Authors: Carrie Ann Ryan
Tags: #Science Fiction & Fantasy, #Paranormal Romance, #Paranormal, #Romance, #Fantasy, #Werewolves & Shifters, #Paranormal & Urban, #Literature & Fiction
“No, no.” She shook her head, her wolf raging. “I’m not sacrificing my baby. I…I can’t.” Tears
slid down her cheeks. “I can’t. Not for the Pack. I’m sorry. No.”
Logan growled beside her, his arms going around her side, crushing her to him. “Never.”
Her brothers and their mates started talking all at once, their voices rising at each passing
moment. From what she could tell, they were on her side, lashing out at Emeline.
At first, the elder shrank into herself, looking like the Jamensons had collectively kicked a
puppy. Then Noah put his hand on her shoulder, and she raised her chin.
“Shut up. All of you.”
At the sound of the usually soft-spoken Emeline giving them an order, they all quieted—even
their Alpha.
“That is not what I meant. If you would actually let me finish, or in this case
start
, you wouldn’t
be so quick to judge.” She let out a shuddering breath. “To think you’d believe I’d actually so
willingly give up an innocent…I don’t think I like your opinion of me.”
“I know I don’t like it,” Noah growled, surprising Cailin at his strength.
Kade let out a breath. “We’re sorry. We’re all a little on edge…and the thought of hurting our
sister? Yeah, we handled that badly. Tell us.”
Emeline gave the Alpha a small nod. “Cailin and Logan have created new life. As far as I know,
they are the only ones having a child of the royal blood.” The others nodded, letting her know that
they weren’t expecting any children in the near future. “It isn’t just the fact that you have a baby,
Cailin. It’s much more than that. You are the sole Redwood Princess. The sole daughter of seven
children. Your blood is important. Logan is the sole son of the royal line that dates as far back as the
original wolf. He is the Anderson wolf. Parker is as well, but because he hasn’t reached majority yet,
he is not the wolf in question.”
Her brothers looked confused, but they didn’t say anything right away. They knew Emeline had a
stronger connection to the moon goddess than most and some of the Pack thought the woman could
hear the goddess herself. There might be many Andersons out there, but if Emeline spoke of the
connection, it was truth.
“I don’t understand,” Reed put in.
“The Andersons come from the line of the original wolf. They come from a great heritage, even
if they don’t live up to that station in life now.”
Everyone looked toward Lexi and Logan but didn’t say anything. They would discuss that later.
They had to.
“What of our blood? What does our baby have to do with it?” Logan asked, voicing Cailin’s
thoughts.
Emeline nodded. “You need to show the demon life. Not death. To send him back to hell, you
must create a binding with your blood. An actual blood sacrifice that is something as small as a prick
of a finger as we collect the blood together. Very archaic, but very useful. The blood of the dark wolf
of the moon goddess and the princess of the strongest of the Pack. Together, your blood sacrifice will
open the portal, and the glory and wonder of the life within your womb will send him back to hell.”
Emeline let out a breath.
“It’s a little more complicated than that, and there’s a spell that must be woven. It will take some
time and most of my strength, but I can do it. I know I can. But I can’t do it alone.”
She met Cailin’s gaze, and Cailin sucked in a breath.
It seemed her prayers had been answered.
She’d be the one to send the demon back.
Fate had spoken.
Only now, she wasn’t sure she had the strength.
****
“It’s always been us, hasn’t it?” Logan asked later when they were back at their place. The
meeting had ended soon after Emeline’s announcement. Not much more needed to be said until the
idea of what they had to do settled in.
He wasn’t sure it would ever be truly settled.
It didn’t make any sense to him, but he’d do whatever it took to protect Cailin and their unborn
child. He might be the enforcer of the Alpha, but right then, he was a mate first.
Something that brought everything into focus.
“I think so,” Cailin whispered then raised her chin. “Can we talk about it in the morning? We’re
doing everything then anyway. I need…I need tonight just to be about us and not the future or goddess
knows what else. Please? I need you, Logan. I need you inside of me.”
He couldn’t deny her, not even for their own peace of mind.
Logan nodded then cupped her face, brushing his lips against hers. She relaxed against him,
giving him control. That alone told him how scared she was.
Slowly, he backed her to the wall, her wolf brushing against his along the bond.
“Mine,” he whispered.
“Yours.”
He cupped her pussy though her jeans and patted her. “Soft or hard?”
“Both. Everything. Just love me, Logan.”
He kissed her softly then undid the button of her jeans, sliding her zipper down so he could reach
her better. He took both of her wrists in one hand, pinning them to the wall in a grip she could easily
get out of if she wanted to.
She didn’t break his hold.
With his other hand, he moved to trace a design on her throat and shoulder, teasing, tempting.
She arched her back, and he ran his hand down her front, between her breasts, over her belly.
When his fingers slid under her underwear, she let out a little gasp. He spread her slowly then
circled her clit with his middle finger. Her lower lip trembled as he twisted his wrist so he could use
the heel of his hand to grind on her clit as he speared her with his fingers. Logan went slow, soft,
relearning every curve of her so he’d never forget.
As he picked up the pace, her breathing became shallow, her cheeks going pink.
“Come for me, Cailin. Just to take the edge off. I’ll make you feel good, baby. Come for me.”
Her head hit the wall softly as she came, her eyelids going half-mast.
When she came down, he pulled back, licking his fingers. Her sweet taste burst on his tongue.
He groaned, wanting more, and Cailin groaned with him.
“That was so hot,” she whispered.
“You taste like honey, princess.”
“I want to see what you taste like,” she said as she stripped off her clothes then knelt at his feet.
He pulled his shirt off over his head then spread his fingers through her hair so he could cup her
chin, forcing her gaze upward.
“You know what I taste like. Not that I don’t want your mouth wrapped around my dick, but I
want tonight to be about you.”
Cailin went to work on his pants, pulling them down over his ass. He helped her take them off
fully then stood naked before her, his cock pressed against her cheek. She wrapped her hand around
him and smiled.
“I want you. Tonight will be about us. Not just me. And you know what makes me feel good?
What makes me wet? Having you on my tongue and down my throat so I make you all wet with my
mouth before you make love to me. That’s what I want.”
He swallowed hard and pulled on her hair, loving the way she let out a little gasp. Just a little
pain, not much, but what they both needed.
“Then show me what you want, Cailin.” He gripped the base of his dick with his free hand and
lowered his shaft to her lips. “Suck me.”
He closed his eyes as she sucked the crown of his cock, using the flat of her tongue to tease him.
Goddess, he had to see her on her knees in front of him.
When he opened his eyes, he just about came at the sight of her hollowing her cheeks, sliding
back from his dick and letting him go with a pop. He still kept his hand on the base, helping her guide
him in, and his other hand tangled in her hair, keeping her hair back so he could see her eyes.
He loved those eyes.
She swallowed him then worked back, licking and teasing as she went down on him. Just as his
balls tightened and he knew he was about to come, he tugged on her hair and pulled out of her mouth.
“I want to be in you when I come,” he growled.
“Then be in me,” she said simply.
He had her in his arms and on the way to the bedroom in the next breath. Licking his lips, he laid
her down on the edge of the mattress then knelt before her, putting her legs over his shoulders.
“Logan, I thought you were going to make love to me. Not that your dark head doesn’t look
amazing between my legs.”
He lifted the side of his mouth in a grin. “I
am
making love to you, princess. Before I sink into
this gorgeous cunt of yours, I’m going to taste you. I want you on my tongue tonight. That little taste I
got from my fingers being tight within your pussy wasn’t enough.”
It might never be enough.
Logan spread her lips, taking a good look at her. When he lowered his head, Cailin let out a soft
moan, her hand going right to his head. He grinned then blew cool air against her. He flicked her clit
with his tongue, exciting another moan out of her. When she started to squirm, he sucked, nibbled, and
licked up and down her pussy, putting his hands on her butt so he could get even more access. He
toyed with her back hole before sucking on her cunt, her juices running down his chin. As soon as he
felt her on the precipice of another orgasm, he pulled up, moved her to the center of the bed, and slid
inside her.
They both groaned, and he started thrusting slowly, flexing his hips. They clasped hands, their
gazes on each other as they slowly made love. They’d had it fast, hard, and heady. Tonight, they just
needed each other, just needed to remember
why
they were about to potentially sacrifice everything
they had gained.
With one last gentle push of his hips, they both came, their mating bond flaring. Cailin gasped,
tears running down her cheeks, and he kissed them away, wanting nothing more than to take her pain,
her worry.
“I love you, Cailin Anderson.” The mating bond had made her his, just as he was hers. The
legalities would be changed later. The actual mating ceremony and even a marriage ceremony
performed by the Alpha weren’t necessary for each mating. It was something that could be done later
—much later in some cases—if the pair wanted it. Logan wasn’t even sure Cailin would want one for
a long time considering her father wouldn’t be performing the ceremony.
“Love you too, Logan Anderson.”
Hovering over her as they were still joined, he forced himself to let go of the rage, the worry, the
anger over the unknown and what was to come.
He and Cailin would make it work. They’d persevere.
They had to.
Chapter Fifteen
Cailin blinked at the unknown clearing, trying to settle herself. She wasn’t on Redwood land.
Wasn’t near her den. No, her Pack and family were far away from what they’d known and hovered
near the enemy.
Waiting.
The wind brushed through Cailin’s hair, and she turned her face up, needing the connection with
the forest and everything moon goddess and wolf more than ever before. Brute strength would be
needed soon in the coming battle; she could feel it deep inside. First, though, they needed to use
cunning and magic so old that not even Emeline had known of it without searching among the tomes.
The crowd gathered on the neutral ground, their enemy in their sights, as if from a long distance.
The witches had used the remainder of their wards to protect their small group of fighters from the
watching eyes of the Centrals, though they all knew it wouldn’t last for long.
Just long enough to do what must be done.
She rolled her shoulders then moved from foot to foot, stretching. She had no idea what would
happen after they performed the ritual, but she knew it wouldn’t be good. In her worn jeans and tank,
she felt ready to fight, even though she knew Logan wanted her to stand on the sidelines.
If any other case, he would have wanted her to fight alongside him, but with her being pregnant,
she had a feeling he wanted to wrap her up in cotton and never let the world touch her.
That wouldn’t be happening though. Not with her connection to what had to happen next.
Her wolf took the idea of fate relying on her as their due, something that made Cailin feel as
though she was part of something greater than herself.
Once she and Logan woke after making love, they’d known it was time to end what had been
plaguing them for far too long. Today would be the day they killed Caym.
There was no other option.
Endless battles, torture, tears, and loss culminated in the moment she and Logan would combine
their blood as Emeline chanted the words of a long forgotten race of wolves and opened the door to
the hells where the fire burned so bright and hot that not even the demon Caym wanted to go back.
Logan came to her side and did not speak, but his thoughts were evident on his face. He wanted
to protect her but didn’t know if he could.
She went to her tiptoes and cupped her cheek. “We will win.” She didn’t quite believe it, not
yet, but she’d tell him that until they both could say the words and know them as truths.