15. CHAPTER 15
Despite the losses we’ve endured and the mission we’ve half-failed, our return to the court is still somewhat triumphant.
The Grey Manor is on the way to the Lafayette’s, so Gavin agrees to pop in and say a quick hello to his mother before departing to go to the family he’s building with his wife. Malia offers to go straight to the camp to debrief our mother on the mission, which leaves me with no choice but to accompany Garren while he deals with his family.
Instead of the throne room or even the conference room, we’re being taken to a private and cozy little living room with three sofas that are all turned toward a big fireplace. Garren’s parents as well as Grayden and Graham are already waiting for us.
“You’re back,” Queen Grey exhales and rushes to hug her sons.
I step back, feeling slightly out of place as Gavin and Garren greet their family. Grayden must feel like he doesn’t belong there either because he positions himself next to me.
“Touching scene, isn’t it?” he asks with a hint of something in his tone that I can’t quite place.
“It’s been an emotional journey,” I reply, referring to the high possibility of dying that any one of us faced.
“I bet it was,” he replies, giving me a sideways glance. “What’s your plan now, Alpha? Aiming for the highest promotion? Queen, maybe?”
My head abruptly turns his way, and I narrow my eyes at him, not liking his tone. I want to tell him to stop beating around the bush and be direct about whatever he’s trying to insinuate. I don’t need to because he does just that.
“It was all well and good to accept you that first night because you saved Garren’s life or whatnot,” Grayden says, lifting his chin ever so slightly so he gives the impression of looking down on me. “Now that the fight’s over, and Garren has proven himself in our father’s eyes, he’ll be expected to ascend. I don’t see it in your cards to be his queen. In all our history, the nobility has never accepted a commoner into their ranks, much less bow to one and refer to them as their ruler.”
I clench my jaw, fighting against every fiber of my being not to punch this princely asshole and ruin his pretty face. I would sure love to see his dark eyes adorned with painful black circles. I would enjoy pulling his over-gelled dark curls and making him scream like a little girl.
Do it, my wolf says, just as angry at the stupid prince. He more than deserves to be put in his place.
I agree with her, and I’m tempted to actually do it. Then Garren joins us at my side, putting his arm around my waist and successfully cutting me off from all the anger as his love washes over me like a warm summer wave.
Garren gives Grayden a small smile, then turns to his family, most notably to his father, when he makes an announcement that I didn’t know anything about. “As you all know by now, Alyssa is my fated mate. I expect you all to treat her with the respect she deserves as my future wife.”
“She’s a commoner,” Grayden comments, causing heads to turn his way. “You can keep her. You can fuck her. But you can’t marry her.”
“I will keep her. I will fuck her. And I will marry her,” Garren replies sharply with a tone of finality. “Because of a comment like that, I will expect your bow to be the lowest, and you better not disappoint me, otherwise I’ll make your life a living hell. Are we clear?”
Grayden grits his teeth, his eyes flashing with anger. Just when I think that he’ll stubbornly disagree, he surprises me and nods his head.
“I need to hear you say it,” Garren tells him, still sounding angry. “Are we clear?”
“We’re clear,” Grayden says with a low, barely audible voice.
If we didn’t have heightened hearing, Garren might’ve pushed his brother further, but because we are wolves, he lets the matter drop.
Good riddance, my wolf says with a low snicker.
“If there proves to be resistance and any one of you doesn’t accept Alyssa as your future queen,” Garren continues, his tone firm and serious, “I will abdicate before the ascension and leave everything behind without a second thought. I didn’t know what living really was until I met her, and I didn’t know what true happiness felt like until our bond clicked into place. I will do anything and everything to not lose that, to not lose her. So, I warn you now not to push me.”
While Garren’s father’s face is a dark mask, his eyes shine with rage and disapproval. My gut twists painfully when I realize that Garren will have to throw it all away to be with me. He will have to renounce his title to be a commoner like me. He will be forced to build his life from the ground up, learning how normal people with no servants have to live.
“I too know what it feels like to find your fated mate,” King Gavin says, being the first one to speak up after Garren’s impromptu speech. “I too know what it feels like to be willing to leave everything behind in return for happiness. Because I know how important it is and how incredible it feels, I give you an official vote of support in the name of the Lafayettes. I’m pretty sure Leia would agree with me and endorse your decision. As the neighboring kingdom, we accept Alyssa Hunt as Prince Garren’s future queen.”
“Hear, hear!” Graham exclaims and claps, for once not having any kind of gadget in his hands.
As Graham and Gavin congratulate Garren, Queen Grey closes the distance and pulls me into a hug that’s surprisingly warm and genuine. An earthy scent mixed with the smell of fresh flowers fills my nostrils, making me feel more at home than anything else ever could.
“Welcome to the family,” Queen Grey whispers, her arms tightening around me in an embrace that one would reserve for a daughter.
“Thank you,” I reply, saying the only thing that comes to mind. I didn’t want to sound rude by not saying anything at all and showing a healthy amount of gratitude when it’s due has never failed me before.
Gavin approaches me next, and though he also pulls me into a hug, his is more controlled and respectful. The warmth emanating from him still manages to make me feel welcome and accepted as one of them.
“You’ll outrank them soon enough,” he says with a barely audible voice. “Until then, keep your head down, but don’t forget the way they treat you or how they talk to you.”
Quite a vengeful prince, my wolf chuckles, nodding her phantom head in approval.
King, I correct her, determined to show him the respect that he earned by fighting side by side with us and bleeding like one of us.
Graham comes next and as the shy introvert I pegged him to be, he offers me a hand. When I give him mine, he covers the top of it with his other one, the gesture both old-school as well as gentlemanly.
“It will be a privilege to call you a sister,” Graham tells me and even though there’s no need for that yet, he bows his head slightly in respect.
“And you a brother,” I tell him, pleasantly surprised just how much I meant it.
The only one left to acknowledge our union is King Grey himself. I hold my breath, bracing myself for the insults and discrimination that should’ve died with the times. If Royals don’t keep one foot in the modern world, they’ll be left behind and forgotten.
“Father,” Garren says and though it sounds polite enough, it’s also a thinly veiled warning for King Grey to pick a side.
“We’re both very happy for you,” Queen Grey says, then pointedly looks at King Grey, whose eye is twitching as if he’s having a stroke. “Isn’t that right, Gael?”
At the sound of his name, King Grey seems to recover himself. He turns his face into what looks like an almost polite expression. His eyes trail from the youngest of his sons toward the oldest. While King Gavin meets his father’s gaze straight on, Graham pretends to be occupied with an invisible speck of dust on the shoulder of his jacket. I don’t even want to check what look Grayden’s giving his father, and I can only hope that he’ll heed Garren’s warning.
“First of all, I want to remind you all that I’m still the patriarch of this family and the king of this kingdom, so what I say goes,” King Grey announces, his dark eyes dangerously narrowing.
Garren’s hand finds mine, and he gives me a comforting squeeze. With his silent reassurance, I can breathe again, knowing that whatever happens, he and I will be okay.
Growing up, I heard plenty of stories of wolves that found their fated mates, but I’ve never met any in person. It’s extremely rare for those bonds to actually click into place. I used to lay in bed and wonder how to find the one wolf that was put on this earth for me amongst all those millions upon millions of souls. It seemed virtually impossible that my soulmate would come from the same kingdom, much less become a part of my pack.
Destiny has a sick sense of humor, and fate really has a funny way of doing things.
“That being said,” King Grey continues, “I want to propose that we extend an event that’s been long overdue, but only now we can all agree with certainty that it’s well-deserved.”
Because she knows her husband better than any of us, Queen Grey’s face is the first one that relaxes, the small and proud smile on her face making her look several years younger.
“I’ve been a king for a long time, and I think it’s time that I spend some quality time with my wife,” King Grey says, giving his queen a loving smile that brings a look of surprise on the faces of the four brothers. They must not be used to seeing affection between their parents. No kid wants to think about how they were conceived.
“Next week, I will officially step down and give my crown to Garren,” King Grey continues, his eyes on his oldest son. “We will have a coronation straight away, but because I would like to make my approval official and my acknowledgment public, I propose that the extended part of the coronation is your wedding.”
“M-my wedding?” Garren stammers, undoubtedly caught off guard by his father’s encouragement.
“Yes,” King Grey confirms, then steps forward and holds his hands up in front of me. I hesitate only a moment before I put mine into his. He gives me a squeeze that conveys more than words ever could. It speaks of welcome, happiness, and hopes for a great future.
“Alpha Alyssa Hunt,” King Grey says with a firm tone, and though he’s giving me a serious look, his dark eyes are softer than I’ve ever seen them before. “As the Grey king, I kindly welcome you into the family and accept you as our future queen.”
Do something, my wolf tells me when I just stand there, frozen on the spot and my mouth half-open in shock.
I bend my knee ever so slightly in a curtsy, doing the first thing that comes to mind and also the same one that has been drilled into me since I can remember. When I look back at King Grey, his smile is one of approval.
He takes a step forward and gives me a symbolic kiss on the cheek. He uses the opportunity to whisper, not unkindly, “This will be your last curtsy. Queens bow before no one.”
Next, King Grey pulls Garren into a celebratory hug. At first, Garren’s body is all stiff and awkward. It’s clear that he’s not used to receiving any affection from his father. I catch his mother giving him a small nod, and after that, Garren relaxes and puts his arms around his father.
“I should really go home now,” King Gavin says after we share a quick toast. “I can’t wait to see Leia and check if the pup has grown in her belly.”
“Do we know if it’s a boy or a girl yet?” Queen Grey asks, her face radiating with pure happiness.
“We’re finding out next week,” King Gavin replies, a wide smile on his face as he talks about his unborn baby. “If Garren and Alyssa don’t mind sharing their spotlight at their wedding coronation, we’ll tell you then.”
“We’ll be happy to share our happiness with yours,” I tell him, meaning it, then glance at Garren who also nods in agreement.
Gavin’s been nothing but kind to me since the moment we met, and I can’t wait to meet Queen Leia. While I’ve heard a lot of good things about her, I’ve never been stationed anywhere near the events that the Lafayettes have attended.
“We’ll head to our room now,” Garren says, putting his hand on the small of my back. “It’s been a long week, and we’re in dire need of some rest.”
Garren’s words serve as a reminder of what and who we’ve lost. Fortunately, all the Dark Hunters survived the last mission, but that didn’t mean the same for other packs. The Lafayette pack has not only lost their Alpha but also another two members. Malia’s Lightbringers had some bad injuries, and one of them is in the hospital fighting for life in a room next to Esme’s. Gavin’s Pack of Shadows proved once again their elite training because they went belly deep into every battle and also came out on the other side more or less unscathed.
Tom Lowe, Alpha Joseph Jenkins, Mia Poole, Keenan Wise,my wolf says the names of the fallen like a prayer to Fenrir to accept them into his immortal kingdom.
Garren leads me to what he calls our room. Now that we’re away from everyone, I let my guard drop, which fills my body with the side effects that appear once the adrenaline levels subside.
Feeling slightly giddy from what we’ve achieved and for the fact that we’ve survived to live another day, I make myself comfortable on the very same sofa Garren fucked me on the night before we left on the mission.
“I’ll have them bring a bottle of wine,” Garren says, going to the phone. “We’re celebrating!”
It doesn’t take long for the bottle to be delivered. Garren kindly waves the servant off, confirming that he can open it himself. Indeed, he goes to the little table at the window and searches its drawer, then triumphantly pulls out a bottle opener.
I get off the sofa and move toward the window until I stand behind him. Unable to resist myself, I grab his firm ass before running my other hand up over his chest. My breasts press against his back, and I lay my head on his shoulder. Garren’s struggling to open the bottle, no doubt distracted by my silly effort to seduce him. I kick it up a notch when I slowly trail my hand down his body and start rubbing his cock through his pants, while at the same time, I rhythmically squeeze and massage his ass.
Turning around, Garren pulls me into a passionate kiss, our tongues darting in and out of each other’s mouths in rapid succession. The wine bottle now forgotten, Garren lifts me off the floor, pressing me even closer to him. I wrap my legs around his torso and hold onto his upper body as he carries me past the sofas and through the double doors of our bedroom, slightly stumbling through the archway as our mouths are still engaged in a passionate kiss that only breaks moments before we collapse onto the bed.
My fingers fumble around the buttons on his shirt until I finally succeed and quickly pull it off him, throwing it across the room in the general direction of the bathroom. I don’t waste time and immediately return my hands to his bare chest, running my fingers across his chest before reaching further down his body. His thick cock’s already hard and ready, throbbing behind the confines of Garren’s pants. As if he read my mind, Garren removes his shoes and socks, following his pants and his boxers that soon join his shirt on the floor across the room.
His thick cock proudly stands up in all its length and hardness, eager for my attention. I oblige and lean forward on the bed to give it a brief moment of admiration before I cup his balls and bring my mouth to the tip of the cock. Slowly, I make my way down the length of his cock, licking and teasing his shaft, then leaving a trail of saliva down his throbbing hardness. I continue to tease him, sucking one of his balls into my mouth, then another. My tongue plays with it, tickling the smooth skin around his sack, before returning back to the tip of his cock and gently grazing the sensitive head to give him the most exquisite sensation.
His cock grows even more in my mouth, beginning to throb and pulsate harder than ever before. Garren’s breathing is now coming in rapid and shallow bursts, and just as I’m about to double up my efforts to give him the pleasure he deserves, he groans and grabs me by my ponytail. To my surprise, he doesn’t bury his cock deep down my throat, but instead pulls me away from him, releasing his manhood from the warm and slick confines of my mouth.
I look up at him, my brows furrowing in confusion. He only gives me a small smile before kneeling down to kiss me. This whole time, he’s been standing at the edge of the bed, my mouth too eager to please him before he even had a chance to properly make himself comfortable.
“Your turn,” he says in a low voice.
His fingers find the hem of my shirt and he pulls it over my head, throwing it in the same direction as his clothes. His nimble fingers undo my bra in one quick motion, leaving my breasts uncovered and my nipples reacting to the cooler air temperature. I don’t need to look down to know that they’re erect and tender, but when Garren sees them, he lets out a guttural groan in approval before cupping and squeezing them. With one swift and powerful motion, he turns me around until my back is firmly pressing against his erection. I tilt my head up, giving him an invitation for a kiss that he gladly accepts.
We reposition ourselves on the bed with me lying on my back and Garren working his way down until he is kissing my navel. I slightly lift my hips to help him pull my pants off, along with my own shoes and socks. The small damp spot on my underwear is a clear indication of just how much I want him.
With a cheeky grin, Garren meets my eyes and lifts his index finger, making me watch as he shifts and extends its nail into a sharp claw. He only looks down to make sure that he doesn’t cut me in the process as he makes quick work of destroying my perfectly good underwear.
“I’ll buy you as many as you want,” he promises as his finger shifts back to normal.
Garren’s hand trails down my smooth legs, his throat making a small sound of approval moments before he crawls between my legs. I widen them even more, eager to be subjected to his skillful work. As if we haven’t been through a lot already, Garren decides to torture me a while longer.
Instead of burying his face in my pussy, he teases the spots around it, leaving a trail of kisses along my thigh and down to my ankle, before moving back up my other leg and even reaching my breasts. When he raises himself up onto his strong arms and gives me a deep kiss, his cock bangs against my thigh. I lift my ass, trying to get my pussy to make contact with his erection. Seeing right through me, he moves away from my mouth and resumes kissing his way down my body from my neck to my breasts, then trailing his tongue along my stomach before finally arriving at my now soaking and open pussy.
At last, Garren tastes me, moving his tongue in and out of me as my lower lips open for him in a welcoming embrace. He plays with my now exposed clit, lavishing it with his tongue, alternating between gentle and firm strokes as well as changing his movement from rapid to slow and vice versa before finally sucking it into his mouth, increasing the overwhelming sensation of this most delicate spot. At the same time, he traces one hand up my body while the other one gently teases the entrances to both my pussy and ass.
Garren’s tongue continues the unrelenting, unyielding, and unwavering assault on my clit, making my pussy burn hotter than ever before. It doesn’t take long before my body begins to shake under the skillful actions of his tongue. I tilt my head back as a powerful moan escapes me, and I give myself over to the orgasmic ecstasy as his tongue fucks me over the highest edge of the cliff.
Garren moves up to kiss me, making me taste my own juices on his tongue. He holds my shuddering body in his powerful embrace until my orgasm subsides and I stop trembling enough for him to continue.
When I manage to somewhat gather myself, I’m hit with one overwhelming desire. I want to feel him inside me. I need him to fuck me into oblivion.
As we move into a spoon with him pressed against my back, I raise my leg and throw it over his leg behind his, giving him plenty of space to do what I need from him. He doesn’t hesitate and presses the tip of his hard cock against my pussy. I turn my head toward his and kiss him deeply as he enters me, gently pushing the entire length of his thick shaft into me at the most sensitive angle that hits the best spots.
Garren pulls back a little before pushing his cock back inside me, hitting the one inner button that makes me moan. I do it again and again as he fills my soaking pussy, thrusting his hips back and forth as he pumps his cock in and out of me. He does it over and over again, burying his shaft into me up to the hilt. I begin to push back with my ass, wanting to get him deeper and deeper inside me. We settle into a sensual, rhythmic fucking, both of us having our pressure spots rubbed and touched.
His cock begins to throb and pulsate inside me, and I brace myself for a shot of his load. He surprises me once again and instead pulls out of me, then rolls us over until I’m on all fours with my ass up in the air. Garren grabs his throbbing cock and guides it to my pussy, granting my wish by thrusting it deeper and deeper between my welcoming lower lips.
Before too long, neither one of us can hold back any more. His cock begins to pulsate and quiver as he shoots a stream of his hot load deep into my pussy, followed by another, and another, and another, until he completely empties himself. My pussy is a big help in milking him out as I scream into the pillow through yet another orgasm, my muscles flexing and contracting around his throbbing member.
Utterly and completely spent, we collapse on top of each other on the bed as the last drops of his load splash against me while my pussy’s still quivering from my second powerful orgasm of the night. Reaching behind me, I grab hold of the base of Garren’s cock, keeping it inside me until my pussy stops flexing its muscles.
We roll over to caress each other. I end up lying spread wide on the bed, my pussy still feeling the phantom sensation of his hardness inside me as the echoes of my orgasm send shivers down my spine. Garren puts one hand under my head and the other over my breast in a half-embrace while his exhausted cock enjoys a well-deserved rest against my thigh.
“I hope you like receiving orgasms because I plan on giving them to you for the rest of our very long and happy lives,” Garren whispers into my hair.
“And I plan on fucking you so often and hard that your wolf will become the most skilled healer on the planet,” I whisper back, silently promising to fulfill all his hidden and not-so-hidden desires.
Garren’s cock twitches against my thigh and he groans into my hair. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I reply, then close my eyes to get at least an hour of rest before we begin to devour each other all over again.