24. Harper
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
harper
After a few days that mostly consisted of Rhone dragging me around the tower to do whatever needed to be done because he was worried I'd make a jailbreak, we headed down to the parking garage.
Maverick had invited most of the pack and all of his remaining challengers to the estate for what would most likely be the last challenge for a while. He wanted Rhone there too, so he would be comfortable letting Bloom attend the fights for the first time.
Since the Wilder Pack was making a statement, Maverick wanted to make it louder. Bringing his vampire mate and her turned vampire best friend seemed like a good way to do that.
Oren and Riley would be there too, further cementing where the Alpha Pack stood.
Our bag was on Rhone's shoulder, and I'd laced my fingers with his when we left the apartment. He had been uncomfortable with the small PDA thing at first, but he'd gotten used to holding my hand.
The thought of driving again made me feel a sudden surge of normalcy, so I released his hand and took a step toward the driver's side of Rhone's car.
"I can drive."
He plucked me off my feet and carried me to the passenger’s side without a word.
I gave him a deadpanned stare as he opened the door and put me on the seat. "Seriously? I like driving."
"You hate driving."
My forehead creased. "No, I don’t."
"Yes, you do. Bloom told me that before I knew what you were."
I’d been pretty out of it, but I did vaguely remember that conversation taking place. Everything had been a bit of a blur at that point.
"She lied. She was worried I would zone out, and wanted you to drive me so I wouldn’t. Somehow, I convinced her I’d be fine. It’s a miracle I was."
Rhone blinked. "I’m still driving."
He closed the door.
Watching his ass as he walked around the car erased any annoyance I had felt.
"You remembered something Bloom said about me that long ago?" I asked, as he sat down.
His only response was a grunt.
My lips twitched.
Maybe he really did like me.
Rhone pulled out of the parking garage. When he rested one of his arms on the center console that separated us, I debated for a few moments before slipping my hand in his.
He laced our fingers together, that time.
Music played in the background, and I stared out the windows.
My bloodlust slowly seeped back in as ten minutes of nothingness passed.
Then fifteen.
Then twenty.
"Harper," Rhone said loudly, and I suddenly jerked my head back toward him.
"Hmm?"
I realized he'd parked in front of a gas station.
"We're going in for candy," he said. I expected him to be stiff or angry or annoyed, but he wasn't.
I nodded.
He stole my hand back as soon as I reached his side at the front of the car. Holding hands was a new development for us, but I liked it.
Rhone grabbed a basket as we walked past them, and gave me an expectant look when he stopped in front of the candy.
I grabbed one of everything that sounded decent.
Eating was still hard, but I was doing better with it.
Rhone tossed half of the candy bars into the center console when we were back in the car. I opened one from the stash he'd left out, and took a bite.
He pulled out of the gas station, and took my hand again. This time, there was no one around to see it. He just wanted to touch me.
"How are we going to share these if you're holding my hand?" I checked.
"You're going to feed me." Rhone glanced over, daring me to disagree.
I rolled my eyes, but lifted the bar to his mouth.
He took a bite, and I pulled it away.
He turned the music up louder, and we drove the last half an hour like that. I didn't zone out again, and my bloodlust was quiet enough to ignore for the most part.
I was still itching to bite Rhone, though.
When we got to the estate, we parked in the same oversized lot that Bloom and I had escaped from when she took me to the Guild gathering.
The one where I devolved.
Memories of it all flickered through my mind as we walked.
A few days of fun with Bloom, which came with overwhelming bloodlust.
Fighting to stay sane with every ounce of willpower I possessed during the drive back, so I wouldn't devolve while alone with Bloom.
Losing myself completely, afterward.
Attacking a human man.
Being taken down by Bloom's shitty ex, Timber.
Neve's scream, "KILL HER".
Being picked up by Rhone, and carried into a car.
Biting him, in the observation room.
Feeling the smallest blip of sanity before losing it again.
Rhone's eyes filled my view, suddenly.
His hands were on my face.
I looked around, and realized we were in a closet of some kind.
My palms were on his bare chest, my nails digging into his skin lightly.
"Breathe, Trouble." His gaze was steady.
I let out a shaky breath. "I haven't zoned out like that while I was walking for a while."
"You were here right before you devolved the first time."
I nodded, my throat swelling.
"You're going to need me more while we're here," he stated.
"Maybe."
"Good. I want you to need me."
I managed a small, reluctant smile. "I'll really look savage if you have two healing bites all the time."
"Let's aim for three."
"Well, that's just overkill."
His lips twitched.
"And you're opposed to PDA, so..." I lifted a shoulder. "We should probably leave it at one."
"I'm trying to wrap my mind around the idea of public affection. Until then..." Rhone released my face and kneeled at my feet.
"What are you—" I cut myself off when he wrapped his hands around the backs of my knees.
He looked up at me, and what he wanted was so clear that I pushed the waistband of my shorts down myself.
Rhone dragged them further down my legs, and I leaned back against the small, bare strip of wall he had me up against. There was a vacuum to my left and a shelf of cleaning supplies to my right, but the man on his knees held my focus.
"You smell fucking amazing," Rhone said in a low voice. "Open your thighs for me."
I opened them.
Immediately.
He rumbled in satisfaction. Then leaned forward, and licked my clit slowly.
His chest rumbled again, the sound more gravelly.
I almost cried out in pleasure. I clenched my jaw to keep myself quiet instead, grabbing his hair and holding on for dear life as he ate me out like there was nowhere else he needed to be and nothing else he needed to be doing.
There was.
But he didn't seem to care.
I came on his tongue, and he lifted one of my thighs over his shoulder to keep me upright.
My other leg shook, so he pulled it over his shoulder too, holding all of my weight. He worked my clit with his tongue, taking me back to the edge again.
I tugged on his hair again, trying to get him back to his feet so he'd fuck me. He didn't budge until I came with another cry that I didn't quite manage to muffle.
Rhone stood, pinning me to the wall and pulling my mouth to his throat. I bit down hard, and he groaned, filling me with three fingers as I drank from him.
His cock throbbed against me.
I pulled away, panting, "I want you."
"We're in a closet, Harp. I can't knot you here."
"Sure you can."
"No, I can't."
I moaned when his thumb grazed my clit just right. "Please?"
He growled, and pulled his fingers out of me.
Thrill raced down my spine—but he dragged my shorts back into place instead of filling me.
Then he tossed me over his shoulder, and strode down the hallway.
We passed a dozen other werewolves on our way. Most stared at us or exchanged whispers. Rhone ignored them. I waved, because what the fuck else was I going to do? Pretend they weren't there?
He eventually made it to a long hallway I recognized, and stabbed his finger against the keypad of a door I'd never been through.
As soon as the lock slid open, we were inside the apartment. I was draped over the bed on my stomach a few seconds later, and Rhone was sliding my shorts down my thighs.
"Ready?" he growled.
"Hell yeah."
He was buried inside me in a heartbeat, filling me and stretching me and setting all of my senses on fire. I cried out in pleasure with every rough thrust, until he was coming inside me, snarling while his knot swelled to lock us together.
His grip was on my hips.
Then around my middle.
Then around my chest, as he lifted me up onto the bed, sitting me on his lap and holding me in his arms as we came.
And came.
And came.
When his knot finally softened, I was a panting, sweating mess, and he was too.
His lips brushed my temple. Then my cheek. "You're fucking gorgeous," he said quietly, still holding me tightly.
"Don't be nice to me."
"I told you I was going to try. Being nice is part of it."
I sighed dramatically. "Fine."
He kissed my temple again before adjusting my position on his lap and reaching down to his thigh. He scratched a smooth strip of skin, almost mindlessly.
When I glanced back at his face, his eyes were closed.
"Why are you scratching?" I asked.
"I need to shift," he admitted reluctantly.
"Then shift."
"It's not that simple."
"Why not?"
He didn't reply.
He was the same person whether or not he was extra hairy, so I didn't know why he was against it. He was probably nervous it would change things between us somehow, since I'd never seen him shift.
"I'll bite you again if you shift for me," I offered.
He didn't agree, but he didn't disagree either.
I yawned. "Wow. I think I need a nap. Sure would be nice to have a furry wolf to cuddle with."
He played with a few strands of my hair for a minute before finally agreeing. "Alright. I'll shift. If you want me back in my human form, you tell me. I don't want you dealing with your bloodlust alone."
"Okay."
"I'm serious, Harper."
"So am I."
He reluctantly released my hair. And me, after that. He stood on the floor long enough to grab a towel to clean me up a little, and when he was satisfied that I wasn't too sticky with his release, he finally shifted.
I watched closely as he was replaced with a massive, gray wolf. He shook his fur out, and my lips curved upward.
He jumped smoothly up onto the bed, and cuddled against me immediately. I wrapped my arms around him, and he snuggled in a little closer.
My lips curved further.
Maybe I liked having a wolf to snuggle with.
"How do you feel?" Rhone asked me.
"Very well fucked."
His furry chest rumbled, and he licked my arm.
The curve of my lips grew more dramatic.
I held him tightly, and managed to doze for a little while without any nightmares.
Eventually, Furry Rhone made a sound of complaint as he wiggled out from under my arm. He shifted forms smoothly, grabbing his pants off the floor and looking around the room.
It was almost identical to the apartment he had back at the tower, minus the gothic windows. The furniture and decorations were identical.
"Did you buy two of everything when you were furnishing your place?" I asked, a little amused.
"The decorator did. We can change whatever you want. I'm not attached."
"I'll think about it. Why are you getting dressed?"
"I've been summoned." He sounded irritated about it.
"By Maverick?"
He grunted. "Wouldn't respond if it was anyone else."
"Except Nolan or Oren. Or Sutton, if it was about Riley. Or any of the enforcers who needed help, actually."
He gave me a look. "I wouldn't automatically respond if it was about Riley. There's only one turned vampire I care about."
"Sure."
"Believe me. I tried to sacrifice Riley to the Wilder Pack so you wouldn't have to go."
My eyebrows lifted. "You did?"
"Yup." He zipped his pants.
"Wow. Asshole." I said it with some warmth.
His head bobbed. "Never denied it. You stay here. Relax. The enforcers will notify me if the door opens."
"What does Maverick want?" I asked.
"The kids in the pack asked to see me."
I blinked. "The kids?"
"Yeah. We only have a few. Five. They're attached to Maverick."
"And to you?"
He grunted.
I studied him.
He was tense, and looked slightly uncomfortable.
"Do you like kids?" I asked.
"Sometimes. Do you?"
"I've never really been around them. I'm a little scared of them. They seem… fragile."
"They're tougher than you'd think." He studied me for a moment, and I wanted to shrink. "Do you want to meet them?"
"No," I said quickly.
Too quickly.
He was officially suspicious.
"Why not?"
"I'm too much of a risk."
Rhone scoffed. "You think I'd let you attack a kid?"
"I don't trust myself, and I think they'd be scared of me."
"They love Oren and Bloom, and they barely know the difference between turned and born vampires. You don't have to trust yourself yet. Trust me. If you want to meet them, meet them."
I hesitated. "Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"I'd need to shower really quick so I don't smell like sex."
"I'll shower too. Come on." He strode into the bathroom, instead of carrying me.
This time, he was giving me the chance to follow him.
After a quiet breath out, I did.