by Kallie Frost
Then, I reached down and wrapped a hand around his dick, and started slowly pumping. Rion gasped and jerked his hips, in time with my strokes. I couldn't resist a groan. Thanks to the true mate bond, we could experience each other's pleasure. It wasn't quite as powerful, but it felt almost as if he was the one jerking me off. A moment later, that's exactly what he was doing. And we swiftly entered into some sort of intense shared pleasure feedback loop. I could feel his pleasure as I stroked him, and it only intensified my own pleasure over again.
I hardly noticed when he carefully slid a finger into my already slick ass. I couldn't even remember what it was like to have sex as a normal human anymore. The natural omega lubrication was exponentially better than anything manmade. Not only that, but it was already there, ready and waiting when we needed it. No fumbling around for lube, or worse going without it. Being able to feel my mate’s pleasure along with me was just indescribable. It made the best sex I ever had as a human downright dull. In fact, it made it forgettable. I couldn't say when my best time before Rion even was. Now, the best sex I ever had was every single subsequent time we did it together. It only seemed to get better and better. When he first told me that we'd be immortal, and mated for life, and never get sick of each other I really couldn't picture it. But at this rate, it seemed like every day would only get better.
I gasped as Rion worked in a second finger. As he did, he ran his the fingers of his other hand through my hair, palming the back of my head and drawing me even deeper into our kiss. I ran my hands down his back, teasing and tickling as the water ran over us. His fingers brushed against something deep inside me and I arched against him with a cry, as pleasure jolted through me. He stiffened and gasped against my lips, and I knew he was feeling it too. He urged one of my legs up around his waist, and I complied, trusting him to hold me, even though the floor was slippery. He urged his fingers in a little deeper, and I could feel him scissoring them, stretching me.
“Are you ready?” he breathed, his voice deep and husky.
“For you? Always,” I replied.
He grinned and moved his hand from my head to my butt, urging my other leg up as well. I pushed off in a small jump, and reached up with one hand to grab on to the window ledge. It took a little doing, but we had started getting rather good at this. Soon enough, I could feel the head of his cock nudging against me. Slowly, almost too slowly, he pushed in. I gasped in delight as I felt him slide deeper and deeper. I tightened my legs around his hips, as if I could draw him in even further. We moaned as one, each of us feeling the strange mixed pleasure from our bond. Thanks to that same bond, he knew the moment I was ready, and began slowly thrusting in and out. With one hand holding me up, he reached down with his other and began to stroke me. I dropped my forehead down onto his shoulder with a shudder as his fist worked up and down my cock. He hit just the right spot with his own and I gasped and bit him on the shoulder. He threw back his head, letting out a soft howl.
I turned my head and bit again, this time directly over the small set of fang puncture scars on his collarbone, exactly where I had one; the only marks on our otherwise perfect shifter skin. It was the place where we had marked each other, and it connected us. Rion cried out as a jolt of pleasure ripped through both of us as I touched the mark. I bit a little harder – not nearly as hard as I had when I originally made the mark, of course – but he shuddered and rocked against me nonetheless. It was nearly enough to send both of us over the edge. Each one of Rion's thrusts became a little shorter, and I could feel the pressure building as his knot swelled within me. Too late, I realized we had passed the point where I usually had my feet back on the ground, as we changed positions. Too late now.
Rion’s breath quickened, and he began to thrust faster. Each thrust seemed a little shorter and a little harder. The pleasure built within me and I tightened my grip on his shoulders, and released the windowsill, now being held up by nothing but my mate. He released my cock and grabbed onto my butt with both hands, thrusting in and out as far as his knot would allow. It didn't matter that he wasn't touching me anymore, feeling the pleasure coursing through him was more than enough. We cried out together. And somewhere in my soul, I could feel my wolf howling with joy, even as I did.
Rion sagged against the wall, catching himself with one hand just before my head hit it. I sighed and leaned back the last couple of inches, resting my head against the cool tiles. We stayed like that, breathing hard, recovering, until I noticed his legs were shaking.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I'm wonderful,” he said. He tugged and I felt an almost painful pressure as his knot pulled against me.
“Are we stuck like this?” I asked with a chuckle.
“No,” he said petulantly.
I heard whining coming from the other room. “I think Vee's waking up,” I said.
Rion looked at me in alarm. “That's a problem.” He tugged again, and I gasped, this time from the pain. “I'm sorry,” he said quickly.
“It’s okay,” I said. “Just think, you know, not happy thoughts.”
“Sorry,” he said again. Before I could tell him he didn't have to apologize, I usually quite enjoyed his alpha knot, he reached behind him and twisted the water to cold. I yelped as it hit my skin, and he angled himself to shield me from it.
“That,” I said with a shiver, “you can apologize for.”
He laughed and kissed me on the forehead. “I love you, Elliott.”
“I love you too, Rion.”
A moment later he pulled again, and this time slid out easily. I returned my feet safely to the slippery bathtub floor. Rion turned the water back to a better temperature.
“I'll go get her while you clean up,” he offered.
“Thanks, love.”
He climbed out of the shower and a moment later I heard the crying get louder, as the bathroom door opened.
“I'm coming, sweet puppy girl. I'm coming!” he called.
I waited, wondering whether or not I actually wanted to soap up or hurry out there. But in just a few moments Verona had stopped crying. I took my time cleaning off. Keeping an alert ear out for more crying.
Soon enough I joined them. Rion was sitting on the edge of our bed, still wrapped in a towel. Verona was snuggling gently against his chest, sucking her thumb. She had one hand on his bare skin, slowly curling and uncurling her fingers, like she did to me when she nursed.
“She tried to latch on,” Rion told me with a grin.
“I can't imagine she enjoyed that.”
“No,” Rion chuckled. “No, I don't think she did.”
We both laughed and I sat down next to him on the edge of the bed. “Do you want me to take her?” I offered.
“No, you go ahead and get dressed. I've got her.” He bent down a little and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“I don't need to wear anything special to appease your mother do I?” I asked, as I dug through my drawer. “Black and orange?”
Rion laughed. “No, wear anything you like. Special clothing won't be for a couple more months.”
I shot him a curious look, but he only smiled mischievously before returning his attention to Vee. By the time I was done getting dressed, Rion had Verona nearly back to sleep, with some rocking and soft singing. He gently set her in the bassinet and I watched him, feeling an automatic smile tugging at my lips. I couldn't question why he had been watching me do the same thing earlier, there was something so peaceful about watching the man I loved being so caring with our daughter. I couldn't resist smiling. I felt a flood of love and affection that I had never imagined feeling before. Strange, as it still was to feel someone else's emotions, I could sense the same love for our mate from my wolf.
Rion stepped back, watching Vee with his own tender emotions playing across his face, before turning to me with a smile. “What shall we do now?”
“Well, it's your mother's big Halloween. What are we doing now?”
“If I know my mother, the horror
movies are on.”
“Alright,” I said agreeably. “Let's check it out.”
Chapter Four
We went downstairs together, baby monitor clipped to Rion's belt loop. Sure enough, the large TV in the great room was on, playing some sort of black and white, grainy horror movie.
“Ah, classic! I love this one,” Rion said almost immediately.
“What is it?”
“The Mummy. The Boris Karloff version, that is,” he added. “And just starting too.”
“Something tells me you've seen this movie a couple of times,” I teased.
He winked at me and confessed, “I saw it in theaters.”
We sat down on one of the couches to watch.
“Ancient Egyptians: they had the right idea,” Cambry said from the kitchen.
“Cursing mummies?” I asked, as a mummy climbed out of a sarcophagus on the screen, even though I knew what Cambry meant. Unlike his canine cousins, Cambry was a cat shifter.
He snorted at me and waved a jar of spice in my direction. “See if I make you a special coffee.” Nonetheless, he picked up two mugs and carried them across the room. “Worshipping cats,” he clarified, handing me one. “Here.”
I took the mug from him and a mix of spices wafted up at me. “What is it?” I asked. It wasn't that I didn't trust the barista extraordinaire not to give me something delicious, more that I was just curious. Cambry was as skilled at making coffee-based concoctions as Tessa was in baking, and he always had a treat ready to drink. It seemed that his aunt and uncle kept the kitchen well stocked for him.
“It’s my special autumn spice blend,” he said, with a bit of well-deserved smugness. “I was making pumpkin spice lattes back when Starbucks was in garage in Seattle.”
I laughed and took a sip. “Wow,” I said. “This is really good!”
Rion took a sip as well. “I don't taste any pumpkin.” I could tell by his little smirk that he was teasing.
Cambry rolled his eyes and heaved a long-suffering sigh. “Pumpkin spice isn't supposed to have pumpkin in it! That’s not a thing! I can't believe people kicked up a fuss about it!” Still muttering, he turned around and headed into the kitchen.
Tessa couldn't have arrived with better timing. “Oh my god,” she cried. “Don't get me started! Pumpkin Spice is a blend of spices, that you put into a pumpkin pie. It's not supposed to have actual pumpkin in it!” she wailed.
“What have you done?” I asked Rion, who was doing his best not to burst out laughing.
Carrick stuck his head into the kitchen. “Are you guys bitching about that pumpkin spice thing again? Do I need to leave?”
Brooks followed him in, one hand cradled around his belly. “What pumpkin spice thing?”
“Don't ask!” Tessa, Rion, Cambry, and Carrick chorused.
Brooks joined us on the couch. “Oo, The Mummy,” Brooks said appreciatively.
“Catch it in theaters?” asked Carrick.
“I'm not that old,” Brooks snorted, but I could see a small smile playing around the corners of his lips, and had a feeling that he was actually enjoying his newfound youth.
“We saw it, didn’t we?” asked Carrick.
“Right,” Cambry answered.
“I think we all went,” Tessa said. “You know, back when movies weren't something you could conjure up in a snap on your phone.”
“Yeah, if you even had a phone,” Carrick said.
At the same moment Rion began, “Assuming your phone wasn't attached to the wall in your kitchen. With a separate mouthpiece no less!”
While the laughter died down, Cambry fixed up some drinks for the newcomers.
“Decaf Brooks?
“Can we go half-caf?” asked Brooks. “I haven't actually had any yet today, but I might want some more later.”
“Done and done,” Cambry said, not seeming to mind making another pot for just one person.
Carrick watched him for a moment, before saying softly, “I'm glad he's still enjoying the coffee thing.”
The others nodded in agreement. I cast a look across the room at Cambry. From what I gathered, even though he was the youngest in the family, he had been having some trouble during full moons recently. It was a rule of thumb that the older a lone alpha was, the more at risk they were for dying during a full moon. But lonely or depressed alphas had a higher death rate as well. In spite of being surrounded by his loving cousins, it was easy to tell that Cambry was not in the highest of spirits. I had a feeling that seeing Carrick, his best friend, happy with his true mate was bittersweet. I hoped that Cambry would find his own before the worst happened. To make matters worse, his year away was coming up.
The year away was a sort of temporary move that all shifters made roughly every decade or so. After thirteen full moons some sort of shifter magic erased us completely from the minds of any humans who didn't see us during that time. The year away allowed shifters to slip from the memories of the humans they lived and worked near, and then return and continue living in the same place, decade after decade without humans becoming suspicious. In fact, Rion and I met during his year away. Carrick’s was supposed to be coming up soon, as was Cambry’s, although Brooks and the upcoming baby had thrown a bit of a wrench into that. The mixed blessing of the hunter was that the longer we all stayed on the family island, the fewer moons that both Carrick and Camby would have to be away. Naturally, Brooks and the baby would go with Carrick, but knowing what I knew now about babies, they were probably going to be grateful to have the family around for as much of the early months as possible. I just hoped that Cambry would elect not to spend all thirteen moons away if he didn't have to.
A few minutes later, Jacob joined us in the kitchen and said something about making sandwiches. When I first joined the clan, I often found myself insisting that Jacob didn't have to cook on my account. But it quickly became clear, both from observation and my own feelings, that omegas seemed to have a bit of an innate urge to do domestic things for their alphas and their families. I always loved cooking, but I found that I got even more pleasure from it now when I was cooking for Rion, and even his family, than I ever did before. And while cleaning had never been my forte, our room was absolutely spotless. Not only did I enjoy it, I found myself looking for other things to clean. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, Jacob seemed to have that well in hand in his own house. He seemed content to work around all of Verona's over elaborate decorations. I couldn't be sure, but I had a feeling as soon as Halloween was over, everything would come down as quickly as it had gone up and, more likely than not, be replaced by something autumnal.
I wasn't sure whether or not Vee would actually sleep through the entire movie or not, but was pleasantly surprised when she didn't cry until we were already partway through the next movie and the sandwiches were long gone. The second movie of the day was Young Frankenstein, which was a complete reversal from the original Mummy. Fortunately, it was also a movie I knew like the back of my hand, so when Vee did start crying, I had no problem running upstairs to grab her.
Rion met us in the foyer. “Want to go for a little afternoon walk?”
“Sure.”
Even though we couldn't leave the small island, afternoon walks were a nice way to get out of the chaos of the house and take in some fresh air. At a leisurely pace it only took about fifteen minutes to do a complete circle around the island, but it was pleasant. Verona was already dressed, and I had changed her upstairs after her nap, so it was easy to transition her right into the stroller. She fussed a little bit, but by the time I had her strapped in, Rion had returned from the kitchen with a freshly prepared bottle of milk.
We took a lot of time warming up the cold pumped milk at first, but it turned out she was just fine with refrigerated milk. So, that was okay by me. Verona happily sucked away at her bottle and we headed off.
We started off on the side of the island closest to the inhabited Half Moon Island. We were shielded by tall marsh grasses and some fencing. Even thoug
h the island was just over the other side of a small bridge, I could barely see it from here. As we walked along the edge of the grasses, I glanced behind me. Kessel was out for a walk of his own. He wasn't so far away that he couldn't come help if the hunter turned up, but he kept his distance enough that we could enjoy a family walk, without feeling like he was encroaching. After a couple of close calls with the hunter, I welcomed the additional security.
Rion took a turn pushing the stroller, and we ambled along, just enjoying the cool fall weather in the air. We rounded the island to the east side, and an almost chilly wind blew in off the water. There was a barrier island between us and the ocean, which protected us and Half Moon from the bulk of tides and foul weather. I relaxed even more as we walked.
It was a lot more open on this side of the island, and easier to see if a hunter was hiding somewhere. It was also, I hoped, too far from the other island for someone there to be any sort of threat. We walked along on a sandy shore, with the water from the channel gently lapping a few feet away. A heron speared a fish, before catching sight of us and taking flight. Once, I would have wondered what it was like to fly, but now that I had been a wolf rushing through the woods, I found I didn't really fantasize about being able to change into other animals the same way. Sure, flying may have been fun, but racing through the woods with my mate was better.
Soon enough, we were around the island and back where we started. We decided to take a couple more loops before heading in. After a thankfully uneventful walk, we returned to the great room. The movie was just wrapping up, so we settled back in for the next one. I set Verona on her play mat on the floor for a little bit of tummy time, which she was starting to enjoy more and more. I sat down with her and watched her wiggle and play, before finally encouraging her to roll over onto her back. I got the sense of someone watching me and I looked up to see Brooks, with a small smile, unconsciously rubbing his belly with one hand. Even though the idea of a three-month gestation freaked me out at first, I couldn't imagine having to wait nine whole months for my little bundle of joy.
