by Morgan Wylie
“Rylen, what’s happening? My body feels electric. Even more than the pleasure you’re giving it.”
“It’s your magic, Alana. It’s coming to life. Don’t fight it,” he said with assured excitement. He was the one to break her curse. He believed it now more than ever. “I wanted to take more time with you our first time, but this needs to happen, baby. I need to join with you to break your curse.” Rylen stood up and divested himself of his jeans and underwear completely, causing his manhood to spring out fully erect.
“Now, Rylen. I need you inside me,” Alana panted, her own body readying to take him united with the sparking energy of her magic pulsing within her. It was almost too much.
Rylen stroked her between the folds of her womanhood, ensuring she could take his girth without him hurting her. No matter what they both needed, he would not be the source of her pain. Her hips rose to meet his downward strokes and caresses. Sliding one finger inside her, he tested her openness. She was wet for him, ready to take him fully inside her. He slid in two then three fingers, stretching her wide, preparing her for him.
“Now, Rylen,” she demanded and beckoned him to come toward her. He obeyed moved up her body, placing himself in between her legs, positioning his firm length right at her entrance. He took the moment right before they joined, to look into her eyes. Seeing love and acceptance there, he bent and took her mouth deeply and passionately. He pulled back, allowing her to breathe.
“Ready?” He asked. “Is this what you want?”
She nodded her head, gazing at him into his eyes. She reached up and placed her hand on the side of his face then ran her fingers through his hair. “I want you. All of you.”
Without warning, Rylen began to enter her, slowly at first, allowing her body to adjust to his size. Rylen groaned with restraint and control as he felt every electrical current within her body recognizing his magic, welcoming him home.
She gasped at the fullness his body provided her. Clawing at his backside, she spurred him on to keep moving, to enter her fully. All at once, he was seated fully inside her. They paused with simultaneous sighs of relief and conjoined pleasure. Once again, he began to move, rocking within her; her body rising to meet each and every thrust. Between the intensity of their individual arousals and the electrical surges of his magic igniting against her own, their control was an elusive idea that neither could grasp. Rylen took her mouth with a hunger she had not yet experienced from him. He devoured her lips and gave as much as he took. Releasing her mouth only to cherish and devour other parts of her: her neck, her shoulder, her breasts, she cried out with the intensity of the pleasure.
“Don’t stop, Rylen. Don’t stop,” she begged and held on tight for the ride of her life. Every nerve ending in her physical body was on fire, every magical nerve ending sparked with new life eliciting feelings she had never known were possible when lit by his own magic pulsating inside of her. He rode her harder and faster, his movements infused with his magic to offer her every sensitivity and feeling possible at this, their initial joining. A light began to emanate from Alana’s body. Rylen looked down at her with amazement as he continued to give her everything he had and more. He could feel the beast’s pleasure and approval within him. She was their mate and the only thing left was to mark her at the optimal moment, sealing their union and binding them together for eternity in time and space.
“More, Rylen, more. I’m almost there. I feel the magic building inside me,” Alana panted.
“Get ready, love.” Rylen looked at her tenderly. “Do you trust me?”
She nodded. “I do.”
He kissed her hard and right as he felt her clenching internally, milking him for all he was worth, his own release building to expulsion… he put his head in the crook of her neck and bit her.
Light exploded from within her, the intensity of her magic exploded into being. She cried out from the initial pain of his bite, but it was quickly blanketed by the most intense release of her own pleasure. The ecstasy rode them both for long moments after they were both spent. Rylen collapsed into her, a tangle of arms and legs, both breathing heavily, both appetites sated for the time being.
“Guess we found your magic,” Rylen chuckled lightly as he kissed her cheek tenderly.
“Guess we did,” she replied with a big smile. She ran her fingers lovingly over his chest and up and down his arm. She cuddled into his embrace as they fell asleep.
Hours later, Alana awoke smiling at the man still holding her protectively. The light of her magic had receded back inside her, but her heart shined through her eyes.
Rylen woke to her trailing her delicate fingers over his tanned exterior once again. He thought he would never get used to that, he would forever need her touches and smiles to keep him moving forward through time.
“I think you just saved me again,” she whispered into his ear as she began nibbling on it. He rolled over on top of her and looked into her eyes with tenderness. He then peered into her soul with his magic now knowing what he was looking for and saw her soul, secure and whole.
“I think we saved each other,” he whispered back as he moved hair out of her eyes, stroking her forehead and running his finger gently down her cheek as he did so. Rylen kissed her slowly at first, taking her lips, worshipping them as if it was the first time. Slowly he rolled back on top of her and slid into her once more, the place he would always be home.
“Make my magic explode again, Rylen,” Alana demanded breathlessly as he began to move inside her and kiss his way across her collar bone then down to each breast, sucking, nipping, and caressing his way learning her body’s every inch and curve so as never to forget.
“You’re mine now, Alana.”
“I like being yours.” She brought his mouth back to her own and kissed him passionately, distracting him as she wrapped her legs around his tightly and shifted her weight so they both rolled, allowing her to be on top, breaking the dance of their lips. Alana smiled and her eyes sparkled as she looked at him. “Let me have this.” He consented with his own smirk. He knew she needed to take control after everything had been so out of her control, every decision being made for her even the cycle of her life. “I’m yours, Rylen and you are mine, let me love you.” So she did all through the night; her magic sparking within her veins, growing and energizing the more she did. Black Widow was right, all she needed was her magical counterpart and her life mate to be made whole again. She felt something within her connecting and clicking into place when she was with Rylen. She felt strong and powerful. Now she needed to control it. And Rylen would be by her side to teach her and love her.
All he had to worry about was securing his reign of the Web’s Pacific Northwest vein, fulfilling his duty to the Black Widow by hunting down Alana’s father. Piece of cake, right?
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
“We know what you did last night,” Enock taunted.
“You’re such a child, Enock, really,” Violet said as she rolled her eyes in disgust at his antics, but all she gained from him was a shrug of his shoulders.
“Enough,” Rylen said as he stood proudly in front of his crew in the Den. A slight twinkle in his eyes and a lift of mouth indicated that didn’t care if they knew what he and Alana had done last night. He would leave them all to do it again right now if he could. Blush creeping up Alana’s neck in to her cheeks indicated she was not as used to teasing as he was. Rylen reached over and gave her shoulder a squeeze as she sat uncomfortably in a chair to his left.
“Yes, we completed the mating ritual—not that it’s any of your business,” Rylen stated to them all. Still hoots and hollers erupted from the guys especially, but also from Lola.
“Oh my god!” Alana covered her face in her hands and giggled in embarrassment while she tried to hide.
“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Rylen brought the rowdy group back to order. “We have some business to cover today.” The room sobered and all looked to Rylen. “First up: the members of the Fairfax Allianc
e are still out there… alive. Black Widow wants their heads.” Rylen glanced over at Alana, remembering that until only a few days ago, those people were her friends and family. He would try to be sensitive and might need a new plan, but he still had a job to do. “Black Widow is still reminding me of my deadline which is up the end of this year in case anyone besides her is counting.” There were chuckles from around the room. “We have scouting groups out now and will continue to until we find something for us to go off of.” Rylen took a deep breath and looked each of them in the eye. “I feel this is just the beginning. I don’t know what is coming, but whatever it is, it’s building.” He paused. “We successfully got Poppy back, we rescued others that were held captive, and even added to our ranks. And I found my mate after all these years. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m going to fight like hell to keep everything we’ve worked for and then some.” At everyone’s encouraging nods, he moved on. “Does anyone else have anything we need to go over?”
“What now? Do we just continue on as per usual around here?” Vi asked.
“For now, yes. But if anyone hears or sees anything out of order on the streets, bring it to me. We need to take everything into account from now on. We got sloppy and we almost lost one of our own this time. Not again.”
Alana hesitantly raised her hand.
“You don’t need to raise your hand, love.” Rylen smiled.
“Sorry. What is it I can be doing and how can I be a part of the team?” Off to the side, Enock smiled and nodded at her. She could see approval in the eyes of many around the table as she quickly scanned over them all. She wanted to get to know them, they would now be a part of her life and she wasn’t one to shirk away from a challenge.
“What is it you would like to do?” Rylen asked.
“Well, I would like to learn to control my magic and I want to learn to fight,” she began as she looked to Rylen whose jaw ticked as he clenched his teeth, “And then whatever else I can do to help around here and carry my weight.”
“I don’t like the idea of you fighting, but I suppose you’re right. It would be good for to be able to protect yourself should you need to.” Rylen nodded as if it was decided. “We can discuss more details about that, but I will set a schedule for the others to begin to train you in various defense skills. And Enock and I will help you with your magic at first.”
“Isn’t Enock a vampire? How can he help me with magic?” she asked innocently then thought better of what she said just in case, “No offense, Enock, I just didn’t think you would have magic.”
Enock held up his hands in front of him. “None taken, little one. I do not have magic as you pointed out, but I have trained with many that have and know some basic instruction with beginners.” Satisfied with his response, she nodded at him.
“Anybody else?” Rylen scanned the group.
“Yeah, maybe if Mather took that stick out of his ass and talked to Poppy, he wouldn’t be so moody.” Lola smirked at him which earned her a low rumbling growl from across the room.
Others in the room snickered and laughed under their breath except for Enock who belted out a holler, slapping Mather on the back, muttering, “She’s right, you know.”
Rylen kept his head down for a moment as if reading from a list, but smiled underneath it. “Okay, that’s enough. Mat, lighten up around here.”
Mather crossed his arms at his chest and put his feet up on top of the table as if to say There. I lightened up. Then he flipped off the room which only caused more laughing to ensue.
“All right. Everyone dismissed. Except I need E, Mat, and Luc to stay back a minute, please.” The girls all headed out. Alana started to follow them, but then turned back to Rylen to make sure she too should go. “Alana, please wait just outside the door for me. I’ll only be a minute.” She nodded and left him with a smile.
When the door shut, the boys turned awaiting Rylen’s instructions. Rylen’s expression was grave and it made them pause any jesting they would have normally started.
“What’s up, man?” Enock asked.
“We have a traitor.”
The heaviness in the room grew. Mather ran his fingers through his hair and dropped his feet to the floor. Enock crossed his arms, ready to kill someone and Lucius stared straight ahead, watching Rylen, unfazed by his declaration.
“You knew?” Rylen asked Lucius outright.
“No. I suspected. Too many things lined up with the timing of our moves.”
“Agreed. Now do any of you have suspects?”
Enock shook his head, but remained deep in thought.
“You think it was one of the girls?” Mather asked, indicating the door where they just exited.
“I don’t know, but I thought it easier to contain if just the four of us at first. I wanted to get your thoughts on it as well.”
“I think it’s Lacy,” Mather blurted out. At Rylen’s raised eyebrow, he expounded. “She’s always in the right places, always trying to distract and seduce you, and she’s just a pain in the ass and has the attitude to pull it off.”
“You’ve thought about this?” Rylen asked amused.
“Nah, I just don’t like her much,” Mather honestly replied with a shrug.
“I had an enlightening chat with our little Oracle. Seems she has some of her own concerns about Lacy as well, and she felt her words were not taken seriously,” Enock admonished with brotherly concern.
Rylen studied Enock for a moment then nodded. Message received.
“Keep your eyes open and your extra senses. I need this taken care of discreetly and quickly. The last thing I need is Black Widow to find out about our plans or about Gracie.” They all nodded in agreement. “As far as what Gracie was concerned about…”
As if on cue, a knock on the door sounded and in walked Alana arm in arm with the Oracle herself. Rylen questioned Alana with a look, but she simply shrugged her shoulders as if she didn’t know why she was being brought back into the Den. Lucius watched intently as they walked in. Enock stood to greet them and Mather looked on with interest.
Gracie sauntered in, owning the room with her bright smile. “We are supposed to be here. I don’t know why, but here we are,” she supplied.
“All right,” Rylen said. “We were finished with what we were discussing anyway.”
“I know. I’m not rude you know. I didn’t interrupt the important parts,” Gracie said with confidence which just made Mather laugh out loud and Rylen smirk.
“No, you are not rude. Please forgive me, Oracle,” Rylen said with a slight incline to his head in her direction. He looked to the guys, “I can fill you in on the rest later.” They nodded.
“Very well then.” She smiled, still holding onto Alana’s arm.
Just then another knock came on the door, but no one entered.
“Enter.”
Benson, one of the guards on duty today came in carrying a long cream envelope. He stopped just inside the doorway and bowed his head. “Forgive the intrusion, Boss. One of the employees in the hotel above handed this to one of the girls on her way out so she gave it to me to make sure you received it.” He walked forward and handed Rylen the envelope.
“Thank you, Benson. You may return to your post.” Benson left without another word. Rylen silently questioned Gracie about the envelope raising it in her direction.
“I’m not sure what it is, Rylen. It’s inevitable. You must open it.”
Rylen pulled out what looked like a letter and unfolded it. It, too, was cream in color and thick in texture like fancy paper. As he read it, his face contorted with rage and his hands clenched with fury at the paper he held within them. Immediately all three guys turned into warriors and stood at Rylen’s side, ready for whatever order he might issue.
“What is it, Rylen?” it was Alana who asked quietly.
He handed the letter to Enock who read it aloud. “We know what you are hiding. We’ve finally found her. She will soon be ours to use against you then take over the wor
ld.”
A gasp came from Alana, a growl erupted from Enock, and Lucius stormed out of the room, slamming the door on his way out.
Mather grabbed the letter from Enock. Holding it close to his face, he inhaled deeply both the front and back then examined the letter itself. Mather looked to Rylen and then to Enock, his face marred with confusion, his brows scrunched tight in concentration.
“Who is it, Mat?” Rylen prodded.
“There’s no scent. It’s handwritten, and yet there is no fucking scent,” Mather growled.
“Mather,” Gracie began…
“No. They will not take you. We will find them.” Mather promised and followed his brother out the door.
“This is how it begins,” Gracie said, resigned with quiet emotion.
Epilogue
Black Widow lurked in the shadows of her personal lair, concealing herself within the darkness. She found comfort in the soothing coolness within her dank abode. The only light, from a small monitor, glinted off her eyes and the thin absorbent threads decorated closely around her. Reflection revealed nothing more than the harsh glow of the monitor itself. Silence permeated the air, except for the light electrical hum of the monitor and the faint scuttling of her cherished, creeping across the surfaces. Scurrying emerged louder than the rest from an open entrance, rounded within a rock wall.
“Finally, you’ve come home,” Black Widow crooned as she stirred from the opposite corner. Slowly, she moved away from the darkness to where the edge of light from the monitor encroached across the room toward her. Exposing herself to the light after dwelling in the darkness for so long left her skittish and wary, but quickly she recovered at the welcomed sight of the tiny creature before her. Gathering her cloak of confidence, she swaggered forward in constricting black vinyl head to toe, releasing the threads of silk clinging to her arms. The pallor in her skin was smooth as porcelain, vividly defining her inhumanly large round eyes. Uncharacteristically, her hair was left in a disheveled long tangled mess, the blood-red swath entwined within.