Mate or Fate

by J. L. Berry

Lost in the moment the pace of the kiss gradually increased as they chased each other into oblivion. Autumn was drowning in the sensations Elijah was causing all over her body and found herself grinding against him in response. She could feel Elijah’s arousal digging into her abdomen and this only caused her desire to increase. She kissed him passionately as she grasped at his shirt trying to pull him even closer.

  His hand left her hair as he lifted her off the floor to sit on the counter. With the advantage of height now on her side, Autumn gripped Elijah’s face with one hand feeling a light stubble underneath her fingers. She was pleased he’d shaved off the beard. The stubble he could definitely keep. She trailed kisses along his jaw and down his neck while her other hand trailed down his chest towards the top of his jeans. Elijah moaned loudly as she ran her hand over his length before popping the button and sliding down the zipper. Her hand slipped underneath his boxers to find the silky skin of his erection. He was smooth, unusually so based on the limited experience she had. She couldn’t help her curiosity. She pushed Elijah back half a step.

  “What’s wrong?” Elijah asked completely confused as to why she suddenly stopped. He could see Autumn was flushed with arousal and her eyes were filled with lust despite the fact she had pushed him away.

  “Nothing, I want to see you.” She answered simply, “Is that ok?”

  Elijah raised both his eyebrows in surprise. She really didn’t need to ask. Removing his hands from her hips he hooked his thumbs in the top of his boxers, dropping them and his jeans in one swift motion before kicking them to the side. Autumn stared in awe at him and instantly had the urge to reach out and stroke her fingertips down his impressive length. Holy crap. She was right about him being smooth. He’d shaved for her... down there. The difference from what she had seen in the detaining cell was surreal. At least another inch. She could see every little last detail and it made her mouth water.

  The reason behind her request finally dawned on Elijah as he fisted the base of his erection. “When you said I needed a shave I wasn’t sure where,” he joked, “So I covered all the bases... or uncovered them I guess.”

  “I can see that,” she replied, her voice raspy with desire as she watched Elijah stroke his length slowly. She longed to run her tongue over his bare skin to see what it felt like. Would the stubble tickle her tongue? Would it make Elijah more sensitive? Autumn shimmied to jump down from the counter but Elijah stopped her. He linked their fingers before manipulating Autumn’s arms behind her back. She groaned in frustration at being denied. His lips found hers again silencing her quickly as one hand restrained her and the other travelled up the inside of her thigh,

  “Do you want me to stop?” he mumbled between kisses.

  “I.... No, I need to feel you, please....”

  Elijah’s fingers continued on their journey sliding under her dress to the junction of her thighs. They lightly traced her cleft outside of her underwear causing her body to tremble. She tried to move to create more friction but Elijah’s hold on her hands behind her back kept her firmly in place. She let out another frustrated groan as he continued to tease her mercilessly.

  “Please, Elijah I want more.”

  “How much more princess?”

  She mewled at the endearment as he increased the pressure and circled his fingers over her nub. He could feel her arousal soaking through the material and pushed it aside to get better contact. Autumn’s body jolted in response as he flicked his thumb over her clit.

  “Do you like that?”

  Autumn tried in vain to move against him as she threw her head back. His mouth moved down her neck as he alternated between kisses and suckles against her skin. As his thumb continued to circle her his fingers trailed down her cleft finding her entrance. When Elijah inserted two fingers inside her Autumn’s whole body jerked forward and began to shake.

  “Not yet princess, I’m not done,” he whispered to her.

  He drew his fingers back before thrusting them inside once more, over and over and over as his thumb rapidly circled her nub. He could feel her thighs quaking as her walls yearned for release. Finding the junction between her neck and shoulder he slowly licked where he wanted to mark her. Elijah was using all of his self restraint to hold his wolf back who demanded to claim her, it was why he didn’t let her touch him.

  Not until her wolf recognises us he promised.

  Autumn’s own wolf was crying for release as the tension continued to build.

  “Elijah!” She begged loudly.

  He smiled against her neck before bringing his lips to growl in her ear, “Ok princess. Now.”

  With that he pulled her arms firmly to tighten his restraint on her as he flicked her clit and drove his fingers deeper inside her. Autumn exploded around him, throwing her head back as her walls tightened and her juices flowed. Elijah suckled on her neck passionately bruising her alabaster skin before watching her elated face as she came down from the high of her orgasm.

  Perfect, his wolf purred.

  Chapter 19:

  “God you look beautiful,” he told her as he removed his hands and cupped her face. She dropped her gaze, embarrassed now that their moment of passion was over. He dropped his head to force her to meet his eyes, “Hey, you don’t ever need to hide from me.”

  “But you didn’t get to...”

  “This wasn’t about me princess. It was all about you. It will always be about you. Trust me when I say I enjoyed that immensely.”

  Autumn gave him a coy smile in return before he lifted her off the counter back to the floor. His hands lingered on her waist for a few moments which Autumn was grateful for given the jelly-like state of her muscles. Changing the subject to distract her from her embarrassment Elijah quickly redressed and asked, “Where did you get the necklace?”

  “Oh, it was a gift from my Dad for my eighteenth birthday.”

  Elijah smiled in approval, “Well it looks great on you.”

  Autumn smiled at his compliment as his fingers traced the outline of the necklace. The amber stone felt cold to his touch and seeped into his bones causing him to pull back his hand, a frown on his face. What the hell? His wolf growled in uncertainty. There was something about her necklace which made his wolf wary.

  "Elijah?"

  He hadn't realised he had been staring at the stone until Autumn called out to him. "Sorry... I don't know what happened there, I was distracted."

  She smiled softly at him, "It's ok."

  Elijah's gaze became heated as he stared into her eyes and Autumn could feel her skin becoming flushed. "Tell me you feel this too?" He urged her.

  Her eyes dilated as she saw the longing in his, "Yes, I feel something."

  Relief washed over his face as his eyes glowed with love, "You're meant to be mine," he whispered.

  Autumn felt like her heart was going to tear in two from her wolf's confusion. It felt like she was scratching to get out but unable to speak.

  Feeling the need to gain some composure Autumn excused herself to go clean up. She trotted up the stairs into the bathroom and locked the door behind her leaning against it. That was intense. She splashed cold water on her face in an attempt to cool her flushed skin and passed a brush through her dishevelled hair. Looking in the mirror she could see her lips were still swollen from the passionate kisses and tingled when her tongue passed over them.

  It was then that she noticed the bruising on the side of her neck. Oh shit. She didn’t know whether to be angry or pleased that Elijah had marked her without officially marking her. He clearly wanted to stake his claim but knew it wasn’t appropriate yet. Torn, Autumn felt that such a display right now would cause more harm than good so she set to work trying her best to cover it with make-up before her parents came home later.

  Autumn had been upstairs longer than Elijah thought was normal for a female and his wolf was getting anxious.

  What if she’s regretting this he fretted?

  Or worse, what if she doesn't want us at all?

>   Elijah tried to listen to gauge what she was doing but it was unclear. Deciding to go check on her he headed up the stairs. Last time he was up there he didn’t pause to see the surroundings. He knew Autumn’s room was the end of the hall but not where the bathroom was. A door to one room stood ajar with a light glowing from inside. Elijah knocked gently before pushing the door open,

  “Autumn?” he called.

  Inside he found a child’s bedroom, a single bed decorated with deep blue sheets and a stuffed wolf placed on top. There was a small bookshelf filled with books and toys while a clock sat on top together with a night light which was emitting a soft shine to the room. A wardrobe and chair were positioned on the far wall alongside a chest of drawers. Moving towards the drawers Elijah could see two photo frames on top. One was the picture of a baby sleeping soundly in its crib a sleepy smile on the child’s face. The other was a picture of Autumn’s parents holding a new born in their arms while a young boy who looked around three years old, stood in front smiling at the camera. A wave of sadness flooded through Elijah as he realised that Autumn must have had a brother, but given she was destined to be Luna that could only mean...

  “That’s my brother, Cole, he was taken when I was a baby.” Autumn had entered the room behind him. Elijah spun around to face her,

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.... I came looking for you and the light was on.”

  “It’s ok, my mother always leaves the light on. She says it’s just in case he’s still out there so he can find his way home.”

  Elijah smiled at her sympathetically, “How long has it been?”

  “Nearly eighteen years, he was taken not long after that picture was.”

  Her eyes welled with tears and Elijah rushed forwards to hold her close. He tucked her head underneath his chin and felt her relax into him. Elijah breathed deeply, inhaling her cinnamon apple scent as he sighed. His body jolted as he suddenly froze still.

  “What’s wrong?” Autumn sensed the change in him and it immediately put her on edge.

  He held a finger to her lips to silence her for a moment as he inhaled deeply again. There was something in the air which was familiar yet disconcerting. “Autumn, I know this is going to sound weird but do you mind if I check out your brother’s wardrobe?”

  “You’re right that does sound weird, what’s going on?”

  “Just humour me for a second, I might be wrong.”

  Autumn frowned but nodded her consent. Elijah moved to the wardrobe and pulled open the doors. He closed his eyes and let the scents wash over him as he called to his wolf. There it was. A musky cedar. Elijah turned to face Autumn his eyes wide in disbelief as his hands trembled,

  “I think I know where your brother is.”

  Chapter 20:

  Elijah had Autumn mind-link her father and tell him he had information about Cole. Twenty minutes later they found themselves in the conference room of the main building despite the lateness of the hour. An assortment of pack members had been gathered to listen to Elijah’s information. The conference room had a long rectangular wooden table complete with refreshments and surrounded by padded office chairs. As Elijah entered the room it fell silent. Autumn left to go sit by her mother who was located near the back of the room. Alpha Grey sat at the head of the table with Beta Morgan to his right and Drake next to his father. The remaining twelve seats were filled with a mixture of warriors including Mariah, and key pack members such as Dr Matthews.

  Now everyone was present Alpha Grey commenced the meeting, “Thank you all for coming at such short notice. We’re here because Elijah may have information regarding the whereabouts of my son. You are aware that Beta Morgan has been questioning him about his pack although why he has not mentioned this before I do not know.” He glared doubtfully at Elijah and gestured for him to speak.

  “Thank you Alpha Grey,” he nodded respectfully to Autumn’s father before continuing, “to address your first concern I’ve only just learnt about the loss of your pack’s pups which is why I am only bringing this information to you now. I believe your son, Cole, is being held prisoner by my old pack.”

  There was a mixture of grumblings and scoffs of disbelief from the people present.

  “You’ve had weeks to inform me that your pack was holding prisoners and you said nothing,” Beta Morgan attested, “why should we believe you now?”

  Elijah looked to Autumn, “Because it didn’t matter before. It does now.”

  A series of questions were fired simultaneously,

  “How can you be sure it was Cole?”

  “What about the rest of the kidnapped pups?”

  “Where is he?”

  "How can you say it didn’t matter?”

  Elijah took a moment to compose himself before answering, “Tonight when I was at Alpha Grey’s home I became aware of Cole’s existence. When I was in his room I recognised his scent...”

  “You were upstairs....” Drake interrupted, his eyes shooting to Autumn.

  It was then he noticed the heavy make-up on her neck she’d used to hide her hickey. The glass he was holding smashed into a thousand pieces as his grip around it tightened. Beta Morgan placed a hand on his son’s shoulder and squeezed gently and with a subtle shake of his head instructed Drake to be silent.

  “I first met Cole seven years ago when I discovered my pack were keeping prisoners at a location away from the rest of us. There were a lot of other prisoners too but I’m not sure if they are from here or somewhere else. Some prisoners eventually joined the main pack, others vanished and I presume they must be dead but I don’t know for sure. As to where he is, I can’t actually tell you.”

  Drake along with many of the others sneered at this comment. Mariah considered him carefully, deliberating all the options, “I assume you managed to escape from them so you can understand why we may doubt your story. How do you explain a pack that no-one knows exists, that can kidnap pups with no trace, and that you alone are the only one who has ever managed to escape?”

  “I’m not sure how they manage it, only the enforcers, your equivalent of warriors, were involved in those things. The pack has moved location several times during my life and they take great lengths to stay off the grid which helps them stay under the radar. I don’t know if anyone else has ever managed to escape... but as for me, it was pure luck.”

  Elijah sensed the entire room was sceptical about his story as discussion broke out amongst them but was unsure of how to convince them. He gave Autumn a pained glance before tugging his shirt over his head. The room slowly hushed as confused expressions appeared on the majority of the faces present. Alpha Grey and Beta Morgan remained stoic sensing the truth about Elijah’s escape was about to be revealed to them.

  “You should believe me because I have tried to help the prisoners whenever I could. Helping them escape was not an option there were too many and if I helped a few then they would know. I couldn’t risk the safety of those left behind. So I helped by bringing food and water, even medicine where I could. Eventually I was discovered and punished accordingly.” Elijah turned his back to the table and hung his head.

  Autumn’s eyes fell on Elijah’s sculpted back. His tanned skin was marred with countless long pink scars which formed a lattice over two thirds of his back. Her eyes welled with tears as her wolf howled in horror. No one in the room had dared to pass comment at the sight. Such atrocities were unheard of amongst the packs the Lunar Forest knew and for any wolf to have endured them was a testament to their strength.

  Dr Matthews stood and made her way over to Elijah, “May I?” She asked.

  Elijah gave her a sharp nod but remained silent. She closely examined his scars, prodding in certain places and running her hands over his muscles. Autumn heard herself growl and raised a hand to cover her mouth quickly in shock. All eyes in the room swivelled to her in an instant as she blushed and lowered her gaze to the table. Elijah had smirked at her reaction.

  She does care his wolf hummed appreciative
ly.

  Not wanting to cause upset and embarrass Autumn Dr Matthews ceased her examination but asked, “How many?”

  “Twenty-three. One for each year of my life.”

  “Why didn’t you heal?”

  “They poured silver dust into my wounds and then I was tasked with manual labour which caused the silver to embed into my muscles.”

  Elijah had stated this information very formally as a statement of fact, emotion removed from the situation. Dr Matthews recognised this as a coping mechanism for post-traumatic stress but knew they needed more information from him to form a decision. She positioned herself in front of Elijah in an attempt to make him feel he was only addressing her.

  “Then what happened Elijah?”

  “I passed out, and when I woke I was in the bed of a pick-up being taken out into the forest. They were going to dig a hole..... I tried to get them to let me go but they wouldn’t.”

  “It’s ok. You’re safe now. What happened next Elijah?”

  “I... I tried to convince them to just leave me, that it was a waste of their time. They agreed that digging a deep enough hole would be a waste.... so they tossed me to the bottom of this pool by a waterfall.”

  “Couldn’t you swim?”

  Elijah shook his head, “No, I was bound with my hands behind my back and to my ankles. I couldn’t shift because there was too much silver in my back. I tried so hard but I wasn’t strong enough.” Elijah’s voice began to crack as he remembered the pain and desperation. Autumn leapt up from her seat unable to watch his suffering any longer. She wrapped her arms around him tightly.

  “I think that’s enough for now,” Dr Matthews advised, “take him out and get him some water Autumn.”

  Autumn nodded and led Elijah from the room, shutting the door behind them.

  “Well?” Alpha Grey asked.

  “His injuries and the mental trauma match his story. A pack that would whip a member that badly for stealing food would no doubt be willing to bury one alive or drown them. They’re also wolves not to be taken lightly. I believe him,” Dr Matthews concluded.