by KC Kellersen
“You are in love with her aren’t you,” she whispered, and I knew she was talking only to me. No one else could hear.
“I shouldn’t be.” It was true but for some reason telling her that I didn’t love Alina felt wrong. Again, I couldn’t lie to her.
“Why not?”
Something about this woman made me want to spill my darkest secrets. So, I did. “When I first got my wolf, I had the mating tattoo’s immediately. I knew I had already met my mate; I just didn’t know who it was. But three months later when Ryan got his wolf-spirit Sarina put a spell on us to bind our wolves. Apparently, we are easier to control without our wolf-spirits. The guys lost their wolf-spirits completely and were left with a gaping hole in their souls. It wasn’t as bad for me… Well it was, just in a different aspect. I lost my mating tattoos and I think the bond is gone too. I’ve been all over this country many times over and I have never felt the mate bond.”
“But I thought the alphas found their mates recently?”
I couldn’t imagine why that was relevant. “They did, and I can only assume it’s because their mate bond wasn’t active when we were bound. That and their mates called to them, their reactions could have just been buried instinct. Plus, they didn’t recognize it for what it was.”
“But their mates did?” she asked.
“Yeah. The future Luna’s wolves aren’t bound.”
“Interesting,” she said with a soft laugh. “I’m sorry I don’t mean to laugh.” I just looked at her in confusion. Was she going to elaborate? She didn’t, just kept talking. “We shall see. Just do me a favor… Keep your head up, things will get better for you. Get some sleep Oliver, you look wrecked almost as much as she does. My brave girl.” Her voice went from playful to regretful.
I wanted to reassure her somehow too, she shouldn’t regret the decisions her daughter made, just like my parents couldn’t regret mine. “She is incredibly brave. And smart, kind, determined. Not to mention really stubborn. She doesn’t take no for an answer. You couldn’t have prevented her from going.”
Iona laughed, loud. It was no longer a whispered conversation of shared secrets. “Well with her royal power, no one has been able to tell her no. Have Liam tell you about it tomorrow. Good night Oliver.” She left the room and closed the door behind her. Did she really expect me to sleep in here? And she was alright with that? I feel like I have stepped into another world. Where nothing makes sense, down is up, and the center of the galaxy isn’t the sun, but this girl.
I sat next to her and took her hand. I cleared my mind, of everything that did and didn’t happen that day, and focused on the steady beat of her heart. Praying to the Moon Goddess that it continued to beat, and she woke up soon.
Without thinking about the consequences, I got into bed and pulled Alina close to my chest. When she woke up, she might be mad. She might try to harm me, she might not. But, if this was the only night I got to hold her, I was going to take it. I ignored whatever emotion Fynn was trying to send to me. I didn’t want to feel it.
The next morning, I woke up and Alina was in my arms. She was still sleeping soundly. I loved the way her body fit right up against mine. And the way her heard pillowed perfectly into my chest. I wished I could stay here with her, but there was many things that needed to be done.
I shook her slightly and said, “Come on Kitten wake up.”
She groaned slightly and rolled away from me. Satisfied that I got a response at all, I left the bed and hit the washroom. I took a shower and went out into the main portion of the house. Everyone was waiting around the same table as the night before. There was muted conversations as we waited for Iona.
When Iona came in with a huge smile on her face, Liam asked, “What’s with the grin Nana?”
“I remembered where I heard those words! It was in a dream, a long time ago. But the words I heard were reversed. I think it’s the words needed to break the spell!” A dream? We were going to undo the spell, based on a dream?
“Nice! Let’s get to it! Oliver come on! You can eat later.” Liam took the paper that Iona was waving at him. “You go check on the alphas and I will get Ruby.”
“Oliver!” Ruby shouted from the doorway and came running. I stood from my chair and scooped her up in my arms. She had grown so much since I last saw her, but her bubbly personality was still in full force.
“Hey firecracker! How are you?” I asked.
“I am wonderful, the white wolf told me you would need me, so here I am.”
I pulled back and stared at her. “What do you mean the white wolf told you?”
“Just like I said, she told me. I was training with Tilli this morning when I heard her in my mind. She told me to come to you, that you needed my help, but that I would need the help of a Kitten first.”
Is she really telling us, she’s the white wolf and her wolf-shifter is already talking to her? “That’s amazing. The white wolf is pretty smart. Did your wolf-spirit say anything else??”
“She’s not my wolf-spirit, silly. She just said to call her the white wolf.”
Chapter 19
Alina’s POV
It was dark when I opened my eyes, I felt a slight throb in my head, so I closed my eyes quickly. I needed to get up, but I felt like I could sleep some more, so I cuddled further into my pillow. I knew this bed, I was home. If I was home, that meant I was safe.
“You finally awake little Kitten?” Oliver asked in a low whisper from somewhere at the foot of my bed. Oliver was here? He didn’t leave me? Even once he was reunited with his family. The thought made my heart swell.
I yawned and asked, “How long was I asleep?” I couldn’t make my head find his face, so I focused on his soothing scent that permeated my room. And my pillow, weird.
“Around 34 hours.” he said, and he sounded exhausted.
“What? What happened? And why are you so tired?” I asked, panicking slightly.
He took a deep breath and said, “I don’t know. After you passed out, we all figured you just needed to sleep and gain back the strength you used. I was a nervous wreck when you didn’t wake up yesterday at all.”
“Wow! What did I miss?” I bet my parents were taking this pretty hard. They would blame themselves, especially since I came back obviously injured.
“We’ll get to that. How are you this morning?”
“Is it morning? It feels like nighttime still. I am much better actually.”
“Then why aren’t you getting out of bed?”
“Nope, it’s warm and comfortable here,” I mumbled my head still in my pillow. I knew I had a bunch of things to do, and I wanted to see my parents, but it smelled like him. Like I was curled up next to him. If I couldn’t hold him, this would have to do.
Washroom. Shower.
I groaned. I guess it is time to face the music. I noticed the clock read 4 am. Definitely still too early to go making plans of war. Perhaps this was a good time to tell Oliver about us.
I got out of bed and scowled at Oliver, who was smirking at me. He knew I wouldn’t be able to stay there. I grabbed some clean clothes and headed for the connected washroom. I felt my heart racing too fast, the entire time I was showering. I tried not to think of the coming conversation, but if he was still there when I got out, perhaps everything would work out okay.
Once I was done showering, I looked myself over in the mirror. The cuts across my body were all healed, and only small amounts of yellow bruises remained. I looked at the beautiful mate tattoos that ran up my side across my breasts and up to my collarbone. They were very faint, like a silvery gleam instead of the traditional black. That was probably because our bond was only one sided. I didn’t look like the same girl who left here a month ago. I felt different because I was different. I dressed quickly in fresh pajamas and tied my wet hair into a loose bun.
Oliver was still sitting in the chair when I came back out. “Why are you in the chair?” I asked without preamble. I climbed back onto the bed but stayed sitting upright.
“Uh well. I was watching over you while you slept, and I fell asleep in here. If you mind, I can leave.”
“Oliver. I don’t want you to leave,” I said exasperated and then sighed out loud in frustration. More at myself than him. It was easy to forget that he didn’t feel the same thing that I felt. I decided to broach the subject, with the finesse of an elephant. Fear coursed through me at the thought of being rejected but I tamped it down. Now was not the time to be scared.
“Do you want to be with me Oliver?” I asked outright.
“More than I could possibly explain, but that’s just it Kitten. It doesn’t matter what we want. We shouldn’t be doing this,” he whispered angrily. Okay, so maybe the elephant approach wasn’t the best choice. I was about to respond but he continued, worked up now. “I have a mate and so do you. You may not have met yours yet, but I have. We shouldn’t be doing this,” he repeated again, more like he was convincing himself than me.
“You’ve already met your mate?” The pain that lanced through me was almost unbearable. That wasn’t possible, I was his mate. He was rejecting me and for what? But didn’t he just say he wanted me?
He looked at me and sighed. I didn’t know what he was seeing on my face, but it made him soften his tone. “I had the markings when I first shifted. I don’t even know who she is, and I may never know. When Sarina stole the alphas wolf-spirits… She didn’t get mine. But she took half of my future with her anyways, my mate bond.” He looked so broken, the darkness in his icy eyes tore through me. Nia, if he really is our mate, how did he have the markings all those years ago?
I have always been with you Alina. Since you were born. We are special.
I took a relieved breath. It was me; he got his markings because I met him in that alley all those years ago. Now it was time to tell him everything, maybe with a little more finesse. And pray that he didn’t reject me once more. “Oliver. You do have a mate, and so do I.” I pulled my shirt to the side slightly so he could see the tail end of the tattoo marking that touched my collar bone.
He stood from the chair and took two steps away from me. He crossed his arms over his chest, which heaved with his heavy breaths.
“Why is it silver?” he asked but the look in his eyes didn’t match his question. So many emotions flowed there, and each one stung worse than anything Irene did to me.
I got up from the bed and mirrored his stance. I dropped my eyes to his chest. I really was a coward; I didn’t want to see the emotions in his face anymore. No more distrust, regret, pain, and worst of all, disgust.
I whispered out, “Because, my oblivious Oliver, my mate cannot recognize me as his.” I wanted to go to him, I wanted to run from him and the pain. Irene tried to break me and failed. But this man had that power, and as per usual, I was scared. Scared that he would truly reject me, even with my whispered confession.
“Are you telling me, that… How is that possible?”
“Because I have always had my wolf, though I didn’t know that specific detail until about thirty seconds ago. Yes… now I know that because of what Sarina did, you don’t feel the mate bond. I can feel it between us, but only on a muted level. Something she did is blocking me. I would understand if you didn’t want to be with me, until you are sure of the mate bond but…”
I didn’t have time to worry about him rejecting me again. He closed the distance between us and pulled me into his chest.
“Thank the Goddess!” He kissed me tenderly. He pulled back after a long moment, looking deep into my eyes, “I have been at war with myself… Every time you were near, I wanted to pull you closer and run at the same time. If I could have chosen my own mate, I would have chosen you… I wanted to choose you. You are the bravest… most amazing… sexiest woman I have ever met…. And you are telling me that your mine?” I could see there was only hope in his eyes now. I closed my eyes, not to cut him off but to try something else. He grunted in disapproval. I ignored him and concentrated.
I should have done this the first time. I found him through the mind link, but I didn’t speak. Instead I opened it completely, so he could feel everything that I felt. The fear that he would reject me fading, the hope for our future, the love for him in my heart, the electric currents of the mate bond that rushed through me, and the building need to have him closer.
Oliver’s lips pressed to mine hard, the mind link was broken, along with my concentration. I lost myself in his embrace. The kiss from before was tender and soft, but this kiss ignited instant passion. His mouth consumed mine. If I died in flames in this moment, I would die happy.
His wandering hands slid down over my body and stopped on my ass. He squeezed and lifted me completely off the ground. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist to keep him close. He turned us and laid me on the bed beneath him. His body hovering over mine. I broke the kiss to catch my breath, so he moved from my lips to my ear and down my neck. Nibbling and tasting, all the way. I felt my body arching up towards his. As he rested his weight against one, his other hand started roaming over my body touching every part of me he could. But I wanted more. Needed more.
I explored his massive chest, the ridges and valleys of his back and down his ass. I grabbed his hips and pulled him to me. We both moaned when his hips fit perfectly against mine. Pressing right into my core, his hard length twitched. I should have felt nervous but all I wanted to remove all barriers between us. I wanted him inside me.
“Kitten…” he whispered as his mouth found mine again. Our tongues dueled and explored. When I pulled his hips tighter to my body again, we both moaned. He suddenly broke the contact, lifting his body up and away from me. I whimpered at the loss. He pressed his forehead against mine, as we both struggled to catch out breaths.
He broke the silence, “We should stop. Your family will be awake soon.” I pouted; I didn’t want to stop. I was a raging fire and I need him to put it out. I squeezed his hips slightly and he chuckled.
“You, sexy little Kitten…will be the death of me.”
“Well then get back down here,” I purred, and my voice was husky and did not sound like me.
“I would rather not have our first time be heard by everyone in the house. Trust me Kitten if I could, I would take you right here, right now.” He kissed me softly then chuckled when I tried to pull him back down. I wasn’t giving up that easily. Not when I finally had him in my arms!
“There is only one problem with your logic, Mr. Dimples. My room is one of the suites in the house.”
“Yeah and?” He cocked his head to the side, trying to figure out my meaning.
“My parents gave me this room because I was always watching movies and they were tired of hearing it. Once that door is closed… Soundproof.”
That was enough for him. Passion ensued. Kissing, touching and tasting; our clothes went flying in a frenzy. After wild kisses and we were both completely naked, he finally slowed the frantic pace. He kissed, licked, and tasted down my neck to my breasts.
“Mmm… like silk,” he murmured into my breast. He took my nipple into his mouth, suckling softly. I moaned and arched up to him, offering him better access. He licked and laved over my breasts, giving each equal attention, until I was squirming beneath him in sweet agony. My breath was coming in short pants. More. I needed more before this fire engulfed me completely.
He kissed from my breast slowly down to my belly. When his wandering hands skimmed up the inside of my thigh, I shivered in anticipation. When he finally made his way to my heat, I was completely lost. His fingers worked magic on me, my hips bucked up under his soft pressure. His other hand stilled my hips with a squeeze, then spread my legs wider, leaving more room for his large frame.
He growled under his breath as he looked me over, like a predator and I was his prey. I could feel his eyes on me as he stroked and rubbed. I was reaching for something, and just as I was about to fall off some edge, he stilled again. Why was he torturing me?
“This is going t
o hurt…Are you ready?” Ready? Was he kidding me? I couldn’t be more ready; I was wet and aching for him.
“Slowly, Kitten. Slowly.” Resting on his elbows, he locked eyes with me as he positioned his dick at my entrance. He pushed forward slowly, when he reached my barrier, he pushed through it quickly then stilled his movements.
I gasped as hot fire lanced through me, and not a good fire. I tried to regain my composure by breathing through the pain. He waited a few moments and pulled out almost completely, the pain was gone. Instead a new feeling swelled through me. My insides were quivering and pulsing.
“Fuck, Kitten. So tight! Relax…” he said as he pushed back into me slowly. I focused on the soft movement of his hips and the new sensations swirling through me.
“Oh… Fuck!” he exclaimed when he couldn’t go any further.
I felt him so deep inside, I couldn’t tell where he ended, and I began. When he didn’t move again right away, I spread my legs a little wider. He groaned as I sheathed him to the hilt. This broke whatever control he was holding onto. He tucked his head into the crook of my neck and started moving, really moving.
In and out. Hips pumping. Building me back up to the peak. Our bodies sliding together, slick with sweat. I caught his rhythm and met each of his thrusts with my own.
“Just like that baby… come up… and get me… Oh Goddess!”
He pulled one of my legs around his hip, changing the position slightly; Enough to push me over the edge. My body was shattering beneath him. He didn’t stop as I spiraled out of control. Just kept pounding into me. Harder. Faster. The agonizing tension in my body skyrocketed right back up. Moans and pleas filled the air, along with the slap of our bodies. I was reaching again... Climbing…Higher…
“Oliver!” I moaned out. Begging for more.
He nibbled my ear and commanded, “Now Kitten… Now!” His teeth grazed my neck as the tension inside snapped again. A second shattering orgasm racked my body. I clenched around his hard length over and over as the waves of pleasure crashed around me. A few deep thrusts and Oliver joined me in bliss. He growled out a curse, his body shook uncontrollably over mine and we rode out our orgasms together. When our bodies stopped trembling. He lifted up slowly, on his elbows to study my face.
