Chapter 8

8

Kael

M y beast is purring in ecstasy. My mate is in my arms and I'm bringing her back to my lair. My heart is soaring. I'm in love with her. It's happened so fast, but I know Raelynn is the one I want to be with, always.

And the way she's clinging to me is driving me mad with desire. My cock is surging like a homing device. It's desperate to get to her. To break through her virginity and claim her. All I can think about is how tight her little pussy felt when she climaxed around my finger. How much better it's gonna feel when it's coming all over my dick.

In a minute, I reach the familiar pathway—if you can call it that. It's no more than a beaten-down track through the undergrowth. Too late to worry about that now. I'm gonna sort out this shit, I tell myself. Do my best to give this princess the comfort she deserves.

I kick open the door and enter carefully, making sure I don't bump Raelynn's precious limbs on the door frame.

I freeze. Something is different. The cabin is real tidy. Not at all how I left it when I bust out of here like a hurricane a few days ago. Has someone broken in here and tidied the shit out of it? Well, I never lock the door, so there are plenty of possible candidates. But I know exactly who it is: my cousin Elsa. She's kind like that. She and her mate are always on at me to go out into the world and find my mate. Well, here she is, in my arms.

Mate her! my bear growls. It pushes at my skin, driving my steps to the rear of the cabin where my bedroom is. My nostrils are full of the sweet, thick scent of Raelynn's desire. She's ready. Ready for me to claim her.

She'll be hungry , says a quiet voice in my head.

Shit. That's the human part of me. The part that loves her already and wants to take care of her every need. I come to a stop, turn a one-eighty.

I'd better put some clothes on, so Raelynn doesn't have to see my swollen dick again until it's entering her. Which is gonna happen real soon.

"You need the bathroom or something?" I say.

"Yeah, actually I do." She laughs.

I let her down gently at the bathroom door, and turn quick to protect her from the sight of my monster erection. Gotta keep myself decent around humans. My brother's dinned that into me a thousand times.

I dart into the bedroom and pull on a pair of jeans.

She's gone for a while, and when she comes back into the main room the look in her eyes is so vulnerable, my heart hurts.

I dash over to her. "What is it?" I demand. Then I see that she looks different. Her eyes are lighter, and her skin and lips are paler. Her eyebrows are also fine and golden, instead of heavy and dark. She looks even more beautiful than before, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what's changed. I stare at her in utter confusion.

Her lower lip trembles. "I don't look so good now, do I?"

"What?" I put my arms around her. Her eyelashes are also golden now, and they flutter fast. "You're even prettier than you were before."

Her lips part. "Really?"

"Really." I stroke her cheek. "I don't know what you did, but you're so stunning, Raelynn. You look more… natural."

A laugh bursts out of her. "I just washed my make-up off. This is me. This is what I really look like."

I gaze at her in awe. "You should never wear make-up."

She laughs again, more easily this time. "Try telling my dad that. It takes a looong time to do my face before I go onstage."

I go still as a realization hits me, boom , in the chest. She needed me to see her like this. She was scared I would reject her. It's so crazy, I almost feel like laughing.

Almost.

Because what she needs right now is reassurance. Somehow, my simple, beary brain understands that.

I hug her tight against me.

"You're perfect just the way you are," I tell her, over and over.

After a while, her body goes slack. I hadn't realized how tense it was, but now I feel her relax into my arms. I stroke her hair. "It's okay," I tell her. "You can be yourself with me."

She nuzzles into me for a while. Then she gives a big, shuddering breath and draws back. Her gaze drops to the bullet wound.

"You took a bullet for me," she murmurs.

"Part of the job."

"It would've killed me."

I shake my head. "There's no would've. I'm here to protect you, Raelynn. Make sure no one ever hurts you."

She frowns, like she's not used to hearing things like that. "Is it really okay?"

"Yeah, I dealt with it." I don't tell her that I dug it out with my bear's claws. That it was the most painful experience of my life. But I kept thinking about claiming her, and it gave me the strength to go through with it.

Sternly, she pulls me over to the kitchen light, perches on the edge of one of the chairs and peers at it. "It's almost healed," she says in wonder. "You don't need a dressing or anything."

"That's how it goes with shifters." I shrug, trying to ignore the feeling of her cool fingers on my bare skin.

"Okay, I'm gonna cook," I say, before I get carried away again.

I turn away from her and open the fridge. It's been a few months since Elsa insisted I start eating properly, instead of, "choking down some prey while its heart is still beating."

Her words, not mine.

Inside are some boxes with dates written on them in sharpie. I pull one out suspiciously. The date is four days away. I open the lid and sniff. It smells hella good. Venison stew. That's Elsa's signature dish. She showed me how to make it a while ago. Might even be able to give it a go myself. But no point wasting this.

"Venison stew?" I ask over my shoulder.

Raelynn gives a sensual sigh. "I've been dreaming of something like that, ever since I've been on a starvation diet."

I frown. "How long's that?"

"Oh…" She props her chin on her hands. "Ever since I hit puberty. My dad is obsessed with making sure I stay slim."

Anger rages through me. "Your dad controls what food you can eat?"

She blinks fast. Darn, I've gone all feral. Probably scaring the shit out of her.

"It's not a big deal." She frowns. "Women are not designed to be as skinny as the media expects us to be. Most of us who are in the public eye don't really eat a lot."

I stare at her, not understanding. She's beautiful the way she is—taut and lithe like a woodland pixie. But I also know she'll be gorgeous with ripe curves. Especially when that little belly of hers is swollen with my young.

"Well, tonight you're gonna eat real food."

Her eyes light up. "Sounds wonderful."

I root in the fridge again and find some mashed potato with an expiry date of two days away. I slop both tubs into pans and heat gently. This I can do, hearing Elsa's patient instructions in my head.

While I'm cooking, Raelynn wanders around the living room, examining all the old junk I've got lying around. Random stuff my clan gave me to make my place more "homely" as they called it. Back then I didn't give a shit about being homely. Now I wish I'd listened to their advice and organized everything a bit nicer.

"I'm sorry, it's not much," I mumble.

"I love it. It just feels so…" She gives a little shrug. "Real."

"Kinda basic." I shove my hands in my pockets.

She turns to me, a radiant smile lighting her beautiful face. "You have no idea. Sometimes my whole life feels plastic. Everywhere I live is so fancy. And nothing ever feels like home." She fingers a small wooden horse that my cousin's kid carved for me. "I can really feel the love here."

I blink. "Guess you're right." I work my jaw back and forth.

"What is it?" She looks serious.

"Oh, I was just thinking what a grumpy ass I've been all these years. I've been living out here by myself in isolation. My clan keep coming by to give me stuff. Never knew why."

She takes a step closer to me. "And now you do?"

I shrug. "Guess they care about me."

She throws a glance around the room. "I'll say. You're a very lovable guy, Kael."

Lovable?

Her eyes are wide open, and she's looking at me unwaveringly. Shit . Humans are usually real bad at eye contact, but she's got a stare as direct as a shifter, and it's making me feel all kinds of jumpy. I have the weirdest feeling she can see right into my soul.

"You don't see yourself that way, do you?"

I shake my head, snort a little. "Things were… difficult when I was young."

"How so?"

I take a deep breath. "I lost my parents when I was a kid. Killed by hunters. Ryker and I were raised by my uncle and his family, but I couldn't believe they really wanted me. So, I acted out a lot. I was a pain in the ass. So, they got sick of me. So, I left home real young, and started living like a hermit."

Her eyes get very bright. "And you lived with that pain all your life?"

"Guess so."

She lays a hand on my chest. "You just need to get that heart of yours to open."

I grunt, turn back to the stove. My beary brain feels overwhelmed.

Thankfully, the food is ready.

I ladle it onto the plates. I don't dump it like I usually do, but I lay it out real nice. I want to make everything nice for her.

She slides into her seat. "Oh my god," she whispers. "This smells unbelievable. Thank you so much."

"I can't take credit for it. My cousin made it."

"Oh, what's her name?"

"Elsa. She's trying to get me civilized—" I break off. Maybe that's not a sexy thing to tell the girl of my dreams.

But she's busy sighing at the food.

"Oh, this is—" She closes her eyes luxuriantly.

I watched, transfixed, while she chews daintily. Her eyelids flutter a little. Those long, thick eyelashes sweep her cheeks.

"I swear this is the best thing I ever tasted." When she opens her eyes again, they're brighter than ever, and there's a flush to her cheeks.

I reach out and lay my hand on hers. "From now on we're gonna feed you right," I tell her. "No more starvation diets."

She flashes a smile, but then she looks sad. "My father?—"

"Is your father a nutritionist—?" I bark out. "Oh, I'm sorry. That was too loud."

She giggles. "No, you're right. He's not. He's an overbearing guy with some old-fashioned ideas—actually, there's been a lot of shit in the media about me looking too skinny."

"There you go," I reply.

With every mouthful, she sighs sensually. I just sit and take her in. I've barely even touched my own food. I just want to enjoy every beautiful moment.

When she's cleared her plate, I lay my hand on hers and ask the question that's been preying on my mind the last few hours. "Your father is pretty controlling, huh?"

Her gaze drops to the table. When she looks up again, her eyes are sparkling with tears. "He controls every single thing I do. From the moment I wake up, to the moment I go to bed. All my earnings get paid into his bank account, and he's keeping it in trust until I turn thirty."

"You agreed to that?"

She shrugs. "I was so young when I signed the contract. I didn't even know what I was agreeing to. He buys most of the stuff I need, and he gives me an allowance for personal stuff, but it's not really enough—" she trails off.

I clench my fists under the table. I'm so mad I could punch something. "So he can keep controlling you."

Her chest rises and falls. "Yeah, pretty much. And I hate thinking these bad things about him because he devotes his whole life to me."

"He has a pretty sweet lifestyle though."

She sighs. "He does. He takes a lot of women out to fancy restaurants, and I don't even know what else. I think part of the reason why he hired you was so I can be controlled while he has his freedom. So I won't be around to question what he's doing."

I finger the almost-healed bullet wound. I actually think he hired me for another reason, but I keep that quiet. Right now, I just want to focus on my girl and help her get out of this shitty situation.

"What do you need?" I ask.

Her eyes get even wider, but she doesn't say anything.

"You can tell me." I clasp her tiny hand in mine, caress it reassuringly.

"I'm not used to people asking me questions like that. It's all about what I need to do next."

"I'm here for you, Raelynn, and I'm listening. Just tell me."

Shit . I didn't even know these words existed in this grizzly ol' brain of mine. It's like she's opened up something in me that's always been there, I just never knew it.

She stares at the table for a long time. When she next looks up, her eyes are full of fire. "I want to escape. I'm real tired. I want to stop performing for a while. Have some time to figure out who I am when I'm not Luna Vey." Her gaze runs over my bare upper body. "I just wanna be free."

My beast purrs. "I can keep you safe here," I tell her.

"Here?" she repeats, gazing around the room. "I feel so different when I'm with you, Kael. Like I'm my real self."

"Nothing else to be out here than your real self. No need to hide yourself from anyone or anything. Don't even need to wear clothes if you don't want to."

She scans my body again and gives a little shudder. Her pupils are dilated, and the tip of her tongue darts across her lips. She's thinking about me naked. I know it.

"Oh, I hate that I'm wearing this stuff." She indicates her glittery outfit.

"Take it off if you want," I say. "Want me to help you?"

She bites her lip. Then she breaks into a grin. "Sure do."

I don't hesitate. I reach for her, draw her out of her seat so she's standing right in front of me. She looks deep into my eyes while I tug up her tight little dress. I ease it right over her head and toss it away, and there she is in just a pair of lacy panties.

Damn. Her tits are beautiful. Full and round and delicious. "And these, too?" I hook my fingers into the sides of her underwear.

She takes a deep breath and nods quickly.

I tug them down. There's a little patch of golden-blonde hair. Her scent rises to my nostrils again, and I see that her inner thighs are glistening with her arousal.

My beast snorts in frustration. Claim her, claim her , it roars like a mantra.

I snatch her up in my arms and sit her down on the edge of the table. I kiss her long and deep, crushing my mouth against hers, plunging my tongue between her sweet lips. My cock is straining against my zipper like an animal that needs to be unleashed.

"I want you naked, too," she murmurs against my mouth.

Shit. I almost come on the spot. My girl is incredible. Untouched, but hungry for me like I am for her.

She leans back, bracing her hands on the tabletop, waiting. Her thighs fall apart a little, revealing the tender pink of her labia.

My beast roars. Hurry up already.

As she watches intently, I tear off my jeans. My cock springs out, slapping against my thigh as it rebounds. Precum is leaking from the head. Feels like it's fit to burst.

Her thighs open wider. Holy fuck. She's inviting me to take her.

One more step and I'll be inside her.