by Anya Nowlan
Twenty-Seven
Tessa
Sitting in the living room of Tate’s house, Tessa chatted with Sean while sneaking glances at the place. With its hardwood floors, exposed beams and handcrafted furniture, it was like she had stepped into what Tate would look like as a building.
Every piece, including the armchair she was sitting in, was beautifully made, clearly with great care and skill. She could see a kitchen area peek out through a doorway leading to the back of the house, and a small staircase led to the second floor, probably to the bedrooms.
Sean made the wait for Tate comfortable, easily filling the silence with telling her about Pinedale and asking questions about where she was from and what she liked to do. He didn’t bring up spell books or amulets, or even hint at anything demonic, which Tessa appreciated.
“Did Tate live here all alone?” Tessa asked, noticing a mark on one of the walls, looking like a picture of some kind used to hang there.
“This was his family home, before his parents died,” Sean replied, lounging on the couch. “He had his own cabin, a little more up the mountain, but he started fixing this place up after Theo died. That was his dad.”
“The Alpha,” Tessa noted.
“Ah, so he’s told you about that,” Sean nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been pestering him to come back and step up. Seems like it was running into you that finally got him to return.”
“You think he should become Alpha?” Tessa asked, leaning forward on her elbows.
“Well, yeah. He’s the most decent, annoyingly moral man I know. Besides, he was kind of born for the job. His wolf is made to lead. He’ll never be happy if he turns it down.”
It seemed to Tessa this day was all about learning new things. From sitting in on a pack council meeting to talking Alphas with Sean, she might get a beat on this whole shifter thing, after all.
And she couldn’t argue with Sean about Tate being a good man. Had Tate not put his whole life on hold to help a stranger? Looked like that was just the kind of guy he had always been, from what Sean was telling her.
Like I needed a second opinion, she scoffed to herself.
No, at this point, it didn’t really matter what anyone else had to say about Tate. She was already falling for him, body and mind, enough to trust her life in his hands with no hesitation.
The thought slipped through her mind quickly, terrifying and comforting at the same time. She hadn’t really had time to face her feelings for him, but now that she had nothing else to do than sit around and wait for him to talk to June, all sorts of emotions were pushing their way to the surface.
“What about Caleb?” she asked. “Doesn’t his wolf want to lead, as well?”
“Sure, he has some leadership skills and he’s a strong wolf in his own right,” Sean shrugged. “That’s why he’s kind of taken over Alpha duties. That and the fact he’s mated. But it’s not his birthright, the way it is Tate’s. Caleb will be just fine being a lieutenant, or a council member. Tate’s wolf will never be truly fulfilled by that.”
“What does mating have to do with it?” Tessa asked, hanging off Sean’s every word.
But the door swung open at that, and Tessa almost gasped at the sight of Tate.
“Your hair,” she exclaimed, jumping out of her seat.
“June wouldn’t let me leave without a haircut,” he shrugged, walking over to her. “You don’t like it?”
Tessa reached out to run a hand over his new, closely-cropped do. His facial hair was shorter, too, more like a five o’clock shadow than the beginnings of a beard. With these changes, he looked even more chiseled, his jawline and cheekbones on full display. He truly did look like someone you would follow into battle.
“I like it, I like it a lot,” she grinned, tracing a finger down the side of his face.
“All right, I can tell when it’s my time to leave,” Sean groaned with a laugh, pushing himself up from the couch and strolling toward the door. “And you,” he pointed a finger at Tate. “Owe me a beer for not regaling her with all the embarrassing stories about you that I could remember.”
“Like you haven’t already looted my fridge,” Tate arched a brow, glancing over toward the kitchen.
“Fair enough,” Sean admitted. “But seeing as I stocked it to begin with, I think I had certain rights. It was nice to meet you, Tessa.”
“You too,” she smiled at him, and off he went, whistling a happy tune as he did.
“He’s like a cartoon character,” Tessa laughed as Tate closed the door in Sean’s wake.
“Yeah, it’s obnoxious, really,” he grinned, throwing an arm over her shoulders and kissing the top of her head. “Come on, time for the tour.”
It was moments like these that made it way too easy for Tessa to forget what was at stake, and that she and Tate were in possession of an amulet that could change the world. Right now, she was just a girl, letting the man that made her stomach fill with butterflies show her around his place.
“Sean said you’ve been fixing this place up,” she commented, glancing at the bare walls and shelves.
“I didn’t want it to just be dad’s old house,” he shrugged. “It’s mine now, so I tried to make it reflect that. Haven’t really gotten to the decorating part, though,” he said, as they strolled through the living room and kitchen.
“I don’t think it needs much. It has a lot of character already.”
“I’m glad you like it, despite getting a chilly welcome from Caleb.”
“Family’s complicated,” Tessa shrugged. “And like you said, he’s just worried about the pack. I can’t fault him for that.”
Fidgeting with her fingers, there was something else rattling around in Tessa’s mind that she wanted to talk about. Like what would happen next if Caleb did put his foot down and ask her to leave, or why mates seemed to be so important to shifters.
Or if Tate would really never be happy if he didn’t become Alpha.
But when he grabbed his hand and led her to the staircase, all she could suddenly think about was that there was probably a bed up there. Her fingers left a trail in the dust on the railing as she let her hand slide over it, following Tate up the stairs.
There were three rooms up there, two of them empty as far as she could tell. He led her to his bedroom, with a huge oak cabinet pushed up against one wall and a bed with a carved headboard against the other.
White curtains covered the window opposite the wall, colored orange by the sun.
“This used to be my room when I was a kid,” Tate said, letting go of her hand to walk around. “I never thought I’d be back here, as an adult.”
“You were one of those teenagers that had their stuff packed as soon as they turned eighteen, weren’t you?”
“Mom was already gone at that point, so I had no reason to stay.”
That struck Tessa as terribly sad, so she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry about your mother, and that you and your father didn’t get along,” she said quietly.
“He wasn’t a particularly good husband, or a father, for that matter,” he stated matter-of-factly.
But the look on his face betrayed that it wasn’t really that simple.
“But you’re not him,” Tessa replied. “You’re your own man and you can decide what you become.”
Was it her place to give him advice? She wasn’t sure, but she had to say what was on her mind, especially if it could help Tate in some way. She had only known him for a short while, but she already knew what an amazing man he was.
It was time he saw that, too.
He turned around and took her face in his hands, gray eyes fixing her in place.
“You know, meeting you just might be the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he grinned, brushing his thumbs over her cheeks.
“Really? I brought a demon into your life, if you recall,” she laughed.
“I’d say it’s a fair trade,”
he replied, before leaning in and planting a soft kiss on her lips. “Can’t have the good without the bad.”
That was all it took for her to melt against him, like snow meeting fire. Whatever it was that bound them together so strongly, she hoped it would be their strength, and not a weakness in the battle to come.
Twenty-Eight
Tessa
Still tangled up in each other, Tate whirled her around and walked her back toward the window, effortlessly picking her up and setting her down on the edge. Hands sliding under his shirt, Tessa wrapped her legs around him, her back falling against the warm glass of the window.
There was no waiting, no patience as she tugged at Tate’s shirt while sucking his tongue into her mouth. He groaned deep in his throat, breaking the kiss to pull the shirt off and toss it on the floor.
Tessa’s hands found his bare skin, tracing the lines of his muscles first with her fingers, and then with her mouth. There was a hunger inside her that couldn’t wait to be sated, and it didn’t care about what was proper or what if somebody walked in or happened to look up at the window.
None of that mattered when Tate’s mouth came crashing down on hers and his hands ripped her shirt in half. Squeezing her thighs against him, she pulled him even closer, feeling a sort of frenzy come over her. He wanted her and she wanted him, and there was no time to waste.
The remnants of her shirt hung off her shoulders, the curtain bunching up behind her back, and it was the most reckless she had ever felt. It felt intoxicating.
Tate’s palms slid in between them to cup her breasts, squeezing and rubbing, until her nipples were hard nubs rubbing against her bra. Sighing into his mouth, she ground herself against his growing erection, settled in right between her legs.
Each time she squirmed beneath his touch or moved her hips, her clit rubbed up against his cock, sending shockwaves of lust through her body. It was almost too much to take, but that didn’t stop her, the throb in the pit of her stomach spurring her on.
“Fuck,” Tate hissed in a breath. “You’re driving me crazy.”
Tessa only smiled against his mouth and clenched her thighs harder around him, rubbing her pussy up and down his cock until her whole body was shuddering with anticipation.
Groaning, Tate didn’t even bother unclasping her bra, just ripped it off her body and bent his head down to suck one of her nipples into his mouth. Letting her head fall back, Tessa whimpered, running her nails down his shoulders and biceps.
He was worse than a drug, making her want more and more of him until she feared there would be none of her left by the end of it. Electricity flowed between them as his fingers slid down her sides to unbutton her jeans. One hand lifting up her ass, he pulled her jeans off along with her panties, until they lay on the floor around her ankles.
Tessa let out an impatient sigh when he stepped back to take off his own pants, the hollowness in the pit of her stomach growing, her skin crying out to be touched.
Oh, what he could do to her with just a touch…
Tate’s cock sprang into view, jutting away from his body, thick and long, and she couldn’t help it when a needy whimper escaped her lips. How could anyone look so perfect? It didn’t even seem fair.
Pushing herself off the windowsill, she licked her lips and fell to her knees before him, wrapping her fingers around him.
“Tessa…” he groaned, angling his hips toward her, his eyes clouded over.
Slowly, she swirled her tongue around the tip of his cock, teasing as her hand worked his shaft. When she looked up, he was staring right at her, lips slightly parted. She watched his expression change as she took him into her mouth, inch by inch, until his cock was pressing against the back of her throat.
A shudder ripped through his body, his face contorting with pleasure, and his hands tangled in her hair. She loved feeling his body react to her, reveled in the ecstasy clear on his face. When she started bobbing her head up and down, rubbing her tongue against his shaft, he moaned aloud, the sound traveling straight to her core.
Working his cock with her mouth and hand, Tessa fed off the pleasure she was giving him, her pussy wet and aching, her breasts bouncing along with her movements. Just when it felt like he might lose control, he pulled away, his cock slipping out of her mouth.
Before she knew it, she was back on the windowsill, her legs on either side of him. His cock, still slick with her saliva, was pressed against her clit, adding fuel to the fire burning inside her.
Leaning back against the window, she arched her back, her body on full display for him. Tate growled from somewhere deep inside his chest, one hand on her hip and the other resting on the wall beside him.
Tessa watched as he slowly entered her, spreading her open around his hard cock. She felt herself stretch thin to take all of him, her body straining under the mixture of pain and pleasure. Trembling, she grabbed on to his forearm, as she slowly started to move her hips, letting her body adjust.
Sweat breaking out on her lower back, she settled into a rhythm with Tate, slow and soft at first. She watched his muscles ripple and tense as he moved, his fingers digging into her hip. The feeling of fullness was overwhelming when she met his thrusts halfway, her head lolling to the side.
Her breathing fast and shallow, she let her body take over, hips rolling and hands roaming up and down his strong arms. Tate’s strokes grew deeper and less controlled, reaching a part within her that made her spine jerk and limbs turn fuzzy.
She wanted to say something, call out his name, maybe, but words were lost to her as he sunk inside her, not even giving her time to catch her breath, his hips slamming against hers over and over, unraveling her completely.
A dull buzzing started in the back of her head, ramping up the tension in every cell in her body. Her release was close, teasing her somewhere just outside of her reach, the anticipation almost unbearable.
Tate’s hands began to roam her body as he bounced her off his hard cock. With one hand sliding under her ass, he pulled her forward, sinking straight into her core and making her see stars.
A choked moan spilled out of her, guttural and primal, her body tightening around him. When his other hand reached up to roll her nipple between his fingers, the pressure inside her boiled over, flowing out of her in waves of pleasure and making her sink her fingernails into his arms.
Tate grunted, his head falling to rest on her shoulder, his thrusts no longer measured or controlled. His hot seed spilled out onto her hip a moment later, and they both stilled, the room filling with their soft pants.
“I didn’t think it could get any better than the last time,” Tessa admitted, pushing herself off the window and almost tripping over the pants still around her ankles. “But that was amazing.”
“Careful now, or my ego might explode,” Tate chuckled under his breath.
“God, I hope everyone in a five-mile radius wasn’t able to hear what just happened,” she laughed, feeling her face grow red.
Come to think of it, they probably did. Shapeshifters and their hearing were legendary. It just made Tessa blush harder.
Reaching down, she pulled up her pants and waddled over to the bed, sitting down and looking at her ruined clothes on the floor.
“Even if they didn’t, they’d still be able to smell me on you. Our scents are mingled together now, and that’s not easily washed off,” Tate said, moving to sit next to her.
“Does that change anything? I mean, is the pack less likely or more likely to believe us when they find out we’re involved?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t really care,” Tate shrugged. “It doesn’t change anything for me, either way. I want to be with you.”
Tessa had to suppress the huge, giddy grin trying to force its way onto her face.
Be cool, Tessa, for once in your life!
“That’s good to hear,” she replied, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Now, there is something I need to tell you. I talked to June, and she thinks her u
ncle might know something about demons. He lives about an hour away from here, and doesn’t like visitors much, but if he has any information we could use…” he trailed off.
“It’s worth a shot,” Tessa nodded.
“Only one catch. Caleb has to come along.”
Tessa couldn’t help but grimace at that.
A road trip with the grumpiest wolf in town. How fun.
Twenty-Nine
Tate
To say the atmosphere in Tate’s truck was tense, would be an understatement. Tessa was sitting up front with him, after she had insisted she was coming along, even when he had told her about Roman’s habit of shooting at ‘trespassers’ first and asking questions later.
Caleb was sitting in the back, and was not very happy with that, by the look on his face. Then again, wasn’t that the look he always had? Tate glanced in the rearview mirror, his eyes meeting Caleb’s, and the man looked away, staring out the window.
They had made it out of Pinedale without Caleb saying a single word, and now Tessa was throwing concerned looks Tate’s way.
“So, uh…” she started, gaze darting around. “Caleb, you and Tate have been friends since you were kids?” she asked, putting on a smile and looking back at Caleb.
“I’m not here to chat,” Caleb replied, not even looking at her. “And you shouldn’t be here at all.”
“All right,” Tessa said quietly, turning her attention back on the road stretching out in front of them. “Tough crowd.”
Tate’s wolf snarled beneath his skin at the plain disrespect Caleb was showing the woman he cared so deeply about. Tessa was doing her best to put on a neutral expression, but he could tell Caleb’s brush-off had not left her unaffected.
“No, it’s not all right,” Tate growled, yanking the wheel and bringing the truck to a stop on the side of the road.
