Her Noble Owl (Marked By The Moon Book 4)

by Kestra Pingree

  Stella placed her teeth over Cedric’s Moon Mark and bit down hard and deep, drawing blood. Cedric grunted and grabbed her ass with his free hand, urging her to move faster and harder. His cock was throbbing and hot inside of her. So close. He was close and so was she. She could feel the pent-up energy about to peak again. Then, at the same time, they burst.

  Cedric’s cock throbbed as he spilled everything into her. The heat of his seed made her tremble, and her sex continued to pulse around him. Cedric was still moving in time with her aftershocks, but Stella began to slow along with the dissipating energy. When Cedric stopped moving, Stella carefully pulled her teeth from his arm. Then she licked away the blood, caressing his skin with her tongue. She hoped it didn’t hurt too much. But she was glad she did it. She could smell that bond they had created. She could feel it, too.

  She licked and licked until the blood stopped coming while Cedric held her in contented silence. They stayed connected. They stayed touching. It was the warmth of their bodies and the love they made that made Stella reluctant to move. She wanted to stay like this.

  “Feel okay?” she asked her snowy owl lover.

  “Perfect,” he replied.

  She let go of his arm and leaned forward to kiss the dip of his neck and tease with her tongue. She was all over this man. And she always would be. Cedric chuckled and rubbed his cheek against the top of her head affectionately. His scruff caught on her hair, and the little tugging sensation made her skin prickle.

  “Why do you do that?” she asked, curious.

  “Mm? Oh, sorry. It’s an owl thing.” He stopped abruptly.

  “I like it.”

  She reached up and rubbed his cheek with hers, enjoying the abrasiveness of his unshaved face on her skin. He played along and then moved on to his nose brushing against hers. It was cute, this owl kind of affection. Then again, this was Cedric she was talking about. She loved everything about the man.

  “I want to stay like this. It’s perfect,” Stella whispered. “I wonder if Rogue, or this Trinity thing, will really be able to keep shifters a secret a while longer. I know it’d be bad if humans found out. Life would probably go to hell again, but I’m not worried about it. Even though I don’t know Rogue or Trinity, you do, and you don’t seem worried about it. What power you have over me, Cedric Snow. Much too much of it.”

  “I’ll only ever use that power for good,” he vowed with a smirk. “Seriously though, I think everything is going to work out somehow. I feel it.”

  He held out his Lunas Sigil, and Stella met him with her own.

  “I feel it too,” she said. “Somehow.”

  “I’m more worried about facing the Snows,” Cedric said the name distantly as if he wasn’t a Snow himself. “It’ll be slow, and they’ll be angry, but maybe we’ll eventually see eye to eye. Hope you enjoyed the money while it lasted because that might get taken away. I’ll make up for it though. I won’t let you and Russel go without.”

  “Your family would take your money away?”

  “They might disown me for all I know.”

  Stella frowned. “They don’t sound like much of a family at all. Forget the money. I don’t care about that. I know we’ll be fine if we work together, but your family…”

  “Is intimidating. Cold. Distant. Snow is a fitting name. Blue Pack, on the other hand, is as warm and welcoming as it gets. They’ve pledged their allegiance to Trinity like Rogue. That’s why I can have so much faith in Rogue and Trinity. I trust the Blue Pack Alpha.”

  “Hm, sounds like you should have been born a wolf, Snow.” She looked at his arm again, making sure the claiming bite she left on his flesh had really stopped bleeding.

  “Stop fussing, Stella,” Cedric chastised. He nuzzled her cheek and palmed her breasts in his hands, circling her nipples with his fingers and coaxing them into hard points.

  “Fine.” She breathed in the sensation of his touch and her eyelids fluttered. “This Blue Pack of yours sounds pretty amazing.”

  Cedric stopped playing with her breasts and started massaging her shoulder blades. “When I take you there, you and Russel can decide for yourselves. If you decide you want to stay there, I’ll buy a house with or without my Snow money.” He smirked. “I’d be the first permanent owl shifter resident and pack member, but there’s a first for everything. Nick, the Alpha, wouldn’t say no.”

  “He must be pretty amazing then. Tyler would never have allowed an owl to join the pack—even when he was a decent Alpha. Nick sounds like a good Alpha for Russel. He doesn’t know what a real wolf pack is like, but I think he’d like it. Does that pack have children?”

  “Not so much. I’m sure some new pack members must have moved families out there by now though, so I don’t know for sure. I know the Alpha’s mate is pregnant.”

  Stella nodded. Obviously, the rarity of new wolf pups had extended far and wide, but it sounded like things were beginning to change again. And she had Russel. She wondered if it meant anything, or if it didn’t mean anything at all.

  “Then again, Cedric,” Stella commented, “in the end, I think you’re all the pack Russel and I need. You have your daughter to think about. If you move away, it’ll be harder to see her.”

  “I’m getting joint custody and I’m going to see Opal either way. If we join Blue Pack, Terry will have to deal with her spending a lot of time away.”

  Stella smiled at his unbending attitude toward his daughter. He wasn’t giving her up to anybody. She was his, just as Russel and Stella were his. She didn’t know how easy it would be to do what he said, but knowing Cedric Snow, he would find a way to make it work regardless.

  “We’ll figure it out,” Stella agreed.

  “Starting with checking out Blue Pack.”

  “Something like that,” she teased. She held him close again, closing the pocket of air between them and enjoying the feel of his smooth skin. “I haven’t had much security for almost half of my life, but I believe you when you say everything is going to be okay. I believe you when you say you’ll fight for the things you want. I know you’ll do it.”

  Her Moon Mark glowed and warmed in response to her happiness. She noticed Cedric’s do the same, and they kissed.

  “I love you, Cedric Snow,” she murmured.

  He smiled against her lips and then chuckled. “Awkward, but I don’t know your full name, Stella.”

  “Hayes. Stella Hayes.” She laughed with him.

  His gaze softened along with his smile. “I love you too, Stella Hayes.”

  Epilogue

  A WEEK LATER.

  Trinity was truly amazing. Cedric had kept calm about the whole shifting on camera thing, but that was for Stella and Russel’s sake. He didn’t think Trinity would actually be able to keep that footage from being released to the public. He was a Snow. Snows had all kinds of power and influence, but even they couldn’t have stopped something like that. It was amazing and terrifying all at once. He had to wonder if Trinity paid people off or threatened them with their lives. In the end, he decided he would prefer not to know the answer to that. This kind of influence and power was the reason why the Snows stayed far away from Trinity in the first place.

  The Snows were stubborn, very set in their ways. Because of that, Terry and Cedric’s divorce was slow going even though he had released Terry and Stella had claimed him. His parents were doing everything they could to fight this decision, and he had made no progress with them. Terry and Opal were still living in the Snow’s Kansas City mansion because of that. Sadly, he knew that would be the case. Because he knew his parents. They wouldn’t be able to strong-arm Terry forever though. Cedric would make sure they let her go so she could live where she wanted to live. There was a slim possibility his parents would eventually understand his decisions, but it was slim. Rumors of their family drama had been spread all over the news seemingly in place of a shifter reveal. There were worse things—like the shifter reveal. But it was still annoying.

  At least there was one goo
d thing happening with the Snows. Cedric convinced his parents to let Nathan keep his position as head of the Crystal Caverns. They conceded he was doing an excellent job, so it didn’t take much convincing, but it earned him some brownie points with Nathan. His brother even offered to help him with anything he might need. That was weird but potentially a good thing because his parents were spitting mad and the chance of him getting cut off from his name and inheritance was getting higher.

  But he wasn’t worried. He had everything he needed and he would make sure his family had what they needed no matter what had to be done. It wasn’t all bad. There were a lot of good things happening too. Terry gave Cedric the best Christmas gift she could have. It made him realize how much he had missed when they were together because she was kind. She was even a friend. She let him take Opal for Christmas. His whole little family was together, and they were in Moonwatch, Idaho for Blue Pack’s first ever Christmas celebration. Silly pack of sheltered wolves. Cedric couldn’t believe they had never celebrated Christmas before but whatever.

  Russel and Opal were fast friends. Russel was a bit shy when he first met Opal, but that didn’t last long. He warmed up to her immediately. Cedric wasn’t sure if they’d be the only kids here, so he was glad they had each other, but Casey, a sort of part-time pack member, had come for Christmas too. That meant he brought his son Cade and the rest of his mate’s family. Opal, Russel, and Cade ran off together to play in the snow. They made up their own little threesome even though there were a handful of other kids there after all. Currently, they were making the biggest snowman they could manage. Russel was the instigator and muscle since he was the oldest. But the fact that a ten-year-old boy, five-year-old girl, and a two-year-old boy could all find something fun to do together was a relief for Cedric.

  He was still new to the kid thing. Of course he was going to worry about shit like that.

  Man, the town looked different though. The place was decked out in rows of lights. They had free hot chocolate and other goodies up for grabs. They even set up a big tree and decorated it with what looked like thousands of ornaments. The thing was dense. Apparently, most of this stuff wasn’t set up until a couple days ago. Talk about cutting it close. Willow, Nick’s sister, was in charge of this celebration, and she wanted everything perfect.

  “You ready?” Stella asked as she leaned into Cedric’s side.

  “No. I’m not good at giving gifts,” he replied.

  “That’s a lie. You gave me and Russel the best gift imaginable.”

  Cedric kissed her to keep her quiet. Stella was too good for him. Maybe he was able to give her and Russel a priceless gift, but that didn’t mean his gift for the Blue Pack Alpha would cut it. Fuck it. He would smooth talk his way through it and use that signature Snow aloofness. He was cold, he was ice, and nothing could hurt him. A lie, for sure, but no one outside of his family needed to know that.

  When the gift exchange started, Cedric took the opportunity to be the first to present the Alpha with a gift. Cold hard cash.

  “Really, Cedric?” Nick asked with a dark eyebrow raised. “I don’t need your money.”

  Cedric smirked. “Take it before I’m cut off from my funds. You’ll make better use of it. Think of it as a donation for all the future shifters you’ll help.”

  “Damn owl.” Nick smirked in return, but he took the money to Cedric’s great relief. “You were a pain in the ass last time you were here, but it’s good to see you again—specifically with your new wolf family. We rubbed off on you.”

  “Something like that.”

  “Hi, Cedric,” Gwen, Nick’s mate, greeted as she walked to his side. “Having fun?”

  “Yeah. How are you?”

  Gwen patted her rounded tummy. “I’m good but can’t wait for this little one to come out already. It’s a bad sign when I feel that way and there’s still like five and a half months to go.” She laughed. “God, I miss my wolf though.”

  “She’s still there,” Nick told her. Then he kissed her.

  “Yeah, but the not shifting part is brutal.”

  Nick gave a small frown, but Gwen wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly. “I’m fine. I can complain once in a while. I’m just venting.”

  Stella walked over and joined Cedric at his side. “Holding your baby for the first time is pretty amazing,” she informed. Russel’s birth was a traumatic experience for Stella. She was alone. She said he had almost died, but she made it through and so did he. Cedric was sure that little miracle of holding him was one of the biggest moments in Stella’s life. She would give her life for Russel in a heartbeat. Her love for him was astounding, and now Cedric had a piece of her love too. Moon above, he was lucky.

  “Your boy is a handsome kid. Sweet too,” Gwen said with a smile.

  Stella beamed. “He is. I’m not sure I would have survived all these years without him.”

  “We’d love to have you in Blue Pack if you think it’s right for you. Even if you decide against it, you’re always welcome here.”

  “Thank you.” Stella gave a submissive dip of her head. “You are a good Alpha, Nick, and you have an excellent mate.”

  “Hell yeah, I do. Half the time she’s running the show. Sometimes I think about handing the title over to her instead. She wouldn’t even need my help.”

  “You do not,” Gwen accused. “You like the power, glory hound.”

  “Hey.” Nick growled playfully and nipped at Gwen’s neck.

  Cedric and Stella had explained their situation to the Alpha and his mate, and they were as receptive as Cedric had hoped.

  Stella laughed at the two alpha wolves playfully bickering as she wrapped her arm around Cedric’s waist. She liked to be close to him, and he was fine with that. He liked to be close to her too.

  “Well, look who it is.”

  The skin on the back of Cedric’s neck prickled. He knew that voice all too well. It was Max, and he had actively been avoiding him since arriving in Moonwatch again. Why? He didn’t know. He should be able to face him and be proud of who he was. He was the person he wanted to be now.

  “Max,” Cedric greeted as he turned his head to catch sight of the blond wolf shifter who was once borderline Berserker.

  “I feel like you’ve been avoiding me, Cedric.”

  “That’s all in your head.”

  Max grinned at him while Ava, his mate and the tiny woman at his side, offered him a sheepish smile. Cedric and Ava’s relationship wasn’t on the best of terms as far as she knew. Cedric hadn’t said he had forgiven her because he hadn’t exactly gotten to that point when he last saw her. That was probably why Ava was practically hiding in Max’s shadow. She was a timid woman even though she had great power. That was likely a good thing. If she were someone else, she could easily bring hellfire.

  “Max,” Stella held out her hand. “Cedric mentioned you a time or two before we got here, but he didn’t say much. I think he’s intimidated by you.”

  “Me?” Max took her hand and shook it. “Now that’s funny. You’re his mate, huh?”

  “Nick told you everything I guess,” Cedric commented.

  “Yeah, and I’m happy for you.” Max clapped Cedric on the shoulder. “And no hard feelings. I’m over it.”

  Cedric let his shoulders relax. “Great. Same here. You’re not half bad, Ava.”

  Ava sighed and looked like she was going to melt into the snow with the way her knees wobbled in visible relief. “I am sorry, Cedric. I always will be.”

  “I’m not. I wouldn’t have Opal, Russel, and Stella if it wasn’t for you. Sometimes wading through shit is the only way to get to where we need to go.”

  “That’s a lovely analogy,” Max said, nose crinkled. “You guys gonna stay?”

  “Maybe,” Stella replied. “We’ll have to see how it works for our family. Opal doesn’t get to stay with us all the time.”

  Max nodded. “Fair enough.”

  Cedric looked back at the kids opening presents. There
were gifts reserved specifically for the kids. Since they were so few, Willow wanted to make sure and give them a fun Christmas. It looked like she was a hit. She wrapped even the tiniest things which was a good move on her part because each one of them was having a blast shredding colorful wrapping paper. Derek, Willow’s mate, was with her too. He was also a hit with the kids. The kids were getting a kick out of whatever game he was playing with them. Cedric could hear their hysterical laughter over all the adults mingling. He didn’t know Derek well, but he never seemed like the type for kids.

  Cedric caught sight of Casey and Karol, Cade’s parents. He probably knew them the least out of everyone in the pack since they weren’t permanent members. Karol was easy to pick out in a crowd because of her fire-red hair though.

  While there were many familiar faces, there were also plenty of newcomers Cedric had never seen before. Blue Pack never stopped. The growth it had done in just a few months was astounding. At this rate, the town wouldn’t be just a town anymore. More and more buildings were being built, creating a central hub of burgundy wood homes. It was kind of amazing. The most amazing thing was how warm this community was. Cedric figured the reason for that was primarily a wolf thing. It was in their nature.

  “So, what do you think, Stella?” Cedric whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her.

  “I love it. You weren’t kidding about this pack, Cedric. We’ll just have to see what happens with Terry and Opal. Then we can make our decision. But even if we don’t move here, I am happy. Anywhere with you, Russel, and Opal is home to me.”

  She grabbed one of his hands and led him away from the others.

  “Where are we going?” he asked when they had weaved their way out of the people gathered together.

  “Mistletoe.” Stella pointed to some mistletoe hanging in the doorway of the cafe. She stood right underneath it and pulled him to stand in front of her. “Now you have to kiss me.”