Pasquale led Giuliana to his home long after all the explanations were made. Dominic released them to rest and ordered they’d make the outcome known to the pack the next day. He’d wait to talk to Lorenzo first, before anyone else, to give him a chance to know what had happened with his friend.
Giuliana still didn’t know how to think about Kieran and his life among the pack before he’d revealed who he really was. It was easy to blame him. And maybe if Silva and Kalinda had died, she’d be more inclined to condemn him. But they hadn’t, and in reality, neither had Heath. Minor injuries were all that was left after everything went down.
In the outcome, one could say they’d made it out of the war without a scratch.
Of course, Giuliana had seen all they’d faced and knew the truth. They’d nearly been broken, and there were still so many unanswered questions. No matter what, Silva had been Queen of the Fae—well, still was—but there were atrocities happening in her name. Going home wasn’t an option with Kalinda having to stay in Encantado, her sister was still missing, and they didn’t know the story around that.
And Kieran had escaped.
There was no telling what would come in the days ahead. The amount of hell they’d faced in just under a year was terrifying, to say the least.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
Pasquale hesitated in front of his door, the shadow of his porch leaving his eyes glittering in the darkness.
Giuliana sighed. He was still the most incredible man she’d ever lay eyes on. “We’ve been through a lot.”
“The pack, or us?”
“Both. It makes me wonder if there’s something larger at work. I know it sounds crazy, but look at Romano and Zoey having the Miracle Grow, the way we can enhance each other’s gifts, Kalinda and Silva.”
“I’d say we’ve gotten stronger.”
“Maybe, but it makes me think there may be something huge coming. Sort of like the action movies, you know? Heroes show up when there is a greater evil out there.”
Pasquale was quiet as he stepped into her space. “Today has taught me one thing, for sure.” His hot palm slipped along her jaw, lifting her gaze to his.
“What is that?”
“I watched a man almost lose his mate today, without having said all the things he wished. Without having a chance to see the life they’d live. I don’t want to be that man. I’d rather have what we could be than dream of what will never be.”
She sucked in a breath, letting him pull her against his hard frame. His fingers danced over her skin, a prayer, memorization. She leaned in, soaking in what she could.
“The first time I saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful creature ever formed. I thought you’d make any man happy to have you. And then I knew you were mine to have. And I was afraid, Giuliana. Afraid of what that would mean. Afraid of the cage it would put us both in. I’ve been terrified all my life because of my father.”
Pasquale pulled her closer. “I never knew when he’d call for my death or when he’d realized how much Fabiana meant to me and use her against me. I never knew when he’d force me to fight him, or if I’d win.”
“You’re stronger than him.”
“It’s hard, at times, to see that when you’re scared of the very thing that could break you. My Alpha power would rip my people apart, and they deserved more.”
“And now?”
His lips were close to hers, a breath away and yet so far. She wanted them on her, wanted to feel his touch without caring about what could happen.
“And now, mate, I’m not afraid anymore. I will have you. I will claim you. Because you are worth more than anything I could ever fear, except losing you.”
His mouth crashed against hers, sealing her fate. They were a storm, battering each other, pushing and pulling. Pasquale touched her everywhere—groping her breasts, her hips, the curve of her ass—and lifted her against the hardness between his legs.
Mine!
Giuliana didn’t even pay attention to which of their wolves cried out. Either way, the answer was a resounding yes. She didn’t want to run anymore; she didn’t want to escape. Giuliana wanted to be caught by the one man strong enough to make her love the chase as much as the capture.
The one man meant to truly be her Alpha.
She wanted him to give her all the things she’d never thought she’d have.
A mate.
Happiness.
Belonging.
With Pasquale by her side, she knew she’d never be ignored again or have anyone put her safety above the idea she had a brain. He’d shown that when he fought by her side to get Silva and Kalinda back. She didn’t doubt he would continue to be there for her.
She sucked his full bottom lip into her mouth, moaning her need. He slammed her back against his front door long enough to force it open, and then they were tumbling inside. Fuck getting to his bed. She wanted him here and now.
She bucked, fighting him, knowing he’d answer the challenge.
He didn’t disappoint.
He slapped her ass in warning. “Simmer down.”
As if.
Her feet pressed into the backs of his knees, sending them tumbling to the floor together. He growled, but she wasn’t afraid. He let her fight. He encouraged it. He wanted her to show her strength, and it was freeing. So freeing.
“Needy, Alpha mate.”
His words made her tremble. “Yes, Alpha.”
It was his turn to shake, and power filled his eyes. “Is that what I am?”
“Yes. My Alpha, my mate.”
With soft fingers, Pasquale pushed strands of hair behind the delicate shell of her ear. Her heart stuttered in her chest. He was so strong, and his lick of Alpha power only warned of what she knew would come. Giuliana gripped the edge of a stair under her butt and rolled her hips against his cloth-covered cock. She wanted him, wanted everything he could give her.
She wanted to take everything he would give.
Lifting to his knees and angling up her body, Pasquale didn’t disappoint. “Let’s see, shall we?”
He straddled her chest and pulled his cock from his jeans. Giuliana couldn’t look away as Pasquale pressed the tip of his shaft downward and traced her lips. He was soft, velvet smooth, and warm.
“Taste me.”
It wasn’t a question, even in the quiet way he said it. He worked his hips in a small circle, pressing his cock against her skin. She wanted him, all of him. Slowly, she snaked out her tongue, tasting the tip. He’d get this on her terms, as she wanted.
Pasquale hissed his pleasure, pressing against the flat of her tongue.
“More.”
Taking her time instead, she opened her mouth and exhaled in a rush, caressing his skin with the heat of her breath. He let her take her inhale before he pressed more of himself inside.
“Good girl.”
Just like when he’d claimed her between her legs, he didn’t stop there. Pasquale rocked back and forth, and Giuliana used her hot tongue to dance over the tip of his cock. She’d give him warm, wet heat to slip into. He groaned, grinding against her chin as he slid farther inside.
He was thick, broader than any man she’d been with, and her jaw ached from his size, but even that was sexy in this moment. She wouldn’t be defeated by his strength. She’d match him in every way.
“Suck.”
She closed her lips around him and matched her suction to his strokes to provide a counterbalance. She hadn’t taken nearly half of him and it was a struggle to control her breathing comfortably. But she sucked in a deep breath through her nose when he pulled out, and she let him slide back in.
She growled, holding the note so it went down his shaft.
“Fuck, that’s hot.”
She did it again just to prove a point. To drive his need higher. He was being gentle and she wasn’t going to be treated like some fragile piece of glass. Giuliana forced her mouth open wider and sucked him deep on his next downstroke.
Pasquale froze, and then tangled his free hand in her heavy mass of hair and kept her head pinned to the step below her. Giuliana bucked underneath him, enjoying the game, thrashing about.
Pasquale took her mouth through it all. He rolled against her textured tongue, slid in the heat, and gave in. His gaze stayed on hers, studying, watching. The minute it appeared she was in real distress, he’d stop. She know it without a doubt, and it let her express her desires the way she wanted to. She had never felt anything this good, this wild. Something more than a quick satisfaction, more than perfunctory motions to get off. She needed him to take her like she needed her next breath.
Giuliana’s throat tightened around his head, urging him to take her.
Fuck, yes.
His cry in her head was filthy and uncouth. It was wild and untamed. She’d done that, brought out this animalistic side of him. She had that power, no one else. It was heady, knowing that. She grabbed his ass, urging him harder and faster into her mouth. He shifted, lifting a bit higher over her face.
Just like that.
He was rebuilding her, tearing down every pain anyone else had caused. Showing her how strong she was and letting her set the pace. It uplifted her, wrapped her in gossamer and steel. Piece by fucking piece.
Giuliana shifter her tongue in a different way. She sucked hard as he glided into her mouth, so much her cheeks hollowed out. And then she released him as he slid out, turning her head as much as she could.
Yes.
He roared, but she didn’t stop sucking him. Didn’t stop guzzling him. She wanted him, needed him. Wanted him to explode all over her tongue.
Another night.
When he pulled from her mouth, she cried out in loss.
“I’m here, baby. Right here.”
He flipped, a rough turn of his hands, and helped her get on her hands and knees on the stairs. He lifted to his feet, bracing one between her knees.
“Do you want me?”
“Yes,” she cried.
“Right here?”
“Take me.”
His power leaked out and ripped at their clothing. In seconds they were pressed together, their flesh heated and his cock nuzzled against her ass. He didn’t wait, didn’t give her a chance to catch her breath. He pulled back, aligned, and slammed home.
She screamed, but he took her higher. Each pointed stab into her made her body clench. His hands on her hips were the only things keeping her from falling forward. Her breasts jiggled with each rough hit, and she wanted him to make her lose her mind.
Somehow, Giuliana gained the strength to lift her upper body, and he helped her. His arm was a thick band over her ribs, and he used his other hand to keep her back arched for his thrusts.
“More. Please more.”
Pasquale didn’t let her beg much longer. His power washed over her, the same tendrils she felt in her house so long ago. They licked their way over her skin, and she was undone. They played with her nipples and flicked her clit with precision. Pasquale was everywhere, pulling her under a wave of pleasure.
She gasped, barely able to breathe.
I claim you as my mate, from this day and forever more.
His teeth slid into the juncture where her neck met her shoulder. The sting unfurled into agonizing pleasure. They were locked, their magic twirling and meshing as one. Even as he punctured her skin, her healing gift instantly closed the wound. Yet he didn’t let go. Over and over he marked her, sending his possession deeper within her.
Her heart pounded, her thighs clenched, and she was nothing more than one long nerve. He plucked her, sending shocks of sweetness pouring over her. Giuliana coated him in liquid eat with each push. Wet sounds echoed in the room as he took her.
Mine.
Mine.
Yours.
Yours.
They claimed each other, pulling and wrapping all the fear of the day into a ball until it fed what they were now doing. She couldn’t risk losing him without having known this moment. Without having had him claim her.
Tears sprang to her eyes.
She’d been so alone for so long. Red had walked beside her, but most of the time she thought she was crazy. Dominic had so many pressures with Arturo, and then taking his own pack. Giuliana hadn’t been the easy friend with the other women as much as she’d wished.
Until this moment, she hadn’t realized how she’d needed something that was hers.
Pasquale and Snow belonged to her as much as she did them.
They were their own pack, separate from any others. No matter what happened, she’d have them behind her.
Always.
Pasquale’s assurance made her stomach tighten.
He sank a bit behind her, changing the angle, and slammed upward, hitting a spot that made her gasp. He moved faster, taking her roughly. She let him, reveled in him.
She wasn’t glass. She wasn’t so weak she’d break.
He showed her in his motions that he wouldn’t.
As the pleasure spiraled up through her gut, she clung to him. It tightened, bursting apart.
Giuliana Moretti had finally been claimed.