Grace whimpered as Neil's fingers retreated and he pressed the tip of his cock against her. With his hands on her hips, he pulled her back as he buried himself inside of her. Grace cried out, pleasure washing over her.
She watched Heath's face as Neil fucked her, claiming her cunt for himself. Heath's eyes turned darker and darker, an unspoken promise that her punishment was to come.
Grace bit her lip, she wanted Heath next. She would have him on her terms. He dictated everything else between them. She was at his mercy, on his camp, with his pack. She would write these rules.
She felt safe with Ben. And Neil made her feel wanted. She would find power with Heath. And how could she choose just one?
Her fingers clung to the sheets as Neil came with a deafening roar; anger, pleasure, frustration all leaving his body at once. "Get out," he whispered as he withdrew from Grace. Heath slowly left the cabin, his eyes glued to Grace’s lax body.
Neil waited until the Alpha had gone before he gently rolled Grace to her back, pulled her to the edge of the bed, and sank to his knees. He took his time drawing an orgasm from her that left Grace crying out Neil's name.
Grace settled into his arms and asked, “Will you be punished for that?”
“In any other pack, he could have just taken you.”
“I wouldn’t have let him. I still would have chosen you tonight,” Grace replied and she snuggled into his chest.
“Why didn’t you make him leave?”
“It was a fun game to fuck with his power trip.” She giggled. “Right?”
“Oh, I’d fuck you like that every night if I knew Heath would never get to touch you.”
CHAPTER FIVE
GRACE
Grace settled into a peaceful rhythm around camp. She was already used to waking up early enough to join Ben and Neil in the kitchen before the rest of the pack woke up. Neil made coffee, sat down at the counter, and read. He was utterly useless until he was halfway through his second cup of coffee, though Grace suspected that his grumpiness might just be for show to ensure that the others didn't bother him first thing in the morning.
Ben was the total opposite; he was chipper and ready to go the second he walked into the kitchen. Grace worked as Ben's sous chef, and the two of them made breakfast together each morning. Ben watched the local news on mute because he couldn't stand listening to commercials, so Grace started playing mellow music on her phone while they worked.
The three of them fit together nicely in the peaceful, quiet kitchen. Each kept to themselves except when Neil stood up for coffee, or Benjamin grumbled about another terrorist attacked on the news, or Grace hummed quietly along to a favorite song. She shared a subtle intimacy with both men, silent hands sliding along her curves as she walked by, or a gentle kiss as he reached past her for more coffee. Grace felt safe and loved.
This morning, as men and wolves filed in, Grace perked up, energized by their company. She sat at the table and Heath set a plate down in front of her. She and Ben had made pancakes. Heath had served her at meals since the night he surprised her in her cabin, perhaps his way of apologizing. He sat down next to her and ate silently. She hadn't asked him about his prisoner or his plans, and he hadn't volunteered any information. Grace stayed quiet because she didn't want to ruin the good thing she had built with the pack, though she knew she would have to face her problems... eventually.
Grace finished her meal and moved to the couch where several wolves joined her, playfully fighting each other for the best spot before settling onto the cushions around her. She'd noticed that there were a few shifters who preferred to remain wolves whenever possible. As animals, they loved her affection and followed her around the lodge. As humans, they never made eye contact, and she didn't even know their names. One wolf in particular had started sleeping outside her door on the nights she slept alone, and Grace had never seen him as a human.
She'd asked Ben about the wolves, and he had shrugged. “They're fiercely private. But they like you, that's obvious. Even when you aren't here, they rarely shift to their human forms. I used to see one or two of them as humans when Malcolm forced them to work at job sites with us. I'm sure that's why they left, Heath lets them patrol the camp as security, and they occasionally go hunting and bring us meat."
As the sun rose, the pack started thinning out, going to work sites or whatever jobs they might have around camp. Neil stayed at the lodge doing paperwork for the pack's construction company. Heath remained at the camp to handle pack business, and Benjamin left with the others, leaving Grace to clean up breakfast.
She didn't mind the work, especially since there was nothing else to do. She turned on trash reality TV and plugged away at her chores doing dishes and sweeping floors. She had a pile of the pack’s laundry waiting for her, and the shower room needed to be cleaned. No one had asked her to take on these tasks, but they helped her feel like she wasn’t a parasite and they kept her busy.
When her hands stopped, she found her mind wondering to the prisoner—who Heath refused to let her see. Grace shook off her fears and decided she needed to go for a run. After changing her clothes, she put one headphone in her ear and headed down the two-track out of camp. It took a little longer than usual to find her pace, but the steady pounding of her shoes on the dirt calmed her mind. Normally, she would set a timer on her phone and run for about half an hour, but today she just needed to clear her mind. So she ran.
During a break in songs, she heard a crunching of leaves that didn’t match her stride. She turned around, realizing halfway through her spin that she really had no way of protecting herself. Could she piece together a spell? Fuck. Who could possibly have found her out here? No one knew where she was. She was supposed to be hidden in the woods to keep herself safe, and she’d decided to run alone. Double fuck. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the black wolf that stood guard outside her cabin walking through the woods just off the dirt road.
"Goddamn! You scared the shit out of me."
The wolf jumped over to her and rubbed his head under her hand, forcing her to pet him.
"Just bite my heel while I'm still in camp next time you plan on following me." She turned around and started walking back up the road, feeling too self-conscious to run in front of the wolf. But the animal showed no interest in walking; instead it darted back and forth in front of her, yipping excitedly. Grace looked around, grabbed a stick, and threw is as hard as she could. The wolf sprayed pebbles and dirt as he tore off after it. Grace smiled when he returned with the stick, dropped it at her feet, and danced down the road in front of her, waiting for her to throw it again. The two played the whole way back to the lodge. He walked her to the building's front door and disappeared into the woods.
Grace was dripping with sweat as she made a beeline to the showers. The lodge seemed empty as she walked through the dining room and down the hall past Neil's office and Benjamin's bedroom. She stripped in the shower room, quickly rinsing off before heading to the hot tub room.
She loved the hot tub room; it smelled like cedar and teak. The tub was sunken into the floor, and the wall of windows had a beautiful view of the forest. At the right time of day, sunlight dappled the water, making it feel as if she were truly in a hot spring in the middle of the woods. She threw a towel into the corner, turned on the jets, and slid into the tub. Her back was to the door, and she lost herself gazing at the greenery.
The door opened, and Grace rolled around expecting to see Ben or Neil. Instead, Heath stood in the doorway with a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Can I join you?" he asked.
"Nice of you to ask this time."
"You didn't seem that upset last time." He narrowed his eyes. “In fact, I think you liked having an audience."
"I did." She perched on her knees, lifting her chest out of the tub. Her pink nipples hardened in response to the cold air. "But you still can't watch people fuck."
"Fair. What can I do to make it up to you?"
She could
n't figure Heath out; he oscillated between being a possessive alpha and a contrite omega. Grace could enjoy both men. And, as much as Heath pissed her off, she felt drawn to him. He was fiercely loyal to his pack and led them like no other Alpha she had heard of. Everything between them was a confrontation. She was quickly learning to not hide how she felt. Their constant battle of wills seemed more like a dance than a war, and she couldn't deny her attraction to him.
"I want to be the audience." She pointed to a cedar bench.
He smiled and dropped his towel. Heath's powerful body was literally breathtaking. Grace almost forgot to inhale as she watched him walk toward the center of the room. The Alpha sat on the bench with his legs spread wide, then leaned forward and rested an elbow on his thigh. His head fell forward, blond hair spilling over his face.
Grace finally inhaled sharply. Heath's arm flexed as he wrapped his hand around his cock and slowly started to glide it up the length of his shaft. He drew the palm of his hand over the tip before running his fist back down to the base. His cock grew hard under his touch, and her pulse skipped as a savage ache teased through her body. Grace pushed herself out of the tub and walked toward him, pulled by an unseen force.
He looked up at her, his eyes heavy with lust, and continued to run his hand along his shaft, curving his thumb over the tip and sliding his whole fist back down to his balls. His thick cock was slick with precum.
Grace placed a foot on the bench next to him, opening her hips toward his face in invitation. He turned his head toward her, and she shivered as his breath fluttered by her cunt. He leaned his face against her thigh and reached his free hand between her legs, grabbing her ass and pulling her pussy to his mouth.
Heath closed his lips over her clit, sucking gently, before he ran his tongue along her slit. His kisses became more urgent, spreading fire along her skin, causing her knees to shake. Her legs trembled. Sighing, she steadied herself and held Heath's mouth to her cunt.
Heath slid his fingers inside of her, trapping her clit between his mouth and his hand. She moaned, curling her fingers through his hair and grinding against his eager tongue.
Not yet. She was too close to coming. Grace tore away from his mouth and straddled him, kneeling on the bench. He took hold of her ass as she lowered her herself down, taking him in inch by inch. She settled onto Heath's lap, his entire cock filling her up, and rocked against him, kissing him hungrily.
She rose again, holding just the head of his cock inside her, then she tilted forward, letting the tip of his dick slide between her lips before she claimed his cock again. She smiled as she used her pussy to tease Heath's cock again and again. His breath grew ragged as she swayed her hips slipping him in and out.
He leaned forward and covered a nipple with his lips, nipping at the hard peak. Grace gasped, suddenly pushed to the edge of her orgasm. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, buried her face in his neck, and fell onto his lap.
She ground against him, biting his ear and whispering his name over and over until she finally came. she cried out, spasming around his cock as he grabbed her ass, lifting her off of his lap, and fucked her through her orgasm. She was vaguely aware of Heath's moans as she felt his cock pulse inside of her before she collapsed onto his lap again.
He carried her to the hot tub, and they slipped into the water, Grace lounging across his lap.
"Pick me," he whispered into her ear. “Be my mate."
"Heath, I don't want to be mated."
"You would be mated to an Alpha. You would be mine. The whole pack would be at your service."
She shook her head. “I don't want to be a part of this hierarchy. I don't want to be submissive."
"Did I fuck you like a sub?"
"Would you expect obedience from me?"
"If we were mated, you would want to be obedient."
"No, Heath. I can't pick you. I won't pick anyone."
"You will have to pick a mate."
"Why? No one else has tried to force me to choose. In fact, Benjamin told me you all agreed to share partners."
"I won't share," Heath growled.
"I won't be mated."
The wolf growled and left the hot tub, slamming the door behind him.
Fuck. She could have let him down a little more gently. They might be a unconventional pack, but he was still the Alpha, apparently with Alpha expectations.
CHAPTER SIX
GRACE
The next morning, Grace was cleaning up after breakfast when her phone rang. She’d started to just leave her cell in the kitchen because the common building was the only place there was service. They pack had some industrial-sized signal booster for internet and cell service for company business. She glanced at the caller ID as she dried her hands. Cara. She’d texted with her sisters periodically, but she hadn’t spoken to any of them since arriving in the woods.
"Grace! Did you hear about the kidnappings yesterday?"
"Yeah, was all over the news this morning. Two girls in one day, in Wildwood." Grace asked, "Have you heard anything around the office? Any reporters know anything?" Cara and Eileen worked at a small newspaper in New Haven.
"No, nothing," Cara answered. "I think it's too early for the cops to start talking."
"Damn, keep me posted. It's so fucked up."
"I will. All that news just made me paranoid, and I wanted to check to make sure you're doing okay. You disappeared into the wolves’ den."
"Do wolves have dens? Or just bears? Foxes have burrows. And bobcats sleep in—"
"Anyway," Cara continued, "we miss you. We want to see you. Do you think your captors will bring you to The Brew for a game of pool tonight?"
"I'm not a prisoner. I can leave anytime I want," Grace said.
"Uh-huh. Eileen has herself halfway mated with one wolf, you're tied up with a dozen of them, and I haven't seen either of you in over a week. We all know wolves are territorial and possessive, and you two just can't see that it's bad news to get tangled up with them. Alphas have absolute power, so they're all absolutely corrupted."
"Just like all witches sacrifice virgins for eternal life?"
"We’re different. Well, you’re different." Cara sighed.
"Cara, chill, I'm safe. I'm happy. I will see you at six," Grace said.
"Okay. I love you. I just wish you, Eileen, and Bri would leave all this supernatural shit behind."
"Love you, too. I'll see you later."
Grace hung up her phone shaking her head. The LeFay women were powerful witches, the cornerstone of their coven. Or at least they had been when her mother and grandmother were alive. She doubted that their line could be traced all the way back to King Arthur and Morgan LeFay, but she took pride in her name and her lineage. Cara did not. Cara had stopped practicing when she was a teenager and had been actively hostile toward all things supernatural ever since. Their mother had been heartbroken when Cara turned her back on the goddess with no explanation, especially because she was a truly powerful witch. They all were. Some members of their old coven thought their gifts were wasted because the sisters rarely practiced any magic outside of rituals, but they were raised in a household that never used magic trivially.
Speaking of nontrivial magic, Grace needed to cobble together a protection spell for tonight. Since she didn't have access to her gardens or herbs, she tried to think about what would be the most straightforward request to make. She found a junk drawer and grabbed a pen, paper, and lighter that she took into the woods just behind her cabin. and sat down. Grace didn't have any sage to purify herself before the ritual, so she sat down, straightened her back, and lowered her gaze. Breathing deeply, she imagined smoke from a smudge stick curling around her body and sweeping impurities from her. She smelled the mustiness of the burning sage and visualized being cleansed inside and out.
After finishing her meditation, she felt ready to approach the goddess with her request. She scribbled on the piece of paper "veil, unnoticed, safety," lit the bottom corner, and watched th
e flames swallow her words. Grace set the burning paper on the dirt and closed her eyes. She sat there in stillness until she felt called to stand. Casting a spell for a veil to make her invisible was the easy part. Now she had to convince Heath.
CHAPTER SEVEN
GRACE
"What do you mean 'not actually invisible'? You just said it was a spell for invisibility!" Heath looked like he was about to explode.
"Well, it makes you invisible because the veil makes you unnoticeable, plain, ordinary, like part of the scenery," Grace answered calmly.
"Absolutely not."
"Heath, I'm not asking for permission. I wouldn't even have to ask you if I wouldn't get lost in the forest trying to get out of here... Or if Ben and Neil hadn't made me."
"Good to know they haven't been brainwashed by love," Heath snarled. "You may not need my permission, but you need one of my pack to chauffeur you into town, and they will not take you anywhere without my permission."
"Yes, but I don't think it will be difficult to find someone who wants to go to the bar and play some pool with me." She smiled flirtatiously. She knew any one of the wolves would want to come with her, except for Sampson, who she hadn't seen much of since the first night since he managed to leave the room every time she came in.
"I'll take you," Heath growled. "I don't want anyone else getting hurt." Grace rolled her eyes. While she was sure that was true, she was also pretty sure that he didn't want anyone else to get to spend the evening with her.
The two walked to the SUV in silence. Grace felt as if she’d asked to go on a date with her boyfriend and wound up with her father. Heath had a seriousness about him that sucked all of the fun out of the air. Grace was not into this silent, brooding Heath. Yesterday's conversation had royally fucked up whatever they had together.
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