Chapter 18 - Elle
Elle thought she knew what it felt like to be with Silas. The first night they spent together was full of lust and desire. But this was different.
This Silas, hovering over her with reverence in his eyes, and his hands trembling a little, as he touched her. Like she was a precious treasure. That was him murmuring her name over and over again, confessing his love and kissing her.
This was what making love felt like, and it was much more overwhelming than Elle could have imagined.
Silas had eventually taken her into his bedroom and put her down on his bed gently. He had taken his sweet time, kissing every inch of flesh he saw, uttering words of adoration that made Elle's eyes burn with tears.
“So beautiful,” Silas murmured against her skin, trailing kisses down her stomach. “Perfect. Mine.”
“Yours.” The word spilled out before she could retract it.
Silas's eyes flashed with something fierce, possessive, and tender. “Say it again.”
“I'm yours,” Elle whispered.
Silas groaned and mapped out her body with his hands and mouth, like an expert.
When he finally found his way between her thighs, Elle was so needy that she was trembling, and her body ached to have him. It was so much more than physical desire.
“Please,” she breathed. “Silas, please.”
“I’ve got you,” he positioned himself at her entrance, rubbing himself with her slick. “I'll always have you.”
Then he slowly thrust inside, so slowly that Elle wanted to scream with frustration. But Silas held her hips still, keeping the pace gentle and measured despite the tension she could see in every line of his body.
“Look at me,” he commanded softly.
Elle met his gaze, and what she saw almost destroyed her.
Love. Absolute, pure, naked love.
Silas gave her a slow, deep thrust that made Elle's back arch off the bed. “I love you, Elle. Every part of you. Everything you are.”
Elle raised her hands and rubbed her thumb against his cheekbones. “Silas…”
“You don't need to say it back.” his hips found a rhythm, and his balls slowly slapped against her ass. “I just need you to know it and feel it.”
And God, Elle could feel it. In all the soft strokes, the soft touches, and the kisses he peppered on her forehead, cheeks, and lips.
This wasn't just sex. This was him showing her how deeply he loved her.
“This feels different,” Elle moaned loudly as Silas adjusted and changed the angle, thrusting somewhere deep inside that it sent stars flashing behind her eyelids.
“That was me fucking you,” he growled. “This is me claiming you.”
Elle wrapped her legs around his ass and pulled him closer. He moaned and dropped his forehead against hers.
“Fuck, you feel so good. Perfect. Like you were made for me.”
“Maybe I was.”
It seemed like the words had an effect on Silas. He crashed his mouth against hers, their tongues meeting in a colliding mess as his hips moved even faster. His hands cradled her face like she was delicate, his body covering hers protectively.
Elle had never felt so cherished. So valued. So loved.
“Touch yourself,” Silas said against her lips.
Elle placed her finger between their bodies. The bundle of nerves was already tingling with need. Silas groaned as she touched herself and whimpered.
“That’s it,” he encouraged her. “Take what you need, love. Use me.”
Elle moved her fingers, and the pleasure grew in waves that rose higher and higher. Silas watched her with so much love that Elle could feel tears at the corners of her eyes.
“Are you close?”
“Yes,” Elle gasped. “So close.”
“Look at me when you come. I want to see you.”
Elle's eyes locked with his as her orgasm crashed over her. She cried out, her inner walls clenching around Silas, her whole body trembling with the intensity of it.
“Fuck, Elle,” Silas groaned. “You're so beautiful when you come. So perfect.”
He continued to thrust deeper and harder in pursuit of his own orgasm. Elle clung to him, raking her nails down his back, eager to make him feel the way he just made her feel.
“Come for me,” Elle whispered. “I want to feel you.”
Silas buried his face into her neck and groaned, knotting inside her. Breathing heavily, Silas kissed her shoulder, collarbone, and jaw. “I love you.”
Elle felt like her heart was expanding beyond what her ribs could contain.
She wasn't ready to say the words back, or if what she felt was love or just the beginning of it.
But she knew with certainty that Silas had changed.
That he wasn't the boy who'd bullied her, but a man who was trying every day to be better.
And she was also beginning to fall in love with a man despite all her efforts to resist.
“You are different now,” Elle said, rubbing his back gently. “You're not like the Silas I once knew. Or thought I knew.”
Silas raised his head and looked at her. “No, I'm not. And I shall continue to show that to you as long as it takes.”
“I know you will.” Elle pulled him down into a soft kiss. “I can see it already.”
They stayed in bed together for a while, tangled up in each other. At some point, Silas proposed that they take a shower and dress up. There was a pack party tonight, and he wanted Elle to attend.
“Why?”
They were both under the hot spray, with Silas washing her hair.
“Because I am making some changes,” Silas explained. “And I want you to be there when I announce them.”
Elle turned to look at him. “What kind of changes?”
Silas smiled, and there was a glint of mischief in his eyes. “You'll see.”
An hour later, Elle was standing with Silas in the pack's meeting hall, her stomach fluttering with nerves. The whole pack was there. Wolf shifters occupied every seat, staring at the Alpha and his mate.
Silas grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers. Then he came forward. “Thank you all for coming,” his voice easily rose above everyone. “I have summoned this meeting to inform you about some amendments to our pack laws.”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
“As you all know, my father made most of the rules that we now follow, and though some of those rules have been for our good, most are out of date, cruel, and based on prejudice that no longer serve our best interests.”
The murmurs grew louder. Silas waited until they had subsided.
“I'm revoking the law that prohibits relations with foreigners. I am declaring it effective immediately. Should one of the pack members develop a bond with anyone not part of our community, be it a shifter or a human, or any other kind, that bond will be accepted and honored. As long as the relationship is consensual and the outsider is ready to become a part of the pack life, he or she will be welcomed.”
There was a moment of silence in the hall. Then wolves started speaking simultaneously, some of them excited, some worried, some clearly angry.
“That's not all,” Silas cut through the noise. “I have another rule I am enforcing. Those who harm or bully them will be punished severely. Humans will no longer be considered inferior. This pack will respect them and treat them as equals.”
The hall erupted with questions, objections, and support. Silas tightened his grip around Elle and gave her a quick side glance.
He was really doing this. He was breaking centuries of laws because of her.
“I know there are sudden changes, and I know some of you disagree. However, I am not seeking your approval. This is how it will be under my leadership. We will no longer operate under prejudice. I am not like my Father, so I suggest you accept this.”
He glanced at each wolf. “I remain determined to defend this pack and make us prosper. But I will not do it on the same basis of hatred and cruelty that my father adopted. We're better than that. We can be better than that.”
Slowly, wolves began nodding. Not all of them. But enough.
“Now,” his tone grew lighter.
Silas said, his tone lightening. “Since we're all here, and since I've given you all something serious to reflect upon, let's turn this meeting into a celebration. We haven't had one in a while. We need to remember what it is like to be a community.”
The tension in the room broke. Wolves began chattering with excitement, and within several minutes, members of the pack were arranging tables with food, the others were preparing music, and kids were running around screaming with joy.
Silas drew Elle closer and kissed her temple. “Thank you.”
“For what?” Elle asked.
“For inspiring me to be better and showing me that change can happen.” Silas smiled down at her. “You've made me a better Alpha. A better man.”
Elle smiled. “I guess I have.”
“Come on,” he took her to the middle of the hall. “Dance with me.”
“I don't dance.”
“Neither do I. We'll figure it out together.”
And they did. They danced clumsily, laughing at each other. The hall was filled with so much joy and happiness. Elle found herself enjoying this interaction with everyone.
Sara interrupted them and pulled Elle into a hug, crying about how proud she was of Silas. Rael lifted a glass in their direction, and Javi looked…glad.
The pack members approached her throughout the evening, some to congratulate her, some asking about the human world, and some thanking her for inspiring the Alpha to make those changes.
Not everyone was happy, though. Some remained on the other side of the hall, glaring. Older traditional wolves did not look pleased. But most of the pack seemed fine with it, and that was all that mattered.
After a while, Elle and Silas found themselves at the back of the hall, watching their pack interact, laugh, and enjoy themselves.
“They're happy,” Elle observed.
“They are. Change is horrifying, but it's very important.” Silas grabbed her by the waist. “Thank you for being here. For standing with me.”
“I think I—”
A force so strong that it made Elle gasp. Something pure and electric flowed through her veins. It was nothing like she had ever experienced before.
“Elle?” Silas frowned, grabbing her by the shoulders. “What's wrong?”
Elle squeezed his hand. She could not say it here, in the presence of the whole pack. But she had to make him realize.
“My magic,” her voice was low enough that no one but Silas would hear. “It's here. I can feel it.”
Silas's eyes widened. “Right now?”
“Right now. It's like...” Elle struggled to find words. “Like it had been sleeping and just woke up. Like it's fully manifested.”
“Can you control it?”
Elle focused inward, reaching for that well of power. To her amazement, it responded immediately, flowing through her like water instead of the scattered, chaotic visions she'd been experiencing.
“I think so,” she breathed. “I think I am really able to control it now, Silas.”
Silas's face split into a grin. “That's incredible. Elle, that—” he paused, glancing around. “We should test it out. But not here.”
“Later,” Elle agreed. “After everyone leaves.”
However, as she mentioned it, Elle could feel her magic pulsing within her, ready to be used. She couldn't wait to see what it would show her. How it could help to trace the trafficking ring, to eventually be the one thing they needed to rescue those women.
She didn't know if it fully manifested because of the emotional reconciliation with Silas, their lovemaking, or the changes he had declared to the pack. And if she was being honest, she didn't care.
It was all irrelevant to her. Her magic was here at last. Finally, here to do as she pleased.
And she was going to make a difference with it.