Текст книги "Breeding Cycle"

Автор книги: T. A. Grey

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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 9 страниц)

Chapter 20

"God, I can't believe we finally made it here." Sarina sighed and tried to roll the painful knot in her neck away. After making their way back to her father’s cabin, they hid Alison's car off the road in the tree line. Hopefully no one would notice it. Sarina knew that her father's men would be looking for her, and she knew they would look for her at Vane's, but the longer she held them off her trail, the better.

Sarina and Alison trekked through the forest. Sarina didn't honestly know which way he lived, but she found a large footprint facing north and decided to try that way. If she'd come sooner, then she might have still been able to track his scent. And he smelled so good, too, like new earth and sweaty man.

Some hours later, Alison groaned next to her. "Are we there yet? My legs feel like jello."

Sarina laughed at her friend, her first real, free laugh since the whole ordeal started. It felt good, like a light was turned on inside her. "I know mine do too. But, I think we're close. I can smell it."

Alison tipped her face to the side and sniffed at the air delicately as if she was afraid she might smell something bad. "Yeah, I suppose. I smell lykaens. I guess any lykaen not working for your father or Prince Asshole would be nice. Maybe they could spare some food, too. I'm starving."

Sarina's smile faltered at the reminder of the prince. "It wasn’t your fault, Ali. None of it.”

Alison nodded quickly and looked away. The prince had really done a number on her. Her face had been so swollen after the beating he gave her it looked like a baseball was sitting on her eye.

"It was never your fault. I never even saw it coming and it’s my job to watch for assholes like him. He was just that good, Alison. I just want you to know that I love you, Ali, and I'd listen to your most gruesome tales if it would alleviate the pain."

"I know." Alison gasped and pointed excitedly at something in the distance. "Lights! I see lights. Yes! It's civilization. Let's go!" She sprinted off towards the light and Sarina followed.

It didn't take long before they broke through the dewy tree line and stood beside a cabin. The cabin wasn't nearly as large as the one her father owned, but it was a sturdy two story that looked exactly like the kind of home Vane would have. Rustic, masculine, simple.

She stopped in her tracks, surprised at her line of thinking. I've never thought poorly against father, yet in the last week, I've wished more harmful things on him than I have anyone. A part of her felt a sharp pang of guilt at disobeying her father, but another, lighter side, surged with bright happiness.

"Let's see who lives here. If we're lucky, it's your man. Can you smell him?" Alison walked along the side of the house, jumping to try to peer into the windows. She cursed her short height.

Sarina closed her eyes and gently awakened her beast, when she opened her eyes, she could smell everything. She inhaled and brought in a variety of scents and odors, the fresh smell of grass and trees blended with the wood of the cabin. The beast inside her inhaled for her, scenting a female and several males, and there underneath those scents was earthy, delicious male.

"Vane!" Sarina sprinted around the house and up the stairs to the front door, her fist banging rapidly on the door. "Vane!” She didn’t care that she was screaming. "Vane it's me!" She heard movement in the house and her stomach tightened with anticipation, her breath fell in bursts.

A moment later, the door opened to reveal a beautiful woman with chin-length hair and bangs. Sarina's heart plummeted to the floor like a brick. She stumbled back in disbelief. Hurt like she’d never felt before ripped through her heart.

The woman started forward, her hand raised, but Alison saved her. "Don't touch her!" The woman glared at her but didn't move any further.

The woman ground her teeth before speaking in a voice so husky, so sexy it hurt to hear. "I'm Vera Kategan. Vane's sister." Like soothing aloe on a burn, her words alleviated her bloody heart piece by piece.

"Oh.” God she felt dumb.

The woman lips curled into a half smile. "Come on in. Sarina is it?" At Sarina's nod, she stepped aside and waved them in.

At Sarina's questioning gaze, Vera faltered for a moment. "Oh, right, Vane. Well, he's in jail right now. Don't worry though; he shouldn't be in there too long. The charges were all, well mostly, bogus anyways. The pack lawyer is taking care of it. He's supposed to call me with news of any changes. You girls look like a hot mess. Where'd you come from anyways?" She looked around as if searching for a car.

Sarina grimaced and took a seat in front of a brick fireplace. The fire wasn't lit, but there were logs in the hearth and it smelled nice and woodsy. "I escaped from my father. He was going to marry me off to Prince Asshole—I mean Prince Conlin—on Saturday. He wouldn't allow me to see Vane. Why is he in jail? What happened?"

The woman arched a shapely eyebrow. "Your own father was going to what? Trade you, sell you?"

Sarina nodded. “Sell me. This whole thing is so crazy. I've never seen my father like this. It's as though whatever string that held me to him has snapped.” A sudden thought hit her. She had seen him like this once before. When she was twelve. The only other time she’d seen that murderous look in his eyes, towards her mother.

Vera looked contemplative then her eyes widened. "Prince Conlin, isn't he that woman-abusing piece of shit?" Sarina nodded. "I would love to take a piece out of his skin. To think that he's survived pack law. I don't know how he does it really, even with his power. With all the girls he's supposedly beaten, even if only one of them is true it should be enough to carry out pack justice."

Sarina looked sharply at Vera and cleared her throat delicately. Then turned to find her friend's face flushed red.

"Alison?"

"No, it’s fine. I dated Conlin two years ago. I thought he was so handsome. He is really, that can't be denied. We got alone really well. He made me feel so beautiful. A little bit into our relationship, he started getting weird. When I tried to break up with him, he attacked me." She laughed but the sound was bitter and hoarse.

"What's wrong with your voice?"

Sarina chuckled and retold the story of their escape including the two strange men who came in at the last second. "Wait, wait, wait. What did these men look like? Did one of them have short, black hair and the other long, blonde hair probably in a ponytail?"

"Actually, yes," Sarina’s eyes widened with surprise. Vera leaned back in her chair and crossed legs.

"Those are my brothers, Roman and Darien. I must say, I'm not surprised to hear they were out there. Vane probably ordered them to keep watch over you once he went to jail. Good thinking, too. No offense, but I'd like to spend five minutes alone with your father with nothing but a baseball bat. Don't look so surprised, I'm the vicious type, what can I say?"

The phone shrilled and Vera jumped up to get it. "Hello? Oh yeah, well, I might have some good news for you then." She winked at Sarina. "I have your girl here. Uh oh, he hung up. I guess he's on his way then." Her laugh sounded more naughty than good.

Sarina looked down at her dirty clothes. Even her shirt was torn in several places where some nasty bushes got her, and her hair was a crazy mess.

"Do you think I could use the shower?"

"Of course. Besides, this place is more yours than mine anyways." At Sarina's questioning look, Vera rolled her eyes, somehow managing to look elegant while doing it. "You're Vane's old lady now, and this is his place. I was just waiting for the call in case they needed something else. There's a shower in Vane's bedroom. Go up the stairs and it's the first door on the right. There's a spare, if you'd like to clean up too, Alison. It's straight back on the left."

Sarina was already scooting towards the stairs. "That would be wonderful, thank you." She and Alison made a dash for the bathrooms.

"By the way, if there's no conditioner or clean towels then it's not my fault!" Vera shouted.

Chapter 21

Sarina rinsed the last of the shampoo out of her hair. Vera was right. Vane didn't have any conditioner, though she couldn't say she was surprised. How the man managed to have such silky soft hair without it was a mystery she planned to find out. Her hands trembled slightly and she squeezed her hair under the hot spray of water.

       God, she was so nervous, which was crazy. She wanted to see him so badly, but her body didn't care. Her stomach was tight and twisted with nerves and her heart refused to slow down. She felt like she did at her first job interview—excited and nervous.

A part of her wondered if he'd still be attracted to her without her breeding cycle. She whacked her head against the shower wall, hating herself and her doubt. It was stupid, she knew that, but it wouldn't go away. What if the pheromones made him say he wanted to bond with her? What if their beasts weren't meant for each other?

But I feel it too, remember? And she did feel it, as strongly as a magnet to a steel bar. The pull to him was inexorable, inescapable, and intoxicating.

His hands made her burn hotter than her darkest fantasy; his mouth made her wetter than any of her own foreplay ever did, and his eyes made her tremble with their sincerity and passion. There were no lies in his eyes, no half-truths, or dismissals like in her father’s. He was just Vane.

The bathroom door opened and shut, breaking her out of her thoughts. She wrapped her arm around her chest and reached for the curtain. Then she smelled him. Vane. She couldn't get to him fast enough. She half tore the curtain in her haste. He stood there in flesh and blood, all real, and just as handsome as she remembered. They simply stared at each other, drinking each other in like they were dying of thirst.

"Vane!" She leapt on to him. He caught her easily, wrapping her legs around him. They exploded at each other in hot, open-mouth kisses. Two lost lovers reunited. She pressed kisses over his face, and his hands touched her everywhere he could reach. Neither of them cared that she was drenching his clothes. Their lips caught and held each other on muffled groans. Their tongues slid wetly, thrusting and sucking as soft hands traced muscles and strong hands cupped curves.

He broke away from her mouth first and buried his head in her neck, breathing deeply then scattering hot kisses down her neck, across her lips. "Sarina, Sarina, Sarina. God, I missed you, lumara."

The lykaen term for bonding mate nearly melted her heart right there on the floor. His heartfelt words broke something inside her and made her hold him tighter to her. His ravenous mouth made a pass down her chest, found her hard, pink nipple, and sucked it into his mouth on a grunt. Sarina clasped his head to her as a hot bolt of pleasure shot straight to her core making her wet and achy. He grabbed her bottom and lifted her against the unmistakable hard length of his cock.

"Oh God!" Her head fell back as he ground himself into her heat and switched breasts to pay tribute to both nipples. "Don't stop," she panted, liquid heat filling her body.

He groaned part pain, part pleasure against her breast then pulled back to latch on to the skin at her neck. Her hips rocked, and she knew he was leaving his mark on her. Just that thought had her pussy wet with cream.

A whirl of motion, then her back was pressed against the shower wall again. Dazedly, she realized that they were back in the shower. A hand cupped her breast and squeezed as his mouth found hers again. He licked the bow of her lip then pushed his tongue inside to taste her. She felt an answering pulse deep inside her.

"I need you." His voice was hoarse and raspy, barely heard above the spray of the shower. She nodded quickly and helped him to lift his shirt up and over his head. She didn't waste any time in touching him. She spread her hands across the strong, muscled wall of his chest and relearned his body, but when she her fingers tickled above the band of his jeans he caught her hand and pushed it above her head.

"No, no time for that. I need you now, or I'm going to explode."

Vane dropped her legs to the floor and shucked his jeans down his long legs. The wet denim stuck to his legs like a glove, he cursed viciously and worked it down enough to free his cock and thighs. Picking her up again, he took her breast into his mouth like a starving man. He teased the bud at the end, biting and sucking, licking then rubbing his lips across it. "God, I love your breasts."

Glad you approve, Sarina wanted to say, but as she opened her mouth, the only thing that came out was a moan. His hand trailed over her stomach and curled over her sex. They groaned together at the sensation. He slid his fingers through her wet, soft flesh, swirled a finger over her swollen clit, then dipped inside her tight cunt.

"Fuck, you are so ready for me. Hold on to me baby, I can't wait any longer." His impatience spurred on her own excitement. She wrapped her arms around his neck and locked her ankles around his thick thighs.

He leaned into her, found her lips again as his cock prodded her hot entrance, then he opened his eyes to meet her glazed expression and drove into her. They cried out together, the tight, gripping, full, and hard sensations overwhelming.

 Vane wanted to hold still, to let her adjust, she was still practically a virgin, but he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop his hips from pulling back so only the tip of his cock hung inside her before driving back again. Over and over again. He couldn't keep that up for long, her channel was creamy and fist-tight, her moans and soft gasps in his ear were doing crazy things to him. His balls were drawn up so tight it was a wonder he didn't come on the first thrust.

"Ahh! Don't stop!" she cried, and gripped the strong muscles of his back with her nails and clung to his powerful body.

Her words seemed to snap his control. He gathered her closer and thrust in hard, full thrusts. He was building her up higher, towards an unreachable peak. He pulled back before slamming back in again in a hammering, rhythmic pattern that had her squealing sexy little moans in his ear.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh!" She moaned as her orgasm quickly escalated. Her muscles quivered and tightened, preparing for the onslaught that was to come. Her skin drew up tight and her womb trembled, needing only a few more strokes to toss her over into the abyss.

Vane saw the look on her face and nearly came. He squeezed has thighs and ass hard to keep from shooting his load just then. God, why did she have to sound so sexy? He gave her what she wanted, what she needed and plunged deeper, harder, faster. Her face grew red, her cries louder and higher, until finally he slammed in and she burst apart like a firework. She screamed his name as her sex seized over his cock, gripping and pulling him, stroking his own orgasm from him.

"Mine," he growled and thrust one more time. Her muscles worked him, and he sprayed his hot cum into her channel for long, endless moments.

They fell against the shower wall together fighting to catch their breaths. Sarina tightened her arms around him, hugging him close. For the first time since she could remember, she felt good, really good. Life wasn’t perfect yet—her father was going to be furious she escaped and the Prince maybe even more so. But with Vane at her side, they seemed like such simple problems.

A hard knock sounded at the door. Sarina jumped.

Vane growled in frustration. "What?"

"You've had enough time alone. We need you both downstairs." Vane wanted to strangle his sister in that moment, even though he knew she was right. The last thing he wanted was to break away from Sarina's perfect, luscious body and have a serious discussion with his family over his mate’s crazy father.

"Coming," he yelled through the door.

"Yeah, we all heard that." Vera’s snicker could be heard through the door.

Sarina burst out laughing at Vane's serious expression. She laughed until his lips twitched and they were laughing together.

"They can hear it, but that's about as much of you as I'm willing to share, lumara."

"Ditto, luma."

Chapter 22

It didn't take them long to get dressed and return back downstairs hand in hand. At the sight of the Kategan family together, it was quite apparent they were related. They each had thick hair, dark eyebrows, high cheekbones, and the same tan skin. Vane and Sarina took a seat together.

"All right, Vane's already told us what's been happening. What we need to know next is when the marriage is set for?" It was the same man who’d yelled at them to go back at her father’s house. He had dirty blonde hair, mix of dark brown and blonde.

Sarina cleared her throat and looked at Vane. "Tomorrow."

"God dammit," cursed the other brother with dark, shorter hair. She recognized him too from her escape. He kept to the shadowy corner. She reminded herself to thank them both later for all their help. "That doesn't give us a lot of time."

Just then, the sound of a door opening had everyone turning to see Alison coming down the hallway. With her wet hair slicked back, her skin reddened from the shower, and her glasses perched on her nose, she looked fresh and very feminine. She made a quick glance at the blonde brother then quickly scooted to sit in a seat furthest from him. Sarina saw the blonde brother frown.

"Sorry I'm late." Alison looked better, but her voice was still just as wretched. Everyone in the room winced.

Vane spoke up. "I have some tea. Vera would you mind?" She rolled her eyes dramatically, somehow making the action look sophisticated and strolled into the kitchen. Bringing Sarina's hand to his thigh he continued, "Actually, I don't think you've formally met my brothers. This is Darien," he said, nodding to the dark-haired man, "and the one with the smirk is Roman, but everyone just calls him Rome."

They each exchanged hellos and nods. "And who is this?" Rome asked nodding towards Alison who looked like she was ready to bolt.

"This is Alison Bennson, a good friend of mine. Sorry her voice is hoarse, she sacrificed it to aid in my escape" Sarina smiled at her friend.

Rome came forward and held his big hand out to Alison. She blushed. For a moment, she didn't move and Rome looked curiously at her, but then she clasped his hand quickly and released it as if it burned. He tilted his head at her.

"Nice to meet you." She didn't reply, just nodded, and squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.

Sarina was dying to know what her friend thought of Vane’s brother. She hadn’t seen Alison blush at a man in years.

"Now then,” Vane continued, “back to business. The only way to negate the Prince's marriage contract is to perform the mating ritual on the next full moon."

"Which is tomorrow," said Rome.

Sarina's gut clenched in worry. Perform the mating ritual with Vane? Bind her to him permanently and be his Queen? The idea both thrilled and scared the crap out of her. She looked at his handsome face and couldn't help but wonder does he really want me? The breeding cycle exerts a tremendous amount of hormones to both the female and males in the vicinity. What if what he felt was just that? But then why did he just plaster me to the shower wall like was trying to get to it through her?

"That's what we’ll do. We wanted to bond together anyways."

"We do?" Sarina asked quietly, her voice bringing all the heads in the room to hers.

"You don't wish to bond with me, Sarina?" Something dark grew in Vane's eyes.

Hers flicked nervously to the other faces in the room. "I don't know. I mean I do, I was just wondering...um, that is, if you only felt for me because I was in my breeding cycle. I wouldn't want you to be shackled with an unwanted mate for the rest of your life."

He laughed. He actually laughed at her! Sarina frowned, and he snatched her up too fast to stop him. But then he she was in his lap and he was kissing her with long, drugging kisses.

"Sarina, I love you, lumara. Of course it wasn't just the breeding cycle. Besides, I have been around other women's cycles before and never have I felt for them what I do you. I told you, we didn’t meet by coincidence. You will be my Queen, and you will be a wonderful."

"Say it again," she said, her eyes soft and round. "Say you love me again."

He smiled widely at her, a dimple popping up in his right cheek. "I love you, Sarina. I would be the happiest, proudest Alpha if you’d mate with me."

"Yes, yes, yes! I love you." She flung her arms around his neck and pressed kisses all over his face.

Vane groaned at her teasing lips, at her words, at her soft body sitting on his. He wanted nothing more than to pull her clothes off and sit her back on top of his hard dick. Something or someone coughed not too delicately, another cleared their throat.

"Well, I for one, am not going to sit here watch my brother get naked," Vera said and handed a hot cup of tea to Alison.

"Amen to that." Darien scowled. Sarina laughed, a blush reddening her cheeks.

"We must do it tomorrow," Vane said.

"But what if her father and Prince Conlin show up?" asked Rome.

"We'll invite the Justicars," suggested Darien.

Vane thought about it. "That’s not a bad idea. Then the Prince's contract will be void by the new mating ceremony and the Justicars will be there to see the proof of bonding. He won’t be able to argue he was wronged."

"You guys alert the pack that there will be a great celebration tomorrow," Vane said to his family. "And now, I need you all to leave. I need some time with my soon-to-be Queen."

Sarina tugged on his arm. "Wait, can Alison stay here? Her car is parked off in the woods back near my father's cabin. It’s too far to walk now."

Rome crossed his arms across his chest and grinned. "She can stay with me." Vera rolled her eyes. "What? I won't bite—unless she begs."

Vera turned her back on her brother. "If you want, you can stay the night with me, or I can drive you home if you don't live too far,"

"Thank you. If you really don't mind, I'll stay with you. That's easier than me having to drive all the way back here again for the ceremony tomorrow," Alison croaked.

"Sure thing, but I have rules. No spooning and you fix your own damn food." Alison grinned and they shook on it.

"Everything's settled then. At the full moon tomorrow we'll celebrate our new Queen," said Vane. The others turned to look at Sarina with varying expressions of acceptance and happiness. A feeling of honor filled her heart and soul. Tears formed in her eyes, but she didn't mind. As everyone said their goodbyes and filed out of the house, Sarina cuddled into her man, her Alpha with a contended sigh.

This was what she'd always dreamt of.