by R. E. Butler
They neared the cave, and Row said, “Give me two minutes.” He handed Kammie a flashlight, because the sun was setting and the woods were growing dark.
He disappeared into the cave and she heard a lot of hurried movements. True to his word, he reappeared shortly and said, “I wish I could carry you inside the cave, but the entrance is too small for me to do that.”
“You’re so sweet.”
“Only to you.”
She kissed him and gave him the flashlight. Going to her knees, she peered into the entrance of the cave. She had to crawl on her hands and knees for the first few feet. Row had set an electric candle where the tunnel turned sharply, and she followed more flickering candles for a little longer, before the tunnel opened up and she was able to stand in the rough-hewn chamber. The cave was circular, about ten feet across, with shelves hewn into the walls for supplies. Row had set electric candles on the shelves to illuminate the space. On the floor was a thick pile of furs, and he’d arranged pillows and blankets along one edge.
Row’s hands slid around her waist and he kissed her neck. “What do you think, Adara?”
“I think it’s amazing.”
The air was cool but not chilly. She bent over and took off her boots and Row set them in the tunnel outside of the chamber, along with his own.
Row took her coat and laid it along one wall with his, then turned to face her. He took her hands and lifted them, kissing the tops. “When I left here to take my sister to her people, I never expected to find my truemate in the woods of a strange place. Meeting you changed my life in a heartbeat, Kammie. I would be lost without you.”
Tears stung her eyes. “You’re the most amazing mate, Row. I don’t know what I’d do without you either.”
He stared down at her intently. She could hear the faint rumble of his bear and knew that both man and beast were excited for what was to come. She and Row were already marked according to wolf traditions, but she was going to be joining his sleuth as his mate, and she wanted to wear the crescent mark.
He caught her around the waist and drew her against him as his mouth descended on hers with a gruff growl. She loved the way he kissed her, as if he couldn’t get close enough to her or touch her enough. His tongue slipped against hers in a dance that made her skin tingle and her wolf growl happily. Tugging his shirt from his jeans, she ran her fingers up his back, feeling the heat of his skin. She raked her nails down lightly, then slid her hands up the front of his shirt, undoing the buttons as she went. His broad chest was thick with muscles that bunched and contracted as she traced them with her fingers. Rubbing her fingertips across his nipples, she circled them until they tightened under her touch and smiled against his mouth as his hands kneaded her waist.
She pushed the shirt off his shoulders, and he released his hold on her long enough to take it off and toss it aside. Then his arm was around her once more, his hand slowly caressing the front of her body. She could feel the heat of his touch through the thin shirt she wore. He eased from the kiss as his hand cupped her breast, and she knew he could feel that she wasn’t wearing anything under her clothes.
His thumb rubbed her nipple as it hardened under his touch, and he gazed down at her. “Is my sweetheart naked under her clothes?” His voice was rough and husky, and it made her toes curl.
She lifted her shirt, slowly baring herself to him. He watched intently, reminding her of the first time she’d stripped for him. She was aware of her scars and she thought she probably always would be, but she wasn’t ashamed of them anymore. Row had changed her life so completely just by being himself and caring about her. She didn’t even really recognize herself anymore, but she was glad for that. Starting their new life together with a new attitude was just what she needed to do.
He helped her tug the shirt off and growled possessively. “You’re beautiful.”
“I’m yours.”
He kissed her and then slipped to his knees, wrapping his arms around her waist and rubbing his cheek against her stomach. “I’m yours too, Kammie.”
He opened her jeans and tugged them slowly down her legs, kissing her flesh as it was bared to him. His growl, when he realized she wasn’t wearing panties, sounded a lot like a purr. She would’ve liked to buy sexy lingerie for him, but she knew in that moment that her mate thought she was sexiest when she was naked. She loved that knowledge.
After she stepped free of her jeans, she went to her knees and undid his, cupping his ass in her hands as their lips met in a kiss that seared her all the way to her soul. She could feel his erection through his jeans, and it was a heady feeling to know she turned her mate on no matter what she wore.
He stood slowly as she pushed his jeans down his legs, allowing him to step free of them and toss them to the side. She reached for his cock, but he pushed her hands away gently. “If you touch me, I’m going to forget to mate you properly, and it’s important to me that we do this right, sweetheart. I want to wear your mark on my arm and I want you to wear mine.”
Earlier in the day, he’d told her that he wouldn’t mark her if she didn’t want him to. He understood that she had enough scars to last several lifetimes and that she might not want another. It hadn’t even been an option in her mind, though. Taking Row’s crescent mark was a way to cement their mating, to make it clear to one and all that they were mates and nothing would separate them. She hadn’t had a choice with her other scars, but she would choose Row’s scar.
He lifted a Mason jar from one of the shelves and went to his knees before her. After unscrewing the metal lid and setting it aside, he placed the jar between them. He took her hands and placed them on his hips, patting them gently. Then he dipped his index finger into the jar, coating it in the clear oil.
“Kammie Townsend,” he said as he stroked his finger down the left side of her throat, “I, Sorrow Grayson, vow myself to you for all eternity.” He dipped his middle finger into the oil and stroked it down the right side of her throat. The oil was warm and smelled of lavender. “I vow to be the best mate to you, to care for you in every way, and to protect you from harm.”
He coated his ring finger with oil and brushed a slow line over her heart. “My heart is yours. My soul. My life. Everything that I am is yours, from this moment forward. I will honor and love you for all of my days.”
As he dipped his little finger into the oil, he gazed into her eyes. She’d never felt so connected to anyone in her life, and she believed it was meant to be this way – truemates were special and meant to be revered.
He stroked his finger across her abdomen from hip to hip. “I vow to love and protect our children, to see them safe from harm in all ways and teach them all that I’ve learned. I promise to be a good dad, and to love their mom fiercely.”
His hand rested on her hip, fingers digging into her flesh lightly as the words that he’d spoken hung in the air between them.
She felt his claws press into her arm, and she lifted her hand to his bicep. “The crescent moon,” he said reverently, “holds a place of honor for bears. We gather under the crescent for celebrations, and the mark reminds us of our tie. I mark you as mine, Kammie.”
The cut was a swift twist of one claw against her skin. The wound burned slightly, but she was too focused on his bicep to think too much about a small ache. She let her claws out and envisioned the curved mark in her mind, using the one he’d made as a guide. She moved as quickly as he had, cutting his arm with her claw in a curved line. She stared at the blood that welled on his arm, and then looked at her own. He rubbed his finger lightly over her cut, gathering her blood on his finger, and then rubbed it along his own. After mixing their blood on his arm, he stroked his finger over her cut, their blood now combined on both of their marks. The mixing of blood prevented the cuts from healing entirely, so that they would scar.
He lowered his mouth to hers with a growl. As their lips met, she slid her hands up his back. He drew her closer until their bodies touched, his cock trapped between them, hot and hard
. She eased onto her back, tugging him with her as they settled onto the furs. Row held himself slightly above her, his fingers tracing slow patterns up and down her waist.
He nipped her lower lip and kissed her chin, nuzzling her throat. Cupping her breast, he fit his mouth over her nipple, sucking gently. Tingles raced through her as he hummed against her flesh, and she sank her fingers into his hair, fisting the soft strands as he feasted on her breast before moving on to the other nipple, sucking and licking it to a hard point.
He kissed down her body slowly, his hands following his lips as he mapped out her curves until he reached the apex of her thighs. Row was the only man she’d ever let between her legs this way, and she was glad she’d saved that part of herself for him alone. He teased her with his lips and tongue, driving her forward to the height of pleasure, his hands wrapped around her thighs and holding her close as he feasted on her.
She screamed his name, writhing under him as he pushed her to another crest of pleasure, his fingers twisting and pumping as she shuddered under his touch. He climbed up her body and she lifted her legs to wrap them around his hips as his cock pressed into her slowly, filling her perfectly. He growled as their bodies met, and she pressed her hand against his cheek. She wanted to say a million things in that moment, to tell him all of the emotions that were rising up in her. Instead she chose the simplest and most powerful phrase she knew, which she had only ever said to him: “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Kammie. My sweet, beautiful adara.”
They made love slowly, keeping their gazes locked together as pleasure washed over them and carried them into bliss. After they’d come down from the heavens, they ate and talked and then made love once more, reveling in their time together in the sacred cave. As she drifted to sleep lying on top of Row, a fur over them both, she considered the strange turn her life had taken. One moment she’d been living a not-so-content life as an omega, unsure if she’d ever find anyone who would be able to handle her scars. The next, she was being hauled through the woods by her truemate, a demanding male who thought her scars were badges of honor proving she’d been tough enough to survive. She’d never felt as stripped bare as she did with Row, but she didn’t fear that now. She could see her scars not as crippling marks to hold her down, but as proof that she was a survivor. She’d lost out on a lot because of them and her pack’s belief that they made her weak, but she didn’t see herself as weak any longer.
It had only taken falling in love with a bear and a few naked conversations to get her to the place where she saw herself as a valuable woman, with an opinion worth hearing and a life worth living. She owed it to herself to live her life to the fullest, and that included this new chapter with Row. Eventually they’d have kids and she’d teach them to never be ashamed of anything they went through. She’d be the role model to her children she’d never had herself.
She smiled and let sleep claim her.
Chapter 9
Row felt Kammie’s weight slide off him suddenly. She screamed in alarm, and he shot to his feet with a warning roar as he watched her being dragged from the chamber by something he couldn’t see. He raced after her, lunging to catch her hand as she was slammed into the side of the tunnel. Her fingers slipped from his and he bellowed in rage as he charged out of the cave and found himself facing Hector and three males Row recognized from Hector’s sleuth.
“Release my mate,” Row demanded. Kammie lay naked on the snow, facedown and unmoving. He could see the rise and fall of her chest, so he knew she was alive, but he could also smell her blood.
Hector tilted his head and blinked slowly. He placed a booted foot on Kammie’s back, and Row snarled. “I could kill her right now.”
“What do you want?” Row forced himself to think past the blinding rage. Not only had Kammie been literally snatched from his arms, but she was in danger.
“I want your claws pulled out,” Hector said, making a sweeping gesture with the hunting knife he brandished. “I want your blood spilled and your life ended, but not before you watch me fuck your mate and then hand her off to my friends.”
“That will not happen,” Row said, his bear surfacing enough for his body to bulk and fur to sprout from his skin.
“I think it will. I think,” Hector tapped his chin with the tip of the blade, his eyes gleaming feverishly, “that my friends will make sure you can’t do anything but watch: watch me fuck her, watch me take what’s yours and make it mine, over and over, while she begs for mercy.”
Row swept his gaze over the three males standing with Hector. They were savage fighters; Row had faced all of them at one time or another and beaten them. That was one-on-one, however. Row was a great fighter, but he wasn’t sure he could take on three males at once, and he was certain they weren’t planning to fight honorably.
His bear bellowed, and he let the rage bloom inside him until it eclipsed everything else. He had to save Kammie. He’d promised to keep her safe for the rest of their lives, and their lives sure as fuck weren’t ending today.
Letting loose a savage roar, he leapt at the males as his shift took over. They weren’t playing fair, so he wasn’t going to play fair, either. The males shouted in surprise as he landed on top of one of them, hearing the satisfying crunch of bones as his heavy bulk hit full-force. Vengeance rode him hard. No one took what was his. No one threatened his mate.
* * * * *
Kammie felt something press hard into the center of her back as she came to. Her head ached and her vision was blurry. She blinked rapidly to clear her sight, watching as Row roared loud enough to hurt her ears and flew through the air, shifting into an enormous bear. Whatever had been holding her down disappeared as the scent of blood and the sound of shattering bones and screams of pain filled the air.
Ice and snow stung her skin as she pushed herself up and raced into the chamber. She navigated the tunnel and skidded to a stop on the furs, facing a male with shaggy blond hair holding a knife. He pressed it to her throat, his eyes glinting in the flickering candlelight.
“I knew I’d get you one way or another,” he said darkly.
Row couldn’t get to her unless he shifted into his human form, and she could still hear him fighting outside the cave. She was on her own. Fear slithered over her, and for a moment she wanted to curl up and take whatever beating the male had planned for her. But as she stared up at him, she realized she wouldn’t survive if she didn’t fight. Row was fighting three males outside the cave, and although she was no fighter herself, she had one ace up her sleeve – her wolf.
She willed her pulse to slow, and her wolf rose to the surface, waiting for the moment she could let her free. “What do you want with us?”
The knife tip pressed more firmly into her throat. He was tense, his eyes wild and his chest heaving as he snarled. “Suffering.”
Fuck. That.
She’d already suffered more than enough in her lifetime, and Row – who she could hear roaring outside the cave – had suffered through monthly battles, too. As the male’s hand curled tighter on the knife, she noticed the rough marks on his thumb. She realized he was the one who’d tried to claw off Row’s dick, which was a part of her mate’s anatomy she happened to really enjoy.
What would such a male do to her? She wasn’t about to find out.
She thought about Row, fighting against multiple opponents outside the cave. This was one guy. One nutcase with a knife. She’d faced off against one of those males in her youth and survived. She could do it again.
“Go to hell,” she said, letting her wolf free. She pushed herself to shift as quickly as she ever had. Her beast exploded from her, anxious to harm the male who’d hurt their mate. He’d lost his claws and clearly lost his mind, and she wasn’t about to spend a second longer with a knife pressed to her throat.
He shouted in rage as she shifted and lunged for him. The knife swung down and her shoulder burned as it cut through her, but she ignored the pain and leapt, jaws wide and fangs ready, sinki
ng them into his thigh. Her body twisted as she slid between his thighs, and he screamed, slamming his fist into her nose. Blood filled her mouth and she dug her teeth into his flesh, tearing through his jeans. Row shouted Kammie’s name as he raced into the chamber, crashing into Hector and knocking him away from her. Row roared, a deep and furious sound, and grabbed Hector’s head, twisting it sharply to the side and ending his life with a loud crack.
Her mate lifted her from the floor and cradled her in his arms, hurrying with her from the chamber. He leaned against the cave and buried his face in her neck, his whole body trembling.
“Are you okay?” His voice was rough.
Kammie whined softly. She knew she was bleeding from the cut on her shoulder, but all she could feel was relief that Row had managed to come out of his shift fast enough to help her. She wasn’t sure if she would’ve been able to get away from Hector on her own.
The sound of racing footsteps filled the air. Row stiffened for a moment and then relaxed.
“We’re over here,” he called as Fayar and two other males came into view.
“We heard you roaring and came as fast as we could. Damn,” Fayar said. “What in the hell happened here?”
Three males lay motionless on the ground.
“Hector came for me. He’s in the cave.”
“Dead, I trust,” Fayar said.
“Yeah. Kammie needs help, she’s bleeding.”
Fayar gestured to one of the males and said, “Get his body out of there.” Then he took his phone out of his pocket and made a call, asking whoever answered to meet Row and Kammie at Row’s house.
“You did well,” Fayar said. “Head home and wait for Tessa; she’ll give Kammie whatever medical help she needs. And be sure to get checked out yourself.”