by Ryan Michele
“Zara, he can try, but it won’t happen.” Confidence oozes off of him and though one half of me believes him, the other is scared shitless. I wish I could drink it up so I didn’t feel this dread. “Enough. I have to go.” ‘I know you’ll be listening, but whatever you hear, you do not come down. Do you understand?’
I slowly nod my head. ‘Good. I’ll back before you know it.’ He kisses my forehead and then dashes off.
Thor comes around the corner and sits next to me on the couch. He grabs the remote and flicks on the television, as if it’s an everyday occurrence for my father to be outside ready to kill my mate. Shouldn’t he be out there with him?
“Let me check you while he’s gone. It’ll give you something else to focus on,” Stella consoles, but I don’t want to. I’m too jittery and heat rises through my body along with a pounding headache, but this needs to be done.
“Okay,” I reply and lie back on the couch, but continue listening to the thoughts of the males downstairs.
“Give me your hands.” I follow her instructions impatiently, wanting this over with since my focus is on Xavier and not my hands.
A gush of strong air knocks things from the walls and shelves onto the floor, smashing all around us. The curtains swing up, flopping all around, knocking the remaining items to the floor. My hair pulls tight along with my skin, following the movement of the air around us.
Stella releases my hand as she goes flying to the other side of the room a good thirty feet, crashing into the wall with a thud. The moment of her disconnect, the wind ceases. What the hell was that? My body feels new and invigorated, headache now gone, but I don’t dwell. “Stella!” I call out, rushing over to her lying on the floor. She hit so damn hard that there is an imprint of her body on the wall clean through to the drywall. “Are you okay?”
She gives her head a good shake like the hit knocked the wind out of her. “I’m fine. Just a little jolt,” she jokes, but I’m not feeling the joke. Thor stands to the side of me, assessing Stella.
“What was that?” Thor asks my unsaid question.
She looks into my eyes. “Power.” I’m completely dumbfounded. Maybe she hit her head a smidge too hard on the wall and knocked some screws loose.
“What kind of power?” I ask tentatively, wanting the answer, but not.
“I’m not sure, child, but we are going to figure it out.” I want to help her off the floor, but I’m a bit nervous about touching her and having whatever the hell that was happen again.
“Thor, can you help her up?” I ask kindly. He doesn’t answer. Instead, he picks Stella up in a bridal hold then walks over and places her on the couch so she’s lying down. He’s a good man. I already like him.
“I’ll go get you some water and see if the rest of the house is still intact.” Thor lumbers off.
The room is a pit. Broken glass, mirror shards, along with some type of pottery, all smashed to dust. I cannot believe I just did that. Never in all the time that I’ve been alive have I ever had light come out of me. It’s crazy.
‘What do you want?’ Xavier’s voice comes through loud and clear, interrupting my musings over the destruction of the room. I take in each thought.
‘My daughter. You stole her.’ Father.
‘I did not. She’s my mate.’
‘She’s already mated.’
‘That was not a mating. That was coercion.’
‘What else did she lie to you about? She’s always been really good at making up stories.’
The hell I have!
‘She told me everything. Is there a reason you’re here? Because you obviously know I’m not giving her to you.’
‘I want a real meeting. With a member of the Council.’
Did he not hear that I told Xavier everything?
‘Why? So you can get my men there, promise us an alliance then trap us, and try to slaughter us.’
‘You fucking little bitch.’ My father thinks, allowing me to hear his thoughts. ‘I will get my hands on you and once I do, I’ll fucking destroy you.’ A cold shiver snakes up my spine, leaving me trembling in its wake.
“Sugar, are you okay?” Stella asks, breaking me away from the altercation.
The cold shivers continue. “Yes. Just give me a sec.” I focus again on their conversation.
‘You will give me my property. I own her. She is not yours.’
‘After you kill all my comrades and me.’ Oh Heavens, Xavier, don’t threaten. It’ll only make it worse.
‘You must not know the size of my army.’
‘I don’t give a shit.’
‘Let’s make a deal.’ Father, always the shyster. Always willing to make a deal to get what he wants.
‘No deal.’
‘You give me back my daughter and I’ll pay you five-hundred-thousand dollars.’ I gasp, not at the amount of money, but that he thinks he can buy me. Shit, can he?
‘No amount of money will get you your daughter back.’
‘Then we fight.’
No. No. No.
‘Then we fight. I’ll set it up with the Council, making damn sure that you are not paying them under the table. I’ll even contact the entire Council to stop by.’
Holy shit. Calling on all the Council is serious business. One is normal, but all five of them is unheard of. I admit though, I’m thankful for it. Even though I don’t want them fighting, at least it will be as fair as it can be.
‘Fine. Good luck trying to get through all of my wolves, asshole.’ Father.
‘Same to you.’ Xavier.
I wait a few beats for something…anything. Knowing my father, he’ll probably turn around and fight him right there.
‘He’s gone. I’m coming to you.’
Relief spreads and the ache from my mate being away hits me like a pang in my gut. So, this is what it feels like to be away from each other and we haven’t even sealed the bond yet. I bet it only intensifies over time, if that’s even possible given the way I feel now.
“Sugar, are you okay?” Stella asks, sitting up on the couch and looking down at me, her eyes worried. ‘Heavens, I hope I didn’t hurt her.’
“I’m fine. I was daydreaming a bit.” I reach out to touch her arm to reassure her, but stop myself short. “I’d better not. I already have a big enough mess to clean up.”
She giggles and it’s cute and light, like a little fairy. “We will help. All of us,” she promises just as Thor enters the room.
“Rest of the house seems fine. Only this room blew up.” He’s so nonchalant about the whole thing when all I can think about is why in the hell all of this happened when I touched a healer.
“What in the fuck happened here?” Xavier growls, stalking toward me from the door. Max and the other wolves are on his heels. His eyes are furious as he scans my entire body until his gaze meets mine. “Well?” he barks.
I rise and walk over to him, placing my palms on his chest. His body loses a little of the starch from my touch and he leans into it. “Stella tried to get a read on me. When we joined hands, this is what happened.” I wave my hand, gesturing around the room.
“And the wind,” Stella chimes in. “It was crazy, Alpha. Light shot out of Zara and it threw me all the way over there.” Xavier looks to where Stella is pointing then back at me.
“Sorry,” I whisper, feeling like a heel.
“Are you hurt?” he says and I stay silent, glad he’s asking after Stella. Since he’s her alpha, she’ll be more truthful with him about any injuries. “Zara, answer me.” I jump.
“I’m fine,” I respond quickly, surprised.
He then turns to Stella. “You?”
“Nothing a nap won’t fix,” she says. “But we need to talk in your office.”
His brow rises. “About her power?” Stella nods. “An hour,” he addresses the room. “Zara and I’ll be back later.” He doesn’t wait for a response, just pulls me along a long corridor, down some stairs, and into a huge room. I could fit four of my old bedrooms in this room easily.
“Wow,” I murmur.
Two of the walls are painted a deep red, almost maroon. The other two are creamy beige. One of the maroon walls has a cobblestone fireplace with flames raging inside. Black and white pictures hang on the walls, beautiful, artistic shots of the woods. Against the other maroon wall is a bed. Well, you could call it that, but it’s so much more. It’s so big that two king size mattresses together wouldn’t dwarf it.
A beautiful canopy with soft fabric flows down from the wooden posters at the corners of the bed. It is the most beautiful bed I’ve ever seen. The headboard is a type of carved wood that must have taken someone hours and hours to create.
The room has a sitting area with comfy couches and chairs. There’s a television, a desk, two dressers—you name it, it’s in this space.
“This is our room,” Xavier states and I can’t get past its beauty.
“Was this your room?”
“No, mine is a few doors down.” His room. The old feelings start creeping back in, causing my stomach to plummet, and a niggling voice enters my head. It’s going to be like it was with Ian. Only sleeping together. My insides twist and the ache in my chest reappears, but this time it cuts so deep, I could fall over. I clutch my chest, trying to will the pain down.
“Hey. What’s with the frown?” I swipe it from my face, not wanting him to see the pain. I haven’t survived this long by showing those damn emotions.
“Nothing. Thank you.”
“There’s that fucking voice again. I told you get rid of that shit. Tell me what’s wrong, now!” he growls.
I suck in a breath and ask the one question that I fear the answer to. “Are you just sleeping here or are you going to live in here with me?” I fucking hate how puny my voice sounds. Nothing like giving every emotion you’re feeling away with the tone of your voice. I’ve practiced for years not to let feelings show through my words, but I blow it all in one shot.
He steps in front of me; his index finger and thumb raise my chin until I’m looking directly into his eyes. “My things will be brought in here and that room will go to someone else. You are my mate. You are with me always. Just as I’m with you.”
Even with the firm, demanding tone of his voice, it’s so wonderfully comforting to hear. I hope that it really does work out like that. There’s that word again. Hope. I try not to hold on to it like a lifeline, but it’s all I have.
“No one has been in this room, except to clean it. No one has slept on that bed. It was specially made for the day I met my mate.” My heart swells, some of the cracks coming together and repairing themselves. He pulls me into his arms, holding me tight to his chest. He feels so warm, strong, and safe. Those strings grow even tighter, pulling us like a wench closer together. I bask in the moment, sucking in every second.
“I have nothing,” I mumble against his shirt, lifting my head. “I have nothing. No clothes, shoes, phone… nothing. I never expected…” For any of this to happen. How could I have? I was only doing my father’s bidding. My necklace. I reach around my neck, frantically pulling away from Xavier. It’s gone. Oh no.
“What’s wrong?”
“My necklace. My Nana O gave it to me. It’s really the only thing that I’ll miss.” It must have come off when I shifted. Damn it.
He wraps me back up in his arms. “We’ll find it. After I fuck you, you’re going to have to call your Nana and get some answers.”
“Well, aren’t you romantic,” I smart, not exactly sure where that came from, but the smirk on his face tells me I did good. “I’m not sure she’ll take my calls. She was banned from having any contact with me when I got out of the cage. I don’t know why because my father never told me. When I got out,” I shiver, “I asked for her and my father said that I’d never see her again. I thought she was dead, but I learned, by listening to my mother’s thoughts, that she was banned from seeing me. Punishable by torture and death. So, I made sure that I stayed away from her at all costs, not wanting her to get hurt.” I shake my head, not liking this feeling. When I found this out, someone could have put twelve blades into my body and it wouldn’t have hurt as much as that moment. I miss her so much.
“Can you hear her?” Xavier says, snapping me out of my memories.
“I’ve had her blocked in my head since I found out.” No way in hell did I want my Nana being put to death because of me, and I knew my father would do it without question just to prove a point.
“You are going to have to tap into that, but first…” Xavier scoops me up in his arms and strides to the bed, tossing me onto it like a rag doll. “I fuck you and mark you. Then we make everything good, so I can fuck you again.”
MY WOLF RAISES HER head and comes alive. She lifts her hind end, shaking her tail in invitation. She hops around playfully and the sudden urge to do the same hits me like a ton of bricks. My wolf’s pull is too great so I tap into her. Xavier thinks I’m going to be easy, not give him a challenge. Parts of the old me ignite. My sensual, fun, excited, and sexual sides take over, fueling me. Even with all the shit going on, my body and wolf respond to him, want him, crave him, need him.
“Off,” he orders and I smile, moving up to the headboard and far away from him.
“Nope. You want it, you’re going to have to come and get it.” I try for a sassy smile and hope for the best. It’s been so long, hopefully it’s natural and doesn’t look forced. He lunges and I barely escape his grasp, jumping off the bed and moving backward with a squeal.
“You want to play, do you?” Xavier asks, pulling his shirt from his body by grabbing the back between his shoulders and lifting. Damn, that’s hot. His chest is gorgeous, so muscular and strong with a splash of black hair, but not so much that you can’t see the definition. Absolutely delicious.
“Who’s playing?” I ask innocently, moving to the wider space in the room. If he corners me, I’m going down and I’m not ready to yet.
He moves fast and catches me around my small waist, pulling me hard to his body. I resist and struggle from his tight grasp. His breath touches my ear. “You are.” Shivers race through me and I momentarily still. Snap out of it! I start struggling again. I’m not giving in that easy.
He pulls me several steps back. I lift up both feet and kick hard behind me. “Fuck!” he growls, loosening his grip just enough for me to get two feet before I’m in his arms again. He’s good. “You’re gonna pay for that one.”
I turn in his arms, facing him. “You think so?” I seductively tilt my head. “How’s that?”
His lips crash into mine. The taste of something sweet on his tongue invades my mouth as he takes everything from me and I let him, enjoying the feel of his warmth. It’s been so long. So damn long. And the last time didn’t end so well. What wolf female goes two years without sex? Shit, I’m practically a virgin again.
My brain clicks in. Resist. Right. I pull away from his lips. “We’re doing this right fucking now,” his insistent voice demands.
“So demanding.”
He pushes me onto the bed, lying on top of me so quickly that I can’t resist.
“Damn fucking right.” His hand presses my back into the mattress while his hips immobilize mine. I kick but it’s not helpful. He tugs my shirt, ripping the fabric from my body in one motion and tossing it to the ground. “Be a good little wolf and stay still while I undo your pants.”
Oh, hell no. He lifts his weight from me and I dart with every bit of strength I have to the other side of the bed, but he grabs the fabric of my jeans and pulls them clean from my body in the process. Considering those things were loose as hell, it doesn’t surprise me. Since he didn’t give me any underwear in the car, I’m now completely naked.
A self-conscious feeling sweeps over me. Skinny. I’m thin. Really thin, especially for a wolf. Not eating all this time has taken its toll on my body. Shit. I move to cover myself, suddenly feeling very inept. The insecurity hits me like a freight train and I immediately want to hide somewhere, fast.
“Stop!” he rumbles. “You do not hide that body. That body is mine.” Yes, but I’m sure that you’d like her with a lot more curves than this. “Come here,” he demands. I don’t move. I’m riveted to the spot. Xavier tears his pants from his body, giving me a mesmerizing view of his legs and what’s in between them. I’ve seen wolves before, but him. He’s…so big, so thick and long. I’ve never had anyone like him before and with my lack of sex, I’m pretty sure I’m gonna be sore.
“As much as I like you staring at my cock, get over here so I can do something with it.” The roll in my stomach goes into hyper-drive, flooding my pussy with wetness as my craving for him heightens.
I change my mind and move to a shirt on the floor, putting it over my body. “Nope. I think I’m going to go find something to eat.” I move slowly toward the door, but he’s there stopping me.
“I told you not to hide yourself.” With a strong tug at the neck of the shirt, he completely tears it away from my body. I stand in shock. “Want it rough our first time?” He turns me around and pushes me down on the bed, chest first, my knees dangling off the side. “Fine by me.”
Heavens, I want him. I want him more than anything in this entire world. This is what bonding is. This is what mating is, and even though I’m kicking and moving my body in resistance, he’s showing me the alpha that he is. The strong, powerful wolf that is Xavier. Damn, it is so sexy. Doubt over my looks fades as I focus on the desire burning bright.
His hands pin me to the bed and he pushes his way between my legs with his knees, spreading me wide. “This what you want?” The tip of his dick presses against my entrance, sending shocks to my clit. “Answer!” he barks.
“What do you think?” I bark back, surprising myself. One sharp hard thrust and he is balls deep inside of me. I scream out, the invasion stretching me more than I knew possible. Pain mixes with pleasure and it consumes me. My breathing turns in to short pants as I try to adjust to him.
He stills, obviously feeling my change. “Baby, are you all right?” Compassion and concern bleeds from his words and the strings connecting us get tighter. He doesn’t pull out, but he doesn’t move either. He allows my body to try to adjust to every glorious inch of his.
