“Good girl.” Heat enveloped her head, her master’s hand resting there and threading fingers through her hair. Petting her just like he would a dog. “Isn’t that better, Raine? Doesn’t it feel nice to be rewarded instead of chased, praised for compliance rather than pitting your wits against mine?”
Raine closed her eyes. So much easier to ignore the sweet, gentle man that way. Because this was the man she’d almost fallen for and offered herself to completely. This was the other side of the wolf she’d come into heat for, welcomed into her body, surrendered her life to.
She despised him almost as much as she loved him.
For her, love was a fragile blossom, the bud delicate and liable to disintegrate as it unfurled if not handled with care. A new and unnerving experience for her shitty life, and Dubhlainn had stalked into her garden with his huge fucking paws and trampled all over the single bloom, one that could have been the start of a flourishing landscape of beauty and brilliance dedicated entirely to him.
She said nothing as he bent and lifted her, carrying her like a bride into the house of horrors she knew she would never leave. Staring listlessly over his shoulder at the clear night sky and glittering stars, she breathed in one last breath of untainted air.
Then Quinn moved into position behind them and blocked the world from view. He watched her with sorrowful eyes, but she felt no forgiveness, no urge to grant him words to ease his guilt or whatever the hell monsters felt when their eyes were sad and soft.
Bitches weren’t allowed that privilege. Bitches kept their mouths shut.
Raine went limp as Dubh took her upstairs and set her on the bed that was bare. No sheets, no covers, just a random mess of pillows, blankets and the quilt. He crouched in front of her, hands on her knees, and smiled up into her face. A smile that altered every nuance of his expression from pissed-off hardass into an approachable, almost adorable man quite taken with his woman.
She dropped her eyes and let her hair fall around her face.
“You’ve figured out by now we can call you to heel when needs be,” he murmured, scooping her hair away and tilting her head so her eyes had to meet his. “It’s part of the mating bond, precious, one that will help us keep you safe. Quinn and I can control you with it for now, but Finn, Malachi and Cabhan will have the same responsibility once they’ve tied with you.”
Her lips twisted. Body shuddered. Heart died a little.
“It’s not something to be used against you, Raine. Our word on that. But if you try to run, to harm yourself, to put yourself in danger, there will be no hesitation and you will be on your knees until I decide what to do with you.”
Not we, she noted dully, but I.
Quinn handed his brother a glass of water. Dubh took it, sipped, made a noise she assumed was meant to get her excited over the offering. An hour ago, two, she would have begged for it. Prostrated herself for just a taste to wash the sickly ashes from her mouth.
When he touched the glass to her lips, tipped it so cold liquid slipped over her tongue, she denied herself the luxury of drinking. Water spilled down her front, over her breasts and belly before Dubh righted the glass with a mutter of discontent. “You need to drink, Raine. It’s been too long.”
Command me then, asshole. Put it in a fucking bowl.
He rolled his eyes, that beautiful blue full of frustration. He lifted the glass again and she inclined her head, silently refusing. “Quinn, support her. She’s drinking this whether she wants to or not.”
Raine mocked him in her head, imagining his face on a giant bobblehead, bouncing erratically as bullshit dripped from his sinner’s mouth. He might have convinced himself he cared for her, cherished her—more bullshit, drip, drip, drip—but she’d had the wool yanked over her eyes too many times to be blinded yet again.
The heated wall of Quinn’s chest pressed firmly against her back, the mattress sagging as he knelt behind her, one arm around her waist and the other keeping her head still. She let him prop her head on his shoulder and wondered what they’d do if she refused to swallow and simply let herself choke.
“Just drink, Raine,” Quinn muttered into her hair, breathing deep. His shudder of longing made her question how strong his self-control was. The mellow scent of estrus still pumped thick and strong; even she had learned to recognize the smell of self-betrayal. “Making the Alpha mad over this isn’t worth the effort. Just drink.”
Could she pick her battles? Pick one, leave another, choose a different one? What the hell did it matter when she couldn’t win any of them? Drink or don’t. Eat or starve. They were her battles. Her choices, her decisions.
Fucking wolf didn’t get to decide anything about her.
Water filled her mouth but she wouldn’t swallow. Wouldn’t, until Dubh reached out and pinched her nose shut, leaving her with two options—swallow or suffocate.
“Stubborn little female,” the Alpha cooed. “So resistant to being taken care of. Would you prefer we leave you to feed yourself? Tend to yourself?” Those deadly blue eyes glinted with disappointment, a sword’s edge catching sunlight. “If we could trust you to do so, Raine, we would leave you to your own devices. Give you space, room to breathe. But we can’t, you see, when you defy us at every turn.” Dubh’s hand slipped around the back of her neck, his forehead rested against hers in what should have been a sweet, romantic gesture. “I’ll give you this chance, precious. Eat the food Finn brings, rehydrate and rest. Do that, show us you can be trusted, and we’ll see where things go from there.”
Her lungs were starting to burn, her eyes to tear up.
Be an obedient bitch. Be an obedient bitch. That’s all they want.
She swallowed, her stomach twisting. It was so empty and yet the hunger was dismissible. Or had been until now. Now the ache gnawed at her, another human frailty to succumb to or ignore, and she didn’t want to do either.
“Was that so hard, precious?” His lips brushed over hers and she jerked her head away from the unwarranted intimacy. Kissing was out of the question. Kissing was a promise, a gift he didn’t have a right to ask for. “We’ll give you a couple hours. Your nest is untouched beyond the broken door. I can rig a cover for that if it will make you feel more secure.”
Her eyes glanced toward it, slipped away. She hadn’t been in her right mind when she’d created that den of safety. It was the product of her feral side, the one hidden until Dubhlainn enticed it out. The part of her designed to burrow and create a birthing ground for her pups, where she could remain in warmth and comfort while she lost her sense of self and became nothing but a breeding bitch for the rest of her pitiful life.
She remembered how much it hurt when Dubh desecrated that peaceful little sanctuary; now she was thankful, grateful, he’d shattered that illusion before it sucked her under completely. Otherwise she’d be curled up in there, scurrying out at their beck and call every time they wanted their dicks wetting.
Being that obedient little bitch without realizing they’d conditioned her.
The thought made her shudder.
Quinn let her go, his arms sliding away slowly, allowing her to support herself before he got off the bed and stood behind and to the side of Dubhlainn. Such a good dog soldier, ready to do his Alpha’s bidding.
Raine stared into the big bad wolf’s eyes. “You had me, Dubhlainn. Everything you said you wanted from me? Trust, submission, all that bullshit? You had that. I gave it to you when you gave me the guardian instead of the monster.”
Confusion rippled over his face, followed by understanding, then regret. “Raine—”
“Your mate, that coveted thing you desire so much, was in your hands, and you threw it aside without even knowing what it was you tossed away. That growl wasn’t for me. That growl was for Quinn, for you to teach him how to manipulate me. So he could fuck the female you professed to care for without hindrance.”
“That’s not what I intended, precious.”
“Stop with the precious. I’m no more precious to you tha
n your next orgasm. I’m a commodity, a possession to be screwed until I produce what you want.” Bitterness seeped out of her like sweat, staining the balance of the room. “You don’t get another chance to earn my trust or my submission. Growl all you want, take advantage of every fucking heat that comes, but all this will ever be is rape.”
Pain flashed deep in the recesses of brilliant blue, but Raine simply pushed him back, ignoring the urge to press her cheek to his palm. Her body was still a traitor, unable to be trusted. It yearned to rub against his as she rose, skirted past his crouched form and a subdued Quinn, and headed for the bathroom.
His pain meant nothing. He’d brought it upon himself.
Closing the door quietly behind her made more of a statement than slamming it would have done. She leaned against it, listening to the angry tone of Dubhlainn’s voice, the conciliatory one of Quinn’s, and scrubbed her hands over her face.
The Alpha had his dick in a twist now, she thought without humor. Had he been so oblivious to the fact he’d reeled her in, blinded her to everything but him? She’d fought the knot, there was no getting around that. What did they expect her to do when she woke with no escape from the sensation of being stretched to the point of destruction? When the pain in her belly was accompanied by the throb and pulse of a cock still pumping semen into her?
“I’m sorry, Dubh. I seriously fucked this up.”
Dubh laughed bitterly, the sound muffled through the door. “You think? My mate despises me. How am I supposed to build a life, a family, with a mate who sees every touch I bestow upon her as coerced? Fucking stupid thing is, it’s not your fault in its entirety, is it? I made the choice to share her, to keep my pack happy. To bring us together as a family. So it’s more on me than it is you; I made a calculated decision, you just acted on instinct.”
Raine scoffed to herself. Bring them together as a family. What a crock of shit. Did he expect them all to curl up together on that big bed, take turns fucking her through the night? Or just go all-out and have a wild orgy with all five brothers claiming her at the same time?
“She’ll come around, Alpha. She’s tired, overwrought.”
Now she sneered. Overwrought? Quinn could take his overwrought and shove it up his ass.
“Don’t underestimate your mate, Quinn, it’ll cost you. She means what she said and we both know it. Doesn’t matter if she’s tired or angry or fucking hormonal—that’s how she feels. I can respect that even as I kick my own ass for not seeing it before I turned a promising situation into a clusterfuck of epic proportions.”
“So we talk her back to us. Prove we can be whatever it is she saw in you.”
Dubh’s sigh was long and weary.
“What did she mean when she said you gave her the guardian instead of the monster? I know she’s told me more than once we’re nothing but monsters, and right now I can’t help but think that’s true. You did something, Dubh, that changed that opinion, at least when it came to you.”
He showed me the kind side, the gentle side. He gave me compassion when the rest offered nothing but pain and brutality. He had the patience to be a man, to show me humanity when the wolf was craving its fix, and I knew what it was not to be scared, just for a few moments.
“I treated her like a woman,” Dubhlainn murmured. “Like she was precious.”
Amazing, wasn’t it, how much someone could come to hate a word? Raine’s list of vehemently disliked vocabulary was growing exponentially, to include estrus, heat, knot and fucking precious.
“There you go. Maybe we’ve been a bachelor pack too long and forgotten how to treat a woman. Or should I say, a mortal woman. Female wolves seem to be intricately easier to please.”
“No, they’re raised to know the score,” Dubhlainn argued without heat. “Their mothers explain estrus, the heat, when they’re young. They grow up with that in mind, with being mated and bred as their life goal. Continuation of the species with the strongest male they can snare. Just like we’re conditioned to achieve the tie with the most suitable female and use the bite to seal that connection.”
Raine pressed both hands to her belly. She flinched as she let his words play through her mind. Her babies would be raised as breeding machines or monsters? Beautiful little girls brought up to believe their only worth was between their legs and the DNA that created them? Playful young boys twisted into creatures that couldn’t differentiate between rape and consensual sex?
Shit, right now, she couldn’t tell the difference. Sex held evil, terrible implications for her now; if she ever discovered a way out of this hell, would she ever be able to have a normal sexual relationship without bracing for pain and crippling shame?
Truth was, she probably would never get the opportunity to find out. The brothers were determined to keep her and Dubhlainn was right, no matter how much she might try to ignore his words.
No matter how strong she was, eventually she would give in.
“The way I see it,” Quinn said slowly, carefully, keying Raine back into a conversation she’d missed several minutes of, “we need to get the others tied with her. Get that over, out of the fucking way, so we can concentrate on winning her back. If we’re divided, only half the pack mated with her when the promise has been made to all, we’ll end up battling resentment from our brothers and hatred from Raine. We need all of us on the same wavelength before we can convince her we have honest intentions.”
There was a bang, a clatter, and Finn’s voice chimed in. “Did I miss something?”
“Just the collapse of the dynasty. Come on, leave her alone. There’s food, there’s water, and her nest is as fixed as it’s going to be until we can get the door screwed back into place.” Carrying the edge of command, Dubhlainn’s voice drew closer to the bathroom. “Raine, I’m sorry. I know it probably doesn’t mean a lot to you right now, but I truly am regretful for tossing aside what you offered me. I’m going to work my ass off to earn it back, every last privilege. Finn’s brought you food, it’ll be hot for a few more minutes. Please eat. No threats, no warnings. Just...a heartfelt request for you to eat. I promised you a couple hours; we won’t disturb you unless you need us.”
Fuck. Raine squeezed her eyes shut, clamped her hands on her ears.
The fucking guardian had made his return.
Chapter Eleven
Malachi
Trust his idiot brother to get himself banned from breeding the bitch, Malachi thought with a sneer as he tore through the woodland toward the small residential area they’d discovered twenty miles away from the den.
Said idiot brother was trailing after Mal, no doubt sulking that his big mouth had gotten him in trouble with not only Dubhlainn the biggest, baddest brother of them all, but pissed off Dubhlainn, the now official Alpha of the pack.
Double whammy.
Cabhan knew better. The signs were clear, had been for weeks—Dubhlainn was infatuated with the bitch, had staked his claim on her long before yesterday. One thing no wolf did if he wanted to keep his teeth intact was insult the mate of an Alpha male.
As far as Mal was concerned, Dubhlainn had been far too lenient with both Quinn and Cabhan—Malachi would have ripped Quinn’s throat out for such a betrayal against the Alpha and the pack, and Cabhan would have been in a world of pain.
But Malachi was not Alpha, and because of his wolf’s salivating greed and lack of control, they were not in the running to be so. That Finn now held rank above both Malachi and Cabhan was ridiculous. God knew he loved his brother, but Finn was a pansy, soft at heart, gentle of hand. His place in the pack should be behind the warriors.
The female had upset everything within a day. Pack structure, the relationship between the brothers. Her existence put their standing within global packs in jeopardy—Dubh hadn’t lied when he said they would be shunned for a five-on-one mating bond.
In the eyes of wolf-shifter packs around the world, five virile breeding males from one of the oldest packs mating one female was a crime. Four of the males we
re denying the expansion of the species and, in turn, the genetics desired by other packs.
Raine had the potential to start a war.
Gripping a huge carry-all between his teeth, Malachi veered off to head down toward the residential area. From his surveillance efforts, he’d concluded it was more of a vacation spot than an actual occupied settlement. A place for the townies to come play and say they survived the wilderness with their air conditioning units and fridges stocked with beer and food. Not to mention feather mattresses and wardrobes stocked with enough designer clothes to kit out the Galway pack for the next five years.
Skirting around fenced backyards, Cabhan sticking close with his own carry-all, they kept their noses down to the ground, checking for fresh human scents. There were no vehicles, no lights on in the houses, but at this time at night—well, early morning now—Mal didn’t expect there to be.
He chose a house at random, a neat little two-story with shoddy locks and no alarm system—tsk tsk—which surprised him. Considering the money glaring blatantly everywhere he looked, he assumed a top-class alarm system would be a town muppet’s highest priority.
He was tempted to smash the front door in just to make a statement but was aware of the stupidity of that action. Subtlety and an almost unobtrusive entrance would keep this section of housing on his scavenging list for a lot longer than breaking down doors and possibly alerting any groundskeepers to anything hinky would.
Shifting, he smacked the heel of his hand against the lock until it gave with a sharp crack, then opened the door and walked in, Cabhan already in human form and directly behind him. “You want the linen closet or the fridge?”
“Who’s got the bigger bag?”
With matching smirks they shook out them out and compared. Cabhan’s was considerably larger, much to his disgust.
“Pillow cases, sheets, covers, you know the drill,” Mal cackled with glee. “If it’s soft and warm, we want it.”
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