Chapter 27 - Aris

As soon as the life leaves Varun's eyes, I see Linnea collapse into Bigby's arms. I move to her, taking her from his arms and checking her for injury, but she must just be exhausted from the past few days and the excitement of the fight. With Varun dead, there are a lot of preparations to be made. The pack will need to be notified that I'm officially the new alpha, and we'll have to scour the rest of Varun's compound to ensure he doesn't have anyone else imprisoned here.

But right now, I need to take my wife home. Vaguely remembering where her parents lived, I have Bigby help me get her back into the truck they came in and head toward her house.

As we drive, Bigby explains what happened and how Linnea managed to get away from him and convince him to come to my aid.

She faked throwing up because of the baby, he says. She's too cunning for her own good.

I look down at her with pride in my eyes. She may have directly disobeyed my orders, but I can't deny that without her there, Varun may have hit me with that poisoned knife. And if that had happened, neither Linnea nor the baby would have made it through.

Putting my hand on her forehead, I marvel at her strength. Coming to defend me, coming to my aid, when just a week ago she was planning to cut ties with her pack altogether. My body pulls me to her, and I lift her head, placing it in my lap.

After seeing her in so much danger, down in the compound, it feels like I'll never be able to leave her alone again. Bigby pulls up outside the house and I get out, hefting Linnea into my arms and carrying her up the path. Bigby opens the door and helps me get inside, where I place her down on the couch. When she's comfortable, I move back outside with him, closing the door gently and crossing my arms.

What do we do now? Bigby projects.

I take a deep breath and look down the street. It still looks empty, and I wonder where everyone went—if Varun made it clear that something was going down and told them to evacuate, or if it's something worse than that. I hope, for my benefit and everyone's, that nothing bad has happened to the innocents in this pack, to the humans in this town.

We'll have to contact the agency about the commander, I start. And, if I'm being honest. I'm not sure I'm going back. I have a responsibility to the people of this town—

You don't have to explain that to me, Brother, Bigby replies, nodding his head vaguely in the direction of Linnea. If I'm being honest with you, I'm not sure I want to return to the agency, either. There's just too much corruption to be certain you're doing good, you know?

Where will you go?

Well, there's this little town called Rosecreek that I've had my eye on.

I blink at him, disbelieving.

You'd move back here? After everything?

I'll move back here to work with an alpha like you.

We're not huggers, but I reach out and pull Bigby into a hug, clapping him on the back. Things haven't gone the way I thought when we set out to complete this mission, but I'm on the path to rebuilding my father's legacy.

I think—I think the rest of the team might want to stay, too, Bigby adds, and obviously, you're going to need all the help you can get.

We pull apart, and Bigby claps me on the arm once more, nodding.

We can all think on it, I send. But for now, I'm going to get some fucking sleep.

Bigby laughs, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, then tipping his head up to look at Linnea's family house. It's nothing special, but you can tell she puts care into the upkeep, with the well-tended flowers and fresh siding.

We're going to scrub through the rest of the compound tonight, though, Bigby says. Need to make sure Varun doesn't have anyone else down there.

Agreed.

Bigby nods once more, then turns and walks back down the drive, leaving the truck parked outside. I take a deep breath and walk back into the house. Now that I have a second to take it in, I stop and look at the pictures of Linnea and her family on the mantle, at her wide smile as a kid, her arms thrown around them.

My heart hurts for her that she lost both of them in one fell swoop. I think of my own parents. I grieve that our children won't meet their wonderful grandparents. As I turn and see Linnea on the couch, her head nuzzled into the pillow, sleeping soundly, I know that our kids will have a pack to rely on and plenty of pack elders to replace the grandparents they've lost.

Protecting Linnea still at the front of my mind, I walk through the house, checking each room and scoping out the area until I'm sure we're secure inside. Then, I walk to the couch, collect my wife, and bring her to bed.

***

When I wake up later, the sun has disappeared from the sky, with only the light from the street lamp filtering in through the blinds to light the room. Immediately, I realize Linnea isn't in bed beside me, and I move my hand, grasping for her. I sit up, then realize there's a light shining out from under the bathroom door, and I can hear the faint sound of the shower running.

As I get out of bed, I can feel how battered and bruised my body is, but that doesn't stop my cock from stiffening at the thought of my wife in the shower, water running over her body. I cross the hall and push the door open, catching sight of her with her hands in her hair, suds in her hair and on her skin, her eyes closed, head tipped up to the ceiling.

Not wanting to scare her, I make sure the door makes plenty of noise as I close it, and she glances over, smiling when she sees me.

I don't waste any time. Stripping my clothes off, I step into the shower with her, my hands going to her soft sides, roaming down to her thighs, blood flowing south as I get a good look at her body. She also smells amazing—and I realize how much I've missed having a proper, long shower while we were out at the cabins.

We shower together silently, with her wordlessly washing my back and me moving her hair to the side and kissing the softest part of her, where her neck meets her back. When we step out of the shower, I can't keep my hands off her, wrapping her in a towel, then running my fingers under the edge of the towel, driving myself crazy.

Linnea shivers as my hands trace her skin, and I lean into her, realizing I haven't had the chance to tell her everything I've been thinking in the thick of the action. Without thinking, I anchor my hands on her hips and lift her up onto the counter so she's sitting there in her towel, gazing up at me, her wet hair dripping quietly.

"Linnea," I say, slotting between her hips and pressing my torso against hers. It's been far too long since I was naked with her, and I inhale sharply when her hands rest on either side of my abdomen. "I'm so, so in love with you."

Her eyes light up, the last trace of worry disappearing from her face. I nuzzle into her neck, kissing her everywhere I can find skin, not missing the little whoosh of a breath she lets out.

"I've loved you since the first day I saw you. Since before the mating bond, before the blood marriage, before everything. I was an asshole in high school, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life making it up to you. You're my love, my luna, my wife—not another day is going to go by that I don't tell you how much I love and cherish you."

I'm trying to be serious, giving her what I think she wants, so when she laughs, it catches me off guard. She lets her head tip back, showing her bare throat, and I long to reach forward and kiss her there.

"So, Varun got his monologue, and you need yours?"

I growl at her, hands tightening on her hips.

"I'm confessing my love here," I murmur, kissing just under her jaw. "And you're not taking me seriously."

"Oh," she says, letting go of the towel and letting it fall open for me. "I'm taking you very seriously."

A low growl slips out of me, and before I know what I'm doing, my hands are on her ass, and I'm pulling her closer to me. She buries her hands in my hair and sighs loudly as I dip my head, taking her nipple in my mouth.

My cock is hard and sensitive, rubbing against the inside of her thigh, and I pick her up effortlessly, carrying her to the bed. I have no idea what time it is, no idea what my team is doing, and I don't care.

I throw her down on the bed, and before I can give her any orders, she's throwing her hair over her shoulder, kneeling at the edge of the bed, taking my cock in her mouth.

Rendered speechless, I close my eyes and tip my head back. She takes as much as she can into her mouth, wrapping her hand around the base and applying expert pressure. I open my eyes, looking down at her and burying my hands in her hair, pushing her gently forward. Her eyes meet mine, and the sight of her there, down on her knees for me, makes pleasure course through me so strongly I'm afraid I might come right here.

And that just won't do. Not when she hasn't orgasmed for me yet.

Pulling her hair, I gently pull her mouth off of me, the soft, wet noise of her mouth making me swear under my breath.

"Come here," I say, taking her hand and standing her up. I kiss her hard, pressing my tongue into her mouth, making her breathless when I push my hand between her thighs. She's dripping wet, her pussy hot and slick for me, and I revel in how her body shudders when I slip my fingers between her folds.

"Aris," she gasps, and my body takes over. I grip her hips, spin her around, and put a hand on her lower back, bending her over the bed. "Oh, fuck," she says when I kick her heels, pushing her legs apart for me.

I grab her ass in my hands, massaging as I tease her opening with my cock. It's already pulsing from the head she gave me, and I have to concentrate not to come and spill my seed all over her back. When she's whimpering, her ass up in the air, pleading for me, I give in with a growl, burying myself in her to the hilt.

"Oh, fuck, Linnea," I groan, groping with a hand until I get a handful of her curls in my fist. I pull, making her rise up off the bed on her elbows, a noise of pleasure coming from low in her throat. "That's right, take me so deep."

Gripping her hip with my other hand, I slide out, then slam back into her, loving the way her ass bounces against me. I watch her snake one hand south and groan when I realize she's touching herself. The wolf inside takes me over, and I release her hair, grabbing both of her hips and thrusting into her again, tilting my hips and going even deeper.

She screams my name and pleads for me to go faster, and so I do, slamming into her again and again, the sound of our bodies colliding filling the room. Her scent is all around me, and the sight of her bare skin alone is enough to make me come undone. I understand the mating bond more than I ever have in this moment—there isn't another woman on this planet that can make me feel the way she does. If I were to ever seek intimacy with another person, it would be like eating cardboard after having devil's food cake.

When Linnea comes, I feel her entire body shudder around mine, and I finally release, coming inside of her again. Part of me wishes she wasn't already pregnant so I could be more aware of how I'm planting myself inside her right now. Something deep inside growls at this thought, and though I've just come, I can feel my cock starting to harden again.

Linnea has her head buried in the bed, her curls still wet and damp, spread out around her head.

"Fuck Aris," she gasps. "We're going to need more near-death situations if this is what you're like after."

I growl, shaking my head and climbing into bed after her, collecting her in my arms and tucking her under the covers with me. I slot her body next to mine, knowing it's only going to be a matter of minutes before I need to be inside her again.