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Before a single word leaves my lips, he rolls us and now I’m straddling him as he begins to pulse his hips underneath me. It’s the most erotic thing we’ve done to this point. I can feel thewarmth of our combined orgasms between us as each thrust a little more of our essence escapes.

“Twist around,” he says as he moves my thigh up.

Slowly, I twist, and feeling his knot move around inside me sends me into another orgasm as my moans fill the forest. As soon as I’m facing him, he grabs hold of me and lifts us to standing. My back hits a tree as he slams us against it. My legs wrapped around him, our bodies locked together, knot buried deep as we cling to each other. There is nothing in the world for us but primal, urgent need.

His claws dig into my ass cheeks as his hands flex, grip tightening. Even in this form, I can see the reverence, love, and devotion in his eyes.

Then with a toothy, feral grin and voice rough from the rut coursing through him, he leans in and says, “This tree might break with how hard I’m about to fuck you, but it’s okay, we’ll plant another.”

And that tree did.

Chapter 26

Selene

Sunday, July 27th – Bacon, Bickering, and Big Decisions

The scent of maple syrup, pancakes, and too many shifters in one place fills my nose as I look around at all the members of our pack gathered in the dining hall for another pack breakfast. Each week more and more members join us and I love it. The room is full of people talking and laughing, but through it all you can hear two people arguing about the proper way to cook bacon.

“Burnt is the only way bacon should be eaten,” Nellie, Nova’s best friend, declares, voice sharp and unapologetic.

Xavior grunts, “You mean ruined.”

They are sitting across from each other at the pack leaders table with Nova and Silas sitting at the ends. Silas leans his elbow against the table with a coffee mug in hand, looking like a man who regrets every life choice that led him to having these two sitting at the same table together.

Gail, of course, sits smugly next to Nova with a mimosa and the kind of twinkle in her eye that promises she’s already meddling in someone else’s day.

And Cal? He stands next to me as we walk over to the table, with a soft smile curving his lips as he watches it all. His fingers brush against mine as he grabs my hand in his, grounding both of us in the chaos.

We take our seats across from each other, me next to Nellie and Cal next to Xavior. Warrick and Aspen’s seats sit empty. Hopefully after their pup is born they will be able to return from Ireland, only time will tell.

My plate is stacked with honey dew melon, a banana nut muffin, and yogurt. While Cal’s only has three perfectly round pancakes with one square of butter on top.

“I don’t understand how you can enjoy bacon that tastes like ash and disappointment,” Xavior mutters as his nose scrunches when she takes a bite out of her bacon. The crunch cracking across the table as his eyes darken.

“It’s called flavor, Mountain Man,” Nellie snaps back, already slathering her waffles in enough syrup to give a bear shifter a heart attack. “Some of us have taste buds that aren’t stuck on cornbread and milk.”

He scowls. “Some of us didn’t grow up thinking coffee was a food group.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Remind me again how many Michelin stars Jasper has? None? That’s what I thought. You wouldn’t know culture if it walked up and smacked you in the face.”

Silas doesn’t even look up from his pancakes as he cuts a chunk off. “Play nice, children.”

Gail sips her mimosa with a smirk. “Let them spar. It’s basically going to be foreplay for the two of them.”

Xavior chokes on his coffee.

Nellie just glares at him.

Silas clinks his silverware against his plate as he pushes back and stands. Our table is front and center with pack members seated throughout the room surrounding us. Silas moves around the table as we all follow him with our eyes.

He comes to stand in the center of the room, clearing his throat. The room settles down.

“Before we leave today, there is a matter that’s been brought to my attention that I need to be very clear to you won’t be tolerated any longer.” His eyes scan over each wolf. “I know in the past that we lived by the belief that a wolf needed to be strong. We were taught that we needed to fight, to be aggressive, and engrain it into each future generation. What we allow to happen in the silence becomes culture. And the culture of this pack will no longer include abuse. Not behind closed doors. Not in the name of strength. Never again.”

Everyone looks at each other, some with looks of confusion, and others with a look of contempt. My eyes look to Caelon’s parents who are sitting stone-faced and rigid at a table with others who supported Orion when he was our Alpha. I only know because I’ve overheard my parents talking about a group that didn’t like that Silas took over and how they preferred the ways that Orion ran the pack. His douchebag brother is sitting next to his dad glaring at Caelon as if it’s all his fault and I’m half tempted to walk over there and finish what I started last week when Silas speaks again.

He turns to look directly at them.