by Lola Gabriel
“That’s risky, Ariel. Kiefer is dangerous. He’s been around for a long time and he’s not going to be easy to capture,” Grey pointed out.
“Relax, Grey. I know he’s dangerous. But so am I. I know how to get close enough to him to grab him; don’t you worry about that.”
Grey considered this for a moment. Ariel wasn’t exactly a naïve, wet-behind-the-ears newbie. She had been a wolf for well over a century. She had ended up with Grey’s pack when she had managed to escape from the mate who had bought her from a Matchmaker. It made her the perfect candidate to take Kiefer down. Taking on a Matchmaker wasn’t just the means to an end to Ariel. It was personal. She had been bugging Grey for decades to be allowed to take Kiefer out, but Grey had always talked her down, reminding her that while they knew who Kiefer was and where he hunted, they had an advantage; they could save a fair amount of the women meant for him. Ariel had said it wasn’t enough. No woman should have to suffer the fate she had, but Grey had reminded her that if Kiefer was gone, someone else would take his place. And they wouldn’t know who he was or where he was, and that meant they wouldn’t be able to save any of the women.
Now that Ariel had the green light to go after Kiefer, the hardest part would be convincing her to hand him over to Alex in exchange for Grey in one piece. It was all they had left to try, though, and Grey just had to hope that Ariel liked him more than she hated Kiefer.
“I’ll be as quick as I can,” Ariel said, starting to back away. “Ideally, I want to get back in time to save all of these women, but I can’t guarantee it. You should be okay, though. I mean, presumably Alex has some sort of plan for you, but being his mate certainly won’t be a part of it, and if he’s taking a mate tomorrow—well, today, more accurately now, I guess—then he’s going to be busy all day. It buys you a little more time.”
Grey nodded his head. That was true. But he cared more about Ellery’s fate than his own, and speed was of the essence if he wanted to save her without her hating him.
8
Ellery woke up to the sound of voices whispering. The first thing she registered was the smell of Grey so close to her and she saw that he had covered her with his hoodie. She realized her head was on something soft too. Grey’s jacket.
She listened to the whispering voices. She recognized one instantly as Grey’s voice. The other voice, she didn’t recognize, but her fear melted away when she realized it was a woman’s voice. It wasn’t Clive or Simon or even Alex himself coming to take her away.
She thought it must be one of the women from Alex’s harem and she debated sitting up and joining the conversation, but she decided against it. She remembered Laura’s panic at her suggestion that she help them, and this woman didn’t sound like she was panicking. Maybe hearing the suggestion from another wolf shifter bore more weight than hearing it from a normal prisoner.
After a couple of minutes of listening, Ellery realized the woman wasn’t in fact one of Alex’s unwilling brides. It was clear that she and Grey knew each other. The woman even gave him a bit of a scolding about coming here and getting himself caught. She remembered Grey saying his pack would come to find him if he didn’t return. The woman, whose name she heard was Ariel, must be a part of Grey’s pack.
Ellery stayed still and quiet, keeping her eyes closed. She wasn’t sure why now, except she didn’t want to give away the fact that she had been eavesdropping, and she didn’t want Grey and Ariel to have to waste any of their precious time catching her up on something she had heard anyway. She had said she would trust Grey, and now it was time to prove she had meant that. She would trust him to come up with a plan with Ariel without knowing she was listening.
It was actually Ariel that came up with a plan. She wanted to abduct Kiefer, giving him a taste of his own medicine, and use him as a bargaining chip, dangling him in front of Alex like a prize. That could work. Ellery couldn’t see Alex being willing to give up his supplier. She waited for Grey to insist that Ariel use Kiefer to bargain for all of their freedom and not just his, like Ariel was suggesting.
Ariel was telling him she might not be able to get back before Alex took one of the women, but that Grey had a little longer than that because Alex would be busy with the mating ceremony. Ellery felt her heart break. Somehow, when Grey had held her in his arms and told her he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her, she had allowed herself to believe it was possible he felt the crazy connection she felt. She had allowed herself to believe in the fairytale for a short time. But it wasn’t to be.
And why would it be? Grey had known her for what? An hour? Two hours? Certainly not more than three hours. At least not with both of them awake. He was hardly going to risk his own freedom just to save her. She screwed her eyes closed more tightly, refusing to let the threatening tears come free this time. She wasn’t going to waste her time and energy crying over something that had existed only in her mind.
“Ariel, wait,” Grey said.
Ellery heard Ariel turn around and come back to Grey’s side.
“What?” she said.
“This woman here, her name is Ellery. I can’t leave here without her,” he said.
Ellery’s heart soared and although the tears still threatened to spill out, now they were happy tears. She hadn’t imagined the connection between them. Whatever this crazy love at first sight shit was, Grey had felt it too.
“I get it, Grey. I don’t want to see anyone being turned into one of Alex’s mates against their will, and let’s face it, that’s the only way he’ll ever find anyone to be his mate. But I can’t guarantee I can get this done before Alex comes to claim his next mate. It might take some time to locate Kiefer, knock him out, and get him back here.”
Grey didn’t respond and the silence spun out for a moment. Then Ariel spoke again, a note of suspicion in her voice.
“Wait. You only said her. What about the other two?”
“I mean in an ideal world, yeah, we’ll save all three of them. But Ellery is special. I knew it the moment I first saw her. She’s meant to be my mate, Ariel. I can feel it inside of me. And I’ll do whatever it takes to get her out of here, even if she doesn’t want anything to do with me after that.”
“Why wouldn’t she want anything to do with you? She’s lying right beside you. It’s not like she’s afraid of you or anything. Or haven’t you told her you’re a wolf yet?”
“She knows,” Grey replied. “But I have no idea if she feels this thing between us. It’s hardly the time to ask, is it?”
“Probably not,” Ariel conceded. “Look, rescuing her and the others, I’m in. But what if we’re too late and Alex takes her away before we get here?”
Another moment of silence hung in the air.
“You’re going to have to…” Ariel started.
“I know. And if it comes to it, I’ll do it. But she’ll hate me for it,” Grey said.
“Give her a bit of credit, Grey. She might see it’s the only way.”
“I doubt it,” Grey sighed. “Anyway, go. I just wanted you to know that this isn’t just about me. It’s about her as well.”
“Got it,” Ariel said. “You love her.”
“As crazy as it sounds, yes, I do.”
“It’s not crazy. It’s our way. Just remember it might not be hers. Be patient with her.”
“I’ve waited nearly three hundred years to meet her. I can be patient,” Grey laughed.
Three hundred years? Ellery couldn’t quite process learning that Grey was nearly three centuries old. It didn’t matter, though. None of the details mattered. All that mattered was knowing now that this feeling inside of her was real. And he felt it too. She decided in that moment that whatever his plan, whatever he might have to do that he thought would make her hate him, it wasn’t going to come between them. She would do whatever she had to do and let him do whatever he had to do. And maybe when this was all over, they could laugh about it. Or maybe that was too much to hope for.
Ellery heard Ariel moving away. H
er footsteps were so light, she barely made any noise. Ellery waited until she heard the door close quietly and then she sat up and smiled at Grey. He returned her smile, but his cheeks flushed slightly and he looked a little uncomfortable.
“How long have you been awake?” he asked, trying and failing to sound casual.
“Long enough,” Ellery smiled, realizing his sudden discomfort was embarrassment because she had heard him telling Ariel how he felt about her. She rushed on. “You don’t have to be embarrassed, Grey. I know it’s crazy, but I feel it too.”
“You do?” Grey said.
Ellery nodded and smiled again.
“Yes,” she said. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone, and especially not so quickly, but I don’t know, there’s something about you that my body, mind, and soul just responded to.”
“So would it be alright if I kissed you?” Grey asked.
She wanted to know what his plan was, the one he thought she would hate, but how could she say no to a kiss? Especially when Grey when smiling at her in a way that was so damned sexy, she wanted to fuck his brains out right here. She would hear about the plan soon enough, she decided. She nodded her head.
Grey leaned in and she bent forward to meet him. His lips brushed across hers, making them tingle and pulse, and then his mouth fit over hers, his tongue gently nudging her lips open. She met his tongue with her own, massaging his and wrapping hers around it.
She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms tightly around him and pressing her body against his. She slid her hands to his lower back, slipping them beneath his t-shirt and running them over his smooth skin. He pushed his hand into her hair, pressing her lips tighter against his. His other hand cupped her ass, pulling her even tighter against him. She could feel how hard his cock was—it was pressing against her, teasing her and making her want him even more. Her pussy was wetter than it had ever been and she was sure her juices must be running out of her and down her thighs. Her clit was spasming wildly, screaming for Grey’s touch.
She took his hand as he moved it out of her hair. She moved it lower, pressing it against her wet center. He moaned into her mouth as his fingers brushed over the damp material of her panties. He pulled his mouth from hers.
“We can’t, Ellery. What if they wake up?” Grey panted, tilting his head toward Lisa and Ava.
“They’re deep sleepers. And we’ll be real quiet,” she grinned back.
She didn’t wait for him to say more. She leaned in and found his lips with hers again. At the same time, she moved her hips, rubbing her clit over Grey’s hand and sending a series of delicious shivers through her body. It seemed to do the trick. Grey moaned again and then his fingers shifted slightly, pushing into the side of her panties and finding her clit. Ellery had to make a conscious effort not to cry out as her clit pulsed into life at Grey’s touch, spreading heat through her body.
Doing this quietly wasn’t going to be easy. Grey’s fingers worked her clit from side to side and she moved her mouth from his, pressing her face against his shoulder so her panting breaths didn’t echo around the room. She wrapped her arms around Grey’s shoulders, resting the top of her head on her arm and holding him tightly against her. She moved her hips, rocking in time with Grey’s movement, making the friction on her clit deeper and more intense.
She was nearly there, her pussy clenching and her stomach contracting as Grey pushed her toward orgasm. She sucked in a sharp breath through her nose as he pressed down on her clit and her orgasm flooded through her. She pressed her face into Grey’s shoulder again, muffling the sound as her moaning exhale came out of her unbidden. Her muscles clenched, her body going rigid as pleasure assaulted her. She took another deep breath, inhaling Grey’s scent, a musky, earthy scent that pushed her deeper into her orgasm.
Grey turned his head and ran his tongue up the side of her neck and goosebumps scurried over her skin, heightening her pleasure. When she finally started to coast down from her orgasm, she realized she had stopped breathing, and she began to gasp, panting for air as her muscles turned to warm jelly.
She sagged against Grey. He pulled his hand out of her panties, leaving her still wanting more, and held her in his arms while she recovered. When she had herself back under at least a modicum of control, she lifted her head and sought out Grey’s mouth with hers once more. It started out as a tender kiss, but almost instantly, it became desperate and hungry as her body responded to his yet again.
Ellery moved her arms from around Grey’s shoulders. She shuffled her ass back a little, making room for her hands, and she reached between them and began to unzip Grey’s jeans. He moved his head back, breaking their kiss.
He looked deep into her eyes and she could see lust there, turning his eyes even darker. They were almost completely black now and Ellery couldn’t see where his pupils ended and his irises began. It sent a shiver of desire through her whole body.
“Are you sure you want our first time to be here, Ellery?” Grey asked her.
She paused for a second, her fingers on Grey’s zipper, but no longer pulling it down. She thought about it and then she nodded slowly.
“It might be our only chance, Grey. And if I have to spend the rest of eternity serving Alex, I want to have this moment,” she said.
“I won’t let it come to that,” Grey vowed, his voice filled with steely certainty.
“Then our next time can be somewhere romantic,” Ellery grinned. “And when we tell our grandkids about how we met, we’ll skip over this part.”
“If we’re telling this story to our grandkids, I reckon we need to skip over the sexy parts no matter where we are,” Grey chuckled.
“Well, there you go, then,” Ellery laughed softly.
She went back to opening his pants. He made no move to stop her. When his jeans were open, he released Ellery for a moment, and she instantly felt cold without his arms around her. Grey lifted himself up on onto his knees and pulled his jeans and boxer shorts down his thighs. Ellery gasped when she saw his huge, hard cock. She looked it at greedily. She could hardly wait to feel him inside of her, claiming her.
Grey lowered himself back onto his ass, hissing slightly as the cold ground touched his skin. Ellery giggled softly as Grey pulled her onto his lap again. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders. She looked into his beautiful, intense eyes for a moment longer, and then his lips were on hers again.
She lifted herself slightly as Grey’s hand reached behind her, grabbing his cock. He pressed it against the edge of her pussy and then he was entering her, impaling her on his cock. She lowered herself, meeting his thrust, taking all of him inside of her. She was glad he was kissing her, because his mouth on hers stopped her from crying out as he filled her up.
She kept moving, lifting herself up and down on his cock, moving herself in time with his desperate thrusts. There was nothing slow or gentle about this. They were both wild, desperate for the release orgasm would bring them. Their mouths were all over each other, their desperate kissing landing on each other’s mouths, necks, shoulders. Their hands roamed around each other’s bodies, and they pounded faster and faster.
Ellery felt her orgasm coming on. There was no slow build-up; it was just there, and then it broke through the surface, crashing over her like a wave. She bit down hard on her bottom lip, stopping herself from screaming Grey’s name as her center clenched around his erection.
Warmth spread through her stomach and chest, out into her limbs until even her fingers and toes were tingling with pleasure. She bit down on her lip again and then she was coasting down, feeling the warm, sated feeling her orgasm left behind.
She knew Grey was almost there. He was thrusting into her harder and faster and his face contorted as his own orgasm slammed through him. She felt his cock twitch inside of her, and then the warmth of him coming filled her. He pulled her against him, holding her so tightly she almost couldn’t breathe.
He put his mouth close to her ear, whisperi
ng her name in a low, husky voice as he came. She felt tingles go down her neck and across her shoulders where his breath tickled her skin.
He let out a breath in a deep whoosh, and then they held each other for a moment, both of them panting for air. Too soon, they broke apart. Grey got back to his knees and tugged his boxer shorts and his jeans back up, fastening the closure. Ellery pulled her panties into place, feeling a rush of desire in her stomach when she felt how wet they were. She pulled her dress back down quickly before she could let her desire overtake her brain once more.
They sat facing each other, their knees crossed in front of them. Grey smiled at Ellery.
“That was awesome,” he said. “Especially considering the circumstances.”
Ellery laughed softly, nodding her head in agreement.
“It seems captivity agrees with us,” she said.
They sat looking into each other’s eyes for a moment. Ellery thought it would be easy to get lost in Grey’s eyes, and she decided she would like that. But right now, they had to concentrate on how they were getting out of here without her ending up mated to Alex.
She knew they had to talk about this sooner rather than later. The outside light that came in through the tiny, high-up windows no longer looked like moonlight. It was bathing the warehouse in a warm yellow color. The sun was just starting to come up. Ellery thought they still had a couple of hours, but she needed to know what the plan was or it would eat at her.
“You said to Ariel you had a plan but I wouldn’t like it,” Ellery said. “Grey, I think it’s time you told me what it is.”
“Okay,” Grey said, nodding his head, although he looked a little reluctant. “But you’re not going to like it.”
9
“The only way I can think of to stop Alex taking you as his next mate is simple, yet huge,” Grey said. “Let me turn you into a shifter.”