Night Forgiven, page 19
Heat trickled between her thighs, but she forced herself to step back. She released him, and he let her with a low groan.
“Quickie on the logs?” he asked.
“No.” She chuckled and wiped her thumb across her lower lip. “But you know… give me pups and I promise the pack will be instantly happier. Everyone loves babies.”
His brows flew up. “I like the way you think.”
“But later. We’ll start on that later,” she promised, turning on her heel. She tucked her hands into her pockets as she walked away, forming a list in her mind of what they’d need for the night.
* * *
Sierra dug through the ice and cold water to retrieve two bottles of beer, which she handed off to the waiting couple standing before her. The night had begun slow, but as the alcohol kicked in and the fire warmed the area, the mood loosened and became livelier.
Viktor hosted an impromptu session on spit-roasting small game using a half-dozen squirrels while his mother doled out heaping slices of chocolate cake. Sierra swore that somehow she’d been one-upped within her plan but kept quiet. Mama Fekete made a damn good cake, as much as it pained Sierra to admit it.
Mama Fekete also hadn’t quite forgiven Viktor or Sierra for what had happened, which made seeing her tonight a good sign.
The members of the former Edon pack mingled freely, something that brought an honest and well-deserved tear to Sierra’s eye. With luck, in a year or two they’d no longer be formerly Edon pack, they’d simply be pack.
As often as possible, Viktor wandered her way to give her a kiss on the cheek or forehead, or lips if she weren’t busy drinking a beer to keep up with everyone else. The pack noticed, and often laughed or cheered in their direction. The young and single lupine, in particular, seemed encouraged by Sierra and Viktor’s overt affections, which were a contrast to what they’d all seen of Ian and Ruby.
Sadly Ruby had declined to come, but nearly every other member of the pack was present and appearing to enjoy themselves. It would be some time before they’d expect the widow to find the energy or purpose to celebrate.
A hand swept her arm and she turned to find Nolan there. He smiled and lifted his chin, indicating the other side of the open clearing. She followed his gaze and saw Katy standing by one of the smaller pits of fire built so that the teens could safely roast marshmallows away from the larger raging fire tended by adults.
She made her way over, dozens of questions running through her head. Things had happened quickly the day of her return, and she’d not spoken to Katy at all since. Just because they had one moment that day didn’t erase everything else between them.
Katy spun the thin wooden skewer holding her marshmallow and eyed Sierra as she came close.
“I don’t remember the last bonfire,” Katy said.
“Me either. That’s why I assumed it was about time to have one.”
Katy stared intently at the softening white blob. “I’m supposed to believe you’ve changed.”
“You don’t have to.”
“It’s rough,” she replied. “You’ve changed before. Not quite a chameleon, but close.”
Sierra forced herself to smile. “Is this going to be another lecture for me to try not to screw things up again?”
Katy clicked her tongue. “No. I’m not the kind of wolf to talk like that to our alpha’s mate.”
“I still just feel like myself.”
“Maybe.” Katy lifted her skewer and tested the burnt marshmallow, plumping it carefully between her fingertips. “You know the Sarka pack never heard of doing this?”
“Of what?” Sierra eyed the white ball of sugar. “Roasting marshmallows?”
“Yeah. Or making s’mores. It turns out it’s some human thing that snuck into the Edon pack’s habits.” Katy hissed as the marshmallow popped and oozed molten white cream onto her fingertip.
Sierra grimaced in sympathy. While Katy sucked on her finger, Sierra eyed the gathering. “You called me over to tell me that?”
“No. It just occurred to me. I called you over because you’re missing something.” She bent down, and after a moment handed Sierra a mounted marshmallow of her own. “I don’t want you to think it’s all fixed. It isn’t.”
“Okay…” Sierra held the skewer and stared at it.
“I get what you’re doing—trying to be good for the pack. I’ve always been a Fekete fan, which you probably recall.” Katy laughed under her breath. “I don’t think he’d be with you if you were still a mess.”
“Thanks,” Sierra said sardonically. “That means a lot.”
“I’m not any better at this than you are,” Katy replied. “What I’m getting at is that if this is a sign that the old Sierra is coming back, the one who used to be my friend, I’m not going to ignore that. I know I said things, and you did things, but it would be nice to have that back.”
“Is that alcohol and sugar talking?” Sierra asked.
Katy looked across the way. Nolan watched them speaking, and they shared a glance before Katy turned to Sierra, expression serious. “I’m not drinking. We should discuss that. It’s sort of tradition for the alpha’s mate to bless females in my situation.”
Sierra stared at Katy for a moment, then at the marshmallow still in her hand. “Were you always this confusing? I don’t remember being this lost when we were friends before.”
Katy pointed to her stomach. “This.”
Sierra’s mind blanked for a moment, and then she gathered what situation Katy was in. “A baby?”
“Yep. Something of a big deal.”
“The pack hasn’t had a new baby in years,” Sierra said, her eyes widening. “This is huge!”
“We were keeping it a secret. I thought Ian would flip if he found out that one of us dared to reproduce. When Viktor came back and won that challenge, this was all I thought of. We had a chance. Because of him, and because of you. It had to be fate.”
Sierra’s hands shook from surprise. She dropped the wooden skewer and hugged Katy tight. “You didn’t dare to do anything. The ancestors blessed you, and the entire pack is going to celebrate this.”
Katy patted Sierra’s back. “It just feels wrong to be happy right now. Given… everything.”
Sierra held Katy out at arm’s length and met her eyes. “No. This is exactly what we need. It’s proof that we’re going to be fine.”
29
With encouragement, Katy had shared her news and the celebration had experienced an uplifting second wind that brought them all dangerously close to being out of drinks. Once the party had wound down and the bonfire was taken over by every father within the pack with an opinion on a proper fire, Viktor and Sierra snuck away.
As they walked to their home, which was the cabin he once shared with Mikos, Sierra thought of her little trailer on the far side of the settlement. She’d gone there a few times to get her things, but it hadn’t felt like home anymore, and it didn’t feel like hers. There were good memories there, however, and she hadn’t forgotten everything that happened within those aged walls.
She slid a hand into the back pocket of Viktor’s jeans. “Did you have fun?”
“More than I thought I would.”
“I think it helped.”
“More than I thought it would,” he admitted. “I suppose I should have expected it because it’s the sort of thing likely to happen plenty in the future.”
“Which part? Me having good ideas?”
He chuckled. “You reminding me of why you’re the perfect mate for me. Surprising me. Making suggestions and having ideas that steer away from my path.”
“It was just a bonfire. I hope my future ideas are a bit more spectacular.” She eyed him. “You’re still the alpha. You’re still in control.”
He paused in the path, just before the fork that split between his home and two others, and turned to her. He pulled her hand from his pocket and kissed her knuckles. “You make a good point. I’m the alpha. I’m your alpha.”
“Mmhm,” she murmured as he unfolded her hand and nibbled her pointer finger.
“I’d promised you some lovemaking in the bed the other night,” he said mournfully.
“I’m aware,” she replied. It hadn’t happened, of course; memories of the bloody day had smothered much of their desire.
He tugged her off the path and toward the dense cluster of trees roughly a hundred feet away. “I’ll make it up to you with some fucking in the woods.”
The words shot through the gentle buzz she’d been nursing all night and left goosebumps along her arms. “In the middle of the pack?”
“They won’t care. It’s not like anyone will come upon us.”
“They’ll figure it out with the way you howl when you finish,” she teased.
He spun and caught her by the waist. “Interesting choice of words. How did you know I’d howl?”
“Because you do when you—”
“When I knot you,” he growled suggestively. He lifted her then and placed her across his shoulder, crushing her stomach as she balanced on him and squealed.
“Viktor!”
He sprinted the short distance through the cloud-hazed moonlight and into the dark canopy of spindly trees ready for winter. She beat at his back in faux-protest as he wound through and eventually had to close her eyes to keep the forest floor’s shadows from dizzying her.
She didn’t track how long they moved; it was impossible with the way he sprinted in random intervals as if he were trying to lose someone hot on his trail. When he finally dropped her to her feet, her heart was beating frantically, and adrenaline and anticipation had whipped her into a frenzy.
She pulled him into a kiss and he responded eagerly, hungrily. He tasted his usual warm, spicy flavor, but tonight had a hint of rich ale swirled in. Her senses awakened, and until now she hadn’t realized how the trauma of their arrival had dulled them. She inhaled and the scent of him made her tremble. She missed him. He’d been here all along, but she missed him terribly.
Under normal circumstances, a newly mated couple would disappear for weeks while cementing their bond—which translated into lots and lots of sex. They hadn’t had the opportunity. Lupine weren’t prudish when it came to mating, but they weren’t going to do anything while sharing a home with Viktor’s grandparents.
Things felt settled enough here, however. For all her wariness and inner turmoil, she felt clarity after spending time with the pack. They all feared for what would happen next. Now they knew. They would be a pack, and that was enough.
She touched his muscled chest and tugged at his light sweater. He removed it within seconds so she could touch his bare skin, and within the next moments, they tumbled to the ground. Some clothing came off easily, the rest was torn and discarded.
Sierra suspected she’d have a bruise from her underwear being yanked so forcefully apart from one side. It didn’t matter.
Once they were naked, Viktor pressed her back against the ground and settled his hips between her spread legs, but made no move to enter her. Instead he remained propped on his arms while he looked down at her. He sat back then and traced his hand from one side of her to the other, his fingertips grazing the now-healed mating marks there.
His touch was delicate, but left a path of fire in its wake, and the possessive gleam in his eyes ignited her even more. She pressed her thighs against his sides impatiently, and he chuckled and stretched his body over hers to kiss her lips.
He teased her bottom lip, sucking it between his teeth and biting down until she growled for more. His cock brushed against her wet crease, his hips rocking gently to torment her with the feel of his hard length. She tried to maneuver her body to take him in but he fought against her, sliding his cock along her slick folds.
She scratched her nails along his back encouragingly, and that did the trick. He plunged into her, once, twice, again and again. She was achingly ready, and her body welcomed him to thrust deep and hard.
He kissed her forehead and tucked one hand beneath the small of her back, lifting her to deepen the angle of his penetration. Their bodies moved together at a frantic pace. He cupped one breast and pinched the nipple between his spread fingers, the contact sending a line of pleasure and excitement straight to her clit, which brushed the coarse hairs of his pubic mound as he struck deep.
Her climax was quick and intense, a bright burst of light behind her eyes that made her shudder and fall limp against his continued fevered movements. He rolled her to her side and continued to thrust into her, but the action changed as well as the sensation. He grew thicker and longer within her, and as she balanced her body in a half-sideways sprawl, she looked back to see his lupine form haloed by the distant moon behind him.
She grit her teeth as he pushed into her, his thick cock testing her limits. She’d had it once, but that didn’t mean she was suddenly immune to the sensation of being stretched and plundered so thoroughly.
He balanced his weight around her, but pressed his snout into her tangled hair as he pistoned in and out, his tight sac slapping her folds as he careened toward climax. The friction tore another orgasm from her, and she trembled beneath him as he inhaled and scented her arousal.
He tensed then and drove forward until he filled her completely and there was nowhere else to go. She breathed through clenched teeth as his knot expanded and trapped them together, the sensation still strange to her, like a cramp kneading her insides as gently as possible.
He howled, just as she’d predicted. The behavior was so typically male and primal, and not obligatory whatsoever—but she loved that he did it.
Warmth flooded her, partially due to the pulsating that told her he’d emptied inside her, but also because of his protective hold. He cradled her in his arms and nuzzled her face, his nose cold, but gentle. She breathed hard, and the sound seemed to echo.
Then howls filled the air, the sound of the pack acknowledging Viktor’s claim. Pride swelled in her chest, accompanied by the joy that despite everything, the pack accepted this. They accepted her.
She and Viktor remained together until his knot eased enough for him to pull out. His seed spilled down her thigh, and it made her shiver with thrill. She felt bruised but whole, and she overflowed with love for the massive lupine still curled around her.
His body shrank and gradually returned to his human form. His chest heaved with exertion and he crumpled to the ground, pressing himself against her back. They bathed under the moonlight together, speechless.
Epilogue
Two wolf moons passed before the pack received its first visitor, a runner from the Bronze pack.
Sierra was invited to the meeting with the representative but passed. She didn’t exclude herself from the finer details of pack leadership, but she had already planned to oversee a trip into town and didn’t want to miss out.
It wasn’t easy to walk away, however. This particular meeting would be a difficult one, as Viktor would be setting the tone for all future interactions with other packs. She wasn’t sure how much he’d divulge but knew that Ian always kept runners at arms’ length and in the dark. They’d discussed how open the Sarka pack would be moving forward, but in the end, it would be a matter of diplomacy and feeling the other packs out.
Diplomacy wasn’t truly Sierra’s strong suit, which she’d learned on her first meeting with the witches who came to meet with Viktor as alpha for the first time. No, she’d do better behind the scenes.
Sierra had just collected shopping lists from everyone who wouldn’t make the town trip when something made her look up. In the distance, a lupine was running toward her, coming from the woods riverside. She put down her things and met the young female, who breathed hard.
“Strangers!” she said.
Sierra frowned. “The runner is meeting with Viktor already.”
“No. Different strangers.” The lupine looked over her shoulder. “Across the river and coming this way.”
“Tell Viktor.” Sierra narrowed her eyes at the trees. “I’m going to see.”
She took off, considering dropping into her wolf form for speed or to better spy, but decided against it. If it were human hunters and they spotted a wolf, it could end poorly.
She caught the scent of someone unfamiliar by the water where it tapered to a small fall, but nothing else. No tracks and no sign of anyone. She scanned the ground and then a nagging sensation made her look upward.
A familiar pair of green eyes peered down at her from high above, and within seconds the owner had jumped down and landed beside her.
She wanted to scream his name, but the shock left her mute. Kalle hugged her tight and spun her in a small circle, crushing her ribs. Her hands flew over his strong shoulders and brushed against the long tips of his overgrown hair.
“Sierra,” he whispered, hoarse. “I wasn’t sure I’d see you again.”
“I knew I’d see you again,” she said with a laugh. Her eyes pricked with emotion as she continued to hold him, wondering if she’d ever be comfortable with letting him go. She inhaled his scent and marveled at how it had changed. He rocked her back and forth, but as the truth dawned on her, she stiffened against him.
“You… You’re not alone,” she said.
“I’m not.”
They stood still for a moment before pulling apart. Kalle cupped Sierra’s cheek, then rapped his knuckles against the tree he’d been hiding in.
Across the trickling water, a young female emerged. No, Sierra realized after a searching inhalation—a human.
The woman carefully hopped the narrow rush of water and straightened, heading toward Kalle’s side.
Sierra stepped back, taking in not only the unmistakable affection in Kalle’s eyes for the human, but the woman’s round, pregnant belly.
“Kalle?” Sierra asked.
“This is Sky.” He pulled the human to his side and kissed her temple. “My mate.”
