Chapter Fifteen
Aurora ran down the steps of their home, nearly stumbling down the final flight. “Savage,” she yelled.
Trystina appeared from a side door leading from the formal dining room. Her eyes widened with shock. “Aurora, is everything okay?”
“Have you seen Savage?” she asked, stumbling to a halt in front of the vampire female.
Inside the dining room, several members of the clan were sitting around the large table eating dinner or second dinner, whatever the fuck they called it.
She scanned the space for her mate. “Dammit, I’ve been trying to reach Savage for the last five minutes, and he’s blocking me. Where the fuck is he?”
Her yell made every being in the room turn toward her, their eyes turning red with shock.
Oakey flashed to her side. “Is something wrong?”
“My sister wants to return here. She says she needs to hear from Savage first that it’s okay.
I can’t get him to respond to me, and it’s been two months since I’ve actually seen her.
I swear, she sounds so much older, more mature than—it’s stupid, I know, but I need him to fucking respond to me now, not in five minutes.
” Aurora was on the verge of stomping her foot like a toddler.
The sound of male laughter brought her head around, eyes narrowing as she moved with slow precision toward the sound.
“Oh, shit. Someone is in trouble,” Trystan muttered.
Aurora ignored the others as she stalked down the hall and into her mate's office. Inside the large room, she found him and Scepter leaning on one another, smelling of alcohol.
“Are you both drunk?” she asked.
Savage squinted and then grinned. “Aurora, the only female I will ever love. Guess what?”
Scepter elbowed him. “Ah, Boss, I think she can guess and isn’t very happy.”
“I make my female very happy.” Savage scowled.
“Goodness. Please tell me whatever you drank wears off quickly because I need my Savage, who is sane, back quickly,” she said.
Her wolf side prowled restlessly beneath her skin, needing to break free and run off some of the energy she’d bottled up.
There was something about watching Savage drunk, felt wrong to her wolf.
“About a half hour, give or take five minutes,” Scepter said, breaking into her thoughts.
She cocked her head to the side, eyeing the two males. “I’m going for a run. If he,” she pointed at Savage. “Sobers up while I’m gone, tell him to reach out to me.”
Her wolf stirred within, as if she were aware of how much Aurora needed to get away.
Between one step and the next, she shifted into the white wolf.
The vampires who’d been standing outside the door, listening, jumped back and gave her room to sprint down the hall.
At the massive double doors leading to the outside, she flashed through them instead of waiting for someone to open them.
She’d mastered several things while living with Savage thanks to Jenna’s quick tutorial.
Shifting without ripping up clothing and flashing from one place to another, as long as she’d been there, wasn’t a problem.
Her wolf ran around the large estate until she reached the woods in the back. Once she entered, Aurora tilted her head back and shook the trees with an ear-splitting howl, scattering dozens of wildlife in the area. Her wolf wanted to run, to hunt, to find a sense of...peace.
Luckily, she had time to allow her wolf this mini-temper tantrum. The last thing she needed was to rip Savage to shreds with her wolven claws out of anger. Of course, he would heal, but she’d prefer a civil reunion.
By the time she’d run for almost a half hour, her wolf had calmed. She began circling back toward the estate, hoping Savage would be feeling more like his sober self.
When she reached the edge of the clearing next to the backyard, she saw a tall figure standing by one of the trees. His silhouette was unmistakable to her wolfen eyes.
She shifted back into her human form several feet in front of him. Goosebumps rose on her exposed skin despite her naturally warm body temperature.
Aurora paused before she could take another step. Flashes of memories hit her as he stepped under the moonlight. His impossibly handsome face looked even more gorgeous.
“Good evening, my love. How was your run?”
“Mmm, lovely. How about yours?” she asked through clenched teeth, needing to hear him explain himself.
Savage took a step toward her, followed by another. “You’re mad at me.”
She didn’t refute the statement. The problem was, he looked pained by her anger, which made her want to wrap him in a reassuring embrace.
“What happened?” she needed to understand why he’d gotten drunk, how he’d gotten drunk, and why he’d blocked her.
SAVAGE’S CHEST TIGHTENED with apprehension. He’d hated himself once he’d sobered up and realized his female was hurting because of his actions. His stupidity contradicted everything he’d vowed to Aurora.
“You must be aware I hate bringing you into the business side of my shit, Vita Mea. However, tonight we were given intelligence which happened to shed light on who the men we executed two months ago had tried to double-cross us with. We had to drink a little more than usual with individuals who are, shall we say, not the best of men.” Savage fantasized about taking the fuckers heads right then and there, but Scepter showed a sense of restraint and pushed him to do the same.
Apprehension forced him to pull back, but he hated leaving the bastards alive when killing all of them wouldn’t have given him pause normally.
Aurora swallowed hard. “You were in danger?”
He eliminated the scant space between them—needing to be closer to her overrode the fact she wanted him to allow her to set the pace. “Never, my love. We were surrounded by a bunch of fucking idiots, but I will admit, we weren’t prepared for them to have laced alcohol.”
“What do you mean, laced alcohol?” She pressed her hands against his chest.
Savage pulled her in closer, ignoring the snarl his female let loose. Oh, he liked his feisty female.
He bent and licked her neck, scraping his fangs across her pulse. Her honey-and-vanilla scent flared, filling his senses. “It takes a lot to get our kind inebriated. I’m not sure how they knew what to put into the cocktail, but suffice it to say, adding liquid silver into wine will do it.”
She sucked in a breath. “Won’t silver kill you?”
“If I were a normal vampire, maybe, but as you can see, I’m fine. I need you, though.”
“What do you need?”
He lifted her off the ground. “Wrap your legs around me, Vita Mea.”
“I want a shower.”
Savage flashed them into their primary suite, chuckling at her gasp of surprise.
Her sweet scent filled the entire room as he settled her onto the floor.
He flicked her hair off her neck, nipped the delicate flesh there, and tasted her sweet blood.
Her murmur of need made his own even stronger, tinged with something darker.
A dark, protective instinct drove him to seal the small wound without taking too much. His beast roared, wanting more.
“Are you going to take a shower with me?” she asked, blinking up at him.
Savage walked them backward into the large, custom shower enclosure once he summoned the water on. Next, he set the lights to a soft, warm glow. “What body wash would my lady like this evening?”
“Hmm, so you’re going to shower with me, and you are going to make sure I have all the girly scents I desire?”
He backed her into the center of the shower, making sure she didn’t get hit with too strong a spray. “It is my duty as your mate. I can’t in good conscience allow you to do all this by yourself in your condition.”
“What are you talking about. What condition?” she asked.
He could hear her heart thumping so hard and fast, he was surprised he couldn’t see her chest moving with how it beat.
“You just said you were exhausted after your long run through the woods.” The door swooshed shut, closing them in as steam rose around them—an invisible cocoon giving them a sense of peace where nothing outside could intrude.
“I’m pretty sure I never said such a thing,” she sighed.
He reached for a luffa, squirted vanilla and cinnamon-scented soap onto it, then rubbed it between his palms until he’d created a considerable amount of soapy foam. “I can’t, in good conscience, let you take a shower without supervision.”
He took a step forward, crossing to her, which made her take a step back.
“Are you running from me, Vita Mea?” he asked, his voice suddenly dropping an octave.
Her head tilted to the side. “What?”
“You appear to be running from me,” he rasped.
“Oh, I would never. I just...”
“You just thought you’d make it easier for me to do this?
” Savage bought the soapy luffa up, showed her his intentions as he ran the fluffy mess from her right shoulder down the front of her body and back up, holding her gaze.
He repeated the action, keeping the touch light.
“Turn around, my love. Hands on the wall.”
His female did as he instructed as he did his mately duty, washing her backside as thoroughly as he did her front. He dropped the soapy sponge, using his hands as he reached her firm ass. “Goddess, I love your body almost as much as I love you, Aurora.”
“I love how you think you’re doing your mately duty by washing my ass.” She grinned over her shoulder at him.
He returned her look with a smile that promised a lot more than washing. “Well, it’s only right I take care of you after putting you through what I did this evening.”
“Why does the mention of you taking care of me make me want you to do more than wash me?”