18. Eighteen

eighteen

T he dream started just like the others, with me dropped into a movie in the second act. I was in my wolf form, running through mountains. Instead of snow, everything was lush and green. I chased a large, mahogany wolf who never charged too far ahead on my account.

We tore down through the valley, barreling past farms and orchards where the fae grew food for the villages. The other wolf broke right and vaulted a tall fence, barely pausing before taking off into the horse pasture.

A gorgeous black stallion galloped alongside the wolf as I pressed on, desperate to keep pace. That was one thing I loved about my mate—he never let me win. I managed to make up ground by taking a shortcut around the pond to reach the back fence. We leapt over the wooden posts only a second apart.

The last leg of our race took us through the Elemental Forest, which was supposedly haunted. Before gaining my wolf, I would’ve never ventured through the dark trees with their twisted trunks and gnarled roots. Now, the strange, inhuman screams that assaulted my ears didn’t scare me. The winds that came out of nowhere didn’t make my insides go numb.

I was an apex predator. What in those woods could’ve stood a chance against me?

“Want to wager on the race?” he asked.

He was close by, to the right. Several yards ahead of me.

“If I win, you take over chamber pot duties from Emmaline,” I said.

His laughter filled my head. “How does that benefit you?”

“It doesn’t,” I admitted. “But I would find it amusing.”

“Deal,” he said.

It should have occurred to me that he never posed the stakes if I lost.

We exited the forest onto a manicured lawn with manicured bushes resembling wolf heads—ours, specifically, as the alpha couple of the High Lakes. Sapphire Hall, the king’s name for our new home, loomed large ahead. The iridescent pieces of shale affixed to the outside gave the castle’s walls a silvery-blue appearance that I’d loved since the day we arrived.

My paws were damp from the morning rain on the grass, and I slid on the marble steps as I raced my mate to the back entrance. He slipped on the veranda, taking out a table and chairs. That brief loss of ground was all I needed to overtake him.

I barreled into the door, nearly splintering the wood with my shoulder. The pain barely registered. I didn’t care that the win was sort of a fluke. If he had used his full speed on the run, instead of slowing to stay just ahead of me, this victory wouldn’t have been mine to claim.

He emerged from the rubble human. I still wasn’t as comfortable nude as my mate.

“We’re alone.” He spread his arms and spun in a circle. “No one around to see you for miles.”

I shifted but stayed in the shadows. “Happy now?” I called to him.

He ran a hand through his shoulder-length blond hair and beckoned me forward with a crook of his finger.

“What about the servants?” I demanded. “They’ll spread rumors in the village, worse than they already do.”

“I don’t care,” he shot back.

“I do,” I snapped.

Laughter made his chest rumble. “I know. That’s why I gave the staff the day off. Well, not the cook. I didn’t want us to starve, and you burn toast.” His mouth twisted into a devilish grin, and he motioned me forward again. “Come claim your prize.”

My heartbeat pounded in my ears. I knew he heard it too. Blood rushed between my legs, and his shifter senses meant he was fully aware of that as well. I stepped into the bright sunlight. His irises flashed gold.

“Closer,” he said as though kilometers separated us instead of feet.

I took several steps toward him, arms loosely crossed over my stomach.

“Closer still,” he whispered, the words both commanding and seductive.

I stood within arm’s reach, but he didn’t draw nearer. He wanted me to come to him. It was a power move, and I didn’t mind. He was my mate and my alpha, and the only person that outranked me. Yet he insisted I lead, that I set the pace.

I moved slowly forward until we were only a foot apart. His eyes raked up and down my body without shame or hesitation. Thrill coiled in my belly as goosebumps peppered my skin.

“Move your arms,” he muttered.

Teeth biting down on my lip, I let my arms fall to my sides. His gaze lingered on my breasts, and my nipples tightened into buds begging to be touched. I wanted him in a way I had never wanted anything. His golden eyes traveled south, below my belly button to stare at my curls.

The heat of his gaze made flames lick at my most sensitive areas. I bit down harder on my lip until I tasted blood. His nose twitched as he searched for the source of the tangy scent. His jaw hardened.

“Are you that nervous with me?” He reached for my hand and slid his fingers between mine. “Remember, we swore to never to lie to one another.”

That promise wasn’t part of our true mates ceremony; we’d made it later that night, when he asked if I was ready to consummate our bond. He’d sensed I wasn’t quite there yet and held me through the night while we whispered about our hopes for the future. When the king had asked the next day if we’d done the deed, he’d lied for me without hesitation.

I swallowed hard. “It’s a good nervous.”

He held my eyes captive and brought my free hand to his stomach. The muscles rippled under my palm. His finger wrapped around my wrist, and he guided my hand down slowly. My chest heaved as my breath sped to almost a pant.

When my fingers finally touched his hard cock, he swallowed a moan and brought our joined hands to my mouth. He tugged my bottom lip with his thumb until it came free from my teeth.

“Look at me,” he whispered.

My eyebrows drew together. “I am.”

He tipped my chin down, his other hand guiding my wrist as I stroked his manhood. He was beautiful. Every inch of him perfect, as though chiseled from the same unyielding marble as the veranda.

He squeezed my wrist to still the hand cupping him as he kissed the knuckles of the other. “It’s not going to be very exciting for you if you keep going.”

He released both my hands and swept me into his arms before I knew what was happening. My lips parted slightly when I gasped. I thought he might take me inside, to my chambers. Instead, he carried me to one of the large, canopied lounge beds and gently deposited me against the pillows.

I watched him stretch out beside me, staring hungrily at a body I longed to touch again. He reached over and placed a hand on my cheek, turning my face toward his.

“I am yours. To touch. To have.” His golden eyes darkened. “To fuck. Whenever you’re ready. But you need to say the words. You promised.”

He only touched my face, but my breasts grew heavy, and the pressure built at my core. This was it. The ceremony had happened months ago, and I already thought of him as my mate. Today, we would solidify the bond.

His mouth hovered just above mine. He ran his thumb over the spot where I’d drawn blood earlier. The small cut had already healed.

“I want to be yours. Now until forever,” I murmured.

His lips met mine, and the kiss was so soft, so tender. He slid his tongue in my mouth to dance with mine. It felt like the stars aligning for a Gaia-blessed bond, and I wondered if I should’ve given myself to him before now.

He ran his fingertips lightly over my collarbone, palm just barely skimming my pert nipple. I moaned into his mouth and felt his lips curve upward. I angled my body into his. Our knees touched. He pulled back from the kiss, leaving me thirsty for more.

“What do you like?” he asked, sliding his hand down to cup my left breast.

The question made my eyes narrow. “You know I’ve never been with anyone before.”

He squeezed, applying just enough pressure to intensify the ache at my center. When he rubbed my nipple with his thumb, I sucked in air. He smiled seductively.

“What about when you’re alone, at night. When you think everyone else is asleep?” He dipped his head and wrapped his soft lips around my nipple and ran his tongue around the peak. “We have adjoining bedchambers, and I do have shifter hearing.”

My cheeks flamed.

“Don’t be embarrassed.” He slid his arm around my waist, hand splayed just above my ass and dragged me onto his lap.

My back pressed against his chest. He nipped my shoulder and ran his calloused palms up and down my sides before finally settling on my hips. His rock-hard length stood turgidly between us.

“Do you think about me?” His hands moved down to my thighs and squeezed.

I turned to look at him over my shoulder. “Always.”

His fingers dug into the sensitive flesh of my inner thigh, but the kiss was so gentle. He tugged my legs apart and then cupped my sex with one hand. One finger slipped between my folds. I moaned and kissed him harder.

He pulled back after several seconds and peppered kisses along my jaw. “Am I doing it right?” he asked, voice breathy.

I rolled my hips counterclockwise, guiding his skilled hand to just the right spot. His mouth was on my neck, and his canines scraped down the skin. He tugged my thigh until my legs fell open. The cool breeze hit my damp flesh, making my insides quiver.

My head fell back on his shoulder when I arched my back and grabbed his forearms, nails digging into the skin. He slid another finger inside me.

“Yeah?”

I nodded and managed a breathy reply. “Yeah.”

His thumb brushed against me, teasing my clit. I moved my hips in time with his hands, grinding my ass against him until his heartrate matched mine.

The pressure built, and I instinctively tried to shove it back down. My entire life I’d been told to act a certain way; expressing emotion wasn’t something my family tolerated.

He pressed a kiss behind my ear. “I want to be yours. Now until the end of time.” His tongue flicked out. “I love you, D.”

I had never taken it this far myself. I felt his smug satisfaction, knowing in that moment that he was about to give me my first orgasm. Maybe it should’ve annoyed me, but I wanted to give him the honor. I would’ve given him anything he asked for right then.

My toes curled and my spine bowed. His name was on the tip of my tongue.

And then, someone else screamed it instead.

I bolted upright in bed, drenched in sweat. My pajama top clung to my back, and the shorts were damp in spots. My inner thighs tingled, longing for his touch.

No.

I shook my head. A sex dream about Penn was too far. I needed to get this under control immediately. The man did one nice thing for me, and he was suddenly the lead in my first mental porno.

Shouts sounded outside my window, and I remembered why my dream ended prematurely. I threw back the covers and climbed out of bed, padding over to see what all the noise was about.

The sky was a brilliant sapphire blue, lighter than midnight but darker than dawn. Penn stood outside wearing flannel pajama pants with boots and no shirt. His stance was rigid, his arms crossed over his broad chest.

For a second, I felt the heat of his skin against my back as I writhed on his lap.

No , I told myself again.

Donnelle knelt before him in jeans and a hoodie. Penn wore a blank expression, though I felt his anger through the glass.

“If the alpha gives me permission—” Donnelle started to say.

“He won’t. The matter is closed, and you are no longer a part of Drake’s security detail,” Penn said.

I blinked. Their argument was about me.

“I’ll soon be brother-in-law to the alpha,” Donnelle muttered. It was a grave mistake.

Penn’s icy glare made the other man curl into himself. “Fight me. If you win, you can remain part of Drake’s guard and ask my brother to do you whatever favor you like. If you lose, you’re no longer an enforcer. I’ll reassign you to a division more befitting your standing.”

Was Penn seriously bargaining with my future? Would Finneus let Donnelle claim me as his mate? I wanted to throw open the window and tell them both it would take two moons rising to let them decide my life.

Instead, I watched. Donnelle accepted Penn’s deal, proving he was the dumbest son of a bitch on our mountains. The other wolves patrolling my land sprinted to the yard as soon as they smelled the testosterone in the air. There was no need for backup—the matchup was no contest.

Penn’s giant mahogany wolf pinned Donnelle’s brown wolf with three graceful moves that didn’t seem to require any effort. Then, Penn shifted. For a moment, rage shone brightly in his golden eyes.

“Don’t ever go near Drake again.” Penn’s gaze shot up to the window as if sensing me there. “That’s a fucking order.”