Pack Possessed, page 13
part #4 of Thrown to the Wolves Series
Sebastian grunts, checking on the mini-centrifuge that’s separating a few vials of Sabrina’s blood so that it won’t clot in the syringes. “Hydrogen Sulfide; you get used to it. Normally isn't nearly this bad, but several tanks were caught up in the explosion the other day, and no amount of airing out the place or scrubbing seems to be helping.”
While I was originally annoyed that I got stuck with Damian canvassing the area, it looks like I actually lucked out.
Merrick wrinkles his nose, looking at one of the charred containers against the far wall. “Maybe it’s a good thing that we have this current shitstorm with Sabrina to distract Wilder, otherwise he’d be raining hell down on us as soon as he realizes how far behind schedule that setback is going to put us.”
“What do you need so much of it for that it’ll put you behind?”
Leo looks at me like I’m an idiot. “It’s one of the central components of the drug. It’s what supercharges our wolves -er- demons into rushing to the surface.”
Meeting Boden’s gaze, I scrunch up my face in confusion. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he mocks, “did I miss the part where you did this for a living?”
“I know trace amounts are used in a couple of pharmaceuticals, but it’s extremely toxic in large doses and, as you clearly discovered, flammable.”
When Leo begins to go off on a tangent, Hunter interjects, “What are you getting at, Reid?”
Heading over to one of the scorched tanks, I crouch down to read the warning label. I knocked out the required science courses in college my first year to get them out of the way, so it’s been a good while and I could be mixing up facts. Trying to look at things from every angle before I open my mouth and make a fool of myself, I ultimately opt for the Sabrina approach; laying it all out there and letting the cards fall where they may.
“You and Sabrina got sick when siphoning from the lycans, right? At Hunter’s nod, I skim the fine print, more confident that I’m on the right track. “Health effects of exposure include headaches, memory loss, and problems with the cardiovascular system. Prolonged exposure to hydrogen sulfide can result in eye inflammation, fatigue, irritability, insomnia, and weight loss.” Looking up, I meet Merrick’s unyielding glare. “Might explain why members of your pack are bigger assholes than the others around here. Even those that don’t work in the warehouse are potentially exposed if it’s getting into the air.” Turning to Hunter, I suggest, “Could also be a factor as to why you have trouble sleeping since you guys recycle water out here.” To Damian, I note, “You said you guys struggle more with your counterparts than we do. If this stuff supercharges them into surfacing and you’ve all been exposed to it the majority of your lives, the theory fits the bill.”
While the rest are ominously silent, Bo chimes in, “By poisoning people, it's one more factor to keep them from thinking clearly. And if he has an army of lycans under his command, other alphas can't bring them to heel without getting sick and lessening themselves as a threat at the same time. It’s kind of a genius if you think about it.”
Everyone’s rendered silent for so long that it becomes far more awkward than my walk with Damian. Eventually, Hunter breaks it, and I take a minute to actually study the guy.
I cast my vote for him to be our alpha in Sabrina’s absence only because he was the least offensive option while Slade wasn’t in the running. But now... I think he may have actually been a better choice than anyone could have anticipated because he doesn’t want the position. The Slaughters have been a looming threat over his head for his entire life, yet here he is telling them to shut up to give me a chance to speak and actually considering my theory despite our history. Ash has been the monster that he, Damian, and Kaige have feared, but Hunter’s rising to the challenge at every turn now not just for Sabrina, but himself. And yet, he’s still an ass like he’s always been, just more toned down about it these days, redirecting his energy to more productive outlets.
We put so much of ourselves on the back burner for our mate and what’s expected of us in that regard, it’s actually kind of comforting to see that we don’t have to completely disappear for the sake of someone else.
“Let’s try leaving it out of this batch and see what happens.” Despite the Slaughters’ dirty glares in Hunter’s direction, he doesn’t back down. “Worst case scenario, it doesn’t work. Best case?” He meets my eye, and the conviction I see there makes me feel like shit, because I really haven’t done anything to warrant him going to bat for me. “We find a way out of this mess.”
Clearing my throat, I ask, “Who should we test it out on?”
Bo turns to Merrick. “Who was that guy glaring daggers at Sabrina the other night in the warehouse? Of anyone, it’d be the most obvious to see a difference, and honestly, it’d be a good excuse to kill him. What was that guy’s problem, anyway?”
“Let me guess; blonde, looks like he’d stab you in the back, then piss on your corpse?” At Bo’s nod, he grunts, going back to prepping a few things on one of the tables. “Marco. His brother tried to take over the pack last time we were gone looking for Annika. Never forgave us for killing him, and thinks we're too stupid to realize he's worming his way closer to us looking for an opening to get revenge. Sabrina would be the perfect way to do it.”
A slow, malicious grin rises on Sebastian’s face. “Then it’s settled. Let’s get this knocked out so I can pay Marco a visit.”
***
“We’ll meet you guys in a couple of hours.”
Slade shares several nervous glances with Kaige as he finishes buttoning his shirt. “Why would Hunter insist on you staying here with her and not Bo?”
Shrugging a single shoulder, I lean back against the wall. “I don’t call the shots. Feel free to take it up with him if you have an issue.”
Cin ties his shoe, rising to his feet and stretching. “Or you could go over his head and drag Sabrina into it. Welcome to the club, brother; sucks having someone bossing you around, doesn’t it?”
With a sigh, Slade looks toward the bedroom where Sabrina’s dozing and drops his voice. “I’m not going to wake her up for this, that’s ridiculous.” On his and Kaige’s way out the door, he grasps my shoulder. “They’ll be fine; Reid’s the best shot in the family.” Squeezing once, he strides past me, heading for the warehouse.
Cinjin, on the other hand, isn’t buying it for a second. Rather than call me out on my lie though, he mimes zipping his lips behind Slade’s back, amusement dancing in his eyes. Following them out, he smirks. “Take good care of our girl, Reid.”
Closing the door on his quiet laughter, I flip the pathetic lock that’s more for decoration than any form of actual security. As soon as I kick off my shoes, I head straight for the bedroom, climbing onto the mattress beside her. Still half-asleep, she mumbles, “Nap buddy, or did the warehouse explode again?”
Nostrils flaring, I bite back a groan. She’s absolutely drenched in the others’ scent, sweat and sex lingering on her skin. Every breath I draw in is a visceral reminder that she’s really ours, and it sets the beast in my chest off like crazy. While she’s clearly theirs, he and I are in complete agreement that everyone needs to know without a shadow of a doubt that she’s also ours.
Gently brushing a stray lock of hair out of her face, I press a lingering kiss to her forehead. “Neither. Hunter asked me to send the others to help out, but we should be good to test it out in an hour or two.”
She pries an eyelid open. “No he didn’t.”
Breaking into a smile, I kiss her bare shoulder, tugging the sheet down an inch. “No, he didn’t.”
Chuckling, she wakes up a little more. “Slade and Kaige I could see, but Cinjin actually bought that?”
Kissing a path down her arm, I slide down her body, dragging the sheet with me as I go. “Not even for a second. Even better, Slade and Kaige convinced themselves it was a trust exercise.”
She arches her back, stretching one arm above her head as I make my way down to her other wrist, kissing her pulse. “Any particular reason you decided to risk getting your ass kicked once they find out you lied?”
Sitting back on my heels, I slowly rake my gaze over her. Naked, tangled in the sheets, and dark hair a wild mess against the pillow. There’s a lightness to her completely at odds with the situation we’re trapped in, when she has more reason than any of us to be pissed off. She’s choosing to be happy regardless, finding comfort in the darkness instead of lamenting the oppressive weight of it.
“It seemed a fair price to pay to have you all to myself for a little while.”
Giving me a soft smile, she pushes herself upright. “Can’t go two steps without tripping over someone these days, can we?”
Humming my agreement, I skim my knuckles reverently over her cheek. “I’ll be sure when Slade is combing through real estate listings to mention that you want plenty of extra space.”
Her eyes narrow, but there’s a playfulness behind them that’s contagious. “I don’t think I even want to know how much money you guys are sitting on. But after cramming eight people into this room for a couple of days, I’ll admit that I actually am looking forward to having some breathing room.”
“Until then, how about we use up Kaige’s water supply for the day and sneak in a shower?”
Dramatically gasping, she slides away from me. “Skipping to the front of the line?” Though she clucks her tongue in mock chastisement, she wastes no time climbing out of bed. “I won’t even be offended that you’d rather use our alone time to shower than fool around.”
Following behind her, I yank off my shirt on our way to the bathroom. “On the contrary, it seemed the quickest way to replace their scents with mine.”
She pauses in the doorway, sending me a heated look. “I suppose if you’re going to get your ass kicked, we might as well cram in as many reasons as possible to make it worth it.” Backtracking, she rummages through our luggage, returning with one of Hunter’s shirts. Grinning, she backs out of the room. “I’ll need something to dry off with afterward.”
“Are you excited to see them beat the shit out of me?”
Chuckling, she makes a beeline across the main room, and I shut the bathroom door behind us. “Don’t sell yourself short, I saw the way you obliterated that guy’s face the other day. If you let go a little, I’m sure you could break a few ribs before they knock you out.”
While she gets the water running, I finish stripping and snort. “You’re as bloodthirsty as the rest of them, I swear. And here I thought you cared about my wellbeing.”
Tossing Hunter’s shirt onto the sink counter, she chuckles. “Of course I do. Think of how much more it’ll annoy them when I’m oh-so-helpfully tending your wounds afterward and you get all of the attention. Pretty sure they’ll make it a game of pushing each other down the nearest staircase.”
“And that’s a good thing, why, may I ask?”
“Because if that’s our biggest problem, we’re doing something right. When Ash is a non-factor, you guys are going to need something to burn off all of the testosterone. As a good mate, it’s my job to direct that energy into useful things, like sex competitions.”
Wrapping an arm around her waist, I use her as a human shield and step under the cool spray, grinning as she sputters indignantly.
She spins in my grip and glares. “A solo shower is sounding better and better.”
Tilting her chin up, I capture her mouth in a slow burning kiss that steals the threat right from her tongue. “It’s nice seeing you like this.”
“Like what?” she murmurs against my lips.
“Genuinely happy.”
Rather than reply, she kisses me back in earnest, rotating so that her back is to the water. Palming both sides of her face, I deepen the kiss, not rushing a single thing. It may only be a few minutes, but for that time, she’s completely mine. No worries that someone is being pushed to the sidelines, no fears about the demon breathing down our necks that’s obsessed with my mate, and no concerns about what tomorrow will bring.
We simply exist in the moment, and it’s not only enough, it’s everything.
Between kisses, she mumbles, “We should probably hurry up before we run out of warm water.”
Without breaking the kiss, I force her to lean down with me as I fumble for the bottle of soap on the lip of the tub. As soon as I flip open the lid, the strawberry scent reveals I snagged the wrong bottle, but she simply laughs a breathy sound.
“Shampoo works the same. Even better, it’s got a stronger scent.”
Chuckling, I finally tear myself away, spinning us so that I can have a turn under the spray. “You’re far more into this than I thought you would be.”
Squirting some into my palm, I work it into a lather before starting at her collar. A faint bite mark is still visible on the side of her neck, and while this is all a game to annoy the others, I don’t want to completely eradicate the evidence that she’s taken by us. Toying with them is one thing, but I don’t want to strip her of whatever protection we can offer by warning others off.
Nope, I tried to convince myself, but it’s an effort in futility. The desire to wash them from her skin and have mine the only scent coating her is too strong to resist temptation, logical reasoning be damned.
Brushing my thumbs over her breasts, I work my way down to her rib cage as she declares, “I’m into anything that reminds me what it actually is that we’re fighting for. And this?” A flash of sadness flickers across her eyes, there and gone so quickly I question if I imagined it. “It’s worth going through a hell of a lot of heartache to have more days like this. So yeah, I’m throwing myself all in, but it’s not because I’m discrediting the seriousness of the situation we’re trapped in. It’s because the only way we will come out the other side of it with any part of ourselves intact is if we stop holding back when it really matters.”
Wrapping her fingers around my wrist, she slides my hand down her stomach. “And I know the two of us have struggled the most with that, but I’m willing to try if you are.”
For a brief moment, I take a hard look at the woman that came into my life and blew it to hell. The last few months have been a whirlwind and so much has changed, but... it had to. Sabrina’s the breath of fresh air we all desperately needed, and looking at how much more animated and alive she is now? She needed us, too.
That’s the only thing in our lives that really matters.
Slamming my lips against hers, I back her into the shower wall, the water pounding down against our sides. Sliding my hand down her stomach, her hip, her thigh, I meticulously wash away every trace of the others. And all the while, I never come up for air, kissing her breathless, a warm flush spreading across her skin that even the cool water can’t compete with.
“No more holding back,” I agree, slipping two fingers inside of her. Feathering a line of chaste kisses along her jaw, I whisper against her skin, “So I have a question to ask you.”
Gripping my shoulder to steady herself, she rocks her hips, riding my hand. “If you’re going to ask me to marry you while finger-fucking me in the shower, I won’t even feel bad for saying no. Besides, Bo beat you to it.”
Chuckling, I curl my fingers inside of her. “Noted. Actually, it was a little more embarrassing than that.”
With a breathy moan, she closes her eyes and rolls her hips. “Weird kink request then. Sure, go ahead.”
“I was going to ask if it would be alright if I let... him, step in for a while.”
Her eyes fly open, movements slowing as she searches my face. “As a reward for his good behavior, or you want to make sure if he doesn’t give control back, I can force him to?”
Swallowing, I nod. “Bit of both.”
After several tense seconds, she gives me a soft smile. “You don’t even need to ask in the future. I knew what I was signing up for when I marked you in the hotel; claiming every part of you.”
That’s all that the demon needs to hear, surging to the surface. Our lips are on hers in the next instant, pinning her against the wall. “And it’s time I repaid the favor.”
Maybe it’s because I’m still human, but the last time I shifted, it was like watching from a distance as an imposter was living my life, manipulating my body and leaving me without a shred of input on the matter. Not only was it a mind-fuck, the loss of control was... terrifying, and I expected this to be the same. But as I flex my fingers, Sabrina tightens around them and I feel every bit of it. Simultaneously, the hand that was cupping her cheek slides down her jaw under his command.
“Still could overrule you if I wanted,” he mentally growls, “so don’t fuck this up for me.”
The pressure under my skin intensifies, writhing beneath the surface as a reminder that he’s no longer confined. But he never takes it further than that, giving me a chance to acclimate what actually sharing a body could be like if we weren’t at war with each other.
Tilting her chin with our thumb, he forces Sabrina to look at him, at us. “Eyes on me, beautiful.” With the other hand, he thumbs her clit, pumping his fingers faster. “I want you to remember whose touch you can’t live without.”
Wetting her lips, she holds my gaze as her breathing quickens, nails biting into my shoulder as she comes, tightening around my fingers. Through every tremble that rocks through her body as she rides out her orgasm on my hand, she never looks away. Even when he brings our fingers to our lips, licking away the evidence of her pleasure and committing the taste to memory, her heated gaze stays firmly locked on ours.
“Freedom’s never tasted so sweet, angel.”
The shower head bursts off, clattering to the bottom of the tub as an onslaught of frigid water pours out of the pipe with the pressure of a firehose. Moment completely shattered, we both scramble to turn off the shower, tripping over each other in our haste. Her foot slips, swiping my leg out from under me, and only my demon’s preternatural reflexes manage to save her from a concussion. Snatching her arm and spinning, we go down hard with a wet smack, the back of my head hitting the bottom of the tub and her landing on top of me. Icy water pours down on us, too fast for the drain to keep up and I kick my foot around blindly as I sputter before finally finding the lever to shut off the water.
