Darcy couldn’t help but smile. She just felt like she’d won the spell training lottery. What did she need a Hunter for when she had a source of magical information right there, offering to help train her? Saska the Great would help her harness her own powers so that no one—not Mayhem, not Raven, or anyone else—would dispute her right to protect the pack.
Chapter Nine
And so it was.
Raven didn’t like her—Saska the mighty, or whatever. She was sketchy and duplicitous. She wasn’t giving them all the information, but that could have been because she didn’t trust them. Not that he could blame her for that. Mayhem didn’t trust her either, which meant the pack was on edge and alert. And she kept staring at him when she thought he wasn’t looking. Creepy as all hell.
She was also spending a lot of time with Darcy, alone, during the day while Raven was in his wolf.
Darcy loved the woman and Raven thought it might have something to do with missing her Aunt Annie or something. She hadn’t seen the old woman since they’d battled back at the hotel, going on a couple of years ago now. Saska, although not anything like Darcy’s aunt, was giving her everything that she craved. Knowledge, training, encouragement, and acceptance. Raven got that—what he didn’t get was why Darcy couldn’t see any flaw in Saska. She also had lost any suspicion or common sense when it came to anything Saska told her.
Like the other day, Darcy had been ranting about Mayhem to Raven. Expressing her frustration that he hadn’t accepted Saska into the pack, that Saska had the best interests of everyone at heart. And that maybe the Order was wrong about all this political shit. Raven wasn’t an Order supporter either, but he didn’t see things as black and white. Politics and war rarely were.
And then there was the training, or as Saska called it, beast grooming. It was going on day four now and the tension in the gym was palpable. Leaning casually against the wall, he watched her coach Mayhem and Dy, her tone growing impatient as it usually did this time of night.
“I don’t understand why you are so resistant to my suggestion, Mayhem.” She motioned to his head. “If you’d just close your eyes and relax, listen to my voice.”
“I’m hearing your damn voice, woman,” Mayhem barked. “It’s all I hear these days.”
So far, Mayhem had only successfully altered his legs, transforming his lower half into a more beastly resemblance. It wasn’t pretty or useful.
“You’re too locked in, too resistant to the change.” She looked over at Raven. “If you would just show them, Raven. You might be able to enact the hive mind and connect with them.”
“No.” Raven pushed himself from the wall, arms crossed. “I’ve told you this already. I will not be coming into my beast. Not ever. You can abandon that idea permanently.”
Saska frowned. “You make your pack weak.”
“If I lose control, I make myself weak and will be a liability to the pack,” Raven countered.
“That’s not true,” Saska argued. “It is only as your beast that you have your true strength.”
“Enough training for tonight.” Mayhem grabbed a towel from the bench and wiped his face. “I will attempt a change while in my wolf form later.”
Dy nodded. “I feel like I’m close. Maybe that’s what I need. See if my wolf will be more receptive to Saska’s instructions.”
“You can communicate with your wolves?” Saska looked surprised, as if she’d never heard of such a thing.
“We all can. It’s not always coherent, but there’s definitely a conscious understanding or at least an awareness.” Raven cocked his head. “You’re telling me Saska the All Powerful didn’t know that could happen?”
Mayhem snorted. Saska scowled.
“I’m going to spend some time with my mate before the sun comes up,” Raven said as he walked out of the room, having had his fill of Saska’s demands.
“Wait up, Rav,” Mayhem said as he followed him out.
They walked down the hall together, silent until they were out of earshot.
“I can’t get any information out of Greer,” Mayhem said as he motioned toward the locked room where the Huntress was being held. “Summer tried to talk to her yesterday but all she got was some propaganda about joining with her Amazon tribe.”
“Isn’t that what Saska said about her? That she recruited for her Queen?” Raven cringed a little, not really wanting to give Saska any points for telling the truth.
“Yeah, but I think there’s more to it than that.” Mayhem stopped at the staircase. “I think she believes the girls are in trouble here. That perhaps they are being held against their will or something. Summer said that Greer was talking to her like she was an abused woman needing help or something.”
“Well, I’d imagine that her perception of us may be tainted.” Raven chuckled uncomfortably. None of this was sitting well with him. Having a woman locked up in their basement was out of the normal realm to begin with, but holding a possible key player in a bigger fight might also prove to be damn stupid. And yet, she was too dangerous to let go.
“It’s fucking maddening. She doesn’t trust us, which I don’t blame her for. It’s not like I can untie her and treat her like a guest. She is dangerous. I swear if looks could kill…” Mayhem said, echoing Raven’s thoughts.
“Yeah, I’ve caught that glare a few times.” Raven took a few of the stairs, eager to get to his mate. “Maybe if Hannah went in there, used some of her emotional control.”
“Tried that. Doesn’t work. Saska says it’s because Greer has the bond of a Hunter and the bite of her beast. It makes her more powerful.”
“Wouldn’t that mean that Hannah can’t be shackled by Greer then? She has her Hunter’s bond and your bite, right?”
“Nah, doesn’t work that way. The fact that she was able to shackle Saska means that she’s probably centuries old as well. Or at least, that’s what Saska believes. I think she was surprised that Greer could do it to her in the first place. It’s hard to know what’s fact or fiction with that woman. It’s obvious Saska doesn’t have power. I doubt she’d be as submissive as she has been if she had her powers with that ego of hers…”
“Or perhaps her abilities aren’t that all powerful.” Raven snorted. “She’s got an ego the size of this mansion.”
“True.” Mayhem sighed. “Either way, if Greer is old and she is able to shackle any Huntress, then no one in this house is safe. It’s not worth the chance anyway.”
“No, definitely not.”
“She won’t eat.” Mayhem sighed. “Huntress or not, she needs food at some point.”
“What, like she’s doing a hunger strike?” Raven took a step down, closer to Mayhem. He glanced at the door. How long could a Huntress go without food?
“She says she won’t eat until we let her speak with someone from her tribe.”
“Well, fuck, for a prisoner, she’s sure making it hard to keep her alive.” He tried to make his tone light, but inside his gut was writhing. Someone with conviction would go on a hunger strike. Someone who truly believed they were being wronged. Nothing about this situation was feeling right.
“Well, she’s a Huntress, immunity to death and all that,” Mayhem said with a sigh. “Not like she’s just going to wither away that easily. But we do need to get her to eat. This whole situation is a fucking mess. I don’t want to make it worse by appearing to abuse a prisoner of war.”
“Have you heard from Jay or Aubrey?”
“Yeah, Aubrey called and we spoke briefly. She hasn’t gotten a lot of info yet. Seems as though the family really did intend for this to be a reunion. They’re refusing to do anything but make Jay feel at home. She said that he’s eating it up.”
“Of course he is. Anything to strengthen his bond to Aubrey,” Raven said with a wave of his hand. “I need to go talk to Darcy. She’s been spending a lot of time with Saska and I want
to make sure she isn’t being brainwashed by her bullshit.”
Mayhem gave a stern nod. “Yes, I’ve noticed that she’s got blinders on where Saska is concerned.”
“I escorted Saska to her room,” Dy said as he jogged down the stairs, joining them. “Took her up the back staircase when I heard you guys talking.”
Mayhem glanced up and nodded. “Good. You gonna take watch here for a while?”
“Yeah, Summer will be down at sunrise. She’s just getting some sleep.”
“I’ll see you both later. Make sure you get a run in and do some hunting today. It’s better to blow off some steam when you can.” Mayhem continued down the hall, heading toward his private office.
* * * * *
Blow off some steam, hell yes, he needed to. With Darcy. Right after he made sure she wasn’t turning zombie to Saska.
He found her in bed, not naked and waiting for him, but tapping away on her laptop, so engrossed that she hadn’t noticed him enter the room.
He stood at the end of the bed for a full minute, watching her work. What the fuck had her so enthralled he had no idea. Raven leaped onto the mattress, creating such a violent bounce that Darcy and her laptop almost flew off the side. He grabbed her, letting the laptop hit the carpet.
“Raven!” Darcy screeched as she scrambled to get out of his arms and to her precious computer. “It might be broken!”
Raven locked his arms around her and pulled her into his body, nuzzling her neck. “I’ll buy you a new one.”
She tried to fight him off but his lips on her throat was her kryptonite and he knew it. He nibbled and licked and it only took a few seconds before she was moaning and grinding.
He slipped his hand under her shirt and rubbed her nipple, loving how it was already rock hard and pebbled for him. “You’re workin’ too hard, baby,” he mumbled as he slid his other hand around her back, dipping into her pants to squeeze her ass.
“I’ve been learning a bunch of new spells, thanks to Saska,” Darcy said on a moan.
Raven stilled. Fucking Saska. He pulled back to look at Darcy, sliding his hands from her pants and shirt. “I’m getting worried about all that time you’re spending with the All Powerful Saska.”
Darcy frowned, her eyes still unfocused. “Huh?”
Raven pulled farther away, flipping on his back with a sigh. “She’s not all there, Darc, you’ve got to know that. She’s not being totally honest with us.”
Darcy sat up, her hair a mess, her lips puffy. “Can you blame her?” She cut him off before he could respond. “I mean, come on, Rav. She’s been nothing but helpful, sharing all that she knows, trying so hard to train us so that we aren’t sitting ducks when the time comes to defend ourselves and no one is even thanking her. Mayhem will barely be civil to her.”
Raven sat up, his hand on Darcy’s elbow. “Thanking her? We’re giving her shelter, protection, and we don’t even know who she really is.”
“She’s talking to me. I’m getting to know her.” She blew out a breath. “I mean, I know what you’re saying. I get that we need to be cautious but, Rav, she’s just got so much information. So many spells and whatever I try works now!”
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt or have you do something that you’ll regret later.” Raven reached up to brush some of her wayward hair into place. “Just try to be more cautious, okay? Try not to swallow her shit so completely and without question.”
Darcy nodded, looking solemn for a few seconds before she was beaming at him. “I learned a new spell yesterday. I think you’ll like it.”
Raven groaned, ready to give up on any thought of sex as he flopped onto the mattress, his arm over his eyes.
Darcy jumped on him, straddling his hips. “You’re going to love this. Keep your eyes closed for a minute.”
He sighed, resignation taking hold. There was only an hour or so until daylight hit. He wanted to spend that time making love to his woman, not experimenting with her spells. But he couldn’t crush her excitement and he didn’t want to end the night with a fight.
She mumbled a string of nonsense, words he couldn’t follow, but he felt her casting and her magic was substantially more powerful than he remembered. Suddenly there was a weight on the bed next to him and he startled, pulling his arm away to look. “What the fuck?”
There was a woman in bed with them. Naked and beautiful. He tried to sit up, but Darcy was still on his lap, grinning down at him.
“You like?”
Raven’s eyes were wide. He glanced over at the other woman. “Who? Wh-h-hat?” Sputtering, he shifted a little so he could right himself.
“Remember that porno we watched the other night? We liked her, remember?” Darcy reached over and stroked the woman’s hair, pushing it back from her shoulder. The woman smiled at Darcy, the image of her flickering like a hologram.
“Is she real?” Raven reached out and poked her shoulder, feeling something not quite solid but substantial enough to move the woman back a bit.
“She’s a replica, from my imagination. And we can do anything we want with her. Think of it like virtual, interactive porn.”
Raven looked at Darcy with surprise. “And you’re okay with this?”
Darcy shrugged. “I’m okay with experimenting. And I like her. I want to see what it feels like to be with a woman while you watch. The question is, are you okay with it?”
Raven’s cock pulsed. Darcy felt it and giggled.
“I think I’m okay with it.” Raven looked over at the woman. “What do we call her? Can she talk?”
Darcy shook her head and then whipped off her shirt. “Nah, she’s mute. I could maybe work on adding some moans or something. Let’s call her Stacy.”
Raven nodded. “I like that.” He lay back down. “I’m gonna let you take the lead on this, Darc, I’m in totally new territory here.”
Darcy nodded as she slipped off her bra, her breasts swaying slightly as she lifted her ass to get her jeans off. She wasn’t wearing panties. “Was feeling a little reckless today.” She giggled.
“Uh huh.” Raven nodded, his heart hammering. This was so hot. So unexpected. Just the unknown aspect was enough to have his cock weeping pre-come.
Darcy slid off his lap. “Get undressed.” She moved over to kneel in front of Stacy, the other woman mirroring her action.
Raven did as he was told, removing his clothes so fast he actually ripped his shirt in half. He didn’t want to lose a second of this eye candy though.
Darcy glanced over at him as she lifted her hand to Stacy’s jaw. “You ready for this?”
Raven knelt too, then nodded. “Hell yes, fuck yes, I’m totally ready for this.”
Darcy turned back to Stacy and then slowly, tentatively, pressed her lips to the other woman’s.
That kiss, that fucking kiss was the hottest thing that Raven had ever seen in his life.
Darcy moaned as she angled her face, the kiss deepening, tongues definitely involved. Raven gripped his cock in his fist and slowly began to stroke. Even if this was all she did, it was enough. Holy fuck, it was more than enough.
Chapter Ten
Darcy loved kissing this woman. Her lips were so soft, nothing like kissing Raven. Darcy reached up and cupped Stacy’s breast. Surprised by the weight, the silkiness, she brushed her thumb over her nipple and felt a jolt of electrical desire pulse through her. Best idea ever.
Raven moaned. Darcy smiled as she broke the kiss and looked over at him. He had his cock in hand and was stroking himself, eyes hooded but riveted all the same. He watched her every move.
“You liking this, baby?” she cooed as she helped Stacy lie back. “You wanna touch too?”
She saw doubt flicker in his eyes.
“I want you to touch her. Come here.” Darcy moved to the other side of the bed and lay next to Stacy on her side, her e
lbow holding her head as she watched Raven mirror her action. Darcy leaned down and licked Stacy’s nipple. “Do that,” she said as she pulled away.
With eyes locked on Darcy’s, Raven did as he was told. Taking Stacy’s nipple into his mouth, his tongue darting out.
It was the hottest thing she’d ever seen. “Don’t stop,” Darcy breathed as she did the same, suckling Stacy’s nipple, flicking with her tongue. Rolling the hard little peak as she stared into the eyes of her mate.
Darcy slipped her hand down her own stomach, sliding between her legs to rub her pussy, to coat herself in her own juice. Raven closed his eyes briefly, groaned when he opened them to see her fingers hovering just at his mouth. He moved to lick her juice from them, but she had other ideas. She rolled her fingers over Stacy’s nipples, mixing their saliva with her cream. Stacy seemed to be enjoying it, her body moving with them, her lips curled into a satisfied smile as she watched it all. Darcy nodded and they both lowered back down to suck and nibble her juice away from Stacy’s flesh. The taste of her own desire made her pussy clench and weep.
She moved her hand down Stacy’s smooth stomach this time, through the little nest of hair, and then along her slit. Her fingers in another woman’s pussy made Darcy’s body jolt in time with Stacy’s own reaction. Stacy bucked her hips as Darcy rubbed between her lips, spreading her open with her fingers and slowly probing within. So soft. A warm wet cushion greeted her. Darcy pulled her fingers out. Creamy. Raven stopped what he was doing, eyes glued on that hand.
Darcy smiled wickedly. “Should I taste it?”
Raven’s eyes shot wide and he nodded.
So she did. She brought her fingers to her lips and sucked them in. The taste of another woman’s desire, even a virtual one, was incredible. Like she was tasting a sweetness, the same, but different from her own taste. She licked her fingers then offered them to Raven. He sucked them greedily, eyes closed as his tongue stroked her up and down.
She pulled her hand away.
“Hmm, what next?” But she knew what was next. She wanted to go all the way.
Beast Rising: The Order of the Wolf, Book 7 Page 8
