Chapter 38
CHAPTER 38
A shley
“I want to show you something,” Christophe says, my hand in his as he leads the way down a windy trail.
This isn’t our usual spot by the river where, for the past week, we’ve spent every night together once the pack has tucked in for the night.
It’s still quite early. The sun has just set for the day, casting a darkness over the valley where the Nightwolf pack resides. Though it’s getting dark, there’s nothing ominous about this time of day or being out here with just Christophe.
“The Supermoon Ceremony is going to start soon,” I remind him. As much as I want nothing more than to spend every waking moment with him, we still have obligations to the pack.
Tonight is one of the pack’s most esteemed events. It happens a few times throughout the year, but tonight will be the first Supermoon Ceremony I get to attend.
Ever.
For weeks I’ve wondered what it would be like to have your first shift surrounded by a loving pack instead of sociopathic guards bent on your torture and destruction. Of course, I did have Christophe there, talking me through the discomfort of my first shift.
“We have plenty of time,” he says, still facing forward, head turned away from me. Because, you know, he can’t look at me.
My heart squeezes inside of my chest. Despite the mate bond, there remains this barrier between us due to the psychological damage done by that damn Dr. X.
“What’s wrong?”
I startle from hearing Christophe’s question inside of my head.
“How do you know something’s wrong?” I ask through our bond.
“I can feel your tension.”
A small smile cracks my lips. No, we might not be able to look at one another, but no one can destroy the bond between us.
“I was just wondering what it would’ve been like to have had my first shift among the Nightwolf pack. With all of you there with me, instead of inside of that dark, dank cell.”
Christophe squeezes my hand.
“What?” I squeak when he pulls me in front of him. “Keep your eyes closed,” I order, my free hand flailing to find his face to cover his eyes.
“I’m fine,” he says at the same time he traps my other hand in his grasp. He brings both of my arms around my body as he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me into his body from behind.
“This is what I wanted to show you.” He tightens his hold around my waist while dropping his chin to my shoulder. His long hair tickles as it brushes against my neck.
“Look up,” he says just above a whisper.
I didn’t even realize that I’d been trying to catch a glimpse of his profile. And if I’m not imagining things, I could swear he actually caught sight of my profile since his eyes are open.
Nonetheless, I turn my head toward where he’s just indicated, and my breath hitches.
“This is one of the best spots to see the supermoon in all of her glory,” he says, reverie in his voice. “The pack usually comes up here during the run they go on after the pups have had their first shift. To howl at the moon.
“When I was younger, I used to come up here by myself before each Supermoon Ceremony.”
“Why?” I ask.
He shrugs before pulling me even tighter into his embrace. “To ask Mother Moon to watch over the new pups. To ask for safety and prosperity for our pack. A permanent end to the wars and strife of the pack. To ask my mom if she was proud of me.”
“I can answer that last one for you.” I raise my hand to cover his eyes before spinning to face him.
“Yeah?”
I nod, although he can’t see it. “Yes. I know she’s proud of you.”
Christophe doesn’t immediately respond to that. His lips, though, fall into a flat line, as if he’s contemplating.
“She’s proud of the way you took responsibility for your mistakes, apologized, and you’re doing everything to right the wrongs of your past. It’s easy to love someone who’s never made an error or mistake in their life. It takes an especially loving soul to recognize when someone has repented from their past behavior and truly regrets it. No one who’s come in contact with you in the past few months can deny that you’ve made that change.”
“You didn’t know me before …” He trails off.
“I’m pretty sure, on some level, I’ve always known you,” I reply without hesitation.
That makes him smile. Christophe wraps his long fingers around my wrist and gently moves my hand away from his face. He keeps his eyes closed at the same time he lowers his forehead to mine.
“There’s not a lot in this life that I’m certain of,” he begins. “The first is that Mother Moon exists. And the second is that she brought me to you. To be your protector when you needed me. And that in a different world, a different time, had I made different choices we’d be together for the rest of eternity.”
“Why does it have to be a different world?—”
He cuts my question off with his lips covering mine. I want to finish my train of thought, to ask him why things have to be different in order for us to be together for a lifetime, but the kiss is too consuming.
I give in to the kiss and his embrace. Especially when I feel his hardness pressing against my stomach. A moan escapes my lips. Somehow, that must encourage Christophe, because suddenly his hands are everywhere on my body.
In the back of my mind, I desire to remind him to keep his eyes closed, or to ask for the blindfold he said he brought with him, but the words fail to emerge from my mouth.
It only takes a matter of minutes before he’s completely stripped me of the long skirt and off-the-shoulder, ruffle shirt I’d chosen to wear for the Supermoon Ceremony. Then, suddenly, the warmth from Christophe’s body disappears.
I blink my eyes open to see him carefully folding my clothes and setting them aside.
“Thank you,” I murmur.
He turns back to me, but I notice his eyes are open.
“Close your eyes.” As soon as I utter the words, he snaps them shut. That nagging feeling that’s meant to tell me something happens at the back of my mind, but I don’t have time to pay it any attention when Christophe wraps me up in his long arms again.
He kisses a line down my body, starting at my lips, my chin, my throat, chest, in between my breasts, down my belly, and finally he presses the sweetest kiss to the top of my mound.
My body lights up with a fire that should frighten me … if I hadn’t experienced it before. Yet, it’s become a familiar companion ever since Christophe and I kissed for the very first time.
“Wait,” I tell him when he moves to lift my leg over his shoulder. “I want you in my mouth.”
Christophe slowly rises to his feet again. “Ashley, you don’t have to— Shit!” His refusal turns into a barked curse when I drop to my knees and begin fisting his large shaft.
I remember to open my mouth wide enough to avoid skimming his cock with my teeth. First, however, I use the drop of precum at the tip to moisten the rest of his cock with my tongue. Christophe’s body tightens the moment I take him fully into my mouth.
When I slowly pull back, his hands go to either side of my head. Afraid he’s going to try to pull me off of him, I move my hands to his waist, gripping tightly onto his taut ass, anchoring me to him while I blow him with my mouth.
But he doesn’t try to pull me away. Instead, his hands fist in my braids, slightly tugging, but not to get free. I start to bob my head, licking and sucking his cock like a lollipop.
Never have I wanted to do this with any other man. And I know without a doubt that I never will. Not for as long as I live can I imagine giving this much of myself to any other person.
Christophe is completely and utterly mine and I am completely and totally his.
“I-I’m going to come,” he says.
I’m not certain if that was meant to be some sort of warning to ward me off, but I increase my pace, rushing him toward his inevitable break. My mouth waters with the anticipation of the taste of his come on my tongue.
I don’t have to wait long. Soon enough, Christophe lets out a groan that causes my nipples to harden and my pussy lips to clench, as he comes in my mouth.
While my intention is to swallow every single drop, he never gives me the chance. Christophe pulls himself out of my mouth, and in the blink of any eye, he has me sprawled out on my back, his body covering mine as he slides inside of me.
My pussy greedily welcomes him home. We both sigh in relief together. He moves like a wild man over top of me. Wrapping my arms and legs firmly around his taut body, I bury my face into the crook of his neck.
I inhale deeply, savoring his scent, our scents mixed together to create a better, more fragrant third scent that’s uniquely ours.
“I love you,” I tell him through our bond, unable to communicate the words with my mouth.
“Mine!” he grunts out in my head. “ Love you so fucking much. I’m sorry.”
I don’t have time to ask him what he’s sorry for because his lips soon cover mine, pushing out any coherent thoughts.
All I can think of is how right this feels.
How perfect we are together.
And how there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to be by his side for the rest of my life.
We come together in a series of grunts, moans and I love yous .
It takes us a while to come down from our orgasms, way too long.
“You should redress. The ceremony will take place soon,” he says while running his hand through my braided hair as I lay with my head on his chest.
“What if?—”
“No,” he replies adamantly. “You will not miss tonight’s ceremony. It’s your first supermoon.”
“But you’re not coming.”
Even though I told him how many pack members asked me if he was planning on attending the Supermoon Ceremony, he insisted that his presence wouldn’t be wanted there. No matter how many times I tried to tell him that wasn’t true, he was adamant that he didn’t belong.
“I’ll be right here,” he assures me. “After the ceremony, when you come running up that hill with the rest of the pack, my wolf will be waiting for you. We’ll howl at the moon together.”
My wolf goes crazy inside of my chest.
“She likes that,” I tell him.
He chuckles. “So does he,” he replies, referring to his wolf.
Christophe lifts my hand to his lips, kissing the outside of my palm. “Go. We’ll be waiting for you.”
More reluctant than any other chore I’ve had to do in my life, I rise from his body and move to my folded pile of clothes. I dress with deliberate slowness, hating to be away from him for even a moment.
Wrestling behind me tells me that Christophe’s risen to his feet, but he doesn’t give me time to spin around to face him. His hands move to my waist, fastening the button at the back of my skirt to hold it in place.
He takes my shirt from my hands. “Arms up.”
I do as asked, and he lowers the shirt over my head and arms. When I’m fully dressed, he drops a kiss to the top of my shoulder.
“I’ll be here when you get back,” he promises.
“Good,” I say through our bond. “ Then we can talk about how we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.”
Before he can reply, I spin around, cover his eyes, and press a kiss to his lips. Then I turn and hurry down the hill, not giving him a chance to respond to my last comment.
What Christophe doesn’t realize is that I’ve already come to the conclusion that there’s no chance on Mother Moon’s earth that I’ll allow us to be separated. And I’ve already spoken to Dr. Drake about how we can fix the psychological damage done.
There are therapies we can try to erase those terrible torture memories and make it so Christophe and I can live as the mates we were intended to be.
I’ll give him the details later. For now, I rush down to get to the field where the Supermoon Ceremony is held. All of the pack members are in attendance. At the center of the large circle stands Chael and Reese.
I go through the entire ceremony, paying attention and even applauding at the appropriate moment for the new pups. I participate when I’m officially welcomed into the Nightwolf pack and asked to join the new shifters, even though it’s not my first shift. I agree to it all, but at the back of my mind all I can think about is Christophe at the top of the hill, waiting for me.
This is the moment when the rest of the pack will join us, and I’ll remind them all of the good in him. I’ll remind them that he’s a part of us, and if they can’t remember that truth, then I’ll have to tell the entire pack that there’s no place for me either.
It’s difficult to discern how long it takes for all of us to start off on our pack run—the first run in their wolf form for the five newly shifted pups. Reese and Ms. Elsie stay back with the remaining minors who can’t shift, along with a few of the betas for protection.
Anxious, I race toward the front of the pack, noticing as Emery eyes me suspiciously. I note to myself that I need to talk to her as soon as possible, as well. But for now, that can wait.
I continue to run, barely able to keep up with the speed of Chael and the other more powerful wolves of the pack, but I do my best because Christophe’s waiting for us. For me.
But when we get to the top of the hill, he’s not there.