His hips began to move, achingly slow at first, their speed unhurriedly increasing as he slid in and out of her. Maia wrapped her legs around his hips, clinging to him as she focused on how good it felt to be full, full of his cock. She knew the others could hear them, since the freaking door wasn’t even closed, but she didn’t care. The awkwardness could wait until morning, and hopefully over a cup of coffee.
She clawed at his back, bit his shoulder. The actions only seemed to make Alarick work harder. Whereas a human might’ve already been spent, the man inside her, above her, was raring to keep going. Shifters had more stamina when it came to physical activities, sex being one of them. Maia could not have been more thankful for that.
Maia lost herself in his body, in how he filled her, in the way her thighs quaked each time his cock withdrew from her. How she felt in that moment, she couldn’t describe it, even if she had two weeks and a dictionary. Complete. Full, even when his dick was not inside of her. Happy in a way she was not before. Wanting and needing of something she’d denied herself the moment she laid eyes on Alarick, twice more so when she met the rest of the pack.
Maia arched her back, letting out a moan of pleasure as Alarick picked up speed once again. Call it psychic intuition or maybe just her wolfish connection to him, but this time she knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. This was the final sprint towards the finish line, and he must’ve known it, too, for he immediately brought his mouth to her neck, nipping at her as his hands held her chest against him, his hips not letting up on their rocking.
It was then she let herself lose it. She threw her head back and cried out, fingers tightening on his back, her toes scrunching and spasming as pleasure racked her each and every nerve, dominating her in a way she’d never been dominated before. Waves and waves of ecstasy coursed through her until she could no longer hold onto him, no longer keep her legs wrapped around him. Her muscles slackened as he took the lead.
Alarick’s chest let out a rumble of a growl when his thrusting abruptly stopped. She felt his lower torso tensing, and he pulled himself out of her, spewing his thick, white cum all over her stomach and her chest. He rolled beside her, panting much like a dog, which made her smile and laugh.
He was so stupid.
Not a bad kind of stupid…but a silly kind. A kind of stupid that Maia sort of liked.
Alarick leaned to her neck, kissing her shoulder as he murmured, “You are full of surprises, aren’t you, pup?”
Teasing her after fucking her. How rude. Maia found herself smiling anyway. “I hope you don’t treat all your pups like you do me. I mean, look at me. You aren’t just going to leave me like this, are you?” She mocked hurt, motioning to the white stuff on her.
“I don’t know,” he whispered, pressing his nose against her cheek, nuzzling against her much like he would if he was in his wolf form. “I think you look good wearing me like that.” His words were almost too possessive, but not quite.
“Well, as much as I’d love to go walking around with your cum on me,” Maia spoke slyly, “I don’t think it’s a good idea. Whatever will the others think?”
“Oh, they’ll know whether you’re wearing me or not.” Alarick kissed her neck. “But fine, let me go get something to clean you off.”
Maia watched as he went, still incredulous that she had let this thing go as far as it did. Now, there was no turning back. She was part of the pack and a very confused wolf when it came to other things.
She’d sworn to herself that she wouldn’t get caught up in a pack and let herself be claimed. And here she was, laying in the alpha’s bed, her stomach and breasts coated in his cum…and she didn’t regret it.
Not one little bit.
Chapter Twenty-Two – Farkas
The morning came quickly, though it wasn’t like Farkas had slept a wink. Kind of hard to, when he was busy hearing a certain two people get to know each other very well across the hall. Grimm had only harrumphed like some old man and turned to face the wall, not saying a single word about it even though Farkas was dying to address it.
And so, after getting up, showering and dressing, Farkas sat at the island in the kitchen, slowly sipping out of his favorite coffee cup—a mug that said best dad ever. He wasn’t a dad, he just thought it was funny. Anyways, as he sat there, watching Alarick cook some eggs and bacon and toast for the household, Farkas kept shooting Maia glances.
Maia still wore the same wrinkled dress. Her red hair was a little messed up, a bit knotted. She hadn’t gone into the bathroom yet, because Grimm was in there, doing his business. She held her coffee mug with both hands, with her fingers, as if she was too cool to hold it with the handle. Her grey eyes flicked to Alarick every few moments, and then back to her coffee. It seemed she did everything she possibly could to avoid looking at Farkas.
And Alarick? He wasn’t much better. His blue stare shifted to look at everything, everything but Farkas. They both knew how good a wolf’s hearing was. They knew that Farkas and Grimm had heard them.
Why were they being so damned awkward about it?
Down the hall, Grimm’s shower was over. It’d only be a few short minutes until they were one, big, semi-awkward family. Surely Farkas could do them all a favor and get rid of the awkwardness? That’s what he was here for.
“So,” Farkas leaned over the stool between them, moving closer to Maia, who finally deemed it time to turn that pretty stare onto him. He gave her an easy smile as he asked, “When’s my turn?”
Maia’s full lips thinned as she pressed them together and slowly set down her coffee mug. At the stove, Alarick had stopped and turned to face him, eyebrows furrowed. Both had menacing auras that were, frankly, a little frightening.
“Too soon?” Farkas went on, “Look, all I’m saying is that I would be more than willing to—” He received a slap on the back of his head, and he paused to glare at Grimm, who shuffled to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup. He wore only pants. Loose-hanging pants that showed off nearly everything.
As he gingerly rubbed the spot where Grimm had bumped him, Farkas nearly rolled his eyes—because how hard was it to put on a shirt? But he stopped when he noticed that Maia was no longer giving him an incredulous look and was instead ogling Grimm.
“Hey,” Farkas snapped his fingers as he spoke, drawing everyone’s attention, “I may not be the tallest of the group, or the most muscular. I might be the handsomest, depending on preference, but I am definitely the best when it comes to personality. I mean, I’m funny. I’m hilarious. I make everyone laugh. I’m the comic relief. You love me…right?” No one responded, which only made his voice sound frantic and desperate. “Right?”
Farkas did not like the silence that answered him, nor did he particularly like the way everyone stared at him. Like he’d grown a third eye or done something unspeakable like invite the townies over for a midnight party.
Maia was the first to break the silence, the first to crack a smile. He’d straightened out when he’d described himself, so she took to leaning over the middle stool, much as he did earlier. “Don’t worry, Farkas,” her smooth, velvety voice fell upon him like a wave of bliss, all tingly and entrancing. If sex had a sound, it’d be her voice. “We all love you.”
He was so caught on those words that he almost didn’t notice or feel her press her lips against his cheek. The skin where she touched him warmed instantly, and he must’ve looked dumbstruck, for Grimm—the one wolf who hardly ever cracked a smile—barked out a short laugh.
Coughing as he regained himself, Farkas sat with perfect posture. He would not let Grimm’s laugh get to him, though he did say, “Don’t be jealous, Grimm. We can’t all be loveable clowns, can we?”
At the stove, Alarick muttered, “I’m not sure clown is the word I’d use.”
“Ouch,” Farkas whispered, earning him a chuckle from Maia.
Once Alarick was done cooking, they devoured the food. Even Maia held no feminine notions about eating. Wolves went by one law when it cam
e to food: whoever ate the fastest ate the most. It made more sense when they were in wolf form and there was a kill before them, not so much when they each had plates with set amounts of food. But whatever. They all ate fast, wolfing down their food and hardly chewing it.
If this was their new normal, Farkas would gladly take it. Having Maia with them made things feel…good, happier. Everyone was in a better mood, even Grimm. Grimm hardly ever laughed out loud, scarcely cracked a smirk. The man was as stone like as they came. But somehow Maia’s presence made everything seem easier, and if Farkas had to sit back and be the butt of the jokes, he would.
He was the beta, so he was used to taking backstage to everything anyway. Really, Farkas didn’t mind.
Dishes in the sink, Alarick was in the process of washing his hands when he said, “I’m going to head over to the diner. Farkas, can you take Maia to one of the stores on Main Street? Buy her some clothes—”
“What? I thought we were just going to chain her to our bed.” Farkas’s words were met with scowls from all three of the other wolves in the room. “Kidding, kidding,” he added with a smile pointed towards Maia. “I’ll chain you to my heart, though.”
Maia bit back a smile and shook her head. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Yes, but I’m your ridiculous.”
“That doesn’t even make sense, Farkas,” she said, crossing her arms, leaning her back on the island.
“Sure it does. Just don’t think too hard on it, and it makes perfect sense.”
Alarick looked like he wanted to say something, to interject, but he didn’t. After sighing deeply at their exchange, he said, “After she has some work-appropriate clothes, come to the diner and I’ll put you both to work.”
“Now that,” Farkas said as he slapped the island, “sounds like an awful idea. Who wants to work?” After a moment of silence, he added, “Right. Us. Because we’re adults. But Grimm gets to stay home and lounge around all day. So unfair.”
Grimm frowned. “I have brakes to replace today, and oil to change.”
“Ooh, so that’ll take you, what? Like two hours?”
Alarick grabbed his truck keys in the basket that sat near the door that led to the garage. “Grimm will make sure Melody pays him well, won’t you, Grimm?” He didn’t wait for Grimm’s nod, instead turning his stare to Maia, who remained motionless near the island. She actually got Alarick to come to her when it should’ve been the other way around.
The alpha bows to the female, Farkas thought. Kind of funny, but appropriate. Any wolf in their right mind would bow to Maia.
Alarick stood in front of Maia, gazing down at her with a look that was almost too full of emotion. One night and apparently she had him wrapped around her finger. Farkas wanted to say something, but he knew the truth: Maia had him around her finger and they hadn’t even had sex. Or kissed. Or done anything remotely more-than-friends like. He wondered if Grimm was the same.
Probably. Maia was just too alluring to feel anything else. Honestly, Farkas was more than happy be wrapped around her pretty little finger. There were worse places to be, definitely.
“Try to go easy on Farkas,” Alarick whispered with a smirk, shooting Farkas an amused expression. “He’s a tender soul.”
Farkas was just about to argue that he was most certainly not a tender soul when he watched Alarick grab Maia’s cheeks, tilt her head, and kiss her. He kissed her hard and fast, almost like there was no tomorrow and he was the only one who got the warning.
Maia did not struggle as he kissed her, but after he let her go, she said, “I don’t remember telling you that was an okay thing to do.” She tested him, their alpha. It was a good distraction to get Farkas’s mind off the kiss.
He wanted to kiss her like that. He wanted to be on the receiving end of the look she currently gave Alarick.
“I’m your alpha now,” Alarick spoke softly, stepping away from her. “I take what I want.” Without another word, he exited the house through the door to the garage. Those words might’ve gotten him in trouble before, but after what he and Maia had done last night, Farkas knew they didn’t mean the same thing.
In fact, where Maia would’ve definitely hated them before, she practically swooned now.
When Alarick had driven off, leaving them three to their own devices, because the store wouldn’t be open until nine, Farkas turned to Maia with a grin. “And if I said I’m beta, and I take what I want…”
Maia threw him an unimpressed look, one that could’ve burned him to the core if he wasn’t prepared for it. “I’d say simmer down there, Farkas. I decide when you’re going to kiss me, not the other way around.” With an extra sway to her hip, she sauntered to the couch and flipped on the television, her long legs splayed out on the couch cushions. From his position, he could almost see up her short dress.
Almost being the depressing and operative word there.
Chapter Twenty-Three – Maia
There were no department stores in this small midwestern town, so the store Farkas brought her to was just a little, one-story boutique that specialized in women’s clothing. The prices seemed a bit high, and it made her hesitant to pick out more than she would need to just work at the diner. Farkas had told her not to worry about the prices, but it was difficult. She never was one for fashion; as it was, the dress she wore was probably years out of date.
The shopkeeper was an older, plump woman who somehow knew all about Maia’s difficult circumstances. Her grey hair was pinned up to her head, big, round glasses resting on her nose. She went on and on about how good Farkas and his brothers were, how they helped everyone in town, and blah, blah, blah. She followed Maia to the dressing room in the back of the shop and continued to jabber on.
“They’re really good men,” she said, pausing to hand Maia more clothes under the changing room’s door. “Good men are hard to find these days—oh, but I don’t have to tell you that, do I? What with your ex and all. If only you had a family to take care of you, you poor sweet thing.”
Staring at herself in the mirror, Maia couldn’t help but roll her eyes. These people had no idea the truth of it. Her parents had bartered her for protection, pretty much assuring her to a life of constant breeding. Even Alarick and the pack didn’t know the whole truth—she might’ve been on the run, but she wasn’t running from her ex. Zak was dead.
“But you’ve done right by coming here. This town protects its own, and those—”
Maia hated to interrupt her, okay, not really, but she said, “Can you get Farkas? I want to make sure this is a work appropriate outfit.” She wore tan pants—khakis, yuck—and a fitted t-shirt that she personally thought made her boobs look too big. She knew this outfit would be just fine; she just wanted an excuse to send the old shopkeeper away.
Talking to humans was just…painful, sometimes. Maia hoped the customers at the diner wouldn’t try to sympathize with her like that. She was bound to snap sooner or later.
“Oh, of course, dear. I’ll be right back.”
Maia listened to her footsteps grow softer as she walked out of the changing area. It was only a minute before she was back with Farkas, and she didn’t wait to let the old broad start talking again. She opened the swinging door, forcing a smile at Farkas, who stood beside the shopkeeper, looking clueless.
What she was trying to portray through her help me smile was that she did not want the shopkeeper here. Didn’t she have work she could be doing somewhere else in the shop? Inventory or cash-counting or whatever the hell it was business owners did?
Farkas studied her. “I think it looks good for the diner…” His hazel eyes must’ve finally spotted the strain behind her smile, because he turned to the old woman, offering to take the clothes from her hands. “Why don’t you get back to the front, Dinah? Don’t want you to miss anyone coming in because you’re back here helping us. I got it.” When she looked unwilling to hand over the clothes, he said again, “Really, I got it. Go, go. We’ll be fine. If we need a different size,
we’ll holler.” He winked.
The wink must’ve done it, for finally the shopkeeper smiled at him. “Oh, all right. But only because it’s you, Farkas.” She handed him the pile of clothes draped over her left arm before scurrying off.
Once she was gone, Maia let out a deep sigh. “Thank God. She would not stop talking. It was nonstop!” She grabbed whatever was on top of Farkas’s arm and returned to the changing room.
“That’s the thing about this town,” Farkas spoke through the door’s crack. “Everyone is all up in the business of everyone else. Everyone is so nice and chatty, but really, they only want to know your darkest secrets and all the drama. You can’t keep a secret in this place.”
Maia had to open the door to give him a really? expression. She cracked the door, whispering, “Funny you should mention it, because granny and the rest of the town think you three are brothers.”
“Not the whole town. Roy knows.”
“Ah, my mistake.” Maia chuckled. “Still, wonder if they’d still think of you three as the golden boys if they knew you were just unrelated, manly men shacking up with each other, sharing bedrooms—”
Farkas leaned closer to her, his hazel eyes narrowed. “What are you implying?”
“Nothing at all,” Maia said, noting how his eyes had slowly lowered. They broke eye contact, falling past her nose and her lips, landing on her chest. Her breasts, more likely, since they were only covered with a black bra that the shopkeeper had given to her, free of charge, with tears in her eyes as she relayed the gossip around the town.
Yes, Maia was so sad because she didn’t have a single bra to her name.
She felt herself smile, felt her heart speed up. Farkas wasn’t the coolest one around, but he was the one who melted the ice she had formed around her heart. He’s the one who wore her down the most. Without him, it was likely she never would’ve thought about joining Alarick’s pack. “Do you like what you see?” she murmured, lifting a single brow. She made no moves to turn, no moves to hide herself. She still wore the hideous khakis, so all he could see was her bare torso and the almost equally as hideous bra.
Her Pack Page 13
