before the bond snapped into place, the surge of protectiveness I felt immediately was more than just a passing urge to shelter a pack member. She was different. I wanted to pull her into the cabin and shield her from the world. To seek out and destroy what caused her to look so damn afraid.

  Skye was ours from the second those mossy green eyes locked on mine. She sealed her fate when she lifted her chin a notch, likely not even aware of the challenge she inadvertently threw off.

  Or that my wolf fucking loved it.

  She sighed softly in her sleep, snuggling back against me even more.

  Unable to resist, I kissed her shoulder.

  Her eyes blinked open slowly, drowsy with sleep and content.

  “What time is it?” she asked softly, rolling onto her back.

  My body instantly reacted to the sheet sliding off to bare her chest, the dusty pink nipples a beacon in the darkness. I considered shifting back so my growing erection wasn’t poking her hip, but she didn’t seem to mind by the way she ground against me.

  “After midnight,” I finally answered, remembering she had asked me a question.

  She frowned softly, her brow furrowing slightly. “How long can we stay here?”

  “I told Rhodes to give us until the afternoon,” I replied, unable to keep the smile off my lips. “Why? Ready to get rid of me?”

  “More like not ready to have to share you with everyone,” she muttered, curling closer against me.

  I chuckled, leaning in to kiss the silky column of her throat as my phone vibrated somewhere in the room.

  “I’m guessing you can’t do things like ignore phone calls now?” she said, almost sadly.

  As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t. Besides, Rhodes knew what this time with Skye meant to me. He wouldn’t interrupt for nothing.

  “Give me a second.”

  I swung my legs over the bed and walked over to where I had dropped my jeans, fishing my phone out of the pocket. I frowned at the text message.

  RHODES: Sorry. Meet me outside.

  “Everything okay?” Skye sat up, pulling the sheet around herself.

  I nodded and started pulling on my jeans, wincing as I eased them over my still-hard dick. “Rhodes needs me out front. I’ll be back in a second.”

  She started to get up. “I’ll come with you.”

  “No,” I said firmly, shaking my head.

  “Remy—”

  “I’m the only one who gets to see you like this,” I growled, my eyes sweeping over her soft doe eyes and sex-mussed hair.

  The last thing I wanted to do was knock Rhodes unconscious for seeing Skye so vulnerable.

  “Caveman,” she mumbled, but she was smiling when she laid back down.

  I couldn’t argue with her as I walked through the cabin and opened the front door.

  Rhodes looked grimly apologetic. “Sorry, man. You know I wouldn’t have interrupted but—”

  “I get it,” I cut him off, closing the door. “What’s up?”

  “Michael and Will got the others to the houses and settled in okay,” he said, “but Michael got a phone call. Zoe’s in labor.”

  My eyebrows lifted. “Isn’t that early?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. I think they’re trying to stop it or something, but odds are he’ll be absent later when the others arrive.”

  “Shit,” I murmured, rubbing my jaw.

  “Also? I heard from my mom.” He said it casually enough, but I could sense the strain.

  “What’d she want?” I demanded.

  “Apparently her pack is one of the ones that lost their Alpha and their heir. She heard about what you were doing and talked to her … husband. Anyway, he convinced his pack to come here, too.”

  I stared at him. “You good with that?”

  He shrugged. “We could use all the allies we can get.”

  “Not if it’s going to hurt you,” I countered evenly.

  “I’m good,” he said finally. “What happened with my parents is done. I’m over it.”

  “Okay,” I agreed. “They can come with the others then.”

  “Great. Now I’ve just gotta tell Larkin.” He winced. “She hates my mom.”

  “With good reason. And she isn’t the only one,” I reminded him.

  “Yeah, well, it is what it is.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, his gaze drifting to the cabin. “How’s our girl?”

  I smiled, not even a little annoyed that he was claiming ownership to Skye. She was my girl, but she meant as much to Rhodes as Katy did. She was every bit his sister, and I knew he had missed her.

  “She’s good,” I answered. “I should get back to her.”

  “Yeah. Sorry again for interrupting.”

  “Text me if Michael needs anything,” I said as he started to walk away.

  “Will do. Larkin said text her if you want us to bring breakfast over.” He smiled and shook his head. “I think she’s just anxious to see Skye again.”

  “We’ll see,” I replied noncommittally. I wasn’t ready to share Skye with everyone else yet either.

  I stepped back inside and shut the door, my eyes locked on the girl kneeling in front of the fireplace, tossing another log onto the pile. She was wearing my discarded shirt and nothing else.

  Just like every other time I saw her, my heart stuttered and kickstarted back into a frantic gallop.

  Skye turned, her green eyes warming and her shoulders relaxing when she saw me. Her eyes killed me every damn time they locked on mine.

  The defiance and fear had faded from when we first met, replaced by softness and trust whenever she saw me.

  It was humbling the way she trusted me completely.

  She stood up, wiping her hands
on the shirt as she watched me. A disappointed frown pulled her mouth down.

  “Do we need to leave?” She bit her lower lip, and I felt all the blood in my body rush south, my jeans suddenly impossibly tight again as I remembered those lips wrapped around my dick hours earlier, the way they fell open in a ragged gasp as I drove into her body.

  “No,” I replied, crossing the room and pulling her against me, shaking the memories of before away so I could focus on the girl in front of me now.

  Her body melted against mine, pliant and soft, as her arms circled my waist. She snuggled her head against my chest, probably not even aware that she was doing it.

  “I told them we needed time for just us, and I meant it. Rhodes and Dante can handle the pack for a day so we can just focus on us.” I kissed the top of her head, inhaling the familiar citrus scent of her.

  Her head tipped back as she grinned at me innocently. “Whatever will we do with all this time? I guess we should sit down and just … talk? I saw some board games in the corner if you’re up for a game of Monopoly?”

  I kissed the tip of her nose. “I’ll do whatever you want as long as you’re next to me.”

  Her gaze heated, her lips curving into a smile that caught my breath. “Maybe I’d rather be under you than next to you.”

  I swallowed as my body reacted. “I like that plan, too.”

  Her nose wrinkled adorably and she stepped back. “What did Rhodey need?”

  “Zoe’s in labor,” I replied.

  Her eyes went round and nervous. “Isn’t that soon?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. So Michael’s staying with her. I mean, she’s far enough along that the baby should be fine.”

  “Still,” she murmured absently, turning away from me. “She’s probably worried. It’s her first pregnancy and …”

  I waited for her to finish and frowned when it became obvious she wasn’t going to.

  “Hey.” I crossed the distance between us and settled my hands on her shoulders. She jumped and spun around.

  “Where’d you go just now?” I asked, smoothing her hair back from her eyes.

  She stared up at me, her expression getting more troubled. “I need to tell you something.”

  I swallowed, shoving down my nerves. “Okay.”

  “Can we sit?”

  I nodded silently, following her to the couch. I sat down first and waited until she sat next to me before grabbing her hips and pulling her onto my lap so she straddled me.

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “Um—”

  “This,” I said, my hands resting on her bare thighs, “is how we talk, remember? No hiding.”

  “Yeah,” she answered, wrapping her arms loosely around my neck.

  “So, what’s up?” I held my breath, trying not to rush her and trying not to think the worst. Had something happened in Russia?

  “It’s about when I talked to Elias the first time in Narodnaya,” she admitted, ducking her head a bit and tucking her hair behind her ears. “He said something to me, and … I mean, it isn’t a big deal or anything.”

  My eyes narrowed. “He’s a liar, babe. Don’t believe anything he said to you.”

  Her stunning eyes lifted to mine and held. “He asked me if I could be pregnant.”

  Whatever I had expected her to say, that wasn’t anywhere close.

  I froze, letting her words sink in.

  And then the panic hit so hard I was afraid I’d forgotten how to breathe.

  Everything we had done earlier flashed before me. The bruising grip I had on her hips, the force of my thrusts as we came together. Jesus, I hadn’t even stopped to feed her.

  Her small hands quickly framed my face as she noticed how I was reacting.

  “I’m not pregnant, Remy.” Her green eyes were huge and pleading with me to understand.

  I exhaled hard. “Skye—”

  She leaned away from me even as my hands tightened on her bare thighs. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you freak out. I know. A baby right now—”

  Now I cradled her face in my hands, silencing her. “Babe, that’s not it.”

  She gave me a look full of doubt.

  “Yeah, I freaked out, but not why you think.” I shook my head, gathering my thoughts. “I was worried because I was so rough with you earlier, and if I had hurt you or our baby …”

  “You weren’t scared that I was pregnant?” Her eyes went completely round and big. Her lips fell open a little in surprise.

  I paused, considering what she was saying. The only answer I could give her was the truth.

  “Would a baby complicate things right now? Yes,” I admitted, thinking through the myriad of thoughts that had hit all at once. “But I would never not want our child. No matter when or how, I would want it.”

  “Have I told you how much I love you?” she whispered.

  “Not in the last two hours,” I replied, grinning.

  Smiling back, she leaned forward and kissed me.

  “Why would Elias think you’re pregnant?” I paused. “And are you sure you aren’t? I mean, isn’t it too soon to tell? It’s only been a week since our first time.”

  “My mom was young when she got pregnant with me. Consummating her bond likely triggered her estrous cycle. As for how I know that I’m not pregnant, that was all Lulu.”

  “The witch?”

  “She doesn’t like being called that,” Skye said quickly. “They’re elementals.”

  “Ele—Whatever,” I muttered. “How the hell could she know?”

  “It’s one of her gifts. She’s like a human sonogram or something.” She shrugged and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “She said I’m not pregnant. But she also told me that I could be soon. She said my first fertility cycle would happen probably in the next year.”

  I blinked slowly at her. “Okay, ignoring the non-witch, baby detector part … Is she sure?”

  She nodded at me.

  “How do you feel about that?” I asked softly.

  “Like I don’t think we’re ready yet,” she replied after a lengthy pause. “I love you, Remy, and there’s no question I want to have a family with you. But I also want to have you to myself a little longer. Just us, you know?”

  I nodded. “I feel the same way. But we also don’t know how many chances you’ll have to get pregnant—if that’s what you want.”

  She rolled her eyes with a choked laugh. “According to Lulu? Second gens have a lot of chances.”

  “Second what?”

  What the hell was she even talking about?

  She grinned at my confusion and patted my cheek. “Yeah. It’s a lot, so let’s see if I can explain it right.”

  37

  Skye

  “I don’t want to leave,” I admitted, unable to stop from looking at the clock over the fireplace that seemed to be counting down faster than it was supposed to.

  Remy grunted behind me, the arm wrapped around my waist tightening for a second.

  We’d gone back to bed after Rhodes’s visit and talking on the couch. My blood heated as I remembered the way Remy had carried me back into the bedroom bridal-style, stripping his shirt off of me before spending the next hour worshipping my body.

  I pressed my legs together, my center pulsing at the memory of the orgasms he wrung from me over and over, the way he slid easily into me. We’d fallen asleep in a tangle of exhausted limbs, and I hadn’t woken up until he was re-joining me in bed after getting up to make us food.

  I felt my cheeks heating all over, recalling the way he’d fed me, rewarding each bite I took with a kiss until the food was forgotten.

  It was cold by the time we got back to it, but I didn’t care.

  I was loving being pampered and spoiled, even if there was a timetable on it.

  We’d managed to make it to the couch again after breakfast. Remy had pulled me onto his lap once more and we both were quiet, mostly just being happy to be together.

  But now we were running out of time. We were e
xpected back at the Alpha house in an hour, and while I was excited to see my friends, I was also blissed out in this little bubble where only Remy and I existed.

  “What time will the other packs be here?” I asked softly.

  “Just before sundown,” he answered.

  “Do you need me for anything?” I wasn’t entirely sure what my role would be in this, or if I even had one.

  “I need you for everything,” he replied firmly, punctuating it with a kiss on my neck.

  I giggled as his kiss turned into a growl that tickled. “I mean it, Rem.”

  “So do I,” he retorted playfully. The growing length of his dick rocked against me, and I almost gave in.

  “I thought you wanted to talk,” I spluttered, trying to pull away. “Your words, remember?”

  “We can talk while I’m inside you,” he whispered, his lips against the shell of my ear.

  I shivered as delicious spikes of pleasure prickled along my nape. “Those conversations usually ended with both of us swearing. A lot.”

  “It’s called passion,” he teased, kissing the other side of my neck. “We’re passionate people.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Fine. So, when I meet a strange group of men in a few hours, all I’ll do is show them how passionate I am.”

  He stopped immediately. “That’s not funny.”

  I tipped my head back to wink at him. “Neither is me having no idea what to do tonight.”

  He frowned, looking vaguely like a little boy who got his favorite toy taken away.

  I used his momentary frustration to pull away and sit across from him. My body immediately missed the warmth and comfort of his embrace, but I was actually a little nervous about what would happen tonight.

  Mostly because Remy was the Alpha, which made me the Alpha’s mate. I didn’t want to do something that would mess up the alliances.

  “What’s that look for?” he asked gently, his confusion turning to concern.

  I shrugged, trying to play it off. “I just … I don’t want to do something that will embarrass you tonight.”