by Jenny Tia
Casius sighed deeply and ran a hand over my back. “Are you okay?”
I turned to him and frowned. “You already knew.”
“I…”
“You already knew I was… That she was my mother?”
He cupped my face with his warm hands. “I promise I’ll explain everything once I get you home.”
A tremble moved through me, but again—it just felt like relief. I was exhausted. I had no energy left inside me to be angry at him or to feel betrayed. I just needed comfort.
I stepped forward and buried my face in his chest as he embraced me, holding me tightly. I breathed in his scent and calmed myself down while people pushed past, desperate to escape the bunker. Desperate to get back to their homes.
I was in no rush. My home was right here, in Cas’s arms.
21
Casius
I practically carried Julian to the truck, and he fell asleep the moment I turned on the motor. I grinned at how adorable he looked with his eyes closed and his head slumped against his shoulder. He was out like a light, but he was still holding his seatbelt, half-buckled. I reached across and finished the job for him, and then looked up as Nic climbed in the back.
“Hey, man,” he said, then lowered his voice when I held a finger up to my lips. “Hey. That was crazy in there.”
“Right? Glad we were able to get everyone out, now we know the humans are targeting the pack Alpha mates and not the general public.” I glanced at Julian. My chest constricted at the thought of anything happening to him because of me.
“Hm, yeah. It’s…good.”
“You okay?” I glanced back at Nic as I put the truck in reverse.
“Yeah. Yeah. It was a lot in there, in the bunker. Strange… Just… Yeah.”
I frowned and kept my foot on the break. “Something happen back there?”
“Nah, man. Nothing.” Nic shook his head. I kept looking at him and he kept shaking his head. I’d known Nic long enough to know it was impossible to push him into spilling anything he didn’t want to spill, so I gave him a reassuring grin and backed us out. I knew he’d tell me what was up in his own time.
As I got us on the road, the traffic was tight with everyone leaving the Den, and we wove through the streets at a crawl. Julian snored softly, and I smiled at him. He was dead to the world, so I figured I could talk at a normal volume and maybe get my friend’s mind off his troubles.
“Hey, Nic, we’ve got guards on Julian, but can you ask Mikel to assign a few more guys to station around his apartment and street? Maybe even his general area?”
“Sure thing. You think our plan will work?”
I grunted to affirm I did. “I mean, I sure hope so. It looks like Leroy’s intel was correct, from what the scouts told us. So we’ve got extra patrols on the borders, and I think if we make it known to the humans that we’ve put extra protection on the Alphas’ claimed mates, then they won’t try anything. They’ll have to back off and consider a new plan.”
“They’ll figure it out soon enough, right?”
“Yeah. But at least it will buy us a little time.” I sighed and turned down the street closest to Julian’s apartment.
“Hey, I’m going to run to the hotel unless you need me?” Nic asked, practically jumping out of the truck as I parked it. I did a double-take and shrugged.
“I’m good. Call me if you need anything, alright?”
“Yeah. Catcha.” Nic slammed the door behind him and hurried off toward the hotel.
Julian took a sharp breath and sat up. “Where are we?”
I smiled. “Home. Your home.”
“Oh.” He rubbed his eyes and yawned. “How long was I out for?”
“The whole ten minutes it took for us to drive here.”
“Ten minutes? From the Den?” He looked at me like he suspected I was a terrible driver, and I laughed.
“There was traffic!”
“Sure, sure… Everglow drivers are just terrible.”
I breathed deeply as we stepped into his apartment. I savored the earthy, herbaceous scent of the place, and took in the way light broke from the crystals in Julian’s windows and danced across the living area in shattered beams.
I lowered myself onto the couch and watched as Julian locked the door, gave me a quick grin then went straight for his medicinal mushroom preparation table. He mixed a potent-smelling powder with a blend of alcohol and water, threw back the shot, and then headed straight for the shower.
I lay back and tried to relax, but I knew what was coming. He was going to have questions. And he deserved the truth.
When he reappeared, he was dressed in a fresh white linen shirt and dark blue shorts, smelling like his sandalwood soap, with droplets of water still clinging to his curls. He looked like an angel in the afternoon sun pouring in from the windows…
An angry angel.
“So, how did you know she was my mother?” he demanded, sitting down in front of me in an oversized armchair. I swallowed, leaned forward, clasped my hands in front of me, and kept my gaze on his. An itch inside me wanted me to lie, to deny everything, to make up a stupid story, to say it was just a lucky guess. The rest of me knew that was a terrible mistake, so I bit down the urge, and told the truth.
“Alpha Truitt told me when I questioned him about your parents.”
Julian winced. “Truitt? Who else knows?”
“I assume your parents? But other than that, I don’t know. I believe it’s just Alpha Truitt.”
“I thought his pity for me was because I hadn’t had my heat. I guess he pities me about this too. Add it to the pile of things that are wrong with me, right? Pity party, right here, all day every day.”
“Pity? Truitt?” I raised my eyebrows, genuinely surprised by Julian’s take on the way the Alpha perceived him.
“Uh, yeah? He’s constantly trying to take care of me like I’m useless. He doesn’t think I can make it on my own, so he gave me work on all the books for Goldleaf—”
“Julian, Alpha Truitt has always sung your praises to me. He believes you to be one of the most competent and smartest wolves in Goldleaf. That’s why he gave you the books. That’s why he goes out of his way to get you whatever you might need.”
He paused and looked at the ground for a moment. “And you? What do you think of me?”
“I think the world of you.”
He scoffed, and I bit my bottom lip, holding back a growl as my heart ached.
His voice wavered. “But you didn’t think I could handle the truth about this? You kept it from me because you were worried I couldn’t deal with it.”
I shook my head. “No, baby. I wanted to tell you, but I felt like it wasn’t my place to reveal something so personal.”
Julian fell silent and kept gazing at the ground. I gave him the space to work through whatever he needed to, but remained here in case he needed me. Sooner than I expected, he looked up and met my eyes. “Keeping secrets is a really bad way to start a relationship.”
I nodded and braced myself for the worst. I wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d kicked me out. In fact, I was expecting it.
“But you were right. I understand why you kept it from me, and I forgive you. I wouldn’t have wanted to hear it from you. It had to come out this way.”
My eyebrows lifted and I cleared my throat, genuinely shocked at how quickly he’d forgiven me. “You really feel that way?” I asked cautiously. I’d been with some mighty reactive omegas who played mind games, and while Julian had never displayed any of their manipulative habits, I was still suspicious.
“I really do,” he said.
I fell to my knees and crawled over to him. I sat before him and took his hands and kissed them softly as I whispered, “Thank you.”
Julian’s eyes filled with tears and his chin wobbled. I cupped his cheek and ran my thumb over his scruff.
“I’ve been so scared,” he whispered. “I’ve been scared for me and terrified for you. I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m s
o glad you came for me.”
I pressed my forehead against his. “Me too, baby. I’ve been so worried.”
He pecked me with trembling lips, and I pushed firmly against him, holding the back of his head and pulling him into a deep kiss. He moaned and I felt a wave of relief wash over both of us.
No doubt having more questions, Julian moved back a little. “Is it totally safe now? What happened?”
“The humans aren’t targeting the public. They’re planning on targeting…pack Alphas. By attacking their mates.”
Julian sat up and frowned.
“So I want to wait to claim you. To keep you safe.” I smoothed down the front of his shirt with a flat hand and felt his heart thumping under my palm.
“No.”
My gaze shot up and I met his eyes. “No?”
“No. We’re not waiting.”
“Julian. It’s not safe—”
“You’re claiming me as soon as you can. Now. Tonight. Right now.”
I peered into his eyes, searching for signs of shock. “Maybe we should sleep on it—”
“Casius, we have no idea how long this conflict with the humans will go on for. If it becomes a war it could take years from us. Decades, even. I’m not going to wait to be your mate because of them. Or worse—what if something happens to you? And you never get to claim me?”
My breath caught in my throat and I tensed up.
What if something happens to Julian, and I never get to claim him?
Shit. He was right.
“You know it’s an added risk… It makes you a target,” I mumbled.
Julian moved forward in his chair and took my face into his hands. “I want you. I will take any risk to be with you. You’re mine, and I want to wear your mark.”
My wolf rushed to the surface and my skin felt hot. I licked my lips and Julian followed my cue by pressing a deep kiss against my mouth. I moaned as our tongues met, and I slid my hands under his shirt, desperate to feel his warm skin.
We wrestled our clothes off somewhere between the living room and the bedroom, and then fell onto Julian’s bed in a tangle of shirt sleeves, pant legs, and our own limbs. We yanked ourselves free between kisses, and I sighed as we finally lay naked together.
I touched his chest while I kissed gently at his neck. Julian whimpered and moved his head to give me more access. I nipped and lapped at his skin, holding him while he twitched and moaned. I stroked every inch of his body with my fingertips, palms, and lips, taking a moment to suck at his collarbone before I licked my way down his torso.
“Oh fuck, sweetheart,” Julian moaned.
He ran his hands over my back, grabbed at my shoulders, and made my whole body feel strong and powerful. By the time I made it to his belly button, his skin was burning hot. I grinned up at him as he panted, his eyes wide.
“You’ve triggered another heat,” he said, his shock evident.
I nodded, still grinning. “I love that I can do that to you. It makes me feel special.” My voice came out as a growl, full of lust and need.
“You are special. And you’re mine.”
I smiled, and then licked flat, strong laps over Julian’s belly button, teasing it with the tip of my tongue and sending him into a fit of moans and giggles.
“Oh stop! Stop!”
I pulled away and hovered above him, watching him as he relaxed and struggled to catch his breath before his eyes flicked open and he glared at me.
“Don’t stop that much.”
I laughed and dipped down to smooch him. He held my hips with his legs as he kissed me passionately. Inhaling deeply, I reveled in the scent of his slick. It was literally an aphrodisiac to me, and with every breath, desire rolled down my body. My skin prickled with my own kind of heat—a burning reaction to the warmth radiating off my mate’s body and the strong musk of his arousal.
My cock swelled from half-hard to fully erect in moments. The base ached, and my cockhead tingled, making me desperate to feel Julian’s heat from inside. He wriggled under me and wrapped his legs higher around my waist, angling his hips so his ass touched the underside of my cock. I growled, warning him not to tease me if he didn’t want me to follow through.
Of course, that’s exactly what he wanted.
Once again, Julian slid his hole along my cock, from the tip down to my balls, and back up. It was wet, sticky, and so fucking hot—more than Julian’s body beneath me. I growled again as a spark of aggression lit me up from inside, and he let out a needy whimper in response.
I couldn’t wait any longer. I reached for the condom I’d stashed next to his bed. He grabbed my wrist and shook his head.
“Baby…” It was hard enough holding back my desire to flip him over and fuck him senseless, but the idea of how good it would feel without a condom just about pushed my animalistic instincts over the edge.
“I want to feel you,” he said.
I clenched my jaw and snarled softly. “My body’s going to react to your slick, your heat—My cock will produce a breeding knot.”
“I know.”
“You could get pregnant.” I shivered at the idea of planting my seed inside him.
“I know.”
I swallowed and lowered my hand.
“Anything could happen in this war,” Julian said as he ran his hands over my chest. “You could die. I could die. Don’t you want to try? If we get pregnant, we’ll deal with it…”
His voice was dripping with desire, thick like honey. My wolf was at the surface and it was frantic to feel its mate. My eyes flashed red for a moment. Julian caught it, and a pleased grin spread across his face. He knew he had me. He tightened his legs around my waist and pressed his ass against me again. I moaned and rocked forward, sliding my throbbing length between his slick ass cheeks.
“I want to feel you,” he repeated, tugging me closer.
I groaned as I felt his hole oozing with fresh slick. Pleasure raced through me; I was powerless against his heat, against Julian. I tilted my hips and instantly found Julian’s hole with my cock. He moaned and linked his fingers around my neck.
I pressed the entire head of my cock into his ass and he gasped. He clenched around me, then relaxed, and his hole pulsated as if it had a mind of its own and was trying to draw me in, begging me to feed it more of my length. I grunted and obeyed.
Inch by inch, I pushed deeper inside Julian, my cock swelling harder than I ever thought possible. Julian let out short cries of pleasure as I gave him my dick, and soon enough, I was buried to the hilt and covered in slick. I paused and closed my eyes, relishing how his ass milked my cock with slow, throbbing pulses.
“I’m so full,” Julian murmured through moans of ecstasy.
I wet my lips and pressed them against his neck where the mating bite would go. He breathed in sharply and whimpered, again arching his neck to give me better access. I nipped him there, teasing, and felt him buck his hips against me in response.
He dug his fingernails into my skin, which sent a shiver down my back. I grunted as my animal instincts came to the surface again. Before I knew it, I was plunging into him in long, steady strokes, grunting every time I sank up to my balls.
Julian moaned with every thrust, closing his eyes and riding the pleasure. Too soon, I was there with him, chasing my own orgasm, fucking him harder and faster. I growled as I slammed into him, and he moaned louder, his scent becoming stronger as I pinned him by the shoulders.
My body surged with power, and I could feel my love for my mate radiating through me. I wanted to push that love into him, wanted him to feel how strongly I felt for him; how I’d protect him forever, that I’d do anything for him. I wanted him to feel how good he made me feel.
Suddenly, a different kind of energy zapped around the base of my cock. My knot instantly swelled, thickening quickly to a breeding knot. Julian cried out, and his body convulsed as he came, exploding shots of cum across his belly, all the way to his chin. His ass grabbed at the knot and seemed to suck it in. Jul
ian gasped and opened his eyes.
“It’s so big—”
I growled and desperately bucked my hips in an effort to get it in deeper. My balls pulled up and an orgasm rolled through me—a powerful, endless wave of pleasure.
I felt weightless, and as if time had no meaning. Everything seemed suspended, and I was lost in that immeasurable space between the physical and ethereal realms until I heard Julian groan and felt my cock emptying thick streams of cum into his body.
I braced myself against him and breathed through it, spasming with additional short orgasms every few moments, drowning his insides in my seed. Slick coated my balls so thickly it dribbled off them and ran down my thighs. My hips twitched and pulled the knot back just a little. Julian gasped and suddenly shuddered with another orgasm. He arched his back and craned his neck, and that was when I bared my teeth, snarled with desire, and lunged. Julian howled—and for a blissful moment, we were one.
Our energy morphed into one unified field. I couldn’t see anything at that moment, but I could feel everything. I felt what Julian felt—full of cum, stuffed with my knot, hot from head to toe, and overwhelmed with love. And I felt him inside me too, discovering my strength and alpha energy, and the protective love I had for him; the way I adored him. There was nothing between us then—no tension and no uncertainty. We were bonded. And as we slowly came down, a deep relief washed over me, followed by a surge of pride.
My mate and I were together now. Forever.
22
Julian
“You realize this is a big deal, right?” Stef asked as he smoothed his hands over the front of my linen shirt, pausing to pick lint off the pocket and straighten the fit.
I smirked and looked up at the ceiling of the dressing room at the back of the Goldleaf Den. “I don’t know. The mating bite was a big deal but the whole ceremony seems like an outdated formality…”
