Page 27 of Chasing the Wolf (Dark Wing #7)

Chapter 27

Xavier

M ac riding me is more than I ever deserved. Her saying yes to our mating? A dream come true. "You're taking me so good." I move my hand from her thigh to her clit. "You're so wet for me, Mackie."

Her neck bends back, her head dangling behind her. I need her neck, because I'm going to do this the right way. In an instant, I have her on her back, her legs wrapped around my hips. I push my thumb along her lower lip. And she snatches it, sucking it into her mouth. I pull it out, kissing her deeply. This female. She's everything, and I have her now. I'll have her forever.

She tilts her neck, long and beautiful, to me. Sure, lots of males hide their mark now. But I can't. My wolf's too much of an ass.

I lean into her ear. "Mine," I grit out. A tilt of my hips and I'm driving into her deeper. Her legs grip me, her feet pushing into my ass.

"Mine," she says back. Her teeth sink into the hollow below my collarbone.

My wolf roars in me. My teeth sink into her. The iron tang of her blood flows down my lips. We're both frenzied, our mouths attached to each other. I suck again, and her orgasm has her clenching my cock. And I'm off. Our bodies flail with each other. Blackness sheets my vision.

I'm removing my teeth and licking her wound shut. The mate bond will have it sealed up soon. But it will always be visible.

She hasn't released my chest. I smooth down her hair. "You okay, Mackie?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Are you going to let go of me, precious mate?"

"Mmm."

It's another minute before she pulls back.

"Everything all right?"

She smiles. "Just wanted to make sure it was nice and dark. You know, so when you're getting your spa treatments, there's no doubt."

"I don't get spa treatments. And I'm going to see what I can do about finding someone else to ease into the role of the face of the business."

She gives me a kiss. "That's an important role. I trust you."

I stare at her.

"Don't give me puppy dog eyes. It's okay. I know your wolf will never let you wander too far." Her thumb rolls over her mark and my cock jumps.

"What if I don't want to be away from you at all?"

"Then we'll figure it out. It would have to be someone you trust," she says.

"Yes, and someone who has a vested interest in the pack members of the Timberline pack."

"I know someone like that. But his style is ripped concert T-shirt." Mac laughs and points to a pile of Colton's clothes on the floor.

"Maybe," I say. It took me three years to get him to even use a hand moisturizer when his fingertips were cracked open in winter.

"We'll figure it out together. And you know it might change with time." Mac runs her fingernails down my arm. "Are you going to tell me what I said?"

"Later." I smile. I should tell her now, but she likes a mystery. Or at least a little bit of one.

"I really can't remember. And that's just wrong." She takes my hand and pulls me up.

"Where are we going?"

"Shower. Then dinner."

My wolf growls. The thought of going out in public... Actually, now that we are mated, it's not a bad idea. My wolf has settled.

"You know what tomorrow is?" She tugs me into the bathroom, flicking on the shower.

"Friday?" I say, testing the temperature of the water.

She playfully slaps my arm. "Um, no, actually it's Saturday, but that's not what I mean. Tomorrow we stop at Fiona's island." She pours soap into her hands and washes my abs.

"The dragon shifter bought her an island?" I spin her and wash her back.

"No, but I bet he would if she let him. They live there most of the year. I want her to meet you." She turns her head, and I plant a kiss on her lips.

"Maybe we could get the captain to let all of your friends hang out together." I drop to my knees and run the soap up and down her legs.

"That would be nice. But that's asking a lot."

"Is it?" My cock's hard again. But my mate's hungry, and that comes first.

"I guess not. People have mating celebrations all the time on the ship, or they take time away to visit family. You're right. But first, dinner."

"Okay, let me find my... My dining schedule was on my phone."

"I'll call down and get it after we're dried off." She flicks the water off and hands me a towel.

I'm wishing we'd spent more time getting clean, but when Mac's on a mission, Mac's on a mission. I'm loving every second of it.

" T his is the lobby. I don't remember seeing a dining room in the lobby."

"No dining room here. But we need to return the necklace you got me to go with the dress."

"You don't like it?"

"No... I do. But I saw how much it was when I came down to find out where our dining reservation is tonight. Xavier, that's crazy. I can't keep this."

"Yes, you can." I take her hands.

"It's a lot of money. You shouldn't throw your money away on things like this."

"Hold up. You made a mistake."

"What? You think you should throw your money away?"

"No, you said it's my money. Mackie, it's our money."

"Okay, well, you shouldn't throw our... money away like this."

I cross my arms over my chest, and she does the same thing. "Not all jewelry holds its value, but classic pieces like this? They do. So I didn't throw anything away. I invested it. I invested in us."

"That's a thin veil of an excuse."

"But it's a pretty veil, and it looks good on you. You know what would look even better?”

"What?"

"The matching earrings." I pull her over to the window where the diamond and emerald earrings are on display.

"Xavier!"

"I'm going to buy you nice things."

She cocks her head the other way.

"I've worked really hard, and I'd like to spend some money I earned on you."

"They are pretty."

"You know what would make them prettier?"

She narrows her eyes at me. "What?"

"You."

" T urn left out of the elevator," she says. The diamonds on her ears sparkle. A large sign next to a realistic tree proclaims the Garden Dining Room.

"Good evening. Mr. Wilder and . . . ?" Rex turns to Mac.

"Oh, uh, sure. Wilder-Northwood."

"Congratulations," Rex says. "Right this way."

We're barely settled into our table when Colette rushes over and throws her arms around Mac's neck. "You did it!"

"Yes, well, that's not something we're going to talk about?—"

Colette glares at me. "You stop."

"We're thinking of going to see Fiona tomorrow and having a celebration at her brewery."

"Oh, I'll talk to Rex. I'm off for lunch service tomorrow, anyway. I'll be there. But what would you like for dinner?"

"Whatever my mate wants." I sit back in the booth, my hand on her leg under the table.

Mac's eyes flash at me, but she doesn't move my hand. "I'm ravenous," she says. "I've never understood passengers wanting to order more than one main entrée, but I think I'll have the steak, fish, and pasta specials. That's crazy, right?"

"That's what mating does to you." Colette smiles and cocks her head at me.

"Well, Mac didn't order the shellfish, so I'll take that and we'll have a full selection."

"Oh, the shellfish looks good too." Mac twists her lips at me.

"Okay," Colette says. "Incoming." She motions to the captain and the first officer heading our way quickly.

"Good evening," Matthias says, "and congratulations. I'm sure you two will be happy together."

"Thank you."

"Well, this is even better, then. I have a mating present." He places three boxes on the table. "I had these purchased for the three of you today in port. I thought maybe I'd find your brother here..."

"I haven't seen him since last night," Mac says.

"I'm sure sharing a cabin with your newly mated sister is far from ideal even if you have a bunk room of your own. When you see him, let him know he can stay in my guestroom if need be. We've got a full ship this voyage. It's my favorite kind of cruise." His eyes flash. Dragon shifters do like their money, and a full ship means more money.

"I'll do that. But knowing Colton, I'm sure he's found a bed somewhere on board," I say.

"Captain, Mac and I would like to have a mating celebration at port tomorrow with some of her friends from the ship."

"At the Dragon Ale distillery?"

"Yes."

"That's a great idea. I'll make sure all your friends can have some time off. Send your guest list to?—"

"Me," the FO says, his tone dropping low.

Matthias laughs. "Well, I won't keep you any longer. Congrats."

"FO?" Mac asks. I'm glad that Mac called him out, because there was definitely no reason the two highest ranking officers on the ship would act as couriers.

"It's nothing. Congrats on your mating." The FO drops his head and begins to turn away from the table.

Mac grabs my hand. I want to know. Her voice rings loudly in the back of my head. A dull buzzing lingers afterward.

"You're sure?" I whisper to her.

"Yes."

"FO Laurit, we'd like to know what it was you wanted to tell us. We're not like other fated mates. We've known each other for a long time."

"Forever."

"Yes, I know the feeling. Right. Fletcher contacted us via Whitney an hour ago. Stanton Wilder was killed during transport to the holding facility this afternoon. They moved him with some of his henchmen, and when they opened the truck, there was only one male alive. He attacked the human officer, who... shot and killed him."

A shiver runs through me, and I don’t know how to feel. "Thank you for telling me.” Relief. I feel relief, and a bit of sorry but that’s mostly for my mother.

"I know he wasn’t a fit male, but he was still your sire, and that can be hard. My condolences."

"I appreciate you bringing the news to me in person. No, he was far from a decent wolf. Treacherous, evil, and a liar. But my mother loved him. And he did give me a brother. A male I'm proud to be related to."

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to reach out." Matthias taps the boxes of phones. And the two of them pivot and walk out of the restaurant in unison. They stop at several tables to take pictures.

"They're good males."

"They are. They're one of the reasons why I like living on the ship so much."

"It feels different to know that your Alpha has your best interests at heart."

"Yes." She swallows and glances down at the table.

"Are you okay?"

Mac takes my hand and squeezes it. I'm better than okay.

I love you, I send through our mate bond. It's fuzzy, and there's that weird buzzing in the back of my head when I do it.

She rubs her temples. "I love you too." She gives me a wily smile. "What do you think it means that our mate link has come in so early?"

"It means we're awesome. Clearly. And will have the best mating yet."

"The buzzing will clear up. At least, that's what my mom said. When she gave me the sex talk, she skipped right over anything useful and spent an hour talking about the connection between mates. I was really confused for a long time."

I laugh. "I don't want to think about you with anyone else."

"So you're not going to ask me who I lost my virginity to?"

"No." My wolf pushes at my skin. He clearly wants to know.

"You've got nothing to be jealous over." Mac takes a long drink of water.

"Neither do you." I open my shirt more, letting my fresh mate mark show.

"I went a little overboard."

"It's perfect."

Colette places our appetizers down. "Holy shit, Mackenzie. You could have just had his forehead tattooed. Property of Mackenzie Northwood ." Colette punctuates each word, pointing at my head.

"It's not a bad idea."

"I brought you a couple of Xenies to celebrate." Colette smiles at her former roommate, her eyes glazed over.

"Are you crying?" Mac asks.

"No. I'm really happy for both of you. I'll give you some time alone." She pivots and walks quickly away.

"You know that saying the humans have: always a bridesmaid and never a bride?" says Mac.

"Nope. But I get the gist."

"Colette's had a lot of cabinmates, and they have all found their mates. Naomi, Hope, Rama, Fiona, and now me."

"Whoa, that's a lot."

"Yeah, and she deserves to have someone who takes care of her."

Yup. She's more than a little terrifying to me. She's gorgeous, and I'm sure she doesn't lack for male attention. Though she would never have been my type. My type has always been Mac. Not that I can remember a single female from before her.

I pick up my Xenie. "To Colette, may she find happiness. Just like us."

"To Colette." We clink glasses, and Mac takes a sip. "We should have copywritten our recipe. This is delicious."

W e have four almost empty entrée plates in front of us when Mac drops her fork. "I'm never eating again."

I laugh. "It was really good."

"It was." She cocks her head at me and touches the unopened phone box. "I'm not sure I want to have a phone for a while. I kind of like not being able to be reached."

"Same." And I mean it.

"You're sure you don't want to check in with Riley?"

"No, they're more than capable of handling things or winging it until I do." Sure, they'll have a few very strongly worded text messages waiting for me when I do get back online. "There is someone I should reach out to, though."

"Who, Fletcher?"

"No, I told him about you last night. That I would be out of touch for a while. My mom."

"Oh, right? You never talk about her. Not even when you were young. And she never really came to any of the pack runs or cookouts."

"Yeah, it's hard to have a relationship with someone who acquiesces to hurting people. She knew what he was doing was wrong. But she stayed with him."

"Stanton controlled you by threatening my family and me. Could he have been doing the same thing to her?"

"Why have I never thought of that?"

"Because she's your mom, and it's hard to look at your parents through the eyes of an adult. And it might not be true. She might have been blinded by love. At some point, he must have done something good enough for her to mate him."

"You are really smart, Mackenzie Northwood."

"Wilder." She smirks. "Northwood-Wilder."