by Eve Vaughn
“Do you know who the traitors were?
“It was the Alpha and his sycophants. I didn’t choose him so to get back at me he made a deal with the hunters to take me but it backfired on him because Gage’s men basically wiped out our entire pack. Although the Alpha continued to work with Gage after that I don’t believe it was his intention for the entire pack to get slaughtered.”
“I never understood that aspect about hunters. They actually worked with shifters. I could never sell out my own people. And for what? Power? Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It was a lesson I learned from my parents. Their betrayal of this pack was their downfall.”
“Power is a seductive tool. From what I’ve observed, Gage promises unlimited access to powers he claims only he can provide but in the end, he just uses everyone around him until he has no more use for them.”
“Is that what happened to the Alpha from your former pack?”
Nina nodded. “It’s my understanding that he died at the hands of another shifter they’d set out to hunt. So in the end, he was just another one of Gage’s pawn.”
There was no mistaking the sadness in her voice and the more Aries learned about her the more his heart went out to her. These feelings that had developed out of the blue were something he could fight but he realized it would be a losing battle. She was his mate and he intended to keep her safe at any cost.
“Gage can’t hurt you now.” He dropped a kiss on top of her head.
His words didn’t have the effect he expected. Instead, Nina twisted around to face him. “You don’t understand. I can’t be on this island. I will bring harm to you all. I’m dangerous.”
“How?”
“This darkness…this thing inside of me. It’s not gone. It’s just dormant. Whatever Sarah did to me, it’s temporary. You have to let me go before I hurt you. Before I hurt everyone. I lost a part of me when Micco died and I couldn’t stand it if something were to happen to your pack…or to you all for the sake of protecting me.”
Aries raised a brow. “You actually sound like you care about me?”
“It’s probably the mate pull. Aries, I don’t fully understand what is happening between us but it can’t continue.”
A possessiveness that took him by surprise welled within Aries and he had the sudden need to claim Nina and make her his. “You belong to me. You’re not going anywhere without me Nina. I promised I would keep you safe and I meant it. Whatever this darkness is that you speak of, we’ll battle it together.”
“But—”
He cut her off by smashing his lips against hers. Nina stiffened at first and then she attempted to pull away but Aries placed his hand on either side of her face and head her steady. He pushed his tongue past her lips demanding entrance, in a kiss meant to claim and leave no doubt in her mind who she belonged to.
Her resistance slowly melted away as she moaned into his mouth. The softness of her body pressed against his was enough to send all of his senses reeling. Needing to explore every inch of her body, he broke off the frantic kiss. Aries stood up pulling her with him. Lifting her into his arms he stepped out of the tub and carried her to his bedroom not giving a single damn that they were both dripping wet. All he could think of was having her again and again. He’d already fucked her delectable body once but this time he wanted more.
As soon as he dropped her on the center of the bed, he fell on top of her and covered her mouth with a hungry kiss. The press of her breasts against his torso and the heat from her pussy was driving him insane. Nina dug her fingers through his hair returning his kiss with as much vigor as she received. Her tongue darted forward to meet his. His cock was so hard he could barely stop himself from sliding inside her slick folds but this moment was different. He wanted to take it slow and savor this moment. Sample every bit of her.
Her mouth was so sweet like an aphrodisiac he couldn’t get enough of but Aries needed more. Reluctantly he broke the kiss so that he could bury his face against her neck. She brought out something animalistic in him that he couldn’t contain. His canine teeth extended and he scraped them against her soft throat. He wanted to mark her to let the world know that she was claimed and there wasn’t a single thing anyone could do about it.
He bit into the flesh where her neck and shoulder met to do just that. Nina cried out in what sounded like a surprise.
“Aries! What are you doing?”
He lifted his head and stared into her passion-glazed eyes. “Making you mine,” he growled. He returned his attention to the mark he made on her beautiful skin. He lapped it with his tongue, healing the wound that slowly disappeared. Even though it was no longer visible, she now carried a piece of him and that was all that mattered.
Resuming his exploration of her body he moved to her breasts. They weren’t large but they were just enough to fill his mouth beautifully. Her nipples were dark and long, perfect for sucking which is exactly what he did. He pulled one taut nubbin in his mouth and frantically sucked.
“Aries, this feels so good.” She squirmed beneath him, moaning her pleasure. Those cute little noises that she made, drove him crazy with lust.
He released her nipple with one wet pop to smile at her. “And I fully intend to make you feel even better.” He nipped the hard little nub making her gasp.
“Do you like that?”
“Yes.”
He transferred his attention to her other nipple and bit down with a more force.
“Oh!” Nina didn’t pull away, however. Instead, she arched her back against the heat of his mouth.
Encouraged by her response, Aries moved lower, running a trail down the center of her body with his tongue. He didn’t stop until he came to a patch of dark curly hair nestled between her thighs. Her scent was intoxicating and he groaned in anticipation. His mouth watered as he thought of how her pussy tasted.
Unable to hold back any longer, he grasped her thighs and threw them over his shoulder before diving into her cunt face first. She was soaking wet and just as he suspected, her taste was heavenly.
Aries sucked on her clit until it was engorged from her arousal.
She gyrated, pushing herself against him, smearing her juices all over his face. That’s it, baby, fuck my face. Show me how much you love this.”
She grasped his hair and held him against her. He shoved his tongue deep into her cunt reveling in the smell and taste of her.
“Aries…oh, God…I never…feels so good,” she cried out.
He pulled away just enough to lick her from her clit to her tight anal ring. He circled her rosette, lapping at the forbidden hole until her thighs began to quiver.
“Aries!” she screamed. “So close”
He returned to her clit, nibbling and sucking.
Nina released the death grip she had on his hair and racked her nails from the center of his back to his shoulders. He was certain she’d broke skin because he subconsciously registered the pain but he was too caught up in the need to make her come in his mouth.
And that’s exactly what she did.
Nina released a loud howl as she squirted her climax. Aries greedily lapped her juices. But he wasn’t finished. He stayed between her legs, inserting two thick digits inside of her. It was his intention to make her come again to take her mind off of all her pain and suffering. At least that was part of the reason. The truth was, he simply couldn’t get enough of her.
When she hit her peak again she tore into his flesh making him inhale sharply but he didn’t stop.
“I can’t take it, Aries,” she cried in surrender.
He raised his head. “You’re going to take it. Just like when I get finished feasting on your tasty cunt, you’re going to take every single inch of my dick and love it.”
Chapter Eleven
His declaration should have frightened her but instead, it sent an unexpected thrill through Nina’s entire body. She’d only had one lover in her lifetime and that was Kuruk. He was gentle and patient with her. Their lovemaking had always
been enjoyable. But it had never been anything like this. Sex with Aries was raw, animalistic, mind-blowing and completely addictive.
Even though she knew she had to find a way to separate herself from him before anyone got hurt, when he touched her, all her concern flew out the window. Since the first time they were together, he’d consumed her thought. She couldn’t stop thinking about how he’d made her feel. How his long thick cock had filled her so deliciously, it was like a taste of heaven.
She looked down at the head resting between her legs. Aries devoured her pussy sending her cresting on a high she didn’t want to come down from. When she hit her third orgasm, Nina was certain she would die from pleasure, especially if he kept it up. But apparently, Aries had other ideas. Finally, he raised his head and gently put her legs down. He then positioned himself on his knees, placed his thick member against her slit.
This man was so beautiful, like a fine work of art. She bit her bottom lip to hold back the moan that threatened to spill from her lips. Unable to help herself, Nina ran her hand down the center of his toned chest down to abs.
Aries shivered. “If you continue to touch me like that I won’t be able to control myself,” he groaned.
Boldly, she ran a finger down the center of his chest and made a path to his cock. She ran her finger along its length.
“You’ve been warned, woman.” And with that, he slammed into her, stretching her walls to their absolute limit with his wide girth. Aries captured her wrists and held them above her head, holding her immobile as he plowed into her so hard and deep they became one unit.
He brushed his lips against Nina’s and stared at her with his intense green gaze. “You’re so damn beautiful. And you’re all mine,” he chanted. With each word, he thrust into her and Nina loved every second of it. In that moment she could almost believe they were safe and sound and they could be happy again. She closed her eyes and reveled in in this passionate joining with a man who she hadn’t physically known that long, but her soul had known him forever.
Not content to remain still, she wrapped her legs around him and moved with him to the rhythm of their beating hearts. Her body tightened and a fire that began in the pit of her belly and spread throughout her entire being took over sending her hurtling to her peak.
She screamed his name. “Aries!”
“Mine!” he growled as he released his seed deep inside her thirsty pussy. She clenched her muscles around his cock, holding him inside of her for as long as she could.
Finally, he collapsed on top of her, panting. Aries wrapped his arms around her as he buried his face against her neck. They’d been wet before they got started from the bathwater but now their bodies were slick with sweat from the excursion of their lovemaking.
She absently stroked his arm as they lay in silence. Aries occasionally lifted his head to kiss her brow. In the short time Nina had known him, he seemed to be a sweet and nurturing man, everything a woman could want in a mate which made it all the more imperative that she get away. Nina didn’t think she could live with herself if something were to happen to him.
To her surprise, it was Aries who broke the silence. “I would have gotten you sooner but I had some business to take care of first.”
Nina wasn’t sure why he was sharing this with her. He didn’t really owe her an explanation. “I imagine you have Beta duties that keep you busy.”
“I suppose but there was more to it than that. I lied to my Uncle about it.”
“Why?” Aries seemed like an honest person so the fact that he must have had a reason for confessing this to her.
“I…I had a friend who called me. She said that she needed to tell me something urgently that only she could tell me.”
“She?” Nina didn’t mean to say that as sharply as she had and the second it was out of her mouth she realized how it must have sounded.
Aries must have noticed too because he raised his head with a raised brow and a slight smile tilted his lips. “Jealous.”
“No,” she answered more quickly than she’d intended. Even as she denied it, Nina knew it was a lie and from the knowing look on Aries’s face, he realized it too.
He dipped his head to give a long deep kiss and then he slowly pulled away to look into her eyes. “You have no reason to be jealous. From the second I saw you, there was no one else for me.”
She scoffed in disbelief. “Even in the pathetic state I was in?”
“Yes, even when you’d come to the island. You were broken but I recognized your strength. To endure that is a testament to your strength, but that’s beside the point. This woman—”
“Were you ever intimate with her?” Nina asked out of curiosity.
Aries hesitated before answering. “Yes. But that isn’t what I rushed to see her for. She’s a shifter like us but from time to time she has these dreams or these psychic premonitions which have served our pack well. I figured it must be something important if I was the only one she wanted to relay that message to. Besides, she was the one who’d told me about having a vision of an all-black before we even knew what you were.”
“So what happened? And why did you lie about it to your Alpha?”
“When I got there, she was under attack. Three hunters had broken into her home. She’d already dispatched one but two the other two had beaten her pretty badly. As she lie helpless on the ground, they were chanting over her. But then I broke it up. I was able to take one down immediately. The other one was very powerful and it took a considerable amount of my abilities to kill him. To be honest, I’m not sure if I would have if Calliope hadn’t intervened. I suppose by my distracting the remaining hunter she had time to heal enough to join in the attack. We both could have died.”
Hearing that Aries was that close to death did something to her. Nina’s heart plummeted. “Are you all right?”
“Of course. Trust me, I’ve faced many enemies over the years. It’s going to take more than a few hunters to destroy me.”
“You say that so casually.”
“When you’re in charge of seeing to the well-being of a pack you learn to fight early or step down. Besides, because of what my parents did.” He briefly told the story about his parent’s betrayal of the pack and how his cousin was the only one who knew. “I feel like I owe this pack my life,” he said when he finished his tale.
She touched his face. “You’re like me. Paying a penance for your past. Deep down, I know that Gage was probably going to kill Micco anyway. But it doesn’t erase the guilt or the shame. But why didn’t you tell your Uncle about the ambush at her house?”
He sighed before continuing. As I told you, she gets these premonitions. She saw the attack happening before it happened. She left the island deliberately in hopes that I would come rescue her.”
“She could have gotten you both killed!”
“And she realizes that. I did tell my Uncle there was an attack, just not how it came about, mainly to protect her. She did it because she had feelings for me and I wasn’t aware of them. I felt guilty that I’d never noticed. I believe she’s learned her lesson and she’s been a valuable asset to the pack. She’s one of our fiercest fighters. If I were to tell my Uncle, he would most likely have exiled her for this stunt gone wrong. In the end I blame myself for not noticing her feelings for me. If I had set her straight a long time ago this wouldn’t have happened.”
“You carry around a lot of guilt.”
He shrugged. “Perhaps it comes with the job.”
“No. I’ve met other Beta’s in my lifetime and it just shows that you have a caring heart. That you went to see a friend and then you saved her speaks of your character. I’ve dealt with many evil men and women but you…you’re one of a kind.”
Aries smiled as he gently caressed her face. “That’s very kind of you to say.”
“I’m just being honest.”
Without warning he rolled off of her and placed his arm over his eyes. “There’s another reason I’m telling you all this.”
>
“What?”
“Toward the end of the battled, I tried to get information out of the last hunter. I wanted to know what Gage was up to. He intimated something about you.”
Nina stiffened. “What did he say?”
“He said something about the darkness in conjunction with you but I don’t know what that means.”
Nina let out a heavy sigh and rolled away from him, pulling her knees up to her chest. “I tried to warn you.”
“Warn me about what?”
“You have to let me go.
“The answer to that will always be no.”
“Do you know what I’m capable of? What I can I do? What I’ve done?”
“What did you do?”
“When you said you were Malum, is that what the hunter was referring to? What did that mean?”
“You were surprised that I’ve been with Gage for a few centuries. Malum started popping up shortly after my capture. Gage found a spell that manipulates my essence into this disease that harms other shifters.”
Aries sat up and stared at her in confusion.
“It’s my understanding that I wasn’t the first all-black he’d captured. He needed one of my kind because there was something in us that could be used for his spell. He took my blood and mixed it with some recipe he got from the spellbook of black magic that he keeps with him. He’d experiment on the wolves in his employ except he wouldn’t tell them what was in the potion. They would go insane with rage. But in its infancy, the spell was only temporary. So he found a way to make it last by injecting it inside of me and using the saliva from my bite to make it work. He used it again, and it worked just like he wanted. I remember the first time he used the perfected serum on one of his unsuspecting underlings. Franz was his name. He was an ambitious shifter who believed Gage’s lies about some new world order. Gage gave him the serum and told Franz it was a special potion that would make him powerful.