Page 27 of Never Tamed (Bad Wolves #3)

Mathis

T he camp is quiet in that heavy way after chaos, when exhaustion settles over everything like a blanket. Fires burn low, smoke curling into the night, and the scents of blood and sweat hang sharp in the air.

It’s almost…normal. In a way that things haven’t felt normal in a very long time.

The hush is sovereign and peaceful.

For once, we aren’t feeling grief or loss. Hope whispers in the slight pulse of wind and it’s a feeling we all collectively cling to.

I cross my arms over my chest and watch from the edge of the camp. The delta, one of Torin’s, helps Flora out of the back seat of the SUV. She stumbles toward the waiting arms of her children with her new son nestled against her.

I still can’t fucking believe it. The emotions of the moment were too powerful, too many, for me to tune in through the bond and see what Ren was doing. When Torin told me how he and Ren helped her deliver the boy in the damn car, it blew my mind.

And Torin! Although he seemed a little shaken, he’s never seemed prouder to be a part of it.

Relief is so acute it sends my heart into my throat.

Flora’s little ones swarm her, clinging to her shirt, sobbing into her chest while she weeps against their hair. She bends low, pulling them in close, and kisses every face she can reach. And when she shows them their new brother, their chorus of gleeful cries and awes echoes through the forest.

This. This is what we fight for.

It’s the kind of happiness that almost hurts to look at. But it’s bright and blinding against the shadow we’ve been living in. My chest tightens, and I force myself to breathe through the sensation.

We saved them. We actually saved them. The stolen omegas from my pack and Torin’s are receiving the medical care they need amidst reunions with their families.

For so long it felt like I was failing them.

I stood by watching helplessly while Andras stipped away everything my family and I built, piece by piece, until there was nothing left. My home is gone. My lands are gone. The walls that once kept us safe are nothing but rubble and smoke.

My chest aches and I adjust to scrub my hand across my heart.

Now, with Flora’s laughter breaking through tears, her children’s squeals, the way relief ripples through the others as they gather around the reunited mother—this feels like the beginning of something big and hopeful.

Jaw tight, I swallow hard because gods, I want that… the wholeness. The love and family.

I want it more than I can stand.

The cries sharpen and more of them lift to color the air. Sensation rips down my spine and I turn in time to catch movement in the trees. My gaze narrows.

Owen pauses at the treeline before sprinting full speed toward his family.

“I’ll be damned,” I mutter.

The wayward wolf found his fucking way home, didn’t he?

He nearly knocks Flora over with the force of his embrace. He clutches her like if he lets go, she’ll evaporate into thin air. She laughs and cries all at once, her free arm looping around his neck as their children jump up and down, while pressing in against them both.

I can’t look away.

Owen presses his forehead to hers, whispering something that makes her laugh again. His hands tremble as he reaches for the baby between them.

My jaw clenches and the muscles in my neck go tight.

That’s what I want. It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted. A mate to come back to. A family to fight for. A reason to keep walking through this life.

The ache in my chest deepens, but I hold onto it. I have Ren, and through her, Noble and Torin. If we win this war then we might come home to carve out our happiness, too.

It will just look a little different.

I’ve never heard of a situation where a single female has multiple mates. She really has been chosen by the goddess and the rest of us are there making room for the changes.

Unable to watch the reunion a moment longer, I tear my gaze away and walk through the camp toward the dining hall. Inside, I hit a wall of reality.

Antiseptic, blood, and wolf thread the air in a tapestry of scents.

Volunteers move methodically between tables, now covered in pillows and blankets for makeshift beds, checking wounds, passing out food, and washing dirty faces.

Some of the newly freed omegas huddle together in a small, shivering cluster. Some sleep, curled up on threadbare blankets, their faces slack with fatigue. Others sit wide-eyed, staring into the roaring fireplace like closing their eyes might make the horrors return to steal them again.

With a slow inhale, and a slower hissed exhale, I make my rounds. I’m their alpha. Well, the majority of them. I nod, I offer my hands, I murmur reassurance. Those gestures are small compared to the weight of what they’ve survived.

It doesn’t feel like enough. I do it anyway.

At the far side of the hall, a young omega, barely sixteen, is curled in on herself, hugging her knees, eyes puffy and red. She flinches at my approach. I don’t recognize her, which means she must be from the Steel Claws.

“Hey,” I say softly, crouching down so I’m at her level. “You’re safe now. No one’s going to hurt you again. You have my word.”

Her lips tremble and she looks away from me. “I… I just want my mom. Do you…Do you know where she is? Is she here?”

I’m about to ask her what her name is, but suddenly, the dining hall door bursts open, and a woman comes running in—her coat half off, hair wild. Panic is written all over her face.

“Lila!” she cries out, her gaze scanning the crowded space. When she swings our way, relief floods her and she rushes over. “Lila, oh, thank the Moon Goddess, you’re okay!”

“Mom!”

Dropping to her knees beside the girl, the mother flings her arms around her teen, both sobbing.

Ah, jeez.

I rise and drag my hands through my hair. My gut tightens.

As the two cling to each other, the mother peeks over to me, eyes shimmering with tears, and mouths the words, “Thank you.”

“Of course.” I squeeze the girl’s shoulder gently before moving to the next cot.

An older omega with streaked gray hair and a battered arm sits with her chin dropped to her chest. She’s from my pack, Abigail—a friend of my mother’s. An old faded scar runs along her jawline and now a jagged cut on her cheek has begun to scab.

Emotion beats at me. “Abigail? You okay?”

She blinks bleary eyes at me and offers a thin, tired smile.

“You got us out,” she rasps. “You didn’t give up, just like your father.

” Smiling, she reaches out with her unwounded hand and touches my cheek.

“You look so much like him, you know. He would have been very proud of you, Mathis. And the alpha you’ve become. ”

The words hit me harder than I expected. My lungs constrict, and for a moment, I see him in my mind, his kind eyes and proud smile.

“Thank you. That means a lot to me,” I manage. “Right now, all I care about is keeping you safe until you feel better.”

With a nod, I move on to the others. By the time I finish the rounds, checking to see that everyone is cared for and settled, exhaustion drags at me so hard I can barely stand.

It’s easy to forget that my body is healing, too.

The mental toll of the last few months has finally come to be paid.

I’m not ready yet.

I sink down on one of the benches against the wall, running a hand over my face to smooth out the wrinkles. There are a million things I should be doing now, like meeting with Torin and discussing our plans.

Rescuing the stolen pack members was just step one of a long list of things to do to beat Andras, and waiting it out isn’t an option. He’ll find us eventually. Running isn’t an option either, so going on the offensive is the only way forward.

Instead, I picture Flora with her children. I see Owen’s arms around her, his wolf knowing it was time to come home, and the new baby on her chest. I see how much I want it, the power of the image a punch to the chest and an ache in my soul.

How long?

How long have I wanted it and buried the desire under my duty? It doesn't matter how long.

It’s there, clawing at me, the need for a legacy.

This time, when I close my eyes, it isn’t some faceless omega I see fitting in that picture. It’s Ren.

My mate, with her fire and her stubbornness. Ren, who fought like hell to save Flora when any sane wolf would’ve run. Ren, who has gone through so much, and even when she’s broken down, refuses to give in.

When I open my eyes, she’s there, sitting beside me as if I’d summoned her out of thin air. Her hand brushes my knee and the simple touch is electrifying. I’d always been drawn to her, but ever since the mate bond clicked into place, that’s been cranked up to eleven.

“You should go to sleep, Mathis. You look like someone ran you over.” She offers me a small smile. “I mean that in the nicest way possible, of course.”

“I will,” I assure her. “There are just some other things I need to do first.”

Her expression goes solemn and lines furrow across her brow. “Mathis? What is it? Are you okay?”

I push to my feet. “Yeah, just tired. You’re probably right. I should get some sleep. It’ll help with the healing.”

“Okay…”

I take the sadness in her tone into my heart, cutting across the dining hall before she presses me further. Sharp winter air slices across my skin on my way through camp.

My cabin looms in the shadows of a large oak tree devoid of leaves, and I already know Dax won’t be inside. Not when his mind is so chaotic and running in his wolf form is the only time he feels free.

That’s fine. I don’t want company tonight.

Once inside, I take the matches on the mantel and start a fire in the hearth for extra warmth. I peel out of my bloodstained clothes and drop them one by one in a heap by the door. The small tiled shower is just large enough to accommodate me.

Pipes groan and hiss when I turn on the hot water.

Luckily it doesn’t take too long for the steaming water to pour through the showerhead and cascade over my shoulders. I stifle a loud groan as the heat soothes sore muscles. It washes away the blood, dirt, and stench of the sewers.

I’ll never forget the reek.

Bracing my hands against the wall, I let my head hang, my skin burn.

My mind blanks for a long time. There are only blistering water and the rhythm it pounds into my skin.

Soon enough, thoughts of Ren push their way inside.

My eyes squeeze shut but there she is, in my head.

Fantasy has her stepping into the shower with me with steam curling deliciously over her bare skin.

Water beads on her breasts as I press her back against the tile. I imagine my hands spreading over her hips, my mouth on her throat, her soft little gasp when I slide my dick inside her. I’d fill her so deep, fuck her so hard, she wouldn’t be able to walk for days.

And when I knot… When my cum fills her…

The thought makes a groan tear from my throat, low and broken. Gods, I want it too much. I want her too much.

The floor creaks.

My head snaps up. For a second I think I’ve imagined it, but then—

“Mathis?” Her voice. Soft. Curious. Right outside the bathroom door. “Are you in here?”

Her closeness makes my hard cock twitch, the ache deepening. The bathroom door creaks open, and I crane my head toward the sound. Steam billows out, and through it, her shape emerges.

Ren steps inside and closes the door behind her.

Her eyes find me instantly, drawn to where I stand under the spray.

There’s no curtain to this shower, just a half wall of tile shielding my hips down.

But the way she stares, it’s like the wall is transparent, and the hungry glow to her eyes sends a hot jolt through me.

She realizes she’s been staring and glances away quickly. “Sorry for barging in on you like this. You’re starting to worry me.” She bites her lip. “I thought you’d be happy. We got so many back. Flora’s safe. The baby’s safe.”

“I’m fine.” A lie. “It’s just—there’s still so much. Andras, the Blood Moons. Everything is waiting for us out there. It’s hard to celebrate when things aren’t even close to done.”

My hand curls into a fist.

She nods, but she doesn’t leave. She steps closer. The scent of her slips through the steam, rich jasmine and vanilla. It curls around me.

Gaze sliding over me again, Ren lingers. “Do you want me to leave?”

“ No .” My tone is rougher than I mean it to be, so I suck my next breath through my nose and try again. “Don’t go. I actually don’t want to be alone.”

Not anymore.

Ren doesn’t answer. Her fingers find the hem of her dress, and in one smooth motion she lifts it over her head, baring herself to me.

Her breasts fall free, soft and perfect, with rosy areolas and pinched nipples.

Then she hooks her thumbs into her panties and eases them down her hips in a slow, deliberate tease.

She knows I’ll unravel watching her.

My wolf stirs. The beast inside me wants to conquer and dominate. I drink in every inch of her—the long line of her legs, the curve of her waist, the delicate dip of her navel. Anticipation claws at me. Each second seems to stretch on forever.

By the time she steps out of her last scrap of clothing, my pulse hammers in my ears.

She steps into the spray with me, the water slicking over her hair, her shoulders, dripping down between her breasts. Her eyes flicker lower, straight to my cock, which is already heavy and standing at attention for her.

She smirks and then I’m on her.

Our mouths crash together, tongues tangling. I drag her against me, her slick skin sliding against mine, every inch of her a fire I can’t put out. My hands find her hips, her ass, anywhere I can hold her. I need her closer. I need her now.

The kiss deepens, turns savage, and for the first time in too long, the weight in my chest lifts. There’s no Blood Moons. No Andras. No fear or loss.

Just Ren.

Just this. Just the two of us burning alive in the fire we’ve created.