And then she started shaking. Fuck.
Her sweet sex squeezed him as she started coming. Draven couldn’t hide his shock, nor could he hold back any longer.
With a harsh curse, he squeezed her hips and started thrusting. She was wet before but now her fresh honey coated him, making it even easier for him to glide through her tight, tight muscles.
Draven struck her neck again as he pushed into her. She cried out and wrapped her legs around him. Her blood went down his throat, fueling him, feeding him as her sweet channel gripped him tightly. Draven couldn’t stop himself. He’d never come so quickly in all his life. He thrust into her three more times before he hit deep on a groan. She held him close as he shot himself inside her, giving her every drop he had.
Reality slowly came crashing in. He started to pull himself away from her, but she held him close, her lips lazily kissing the side of his mouth, then full on the lips.
His cock softened inside her but her muscles twitched and squeezed him, making him full and hard again.
“Lucinda,” he warned.
She opened her eyes and smiled at him, the smile of a woman. Then she kissed him and he lost himself in her.
Chapter 18
More than a dozen pack members congregated around Willow and Lyonis as they made plans for the Winter Festival. Everything had been going smoothly until Amy showed up. Willow might think the woman had some nerve barging to the front of the pack and standing a little too close to Lyonis, but then she’d have to care about something like that. Which she didn’t. Much.
“I think the big question is should we even have the festival with Stephanie missin’?” Willow recognized the voice as the nice old bartender from The Wolf’s Den.
Extreme guilt swept over her. She searched the faces of the pack around her and saw they were stern with consternation and worry. Did they know that Stephanie was gone because of she and her sisters? That it was all her fault. A part of her wanted to voice her thoughts just to see their righteous anger aimed at her. Maybe if they laid into her about it she wouldn’t feel so bad.
Lyonis nodded to the crowd. “I think we should continue with the festival. Whoever or whatever has taken Stephanie might have done so to kill our spirits. We won’t let that happen.” Willow wasn’t the only one who heard the utter conviction in his voice.
“And should we expect to have a mating announcement then?” Amy said coldly. Willow glared at her then mentally flipped her off with both hands. The picture cheered her up so much she grinned at the woman. See, she really was getting better at controlling her anger.
It wasn’t until Lyonis wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into him that she realized she was referring to their mating.
“I’m still working on that,” he said with a smile. Everyone in the crowd chuckled—but Amy. Willow couldn’t help it; she had a silly smile on her face. Something about making that woman mad just made her feel infinitely better.
As the pack started to break away, Amy stepped forward and said, “If she doesn’t mate with you at the Winter Festival then I’m challenging her to rights.” The whole pack stopped and turned with stunned expressions on their faces. Before Willow had a chance to ask what that was, Lyonis marched up to Amy. Willow flinched; the sight of the Alpha mad always made her feel peculiar like she wanted to calm him.
“What was that?” Willow nervously looked around for anyone to clue her in on what rights were and why it had him so upset. No one met her gaze though—cowards.
Amy didn’t back down though; she lifted her chin to meet him head on. “I said that if she isn’t mated to you by the Winter Festival then I’m challenging her for rights.”
Willow looked around and still no one clued her in. So she stepped next to Lyonis.
“Wanna tell me what that means?” Lyonis’ eyes were hard with anger but they softened as he looked down at her.
Amy sighed and began, “It means—”
“Stop it!” he commanded. This time Amy flinched and looked down, even took a step backwards. Much more softly he turned to Willow to explain. “What Amy has disgustingly made the mistake of doing is challenging you to the right over me.”
Willow’s laugh came out before she could stop it. Lyonis cocked his head at her like she was mad. “Sorry, sorry. Couldn’t help it. I just pictured you coming with a deed stamped to you that gets sighed over to me—hilarious.” Lyonis didn’t laugh with her though, in fact, no one did. She looked around at everyone.
“Oh, come on that was funny.” When he still didn’t laugh or crack a smile, she grew worried. “Okay, well what the hell does that mean?”
“It means that you have to fight her...whoever wins will be chosen as my mate.” Willow’s mind spun. When her mind finally stopped wandering, it landed on none other than a grinning Amy.
“Huh?”
Amy rolled her eyes. “You and I will fight. The winner gets the Alpha and gets to become his Queen.” Willow hated the smugness in her voice.
“I won’t allow this,” Lyonis said. If anything, Amy looked even more triumphant.
“You have to. I’ve already declared the challenge and I intend to go through with it. This pack needs a Queen, not some woman diddle-daddling around the Alpha while willing females are ready for the position.”
“Amy,” Lyonis warned.
“If she isn’t mated to you by the festival then we’ll settle this the old-fashioned way.”
Willow eyed Amy up and down as one might an opponent they’re about to fight. Amy was shorter than her and slender, and although she wore bulky winter clothing Willow was pretty sure she wasn’t packing a lot of muscle under there.
“Challenge accepted.”
The entire crowd gasped. Willow’s stomach danced with butterflies.
“What?” She had the sudden feeling that she’d just doomed herself.
Lyonis’ frown had never been so deep before. He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the crowd and behind the building. The alley was cramped as it was, but with Lyonis towering over her, anger pulsing off him in waves, it felt as big as a goldfish’s bowl.
“What?” she said again, her irritation growing.
“Do you have any idea what you just did?” Willow crossed her arms and deigned not to answer that. He scowled at her.
“If you don’t choose to mate with me, then you’ll have to fight her in front of the whole pack.” Willow flinched, her gut tightening in panic, but on the outside she kept her face calm and cool.
“And?” God, was she really going to push this?
“And if you lose, I’ll never be able to mate with you.” It suddenly became difficult to breathe. Her chest tightened around her lungs until she was sucking in gasps of air. He was there for her though. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pushed her head down between her knees.
“Take slow breaths. In and out. Gently, there you go.” Eventually the feeling stopped and allowed her to breathe, but the vise around her heart hadn’t loosened an inch.
“If I lose then you have to mate with her.”
He nodded gravely.
“Unless you choose to mate with me before the challenge, then her challenge is void.” Panic set in fast.
“I can’t. I can’t mate with you.” Willow hid her face in her hands, not because she was going to cry but because she couldn’t stand to meet his eyes. Sure she’d admitted that before...but that was before. God, had things really changed in such a short amount of time?
When she heard no response, Willow slowly lifted her head to find herself alone in the alley. Hot pain seared through her chest like a lance. She’d already been warned. If she wouldn’t be his mate, then he’d never feel like this again, even in a forced mating. She was supposed to be his. What would happen to him if she didn’t accept his proposal? How could he live with a woman whom he knew wasn’t his real mate?