Chapter 23 - Conan
“She refuses to speak,” Orlando tells me, his jaw twitching as he clenches it in anger. “She won’t even tell us her name.”
I nod slowly, eyes narrowed on the witch who sits cuffed in metal binds in a holding cell behind the one-way mirror.
She can’t see us from here, but going by the way she’s smiling sadistically at the mirror, she knows we’re standing behind it, watching her.
“She will reveal the secrets she is keeping soon,” Amalia says with certainty in her tone. “Sister Hannah has proven to be a remarkable extractor of information. And unlike Hale, this one knows much more.”
“Well, Hannah still needs time to recover,” I remind Amalia, and she nods.
“Yes, of course, Conan,” she assures me as she places a hand on my shoulder. “How is she doing, by the way?”
“Better,” I reply with a deep breath. “It’s only been two days since the attack, and she’s much stronger again. She promised to come down here tomorrow. But I don’t think we need to rush her into the ritual just yet.”
“I don’t know, Conan,” Alpha William chuckles, nodding over his shoulder. “It seems your friend Henry is getting a little…tense.”
I follow Alpha William’s gaze to where Heinrich speaks to Amos and the research team, his brows furrowed as he runs a hand through his hair. He does look a little tense, but it’s only because we have the captured witch in the basement of his company building.
We all agreed that it would be wise to keep the dark witch away from the valley, using wards and runes to keep her hidden here for questioning. The witches of the August Moon Circle have tried to interrogate her. So have William, Orlando, and Heinrich.
But she refuses to speak a word.
Amalia suggested using the ritual that was used on Marcus Hale, deciding that Hannah would be the one to perform it again. Despite my many protests, Hannah agreed to do it, but only once she felt strong enough.
Using all her powers to heal me after the witch attacked me in the alley was taxing on her. And though we don’t know how the witch found us at the park in Hamilton, we’re praying for some peace again.
We’ve taken every measure to cover our tracks—especially to keep our identities hidden from the human world we’ve found ourselves in.
And while we have a dark witch in custody, the team still works hard to find a way to close the portal and to keep the dark entity, Vaelkor, locked under the southern ruins.
“I don’t blame him,” I sigh as I turn back to the mirror. “This isn’t easy for any of us. And with the birth of Damian and Sophie’s pup, I think we’re all praying for a moment to breathe.”
“A moment of respite is invaluable during this time, Alpha Conan,” Amalia says, turning to face me. “Perhaps we should take every little crumb we can get our hands on.”
She nods, and I give her a half-smile in return, understanding what she means without her having to say the words. I slip out of the basement using the service elevator, relieved to be returning to my family, even if I’m unsettled by the volatility of our circumstances.
Going to our new apartment, to my family, doesn’t feel like going home, only because we’re not in the valley. But it doesn’t stop the excitement from building in my chest as I make my way up to the fifteenth floor of the apartment building.
And before I can knock on the door, it’s thrown open, and Clarissa flies into my arms, while Hannah waits on the side.
“Hey, kiddo!” I greet her with a lighthearted chuckle as I spin her around twice before setting her on her feet over the threshold. I turn to plant a soft kiss on Hannah’s lips, and she instantly smiles.
Though her scent isn’t as strong as it usually is because of the masking ointment covering her scent gland, her natural essence remains sweetly intoxicating in a delicate way that still beckons to my wolf.
Hannah opens her mouth to say something, but she stops with a telltale smile when Clarissa grabs my hand and tugs me inside.
“Daddy! I wanna show you something!”
I glance over my shoulder at Hannah with a frown, and all she offers is a nonchalant shrug as she follows us into the apartment. She wears a smirk because she knows what Clarissa wants to show me, but she keeps it a surprise until Clarissa drags me to her bedroom.
She releases my hand and skips to the light switch.
“Check this out!” she chirps as she turns the light off and clicks another switch that illuminates the room in a soft, purple light, the ceiling and walls covered in shadows of wings and antennas.
Bugs for our little bug.
“Whoa, kiddo! This is so cool!” I smile proudly as I advance into her room and take a seat on her bed. She continues to point out all the bugs she’s cut out for her bedside lamp, and the pride swells in my chest, because there’s no doubt.
Clarissa might look like a replica of her mother, but her personality matches mine.
We have dinner together, and that’s when I give Hannah an update about what’s going on with the dark witch we have in custody.
Eating together, it feels like we can enjoy that little crumb of peace, even if it won’t last long.
But it’s for that very reason that I decide to finally cross a bridge I almost crossed in the park before the dark witch attacked.
That’s why I say goodnight to Clarissa and ask Hannah to tell her a bedtime story tonight.
“Come find me in the bedroom,” I whisper in her ear, and she looks at me with a confused frown.
“Er—okay,” she says hesitantly before returning her attention to Clarissa.
While she’s tucking our daughter in bed, I head to the ensuite bathroom in our temporary bedroom and run the bath, filling it with essential oils, rose petals, and bath salts.
Once I’ve lit the candles on the side of the bathtub, I sit on a corner and wait for Hannah to join me.
“Conan?” she calls out from inside the room.
“I’m in here!” I call back, and frown when I hear her stop outside the door.
“Er—is it safe to come inside?”
“Of course, Hannah,” I chuckle. “I’m not undressed or anything.”
When she comes in, our eyes meet, and I chuckle again. “I’m not pooping, either. Unless you want to believe that it smells like roses and peppermint.”
Hannah covers her mouth and giggles, her eyes lighting up when she notices the candles burning alongside the bathtub, and the aromatic steam filling the air.
“What is this, Conan?” she asks, and I reach out a hand toward her. She takes my hand, and I draw her closer.
“Over these past few weeks, you’ve been through a lot, Hannah,” I say as I smooth my finger across her knuckles. “I wanted to do something special for you, for a change.”
“Conan…” she whispers, her eyes becoming moist with tears as she tilts her head to one side and pouts. “You really didn’t have to.”
“I absolutely had to, Hannah,” I insisted, lifting her hand to plant a kiss there. “At the park, I wanted to tell you something, but we were interrupted. Then you saved me, and beat me to it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I love you, Hannah Young. I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember.
” I smile as the memory of arriving at Dorothy’s house with a box of dominoes to play with the shy girl who lived with her comes to mind.
“And even after eight years apart, when I saw you again in Augusta, there was only one thing I wanted to do.”
I kiss her hand again, and watch her reaction through my lashes, noticing the way her creamy cheeks fill with color.
“I wanted to make you mine, Hannah. I wanted to have you by my side, because no matter what, I have always loved you.”
A tear rolls down her cheek, and I leave her hand to wipe the tear away. She wraps her arms loosely around my shoulders and stares deeply into my eyes.
“All of this because I said it first?” she giggles.
“It’s all about winning, remember?” I chuckle.
Hannah blushes more. “Then you will be happy to know that you have certainly won my heart, Alpha Conan Becker.”
“Oh, have I, now?” I purr as I slide my hands to her waist, staring up at her in a seductive way as I pull her closer.
She giggles lightly as my hands travel to her rear, and I give a gentle squeeze.
“Would you like to climb in? I’ll go out—”
Hannah presses a finger to my lips to silence me. “I’m only getting in if you’re joining me.”
I raise my brows as my palms flatten on the small of her back, and I pull her flush against me now, drinking in the scent she exudes. Even with the masking ointment on her neck, I can still smell her scent, her pheromones filling the air, filling my airways and intoxicating my being.
“If that’s what you want, that’s what you will have, my love. Your wish is my command.”
This prompts Hannah to lean down and kiss me passionately, moaning on my lips as if begging me to stick my tongue in. When I do, I begin peeling her clothing off, taking off each layer between kisses until she’s standing in nothing but her panties.
I start peppering kisses down her neck, then between her breasts, moving down to her belly until I’m at the waistband of her panties. I stop to drink in the scent between her thighs, the scent of her arousal, my fingers sliding over her crotch.
The cotton fabric is soaked through with her slick, and I groan as my pants suddenly become too tight when my erection grows. Her soft, supple body in my hands feels exquisite, and as I peel her panties down her thighs, I replace the drenched material with my mouth.
Hannah cries out from pleasure as her head tilts, her back arching into the ministrations of my tongue as I lap up her warm, wet slick, hands kneading the mounds of her rear as she rocks to the rhythm of my tongue.
“Oh, Conan…” she whimpers, and her body tenses as she crawls toward climax. That’s when I push a single finger through her tight hole, her aching walls convulsing around the digit with desperation.
“Hm…” I hum against her clit, feeling how her walls tighten again, flooded and on the brink of coming.
“I’m gonna…I’m so close…hng!” she mewls when her orgasm hits her, her body shuddering in my hands, cradling her waist. She digs her nails into my shoulders, and if I weren’t still wearing my sweater, she might have drawn blood.
I hold her tightly, letting her ride the wave of climax in my arms. When she recovers, panting against the top of my head, I press a kiss in the valley of her breasts, and she moves her head back and giggles nervously.
“Wow…that was…” Her voice tapers off, and she bites her bottom lip as she blushes.
“We’re not done, Hannah,” I drawl with a mischievous chuckle as I slowly get to my feet, hands still on her waist.
She steps out of her panties, pooled around her ankles, and moves back so I can undress.
Once we’re both naked, I climb into the bathtub and help her in. We move in tandem, blending fluidly as I sink into the warm bath, and she straddles my lap.
We’re kissing again, passionately, sloppily, as she slides onto my cock and I hold her waist to guide her into a rhythmic rocking motion. She’s so tight, so wet, so warm, her walls hugging my cock, pulsing and milking me with every stroke.
“Fuck…” I groan, pulling back to stare into her eyes. She slows down, and we share a moment that feels like a lifetime has gone by.
Forever.
I have the unique privilege, the honor, of having her by my side for the rest of my life. And a wave of emotion washes over me.
“I love you, Hannah,” I whisper, and she smiles, touching my face and tracing my bearded jawline.
“I love you, too, Conan,” she returns, and my heart swells.
No matter what is going on in our lives, we have each other now, and that’s what will get us through. We’re stronger together, our love unbreakable, and I will spend forever protecting her, protecting our family.
Because Hannah Young will always remain the most important person in my life.