Page 2

LIVIA

Shit! What is he doing here at this hour?!

I shoved Caelan’s chest, but he didn’t move. Instead, he pushed himself farther inside me, clutching my waist as hard as he could to drive his cock deeper. I opened and closed my mouth a handful of times, pleading with my eyes.

Truth was, we really both did have a lot to lose if anyone found out about us. I was already looked down upon by this pack because I hadn’t shifted into my wolf yet, when most wolves could at thirteen. I didn’t need another target on my back.

She-wolves were fucking ruthless.

“One moment, Marcus,” Caelan called, pumping into me harder and faster.

My eyes widened, and I slapped a hand over my mouth, my eyes rolling back into my head. Pressure rose higher and higher inside me, and I curled my toes, my hands both pushing and pulling him.

Holy fuck, if he didn’t slow down, then I was going to… I was going to…

“Come for me, little mate.”

Pleasure exploded through my body, and I stifled a moan before it could fully leave my mouth. My legs trembled uncontrollably, my body buzzing with ecstasy. Wave after wave rushed through me, my pussy clenching over and over on him.

“You have to hide,” Caelan said, voice raspy, dumping his cum deep in my cunt.

“He’s going to smell me here,” I whispered.

“My scent is dripping out of you. He won’t smell you.”

When he finally pulled out of me, I dropped onto my knees and crawled underneath his desk, hoping that I was hidden enough so Dad wouldn’t see me. My heart pounded inside my chest, and I tried to breathe as quietly as possible, but my body was still buzzing from his touch.

“Come in, Marcus!”

Ecstasy pumped through my body, my nipples taut. Caelan rubbed the back of his neck and took a seat at his desk, his legs spread with me between them. I gently grabbed on to his knees, my pussy still throbbing.

I couldn’t see Dad, but I could hear his footsteps enter the room. He had no idea what was going on between me and Caelan, and he would never know. Not unless Caelan finally decided to mark me one day.

But I wasn’t holding my breath.

“Can this wait until we return?” Caelan asked Dad. “I’m preparing for tomorrow.”

“Some of the elders would like to have a word before we depart.”

Desperately, I tried to even my breathing. I couldn’t let Dad hear me. It was bad enough that my scent was in the room. If he heard me here too? It’d be over. I’d be screwed. Nobody could ever know what was going on between me and Caelan.

I was supposed to hate him, and he was supposed to hate me.

But the room was seeming smaller, the air drier, more suffocating.

And Dad? Dad was too close. I could see him from underneath the desk, and if I could see him, then he could see me. My heart raced inside my chest, so loudly that I could hear it in my ears.

“Of course,” Caelan said, his voice remarkably even and calm, but I could hear the strain in it. “Send them in.”

Dad lingered for another second, and I could see the confusion on his face through the small hole underneath the desk. He had noticed something was off, that something wasn’t right, but he wasn’t one to call Caelan out on it.

No, calling Caelan out on it? That could be a death sentence. Even to him, the beta.

Another moment passed, then more people entered the room. After they exchanged formalities, the elders got right into it, and I hoped to Lycos that they would make this quick because my blood was boiling under here.

“You not being mated at this age makes us look weak, Caelan,” one said.

“We’ve seen no progress on finding you a proper mate.

Our allies watch closely, and the Whispering Pines Pack even closer.

It looks bad for us. If you don’t claim a mate soon, everyone’s going to question how strong we really are. ”

I rolled my eyes. This was one thing that I hated about wolf packs. Everyone loved finding their mate. Hell, that was the goal for every single one of them. And I was so fed up with it, because Caelan would never choose me.

To him, to this pack, even to my own father, I was weak because I couldn’t shift.

“I know,” Caelan said, staying completely calm as if I wasn’t raging between his thighs right now. “But we have other matters on hand right now. Once we get through the festivals and defeat the Whispering Pines, then I will choose a mate.”

Red clouded my vision for a moment, but I shook my head. It didn’t fucking matter anyway, because he and I both knew that he wasn’t going to choose me. He wasn’t going to fucking choose me, and I had to be okay with that.

But I wasn’t.

While I hated the thought of mates, I was still a wolf. And my wolf craved him.

“Interested or not, you will make a decision,” one of the elders said.

“Once the wedding festivals are completed, we’ll make sure that there are many suitable mates for you.

There’s a few from neighboring packs, or perhaps you’ll find one at the wedding.

There will be many there that come from very strong bloodlines, especially that girl from the River Pack up north. ”

Strong bloodlines, my ass. The River Pack was weak.

“Yes,” Caelan said. “She may be a good choice.”

If I could shift into my wolf, my claws would be digging into his thighs right now until he bled. Instead, my blunt little nails dug into the skin of my palms so hard that they would definitely leave little marks later. Why the fuck was he agreeing to this? With me right here?!

“The pack wants an alpha that they can rally behind,” Dad said, agreeing with the rest of them. “An alpha who can lead with stability. And a mate, especially her, will look very, very good in their eyes.”

I didn’t know why I let my feelings get involved all the time. I didn’t like Caelan like that. No, I hated him. I was using him. This was all fucking political. I hated wolves. I hated mates. I should’ve left the moment Dad convinced me to join the pack after Mom died.

“Our eastern border is weakening, and she would be a great choice to maintain peace among the packs,” another agreed. “We need strong leadership. You’re the strongest I’ve seen, and with a woman with beta-blood by your side, you’ll be unstoppable.”

Unstoppable? … Right.

“I’ll talk with her at the wedding,” Caelan said, his expression neutral.

At the wedding?! That he was forcing me to attend?!

I gritted my teeth. If he wanted to flirt with other girls at this stupid wedding in front of me, then I could have some fun too. And I’d make sure to find someone before he found her. My goal for this stupid wedding? Make my alpha jealous.