Chapter Twenty

The hotel door burst open and I glanced up into the stunned faces of three members of my pack. Their wide eyes looked from me, to Oliver's lifeless form, then at Lilou, cradled against my chest.

Her uncontrollable shifting had finally stopped, but her heartbeat was slowing and her body had gone limp. She wasn't just sleeping this time, she was dying.

Prepared for another fight, I bared my teeth in warning as Ivan stepped forward.

He froze, then dropped to his knee in a show of loyalty. "I am not a threat, Alpha."

I inhaled, tasting the air and finding only worry. He was telling the truth.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, his golden eyes locking on me.

"I'm fine."

"And your mate?" he asked as the other two began to clean up, being careful to keep their movements slow and unthreatening.

Before I could respond, someone else stepped into the room—the old man who'd been behind the counter when I'd checked in. He closed and locked the door behind him, scanning the room before meeting my gaze.

"I knew you'd be trouble," he grumbled as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. "You're not the only wolf to face a traitor."

He pulled a necklace from around his neck and set it on the table. With the necklace off, I could smell his wolf. Snatching the necklace from the table, he returned it to the spot near his heart under his shirt again. Once more, his scent faded to obscurity.

A wolf without a pack was a rarity. And I immediately knew who this had to be. I had only heard of this lone wolf in passing. "It's Rick, isn't it? Why did you leave your pack?

His swift exit had been a closely guarded secret of a nearby pack, and countless rumors had circulated.

Pain twisted his features. "My mate passed, and I… lost the taste for my kind… and myself."

It was a sentiment I understood better than most. As I glanced down at Lilou, and thought of the second chance at happiness she'd gifted me, I whispered, "There's still hope."

He shook his head. "Even if I wanted to, my pack would never accept me back."

I stood, cradling my love to my chest. "Mine would. You'll always have a home among us."

He'd protected me in his own way, in a way that had made it harder for Oliver to find me. Maybe if I hadn't been so blind, I could have avoided the whole mess. But I always repaid kindnesses shown to me.

Rick's expression softened. "Thank you. Now get her home. I'll clean up here."

"I can leave Vega and Gin behind." I met the gaze of the other two and they nodded in agreement.

"Sure," Rick said. "I'd appreciate that."

Turning on my heel, I left the room, following Ivan outside. He hurried to his vehicle, opening the car door for me before hurrying to his side.

I paced back and forth, waiting to see if she would wake. Her heart rate and breathing had stabilized, but she'd yet to open her eyes. Still, I could sense her through the mate bond. She wasn't gone.

"You're making me nervous," she mumbled, her voice heavy with sleep, "pacing like that."

I moved to her side as her eyes fluttered open and she took a moment to take in her surroundings. "Where am I?"

"My home. My room. My bed." Right where she belonged… and where I planned to keep her for a very long time.

She must have been thinking along the same lines, because she asked, "Are we alone?"

I nodded, then sucked in my breath as her eyes began to glow a brilliant purple.

She reached for my face, and thinking she had something to tell me, I leaned close. Lilou pressed her lips to mine in a hungry kiss that set fire to my body.

I pulled back. "We can't do that now. The pack doctor checked your vitals and bloodwork. You'll need more tests, but your body seems to have adapted to the wolf DNA. But right now, you need to rest."

"I don't feel like sleeping." All traces of exhaustion were gone from Lilou's face, and the wicked sparkle in her eyes called to my body in an almost primal way. Her gaze dropped below my waist, and there was no misunderstanding what she wanted.

"Lilou, I want you. More than anything." I hated to admit it, but there was a slight pleading note in my voice.

My willpower when it came to resisting her was fading fast.

"Then show me," she purred, sucking my bottom lip into her mouth.

With a growl, I captured her mouth but fought to keep my every movement gentle. As an alpha wolf desperate to claim his mate in every way possible, it was excruciatingly painful.

Lilou gave the cutest growl and pushed me away. "Don't hold back. I'm not going to break."

Her fingers fisted the front of my shirt and pulled me back in. Our tongues met and arousal lit up every nerve ending in my body. She'd told me not to hold back, but there was no way she knew what that meant for wolves, so I reined in my desire.

"I can feel you holding back," she grumbled against my lips.

It didn't matter if she told me she was fine, I couldn't forget how fragile she'd been in my arms, or how she'd looked with our doctor stitching her up, or how I'd felt sponging her clean only hours ago. Her body had adjusted to the newly awakened beast inside her, and she'd healed faster than any of us had expected.

But it would take a long time for me to forget those hours where I'd fought to stay present with her as I waited to see if she would live or die. I couldn't allow myself to get sucked into the feral nothingness if there was a chance she would return to me.

"You were just at the brink of death. I'm not risking you any more than I already have." I didn't want her to expend more energy than she had to.

But she seemed to have other ideas. "Look, if I'm going to die soon, let me go with a smile on my face, okay? At this rate, I'll end up dying with regrets."

"Oh?" I arched a brow in question.

"I've ridden your leg, but I've never ridden the bony-pony in your pants." Her cheeks turned a deep crimson, but she held my gaze.

It was the final straw. My mate had a need and I would eagerly meet it. Grabbing the hem of my shirt, I lifted it over my head.

Before it even hit the floor, Lilou's hands were traveling over my bare stomach and my chest. I sucked in my breath, loving her touch and wanting to feel it everywhere. Lilou wrapped her arms around my neck, rolling to her back and pulling me off balance so I nearly crushed her beneath me.

Keeping my weight on my forearms, I kissed her lips, groaning as her fingernails lightly scratched across my back, and growing far too aware of the fact that the only thing separating us were my pants and the thin sheet that pooled around her waist.

Ivan's voice filled the room, "Beckett, I?—"

He made a strangled sound, and his embarrassment left an odor I could taste as he rapped his knuckles on the door frame.

"Not right now, Ivan," I growled against Lilou's lips.

"Of course." Ivan left the room, taking his smell with him.

She pulled away from me and smiled. "If you need to go?—"

"I don't," I growled.

"Good. Because I need to come." She laughed at her own joke, and I drank in the sight and sound of my mate's happiness.

I rolled from the bed to close and lock the door, preventing any other unwanted visitors. There was nothing so important that I needed to deal with it now. The entire world could be burning, and I still wouldn't leave this room until my mate was satisfied.

When I turned around, Lilou sat naked on my bed, her glowing eyes fixed on me.

"I want you," she whispered as I closed the distance between us.

Lifting her up in my arms, I groaned as her legs wrapped around my hips, holding me close.

"I want you more," I teased, sitting on the edge of my bed with her straddling my lap.

Her weight rested on my cock, causing it to harden further. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her bare skin to mine, causing both of us to shiver.

Scraping my teeth over the pulse in her neck, I felt her hips involuntarily buck forward.

"We need to get you out of these," she said, scooting off my lap and unbuttoning my slacks with shaking hands.

Her gaze met mine as she unzipped them and her pink tongue slid across her upper lip in a gesture that had my vision clouding over. She looked like a goddess, standing in front of me, the light from the window streaming in behind her and illuminating the space with splashes of sunlight.

"I love you," I whispered, meaning every word. "I tried to tell you when you were dying, and I hated myself for not telling you before it was too late.

She tensed, then relaxed, her warm breaths tickling my neck as she clung to me. "I heard you. It's why I came back."

My heart soared with happiness and I buried my nose against her neck, inhaling her scent.

"You were willing to risk losing yourself, just to give me more time." Her voice trembled. "Why?"

"Because I love you." Catching her chin in my hand, I forced her to look me in the eye. "My beautiful little mate, I started falling for you the moment you kidnapped me with a sex-toy. I've never met anyone like you, and you've turned my very black and white world into a kaleidoscope of color." Unable to resist, I lowered my mouth and sucked her nipple into my mouth.

Lilou moaned, arching her back and offering me better access. "If I'd known the price you'd have to pay to mark me as your mate, I never would have asked."

"I know. And that is a secret that must be guarded." My tongue teased the hardened peak, loving the way Lilou responded to every sensation.

"I didn't want you to feel guilt, but I also didn't like making a decision when you didn't have all the information to decide what you wanted. In the end, I knew I couldn't stand by and watch you die without trying everything to save you. Even if it was a longshot."

"I didn't expect to fall for you." Her fingers threaded through my hair. "I will never forget everything you did for me. Beckett, I loved you before you marked me. Thank you for giving us a chance."

She gasped as I grabbed her hips and settled her bare heat against my throbbing erection.

"My love, an extra day with you is worth more than a century without you," I groaned as she rocked against me. "Thank you for coming back to me."

"Mmhm," she hummed, and her eyes grew heavy with lust. "Becks, I can't wait anymore. Please."

Rolling her to her back, I lined myself up with her slick entrance. I exhaled and pressed into her heat. Our bodies fit together in a way that left no doubt in my mind that we were made for one another.

I brushed her purple hair away from her face and ran my hands from her ribs down to her hips. "You're perfect."

She smiled, placing soft kisses along my chest. "That's the mate bond talking."

But she was wrong. With her body and scent wrapped around me, and my cock buried deep inside her, I knew the mate bond was responsible for only a tiny fraction of the feelings I had toward her.

I began to move, thrusting into her silky heat and growing harder as the sounds of her pleasure filled my ears. She clung to me as though she never planned to let go as I drove us relentlessly toward our release. I watched her face, adjusting my angle and pace to ensure she was fully satisfied.

Tiny electrical currents raced up and down my arms as our bodies grew slick with sweat. There was no room for anything in my thoughts but her. Only her. Only us. Only this moment we shared.

My vision blurred, then came into focus. Glimpses of our future flashed through the bond. Lilou's eyes widened as we saw us; running side by side through the forest, bathing naked in a stream, coming together like two pieces of a puzzle on a moss-covered bank.

"Am I hallucinating?" she asked, her movements slowing as I continued to bury myself inside her.

"No; our mate bond allows us to see our future in snapshots," I growled, then feeling her walls tighten around me, I closed my teeth on her neck.

My fingers tangled in her hair as her hips bucked, and she screamed my name. With her body milking my length, I didn't stand a chance. Plunging deep, I held her to me as we basked in the glow of our shared love.

"I never thought about a future because I knew I couldn't have one," she panted, her body still shivering from the aftershocks of pleasure. "Now you are my future."

Capturing her mouth, I poured every bit of love into our kiss, and silently swore to make sure she always had something to look forward to.