Exploring Alaska (The Juneau Packs Book 3)

by Katherine Rhodes

  “No, I don’t hate you. I don’t hate anyone. I’m relieved that I’m not Hell. Or Heaven, really.” I took a deep breath and was assaulted by the smells again. “I really have to pee.”

  “Come on, let me help you stand. Take your time, things have changed—”

  Jess didn’t have a chance to finish. I stood and pushed off the bed, pushing the bed back, slamming it into the wall six feet behind me. I whirled around. “What the fuck?”

  “Yeah. You’re a shifter now. You’re way stronger than you used to be. That’s what I was trying to say.” Jess grinned. “You’ll get used to it.”

  She walked with me to the bathroom. “Go slow. You’ll feel the strength and be able to judge it better until you can get used to it. I have all kinds of tips for you. But go slow is the most profound right now.”

  “Thank you. I just really need to pee.”

  I closed the door and used the toilet and immediately ripped off the handle on the toilet and then cracked the handle of the sink.

  Walking back out, Jess was laughing. “I heard. I’ll get Garrett to fix it.”

  “Where’s Patrick?”

  “He had a class this morning. He’ll be up when it’s over.” She smiled at me. “You’ve been out for four days. He’s been here waiting, and I’ve been trying to convince him that you were fine and just needed time to heal.”

  “Every day?”

  She pointed the corner where I noticed an air mattress and a mess of what seemed like a bed. “He’s been sleeping here.”

  “What about Cassie?”

  “She’s fine at Martin and Olga’s. They’re more than happy to host her, and they all understand what’s going on.”

  “Jess?”

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you.” I walked over to her and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around me and held me.

  “You have no idea how happy I am you’re alive.”

  I giggled this time. “I might have a clue.”

  She laughed. “Maybe.”

  “And I’m not blaming you for anything. Not you, not Patrick. No one is getting any blame. I am here. I am alive. Yes, I’ll have a hairy problem in a few years, but whatever. I’ll get to be with the man I love.”

  A smile snuck onto Jess’s face. “You love him?”

  “Yeah, I do. Stupid idiot. I do love him.”

  “Good.”

  “What happened? I mean, to Chuck and the assholes?”

  “The packs have a ritual. It’s called the Right to Blood, or the Right of Blood. It’s a lot like a vendetta, but a lot more gory. Delia can tell you more. She was there. They called it on the banker and Chuck. Quentin handled the other guy.”

  Handled. Meaning they were all dead.

  Which was fine with me.

  “Delia’s been asking for you.”

  I gasped. “Is she okay?”

  “Fine. She just wants to know that you’re okay.” Jess smiled. “Your clothes are in the drawer over there. Get dressed and we’ll go down to Olga and Martin’s for lunch. I’ll let Deels know we’re coming.”

  * * *

  Cassie caught me around the shoulders and hugged me fiercely.

  I gasped, then hugged her back. I wasn’t expecting that at all. Not at all. Jess waved from the car and pulled down the street to Garrett’s—and hers—house. That wasn’t the plan, but…

  I looked down at Cassie. She had her father’s eyes in her grandmother’s face. I guessed her hair was a gift from her mother.

  “I was so worried about you, Addi,” she said, tears in her eyes.

  The wall of ice I had about Patrick lying, not telling us, about this little girl, shattered and melted way. I put a hand on her cheek. “I’m fine, Cassie. Really. I’m just fine.”

  “Dad said you were nearly dead.” Tears trembled in the corner of her eyes.

  “Well, maybe. I don’t remember much when everything went gray. But I’m fine now.”

  “Are you leaving?”

  I jerked back. “Leaving?”

  “Dad said you might leave once you woke up.”

  Smiling, I wrapped her arm around my waist and we walked into the house. “Your dad and I have to talk, but I’m not leaving right now. My ticket says September, so I’m not going anywhere just yet.”

  She looked very much like she had more to say, but Olga and Martin bustled out and I found myself in the middle of a group hug.

  The damnedest thought filtered through my brain.

  I am home.

  It staggered me. Olga and Martin both watched me, a hand on each arm and a question in their eyes.

  “Are you all right?” Martin finally asked.

  “I need to sit.”

  In a flash, I was on a kitchen chair with orange juice and a blueberry muffin in front of me. Olga popped the refrigerator door open and started pulling things out.

  “Whoa, whoa.” I laughed. “I just needed to sit. Though I won’t turn down bacon, honestly.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “Everyone loves the bacon.”

  “Are you okay, Addi?” Cassie asked, pushing the juice at me.

  “I’m fine, just fine. I just…”

  Martin sat down. “You are always welcome here, Addison. Whether or not you and my idiot son can work this out, you are his mate and that makes you part of this family.”

  “I…” I stared at him. “I don’t know what to say. I have never had a family.”

  “You have your brother,” Cassie offered helpfully.

  “Winter and I are a team, we’re an unstoppable force. But our parents, and their parents, all of our aunts and uncles, cousins…reject us because we weren’t dedicated to the church.” I choked. “How could I be when they so resoundingly shamed me for something I didn’t do, didn’t want?”

  “Oh, sweetheart.” Olga sank down next to me. “People are fools. They’ll use anything as an excuse to not take responsibility. But you’re away from that now. You have a home here, with us. Forever. For as long as Martin and I have the ability to welcome you.”

  I glanced at her and realized there was a sheen to everything I was seeing. There were tears in my eyes.

  I wanted to be in Patrick’s life. I wanted to be with him. I wanted to see what kind of children we would have, what kind of redecorating he would allow. Vacation photos. Family photos. What we would be like twenty, forty, a hundred years from now.

  Patrick was my fist bump.

  Martin’s phone buzzed, and he looked at the text. “Delia is coming down the street for you.”

  I gasped and ran out of the house. I could see Delia running for me, and I started running for her.

  We crashed together, and I didn’t even realize that I lifted her right off her feet and spun her around. She laughed at the top of her lungs.

  “What’s the damage, Captain?” she snapped at me.

  “All systems are fully operational.”

  “Even the…”

  “Even the artery.”

  “Show me later?”

  “I have a scar that is totally worth showing you my untamed nethers for. You bet your ass I’ll show you later.”

  She blew out a breath. “Garrett said…”

  Patrick was suddenly there. I could feel him behind me without even touching me. “Jess and I changed positions. Jess whacked her somehow, and she shuddered and swallowed. It was all over after that.”

  His arms slid around me from behind and grasped me in the middle. I tipped my head back.

  Hello, Addi.

  Oh. He was in my head!

  Hi, Patrick. I didn’t know…

  Side perk. He sighed and looked at Delia. “Are you mad at Garrett?”

  “For what?”

  “Right of Blood…”

  Delia rolled her eyes. “Not even close. Chuck killed people and would have killed us. Just desserts if you ask me. Better a way to get around the law than me putting a bullet in his head like I put in the cars.”

  “I heard about tha
t. Putting down old cars like you knew what you were doing.”

  “On that Continental? It was a blessing.” She glanced between us. “I’m glad you’re still here, Addi.”

  “Thank you for all you did up there,” I said, stepping in to hug her again.

  She whispered in my ear, “Go. You two need to talk.” I felt her grin. “And get laid.”

  * * *

  I could totally overhear Delia tell Addi that she needed to get laid.

  I had already worked that into our schedule for the day. I grinned as Delia skipped back to Jason’s house, happy as a clam in high tide, and I waited just a moment to hold out my hand.

  I’m so sorry, I said. I never wanted to lie to anyone about Cassie.

  Stop. She shook her head. I’m over it. I’m over all of it. Whatever was, was. We go forward from here. Addi dropped her hand into mine.

  “I love you, Addison.” I pulled her in close and shuffled us up the walk to my house. “I wanted to be there when you woke up, but I had to teach. How are you feeling?”

  I shut the door behind us, and she pulled me back against it, slamming her mouth over mine. I yelped this time, startled that she was so strong now.

  “You’re so good at being responsible,” she breathed over my lips. “I like that in a mate.”

  “Oh, do you?” I teased, easing my hands back on her waist and down her back to her firm ass. “What else do you like in a mate?”

  “Brown eyes. Messy hair. Groping hands. A nice ass. And a big dick.”

  I tossed my head back and laughed. “Well, four of five ain’t bad.”

  She punched me in the shoulder and pulled me in close again, laying her head in the crook of my neck. “Did I really die?”

  I shook my head and scooped her up to carry her to my—our bedroom. “Your heart stopped for sure. I don’t think you were dead, because it still picked up and started beating again.”

  “You did that.”

  “Only partly. Jess made the call and hung on for you.”

  “But you hung on too,” she said softly, as I placed her down in the middle of the giant mattress.

  “I will never let go.” I settled myself above her. “I want you here, always. You’re mine and I need you.”

  “That’s a lot for one person to handle from that four out of five score…”

  You have no idea how much I love you. The words weren’t enough for me. Not out loud, not through our mate bond. My finger danced on the hem of her shirt and a moment later, I pulled it up over her head.

  Putting her hand on my chest, she pushed me up. “Patrick. Just get naked. I don’t need a seduction right now. I need connection. I need you inside me.”

  My shirt was gone before she even finished her words, and I rolled to the side to discard my pants. I just only tossed them off the side of the bed when she rolled on top of me, completely naked.

  Damn, Addi. I managed as her mouth found mine again.

  “I feel alive.” Her words danced on my skin as she kissed and licked over my neck, my shoulders, my pecs. “I want to feel alive with you. I want you.” She kissed her way back up to my ear. “And I want you inside me right now.”

  Her aim was true, and she sank herself onto my more-than-willing cock. I groaned. I couldn’t find the words, and I wasn’t sure I needed them anymore.

  She moved over me, her pussy a tight and wonderful fit around my erection. She pulled and pushed and pressed, and I found myself staring at her slowly swaying breasts.

  “Patrick,” she breathed.

  “My Addi,” I answered on a whisper.

  She leaned down and kissed me, hard, but even when she pulled back, her lips stayed. I could feel her panting, her chest heaving, her hips in an undulation that made my balls pull up to release inside her.

  “Patrick, what if I asked you to get me pregnant?”

  Her hips never stopped, but my cock grew even harder.

  “Right now?”

  Green eyes stared down at me. “As soon as you’re comfortable with it. I don’t know why, but I feel like…”

  We rolled, and I took over the slow, sweet thrusting that was working to make us come. “You feel like… What?”

  “Like having a child with you as soon as possible is right.”

  “We have years ahead of us…”

  Addi’s hand landed on my cheek. “I can’t explain it, Patrick. I just…want a baby. Your baby. Your sweet little shifter pup growing inside me.”

  The more she spoke, the more right it felt. The more I wanted to see her pregnant, holding our son...

  Son?

  I think so. It won’t happen this time, Addi, there are rituals. Timings…

  “Then let’s call this practice. You can practice making me come, and I can practice enjoying your heat inside me.”

  “Fuck, Addi,” I breathed. “All right. Yes.”

  I love you.

  I’m yours, always.

  Epilogue

  …Four months later…

  I leaned over her shoulder and she turned away again.

  “Stop it.”

  “Come on.”

  “I already did.” Addi looked up at me and grinned.

  “At least twice last night and once this morning.” I grinned back. “I could go for another.”

  “Look, I just wee’d on the stick. You have to give it three minutes.” She put the test on the countertop. “Stop getting excited about my wee.”

  “I get excited about everything on you.” I paused. “Except wee. That shouldn’t get me excited, at all. That’s shower time.”

  She backed me out of the bathroom. “If you ever try to piss on me.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “No. Ew. That’s for marking territory.”

  Addi cocked her head. “And sometimes I feel like I’m your territory. I mean, the way you went after poor Daniel the other day because he said hello to me… Shameful, really.”

  Lowering my eyes, I nodded. “I know. I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. He’s one of my students and we were at a function and that wasn’t right.”

  Shaking a finger at me, she clicked her tongue. “You need to keep that under control. Otherwise, you’re going to rip someone’s head off. We aren’t that newly mated.”

  Chuckling, I backed her against the wall of the bedroom next to the door. “Oh, my sweet Addison. We are still newly mated. We are considered newly mated for five years after.”

  “Five years? I have to deal with you neanderthal’ing around for five years? Tossing me over your shoulder, hauling me off to a dark corner and fucking my brains out for five years.”

  I lifted an eyebrow. “Yup.”

  The devious grin spread on her lips. “Sounds good.”

  My hand brushed over her breast. “How long?”

  Addi glanced at her watch. “Two minutes, fifteen seconds. Why?”

  I slipped my hands inside her panties. “That should be enough time.”

  Letting her breath escape, she stared at me. “What…”

  I didn’t say a word. I just slipped two fingers inside her, while my palm pressed against her clit. She was always wet for me. Always ready and so, so willing. I could feel her pressing down on my hand.

  “Ride it, baby. Go on.”

  She did. Grinding down, her hips twisted, trying to gain more contact with my palm. I let the two fingers stroke against her walls while she pushed her clit against me. I could make her come in no time flat. There was a trick to her orgasm I had learned in the past few months.

  The scar that ran across her clit had no feeling. But, the rest of the flesh on either side made up for it. And while she rode my hand, and I tickled her channel with my fingers, I let her build the climax. When she was panting, senseless, and moaning like a she-wolf in heat, I brushed my thumb up one side of her clit, over the scar, and onto the other side. Something about touching the ultra-sensitive part after the numbness just triggered her.

  There was little more I enjoyed than hearing my
mate, my wife, scream her orgasm into our bedroom. Feeling the rush of her cum on my hand and the limp, exhausted satisfaction of her body against mine just pleased me in ways I didn’t know I ever wanted.

  “I will never get tired of hearing that.”

  Her head was in the crook of my neck again, and I felt her smile. “Two minutes, fifty-five seconds.”

  I glanced down. “What?”

  “That’s how long it just took me to come. Fuck, that was good.”

  I chuckled. “So our three minutes are up?”

  “I could wait another three.”

  Laughing, I helped her right herself from the wall, adjusting her nightshirt and panties again. “Stop it!” She laughed and swatted me away as she walked into the bathroom.

  Leaning against the wall, I watched her. “So, it’s three minutes.”

  Addi turned the test around.

  Positive.

  The End

  …For now…

  The Alaskan summer ends with

  Brandy and Zanna.

  Uncovering Alaska

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  Five friends.

  One Summer.

  Everything changes.

  We wanted to celebrate the end of college. The end of all the hard work, the beginning of our new lives. Brandy had the perfect place:

  Alaska.

  Jess

  There were problems with the house, the wildlife, the land. The only thing that wasn't a problem was the neighbor: Garrett Pauler. We hired him to fix the house, and he did way more than that.

  There was something in the woods though. Something that didn't want us there, something that would go to any lengths to get rid of us. But it shared the woods with something—someone determined to keep us safe.

  Garrett

  The old Yeil place was a disaster, but I wasn't above the challenge. The challenge lay in the gorgeous woman who was waiting for me there. Jess Smythe. My mate.