Chapter 14 #2
"Then prove me wrong. Use your magic. Push me away." He stepped back, giving her room. "If you're so dangerous, hurt me. Right now."
"You’re crazy."
"Do it!" His voice cracked with emotion. "If you're such a threat, if you're so deadly, then push me away. Make me leave."
She raised her hands, magic sparking green between her fingers. But when she reached for him, all that happened were more flowers, crimson roses twining up his arms, jasmine blooming in his hair.
"I can't," she whispered.
She stared at the flowers twining up his arms, and in his hair. Her magic, the power she'd spent her whole life being told was deadly, had reached for him and made beauty.
"Because your magic knows you belong here. With me." He moved back into her space, crowding her against the wall. "It knows what your mind won’t accept."
"This is insane," she breathed.
"Yeah." His hand slid back into her hair, gripping hard. "The best things always are."
He kissed her again, and this time she didn't fight. Couldn't fight. Her hands fisted in his wet shirt, pulling him closer, needing more. The kiss turned frantic, desperate. Every bit of control they'd clung to shattered.
"Need you," he growled against her mouth. “I have to claim you."
"Yes." The word ripped from her throat. "Please, yes."
His hands found her shirt, tearing it open. Buttons scattered across the concrete as he exposed her to the cold garage air. Her bra followed, his hands rough with urgency.
"Fuck, look at you." His mouth closed over her nipple, sucking hard while his hand played with the other breast. "Perfect."
"Gray!" She arched against him, hands scrambling at his belt. "Please, I need—"
He spun her around, pressing her face-first against the wall. His hand slid back into her jeans, finding her clit while he ground his cock against her ass.
"You need me?" His fingers worked her in tight circles. "Tell me exactly what you mean. I want to hear all of it."
"Your cock," she gasped. "I need your cock inside me."
"Finally,” he groaned. “Where?" He pushed two fingers into her, making her cry out. "Where do you need it?"
"Don’t play with me, Gray. You know exactly where."
He yanked her jeans and panties down to her knees, then she heard his zipper. The blunt head of his cock pressed against her entrance from behind.
"Last chance," he rasped. "Tell me to stop."
Instead, she pushed back, taking him inside.
They both shouted at the sensation. He was big, stretching her almost to the point of pain, filling her completely. For a moment, neither moved, both overwhelmed by the connection.
Then he started to thrust, and all coherent thought fled.
"Mine," he snarled with each stroke. "My witch. My mate. Mine."
“Say it again,” she gasped back, bracing herself against the wall as he fucked her.
He laughed against her throat. “I'll remind you every damned day while I worship at the altar of Lily. Now take my cock like a good little witch."
Something shifted between them, a spark catching fire. Heat raced through her body, not just arousal but something deeper. Her magic responded, making the air shimmer around them.
"Fuck, what is that?" He gripped her hips harder, driving deeper. "I can feel—"
"I don't know!" The sensation intensified with each thrust, threads of connection weaving tighter. "Oh God, Gray, something's happening—"
“Stay with me.” His hand slid around to work her while he fucked her. "Let it happen. Let me have you."
The threads pulled taut, and she could feel him everywhere, and not just his cock inside her but his emotions. Desperation, possession, need so intense it made her gasp.
"I feel you," she cried. "I can feel what you're feeling."
"Good." He pulled out suddenly, spinning her around and lifting her. "It’s about time you see all of it."
He carried her to her car, lowering her down on the hood. The cold metal against her bare ass made her yelp, but then he was spreading her thighs, looking down at her with eyes gone pure gold with unrestrained hunger.
"Been dreaming about this. About having you right here where anyone could see how much you need me.
" His voice was pure gravel as he positioned himself.
"You have no idea how hard it's been not claiming you every second since you walked into my brewery.
It needs to be crystal clear who you belong to. "
He thrust back inside, and the new angle made her scream. Her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him deeper, needing more.
"That's it," he encouraged, setting a brutal pace. "Take it. Take all of me."
"Gray, please, I'm going to—"
"Not yet." He slowed his thrusts, making her whine. "Want to see you beg first."
"Bastard!"
"Your bastard." He circled his hips, grinding against her clit. "Say it."
"My—" she caught herself, the word not fitting right. "My arrogant wolf," she gasped instead. "Mine."
"Yours." He started moving again, faster this time. "Always yours. Even when you run. Even when you're scared. Yours."
The golden threads between them multiplied, weaving tighter with each word, each thrust. She felt his wolf rising to the surface, heard the growl building in his chest.
"Can't hold back much longer," he warned, his voice sounding like pure gravel. "Need to claim you properly."
"Do it." She raked her nails down his back. "Claim me."
He pulled out again, flipping her over onto the hood. One hand pressed between her shoulder blades, holding her down, while the other guided his cock back inside.
"Mine," he growled, his pace relentless. "Been fighting this for days. Fighting wanting you, needing you." His mouth found the back of her neck, teeth grazing her skin. "Want to mark you so badly. Want everyone to know you're mine."
"Yes!" She was so close, pressure building at the base of her spine. “Then do it. I can’t—”
She screamed as her orgasm hit, her pussy clenching around him. The bond exploded into full visibility, wrapping around them both in shimmering light.
Gray roared, thrusting deep as he came, but instead of softening, she felt him swell inside her.
"Gray?" Panic edged her voice. "What's happening?"
"Shhh, it's okay." His arms came around her, pulling her up against his chest while they remained joined. "Don't move."
"You're getting bigger—"
"It's called a knot. It's a wolf thing." He kissed her shoulder, gentling her. "Locks us together when we fuck.”
She felt it stretching her impossibly full. It should have been uncomfortable, but instead it seemed right. Complete.
"Locked together," she breathed, heat coiling low in her belly. "So you're just... stuck inside me."
"For now." His voice dropped, rough with satisfaction. “I feel every aftershock. Every time you clench around me."
The reality of what that meant hit her—the biological purpose behind it. But she pushed the thought away. "Thank the goddess for protection spells."
"Uh-huh." A low chuckle rumbled through his chest, vibrating against her back.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing." His arms tightened around her.
She frowned, trying to shift against him, but the movement made them both groan. She was too full, too locked to him to do anything but stay still.
"How long?" Her voice came out shaky.
"Twenty minutes. Maybe thirty." His arms tightened around her. "Long enough for you to understand you're not going anywhere. You're not running from me. From us."
She could feel everything through the bond—his desperate need to keep her safe, his fear of losing her, the way her presence had awakened parts of him he'd thought dead.
They stood there, locked together in the middle of the garage, rain pounding the roof while their bodies adjusted to the strange new intimacy. His knot pulsed inside her with each heartbeat, sending aftershocks through her system.
"Still want to run?" he asked against her ear.
"I—" She started to say yes, then felt his pain through their connection at the thought. "No. I don't know."
"I'll take uncertainty over goodbye." He pressed kisses along her shoulder. "Stay tonight. Let me keep you safe. We'll figure out the rest tomorrow."
"The coven—"
"Will have to go through me to get to you."
"And the hunters?"
"Will have to go through the pack."
"But my magic is out of control."
"It makes you who you are. Control will come." His knot was beginning to soften. "I wouldn't change a thing about you. Not your power, not your fear, not even your instinct to run. It's all you, and I need all of you."
When he slipped free, they both gasped at the loss. He turned her around, lifting her to sit on the hood while he stood between her thighs.
"Let me see you," he demanded, eyes roving over her body. "Fuck, look what I did to you."
Fingerprint marks covered her hips and thighs from where he’d held her down. And there were splotches across her breasts. She could only imagine what her throat must look from his teeth scraping against her skin. She probably looked completely debauched.
"You're beautiful," he said roughly, practically reading her mind. "All marked up by me."
He kissed each bruise reverently while her skin tightened under his touch. The connection between them had faded from visibility, but she could still feel them, humming under her skin.
"What have we done?" she whispered, the reality of it crashing over her.
"What we were always going to do." He pulled back to meet her eyes. “I was gone the second you walked through my door.”
A sharp whistle cut through the rain.
Gray's head snapped up, body going rigid. "Ryker."
He helped her dress in what remained of her clothes, his shirt replacing her ruined one. They stumbled back through the rain to find Ryker standing in the brewhouse, face grim.
"Boss, we have a problem."
"Don’t we always?" Gray's hand stayed on Lily's back, steadying her.
Ryker looked between them, clearly noting their disheveled state, but didn't comment.
“Okay, so what is it this time?”
"Two kinds. The coven formed some kind of line at the forest edge near the harvest festival. Thirteen of them are out there now, all in black robes, just... standing there. Watching. Waiting for something I guess."
Lily's blood turned to ice. "They're forming a circle. For the ritual."
"And that's not all," Ryker continued. “Sawyer just called from the mainland. He’s been watching the marina. The hunters have been gathering. There's at least twenty of them now, and more arriving every hour."
"Twenty?" Gray's voice went deadly quiet.
"And they're armed. Military grade weapons. The kind that can take down wolves." Ryker's jaw clenched. "They're preparing for war."
Through the window, Lily saw the harvest festival continuing, tourists laughing and drinking, unaware that they were in danger.
The connection between her and Gray prickled with new awareness. She felt his determination, his protective fury, his absolute refusal to let anyone take her.
She'd stay for now.
But very soon, she'd have to decide if this strange new bond between them was strong enough to survive what was coming.
Because the coven wouldn't wait much longer.
And neither would the hunters.