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“Orion.”

The sound of her panting my name was nearly my undoing. I pulled my head back, and she reached for my face. We rolled together, and in one smooth movement, she flipped her position and straddled me on all fours. I held her gaze, snaking my hand down between her thighs, and guided the tip of my throbbing cock to her sacred entrance. I watched and waited for her to stop me.

She did the opposite. “I want you,” she rasped in my ear, her voice breathless, “I need you inside me.” Our patience failed at the same time. I lifted my torso and she rocked herself back, plunging herself around my erection. She gasped sharply as a growl escaped me, loud and wild, and we held there, suspended, conjoined in every way in that single moment. My fingers turned white with the grip they had on her hips. Diana reached for me and was not satisfied until her arms were wrapped around my neck, her face buried in my shoulder. I held her poised in my lap, and the small whimpers escaping her rendered the moment to my command.

I lifted her slightly, slowly, and eased her back onto me, deeper, sinking and—Goddess. Diana was pure bliss.

I lifted her again, and she sank with more intention. More speed, more weight.

She bounced up, and I pulled her back down. We continued, panting, aiming at an inevitable crescendo, increasing our rhythm. The heat was delicious, and the friction had my mind soaring beyond this bedroom. I could see the moon and the stars in the bright spots that flooded my vision. With Diana’s every rise and fall, I felt like I would rocket to the heavens were she not tethering me to the earth.

The rising, the sinking, it all did not stop until I cried out her name with a moan that I feared might shudder the entire forest.Diana.

I fell back, with her on top of me this time, gasping and panting in the shockwaves of our pleasure. She clung to my neck with a vice grip, and I would have it no other way but tangled with each other in the sheets.

When we’d caught our breath, we floated together in gentle silence.

And I heard a delicate whisper from my beautiful mate beside me, “I love you.”

I savored her words. And in the perfect wholeness of that moment, sleep found us. First, Diana, and then me, lulled as I was by her gentle breathing.

I wasn’t sure how long we remained that way. The sky outside my window was bright yellow and well into the day when I awoke. An impatient, inconsolable knocking shattered our reprieve. Diana stirred, blinking, and I slipped off the bed and quickly threw on some clothes.

When I answered the door, Jesse stood there with a small group gathered behind him. His face was stormier than usual. “What is it?” I asked.

“We were attacked,” he said in a rush. “Your father’s gone missing.”

DIANA

When Orion told me what had happened, I quickly got dressed and followed him outside. News of the attack on Nathaniel spread like wildfire, and soon, the compound was in chaos. Jesse did little to settle everyone’s fears, barking at anyone in his path to get out of the way. Cara joined us, along with Noah, and we gathered with a few others from the guard just outside the compound’s perimeter.

With us all gathered, Jesse rounded on us, keen to bark more orders.

But Orion was ready, speaking first. “What do you mean my father ismissing? What happened?”

Jesse’s fingers flexed, ready to form a fist. His jaw clenched, but he nodded toward his brother. “Noah was there. Tell them.”

Noah’s mane of shaggy curls bounced around his face as he looked to the ground, a stark contrast to the sharp edges of the shaved sides of Jesse’s long, straight hair. “We went to the human camp to investigate. I followed Diana’s trail to see if I could track the other wolf. Nathaniel stayed behind. Then I heard howling, like there was a fight. When I returned, Nathaniel was gone. There was no trail, no communication from him. He just vanished.”

Orion turned to Jesse again. “And where were you when this happened?”

Jesse rolled his eyes and shifted impatiently. “Nathaniel split us up to canvas more ground. We need to look for himnow.”

Orion frowned, and I sensed his temper charging the air between us. Everyone else seemed oblivious to it, especially when he continued in a calm voice. “Yes, we do.”

Eight of us went into the forest—Jesse, Cara, Noah, Daniel, Eli, Violet, Orion, and me. We paired off again, but this time with the intent of staying close. And this time, we shifted into our wolves.

Jesse led the charge first, with his brother, followed by Daniel and Eli. Cara took after them with Violet, and I hung back with Orion for a moment. He stared off into the distance, hands behind his head and his brow furrowed.

I cautiously approached him, something inside me twisting with concern. “We’ll find him.” I reached out to touch his arm, but it stiffened beneath my fingers.

“We better,” he said gruffly. He slipped out from beneath my hand, and in a single, fluid motion, transformed into his midnight black wolf. I followed suit, and we chased after the others.

The human campsite was much the same as the last time I’d seen it, except one tent remained crumpled—the one Orion had unceremoniously crashed into when he was attacked. The others were still the same, untouched.

Jesse was already pacing irritably. Cara’s sandy wolf had her nose to the ground in search of a trail, but apparently, there was none to find. There was, however, a peculiar acrid smell hanging in the air, masking all other smells in the forest. If I focused on it too much, it hurt my head and made me sick to my stomach.

What is that stench?Violet’s voice echoed in my mind, and I could tell she was nearby, perhaps behind another tent.