IceSurrender (5 page)

“It can only happen in my dreams. I now know a lot of things
I didn’t before. I even know the spell my ancestor used to turn the sentinels
during the ice age. I also know I’ll have to go through a couple more changes
to obtain the full potential of my powers.”

Wren visibly shuddered. “Really? And will you have to go
through this again?”

Ryder shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, but I would have to
say more than likely.” He ran his gaze over her face. “You’re worried.” He said
it as a statement rather than a question. From Wren’s expression, he already
knew she was.

“Of course I am. Not being able to wake you up and you being
so feverish, it’s scary. I don’t mean for you to take this the wrong way or
anything, but you’re mortal. Sometimes mortals don’t recover from things like
that.”

He squeezed her tighter against him and kissed her forehead.
“I’m fine though.”

“Yes, you made it through this one. Next time, you might
not.”

“I doubt I’m in any kind of danger. I’m meant to go through
it.” Then it dawned on Ryder why Wren would be so uneasy with it all. “It’s
because of your mom. She was mortal and died from an incurable illness.”

“Yes.” Wren looked down and played with the tie on his
pajama bottoms. “What you don’t know is I was her primary caregiver. I did
everything for her when she no longer could for herself, right up to the end.”
She paused. “Seeing you lying there on the bed, not responding to anything,
brought back all the memories of what my mother had endured. I wouldn’t wish
that on anybody.”

Ryder scooped Wren up in his arms and placed her on his lap.
“What is happening to me isn’t caused by cancer. It’s supernatural. My ancestor
is waking up my dormant powers. Instead of growing into them, as I did with
what I had before, it’s coming awake suddenly. It will have some side effects,
but it won’t kill me. You said so yourself last night that you ‘saw’ me with my
full powers. That means I’ll be fine.”

Wren met his gaze. “And us? Are we going to be fine as
well?”

He let Wren change the subject. It was obviously something
she’d remain uncomfortable with. “I’m not going to lie. I didn’t think we could
be together, even after I gained my full powers. I was afraid I could hurt you
if I got caught up in the moment, let my guard down and ended up striking out
at you. But after what you did, I don’t think that way anymore. You have some
kind of sway over me. A simple touch and you reinforced my control.”

Wren shifted so she straddled his lap, facing him. She put
her arms around his neck. “That makes me happy because I wouldn’t have let you
walk away from me anyway.”

She lowered her head and kissed him. Ryder soon took
control, once again getting caught up with the arousal that pounded through his
body. His cock hardened, rising between his and Wren’s bodies. She dropped a
hand to it and stroked it through the material of his pajama bottoms. He
groaned.

Ryder stopped Wren after a minute more. He would be pushing
it if he let her continue for much longer. He broke away from her mouth and
tugged her hand off him. “Enough,” he said as he fought to catch his breath.
“We can’t.”

“But you didn’t get to finish in your dream.”

“And I’ll have to wait for another one before I can.” Not
wanting to test the limits of his restraint, Ryder set Wren onto the bed next
to him and then climbed out. “I’m going for a quick shower, then we can get
something to eat.”

“Fine, I’ll behave. Don’t take too long.”

Ryder grabbed some clean clothes before he headed for the
bathroom. Night couldn’t come fast enough. He ached to have Wren naked and
aroused in his arms once more. He hoped like hell his ancestor didn’t interrupt
them and cock block him again. Once was more than enough.

Wren thought the day couldn’t drag on any longer than it
already had. She couldn’t wait to go to bed and meet Ryder in his dream. Now
that they had established there was something between them, she craved more of
him. It drove her a little crazy that she couldn’t do anything but hug and kiss
him in the real world. And from the heated looks he gave her when no one was
watching, he had to be feeling just as frustrated as she.

Brice came by, wanting to talk to Edensaw and Ryder. Wren
would have left the living room when the men came in to sit down, but Ryder sat
next to her and held her hand, preventing her from getting up. The local pack
leader noticed and sent her a smile. Brice had come by the house often enough
to know she’d set her sights on the sentinels’ shaman.

“So what is it you want to discuss?” Edensaw asked Brice.

“I think I’m going to have to do something about Greg and
Tanner’s brother Drew. I can’t keep them imprisoned forever. For one thing,
they’re immortal. Plus, they’re getting very restless all of a sudden. I don’t
like it.”

“What would you like us to do?”

Brice looked at Ryder. “This is where I’m hoping you can be
of help, Ryder. You were able to remove the darkness from Kajakti when Andre
used that spell on him, can’t you do that for Greg and Drew?”

Ryder shook his head. “The counterspell I used won’t work on
them. They were turned whereas Kajakti was only spelled with dark magic.”

“Can you come up with a new one that will work on them? Once
they’re no longer dark wolves, I can free them. Drew was never really bad. As
for Greg, I doubt he would have stolen his brother’s mate if he hadn’t been
turned dark.”

“Before today, I would have said I couldn’t, but now it
might be possible.”

Brice perked up. “You’ve finally come into your full
powers.”

“Not all of them. I went through the first stage this
morning. I’m a lot stronger than I was. Give me a couple of days to go through
all the new information I was given that went along with the power increase. I
should hopefully come up with something to remove the dark magic.”

“If it does work, it gives me hope you’ll be able to do the
same for Tad and Lara once we find them. I feel I let them down since I wasn’t
able to stop Tanner from turning them into dark wolves.”

Wren had heard the story about the mated pair from Brice’s
pack, how Tanner had used Lara to lure her mate to him, then turned them both.
The wolf brothers had done their best to rescue Tad and Lara, but Tanner had
used a spell to hide his and his pack’s presence, along with the newest dark
wolves, and had escaped.

Ryder nodded. “That will be the next thing I do—try to
locate Tanner’s hideout. He’s using his dark magic to keep it from me.”

Brice stood. “If you do find it, you’ll have me and some of
my strongest men from my pack at your back. It’s time Tanner and his dark
wolves were put down. Permanently. I should go. I had to do some errands before
I came here. If I don’t get back to Marta before we start to feel the
separation anxiety, she’ll take her displeasure out on my butt.”

“Leaving already?” Cassidy asked as she came into the room
with Wyatt in her arms.

Brice smiled and nodded. “Yes, sorry. But I have enough time
to give Wyatt a little cuddle before I go.”

Wren watched the large pack leader handle the baby expertly
as he held Wyatt in the crook of his arm and gave him a big kiss. Since joining
the sentinels’ pack, she had come to learn children inside a werewolf pack were
protected and loved by all its members. Even though they weren’t part of
Brice’s pack, he considered them like family since he was descended from Ketah.
So in a way they were. Wren was descended from Wachei. That made the wolf
brother and his mate Eryn technically her grandparents, though many generations
removed, at least from Wachei’s standpoint. Eryn had already made it very clear
she in no way wanted Wren to call her “grandma”.

Once Brice had his cuddle with the baby, he passed Wyatt
back to Cassidy, then left with the promise to call Ryder in a couple of days.

Cassidy looked at her mate. “We’re getting short on diapers
and baby wipes. You said you’d go to the store with me.”

Edensaw nodded. “Of course. Do you want to take Wyatt with
us or leave him at home?”

Wren quickly spoke up. “Ryder and I can watch him if you
want.”

Cassidy smiled. “That would be great. Sometimes it’s easier
to not take him with us.”

“It’s no problem,” Ryder added. “But if he poops his drawers
while you’re out, Wren’s changing it.”

Wren chuckled. “I can manage that.”

“We shouldn’t be very long. If he gets hungry, there’s a
bottle in the fridge. I pumped this morning just in case we left Wyatt at
home.”

“Go on, we’ll be fine.”

Cassidy handed Wyatt over to Wren and gave him a kiss, as
did his father. The couple left the room hand in hand. A few minutes later,
Wren heard the front door open and close.

She sat on the couch with the baby held close in her arms.
Wyatt smiled up at her. Wren looked at Ryder as he took a seat beside her. “So
you won’t change any poopy diapers, huh?”

He grinned. “Not if I can help it. I did one yesterday. It’s
your turn.”

“We’ll see. Right now it isn’t an issue.”

They ended up not having Wyatt all to themselves for very
long. Eryn and Wachei came into the room and did their best to steal the baby.
Then it was the rest of the household’s turn. Wyatt didn’t seem to mind being
passed from person to person. He remained all smiles.

* * * * *

That evening, Ryder helped Wren take her belongings from the
main floor up to his bedroom. It wasn’t much, basically just her clothes, since
she’d sold the furniture she’d owned while living in her apartment with Riya,
Capac’s mate. It had only been taking up room in the garage, and she really
hadn’t liked the stuff all that much anyway.

It had been Ryder’s suggestion that she officially move into
his room. Wren had quickly said yes, barely letting him finish. She’d then
sealed the deal with a kiss that had left them breathless and wanting more.

Ryder put her large suitcase on the floor by the dresser. “I
emptied a couple of drawers in my dresser for you. We’ll have to get you one of
your own.” He motioned to the clothes she carried over her arms. “There’s room
in the closet for those as well.”

Wren smiled. “No rush on the dresser. I’ve been living out
of a suitcase for months. Actually having a couple of drawers is an
improvement.” She walked over to the walk-in closet and hung up her clothes.
They’d formerly been taking up residence in the front hall closet.

Ryder stood in the doorway. “You know you brought that on
yourself. Meadow and Durlach offered you your own room at their place.”

She turned toward him. “Yes, but if I’d left, you would have
managed to push me even further away than you already had.”

He chuckled. “Very true. And here I thought I was doing the
right thing when obviously I wasn’t. We’re better together rather than apart.”

Wren finished hanging up her clothes before she took hold of
Ryder’s wrist, tugged him inside the closet with her and brought his lips down
to hers. She soon found herself wrapped in his embrace as he kissed her
senseless. She growled softly and put her arms around his neck, rubbing herself
against him. Another growl pushed out of her when she felt his erection pressed
between them.

Ryder was the one to end their kiss. He rested his forehead
against hers. “This is really killing me. You’re way too tempting.”

She tilted her head back and smiled. “Well, you know how to
fix that, right? You have to go to sleep, I’ll come into your dream and we can
continue this.”

“Except it’s too early to go to bed. Dinner was only a
couple of hours ago. And I doubt I’d be able to fall asleep. I’m not tired yet.
I’d just lie there and frustrate myself.”

Wren sighed dramatically and stepped out of his embrace. “I
guess we’ll have to wait then. And to make it less frustrating for you, I’ll
make sure I don’t touch you until bedtime.”

Ryder did a great imitation of a growl. “Like hell you
will.” He yanked her back into his arms. “It might frustrate me, but I like
having you touching me.”

He picked her up and carried her to the bed, where he threw
her onto the mattress. Wren giggled as she rose to a seated position. “I
thought you said it was too early to go to sleep.”

He took a seat next to her. “It is. We’ll have to settle for
watching TV to fill up the rest of the time.”

Ryder pushed backward until he was up against the headboard,
then lifted his arm for her to slide under it. Wren shifted into position and
rested her back against his chest. She breathed in his scent, content to be
where she was. Unbeknownst to Ryder, she already thought of him as her mate.
Him not being a werewolf, he’d never be able to fully claim her, have the
mating bond form between them, but she’d be happy with ordinary mortal marriage
vows. Ending up with him as hers was the most important thing.

Wren became caught up in the movie they watched, and didn’t
feel as if the time dragged. It was actually really nice to sit there with
Ryder, cuddled close. It wasn’t until a yawn snuck up on her that she realized
how late it had gotten.

Ryder turned his head to look at her. “I think it’s time we
went to bed. What do you think?”

“I’m tired.”

“You can have the bathroom first to change.”

Wren nodded, then slid off the bed. She took out a pair of
pajamas from the dresser before she headed out of the room. She understood why
Ryder didn’t want her changing in the bedroom. Stripping naked in front of him
wouldn’t be very fair of her.

It didn’t take her long to brush her teeth and switch into
the clothes she’d sleep in. Ryder was already in his pajama bottoms, once again
shirtless. After he went to take his turn in the bathroom, Wren climbed into
the bed.

Ryder returned, turned off the lights and slipped under the
covers next to her. He rolled toward her and gave her a kiss before lying on
his back and taking her hand in his. “Good night, Wren. I’ll see you in my
dream.”

“Good night. I’ll be there.”

Wren hadn’t been sure if she’d have a hard time falling
asleep. Knowing what she and Ryder would be doing once she was able to get into
his dream had her heart beating faster with excitement and anticipation. But
she managed to go to sleep in a matter of minutes.

Unlike the night before, there were no scary-looking trees
or the four dark wolves. She found herself once again in the wildflower-studded
clearing, though. Ryder stood in the middle of it, waiting. Wren smiled and
practically ran toward him.

After closing the distance between them, she threw herself
into his open arms. His mouth landed on hers as she tilted her head up to his
face. Now in Ryder’s dream, Wren didn’t have to hold back. She explored his
body as his lips took hers in a carnal kiss.

She ran her hands down his back to his waist. From there she
caressed her way to his front. Reaching lower, Wren cupped the front of his
jeans. His cock was long and hard and ready to go. Her pussy clenched, wetness
pooling as an ache throbbed deep inside it. This time she’d have all of him
inside her, taking her until they both came. If Ryder’s ancestor decided to
show up, she had no problem telling him to get lost until they were done.
Nothing was going to get in the way of her having Ryder.

Ryder pulled away from her mouth on a groan as she stroked
his cock through his pants. “That feels so damn good. I waited all day to have
your hands on me again.”

“You and me both.” She nipped his chin. “Make us naked,
Ryder. I don’t want to wait to get skin-to-skin with you.”

All her clothes vanished in a blink of an eye, as did
Ryder’s. It was Wren’s turn to groan at the feel of his nude body pressed
against hers. She kissed the hollow of his throat before she started a journey
downward that would end with her eye level with his erection.

Wren pressed her lips against each of his defined pecs, then
flicked both of his flat nipples with the tip of her tongue. Ryder’s heavy
breathing filled her ears as she continued down from the center of his chest to
his abs. She breathed in his musky scent, the wolf in her loving the smell of
the man she’d chosen for her mate.

She went down on her knees and stared at the part of Ryder
she wanted most. His cock stuck out straight from his body and was fully engorged.
It jerked, and Wren licked her lips in anticipation of tasting it.

With her gaze locked with his as she looked up at him, she
wrapped her fingers around his shaft and gave him a couple of good pumps.
Ryder’s mouth fell open on a quiet moan. His hips thrust toward her. She
tightened her hold on him and circled the head of his dick with her tongue, all
the while still staring at him.

Another groan escaped Ryder, louder than the one before.
“Wren, take me inside your mouth. Suck on me.”

In way of reply, Wren parted her lips and took his cock
between them. She sucked him back as far as she could, then slowly slid him out
until her mouth was only around the flared head. She closed her eyes and
stroked the sensitive spot just under it with the flat of her tongue before she
took him back inside. Wren continued this slow and steady movement. Ryder’s
shaft grew harder, the sounds of pleasure he made ramped up her arousal.
Wetness leaked onto her inner thighs. She squeezed her legs together, trying to
alleviate some of the ache inside her pussy.

Ryder thrust his cock into her mouth, fucking it. Wren
looked up at him briefly to find him intently watching what she did to him. His
face wore a mask of pleasure. He breathed harshly, with moans and groans coming
every few seconds.

“God, Wren,” Ryder said in a strained voice. “I’m getting
too close. You’re going to have to stop or this will be over before it’s
begun.”