Chapter 27
Home.
Lambda was taking Vallie home. After miles on foot, days filled with peril, two dragons threatening to kill his dearest mate, Lambda could finally keep her safe and warm and well-fed.
They walked through the streets of Luven, hand in hand. It was warm and sunny, the few fat clouds staying in the distance. The city felt alive—couples and families and single wolves enjoying the bright day, a testament to the warm summer to come.
And all Lambda wanted was to take Vallie inside.
There’d be other warm days, meant for walks and enjoying the city, days when they visited Chi’s bakery or met up with their friends for a meal. But not today.
Today, Lambda was going to start touching his mate, and not stop until she asked him. And he hoped they were a few days off of that.
“I can’t remember exactly where you live,” Vallie said, breaking the silence. “Are we far?”
“No, just around the next corner.”
“The house with the green door,” she said, smiling. By the Moon Goddess, she smelled like heaven.
They turned the corner to the long line of rowhomes. Lambda was glad Iota and Rho weren’t outside. Right now, as much as he loved his brothers, he had no interest in making small talk.
He pulled Vallie to their house, up the stairs, and inside. He slammed the door shut behind them and turned to face her.
Fuck, she was beautiful.
“So, you have your mate in your house,” she teased, her hands on her hips. “What do you want to do to her?”
Lambda sighed. “Whatever she wants.”
“Right now, she wants a shower,” Vallie said quickly. She turned to the stairs. “Upstairs if I remember correctly?”
“Yes, uh, I’ll grab you a towel and some of my clothes to change into after you get out.” Lambda sprang into action. Though the night of the ritual seemed like a lifetime ago, he had cleaned the entire house and washed all towels before they left.
He didn’t mind that they were both dirty from the road, but if his mate wanted a shower before anything else, she would get one.
“Hm. I guess that would be nice. But I think I’d prefer if you joined me in the shower. I’m definitely going to need some help washing the grime of the road off my back.” She smiled devilishly. “Probably my pussy, too.”
Heat rose to his cheeks as she looked him up and down.
“Fuck,” Lambda groaned. “I love you.”
Vallie giggled and ran up the stairs leaving him to chase after her. They crashed into the bathroom in a flurry of clothes being shed and dropped to the floor. Lambda had the good sense to turn the water on before they jumped in.
“Let it warm up,” he growled, pulling her body against him. Hell, it felt so good to have her skin against his. His hands were everywhere, her face, her neck, her breasts, her hips, her ass—he loved the way she squirmed when he palmed her cheeks. Her arousal flooded the air and Lambda thought he might howl with desire.
“I do want to shower,” Vallie said, her lips pressed against his cheek, “but fuck, I can’t wait to have you inside me.”
“I could fuck you in the shower,” he offered. “After I go down on you, of course.”
“Of course,” she mimicked. “I don’t know…I’m pretty tall. You think you’ll be able to hold me up while you fuck me against the wall?”
Lambda moaned. “Vallie…” he grinned wolfishly, then picked her up and wrapped her long legs around his waist. He stepped them into the shower and let the hot water run down her back, soliciting a shiver. He squeezed her ass, then nibbled a line along her jaw before landing on her mouth.
Finally.
Finally, they were home, they were together, and they were alive.
More than once during their journey, Lambda had lost faith of ever having this—Vallie safe in his arms in their house.
But they were here. And she wasn’t just in his arms, she was naked and writhing, and he planned to keep that up for days.
“Set me down for a second,” she said, her mouth pressed against his.
He did as she asked and watched her look around the shower until she found soap. She quickly lathered up her hands, then passed him the bar.
“You do me and I’ll do you,” she breathed, immediately lathering up his chest and arms.
Lambda didn’t have to be told twice. He covered his hands with lather and couldn’t help but start with her breasts. She arched into his hands and let out the most delicious squeak.
“My boobs didn’t get that dirty but I’m not going to complain if you want to focus on them.” She moved her hands over his back, then to his ass, giving him a squeeze. “Hell, you were amazing.”
“Hm?” Lambda mumbled. He moved his hands from her breasts, thinking he could concentrate better if he worked on her back and belly for a moment. But those lines of skin proved just as enticing, and he grabbed the shampoo bottle and switched to her hair.
“You survived being poisoned by the wall not once but twice. I’d say that’s pretty amazing,” she mumbled as she leaned into his massaging fingertips. “Oh, my gods, can you wash my hair every day?”
“Whenever you want,” he answered quickly, “and I was not amazing. You were. You got the four of us to safety. I was nothing but a pile of weight you had to drag along by the end.”
“Hey! Without you, I’d be either strangled or awaiting execution in Balaur.” She stopped moving and pulled his hands into hers. Her hair was still bubbling, but her eyes were serious. “We are a team. A fucking amazing team. We saved Verona and Natya and we both survived.” She leaned into the water and let the shampoo wash away. “Now,” she wiped the water out of her eyes and looked at him, “You said something about going down on me?”
Lambda couldn’t hold back his grin. He got to his knees and gripped both of her thighs. “Whenever you want,” he repeated. With her pussy inches from his face, he inhaled deeply. He nuzzled against her, gripping the backs of her thighs. “Open for me, Vallie,” he hummed.
She split her thighs and moved one leg over his shoulder for support. “Don’t let me fall,” she mumbled.
“Never,” he promised, then dove into her.
He’d never grow tired of this, Vallie’s clit against his tongue, her moans echoing above him. He wanted to run his hands all over her body, pinch her nipples, thumb her lips apart, but he kept them low for now. He wasn’t going to let her fall, no matter how great his need to touch every inch of her was.
He delved deeper, dipping his tongue inside of her, then revisiting her clit.
By the Moon Goddess, he wouldn’t mind drowning in Vallie’s pussy. She rewarded him with two hands buried in his hair.
“Fuck, Lambda,” she moaned. “Right there…fuck, fuck, fuck…” she continued panting over and over until she shouted and came against his face.
“Now, that’s how I’d like to shower every day,” Vallie giggled. “Hell, let’s dry off and climb into bed.”
“You don’t want me against the shower wall?” he teased.
She shook her head. “I want you in our bed first. Then I’ll have you in the shower, on the floor, that table downstairs looked pretty sturdy…I like the idea of the woods.”
“Whatever you want,” he reiterated. “I really mean that Vallie, in all things, not just fucking. Whatever you want, I want to give it to you.” Lambda switched off the water and reached for a towel. He wrapped it around her, giving her hair a quick rub. “What do you want?”
Vallie smiled and leaned against him. “You’ve given me everything I could want. My family whole. A house. A life outside of Balaur. I suppose I want to ride your cock for a few days. And the rest of my life.”
“Vallie, when you talk like that…” he trailed off, his eyes sweeping over her again.
“What?”
“I want to fuck you on the floor right here,” he admitted. “But”—he swept her into his arms as she squealed—“let’s get you into the bed.”
Lambda forewent a towel for himself and kicked open the door. He stalked toward the bed, eager to have Vallie, truly have her. He wanted his cock buried deep inside her body, he wanted her writhing beneath him, above him, in front of him. He was done waiting. It was time he and Vallie were truly mated.
A loud succession of bangs downstairs interrupted the perfect moment. Vallie jumped in his arms, and Lambda froze.
“What the fuck?” he mumbled.
“Uh…is Dr. Tau coming to check on us? I thought we checked out of the hospital.”
“I did check us out. It was fine that we left.” His brow furrowed. Was one of his friends fucking with him? He would murder whoever it was.
The knocking started again. This time with more vigor.
“Do you think something is wrong?” Vallie whispered.
Shit. Lambda set her down. “Go in the bedroom.”
“Are you going to the door? Naked? With your hard cock out?” She licked her lips and looked down at him.
Fuck. “Can I have your towel?”
She smirked and handed it to him, then sauntered, shaking her ass as she did, into the bedroom and shut the door.
Lambda looked back downstairs.
Murder was back in the forefront of his mind.
He raced downstairs and threw open the front door and found…
Beta.
“What the fuck do you want?” he growled.
“Alpha requests a meeting,” he answered.
“Now?” Lambda shouted. “Are you fucking kidding me? My mate and I have finally made it home, she’s waiting upstairs for me, and you want me to go talk to Alpha?”
“It isn’t up for discussion,” Beta countered. “Would you like to get dressed?”
Lambda ground his teeth together. “Give me a minute.” He dashed upstairs and threw open the door. Vallie jumped a little from her spot on the bed, her long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle.
“Is everything ok?”
Lambda grimaced. “I have to go. I will be back as soon as possible.”
“What?!” she exclaimed. “But…but we were supposed to finally mate.” The disappointment lacing her voice almost killed him.
“We will. Soon. I will be back soon.” He paused and let his eyes linger on her body. “Fuck. Please don’t get dressed. Get under the blankets if you’re cold.”
Vallie smiled. “I’m not going anywhere.” She stretched her arms overhead and pushed her breasts forward. “Hurry back.”
Lambda threw on a pair of pants and shirt and dashed downstairs.
“Is he at the arena?” he asked quickly.
“Yes, he needs—”
Lambda didn’t wait for an answer. If his boss was going to drag him away from his mate, he’d get there as fast as possible and get home even faster.
*
Lambda skidded to a stop outside the arena. His nostrils flared and his teeth ground.
The last time he was here, Alpha fucked Vallie.
He took a deep breath. Images of his boss taking his mate from behind, something he’d yet to do, flooded his mind.
His pupils shifted black, the wolf pressing against him. His claws poked through his skin…
“No,” he muttered. He took a deep breath and steadied himself.
Alpha hadn’t hurt Vallie. And if he attacked his Alpha, he’d be kicked out of Luven, a place Vallie wanted to be her home. They’d fought too hard to lose Luven now.
He needed to stay calm, have this meeting, and get back to her as quickly as he could.
Lambda shook his hands out and waited for his eyes to clear. He would face Alpha like a man, not a wolf. He pushed through the door and followed his nose to the auditorium. Why Alpha insisted on meeting in this goddess-awful room was beyond Lambda.
Alpha sat at the end of his long table, hands folded in front of him. He was put together today, his wild hair and beard both woven into a braid of their own. He was dressed professionally, too, a collared, well-fit black shirt.
“Alpha,” Lambda said, with a hint of a growl. They locked eyes for a moment, their wolves both clamoring under the surface.
“What the fuck?” Beta shouted, bursting into the room. He pushed past Lambda and sat beside his father. “You trying to lose me?”
“I’d like to get this over with. I was with my mate,” he growled.
Beta shook his head. “You’re being charged with a serious crime.”
“By who?” Lambda asked.
“The dragons,” Alpha interceded. “I was notified that the mate of Vallie crossed the wall, snuck into Balaur, assaulted two dragons, and stole two women.”
Shit. At least he hadn’t killed them. Lambda trusted Alpha, but that wolf’s job was to keep all of Luven safe. If sacrificing Lambda would do that…
Lambda exhaled. No use in lying. “All true.”
“Care to explain to me why on this gray earth you would do that?”
“Vallie’s sister was still a prisoner. The plan was to get her out. Vallie was going with or without me. I couldn’t let my mate go back to Balaur alone. They would have at least imprisoned her again. At most, executed her.”
“You left with two women, though?” Alpha prompted.
“I couldn’t leave Natya. Ask Dr. Tau what she looked like when she got here. She was starved, horribly injured, and wanted out.” Lambda felt his temper rise. “We can’t let the dragons continue like this. They treat those women like dirt, worse. Once Tella came, we should have—”
“And you attacked two dragons?”
Lambda felt his fangs press against his lips. “They were going to kill Vallie,” he growled. “One of them had his hand wrapped around her throat. He tried to strangle her. My mate .” The wolf was getting louder and more insistent. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep it at bay. “Are you going to punish me?”
Alpha shrugged. “I don’t think you did anything wrong, though technically you did break the covenant. But…” his voice trailed off a moment. “I could tell the dragons you and Vallie didn’t return. That you are lost to the Emptylands. Natya and Verona were both taken from human settlements, they have no claim over them.”
Lambda felt relief wash over him. And then immediate annoyance that he was taken from Vallie to have this conversation.
“If I’m not in trouble, I’d like to return to Vallie.”
Alpha shooed him away. “Go fuck your mate.” He turned to Beta. “We need a plan.”
Though Lambda was curious as to what this plan would be, and whether it involved all-out war, his curiosities could wait.
His mate was naked in his bed and wet for him.
He dashed back through Luven, certain at one point he heard Iota call out to him. But it didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to stop running until he reached Vallie.
Their home came into view, and he upped his speed, tearing down the street and up the front stairs. He threw open the front door and slammed it shut.
Home.
Lambda tore off his shirt and kicked off his pants while he climbed the stairs. Fuck, the air was full of her. His brain fogged for a moment, overcome with the scent of Vallie.
He stumbled into the bedroom, eager to put his hands on her.
There, on the bed, directly in front of him, was Vallie on her elbows and knees, pussy displayed for him.
“Finally,” she teased. “Get in me.”