Then he looked at her and, much to her surprise, cracked a smile.
“Oh, it means a lot to me as well.” Letting out a squeak, it didn’t take Sarah long to realize that the Alpha had the same voice she’d just listened to. It was an unexpected jolt to her system. She had no idea he, or anyone, could do that. Covering her face once again at the chuckle that followed, confusion whirred inside her like a hurricane.
“If your test run went well, you’ll be appropriately compensated. I expect you to oversee the logistics of the operation before I send my men in.” Sarah licked her lips nervously as big words she didn’t know flew right over her head, and the Alpha’s tone was rather flat, giving nothing away. She wondered what kind of ‘test’ they were doing and if it had anything to do with her. Before she’d been rescued the other people in other cages would be tested and sometimes their cries and screams still kept her up at night.
“As you wish, Alpha. Thank you.”
A few minutes went by before Mikael uncovered her and Sarah looked around as her confusion melted away. It didn’t take a formal education to realize she was in his room because it smelled like him everywhere, even if the scent was rather stale. The floor was covered in dark brown carpet and there was a dresser next to the door that mirrored a bed on the other side of the room. There was even a desk neatly stacked with books and papers. Everything was neat and moderately lived in- but it was so different than her old room. She never made her bed and that was in the rare chance she slept in it, and there wasn’t a linger smell of food.
“Let’s get you into more comfortable clothes.” Sitting Sarah on his bed, Mikael was nervous for a multitude of reasons; the first and foremost being apprehension at seeing her naked. He wasn’t sure what to expect. While she was asleep through the night he’d examined what he could see and the only thing he found of concern had been her hands. Obviously her knuckles and fingers had been broken a few times. Although he knew better than to expect she was spotless, it was still saddening to look at even without the knowledge that it could’ve been prevented.
Watching Mikael slowly lift up her hoodie, Sarah felt heat rush up her neck and into her face before raising her arms so he could pull the fabric over her head. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath, and although he’d seen her naked before this time it was different. Bare from the waist up, she couldn’t take her eyes off him face as his expression became pinched and tight. Furrowing her eyebrows, she thought he looked uncomfortable as he stared at her torso and she didn’t much care for it.
“Are you okay?” Flicking to her face, Mikael’s gaze softened before Sarah reached out to touch his cheek. Her breath began to shallow out the longer he held her attention, and the heat that enveloped her face spread through her chest and into her fingertips as she stroked his skin.
When her nose touched his she realized, startlingly, that she was leaning towards him and a tingling sensation fluttered in her belly. No one had ever made her feel like this even though she’d gone through what was described as ‘heat’- that time of the year before the snow when her body ached and yearned for something.
“Sarah…” Closing the distance between them as Mikael sounded her name hoarsely, Sarah crashed her lips sloppily on his with a small squeak of surprise. She’d never kissed anyone before, but had seen people do it countless times in the past six months. It never ceased to amaze her how a simple action could make girls look so happy and she’d always wanted to try it. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she half fell into his lap and marveled at how chapped his lips were. His hands, though, were smooth as they held her ribs, almost like he didn’t do much work with them.
Oh, she liked this a lot. She liked it so much a moan slipped out of her mouth before his tongue pushed passed her teeth, and she liked that
very
much.
Eager for more, Sarah opened up a little more and shivered when his tongue wrapped around hers. Mikael leaned back until she was laying on top of him and she whimpered when her nipples tightened, rubbing them against his shirt. It was only then that he pulled away, but she didn’t want to stop and risk her feelings drying up. When she tried to kiss him again, though, he flipped over so she was underneath him and it was quite a dazing experience until his hot, ragged breath flowed across her chest.
“Jesus… fuck, you’re so beautiful, Sarah.” When Mikael latched onto her nipple to nibble and suck Sarah let out a little yelp, arching her back off the floor.
“Wh- what does-s that… mean? Jesus?” Wispy and weak, her question made him grunt before taking hold of her right breast to knead gently, and for a while he didn’t answer her.
“It’s a swear word.” Really Sarah didn’t understand, but dropped the subject anyway as Mikael made her hotter. Her abdomen tightened and twisted, causing her to wiggle and squirm and her legs to tremble as they lay open and askew. She wanted something but she didn’t know what it was even as he began to kiss her lower towards her belly button. It made her lift her hips in eager anticipation.
“Mikael… It’s hot-t… hot…” Groaning, Sarah pushed Mikael’s head further down and liked how her excitement became greater and greater. His hands left her chest to trail downward until they reached the waistline of her sweat pants and she lifted her hips a little higher.
When he pulled down her pants, she cracked her eyes open at his sharp intake of air to look down dazedly. Unconsciously sucking her bottom lip between her teeth, she noticeably shuddered when he glanced up at her with fire melting his chocolate brown eyes.
“So beautiful.” Gliding up to kiss her lips, Mikael planted his hands on either side her head and Sarah moaned again. When she kissed him it was like she was free; it was a kind of free that was so different from going from a cage to a bedroom. It was as if nothing else mattered and even she didn’t matter. She was him, and he was her.
“Hey Mike! I hear…” Then, just as quickly as it came, it was gone. Looking up, Sarah felt cold pins stick her skin at the interruption even though the woman that barged in wasn’t speaking. Staring, with a shocked expression, her muddy brown eyes were wide and her face was turning ten shades of red. Glancing at Mikael, Sarah frowned lightly at the frustration clearly evident on his face. Carefully she reached up to palm his cheeks, but he wouldn’t look at her, too busy glaring at the woman.
“Mikael…” Sarah’s whisper came out scared and thoughts zoomed through her mind as to why Mikael wouldn’t see her. Looking back over at the woman, she couldn’t deny that she wasn’t as pretty and she didn’t wear nice clothes.
“Get the fuck out, Rosie!” Pulling her close, Mikael growled deeply and Sarah shivered as it reverberated through her cheek to make her toes curl. The door to the bedroom slammed shut, but he didn’t relax his hold even as his fingers tangled in her hair to fist tightly. Reaching around his head, she held on tight even while he crushed her against him, relishing the secure feeling that spread through her.
“I fucking hate people calling me ‘Mike’.”
Mikael grumbled into Sarah’s hair before pushing himself up to sit on his ankles, cradling her body roughly. He loved the way she snuggled into him even though he didn’t give her much of a choice. Against his chest she hummed, nuzzling his shirt, and he couldn’t detect anything other than content on her bare skin. It was good that she wasn’t unsure of herself. He’d just been so angry at Rosie for stopping him at the good part and he didn’t want Sarah to see that.
“I’m sorry, baby. Rosie’s a nosy bitch.” Loosening his hold, Mikael was going to push away Sarah’s hair. He figured she’d ask a bunch of questions that he’d have no choice but to answer. True, she might be twenty-two years old, but she was kept in a cell nearly her entire life.
He wasn’t really expecting her to start kissing him hungrily. This time nothing would stop him.
Laying on her back once again, Sarah moaned and shivered in delight when Mikael pressed his body against hers. She could smell something heavy and musky in the air that made her mind grow dull with every small, panting breath she took. Lifting her hips instinctually, she opened her mouth to taste him even as he wiggled to kick off his shoes and pants.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Sarah?” The abruptness with which he broke his mouth from hers to ask his question startled her, and she furrowed her eyebrows before forcing her eyelids apart. Mikael was staring at her hard, panting harshly, but he looked so serious it was a bit concerting. Of course, Sarah knew what sex was as it’d been explained to her by Julia, but she didn’t know why she had to be asked.
“It’s with you… I- I want to do things with you. I want to because… because… I missed you.” Blurting out her response, Sarah frowned as Mikael just continued to stare down at her. It wasn’t exactly what she wanted to say, though. They had a connection but she didn’t know what to call it and it was frustrating. Things like this had happened before and people made fun of her for it, but she didn’t want to come across as ‘stupid’ to him.
“Oh, baby…” Mikael dropped down onto his elbows, raining kisses on her face, and Sarah let out a loud gasp when he reached between them. His hand brushed against her core, causing her to wiggle and spread her legs wider. Capturing her mouth, he groaned and thrust his hips before yanking his head up to clench his jaw. Staring through half lidded eyes, she couldn’t help but let out a yelp of startling volume as he entered her. He wasn’t too slow or too hard, and in a mere moment his hips stuck to hers.
For a minute, Mikael didn’t do anything other than breath harshly and raggedly pant, but Sarah wriggled and wormed around, lifting her hips once the initial stinging sensation had passed. She needed something more. Despite how badly she ached she wasn’t ready for whatever would happen and that coiled tightness was making her abdomen sore. When he finally did pull away she hissed through her teeth, but he simply huffed out a chuckle before reentering.
That
made Sarah’s eyes roll in their sockets before she felt her body seize up. Holding her breath, she curled up off the floor until the crown of her head pressed firmly against Mikael’s chest, and her arms tightened their hold on his neck. Her legs spasmed and jerked and she could feel him inside her very definitively. Stars burst behind her tightly shut eyelids as something she’d never felt before spread from her abdomen all the way to the roots of her hair, causing her toes and fingers to tingle.
It was a wonderful thing to feel, and even as it died down, allowing her to breathe again, the after effects remained.
“I w- want to d-o that… again.” Whispering, Sarah’s voice was light and airy and it didn’t sound like her. Even so Mikael still had a smirk on his face when she glanced at him and the tingling in her belly returned immediately. He was very good looking when he smirked.
“As many times as you want, Sarah.”
After a while of being on the floor Sarah’s back began to hurt, and in between the waves that crashed into her, she managed to complain about it. Mikael left her with an empty feeling even as his shaking hands gripped her sweaty, trembling body to hoist her up onto his bed. For a brief second she wondered if they could stay like this, having sex and being so immersed in each other, but then remembered he had a job. It was kind of saddening to think about, really and so she didn’t. Instead, she focused on the way he was pushing her butt up into the air and her knees far apart. The position somehow felt right, and she gripped the blanket before he held her waist firmly.
Staring at his mate, face down and ass up, nearly made Mikael blow his load before he’d even plunged back into her moist heat. He’d been forced to pace himself because Sarah was proving to be quite the little nymphomaniac, but like this he wouldn’t last. Slowly thrusting his hips, his groans mingled with her moans before he dropped down onto his hands. Her mark would be on her left shoulder blade where it could be easily covered up, but he’d never been one for showmanship. She bore scars already that no one else could see, so adding one more wouldn’t make a difference.
Only managing to hold herself up because Mikael’s arm was wrapped under her chest, Sarah automatically let her head drop when he kissed her shoulder. She just wasn’t expecting him to bite her, and she let out a shriek when his teeth scraped bone. Trying to pull away didn’t work either, it only made the pain worse and her cry turned into a full blown scream. Stuck like that, she didn’t realize he was no longer inside her as tears poured from her eyes, but he wasn’t done with just that. His teeth began to carve their way down the left side of her back, hitting and nicking her ribs, and her screams became hysteric.
Laying Sarah down on her uninjured side, Mikael was a bit worried because she wasn’t screaming but she also wasn’t unconscious. He pulled her curls up and away from her head and covered her body with his as she twitched and trembled, crying lung-twisting sobs. Maybe he should’ve told her marking would hurt but it was an unfortunate oversight on his part that he didn’t think about it. Nuzzling her jaw and neck, he hoped she’d let him make it up to her somehow.
It’d been three days since Sarah first had sex with Mikael but she hadn’t left his room before. He would go find her something to eat and then make her eat all of it in one sitting, leaving nothing but an empty plate and an uncomfortable feeling at not having a stash. Now, though, as she stood behind his bedroom door, that discomfort was replaced with dread. Her singular experience with a pack had been horrible and she couldn’t help but think that this one would be the same. Despite all he’d told her over the past few hours about the werewolves he lived with, it was very hard for her to picture his vision. Wearing nothing but one of his t-shirts wasn’t doing much to help her either, although her dreary thoughts were halted when he tugged on a lock of her hair to get her attention.
“Don’t worry so much, baby. You trust me, right? Would I stay here with you if they weren’t good people?” Shaking her head with a slight frown, Sarah rubbed her hair absently before Mikael wrapped his arm around her waist.
“If you say so.” Truthfully she didn’t want to leave, but he wasn’t lying and she couldn’t think of a way to stay within these four walls. Staying close, with her hands firmly clutching his shirt, she watched in anxious anticipation as he reached for the doorknob. It seemed like the action was performed in slow motion until he pushed open the barrier, but then time suddenly surged forward as the sound of people flowed in her ears.
Sarah managed to make it all the way down the hallway to stand at the top of a curved flight of stairs before coming to a stop. Despite Mikael’s grip on her hip, she still tried to back up, and the voices she heard weren’t loud or rowdy but there were so many of them. At least ten people were at the bottom of the staircase. Licking her lips absently, she turned into the man holding her before he nudged her forward and down the first step.
“Hey, Mike! You finally let her out!” Fixing her gaze on the woman that spoke, Sarah hid behind Mikael even as light laughter floated around the room. She was an older woman, but not by much, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She also had a pudginess to her that Sarah couldn’t quite figure out even as her inner beast snorted growled softly in distaste. Glancing around at all of the people looking so relaxed and at ease, her wolf was getting more and more restless causing her to shuffle her weight from one foot to another.
“Yeah, but it took some doing. Small bits, right Sarah?” Turning his attention to his mate, Mikael was pretty surprised to find Sarah glaring at everyone. He knew this would be an uphill battle and she wouldn’t take to his pack right away, but she seemed so defensive it was worrying. Her hair was puffing up and a cool amber color seeped into her eyes the more they flickered from one person to another. It was like she was waiting to be put down or insulted.
In the growing silence he was kind of shocked when her thin-like lips pulled back and a growl vibrated against his back where her chest plastered against him.
“I can already picture this disaster in my head, Mike.” Whipping up at the somewhat familiar voice, Sarah’s glare worsened as Rosie sneered at her. Her wolf snarled in the back of her mind, and although confused her anger wouldn’t be betrayed. Why she was acting like this she wasn’t sure but she really didn’t like Rosie a single bit. The blonde made her angry with just a single thought.
“Don’t call him that.” Spitting out the demand, Sarah bristled when Rosie sucked her teeth, flipping her bland, straight hair like she was better.
“I’ll call him whatever I want. I’ve known him longer.” Blinking, Mikael was very sure that his mate was going to explode at Rosie’s words, but he wasn’t going to intervene. Getting between two women was probably the most stupid thing he could do, and everyone else was quietly watching the pair. Really he could’ve cringed because the last thing he needed was bad vibes since he’d moved up in his pack and the higher ups were always the first to meet a newcomer. Rosie shouldn’t even be here, and he didn’t know why she was. She’d never expressed interest in him before and it wouldn’t have mattered if she did because he had Sarah.
“That’s enough, Rosalina. I wouldn’t suggest getting into it with Sarah on something as sensitive as Mikael.” Stiffening at the voice, Sarah saw the Alpha out of her peripheral vision, but didn’t take her eyes off Rosie. It was like a test. One that was similar to when she was younger and had to stare at a man until she couldn’t anymore. That time she’d looked away almost instantly but now it would be different.
This time Rosie broke eye contact even if she covered it up with an eye roll.
“Oh, come on, Jared! Everyone, even you, is bending over backwards for this girl and it’s sickening. How are you going to rule a country if you can’t even take a single sympathy case with a smidgen of dignity?” Sarah made to lunge not because she was being belittled, no, those words flew right over her head. It was Rosie’s tone of voice, angry and high pitched and full of disrespect, that pushed her wolf into action. Things like this had never bothered her before, but maybe it was because of Mikael. Maybe it was because of this pack. Maybe she was just looking for a reason to attack Rosie.
Before she could get too far, though, a thick, muscular arm caught her waist.
“Now, now. That’s enough of that, honey.” Alpha Jared pulled her up off her feet, knocking the wind out of Sarah’s lungs and forcing her wolf to back down with a satisfied chuckle. When he set her down Mikael held her, running his fingers through her hair soothingly despite how tense he was. Swerving from the Alpha to Rosie, her eyes narrowed considerably. Her wolf was itching to watch that woman get punished, but the ferocity of the thought was a bit startling.
“Are you questioning my authority, Roselina?”
“No, Alpha.” Clutching Mikael’s shirt as tightly as possible, Sarah trembled lightly from the force of her feelings. Not only were they very acute, but it wasn’t something she’d dealt with in the past since these kinds of scenarios simply escaped her scope of comprehension. Listening to Rosie grind out the denial through her teeth made Sarah want to scream, and it was an unusual situation.
“Good. To answer your question, I plan to do so effectively. Do you have business here or is your goal to make a stressful situation even more so?” Mikael watched Rosie get even redder in the face before storming out of the pack house, and he released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. He couldn’t profess to know why women acted so weirdly, but this brought nonsensical to a whole new level. Glancing at his mate, he could see tears of frustration in her eyes and her face was a bit pale.
“Don’t worry about her, Sarah. Rosalina is easily threatened since her place in the pack is very precarious.” Flickering to the Alpha, Sarah’s eyes burned but that didn’t stop her wolf from snorting in disgust noticeably. The creature was still very near the surface, waiting to break out even though it’d never showed such interest before. Apparently it was very opinionated, and judging by the male’s humored expression he knew it, too.
“Actually, Sarah’s not the only reason I’ve called this meeting. After some debate I’ve decided not to attack the pack in which she previously resided. Carla, we will be moving forward on the terms of the exchange.” Not bothering to pay attention as the focus was shifted away, Sarah worked instead on calming herself down. There would probably be more spats with Rosie, but until the time came she just had to keep her hostility to herself. Of course, it wouldn’t be easy because she’d never hated anyone the way she did that woman- not even her captors.
Once the gathering had dispersed Sarah back up to her shared room to twiddle her thumbs and contemplate her life. It was something she did often and that hadn’t changed because of Mikael despite the fact that he tried to keep her busy. He’d gotten her a ‘tablet’ so she could have something to do while he was working, but she wasn’t very interested in the games or shows she found.
Stripping out of her shirt, Sarah heaved a sigh and rubbed her face with her hands before climbing into bed. Today had been stressful, just like the Alpha had said, and she needed a nap.
“Mikael.” Whining when Mikael sat up, Sarah circled his waist with trembling arms before he let out a small laugh, petting her dampened, crazy curls.
“Sarah, as much as I’d love to stay in bed with you, I do have to go to work. Alpha Jared has given me as much time off as he can.” Slightly winded, he explained his predicament but that didn’t stop her from conforming her sweaty body to his. It was cute the way she always wanted to have sex with him. Unwrapping her arms from around him, he stood up to stretch his arms over his head with a groan, ignoring her protest.
“But I don’t want you to go.” It was nearly dinner time and Sarah was feeling rather very energetic because not only had she taken a nap but she’d also had a healthy dose of affection from Mikael. Stretching herself out, she slipped her fingers through his but didn’t tug since it was probably hard for him too.
“Don’t be like that, baby. While I’m gone you can explore the pack house, okay?” Frowning, Sarah didn’t see how that was a good idea but she didn’t object. Mikael was right as he usually was in going to work, so maybe the same applied to his suggestions. Sitting up, she arched her back with her own groan as he put on his pants before watching him intently. Everything about him was wonderful.
“Mikael?” Gnawing on her bottom lip, Sarah waited for him to face her before posing her question.
“Is this what Julia meant about ‘mates’ and ‘love’ and stuff?”
Startled by the question, Mikael furrowed his eyebrows and tried not to frown as he sat next to his mate, his hand automatically reaching to touch her hair. He knew that at some point he’d have to explain this to her, but he didn’t think she’d be so blatant about it.
“Yeah, Sarah. This is what she meant because I’m your mate and we love each other.” When she mimicked his expression he felt a wash of shame because it was his fault she wasn’t able to identify what she was feeling. Sarah only knew that she liked what she felt, but Mikael wasn’t stupid enough to think she’d put two and two together. This was all new to her.
“Okay. So that means I’m going to have your babies? Julia said that that’s what ‘mates’ do.”
“If you want to, Sarah. How about we talk about it after dinner and have Carla answer your questions? She was the woman you met earlier downstairs.”
After a moment of thought, Sarah nodded firmly and Mikael stood up once again to rub his jaw while she reached for her shirt. Maybe he had a hard time because he was a boy, and she actually kind of wanted a girl to talk to. If he was right about being ‘mates’, then they surely had a lot of time because Julia had told her mates don’t leave each other unless they die. She definitely didn’t plan on dying any time soon. Satisfied at the logic, she nodded again to herself before looking him over. He would never leave her and she would never leave him which meant life would be perfect from here on.
Less than two minutes later Mikael arrived at Alpha Jared’s office, and he eyeballed his superior wearily. His inner beast didn’t really like that he had given his mate a pet name, but before he could think more on it the Alpha male spoke up from behind his desk.
“Have you realized yet that Sarah and Rosalina are sisters?” Frowning, Mikael was really at a loss even though that simple word explained so much. Sarah unconsciously hated her family even if she didn’t realize that it was the reason she had so many problems with Julia and her brood. Unfortunately, though, Alpha Jared once again cut off his thought train.
“I suppose it’s understandable that Sarah hates Rosalina so much. It also explains why I was able to use my Alpha authority on Sarah when she had that panic attack in Ryan’s car. Anyway, I called you here because I wanted to apologize for not getting your permission before establishing a bond with your mate, Mikael. You’re smart, so you understand that her wolf is immature and your guidance alone won’t be enough. I’m sure you also know that once she shifts, she’ll be worse and it was a necessary decision.” Mikael felt his frown smoothen out as Alpha Jared’s words came to a close and he nodded firmly. In all actuality this was a better outcome than him coming to his Alpha now or in the future since it was important to have a strong male figure right off the bat. Being Sarah’s mate, Mikael couldn’t do the job and in the end it would skew her way of thinking. Someone like Alpha Jared, though, would do much better.
“How do you know she’ll shift, Alpha? She’s twenty-two years old and she was in that cell for sixteen years of her life.”
Watching his superior take on a thoughtful expression, tugging his light beard, Mikael felt like he already knew the answer to his own question.
“Her wolf is active, as you know. Besides, she’s not the first or the only in this pack to shift after extensive adolescent torture. For now, I think it would be for the best if you kept Sarah away from Rosalina. Since the passed series of test runs have been successful I’ll give you as much time off as you think you’ll need until she’s capable of being unsupervised after shifting. Of course, you’ll be consulted on any plans we make.” Once again Mikael nodded, but now it was more of a dumbstruck jerk of his head. He really hadn’t expected Alpha Jared to be so lenient with him or Sarah, let alone give him more time off.
Then again he had promised compensation and the man wasn’t one to hand out wads of cash. Alpha Jared was smart like that in supporting his pack every way but monetarily. It gave him money to do things as well as boosting morale.
“Thank you, Alpha. I’m sure Sarah will be thrilled.”