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IZZY
Walking around the Hell’s Wolves property over the next week, Izzy felt as though she was carrying a talisman in her chest.
It doesn’t matter, she thought as she walked by the men in the yard on her way to dinner. They all stopped what they were doing to watch her, just as they always did. Some looked on with detached interest, the way they might look at a museum exhibit, drawn by the presence of an omega in their midst. Others were more forward, stepping away from what they had been doing, as if they were actually about to grab her. It had always bothered her before.
But now there was Wyatt. It was as if she was protected by him, even when he wasn’t around. The idea that she could be happy here in the midst of all this horror seemed magical, and she felt as though Wyatt had saved her from a fate worse than death.
It wasn’t just her newfound freedom from the third-floor bedroom. It wasn’t just having someone who treated her like a human being when nobody else did. It was Wyatt himself. Seeing him stand up to Gunner had sparked something in her, something she had never felt for another man. It had been a struggle for him. She’d seen that clearly. He had been afraid and confused and unsure. But he hadn’t hesitated. He’d done what he believed was right. He’d protected her.
How could she help but love him?
As the days slipped by, as her connection to Wyatt deepened, she began to embrace the nickname he used for her. When it had been used by her kidnappers it had felt like a leash. But when Wyatt spoke the work Izzy it was gentle, careful, almost a caress. She came to enjoy hearing it.
It was hard to be alone together. The clearing wasn’t safe, obviously, and neither of them had bedrooms to themselves. Izzy wasn’t permitted to leave Hell’s Wolves property, so they couldn’t go somewhere else. But they found ways, little ways to sneak off and be on their own out of sight of the rest of the pack. Every moment was stolen. But every moment was precious.
“This is a terrible idea,” Wyatt moaned as Izzy slid his shirt over his head. They were in the garage, leaning against the wall farthest from the door that led to the house. He kept voicing these objections, Izzy noticed, but that hadn’t kept his hands off her. “Someone could come out here at any moment.”
“We’ll hear them,” Izzy whispered. She’d been thinking about this moment all day. It was the only thing that had gotten her through an afternoon working in the garden with Val and Heather, who had ignored her the entire time. “We’ll hear them, and we’ll stop.”
“No, we’ll be caught—” He let out a gasp as she arched against him, and passion and pleasure flooded her body.
“You don’t want to stop,” she said, slipping a hand down his pants. “You don’t, not really.”
He groaned again. “God help me, I don’t.”
It was always like this, always quick and grasping and threaded through with adrenaline and just a tinge of fear. If they were caught, Wyatt would almost certainly be pulled from the Omega Games and would lose his only chance of claiming her openly. And, Izzy found, she wanted to be claimed by him. She had lived in fear all her life of what it meant to be an omega, what it would mean to give herself to someone. But as she stood in Wyatt’s arms, her body pressed against his, she knew that she would give herself to him a hundred times over. It would feel wonderful to be his.
But it couldn’t be. Until the Games, and unless he won, he was subject to Robert’s order forbidding it. They could sneak away to be together, but only the claim of another shifter would be enough to keep the rest of the pack off her.
They never dared to undress fully. The risk of being caught was too great. They shifted their clothing strategically, and then Wyatt lifted her in his arms. He was so strong, she thought, despite his age, and the ease with which he picked her up never failed to surprise her. He shuddered as he entered her, and Izzy bent her head to his neck and inhaled the scent of him. She wrapped her legs and arms around him tightly, pulling him close, canting her hips to rock against him, her skirt hiding their bodies from view. She felt the rub of his denim jeans against the inside of her thighs and the scrape of his stubble on her cheek. She didn’t care. More, she thought, tightening her heels against his back. More, God, please.
His stamina was impressive. Izzy wore out before he did. Even after her pleasure had peaked and plateaued several times, though, she didn’t want to stop. She clung to him, feeling limp and sated, full and happy. “Keep going,” she whispered. “Keep going, baby, do it.”
She lost track of time in his arms, but eventually she felt him shudder again and go still. A moment later he eased her back down to her feet, supporting her carefully as she composed herself. They gripped each other for support, both of them still shaking.
“Are you all right?” Wyatt asked quietly.
“What do you mean?”
“That wasn’t too much for you, was it?”
If anything, it wasn’t enough. Wyatt had satisfied her, there could be no doubt of that, but Izzy didn’t think she’d ever get enough of him. “It was perfect,” she assured him. “Why are you worried?”
“You’re just...”
“Young?”
He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I know you don’t feel that way.”
“I’m not that young,” she said.
“Have you been with a man before?”
“Just you.”
He bent his forehead to rest against hers and sighed.
“You don’t think that’s a good thing?”
“I don’t think it’s a good or a bad thing by itself,” he said. “But I worry...”
“What do you worry about?”
“I don’t want you to be with me just because I’m the best available option in an undesirable group,” he said. “You don’t have to do this. I would still be your friend.”
“I know that,” she said.
“You shouldn’t have to be with anyone,” he said. “Not if you don’t want to. I like this pack, Izzy, and I think you can be happy here if you give it a chance. But these are the people who kidnapped you. I know that.”
“That wasn’t you,” she whispered, stroking his cheek with her thumb.
“But I’m one of them. They’re my pack.”
“You know you’re not forcing me,” she said. “You haven’t made me do anything. I wanted you, Wyatt. I kissed you. Did you forget?”
“Why would you want someone so much older than yourself? I don’t understand. There’s so much I can’t give you.”
“What can’t you give me? You can father children as easily as any of the rest of the pack. You ride a bike better than most of them.”
“That’s what you’re looking for?” he asked. “Someone who can ride well?”
She laughed. “All right, maybe not that. But you’re kind, Wyatt. You’re thoughtful. You came to me when I had no one.”
He looked anguished. “But that’s just what I’m worrying about, don’t you see? You can’t be with me because you had no one else.”
“Wyatt.”
He looked at her, his turmoil showing clearly on his face.
“It’s not that I had no one,” she said. “It’s that you came. You saw a girl without a friend and decided to be there for her. I don’t love you because I had no one to love. I love you because you did a lovable thing. A remarkable thing.”
“You love me?”
She bit her lip.
“I love you, too,” he said, and kissed her fiercely.
***
AFTER THAT, IT SEEMED even more urgent to find time to be together. Creeping out of the bedroom in her nightdress, Izzy thought of the time she’d felt determined to run away, the time Wyatt had stopped her. Tonight, as then, nobody awoke. Unlike that night, however, she felt grateful to have been stopped. If she’d gotten away, she would be scraping for a living, and she never would have gotten close with Wyatt.
He was waiting for her in the library, standing by a shelf with a book in hand. He closed it gently when she arrived and placed it back on the shelf. “Any trouble?”
“None,” she said, and crossed the room to his waiting arms.
He had spread a blanket on the floor, and now he took her by the hand and pulled her to it. She sank to her knees beside him and let him capture her mouth with his.
It was a long time before either of them spoke again. All the lights in the library were off, and they moved carefully in the darkness, feeling their way as if they were uncertain of each other. Izzy’s hands explored the planes of Wyatt’s chest as he peeled away her clothing, laying it in a small pile beside them.
“I wish I could see you,” he breathed when he was done, his hands ghosting over her.
She took his wrists and pulled his hands down to meet her bare skin. Carefully, slowly, he found his way to her breasts. She breathed slowly, hyper aware of how close he was and the press of his skin against hers.
“I love you,” he whispered.
All around, she knew, the rest of the pack were sleeping. She imagined she could feel the house resonating with their deep, steady breathing, hear their snores emanating from their rooms. It felt as if all it would take would be a single eye opening for them to be caught. The fear that lit her up from within heightened everything else, brought every one of her senses to full alert.
They made love slowly. It was the first time they’d ever taken their time with it, the first time they’d ever chosen not to rush. Izzy couldn’t have said why, exactly. Everyone might be asleep, but the risk of being caught hadn’t been removed. Not by a long shot. It could still happen. They might hear footsteps on the stairs, a cry of realization that Izzy wasn’t in her bed. Or perhaps there would be no warning, and the door to the library would suddenly swing open on them...
It was terrifying, and it was risky, but it made the whole thing more exciting somehow.
And Izzy felt safe, sheltered by Wyatt’s giant form. She felt tiny beneath him. She had wrapped her arms around his chest, and as he propped his upper body up off the ground, he lifted her with him, as if she were nothing. Surely nothing could hurt her while she was with him.
She rolled her hips in time with his thrusts, slowly, purposefully, they always seemed to go through this so quickly. She knew his body, and yet she didn’t. Today she took the time to notice details that had escaped her before. The way his lower back dimpled. The breadth of his shoulder blades, each one bigger than her hand. The way his arms flexed with effort as he fucked her, effort that seemed to cost him nothing. He wasn’t young, but he was tireless. She imagined he could keep this up all day.
He rolled them over so he lay on his back with her sitting astride him. Izzy gasped, feeling him penetrate her even deeper. His hands settled on her hips and she rested momentarily, adjusting to the feel of him. Then she began to move.
His hands gripped hers. She bent to kiss him, riding him faster now, her breath coming in short gasps, chasing the high she knew was coming.
“Oh my God,” he breathed, thrusting up from the ground to meet her. “Oh, God, Izzy.”
Take me, claim me, she bit her lip to keep from begging him. Make me yours, Wyatt. Yours always.
They came together, exhausted and clinging to each other, shuddering in each other’s arms for what felt like an eternity.
***
THEY HAD BEEN LYING still for some time when Wyatt spoke. “I can’t let anyone else have you,” he said. “Not unless you tell me it’s what you want.”
“Of course, it isn’t.”
“I’ll never be able to watch anybody else claim you,” he said. “I just won’t be able to do it.”
They were lying side by side on the blanket. Izzy’s head rested on Wyatt’s shoulder. Despite the risk of being caught, neither of them had yet moved to put their clothes back on. She liked being naked with him, liked his warm body pressed up against hers in the afterglow.
“You’ll have to win the competition,” she said. “That’s all there is to it.”
“I don’t know if I can.” He rolled onto his side and faced her. “Izzy, you see me. I’m not young anymore.”
“You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.”
“No, I’m not. Not physically. Plenty of people in this pack are stronger than I am. Probably faster, too. I don’t know what the Omega Games will require, but you’ve got to see I don’t have the best chance of winning. Not compared to...to some of the others.”
“You mean Gunner.” She remembered the ominous leer on his face as he’d moved toward her, his threatening demeanor. She knew he planned to claim her if he could.
Wyatt closed his eyes. “If he wins, I don’t know what I might do.”
She felt afraid suddenly—not for herself, but for him. “You can’t do anything stupid,” she said. “If he wins, you have to let it lie. You can’t...I don’t know...challenge him. Try to fight him. He’d kill you.”
Wyatt nodded. “That’s the whole problem. He’d kill me. On any battlefield, with any weapon. In any competition. Gunner can beat me. Even if I could get past the rest of the pack, which would be no easy feat, Gunner will always win in the end.” He shook his head. “I’ve been lying to myself, haven’t I? Telling myself we have a chance.”
“Wyatt, no, don’t say that. Of course, we do.”
“We don’t. How could we?” He laughed bitterly. “You know the rules. The laws of the pack. Omegas are barely more than property. The fact that I see you differently just sets me apart. It makes the others think I’ve lost it.”
“It matters to me,” Izzy whispered. “You know how much it matters to me.” She sat up and turned so she was facing him. She could see his eyes shining, even in the darkness of the library, the irises caught and lit up by the moon coming through the window. “You’ve changed my whole world, Wyatt. You’ve made life good again.”
He sat up too, taking her in his arms and pulling her close. “It matters to me too,” he murmured. “You’ve changed my life too. Maybe not as dramatically, but I never even realized I wasn’t happy until I met you. I was always alone. I always thought I wanted to be alone.”
“And now?”
“Now the only thing I want is to see you smile.” He rested his thumb against her lower lip. “Knowing I’ve made your life better makes me want to get out of bed in the morning. It makes life worth living.”
Izzy pressed her cheek to his. “We should tell them,” she said. “We should tell them we’ve fallen in love.”
Immediately, he pushed her back, holding her at arm’s length as though she’d burned him. “Are you serious?”
“Robert seems like a rational person,” Izzy said. “He wants me to be mated. What’s the harm in you being my mate? I want it. You know I do.” She tilted her head away, baring her neck. “I want you to claim me, Wyatt.”
“Don’t do that.” He pulled away roughly, leaving her huddled on the floor, grabbing his jeans and stepping into them.
“Wyatt—”
“We can’t tell,” he said roughly. “We can’t tell anyone.”
“Why not? Because they might not let you compete in the Omega Games?” Izzy shook her head. “Wyatt, you said it yourself. The odds aren’t in your favor. I love you, and I believe you can do it, but wouldn’t my way be more of a guarantee?”
“No,” Wyatt bit out. “Absolutely not.”
“But why? What are you afraid they’ll do to you?”
“They’re not going to do anything to me.”
She understood. “Oh.”
“Izzy, if you’re going to tell then we can’t do this anymore. I mean it. I will not put you at risk, I just won’t.”
She rose and came to him, burrowing into his arms. “I won’t. I won’t tell. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t know what they’d do,” he whispered. “But they don’t value you, do you understand? And if they knew you’d betrayed them, made a mockery of their Games and their rules...”
She nodded. “I understand.”
“I’ll win the Games,” he said. “I will.”
She believed he could. Looking at him in that moment, she felt she had never seen anyone stronger or more prepared for what might be thrown at him. Gunner might have the muscle mass, she thought, but Wyatt had wisdom on his side. He would be able to cope with anything. No matter what challenges were placed before him in the Omega Games, he would figure out a way to win.
“I trust you,” she said.
