by Bryce Evans
“Are you sure? I will stop now, but I need to hear you say it.” Brody didn’t have to wait long before she grasped at his jeans, popping the button and pulling the zipper down. Then the little vixen brought her feet up and pushed his pants down his legs. Reaching back, he pulled his boots off, throwing them on the floor. His shaft pushed free, landing on her stomach. “Say it, Sage. Say that you’re mine. I have to hear you say it.”
“I’m ready, Brody. I want you more than anything. Please take me now.” Her eyes flickered as they gazed at each other. Leaning back, he pulled her up then turned her around, facing the couch.
“I’ve dreamed of you this way. Look.” Brody pointed at the mirror behind the couch. “I want you to see how much I want you.” He kissed the side of her neck, licking the place where her pulse jumped. “When we make love, I want to see you come, and I want you to see me. There will never be a doubt what you mean to me.”
Brody slipped his hands around her body, one covering her breast, the other moving inside her panties and across her pussy. He didn’t push his finger inside yet. He wanted to take his time. Tonight, he would erase every bad memory she had with her past lovers. Tonight and for the rest of her life, Sage Wingate was his.
Her mouth opened with a gasp as Brady circled her clit, pushing his finger inside slightly than bringing it back out, teasing her. “Nothing else matters but me and you.”
Closing her eyes, Brody took her earlobe into his mouth and bit down gently. “Open your eyes, Sage.” Her eyes flew open and followed his hand as he pulled on her tight bud, moving his finger around and around making her breath hitch. He could see that she was about to come. Her breathing became short and her nails dug into his arms.
“Mark me, baby.” Brody demanded. His eyes had turned gold as he stared into the mirror watching his mate. He continued to tease her until she couldn’t take it anymore and screamed out. He pushed his finger inside and held still as her pussy clenched around him.
“Brody!” It was only one word, but the look in her eyes told him she was ready for more.
He grabbed the edges of her panties and ripped them off, discarding them to the floor with the rest of their scattered clothing. Bending her forward more, Brody slowly pushed inside. He growled against her ear when he felt how wet she was. He was a big man, but Sage’s body opened wide for him, allowing him to push further inside.
“Don’t stop, please don’t stop,” Sage begged, making him crazy. Pulling her legs further apart, Brody drove deeper. He didn’t want to hurt her so he kept his strokes nice and easy, building her back up again. “Harder,” Sage demanded, her eyes narrowed as she held on, digging her fingernails across his forearms. Brody couldn’t stop now. She had pushed him over as he slammed into her, pushing her body forward into the couch. “More!” Sage screamed out.
And that was when he pulled her body tight against him and gave her what she asked for. Brody fucked her until her head pushed back against his chest and she came again. He watched as Sage pushed back more, taking everything he gave. She clenched around him tightly as he bit down on her shoulder, marking her to be his forever. He thought his heart had stopped when he growled out her name and came inside of her. They both became completely still as he released every last drop inside of her.
He waited to see if she would yell at him for marking her. They hadn’t talked about it yet, but he didn’t regret it. He licked the wound clean then looked up in the mirror, waiting for her to scream at him. Instead, she turned her head and kissed him on the cheek. “When will I change?” Sage asked.
“Soon. You will know when the time is right. Your bear will let you know when she’s ready to come out,” Brody said. He knew that she was going to be in pain once his saliva got into her bloodstream. “Sage, you will feel some pain once my bite gets into your bloodstream. Hold on to me and it will pass.” Before she could say anything, Sage bent over in pain. “Breathe, baby. Just breathe.”
“I’m trying!” Sage yelled at him. He held on, talking in her ear. Her breathing was sharp as she gasped hard for breath. He hated that he had put her in so much pain, but this was the only way to mate.
He rubbed her stomach until the pain started to ease up. “Are you okay?” When she didn’t say anything, he picked her up and carried her to his bedroom. Kissing the side of her face, Brody inhaled her scent. “Sage, please tell me you’re okay.” He was feeling so guilty and needed to know she was going to be all right.
Opening her eyes, Sage whispered, “I’m better now. The pain is going away, but I’m so tired.”
“Close your eyes, baby. Go to sleep. I’ll watch after you.” Brody laid her down as she closed her eyes. He pulled her closer and closed his eyes. She was finally his.
* * *
“I’m in a dream. I know I’m in a dream.” Sage realized that she was dreaming, but she didn’t know how to wake up. Pinching herself wasn’t working as she kneeled behind bushes. Why was she in the woods? That was when she heard the one voice that could make her blood run cold.
She watched as Claudia Blackwood and her minions furiously looked for something on the ground. Her fingers twitched as the rage of her mother’s murder burned inside of her. Then the feeling hit her, and she knew that she needed to keep hidden. It was something that had never happened to her before. She always knew what she was going to do if she ever had the chance, but this feeling was actually hindering her from moving. It was so strong that she started to panic. Her neck started tingling and she remembered the sister stone. Pulling it out from underneath her shirt, the stone began to glow as she stared down at it.
What did all this mean and what was Claudia looking for? When she tried to get up, the feeling hit her again. It was the sister stone and it wouldn’t let her act on her revenge. Sage could kill her now and save the people she loves the most. Alpha City would be safe…but the stone glowed again, making her hide like a coward.
She needed to do this not just for her family, but also for Brody. She loved him, and for the first time in her life she’d found a man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. And what made it so special was that he loved her, too.
Sage heard something, drawing her attention back toward Claudia. Chills ran up her arms when the woman turned in her directions and stared straight at the bushes she was hiding behind. Her first thought was that she had been caught. Immediately, her breath caught in her throat as she waited.
“I found something,” A guard yelled out. Claudia’s icy blue eyes continued to look in her direction hesitating, but finally she turned and walked over to where the guard was, and Sage released the breath she had been holding. She tried to see through the bushes, but she couldn’t see anything unless she stood up a little. That’s when the feeling hit her again, prompted her to stay down.
“Look what we have here.” Sage didn’t have to look to know that she had been caught. She turned around and found Nick Bernstein smiling down at her. She hated this man just as much as she did Claudia. He was evil, just like her. The scar that went down the side of his cheek made him look feral, and only one side of his mouth slid up in a smile. Rubbing his hands together, Nick walked closer to her. “I’ve been waiting for this day. We were interrupted a few times before, but now there is nothing standing in my way.” Nick leaned in closer and hesitated before speaking again, “You see, I don’t think Claudia will stop me this time. She will enjoy hearing you scream, just like she laughed when your mother screamed out in pain.”
Sage let her rage go, sending a fiery blast toward Nick. Unfortunately, she missed and Nick knocked her down on the ground, pulling her arms above her head. Jerking her up, Nick licked the side of her ear. “I’m going to enjoy our short time together, then your mate will be easy pickings.”
Her growl could be heard roaring throughout the woods. “I will kill you if you touch him.”
“Oh, we plan on doing that, but first he’s going to show us where the entrance to Valceria is, and you are the bait. Thank you, Sage. Thi
s plan is so much better.”
“No!” she screamed out…
Sage gasped, trying to catch her breath. Her lower lip trembled as her eyes searched the room. She was in Brody’s bedroom. His scent was infused inside of her now, bringing her some peace. Reaching out, she discovered that his side of the bed was cold. Where was he? She had to find him and make sure he was safe. He had to be safe.
Getting up, Sage realized that she was naked. A fresh set of clothes lay at the bottom of the bed. She couldn’t even smile at how sweet the man was, because she feared for his life. They were going to use her as bait and make him show where the entrance was.
Sage didn’t pull up her hair or even brush her teeth. Once she got her shirt on she was out the door, searching for her mate. Laughter could be heard from the kitchen. When she got to the entrance of the kitchen, she fell to her knees, gasping for breath. Brody quickly rushed to her side, pulling her up and into his lap, checking her body for injury.
The color drained from his face. “What’s wrong? Tell me, what’s wrong?”
Swallowing hard, Sage cried out, “I thought…I…it was so real—” Sage rubbed her hands up and down Brody, checking to make sure he was okay.
Me-Len stood beside, her rubbing her hand. “What was real?”
“The dream.” Tears flooded her eyes. “It was so real. Claudia and her guard were looking for something in the woods.”
“What woods?” Brody asked. She could tell he was anything but calm.
“The entrance to the mines. They found something, but I couldn’t see what it was before Nick found me.”
Brody growled, “Nick—with a scar on his cheek?”
Sage nodded. She watched as a vein popped out in Brody’s neck. His nostrils flared when his bear appeared close to the surface. She had to calm down and hopefully that would calm her mate down.
Touching the side of his face, Sage fought back the emotions she was feeling and calmed herself. “It was just a dream. Just a dream,” she repeated.
“Maybe not.” Sage hadn’t noticed MJ sitting at the kitchen table, watching them.
“What do you mean?” Me-Len asked.
“I have read about witches all my life. Made it my life’s hobby to know about your race, and through my studies I’ve learned that some witches have premonitions. Sometimes it helps them change future events or gives them a way to save someone from death. So this could be something that can help us. Sage could be having premonitions in her dreams.” MJ glanced back at Sage. “I bet when you were younger, you had these odd feelings when something bad was going to happen but you thought nothing about it, right? Or you realized that you had these feelings and didn’t want people to think of you as strange.”
Sage put her feet down on the ground. Brody helped her up as she walked over to the table and sat down. Pushing the hair from her eyes she asked, “What else did your studies tell you?”
MJ picked up a piece of bacon and put half of it in her mouth. Pointing the other half at her, she said, “That’s what I thought. You’re are a dream witch who has the power of premonitions. A very powerful skill, if you know what you’re doing. Since this was your first one, you may need to practice a little.” Eating the other half of the bacon, MJ added, “You guys sure don’t know much about witches.”
Me-Len came and sat beside her. “We know plenty, MJ, but there hasn’t been a known dream witch in centuries, and if there has been they are keeping it to themselves. A lot of information can be found out while walking around in someone’s dreams. Basically, you have access to what they are thinking about, what they desire, what their future plans are. But what they don’t tell you is how dangerous it is.”
“How dangerous?” MJ studied Me-Len, taking in all the knowledge.
“Some witches like Claudia Blackwood, who practice in the dark magic, can pop in and out of places unnoticed. If she can do that and realizes you are in her dreams, she can reverse it on you and kill you in your dream. Thus making it impossible to ever wake up. And I’ve lost enough family.”
The color drained from Brody’s face. “You will not be dream hopping, so get that out of your head.”
“Brody, you can’t tell me what to do. If I can help the Order…”
“No! Absolutely not. You want to risk your life for…”
“You!” Sage yelled.
“Me?” Brody questioned, his voice rough with emotion.
“Don’t you get it? I would do this to protect you, Me-Len, and London. All the people I love. I can’t stand back when I could have done something. I won’t be that person. Brody?”
Picking her up, Brody carried her out of the kitchen and straight to his bedroom. Sitting her down on the bed, he turned around and started pacing the room, then kneeled in front of her. “You love me?”
Sage smiled. “That’s what you want to know?”
Brody nodded.
Leaning over, Sage kissed his forehead. “I love you.” Then she moved to the side of his cheek, “I love you.” Next, she kissed the other side of his cheek, “I love you, Brody King.”
His eyes were open, boring into hers. “Then don’t do this. Because I love you so much it hurts. The thought of you not waking up scares the shit out of me, Sage. I can’t protect you there. I can’t help you. I can’t…”
Clearing her throat, Sage needed to take away his fears. “I know that and you can’t protect me all the time. But if I can help you and the others, I have to try. Now, I’m not done yet. You remember this. If I do this, I will fight like hell to come back to you. I will always come back to you.”
“God, I love you so much.” Brody pulled her down so that she straddled his lap.
“But please don’t tell me not to do this. This is a gift, Brody, that has been given to me. I’ve got to use it. What if I can get into some of Claudia’s guards’ dreams? I could get so much information to help the Order out.”
“You could die, too. I won’t risk you, Sage. You have done so much for us. You got Carina out and it cost you. Please don’t do this. Plus, you have never done this before. You may screw up and this isn’t something you can screw up. Claudia is evil and cunning. She will know when you’re in her head—”
Sage placed her finger over Brody’s lips, cutting him off. “Let’s talk about this later. I know MJ is getting impatient and we have a lot to do today before the full moon.”
“Okay,” Brody replied. She could hear the distress in his voice. Vowing to never hurt him might be a challenge. Because if she got the opportunity to protect him, than she was going to do it. She would kill Claudia Blackwood in her dreams and end this once and for all.
Chapter Thirteen
Brody held her hand as they walked back to the kitchen. He hadn’t been able to make himself leave as she stripped down to take a shower. So he did what he should, and stripped down to clean his mate. She was still sore in all the right places, so he decided that he would do something different and let his mouth do the talking. Sage thought she was going to object until his tongue dove between her sweet lips. He sucked and licked until she couldn’t take it anymore and began rubbing herself all over his face, trying to get herself off.
“I’m so close! Fuck me, Brody. Please fuck me. I need you now.”
She had already told him that she was deliciously sore down there and he didn’t want to hurt her, but Sage jerked him up on his feet and jumped up in his arms, wrapping her legs around him. Grabbing her ass in his hands, Brody slipped inside her. Slowly, he pushed in and out, trying to go easy, but she wasn’t having any of that. “Now, please don’t make me wait. Please!”
Unfortunately, he’d made a promise to always give his mate what she wanted. Brody pushed her up against the shower wall and slammed in and out of her until they were both spent. A small smile graced her lips. He didn’t want to let her go, so he sat down on the seat while still inside of her. It was only when she shivered that he realized that she was getting cold.
He was leaving with Lex, Me-L
en, and Meryl in a few minutes. They were headed to the lodge to meet with the twins and reverse the spell, but he hated leaving Sage and MJ alone. He felt conflicted, but if he shared that information with his mate she would get very angry, and right now he needed her focused on getting the information out of the books instead of trying to dream hop in Claudia’s head.
He wasn’t going to let her do it. He would put her under lock and key if he had to. She didn’t know that, but protecting his mate was his top priority. Once he’d dried her off, Brody watched while she got, ready putting her clothes back on. Then he patiently admired her beauty as she pulled her hair back in a ponytail. The woman made him hard just by brushing her hair. He was a goner and very much in love.
“You ready?” Sage asked MJ once they got back to the kitchen.
“Yep.” MJ closed her laptop and jumped up.
“Let me show you the books you will need.” MJ followed them to the library. He had a section of books that only the Alphas knew about. There was a lot of information inside the books that he hadn’t even read yet. Two years ago, he and Lex had copied each page of the books and put them on the computer. That way he could preserve the books that were encased in temperature-controlled, airtight container. These books were precious to the Alphas. The history of each of their families was contained in these books, and that included information on paranormals other than just the shifters. He was hoping that through the years, someone had written about the dragons. They needed to know if Jamal had any weaknesses. There had to be something that could help them in these books. He knew MJ was a computer wiz and if there was something in the books she would find it, and Sage was just as savvy. Me-Len had told them Sage was a great researcher and could find anything.
“Wow.” MJ whistled as she entered the room. A smile tugged at his lips. He thought it was impressive too. He loved to read and learn, and the only way to do that was to create a library any reader would die to have. He had plenty of money and he used some of it to make this sanctuary of books. Every book was in a category. He had a huge collection of every genre a reader would want. He loved books. Even his friends teased him about it. Calling him the grizzly bookworm. He laughed because he knew his friends were only joking. But then again, he was the keeper of books for the Alphas. Everything that happened to them was put into books. Soon, Sage and his story would be added to a book.