I felt the moment she gave over. Surrendered. Let me take control.
The Alpha power thrummed in my veins and the bond swelled. Light burst in my chest and coursed through me. Her heart responded and she swelled with it too, the power and light feeding between us until we were both gasping, our bodies humming and seeking together.
I kept her hands pinned over her head because she was so beautiful that way—bowed back, her breasts thrust high, her head back, eyes locked on mine. I’d kept her knee high too and it increased the pressure between us, let her feel my every move.
She was tightening around me, her breath growing shallower, but it was the power and heat bouncing between us that set my body alight.
~ Kelsie ~‘I claim you, forever, Kelsie. To eternity. We are one. You own my soul. And I vow my protection over you even to the death. Mine… You’re MINE!’“YES, CAIN!”I felt the pinch and sear of pain on my shoulder. It was a shock. I sucked in a deep breath as my whole body jolted like I’d been charged with electric current.I opened my mouth to scream for Cain again, but in a blink, the chaos disappeared. As if the noise of the universe, of the physical world just faded and we were left together, suspended in peace.Cain was still there with me, the bond pulsing and hum
SOUNDTRACK: “So Far Gone” by Thousand Foot Krutch*****~ Kelsie ~I was flattened on the bed. Flattened in a boneless body. Flattened in a blissful soul. Completely spent. Cain lay over me, his full weight on me, his mouth still open on my shoulder. There was tension in him that I could feel, but I wasn’t sure why.That had been… incredible.I’d heard women talk about mind-blowing sex, but I was pretty sure that wasn’t what they meant.An out of body experience? Literally.I giggled breathlessly and Cain’s hand that was cupped over my head tightened in my hair and his body curved tighter around me.
~ Kelsie ~Cain sat on the couch, his face happy—and a little smug, I thought. He was half-sprawled, one arm along the back of the couch, the other hand resting on my shin, because I sat with my back to the arm and my legs over his lap.I couldn’t stop staring at the mark.When he’d shown me mine in the mirror, I’d thought it was beautiful, but I was taken so off guard, and my head still spinning from that incredible moment together, that I hadn’t really been able to think straight.But then we showered together and got a snack, and during that I noticed the matching mark on him.“But I never bit you!”
~ Cain ~ I woke that morning with dread in the pit of my stomach. It took a moment of blinking awake to remember why. Work. School. Separation. And Kelsie free and mingling with other males who might touch her or—ugh. The wash of heat and rage that saturated me in that moment was so intense, it frightened me. How the fuck was I going to do this? I rolled slowly to look at Kelsie. The sun was up, but not high, so the glow behind the curtains was low. Yet to my eyes her hair shone, her skin was smooth and creamy. And her heart… I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and tuning into the bond. The claiming mark on my shoulder thrummed in time with my heartbeat—which banged in time with hers. We were… attuned. I would hold onto that, I told myself. Grab it and cling. We were unified. If she felt half the intensity I did, the other males would seem hollow replacements. She’d be looking for me today, not watching their displays, but still— I caught myself falling into the wolf mind
~ Cain ~ “…You don’t get it, Jon. This is… I can’t even explain it. I can barely control myself. My wolf is in pieces. Yesterday was hell!” “Brother, calm down. It’s a new bond, of course it’s hard—” “No, Jonathan, listen to me. I’ve had a bond before! I’ve been through this. I’m not talking about just that feeling of wanting to put a fence around her. I’m not just talking about being possessive. I mean there’s… the drive to be close to her is consuming.” On the other end of the phone my friend went quiet. He was a thoughtful wolf. He’d always be quiet rather than speak, and was careful what advice he gave. But I could sense the tension in him as well. “What is it?” I asked after a moment when he still hadn’t responded. “So… when I first bonded with Kris it was just like you’re describing. It was overpowering. You remember how aggressive I was in those days, when I couldn’t be close to her because I was still with the pack.” He was being kind. He was talking about the time when
SOUNDTRACK: “Dirty Thoughts” by Chloe Adams.*****~ Kelsie ~I sat in the back of the classroom with my hands on my thighs under the table and gripping my own knees, because the drive to be touching Cain was so strong it was a physical fight.He was flustered and distracted, and it was half-adorable, and half-tantalizing. He’d stopped meeting my eyes because every time he did we both clanged with desire—then my desire would make his worse, then his would make mine spiral and…This was a delicious kind of hell.We’d stayed in the mindlink for a long time after his meeting with his boss. He’d been warned that if his conduct in these first couple of week
SOUNDTRACK: “Going to Hell” by Bryce Savage*****~ Cain ~I didn’t wait. I wasn’t gentle. It was all I could do not to drag her out of that room and down the hallway. So the moment the door opened and she peered inside, I grabbed her wrist and tugged her inside, slamming the door behind her and pinning her against it even as I turned the lock on the door.“There you are,” I rasped through my teeth, descending on her.She gasped, but her bag slipped to the floor without a second thought as she opened her arms and pulled me in, her head thunking back against the door as I took her mouth and both of us groaned.I didn&r
~ Kelsie ~I was still trembling as I walked down the hall twenty minutes later. My body felt like a gong that had been struck and wouldn’t stop vibrating. I kept looking at everyone else in the hallway, wondering why they couldn’t see it on me, didn’t understand what an incredible thing was happening to me.How could they not see it?They walked past, smiling or frowning, talking to a friend, or listening to music, alone or in groups, and they just… didn’t notice me. Couldn’t see the light emanating from my chest. Couldn’t see the joy still quivering in my skin.How was that possible?Yet, my thoughts kept turning from the bustling noise and crowd around me to what had just happe
~ Cain ~The celebration lasted late into the evening. We talked and joked through the afternoon until the bonfires were lit. Then we feasted and danced. And the pack… whatever had happened between all of us was a miracle. Because suddenly, Kelsie could hear all of them clearly, and they could feel her—sense her love, her strength, and her heart.And they were starting to love her as much as I did.Well, almost.For the past hour we had huddled together on a log next to the bonfire, a thick blanket over our legs. But then Kelsie leaned into my ear and whispered, “I need to go to the bathroom. And I’m going to have to put pants on, there is just too m
~ Kelsie ~I’d been giddy all morning. Nervous, but only the kind of anticipation that came with something exciting. Cain and I were already mated, already claimed and marked. So I didn’t expect the ceremony to have any real impact, except to make me and my mother cry.But the moment the wolves closed in around us, it was like the air began to crackle.And then, when Cain started the words, goosebumps trickled down my spine.He swallowed hard, his voice deep and husky—and echoed a second time in the pack link.“See here my will that is bowed to yours,” he started quietly. “I eat my pri
SOUNDTRACK: “Every Part of Me” by BASHAM. ***** ~ Cain ~ Staring at Kelsie as she looked up at her Dad—whose face was a picture of relief and pride—made my heart begin to beat even harder. I didn’t know where she and her mother had found such a gown, but she looked stunning in it. It looked like the entire thing had been knitted—like a thick, luxurious cableknit sweater, yet somehow it hugged every curve of her body from the high turtleneck, all the way down to her hips where it flared and hung in heavy gathers—but when she moved, the fabric clung to her legs beneath the skirt as well, revealing every curve and… I had to clear my throat and remind myself we had an audience as Kelsie reached up to hug her father, and the pack began to gather
SOUNDTRACK: “N E W H E A V E N” by Conquer Divide ***** ~ Cain (three months later) ~ ‘Where are you, beautiful?’ ‘Won’t be long, they’re just finishing my hair.’ ‘Your dad is just about ready to plan a siege of the house if you don’t come out soon.’ ‘Mom will keep him under control, don’t worry,’ she laughed. I wasn’t so sure. I stood at one end of the small clearing near our packhouse, arms folded and my sweater-sleeves pulled up to my forearms because that was how Kelsie liked them. My breath made a cloud in the winter air, b
~ Kelsie ~I was stunned when Felix became human again. Then hope rose in my chest, because he was clearly weak and struggling. Bleeding and panting, staring at Cain and struggling to speak.A little piece of me crumbled. He looked so shaky and broken. I wondered if he would submit and Cain would let him live. I could feel my mate’s conflicting emotions, that he didn’t relish killing his brother. But the betrayal…The fiercest emotion burning in Cain was rage—at the betrayal.I knew this wasn’t easy on him.I swayed closer, wanting to go to him, but knowing I couldn’t intervene while they were still technically fighting.All the wolves stared at them, eyes cold a
~ Cain ~Had I been fighting another wolf who didn’t know me so well, this was the moment to engage, to rush and take their neck high and bear down, flip the dog on his back and close on his throat if he didn’t submit.But Felix would be expecting that. And sure enough, in the blink where he realized there was no danger behind him and returned his full attention to me, he switched—rushing his longer body and heavier weight forward, on the attack, to make me hesitate.I didn’t even think, just let my instincts take over and feinted, first to one side, then the other, waiting for the third switch and praying Felix would instinctively anticipate it.And he did.A howl of victory started in my head as Felix shifted h
~ Cain ~‘Kelsie, get back!’ I screamed in the link as I leaped into my wolf to meet an attack for the second time in a handful of hours.There was a sick pit in my stomach, something that told me I would hate remembering this day. But there wasn’t time to think about it or give in to regret.I had a wolf to kill.I didn’t hesitate.As Felix raised his hackles to make himself look as big—and be as difficult to grip—as possible, I was already flying through the air towards him, ready to take the throat of my own brother.But for the second time in a few hours, time slowed, as if I moved through thick mud and saw ever
~ Cain ~Shaking with the intensity I turned to Lauren. “You hated me that much?”“I never hated you,” she breathed, but she didn’t meet my eyes. “I just… I wanted to have what you had. And… Felix…” she trailed off. I waited, but then my patience snapped.“Felix, what?!” I roared.Many of the wolves flinched, including Lauren, whose head dropped even lower. She clutched her hands in her lap.“Felix admired me. He needed me. He wanted me. You… you didn’t.”“Didn’t need you?” Are you fucking kidding, Lauren?! You were my mate!”
~ Cain ~“Tell me,” I growled, low and hard. “Tell me how that day went down when I ended up betrayed by my mate and my brother.” I seared him with my eyes, let him see and feel my fury.But although he tensed, Felix only sighed.“I had already been… enticed,” he admitted.I felt sick. But Felix went on, relentless.“She’d promised me that she’d raise me. That I would become Alpha over the others, except her. She’d promised me that I would have her all to myself. I just had to make you believe that it was me who was running the whole coup. She didn’t think… she didn’t think she could fool you if you had a chance to actual