5. Lycan #2
It went on for hours. Days. Weeks. Months. I lost track of time. I spilled my life inside her, and when that wasn’t enough, I guided her mouth to my throat and told her to bite hard.
I groaned as the skin broke, and I bled into her mouth. She consumed me until the spell lifted, and I rolled over to my side of the bed, both exhausted and exhilarated.
For the first time in my life, I sensed my magic in someone other than me.
My soul shifted, making room for her, and I could tell hers had done the same.
Her emotions unraveled inside me, the sinking weight of her confusion mixing with the thrill of being ravished.
She adored me. She was grateful I was here. She wanted more.
“You’ll be okay, Trouble,” I said as I wrapped her around me, hauling her arm over my stomach and twisting my legs in between hers. “You’ve got me. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Eventually, the lulls between magical bursts grew longer.
The sun set and rose and set again. I stayed in the bed with her, letting her feed from me, filling her when she cried out in agony.
By the end of it, I could barely lift my head.
My muscles burned, and my wolf whimpered from the loss of energy.
But she burned with it. Arms shaking and cock aching, I took her one last time as the spell lifted completely.
My knot latched us together, and I collapsed on top of her, my nose buried in her neck, her scent making me delirious—metal and citrus and sweat.
And me.
So much me, it should have activated the possessive, territorial beast that took whatever he wanted, regardless of the consequences.
The urge to sink my teeth into the space between her shoulder and neck almost overwhelmed me, but I was too damned drained for that.
I would have claimed her as mine forever.
Instead, I heaved deep lungfuls of air and licked the column of her throat, swallowing those last remaining dregs of pheromones.
Fuck, she tastes good.
Too good.
“Lycan,” she whispered, blinking heavy eyelids she struggled to keep open. “Is it over?”
I forced myself to rise so I could meet her brilliant, glowing gaze, the normal sky-blue now a deep shade of aquamarine. Her other half lurked behind them, calling out to my wolf, beckoning him to make her feel safe and loved.
“Yes, Trouble,” I said. “It’s over.”
She hummed and ran her fingers through my hair, down the back of my spine and up again.
The gentle touch made me shiver, my skin prickling from the mixture of tenderness and exhaustion.
Without waiting for my knot to shrink, I curled my arms under her shoulders, tucked my face into her neck, and passed out.
Mine, my wolf whispered. Mine. Mine. Mine.
A bright, beaming light woke me, and I winced, groaning as I peeled my eyes open.
The room reeked of blood and electric magic, and for a moment, I almost didn’t remember what happened.
Ava sprawled on top of me, her head on my chest, her legs on either side of my hips, her arms tucked in on either side of my ribs.
I tried to stretch my legs without waking her, but I must have been hit by a truck because my muscles screamed at the movement. She moaned and turned her head the other direction, but the subtle shift jostled my cock, which was still buried inside her warm, tight cunt.
Fuck.
It rushed back to me.
The drunken night of poker.
The wedding.
The look in her eyes when I found her freaking out in the bathroom.
The force of her magic propelling me into the wall.
Her transition.
The pleasant buzz of her dreams lulled through my chest, just near my heart, and I remembered the connection we’d formed in the thick of it.
It wasn’t a mating bond, thank the fucking Gods, but it was something similar.
A ghost of a tether. A nascent little rope that had wound itself tight around my heart.
All she had to do was tug, and I’d drop.
Had I ever felt anything like this before?
No.
It must have been the transition magic. I remembered going through this when I was about her age.
The female who had helped me through it was older, and the next morning, she’d smiled at me, told me to be a good wolf, and left me alone to clean myself up.
Her magic had stuck with me for a few hours afterward, enough to get me through the first shift, and afterward, it had dissipated, leaving only the cordial friendship we’d had before.
This was different. Its magnitude rattled the foundation of what I understood about myself. I didn’t want to get mated. But if I did, I could mate Ava.
No, no, no.
Get your shit together, Mitchell.
I tried to extricate myself from under her, but the moment I rolled her over and inched my cock out, she opened her eyes and curled her lips into a pouty grin.
“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Hmm.” She swiped a palm over her face and stretched. “What time is it?”
“Fuck if I know.”
Ava scowled and ran her gaze over me. “What happened to you?”
Ah. Yes.
About that.
I stared at my torso, my ribs showing through my emaciated frame, my stomach caving in on itself. I looked like shit. I felt like shit.
When I didn’t immediately answer, she pushed herself up and grabbed my shoulder. “Lycan. What happened to your neck?”
I grimaced as she traced her fingertips over the tender puncture wounds.
“Oh, my God.” She brought a hand to her mouth. “What happened to me?”
Her panic raced through my veins like an icy deluge as her mind struggled to catch up to the last…seventy-two?…ninety-six?…hours.
“Hey, you’re okay,” I said, turning to face her. “It’s okay. It’s over now.”
“I bit you!” She pushed her hands back through her hair, her eyes wide with horror. “We got married, and then I woke up and then…it’s blurry, but I know I bit you. Oh, God. I drank your blood. What the hell is going on?”
“Trouble, listen to me.” I grabbed her jaw to hold her gaze to mine, hoping the touch would ground her. “We’re alive, and we’re healthy. We can figure out the rest, okay?”
Tears bubbled in the corners of her eyes before streaming down her cheeks, and she threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. I ignored every muscle in my body that protested the action and focused on her heartbeat, on how being this close to me made her soften.
“I want you to go take a shower while I get us some food,” I said. “Then we’ll eat, and I’ll explain everything.”
“What about you?” She glanced down at my bloodstained chest and cumstained stomach. “You need a shower, too.”
I did, but the animal in me told me to care for her first. She needed nourishment, and that fucker wouldn’t stop riding me until he saw her clean and fed.
“I’m right behind you, okay?” I nodded toward the bathroom. “Go.”
She squinted in hesitation before ultimately sliding off the mattress to do as I said, softly closing the door behind her. I rubbed my hands over my face and grabbed my phone, sighing at the ten missed calls from various members of the pack.
Mill.
Kodiak.
Sol.
Orion.
Sol again.
Ren.
Channing.
Fucking Maeve, of all people.
They must have sensed it, must have known Ava had transitioned.
Just as I went to call Kodiak, my gaze caught on a text that made my heart plummet.
Poe.
“Fuck.” I hovered over the notification, willing myself to read it.
Before we’d gone out with the Copenhagen Bastards, Kodiak had told me he planned to send someone in as a reinforcement.
With Marx dead and the rest of the Scorpions scattered to the winds, he worried about us being isolated out here.
If Ava couldn’t cut the trip short, we needed backup.
Marx was only the head of the hydra. Now that he’d been cut off, three more would grow in his place.
Kodiak hadn’t said who he planned to send because he hadn’t talked to them yet. But now my blood ran cold for reasons unrelated to Ava.
I clicked open the message.
Just boarded my flight at Heathrow. Be there in a few hours.
Fucking hell.
I ignored that and texted Locust, asking him to bring us food before he arranged transport for Poe from the airport.
You got it, boss. You okay? How’s Ava?
We’re fine. Just hungry.
Whew! She’s gonna be a powerful shifter. Her magic had me up for the last three days.
My wolf growled at the thought of anyone else smelling or sensing her magic, but I pushed those territorial thoughts away.
I had bigger shit to deal with. Heaving myself upright, I gripped the bedpost to keep from toppling over as stars swam in my vision.
My ears buzzed, and my head damn near drifted off my shoulders. Then I called Kodiak.
“Lycan,” he said after he answered on the second ring. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I reached for my jeans and did my best to slide them up my legs while I balanced the phone against my shoulder. “You sent Poe?”
I couldn’t help the fury in my tone, even if I barely had the strength to walk.
He cleared his throat. “Try again.”
The dominance in his voice had my wolf raising his hackles. Even if he was the alpha, I was fourth in the pack, just under Moose. I could hold my own against him, and fuck, this was a Godsdamned disaster waiting to happen.
“Okay,” I clipped. “You sent fucking Poe?”
“I’ll send whoever I want,” he replied in the cool, calm tenor of an alpha biding his time before ripping out an opponent’s throat. “You need backup, especially now.”
Of course he already knew. Two Vanderbilt sisters were bloodsworn to him, and whatever the fuck was going on with Guin meant it was only a matter of time before she did the same. It was my blood inside Ava, my magic that eased her transition. He probably felt it through me.
“Is she okay?” he asked. “Have you explained everything to her?”
“She’s in the shower,” I said. “She’ll want to talk to her sisters.”
“Are you okay?”
I rubbed my burning eyes. “I will be.”
“Good,” he said. “We’ve received reports that the Scorpions are on the move. They’ve split their numbers; some remain here in Montana. Others have disappeared.”
“Disappeared?” Fucking great.