by Kimber White
My eyes met Leo’s. I had a thousand questions. Only one thing mattered.
“Thank you,” I said. “How did you know to come? I told you not to.”
Leo smiled. “Well, you’ve always been a stubborn son of a bitch. And somehow I also knew you were wrong.”
“Thank God,” I said.
I let Willow go long enough to hug Leo. I thumped his back.
“So who’s this?” Milo asked as we broke.
I smiled. “Leo, meet Willow. She’s...my mate.”
Willow extended a hand. “It’s good to meet you,” she said.
“Nah,” Leo said, pulling Willow into a hug. “She’s more than that. I can tell. Welcome to the family.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Willow
Two weeks later…
Alpine, New Jersey
I sat on the back porch, sipping lemonade. Spring had given way to summer and the hot sun warmed my face. A perfect day. The smell of freshly cut grass filled my head. A white and yellow butterfly landed on the porch swing beside me then took flight as soon as the shouting started again.
Lisette hadn’t stopped screaming since she came downstairs. Before that, she tried crying. Next, she’d probably start throwing dishes. That wouldn’t last long. My father’s bodyguards kept a respectable distance, but they’d never let her come anywhere near him.
I took another sip of lemonade.
“Miss Rousseau?” Calvin Mulroney, my father’s personal secretary, poked his head out. “You bags are in the front hallway. Your car is about ten minutes out. I know things are...um...disorganized inside, but your father wanted to make sure you checked in with him before you left.”
“Thanks, Calvin,” I said, setting down my glass. I rose, steeled myself for the onslaught I knew I faced, then headed back into the house.
Lisette’s face had turned a grisly purple. Her nostrils flared and her chest heaved when she saw me. My father sat stoic at the head of the dining room table.
“You have no idea what you’ve done,” Lisette railed. “Look around. All of this. They’ll take it all!”
My father’s two hulking bodyguards stood in the hallway, ready to intervene if Lisette made her way to the China cabinet.
“It’s not her fault,” my father said calmly. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take a few minutes to talk to my daughter.”
“Fine,” Lisette said, folding her hands. “Can’t wait to hear what she has to say for herself this time.”
My father cleared his throat and gestured to his bodyguards. They stepped forward. Lisette swore as she realized what that all meant.
Thankfully, she stormed out of the room, leaving nothing but the echo of curse words in her wake.
“When are you leaving?” Dad asked.
“Ten minutes or so,” I said.
He rubbed his temple. “Lisette is wrong-headed about the cause of our current situation. But, she’s not wrong about the effect. I’m probably going to lose the house.”
My father was under indictment in the RICO case Jason threatened. Whatever pull he had to stop it died with him. I still saw his wild eyes in my dreams. He would have killed me that night. Val had saved me in every way possible.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“Don’t be,” my father smiled. “I’ve still got a few more tricks up my sleeve. And I’ve set some things aside for you. Lisette doesn’t know. You’ll be okay, Willow.”
“No,” I said. “Don’t set anything aside for me. Use it for your defense. Hell, use it to appease Lisette if that’s what you want. I’ll be all right.”
Two days ago, I called my contact in New York. The internship he offered me was still available. I started at the end of the month.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“I am.” I reached for my father’s hand. “It’s the life I want. The life I was meant for. And I won’t be alone.”
A sad smile came over my father’s face. He was still trying to grapple with everything that happened. News of Jason Soren’s death had made all of my father’s associates nervous. They were jumping ship, left and right. If convicted, my father might spend the next ten years or more behind bars. It tore at my heart, but he was ready for it. He was tired of running scared. Tired of having it hanging over his head. He wanted to pay the price for the choices he made, and I knew in my heart he would be okay.
“He’s a good man?” Dad asked.
Val was the other thing he was still trying to process. I didn’t know if my father knew the truth about Jason Soren and his nature. I hadn’t yet found a way to tell him about Val’s or mine. For now, it would stay our secret.
My love. My mate. My future.
He swore Jason hadn’t paid him for me. It seemed that part of Jason’s story was a lie. I wanted to believe my father. I wondered if perhaps Lisette was the real villain in this.
My father rose and put his arms around me. “I love you, Willow. Your mother named you right. You are strong. Adaptable. Just like she was. I’m going to make sure she’s okay through this too.”
I hugged him back. “You don’t have to. I’m going to take care of her for you.”
Somehow, I’d find a way to cover my mother’s expenses at her nursing home in upstate New York. Next week, Val would come with me to visit her.
“Okay,” he said. “We’ll do it your way.”
“Good. You just take care of you. You’ve got your hands full with your situation and with Lisette.”
He raised a brow. “She is not adaptable, I’m afraid.”
“No.”
Calvin came to the doorway. “I’m sorry to interrupt. Miss Rousseau, your ride is here.”
My ride. My heart flared with heat as I felt Val walk into the house. He appeared, strong, huge, handsome and steady. His eyes gave off that secret flash as he set them on me.
My father went to him and held out his hands. “Mr. Kalenkov,” he said.
They’d met once before. After the chaos died down at the motel near Richmond, Val drove me to my father’s house. News of Jason’s death had already reached him. My father knew it was Val who saved my life.
“Mr. Rousseau,” Val said. They shared a strong handshake.
“You ready?” Val smiled.
“I am,” I said, rising. I went into Val’s waiting arms. My father smiled. He had the hint of tears in his eyes, but he looked happy in spite of everything.
“We’ll talk as soon as we can. It might not be for a while though. My lawyer thinks that’s best,” he said. “And don’t believe everything you read on the internet about me in the meantime.”
“I never have, Daddy,” I said. I left Val’s arms and hugged my father once again. He felt so good. So strong and big. I knew he wasn’t scared, so neither was I.
Then, I took Val’s hands and wiped away my own tears before they had a chance to fall.
I walked outside of my father’s house for maybe the last time. I didn’t know what the future held for him, but I knew my own was bright.
Val opened the passenger side door for me. I slipped inside the car and waved to my father.
“You sure you’re ready to go?” Val asked.
I nodded, smiling. “Never been more sure of anything in my life.”
I held Val’s hand for the entire drive. I felt at peace with him. What I said was true. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was going toward something, instead of running away from it.
A little over an hour later, we arrived at the apartment I rented in Soho. I’d gotten the place for a relative steal. It was close to work, simple, mine.
Val walked me up. I had a decent view with a huge dormer window.
Val slid his hands around my waist and kissed my neck. Already, I burned for him. I felt that irresistible buzzing at the base of my neck.
Since Jason’s death, we hadn’t had much time alone together. Val worked with his crew to deal with all of Jason’s pack members. Most were happy he was gone. But, it didn�
��t mean Val or his family would trust them. He wouldn’t tell me all of the details, but I knew many of them had been relocated to Canada. For those that could be rehabilitated, they were getting a fresh start.
“I love it here,” I said. “I just wish you could move in with me right away.”
“I do too,” he said. “I’ve got a few things to settle with the firm. I’ve got a meeting with Payne in the morning.”
“How do you think that will go?” I asked.
I knew Val felt unsettled. He hadn’t trusted Payne with all his suspicions about Jason in the beginning, instead of relying on his own family. It could be a problem for Payne. Val might very well be out of a job this time tomorrow.
I turned to face him. His eyes reflected the full moon out the window. I ran my hands over his chest.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said. “I can feel it.”
Val smiled. “I know. The thing is, ever since I met you, I’ve known that. Even after everything we’ve been through.”
“I think I’m going to love it here,” I said. “I mean I know it’s not much more than a shoebox. But, it’s mine. And you’re mine too, Val.”
There was something else between us. Val had been gentle with me since that last night at the motel. So much had happened, I knew he was worried about either coming on too strong or scaring me. It suited me at first, but now as the dust settled and we were alone together, I knew I couldn’t wait much longer.
“Val,” I said. I slid my hands up his chest and touched his face. It seemed right that the moon was full. “Take me to the woods.”
His eyes flashed. I felt his wolf stir. He didn’t ask me if I was sure. Not then. I don’t even remember walking out of the apartment or the drive to Central Park. I was too keyed up. So was he.
We found our way down a quiet trail in the North Woods as the night grew thicker. Part of me wished we’d flown to the place he was born, crazy as that sounded. Even here, I felt his pull to it.
He was Valentin Kalenkov. His Siberian blood flowed strong in his veins. He was impervious to the cold. The most powerful man I’d ever known. He was mine. Now, it was time at last, for me to become fully his.
Val came prepared. He brought a backpack and spread out a blanket. He found a secluded spot, so deep in the woods, it was hard to imagine we were so close to the city here.
If I was being honest, the danger of getting caught stirred my passion just that much more. We wouldn’t though. Val knew what he was doing. He was born to protect me. It was in his blood as much as Russia was.
Someday, I knew he would take me there. I had a vision the other night. A dream. I saw a snowy landscape with a tucked away cabin on the hill. A sanctuary. A place we could escape to. And it was the place where my son would be born. That had been part of the vision too. He wasn’t here yet, nor even close. But, he would be when the time was right.
“Come here,” Val said, his voice low and sultry. Heat grew between my legs. I was already so wet for him. I had been since the moment he took my hand back at the apartment.
“Are you sure, my love?” he whispered.
“I am,” I said.
He kissed me, slow and deep letting his tongue explore. His hands roamed over me, circling my hips, guiding me down. He laid me on the blanket. The stars glittered behind his head.
He was my world. The stars and the moon.
I wriggled out of my jeans. Val did the same. I cast my bra and panties aside. Val hovered over me, stroking himself. His eyes glinted like two blue diamonds. His wolf was so close to the surface.
I spread my legs for him. He ran a finger over my slick folds. I gasped. Just that one touch. It was as if he flipped a switch. My body responded to his. I gushed for him.
“That’s it.” He gave me that wicked smile, loving how easily he could turn me on.
Then, he entered me. I brought my legs up, wrapping them around his hips. I gasped again at the size of him. He stretched me wide. He was so good. So powerful. All mine.
He moved in me. I dug my fingers into his shoulder. It heightened his pleasure. He liked the wild parts of me and would work to bring them out. He nipped my ear.
He reached between us, finding the most sensitive bud between my legs. With his cock deep inside of me, he worked me there. It was too much. It was everything. I reared up, feeling the first powerful pull of an orgasm.
“Not yet,” I gasped.
“Yes, my love,” he growled. “Now. Let go for me. Let me feel you come around me.”
I did. Of course I did. With one touch, one whisper, Val would always make me respond to him. I knew it would get even better, even more intense after tonight. He called it the Rise. If I’d craved him before, it would be nearly insatiable now. Oh, God. I wanted that.
“Scream, baby,” he said. “It’s only just the two of us.”
I did. My orgasm thundered through me. He pressed himself even deeper into me as I rode it through.
So good. So much. Everything.
He kissed a trail between my breasts and down my stomach. He pressed my knees flat and tasted my juices. Then, he slid his hands beneath my hips and turned me.
I knew what he wanted. God. I’d waited for this my whole life.
Val worked me again. I didn’t think I could come again so quickly after that last orgasm. But, I was about to find out what the Rise really meant.
He kept me like that, on all fours as he pinched me gently, kneading my sensitive flesh in all the right ways.
I came for him again. It was as if he were the maestro and my pleasure, his instrument. Oh, I played all night for him.
I rode him. I let him take me up against a tree. I went back on all fours. I tasted him. We tried everything and it still wasn’t enough.
Then, Val turned me. He guided me into position. Instinct took over and I arched my back. Val entered me again, keeping a steadying hand on my hips. My knees trembled. I knew I’d be sore in muscles I didn’t even know I had in the morning.
I dropped my chin, letting my hair fall to the side. That aching pleasure grew at the base of my neck.
I drew in a sharp breath as Val’s teeth scraped my skin. He started to thrust his hips, driving himself deep.
At the point of his climax, he marked me. There was just a flash of pain, then it spread to the most intense pleasure I’d ever felt.
The world fell away. There was only him. There was only us. My heart stopped. An instant later, it started. Only this time, I knew it would never be just my own again.
I felt him everywhere. In my head. In my core. In my heart and soul.
We were one. My fated mate. Neither of us would ever be alone again.
Later, Val held me in his arms as we watched the sun slowly rise over the trees.
It was beautiful. Brilliant. Perfect.
“I love you,” he whispered. “You’ve given me the greatest gift.”
I touched his cheek. “The gift is mine, my love.”
And it was.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Val
Payne met me in the firm’s new office space in the Flatiron Building. We stood at the window, looking down at Fifth Avenue.
“The New York office will be good for the firm,” I said. “It was a coup to get this space.”
Things had been up in the air between us since I got back from Virginia. Leo had brought the others without consulting with Payne first. From the moment he hired us to work for him, I knew that had been his one reservation. He had a policy against hiring pack members, preferring to employ lone Alphas. Payne knew full well that pack loyalty would always trump company loyalty.
The Kalenkovs were a little different. My nephews and I didn’t function as a pack, but we were still family. I regretted any trouble I’d caused for Leo and the others. But, I would never regret acting to protect my mate, no matter the fallout.
I decided to launch into it head-on.
“Look,” I said. “I know I left a mess in my wake back in Virginia.
There were probably better ways to handle Jason Soren that wouldn’t have caused so much turmoil.”
Payne kept his focus on the street below. “It’s generally bad for business to kill the client, yes.”
I winced. I knew this was coming. My main objective today was to keep the heat on me and away from my family. I could start again. I loved working for Wolfguard more than anything I’d ever done. And, it brought me to Willow. I owed Payne so much.
“He would have killed Willow. She was the client the moment we were hired.”
“And she’s your mate,” Payne said. It wasn’t a question. I knew Leo had filled him in on the highlights of what went sideways in Virginia. Still, he wanted to hear it all from me.
“Yes,” I said, turning to him. “Willow Rousseau is my fated mate.”
“You’ve marked her,” he said. Again, it didn’t seem like a question.
“I have.”
The corner of Payne’s mouth twitched. “Then, I’d say it’s about damn time. I’m happy for you.”
I was gearing up to start my speech. Payne’s smile took me off guard. He put a firm hand on my shoulder.
“I know what it’s like, man, don’t forget. When I met my wife, Lena, well...let’s just say it wasn’t the most convenient time for either of us to get too attached.”
I knew a little about Payne’s mate, Lena. She worked in the Louisville headquarters. Along with Payne and her shifter brother, Mac, Lena had been one of the heroes of the War for Kentucky. They had freed the shifters of the state from a ruthless Tyrannous Alpha a few years back.
“I’m glad you did what you did,” Payne said. “And I’m sorry it was my orders that put you in the position to do it.”
I was floored. I came here fully expecting a dressing down.
“Payne, I don’t know what to say.”
He let out a great sigh. “Val, you remind me of me. You don’t let too many people close. I know your family went through some things back in Russia before you came over. And I know how important your family is to you. It’s one of the reasons I hired you. And it’s the main reason I think it’s time for you to take on a partnership role.”
