by Franca Storm
Josh shook his head. “No. You guys can work through this.”
“I’m not sure I even want to,” she murmured sadly to herself.
What? Where had that come from? “Cora, please don’t zap me with your power for asking you this, but…did you and Luca…?”
Cora’s gaze snapped to his. “Did we what? Form an alliance? Yeah, I needed his help.”
“No, that’s not what I meant.” He cleared his throat. “Did you and Luca fuck?”
“What?”
He could tell from the shock all over her face that the very idea of what he was suggesting was abhorrent to her.
“We’re staying at my apartment. He sleeps on the couch,” she told him. “I don’t…I wouldn’t…do that to Ryan, Josh.”
Josh held up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry. I had to ask. When we realized that you had saved Luca from being fried by the sun, Ryan thought—”
Cora shot to her feet. “Ryan thinks I slept with Luca? Oh, shit! Shit!”
“It’s okay. You can clear it up when he gets back. The main thing is that you didn’t. Fuck, if you had, I can’t even imagine what he would’ve done. He would’ve gone off the fucking deep end, that much is a given.”
“He already did,” she blurted out.
“What?” Josh asked, rounding the table towards her. He perched on the table top in front of her. He saw her hesitation. Shit, what the hell happened? The two of them had grown close over the last few months; they’d had many heart-to-hearts. She was like his sister. This was the first time that she’d acted so guarded about something. “Cora?” he pressed. “What did he do? Did he hurt you?” Fuck, Ryan and that damned temper of his.
“That night that Nathanial and I tricked Luca into sleeping with a shadow version of me, I…uh…before Nathanial worked his magic I had to keep up the ruse and so I made him think that I wanted him.”
Josh nodded. “Go on.” He wasn’t a fool. He knew what that meant.
“Well, after we left, Ryan had this insane need to reclaim me or something.”
“Alpha wolf mentality.”
“Right, well he didn’t give me any warning and he kinda…tasted Luca…on me. Smelled him as well.”
Josh cocked an eyebrow. “Oh fuck.”
“Yeah. I tried to explain to him, reason with him, but he went crazy. He fucked—uh—used me like a whore. The things he said as well…they were…I didn’t know he had that in him. It was awful.”
“You can’t reason with an Alpha wolf over something like that. His reaction was primal, there’s no stopping it. It was the wolf talking.”
Cora studied Orion for a few moments. “I’m not wolf, Josh,” she murmured quietly.
“No, you’re not. But you definitely have the attitude. I knew it the moment you showed up at the compound that first time looking for Ry.”
“I can’t even take care of my son when he’s wolf,” she said, gazing at Orion sadly.
Josh considered his response carefully. He hesitated, knowing that Ryan wouldn’t be pleased with what he was about to do. But Josh wasn’t too pleased with the way that Ryan was handling this entire situation. He wasn’t pleased with the way he was treating his wife and keeping her from connecting fully with her own son, because of his damn possessiveness. His reaction to that wolf girl in the Dark Realm wasn’t sitting well with him either. He’d better keep his fucking dick in his pants. Cora doesn’t deserve that. He also wasn’t too happy that Ryan had just taken off to the Dark Realm immediately after the human realm wolves under his charge and his own pack had faced that agony from Oriana’s actions. Ryan had just left him to deal with the fallout.
He’d been doing that too much lately. Josh didn’t have a problem taking the reins every now and then. In fact, he enjoyed it whenever he was given the opportunity and he was good at it. It was why Ryan had chosen him as his second-in-command in the first place. The problem that he had with Ryan right now was that he seemed to be choosing his duties in the Dark Realm over his duties to his pack. The pack—just them alone—hadn’t been together with Ryan for months. And Ryan hadn’t said a damned thing about it.
Had he even noticed at all? He was recognized as King now, after all, and it had clearly gone to his head. He was different now. Something had changed in him. That had been damn clear from the way he’d chewed him out the other day in front of Cora and Nathanial. He’d never reprimanded him in public before and it’d been humiliating when he had the other day.
Cora was clearly reacting to the same change in him that he was. He understood exactly where she was coming from. And that’s why he found himself taking her hands in his and telling her the truth, “I can teach you.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “You can? Ryan never said—”
“I can teach you,” he assured her.
“If that was possible, why didn’t Ryan tell me? Why hasn’t he tried to teach me?” As she asked the question, her eyes flashed with realization. Josh braced himself. Uh oh.
Her eyes narrowed and she grit out, “Right, to prevent me from ever taking Orion if something happened between us, to make me believe that I couldn’t take care of my son!”
“His actions were borne out of love for his son,” Josh said. He was pissed at himself for defending Ryan’s actions. But he couldn’t help it; he was loyal to his Alpha, coming to his defense no matter what. Although, he was pretty sure that Ryan might question that if he found out about him offering to teach Cora how to care for their son in wolf form.
“I’ll never be enough for him,” Cora whispered softly.
“Cora—” he said, reaching for her. He pulled her to him, forcing her to meet his gaze and her eyes flickered with gut-wrenching emotion.
“I’ll never be wolf,” she choked out.
“Sweetheart, when Ryan was last in the Dark Realm, a wolf caught his eye.”
“Jada.”
Josh cocked an eyebrow. “So you did hear us talking then?”
“Yeah, he wanted to fuck her. I heard him admit it.”
“You must’ve missed the end of our conversation. He said that, although he was drawn to her, he would never do anything about it. Because no one can satisfy him like you can.”
“Really?”
“That’s what he said. You are his true mate, Cora. His one. And because of that, only you can give him what he needs. And as for the wolf thing, I’m seeing Shaye right now and…shit…if the woman can’t satisfy me…damn. She’s fucking amazing and she’s most definitely not wolf.”
A smile crept across her lips. “Shaye?”
“Yep.”
“Ryan’s ex?” she said, raising an eyebrow.
Josh scoffed. “It’s not like we haven’t shared women before.”
“You have? But he’s so possessive.”
“We’re brothers—it’s how it works in our pack. In fact, you’re probably the only one he hasn’t shared,” Josh said with a sly wink at her. “Not that I ever would with you.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“No, I’m sure it would be…mind blowing…I’ve heard enough of you guys going at it through the walls here…but you’re his mate. I could never even consider it, sweetheart.”
“Good to know,” she said. “Maybe you’re right about this wolf thing then.”
She reached for Orion and gathered him in her arms.
Josh emitted a low growl and Orion’s eyes lit up.
“What did you say to him?”
“I told him that his mom loves him very much.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
“Tell him yourself,” he said, emitting a different growl. This one even softer and very brief. “That was ‘I love you.’”
She blushed and clutched Orion tighter to her chest. “I…can’t.”
“Try,” Josh pushed and repeated the growl. “It’s all in the subtlety of it…draw on your natural instincts, the heart of the emotion that you want to communicate.”
She made an attempt. A cat-like pu
rr escaped her lips and Josh laughed.
“Come on, Cora. You’ve gotta put your wolf-like attitude into it,” he teased.
She tried again. And again. With each attempt, Josh coached her to make her next one better.
“Last chance,” he said.
She braced herself and then tried again. She looked to him for his approval and he gave her two thumbs-up and grinned back at her. “Fucking perfect.”
She leaned into Orion and uttered the growl she’d just learned. He reacted immediately and licked her cheek, growling back at her. Her eyes snapped to Josh’s. “Oh my God, he said it back to me!”
“Damn, I’m a good teacher,” he said, smirking at her. “And you’re a good student.”
“Yes, and this good student needs to continue her lessons now,” Nathanial’s voice boomed from the doorway.
Josh nodded and reached out for Orion. Cora hesitated, clearly wanting to stay with her son, especially now that she’d finally managed to communicate with him while he was in wolf form.
“I’ll take good care of him,” Josh assured her.
She growled I love you to Orion once more before reluctantly handing him over. “See you soon, my baby boy,” she cooed before turning on her heel and following Nathanial out of the mess hall.
CHAPTER 11
“Oh Christ, baby. I can’t stop fucking you,” Ryan gasped as he forced himself to finally pull back from Jada, who stood naked against the shower wall.
They’d been fooling around all morning since she’d awoken him with her lips wrapped around his cock. Although she’d been a virgin until he’d taken her the other night, she’d certainly given a few blowjobs in her time. Her mouth was a godsend.
The shower water beat down on his back, its warmth just exacerbating the stifling heat in the room. All he could smell was sex and wolf.
The shower stall they were in wasn’t exactly private. It was just one of a dozen in the communal shower room for the entire camp. Several wolves had come and gone over the couple of hours that he and Jada had been fucking around in the corner stall. But he’d barely heard their growls at sensing the intense sexuality—not to mention hearing both of them. Jada was very vocal when it came to her pleasure and Ryan, never normally like that, had found himself being just as vocal with her. A couple of the wolves had even shouted some words of encouragement at them, which had had Jada in a fit of embarrassed giggles until Ryan had skillfully brought her attention back to him.
It’d been hours and he was still hard.
He wrapped her legs back around his waist and then gripped her arms tightly. He thrust into her and growled ferociously as her hot, wet pussy clenched around his cock.
“Ryan!” she screamed.
“I love your pussy. So fucking tight. Yeah, baby, do that clenching thing again,” he said as he pumped slowly, teasingly, in and out of her.
He grunted as she obeyed. The pressure was amazing, right on the border of pleasure versus pain. It was incredible. He cupped the sides of her face and kissed her roughly.
She pulled her mouth away after a few seconds. “Stop teasing.”
He smirked at her. “But I love teasing you, baby. I love making you desperate, making you beg me to fuck you hard. Just the way I know you like it.”
She whimpered against his mouth and ground her hips against him, trying desperately to feel the friction that she craved.
“Aww…so sweet. So desperate for me to take you like a wolf,” he breathed in her ear.
“Please, Ryan,” she pleaded. “I need you.”
“You need me to what?” he asked as he thrust hard, causing her to cry out. He stilled within her, waiting for her answer. He wanted to hear her say the words. She was still so shy and he wanted to bring out her inner wolf more when they fucked. He wanted to teach her everything, to show her everything that it could be.
“I need you to….”
He slipped his right hand between them and pinched her clit lightly. She cried out and writhed against him. “Tell me, baby. What do you want?” he asked, smirking as his finger encircled her clit, driving her to the brink of insanity.
“Oh God! Ryan! Fuck! Make me come!”
“Good girl.” He smiled and gave her what she wanted, fucking her hard against the shower wall. He grabbed her ass and moved them backwards into the streaming water as he continued to pound into her. Her cries echoed through the shower room.
He put her down and pulled out.
“Turn around. Hands against the tile.”
She obeyed instantly and he was back inside her with a rough thrust. She yelped as he slapped her ass, one cheek after the other in a determined rhythm. He stopped once her flesh turned a delightful pink and pulled her ass cheeks apart. His finger circled her tight virgin hole. He felt her clench immediately.
“Relax, baby. Just my finger,” he breathed in her ear. “Concentrate on my cock filling your tight little pussy.”
As he continued to fuck her under the shower, his left hand slid around to her pussy and he tortured her clit. He wanted to push her over the edge, further than he’d pushed her so far. He eased his index finger into her ass, just the tip. He held it there until he felt her relax around him. And then he pushed in knuckle-deep. She screamed and bucked against him.
“Oh my God!” she gasped. “Ah, Ryan!”
“Do you want me to stop?” he challenged.
She shook her head. “No! Never!”
He chuckled. “I didn’t think so.”
He started to pump his finger in and out of her ass slowly. Steady, deliberate strokes. Fuck, he was so turned on by everything he was doing to her that he struggled against the painful build in his balls as they tightened, pleading for release. But he wanted her to come first. He needed to feel her come apart around him.
“Come for me, baby!” he growled. “I want to feel your sweet pussy milking my cock.”
And once again she obeyed him instantly, coming hard and literally howling out her release. Hearing such a primal sound ripping from her throat pushed him over the edge too and he joined her as they both howled like the wild beasts that they were.
He pulled out and she sank back against him. He eased them to the floor of the shower and he wrapped his arms around her, her back to his front, in a protective embrace.
“Five times,” Jada breathed. “And you’re still hard.”
He laughed. “It’s you, baby. I can’t control myself around you. This heat between us is all-consuming. I want to be inside you all the time. I really can’t stop fucking you.”
“I feel the same way,” she said, resting her head against his chest.
He knew exactly what it was. The pull of their bond. A pull that only existed between two destined mates. With their added wolf connection, it was stronger than what he’d felt before with Cora.
Cora. Shit.
His head was so fuzzy, so completely clouded by the incredible pull to Jada that any thoughts of Cora were completely blocked most of the time. But whenever they were finished, it hit him like a silver blade through the heart.
And that was when he felt it.
Guilt.
He hadn’t just fucked a random woman either—and that was bad enough as it was.
No, it was far more than that with Jada. He’d started…a relationship. Fuck. This is bad. But he couldn’t stop. He really couldn’t. Whenever she was near, he had to have her. He fucking needed her. It was beyond all reason, all notions of right and wrong.
It’d been that way when Cora had come to him that night in his bar. He hadn’t been able to think straight with her either. But the wolf made it worse with Jada. All-consuming. Shit, I’m in trouble. I need to figure this shit out. I need to speak to Nathanial.
He gently eased her off him and climbed to his feet. He snatched a towel off the hook at the far end of the shower and wrapped it around his waist. “Sundown is almost here and I have to lead the offensive against the castle,” he told her.
She climbed to her
feet and approached him. He held up his hand, willing her to stay back.
“If you come any closer I won’t be able to walk out of here.”
“I don’t want you to, Ryan,” she said coyly.
He smiled. “I know, baby. But I need to gather the troops.”
He threw another towel to her and she wrapped it around herself, concealing her delicious body beneath the soft, white cotton. Phew. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could look at her standing there like that without forgetting about what I was saying and just taking her for the sixth time.
She sidled past him and pushed open the stall door. “I’ll get ready.”
“No,” he said.
She turned back and eyed him with confusion. “I’m always on the frontlines. I’m one of the best warriors among the wolves, Ryan.”
“I don’t want you in the line of fire. It’ll distract me too much if you’re up there with me.”
She nodded. “I understand.”
Ryan was surprised. He wasn’t used to this. Cora always questioned his orders. But, then again, he shouldn’t be too surprised. Jada was wolf and all wolves were loyal to their King.
He smiled at her and she winked slyly before sauntering out of the shower room and leaving him to prepare for the coming battle. So perceptive. So accommodating. So…perfect.
CHAPTER 12
“You’re ready.”
Nathanial’s words echoed through her head. They’d trained hard for hours without another break until the point where Cora could barely hold her hands steady any longer. But it’d been one hell of a rush, to release her full power like she had while maintaining absolute control. She’d never felt so powerful. Invulnerable. Damn, I could get used to this.
As much of a hard-ass as Nathanial was as a teacher, even he’d recognized her desperate need to rest for a couple of hours, something she was eternally grateful for. She’d seen from the strain on both his and Luca’s faces that they, too, needed a bit of a break. Hours upon hours of her assaulting them with her power had been enough to tire even the almighty Dark Realm King and his son. Even though she understood just how powerful she was, seeing the effect of it up close and personal on others brought it home in a big way.
