by May Dawson
My phone rang just then.
Clearborn cocked an eyebrow at me as I reached to silence it.
“Stealthy,” he said, but once I saw that my sister was calling, I had to take it.
“Give me one second, since I don’t think we’re in imminent danger for once,” I asked. “It’s family trouble.”
Rosemary never called me. She’d told me she didn’t intend to talk to me anymore back on graduation day; if something had changed, she might be in danger.
I answered the phone. “Rosemary?”
“Hey,” she whispered. Wind noise made her voice hard to hear; she must’ve gone into the woods for some privacy. “Listen. Are you at the academy?”
“Yeah.”
“You guys have to be careful,” she said. “Dad, the alpha, they’re all planning some kind of attack on the academy. They think it’s the end of the packs as they are now—they think they’ve got the chance to wipe you all out while you’re wea—”
My heart was pounding. Had my pack betrayed the other wolves and aligned with the witches?
She suddenly broke off, and I could practically hear her heart hammering even over the line. I went silent, biting my lip, because I didn’t want any noise from my end to give her away if she needed to hide right now.
But then suddenly she screamed in my ear. I winced, and I realized everyone else had gone dead still, watching me. My heart was hammering, my vision narrowing with adrenaline, bu there was nothing I could do to help Rosemary from here.
“There you are,” the alpha growled in the distance. I could hear him just dimly; she must have dropped her phone in the grass. “I told you to stay in the house for your own safety.”
“I know,” she began.
“Then why don’t you ever listen?”
Even from a distance, the smack seemed loud to me. I closed my eyes, trying to push down my rage, because I wanted to kill the alpha so badly, and I couldn’t do that now.
But I would.
I always tried to push away the memories of what the alpha had done to me, of being chained in his yard, beaten and starving, but they washed over me now. The memories were never far away, but they felt more powerful now, because I could imagine him doing it to my sister.
I stayed on the line but I couldn’t hear anything else. She must have dropped the phone and never gotten the chance to pick it up.
I disconnected the call and looked up to find them all watching me. I relayed what they’d just told me.
“The Kierney alpha’s right about one thing,” Clearborn said. “The Northsea pack will be here soon. I think he’s very confused about what will happen after that.”
“Sir, my sister,” I said. “I have to go get her. I think she’s…”
I trailed off. I was trying to focus on the mission, to be clinical.
But Rosemary was my kid sister. I couldn’t quite manage.
“I understand,” Clearborn said. I stared at him, reluctant to ask if I could go. I knew it was the wrong time, when the academy was under attack. But I couldn’t leave her either. If he said no, I wouldn’t like what I had to do next.
“Can’t go alone,” Penn said. “Buddy system. I guess you’re stuck with me.”
Clearborn nodded. “Take Penn. We can hold off anyone else until the Northsea pack gets here.”
I hadn’t expected he’d give me permission. He definitely didn’t have to tell me twice.
Chase and Clearborn opened the gates as briefly as they possibly could, and Penn and I burst out in the car fast, fishtailing across the road.
Rosemary had claimed before she wanted to cut all ties between us, but if my little sister called, I’d always come to her rescue.
Chapter Six
Maddie
The bathroom was surprisingly nice, the walls wood-paneled and the room softly lit by brass lamps that hung between the mirrors. I ducked into the stall, and when I emerged, the room was still empty. I washed my hands and opened the door, raising my eyebrows at Jensen seductively.
He braced his arm in the door and shook his head at me. “Is this what we’re reduced to for our dates, Northsea?”
“Because you and I have such high standards?” I grabbed the front of his sweater and yanked him into the room with me. He could resist, but instead he let me pull him, then shove him against the wall. His chest was hard under my palm, and I couldn’t take my eyes off those glowing golden eyes as I reached for the lock on the door. “Remember the first time we…?”
“Is that a trick question?” His hands swept up my hips, and he marched me back across the room. I raised an eyebrow, and he leaned forward, his hands sliding down my thighs. Then he lifted me easily onto the edge of the sink, his lips brushing my ear and down the curve of my throat. “I remember every moment I’ve ever spent with you, Maddie. You’re the best thing in my life.”
I couldn’t help smiling as I let my hands roam over his body, running over those muscular shoulders and gliding over the soft wool of his sweater, then up again, finding warm, bare skin and the individual ridge of each ab muscle.
He pulled away, shaking his head at me. “Do you have a bucket list? Sex in all the worlds?”
“I do now. That’s a brilliant idea,” I said.
He slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled package. It had been gift-wrapped in silver foil at some point, but it was torn at the corner now. He tapped it absently against his chin. “I suppose you don’t want this, then.”
“I don’t need gifts,” I said.
“Yeah well, take them anyway and humor us. We like to do things for you, Maddie.”
I waggled my eyebrows at him. “I have some thoughts about things you can do for me.”
“You’re impossible.” He started to slip it back into his pocket.
I lunged to grab his wrist so fast I almost fell off the edge of the sink. As he grabbed my hips to steady me, a grin spread across his lips.
I snatched the package out of his hand. “It wouldn’t be fair to make you carry this around any longer.”
“It’s really weighing me down,” he deadpanned. “You’re always so thoughtful.”
“I’m known for my thoughtfulness, along with being slow to act and almost impossible to anger.” When I ripped the foil package open, a charm bracelet spilled into my palm.
I looked up at Jensen in surprise, but his gaze was fixed on me. He cupped my chin, turning my face up to his. His golden eyes were seriously as he chided me, “Don’t run down my girl.”
I usually had a glib response to everything, but I couldn’t do anything but smile at him. “You spoil me, you know that, Jensen?”
“Well, someone has to. Rafe is determined to un-spoil you, and I’d hate for him to win.”
I laughed—leave it to Jensen to turn this into a competition—then I looked more closely at the bracelet. There were eight charms, and I studied them closely as I began to realize what they represented.
A wolf.
A wand.
A science beaker.
A basketball.
Penn, Silas, Chase, Jensen. The alpha, the wizard, the science experiment. And the jock Jensen had been, before being a wolf tore away the life he’d had before.
I touched the basketball. “This is yours?”
“Yep. I couldn’t find one that looked like a nipple ring. I know that’s really your favorite thing about me.”
“It makes up for the personality,” I said, knowing he’d retaliate.
Sure enough, he leaned in and nipped my lower lip. I couldn’t help grinning as I kissed him back deeply, my legs wrapping around his waist.
Then I broke away reluctantly. There was a motorcycle, that was an easy one, and a knife, and a crown. I looked up at him quickly.
“I didn’t know,” he said. “None of us did. I just thought Ty was your favorite at the time, since he was being a dickhead. The king of the dickheads.” He flashed me a magnetic grin. “I know firsthand how much you like a jackass.”
“Don’t play with me, Northsea. You fucking know.”
I grinned as he buried his face in my neck, kissing me until I squirmed in the best way against the edge of the sink. I ran my hand through his hair and cupped the back of his head, holding him close to me as his lips plundered my neck.
“If you and I fuck in the bathroom while Rafe is pacing around the car and Silas is annoying him, Rafe is going to murder us,” I muttered.
Jensen scoffed, and I felt the huff of his breath against my neck. It sent a throb of longing rippling all the way between my thighs, and I wasn’t sure I could survive without spontaneously combusting if I didn’t get any relief.
“Rafe would never murder you, although he might be looking for any excuse there is to spank your ass,” he said. “Anyway, he wouldn’t kill us. He needs us.”
Jensen kissed me, his hand gliding up the back of my neck, his thumb caressing my throat in a way that made my breath hitch. He pulled away to admit, “He just might accidentally glare us to death.”
“I’ll risk it,” I said, fisting his hair in my hand to yank him back to me.
Our lips met, kissing each other hard, his hands gentle on my hips no matter how fierce his mouth is. There was bite in his kiss, something sharp and dangerous.
But Jensen was so unexpectedly sweet under that tough, cunning exterior that this tightness in my chest I barely even recognized unspooled when we’re together.
His body against mine felt like a promise that everything was going to be okay, no matter how bad things seem right now.
I grabbed his collar. “This sweater looks like your grandma knit it for you.”
“Are you mocking the way I’m dressed, Northsea?” He gave me a cocky grin back and grabbed the bottom of the sweater with one hand, peeling it slowly off every inch of his chiseled body.
“Oh, last names. I’m in trouble.”
“You’re just trying to get me naked,” he accused, and then his lips were on mine again.
One big hand cupped between my thighs, caressing me over my pants, his thumb stroking the seam until I let out a breathy little moan that I couldn’t hold back. I didn’t have to look at his face to know he smirked.
He breathed into my ear, “I’ve been dying to fuck you with my tongue, since I thought we could do that quickly and get back before we offended Rafe’s sensibilities, but—”
There was a sharp knock on the door. Jensen stilled, his hand still cupping me like I belonged to him, as his forehead dropped forward onto mine. He sighed audibly; I was still trying to catch my breath.
“Search-and-rescue party,” Silas called, his voice muffled through the door. “I convinced Rafe I could handle the job on my own. I’m pretty sure he just wanted to get away from me for five minutes, though.”
I almost laughed. Most of us backed down from an argument with Rafe, but Silas never, ever quit. He was so accustomed to his independence and he didn’t see himself as truly one of Rafe’s students—even though he’d been content enough to play one.
I hoped he saw himself as part of the team now, though. Because I couldn’t imagine my little family without him.
“Can I kill him?” Jensen mouthed at me.
“Better yet, open the door.” I mouthed back.
“Well, I certainly hope you two are in there fornicating like I assumed,” Silas mused out loud, and I closed my eyes, hoping no one else was nearby to overhear him. “And that I’m not waxing on to some sweet grandma. If I know the two of you, then right now Jensen is about to wrap his m—”
Jensen was across the room in a flash and jerked the door open.
Silas’s forearm was braced in the doorway, his posture relaxed. He flashed me a grin.
Jensen stepped back, welcoming Silas in with a dramatic sweep of his arm. “It’s great to be on a team and all, but I don’t need every day to be a team sport.”
“If you want to sneak off by yourself to the bathroom next time for an intimate tryst, give me some kind of subtle sign and I’ll make sure to keep Rafe from assuming you’ve been murdered or fallen off the train or gotten lost.”
I loved these guys, but I didn’t want them thinking I wanted sex every time I went into the bathroom. Sometimes I did have to poop. I didn’t really want to kill the mystique this early in our relationship.
“He’s really concerned about you getting lost, Maddie. For some reason. So if you can just signal, I’ll come up with a distraction. Something like this.” Silas tried out various subtle signs, including the Vulcan greeting, bunny ears, and a strangely arousing serious of tongue movements.
“You spend too much time with Penn,” I told him, but I couldn’t help laughing.
Jensen glared at him and crossed his arms. “You are trying to actually drive me insane, aren’t you? Isn’t this mission going to be hard enough without me drooling on myself?”
Sarcasm: it’s everyone’s love language around here.
“This mission is going to be cake,” Silas said, just to provoke Jensen. “Twenty-four-hours. You’ll see.”
We all wanted to believe that, and for a second, anxiety for the people we’d left behind us washed over me.
But the truth was, it didn’t matter if we spent this train ride miserable or if we had some fun; we had the same hours to spend regardless. Better to relax now so we could be sharp later.
The guys must have been thinking the same thing because Silas pressed behind me, his arm circling my waist. He murmured into my ear, “I can’t get over that blast of power in the gambling den, rabbit. You are truly amazing.”
Jensen’s gaze sharpened at the nickname, and I willed him to let it go. Thankfully, lust won out. He unbuckled my pants, his fingers yanking at the belt in a way that made my hips jerk toward him.
“Since we’d get in trouble for sex,” Jensen rolled my pants down my hips as he knelt in front of me, “maybe we can try something else.”
The next thing I knew, I leaned back into Silas’s arms, my head on his shoulder. Jensen’s breath against my mound made my knees weak with anticipation.
“I think that’s a letter-of-the-law thing that isn’t going to fly with Mr.—” I stuttered to a stop as Jensen’s tongue swept roughly across my folds.
His hands slid up my thighs and cupped my ass, but he looked up at me, his eyes widening with false innocence. “Oh, you’re right. We should stop.”
I ran my hand through his hair as I gazed down at him affectionately, then tightened my grip to yank his face toward my hips, knowing it would only amuse Jensen. “I’m fine with trouble.”
“That’s because you are trouble,” Jensen said as he leaned forward, and I wasn’t going to argue with him, because the next second, his mouth was on me. He looked up at me mischievously as he stroked the tip of his tongue through my folds and toyed with my clit, but I couldn’t hold that eye contact with him; desire made my back arch, and Silas caught me.
Silas slid his hand across my throat possessively, then turned my face up to his. His lips captured mine in fiery kisses that demanded all of my attention… except some of my attention was very much taken by the throbbing of my clit as Jensen teased me.
Jensen’s fingers tightened, pressing into the curves of my ass, as his mouth worked steadily against my clit. His tongue pulsed inside my channel. I let out a moan, but Silas captured it with his mouth. He slid his hand across my stomach, then up under my shirt, palming my breast through my bra.
Then Silas found my nipple, teasing it and rolling it with his thumb, and the combined sensations made my knees buckle. Silas smiled against my mouth, but Jensen seemed to take it as a competition, and he redoubled his efforts. His tongue pressed against my g-spot over and over, teasing against it while his mouth sucked on my clit, and I couldn’t help more than a moan. I tossed my head back and forth, my hair flying.
These men were going to be the death of me in the best of ways.
I couldn’t stop from crying out as I came. Silas’s fingers tightened on my throat in a way that just pushed me even further over the edge. The bright clean lights of the bathroom seemed to glow around me as I shattered, my thighs trembling, Silas bearing my weight.
Waves of pleasure washed through me as Jensen smiled up at me with his eyes crinkling at the edges, his mouth still wrapped around my clit. Silas lowered his head to kiss my throat, finding the spot he knew so well that always made me smile.
I ran my hands through their hair as I said, “That was nice.”
Jensen wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he straightened. “Nice, huh? Just nice?”
I caught his shoulder with one hand and pulled him toward me. He bowed his head to kiss me—he was so much taller that it seemed like an effort—and his lips pressed mine. I teased the tip of my tongue along the seam between his lips and his mouth parted for me; as our tongues danced together, I tasted the smoky flavor of myself.
“She’s hard to impress,” Silas said, sweeping my hair over my shoulder with one hand so he could continue kissing my neck.
“We’ll have to redouble our efforts,” Jensen said.
If I didn’t die in the Greyworld, my future was going to be very, very good.
Chapter Seven
Tyson
We buried the High Delphin.
It was raining, a constant drizzle that beat steadily at our clothes. The skies were gray overhead, the clouds low and oppressive, and fog blurred the spaces between the vast, ancient trees. The weather seemed to swallow up the words we all intoned as the Delphin was laid to rest.
Her daughter, Fenig, was calm and cold, but her eyes were shadowed. She led the procession back through the forest and toward the keep.
I didn’t even think to shield myself from the elements until Raura rested her hand on my shoulder. I startled for a second—it was unpleasant to have a female who wasn’t Maddie touching me—then I felt her magic sinking through my wet clothes. Suddenly I was dry and comfortable again.