Cole (The Wolves Den Book 2)

by Serena Simpson

  “Casca wants to play.” He threw her up in the air amid lots of giggles, looking over he saw Jessie hiding her grin.

  “Who woke me up?”

  Cole and Mia looked at each other before they shrugged and got out of bed.”

  “Race you to your room.” She held her laughter until they were gone. Then she laid down and laughed until she wanted to cry.

  The fear of knowing her daughter was in the hands of a pervert who was also a madman almost incapacitated her. There was a time in her life that it might have, but Cole was showing her how strong she was and how strong he was.

  He wasn’t saying it, but she knew what came next. They would have to deal with her mother it was the only way they would be safe. He would kill her if she didn’t get to her first. She waited for the naysayers. The ones who would condemn her for what she just thought, but they were silent.

  Where was anger, and fear, malice, or even C&C, and love? The voices were silent, there was nothing to say. She looked at her dark side the alien that lived within her skin.

  What do you have to say?

  When do you want to do it?

  You think it’s okay to kill our mother.

  She’s not our mother.

  Alien say what?

  How many times have you wondered how your hair could be midnight black and hers is bright red. You have no highlights nothing. There is not one feature that she has that you share. There’s nothing to tie you together. How many times have strangers said, you're related? She’s not your mother.

  That doesn’t prove anything traits skip generations. My father could have had black hair. Maybe I look like my dad.

  She’s not your mother, I remember.

  The alien part of her turned around and left her with nothing but silence echoing through her brain.

  There was a little giggle before Mia entered the room.

  “Dada and I are making the best breakfast ever, hurry.” With that, she turned and ran away.

  Jessie got up slowly and reached for her robe. All the ways she and her mother were different were going through her mind. Could she have been adopted? That would make sense. Who would want a sick child, though?

  She should eat. Instead, she took the side door of the house and ended up in the backyard. She sat on the swings trying to remember when was the last time she sat in a playground. Growing up she spent most of her time in the house, she did swing when she was allowed outside for recess at school, but not that often. There were lots of students and a limited amount of swings.

  Kicking her legs in the air, she went higher a brief smile touching her lips. She would have loved a swing set when she was younger. She would have loved any toy when she was younger. There was never Christmas in her house and no celebrating of her birthday. Her mother thought she didn’t deserve to celebrate.

  She stopped the swing and went back into the house. The bear Cole bought for her was sitting in the corner of their room, picking it up she laid on the bed and cried into it.

  One of the bear's paws rubbed her cheek. She looked up to find Cole standing beside the bed.

  “Sorry, I missed breakfast.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I was trying to find a way to understand the pain your experiencing. Finally, I decided I couldn’t. The closest I can come to it is to think of Declyn betraying me after all the years I’ve spent with him. The thought of that happening hurts me in the heart I’m not supposed to have. Your mother is the person who should always have your back, love you, and she betrayed you.”

  He sat on the bed and pulled her into his arms.

  “Jessie, I don’t want to upset you, but I don’t think she’s your biological mother.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  She slipped out of the bed when Cole’s breathing deepened. His words from earlier were repeating in her brain like a litany. She grabbed a pair of jeans and a tank before she crept out the room not wanting to wake him.

  Her hand hovered over the doorknob to his third room. This was where he kept several of the tools and personal belongings from the ship. She walked in and found what she was looking for. Leaning against the wall was his trifold.

  This is stupid.

  Go back to bed.

  Do it. You’ll never put it to rest unless you do it.

  She nodded, it was time for her to find out one way or the other. She grabbed the trifold. It was much heavier than it looked. Carefully she put it on the floor and dragged it out the room. She left through the back door and carried it to the far end of the property where one of the biggest trees she ever saw was sitting.

  The struggle to place it against the tree had her breathing heavy as well as well sweat pouring from her brow into her eyes. Once she had it set up all she need to do was touch a button, and it expanded. She tilted her head back and watched as it climbed into the sky until she couldn’t see the top of it anymore.

  How was she going to climb it?

  Cole was right this was meant to be climbed in his werewolf form. She took off her shoes determined to go up. She curled her toes around the first rung that was meant for claws and used her cute nails on the next rung. She was going to fall on her ass, but she kept climbing. The rungs were too far away for her to reach comfortably, so her breath was coming out like a freight train. There was no way to be sure, but she would bet the trifold had adjusted enough to allow her to climb it.

  Don’t look down.

  Like that was happening. She wasn’t scared of heights until she began to climb. Now she was so scared that she would fall at any moment. Her whole body was shaking with the effort she was making, but she had to know. Up ahead was the branch she was aiming for. It still seemed so far away. You can do this she kept telling herself until finally, she was close. The branch was almost at the top of the tree, but it was still thick enough to hold her. All she had to do was crawl from the trifold to the branch. Stay on it a few minutes then climb back down.

  That was doable, right?

  Deep breath she went to throw her leg over the branch and missed. She was holding on for dear life as she swung around the trifold a few choice words slipped past her lips as a few tears of frustration slipped from her eyes. One more time, this time no thinking of falling or how stupid this really is. Her foot hit the tree limb but didn’t go over. Climbing trees wasn’t something she ever wanted to do. Giving it all she had she threw her leg over the branch and it caught. It should be easy from here, right?

  Her arms went around the tree as she laid on it and clutched it for dear life. Her heart was pounding. Why the hell was this necessary again? She needed to get down.

  Her foot hit the trifold knocking it further away from the tree. It didn’t fall, but it changed position, and unless she became an acrobat like one of the ones she loved looking at in the circus, she was spending the night in the tree. Which meant facing Cole in the morning.

  I can do this. Her eyes closed as exhaustion took over her. Her body began to fall, she screamed holding onto the tree tighter. If she didn’t die from falling Cole was going to kill her.

  It was the roar that came from the bottom of the tree that made her look down. Cole was standing there in his werewolf form. Caden and Xander were taking away the trifold. How was she going to get down?

  Cole touched the tree, then he was climbing it like he was born to climb. She flinched away from him when his hand came out to rub her cheek. She didn’t mean to, for a minute all she could think of was her mother and how she would beat her for doing something like this.

  He picked her up and made sure she was secure in his arms before he jumped. He didn’t put her down until he took her to their room and laid her on their bed. She watched as he retook his human form fascinated by the process.

  “What were you thinking! Were you trying to kill yourself? Is that what you want to do?”

  “No! Cole, I don’t have a death wish, I promise. I just needed to know.”

  “Know what?”

  She had never seen his color change,
but he was pale and breathing hard.

  “Tell me what could you discover by climbing the trifold and stranding yourself in a tree?”

  “It seems really silly now.” She flexed her fingers needing something to do with her body.

  “I wanted to know if I was really scared all my life or if it was a lie I was telling myself. Maybe I was just selfish, and I didn’t care about those children.”

  “You didn’t know about those children.”

  “I should have. I should have pieced this thing together and told the authorities.”

  “At what age Jessie, eight, nine, or ten?”

  “They’re dead Cole, but I’m still alive. I should have done something. So, I needed to know if I was really scared.”

  “Were you?”

  “When I climbed the trifold, I was scared, but I kept telling myself I would be alright. It kept some of the fear at bay. When I managed to get on the tree, I was scared, but I knew the trifold was there. When it slipped, and I couldn’t reach it I was terrified.”

  She got up and began walking around the room. She walked over to her bear picking him up. She almost disappeared behind him.

  “When I was eight years old I sat down and wrote out what I wanted for my funeral. I wanted to be dressed in pink because my mother never let me wear anything but dark colors. I wanted my hair out around my face because I was forced to wear a ponytail every day. I even picked out the songs I wanted sang but most of all I didn’t want my mom to come. I carried that letter around with me for years, well into my teens.”

  She put the bear down then kissed it before turning to look at Cole.

  “I knew she was going to kill me, I just didn’t know when. I was terrified of her. After my last sister disappeared I was around ten she didn’t get pregnant again. I always wondered why. I simply thought maybe she thought I’ve had enough.”

  “You scared her.”

  Rusty tear filled laughter came from her laced with the horror and fear she was feeling all over again.

  “You did. You’re strong Jessie, you’ve always been strong. Internal strength is the only way you survive that situation. You were starting to understand something wasn’t right, you would have risked your life to help the others. It’s who you are. So, she stopped bringing them around. So, you stopped thinking about them because it hurt too much.”

  “How could I—”

  He walked over to her. “Jessie your mother’s sins aren’t yours. The person who has to pay is her not you.”

  She nodded and snuggled into his arms. “I should check on Mia.”

  “I’ll check.”

  She nodded and watched him walk out the room before she went into the bathroom. It was hard to look at herself in the mirror, but he was right. She had her own sins to be sorry for, they weighed her down. There was no way she could carry her mother’s also.

  She took a shower when she came out Cole was sitting on the bed waiting for her.

  “Why do you think my mother isn’t my mother?”

  “I saw a picture of you as a baby before you were released from the hospital. Your parents were in an accident, and everyone thought you died, but there was no body.”

  “She stole me just like she stole the other children.”

  “I’m sorry, trasire.” She crawled over him on the bed before snuggling into his arms.

  “It’s fine.”

  “Jessie…”

  “No, I actually feel better. When I was young, I felt like I did something wrong. How come she didn’t love me like other mothers loved their children? The thought that I was adopted made me feel a little better, but I still couldn’t understand why she didn’t love me. Now I know I was just a child she couldn’t sell. Strange but I feel better. No wonder she didn’t love me. What did she call Mia? ‘Merchandise.’ No one loves merchandise, and that was all I was faulty merchandise.”

  Hot tears dropped onto his chest until Jessie cried herself to sleep.

  *~*~*~*

  She woke to his hand rubbing her back.

  “Hi.” The smile she gave him was genuine and filled with heat.

  “Hi, it’s not time to get up yet.”

  “That means a little girl is still asleep.”

  “She is.”

  “This is a good thing.” Her hand came up and began to trace patterns on his chest.

  “Jessie, are you sure?”

  “More than sure. My life is here with you and Mia. I just needed to be able to put the other stuff behind me.”

  “You amaze me.”

  “Of course, I do. Check the dictionary a picture of me is by the word amazing.”

  Her laugh was cut off as his lips touched hers kissing her gently. She opened up allowing his tongue to plunder her mouth while she stroked him with her tongue. His flavor hit her deep making her ache. There was something about Cole that felt not only intimate but addictive. The more she made love to him the more she needed him.

  “Cole,” She whispered the word in his mind.

  “Trasire?”

  A soul deep connection ran between them making her even needier for him.

  His kissing became more hurried as he moved down her neck until he could suck on her pulse point making her laugh.

  “I love the way you love me.”

  She lifted up until she could reach his shoulder. She bit him gently right where he bit her. “Now your mine too.”

  He growled, his hands went under the tank top she was wearing until he was able to get it over her head. He took a nipple into his mouth sucking on it even as he felt one her hands stroke his scalp and the other hand trace patterns on his shoulder and arm.

  “I love this tat it’s like a silent warning to everyone that what lives within you is dangerous.”

  “Not to you.”

  “I know which makes it sexy as hell. I need you, Cole.”

  His mouth went to her other nipple sucking on it. Her nipples became tight buds of need. He bit her driving shards of pleasure through her even as her hands worked their way down.

  “I like touching you. Your body is so hard, but when I touch you, it yields to me, invites me in like it’s begging me to touch you more.”

  She drew her fingers down his back before pushing him up so she could trace the muscles in his chest and abs.

  “Every time I see you or touch you I can’t believe someone didn’t snap you up before I came along. I’m grateful they were too blind to see your worth.”

  She pressed on his chest, and he laid on his back. She threw a leg over him and sat on him grinning down at the look of raw passion in his eyes.

  All mine. Her tongue came out and licked that sexy dip on his chest. A moan of desire left her lips as she watched him flex. Leaning down she bit his nipples first one and then the other. She kissed her way down past his defined abs. Should she stop?

  Hell yeah. She took her time kissing and licking him before she allowed her fingers to play. Every time she drew a pattern she watched as they jumped.

  “You’re so sensitive when I touch you, but I know how hard you are when you fight.”

  She drew her tongue further down until she found what she was looking for. She licked the tip of his dick loving the way it jerked at the feel of her tongue.

  “I think you like that.”

  A small growl left his lips. She licked him again before taking him in both hands and trying to milk him. She licked the top of his thick dick down until she met his sacs which she took into a hand and began to play with. His dicked jerked and his growl got louder.

  His hands pulled her up and flipped her. He took one leg and placed it in the air before he pounded into her. He kissed her burying his tongue in her mouth to smother the scream that was about to come out.

  She groaned trying to stay silent as he made love to her. Every time he pounded into her it was a little bit faster a little harder. Her heart was racing even as her pussy was convulsing around him.

  “Please. Cole.” Her voice was shaky with n
eed even as she tried not to scream the words.

  “Yes, trasire, yes.”

  He pulled out holding her eyes as he stayed still above her, teasing her, making her want him even more. When he thrust in, it felt like he had grown even bigger. Her world came apart as she began to scream. He kissed her cutting her off even as she flew like she was some mythical creature wanting the see the earth for the first time.

  He held her as she came back to earth. Her breathing returned to normal, and there was only one thing she could think.

  “I love you, Cole.”

  She fell asleep in his arms knowing all was right in her world.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Two blissful weeks had passed if you ignored the Kur’iks who were walking on egg shells around her and Mia who was having bad dreams every night. She seemed to be the only one that was content.

  She was sitting in the living room watching the news as they tried to unravel the Mayor Connolly case. No one wanted to believe what they could see with their very own eyes.

  Cole was holding her. He never made her turn off the television, he simply held her to let her know he was there.

  The knock at the door ruined their routine.

  “Come in,” Jessie called out finally rousing herself out of the television-induced stupor she was in.

  Deja walked in with Ven behind her neither of them was smiling.

  “What’s wrong?” Deja took a seat in the armchair while Ven stood at her side.

  “Do you remember Peter Thornton? He’s the lawyer that helped you out when the cops picked you up.”

  “I remember he’s a cutie pie.”

  Cole growled making her laugh.

  “Yeah, that’s him. He called me not too long ago, said that Detective Baker got in touch with him. Since your mother was informed that you were dead, she wanted her granddaughter. She is the legal guardian since you didn’t leave a Will.”

  Cole’s growl stopped her from digging her nails into the palms of her hands. She used them to calm him down.

  “My mother just doesn’t know when to stop.” She stood up and went to look in on Mia who was taking a nap. The relief of seeing her safe and sound allowed her to think.