It’s not painful, my body naturally welcoming him as it’s meant to. The pressure against my sensitive nerve endings is endless pleasure, the stimulation so intense every little move steals my breath.
My eyes widen, then close with a gasp of pleasure. Caden’s moving inside me, thrusting anew, yet not because his knot is locked in place.
“Are you—?”
His smoky chuckle tickles my ear. “Do you like that? I want to fuck you some more. Can’t move, so I have to get creative.”
“You’re—mm—so good at using this to tease me.”
My teeth rake my lip. Focusing is a challenge when he has me unraveling by the second from his astral command over the bond. I search for it within me, caressing the connection.
“Fuck.” A breath tears from him. “You drive me insane. I love it.”
My laughter breaks off in a moan when he makes it feel like his mouth is on my nipples at the same time while his phantom cock pounds into me. I open my mind to him and let a fantasy unfold where he has me on my knees, fucking my mouth, picturing running my tongue over his knot.
A garbled curse flies out of him and his grip on me spasms. We come together, both of us shaking with it, clinging to each other.
Caden’s lips capture mine and I hum into it happily.
33CADEN
The days pass quickly, autumn creeping into early winter. The Pack Summit will be here in another couple of weeks.
Avery spends most nights in my bed. Occasionally we end up in hers when she works late until I distract her out of her clothes, enjoying bending her over her workbench.
Waking with her scent in my nose becomes one of my favorite parts of the day. It’s drowsy and smooth. It envelops me, luring me to her. I roll on top of her, trailing kisses down the valley between her tits, making my way lower to the crease of her thigh, seeking more of her soft, sleepy arousal.
She giggles, fingers threading in my hair. “Morning.”
I hum, rubbing my cheek on her stomach. “You smell incredible.” I grind my hips against the mattress, groaning. “Shit, you make me so hard in the mornings.”
Her laughter is so sexy. She stretches, then stills.
“Did you hear that?”
I didn’t. I’m too busy tracing patterns on her thigh with my tongue, getting closer to tasting her. I want her legs wrapped around my head while I enjoy feasting on her.
She nudges me. “Go check. Someone’s coming.”
With a ragged sigh, I drag myself from my mate, grabbing the first pair of shorts I find and adjust my dick so it’s not so obvious I could carve stone with it. I wait until she’s pulled one of my sweaters over her head before opening the door. Callie’s in the hall with Beatrix, their expressions matched in mischief. Lena hovers behind them with a book tucked under her arm.
Avery’s sisters have been staying here. Beatrix moved her things into the rooms I prepared for them next to Callie’s and Lena’s migrating all her books.
“Good morning,” I say slowly. “Need something?”
Callie puts on an innocent act. “We were just coming to see if you were awake. We’re going down to the dining hall for breakfast.”
Beatrix snorts, muttering, “And making sure they didn’t miss it.”
“Bea.” Avery nudges me aside, her cheeks pink.
“What? You missed it yesterday,” she points out with a giggle.
“And the day before that.” Callie feels my forehead. “Are you eating properly? Getting enough to drink? We’re starting to worry.”
I scrub my face. “Yes. We’re—wait, no. Never mind. I’m not discussing this with you.”
It’s Avery’s turn to snort. “Thanks for checking on us and reminding us to come up for air.”
“Are you coming with us?” Lena asks.
“Yes. Go on, buttercup. We’ll meet you downstairs,” Avery says.
Our sisters leave us be. Callie peeks back with a wink before they round the corner. I like having the Alpha’s lodge full of life with our family all in one place.
“Did they just call us out?” I muse.
“They’re happy we’ve figured ourselves out.” Avery pats my chest. “Let’s go to breakfast before the whole pack starts spreading a rumor we’re caught up in a mating frenzy and start placing bets on when we have pups.”
I catch her waist with an interested rumble, nipping beneath her ear. “I like the sound of that.”
She laughs, swatting me. “Caden.”
“Mate,” I counter warmly.
I let her go for the cost of a languid kiss. We get dressed and join our sisters, walking across the commons together.
Two she-wolves come up to us. I tense at Seline’s approach, but Avery is at ease.
“Avery,” Emily calls.
She stops for them. Emily and Seline nod to me. I’m relieved when Seline shows none of her previous interest, deferring to Avery respectfully.
“What’s up?” Avery prompts.
“We just wanted to say thanks,” Seline answers. “For helping us get reassigned for our rotations and understanding why we were interested in doing different work. We start today.”
“I can’t tell you how glad I am to never look at another frying pan again,” Emily says with a laugh. “Thanks for taking us over to meet our crew to make sure no one would give us trouble, too.”
“Oh, no problem,” Avery assures them. “If you need anything else, let me know, okay?”
Avery takes my hand when she rejoins us, her high spirits infectious. It fills me with pride to see people coming to her as their Alpha female.
She gave me the confirmation I searched for that the females in Cormac’s brood are being mistreated. Sylvie shut down when we offered her help, denying any trouble with her mate.
We had better luck intervening to help Nina and her pup get away from Trent when she agreed she was interested in dissolving their arranged mating. We moved her in with Alma for the time being, and Trent’s under watch by my lieutenants after kicking up a fuss, threatening to drag his female back to their den by her hair. I dragged him by his hair to the commons, then kicked his ass until he submitted and spent the night in a holding cell.
I usher my family to the head table in the dining hall. Hodge makes room for Lena, pouring juice for her. I cast a watchful eye at Cormac’s table, making sure he’s remaining in line. There have been less frequent incidents since I stripped Lorne’s rank. I’m hoping it’s the last of it.
More females come up to our table to talk to Avery throughout breakfast. She listens to each of them, offering her advice or promising her help.
“Sorry to interrupt you while you’re eating,” a young Farrows girl says. “I tried to reach you at the healer’s cabin, but you’d left for the day.”
“It’s okay.” Avery sets aside her plate. “What do you need?”
I fill it while they talk, making sure she gets a choice cut of ham before the enforcers at the table pick at the steaming platter.
“I’m worried about my dam,” the girl explains. “She works in carpentry and says her arm is bothering her. She swears it’ll heal if she leaves it alone, but her appetite’s not right.”
“Your cabin’s on the lower loop, right? Okay, I’ll come by tomorrow to see her.”
The girl’s smile breaks free in relief. “That’s great. Thank you.”
“You’re a natural at this,” I praise once she returns to a table at the back.
Avery blushes. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve taken your place as Alpha female. You care for the females. You give them all a voice and make sure none are overlooked. Liam and Hodge told me you organized a class on identifying poisonous plants.”