Chapter 18 - Faye

Adrenaline circulated throughout my body as Hector claimed my lips. His fingers swarmed my right breast, pinching through the fabric to find my nipple and stimulate it quickly into a hardened nub. Magic flowed through me like a raging river spouting through an uncapped garden hose. I felt like I was bursting with desire and desperately pushed his hand south to the apex of my thighs.

Arousal soaked my panties, made evident by his firm touch. I gasped and arched into him as he drew circles around my clit, coaxing my hips to join him. Each buck riled me up even more, sending my eyes disappearing to the back of my skull as I scratched eagerly at his shirt.

"Yes," I whimpered. " Faster …"

Hot kisses decorated my chin and throat. Those were his lips that were on fire, a loving force to be reckoned with as he claimed every visible inch of my flesh. I wiggled on his lap as he dove beneath the fabric of my panties, claiming my slit in long sweeps with two fingers. Every time he slid around my clit, he gently seized the swollen nub between his digits, massaging me into a frenzied humping session.

An electric current detonated in my core as I rapidly thrust against his rigid fingers. He feverishly kissed my mouth, forcing my silence, stealing away my desperate moans that vibrated his lips. Heat swallowed me from my center outwards in a languid wave that quickly turned cold.

I clung to his neck, fingers clasped tight, lips tingling as he worked his tongue into my mouth. My eyelids fluttered as he explored my crevice for a moment, fingers continuing to trace my folds, sending tiny jolts through me that somehow flashed in my nipples. Everything he did affected parts of me I forgot existed until he was around.

It was like he knew magic, too.

My grip on him snapped and my hands fell limply to my body as he readjusted my position in the debris around us. Kisses continued smearing my flesh with him shucking my shirt up to reveal my plump breasts. His warm mouth instantly captured my left nipple, sending a wave of shock through me that coaxed my hips to buck. Electrified by his command, I fought against my body's urge to clench up, forcing my eyes to open.

Goddess , he was like a divine dream seated between my legs, with his mouth dedicated to the pleasure of my breasts. He lapped my left nipple generously while his right hand sought to massage my left breast. He struggled to breathe between laps as he stimulated the nub into a hard point. When he surfaced, he switched sides, tracing the delicate point of my right nipple with a feverish circle that sent my head back to the ground.

My mouth widened with a moan. I grabbed the back of his head, holding him tight to my breast as I struggled to shimmy out of my panties. I yanked at the waistband, tugged them down, and whimpered when he released my slit.

"No, don't stop," I begged.

To which he chuckled and whispered, "Or what?"

"Or…"

He tore my panties from my thighs with a loud snarl. The moment they were off, he shimmied between my legs, dropping his boxer-briefs to reveal his girthy cock. He slid a hard line over my slit, parting my folds with an eager pump that would have been enough to cause another body-quake. As I grabbed his hips to start a new rhythm, he caught my waist.

"Stay still, Cherry Pie."

I dug my nails into the back of his neck. "Don't make me wait."

"Don't make me be mean to you."

I shuddered. "That sounds like a good time."

His guttural chortle tickled me from the inside out. He smoothed his hand up my side, caught my breast firmly, and sucked on my nipple. The pressure shocked me to my core, forcing my hips to buck and fight against his grip. He held my nipple lightly between his teeth, then flicked his tongue against the nubbed tip, inspiring a trembling descent that only he controlled. His strong hands grasped my hips as I sheathed him inch by slow inch, shuddering as he released my left nipple to focus on my right nipple. He repeated his delicate worship while cradling my lower back, arching me as he pushed on my hip to expose my entrance to his plunge.

"That's it," he growled, "open up for me, Cherry Pie."

Another achingly slow dip had me whimpering in broken gasps. I struggled against the pace he controlled, desperate to have his full force between my legs. I squinted up at him as I clutched his shoulders, feeling hot by how he hissed under my grip. He nuzzled my nipples with his nose, and then he traced a path between my breasts to my throat. Kissing my neck enabled a better position, one that gave way to fervent thrusts.

From there, his pumps were desperate and sloppy. Every time he surfaced, he returned with renewed vigor, an eager onslaught that made my fingers and toes tingle. My lips were getting dry from gasping for air, yet I didn't care how parched I got. I wanted his cock to fill me up. I wanted his being to merge with mine, for him to never lose sight of me again.

I mewled as I clutched his hair. "Yes, harder. Harder , oh my—"

My words were silenced by a bruising kiss. He cupped my right breast with his left hand as his right arm remained wrapped around my waist. He pierced me with such feverish pumps that made my vision blur, my heart race, my thighs tense. I wrapped my legs around him while keeping hold of his hair, unable to move into a new position while he completely took me over.

That was when my second orgasm hit. It made my whole body rattle, turning my stomach into a flipping mess like I was dropping off the edge of a cliff. I rode his cock until he was grunting uncontrollably, until he was leaning back to grip my hips and pierce me deep. He unloaded inside me, the wonderful spurting sensation making my insides clench. Sweet heat consumed me. And so did he.

Seconds later, we were lying in a pile of messy limbs—a brand-new mess we had made on the carpet. I stared at the ceiling while holding on to him, thinking about how, just moments ago, I was in a destructive haze. I wasn't even sure what had come over me.

I opened my mouth to describe it to him, but I was afraid to talk about the voice that I had heard in my head. There were horror stories of wolves being overtaken by things inside of them. That wasn't exactly natural or even supernatural. I didn't want him to think that I was losing my mind, so I kept quiet and buried my face into his shoulder.

"Was that sufficient?" he breathlessly asked. "Did that satisfy you as proof?"

"That was beyond satisfying."

As I rolled to my back, I felt a couple of books at the top of my head and pushed them away with my free hand. I leaned into the stretch to get used to being inside of myself again, to ground myself back with him. Sex made me feel alive. It made me feel normal .

Even when things weren't normal at all.

I looked at his chin and then reached out to cup his face, feeling a swirling sense of nausea in my gut. He looked at me with this calm expression, one that expressed his blissful feelings about everything. Nausea tore me up, making me grimace.

He frowned and reached for my face. "Are you alright?

I hiccupped and covered my mouth. "I don't know. I feel kind of funny."

"Let me make you some—"

In a blur, I was off the ground and in the upstairs bathroom. I bowed over the toilet, praying that my nausea would be over soon or at least that I would be able to throw up. The porcelain was cold under my fingers. A cool breeze waved over the back of my neck. I tried not to look into the toilet or think about the toilet smell that came up to my nostrils. I could smell the hair clogged in the pipe in the shower. I could smell other things as well, things that I didn't want to smell, things that I hadn't in a while ever since I got in control of my wolf side.

Soon, I was spewing up whatever was in my stomach uncontrollably, clinging to the toilet seat while trying to pretend that I wasn't embarrassing myself right now. Through all the hectic stuff, I just hadn't been keeping track of anything, including eating or sleeping. I hadn't been getting a whole lot of rest.

And being forced awake this morning with the racket from downstairs had made me grumpy. The tornado had made me nauseous. The power surge had made me dizzy. Since it had been so long since I had seen Kylie and Fred, I should have been happy to see them downstairs, maybe not in that exact position that they were, but I should have been happy.

Instead, I felt annoyed and sick. I flushed the toilet and washed my hands, reaching for the mouthwash to rinse out my mouth. My stomach flipped again as I considered how I had lost track of other things as well. Like my calendar.

Stress can be so distracting. I sighed. I need sleep.

Once my mouth was clean, I just wanted to get back downstairs and apologize to Hector for running off on him. I grabbed a bathrobe from the hanger and wrapped myself in the plush lavender fluff. About halfway down the stairs I smelled something so delicious that I sprinted to the kitchen like I hadn't just been nauseatingly considering how much of my calendar I had missed.

I hopped over rubble and fallen pillows to get to the kitchen doorway, where the smell intensified. Oh, that was one of the most delicious ones I'd ever inhaled in my life. I sniffed the air hungrily.

Bacon .

Hector was wearing his boxer-briefs without a shirt, showing off a taut buttocks and incredibly ripped back muscles. He turned slightly from the stove, giving me a huge smile. "Are you okay?"

I didn't even pay attention to the question. I went to the counter and looked at all the bacon sandwiches he had been putting together. There were three of them so far, simple ones made with lettuce and mayonnaise, seasoned with a little bit of salt along with some other spices I didn't quite recognize, but it smelled good paired with the smell of fried bacon. I lifted one of the sandwiches and took a bite, groaning.

If I was being honest, it tasted like there was an orgasm in my mouth. I stepped back and took another bite. Then another, chewing so happily, standing on my toes like it was the best thing in the world. After I noticed Hector staring at me, I realized I was being rude.

Maybe he had made these things for us to eat, but I hadn't asked, and I hadn't even known because he hadn't said anything. I set down the remainder of my sandwich, a small quarter, and whispered shamefully, "I'm so sorry."

He shook his head and waved the spatula at the remaining sandwiches. "Please, eat as much as you want."

I checked his expression and his body language. Was he being sarcastic? I lifted a napkin from next to the plate and dabbed my lips, then tentatively reached for the remaining quarter sandwich. I tried to eat it like a normal wolf, not hocking it down like a pig and making a bunch of weird noises at the same time.

But as soon as I started to eat another sandwich, the ecstasy of food overcame me again. I went back to dancing on my toes, heading to the table to take a seat. I hummed as I relaxed into the chair and continued to munch with a grin on my face. He brought a mug of coffee over to me, something I thought I wanted. I took a sip. "Can I have a cup of tea instead?"

He smiled and took the mug. "Same as last time?"

"Please."

"My pleasure."

Embarrassment came over me. Did he really mean that? Was he just trying to mock me? Maybe I was being rude by eating so many sandwiches. Yet the more I tried to find evidence of him being disappointed in what I was doing, the more he gave me reassurance.

He cast me plenty of smiles. He finished making another collection of bacon sandwiches and brought them over to the table. He brought some extra biscuits. Butter. Milk. He hummed contentedly as he made me a cup of tea and brought it over. As he sat down across from me, I lifted another sandwich.

"You don't hate me, right?"

He stared at me with his hand extended over the plate of sandwiches. "Why the hell would I hate you, Faye?"

I shrank down behind my sandwich. "The whole fake proposal and the food."

He shoved the plate aside and reached for my hand. I half-expected him to grab the sandwich from my fingers, but instead, he held my wrist loosely and pushed the food to my mouth. "If you're hungry, eat ."

Goddess, why was that so hot?

He teased my lip with the edge of the sandwich. "I'm gonna make you as much food as you want."

Lust flooded my body. I stared at him while the crispy bacon beckoned for me to take a bite. It truly was one of the most delicious things in the world. Bacon was my favorite. Being my favorite meant it had been forbidden in my house with my parents because they said bacon would make me fatter.

I frowned at the sandwich, feeling like a total loser. "I'm such a pig."

He squeezed my wrist. " No . The people who convinced you of that are the pigs."

I smiled sheepishly as he released my wrist and then focused on my sandwich again. I felt a cold ring around my wrist where he had once held it. I took a bite and then another, feeling that crushing sense of joy at being able to do something that I always did by myself without any problems.

After finishing the sandwich, I sat back and sipped my tea.

"My parents were really weird about food when I was growing up." I sighed as I stared out the porch door, looking at the sun peeking through the trees. "I guess that's why I asked if you were mad. I didn't really ask if the food was for me. I just assumed that it was, and then I just kept eating it."

"It's okay."

I hung my head while gripping my mug. "But it tasted so good…"

He smiled with reassurance. "I did make it for the both of us. I thought you'd be hungry after throwing up."

I cringed. "You heard all that?"

He nodded as he pointed to his ears. "Super hearing."

I chuckled nervously. "I mean, I just didn't expect you to defend me again. I guess it makes me feel good. It makes me feel safe."

The way he grinned at me didn't quite feel perfect. I looked into his eyes, the blue-violet, like ocean waves getting ready to crash over me. There was something hiding in the tide, something that I felt was directed at me.

It looked like disappointment.

Good things don't last very long, I thought. It's always taken from me at some point .

If it was that easy to disappoint him, I didn't want to know what else would possibly lose his favor so quickly.

***

With another nap under my belt, I felt like I could face the world again when the afternoon arrived. Some of my doubts had drifted away. I wondered why I had ever been worried at all as I walked calmly beside Hector. We were on our way to Cliff's house, which was two houses to the right of our parents' house.

It was a simple structure with white columns and a red door. Most of the house was white with cinnamon-colored shutters and rigid squares for windows. Inside, the place was a lot cleaner than I would have expected. Sleek Spanish tile stretched in every direction, and nouveau-inspired designs framed the doorways. Plain beige wallpaper was used in every room but was enhanced with 1920's stained glass décor. I blinked at my brother, almost not recognizing him.

My parents were in the kitchen chatting away about something, saying hi to me in a very casual way as if we did this all the time.

Cliff wrapped me in a hug. "Let's chill in the living room."

I suspiciously inspected him and his motives as he pulled Hector into a hug. "I never got to congratulate you two, did I?"

I waved him off. "You congratulated me plenty. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well, I haven't exactly been a visitor."

I glanced down the hallway. "Are Kylie and Fred still here?"

"Yeah, they're taking a nap in the guest room. If you want, you can go wake them up."

I shook my head. "No, they probably need to sleep before they go back to Beaufort Creek."

His eyebrows went up. "You're sending them back home."

"I mean, there's no point in them staying here. I didn't think that they would find me at all."

Hector cleared his throat and stepped in. "To be fair, I planned to encourage her to call her old alphas today."

Cliff nodded. "It seems like your friends really care about you, Faye. They were telling me about your life with the Beaufort Creek pack."

I drifted to one of the cushion chairs. The forest green one near the window seemed the comfiest. I dropped down into it. "Yeah, I had a life over there." I traced the baroque design in the chair upholstery. "Seems like lifetimes ago."

Cliff smiled. "You and Kylie are close. I'd hate to get in between that."

I frowned. Are we still close?

I glanced hesitantly at Hector. "I mean, I think a lot of people would hate to get in between that."

My parents continued chatting in the kitchen. Their voices were low, but my hearing had sharpened this morning, so I could catch pieces of their conversation. I heard my father asking my mother about the people that had come to visit.

Mom blew a raspberry with her lips, a sign of disapproval. "That's merely performative concern and nothing more. They just don't want to share her now that she's truly powerful."

It made my heart jolt in my chest to hear that. Hector and Cliff sat down next to me on the couch.

"Hey, I have some ideas on how to keep the protective barrier up without a witch's help," Cliff said.

Hector leaned toward my brother. "Yeah? Tell me about it."

"I found some old books under the gym…"

Their chatter overlapped with the conversation from the kitchen. It didn't hide any of the words that my mother continued to say,

"Two male alphas. Can you believe that? That sounds so weird. I wonder if they're gay."

I wrinkled my nose at the comment. I knew my mother was old-fashioned, but I didn't take her to be a bigot.

"If those two friends think she's going to go back, I hope they realize that they're going to have to pry her from our dead fingers."

While this was a stronger comment that should have been supportive, it felt weird to hear her say it like that. I'd never had any deep attachment to my mother, and she certainly hadn't shown any inclination to be close to me.

Why was she suddenly possessive of me?

"Now that our daughter is the mate of the alpha, we'll have a potent position in the community. Nobody can say no to us."

I sat back in the chair, feeling a sense of defeat. Goddess, I should have known she was going to milk this. Her support was, as she called it with my two friends, performative concern . I should have known that she was just doing it for herself, for her benefit, and not for anybody else.

My questioning gaze turned to Hector, seeing his attractive nature, his charisma, and his sweetness echoing through each of his movements. The strength that he carried and the muscle that toned his body beneath his shirt told me of his prowess. I wanted to explore that with him. I wanted to keep trying. But it felt like everything was starting to fall apart again. I didn't think I would ever have any stable ground to begin with.

"Did you see her face when I welcomed her home?" Mom whispered. "It was perfect. She trusts us. We'll get everything we need for free. That Megara charged too much for basic things."

That was one comment too many.

I stood abruptly and went to the hallway, marching to the guest room to find Kylie and Fred just rousing from their sleep. I gave them each a fake smile. If everyone else was going to be fake, then I would do the same thing to get through this. Whatever it took. Even if it meant being mean.

"I appreciate you coming," I said through my teeth, "but I think you should leave."