Claiming His Need (14 page)

Panting, groaning, and growling, I continued to play with her as she shuddered through her release. When she relaxed back into the mattress, I softened my touch but didn’t stop, making sure she held on to every ounce of pleasure possible until she finally pulled her legs in and rolled away from me.

“Tender, princess?” I pressed my lips to the side of her thigh and rested my head on her hip.

“Goodness, I needed that.”

I chuckled. “Glad I could be of service.”

“Hmmm.” She shifted up the bed, reaching for me as she went. “Lay with me.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

Her pout, while endearing, broke my heart a little. I didn’t want to turn her down, but if I didn’t find some relief of my own soon, I was going to explode.

“You get some rest.” I pulled the covers over her body and placed a kiss on her forehead. She opened her eyes just a smidge, then promptly closed them again.
 

“I’m going to have a lot to make up for next time I drag you into my closet.”

I laughed as I strode toward the balcony door, my cock so hard it hurt. “I’ll hold you to that.”

She sighed as I stepped out onto the balcony. With a quick glance around, I vaulted over the railing and landed soundlessly on the grass below. Two minutes. It was all I needed. The woman had me in a constant haze of lust. Even with all the kissing and grinding and rutting we were doing, I was still sporting a hard-on ninety percent of the time.
 

“You okay there, boss?”

I spun, growling at Sandman as he leaned against the tree at the corner of the house. “What are you doing here?”

He shrugged. “Listening to you do a bang-up job of relieving your mate’s heat needs.”

I growled. What I did or did not do with my mate was none of—

“Easy, man. I’m not trying to overstep. I saw when you stepped inside and thought I’d better stay close in case you got…distracted. And now I’m wondering if you would perhaps need a few minutes alone. I can keep an eye on her door so you can take care of”—he waved a hand at hip level—“business.”

If I’d been a twelve-year-old boy, I might have blushed. But I wasn’t. I was a man with needs who’d just spent ten minutes with his face buried in a pussy he had yet to have full access to. Something had to give.

“Five minutes, tops.” My voice nearly cracked on the last word, but Sandman either didn’t notice or chose to ignore it. Good man.

“No one will get past me, brother. I
will
keep her safe.”

“Thanks.” I ran off into the woods, pulling open the fly of my jeans as I went. I had barely made it to the tree line when I wrapped my fingers around myself and began to pump. I used the hand I’d had buried in Kaija’s pussy only minutes before, the thought making it seem hotter and softer than usual. Up and down I teased as I hurried to what I hoped would be a spot private enough for a quick wank.
 

When I finally reached the side of a giant pine tree, the branches fallen in a way to shield me, I pulled my cock the rest of the way out and thrust into my hand with force. Fuck, I could still smell Kaija on me. Spicy and sweet, the scent made my arousal burn hotter. I licked my lips and threw my head back as my hand slid up and down my length, swiping my thumb around the tip every few strokes. Pictures of my mate in the throes of her orgasms flashed through my mind. The way she would toss her head back and her mouth would fall open, how she would squeeze her eyes shut and gasp as the first flutters wracked her body. The flush that would settle over her chest and face as the intensity swelled and she rode out every last second of her orgasm. Beautiful…delectable…

“Mine.”

I came with a jolt, my entire body locking down with the pleasure of my release. Soon. I would come inside her soon, and then I would get to feel all that soft heat wrapped around my cock instead of my own hand.
 

With little regard to the mess I’d made, I hurried back toward the house, tucking my now-softened cock in my pants and zipping as I ran. Shadow stood sentry as I’d left him, looking off toward the east.
 

“I’ll stay down here tonight,” he said before I even reached him.

“I’ve got the balcony.”

“Yes, but your mate sounds to be in the worst hours of her heat.” He turned to meet my gaze, far-off look in his eyes. “I met my Margaret in late fall and was forced to wait until summer for our Klunzad time. That winter, when she went into heat, she would cry and shake from the pain. The only thing that seemed to help her was my touch, so I would sneak into her room and wrap myself around her to help her sleep. Perhaps your new mate would find the same relief if you two shared skin-on-skin contact this evening, old friend.”

Kaija moaned as Sandman spoke, drawing my attention to her door. It was not a moan of pleasure, but one of pain.
 

“Hurry. Your mate needs you.” Sandman nodded toward the balcony, and then took a step away, nearly disappearing into the shadows of the house. “I’ll stand guard. I won’t let you down.”

Swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat, I watched my friend and Breed brother as he settled in to protect my mate. He would stand guard all night, I knew. He would make sure I never had to live through the hell he had when he lost his mate.
 

“Thank you, brother.”
 

“Cherish her. Fight for her. Never trust the pack.”

With a nod, I jumped onto the balcony. The wind had picked up, bringing with it the cool air off the lake. Fall was short in this part of the country. Soon, winter would come. A time for mating and breeding and huddling up in a warm place together. Where that place would be was not my decision to make; it was Kaija’s. I would respect it because that was our custom, but Sandman’s words sent my mind spiraling into a sea of doubt.

Because when the wind blew cold and the smell of the coming winter danced on the breeze, when I dreamed of a place safe and warm to hole up with my mate, that place was not on Valkoisus land. And I somehow knew Kaija would not want to leave.
 

Hearing my mate in discomfort, I hurried to open the screen. Kaija tossed and turned in her bed. Her skin was flushed and her legs were twisted in the sheets as if she’d been writhing since the moment I left her.
 

Once I reached her side, I brushed a lock of hair off her face and leaned down to kiss her. “Kaija? Are you okay?”

She whimpered and curled into a ball. “It hurts, Gates. It’s never hurt like this before.”

“I know, princess. I think I can help you. Do you want me to try?”

She nodded against the pillow. “Please.”

I tossed her blanket to the floor and yanked the sheet from under her. I kept my eyes locked with hers as I removed my cut, T-shirt, and jeans. She didn’t say a word, just watched me undress with nothing more than a sigh.
 

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say my body doesn’t entice you.”

She shook her head. “Of course it entices me, but I can’t have you. And yet you stand there before me naked. Why are you teasing me so?”

I lifted her and sat her on the edge of the bed. Before she could protest, I pulled the silk nightdress over her head, relieved to see her naked underneath.

“I’m not teasing you, princess. Skin-to-skin contact will help ease your pain, so we must be naked.”

“If you get into this bed with me naked, there’s no way we won’t have sex.”

I pulled the sheet out of the way. “We won’t have sex. I can control myself.”

“But what if I can’t?”

“Then we’ll say screw pack laws and do whatever it takes to make the pain go away.” I lay down on the mattress. “C’mere.”

With a tug, I pulled her down on top of me. I wrapped my legs around hers and pulled her into my arms even as her head came to rest on my chest. Once she seemed comfortable, I yanked the sheet over us before retuning my hands and arms to cover her back. Full contact from toes to nose.

“That feels better already,” she mumbled.

I chuckled and held her tight, loving the way she fit against me. “Get some sleep, princess. Tomorrow is a busy day.”

She sighed and snuggled closer before her breathing evened out. The weight of her against me made my heart practically sing. My mate, in my arms with nothing between us, was practically a dream come true. But with the joy came the fear, and with the fear came the rage. Kaija would meet the nomads in the morning. Alone. Or as close to alone as one could be with a full pack and a team of Feral Breed brothers there to make sure nothing went wrong. Yet I would not be close. I would be on the opposite hillside, watching from above.
 

Waiting to unleash the hell within me should something go wrong.

So as my mate slept in my arms, I stared at the ceiling and began planning all the ways I would eviscerate her former captors if they somehow succeeded in their plans.

The wind blew in from the north, bringing with it the smell of the lake. It comforted me with its familiarity. I stood in the center of a clearing near an old smelter long ago abandoned, the required location for the exchange as set by the men who’d taken me the first time. Sandman stood slightly behind and to my left. The figurehead of the Feral Breed crew. The man charged with protecting me should things go wrong.

I hoped for everyone’s sake things didn’t go wrong.

I watched as the wind stirred the pine trees, causing a dance of green needles on a multihued brown stage. Beautiful and powerful, this land had once been a vibrant and strong provider of copper for the world. Now, the mines sat empty, the men and women who’d worked in them moved on to other places. Yet we Valkoisus shifters stayed. Our pack had made a home in these woods for hundreds of years, and we would be here for hundreds of years to come. We were strong, we were able, and we would not be torn asunder by the likes of a group of nomads with an Omega obsession.

When I’d awoken that morning, Gates had set my mind at ease with sweet words and even sweeter kisses. But once he’d left to prepare for the fake exchange, my nerves had taken over. I’d worried and fretted over every detail. But then Half Trac came to see me. He spoke at length with me about my power as an Omega, teaching me in moments things I hadn’t learned in my decades of life.

There were many mysteries of the Omegas, many secrets as well. But one thing was for sure and well known—there was an innate power growing within us from the moment of our birth. And there were many shifters who would lie, cheat, steal, and kill to have access to that power, even if they didn’t know how to access it. That threat was the reason why my father had refused to allow my presence at a Gathering. It was why I’d been kept secluded from the outside shifter world. And it was why I had confidence we would all make it through this day alive.

Playing Half Trac’s words over in my head, I closed my eyes and dug deep into what I thought of as my wolf spirit. I searched for the thread of connection I felt to my mate. Gates was not allowed near the clearing during the exchange, but he wasn’t far. I knew he wouldn’t be. He would never allow great distance between us, especially not when I was in danger, just as I would never allow him to go into a battle alone. We were one—one heart, one soul, one powerful unit even before our official bonding. But today I would have to act alone.

I breathed deep, centering myself in the moment and concentrating on the link to Gates. The itch of a shift started at my head and fell over me, all the way down to my toes. It was almost time. Soon, the nomads would arrive. Soon, I would fully utilize my Omeganess for the first time.
 

Soon, I would help Half Trac and his Cleaners capture any nomad who threatened my mate, my pack, my Omega sisters, or me.

As the first scent of the nomads reached me, I opened my eyes and prepared myself for what I knew was to happen. They would come; they would take me; the Feral Breed team would save me.

Or so they thought.

Half Trac had made sure I understood the plan that was explained to the teams, the one where the Breed team would rescue me followed by a contingent of pack wolves to eliminate the nomads and capture the leader. It had been a good plan, one everyone agreed to. But in our meeting, Half Trac altered almost every detail in a secret plan only he and I would know about. For his benefit as well as to keep my Gates from danger. My team was good, my pack and the Breed strong, but they would not be saving me today. My mission was clear—let the nomads take me, wait for the Cleaners, open my Omega power to them so they could capture—not kill—all the nomads.
 

The pack would not need to rescue me.

The Feral Breed would not need to rescue me.
 

My mate would not need to rescue me.

The power of the Omega that lurked within would rescue me.

It was time for the princess of the Valkoisus pack to earn her crown.

I felt the first tug on my mating bond as I waited on a hillside looking over the clearing where Kaija stood. I watched, waiting for a sign or a signal, something to tell me what was happening to her that caused the twinge in my heart. But nothing happened. She remained motionless, a brilliant red statue standing in a forest of green.
 

The tug increased as I noticed the wolves coming over the hill opposite me. Just as we’d expected, they’d come in from the west. Six wolves and three men walked through the woods toward my mate, one of them obviously Magnus. Even from where I sat, hidden hundreds of yards away, I could see they’d not been easy on him. Battered and bloody, he stumbled his way down the hill and toward Sandman, who stood with Kaija.
 

I’d known from the time the plan had been laid out that these would be the hardest five minutes of my life. I was forced to stay back with a team of pack wolves and allow the nomads to come close to my mate, to take possession of her, to begin their trek back the way they’d come. The time would be a true test of my control, and I worried I would not survive it.