24. Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

Emm

I stoked the fire with a stick. I didn't feel like going back into town and having to explain to Delilah why I ran away from Locke—again.

Twice, I've run from him! I've never run away from my problems. I ran at them straight on—and hard. This time I did not know how to react to Locke. He would be the key to my family coming to the States, but obviously, I can't take him in.

I got emotional. I had sex with the target, and I grew an attachment to him that I couldn't explain. He was a complicated man, but my heart was in it—I was missing him even now, and my body couldn't stop reacting when I thought of him.

As I settled by the crackling fire, its warm glow illuminated my surroundings. The vibrant hues of the sunset having faded, leaving only the dancing flames as my sole source of light. Suddenly, the distant sound of a twig snapping caught my attention, causing me to rise from my seat. My hand instinctively reached for the cool metal of my gun nestled on my hip.

Please, let it be Fenrir.

It wasn't Fenrir. Of course it wasn't, because I have shitty luck. It was Locke and he came out of the woods, his feet bare, just a pair of black shorts and no shirt. Of course, he wouldn't have a shirt on—he was just trying to distract me.

I stood and straightened my back, only looking into his eyes and he let out a huff of amusement. "You look beautiful, Princess."

I tilted my head and shuffled my feet from side to side. There had never been a man who called me ‘beautiful' as much as him. My stomach fluttered and I wanted to pinch myself to make it stop.

"It's alright, I come in peace." He kept his hands high and sat on the log away from me.

I was disappointed he didn't come closer, but I sat across from him. The fire crackled and the silence enveloped us until it was uncomfortable.

"There have been secrets between us—a lot of secrets, Emm, and I'm ready to come clean on my side, if you will come clean on yours. But I need you to promise me something, and it's important that you follow through with it," he said seriously.

I raised my jaw and nodded for him to continue. To keep that promise or not, I still wasn't sure.

"Do not run. Because if you run, I will chase after you. My instincts will be to chase you, subdue you and," he chuckled darkly, "make sure you never run from me again."

Instead of feeling fear, a thrill of excitement ran through me at his words. I have always been attracted to danger and the unknown, and Locke embodied both in a way that made my heart race. As much as I tried to deny it, there was a magnetic pull between us, that neither of us could seem to resist.

Damn him!

Locke's intense gaze held mine captive, and I could see the sincerity in his eyes despite the dangerous edge to his words. I knew he meant what he said, and a part of me was both terrified and exhilarated by the prospect of being caught by him.

Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself and replied in a low voice, "I won't run. Not anymore."

Locke's lips quirked up in a half-smile, and he nodded slowly. "We'll see."

He leaned back and put his forearms on his legs. "Grim is not the leader of the Iron Fang. I am," he admitted.

My eyes widened. "You? Then, why did they say Grim was?"

"Because he was the leader while I was absent. I have not been present for a while. I've been indisposed." Locke stood and walked away from the fire, but never took his eyes off it. "You see, I'm different. I'm not fully human."

Great, he really is psycho. Not that there isn't anything wrong with that. I like a little crazy in bed, but it's good to know for future Emm to deal with.

I shifted in my seat. "Okay, so tell me. What are you exactly? Is this your alter ego we are talking about?"

Locke stared at me, plainly and maybe a bit miffed. "No, Emm. It isn't an alter ego. I am—different. I am a shifter. A wolf. My bones break, my hair turns to fur and I walk on all fours. I am an animal. An alpha. I take care of the club, where most of the other shifters live and survive as a pack amongst humans. I've been more animal than human of late."

I stared at him for a long moment, blinking. "Are you high?" I squinted my eyes and stood from the fire.

He gave a crooked smile. "No, Princess, I'm not high, and please watch your movements."

I stared down at myself and moved my hand toward my gun.

"Why, are you going to attack me or something?" I stepped back, and Locke stepped forward.

Locke radiated a low growl from his throat, and I stiffened. I'd heard that growl before. From the club on the night that guy touched me.

"I would never, ever hurt you. But, my wolf will make sure of your safety, even if that means preventing you from hurting yourself, when I take the gun off your hip."

"Then stay back." I raised my jaw. "And I won't have to use it."

Locke cleared his throat and stayed in place. "Fine, just, don't shoot me. Hurts like a bitch, and I'd prefer not to have the fae come running in here, and throwing you up against the tree."

I snorted. "Fae? There are faes now?"

"In this forest, yes, there are. They have saved you three times from intruders, besides the one I killed and buried behind your RV."

My heart stopped and the breath from my lungs was sucked out of me. I don't think I had known genuine fear until he confessed he knew about the male buried behind my trailer.

"E-excuse me?"

Locke smiled—like he always does. "Yeah, remember the hand I brought to you? Your little gift? I was disappointed you didn't at least pet me for a job well done, Emmie. You should have heard him cry out when I spilled his blood on the forest floor. I did it all—for you."

I felt the blood drain from my face as Locke's words sank in. The hand he had given me as a grisly token whisked on a whole new level of horror. My mind raced, trying to make sense of everything he was revealing to me.

No—he wasn't — Couldn't possibly.

Locke watched me intently, his gaze never wavering as if he were waiting for a specific reaction from me. The revelation of his true identity as a – wolf, the buried body behind my RV, fae in the forest – it was all too much to process at once. Almost.

I thought my grandmother was crazy. She pretended to be a witch for so long. Was she really a witch, then? Was Tajah really one, too?

Swallowing hard, I tried to maintain a fa?ade of calm despite the turmoil churning inside me. "Why?" I choked out, my voice barely above a whisper. "Why are you telling me all of this, now?"

Locke's expression softened slightly at my question, a glimmer of regret flickering in his eyes. "Because you deserve to know the truth, Emmie. It's wrong of me to play this game I've been playing. Besides, I'm ready to claim you and show you the reality of the world that you are now a part of."

What. The. Fuck.

I swallowed heavily. The man I had been drawn to, captivated by, was not just a dangerous biker but a shifter with primal instincts lurking beneath the surface. Fae, witches—

But then, my mind clicked. Gone was the fear of the unknown. It all made sense now. The magic of this forest that I felt, the town, the shroud over the town. Of course, it had to be magical; of course, it was filled with something other than normal.

The real kicker was—Locke. He'd lied from the beginning.

"You—You are Fenrir." I wagged my finger at him, taking bold steps toward him.

Locke licked his lips and tilted his head toward me. "Guilty."

"You have watched me bathe, you have watched me dress and have intimate moments with myself; you gnawed on my fucking dildo!"

He bit his bottom lip and grabbed me by the hip to pull me closer to him. He took the gun from my hip and threw it away from us, hitting the forest floor with a soft thud.

"I couldn't resist tasting you. With your scent, your arousal right there at my disposal, what was I supposed to do? So, I licked up the sloppy seconds so I could have a sweet appetizer. So, yeah, I've done all those things—and what are you going to do about it, Princess?"

I narrowed my eyes and opened my hand, rearing back to slap him. He caught it, his powerful hand wrapping around my wrist. Power and strength came from it, far more than when we wrestled in the ring hours before.

This man played me the whole time!

I didn't know if I should be utterly turned on by being impressed, or just fucking mad.

Locke puts his mouth toward my ear, his lips grazing my ear lobe. He tsked. "Now don't tell me it makes you angry because we both know that is a lie." His hot breath fanned down my neck. I felt the breeze flow between my breasts and my nipples stiffen upon impact. "You like it that I've watched you all this time. That I have licked you in my wolf form, that I have comforted you, that I have stayed with you when you were lonely."

The heaviness in my chest was stifling.

"I can smell you, you know. All those nights where you were so needy. You wanted to run those fingers through those slick folds and you didn't know why. It was because of me— even though you hadn't met me yet, there was a connection there."

I shook my head and tried to pull away from him. He kept one arm wrapped around my waist and the other around the back of my neck. "Don't deny it. You were hot and needy. You just didn't know your mate was right there. In an animal form. Far too taboo for a human to understand."

"Locke—" My face heated with embarrassment.

He clicked his tongue. "There is no need for that, my sweet mate." He ran a finger down my cheek. "Humans don't know any better. You weren't aware of the bond that was settling into place. I knew, know, it is difficult to understand. But it was me—I am your wolf, your crazy. That is why your body has such a strong connection to me. My Goddess has paired you to me."

I reared my head back the best I could to stare at him in the eyes. The same eyes as Fenrir. Why was I so blind not to see it before?

Shit—it was him. I could feel it. The same smell, the same touch—the heat.

"Goddess? Goddess?" I tried to sound skeptical, but that word had already become ingrained in me. Don't ask me how. I wanted to say it was because of Abuela and her dancing half-naked in the forest when I was young. She had Elena and I dance in the forest, and pray to a Moon Goddess for a pairing— of soul mates that would love and protect us so fiercely it would near strangle us.

Now, it was Locke's hold that was strangling me.

I thought it was just a fairy tale. There were no fated mates.

"I mean, it's just—it can't be real, right?" I said to myself.

Locke laughed, the sound low and deep. He grazed his thumb over my lips, making me part them slightly. "Oh, my sweet mate, it's very real. Our bond... it's strong. Our connection... it's ancient and unbreakable. We were destined for each other."

I shook my head, trying to get my bearings. "So I have no choice? I just have to be with you? I'm just going to be horny for you, you cocky bastard?"

Locke gently took me by the shoulders before his hands gripped around my face. "No, you don't have a choice."

I shuddered, my nipples hardening into sharp points.

Locke's eyes darkened and he took a deep breath. He leaned in closer, his breath hot on my face. "It's a gift, Emmie. You are the other half of my soul. I will never hurt or forsake you. I will protect you, love you fiercely and fucking kill anything that gets in the way of that."

My thighs tightened together.

"And, I am going to claim you, Emmie. I want to seal our souls together to make us one. You are in danger, and I need to know where you are at all times. I've kept these secrets not because I wanted to, but because I had no choice. Now that I can control my human form we are doing this for your safety. I am strong enough to take you, knot you, show you what a real male does to protect his female; it's time for you to accept your new reality. And you are a warrior, strong enough for this."

I ground my teeth together and jerked away from him. "You don't tell me what to do."

His eyes narrowed as he moved closer to me with purposeful strides. "Emm, do not run."

"I'm not going to run." I planted my feet firmly into the ground. "But I would love to kick your ass."

Threw his head back and laughed. The cocky dick was not even paying attention to me when I lunged forward and right-hooked him to the face. He stumbled backward with me on top of him and I pushed his arms above his head.

He continued laughing, as I rained down punch after punch to his gorgeous face until my knuckles were sore and bleeding. He grabbed them when I winced and held my wrists. I tried to rip them away from him, but my grunts and cries to get away from him were absolutely useless.

"That is enough. Stop! You are hurting yourself!" he yelled, but I continued to fight.

I wasn't going to stop either. I was fucking pissed.

He rolled on top of me, our favorite way to subdue each other, pinned my arms back and he straddled my waist. He took one look between my breasts and wiggled his brows. "Now, are you ready to calm down or am I going to spank your ass to teach you to behave?"

I spat in his face. "I am no one's property."

He let out a huff and wiped away the spit from his eye. "Sweetheart, I belong to you as much as you belong to me. There is no head of the relationship here—we are equals."

"Seems like there is because you are making all the decisions with all this ‘your mine' shit," I sneered.

"No, no, no, my sweet little mate. The Goddess is the one that paired us together. Two puzzle pieces that fit quite nicely together. I don't know if you have noticed, but your arousal has fucking drenched my cock, and I can smell your heat approaching."

The deep sounds of the purr in his body were felt between my legs.

Heat? That is an animal thing.

"No—"

"I don't tolerate lying," he growled, his face inches from mine. "Say that you want me. Say that you want this thick, juicy cock shoved in your tight cunt. And if you do, I will reward you with a knot to sate that hunger of yours that wasn't sated earlier."

I tried to squeeze my legs together, but he pushed his knee between my legs.

"The hell is a knot ?" I snapped.

Locke pulled down the front of his shorts. The picture he sent me earlier had his hand covering the base of the monstrosity that I was now seeing. There it was, a large bulge at the base of his dick, right below his last piercing.

Locke ran his hand up and down his shaft. "This is my knot. All wolf shifters have it," he groaned. "When I am ready to fill you with my seed, I will shove it inside you. Fill you up with my come and lock it inside you. It will make sure that none of my seed escapes you."

And, instead of feeling fear, my pussy fluttered with anticipation.

I wanted him more than I cared to admit, and I knew I was being a grade-a-bitch. But how else was I to process it? My chest heaved and my body shuddered when he rubbed his thick cock against my most sensitive clothed parts.

"What is a ‘ heat '?" I moaned, pushing my breasts toward him. "That is for animals, I'm not—I'm not—"

Locke licked my shoulder where he bit me earlier. "Ah, that might be my fault. I sped up our bond by biting you. But you just looked so delicious." He licked my cheek.

I panted, feeling his teeth graze my shoulder. I was feeling drunk—not myself at all the more he touched me, kissed me and now I wanted him to sink his teeth into my skin again.

Locke chuckled. "Finally calming down? Don't worry, I'll be submitting to you plenty in this relationship. But first, let me take care of you—I've waited far, far too long for this moment."