There was no answer. Agar nodded.
“I will send the transcription of this meeting to those who were not here, and those groups whose communities still lack leadership. Thank you again for your time. If there are no objections, Council is adjourned.”
***
“So you’ve settled in New York?” Conall asked of Nicolette once they were outside. The other council members had driven off or were in the process of doing so. His beta had gone over to his car to allow them to speak privately.
“Some of us like New York, particularly the city. It allows for certain eccentricities.”
“There are others elsewhere?”
Nicolette only gave him an amused look. Her eyes sparkled. “Are all of your people concentrated in New York? Of course not. Neither are mine. I see you’re confused? Not only are we strong, Conall Athelwulf, we are fast. We did not contemplate staying in Europe, at least not for a few years, so the rugged lands of America seemed the obvious choice. We’ve been through all of these states, and only a few measured up to our standards. New York was one of them.” When he didn’t ask another question, she changed the subject. “How is my granddaughter?”
“Well,” he replied, smiling as he thought of Vivienne. Nicolette watched him carefully, wondering if her daughter’s mate had been anything like Conall. Her heart tugged painfully and she tried to push the thought away. Her Annabel. The pain she must have known, on her own with no mate and no mother to help her as that black-hearted bastard hunted her down. Annabel had been her only child, and Nicolette had indulged her every whim. In her heart, Nicolette knew Annabel had struggled without the support of another, and it was for that reason, and many others, that she requested such suffering for Cronin. To this day, the knowledge that he was being tortured in Tartarus gave her incredible pleasure. “If you’d like, you can visit her.”
An amused grin tugged her lips upward as she responded, “Thank you for your invitation, wolf, but no one could keep me from my family. I will visit, but not now. There are other matters that must be fixed first.” She headed for the sleek gray car that had been purchased recently. “These things are marvelous, are they not? Thousand-pound creatures you can control with your hands and feet. Beautiful beasts. Machines, they are called.”
Conall nodded. It was his turn to be amused.
“Expensive machines,” he retorted, holding the door as she stepped into the Audi. She easily adjusted her seatbelt over her cream, long coat, smoothing away a piece of dark lint on the material.
“Are they?” Nicolette asked curiously. Conall pushed the door in. “I will see you soon, Conall. I intend to formally visit this Cedar Creek of yours within the month.” When he raised a brow, she added, “Oh, I have seen it. I was very thorough when scanning this state.” He stepped back as she turned on the engine. “Please say hello to my granddaughter for me.”
***
Her shower was long. Vivienne was certain she spent close to an hour soaking under the lukewarm spray. She’d awoken feeling better than she had in years. Even when her mother had unbound her powers, she hadn’t felt this…refreshed.
According to Zahira, who’d knocked and walked into her bedroom minutes after she’d awoken, much to Vivienne’s embarrassment as one could obviously tell the reason the room was in such disarray, Conall was at a Council meeting. The Elder had chuckled and mentioned something about Vivienne being raised human before Vivienne escaped to the bathroom.
Now, as she turned off the water and wrapped herself in a bathrobe, she wondered if Zahira was still in her room. She wasn’t, but it was obvious someone else had been there. The bedding had been replaced. Gone were the torn sheets and comforters. In its place were new ones.
Dressing quickly, Vivienne made her way downstairs. Zahira sat on one of the plush couches in the living room, flicking from channel to channel in search of something to watch. Eli sat in the La-Z-Boy, white iPod headphones in his ear as he bobbed to the beat of a song while doing his homework.
Zahira noticed her instantly. It took Eli a few more seconds. Once he did however, he looked back to Zahira, then to her, before giving them both a smile and leaving.
Vivienne took the seat he’d vacated.
“You feel wonderful, don’t you?” Zahira asked knowingly, placing the remote on the stand beside her after locating the Discovery Channel. They were doing an episode on big cats.
“Amazing,” Vivienne agreed.
The Elder chuckled. “It will last for at least two days, longer if you’re breeding.”
She knew what breeding meant, but her eyes still widened as she looked at the Elder.
“Did Conall explain anything to you?” Zahira enquired, even as her eyes narrowed as it did when she was sure of the answer. “No?”
“Some of it but it, erm, happened very quickly,” Vivienne said defensively.
Zahira lifted a brow and chuckled. “Our females experience heat primarily to procreate. It is normal for a were female, which I’m assuming you are after your change last week, to experience heat at least once a year after entering puberty—”
“This happens more than once?”
“Yes.” When Vivienne swallowed, Zahira added with a wink, “A newly mated female can go into heat as many as five times in the course of five months.”
Closing her eyes, Vivienne leaned back in the chair and murmured, “It’s like another period.”
“Much more fun,” Zahira reminded her, and Vivienne found herself grinning. She knew what Zahira meant. In a way, heat was painful. Her entire body had felt hot to the point of combustion, but when Conall had given her release, she’d felt such pleasure that it was worth it. If she went back into heat after mating Conall, she wouldn’t mind it, especially as she knew what the outcome would be.
“You mentioned…conceiving?” Vivienne asked, clearing her throat.
Zahira nodded.
“How likely is it?”
It was Zahira’s turn to grin. “The time of your heat coincides with your most fertile time in the month. Conception is very likely.”
Vivienne crossed her feet. “Hm.” That thought made her a bit giddy. She could be carrying Conall’s child. And then another thought occurred to her.
“Babies, right? Not pups?”
Zahira looked confused for a small instance before she understood. “It depends.”
“On?” Vivienne prodded, grimacing as an image of her human body giving birth to wolf pups popped into her mind. These wolves were huge. She could only imagine how big the pups were.
“Many things, but one is more dominant than the rest. If you conceive in your human form, more than likely, you will birth babies. But if you conceive as a wolf…”
“Oh.”
“So my human body can’t have puppies?”
The Elder grimaced before shaking her head. “That would be cruel and our goddess is not.”
“How many?” When Zahira looked confused, Vivienne elaborated. “If I were pregnant, how many would I have?”
She shrugged. “Some have one, some have more.” She smiled and added, “I’ve seen a litter of eight once.”
Vivienne shuddered, and Zahira laughed. “For your first, I don’t believe it will be so large.”
They didn’t speak for long moments as Vivienne processed everything Zahira had said. When she finally spoke, it was a slight change of subject. “Thank you for fixing the bedroom.”
“It was not a difficult task,” Zahira replied with a smile before adding, “You’re welcome, Vivienne.”
A few more minutes of silence passed between them before Vivienne asked, “Do you need me to do anything for the ceremony?”
“All of the preparations have been made, Vivienne,” Zahira said. “All you have to do is show up, and trust your mate completely.” She paused, and her eyes grew serious as she studied Vivienne. “Will you do that?”
Her answer was immediate. “Yes.”
“I thought so,” Zahira confided. Her eyes went back t
o the television in time to see a cheetah chasing a deer. “Magnificent creatures. An old friend of mine controls a were-cat pack that consists only of cheetahs….”
***
“Why do you keep doing that?” Vivienne asked softly. From the moment he’d arrived home, Conall had been sniffing at her. At first, she’d thought it affectionate, but now she’d begun to wonder if she were giving off an odor. Her shower had been hours ago, but still. She’d checked…very quickly…but that wasn’t it.
Conall lifted his head, and blinked. They were seated on the couch in his living room, Vivienne on his lap with her body pressed against his back as he reclined against the chair arm. The television was on, and some Lifetime movie was showing. They hadn’t been paying attention.
“What?”
“Sniffing me,” she murmured, turning in his arms. “Why do you keep sniffing me?”
His eyes narrowed briefly, and then he smiled, a slow smile that made her want to do wicked things to him. The slight soreness between her legs had faded so she was quite ready for any debauched activity he might…desire.
“Because I love your smell,” he replied, pulling her forward until her lips were inches from his. “And I love smelling myself on you.”
Her brows lifted and she sniffed at her skin. She smelled herself, the body wash, and a faint aroma of spice. She sniffed again, and he chuckled, pulling her up so that he could kiss her lips.
“You can’t smell it as much, alainn,” he said when his lips finally released hers.
A bit breathless, she replied, “Why not?”
“Because you are not male,” he said, smiling once more. He seemed awfully proud of himself. “Every male who comes into contact with you will know you are mine.”
They shouldn’t have, especially as he had been inside her countless times yesterday, but his words made her tingly and wet. She tried to act like they didn’t, by frowning at him, but he only winked at her, and ran his hands under the shirt and up her back.
“What about females?” she inquired, trying to ignore the feelings his warm hands were bringing about.
“There’s no threat from females,” he replied, licking at her neck.
“Th—that’s not what I meant,” she said, clearing her throat. “Does it work both ways? Will they smell me on you?”
He nodded once, pulling back to stare at her.
“I don’t want another female, alainn,” he said seriously, and she felt him brush her mind to see if she were thinking that. She wasn’t. Seeing that wasn’t the case, he continued, “There are some males who take other females in addition to the ones they select as mates….” Vivienne’s scowl was vicious. “But I don’t want any other females.”
“That’s good because you’re not getting any other female.” She kissed him quick before curiosity reared its head. “And what of the females? Do they take other males after they are mated?”
The glare he sent her was so full of hostility that she laughed, which only seemed to anger him more.
“Are you serious?” Vivienne finally managed after gathering her breath. “Males are allowed to have a mate, and any other female, but the females can’t do the same thing?”
“Only a weakling would allow another male to take his female,” Conall said testily. She saw his eyes narrow and sent up a mental guard. “Why have you blocked me from your mind?”
His grip on her back tightened and his eyes flashed yellow. “Do you want another male?”
Vivienne knew she was treading testy waters. In fact, she was smart enough to know what she said would either placate him or send him into a furious fit. She wasn’t trying to anger him. She was just curious, and a bit angered at the obvious male dominance in the pack. What happened to equal opportunities for females?
“No,” she said slowly. “Only you.” His eyes shifted back to blue but he was tense beneath her.
“Then why did you ask?”
Sighing, she replied, “Don’t you think it’s unfair? That a male can have a mate and whomever else, but that a mated female can’t?”
“No.”
“Conall!” She tried to move but he held her still.
“It has been the way of our people for generations, alainn. Males can only take one mate at a time, but some packs are small, and there are females who are left without. So, in many of these packs, the males couple with those females as well. It’s mostly for reproduction of the species, and the continuation of the pack.”
“And what of these females, the ones who remained unmated? Are they allowed to take whomever they want?”
He nodded once as his eyes grew hooded. “An unattached female may do as she pleases, much like an unattached male.”
“So,” Vivienne began, “hypothetically speaking, if I wanted—”
“No!”
She hid a grin. Conall didn’t know how attractive he was when jealous, but she did. His eyes grew hard, lips taut, and his eyebrows drew down as if he would pounce at any moment. “But you didn’t even hear me out.”
“I will never share you, Vivienne.”
“I wasn’t going to say that,” she murmured.
“You were thinking it,” he replied.
“How would you know?” she asked with a grin, tapping the side of her head. “You’re not in here.”
He growled at her. She smiled, and then blinked rapidly at finding herself beneath him, with his body pressed into hers. Even angry, he was hard for her.
“Are you teasing me?” he asked quietly, his face mere inches from hers.
She considered lying, saying that she wasn’t, but decided against it. She wanted him jealous, and possessive. She didn’t want him angry. “Yes.” She dropped the shield she’d put up against him. It took only seconds before he was probing her mind again, and then his body relaxed and he glared at her.
“You like when I’m jealous?” he asked in a low, slightly menacing tone. His hand slipped under her shirt, quickly moving to her breasts.
“You’re an attractive man,” she replied breathlessly, pushing her chest upward for his touch. His fingertips pinched at her nipples, before he roughly palmed them. Vivienne moaned and sighed, smiling up at him. “Extremely attractive.”
She heard a rip and looked down to find her shirt torn down to the middle. Vivienne shook her head and threw him an amused glance.
“You’re going to have to stop doing that,” she said softly, watching as his hand parted the shirt to reveal the swollen and peaked tips of her nipples.
“You like it,” he threw back at her, moments before his mouth lowered to one of her breasts, tongue swirling around her nipple before his mouth closed over it.
She moaned, and her thighs clutched him tighter.
Yes. Yes I do.
His eyes lifted to hers and held them as he went to her other nipple, sucking at it until she cried out. He released her nipple with a soft pop, and then proceeded to leave her.
Pushing onto her arms, Vivienne glared at his broad back.
What are you doing?
With a smug smile, he replied, “I can be a tease too, alainn.”
Blinking, her mind still clouded by her lust for him, Vivienne watched him leave the room. She fell back against the couch, and shook her head, still confused. Without him robbing her of her thoughts, she was able to formulate a plan. Instead of following him, which she was sure he expected, she pushed herself up and stepped out of the torn shirt and sweats. She stared down at her pink cotton panties, one of her newer pairs, and decided to remove them as well. As it was, she happened to be running low on underwear. There was no need to another one to the torn pile.
She reclined back on the couch, facing the entrance of the living room as she did so.
Conall?
He didn’t reply immediately. It was many seconds before his voice touched her mind.
Yes?
You’ve left me in a very…vulnerable state, and I’m confused as to what to do.
Come upstairs.
She squeezed her legs together at the command and willed her body to disobey. It was a game. They were playing a game, and he’d won round one.
That’s too far. As I’ve said, you’ve left me in a very vulnerable state. I’m extremely horny and naked, in your living room.
Naked?
She smiled. Yes. My clothes were stifling me, so I took them off.
Come upstairs, Vivienne.
She shook her head and grinned. As I said, it’s too far. Plus, I’m sure if I wait here long enough, someone will come. I do live in house with four male werewo—
She heard him before she saw him. There was a commotion on the staircase, and then he stood in the entryway to the living room, completely naked with a harsh scowl on his face. His gaze scanned the room briefly, as if searching another male, before coming to land on her. The scowl only grew larger.
Vivienne smiled and parted her legs, lifting her hips off the couch as she did so.
He strode over to her and mounted her, pulling one of her legs onto his shoulder. Vivienne slipped her hand behind his back, right above his buttocks, and held tight.
His entry was punishing, and she cried out in pleasure-mixed pain as he bumped against her cervix. Conall withdrew and thrust again, watching her face as he did so. Her vision clouded, lips parted on a gasp. With every thrust, she undulated against him, hips lifting to meet his as he stroked at her tight sex. He leaned more of his weight onto her, pushing her leg closer to her chest as he seemed to go even deeper.
“Ooh,” she cried out, lowering her hands to squeeze his toned ass.
He growled above her, and pulled out. For a brief moment, Vivienne feared he would leave again, but he only sat back against the couch and lifted her onto him. She kissed him immediately, spreading her legs and waiting for his invasion. As he filled her again, she whimpered and moaned. Conall waited, gently massaging her hips, as she began to move. Her thrusts soon became frantic, and he leaned forward and took her nipple into his mouth. As it usually was with him, her orgasm was intense, blinding her as it washed over her body. She screamed, uncaring of who heard, and fell against him, shuddering violently.
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