5

SHADOW

“Stop. Did you even sleep?” My mind protested, but my body betrayed me the moment his mouth went to my breast, sucking my nipple. His hand cupped and kneaded the other, pinching and tugging the tiny bud in a torturous way.

My back arched. My heart hammered so madly. Part of me didn’t know if it was burning or thawing. I loved how he made me feel and how I sag against him.

The bite on my bottom lip tightened, and it would draw blood if I put a little more pressure on my teeth.

Califf didn’t stop. In fact, he was enjoying it too much, grinning, and so did my wolf, purring in delight. He let go of one hand, delving into my pajama bottom and panties, pulling them down my thighs.

One moment, he was on top of me; the next second, he was throwing my clothes on the floor, and I was spread wide— my sex was exposed at his mercy.

“Califf.” I groaned loudly. “We’re at my father’s house. We have a mission.”

“Fuck the mission. Fuck sleeping.” His fingertips found my soaking wet slit. “I can multitask once I’m thoroughly done with you.”

I squirmed, trying to press my thighs together. He quickly pinned my hips and spread my legs apart as he positioned himself between them. I could easily kick him and escape, but I was too wet and turned on, and I couldn’t deny him when we still had time for an orgasm before my father and Zarah arrived.

I bucked and gasped as I felt his tongue barely touch my clit. Evidently, my mate had quite the talented tongue I’d known the first time he was between my legs.

“Mine,” he said before he covered my sex with his mouth, giving a good suck.

“Califf!” I screamed. My body throbbed with desire, grinding my hips against his mouth. My hand went to his hair, grabbing a handful as I pressed his head down, seeking more pleasure.

As he flicked his tongue on my clit, he sank deep two fingers inside me to his knuckles. It was a sweet torment as he thrust and deepened further. Then he started to pump them in and out at a slow, painful pace.

I writhed in need as he worked my body. All I could hear was my breathing and the wet sound of my sex. Incoherent words spilled out of my mouth until he dragged me out to my orgasm, breaking me into bliss.

“God!” Another delirious scream echoed in the entire room, the kind of scream that could wake up the dead. I wailed as my orgasm hit. My body gave out, spasming with aftershocks. My eyes were huge, my chest heaving as I tried to gulp for air.

I hadn’t taken a breath as he pulled his fingers out and shoved them into his mouth, sucking them clean. He was already on top of me, capturing my mouth, allowing me to taste my own orgasm.

When I thought I was turned on earlier, I was wrong. I was beyond turned on if it was even possible. I could feel every inch of my body buzzing, making me wetter as I tasted myself on his tongue. It was mortifying and embarrassing to admit that it was beyond erotic, and I liked it.

I sucked my taste off his mouth, grinding my hips against his hard erection, making him groan in satisfaction.

A tremor passed through me. “I want you, Alpha. Fuck me, or you’re dead.”

***

“You shouldn’t have told her, Zarah,” my father, Sebastien, protested about how Zarah handled the hunters’ situation.

“Why not?” I stabbed the asparagus harshly before shoving it into my mouth. I was more of a meat type of gal, but this was also well-seasoned, and thinking alone of the latest problem made me hungrier. I stressed-eat.

“These hunters are human and don’t stand a chance against us. We could handle this situation,” Califf said confidently, despite his edge.

“What made you say they are humans?”

“Why would they kill werewolves if they are not humans?” Califf replied.

“There were no bite marks, claw marks, and slashes on their victims,” Zarah said. “You can’t underestimate the human, Alpha King. They are well-equipped with advanced weaponry, and your kind and werewolf may be fast, but so are their bullets, and they know your weaknesses, which are deadly to you.”

“She’s right, father.”

“I’ve handled many battles. I’ve killed many of their kinds. I’m confident I can end this threat before it escalates.”

“Don’t be so confident, Sebastien. You’ve forgotten one thing. Your kind is limited in numbers.”

“Then I will play dirty. How about I will kill their family once I know their identity.”

I rolled my eyes. “You can’t just go there, murdering people. We signed a treaty not to harm humans.”

“Why not?” He looked at me, deadly and fiercely. “They’re murdering werewolves, and they will come next to us. Didn’t you hear Zarah? We’re limited in number, and I can feel you’re not with a pup—”

“Father—” I groaned and pursed my lips.

He raised a hand regrettably. “My apology, child.”

“Why don’t you make pups your own?” My eyes narrowed. “You’re as capable as me.”

“If he would, he could, but he’s not capable of producing another heir,” Zarah said, getting a glare from my father.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been silent, son.” Sebastien turned his attention to Califf, ignoring my lack of sense of respect for his privacy.

“Are these hunters all humans? Are you sure?”

“We don’t know yet. Why did you ask?”

“I’m sure the dead man outside my territory is unrelated to the hunters.”

“Are you sure it’s not a member of your pack?” Zarah asked. “Just ruling out all the possibilities. And human is always a prey, Califf.”

“My enforcers are still investigating. It looks like a werewolf did it, but none of my pack members came to confess to such a horrendous act. So the new sheriff ruled out an animal attack, but I can’t help but wonder why a werewolf hurt a human. Also, I want to know how did you find out that hunters killed those alphas?”

“The hunters usually have their signature kill. They are calm and spend days scouting their prey. They are highly organized, and it happens fast when they make their moves. You won’t see it coming. They choose the big guys, the ones hard to take down. Sometimes, they left marks on their victims, a ritual hunt, an act of domination. They brand the victim with their emblem, a symbol of arrow and a crescent moon.”

The longer I listened to my father, the more I became terrified. And if I could read his reaction, he knew all about these hunters than he let on, or it must be written somewhere in Lycans and Werewolves’ books.

“So the legend is true.”

“The legendary werewolf hunter’s dead, Califf,” Zarah cut in. “This is a new group of hunters. Probably copycats or someone reestablishes the old guild. If I study based on what they do, they are highly trained mercenaries who probably had military backgrounds. They are humans who know your kind and hold grudges against you.”

“There’s this new sheriff who knows about us,” I told Zarah. “When he came, an attack happened. Could he be one of them, trying to blend in so he could tell his leader about us?”

“I don’t think so,” Zarah replied.

“What made you think he’s innocent? You said it yourself. These hunters are calm and scout their prey before they attack.”

“Baby, they scout. They don’t show themselves.” Califf gripped my knee, but I felt his tension. He was worried.

“Maybe they change tactics to take us all in one attack.” I looked at my father as I emitted a sense of horror.

“Calm down, daughter. I have connections in the government. These hunters will mess up, leave trails and their DNA, and once they do, I will hunt them myself. I will make sure they won’t reach your territory. I promise you.”

“I’m still recovering from the last attack, and now here’s another threat. What else are we going to face? It’s never-ending.”

“In the meantime, tell your pack to be vigilant. These hunters are nothing like Keane Locke. Keane Locke was just a thug who made messes and showed off. And this threat is a big deal, a pain in the ass, and targeting the big bad wolves.”

“Like us,” Califf said to my father. “I’m pretty sure Lycans are one of their targets, too.”

“Yes. They know we exist.”

“Father, you just said not to worry, and then you followed up that these hunters are a pain in the ass. I think I need a drink.” I grabbed the wine glass and drank it empty before I gestured to the servant. “Please?”

Zarah said when he came to fill the glass, “You need to train, Shadow. And you, Alpha, you need to train your enforcers. Once they hit your neighboring packs and allies, they declared war on werewolves, Lycans, and us witches, but we can’t guarantee safety.”

“Who are they, father? You must have known who they are since you’ve gotten the news weeks ago,” I asked after I drunk half of the wine. My pulse raced further.

“No one has claimed any involvement. They’re like ghosts, leaving no trails but dead bodies.”

“Right. Very helpful.”

“How do they kill their victims?” Califf asked.

“Beheading, burning, silver bullets, mercury poisoning, crossbows, but they never left an arrow.”

“So, now we’re hunting ghosts. Great. Or ghosts are hunting us.”