by Addison Cain
Whatever possessed him was cold in its rage, calculating in speech. "You will never speak of such things again."
There was not enough breath to answer fully so she nodded her head and hissed the words, "It's the truth."
Shifting enough so she might breathe, Shepherd snarled, "You will be punished. Corday will die."
There was no anger or fear in her expression, simply unfathomable disappointment. "Look at me. Look at what you are doing."
Shepherd stared down at the woman he was hurting. When she brought her other hand up to cup his face, ignoring the black marks already blooming on her skin, he did not stop her, but neither did he enjoy her touch.
"I am only trying to help you see, to understand the point you are missing," Claire whispered, seeing that she had shaken him badly, hurt him.
He was unmoved. "You hate me."
Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose. - Sun Tzu
"I am trying to be your mate; a woman you only took because Svana was unfaithful and you were in pain."
The furious ache in her other arm abated, Shepherd lessened his grip. "I took you because you were meant to be mine. I could smell it on you."
The warmth of her small hand slipped to his neck, to the ridge of muscles he once claimed hurt him, and she rubbed. "Had she remained faithful, would you have saved me from the mob?"
"What do you think you are doing?" Shepherd's nostrils flared, and though he was furious, his cock lay hard as a rock against her thigh.
Claire stopped her touch. "I was only trying to soothe you as you do for me when I'm upset. When your emotions are calm you will see that I am right."
Growling, he jammed himself inside her in one sharp thrust. Claire grimaced, and braced herself. Shepherd, heavy inside her, cupped her face, snarling as he touched his forehead to hers. "This is how you may soothe me."
He jerked and rocked her again, making her breath catch as she brought her aching arms up to embrace the raging Alpha. Overly rough, he snapped his hips, pounding away, practically howling when her slick eased his passage. "And you will scream my name every time I make you come!"
Chapter 12
Her entire body ached, even with warm water pouring over the fresh bruises. Overly attentive, Shepherd washed away the dried semen that made her sticky, which matted her hair, holding her to him as he bathed his mate.
They had both slept, tangled and sweaty from hours of fucking like animals. Even as she was now, her eyes were half-dilated as if still in a mating high, which was probably the only thing keeping the Omega from hissing at the touch of his hands on tender skin his zealous possession had rubbed raw.
Shepherd took her chin, drawing her sleepy eyes to his face. "I will not harm Corday."
Flatly, Claire answered, "I knew you wouldn't."
The giant hesitated, the creases by his eyes betraying a smirk. "Did you?"
"If you hurt him, I would punish you as severely as I could."
Shepherd's amusement faded. "You would kill yourself."
"Yes."
Each word was perfectly enunciated and lacked the bitterness the man felt sour his stomach. "His value to you is higher than the rest of your forty-three."
Claire licked her wet lips and thought about how best to answer, or if she should even answer at all. "I owe him."
Shepherd felt the rush of blood behind his eyes, fought to be gentle as he rinsed her hair. "It is more than that. I saw you together. You bear fondness for the Beta."
Inspiring any type of excessive hatred in Shepherd for Corday could be dangerous to her friend, and would serve no purpose except to pointlessly agitate the Alpha. "I do not love Corday, not in the way you imagine. But I owe him, as I said. I have lied to him, and drugged him. I deceived him…"
"To keep him safe," Shepherd purred, finishing her statement, somewhat mollified at the truth of her words and their echo in the bond. "Does that not sound familiar?"
"No." Her answer was harsh.
"Do not lie to me, little one. His situation mirrors yours."
"I said no because I meant no," Claire argued, grimacing at the stiffness in her hips when he began to rub. "You didn't drug me to keep me safe. You drugged me to create a baby."
He took her chin and turned her face up to force her full attention. "And that baby justifies your value to my men. It is keeping you alive."
Scowling, feeling cold even in the heat and steam of the shower, apprehension crept over Claire. "What do you mean?"
Seeing his words had unsettled her, Shepherd spoke in a hard tone. "If you are not careful, if you do not begin to nest again and ensure that our offspring grows, should you miscarry… I would have to replace it immediately."
A look of horror twisted her face. "I don't understand."
"You don't need to. You simply need to be a mother." Shifting his mass, he pressed her back to the tiles. "You are mine, and I will do anything to ensure your continued survival. I would kill millions, I would lie to you, and I would rape you if I had to and fill you with child again should you lose this one."
How had she felt even a moment of power over this man? "You're scaring me."
"Good." He turned off the water and pulled her out. "It seems to be the only way to get through to you."
"What about your legacy?"
He smiled, a nasty thing, and pawed her belly. "It will be unparalleled."
Wilting, Claire muttered, "I have no urge to nest. Not in that bed. Not anymore."
As if the idea had not occurred to the Alpha, he narrowed his eyes and seemed to consider. "You wish for a new bed?"
"I do not wish for anything," Claire sighed, feeling again as if she was talking to a wall.
Shepherd continued, speaking to himself. "If I procured this new bed, you would nest."
Desperately uneasy, she growled. "You are not listening to me, Shepherd."
"And you would desire new materials, in that color you like…" He was running a towel over her skin as if insensible to her bruised skin.
She snarled and batted his hands away. "You're hurting me, you deaf jackass."
Snapped out of his tirade, he froze and looked at the small thing that had just barked at him. Snorting a caustic laugh, he grunted, "You have grown far more outspoken with pregnancy."
"I have grown far more outspoken because I no longer care if you kill me! I don't want a new bed. I want you to explain what the fuck you are talking about!"
Shepherd took her arm and gently turned her so that he might pat her hair dry. "You are only being difficult… you need a new bed."
"Okay, fine! Since you don't listen to a goddamn thing I say anyway, here goes: I want a new bed in a big room with carpet instead of concrete. A room with a wall of windows that overlook a garden I planted full of flowers—which would be a miracle, as every houseplant I ever had died. I want to move without restriction through this grand house I will be nesting in, and be free to go outside and sit on grass… And I want a pony too, Shepherd. No, forget that. I want a fucking unicorn."
Pulling her hair so that she had to look back at him, he scowled. "You may not have a pony, and unicorns don't exist."
She really didn't mean to, was so in knots inside she could not even begin to fathom where it came from, but just for a second, she giggled. Slapping a hand over her mouth, still stuck with her head leaning back at an unnatural angle, she forced her face into neutrality and continued to make her point. "What color is it that you are so certain I like?"
"You prefer green, the same shade as your eyes."
Was that why almost every single dress he'd provided was green? "What gave you that idea?"
He looked as if such a miscalculation was not possible. "That is not the color you favor?"
"Sure, it's a pretty color… but it's not my favorite color." Understanding, Claire narrowed her eyes and leveled a disapproving gaze at the man. "Let me guess, you got this information from your interrogations of the Omegas."
/> "Red, like your picture?" he tried again, letting go of her hair so she might turn and he could see her fully.
"No. Why didn't you just ask me if you wanted to know something so mundane?" But then it dawned on her. He wanted to provide things she was supposed to like without prompting… as a tactic of sorts; because that was the only way he knew how to be.
Shepherd grew aggravated, standing naked and demanding rudely, "What is your favorite color?"
"Bird's egg blue." Mocking him, Claire cocked her head to the side and batted her lashes. "And, Shepherd, since we are being so congenial, what is yours?"
"Expressly, the exact color of your eyes." He wasn't flirting, he was annoyed, but even so the words were… something. They made her blush and he noticed it, his intense gaze losing its edge and gaining that unnerving calculation instead. "I also find the rich black of your hair to be incredibly fetching."
She was positively scarlet and clearly wanted him to look away. It had been months since she had tried to cover her nakedness and she did not know what led her to do it, but her arm came up to hide her flushed breasts.
Shepherd looked only amused, or fascinated might have been a better description. "And now you are shy…" he cooed, evilly. "This is nothing I have not said before."
But she had purposefully never listened… she had ignored it and hated the sound of his distorted raspy voice.
"You know I find you to be very beautiful," the monster continued, proudly prowling, trapping her against the sink. "You are, in fact, the most comely female I have ever seen."
Claire was sorely tempted to snap something nasty at him, to bring up Svana, or the Omegas, or anything to get him to stop looking at her that way. Instead she just stammered, "I… am cold."
"Well then, by all means, pretty little one," Shepherd's thick arms encircled her, "let me warm you."
A stifled noise sputtered passed her lips as bulging muscle pulled her flush.
His lips came to her ear and the man growled in the most licentious voice she had ever heard, "And you have the most beautiful pussy I have ever known. It is perfection. Anytime you should ask, I would lick it, taste you until you screamed my name like you did four times last night."
"STOP!"
Stroking his touch up her body until Claire's jaw rested in his hand, he pulled the Omega from where she tried to hide her face against his chest. Their eyes mere inches apart, his hand delved between her legs to lightly swipe the gathering slick at her folds. Pulling slippery fingers away, he made a satisfied male noise and left her standing, panting, flushed, and aroused, while muttering, "Bird's egg blue," as he left.
Those moments… when one has a black bag over their head, when a body is being jostled, and you know, you just fucking know, your number is up… those moments just plain suck.
Feeling hands shove her back until her rear end made an uncomfortable connection with a hard chair, Maryanne prepared for her greatest performance. Or she did until the bag came off in a swoop and she was face to face again… with Shepherd.
The words caught in her throat, the typical sensual quality she knew how to use to manipulate failed, and all Maryanne could do was stare.
That man had decimated Thólos… ruined her city. That man stank of Claire's cooch. Ewww…
"Well," Maryanne let out a breath, "turns out I was right about just where Claire disappeared to. Guess that means I'm off limits, huh?"
The looming male leaned closer. "Shall we discuss the nuances of the agreement between my mate and myself? I only offered to spare your life. There was no mention of what I would do with said life. Technically, I could break every bone in your body, subject you to torture, take what little freedom you have left. So long as you continue breathing I will have fulfilled my end of the bargain." Shepherd's finger lightly tapped the table between them. "And Claire would never know…"
But he wanted something, otherwise she would not be there. He wanted something for Claire.
The terror was there, the slow rising panic that tainted her sweat and signaled to the much stronger Alpha that she was afraid. "You have a use for me."
"You will be coming back into my employ."
"What do you need me to steal?"
His mouth did not move in the slightest, but Maryanne was certain his expression displayed just how stupid he thought she was. "Your duty will be to bring information about the circumstances of the Omegas and the Beta, Enforcer Corday, to Claire. In these conversations, I advise that you make her happy, or you will be very unhappy when they conclude."
The thought of seeing Claire chased away a fraction of the dread. "Sure thing. I know exactly how to make her smile."
"You will not share detailed information, just the general wellbeing of the individuals I send you to photograph. You will not interact with these people or be seen. All images will be checked before Claire views them, and should I find anything unsettling, it would not bode well for you. You will speak of absolutely no one else."
Nodding, Maryanne signaled that she understood.
The last warning held the threat of great pain should she fail him. "And if she tries to pass you a note or does anything subversive, you will tell me privately. She will not be punished."
Claire might try, Maryanne knew it in her bones, and she already hated knowing full well she would hand anything over to Shepherd rather than face the consequences of being the go between in correspondences with Claire's little boyfriend. "She doesn't trust me."
"Let's not play games, Ms. Cauley."
"When do I begin?"
It took a few hours and another breakfast of the horrible green smoothie before her stomach settled from Shepherd's odd adoring behavior in the shower. He was gone again, a thing Claire was supremely grateful for so she could stretch and pace and formulate her next move.
Looking at the nasty bruising on her arm, Claire flexed the limb, certain it would ache for quite some time. It was worth it. Shepherd may have cornered her that morning, made her uncomfortable and bashful, but she'd had him with his back against the wall the night before, just long enough to expose that she had been correct. Pieces of it were coming together, Shepherd's mental need to keep her all to himself, using her to ease the grief Svana caused whether he recognized that fact or not, confirmed.
That was something; it was a place to start.
Shepherd's initial reaction had been violent, even the sex, but when they woke he was only indulgent. It was as if the rage from the previous night, the force that had compelled him to fuck her so roughly and so long she'd become boneless, was just gone.
The man had exorcised a demon.
Even at his most dangerous, he had never looked from her face, kept much of his skin pressed to hers, ordered her to call out his name, his burning eyes almost rolling back in his skull each time she did. He communicated to her with his driving need, with the force in which he urged her climax; his fiery expressions used to frighten her, the set of his jaw, the glares… now she was beginning to understand. It was longing.
Shepherd was always watching her reaction, looking for something, some small hint as he coaxed out her sordid urges. He had some need that had been neglected. When coupled she was tender and would stroke him, draw in his scent and smile. Perhaps that was why he mated her so often; he had a base craving for such affection. Shepherd wanted her to love him and was confused as to how to foster such a thing when she did not automatically fall into what he assumed was proper Omega behavior.
Claire did not love him, but she had offered him comfort when his side of the cord displayed the turmoil her words had stirred up. That had been instinctive, and even though she despised Shepherd, it was the right thing to do in the war she was waging. Progress would require her to serve her position as mate if she was to stand even a chance of edifying him, and petty tactics such as seduction or dishonesty would never serve her.
Claire was not foolish enough to believe she could fix him. After all, Shepherd's thinking was warped far beyond anyth
ing she could untwist. But she could chip away at the wrongness; she could expose weakness in a man who seemed to have none.
Claire was going to bare him to himself piece by piece if it killed her.
It probably would.
The door opened and the dead-eyed, dangerous Beta entered. He ran a quick appraisal over her and then went to switch the trays. "Your arm," Jules grunted, "do you require pain relief?"
The absolute disinterest in the man's expression made the question completely strange. Edging nearer, circling around to face the male, Claire tucked her hair behind her ear. "That would bely the effects of the punishment."
Aware of what the Omega had done to earn such bruises, Jules mocked, "You believe that to be a punishment? I thought you were supposed to be clever."
Cocking her head, Claire felt something odd in their exchange but could not put her finger on it. "You find Shepherd's actions intriguing?"
"He was gentle with you."
Looking down at her arm, at the black marring blotches, she frowned. "And here I thought you were supposed to be clever, Jules."
The male was not interested in further communication and gave her his back.
Slipping the straps of her dress off her arms, she asked in a voice devoid of feeling, "Does this look gentle to you?"
Glancing over his shoulder at the woman decorated in the bruises of rough sex, Jules turned quickly to the wall and barked, "Put your dress back on!"
"This is what confuses me about the lot of you." Claire continued, unmoved by his morality. "You won't look because you find my nudity inappropriate, yet you created a city full of rape that you do not even blink an eye at. You are all walking contradictions."
"You are my leader's mate. PUT ON YOUR DRESS."
It was strange to see the man who always appeared unaffected grow agitated. Smirking, Claire pulled the fabric over tender skin. "I think we both made our point."
Once certain she was decent, the man leveled her with a glare that almost held the same power as Shepherd's. "You are playing a very dangerous game."
Standing her ground, Claire said, "Not everyone is playing a game. I am simply trying to communicate, and I do not speak your language."
