by E. M. Moore
I never pegged Kinsey as the sociable type before, but she becomes a talking head as we wait in line, engaging everyone in conversation. When the first person she talks to says they’re from Eclipse, I almost gasp. Aside from other rejected mates, I haven’t been around shifters from different packs. The last time Daybreak held a solstice party, I was too young to partake.
Eventually, Kinsey and I get to the booth owner, order our decoy beers, and head toward the fire. The evening has grown dark, the licking flames providing the only light in the sky. The music blasting through the speakers sets the stage for the undercover work we’re doing. Every time someone looks at me, I almost spaz out, though. It’s like they can read my thoughts and know I’m only here to pump everyone for information.
“Relax,” Kinsey singsongs in a whisper.
I take a deep breath and let it out, but the crushing pressure in my chest barely subsides. I have a lot riding on this: my life.
We take up a spot in the back corner by the stage. Luckily, all the huge speakers, which look even bigger this close up, are pointing in the other direction so we’re not overpowered by the music.
“I wish everyone’s pack mark was visible,” Kinsey complains.
“Tell me about it,” I mutter. It would make it so much easier to pinpoint the shifters from Twilight Pack.
She fidgets from foot-to-foot. “We have to attack this together. If I let you out of my sight, Nathan will kill me.” She turns, smirking at me. “He told me so.”
My shifter heart grows about three sizes. Who doesn’t love someone threatening others for them? “Aww.”
“I know.” Kinsey’s eyes shine. “He’s—”
The groaning of bending metal splits the air. The hair on the back of my neck rises. Above us, a crackling explosion, almost like fireworks, bursts to life. Both of us whirl, hands in front of our faces as flickers of fire rain down from the gigantic speaker above. The music cuts out, and the world around us moves in slow motion as the speaker begins to separate from its fasteners one-by-one. My wolf barrels forward, in full protection mode, taking over in an instant with her superior abilities.
Before I’m even fully in my wolf form, she’s dodged out of the way as the tall speaker falls right where Kinsey and I stood. My wolf pants, heart beating a mile a minute as she scans the area for our friend. Other shifters are in their wolf forms now, too, growling and baring their teeth.
My wolf retreats, prowling low. In this form, I can tell which shifters are Daybreak and which come from other packs. In the dark, their symbols shine on their foreheads in soft, white light. My wolf blinks. I’ve only run with Nathan and my own pack at night, so I’ve never seen this nifty feature in real time with other packs involved. With my own pack, our symbol just fades away.
A beautiful brown and red wolf bolts for me, the Lunar Pack symbol of a quarter moon decorating the top of its head. My wolf knows who it is right away, and the feeling of friendship spreads through our limbs.
A howl carries on the wind, and Kinsey’s wolf ears twitch. A striking brown wolf barrels into view. When he spots Kinsey, he slows his pace. Directly behind him comes another wolf—one I’m very familiar with. He hangs back, though his eyes say everything.
Kinsey’s wolf nods as she looks at Jonah, and then she nudges me. The four of us leave the scene while those who were far away and were able to remain human come closer. While they stare at the downed speaker, questions pour forth as the electricals fizzle. Puffs of gray smoke billow into the sky.
Nathan takes up the rear, and Jonah leads, navigating us back toward the car against the growing crowd. My wolf spots his keys dangling off his front leg. Smart to always have them on him like that in case he needs to shift quickly.
When we arrive, Jonah transforms into human form, barking orders for us to stay the way we are as he opens the trunk. Nathan and my wolf turn away while Jonah is naked. With a bag hefted over his shoulder, he takes one of those worn paths that guides us to the woods. Just inside the forest, he takes out three sets of outfits, leading Kinsey further away. With the way they look at each other, they’ve already been talking, and Kinsey’s no doubt filling him in on what happened.
Nathan shifts and grabs a pair of loose-fitting exercise pants from the ground, tugging them on. “Jesus, Mia. Are you okay?” He runs his hands through his hair, staring at me while I make my own transformation into human again.
I stand from the ground with the borrowed shirt already in my hand. My shaking fingers give me away as I pull the clothing over my head. “It fell right where Kinsey and I were standing.”
Nathan sets his jaw. He tugs his shirt on, and I hurry and pull pants up my legs. They’re about five sizes too big, so I roll the hem and then realize I’ll also have to hold them in place so I don’t moon anyone. Once we’re fully dressed, Nathan starts forward like he wants to hug me, but he stops himself.
He breathes out heavily, hands flexing.
Jonah and Kinsey walk toward us. The serious look on Jonah’s face has me swallowing. “We need to go back over there,” he informs us. “We need to see if that was an accident or not.”
“What do you mean?”
Nathan fixes me with a hard look. “You and Kinsey just happened to be under a speaker that falls? I’m not buying it.”
“It could’ve been a fluke,” I offer. If this was Sean, I don’t understand what he wants from me. I’m the one who’s been in Greystone Academy all this time because he decided he didn’t want a mate.
“With what’s been going on,” Jonah starts, “it’s highly unlikely. We have to go back and record that it was you standing under there.”
Nerves still frayed, I follow the rest of them, returning to the festival. The broken speaker has put a damper on all the festivities. The spotlights are up, the music is still off. Street performers litter the meadow, but people are more interested in what happened than being entertained right now.
“There they are,” a shifter says, pointing at us as we make our way to the area behind the stage.
Jonah takes point, walking up to the group of shifters. Some of them are clothed and some not, having no doubt fallen victim to their shifter side when shit went down. In Jonah’s extra sweats, I feel ten times better talking to these guys than if I was in my Greystone uniform.
Kinsey and I explain to the festival workers that we were standing there when it happened. When questioned why we left, Jonah gets all growly, telling them that no mate of his is going to shift back in public. The old men of the packs nod and smile at him, looking amongst one another as if they remember that time in their lives.
Honestly, it’s a good thing Jonah is here because I suspect the conversation may have gone differently if it was just Kinsey and I trying to tell them the story. Jonah, however, turns the tables on them, asking how in the hell a speaker almost fell and injured his mate. He also vows to take it up with Daybreak’s alpha to make sure that the equipment goes through regular safety checks.
When Alpha Richard’s security arrives, Jonah tells them the same thing. They make a report, transferring to a quieter area to do so because the festival is back in full swing. They may not have a band—they’re still being interviewed—but they have a Bluetooth speaker.
Kinsey, Nathan, and I move toward the bonfire as the night drags on. The heat from the flames helps calm me.
“So,” Kinsey says, drawing it out. There’s a hint of humor in her voice like she’s trying to lighten the mood. “How did your guys’ night go?”
“We found Sean,” Nathan offers. “Then we lost him when Gayle decided she was going to start shit with me.”
I recoil. “What did she do?”
“Basically just wanted to make me look like an asshole. She was with a bunch of friends from school.” His eyes grow dark. “I’m beginning to wonder if it was all a diversion.”
I peer over my shoulder as an awareness trickles up my spine. In the woods behind us, I spot the yellow glow of eyes. In my head, I know it
could be anyone, but I also wonder if it’s Sean, waiting for me to be alone.
If he couldn’t magic the bond away, will he try to sever it with death?
21
The doorknob to my room twists. I’ve been staring at it ever since we said goodbye to Kinsey and Jonah half an hour ago, wondering if Nathan was going to come see me. Hell, I almost showed up over there myself, but I’m stuck in this continuous cycle of longing for him and knowing that if anyone were to find out, we’d be punished so fast, it wouldn’t even matter.
The door creaks open, and he tiptoes in. Bare chested, he oozes masculinity. The hair on his muscled chest is sexy as fuck, and so is the trail leading past his navel.
I’ve been out of sorts since getting the shit scared out of me earlier. There are a few singe spots on my skin from the sparks, which only made it hit home on how close I was to being hurt. If it wasn’t Sean who did this, I totally agree with Jonah’s concern about making sure safety precautions are taken.
Then again, I’ve never heard about something like that happening at a Daybreak party before. The alpha and his people must be mortified. All the packs are in for a celebration and a damn speaker falls, not only ruining the fun but also almost taking out a high-ranking Lunar Pack member.
Nathan flicks the lock into place. Before he joins me on the bed, he also locks the door into the hallway and pulls the blinds closed on all the windows so it’s pitch black in the room. With my superior sight, I can see his outline prowling closer.
I scoot over on the bed, allowing him room to lie next to me. Instead, he reaches out. He closes his fingers around my wrist, giving me a tug until I’m on my feet. Between us, he holds out a piece of cloth that’s a couple feet long. He tugs on it, then wraps it around his head, placing it over his mouth before tying it at the back of his neck. He fishes another one from his pocket, holding it out for me to see. This time, he places it around my mouth and then maneuvers to my back to tie it.
My body buzzes as he settles his front over my rear. He’s hard, his cock pushing against my ass. He grips my hips from behind, then grinds against me. I moan in ecstasy, my head tilting back. When the sound comes out muffled, I suddenly realize what the cloth is for. A gag.
He spins me around, yanking me toward him again and crushing our lower halves together. His fingers delve into my backside as he circles his hips. This slow, seductive dance sprouts goosebumps over my skin. The silence is tantalizing, my breath in my ears the only sound that fills the space.
Reaching down, Nathan grabs the hem of my shirt. With his eyes, he asks permission to remove it, and I nod. He slowly rolls the tank top over my midsection, then chest, and finally over my head and arms before dropping it to the floor. Now, the only articles of clothing separating us are my sleep shorts and the joggers he never took off.
He cups my breast, kneading the swell while his other hand skirts up my thighs until his fingertips tease the band of my shorts. They glide over the sensitive flesh, fueling the need pulsing through me.
He slips both hands under, reaching down to sink his fingers into my ass before rolling his hips into me again. A muffled grunt hits my ears as if he’s chastising me for not wearing underwear. At this point, I wish I had because I’m getting turned on and the evidence is dampening the inseam of my shorts.
Maneuvering his left hand around my body, he cups my ass while his other sneaks around the front to slide between my pussy lips. I gasp as he touches me, thankful that the cloth over my mouth muffled the sound. There’s only one other shifter in this house, and she’s far enough away that, bound like this, we won’t be heard.
His finger slides through my folds, searching until he enters my pussy. I drop my head back at the delicious friction, and his masked mouth hits my neck. Puffs of air seep through the fabric, coating me in heat.
Arousal pours from me. We’re both standing in my room, gagged while we explore, and the fact that we can’t talk is skirting a kink. My hands settle on the curve of his back, sinking just beneath the waistband of his pants, and I curl my fingers, scratching across his upper ass while he continues pumping his fingers into me.
He releases a guttural moan. Even muffled, the sound makes my nipples peak as his chest hair tickles my skin. Keeping his finger moving slowly inside, he uses his other hand to move my shorts down my thighs. They pool at my feet, forgotten from the way he’s amping up my body. I almost don’t want to move from this position, but I want to see him naked more, so I do the same with his borrowed sweats.
He moves with me so I don’t break our connection, his fingers exploring more and more, feeding my breathless sighs. I try to move to my knees, but groan in a mix of frustration and excitement when he cups my cunt, holding me securely in place. I’d been hoping I’d be eye to tip with his dick right now. Not that I could do anything about it with my mouth out of commission, but he might like a good hum and a few puffs of heated breath that can make their way through the fabric. Instead, his free hand works up my spine, making me stand. His palm grinds against my clit until I can’t take it anymore.
I walk him backward, but he stops me, pulling his fingers from me so slowly that a tremble rolls through me just as the tip of his finger exits. Moving me to the bed instead, he makes me sit before he walks over to the sweats and pulls out a square package. He sets it down on the table by the bed, and my heart rate picks up.
This is happening.
Nerves and need battle it out for my truest emotion. While I sit, he entwines our fingers, then leans over, forcing my back to the bed, hands outstretched above my head. He nudges my legs open before he settles between them. My breath ricochets around me, and his own elevated breathing is like music to my ears as he slides his cock up the inside of my thigh, leaving a trail of pre-cum. His chest rumbles. My legs fall open even wider the more he closes in on his target, and I almost tell him to forego the condom. I mean, we can’t get pregnant, right? Not mates and all of that?
He lowers his head to my nipple, exhaling, flicking his tongue against the thin cloth of the gag that’s sitting atop of my sensitive flesh. The friction makes me arch my back. Through the fabric, he gives my nipple a small bite, and I gasp, the sound settling between the two of us.
I raise my hips, searching for relief as arousal trickles between my thighs. God damn. All I want is him. I make a sound of frustration that clearly translates, gag and all.
He chuckles, circling his hips over me again. The head of his cock barely caresses my entrance, and I lock my thighs against him, keeping him right where he is. I lift my hips, heart pumping in my temple when the head of his dick slips past my opening.
We both moan. He gives me small little test pumps—his silky, smooth cock entering a fraction more before exiting all the way.
I let out a breath as he twists, grabbing the square package, and ripping it open. He rolls the condom down his cock and then moves into the same position again. He grinds against me, rolling his hips into my heat. I open my knees wider until he slips inside again. Then, I clamp my thighs down on his, keeping him there. He teases my entrance, giving me the barest hint of his size.
I squeeze his hands in mine, and we lock eyes. Teasing, he does it again, grinding so just that much more enters. My core tightens, and he groans before slamming into me all the way.
Fully seated, I cry out, pleasure rippling through me. He lowers his forehead to mine, and we sync with one another. Carefully, he releases his hold on my hands and moves his to either side of my head. Now that I’m free, I work my fingers all over him, down his side, over his hip. When I squeeze his muscular backside, he retreats and pushes forward again. Another heightened cry spills from my mouth, caught in the fabric.
Thank fate he thought of these gags.
Leaning on his hand, Nathan reaches down to hike one of my legs over his shoulder. He switches, leaning on his other hand, to press down on my hip as he starts a rhythm of exploration. I ache to rise to meet him, but his hand on my hip prevents it. Instead, I make
do with angling my hips as he comes forward.
My wolf skitters near the surface of my skin. She’s eager to get as close to Nathan as she can, too. An overwhelming feeling of acceptance hits while he rolls his hips into me again and again. Even with the condom, I can feel every ridge and curve of his cock. When I can talk again, I might tell him just how much I love his dick. How I can’t get enough.
As if he can read my thoughts, he slams into me. The gasp that escapes from my mouth is raw, sucking the fabric into my mouth. I place my hands on his hips, squeezing. He picks up the pace, and we come together quicker than before. When the bed starts to get too noisy, he slows until we’re still at a controlled, steady pace that heightens my pleasure.
I throw my head back, complete bliss cascading through me, followed by a thick dose of satisfaction. I wrap my fingers around his wrist that’s holding me down and move as much as I can, meeting him. His strokes become more tense; his breathing more pronounced.
He moans, and I live for the sounds he’s making. They only serve as a boost to my own thrilling sensations.
I never would’ve guessed this would be my first sexual experience with my mate, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. It’s a memory in time of the struggles we’re going through to be together. One day, I hope we can unmute ourselves. I hope we can come together and be as loud and explosive as we want.
Until then, I’ll take just being with Nathan in any way.
I grind against him, my climax hovering. My body starts to shake, a tell he knows well. With me so close to the edge, he increases his speed, bed rocking and all, until my climax hits. Stars dust my vision, an explosion in their own right as my core spasms.
Nathan follows quickly after, pausing for a moment of pure ecstasy before he slowly works his way in and out as he drops his forehead to mine. His shoulders shudder before he lies on top of me, heavy, muted breaths filling the air.
Still seated inside me, he reaches around to untie his gag. “You, Mia, are so beautiful,” he whispers. “My friend. My lover. My mate.”
