* * *

  EVERY NIGHT, she'd met him here and every night she'd given in to her basest instincts. Still, tonight it felt like so much more. Like every time his tongue flicked against her mouth, he was trying to bottle the memory of her taste just in case it was lost to him forever.

  Or maybe she just felt that way because that’s what she was doing with every lingering kiss.

  He pressed her back against the wide oak table, but she shook her head.

  "No," she said, "Tonight I want to have all of you." She made short work of his clothes and kicked them aside before sinking to her knees to take him full in her mouth, licking long and hard until he growled with pleasure. He laced his fingers through her hair and she closed her eyes, losing herself in the sensation as he massaged her scalp and sent tingles skittering over her sensitized skin.

  She sucked him in deeper as she swirled her tongue around his smooth, blunt head, memorizing his scent. Committing his taste to memory.

  She pulled away and licked the base, working him up and down with her hand until a bead of pre-come leaked from the slit at the tip of his cock. She stared up at him, and when his heated gaze met hers, she dipped her head to catch the droplet with the tip of her tongue.

  He gripped her hair harder and pulled her up, gently enough not to hurt her but just forceful enough to send a bolt of need through her. With a tug, he pulled her shirt over her head and groaned when he saw she wasn’t wearing a bra.

  “Beautiful,” he whispered, bending low to capture one nipple between his teeth. She gasped as he pressed her back against the wide, wooden table, and tugged her leggings to the floor. When she was naked, he straightened to spread her knees wide, staring with longing at the juncture of her legs.

  "You have the most gorgeous pussy on the planet," he ground out at last, and then reached to stroke it with one hand. With the other, he circled her waist and pulled her closer until her breasts were flush against his wide, warm chest. God, the heat of him alone was enough to drive her crazy, but the smell of him could have sent her to heaven on the spot.

  His hard, long shaft was pressed against her belly. So close. If she moved just right, he would have the perfect angle to—

  His hands gripped her hips firmly and she realized she'd been grinding against his cock, begging him to fill her.

  "Take it slow,” he said in a gruff whisper. “If tonight is all we have, then I'm going to take my time with you."

  He didn't wait for her to respond. Instead, he dropped a kiss on the hollow of her throat and licked from her collarbone to her shoulder and back again, kneading her breasts as he went.

  It was so unlike all of their other hot and hard encounters and she shivered with every new touch, every extra kiss.

  If he were truly mine, I would never leave his room. We'd spend every day exactly like this.

  He reached her earlobe and nibbled at her gently until electricity sparked throughout her body. She closed her eyes, taking in the sensation and trying to hold herself together. Because he wasn’t hers. They were enemies. Sworn to—

  His lips met her nipple and he swirled his tongue around the stiff peak until she lost the capacity for thought.

  “Now, Grey, please now.”

  He must have sensed her desperation, because he didn’t argue. He slid his thick cock between her folds and drove deep.

  As she stretched to accommodate him, she lifted her legs, wrapping them around his lean waist, pulling him in as deep as he could possibly go. He began to move and she matched him, keeping time, arching with his hips, breathing with his breath, beating with his heart.

  The smell of him, the feel of him, and the taste of him was everywhere, and she clamped her teeth around the cord in his neck to keep from saying the words that were trying to fight their way out.

  I love you.

  He reared back and pressed her flat against the table, his eyes glinting in the moonlight as he stared at the space where his cock drove in and out of her.

  His motions grew wild and desperate, and he squeezed her hips, using his hands to work her over his cock faster and faster. She gripped the sides of the table, thinking it was the only thing that could keep her body from coming apart at the seams, but even as she edged closer to release, another part of her wanted to slow down. To stop.

  That maybe, just maybe, if they didn't finish they could stay here forever and they'd never have to fight. Never have to part.

  She slammed her eyes closed and pushed into him, rocking harder. She wouldn't get to keep Grey, but she got to keep this. This moment was hers, and she'd be damned if she were going to ruin it.

  A second later, the world went a hazy red as the climax crashed over her, wave after wave of ecstasy dragging her down, pulling her under. She was on fire and cried out his name as her body milked his in greedy clutches. A second later, he let out a protracted growl and joined her, bucking against her, his fingertips digging into her hips.

  For a long while, there was no sound but their labored breath. No feeling other than his warm, tanned skin against hers. She was wrecked, totally and completely.

  When he finally slid away, it felt as though he was taking the entire world with him.

  “You should go home and get some sleep,” he said softly.

  She nodded but couldn’t make her mouth work.

  “I don’t want you to. If you asked me to, I’d say screw it right now. We’d throw some blankets on the floor and sleep here for all I give a shit. And then we’d move to Bora Bora. What do you say?”

  Tears clogged her throat and she shook her head.

  “You know we can’t do that.”

  He nodded slowly and picked up her discarded hoody. “Yeah, I know.” He gestured for her to lift her arms up and she did, letting him dress her like a child, the tenderness of it almost more than she could bear.

  This was it. Time to say goodbye before she couldn’t do it at all.

  “You should go.”

  He opened his mouth, closed it again, and then finally said, "Stay alive, okay?"

  "Me? I'm a survivor."

  But when he stepped out the door, shifting into his black wolf before slipping away between the trees, she felt like anything but.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  They were all in the great room, each stationed by a window and waiting. The last rays of sunlight had long since disappeared behind the tree line and the three-quarters moon hung fat in the sky. There was no escaping the tension and restlessness coating the air.

  Chandra sat beside her, stationed next to Liam at command. Normally, Jax would have been planted there, but he was in the security room, watching each of the monitors on the fence and waiting for the tripwires to signal the arrival of the enemy.

  None would come.

  Grey had told her as much. They were going to attach some new-fangled surge inducer to the wire which would also render the cameras obsolete after a few minutes, but at least when everything stopped working, they would know the enemy had arrived.

  "I see something," Chandra whispered and they all leaned in as they followed her gaze to the security camera they’d wired into the television set.

  Her heart kicked against her ribs as Grey came into view in his human form. Tall, heavily-muscled and menacing, she should probably feel afraid, but all she felt was the overwhelming urge to run out and throw her arms around him.

  "That's Greyson West,” Chandra said. “Oh, and look, another." She pointed to the moving bushes beside Grey and sure enough a woman appeared beside him in the darkness. Rather than staring at the enclosure the way Grey did, though, the female kept her gaze on Grey, as if waiting for direction.

  The thought brought on a stab of jealousy, but she shoved it away. So what. She deferred to Grey the same way Maggie would to Liam. It made sense, since, with any luck, he was soon to be alpha. It certainly didn't mean anything.

  Still, she found herself asking, "Who is she?"

  "Hard to see with the weird light of the night-vision camera, but I’m pretty sure it’s Willa Stone. Which makes sense since…" Chandra glanced at Maggie and back at the screen again. "Oh, and another!" She pointed through a thrush of trees to a menacing-looking brute who’d come crashing in before shifting into a massive, grey, timber wolf mid-stride.

  “Ew, that was the guy they tried to arrange for me to marry when I was still in the pack.”

  Amalie let out a low whistle. "He looks—"

  "Savage," Chandra finished for her. "And he is.”

  Maggie only barely heard the words, though.

  “What were you going to say before that, though. It makes sense that Willa would be there since what?”

  Vaguely, she was aware of Liam giving instructions as one enemy after another showed themselves in the clearing, but all she could focus on was Chandra, whose brows were knitted in concern.

  “Willa is Grey’s intended. I thought you knew…”

  Her packmate trailed off, as she must have realized by Maggie’s stricken face, she hadn’t known.

  That son of a bitch.

  Suddenly, everything happened at once. There was shouting, and shifting, and cries for battle, but Maggie barely heard as her gaze locked on the image in front of her. Grey turned to face his future wife and stroked her hair gently, sending the knife between Maggie’s ribs deep enough to pierce her heart.

  She’d loved him.

  She’d given everything to him.

  Jesus, she’d contemplated leaving for him.

  And she'd been played. How strange that she’d always wondered, in the back of her mind, if she would be. But never like this.

  A battle cry sounded again and this time she joined the fray.

  "Are you ready?" Liam called.

  She was more than ready, and she only had one target.

  His name was Greyson West.

  * * *

  BE CAREFUL.

  Willa had shot the words at him and Grey turned to find her staring at him.

  You too. He transmitted the thought back to her and she gave a nod.

  It was then that’s Joseph’s thoughts superseded his own.

  It is time, my brothers and sisters. We must fight for what we know is right. Obliterate the dissenters. Find the human. And kill her.

  He could feel the will of the alpha pressing down on him, as it was on all of them. It was a difficult thing, to fight off that instinct, but it only took the thought of Maggie to give him the burst of strength he needed to break the mental chains.

  He only hoped he could help his pack do the same.

  From the corner of his eye, he saw his father flank him to the far left and he swallowed hard, staring intently at the door. He would wait until Maggie came bursting forward to make sure she was near before he tried to run interference between the other wolves. But as soon as those doors opened?

  It was as if the air itself had exploded.

  Like total pandemonium as wolves toppled on top of each other, grappling and growling until the air smelled of iron and sweat and salty tears.

  There was no sign of Maggie’s sable fur anywhere.

  Maybe she was doing as he asked and trying to stay as clear of the fray as possible…

  Even as the thought ran through his head, he knew it couldn’t be true. She would never leave her pack to fight without her. She was here somewhere.

  And hopefully unharmed.

  He froze in his tracks as a familiar howl rent the air nearby. He spun to find Willa pinned beneath an enormous gray beast. Fury blasted through him as he leapt at her attacker, closing his teeth over its haunches, tearing at the ligaments just hard enough to immobilize but not maim.

  Willa rose to all fours, snarling as he released the yowling animal.

  Remember. Fight, but no killing, he reminded her before moving along with single-minded determination, not wanting to waste one precious second.

  Got it, boss.

  Grey barely heard her response as his father’s voice sounded in his mind.

  Fight on! Never give up, my people. Not until every last one of them is dead.

  This time, the pull of the alpha was far less compelling. Almost like a fly buzzing around in his head instead of a deep and resonating voice as strong as a wolf’s own consciousness.

  Strange. Grey paused in his tracks, and looked around the battlefield. He was still searching the warring wolves for a sign of his father’s silvery fur when a movement in the woods captured his attention.

  In the distance, a flash of movement…a creature, skulking away from the battle into the heart of the forest.

  Willa had started heading back into the fray, but he called out to stop her.

  Have you seen my father?

  She shook her sandy head and he nodded toward the animal’s still retreating form. It passed through a small clearing and a moonbeam struck its fur.

  Silver.

  Willa’s mental gasp reverberated through him.

  Search the battle, he commanded grimly. She met his gaze for a long moment before loping off. A rush of anger warred with the wash of anticipation. If that son of a bitch had led his pack into battle and then abandoned them in secret to protect his own ass, he deserved the gravest of punishments. It would explain why his will had seemed so weak when he’d tried to command. Because, instinctively, Grey’s wolf had already known that Joseph was no longer alpha.

  That meant this could be it.

  The end for Joseph West.

  He paced the edges of the forest, sending out mental feelers to connect with his father to no avail.

  Maybe it was a mistake. A trick of the light, or a Pray wolf who resembled his father from afar. But the fact of the matter was that he knew what Willa would say before her voice sounded in his head again.

  He’s not here. I looked everywhere.

  He breathed deep and then let out a low, wavering call to his packmates that remained.

  Big Sky wolves, I ask that you take a look around. Where is your leader?

  The battle raged on, but the difference was notable. Between jumps and lunges, every wolf was turning left and right, checking every inch of the field for something they could not—and would not—find.

  He has abandoned you to bleed for him. Is this the life you’ve signed on for? Is this your idea of an alpha?

  More low growls joined his own.

  As you fight, wonder why you’re fighting, and consider ending this. We can start anew. No longer do you have to live in fear. Let me bring this pack into the future.

  He closed his speech with a snarl, and then shook his head.

  Part of him expected to feel some sadness. His father was even more of a bastard than he’d thought. It was one thing to be a crazed monster, stuck in the days of old. It was another to be a coward and a hypocrite.

  The only good news was that at least the pack would finally see just how bad it was. Even now, some of them were backing away, disengaging, probably feeling what he himself had felt. The hold was loosening. And clearly Maggie had done her part in convincing her pack to be merciful, because the Pray wolves were allowing them to retreat.

  It was the best outcome he could imagine.

  But right now, the only thing that mattered was getting Maggie in his line of sight and making sure she was okay.

  He’d barely completed the thought when white-hot claws dug into his back, breaking his skin as he tumbled back into the tree line, scrambling for a foothold. Damn it, he couldn't afford this kind of distraction right now when—

  Wait.

  A familiar scent flooded his senses and he froze.

  Maggie.

  He rolled on top of her and she clawed, so he pushed in return, grappling back until she was on the defensive while he forced her step by painstaking step back into the thick woods.

  She tore at his shoulder, but he didn't care. He just had to pin her down and get her to talk. Rearing back on his haunches, he rushed hard against her, pinning her to a tree. If she'd been human, the move might have broken her spine, but as it stood she only growled at him and lunged to bite his face.

  He shifted to his human form, holding her in place.

  “God damn it, stop. Talk to me.”

  She fought him even harder then, but he didn’t relent. She slowed and finally stopped. Then she was there, naked against him, her face twisted into a mask of fury.

  "What the hell is going on?" he demanded. “We had an agreement. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, Maggie.”

  "Ha! That’s rich, considering," she spat, bucking against him until he released her.

  "Last I checked, I was warding off an attack from you."

  "You should be glad that's the worst I've done to you. I haven't gotten a clear shot at your balls, or you wouldn't have any by now."

  "What? You know I couldn't have stopped this. I did my best and—"

  "This isn't about the attack, or your backward people. This is about you," she screamed, her hot breath washing over his face. "And your wife, Willa."

  He stiffened, his gut clenching hard as the ramifications of her words crashed over him.

  “Maggie, I—”

  “So what was it, Grey? I can’t imagine you needed me to get laid. So what, then? Just bored? Or something far more nefarious?”

  "She’s not my wife," he began, wondering how he could possibly explain the situation to her in the state she was in.

  "May as well be. I should have known better.” Her words were like tiny blades, each one gouging deeper. “This is just one more reason I never should have—"

  "Don't say that. Listen to me, I was going to tell you."

  "When? The tenth time we fucked? The eleventh? You know, there were points when I wondered if you would betray me, but I never thought it would be like this. Especially not when I was falling—" She stopped short and shook her head briskly. “I don’t have time for this nonsense right now. My pack needs me.”

  She turned, but then paused, leveling him with an icy stare over her shoulder.

  “And Grey? If you come near me again, make no mistake. I will go for the jugular.”

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8