Chapter 225
Kara
I took a shaky breath, letting their confidence flow through the bond. They believed I could do this. They believed I was strong enough, smart enough, worthy enough.
Maybe it was time I started believing it too.
"Okay," I said, straightening. "What else do I need to know?"
Nicholas's smile was warm and approving. "That's the spirit, Luna. Now, let's discuss the pack's legal code and your role in interpreting it..."
The lesson continued for another hour. By the time Nicholas finally closed his folder, my head was spinning. But beneath the overwhelm, I felt something else—genuine interest. Maybe even excitement.
This was real. This was my future, my role, my purpose. Not as a servant, but as someone who mattered.
"You did wonderfully, Luna Kara," Nicholas said as he gathered his materials. "I've taught many young Lunas, and few have grasped the concepts as quickly as you have."
Through the bond, I felt my Alphas' fierce pride.
"Thank you," I said, standing on slightly unsteady legs. "When should we meet again?"
"How about Thursday? That will give you time to rest and process. We can start going deeper into specific areas."
"Thursday sounds good," I agreed.
But before I could take another step, Blake moved. In one fluid motion, he swept me up into his arms, cradling me against his chest. His gunpowder-and-leather scent wrapped around me, thick with something heated and possessive.
"Blake—" I started, but he cut me off with a look that made my breath catch. His golden eyes had darkened, pupils dilated, and through the bond I felt the surge of desire he'd been holding back for the past two hours.
"Do you have any idea," he said, his voice rough and low, "how hard it's been to sit there and watch you be all brilliant and Luna-like without being able to touch you properly?"
Heat flooded through me, my own desire rising to meet his. "We're not alone," I whispered, acutely aware of Asher and Cole watching us with matching expressions of hunger.
"They can wait their turn," Blake growled, already moving toward the far corner of the study where heavy bookshelves created a semi-private alcove. "Right now, you're mine."
He pressed me against the shelves, books digging into my back, but I didn't care. His mouth found mine in a kiss that was nothing like the gentle pecks from earlier—this was raw and demanding, his tongue sweeping into my mouth with possessive hunger.
I gasped against his lips, my hands fisting in his shirt as his hips pinned mine to the shelves. Through the bond, I felt his wolf surging close to the surface, desperate to claim and mark and possess after hours of forced restraint.
"Blake," I breathed when he broke the kiss to trail his lips down my neck, his teeth grazing over my pulse point. "We have to—dinner with Dmitri—"
"Don't care," he muttered against my skin, one hand sliding under my sweater to palm my breast through my bra. "Need you. Need to feel you. Need to remember you're real and here and ours."
The possessive desperation in his voice, in his touch, made my eyes burn. This wasn't just desire—this was fear, the lingering terror of having nearly lost me, the need to reassure himself that I was truly safe.
I cupped his face in my hands, forcing him to meet my eyes. "I'm here," I said softly, letting all my love and certainty flow through the bond. "I'm real. I'm yours. All of yours."
Something cracked in his expression, and then he was kissing me again, slower this time but no less intense. His hand on my breast gentled to a caress, thumb brushing over my nipple through the fabric until I arched into him with a soft moan.
"That's it, baby," he murmured against my lips. "Let me hear you. Let me feel you."
His other hand slid down to cup my ass, lifting me slightly so I could wrap my legs around his waist. The new angle pressed his hardness against exactly where I needed it, and I couldn't stop the whimper that escaped.
Through the bond, I felt Asher and Cole's arousal spike in response to my sounds, their wolves demanding they join, but they held back—giving Blake this moment, this claim, this reassurance.
Blake's hand slipped under the waistband of my leggings, fingers finding wet heat. "Fuck," he groaned. "You're soaked for me, aren't you?"
"Yes," I gasped as his fingers began to move, circling and teasing. "Blake, please—"
"Please what?" His voice was pure sin, dark and teasing even as his touch remained maddeningly light. "Tell me what you need, star."
"You," I breathed, rocking against his hand. "Need you. Need—oh God—"
He'd slipped two fingers inside me, and the stretch and fullness made my head fall back against the shelves. Blake's mouth immediately found my exposed throat, kissing and sucking at the sensitive skin while his fingers worked me with devastating precision.
"So perfect," he muttered against my neck. "So fucking perfect for us. My Luna. My mate. Mine."
The possessive litany combined with his skilled touch pushed me rapidly toward the edge. Through the bond, I felt Asher and Cole's vicarious pleasure, their wolves practically howling at the scent of my arousal flooding the room.
"Blake," I warned, my inner muscles beginning to flutter around his fingers. "I'm going to—"
"Come for me," he commanded, his Alpha voice wrapping around me like a physical caress. "Let me feel it, baby. Let me feel you fall apart in my arms."
The order combined with a particularly perfect curl of his fingers sent me over the edge. I bit down on Blake's shoulder to muffle my cry as pleasure crashed through me in waves, my whole body shaking with the force of it.
Blake held me through it, his fingers gentling but not stopping, drawing out every last tremor until I went limp in his arms. Only then did he slowly withdraw his hand, bringing his glistening fingers to his mouth and sucking them clean with a groan that made heat spark through me all over again.
"Delicious," he murmured, pressing a surprisingly tender kiss to my forehead. "Could taste you all day and never get enough."
I was still catching my breath when I heard Asher's dry voice from across the room. "Are you two quite finished? Because we do have a dinner to prepare for."
Blake's grin was unrepentant as he carefully set me back on my feet, steadying me when my legs wobbled. "Just making sure our Luna knows how much we appreciate her hard work today."
"Is that what we're calling it?" Cole asked, but his mint scent was thick with arousal and his eyes had gone golden.
Through the bond, I felt their hunger, their need, their barely restrained desire to follow Blake's example. But I also felt their control, their determination to let me rest and recover before dinner.
"Later," Asher said, his ice-blue eyes promising everything. "After dinner, after you've rested properly, we'll show you exactly how proud we are of our brilliant Luna."
The heat in his voice made me shiver with anticipation. But for now, I let Blake tuck me back against his side, my body still humming with pleasure and my heart full of love for these three impossible, wonderful, infuriating men who were mine.
"Come on, star," Blake murmured, pressing another kiss to my temple. "Let's get you fed and beautiful for dinner. Your grandfather's waiting."
And as we left the study—my legs still slightly unsteady, my cheeks flushed, and my heart lighter than it had been in days—I couldn't help but smile.