The Helheim Wolf Pack Novellas: The Complete Collection

by Dawes, Lauren

  He kissed her shoulder. “Good morning,” he said in a sleep-heavy voice.

  “Morning.” Turning to face him, she touched his face, his jaw, his mouth. “Sleep okay?”

  “The first truly restful night I’ve had in a while.”

  The way he confessed that to her made her want to dig a little deeper, but she stayed quiet. “Plans for today?”

  His eyes heated as he’d clearly thought of something he wanted to occupy his time. “I have a few ideas. What about you?”

  “I was supposed to meet Steph for brunch to try and plan out this bachelorette party of hers.”

  “I thought the bride wasn’t supposed to be involved in that.”

  “Then clearly, you do not know my sister. She’s a control freak and needs to be involved. Otherwise, I’d never hear the end of it.”

  Leaning forward, he captured her mouth with his, lingering there. “I suppose I should let you get out of bed then.”

  Darcey looked at the clock on the side table. It was a little after nine, and she was meeting Steph at eleven. “I have about an hour to spare.”

  “I can work with an hour,” he replied, placing his hands between her thighs and finding her pussy wet and ready for his brand of distraction.

  * * *

  Darcey floated into the café where she said she’d meet Steph at a few minutes past eleven.

  Her sister looked up from the menu when she saw her, a grin forming on her face. “You had sex last night.”

  Darcey sat, placing her handbag down beside her. “I did,” she confirmed with a smile.

  Steph dropped the menu, giving her all of her attention. “Tell me everything. Who was he? Was he good? Out of ten, where are we sitting?”

  Darcey shook her head and waved the waitress over. “I need coffee first, then I’ll tell you every dirty little detail.”

  “You’d better,” her sister replied, picking up her juice and taking a sip. Steph’s eyes narrowed on her face over the rim. “Jesus, you’re glowing,” she muttered.

  Darcey ordered a coffee and something to eat, while Steph ordered a bowl of muesli with yogurt and fresh fruit. “God, Steph, it was amazing,” she said.

  “I know. I can tell by your face… so, spill it, now.”

  She could feel her mouth curl into a smile as she thought of Oliver. “His name is Oliver, and he’s the best I think I’ve ever had. We just fit, you know? It’s like I’ve known him my whole life.”

  Her sister nodded, a dreamy look in her eyes. Darcey had gotten used to that when Juan first came on the scene. Time and comfort had diminished that ‘first time’ glow, but she knew Steph loved him deeply.

  “How many times did he make you come?”

  A blush crept up her cheeks. “Four, maybe five times over the course of the night.”

  “Damn, girl. Hang onto that one. Most men are a one-and-done kind of thing. Even then, sometimes it’s not you getting the one.” Steph laughed. “I’m so happy you found someone, though.”

  “It’s not like we’re getting married or anything here, Steph. It’s just sex.”

  So why did marriage sound exactly like what she wanted?

  “Uh-huh. Do you have his number? Are you seeing him again?”

  Darcey got distracted by the arrival of her coffee. After taking that first blissful sip, she placed her cup back down. “Tonight.”

  Steph’s smile was smug. “He’s so into you.” At Darcey’s raised brows, she added, “Why else would he want to see you again so soon?”

  “Because I have a dazzling personality.”

  “Well, that’s a given,” Steph reasoned. “But a man only interested in getting into your panties wouldn’t arrange to see you again so soon… unless you’re only meeting him to have more outrageously unfair, mind-blowing sex.”

  Darcey’s heart thrummed against her ribcage. “We’re actually meeting up for dinner.”

  Her sister nodded like Darcey had just revealed the biggest, yet worst-kept secret in the world. “Ah. Okay. Yes, he’s so into you, then.”

  Stephanie’s words really hit her then. If Oliver was into her, and he was looking for a serious relationship, she had to be honest with him. She was all up for something more with him, but if he had grand plans for a family or something, then she should stop it all now.

  “What are you overthinking?”

  Picking up her coffee cup, Darcey noticed the slight shake in her hand as she brought the ceramic cup to her mouth. “Nothing,” she whispered.

  Steph’s brows drew down. “Are you sure? The same thing happened last night when we told you we were pregnant.”

  Shit. Shit. She thought she’d hidden that ache from her sister. Sunday morning after amazing sex was not the time to discuss this, but maybe Steph could give her some insights.

  “Ah, I… can I ask you something?”

  The air between them shifted into something tense. Reaching across the table, Steph took her hand. “Of course. You know you can ask or tell me anything.”

  Darcey braced herself. Sucked in a breath. Exhaled. “Okay, so you know how Zac cheated on me? Well, I didn’t tell you that I was the one to drive him to it.”

  Steph’s jaw almost unhinged, she had opened it that wide. “How? What are you talking about?”

  Darcey’s gaze dropped to the table, searching for something that would make this easier. “Umm… Jesus, this is so hard.”

  “Whatever it is, I’ve got you. Always.”

  Okay. Yeah. She could do this. This was her sister. There was nothing but unconditional love between them. “I can’t have children. We went through all the tests, and it just wasn’t going to happen naturally. The fault was on my end. I have no viable eggs. I knew Zac wanted to have a family, and all the frustration and anger at myself transferred to Zac. One night, after a particularly bad fight, I told him to go fuck around on me, to get some other woman pregnant if that’s what he wanted.”

  Steph covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes widening. “Oh, Darcey…”

  She held up her hand, so she could get all the story out. “So, he did. And he did. His one-night stand was with a girl from his work who he was attracted to. He’d never acted on it because we were married, but we were in such a bad place…” She signed.

  “He got her pregnant, then kept seeing her behind my back. I didn’t know he’d knocked her up. I just thought he was cheating on me. One day, the woman came to my work, her huge belly saying everything I needed to know without her having to open her mouth. She told me about everything… every little tryst they had, every stolen moment when Zac was away on a business trip. Every “boys’ trip” he ever went on was just him staying at her place and them screwing around.”

  “God, what a bitch.”

  Darcey opened her mouth to respond when their food arrived. She began eating her three-stack after drowning her pancakes in syrup and whipped butter. After her first mouthful, she felt more bolstered by the caloric injection.

  “What did you do then?” Steph scooped some of her muesli onto her spoon, adding some of the yogurt and fruit.

  “I confronted him. He said he wanted a divorce. He even said he’d put infertility down as the grounds for divorce.”

  “What a fucking joke,” her sister muttered.

  Darcey shrugged. “Whatever. If that made him feel better about what he did, he was welcome to the excuse. But, Steph, I feel like I drove him to it, you know?”

  “Because you told him to cheat on you when you were both fighting and screaming at each other?” She snorted. “Whatever’s said in the heat of the moment isn’t real. That’s only emotions coming out in an ugly way. If you’d calmly told him he should go and see other people over dinner, well, then that would be a different story. You didn’t want him to stray. You wanted a baby with him.”

  Darcey chewed her mouthful of pancake thoughtfully. The events that led to their divorce nearly three years ago didn’t hurt as much as they had, but they still stung. She felt inadequate as
a woman. She couldn’t perform the basic function of bearing children, and if she couldn’t do that, why would any man want her? Fuck, she sounded just like Zac. He had hurled those exact words at her when she went to get his signature on the divorce papers. Even though he’d threatened to file, he hadn’t, mainly because he had no grounds, but she did.

  Officially, they split because of adultery.

  And she knew that drove him crazy.

  “I don’t want to talk about that douchebag, Zac, anymore,” Steph grouched.

  “Neither do I, honestly.”

  “Good. Back to Oliver then. What are we giving him out of ten?”

  Darcey shivered a little at the memory of how he made her feel. She was cherished by him. Every touch, every sweep of his tongue was designed to give her pleasure. “Solid twelve,” she replied, cutting another square of pancakes.

  Steph sighed dreamily. “I want a twelve.”

  Jabbing her pancake-loaded fork at her sister, Darcey said, “You do you have your twelve, Steph. Remember that guy called Juan who knocked you up?”

  Steph waved her hand dismissively. “I know, but you know that feeling of anticipation and nerves when you first start dating someone? When you can’t wait to see them again? When you light up because they called or sent you a message?”

  Darcey nodded because she had that right now.

  “I want that back. Don’t get me wrong, Juan is the man for me, but sometimes I wish we could go back to those first few months together when we were screwing like bunnies every chance we got.”

  Pointing at her flat stomach, Darcey said, “It looks like you guys have no trouble in the screwing department.”

  Steph placed her hand protectively over her abdomen, and a pang of longing went through Darcey. “I’m sorry if our news blindsided you. If I’d known you had trouble falling pregnant, I would’ve told you in private… not in a restaurant filled with people.”

  “You shouldn’t have to censor your happiness because of my baggage,” Darcey reasoned. “I want to know every good thing in your life.”

  “Okay,” her sister whispered, reaching across the table to take her hand again. “Now, what are your thoughts on this bachelorette party?”

  Chapter Nine

  “So, how was your date with Amy,” Casey asked, plopping down onto the couch beside Oliver about an hour after he got home from Darcey’s place. He’d showered right away, unwilling to let any of his family know he’d been with a woman. He wasn’t ashamed of her, but he wasn’t quite ready for all the questions. He’d never talked about a female before, and he’d certainly never dated.

  Returning home, smelling of her lips and perfume would be like a red rag to a bull… or a werewolf, in this case.

  Oliver glanced at Casey briefly before looking back at the TV. “Fine.”

  “Yay! What did you talk about?”

  Shit. He didn’t want to keep up this pretense. “Her studies, my work, you.”

  “Me?” She turned her body toward him, gesturing for him to keep talking. “Well, don’t leave me hanging.”

  “Don’t you have some studying to do or something?”

  “Nope. I’m all caught up. Plus, it’s Sunday. So, spill. I want to know everything.”

  Stifling his groan, Oliver turned the TV off and gave her his full attention. “She’s a great girl, but there wasn’t a spark or anything there.”

  “If there was no spark, then where the hell were you all night?”

  Fuck. “Just out.”

  Casey’s green eyes narrowed on his face. “You were with another woman!”

  Lunging across the couch, he threw his hand over her mouth, but her smiling eyes said it all. She knew, and she wasn’t going to leave him alone until he told her something. “If you keep your voice down, I’ll tell you a little bit about her.”

  When she nodded, he lowered his hand.

  “I want to know ev-ery-thing, Oliver,” she replied in a sing-song voice. “Or I’ll go and tell Mom, and she can badger you for the details. Would you rather she know or I know?”

  “I’d rather neither of you knew since this is my private business.”

  “Well, that ain’t happening.” Her smile was almost splitting her face in two. “Spill.”

  Oliver weighed up his options—oh, who the fuck was he kidding. With Casey, there was only one option. “Her name is Darcey.”

  “I already love her,” she gushed. “Where did you meet?”

  “Wait. You aren’t pissed that Amy and I didn’t hit it off?”

  She waved his question away. “I’m just glad you met someone.”

  Well, didn’t that make him sound like a fucking recluse? At least he didn’t have a hump and live in a belltower. Got to look at the positives, right?

  “Oliver, in case you haven’t noticed yet, I’m dying here. Where did you meet her?”

  “I actually saw her at The Bellbird that night after your Pilates class, then I ran into her again at the restaurant when I was with Amy.”

  “It was serendipitous,” his sister said on a sigh.

  Oliver rolled his eyes. “Anyway, after dinner with Amy was over, I bumped into her again.” He felt bad about omitting some of the finer details, but there had to be some secrets between them. “We went for a drink, then back to her place.”

  Reaching out, she gave him a high-five, which he was reluctant to give. Celebrating sleeping with a woman with his sister was just plain weird, but that was Casey. She wormed her way into your business, whether you wanted her there or not.

  “When will you see her again?”

  “Tonight.”

  “Shit is getting serious!”

  “No, Casey.” He shook his head. “We’re just spending time together right now.”

  “And what about your wolf? What does he think?”

  He didn’t want to tell his sister that his wolf had already claimed her. That old familiar guilt began to claw at him, the one that stemmed from the fact that Casey will probably never get to experience this feeling again. Talking about his happiness only made the hollow in his chest where his regret sat ache.

  Casey cleared her throat and said softly, “It’s okay, you know.” She cast her eyes down to where she was tracing a pattern into the velvety nap of the suede couch. “You’re allowed to be happy. You’re allowed to find your mate.” When she looked up again, her eyes were haunted, but she forced a smile. “I want that for you.”

  He swallowed convulsively. Emotions so raw and deep clawed up his throat, but he shoved them back down, down, down into that meat locker inside his heart where he didn’t have to feel them anymore.

  “It happens so quickly,” she told him softly, dropping her gaze back to the couch. “In an instant.”

  Fuck. Unwilling to let her get stuck in her own head again, he pulled her into his side, throwing an arm over her shoulder. “Don’t retreat again, Case,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head. “Stay with me here.”

  “I’m fine.” But her broken whisper said something different. She wasn’t okay, and he suspected she wouldn’t be until she found someone who could love her for her—scars and all. “I’m just so happy you’ve found your mate.” Pulling away from him, she asked, “Does she know you’re a werewolf?”

  “You know what? It didn’t come up in conversation,” he replied dryly, hoping to lighten the mood just a little. He hated that haunted look in her eyes.

  She gave him a weak smile. “You know what I mean. Are you going to tell her?”

  Was he? He couldn’t imagine a situation where revealing he got furry and fangy whenever he wanted was ever going to come up in conversation.

  “I don’t know. I mean, if there’s an opportunity, I should, I guess, but I have to know she’s not going to freak out on me.”

  Lifting herself from the couch, she patted his shoulder. “You’ll know if the time is right.”

  The thing was, there probably never was a good time to reveal he was one of the things that went
bump in the night.

  * * *

  Later that night, Oliver knocked on Darcey’s apartment door and waited. He’d been unable to get her out of his head the whole day, his wolf driving him crazy with the number of times he flashed him an image of them together from the night before.

  With a groan, he rearranged his dick and prayed they wouldn’t stay too long at the restaurant after dinner was done. He needed to be inside her again.

  “Hi,” Darcey said when she opened the door. She was wearing a flowy black dress, the skirt hitting her just above her knee. On her feet were a pair of strappy heels that made her slender legs look fucking edible. When he finally returned his attention to her face, her gaze was traveling down his body, lingering on his hips. His cock jumped, and she bit her full bottom lip.

  He was on her in the next breath, surging forward and backing her into her apartment. He flicked the door shut with his foot as he kissed her, licking into her mouth when she moaned. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body into his. Lifting her by her thighs, he wrapped her legs around his waist and walked them down to her bedroom.

  Placing her on the bed, he shoved up her dress and drew down her panties, revealing that beautiful place between her thighs to him. With a growl, he leaned down and feasted on her, slicing his tongue through her wet folds. She writhed beneath him, her hands on his head, her nails digging into his scalp. When he sensed she was close to the edge, he slid one finger into her wet heat, feeling her inner muscles clamping down on the digit. She came hard, calling out his name as she fell into ecstasy.

  Stripping out of his shirt and ripping open the fly of his jeans, he shoved them both to the floor and crawled up her body. He entered her with a hard thrust, burying his face in her neck with a groan. Darcey banded her arms around his shoulders, fingers digging in, her nails cutting his flesh. He began to move inside her, his hips surging and retreating, creating the kind of friction that would catapult them both into the euphoric state he’d been thinking about since the night before.