by Leilani Love
Her amber eyes looked into his and he smiled down at her as he traced a line from her jaw down her neck until he reached the bite mark on her skin. His fingers traced the mark. He loved the way she shivered against him, sucking in a small breath. “You pleased me more than I could have imagined.”
The smile she gave him was breathtaking. Then she brought herself up on her tippy toes, pressing herself firmly against him and said, “Make me happy again Warrick.”
14
Hope curled up on Warrick’s chest and woke up with a smile on her lips as she heard him snoring softly. She couldn’t help but feel all happy and tingly and the fact that he was sleeping so soundly made her feel even better. After they’d made love –– twice –– he’d pulled her close, drifted off to sleep, and slept straight through the night.
Hope stretched a bit and felt him tighten his arms around her. The sound of birds outside the window let her know they had slept in later than normal and she was totally okay with that. She looked out the window to see the light just starting to creep in as a light breeze caused the curtains to move slightly.
A low growl rumbled in Warrick’s chest and she felt his arm tighten almost painfully around her waist. Before she could protest, she felt him sit straight up in bed, his eyes wide as he looked around the room.
“Gabriel,” she heard him growl out as he forced her to sit up with him.
“Warrick?” Hope said. Her squirming in his arms caused him to look down at her and release his hold.
Hope looked around trying to figure out what had his attention when he shot from the bed to the window. He pulled back the curtains looking out the open window and into the yard. She pulled the blankets up to cover herself while watching him. “Warrick is everything okay?”
He looked back toward her and she saw his shoulders sag. “I thought I smelled Gabriel. Felt him near us.”
She stared at him, her head swimming with the idea of Gabriel coming after him. As he put on his pants, she got up from the bed trying to stop him. “You can’t go out there.”
Warrick zipped up his pants, “I have to. What if he’s still out there just waiting for you to be alone?” he asked as he left the room. She heard him jogging down the stairs and Hope felt a surge of panic.
She shook her head, got out of bed, and grabbed a pair of yoga pants plus a t-shirt she found in the top drawer. Gabriel was never going to hurt Warrick or anyone else she loved, ever again. Slipping on her tennis shoes she quickly ran form the room to make her way down the stairs just in time to see the back-door close.
That nagging feeling of something wrong spurred her to move fast as she went outside. Hope could have followed his scent easily, but once he’d bitten her it was amazing how instinct took over to find her mate.
She took off in a light jog following him. The path he took through town quickly led back to the mountains and she frowned when she saw him standing at a trail. She realized that he hadn’t put on any shoes or even a shirt. Hope knew she should be happy he even remembered to put pants on before he took off from the house.
“His scent disappears right here,” Warrick said as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
Hope stepped closer to him putting her hand on his arm. “Let’s go home and call Damien. We can set up groups to go searching for him.”
“I should––” Warrick started to say before she cut him off.
“Be home with me putting more clothes on. You’re not going after him by yourself.”
Hope realized that she sounded harsher than she’d meant to. She was worried about him. His brother had tortured him for years and she was afraid of what would happen if Gabriel managed to capture him again. Since everything was out in the open, would he kill him this time? A small whimper escaped her. She didn’t even realize she had made a sound until Warrick stood before her holding her hand.
“Are you okay?” Warrick asked with concern in his voice.
Hope nodded, smiling at him. “Let’s just go home. Please?”
He nodded and she saw him looking back over his shoulder at the path. She knew he wanted to go and find his brother and she was relieved when he finally started walking with her, back the way they had come.
“Warrick, promise me you won’t go after your brother by yourself?” Hope asked watching his face. His jaw had hardened and she could feel the war within him.
“My brother will never catch me off guard again, Hope.” His voice was hard and she wondered what she had said to make him mad. She waited for him to promise, and when none came she sighed and kept walking with him. Gabriel had kept them apart for years and she now worried that he would separate them again.
They didn’t say a word the entire way home. That wall that was between them seemed to grow bigger with each step. The only thing that kept Hope from thinking all was lost was that Warrick kept a tight hold of her hand. Once inside, Hope went into the kitchen and found her cell phone to call her brother. It was a short call once she told him that Warrick had smelled Gabriel. Damien growled, telling her to lock the doors and he would be right over. Hope ignored his orders and just waited for him to show up.
While she made coffee, Warrick went upstairs. She heard him walking around and she sighed, feeling lost. It felt like forever but, if she had to guess, her brother was there in less than twenty minutes. When he came in he marched into the kitchen and gave her a dirty look. “I told you to lock the door.”
Hope, handing him a cup of coffee, heard Warrick coming down the stairs. She said, “Well I would have but I also knew you’d have guards outside our house within a few minutes and I didn’t want to have to go and let you in and have you yell at me for unlocking the door without making sure it was clear.”
Kassandra laughed as she walked into the kitchen. Hope had made everyone a cup of coffee. Kassandra took hers and gave Hope a kiss on the cheek. Handing Warrick his cup, Hope noticed he was looking at Damien leaning a hip against the counter,
“I can protect her from my brother,” Warrick said.
Damien raised an eyebrow. “I don’t doubt you can. But since he’s not dead yet I’m going to make sure your brother doesn’t get a chance to hurt her… or you.”
“You should’ve killed him,” Warrick said between gritted teeth.
Hope saw her brother nod. She knew Damien well enough to know he regretted not killing Gabriel after they had figured everything out. Killing a shifter was a big deal. At first she was glad he didn’t kill him, but after all they’d learned, it might have been better.
The words hung in the air and no one said anything for a few minutes. Everyone looked lost in their own thoughts as a knock sounded at the door. Warrick and Damien both walked towards it, leaving the girls to follow.
“We have three different groups right now checking out the trails. All of them have been staying on coms and no one has found any trace of him,” stated the guard at the door.
Hope recognized the wolf. His name was Matthew and he was one of the men who had helped take care of the young and the elderly as they made their transition. He was to make sure they had everything, and overall, he was very helpful. He was older and she had heard that his wife had died during childbirth while he was being forced to fight. Chase had noticed him too, when they were training, and had pointed him out to Damien, who made him one of the top guards.
“Thank you Matt. Keep us posted if anything changes. Have them look for another hour, and I want you to change the patrol, adding two more guys per patrol. Also, reach out to Chase and have him add some of the dragons as well,” Damien said.
“We can protect our own,” Matthew said, sounding offended. “Gabriel will not be slipping past us a second time.”
Damien gave him a nod. “We don’t doubt you or our people at all. But the same thing that hides us from the outside world can be our weakness. There’re mountains and miles and miles of trails. There’s a lot of ground to cover. We don’t need them in town but it would be helpful to have them b
e on the lookout on the trails behind their homes.”
Hope watched the guard’s face as he nodded. He no longer looked offended as he realized that the request was not a lack of faith in them but the fact that they only had so many trained men. Besides the trails that ran along the mountains, there were acres of land and caves that one could easily hide in.
“Gabriel is tricky and uses magic. If you smell something coppery or feel something sticky, let us know. When the witch sisters came to the town to help us move they’d all felt sick to their stomach. Chase took them home almost immediately. We should tell them as well,” Damien announced and Warrick nodded.
Warrick patted Matthew on the back. “Thank you for all your help.”
Matthew nodded and Hope smiled realizing that was Warrick’s way of making him feel better. Gabriel would never be able to take over the packs again but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to attack them. They worried about the previous guards. The few that seemed the most resistant to losing their status over the pack members were kicked out, or they’d left on their own as soon as they were given the chance. Those also seemed to be the ones who were the cruelest. Everyone knew the threat Gabriel made on Hope’s life while he had kept Warrick chained up. As sister to one alpha, and mate to the other, both packs kept an eye on her. Hope had noticed a long time ago that she was usually surrounded by a group of females when she was helping around town. There was also a guard almost always near her. She asked her brother once if it was his doing and he shook his head saying he knew better than to try and always watch her. Hope knew that it was Warrick who had set that up even though she’d never talked to him about it.
Warrick closed the door and looked around the room, when his eyes fell on hers he sighed, running a hand through his hair. There was an immense amount of guilt coming off him and she felt like Gabriel was once again ruining her life and happiness. Unable to help herself she stomped her foot. “He’s not going to win.”
Kassandra smiled and Hope realized she sounded like a little kid. “No, he’s not,” she said agreeing, before looking at the two men in the room who were both frowning at them. “You two are not allowed to turn into our jailers.”
The look Warrick and Damien gave the girls said they planned to argue. “If Gabriel gets his hands on either of you ––”
“My brother has been trying to kill you since you were barely able to walk,” Warrick said while taking a step toward her.
Kassandra spoke before Hope could come up with a reply. “I will start training with Hope on how to fight in her human form,” she said before looking at Warrick. “You two will train in wolf form together. That way if he comes, she is better prepared to defend herself and you get some more practice too.”
Warrick looked like he wanted to argue. Hope stood as tall as she could next to Kassandra pretending not to be afraid. She wasn’t so much worried about Gabriel as she was about how he would affect her very fragile relationship with her mate.
“Your brother already stole the first part of my life from me. He is not taking anything else,” Hope said, wondering if he understood her meaning.
Warrick finally nodded before saying. “Just please, don’t go anywhere alone and make sure one of us knows where you’re going. At least if you’re with someone else then Gabriel will have to either take both of you or leave a witness.”
Hope gave him a look before saying, “Only if you promise to do the same. He wants you too.”
Damien nodded, “That would be a good idea. I know it’s not what either one of you want to do, but it’ll be easier for us to figure out where to look and backtrack if we know where you are and who you’re with.”
Everyone was quiet, sipping their coffee, lost in their own thoughts for a bit. Kassandra had gone to stand near Damien who instantly reached out to put an arm around her and pull her close. She rested her head on his shoulder. Kassandra and Damien were equal in every way. She was a warrior who would always fight by his side.
Hope glanced at Warrick, wondering how she complimented him. She had been sheltered for most of her life where he had been tortured by his brother for most of his. Kept hostage in the dark, their tentative link used to keep everyone under control. Even now, Gabriel was using their bond to try and keep the two of them apart. Warrick and Hope sat next to each other on the couch. Not touching but close enough to feel each other’s heat.
“We have lunch plans with Aithne and Viktor, why don’t we go home and get ready. After lunch, Hope, I will take you with me for a small training session,” Kassandra stated looking at her.
“Okay. We’ll meet up with you guys at your place,” Hope said in agreement.
Everyone agreed and Damien and Kassandra left. Damien stopped in the doorway and gave Hope a big hug before whispering orders to lock all the doors and keep an eye on Warrick. Hope smiled at that. He was the one person who truly understood how much it had hurt thinking that her mate had betrayed her for all those years.
After everyone left, Hope looked to Warrick. She didn’t want him ruining the connection they had started. A mischievous idea formed in her head and she took his hand, leading him up the stairs. “Where are we going?” She heard him ask hesitantly as he obediently followed her.
“I’m taking a shower and you’re going to keep an eye on me by joining me.”
15
Warrick wanted to argue with Hope telling her that he had stuff to do. That argument didn’t stay in his head very long as he watched her walk up the stairs. Her hips swayed gently and the pants she wore hugged her curves in just a way that he decided she should not wear those in public. Hope took him to the master bathroom and closed the door behind them.
It didn’t take her long to shed her clothes. Without a word, she started the water for the shower. The master bathroom was much bigger than the other bathrooms. Hope had designed it herself and it had a big tub that stood by itself and a shower stall built for two with two showerheads, one on either side.
Once he was naked Hope opened the glass door of the shower and stepped inside. Expecting him to follow, she left the door open without a glance back. Not wanting to disappoint her he stepped in and closed the door.
Warrick let the water hit his back as he watched Hope. Her head tilted back, her back arched causing her breasts to tilt up. He noticed how her pink nipples had already hardened. All he could do was watch as a drop of water ran down between the valley of her breasts and his eyes followed it downward. The drop went down her flat belly and into her belly button.
Feeling her eyes on him, he looked up to see Hope watching. The feelings coming from her were mixed. He could feel her desire and something else–– he had hurt her. Warrick didn’t understand what he’d done to upset her so he stepped forward and cupped her cheek.
The only sound was the water hitting them. Hope turned her cheek and nuzzled his hand, sighing softly.
“You left me,” Hope finally whispered before opening her eyes and looking at him.
Warrick opened his mouth to say something to explain. He didn’t think she would understand his need to protect her from Gabriel. His brother was cruel and she was everything beautiful and right in the world. Warrick’s thumb traced the line of her cheekbone. “I did.”
Hope put her hands on his chest and he watched as her eyes searched his. “I’m your mate Warrick. The Fates picked me to fight by your side. You’re not alone and I’m no longer a four year old girl who can’t defend herself.”
He wanted to argue. Tell her that it would always be his job to protect her. There were so many things he could have said, but instead he gave in to temptation and bent down to kiss her upturned lips. As he brushed his lips back and forth across hers he felt her stiffen for a moment before she sighed and slid her arms around his neck.
The water hit his back as they stood in the shower and he slid his hand from her jaw to the back of her neck. With his free hand wrapped around her waist, he pulled her close to him. Turning her slightly, he pushed her again
st the wall of the shower. This new position caused the water to hit them from both sides.
With a moan, he thrust into her mouth then he felt her suck on his tongue. His hands slid from her hips, up her flat stomach, which quivered under his touch, until he cupped her breasts. He broke the kiss and trailed his lips down her jaw to her neck. Then, he kissed and nibbled his way down as his thumb continued to slide back and forth across her nipple.
“Warrick,” Hope said, her back arched as if she were offering him her tempting breasts. “We’re still going to talk about what you did today.”
He nodded as he finally brought his face down to her breast and flicked her nipple with his tongue collecting a drop of water that hung off it. He couldn’t help but smile at the sound that escaped her. As her back arched, he watched her nipple pebble a little more.
“Did you bring me in here to talk, Hope?” Warrick asked as he brought his attention to her other breast, licking that nipple, collecting the water before sucking it into his mouth.
Hope’s hand slid into his hair and he felt her hold him close. “You can’t walk away if you’re wet and naked.”
For a second he was confused by what she was saying, so instead he concentrated on her breast. He smiled against her as his tongue came out and flicked her nipple. “You are a clever little minx.”
Hope tugged his hair back a bit forcing him to look up at her. Desire was plain to read on her face. Her cheeks were flushed, her amber eyes looked dark and her pupils had dilated in need. He noticed the way she bit her lower lip and could see her struggling with the needs of her body and her desire to talk to him.
“Later,” Warrick said keeping his eyes locked with hers until she nodded.
His need to touch her, make sure that she was okay, was overriding everything else. He kissed her breast before lowering himself to his knees, kissing his way down her body. Warrick kissed her stomach as her body arched to him. With her head and shoulders against the wall of the shower, he looked up and it was like the steam of the shower formed a cloud, surrounding her in a mist. She looked like a vision from one of his dreams. Her eyes were half closed, with a look of desire and need on her face.
