Chapter 37: Thirty Seven

James had been struggling since he had pinned Cassidy down when he woke her up from the nightmare. He and his wolf had been sharply aware of the she-wolf under him. It had been taking every last ounce of self control he possessed to keep his wolf from taking over. Instincts told him to take control and show his dominance over her, natural instincts almost too strong to resist. Almost.

By stroke of sheer luck James was able to control himself and his wolf. He laid down next to her, and was able to manage just keeping his hands to gently stroking her side and hair. Yet when she started to cry after she finished telling him about the end of her dream and then tried to push him away, something so dark and aggressive rose up within James it took him by surprise and his arms pinned her against him. “Don’t” he whispered a second time. He wanted to protect her he realized. The strong emotion that flared into him was his instinct to protect what was his. He growled low and closed his eyes, thankful that Cassi was listening for the moment and not struggling in his hold. “I'm struggling to hold my wolf back Cassidy. Just let me hold you for a few minutes. Let me assure myself you are physically alright. Only a few minutes is all I need for my wolf to calm down.” He said quietly.

Cassidy couldn't stop the heart break or the tears that was following the retelling of her nightmare. Never before had she experienced so much emotional distress from her dreams before this one. Her wolf bringing her back over and over to the scene of her parents dying was almost torture for her. She listened to James as he explained the struggle he was going through with his wolf. He held her tight and he closely wrapped himself around her, gently stroking the back of her head. Cassidy relaxed and nodded, turning her face into his neck as quiet body shaking sobs shook her body while she let all the built up and held back emotions free.

James held her still,just leaning his cheek down against Cassidy’s hair while she cried. He could feel that sadness in her over what she had experienced. The fear and the strongest emotion he could feel above the rest was her anger. He supposed that was for the rogues that stole her happiness and her life from her. As Cassidy began to calm down, so did his wolf when he realized that she was going to be alright. He realized once her body eased in its shaking from the quiet tears she shed and her warm breath evened out on his neck, that she had fallen fast asleep. James attempted to remove himself from her side after a few minutes of just holding her but the second he tried, her hands tightened on his shirt and she made a small distressed sound, refusing to let go of him. “Alright Cassidy… just sleep.” He said lowly to her, slowly stroking her back to calm her down again. James settled in for the night, content to just hold the little she-wolf that was turning he and his wolf’s life upside down.

—

Cassidy slept deeply once she was in Jame’s arms and wore herself out from the stress and the tears. No dreams or nightmares disturbed her sleep for the rest of the night. For the first time in a long time, she slept peacefully. As she came out of her sleep, her mind was fuzzy and her body was warmer than usual. It was already late into the morning, the golden sun lighting up the room as her eyes opened slowly and she blinked when she seen the dark Grey of a teeshirt in front of her. The night before came flooding back to her memory of James waking her, getting her to talk to him about the nightmare and then she completely breaking down and crying in his arms. She must have fallen asleep after that.

Cassi ran the tip of her tongue over her lower lip before tugging it with her teeth. She was in a compromising position with James and she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to get up just yet if she was being honest with herself. James was asleep on his back, stretched out and comfortably resting. She had a leg thrown up over top of him across his hips and one of her hands had snick up under his t-shirt seeking out the warmth of his skin in the middle of the night, his heart beating steadily under her palm. She was curled up against his side and his arm was wrapped around her, his large hand cupping her ass. Being so close to him, her hand touching his skin and his scent all around her was not being kind on her senses. Her wolf in the back of her mind was excited, encouraging her to keep smelling him, not to move and just take in the moment with her mate.

Despite what her wolf wanted, Cassidy was already feeling the instinctive arousal of being so close to James. Damned werewolf genes… No wonder Jett had always dipped out to be with females any chance he got. Slowly, Cassidy started to slide her hand out from under James’ shirt, but after moving only a few inches, the arm around her tightened and the hand on her ass squeezed the flesh under it. Cassidy tensed, jumping a little and it was only then she came in contact with the stiffening length under James’ shorts.

Shocked, Cassidy took a sharp breath and jerked her leg that had been over top of him straight and pulled her hand free from under his shirt. She lifted her head and looked up at James’ face only to be met by dark green eyes that were nearly wild and accompanied by a low soft growl that rumbled from his chest.

Her inner voice told her to run. Her wolf was begging her to stay. Cassidy was frozen in place as she tried to figure out her next move, a blush creeping up her cheeks as she and James just stared at each other in what felt like minutes for Cassidy but was only a few seconds before James chose her decision for her. “James!” she yelped when he moved so swiftly, rolling himself up on top of her. Cassidy quickly found herself in the same position she had been in last night when he woke her up. James had quickly pinned her hands to the bed on either side of her head and he was comfortably resting between her thighs much to her own wolfs delight. “James… I don't-”

“Hush she-wolf.” James growled lowly at her and it became clear, then, that his wolf was more in control that James himself was right now. It was the same gruff sounding tone he had used in the cell where he tied her up and her heart began to beat faster, but not out of fear. James lowered his head to the crook of Cassidy’s neck and lightly nuzzled his face down until he could drag his nose along her skin with a long intake of breath, he scenting her slowly.

James felt downright intoxicated. He woke up to his wolf being in command of him which never happened before. Lesser ranking wolves never really had the problem of fighting with the wolf they were given. It was just there, a part of them and they worked well together. Alphas and betas, even some gammas all the the problem of fighting to keep dominance one way or another. James was usually in full control of himself. At least that was something he liked to think until Cassidy came into his life. His wolf had taken over his mind before he was fully awake and within seconds was pinning Cassidy down and taking in her scent. He could tell the exact moment she became aroused because of him, her scent changing notes ever so slightly and clouding his mind.

He paused the trail of his scenting just where her collarbone met her shoulder, his tongue reaching out to stroke over the very place he had bitten her in a desperate attempt to change her. The touch of his tongue had the she-wolf reacting with a startled jerk of her body and then a low moan followed by her body relaxing under him. James kissed the spot and rocked his hips against hers before he lifted his head to look down at Cassidy. “You are mine.”

((Thank you everyone for your patience on this chapter! I really appriciate it! Leave a comment and let me know what you think so far!))