Again, Kira pulled her hand from my grip. Her arm shot forward, fingers grabbing and gently caressing my crotch through my pants.
“Please,” she whined. “Give it to me. I need it.”
The sensation of her hand on me, rubbing and massaging, nearly had me losing control. My mind flipped and short-circuited. If we were anywhere else, at any other time, would I be able to stop myself? I imagined how this would go if she were unhurt and acting this way in a quiet secluded area. I imagined her pulling my cock out and taking it into her mouth. Ripping her dress away and pulling her body to mine as I worshipped her nipples with my lips and tongue. The fiery heat of her pussy as I plunged into her. The echo of our moans and screams as we fucked.
“No,” I hissed to myself, shaking my head again. “No.”
It took all I had to ignore her pheromones, her words, her actions, and focus on what needed to be done. The mental images I’d allowed myself filled me with guilt. She was seriously hurt, and here I was, daydreaming about sex. It made me feel like shit.
Kira pounced on me again, but the handle of the knife bumped against my chest. The blade jammed deeper into her, and she screamed. For a moment, the pain seemed to overcome her desire. Grimacing, I took hold of the knife and yanked it out of her flesh, then quickly covered her wound, putting pressure on it as more blood spilled out between my fingers. She looked down and saw my hands.
“Gods,” she whispered. “At least finger me. Give me something.”
Her voice dripped with desperation. It was almost like she was so horny that it was causing her physical pain. Maybe I could help? If she was in pain, and she was begging for it…my cock was rock hard and throbbing. I was caught in a haze of desire, all coherent thoughts impossible to find. I blinked the ideas away again.
“Carter? Douglas? Where the hell are you?” I yelled into my earpiece. “Kira needs medical attention.”
Carter’s voice, heaving with exertion, filtered into my ear a moment later. “We called in a med team. We’re in pursuit of the lion shifter. Med team’s ten minutes out.”
“Ten minutes? Why the fuck will it take that long?” I growled.
“Closest one had a call about an operative who was attacked by a rogue demon. Bad timing and bad luck. They’re on the way, though.”
“Fuck,” I snapped. “Fine.”
I let them go back to their hunt. Kira had sat up and wrapped her arms around me, licking and sucking at my neck. She was not making this any easier on me. I needed to do something, or what semblance of control I had left would crack completely and fall apart. In mere minutes, we’d be screwing our brains out in a restaurant parking lot.
Kira let out a whimper of pain. The heat was causing her physical agony. If I ever got hold of that fucking lion, I would rip his head off and piss down his throat.
Kira climbed into my lap and tore my shirt open. It happened so fast, I couldn’t have stopped it if I tried. She slid her hands across my chest, which was sweaty from the exertion of trying to hold her still. As she did everything she could to have sex with me, tears leaked from her eyes, a combination of pain from her wound and the heat.
Glancing around, I saw we were still alone. Dammit, I needed someone else here so I didn’t give in to Kira’s pleading. A small clutch purse hung crosswise over her chest. I dug into it and yanked her phone out, scrolling through the contacts for Jayson’s number. Maybe hearing her future mate’s voice would help snap Kira out of it.
“Hey, babe, what’s up?” Jayson said as he answered.
“Jayson, it’s Wyatt Rivers. I need you to–”
“Gods, I wanna suck your dick so bad. Please, Wyatt, just for a second?” Kira whispered.
I closed my eyes, wincing at what was coming next.
“What the fuck was that?” Jayson screamed. “Was that Kira?”
“It’s not what you think,” I said, hoping he could hear the honesty in my voice.
“Are you trying to fuck my girl? You piece of shit, I swear to Heline, I’ll kill you if you touch what’s mine.”
“Jayson, there’s no time for this. Kira’s been stabbed and poisoned. I need you to get to the Black Pine Brasserie. It’s a restaurant in Cullman. Hurry.”
Kira whimpered. “Oh, gods. Damn, make me come. Make me come, and it’ll be over. Please, Wyatt.”
Shit. Jayson was screaming curses at me through the phone, completely ignoring the information about Kira. All he cared about was what he heard. The last five minutes had been some of the most stressful and ridiculous minutes of my entire life. I had no more patience. Especially not for Kira’s douchebag of a fated mate.
“Jayson, please shut up and listen. Kira is hurt. She needs you. Get down here now, before I do something to take care of it myself.” I ended the call and tossed the phone on the ground.
With every passing minute that I struggled with Kira, my self-control drained more. When Jayson appeared with a flash, along with Kira’s fae friend Zoe, I was both relieved and irritated. Of course, he’d shown up right as Kira leaned forward and licked my exposed nipple. I would have kept her away, but I was too busy to keep pressure on her stab wound.
Jayson’s eyes flared as his hands curled into fists. Ignoring all the blood and the obvious pain Kira was in, he pointed at me. “You motherfucker!”
Zoe’s face paled at the sight of all the blood Kira had lost, and she ran forward, putting a hand on the wound to staunch the bleeding. Having more people here did help. My own lust and desire were tamped down now that Zoe was helping, and my dislike of Jayson pushed my other emotions to the side. My guilt started to make a resurgence. Kira was my best friend’s sister. Gods, I was a piece of shit for thinking all those things about her.
Jayson was still going on. “I can’t believe this. I’ll make sure my father gets you fired. He knows people. Powerful people. You’ll–”“Dammit, will you shut up? Here, take her.” I twisted a bit to offer her to him.Zoe shook her head. “Don’t. She’s losing too much blood.” She turned and snapped at Jayson. “Whatever she’s been poisoned with must be highly toxic. Look at her.”He glanced at Kira’s morbidly pale face, and his expression softened a bit, but not enough for my liking. He shrugged. “Yeah? Fix her. You’re a fae, right? I want to get home,” he said sulkily. Then he winced in disgust. “Gods, she reeks of his scent. I’ll have to give her a bath when we get home to get the stink off her.”Flaming anger flashed across Zoe’s eyes. I had the sense that if I hadn’t been there as a witness, Jayson Fell might not have made it home alive.Through clenched teeth, Zoe said, “I’ll do my best, but I don’t know a lot about healing spells. I think I can slow the bleeding.”Zoe placed her hand
Two IVs were attached to my arm. I glanced up at the bags. One looked to be some basic hydration solution, while the other had a dark purple color—likely some healing potion a fae had cooked up. Careful not to hurt myself, I tugged both tubes out of my arm. I hated seeing those things protruding from me. I could only imagine how I looked with tubes and wires covering my sweaty body as I moaned in my sleep. I despised looking weak. Feeling better than I had since taking that sip of wine, I decided it would be fine to try to look more like myself.Easing up onto the pillows behind me, I glanced around at the familiar surroundings. I was at my family’s home. Outside the window, the massive forest of the Eastern Wilds stretched beyond my father’s property. The Eleventh Pack’s land wasn’t huge like some of the other packs’, but it was still beautiful. I was glad I was here rather than at a hospital or operative clinic.A few bottles of water stood on the nightstand next to my bed. Greedily
I blamed the drug. It had messed with my head and forced me into heat. If a fat, tottering old man with one leg and fungus on his face had found me instead of Wyatt, I’d have been all over him as well. It had nothing to do with Wyatt himself. That made sense, and it’s what I told myself. What I repeated over and over, swearing I’d never have another unholy thought about Wyatt until the day I died.Once I was mostly under control, I checked my nightstand and found my phone plugged in and ready. When I checked the home screen, I had to blink and double-check, then triple-check the date. I’d been out for three days? Holy shit. If that was true, then my mating ceremony was the next day.I sagged back onto my pillows. Jayson and I had finally picked a date a few weeks before, but it might have been postponed due to my accident. I had a very faint memory of him being at the parking lot where Wyatt had found me. I closed my eyes as I tried to remember if that had been real or part of some fe
I could cut the tension in the air with a knife, but I couldn’t stop myself. I hated relying on anyone or asking for help. The fact that Wyatt, of all people, had found me and called for help stuck in my craw and made it impossible for me not to try knocking him down a notch or two. My anger wasn’t even directed at him, really, but at myself for having fantasized about him.Kolton rolled his eyes. “I took Wyatt on a run, then came by to check on you. Chill the hell out.”“On a run?” I asked. “Now unofficial pack members go on runs?”“Oh, stop. Both of you,” Dad said. “Can’t we all just be happy that Kira is okay?”“Right,” Kolton said. “I mean, shouldn’t you simply be happy that Wyatt saved your life?”I scoffed at him. “Zoe saved my life, not Wyatt.”“Uh, well…” Zoe cleared her throat. “I wouldn’t have really known anything was wrong if Wyatt hadn’t called Jayson. Then Jayson called me a few seconds later and demanded I get him there fast. You would have bled out and died. So, um, Wy
The unrest between the packs did not inspire confidence. Dad was right when he said there was no way the Eleventh Pack could defend against a full attack by something like the Fourth or Fifth packs, or gods forbid, the First Pack. That thought sent a shiver of fear through me. I would do whatever was necessary to make sure we were strong enough to fend off an attack.“Kira, sweetie, do you want to go practice on your hair and makeup for tomorrow?” Mom asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.“Yeah,” Zoe said with a smile. “I’ve got some ideas. When I’m done with you, Jayson will want to rip your clothes off.”Dad grimaced and walked away. “My cue to leave,” he said over his shoulder.“Sure,” I said. “Let’s give it a shot.”I followed my mother and Zoe back into my room. I wasn’t excited about the mating ceremony at all. Jayson was fine, but not who I’d have chosen for myself—not by a long shot. All I could do was put the worry out of my mind and let Mom and Zoe fuss over me. Tomorrow wou
His parents, however, were adamant that he needed to finish his education in the Eastern Wilds and stay close to home. They wanted him ready and willing to take over as pack alpha. I thought that was dumb. Kolton and Kira had no autonomy to do as they liked. Their parents were treating them like little kids.Kolton slapped his book closed and rubbed his eyes. “Okay, I need a break. I’m going to go cross-eyed if I study anymore. Want a snack or something?”I stood and stretched. “Yeah. Then I need to check on some stuff with some of my guys. I’ve been here for days. I should make sure they’re good.”I was a lone wolf, but over the years, I’d grouped up with a small group of guys. We were all the same—guys who’d lost their packs in some way and were now on their own. I was the de facto leader of the group, but Kolton’s parents had taken us in a long time ago. Back in the day, that had been a minor scandal, but we’d done our best to prove we were worth it. Most shifters looked down on lo
Zoe held up a hand to stop Kolton. “Now I will admit, if you think too long about some of the stuff that happens, it is awful. I mean…I don’t like watching people die, but they all signed up for it, and it’s more of a cultural thing. In the past, wolf shifters went through similar trials to find their mate, and lots of them died. It’s part of why you all do the blood test thing now. It’s a show, and that’s that. Watch it or don’t. I, on the other hand, love the drama. It’s sort of romantic. A bunch of rejected alphas competing to win the heart of a rejected female. The whole thing where the Moon Goddess comes and blesses their new union at the end.” Zoe sighed and smiled, her eyes glassy. “It’s dreamy. And honestly, if I knew I was going to find a lifelong partner, I’d think long and hard about taking part in the dangerous missions and tasks they go through. It’s exciting to watch.”Kolton laughed and shook his head. “Okay. You do you. I’m gonna grab something to eat.”He was gone bef
Nervously, I smoothed my dress for the hundredth time. The color was a deep crimson, almost the color of blood. Zoe had picked it out for me. It was the second dress she’d chosen. The first had been a bright white dress with lots of tulle and satin. I’d gaped at it in horror. It took nearly an hour to explain to her that white dresses were only worn at human and fae weddings. Shifters—wolves at least—never wore white for weddings. There was no reason behind it; it was simply tradition. Red, violet, and other dark colors were used for these ceremonies. I’d never seen Zoe as confused as when I’d explained that to her.Honestly, I understood where she was coming from. The entire thing was confusing even to me. Official mating ceremonies weren’t necessary per se. It was a show, a public display of what was supposed to have already taken place in the heart. Fated mates were so intrinsic and sacred that the Moon Goddess Heline herself sanctioned them. The only thing Jayson and I had to do t