The Devil's Pride (Wild Beasts Series)

by T. Birmingham

  “My mind and my magic are tough,” Carrie said, smiling. “Test me. Come on, show me you’ve got more follow through than you’ve had with your mate. Still haven’t sealed the deal yet, have ya?” She was goading her. Alexia knew it, of course, but she’d just said as much to Devon the day before in their bedroom, so she couldn’t have stopped that power from coming undone from within her even if she’d wanted to at the moment. The pure shock at the fact that Carrie knew Devon and Alexia hadn’t officially mated set her off, and she let loose with what had bottled up inside of her.

  Hercules and Tinkerbell had taught her to tether by pretending like there were long roots between her body and the Earth. Alexia didn’t tell them that when she’d tried that, her Skröm side had given her a little nudge, and she’d instead imagined veins reaching into the Earth. She could see the veins when working with her mental abilities. Her heart, mind, center, and even other areas of her body literally felt pulled down and tethered to the Earth. But the action wasn’t just for drawing power. The process of tethering was symbiotic, at least for her. She hadn’t asked the others.

  Alexia had realized in her practice that she could give power as well as borrow, and all she needed was just a tiny bit of that power from the Earth. She didn’t need to borrow a lot. But that power didn’t go away. While waiting to let it loose, it had built inside of her. She hadn’t taken anything else from the Earth.

  She was still tethered, yes, but the light energy had built within her, and when she let it loose in shock, a few of the veiny tendrils erupted from her body and they reached toward the small woman in the tree. Alexia thought the release would be quick, but instead she felt the power leave her in wave after wave of powerful bliss. There was no pain. There was only peace and light and it was like she was pouring those things into Carrie as she let her power go.

  Sharing blood with Devon had started to make her feel that maybe being Skröm didn’t really make her evil, but she’d still worried that her power might not be all Light. Hell, the fact that she’d just pulled power from the Earth with veins as her power image didn’t help that feeling of doubt.

  But what was being let loose on Carrie wasn’t a weapon of evil. This power was soothing. This power was a wash of freedom, of love, of goodness. She could feel the Earth around her, holding her to the world. She could feel the others in the yard. James’ pride, leadership and strength. Ben’s steadfast calm. Devon’s love and comfort and feeling of home. Carrie’s exuberance and love of life.

  Her Light flowed into Carrie first, but the waves kept pushing, and she felt those pulses of light energy reach into the others as well. Alexia could see Carrie lying on the branch, a look of pure bliss on her face. Ben sprawled out on the grass with his arms at his side, his previously tense and observant face now relaxed and open. James and Devon had both taken on the form of their animals, and James lay on the back porch licking his paws as if he had no care in the world, his tongue lolling to the side and a goofy dog-like grin plastered to his face. Devon, though.

  Alexia would never get tired of him or his bear. As she released those last few waves into him, he took what she gave him and he returned it. The waves went back and forth between them like a game of catch, and she could feel him inside of her, similar to when they shared blood, except even deeper if that was possible. They weren’t even touching, but she was feeling him everywhere, and it felt so good. Like his Light was touching all of the dark places inside of her. Like the Light he was throwing back at her was making her whole.

  Alexia could see his bear eyes lighten as he walked toward her, and in a flash of light, he became human again. He didn’t have even a stitch on, and she should have been embarrassed, but the images she’d just seen and the feelings she’d just felt from his mind and body when they’d connected were too pure to feel shame over what they were experiencing. She felt rather than saw the others slowly leave the backyard.

  Their presence receding, she reached out for her mate in a flurry of movement, and he reached out as well. Alexia brushed her lips against his, but he wasn’t having that. He bit her bottom lip, and she whimpered at the beautiful tendrils of power that pulsed again between them as their kiss deepened. He ripped at her shirt, just barely avoiding tearing it to shreds as he pulled it over her head. He struggled with her sports bra, so she took pity on him even as a slight smile curved her lips, and she removed the tight piece of fabric, only breaking their kiss for a second.

  His arms circled around her in a comforting embrace, but she could feel him everywhere. Not just his arms. It felt as though his entire body and hers were connected, like there wasn’t an inch of space between their souls, let alone their physical selves. His hands moved to the waist of her workout pants and reached in slowly, caressing her backside as he went. She moaned in ecstasy at the sensation of her nerves relaxing and tensing in time with their soul-deep connection even as he cupped her butt and his big hands squeezed. God, those hands.

  “Here? Now?” Alexia asked, even though she knew. Definitely here. Definitely now.

  “The others left, Red,” he breathed out. He didn’t stop touching her, though. He nipped at her chin, her neck, anywhere he could reach. “So definitely here. Definitely now.” She chuckled at the repeating of her thoughts, but he didn’t stop. He just kept nipping, and she kept moaning at the little bites of pleasure.

  “Okay,” she said, barely above a whisper, and she let him move across her body in a languorous search for touch. She could feel it just as much from her own self. They just wanted to touch, to know, to be a part of one another. She felt herself being lifted off of the grass and her legs wrapped around him instantly, and she thought, There’s my Midnight, right before she looked into his eyes and realized that he was so much more than just Midnight to her now. He was her mate. He was Devon, the thrilling, loving, giving, peaceful person who felt like everything to her. He was her home.

  Devon lowered Alexia to the ground, and she felt the soft bed of grass touch her lower back. He rose above her, and with no uncertainty, he reached for the waistband of her workout pants. His eyes never left hers as he dragged them all the way down, leaving a trail of his simultaneously nerve-soothing and nerve-stimulating touches as he went. His crooked smile as she shivered only resulted in her becoming more ready for him. Devon threw her pants to the side and slowly massaged up her legs with one hand on each. His strong fingers caressed her inner ankles, her calves, behind her knees and thighs.

  His grey-green eyes held secrets and warmth, and looking into those honest, welcoming, beautiful, soulful eyes tore down every barrier she had. Devon tore down the walls, the fears, the hurt she’d experienced in past relationships. He tore down that obtrusive and painful wall she’d built to house her heart, her soul, her mind, all her emotions. A wall that had been meant to protect but that had instead caged her in and kept her from enjoying life in all of its wonderful fullness.

  Alexia closed her eyes at the slow progression toward her center, and she wasn’t disappointed by his exploration. She was so ready for him that when his strong fingers finally brushed against her, she cried out. So sensitive to his touch, and both of them so in need of this connection, she couldn’t hold back. His finger rubbed gently against the inner folds of her sex, and their tenderness shocked her more than a rough touch would have. She felt the touch clear through to the far reaches of her soul.

  He moved further down until that strong digit was inside of her, moving in and out in a delicious rhythm that had her bucking against his hand as her body became a live wire. Every thought, every emotion, every physical touch – she could feel it all through the connection that was still tangible in the recesses of her brain. The veins that had reached into the Earth did not let go and her power held fast. She saw other green-tinged, brown tendrils also reaching down into the Earth. Devon’s power. Devon’s connection to their shared Clan history. To the Earth. Their mixing tendrils were beautiful. Magical. There was this other world going on around them as her mat
e moved that finger inside of her. She felt the rush of an orgasm overcome her in a spontaneous moment of fire and breath and life that had her radiating with pleasure.

  Devon removed his finger, and she felt the slow glide of it against the inner wall of her opening. The friction and bliss of the movement had her opening her eyes and reaching for her mate. She touched his cheek and pulled his face in for a kiss even as one hand caressed the cord in his neck and the other reached down to grab onto his cock. He pumped into her hand, and she felt a bone-deep heat that speared into her as she realized the power he held over her, she also held over him. A power that wasn’t fearful or angry or greedy. No. The power they had over one another was slow, miraculous, beautiful. The power they had over each other was tied to their souls, to their feelings for each other. It wasn’t a competition, an overtaking.

  “Red,” Devon breathed out. “Red…” He put his strong hand over her own smaller one.

  “I want to touch you, Devon. Please,” she almost whimpered, but she didn’t care that she was practically begging. She didn’t want to be separated from him ever. She wanted to feel their power mingle, see their tendrils and gifts reach into the Earth around them, smell the wonderful scent of her mate as every inch of him rubbed against every inch of her. Nothing. Nothing could compare to this moment, and she wanted it to last forever.

  “Red,” he said hoarsely. “I won’t last. Gotta be inside you. Gotta feel you around me.” He got the words out in a ragged breath. She understood, and because she wanted that too, Alexia let him remove her hand. She let him move her thighs apart until they were spread wide and folded against her lower body in a stretch that let her know there was still some beautiful tension that her mate could ring from her.

  Alexia looked down the line of their bodies as Devon positioned himself at her opening and he moved slowly inside of her. She could feel the seductive glide of him against the walls of her sex, and that exquisite torture was everything. Good God, could she feel him as he pushed deep into her, and they both stilled when their pubic bones met.

  The brush. The glide. The smooth moment of their connection washed over her, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She saw Devon remove his gaze from hers to look around them. The tendrils they’d had in the Earth still clung there, but her red, vein-like tendrils and his green-tinged, brown tendrils spread out, enveloping and cocooning them in a net of safety, and she knew that this web was more secure, more solid, more permanent, and hell, healthier than the wall she’d erected years ago that Devon had squashed with just one look at him above her.

  Alexia smiled, and Devon smiled back. And then he moved, and her smile morphed into what she knew was a look of pure, unadulterated pleasure and ecstasy. He took her up, and above, beyond the world she knew, into his own little haven of hope and home.

  They came to slowly, like happy drunks coming out of a sedate moment. Alexia was curled into Devon’s side, and the grass tickled areas she hadn’t really cared about until the sex had ended. She slowly turned in his arms, loathe to give up the warm breath at her neck but knowing she needed to see her mate’s face, to know that what they’d just done was real.

  Devon’s large, strong hands wrapped around her and helped turn her over, and when she saw his grey-green eyes, her stillness, her peace was complete.

  “So, Red,” Devon said, smiling smugly, “was it worth the wait?”

  “So, so, so, so, so worth the wait, Devon,” she said, smiling back and running her hands along his forearms. They were too large to wrap her small hands around them. Alexia’s man was a legit beast.

  Alexia tensed at the sound of a car door slamming. She was still getting used to her enhanced hearing abilities. “I can hear Cam’s car out front, so he and Mindy are probably home.” She sighed. She really didn’t want this moment with Devon to be over. She’d stay with him near these woods, in Cam’s backyard forever if she had a choice.

  “We should really check in with them on the case.” Neither of them moved for a minute, but Alexia knew he was right. They needed to know, and she needed to find Nicky and see if there’d been any other updates. He’d been MIA recently.

  Devon lithely jumped up from the lawn and pulled Alexia up with him. She squeaked, for the first time noticing her nudity, and she grabbed for the workout pants Devon had pulled off her just moments before. She dressed quickly, throwing her sports bra and her “In need of a Man Bear. Apply in Person.” t-shirt back on. Devon smiled at the shirt and gave it a little tug before pulling her in for a quick, affectionate kiss.

  Devon’s clothes had been shredded when her power had unleashed his bear, so he just stood and watched her dress, and the intimacy of the moment gripped her heart. Her mate liked her – no matter her size, no matter her history, no matter the fact that she was a bit odd.

  Devon led Alexia up the back porch steps and he opened the back door, but before he could drag her into their shared room at the back of the double-wide, they stopped dead in the entryway when Mindy and Cam suddenly stopped whispering to each other in hushed, angry tones.

  “Jesus, Devon! Put some damn clothes on,” Cam yelled, angrier than he should have been. Whereas Alexia had laughed about the fact that her man often walked around in the nude, the reminder of Devon turning into an animal still scared Cam. She’d thought he would find the positives. She’d thought he would get over his fears. But each day had only made Cam more ornery, more angry, more fearful.

  Cam walked briskly into the kitchen. They heard the slamming of the dishwasher opening, followed by plates and dishes being unceremoniously put back into their places. He was pissed. He probably should have chosen another chore, though – like maybe chopping wood or digging up something in the backyard – because at least three plates or glasses could be heard crashing and breaking on the floor before he walked back out.

  They stood there. Silent. Mindy avoiding the nudity and cringing in on herself in pain. Devon standing next to Alexia protectively. Alexia, wishing Cam wasn’t such a douche.

  “Seriously?” Alexia yelled as she walked toward Mindy, her own personal bodyguard trailing not-so-far behind. “Are you fucking kidding me? He’s still mad about your gifts and all of this?”

  “No, I’m not mad, Alexia,” Cam yelled as he walked back into the room. “I’m fucking pissed! I’m not gonna lie and tell you that some of this isn’t cool. Seeing Devon change that first time was awesome, but I don’t want this shit! I feel like I’m going crazy all the time. I don’t want to feel that way, and then Mindy…”

  Mindy moved in closer to Alexia’s side.

  “I get it, Cam,” Mindy whispered. “I disgust you. You forget the one thing you’re more mad about than anything else. I can feel you.” Her own feelings of disgust dripped from her lips.

  “Yeah, Mind, and that’s the fucking problem. You’re in my head, and you couldn’t even tell me that?!” he screamed.

  “Calm down, Cam—”

  “Don’t tell me to fucking calm down, Devon! I don’t need that shit from you, too! Abandon me once, fine. We were kids. But don’t you take her side in this. She lied to me for over a year. We’ve been together for over six months, and she couldn’t fucking tell me that she can fucking feel what I’m feeling? That she could sneak into my mind at any minute and manipulate me?!”

  Cam stood in the hallway, his face red and consumed with anger. Alexia could feel her Skröm side moving into her consciousness now, a side she was discovering she could trust. It was just a part of who she was, not evil, not scary. Her power was pure. So she had no problem letting the Skröm blood in her take over. She let herself go free, without any qualms. No way was Cam going to get away with being this big of a dick.

  In a blur of movement, Alexia skidded into Cam. She knocked him off balance in his open living room, and he flew into the air and crashed into the carved wood coffee table that looked like it had been made by hand. Probably Devon. My man is so fucking talented, Alexia thought. But that wasn’t her focus. Mindy’s pain was. H
er soul sister’s heart was bleeding, and Cam thought she’d just lay there and take the emotional beating. Well, if Mindy couldn’t fight back right now in any way, shape or form, the same did not apply for Alexia. She could feel that bone deep anger in her gut, churning, and she thought suddenly that the anger wasn’t her Skröm side or her Vuković heritage.

  She’d blamed it on Clan magic, but that anger wasn’t magic. That anger was primal. That anger was the result of years of loss and devastation and rejection. That anger was 100% Alexia Human 2.0. Fuck it! She ignored the ball of undiluted anger as smaller parts of that anger seeped into her slowly, and she was on Cam again before he could recover from his fall. Her fists let out those small tendrils of very human angst, but in a blur of supernatural speed that mesmerized her. She saw her hands as they moved, their bright luminescence almost spellbinding in their magical glare, and she smiled at how powerful she was.

  Cam smiled too as he finally let loose with his own retaliation. His first punch landed square in Alexia’s ribs. The hit radiated along her center even as she heard the inevitable crack reverberate through her smaller frame. She doubled over as Cam landed another hit in the same spot. Again and again, he went after her new weakness, his fists never failing to miss the spot her supernatural body was trying to quickly heal.

  Alexia heard a ferocious growl as she geared up to jump in the fray again. She never got the chance, though. Her mate had apparently had enough, and Devon pulled her to the side, pushing her directly into the arms of Mindy who stood stoically near the wall. Mindy didn’t cry. She didn’t scream. She didn’t even look scared. She looked resigned. And underneath all of that, she looked and smelled of such pain, and Alexia realized Mindy’s heart was breaking. Maybe already broken.