Page 41 of Ensnared by the Pack: The Complete Series (Destined Realms #3)
AUDREY
I took the cup, trudged the remaining few feet to Bishop, and sagged to the ground, finally off my feet. But before I could settle, he grabbed me around the waist and hauled me into his lap.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice suddenly breathy as soft, sensual need swept through me.
“Before we left, Nova reminded me that I’m an idiot,” he replied, his breath feathering across my skin.
A shiver of desire swept through me, but thankfully I was too exhausted, and it wasn’t strong enough to compel me to beg him to have sex with me. Except that didn’t stop my mind from jumping to the dreams I’d been having where Knox — looking like a moodier version of Bishop — made me come with screaming satisfaction, or remembering the look in Bishop’s eyes the other day when I’d stepped out of my bedroom. He’d looked almost as hungry as dream-Knox with his wolf-darkened eyes.
My attention flickered across the fire to Cyrus, my fantasy sliding to him. I’d actually seen him naked and knew just how perfect and powerful his body was. His gaze caught mine, but his expression didn’t change, as if he didn’t have any feelings about his brother holding me… or was hiding them. There wasn’t even a hint of power and I didn’t know if that meant he approved or if he didn’t want to start a fight.
“You’ve suffered two traumatic events in the last few days and you don’t have anyone here to help steady your soul.” He pressed on my shoulders, urging me to lie back against his chest even though I was sure he could smell my increased arousal.
His length hardened against my butt.
Oh yeah, he could smell it.
“You’ll be better able to manage your heat if your soul is steady.”
I moved to look him in the eyes, shifting my rear against him and making his breath hitch. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”
Need made his eyes even darker, but his expression was tight as if he was determined to control himself. “I’m not going to take advantage of you,” he murmured. “I’ll keep you safe. I promise.”
His words swirled more heated desire into my chest, but on top of that— No it was stronger than that, there was something else, something softer but just as enveloping. It was like the energy I’d felt earlier by the well while embracing the near silence whispering in my heart: connected, safe, home.
I’d never experienced anything like it before. The sensation wasn’t strong, but it was there, a ghost in my cells, a vibration that called to the wolf nature I feared I didn’t really have, a foundation that would support me.
“What is this?” I breathed, pressing my hand over my heart.
“Our shifter connection,” Bishop replied.
But that was impossible. Cuddling with Mila had never felt like this, and while those closer to each other, like mates and siblings, had stronger connections, close friends could have just as strong a connection.
Except perhaps a stronger shifter connection was just another magical thing that was different in this realm.
“Come,” he murmured, urging me to relax and fully accept his embrace. “It’ll help. I promise.”
With a sigh, I gave in and leaned back. Distracting, achy need aside, it felt good to have his arms around me, and I was just too tired to fight him or do much of anything about our mutual attraction.
I turned my attention to the fire, watching it flicker and sway in the soft breeze, and let myself drift on the warmth of my shifter connection with Bishop. My eyelids fluttered closed and the exhaustion of the day sank deeper into my bones.
“Hey,” Bishop said, taking my water cup — that I was about to dump in my lap — and setting it on the ground. “You need to stay awake until you eat something. Talk to me, tell me something about yourself.”
“You already know the gist of it.” I didn’t want to talk about myself. As Cyrus had proven, my life had been simple and secluded, and the only other thing of note he and Bishop didn’t know was how I was the one who found my father in the bathtub after he killed himself. And I really didn’t have the emotional strength to bring that up. “There isn’t much else.”
“I’m sure there are lots, like … have you ever seen an angel?”
Cyrus grunted, took the rabbits off the spit, and speared two more. I wasn’t sure what the grunt meant. Bishop had been curious about angels — about my whole realm actually — and Cyrus had shut his questions down because they’d had more important things to worry about at the time.
“I haven’t seen one in person,” I told Bishop, “but I’ve seen them on TV.”
“TV? What’s that?” Whil asked, gingerly picking apart the rabbits and distributing the pieces among four metal bowls.
“It’s—” How could I explain it? I didn’t think they had electricity and I had no idea what level of technology they did have, not to mention if any of my realm’s technology had a magical replacement in this realm.
“Do you have photography?” I asked. Bishop frowned. Maybe the realm’s magic couldn’t translate the word like it hadn’t with TV. “It’s a way of capturing an image on a specially treated—” Hmm, I couldn’t say film. If they didn’t know the word photography, they probably wouldn’t understand film in that context. “—a specially treated piece of paper?”
“No,” he replied, as Whil handed us our bowls of roasted rabbit.
Okay, so… I guess it would be best to just really simplify it. I picked up a piece of meat and blew on it to cool it off while trying to figure out the best way to explain it, but it was a struggle to focus and keep my eyes open.
“Well… we have… devices that let us capture images. Still ones, like a picture, and moving ones like a play.”
“How is this related to this TV?” Cyrus asked, his voice jolting me as if I’d been on the verge of falling asleep. His gaze met mine, dipped to my hands then rose again. “Eat.”
Right. Food. I really was hungry, but eating just seemed like too much work, and Bishop’s embrace was so warm and relaxing and?—
“Eat,” Cyrus insisted, and a soft wave of his power jolted me awake again and made me pop a piece of meat into my mouth before I fully realized what I was doing.
“You don’t have to force me,” I said.
“Kind of looks like I do,” Cyrus replied. “I’m going to keep waking you up until you’ve finished what you’ve been given.”
Another soft wave of power made me eat more of my dinner and I glowered at him.
Cyrus met my glare, his expression smug and cocky, which did nothing to diminish his attractiveness. In fact, that cocky confidence and smirk that said he knew he didn’t even need to use a fraction of his power to make me submit only made him more attractive.
“Now tell Bishop about this TV before he dies from curiosity,” he said.
“What, no power? Not going to force me to tell him?” I huffed and popped more meat in my mouth before he made me do it.
“Do I need to?” he growled, sending a shiver of need rushing through me.
Oh, yes?—
No! No no no. My body might have thought Cyrus making me submit was exactly what I wanted, but it wasn’t. What I really wanted was to feel his power like I felt Knox’s power in my dreams, not controlling me, but awakening that wild and primal something within me.
He quirked an eyebrow, a whisper of his power teasing over me.
“The TV?” Bishop prompted.
I wrenched my attention away from Cyrus before my desire overwhelmed me. I liked being in Bishop’s arms, liked the warmth and comfort and sense of home, and I didn’t want to ruin it by trying to rip his clothes off and have him take me while everyone around the campfire watched.
“We watch the images we’ve captured on the TV.” I finished off my meat, but Bishop took my bowl and replaced it with his which was still full.
“That’s not fair.”
“I can eat later,” he murmured. “But you’re not going to last for the next two rabbits to finish cooking.”
“Fine,” I grumbled, shoving more meat into my mouth before Cyrus could command me. “I’ve seen the angels in the Joined Parliament and I’ve also seen footage from the war of angels fighting Michael’s nephilim.”
The fire snapped and I realized I was starting to drift off again.
“Do you miss it?” Bishop asked.
I finished my mouthful but the idea of moving my hand to pluck more meat out of the bowl and eat suddenly seemed exhausting.
“I really miss cars,” I sighed. How was I going to handle another day of straight walking, let alone eight more days after that?