Chapter 12: Kali

12

KALI

A feral growl echoes through the cabin and out into the forest, which rages beyond the comfort of my cosy new home.

Branches swing, tapping against the glass to remind us just how wild it's getting outside. Every animal that's yet to take shelter has fallen deathly quiet, knowing an angry predator when they hear one.

I back away slowly as Griffin stalks forward.

One side of his mouth lifts, and his teeth push down past his top lip. "Kali. Stop. You need to stop moving."

Ignoring him completely, I keep adding to the distance between us, slowly, steadily creeping toward the door.

His human side is telling him that his natural desires are wrong, but his animal side is telling him to take, to claim, and to breed.

"If you're not interested, I'll find another man willing to bury his teeth in my neck, and his seed in my womb." Pulling the door open, I dash down the steps and then turn to face him again. Leaves swirl through the air, piling up in the corner of the porch and sticking to the deck. Walking backward toward the tree line, he stands in the doorway, the wind and rain sticking his short, dark hair to his forehead.

His tortured expression tells me exactly what he wants, but he's frozen with doubt.

He feels it, so powerful, so untamed. That's why he's trying to resist.

"Kali?" His voice is strangled. His hands go to his head again, like he doesn't want to do this, but he begins down the steps anyway, slowly, confidently, ready to stalk me into the forest. He can't help it. His natural instincts have kicked in.

He's a hunter. It's what he's born to do. Right now, I'm his prey.

And I can't wait for him to take me down.

"Stop fucking about, Kali. This isn't funny."

Amused isn't how I feel. Turned on. Excited. Scared. Ready. "No. I don't think I will."

Giving him my best mischievous grin, I turn and run, sprinting as hard as I can into the forest, drops of water from the canopy above soaking my back as I duck and dive.

A burst of excitement sends a shiver up my spine when I hear him crashing down the rest of the stairs, his boots hitting the wet ground with a squelch. The trees shake as he plunges into the forest behind me, charging through the trees with little care for the noise he's making. This isn't a silent pursuit. He wants me to know he's coming for me.

As Griffin gets closer, I imagine I can feel his breath on the back of my neck, warm and dangerous, with teeth poised and ready to bite.

I swerve, jumping a fallen tree trunk, and change direction, hoping to catch him off guard. I want to make this harder for him than he expected. He needs to earn the right to have me. His beast needs to show mine just how strong he is.

But I'm nimble, where he's all brawn.

Knowing these woods as well as I do, I could really draw this out. I could probably make sure he never catches me.

If I wanted to.

A furious roar sounds behind me… Griffin's had enough. This isn't a playful chase anymore; he's running me down.

Pushing myself as hard as I can, I circle back and break through the treeline in front of the cabin, sprinting as hard as I can toward the rustic wooden structure. My shoes slide on the slippery mud and wet leaves coating the ground. I can't wait to slam the door in his face and see what he does next.

Will he break it down to get to me? The idea of him so desperate to reach me that he'd tear it from its hinges has me panting with excitement. And distracted.

I stumble, almost hitting the ground, before I regain my footing and charge forward again.

And I'm almost at the steps when he catches me, his breathing heavy and his masculine scent hitting me the second his sweaty body envelopes mine.

One strong arm bands around my waist, and I'm lifted into the air as he tackles me from behind. Before we hit the wet ground in a tangle of limbs, Griffin wraps me in his enormous arms and twists his body, shielding me from the impact.

When we come to a stop, I immediately slide out from underneath him and scramble onto my hands and knees, attempting to crawl up the slippery first step.

Griffin jumps up and covers me from behind, his chest pressing down on my back. His hot breath hits my neck as he pants hard, chest expanding with each ragged breath.

I freeze, pinned beneath his huge body, waiting to see what he's going to do next. Both of us barely feel the rain that's falling in a fine mist above us as his lips press against my ear, making me shudder, exhilarated at the feel of his raw power all around me.

I'm completely at his mercy.

"Don't fucking move," he growls, voice ragged and raw.

His hand trails from my shoulder to along my spine and down my back before gripping the waistband of my leggings and then roughly yanking them down to my knees, baring me to him, right there in the open. The chill of the air is pleasant on my exposed skin, and I moan wantonly at being on display like this, where anyone could see us.

Reaching around, he slides his hand under the hoodie I threw on and grabs my breasts possessively, squeezing and massaging, pinching and tugging my nipple. His other hand moves between my trembling thighs, and he swipes across my dripping entrance, dragging my juices up over my clit, rumbling in satisfaction when he finds me soaking wet for him already.

After the intensity of the chase, the waiting is killing me. Not knowing what he's going to do next has me strung tight with anticipation. Low in my belly, my need for him coils tightly, and I feel like I'll explode if he doesn't do more, something, anything, right now.

"Griffin, please." I whimper, not sure what I want, other than more of him. My pussy clenches in anticipation as he brushes a fingertip along my lips, teasing me as he spreads them and coats me in my own cream.

"Shh," he whispers harshly, like I'm disturbing his exploration of my body. "You were a bad girl. You're going to have to wait till I'm good and ready."

Fuck. I'm going to come before he even touches me properly.

His scent is stronger, and his aura is more dominant with his beast just below the surface. He thrusts two thick fingers inside my sopping-wet core without warning, and my knees almost give way as he curls them and strokes inside me, while grinding the heel of his palm against my clit.

This is not tender or gentle. He's taking what he wants. And he wants me.

"I told you not to run, Kali." He licks up my neck with a long, raspy tongue that feels more beast than human. Using one knee, he shoves my legs further apart and presses one big hand between my shoulders, so I'm leaning my forearms on the steps, wood digging into my palms.

Wrapping a hand firmly around my braid, he tugs sharply, forcing me to arch my back and present my ass for him, my body completely his, to do with as he pleases.

I clench when I hear a rustle of clothing, and then feel the broad head of his cock notch against my entrance. Griffin's bare. It's the first time I've taken someone like this, with nothing between us. I know that I need to be in heat to conceive, but he doesn't. He's just lost to the moment. And I crave his cum inside me with a force I've never felt before.

"Please." I beg, not caring that we're out in the open. Not caring that my new neighbours could come to check on me and find me bent over my porch steps.

Jed is long gone.

Nobody else will be out here, not with the storm.

I wriggle, impatient to feel him inside me.

"I said, don't fucking move."

There's a brief pause, and he waits to see if I'll do as I'm told. I try, I really do, but it's impossible, and when my pussy clenches, tightening around the head, Griffin growls. He pushes forward, just an inch to tease me, pulling back and then rocking forward, a little bit further each time.

I curse, a string of profanities tumbling from me in incoherent rambling as need claws at my gut. I dig my nails into the wood, fighting to stay still, but it's no good. My core clamps around him again, and he bellows, finally losing control and giving it to me.

Slamming into me with one hard thrust, he grunts and growls, his fingers biting into my shoulder and hip where he pins me in place, keeping me still as he pounds into me, shoving me forward with each brutal thrust.

The sounds of our flesh slapping together and the nonsensical babbling falling from my lips, calling his name, fills the forest, drowned out only by the thunder rumbling in the distance and the wind howling through the trees.

One finger circles my ass, pushing against the entrance, making me jerk, but Griffin doesn't press any further.

Still, I cry out at the unexpected sensation until once again, I'm quickly distracted by the rubbing and flicking, pinching and pressing, as he tortures my clit, all the while, slamming into me with his fat cock.

Griffin fills me completely, setting off every nerve ending along my stretched walls as he drags in and out.

Each thrust of his hips pushes me forward into the steps, but his grip on my hair stops me from getting away from him. Not that I want to. The fullness is incredible, and my head is spinning with the sensations of him deep inside me, swelling and twitching, as he grows impossibly bigger.

"Fuck, Kali. I can't stop." Griffin pants against my ear, sounding as awed as I feel.

Thrusting harder and faster, frenzied now, his hold on me is bruising as my elbows dig into the wood, and splinters sting my scratched skin. My body is going to be deliciously sore after, and I couldn't be happier about it.

"Don't you dare stop." I snap, reaching back to grip his ass, digging my fingers into his flesh and pulling him harder against me.

With a loud roar, he comes, buried inside me, painting my insides with his seed. I covet it, treasuring it, proud to have his cum coating my walls.

I whimper when he pulls out. The intoxicating sensation of him jerking inside of me with each jet of cum is suddenly replaced by emptiness. Slumping forward, I'm about to complain when he lifts me by my waist and carries me up the steps.

With a loud bang, he shoves the door open with his muddy boot then closes it with another kick before storming to the bedroom with me in his arms, leaving a trail of footprints across my floor. After throwing me onto the mattress, face down, he grabs me by the ankles and drags me to the edge.

I look over my shoulder at him, mesmerised by the heated way he stares down at my body.

With a satisfied hum, he strokes a finger through the mess between my thighs, pushing his cum back inside me, before he gathers my wrists and traps them behind my back in one hand. And with the other, he lifts my hips up until I'm on my wobbly knees again.

Before I know what's going on, he's given my ass a hard slap and is soothing the sting with a gentle caress. I gasp, shocked, but before I can recover, he's already thrusting inside me, setting a punishing pace straight away.

"Griffin?" I mumble, dazed, barely able to speak while I concentrate on not toppling over. My body comes to life again, clamping down on his cock, determined to milk more cum from the man claiming every inch of me with his hands and mouth.

"I need to hear you come again. It's the best fucking thing I've ever heard." His voice is strained as he drives into me, hard. Reaching around, he strokes down my stomach and finds my lips, parting them to tease my sensitive clit.

My orgasm starts to build, and I moan as he forces my body to react.

It belongs to Griffin now. With much less care and finesse, this time, he rubs my clit with two fingers, nipping my ear right as my climax roars through me.

I scream his name, still unable to move my hands, even though I long to touch him. My body is overwrought and exhausted from the explosive release and the punishing fuck Griffin has just given me, and I sink further into the mattress, gasping for breath.

"Mine. You're fucking mine." With a ferocious roar, he slams into me once more, pushing me up the bed with the force of his thrust, my mouth filling with the comforter bunched up beneath us.

I cry out as Griffin's teeth pierce the back of my shoulder, and I fall forward, another climax making my arms buckle beneath me. I'm done. My brain shuts down and floats away as wave after wave of bliss washes over me and carries me off.

Griffin's claws press into my soft flesh as he comes again, gripping me, holding his hips tightly to my body and grunting as his hot seed sprays my insides.

Weak and unable to stay on my knees, I sigh in a haze of contentment as he places a soft kiss to the back of my shoulder blade. I love the heat and weight of him on my back. It makes me feel small and protected.

Griffin tries to slip from my body, rolling his big bulk off me, but he can't. His knot binds us together, and I can feel his panic when he can't pull away.

"What the fuck?!" The tug as he jerks his hips back makes me gasp, sending another ripple of delicious pleasure through my body.

"Relax. It's just your knot. You'll be free in a minute," I mumble into the soft quilt as my boneless body turns to jelly. I feel like I'm floating on a cloud as my eyes drift shut. Maybe I should explain better, but my brain can't function. He'll figure it out.

Griffin holds me tightly and rolls us to the side, turning us so he can curl up behind me. Stroking his hand along my hip and waist, his chest rumbles against my back, the vibrations relaxing me even more. His heart is pounding, but his beast is content, just like mine.

As sleep takes me, Griffin kisses my cheek. "That was incredible. Thank you." He sounds stunned.

I smile and reach over my shoulder to stroke the back of his head, unable to speak in my orgasm-induced trance. Wrapped in his arms, with the safety of his big body behind mine, I drift asleep with a smile on my face.

But it doesn't last.

Waking up alone just hours later, I pull back the blanket someone has carefully placed over me. There's no sign of Griffin, and his scent has faded. He's been gone for a while. I sigh and cast my gaze around the small space. His boots are nowhere to be seen.

On the table, there's a folded piece of paper, and my heart sinks.

I know a Dear John letter when I see it.

Gingerly lowering my aching body into the chair, I lift the piece of paper, sniffing it to absorb the last of Griffin's scent, steeling myself to read it, but I needn't have bothered. I could have guessed what would happen the second I met him.

Just like everyone else I've ever hoped would see something more in me, he's gone.

I am so sorry, Kali.

My beast is too dangerous. I need to stay away. For both our sakes.

Griffin

W iping the tears from my eyes, I allow myself one frustrated scream into the desolate silence of the cabin before I tear the note into tiny pieces.

Never again.

It's time I accept that I'll never fall in love or have a happily ever after. If the prophecy is true, maybe that's what's best for everyone, anyway. Every time I allow myself to dream of something more, it's even more agonising when it all comes crashing down.