He had yet to claim her like he said he would. But she didn’t move. She enjoyed this moment. Hearing him. Feeling him in ways she never had before.
Slowly, their lips gravitated toward each other. Almost as if the action were inevitable. Undeniable. Just the very sensation of his lips against hers sent a shock from her lips to her toes. The kiss was tentative. Quiet and soft. The beginning of a symphony she couldn’t wait to hear. As her head tilted to deepen the kiss, she reached up to cup his face. Her fingers traced every ridge, memorizing every contour.
His mouth opened and his tongue brushed against hers. She moaned into his mouth. The pleasure was intense.
This kiss. Remember this, she thought.
She shuddered as he pulled her leg over his hip.
This touch. Remember this.
“You’re mine,” he murmured.
She smiled against his mouth.
With a final kiss, his head lowered to rain nibbles from her collarbone down to the V between her breasts. Awash in pleasure, all she could do was hold onto the top of his head while he nipped and licked and sucked everywhere. Marking what was his.
Staying quiet became harder when his fingers explored the warmth of her thighs. The place that couldn’t wait for him to touch her.
“Kaden,” she whispered. She called out his name again and again. The name never grew old.
Every place he touched filled her with a growing need. A growing urgency she’d never experienced before. Tension gathered along her inner thighs. She squirmed against him. Their limbs intertwined as he stretched over her, silent yet always moving. The bed yawned with perhaps a happy groan when he entered her body. The pleasure flowed all over her and she surrendered as he slowly pumped his hips.
Skin against skin. Heartbeats matching as his lips claimed hers. Every time they’d made love, she never realized that there could be more, that she could feel more. It was as if a wall had been between them and now that wall was gone. She could feel every secret he had. Not only could she see the passion in his eyes while he thrust deeply inside her, but she could feel it. She could smell how his body responded to hers. She could truly understand the pleasure flowing through him every time he growled in her ear. He trembled above her as his climax approached. The pleasure grew overwhelming as he claimed her with each stroke. Marked her with each bite along her shoulder. The pain was brief. Her stomach muscles clenched tighter and tighter. The need to speak overwhelmed her as she climaxed. “I’m yours,” she finally whispered.
Above her, he kissed her again, his eyes intense enough to make her want to avoid the heat from his gaze. She was being swallowed whole, and she was scared she’d never escape.
His back stiffened first and a growl grew in his chest as the pressure built. He trembled under her fingertips. Another climax was approaching and she welcomed it as he turned to steel.
You’re mine, his eyes said. You belong to me, his kisses along her neck claimed.
Best reunion sex ever.
By the time she settled with a contented sigh in his arms, she was shocked to hear Zach moving about the living room. Her face reddened.
“We weren’t loud, were we?” she whispered.
“Of course not.” Kaden kissed her cheek, but he didn’t sound so confident.
She just caught her first werewolf lie.
“We’ve probably traumatized him for life, haven’t we?”
His devilish grin seemed downright wolfish. “Possibly so...”
Chapter 6
The next day was a hard one for Kaden. After reuniting with Cyn, the joy he’d experienced seemed to fade with the onset of reality.
He put his cell phone into his pocket and sighed as the trio drove into Seattle. The conversation with Rhys had gone as expected. Their sister still hadn’t taken the fight between her brothers well. The Windhams had been born into pack life, but none of them expected to have to bury Bastian like this.
A pain spread across his chest, but he ignored it. Facing Naomi once the pack reunited would be difficult. There was no way around it.
“She keeps telling me you should’ve walked away,” Rhys had said. “I told her walking away wasn’t possible.”
For the pack’s safety, he couldn’t let Bastian go again.
At least Sinister could comfort her until he faced his sister again.
He’d made plans with Rhys for the pack to converge in Seattle. Staying in Vancouver wasn’t possible. The Red hunting clan territory was a deadly place and staying there wasn’t wise.
Even Zach, with his ever-present injuries, seemed restless. “The sooner we get on the road,” he’d said, “the sooner I can sleep in peace.”
As Kaden drove down Highway 169 into the small town of Mirrormont, he wished circumstances would have been different. This whole new situation for the pack had been unforeseen. Inner-city Seattle had plenty of werewolf hunters, but outside the metro area, towns like this were more or less freelancer territory. Everyone here was fair game in terms of the packs.
The house he’d found nestled in the woods was idyllic. Practically a hideaway in one of the most expensive places to live in the country. The scenery might have been nice, but the house would be full soon and more space would be needed for fifteen pack members.
He let out a long sigh. His dad would have knocked him on his ass for letting things get this bad.
Cyn turned to him. Her fingers flew across her phone. “Rhys didn’t sound happy.”
“A few members will be angry and bitter for a while.”
“Like Eva…” she added.
Now, that was a woman he didn’t want to think about.
“You were typing for a while there,” he remarked to change the subject.
She bit her lower lip and rubbed her fingers along her hairline. Her black hair had practically thickened overnight. “Ty,” was all she said.
“Is it wise for you to message him?”
During the long travel time to Vancouver, Zach had told him how Ty was quite savvy with phones and tracking others.
“This is a throwaway phone; I plan to crush it before we reach our destination.” She looked out the window to the woods. Did she find solace in them already? Like he did?
“Want to talk about it?” he asked.
“I said goodbye pretty much. I apologized for tying him up. For wrecking the house…” He took her hand when she trailed off. “I don’t expect a reply back. Maybe it’s for the best that I throw away this phone and move on.”
“You don’t have to move on. I can tell you still love him.”
“Even after what he did, the need to protect him is innate.”
Kaden nodded.
She continued. “For the last couple of years, it’s been us three. Zach, Ty, and me. The idea that there will be Christmases without the crew getting together for a barbeque seems surreal. Like a bad dream.”
Her grip on his hand tightened and her sharp inhale conveyed her pain. She fought the need to cry, so he didn’t speak. Life changed too easily. He’d seen that far too often as a physician. In one moment, the world that seemed to go on and on forever changed, leaving people who were not prepared to cope.
Soon enough, they arrived to the house.
The place in Mirrormont was comfortable, but, for Kaden, the weather change took an adjustment. The Seattle area in early February was brisk compared to the Arctic cold. The woods were nothing more than wet mud and trees.
A few days passed and the pack arrived without problems. The reunion was a somber one.
Instead of saying her peace, Naomi avoided him altogether.
She walked in through the front door and kept going to the kitchen where Cyn was brewing coffee. As alpha, he should have said something, but he let it go for now.
“Hey, Cyn,” he heard Naomi say.
“Naomi.”
“So I guess you finally did it.”
Cyn left the kitchen to go into the living room. Naomi followed. His mate took a place beside him on t
he sofa while other pack members found whatever space they could around the four-bedroom house. They’d have close quarters for a little while until he made formal plans for the pack’s permanent home.
Cyn spoke. “The time seemed right…although plans didn’t go as I’d expected.”
Naomi’s gaze was fixed on Cyn. “Many things didn’t go as planned.”
Cyn sucked in a long breath and glared at his sister. He placed his hand on her knee. “Naomi, Kaden did what he had to do—”
“Cyn!” a boy’s voice squeaked.
She didn’t have time to finish before Peter bounded into her arms. The boy was pretty big and stumbled onto Kaden, too.
“Whoa, there. Werewolf attack,” she said with a laugh.
Naomi looked away while Cyn and Kaden tickled Peter. Eva entered the living room with Phil, carrying a suitcase of clothes. Briefly, Eva exchanged a glance with Cyn, one Kaden couldn’t read. Now that her co-conspirator was gone, he hoped Eva had moved on. Too much blood had been shed already.
One thing was certain though: he’d never trust her again.
While everyone found a place for the night, Kaden got a fire going and Cyn pulled out the fixings for s’mores for the kids. Sinister had sequestered the kitchen already, kicking out anyone who dared to make the pack meal.
Kaden wasn’t surprised.
The pack mood was morose, even with Cyn’s attempts to make the children laugh. He smiled at her as often as possible, even if a part of him felt broken. He wasn’t sure when those feeling would go away either.
As the pack ate, he recounted everything. He didn’t hold anything back. Repeating everything even for those who had heard the story before. His deal with Zach. Bastian’s treachery. The murder of Cyn’s parents. Cyn’s kidnapping. Her rescue up to the point where they were now.
His confession didn’t lift the mood, but others nodded. They agreed it had been best to leave the camp due to Ty McGinnis tracking Zach.
“We should run tonight,” Rhys suggested after they ate Sinister’s excellent prime rib dinner.
Kaden nodded.
“Can we run with you, Mom?” Phil asked. He sat on the floor playing with a new-looking toy. Just seeing the boy make do with what he had, made Kaden feel guilty. How much had his nephews left behind this time?
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t know the area,” Eva said softly.
“Aww, Mom!” Peter said.
Damien offered to stay behind with the kids.
So it was settled. The Windham pack would run, and Cyn would join them for the first time.
***
The moment Cyn dreaded was coming, and there was no escaping the inevitable. Kaden’s grip on her hand never loosened as he led her away from the house into the woods. There was no running away. She would become a werewolf tonight.
My body is about to change in ways I can’t imagine.
Other pack members ran past them, whistling and shouting with a growing excitement that sparked her senses. The only other time she’d ever felt this way was right before she tracked her targets.
They reached a small clearing. Fear pulsed through her. Would this hurt as badly as Kaden told her it would? Who in their right mind looked forward to pain?
She glanced at her free hand. The moon’s glow made the limb seem inhuman. Yet she still had five fingers. Three pinkish lines arcing across her palm. She flexed her fingers and glanced at the tips. No claws. No fur along the back of her hand.
Kaden took her chin with his free hand. “You’ll be fine,” he whispered.
Even with the other conversations around them, her mate was loud and clear. His green eyes shone with amusement.
He placed his hand on her chest. Did he feel her thundering heart? “Remember Micah’s first time?”
She nodded and couldn’t help but turn to see Rhys discarding his clothes into a neat pile. Dark hair already sprouted on his back by the time he bared his ass to the world.
Cyn looked away. More pack members were naked now. She didn’t feel any different as she watched Eva hunch over. The blonde’s face contorted into a painful grimace. Her slim legs jerked and snapped backwards into hind legs.
All the while, Kaden remained as a human by her side. “Why haven’t you changed yet?” she asked him.
“I’m the alpha,” he said simply. “You and I must protect our pack while they complete their transformations.”
He drew her close to him and kissed her forehead. She shuddered from the intense heat his skin radiated as he rubbed his nose down the side of her face. “Your scent is different. You smell so beautiful.”
He tugged at her T-shirt and helped her pull it over her head. Her bra came next. She reached up to cover her chest, but stopped when Kaden chuckled. “Would you like to go behind a tree for your first time?”
She shook her head and took off her pants and panties. Like any seasoned hunter, she’d adapt. If everyone else was naked, she’d do it, too. Even if she didn’t like everyone seeing her curves.
A quick glance around her revealed no one else looking her way. See? she told herself. Everyone else is too busy sniffing other folks’ butts.
So what about her? Was something supposed to happen? Then an itch crawled up her spine. At first, it was a mere tingle, but the sensation grew until her entire back seemed covered with tiny little black ants, biting and scattering all over the place until the unnerving feeling turned to pain, utterly raw and powerful enough to send her to the ground.
Kaden was naked now.
“Ride through it,” he said with his hand on her back. “What comes next is the most beautiful thing in the world.”
Through her fog, she recalled he’d said those words before: during Micah’s ceremony.
Her fingers trembled. Searing pain bit into the fingertips. She watched with horror that turned into amazement as claws sliced through her fingertips and midnight black hair spread across her limbs.
The change consumed her, almost like a firestorm sweeping across the forest. As the flames of transformation ate away at the human, what was left underneath was the wolf.
When Cyn’s head finally rose, the forest floor up to the canopy of trees overflowed with life she hadn’t seen before. So many new scents. From the massive western red cedars, maple trees, and to even decaying vegetation. Each one had a signature and now she knew them all with stark clarity. The overwhelming moment made her wobble on her feet, but she managed to amble over to Kaden.
He ran his flank along hers in greeting.
Others followed suit and, soon enough, she was surrounded by wet noses and familiar forms. She didn’t need their faces anymore. Every werewolf had a distinct scent, and, with it, she could discern their identity and emotional state. Rhys had a pungent musk while Kaden had citrus undertones.
Twice she ran along the edge of the clearing with her nose on the ground. She couldn’t get enough. There was so much to learn—but she didn’t get a chance to dawdle. Kaden circled her twice before he nipped at her backside.
His message was clear: move it, woman.
The pack set a hard pace into the forest. Micah took the lead, darting between trees to take them deeper into the wilderness. The destination or time of night didn’t seem to matter. She reveled in the feeling of the fresh air against her face and the other werewolves yipping and barking around her.
Light rain began to fall, but that didn’t stop their hunt. Eventually, they caught the scent of a cluster of wild rabbits. The small animals scattered from their hiding place in a rotting tree trunk. The pack split as everyone chased a target.
Cyn yipped with delight and raced after a dark brown male. Chasing after prey as a werewolf was just as thrilling as tracking prey as a hunter. Her heartbeat hammered as she wove around corners and dove under lower branches. The faster she went, the faster the rabbit ran. But her drive to end the chase was stronger. Her eyes were sharper. With a hard swipe of her paw, she knocked the rabbit off its feet and she swooped in to
grab it. The rabbit squirmed within her clutches, emitting a high-pitched squeal.
Dinner time.
Her mouth opened wide, poised for a killing bite, but she stopped mid-strike. Never before had she eaten a living thing. Yet the hunger was still there. It clawed at her belly, but hearing the rabbit’s frightened cry made her let it go. The animal scampered away into the night. Rarely did she let any prey go, but tonight was a night of new beginnings. She might be a werewolf now, but she was also still a human.
That very fact set her at ease.
Chapter 7
A few hours later, they returned to the house. The run had been good for everyone, including Cyn. She relaxed with Kaden on the porch with her brother. Cyn sat next to Zach on a porch swing, while Kaden watched them from a bench on the other side of the porch.
“I can see you survived while I was gone,” she remarked to her brother.
“Sinister and Damien play a mean hand of blackjack,” Zach replied.
“How many times did you lose?” she asked with a groan.
“What makes you think I lost?”
Just watching those two made Kaden feel better. With a tug at his heart, he wished he had that kind of relationship with Naomi. They’d never been close. She’d been closer to Bastian...
Cyn and Zach were quiet for a while. Cyn rested her head on Zach’s shoulder.
“Are you thinking about what I’m thinking about?” Cyn whispered to Zach.
Zach closed his eyes for a moment. “Yes.”
“I just can’t stop. I thought I had closure after I left Ty.”
What were they talking about? Instead of asking, Kaden continued to sit quietly.
Zach continued. “You’re alive. I’m alive. Going after the Bakers and Ceruleans won’t make the pain go away.”
“It’ll make something go away...” She sat up. “I just can’t let it go.” She formed fists with her hands. “I feel like I can punch a hole through a wall right now.”
Uhh, don’t try that, Kaden thought.
“I have all this power, but I can’t use it to make them pay for what they did,” she said.
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