by Leia Shaw
She waited in the wood, staying in wolf form. The surviving vampires took off in the several cars that didn’t sustain damage from the collapse. When all was still, she crept to the ruined building.
Nose to the ground, she sniffed along the rubble. His scent was weak but distinct. Whining, she pawed at the rocks, but they were too big for her claws to dig through.
She shifted to human form and shivered as the cold air hit her naked flesh. Sharp edges stung her knees as she knelt on a pile of rocks and began picking through them. One by one, she tossed them aside. She sensed no movement from below. Panic started in her chest. She dug harder, faster. Blood from her fingers dripped on the stones as she moved them. Tears fell and mixed with the blood.
Her heart pounded so loud she could hear nothing else. Time passed but she barely made a dent in the mountain of stone. She was frantic now. With each passing second, life could be leaving him, if his lungs were crushed, or his neck severed. She could barely think.
Her fingers stung from the cold and peeling skin, but it didn’t stop her. After some time, when she had no more tears, warm arms wrapped around her.
She tried to throw them off but they were strong. A soft whisper was at her ear. “Shh. Let us take over.”
The arms were insistent. Though she fought, weakly, they dragged her away. She was passed to someone else who wrapped her in a blanket and sat her on the bed of a pick-up truck.
“Harmony,” Rafe said.
She looked up and he shone a flashlight in her eyes. Her body shook from a bone deep chill.
“Are you okay?”
Finally, she peered around her. The haze lifted. Her pack was on the scene, already moving large boulders. Mathias handed her a sweatshirt. Numbly, she took it with a soft “thank you.”
She pulled it over her head and it reached her knees. The shivering decreased a bit. Rafe poured water over each of her hands then sprayed something that made her hiss in pain.
“It’s to prevent infection,” he told her.
When he went to bandage them, she pulled away. “Sorin needs you. I’m fine.”
“I’ll go to him just as soon as they find him, querida. You need me now.”
She stared at the ground while Rafe bandaged each finger. The bleeding had stopped at least. She barely registered the constant ache. Her toes were starting to sting from the cold though. She brought her knees up and tucked them under the blanket, careful not to flash anyone.
“Rafe!” someone called from the rubble.
Her gaze jumped toward the noise. Three men pulled out a limp body. It was naked and mangled, but her heart knew it was him.
She started to get down from the truck, but Rafe stopped her. “Stay here, Harmony. That’s an order.”
He was higher in rank, both as a ranger and in the pack. She scowled at him.
Apparently doubting her ability to obey, he called Marcus over. “Make sure she stays here,” he told him.
Marcus nodded and blocked her way. Rafe ran toward the men carrying Sorin’s broken body.
“At least let me watch,” she snapped.
Marcus gave her a long look then stepped to the side. Rafe was already checking him over as they carried his body to the first-aid vehicle. She yearned to touch him, hold him.
“You’ll only be in the way,” Marcus said. It must’ve been obvious that she was barely holding back from jumping over the side of the truck and running after him.
Mathias drove the vehicle Sorin was in while Rafe sat in back. Marcus and Harmony jumped to the truck seats and sped off, following the jeep.
After several moments of silence, Marcus dropped a hand on her knee. “He’s alive.”
She nodded. “I know.” His heartbeat was the first thing she listened for when they’d pulled him out. It was weak but there.
“Your mate is strong. He’s survived worse.”
Worse? What could be worse? God, she was going to end up as protective of him as she was of her. She wished she’d told him she loved him, even just one time. So he knew, as he healed, that there was something worth fighting for.
Chapter 11
Back at camp, Harmony wore a path in the dirt, pacing in front of the medical building. Inside the cabin, Rafe and a few medical assistants had been working on Sorin, snapping bones back in place, giving him fluid through an IV. But ultimately, what it came down to, was giving his body time to heal itself.
The door opened and Rafe came down the front stairs. “He’s awake. He’s asking for you.” He chuckled. “No. He’s demanding you.”
Too worried to smile, she ran up the stairs. “Thanks, Rafe.” She gave him a quick hug then walked into the cabin.
Sorin was lying on a bed in the first room. His head was propped up with a pillow and an IV tube ran from his arm to a bag on a stand next to him. His lower half was covered with a blanket, but the top half, other than a few bruises and one puffy eye, looked like him. Her mate.
Frozen in the doorway, she wasn’t sure what to do with herself. It was hard not to run to him but she was afraid to hurt him or bother him. But he was alive. He’d be okay. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.
“Why are you crying, love?” His voice was hoarse and he rubbed his throat.
“You’re okay,” she blubbered.
He went for a derisive snort but it came out a raspy cough. “Of course I’m okay.” His eyes narrowed, zeroing in on her bandaged fingers. “Are you hurt? Did Rafe see you yet?”
“I’m fine.” In fact, she’d healed already.
His gaze swept over her before stopping at her legs. “Good god, woman! Where are your clothes?”
She looked down at her bare feet and legs. Her cabin was too far from Medic for her to risk leaving him to get pants and shoes. She peered at Sorin then shrugged.
He sighed. “Come here. Get under the covers.” With only a small wince he scooted to the left and pulled back the blanket.
Hesitantly, she walked to his side. “I don’t think –”
“I don’t care what you or Rafe think. I need to hold you.” He patted the bed. “Come on.”
After a quick peek at the doorway and finding it empty, she slipped into the bed.
“Ahh!” He gasped.
She tried to jump off but he grabbed her wrist.
“No, it’s okay. Your toes are just cold.”
“Sorry!”
He pulled her against his body and wrapped his free arm around her. She settled into his chest, careful not to touch him too much.
They laid in silence for a bit. The rise and fall of his chest soothed her. Her eyes were heavy. How long had she been gone? It felt like weeks. Those questions brought more. How had Sorin found her in the first place? She was in such a panicked daze on the way back to camp that she hadn’t paid much attention to where they were driving.
“I can’t believe you found me,” she said. “I was in the middle of nowhere.”
He gave her a squeeze then kissed the top of her head. “I will always find you. Nobody fucks with my mate. I’m just sorry I couldn’t get there sooner.” His fingers grazed her neck where she’d been bit.
“How? How did you know where I was?”
Sorin heaved a deep breath. “Your friends. They used some kind of geek technology on that phone you’d taken from a vampire to figure out where it had been. It was amazing.”
“That’s Darla. She’s a tech genius.”
“I had no idea. That’ll teach me to underestimate women.” He chuckled then groaned in pain.
“Don’t laugh! You’ll hurt yourself.”
“How did you get that phone anyway?”
“It’s not important.” Not after everything they’d been through. Not to mention it had saved her life.
“I say it is.”
She rolled her eyes. Stubborn. “Sorin, I…” It was cruel to bring this up now while he was hurt, but it had to be sorted out sooner or later. “I’m not the kind of woman you want. I won’t lose my wolf to sit at home
barefoot and pregnant.”
“Why don’t you let me worry about the kind of woman I want.”
She turned her head to look up at him. “You don’t want a woman. You want a pet.”
Smiling, he stroked her cheek. “Aw, now don’t say that, pet.”
“I’m serious.”
“I’m serious too.” He ducked his head and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips, chaste compared to their usual passion. “I want you just the way you are, my brave little troublemaker.”
“We really have to work on your choice of nicknames.”
He purred, “Puiule mea, frumos mea, draga mea, …my baby, my beautiful, my dear. If you’re going to make me say it, I will. I love you.”
She pushed to her side so she could face him fully. “You love me?”
“I do.” He planted another soft kiss on her lips. “But Harmony, you should know there’s not a romantic bone in my body. I don’t compose poetry or sonnets. I’ll always be rough around the edges. But I’m willing to learn. And even if it takes forever, I’ll try my best to make you happy.”
Her lips curled into a wide smile. She’d never have guessed her fated mate would be a rigid, domineering beta with a fondness for bondage. But, as her mom always said, you can’t help who you fall in love with, only who you stay in love with. And Harmony would always choose him. “I love you too.”
His answering grin made her heart swell in her chest. “That’s good because I’m keeping you.”
“Here we go with the pet references again,” she said with an eye roll.
“Not my pet. My treasure.”
She scrunched her nose.
“My companion?”
“No.”
“My troublemaker.”
She scowled.
His eyes lit up. “My possession.”
“Definitely not!” She reached up and pushed the hair from his face. “Your partner.”
He leaned in and kissed her, running his tongue across her bottom lip then tugging it into his mouth. After a long, thorough claiming, he pulled away and cupped her cheek. “My everything.”
Epilogue
Two months later
Harmony was finally moved into Sorin’s cabin and now she stood naked by his bed, her finger in her mouth, wearing the naughtiest expression he’d ever seen.
He admired her curves. A slender waist that flared out to wide hips. Muscular thighs but still feminine. Soft, creamy skin he wanted to lick and bite. Today was the day. She’d been on the pill long enough. Now they would complete their mating and she’d be his forever.
“Well?” Her eyebrows darted up. “Are we doing this or what?”
Tonight, he was torn between a slow, sensual torture, and a carnal need to take her fast and hard. Another moment of admiring her beauty then he exhaled and walked to his dresser.
“Turn around,” he told her.
She complied. He’d been teaching her that trusting him in the bedroom made for the best sex. She was a quick learner.
In his dresser drawer, he pulled out a length of soft rope then walked toward Harmony. His gaze travelled down her body. She had the finest ass in camp. Perfectly round and spankable.
Standing behind her, he kissed her shoulder softly. She shuddered and he watched goosebumps rise on her flesh. He brushed her silky hair over her shoulder and planted kisses from her collarbone, to the back of her neck, and down her spine.
Her little sounds of pleasure spurred him on. Time for the fun part. He took both her wrists and brought them behind her back. Using the rope, he tied her wrists together, loose enough not to hurt her or cut off circulation, but tight enough that she couldn’t slip out.
She didn’t make a sound as he restrained her.
“I should tie you to the bed too in case you change your mind about the mating,” he teased. But he knew she was ready.
“You know I won’t.”
With a hand around her upper arm, he led her to the bed. “You’d better not.”
She looked up at him. Not an ounce of trepidation or hesitation showed on her face. Just sheer confidence and an aroused flush across her cheeks. “Kiss me,” she whispered.
How could he refuse? He took her mouth with his and tangled a hand in her hair to keep her still. As he delved deeper into the kiss, she melted against him. Little mewling sounds escaped her as she leaned on him, seeming to be asking for more.
Finally, he pulled away. They stared at each other a long moment. Then Harmony smirked. “If you mate as well as you kiss, I’m in trouble.”
“Oh you’re in trouble alright.” He spun her then shoved her down onto the edge of the bed. With her pretty ass on display, he couldn’t resist. He gave it a slap then smiled at her yelp.
“Mmmm.” He kissed the pink handprint he’d made.
“Sorin,” she whined. “No teasing today.”
He laughed and it sounded evil to his own ears. She didn’t want teasing? Too bad. He brought his hand up the outside of her thigh then inward. She trembled under his touch. His mate was needy today. At her core, he rubbed circles, just barely grazing her clit until she gasped and squirmed.
“Sorin,” she panted. “Fuck me. I want you to come inside me. Please.” She wiggled when he pressed on her clit and held it there. Her voice went up an octave. “Please, Sorin. I want to feel you come inside me.”
His resistance snapped. He couldn’t tease her long when she talked like that. She wanted him – wanted to feel him empty inside her.
In three seconds flat, he’d torn off his clothes. A moment later, he plunged inside her.
She cried out and jerked underneath him but he pinned her down with a hand on the small of her back. It was too late to slow down now. A primal need took over – one, centuries old.
Harmony must’ve felt it too. She rubbed up against him, arching her back and sticking her ass out further as if encouraging him. He pumped slowly at first, adjusting the angle, reveling in the sensation of being inside her without a condom.
“Fuck,” he muttered, rubbing circles on her lower back. “You feel so good.”
She whined and tried to move but she was stuck between his hand and his cock, pistoning inside her. “Harder,” she moaned.
Instinct took over. He pulled out then slammed back in. She gasped. He did it again, harder. The bed moved an inch.
Then he fucked her, hard and fast, until she was making desperate sobbing noises. A hunger grew inside him. One so intense, it almost scared him. He needed to bite – to mark. He felt fangs descend from his gums, heavy and aching. His gaze zeroed in on her shoulder, pale and soft. Vulnerable. Meant for his mark.
With a growl, he leaned down and bit, hard. She screamed. It set off an explosion inside him. The pressure that had been building finally spilled over. Seed shot out of his cock as pleasure seized him. He groaned and fell forward, trying not to crush her too much with his body.
When everything emptied from inside him, he pulled out with a hiss. His knees felt wobbly but he managed to walk to the bathroom for a towel. After wiping himself, he bent down and wiped Harmony then untied her hands.
She grimaced as she stretched her arms and turned over on the bed.
“You okay, love? Was I too rough?” He leaned in and studied the bite. It had broken skin but not much.
A contented smile lit up her face as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down on the bed. “That was wonderful.”
“It was?” He’d worried it was too much. It had been intense even for him.
“Yes. When can we do it again?”
He chuckled. “I need time to recover, but I plan on doing it many, many times.”
She snuggled into the crook of his arm and he kissed her temple. “We’re fully mated now. There’s no going back.”
After a long suffering sigh, she said, “I know.”
He lifted his head and stared down at her. “Don’t sound so upset about it.”
With a laugh, she reached up and pecked him on the lips. �
�I don’t regret it. I love you, even though you are an asshole sometimes.”
“An asshole?” He grinned down at her. “Now you’re gonna get it.” With a quick flip, he had her face down, that delectable ass within reach. “Don’t you know the rules for mated females? Any woman who dares call her mate an asshole gets a public flogging.”
She mock scoffed. “What? You’re making that up!” Her struggling was useless. He had her good and pinned.
“But since I love you, I’ll let you get away with just a spanking. This time.”
Now she really fought to get free. “No!” She laughed as she struggled beneath him, but he was too strong.
He spanked her while she giggled and gasped, and when he was done, he kissed each red mark on her ass. When he flipped her back over, her face was as pink as her backside, but she was grinning.
“You’re ridiculous,” she said, her eyes sparkling with humor.
He loved her like this – feisty, silly, naked in his bed. It was hard to take his eyes off of her. He thought about her name, how predestined it seemed now. He’d needed harmony in his life. Balance came into his world in unexpected ways. And lessons were taught that he didn’t know needed teaching.
“I love you, my Harmony.”
She smiled up at him. “I know.”
Books by Leia Shaw Destiny Divided (Book 1 of Shadows of Destiny) – available now!
After fleeing her native city — and nightmares of a traumatic childhood — Sage Peterson meets the overbearing, pretentious, yet haunted Professor Elias. He's the only one who knows about her mysterious powers, which seem to be spiraling out of control. When he convinces her to train with him, she finds herself thrust into a five hundred year war and on the run from vampires, werewolves, and even worse — her budding feelings for James Elias.
Destiny United (Book 2 of Shadows of Destiny) – available now!
