Chapter 11
Effie Harlow
Iwasn’t positive what woke me up, but it didn’t feel like I’d been sleeping for long before my eyes opened to watch the flames from our campfire flash light across the ceiling of the cave.
Groggy, I picked my head up to look around at my sleeping mates, trying to gather myself and establish where I was.
The shadowlands. How could I forget?
There was no way I could forget who I was with though.
No, my wolf and I were constantly connected to my mates now, even in a state of sleep.
Tore and Dakota were on either side of me, the first spread out and turned towards the fire, protectively shielding me, and the other had his head buried against the back of my neck, his arm wrapped securely around my waist. Sleeping on a rocky cave floor with only a blanket wasn’t exactly comfortable, but somehow I’d managed to sleep deeply and without dreams even if for a short amount of time, leaving me feeling oddly alert as I began to wake up fully.
As I gathered my bearings, my magic reached out to Caedmon and Ryder nearby, both of them sleeping deeply as well. Good.
Where was Julian though?
Sitting up slowly, wincing at the dull muscle ache I had from horseback riding, I adjusted the oversized shirt that Ruby had packed for me to sleep in.
Thank the goddess, because I can’t imagine having to sleep in those leather pants.
I hugged myself and rubbed my arms, missing the warmth from my mates, and looked around the cave, seeing four handsome faces highlighted in the burning campfire.
But Julian was nowhere in sight.
Carefully standing and stepping from between my two mates, I was relieved when I looked towards the front of the cave and found Julian keeping watch.
He seemed to be caught in thought as a flash of lightning lit his muscular frame, making me realize he wasn’t wearing a shirt.
I would never complain about that, but I did find myself concerned he would be cold…
Walking towards him, I realized just how far back we’d moved to shelter ourselves from the storm, and I was thankful we’d found the seemingly perfect resting place.
While the storm had lightened through the course of the night, it was still raining fairly heavily.
Another flash of lighting revealed the plain we’d just traveled across.
I bet it’d be stunning from this vantage point especially on a clear night or sunny day.
It was neither of those right now though, and the storm almost made me feel like we were in a protected cocoon.
When I reached the entrance of the cave and Julian turned to offer me a curious look, I felt a sense of exhilaration from the breeze that rolled over my skin. I did hope the storm calmed down before morning…but for now it didn’t bother me.
“I didn’t expect you to get up,” Julian said, tucking me into his side.
Looking out over the stormy plain, I realized that everything about this place and my time here was surreal.
What would old Effie think of this? I don’t think I could have even conceived a place like this, let alone imagined I would be here.
“What’s on your mind, preciosa?” Julian asked.
“Just thinking about how different…well, all of this is. How the last time I experienced a rainstorm like this would’ve been back at the Whitepaw Pack with Gerald and Theresa and how different life was then.
” A deep rumble pulled from Julian’s throat at the mention of my former ‘guardians’’ names, and he brushed his lips over the top of my head.
“I used to look at the moon and think about how lonely I was. I wondered if anyone else was as lonely as me,” I whispered. “But now when I see the moon, loneliness is the last thing I think of.”
Julian tilted my chin up gently. “Every time you look at the moon, I want you to see it as a reminder of everything to come and not what happened in the past.”
Loving the intense affection in his golden gaze, I pressed forward to kiss him, his quick tug on my hips landing me straddling him. The faintest drizzle of rain hit my skin when the wind shifted, and it only had me leaning further into him to avoid getting wet, brushing my lips against his.
“I don’t think I could ever view it the same,” I said as he ran a hand over my jaw and down my throat, the touch both soft and commanding, even when he ran this thumb over my bitten mark—or what I thought had been my bitten mark.
“The five of you haven’t just changed my perspective on life, Julian—you’ve changed everything. My entire future.”
“You are my entire future.”
Julian’s words had my entire body warming as I slammed my lips against his in a hot, deep kiss, his rough growl crawling over my skin and making me shiver.
When he touched me, I couldn’t help but melt into his embrace, his tongue sliding against my lips as he deepened the kiss and demanded more—always more.
It was so easy to give into his natural dominance that was hidden by a veil of something lighter.
I loved both sides of Julian, but right now I craved the wilder side of him.
And my wolf agreed, because it wasn’t just us doing this dance—our wolves were as well, and the way they seemed instinctively connected, moving around one another in an intoxicating way had my magic lighting up and covering myself and Julian.
Coffin’s magic intertwined with ours as well, my own delighted by its savage appearance, its primal nature calling to a part of me that I still didn’t completely understand.
I knew Julian would help me understand it though.
A needy moan left my lips as one hand moved from my waist to the back of my neck, his thumb brushing over my bitten mark and causing me to tremble. I could tell he was holding back though, and I didn’t know how to explain that control was the last thing I wanted.
I wanted more from Julian. I wanted all of him.
I could feel how much he had to give, his hard cock pressed right against my center making me want to rip off the layers between us.
It was clear he wanted that as well because in a fast movement, Julian twisted us so that I was laid out beneath him on the cave floor, the rain cooling my heated skin.
His burning gold eyes ran over my body and a primal sound left his chest, causing my nipples to tighten almost painfully.
I tried to control the urge to shift closer to him, wanting to rub against him.
“Julian,” I whispered breathlessly, nearly in pain from the lack of contact between us. His lips dipped to brush against mine in a teasing way before retreating again, and I made a sound of complaint as he drew his fingers up my ankle, teasing me.
“Shh,” Julian murmured as he pushed my oversized shirt up to my waist. “Wouldn’t want to wake the others when we’re finally getting some time alone, preciosa.”
As much as I loved the idea of another of my mates joining, the chance to be alone with Julian wasn’t one I wanted to risk, especially when he already had me so incredibly worked up that I felt like I was going to explode with just the right touch. His touch.
Using a rough finger to tug aside my panties, a deep groan rattled from his chest, making it clear that he could see how wet I was. The snap of my panties as he tossed them aside exposed my hot center, and the way he stared at me was nearly reverent—before absolutely devouring me.
“Julian!” I moaned as he buried his face between my thighs, his hot tongue running up my slit as I buried my hands in his navy hair, tightening hard enough that a growl left his lips.
I whimpered at the way it vibrated my delicate skin, and my center tightened as he thrust his tongue inside of me, licking up every inch of my wet heat.
“You taste so damn sweet.” His voice was so rough it was almost hard to understand.
His tongue circled around my clit and his piercing electrified my skin, the cold nature of it against my body nearly causing me to come on the spot.
My abdomen spasmed, begging for release, as he continued to switch between piercing me with his tongue and teasing my clit, working me up so bad that I was a trembling wet mess.
I was close enough that I almost begged him to let me come—which is right when he gently brushed his teeth over my clit and I came—hard. I felt dazed as the climax railed into me, leaving me breathless at the control the man had over my body, liquid pleasure invading every bone in my body.
In my moment of dazed pleasure, Julian appeared above me, caging me to the ground as he ordered, “Open your legs for me, all the way.” I didn’t even hesitate, wanting to welcome him into my body completely.
He released his hard length and gripped it at the base, the heat in his gaze a reflection of just how much he needed me in every way—physically, emotionally, and mentally.
When the tip of his cock brushed my center, I arched up and against him, the sight of him caging me to the ground as he entered me causing a more primal part of me to appear.
One that loved that he was taking me on the floor of a cave, the loud thunderous noise of the storm outside making the moment feel more private despite being out in the open, as Julian claimed me.
I whimpered as one of his hands caught both of my wrists and held them captive against my chest as he began to slowly sink into me.
My body had to stretch to accommodate him as I opened my legs further, a moan leaving my lips.
“You’re so big.”
“And you’re going to take all of me.” Julian leaned down, sinking further inside me and nipping my lip. “I need to claim you, Effie—I need to know I’ve had all of you.”
“You do have all of me.” Forever.
With a wicked look, Julian bottomed out inside of me, the sky rumbling with thunder and crackling with lightning as if in celebration of our union.
Holy hell.
I squirmed to adjust to him, his grip on me tightening as a low, satisfied groan left his throat. His expression was marred with a bit of pain as if being inside of me was painful—or maybe it was because he wasn’t moving yet.
I really needed him to move.
“I need you to move—”
“I know, preciosa, just need a minute,” Julian rumbled. “Don’t want to hurt you. You’re being so good taking all of me like this, just like I knew you could. We’re fucking made for one another.”
I knew we were—absolutely—and the approval and satisfaction in his voice had me squeezing around him.
Pleasure soared through me at the sensation of being so full, and as he pulled back for the first time and then pumped forward again, I felt his cock swell even larger inside of me.
I felt like he was everywhere at once, like he was the only other person in existence.
Moaning loudly, I squeezed around him as his lips skimmed against my throat, his strokes growing faster and faster.
My clit pulsed, and my nipples were hard against my shirt that was growing progressively more wet and see through.
The sound of him pumping into me, our wet skin sliding against each other, was intoxicating, making me want to live in this moment forever.
Where I felt completely connected to Julian in every way possible.
“Harder,” I begged, seeing that he was right on the edge of breaking.
My words absolutely did it. Julian sat back, letting go of my hands and pushing my knees into my chest. The way he pounded into me was demanding and controlling, the world spinning around me as thunder cracked in the sky and charged the air around us in an electrifying pulse.
Even our magic was forming a union in the purest way possible as we mated in the most base and natural way possible—it was absolute euphoric pleasure.
“Fuck—fuck.” Julian’s voice was lost as the storm seemed to grow more intense, my arms looping around his neck to kiss him hard, unable to stop myself from biting down on his lip. Blood exploded between us, and I felt my body key up for a climax that was going to absolutely destroy me.
Julian groaned, moving down my neck and licking my bite mark, his voice uneven and deep. “I’m going to mark you. I’m going to fucking mark you from the inside out.”
His words were lost to me as his cock hit a white-hot point of pleasure, my nails digging into his back and breaking skin.
I came hard as he buried his teeth over my bitten mark once again and lodged himself so deep inside of me that I felt like I was going to explode.
I could feel Julian spill every ounce of his seed inside of me as the world around me turned into a true explosion of magic.
Colors seemed to light up the skies, and our mating bond snapped into place, surging power through me as I cried out, tightening around him.
A roar of my name left his lips as he continued to come inside of me, maybe even for a second time.
A tremble overtook me as another climax pulsed over me as well, taking me into a hazy river of pure pleasure.
My body shuddered in relief as my eyes closed, feeling like I had transcended into a new level of magic. Something different.
“I love you.” A hum of happiness left me at Julian’s whispered words, and then everything went dark. That was okay though because I was bonded to all of my mates, and a part of me that I hadn’t even recognized I was missing felt complete.