Bound by Blood (Crescent City Wolf Pack Book 3)

by Carrie Pulkinen

He’d visited his mom last week, but she hadn’t recognized him at the time. Alexis shuffled forward and leaned over the bed to give his mom a hug, and he sucked in a shaky breath. He’d never believed in fate or getting signs from above or any of that nonsense. But after everything he’d learned about the supernatural, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his mom being coherent was a sign he wouldn’t make it through the night. Maybe fate was granting him one last visit with his loved ones before his life ended.

  “That’s a beautiful ring.” Alexis gestured to his mom’s wedding ring.

  She held it up and admired the stone. “It’s been in the family for ages. It belonged to Bryce’s grandma, and I think his great-great-grandma before that. Keeps getting passed down.”

  “What a lovely tradition.” Alexis moved aside for him to hug his mom, and pressure built in the back of his eyes.

  She held him tight and whispered in his ear, “She’s a keeper. I like her.”

  “So do I.” He swallowed the thickness from his throat and blinked back the moisture threatening to drip from his eyes as he settled into a chair next to Alexis.

  They chatted for another twenty minutes, Bryce filling her in on how he’d come to date his ex-partner’s sister after all these years working with Macey. When her lids started to flutter shut, he gave her a kiss on the cheek and led Alexis to the door.

  His mom sucked in a sharp breath as she woke. “Wait, Bryce. I need to talk to you.”

  Alexis patted his shoulder. “I’ll be in the hall.”

  He shuffled to his mom’s bed and sat on the edge. “You should get some rest.”

  “I will. I will.” She tugged the ring off her finger and put it in his hand. “You love this girl?”

  “With all my heart.”

  “Then you better put that ring on her before she gets away.”

  He gazed at the stone, a one-carat diamond nestled in a scalloped circle of tiny diamond flecks. “Are you sure you’re ready to give it up?”

  She closed his fingers around the ring. “I’m ready for you to make good use of it.”

  He kissed her forehead. “Thanks, Mom. I will.”

  Bryce dropped the ring into his pocket and shuffled toward the door. Pausing with his hand on the knob, he glanced back at his mom, sleeping peacefully, and a sense of calmness settled over him. Had he come to terms with the fact that this might be his last night on Earth? Not really. But if he did go, at least the people he loved knew he cared about them.

  His throat thickened as he toyed with the ring in his pocket. He’d like to drop to one knee and put it on Alexis’s finger as soon as he stepped through the door, but he’d wait. If he asked her to marry him now, she might say yes out of guilt or pity, and that was no way to spend the rest of his life with the woman of his dreams.

  If he survived whatever the full moon had in store for him, then he’d propose. She could say yes…or no…with a clear conscience.

  A tiny smile tugged at the corners of Bryce’s mouth as he stepped through the door, and Alexis couldn’t help but smile in return. His nervousness had rolled off him in waves on the way to visit his mom, but now he seemed calm. Maybe even at peace with everything that had and would happen.

  She took his hand. “Everything okay?”

  “I never thought my fate would lie with a lunar cycle, but yeah. Let’s go home.” He guided her to the elevator, and they stepped inside.

  She waited until the doors closed before turning to him. “I thought you didn’t believe in fate?”

  The elevator stopped and opened into the parking garage. “That’s the first time my mom has been coherent when I’ve visited her in a month. It could be a coincidence, or it could be God or the gods or fate or…whatever…granting me one last moment with her before I die.”

  Pain gripped her heart, and she stopped walking. “Don’t talk like that.”

  He took a few more steps before turning to her. “Whatever’s gonna happen is gonna happen. Nothing I can do about it, right?”

  “I’m not going to let you die.” She marched past him and got in her car, slamming the door. This nonsense had to stop. There was no way in hell she’d let anything happen to him, and he needed to stop talking like this was the end. She started the engine and checked the clock on the radio. They had four hours until they had to meet the pack in the forest, and she intended to use those hours to show Bryce she was worth living for.

  He sidled into the seat next to her and buckled his seatbelt. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t.” She ground her teeth as she pulled out of the parking lot and headed to his home…their home.

  He didn’t say anything else on the drive, but he reached across the console to hold her hand, and tears almost spilled from her eyes.

  They greeted Sam as they entered the house, but even his signature full-body wag couldn’t lift the weight pressing down on her shoulders. When he was satisfied with their affection, the husky returned to his favorite spot on the couch and curled into a fluffy ball.

  Alexis looked at Bryce. “You are not going to die, so don’t even mention it again today, okay?”

  He knit his brow and cupped her cheek in his hand. “It’s a possibility, darlin’, so we have to consider it. And by the look on Luke’s face, it seems highly likely.”

  She slapped his hand away. “No. Luke doesn’t know what I can do. He’s never seen me heal.” She’d survived a hundred-foot fall from an electrical tower that broke every bone in her body. The same magic that saved her now ran through Bryce’s veins. Fate didn’t lead her to this man—give her the ability to heal him—to take him away from her when she needed him most. He would survive this. He had to.

  “You said yourself you can only heal physical injuries. This one might be in my blood.”

  Her entire core tightened, twisting her insides until she couldn’t breathe. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “I can’t lose you. Do you understand? For the first time in my life, I’ve found something worth staying for. That something is you, Bryce. You’ve made this place my home. You are my home.”

  A thousand emotions danced with the brown and green flecks in his eyes as she held his gaze, and the corner of his mouth tugged into a grin. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me. I still might die, though.”

  “Stop talking.” She took his mouth with hers, and the tingle of werewolf magic on his skin mingled with the electricity shooting through her body. He responded with a masculine growl emanating from somewhere deep in his core as he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

  A spark of hope ignited in her chest. She’d never heard such a wolf-like growl from Bryce before. Taking his face in her hands, she pressed her forehead to his. “What do you feel when I touch you?”

  He kissed her jaw, trailing his lips down the curve of her neck before whispering in her ear, “Passion. Adoration. Love.”

  Sweet, but not the answer she wanted to hear. “Do you feel my magic?”

  “Everything about you is magical.” He gripped the hem of her shirt and tugged it over her head before stepping back to admire her. “Wondrous.” Grabbing the back of his shirt, he yanked it over his head.

  She ran her hands up his chest, resting them on his shoulders. “You don’t feel a tingling sensation when I touch you?”

  “Should I?”

  She lowered her gaze. “If you were a werewolf, you would.”

  “Hey.” He hooked his finger under her chin, lifting her head toward his. “That’s not to say I won’t be after the moon comes out. We have no idea what’s going to happen tonight, so let’s enjoy right now while we can.”

  She inhaled deeply and gazed at him. Whatever fate had planned, she couldn’t do anything about it now. All they could control was this moment. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.”

  With his hand on the small of her back, he pulled her to his body, taking her mouth in a kiss. She parted her lips, and as her tongue brushed his, fire shot through her veins.
This was her man. Whether he became a werewolf or stayed human, she didn’t give a damn. At this moment, he had magic in his veins, and that magic called to her, awakening a primal instinct in her soul. The overwhelming need to possess him had her burning with desire. Throwing her arms around his neck, she pushed him against the wall and crushed her body to his.

  He grunted and broke the kiss. “Watch out with that super strength. I know you can heal me, but I’d rather not get broken.”

  She nipped at his collarbone, gliding her tongue up his neck to take his earlobe between her teeth. “I’m sorry. You have no idea what it’s like to finally be able to be my true self with someone. For you to know everything about me and want me anyway.”

  “I know exactly how you feel.” The heat of his breathy whisper warmed her ear, sending shivers down to her toes.

  She fumbled with his belt, trailing kisses across his chest, as she finally unbuckled it and yanked it from his jeans. She couldn’t undress him fast enough. Jerking at the buttons on his fly, she shoved the rest of his clothes to floor and took his dick in her hand. She needed to be closer. To be part of him. To make him understand how much he meant to her and that dying was not an option for him tonight or any night in the next fifty years.

  Gripping her hips, he leaned his head against the wall, his lids fluttering shut as she stroked him. He was thick and hard, and as a bead of moisture collected on his tip, she had to taste him. Lowering her head, she circled her tongue around him before taking him into her mouth and reveling in the salty-sweet taste of him.

  Sliding his fingers into her hair, he rested his hand on her head—not to move her or force her into a rhythm—but to gently caress her scalp as she sucked him.

  Another growl rumbled from his chest, and he stilled her head, moving his hand to her shoulder to guide her back up to his mouth. He undid her pants as he kissed her, working them over her hips and pushing her clothes to the floor.

  He toed off his shoes and stumbled out of his jeans before grabbing her by the ass and lifting her onto the table. Pushing her onto her back, he dragged a hand down her body and stroked her clit with his thumb.

  Electricity shot through her core, and she bit her bottom lip as he pulled her pants from her ankles and spread her legs with his broad shoulders. He caressed her inner thighs, and she rose onto her elbows to find him gazing at her with so much passion in his eyes that it took her breath away.

  “You’re so beautiful, Alexis.”

  “I need you inside me. Please.”

  He pressed his lips to one thigh, and then the other. “If this is my last night on Earth, I want to savor you first.”

  “Stop saying—”

  The warmth of his tongue bathed her sensitive nub, taking the words from her lips. She lay back and closed her eyes as he lifted her legs onto his shoulders and stroked her folds before slipping a finger inside her. She sucked in a breath between her teeth when his tongue circled her clit again. An mmm vibrated across his lips, the sensation intensifying the climax coiling in her core.

  He continued pleasuring her, adding a second finger inside, working her in circles until she lost control. Her orgasm slammed into her center, ricocheting through her soul and shattering her senses. She tangled her fingers in his hair, panting his name until he brought her down. But she was far from satisfied.

  She needed this man inside her like she’d never needed anything in her life. Sitting up, she pushed him into a chair and straddled him. He inhaled deeply, gazing at her with passion-drunk eyes as she guided his cock to her center.

  He moaned as she sheathed him, and she stilled, pressing her naked body to his, memorizing the way he filled her, relishing the magic emanating from his skin. Taking his face in her hands, she pressed her forehead to his. “I love you, Bryce.”

  “I love you more than you can imagine.”

  “I can imagine.” She rocked her hips, and he gripped her thighs as he sucked in a sharp breath.

  Clutching his shoulders, she held him close as she moved up and down his thick shaft, delicious friction making every nerve in her body hum. He held her hips, moving his own in unison, creating a choreography that felt as if it were ingrained in her soul. She belonged to this man. Every part of her.

  His rhythm increased, each thrust of his hips sending a thrilling jolt through her core. Her climax built slowly, steadily, and when her name crossed his lips in his growl of release, she lost control. Her orgasm consumed her, burning her in its flames, and Bryce raised her from the ashes.

  A sleepy, satisfied smile curved his lips as he ran his fingers through her hair. “Talk about going out with a bang.”

  This would not be the last time she made love to him. They had many, many years ahead of them, and tonight was only the beginning.

  So, why did her throat thicken at the thought? Tears she’d refused to shed collected on her lower lids, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, burying her face in his neck to hide them.

  He held her and stroked the back of her head. “Are you crying?”

  “No.”

  “Then your eyes are leaking on my neck. Hey.” He gently pushed her back to look at her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “No, you shouldn’t have. You’re not going to die.”

  “You’re right.” He touched his own chest and then hers. “This connection I feel with you is going to hold me here. I haven’t spent nearly enough time with you, and if fate decides it’s my time to go, well…fate can kiss my ass.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Bryce held Alexis’s hand as they crept toward a clearing in the trees. The sinking sun cast long, jagged shadows across the forest floor, and the sound of dry leaves crunching beneath his boots filled the silence. The sense of calm he’d achieved with Alexis earlier was slowly draining away, and a ball of nervousness twisted in his gut.

  A week ago, no amount of money would have been enough to convince him to venture into the swamp at night unarmed. Snakes, gators, and who-knew-what other kinds of creatures lurked in the shadows, waiting to make an unsuspecting human their next meal.

  Well, now he did know what other kind of creatures hunted these woods, and all he could do was hope they didn’t have the taste for human flesh.

  Alexis squeezed his hand. “Almost there. Luke and some other weres will be there to help you if you shift, and I won’t leave your side no matter what happens. You won’t be alone through any of this.”

  If he shifted. But if he didn’t? “What do werewolves eat?”

  “Boar, gator, whatever. You can start with a prey animal—a deer or even a nutria for your first hunt.”

  “Swamp rat?” He curled his lip. The idea of killing any animal with his mouth and then eating it raw made his stomach churn.

  She shrugged. “It’s what I went for my first time. Of course, I was hunting alone and had no clue if I’d even turn human again.”

  “That must have been scary.”

  “It was terrifying.” She stopped walking and looked at him. “But it won’t be like that for you. You’ve got a pack and a woman who loves you to guide you through it.”

  Her words loosened the knot in his chest. For once in his life, being alone didn’t sound the slightest bit appealing. “Do werewolves ever eat humans?”

  Now it was her turn to curl her lip in disgust. “We aren’t cannibals.”

  “You aren’t exactly human.”

  “We are half-human, and that’s the side that’s in control. Even in wolf form, our human minds are fully functioning.” She cupped his cheek in her hand. “Don’t be scared. No one is going to hurt you tonight.”

  He stiffened. “I’m not scared.”

  She kissed him on the cheek. “I would be.”

  Who was he kidding? He was scared shitless. Not that he thought his friends would actually eat him, but the list of things that could go wrong tonight was too long to count.

  They reached the clearing and found Luke standing with his thick arm
s crossed over his chest. Was the alpha always the biggest man in the pack? Once the shock of this situation wore off, he’d have to wrangle the mess of questions running through his mind into a manageable list.

  Chase leaned casually against a tree trunk, and James stood with his hands in his pockets as if a bunch of French Quarter men hanging out in the swamp was the most natural thing in the world. For these men, he supposed it was.

  Alexis nodded at the alpha, and he stepped forward to shake Bryce’s hand. “Welcome to our hunting grounds. This goes without saying, but no one can know about us or where we hunt.”

  “Your secret’s safe with me.” He stared into the trees. “I’m still having a hard time believing it myself.”

  Alexis held his bicep. “Even after everything you’ve seen?”

  “When you’ve been a skeptic your entire life, and you’re suddenly thrust into a world you never knew—refused to believe—existed, it takes a while for your brain to catch up.”

  Chase pushed from the tree and strode toward them. “We’re running out of daylight. You ready?”

  His pulse thrummed. Could he ever be prepared for what could possibly happen to him in the next few minutes? “As I’ll ever be. Hey, can you really talk to ghosts?”

  Chase laughed. “Nah. I’m just a werewolf.”

  “So those weird cases you helped on…”

  “I was determining if they were supernatural or not and what evidence we’d need to hide. We’re like the paranormal police force of New Orleans.”

  The pieces of the puzzle finally clicked into place. All the evidence that went missing over the years wasn’t from poor management of the lab and the morgue. The werewolves had been stealing it. And if Bryce became a werewolf, he’d have to find a balance between enforcing the law like he’d been doing his entire adult life and breaking it to keep supernatural secrets.

  Could he do that? If the safety of humanity was at stake, he damn well could. Super strength. The task of protecting humans from real-life monsters. This werewolf gig didn’t sound half-bad.

  James grinned. “Breaking laws has its advantages.” Luke cut him a sideways glance, and he stiffened. “Only human laws. I never break pack laws.” He clapped Luke on the shoulder and winked. “I swear.”