Right.I slept on his sheets last night, where I woke with a gasp after an alarming dream of the two of us naked and tangled beneath them. His rough hands along my thighs, my breasts . . . it felt real enough that the room was sweltering as a silver beam of moonlight penetrated the darkness.
Traitor, I hissed at the orb.
A low simmer flickers deep within my core. “I thought about you while you were gone.”
Axe cups my cheeks, letting his thumb smudge my lips, testing their softness. “Did you, now?”
Would he flip, knowing that I sought pleasure in his bed? That my cries of his name echoed in the dark? Would that be enough to shield me from the consequences of concealing the truth from him?
My mouth goes dry. Not a chance. “I thought—I know there’s a decent chance you might send me away, after learning who I really am. Or better yet, kill me.”
Wistful eyes search mine desperately.
As his mouth parts, a sudden knock on the door breaks us apart. “Sorry to interrupt . . . whatever this is,” Nell says, struggling to hold a straight face. “Your sister is on the phone. You know how demanding she is when she wants updates.”
The Alpha runs a hand through his mane. “About the mission?”
“She may be a Silverback now, but she still has access to our local paper. Tukkon Motors made the front page on Sunday.”
“Of course it did,” Axe groans.
Axe’s businessoccupies him entirely for the rest of the day, crammed with back-to-back calls with Demi. Unfortunately, there’s still no word from Dr. Caulder, the lycan who took samples of my blood—a growing concern that irritates Maurleen immensely.
Late into the evening, Axe holds a dinner at Lupine Manor to brief the pack officials on the fallout of their mission at theUgruk Circle. In turn, Nell informs the group of Alpha Paul’s stunt. I listen as they recount the events, wondering at what point someone is going to state the obvious: the Skornokovys’ task force must be compromised.
My attention rekindles when Jabir asks if Axe will be joining his sister for their annual birthday hunt the day after tomorrow. Scratching his neck, he declines. Exhaustion paints his features, bearing down on his sluggish posture.
“No wonder she gave me an earful on the phone,” Nell whispers to me. “Demi hates when people try to take a raincheck on pack traditions. This one time, she broke into the house and dragged Dom out by his?—”
Qinnu’s face takes a feverish tint. His nose is still purple, and despite Cora’s best efforts to set it, the bridge remains stubbornly crooked. “I’m sorry, but are we going to just sit here and ignore the fact that we’re about to go to war over ahuman?”
Suddenly, my face is burning the same color. Under the table, Axe’s hand finds my knee.
“What the hell’s gotten into you?” Tesni growls.
“She’s been lying to us,” Qinnu argues. “For weeks.Weeks, when we could’ve been?—"
“Standdown, Lorray.” Lightning pulses in Axe’s eyes as he cuts them off, striking down their escalating tempers. “Now is not the time for airing grievances.”
The rest of the evening is spent in strained small talk or silence. Axe is the first to leave, stomping away without another word. One by one, the others excuse themselves until I am left alone with a pit in my stomach, souring with thoughts that perhaps my presence here has already doomed my mate and everyone he has sworn to protect.
Axe
My feet stagger into my shadowy bedroom. But the bourbon on my breath isn’t to blame. It’s the smell. This isn’t the first time I’ve detected the trace of my mate in my quarters, but this—this I can almost taste. Sweat. Jasmine. Pure desire. There, lingering on the duvet, is the smallest drop to prove it.
Kneeling beside the bed, my cock strains so tight I can’t breathe. Closing my eyes, my augment dials in, conjuring the image of her here, angelic beneath the glow of the full moon. Legs spread wide. Lips mouthing my name. Her hands, pretending they are mine.Mine.
Gods be damned.
I was wrong before, about the raspberry taste. And it’s all can think about. The feel of her tongue as it slid against mine and the sickly-sweet nectar of plums invading my senses. Now all I want is to sink my teeth into one, to feel its juices trickle down my chin.
Water pelts my shoulders under the showerhead, but I pay no mind to the scalding stream. I take myself in my own hand over and over, chasing the thrill of what I’d fucking kill to experience right this second—wringing out every drop of pleasure between her thighs and claiming her neck with my aching teeth. Finally calling hermine.
When I collapse into bed, my arms are numb, my mind completely wiped. And just as I’d hoped, I dream of her.
In a cool chamber of cobblestone, silver chains bind me to a dais. Thunder cracks, lightning briefly illuminating the night sky. The flash startles me, and I flinch in searing pain. My hands and bare feet have been burned raw.
What the—how long have I been here? What is this place?
