by A. C. Mason
He stood. No sign of her outside. Where the hell had she gone? Didn’t she get the danger of the situation? He didn’t smell or sense any weres near, but rushed to the door. She lay curled up on the ground cradled by the deep snow. Barefoot, he ran out.
“Alexia.” He rushed next to her and slid.
Snow coated her face. A pit of fear expanded in his chest, engulfing him. He brushed away the powder from her pretty bronze flesh.
Tears coated her cheek. “No, you can’t leave me. Please, VanWolf.” She squeezed her eyes shut. Droplets cascaded from beneath her eyelids. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen, but you have to get out of there.” As she shook her head, her entire body trembled. “Yes, it’s my fault. I won’t forgive myself if I lose you. I can never be his and never could have been.”
VanWolf must be communicating with her telepathically. The strain in her voice tore through his heart. Cathen would have given his life for her not to know this pain. Nor did he want her to be forced to take him as her mate under these circumstances. He’d pleaded with VanWolf to pick another Epsilon-Beta time and time again, but he’d refused.
“You must care for her now. She is your mate.” VanWolf’s voice entered his mind. “I’ve explained to her the duty she has to you.” Agony came through the gurgling blood in VanWolf’s speech. He was weak and using the last of his will to speak with them both.
“You know I would lay down my life for hers.” Cathen spoke the words that under no other circumstances could be said between them.
“It’s what allows me peace in death…”
A wind of awareness traveled through Cathen’s body.
“Nooo!” Alexia slipped from him as she reached out.
Threads from pack members crashed into him, embedding in his soul. The pain each of them felt at the loss of their beloved leader weaved through his core. Heat burned his pectoral muscles as the mark of Alexia’s union to VanWolf branded itself in his chest. He grunted, then collapsed into the cold powder. Steam rose as snow met with his scorched flesh, delivering a new agony.
Cathen staggered to his knees, scooped Alexia to his chest and rose. She sobbed in his arms. Blood gushed down his shoulder, his vision blurred as he tried to remain focused. All he needed to do was get them inside. The door appeared to be moving farther away from him. Each sluggish step had him slipping in the deep snow. He couldn’t fail. Sorrow from the pack weighted him, compounding his own grief. The muscles in his legs trembled as he pushed on. VanWolf was gone. His knees buckled and he stumbled forward, holding Alexia to him.
“Cathen…”
His vision blurred and the world vanished.
Chapter 5
The limp body beneath Alexia broke her fall. Blood streamed from Cathen’s shoulder down his neck into the pristine snow. Deep claw incisions leaked a steady flow of blood, which coated his muscular torso.
“Cathen, please get up.” She pressed her hand into his cooling flesh and shook him. Oh, no! “I can’t lose you too.”
He lay still. She had to help him. How would she get him inside to heal his wounds? The air was so cold exposed flesh would get frostbite. Her shallow breathing misted in the frigid night. She needed something to slide him with, like a sled. Where would she get one of those? She was in the middle of nowhere.
“Think, Alexia,” she scolded herself like Cathen would if he were awake. “You are running out of time.”
What else would work? Maybe a blanket. That just might do the trick.
She pushed off him, ran into the cabin and retrieved a sheet. Panic set in as she rushed back to cover him with the blanket, tucking it beneath his head and feet. Her hands trembled.
“Please don’t let this be the end of him.” The pack was held together by his life force. They would all be in trouble if she didn’t save him. She’d have failed them. Just as she’d refused to do that to them when she was sent into Paris, she wouldn’t let that happen now.
A foot in the snow and a knee pressed up against him, she slipped her hands under his body and shoved. He weighed a ton.
“You’re as light as a feather.” She bent one of his legs and pulled it across the other, then folded his arms to his chest. Crawling over him, she pressed against his back and rolled his body onto the cover. As she heaved, he rotated onto the fabric.
She grabbed the corner of the sheet and tugged with all her might. The mass of him sunk into the soft powdery snow as she dragged him toward the door.
Panting into the frigid air, she wiped the wet trail of tears on her face biting into her skin. “I can’t do this.” Yet she had to. She gripped the cover. “Don’t be a spoiled princess.” Digging her heels into the snow, she yanked.
She passed the threshold, ran out and retrieved the bowl. She jogged, spilling the water and soaking the front of her garments. “Damn, that’s cold.” As she reentered, she slammed the door closed and set the container on the floor next to her. Using the blanket, she turned him onto his back.
Cathen’s flesh was now blue tinged and his breathing was shallow.
“The man better not even considering dying on me or I’ll kill him.” She removed her gloves and dipped her hands into the frigid fluid. With the corner of the cover, she wiped off the blood from the claw gashes in his flesh. Blood spewed from the opening.
She straddled his torso, closed her eyes and molded her fingers onto the sticky wounds beneath. Warmth radiated from her hands as she glided them along the openings. “Heal what another has damaged. Divine light, move through me and make him whole once more.” The words were more for her own benefit than an incantation of sorts.
Please let this work. Heat cast from her palm as she moved along the marks. She opened her eyes. She couldn’t lose him. The pack needed him, and so did she. Though the wounds were sealed, nothing happened. The peaceful expression on his face remained unchanged. The man had saved her life three times, and she couldn’t even return the favor once. Two males had given their lives for her tonight. This wasn’t right. She should have died with her mate, but she had the child she carried to think about. Without Cathen neither she nor the baby would make it.
She stared up at the ceiling. “All you ever do is take from me.” Tears stung her eyes while she cradled his face in her hands. “We need him. Please don’t take him.” She trembled against the icy skin beneath her. “I beg you.”
Cathen’s eyelashes fluttered.
“Thank God.” She wrapped her arms around his chest. Energy drained from her. Her teeth chattered.
Cathen grabbed her arm. “You’re freezing.”
“I’m fine.” Using the back of her hand, she flicked the droplets from her face.
“We need to get you warmed up.” He cradled her to his bare chest as he rose and climbed into the closet. Candlelight lit the amber jewels of his eyes and created hard angles on the lines of his face. He yanked the door closed.
His flesh against her cheek felt warm, yet she couldn’t seem to retain the heat.
“Remove your wet clothing.” Cathen reached for the top button of her coat.
“No.” She clutched the jacket, pulling away.
He grabbed her hips, his large hands holding her in place. “Alexia, I need to ensure your safety or VanWolf’s death will have been for nothing.”
Remorse formed a deep pit in her stomach. She was to blame for her mate’s death. She wasn’t Cathen’s responsibility. Nor would she accept being his mate.
“We can’t risk you getting sick,” he said, brushing away a curl from her face. “We have a long journey ahead of us.”
No. She shook her head.
“I’d rather you do this yourself, but if you are unable to do as I’ve asked, I will for you.” His breath wafted over her forehead. Warmth tingled inside her chest.
How could he be so casual about what he asked of her? “Please don’t do this, Cathen.”
His eyes, now amber halos, captured her gaze, rendering her powerless.
She thought of moving her arms and nothing
happened. Then she leapt up, but not even a twitch occurred. “Release me.”
“I’m sorry. I cannot.” He skimmed the back of his hand against her cheek.
Fire raged beneath his caress as he trailed down her neck to her coat. A ripple of excitement traveled to her clit, inflicting a throbbing pulse.
Embarrassment gripped her. “Don’t touch me this way,” she said through gritted teeth. How could his intrusion affect her this way?
One at a time, he brought her arms to the sides of her body. He unfastened her coat. The fabric pooled on the floor behind her.
Didn’t he understand she didn’t want him?
“I do.” Pain filled his gaze. With speed he unlooped each button of his dress shirt, which she wore, then parted the sides. As his gaze traveled over her, a glossy lust shimmered in his eyes. He slipped off the material, exposing her breasts without blinking. Arousal grew to a frenzy in her core. Leaning into her, his hot chest shot sparks against her skin. He gathered the material, swallowed, then lifted his gaze to meet hers. “You’re stunning.”
A twister roared inside at his words. She wanted to hide from the desire burning in his flushed face.
He turned his attention to the trousers. His hands worked the zipper. As he lowered the material, his warm fingers glided on her flesh. Raising her from his lap, he laid her beside him, slipping the pants off her legs. He shuffled his own trousers off and covered them with blankets.
He wrapped his arms around her. “You’ll be warm shortly.” With vigor, he stroked her cold limbs.
The movement of his body against her bare flesh wreaked havoc inside. Her head spun. His scorching pecs pressed to her nipples, coaxing them to peaks. She gasped.
As he held her close, the smooth head of his erect penis skimmed her abdomen. He shifted, and the sensation vanished. Heat radiated from his body, seeping into her bones.
A tidal wave of hunger ebbed and flowed from the tips of her toes to her cheeks. How could she be feeling these thrilling sensations?
“I’m fine.” She was still unable to move of her own will. “Can you release me now?”
With his amber-eyed gaze, he held hers. “We should conserve the candle. A long voyage still lies ahead of us.”
She wiggled her toes and hands. “I can’t believe you…”
“I fear I may do far worse.” He exhaled. Rising up from the blanket, he stretched his muscular frame and blew out the light. “Since your mark has branded into me, I will only become more dangerous until the mated females perform the cleansing ritual and we seal our bond.”
“I have not marked you.”
“My flesh is imprinted with an insatiable need to possess you.” He eased down next to her. His bare skin felt burning hot, then grew clammy.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m afraid not. I will do my best to control the compulsion to give you some time to mourn, but I risk becoming a danger. Do you understand?”
Not implicitly, she didn’t. All she knew was what VanWolf had said as he’d slipped from life. At the moment of his death, she would become Cathen’s mate, he would see to her every need and she must do the same. Tears welled in her eyes. Just like that, she was handed off to another man. As though she were property.
Cathen gathered her near with his large hands. “Not like property. You are the most precious person in my world.” He took hold of her hand, pressed her palm to his chest. Beneath her fingers, the scar lit with divine light as she traced the ridge, sparking a chain reaction through her core. Her nipples peaked as her labia slickened.
A heated gasp escaped her.
He nestled near. “Only your body can relieve this misery building inside me.” The satiny skin of his scorching lips met hers.
She yanked her hand back. No, this wasn’t possible. Yet her body wanted him to make the ache of pain vanish.
His tongue slid into her mouth as he clutched her thigh, pulling her to his body. Then he grunted and shifted.
Chapter 6
The sweet scent of her arousal engulfed Cathen. Salty tears coated her plump lips as his tongue explored her mouth. He slid his hand up her thigh and tucked her leg around his waist, swooping her beneath him.
Her slick folds glided on his pelvis. She whimpered.
He worked his mouth from her jaw along the curve of her slender neck. If he could just relieve the ache by truly tasting her, he could regain control of his senses. He slipped his hand beneath her lush bottom and buried his face in the nectar between her thighs. The slick taste of her excitement smeared on his lips. A frenzy took hold of his mind, whirling him into a dark descent. He was lost in the infinity of her delicateness. The sweet tenderness of her inner folds urged him onward. He buried his tongue deep inside the opening of her inner core. Heaven was his for the taking.
“Please.” Alexia’s breath misted in the cool air. She pushed against his shoulders.
Could he heed her request? The hunger roared inside him, and the need to claim her body held him captive. Her plea faded like a distant memory. He’d spent a lifetime roaming without a glimmer of hope. Then in the darkest of days, when he’d lost his faith in humanity, she’d appeared and drawn him out of his loneliness. And then he’d lost her to another male. His body ached to have her. Every part of him hurt to know the ecstasy of her small form. As his mouth worked her creamy labia, his cock twitched with unrelenting agony. Possess her, his inner beast urged him, take her. Her clit pulsated beneath his lips. She bucked, jerked her hips forward, pressing her hot, wet sex against his tongue. He sipped the juices, drinking from her.
“The beast inside grows insatiable. I must feed its lust for you.” His voice was but a whisper against her tender flesh. “I beg you.” Fluid beaded the tip of his penis. Heat blistered him as a light sweat covered his body. Up and down, he worked her inner folds with his tongue.
She reached for his thick, dark locks and twisted her fingers within the strands.
The tips of his digits slipped to her opening, he pressed in. Her walls stretched to accommodate his intrusion. As his tongue and lips worked the pulsating nub, he massaged the inner folds.
“Like that.” Her thighs quivered. “Make the ache stop...”
His own body mirrored the plea in her voice. He too longed to know the end of the ravenous desire twisting inside him, rattling the beast.
Alexia’s inner muscles squeezed tighter around his fingers with every thrust.
Flicking back and forth with his tongue, he lashed her swollen nub. Surrounded by the scent of her arousal, he rubbed the length of his shaft into the blankets beneath him, drawing more fluid.
Her juices ran down between the seam of her plump bottom. Following the trail with his tongue, he licked the dark opening. In slow, lazy circles, he lapped around the tight entrance.
She squirmed beneath his adoration.
He pressed his thumb in, careful not to tear her, driven by the beast’s demand for more.
Her back arched, jolting her breasts forward.
His tongue reconnected with her clitoris, and he suckled, then grazed it with the edges of his teeth. He pumped his fingers in and out of her tight openings. The beast’s instinct gripped his body. With every fiber of his being he wanted to thrust inside her. Claim her body. Yet he knew it was too soon. He clutched the covers, holding still. His muscles twitched in protest. Possess her body, mind and soul. Rid her of the scent of this other male. How could he put her through a bestito quintito van treiama–beast’s claiming of his beloved. As she bucked and thrashed, a wave of bliss burst through him.
“VanWolf,” slipped from her lips.
Each syllable hung in the air, suffocating him. How dare any other man’s name come from her lips! Cathen retreated from her. An erratic thumping plagued his heartbeat. The name seemed like a curse, a cross, a knife aimed into his heart. What could he say to her?
She panted, huddled into a ball. A little whimper rumbled from her chest. She was his mate. Time would be needed if ther
e were any hope she would accept her fate with him. Her sharp gasps lingered in the small space. His mouth tingled with longing.
Her small limbs trembled. She didn’t need his judgment.
He pulled her close. “Don’t hold it in, cry, coquette.” He stroked her curls. “I know how much you loved him.”
Against his body, she sobbed. Only time could heal her, and it was the one thing they didn’t have.
This night the pack mourned. Even over the distance, he sensed their pain.
He whispered to her in the old tongue that this pain too would come to pass.
Fatigue claimed him.
* * * *
Movement next to Cathen pulled him from his sleep. Alexia’s breathing remained slow and steady in the small space. The air around him was warm. Light shone from beneath the crack of the closet door, streaking her bare bronze skin.
“We mustn’t linger here long. The werewolves will be out hunting for us now that the storm has passed.” He sat up, searched for a shirt on a hanger above them.
“How are you feeling?” she uttered. “You lost a lot of blood.”
“I’m fine. Thank you for...saving me.” The one person he loved most in the world was hurting because her mate died. “Alexia, I’m truly sorry for your loss.” Nothing he could say would lesson her pain. Nor could he calm the growing need consuming him to claim her as his mate. In a matter of days, the beast inside him would become dangerous–wild with insatiable hunger. Guilt gnawed at him for his actions last night. If she did not want to discuss the matter, he would not be the one to bring up the topic.
Alexia sat, bringing her knees to her chest. “It’s my fault that you nearly died too. I was supposed to be getting water to heal you, but when VanWolf reached to me in his last moments, I fell to pieces.” Her tone was raw, and her voice trembled.
The animal inside him peeked at her exposed flesh. The sweet taste of her lingered on his lips as his tongue passed over them. He couldn’t allow himself to get worked up in a frenzy again, he should calm her fears and doubts. “This is not your fault. VanWolf and I knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into. I won’t entertain the notion that you are responsible for any of this, am I clear?” The last thing he needed at the moment was the job of trying to convince her otherwise. “Now dress.”
