“You’re gorgeous, Brat,” he swallowed thickly, sliding his hands to my hips.
He didn’t move me, but then he didn’t need to. I was slowly rocking my body against his, creating a delicious friction that was building a dangerous storm within me. I could sense his need, his pleasure growing with mine. I could also feel his desire to shove me down, sink his teeth into my shoulder, and unleash hell on my pussy.
Instead, he studied me, discovering my pleasure. This was the first time I’d had any semblance of control during our couplings. I’d never fully participated, and he was learning me as surely as I was learning him. His hands lifted, cupping and squeezing my breasts as his thumb trailed over their hardened, puckered tips. The slight stimulation sent my hips thrusting faster. My need to come took over, and I moaned unabashedly while finding the perfect beat for both of us.
“Oh, God,” I moaned, moving faster, the orgasm growing until it pulsed through me. My thighs clenched, and one of his hands lowered, slowly rubbing his fingers against my clit. Everything unfurled, and my noises turned wild and untamed as the wolf within me joined the fray of our bodies.
“Good girl,” he urged, rocking up to meet each thrust of my hips, still rolling as I came around him. He didn’t do what he wanted to, which was to roll me beneath him and pound his own need into my core.
Instead, he moved his hips, holding me up while my body grew heavy with the release. Saint continued using my hips to drive the pace I’d held, forcing me toward the edge of the abyss once more. I leaned over him, claiming his mouth in a hungry kiss, filled with urgency. His tongue parted my lips, claiming dominance of my tongue when it found his. Rolling us over, he leaned up, breaking the kiss, driving into my body with slow precision. Each thrust hit the spot within me that had me begging him for more.
“Fuck, that feels good,” I moaned, peering up at him. His stare pierced my soul, holding me helpless and prisoner as his pretty gaze swallowed me whole.
“I’ve dreamed of this a million times, Brat. Never in my wildest dreams did you feel this good beneath me. We fit perfectly together,” he whispered huskily, driving into my body slower and deeper than he’d ever gone before.
The muscles in Saint’s shoulders bunched tightly, and sweat beaded on his brow. His mouth tightened as he increased his pace, hitting my spot perfectly until I was writhing beneath him. My hands twisted the bedsheets as everything erupted, and he tensed above me, slamming home into my core as he released within me. He lowered his body against mine, and the only sound inside the bedroom was the soft rhythm of our combined heavy breathing.
“Holy shit,” he grunted, kissing my throat and the soft hollow column of my neck. He dragged his mouth over it, kissing my shoulder where the faded claiming mark remained. Saint was already growing hard within me, and my hands released the sheet to push through his hair, holding him to me. “It’s going to be a long night, Brat. I enjoy your body immensely. You don’t appear to be finding it a hardship to be mated, either.”
“Not at all,” I admitted as he lifted his head, peering down at me. “Fucking you isn’t a hardship. It’s when you open your mouth that I want to ride it to keep it closed. Maybe I should try it the next time you say something stupid. It’s much more pleasant when I’m fucking it.”
“Same, I prefer your lips busy on my cock, Brat. Now, shut your pretty mouth, or I’ll fuck it until those lips are too swollen to move,” he chuckled, thrusting into me hard, causing a gasp of shock to explode from my throat. “Fuck, you make the sexiest noises when you’re getting fucked. I might just tie your sexy ass up to this bed and fuck you for days.”
“There’s that mouth of yours again. Why don’t you shut up and do what we both want you to do? Come on, Saint. Fucking wreck me. I want you to fuck me like I’m your dirty little plaything and not your fucking mate,” I hissed huskily, wrapping my legs around his waist to force him deeper into my body.
“Gods damn, Brat. You’re fucking hot when you get turned on,” he murmured, slamming into me as a strangled cry exploded from my throat. “Remember, you fucking asked for it. I’m just asshole enough to give it to you. Now, hold on and close those pretty lips. You only speak if it’s to scream my name or cry when this pretty pussy comes for me. Got it, dirty little girl?”
“Saint, move bitch,” I demanded, watching his mouth open with surprise as a heated, wicked look burned in his pretty blue gaze.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sitting inside the library, I lifted my eyes to find Eryx leaning against the door, facing the hallway. It had been days since the heat cycle had ended, and with every passing day, Saint lowered his guard a little more. We’d spent every night together, but during the day, he slipped away to do whatever it was that he and his men were working on below, in my father’s apartment.
I knew that Saint still planned to move us into my father’s rooms, but I had no intention of allowing it to ever happen. I’d seen enough of his quarters to last me a lifetime, and the nightmares of them still haunted me. Bad dreams had woken me again last night, drenched in sweat with sobs escaping my throat. Saint had held me through it, which had pissed me off even more than waking up from the hauntingly painful dream.
Turning the page of my book, I read what Toralei had written between the words. We’d started leaving messages inside books, placing them where they wouldn’t draw attention. Picking up the pen, I lifted my gaze to make sure that Eryx continued watching the hall as I jotted down my answer to her plan. The moment he looked over his shoulder, I closed the book. Setting it aside on the coffee table, I stretched out on the sofa I’d pushed in front of the fireplace.
When he turned to check on me, I sat up, sipping my tea. Moving my legs over the edge of the couch, I pushed the blanket off before returning to the shelves. Plucking out another book, I replaced the one we had used for today’s messages back onto the shelf where it belonged.
Saint’s heady scent of bergamot and sage hit me before he entered the library. Ignoring him, I proceeded to pick out a few volumes of random tomes before carrying them back to the fireplace. He lounged in the chair beside the small sofa, watching as I reclined once more, peering over my stack of books.
“You’re early for a booty call,” I informed, watching his eyes slide from the flames to hold my glare. “Something happen?”
“No, just wanted to see your smiling face,” he admitted, standing to move to where I sat. He picked up my legs, sitting beside me. “The infirmary says it is low of supplies. They mentioned you normally handled ordering the needed medicine and herbal combinations for the pack.”
“Indeed,” I stated, not bothering to elaborate. “I’m sure you’ll manage it.”
“You’d let your pack suffer because they hurt your pride?” he asked, leaning his head back to close his eyes.
I studied the stubble on his jawline, tightening my grip on the book as my fingers itched to touch him. He looked exhausted, which I knew was from running ragged to secure what the pack of over one hundred and fifty wolves would need to last through the winter.
“They don’t deserve my help, and neither do you, Saint,” I replied after a moment had passed. His eyes opened, and he turned, staring at me through narrowed slits that both condemned and studied me.
“They hurt your feelings. Get over it. They’re your pack, Brat. They’re our pack, and they suffer when we fail to provide for them.”
“They are your pack now, and they’ll suffer when you fail to provide for them,” I corrected, opening the book, pulling my legs away from him. Or at least, I tried to. He held them tightly, running his fingertips between my thighs.
“You mixed the herbs, and you are the only person here who knows which of them won’t kill people.”
“May I suggest you use the assholes in the pack as test subjects when you try your mixture out at first? Trial and error are tricky at best, and more often than not, someone has to be the test-dummy. Best not to put wolfsbane into anything, t
hough, unless you want them to be very sick,” I chuckled, knowing I was pissing him off. I was being petty, but neither he nor the pack actually wanted me here anymore.
Saint intended to take my child because I’d heard from enough people in the pack that had started going out of their way to make sure I knew where I stood with them. As far as I was concerned, they could all fuck off and die.
“It snowed outside today,” he stated, which made my heart clench.
Rolling my eyes, I wetted my finger to turn the page. He continued staring at me, forcing my gaze to meet his in silent challenge. He reached over, taking the book from me to close it, and set it aside. He lowered his head, kissing the inside of my thigh, and I watched him, closing off my emotions as heat pooled in my center.
“How old were you when you began leading the pack behind your father’s back?” He shocked me by asking, causing my eyes to narrow on his dark head. “I have spoken to the alphas, and I admit, I am impressed by you, Brat. You’d stated that you took over, but according to Jim, you began helping with things at the age of eight. You weren’t even a teenager, and most eight year olds spend their days chasing butterflies. You provided for an entire pack.”
“My father cared little if his people starved or if they got sick through the long winter on the mountain,” I admitted, stifling the moan his playful bite forced to my throat. “You could have just asked me, but then you’d have called me a liar, anyway.”
“What is in the herbs that you feed the children to stop their aggression?” he continued, pushing his fingers past my panties, sliding one fingertip against my entrance.
“We’re in a public place, and Eryx is literally a few feet from us, Saint. Behave and stop trying to use sex to get your answers. You can figure it out yourself and try that mixture on adults first, so it won’t harm the children when you fuck it all up,” I snapped, pushing his hand away from my sex that clenched with need.
“Have you been to the infirmary for your test?” he changed tactics. “Our children may need that mixture, considering they’ll be stuck with us as parents.”
I snorted, watching the smirk that tugged at his lips before he blew a heated breath against my sex. “That’s a low blow, Saint.”
“Chaos has asked to see you,” he announced, watching my face. “He misses you, strangely enough. He insists you raised him and that you’re the only one who ever cared enough to tend him when he was little. Did you fall in love with my son, Brat?”
My heart thundered against my ribcage as tears burned my eyes. “That’s really low, Saint,” I snapped, unable to hide the emotion that made my voice sharp.
“He attacked three kids today because they spoke ill of you.”
“Is he okay?” I asked, watching his features smooth out, revealing nothing of how he felt. “Saint, is Chaos okay?”
“He kicked all three of their asses, and then Sian broke up the fight when their parents showed up. He got lucky, Braelyn. He informed us that you were his protector and that I’d stolen that away from him right before he attacked me.” I laughed, pride blossoming in my chest at the boy I’d raised. “You find it funny that he attacked his friends for speaking ill about you?”
“I find it funny that he attacked you for stealing me from him. Look at it from his point of view, Saint. You came in and took away the only person he trusts. I can understand your need to get to know your son, but I am all he has known since he was a toddler. You are a stranger to him.”
“I know that I am, Braelyn. I didn’t know he existed, and I know you claim to have tried to find me, but that’s hard for me to believe,” he snapped.
“Well, I did,” I argued. “I searched for an entire year for you. I spent resources that I didn’t have to spend, trying to get you back here to take Chaos away from here. I was terrified of what would happen if my father figured out that you were Chaos’s father. But my father didn’t bother himself with the pack, and your son made it very easy to love him.” That was the truth.
“And now he’s fighting me to see you,” he stated, watching me. “Help me with the medicine, Braelyn.”
“The pack doesn’t want my help, Saint. They turned against me because of you, and now you’re asking me to save them? Think about that. I have spent my entire life sacrificing everything for the pack. I put them above myself and my needs. The first time someone comes in with baseless accusations, without any fucking proof, they turn against me. I know,” I exclaimed, sitting up to look him in the eye. “Find a new side-piece. I’ve already heard from the pack that once you choose one, she will help you raise our child. I’m certain if you two put your heads together, you’ll figure it all out without my help.” I rose, leaving him and the library as anger pulsed through me.
I had less than twenty-four hours left in this place, and I didn’t intend to spend it dwelling over what the pack needed or didn’t need. Chaos didn’t need the concoction of herbs. He was a healthy young wolf who would one day be an alpha. He didn’t need his nature suppressed because his mother was a shifter, just like his dad. Chaos would be fine now and under the protection of his biological father. On the other hand, I had to escape his father, and I was quickly succumbing to his soft kisses and easy touches meant to seduce me.
Saint was like his son, easy to fall in love with when he turned on the charm. He’d been doing it each night, and every time he tried, I fell a little further into the trap he’d laid. It was time to get away from Saint, and with winter at our doorstep, he wouldn’t be able to get to me until spring, even if he tried.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Inside the bedroom, I brushed my hair nervously. I’d packed a bag and tossed it out the window early enough to ensure Tora had been the one to grab it and hide it with hers. Tomorrow, we’d be leaving this place and escaping the mountain before the first heavy snow hit it, which was forecasted for tomorrow night. I intended to leave before nightfall which excited and terrified me.
I’d never been off the mountain. Harold had forbidden it, which was why my mother hadn’t fled this place to bring help to free the pack. Maybe if she hadn’t been pregnant with my sister or had me, she would have been bold and run from this place.
Fear was daunting, and the idea of leaving the only home I’d ever known was terrifying. Under the guise of being Saint’s mate, living my life here with no power or control was one thing. Living here while he and someone else raised our children? Fuck that noise. I wouldn’t be that girl any longer, the one who allowed her life to be controlled by a dictator.
I’d lived that life to protect the pack from Harold’s hatred and resentment toward them for not respecting him or his position. The pack had remained here for my mother and then me. Leif had confirmed what I’d suspected. Fenrir would protect the land because my mother’s soul had been freed here, and her body placed into the ground. I wasn’t the only thing keeping this place blessed by the wolf god.
My father and his devoted followers had lied about it. Little about my father shocked or surprised me. He was a monster, and he’d forced his claim on my mother. He’d seduced her, and then when she refused him, he’d raped her. She had lost the man who had been her soul mate before they’d finished the claiming. Then my dad stepped into the picture.
I wouldn’t have been shocked if it had been by Harold’s design that the young mate to my mother had met an untimely death before he’d been old enough to finish the claiming ceremony. Our people were often either too early or too late to claim their mate. Being immortal, it happened a lot more than it should have.
Toralei had arranged our escape, but to see it through, we’d have to take down my babysitter, whoever the unlucky prick may be on duty tomorrow. I’d packed clothing and a few other essentials that wouldn’t be missed in the morning. I was leaving behind this life, along with everything I had built for myself, to start fresh in a new town, in a new country.
The door to the room opened, and I shifted my attention as Saint entered. His e
yes searched me out, his scent reaching me before he did. Standing behind me, he watched me brush through my dark hair. He lowered his lips, placing a soft kiss on the top of my head before he smiled.
“I won’t have anyone other than us raise our babies, Brat. I’d never allow that to happen.” He moved into the bathroom when I didn’t respond. “Come shower with me.”
“I’m ready for bed,” I returned, slowly walking toward the bathroom.
He stripped out of his clothes, tossing them into the basket that sat beside the shower. My attention roamed over his body, memorizing every sinful curve of it. I latched onto every tattoo and every rippling cord of muscle that covered him. The scent that was uniquely his held me prisoner. My throat tightened, knowing that to escape him, I’d have to ignore the emotion his presence and scent caused within me.
How ironic was it that the one person I’d prayed to return was the one I was now fleeing?
Saint had come home, but it wasn’t because he’d wanted me. It was because he’d wanted to remove me from power along with my father. He’d placed me into the same category of a monster as Harold, even though he had no proof.
I’d wanted him to come back and believe that I wasn’t involved in what happened to him. How hard was it to look at my deeds and see me for who I was? I got that Saint had been hurt, but I’d suffered longer and harder than any of the others. I’d lived through my father’s torture until a year ago when I’d been freed from him. It had been a bloody showdown, and the only reason Harold had stopped was because of who had shown up to defend me.
Since then, I’d been on borrowed time, and every day I waited for my father to murder me or to send me away. I’d planned to take the pack from him, but Saint and his people had shown up, ruining it all. I’d been so close to freedom and bringing down Carlson and my father that I’d tasted it. Carlson wouldn’t have left our mating tent alive, and the pack would have backed my plan the moment all hell broke loose.
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