Not after the losses we suffered.
Home was Jude and Selene.
Home was…Dare.
I clutched the pillow beneath me, breathing in my mate’s scent still left on the bedding. When Dare told me that some of my pack might still live, I’d sworn the pull of my wolf was telling me to go back to Astria.
But now that we’d returned to the Silver Tip pack, I didn’t feel that pull any longer. There was no ache in my gut, in my heart. My wolf was content here. The only pull I felt was toward Dare.
My mate. My True Mate.
Home was…the Silver Tip pack.
I had to think about Selene and Jude, because my actions affected them. Would they want to stay here? Because I couldn’t be separated from them again; the thought alone made me nauseous. We hadn’t risked all we had and nearly lost Dare’s life just to be separated again.
I squeezed my eyes shut and imagined what it would be like to leave Dare. To walk out the gates and go home to Astria without him. My mouth dried up, and my stomach clenched. My inner wolf whined, and everything inside of me screamed, No!
Dare had ordered me to leave, though. He hadn’t given me a choice. So if I was going to stay, I’d have to convince him that this was the right decision. That this was what I wanted. Looking back, I realized his decision to send me away wasn’t because I’d lied. His choice had been about my happiness and his sacrifice—he was willing to live in pain for the rest of my life if it meant me being happy.
I stayed awake for a long time, and, finally, I heard the door open. Dare’s footsteps were heavy and irregular. The shower ran as he rinsed off, and then the bed dipped as he joined me.
I pretended to be asleep, shutting off my brain to the connection as best as I could by imagining a wall between Dare and I. And the fact that it felt unnatural was a red flag.
Dare’s arm wrapped around my waist, and he tugged me back against him. He nuzzled his face into my hair, muttered something, then his breaths evened out almost immediately.
I matched my breaths with his, expanding my chest as his pressed against my back. I wiped my mind clean, and then, like my mate who held me close, I fell asleep too.
Dare
* * *
When I woke, the sun was only beginning to creep through the windows, casting the room in a hazy pinkish glow.
Reese breathed deeply, cradled against me. My arm was around his chest, elbow bent so that my forearm lay on the mattress. His hand lay beneath mine, our fingers laced together. I wasn’t sure we’d ever held hands like this, as a form of intimacy rather than me leading him somewhere.
Had we linked in our sleep?
As I inhaled, Reese’s scent was heavier, coated with permanence and contentment and home. I craved him and my dick hardened where it lay against his ass. It’d been a long time since I’d been inside of him and everything in me lamented at how wrong that was. I needed that reminder that he was mine, that we were stronger together.
I tugged him closer, and he stirred in my arms, bringing our linked hands right up to his mouth. With his eyes still closed, his mind still heavy with sleep, he pressed a kiss to my thumb.
“Reese,” I rumbled into his neck, and he moved again, turning in my arms until he was blinking up at me with unfocused eyes.
“Dare.” He smiled, raising our hands above his head as he stretched out his body with a yawn.
I slipped between his legs, pressing him down onto the bed, and taking his lips in a kiss. He moaned into my mouth as our tongues tangled, and his strong thighs squeezed my hips, his heels digging into my ass. I ground into him as our cocks slipped together with pre-come.
I grabbed his other hand, linking our fingers, and held both to the bed over his head. His eyes were still unfocused—not from sleep anymore, but from arousal. His lips were wet and swollen from my kisses, his cheeks flushed, and his neck red from where I’d sucked on the skin. He arched his back, squeezing my fingers. “Fuck me.”
My mind was a jumbled frenzy, but I had enough awareness to realize that my Were wasn’t anywhere to be found. This was me, Dare. Wanting the soul that was Reese.
I let go of his one hand so that I could guide my cock to his entrance. He was slick as hell, dripping on the bed below us. I slid in with ease, and he immediately clamped around me, throwing his head back, muscles straining. He groaned. “So good. Oh fuck, so good.”
I began to thrust as I held both of his hands above his head. I wanted to watch his face, see every expression that came over his eyes. I needed to commit it all to memory so that after he left, I’d have something to look back on to remember the best thing that ever happened to me. He was a sight, his chest flushed, his mouth open, nostrils flaring.
“I love you, Reese.” I drove into him so hard, I moved us half a foot on the bed. His eyes widened, and his mouth opened but no sound came out. “I love you because you’re smart.” Thrust. “And loyal.” Thrust. “And because you make me a better alpha.”
No sound came out other than a strangled gasp as I continued to pound into him. I leaned down, sucking on the mark I’d made earlier, wanting it there for weeks.
“Dare,” he whispered, then his body shuddered beneath mine, and a hot splash of his come coated my stomach.
The smell sent me over the edge. My canines punched down through my gums, and I sliced into his flesh on his shoulder just as I released inside of him. He jerked beneath me as I came. And came. And came. My orgasm must have lasted a full minute before my hips stopped, and my teeth withdrew from his skin.
I fell to the side, unable to support myself any longer, my body depleted of all its energy. Usually Reese was the one who was dick-addled after sex, but I couldn’t seem to keep my eyes open. I made the last-ditch effort to draw Reese into my arms and lick at the bite on his neck, but even then, I only got a few licks in before I felt like I was going under.
“Dare. Hey.” Reese’s voice held a tinge of alarm as he shook my shoulder. “You okay? What’s wrong?”
“Tired,” I mumbled. “Need to sleep.”
“Okay.” Concern still laced his tone. “Okay, you sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
The last thing I heard as I passed out was Reese whispering. “Love you too.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Reese
* * *
I lay awake for a long time staring at the ceiling. Dare never fell asleep after sex. If anything, an orgasm energized him. His breaths were deep and even, which was the only reason I hadn’t run to a healer yet.
That and…well, I needed to sort out some things in my head. Every time Dare fucked me, I’d always felt like his Were was there with us, like a third being. And, well, my wolf had been there too. I’d never felt like I was just with Dare.
Until now.
There’d been no Were. No wolf. That had been nothing but Dare craving me, and me craving Dare, and us…loving each other.
I dropped my forearm over my eyes. I loved him. When I thought about leaving him, not only did my wolf wail, but so did my heart. My soul. Whatever made me me in all my forms protested the idea of leaving him.
When I searched my heart and my instincts, nothing was pulling me to Astria.
Because I was already home.
I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Dare. I cleaned up, then pulled on a pair of pants. Another glance at him ensured he was sleeping and would not be awake soon, so I slipped out, closing the door as softly as I could behind me.
I went straight to G’s apartment, hoping I could catch my brother awake. I knocked, waiting as muffled voices conversed on the other side of the door before it swung open. G stood inside the doorway, nude, and when I glanced past him, Jude was sitting on the bed, an array of plates around him.
And the room smelled like sex.
I raised an eyebrow at G, who blushed, a deep crimson creeping up the dark skin of his neck. Jude opened his mouth, but I held up a hand. “I don’t want to know. You happy?”
G walked t
o the side of the bed, and Jude brushed the back of the Were’s thigh with his hand, then gazed up at him adoringly. “Of course.”
“Great, then that’s all I need to know. Look, we need to talk.”
Jude wasn’t even paying attention to what I was saying. “G is going with us.”
I stopped on my way to the bed. “What?”
“Dare told him to go with us, to help protect us.” Jude beamed. “I can’t wait to meet our pack.” His face quickly fell the longer I stared at him without reacting. He dropped his hand in his lap and patted the bed next to him. “I’m sorry. Let’s talk. Are you okay? Dare?”
“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. G, would you mind getting Selene? I want to talk to her and Jude. Privately.”
G didn’t hesitate. He dressed quickly and was out the door with a promise he’d be back in five minutes. I sat on the bed next to Jude, taking a bite out of a leftover cookie. “Mmm these are good.”
Jude grabbed a carrot and stretched out on his back as he munched on it. Jude would always be my little brother, and it was taking me some time to get used to the fact that he wasn’t a novus anymore. He was a full adult wolf. His biceps bulged, and the muscles of his thighs shifted beneath the skin. His face was no longer puffy with baby fat. “So what’s up?”
“I want to propose a change of plans, but it affects you and Selene. We make decisions together, okay?”
Jude’s body tensed. “Does this involve me leaving G?”
I shook my head. “No, brother.”
His eyes fell, and a flush stained his cheeks. “I feel lucky he’s even speaking to me again after what I did.”
“He was so worried about you.”
Jude crunched his carrot, but didn’t have a chance to respond because the door opened, and Selene walked inside. G kept his hand on the door. “I’ll be right down the hall if you need me.”
“Thanks, G,” I said.
After he closed the door, Selene held her arms out at her sides with a smile and twirled. “So? What do you think?”
“Your hair!” Jude rushed to her side, fingering the now short locks. She also wore a new dress. A simple short one dyed a light blue.
“I always wanted to cut it. The length was so heavy. But Xan wouldn’t let me,” she said, with a jut of her chin. “But he can’t tell me what to do now, can he?”
I stood up and held out my arms. She hugged me, and then a third set of arms wrapped around us, and Jude’s scent filled my nose.
“We’re safe,” Selene whispered. “Right? No more fighting, or forced labor or mating? We’re safe.”
How could I move them? How could I make the dangerous journey to Astria knowing we were happy and healthy here? “Yes, which is why I want to stay.”
Jude’s arms tensed before he pulled back with wide eyes. “Stay? And not go to Astria? But what about our pack?”
I directed them to sit on the bed, and they huddled shoulder to shoulder while I paced. “So here’s the bottom line. We make this decision together, so if you both want to go, we’ll leave. As soon as we’re ready. We’ll go home to Astria and reunite with what’s left of our pack, and that’ll be it.” I stopped with my hands on my hips, my heart racing. “Or we stay. Dare is an amazing alpha, and this pack is self-sufficient. We’re welcome here, and as the siblings of the alpha’s mate, you’ll be treated well.” I paused. “You have been treated well, right, Selene?”
“Oh yeah. Hans and I are in a nice room. They brought in a healer and food, and then let us sleep.”
I breathed out in relief. “Great, I’m glad to hear it.”
“I thought you said you felt the pull,” Jude said. “To go home. Are you just ignoring it? Are there any long-term consequences to that?”
I kneeled at the foot of the bed. “I read it wrong,” I said. “I was being pulled here. To the Silver Tip pack. With Dare. This is my home now. I won’t deny that I want to know who still lives in Astria, but leaving here, leaving Dare, seems inconceivable to me.”
“Tell me,” Selene prompted. “Tell me about him. I don’t know much.”
“You will,” I insisted. “You will get to know him. You’ve already seen what a great leader he is, but you’ll also get to see he’s a great dad and brother and friend. And an amazing mate. We’re unlocking powers of the True Mate bond we didn’t know existed. I shifted into a wolf double my size! And we can communicate silently.”
“Whoa.” Jude’s mouth formed an O.
“The thought of leaving him hurts you,” my sister said. “Is that what you’re saying?”
I nodded. “Like my guts are being ripped out.”
“Then why the hell would we still insist on leaving?” Jude asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Because maybe you still feel drawn home, maybe—”
“You’re home to us, Reese,” Selene said. “You’ve always been home. And if you’re here, then it’s home to us. If this is where you want to be, then we want to be here too.”
“You’re nuts,” Jude huffed. “Thinking we’d still want to leave? What’s wrong with you?”
I threw my hands in the air, laughter bubbling up my throat as the vise that had been squeezing my chest for weeks released.
I could breathe. I could relax. I could be content that I had a home, that my family was safe, and there was no more running. Collapsing onto the bed, I let the laughter out, curling onto my side until tears streamed down my face and my stomach cramped.
Something warmed pressed against my back, then Jude’s arms wrapped around my waist. Selene cuddled into my chest, and my laughter sputtered out as contentment set in.
Once upon a time, back in Astria, our parents tried to get us to sleep in separate beds. We never listened, and each morning they’d find us tangled together. We hadn’t been able to do this since leaving home.
When I’d blinked all the tears out of my eyes, Selene was watching me. She trailed her hand down my face. “This is what you want? To stay here?”
I nodded.
“Do you love Dare?”
I nodded again. Her mouth stretched into a wide smile, and Jude made a happy sigh against my neck.
“Good,” she said softly. “Then we’ll stay here.”
“Stay,” Jude echoed.
I closed my eyes and let the warmth of their bodies take me under.
Dare
* * *
When I woke, I knew he was missing. I didn’t smell him or feel his warmth pressed against my side. He was gone.
I shot out of bed, taking a second to pull on a pair of pants before I raced out the door. I leaped down the entire staircase and landed on the fifth floor with a thud. I told myself he wouldn’t have left, not without a goodbye.
Had his whispered “I love you” been a goodbye?
Fuck no. Couldn’t be.
He wouldn’t leave without Jude, so I took off down the hallway toward G’s room. I was at top speed when my neck collided with something hard, taking me off my feet and slamming me onto my back on the floor.
My instinct was to shift, my senses on full alert against a threat. I went to rise, but was pinned to the floor by a bare foot. My gaze rose up the leg, massive torso, and thick neck to the face of an amused G.
“Fuck, Dare,” he said. “Thundering down here like a goddamn Nowere. Chill out.”
“Reese is gone,” I growled.
G’s face didn’t change. “He’s not gone, you asshole. He’s in my room asleep with Selene and Jude.”
I blinked at him. “Oh.”
With a sigh, he removed his foot, and I rolled to all fours before standing, wiping off my hands, and avoiding G’s eyes. “Are they okay?”
“Fine.” He pointed to the door. “See for yourself.” He sat down on a chair in the hallway, resuming carving a piece of wood and ignoring me and my massive freak out.
I opened the door quietly, took a step in, and paused. On G’s massive bed was a pile of Whitethroat wolves. Reese was in the midd
le, Selene tucked against his chest while Jude wrapped them all in a bear hug from behind. When the hell had Jude grown? He looked as big as Reese now.
I closed the door behind me, and the soft click made Selene stir. She blinked open her big blue eyes, so like Reese’s, and stared at me for a moment until she rolled away from Reese’s grip and stood with a stretch.
Her hair was shorter, and she was finally in a dress that wasn’t torn and covered in blood. In fact, this was the first time I’d seen her clean. Like Reese’s features, her cheekbones were high and her lips full. Her presence and scent were all her own, beautiful and graceful with a backbone of steel.
“I’m sorry we met during stressful circumstances,” I said.
She padded toward me on bare feet. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. You reunited me with my brothers.”
Reese muttered in his sleep and turned his head into the blanket beneath him. “I’m glad I was able to do that for you.”
“Reese said he wants me to get to know you.”
What was the point if they were leaving? “Oh? How so?”
“Well he doesn’t know that I’ve already seen all I need to see to have an opinion on your character.”
I couldn’t help but smile. She was certainly Reese’s sister. “Enlighten me on my faults, then.”
She shook her head, stepping closer until she had to tilt her chin up to see me. “Your only fault is you probably let my brother get away with too much.”
Now I laughed. “You might be right about that.”
“His life with Xan was so hard. I haven’t been here long, but despite the challenge from that other Were, I can see your pack is happy. I can see he’s happy.”
That sobered me. “He’ll never be fully happy here knowing his pack is still alive.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because it’s in his blood to be called home. He’ll be miserable if he’s kept away from them.”
“Who says?”
Damn, she was tough. “Says fate.”
She snorted. “Fate murdered our pack. It disrupted our lives as we knew them in Astria, a place that will never be the same. Fate killed our parents and sentenced us to a lifetime under Xan’s rule. As far as I can see, the only good thing fate has done is brought you into our lives. And now we’re making our own choice. Fuck fate, we’re done with her.”
Daring Fate: Silver Tip Pack series Page 22