A New Kind of Family #8
“Of course not, baby,” he soothed, kissing me gently. “Huxley was fighting dirty. I can’t take on eleven trained fighters at once. But I’ll be damned if I was going to tap out and let him win. You are my mate, and the only way he was getting his hands on you was over my dead body.”
His admission only made the tears fall harder, and he wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tight.
I could’ve lost him tonight. I could have lost this chance. All because of ignorant, power-hungry wolves who don’t know when to leave well enough alone.
“Hush, baby,” he whispered. “It’s all over now. My wounds have practically healed, and you’re in my arms. I told you, we can get through anything together.” He placed a soft kiss to my brow.
“I didn’t even realize you could use your gift like that.”
“I didn’t either,” I admitted. “I’ve never done that before.”
“We may need to explore this ability of yours further,” he murmured. “Especially now that the pack is aware of it.”
“The pack?!” I squeaked, my body stiffening. “Why would the pack know anything about my amplification?”
“Shade, they’ve seen me fight before,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m good, but not that good. They’ll want answers. I think it’s best we tell them what you can do.”
“You want to tell the pack?” I asked nervously.
“Yes. You’re going to be their luna. They should know how powerful you are,” he replied.
Thunder Moon had been ready to cast me out once they discovered my connection to their heightened emotions. It was only my mother’s will that kept them from doing so. Harvest Moon was more accepting, but would they be that welcoming to something like this?
“I don’t know,” I muttered hesitantly.
“Trust me. I promise nothing bad will come of it,” he swore. “I mean, you just used your gift to save their alpha. If anything, they’ll be grateful.”
“What if they’re afraid that I’ll try to manipulate them or something?”
“You’re my mate and their luna. They’ll have to trust that you have their best interests at heart and won’t do anything to harm them,” he said with a shrug.
“If it makes you feel better, we can reveal what happened slowly. Start with some of the high-ranking wolves before telling the rest of the pack.”
I nodded.
“Okay. I’ll call a meeting tomorrow. I swear you have nothing to worry about though. Everything will be fine.” He gave me a salacious look. “In the meantime, I’d very much like to hear that breathy way you say my name one more time tonight.”
He pulled me closer, kissing me passionately as he rolled over me.
Girl Talk
SHADE
I sat in front of my vanity as Taffy talked about different looks as she pinned and curled my hair, but admittedly, I was more than a little distracted. I couldn’t stop thinking about everything Caelan and I had done last night.
I flushed as I thought about the way his hands had felt on my body. He’d been so careful, sweet, and attentive last night, making me feel things I’d never felt before, things I didn’t know I could feel.
I stared at my reflection, biting my lip and realizing that I was eager to do it again.
“Uh, Taffy,” I asked hesitantly. “Could I, uh, ask you a question?”
“Of course,” she quipped as she continued braiding.
“I was just wondering,” I started as I fidgeted awkwardly. “What do…uh…what do men like?”
She paused as if considering her answer. “It depends on the guy really. Men like lots of things. Sports, fast cars, beautiful women, superheroes, video games, hunting. Why do you ask?”
“No… I don’t mean like what interests them.” I blushed furiously. “I meant like…in the bedroom…you know…intimate stuff…”
A wide grin appeared on her face. “Ah, now I understand. I take it that you and Caelan got up to some fun last night?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
“Maybe,” I admitted sheepishly.
“Oh! Tell me everything! What happened? Did you enjoy it? He did, you know, get you there, right?” she asked excitedly as she dropped into the chair next to mine.
I covered my face with my hands, sure it was as red as a tomato. “Oh my Goddess, Taffy. I don’t know if I can share that with you. It’s so personal.”
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Shade,” she assured me. “It’s perfectly natural. We all have sex at some point. So, did you?”
I peeked through my fingers, nodding as Taffy squealed.
“Ah! Yes! Congrats on your first orgasm, girl!” she giggled. “How was it?”
“It was intense,” I admitted. “I never knew that I could feel like that. He made it all about me though, and I want to do something for him in return. Something that he’d really enjoy, if you catch my drift.”
“Well, each guy is different, and honestly, trying to imagine what Caelan might be into is”—she pretended to gag as I laughed—“just gross. I mean, the guy is like my brother, but I can tell you in general what seems to get them going.”
“Okay.”
“You can always start with a hand job. Most guys love that. Basically, you would grab his dick and run your hand up and down it like this,” she explained, moving her hand to show me. “But you’ve got to be gentle. You know, stroke it softly, and let him tell you if he wants a little more pressure.”
“And that feels good?”
“Yeah,” she shrugged. “You can keep going like that till he comes, or you could take things up a notch and give him a blow job.”
“A blow job?” I asked.
“Yeah, so that’s when you put it in your mouth.”
“What?! Why would I do that?” I squeaked
“Because he’ll enjoy it,” she laughed. “You might even enjoy it too. Realizing how much pleasure you can bring to your man like that is a real turn on. Whenever I give Dillon one, he’s like putty in my hands afterward.”
I shifted uncomfortably, not at all wanting to imagine my friend and her mate intimately involved like that.
“So, what do I do exactly when it's…uh, in my mouth?”
“It’s a lot like the motion with your hand,” she stated. “But you have more options to stimulate him. You can suck on it a little, tease it with your tongue, take it as deep as you can handle without gagging. Really just don’t bite it, and you should be good.”
“This is sounding more complicated than I imagined,” I huffed with a sigh. What if I mess up? I don’t want to hurt him. What if he doesn’t like it? Then what?
“You’re thinking too much about it, Shade,” Taffy said.
“Just do what feels natural. That’s the best way to handle sex.
You and Caelan can experiment and learn what you both like together.
Just be open and talk about what you like and don’t like.
I guarantee he’s going to love anything you do for him. ”
“You think?” I asked. “I don’t know anything about this kind of stuff.”
“Dillon and I were both virgins when we got together. Neither of us really knew what we were doing, but we took the time to discover our preferences together. Now we know each other’s bodies like the back of our hand.” She smiled. “You guys will get there. Trust me.”
***
There was a knock at the door a little while later, and Taffy went to open it, letting Caelan in as she gave me a mischievous grin.
“Ready for the meeting?” Caelan asked as he took my hand and kissed it gently.
I nodded, blushing furiously as all of Taffy’s advice and stories came rushing back.
“Shade, are you okay?” Caelan asked. “Not that I don’t love seeing that color on you, but your face is bright red.”
“It’s nothing,” I squeaked, trying to hide behind my other hand.
Taffy giggled, winking at me. “Shade and I were just having a little girl talk.”
Caelan gave her a confused look, and I pushed him toward the door.
“We should go, right?” I said quickly, dragging them both out into the hall. “Don’t want to be late!”
Taffy’s laughter followed us all the way down to the pack offices. When we arrived, Caelan opened the door to a small conference room.
Dillon was already seated, and Taffy bounded over to him. He waved at me with a smile, but I quickly averted my gaze. Taffy’s stories were still too fresh in my mind. Luna Maty, Alpha Leal, and Oliver joined us a moment later.
“How are you feeling this morning, Shade?” Luna Maty asked as she took the seat on the other side of me. “I know yesterday was a lot.”
“Okay, honestly. A little anxious about all of this,” I admitted, gesturing toward the table. “Maybe a little worried about what might have happened to my father.”
She patted my hand softly, giving it a gentle squeeze before settling hers back in her lap.
“First things first,” Caelan declared as everyone took their seats. “Has anyone been able to get ahold of Alpha Butch or any of the wolves from Thunder Moon?”
“I’m afraid not,” Dillon replied with a shake of his head. “We’ve been trying all morning, but our calls have been unanswered.”
“The border guard reported some activity on the Thunder Moon side. They’ve attempted to reach out but so far, no response,” Oliver added.
“I don’t like it,” Caelan muttered. “Alpha Butch wouldn’t just be a no-show to his own challenge, and he definitely wouldn’t send his enemy to fight in his place. Dark Moon taking over has been his biggest fear. He wouldn’t just hand over control like that.”
He’s right. My father isn’t one to back down from a fight, and the fact that he didn’t show up yesterday is alarming. And now no one can get a hold of anyone in the pack. What has happened to Thunder Moon?
“We could dispatch a few tau and upsilons,” Dillon suggested. “We can’t afford to be in the dark about what Alpha Huxley is up to anymore.”
Tau and upsilons were pack spies. If Caelan deployed them and they were discovered, it could be seen as an act of war.
“Do it,” Caelan confirmed. “Now to the matter at hand, I’m sure you all have questions about last night. Obviously, the challenge didn’t go as expected.” “That’s an understatement,” Dillon huffed sarcastically.
“What in the hell were they thinking?” Oliver exclaimed. “If they’d killed you, we would have retaliated.”
I whimpered. We had come much too close to that becoming a reality last night for my liking.