They arrived home, and Sebastian saw her inside with an order to Ava to keep her safe. Then he and his Guard walked back out the door. Sophia shoved the curtains aside at the door, expecting to see her husband and his men climb into the car. Instead they strode toward the trees at the property’s edge. When they passed out of sight, a wolf’s howl filled the air.
Chapter 7
Sophia’s phone buzzed, and she yawned as she peered at the display. The message was simple. “I’m going to call in thirty seconds.”
She hardly had time to do more than frown at Jack’s words before he followed through.
“Hello?” she whispered and tiptoed to the door of her bedroom. There were no sounds from the other side. “Are you nuts, Jack? You didn’t even give me much time. Sebastian could have been here.”
“My people have told me he’s out tonight.”
She grumbled. “If you’re that good at tracking his movements, then you should know when he’s alone too.”
“He’s never alone. That’s why I need you. Did you try to get him to go off with you?”
She hesitated. All that filled her mind was what Sebastian might be doing right then and if it involved hurting humans. “Do you know what he’s up to tonight?”
“No.”
He lied, and she was sure of it.
“Sophia, you need to move quickly. If you’re worried about Sebastian, I told you—”
“It’s not that.” She chewed her lip, worrying over his reaction to her words. “Did you know there are kids who are shifters? Sebastian said there aren’t that many, although I don’t understand why. He said low birth rates and some other things.”
“The shifters have a hard time getting pregnant,” he explained. “So there are far more adults and very few children.”
“How have they survived all this time? Why haven’t they died out?”
“They are a hardy people with long lifespans.”
“How long?”
“Long. Listen, Sophia, you can’t let what Sebastian tells you make you doubt the wisdom of what we’re planning. The safety of humans is at stake here.”
“Sebastian didn’t tell me anything.” In fact, he had run off without any explanation. He was gone all day and still hadn’t returned when she went to bed. She had phoned him, but there was no answer. As much as her husband told her about his people, he seemed to leave out a lot more.
“Are you going to help me or not?”
She started to snap back at Jack’s anger but resisted. He must have seen a lot more than she did. Maybe he lost some of his friends in the hunter organization and had little sympathy for shifters.
“I-I’ll help,” she said.
“Good. Meet me tomorrow.”
“Do you realize how hard it is to pee by myself let alone get away? I always have someone guarding me.”
“You can work it out.”
“Your understanding leaves a lot to be desired!”
He said nothing, and she sighed.
“Fine. I’ll figure something out. I’ll text you when I can pin down a time.”
“Good.” He disconnected the call without another word, and she dropped onto the bed in a huff. If she managed to escape the mansion unseen, it would be a miracle. Jack didn’t get it. He might know a lot of facts about the shifters, but he didn’t see the challenges she dealt with up close and personal.
While she mulled over how to get away, a sound at the window caught her attention. She padded over to it and threw the curtain aside. With the moon bright in the sky she couldn’t miss the wolf standing on the slanted roof just outside. A scream rose to her lips, but she suppressed it. Her heart hammered, and she willed herself to back away, but her feet wouldn’t move.
Her gaze locked onto the silver and black creature that was unnaturally huge for a normal wolf, but movement in her peripheral made her look beyond him. On the ground were three other wolves. That’s when she realized the one at the window must be Sebastian. Why in the world did he show up like that instead of changing before she saw him?
The wolf made a low howling noise and bumped his nose against the window. She knew he wanted her to open the window, but she hesitated. “How do I know you won’t eat me?”
He gave her a look as if he actually understood. She recalled Sebastian saying so many times how much he loved her, how she was the love of his life and that he would die for her. She swallowed and unlocked the window before opening it. The wolf jumped to the ledge and let himself into the room. He turned once he landed softly and barked something to the others. Each of them turned and disappeared somewhere under the porch roof.
The wolf took a step toward her, but she backed up, hugging herself. He stopped, and just like that he changed. One minute a wolf stood before her and the next her husband—in all his glory.
“Sebastian, where have you been?”
His eyes never changed, she realized. While it was too dark to see the color, they reflected the moonlight. He said nothing but moved toward her and dragged her into his arms. She brought her hands up to push him away. He crushed them between their bodies as he claimed her lips.
The violence of his hungry kiss stole her breath and her will. She parted her lips, and he thrust his tongue between them, and swept the interior. While he kissed her, his hands moved along her sides and around to her ass. He drew her tighter to his chest, and she felt the hardness of his naked erection.
He ravaged her mouth until the sensations overwhelmed her. His hands and his mouth were so rough, like he had never touched her before. She wrenched away from his hold and backed up a step panting. He came after her, and shadows passed over his face as he moved. For a moment she was nervous and didn’t know what to expect. His anger seemed to reach out to her, but she couldn’t figure out why he was so mad.
“What happened tonight, Sebastian?”
He was still coming, and she continued to retreat. The wall bumped at her back, and she was trapped with nowhere else to go. He stood with inches between them, towering over her.
“I took care of it,” he said simply.
She gasped. Pain gripped her chest. “Y-you mean you beat someone up? You…” She sounded pathetic, and the way her voice shook he must know her assumptions. “Why?”
“They hurt her.” The monotone gave greater weight to his admission. “They blackmailed her. They used her and made her ashamed of what she is.”
Sophia licked her lips and swallowed. “She? You mean Katie?”
“Yes.”
“And they?”
He studied her face. She stood in the shadows, but she had no doubt he saw better than she did. Not to mention that he must smell her fear. At the same time she couldn’t deny the pull.
I must be insane. This is their power.
“Sebastian?”
He slammed a hand against the wall too close to her head, but she didn’t sense he was about to attack her. His anger radiated from him regardless. She knew now that it was directed at whoever had hurt Katie.
“Were they human, Sebastian?”
He moved in closer and dipped his head so that his lips hovered over her cheek. The warmth of his breath raised goose bumps along her arms. “This is who I am, Sophia. Are you afraid of me? Will you deny me?”
“I-I’ve seen you being k-kind.”
He waited. The man wasn’t going to make it easy. If she were ever aware of his animal side, she knew it right then. The beast was so close to the surface she could almost see it. He’d arrived home in wolf form on purpose and wanted her to see his other side.
“These people who hurt Katie were human, weren’t they? You think I’m going to condone that? Who are you to take the law into your own hands? She’s a kid, and I’m thinking the people who messed with her were also kids. Did it ever occur to you that they might turn their lives around as they mature? But you didn’t give them a chance.”
“You’re wrong.” His other hand came up, and she trembled to see claws form on the ends of his
fingers very similar to the ones the man displayed that time in the peach trees. Her heart nearly stopped, but Sebastian didn’t touch her. “Katie is twenty-two years old, not a child, and neither were the people she fell in with.”
Sophia’s jaw went slack. “You’re kidding?”
“We have long lifespans and as such we look much younger than we are.”
“Wait, so how old are you?” Her husband looked like he was her age, early thirties. She had always assumed. Or had he told her he was thirty something? All of sudden she couldn’t remember. Their romance was a like a whirlwind, and his attraction had distracted her from little facts like his real age. He was hot as hell, but was he really forty something or older?
He tangled his claws in her nightgown. “Take this off.”
“Sebastian, I’m not done talking about this. I don’t know that I can deal with what you did. It scares the hell out of me. I mean what if I do something you don’t like, something you consider crossing the line? You’re going to kill me? Are you going to continue to break the law?”
His gaze burned into her. “I make the law, Sophia. For my people. You are mine.”
“I’m not a piece of property.”
“You,” he emphasized again, “are mine. My wolf has claimed you as his own, and nothing and no one will take you from me—from him.”
She grumbled in annoyance. “You won’t explain what you mean. All you do is tell me this is how it is and I have to accept it. You won’t budge or compromise! What am I supposed to do with that, huh? You talk about your people. Well, I’m human!”
“You’re also my people.”
She ran a hand over her face. Frustration was named Sebastian St. James. “Jack was right. You’re nothing but a—” She stopped, realizing what she had just said.
Crap.
Sebastian stilled. “What did my brother say about me?”
She could almost see the wolf in his face and in his demeanor up until that point. Now, there was no sign at all, and yet, she felt like he was even closer to giving in to the animal. She thought fast.
“You know how the two of you don’t get along. The way you two argued at his house made me wonder how you even invited him to our wedding.”
“He’s family.”
Of course he would say that, but she wondered what he would do if he knew Jack wanted to kill off all his people. Funny how she was almost convinced it was okay for the hunters to kill the shifters but not the reverse.
Confusion made her head hurt, but then she had a moment of clarity. The best way to distract Sebastian from questioning her about Jack was to turn him on. It wouldn’t be a hard task because even angry she desired him. Just looking at his naked body set her on fire.
She reached up tentatively to stroke her fingers over his chest, but he grabbed her hand and pulled it away. She shot her gaze to his hoping not to find him angry. He lowered her hand down between his legs and made her stroke his thick hard shaft. The hiss he let out and the way he shut his eyes and dipped his head back told her she’d accomplished what she intended to do.
Sebastian closed his hand around hers and guided her touch up and down his length. He squeezed, and she bit off a moan because he was so big and felt so good even just stroking him. Remembering the feel of his dick as it stretched her drove her crazy.
Sebastian growled low and hungrily near her ear. He breathed in deep, his chest expanding, and he moaned as if he tasted something good.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
He didn’t answer but dropped to his knees in front of her. Once again he breathed deeply, and she got it. Touching him had turned her on. She was wet, and he smelled it.
His forehead sank against her belly. “I…can’t…” The voice was almost unrecognizable.
He tangled his claws in her nightgown and ripped it all to hell. Strips of cloth rained down on the carpet, but she couldn’t complain. As soon as he found an opening, Sebastian jerked her legs apart and thrust his head between them. He lapped at her heat, and she shouted his name.
“What are you doing, Sebastian? I…oh…y…”
Words failed her. He ate her out like he loved her flavor and he couldn’t get enough. She tumbled forward, catching herself on his shoulders. He thrust upward until she was on her tiptoes. Her back hit the wall, and still he licked her cream. Each time his tongue grazed her clit it sent bolts of pleasure throughout her system. She arched her hips and rode his mouth. He knew instinctively how to keep the rhythm going.
“I’m going to come. I can’t hold it, Sebastian.”
He pulled her forward and pushed her back. She bumped the wall again and again. When he closed his mouth over her heat and sucked, she was undone. She screamed and came harder than she had ever done before. All strength left her body, so Sebastian picked her up and carried her over to the bed.
The last remnants of her gown fell to the floor as he dropped her onto the bed. She had enough time to draw in a breath while he parted her legs. His heavy weight descended over her, and he thrust his dick into her. He was rough and desperate. She got it. He pumped hard and fast, pounding her into the bed. She gripped the sheets under her and bit her lip.
The bed banged the wall, creating a low crash that must have awakened the entire house. Sebastian didn’t slow down for an instant. Now she smelled the scent of sex as it filled the air around them. Her husband ground harder inside her. He raised her knees and arched his hips. He pulled almost all the way out of her and then slammed it home. She cried out in ecstasy, and hot come flooded her core.
At last, he let her rest and rolled over to the side. She fought to catch her breath, and Sebastian did the same. He threw an arm over his eyes, and she peeked at him. His shaft lay against his belly, still semi-hard. He would want more in a little bit.
This was the man she married. He was part animal, and it scared her. But she couldn’t deny wanting him, getting off on his strength and his rough lovemaking.
“Sebastian?”
“Mmm.”
She hesitated. “Will you always be like that when you’re angry?”
He looked at her, concern in his expression. “I wasn’t too rough? I’m sorry, Sophia. I smelled you as soon as you saw me naked. You desired me, and I could tell.”
“You make it sound like I stunk.”
“You smell and taste delicious.”
Embarrassment washed over her, and she sat up. “Yeah, seemed like you enjoyed yourself.”
“I wanted to eat you before, but I waited until you were used to me.” He ran a hand over his head. “I love it a little too much.”
She could almost come just hearing that. “Listen, I don’t pretend to get your ways, but I can’t accept some of the things you say and do. I just can’t.”
“But you can accept Jack?”
Her heart stopped. He hadn’t forgotten for a second. In fact, he sounded jealous. “I’m not interested in Jack. He just has some opposing views, and I happen to agree.”
One minute she sat beside him, and the next she found herself flat on her back and him above her. “You agree?” he growled. “There’s only one thing my brother wants and that is to be alpha. If you agree with that then we have a serious problem.”
She blinked. “Huh? How in the world can he be alpha?”
He made a noise of impatience. “Belle explained it, didn’t she?”
It didn’t surprise her that he’d been completely aware of every word Belle said to her although he was talking to several other people at the same time.
“All alpha class shifters have the ability to be the alpha.”
Her jaw went slack. “You’re saying Jack is a wolf shifter?”
“Of course. He is my half brother, but he is still alpha class.”
The truth came clear, and she didn’t know why she didn’t see it right from the beginning. Many of the shifters protested against her because she was the first human ever to be called a mate with one of them. Jack’s parents weren’t hum
an. They were shifters. He’d lied, and she had believed him.
Chapter 8
Sophia shook her head at the toast Sebastian offered her. He had brought in a tray that morning with breakfast on it. She wasn’t sure if he made everything himself, but it looked good. The problem was she had no appetite.
“Sophia, don’t beat yourself up over this.” He popped several pieces of bacon into his mouth and chewed with enthusiasm. Apparently he could eat regardless. “I will deal with my brother.”
“I should have known something was up. You eat like food is going out of style. You all do, and so does Jack. When I was there, he cooked mountains of food for just the three of us.”
“It’s a small matter.”
She eyed him, but he focused on the plate she hadn’t touched.
“Jack won’t come near you again.”
“Y-you’re going to—”
“He’s my brother. I won’t kill him.”
“Did you hear what I said to you, Sebastian? He told me he’s a hunter and that he wanted me to lure you away from the others so he and his hunter friends could kill them all. I don’t really understand how you’re not angry at me. Not that I want you to be, mind you.”
He drew her close to his side and settled her onto his chest as they sat on the bed. “You are my mate. To harm you is to harm myself. I’ve said that to you many times.”
“I know but—”
“You don’t understand the truth of that statement, but maybe you will over time. Jack is family. He may be manipulative and conniving, but he is blood. I won’t kill him. Also, forget what he said about you luring me from the others. That was a lie as well.”
“What do you mean?”
He ran a hand over his jaw. She noticed he needed a shave. Every day she’d known him Sebastian was clean-shaven. Since they were living together even in the morning he didn’t have much hair on his face. Yet, the morning after a shift he had a five o’clock shadow that looked like it had been growing over several days.
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