Chapter 66 She Needs Me Inside
Adrian’s POV
We ran for hours, the pack spreading out in a massive sweep through the Dark Zone.
The ground was frozen under our paws, pines thick and silent overhead, but every wolf’s nose was working overtime. Kira’s scent was faint at first when we went deeper and past the area we stopped yesterday, but it was there, pulling us deeper.
Derek was a mess inside my head. Pacing, snarling, ready to tear the world apart. Mate. Find mate. Hurt anyone who touched her.
I kept the mindlink open, barking orders left and right. Fan out. Check every ravine. Report anything you find.
The sun climbed higher, turning into a weak Tuesday morning light filtering through the branches. We’d been at this since dawn, no breaks, no slowing down. My muscles burned, but I pushed harder. She was out here somewhere. Alone. And if her heat had started…
That’s when it hit me.
A whiff. Sweet, intoxicating, like honey and fire and pure need. It was faint…but it was there. Her heat. It sounds weird, but that smell dragged me straight to it like a rope around my neck.
I veered sharp left, Derek taking full control, crashing through underbrush. The pack followed without question…my sudden turn told them everything.
We burst into a small clearing, and there it was… what looked like a natural dip in the ground, covered thick with fallen leaves and branches, like someone had tried to hide it casually.
But a massive boulder had been rolled halfway across it too, wedging it shut. Fresh scratches on the rock, dirt disturbed. This was no accident. This was an entrance to a rogue hideout.
Her scent lingered there, faint but unmistakable, mixed with rogue stink.
I shifted back to human in a flash, fur receding, standing naked and furious. “Roll that boulder away! Now!”
Some of my warriors shifted too, muscles rippling as two of them heaved at the rock. It groaned and shifted, revealing a dark tunnel sloping down.
The second the entrance opened wide, her heat scent slammed into us like a wall. Thick, ripe, overwhelming. Heads snapped up. A few of the unmated males growled low, eyes glazing over instinctively.
“No one touches her! You touch or even look and you’re dead” I roared, voice echoing off the trees, fangs dropping. “She’s mine! My mate! Lay a hand on her, and I’ll rip your throats out myself!” I warned again, fear and rage gripping my heart.
They snapped to attention, nodding fast, averting eyes. Good. Because Derek was one second from losing it.
We filed in…me first, the rest fanning out behind. The tunnel stank of rogue…unwashed fur, old blood, rot. But her scent cut through it all, pulling me forward.
Then the attack came.
Rogues poured out of side passages…feral, snarling, half-starved wolves lunging from the shadows. They shifted mid-jump, claws out, no strategy, just brute force.
I stayed human. Didn’t need to shift. My hands turned clawed, and I tore into the first one, ripping his throat before he hit the ground. Blood sprayed hot across my chest.
Behind me, my warriors crashed in like thunder…wolves tearing, men punching, bones cracking. Screams and growls filled the tunnels.
I pushed forward, following her scent deeper, calling out her name. “Kira! Kira, where are you?”
Derek was panicking inside. If they touched her… rogues are brutal. No rules. They’ll force her, break her…anything just to get at us. We should burn them alive if they try. We should kill them all!
I mindlinked the pack sharp and clear… Kill everything in your path. No prisoners. No mercy. Find her now!
“Kira!” I yelled again, voice frantic, shoving past a rogue who tried to block me. I grabbed him by the fur, slammed him into the wall, and snapped his neck.
Her heat scent was stronger now as we got to their settlement…strong, like it was peaking. Derek nearly went mad, whining and snarling. Mate needs us! Hurry!
Then…her voice. Weak, but there. “Adrian…? Adrian!”
My heart exploded. Derek howled in pure joy inside, anxious energy surging. She’s excited to know we are here!
I sped up, stomping over bodies, crashing through a flimsy wooden door. Rogues tried to swarm…three at once. I punched one in the face, kneed another, tore the third’s arm clean off. Blood everywhere, but I didn’t stop.
And there she was.
Curled in a dirty corner of a makeshift shade like she was hiding from the world, looking small and feverish, wearing nothing but an oversized shirt that reeked of another male.
I caught her as she stumbled toward me, pulling her right into my arms. Safe. Finally safe.
But Derek raged. Another hand on her. Male scent all over her body. His shirt. Someone had dared to touch her? To take advantage of her?!
My fury boiled over. Derek wanted to charge forward and kill them all, but we couldn't leave her alone. Not even for a second out here with numerous unmated rogues.
So, I grabbed the shirt and tore it off her in one rip, fabric shredding like paper. She was bare underneath, skin flushed hot from the heat.
Without thinking, I hoisted her up, throwing her over my shoulder…her almost naked body draped across my bare skin. She clung instinctively, arms wrapping around me.
A furious howl echoed behind us…deep, possessive, full of rage. From the back of the camp. Whoever that was, he knew I’d taken her. He’d touched her. Marked her with his scent.
That bastard just made himself my sworn enemy. I’d come back and end him slowly.
But now…her. I sped out of there, warriors clearing the path, making sure no rogue stood in my path. We burst into the forest, and I didn’t stop running until we were far from the wreckage.
She nuzzled deeper into me, seeking warmth, relief. Her body burned against mine, and I’d give it to her. As her mate should.
She muttered something feverish, hands pushing weakly at my shoulders even as she clung tighter. “No…don’t…touch me…”
Her body was on fire, trembling. This heat…it smelled like a first one. Intense, unchecked. And it hit me like a gut punch…that night last year, when she was in heat, I’d locked her in the dungeon because I couldn’t even bear to touch her, while I went off with Bianca, satisfying another shewolf while she was in pain. She’d been in heat then…crying, pleading, and I’d ignored it.
She had her heat then, so why does this one smell like a first? I’m a hundred percent sure because I remember that day…I was in the arms of another.
Self-loathing crashed through me. I didn’t deserve her now. Not one bit.
But Derek was anxious, horny as hell. Long morning ahead. This heat’s deep. Needs rounds to quench.
I shook my head. No. I couldn’t. Not after what I’d done.
But her hand slipped down, even over my shoulder, trembling, reaching for me. For my cock. It rose instantly, hard and ready, like it had a mind of its own.
I veered toward the spot only I knew…the hidden river where I bathed after wild runs. Secluded, clear water rushing cold over rocks.
I removed the rest of her underwear and set her down gently into the shallows, water lapping at her shoulders. Trying to cool her, deny myself. It wouldn’t work…I knew that…but I couldn’t take her.
Not with the guilt burning me up. That day she’d begged, and I’d left her suffering…
“Shhh, hey, it’s okay. I’m here now,” I cooed, patting her hair, holding her close as the cold water submerged her from the shoulders down.
She clung to me, pressing flush against my chest. “Please, Adrian. Make it stop.”
God, I wanted to. Badly.
“Please,” she cried harder, tears falling.
“Isn’t that what you wanted? Isn’t that why you’ve been trying to seduce me?! Now I’m offering it and you’re acting like some innocent freak?!” She screamed, voice breaking. “I hate you! You’re weak! And if you can’t do it, why not let Sebastian do it? Why did you interrupt?!”
The name…another man’s name on her lips in heat…sent jealousy and rage exploding through me. He almost had her? Fuck!
I grabbed her as she tried to pull away. “You’re mine, Kira. My mate. Sebastian? Fuck that. I’ll make you regret saying another man’s name ever.”
I crashed my lips onto hers, hard and possessive.
But she pushed me off, hand cracking across my face in a sharp slap. “Don’t touch me. Don’t taint me, you're a monster!”
Taint her? What the hell did that mean?
I pulled her back, softer this time, gentler. Cupped her face, kissed slow. She melted into me, resistance crumbling.
Before long, she was pleading, moaning. “Make the ache stop…”
I’m not doing this for me, I told myself (lie). Just to help her. Not because I want her so bad I can’t think (another lie).
I scooped her up, hands gripping her ass as she ground against me, needy and desperate.
We left the river, water dripping off us. I set her on the soft bank under a little tree shade, away from the cold water.
My eyes raked over her…flushed skin, bare and beautiful. She tried to cover herself, arms crossing shyly.
I growled low. “Don’t hide from me. Ever.”
I kissed her neck, slow, taking my time. Hovering over her, teasing. Part of me waiting for her to push me away, giving myself one last chance to stop. Because once I started, there’d be no stopping for hours.
Not because I was losing my mind wanting her…but for her heat. (Yeah, right.)
Then out of nowhere, she yanked me down hard. My cock, throbbing and ready, nudged her soaked core.
“Fuck, princess. You’re so wet,” I murmured, dazed, kissing her deep.
She moaned, hand slipping between us impatiently, guiding me straight in.
Pleasure hit like lightning. Her mouth fell open, a sigh of relief turning into pure need. She wanted more.
She started moving, but I froze.
“Kira…do you want this? There’s no going back now,” I whispered, hoping she won’t push me away, but praying she does. For her own good.
But she did what I least expected.