“If Remus stands with him. What if he doesn’t?”
“If he doesn’t, we’ll tear him apart the same as any other threat. Don’t let his age intimidate you. Grigori Remus is no god. He is fallible.” Warner studied him for a long moment before speaking. “About the girl.”
“Uncle…”
“No. Listen to me. I know she is your mate. But if you don’t bite her and do it soon, you’re endangering everyone’s life, including hers. Fix. Your. Shit. Got me? Either bite her, or tranq her and ship her ass to some uncharted island where our enemies can’t find her.”
“You don’t understand.” Everything was always black and white for Warner. Sometimes Blake found himself wishing he was more like his steadfast uncle.
Warner looked down at him, amber eyes as haunted as he’d ever seen them. “Yes, I do. I understand it more than you could ever know.”
“Then tell me.”
Warner looked up at the wide expanse of blue sky then back down to Blake’s face.
“You were in love with her,” he exclaimed. “My mother…”
“Always, lad. From the day I set eyes on Arianna Montpelier, I loved her. I loved her in the way of young men and even younger wolves.”
Blake waited for Warner to continue. He knew the wolf would tell his story in his own time.
“Stirling sent me to Minnetonka to deal with some unrest. There’d been some poaching, rogue wolves on Woolven pack land. Montpelier was the Woolven Regent, but you know that part. The first time I saw your mother, it was under a witch’s moon—three blood red rings around the pale, lambent goddess.” Warner swallowed hard, his raspy voice much deeper with emotion.
Warner didn’t generally speak of himself. When he did speak, it was of the world around him or the old stories, the old laws. This was a new side to his uncle.
“She was dancing around a fire. When she caught scent of me, she took me down. I let her because she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. She wasn’t as impressed with me, not at first.” He smiled as he remembered, his scars not wanting to allow the expression, but Warner seemed to bend them to his quiet will. “Not until the rogue showed himself. He’d gone rabid. I took his head off. Easily, I might add. As your father’s Beta, I needed his permission to claim a mate. I told him to come to Minnetonka. When he did, it was obvious that Arianna was his.”
“I don’t understand.”
“She had the mating bond with both of us, as some females do. I chose Stirling for her.”
“Why would you do that?” He couldn’t imagine choosing any of his brothers for Randi. He wasn’t that noble.
“Because he was the Alpha.”
Understanding dawned. “You’d have had to challenge him for Alpha. And you knew you would’ve won.”
Warner met his gaze solemnly. “Yes. But I wasn’t what was best for the pack. Stirling was. And he was my brother. Can you imagine the humiliation of bowing down to your younger brother? If it were you, and Parker bested you?”
Goddess. Anyone but Parker. No, that wasn’t fair. Parker behaved like a pup because he was treated like a pup. He had no responsibilities to speak of except to marry Maribella DeVaughn and produce young. Spend the Woolven fortune.
“I can see you’re thinking of it. Terrible, isn’t it?”
“Not so much. With the right training, Parker could do anything I can do. So could Drew. Haven’t you ever wondered—”
“No.” Warner cut him off. “The only thing I wish I’d done differently was the night I defeated Vittorio. My male pride, my Alpha pride—“ He nodded slowly. “—it’s what got your mother killed. If I’d stayed with her, she’d still be alive.”
“You can’t know that.”
“I do know that. During the fight, Vittorio taunted me. Told me they were going to kill her. They said they were going to kill Stirling. And they did.”
Rage boiled inside of him. “Then why did we make the peace with them?”
“Because that’s what your mother wanted. Choking on her own blood, she begged me to make the peace. Begged me to keep you safe until you could lead.” He shook his head. “I know you don’t remember it, but that night, you bit Westwood. You’d Turned for the first time and your teeth were too blunt and small to break the skin, but you’d taken after one of the de la Luna soldiers and Eleanor plucked you right out of his grasp when he would’ve crushed your head like a rotten melon. And you bit her.”
War shook his head. “I was covered in blood, gushing from that swipe Vittorio gave me. I was ready to end him. But that wouldn’t have made the peace. So I let him go, let him live with his shame. Trust me when I say I know what it is to sacrifice what I love most for the good of the pack.”
“I should send her away.”
“Hell no, boy. Mark her. She’ll forgive you.” He shrugged. “Eventually.”
“Is that what you wish you’d done with my mother?”
His shoulders sagged. “No. She was happy with Stirling. Arianna was an Alpha in her own right. She’d never have been happy with an Alpha content to Beta. And she had you and your brothers. Everything was as it should’ve been. Except that it was over much too soon.”
Warner straightened, his eyes full of dark promise. “But now the time for peace is over. I made the peace. Vittorio broke it. He endangers all of the nations and your mate. Your mother would be the first to tell you to rip his head off and hand it to his kin.”
Chapter Fourteen
Randi paced back and forth in the hotel room, frenetic energy building like a hurricane inside of her. Her skin itched, felt too tight, and horrible images of ripping it off like some tired, bloody accessory played over and over in her head.
She was hot, burning. No matter what she did, she couldn’t cool down.
And hungry. Oh Christ, was she hungry. She kept salivating, but nothing available in the room appealed to her.
The Change must be near.
She was too angry, hungry and hot to give a shit.
All of her senses were heightened. She could see so much more, hear so much more, and smell—she gagged—everything had a smell. A terrible smell. Humanity stank.
Randi wondered vaguely if she was too far gone to turn back.
The door creaked open. She knew it was him—The One—her mate, her only, her—Christ. She couldn’t think, couldn’t focus on anything but Blake. Was this what it was like for him?
Oh, she was horrible, horrible bitch.
Literally.
He smelled like wild things, like freedom, like darkness and the night wind.
And like another bitch.
“Get a grip on yourself. You knew he was meeting with Marchessa. This is okay, no more than okay, it’s good. It’s good.” She nodded. Hell, she sounded crazy cakes even to herself.
She bit down on her lip and tasted the copper tang of blood.
“Did you hurt yourself? I smell blood.” Blake closed the door behind him.
She snarled, she couldn’t help herself.
“Shit, you’re burning up. I can feel the heat from here. Randi?”
She snarled again, unable to control herself. She felt better when she snarled, better when she bared her teeth at him, better when she stretched long…
He grabbed her hard. “Stop it.”
“Why? It feels good.”
“Because it’s the Change.”
“I don’t care.” And she didn’t. She didn’t care about anything but soothing the burn, tearing out of this skin suit that was heavier than any chains.
“Yes, you do.”
“I smell that bitch on you.” Her voice had dropped so low she didn’t recognize it as her own. “I want to tear her off of your skin, chew her bones. Then I want to rub myself all over you so everyone knows you’re mine.”
“What you need to do is calm down. Breathe, Randi.”
“Every time I breathe, I smell you. Then I smell her.” Her nails elongated into dark red claws. They were rather pretty. She liked them.
Or at least the version of herself that was currently in charge liked them.
She felt like she was only an observer in her own body and Blake… Blake. He was trying so hard to keep her from becoming like him. She’d have to try to remember that when this was all over. She knew she’d passed the point of no return, and when she was back in charge of her body, she’d cry. She’d get angry. She’d blame him because it was easier than dealing with her own choices.
“Randi, if you don’t calm down, you’re going to hurt someone.”
“Like Marchessa?”
“Like innocent people.”
The red haze slipped away for a moment. “Is this how I make you feel?”
“Yes.”
“You’re so strong. So…Alpha.” She shook her head. “And I’m not. Jealousy is pretty ugly on any species.”
“You wouldn’t feel that if we’d marked each other. It goes away.”
Her teeth elongated at the thought and she slipped back down into that red fog that tasted of copper and iron—heat.
“So mark me.”
“Let’s get you into the shower. Cold water helps.”
She raked those blood red claws down his shirt, shredding it and the skin underneath.
When he snarled back at her, it resonated through her body, spiking her lust high. This wolf was hers. It was time he knew it—and time the cringing human inside of her did, too.
His hands closed around her wrists. “Randi, I’m warning you. Take control of yourself. I’m not going to say no next time if you demand I mark you. There’s too much at stake.”
“I’ve been caged too long.”
His wolf was just under the surface, and she knew what to do to bring him out. She clawed at him again, but his wolf didn’t fight for dominance.
There was only his hard features twisted with anguish.
She caused him real pain.
The red haze was gone again and Randi was suddenly in the driver’s seat.
“Blake?”
He fell to his knees and sagged against her, his forehead on her belly and he wrapped his arms around her. “I can’t, Randi. I can’t anymore. Please go. Before this goes too far.”
“I think it’s already gone too far.” She pushed her hands through his hair. “My wolf couldn’t stand the thought of your pain, so she left me to deal with it.” She stroked him carefully. “Which I guess is fair, since I’m the source of that pain. I didn’t know what it was like for you. I mean, I thought I did, but I didn’t. Not really.”
“That’s not your concern. What is your concern is that things are about explode. Things you don’t want any part of.”
“Mark me, Blake.” She hadn’t meant to say it, but this was where they were. No amount of fighting it was going to change that.
His claws dug into her hips, and her lust spiked again. He looked up at her, eyes amber and unnaturally bright—beautiful.
She nodded. “I know what I’m saying. This is me, human me. I surrender.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s inevitable. Because we’re both suffering needlessly. How long will this dance go on?”
“Until we get back to the States. Until you leave.”
“I can’t leave.”
“I’ll find out about your father and—”
“It’s about so much more than that. It’s about you and me. Now that I know what I felt between us isn’t a trick, I’d never settle for less. Being a wolf will make me stronger. I’ll never have to be afraid again.”
“There’s no changing your mind. This is forever.”
She turned her head to the side, baring her neck. Randi was strangely aware of her own pulse in her ears, so loud, thunderous.
“Not like this, then.” His hands slid up her hips and then under her shirt to stroke across the sensitive skin of her ribs. “Not like a rabbit surrendering to the wolf.”
“But a wolf surrendering to a wolf?” She couldn’t help but be mesmerized by his glowing eyes. They were terrible and beautiful all at once. Much like the man, no—the wolf, himself. Her heart fluttered in her chest, a caged moth beating its wings against bone.
He pressed his lips to her stomach, his mouth hot and his eyes still on hers. His fingers made short work of her jeans, pushing them down. In a single fluid movement, he had her on the bed, and tugged her panties off.
“When we get back to Aphelion, we’re going to do this right. I’m going to chase you through the maze again. I’m going to take you down. And you’re going to love it.”
She squirmed at the thought, but there was no fear this time. She wanted to run from him, but only so that he would give chase. She remembered that terrible thrill of having him run her down, and what happened after with the flower.
“I don’t need the flower.”
“It only works on humans, or those whose wolves are latent.” He kissed her throat and she shivered.
“You really are Big Bad, aren’t you?”
“And so are you. You’re no Little Red for the plucking.”
“Hardly, more like Big Red.”
“Mmm,” he murmured against her thigh. “That’s it. Big Red, because you’ve got bite.” He nuzzled higher. “Big Red because you’re no little girl who wandered off the path. Big Red because you’re Alpha bitch enough for Big Bad.”
As a modern, empowered woman, she was sure that “bitch” shouldn’t have pleased her as much as it did. Her wolf practically purred at the compliment. Feeling the awakened presence of that other inside of her, it was like finding a missing piece of herself—an emptiness she’d always felt but couldn’t explain.
For all that she’d been afraid of it, this feeling, this becoming was the right thing.
Just like this thing with Blake. They belonged together. They fit like two puzzle pieces and trying to fight their connection caused them both physical pain. If losing so many people taught her anything, it was life was short and joy should be taken wherever it could be found.
The only time she felt safe or happy, or the least bit like a person she wanted to be was when she was with Blake.
She’d been so afraid to trust it, to trust him, but hadn’t he proven to her time and again that she could? But she hadn’t proven herself as trustworthy.
Although, that was secondary to the pleasure that was so quick to spark at his touch. God, she’d practically torn him open and still, he was gentling her. Her nipples were taut peaks and not only were the last of her clothes too tight, so was her skin.
Instinctively, she knew her Change was close at hand. She wondered if it was always like this, if her wolf would rise whenever she was aroused. It seemed she was a hedonistic, wild thing and Randi wondered what it would be like to set her free.
“I can feel my wolf, just under my skin.”
“I can’t wait to take you to run wild with me.” He kissed up her stomach and pulled her shirt off. He rose above her and stared into her eyes.
A power radiated from him, something more than she’d ever felt before. It was something heavy, inescapable. A weight it pressed her down, but slipped through her veins like molten gold.
“But right now, I need you to submit to me, Red.”
The idea of submission, in any form, both pissed her off and excited her. A low growl echoed through the room, and she realized that it came from her own throat.
“Oh, baby. As much as I want to play with you, chase you down and take that submission—” his eyes flared bright “—we don’t have that luxury. For your safety, for the pack, say you submit to me. I swear I’ll be worthy of you.”
Part of her was so riled up to make him work, to chase, but she understood what he was doing. She wet her lips, finding her voice. “I submit.”
Something akin to pleasure roiled through her, a storm of bliss.
“You will not Change without my permission unless your life is in danger.”
In the wake of the pleasure, something heavy, sticky—like invisible chains around her.
She didn’t like it. Neither did her wolf. It was fun to play like she was submitting to him, but the reality of having even more rules shackling her… “What about to mark you in return? Won’t you give me that?”
His smile was one of warmth and there was a softness in the expression she’d never seen before. “Of course, Randi. I want your bite on my shoulder. I want it as hard and deep as you can give it to me.”
“That’s really dirty.” She blushed, thinking about just that.
“It is.”
“You make it sound like I’m the Alpha.” She bit her lip.
“Maybe you are. Do you want to dominate me? Do you want me to be completely under your control with no rules?”
The heat between her thighs reached a crescendo. “Yes.”
He slipped his fingers into her slit, both easing and rousing the ache. She squirmed to get closer, spreading her legs for him and tilting her hips closer to the caress.
“Tell me what you’d do to me, Randi, if I was under your power.”
She was breathless, lost in the sensation, but the idea of being in complete control of him was what spurred her even higher than his touch. “I’d make you run,” she breathed. “I’d make you run so you know what it’s like to be chased.” Randi dug her nails into his arm. “And to be caught.”
“Then what, my beautiful Alpha bitch? Will you make me submit by the dark flower with the moon in your hair and the hunger in your eyes?”
She moaned. The imagery he wrought summoned that other in her to just below the surface, made them both want with such a ferocity as she’d never known.
“I’d mark you again so you’d know you’re mine.” Randi arched up to meet his fingers. “And I’d take you, ride you until you begged me to stop. I’d do all the things to you that you do to me.”
He leaned down, his breath hot against her ear, all the while his fingers working their devil magic on her clit. “I’ll confess, Big Red. I want that.”
Just when she thought he couldn’t make her any hotter, push her any higher, he did.
“I want to know what it’s like to be chased by you, owned by you. I want to be everything to you because you’re everything to me.”
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