Pack Obsidian Gold: A Reverse Harem Werewolf Romance (The Seven Mates of Zara Wolf Book 3)

by C. M. Stunich

“I don't intend on leaving.” He put his cheek to mine and then gently bit my earlobe.

  I was a tad surprised at his aggressive behavior—but in a good way. It spoke of confidence and trust, less as dominance like when Che or Jax did it. I didn't think Monty wanted to dominate me. I think he wanted to be equals.

  “That's just the sex talking,” I told him, but even if it was, I didn't care. I liked hearing it.

  No, I loved it.

  Montgomery just smirked at me as I dropped my hands to his jeans and tore the button open, letting him take over and shoved them down his hips, just below his ass.

  He cupped the back of my head with one hand, my ass with the other, and then he drove himself inside of me, making us both groan in pleasure. Both humans and wolves like to have sex for stress relief … werewolves even more so.

  Mating was joy and pleasure, so I wasn't ashamed to be doing it on the porch either.

  The screen door cracked and I heard a small curse, glancing up to find Anubis' crimson gaze locked on the pair of us. I curled my arms around Montgomery's neck and watched the Alpha Son of Pack Crimson Dusk as his pupils dilated and he sucked in a deep breath.

  Shit.

  I still had two males that needed to be marked.

  Sooner rather than later would be good, especially considering I now knew it gave me a stronger link to them. Without it, Che might've died in the ice-cold waters of faerie. This was a situation I'd have to rectify … later, though, because the only man I could really think about in that moment was Montgomery Graves.

  Turning my face back to Monty's, I slanted my lips against his in a scalding kiss, one that took my breath away. Each thrust of his hips stole a groan from my throat that he captured with his mouth, kissing me as I wrapped my legs around him and shivered at the feel of his leather trench coat against my inner thighs.

  All these beautiful dresses, like the ones for the Pairing Ritual, they didn't just come in handy for shifting … they came in handy for quickies, too.

  Monty took the hand that was on the back of my head, carefully releasing me to lay back on the floor and then reached between us to pop the clasps on my gown. His right hand slid up my belly and cupped my left breast, kneading it between strong fingers.

  I arched my back for him, opening myself up and reveling in the feel of his hard cock between my thighs. Each drive of his hips sent a tsunami of pleasure crashing over me, making it feel like I might drown in the violent heat.

  “God, I love the way you taste,” Montgomery whispered against my mouth, pushing into me, filling me up with the warmth of his body. His thumb traced circles around my nipple at the same time his other hand squeezed my ass, probably bruising my cheek in his tight grip. I didn't even care. In that moment, joined together like that with him, it all felt good, every place we touched.

  I was so busy being wrapped up in the Alpha Son of Pack Ivory Emerald that I didn't notice the mark on my wrist glowing. My first thought was that the sun was making an appearance.

  My ankles locked together and I pulled Montgomery closer to me, deeper, letting the sweetly violent wave of my orgasm wash over me. It swept my body from head to toe, a guttural growl following along behind it—Monty was the only one who sounded less than human in that moment.

  The natural rhythm of my body made my muscles flutter and tighten, trapping Montgomery inside of me. I loved that part of sex; it was my favorite, feeling my cunt take control of the male and hold him there, force him to wait out the ripples of my pleasure. I liked it, too because it also usually stole theirs from them, brought their hot seed spilling forth. Monty was no different, groaning and burying his face in the sensitive spot between my neck and shoulder, biting down just had enough that I whimpered in pleasure and arching my breasts up and into his chest.

  That's when I noticed my wrist, when Monty was still shivering with the aftershocks of his own orgasm. My mark was glowing and there were fucking vines coming out of my wrists. They curled tenderly into Montgomery's white hair, caressing the back of his neck with loving twists of their green limbs.

  “Um, Monty,” I said as he lifted his head and noticed the expression on my face. Glancing to the side, he saw what I was staring at and his eyebrows went up. “I don't think it's anything to be scared of,” I added, just in case he was about to panic. But I should've known better. That wasn't really Montgomery's style.

  Carefully, he sat up, using his hands on my hips to stay sheathed inside of me, and carefully untangled the vines from his hair, holding my glowing wrist between us. It was ridiculously intimate to sit like that, with him still buried inside of me. I kind of liked that, too.

  He sat there, this white-haired knight of mine, and held my wrist between his hands.

  “What does it feel like?” he asked, rubbing his thumb along the edges of the mark.

  “Other than really good to feel you petting my wrist like that?” I asked and he smiled. “Not like much of anything ...” I paused a moment as I felt the cool kiss of magic on my skin. It came every time we … well, came so I wasn't surprised to feel it, but instead of breaking tree limbs or causing glass to shatter … it felt like it was collecting in the gentle glow of my new tattoo.

  The vines curled around my wrist just before a red and a black rose bloomed … and then both promptly wilted, the petals taking off into the wind as the vines withered and fell away to ash. The glowing subsided and the gentle whisper of magic settled along with it.

  Interesting.

  Doubly interesting when I noticed that he now had a mark of his own.

  “Oh, shit,” he breathed, matching his wrist to mine. We stared at the pair of marks for a moment before he dropped his arm to his side. “I guess we're matching now?”

  Montgomery leaned down and kissed me again, using that moment to pull out and tuck himself back into his jeans before scooting away to give me some room.

  “There was magic here,” I told him and he nodded. The tattoo on his wrist was proof enough of that.

  “I could feel it,” he said as I sat up and stared at my wrist for a moment. I might've been a werewolf but having vines literally growing out of a tattoo was a weird one, even for me. Also, giving my partner a new tattoo through sex was also sort of a new and surprising thing. “The Forest Spirit.”

  “The Forest Spirit,” I said, but I had no clue what any of it meant or if that even was what that creature had been. All I knew was that he'd given me Nic back, so even if these tattoos on our wrists were some sort of … price we had to pay, I didn't care. I would've paid anything to keep Nic in this life with me. “Although having plants grow out of my body while I'm the middle of sex is a little weird.”

  “Just a little,” Monty said, standing up and reaching down his hand for me. “But it didn't feel threatening. In fact, I kind of liked the feel of the vines tickling my neck.” He threw me a smile and then yanked me close, wrapping me in strong arms and pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “Whatever it is, we'll figure it out, Alpha. No worries.”

  Montgomery gave me another one of his famous hugs … and I decided that I liked that equally to … if not more than the sex.

  “I would've loved to see it with my own eyes,” Anubis said as I sat at the kitchen table and studied the pair of maps—the one Majka had given to me and the one Whitney had tucked inside the enchanted one I'd had to burn.

  “Maybe you will soon?” I said, feeling coy, my body flooded with happy hormones from the sex. It was messy though, all that mating. I'd showered right after and dressed myself into something that made me feel more human than a leather gown trimmed in wolf fur.

  I paused in the middle of tapping out a text message to Faith and grinned at Anubis. He was grinning right back at me which only made me smile wider.

  “We'll also need to see if the same thing happens to Nic,” I said as I looked over at him and got a small smile in return. Fuck. We need to go on a date or something—together or as a group, something to get his mind off of what happened last nigh
t.

  “So, lots of fucking then?” Che asked, eating a bunch of rolled crepes in a little bundle. He wrapped them up like a little pancake burrito. “I'm down for that. I think we can accomplish a lot—naked.”

  “Uh-huh,” I said, giving him a look as I dropped my gaze back to my phone and hit send. Poor Faith. She was lonely, and this thing with her mom was really getting to her. She missed Diya, and she missed her dogs, and I had to sit her and fucking lie to her over and over again. It made me sick to my stomach. “Who said you got to participate in these little experiments.”

  “Ah,” Che said, putting a hand to his chest. “I just invited myself. I've fallen in love with Alpha Red and all my black little heart wants is to be her Alpha Ebon.”

  Nic rolled his eyes, but I had to fight back a little smile. Che was a serious dickhead, but I found him kind of … charming? Ugh. No wonder Faith fell for bad boys all the time. They had their good points.

  “Is it okay if interrupt your guys' love fest?” Harlem said, tapping her fingers on the surface of the table. “Some of us are single and alone, remember? Do you want me to tell you how I found out about the slow drain spell or do you want me to have to run to the bathroom to puke at all the gross lovey shit flying around the room.”

  “Nic's brother, Levi, doesn't have a mate yet,” I said and Harlem's cheeks flamed with color.

  “So?” she asked, and I thought she was sort of cute with that angry/embarrassed look she had going on. Levi would definitely be interested in her. Well, if he could get past the fact that she was part vampire that is. “Can I talk now.”

  “Aren't you already?” Che asked and she turned to spear him with her gaze. He just smirked at her, winked at me, and sauntered into the kitchen to dig around in the fridge. Che was one of those big guys that just ate and ate and never gained an ounce. His muscular form was proof of that … well, that and the fact that he spent every waking moment he wasn't sleeping or fighting, eating.

  “The reason I stopped myself at the cafe was because I didn't want Whitney to know that the documents I mentioned … were stolen from Coven Triad.” She looked at Aeron and narrowed her eyes, watching the other woman's face twist into a violent sort of leer. “I know you're going to run off and spill my secrets, but whatever. Whitney isn't the Maiden anymore, and I have enough dirt on her to know she won't tell. After all, what would the Crone do if she found out one of her sisters gave up everything to save some Blood-damned faerie bitch.”

  Aeron stood up from her chair, her dark hair fluttering in a supernatural breeze as her glamour flickered and cracked.

  “That's enough,” I said, tossing my phone aside and pushing up from my chair. “You're both here on my privilege, and we all have the same end goals. Save the fighting for Kingdom Ironbound and Coven Triad.”

  Aeron scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “I'll keep myself in check, but be careful about the Blood—when they get hungry, they snap. Like rabid dogs.”

  “You'll bite your tongue or I'lll bite it off for you,” Harlem growled, and I felt this … familiar buzzing of magic, the faintest, almost inaudible whisper, like she was about to shift. I saw her teeth clench tight, her fingers curl against the surface of the table. With a whimper and a groan, she stumbled back and fell into the wall, knocking her chair over and crashing to the floor right along with it. “Fuck,” she gasped, over and over again. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

  I moved around the table and knelt beside her, pushing pale blonde hair from her face as sweat beaded on her skin. I could feel her wolf inside of her, desperate to get out. As an Alpha, watching her in that kind of pain made my heart ache. No 'were' should be have to suffer like that.

  “I need it,” Harlem choked out, looking up at me and then reaching out with her hands, curling her fingers around my upper arms and staring into my eyes. “Please, Alpha. I need it. I need to shift. If I don't, I'll fucking … either go crazy or die. Will you help me.”

  “I'll do what I can,” I said, and noticed that the room was silent.

  Even a maniacal, dark faerie didn't find this funny.

  Placing my palm against Harlem's cheek, I listened carefully for her wolf … and surprisingly, I found it. Deep inside of her, I could feel a frantic, wild beast, pacing and desperate for relief. It clawed at her insides, ripped her to metaphorical pieces, and made her bleed from the inside out. Having such rage, such desperate, wild need buried deep down wasn't good for anybody—especially a werewolf.

  We were born to run.

  I dropped my palm and glanced over to find Tidus waiting there with a glass of water in his hand. He looked genuinely concerned which made me like him all that much more. His sweet, happy-go-lucky attitude wasn't an act; he actually gave a shit what was happening to this stranger, this girl who was three-quarters Blood.

  With a smile, I took the glass and handed it over to Harlem, curling her fingers around it and making sure she brought it to her lips for a drink.

  “This is how you know you can trust me,” she breathed, choking on the water as she slumped against the wall, her pale blonde hair hanging over her face in a shimmering curtain. “There's a hurricane inside of me, spattering blood against my soul. I want it out. I need to shift,” she repeated with a crack in her voice. Her blue eyes flicked up to mine, seeking and desperate. “My motives are root deep in selfishness. I need to help the wolves or I'll never get to feel this ...” She curled her hand in her pink tank top, wrenched the fabric in tight fingers. “This ...” Harlem groaned and tossed the water back like it was vodka. “I'm like a fish who can't swim or a bird who can't fly, a human who can't fuck.”

  I raised my eyebrows at that one, but after having sex … I almost sort of agreed with it.

  “Nice analogy,” Che agreed and I poked a finger between the back and seat part of his chair to stab him in the spine. Our connection though, it was electric and all that did was make me want him again.

  Turning my attention back to Harlem, I found her curled into a tight ball, eyes closed, body trembling slightly. I didn't think she was playing a part—I could feel her wolf inside of her—but if she was, she was a phenomenal actress.

  “Shit,” she growled as I stood up and then offered her a hand. “It's in my best interest to restore power to the wolves. I think that's why I'm like this—there's not enough magic left in the packs for some half-breed to shift. It doesn't come as natural to me as it does you; I need raw fucking energy to back me up.”

  Harlem let her gaze drift over to Aeron, but the faerie girl had finally settled down and was sipping from a mug of fresh coffee.

  I guess seeing the vampire girl literally brought to her knees was enough to mollify her.

  “How did you even know to steal secrets from Coven Triad in the first place?” Nic asked, tapping his fingertips against the surface of the table. He looked agitated, almost jumpy, and in fact did jump out of his seat when Montgomery reached over his shoulder and placed a fresh cup of coffee in front of him.

  We were all going to be hyped up on caffeine by the end of the week.

  If, of course, we all made it to the end.

  Taking a deep breath, I pulled out the chair between Tidus and Che and sat facing Nic.

  “I didn't,” Harlem said, raising her eyebrows as yet another mug of coffee was delivered.

  Montgomery met my eyes as he dropped it over her shoulder and I shivered, feeling the weight of him on top of me, that comforting pressure as his hips drove into mine, the two of us each laying a claim to the other as mate ...

  “But I do like to collect knowledge, from all kinds of sources. I once raided your weapons storage and got away with it.”

  “The Pack Ebon Red Armory?” Nic asked with a scoffing laugh and Harlem shrugged her shoulders, nice and loose.

  “Knowledge isn't free, Nicoli,” she said, and I was actually impressed that she remembered his name. There were an awful lot of boys to keep track of. “Sometimes it has to be borrowed … or stolen. I br
oke into Coven Triad on a whim. I didn't expect to find a fucking cauldron bubbling over with magic, or stacks of old pages detailing what, exactly, that cauldron was.

  “The witches write their secrets in blood and then spell it so that only the drop of a certain sister can reveal what's hidden. Unfortunately for them ...” Harlem began and then paused, almost like she was chagrined. “We happened to have some such blood back at the Kingdom Seat.” She shifted her attention to me and I stared back, unyielding. “That's why it was a fair trade, our help for your blood. It comes in awfully handy sometimes.”

  Harlem tapped her fingers on the table and sucked in a deep breath.

  “You may as well send a wolf to Sweet Bread to pick them up. I'll call ahead and make sure they have them ready. You'll want to see this for yourselves.” Harlem exhaled and her already pale face seemed to pale even further. “You're not going to believe it unless you read it.” She turned her attention back to me and her expression was sour. “The witches … they've been planning your extinction for years.”

  Time seemed to mean so much more when there wasn't a lot of it, and I was already counting down the hours and minutes until we were supposed to meet Julian at the school.

  “It's better we don't know where they're being kept,” Montgomery was saying, sitting on the edge of the bed with his hair unbound and hanging in a white sheet. He was brushing it with slow, careful movements of his hands, but his eyes were distant and far away. “As much as I want to see my sisters, it's just … safer.”

  “I agree,” Anubis said, leaning against the dresser, brow slightly scrunched as if in thought. “There are too many ways to extract information from those unwilling to share it.” He looked over at me with his crimson eyes and smiled, like we were sharing the secret of what'd happened between me and Monty earlier. I returned the smile and sat on the end of the bed, surrounded by men and loving the mixed sweetness of pack scents.

  The wolves we'd rescued yesterday had been spirited away by Nikolina, her betas, and Nic's parents—Lana and Leslie. We didn't know where they were, but we were planning on keeping it that way.