by J. L. Wilder
“Yeah, we are,” Lauren said. “But I thought...”
“What?”
“I thought you would be the new alpha.”
“I don’t have children,” Emmett said. “This is still something we’re going to have to think about. The next generation. The future of our den. Your child might be what we’ve been waiting for.”
Lauren felt a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature.
“Just think about it,” Emmett said. He turned and walked away.
Chapter Fifty
LAUREN
“What did he want to talk to you about?” Wes asked.
“Not now,” Lauren said.
She would have to tell him eventually, she knew. What Emmett was proposing was something they would have to decide on together, and Lauren suspected Wes would be even less willing to consider allowing their child to go back and lead the den than she herself had been.
But the truth was that she was considering it. And if there was going to be an argument between herself and Wes about it, she didn’t want to have that argument tonight.
They’d found their way to a secluded spot away from the rest of Emmett’s group and had lain down together side by side. As was usual when the two of them headed to bed like this, they had begun to touch each other—first casual brushes of their fingertips across each other’s skin, but gradually, things were beginning to heat up. That was what Lauren wanted to pay attention to—the feeling of his hands on her body. She didn’t want to think about taking over the den. Not now.
She wriggled out of her clothes and set them aside, then began to lift his shirt over his head.
“Someone might see,” Wes murmured, but he didn’t move to stop her.
“No one is going to see,” she said. “They’re all asleep over on their side of the camp. We’re fine. Besides, I want you.” He had never denied her something she wanted. He wouldn’t start now, she was sure.
And she was right. With a groan of desperation, he reached for her. He rolled her onto her side and pulled her back so that her body was flush against his.
His hand reached around as he carefully thrust into her, and he cradled her swollen belly. For a moment, he didn’t move, and Lauren closed her eyes, reveling in the sensation of fullness and the feeling that the two of them were one. She felt his lips on the back of her shoulder, then kissing their way up along the curve of her neck.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.
She felt beautiful. She felt worshipped.
He hadn’t begun to thrust yet—she sensed he was waiting for her to ask—but he was panting hungrily, twitching behind her. Twitching inside her. Every move took her arousal higher and higher until it felt like her nerves were sending off sparks. The breeze over her fevered skin was almost enough to make her come.
“God,” she whispered. “This might be enough for me, Wes. I could come just feeling you inside me.”
He groaned. His hand trembled against her skin.
“Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I want you to fuck me, baby. I want to feel you move.”
She hadn’t even gotten the sentence out before his hands were sliding up to grab her breasts. His hips began to buck, almost erratically, as if he was unable to control the force of his desire and channel it into a rhythm.
His thumbs brushed over her nipples and she understood the feeling.
She had to bite down on her lip to keep from screaming as his thrusts hit her deep inside, waking some part of her that was constantly aching for his touch. She felt as if she was being turned inside out.
“Not a sound,” he growled in her ear, sounding wild and wanton.
She nodded vigorously. Somehow, control of the current situation had shifted away from her and back to him. He had been waiting for her approval to begin fucking her in earnest, but she saw now that she had never really been in charge. This had been his show from the beginning.
God, that was hot.
His hand moved between her legs, and Lauren could feel how wet she made him immediately. He hummed happily now, toying with her, teasing her, but she wasn’t going to last much longer at this rate.
“Wes,” she breathed.
“Now?” he asked.
He was asking whether she was ready to come. A part of her wanted to say no, to ask him to slow down and make this last as long as possible. But her body was racing toward her orgasm, and she wanted it, she wanted it.
“Now,” she moaned.
The rhythm and pressure of his fingers changed. He wasn’t teasing her anymore. He was giving her exactly what her body needed, and she barely had time to marvel at the fact that he knew her well enough to know what that was before her orgasm was upon her.
She felt him stiffen behind her and knew that he was coming too, and then, simultaneously, they both relaxed.
She rolled carefully over to face him and placed a hand on the side of his face. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Hey. Thank you.” He leaned in and kissed her deeply.
As he pulled away from her, she let herself sink into what felt natural and instinctive. The scent of the woods around her and the bone-deep satisfaction in her body spoke to the bear within her, calling it to the surface.
Beside her, Wes shifted also and curled up beneath the tree they had claimed as their own to sleep.
She pressed her body up against his. She loved how strong and warm he felt when he was in this form. She felt so safe with him beside her.
She allowed her eyes to drift closed, listening to the sound of voices across the clearing.
She could hear Emmett even now, planning the future of his little rag-tag band.
Do we really have a chance at taking over the den and deposing Cody? Getting rid of Tina?
Could one of my children really become the next alpha?
She still didn’t know whether that was something she wanted or not, but the more she thought about it, the more it began to appeal to her.
Maybe I could raise the next alpha.
It was definitely worth considering.
Chapter Fifty-One
LAUREN
Lauren awoke to the sound of shouting.
For a moment, she was disoriented. Her head was too high off the ground. Was she in a bed?
No. Her head had been resting on her paws. She had fallen asleep as a bear.
As that realization washed over her, she swam upward through her consciousness, returning to her human form, reaching out as she did for the pile of clothes she’d left beside herself last night. She tugged them on quickly, glancing over her shoulder at Wes. He was still asleep.
She looked over at the larger group. What were they shouting about?
Wake Wes or go and see for myself?
Wes would insist that she wake him if he had a say in the matter. He wouldn’t want her facing whatever was happening over there by herself.
But I won’t be alone. Emmett is there. Whatever’s going on, he’s not going to let it hurt any of us. And she didn’t want to disturb Wes’s sleep. He had been working so hard lately. He deserved to get some rest.
Her mind made up, she hurried across the clearing as fast as she could, which wasn’t very fast in her heavily pregnant state. She enjoyed being pregnant. She enjoyed the feeling of carrying her children. But she was beginning to tire of waddling everywhere she went.
Emmett and his group came into view. There was a newcomer with them. As he turned slightly, the firelight caught his face.
“Matt?” Lauren cried out, incredulous, horrified.
Her cousin had been badly beaten. His eye was bloodshot and beginning to blacken, and he cradled one arm gingerly, giving Lauren the impression that it had been broken. She hurried to his side.
He looked up at her. “Lauren. Shit. Emmett was telling me that you were here. You got big.” He grinned—tried to grin, at least. His lip was swollen, and she saw that he was missing a tooth.
“Oh my God,” she breathed. “What happened
to you? Who did this?”
“Who do you think?” Emmett spoke up. His face was twisted with hate. “It was Cody and his lackeys, of course.”
“I thought you were with him, Matt,” Lauren said.
“You thought I was with him? On his side?”
“No,” Lauren said. “But I thought he thought you were on his side. You were one of his betas.”
Matt shook his head. “He didn’t think so, I guess.”
“What happened? Did he find out you and I had talked?” Oh, she was going to feel awful if this had happened to her cousin because of her.
But he shook his head. “It’s nothing to do with you,” he assured her. “At least, I don’t think it is. He thought I was going to try to overthrow him.”
“But you weren’t,” Lauren said. “Were you?”
“No,” Matt said. “But I will now. He had his goons beat me up, and then he threw me out of the city. I’m exiled now.”
“The whole thing was a pretense if you want my opinion,” Emmett said.
“A pretense?” Matt asked. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t think he ever thought you were going to overthrow him,” Emmett said. “He wanted an excuse to get anyone having anything to do with our family out of town. Think about it. It’s the same thing he did to me. He made up a lie, or maybe he let Tina make it up, about me harming the women of the den. Once that spread, nobody wanted me anywhere near the city. I was run out with pitchforks, practically.”
“That story wasn’t true?” Matt asked.
Emmett sneered. “Of course it wasn’t. You were in his inner circle. You must have known.”
“I swear, I didn’t,” Matt said shakily. “I only guessed. I didn’t even know you were alive, Emmett.”
“And look at what he did to Lauren,” Emmett went on, gesturing to her even though he hadn’t officially acknowledged her presence. “She gets pregnant and he and his mate use it as an excuse to attack her and run her out of town too.” He glanced at Lauren. “They probably would have left you alone forever if you hadn’t gotten pregnant, but now that you’re at risk of providing a male heir, you’re a threat.”
“But why would they have waited so long to move against Matt?” Lauren asked.
“I don’t know,” Emmett said. He looked at Matt. “Why did they wait so long? Did something happen that made Cody think he had a reason not to trust you now?”
“Nothing’s changed,” Matt said. “I don’t know what it could be, except...”
He fell silent, staring off into the distance pensively.
“Except what?” Emmett prompted.
“Lauren’s pregnancy,” Matt said. “That’s the only thing that’s changing.”
Lauren shuddered.
“But Lauren’s not anywhere near the den,” Emmett said.
“I know,” Matt said. “But even so, they’re obsessed with her. They’re counting down the weeks until the babies will be born. They’ve estimated what they think your due date is going to be, and they’ve got it circled on a calendar.”
Lauren felt nauseous. “Why?” she asked. “Why do they care? I’m all the way out here. I thought they were going to forget about me.”
“No, they were never going to forget about you,” Matt said. “Cody considers your child to be the biggest risk to his way of life.”
“I knew it,” Emmett murmured. “Didn’t I tell you?”
“What are we going to do?” Lauren asked.
“We’re going to attack them,” Emmett said. “We’ve got Matt now. We’ve got everything we need—inside knowledge of the way they run the den, brute force, and a new leader to fight for. It’s time. We’ll make our stand tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” Lauren breathed.
“Are you with us?” Emmett asked her.
She didn’t know what to say. This was all happening so fast.
“I need to talk to Wes,” she said. “I can’t decide anything until I’ve spoken to Wes.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
WES
“Wes?”
He woke quickly, as he always did when he was in his animal form. There was never a moment of confusion as to what body he was in. Waking up as a bear was as familiar as waking up in his own bed—before it had been burned to ashes, that was.
What wasn’t familiar was the expression on Lauren’s face. She looked tormented. He was on his feet in an instant, looking around for the threat.
She rested her hands on his shoulders. “It’s all right,” she said. “Stay calm, okay? Do you want to shift back? I want to talk to you.”
There was a brief pause as he considered that. Then he began to shift under her hands.
As the bear fell away and the human man emerged, he sank lower to the ground, until he was on his hands and knees in the dirt. Lauren kept her hands on his shoulders and lowered herself with him, so that when the shift was complete, she was kneeling beside him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, gripping her wrists in his hands.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she said.
“You look like you’re being hunted.”
“No, I’m not. Nothing like that. It’s just...Matt’s here.”
“Matt?” He struggled to his feet. “Your cousin Matt?”
“Yeah,” Lauren said. “Cody threw him out of the city.”
“Why?”
“I guess he thought Matt was going to challenge him. It’s so fucked up, Wes. Matt would never have done anything. He’s not that kind of person.”
“No, I know he isn’t,” Wes admitted. “I always had respect for Matt, even though he was working next to Cody. He wasn’t the type to start a fight. Is he okay?”
“He’s ready to start a fight,” Lauren said.
Wes’s heart skipped a beat. “Now?”
“They’re planning to attack the den tomorrow. To try to remove Cody from power. Wes...we need to make a decision.”
“You’re going to ask me to fight with them.” He had been afraid that this was coming.
“I don’t know what I’m going to ask,” she said. “I just want the two of us to be on the same page about what we’re going to do, Wes. Whether that’s joining Emmett’s war or going off on our own, I just want us to be together.”
“If I don’t want any part of this, you would leave with me?” he asked.
She didn’t hesitate. “Of course I would,” she said. “You’re my mate, Wes. You’re the father of my children. I want us to be a family. I want that more than I want anything else. And if we have to leave Chicago altogether, put all of this behind us and start a life somewhere else, then that’s what I’ll do. The only thing I care about is that you’re with me.”
Wes pulled her into his arms and held her for a long moment. It felt wonderful to know that, no matter what, she would be by his side.
“That’s not what you want, though,” he murmured.
“Wes—”
“It’s all right. You can tell the truth. You want to stay, don’t you?”
She took a deep breath. “I want to help them,” she said. “I want to raise our children as a part of the den we grew up in. And I don’t want to abandon my family now that they’re finally ready to make a stand. We can help them. Our babies are the best hope for this den’s future.”
Wes sighed. “I can’t lie. I wish that wasn’t true. I wish they didn’t need us.”
“I know you’ve never wanted power,” Lauren said.
“No, I haven’t,” Wes agreed. “I’ve never wished I was an alpha, and if the role was offered to me, I wouldn’t take it.” It was part of the reason he had left the den in the first place all those years ago. He hated the rigid structure of den life. The idea of his child growing up to lead the den didn’t feel right or natural. It felt like something he would rather avoid.
But if it meant his children could grow up in the culture of the den...
“I know how much it means to you to raise them among the den,” he said. “I wouldn’t w
ant to take that away from you if there’s a chance we can make it happen. Even if it means we have to fight.”
She looked up at him. “Really? You’d be willing to fight?”
“I don’t like it,” he said. “But I have to admit that it might be the best way forward.”
“Are you sure, Wes?” Her arms tightened around his waist. “I don’t want to make you do this if you aren’t comfortable with it. We can find another way.”
“I want you to be happy,” he said. “Haven’t I always told you I’ll do anything for you?”
“I won’t be happy if you’re unhappy.”
“I won’t be unhappy,” he said. “I have the same memories you do of growing up in the den. Those were really good times. I would like our children to have that.”
“And the alpha role?”
“We have years before we’ll have to worry about it,” Wes said. “And there’s no point in trying to decide this on behalf of a child who hasn’t been born yet. If he hates the idea, he can always abdicate. But we’ll do our best to raise him to feel capable and ready to lead.”
Lauren smiled up at him. “I feel exactly the same way.”
He took her hands in his. “So we’re going to war?”
“I guess we are. Strange, isn’t it, thinking of it in those terms?”
“I don’t want you anywhere near the battle,” he said, glancing down at her belly. “We’ll figure out a way to keep you safe and out of the line of fire.”
“I want you to be safe too,” she said. “You have to promise me that you’ll be careful.”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m not going to let anything get in the way of meeting my children. I’ll be fine.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
WES
“We don’t want a war,” Emmett murmured. “We’ll go to war if we have to. But the only fight I have is with Cody. All we really need is to find him. You know the plan?”
Wes and the others nodded. The plan was simple enough. They would infiltrate the city quietly, keeping to their human forms, and search for Cody. When someone found him, they would neutralize him and bring him to Lauren’s house, which she had offered them the use of to assist in their attempted takeover. All the men would be checking in periodically at Lauren’s to see whether Cody had yet been captured.
