Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Anders

L orcan disappears upstairs, leaving me alone with Veryn.

I should be checking in with Bryant and the other wolves I can trust. However, I’m stuck on the couch, waiting to see if Ember needs anything.

“So,” the dragon says conversationally. “I’m guessing by your reaction to Ember and that asshole sparring…” He stretches, tossing an arm over the back of the couch. “You’re her mate too?”

“My wolf and my lion never agree about anything, but they’re in agreement about her,” I say, appraising him carefully.

Their bond is fresh.

Sharing can be complicated; it takes a lot of work and compromise when shifters are involved.

“I’m not shocked.” He sighs, shoving his straight black hair away from his face. “Although, I wouldn’t have turned down a little more one-on-one time with her before the two of you showed up. It doesn’t matter. It is what it is. I grew up in a pack. I get it.”

My head tilts.

“I knew talking to her mom was going to make her sad.” Veryn glances at the stairs as he absently rubs his chest. “Ember is strong when she needs to be, but she’s soft at heart.”

I mean, isn’t that basically all women? I’m not sure what to say, so I give him a nod to let him know I’m listening.

“She’s also in full-blown denial about the whole heat thing. Everything in me wants to go up there and comfort her, and I will if you’re not going to get your ass in gear.” He gives a pointed look.

My hands tighten on the arms of the chair as I prepare to push myself out of my seat.

“You can tell all of that from the bond?” I ask, moving to stand.

“Yeah, and a whole lot more,” he mutters.

“She might not want me to bother her,” I say, scratching my jaw. “I think you should come too.”

Jesus Christ.

What am I? Twelve years old and afraid to go into the haunted house alone?

My lion chuffs his displeasure.

“You’ll never build trust if you’re never there when she needs you.” He shrugs. “But whatever, I’ll feel better if I can see with my own two eyes that she’s okay. We can knock this out as a team activity.”

“Um,” I whisper, tilting my head to the side as I try to decipher exactly what I’m looking at.

“Yeah, you know, I have no idea either,” Veryn says. “My best guess is, she found the bags Gemma and I dropped off before I found you at the practice ring…” He squints and shrugs a giant shoulder. “But that’s not my T-shirt, so maybe she dug in your drawers. I don’t know everything.”

Ember’s wolf huffs, nosing my shirt around until she seems to find something she likes.

“Aww, baby. If you needed to huff our scents, you could have called us.” Veryn tugs his shirt off at the back of his neck and tosses it toward the bed.

Ember’s wolf stands, lunging for it and catching it with her impressive teeth. She drops it on the mattress and traps it in place with her paws as she noses and sniffs it.

She glances between us and growls.

“Are you not in the mood for company?” Veryn asks, tilting his head.

“No, that’s… My lion is convinced that’s more of a get your ass in here and close the door .” My lion is an alpha shifter, but he still urges me to scramble to comply with her wolf’s command.

Veryn’s low chuckle has my proverbial hackles rising, but I leave him in the open doorway to approach the bed.

Ember’s wolf stands, baring her teeth.

Keep her gaze or she’ll never respect you. My lion projects the thought in my mind. Show no fear.

A warning chuff leaves her lips, followed by some type of low growl.

I reach out my hand, grateful to see it’s not shaking. Fucking hell, her teeth are impressive. She doesn’t let up, and her growl deepens, vibrating out of her chest.

“You’re upset about something,” I murmur, edging closer. “Or maybe you’re testing me. Is that it? You want to be sure I don’t fear you…” My shin hits the edge of the bed. “I owe you my life.” I bow my head in a show of respect as my fingers brush her soft fur. “If you chose to take it, I would offer you my throat.”

Ember’s wolf grunts, licking at my wrist and bumping her face against my shirt.

“I told Ember, but I should probably thank you too.” I kneel on the bed and dig my fingers into her muzzle, giving her a solid scratch. “Thank you for saving me. I’m sorry that you had to kill Aimes, but I’m grateful you did.”

Ember’s wolf brings her paws up, purposely using her weight on my chest and side to shove me down. I land on my back on the mattress, blinking repeatedly. My entire body jolts as she crawls over me.

The door closes loudly, and Veryn chuckles. “My, my, my, you are in a mood.”

Ember growls, staring straight into my eyes as she stands over me. My lion lights in my eyes, and he chuffs back at her. My hands come to rest on her skull, transforming into my paws.

She nips at my wrist, and I’m still baffled why she’s so upset.

Veryn crawls on the end of the bed. He’s shirtless, since he tossed his tee to her wolf upon entering.

He runs his hand down her spine. “How about you keep the tail and the ears and lose the rest of the fur?”

Ember’s wolf grunts at him as she glances over her shoulder, but her eyes quickly return to mine.

Offer her your throat, my lion commands, willing away his claws until my hands return. She wants to see if you meant what you said. She’s our mate. She’ll never be able to truly cause us harm.

My head snaps to the side, and Ember’s wolf lowers her nose to the crook of my neck. Her hot breath fans over my skin, and it goes against every instinct I have to stay in such a vulnerable position, but I meant what I said. She saved my life. If she no longer deems me worthy, then that’s her choice to make.

She uses her nose to bump my hair away and moves back to the same spot as she lowers her chest to mine.

She is an extremely solid wolf, and it becomes difficult to breathe with her weight pressing on my lungs.

Ember takes up much of my view, but I spot Veryn’s hand as he rubs just behind her ears. Ember’s scratchy tongue slides over my throat, and she moves quickly, her mouth opening wide.

My eyes slide shut as I come to terms with the fact I’m going to die. It goes against everything I’ve ever heard about mates, but?—

All thoughts bleed away as her wolf bites into my neck. It’s significantly more painful than a bite in human form, but her wolf laps at my skin. There’s a split second where my soul understands I could deny the bond, but I dismiss that.

The link soaks into my consciousness as my lion roars. My wolf, who is normally quiet and only comes forward when I seek him out, howls. Their joint pleasure is unmistakable.

My eyes are still closed as it becomes easier to breathe. Veryn is the first thing I see, but he’s staring at Ember with his mouth hanging open. My hand flies to the back of her head, brushing over human hair. Her much softer tongue teases my skin as she laps at the bite like she’s preparing to retract her teeth.

I keep one hand cradling her skull and bring the other to soothe up and down her back. She’s nude, which makes sense because of the shift.

Veryn moves from leaning over her to kneeling behind her with his legs on either side of mine. “Well, at least you kept the tail. My dragon says thanks.” The bed jostles with the movement of him climbing off the end. He grabs my legs, tugging me down until my knees hang off. Which probably puts Ember’s ass right at the edge. “Push up a bit, so I can lick your pussy,” he growls.

Ember follows his command as her tongue flicks over her canines where they’re still embedded in my skin. If she doesn’t remove them quickly, my healing could cause both of us a significant issue. Luckily, she tugs them free, sliding her tongue over the indents to seal them just before my natural healing kicks in.

Ember groans, wiggling her hips as she uses her hands on my shoulders to push up until she can meet my eyes. Her pretty blue orbs are huge, and her teeth dig into her lower lip.

We’re partially bonded, and we haven’t even kissed.

“I didn’t mean to take your choice—” She cuts off as I lean up, capturing her puffy lips.

She gasps, wrapping her hand around the back of my head. Her fingers dig into my hair painfully, and I kinda like how aggressively she holds me in place.

Her other hand slides down my side, and when she gets to the bottom of the material, she tugs my shirt up.

I’m so overwhelmed. Everything is moving at lightning speed, but she groans against my lips, nodding as her cheek brushes mine.

“This…off.” Ember releases my hair to grab the other side of my T-shirt. She pulls back enough that she can tug it off over my head. It lands somewhere near the pillows, but my eyes don’t leave her face.

I’m in so fucking far over my head. Her hair was braided the last time I saw her, meaning she either took it out before changing into her wolf or the change did away with the braids.

Her blondish-brown hair falls around her shoulders as her nails dig into my pecs. She stares at my chest, but she might be focused on whatever Veryn is doing to make such wet, slick sounds fill the air. Her shoulders tremble, and I ache to elicit those reactions from her.

Everything has moved at lightning speed since she came out of nowhere and saved my ass. You’d think for having close to two hundred years in age on her and the dragon that I’d be the one most comfortable.

Only, I purposely saved myself for my mate.

After seeing the hell my biological father put my mom through by not waiting for his mate… It was an easy decision to make.

Granted, I never thought it would take so long for her to make an appearance, but I have zero regrets.

My hands land on Ember’s sides as she stretches up to kiss me. She must be using her knees to hold her up because she barely puts any weight on me as she trails her nails down my chest and over my abs.

My cock is rock hard and desperate.

The softness of her tongue teasing mine. The way her hair brushes my cheeks and shoulders as she moves. Even the feeling of her tits brushing my chest.

It’s all so fucking much to process.

And I know I’m supposed to be doing more, but that’s hard when Veryn has us both trapped in place.

So, I give in to the tantalizing kiss and warm brush of her tits against my chest. I’m obsessed with how soft her skin is under my fingertips, and I tease from her back down to squeeze her ass. My hands brush Veryn’s forearm, but I ignore him.

I damn well intend to enjoy my first time…no matter who else is in attendance.

Ember nibbles at my lower lip, and the swirling of her tongue around the ache distracts me as she undoes my jeans. Her fingers brush over my lower stomach, and she slides under the material.

I groan into our kiss and lock my muscles to keep from trying to roll us.

Ember’s hand wraps around my shaft, and she moans. “Holy shit, that’s new.”

“Yeah, feline shifters have spikes,” I say, trying to find another way to describe the mini-hooks or barbs.

Fuck, do we really have to have an audience for this conversation?