by Kimber White
“It’s okay,” I said. “They’re either dead or neutralized in there. But the Alpha...he just went poof.”
Payne nodded, not seeming surprised. I wondered whether he’d seen it when he went in that beta wolf’s mind.
God, I didn’t want to know what else he saw except for one last thing.
I locked eyes with Payne. Mine held a question. He looked over at my cousins then back at me.
He gave me one slow nod and that’s all I needed. If there was a mole in Wolfguard, my cousin Milo wasn’t him.
“I need to get Meg out of here,” I said.
“Go,” Payne and Val answered in unison. She wrapped her arms around me. My need to run drove out all other thought.
My love. My mate. She was safe. And I needed her all to myself.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Meg
We drove all night and into dawn. I rested my head against Leo’s shoulder, straining against my seatbelt. I was exhausted, spent, but felt safe and content against him. I realized it was the first time I’d experienced that in weeks, months, maybe ever.
I didn’t need to ask where we were going. I felt the pull right along with him. Leo curved around the bottom of Lake Michigan. Its glittering blue water calmed his raging heart.
I fell asleep for a bit. I woke as the sun crested over the horizon. Leo had stopped the car on a deserted bluff overlooking the lake. He was leaning against the hood, hands in his pockets, drinking in the brisk air.
I unlatched my seatbelt and went out to join him.
The lake stretched across the horizon. I saw no other houses along the shoreline. It was as if Leo had brought me to the one undiscovered patch of beach in the entire state.
“Where are we?” I asked. I knew the answer before he said it. It thundered through my heart.
“Home.”
I slid my arms around his waist. He smelled so good. Intoxicating. His wild scent, earthy musk mixed with clean soap.
“Indiana. Not far from Michigan City,” he answered. “I bought this land with my first year’s pay from Wolfguard and a little help from my father.”
“This is all private land?” I gasped.
I turned. There were dunes to the east of us. Behind them, an expanse of woods.
“I’d like to build the house over there,” he said, pointing west. There was a flat patch of land and I could almost envision it as I knew Leo did. He’d build a sea wall. Clear some of the oak and pines to make an unobstructed view of the lake. But, he’d leave the woods behind us untouched.
I felt a different pull to them. Leo’s wolf simmered just below the surface. With it, my own desire was stoked.
“Meg,” he said. He put his hands on my shoulders turning me toward him. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
I dropped my eyes. “I already know. I felt it in you the second you came out of that warehouse. And I knew before that. They killed my father. You found him.”
His grip was firm but gentle on my arms. He peered into my eyes. He felt the echo of my pain.
“I’ve lost them all,” I whispered. My grandfather. My father. The family business. Poof. In the span of a few weeks, everything I’d built, everything I knew was gone.
Except it wasn’t.
“It’s strange,” I said. “I miss my grandfather. I think I’ll even miss my father when the dust settles. I’d like to think he still had a chance to become something decent. It’s just...I saw into his soul when we were trapped in that room together. Or rather, I saw he didn’t have one. He was willing to let those men hurt me to get that stone. It would be nice to think he was being coerced, maybe they put some spell on him.”
“It’s possible,” Leo said. “Payne will have more to tell me when I go back to the office.”
“Did it work?” I asked. “He got inside the head of that one red-eyed wolf? He read his mind?”
“I think so,” Leo answered. “Among other things, Payne was worried Milo had turned and was working for the Ring. I knew he hadn’t, but now Payne does too.”
“Don’t you want to go back?” I asked. “We can find out what those men were truly after or who they worked for.”
Leo’s eyes glinted blue fire. “Right now, the only thing I care about is you.”
Heat rose in my core. It had been a constant, slow burn for hours, even in the thick of danger. Now, it almost took my breath away.
“Leo,” I said. “You told me where we went from here was my decision. I’ve made it.”
A bit of color drained from his face. I reached up and touched his cheek.
“I want you. Every second I was away from you, it’s all I could think about. If only…”
“Meg,” he said. “You’ve been through something awful. You grandfather, your father...maybe you need some time to…”
“No,” I said. “Don’t you see? All those things made my path...my heart more clear. I love you. I belong to you. And you belong to me. I should feel alone. I’ve lost my family. Only, that’s not what I feel. I’ll miss my grandfather forever, but I didn’t lose my family. I found another. And I never want to feel alone again. I would have been safer today if I’d made this decision sooner. I never want to risk losing you...or myself...again.”
A tear glistened in Leo’s eyes. My heart lurched as he went down on one knee and took my hands in his.
“I’ve sworn an oath to you before. Let me swear another. You’re my heart. You’re my life. From this day forward, I am your family and everything that comes along with it. The Kalenkovs are your family. Wolfguard too. You’ll be one of us. And if you’ll have me, you’ll be a part of me.”
I threw my arms around him, my heart soaring.
“Yes!” I cried. Leo rose, sweeping me off my feet. His kisses were long and deep. I couldn’t get enough of him. He spun me. I was dizzy with relief and also desire.
We did wait though. Just one more day until the full moon rose high above the trees. Before that, Leo took me into town and we found a clean motel. We spent the day together. He let me rest. He watched over me. We were quiet together. Expectant. Then, the next evening, at twilight, we came out to the spot by the dunes again together.
I knew it was time. The answer burned through me. The woods called to both of us. Leo carried me and ran so fast the lake became a blue blur.
Though I’d never been in these woods before, I knew exactly where he was going.
He found a clearing, surrounded by tall pines, hidden from the rest of the world. I knew in my heart this would forever be our special place.
His lips were still on mine as he set me down. I was clumsy as I fumbled with my jeans. We parted only so I could get my shirt over my head and toss it aside. With skilled fingers, Leo undid my front bra clasp. My breasts swung free. He cupped one in each hand. I groaned into his mouth as I felt myself grow damp for him.
Leo’s erection was hard as steel and pressed against my stomach. He rolled his thumbs over my nipples, giving me the most pleasurable ache.
I threaded my hands through Leo’s thick, auburn hair as he slid his way down, licking a path between my breasts, over my stomach, circling my belly button.
He slid his hands between my thighs, parting them. I steadied myself, putting my hands on his shoulders. He teased me with his tongue, swirling it up my inner thigh, across my mound, darting it just around my sensitive bud but not touching it.
I gasped. My knees shook.
“Leo!”
Still on his knees, looked up at me, his hands roaming up the backs of my thighs. I melted as his wolf eyes glinted like pure sapphires and he gave me a devilish smile. He let out a little growl that sent shivers of desire through me.
I understood him even without the words. He was gentle now. Soon enough, he wouldn’t be.
“Oh!” My knees shook even more.
He nipped at the air. I threw my head back imagining how good it would feel if he grazed me there with his teeth. Just a little love bite, on the meat of my thigh. He
spread me open, licking his way up.
“Hold still,” he said in a husky whisper.
I would obey his commands. God. I would beg for them.
His hot hands were on my buttocks. My juices ran down, coating my thighs.
Then, Leo tasted me. “Oh! My God! Oh!”
I opened for him like a morning rose. Leo plunged his tongue inside me. He lifted me off the ground.
I was dizzy with lust. He turned me just as wild as he was.
A shifter’s mate. I’d had that secret in me all along.
Leo set me down gently. He circled his hands around my ankles, raising them over my shoulders making a wide vee with my legs.
He knelt between them, his eyes glinting as he raked them over what he saw. I thrust my hips, offering myself to him.
Leo licked his lips. He cocked his head to the side, smirking.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said. “My perfect, ripe peach.”
“Leo, please!”
He kept me spread wide. I craned my neck forward so I could see him too. My Leo was huge and hard. I wanted to taste him. Devour him. But, he seemed intent to hold me like this, admiring the view.
I clawed my fingers into the soft earth.
Leo moved into position, keeping his gentle grip on my ankles. He pressed them forward slowly, testing me.
Oh, but I was flexible. I was made to lie with a shifter, after all.
Growling with pleasure, he had my ankles nearly pressed to my ears.
He let one go and worked me to a lather with his fingers. I kissed him. When I nipped his ear he threw his head back and growled.
Then, Leo plunged inside of me as deep as he could go. I circled my legs around his shoulders and ran my nails down his back.
Instinct told me to draw blood. Leo arched his back and let out a howl that echoed through the woods.
So deep. So good. We were one.
On and on he rocked me to my core. Each thrust brought me to new soaring heights then back down again.
We kept going for what seemed like forever. He liked me this way the best, spread wide, flat on my back. But we moved at times, as he let me ride him. Then, he flipped me over and spread me wide again.
I came once, twice, a dozen times and more. Just when I thought I was too spent to even move, Leo would coax me back on top of him. He pushed me to my physical limits and beyond. I learned that night and late into the day just what a shifter’s mate can do.
We didn’t eat. We didn’t sleep. We nourished each other over and over again.
I couldn’t get enough of him. I knew I never would. I’d waited for this my whole life. I felt reborn that day and I knew we’d only just scratched the surface.
The Rise.
I fully understood it now. My hunger for Leo would never wane. Nor would his for me. He made me a part of him. He took my heart and made it stronger, better.
Later, as the stars came out, a new urge rose within me and I knew it was time.
He didn’t have to tell me what to do. I rose on all fours and dropped my head, gathering my hair to the side.
“Are you sure, my love?” he said, his voice ragged with lust.
“You know I am,” I said. “You can feel it as much as I can.”
He could. Our hearts would never beat separately again.
Leo licked along my spine, sending goosebumps all over me. I quivered. My breasts swung, almost brushing the ground. Leo reached around and caressed them.
I knew everything on me would be sore tomorrow. I didn’t care. I relished it.
Leo howled at the moon. I quaked with anticipation.
He entered me again, sliding in as deep as he could go. I felt his sharp fangs graze my skin and fireworks went off inside of me.
There was that familiar pulse of desire between my legs. But another one grew at the base of my neck. He awakened my most primal need.
Then, he sank his teeth into my flesh, marking the base of my neck. There was a quick zing of pain, then it blossomed into the deepest pleasure.
I cried out. He bit deep. I leaned back into him, in ultimate submission.
Then, Leo let go. He licked the sensitive flesh where he bit me. But, there was no pain. Only a new pulse point. I sat up and reached back. I traced the outline of the crescent-shaped mark.
I closed my eyes. I felt Leo inside me still. And I was in him now too.
“You’re mine now,” he whispered, gathering me into his arms. “And I’m fully yours.”
I reached up and touched his face. The moon hovered behind his shoulder. I felt connected to it now too. He didn’t have to tell me, I just knew. He would mark me like this again and again under the light of the fullest moon. Each time our bond would only grow.
“I love you,” he said. “I loved you the moment I saw you and even before I knew who you were.”
“It’s like that for me too.”
It felt like we weren’t two people anymore. We lived for each other. I couldn’t wait for what the future held. I knew we would face it stronger together.
Then, I knew there was one thing left for my love to do. I leaned up and kissed him.
“Go, my love,” I said. “It’s time.”
He smiled, his wolf eyes glinting. He was already partially shifted. His sideburns grew long and his fingers turned to claws.
I hugged my knees and bit my lips. Leo’s red wolf looked even bigger and stronger tonight. I knew in my heart he was. He’d claimed his destiny with me. No matter what else came we could handle it. I knew it in my heart.
Leo’s wolf bounded to the top of the hill. When he was silhouetted against the moon, he let out a primal howl that stirred my heart.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Leo
“You’re sure he wants me here for this?” Meg asked.
She sat next to me, her hand in mine, wearing a crisp, blue suit that showed off her legs in a way that made my inner wolf hum. It had been a week since I marked her and I felt stronger, more powerful than I ever had. I also wanted to take her back into that elevator and press her up against the wall.
“Stop!” she whispered, blushing.
She could hear my thoughts now if I let my guard down or if I was thinking directly about her. It was the same for her too. I’d marked her three more times since the first. At this rate, she’d be in heat in no time.
The thought of it sent a different wave of desire through me. Maybe it was the recent loss of her own, but she wanted to start a new family soon. No waiting.
“I’m sure,” I said. “He said some of what he learned directly concerns you.”
Meg’s brow furrowed. I resisted the urge to kiss the lines away. Before I had the chance, Payne’s office door opened. I straightened my tie and rose to my feet. I kept Meg’s hand in mine as we said our hellos and stepped inside.
Lena was sitting on one of the leather couches he kept along the wood-paneled walls. Meg went to her. The two women embraced. They shared a bond now almost as profound as the one Meg and I shared. Human women, mated to Alpha wolves.
“Sit down,” Lena said. “Can I get you two anything?”
“We’re good,” Meg answered for the both of us. She took a seat on the couch next to Lena. I sat further down. Payne was agitated. He kept pacing. A stern eye from Lena and he cleared his throat and took a chair.
“You doing okay?” I asked Payne. I knew he’d had a rough go of it. Payne would never divulge the details, but before the Kentucky Shifter War, he’d learned firsthand what it was like to suffer under a Tyrannus Alpha. Subjugating that beta wolf last week had to have brought back painful memories. I knew if it weren’t for Lena’s steady presence, he wouldn’t have been able to come back from it.
Fated mates. There was a reason we were all meant for each other.
“I wanted to give you both time to...uh...settle things,” he said. “And I wanted to talk to some of my deeper contacts to try and make sense of everything I learned. Now that’s all behind us, it’s time yo
u two were brought fully in the loop.”
I didn’t like the sound of any of that. “The Alpha you encountered out at the warehouse, he’s gone. No trace.”
“It was dark magic,” I said. “I have no doubt of that. He just went poof right before my eyes.”
“The thing is,” Payne said. “What I was able to get from the beta didn’t make sense at first. That black-eyed shifter wasn’t the only one controlling him. There was someone else. Something else.”
“But there was no one else there,” Meg said. “But the black-eyed one. He was like a robot too.”
Payne nodded. “There’s something more powerful out there.”
“The Ring?” I asked.
Payne nodded. “Without a doubt. It’s just...we were operating under the assumption there was one big bad Tyrannous Alpha, but that’s not what I sensed from that beta. If anything, I’m sensing well...an army of Tyrannous Alphas. Or the potential of that, anyway.”
“My God,” Meg said. “And if they’d been successful taking the Kingsblood from us…”
“That was the goal,” Payne said. “No question. The beta I read knew enough of the plan on that. They were hoping to break the thing up into smaller pieces.”
I ran a hand down my face. I finished his thought for him and it made my blood run cold. “So each one of these Tyrannous Alphas could have a piece of it. God almighty.”
“It was bad,” Payne said. “Way worse than we thought.”
A tear ran down Meg’s face. “I didn’t know. I swear to you I had no idea. I never would have gone near it if…”
“Do not blame yourself!” Payne and I said it in unison.
“It was fate that brought you to me,” I said. “And it was fate that brought you to that damn diamond. If your grandfather hadn’t made arrangements to get it from Dorothea Davies, it was only a matter of time before the Ring found out about her.”
“That’s something else we need to tell you,” Lena said. “Dorothea was found dead at home last week. It looked like she passed away a while ago.”
“How awful,” Meg said. “Did she...did they?”