26. Mai

Chapter twenty-six

Mai

I felt myself relaxing into the passenger seat of Ryan's car. The soft hum of the engine and the gentle motion of the car were soothing, and for a moment I didn't have to think, didn't have to plot or plan. I could just be me.

I glanced over at Ryan, taking in the strong line of his jaw and the way his hands gripped the steering wheel with quiet confidence.

Ryan caught my gaze and smiled, his eyes warm and tender. "You okay?" he asked, his voice low and comforting.

I sighed, leaning my head back against the seat. "It's just this. Being Alpha...it's a lot, you know? The responsibility, the constant pressure...it's never-ending."

Ryan reached over and took my hand, interlacing our fingers. His touch was grounding, a reminder that I wasn't alone in this. "It won't always be this way. It'll get easier."

I squeezed his hand, feeling a surge of gratitude and love. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Ryan lifted our joined hands and pressed a soft kiss to my knuckles. "You'll never have to find out. I'm here, always. "

We passed through the gates of the Alpha compound, the familiar sight bringing a sense of homecoming, which surprised me. Was I getting used to being here? Was I starting to feel that this was home?

Ryan parked outside the Alpha House, climbed out, then came round and opened my door. His frame blocked out the lights from the house, and for a second my breath caught. His muscles strained against his shirt, and I stilled as he stared right at me, his gaze laser-focused like I was the most interesting thing in the entire world. Some deep part of me wanted me to run. It knew what he could do, that if I made one false move, he could kill me in an instant. But he was mine, and there would be no more running. Ryan held out his hand and pulled me effortlessly out of the car.

As we stepped through the door, I stopped dead in my tracks. The once-empty bookshelves that lined the walls were now filled to the brim with books—not just any books, but titles from my favorite authors, the ones I read under my covers, or secretly on my phone.

I turned to Ryan. "You did this? For me?"

Ryan grinned, looking very pleased with himself. "You like it?"

"Like it?" I stared up at the shelves, my mouth hanging open. "You need to fetch help, Ryan. Book Tbr drowning is occurring."

He laughed and slid his arm round my waist, pulling me to him.

"I can definitely help with that." He kissed me, his tongue teasing my lips apart. It wasn't a long kiss, just a promise of what was to come, before he stepped back and let me explore my gift.

"How did you know which books to get? Oh, my Goddess, that's Rina Meyors' new book! I've been waiting for weeks for this to come out! "

"Well, I may have hacked into your phone again, to see your wish list and the books you've been reading."

I spun round, ready to yell at him, but then found I didn't care. Not if I got all these beautiful books.

Ryan led me over to the shelves, pointing out two that were still empty. "These are for you to fill with whatever books you like. I've set up an account at the local bookstore, so you can go and pick out anything that catches your eye. Consider it an ongoing gift. I've already worked out where I can build more bookcases."

"Ryan, this is too much."

"Nothing is too much, Mai. Nothing. Get used to being spoiled. This is just the start."

I ran my fingers along the spines of the books, marveling at the titles. Some were old favorites, books I had read and reread. But others were new releases, books I had been eagerly anticipating but hadn't had the chance to buy yet.

"This is incredible. You're incredible." I breathed, feeling overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness of the gesture.

Ryan pressed a kiss to my forehead. "That's a problem I can live with. Seeing you happy...that's all I want."

I grabbed three books from the shelves, eager to dive into the new worlds and stories they held. Ryan and I settled onto the sofa in the study, our bodies naturally curling towards each other. As I flicked through the pages, inhaling the comforting scent of new books, Ryan's voice broke through my reverie.

"Before you get completely lost in those," he said, his tone serious. "I'm pretty sure Brock is the one framing Ronnie. "

I looked up sharply, my heart skipping a beat. "Brock? But why would he do that?"

Ryan sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know. I feel like we're still missing some pieces of this."

"Shya once said that there was no love lost between Brock and Ronnie. She was banking on Ronnie helping us before because he'd do anything to get back at Brock. Maybe it goes both ways."

"Maybe."

"Okay, so let's go back to the start. What do we know?" I lifted my hand and counted the points off on each finger. "One, Brock wants to be nominated to the Wolf Council. That's his goal for now. His end goal seems to be taking over the Council and basically ruling all of the north as some ridiculous Wolf King. Two, we know he's Ghost and is involved in the production and spread of ripple. Three, he's been working with the witches to cast a spell on ripple, making it highly addictive to Shifters, and making Shifters want to break their Pack bonds because they come to see them as impure."

"If the Shifter communities are overrun by this drug, society as we know it will break down. We'll have rogue wolves that are addicted to ripple, can't Shift and don't have the Pack bonds to keep them grounded. It'll only be a matter of time before they start attacking humans. So how does that fit in to Brock becoming a Wolf King?"

"What if we did nominate him? He gets on the Wolf Council. We know he's linked to the witches. What if there's a spell to reverse the effects of ripple and break the addiction? Esme said that it was possible. Then he's poised to become the savior in all this, swooping in with a counter-spell, stopping all the rogue wolves, mending the Pack bonds. He's suddenly a hero. "

I felt a chill run down my spine. "That would give him a lot of power on the Council. He might even be in a position to take it over. But why would the witches agree to this?"

"If I was him, I'd offer them free rein in the north-east again to do what they liked. Plus, they'd be allied with the new Wolf King. That would give them a lot of power."

Ryan pulled out his phone and sent a quick text.

"What are you doing?"

"Putting extra security round Thomas's house. If Brock realizes we have Esme, he might try and get her back."

I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down on me.

"You still think this will get easier?" I asked, feeling so tired all of a sudden.

Ryan pulled me into his arms, holding me close. "It will. I don't know when, but it will, I promise. We can do this."

I soaked in his heat and let myself relax into him. The deadline to nominate Brock for the Wolf Council was tomorrow. With what we now suspected, could I really give in to Brock's demands? But if we refused and hadn't found Jem before then, we'd be sacrificing my brother. I'd just got him back; there was no way I could lose him again. The Pack, fuck, it felt like it was the whole Shifter community or my brother. I knew what Jem would say; he had told me when he called, but I honestly had no idea if I could make that choice.

"You need distracting. I can feel your brain ticking."

"You feel my brain ticking?" I looked up at him and smiled. "Really? "

"Really," he said. "That or I have ants crawling up my back." He did a mock shudder.

"I don't think I can stop my brain ticking," I laughed.

His eyes went dark and green sparks flitted across them. "I know how."

Yes, please!

Ryan took my hand and led me up to our bedroom. I thought he was going to lead me to the bed, but he kept going, through the room and into the bathroom.

I eyed the shower. Shower sex with Ryan was mind-blowing.

"Nope. Not shower sex tonight," Ryan said, reading my mind. "I want you to watch me fucking you."

"I do watch you."

I wasn't lying; I loved looking into his eyes as he took me.

"No, I want you to watch yourself while I fuck you."

What?

He turned me round to face the huge mirror hanging over the double sink, and stood behind me, looking at our reflection.

"I don't know—"

"You don't have to know, Mai," Ryan interrupted. "I know. Strip."

I hesitated, and Ryan took a step toward me. "Now, Mai."

Okay then. I could do this. The idea of sex with Ryan wasn't something I was going to turn down. Plus, I could always close my eyes.

I stripped, throwing my clothes in the corner. Ryan did the same, and I took a moment to admire his freaking amazing body. His hard muscles, his perfect jawline, his massive cock. I still couldn't believe it was all mine. I just wanted to touch and lick him all over .

"Hands on the edge of the sink, Mai."

I did as he said.

"Spread your legs for me."

I opened my legs and tilted my butt back. Ryan trailed a finger lightly across my butt, sending a shiver through me.

"So fucking beautiful. Before I'm done with you, you're going to see it too."

"See what?" I gasped as he kicked my legs wider still.

"How beautiful you are. How beautiful you look when you have me inside of you. How your face lights up when I'm fucking you, whether I fuck you slow, or hard, or fast, whether I tease you or let you have what you want."

I felt a spasm in my core at his words, and heat ignited inside of me.

"I—"

"Quiet, now. Watch."

Ryan grabbed my hips, lined himself up, and then looked at me in the mirror.

"You're going to stay very still, Mai. No moving, no bucking. You're going to watch yourself get fucked by me, and there is nothing you are going to do except enjoy it. Understood?"

I nodded, catching his gaze; I couldn't tear my eyes away from him.

He inched his way inside of me. I could feel my pussy expanding as he forced his way in. His cock felt amazing, the size of it filling me completely, bit by bit.

"You like that," he stated.

Damn fucking right, I liked it. I nodded, unable to speak.

"No, Mai. Look at your face. Look at the delight on it when I'm inside of you. "

I looked at myself and froze. He wasn't wrong. My expression looking back at me was not one I'd seen in a mirror before. It was one of pure joy, pure certainty that what I was doing, what I was feeling, was the most amazing thing, the rightest thing in the world.

Ryan slid out, hesitated for a moment, then slid back in, tantalisingly slowly. I watched as my eyes went half-lidded from the feelings of pleasure coursing through me.

He traced his fingertips down my back, along my butt, then gripped my hips tightly.

"You ready?"

"Always," I moaned.

Ryan started slowly, then steadily increased his pace. Sliding out completely, then slamming back inside of me. He stopped there each time, when he filled me to the hilt, eyes never leaving mine, before sliding back out again. It was intimate and so deeply personal, like he was seeing into the depth of my soul.

I was desperate to buck against him, to increase the friction, to move in any way. But each time I tried to, Ryan's fingertips would dig into my hips, reminding me to stay in place. It was torture. Sweet, delicious torture.

I glanced down, seeing my breasts jiggle with each thrust of Ryan's. My nipples were hard and erect.

He was having none of it. He grabbed my hair, wrapped it round one hand, and yanked my head up.

"Look, Mai!" he ordered.

So I did. I watched myself as he fucked me. "Mmmm, you just got a hell of a lot wetter, Mai. You like what you see, don't you? "

I did like it. I was fascinated by it. I watched my face relax; it looked blissful, so fucking happy, and I didn't recognize myself.

"This is what I see every time I fuck you, Mai. You, my fated mate, so perfectly happy every time you take my cock. You get off on it. You need it, Mai, as much as I need to be inside of you, feeling you so fucking wet as I drive my cock into you over and over. In a minute, you're going to come all over my cock and your face is going to be the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. You love this, Mai. Admit it."

"Yes," I agreed, unable to form any other words. The pressure was building; I could feel my orgasm coming. I was going to come, and I was going to watch myself while I did it.

All thoughts left me; it was just Ryan and me. The wet, slapping sounds of him fucking me, and my face, so delightfully happy, so eager to be fucked by him. I would do anything for this feeling, anything Ryan asked of me, just to feel his cock filling me, to feel him slide in and out of my pussy. I wanted more. I was desperate to move now, to slam down on his cock just as he was driving into me, to urge him on. My hips bucked, but Ryan held me in place, keeping me still. He went faster, increasing his speed, pounding into me again and again, until I couldn't take it any longer. The feeling of absolute bliss erupted inside of me.

"Yes," I cried, as I watched myself do exactly what he said and came all over his cock.

I woke up around two am. I was curled into Ryan, my back against his chest. His arms were wrapped round me, his legs over mine, pinning me in place. I would have thought this position, this statement that I was his, would make me feel uncomfortable. But I felt safe, like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. My wolf rubbed up against my insides, letting me know she was happy. She quieted, content where she was. I don't know if some sense in him alerted Ryan to me being awake, but before I knew it, he'd wrapped his hand around my breast. The warmth of his palm soaked into my skin, and he leisurely swiped his thumb across my nipple.

Mmmm. This was nice.

I arched my back into him, and without a word, he slipped inside.

Oh my. The shock of him suddenly being there sent little spasms through my pussy. It was delicious and so fucking amazing I thought I might come on the spot.

Then he moved his hips, pulling out, then slowly inching his way back in. He took his time; his hands caressed every curve of my body, sending shivers down my spine with every stroke. I could feel his warm breath on my skin. Though I was surrounded by darkness, the bedroom seemed to glow with the intensity of our connection. His cock slid in and out of me, hitting all the right spots. His fingers found my nipples, tweaking and rolling, causing spikes of pleasure to cascade through my body. He took his time, like we had all the time in the world, and each time he slid inside of me, it sent jolts of pleasure from my core to my very soul. He kissed my neck, his teeth grazing my skin just a little, sending a thrill of excitement shivering through me. I moved against him, urging him to go faster, but he just chuckled in my ear. He was letting me know that this time he was in charge. He knew exactly what to do to send me over the edge, but he'd decide when I could orgasm. His rhythm increased slowly. His hand gripped my neck, pulling me back, forcing me to look into his eyes. I was lost in the heat of his gaze, yearning for that one moment of release. My body arched up against his, my pussy pulsating around his cock, my hips bucking, begging for more. I could feel my climax building from the deep, steady strokes of his hips, and the constant magic of his fingers on my nipples.

"Now, Mai," he ordered.

My eyes rolled as I let go and moaned loudly, my orgasm crashing over me like a tidal wave. I clenched around him, my inner walls gripping his cock, milking him of every last drop of pleasure. He maintained his pace, riding out my orgasm with me, his eyes never leaving mine, as he came hard.

I rode the high with him. Then rested my head against his shoulder and promptly fell asleep with him still inside of me.