Page 28 of Forsaken Desire (Ruthless Wolves #1)

L ucian stood behind me, the length of his body pressing against my ass. He was always hard when he was pushed up against me.

I took it as a compliment.

Lucian had explained and showed me around the majority of the four-thousand-square-foot house, and we ended up in the kitchen.

“You can remodel what you’d like. I’ll have my assistant get you connected to an interior designer.”

I shook my head.

“I like it as is.” After only having bare walls surrounding me for so long, the number of windows was simultaneously nice and terrifying. It would take some time to get used to, but I didn’t care what things looked like as long as I had him.

His fingertip grazed the fresh bandage on my neck.

“Does it hurt?” An underlying shame hinted through his words.

“No,” I said, not lying. Sometimes when I stretched my neck too far to either side, there was a slight pinch, but it was going away. Honestly, it was worse in the morning.

He nuzzled my ear, sniffing me. The tickle against my neck made me snort. He froze for a split second and then did it again, eliciting the laugh out.

My ass bumped against his cock and he ground against me in return.

“Lucian,” I moaned. “Mate.”

His body jerked like he’d been electrocuted. And with my next breath, he smashed me against the counter, my back to his front. His hands slid to my waist. A shiver crested down my spine. So much sensation was making my thoughts fuzzy.

The grip on my waist turned almost painful, but my body was overloaded with sensation. He drove me crazy with lust.

A whine spilled from my lips. He grunted and, with his hands on my waist, he turned me, propping me on the edge of the counter. He was so strong, and sometimes I forgot with how gently he touched me.

“Does my pretty little mate need me?” he growled against my mouth. Vanilla filled my nostrils, and I moaned, pressing myself into the kiss. I curled my tongue around his, claiming him with every flick of my tongue.

Then he stiffened and whipped around with a snarl much different than the ones coating his words.

“I apologize, Alpha,” a low voice replied. I grabbed Lucian’s stiff arm and leaned to the side to see a man with curly hair hovering near the door. “Luna.” He dipped his head at me. The title caused flutters in my stomach, just because the title meant I was Lucian’s.

“No worries.” I forced the corners of my lips up. I poked Lucian’s side. Bruno remained frozen, like a single move would have Lucian pouncing at him. “Stop,” I ordered, poking his side again. Bruno’s eyes widened. Meanwhile, I rubbed my palm against his lower back in slow glides.

The tension lining my mate slowly melted away.

“Speak, Bruno.”

Every time he looked angry, he made everyone want to flee. I squeezed his arm, and he rolled his shoulders, but that did nothing to get rid of the tense posture.

“We have everything set up for the Blood Moon, Alpha.” He cleared his throat.

Lucian grunted.

“Thanks,” I offered awkwardly. Bruno kept his eyes on the floor and slowly backed up. “What do you do for the Blood Moon?” I said once the sound of the door shutting echoed from down the hall. He faced me again, pressing his hips between my legs.

“I’m going to fill your pussy with my seed,” he murmured, fingers grazing over the seam of my jeans. “I’ll breed you with my pups.”

The words were hot and sexy. I placed my hand on his shirt.

“I’m on birth control,” I murmured, raising an eyebrow. I had started it last year to help with my menstrual cycle.

He growled and his eyes narrowed. “I’ll fuck you until it takes root.”

“You’re messing with me.”

His smile widened to show too many teeth. It seemed more of a baring of teeth.

I huffed, rolling my eyes, and used his shoulders to help me push off the edge of the counter.

My knees buckled, but he was there to catch me. The bond hummed in my sternum where a faint, see-through string continued to connect us. It was easy to forget about it unless I focused on the comforting heat.

The faint sound of music thumped through the walls.

“The pack is beginning to arrive,” he informed me. “No one will bother you. If you want to stay here, we will.”

“While your pack is out there?”

He hummed an affirmative.

“They’ll definitely not like me then,” I huffed.

His eyes narrowed, and I could tell he was about to embark on a spiel about killing everyone who upset me. I patted his chest. “I want to experience it.”

His expression shuttered, and he nodded.

Everything was a new experience, and I had to start making memories other than the concrete walls and bars of prison.

I kept my shoulders straight, striding closer to the community center with Lucian at my side. Instead of driving from his house, we’d taken a cement path that spat us out close by. Kids and pups played outside, running and chasing each other.

The playing came to an abrupt stop as soon as we were within sight. Silence fell over everything, and one of the small wolves ran between the legs of a female adult carrying something inside.

Kids were terrified of Lucian. Everyone was terrified of Lucian. I peeked up at him, and he didn’t seem fazed or like their behavior was out of the norm. Lucian’s hand slid from my waist and settled on the small of my back.

The female stepped to the side, her head lowering.

Lucian pulled me past them and into the lobby.

Lucy rocked a small child in her arms while more toddlers ran around her legs.

A few teens sprawled across the beanbags set up against the wall beside plug outlets.

Without fail, each one scrolled on their cell phones.

Lucian guided me past the hall leading to the auditorium. Another large entrance at the end had music blaring.

It was a dinner hall.

As soon as we crossed the threshold, everyone nearby stopped whatever they were doing to bow their head to Lucian.

“Alpha,” some greeted.

“Luna.” An older man lowered his head to me next, taking me completely off guard. Luna . . . There was a certain weight to the word.

Lucian swept me toward the empty table at the end of the room. He pulled a chair out for me, and I plopped down. From here, I had a clear view of the entire dining hall.

Shouting broke out. I stiffened, focusing on the fight a few tables down. A teen shoved another teen. They growled at each other.

“I’ll return. Do not wander,” Lucian ordered. He strode over to the two youths shoving each other. They didn’t see him coming, so he grabbed them both by the back of the neck. As soon as they saw him, fear widened their eyes, and Lucian dragged them outside.

The way he took command really did something to me. I squeezed my thighs together. I’d been needy all day . . .

“Here you go,” a female chirped, setting a plate in front of me. Slices of meat with cheese adorned the porcelain plate. “I’ll bring your drink.”

“I can get it myself,” I blurted out, awkwardly.

She paused, her eyebrows raised, and her mouth opened and closed like she didn’t know what to say. Her eyes continued to flick from side to side.

I inhaled, catching her scent.

“You’re human.”

“Yes, Luna,” she murmured, bowing her head similar to how others had in a show of respect.

“Humans can be part of a pack?” Galina was human, but I’d never had the chance to ask questions because I didn’t want to give them a clue into how blind I was to shifter information.

I wasn’t sure how wolves mated with humans.

Tiptoeing around what we were seemed like such a headache.

“But how . . . if humans can’t know about us? ”

“It’s frowned upon, but their bond eventually appeared, giving him the go-ahead to tell her,” Alex explained, pulling Lucian’s chair out so it wasn’t so close to me. He straddled it, arms resting on the top of it. “Samantha’s mated to a low-ranking Beta.”

“You had to mention his rank,” she muttered.

“Yup.” He smirked at her as she turned to walk away. “Wait.” She stopped. “Lucian might behead me if he sees me alone with her.”

Samantha sighed and sat on the chair nearest to her on the other side of the table.

“You’re joking, right?” I asked, an uncomfortable laugh leaving my mouth. She wasn’t acting like it was said in jest.

They both gave me a strange look. And as if synchronized, both their gazes flicked down to the indents of his teeth bruising my throat, but they didn’t say anything. Alex scratched his scalp.

“Do you know your mate?” Samantha asked as I moved my hair forward to block the bruised but healing bite.

“You’re making me feel like I don’t,” I muttered and cleared my throat.

“I don’t rue your position,” she commented, a wry smile on her lips. “He’s always been terrifying.”

“And it was made clear no one was to approach you.”

“How, he’s been with me the entire time?”

“Bruno,” Samantha announced.

“He’s taken the place as his right hand.”

Cierra had been that before him. The awkward looks on their faces made it clear the topic made them uncomfortable.

“You should eat, Luna,” Samantha said.

I peeked at the food and plucked up some meat from the plate.

After being used to feed , or whatever spread I could come up with from the items I purchased from the commissary, my palate had been pretty limited.

The smell of savory BBQ filled my nose. My mouth watered, and I gave in.

The smoky tang of sauce exploded on my tongue.

With my bite into the meat, juices filled my mouth.

Fuck, this was delicious. I took another bite, almost taking my finger with it.

Alex and Samantha watched me with their eyebrows raised.

I straightened and cleared my throat, trying to play off my salivating.

“It’s really good,” I said, putting down the meat.

“I’d been meaning to ask Lucian, but can you explain what happens tonight?

” They both stared at me like I was talking nonsense.

It was the Blood Moon, and all this was set up because of it, but I wanted to see if they dislodged any more information from my broken memory.