Calum looked over his shoulder for the hundredth time, making sure no one was following them. He knew Jake had said he’d keep an eye out, without invading their privacy, but he trusted nothing on this mountain until the sick bastard running the village was taken down.
“No one will follow us,” Shaelan whispered, her arm brushing against his as they walked. “Aunt Marilyn gave her word and I believe her.”
He grinned. “Yeah, I don’t think I’d want to be on her bad side.” He wanted to hug her against his side but knew if he touched her right now, he’d be laying her down in the long grass…Shaking his head, he focused on calming his cat down. If he pranced around anymore inside him, Calum’s ass was going to be wiggling as he walked. Like he was sure Brock’s did when no one was looking. Hello?! Get your head together! Glaring at the ground, he sighed. He was a mess. Going to be with his mate and thinking about a gay jaguar…He was going to be with his mate for the first time, he didn’t count being chained to the wall, neither of them knew then. He was nervous, which was honestly the first time in his life he’d had this feeling.
Shaelan stopped walking and stood still. Calum was immediately turning to see if she sensed something he didn’t.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “I’m just…” She gave a loud sigh. “So much to process today.” Her cheeks turned pink. “And I’m a little nervous too.”
Heaving out a heavy sigh, he offered her a smile. “To be honest, I’m a mess too, if that makes you feel any better.”
She looked him up and down. “You don’t show it.”
He snorted. “Good to know.” Reaching over, he pulled the blanket she’d been hugging out of her arms and tucked it under his arm. “How much further is this ‘retreat’ of your aunt’s?” He wasn’t sure what to expect, knowing what he did about the woman. An hour ‘that way’ hadn’t been the detailed directions he would have preferred either.
Shaelan turned and looked around. “Shouldn’t be much further. It’s right at the edge of our territory’s boundary in this direction, she said we couldn’t miss seeing it.”
“I’m almost afraid to find out.”
Shae laughed. “Me too. She keeps things interesting though.”
“That she does,” he agreed and walked as close as he dared to get without touching her.
“I can’t believe everything that’s going to happen in the next day or so. I hope it all goes the way we’ve planned.” She blew out a loud breath. “Do you think Aunt Marilyn and Brock will be able to do it? I always thought the darts were for injured wildlife…like, real wild animals.”
Calum ran a hand through his hair. “If they can replace the ammo with blanks and empty darts, we’ll stand a better chance.” If they managed to do that inside the village, the only unknown factor would be the ammo that was carried on the supply run. This Jerome that ran the escort—was the same Jerome that was the only clan member that went into the forbidden area. Calum and he were going to be having a serious discussion about Gene’s death. The chances of Jerome being alive at the end of it were slim.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but my insides are rolling around from the vibes coming off you,” she said quietly.
Snapping out of it he glanced down at her. “Sorry. That would be your cat feeling the anger I do.” He realized again that the things he took for granted, she wasn’t aware of. “That night you came to me, your fear and anxiety almost smothered me.”
Her eyes went wide. “Is that what it is? It’s so weird, these feelings I keep getting, that I’ve never felt in my life. At times, it feels like my skin is crawling, but nothing is there.”
Careful to keep his distance, he reached out and ran his hand lightly down her back. “Your change isn’t far off if you’re getting that feeling. Get used to it, your cat will do it often. Especially when they want your attention. After a while it will feel strange if you can’t feel their presence inside you.”
She huffed out a breath, “I’m scared, but excited at the same time. I don’t even have a clue what to expect. There’s been no time for questions or answers since all of this started.”
Stopping, he swore under his breath. He should have left her with Rayne and Kelsey tonight, so they could help her understand more. It angered him that his mate was being pelted with so many things she couldn’t grasp. “We can go back, and you can talk to the girls…”
She grabbed his arm. “No. I didn’t mean that. I want to be here. I just have a lot of questions.”
Searching her face, he saw she meant it. She did want to be here, but he could also see the underlying confusion in her sexy eyes. “I can try to answer them…as long as they’re not female questions, we’re good.” She smiled up and him and he his heart stutter.
“Thank you.” Pursing her lips together, her eyes moved down over him for a moment then stopped at his neck, her brows furrowed.
“What?”
“I just realized…” Her eyes flew back to his, “Rayne and Kelsey…”
Her hand moved to cover her one breast. He tried not to let his eyes follow the movement but failed.
“They were explaining the mating bites?” she asked.
That got his attention back on her face. “Marks. What about it?”
She gave a slight nod. “Mating marks. I can’t mark you.”
His heart, he was sure, stopped beating all together. Swallowing, he found his voice. “You can’t?”
She shook her head, looking puzzled, then opened her mouth baring her teeth at him. “I don’t have fangs…sharp cat’s teeth, like you.”
He heaved out a breath so loud, he felt his shoulders drop a few inches in relief. “You will soon enough. Your change isn’t far off.” False alarm. His cat settled back down inside him.
Stepping closer, she looked up into his eyes and he felt his whole world still. “You don’t understand,” she whispered, causing his eyes to flick to her lips then back to her eyes. “You said I would be bearing your mark in a visible location…”
He nodded, completely distracted by her scent, her eyes softly holding his, her lips moving…
“I want you to bear my mark when we go back.” Those plump lips pouted. “But I don’t have the sharp teeth to do it.”
His whole body shuddered at the image that gave him. Her marking him. Him carrying her scent permanently. Swallowing, his mouth suddenly dry, he ran his finger lightly over her bottom lip. “We’ll figure out a way.” He’d never meant something as much as he did then. If he had to claw up his own neck so she could lick it and fill his system with her scent, he would do it.
She blushed again and smiled up at him. “Okay.” Fanning her face, she blew out a breath. “I get so hot when I…”
Moving fast, he placed a finger over her lips. “Please…” The lust in her eyes was killing him. “Don’t say or do things like that until we’re there.” He titled his head and looked her up and down. “I’m already having a hard time keeping my hands to myself.”
She nodded, her cheeks flaming.
He straightened up and stepped back, motioning for her to walk. “More questions?”
“Only about a thousand,” she answered quickly.
Chuckling, he nodded. “Ask away.”
“I think I should maybe avoid some that might be related to…” She fanned her face. “…some things. Let me change subjects here.” She stopped briefly to look around and check their direction.
He loved that she knew direction in the middle of nowhere. Oddly, he found that a turn on. Wrong topic. Focus.
When she started moving again, she gave him an apprehensive glance. “Are you planning on being back in the morning when they get your men out of there?”
He nodded, not voicing how much vengeance he had inside him. When Devin had told Calum that his father had ordered that they were to hold until the alliance got there, he was not happy. It was agreed they could try to get their men out, not having them on the inside would give Leroy no hostages to use against them.
“I can’t believe Earl and Morris have done the job for this long and don’t agree with any of it.” She shook her head. “I mean, it’s good they don’t agree, and if anyone can talk them into helping the men escape it will be my aunt, but, how could they do it for so long?”
Taking a moment to contain the emotions he was feeling, he spoke quietly. “Like your mother, they only did what they had to do to survive.” He reached for as much as he could remember, with all the tranquilizer in his system. “They only struck out at me, when I went for them first…from what I can remember.”
“I suppose, they were only doing their job.” She looked him up and down. “And defending themselves, but still…” She lifted her hands then dropped them again. “I couldn’t do it. I didn’t make it two days before I broke all their rules.”
He laughed. “If it helps, I agree with all the rules you broke.”
She chuckled. “Of course you do. You are the rules I broke.” Sobering, she sighed. “As terrifying as all this is, I’m glad it’s going to be ending. I could not have done my job and treated innocent men that were being held against their will.”
“Speaking of that, Nona told me you will be the next Nona when she retires.”
“Hmm.” She exhaled a sharp breath. “Nona-Shae. It still sounds so wrong to me. There will only be one Nona to me, and that’s Nona-Eve.”
It had been plaguing him since Nona had told him, his mind struggling to process the details with everything else going on. Stopping, he looked down at her, then dropped the blanket on the ground. “We need to stop here, while we’re out in the open, and talk about some things.” He winked at her. “Once we reach the retreat, I won’t be talking.”
“Oh.” She nodded and sat down.
He could see the second he said it, she had closed herself off inside. “It’s not bad. There’s just some logistics we need to discuss.” His cat wasn’t at all happy with this pause in motion. Calum had seen what had happened between Devin and Rayne when he wasn’t upfront, and he was not going to go through that. He studied her face, that beautiful face. Sitting down, far enough away so he couldn’t grab her, he looked at her again. “Some time, I’ll explain the alliance and how it works, and everything else you don’t know, but what you need to be aware of right now is…” He loved how she watched him, so focused on what he had to say…Shaking his head, he smirked. “I’m really struggling to keep my hands off you.”
“Talk faster,” she whispered as her eyes flicked to his mouth for a moment.
Closing his eyes, he reined in his thoughts, then opened them to continue. “Devin will be the next alpha of his clan, but also the leader, or king, of the entire alliance of clans.”
She nodded. “You briefly told my aunt that, I believe.”
“Gage and I are his seconds…” He paused to see she grasped the concept of the word. “Not all the time, but there will be times I will have to be with Devin, for his protection, or in an official capacity.” He had spent his whole life supporting this notion, and now, for the first time ever, he was feeling doubt.
“I understand that.” She huffed out a breath. “A king, it’s a whole world I don’t understand, but I’m looking forward to learning more about it.”
She actually looked excited about learning. He found that endearing as well.
She inhaled sharply. “Oh. I get where you’re going with this. I’m going to be my clans’ Nona and you’re the King’s second…” She rubbed her forehead with two fingers. “I guess long distance relationships don’t work in the shifter world.”
Running his hand down the length of his jaw, he gave his head a quick shake. “I can honestly say I’ve never seen a mated pair apart for longer than a day. Except in extreme circumstances, when it couldn’t be avoided.”
“Oh.”
He watched her face and could actually see how fast she was processing thoughts. She was something to watch, his mate, smart and beautiful…Cursing silently, he fought to focus again. “Once the alliance is involved in your village, and they will come in and help in any way needed, you’ll have more freedom but…”
She nodded, then stopped and looked at him. “I don’t know.” She shrugged. “This is so far from my experience, the alliance and how things should be, I don’t know where that will leave me when it all settles.”
Calum didn’t like to see the uncertainty in her eyes. He slid closer and drew her into his arms. “We don’t have to decide anything right now. I just wanted to be open with you about my position and responsibilities.”
She hugged him tight. “You have no idea how much your honesty means to me.” She tilted her head up and look at him. “There hasn’t been a lot of that in my world.” She stopped and pushed her nose into his throat and inhaled slowly. “I love the way you…”
Growling, Calum dropped his arms away and leaned back from her. “We have to go.”
Frowning, she sat there looking at him. Then she smiled a slow smile, her eyes sparkling, cheeks flushing. Without another word, she stood up and shook out the blanket.
They both stood and stared at the small wooden shack. It was lopsided, with rough boards, not finished or altered to even fit properly. It looked like a small hunting hut, about ten-foot square. Calum had both hands resting on top of his head as he looked at it. “She painted the door pink.”
Shaelan giggled. “Guess that’s her way of marking her territory.”
He laughed. “Do we dare look inside?”
Nodding, she started walking. “With Aunt Marilyn, it wouldn’t surprise me if we opened the door to a solarium and swimming pool.”
Pulling the key out of his pocket, he unlocked the lock and flipped it open. Opening the door slowly, they both leaned in to look and then sighed at the same time to see a sparsely decorated room. There was no furniture to speak of, only a blanket, few pillows and small wood stove.
“Well, that was anticlimactic, wasn’t it?” she asked, stepping in.
Swinging his pack off his back, he opened it to get some candles he’d taken from the cave. “I’m actually relieved.”
She nodded. “Yes, I think we’ve both had enough surprises in our lives lately.”
Calum snorted. “Agreed.” He lit a few of them and placed them on the small stove. Setting his pack by the door, he took the blanket from her hands and spread it out on the floor. Kicking his boots off, he shoved them out of the way.
She closed the door and leaned back against it, looking at him. He could sense the anxiety coming off her. “Don’t worry about the details right now.” His eyes moved slowly over her. “Don’t worry about mating protocol, or what happens later on.” He tapped a hand on his chest. “Follow your heart, the rest will work itself out.” He held out his hand to her. “Let me show you how it’s supposed to be—now that I’m not in chains and you don’t think I’m some sort of monster.”
She looked at his hand for a second, then shrugged out of her jacket, dropping it where she stood. Her shoes went next before she finally reached out, placing her hand in his. “I never thought that.”
He wanted her to come to him on her own accord, needed her to, so he didn’t pull her toward him. Even his cat had stopped and was waiting. “You did when you came in to treat me. I could smell your fear, even over the stench of the stink weed.”
She stepped closer and nodded. “I’ll admit I was scared, but I had been led to believe you were some sort of dangerous criminal.” She inhaled subtly. “But it wasn’t all fear; it was…”
“My scent turned you on.” He squeezed her hand lightly, encouraging her to take those last few steps.
“Yes.” She gave him a heated look. “And that scared me more than thinking you were some horrible person,” she confessed.
“Let me show you, love,” he whispered.
The way she was looking at him, caressing him with her eyes had every muscle in his body tense. She bit her bottom lip and his hand started shaking, as he fought to not drag her against him. When she took her other hand and ran it over the side of her breast, rubbing where he knew his mark lay, he’d never gotten so hard that fast in his life.
“Will there be biting?” she whispered breathlessly.
Dragging, his attention away from her heaving breasts, he looked at her with lust riding him hard. “There will be biting,” he said with a hoarse tone.
“Good.” She dropped her hand from his and, in one motion, pulled her shirt over her head and dropped it to the floor.
He was sure the zipper on his jeans was going to pop as he stood there, with his hand still held out to her, watching. He could see his bites through the pale material cupping her breasts, her darkened nipples, hard and wanting. Ripping his shirt over his head, he tossed it to the floor, and closed the distance between them. Grasping her by the waist, he lifted her up to his height. “I wanted slow…”
She licked his throat, making his knees almost buckle. “I don’t think we can.” She nipped at the sensitive skin of his neck, and he felt his cat go completely still, waiting. “Show me slow in twenty years.” When her tongue stroked over is neck again, he growled deep in his throat. “When you growl…” she moaned softly as he shifted her up higher. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she leaned back and looked at him. “I want to claim you. I want to be yours.”
He’d planned on it, later, first he’d intended to drown in her for a while until the need wasn’t weighing on him to the point he couldn’t think. He tried to remember if there was anything other than he had to let her, of her own free will, mark him first. Her hot tongue licked over his jaw.
Dropping to his knees before they gave out, he buried his face in her throat. “Clothes off before you do, or we’re going back in rags in the morning…” His restraint was already stretched to its limit. Calum’s cat was quiet, knowing she had to make the first move in mating, but as soon as her mouth marked him after saying she accepted him…he knew his cat would take over.
He watched her stand and shimmy out of her jeans. If his control snapped…he didn’t want to hurt her. Moving toward her on his knees, he held her hand as she kicked off the pants. She stood before him in nothing but a pale see-through bra and pantie. His senses were spinning out of control from the scent of her. “You have to be ready so I don’t hurt you…” He could barely form words.
“I am,” she panted, then reached around and unclasped her bra. Sliding it free of her arms she dropped it.
Crawling closer to her, he ran his tongue up her leg. With shaking hands, he slid the skimpy cloth down her legs so she could step out of them.
He could barely breathe. He raised up and nipped her hip softly. She grasped his hair with both hands and hissed out a breath. If she didn’t mark him soon, he wasn’t going to make it. Inhaling, he growled softly in his throat and then stood up so he wouldn’t screw this up and bite her thigh. She had to make the first move, he reminded himself.
Shoving his pants down his legs, he got out of them fast, then looked to see her drop to her knees in front of him. With a hesitant, shy look in her eyes, she bit her lip and ran her hands down his waist and over his hips while looking up at him. It was the most erotic thing he’d ever seen. Holy hell. Grabbing her hands, he pulled them away before he lost it.
Dropping to his knees, he lay on the blanket, pulling her with him. Keeping her close, he kept his arm loose around her waist, even though he wanted to pull her tight against him. He watched her lick her lips nervously. Was kissing her breaking the rules? He couldn’t remember. She nibbled his bottom lip and he growled again.
“I was told you’re not allowed to touch me,” she whispered against his mouth, “until after I mark you. I didn’t believe it was true until now.”
He could taste her scent on his tongue. “It’s true.” She pushed on his shoulder so he’d roll onto his back. She shifted until she was on her hands and knees over him. He didn’t dare look anywhere but her eyes. Clenching his hands into fists, he kept them on the blanket.
“But.” She licked her lips, leaning down close to his face. “I can kiss you, right?”
“Yes.” He looked at her lips, then back to her eyes when he started to lift his head.
With the tip of her tongue, she ran it over his lower lip. “You can kiss me back?”
He nodded, unable to form any words as the heat from her breath brushed over his mouth. It felt like an hour as she stayed right there not moving. He growled, “Shaelan.”
“I love when you growl,” she whispered against his lips.
He was just about the break the rule and grab her, when her mouth touched his. Lifting his head, he turned it and took over the kiss, plunging his tongue into her mouth and filling his senses with her taste.
She nipped his tongue and trapped it briefly as she lowered her body onto his and rubbed over him. He could feel how wet she was as she slid over him and had to squeeze his hands until they hurt to prevent grabbing her.
When she pulled her mouth from his, he tried to catch his breath. She pushed her breasts into his chest as she reached down between them and grasped his engorged shaft. He stopped breathing completely and continued to hold his breath until she slid him inside her.
The air left his lungs all at once. So tight. So wet. Fuck-ing torture. His growl was closer to a roar as he turned his head to bare his throat to her. She moved up and down slowly and he saw stars behind his eyelids. “Accept me.” He hissed out. Fuck. “Claim me.” His growl sounded more like a whine. “On my jugular, it will make a mark.”
He was a heartbeat away from grabbing her head, when she lowered her mouth to his neck and licked over the skin. She moaned against his ear as she slid him deeper into her body.
“You’re mine,” she whispered against his throat.
When her teeth clamped down on his skin, he growled. It should have hurt with the amount of pressure she was using, but it only made him and his cat reach a frenzied state of arousal. He didn’t wait until she let go of the flesh between her teeth before he grabbed her hips and thrust up into her.
He rolled her onto her back, her mouth still attached to him and slammed into her again. She moaned and let go, then licked his wound several times before grabbing a handful of hair and dragging his mouth to hers. He tasted blood and his cat screamed in victory. He wanted her on her knees, but Calum wanted her to moan for him first.
Thrusting faster, he leaned down and grasped her breast, running his fingers over the mark as she whimpered with need.
Shifting to his knees, he pulled her hips up with him and continued to pound into her. When she reached her hands up to touch her breasts, his rhythm faltered. She thrashed her head back and forth and moaned as her body started to convulse tightly around him. Slowing, he let her ride it out for a few moments. Imprinted in his brain forever would be the image of her orgasm, she was so sexy and erotic.
When she was panting to catch her breath, he pulled out and flipped her onto her stomach. Lifting her hips, he drove into her, and she rewarded him with a deep moan. Leaning over her, he pushed her hair out of the way and nipped the side of her neck.
She was pushing back into him almost as hard as he was thrusting, reaching around her, he grasped her breast and kneaded it.
“Mine,” he growled against her skin.
He bit into her neck, right above her collarbone, so everyone would know she was forever his.
She squealed in pleasure, then her body clamped down on his and his name was growled out in the most sensual way he could imagine.
His whole body was rigid as he exploded inside her, the intense heat washing over him. He released her neck and tried to bring oxygen into his lungs. He gasped each time her tight inner muscles convulsed around him.
They were mated forever, and he honestly didn’t know a time in his life he’d ever felt this serene inside.