by Ava Frost
She let out a soft moan as his hand travelled up the outside of her legs, and she mentally thanked the spirits for waking her up so abruptly this morning. If she had been in the right frame of mind, she would have carefully selected the most inaccessible outfit she had, just to keep Maddox away from her. His hand remained on her thigh, while the other moved further up and under her shirt. His hand, warm and calloused, touched her bare skin just below her breasts and her stomach muscles jumped in response. It tickled, but it was a tickle of pleasure, he kept avoiding to touch where she ached, each time just allowing his thumb to slide over the swell of her lace covered breast. With his other hand, he cupped her ass, pulling her to the edge of the counter, where he nestled himself between her legs, deliberately pressing into her. Just touch me already, she thought only to herself, and Maddox’s kiss immediately turned into a smile. She cursed inwardly; it was obvious that he could read her mind too, now that she was his mate.
“Tell me what you want,” he said as he momentarily broke the kiss.
His hands stilled against her skin, and she instantly twitched against him. But by the sound of his shallow fast breaths and husky voice, she knew that he was also bordering insanity, just like she was.
“I-I… whatever you want,” she whispered as she tugged at his T-shirt, pulling it roughly up and over his head.
She had seen him without a shirt before, but somehow in this moment, he looked far more intimidating and goddamn hotter than hell. His pecks danced as his muscles twitched under his skin. She brought her hands to his chest and raked her nails down over his abs. That won her a low growl from him, one that echoed in her ears.
“You’re a vixen, woman,” Maddox strained, and dropped his other hand to her thigh, without a breath, he tugged her panties down along her legs and tossed them through the air.
Raven didn’t wait, she reached for his jeans and unfastened them and when they slid down his legs, she inhaled sharply. He was big, bigger than she remembered. But then again she was completely disinterested in sex when she first bent over for him. Now the stakes had changed. She wanted him because, well because she did, who cared about the whats and whys of it. She reached down and cupped his balls squeezing them gently, and Maddox grunted.
“Looks like I have you by the balls,” she whispered as she hooked her other arm around his neck pressing her lips against his throat.
Maddox chuckled and ground his balls into her hand, “As long as you treat them with respect.”
“Depends, what’s in it for me?” she dared ask.
Maddox met her eyes and she could have sworn he could see into his soul, but when he hooked both hands under her ass and lifted her off the counter, only to take the few strides into her bedroom and lower her on to the bed, she knew that there was no turning back. If she had sex with him this time, it would be because she wanted to, because she needed to.
Maddox teased every inch of her skin with his tongue, from the sensitive spots behind her ears, to her collar bone and then further down. He took special care of her tits, as he suckled on each perky nipple, rolling it around his tongue and biting gently. Raven was writhing beneath him, slowly falling into a black hole of irrationality. She could hardly stitch together a coherent thought, much less act on her own instincts.
She was lying on her back, her hands by her sides, clutching the sheets, or rather tearing into, them as Maddox brought her to the precipice of her climax only to leave her hanging. And then he would start all over again. His fingers found her core and he was teasing her wetness over and over, pumping one then two then three fingers into her, and occasionally flicking his thumb over her clit.
“Maddox…” she attempted, “please…”
“Please what?” he whispered.
“Fuck me.”
That simply pushed Maddox over the edge, he shifted his weight until his hips were nestled between her thighs and the blunt tip of his cock was nudging at her pussy. She raised her hips and he kicked his hips forward, meeting her halfway. And as she felt his cock drive deep into her core, she cried out his name. His cock smoothed against her inner walls, as Maddox slowly started to rock his hips back and forth, deeper and harder. Raven had her hands around his body, digging her nails into his skin and clutching on for dear life. He thrusted over and over, leading her closer to her orgasm. But once again he stole the moment. Instead of giving her body the release she craved, he flipped her over on to her side, and kneeled astride her. He raised one leg over his shoulder while the other hooked around his knees.
Spread open like she was, she braced herself for the onslaught, but it was a waste. The moment Maddox entered her at that angle; her impending orgasm erupted and her body responded to the pleasures. He kept thrusting, until she felt him tense and then his hot cum flooded her in spurts. Maddox’s growls and grunts rang in her ears, matching her own moans.
Raven’s head was spinning out of control and she was sure it was pretty much an out of body experience. And as Maddox finally fell down beside her and cradled her against him she could hear his heart beat echo her own. She belonged, not only to herself, but to Maddox. And it felt right.
Chapter 12
Moonlight slivered in through the bedroom window and Maddox stirred awake, but as he turned to pull Raven into his arms he realized she was gone. He flew out of bed and stalked through to the living room, her scent was stale and he knew she must have left much earlier in the evening. Raging over the fact that she would be so irresponsible, knowing what dangers lurked, annoyed him. He rushed back to the room, pulled on his jeans and went in search for her.
[Josiah, any news on Caleb’s whereabouts?] He communicated.
[Nothing, they have been masking their tracks with another scent,] Josiah responded.
The streets of Abingdon were deserted, it was after midnight and the humans dared not leave the security of their own homes. Doors were bolted with thick metal gates and most windows closed off with shutters and additional security measures. He sniffed the air for any sign of Raven, but her scent kept evading him. His growing concern that she may have run into trouble escalated. Hoping to find her at Joan’s place he headed straight there and banged on her door.
“Keep your panties on!” she shouted from inside, “Who is it?”
“Maddox, open up!”
“What’s going on?” she said worriedly as she peaked from behind the door.
“I’m looking for Raven.”
“She was with you last; I haven’t seen her again after she left with you.”
“Fuck!” he uttered under his breath.
“Where else would she go at night?”
“Mmm, the bar maybe? Wait let me get dressed I’ll come with you.”
“No, stay here and lock yourself in,” he ordered.
He didn’t wait for Joan’s response, but rather sprinted towards the bar, hoping to find her there. As he got closer, he picked up her scent, but it was tainted by fear. His stomach flipped and his beast fought for dominance to be set free and find its mate. Instead of barging through the front door, which was still bolted shut, he made his way around the back. The garbage bin was knocked over and rubbish was strewn on the ground in front of the back door. A familiar scent mixed with Raven’s and Maddox went cold.
[I need backup.]
His call for help to his fellow pack members did not go unattended; from outside the town their responses to his call flooded his head. He quickly shut them out in order to focus on the current status of Raven’s safety. Although it was dead quiet, where voices were concerned, he could hear Raven’s heart beat frantically and the noise of the generator. They could be anywhere in that concrete box. They must have gagged her, he realized as she rounded the building looking for a discreet entrance, where he could easily enter the structure undetected. But he also knew that Kiara and Caleb would pick up on his scent the moment he entered.
He decided to wait for the pack to gather, against his better judgement, knowing that Raven’s life was in g
reat danger. Tanner was the first to arrive, followed by Josiah and the others, twelve in total. They all surrounded the building, guarding all perimeter exits. Whichever way this went go, Caleb and Kiara’s days were numbered.
Maddox, still in his human form opened the small window that lead into the basement of the bar. The room had once been used as a cellar, but now only had remnants of its original state left. Dust covered the shelves and boxes were stacked all over the place. The musty smell is almost suffocating and a dim light hanging from the ceiling swayed ominously above his head. Hoping that Raven’s scent was distracting enough for them to not notice him he quietly stepped over the scattered boxes and empty broken bottles. From within the building he could hear movement above him, a scraping of a chair, muffled sounds that could only be Raven, and footsteps.
A staircase with wooden stairs leading up to a door he assumed led into the bar towered in front of him, there was no way he would be able to climb up the stairs and avoid being heard. The wood was rotten in some places which would definitely cause it to creak under his weight.
[I’m going in, are you all ready?] He asked his pack.
In unison they all responded, this was it. He was going to have to act now. He was about to take the first step when he heard Raven’s voice.
“You were both human before, so why do you hate us so much?”
Caleb’s voice resounded from behind the door, “Tsk, we don’t hate you; we just need you humans to understand who is at the top of the food chain.”
“You’re an animal!” Raven shouted
That was followed by a loud slap and a grunt. Maddox saw red, Caleb dared to raise a hand to his woman, and for that he would pay with his life.
“Caleb!” Kiara shouted at him, “What use is she going to be if you kill her now?”
“Who needs her? Who needs this godforsaken pack of runts who would sell their souls to walk with pathetic humans?”
Maddox heard the gasps and whispers from his pack and shut them out, and in one leap he ascended the stairs and crashed through the door, stumbling into the bar. He was fighting the urge to shift as he heaved and huffed glaring at both Caleb and Kiara.
“Caleb!” Maddox roared, “I’m going to fucking kill you, and then I’m going to toss your intestines across dirt for the crows to feed on!”
Kiara immediately cowered behind one of the tables, fear evident in her eyes while Caleb reached for Raven, tugging her roughly towards him. She was tied to a chair with cable ties, cutting into her wrists and ankles with not a string of clothing to cover her naked body. That in itself caused Maddox’s beast to tear through his flesh and at the same time, Caleb knocked Raven out of the way as he shifted. He was a light brown color, smaller than Maddox in his wolf form, but Maddox knew for a fact that Caleb never backed down from a fight. But right now, Raven was in the middle of the brawl and with the two of them going at each other like wild animals, she would be lucky if she made it out alive.
In their wolf forms there was no way for them to communicate due to the severed link, but the bared canines and saliva flying through the air as they growled and barked, was enough to make anyone run for cover. Maddox did not dare look at Raven, but he could sense her fear escalating as her breathing turned from short puffs to near hyperventilation. Kiara on the other hand was slowly edging towards her, and he knew that he would not be able to protect her and fight his nemesis.
[NOW!] He called out to his pack and in that moment, the door to the bar crashed open, splintering off its hinges, as his trusted wolves appeared. Some entered the back door while a handful stayed outside, guarding vigilantly to make sure that neither Caleb nor Kiara escaped.
Tanner attacked Kiara viciously, while Aiden crashed into Caleb. This gave Maddox the chance to shove Raven out of the way. Her reaction to him as he nudged her into a corner using his head was both terror and awe. He glanced at her, wishing he could tell her how sorry he was, but that had to wait.
While Aiden and Josiah cornered Caleb, Maddox slowly approached. Head low and tail straight like an arrow, emitting a low growl, he would have preferred a decent challenge, one where he could fight Caleb to the death, but time was of the essence and lives were at stake. Aiden and Josiah kept their guard up as they backed away slowly, leaving Caleb to him. The defiance that cloaked Caleb was still very present, but he would die tonight.
Maddox leaped through the air and crashed into Caleb, pinning him to the ground. Caleb attempted to fight him, clawing and snapping his jaw to try and get even, but Maddox was inevitably much stronger. As Maddox’s jaw snapped and his canines tore into Caleb’s throat, Caleb whined and gargled, struggling against his opponent. Soon Caleb’s struggles ceased and his body went limp. Maddox had snuffed his life and killed him; Tanner had done away with Kiara. As their life force ebbed from them, both wolves turned back into their human forms, baring the scars of the fight. Once they were fully turned, the others dragged their corpses out of the bar.
Maddox didn’t wait a second to sift back into his human form, his bones shifting into place and the hair that covered his body disappearing as did his wolf-like features, and the moment he had transformed, he went to Raven.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he snapped the cable ties that bound her to the chair.
“What the hell… who was that?” she spluttered, her entire body trembling.
“That was Caleb, he’s the one who killed Jennings,” Maddox said as he carefully helped her to her feet.
He grabbed one of the table cloths that lay haplessly discarded on the floor and wrapped it around her shoulders. The shock of what had just happened must have set in, because the moment he wrapped his arm around her shoulders to help her, her body swayed and she lost consciousness.
Chapter 13
Days later, with a lot of TLC from her friend Joan, Raven finally managed to eat. In the past few years since the werewolves became a reality she had never once seen so many in one place. She had also never witnessed them shift into werewolves, and having witnessed it first-hand, had her questioning her own stupidity. All one time, she showed complete disregard for who or what they were, arguing with them as if they were mere humans. If she had to count how many times she could have died before that fateful night, she could classify herself as a complete nutcase.
Maddox had also not come around again, and the emptiness she felt because of his absence was numbing. Regardless of what she saw and who he was when he so violently tore into the other wolf’s throat, all of that was nothing compared to the desertion. She was mad at him, mad for coming into her life, mad for making her feel like a woman, mad for falling in love with him after she had fought her feelings for so long. She shoved her breakfast aside and curled up into a ball, even her tears deserted her. She was nothing but a Zombie – how ironic, she thought.
“Raven?” Joan said as she opened the door, “Maddox is here.”
Maddox. Raven’s heart fluttered and her pulse raced at the mention of his name. Without thinking twice she leaped off the bed and rushed out of the room. Her breath hitched when she saw him standing in the living room studying the portraits that hung on Joan’s wall.
“Maddox?” she whispered breathlessly.
He turned and looked at her, no smile but his eyes were almost sorrowful.
“I came to see how you’re doing,” he said not making any attempt to pull her into his arms.
Her heart ached and her insides flipped like a pizza stuck in a tumble dryer, why was he so distant, why did he not want to touch her? She crossed her arms and looked at him.
“I’m fine,” she said, her own voice sounding foreign to her.
Maddox stepped closer, but stopped a few feet away, “I’m glad; I just wanted to let you know that the pack decided to move on.”
“Th-the pack, you’re leaving Abingdon?”
He gave her a single nod, and her world disintegrated. How would she be able to live a single day without him, knowing what they had? Sure enough they had a rock
y start, but nothing that was beyond repair. She chewed on her lip as she tried to come up with something to say, but words failed her.
“It’s for the best, we have caused enough trouble here,” he closed in on her and lowered his head, planting a single kiss on her forehead, “Stay safe and stay strong.”
She closed her eyes, and leaned into nothing but air, Maddox was gone.
“You’re just going to let him leave?” Joan said shocked.
“Yes.”
“You can’t, you’re meant for each other, he is half of you and you know that.”
Joan was clearly the optimist, but Raven could not deny the truth, with him she was a hot mess, without him she was a numb Zombie, and she was sure as hell not an undead fan. She scratched her head and looked at Joan.
“What if he doesn’t want…”
“Absolute nonsense, if you don’t go now you’ll never get another chance,” Joan said and practically pushed her towards the door.
When she got outside, Aiden, Josiah and Tanner were standing with their legs apart, and their arms crossed, like a barricade in front of Maddox who had his back turned against her. She looked at the trio realizing that she never got to thank them, and that they too would be gone out of her life.
“Maddox!” she called after him as she ran down the few steps.
Maddox spun around, his brows drawn together, not out of anger but out of confusion. The smile on Tanner’s face as she winked at Raven and then looked almost lovingly at Josiah told her everything. They weren’t here to wait for Maddox and run off into the moonlight to howl on some lonely rock in the wilderness. They were here to stop him from leaving.
“Raven…” Maddox said and tucked his hands in his pockets. Right then the bad boy she got to know had the demeanour of a shy fifth grader, about to confess his undying love to the girl of his dreams.
