Page 28 of Pack Kasen, Part 3 (Caught #3)

AREN

THREE DAYS LATER

“ C an’t you tell them I died?”

Kat stops packing and raises her eyebrow at me. “They’re my parents, Aren. I’m not telling my family that you died because you’re scared my sister will stab you in the neck.”

I scowl at her. “I’m not scared of your sister.”

Finan, standing near our bedroom door, clears his throat.

I glare at him. “I shared my slight wariness about Carlie’s stabby tendencies in the strictest of confidence. How dare you betray me! Go away, Fin.”

Shaking his head, he turns to leave.

“Come back here,” I call after him, and he stops. “How’s Dania?”

“She’s good.” His smile is wide.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile so big before.

“I’m happy for you too,” I say, clapping him on the arm. “Couldn’t think of anyone more deserving of happiness."

“Me too,” Kat adds. “You guys are super sweet together.”

To celebrate cleaning up after Cristofer’s attack, Lorna prepared a special meal.

I pulled Kat onto my lap and refused to let her up.

She glared at me, but didn’t seem to mind all that much, eventually falling asleep with her head on my shoulder.

I carried her up to our bed, stripped her, and showed her how much I love her.

Silas and Marisa announced their relationship to the pack a little more openly than Finan and Dania, who I noticed were holding hands during the meal.

It’s been a few days now, and he’s settled into her family suite in the bunkhouse. Leo enjoys seeing Finan more, and the new family is happy.

“Are you sure you don’t mind watching over the pack while I’m gone?” I ask him.

“Being with Dania doesn’t mean I stop being beta,” Finan says. “And it’s only a few days. Have fun and sleep with one eye open. I have no interest in leading Pack Kasen full time.”

I roll my eyes at him. “Thanks, Fin.”

He walks out, waving at Kat as he leaves.

Kat loops her arms around my shoulders, hugging me. “You don’t have to come with me to Nebraska, you know?”

We haven’t made arrangements for her to pack up her apartment in the city, but she has at least officially quit the junior accountancy job she was due to start. She said her future was here with me, so the packing and moving can come later.

“And have the guys in your family’s pack swarm you while my back is turned?” I shake my head. “Fuck that. I am never leaving your side, woman.”

She laughs. “No one is swarming me.”

“See.” I tuck a strand of my beautiful mate’s hair behind her ear. “That’s where you’re wrong. Anyone would. You sure we can’t stay here where it’s safe?”

“Why? Scared my little sister will beat you up?” She grins up at me.

I tackle her onto the bed, and once her giggles stop, I look down at her, marveling that somehow, this beautiful, strong, incredible woman loves me.

It took a couple of hours to clean up after the destruction caused by Cristofer.

It took three days to stop clinging to Kat as I reassured myself that she was safe and not confronting a feral while I wasn't looking.

And it will take a lifetime to get over how close I came to losing her.

If I’d been ten seconds slower, I would have arrived just in time to watch her die.

“You have to stop running at things that will kill you,” I tell her quietly. “My heart couldn't take it if I lost you.”

“No promises, but I’ll try.”

We study each other for a beat.

“I didn’t have a future with him,” she says suddenly.

I tilt my head, confused.

“Doug. You asked me before if I would have stayed with him if Cristofer hadn’t killed him, and my answer is no. I wanted to believe we could have made it work, but we wouldn’t have.”

“Why not?”

“Because of you.”

“What did I do to nuke a future with a guy that sounded perfect?” I remember when I’d asked her and she hadn’t responded. He’d been her star quarterback ex-boyfriend who’d treated her right and been a genuine good guy.

And he was dead.

There is no competing with the memory of a perfect dead ex-boyfriend.

Her silence had tormented me, and I had one of the worst nights’ sleep I’ve ever had.

“He was perfect. But he wasn’t perfect for me. You are. Flaws and all.”

“I nearly killed you.” And I will never forgive myself for what I did, even if Kat does.

She crawls over me, straddling me.

I rest my hands on her hips as she peers down at me. “Yes. And I should hate you for it still.”

“But?”

“What happened to me—foster care and the couple that stole me—taught me not to trust anyone. To keep everyone at a distance so they can't hurt me. None of it taught me how to forgive, and that’s really important. People are going to make mistakes, and I need to accept that instead of shutting down and shutting everyone out. That’s something Robert was trying to get me to understand. ”

My thumb brushes her flat belly. “Maybe we could name our first pup after him so he lives on with us.”

Her smile is soft, warm, and so beautiful that my heart actually hurts. “I would like that a lot.”

“Good.” I smile up at her. “I will try not to mess up too badly.”

She lowers her head and kisses me. “And I will try to learn to forgive.”

“I was thinking about the feral problem.” We haven’t found a resolution for it yet, but it’s been something brewing between us since Cristofer’s attack.

“And?” she prompts hesitantly.

“It’s too big for me, you, and us.”

“So?”

“I’m calling a council. All the Wolf Lords are coming here.

This affects us all, and we have to work together to fix it.

Maybe that means coming down harder on the shifters who bite humans.

Maybe that means Alphas do more to locate the bitten humans who may be loners like Cristofer. They need to be brought into the fold.”

“What about the silver cage?” she asks quietly.

“I’ve spoken to Gregor. He’s still thinking about it, but there could be a medical way to knock a feral out for a bit.

Tranquilizer darts don’t work on us, but he could create something that would be more humane than a silver cage.

Change is going to be slow. It won’t be easy, and things will go wrong, but that’s a better alternative than what’s happening now.

Never tell Finan this because he will rub it in my face, but maybe there is a place for diplomacy among wolves. ”

She looks down at me, and I struggle to read her expression.

I eye her warily. “Are you thinking about telling Finan I was wrong about diplomacy? I’m sure he already knows. He always manages to convince me to do the things I don’t like.”

“No.” She kisses me, soft and sweet. “I was thinking about how much I love you. And we won’t have a moment’s peace when we’re with my parents and the rest of my old pack.”

“So…”

I roll her onto her back, seeing where this is going.

“Maybe,” she gasps, arching her back when I cup her perfect tits. “We should make use of this private time while we have it.”

Grinning, I’m lifting her shirt when her hands circle my wrists.

I stop, worried I’ve hurt her and terrified she’s suddenly changed her mind about wanting a future with me. “Kitty cat?”

“And maybe you could bite me so the swarm you seem to think will descend on me when we arrive in Nebraska will know I’m yours. Forever.”

My cock swells and I lick my lips, anticipating putting my mark on her. “You want me to bite you?”

“I seemed to like it when you did it in a dream I had,” she admits, eyes hooded.

“What else did I do to you in this dream?”

She shakes her head, biting down on her full lower lip.

I groan when I focus on her mouth, remembering how fucking incredible it was when she had it wrapped around my cock. “Tell me, woman. And quit biting your lip like that.”

“No.”

I stroke my hand down her side. She wiggles, kisses my neck, then bites my earlobe.

Hard .

Cursing, I tickle her until she laughs, laughing when she tickles me back.

We lose our clothes in a wrestling match she starts. Kat has never wrestled with me before, and I don’t understand why she wants to now until I have her on her hands and knees, pinned to the bed, my body blanketing hers.

The sweet scent of her arousal floods my senses. Smiling, I kiss her throat, my cock jerking when she moans in response.

“Kitty cat,” I groan, knowing I won’t last long like this.

Something about having Kat on her knees like this always short-circuits my brain.

It’s the dominance of the position. Her submission. Watching my cock slide in and out of her body. Her ass up, and being able to go so much deeper inside her. All of it fucking kills me.

She squirms, her soft body rubbing up against every hard part of me.

“You provoked me, didn’t you?” My breath stirs her hair as I speak into her ear. I grip her wrists and pin her hands to the bed.

She doesn’t say a word, but the scent of her arousal intensifies. A smile stretches my lips. “You had a sticky, sweaty dream of me mounting you and taking you just like this, and it made you wet, didn’t it?”

“No,” she denies, her voice low and husky.

I drag the tip of my nose along her throat. “You forget I can smell you, Kitty cat. I know exactly how wet you are.”

I have my mate on her knees under me, my thighs spreading her wide, and the scent of her arousal is the sweetest thing I've ever smelled in my life.

“So? What are you going to do about it?” she demands.

I push my cock inside her, and her pussy clamps around the inch I work in. Her breath hisses out, and she wiggles slightly, dropping her chest to the bed and giving me a sight that nearly makes me come on the spot.

Her pussy is squeezing around me, her breathing ragged as I watch myself slide in an inch, out again, and deeper the next time.

This was going to be hard and fast, but I settle over her soft, gently curved body like a blanket, stretching out this pleasure—and this ride—for as long as it will last.

She’s moaning beneath me, her fingers gripping the sheets as my dick sinks into the sweet curve of her ass.

“ Aren …” she whimpers.

“That’s right,” I groan into her ear as I fuck her deep and slow. “Take it all.”

We grind together, pushing each other closer to the edge.

My teeth graze her throat, and she angles it, exposing more of it for me. My heart feels so full, and my wolf roars at me to bite her.

I force myself to press a soft kiss on the exact spot I intend her to wear my mark. “Are you sure, Kitty cat? There’s no going back.”

“Do it,” she moans. “Bite me.”

My fangs extend as my hips slap against her ass. My wolf growls at me to fucking claim our woman, but I want it to be perfect for her. I need it to be absolutely perfect.

Her pussy ripples around me when I bite down.

She collapses under me. I follow her down, still thrusting. She takes every inch until I grunt, pull my teeth from her throat, and strain inside her.

Long minutes later, I gather her close. Heart to heart.

“I love you, baby,” I whisper, kissing her softly.

“Love you,” she whispers back, snuggling against me.

Kat isn’t just my mate. She’s my heart, my reason for living. She means everything to me, and I will never stop wanting or needing her like I do now.