I expected pain.The pain I felt when that metal closed around my leg was still branded in my mind. It wasn’t something I was easily going to forget. The pain and the sight of bone sticking through the skin. But there was no pain when I turned onto my back. I hesitated a moment and then slowly moved my foot. There were no sharp pains shooting up my legs.Swallowing, I sat up and threw the sheets aside. My eyes locked on my leg. It was almost like it never happened. If the memories in my head weren’t as clear as day, I would’ve thought it had all been a nightmare. It would definitely explain why Kelsey fought the rogue. I was sure that if it happened, she would’ve chosen to run away instead of staying to protect me.Shaking the thoughts away, I finally focused on my surroundings. The bedroom was familiar and so was the scent that clung to me and the sheets. Keiran’s bathroom was right across the bed. He didn’t bother closing the door when he started the shower. I listened to the
Keiran pulled back and then pushed forward again, entering me a few inches more with every thrust. The pain disappeared with every movement, leaving pleasure in its place. He paused when he was fully inside me. Lowering more of his weight on top of me, he slipped his hands into my hair and lowered his lips to mine. For a moment I stayed unmoving, unsure of what to do. But then I stopped thinking about doing it wrong and followed my instincts. I wrapped my legs around his hips as high I could and dug my heels into his beefy ass. My hands slipped over his shoulders and down his back.Keiran groaned, back arching when I scraped my nails against his skin. Breaking the kiss, he pressed his lips to the corner of my mouth and then raised his head to look at me. He pulled his hips back and thrust forward. “Oh.” “Still hurt?” he questioned.I shook my head, unable to utter a word. The pain was gone and in its place, there was only pleasure. The air locked in my throat when Keiran start
I fucked up…again. There was nothing worse than finding out that your mate was almost attacked by a rogue in our own territory and that it had been well-planned. Cora’s safety had been moved to the top of the list. There was no doubt that Dean was behind everything, but we needed evidence and that was something we didn’t have enough of. A sigh fell from my lips. Leaning forward, I picked up the tablet and studied the pictures Lucas had sent an hour ago. The council could easily dismiss it. I tensed when a scent filled my nostrils. A moment later, Keiran rounded the corner and froze when our eyes locked. Pursing his lips, he walked over to the fridge and grabbed water.As discreetly as possible, I sucked in another breath. Unfortunately, it didn’t go unnoticed by Keiran. Walking to the other side of the table, he pulled a chair out and took a seat. The tension rose the longer the silence stretched between us. Keiran suddenly tilted his head to the side.My eyes instantly locked
My beast wanted out. He couldn’t understand why we were downstairs dealing with them when we should be upstairs next to our mate who needed us. All he cared about was her and not the danger she was currently in. We needed to protect her. We needed to make sure that we were going to be safe when her full heat hit. I studied Xan with my brows dipped into a frown. We were the only ones who had seen Cora shift. Nobody else knew about it. Yet, somehow he knew about her. “How do you know about Cora?” Ryder asked the question before I could. Xan shifted in his chair but his focus was on Axel. I frowned at my brother. It would be easy for him to get the answers we needed. I hated how it was done, but it was effective. “She called to me,” Xan said softly. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not crazy. She called to you the same way she called to me. You found her, didn’t you?”Dread flooded me. “Is…” I sucked in a breath and blew it out. “Is she your mate?”His eyes darted between the three
I was hot, sweaty, and sticky between my legs. My body ached. Everything hurt from my arms down to my legs. It felt like I had been exercising nonstop. Groaning, I turned around and rolled straight into another body. Warm sweaty skin brushed mine. I sucked in a breath and winced at the scent that filled my nostrils. Our scents were combined and it was my new favourite smell. Except I didn’t care much for the lingering scent of sex that filled the room. A low groan made my stomach clench. There was a rustle of sheets as the body next to mine moved. I forced my tired eyes open and blinked a few times to clear my blurry vision. The bed dipped behind me and a second later, someone gripped my hip. I turned my head and frowned at the man hovering above me. Axel smiled as he leaned over me. Biting my lip, I slowly turned onto my back. “Hey, sweetling. How are you feeling?”I swallowed a few times before I answered him. “Tired and dirty,” I croaked. His smile widened. “I ran you a
I expected this to be awkward. But I woke up alone in bed in my room. All we’d been doing was talking about taking things slowly and at a pace I was comfortable with. Just the other day Keiran had pointed out that I wasn’t ready for our bond to be completed and I had agreed with him.Things have changed a lot since we last had that conversation.Reaching up, I traced the skin around our bond mark. It was healed and stood out starkly against my pale skin. My lips twitched and slowly curled into a smile. A few inches higher and my fingers brushed over the slightly raised skin. I shivered, enjoying the warmth that flooded my body. It took me a few minutes to figure out that the emotions filling me weren’t just my own. I couldn’t make sense of it, but I knew that they belonged to Keiran. Still smiling, I reached for my brush. I divided my hair into two sections and then started combing it. When I was done, I braided my hair and then dropped the towel. I took the time to rub some lo
Kill him, he growled. We will hide the body and make sure that nobody can find them. I turned around to glare at Xan but caught Cora’s eyes instead. Her eyes narrowed, making colour flood my cheeks. It felt like she knew exactly what my beast and I were thinking about.Clearing my throat, I turned around and started cleaning the counter. It was hard to concentrate because I could feel her eyes burning into my skin.What’s she thinking?“I should get going,” Xan muttered. “You have one of your mates with you, but if you need anything, you can just call me.”Suck ass.His chair scraped loudly against the floor when he stood. I bit my lip to stop myself from making an unnecessary comment. Silence settled around us the moment he left. I listened for the soft click of the front door to make sure that he was gone.With the counters clean and nothing else to do, I turned around only to find the kitchen empty.Cora left without making a sound.I frowned and rubbed my chest. She was upset and
I walked right up to the front desk. My smile faltered when the woman glanced up. She didn’t look friendly, but I didn’t let it stop me. “Hi,” I greeted. “I’m here to see Kelsey…” I trailed off when I realized I didn’t know her last name. “No visitors.”My shoulders sagged. “Let’s try that again,” Ryder growled. “We’re here to see Kelsey.”His chest brushed against my back when he stepped closer. I tensed for a moment when he gripped my hips and then relaxed again. He caged me in between him and the counter as we waited for the woman who was busy typing on the computer. She cleared her throat as she turned back to us. “She was discharged last night.” “Thank you.”Gripping my hand, he led me out of the building and back to the truck. “You know where she lives right?” I asked him. Ryder pursed his lips instead of answering, but he started the truck and headed in the opposite direction of home. The drive was short and filled with a tense silence. He said nothing as he parked in f
“I have her.”I gripped the edge of the table tightly. It was taking everything in me to keep the beast in check. If I could, I would have allowed him out to rip the council to shreds, but I couldn’t take that risk. I couldn’t risk losing my pack. Cora needed them. She needed protection and we wouldn’t be able to provide it alone. If we left pack territory it would paint a target on our back. The last thing I wanted to do was make things worse after all the shit she went through. “You lied to us,” Abigail’s mate growled. “You told us she was human but that’s not the truth. We had to find out from someone else that she’s a shifter.”I held my breath, waiting for him to tell everyone that she was a rare breed. “We should have been informed what she was the moment she stepped foot on this land.”“If I may…” Kelsey stepped forward. “The council was formed to advise our alpha. It wasn’t formed to control his every move. As alpha of our pack, he doesn’t have to report everything to you.
“Welcome home, sweetling.”My eyes fluttered open as the words flashed through my mind again. The bed dipped on either side of me, making my smile widen, but it faded the moment his lips brushed along the scars on my lower back. I tensed and clutched the pillow tighter. “Ryder ran you a bath,” he said softly. “We need to leave in ten minutes.”His body brushed along mine as he moved higher until his lips reached my shoulder. There, he paused to press a kiss to my skin and then turned his head to press his face against the back of my neck. “Are they going to punish you?” I asked. Keiran tensed, but he didn’t immediately answer. “I don’t know,” he finally answered. “They know exactly what happened.”“You make it sound like the council can’t be trusted.” “They can’t.” He swallowed loudly. “At least not everyone. Demetrius is always on our side, but I can’t say the same about the other elders. They weren’t happy when I challenged my father and won.” I swallowed. The happiness I felt
Ryder’s lips moved along my skin, pressing soft kisses here and there. We had moved to the bed, something that he had pointed out was a bit awkward because it was Axel’s bed. I reassured him that the sheets had been changed the night before and that we hadn’t had sex..in the bed. He still hadn’t looked convinced. But at least his mind was not occupied with other things. Like torturing me. I should have told him that I wanted him to fuck me hard and fast. Instead, he took it upon himself to torture me slowly. He was inside me, fucking me slowly while he peppered my skin with kisses. Every time I was close to orgasm, he would stop until I calmed down before moving again. It would be a lie if I said I didn’t love it. Shifting slightly, Ryder kissed a path up my neck. His lips lingered there and then slipped along my jaw to capture my lips in a slow kiss. I lost myself in him until my wolf rose to the surface. As if he could sense the change inside me, he raised his head to look a
I hovered in the doorway, staring at Cora. It's been three days since we found her. Three days since Xan and Keiran killed Rowan. Cora slept for most of the time. She only woke up to use the bathroom, to eat, or when Keiran or Axel cleaned her still-healing wounds. Some had already healed but they left ugly scars behind. We were still waiting for Dean to show up. It was why we decided that Axel's room was the safest place for Cora to sleep. Not that we left her alone for long. We knew that Dean was going to come for her. We just didn't know when. "Do you want me to leave you alone?"My eyes snapped over to Axel. He had been slumped in the chair next to the bed with his head tilted back and eyes closed. "I thought you were sleeping," I muttered as I stepped further into the room. He said nothing as he stood and quietly left the room. I kinda felt bad for kicking him out of his own room but I didn't stop him from leaving. Hovering next to the bed, I stared down at Cora. She sle
I used to think that losing my parents was the worst thing that could have happened to me. But nothing could be worse than being humiliated in front of your mate and your worst enemy. Dean touched me in ways I never wanted him to touch me. He did it to terrorize Axel because he knew that Axel couldn't do anything. Our plan hadn't worked out. They caught us off guard and managed to inject Axel before he could kill them. Kelsey was knocked out even before she could shift. And, I was left defenseless because Axel had already tied me up again. For some reason, I felt like they had everything planned and managed to fool us. Rowan was playing a game and I wasn't sure why. Axel was already hurting. I was humiliated. And I wasn't sure why Kelsey was locked up with us. Shivers raced down my spine when I heard the soft click of the lock on the door turning. Dread instantly flooded me when the door opened and Luther stepped inside. He smirked when his eyes locked with mine. "What a grea
“We found it at the north border. There was no note or scent around that we could trace.”I stared at the package on the table. It was wrapped in black tape, preventing us from seeing what was inside. Swallowing, I gripped the handle of the knife tighter as I took a step forward. We didn’t know what was inside. I was dreading opening it, but I knew I had to. It might be a clue on how to find Cora. “Do you want me to open it?” Lucas questioned from my right.I shook my head. To my left Ryder shifted nervously from foot to foot. I knew exactly what he was thinking because I was thinking the exact same thing. This package could be from whoever kidnapped Cora. It could be a part of her body they cut off. It could be her head. Our mate could already be dead. We had no leads to follow. Xan had disappeared from the face of the earth. There were no scents left behind or clues other than the empty syringes.“Just get it over with,” Ryder growled. I pressed the knife to the side of th
Waking up in one of my mate’s arms was the best. Waking up after a night of sex was even better. Until I remembered exactly what happened. I shot upright in bed, eyes wide and heart racing. Besides me, Axel stirred. “I need to talk to Ryder,” I told him as I struggled to free myself from the sheets. “Cora-”“I need to be the first to tell him,” I interrupted. “We just managed to talk things out, I don’t want to mess it up again.”He said nothing else. Finally managing to free myself from the sheets, I climbed out of bed and searched the ground for a shirt. Pulling it over my head, I hurried up the stairs. I was expecting bright light to blind me, but the office was surprisingly dark. Not dwelling on it, I hurried out of the room and up the stairs. The smell of frying bacon filled my nostrils and on any other day, the smell alone would have drawn me into the kitchen. My steps faltered when I reached Ryder’s door. It was slightly ajar but the room was dark and I could sense him i
“You know,” I whispered against Cora’s ear. “If we were in any other situation, this would make for some kinky sex.”She made a sound that sounded almost like a laugh. I sighed as I hooked my arm under her ass and hiked her a little higher to give her legs a rest. It was dark and hot. I had removed my cloak a while ago and wrapped it around Cora. She was starting to shake either from the cold or shock setting in, I wasn’t sure. After searching through the room I found a wire I thought I could use to pick the locks on the chains. It looked a lot easier in the movies.“Ready?” I questioned. Her legs tightened around my waist again. I waited to make sure that she was ready before I let her go and reached up again to try and open the lock. My head was getting hazy. Sweat dripped down my forehead and made my clothes stick to my skin. I was uncomfortable and hot. Cora’s wounds were starting to heal so she was no longer actively bleeding, but her blood still coated the floor. The scent
One day, twenty-four hours, and a few minutes. Whatever the bastard injected me with was still in my system. I couldn’t use any of my abilities to try to locate Cora. Keiran couldn’t sense her either. It scared me shitless. I might not know that much about werewolf mates, but I knew that if you couldn’t sense your mate, something was seriously wrong. I didn’t even want to consider that Cora might already be dead. Rowan’s territory was the first place Keiran searched. We all suspected Dean, but his name was cleared. Rowan even gave us permission to search through every house on his property and the surrounding territory. He thought allowing us to search his territory would take him off our suspect list. But it didn’t. Keiran was sure that he had Cora, we just couldn’t do anything until we had proof.The last thing we wanted was to start a war when Cora was still missing. I sighed softly, eyes darting over the assembled pack members. Keiran had called a pack meeting the moment h