Chapter 7
Cooper
I don’t want to leave my mate.
That’s the first thought in my head when I wake up, and it only gets louder when Landry shifts against me with a sleepy little sigh.
She’s sprawled half on top of me, one leg tangled with mine, her cheek pressed to my chest and her hand resting over my heart. Her hair is everywhere. Across my arm. Over my shoulder. Tickling my chin.
I love it. Love waking up like this. I love that she doesn’t pull away from me anymore. I love that when I reach for her in the middle of the night, she comes willingly. I love that my bed smells like her now. Like us.
Our mate. Our room. Our bed. Our home. My wolf sighs happily as he stretches inside me, smug and satisfied.
The full moon has come and gone, but the pull between us hasn’t eased. If anything, it’s stronger.
Better because she’s near me.
But also worse because I can’t think straight when she’s near me.
Landry hums in her sleep and nuzzles closer, her lips brushing my skin. My whole body tightens instantly.
Again, my wolf says eagerly.
I close my eyes and exhale a slow breath. We’ve been like this for days. Touching, kissing, and learning each other, falling into bed and barely making it out again before we’re reaching for each other like we’ve been apart for years instead of minutes.
I’m not complaining. I’ll never complain about my mate wanting me, but I have patrol today, and if I don’t get out of this bed soon, I’m going to be late.
Landry shifts again, her thigh sliding higher across mine.
Shit. Maybe late isn’t that bad.
She wakes slowly, lashes fluttering against her cheeks before her green eyes open and find mine. A soft smile curves her lips, sleepy and warm and mine.
“Morning,” she whispers.
My chest squeezes. “Morning, mate.”
“You look like you’re thinking awfully hard.”
“I am.”
“About what?”
“About never leaving this bed again.”
She giggles, her body rubbing against mine in ways that only solidify my decision to stay right here forever.
The sheet slips off her shoulder, and my wolf perks up with immediate interest. I stifle a groan, but my mate can sense the change in me. Landry sees my expression and bites her lip.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I warn.
“Like what?”
“Like you want me again.”
“I do,” she whispers instantly.
I growl and roll, pinning her beneath me. Her eyes widen for half a second, then heat, and she wraps her arms around my neck like she was waiting for exactly this.
I kiss her.
I mean it to be quick. I do. Just one kiss. Just enough to hold me over until I get home tonight. But Landry sighs into my mouth, and quick turns into deep. Deep turns into desperate. Desperate turns into me forgetting every responsible thought I’ve ever had.
She’s soft and warm beneath me, her hands sliding into my hair, her body arching into mine like she needs me as much as I need her.
My wolf rumbles his approval.
I drag my mouth from hers to kiss along her jaw, then down her neck. She gasps my name. Every bit of control I have frays.
“Cooper,” she whispers, tugging lightly on my hair.
I lift my head immediately. “Too much?”
“No.” Her cheeks turn pink. “Not enough.”
My wolf howls.
I grin down at her. “Love when you say that.”
I dip my head, my lips brushing over my bite mark at the base of her neck. Landry trembles. I love how responsive she is to my touch. I love how connected we are.
Mate, my wolf howls.
I refocus on the task at hand: making our mate come so hard that she sees stars.
I kiss down her chest, my hands plumping her tits for my mouth.
We both groan as I suck one stiff nipple into my mouth.
Her skin is so soft, so hot against mine.
She’s already shifting and wriggling beneath me impatiently.
I can smell her need, and my mouth waters.
I’m desperate for another taste of her, but I can tell that’s not what my mate needs right now.
Landry’s hips grind against mine as I tease her other nipple. “Need you.”
She presses on my shoulders, and I let her roll me over onto my back. My wolf licks his lips inside as she throws her leg over my waist and straddles me. Reaching between us, she wraps her small hand around my hard length and guides me to her entrance.
She’s dripping wet, and I grind my teeth as she sinks down on me. Her eyes become hazy as she works her pussy lower and lower on my cock.
“Yes!” she gasps as my cock rubs against her G-spot.
Her hips drop, and her sweet cunt swallows every inch of my dick perfectly.
“Fuck!” I snarl, my fingers digging into her hips.
She rocks on top of me, bracing her hands on my chest for leverage as she lifts and lowers on top of me. I tighten my hold on her, helping her ride my cock faster, helping her take me deeper.
"So good," she sobs. "So, so good."
"Love watching you ride me, mate,” I growl. “You’re so damn hot.”
“I’m close! I’m going to—Cooper!” she cries as she reaches her peak.
Her pussy clamps around my length, milking me.
“Fuck, mate. Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I chant as I pound into her.
She collapses against my chest, letting me use her body to get off until I’m snarling her name as I come hard.
Landry is motionless on top of me. I smile as I smooth my hands over her sweaty back and stroke her hair. She sighs happily, and my cock reacts. When she winces, I know we need to be done. We’ve been going at it like animals for the last few days, so I’m not surprised she’s sore.
“I should get ready for work,” I whisper.
She nods, sighing as she rolls off me.
Kissing her shoulder, I climb out of bed and head for the shower. I glance at the clock and curse. I need to hurry, or I’m going to be late for patrol. I can hear her moving around in the bedroom as I hurry through a shower and get dressed.
By the time we finally make it downstairs, I’m running behind. I don’t care. Not as much as I should.
Landry sits at the kitchen island wearing one of my shirts and a pair of little shorts that make it impossible for me to focus on anything except her legs. I burn breakfast twice. She laughs at me both times.
“I thought wolves had good focus,” she teases.
“We do.”
“Really? Because you just put coffee grounds in the cereal bowl.”
I look down and see that she’s right. She bursts out laughing, and I can’t even be annoyed because she looks so happy. That sound is worth a thousand ruined breakfasts.
I toss the mess into the trash and point at her. “You’re distracting.”
“I’m just sitting here!”
“Exactly.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
I make eggs and toast successfully on the third try, mostly because Landry takes pity on me and stops smiling at me. We eat side by side, our knees touching, her bare foot brushing against my calf every few minutes.
I’m going to lose my mind. Maybe I already have.
After breakfast, she goes upstairs to get dressed because she’s going to Taylor and Reyes’s place.
They’re spending the day together, shopping and having dinner in town.
I like that. I want her to have time with her sister.
I want her to have friends here, a life here, but I also hate the idea of her being out of my sight.
The cult has been too quiet since the full moon. That should be a good thing, but we all know it isn’t. Quiet means planning. Quiet means waiting. Quiet means we all have to be on edge.
Landry comes downstairs in jeans and a shirt, her hair loose around her shoulders.
She looks beautiful. She always looks beautiful, but something is different about her now.
She looks more relaxed than she did when I first brought her here.
Softer around the edges, as if she’s starting to believe that she can rest.
I don’t want anyone taking that from her.
“Ready for patrol?” she asks.
“Yep. Let’s go.” I take her hand, leading her outside. “Here, this is for you,” I say, passing her my spare house key. “In case you decide to come home while I’m still on patrol.”
“Thanks.”
I watch as she shoves it into her pocket. Then she takes my hand and we head out.
The walk to Reyes and Taylor’s house only takes a few minutes. I smile when I see the two of them waiting for us on the front porch. Taylor leaps to her feet and takes off as soon as she sees Landry. My mate laughs, pulling her hand from mine to take off toward her sister.
They embrace, hugging and talking a million miles an hour, as if they haven’t seen each other in years rather than a few days. I nod at Reyes, who also looks amused by the sisters.
“Ready for patrol?” he asks.
“Yeah. Have you heard anything else?”
“No. They’re still being sneaky, but they haven’t made any moves.” He claps me on my back. “They’ll be okay. They’re going to stay in town,” he says quietly.
My wolf and I are worried about being away from our mate, but Reyes is right. The girls will be together. They’ll be in town, surrounded by people and miles away from the threat. They’ll be okay.
They’re safe, I tell my wolf when he growls.
Keep it that way.
“Do you want a ride into town?” Reyes asks his mate.
“No, we’ll walk. It’s such a nice day,” Taylor says.
“Have fun at work,” Landry says.
I grab her waist, dragging her toward me. “I’ll miss you. Be safe.”
“You too,” she whispers.
I steal a kiss before Reyes and I get into his car. He drives us to headquarters, and I try to stay focused on work as we get our orders and head up to the border to relieve last night’s patrol.
The two of us get comfortable in the lookout spot, letting the other guys run along the border to make sure it’s clear.
Things are pretty quiet and boring for the first few hours. It isn’t until the sun is setting that Reyes perks up beside me.
“Hey, isn’t that the leader?” he asks.
I snap out of my thoughts about Landry and look at where he’s pointing. I frown as I observe Michael, the cult’s leader. “I think so. Jeez, he looks rough.”
He’s pale and thin and looks like a strong breeze could blow him over.
Or like one bite from me could tear him in two, my wolf adds.
“He looks sick,” I muse as I take in his appearance. The greenish cast to his face, the circles under his eyes, and how everyone around him watches him warily.
“The blood tests,” Reyes whispers, looking worried.
“What?”
“Landry said that they took her blood when she was kidnapped. She mentioned it in the hospital, but we never figured out why they did it. They’d never done it before, or not in the beginning, but a few women in the last few weeks have mentioned them taking their blood.”
“You think what? That he’s sick and they’re looking for donors or something?”
Reyes turns to look at me, and I know that’s exactly what he’s thinking.
“It makes sense,” he says.
I swallow hard. “If he’s sick, if Landry is a match for whatever he needs—”
“Then he must be desperate to get her back,” he finishes.
My stomach drops. I look over to where Michael is barking orders weakly at some men.
“Does it seem like some people are missing?” I ask suddenly.
Reyes frowns. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, usually we see the same twenty or so guys. Today, there’s only twelve.”
He scans the area, counting the people. “Shit. You don’t think…”
I suddenly have a bad feeling. “We need to get back to our mates,” I say in a rush, already turning toward town.
Reyes is right on my heels, but neither of us talks as we sprint through the trees and along the path that leads downtown.
Please be all right, I pray as I go.
Somehow, I already know she’s in danger. I only hope I can get there in time.