by Christa Wick
She drew a shaky breath. He had every right to be impatient. She had made him wait for twelve years. His hand curled around hers and she released the breath she had been holding.
Start small, she thought.
"Esme and Leah are going to regress my memory this afternoon."
His gaze widened and he gave a small nod. "I wondered why she didn't argue with Dana about delaying a while longer before contacting the Witches Council."
"Exactly," Iris answered. "That and making sure the other latents are clear."
"Yeah." A harsh laugh punctuated his agreement as his mind turned toward the crystals in Esme. "Camille better hope someone other than Dana gets to her first."
Pulling Iris's hand onto his lap, Cade tilted his head down so he could see her face and she could see his. He waited for her to say something more. She let him wait, her brain still turning over which was the wiser course -- have him present or lie and say that was all she wanted to tell him.
Hell, "wise" wasn't even part of her calculations. She wanted what was less painful, for both of them. Only she hurt at the idea of him being absent during the regression every bit as much as his being present cut at her. Different pains, but equal. Smothering both was the fear of the unknown. What would she remember? What horrible, terrifying things would come out of her mouth?
"I suppose you don't want me there when it happens?" He said at last.
She didn't listen to the words so much as their tone, at the fierce quiver of need to protect her and at the undercurrent of hurt because he thought she didn't want him with her. She turned toward him, tears filling her eyes and shook her head.
"I absolutely want you with me when they do it."
There! The decision was made, no turning back. So why didn't she feel any relief?
Cade pulled her close, one arm behind her back and his big hand curled around her other hip. "Why?"
A silent, slightly hysterical laugh rang inside her head. She hadn't felt relief because a decision made is not a decision executed. He wanted to know why. More than one reason clamored in her thoughts. Scared shitless, she felt afraid, vulnerable, unable to protect herself. Cade would keep her safe. And if she shifted again, just as she had done while trapped in Oscar's memories, who would protect Esme and Leah?
"I don't want to repeat what I remember," she answered flatly.
Cade made a little noise at the back of his throat, as if he wanted to call her on the bullshit she'd just spread out in front of him. Instead, he pressed his lips against her hair, nuzzling her for a second before he asked, "Is that all?"
No, but she didn't think she could admit it, not with him sitting so close, his arm already around her, his lips a centimeter from her face.
Letting go of the hand he still held, Cade smoothed his palm across Iris's stomach so that he had her fully encircled in his arms. The kiss he had pressed to her hair moved down to her cheek, the lips whispering over her skin in a feathering of kisses inexorably aimed at her mouth. She wanted to turn into him, to offer up her submission, to tell him that she wanted him there because she loved him, always had, and was terrified to go in alone.
But she knew where that would lead. Hell, she was sitting where that would lead!
Pushing lightly at his chest, she cleared a little distance between them. "We can't be intimate...before..."
She wasn't sure about after, either, and Cade knew it. He lifted his dark brows at her, his mouth lightly upturned in a mischievous smile.
"Is that a magic rule, baby?"
"No." She rolled her eyes at him before turning serious. "You might regret it after you hear what I--"
"Never," he interrupted and pulled her close again, his arms tensing to ensure she stayed within his embrace. "You're just looking for another excuse to hide, baby. You don't ever need to hide from me."
His teeth captured the lobe of her ear as one hand slid up the swell of her stomach. Reaching the breast, he paused, the heat of his open palm penetrating her blouse and bra as Cade gently chewed along the curve of her jaw. Iris turned her face toward Cade's. His mouth captured hers as his palm slid further up to cup her swollen flesh. His thumb and index finger found the jut of her excited nipple and he gave a slow tug.
"Cade..." She repeated his name in a half concealed moan, the jaws of her wolf locked around any protest Iris might offer.
He eased off the bed, his tongue and lips unceasing in their sweet torment as his hands gripped her knees and teased her legs apart. The clothes she had dressed in earlier that afternoon were Esme's. The hem of the long black skirt that usually swished around the witch's ankles fell mid calf on Iris. Cade pushed the fabric up to her thighs, his touch hotter than lava as his fingertips and palms flowed over her skin.
With one hand against the center of Iris's chest, Cade coaxed her onto her back, her plump bottom perched at the edge of the mattress and her legs spread as wide as they would go. Knowing he was seconds from tasting her, Iris felt the first stab of panic and reached for the mass of dark curls slowly descending toward her sex.
Cade let his mate knot her fingers in his hair, but didn't alter his trajectory. When she lightly tried to pull him away, he shook his head. His lips played over her inside thigh, the kisses hotter than his hands had been seconds before.
"Baby, you don't understand what a well-behaved wolf I've been," he cautioned. "You're still in heat."
Kissing her other thigh, Cade let the words sink in. When Iris started to squirm, he gave a small nip, just hard enough to flush the pale skin without breaking its surface.
"Baby, you're a walking land mine," he pressed. "You heard all those cars and trucks that pulled up while we were talking?"
Her grip slowly relaxed as she realized his point before he said it.
"No one has come inside." He nipped her again, a little harder and through the thin material of her underwear. "Because of this."
This -- her heat, her soaking wet cunt, the thin layer of perspiration clinging to her body, rich with the pheromones of a female alpha wolf.
A harsh, possessive growl vibrated against her thigh, followed by the shriek of fabric as he tore the panties away. Knowing that his gaze was focused on her jumping, squeezing pussy, Iris tensed.
"Love, I don't care how many times these have been through the wash, they still have his scent buried in them."
His...
Esme's skirt, Esme's bra and blouse, Esme's panties carrying traces of Dana's presence while Iris was in heat. Too much for an alpha wolf like Cade to bear, especially with a runaway mate.
She lifted her mound toward his waiting mouth and found a little more stretch to widen her quivering thighs. She heard him sigh as he lowered his head to taste her, his pace kept slow and sweet the first few seconds. His tongue slid against her clit. His thumbs lightly massaged the perimeter of her cunt. Then lust blanketed their bodies. Gentle licks turned to a rough gnawing of his lips against her flesh, his thick thumbs penetrating her pussy as she rocked against his mouth, groaning her need for him to explore deeper.
Her wolf curled low in Iris's gut, reaching out to lick at her mate. Low growls emanated from Cade's throat, his lips throttling Iris's clit as he pushed three fingers into her cunt. His palm crowded the exterior of her gate and then he flexed.
Weaving her fingers in his hair, Iris urged Cade closer, wanting his cock in her as she swayed haphazardly at the edge of release. Fire flared through her limbs and only the dominance of her wolf over her magic kept witch light from erupting around her.
Hips slamming upward, she cried out Cade's name, unmindful of the crowd milling outside the house. Looping his free arm beneath her bottom and placing his hand across Iris's mound to hold her down, he dropped his head a few inches. Tongue replaced fingers and he licked slowly inside her cunt. Splaying the fingers of the hand over Iris's mound, he found her clit once more with his thick thumb.
Stroking above while licking deep into the center, he penetrated Iris below. The jealous star of her ass
yielded slowly to one finger, then two.
She howled, her body in a fever pitch, bucking against his face, wetting him with a flood of her juices as she came. She released her stranglehold on his head and wrapped her fingers around the edge of the mattress. Her nails stabbed at the bedding, witch light dancing at their tips and threatening to ignite the material as she climaxed again.
With a final roll and pitch, she came to a stop, gently squirming against his touch, mewling like a cat instead of the she-wolf she was.
"Don't worry, love," he said, breaking contact with her. "I'm not even close to done with this sweet pussy."
She had less than a second to process Cade's wicked grin before he flipped her onto her stomach and pushed the skirt up over her ass. A firm spank startled her. The muscles of her sex tightened as Cade simultaneously pushed in. Another pulsing second and then he ballooned inside her.
Iris screamed as pleasure overloaded her senses. She felt the weight of his chest against her back, his hands knotting in her hair and then twisting so that she turned toward his face. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, the cream she had released for him coating her taste buds.
Cade kissed like he fucked, rough and demanding one minute, gently circling the next so that she rode a roller coaster of too much and not enough.
"You're never getting away from me again," he warned, his wolf holding her down as he took what was his -- what had always been his. "You're mine for as long as I live and then I'm coming back to haunt you, baby."
Iris moaned, wondering during the interval between heartbeats how Cade had maintained the capacity for speech. She lifted against him, pussy and thighs squeezing to magnify the already overwhelming size of his cock and the knot at its base.
Cade growled and she knew he wrestled with the need to release.
"No, love." He straightened, finding a hidden reserve of control she didn't possess. "Not until I hear you howl my name again."
His hands took ownership of her ass, the palms and fingers on the outside, roughly manipulating the full flesh, as both thumbs gently teased the other hole open.
"Howling my name," he repeated, stretching her pussy and ass, rolling and diving until he had her panting for just enough air to remain conscious. "Admitting once and for all that you are my mate."
"Yes." Her high-pitched whine begged him to take her over the edge a second time and finish claiming her with his own climax. "Your mate..."
"You're only halfway there, baby." Cade chuckled, his motions slowing.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
She was all the way there, her tongue frozen as she jerked beneath him, cunt and ass whipping and sucking at his dick and fingers, drawing him deeper, savoring that final burst of inflation before his cock unleashed inside her.
"Cade..." A gurgle interrupted by a groan, and then she howled it again.
Cade!
Chapter Sixteen
Two hours later, freshly showered with a towel wrapped around her ample flesh, Iris opened the door between the bathroom and Cade's bedroom just a crack to find the witch on the bed, a friendly smirk lighting the woman's face.
"I'm glad that's settled," Esme teased.
Blushing, Iris walked to the dresser where a folded pile of clothes waited for her.
"I had Leah pick them up from the cabin," Esme said. "I hope that's okay. I realized too late Cade might have had an issue with the..."
Stopping, she lightly flicked her nose as the corners of her mouth lifted in another grin.
"Yeah, a little." Trying to erase the color from her cheeks, Iris rubbed at them. Her gaze tracked Esme as the witch rose and walked to the door.
"I'll wait in the hall," she offered. "Leah and Cade are in one of the healing rooms."
"I'll just be a few seconds," Iris nodded. With the witch out of the room, she quickly dressed. The need to add new wards to her flesh itched just below the surface, begging her to start with just a scratch or two.
She shook off the urge, the promise she had made to herself and Cade before he left her to shower repeating in her mind.
No more hiding -- not from her mate and not from her past.
Hair still damp, Iris joined Esme in the hall. The witch looped her arm through Iris's, her touch infused with magic to chase away the she-wolf's fears.
"Let's put an end to this mystery," Esme said, her gentle manner coaxing Iris down the hall.
Together, the women left the house through the back door.
The healing rooms weren't actually rooms but heated and comfortably decorated sheds with their own electricity and running water that Dana had ordered built around his house. After so many years apart, the big wolf wanted his mate close to him, at least when the witch's patients were well enough to leave their home. Iris appreciated that there was some part to the man that remained tender. But it seldom showed beyond his mate and the cub he had taken to heart and hearth.
Cade waited at the door to the shed, opening it for them as they approached. Esme led the way inside, lightly tugging Iris with her as Cade placed a warm hand against the she-wolf's back to ease her forward.
Didn't they understand how heavy her feet had become or how thick and impossible the air had turned?
"I'm with you, baby," Cade whispered into her ear. "Nothing will ever change that."
Her head dipped in acknowledgement, but she only half believed him. She could have done something in those missing weeks that would turn him away, or have had something done to her that would equally repel him. Twelve years had passed to weaken the bond between them. For all she knew, the remaining link was made of little more than air and memories that needed only the slightest bit of added pressure before snapping.
Approaching the oversized couch in the center of the room, Cade stopped. He glanced from Leah to Esme then gestured faintly at the entry.
"Give us a minute, ladies." However nicely phrased, his raw expression told the two women that he wasn't requesting their departure but demanding it.
They left quietly, their fingers whispering against Iris's arm as they passed her. She felt their magic infuse her, little electric charges working to relax her muscles enough that Cade could steer her onto the couch. He pulled a large ottoman in front of her and lifted her legs onto it as if she were a doll he had to dress or an invalid who couldn't complete the motion on her own.
Seeing the flesh bumps that prickled along Iris's arms, he rubbed the skin then grabbed a throw blanket from the side chair and covered her with it before sitting down next to her. He didn't speak, just leaned into her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Cade nuzzled her cheek and stroked her hair until she turned into him and hid against his chest, knowing that her mate's presence would shield her from the worst of her memories.
A few more seconds passed, her energy growing calmer, and then the women re-entered. Leah took a position behind the couch. The fine hair along the nape of Iris's neck rose with the uncomfortable memory of the metal gurney Oscar had been placed on and the Hunter who had held his head immobile while Quentin probed the cub's spine.
Except Leah didn't touch her. The latent placed her hand on top of Cade's, her energy passing through Cade to Iris to be almost imperceptibly altered by his wolf and the alpha power he possessed.
"Thank you," Iris whispered to the latent, uncertain how Leah knew that touching her would have made things worse instead of better.
Gently capturing Iris's hand, Esme pushed more magic into the she-wolf. It layered on top of Iris's energy, sank into her bones and into her blood, where her heart circulated it through the rest of her body. She relaxed further into Cade, her mind sensing Esme's commands more than she heard them.
Slowly they worked through the final days that Iris could remember. Camille's visit, Hank's growing animosity after the witch's departure, the old man finding her tucked under a tree, her nose in a book.
A new detail emerged from those that had always chased Iris through her nightmares. Blood stained Hank's shirt. He spoke,
the words unintelligible but something about Cade. He kept pulling at his crimson splattered shirt, his eyes wide with panic until she finally realized that Cade was hurt and Hank wanted her to go with him.
Her mind only half in the shed with Cade and the women, Iris told them what she saw, her voice as dull and lifeless as Hank's had been erratic and distressed.
It was a ruse, of course, but she sensed his trickery too late. Another wolf waited by his truck, someone she didn't know, so an outsider to the clan. She caught the flash at his open collar of a small pendant on a chain, both pieces made of silver.
"He reeks, like bad magic," she said. "And he's wearing silver jewelry."
She pawed the air, describing the pendant to Cade and the women. A claw mark, a wolf's scratch. The stranger's arm flashed in front of her, a fat streak of silver as he hit her hard in the temple with a heavy baton. She fell silent, unconscious in her memory.
And then she screamed, vibrations shaking the walls of the small shed as Iris found herself reliving the nightmare that had jolted her awake the morning of Oscar's interview.
A second wolf she didn't know, the same necklace and pendant as the other man wore hanging from his neck. His stink clogged her nose. Hank forced one knee against her back to keep her pinned stomach first to the ground, his pants down as he clawed at her clothes.
She tensed against Cade, her soft whimpers dotting the air while he wrapped his wolf protectively around her and Leah pushed more calming magic through him.
"You're doing great, baby," he whispered into her ear.
Iris felt love pouring from him, into her. Love, not disgust. His shirt grew wet beneath her tears but he kept holding her, whispering encouragement as she pushed past Hank stabbing her in the chest. Cade's wolf ran alongside her as she escaped, her body shifting to her were state for the first time as she breached the clearing and heard the explosion. Somewhere behind her, Hank howled in pain and rage.
She kept running, her legs twitching along the ottoman in memory like a fox chasing a rabbit in its dreams. She followed Hank's scent and the reeking trail of the other men to a turnout on the side of the rode. She knew the location from her few trips off clan lands. A plain black sedan waited parked next to Hank's familiar truck.
