After lunch, I returned to the stillroom, lifting Mynx up onto the bench again. Her watchful eyes didn’t move from my face. I returned, not to try my hand at scrying again, but to replenish our store of remedies, which had become low of late. There was something very soothing about using a mortar and pestle to grind herbs into a smooth powder, to be added to lotions or tinctures. I especially enjoyed learning how to combine the right herbs into soothing and powerful teas. I ground until my arms were sore, then went out into the herb garden to cut flowers and leaves for drying to replace the stocks I had depleted.
I cleaned the tools I’d used and left the stillroom, carrying the mirror upstairs to my room to store it. I was almost afraid to use it again. The vision was still rattling around my head and I knew that, if it came true, I had found my niche, my strength. However, I wasn’t sure I wanted it. What would it be like to go through life being able to see the future (if that’s what it was) and not be able to do anything about it? I could only think about the young girl, who could be losing her life at this very moment.
I spent the remainder of the afternoon in my room studying the Coven’s Book of Shadows, trying to learn as much about scrying and interpreting visions as I could. If I could find a way to control the visions, to slow them down and examine them, maybe I could be more effective than I felt right now.
I fell asleep with the book on my chest and a vivid dream flowing through my head. Brandon was looking at me from his Pack’s side of the dividing wall. He was standing upright, in human form, with his wolf’s head. The wolf I had seen with him, the wolf from my vision, was lying at his feet, staring at me with golden yellow eyes as though she was saying, “He is mine.”
Brandon was reaching his hand out to me, but seemed unable to get his feet out from under her. Our matching necklaces were reaching out to each other, and I reached out to him as well. Our fingertips were mere inches from each other, but we could not close the distance. We could not touch each other. In the background I heard Mynx’s foxy scream, warning me away and making the black wolf cock her head toward the sound. Mynx screamed again and the scene faded, and I awoke wondering whether it was a dream or another vision. I was being warned away, that much I knew.
I went into the bathroom to splash some water on my face before going downstairs to help Amma with dinner, Mynx on my heels. We ate the simple meal in silence, until I mentioned that I’d be spending the night at the island tonight. I told her I needed to think about what I had seen in my vision and see if I could gain any insight into it. Well, it was partly the truth.
When I returned to my room to gather the things I would need tonight, Mynx settled herself in front of the door, refusing to move. She was determined to prevent me from meeting Brandon, but not as determined as I was to go. My desire to see him went beyond any physical or emotional level; it was primal. I couldn’t stay away from him any more than I could stop my heart from beating. I didn’t care what he was, I was meant to love him.
When I finished packing I picked Mynx up, looked her in the eyes, and said, “You can’t stop me from going. I get that you’re only trying to protect me, but I have to see him.” I searched her eyes for understanding. She blinked at me, making a mournful sound and nuzzling against my neck. I knew she was worried, but I had to go. I had no choice.
************
I’d been there for over an hour now, arriving just before sunset. I sat on the shore, looking up at the stars as though they could tell me what was keeping Brandon. I waited a while longer before the chilly air drove me shivering inside to light a fire.
After pacing impatiently for a while, I lay down on the bed and stared into the flames, allowing my thoughts to drift back to the last time I’d been here. The warmth of the fire took the chill from my bones as I let my eyes flutter closed, imagining his touch upon my skin and the feel of his body curled around me, pressing against me so I could enjoy every hard line and curve of him. His lips were savoring the flesh of my neck and nibbling on my earlobe, his large hands were pulling me closer, molding his body to mine and sending heat rippling through me.
“Nicole.” My name slithered from his lips into my ear, and I slowly realized he was really here with me. “Nicole, wake up.” I could feel him lying behind me on the bed, and realized I had unwittingly fallen asleep for the second time today. I didn’t care, though; all I cared about was that my dream had come true.
I snuggled my bottom against him and turned my head up in expectation of his kiss. His cool hands slipped under my shirt and roamed over the soft skin of my belly, sending a shiver through me. He bent down to meet my lips and I inhaled the pure male scent that was his alone. Our tongues met in a joyous dance as his wayward hands wandered further up until each cupped a soft breast, thumbs stroking my nipples into hard sensitive points. I bent my arm behind me, tangling my fingers through his soft hair and pulling his mouth harder onto mine.
He pulled me onto my back, breaking our kiss as he pulled my shirt up and over my head. His eyes met mine for a brief moment before his head dipped down and he abruptly sucked a nipple into his mouth, making me cry out in pleasure. His tongue flicked rapidly over the captured peak, making my back arch in delighted surprise and pleasure. He kissed his way over to my neglected breast, and I took the opportunity to help him off with his shirt. The need to see his amazing body was overwhelming. His head dipped down again, distracting me momentarily with the talents of his lips and tongue.
When his mouth met mine again, I grasped the muscles of his shoulders and pulled him down to me. I needed to feel the hard angles of his chest against the soft give of mine, to feel his skin sliding over mine and to run my hands over his muscles as they undulated beneath my fingers. I spread my legs and wrapped them around him, anxious to feel all of him on me. When he ground himself against me, I couldn’t hold back my moan of pleasure.
He broke our kiss once more and pushed himself up until he sat back on his heels between my legs, smiling a devilish little smile at me. He slid his fingers under the elastic of my yoga pants and pulled them down, catching my panties at the same time. Pulling my legs up, he put them together and rested them on his shoulder as he slid my pants the rest of the way off. He kissed the back of my calves, then the back of my knees before laying one leg on each of his shoulders. His hands caressed my thighs while he kissed upwards from my knees, taking care to lavish the same attention on each thigh. He spread my legs wider until he was lying down between them.
I could feel the warmth of his breath on me, bringing forth a surge of moisture and desire. His eyes met mine as he kissed the inside of one thigh with soft, warm lips. He held that eye contact with each agonizingly slow kiss, placed carefully on each inner thigh until I was breathing hard from the anticipation of a new pleasure I never experienced before.
He watched me intently as he placed soft, wet kisses over the fleshy outer folds of my pussy, darting his tongue out and spreading my lips like the wings of a butterfly. He slid his tongue over my throbbing clit before sucking it gently between his lips, and I reached down to thread my fingers through his hair. The warmth of his lips and the gentle flicking of his tongue was like no other feeling I’d ever experienced. I sucked in a ragged breath when he slipped his tongue inside me and pressed his lips to mine.
“So good,” he moaned, “you taste so good.” His tongue returned to my clit and resumed its slow, rhythmic strumming as he used my own juices to work one finger inside of me. My pelvic muscles clamped down around the invading digit, and the resulting pleasure was almost unbearable.
I was moaning louder and louder; my only coherent thought was “Yes!”, and I said it over and over as he brought me ever closer to that wondrous peak. His eyes never left mine when I was finally pushed over the edge to freefall into orgasm.
He gave me one final kiss there before jumping up and removing his remaining clothing. I was still euphoric and trying to catch my breath when he nestled himself between my legs. I could taste myself on his lips when h
e kissed me, and was surprised by how excited it made me. He kept his lips on mine as he slid into me, breathing a satisfied sigh. I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him into me, holding him there and relishing the feel of him filling me. It was a heady pleasure having him inside me again, his generous girth setting my body aflame.
We’d barely spoken since coming together again, but our bodies moving in unison whispered the need we had for each other. Warm, panting breaths in each other’s ears and soft sounds of pleasure conveyed volumes to each of us as he glided in and out of me. My hips rocked up to meet him again and again, thrust for thrust as I strove to bring him with me to the pinnacle of pleasure. He pinned my hands at the wrist, crushed his lips to mine, and thrust deeply into me as I reached the apex of ecstasy, the heat of his release multiplying the rapture of my own.
Holding his weight off me, he kissed me again, softly this time, and brushed the hair back from my face. He stroked his thumb across my cheek and kissed me softly again before moving off me and pulling me to him. “I’ve missed you.”
“Me too.” I searched his face for the truth of his statement and found my answer in his eyes. He had missed me as much as I had missed him, maybe more. “Please, don’t shut me out again. I don’t know how to stop hoping.” I took his necklace in my hand, caressing the stone between my fingers.
“I could feel it, you know. Pulling toward you. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” He rolled onto his back, and I pulled a blanket from the bottom of the bed and covered us before curling up beside him. “I couldn’t stay away; that’s why I was at the wall this morning.”
“I was glad to see you,” I said, resting my head on his chest. I could’ve stayed there with him forever, but reality was beginning to seep in at the edges. “Until your little friend showed up.” I tried to keep the jealousy out of my voice. I don’t think I was successful.
“Yeah, there’s something I have to tell you about that.” He put a hand over his eyes before he went on, “That’s Rachael, she’s um, and she’s supposed to be my mate.”
“What?” I shouted, sitting up. “I guess I’ll just have to kill her,” I said. I was only half-kidding.
“Look, my dad keeps pushing us together, and I think she has designs of her own,” he took my hands in his, “but I only want you. She doesn’t even exist for me, and I think she knows it.”
“Well, I saw something today that may change your dad’s mind about that,” I began, not sure how to explain all of this to him. I decided to begin at the beginning. “I’ve been learning the many different types of magic that can be practiced, and today I tried my hand at scrying--uh, divination.” I looked up at him to make sure he was following; he nodded, and I continued. “I saw very vivid, very clear vision today of a girl being attacked and killed by a wolf. Your wolf. Rachael.”
“I can’t believe Rachael would kill anyone.” He sounded sincere, but I think even he had his doubts. There was something about the way his eyes slid sideways, as though remembering something, that made me doubt he was a sure about her as he said.
“I don’t know if she has, if she’s thinking about it, or if she will,” I explained. “Time is fluid, and scrying is not exact. It doesn’t always show the future. This could have happened in the past, but I have to say, she looked the same in my vision as she did this morning.”
I looked up at him expectantly, hoping he would tell me more about her, but he merely said, “I’ll look into it.” I let it go at that, and asked if he was hungry. “Yes, but not for food.” He laughed and pulled me down on top of him, and I was immediately distracted.
The early morning sun shining brightly through the cabin window woke me from a deep, dreamless sleep. I kissed Brandon on the cheek and slipped out of bed to make some breakfast for us. The toast had just popped up when I felt his arms slip around me and his kiss on the top of my head. “Have a seat,” I said, “your timing is perfect.”
As we ate, we talked about the possibility of revealing our relationship to our families. While neither of us wanted to continue to hide it, we both knew there could be serious ramifications if it became common knowledge. We could be forced to leave our communities. The thought made me wonder about my parents.
The more I thought about it, the more I had to wonder why my mother and father had raised me away from the Coven. I wonder if they’d been exiled. I mentioned this to Brandon, and we agreed that he’d find out what he could from his mother, the Pack’s record-keeper, and I would get what I could out of my grandmother.
We parted with a kiss as he helped me into my canoe, and I took his promise to meet me this afternoon to compare notes with me as I paddled away. I walked into the kitchen to find Amma at the table and Mynx curled up by the stove. The little fox lifted her head in greeting, then rested it on her paws again.
“I guess you’re still mad at me for not taking you,” I said, bending down to run my fingers through her soft fur. “I’m sorry, but when I go there I have to go alone.” She nuzzled her head against my hand in what I hoped was forgiveness. I stood and turned to face Amma, saying “I need to ask you something.”
She looked up at me from the herbal grimoire she was updating before closing the book and indicating that I should sit. “Amma,” I began, not wanting to beat around the bush, “why did my mother and father leave the community?”
“I knew this day would come eventually.” She motioned for me to sit and said, “Let’s have some tea.” I knew she was using the time to figure out what to say to me. I had no doubt that she would tell me the truth, but it couldn’t be easy for her. When she had placed my tea in front of me, she sat down next to me, angling her chair so she could look at me.
“One day, out of the blue, your mom came to me and told me she had fallen in love and was expecting a baby. I wasn’t even aware she had been seeing anyone. It was such a shock to realize she had hidden it from me. I didn’t know she was capable of that.” She shook her head sadly and took a sip of her tea before continuing. “Of course, I was upset. She was so young, too young to have a child, I thought. But that wasn’t everything she had to tell me.”
She was looking at me steadily as she went on, “The boy she was in love with, your father, wasn’t from our community.” She stopped again and looked around the room as though to find the courage to say the next words: “He was from across the lake.” Putting her hand over mine, she nearly whispered, “He was a werewolf.”
Her eyes snapped up to mine to gauge my reaction. I said nothing for a moment as I attempted to fix a shocked expression on my face. She tilted her head quizzically and asked, “Are you all right? I know this news must be distressing, but Nicole, your father loved you.”
“I know, please go on.”
“Well, when the Coven found out it was divided into two camps. Some demanded that when she had the baby, you, she give it to your father and that they have nothing to do with each other again.” Hearing this really hurt, and it must have shown on my face because she squeezed my hand, reassuring me that she wasn’t one of them. “Others, reassured by the peace we had established with the werewolves, and the fact that they hadn’t attacked a human in two decades, wanted your parents to be able to live here with us or with across the lake with the werewolves. Whichever they wanted.
“The Pack was divided in much the same way.” Amma sighed remembering. “Your parents, however, refused to be separated from each other and, more importantly, they refused to be separated from you. They decided to leave and begin a new life outside of the community. The Coven voted to allow you to come to stay with me for one week out of the year, and no one was permitted to speak of your heritage.”
“And if I had taken after my father?” I asked, fairly sure I already knew the answer.
“You wouldn’t have been permitted to visit at all,” Amma said sadly. “Luckily, that was not the case. Nicole, you have no idea how much I looked forward to that week every year.” Amma gave me a small smile, her eyes shining with unshed tears an
d finished her story. “When your parents died, I took you in and eventually the Coven decided to allow you to take your rightful place.” She looked at me for another long moment before gathering our teacups and moving to the sink, her back to me.
I stood up and moved behind her, putting my hand on her shoulder. “Thanks, Amma. For everything.” I went to bedroom, Mynx on my heels, to take a quick shower. I thought about Amma’s story, and as I did and wondered what kind of reaction Brandon and I would get if we revealed our relationship.
Mynx came with me as I let myself out the back door and made my way to my secluded clearing. I made myself comfortable on the forest floor and watched Mynx sniff around as though catching the scent of something. She suddenly lifted her head and took off into the underbrush. At almost the same moment Brandon stepped out of the trees and took a seat beside me, brushing my cheek with a quick kiss.
“Let me guess,” I said, taking in his expression as he sat beside me, “the Pack didn’t want me, didn’t want my mother, and they didn’t want my father to be with either of us.”
“In a nutshell, yes.” He put his arm around me and pulled me close. “I’m sorry. But not everyone was against it. The council of elders voted five to four to expel your father from the Pack. From what my mother told me, it divided our community in two, and nearly destroyed us. The part of the Pack that voted for them staying together took the truce between the Coven and the Pack very seriously.” He looked away from me as he finished: “The other part, the ones who wouldn’t accept them at all, saw your Coven as oppressors. They believed we should be able to live as we had for a thousand years, that we should be able to hunt whatever prey we wanted. Including humans.”
Enchanting Her Alpha (Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance) Page 2