Chapter Seventeen

Rylan

Pearl was limp in my arms, so overcome with the completion of the bond that she’d passed out. It wasn’t unusual, so I let her adjust in her way.

I was buried so deep inside her that I never, ever wanted to leave. I could live here. The taste of her blood still coated my tongue, making me want another mouthful.

Reluctantly, I laid Pearl on the bed, pulling out of her gently, so as not to disturb her rest. I flopped down on the bed beside her and took a deep breath to calm myself.

I could feel her now in my head, like her mind had become a part of my own. She was part of me but also an extension. I could feel her in the very fiber of my being. In that moment, the only thing I could feel was gratitude. She accepted us then, bonded with us. For a moment, it felt like a dream, until Pearl rolled over, her unconscious mind reaching for me.

I held her close, going over my life up to this point, and I couldn’t think of any other instance where I was completely and utterly sated. With Pearl pressed against me, her breath tickling my neck, I felt incredible. Happy. Whole.

This was where I belonged. This was where she belonged. Having a mate was the biggest honor I could have in this life, and I was eternally grateful to the Moon Spirit for mine.

* * *

This place was… suspicious.

I didn’t want to alarm Pearl, so I kept my thoughts to myself until she was asleep. My wolf and I scented the air, and like every other time, there was nothing amiss.

Which is suspicious.

My first clue was when I couldn’t reach any members of my pack. I couldn’t check in, and it made my wolf’s fur stand up. The second clue was the absence of the sun or anything that could be considered daytime. It was dark, and the moon and stars lit up the sky. Constantly.

It was unnerving, but the absence of danger calmed me and my wolf until Pearl fell asleep, then we were back to worrying. Sleeping was out of the question when I knew nothing about where we were.

I reached out to the Moon Spirit several times with no answer. It had pointed us toward this location, so it should be safe. I doubted the Moon Spirit would send us somewhere that wasn’t completely secure.

I kept telling myself not to worry. We trusted the Moon Spirit, but it was different with Pearl here too. If she wasn’t, I might be able to relax and enjoy the solitude. With Pearl here, I felt antsy, like my wolf could crawl out of my skin at any moment.

“Awake again?” an angel’s voice asked sleepily.

“Can’t help it.” I grinned and leaned over to kiss my mate’s plump lips.

“Hmmm,” she hummed, wrapping her arms around my neck as she deepened the kiss.

I sank into her, letting her distract me from my earlier thoughts and worries. The only thing I needed was my mate in my arms.

“You seem distracted,” Pearl stated, breaking the kiss and gazing up at me. “Is everything all right?”

A quick reply was on the tip of my tongue, but looking into her deep russet eyes, I knew I couldn’t lie. She was my mate. If she cared to dig, she could find the answer in my mind, but asking meant she wanted me to tell her. Which required admitting that I was worried about our pack and all the suspicious things about this cabin.

“I’m worried about our pack.” I rolled onto my back with a heavy sigh.

“And?” Pearl prompted, knowing there was more.

“And this place is… weirding me out.”

“How?” She glanced around the room quickly. Not to find anything suspicious, she returned her gaze to me with an eyebrow raised.

“Well, it feels like we’ve been here a few days, but nothing has changed.”

“Changed?”

“Like the time of day. It’s been nighttime for ages now with absolutely no change. It’s like time stopped.”

Pearl frowned then scooted over to the window to look outside. The moon was in the same position in the sky, as were the stars. The trees were still, and the area was quiet, like all the nocturnal animals avoided this place.

“Where are we?” Her worry seeped through the bond, making me growl inwardly. I did not want to worry her.

“I honestly don’t know,” I answered.

“But… you brought us here.”

“Yes, but not because I knew it. The Moon Spirit gave me directions.” I used my fingers to put quotations around ‘gave me directions’.

“What do you mean?” The frown still on her face made my chest clench.

“The directions just sort of popped into my head, so I followed them,” I replied sheepishly.

“That’s good, then, right?” Her concern bled from her in a sudden rush.

“I guess. I’ve been trying to reach out to the Moon Spirit, but I’ve gotten no reply.” I shrugged, unsure why I was being ignored.

“There has to be some reason.” Pearl flopped back onto the bed beside me. “Maybe this is its way of giving us space?”

“By cutting us off from the pack?” It didn’t seem like a good thing since I was the new alpha.

“I don’t think we’ve been cut off,” she mused, rolling onto her stomach and putting her naked ass on display. “I can still feel the bond to the others, so it hasn’t been severed.”

“True,” I murmured, my attention homing in on my delicious mate.

“I’m sure when we’re ready, everything will be restored.”

I grunted, barely acknowledging her words as my hand caressed her ass. She sighed when I climbed over her and moved her long silvery hair away from her neck. I nuzzled the junction of her shoulder and neck, knowing it would immediately turn her on. That was the beauty of this place: it allowed me to learn my mate. It took time and dedication, but I was up for the challenge.

Moving backward, I grabbed Pearl’s hips, tugged them up, and settled behind her. Arousal filled the air, making me and my wolf ravenous. Pearl moaned as I put her into position, and I could tell she loved the way I took charge. I ran my fingers through her slit, finding her nearly dripping and ready. I guided myself to her entrance, my jaw tightened when I became fully seated inside her. I took a moment to catch my breath, knowing from experience that it was entirely too easy for me to finish before we’d even begun.

Once I had a hold of myself, I leaned over, wrapped my arms around her, and pulled her back up to my chest, still seated deep inside her. Pearl groaned. Her left arm raised so her hand could grip the back of my neck. A tingle ran along my spine when her nails grazed the nape of my neck. She knew what that did to me.

With one hand gripping her hip and the other wrapped carefully around her neck, I leaned back then thrust up into her. She gasped, her inner muscles clenching around my invasion, making me grit my teeth.

During our first time together, when she orgasmed on my dick, I vowed to always make her come first, or twice if I could manage it.

I shoved my erection in and out, all of my attention on the sounds she made. Her gasps and sighs turned to moans then cries as I brought her closer and closer to the edge.

“Rylan,” she cried out.

I pounded into her, using her body as leverage to keep thrusting so I could prolong her pleasure for as long as I could. She cried out with each additional thrust. My balls tightened, and I knew I didn’t have any more time. Reaching around her, I found her clit with my fingers and rubbed the sensitive nub until she gushed, coating me with her release.

Grunting, I buried myself as deep inside her as I could go. Her muscles twitched while I emptied myself into her. Pearl rolled her head back to rest on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her to me for a moment so I could send a quick grateful prayer to the Moon Spirit.

Gently, I laid her down on the bed. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was even. I collapsed beside her, out of breath and still feeling the aftereffects of my own climax. This wasn’t the first time Pearl had seemed to lose consciousness, but I wasn’t worried. She always recovered quickly and was ravenous for more.