A Cub For The Billion-were (Alpha Billion-weres Book 2)

by Georgette St. . Clair

  “I’m sorry,” Jeffrey said, crying, as they buckled him in to his car seat. “I didn’t want to change but I couldn’t stop myself. I’m sorry. Can you just whip my butt and get it over with? I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault at all,” Celeste said. “Nobody is spanking you. I’m not mad.”

  “Yes, you are. I can tell in your voice.”

  He cried all the way back to the lodge. When he got to their room, he ran into the bathroom and locked himself in.

  * * * * *

  Grant was in the middle of a long, boring meeting when Truman came to the door and gestured for him to step outside. The look on his face sent him hurrying out of the room.

  Truman explained what had happened. “Mandy’s in the room with Jeffrey,” he said. “Uh, Celeste…she was crying, and she said she had to go for a drive. She took her suitcase and left.”

  “Go join Mandy, okay? Stay with Jeffrey and let him know we’re not mad at him.”

  “Of course. We all told him that. He’ll calm down,” Truman said.

  Grant hurried out to his car. Before he drove off, he called her phone and it went to voicemail.

  He left a message. “Celeste, baby, it’s okay. I’m not mad. And I know where you are right now.”

  Don’t leave us, don’t leave us. This isn’t you. This isn’t what you do.

  He raced into town and drove straight to Greasy Gus. To his enormous relief, Celeste was leaning against her car in the parking lot.

  Grant parked next to her car and walked up to her. Tears were running down her cheeks, streaking her mascara.

  She hadn’t left them. Grant took a deep breath. The thought of losing her made him feel physically ill.

  He pasted a smile on his face and sauntered up to her. “Hey, lady. I’ve got this kinky fantasy about picking up an incredibly sexy woman at a greasy restaurant. Could you please make my dream come true?”

  She tried to smile, but then sobbed harder.

  “Grant. I’m so messed up.” Her voice was raspy with emotion.

  “Join the club. I’m the president.” He pulled her to him and hugged her. “You’re talking to a guy who spent the last five years paying beautiful women not to have sex with him. Don’t you dare try to pretend you’re more messed up than me. I won’t have it.”

  “I didn’t know that being near a dog might make Jeffrey shift. I’m an idiot. I’m going to get him hurt.”

  “No, you are not. That doesn’t happen to all cubs – it’s actually pretty rare – but I still should have known better. You’re human; you couldn’t know everything about werewolves. This is on me, and Mandy and Truman, not you.”

  She took a long, shuddering breath, and wiped at her cheeks with her sleeve.

  He hugged her harder, crushing her up against him.

  She tipped back her head to look up at him. “I’m going to tell you something, and I’m begging you to believe me. I wasn’t going to leave you and Jeffrey.”

  “I believe you.”

  “Even though I had my suitcase in my car. That’s…a reflex. I was so flustered, I grabbed it without thinking, and then when I got here, I realized what I’d done and I panicked. I knew you were all going to think that I was abandoning Jeffrey and you’d hate me, and you wouldn’t want me to come back, but I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving. So I was just sitting here trying to think what to do next.”

  Grant kissed the top of her head. “If you were going to leave, you wouldn’t be parked here waiting for me. You were waiting here for me to come for you, and here I am. I’m sorry it took me so long.”

  “You’re too good to me.” She rested her head on his shoulder, and he felt some of the tension leaving her body.

  “That’s true. You should probably reward me with sexual favors.”

  Taylor stepped away from him and smacked his arm, laughing through her tears. “Grant. You are a first-class pig.”

  “We don’t hate you!” That was Taylor’s voice. She and Chantelle were hurrying across the parking lot to them.

  “Damn it, woman, I was about to work my way up to parking lot sex,” Grant complained to her. “Way to ruin a moment. Also, eavesdrop much?”

  “All the time,” Taylor said. She held out her arms to Celeste. “You look like you need a hug.”

  Celeste hesitated. She stood there stiffly and let Taylor hug her. Then she melted into the hug. Taylor was soft and pillowy, and hugging her felt pretty great.

  “You guys,” she said, wiping her cheeks after she stepped away. “You’re being way too nice to me. Maybe you should just let me say goodbye to Jeffrey and go. I’m going to screw this parenting thing up.”

  “Yeah, you are,” Grant said. “You are going to screw it up royally.”

  Taylor let out a snarl, and Chantelle growled. “You mangy ass-hat. I will cut you.”

  “I’ll rip your lips off and stuff them down your throat,” Taylor snapped. “How dare you?”

  Grant snorted. “I wasn’t done.” He looked at Celeste. “I’m also going to screw up this parenting thing. My own dad tried to drown my younger brother – while my mother stood there and poured herself another martini. My dad cheated on my mother all the time, and the two of them regularly got into screaming fights that ended in blood and broken bones for both of them. And he beat the crap out of me and my brothers on a regular basis. I have no good role models for being a parent or a mate. But neither did my brother Cliff, and he’s done all right for himself.”

  “Better than all right.” Taylor looked a little smug.

  “So yeah, we will both screw up, and we are going to forgive ourselves for it, and do better next time. That’s what families do. Come back home to me and our child. When we get there, you, me and Jeffrey are going out for a walk in the woods while someone sneaks your suitcase back into the cabin.” He glanced at Taylor. “And since someone here ruined my chance of getting parking lot nookie, someone here is going to babysit my son after dinner so I can have some alone-time with my mate.”

  He led Taylor back to her car. “Taylor, if you could drive my car back, I’d appreciate it. And Chantelle?”

  “Yes, derpface?”

  “I recently told you to fuck off. I am sorry. You should probably punch me in the face right now.”

  She shook her head. “Nah, we’re good. I know my mate broke your nose.”

  “Yeah, he did. Took an hour to heal. He packs a wallop.”

  Chantelle quirked a smile. “You’re a Dominus and he’s not. You could have killed him for that, but you held yourself back. Because you know you deserved it. You’re not the worst wolf in the world. But don’t go getting all swell-headed now, you’re still a jackoff most of the time.”

  “It’s not my head that’s swollen.” Grant grabbed Celeste’s hand. “Let’s go home, babe. Our son is waiting for us.”

  Jeffrey was so wound up when they got back that it took hours to calm him down. Grant finally convinced him to shift and go rabbit-hunting with them, and then they made dinner for Celeste, Taylor and Cliff. As they sat outside, with Taylor reading a story to Jeffrey, he started snoring, his head resting on her shoulder.

  “Go now,” Taylor said to Grant. “I’ll bring him back to your room in one hour. And don’t worry, you will pay me back with plenty of babysitting when we get back home, the both of you.”

  They walked back to Grant’s room, holding hands, and Grant shut the door. Then he turned to face her and put his hands on her shoulders.

  “Stop,” he said.

  “Stop what?”

  “Stop torturing yourself. I told you. It was not your fault. And you are part of our family now. We will never hate you. Various members of our family get very pissed off at each other from time to time, and we cuss each other out and say mean things. That’s just what happens when you spend a lot of time with other people. You step on each other’s nerves. But when push comes to shove, any one of us would die for you, just the way you would for me and Jeffrey and any of us.”<
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  Celeste felt her lungs compress with panic. This could not work out, she didn’t deserve it, she would fall in love with them all and they’d leave her… She turned and started to run for the door, and Grant grabbed her and held her tightly. “No,” he said gently. “You’re not leaving us. You don’t want to. And I won’t let you.”

  She fought, thrashing and kicking, and she had no idea why.

  This is it. I am acting like a fucking crazy person. This is when it ends. Now he’ll leave me. Now they’ll all hate me.

  “Never,” he said. Had she said it out loud, or were they so close now that he could read her thoughts?

  She felt herself go limp, and Grant sat down on the floor with her and held her, and stroked her arms as she cried. She cried for the druggie parents she didn’t even remember, for all the foster homes that had rejected her and made her feel ugly and unlovable, for the taunts that had slashed into her like knives in grade school and middle school. She cried because she hadn’t been able to save her sister from making terrible choices.

  “I am sorry I’m being so crazy. I am so, so sorry,” she wept into his shoulder.

  “You are not being crazy. This was a long time coming. You needed to let it out. Cry all you want. Cry all night long if you want to. I love you, and I’m not going anywhere.”

  She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. You said the L-word.”

  “You didn’t say it back.” He sounded a little hurt.

  “I am terrified that you’ll change your mind and break my heart. Please don’t. Because I love you, and I love Jeffrey, and I love your family, and I want this all so much.”

  “I keep my word. And I do not lie. You are mine. You are my woman, my mate, the mother of my child, more than his birth mother ever was.” He kissed her tear-stained cheeks. “And if you leave, I will find you and bring you back.”

  At that, she burst into shaky laughter. “That’s half romantic and half terrifyingly stalkery.”

  “And one hundred percent sincere. Your place is with me and our son. Our family is not complete without you.”

  She managed a smile. “We have about forty minutes left before Taylor brings Jeffrey back.”

  “So we do.”

  “I don’t feel like crying any more.”

  “What do you feel like doing?”

  She flashed him a shy smile. “Let me show you.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  She led him to the bed, stopping along the way to snatch kisses. In return, he stole quick, intimate touches – to her breast, her face, the small of her back. Each one sent delicious shivers of expectation through her.

  They undressed each other slowly, carefully. Grant kissed every inch of skin she exposed. She traced each golden inch of him with her fingers. She wanted to touch all of him; know all of him. Arousal swirled in her stomach and her nipples were hard and begging for his mouth. He obliged, lavishing attention on one and then the other, then replacing his mouth with his hands. His mouth returned to hers and he kissed her, grazing her lips with his teeth, lapping at the seam of her lips and coaxing her to open her mouth to him. He slid his tongue against hers and she moaned into his mouth, twining her arms around his neck and pulling him with her as she sank down onto the mattress.

  She pushed gently at his chest until he lay down, then kissed her way down his body, sucking and nibbling his nipples, licking a damp trail down the center of his chest and belly. He fisted his hands at his sides, and she could feel the tension thrumming through his body. His penis was thickly erect and glistening with precum at the tip, and she took the head into her mouth and sucked on it like a lollipop, making Grant groan. He let his hand drift to the back of her head and threaded his fingers into the silky strands of her hair.

  Celeste slid her lips down the length of his cock, slowly taking him in, inch by inch, until the head of his cock was nudging the back of her throat. He groaned, struggling to stay still as she drew back again, all the way, letting his dick slip from her mouth with a muted pop. She blew cool air over the damp flesh, and Grant gave a heartfelt moan of mingled pleasure and frustration. Then she did it again. And again. Each time she felt a little more confident, moved a little faster, picking up her pace until she was bobbing her head, letting his cock slide in and out of her mouth as he curled his fingers, tugging on her hair, and murmured his pleasure.

  As she sucked and licked him, she let her fingers wander down to her slick folds. She played gently with her clit, too turned on by Grant’s groans of pleasure to resist touching herself. She dipped a finger into her wet pussy and moaned around Grant’s length. The vibrations made him gasp and clutch at her hair, trembling with the effort of not thrusting into her mouth and taking what he needed.

  Arousal built between Celeste’s thighs as her fingers played over her clit, and she moaned again. Grant cursed breathlessly, and his erection swelled and twitched in her mouth before he gave a staccato shout and spilled himself over her tongue. She swallowed his thick, salty cum, then licked him clean as he softened in her mouth. She continued to lap at his sensitive flesh as he breathed in trembling, ragged gasps.

  Grant hooked his hands beneath her arms and hauled her up his body, kissing her hard with the taste of his seed still on her lips. He ran his hands down her spine and over her ass, then rolled her onto her back. He lay beside her, propped up on one elbow, eyes lazy and sated, and he ran the other hand down over her breast, making the muscles in her tummy jump and twitch as he brushed it with the backs of his fingers.

  She parted her legs, biting her lip as his fingers found the crisp curls on her mound, then the sticky petals of her vagina. He pushed first one finger then two inside her, almost roughly, giving her what she needed. She squirmed and cried out as he thrust his digits firmly deep inside her, the heel of his hand pressing against her clit with every stroke.

  As he finger-fucked her, his eyes stayed locked on her face, languid and limpid, watching every expression that crossed her face, noting every reaction to his touch. His cock was half hard again, but when she reached for it he gently knocked her hand away.

  “I want to watch you come,” he murmured. “Come for me, Celeste.”

  She parted her legs further, so he could push deeper, and he obliged working his fingers skillfully in and out of her clenching channel. He gave a lazy, self-satisfied mile and she shuddered and moaned, then he picked up the pace when she began to roll her hips to meet his thrusts, making little noises of effort and need in the back of her throat.

  “Don’t close your eyes,” he said hoarsely. “I want to see you.”

  As he fingered her closer to the edge of bliss, those beautiful eyes never left hers, only narrowed with arousal as she clutched his wrist, helpless beneath his touch. He caught his breath as her voice broke on a blissful moan, and he stroked her into a soul-searing orgasm as he gazed into her eyes, drinking in every moment of her pleasure, every spasm and moan and shudder.

  When it was over and she was limp and sated in his arms, he pulled the covers over them, holding her tightly as though he never wanted to let her go.

  Chapter Sixteen

  In the morning, the dining room at the lodge was filled with hungry werewolves lining up at the buffet table, grumbling and growling. The mood was tense; there had been too many attacks, too many unanswered questions.

  Most of them would be staying there for about another week to finish up the database, and then heading back to their packs until after the full moon.

  The Bronson pack and Celeste and Mandy were sitting together at one of the tables and finishing up their breakfast when Reynaldo walked up to their table with an unhappy look on his face.

  “Really?” Celeste said, wincing. “Can we just have one twenty-four-hour period that’s disaster free? Sorry. I mean, hi, Reynaldo, did you sleep well last night?”

  “You obviously didn’t,” Mandy said to her with a wink.

  Truman, who was sitting next to her, looked down at the table in front of him. �
��I didn’t either,” he said glumly. He shot a glance at Mandy. Mandy shifted slightly in her seat, moving a little further away.

  “It’s not a complete disaster,” Reynaldo said. “But my office just got a call from the judge. The CPS case worker complained that you weren’t at your house. She’s trying to claim that you fled the area, and she wants you arrested for kidnapping. I’ve already talked to the judge’s office and notified my pack. You need to return to Somerville today. I already have the helicopter ready. You need to stay there for two more drop-in home inspections from the CPS office over the next ten days, and one more meeting at the courthouse with the judge, and if the reports are satisfactory, the judge will give you full custody as of the fifth of next month. Me and Pete will stay there for the rest of the month, and if you need any more of our pack there, you just let us know.”

  “The fifth? That’s two days after the full moon,” Grant protested. He shook his head in dismay. “Not that we can exactly point that out to the judge.”

  Cliff scowled. “You can’t go back to Somerville. Someone there knows way too much about you guys. We still have no idea who tried to kidnap your son, or why.”

  “What if you just ditched the whole court case?” Chantelle suggested.

  “That’s a last resort,” Grant said. “I’m too public a figure to just disappear, and if I take my son and run, then CPS will be keeping an eye on the rest of my family. We don’t want that kind of supervision. It’s hard to drop off the radar these days anyway. We’d have to take Jeffrey and leave the country. It would be much better if we could resolve this legally. We’re almost there.”

  “But Celeste will be alone in the house during the full moon,” Taylor protested. “Unless you’re going to turn before then?” she added, looking at her hopefully.

  Grant shook his head. “No. Too risky. She needs a full month of preparation. Meditation exercises, training…we don’t have enough time. We’ll lock ourselves in the basement, and I’ll hire a firm that we work with, human security guards, to guard her.”