by Desiree Holt
He groaned and pulled back slightly.
“It was you I tasted on the spoon.”
His tongue swiped my lower lip, and his hands tightened in my hair.
“Heaven,” he whispered.
Need throbbed between my legs. Gripping his arms, I pressed closer and licked his lips in return. I groaned, and he took more. The first touch of his tongue to mine broke my fine hold on control. He was a drug, and consuming him was my only way to stay alive. Our teeth clicked as I deepened the kiss. My skin burned with heat and need.
“More,” I demanded, pulling my mouth from his.
With a slight jump up, I wrapped my legs around his waist and settled my hips against his. One of his hands left the back of my head to cup my ass. The feel of his hips rubbing into mine maddened me.
He reclaimed my mouth, and I growled and bit his lower lip. He growled and pinned me against the wall. It was perfect. His hips pressed firmly against mine as his hands moved from my head to my shoulders. Something tore. Cool air brushed my hot skin. His lips left mine to trail down my neck.
Arching to give him room, I shifted my hold from his arms to his hair. Now that I’d chosen, each beat of my heart made my skin tighter. Need clawed at me. I needed to feel him everywhere.
“More,” I demanded again.
His tongue traced the curve of my breast. When his teeth scraped me, I gave a strangled cry. Every touch was a mix of heaven and hell. I’d waited so long, resisted so long, I wasn’t sure how to let go without hurting Rogan. I knew my strength, and he was no match until the mating was complete.
He moved us away from the wall while keeping his hot mouth on my breast. His tongue laved and his teeth scraped my sensitive skin. But when he drew hard, suckling with an aching force, I forgot about control.
His fingers worked the button of my pants, and his hand slipped inside. I cried out at his first touch, bucking and writhing. The sudden change of position, from my feet to over his shoulder, tore an angry growl from me, which quickly faded when his finger still buried in my pants found a sweet spot.
A moment later, he deposited me on my bed and tugged away the rest of my clothes.
When he broke contact by pulling back, I wanted to scream at him. Then I saw his face. Angry red scratch marks lined his cheeks. I couldn’t remember touching him there.
Guilt started to kill the need slicing at my insides.
“No.” His gaze pinned me. “Don’t doubt yourself. Or your choice. Come on,” he said, swatting my bare thigh. “On all fours.”
“I don’t think—”
He swatted harder. “Now.”
Scowling at him, I turned away and rose to my knees. Looking over my shoulder, I slowly bent forward.
He lowered his sweats, and I bared my teeth at the sight of him. I almost turned around again.
“No, Ambrey. This time, we do it this way. Face forward.”
I growled in frustration, but knew he was right. Our first mating would be too rough on him otherwise.
Facing forward, I fisted my hands in my bedding. He cupped my ass, his hands stroking the skin as his teeth scored my lower back, notching that need right back up to where it’d been.
“Rogan, if you don’t do something soon…”
His hands gripped my hips. My breath caught at the feel of him against me. And then, he pushed forward, making me his. I screamed out as my mind opened. The ever present voice faded to silence. Rogan’s calm existence anchored me.
He began to move, and I finally let go.
* * *
“Are you all right?” Rogan asked.
My eyes were closed, and I’d been seconds from drifting off because it was well past midnight. We’d gone at it like…animals. I grinned tiredly, glad he couldn’t see.
He’d collapsed on top of me when we’d finished but hadn’t yet moved. He was heavy and pressing me into the mattress in a slightly smothering way, but I didn’t want to say anything. The skin to skin contact was amazing.
“Perfect,” I breathed. My head was clear. Completely and totally clear.
I couldn’t remember ever feeling this calm and in control.
“How about you?” I asked, slightly muffled.
“Good. Getting ready for round seven. You game?” He rolled his hips, letting me know just how ready he was.
I laughed.
“Show me what you got.”
He did.
Nine
ROGAN
Ambrey was on her stomach spread out beside me. Her head was turned and her mouth slightly opened as she slept. The dark smudges under her eyes were gone as were the creases in her forehead. She looked healthy and young. Normal. I was still amazed at her control.
The moment we’d mated, I’d felt something change. She’d remained just as wild and aggressive physically, but she’d felt suddenly calmer and more focused. The energy that had surged through me, on the other hand, had created an aggressive appetite for her that had been hard to satiate. I still wanted more. I wasn’t sure if that was how stopping the descent was supposed to happen or not, but it had been amazing.
I lifted my hand to trace the curve of her spine and noticed the bite she’d given me was healed. She’d given me that gift. Healing. I wondered what more I could do now because of our connection. As quickly as I had that thought, I dismissed it. Here, what I could or couldn’t do as a wolf wouldn’t matter.
And with that, I realized how truly free I was. No Lutha. No girdack. Nothing but Ambrey.
“I can feel you looking at me,” she said without lifting her head or shifting position.
“Can’t help it. You’re in my blood.” I ran my finger along her back.
“And you’re in mine,” she said, rolling over and catching my finger. Now that there were no secrets, she moved with her natural speed. Fast. She grinned at me and playfully nipped my finger.
Do we have any other plans today?
“Other?” she asked.
“Biting can only mean you plan to have some more fun in bed. Before we start, I just wanted to check if there was anything else we should keep in mind.”
She laughed. “Nothing.”
Several hours later, hunger drove us from bed and into clothes because Ambrey insisted that we open the door just for a little while.
I put some bacon into a pan and watched her mix the pancake batter. She was smiling slightly and completely calm, no twitching or muttering present.
“The voice gone?” I asked.
“For now, at least. If I’d known mating would reverse the descent, I might have caved ages ago.”
I frowned and scuttled the bacon in the pan. Her teasing comment about mating sooner didn’t upset me, but saying the descent had withdrawn did concern me.
“I didn’t think it reversed itself. I guess I never asked, but based on the mated females I know...it just seemed like the symptoms stopped but the madness remained.” I quickly looked at her. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“It’s okay. I know what you mean; I felt crazy. Really crazy. Looking back, the reasons I did things made perfect sense at the time, but I don’t think I could do the same things now. Like Bull. I would have handled the first encounter differently and definitely the second. If this feeling of sanity isn’t normal, I’m still grateful it happened.”
“Me too,” I said, moving away from the stove to kiss her.
She still tasted addictive to me. I’d rather kiss her than eat any time, and I could see by the look in her eyes when I pulled away, she thought the same about me.
“But I did think you were perfect before, too.”
She smiled and brought her batter to the stove. Removing the limp bacon, she spooned some of the grease into a spare bowl then dumped a large amount of batter into the pan for the first cake. My stomach growled hungrily. She plucked a piece of bacon from the plate and teasingly fed it to me.
“Tink!” a female voice yelled just before steps pounded up the stairs.
Ambrey licked t
he grease from my lips, handed me the piece of bacon to finish myself, and turned toward the door.
A provocatively dressed woman rushed into the living room and locked eyes with Ambrey.
“I was watching Kye for Shay. We were coming back from the store when three guys grabbed her. They told me to get him”—she pointed at me—”if I wanted her back.”
My heart gave a lurch for the little girl. Ambrey’s eyes narrowed angrily for a moment, then her features settled into a reassuring mask.
“It’s okay, Cara. They won’t hurt Kye. Let’s go get her. You can bring her home while Rogan and I stay behind to talk to our guests.”
Cara nodded, and I went to put my shoes on. I’d known Cael wouldn’t just disappear as soon as Ambrey and I mated; yet, it seemed a part of me secretly hoped they had. It wouldn’t be easy to convince Cael that I was officially off the market. I glanced at Ambrey’s determined expression and knew she was thinking the same.
The walk to retrace Cara’s steps was hurried and quiet. We heard Kye before we saw her, and her words reassured me.
“When Tink gets here, she’s going to hand you your asses.”
We turned the corner and found the little girl standing before six weres. The Lutha had sent reinforcements. Not good. Yet, to Kye, it didn’t matter that the men were bigger, stronger, older, or that there were more of them. She had her arms folded and attitude in her stance.
Cael’s gaze lifted from Kye to us. Kye didn’t seem to notice. Since her back was to us, she didn’t know we were close.
“And when she does, you pussys are—”
“Kye, watch your mouth,” Ambrey said, evenly.
“Tink!” The little girl whirled to face us.
We stopped our advance several yards away.
“Time for you go with Cara,” Ambrey said.
“No,” Cael said, catching Kye by the shoulder and holding her in place. “We trade. Rogan for the girl.”
Ambrey gave a short laugh. “The Lutha has overstepped her bounds if you have orders to touch little girls.”
Cael’s gaze flew to mine. “You violated the—”
“Enough,” Ambrey said. “Cara, take Kye home.”
The girdack had one rule. Don’t talk about the girdack. If Cael thought I’d shared girdack information with a human, like I’d threatened, I wasn’t sure what he’d do. Violators died along with those who knew our secrets. I glanced down at Kye, worried for her.
Ambrey crossed her arms in a very Kye-like fashion and waited for Cael to decide.
“Fine. You both stay, and we’ll find out just how much clean-up is needed.” He lifted his hands from the girl’s shoulder, and she ran straight to Cara.
“Home,” Ambrey said without looking away from Cael. “And no more swearing.”
“You got it Tink,” Kye chirped, taking Cara’s hand.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Ambrey uncrossed her arms.
“I belong to the moon so no girdack law has been violated.”
Cael’s jaw dropped for half a heartbeat before he recovered.
“Good, that makes this much easier. The Lutha has sent us to bring Rogan home. Hand him over.”
Ambrey tilted her head as she considered Cael. I nervously watched her. I knew the violence she was capable of and the extent to which she’d go to protect her own.
TINK
“You can’t have him. I claimed him for my own.” I could feel Rogan’s tension as he stood beside me.
“He is meant for the Lutha’s daughter,” Cael said.
“Then she should have mated him while she had the chance.”
Cael growled and tensed his stance. Rogan took a step forward, but I lifted my hand to stop him.
“I want your word you won’t interfere,” I said to Rogan, glancing at Cael and the two behind him. Six to one wasn’t good odds even if that one was a female.
“What if—?”
“I have six years, Rogan. Don’t worry.” Despite my assurance, I could see he was still concerned.
“Neither of us wants to follow their ways,” he said. “Let’s make our own. Partners. Equals.”
I smiled slightly, so glad he had agreed to be mine.
“Equals, then.”
“Good. Cael is mine. You can have the rest,” he said with a boyish grin.
The men behind him moved restlessly as I giggled. Rogan’s ease and humor told me just how much he trusted my ability to handle the situation, despite the odds. But, my humor faded as I realized we would have an even bigger problem if I dealt with five of them.
Before mating, I would have calmly faced the men and did whatever I felt needed to be done to keep Rogan safe and out of the Lutha’s hands. Now my head was clearer, and I didn’t want a mess like I’d had with Bull. Although handling all six would be easy, it would draw too much of the Lutha’s attention. Enough to perhaps seem like I was challenging her. I didn’t want that.
There was, however, another way to show that Rogan was mated and mine. As my mate, he had a portion of my strength. But was it enough to win? I glanced at Rogan. Was I willing to take that risk?
“What?” he asked softly.
“I can’t fight. If I do…”
He nodded slowly, understanding.
“I want your word you won’t interfere,” he said, quoting me.
I reached up and touched his cheek. The scruff on his jaw scraped along the pads of my fingers.
“I swear I won’t interfere, unless interference is the only option.”
He turned his face to kiss the palm of my hand. My skin tingled. I wanted this done so we could go back to building a new life together. Curling my hand into a fist, I gave Rogan one last look and turned to Cael.
“The Lutha doesn’t run things here. Humans do. By their rules, two fight. One wins. You can name the two,” I said to Cael.
The man grinned.
“Me against Rogan.”
ROGAN
Ambrey’s concerned gaze locked on me.
“Six years,” I said softly, echoing her words. “I’ll be all right.” I leaned in and kissed her forehead.
“Hurry up, Rogan,” Cael called. “I want to finish this quickly so the Lutha has you by tomorrow night.”
Releasing Ambrey, I turned to Cael. He moved several yards forward, halving the distance between us while his five men stayed behind.
With relaxed steps, I crossed the rest of the way and stopped before him.
“Why are we bothering?” I asked. “I’m mated. I won’t do the Lutha any good.”
Cael inhaled deeply and growled.
“I can smell her on you.”
“No shit. I just said I’m mated. I can’t mate two females.”
Cael’s gaze shifted to Ambrey.
“No, you can’t mate two living females.”
My gut clenched at the threat, and my skin tingled with rage.
“You won’t touch her,” I said with a growl of my own.
“If you win, I won’t touch her. But we both know that’s not going to happen. You’re going back to the Lutha.”
“If I win, you don’t touch her, I stay, and you leave.”
Cael laughed.
“Give it your best,” he said.
Growing up in the girdack meant a youth of fighting. Females and males. It helped determine the pecking order. And, when it came to pecking order, I’d never been near the top. Or the middle. But, that meant I knew how to fight dirty.
I shifted my gaze to his groin and jerked my knee upward. As soon as he started to block, I swung out with a right to his head. My fist connected with his cheekbone, the force of it turning his head. He took a stumbling step back as he brought his hands up to block. Driving my left fist forward low, I caught him in the side. He jabbed with his right and caught my face unprotected. We shuffled back from each other, circling and gauging openings.
“You hit harder than I remember,” he said, favoring his side. His face was already swelling.
; “You talk as much as I remember.”
He growled but didn’t come at me. I feinted with a step to the right. He backed up with a step left. I grinned. He didn’t want to get hit again.
Saying a mental, fuck it, I lunged forward and went for his ribs.
He blocked as he tried to move out of range, but I kept on him until I managed to hook an arm around his neck. The position exposed my left, but gave me access to his head. He pounded on my back with his right while I brought my fist down on his temple. The blow dazed him, and he forgot to hit back.
I managed three hits to the right side before he had enough sense to slip out of my hold.
“Call it,” I said.
“Fuck you.” Cael’s words lacked strength, just like his hits and his stance. He already knew I was stronger, but he couldn’t take an easy out. He had witnesses who would hear whatever report he gave to the Lutha.
I moved forward again, filling any opening in his defense with my fists. Keeping close, I didn’t give him any space to breathe or regroup. He landed several hits to my ribs, but never managed to get to my face after that first blow.
His reactions slowed with each blow. I was wearing him down, and by the half-lidded exhaustion on his face, he knew it.
Turning, I drove him toward the sidewalk. He barely noticed. When his heel hit the curb, he fell backward. Sprawled on the ground, Cael lay there panting. I drew back my leg, ready to lay into his side.
“No!” he said, lifting his arm. “Don’t. I call it. You win. Just stop.”
Kye was right. He was a pussy. At least I hadn’t whined when they’d had me on the ground.
One of the six growled low and made a move toward me.
“We had an agreement,” Ambrey said. “Rogan won. He stays. You leave.”
The one who’d moved stepped back and bowed his head in acknowledgement.
I couldn’t believe I’d finally won my freedom.
Cael slowly rolled to his side, then to his knees. No one moved to help him as he struggled to his feet then took slow steps to join the others. They watched his approach with contempt. I didn’t envy the challenges he would face because of tonight’s defeat.