by Sky Winters
“Good thinking.”
The two of them walked in as if nothing had happened and went to Barron’s apartment. Thad paced the floor like a cat. He could hear sirens approaching and stopping outside the building. More than two hours passed. By the time his phone rang, he jumped a mile in his seat. Barron laughed.
“Never seen an Alpha jump like that.”
“Fuck off,” Thad growled, answering the phone.
“Come up here − alone,” Jaycee said from the other end.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Jaycee
Her apartment was empty. No cops. No forensics teams. They had come and gone quickly after she had called. The blood remained on the floor, but she was working to clean what remained. Her door was already back up on its hinges.
“How did you get them in and out of here so quickly?”
“I moved the crime scene.”
“What?”
“I moved the crime scene, mostly. I told them he broke into the door and attacked me. We fought. I tried to stab him with a knitting needle, but it wasn’t hard enough to get him off me. I tried to get away by getting to the balcony and using the stairs to access the roof, but he came out after me and threw me back in. I managed to lock him out, so he launched himself back in through the windows. He dragged me out there, threatened to throw me over, but I wriggled free. Somehow, in the struggle, he went over.”
“And they bought all that?”
“I think so. If they evaluate DNA, they’ll just be confused. You came in as a wolf and didn’t shift while you were here. It’ll just come up as contaminated. The knitting needle will explain the puncture where you bit him, and the fall will explain his broken neck.”
“That’s some fast thinking.”
“I’m a smart girl.”
“So I see.”
“I doubt they will investigate it much, especially since I told them he confessed to killing Nasteau.”
“He did?”
“Yes. I knew he was a little needy lately, but I had no idea he was so unhinged.”
“I did.”
“What?”
“We had a run-in years ago. He went out with Barron’s wife, before they met and realized they were natural mates. When she rejected him, he stalked her for weeks. Some of us took care of him. He has a series of scars on his back that we left there, but we decided to let him live − just teach him a lesson. I guess I should have finished him back then.”
“Well, you had no way of knowing. Question, though, how did you and Barron know he would be here? How did the two of you know to come here?”
“I didn’t. I came over to talk to you about Nasteau. The police visited me, and I needed to see you.”
“You thought I did it.”
“No, I −.,” he started to say.
“Don’t lie to me. You did.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No. Don’t be. I think I kind of like that you think I could be so badass. What about Barron?”
“I had asked him to keep an eye out for you. He must have seen Golding come up or something. I don’t know.”
“So, you thought I killed someone, and you had your driver spying on me?”
“Well, it sounds bad when you put it like that.”
“Yeah, it does.”
“Like I said. I’m sorry. I was just trying to protect you.”
“Because you’re my mate,” she filled in, smiling.
“I’d like to be, but I understand. Still, I can’t change my natural instincts toward you.”
“I tell you what. How about we forget all about this stuff and just see what happens?”
“Are you sure?”
“I don’t know. It’s been a month since you were last here and I have a feeling that, by morning, what I’m feeling right now is going to be in overdrive. I don’t think I have much say in it, but I’m not complaining this time. How about we just see where our instincts carry us for a while?”
“Okay, but I’m not staying here. Your bed is uncomfortable. Your windows have a big hole in them and there’s still blood on your floor from a recent crime. How about I have Barron drive us over to my place for the night?”
“I would be offended by what you’re saying about my place, but you’re not wrong about any of it. Let me grab a few things and we’ll go.”
She could hear Thad call Barron, while she was getting dressed, and ask him to drive them over. Thad laughed at something Barron said but was putting his phone away when she walked back into the room. She had a freshly brushed ponytail and a clean dress. She was going into heat. She knew he could tell by the flush in her cheeks.
No doubt that wasn’t the only way he knew either, based on his reaction to her in this state before. If they didn’t hurry to his place, Barron might be getting a bit more of a backseat view than he was entitled to see. He grabbed her overnight bag and followed her to the elevator. It was all she could do not to kiss him on the way down, but she didn’t dare touch him until they were alone.
All the way to his place, she could smell him, his deep, earthy scent. It wasn’t soap or cologne but the enticing pheromones he was putting off, driving her into an even more primal state that left her barely able to think. By the time Barron pulled in his driveway, she was existing in some sort of lustful fog, and he seemed to be right there with her. His eyes were dark, full of longing. They tumbled out of the car and up to the house.
She waited impatiently as he fished out the spare key he had asked Barron for before they got out of the car and let them in. Clothes dropped across the floor as they got right down to what both of them wanted. She needed him to fuck her in the worst way, but this time, she wasn’t in heat. It was something else driving the desire, a need for him fueled by adrenaline and hormones.
There was no need for foreplay or pretense. Instead, she lay on the bed, opening her legs to expose her soaked pussy, inviting him in. He mounted her like she was a bitch in heat, despite that not currently being the case. Her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him in to her with each thrust of his ample cock. She loved the way he split her open and filled her.
She gave in to her need, letting him fuck her with wild abandon. His fingers slipped between her legs, his eyes never leaving her face as he stroked her clit while fucking her deeply. She gushed around his digits and sprayed against the base of his cock. There was no rut this time, no knot, but he was still more man than any woman should be allowed. Thad was a powerhouse, pumping in to her long and deep until she was nothing more than a puddle of cum and moans.
A guttural sound escaped his throat as he thrust into her one last time and came with such force that it felt like he was filling her abdominal cavity with his warmth. Rather than pulling free, he remained inside her for a moment, waiting as his pulsating cock softened before pulling free of her and reaching for her, pulling her up to kiss.
Eventually, he let her go, letting her lay back on the bed, so he could climb in beside her. She curled up against him, resting her head against his shoulder and twirling the chest hair rising up from the deep groove in the center of his chest. This felt good. This felt right.
It wasn’t like when she was in heat and caused him to go into his rut. It was just the two of them, deciding to make love rather than being driven to it by their primal demands for satisfaction. During their previous encounter, it had been so intense that it was hard to really focus on one particular thing. Now, like this, she could focus on the physical sensations, but also the emotional ones and, for the first time, she realized that there was something more to this than just a discovery that they were true mates.
She fell asleep in his arms, feeling safe, feeling content. She didn’t know if they would have this again, not after what she had learned tonight from Aaron; she wasn’t sure he’d want to anymore. Still, it felt good to be with him like this, of her own free will, unaltered by her physiology overriding her judgment.
In a different life, perhaps they might spend an eternity tog
ether and, if she was lucky, perhaps they still would. She’d just have to see what happened tomorrow. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy this moment.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Thad
Three days since she had left his house. Three days they’d spent fucking like wild animals who existed only for one another. It was carnal. It was magical. It was everything a true mating should be.
And it was over.
His rut was passing, and she was falling out of heat. A sense of dread filled him. Was the past few days just a repeat of last time, just extended? Would she leave now that the passion had waned and his hold over her had lessoned? He lay in bed beside her, his arm wrapped around her waist, one hand cupping her breast, and nuzzled his face against her neck.
“Good morning,” she mumbled, half asleep.
“Good morning to you,” he whispered back.
He kissed her on the neck and released her, turning to climb out of bed and head to the shower. He was sore from head to toe. Even in top shape, she had worn him out like no other woman was capable of, and he wasn’t looking forward to losing her again. He pushed it from his mind, already half-expecting her to make excuses to go home.
He had already almost lost her once. He hadn’t told her the worst of Aaron Golding’s history. He hadn’t really been sure if it were true until now. When he had dated Barron’s former wife, she had said he tried to kidnap her. If Barron hadn’t stepped in, she might have been gone, but the whole thing had sounded like a misunderstanding to him.
Now, he knew that was how Golding worked. He was a gas lighter, sending women mixed messages that seemed like concern, when it was really about control. Golding was an anomaly, not quite an Alpha but not just a Beta either. There were a few of them, but Golding was the only one he had ever met. If he’d ever had any doubts about what the man was capable of, they had been laid to rest by the two detectives who returned to his house for a follow up visit.
“Mr. Ulrich, we stopped by to see if you’ve seen Ms. Carmichael. We stopped by her place and they said they haven’t seen her for a few days. Your driver said she was staying with you.”
“Yes. She recently experienced a bit of a traumatic event,” Thad growled.
“We’re aware of that. Why do you think we are checking on her welfare?”
“I’m fine,” a voice said from a nearby doorway.
Thad turned to see Jaycee padding out in one of his t-shirts and a pair of his sweatpants. She looked like a beautiful street urchin with messy hair and the grossly oversized clothes. It was the first time he’d realized she’d been wearing nothing for three days and it made him smile.
“Oh. We didn’t realize the two of you . . .,’ Horowitz started to say, but trailed off.
“The two of us what?” Thad challenged.
“Nothing. Listen, we’re sorry for the intrusion. It’s just, after what happened, we went to do a follow up. We wanted to be certain you were safe,” Horowitz continued, addressing Jaycee.
“She’s in good hands,” Thad told him.
He didn’t like the officers.
“Good. Anyway, your lawyer may have called you already. We’ve dropped the charges against you for the assault on Mr. Nasteau − for obvious reasons, and you’re no longer a suspect in his murder.”
“Oh?”
Obviously, Jaycee had relayed Golding’s confession to them, but that didn’t always result in acceptance. He was surprised they were willing to close the case so quickly, based on information provided by someone who had originally been a suspect and who they now realized was involved with another suspect.
“Mr. Nasteau’s security system captured him approaching the house. He took it out, but not before there were already clear images of him on it. We’re not sure why he didn’t take the time to erase those.”
“Crazy people make crazy choices,” Thad replied, but he knew why.
It wasn’t about protecting himself. It was about protecting his pack. He couldn’t be seen shifting into a wolf for the attack on Nasteau, but it was okay for his human form. He’d never been planning on getting caught, which meant he knew they’d trace him, find out he’d been seeing Jaycee, look for him there − but he and Jaycee would have been long gone. The thought of what he might have had planned sent a chill down his spine.
“I guess, but it made it a lot easier to solve the case.”
“Congratulations,” Thad replied.
“Right. Okay then. Well, we may have some follow up questions for you later, Miss Carmichael, but we’re done for now.”
“You certainly are,” Thad replied.
“I don’t get your hostility,” Horowitz shot back.
“The guy who questioned both me and Jaycee for a murder someone else committed while the killer walked free and subsequently attacked her doesn’t understand why I’m not giving him a hug? Shocking,” Thad mocked. “We’re done here.”
“Try not to punch anyone else in the face, Mr. Ulrich,” Horowitz shot back, his partner already nudging him to leave.
“Oh, I am trying really hard. Trust me,” Thad growled back at him.
Horowitz shook his head and turned to go, his partner quietly following behind. Whereas Horowitz was mouthy, it was obvious he was aware they had fucked up and wasn’t willing to play any bigger part in the conversation than having to be here for it. They filed out, and he closed the door behind him.
Jaycee stood looking at him. Her eyes were filled with tears.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I guess I’ve pushed everything away the past few days, but they brought it all back again. He meant to kill me, didn’t he? I just realized he didn’t come by to comfort me over getting fired. It was a ruse to get into my apartment and he never intended for either of us to leave.”
“Probably.”
He pulled her to him and held her, letting her cry on his shoulder. She eventually pulled away, waving him off and wiping her hand across her face. He handed her a tissue from a nearby box, and she wiped her face, looking embarrassed.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to turn into some whiney woman.”
“It’s okay to allow yourself to feel vulnerable. I hate to see you cry, but it’s nice to see you finally allowing yourself to feel something, for a change.”
“You don’t think I feel anything?”
“I think you try not to allow it, yes. You’ve closed yourself off for a long time, determined to get somewhere you think is important to you and maybe it is, in a certain way. What you really want, though, is acceptance. You want to be embraced for the person you are and not pushed into the mold of what you’re expected to be. It’s why you fight your Omega heritage so hard.”
Jaycee pursed her lips, looking at him uncertainly. When she spoke, her words shook him to the core. He stood there looking at her, speechless.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Jaycee
“Did you hear me, Thad?”
“Yes. I mean, how? Just now? This weekend? How could you know?” he babbled.
She laughed, a somber little chuckle.
“The first time. I was in heat. You were in rut. We didn’t use protection. It’s the natural outcome.”
“That’s why you said we were safe this time when I asked.”
“Yes.”
“When did you find out? How long have you known?”
“I didn’t know. I suspected and apparently, Aaron had picked up on it too. I don’t know how, but he somehow knew. He, in some way, retrieved a sample from me. I don’t know what of. Blood, hair, urine? He’s never been up to my place prior to this final incident, so I’m not sure how he managed it, but he said he’d had my sample tested by one of his shifter friends who worked in a lab and found out I was an Omega. He said it also came back that I was pregnant. He accused me of cheating on him. That’s when things got heated.”
“How can you be sure he wasn’t lying.”
“He had the results in his hand. He showed them to me. I thr
ew them out before the cops arrived.”
Thad stood looking at her, his face falling as he absorbed this information. She thought he’d be happy about it.
“Why did you wait to tell me?”
“I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I needed some time to absorb it.”
“And now that you have?”
“Well, it changes my plans, but those have already gotten a bit of a kick in the teeth anyway. I wasn’t sure if I wanted kids, ever. It’s one of the biggest reasons I resisted you, but now that I’ve thought about it, I’m kind of looking forward to it. I don’t know what I’m going to do if it’s a huge litter, but I’ll manage.”
“It sounds like you don’t plan on us doing this together,” he said.
Jaycee noted how his eyes never left hers as he spoke. His voice never raised or lowered. He was a good man, a bit old-fashioned for what she’d envisioned as her mate, but he was honest and uncomplicated, in many ways.
“I am not shutting you out, Thad. But I don’t want to be with you just because I’m pregnant. I still want to make my own way. I still want my own career. So many Omegas give up everything and become consumed by being a wife and mother. That’s great for them, but I’m not sure it’s what I want, what I will ever want.”
“Okay. It’s not really what I wanted to hear, but I guess I have to respect it. I’m not happy about it, though.”
“I know. I didn’t expect you would be.”
He nodded and tried to wrap his head around the whole thing. His Alpha side wanted to demand that she play the role she was meant to play in their hierarchy, but he pushed it down. She was right. It was an antiquated way of thinking and he would need to adjust if there was ever going to be any hope of keeping her by his side.
“Well, what do we do now?”
“Can you take me home? I need to finish cleaning up the mess and sort out getting the windows fixed.”
“Sure. You want to get dressed or are you going to wear my old gym clothes home?”
