Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rafael
Well, fuck. Courtkenay, one of the oldest lines of wolf shifters. A werewolf bloodline, and the strongest according to some sources. I’ve never met the wolf king in person, but I know of him. I wonder what Zack’s relationship to him is.
There’s no doubt he can take over running the local pack. Hell, they would have to be raving lunatics to challenge a Courtkenay werewolf.
“Santiago Wacerra.” San offers his hand to the wolf.
“The Hunter.” He acknowledges his title with a raised brow, but then shakes San’s hand without hesitation. They take each other’s measure, and arm muscles bulge until Samantha scoffs and they break free at the same time.
I can’t help but inch her back a step. He might be practically royalty, but he’s still a werewolf. The distrust between the species is deep-seated and well founded. On both sides. In fact, no one would have blamed him for ignoring the attack on Samantha.
Why did he intervene?
“You left your own pack to deal with this?” Santiago asks warily.
“I have no pack. Not that it’s your business,” Zack replies, showing the first sign of irritation.
“It is when she…” San trails off.
Yeah. I can’t say it either. I hope to hell it’s not happening. The wolf is not acting territorial over Samantha, so maybe the amount of blood they shared wasn’t too much, but even a drop is a risk. She’s days old, with no control over herself. I should have never let her out of the house.
Zack throws a quick glance at Samantha and then faces Santiago again with a frown. “You should be taking better care of her.”
“She doesn’t appreciate being talked over like she’s not here,” Samantha snarks.
“I’m sorry, dove, but it’s true. They never should have let you into the forest without protection.”
Instead of snapping back at him, Samantha shudders lightly. “Thank you for saving me,” she whispers.
“I should go hunt that thing down,” San says, whirling a dagger in one hand as his eyes scan the trees.
“It’s long gone now,” the wolf says. “I’ll be able to recognize the smell if I get closer again. And if this thing is responsible for Alyssa’s death, then it’s not your kill to make, Wacerra.”
“We need to get Samantha back to the house,” I say before San has time to start a fight. He glares at me, but when he notices Samantha curling against my chest, he relents.
“Let’s go then. Can you walk if you lean against me?” Santiago asks the wolf.
“I might be better off limping as a wolf,” he says.
Samantha growls. “He can’t walk on that leg!”
“I’ll carry him,” Santiago says, quick to appease her, and the growl cuts off.
“No, I—”
“We don’t want to piss her off more than we already have. Just hop on,” Santiago cuts off the wolf and crouches in front of him, offering a piggyback ride. Zack looks torn between laughter and indignation, but one look at Samantha sobers him up.
“He’s naked,” Samantha whispers way too loudly not to be overheard. The corner of the wolf’s mouth twitches and Santiago groans.
“Just get on.”
“Fine, fine. No one is ever going to believe this tale,” the wolf mutters. Santiago doesn’t even flinch under his bulk. I know alphas are generally strong, but this one looks like he works out. A lot. Samantha for sure seems to appreciate those muscles.
Or maybe it’s Santiago she’s drooling after.
“I thought werewolves were supposed to be unreasonable brutes,” Samantha whispers to me, quietly this time.
“He’s Courtkenay. They are a law unto themselves. Wolf royalty.”
“Oh.”
I leave Santiago to deal with him and start moving toward the house. In the bond, I can feel how hungry she still is. There are going to be problems if she can’t tolerate anyone but Santiago’s blood mixed with mine.
Maybe the wolf would be willing to donate for an experiment.
Damned wolf.
I can’t think of what would have happened if he hadn’t been there, but now there’s a chance he’s bonding with Samantha. I don’t know how much he drank and then she offered him her blood again. She’s too young and can’t control her bonds at all.
Even I haven’t drunk from her yet and it galls me that the wolf got to taste her blood first after the transformation. I wanted to explain it all to her when we got a moment of calm. Make sure she knew what exchanging blood can mean.
When she’s older, she can control most of it, but right now she has no protections. No shields. Every drop of blood she shares risks a bond. Every bite strengthens the ties between her and the other person.
She doesn’t even know how to control the pleasure of her bites. I’m still hard from the last one. Almost like she read my mind, she nuzzles my throat and bites my earlobe. I stumble and barely catch myself before we go tumbling down.
“Fuck me. Against a tree, while you run, I don’t care. I need you inside me right this second.” She’s licking blood from my lobe and her hands against me are like a vise. If I had a heartbeat, it would be skipping right about now.
“Let me get you to a bed first,” I try to say, but she bites me again and I’m lost. If she needs this to take her mind off things, to feel safe, then I’m all for it. There’s barely anything left of the shirt she has on, so I rip the rest away.
Pressing her back against a tree, I fiddle my jeans open and, as soon as I do, Samantha’s hand delves in and wraps around my cock. She’s not really drinking me, but spurring me on with tiny bites along my neck. I help her wrap her legs around me and sink in.
“Rafael,” her moan echoes around us. I bet the others can hear her and I relish every whimper and shout as I pound into her pussy. She’s wet and when I move my thumb to her clit, she grows even wetter.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Let them hear you,” I demand and pinch her clit lightly. She shatters around me with a shout. “Again,” I demand and tease her clit.
Every stroke tests my resolve not to bite her back. She’s shaking her head, trying to deny me, but her inner walls are already clamping around my cock. It’s rough and fast fucking, and when I graze my fang along her neck, she hurtles into another climax and this time I let go with her.
We are both panting. Her eyes have glazed over and her nails are buried in my back muscles. The pricks of pain threaten to make my cock stir again, so I push away from the tree and start walking back home.
Having her rest on my cock is heavenly torture. I’m still half hard and it doesn’t take long until I’m rock solid again. Samantha is a mess in my arms. She doesn’t seem to be able to focus and every other step, her inner walls squeeze me like she’s making sure I’m still inside her.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I reassure her and kiss her nose. Gods, she’s amazing. “I’m just getting us back home. Shower, bed.”
“I’m sorry I flipped out about the witch,” she says.
“I should have handled that better.”
“I know you will need to drink, Rafael. I’m sorry.” Suddenly, she looks so sad that I stop and press her against another tree.
“Hey, sweetheart, look at me,” I hum and give her one long stroke. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. We’ll work through this.”
She lifts her face for a kiss and I eagerly give her one.
I keep my strokes easy and tease her lips with mine.
The buildup is slow and I relish the way Samantha lets go, lets me lead.
This time, the crest is a gentle tipping into mindless pleasure and the aftershocks are smooth waves we ride together.
Samantha is soft and pliant in my arms when I walk the rest of the way home. At some point, the rain stopped, but I couldn’t say when. The moon hangs low in the sky, reminding me that dawn is not far. Still, I don’t rush. This moment is too precious.
“I’m getting tired again. All I do anymore is sleep,” Samantha grumbles and yawns.
“You are a very new changeling. You expend your energy faster and you are still building up your strength. I was fully prepared to keep you in bed for the first year, drinking and fucking the time away.”
“A… a year?”
“Maybe two. Some take even longer to come back to their senses from the lust haze and hunger.”
“I…”
“You’ve ruined my plans by being so goddamn coherent,” I tease her and she nips my lower lip. My cock twitches and I groan. “I really need to teach you how to control your bite. At some point.”
“What am I doing? I can control it?”
“Our bite can be pleasurable, near neutral, or painful, depending on intention. Your bite feels like you are sucking my cock. Intense pleasure.”
“Oh… Oh!” A wicked gleam enters her eyes and I manage to crash us against yet another tree just as she bites my neck hard.
“We’ll never get back home if you keep this up,” I say and in response, her inner walls clench around me.
“I’m not accepting any complaints about making you come too many times.
This one is on you,” I say and pull out of her.
The desperate whimper is music to my ears when I spin her around and bend her over.
“Hold on to the trunk,” I say and plunge back inside.
The angle isn’t the easiest, but I manage with bent knees.
Samantha is already moaning and pushing back against me.
Hell, some time in the future, I want to take her like this after spanking that delicious ass pink.
I steady her with my grip and fuck up into her, looking for the exact angle that drives her crazy.
“Harder,” Samantha demands and I comply. “Rafael, god. Oh, my god.”
“Your pussy is so hot and tight,” I pant and fuck her hard. “Feels so good around my cock, sweetheart.”
“There, just there. Oh, don’t stop,” she mewls when I move just a bit and find the golden spot.
“Are you going to come for me again?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” she shouts and quickly, I move my hand to cup her pussy from the front.
“Give it to me,” I say and she does, grinding against my hand as she climaxes again. I manage to hold myself back, but only barely.
“I want to come down your throat,” I growl out the words and pull out of her pussy. It’s still spasming from aftershocks, but Samantha goes to her knees eagerly. “Now open up and suck me down.” I give the order and she flashes a fang.
“If you bite my cock, I’m going to spank your ass red, Samantha.”
Her eyes dilate and a faint blush creeps up her cheeks and chest.
“And it’s not going to be a pleasurable spanking, sweetheart,” I add.
She pouts but opens her mouth, keeping her fangs out of the way. I slide my cock into her mouth slowly, enjoying the way she licks me.
In and out, I let her have her fun teasing and tasting herself on me.
“You taste like the sweetest wine,” I tell her and caress her cheeks before wrapping my fingers around her head. “Now, be a good girl and take it all.”
We make it back to the house when the sky changes with the impending sunrise.
I can smell Santiago and Zack somewhere inside and there’s a strange car parked on the driveway.
Samantha is naked and so am I—we lost my jeans somewhere along the way.
Both of us are sticky and in desperate need of a shower.
“If that’s the witch’s car and she throws even a glance your way…” Samantha grumbles when she sees the car, and I can’t help but laugh.
“You have no reason to worry, sweetheart. I only sipped from her to get past her spell.”
She wrinkles her nose but doesn’t bite my head off.
“Maybe we need a screening system. You get to sniff out everyone before I drink from them. Make sure that they smell appetizing to you like Santiago.”
“I think Zack smells good,” she murmurs. Of course she does. Damn wolf. “Did I hurt him with my blood?” she asks quietly and I immediately stop.
“No, of course you didn’t.”
“Then why…”
“When a vampire drinks from someone, be it human or another supernatural, we form a bond. The strength of that bond depends on how much blood was consumed and the vampire’s ability to control their bonds,” I try to explain.
“But I can only drink from you.”
“That process is reversed with changelings. You have no control over your bonds or your blood. Same as your bite. When a supernatural creature drinks a young vampire’s blood, the vampire becomes bonded to them.
And in some cases, the drinker becomes bonded too, to some extent.
That’s why new changelings are usually kept secluded with their maker.
” I gesture around the gardens. “I thought this would be a good place for that.”
“So I’m bonded to Zack and he to me by accident?” she asks, horrified. “He saved me and in return got some kind of freaky bond tossed around his neck.”
“It’s possible that there’s a bond forming,” I say gently. “But no, it’s not freaky.”
“But—”
“But nothing.” I can’t bite back my snarl. “He didn’t know you were that young, which is understandable since you don’t act like it.”
“How long?”
“Depends on how much he drank and how open he is to staying bonded to you.” I fall silent for a moment, mulling over whether I should share this, but she deserves to know. “It also depends if you share blood again.”
“He”—she clears her throat—“he just cleaned the wound I got from the thing. As a wolf, he licked my arm clean.”
I scan her arms, relieved to see smooth skin. “It’s good that he did. Shifter saliva works well for infected wounds. Worth the bond to save you the suffering of healing it yourself.”
“But…”
“He used your blood to heal faster. It was as close to an even trade as could be. Don’t worry about the bond right now.”
The sun rises over the horizon and while it still is behind the forest, Samantha closes her eyes against the brightness.
“Can I still stand in the sun?” she asks so faintly I almost miss it.
“The sun won’t burn us, sweetheart. That’s a legend, but it is uncomfortable and painful for changelings, so let’s get you inside. The older you get, the more you can tolerate. Heat, cold, sun.”
She buries her face against my neck and we walk inside. Immediately, arguing fills the air; the voices are low but intense and I want to know what’s going on. But first, we need to clean up.
“Shower, clothes,” I mutter and Samantha stills her wriggling in my arms. I can see the fatigue pressing down on her with the rising sun.
“Shower sounds good,” she says around a yawn and I blur us away. Too bad I can’t make it good for her as San did. There’re people—wolves—waiting.
Fucking wolves.