The Price They Paid: Imprinted Mates Series

by Jade Royal

  I looked at Seuss and confusion was apparent on his face. “I’m sorry. I need to go see what’s going on.”

  I regretted to leave him but if there was an emergency I had to go. Seuss stared after me as I laced up my boots and ran out of the room. Maddox informed me that Alice would take me to where I needed to go. He entered into Seuss’ room with his food, and I set out to find this emergency.

  “What do you need me to do?” I looked at the little girl that was severely hurt and laying on the table in the pack’s medic room. She’d been playing in the woods near an old mill where she’d stumbled over an ax. She had cuts all over her legs.

  “She needs to shift. If we can get her to do that then her own DNA will do the rest. Using other methods are too risky for her age.” Alice’s concern was apparent.

  I looked at her mother who was sitting in the chair sniffing as the tears slid down her reddened cheeks. “Why isn’t her mother …”

  “Justice … it has to be you.” Alice cut me off and gave me a look. There was something that I was missing. Maybe she’d forgotten that I’d never shifted on my own and had no idea how it all worked.

  “What’s her name?” I asked.

  “Eliza.” Her name was powerful, and I liked it. She was too young to have the cuts marking her skin.

  She cried and was curled into a tight ball, but she wouldn’t shift into wolf form and back. She wouldn’t listen to anyone for that matter. I reached for her leg to see if I could get her to unroll, and the little pup growled at me. Without thought I responded by roaring back at her, and she shifted into wolf form. I raised my head standing taller, and Eliza shifted and lowered her head.

  I noticed the difference in her injuries immediately. I lifted her head a little and she smiled. She was only eight years old, but I could see that she was going to be a handful. I saw a similar spirit and wondered if she was an Alpha female. That would explain why her parents couldn’t get her to shift. They weren’t dominant at all.

  I stayed with her for a bit before we headed back to the house in time to see the pack shift for their run. I sat watching them, but I couldn’t help but wonder how Seuss was feeling about missing this. Alice mentioned that no wolf should be alone during a full moon, and that included my Alpha. I wanted to make tonight special for him, too.

  I grabbed something to drink before I headed upstairs. I went into the master bedroom and freshened up in the bathroom before heading into Seuss’ room. I almost thought that he was asleep, but he was gazing out the window at the moon turned away from me. I locked all the outside doors and climbed into bed with him and removed my robe.

  Seuss didn’t say a word as I straddled his hips. He trailed his fingers down my body and pulled my mouth to his as he joined our bodies together for the first time. I cried out at the pain from him breaching my barrier. I clung to him hoping that it’d subside. I was speechless at how he’d invaded me all at once. His thickness consumed me, pulsing against the walls of my canal, it was too much, yet just right all at the same time.

  “Fuck, you’re tight,” he barked.

  I shivered trying not to move away. I stayed still waiting for anything to happen.

  “You waited for me … now I’ll wait for you.” Seuss kissed me briefly and caressed my back calming me slowly. I shivered in response.

  “It’s okay, vixen.” Seuss kissed over my breasts and neck. “I’ll make it all better.”

  His hips began to move beneath me, and I gasped in awe. I’d never felt anything like this. Pleasure greater than I’d ever imagine rose inside. I accepted the way he owned my mouth with his. He held my hips as he took from me what he needed, and in return he gave me bliss beyond comprehension. I held on to his shoulders for mercy, but he showed none.

  “Mine!” He growled against my lips.

  I was powerless to debate it. I whimpered my acclamation. “Yours!”

  I could feel the flow of affection through the bond. Lust felt more like love. Care deepened into tranquility. Seuss was taking control of my body and laying my heart open for no other to claim but him. I yowled when I felt him retreating from me, but it was short lived.

  Seuss lifted me and then positioned me on all fours. He was buried deep inside me again quickly, arching over my body, pulling me into his. The protective position turned me on even more. His impassioned body warmed mine even further. I loved the feel of his heated chest along my cool back. I was drowning in this pool of us, and I didn’t want to be saved.

  “Oh, please!” I prayed.

  “Justice …” he grunted into my ear.

  I gasped for air, but nothing came out. Why was this so good?

  He licked at the space between my neck and collar, and I shivered in response. He tweaked my nipples as he whispered into my ear. Flutters started in my belly and spread downward to my groin where it ached marvelously.

  “Sweet Justice. My little vixen.” The claim felt just as good as his body.

  “Yeeeeees,” I moaned out in response.

  “So damn good. So soft. Aaah!” He sighed against my skin making me tingle there.

  Seuss wrapped his hand around my neck holding me in place as he moved deeper inside me. My breath hitched as his thrusts brought his hips against mine harder and faster. I was blinded by the orgasm that was spiraling out of control. I’d never felt so alive, so, wanted and needed. He held me in limbo as the earth shattered into a trillion pieces.

  Seuss

  The way that Justice gripped me as she crumbled was almost enough to do me in. But not quite. I kissed along her back, and she whined as she rested on the bed. I should be just as tired as she was but being with her tonight, on this full moon, was more empowering than I’d ever felt. And her scent perfumed the air making it harder to relax. She smelled fresh and ripe like fruit, but spicy and raw. Primed. Just the way a vixen should smell.

  I withdrew from her body but kissed down her spine until my lips found her sweet nectar. I lapped at her honey until she begged me for more. I couldn’t get enough of her against my tongue. She was damned good, and every lick only drew me in for another. She coated my face with her sweetness, and I licked my lips for more. Fuck if I could stay away longer than a few seconds to breathe.

  I rolled her on to her back and spread her legs wide giving me better access to feast. I kept her legs in place with my shoulders and inserted my tongue deep inside her. She bucked against my mouth, but I didn’t relent. I flicked it inside of her creating the most soulful sounds.

  “Seuuuuuuuss …” she begged.

  I’d smelled her ripening fruit for weeks as she teased me with her essence, and I couldn’t do anything about it. I needed more of her on my tongue besides that sweet kiss that she’d stolen, and tonight I was going to indulge.

  “Seuss, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!”

  I spread her pretty wings before licking her sensitive clit. I sucked the ripe button igniting cries of raw lust from her.

  “Mmm … Justice.” I hummed.

  “Yes!” she whispered.

  “Say my name.” I chuckled knowing she probably didn’t know it.

  “Seuss.” She breathed the name more than she said it. I could feel the enjoyment that she was getting from the dirty talk.

  “Nooo … my real name.” I kissed her thigh and then sucked it lightly.

  Justice froze, and I smacked her ass. “Stay with me, vixen.”

  “I don’t … I don’t know.”

  “When you’re with me, you’ll only scream out one name, baby.”

  “Yes?”

  “Odysseus.”

  Justice moaned louder. “Yes!”

  “Now say it.”

  “Odysseus.” She grunted, impatient girl.

  “Louder!” I growled before sucking her clit again.

  “Odysseus!”

  I couldn’t hold back any longer. Holding her legs, I inched my shaft inside her watching her eyes widen in shock. I could only imagine how it felt from this angle. She was glorious,
and her body accepted all of me. Sweat creased my brow as I fought not to claim her right here and right now. She was already mine, she just didn’t know it. I’d relaxed into her and I could feel the energy around us. It was magnetic and strong. Dare I say the love that I felt for her she felt for me?

  “Again!”

  “Ooooooooooooooooooooooodysseus!”

  I gripped her head pulling her mouth to mine instinctively. The ancient dance of men and women proceeded as I took solace in the depths of her body. My wolf rushed forward as I came deep inside her. I was so shaken that it was difficult to hold back. The need to claim her made my teeth ache. I wanted to feel them sink into her flesh as I bit into her marking her perfect skin in the claiming.

  “Fuck, vixen!” I roared before I came harder than I ever had.

  I felt it happening too late to withdraw. My shaft thickened and Justice spasmed around me.

  “Fuck!” I held her hips to mine as I came again in waves. She gripped the sheets as her body responded to mine, accepting everything I gave. The howling outside the window of my pack brushed away the walls and confines of the house as I imagined being in the midnight glow with my mate. She was perfect in every way, and her strength only added to mine. She turned her neck to me, offering her submission. I kissed her bare neck and licked the spot that I so desperately wanted to mark.

  The tie that once kept me swollen inside her, finally loosened and I slowly slid out of her beautiful body. I held her tightly and kissed her shoulder. If only she could be mine in every sense of the word.

  My mind wandered back to that day in the hospital when I was forced to mate her or give her the last of my life force. Alice warned me that I was playing Russian roulette every time that I healed Justice without mating her.

  “Seuss, it’s time.” Alice encouraged.

  I was growing weaker each time, and I knew today would be the last day. I couldn’t lose Justice, I’d just gotten her. I’d give her my all though.

  I walked into the room and held onto Justice for as long as I could before I had to make a move. I’d already made my decision.

  I spoke the words that would bind our hearts together forever. “Mate of mine, the choice is yours, but I give to ye the whole of my heart and the depths of my soul. Accept me as yours and I shall be, wolf and all.”

  Justice looked at me through heavy lids and gave her response. “No, you can’t be.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “I’m destined to be alone. I have no mate.”

  The words ached as they processed. Was she not the one?

  “You are mine,” I pushed.

  “No …” Her eyes closed for a minute and then she stared at me in confusion.

  I concealed the pain of her rejection with a smile. I put the decision into the hands of my faith. The gods could decide my fate. I fed her the last of my life force while the bond was open. I smelled Alice and Alec shortly after, but I continued giving to Justice until Alec broke the connection and transported me here. I welcomed death if it meant that my mate would continue to live.

  Justice was wrapped all around me come morning. My head was buried in the curls on top of her head and my hands cupped her ass. This is the way that every morning should be spent. We’d coupled several times during the night, but nothing came close to that first time.

  “Good morning, Odysseus,” Justice whispered against my chest.

  “Good morning, my little vixen.” I said.

  Justice looked up at me and nibbled my lips before I took hers.

  “Mmm …” she moaned. “Does this mean that you’re all healed?”

  I shook my head no. Except for during sex with her, I hadn’t felt my wolf since I’d been awake.

  “It’s your wolf, isn’t it?” she asked.

  I didn’t answer her, I just looked into her knowing eyes.

  “When you’d first awakened I could hear your thoughts. You couldn’t feel him. It’s your wolf.”

  I nodded once and began to pull away from her. The fact that I couldn’t feel my wolf was the worst fucking feeling. It left behind an empty feeling that couldn’t be healed. Last night when I’d felt him it was almost too good to be true. When he slipped back into the shadows, I couldn’t find him again.

  “Maybe I can help?” Justice smiled. “But you have to trust me.”

  “I do.” More than I’d ever admit to her or myself.

  Justice climbed on top of me, and I knew her wolf was near. Her eyes glowed, and she leaned down to kiss me. “Get a shower and I’ll go get what I need.”

  “Deal.”

  Justice rolled off me and sauntered into her room. I didn’t know what she was up to, but I was willing to try it if it meant I’d get my wolf back. I sat up and headed to the shower. This time, I was putting my faith in my woman.

  Justice

  I could feel the fear rolling off Maddox in waves, so I knew that Seuss could, too. When we stopped the wheelchair in the middle of the open field I motioned for him to walk away and I followed. I knew Seuss was watching, but if this was going to work I needed Maddox’s head in the game.

  “Justice, I’m not sure about this. Men have lost their heads for less.” Maddox spoke before we were out of earshot. I continued walking hoping that he’d follow.

  When I thought we’d made enough ground, I turned to him hoping that I could pull him back into the plan. His pack and Alpha were relying on him. I chose my words carefully knowing that there was still a chance that Seuss could still hear us. He was frazzled and not paying attention.

  “Maddox.” My voice was low but commanding catching his attention immediately.

  I slowed my breathing while looking into his eyes. He was so riled up that it took a second before he began to calm, but when he did I knew that there was a much better chance that my crazy plan would work.

  “You’ve got this. He needs a push and I believe …” I looked at him not finishing the sentence. He knew the rest. I’d only seen Seuss’ wolf respond aggressively when …

  “What if …” I put my finger to his lips silencing him. I could feel aggression vibrating from Seuss’ end of the bond. He didn’t like the contact between Maddox and I.

  “Just remember what you need to do,” I said to him. “I need you safe.”

  I caressed the outside of his arm that was visible to Seuss. I knew that if Maddox didn’t initiate contact we were safe, or at least safer. Maddox visibly flinched, but I’m sure that didn’t register to Seuss.

  “Just remember not to shift.” He whispered for my ears only.

  Shifting would give Seuss’ wolf the power that we needed his human side to have. Maddox explained to me that this power play that I was about to pull was risky, and that the pull to shift and submit to Seuss’ wolf would be strong. I needed to give into the man. Seuss needed the ability to control the wolf and will it as he needed. That’s the way it was supposed to work. The beast of the wild should never be in control because the man would never come back.

  I nodded, and we headed back over toward Seuss but not too close. “How far do you think you could jump from that chair?” I asked him.

  Seuss studied me closely trying to figure out what game I was playing. Right now, he couldn’t move all that much. His energy was still depreciating rather quickly. I’d come back in the bedroom to find him lying on the bed in a towel and unable to move.

  “What game is this, Justice?” His voice held a bit of menace to it, and it excited me.

  “Could you jump to where I’m standing?” I asked.

  Seuss didn’t respond.

  “Normally,” I added.

  I could feel the anger rising.

  “Yes,” he said through clenched teeth.

  I took a few steps back moving Maddox further behind me. “What about here?”

  He stretched his neck watching the contact that I’d made with Maddox. “Yes.”

  We stepped back a little more. “Now?”

  I watched as he calculated the distanc
e unsure if he could right away. That’s when I knew it was perfect. I took another step backward, kicking out my steady foot, and fell against Maddox, catching him somewhat off guard. His protective instincts kicked in, and before I could tumble to the ground he caught me. Seeing the intimate contact, Seuss sprang forward shifting in midair. Fucking beautiful. His wolf pushed forward so hard, fast, and forcefully that his shift was fluid like water.

  “Justice!” Maddox yelled.

  My feet caught the ground in time to shield Maddox as Seuss went straight for his throat. I should have looked away. I felt it. I was supposed to submit to his will, but he was too glorious in this form to be denied that right. He was too fury driven to realize that I was standing where Maddox once was. There was a chance that he may not sense his own scent marking every inch of my skin. I felt his heat as he drew nearer, and just as he was about to deliver his wrath, I roared back at him.

  Recognition dawned in the last second, and we tumbled to the ground. Seuss took the brunt of the fall, but his claw nicked the side of my neck. We rolled until he was on top of me, and I was gazing into the bluest eyes. I roared at him again demanding that he listen. A stubborn wolf, with hair so black that it almost appeared to be purple, stared down at me. He leaned down and shifted my head to the side before licking the wound on my neck. He hummed at the first lick, and I felt the heat from his body grow even hotter, almost scorching my skin.

  I maneuvered my head back to stare into his eyes once again. “Seuss, come back to me.”

  I stroked the hair of the wolf hoping to sate the beast and appeal to the man. “I’m yours and only yours.”

  The wolf howled before shifting back into human form. I smiled but Seuss wasn’t happy. I should have expected that. My dress was high up on my hips exposing my heat to him.

  “I could have killed you!” he roared.

  “Yes.” I couldn’t deny that fact.

  “I could have killed him,” he growled.

  “Yes.”