by DD Prince
This is crazy.
This is c-r-a-z-y!
All of it’s crazy. I look at my phone. Missed calls from Amelia, from Ben, and from my mother.
I call Amelia’s line.
No answer. I text her.
“Please get ahold of me! 9-1-1! Are you with someone named Mason?”
I stare at the phone for the longest time, waiting for the read receipt. Waiting for her to reply. Nothing.
I call my mom.
She answers on the first ring.
“Ivy? Thank God!”
“Hi Mom, um –”
“Where are you? Where the hell are you?”
“I’m at Tyson’s.”
“Tyson’s,” Mom says.
“And Amie came looking for me and apparently some other werewolf got her and is claiming her the way Ty claimed me.”
“Werewolf?” Mom repeats.
Oh shit. Shit. Shit. Fuck.
I bite my lip. “I wasn’t supposed to say that.”
“Never mind all that for now. Are you okay? Is she okay? Are you okay?”
“Um, I don’t know about her. I’m … not really okay, but that’s mostly … feelings.” I wince.
I don’t know how else to explain it. I can’t possibly tell my mother what happened. She already knows too much.
“Does your instinct tell you your sister’s okay? Do you know this werewolf that has her?”
I blink. I bite my lip. I let out a long breath.
“Ivy?”
“I think she is. All these people, Mom, they’re good people, I think. They care about one another. The mating thing is really important to them. I don’t know how Amelia’s gonna feel about all this, but I don’t think she’s in danger. You can’t tell anybody what they are, you can’t, Mom. It’d be dangerous. For all of us.”
At least I hope she isn’t. My sister’s mouth can get her in trouble. But with the way a werewolf deals with a mouthy mate…
My head spins at the notion of some guy trying to make Amelia Brennan submit.
My head spins in general because so much has happened in a week.
“What can I do? Do I come there?”
“I think maybe wait, Mom. I’ll talk to Tyson’s mom or Bailey, another girl here I’ve been talking to. I’ll see what I can find out.”
“How am I supposed to just sit here, Ivy?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I just… don’t know. I’ll call you back when I know more, okay?”
There’s silence on the line. Loaded silence. Mom feels helpless and she doesn’t do well when feeling that way. Who does, though?
“Don’t you dare make me sit here for forty-eight hours again.”
“I won’t.”
She sighs.
“To you, what’s the best and worst case scenarios here?” I ask her. That’s something she’s always done with us when faced with what feels like an impossible scenario.
“Best case, your sister either falls in love or gets home without a hitch. Worst… someone hurts her or makes her upset.”
“I think right now she’s probably got a very horny wolf shifter pursuing a relationship with her. She’s going to have her hands full with that, but I can tell you from experience, it’s not unpleasant.”
I can’t believe I just said that. And of course I’m only talking about the beginning. I can’t possibly tell my mother how things have turned for Tyson and me.
“And Mason? He’s … extraordinarily hot,” I say.
My hand lands on my neck and I squeeze at some stiffness. It happens to be right there, right where he bit me. Images flash through my mind of my first time with Tyson. That first surprising knotting experience.
I feel a smile creep across my face.
Ames, you’re gonna like that.
I hear noise, so I spin to look out the window.
The big black wolf walks by. He sees me in the window. He keeps walking.
I stare out at the trees ahead. A minute later he walks by again. He’s doing circles around the house.
And my chest hurts at the sight.
There’s a strangely potent scent of him all around me.
Can I forgive him? Is it possible?
Can I stay here and embrace a life with him?
Or in Arcana Falls where he’s part of something bigger, something better for him, something he was supposed to have but got robbed of? What would that mean for me, though? Life here?
With Amelia?
Amelia is engaged to Rick the Dick. And she’s probably getting dicked by the very good-looking, big, and strong Mason the werewolf right now.
Is it as simple as me and Amelia being from the same family that screwed with Mason’s senses about me because of witchcraft?
So much has happened. It’s a lot. It’s overwhelming.
I finish the last of my coffee and decide I should go take a bath.
Baths are always therapeutic for me.
I’ve gotten clarity on a situation more times than I can count sitting in hot and bubbly water. I’ve even gone so far as to symbolically give my problem to the drain and let it wash down.
Can I wash all this hurt down the drain?
50
Tyson
I shift back to man form and lift my jeans from the dirt beside the porch. There’s more than just my mother’s SUV here. Riley’s motorcycle is here, too.
I pull the jeans on and carry my boots up to the porch and drop them.
I step inside with my shirt in my hand.
My mother sits at the table with Riley. They both have mugs in their hands.
They watch me approach.
“How are you, cuz?” Riley greets. “Good run?”
It was a long run. And a long swim, all the way to Arcana Falls and back.
Did it help? I don’t know. I’m too tired right now to know.
I jerk my chin up in return greeting and ask my mother, “Where is she?”
“She’s in bed. I got here while she was in the tub. She went right to bed after that. Not feeling too talkative. Want some coffee?”
I shake my head.
“You probably want us to go, but sit for a minute and talk with us before we do,” Riley says.
I sigh and sit down in an empty chair.
Riley leans forward. “Mason has Ivy’s sister at his house. He called me and we already knew, but he called to ask me to tell you that he got it wrong. He couldn’t make the scent out with Ivy, but the second Amelia stepped into town, he knew. In fact, he said she called our office, we work together, and he happened to answer when she phoned trying to track down her sister and he was pretty sure he knew by her voice. The call to him and to his wolf was that strong. She’s a little… resistant, though. He’s got her at his house on Chariot Lake.”
“Things are coming together, Tyson,” my mother says. “We have word from Scotland on his bloodwork. I emailed the lab results from a local doctor who is a friend to our pack, and everything looks normal with Mason’s labs. This definitely seems like witchcraft has come in to play.”
“The night Ivy hit me with her car, the moon wasn’t right. Neither was the road. We were pushed into the same place,” I say. “I thought witchcraft was part of the night. Thought Ivy might even be a witch for a moment because of the way it all initially… felt.”
“Hm,” Riley says.
“Cornelius used to go to a witch. I didn’t know why. He often went and made me wait outside.”
“Where?” Riley asks.
“Drowsy Hollow. It used to be a fortune teller, now it’s a dry- cleaner. I saw it when I was in town with Ivy when she went shopping for the strawberry moon party.”
“We’ll look into that immediately. It’s probably a good idea to get the four of you in a room at some stage. See if you have any reaction to Amelia Brennan,” Cat says.
“Probably Amelia Quinn by now,” Riley says with a smirk. He drains his coffee. “Okay, we’ll go.”
“Here. Your new phone. The rest of you
r money. You gave me too much. We’re all in there under contacts.” Cat shows me the phone, pointing out how I turn it off and on and where the phone and message options are.
“I can figure it out,” I say. “Thank you for staying with her.”
Cat gives me a tight smile. “Call me tomorrow. Let me know how you’re doing. How she’s doing. Let me know if you need anything. Try to get her to eat something.”
“I will. Love you,” I say and kiss her forehead.
She looks about to weep. I look away, swallowing down a lump. “Call me tomorrow, Rye. Tell me what’s what.”
“I will. We’ll see what we can find out before we get the four of you in a room. We’ll have to have all sorts of reinforcements first. So we can protect you all. It might be a few days before Mase is willing to come up for air though.” He smirks.
And suddenly, I’m smirking, too, not feeling so much hatred for Mason Quinn.
I close the door and lock it behind them.
I open my bedroom door. She’s not there. I frown. The clothes she wore are on the end of the bed. I lift the shirt. It smells like her. And someone else. Her sister? On top of the pants are a pair of underwear with lettering on them. I look at them. They only smell like Ivy.
The word ‘BRIDE’ is on the ass of them in scrolled lettering.
I drop them and go to the other room, knowing that she’s in there. I put my forehead to the door for a moment and fill my lungs with air before turning the knob.
She’s made up the mattress where I slept as a kid, where Cornelius slept after I grew.
She doesn’t want to sleep in my bed with me.
I bite my lip, also biting back the emotion I’m feeling. And then I scoop her up into my arms. She startles and lets out a little scream, eyes bolting wide open.
I carry her to my bed and set her down, then I leave her there and take myself to that bed instead. I lie there and stare at the ceiling for the next few hours.
***
I’m running. I’m running and being chased by barking wolves who are gaining on me. They catch up to me and begin ripping me apart.
I jackknife upright. A dream. I’m in the dark and it takes a split second to realize where I am. It’s the wee hours of the night and I hear noise.
I rise and step out quietly. I see her sitting at the table eating from a tub of ice cream.
Her neck twists so she can look over her shoulder. She sees me in the doorway before she goes back to her food.
“That’s quite a feast you’ve got there,” I tell her. She’s got more than ice cream.
She makes a grumble sound. Upon closer examination I see it’s not a tub of ice cream. I should’ve trusted my nose instead of my eyes. It’s that creamy cold potatoes with dill spice. My mother obviously brought some to her in an ice cream tub. The fridge is full to bursting with food.
Ivy’s also eating cold meat with spice on it. Cheese. And grapes.
My stomach makes noise.
“Are you hungry too?” she asks in a small voice.
My heart warms. She still wants to take care of me.
“I am,” I say and sit at the table.
“Then you can just put it all away when you’re done.” She pushes her chair back and stomps off to the bedroom. She slams the door, leaving me sitting there with all that food.
I’m not so hungry anymore.
I put the food back in the fridge and go outside. I find myself in the garage. Ten minutes later, I’m burning all Cornelius’s paintings in a bonfire that’s too high, that’s as high and careless as the idiots at that house Ivy was at that night I met her.
When I watch the last of them turn to flakes of ash, I douse the fire with several buckets of water and go back inside.
I open the bedroom door. I see her eyes pointed at the ceiling. She closes them immediately, not likely realizing I can see her as perfectly in the dark as she can see in the light.
I shed my clothing and climb into bed. I climb over her body to the side near the wall and then I pull her to me.
She grunts a sound of disapproval. I turn her to her back and put my mouth to my mark on her.
“I love you,” I say. “I wanna feel you. I need to feel you. Please, baby.”
“Whatever,” she mutters.
“Whatever?” I inquire.
“Yeah. Whatever. You’re gonna do whatever you want whether I want it or not. Just get it over with so I can go back to sleep.”
Repulsion crawls through me. I hate that she thinks this of me.
I despise it. I roll off her, roar out my anger, and then she’s running.
No! She thinks I mean to hurt her. That’s not what that sound was. I clench my teeth together, hear her running out the front door.
When I get outside, she’s already to the willow tree, running as fast as she can. I hear her heart. I hear her bare feet pounding. She’s winded. Her beautiful blonde and purple hair flies behind her.
I sprint and am upon her in just a handful of paces. I tackle her to the dirt, breaking her fall by rolling so she lands on me first. Then I roll and pin her to the ground.
“Don’t run from a predator, Ivy Savage,” I growl against the mark on her throat.
I smell her arousal instantly.
But she’s denying it by writhing under me, scoring her fingernails across my face. “Get off me you filthy monster.”
“That sound in bed was my agony, Ivy. That sound was turmoil at how you feel about me, at how I incinerated your love for me to ash. I hate that I did this. I hate that you think I’m a fucking jerk. That wasn’t a noise to intimidate you. But I’m not about to tuck my tail between my legs and walk away. I won’t do it. I’m going to fix this, even if it takes years. Even if you try to deny me.”
Her chest heaves up and down as she gasps for breath.
I purr for her and her heartrate slows a little. She’s not gasping so hard. I can’t help myself, as her chest heaves up and down, her breasts touching my pecs, so I run my nose along the mark on her throat and grind my cock against her center. She’s in shorts and a shirt with no sleeves, just strings over her shoulders, and the black top has the tops of her breasts spilling out.
Before I think better of it, I haul the top down on the right, exposing her creamy breast and her peaked nipple. I take it into my mouth and suckle hard.
She moans.
I suck again. Harder.
She cries out and grabs my hair. For a second I think she’s trying to pull me off, but then she grinds against my cock.
Yes. Fucking yes.
I fumble down below and free myself from my pants. I pull her shorts to the side and she’s sopping wet when I slam inside her. She groans as I push hard, to the root, feeling her hips beneath me. I feel like I can’t get close enough. I put my lips to hers and our tongues twist up together.
Our teeth even clash, but I don’t care. I plunder her sweet lips, taking everything I can get. Every fucking bit of it. I flip over, taking her out of the dirt; my beautiful girl doesn’t belong in the dirt; I do. I bounce her on top of my cock as I lay back, taking a handful of her perfect breast in my hand as I continue making her move with the other. I cock my knees and she leans back against my thighs, mouth opening into an o-shape. She looks beautiful against the backdrop of the black sky with her angelic face and halo of wispy hair. She is an angel. My angel.
I grab the length of her hair and bounce her some more, growling with ferocity at the possessive feelings engulfing me.
She looks at me with panic. I’ve half-shifted again. Shit. The panic in her eyes! I quickly knot so she can’t escape. And I push my wolf back. Or I try. But my wolf pushes forward, wanting to be seen, wanting her to know.
There’s clarity for me right now. This is me. All of me. All of me loves her.
I hold her tight as my knot pulses inside her beautifully tight heat.
My wolf recedes as she’s coming, coming beautifully with her eyes locked with mine, her entire body trembling on me. She
collapses into me as it ebbs away from her and I feel a prickling sensation in my veins as the angry heat inside me cools.
I wrap my arms tight around her and lift her while standing, my cock still inside her. I kick the pants, which are still around one of my ankles, off and carry her back to bed. I lay down on my back with my cock still inside her.
“I love you, my Ivy. All of me loves you.”
She makes a sweet little sound that sounds almost like a purr of her own as she falls asleep.
Something strange dawns on me.
I think my Ivy might be in heat.
51
Ivy
I wake up on top of Ty. I lift my head from his chest and see his throat, his chiseled jawline. I blink a couple times. I’m naked.
My clothes are tangled up in the bed.
When I ran outside, that scent of his got stronger and it did something to me. It was like an aphrodisiac.
After we fucked outside, he fucked me again in this bed, this time ripping all my clothes off. And he didn’t turn into the monster this time, but for some weird reason… I wanted him to.
And that’s so fucking twisted, I can’t believe it.
There was something about the way he fucked me outside, the way he roared out his orgasm in that partial Tyson, partial monster form was… I don’t even know how to describe it.
I should be repulsed, like I was before, but I’m not. It’s Tyson. Not a monster, just Tyson. That’s who he is. Man. Wolf. Both.
I’m not over what happened, though, being taken like that in front of everyone.
So, why the heck am I so horny?
I squirm against his cock. It wakes. I slide over it a little and know I’m coating it with my juices. And with his juices, too, because I didn’t get out of bed after the last time and so I fell asleep messy. Really messy.
His eyes open and he smiles.
I look away.
He catches my jaw with his hand. He cups it tenderly and kisses me.
“You’re still so angry with me, aren’t you, my only?”
My chin quivers.
“But you want my cock.”
“And your eyes have gone purple again.”
I squeeze my eyes shut tight.
This is humiliating.
