His upper lip twitched like he would sneer, but he kept blinking like I’d taken him by surprise. And his brows pinched down towards a frown.
He didn’t speak—not out loud, and not in the bond. Just stared at me, searching my eyes.
“You submit to my choice?”
“In everything, Cazz,” I breathed. “I know you—I know your heart. It’s bound to mine. I trust that man—that male. I trust that King.”
His breath caught and I saw his resolve waver. Please, God. Please. I leaned in closer until my
~ CASIMIR ~Watching Jesse shrink into that robe, her eyes wide and sad and scared, then run from the room… it touched something deep inside me so that I almost ran after her. Almost.But I knew if I did she likely wouldn’t live through the night.I was protecting her.The question was, why?Everything in my body thrummed from the joy of taking her—and from the sheer rage of what she’d done. It felt like my bones hummed deep inside me, like a gong had been rung in my blood, and it vibrated in my bones. There were lights flickering at the edge of my vision. I didn’t know if they were simply my body unwinding from the intensity of the orgasm, or if it was a result of the surge of power I’
~ CASIMIR ~Rake didn’t move. He didn’t even breathe, but the first tang of fear began in his scent, then rose slowly, higher and higher—removing any final doubt I might have had, and turning my mind back to every little step that had brought me to this moment.How long had there been this connection between them? Did it go back as far as that moment early on when he summoned me to her because she was breaking?I thought at the time he’d been doing his best as her protector and my advisor—he’d certainly urged me to be the one to help her. But it had been an intimate image he’d sent that day—her emotional turmoil, her body soaked in my scent, her tears… As if he knew
~ JESSE ~An hour after leaving Cazz, I was in my room, bathed, fully dressed, agitated, and scared. There was no chance I was sleeping tonight, because my stomach was getting sicker and sicker as I played those events with Cazz over and over in my mind, growing more upset with every passing minute.What the hell had happened?He’d sounded so… needy when he first called me. I thought he’d brought me there to reconcile. But to ask me to let him compel me?I shuddered at the thought—and thanked God that he hadn’t done it against my will. But that didn’t change the fact that he was obviously
~ JESSE ~“Get in here, now.” Maya leaned out the door and practically dragged me inside by my collar as she closed the door—keeping Wylde outside, which seemed odd. But the sense of her fear was even more clear now that we were in front of each other.“What’s going on?” I asked her the moment we were alone as we hurried back through her cave.She was hobbling towards her living area, beckoning me to follow.When I spoke, she stopped suddenly, turning to look at me, and her eyes glowed in the half-light, because we were around the corner from the living area, and it seemed like she only had one lamp on in there.
~ JESSE ~“Just breathe, Jesse,” Maya said quietly. She sounded like she was grieving—urging me not to give up.But I could barely inhale, and when I did, my lungs didn’t seem to draw oxygen from the air. I was heaving.“Why… why would he d-do that? Why? He promised me he’d never… wait, has he done this before?!” I was horrified and snapped my head around, staring at her wide-eyed and pleading.It was only a small relief when she shook her head.“Then why?!” I shrieked.
~ JESSE ~Maya talked for a long time—about Cazz’s history. About his pain. And about how he’d let me down.I listened. I agreed. I knew she was right. But the longer I sat there, the more I became stuck in a weird duality.Half of me growing more and more numb. Calmer—almost untouched. That side of me felt like if Cazz had walked in right then, I would have just looked at him and asked him calmly to explain.But the other half of me… That half was a forest fire.Grief. Fear. Betrayal. Sick.That side of me continued to crack and shatter, and the longer she talked, the less I heard. Because in th
~ CASIMIR ~I was standing outside Jesse’s chamber door, which had been mostly closed, but not entirely. And I was peering through a tiny sliver of space to watch my mate embrace my best friend.“Rake… if anything happens—”“Shhhhh, don’t do that. Don’t let the tensions here make you catastrophize. I’m back again in less than a week—and I’ll be calling the final Selection for Cazz and you to make the declarations. So, just focus on that. And don’t worry about me.”“No, Rake, I’m serious. If anything happens to you it will kill me. I need you to be so careful. Watch your back when my brothers are around—always. And… and come back safe. Plea
~ CASIMIR ~We stood right in each other’s space, both quivering on the edge of the shift. He wasn’t challenging for dominance so he wouldn’t shift first, wouldn’t push me to it—because he knew he’d lose. But he didn’t drop my gaze, and didn’t back down. If I shifted, he would too.I growled, low and deep in my chest.Rake’s gaze didn’t waver, but he shifted his weight on his feet, balancing himself. “I’ve never touched her, Cazz. Never said anything to her about how I feel. Never given her any reason to think or believe… anything except that I am on her team. I’ve never done anything inappropriate. And before you growl, it’s true—I’v
~ CASIMIR ~I was pretty sure if I didn’t get inside her, I was going to eat her alive.Scooting with her in my lap, still straddling me, I got her so both my knees and her back were flat against the wall. Then I flipped open the wide, leather cuffs that had been secured directly to the wall and first lifted one of her hands, to strap it in so her hand was levered above her shoulder, but with her arm comfortably bent so she could relax. Then I did the same with her other hand on the other side.So I straddled the banana-seat, while she straddled me and her hands were secured to the wall behind her.Her breasts rose and fell with her heavy breathing, and her eyes were bright with desire.Overwhelmed again with how much thought she’d put into this, for a moment I just took her face in my hands and kissed her. But that drew us together—my cock pressing against her, and I couldn’t resist rolling my hips, teasing
~ CASIMIR ~“I made a new Den,” Jesse whispered, her hands over her mouth, staring up at me—those beautiful eyes wide, but also a little fearful. “I know it’s not the same, but I got Ghere to help me because he remembered what things you’d had before and… I hope you like it.”Like it? Was she serious?My heart was slamming against my ribs, and I was having trouble breathing.The room seemed smaller than I remembered because the walls were painted a dull black. But the tighter space than what I’d had down next to the Den just made it feel more intimate.There were two lamps, one on each end, and a chandelier high above. Candles everywhere, though she hadn’t lit mo
~ JESSE ~It was Cazz’s turn to plan the monthly date. But I was humming about this one. Things were finally ready, and impossibly, Ghere had helped me successfully pull off the surprise. But I still had to figure out how to get Cazz there without ruining it.He’d taken me out to the meadow again—my favorite date. Though we’d enjoyed several others now too—and we’d just finished eating. He was leaning back against the cab of the truck, looking out at the city lights, his brows a little heavy.“What are you thinking about?” I asked him, though I had a hunch.He had his arm around me and I was leaning on his shoulder. His hand trailed up and
~ CASIMIR ~I came out of the bathing room after a long bath rubbing my hair with a towel, to find my mate standing in the middle of the chamber with her arms folded and looking sternly at my daughter, who sat on the floor in nothing but a diaper, with her chubby legs straight out. She, too, had her arms folded and her lips pursed in the perfect reflection of her mother.The two glared at each other and half my heart went cold, while the other half wanted to splutter with laughter.“Abigail, I have told you—”“No!”Our daughter could only get her tongue around a few words so far, but
~ JESSE (a few weeks later) ~I had just finished nursing Abigail and was holding her on my lap while Reeca sat with me on the couch.Her eyes were bright and she was beginning to smile, so I was tickling her cheeks to see if I could get her to do it. But she was sleepy because she’d just eaten and only yawned and cooed.“She’s a very calm baby,” Reeca commented from the other end of the couch, smiling. She loved babies, and had been so helpful when I was tired—and just for reassurance for me.She was a calm presence in any room, and with Abigail, she showed a lot of delight and joy that she seemed to stifle in other areas of her life.“Reeca,” I said carefully, because I’d b
~ JESSE ~I was too tired to do more than lift my hands to his neck, so I just curled my face into his chest and let him settle us into the chair, cradled in his arms with my ass in his lap.When he’d sat, I had my head resting on his shoulder and my body curled in his arms.“Do you hurt?” he asked quickly.“No, just tired, like I said.”I felt him relax a little then and another chill started in my blood.“Cazz… what’s happened?” I asked quietly.He turned his head to meet my eyes and lifted his hand to comb hair back from my face. His throat bobbed, but his touch was g
~ JESSE (Hours later) ~My dreams were disturbing—my body in pain, screams of terror, darkness, the floor shaking, the mountain falling, humans fleeing and wolves…I tried to break free, tried desperately to open my eyes and to speak, because I knew I was asleep. But all I did was fade… in and out. The nightmares, or nothing.And through it all, his voice.“Heal… live.”My heart ached. My body hurt. My chest didn’t want to expand. It was as if my flesh fought his words, and I didn’t understand.But finally, the dreams faded and I could hear a heartbeat. Little, and quick. And feel warm flesh. And the breath of my m
~ CASIMIR ~I felt the moment the power went out of Jesse. The entire mountain felt it.I howled with triumph and shifted, sprinting towards the room, ecstatic when there was no sense of Maya gripping my mind or stealing anything from me. But of course, there was no power left for her to steal.I prayed and pleaded and ran, Rory and the others coming in my wake. And the moment I broke through that door in my wolf—the only power left to me anymore—everything slowed. Though my body whipped and my mind was singularly focused, it was as if everything happened in slow motion.I caught a bare glimpse of Jesse on the bed, and at first my heart leaped. She was moving, awake, aware,
~ JESSE ~Maya had me sitting up in the bed, curled forward, gripping my knees. Reeca on one side, helping prop me up, a guard on the other.My body was nothing but a conduit for pain. Wave after wave, my entire lower body condensing, contracting, pushing to get this baby out. I could barely think.Cazz was there, so quiet, so distant, but there, calling his encouragement and pushing love at me through the bond.There was a moment when I thought I wouldn’t make it, when I thought my body would give and I would just drift away.But then I caught Maya smiling. Leaning forward between my legs, reaching, grasping, for