Even as he came he continued thrusting, caught in the throes of their first mating heat. The bloodbonding was done. Now it was about establishing a connection, branding her as his female and mate just as she’d once claimed she wished to be.
Mine.
“More,” Ava demanded and wrapped her fingers in his hair, forcing him to look into her face.
Her eyes shifted color—changing from sapphire blue to emerald green to liquid silver, to flashing gold—the only outward sign she would ever have that indicated she carried the essence of multiple shifting beasts inside of her. She started riding him, rotating her pelvis as she plunged down, stirring his cock to life.
The scent of sex was overpowering, the cream of her cunt mixed with the pungent odor of his seed. His feral instincts reacted to the heady fragrance as the wolf growled in satisfaction. Raking his fingers into her hips, he looked into her face. There was a touch of the wild that wasn’t there before and it made him hotter than hell.
“You feel so good,” she purred, staring at him through her lashes. “So. Damned. Good.”
“So do you, baby.” He let go of her waist to touch her face. Bringing her upright to kiss him, he brushed his lips against hers. “So do you.”
He roared when she opened the mental connection between them, stunned by how much stronger it was. She was entirely open to him, allowing him to hear her thoughts and sense her emotions. She basked in their union, their shared bond and her ability to finally understand the animals that made the man.
“Ava,” he moaned into her mouth.
Diskant, she whispered in his mind. My lover, my mate. Omega mine.
Her fingers tugged at his hair and he turned his head to the side, revealing the vulnerable hollow of his throat. She scraped her teeth along his jugular, back and forth, and followed it with laps of her tongue. Then she bit down, staking her claim, making her mark. She growled around the skin, released her hold and bit down once more. He groaned, remaining still when all he wanted to do was to flip her over, pin her in place and force her compliance.
“Want you inside me.” She lifted her head and panted, riding him hard, up and down, fast then slow. “Need to feel you come.”
Her motions were frantic, the woman and newfound creatures within struggling to find a singular balance. He heard the chaotic thoughts in her mind, the logical portion of her combating the new, feral part that demanded this mating leave an impression he would never shake, never forget and never escape.
Bringing his hand down to her enlarged clit, he stroked and petted and growled in turn, “You first, mate. I want to feel you shatter.”
Her motions became wild, rough and desperate. He felt the orgasm building in her and met her thrusts, positioning his hips to match them. Nothing else mattered in that moment. This was their pairing, the beginning of the rest of their lives together. No matter the tragedy that marred it, it was meant to be, something that was fated the moment they were born. Their cries carried through the bathroom, echoing off the walls.
“Oh god.”
“I’m here. Come for me.”
Her pussy went taut around him, holding him close, keeping him deep inside as she lost control and wept her release. He held her as she cried against his shoulder, the shudders of her body stronger than a mortal’s but weak in comparison to a shifter’s. That was what she was now, a combination of both, with the same needs, desires and compulsions.
Only when she was spent did he allow his own climax to claim him. His seed shot into her womb and he wondered if she’d conceive in that moment, creating a new life that would be a mixture of the two of them. Shifters could breed with those they weren’t bloodbonded with but usually the pregnancies terminated early in the term. He hadn’t concerned himself with that fact, since he’d planned to fully bloodbond his mate as soon as possible. Knowing the danger to his unborn children was gone, he allowed himself to consider the future.
His heart swelled when he pictured Ava swollen with his child, her small frame rounded in an obvious display of their affection and desire for each other. If it was a girl she’d have his mate’s blonde hair, big blue eyes and gorgeous smile. If it was a boy he would look like him, tall, dark and tanned.
A family of his own.
A new beginning.
He held her in his arms as the final throes of climax subsided, nuzzling her with his chin. Her mind was blank now, his head echoing nothing more than his own thoughts and concerns. As he’d expected, she went limp against him. He stroked her back and rested against the wall of the shower, allowing the slowly cooling water to cascade over their skin. They sat entwined for several minutes until she dozed peacefully. He stroked her hair and pressed his lips to the top of her head.
Her body needed time to recuperate and heal. After he put her in bed she’d sleep the rest of the night, as well as a solid portion of the morning. When she woke she would discover a lot of things had changed. While she wasn’t a shifter, she was no longer wholly human. With all the changes in her perception she was bound to experience the enormity of the loss the pack had suffered, as well as understand the impact of what rebuilding their ranks would entail.
A pang of dread squeezed his heart, the result of something he couldn’t control.
So much had changed in the course of a few hours. Shifters didn’t willingly hunt Shepherds, choosing to leave them alone. This, however, raised the stakes. There was no way their arrogance and destruction would be allowed to go unchallenged.
They had thrown the gauntlet and, in the doing, started a war.
Chapter Twenty
Craig knew he wasn’t alone the instant he sat at his desk. The room, though silent, carried a heaviness that wasn’t present before, as if the air were charged by some power he could perceive but couldn’t see. He remained frozen in his seat, a lamb waiting for the lion.
“Craig Newlander,” a soft, feminine voice said from behind him as a hand rested on his shoulder.
His first instinct was to reach for the Glock holstered under his desk but he remained as he was. This wasn’t the first time his office had been invaded by someone with a grudge, vendetta or need of a favor. It came with the territory when you were the gatekeeper to secrets people didn’t wish to share. Although he paid top dollar for the best security in the world, humans were only capable of so much.
“What can I do for you?” he asked in a cool, neutral tone.
“I want you to tell me everything you know about Aldon Frost,” she answered in a soft timbre, her mouth so close to his ear he could feel her breath caressing his skin. Her grip on his shoulder was light but firm, the weight substantial even though he could see from the corner of his eye that her fingers were slim and delicate.
“I refuse to discuss anything unless it’s face-to-face. If you want information you’re going to have to garner respect with respect.”
Her hand vanished, and in the next instant she stood across from his desk, confirming what he suspected. She was a vampire—a very old one. Her blonde hair was collected in a bun at her nape, a few wispy strands falling around her chin and shoulders, a stark contrast to the black leather shrouding her body. Bright, arctic blue eyes were on alert, homed in on him but seeing everything.
“What is it you want to know?” He reclined, interlocking his fingers and placing them in his lap.
“I’m not here to play games, Mr. Newlander.” She stared him in the eye. “Please don’t waste my time.”