29. Runa
Runa
Maren packed the sweat-and-semen-soiled blankets that made up her nest in a large trash bag and shoved it in the shower before she scrubbed the floors and aired out the room.
The windows are still open now, letting in the freezing air that makes us shiver. I’m pretty sure any evidence of Sven banging my sister is gone by now. All we have to do is wash the blankets.
I grab the trash bag and head out.
“Hey, how many suitcases do you think I’ll need?” Maren asks.
“I’d say two. We’ll send the rest of your stuff later.”
Maren’s eyes tear up. “What will I do without you?”
“We’re not going to think about that yet.”
“But I’m leaving soon.”
“We still have a few hours before the roads clear.” I close the door and cry on my way to the laundry room, where a pair of wolves fall silent the moment they see me.
“Morning.” I greet them and make quick work of putting Maren’s nesting supplies into the washing machine. I add detergent and press Start. Gone are Sven’s scent and the evidence of her naughty and forbidden deeds. Phew.
I turn toward the staff and lean against the washer to catch them staring at me. I don’t think they smelled or sensed anything. No way. I was careful with Maren’s sheets.
Maren’s friend Gerdie glances at the spinning washer that they’d already loaded. I spot my pink blanket. Also, my pink pillow with red cherries on it, along with other blankets that I recognize. They’re all spinning in the washer along with Ash’s T-shirt.
I can’t ask them how that stuff got here, but I presume Ash loaded my nesting supplies with his T-shirt on purpose. That bastard.
I tuck my hands into my pockets. “What?” I bark.
They exchange looks, then leave, and now I’m even sadder than I was before. Ash could’ve left the nest as a wolf, the way he came. Nobody goes to the tower anyway. He could’ve bathed, washing off all evidence of our coupling.
How did he get up into the tower anyway? The bridge was drawn. Did he scale the mountain and then the tower? How did he do it?
It doesn’t matter now. What matters is that the situation with Ash is getting out of control, and we’re at risk of breaking the treaty.
He had a brilliant idea for us all to go about our business.
Maren keeps Sven. They go with Ash. No harm.
No foul. It would’ve kept everyone happy and held up the treaty. But now he’s compromising everything.
I have at least an hour until the laundry is done, and nothing better to do than yell at the most insufferable male I know. I march to his tower and barge into his bedroom without knocking. I stomped on the way here so he heard me coming.
Propped up on the pillows, shirtless, Ash relaxes on the bed with a book in his hand. One knee bent, the other leg stretched out, he’s relaxing as if he has not a care in the world.
He drops the book on the nightstand and gives me a once-over. “I have a feeling you’ll want to close the door.”
I kick it shut with my heel.
Ash smirks.
He knows what he did.
“What the hell is the matter with you?” I rest my hands on my hips.
An eyebrow goes up. “What are you referring to?”
“Everything you did this morning.”
“What did I do?”
“You know what you did!” I stomp my foot.
“Lower your voice.”
My heart beats a mile a minute, and I take a few steps toward him. This is reckless and against my instincts. Provoking the most dangerous, unhinged alpha in the world is the craziest thing I’ve ever done. But I can’t let him air our secrets.
“After you found out about Maren and Sven, you said we should proceed as planned. Maren comes with Sven to your territory. Nobody gets hurt. Treaty holds. Has that changed?”
“No.”
“Then why did you come to breakfast unwashed when you damn well know someone could smell me on you? And housekeeping saw the blankets from my nest and your T-shirt. Your scent is all over my nesting supplies.”
“That’s right.”
“Rumors will spread.”
“Dealing with gossip comes with the territory. I would think you know that, given that you were born into a leading family.”
“If my parents suspect anything, they’ll press the staff for the truth and learn about the laundry.”
“The staff speculates. Nobody knows for sure. Besides, we’re all leaving soon enough, so it won’t matter what rumors your pack spreads. You won’t have to deal with any of it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I told you and informed your parents. I even framed it as a request to soothe your father’s ego.”
“He rejected your request.”
“I don’t need his permission.”
Fuming, I approach the bed. Ash sits up and rests an arm over his knee, appearing casual.
“I’m not going anywhere with you. Certainly not after what you pulled today.”
His eyes narrow. “Is that so?”
“It is.”
“You’re coming with me, and we’re going to figure out why you play with fire but never get burned. We mated, and now you’re mine.”
“I’m not yours!”
Ash rears back and inhales a strangled breath.
Silence falls in the room. I think I might’ve offended him.
Or worse, hurt his feelings. But that would be very stupid of me to think, since he has no feelings for me.
Why would he? We spent a night together.
Wolves do that all the time. For us, mating under the full moon is as common as a one-night stand.
We stare at each other, and a familiar feeling develops in my chest. This one is painful, as if a fisherman threw a line and caught my heart on the hook, and now he tugs it toward him. My chest might tear open as I stumble toward Ash.
“Can I… Can I sit?” I ask him.
He nods.
I press a hand over my chest and sit on the foot of the bed with my feet up. “What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know, but denying the things that are happening between us won’t make them go away. I intend to find out why I have stains on my palm from when I touched you and why you can’t heal from the burn, yet you can walk through my fire unscathed.”
I admit he’s got a point. The pain in my chest eases as I breathe in and out, focusing on it. I look over at him.
“I know where you are,” I tell him. “When I think about you, I can feel if you’re near or far. If I focus on tracking you down, there’s this tugging feeling, like you’re pulling a string that’s hooked to my chest and it leads me to you.”
“Tugging?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“I think you’re referring to the internal compass that led me to your nest.”
“That’s very poetic.”
“I’m trying to get laid again.”
I laugh. He disarms me in seconds. Folds me like an umbrella. “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
“I deserved it. Come here.” He snatches me by the waist and pulls so I lie on top of him, where he can lock me in a position I can’t move from.
I rest my elbows on the pillow behind his head. He has a handsome face. The beard is filling in, and it looks good on him. Maybe everything looks good on this male. But he’s stubborn. I don’t think I can dissuade him from taking me with him, and I fear denying him isn’t an option.
“I’ll visit my parents and talk them into accepting your decision. For the treaty’s sake, I’ll say. That might work. I’ll bring up a short time frame.”
Ash releases my hair from the braid and lets it fall around us. He inhales loudly and exhales in a purr. I love the way he purrs. I also love how he’s always hard for me.
I kiss him on the mouth and smell myself on his face. “You really should wash your face.”
“I’m not going to do that.”
“My cum is on your mouth, Ash.”
“That’s right.”
“People will scent it.”
“Let them.”
“You’re scaring me.”
Ash fists my hair and kisses me. His tongue pushes into my mouth, and when I taste him, I groan. He purrs while we kiss and encourages me to rub myself over his jeans. He’s so hard that the dry humping, purring, and kissing make me come in my panties.
I bite his lip, then trail kisses down his chest. My eyes flutter closed as I run my nose down his chest, inhaling his mating scent. I’ve never met a male who smells as alluring as Ash Fireborn. I want to lick him. Everywhere. Especially down there.
I pop the buttons of his jeans and pull out his dick.
It’s a gorgeous, thick penis with a fat knot at the base.
I wrap both hands around the base and put him in my mouth, bobbing my head, marveling at the taste of him.
Ash purrs loudly with a strain in his cadence. This is because he’s losing control.
I suck harder and open my eyes so I can watch him.
His head is thrown back, neck exposed, and his Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows.
His chest vibrates loudly and aggressively.
If I weren’t going down on him, the noise would make me run away in fear that he would kill me.
But the dangerous growling means he’s just a happy alpha male werewolf who wants me to get him off.
And I do.
Ash ejaculates down my throat, and afterward, I wipe my mouth and place him back into his pants.
I crawl up his body, thinking we can cuddle for a little bit.
Or a lot if the wind picks up again. The bridge will go up, and I’ll get stuck in his room.
That’s probably a bad idea, but I want to lie with him a little longer. He’s warm. Very cuddly.
Ash moves me off to one side and gets up.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
At the door, he turns and says, “Thank you for your service, Omega.”