Page 38

W ill-o'-wisps are real; dryads, gods, and, apparently, there are more than just the four elements.

At least some of it I understand from years of reading fairy tales to my sister. Damn, Audrey would love it here; the whole pack would. The freedom here is unlike anything they will ever be able to have back home, especially trapped under my father’s thumb.

"Hey, you okay?" Serena slides down the bench to sit right beside me. I can feel the warmth of her skin where her arm presses against mine, her leg as well.

My wolf rumbles his satisfaction with her so close, and it’s not as if I'm not excited as well; I'm just a little sad, I guess.

Peeking up, I find it's not just Serena who's looking to me for an answer, but the rest of them as well.

I don't want to lie to them, but we have enough to worry about right now. My pathetic homesickness isn't even worth bringing up, especially not when I've renounced my place in my pack. I'm not supposed to care anymore.

I open my mouth, intent to tell them I'm fine, to brush it off the way I normally would, but one look at Serena and my words die in my throat.

I don't want to lie to her. I've done enough of that to last me a lifetime, and though she's forgiven me, I haven't forgiven myself.

Hell, I'm not sure I'm capable of it. Serena deserves so much more than I can ever give her, yet I can't leave.

It's as if I'm drawn to her both as a man and a beast. I couldn't resist her even if I tried, and gods know I'll never do that.

No, if she wants me, I'm here. It's selfish and wrong, but I can't help it. I can't even imagine a life without her anymore.

Snapping my mouth shut, I stand abruptly, making my way from the dining hall without so much as glancing back even as I hear Serena call my name and the sound of her feet behind me.

Thankfully, I have a head start, and I'm fast. I've memorized this castle over the last few weeks. I've gotten lost enough to know how to lose someone... hopefully.

I'm not sure how Storm managed to avoid everyone for so long.

The castle is huge, but right now it feels like it's a gods damned one-bedroom apartment for how often I'm having to turn around and run the other way when I feel one of them approaching. Thank the stars for the bond, or else I would have failed already.

It's not like I want to do what he did. I just need a little while to get my shit together so I can help our pack instead of moping around.

Which is how I end up in the bathhouse. It worked for Storm well enough, and Blair and Serena had a good time in here, so it's worth a shot.

I sigh in relief, my shoulders sagging as I look around to find the bathhouse completely empty.

It lasts all of two seconds, though, because I'd been so focused on looking that I didn't feel her until she was pulling herself up out of the water onto the rocks not fifty feet from me, butt-ass naked and dripping wet.

Fuck.

I can't bite back the groan at seeing her like that, and my beast isn't any better. My wolf’s Clearly,of appreciation echoes around the cavern, and I watch Serena's head snap up. Clearly, I wasn't the only one not paying attention.

"Geez, Pike, you scared me." She presses a hand to her chest, taking a deep breath to calm herself. I want to apologize, but I can't.

Right now, it's taking every ounce of self-control that I have to stop my wolf from forcing a shift.

Mate! He growls the word in my mind, and it's not the first time he's referred to her that way.

I should look away, but I can't. I'm frozen in place as my eyes trace over every inch of her as if they have a mind of their own.

Her skin is pale, always has been, even when she spends hours outside in the sun; it's as if she doesn't tan, though she does burn. Her hair is long, reaching down to her ass, dripping wet, just like the rest of her.

I bet it would be beautiful wrapped around my fist with her on her knees for me.

Nope, bad idea. The thought makes my already hard dick ache, and I have to resist the urge to adjust. If by some miracle Serena hasn't noticed, I don't need to draw any attention to it. Maybe there's hope I can still get out of this without embarrassing myself.

But I should know better than that. The thought of her on her knees brings back my fantasy in the shower that feels like a lifetime ago. Only this time, I'm not imagining what she might look like; I know.

"Pike?" Serena takes a few steps toward me, walking right past the towel on the ground without so much as glancing at it, and I mentally scream.

I need her to cover up.

Mate!

Shit, shit, shit.

I'm not sure how much longer I can keep my wolf in check.

My eyes roam over her once again as I struggle to make myself speak.

We all have nicknames for her, silly little things that we used to try and make her more comfortable with her beast. Mine just so happens to be super fucking accurate because while it started innocent, Serena is thick now, her ass is fucking perfect, and all I can do is picture her running through the woods while I chase her down.

"Serena, I need you to cover up!" I force the words out in a rush as I swallow down the growl from my beast.

To say he's less than happy with me would be an understatement. I can't say I blame him; Serena's beautiful. I'd love to look at her all day, but I don't trust him not to go after her and mate her.

And as much as I love Serena and want her as my mate, I won't make that decision for her.

I want her to choose me, not just be stuck with me because the universe says so. I've never been someone’s first choice. I've never been good enough. Is it so wrong to want to be loved, to be wanted?

Fuck, it sounds dumb right now, as Serena continues toward me, completely disregarding what I said.

Her tits have a slight bounce to them, big enough that they will easily fill my hand.

Her nipples are pebbled, no doubt from the chill in the air after getting out of the warm water.

She either doesn't notice or doesn't care, but I'm damn near drooling as I look at them, picturing the way she would taste and how she would squirm if I sucked one into my mouth.

"Pike, are you okay?"

She's close, too close. My heart is damn near beating out of my chest, and I can feel my beast pressing to the surface, my canines growing longer in my mouth, the tail that sprouts from my lower back, my fingers turning to claws...

This is bad.

I stagger back a step; if she won't cover up, I'll leave.

I can't remember why I even came here to begin with, so it mustn't be that important.

I make it all of two steps before my beast catches on and stops me in my tracks, and suddenly it's a mental war. It only takes a moment to realize I'm going to lose.

Mate!

He yells again as if I didn't hear him the first three fucking times he said it.

I won't take her just because she's our mate.

She has to choose us. I tell him, and I swear I feel him roll his eyes even without being able to see him.

I'm not sure if I've always been able to communicate with him and never realized it before or if that's something new that we can do because of this realm, but I can't say I hate it.

At least not most of the time. Right now it's not doing me a damn bit of good, though, because he isn’t listening.

"Pike, is something wrong?" Serena's voice is soft, almost unsure, and I stop my mental argument to once again give her my attention.

Whereas, a moment ago, she seemed confident in herself and happy, now she seems unsure. Her shoulders slump forward, and... is she closer to the towel now?

She is. Which should be a good thing. I told her to cover up, but now... Fuck, I didn't want her to feel self-conscious or some shit.

Why do I have to fuck this up so badly? How the hell am I ever going to get her to choose me if she thinks I don't want to see her naked?

Smacking my palm to my head, I groan in frustration before quickly jogging toward her. She's picked up the towel now, and I should let her cover herself, but I don’t.

For once, my wolf doesn't seem to have an argument, and I can't help the smile that pulls at my lips. At least we can agree on something.

I rip the towel from her hands and let it drop into the water.

"What the fuck?!" Her head snaps up, and if looks could kill, I'd be so fucking dead right now. "What is wrong with you? First you tell me to cover up, and now you toss my towel in the water! Make up your mind, Pike. What do you want from me?"

The color on her cheeks is beautiful. Her eyes heat with her annoyance, and it shouldn't be a turn-on, but, fuck, it is.

Her hands fly around in angry gestures, and her tits jiggle with the movement.

I never believed in soul mates or wanted a mate in general.

I never let myself dare to think about the future that far when I was busy fighting for each day, but fuck if Serena wasn't made for me.

Every inch of her is perfect. She understands me, and for some unknown reason, she still puts up with me after all that shit with Harlow and my father and. ..

I step into her space before I can overthink it; her eyes stay stuck to mine as she cranes her head back, unwilling to look away first. Stubborn, beautiful, caring, strong but gentle when needed…

fucking perfect in every way. She swallows hard, and I smell it in the air as her anger turns to something much more potent: arousal.

That's the last straw; it's all I can take. I won't mark her, but I need to taste her, or I'll go insane.

Just one kiss.

Her brows pull down as I reach for her, my hand tangling up in her wet hair at the nape of her neck, but she doesn't move away or tell me to stop.

I yank her into my chest, the water on her chest quickly soaking into my shirt, but I couldn't care less.

My lips are on hers, and my beast about loses it when her flavor explodes in my mouth.

She tastes so fucking good all I can do is kick myself for waiting so long to taste her.

She's stiff for a moment, her lips unmoving, and I worry I've overstepped.

Maybe she doesn't want me like this...

Before I can spiral out of control, she melts into me with a sigh, her lips moving against mine with just as much hunger.

Fuck, this was a bad idea. I'll never have enough of her.

For years, she's been right here. I couldn't push for more because I didn't deserve her; I still don't, but at least she knows now.

There isn't anything I'd ever hide from her again, and she doesn't seem to mind whatever it is that Storm and I have.

I'd love to call it a relationship, but he might very well kill me, so I'll let him figure that out.

Her fingers thread into my hair, pulling it free of the loose bun I threw it up in earlier. I moan against her lips, feeling them quirk up in response.

Brat, she knows damn well how I feel about her petting me.

My wolf is a damn puddle, but even as he melts like a good boy, he still hasn't stopped his incessant nagging that we need to mark her.

The longer our lips are pressed together, the more aware I become of the rest of her.

Those perfect tits that are pressed against my chest, her toned ass that's right there.

Serena pulls away, pushing off my chest to separate us as she glares up at me. Her pupils are blown wide and her lips are red and puffy, making my wolf growl in appreciation.

"You're not going to break me, Pike. Stop acting like I'm fragile," she spits, clearly annoyed that she believes I think she couldn't handle me.

That's not it at all, and as much as I don't want to admit it to her, there's not really a way around it. At least not one that doesn't end with the silent treatment or hurt feelings.

"It's not about you, Serena. Right now I'm working very, very hard to keep my wolf in check." I choke out the words and watch as understanding lights her eyes, followed by a look I'm very familiar with.

Mischief.