Page 15 of Forcing Fate (Wildheart Pack #1)

Cole

This is nice. A good dream. I’m comfortable, my head resting on something soft, the sheets cool against my skin. There’s peace and quiet all around me, with only the sound of birds chirping outside the window to break the perfect silence.

That, and somebody else’s breathing. The breath hits my shoulder slowly, rhythmically. That’s how I know this is a dream, because Nora wouldn’t curl up like this with me on her own.

Still, if this is a dream, it’s the most vivid dream I’ve ever had. I can smell her clearly. I can almost hear her heartbeat, and the rhythm is close to mine.

When I turn my head on the pillow, the welcome weight on my shoulder goes away. “Are you awake? Tell me you’re awake.”

Now I know this must be a dream. When would Nora be so happy to know I’m conscious? “I’m awake... Maybe,” I murmur, keeping my eyes closed .

“Thank God!” She takes my face in her hands, and I revel in her touch—but it’s the kisses she rains all over my face that make my heart skip a beat or two.

It’s not only kisses raining on me. It takes a second, but I realize there are tears on her cheeks. “What’s wrong?” Finally, I pry my eyes open. Her face is red, her eyes swollen like this isn’t the first time she’s cried today. It’s light out—I slept the whole night.

“I thought… I lost you.”

“I’m right here. I didn’t go anywhere.” This is bizarre. What the hell happened last night? I remember something went wrong, but it’s all cloudy and foggy.

“You could have,” she sobs. “You looked dead. I thought you were dead. I actually felt the danger you were in. It was terrifying.”

“But I’m not. I’m right here.” Something changed. Something shifted between us while I was unconscious. This isn’t the first time she’s clung to me, but it’s the first time she’s done it without having a nightmare first.

“I’ve never felt anything like that before.” There’s something very real in the way she whimpers. I feel her sincerity. The depth of the fear she struggled with.

“Everything’s all right. I’m here.” Stroking her cheeks, I wipe away her tears, and she leans into my touch. My heart is about to explode from happiness and relief. This is all I want. Her trust. Tenderness.

She touches her head to my shoulder again, crying until tears run over my skin. “They’re all dead. My whole family is dead, and I don’t know how to feel. My emotions have been all over the place since last night. ”

“What happened?” I listen to her explain how her family drugged Tara and I and used us as bait. Anger surges through me, knowing my mate was in danger while I was out cold. She tells me about the fight, the mystery bear, and the outcome.

“And now they are all dead,” she concludes her story, leaving me a little dazed.

“I’m sure it feels complicated.” Though I can’t pretend to be sorry. “But they were never your family. Not really. We are your family. This is where you belong.”

“I killed Jessa.” She sniffles, but it comes as no surprise that she isn’t crying quite as hard anymore. “And I didn’t really feel anything. Is that wrong? I don’t even feel guilty.”

“No, I don’t think it’s wrong. Only…” Something is not computing, and I don’t think it’s the effect of having slept like the dead for hours on end getting in the way of my brain being able to process things. “How did you do that? How are you able to?—”

A strange, shy sort of look comes over her face. “I shifted.”

“You what?” The news makes me sit bolt upright in bed and take her face in my hands again. “Your wolf? You shifted?”

“It was when I knew you were in danger.” She leans into my touch again, closing her eyes and releasing a deep sigh. “I couldn’t help it. My wolf needed to find you. There was nothing in the world more important than finding you and making sure you were okay.”

That would explain her whole change in attitude. “I can’t wait to meet her,” I whisper, touching my forehead to hers. It feels impossible, but here we are .

Or are we? Because she opens her eyes and pulls her head back and shakes her head slightly.

“I need you to understand something. I want to be with you, and I know there’s no breaking our bond.

When I saw you out there in the clearing…

You were unconscious, I didn’t even know if you were alive or if you would be for much longer.

I felt like I was going to die if you did. ”

She furrows her brow, giving me one of her typical heavy stares. “But that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten what happened in the past. I don’t think I ever will be able to.”

“I’m not asking you to forget.” Taking her hands in mine, I squeeze them tight, like that will make her understand.

“I’m only asking you to understand how sorry I am.

How really, truly sorry. I know I can’t erase the past, but I can and will do everything possible for the rest of my life to make it up to you.

I will never hurt you again. Anyone who tries to hurt you won’t breathe for much longer. Understand what I mean?”

“I do, because that’s exactly how I felt. I would’ve killed anybody who tried to hurt you last night. Nothing mattered as much as your safety.”

She gets it. I know she does. And when I kiss her, when she kisses me back, I can almost feel her wolf inside her. It makes me think of all the years ahead of us. Everything I can’t wait to show her about being who we are.

The only thing that can stop us is a knock at the door. Declan comes in, clearing his throat a little awkwardly. “I just thought you should know Tara is awake.”

“Is she all right?” I ask.

“She’ll be fine, just like you.” He gives Nora a reassuring grin before adding, “The pack meeting is tonight. We’ve already spread the word.”

Nora takes a quick breath, something short of a gasp. She forgot about that. “You don’t have to worry about it,” I murmur once Declan leaves us alone again. “Nobody’s trying to force you to do anything.”

“I know. But still…” She looks down at our joined hands but says nothing.

“You know what? I could use a shower.” I have to change the subject to keep her from spiraling into self-doubt. “Why don’t you join me?”

When her eyes light up, I know it was the right thing to say.

The air around us changes, gets hotter. She follows me off the bed and into the bathroom, where we both waste no time stripping down while the water heats up.

There’s something so natural about this now. The last wall between us has fallen.

And she proves it when, once we’re in the shower and being pelted by hot water, she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me down for a slow, sensual kiss.

She pours all of herself into it, running her fingers through my hair, whimpering when our tongues touch, and she parts her lips wider to let me inside.

Her body comes alive under my hands, sliding over her curves, and she goes with it when I press her against the wall.

My mate. Mine. My cock throbs between us, demanding to join us together, demanding to sink into her heat.

“I love you,” I whisper between kisses, trailing my lips down her throat, savoring each sweet moan that makes her flesh vibrate under my tongue.

When I lift my head, searching for the truth in her blue eyes, she twists my hair in her fingers and pulls my head down until there’s nothing but a breath between us. “I love you too,” she whispers before our mouths collide again.

I could explode with joy here and now. Reaching between us, I find her clit, swollen, begging for my touch. When I circle the bundle of nerves, her back arches, pressing her perfect body against mine. “Oh… Cole, that’s so good…”

This is all I want forever. Pleasuring her, watching her, feeling her come alive and then fall apart in my arms. Her hips jerk faster while her mouth falls open in a silent moan.

I feel it. I feel her pleasure rising, I feel the tension building.

“Come for me,” I pant against her neck, and that’s it. That’s all it takes.

She goes still, straining against me—and then it breaks, and I hold her as she falls apart so beautifully.

My mate. My forever. My fingers are coated with her juices by the time I pull my hand back, and the intoxicating aroma is too much to resist. I lift them to my lips and lap them clean, but that isn’t enough.

She gasps in surprise when I drop to my knees, draping one of her legs over my shoulder so I can feast on her.

“Oh, Cole!” she gasps again, her hands finding the back of my head so she can pull me closer to the center of her need.

I could do this forever and never get tired of it.

Tasting her, indulging myself in her sweetness.

Listening to her soft, needful grunts as she humps my face, determined to get her pleasure.

My tongue delves into her folds until she starts to tremble, pulling my head closer, almost crushing it in her hands.

A rush of warmth coats my tongue when she comes again, moaning my name. “Oh, yes,” she whispers, going limp against the wall, almost sliding down its length before I stand and support her.

She gives me an almost drowsy smile, full of satisfaction. “That was incredible. ”

“You’re incredible.” I lift her leg again, this time wrapping it around my hip. Opening her so I can plunge inside and join us again.

Everything around me fades away when she’s wrapped around me like this.

Still quivering, drawing me deeper. I move slowly, savoring every inch of her wet heat while she clings to me, panting harder with every stroke.

Water splashes noisily between our bodies in time with the wet slapping sound made every time we crash together.

When I sink so deep, I don’t know where I end, and she begins.

“Nora,” I groan, and she responds with a guttural moan that makes my balls tighten in preparation. Her muscles start to clench around me until I can barely move.

“Please…” she buries her face in my neck, her nails dragging over my back until pain tinges the pleasure.

I can’t silence the roar that erupts from me when I come with her pulsing and fluttering around my cock. There’s a feeling of triumph to this, a sense of everything being right. This time, when it’s all over, and I look into her eyes, there’s no regret. No disappointment. Only love.

Finally, I have my mate, and she wants me, and we have nothing but a lifetime of this to look forward to.

“Thank you all for coming.” Standing at the top of the front steps, Declan looks out over our front lawn, where the pack has assembled in the twilight.

I look over their familiar faces and notice the way they can’t help but glance at Nora.

It’s like they’re telling themselves not to, but they can’t help it, their attention bouncing back and forth .

“It’s okay,” I murmur, squeezing her hand. She hasn’t let go of me since we stepped outside, clutching me like I’m a life raft on a stormy sea. Like she’s afraid she’ll be pulled under by hatred and mistrust.

There’s a sense of confusion and concern over the crowd that doesn’t ease until Declan explains why he brought everyone together this way.

“Nora’s family was banished, but they were found lingering on pack land after they’d drugged Cole and Tara,” he concludes, raising his voice to be heard over the concerned murmurs and angry grunts.

“They’re no longer a threat to any of us.

It’s important that you understand the truth we learned: my father didn’t die because of a child’s carelessness, but because of parental neglect.

A parent who allowed his daughter to be blamed all these years for the crime he committed. ”

My brother looks over at us, standing on the porch overlooking the crowd.

“As you can see, Nora is part of our family now. She is Cole’s fated mate, and they’ve completed the bond.

She is under our protection from now on, and I expect all of you to welcome and respect her the way we have.

I, for one, would like to personally apologize for ever blaming her for my father’s death.

” Zeke and Tara nod their agreement, and I’m pretty sure I see tears sparkling in my twin’s eyes.

“Do you hear that?” I whisper while Nora clings to my side, barely able to look at any of the people in front of us who now look regretful. “You’re one of us. You’re part of our family, part of our pack. Nothing is ever going to change that.”

I’ll make sure of it.