And now, his gaze ignited as it fell to my bare chest. My heart pounded as I wondered if I’d done the wrong thing. If we weren’t on the same page after all. He blinked, like he wasn’t sure if he could believe his eyes. Like if he moved too fast, this moment could disappear.
One of the things that made me fall hard for this wolf was the first night he brought me home. When I was vulnerable and confused and he could’ve taken advantage of that. When that kiss I’d wanted so badly would’ve muddied things even more. This wolf knew how to be patient, how to wait for the perfect opportunity.
He didn’t have to do that anymore. It was time for him to take what was his. He needed to believe he deserved happiness.
The air was cool when I rose from the water. That silver gaze followed my every move as I lifted myself up to straddle his lap.
His lips parted, and then spread into a wicked smile, the one that promised me that I would get every single sinful thing that I ever wanted. Maybe even a few I hadn’t dared to dream of yet.
Our mouths crashed against each other, and all the things we didn’t have words for all came surging to the surface. His hand ran up the bare skin of my back, pressing me against him, and grasping my nape. His wet body vibrated against mine, and his erection pressed against my thigh.
Taking a handful of my wet hair, he pulled my head to the side. His lips were on my neck, on the spot that throbbed for him, like that pulse gave him life. Falling to my collarbone and pulling me back so my pebbled nipples scraped against his skin before breaking free of the water. He lowered his head to take my nipple into his mouth, sucking it to an impossibly hard peak and then moving to the other to do it all over again.
Carlos was a boob man, because he went back and forth several times. Each time, I thought I had nothing left to give him, that the sensations he sent rocketing through my body would be too much to take, but he kept bringing me higher.
“Carlos,” I moaned as I dug my fingers into his strong shoulders.
A feral noise vibrated in his throat. One that could send me spiraling into another dimension. “You’re not very patient, my sweet wolf.”
“I-I want you,” I panted. “All of you.” But then I realized something. “Have you not done this since—”
I couldn’t finish the sentence. Or bear the sadness in his eyes when he nodded.
That’s when it stopped being about me, and all about the massive chance this wolf was taking on me. He’d put his heart into my hands and I’d never let it go.
I cradled his face in my hands and kissed him. I’d kiss him until I could take away that sadness. I didn’t want his memories to fade. I wanted to give him hope that the future was finally bright.
He lifted me out of the hot tub, settling me on the ledge as he climbed out. He wrapped one of the fluffy towels that had waited for us on the table beside the tub, and I worried I’d done the wrong thing. That I should’ve never brought up Sarah.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered as he pressed the towel against me.
His brow creased. “Why?”
“I shouldn’t have brought her up.” I bowed my head, wondering if this would always be a stumbling block. If I’d pushed him into something he didn’t want. “I didn’t mean to ruin—”
He lifted me to my feet. My body was jelly after being treated to his mouth. “You didn’t ruin anything, baby. I want to bring you over to the bed so I can fuck you the way you’re begging me to fuck you.”
I put my hand on his cock, which bulged in his shorts. A groan escaped from his lips. “I want to feel this inside me.” I’d never begged for anything before, probably because I’d never wanted anything so bad. “Please, Carlos. Bring me over to the bed and put your cock in me.”
My legs wrapped around him when he carried me over to the bed. Sinking into the soft fluffy mattress was heaven all on its own without factoring in the wolf who stood beside it, sliding his shorts down his thighs. His cock was free, hard, and absolutely glorious. My inner muscles were pulsing in anticipation of having my request fulfilled. From the way his chest rose and fell, the way he pushed his damp hair away from his face before he climbed onto the bed, no more begging would be required.
His muscles were tense under his skin—the way he moved was all wolf. He settled with one hand on either side of me, and his knee between my legs. I wriggled my hips, teasing him, tempting him, to touch me. But I loved that he took his sweet time, knowing he had me forever.
“Where was I?” he said, running the rough pad of his thumb over my super sensitive nipple. Yup, definitely a boob man. I closed my eyes and relished the sensations that rocketed through my body.
He trailed his fingers over my stomach so lightly I got chills, and then lowered himself so his face was at the apex of my thighs. Pushing my thighs apart, he licked the length of my slit. My hips came off the bed. I was way more sensitive when he touched me than I ever had been before, especially down there. He moaned against me, approving of my bucking hips, and the vibration sent my muscles into overdrive.
But Carlos didn’t stop. His tongue swirled, teasing my clit before he took it between his lips and sucked it long and hard, giving it the same attention he’d given each nipple. I was up off the mattress, gasping for air, trying to find words, with my hand in his hair as the first crest of my orgasm smashed against me.
I pulled him up to me, tasting myself on his lips as I straddled him.
“I like you wild, Willow,” he said between breathless kisses.
I didn’t have a chance to respond before he grasped my hips and lowered me down on that hard, glorious cock. My head fell back and I cried out as he stretched me until he was in to the hilt. He thrust hard and fast, and our bodies moved like we’d written the words to the same song, our breath was the rhythm, and sloppy kisses were the chorus.
My body was pulsing and I was losing control. I cried out, my head falling to his shoulder as he brought me to my absolute peak. Heat surged as his shaft swelled inside me.
He pulled me off him before he came, and my hand was on his cock, coaxing him to completion.
Putting his hand over mine, he slid me back into his lap, kissing me long and slow.
“I belong to you now,” he said softly. “And I’m never, ever letting you go.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Carlos
Willow slept soundly in my arms, but every time I drifted off, I saw her being ripped away from me. Felt myself being held back as Tate and his asshole band of wolves made sure I’d never have her again. I had to swallow the urge to shift. When I woke up, she was still there. Safe. This time, I could make sure no one would get to her.
As the sun rose, I gave up on sleep and watched her dream much more peacefully then I did. I could learn a thing or two from my mate.
My mate.
It was surreal to think a wolf like me could get so lucky twice in one lifetime. Our lives changed last night. Willow and I had to talk about what this meant for our future. If she wanted to live together, or if she wanted to ease into that. And how we’d introduce me to Hazel.
I was excited about getting to know her daughter. She seemed like a cool and quirky kid. I’d given up on the dream of ever being a dad. And I wouldn’t exactly fill that role for her, but we were going to have a lot of fun together.
Maybe someday, Willow and I would have a baby of our own. It felt damn good to dream again.
And then, there was Tate and the jackasses we’d battled deep in the forest. The people who thought it was okay to spray paint Willow’s studio with words meant to keep her small. We still had to deal with them. I’d do my best to honor Willow’s wishes to keep everything peaceful. Problem was, I didn’t know how to do it her way.
Our next steps wouldn’t be easy, but they’d be worth it.
She let out a sweet little moan before her eyes fluttered open. “Good morning,” she said.
“Hi.”
“You didn’t sleep, did you?” She frowned when I shook my head and leaned
forward to brush my hair away from my face. “I kept dreaming of you all night as a wolf. Running through the forest together, but I was human. I couldn’t shift, and I hated it. My dreams are always most vivid during the full moon.”
“Maybe that’s why I had them too.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, coming forward and then falling back onto her pillow. “I was just about to kiss you, but we haven’t discussed morning breath limitations yet.”
“Nothing could stop me from kissing you.” I leaned over and planted a kiss on her forehead just in case morning breath was a deal-breaker for her. “And no, I don’t want to talk about it.”
Sadness flickered in her eyes, but she didn’t push.
“I kept dreaming they were taking you away from me.”
She sighed. “They won’t. They can’t.”
**
“Are you famous?” Hazel asked as soon as we slid into the booth at Sawtooth Sweets.
Shadow had already gone to work for the day when we picked up Hazel, who had relocated with Trina to Forever Home.
“Not yet.” I said, taking a sip of my hot cocoa. I’d been desperate for coffee, but Hazel had been so excited to order a mug of chocolate that I did too. I wanted to go back to a time when little things like that could make me happy again. “What about you?”
“I will be soon,” she said with the utmost confidence. “Stephanie and Tessa got some great footage of me with my cat Elvira. She’s really talented. She knows tons of tricks. Who was she named after again, Mom?”
Willow laughed. “The Mistress of the Dark, because she’s a black cat.”
The little girl narrowed her eyes at me, and then slid her gaze back to her mom. The two of them were a lot alike. Sweet, funny, confident dreamers. My heart was about to explode, looking at my future sitting across the table from me.
“Is Carlos your mate?” she asked.
Willow smiled at me and reached across the table to take my hand. “Yes, he is.”
Hazel’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped. “Like your real mate?”
“My real fated mate.” Willow squeezed my hand, and I was done for. I only thought I had fallen for this woman before. I had to take a deep breath.
I swore I could feel Sarah smiling down on me forever. She’d love them both as much as I did.
Hazel looked me up and down, her face creased with a critical frown. “Did he buy you?”
She gasped when I growled.
“No, sweetie. No Sawtooth she-wolf will ever be sold to another wolf again.” Willow’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Not me, and especially not you. Someday, you’ll get to meet your forever mate too.”
“Then why are you crying?” Hazel asked.
“Because I never thought this day would come.”
I leaned over the table and kissed Willow. I was aware of Hazel’s gasp, but she’d have to get used to seeing me kiss her mom because I planned to do it a lot. I wanted to set an example for her, so when it came time for her to find her mate, she knew how she should be treated.
“But you’re happy, right?”
Willow smiled at me and gave me another quick kiss. “Happier than I’ve ever been.”
**
After breakfast, Willow, Hazel, and I headed out to the Channing Reserve. Stephanie and Tessa followed behind us in the van. This could possibly be the most important scene in our entire episode.
There was a new development of houses going in, all shifter housing. Shadow’s hope was to bring the wolves who’d lived deep in the forest closer to town. It wasn’t only the humans he had to win over. The pack needed some convincing this was a good thing too.
Maybe I could help with that.
“Didn’t know I was getting a Real Werewives episode.” Shadow high-fived Hazel when she bound up to him. He gave Willow a kiss on the cheek before shaking my hand in greeting.
“You already have a mate,” Hazel said. “Did you know Carlos is my mom’s mate?”
“I was hoping that was the case,” he said.
Hazel let out an exasperated sigh and put her hands on her hips. “Did you guys know about this?” she asked Stephanie and Tessa.
They nodded from behind the cameras.
“So everyone knew but me?”
“We wanted to make sure it was for real before we told you.” Willow put her arm around her daughter. “Because if it didn’t work, I didn’t want you to think fated mates weren’t real.”
“But you’re fated mates,” she protested.
“We had to make sure we really were. I know you have a lot of questions, and we’ll answer them all. But right now, we came to talk to Mayor Channing. He’s got a lot of stuff to do so we have to respect his time.”
“Shadow’s my friend too.”
“We just had an epic movie night.” Shadow stepped into to help placate Hazel. “After I talk to your mom and Carlos, maybe we can make plans for you to come hang out with Trina, Tasha, and me again.”
Hazel nodded, somewhat satisfied, and Shadow winked at us. I believed he’d bring the pack together, which was the whole reason I’d decided to stay with this pack when Marcus and Matteo thought this could be a place for us. When this pack was good, it was really, really good.
“I wanted to bring Willow here so she could tell you her thoughts about Tate, and about what the she-wolves in the pack want and need.”
“I’m all ears,” Shadow said.
Tessa cleared her throat. “Stephanie, why don’t you bring Hazel over to the barn. I hear there are cows, horses, and chickens over there.”
“Javier and Rick are working over there too.” Stephanie’s cheeks pinked.
Willow turned to Shadow. “I’ll keep this quick because I know you’re busy, and my problems aren’t your only problems.”
Shadow shook his head. “Don’t rush. You’re part of this pack, and it’s about time that your voice is heard. And honestly, your problems are a big part of what this town is facing as we make changes.”
“I know that was probably supposed to make me feel better, but I’m not sure it did.”
“Let me put it another way. There are a lot of pissed off wolves who don’t understand why anything had to change. And some scared humans who don’t understand that for them, nothing really changed. So if we can solve this for you and your family, I hope that it can be the start of something really great in Granger Falls.”
“I don’t want you to hurt Tate,” she said quickly. “Punish him, but don’t kill him. He’s Hazel’s dad.”
“What do you think I should do?”
She took a moment to think about it. “Make it stop.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Willow
Arriving at the Ulrich Ranch had always filled me with dread, even when I called it my home. I never felt like I belonged here. But as we approached in a caravan of shifters in their wolf forms, I worried I’d made a huge mistake.
I was doing this for Hazel. And Carlos. Fighting had cost him everything until he came here. And most of all, I was doing it for me, and every other she-wolf in town, whether she chose to leave the man she’d been contracted to or not. She deserved to know that her voice mattered, even when it shook.
Especially when it shook.
Don’t get me wrong, I was grateful Carlos wanted me involved with the situation, but when I pleaded with my mate to make it stop, I didn’t picture myself as the one leading the charge.
There was a piece of me that Tate would always own. The scared young woman who didn’t believe she had choices. The one who kept her opinions to herself. He could keep that version of me. But over the years, I’d had the opportunity to form a lot of opinions.
But the men and women behind me—all the Channings, the Lowes, the Shaws, and the Real Werewives crew—had my back. They thought what I had to say mattered. Even if Tate didn’t agree, it was important for him to see that.
And the wolf by my side gave me all the strength I needed. He’d been so much wor
se than this and survived.
It was time for all members of the Sawtooth pack to thrive.
The back gate was always open during the full moon. Tate had no reason to expect an attack. A pang of guilt washed over me as the gate creaked open and we headed down the long dirt driveway to the giant farmhouse his family had called home for generations.
Tate had cameras trained on every entrance point of this ranch, so he was out in front of the house waiting for us.
My legs felt like jelly as I approached him.
“Willow, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
I sucked in a deep breath. It was the little things that I’d taken for granted that weren’t so small. Like the way he talked to me. Like the way he never thought he could ever lose me. He still believed that.
“I came to follow up on our conversation at the cupcake shop.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked.
“Have you finally come to your senses?” I expected him to put up a front, come up with some excuse why he let Carlos get through the night alive. “You’re done playing for the cameras?”
There was a tug on the scar tissue that held my heart together, but this was all part of his game. I shook my head. “Tate, you don’t own me anymore. All of us who’ve come here today want peace in the forest. We want to move on. I want you to move on too, so you can find the she-wolf who loves you the way you deserve to be loved.”
Tate had his own posse. The range workers and his right-hand men who’d always been more comfortable in this house than I ever had. They were loyal to Tate, and they wouldn’t let him walk away with his tail between his legs.
“You really think this wolf is your mate?” He didn’t even look at Carlos.
“I know it beyond a shadow of a doubt, but this isn’t about me. It’s about the pack.”
Tate snickered. “You’re an expert on the inner workings of pack politics now?”
“No, none of us are. We’re all trying to do our best. Tate, if you keep fighting, you’ll lose everything, including this beautiful ranch and your daughter.”
A low growl resonated in his throat. “Don’t you dare threaten me with Hazel.”
Protected by the Rogue Wolf Page 11
