Chapter 18
Wreck
I wasn’t entirely sure what happened after I got to Gia’s cabin and scented her heat.
The whole fucking day had been a clusterfuck of one bad incident after another.
I thought she’d be at least happy to see me when I arrived, but I was wrong.
She was pissed—and so damn hot when she was angry, too.
Her grass green eyes were flashing. Her gorgeous curves were on display in a skimpy little tank top and barely there shorts.
And fuck me—her scent?
It was driving me crazy.
One second I’d been trying to calm her down and explain about the ride and the perfume and the misunderstanding.
The next?
My whole damn world flipped upside down.
Instinct swallowed reason whole.
And when she’d looked at me with tears in her eyes thinking I could possibly want anyone but her—well, I panicked.
Everything after that blurred into heat and desperation and the overwhelming need to reassure my mate that she was mine.
Only mine.
My Bear had taken over almost completely.
Not violently.
Protectively.
Obsessively.
Every sound Gia made drove me deeper into madness for her.
Every touch from her soft hands against my skin nearly broke me apart from the inside out.
So after claiming her again against the kitchen table while the storm raged around us, I carried her to the bathroom still knotted deep inside her sweet heat.
The bond pulsed warmly between us with every careful step I took.
Mine.
Mate.
The words echoed through me like prayer now.
I turned on the bath and filled the tub with steaming water while Gia clung to me sleepily, her flushed cheek pressed against my shoulder.
She looked completely wrecked.
And fuck me, I’d never seen anything more beautiful.
Dark hair tangled around her shoulders.
Green eyes hazy with pleasure and exhaustion.
My bite mark blooming softly against her throat.
The sight nearly made my Bear surge again.
She looked claimed.
She looked like mine.
Gods, I loved this woman.
I climbed into the tub carefully with her settled on my lap facing me, warm water rising around our bodies while the mountain rain tapped softly against the cabin windows.
For a long moment, we just held each other.
No words.
Didn’t need them.
Gia touched my face gently like she still couldn’t believe I was real.
Then she kissed me.
Softly.
Deeply.
Slow and sweet in a way that somehow felt even more intimate than the desperate claiming before.
I kissed her back immediately.
I just couldn’t not kiss her.
Every movement between us sent little shockwaves of bliss rolling through the bond until I honestly couldn’t tell where my body ended and hers began anymore.
My Bear stayed impossibly calm while she touched me.
Content.
Practically purring inside my chest.
Like this—holding our mate close in warm water while she kissed us senseless—was all the beast had ever truly wanted.
Eventually, the heat between us built again.
Naturally.
Inevitably.
Gia whimpered softly into my mouth when my hands slid over her wet skin beneath the water.
The sound destroyed me instantly.
Soon we were moving together again slowly in the bath, making love while steam curled around us and her magic hummed softly through our bodies, through the whole fucking cabin.
No frantic desperation this time.
No panic.
Just need.
Connection.
The overwhelming ache of two souls locking tighter together with every breath.
My knot swelled harder while I held her trembling body against mine and pumped my hips upward slowly, reverently, until her sweet pussy fluttered and clenched around me, ripping pleasure through the both of us all over again.
Gia cried out softly against my throat while I buried my face in her damp hair and exploded inside her with a groan that sounded almost painful.
The bond pulsed violently.
Warm.
Complete.
Mine.
Eventually the knot softened enough, that I could slip free from her carefully.
Gia made a sleepy little sound of protest immediately that nearly fucking melted me.
“I know, Honey,” I murmured against her forehead. “I got you.”
She was exhausted by then.
Completely limp and boneless in my arms while I dried us both carefully with towels warmed by the bathroom heater.
My poor mate could barely keep her eyes open.
So I took care of everything.
Because that was what the Bear demanded.
Protect.
Care for her.
Mine.
Mate.
I carried her back to bed wrapped in towels and blankets, then carefully combed through her tangled dark hair with my fingers until it fell soft around her shoulders again.
Gia sighed happily and snuggled deeper into the mattress while I covered her gently with a sheet.
Then I pulled her on top of me where my Bear wanted her.
Close.
Always close.
Only once she settled against my chest did I allow myself to really look at her.
And guilt hit immediately.
Faint claw marks streaked lightly over her thighs and hips.
A fresh bite darkened the soft skin beneath her jaw.
Shit.
I frowned hard at the marks.
I hadn’t meant to be rough.
The Bear stirred defensively beneath my skin.
He thought she liked it.
Maybe.
Still.
The idea of hurting her twisted something ugly inside my chest.
Gia must’ve sensed the shift in me because she murmured softly in her sleep and pressed a tiny kiss against my chest before snuggling even closer.
Trusting me completely.
The realization hit like a punch.
Gods.
I would destroy myself before I ever betrayed that trust.
I tightened my arms around her carefully.
Justin had been right.
I was a True Alpha. I knew that now.
It was the only thing that made sense.
It was why my Bear was so volatile and dominant.
Why my father and brother hated me.
And no, finding my Omega hadn’t made me less dangerous.
If anything?
I felt absolutely feral for her now.
Protective in ways that bordered on unhinged.
Every instinct inside me revolved around Gia suddenly.
Her safety.
Her comfort.
Her happiness.
Mine.
Mate.
The words echoed endlessly now.
Gia shifted sleepily while I rested one large hand over her soft belly beneath the sheet.
The warmth there made my chest ache unexpectedly.
Because now I understood.
The knot.
The bond.
The biological drive behind True Alpha mating.
It was creation.
Family.
Future.
And fuck—the thought that she might already be carrying my young nearly stopped my heart entirely.
I’d never allowed myself to imagine that kind of future.
Not for me.
Not for a Monster hybrid exiled by his own blood.
I’d spent so many years believing I deserved loneliness that the idea of love still felt unreal.
But now?
Wrapped around my sleeping mate while mountain rain whispered outside our cabin?
For the first time in my entire miserable fucking life, I wanted a future.
I woke slowly to warmth.
Soft skin tangled with mine.
Dark hair spread across my chest.
Gia.
The realization settled through me instantly, deep and heavy and right.
Mine.
My Bear stretched lazily beneath my skin, completely content for once in its miserable existence.
Sunlight filtered pale gold through the cabin windows while rain dripped softly from the roof outside. The storm had finally passed sometime during the night, leaving the entire mountain smelling fresh and clean.
Gia stirred against me with a sleepy little sound.
My chest tightened and my cock pulsed, already embarrassingly hard.
Fuck.
I was gone for this woman.
Completely.
I brushed my fingers gently through her hair while she slowly blinked awake.
Those grass green eyes found mine immediately.
And smiled.
The expression hit me square in the damn heart every single time.
“Morning,” she murmured sleepily.
The sound of her voice first thing in the morning nearly ruined me.
“Morning, Honey.”
Her cheeks pinkened faintly at the endearment.
The bond pulsed warm and satisfied between us.
Gia stretched carefully across me with a tiny wince.
Instant guilt slammed into me immediately.
“You sore?”
Her lips twitched.
“You’re asking that now?”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.” She snorted softly before burying her face briefly against my chest.
“You’re built like a fantasy written by women with unrealistic expectations.”
I barked out a laugh before I could stop myself.
The sound startled both of us slightly.
I didn’t laugh much.
Not real laughter, anyway.
Gia looked up at me softly afterward, like hearing that rough, broken sound mattered to her more than it should.
Dangerous female.
“Anyway, no, I’m not sore, just, am I crushing you?”
“What? A little thing like you? Hell no! I was made for you, Mate.”
Her smile deepened, and she kissed my chest, making the beast inside me purr.
“You hungry?” I asked, brushing my thumb across her hip gently.
Her stomach growled immediately.
We both froze.
Then she groaned dramatically into my chest.
“Oh my God.”
The Bear rumbled in amusement.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Gia rolled reluctantly off me while I climbed out of bed.
Instantly the bond tugged sharply and uncomfortable between us.
Both of us paused.
The separation physically bothered us now.
Holy shit.
Gia noticed it too, judging by the way her eyes widened slightly.
Neither of us mentioned it.
Probably because acknowledging how intense this thing had become after less than a week felt mildly terrifying.
I tugged on a pair of sweatpants and headed toward the kitchen while Gia disappeared into the bathroom.
The cabin still smelled faintly like sex and rain and her magic.
Mine.
The kitchen, however, looked like a crime scene.
Overturned pasta.
Broken plates.
Sauce everywhere.
I sighed heavily.
Worth it.
Absolutely fucking worth it.
So while Gia showered, I cleaned.
Every surface.
Every dish.
Every bit of sauce and shattered dinner casualties from our little heat-induced meltdown.
By the time she padded into the kitchen wearing my shirt from yesterday—like she needed my scent on her—and fuzzy socks, the place looked almost normal again.
Almost.
The table still had claw marks in it.
The Bear felt very proud of those.
Gia stopped dead in the doorway.
“You cleaned.”
I glanced over from the stove where bacon crackled loudly.
“Yeah.”
Her expression softened immediately into something warm enough to make my chest ache.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wrecked the kitchen.”
“We wrecked the kitchen.”
Fair.
She wandered closer slowly, hair still damp from the shower, my t-shirt hanging off one shoulder and exposing the fresh bite mark beneath her throat.
Mine.
The possessive satisfaction nearly made my eyes flash.
Gia caught me staring.
Her cheeks pinkened slightly.
Then she smiled.
Fuck.
I set the spatula down immediately and hauled her into my arms.
Gia laughed softly as I buried my face against her neck.
“Good morning to you, too.”
“Can’t help it.”
“No?”
“No. I’m crazy about you, Honey.”
The honesty slipped out naturally now around her.
Too naturally maybe.
Gia’s fingers slid into my hair gently.
And for one perfect peaceful second?
Everything felt okay.
Then pounding shook the cabin door hard enough to rattle dishes.
The Bear surged instantly.
Threat.
Protect.
Gia startled against me while I spun toward the door with a growl already building in my chest.
Another bang followed immediately.
“Wreck!”
Havoc.
But something was wrong.
I could hear it instantly in the Wolf’s voice.
Fear.
Urgency.
I moved fast, opening the door just as Havoc shoved inside, looking half-crazed.
The Wolf paced immediately, wet boots tracking mud across the newly cleaned floor.
“Dude,” he barked breathlessly, “there’s a fire.”
Every muscle in my body tightened instantly.
“Where?”
“North ridge.”
Justin appeared behind him a second later, expression grim.
“But that ain’t the weird part,” Havoc continued.
The Bear was already awake beneath my skin.
Ready.
Violent.
“What’s the weird part?”
The Wolf looked genuinely unsettled now.
And that scared me more than the fire itself.
“It ain’t natural.”
Silence dropped heavily through the cabin.
Gia stiffened behind me.
“What do you mean, not natural?” I asked slowly.
Havoc dragged one hand through his hair roughly.
“I mean somebody fucking started it intentionally and with magic—dark magic.”
Anger flashed instantly hot beneath my skin.
“What somebody?”
The Wolf hesitated.
Then he faced me.
“Bear Shifters and they have a Witch with them.”
The room went completely still.
Even the forest outside seemed to quiet.
My pulse thundered once.
Hard.
“No,” I said flatly.
Havoc nodded grimly.
“Yeah.”
The Bear rose violently inside me now.
Territorial.
Dangerous.
Ancient instinct clawed sharply beneath my ribs.
“It’s the Forest Ridge Clan, man. They left markers,” he growled, and held up a piece of shredded tree trunk with one word scratched into it.
WRECK.
It had to be my father.
Or brother.
Whichever it was, one thing was clear.
This was a challenge.
“It gets worse,” Justin said quietly.
I looked at him.
The Dragon’s golden eyes narrowed slightly.
“There was another message.”
The bond between Gia and me pulsed hard with alarm.
“What kind of message?” She asked softly behind me.
Havoc looked directly at me then.
Uneasy.
Like he already knew the answer.
“Well, somebody issued a challenge to the Alpha of this territory,” he said, nodding towards me, “and the thing is, they’re using a Witch to mark the land they want.”
Silence followed.
Heavy and terrible.
My stomach dropped.
Because the horrifying thing?
Every instinct inside me already knew exactly who would do something like this.
And suddenly, twenty years of exile and hatred came roaring back like the fire itself.