by Renee Rose
The ferocious sounds of wolves fighting to the death reaches my ears but I can’t see over the wall of wolves guarding us. It goes against my nature to let others fight for me. I nip at the flanks of my guards to get through and they reluctantly fall back, dropping to their bellies as I pass to show deference.
The terrace teams with wolves and those in human form, who cannot shift. Every pack member must be here, the mines and fields empty. Dead bodies strew the terrace. One, two, three… nine. All the councilmembers, minus Don Santiago, who hasn’t returned from Europe. Some of their closest lackeys and guards. Others are being chased away by small packs, the whine and yip of the hunt carrying away from us now.
My body is weak, but I’m careful not to show it. I sit on my haunches and howl. Voices lift all around me, mating with mine, answering my call. Gratitude pours from my being as the sense of oneness, of pack, of family joins us all.
I wheel around and limp back to Sedona, who’s still trying to nip her way out of the protective ring of wolves. When they see me coming, they once more go down on their bellies and she rushes out, meets me halfway. We whine and lick and circle each other and every wolf there drops down, honoring us.
Their alphas.
If I can convince Sedona to stay.
15
Sedona
Juanito takes away the bloody towels and spreads a blanket over Carlos. I curl up on the bed with him because it’s the only way I can get him to stay lying down. He refuses to be parted from me, won’t take his eyes off me for a second.
I twitch the blanket higher over his mostly naked form. He did put on boxer briefs in deference to his mother, who insisted on sponging the blood from him. She appeared lucid to me, although she did babble a lot about a wolf fight that I think must’ve been in the past.
Carlos reaches for me, and I nestle closer so he doesn’t have to move. “Just lie still and let your body take care of the bullet wounds,” I chide.
Shifters have incredible healing capabilities, but in such a serious case like Carlos’, with major blood loss, it takes a few days of rest. Or at the very least, a night.
We’re nose to nose and he strokes my hair back from my face, leaning his forehead against mine. “Mi corazon, I feared I’d never be this close to you again.”
“What does corazon mean?”
“My heart. You are my heart. What made you come here?” He strokes a hand over my hip. “Did you come to tell me about our pup?”
I shake my head, experiencing a pang of guilt at keeping that from him the whole time we were in Europe. “Carlos—” I stop, unsure how to tell him what I learned.
He stiffens, like he thinks I’m breaking up with him—again.
“I met a shifter from your pack. She told me the council killed your father.” I blurt it out quickly, so he won’t have to suffer any suspense.
He nods gravely.
“You knew?”
“No, I discovered last night that my mother believed so. I now think the council drugged her to keep her quiet. I planned to take her to the city today to see a human psychiatrist. I don’t know how much permanent damage has been done, but I’m hoping there’s a chance her mental faculties can be restored.”
“Were all the councilmembers killed today?”
“All but one—Don Santiago, who we saw in Barcelona. He’s still away, but I’ll deal with him when he returns. He’s the one who’s been stealing from the pack.”
I rub the place my arm had been pricked again. “I think he drew blood from me there.”
“What?” Carlos surges upright and I have to tug him back down to the mattress.
“When you were talking to him, these humans jostled up against me and something poked my arm. I think he was testing to see if I’m pregnant.”
Carlos’ grim face pales. “Santiago… playing doctor with my mother. With you. Interested in gene mapping. Healthy young wolves disappearing from this pack—like Juanito’s brother and father. Huge amounts of money disappearing… Could he be the so-called Harvester?”
I shiver involuntarily. “There were lots of cages in the warehouse where I was held. Many wolves had been prisoner there. And they took my brother and his pack mates prisoner rather than killing them. You think he’s… experimenting on shifters?”
“I do.” Carlos surges off the bed and onto his feet.
Fates, he’s pushing himself too hard. “Carlos, wait. He’s not here now—it can wait. Or do what you need to do in bed. With me.” I add the last part on and waggle my eyebrows and his expression softens into a smile. He sinks back down onto the bed. “Well if you put it that way…” His palm lands right on my ass and he squeezes a handful.
But his smile falls away again and he pins me with his gaze. “Tell me, Sedona. Can you ever forgive me? Forgive my pack?”
“Yes. I know you had nothing to do with it. And the council is now gone. I should tell you—my father and brother and their packs will be here soon.” I texted my dad when I landed last night. He let me know they were right behind me, on a flight this morning. I pull out my phone to text again and let him know I’m safe. “After we talked to the shifter from your pack, he believed me to be in danger from the council, so he’s coming to help you clean house. I’ll let him know it’s already done.”
“Then he will be here for our mating ceremony.” Carlos’ tone is light, but he watches me closely and I don’t think he’s breathing.
I throw a leg up over his. “I believe we’re already mated.”
His smile flashes, sexy and winsome. “Does that mean yes? You’ll have me as your mate?”
My nod wobbles a bit. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Of course.” Carlos sobers. “I would never keep you here if you cannot find joy. But I promise I will work very hard to keep you happy, mi amor. And if you wish to split your time with the States, I understand that, too. You’ll be like Persephone, taking a break from hell.”
“No,” I answer immediately. “My place is with you. I mean, yes, I want to visit home, but there’s nothing there for me. Not without you. And this place isn’t hell. It’s beautiful. A paradise, Carlos.”
He blinks rapidly. “Thank you,” he chokes and takes my face in both hands, stamping his lips over mine, stealing my breath. “I think it can be a paradise. It’s a fixer upper, but if I’m working for you, there’s nothing I can’t do. Fates, I can’t believe it. I feared I wouldn’t manage to keep you.”
“I’m here,” I whisper.
He kisses me again. “I see you, preciosa. Gracias.”
I gaze into his warm chocolate brown eyes, feel the love pouring from him. “When I thought you were in danger, all the walls I’d erected, all the fears and insecurities about whether you really loved me, or if it was just your biology insisting you follow because you’d marked me fell away. I knew I wouldn’t want to know a future without you in it, that I’d be willing to die to protect you. So I’m here.”
“Muñeca, yes, there’s biology—fates, so much—but my love for you goes way beyond the physical. You are everything that’s beautiful in the world. And I know I don’t know everything about you yet—I don’t know your favorite song, or movie, or television show, I haven’t met your family, yet, I don’t know your childhood stories. But I do know that I crave every part of you, even the parts you keep hidden.” His hand curves around my nape and pulls my face to his. He kisses me with a soft, exploratory movement of his lips over mine.
Heat surges through my body, but I do my best to ignore it. Carlos needs to heal. Jumping his bones definitely won’t help. There will be time for that tomorrow.
He must pick up my vibe, because his eyes smolder when he pulls away. “Don’t think you won’t be punished for putting yourself in danger out there, ángel. It’s not your job to protect me. I would much rather die than ever see you hurt.”
And just like that, my pussy is dripping. It’s all I can do not to close the distance between our hips and grind against the bulge in his boxer
briefs. I can’t stop my lids from dropping to half-mast. My tongue runs over my lips. “How will you punish me, Carlos?”
His cock punches out to a full erection, tenting his shorts and he yanks my body up against his hard muscles. “You’re lucky you’re clothed or I’d already be inside you,” he growls.
I push against his chest, but he doesn’t give me any freedom—not that I wanted it. “Easy, big wolf. You still have five holes in your gut.”
He squeezes my ass and wedges a finger between the cleft, working deeper until he presses against my back hole through my pants. “Tomorrow, muñeca. Tomorrow I’m going to fuck this ass until you scream. That’s your punishment.”
A tiny whimper escapes my lips as my entire body lights on fire, flames sizzling right down to my toes. I bite his bulging pectoral muscle. “Promise?”
16
Carlos
I wake with Sedona in my arms. I bury my nose in her thick hair and breathe in her scent. Somehow, I managed to actually sleep with her beside me and I didn’t even have to tie her to the bedpost and fuck her senseless.
It must have been the bullet wounds and my body’s need to heal.
Although my dick is rock hard, I don’t move, content to simply watch my mate sleep. I’ve already marked her, but today she’ll become mine in front of my pack and hers. Her mother and Garrett’s mate are even flying out this morning to witness it.
Yesterday’s cluster-fuck ended up better than I could’ve wished for. Sedona’s father and brother spent a good ninety minutes giving me the third degree, but I think they finally conceded that I love Sedona and would give my life to protect her and make her happy.
We spent last night initiating a worldwide search for Santiago, who I believe must be “the Harvester.” According to a hacker friend of Garrett, Santiago has gone dark. The hacker friend found every bank account he’s associated with and issued a fake FBI freeze on the funds. She also removed him from every pack financial account, so I hope with his financial support cut off, his activities will be quickly curtailed. Sedona’s father and brother vow to continue the hunt for him.
Sedona’s lids blink open and those azure eyes train on my face. Her soft lips part and she leans forward. I think she’s going to kiss my neck, but she bites it. Hard.
Laughter rockets from my throat as I flip her onto her back and pin her hands above her head. “Someone’s ready for her punishment.”
She blushes and squirms, but the flare of her pupils and scent of her arousal tells me I’m right.
Fates, how did I get so lucky?
I nudge her legs apart with my knee, and bite her shoulder.
“Are you sure you’re up for it?” She peers innocently up from under her lashes.
I growl and roll her to her side, applying my hand to her backside several times. Nothing pisses an alpha off more than the assumption he’s not up for something.
She giggles and wiggles her ass. She’s wearing a pair of panties and one of my t-shirts, which my wolf finds tremendously satisfying. “Get up. Use the bathroom, if you need to. Take off your clothes. I’ll deal with your misbehavior when you return.”
She shoots out of bed, excitement evident in her race to the bathroom and her quick shower. She emerges damp and naked.
Growls start up in my throat the moment I see her naked body, which she throws at me from across the room, tackling me down to the mattress when I catch her. I flip her to her tummy and pin both hands behind her back. “Leave these here. Don’t even think about moving them, or I’ll double the punishment.”
“Yes, sir.”
A blast of lust pounds through me at her submissive response. She’s so hot.
I pull her hips up until she’s on her knees, her face pressed into the mattress. “Get those legs wide.” My voice has never sounded so low.
She spreads her knees apart and I grip the tops of her thighs and pull them open, parting her wide. I lick into her, parting her outer lips with my tongue, tracing the inner ones.
Her pussy drips honey and I lap it up, tonguing her clit. Her thighs quake. I drag my tongue up to her anus, rimming her as I slap between her legs.
She cries out, a wanton, needy sound and I continue, spanking her wet pussy as I lick her anus. “No, no more. Oh fates, yes. Please, Carlos.”
I spank harder, faster, until she comes, arms flying off her back, knees snapping closed.
I change my attack, spanking her sweet ass, all the way through her orgasm, following when she flops flat on the bed, body soft and pliant from her release.
I turn her ass red, and the pain must set in, because she whimpers, twisting her head around. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Carlos.”
I fall on her immediately, squeezing and rubbing her chastened cheeks as I kick her legs apart. I kiss a trail up her back, admiring the slender lines, the lean feminine muscle of my alpha she-wolf.
We could be mated for eighty years and she’d still steal my breath with her beauty. I caress her nape, move her hair to one side to bite her ear. “Don’t move,” I murmur.
I scramble to grab some lube, still packed in the bag from Europe. When I return, I pull her cheeks apart and squeeze a dollop on her anus. Using a medium-sized buttplug, I stretch her opening. She whimpers and moans as I twist and pump it inside of her.
“What comes now, Sedona?”
Her bottom squeezes around the plug. “I-I don’t know.”
“Yes you do.” I give each cheek a smack. “What am I going to do to you now, ángel?”
“F-fuck my ass?”
I grip each of her cheeks roughly, squeezing and separating them. “That’s right, mi amor.” I pull out the medium plug and apply more lube. I coat my throbbing cock, too. This might be punishment but there will be no pain, only pleasure.
“You’re going to take it, you know why?”
“No.”
“Yes, you do. Because you were a bad girl. You put yourself in danger. That’s not allowed, beautiful.”
“S-sorry.” She’s panting, lifting her ass for me, excited.
I straddle her ass and pull her cheeks wide, bump the head of my cock against her back pucker. “Take me.”
Somehow, she knows to relax, and the tip of my cock enters. I go slowly, giving her time to get used to it.
She sucks in her breath and bites the bedspread, gathers it up in fists as I inch in.
“Good girl.”
“Yes!” she gasps.
I’m not sure what she’s saying yes to, but I take it as a sign that she’s okay and continue, sinking into her.
She’s tight, her heat wrapping my dick up like a fist. I won’t last long. There’s something so taboo, so fucking hot about punishing her this way. I want to pound into her and find my release, but I force myself to keep my movements slow and even.
I shove one hand under her hips and cup her mons. Her swollen, sopping pussy welcomes my fingers. I finger-fuck her with three, shoving my digits deep as my cock withdraws, alternating.
“Please, Carlos, please. Oh fates. Oh yes…” Her cries grow to a high-pitched squeal that never stops.
My breath grows jerky and I plow harder, doing my best to keep the thrusts straight and measured. My eyes roll back in my head, stars explode in my vision. I bury myself deep in her ass and come.
The minute I do, she comes, too, her internal muscles quaking around my fingers. “Carlos, Carlos, Carlos…”
“Keep saying my name, mi amor. I’m the only one who’s going to make you come.”
“Yes!” Another spasm of her pussy.
I bump her ass with a few short thrusts and drop my body over hers, kissing her neck. When our breaths slow, I ease out and roll to my side, wrapping her in my arms, her back to my front. “I love you, beautiful. Love you so much.”
She covers my hands with her smaller ones. “I love you, too, Carlos. How do you say it in Spanish?”
“Te quiero. Te adoro. Te amo.”
She gives a husky laugh that has my cock hardeni
ng again. “All of that. And more.”
~.~
Sedona
I stand by the entry to the terrace, my hand hooked around my dad’s elbow. The terrace has been transformed. The marble gleams, scrubbed clean of the blood from yesterday’s fight. Strings of lights twinkle from every banister, every tree. Round tables covered in white linen bedeck the space, and every seat is filled by the members of Carlos’ pack, and mine.
The scent of traditional foods fills the air and a long banquet table stands ready with heaps of savory meat, vegetables, fruits, and sweets. I can’t wait to try the chicken mole, which Carlos promises is the best in Mexico.
My body’s already recovered from Carlos’ delicious punishment this morning, but I feel fully claimed by him.
After we made love, he took me, Garrett, and my dad on a tour of the mountain, showing us its incredible beauty and riches and introducing us to his pack members.
My mother and Amber arrived at noon and spent this afternoon helping me prepare. Amber wove a string of seed pearls in with my hair, braiding a crown around the top of my head. The rest she curled into ringlets that hang down my back.
I miraculously fit into my mother’s wedding dress, a spaghetti strap white and silver gown with a V that plunges almost to my ass in the back and a more modest matching one pointing to my cleavage in front. Amber lent me a pair of silver strappy sandals. I feel like a princess about to become queen of a new kingdom.
The mariachi band finishes a beautiful ballad and everyone looks expectantly at Carlos, who has stepped to a raised dais in the center by the edge. He looks unbelievably handsome tonight in a tuxedo. He says something grand about me in Spanish. I don’t know the words he speaks, but the meaning isn’t lost because he stares at me with a reverence that sets my body vibrating.