Chapter 13

Karter

“ Y ou’re lucky you didn’t hurt her.”

Kade’s words echo in my head and my heart breaks with what I know I need to do. She’s not safe with me, no matter how much I love and want to protect her. It makes no difference what the pack or the world throws at her if she isn’t safe from me.

Closing the door behind me, I step onto the porch to find our clothes stacked in a neat pile on the first step under the edge of a plastic tarp.

Koran. No one else would have picked them up and protected them from the elements.

Kason and Kit probably would have tossed her clothes onto the porch and thrown mine into the bushes.

Slipping into my boxers and jeans, I sniff the air and listen intently to the sounds of the calm November sky. There are no shifters lurking near by which surprises me. I wonder where the boys are this morning? Or Kylian, for that matter? While I normally insist she is protected at all times, last night I completely forgot to check in with her once I had Valery in my arms. My bear wouldn’t let me be concerned about anyone or anything else. The woods could have been on fire and my singular focus would have been on my mate—the one I don’t deserve and have to let go.

Fucking hell.

I pull my cell out of my pocket to find I’ve missed a hundred messages on the family group thread.

Kade: Hey boys—everything okay out there? Do I need to head west?

Twenty-minutes later…

Kade: I’m going to assume you’re all shifted and away from your phones. Let me know if I need to come out there. Karter, I hope things are going well. Really well.

Thirty minutes later…

Kason: I assume things are good. We found Karter and Valery’s clothes on the ground at the lake’s edge. His phone is in his pocket, so he’s incommunicado for the foreseeable future.

Koran: Fold their clothes and put them on the porch under the tarp.

Kit: You are such a buzzkill. One night in charge and you’ve lost all your humor.

Kason: I hate to agree with Koran, but I assume this is hard enough on Karter without us making it worse. Think he’ll ever forgive us for taking Valery to the pit?

Kade: WHAT? You did what?

Kit: Uh, we might have taken Valery to meet the pack without Karter’s permission.

Kason: Or knowledge.

Kade: If that was Dinah, I’d fucking kill you. You better grovel at his feet the next time you see him.

Kason: She was under our protection. No one was going to fuck with her with us by her side.

Koran: Except Siren did.

Kit: She grabbed his drink. He didn’t offer it. How were we supposed to know it was laced with something?

Kade: Fucking hell. I’m coming out there, if for no other reason than to protect you assholes when Karter comes to collect your hides. Get my room ready. Dinah and I will be there late morning.

Koran: Code red. Get your asses back to the pit. Now.

Kason: We’re on our way.

There are no other messages after that, and I suspect it’s because they took me off the thread. What would cause Koran to call a code red? No matter the years of tension between me and Siren, for the most part everyone gets along.

Shit. Does my family need me? Are they ready to handle the pack without me?

I look at the cabin door and think about the woman inside. My mate, who I’ve marked without her permission. And not the mark I want—no, need—to make. My bear grumbles, torn between what he wants, needs, and deserves. He’s as ashamed of himself as I am. Hurting her is not an option, and I don’t know if I can trust him around her.

Gathering up the rest of our clothes and boots, I walk back inside to find her wrapped in the blanket. “It’s cold in here, huh?”

“It’s a tad chilly without a fur blanket wrapped around me. Why don’t you sit down, pull me onto your lap, and keep me warm?”

I set the clothes down on the coffee table and sit down, pulling her onto my lap.

“What do you have to tell me? Is it that I’m not supposed to be here? Because I’ve had a feeling the entire time.”

Sighing, I adjust so her thighs drape across my lap. Instinctually, I slide my hand under the blanket and between her legs, wrapping my fingers around her thigh. I want more of her. More of her soft moans in my ear, her taste on my tongue, and her pussy quivering around my cock. One night wasn’t enough for me, much less my bear, who is quiet for once. “Having you in Fortune Falls is not the problem.”

“Then what is it? Last night I fell asleep in the arms of a man I confessed my love for, who said he loved me too.” She places her hand on my heart. “But I can feel you pulling away. Is it because I’m not a bear? You said we were fated?—”

“We are fated. There’s no denying it.” I cut her off. “And I meant every word last night. You are mine, and I’m yours, until my last breath.”

“Then why do I feel like you’re breaking up with me?”

I shake my head and caress her cheek with my free hand. “I’m sorry, babe. That isn’t my intention. Finding one’s fated mate is a big deal—life changing—and I’m ill-equipped to handle it. Talking to my human mate and explaining my life as a shifter—I’ve never contemplated having this conversation.”

“Would it be easier for you if I asked questions?”

“Yes.” I nod, a weight lifting off my chest. This was not how I wanted to tell her, but on the flip side, I had no other plan. Answering her questions with all honesty is the only route that makes sense to me.

“Okay,” she presses her lips together. “Were you born a bear?”

“I was born a shifter, but I didn’t meet my bear until I was a teenager. We rarely shift until adolescence, but usually before we’re adults.”

“Does it hurt to shift?”

Shaking my head, I lean back on the couch with her head laying on my bicep. “No. It’s not painful, but it can be uncomfortable. When I shift, every cell in my body vibrates violently like a metamorphosis. That’s what it feels like anyway, but I don’t know exactly how it works. I don’t know if anyone does.”

“Are you forbidden to be with me?”

My brow furrows as I contemplate my answer. “Yes, and no. There are shifters all over the world and all pack dynamics are different. Basically, most shifters are members of a closed pack, an open pack, or they function as solitaries—although many of them are solitary because they were exiled from their packs. So while it’s not forbidden for a shifter and a human to mate—especially when it’s divinely gifted by the Fates—in some communities it’s discouraged.”

“And in Fortune Falls?”

My smart, beautiful mate. “It was forbidden to bring humans into the community until two nights ago. The same night your van broke down and my cousin brought you to me.” I smile thoughtfully. “Tell me the Fates aren’t listening and intervening as necessary. I’ve always said the Fates bring you what you need, when you need it, whether you’re ready or not.”

“Am I what you need?” Valery sits up and lets her knees fall apart, her hand moving to rest on mine underneath the blanket. I smell her arousal, my body hardening without thought as to what comes next for us.

“You are exactly who and what I need, but I’m struggling to believe I deserve you.”

“Don’t you think that’s for me to decide?” She arches her brow in challenge.

Grinning, I shake my head. “I love how intelligent and confident you are. The perfect mate for a bear shifter-slash-Pack Alpha who has to deal with stupid shit daily.”

“What does it mean to be Pack Alpha?” Valery slides her hand up my forearm, over my bicep, and down my chest to rest on my abs. The scent of her arousal thickens in the air, and I don’t have to be telepathic to read her thoughts. What I’ve always seen as an unavoidable burden is a turn-on to her, which makes my bear purr his approval.

“In Fortune Falls, it means I mediate arguments throughout the month and provide direction to the pack on full moon festivities. My word is supposed to be law, and for the most part it is, but in a mixed community there are a lot of challenges.”

“Kason and Kit said the party last night was your party.”

I shrug. “Essentially.”

“So, your whole life has been taking care of others—your pack and your family. Who takes care of you, Karter?” She pushes off my chest and crawls off my lap to kneel on the floor between my knees. With her hands sliding up my thighs, she grins. “Don’t answer that. Instead, let me—your mate—take care of you.”

Brushing her curls back from her face while she unbuttons my jeans and pulls my burgeoning cock free from the confines of denim, I hiss with the first swipe of her tongue.

Sweet Fates, this woman. How can I give her up?

How can I ensure my bear will remain in control around her?

Closing my eyes, I lean my head back as she works my cock with her hot, wet mouth. Pleasure ripples down my spine and my balls tighten with impending release. My fists are clenched at my sides, an overwhelming desire to grab a handful of her hair warring with my need to handle my mate with care. She pulls her mouth off me with a pop, causing me to open my eyes and look at her.

Valery takes one of my hands and guides it to her hair, threading the strands through my thick fingers. “You don’t have to handle me with kid gloves, Karter. Touch me, grab me, pick me up and throw me down on the bed when you feel compelled to do so. Bend me over and hike my skirt up whenever appropriate. I want to feel the passion you have for me through every touch, kiss, and caress.”

“Fuck me. Now I really don’t deserve you.”

She giggles and lowers her head, licking me from base to tip while maintaining eye contact.

I tighten my grip, panting as carnal pleasure brings me back to the edge. Watching her, feeling her, guiding her—this is more than I dreamt it could be. Thrusting my hips up, I grunt, “I’m going to come.”

Nodding, she doubles down her effort, sucking deep and drinking me down as my cock jerks and cum spurts down her throat. A feral urge hits my gut and I yank her hair back, pulling her off my cock, the look on her face pure prideful satisfaction.

Last night she rode me twice, and I hiked her thighs up and drove into her missionary, but the image she implanted in my brain of bending her over and hiking up her skirt is too exquisite to ignore. I slide off the couch and kick the coffee table out of the way before dropping to my knees behind her. “Place your elbows on the cushion and arch your ass into the air, babe.”

The grin on her face tells me everything I need to know about how she feels about my bossy Alpha side. I flip the blanket up over her ass, letting it drape over her back and shoulders, and run my fingertips through the wetness dripping out of her pussy. Taking my cock in hand, I slide the head back and forth, coating myself with her arousal. My bear growls low in my chest and my fangs descend the moment I slide deep inside of her welcoming cunt.

“Oh god, yes, Karter.” She gasps with each thrust of my hips.

I can’t form words with my fangs filling my mouth and close my eyes to battle the overwhelming urge to bite and mark my mate. Instead, I focus on the pleasure coursing through my veins and turn my head away while pounding my cock into her perfect cunt. With one hand in her hair, the other gripping her hip with a bruising hold, I fight the primal roar threatening to erupt from my lips—grunting and groaning as her pussy tightens around my cock.

“Are you going to come for me, mate?” I grunt, the words more animalistic than polished.

“Yes,” she cries out when I yank her head back and nip at her neck and shoulder. I’m playing with fire putting my mouth anywhere near her sweet, soft flesh, testing and tempting my waning control. Her cunt clamps down, pulsating and milking me for my seed—and the idea of filling her nightly and watching her belly swell with my cubs sends me over the edge.

I roar a guttural call as I come hard, shooting everything I have deep inside of her. Releasing my hold of her hair, she crumbles forward; her breath muffled by the couch cushion. I sag over her back as my fangs retract and pepper her spine with kisses. “I love you, Valery.”

Her body shudders with her waning orgasm. “I love you too, Karter.”

Pulling out, I kiss her ass cheek and place a gentle smack against it with my palm before falling back on my heels.

She giggles and flops to her uninjured hip, turning to look at me with flushed cheeks. “Maybe we should hide out here for the week—naked, of course.”

“We can do that, but first we need to head back to the house so I can feed my mate, grab some groceries, and pack the essentials.” I roll to my feet and offer her my hand, pulling her into my arms.

Valery smiles up at me with a look of pure love shining in her eyes. “That sounds like an amazing plan.”