by Delta James
“Rowan is not fractious. We won’t be going into seclusion, will we?”
“Not for as long as I’d like, but I believe we can manage a day, maybe two. I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “I understand. I was just looking forward to experiencing... you know.”
He leaned closer to her, rumbling low and seductively. “And you will. My knot is forming even now. I can’t wait to have you lying naked beneath me as I breach you with it the first time,” he whispered.
Gareth watched as a slow blush crept up her face. He nuzzled her neck and nipped her ear before leaving her to join his men in his study.
“May I say for all of us gathered, Alpha, that your mate is beyond compare,” said Tyler.
“You may,” agreed Gareth, “but I didn’t need you lot to tell me that. Now, what do we know?”
“Nothing good, I’m afraid,” said his captain-at-arms. “What remained of Edwyn’s army after some left the field and others remained at Calon Onest have not returned to Chepstow, nor has Edwyn.”
“Part of those who left Edwyn’s pack have joined us and those who accompanied Ruari will be rejoining us in a few days. We aren’t particularly vulnerable, but without a beta and not at full strength, I will forego taking my mate into seclusion. Set standing patrols outside of the town and roving ones to make sure our farmers are safe. I want to know of anyone who is not pack and is in our territory. I mean to try and steal some time with my mate, but do not hesitate to keep me advised.”
Gareth remained in his council chambers as his men filed out.
Tyler hung back. “What worries you, Alpha?”
“Edwyn not returning. That’s a puzzle I don’t like thinking about. Where has he gone? Even with the defections, he would have a large group of men with him. He can’t just have disappeared. And the dam-builders are worrisome. I had thought that Britannia had rid itself of their like and then to find them on the coast of Wales is disconcerting. It doesn’t feel right. See what you can find out from those we employ outside of the pack. Specifically see what you can find out from York and those to the north and west of us.”
“You think Edwyn is after Ravenscar?”
“I’m not sure if Edwyn is the only problem. He wants to lead the Ruling Council, which will be difficult if he doesn’t have a strong faction that spans more of Britannia. I’m not sure Eloise’s family doesn’t hold me responsible for her death and he may be trying to expand on that. My taking Sloan to mate may have inflamed them.”
“You think her father...”
“No, I think she has two older brothers, neither of whom is fit to lead, but both of whom are power-hungry. And with Alaric now having his own pack and a territory of his own, they may believe we are ripe for the taking.”
Tyler nodded. “That makes some sense. The timing couldn’t be worse for you.”
“There is never a good time for war.”
“I meant because of your mate and your desire to go into seclusion.”
Gareth sighed. “Not for as long as I’d like, perhaps, but I will see my mate knotted and tied to me this night. My need for her seems to know no bounds.”
“I believe, my alpha, that she is well suited to you. Everyone has been so excited and happy to have her coming home and to have you mated once again. The fact that she was human has only added to the anticipation.”
“I think I shall go pry my beloved away from the rest of our pack and take her to our bed. Post a man outside the door.”
Gareth left a grinning Tyler and returned to the dining hall. The sight that greeted him did much to restore his good humor. The laughter and lively conversations that could be heard throughout reminded him that during his pairing with Eloise, both had been missing. It would seem his mate’s mere existence had restored them.
Spying him returning, Sloan stood and raised her glass. “At last the great warrior returns,” she called, inciting their people to cheer.
Gareth knew he should return to their table, stay and visit with his pack a bit longer, but his need to bury his knot in her depths was far too strong. He merely smiled as he joined her before lifting her up to kiss her soundly... again causing an uproar of happiness. Instead of putting her down, he tossed her over his shoulder and turned to leave the room.
“Gareth,” she squealed.
He paid her no mind. Both she and their pack had best get used to the idea that there were times when he was every bit the uncivilized warlord as his younger brother. Gareth meant to take her to their room and finalize the bond that was between them.
When Sloan started to struggle halfheartedly, he swatted her upturned rump with affection more than anything else, causing their people to applaud and shout encouragement.
Gareth took her to their room. It was at the end of the upper hall and had a wraparound balcony and numerous sets of French doors with which to gain access. He closed the door behind her and set her on her feet.
“That was subtle,” she said with amusement.
“My need to knot and tie you to me has long since passed my ability to be subtle.”
He proved his point by grabbing the neckline of her dress and ripping it from her body, unlacing her corset and disposing of it and her undergarments before pushing her back on their bed.
“You really are going to have to stop tearing my clothes off of my body.”
“I will do as I wish. I could always just keep you here in our bed naked and waiting for me to mount you.”
Sloan rumbled low at him. “You’ve had worse ideas...”
He stood between her legs, her eyes locked with his; he reached down and gently rubbed her engorged clit and then ran his finger from her nub to her swollen lips, parting them so that he could stroke her sheath. He smiled as she caught her breath.
Gareth backed across the room and sat down to remove his boots. Sloan started to close her legs and he growled in a seductively menacing way. “You keep your legs parted for me. It will only be a moment before I am back between them and until then I want to see your need for me glisten at the mouth of your core.”
He watched as his words inflamed her desire, causing her nipples to stiffen and goosebumps to rise along her flushed skin. He scented the sweet smell of her arousal and rumbled at her as he stood and stripped off his breeches. Her eyes widened as he removed the rest of his clothes and he approached her completely nude. His cock was thick and hard and the knot at its base impressive.
Sloan scooched her way from the edge of the bed, not trying to get away from him, but to make room. She purred at him in invitation and need. Gareth crawled up onto the bed between her legs—kissing, sucking, and licking as he moved up her body. He paid deliberate and lingering homage to both of her nipples as they offered themselves to him. He alternated between them and used both his mouth and hands on her to increase her desire.
Continuing to palm her breasts, he moved down her body until he had his head between her legs with her legs raised up and over his shoulders. He nuzzled her clit, before sucking it into his mouth where he laved his tongue around it, interspersed with gentle nipping. Gareth parted her labia so that he could stroke and tease her pussy. Sloan’s response was to moan as her body produced more of the sweet nectar; he knew he would need to breach her with his knot. Her hips began to move in an old and familiar rhythm.
Nipping her swollen nub a last time, he licked his way down to the opening to her core where he rolled his tongue into a spear and plunged it inside her before letting it uncurl so that he could fully taste her honeyed essence. He felt her legs tremble as they lay on his back and she cried out for him. He drew back so as to not send her over the edge; he wanted to breach her as she orgasmed. She wailed in frustration and he smiled. Never before had he pulled back and not allowed her to achieve climax.
“Gareth, noooooooooo.”
He stroked her to soothe her body instead of inflame it and once she quieted, he began to use his tongue again. Her desire was quickly reignited and she undulated her hi
ps, pushing her sex up into his face to get him to give her more. Her hands clutched at his head. When she tugged on his hair in order to encourage him to cease his playing and mount her, he moved his mouth back up the way it had come until he reached her clit, which he nipped, making her yowl.
Gareth nuzzled it and then moved back to sup from her again. He stabbed at her core with his tongue as his teeth gently grazed her outer lips. Her hips moved with increasing speed and determination. Gently he fingered her dark rosebud before inserting the tip of his finger in. Sloan no longer offered even a token resistance. He knew it wouldn’t be long before his mate recognized her desire for him to claim her there again and on a more regular basis.
Gareth began to slowly work his way back up her body. His cock was throbbing and painful. He had never known such sweet torment but wanted to savor this first knot with her. Sloan spread her legs wider so that he could easily settle himself between her legs; the head of his cock prodded between her thighs, seeking the sheath in which it belonged.
He reached between them with his other hand and fingered her core as he pressed his thumb against her clit. He slipped his hands under her body and grasped her buttocks, squeezing them lightly and steadying her. Sloan’s body tensed in anticipation of the pain she knew she was about to experience.
“Relax, sweetheart,” he rumbled to her. “All will be well.”
His mouth captured hers completely as he surged forward with a ferocity and power unlike any other he had used to mount her. Sloan’s body convulsed and she screamed into his mouth with the power of his possession as he thrust home, breaching her with his knot. She pushed at him, instinctively trying to dislodge the painful invasion of her body. Gareth growled low and deep in his throat and continued to kiss her passionately.
He lay still within her, allowing her body to relax and accept that he had breached her in a way that only an alpha male wolf-shifter could. His kisses became less demanding and more coaxing. He held her tight so that she couldn’t injure either of them but didn’t try to move within her. When he felt her body relax and she began to return his kisses, he knew that the first inkling of the exquisite sensation of being knotted was beginning. It would push her past the pain to embrace the intimacy and sensuality that resulted from his need to bury himself deep inside and seal her to him.
As her pussy stretched to accommodate him, her breathing returned to a more normal state. He inhaled sharply as the knot began to swell, ensuring that none of his seed would escape. He held her tight and nuzzled her neck. She had ceased to struggle but seemed unsure of what would come next. She-wolves were taught what it meant to be mated to an alpha; he sometimes forgot that Sloan had once been human.
“That’s the worst of it, beloved. I promise that the pain and discomfort will be banished by the pleasure we are about to share,” he murmured.
“I don’t know...”
“I know; I will teach you. You are my beloved mate and you please me in a way no other ever has.”
She nuzzled his neck, seeking his reassurance, which he gave by stroking and encouraging her, praising her bravery and beauty.
“There has never been another for me in all of the lifetimes I have lived... nor will there ever be.”
“Gareth,” she moaned as she recognized that he spoke the truth.
He searched her face and saw wonder and true acceptance of her destiny with him. He could see the love and desire he felt for her being reflected back to him from within the depths of her eyes. Sloan wrapped her arms around his neck and intertwined her legs with his in wanton response to his possession. He doubted he would have much trouble convincing his mate to be knotted often. Her response was more than he could have hoped for.
Gareth gathered her close as he began to roll his hips forward, causing him to rock within her. Sloan clung to him as her pussy pulsed all along his cock including the knot. He knew nothing had ever given him such pleasure and gratification. She cried out as she came hard in response to his rhythmic motions and clawed at his back, growling seductively to urge him on.
Sloan’s eyes rolled back in her head as she surrendered herself—body and soul—to his keeping. He treasured her uninhibited response and silently vowed that she would want for nothing in this life. Theirs would be a pairing that would become legend amongst their pack. He continued to rock within her reveling in her response as she orgasmed repeatedly.
He began to rock her with more intensity as he felt his cum rolling up from his balls, through the knot and down his shaft until it began to gush out of him, bathing her pussy with his seed. Sloan arched and molded her body to his, trying to find a way to get even closer. His cock continued to pump his seed deep into her wet heat as her cunt clamped down, extracting every last bit that he had to give her. Finally, when he had emptied himself completely within her, he settled himself and kissed her lovingly.
“Are you all right, my beloved mate?” he said as he kissed her gently.
“All right?” she asked incredulously. “You give me the most sensual and intimate experience of my life and want to know if I’m ‘all right’? For the record? You should have just led with that knot instead of tearing a chunk out of my neck.”
Sloan nipped his ear and Gareth chuckled, kissing her again. “I take it then that my beloved mate will have no objection to being knotted frequently.”
“None whatsoever,” she purred in pure contentment.
* * *
Sloan lay with her legs tangled with Gareth’s. She had him as tied to her as his knot had her tied to him. Nothing anyone could have ever told her could have matched the incredible experience of being knotted by Gareth or lying here underneath him. There was something primal in sharing this with him—not just the incredible physicality but the intimacy it spawned.
He nuzzled her again. “I’m going to roll over.”
“I want to stay like this,” she said.
“Beneath me or with my cock buried in your pussy?”
“Both,” she sighed.
“The former for a bit but I don’t want you to have to bear my weight; the latter for several hours at least.”
She nestled against him, seeking his warmth and closeness, which struck her as odd when she was quite sure not even a piece of parchment could be wedged between them. Gareth stroked her hair and her body as he nuzzled and whispered kisses all over her face and neck. He paid particular attention to the claiming mark he had inflicted on her that day in the tunnel.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” she said softly.
“I’m glad to hear that,” he replied, kissing it.
“It healed a lot faster than I thought it would.”
“One of the benefits of being wolf—wounds heal more quickly and you recover from most things far more rapidly than a human.”
“You were right; no one seems to mind that I wasn’t born wolf.”
“No,” he agreed. “I told you. We have always had humans who lived as part of our pack and our greatest mistress was, like you, turned without her consent.”
Sloan nipped him again. “That doesn’t make it right.”
“But it doesn’t mean I was wrong.”
“You’re impossible. Why don’t I hate you? By all rights I should.”
“Perhaps. But the reason you don’t is quite simple. I am your fated mate just as you are mine.”
“Someone, whose name I can’t remember, told me that we go for pack runs? They don’t do that at Calon Onest.”
“Only one of the ways in which we are far superior,” he teased. “But I rather suspect that Alaric will change that. It is a rather glorious thing to do and binds a pack more tightly together. We almost always end up down on the shoreline...”
“The one where we plan to hear our grandchildren laughing?” she asked.
“The very one,” he assured her. “Younger wolves play and splash in the water while our elder members stretch out in the sunshine to warm their bones.”
“I’ve never learned to swim.”
“Then I shall teach you when the weather warms. But until then, if something should ever happen, call forth your wolf. It is instinctive within the wolf and she will save you.”
Gareth gathered her close and rolled to his back, taking her with him. Rowan had been right. The change in position was different but pleasing. She wasn’t sure if she actually heard him rumbling at her or just felt it, but it didn’t really matter. Combined with his gentle stroking down her back, she was quickly succumbing to the long ride, the celebration and wine with her new pack, and the physical demands of the numerous orgasms Gareth’s knotting her had evoked. Sloan yawned, rubbed her face against his chest, and fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter Thirteen
Sloan was awakened the next morning with a knock on the door. Gareth was immediately awake and called for the person to enter. For someone to have awakened them and intruded on their time together before even twenty-four hours had passed, Sloan knew something was very wrong.
“Alpha, my apologies for disturbing you,” said Tyler as he entered carefully, not looking toward their bed.
“It’s all right, Tyler, we were just resting. What is it?” asked Gareth.
“The roving patrols have spotted a large force moving up from the south. They are keeping off the main roads and seem to be trying to do so with as little notice as possible.”
“Edwyn?”
“Most likely. No banners are being displayed, but from what you described, it’s too large a force for just Edwyn alone.”
“See if we can’t get someone close enough to figure out who they are and get us an accurate head count. You think they’re headed for us?” questioned Gareth.
“It would seem so.”
Gareth wiped his face with both hands and laid one on Sloan’s waist. “Gather our men. Have Winifred...” he started.
“Tyler,” interrupted Sloan, “gather the men and let your alpha get dressed and join you. I will go work with Winifred to get food prepared to be brought to you and for the rest of our pack.”
