Chapter 25 Casey
Casey
I wake up overheated. I sit up and find I’ve got a man wrapped around me on one side and a large red wolf pressed against me from the other side. Wrath grips my arm and pulls me easily back down onto his chest.
“Where are you going?” he mumbles sleepily.
“Nowhere.”
“Good. Stay here.”
I lay my head on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. “We need to get this curse undone yesterday. It’s the only answer that doesn’t end with the six of us dead.”
Wrath and Hazard stiffen.
“You are all doom and gloom first thing in the morning, aren’t you?” Wrath teases, stroking a hand down my spine. “We will sort it out.”
I blink back tears. “My mother was an omega wolf. I know what the pack did to her. You can’t be here when they come for me.”
“Then we all leave.”
The wave of hope that hits me is stronger than I expected, leaving my head spinning.
“We can’t get across the borders; the packs will bring me back. I’ve tried.”
Wrath curses.
“We will find an answer.”
I bury my face in his chest and try to hold back the emotion, but my body starts to get this full-body tremble that I can’t stop. “I have a wolf,” I whisper in horror.
What Jonas will do to me now, I have no idea, but it won’t be pretty. He will never let me go.
“You are a wolf.”
Hazard puts his furry face against mine. I throw an arm around his neck and cling to him in desperation.
“First things first. Tomorrow we teach you everything you need to know about shifting.”
“Tomorrow, I have another date,” I whisper in protest.
Wrath hesitates, his disapproval flooding the air. “Fine. But we will all sit down and talk about everything, including why that alpha was trying to beat you senseless.”
I lay there for a long time, holding onto him. Wishing that a million things could be different but knowing they aren’t, and no matter how much we might wish, some things aren’t going to change.
My date, Mike Sanderson, comes to my house. He’s funny and charming, and he shows the right level of interest in all things. Mike notices the wolves; he doesn’t pick any orifices. He’s neat and clean and smells okay, and he’s not drugged.
All pluses in his column. And yet, there is something off about him.
I struggle not to yawn when he speaks. He sips his coffee and talks about his job but gives very little details. His story is perfectly ironed out, and I can’t find a single hole in anything.
Which should be good.
And yet…
The three hours he spends before I can politely convince him to leave are excruciatingly slow. Wrath has been lying at my feet the whole time, his bulk pressing into my legs, a relief and a reminder of what we both stand to win or lose.
“So, for our date tomorrow, shall we go out to Erebus Pass?”
My eyebrows shoot up. That’s a day’s drive away and completely isolated. “Uh, that’s pretty far away, and I have to look after the dogs.”
“Oh, nonsense, it will be fun. We can bring a blanket and have a romantic lunch, and if one thing leads to another, we can make out. I’d love to see you looking so beautiful out in the wild.”
Isn’t my mountain wild enough? Erebus Pass is notoriously dangerous. People fall off the cliffs all the time. My nerves twang, and I find myself watching him intently. All the warnings that had been chiming are now peeling in my mind, huge alarm bells.
“I don’t think so.”
Mike’s smile slips. It shouldn’t mean anything, but the slip of the smile transforms him. His eyes are sharp, predatory, and he watches me with a little too much interest and intent to dismiss.
“I really want you to come with me.”
“No.”
His face darkens, and he takes half a step towards me, inhaling so he appears bigger. The mask of whoever he was pretending to be has completely slipped away, and I realise the man inside my house at the moment is a monster.
“So, you got me out here just to tease me? You are one of those women?”
I shudder, my neck prickling. The wolf inside me snaps and snarls, demanding freedom to rip him apart.
I consider it.
Khaos walks into the room, huge and menacing. The fur on his back stands in a thick line as he exposes his teeth.
The other four, who have been leveling up their aggression, take their cue from him, openly showing their anger.
“Uh, the dogs seem stirred up. Let's call it a day, shall we, and I’ll contact you?” I smile and wave at him, hoping he will take a hint and get the hell out of my house.
I don’t want to have to clean up blood; you never quite get all of it out of the woodwork.
He leans forward, but Wrath gets in between us and bounces up, snapping his teeth where Mike’s face was. He’s almost as tall as a person when he stands. I wrap my arms around him from behind and throw my entire weight backwards when he goes in for a second attempt.
My date finally seems to register the danger he’s in, but he just smiles that creepy ass smile.
“Your dogs should be mounted on walls.”
The sentence takes a second to compute.
“What?”
Mike smiles wider, knowing he’s unnerved me. “The only good wolf is a dead one.”
I struggle to hold Wrath back, but Mike just casually walks to the front door, unconcerned.
Holy crap, I think he might be one of those wolf hunters we all hear about.
“Perhaps we should be happy to call this the one that got away?” Mike says and shrugs. “Don’t come back into my world, little wolf, I’d hate to have to kill you.”
I gape at him as he walks out the door and leaves.
Khaos shifts back and finally releases whatever growled command he had on the pack.
Riot shoves into him. “He deserved to die!”
“Yes, he did.”
“Why did you stop me?”
“Because his dying would have come back on Casey, not us.”
Riot freezes. “Oh.”
“We think before we murder, Riot,” Khaos grumbles and turns to me. “Are you all right?”
I hold on to Wrath until I hear the car disappear, and then I let him go and fall back onto the couch.
Khaos grabs my shoulders and gives a little shake.
“You don’t go anywhere with that man. You hear me.”
I snarl. “I’m not stupid enough to go out with Serial Killer Mike or whatever his name is.”
Khaos blinks and smiles widely. “We’ll take care of him. How did you know?”
“He gave no details about his life. You can’t contact him during certain hours. He looks perfect on paper. He wants to go out bush on the second date. I’m female, not dumb.”
“Well, then. Just so you are aware. But, for reference, that smell on his clothes is commonly used to remove blood, and he had defense marks on his neck.”
I close my eyes because he needs to be destroyed. Clearly, he needs to be killed.
“You need to be more assertive.”
I roll my eyes and curl into the couch. “Be gone, oh, dark and growly.”
“Dark and growly?” I hear Khaos murmur in amusement.
I smile into the couch cushions. I like when I can hear the smile in his voice. “You have another date tonight.”
I sit up slowly and turn to glare unhappily at Khaos. “Another one? Tonight?”
“Yes.”
I groan and go into the kitchen. This is cruel and unusual. I had better get the dinner on now, otherwise we won’t be eating. I start chopping vegetables when Riot comes into the kitchen.
I very nearly slice my thumb clean off.
“Riot, where are your clothes?” I sound faint and slightly panicked, but he’s naked. Oh, my god, he is hung.
He raises an eyebrow and drags himself up onto the bench beside me. I exhale through my nose and try to cut the carrots, but I can barely focus. His legs are tanned and muscled. I didn’t think there was anything sexy about a man’s legs, yet here I am, admiring every long line.
Which leads me to another long line that is getting longer. I swallow hard at my first view of his erect cock. He reaches down and lazily tugs it.
“You are naked in my kitchen, where we prepare food,” I rasp out. “With…with…that!”
Riot simply grins back lazily.
“I have a date tonight.”
“How about we bring your tension down?”
“You’re causing my tension,” I point out acidly.
I walk past him, and he grabs me, bringing me into the V of his legs, where I try very hard to ignore what is painfully, obviously pointing in my direction. I peer up at those golden eyes, refusing to look anywhere else.
“I don’t want you to go.”
“I have to.”
“No, you don’t. You could stay here with us.”
I chuckle at the thought of Khaos’ response. “Riot…” I slide my arms around his back and press my face to his shoulder, still ignoring the hard cock pressed to my waist. “Freedom is more important. Your freedom is important.”
I pull away but only make it two steps before he snags my waist and turns me so I’m facing him and shoves a thigh between my legs.
He pulls me up by my ass until I’m on my tiptoes.
I grip the counter to keep my balance, but he’s just so hard everywhere, and the friction on my already aching pussy melts my brain.
My nostrils flare, and my mouth falls open as I grab onto him so I don’t fall.
“You want us.” He says it with pleasure, as if it’s a surprise. “You’re fighting us so badly so we can be free, but you want us. I promise, I won’t hurt you ever. All I want to do is make you feel good.”
His fingers curl into my ass and pull harder, dragging me up. I gasp, my back arching.
“I could make you feel good, just for now,” Riot murmurs and kisses his way down the front of my throat. “I don’t have enough hands,” he growls.
“Riot,” Khaos groans in exasperation. “She has to get ready for the date. Let her go.”
Riot growls, and his fingers clamp tighter, lifting me off my feet. My eyes widen as all my weight is now supported by the hot heat of his thigh at the apex of where all my brains have suddenly disappeared to.
“Let. Her. Go.” Khaos growls, and this time, his voice is darker, deeper.
I’m slowly lowered to the ground, but I reach out to Riot, holding on to him to keep me upright. My cunt is throbbing. My nipples are aching. I need…more.
A plea is on my lips, only held back by the memory of Khaos’ growl.