42. Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-One

Emm

T he bar was bustling with life. Mostly the club was in attendance, but a few of the locals in the town came in to say hello, and to grab a drink or some bar food.

Most of the pack were still healing. The ones that had their animals buried deep inside them were suffering the most. Their healing was slow, human-paced, as I have heard Bones define it. Some of them should have bandages over their stitches, but of course they kept them removed, wearing them like badges of honor.

The women swooned over them, asking where they got such battle scars, but the pack remained tight-lipped about the altercation that happened in the woods just a week ago. We didn't need the town knowing that there was an evil, dark fae fight just on the outskirts of town. They wouldn't have believed it anyway, not with a magical spell that keeps most of the humans clueless.

The atmosphere in the bar was different from before - no longer filled with a hazy cloud of smoke. The faint scent of tobacco, which used to linger, had faded away. The windows were wide open, allowing the refreshing summer breeze to enter, along with the enticing aromas of sizzling steaks, burgers and various other meats being cooked in the kitchen.

I took my fry, stirred it into the mayo and ketchup sauce I'd created, and popped it into my mouth. Locke made an unsatisfied grunt behind me, squeezed his arm around my waist, and tapped my lip with a fork full of steak.

I rolled my eyes and opened, chomping down on the medium rare steak. I bobbed my head back and forth, and waited for him to put another mouthful in.

"More meat, fewer carbs," Locke grumbled behind me. "Your wolf needs the iron and blood. If you don't, then when you shift into your animal form, she's going to go crazy and hunt down a deer."

I wrinkled my nose in disgust and opened my mouth again. Locke purred, satisfied I didn't argue back. There were just some things I was not ready to do, wolf shifter or not, and killing a deer with my teeth, ripping into the fur and bones and devouring it was one.

Tajah drank her water. She wasn't much of a drinker, but we all sat in silence after she dropped the bombshell; that I should have known all along.

Abuela was a witch. Well, rather, she was Wiccan. I was in denial for years. I thought it was the mushrooms or whatever she smoked that week. It had been a long time since I had really spent time with her, but Elena said nothing about Abuela or any of her antics.

Elena didn't want me to worry!

Abuela wanted us to have happily ever afters. She was a romantic. She didn't have a great one, and neither did her son, which ultimately destroyed him. I thought her little ceremony was a way to say, ‘I've done everything I could.' I wasn't sure if she thought it would involve supernaturals in the beginning. Surely, she didn't mean to put us in the middle of all this danger.

Tajah explained, that after the death of Abuela's husband, she had to shop at second-hand stores for my father's clothing. While looking, she found a book that ‘spoke' to her and it ended up being a spell book, just tossed into a bin.

Luckily, most of it was English, which Abuela knew very well. She read a spell about unlocking the power of oneself, and the rest was history. Somewhere along our bloodline there was magic. It was just a matter of unlocking it with a simple incantation, and Abuela had opened it.

Tajah said she was Wiccan because she taught herself. Other Wiccans could help and teach each other. You could only gain witch or sorceress status if you were an apprentice or were taught in a witchery school.

Wiccans could do basic spells, nothing overly powerful. However, Tajah said that Abuela was one of the more powerful Wiccans she had ever come in contact with.

Of course she was.

Abuela did everything possible to get her hands on every spell book she could. Oftentimes they were counterfeits. Humans trying to profit off of dark art enthusiasts. As the years went on, she practiced and she became strong for a Wiccan. Once my mother died, Abuela moved in to take care of my sister and me.

I didn't realize how much I hadn't remembered a lot of my childhood, and that included my father; because of her. Tajah said my father truly was evil, and the only reason I remembered my father when I turned eighteen was because I needed to run.

And like an impending storm, lightning crossed through the vision of my past. The night I was promised to be the head of the cartel's son's bride; to pay off the debt my father had.

Throughout the entire explanation, Locke was growling in my ear and his claws were digging into my hips. I hadn't had the time to explain everything about my past, but he knew enough now, I supposed.

The son who was to inherit the cartel was dead, because of me. I went through with the wedding, and the night of the consummation I plunged a knife in the bastard's heart.

My first kill.

And I didn't regret it.

I'll never forget hearing the knife crack through his chest and watching the blood soak through the white-collared shirt. The once dark eyes that bore into mine with desire, thinking he was about to take some eighteen-year-old's virginity, became lifeless. Being the son of the cartel, the next in line, you'd think he would be in his twenties. But no, he was a forty-year-old pervert.

Ever since then, I've been on the run.

How my father was still alive, I wasn't sure. Still working off a debt?

I licked my lips, trying to catch the warm semi-cooked blood that gathered at the corner. Locke beat me to it and sucked the side of my cheek.

"It might make me sound like a vampire, but I'd love to suck some blood off of you."

My nipples tightened against my bra and my ass wiggled in his hold. He was hard, he always was, but I could feel his knot expanding beneath my pussy as I leaned more on the bar.

"Aw, fuck, Emm." His fingers dug into my hips and gave them a squeeze.

"I'm sensing that you have a lot on your mind." Tajah took another sip of her water and gazed at Beretta.

Beretta was playing another game with Luis, one where, hopefully, they wouldn't have pieces all over the floor.

Before I could open my mouth to speak, someone placed two Pina Coladas in front of Locke and me. My eyebrows raised at Surkash, who had taken Anaki's spot, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Anaki called, said you guys needed it. He also wanted me to let Emm know that a Pina Colada is Locke's favorite drink."

Locke scoffed and shook his head. "Asshole."

Locke accepted the drink, raising it to his lips with a slight hesitation. When he finally finished, his chilled lips brushed against my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. The contrast between his cool touch and the warmth of my neck created an electrifying sensation, intensifying my arousal.

Tajah shook her head. "I've given you as much knowledge as I have about how your grandmother got her magic. Any other sort of secrets she has, ask your sister. I only knew your grandmother for a short time."

I pushed Locke back with my ass. His groan was loud enough to draw attention. I grabbed Tajah by the arm, and tried to push the arousal away that would soon take over.

"But, what about her? Did Abuela dance, and pray for the Goddess too?"

My grandmother chanted late into the night, dancing around a fire until my sister and I fell asleep in the tent. Now I know she really was getting soulmates for my sister and I, but did she try and get one for her too? Did she give up her soulmate for us?

My heart dropped at that thought.

Tajah smiled wildly. "Ah, I guess I left something important out. If your mate wasn't so distracting, making a spectacle out of your bonding, I would have remembered."

Locke scoffed, biting my shoulder where the bonding bite sat, and I let out a whimper.

Damn him.

Tajah scoffed and waved her hand. "Your self-sacrificing Abuela gave you and your sister the chance for soulmates. However, when she asked for her own soulmate, she found that he was not on the living plane." Tajah looked away and stared at a new picture on the wall. It was of Elena, Abuela and Luis standing in front of the cabin where they stayed when Locke kept them hidden on the property; unbeknownst to me!

My heart sank further. Her soulmate wasn't alive.

Tajah lifted her finger and pointed at me. "However, the Goddess made a deal. If she would sacrifice her life for you at the right moment, she would get her chance. Reincarnation and her chance to have her soulmate."

The faintest of a smile appeared on my face as Tajah rose from the barstool. She patted my hand and turned to go back to the table with Beretta and Luis.

Locke rubbed my arm, his purr loud enough for everyone around us to hear. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that the people around us heard.

Locke nuzzled into my shoulder again, his hands running over my arms.

It was all bittersweet. Abuela would get her happy ending, but her granddaughters wouldn't be a part of it.

Locke did his best to keep me occupied. He kept grinding his dick against my ass while we drank, and members of the pack that I hadn't met came by to say hello. The pack was much larger than I'd realized, and it was only going to get bigger with the prospect list that had grown since Locke's absence.

Locke hummed, his hand running up my hip. "You don't know how many times I've pictured myself with my luna on this dance floor."

Locke swayed behind me, one hand on my hip, the other just underneath my breast. His purr was constant and I could feel Fenrir right there with him. The bar was packed now, even though it was late, and the party didn't show any signs of stopping.

The lights where the band played shone across the small dance floor. It was shoulder to shoulder. They should think about moving some tables back to give everyone more room.

But then, you wouldn't have the same privacy. The fevered bodies hovering around us as Locke's fingers tickled the waistband of my knit mini skirt. Locke wouldn't have cared. I bet he would have finger fucked me in front of his entire pack, if he knew it would get me off.

And it would.

Locke's nose trailed up my neck and down my shoulder. He'd already ripped the side of my shirt tonight, to show off my mark to the entire bar. The humans that had no clue what we were, thought it was just a cool tattoo, a rite of passage to become the old lady, as most MC's called their women, but of course this MC called them mates.

I huffed at that. Any sane person, not put under the spell that Tajah had cast over the town once she gained her mate, would think it was downright crazy. The spell that kept the humans safe, made them forget the supernatural events that happened in the town, or write them off as a conspiracy. The only way they could know is if they were mates or were directly told by another supernatural.

It was a way to keep the Royal Council of Elysian out of the Earth realm. If they caught wind that humans knew about supernaturals, the humans who knew and every supernatural would be at risk.

The beat of the music dropped, and so did Locke's fingers. They tickled over my mound and my arm went back to grab the back of his neck.

"Fuck, you're gorgeous," he growled, the pad of his finger rubbing my clit.

I pressed my back firmly against his warm body, feeling the heat radiating through our clothes. The soft glow of dimmed lights danced around us, casting flickering shadows on the walls. His hand slowly traced a path down, grazing lightly over my sensitive skin, sending shivers down my spine. His strong scent filled my lungs, making my body shiver with arousal. As his touch intensified, my hips involuntarily arched, seeking more of his teasing caress. A soft moan escaped my lips, blending with the loud beat of the music playing in the background. My head fell back, finding support against his strong shoulder, as I surrendered to the intoxicating sensations.

Locke nuzzled my neck, his breath warm against my skin. "There's only one thing better than seeing you dance," he whispered. "It's hearing you beg for me."

The words sent shivers down my body, and I felt myself growing wetter for him. I wanted him inside me so badly, I needed his cock, his knot.

Gods, I really wanted that knot.

As I pushed back against him, his fingers continued their exploration. He trailed them lower, teasing my entrance with the tip of his finger before gently sliding inside. His touch was so intimate, so potent, that I felt like I was breaking apart under the weight of the bond we shared.

He was seriously psychotic sometimes, but one thing was for sure, we were crazy for each other.

The band's lively melody reverberated through the air, its pulsating rhythm forming an electrifying background to Locke's relentless teasing. With each motion, his fingers swirled, rubbed, and flicked, intensifying the sensations that coursed through me. The anticipation brought me to the very edge of ecstasy, only for him to skillfully withdraw, leaving me longing for more.

I whined and dug my claws into his forearm. He chuckled, licking the bond mark, only to drive me more insane.

Finally, he slipped a second finger into me, twisting them inside my weeping cunt as his thumb rubbed my clit. It was too much, the pleasure building while I gripped his hair and bit my lip.

"Come for me," he growled in my ear.

And like the good girl he sometimes liked to call me, I did.

Locke held me close, his fingers still buried deep inside me, as we rode out the aftershocks of my orgasm. His purr was still strong, a rumbling presence that reminded me of his strength and his claim on me.

When he finally slipped his fingers out and put them in front of my face. He chuckled darkly. "Open, taste yourself."

I didn't hesitate, I licked his fingers clean, tasting the arousal that only he could bring from me.

"Mmm, my luna. you drive me absolutely insane." He turned me around to face him and leaned down to kiss me. His mouth was hot and demanding as he tasted my sweet release. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer, wanting nothing more than to surrender to his touch.

We stood there, in the middle of the dance floor while other bodies rubbed and ground into each other. He licked my cheek and massaged the bond mark on my shoulder. I nuzzled into his mark and he let out a whimper.

I guess my alpha needed tending to as well.

"Damn straight I do." He pulled away, his green eyes turning dark with desire. "And I've got just the spot."