Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Karsyn
A pounding noise jerks me awake in a panic. I try to sit up, but the arm holding me down keeps me from doing so.
“Easy, baby.” Corbin grunts, pulling me tighter into him. “It’s just Dane.”
That doesn’t make it any better.
“I need to get up. What if he comes in here?” The panic doesn’t ease, and my tender body screams at me for jolting it.
Throughout the night, Corbin took me repeatedly, showing me pleasure unlike I’d ever felt before until exhaustion overtook me.
Even then, he kept me warm with his body alone, though he covered my body with a sheet and blanket.
“He’s not going to come in here, Syn. He knows better than to enter a room of mine without my permission.
” His voice takes on a hint of humor, like something was funny.
Nothing at this moment is funny. The man on the other side of that door is my brother, and he’s banging on the door like he wanted it to come down.
“What’s so funny?” I mumble, giving up on fighting his hold on me.
“Prez,” Dane calls through the door.
“You’re what’s funny,” Corbin answers me before yelling out. “What?”
“Need you out here, Prez. Justice sent me to get you, figured you wouldn’t kill me as badly as anyone else since my sister is in there with you,” Dane calls out through the door. “Also, Sage is up and eating breakfast with Dad and Big Daddy.”
“Fuck me, that kid never wants to sleep in,” Corbin grumbles releasing me to roll to his back. “Give us a few minutes, and we’ll be out.”
“Right,” Dane mutters, not as loudly, but I hear him regardless, which is strange as I realize I can also hear him walking away.
“Your wolf is fully merged within you,” Corbin announces, climbing out of the bed and reaching for me. “You said last night that you wouldn’t truly shift, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have the other aspects of your wolf. I can feel her within you, Syn. She’s there.”
“I’ve always been able to do certain things,” I admit, letting him draw me from the bed, taking the sheet with me to shield my body.
Corbin yanks the sheet from my hand and grips my waist. “Don’t hide from me, Syn.
Never hide your body from me.” Dipping his head down, he kisses first my lips and then where my neck and shoulder meet over the spot he’d bitten me repeatedly while inside me.
“As for you being able to do certain things before, you’ll have to wait and see what you’re now capable of.
For right now, don’t stress about it. We’ve got enough other shit to deal with, and I don’t need you stressing out. Alright?”
I’m not sure if I can, but I nod in agreement all the same.
“Good, now let’s get you some clothes on so I can get out there and find out what the fuck is going on.”
“I don’t have any clothes,” I murmur, taking yet another shirt from him. I refuse to feel ashamed, but I can’t help that the shame still seeps through.
“We’ll get that taken care of soon enough, Syn.” Corbin pulls his jeans over his impression shaft, and I can’t help wondering how it ever fit inside me. It’s monstrous. “I’ll send one of the doxies to get you some things.”
“Doxies?” Who is that?
“They’re what we call the women around here who aren’t ol’ ladies to the members of the club or a mate.”
“You mean the women I saw around the clubhouse yesterday?” There’s no way I want them to get me clothes. Not of any kind. They’d probably dress me in nothing more than what they did, and that’s just something I could not wear.
“Yeah, baby, the women you saw, they are called doxies here and are for the brothers of this club,” he answers and pulls a shirt on over his very impressive chest.
“Can someone else get my clothes? Maybe even just take me to get them? I don’t have money, but I . . . I can work to pay for them.” The very fact that I don’t have any means to support myself has me feeling hopeless. Completely helpless.
“You don’t have to work to pay for anything, Karsyn.
” I find myself drawn into his arms, and he holds me close.
“You’ve been through hell, baby, and you need time to figure things out for yourself.
As my mate, my ol’ lady, you’ll have your hands full around here as it is because I’ll do what it takes to keep you close.
Close means you’re with me. You’re near, and I can keep you safe. ”
I nod, still not fully understanding him, but I sense this isn’t just important to him, it’s imperative to him. “I still prefer to get my clothes myself.”
“I’ll take you later today. You and Sage both. She loves that type of shit,” he grumbles, clearly not enthused by the idea of going out for clothes. “Let me just get some other shit handled first.”
“Okay.” I nod and search the floor for the sweatpants he’d given me the other day.
His shirts might cover me, but I’d prefer to shield my entire body not just from those who would see me, but from the elements.
I’ve always gotten cold easily and don’t want to risk it when I can stop it.
It’s nice for once to have something warm rather than the dresses without shoes.
Though I love the feel of the earth beneath me, it does leave me chilled.
“Here, Syn,” Corbin calls out, holding out another pair of sweatpants, stopping me from putting the ones I’d worn previously back on. “Do you want socks again?”
“Please.” The ones he’d given me before were so warm, I enjoyed wearing them.
“Alright.”
Grabbing a pair from another drawer, he watches me closely while I finish dressing.
“Thank you.” I meet his gaze once again after I finish.
“No reason to think me, baby,” he remarks, pulling me in his arms. “Your thoughts are clearly still readable to me.”
I blink at his admission and blush, wondering what else he’s heard in my thoughts.
Does he know how handsome I find him? By the way, he grins down at me, it answers my own question.
I’m going to have to work at shielding my thoughts.
He doesn’t need my thoughts in his head mixing with his own.
It could become a distraction to him, and with the issues going on right now, he doesn’t need that.
“You’ll learn, Syn, that wolves have what is a mind link to those in their pack or in this club. I have a link to each member within these walls.”
“But I’m not a part of your pack or club,” I whisper before he can continue.
“You’re my mate, Karsyn,” he states as if that explains it all.
Sucking in a heavy breath, I try to step away from him, but he doesn’t allow me to do so.
“We’ll discuss all of this later. Right now, I’m needed out there, and I’m not letting you be far from me. Once I find out what’s going on, then I’ll take you and Sage out. Maybe take time to go eat at the restaurant you had food from yesterday.”
A smile forms on my lips at the suggestion. “The food was really good.” Granted, I didn’t eat much, but what I did consume was delicious.
“Good to hear, but you’re gonna have to eat more than what I saw when I got back here last night,” he states firmly and guides me out of the room.
“For now, though, I’ll get some breakfast to hold you over.
One of the jobs of the doxies is to prepare breakfast for everyone. Is there anything you don’t eat?”
I’m not sure I want some other woman fixing me food, but I refuse to let him know that, and I hope he doesn’t hear me. Those women . . . they scare me, and I know they definitely don’t like me. I’m willing to bet they’d have me out on my rear before saying anything nice to me.
Corbin stops us in the middle of the hall, turns me toward him, and grips my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze.
“One thing you need to know about the way of our world, Karsyn, nothing gets by me . . . not in this clubhouse. I’m the President of this club, the Alpha to those who are here.
Those women, the doxies, they’re no more than whores.
They aren’t even allowed to talk to you without permission.
They sure as fuck won’t have you on your ass without repercussions.
Around here, Syn, there’s an order, and the doxies are at the bottom of the totem pole.
Mates and ol’ ladies are at the top. We protect them at all costs. Do you understand?”
I draw my bottom lip in, Corbin’s eyes watching as I do so, and nod, sensing it best to do. I guess I really do have to work at shielding my thoughts if I want to have any thoughts just for me.
Corbin yanks me into his body and dips his head to claim my lips.
It’s not a forceful kiss, yet it’s not tender, either.
He keeps it short and takes me into the main room.
Immediately, I spot Sage sitting with Big Daddy and Daniel.
She smiles brightly and waves while using her other hand, holding a fork to lift what looks like a piece of sausage to her mouth.
“Hips, why don’t you get Syn and me a plate?” Corbin commands while ushering me to the table his daughter is at.
“You got it.” I don’t know if anyone else could feel it, but I could sense her dislike for the order. I’m sure she wouldn’t have an issue doing it for Corbin, but she definitely didn’t like the idea of serving me.
Corbin gives me a side eye, squeezes my waist, and helps me into a chair. Once I’m seated, he moves to Sage, bends down, and kisses the top of her head. “You sleep good, sweetheart?”
“Yep,” Sage remarks with a bright smile and cocks her head back to meet her dad’s. “Can we go see Jazmine today?”
“Not today.” The answer is clearly not what Sage wants to hear from the look on her face. Corbin straightens and moves to take a seat next to me, his arm stretching across the back of my chair while still talking to his daughter. “In a little while, we’re taking Karsyn shopping.”
“We are?” Sage perks up, smiling brightly. “You and me?”
“Yeah,” Corbin confirms. “First, I need to talk to Justice and handle some things.”
“Okay, Daddy.” The little girl nods, seeming ecstatic to be going shopping. I’ve no clue what the hype is all about, but I suppose I’ll find out.
“You think it wise to take her out?” Big Daddy asks, eyes swirling with questions. I don’t have to read his aura to know he doesn’t like this idea.
“Karsyn needs clothes, and I’m taking my mate to get what she needs.
” Corbin’s words are terse and leave no room for argument as he leans toward his father, narrowing his eyes.
“But later, you and I, we need to have a talk,” he mutters and looks over at me, then back to Big Daddy.
“It seems there are some things you never mentioned to me.”
“Like what?” Big Daddy demands, nostrils flaring.
Corbin leans even deeper and snarls harshly. “That my mother was the daughter of Artemis.”
“The hell she was,” Big Daddy shouts, jumping from his seat and pointing at me. “This witch tell you that?”
Corbin also gets to his feet, and Daniel pulls me out of the way while Sage is pulled back by Dane. The tension in the room intensifies and grows in magnitude. This isn’t good.
“She did, but only after I witnessed her in a moment translucent speaking with the Goddess herself.”
“Lies,” Big Daddy snarls, his features transforming to that of his wolf. “This witch is a liar, just as they all are.”
“Then how did she know the name Victor Wulfsige?” Corbin demands, his voice laced with such fury I could easily taste it.
“Do you think I’m a fool? That I don’t know how to scent that of deceit or a lie?
She spoke the truth, and the Moon Goddess, Artemis, came to her as a warning to me.
To this club. Something is coming.” He points to the doors and continues, “That fucker I helped Cyrus with yesterday . . . the one who took my niece . . . he’s coming for us all. He’s that fucker, Victor Wulfsige.”
You could hear a pin drop with how the room grew silent at Corbin’s harsh words.
Or maybe it is quiet due to the vibrations coming from Corbin.
Could it be that of the Alpha demanding submission?
A part of me wants to whimper and lower my gaze, but I find I’m transfixed by the very man who is my mate.
I never believed I’d see something so beautiful as he is.
His handsome body is nothing compared to the unseen as he takes control and proves himself.
No challenges were needed to prove he could take on anything that was to come at him.