Page 27 of Alpha Wolf’s Arranged Bride (Rose Hollow Wolves #1)

With short, painful steps, I struggle away from the stone with Scarlett. Even though the heat isn’t radiating off it anymore, the atmosphere still feels thick, and I can almost taste the blood that was spilled here today.

How many dead? This is going to be a horrible headcount. And for all we know, it isn’t over yet.

I tighten my arm around Scarlett, and she looks up at me with a tired smile. I have no idea what happened to her on the stone, but the only thing that matters is that she’s okay.

As we stumble onto the grass, I see Jarrod charging at us from the tree line. Close behind, Cody chases him down, followed by a couple of other Shadows.

Jarrod launches himself through the air, smacking into both of us as he wraps his tiny arms around his mom and me.

He’s crying and talking all at once, so fast that I can’t understand the words.

Scarlett just whispers nonsense under her breath as she rocks back and forth, and I hold them both, love pouring through me so powerfully that I feel paralyzed by it.

“I’m sorry, boss,” Cody says, breathing hard as he finally arrives. “He got away from me!”

“It’s alright,” I answer. “I know how much trouble he is.”

“Dad!” Jarrod chirps. “I saw the snake! It was so tall. Were you near it?”

“Yeah, I was, son. We got real close.”

“But not that close,” Scarlett says, frowning at me. “It was full-on in there, but we’re okay. You don’t have to worry.”

“Your mom’s right,” I say quickly. “It’s all fine now, and the snake’s gone.”

“It looked kind of cool,” Jarrod says.

“Yeah, it did,” Scarlet answers. “But he was not a nice snake. He killed a lot of people.”

“Well,” I say, thinking out loud. “Technically, the snake didn’t kill anyone. Azarian and Vanessa did.”

Scarlett gives me a furious look over Jarrod’s head.

“Yeah, he was a bad snake,” I say quickly. “That’s all you need to know. A big, bad, scary snake.”

“Is it over, though?” Jarrod asks.

Scarlett nods, looking right into his eyes. “It’s all over, baby boy. We can go home now. All of us.”

When WS deployed, they left equipment trucks on the nearest main road.

All of us hike back there, with the warriors from Rose Hollow and the injured Shadows nursing their wounds and mourning fallen friends.

We pass Eccles without investigating. Our forces are too depleted to deal with another fight.

“We need to find out how involved the rest of the pack was in this shit fight,” I say as we jump into the back of a truck. “And if anyone else in town feels like summoning an ancient snake.”

“I’ll work on it right away,” Cody says. “Once I debrief the other elders and assess the damage to our forces, I’ll make that our first priority.”

“You’re a good beta, Cody,” I say, settling into a seat with Jarrod on my lap.

“I’ve never been happier to be beta,” he answers. “I don’t want to be on the front lines of that action. No way.”

“It was scary,” Jarrod says against my chest. “But my dad is the toughest alpha in the world.”

“He sure is,” Cody agrees.

Jarrod quickly falls asleep, and even I end up dozing a little as the movements of the truck lull me back and forth. When the stopping of the vehicle wakes me, I’m surprised to find us parked out front of my house.

“That went quick,” I mutter, getting out slowly so I don’t wake Jarrod.

“You were out of it,” Scarlett says, climbing down after me. “But to be fair, I took a decent nap, too.”

I wave goodbye to the guys, who keep going to drop off their other passengers and give reports to the head office. I take my son inside and tuck him into bed, and Scarlett gently kisses his forehead before we sneak out back to the kitchen.

I immediately head for the whiskey, and Scarlett pulls some cheese and salami out of the fridge as well as a big box of crackers. She makes sandwiches out of the crackers as I pour the whiskey and shoves one in my face before I can take a sip.

“Food first,” she says.

“I need a drink,” I protest.

“So do I, but eat a few of these first.”

I don’t feel hungry, but I take a cracker piled with cheese and salami, anyway. Scarlett keeps handing them to me, and before I realize it, we’ve demolished half the box.

“See?” she laughs.

“Okay,” I agree. “I guess I was hungry. Can I drink my booze now?”

Scarlett raises her glass and taps it against mine, taking a long sip. I toss back the whole glass, feeling the burning liquid wash down my throat in a soothing rush.

“I have to tell you,” Scarlett says softly, “I don’t even know how to say it, or what exactly I want to explain, but something happened to me on that stone.”

“A lot of things happened to you today,” I point out. “You don’t have to try and explain it.”

“No, I mean something else. Something with the snake.”

Scarlett keeps her eyes fixed on the glass of whiskey, and I wait patiently for her to speak.

“I think it spoke to me,” she finally says.

“What?”

“I heard its voice. It showed me things. Then I got these weird sensations… like pinching all over my body, and warm tingling in my hands.”

“Are you alright? Did it hurt you?”

“No, not really. I actually kind of get the feeling it was protecting me.”

“That’s… weird.”

“I might be wrong. I don’t know,” Scarlett mutters, shaking her head. “I just needed to tell you.”

“Do you have any idea where it went, or what it wanted?”

“It wanted to be free… but it also had a terrible hunger for blood. It was satisfied during the ritual, but what happens when it gets hungry again?”

I try to reason that out, but I’m too tired to examine the thought.

“Scarlett,” I say, getting up to kneel beside her chair. “Let’s puzzle all that out some other time. All I want right now is to be with you.”

“That’s all I want, too,” she says, stroking my face.

“I never wanted to leave you all those years ago. I actually convinced myself that you were better off without me.”

“Stupid fool,” she laughs.

“Yes,” I say seriously. “I was. I never want to be separated again from you or from Jarrod. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

“You already have made it up to me, Rex,” Scarlett says. “You proved your love and loyalty to me already—but then today, you fought for us. You put your life on the line, as well as your warriors and your Shadows. There is no doubt in my mind that you truly want me and Jarrod.”

“I love you, Scarlett,” I murmur.

She smiles and leans towards me, and I reach up a little so our lips touch. The kiss is light and gentle, but quickly warms up. Scarlet lets the kiss deepen, then pulls back with a little laugh.

“Before this gets too serious, I could really use a shower.”

“Would you like some help?” I ask, standing up and taking her hand. “I’m very good at getting to those hard-to-reach places.”

“How could I refuse an offer like that?” Scarlett chuckles.

She hurries up the stairs, giggling as I try to pinch her butt and grab her waist. When we get to the bathroom, she turns the water on full force and very hot, steaming up the room in no time.

I watch her peel off her ripped, stained clothes and step under the flowing water. Her red hair flows down her back, turning to the color of blood as it gets wet. Scarlett turns to face me, beckoning with one hand.

“Well, come on, mister. You made me a promise.”

“I did,” I agree, tearing off my own clothes and joining her under the water. After I soak myself a bit, I get a big handful of liquid soap and slowly rub Scarlett’s shoulders, sliding my hands down to rub her breasts.

“Rex?” she whispers.

“Hmm?”

“I think my breasts are clean.”

“Are they, though?” I ask very seriously. I slide my fingers up, then sweep them under her round, firm breasts, making them bounce in my hands. Her nipples harden under my thumbs as I tease them with short, rough strokes.

“Okay,” she gasps. “Maybe you can keep doing that a bit more.”

I chuckle, moving my hands down to lather her belly and waist. The silky soap foams up in my hands, making her body soft and slippery.

“Hmm, you better do my back,” she says, turning around. “It’s one of the hardest spots to reach.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I answer, starting at her shoulders, then moving in slow, circular strokes down her spine.

When I get to her lower back, I sweep my hands out to her hips, sliding down them and around to cup both ass cheeks in my big hands.

I try to give her a firm squeeze, but my hands are too slippery, and I can’t get a good grip.

“Seems like you’re having a little trouble there,” she giggles.

“Oh, really?” I say, wrapping my hands around her waist. “I’d say I’m doing just fine.”

I press my body against hers, pinning her against the wall as I slide one hand down her belly towards her pussy. Scarlett braces herself on the wall, leaning back against me and opening her legs to encourage me. I find her clit with my soapy fingers.

Scarlett gasps, writhing in my hands as I slide my hands down further, teasing the slick inner lips of her pussy before sinking my fingers into her. She gasps and writhes against me, and I hold her tight with one arm as my other hand delves deep into her cunt.

She starts to rock back and forth against my hand, eyes closed as she focuses on the sensations between her legs.

I nuzzle under her ear, teasing her neck with soft kisses as I slide my fingers up and down, rubbing her clit with my slippery hand and diving back down to finger her with firm, long strokes.

Suddenly, she braces on the wall, gasping and crying out as she grinds her hips and throws her weight back against me. I close my eyes in satisfaction, feeling the climax shuddering through her and enjoying every slippery movement of her body as she lets the orgasm take over her.

Before she can recover, I turn her around, putting her back against the wall. Scarlett has a lazy, satisfied smile on her face, and when I raise her arms to put them on my shoulders, she leans against me, linking her hands behind my neck.

I reach down, running my hands along her thighs. With a quick, hard movement, I grab her knees and hoist her up, pinning her to the wall. As she wraps her legs around my waist and I thrust my hips up, my cock slides straight inside her, slamming in all the way to the hilt.

Scarlett leans back, resting her head on the wall as she closes her eyes. I press forward even harder with my hips, keeping a firm hold on her knees. She braces with her elbows on my shoulders and digs her knees hard into my waist as I begin to thrust.

The hot water pouring over our bodies makes her skin warm and slick, but hanging on is just part of the fun.

With my feet braced on the floor and her knees securely around my waist, I grab her ass and start thrusting into her as hard and fast as I can.

Scarlett digs her fingers into my shoulders, leaving little marks where her fingernails break the skin.

As my cock thickens inside her, Scarlett cries out at the peak of every thrust, tossing her head back and shuddering as pleasure ripples through her.

Deep spasms inside her squeeze me as I pound her, and as another climax takes her, I ram my hips forward, slamming her cervix with one hard stroke, listening to her cries as she comes.

When her voice settles and she wraps herself limply around me, I get a tighter hold on her ass and shuffle closer to the wall, lifting her as I thrust in short, hard strokes. She moans softly as my cock gets harder and thicker, my entire body stiffening as I get close to my own release.

As my cock finally swells and blows, Scarlett wraps herself around me, her slick skin sliding on mine as she writhes, her climax triggered by mine. She opens her beautiful, big green eyes and smiles at me. In her gaze, all I can see is trust, edged by passion and sealed with love.

It’s the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen, and I’m going to devote every moment of my life to seeing that smile on her face every single day.