by Ryan Michele
Nerves inside me spark, and not just the ones he is touching, but ones I never thought would be alive. My toes curl as shocks of pleasure race down my legs, and I wrap them around Thor’s hips as he continues his thrusts.
He slams in all the way to the hilt and stops. I’m so full right now and I cherish it. I break from the kiss to look into his beautiful golden eyes, on fire just for me.
“I’m so damn happy I found you,” he says, pushing my dampened hair away from my face. And as much as I dreaded meeting my mate and feared what he would think of me, I am too. So glad. I never knew anything could feel this special, this intense. Of course I’ve seen my parents over the years, but it’s one thing to watch it and a whole other to actually feel it, and with Thor there is nothing but feeling it.
“I was so scared that once I found you, you wouldn’t want me.”
His body stiffens and I immediately think I should have kept my big ass mouth shut. Way to ruin the moment, Sabrea. Shit.
“Never think that again. I’ll want you until my dying breath. Never mistake that.” The intensity in his eyes tells me that he is one-hundred percent telling me the truth. Not only that, inside his head, he’s thinking the exact same thing. How in the hell did I get so lucky?
I nod, not being able to form coherent words at the moment. As his hips continue their torture throughout our little talk, he begins to pick up speed, hitting me in just the right spots. A sear of pure ecstasy washes over me, tumbling down as I scream his name to the Heavens. It doesn’t take him long before he is falling the same way.
His weight lays heavy on my body and I relish the sensation. After a few moments, he rolls off to the side, his tanned skin slick with sweat. His strong cheekbones and rugged nose create a package on him that no female could resist. At that thought, my wolf growls. No other female will ever touch my mate again. I’ll make damn sure of it.
WALKING INTO Xavier’s office, I fully admit I’m a bit intimidated. I shouldn’t be because my mate is at my side, but the way that Xavier and the other male in the room stand there with their arms crossed over their chests and angry scowls on their faces has my confidence slipping a bit.
Two beautiful women stand at each of their sides. One with gorgeous caramel hair that flows in waves down her back and blue-green eyes stands next to the man with shaggy blond hair. The other has beautiful auburn hair that falls past her shoulders and blue eyes and stands next to the alpha, Xavier. The two females greet me with soft smiles, but the males are not as gracious. What the hell did I do? Insecurities creep in and I try to push them away.
I cling to Thor’s body and he wraps his arm around my shoulder, obviously feeling my tension and hearing my thoughts. His warmth helps, but my eyes stay glued to the four wolves in front of me.
“This is Sabrea, my mate,” Thor starts. “Her parents took her to Marvin yesterday.” His words are directed at Xavier who nods. “She knows that she is part of this.”
The female with the caramel hair steps out of the big wolf’s grasp. “Hi. I’m Kenly. Welcome to the pack.” She reaches her hand out and I take it. We both gasp as electricity flows through our arms at the connection. Kenly’s eyes are round as saucers, and I have no doubt mine are the same. It takes a bit of strength, but we are able to disconnect.
“What was that?” I breathe out, still holding my arm in my hand after having to wrench it away.
“I don’t know.” Kenly turns to the shaggy male. “Max, when we touched it was like a live wire between us. Like if we didn’t have our feet firmly on the ground we would have shocked the shit out of each other.”
“What the fuck?” This comes from Xavier, and I have no doubt that he just beat Max in voicing that same thought.
“I don’t know,” I whisper, looking up at Thor. “It’s never happened before.”
“I want you to shake Zara’s hand,” Xavier demands.
Zara. What a kickass name. The woman moves closer, the brightest smile on her face. “Hi. I’m Zara, Xavier’s mate.” She holds out her hand for me.
“You sure you want to touch me?” I can’t help but be apprehensive about what just happened. Especially since judging by Xavier’s tone, he thinks the same thing will happen when I touch Zara’s hand.
“Absolutely.”
I tentatively reach out and grasp her hand. The instant our skin touches, pins and needles poke my hand, not painfully, but intensely. The air in the room changes and from out of nowhere, wind picks up and swirls around us like a tornado. Everything in the office is thrown. Papers hit me in the face, but are immediately cast aside.
A strong arm grips around my waist, yanking me back hard, but my hand is still connected to Zara’s, something around us making it impossible to get away. It’s almost like a magnet that is pulling unmovably. A blue light zaps up from our conjoined hands and bounces off the ceiling.
Seconds later, I’m in Thor’s hold, disconnected from Zara. What in the hell just happened? Glancing over at Zara, she is thinking the same thing with the wide-eyed look she’s giving me.
“Are you hurt?” Thor asks.
“No.” And I’m not. If anything, I feel a bit more energized than I normally do.
“Zara?” Xavier’s voice carries.
“I’m perfect. I feel like I’m on a high or something, fully charged and ready for action.”
“Me too,” I say, looking at the group. “Can you all tell me what is going on? I’m getting a bit weirded out.” That was just a nice way of saying that I’m getting freaked the fuck out right now. I scan the destroyed room. “Sorry?” It comes out as a question since I have no idea how I helped to destroy the office.
“No need to be sorry. I’ll get it cleaned up. It’s not the first time.” Xavier’s gaze goes to Zara, and I can tell there is a story there that I’d like to know.
“I’ll clean it up. I owe it,” Zara says with a small smirk on her lips.
“Let’s have a seat.” Xavier looks around to the fallen chairs. “Or well, pick a chair up and let’s have a seat.”
Thor picks up a brown leather chair, sitting it right in front of Xavier’s desk. He pulls me down on his lap, and I curl into him like we’ve done this a million times even though it’s new. Thor’s massive body makes me feel like a very protected woman, almost like a butterfly wrapped in a cocoon of warmth and do I dare say, love.
“All right. First let’s get you up to speed on what is going on,” Xavier says, then begins to lay everything out that has happened over the last few weeks.
And shit, a lot has happened. Xavier discusses Zara and the hell she went through before coming to the Raber pack and the horribleness of her father, including the fight that happened. Then Xavier moves on to Kenly and Max’s story, and I swear it seems like something that I’d read in a book and not something that would happen in someone’s actual life. It’s freaking nuts. He speaks of this Camp guy who has it out for all the wolves because wolves killed his whole family. In turn, the connection to the Lobo pack and Raber pack, the killing of Xavier’s father. If it weren’t for the serious looks on all the faces in front of me, I’d think I was on some soap opera or something.
“Thor.” He nods in answer to Xavier. “It’s the Lobos that attacked Sabrea. The asshole didn’t tell us much, he was very well trained. Even let Max get his hands on him and the fucker still wouldn’t budge. The only thing we really got the name of was his pack and that they are planning something.”
“Fuck.” Thor rips his hand through his hair in frustration.
“Yep. While you two were fucking,” Xavier says, and I try to hide but sense the redness tint my cheeks. I’ve never been sexually insecure, but the way he said it made me feel it for a brief moment. “I had Mal do some extensive research. He found their den and tapped into their phones and internet access. We need to get an update from him.” Xavier nods to Max. “Call him up here.”
Max pulls out his phone and dials.
“What about Camp?” Thor asks. “Any connectio
n besides the one?”
Xavier states that he believes Camp and the Lobos are working together, but it seems odd to me that wolves would work with humans.
“I’m hoping to find something with the phone taps.” Max shrugs.
“It could be that the Lobo pack is operating by themselves and Camp is just an asshole by himself,” Xavier says to Max’s chuckle. “It just seems awfully peculiar that both of these are coming at us at the same time. Not only that but the spell on Camp? To me, they have to be working together.”
I have to agree with Xavier, the spell on Camp is a huge red flag.
“Have you heard anything about this in your old pack?” It takes me a moment to realize that Xavier is talking to me.
I jump to attention. “No. My old alpha didn’t discuss politics with us. My father wasn’t in the upper circle of things either and even if he knew anything, he wouldn’t have told me.”
“Xavier, their security is slim. I encouraged her alpha, Duke, to up it and suggested what he should do. I don’t think he has any idea of what has been going on. I don’t even think that he knows about how Zara’s father was wiping out packs. Word must have not gotten to them,” Thor says and Zara visibly shakes. I feel horrible for her.
After hearing how her father treated her, I hope the Heavens decided to put him in hell with some of the worst punishment imaginable.
Just then the door to the office opens wide. A huge male enters with a buzz cut of ash blond hair and the deepest brown eyes that remind me of creamy chocolate.
“Mal,” Xavier says.
“Alpha.” He then turns to Max. “Beta.” Then Thor. “Gamma.” Nodding his head to each. “Ladies.” He also nods and I admit it flat out, it feels weird. In my pack, I was just a female. There were no formalities when it came my way. This seems odd.
“Mal, tell me you got something,” Xavier says, leaning back in his chair, Zara curled on his lap.
Mal pulls out some papers from the back pocket of his jeans. “Well, Alpha. You’re not gonna like this.”
“Fuck,” Xavier groans. “Just let it out.” All heads snap to Mal, hanging on his every word.
“There is a definite connection, phone record wise. There are several calls from Camp to the Lobo and vice versa. I have their phones tapped now, so when they communicate again, I’ll be able to listen.”
“How many calls?” Xavier asks.
“Hundreds.” Mal puts the papers in front of Xavier who glances at them.
“Fucking hell. Why would they be working together? If anything Camp should want to destroy the Lobos. They are the ones that killed his family.” Xavier rubs his hand over his face in frustration. No doubt feeling the heavy load on his shoulders.
“That I don’t have a clue about. I’ve searched all of Camp’s financials and haven’t found any money, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have an offshore account. I’m going to look through those next. But the connection is what I don’t get. I will keep digging.”
“What about the Lobo’s records?” Max asks.
“There are a hundred-and-seventy-three wolves in their pack now that I can find. I am running a program to see if there are any large deposits, but so far nothing has come up. But still, if it’s offshore, it wouldn’t pop up and I’ll need to do other searches,” Mal replies.
“Dig hard, Mal. I want everything by dinnertime tonight,” Xavier commands, his tone evidence as to why he is Alpha of a pack as it stands my hair on end.
“Absolutely, Alpha. As soon as I have something, I’ll let you know.” Mal dips his head and leaves the room.
“All right. Since that got us only an inch closer to finding out what the hell is going on, let’s talk about this,” he waves his arms to us females, “thing you have going on. Zara, get Nana O in here and, Kenly, get Maggie.” Both the females nod, pulling out their phones.
“Did you find the crystal?” My words cut through the females’ voices and silence blankets the room. I instantly feel like I said something wrong. Did I?
“We did find it in the woods.” I let out a sigh of relief. “But.” Zara’s eyes shut and I know nothing good is going to come out of his mouth. “Once we got back to the den, somehow it disappeared.”
I suck in a deep breath. “Where could it have gone? Do you think someone from the pack stole it?”
“I don’t know. Zara’s tapped into everyone’s thoughts, but can’t find anything.”
From what I learned earlier, Zara can read minds and I admit that’s a bit freaky, but I have nothing to hide. According to Thor, they keep Zara’s ability close to the vest for her protection. He also told me that Xavier had Zara go into my thoughts to make sure I could be trusted. I guess that’s a good thing?
“I have listened to everyone I could. There are a few that have blocked me out.” Xavier stiffens at Zara’s words. “Marissa, Garrett, Gary’s son, and Sam. I don’t know how they know to block me, but they have.”
“Didn’t you say something about a rat? Or someone feeding that Camp guy information?” I add, and I don’t know why. When I’m the last to know things, I feel like the odd one out, but the more I know then the more I can try to help. Right?
“I’ve searched for that, too, but the same three are continually blocked. Everyone else is in the clear,” Zara says.
A light knock and the door opening have us all turning our gazes to it. A beautiful woman with long brown hair and striking blue eyes along with a woman with long black hair and deep sparkling green eyes walk in.
“Hi, Nana,” Zara says to the black-haired woman.
“Hi Grams,” Kenly greets the brunette.
“And this must be the sixth member. The one who will complete what destiny has given you.” Grams, as Kenly called her, says. “Hi, I’m Maggie, but you can call me Grams if you like.”
“Sabrea.” I take her outstretched hand and shake it.
Maggie’s eyes grow wide. “I can feel your power.”
“You can?” I ask dumbfounded, eager to pull away from her touch, but also not wanting to, to see if she can give me answers. “What is it?”
Maggie bursts out laughing. “First, I know you’ve moved things with your mind. Correct?” I nod, feeling the weight in the room as Maggie spills my secrets. “It’s the aura around you.” She looks to Zara and Kenly. “Well, it’s all around you three. Bright pink.” I glance at Zara and Kenly, seeing no such thing. She releases my hand.
“You see anything?” I ask the other two.
“Nothing,” Zara says.
“Nope,” Kenly replies.
“I’m Nana O.” The other female steps up holding out her hand. Reaching for it, I feel her pulse inside my body. I feel the beat of her heart and the steady rhythm of it. I swear that my body is taking on the same beat, but how is that possible?
“Sabrea,” I offer, wondering what the hell is happening.
She releases me. “Maggie sees bright pink and I see a deep, indigo blue. The colors are almost intertwining.”
“You smell of wolf.” At the end of my sentence I should have said duh. Idiot.
“Yes, wolf and witch.” She shakes her head. “Or something like that.” She lets out a soft chuckle.
“Nana, we lost the crystal again,” Zara says quietly, tone dripping of disappointment.
“We’ll find it. It’ll be all right.” Nana O walks up to Zara and rubs her hair gently. It such a sweet and kind gesture and I instantly think of my mom. It hasn’t been long, but when you see someone every day and then you don’t, it’s a change.
“But you said we needed the crystal. What if it gets into the wrong hands?” Zara’s fear is prominent.
“I have faith, my dear. Now what is going on?” Nana O asks calmly. My eyes keep moving around the room as we all sit there trying to decide what to do. Figure out exactly what we are up against and having no answers.
“Maggie, Nana,” Xavier starts, “when Kenly and Sabrea shook hands, they had electricity radiate through them. When Z
ara and Sabrea shook hands, the whole wind swirling, knocking all my shit to the ground thing happened, but this time a bright light beamed out of them. Any idea what the hell this is about?”
“I’ll talk to Marvin and see what I can get from him,” Maggie offers. “It’s a super power, but Heavens help me if I know for sure what it is. Nana, you want to go for a drive?”
“Yep. Let’s figure this out.” They leave and we are stunned silent for a brief moment. All this shit is happening so fast.
“Sabrea, tell us about the power,” Xavier commands.
How embarrassing. I have a so-called power, but really can’t get it to work. I sigh. I tell them about the two instances where I moved things while thinking about them. Then I go on to all the times I practiced. I feel like a damn idiot.
“So, really I may have it, but I don’t know how it works, and I’m not one-hundred percent that I do have it.”
“And you can’t shift?” Xavier says, and I feel an inch small. I shouldn’t. My mate doesn’t think anything of it, but it’s there. I want it gone. I don’t want to feel that self-doubt anymore. I deserve more.
“I can’t shift,” I say softly to a squeeze from Thor. “I also only have one ear.”
“But you hear fine?”
“Yes.”
“Great. The shifting thing, I’m not so sure on. I’ll look into it. But if you can’t shift, you’ll need to make sure you can defend yourself,” Xavier says and I chuckle. “What’s so funny?”
“I’ve had years of practice against my sisters. As long as the claws and teeth don’t get me, I’m perfectly fine to defend myself.” Zara and Kenly grin widely.
“Great. Okay. So this is what I need you ladies to do. Practice your powers. Zara, you have the listening to others thing down. You need to tap into the energy, figure out what it is, and develop it. Kenly, figure out the mind control. I want you to practice on everyone here. Then, I want you to go into town and practice there until you can determine what sets it off. Sabrea, you need to nail down this moving things with your mind. Keep practicing and pull out every emotion you can think of to see if it will work,” Xavier orders. “I want you three to stay together. If you are out in public, no one leaves the other. You will have Gary with you at all times.”
