Out of the Darkness (The Cloven Pack Series: Book Two)

by D. Fischer

I unzip his coat and he lets it slide off his arms to the snowy ground. Breaking our kiss, he grabs the bottom of his shirt and lifts it over his head. I watch as every muscle bunches and flexes as he does so—he is desirable in every way. Steam rolls off his smooth skin as it reaches the chilly air.

  After taking off my coat, he moves to discard my shirt and bra. His eyes never leave mine until he slips the shirt past my head.

  He takes a moment to let his eyes roam over my torso, before pushing me back against the tree. Starting at my collar bone, he slowly kisses his way to the swell of my breast. I hold onto the tree, my breath uneven when his hot tongue circles a hard nipple. When his mouth finally captures it, I moan and bury my hands in his hair.

  I whimper when the torture becomes too much. Pulling his head back by his hair, I lean down to kiss him. He takes the opportunity to free me of my jeans and underwear, the cold of the snowy night reaching my bare skin raises goosebumps.

  Spreading my legs apart, he runs his hand over my sex. I shiver from the heat of his touch. He parts my folds and drives a finger in, my head falling back as I moan. He captures the noises I’m making with his mouth when my walls clamp around his finger.

  “Are you going to let me taste you, Bre?” he asks as he pumps his finger. “Are you going to let me take what’s mine this time?”

  I nod and start to fall apart against the rough bark. I’m so close to coming and he’s barely begun.

  “Good girl,” he says before bending his knees and pulling one of my legs over his shoulder. His warm tongue circles my clit, my hands automatically grip his hair to hold him in place. When I’m just about to fall apart and come all over his hand, he pulls away. I growl a warning at him but it’s cut short when he takes my mouth, forcing me to taste myself.

  Ben lifts me up, wraps my legs around him and slams me back into the tree, leaving a delicious bite where the bark hit my bare, cold skin. Being in a taller position than him, I yank the hair on the back of his head and tilt his head back to deepen the kiss. I hear him unbutton his jeans and lower the zipper.

  “I’m a little big, baby girl, but we’ll start out slow,” he mumbles against my lips.

  He parts my folds and inserts the tip. He barely has an inch in when I hiss from the stretching.

  “Shh, baby. It’ll fit. You were made for me, remember?”

  He pumps his hips a little, never giving me more than an inch at a time, waiting for my body to adjust to his size. When he’s fully sheathed, he stills his movements as my pussy clamps around him.

  Ben rests his head against mine, breaths heavy as he retrains himself. “Ready, baby?”

  He pulls his dick back all the way to the tip and slowly pushes back in. I can feel everything—every part of the shape of his dick as it rubs against my inner walls. After a few minutes of this slow torture, I get restless and whimper, begging for more.

  “Do you want it harder, Bre?” Ben mumbles with a deep voice.

  “Yes,” I say breathlessly.

  I watch his face twitch with a smile. “First, you have to answer me something.” I impatiently glare at him. “Whose pussy is this?” he asks.

  I roll my eyes, annoyed that we’re back to that egotistical shit. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

  He yanks my head back and punishingly drives his tongue inside my mouth. “Whose fucking pussy is this, Bre?” he asks again and slams his dick into me.

  I moan at the abrupt intrusion. “Yours, damn it.”

  “Are you going to let any else inside what’s mine?”

  I grit my teeth while hardening my eyes. “No.” Though his giant ego is pissing me off, I truly meant what I said. I’ve waited so long for this. I’ve fantasized about it. My mate is acknowledging that I’m his and he’s finally claiming me. There will be no others for me. Not ever again.

  “Good girl,” he whispers. He lifts my ass and bares my full weight on his arms. He thrusts forward, slamming into me without mercy. I moan loudly and let my head fall back against the cold tree while he fucks me. He’s leaving me no choice but to let him have full control here. At the moment, I don’t really care who’s in control—this feels too earth-shattering to give a shit.

  “It’s my fucking pussy. Got it, baby?” He bites my shoulder and my orgasm hits full force. It fills my body with electric currents and lasts far longer than any other orgasm I’ve ever had.

  “That’s right, baby. No one else can make you feel this good. Fuck!” he curses. As my pussy continues to milk him, he can’t hold out any longer and groans against me as he reaches his own climax. Ben holds me against the tree and we take a moment to catch our breath, coming down from our sexual high.

  “That was … unbelievable,” I say breathlessly.

  “I’m such an ass,” Ben replies, resting his forehead against mine. “If I’d have known … I could’ve … we could’ve … I’m such an ass.”

  “Yes, yes you are,” I reply. It’s a relief to hear him say what I’ve been thinking for years. To see him imagine what it’s been like for me gave me liberation. It’s like the biggest, heaviest of weights has been lifted from my shoulders. I never realized how heavy that weight was. Ben set it free by recognizing me as his mate, and now I can finally breathe.

  “Did you feel it?” he asks, sliding out of me and gently placing my feet on the snow-covered ground.

  “The start of the mating?” When he nods, I answer his original question, “Yeah. I’ve heard it described but I always thought it was exaggerated.”

  My wolf is ecstatic that our mate accepted us. After sex, when the electric currents flowing through my body subsided, I felt a sense of peace fill me. My inner turmoil—my demons—are finally silent.

  “Me, too,” he replies, kissing my forehead. He bends down and assists me in slipping on my pants, socks, and shoes before doing the same for himself. Grabbing my bra and shirt, I pull it over my head along with my coat. I sigh happily at the warmth my clothes provide against the chilly night air.

  “Ben … ” I start.

  “Yeah, baby?” he mumbles while reaching for his coat.

  “I know you don’t feel the same and that’s okay. But I … ah … need to tell you anyway.” Slipping his arms into his coat, he turns to face me. “I’m in love with you,” I blurt.

  He searches my eyes and lifts his mouth in a smile. Striding back over to me, he takes my face in my hands. “You love me?” he quietly asks. “I can’t give you those words, baby. Not yet. Those aren’t words that should be thrown around lightly. I want to be able to say them and actually mean it, instead of giving you what you want to hear. Okay?”

  I nod. I’ve had a long time to know I loved him. Much to my dismay, he’s only had a short time to learn I was his mate and to come to terms with it. I can be patient a little longer. I can give him time.

  He runs his thumb along my cheek. “Do you want to stay here or go back to the party?” he asks.

  I really don’t want to go back to the party. It had become loud when I left. Most of the wolf shifters had been intoxicated and some had even started coupling. I just need a little peace with my mate.

  I walk over to sit on a fallen snow-dusted log, brush off the snow, and gesture for him to sit down. Not willing to part with him just yet, I start asking questions about his parents, who had moved to another Pack when Evo became Alpha.

  Benjamin Grobin

  “I can’t believe your little brother already graduated from college.” Bre grins. We’ve been talking about my family for the last half hour. Content on keeping each other warm, we dive deeper into the other’s life, easily holding a flowing conversation.

  I haven’t seen my family in years. Our conversations are brief during the holidays. Our relationship isn’t a bad one, we just lead separate lives now.

  I hadn’t realized how easy Bre is to talk to. She’s genuinely curious about everything that goes on in my life, including my past. Warmth builds in my chest, for I haven
’t ever had such a deep conversation like this. This is new to me, and usually it’s my job to get to the bottom of my wolves lives and what makes them tick. But now, Bre was the one to inquire. She cares. She cares for me—that touches me deep inside and blossoms feelings I’ve never felt before.

  When a wolf howls a warning, we turn our heads to the South. “Jeremy,” we say together.

  I turn to look at her frightened face. The only reason Jeremy would be sounding any alarm is if there’s danger. Hearing distant pops at the same time Evo’s voice comes through our heads, we spring off the log and run back to the gather.

  Ben! Brenna! Where the hell are you? Evo yells telepathically.

  Exiting the tree line, we’re brought to the face of chaos. Some of the wolves have shifted while others are running. Kenna is in the distance trying to herd the females into the house. Kelsey is towing Dyson, his arms wrapped around her shoulders as he limps to the house. Evo and Jacob are barking orders to some of the males, Rex standing next to them.

  I turn to Bre. “Go inside, Brenna.”

  “What?” she yells in disbelief. “No way! I can take care of myself.”

  I shake my head in frustration and grip her shoulders. “Go inside right now, Bre. I can’t think straight if there’s a possibility you’ll be in danger.”

  When she searches my face, and finds true terror there on her behalf, she reluctantly heeds to my demand. With a loud sigh, she turns and runs back to the house.

  Satisfied when she makes it inside without injury, I run toward Evo. “What the fuck is going on?” I growl.

  Another round of bullets spray the ground, forcing snow into the air. Evo, Jacob, Rex, and I drop to the cold ground and cover our heads.

  “Someone’s fucking shooting at us! Maybe more than one,” Evo shouts.

  We look over our shoulder when we hear a yelp. A wolf not far from us was shot and has fallen to the ground.

  “Caleb!” Jacob shouts.

  Jacob starts to rise from the ground to help his wounded wolf. Evo grabs him and yanks him back down. “You can’t help him if you get hit, too, Jacob!”

  “We have to get to the tree line!” I shout over the noise. When the shooting ceases for a few moments, the four of us take off for the trees.

  Once under cover, Evo turns to Jacob. “Head to the house and make sure everyone’s okay.” This being Evo’s Pack and his territory, it’s his job to solve this problem. When Jacob nods in confirmation, Evo turns to me. “Change,” he says, using his Alpha Command.

  My body begins involuntarily shifting. Bones crack and resettle until I stand on all fours. Angry about this situation, my wolf shakes his black fur and snorts his displeasure.

  Evo follows suit just as Jeremy’s wolf joins us. He greets his Alpha with a nudge. Our wolves slowly make their way through the trees and frozen vegetation to the direction the bullets came from. The entire back yard is now abandoned and eerily quiet. The rain of bullets has stopped, which meant … My wolf recognized my train of thought and nudged our Alpha. He supplies my wolf with the communication I need.

  What is it? he asks.

  He’s stopped shooting, which means he’s on the run. If we plan to catch him, we need to pick up the pace.

  Evo’s wolf looks up into the trees. You head left, I’ll go right. Jeremy, you keep heading straight.

  Evo’s wolf takes off to the right, kicking up snow. It’s prudent to catch the shooter before he flees the territory. If he’s a human, he’ll be slower. If he is a wolf shifter, he won’t be able to carry his gun in wolf form. He’s going to have a hard time getting off this territory before we catch him.

  Brenna Johnson

  “Is anyone hurt?” I ask Kenna when I rush into the kitchen.

  Anger shakes Kenna’s body. She turns away from the kitchen window, her eyes glowing wolf. “Yes. Flint carried in a Riva Pack wolf who’s been shot. Dyson’s been shot, too. Kelsey helped him inside. Reese, the Riva Pack doctor that came when Chris paid his brotherly visit, is tending to them upstairs. She said there were no serious gunshot wounds. Kelsey and Flint are with Dyson.”

  I look around the kitchen. “Where is everyone else?” I ask.

  “I put everyone else in the living room. The females are guarded by the males that came in with us.”

  “Why the fuck isn’t anyone guarding you?” I yell.

  She glares her eyes in detest. “Because I told them I’d kill them if they tried to manhandle me or tear me from this window,” Kenna states in a deadly even tone.

  Strangely, I understand her answer. I don’t think I’d let anyone else tear me from it, either. Not with my mate and brother still out there looking for a man with a gun.

  We turn our head to peer out the kitchen window. Ben, Evo, Rex, and Jacob are off to the side, flat to the ground. Gun fire is still raining down and we watch as it hits a wolf, the breath seizing in our lungs. He falls to the ground, unmoving.

  “Fucking hell,” Kenna yells and makes her way to the sliding doors.

  I stomp after her with determination. “Where the hell are you going?”

  She throws her hand in the direction of the hurt wolf. “He’s hurt! Someone has to bring him in here.”

  Kenna begins to open the door but I slam it, placing my hand on top of hers. “Just wait. Wait until the gun fire stops and then I’ll help you get him.” Kenna growls at me. “Kenna, three wolves have been shot already and our men are out there chasing a psycho with a gun. Like hell I’m going to allow you to jump into the line of fire.”

  She grinds her teeth and looks back out the window, waiting for the shooting to stop. We watch as our men, Jacob, and Rex take off into the tree line for safety. Shortly after, the gunfire stops.

  “Give it a minute,” I whisper as we look around through the window.

  Satisfied with the amount of time we’ve waited, Kenna opens the sliding door and drags me out with her. We take off in a run and head toward the injured wolf.

  “Grab around his waist,” I tell Kenna. She glares at me for taking point, but I ignore it. “He’s going to be heavy, but try not to jostle him.”

  I wrap my arms around his front the same time she grabs his waist, and we lift. The wolf whines with discomfort. My eyes fall to the wound on his shoulder and note that it’s bleeding sluggishly. That fact that he’s still alive is a good sign.

  “Let me help with Caleb,” a male voice sounds behind us.

  Kenna and I scream in fright at the unexpected helper. Our grunts of strain and the wolf’s whines had drowned out the sound of Jacob and Rex’s approach.

  Together we hustle the injured wolf inside and lay him on the kitchen floor. Kenna takes off to get the doctor, Reese, from upstairs while Jacob orders Rex to the living room with the other shifters.

  “What the hell is going on out there?” I ask Jacob as I rush to grab the supplies the doctor will need. All the medical supplies in the house had been thrown about on the kitchen table.

  “Evo and Ben’s wolves are searching for the shooter, but we’re still not sure if there’s only one,” Jacob says distractedly. Using kitchen scissors, he cuts away the bloody fur around the wound.

  “Why the hell is someone shooting us?” I growl.

  Kenna walks back into the kitchen, running a hand through her hair. “I don’t know,” she supplies with an exhausted tone. “One minute, we’re having a good time and the next, bullets are being sprayed everywhere. The only warning was a few seconds before when Jeremy howled the alarm. I’m guessing he picked up the shooter’s scent. He must have slipped through somehow.”

  “What the fuck,” I whisper. “Who told him how to get on our property? Someone had to help him slip in.”

  “I don’t know. We’ll have to ask Evo when he’s back,” Kenna says running a hand through her hair again.

  “Aren’t you communicating telepathically with him?” I ask.

  Kenna shakes her head. “I don’t want to di
stract him. I can feel he’s fine, though.”

  Baffled, I look at her with my mouth hanging slightly open. “How the hell are you so calm?”

  Kenna shrugs. “I get calm in a crisis.”

  I turn my head back to the window. The logs are still burning and the snow is still falling. Everything is so unbelievably quiet it’s almost unnerving. My eyes scan the forest for any sign of Ben, Evo, or Jeremy. I wish like hell that our mating was complete so I could have that reassurance Kenna has. I’m envious of Kenna for having that connection with her mate.

  When the doctor rushes to the kitchen to help Jacob, Kenna walks over to the window and stands with me. “You have a hickey on your neck,” she murmurs.

  “I most likely do,” I say distractedly.

  “So … you and Ben—”

  “Yep.”

  “And the mating—” She glances at me.

  “Yep.”

  “I see. Well … it’s about fucking time,” she growls softly and looks back out the window.

  “Indeed,” I nod. “Shit—they’re back.”

  With Kenna on my heels, I hurry to the sliding door and out into the backyard.

  Kenna growls as we get closer to Evo and Ben. “Is that the shooter?” Kenna demands. Both are towing another man along between them. Wolf shifters in wolf form, only one of them I recognize as Jeremy, tags along behind as Evo and Ben walk past the house and head for the garage. Kenna and I follow, unwilling to be left out.

  Evo opens the door to head inside with the shooter, while Ben stops at the door and stares at Kenna and me.

  “Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I say when Ben continues to stare at us pointedly.

  Ben ticks his jaw in defiance. “You’re not coming in.”

  Kenna pokes him in the chest. “He shot at my Pack and our guests. You bet your ass we’re coming in.”

  “He’s the fucking shooter. Neither of you are getting near him,” Ben snarls in defiance.

  Kenna and I step into his space and square our shoulders. I growl at my mate and speak slowly, “Move your ass or we’ll run you down.”