Shadow Wars (The Stoneridge Pack Book 2)

by CJ Cooke

  “I wanted one more from you, Calli. I wanted to feel you come on my tongue one more time. But I just couldn’t take it. I needed to feel you. You’re like the sweetest drug, my love. I’ll be addicted to you to my dying day, and I couldn’t be more fucking pleased about it,” he gritted out.

  This wasn’t making love. This was pure and simple fucking, and I loved every second of it. I loved how his punishing grip was sure to leave marks on my hips when we were through. I loved the way he was completely dominating my body. I loved this man. I was his mate, and he was my alpha. It was always going to be this way. We had both needed this.

  Grey smoothed his hands over my ass cheeks before one slapped down again. The sting just melted away again as he ran his hand over my skin.

  One of his hands drifted across my ass, and I felt it gliding around my clit and my pussy as he mercilessly fucked me. It was only when that hand drifted back up that I realised what he was doing.

  Grey’s thumb circled my hole before he slowly started to push it inside my bottom. “One day, mate, I will take every single piece of you,” he murmured as his thumb slowly breached my ass.

  There was a part of my mind that wanted to rebel, that was trying to say that it was wrong, that I shouldn’t enjoy this. But it was just so fucking good.

  I couldn’t concentrate on the sensations flowing through my body. All my mind could fixate on was that building sensation growing in the pit of my stomach. That last orgasm Grey had promised to wring out of my body, the one I genuinely didn’t think I was going to survive, was growing closer with every second.

  “Grey, I’m… I’m going to come,” I panted. It was obvious from the sounds I was making, and I didn’t even know why I was saying it aloud. It was like all of the pleasure he was forcing through my body had finally made me lose my mind.

  “Yes… you… fucking… are,” he growled, punctuating each word with a savage snap of his hips. “Now scream for me, little mate.”

  I felt his hand wrap around my hair as he pulled my front up off the bed so my back was flush to his chest, and then he sank his teeth into his mating mark on my neck.

  And I screamed. I screamed so fucking loud. The orgasm that barrelled through my body threw white lights across my eyes. It felt like I was thrown out of my body as wave after wave of pure ecstasy flowed through me. Sex had never been like this before my mates. No other man had ever been able to make me feel this way.

  In the back of my mind, I heard Grey’s rumbling growl as he finally came. His hips slowed to a stop, and he stayed deep inside me as we collapsed forward onto the bed. He expertly rolled us, so I was tucked against his front as he lapped at the new mating wound on my neck. Every single brush of his tongue felt like it went straight to my clit and he chuckled that self-assured masculine sound as I squirmed uncomfortably in his arms.

  I laid in his arms, not quite feeling like I was ready to move. At some point I’m pretty sure I dozed off for a bit. I was on the edge of a blissful sex coma and looking forward to the sleep that would inevitably come.

  “Did I hurt you?” Grey whispered from behind me, his arms tightening around me a fraction. His voice was racked with guilt, and I realised that while I’d been lying here basking in orgasmic bliss, he’d been worrying he’d done something wrong.

  I tried to roll to face him, but his arms tightened to hold me in place. I settled with wrapping one arm behind me and threading the fingers of my other hand through his.

  “No, absolutely not. Grey, that was incredible. I’ve never felt anything like that with anyone else before. I don’t think I’d want to. It was like that was just how it was supposed to be with us. Does that make sense?”

  I felt him nod, even though I couldn’t see it. “It won’t always be like that, Calli. But sometimes, my wolf is going to need to be with his mate just as much as I do,” he told me quietly.

  “That’s a shame,” I chuckled. “Because Oh. My. Fucking. God!” I panted before breaking into giggles as he started to tickle my sides.

  “Brat,” he laughed. “Now sleep. We’ve got a lot to get through tomorrow.”

  I looked at the alarm clock and saw it was 2:00 am, so tomorrow was actually today. But Grey was right. We had so much to get through. We probably didn’t have time to be sleeping like this, but everyone had to sleep at some point.

  Closing my eyes, I told myself I’d just get a couple more hours in and then slip out to the library. I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to lie to myself. Probably the guilt of not being the unstoppable force to stand in the way of everything coming for my pack. Being some kind of wannabe superhero was going to have to wait because, just for a few hours, I’d like to pretend I was a normal girl enjoying sleeping in the arms of her mate—until reality came to bite me in the ass, that was.

  15

  Tanner

  Herding the kids around the house and getting them to school without Calli around was a hard lesson in just how much Calli did around here. In the short time she’d been here, we’d grown to rely on her. As River set off to work with the two boys in his car, a collective sigh of relief went through the rest of us, followed by the rumble of chuckles as we realised how ridiculous we were being.

  Blake was in the kitchen whipping up extra pancakes with Abby’s help, who was still in her PJs. We’d all baulked at the idea of helping her get dressed, not quite there yet with her and not sure how to go about it. Plus, she looked freaking adorable in those unicorn jammies.

  Nash dropped down onto a seat at the table, looking a bit grey around the edges. His leg was still healing, but he should be back to normal in no time. The healing process of such a deep wound always took it out of you, though. It was like your wolf filtered all of your energy into healing and left you exhausted in the wake of it.

  We ate in relative silence, even though it was delicious and we had so much to talk about. Something just felt wrong not having Calli with us. She was my mate, so, of course, I was going to miss her, but I was surprised how much the rest of the pack was affected as well.

  “This is weird,” Aidan rumbled around a mouthful of bacon looking around the table, his shoulders hunched with the tension we were all feeling.

  “What’s the plan today?” Blake asked, quickly changing the subject, looking uncomfortable about it.

  “Aidan and I need to open up the garage and get ready for the first few clients coming in this week. Grey and Calli have got some stuff to sort out,” I said evasively, casting a look at Abby, who was happily eating her second pancake. “That leaves you and Nash with my little cherry bomb.”

  She grinned up at me at the sound of her pet name, and my heart about exploded.

  “Sounds good to me,” Blake grinned down at the little girl. “You want to hang out with me today, sunshine? Nash still has a bad leg, so he’s probably going to be boring today.”

  Abby looked deep in thought for a minute, and I couldn’t help the amused chuckle I released at her antics. She knew who the boss was around here—her.

  “Can we do some painting?” she asked, fluttering her eyelashes at Blake, who melted on the spot.

  “Anything you want.”

  “Then a movie and popcorn?” she sat up straighter as she asked, clearly excited about the idea, and I suddenly felt like I’d gotten the raw end of the deal. Why exactly was I going to work and not having a movie and popcorn day? We definitely needed to get some kind of schedule in place.

  “I know where Calli hides the cookies,” Blake whispered to her behind his hand, and Abby giggled in glee.

  “I’m going to get my paints,” she cried, jumping out of her chair and rushing to her room.

  “No fair,” Aidan sulked, shovelling more bacon into his mouth.

  I’d laugh, but I didn’t doubt we were all feeling it. For the first time in days, though, Blake had a grin on his face at the thought of spending time with the little girl, and it made me and my wolf very happy. He needed this. He needed something that would take his mind off Jean
and give him something to live for. I had a feeling Abby was going to be that reason for a lot of us.

  As we were clearing the table, Hunter appeared in the kitchen, his face was white, and I knew the respite had been too good to be true. We couldn’t have just one fucking day of peace.

  “Oh, fuck,” I sighed. My head dropped back as the feeling of defeat washed over me. “Just say it.”

  “We’ve been called back to the Council,” Hunter told me grimly.

  “Who have they called?”

  “You, Grey and Calli. They asked for the boys and River as well, but I told them it wasn’t possible, that pulling them out of school would look suspicious. They’ve been swayed for now, but we’re going to need to think up some excuses ahead of time for when they ask again.”

  Hunter’s words struck me as strange. He’d persuaded them against seeing the boys, almost like he was standing in protection over them. It was hard to remember sometimes that Hunter wasn’t one of the pack and was here for a reason. Essentially he was a spy, in the guise of the Council having sent him as a guard for Calli. We needed to know what he’d already told them.

  “Why do they need us back so soon? It’s only been a week or so since we were there.” This couldn’t be good.

  “They don’t tell me stuff like that.”

  Hunter shuffled awkwardly on the spot, and I could already tell there was something else. You’d have to be blind not to see the connection between him and Cassia, and I couldn’t help but wonder how thorough a report he’d made back to the Council after the whole witch incident. He would have to tell them something. If they found out before he did, he’d never see sunlight again. Mainly because I suspected he’d be dead. At the very least, he’d be familiarising himself with the inside of a jail cell for a very long time. But if he gave them a full report, he would have to tell them about Cassia coming to stay with the pack. Would he put her at risk like that?

  I locked eyes with him. He wasn’t part of the pack, and whilst his unease didn’t sit well with me, this was an issue of my pack’s safety. Essentially Hunter was an untested threat against us, and I couldn’t let that stand.

  “I… I wanted to talk with the alpha about something before we left,” Hunter said uneasily.

  “Grey is otherwise engaged. You’ll have to make do with me.”

  Suddenly, Hunter dropped to one knee, his head hanging as he refused to meet my eyes. To say I was shocked was an understatement.

  “I would throw myself at the mercy of the pack and ask for permission to join with you.”

  This had never happened to us before. I’d heard of it happening at Grey’s father’s pack a long time ago, but it was rare a wolf would petition to join a pack. You were born into a pack, and you stayed there. Leaving meant going rogue and losing yourself to the insanity that followed. No one would dare allow a rogue into a pack for fear of the damage they could cause.

  “You’re petitioning to join our pack?” I didn’t know why I asked him because it was obvious what he meant.

  Aidan, Nash, and Blake came to stand at my back, and I felt their support through our pack bond. Movement by the stairs caught my eye, and I looked up, seeing Abby hovering there, clutching her paint set and paper to her chest, unsure what she was supposed to do.

  I felt someone step up to my back before I heard Nash’s voice mumble quietly. “The office is free. I can go and get Grey.”

  I nodded in agreement. This wasn’t something we needed to do in front of Abby, and it wasn’t a decision I could make in any event. Ultimately, it was down to Grey. I knew he would seek my opinion, but he was the alpha, and only he could bring someone into the pack bond.

  “Come on,” I told Hunter, giving Nash a nod before walking out of the room to take Hunter to the office to wait for Grey.

  When we went to pass the foot of the stairs, Abby’s hand shot out and grabbed onto me, the paper fluttering to the ground around her feet.

  I looked down at her with a smile, not wanting to scare her, even though my mind was troubled with thoughts of threats to our pack and what the best course of action was going to be.

  Her little forehead creased with a frown before she told me, “He’s shiny.”

  She must’ve been able to tell I didn’t understand what she meant because she tugged on my shirt until I knelt beside her. Leaning in against me, she whispered in my ear, “He’s not a baddy.”

  I nodded so she'd know I’d heard her, even if I had no idea how she knew. Well, that’s not entirely right. We knew Abby was like Calli. One of her parents had to have been a witch. But she was only four, and we hadn’t considered how much she might already know about magic. This would be something we’d have to deal with later because Hunter was still an unknown and we didn’t know what he was telling the Council. I couldn’t risk him telling them about her. I wouldn’t let the Council hurt my little cherry bomb.

  Helping her pick up the papers she’d dropped, I caught Blake’s eye, and he came over to help set her up at the kitchen table so they could paint their pictures.

  By the time we made it to the office, it wasn’t long until Grey and a confused-looking Calli joined us. As soon as he saw Grey, Hunter dropped back down to one knee again. Nash must’ve filled him in because he didn’t look shocked by the sight.

  Nobody spoke for a few moments, but Hunter didn’t even stir from his spot.

  “You wish to petition to join the pack?” Grey finally asked, standing over Hunter, the growl of his wolf coming through clear in his voice.

  “Yes, alpha.”

  “For what reason?” Grey’s alpha power began to rise, and the room started to flood with the crushing weight of it.

  Hunter took a moment to think before he spoke and I sort of admired him for taking the time to get his thoughts in order rather than panicking.

  “You're unlike any pack I've seen before. You don’t belittle any of your members. You’re all equal… a family. But Cassia, she…” he trailed off before clearing his throat. We all knew what he was going to say, and I knew it would be hard for him to say it out loud. It went against everything he’d ever been told. “She's my mate,” he told us in a firm voice.

  Calli’s face broke out in a grin, and she did this cute little happy dance on the spot without making a sound. Even Grey’s mouth flickered with the beginning of a smile, not that Hunter could see it from where he was kneeling.

  “So, you wish to join our pack because you know you won’t be accepted anywhere else.”

  “No, it’s not like that!” Hunter rushed out, and then he seemed to just deflate on the spot. “Well, I suppose it's a bit like that. I want somewhere safe for my mate, and I know that place is here, with your pack. But if I hadn’t been gifted with Cassia, I'd still make the petition. I know you probably don’t believe me, and I have no way to prove to you that it’s true. But what you’re doing here, this is what being a pack should be like.”

  I saw the glistening tear as it dripped from his face to the ground, and I felt for him. He’d been dragged into this situation, and it wasn’t his fault. There was a time when I’d thought being a guard for the Council would be an honour. It was what we were all told when we were younger. But now, we knew more about what went on there, about the corruption and how deep the rot ran. I wanted nothing to do with them. The problem was the honour of joining the guard was a double-edged sword. Once you were in, there was no way out because your old pack would never welcome you back. A disgraced wolf cast out of the guard only had one choice, going rogue, and that wasn’t really any choice at all. No other pack would welcome them—not until now.

  I looked at Grey and gave him my nod of approval. Hunter and Cassia deserved this chance. He would be an excellent addition to the pack, he was trained to fight, and if there was one thing we needed, it was more wolves who would be able to fight with us. We were in desperate need of allies, and we potentially had two sleeping under the same roof as us.

  “What have you reported to the Council s
o far?” Grey asked him. Hunter shuffled uneasily before Grey spoke again. “We all knew you would have to report to them, and we don’t hold it against you, Hunter.”

  Hunter’s shoulders sagged, and I’ll admit, for a moment, I was worried about what he was going to say.

  “I told them of Jacob being taken and that Calli traded herself for his return. They know we went in and pulled Calli out. I didn’t tell them about the involvement of the vampire clan or about little Abby… or Cassia.”

  Grey nodded thoughtfully. Hunter was right to keep the vampire involvement out of his report, but would the story of the pack going against the witches make us sound like we were stronger than we were? If the Council viewed us as a threat, it could work out just as bad for us.

  “Are they under the impression we stormed the stronghold alone and took on an entire clan?” Grey asked.

  “No, I made it sound like there were only three or four and they were all killed in the fight.”

  Clever. If the Council ever got wind of this, though, Hunter was definitely a dead man. They would never tolerate him lying to them, and he’d taken on a massive risk by trying to protect the pack as much as he could. That in itself said enough about him as a man. Plus, he apparently already had the seal of approval from my little cherry bomb as well.

  “Very well,” Grey finally spoke. “We would welcome you to our pack, Hunter. I’m not sure how well this is going to go down with the Council, though.”

  Calli couldn’t contain it anymore, and a squeal of joy came out of her as she started to jump up and down, clapping her hands.

  “And my mate?” Hunter asked unsurely. “Would you allow my mate to stay?”

  “Please,” Calli scoffed. “I was never going to let her leave anyway. I love that grouchy little witch.”

  Hunter finally looked up from the ground, and even though tracks of tears ran the length of his face, he smiled and shook his head at Calli’s antics.