| |
––––––––
I WOKE WITH A HEAVINESS on my heart I had not expected. Yesterday had been amazing. I felt like part of me had been made whole. Unfortunately, now it was time to say goodbye to the people in my pack that I had come to love.
Kya and Ares were in the kitchen when I went to grab my coffee. “I’m going into town,” I announced. “I need to talk with a few people.”
“Do you need me to go along?” Ares asked.
“No, I’m good. I promise, I’m just going in town. I think Radolf said he was going to be around, fixing some porch steps or something. If I need something, I’ll holler.”
“It’s like the town has gained five handymen,” Kya said with a laugh. “Berrion fixed sprinklers yesterday, and I think Hawk was working on putting up shelves for someone else.”
“That’s what we do,” Ares said.
“And what is your skill?” Kya teased. “What do you bring to the table?”
He winked. “I’m the brawn.”
We both groaned, shaking our heads. “I’ll be back later.” I moved to leave but stopped. “Any word from Mom?”
Kya slowly shook her head. “No, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. This is her decision. I think we should change the locks.”
“She never had a key,” Kya pointed out.
“It’s the principle of the situation. Changing the locks signifies someone is no longer welcome to enter without knocking first. Knocking gives the person inside the choice to answer the door or to ignore it.”
She grimaced. “Ouch. Harsh.”
“I’m not being harsh, but I’m not a doormat either. I’ll see you later.”
I walked out. I was still snapping at the mom thing. No matter how many times I told myself I wasn’t going to let it bother me, it did. It pissed me off that I’d given her the power to hurt me. I headed into town, preparing myself for the many goodbyes.
I went to Nia’s house first. I knew she was going to be out. I wanted the chance to talk with her parents. They were essentially my adopted parents. I spent about thirty minutes with them, catching up and checking in on them. Her father was all healed after the first attack from Decker and his army of zombie wolves.
“Are you sure everything is okay?” her mother asked when she walked me to the door.
“Everything is fine. I just wanted to check in with you guys and tell you how much I appreciated your support.”
She gave me a big hug. “You’re doing just fine. Don’t you worry about what anyone else thinks about you or your decisions. We trust you. We know how much you care for us and everyone else here.”
“Thanks. Goodbye.” I hugged her back and walked away before I burst into tears.
I talked with everyone I saw before heading to Mrs. Lincoln’s house. I owed her an apology. She’d tried to warn me about my mother, and I hadn’t listened. I made my way to her house and found her sitting on her porch as usual.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hello.”
“Can I sit?”
“Of course. I’ve seen you wandering about town. What are you up to? Are you warning everyone about another attack?”
“No. I’m just out checking in with everyone.”
“That’s nice. How are you really doing?”
There was no hiding anything from her. “I’m good.”
“I heard you were out with your council yesterday and now today you are spending the day talking to everyone around town. If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were saying goodbye.”
“No!” I answered too quickly. I cleared my throat. “I wanted to come by and see how you were doing. I don’t like the way we left things last time I was here.”
“You are the alpha, Azalea. People are not always going to agree with your decisions, but that does not mean anyone of us will ever outwardly disagree or disrespect your decisions.”
“She left.”
Mrs. Lincoln slowly nodded as her chair rocked in the same steady motion back and forth. “I wish I could tell you I’m surprised. I’m so sorry, Azalea. You are such a beautiful, smart, carrying young lady. Any mother would be lucky to have you as a daughter. I’m sorry she can’t see that.”
“I think she does love me,” I said.
“I have no doubt in my mind she loves you. How could she not? I think she was born wild. She will always be wild. I don’t dislike your mother, Azalea. Quite the contrary. I was always very fond of her. I hoped she and your father could find a way to be together without killing the spirit that made them who they were. When she came back, I sensed that same spirit in her.”
“She sounded like she really wanted to stay.”
“I think she’s torn. She wants to be with her daughters, but the call of the wild is strong. It always has been in that one.”
“Kya says she’ll be back.”
She slowly nodded again. “I’m sure she will. Your mother has a lot to figure out. Knowing you are here and taken care of will give her the time she needs to sort through things. If she doesn’t come back, I hope you know it isn’t because of you.”
“I know. I mean, I think I know. It’s so hard to be mad at her. I do love her.”
“Why did she leave?”
“I wasn’t around when she did, but she told Kya it was because she felt unwanted by the pack.”
Mrs. Lincoln made a rude sound. “Bullshit.”
My eyes widened. “What?”
“Your mother never gave a fig what anyone thought of her. She is strong-willed and stubborn as hell. She is a proud woman that never needed acceptance. Something else made her leave. No one here wanted her to go, but we were damn leery of her leaving you again. I hope you aren’t mad at me. I was ready to accept her. I never said or did anything that would push her away.”
“I don’t blame you,” I assure her. “I know this is on her. She wanted to go. No one could have stopped her. Not you, definitely not me. Not even Kya. I’m over it.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
I smiled. “Okay, I’m trying to be over it.”
“I hate that you’re going through this again, but I can see you are in a much better place to handle it.”
“Yes, I am. I should get going. I just wanted to clear the air. I am so grateful to you for all that you have done for me. You are like a mother to me.”
“A really old mother,” she said with a cackle.
“A mother with a lot of wisdom and experience under her belt.”
“That’s for sure.”
I got up and bent over to hug her. She hugged me back. “Don’t you dare leave us,” she whispered.
“I’m just going home.” I stood up and could barely look her in the eye. “Goodbye, Mrs. Lincoln.”
I felt her watching me leave. She was too damn smart and perceptive, but I couldn’t leave without making sure she knew how much I cared about her. I didn’t want her to feel any guilt about what happened later.
I got home, finding the house quiet. I headed upstairs to lie down for a minute. I needed to prepare myself for my last supper. I was beginning to feel the weight of the world on my shoulders as the minutes of my remaining freedom ticked away. It was going to be a difficult day tomorrow. Difficult wasn’t even close to describing how hard it would be.
“Is everything okay?” Berrion asked.
I rolled to my side. “Yes, fine.”
“You sure? You look stressed.”
I smiled up at him. I knew what he was offering. I figured what the hell. If I was going out, I was going out with a bang—literally. “I am a little stressed.”
His lopsided grin was exactly what I needed to see. “Good. I like when you’re stressed. I like working out the kinks.”
He knelt on the bed, kicking off his shoes before he crawled across the massive width. He kissed me in his typical sensual way. I felt the tension ebbing as he used his mouth to extract my stress. His skilled hand moved down my blouse, slowly unbuttoning it until I was laid bare. His mouth moved to my breasts, sucking my nipples through the thin satin material of my bra. He managed to unhook it with very little effort. His tongue scraped over one nipple and then the other.
I let out a soft moan, giving over to the pleasure of what he was doing. His hand slipped under my pants and pushed aside my thong. One long finger slipped inside me while his mouth returned to mine. Another finger slipped inside. He worked at me until I was desperate and begging for the final touch that would give me the release I needed.
He swallowed my cries of pleasure as I came. His hand moved back up to my stomach. He held me close for several minutes before giving me a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you later,” he whispered and climbed off the bed.
“You’re going?” I asked with surprise.
He winked. “I’m just getting you warmed up.”
I lay smiling up at the ceiling. It was kind of like a drive by orgasm. He came, he gave, and he was gone. It was what I needed to take the edge off, but definitely not nearly enough.
Ares came into the room next. I automatically closed my legs. Ares liked to rock my world. I loved the way he fucked. Just anticipating what he would do to me sent little shocks of electricity through my body. Closing my legs somehow made it feel better.
“Ah, don’t do that,” he said in a husky voice.
“I’m so glad to see you,” I said.
He reached for my ankles and jerked me to the edge of the bed. He quickly removed my pants and underwear in his usual fierce way. My chest heaved up and down as I watched him, waiting to see what he would do next. He dropped to his knees between my legs. He slipped my legs over his shoulders and pressed his mouth to my core.
I nearly catapulted off the bed. It was a sudden assault. I knew it was coming, but it was unexpected at the same time. He shoved a finger inside me, his tongue following the same course. While his finger worked inside me, his tongue lapped at me. My hands scraped over his shorn head, searching for something to hold on to.
He pushed a second finger in, his tongue still wildly lapping at me. I writhed on the bed, trying to get away from the exquisite pleasure. He reached up and clapped an arm over my hips, holding me against the bed. When the third finger pushed inside, I was certain it was all over for me. The pleasure threatened to take me under. He worked at my pussy until I was bucking through an orgasm. He stood up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he looked down at me. “Damn, woman, I could eat at you for days.”
I shuddered, another wave of ecstasy washing over me. “I would die.”
“You would die a happy woman.”
He walked out with his erection obvious. I wondered why he didn’t stick around and let me get him off. I didn’t have to wonder for long. Hawk walked into my bedroom with my legs still hanging limp over the edge of the bed. He smirked. “I don’t have to guess who was just in here.”
A languid smile spread over my lips. “Hi,” I said.
He reached between my legs, stroking his fingers over my slick folds. He grabbed my hips and pulled me up, turning me over on the bed. He pulled me backwards until only my top half was on the bed. He grabbed my wrists with one of his large hands and raised them over my head. His other hand slipped between my legs.
He began to finger me, plucking at my clit like an expert string player. I rubbed my body against the bed. With the new position, I had some control over how far he penetrated me. He held three fingers at the ready and let me fuck them. I lifted my ass in the air before slowly rolling over the fingers, using them like one of the toys I’d seen at the adult store. I fucked those fingers until I made myself come.
His mouth brushed over the back of my neck before gently nibbling on my shoulder. “You always have control over how much or how little you get.”
I was still spasming against the bed when he walked out. I let out a long sigh, feeling sated. My body was completely relaxed, so much so I couldn’t quite bring myself to crawl onto the bed.
“That is exactly how I like to see a woman,” Radolf said.
I moaned. “I’m feeling very well taken care of.”
He slapped my ass before crawling on the bed and flopping down on his back. “Come here,” he rasped.
I turned my head to face him before slowly crawling over the top of him. He pushed my shirt down my arms and pulled it and my bra off. I had almost forgotten they were still on my body. His hands squeezed my breasts. He leaned forward, holding one breast in his hand while he suckled.
I groaned, reaching for his hair and holding his head close. He lay back down and grabbed my hips. With his strength, he easily lifted me, pulling me forward until I was straddling his face. I reached for the headboard, holding on while his tongue lashed over my swollen clit. His skilled tongue worked inside me while his hands kneaded my ass. I struggled to stay on my knees. The ecstasy he was giving me drove me wild.
When the violent spasms slowed, he lowered me to the bed and gently laid me down beside him. As was usual, he gave me a quick kiss before he got up and left my room. I was spent. I knew Sky was probably waiting out there to take his turn, but I just couldn’t imagine having any more to give. The men were too good at what they did. They left me feeling wrung out.
I closed my eyes, unable to wipe the smile from my lips. My naked body was on full display for anyone that happened to come in. I didn’t care. I had no strength. My arms and legs felt like wet noodles, and my brain was still locked in some hyper-state of ecstasy. I was just going to have to be naked and exposed.
I felt myself drifting off to sleep. I had the most beautiful dream. It felt like I was floating. Floating on feathers. Suddenly, I realized I wasn’t dreaming. Sky was kissing the top of my foot. His hands were feather light as they brushed up my shins and over my knees. I felt the dampness between my legs. I was wet for him.
“Sky,” I murmured and reached for his long, silky hair.
“Shh, just rest,” he whispered. He kissed up my shin, over my knees and offered the slightest of kisses over my pussy before continuing up my belly. After kissing every inch of my front, he rolled me to my stomach and ran used a feather-light touch all down my back. It was the most erotic thing I had ever experienced.
He wasn’t even touching me between my legs, and I was on the verge of an orgasm. I whimpered against the bed, spreading my legs and encouraging him to touch me. He kissed up my spine before moving over the back of my neck. The intimacy was driving me wild.
“Sky,” I whimpered his name.
“Shh, I’ve got you.”
“But I need—”
I couldn’t finish the sentence. His hand slipped between my legs, cupping my pussy. The heat of his hand covering my entire core felt like a warm blanket on a chilly winter morning. I moaned, moving against his hand. He cupped me harder, simply holding me while he kissed my shoulders.
I erupted, moaning and jerking against his hand. It was by far the most beautiful orgasm I had ever experienced. There was no penetration, just sweet kisses that tickled my senses and left me feeling completely satisfied. He left me alone in my room to drift away once again.
I slept right through dinner. I didn’t need it. My body had all it needed for the day, and then some.
