by Cali MacKay
Just as he started to wonder if she’d ever awake, something changed. She started to shift, still barely conscious, her screams cutting through the night as her body transformed fully into that of a wolf.
Fucking hell…she was gorgeous. Smaller than most shifters, with thick grey fur and silver eyes. It was only for a handful of heartbeats, before she collapsed and her body shifted back to her human form, as Greyson once more gathered her up in his arms and held her close, once more wondering if she’d somehow manage to pull through this.
When the sun came up the following morning, she stirred restlessly in his embrace—and finally opened her eyes.
“Juno… You had me so fucking worried.” He covered her face in kisses even as she struggled away from him, a panicked and frantic sob escaping her, as tears ran down her cheeks. “It’s okay, love. You’re safe now…you got through the worst of it.”
“I can’t…” She pushed him away, curling up on herself and wrapping her arms around her legs, sobbing uncontrollably, as she left him there feeling completely helpless, his heart shattering with a fresh pain. “Just…give me a minute…”
“Of course. Whatever you need.” He couldn’t imagine what she was going through. And it wasn’t just what Flint had done to her, but the changes her body was undergoing. Given that she wasn’t entirely human, it was hard to know what the Change would entail for her.
Taking one ragged breath after another, she somehow managed to calm herself down, despite the tears that now silently fell—and then, when he thought she might never come back to him, she settled his aching heart by slowly, carefully, tentatively, slipping into his arms. “Tell me it’s over, Greyson.”
“It’s over, love. You’re safe.”
***
Once Greyson made sure Juno was steady on her feet, he let her take a long hot bath as he busied himself by cooking them a massive breakfast, figuring she must be hungry after so many days with little to no sustenance. He also called Cullen and Ryder to let them know that she’d pulled through, knowing they’d been concerned for her.
She’d been through so much—more than anyone should have to endure. But he knew full well that the aftermath of what she’d been through was far from over. All he could do is be there for her, and hope that they’d manage to get through it all. Their relationship was still so new, and though she was his mate, she’d been through something incredibly traumatic, and it could easily push them apart instead of bring them together.
Just as he started to worry about how long she’d been in the tub, she walked into the kitchen, her hair still damp and her body looking far too gaunt, though the bites and the cuts had all healed once she’d shifted. “We’re at your cabin...”
“I thought it’d be best after what happened at our other place, though if you’d rather stay there, we can do that too.” He crossed to her side and gave her hand a squeeze, letting her take the lead, even if it was all he could do to hold himself back from pulling her into his arms and kissing her. “How are you feeling? There’s food if you’re hungry.”
“I feel like…like I don’t know who I am anymore.” She wouldn’t even look at him for more than a second or two at a time, and it was fucking killing him, tearing at his heart.
“You’re still the same person, Juno. You’re just stronger for having lived through a horrific experience.” Though she hadn’t said much about what she’d gone through, he had all too good an idea of what that fucking bastard had done to her. Greyson only wished he’d had the chance to make the asshole suffer, and swore to get revenge if the fucker was still alive. “We’ll get through this—together. No matter what you need, I’m here for you.”
“He didn’t…he didn’t rape me—in case you were worried about that. He tried to…but…not that he didn’t find plenty of other ways to make up for it.” She wrapped her arms around herself, though her words came as a surprise to Greyson. He could have sworn… Not that she hadn’t endured far too much. And if she’d been spared that horror, then he was relieved to know it.
But…something about it didn’t ring true. Shifters were nothing if not primal creatures, too often running on need, instinct, and little more. And Flint? It was doubtful he had enough of a conscience to bother holding back in any way. Although…maybe it was her way of coping with what happened to her. Maybe if she pretended it didn’t happen, it was easier for her to lock those memories away, so she could move past it—and yet he worried that it would eventually backfire.
But there was more. There was the child she was now carrying, even if she’d yet to figure it out. And so Greyson hoped with all his heart that she was telling him the truth about what happened, though he also told himself that as often as they’d been together, there was little chance of the child being fathered by anyone but him.
“Juno…if you need to talk to someone who can help, I can find a therapist who’ll understand your special situation.” Shifters went into all sorts of professions, and he’d do what he could to get her whatever help she needed.
She shook her head no, anger making her eyes flash silver—the first sign of her transformation since it happened. “This isn’t my first rodeo, now is it? How many times have I been attacked? Not that I know why. Maybe it’s because of what I am…or maybe it’s because I’m constantly running into fucking assholes who think they can just have their way with me. Not that it really matters when the result is the same.”
“I don’t know what to say, Juno. I should have protected you—and I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”
Chapter 7
“This isn’t your fault, Greyson.” Juno knew he’d done all he could to protect her—and had nearly died in the process. What more could she ask of him? And though it hadn’t been enough, she couldn’t hold him responsible for what was done to her. There was only one person to blame—and he was either dead or long gone. “I’m just not in a good place, right now. But it has nothing to do with you—or us. It’s just me.”
“I love you—and it’s killing me to know you’re hurting, and to not be able to do anything to help you through this.”
Except that he was doing plenty, even if he didn’t know it. The mere fact that he’d found her mere hours after she’d been abducted and he’d been shot, and then got her to safety and stayed by her side through her transition, was more than she could have asked for. Not to mention that he’d already put everything on the line to protect her from the bears. She had no doubt she’d be dead by now if it hadn’t been for him.
“I love you too—I truly do.” She just didn’t know if she’d be able to go back to the way things were between them, when she wasn’t even sure if she could bear anything more than a simple touch or embrace. Sexually, things had always been so intense between them, and she didn’t know if she could manage being on the receiving end of that passion without freaking out, after all Flint had done to her. “I’m just not sure I know how to do this anymore—how to do us—after all that’s happened. It’s not as if we’d been together very long before everything went to hell.”
“Juno…I’m not expecting anything from you. I just want to continue being a part of your life. We love each other, which means we will get through this.” He cupped the back of her neck and bent his head to hers. But the moment she started to panic, she caught his scent and something inside her stirred awake—something she’d never before experienced.
She breathed deep again, and realized that her sense of smell was now heightened. Not only could she pick up his already familiar scent, but the layers of nuance to his scent…the musk, the salt on his skin, the smell of his shampoo…the smell of his sex. His scent triggered a world of memories—not of Flint, but of all the times she’d been with Greyson.
Leaning into him, her eyes slipped shut and her body came alive as if the mere nearness of him was suddenly enough to push back her demons. His touch, his scent…they were like a drug she couldn’t deny. The logical part of her brain was still there, and yet it w
as being overridden by a desire and need that was far more primal, so she could barely think, all self-control slipping.
“Greyson…what’s happening to me?” She could hear the panic in her own voice, and yet she didn’t care. Not when she could barely think beyond the need that was suddenly driving her, her recent traumas being swept away in a tidal wave of undeniable want and lust.
“It’ll be okay, love.” He cupped her face in both his hands and pulled back enough to look at her, his gaze taking her in. “Your body’s changing. You’re becoming a shifter.”
Suddenly, her worries, her fears, all the things that Flint had done to her, didn’t matter. She wanted Greyson so badly, she felt like she was practically crawling out of her skin, unable to put together a coherent thought beyond getting the both of them naked.
And it felt like she was losing her mind.
Shrugging free of his hands, she covered his mouth in a bruising kiss that silenced her racing thoughts as he became her sole focus—just like she’d always been Greyson’s. She suddenly understood him, understood the intensity with which he always took her, understood his constant hunger. It was as if there was too much happening all at once, while at the same time, she could think of nothing but Greyson and her hunger, her desire for him.
But he was pulling away again, though she could tell in the way each muscle tensed, the way his jaw locked and his eyes glowed, that it was taking all he had to put that little bit of distance between them. “Juno…we have all the time in the world. We can take things slow…we don’t have to do this.”
“We do… I need this, Greyson…and I can’t fight it.” She reached down between them and stroked his cock, feeling herself go desperately wet for him. “Please… Don’t push me away. Not when I need you to erase everything Flint did to me.”
That was all it took. His mouth was hard on hers as he finally gave in to the uncontrolled passion between them. Their tongues danced and clashed as their kiss deepened and he grabbed her ass, lifting her up off her feet. She wrapped her legs around his waist but they only made it as far as the nearest wall, pinning her there with his muscular form and making it impossible to ignore his hard length.
She flashed to a memory of Flint, but only for a split second. And then Greyson was pulling her top up over her head and pushing down her sweats as she flicked the button on his jeans and yanked down the zipper. She slid her hands in against his hot skin and he shrugged his jeans down past his hips, kicking them off. Shedding what remained of her clothing, he sucked her nipples into his mouth, before lifting her up and impaling her on his hard length, filling her completely.
He pulled away just enough to look at her, worry lining his brow even as his hips started to rock into her. “Tell me you’re okay, Juno.”
“I’m not. But I need this—so don’t you dare stop fucking me.” She’d barely finished her sentence when he pounded into her, each hard thrust claiming her as his once more and erasing any other man’s touch from her body and memory, even if it was for just that moment.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him as he swallowed her needy moans and pushed her closer to her orgasm, the energy building inside her like never before. Every nerve felt electrified, and this was no longer simply having a good time, but rather feeding a primal need that felt like it’d never be satiated.
He gripped her ass in both his hands as he fucked her against the hard wall, his huge cock stretching her body tight, each thrust harder, faster than the one before until she was crying out in his arms as she came and he joined her with a grunt, his cock pulsing deep inside her, filling her with his hot cum.
But then he was moving inside her once more, fucking her again as he shifted her to the floor. She had only a split second to panic, pinned below his heavy weight, but then he was kissing her, forcing her to focus on him so that her all too recent memories were pushed aside by the present, her fears dissipating as did the flicker of energy that had started to flame and threatened to lash out. Because when she was with Greyson, the connection between them was impossible to ignore, the attraction and the love between them undeniable.
And now that her body had undergone the Change, the bond between them felt even stronger—as was her hunger for him. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced before, even as he took her, fucked her against the wooden floor. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling her to him and quickening his pace, though the intensity of their coupling only left her hungrier for more. Their bodies were coming together in more ways than one, each thrust, each flicker of pain, making it clear to her that she was his mate—and he was hers.
But as the energy of her orgasm started to build once more, he pulled free of her, ignoring her protests, and flipped her onto all fours. He sank into her balls deep with a single thrust, his chest pressed to her back, as he continued to fuck her, one hard thrust after another, fisting her hair and pulling her head back so he could sink his teeth into her neck.
She cried out, her need stifling her panic as he continued to fuck her, his words spoken on a growl. “Mine… No one but me will ever touch you again, Juno. Say it. ’Cause I won’t have any other man coming between us.”
“I’m yours…no one but you, Greyson.” And just like that, they were both coming once more, the energy of her orgasm overwhelming her as she cried out, her pleasure rapidly followed by a wave of emotion.
They stayed that way, their bodies linked and his strong arms still holding her to him, until their racing hearts finally slowed and beat as one. As he pulled free of her body, she felt his cum slip down her legs, and suddenly, with her reality washing back over her, all the emotions she’d been battling returned, as did her tears, refusing to be contained. Because she knew exactly what she’d endured—and knew the lie she’d told.
Greyson once more scooped her up into his familiar embrace and sat them down on the sofa, cradling her in his strong arms as she clung to him, choking back her sobs. “Hush, June bug… You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”
And the truth was…he did. She just didn’t know if it’d be enough.
Chapter 8
Greyson knew that what Juno was going through went well beyond what that bastard did to her. She was getting hit from all directions—the bears, getting married, getting kidnapped and abused, becoming a shifter—and it wasn’t letting up. It was no wonder she was such a mess. And things would only get worse before they got better, since she’d need to shift soon to release the energy that would start to build inside her. If not, her primal needs would soon feel like they were clawing at her mind and taking over her body, especially since she didn’t yet know how to control it.
Yet seeing her so upset—and seeing her moods swing from that of an emotional human to a primal shifter and then back again—was killing him, and obviously it was only worse for Juno. Though for now, at least, she’d settled down from her earlier upset, still holding onto him as she nestled deep against him, wrapped in his arms.
“Sweetness…what can I do to help you through this?” Greyson brushed the hair from her eyes when she looked up at him, grateful that the change had healed her cuts and bruises, though he knew that her battered soul was still carrying fresh wounds that might not ever heal. And he wasn’t stupid, nor naïve enough to think that just because they’d had sex, that she was okay with what happened to her. That had been nothing more than her primal instincts as a shifter kicking in.
“I want to go away, Greyson. Somewhere far away from here, where I won’t be constantly reminded of what happened.” She sat up out of his arms and leaned in to kiss him, her eyes slipping shut as her lips lingered soft and hot on his. “It doesn’t have to be forever. Just until I find a new sense of normal.”
Fuck…he hated this. Because he wanted nothing more than to give her everything she wanted. Yet he couldn’t, and he felt like a shit for it. “Juno…you know I’d do anything to see you through this.”
“But we can’t leave. Because of the bears, because of the politics,
because leaving would just be too fucking easy, and we need to stay so Flint or one of his asshole friends can’t come back and finish what they started.” Her frustration was palpable, and he couldn’t blame her for being angry with him. And yet he had to do what he thought was best for her safety—and that meant not straying away from their pack.
Yet when her eyes welled up with tears, he hated himself for having to deny her. “Flint won’t ever touch you again, Juno—nor will anyone else, for that matter. You have my word—and I truly want to make you happy and will do whatever it takes—but not if it puts your life at risk.”
“My life’s at risk whether I stay or go. Pack territories, sentries—even you…none of it was enough to keep Flint from attacking us. And you know that if he wasn’t killed outright, then it’s just a matter of time before he heals and becomes a threat again.” Her bottom lip trembled and he could feel her whole body tense, as he pulled her back into his arms and held her tightly to him, pulling the throw off the back of the sofa and draping it over her still naked body.
Of course she was right—and to a huge extent, he knew what he had to do to up the stakes and make sure their enemies thought twice about attacking Juno. Because if he became alpha, no one would dare take that big a risk.
Right now, he was just another member of the pack, and though he was stepson to the current alpha, it wasn’t a secret that Cullen was stepping down. Nor was it a secret that Kiernan would be alpha next, and many didn’t think he was up to the task. That meant it left the pack looking vulnerable—and others wouldn’t hesitate to use that vulnerability to their advantage. But if he took over as alpha, he knew his pack would unite behind him, and they’d be stronger for it.
All he had to do is betray his brother.
“I just need you to trust me, Juno. I’ll sort this all out—and I’ll find a way to not only keep you safe, but make you happy.” At least he damn well hoped so. He kissed the top of her head and then tilted her head back so he could kiss her mouth, her lips soft and sweet as he ignored his cock, hard against her curves.