Page 41

“Fucking hell, Serena,” Pike groans, sounding like he’s physically in pain as he moves behind me, pressing his hard length to my cunt, coating it in my wetness, and making me whine.

“This isn’t what I had in mind, you know.

I planned to be gentle with you, but you poked the beast…

” he trails off, and I can’t help but chuckle at his idiom.

If anyone’s beast is about to be poked, it’s mine.

“I don’t want you to be gentle, Pike. I want you to fuck me,” I taunt, earning a deep grumble that I’m pretty sure is from his wolf and not him, but it makes my heart race, nonetheless.

His big hand wraps around the back of my neck, holding me down, and even though I have no intention of going anywhere, I still fight against his hold. His hand comes down on my bare ass hard, the sharp sound of skin on skin ringing out around the trees, pulling a whimper from my lips as I still.

With nowhere to go, I’m left to squirm as he lines his cock up with my entrance before slamming into me with one quick thrust of his hips. I cry out as he stretches me. It’s not painful exactly, but fuck if I’m not full.

So damn full that my eyes roll back in my head as I attempt to get my breathing under control.

Pike doesn’t sit still for long, pulling back before he slams back into me, setting a punishing pace that leaves me a moaning, whining mess. I don’t even care that I’ll need another bath as he fucks me into the dirt.

“I’ve wanted to fuck you for so long, Serena, to mark you as mine,” Pike grunts out without missing a beat, and I’m kind of amazed he can form complete sentences right now.

My brain feels like mush, but even still, I remember that wolves mate differently than most other shifters. They leave marks on their mates, specifically bite marks.

The thought of Pike biting me, of me walking around with his mark for everyone to see, is too much as his fingers dip into my side, and I know he’s close, too.

“Bite me then,” I beg, my voice quiet and husky, but with the way his movements stall, I know he heard me. For a long moment he doesn’t move, his dick buried inside of me. The only sound around us is our panting as we try to get our breathing under control.

“If you want to mate me so badly, do it. What are you waiting for?” I goad him, wanting him to mark me so badly. It’s like a physical ache.

I don’t have a great view of him like this, my face on the ground, but looking back over my shoulder, I can see enough to see he’s frozen.

I can fix that.

He might have me pinned to the ground, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight back, just not in the way he probably expects me to.

I don’t have much room to move, but that’s okay. Pressing back, I grind my ass into him, fucking him and once again making him growl.

That’s quickly becoming one of my favorite sounds, right next to the twins’ purrs and Blair's little hisses.

They’re all just so cute.

“Bite me, Pike. Make me yours and then fill me with your cum.”

I see his eyes flash, and I know I won. A second later, he’s bending over me, and I feel the sharp sting of his teeth as they sink into the back of my left shoulder, making me cry out as pain hits me.

It only lasts a moment, the pain quickly fading, replaced by a feeling of rightness so strong that it makes me see stars, and when he starts to fuck me with his teeth still buried in my skin, I lose it.

The burning in my chest that I’ve become used to hits its crescendo as I fall over the edge, taking Pike with me as he pulls his teeth free as he remains bent over me, murmuring about how fucking tight I am.

His fingers slowly loosen from around my throat, and his cock softens until he falls out.

I feel his warm cum as it drips down my thighs, but I don’t bother wiping it away.

Not only do I not have the energy, I also don’t have anything to wipe it with.

Definitely need to head right back to the bathhouse.

The second Pike lets me go, I crumble to the ground, panting and exhausted but so fucking happy.

I look up at the sky, the stars so bright and so plentiful it almost looks fake. Pike’s face blocks out my view, the smile on his lips rivalling the stars as he looks down at me before gathering me up in his arms bridal style.

We’re both sweaty, and I’m pretty sure he’s making a bigger mess, his arm under my legs that are smeared with his cum.

But he doesn’t seem to mind, so I don’t let it bother me either, instead melting into his hold, listening to the sound of his heart as it beats a steady rhythm under my ear.

The warm weight of our new mate bond sits in my chest, making me feel whole in a way I’ve never felt before.

Just like with the other bonds, I wonder how I ever lived without them.

I couldn’t do it now, not with what I know. Being with them has changed everything.

My shoulder still stings, but somehow, even though I can’t see it, I know it’s no longer bleeding. By tomorrow it will be a mark, though I have no idea what it will look like. It’s usually a mark of the pack, but Pike gave up his pack, something that I still worry he might regret one day.

I look up to find his eyes already on me, and despite what we just did and our nakedness, the way he looks at me is what makes me blush.

“I love you, Serena,” he says, and I swear my heart is going to burst.

“I love you too, Pike.”

“Aww, you guys are so sweet!” A voice calls from the shadows of the forest. Before I can even really process what’s happening, I’m on my feet again, Pike shoving me behind him, completely disregarding his own nakedness.

We look around, unsure where the voice came from. I’m not sure about Pike, but I don’t sense anyone. Which is why I’m shocked when Theo walks out from behind a tree not ten feet from us.

I let out a sigh of relief and watch Pike’s shoulders sag before he looks down at himself, his hands quickly moving to cover his dick.

With the cover Pike offers me, I turn on the spot, thankful that my eyes are good enough for this at least.

My eyes fall on something, and I’m not sure if it’s his shirt or pants, but it’s better than… this.

Theo has no shame as she watches me move to the discarded article of clothing and then back to hide behind Pike.

“Here.” I toss it over his shoulder, and he quickly catches it. Turns out it was pants, which he quickly pulls on murmuring a thank you.

It’s strange. Pike doesn’t normally have an issue with being caught naked. More often than not, I think he would prefer it, but something about this is different. Being caught after such a raw moment, something as intimate as bonding, makes it feel weird to have her eyes roaming over us.

“What can we do for you, Theo?” I ask, hoping to distract from our current situation. My cheeks are so warm I bet she can see how red they are even in the dark.

The idea that Theo, or anything else, watched Pike and me has me feeling a bit embarrassed, and that’s only made worse when I realize I have no clothes with me.

Thankfully, Pike had clothes on when I started this whole chase me in the woods thing. We just had to find them scattered around the forest floor where we tossed them…

Pike took his pants, offering me his shirt once he found it, and for once I’m glad for my smaller size as it falls to my knees. I don’t have shoes or underwear, but at least everything is covered, mostly.

Theo skips in front of us, and Pike hasn’t left my side or released my hand since we started walking.

I can’t blame him, though; not only does our fresh mate bond have me ready to jump his bones all over again, but these woods are creepier when you’re not being chased through them with the prospect of being fucked.

As if he can hear my thoughts, Pike conjures a little fireball in his hand. It’s not a lot, but enough that I flinch. A reaction I can’t seem to kick despite the fact that I’m not really afraid of fire anymore.

“Shit, sorry.” Pike quickly extinguishes the flame, his eyes full of concern as he looks me over.

“It’s fine,” I tell him, giving his hand a squeeze, so he knows I’m serious. “It was just a knee-jerk reaction.”

“You sure?” I feel his eyes as he damn near stares a hole in the side of my head looking for any hint that I’m lying. But I’m not. Harlow had power over me for way too long. Because of her, Blair hid the fact that he had a second affinity for damn near his whole life in an attempt to appease me.

The truth is, anyone could hurt me with any element, not just fire, and not just me. All elements can be weaponized.

Mine more than the rest…

“I promise,” I tell him, holding out my pinky from my hand that isn’t interlocked with his.

He hesitates a moment before he links his pinky with mine. Pulling back, he once again lights up the area around us with a tiny flame in his hand, and I can’t help but feel my chest swell with pride seeing how much he’s grown.

We all have.

“What was that?” Theo asks from behind us, making us both jump and whip around to face her.

What the hell! How did she…when did she?

I turn back around looking at where she just was not even a minute ago, skipping as she leads the way to… I’m not even sure where we’re going, only that she insisted we go with her.

Theo is something like I’ve never seen before; she exists outside the realm of normal, which is saying something in a realm where everything is new and amazing.

“A pinky promise,” Pike answers, a huge smile turning up his lips, but that only makes her face scrunch up in confusion.

“It’s like an oath. We promise, and our pinkies seal the deal. If either of us were to be caught lying, we would lose our pinkies.”

Theo’s eyes go wide before a smile pulls at her lips, and she claps in excitement, dancing around in the middle of the dark woods, clearly unbothered by whatever could be out there.

To be fair, I have no idea what it is myself. Ryker could have just been trying to scare me that night he found me out here, but something makes me think he isn’t the type.

Either way, I’d much rather not just stand here and put a target on our backs.

“That’s wonderful! Make a promise with me, Serena!” she demands, holding her pinkie up in my face so close I end up going cross-eyed.

“Uhh…” I try to think of something, but my mind blanks. With the way she’s reacting, I’d rather make it something I know I can keep. I’m rather fond of my pinkies.

“Oh, I got it.” Reaching out, I hook my pinkie to hers, and I can’t stop myself from smiling at her with the way she looks at me. “I promise to be your friend, no matter what.”

Her smile slowly melts off her face, and I worry I might have made a mistake as she lets our hands fall, dropping my pinkie.

I feel Pike shift beside me, and I open my mouth to say something, though I have no idea what. Maybe we can make another promise; this time she can be in charge of picking what we promise.

Theo launches herself at me, and she’s shockingly heavy despite her small size. I stumble back a step and would have fallen on my ass if not for Pike catching us.

“Thank you, Serena,” Theo says, her words muffled, her face buried in my shoulder as she attempts to squeeze the air from my lungs.

My heart melts for her, this girl, this god who only ever wanted a friend, and while it might have been something simple to appease her, I intend to stay true to that promise.

“Of course, Theo, you're stuck with me now.” I wrap my arms around her, returning her hug before we break apart and once again follow after her as she hums a happy tune that doesn’t match our surroundings at all but does help me to feel better as things howl and cry in the depth of the darkness.