Raine blinked, momentarily disoriented by the stranger's intense gaze. His beauty was disarming. She glanced down at his outstretched hand, a flush creeping up her neck. "Oh. I’m Raine... Whitmore." Killian's answering smirk was knowing, predatory. It wasn't the warmth of Matthias, but something sharper, more dangerous. "Yes, I’m aware." He knows me? A shiver ran through her, a strange mix of unease and a thrill she didn't want to acknowledge. Before she could say anything else, Matthias was there, stepping in between them and pulling her behind his bulk. He was growling—a low rumbly sound she had never heard him make, and for a moment, she felt a bolt of fear zip down her spine. Killian on the other hand, pinned the other alpha with a blank stare. Those icy eyes of his frigid and cold, a stark contrast from the charming man who’d smiled at her. “Leave her alone.” Matthias hissed, pitching his voice low so they would not attract attention. “Alpha Draven,” Killian drawled in th
“I don’t know,” he grumbled, dropping his head on to her shoulder. “God! I shouldn’t do this again, it was bad enough the last two times. What does it mean for us if we do this again?” Raine’s knees trembled terribly in the presence of the alpha’s need. She’d promised herself to stay away, to avoid falling into this man’s arms once again. She didn’t think she had it in her to keep lying to herself and Ronan. But what she had with Matthias was so good, it was a pull like no other. They were inevitable, pushed together by forces neither of them could control. Who was she to fight her base instincts if this was the man it pushed her to? No one would have to know. It was a big house. She and Matthias were adults. And once she was formally joined back with Ronan and they were ordained as mates, she would put an end to whatever this was with Matthias. It seemed like a solid enough plan. She just had to be careful. She and Matthias could do whatever they wanted till then. Satiate this
Matthias groaned above her, one hand reaching down to grab a fistful of her hair. He pushed her head closer down his length, and Raine moaned, fear and excitement curling in her belly as she let him rough handle her, pushing her down until the head of his cock hit the back of her throat, and her nose was buried into his pubic hair, her mouth stretched impossibly wide over the base of his cock where his knot would form. “Fuck,” Matthias hissed, running a finger down her face. “You’re so beautiful like this. knees on the floor as you take my cock" Raine could only moan helplessly as the alpha pulled her hair hard enough to sting, and began fucking into her mouth like a beast. She wanted to cry out, but the sound came out muffled. His thick cock shuffled in and out of her like a jackhammer, pistoning down her throat until the only thing she could do was hold on to his thighs and wait for him to finish. Her eyes were closed tight as tears streamed down her face, his cock stretching
Was he not allowed to kiss her outside of sex? Raine cleared her throat, looking everywhere but at him. “So…uh… what’s the deal with Killian?” Matthias folded his arms across his chest. Her rejection stung, but he could understand. She was Ronan’s mate, after all. They weren’t even supposed to be sleeping together in the first place. If kissing was where she drew her line, Matthias would respect that and not be a big baby over it. He was more mature than this. So, he cleared his throat too and tried to focus on her question. “What do you mean?” “At the store, you didn’t seem like you liked him much,” she shrugged. “I honestly can’t tell why. He seemed like a nice person.” Nice was not a word Matthias thought he’d ever hear being used to describe Killian. He snorted. “You’ve met the man once.” “Yes, and it was a great first impression.” She shrugged again, reaching up to play with her hair. “I thought you went a little bit overboard with that whole protective alpha nonsense. H
Ronan turned then as if he could sense them. He met Matthias’s gaze, and a slow smile spread across his face. “Alpha Draven,” he called, loud enough for everyone present to hear. “How nice of you to finally join us. Did you enjoy your little outing while your pack burned?” Murmurs rippled through the crowd at his words, and even some of his soldiers stared at him with open animosity. Matthias stiffened, and Silas growled beside him. “How dare you talk to your alpha like that?” “I think I can talk to anyone as I damn well, please.” Ronan sneered, “I hold no respect to a man who was nowhere to be found while his pack was in danger. Do you even know what happened? Are you aware that your wolves have no food, no medicine, no weapons, no supplies? Do you even know what happened?” “Ronan…” Silas warned on a growl, but Ronan ignored him, staring straight at his father. “I’m the only one who stepped up.” He projected his voice so everyone could hear him. “You weren’t here, and Silas
“I apologize if I kept you waiting.” He drawled, voice crisp and collected. “I had some loose ends to tie up.” “What poor sod did you toss in a ditch this time?” Selene asked. Ronan had not touched her milkshake, so she dragged the glass back to her and slurped on the straw loudly. “No one’s in a ditch.” He chided, “It was nothing important. Well, nothing that won’t be revealed in due time anyway.” Unable to help himself, Ronan reached out for the box on the table, and was surprised to find it was a pack of tea bags. And, it was a brand he knew very well. When he glanced back up, Killian was staring at him, something in his eyes made Ronan’s hackles rise. “Do you find it familiar, Draven?” He asked, glancing down at the pack. “Uh…yes.” “Really?” Selene asked, “I didn’t know you were a tea person, Ronan.” Ronan shook his head, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. “I’m not. It’s just…this is the brand that Raine drinks.” Killian cocked his head to the side, smiling. “What a coin
Raine remembered her just barely. The woman died when she and Ronan were seven-ish. Matthias’s mate, and the Luna of the pack. She had baby Ronan in her arms, while Silas hugged his father’s legs, a smudge of ice cream against his cheek. Raine couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face, even as a twinge of jealousy settled in her chest at the sight of Matthias’s arms around his mate, the way he smiled down at her like she was the only one he had eyes for. Ronan had never looked at Raine like that. Not even before he’d rejected her. She returned the frame back to it’s place and stepped out of the alpha’s room, feeling like she’d done something she wasn’t supposed to. She was stepping down the last stair when a knock sounded at the door. Raine frowned. None of the people who lived here needed to knock. They all had their keys. And no one would come looking for Matthias here, not when the whole pack knew he’d be at another meeting. Raine approached the door cautiously, flex
Raine furrowed her brows in confusion as noise erupted among the crowd once again, each person wanting to be heard over the other as everyone yelled out their opinions. Someone jostled her in the ensuring chaos, and she fell back against Killian. He brought a hand out to steady her with a grip on her waist, his gloves cold even through the fabric of her shirt. Suddenly, Matthias was there. Pushing past the crowd to reach her. Ronan and Silas followed behind. Ronan’s gaze met hers, unreadable as it dropped to where Killian held her. “Outside!” Matthias barked, face twisted in anger. “Now, Raine!” She pulled away from Killian’s grip and found herself bustled out in between four wolf men. As soon as they were out of the hall, Matthias was lunging at Killian, wrapping a hand around the front of his chest and pushing him up against the wall of the building, hard enough that the concrete cracked. Killian’s face didn’t change. He held both hands up and stared impassively down at Matthia
On the tenth day of her imprisonment, Raine smelled Ronan’s scent. The days bled into each other, Raine found herself staring for a long time at the bottle of pills Selene dropped next to her, until her gaze had gone unfocused and she stared unseeingly at the distance. The pill bottle had stayed where it was until Killian returned and met it there. At the sight of the plastic yellow bottle, something had flashed in his eyes, and he’d stood next to the bed with a look she couldn’t read in his eyes, staring at her, his eyes bright in the dark as he stood for so long. After what felt like forever, he pulled open the drawer at the bedside table and tossed the bottle of pills inside, away from where she could see it. He didn’t say a word, hadn’t even asked how she managed to get it, and Raine had said nothing as explanation. That night, he slept in his bed, next to her for the first time since he’d brought her there. Raine shut her eyes and pretended she was back in the packhouse, in M
The handshake went on for much longer than Mathias was comfortable with, and when it ended, a shiver ran down Matthias’s spine and lingered like static under his skin as Killian dropped his hand last, his touch lingering for much longer than was necessary. The other man’s gaze was unreadable, the corners of his lips twitching like he was holding back a burst of laughter. Maybe it was a sneer, or both for that matter. Matthias didn’t know which unsettled him more. “Shall we, alpha?” the Voss alpha said with a mock bow, rolling his hand in the direction of the dining area. “Would you rather we speak here? Or should we take this discussion elsewhere? Maybe with a bit more privacy?” “No.” Matthias snapped, keeping his growl in check. “We can have the discussion, right here. This discussion will be brief. I’d hate to keep you waiting longer than you’d have to.” Killian tilted his head slightly, staring at Mathias with an expression he couldn’t read. “I’d also hate to hate to keep yo
The days bled into each other until Raine wasn’t sure anymore how long it’d been since she last saw her pack. Killian swore there was no wolfsbane in her system, and so did the doctor, but her bones refused to mend themselves, and her senses were as muted as they’d been when she was a child. She could not smell or sense anything more than the average human, and her wolf was deadly silent. When she told Killian all these, he would look at her with an expression she’d come to know as fond pity. Like she was a beloved cat who didn’t know it was dying. Raine didn’t feel like she was dying. She couldn’t feel anything much, but she at least would know if her body was giving up on her. She was in bed most days, in his bed to be precise, but at least he didn’t sleep in it as far as she was concerned, and only female helps came to assist her in dressing and cleaning up. Raine had no qualms about being nude in front of strangers, but she was relived beyond doubt that Killian would not be th
It’d been five days since Raine was last seen in the pack. It was a constant gnawing at Matthias’s mind, but he hadn’t even been given enough peace of mind to properly torture himself over the matter. Tensions in the pack were worse than over, with several of his solders refusing to follow orders and organizing some kind of strike against his leadership. The unrest in the pack had escalated to full blown protests, with wolves turning violent towards themselves and members of Matthias’s house. Lyra had to move into the pack house for the main time because many wolves kept targeting her medic building and threatening her if she didn’t misalign herself from Matthias, Silas had once been attacked while on his way to the wards, and has since stopped leaving the house without extra backing, and to make matters worse, the pack house was no longer a hundred percent foolproof. Just the day before, a handful of wolves managed to get past the guards posted around the house’s compound, and f
Her head was pounding, and everything felt so groggy. She wasn’t sure what was going on, or if the images in her head were dreams or not. Once she thought she woke and found a strange man next to her, his face blurred as he stroked over her hair and face, but then a pain so sharp had cut through her entire being that she’d passed out from the intensity. The next and only thing she remembered was a vague dreamlike memory of her wolf nipping at her ear, trying to pull her out a fog of swamp like water, trying to answer the call of another wolf in the distance, but by the time she’d stumbled out of the swamp, she realized she couldn’t walk, and kept stumbling, falling to knees and forced to watch her wolf grow fainter with each panicked yip it made, until eventually it was gone, and Raine was left alone with nothing but a low throb in her leg. She woke with a gasp, much like that night at the pack after that nightmare, expect this time things were so much worse. Still panting, Rai
“I know she’s here,” he bellowed, barging into Killian’s study like a man on a mission. “Where is she?” Selene glanced up from the couch where she sat, raising her nose from the middle of her book to arch a perfect brow in his direction. “You’re yelling, Ronan.” She drawled, wrinkling her nose in distaste. “It’s eight pm, the entire pack is already asleep.” His anger surged at the casual way she spoke to him, bringing down his ego like he was nothing but a child throwing a tantrum. Ronan growled, his wolf rising to the surface of his skin, wanting to be let out. But he knew just how powerful Selene was. It would be foolish of him to antagonize her so close to the success of the plan. Right where he could feel it about to become a reality. Once she was his Luna, Ronan would find a way to get back at her. For now, he gritted his teeth and stalled his anger, stepping further into the room with a more subdued air. Killian was conveniently absent, that only made Ronan’s suspicions wor
Selene was disgusted. And that was putting it mildly. Selene stared down her nose at the unmoving body of the woman on Killian’s bed, her hair spread out around her, chest rising and falling with each breath she took. Her lashes fanned shadows across her cheekbones, framing her features in a way that made her seem otherworldly, even as her brows were furrowed slightly, and her lower eye lids were fraught with dark circles. Selene dragged her gaze away from Raine Whitmore to glare at her brother. “Killian, I don’t know about you, but this has gone enough long enough.” Killian didn’t spare a glance. He stood at the far side of his large room, stripping out of his button down, and switching the shirt for an almost identical one. Selene watched the muscles of her brother’s back ripple, shifting the various scars and burns that dotted the skin from the planes of his shoulders all the way to his wrists. The sight of his bare, pale skin was a shock to her, as it’d been so long since Se
Matthias hardly slept and was up before the sun the next morning. As soon as he woke, he spread his senses wide, searching for any signs of Raine. He got nothing. The other side of the bond was still a silent blank wall. He swept out of the room in a blur of urgency and fear. The kitchen was still and quiet when he entered it, a strange, unnatural kind of quiet. Not the peaceful kind that came with the early morning, but the hollow silence of something missing. Matthias stood by the counter, nose perked up as he scented the room. He stood by the threshold, scanning the room like his presence alone could summon the woman he was looking for. But he got nothing. There was no sign of Raine at the table, no half drunk cup of tea left to cool on the table. Just cold air and the faint scent of ash drifting in from the half-burned logs in the fireplace. Raine was not in this house. She probably hadn’t been since yesterday morning. Matthias ran a hand down his face, the stubble scratchi
Raine was not in the pack house, neither was she in the surrounding area, or the pack proper, or in the woods. It was almost eight pm, and she was not on pack property. Matthias was going half mad with worry. His wolf was making matters worse, restless beneath his skin with the urge to shift and find her, sniffing her out like a bloodhound. Every time he turned and spotted Ronan glancing down at his phone instead of looking for his mate, Matthias fought the urge to pounce on his son and tear his throat out. “She’s a grown adult, isn’t she?” Ronan asked after an hour of searching the house and surrounding premises with no luck. “I don’t think we have to be looking for her just because she’s past curfew.” “She’s your mate!” Matthias spat, as it was the only thing he was allowed to say. “Are you not even worried to have her be absent from your side, even for just one night?” Ronan shrugged, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “I can count how many times she’s been in my bed, sleeping by my