The shock was so complete and so mind-numbing, for a moment all I could do was shriek and stumble back a step. But then I blinked and shoved Rake off—but he only laughed and clawed at me, pulling me closer with his long arms and big hands and—
“Don’t fight it, Jesse. There’s no point. I’m your only hope now.”
‘Play along, Jesse—please!’
I blinked, shaking my head. “What the hell? What are you—”
“She doesn’t seem excited to see you, Rake,” my father chuckled.
“She will be. Whether she wants to be or not,” he growled back, still pulling at me as I con
~ JESSE ~Staring at the wolf Rake had become was terrifying. Instinctively, I tried to take another step back, but I was still pinned against the wall, so just ended up pressing myself flatter against it, panting.He took a step towards me and a strange noise broke in my throat. I couldn’t break out of that gaze, my mind screaming that it was Rake behind that warm brown gaze, but my body sensing only certain death.As he moved slowly closer, his animal body rippled with that savage grace only a predator possessed.“Rake… please… don’t…”He prowled right up to my toes as I mentally scrambled, trying desperately to remember if the wolves were still fully in their right minds when
~ CASIMIR ~Bodies rippling in time. Skin slicked with sweat. Drums beating in my bones. Howls echoing in the cavernous heights of the Den.I rippled into the touch of a dozen, feminine hands, stroking my chest, my back, my ass, as we all moved together. And as the packlink came alive, even our heartbeats began to sync.Come to me…Panting breaths, undulating bodies, eyes gleaming with lust… We were in frenzy, and I sank into it like a hot bath, further and further from the shitty chill of reality and deeper and deeper into the animalistic pulse.I hadn’t touched any of them yet, but opened myself, displayed, invited them closer. And now I danced, body rolling in the throng and rising to their
~ CASIMIR ~I was slick with sweat, could feel it trickling down my spine despite the fact that I hadn’t worn a shirt. As I stepped into the dark den I turned to bar the door. But when I reached down to pick up the beam, pain spasmed at the hollow of my back. I hissed against it as I dropped the thick bar into the brackets, but was forced to take a moment, leaning on it, gripping it until my knuckles turned white as I fought the cord of the bond in my chest that was thrashing, whipping like a striking snake.It took moments to wrestle back under control, behind my cold steel defenses. But I did it.Jaw tight and back teeth clenched, I turned, looking for Toree—and found her just a few feet away, kicking off her heels and already shimmying her leather pants past her hips, leaning forward so I was treated with
~ JESSE ~I stumbled in that dusty canyon of Cazz’s black soul, bleeding and crying, pleading with Cazz my mate through the bond that attached us.‘CAZZ! CAZZ, COME BACK! PLEASE!’‘Jesse—’‘YOU CAN’T LEAVE ME, PLEASE!’‘JESSE!’A warm, solid hand landed on my shoulder and I stopped short, blinking, choking on sobs, and staring at Rake who somehow stood in front of me in this dark, supernatural place, disheveled and pleading, hands cupped at my neck, leaning down and demanding
~ CASIMIR ~“There’s my King. Maybe you haven’t lost your blade after all?”Head spinning with images of Jesse, my body groaning with need, stomach churning, my chest too tight—and suddenly no breath in my lungs.That made me drop my chin as I fought desperately to find air—and Toree, shorter than me, thought I was dropping my chin to kiss her. She smiled and began to close her eyes, pushing up onto her toes to bring our mouths together.Hissing against the pain and cursing myself for my weakness, I grabbed her by the throat to stop her, but then we were there… right there… almost mouth to mouth, staring into each other’s eyes—my breath mingling with hers.And I
~ JESSE ~I lay at the base of the stone walls of the chasm that was the darkness of Cazz’s soul, the black, midnight storm above sending the chill wind whispering over my skin. Dust pattered against my face and I just screwed my eyes shut tighter and prayed it would be over soon.I didn’t even try to get my face out of the dirt anymore. The pain rocked through me in waves that wouldn’t stop now. There was no relief—just the rise and fall of torment.Cazz was… doing something. I didn’t know when the moment would come, but the bond was trembling, humming, vibrating like glass under pressure and about to shatter. I gripped the ground, dirt under my nails, feeling like the moment this ended the earth itself would fall out from under me and I would tumble into freefall… maybe forev
~ CASIMIR ~A wave of such pungent self-loathing and disgust ripped through me, stealing my breath, my courage, and my sanity. I shuddered, and as Toree raised her ass again and tried to find me, a snarl of pure revulsion tore out of me and echoed around the room.She froze, her head whipping around to look at me, to identify the threat—did she really not realize? The threat was… the threat always had been me?And then I realized we were still touching and I almost vomited.Yanking her off the table by her hair, I threw the startled she-wolf to the ground. “STOP TOUCHING ME!”
~ JESSE ~I lay on the bed, still curled up in case the pain came back, staring at the wall.I hadn’t moved since I’d felt the rush of his orgasm. That froze me, because I knew what it meant, and even though the pain began to ease after that, I was left waiting for the mountain to crash down and bury me.Because the moment after he’d had that rush, the bond had gone utterly dead.In the final injustice, for a time before he reached his peak, I had thought just maybe something was changing. That maybe he’d heard me. I’d found hope, even in the pain, when it seemed like I reached him. I hadn’t been able to hear him, but I felt him—as if, in that dark chasm of his heart, the sense of him was floating to me on the very wind that stole
~ 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