by V Vee
“Smell who?”
“My mate. He’s here to rescue me. To rescue us.”
No sooner had the words fallen from her lips than Howl and his brothers raced into the hallway outside of the cells, shooting and fighting the members of Alpha Bianchi’s pack who had been assigned as security. Talia jumped up and raced over to the bars of the cell and wrapped her fingers around them.
“Howl!” She cried out happily.
“Talia!” Howl returned.
“Dude, will you go and let them out of that fucking cage so we can get out of here?” Thunder said with a grunt as he fought two different wolves simultaneously. “I’d like to make it out alive so I can find my mate.”
Talia smiled at Howl as he raced to her cell and used a set of keys to open the doors. Talia ran out and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Later, baby, later. Let me get you and our babies out of here first,” Howl said, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.
Talia almost swooned. Howl was being so unbelievably sweet to her. He’d really forgiven her, and they could now move forward and be together. She turned and gestured to Thaddeus.
“Come on Thad! Come with us.”
Thaddeus nodded and moved to follow them out when a new wave of shifter guards arrived. Thaddeus looked back and forth before he waved them on.
“Go! Go! I shall hold them off. You just get out of here,” he directed them.
“But Thad! How will you fight them off by yourself? You’re only one person.”
Thaddeus gave her another of his patented gentle smiles and squeezed her hand.
“One person can do a lot, when they’re doing it for someone they care about.” He pointed at the door on the other end of the hallway. It led out to the arena where the fights took place, but beyond that was another exit and their way out. “Now, go. Go NOW!”
Talia didn’t have a chance to say anything else, as Howl dragged her behind him, fighting their way through the opposing shifters, his brothers, cousins, and the rest surrounding them as they fought their way out. Talia only had a moment to look back once and see Thaddeus leaping high into a crowd of her father’s dangerous goons, a roar leaving his lips, before she was swept away.
We’ll be back for you Thaddeus. I promise.
Chapter Thirteen
Comfort and Pleasure
It wasn’t long after Talia returned home, this time with Howl in tow, his brothers and other pack members standing guard around the grounds, that Talia was rushing her mate into her bedroom. It had been way too long since she’d felt his arms around her. Days.
She slammed the door to her bedroom—their bedroom—shut and plastered her lips against his.
His zipper gave way to her frantic tugs and she pulled him out, sighing at the firmness of his dick. She unconsciously smacked her lips together and touched a finger to his rigid tip causing his shaft to go even harder in her hand. He shook like a leaf in a raging thunderstorm in her hands.
“Shit, Talia!” he muttered. “The things you do to me.” She smiled wickedly as she looked right into his eyes even as she slowly inched her way down his body, making sure her skin grazed on his. The space between his chest and her clothing was filled with electricity; the air around them fairly cackled with it. She slid down and put the tip of him in her mouth.
“Arrrrrrggghhhhh…Talia…you’re killing me…” She opened her mouth wider to take more of him in. With one hand, he grabbed a fistful of her hair, which had already loosened completely from their lovemaking, while his other hand made slow, circular motions, massaging her scalp. The simple movements set her body ablaze. Suddenly, she was flipped unto her back. His hand pushed up the dress she was wearing, revealing skin as it climbed higher. Each trail of his hand left her burning stronger and stronger. She hissed as his hand stopped just above her center.
“Oh god, Howl,” she moaned. She watched his eyes glaze over as he took in her black lacy thong. Staring at her fixedly, he slowly dragged the dress off of her body, revealing her matching lace bra. His eyes fell on the swell of her breasts and she tenderly placed a hand on his chest as his breathing fired up. She pinched a nipple and he sucked in a breath. He traced the tip of his fingers up her inner thigh at the same time his head disappeared in between her cleavage. She almost jumped out of her skin when his moist lips brushed against her nipple through the lace of the bra.
Pushing aside her thong, he dipped a finger inside her, thrusting oh-so-slowly, it was driving her nuts. She was wet and weeping for him already and his fingers glide through her as if it just found a new home. Her head fell against the pillow as he withdrew his finger and, thrust it in again and began a circular motion inside her. She felt delirious. He was going to be the death of her.
How long had time stood still? She couldn’t tell, but somehow, between them both, they got rid of his jeans and boxer briefs. She devoured him with her eyes when his nakedness was finally revealed to her.
“You’re perfect,” she murmured.
With his teeth, he discarded her bra and tossed it aside while making guttural sounds that drove her wild. His fingers continued to torture her while her core wept copiously for him. With his lips and fingers, he tormented and took her to heights she never imagined. She begged and threatened and said a lot of things she couldn’t remember. She thrashed in the bed and called him all kinds of names as his ministrations were unending.
She arched her back and gave him more access to her center whenever he pushed a finger deeper or harder. She moaned and screamed whenever he sucked or nibbled on a taut nipple with his naughty tongue. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she grabbed his dick in her hands and began to pump it as feverishly as she felt.
“I want you, Howl, I want you now.”
“Soon, baby,” he said and added another finger inside her. Her breaths came out in short gasps now. She was sweating and shaking from head to toe and he wanted to wait? No sir, she needed him inside her yesterday.
“Now,” she insisted. She was not about to wait a second longer. Holding firmly to his hard shaft, she guided it inside her. Slapping his hands away, she let the tip touch her folds. She closed her eyes in delight as he buckled on top of her. He was no longer complaining. With a speed that surprised her, he pushed into her so hard the bed creaked loudly. She wasn’t going to complain; the powerful shove was everything she wanted.
Again, and again, he slammed into her, his sweat mixing with hers. She wrapped her legs around him, not about to let him go this time. They stared into each other’s eyes, letting each stroke into her deliver the message left unsaid.
Talia knew she was bound to this man in ways she couldn’t begin to explain. Each time he drove into her, she felt the connection, breathed it. It was powerful, she felt weak as it pulled her, reeling her further into the web that was Harold “Howl” Marconi.
Digging her heels into the bed and her fingers into his back, she let the tide of feelings wash over her. He leaned down to capture her lips, even while she rose to meet every stroke of his. He drove harder and faster, and she met him tempo for tempo. He got wilder, and she got wilder. Together, they held on for the longest time, holding on to sanity as long as they could. In the end, they both came together, shouting their impassioned release into the room.
Howl stepped out of the bedroom and met his brother and Joi outside on the front lawn. “What?” he asked in annoyance.
“She’s not her mother,” Joi said in a rush.
Howl frowned. “What? Who?”
“Isadora! The woman Talia thought was her mother? She’s not really her mother. The DNA test Angelo ran after we went to question her about Alpha Bianchi? It came back negative. She’s not Talia’s mother! We have the proof; you can tell her now.”
Howl blinked in surprise, then shook his head. “What? No… but…” A part of him had thought that perhaps Isadora was lying, merely trying to get a rise out of him so she could shoot him without impunity. He’d never actually considered that it was true. S
o that meant that if Isadora wasn’t Talia’s mother…
He froze when Angelo grabbed his shoulder.
“There’s more, Howl.” He indicated the manila envelope in Joi’s hands. Howl accepted them without a word and pulled out the papers to look them over. “Bianchi really isn’t her father either. I’m not sure if they actually did find her in Heaven. Or if they got custody of her legally or stole her after killing her mother. I’m not even certain if Isadora told us the truth about why they decided to raise her, or what this has to do with us and this feud that has been going on forever, but… they aren’t her parents, Howl. And you’re the only one who can tell her.”
Howl stared at his eldest brother and nodded. Angelo was right, he turned to return to his mate when he heard her let out a harsh scream of grief. Leaving Angelo and Joi behind, Howl raced inside and towards the bedroom where he’d left Talia sleeping. He came to a sliding halt when he saw Alpha Bianchi standing next to Talia, his arm wrapped around her, Talia’s body shuddering with sobs, her eyes and almost black color as she raised them to glare at him.
“Is it true, Harry?” She asked in a trembling voice.
“I-is what true, love?” He questioned aloud.
“Oh, don’t play coy, Beta,” Alpha Bianchi mocked him with a smirk. “I told my little girl everything. About how you forced your way into the home of her sick mother and killed her. Ripping her throat out as if she were an animal. You killed her didn’t you, Marconi? You killed your mate’s mother?”
Howl opened his mouth to deny it, but the look on Talia’s face made him pause.
“Tal, it’s not what you think…”
Chapter Fourteen
Revenge, Justice, And Revelation
"You're not listening to me, Tal," Joi said, frustration evident in her tone as Talia heeded her father’s directions and created another ball of light, filled with pain and anger and tossed it at Howl.
Talia had helped her father tie up the people she’d considered her family and taken his direction as he began to teach her to use the powers she’d only discovered while being locked up in his cells this previous time. When Talia had asked him about her newfound powers, as they tied up Howl, his brothers, cousins, Joi, and Hendrix, Talia’s father had admitted that her mother was actually an angel, and that the reason she’d gotten so sick was because she’d been away from the heavenly realm for too long. She’d wanted to make sure Talia would be okay without her before she left.
But Howl and his family had killed her before she’d ever gotten the chance to return home.
“It’s not that I’m not, Joi, it’s that I don’t believe you. Why would my father lie to me about my mother? You’re not making any sense.”
“Exactly. I would never lie to you, my daughter,” Fernando said, placing a whisper soft kiss against her temple.
"Alpha Bianchi is not your father. We did a DNA test that proved it. He's not even a little bit related to you. And the woman who raised you? She wasn't your mother. She was your aunt, or your mother's half-sister. This man and his mate—your aunt—killed your mother and kept you away from your father your entire life because they wanted to use you and your powers."
Talia blinked at her best friend knowing she spoke the truth. Talia was the liar between the two of them, not Joi. She lowered her hands and released the ball of harmful energy she'd created to throw at Joi's husband. She heard Howl let out a roar as he jumped up from the ground and rushed Fernando. Talia turned to look at her father—no, not her father—at Alpha Bianchi—and from the scowl and guilty look on his face as he was held against the wall by Howl's hand wrapped around his throat, she could tell that Joi was being honest. Angelo, Joi, Howl, and the rest of the Marconi pack were innocent, not the man who'd told her he was her father.
"Is that why you killed her? My mother—aunt?" Talia asked Howl, who dropped Alpha Bianchi and came to stand next to her. He sighed, then nodded his head, taking one of her hands in his own.
"She told me about how she'd been allowed access to Heaven by her sister, your mother, and that when she arrived, she'd brought Alpha Bianchi and some others. They'd gone with the intention of killing your mother. They wanted her to join them to become a part of their plan to take over and rule the packs of North and South America, and establish their allies as the rulers of the packs over in Europe, before they all took over the world and ruled over the humans as well. But they needed your mother's powers in order to bring everyone to heel. When she refused to help them, they killed her."
Talia felt tears well up in her eyes as she listened to her mate tell her about the murder of a woman that she didn't even know. A woman who had given birth to her; but, had been unable to raise her. A woman who loved her. Howl hadn't said those words, but Talia could feel it—her real mother's love—nonetheless. Because of all that it was no wonder she was so affected by the woman's demise.
"But how did they kill her?" Talia wondered aloud. "How do you kill an angel?"
"Very. Slowly," Alpha Bianchi said with a dark and evil chuckle.
Without hesitation, Talia turned to the disgusting man, lifted her hands into fists, and twisted them in opposite directions. She wasn't sure where the knowledge had come from, especially since she now knew who her real mother was, but just as she intended, Alpha Bianchi screamed from her actions. His body twisted and contorted, before he shifted partially into his wolf, the animal yanked from him by Talia's mere thought. The bottom half of his body remained human while the top half turned furry and animalistic. She then snapped her fingers, breaking his neck.
"No!" Angelo yelled, yanking Talia out of her haze of fury and murder, and she turned to look at him in confusion.
"Why are you so upset?" She questioned him. "Didn't you want me to kill him?"
Angelo shook his head, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he stared at the mangled body of the former Alpha. "Not yet. He had information about the murders of numerous pack members around the country and the world. He knew about the long, sordid history regarding why different ones were chosen to be killed. Why entire families were slaughtered, and why only some of them were. He was the only one who knew who was behind the whole plot."
Angelo sat down hard on the floor, running his fingers through his hair and scowled. "Now I'll never be able to stop them."
Talia curled her shoulders in and rubbed her hands up and down her arms as more guilt raced through her system. She just couldn't seem to do anything right. She listened to and obeyed a man who wasn't even her real father, putting her mate's life and that of his entire pack in jeopardy. Then she tried to fight and kill her mate's family, including him, because of a lie about them killing her mother, when the woman they'd actually killed was the one responsible for killing her mother, and then she'd killed the man she'd thought of as her father before anyone could interrogate him. Thereby putting the lives of shifters all over the globe in danger. She was such a screwup. Her aunt had been right.
Don't do that, Howl's voice came vibrating through their mating link to her. It was something he hadn't done in a while. A long while.
Talia gasped and turned to look at him, her eyes burning with unshed tears. Howl lifted his hand and cradled her face in his grasp.
You were manipulated, lied to, and brainwashed, he told her. Yes, it took me a while to get past your own lies, but once I realized you were just as much of a victim as I was, if not more so, it was easy to forgive you. No one here bears you any ill will. Everyone here has forgiven you. Now you just to forgive yourself.
Howl's words filled Talia with hope, warmth, and light, and she leaned forward to take his lips with her own, her tears spilling over and rolling down her cheeks. Just as always, her body lit up with desire, passion, and connection. Something she was starting to realize was due to her angelic heritage. And wasn't that crazy? That she was part angel?
And just like that, Talia remembered the old wolf from the cells, the one who'd encouraged her. Who'd taken care of her and her pups when she'd
been captured by her own father and held against her will. The one she'd felt a connection to. The one who'd told her that she reminded him of someone he once knew.
"Oh. Fuck," she breathed against Howl's lips.
Howl frowned as he pulled away from her, then chuckled. "That's a new reaction to me kissing you."
Talia shook her head. "No, no… I mean, the kiss was fantastic, as always, but that oh fuck wasn't for you. It was because I think I know who my father is, and if I'm right, he may also know who's behind the murders of the other shifters and who's plotting to take over the world."
She nodded with a small smile as everyone shared looks of surprise and confusion, almost certain she was right.
I'm coming, father.
Chapter Fifteen
The Father, The Son, And The Ancient Plot
Thaddeus Numisius sat back on his threadbare cot and sighed. An image of his mate, Sopheera Henderson, rose up in his mind's eye, as well as the young girl who'd once been his companion in the cells.
Talia Bianchi-Marconi.
Her mate's name still sent a tremble through Thaddeus's form. To realize that not only was the deadly Marconi pack still around, but that the Bianchi pack, one of the deadliest rivals of the Marconi pack was as well, made Thaddeus's heart pound in fear.
Thaddeus had never been like his older brothers or any of the other men in his family. While most of them had taken part in the Great Fall of Rome, by setting fire to the once prosperous and afeared dynasty, Thaddeus and another brother, Felix, had instead set off for Africa, where they'd both met their mates. While Felix had gone on to have ten children with his mate, followed by thirty grandchildren, and no doubt countless great-grandchildren, Thaddeus and his mate had tried for decades, centuries, and a millennium to no avail. Until one day Sopheera had told him she was expecting. They'd been beyond excited and had celebrated long into the night.
