Chapter 18

Derek thought he'd feel worse about killing someone in cold blood. But hearing Rogers, and knowing what he'd done and would continue to do… It felt good to remove that kind of evil from the world.

Not so fun? Carting back the dead body to the church. He couldn't exactly leave it for people to find.

Bessie rumbled outside the church, becoming visible as the morning sun burned away the mist.

Selene and her mom did their best to haul a body lying outside into the building, one holding the head, the other the feet, but both huffed with strain. Grams and Gramps might be old, but years of working a farm left them strong. They each dragged one inside. Derek knew better than to tell them to sit down while he handled it.

Derek dumped Rogers within before exiting to give Selene and her mom a hand. "I've got this."

"Thank you," Athena's mom murmured. "For everything."

"Ares is in a van at the back having a nap if you want to check on him."

The women scurried off, as did Athena still in fur, trotting around the church. Only when she was out of sight did Grams whistle. "Fine-looking wolf. Glad we got here in time."

"You okay with my girlfriend being a werewolf?" he asked. Not that it mattered. He couldn't change how he felt.

"Are you kidding? I'm going to have the most epic great-grandbabies ever!" Grams exclaimed.

Whereas Gramps rumbled, "We'll need a few extra freezers to store meat once they learn to hunt."

Figured his grandparents would focus on the positive. And he knew he could trust them to keep the secret.

"You're sure this will burn all the evidence of what they were doing?"

"Yup. The bones might be found, but the cops will assume a drug lab gone kaboom." Grams pointed to a case in the back of Bessie. "You just need to plant this meth in one of the vehicles they were using."

"Do I dare ask how you got the meth?"

"Drugs will be excellent for trading once the apocalypse hits."

He held in a sigh. She did have a point.

It took less time than expected to move all the bodies and plant the drugs. Ares got moved from the van to his truck bed, where he continued to snooze.

When it came time to light the fire, Grams offered the Molotov cocktail and lighter to Athena—who'd shifted and dressed while they cleared the scene.

"Would you do the honors?"

"With pleasure," Athena stated.

She lit the rag and tossed it perfectly inside the broken doorway. Flames immediately whooshed, the gasoline inside igniting.

They didn't stay to watch it burn. Better to be far away before someone noticed and the fire crews came to put it out.

The call for Derek to go in and fight it came just as they pulled into the driveway. Derek almost called in sick, but this was his chance to ensure they'd not forgotten anything.

So back out he went, taking his gramps' pickup, joining up with the fire crew who could do little but ensure the church fire didn't spread.

The vehicles closest got singed pretty good, but the van with drugs remained intact enough for the cops to declare it a drug lab operation.

When one of them spotted blood on the pavement, the theory went from meth lab explosion to drug war. Or as the detective stated, "Looks like a rival gang wiped them out. Good news in a sense for the taxpayer, as dead criminals are cheaper than live ones awaiting trial."

By the time he made it back to the farm, Derek ached with exhaustion. Upon walking in, he expected to be bombarded with questions and chaos, but instead only Athena waited.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Out for dinner. Your Grams thought you might need some peace and quiet."

"I do." He sighed.

"Do you need me to leave?"

"Fuck no!" He dragged her close in a hug that left no room for argument. "Everyone's okay?"

She nodded against his chest, remaining snuggled. "Ares woke up pissed he missed the ending. Selene and Mom are fine. Your grandparents are rockstars."

"Yeah, they are," he agreed.

"Grams left you some venison stew. Delicious by the way."

Hearty as well, it did much to revive him after he had two bowls.

But what really put a spring in his step?

"Let's get you clean. Come on, shower time."

Whatever fatigue plagued him vanished when he realized she would be joining him.

She stripped him then herself before getting him to stand under the hot spray.

The hot water felt good on his tired muscles but not as good as her slippery hands sliding over his body with the soap. He squinted at her through the spray.

"I don't know how much stamina I've got left, sugarplum."

"How about you let me do the work?" she said with a wink.

She sank down in the tub, crouching to put herself face level with his cock.

A cock that wasn't too tired to rise.

She gripped his shaft with soapy fingers and began to pull and stroke.

Damn that felt good. His head leaned back as he sighed and let her play.

"Turn," she ordered.

He rotated, and she kept her fingers on him as she rinsed him clean then tugged at his hips to turn him away from the spray. But his dick didn't get dry, not with her mouth suddenly enveloping it.

"Oh." That was the only syllable he could grunt as she worked his cock with her mouth, sliding her lips up and down the length of his shaft, taking him to the back of her throat, suctioning him, teasing him with the graze of her teeth.

He braced a hand against the shower wall as she sucked him and made his knees weak. He moaned as she hollowed her cheeks and teased the tip. His hips thrust in time to her cadence, and he felt his balls tightening.

"Better stop or you'll be getting a salty surprise," his raspy warning.

"Mmm. So tempting." She kept sucking.

"I'd rather fuck you," his blunt reply. "I wanna come inside you. Wanna feel you squeezing around me as you orgasm."

She shuddered and paused, looking up at him, her eyes smoldering with lust. "Way to make it impossible for me to refuse."

His lips quirked. "Good. Shall we go to bed?"

"And get the sheets all wet?" She shook her head. "Let's do it in the shower." With that, she bent over, ass tilted, legs spread, showing off her pink pussy.

Fuck…

He dragged his fingers across her wet slit, parting her lips, feeling the heat and wetness that awaited.

Her ass wiggled. "You going to look at it all day or fuck it?"

"Can't I do both?" he replied.

"No. I need you. Now."

No man alive would have refused that demand.

The tip of his shaft teased her sex, pressing between her lips, feeling the welcoming tightness of her pussy. He grabbed hold of her hips to keep her steady as she slid into her. Fuck she was so perfect. Snug. Clenching.

Bouncing.

She rocked on her heels, shoving herself against him, driving him deeper. "Fuck me," she panted. "Fuck me good."

You'd think by now he'd be used to her dirty talk. Used to her flipping between wanting soft and sensual to hard pounding. Each time it drove him a little crazy.

In a good way.

He gave her what she wanted. Pounded into her willing flesh. Thrust fast, deep, hard. His fingers dug into her flesh as he ground into her, driven by her mewling cries. The suction on his cock got tighter, and he began to grind, just angling his hips, over and over, feeling her tighten and tighten.

"Oh fuck yes," she huffed as she came.

A ripple of her muscles that had him gasping and exclaiming, "I fucking love you."

He did.

There was no other woman he would have killed a man for.

No other woman who completed him so perfectly.

No one else he wanted to spend his life with until they were both wrinkled and old.

When their climax subsided, he dragged her into his arms, holding her tight under the warm spray, which turned cold.

"Yikes!" She hopped out of the shower and grabbed the towel. The only towel apparently.

"You gonna share that?"

She eyed the fabric around her body then him before whipping it off and, with an impish smile, handing it over, saying, "Yeah, I'll share, but only because I love you."

After that, it was like they couldn't stop. They cuddled in bed, murmuring their plans for a future, pretending as if tomorrow would be an awesome day.

Maybe it would. So long as the cops didn't look too deep. But he knew there would be questions. The vehicles would lead to the owners. The owners would lead to Dr. Rogers. At which point their attempt to play with the crime scene would fall apart.

Hopefully by the time that happened, he, Athena, and her family would be long gone. He'd leave with her when they fled. They'd build a new life together somewhere. He'd miss his grandparents, but he couldn't walk away from the love he had for Athena.

He hoped Grams and Gramps understood.

They fell asleep entwined and woke together, stretching and touching, smiling like idiots. They were still grinning when they went downstairs to the sound of pots rattling and the smell of frying bacon.

They walked into a kitchen full of people. Family to be exact. Grams at the stove, Athena's mom by her side, giving a hand. Selene sat by Gramps, and her hands moved as she talked. Ares sat on the floor with the dog's head in his lap. A dog that no longer raised hackles when Athena went near.

"Morning," Derek murmured.

A chorus of mornings chirped back in reply. It was Athena who frowned and said, "Why does everyone look like they ate the canary?"

"Don't you mean rabbit? Canaries aren't even a snack," Ares riposted.

Athena arched a brow. "What did you do?"

"What makes you think I did anything?"

"Because I know that smug look. You're awfully pleased with yourself."

Ares shrugged. "I am, but can't take the credit. This genius lady over there deserves it."

That led to Derek now frowning and saying, "Grams? What did you do?"

"Well, as we were having dinner last night, it occurred to me that the cops, even if mostly incompetent, might figure out Rogers was at that church, which would then lead them to his home, a home that might have things best left undiscovered."

Derek pursed his lips. "Don't tell me you blew up his house."

"Oh no. That wouldn't have been very nice, given his close neighbors. But we did pay it a visit."

"To do what?" Athena asked.

Selene took over. "Well, first we wiped his hard drives of all info on the lycanthropy project. You can thank Gramps for that. The man is a whiz at cracking into computers."

"Gramps?" Derek blinked.

"Bah, I like puzzles. Wasn't that hard. The idiot had his password in code on his desk. Wasn't too hard to figure out." Gramps downplayed the effort.

"Once we got into his computer, it was easy-peasy wiping the lycan stuff entirely, putting in some meth-related material, a bit of underage porn, oh, and a trail that showed him money-laundering the government funds he'd been allocated." Selene grinned.

"We also busted open his safe, which held some backup drives. We took those, along with his passport, cash, and a suitcase of clothes," Ares added.

"Making it look like he fled," Athena murmured.

Left unsaid, making Rogers look guilty.

"You forgot the part where I had to leave my rifle," Grams groused. "My favorite rifle."

"Which left many holes in the bodies at the church," Ares reminded. "Forensics will match them up and go looking for its owner."

"Which isn't me. The beauty of unregistered firearms." Then to Grams… "I'll get you a new one. A better one!" Gramps declared.

Grams smirked. "You'll regret that. You know which one I've had my eye on."

Gramps offered a rare smile. "I do. And you deserve it. That was some fine shooting."

"You did all that last night?" Athena squeaked.

"Well yeah. Had to be done before the cops showed up," Ares pointed out.

"Won't they realize Rogers is one of the bodies?" Derek wanted to believe this would work, but he couldn't take chances.

"Not without dental records for him they won't," Selene chirped. "Unfortunately, a pipe above his dentist office burst. Ruined everything, and wouldn't you know, they were too cheap to back up off-site."

"Sounds like you thought of everything," Athena replied.

"We sure did. I couldn't have the little bastard running off with you," Grams snapped.

"Why, Grams, would you have missed me?"

To his surprise, she eyed him and muttered, "Yeah, I would have. But don't let it go to your head. Enough of this mushy bullshit. Everyone sit. It's time to eat."

The mood proved exuberant, the chatter lively, a big ol' family breakfast of which he hoped to have many.

Athena sat by his side, occasionally squeezing his leg, stealing his bacon, laughing.

They'd survived. They were in love.

As for the fact his girlfriend was a werewolf? The sky was the limit when it came to canine jokes and gifts.

And when she kissed him later on in the hall, her foot thumping madly, he was never happier because, as Grams told him, wolves mated for life.