Another three days passed with me confined to the room. The only people I interacted with during that time were Rafe, Christobel, and occasionally Alpha Thane when he would stop by to pry Rafe away from me.Three days.I haven’t dared stare out the windows since the little girl last appeared. I haven’t done much of anything aside from eat, bathe, and, well, Rafe. And I’m pretty sure the mate bond isn’t the only reason he’s so… intense. I mean, yes, I feel this unending, burning attraction for him. Every day, it gets more potent, and I find myself pacing while I wait for him to return to the room.And he’s even more passionate than I am.We hardly get more than a few sentences spoken between us before he lifts me up and I straddle his waist. He adores me; he can’t get enough. That’s what he says when he covers my mouth with his, stifling my questions and requests. Every time I mention touring Io or leaving this blasted bedroom, he shuts me down in the most infuriatingly pleasant ways.
Rafe laughs at my question as if it is the most absurd thing he’s ever heard. It’s the kind of laugh that shakes the room but still sounds hollow. I’m probably projecting. “Protect you from Io? Is that really something that I have to do?” he asks after catching his breath. “Why on earth would I have to protect you from your own people?” My own people. It’s only natural that he looks at Io that way. I’m his mate who abandoned her “birth pack” to join him. That makes Io my new home, and these wolves are my people. Technically. Off the record, though, I’m sure that I’ll be considered public enemy number one the second everyone discovers who my mother is. Goddess, I jumped out of the frying pan and into the pits of hell. “I’m not from here. I don’t know the ways of your people. I’m sure I will rub someone the wrong way eventually,” I mutter my half-truth, trying my best to keep my composure and not let anything else slip. I jump when his warm fingers gently rub between my tented brow
My whole body is exhausted. But he’s not stopping. Why isn’t he stopping? Why isn’t he as tired as I am? Where does he get the energy to torment me like this?“Keep your eyes on me,” his gruff voice drags me back into my overwhelmed body and I do my best to obey his command. I know better than to protest now.My legs feel detatched from my body. The only reason I know they are still on me is because I see them draped over Rafe’s broad shoulders. His head of dark curls is nestled between my thighs and his eyes burn up at me.He nips at my thigh before kissing the same spot.“Pay attention. I want you to watch me make you cum,” he growls. “I want you to see how much I enjoy you. How much I adore you.”“Rafe—”I’m breathless. His mouth covers me and I lose focus, my head falling back against the pillows. He’s been doing this for at least thirty minutes. It’s so good. My entire body is buzzing from pleasure as he sucks and licks and strokes me with his tongue.“Eyes. On. Me.”I’m trying.
All the exhaustion drains from my body instantly and I’m up on my feet. Rafe slides his massive shirt over my head and scoops me into his arms, racing toward the door. The smoke intensifies as we near the entrance to the room and he pauses for a split second before kicking through the door, out into the hallway.Madness. Sheer chaos.My head’s spinning but my senses sharpen as Milla wakes and rises to the surface.“What’s happening?” she asks. “I think Io is under attack, but—” That’s as far as I can go before Christobel wraps her hand around my wrist and starts dragging me down the hall under Rafe’s orders.The little Gamma pulls me along with all her might, which is strangely greater than I gave her credit for. I can barely keep my feet under me as I stumble along behind her. The lush, deep red carpet lining the hallway starts to chafe and burn my toes and heel from our sheer speed.“W-Wait!” I shout, pulling against Christobel.I didn’t mean to, but I’ve lifted her off her feet an
Everything will make sense. Nothing makes sense. Christobel is acting skidding, there are children crying, I can still smell smoke hanging heavy in the air, and all I want is to lay my eyes on my mate and know that he’s safe. Once I know he’s okay, then I’ll get my questions answered. Please let him be safe.Time makes no sense in this office. I know it hasn’t been hours since they closed those doors. The incessant ticking of the large clock on the desk punctuated the stifled silence and sniffles. I know we haven’t been here long. But restlessness eats away at me.More worries, fears, doubts twist my thoughts into a frenzy. Why would rogues attack Io? How often do these attacks occur? Is Rafe safe? What if the rogues hurt my mate?!Milla snarls in my mind.“That will never happen. We won’t allow it!”“I want to fight. I need to get out there and fight. I'm stronger than ever; I can help him,” I reply.In a rare feat, Milla and I are on the same page. We have to get out of this safe ro
“The water's ready, Makayla,” Christobel’s honeyed voice doesn’t sound nearly as sincere as before. Maybe because I know the truth now. She never really liked me. She was following her Alpha's orders to keep me in check. Probably spying on me for him, silently gaging if I was worthy enough to be by his side as his Luna.The sad smile on her face doesn’t fool me now. I was such an idiot to trust these people blindly. Of course, Alpha Thane would pledge to protect me. Wait, no… he's not an Alpha. Just another person commanded to keep watch.I step into the water and Christobel bows before leaving me in silence sinking beneath the surface, I let my eyes close as the water covers my head and my back presses against the floor deep in the bath tub.Memories dredge up from the depths of my mind. Moments I shared with Rafe. Tender, tragic, and everything in between. His smile, his kiss, his touch, his mannerisms, the way he nuzzles against me, burying his face in my hair. His eyes.Deep and d
“Of course, you know all about it,” I laugh.I don’t know why I’m laughing. Maybe it’s the cruelty of it all. The burden I’ve carried my entire life, the fear I harbored when I met my mate and wanted to protect us both from the shame and disappointment. It was all for nothing. Rafael’s tone when he spoke was flippant and disinterested. As if my great sorrow was nothing but a trifle annoyance.“Have you known since the beginning?”“No. But I figured it out after a while,” Rafael shrugs.A shrug. That’s what it all amounts to. Years of suffering and shame condensed to a single, insignificant motion.“And it means nothing to you?” I ask, forcing my voice to remain still and calm. I cannot betray my feelings. I’ll swallow and bury them and pray they become the stone that will carry me to the depths of the ocean once I find my way there.“What should it mean?” Rafael steps closer.“What?”“What should your mother’s actions mean to m
I smelled him coming a mile away.My father only ever comes to see me when he reeks of cheap whiskey and rage. He needs a target to attack and someone to blame for all the various misfortunes of his life. I'm guilty of only having been born to the bitter tyrant.I press my face against the dingy wallpaper inside my run-down trailer tucked away in a corner. My heart pounds with an all too familiar dread, despite having endured this scene many times in my life. It's all burned into my body, like muscle memory.The sound of his heavy footsteps echoes outside with the uneven crunch of gravel under Deadrick Pride's stumbling gait. He's here for me, fueled by the liquor that consumes his inhibitions and ignites his rage.The trailer, my paper-thin sanctuary, closes in around me. Its walls, worn and rusted, bear the scars of countless altercations. The only physical evidence remaining of the many wounds inflicted by my father, my family, my pack. The half-broken windows allow slivers of moon