Wolf Rising (Beta Wolf Academy Book 4), page 4
I lifted my eyes to meet Dalia’s gaze.
“What’s wrong with me?” I asked, feeling broken all over again. “What am I?”
Dalia leaned forward, pressing her fingers to her mouth, and studied me for a long moment.
“Truthfully, Lexi, I’m not entirely certain. I’m aware of the scans that Dr. Daniels performed, both before and during the abduction. I’d like to work with him and with all of you to see if we can figure out the psychological and physiological changes happening in you.” She tapped her fingers against her lips. “I can say one thing for sure, though. You’re not a natural born Alpha. No, you’re something else entirely.”
A chill raced up my spine and turned my stomach sour.
That was what I was afraid of.
CHAPTER 5
The next morning, I woke, alone in my bed, and stared up at the ceiling.
I’d needed a little bit of alone time the night before, which had just caused more concern on Dimitri, Chase, and Lucian's faces. But that was why we’d decided on a four-bedroom apartment, so we could each retreat into our feelings if we needed to.
This was one of those times. Although, I couldn't help think that I'd be in hell of a lot better mood now if I'd let one, two, or all three of them fuck me senseless last night.
It was a new day, though. The scent of hazelnut coffee wafted through the air, along with the sound of someone working in the kitchen.
This place was soundproofed and just shy of perfect, but nothing beat wolf senses.
I rolled out of bed, hissing when my bare feet hit the cold floor, and made a mental note to buy an enormous floor rug so that never happened again. My slippers were half under the bed, so I knelt down and fished them out, and sighed in relief as they warmed my frozen toes.
I took a quick shower with my stomach growling in appreciation for the bacon scent that had now joined the coffee, then avoided looking too closely at my reflection in the mirror, since I'd had a rough night. I left my hair damp and loose around my shoulders and my face bare because my stomach couldn't take the wait any longer.
The full impact of bacon and coffee hit me the moment I opened my bedroom door, along with the familiar and stirring scents of my mates, each freshly out of the shower.
“Coffee,” I moaned, like a zombie, chasing brains.
Chase grinned, reached behind him into a cupboard, and pulled out a supersized mug he’d bought as a novelty gift for our first day in the apartment. It was big enough to take half a pot of coffee with room for cream and sugar, just how I liked it, and revealed a cute sugar skull as the liquid was drunk.
I grinned at him, lifted onto my toes, and pressed my lips to his cheek.
"Thanks, honey," I said in a singsong voice, then hip checked him out of the way to get the coffee pot.
The first taste of hazelnut caffeine on my tongue made me moan, which garnered the attention of all three of my mates. Their eyes lit with carnal ideas that made my cheeks flare with heat and my core turn molten.
"Down, boys," I murmured, before taking another sip. "That bacon is calling my name."
"I can think of several ways to use the bacon—" Chase began.
I arched an eyebrow at him, trying to imagine just what he could do with a plate of bacon with my naked body splayed across the counter.
I shook my head and cleared my throat loudly, overcome with heat.
"As enticing as that offer is," I said, regrettably, "I kind of have plans in forty-five minutes, so maybe we tuck that little idea away for a rainy day."
Dimitri lifted his hips from the barstool he was sitting on and adjusted the bulge in his pants and frowned. "I wonder how long it'll feel like this, that constant need to bend you over a table and just pound my cock into you."
I choked on the sip of coffee I'd taken and had to set my mug down on the counter to find my breath. When I stopped choking, I huffed out a breath and glared at him.
"Low blow, comrade," I said, laughing at the glint of sexual frustration and humor in his dark eyes. To make it up to him, or, maybe, to make it worse, I strolled across the kitchen, wrapped my arms around his neck, and leaned up to seal my lips to his.
He tasted like bacon and hazelnuts, and heat spread throughout my entire body as his tongue traced my lips then delved inside my mouth.
I luxuriated in the kiss, sinking my fingers into his thick hair and tugging his head back to expose his throat. Sexual tension ratcheted up, too hot and bold to be ignored.
I glanced over at the clock on the wall. I would be late if I gave into the temptation all around me. I didn’t want to be late to my appointment with Dalia but…
Fuck it. I licked my tongue up Dimitri's throat.
His growl reverberated through my body, chasing away any hesitation. Then he grasped my waist and lifted me, setting me on the edge of the island counter, and my entire world focused on just this moment, just my mates.
Chase and Lucian moved in, surrounding me with hard bodies and eager minds. Bacon and coffee were forgotten entirely as hands and mouths reached for me.
Clothes were ripped from bodies with heavy breathing and growls replaced the soft laughter and easy teasing. I arched into Lucian's mouth when his teeth closed over one of my nipples, bringing pain and pleasure in equal amounts.
Dimitri grasped the back of my neck, pulling me up for another kiss, then lowered me, naked and panting, back onto the granite. His hand migrated to the front of my throat and splayed wide, possessively.
Something about his hand on my throat made me shudder with a wild excitement, so I pressed into his palm, not knowing really what I was doing.
Excited groans broke from Dimitri and Chase's mouths, and I opened my eyes to see them watching me with dark lust.
A smile, feline and daring, broke from my lips, as I realized what was exciting them.
Apparently, Dimitri had a few kinks of his own.
I pushed further into his grasp, feeling the compression against my throat, and the way it limited my breath.
My mind went light and fuzzy, and my body heavy with pleasure.
I stared straight into Dimitri's dark eyes, licked my lips, and whispered "I trust you."
He shuddered out a ragged breath, then slowly and carefully tightened his grip on my throat as Chase spread my legs and lowered his mouth to my throbbing clit.
I gasped at the sensation of Chase's hot tongue sliding around my heated core, but Dimitri's hand stopped oxygen from pouring into my lungs.
My eyes widened, as I tried to pull in breath, and I panicked for a split second, then my gaze met Dimitri's and I relaxed into the sensation.
It was like floating on a cloud, a very sexy, delicious cloud. My hips thrust forward, begging for more.
Fingers slid inside me, filling me, stroking insistently as sensations built, quicker than normal, making my mind and body spike with rolling waves of pleasure.
I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't do anything but submit to the exquisite torture as they worshipped me.
When I came, the earth moved and my mind fragmented. I shivered and twitched as an orgasm rolled through me and my mates eased off to stroke me through my release.
When I could move again, I opened one eye and caught sight of Chase lazily chewing on a slice of bacon. He broke off a small piece and slipped it between my parted lips.
I moaned, happy with my bacon and recent orgasm.
Lucian took my hands and pulled me up, then leaned in to capture my lips.
“You taste delicious,” he murmured, then laughed when my stomach gurgled loudly. Ever the gentleman, he reached for two slices of bacon and handed me one, then lifted me gently down from the countertop.
“We should probably disinfect that,” I mused, chewing on my bacon and waving my hand towards the counter.
“We should probably disinfect a lot of places,” Chase said with a shrug. He bent over, got a bottle of cleaning spray and a cloth from beneath the sink, and wiped the counter while I dressed and snagged another slice of bacon.
“Thanks, honey,” I said in a sing-song voice when he was done, then slapped his ass for good measure.
It was such a good ass, maybe we could just—
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the time. “Shit, I’m supposed to meet Dalia in twenty minutes now and I smell like sex.”
I pulled a plate down and threw together a hasty breakfast sandwich while trying to figure out if I should text to let her know I’d be late.
“You’re meeting Dalia?” Lucian asked, eyebrows raised.
I realized I hadn’t told them about the text Dalia had sent last night or my agonized decision to meet with her, just to talk.
“Yeah,” I said, nodding slowly. “Sorry. I—”
“No.” Lucian waved a hand. “Don’t apologize. I’m glad you’re going to talk with her. I know you’re not sure about all this...”
“Besides, you don’t need to tell us everything you do,” Chase said, pouring more coffee into his mug. “Right?”
He looked from face to face for confirmation.
“That’s okay, right?” he asked again.
I nodded, relieved they weren’t upset.
“She texted me last night after I was in bed. You guys were watching the basketball game and I was in a bit of a mood,” I said.
“Lexi, it’s cool. We made plans to play basketball soon and didn’t tell you.” Chase’s forehead creased. “Were we supposed to? Do you want to come?”
He looked so uncertain and cute, it made me smile.
I shook my head. “One more thing we need to figure out, I guess,” I said. “I’m cool just popping whatever I’m doing in our group chat. Big things like appointments or whatever, I’ll write on the calendar.”
I pointed to the large calendar stuck to the fridge with nothing written on it yet.
Dimitri nodded. “That sounds fair. I like knowing where you’ll be,” he said. “In a non-creepy way, of course.”
“Of course,” I said grinning, then grimaced as I glanced at the clock again. “Shit. Stop distracting me. I have to go shower the sex off.”
“I’m sure she’s had sex before, Lexi,” Dimitri said with a shake of his head. His eyes glittered with amusement and remaining desire.
I swallowed a bite and pointed at him. “Yeah, but what are the chances she’s had sex with three people at once, big shot?”
Dimitri nodded in defeat. “Probably not as good as yours.”
He let his gaze lower from my face, over my throat, and down to where it stopped between my legs.
“Stop it,” I muttered, going hot again. “I’m already going to be late.”
He just lifted his eyes to mine and smoldered harder. My breath caught in my chest.
“Raincheck,” I murmured, backing away slowly, taking my sandwich and the cup of coffee I’d abandoned for an orgasm.
Dimitri growled and lunged.
I ran, squealing with laughter, to my room to take another quick shower and get out before I was preyed upon by three sexy beasts once more.
But as the happy aftershocks wore off, the nerves began to set in. I’d agreed to meet with Dalia, just to talk, but deep down, I knew this was step one to a lot of soul searching and dark revelations.
I’d put the work in with Dr. Bennett. I’d put my shattered pieces back together.
I ran a hand over the fogged-up mirror and forced a smile onto my face to hide the damage peeking through my eyes.
I’d done it once. I can do it again.
Even if it hurt.
CHAPTER 6
When I arrived, Dalia was sitting on a chair on the deck outside her chalet sipping coffee from a steaming mug.
“I didn’t know how you like it,” she said, lifting an insulated mug from the table beside her. “So it’s just black, but it’s a good blend.”
She offered me the mug and gestured to the only other chair, which had been swept clean of snow.
I sank down and took a sip of the steaming coffee.
“It’s good, thanks,” I said, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
“Sorry for getting you up on a weekend,” she said, smiling over at me. “I’m sure you had much more exciting things you could have been doing?”
Her lips tugged up at one corner.
I hid the blush that rose to my cheeks behind the mug. She had a much better sense of smell than I’d expected but then again, she’d been in the apartment the night before. Our scents were all over it… literally.
Feeling edgy despite my earlier release, I shifted in the chair, took another sip of coffee, then cleared my throat and asked the questions pressing on my mind. “Why did Sylvie send you? What did she say?”
Dalia glanced at me and smiled, then sipped from her cup. “I know you’re anxious, especially at my being here, but can we just take a moment to enjoy the coffee before we get into it? I’ve been traveling for what seems like eons, and I just need a moment to enjoy.”
I forced the nerves dancing wildly in my abdomen to settle down and sat back, fairly confident this woman wasn’t one to be pushed around. Silence spread between us, awkward as fuck.
“Where were you traveling from?” I asked, needing to fill the quiet with something.
“Russia. I’m due for a week on the beach but first…” She reached into a pocket and pulled out her cell phone. “This is my newest grandbaby, Ember.”
She held up the phone, which featured an adorable baby dressed in a little bunny outfit. Tufts of black hair framed her tiny face and big brown eyes.
“I need to go spend some quality grandma time with her and my other babies before I head off to a beach.”
“She’s beautiful.” I sighed, surprised by the tug of awareness my heart gave at the sight of the sweet infant. I pushed that feeling down and away, too. I was far too young to succumb to my biological clock. Babies were a conversation for later down the road… much later.
“That’s Daphne’s daughter?” I asked, remembering the beautiful Mi’kmaq woman Katherine and Rose considered a sister.
Dalia nodded. “Yes, Daphne and my son, Keme. She’s their first little one and my first grandchild born that I’ve been able to see and hold.”
She swallowed and looked down into her near empty cup of coffee.
“I didn’t understand what was happening to me when my natural born Alpha powers started to emerge,” she said quietly. “So, I wasn’t prepared for the surges in strength and emotion that came with it.”
She ran a fingertip over the condensation. “I lost myself, who I was as a woman, as a wife and mother. She disappeared beneath the rage and confusion and I…”
She trailed off and glanced away.
I focused all my attention on my coffee and waited in silence for her to compose herself.
“My children thought I was a monster. Jacob, my husband,” she said, as if I didn’t know who the co-Alpha of Canada was, “he saw me becoming a different person and tried to help but he had no idea what was causing my escalations. He protected our children from me, for which I’ll always be grateful, and told me to leave.”
She smiled sadly. “I left, angry and confused, and wandered, talking to every elder I found, until one recognized what I was saying and pointed me in the right direction.”
Fascinated despite myself, I cocked my head to the side and studied her. She was a beautiful woman, all long lines and graceful curves with the same dark hair the baby would have. She didn’t seem big or strong enough to have enough power to be considered a monster, yet I’d felt her power, just the tip of it, and it had been awe inspiring.
“In all your travels,” I started, swallowing my nerves, “have you ever encountered anyone like me? Like my mates and I?”
Dalia exhaled slowly. “No, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t others like you. It just means I found what I was looking for.” She smiled softly. “I know you’re all going through a lot right now, trying to figure out why you’re different, how you’re different, but it’s nice, seeing you four together. You’re…”
she waved a hand in the air.
“A team?” I said, finishing her sentiment.
When Dalia nodded, warmth blossomed in my chest. I hugged the feeling tight and siphoned courage from that bond.
“I’m sure you know my background,” I said with a small shrug.
Daphne and Keme had been among those who’d set me and the other girls free from captivity. Even though I didn’t know them personally, I would always be appreciative of that.
“What we went through—how we were created…” I swallowed back feelings of inadequacy, which I’d been struggling to overcome for as long as I could remember.
Dalia nodded. “I do.”
I stared down into my coffee cup. “When I first met them, without even knowing they were best friends, I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe my reaction to each of them, to them when we’re all together, was maybe…”
Dalia shifted forward and frowned slightly.
“That it was something Raphael did to you in the lab?” she guessed.
I stared harder into my coffee, as if it would answer for me, then looked up and met her tender gaze. “Yeah.”
My confession hung in the air between us, existing outside my mind for the first time. It was a relief to say it out loud, to just dump it at someone else’s feet. Still, my stomach twisted into knots the longer the silence stretched.
“Fate is a fickle bitch,” Dalia said, finally.
I looked up in surprise.
“I like to think of her as female,” she said with a grin.
I arched an eyebrow, understanding.
“My life was perfect,” Dalia continued. “Beautiful children, a wonderful husband, people who loved and supported me. Then my powers began to manifest and, boom, my life as I knew it was over. I had to figure out a new path.”
She toyed with the handle of her mug.
“Fate decided that I had a different destiny than the one I’d always seen in my heart and soul. It led me into darkness and terrible despair, but…” She looked up and shrugged. “I made it through to the other side. Not alone—it literally took a village to help me regain control—but the journey taught me so much. It helped me grow as a person and put me in the position to help others like me.”
