Chapter 37 Ghost #4
Her omega whines, and it makes me chuckle. “What’s wrong? What is it?”
My breath against her mouth, I know the truth has to come out. “I’ve never… I’ve never done this before.”
She stills against me, eyes widening slightly. “Wait, you mean you’ve never...?” I shake my head, feeling heat rise to my ears with embarrassment. “How is that possible?”
“I’ve never made time for women. I’ve never been with anyone.”
Mona’s eyes darken, a growl rumbling through her chest and into mine where our bodies press together.
Her omega possessiveness is new to me. I’m used to watching on with envy while she holds her other mates in the same regard.
The sound ignites me, burning away another thread of my restraint.
My lips brush against hers as I whisper what feels less like a confession and more like an insecurity.
“I’m not like your other mates. I don’t—I don’t really know what I’m doing, and I might disappoint you. I’m sorry.”
“Did you know that a shifter can only knot for their mate?” she asks.
“Of course.”
“Did you read that in a book?” she teases.
I give her an eye roll. “It’s common knowledge.”
“Right. My point is Grayson, Orion, Silas, they didn’t know what they were doing either. I’m their first and only mate. We figured it out together.”
My chest expands with my breath. And then it’s like a dam breaks.
I’ve run through every single excuse, given her every worry, and I’ve got nothing left standing between us.
My lips crash to hers and I kiss her passionately, almost violently.
My teeth scrape against her lips, devouring her honey taste.
I trace her curves, softly at first to memorize the feel of her, before squeezing possessively, finally, finally knowing she is mine.
Mona tears her top off while my fingers struggle to pull down her pants, but we manage to get her naked before I’m climbing on top of her, unable to wait a second longer.
I kiss her neck, her collarbone. “I should give you flowers,” I whisper against her skin.
“I should make you dinner and hold your hand under the stars. I should court you properly, like I’ve wanted to since the day we met.
” My voice catches as I remember all those nights watching her from afar, laughing with her other mates, aching to be the one beside her.
I glance down at the hard floor beneath us, then back to her flushed face.
“I should give you a soft bed, not a filthy floor—but Christ, Mona, I can’t hold back another second. ”
Mona’s gasp fills the room as I spread her naked thighs. I search her eyes one last time—she answers with a smile that’s both permission and plea—and, with a determined grip on my cock, I guide myself inside her.
Her ankles lock behind my back, drawing me forward. She’s so slick, the wet heat almost shocks me. The first sensation of being inside her nearly undoes me completely. Tight and warm and perfect.
An unrecognizable sound escapes me as she arches her back, digs in her heels, and I sink deeper, to the hilt, the slow drag inside her pussy nearly making me black out.
“God, Mona,” I breathe against her neck, feeling her walls squeeze tight around me. “You’re incredible—I can’t—”
I’m drowning in sensation. An avalanche of my life all culminating in this moment, the pinnacle of my existence.
Here—and it could be anywhere—I’m finally as close to my mate as I could ever be.
The room blurs around us, vision flashing to memories of lonely nights, dreams of her touch.
My witch-half drinks in each wave of pleasure while my alpha shifter claws to the surface, demanding control.
It’s almost trance-like, my consciousness splitting and merging, the pleasure transforming into something ancient and feral, almost dark in its purity.
I pull out with a shudder and slam back in, as if decades of loneliness are being scraped from my soul, every thrust bringing me deeper, closer to Mona—to where I was always supposed to be. I’m so lost in her beauty, her scent. I need her.
Mate.
Knot.
Mine.
“Ghost,” Mona grunts.
I let out a heavy growl, animalistic and dominating. I thrust into her, harder and harder, as if I could pound her through the floor. As if I will never be close enough, but still, I try.
“Ghost,” she tries again. “Ghost!” I hear the words. They mean nothing. Only her pussy walls squeezing me so tight. Harder.
Mate. Knot. Mine.
MINE!
Somehow I’ve fucked her up against the edge of the room, my head slams into the cement on my next thrust. Another sound from my mate. And then a sharp sting—her teeth sinking into my neck.
A bonding mark, tying us together for eternity.
A roar erupts from my chest, and then my teeth find the soft curve of her shoulder.
I break skin, taste copper, breathe in the essence of her, drink in her honey, jasmine, dogwood flower scent.
Between us, the bond snaps into place, sparkling along every nerve ending, every cell, fizzing like popped champagne.
Consciousness floods back, and I see Mona beneath me, but I’m not alone in my head anymore. It’s as if someone flipped a switch—suddenly I feel them all through her. Mona’s other mates. My pack mates. My brothers. There’s worry and joy. Love. Yearning.
Their presence filters through our omega like light through stained glass. Each distinct, yet part of a whole. They reach for me through invisible threads, steadying me.
Reality crashes in, and everything catches up at warp speed. I was so pent up, so fucking repressed, held back for so long, I fell into a rut; I let my beast take over. I’m still buried inside her, so I attempt to withdraw, hesitantly at first, then frantically.
Disgust floods me. I went into a rut. My stomach churns with shame, and I’m about to scramble backward when Mona murmurs something about training, and before I can process it, she’s leveraging her weight against my hip. The world flips, and suddenly I’m flat on my back with her above me.
I’m so shocked, I let her. Mona gives me no time to spiral. She plants one palm on my bloodstained chest, holds my still hard cock in her other, leans back with fierce determination in her eyes, sinks herself down onto my length and begins riding me.
“Welcome back, mate.”
“Mona, I’m—I’m so fucking sorry. I’m so sorry—”
Her fingers go to my new bite mark. Nearly healed, though the mark will stay forever.
“Feel me,” she rasps through clenched teeth. “Feel me,” while she rolls her hips, circling.
“I hurt you. I almost—”
“You did no such thing. You think I can’t handle a rutting alpha?
I only brought you back because I wanted you to witness this.
You can rut into me back in Silent Peak.
All four of you, you can take turns, till I’m bruised and well used and brought to the edge of heaven. But right now I want you with me.”
I don’t deserve her. Not by a long shot. But I can feel her through the bond. She isn’t afraid. She’s not hurt or worried. Actually, she is worried. About me.
Her omega pours everything into the bond, and I can feel my pack mates there, too. She holds me close, pulls back and slams down, forward and fast. I let her, because I’m still just admiring and in awe of her.
It doesn’t take long for my mind to quiet.
It’s Mona’s magic, I think. Helping ease the pain of what I feel.
Her measured movements grow choppy as her body takes over, but I’m still basking in awe, so I hold her close, wrapping my arms around her, holding as tight as possible, leaving no room between us.
“Ghost,” she whispers. I tense, moving my hands up to cradle her head. I look her in the eye and shake my head.
“Aurelio. Call me Aurelio.” It’s been so long since I’ve said my real name, it sounds almost unfamiliar.
Her eyes shut briefly. Enough to press the brimming tears to her lashes, but I lean up and catch them in a kiss before they can track down her cheek.
“Aurelio. I love you, Aurelio. Make me come, Aurelio. Stay with me, Aurelio.”
I grip her hips and drive up, my fingers digging into her soft flesh, following pure instinct.
Our eyes stay locked, hers heavy-lidded and hungry, until the coiling pleasure threatens to burst. She shifts her position, taking me impossibly deeper, and I watch her unravel—her lips parting, her breath catching as waves of ecstasy wash over her.
Her pussy spasms around my cock, and the pressure sends her over the edge. Her walls clench tight as she crests and cries out, and I surrender, my release tearing through me like lightning as I fill her up, spilling into her with violent shuddering force.
My knot aches to claim her, but I resist—not here. Not like this.
Our breathing finds its rhythm again, reality seeping back in. Mona lies against me, flushed and glistening, the constellation of freckles across her body catching the dim light. I marvel at the feel of her. The fucking gift of having her, whispering thanks to the Moon Goddess.
I'm only able to bask for a moment. Then I feel it—the ward has fallen. “Dammit.”
I ease her aside with apologetic hands, my dick slipping out of her wet heat, dripping slick. As much as I want to enjoy that right now, her safety means more, so I rise to my feet.
“What’s wrong?”
I grimace and press my hand against the wall. “The ward fell. I wasn’t paying attention. It must’ve happened during the rut.”
Holding my palms up, I chant again. Deidre’s witches dismantled my spell, and I was too distracted to notice.
“Do you need more blood?” Mona extends her wrist.
I shake my head firmly. “No. I’m not taking any more of your blood.”
“But if we need it?”
“No. It’s only a matter of time, now, anyway.” The witches are nowhere in sight, but something tells me we’re running out of time. But I still don’t know what her plan is, and it’s hard to strategize against her without having any idea what she actually wants.
I pace the perimeter of the cell, pausing to listen between the bars, tilting my head to catch distant noise. I peer over at Mona. “Your friend seems fine for now.”
Mona gets up and listens in. And immediately pulls back, smirking. “Yep, Andrea seems fine for now.”
Normally I’d keep my worries from Mona, but she can feel me through the bond now. I try to tamp down my concern at our precarious situation, but there’s no helping it. Instead, I offer encouraging smiles, but they likely come out more like a grimace. In truth, she seems okay for now.
And so we wait.