23. Phaedra

PHAEDRA

M y second orgasm took me by surprise. I hadn't thought it would happen so soon after the first, but it was proof Asher knew what he was doing, that he knew my body well, even though this was only the second time we were making love. Was our bond guiding him or was he simply a very quick study?

When he asked me in that deep, raspy voice if I was ready for him to take over, I was still riding the crackling wave of that second orgasm. I could barely form the tiny "yes" that fell from my lips.

The next thing I knew, I was on my back, and I felt the full weight of his body. As I moved to wrap my legs around his hips again, he caught them. He pushed my legs until my knees were tucked against my chest and my calves were resting on his shoulders. My breath left me as he plunged even deeper. The new position sent tiny sparks of electricity traveling through my body with each thrust.

Asher gripped the back of my thighs, his nails dimpling my skin. The sting only heightened the pleasure as he continued to pound into me.

My cries coincided with another peal of thunder. I gripped the sheets, my toes curling as his cock hit that deepest, most coveted spot of pleasure. He increased his pace steadily, as if he was responding to needs I didn't have to voice.

At the penultimate moment, he released my legs and covered me with his body. Gripping the sheets in tight fists, he drove me down to the mattress, thrusting every inch of himself inside. I let out a strangled cry. The base of his cock expanded inside me. It was almost too much—I was sure he would split me in half.

I screamed again, muffling the sound by biting down on his shoulder. As his blood flowed into my mouth, I was overcome with the certainty that my body was built to take his knot, and what pain there was from being spread open like this filled me with deeper satisfaction.

A third orgasm tore through me, and Asher growled. His seed filled me so completely, I didn't think I could hold it all. But his knot kept it from spilling free and dripping onto the mattress.

Slowly, I opened my mouth and let his shoulder go. I licked the wound, and he shuddered. While we were locked together, I nuzzled into his neck.

"That was wonderful," I whispered. I would have believed it had all been a dream if he wasn't still filling me so gloriously.

His deep chuckle reverberated into my body, sending delicious tingles through me. I heard the exhaustion in it—knotting must have taken a lot out of him.

" You were wonderful," he said. "Being with you was every bit as incredible as I imagined."

I hummed in pleasure and licked lazily at the marks my teeth had left on his skin. His compliments felt almost as lovely as his shuddering breath tickling across my skin.

"Is that what it'll be like every time?"

"Absolutely," he said. "Every night if you like."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to tire you out."

He gave another chuckle. "I don't know, Phae. You're the one holding back a yawn."

"That so?" But he was right. Now my heartbeat was slowing down, I realized just how exhausted I was. "All right," I said, allowing the yawn to come. "I guess you've got a point."

Eventually, his cock to returned to its original size, and we untangled ourselves from each other. Asher pulled me into his arms as if he were afraid I would disappear, and peppered my forehead with kisses.

I cuddled against him, luxuriating in his warmth and the knowledge that we were together and happy. I rubbed his chest in slow motions and let out a sigh that sounded more like a purr. Everything felt different and yet the same. There was an emptiness inside me that only Asher could fill, and he'd done that today. Having Asher knot in me made me feel wholly complete.

What I had with him was real—this proved it. He was willing to go all the way with me, including having a family. That was a future I'd abandoned the day Connor rejected me. With Asher, there was a real possibility of a fulfilling future.

As I lay there in his arms in the peaceful silence of his cabin, I allowed the last of my anxieties to melt away into the sheets of his bed. I closed my eyes and sighed contentedly. Before I knew it, I was asleep.

I woke to Asher kissing my forehead. I opened my eyes and found him gazing down at me. The tenderness in his hazel eyes made me feel weak all over.

"What is it?" I asked, my voice a bit scratchy from the way I'd screamed.

"The rain has stopped," he said. "If you're up for it, I'd like to walk with you around the compound."

"Oh." I rubbed my eyes. "How long was I asleep?"

"Not long. Just an hour or so."

I smiled and rolled onto my side. "I don't know. I think it would be better just to stay here like this a while longer."

He chuckled and kissed my shoulder. "It's getting late, Phae. Now is the perfect time to let everyone see you."

It took a bit of encouragement and a few more kisses from him, but I rolled out of bed and started to pull on my clothes.

"And you're sure this is a good idea?" I asked as I buttoned my jeans. "It's not too soon after the first time?"

"What makes you ask?"

"Well…" I wasn't sure how to communicate my emotions about the subject. "I don't think they really like me that much."

"Oh."

I nodded and pulled on my shirt. At least I would be wearing something more casual than the first time I met his people. I was sure the dress had given the wrong impression. In high-wolf society, it was expected for everyone to dress their best every day. But to the hardworking Dagger pack, I doubted I'd come off like I was one of them.

"Don't worry about that," he said. I'd looked away for two seconds, but he was already dressed in his usual slacks and button-down shirt. "I had my uncle speak to everyone about being nicer this go around."

"Oh." That struck me as a bit strange. Wouldn't it be better if they came around to me on their own rather than have their alpha—or, in this case, his family—insist they be nice to me? But I didn't want to say that out loud. We'd just experienced something wonderful together, and the last thing I wanted to do was bring up any sore subjects or start an argument.

When I was ready, we went outside. As we walked along the spiral, the wolves who saw us went out of their way to greet us with "good afternoon," or "I'm glad it didn't rain too much." One or two of them complimented me on my hair, which was nice, but it came off a bit forced.

Asher looked at me after the second person commented on how nice the weather was. His eyebrows were raised. "It's better, right?"

I gave him a smile. "This is much better. At least I know where I stand."

He chuckled. "You're a tough woman, Phaedra. I like that about you."

My smile became a grin. "I like that about me, too."

A scream ripped through the air. We turned at the same time; it had sounded like it came from the north, toward the center of the spiral formation of cabins. Half a second later, there were more screams.

Knowing that was where the most vulnerable members of Asher's pack was, I started sprinting in the direction of the commotion with Asher at my side. We arrived at the site of a conflagration.

Shock coursed through my body like ice. The meeting building belched flames, plumes of black smoke drifting up toward the blue afternoon sky. There were a group of Asher's men dumping water on the fire, while others tried to dig around the structure to prevent the fire from spreading. From the corner of my eye, I saw Asher's right-hand and uncle arrive to help out.

"What happened?" Asher demanded. "How did this start?"

"We don't know," grunted one of the wolves who was digging. "We heard the boom, and the next thing we knew it was on fire!"

Asher cursed. "Someone get me a shovel or a pail of water."

"How do I help?" I asked.

"Just stand back," he replied brusquely, falling in line with his pack as they fought to control the flames.

I started to back away, feeling useless. Asher wanted me to stay away from the danger, but there had to be something I could do.

I looked up at the burning building, my heart racing. Was it just me, or was the second story of the building leaning too much to the left?

The structure sagged farther, and my heart dropped.

"Watch out!" I called. "It's about to collapse?—"

As I spoke, the wood gave way and tumbled down. Asher dropped his shovel and tried to grab the nearest person in path of the falling roof, but he couldn't get them all, and neither could Taig or his uncle. The second story collapsed, and another plume of smoke erupted toward the sky. It drove away the wolves that had gathered to watch.

A few wolves were caught underneath, their shouts of fear ringing in my ears. I started moving before I could stop myself. While Asher shouted for people to get more water, I reached the destroyed building. I heard him call for me to get away from the blazing wreckage, but I ignored him.

I saw someone's leg sticking out from under the wreck of wood. He was trying to pull it free under the boards, but it was wedged tightly under the wreckage. One beam of wood was loaded down, especially on one side where the bulk of the shingles on the roof had piled.

Taig rushed past me to get to them, and he started tugging at the side of the wood that was under less debris. The beam threatened to snap in half, which would make it more difficult to free the trapped wolves.

Suddenly, a memory from my studies hit me. This was an issue of physics. He wasn't close enough to the heavier side, and the weight wasn't distributed properly. If he could get some leverage, the trapped wolves would be able to crawl free.

"Stop!" I shouted, moving to the heavier end of the beam. "You'll snap it!"

"What the hell are you doing?" Taig demanded, struggling under the weight.

"Put that end down," I said. "Just trust me!"

He hesitated for a second, which was almost too long given what was at stake, and I worried he'd ignore me. I don't know what he saw in my gaze, but whatever it was, he listened to me and stopped lifting the beam. As he stepped back, I crouched, getting my hands under the beam.

I took a deep breath and lifted, grunting as I inched the load above the ground more and more until there was enough space for the wolves to free themselves. Once the final person was free, I let go of the beam and shook the splinters and ash from my hands. I hadn't noticed, but my hands had become wolf claws, which had allowed me to really hold onto the wood.

I stepped back from the roof, Asher pulled me close. As we watched, the rest of the structure disintegrated.

"Thank you," a voice behind us said. One of the wolves who had been trapped under the roof was looking at me, tears in his eyes. "Thank you so much."

"N-no thanks necessary," I said.

A hand touched my shoulder, and when I turned, I found the woman who had taken her child away the other night. Her child wasn't with her now—he was probably safe in their cabin. She looked at me with shining eyes and squeezed my shoulder.

"My mate was caught under there," she said. "You helped him get out. I won't forget that."

I wasn't sure what to say, so I just nodded. As I looked around the people nearest me, I found they weren't looking at me with as much suspicion as they had before.

The efforts to keep the fire from spreading worked—it was confined to the building, and within half an hour, the worst of the flames died down. Fifteen minutes later, only a few embers remained. Those were quickly extinguished with dirt and water.

We found out later that the meeting room had gone up when a wolf who was cleaning shifted. While fighting his feral side, he destroyed the room, knocking over a lantern in the process. It wasn't until the smoke appeared that anyone noticed. Fortunately, that wolf, though having lost consciousness from smoke inhalation, was recovering in the infirmary.

It was a harrowing end to the day, and Asher and I were exhausted.

"How did you know what to do back there?" he asked. "Did you rescue a lot of wolves during your time in high-wolf society?"

I laughed as we walked back to his cabin, flexing my fingers. While he'd helped clean up, one of the pack doctors had cleaned and patched up my hands.

"Not exactly," I replied. "I just remembered a physics lesson." I started to talk about where to place the fulcrum to balance a lever, but when I realized I was starting to ramble, I stopped.

He chuckled when he saw my cheeks redden and wrapped a hand around my waist. His hands were also bandaged. "It's lucky I have such a smart mate at my side."

I ducked my head but basked in his praise. I still resented the way my parents had forced me to study so I would be a good mate to Connor, but I was grateful the knowledge had been of use today. My heart felt so full when I remembered the way the Dagger pack had looked at me after I lifted that beam. It made me want to burst into tears.

Above us, the sky was turning purple and orange as the sun set. The fire had taken up most of our day, but we still had the night to spend together.

Asher and I still had the curse to deal with, but I felt hopeful for our future. Things were starting to look up for us, and I couldn't wait to get back to his cabin and spend the night cuddling, kissing, and mating.

Neither of us expected yet another interruption, nor that that interruption would step out of Asher's cabin when we reached it.