Cash
I cradled a sleeping Ariana in my arms, holding her tight to my chest with everything I had. I lowered my nose to her hair, closing my eyes and inhaling her soft jasmine scent. My dragon nearly purred at the closeness of our mate. We’d nearly lost her.
The second my little Ari escaped the warehouse where she’d been kept, we’d all smelled her. We’d known she was near. I had run as fast as I could toward her. There was no creature on earth that could have stopped me from getting to my mate in that moment. As soon as I had seen her, relief had been plain on her face. She had collapsed in my arms, barely able to mutter out a few words before she fainted.
But those words had been enough. They echoed again and again in my mind. I was sure they’d haunt me for the rest of my days.
Jett betrayed us.
There had been tears in her eyes, and they’d slipped down her delicate cheeks. I didn’t say anything to Maximus and Owen until we’d returned to the car and were back on the road. They asked me over and over what she’d said. They wanted to hold her, too, but my dragon wouldn’t let her go. I wouldn’t let her go. Not yet.
Her soft breaths warmed my chest. I squeezed her tighter, but she didn’t stir. Whatever they’d done to her in there, she was absolutely exhausted. I could smell the silver on her, and another substance—something foreign that made my dragon hiss and spit when he’d first smelled it. They had been drugging her for the entire time. It was the only thing that explained the fact Maximus couldn’t reach her through the pack bond.
I sighed and brushed a stray hair from her face. Her plush lips were parted slightly, and her eyelashes fluttered like she was dreaming. Her skin was so soft and delicate. It was a wonder I didn’t break her every time I touched her.
“Cash,” Maximus growled.
I looked up, catching his eyes flashing molten gold in the rearview mirror. We were heading back to my penthouse. But after a quick discussion they had both agreed that the safest spot for Ariana was the closest one. She needed rest in a familiar environment. We’d decide what to do when Ari was feeling better.
Before then, I had to work up the courage to tell them. I had been wrong. It hurt to admit it, and not just because of my own pride. I had been a sort of mentor for Jett when we were younger. Though he’d cut me from his life, I had still believed in his goodness. Now, I felt wholly responsible. The others had believed Ari’s distrust in him, but I hadn’t. I had kept them from going after Jett, holding out when everyone told me he was involved. If I hadn’t stood up for him, we could have gone after him sooner.
I sighed, closing my eyes and breathing in Ariana’s scent until warmth spread through me. I forced myself to meet Maximus’s gaze in the mirror. This was it.
“Jett betrayed us,” I said at last. The words were like acid on my tongue. Even as I turned them over in my mouth, I wanted to spit them out and reject them. Jett would never betray us. Well, maybe us, but not her. Ariana was his mate, no matter how much he denied it.
“I fucking knew it” Maximus muttered. He twisted around in his seat, eyes narrowed as they met mine.
“Watch the road!” I snapped.
Maximus’s eyes were still gold, but he slowly turned back around before we drifted into oncoming traffic.
“That’s what she said?” Owen surmised. There was no surprise on his face. I could see his mind working. He’d known all along. This had just confirmed it.
“Yeah,” I said gruffly. I looked away from the bear alpha, and back down at my precious Ari. She was still sleeping soundly, despite our conversation going on around her.
“What does this mean?” Owen asked. “I had my suspicions, but I hoped they were wrong.”
“You know that’s what this means,” Maximus growled. The steering wheel creaked under his iron grip. “This can’t go unpunished.”
Heat stirred inside me. I knew he was right. War against the panthers was the only answer. Their own alpha had betrayed the Silver Shifter. No one could get away with that—not even my young mentee.
“But, war?” Owen sighed and shook his head. “Is that really necessary? The Silver Shifter is meant to prevent wars.”
Maximus slammed his fist on the dashboard. I stiffened, glaring at the side of his head from the backseat. I knew he was angry—we all were—but he needed to contain himself. Especially in my car. “Of course she is, but we can’t just let him walk away like nothing happened.”
“What if Jett’s people weren’t involved?” Owen tried again. He was the most reasonable of us all, I realized.
Because no matter how crazy Maximus’s words seemed, I was in complete agreement. Jett was no longer our ally, and he was certainly not my friend. A friend wouldn’t steal away our mate in the dead of night. A friend wouldn’t keep her from us for days and subject her to the Dragon God only knew what.
“He’s right, Owen,” I growled. My skin was hot and beading with sweat. Anger cut through me like a knife, stifling my airways until I could barely breathe. My dragon fought beneath my skin, ready to erupt and raze Jett’s clan to the ground for hurting our mate.
I tried to take even breaths, to calm my beast from springing to life right in the back of my car. We had just left the city minutes ago and were certainly not far enough from traffic for me to turn into a dragon in the middle of the highway. I’d be outing us to the world, and what’s worse, Ariana might get hurt in the process.
But I was just so angry. How could Jett do this? I’d called him my friend for decades, and he’d betrayed the four New York Clans for what? Money? Revenge? I had no idea what Jett was getting out of this. Guilt clawed through me. I should have known. I should have seen it sooner. My friendship with Jett had gotten in the way of my rational thinking. It blinded me to his treachery. Even now, all I wanted to do was make excuses for him. But I couldn’t. Not anymore.
“Cash?”
I froze, then slowly looked down. Ariana’s eyes were open slightly, hooded from sleep, but she was awake.
“Ari,” I breathed out a sigh of relief and held her tight to my chest.
Her hands curled around my biceps, clinging to me as I clung to her. “You’re hot.”
I chuckled—I couldn’t help it. “You’re not too bad yourself.”
“Cash,” she chastised half-heartedly. “You’re burning up.”
The silence in the car was deafening. I was much older than anyone else in this vehicle. I shouldn’t be losing my cool like this, but I couldn’t help it—not after nearly losing Ariana.
I cleared my throat. “Sorry.”
“You’re not going to shift, are you?” Maximus asked, eyeing me in the rearview mirror. His eyes were no longer gold. Even he had gotten himself under control.
I avoided his gaze, instead holding Ariana’s. Slowly, she reached up and cupped my cheek in her hand. A soft smile curled the edges of her lips. She was still half asleep as she leaned up and placed a soft, chaste kiss on my lips.
“I’m fine, Cash,” she whispered. “Tell your dragon that. Tell him I’ll be okay.”
I nodded, enraptured by her silver gaze. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, leaning my forehead against hers. She’s okay, I told my dragon. Our Ari is okay.
I received a snort of dismissal before I felt the heat recede from my skin. Whatever scales had formed disappeared, and by the time I opened my eyes, Ariana was asleep once more. I kissed her forehead softly and leaned back in my seat.
Our Ari was safe. At last. It was thinking about what happened next that worried me.
19
Ariana
When we arrived at Cash’s, he ordered Maximus to pull the SUV into the garage and close the doors before he allowed me out. I was a little surprised that Maximus didn’t bristle at taking orders from the dragon alpha, but he did as Cash asked without comment. In fact, he’d barely said a word since we broke out of the lab.
Owen started to gather me in his arms, but Cash snatched me before he could. He slid from the car, scooping me
up and searching my face with obvious concern. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine,” I assured him. “Just a little weak, but I can tell it’s wearing off already.”
I shuddered at the knowledge that if I was still in the lab, one of the nurses would be coming back to dose me again in an hour.
Not this time, I thought grimly. I was free, thanks to my mates and my bear.
My bear. Holy shit, I had a bear. That’s what had been stirring inside my groggy mind, that primal fury wanting me to break free, to fight. I glanced at Owen, but before I could say a word to him, Cash had carried me to the elevator. Inside, he punched the button to close the doors, leaving Maximus and Owen to climb the stairs or wait.
“Someone’s being a little possessive today,” I said, smiling to let Cash know I didn’t really mind. Not that much. In truth, I wanted to be around all my mates right now, but one of them was good if I couldn’t have them all.
One of them who wasn’t holding me hostage and forcefully subduing my wolf, anyway.
“When I was hurt, you took care of me,” Cash said. “I’m returning the favor. The last thing you need is a bunch of over-eager alphas demanding your attention. And trust me, we would all be doing that.”
“Instead, I get just one,” I said, pinching his nose playfully.
“Nope,” he said. “I’m going to insist that you to rest just like you did for me.”
“That’s no fun,” I said with a pout.
“Now you know how it feels,” Cash said with a chuckle as he carried me out of the elevator.
“I can walk,” I pointed out, but I made no move to separate myself from my mate. I wanted to be close to them as much as they wanted to be with me.
“You’ve been poisoned for a week straight,” Cash said. “You need all your energy for healing.”
“Surely you can put off tucking me into bed for a few minutes,” I said, toying with the buttons on his shirt.
“I’ll reserve an entire night for you,” Cash said as he nudged open a bedroom door. “After you’re healed. I wouldn’t want you to feel like I’m taking advantage of you.”
“You’re not,” I said, linking my arms around his neck and smiling up at him.
“You’re right,” Cash said, leaning down to lay me gently on the bed. “I’m definitely not.”
He leaned down, brushing his soft lips across mine.
“I’m strong enough for more,” I said, remembering how much Maximus had improved after our first mating. I wondered if it would work the same on me. If I took one of my mates to bed, would I awaken healed by morning?
“And you’ll get it,” Cash purred. “When you’ve had a night to recover. Believe me, I’m as anxious to be alone with you as you are. But we need you to heal and be at full strength, Ari. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”
I sighed. Sometimes being the Silver Shifter really fucking sucked. Unfortunately, I couldn’t pick and choose when the responsibility would be mine. “You’re right,” I admitted.
“Of course I am,” Cash said, nuzzling against my neck and inhaling my scent. I let my head fall back, sighing when his lips grazed my skin, sending a shiver through me. Cash’s warm, bonfire smell surrounded me, and I sighed again, this time in contentment.
But too soon, he was pulling back and rising from the bed. He smiled down at me as he hooked his fingers into the waistband of my sweatpants. “What are you doing?” I asked, my breath coming quicker.
“I’m tucking you in,” he said, slowly sliding my pants lower. I tried to swallow, barely able to contain the ache of hunger building inside me.
“That’s all?” I asked.
“That’s all,” Cash said with a cocky grin. He tossed my pants into a hamper in the corner and reached for my shirt.
“You’re evil,” I said as he slid it off over my head.
“I know,” he said, his gaze moving down my bare body in painfully slow strokes. When he’d reached my toes, he let his eyes travel back up my legs, lingering between my thighs until I had to press my knees together to stop the unbearable heat from making me explode.
“Be good,” Cash said with a chuckle. He pulled the blankets up around me, leaned down to kiss my forehead, and snaked a hand under the blankets to slowly massage my nipple while his lips lingered on my skin.
“You’d better go,” I said. “Unless you plan to stay.”
“I’m going to fuck you so hard tomorrow,” he whispered. With a grin, he straightened and said, “Goodnight, Ari.” He strode to the door, then turned back with his hand hovering at the light switch. “Oh, and one more thing.”
“What’s that?” I asked when he didn’t go on.
His green eyes sparkled as he smirked at me. “From now on, every time you tell me I only have one thing on my mind, I’m going to remind you of this moment when I was a true gentleman.”
“Fine,” I said, rolling my eyes. “But right now, I’m going to hate you for a few more minutes.”
“Just as long as this one time lasts me the rest of our lives.”
I couldn’t help but smile as he switched off the light and pulled the door closed behind him. I sank down into the pillows, utterly exhausted despite my arousal. The fogginess in my brain had lifted, but my body felt like it had been run over by a bulldozer. Repeatedly.
My dragon was sleeping, my wolf was using all her energy to heal, and my bear was tired from the fight. My human body had spent a lot of time sleeping lately, but I was still drained from the ordeal. I closed my eyes and nestled into the soft bed, feeling my mates close by even though I could barely hear them as they talked in the sitting room. I let myself drift off into a comfortable sleep.
I jolted awake. My heart was racing, and my limbs felt heavy despite the burst of adrenaline shooting through them. I blinked into the darkness, trying to calm my gasping breaths. My wolf whined piteously, dreading the moment she’d be poisoned again.
There’s no one here. We’re safe.
I lay back on the bed, kicking off the blankets. I was sweating from nervousness, from the nightmare I couldn’t remember. I knew what it had been, though. It must be time for the nurse to come force silver down our throats, and my body had awakened in anticipation of the torture.
As I lay there trying not to panic, suddenly a warm rush of love flowed over me, as if we’d been dosed with the antidote to silver poisoning. My wolf instantly relaxed, lolling back and absorbing the wonderful sensation.
“Maximus,” I whispered, closing my eyes and gripping the sheets.
A second later, the door opened and then quietly closed. “Ariana,” Maximus said, lifting the sheet and sliding in next to me. He wore pajama pants and a T-shirt, but even through his clothes, his touch was magic. Every part of me was instantly awake and wanting—no, needing—more of him. It was a craving I hadn’t fully understood when Cash left me, but now that the drugs were wearing off further, I understood. I needed my mates. I needed them to heal. My wolf was frolicking up toward the surface, demanding time with Maximus’s, but I held her in check.
“Cash is going to be mad that you’re in here,” I whispered, pressing my hammering heart to his.
“Do you think I give a single fuck about that?” Maximus asked, his voice a low, soothing rumble. “I heard your wolf crying. The only way to stop my wolf from answering that call is to kill me.”
“Your dirty talk is so sexy,” I whispered on a soft breath, wrapping my body so tightly around Maximus’s that even he couldn’t have pulled us apart. Not that he was trying. He rolled toward me, pressing his body against mine, burying his face in the hollow of my shoulder and inhaling deeply. A tingle of arousal flowed through me, blooming between my thighs like a flower.
“Your wolf has been weakened and injured,” Maximus said. “Our bond will feed her and strengthen her.”
“I feel so empty without their strength,” I admitted, slowly grinding my hips against his. “Fill me up, Maximus. I want you inside me again. I nee
d all of you this time.”
“And you’re going to get it,” Maximus growled, guiding my hips as they moved. Wetness sprang to life between my thighs. He inhaled sharply when it soaked through the thin fabric of his pants to his cock, and the next second, I was under him.
“Max,” I breathed. “Make love to me. No condom. Just us.”
“Ariana…” he said, his eyes searching mine in the dark. “You’re not ready for pups, are you?”
“It’s safe now,” I said. “It’s not the right time. I won’t get pregnant. I need to feel you, just you, inside me.”
His cock throbbed against me, and I arched up, squeezing his hips with my knees. “I want that, too,” he said, his voice hoarse with lust. “I want to feel you with my cock and fill you with my cum.”
“Do it,” I whispered, and the next moment, he’d lifted up and pushed his pants down. I slid my hands beneath his shirt, marveling at the ridges of muscle under his hot skin. He pressed the head of his cock to my slippery opening, a tremor of desire shivering through his body and into mine.
“Ariana,” he whispered, his voice barely more than a sigh as he sank into me.
This was what I had been wanting, what I had been needing. Not to rest and be alone, but to be with my mates, to be close to them in a way I would never be with anyone else. As Maximus’s strong arms caged me in, his body moving in rhythm with mine, I knew that this would recharge me in a way that nothing else could. My wolf was finally at ease, and my bear was growling for more. Even my dragon had begun to awaken from whatever toxin they’d been using to subdue her.
I was lost in the motion of Maximus’s body atop mine, his strong hips flexing as he thrust into me, the tight muscles in his shoulders as he held himself over me, the collision of his hot skin against mine. Only when I heard the door creak did I startle from the pleasure that had gripped me. My body tensed instinctually at the presence of another person, and Maximus sucked in a sharp breath as my walls clenched around him.
“Are you awake, Ana?” Owen’s low voice rumbled as the door latched behind him.
Her Bear: An Urban Fantasy Romance (Silver Shifter Book 3) Page 11