Page 11 of Never Submit (Bad Wolves #2)

Chapter 11

Noble

T he room is heavy with the scent of us and the truths we don’t want to speak out loud.

Especially for Torin, the one who is supposed to be getting married very, very soon.

I should have stopped it. I shouldn’t have let him join in or, hell, pushed him to it. Taunted him. But he’s my alpha, and unlike with Dax, my wolf isn’t jealous or threatened by having him touch Ren.

Like with every other situation, it submitted to Torin’s animal.

I stare at him, my chest tight, sweat lining every inch of my body.

Even if Torin doesn’t want to admit it to himself, or to anyone else, he wants Ren. It’s been the elephant in the room since we met her, but now…now he certainly can’t deny it anymore.

His cock was just in her mouth.

And what does this mean for my mate? For our bond?

Her body clenches around mine, and I grunt, holding her still against me through the last of my orgasm. Her pussy flutters around me, keeping me in place. I’m not ready to pull out.

Our kind will only have one mate bond, if any. The stories I’ve heard all my life are clear about that fact. One pair.

But Ren isn’t a normal wolf, is she? And as much as I fucking hate it—and I do—she wants Dax and Mathis, too.

She has a connection with all of us. Denying it won’t make the connection any less real or valid.

My wolf wants her to be happy over anything else. So if that means having to share…I’m going to have to figure it out.

I can’t deny having Torin fuck her mouth while I take her from behind was hot as hell. The sounds she made, the way she pleaded for us to take her— fuck me, it was amazing. Beyond amazing.

Absolute heaven.

Am I able to let her have this kind of moment with the others if I’m not around? Do I have a choice?

Finally I draw myself from her body, naked and vulnerable.

Ren leans against the edge of the billiard table, her body trembling from the remnants of what we just shared. Her shirt is gone, discarded somewhere in the chaos, leaving her in nothing but the lace bra that clings to her like a second skin.

Her leggings hang low on her hips, teasing the curve of her waist. Her hair is wild, tangled and damp with sweat, falling over her shoulders in dark, messy waves that catch the dim light.

Her eyes hold me hostage .

They’re heavy-lidded, hazy with satisfaction, and underneath the haze there’s fire—a restless and untamed energy that my wolf recognizes and knows will never go away.

She really isn’t human anymore, I realize in that moment. Which is stupid because she told me what the Moonstone did to her, but I can see it—feel it—now.

She’s not even all wolf, like us. She’s something more.

She looks like chaos personified. Like temptation wrapped in fury and vulnerability. And even now, I can’t stare at her without wanting her again. I crave her.

The billiard table creaks beneath her weight as she shifts, leaning back, her arms behind her for support. As I watch her, she tracks Torin as he fixes his tie in stark silence, and I see the questions hovering on her lips.

She wants to ask him what happens now. And I’m wondering the same thing.

As if the universe has heard my thoughts, Torin’s phone rings, cutting through the growing tightness in the air.

He tenses and pulls it out of his back pocket. The screen lights up with a name that might as well be a curse. Catarina.

It’s there as he answers—the guilt flickering in his eyes. Before the stern Torin mask slips back into place.

Ren stands up, instantly alert. Her head tilts as if she can sense it too, the crack in the moment, reality flooding back in.

Torin hesitates before he answers, his voice smooth and low. “Hello?”

The casual tone grates on me, but it’s Ren’s reaction that makes my jaw tighten. Her spine gets a little straighter, her lazy, post-bliss demeanor completely gone, replaced with sharp awareness. She doesn’t say a word, but I can feel her tension, see her muscles tighten, poised for attack.

“Yeah,” Torin says. His tone softens further. “No, I didn’t forget. Everything with the venue is still on track. Tonight?” Hesitating, he glances at Ren. “I’m not sure I can?—”

Catarina’s annoyed tone buzzes from the other end like a drone of wasps.

“Fine,” Torin finally says. “Dinner tonight. I’ll make a reservation. Yes, Catarina, I understand.”

The words hit like a slap. He’s talking to Catarina like nothing happened—like he wasn’t blowing his fucking load down Ren’s throat minutes ago.

Torin turns his back on us and continues to whisper into the receiver. “I know.”

“Unbelievable,” Ren whispers, the word barely audible but carrying a venom that cuts through the air. “After all that?”

Covering the cell’s speaker, Torin moves across the room to continue talking by the large single-paned window.

I step closer to Ren, the post-nut euphoria from earlier forgotten, replaced by a frustration of my own.

Torin knows better. He knows what just happened and what it means, and still he’s ignoring his feelings and treating Ren like she doesn’t matter.

I wait for him to realize what a fucking prick he’s being. Instead of facing it, facing us, he keeps talking to Catarina like the perfect, loyal fiancé.

He still wants to marry her, and for what? Duty? To prove something to his dead father?

It’s ridiculous.

How can I make him understand ?

Typical Torin, though. He’s always been the too stubborn for his own good type of person. Once he gets something in his head, yanking him off of it is almost impossible.

“Yeah, I’ll handle it. Don’t stress,” Torin says into the phone, his voice confident and reassuring. It’s the same tone he uses when he’s trying to pacify someone. To keep them at arm’s length without letting them feel it. I’ve heard it too many times. “We’ll be married soon enough.”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Ren hisses. She presses her palm flat against her lower abdomen.

Torin stiffens but doesn’t turn around, doesn’t acknowledge she’s said anything. He just keeps talking. “I’ll make sure it’s perfect, Catarina. You don’t need to worry about a thing.”

That’s it. I can’t stay silent anymore. He’s hurting Ren.

He’s hurting my mate with his dismissiveness, and if he was going to compartmentalize this way, he should never have given in to her. Or my taunts.

“Tor,” I snap, my voice low but sharp enough to cut through his conversation. “What the hell are you doing?”

He glances over his shoulder, his eyes flashing with annoyance.

“I’ll call you back,” he says into the phone.

Then he hangs up and turns to face us, his mask firmly back in place.

“What the hell?” Ren demands, stepping toward him. Her voice is shaking now, anger bleeding into something rawer. “You just—what, forget everything the second she calls? Just slip back into your perfect fiancé act?”

Torin exhales slowly and pinches the bridge of his nose. “It’s not that simple, Ms. Wexler.”

“Stop calling me that.” She balls her hands into fists. “And it sure sounded simple,” she says. “You’re planning a wedding. With her. While you’re here with us. With me .”

He glares. The ire he needs to turn inward is directed solely at Ren. “I told you from the beginning?—”

“No,” she interrupts, her voice cracking. “You don’t get to hide behind anything. Don’t you dare act like this was nothing. Like we’re nothing.”

The mate bond strains, her emotions reaching a breaking point, and I suck air into my lungs but I’m no help.

I have my own beef with Torin after everything we’ve experienced together and right now it's too hard to forget it.

Ren’s breathing grows more ragged, her hands trembling as she clenches them tighter, her knuckles white. The heat rolling off her is palpable and I recognize what’s happening—my own wolf pushes to the surface, sensing it too.

In her anger, the power of a shift is taking over.

The beast inside of her is too new for her to control yet.

I remember my own changes after puberty hit. They were painful, terrifying, and usually brought on by extreme emotion or the pull of the moon. Both were too much for me to ignore. It took a lot of time to fine tune the art of controlling it with help from my parents and the pack.

Ren is experiencing the same thing now. A wolf who doesn’t understand what she is or know the steps to take to minimize the damage?

A huge threat. She could really hurt herself. Big time.

“Uh, Ren, baby…” I hold my hands out. “You have to relax.”

Her head snaps my way, her eyes wild with dilated pupils. Her hormones are out of control, her system reacting to the turmoil.

I glance at Torin, tilting my head. Do something .

She jabs a finger at me. “Tell me to relax one more time, Noble?—”

“Ren,” Torin says, his voice suddenly gentler.

He steps toward her, but she flinches back.

“Don’t. Don’t come near me,” she snarls. Her voice deepens as her nails elongate into claws. “You think you can just pick and choose when to be with me? When to care?”

Her shoulders shudder, and I hear the crack of bone beneath her skin.

“Baby, stop,” I say, stepping toward her.

But she’s too far gone, her fury spilling out in a wave that her human form can’t contain.

Her head snaps up, her eyes glowing gold as snow-white fur ripples across her skin. Torin doesn’t move, doesn’t try to stop her this time. He simply watches with his jaw clenched and his muscles tense.

“Ren, listen to me,” he says in his commanding alpha tone. It echoes in my head, making my own animal shrink back. “Believe me. You don’t want this. You don’t want to lose control.”

She growls, low and guttural, her body twisting as the shift overtakes her. “You don’t get to dominate me,” she spits, her voice warped and distorted, barely human.

I glance at Torin and then back at Ren. “She’s already hurting. You’ll push her too far.”

“I can handle her,” he says, edging closer.

“Like hell you can.”

"Relax. We can talk about this."

Her body doubles over, her bones cracking audibly as the change takes hold. Pain laces through her scream and my stomach twists. She’s fighting it, but it’s too late—the wolf is coming.

We’re all about to pay.

" Change back ," Torin commands. His is the ultimate authority for anyone in our pack.

He stands tall, unyielding, like he would with any other wolf in our pack. And any other wolf would obey. The problem is she isn’t his wolf to command. She isn’t his. Even if he wants her to be.

Not to mention that Ren isn’t just anyone. And she isn’t about to relent.

Her clothes tear off her, her form twisting into a wild and primal wolf with silver-white hair from ears to tail. She’s strikingly beautiful like this. My wolf sits up and pays attention to the details of this form.

Her amber eyes have locked onto Torin like he’s prey.

I thrust out an arm and step between the two of them. "Torin, back off," I warn. “Don’t make any sudden movements.”

But he doesn’t listen, of course. He never does.

"Wexler, do as I say," he growls.

The words vibrate through me but Ren is still unaffected.

His lip curls, his anger rising. Torin has never been one to lose himself, even to his wild side. But something unfamiliar flashes across his expression. Something I don’t like.

Nostrils flaring, he takes a giant step toward her.

This is his fault. Why can’t he see it? He’s making it worse. Stop,” I warn.

Not my smartest idea, but I block Ren with my body, facing my alpha.

Torin’s eyes narrow as he straightens, his jaw set, his human form towering. His hands flex at his sides as tension radiates off him in waves. He’s angry—not just at her, but at me for getting in the way.

“Noble,” he says sharply, his voice low and biting. “Move. This doesn’t concern you.”

I lift my head in defiance. My stance is firm and unyielding. “It absolutely concerns me. You’re my friend, and she’s my mate.”

“Friend?” He snorts at that. “I’m your alpha. And a mate you’re willing to share? That doesn’t sound like a mate to me.”

This is the side of Torin I hate. I always have and I always will. It’s why I almost didn’t come back to this place all those years ago. He let me go, something he’s never allowed me to forget, but I came back when he asked.

Sometimes I think I should have stayed gone.

Alpha or not, Torin can be a cold-hearted bastard when he wants to be. One can even say it is his specialty.

My wolf hates the way I refuse to roll over and show my belly to him when he demands it. The human side of me is ready to tell him to fuck off.

Right now, that side of me is winning out.

“You’re marrying a woman who doesn’t care if you face-fuck someone else?” I throw back nastily.

Torin lets the insult roll off of him. His blond hair bristles but he refuses to adjust, to pivot, despite the intensity of the situation.

“She’s a wolf now, like us. She needs to learn her place,” Torin says. His eyes dart past me to Ren, who’s crouched behind me, teeth bared. “If you insist that she must be part of this pack, then she needs to know who her alpha is and submit.”

That word. Submit. It makes my blood boil. The arrogance in his tone, the way he says it like she’s some feral thing that needs taming .

I’m not sure if it’s my feelings, or Ren’s, or both. On this, we seem to be of the same mind.

Submit.

We won’t. We refuse.

“Get. Out. Of. My. Way, Noble,” Torin warns.

“Make me.”

His eyes widen in disbelief, but right when he’s about to lash out, his phone starts ringing again—Catarina calling back, no doubt.

He glances at me and Ren and then the screen, debating.

This is it. It’s time for him to make a choice.

Brrnngg… Brrnngg…

Still, he doesn’t move, and his hesitation fuels my anger.

“You should be helping me teach Ren what to do,” I say. “She’s scared. This is all new to her. And instead, you have your head up your own ass?—”

Ren’s growls fade.

I glance back to watch her struggling to shift back, her form shrinking, the fur receding as she digs her way toward control. When it’s over, she’s on her knees, naked and shaking, tears streaming down her face.

Her shaking fingers curl against the cool floor.

Torin looks at her, then at me, his jaw tight.

Brrnngg… Brrnngg…

“Torin…please,” I plead.

What am I pleading for? Understanding? Concern?

There’s a flicker of something in his eyes—regret, maybe. Or maybe just frustration that his own control is slipping.

Then, he lifts his phone to his ear and clicks the answer button. “Yes, Catarina,” he mutters. “Yes. I’m leaving now. Give me ten. ”

Without another look toward us, he walks out, his conversation with Catarina fading away with his footsteps.

Sighing, I kneel beside Ren and wrap an arm around her trembling shoulders. Internally cursing Torin, I pull her against my chest as she starts to sob.

"I’ve got you," I whisper to her. “I’m here, baby.”

Even though I know it’s not enough for her, it’s all I can give right now.