Lorelei (12 page)

His cock pulsed and jerked, swelling inside her. When his partner shoved deep, the pressure increased, sending the pleasure attacking him sky high. He roared with his release, the bliss hammering him as his fangs fully descended. His mouth watered with the need to bite her.

Dylan met Zeke’s gaze for a bare moment and he jerked his head in a nod. It was time. Without hesitating further, he lowered his head and did what he’d been dreaming of since he laid eyes on Lorelei.

He sank his teeth into her, sliding deeper and deeper with the sharp fangs. Her blood filled his veins, sending a new pulse of desire, and his body shuddered with the new pleasure.

His wolf danced and yipped with the claiming but that other part of him—his magic—did something else. It wove around them, his power mixing and mingling with Lorelei’s until he couldn’t sense where he ended and she began. It filled them, surrounded them and crept into every part of his body. He knew Zeke was experiencing something similar, his partner’s feelings and experiences reaching Dylan without a thought.

Their magic was binding them all together.

The explosive light of their coming together overran the bathroom, blinding him until he was forced to close his eyes. But that didn’t mean he stopped his attentions.

No, blood continued to flow, his cock continued to fill her and she was overcome with another release. They were a ball of pleasure, each shift and twitch of muscle spurring their bliss once again.

It took time, minutes ticking past, before Lorelei finally slumped between them and Dylan slowly slipped his fangs free of her flesh. He leaned back, still carefully cradling her body, and stared at his claiming mark. It was deep and purple, blood still sluggishly escaping, but it was
his
mark.
His.

A glance to her opposite shoulder showed that Zeke had claimed her just as fully, ensuring that all others knew she belonged to a pair of powerful wolves.

He lapped at her wound, Zeke doing the same, until the flow of blood slowed and finally ceased. She was sated, exhausted, thoroughly loved and completely claimed.

All was right in Dylan’s world. Years of being an outsider, of not truly belonging, were at an end. Dylan’s future lay in his arms. Part of him didn’t want to release her. No, he wanted to hold her close and never let her go.

Unfortunately, his cock softened, gently slipping from her sheath, and she moaned. When she whined, he figured Zeke had left her as well. Their poor mate was empty.

The moment she was cleaned—again—he would slide into her once more.

Zeke supported her as he slowly stepped back, allowing her feet to slip to the ground.

When she whined, he was quick to soothe her. “Shh… Let’s wash you off and then we’ll take you again, make you scream for us. You want that, sweet?”

Eyes closed, she gave him a slow, languorous nod.

Dylan quickly washed his mate, ridding her of the other wolves’ scents. Before long, he was done and they all stepped from the shower. Lorelei was slowly coming around, her thoughts no longer muddled by pleasure and her eyes cleared of overwhelming arousal.

He couldn’t wait to make her a victim to the pleasure once again.

Minutes later they were only damp and padding back into the bedroom. Lorelei was the first to crawl into bed.

And she actually crawled. On her hands and knees, ass tipped up and pussy exposed, she made her way across the mattress. Already his cock twitched and filled, anxious to sink into her again and again and again.

In the middle of the bed, she glanced over her shoulder with a wicked grin. The little tease knew exactly what she was doing. Smile still in place, she went back into motion, but before she settled completely, her attention was caught by… something on the floor near the door.

Dylan strode toward what’d obviously been slid under the door. He snatched the piece of paper and pen from the ground and flipped the page over.

Please describe your claiming sex:

A) Amazing

B) Fantabulous

C) Squishy*

D) All the Above

*It is a family tradition that all women state their claiming sex is squishy. You don’t want to go against family tradition, do you?

Dylan chuckled and shook his head as he approached the bed. Zeke was now relaxed on the surface with Lorelei snuggled close.

“What’s that?” Lorelei raised her eyebrows.

“A message from your cousins.” Dylan smiled as he passed it over, the smile growing when his mate laughed.

She laid the page on the bed, made a large circle and then passed it back to him. “Far be it from me that I ruin family tradition.”

Taking it from her grip, he went back to the door and bent down to slide both the paper and pen back into the hallway.

“Yes! Ha!” Scarlet’s shout was unmistakable and Dylan rolled his eyes.

The rapid patter of her feet on the carpet announced her retreat, but he yelled after her anyway. “It’s creepy to wait outside the door when someone inside is having sex!”

Dylan didn’t get an answer, then again, he didn’t wait for one. Not when he had a mate waiting for him.

A mate and a future. Life didn’t get any better.

Life just got worse.

Dylan crossed his arms over his chest and allowed his wolf to ease closer to the edge of his control. His magic was in rapid pursuit, unwilling to be left out of the confrontation. His skin crackled with the power and his eyes slowly slipped to their yellow hue.

Zeke and Lorelei were still tangled in the bed, sheets twisted around their entwined bodies. The scent of sex and blood still filled the air and that thought allowed a rush of desire to nudge forward. They’d made love, teased, tormented, and occasionally fucked, all night long. He’d tasted each inch of her body, reveling in her sweat and sweetness. When they’d decided they were too sticky to continue in bed, they’d moved back to the shower. Forty-five minutes and two rounds of love making later, they’d emerged into their room and found the mattress was covered in new linens.

Housekeeping was smart and didn’t bother replacing the comforter.

Now, exhausted and sated, he had to face off against the Ruling Alphas
and
Ruling Wardens. When they’d said their trio would get one night, they hadn’t been kidding.

“The answer is no.” He shook his head. They had to be smoking crack if they thought he’d go along with their plan.

“You don’t think—” Madden practically shouted, the physically stronger of the two Ruling Alphas wasn’t used to being denied.

“Keep. Your voice. Down.” Dylan remained in control and kept his words soft. Soft, but no less fierce. “You don’t think Lorelei has been through enough? You don’t think the three of us have dealt with enough? She submitted to the damned Wardens. We let those males
put their mouths
on our mate. They drank her blood and she had to use her magic to make them let go.” Dylan stepped forward, pushing them farther into the hallway and from their shared room. “Why do you need Lorelei anyway? Miles and Holden took enough from her. What else do they need that they don’t already have? What’s it been? Eight? Ten hours? They still haven’t found her? Are they even trying?”

Dylan had nearly lost control when Lorelei told them of the Wardens’ actions. They weren’t going to let go. They’d craved every bit of her blood and would have drained her had she not protected herself. The minute Paisley was found, he would have a meeting of the magics with those two.

Levy sighed. “It’s not that simple. She’s not in the hotel and while Hotel Garou is isolated, ten miles down the road we’ve got a big city. They’re still going block by block and expanding their search areas as much as they can. We want to draw some of the wolves out. Give them the opportunity to get at Lorelei.”

Emmett grimaced. “Look, I know she’s your mate and if it was me, I’d kick your ass for this suggestion, but we don’t have any other options.”

Dylan rubbed his forehead, considering their request. Hell, order really.

Leave Lorelei alone in their suite. Alone with monitoring devices so Emmett and Levy could go in at a moment’s notice, but by herself none the less.

His Lorelei. Their Lorelei.

He’d grown up knowing he’d never have a mate, that he and Zeke would only ever have each other. And… he’d been fine with that.
Fine
.

But then there was Whitney, Emmett, and Levy…

Hope blossomed in his chest, an emotion he’d kept close. He didn’t let even Zeke ferret out his feelings.

Hope for a family of his own.

The Ruling Alphas and Wardens wanted him to risk that.

He didn’t deny it was for a good cause, but Lorelei was their
mate
. Hadn’t he lost enough?

It wasn’t like he loved her, but… He couldn’t love her, right? It was too soon for that. But that didn’t mean when he looked at her¬—when he watched her ride him, nibble her lower lip, and then sob his name—he didn’t feel the stirrings of the emotion. Yes, it trembled in his chest, pleading to be set free and he knew Zeke experienced the same sensations. They didn’t love her, but God how they wanted to.

Emmett, Levy, Keller, and Madden’s plan threatened that dream. Threatened to batter, bruise, and destroy any hope for happiness he’d had for the last year.

“Think of Paisley, Dylan.” Keller’s words were low and pleading. “She’s as good as your sister now. Do you want her to suffer under his hand? Because if they don’t have her yet, I don’t think it’ll be long before they capture her.”

“You’re not playing fair.” He heaved in a breath and let it out slowly.

“There is no fair when it comes to these wolves. You know that.” Madden was grim. “If there was, Maxim wouldn’t be pulling this shit. He gave his vow to Keller and me that there’d be no repercussions after last year’s battle. That he held no ill will and the family was a friend of the Ruling Alphas.”

No, there wasn’t fair when it came to his older brother. There never had been. He was just like their father in that respect.

“I—” His wolf snarled, sensing Dylan’s wavering conviction. Because Paisley was as good as his sister.

The men before him were as good as blood cousins. They were all tied together by the Wickham and Twynham women and the family needed them. No, they needed Lorelei.

“What makes you think he’ll go after Lorelei? She’s already mated to me and Zeke. There’s no undoing that. Why do you think my brother will still want her?” That was one thing Dylan didn’t understand. “They want revenge on the Wickhams because of Whitney’s actions last year. So, they’re settling for the Twynham sisters, and the male who attacked Rebecca specifically said their goal was to keep more Wickham—Twynham—blood out of the wolves.”

Every male’s face turned grim, some closing their eyes to shut him out and others avoiding his gaze entirely.

Seconds passed and Dylan’s wolf became more and more agitated with each fleeting moment. Something wasn’t being said. “What?”

Levy finally responded. “We’ll…” The Warden sighed. “We will suppress your mating.” He was quick to rush out the rest. “We won’t break it, but we can muffle it enough to make her scent like an unmated female.”

“You want to…” No.
No.
He stumbled back until he collided with the hallway wall. His heart clenched and froze until he thought he’d die from the pain. His wolf howled in objection while his magic crackled and stung his skin.

To suppress…

“It’s temporary, Dylan. No more than a day. If they don’t take the bait, we’ll come up with another idea.” Emmett picked up where Levy left off. “The men surrounding Maxim are mostly idiots. We doubt it’ll take long for one of them to make a try for them. Hopefully two will appear.”

“Them? Make a try for them?” Which one of the males was stupid enough to let their mate be bait? He shook his head. He knew who. The only other Twynham in residence. “What’d you do to Aidan and Carson to convince them to let this happen? And if you already have Rebecca, why do you need Lorelei?”

Dylan would do whatever he could to keep Lorelei out of harm’s way.

“Two is better than one, Dylan,” Keller tried again.

Dylan let his head drop back, eyes trained on the ceiling. “You guys don’t understand.”

“We know that no wolf wants to lose his mate, Dylan. We’ll do everything we can to keep her safe.” Emmett was quick to reassure him. Too bad it didn’t.

“No. You really don’t understand.” He focused on Levy. “She is everything, Levy. You saw some of my past, you know why every second with her is…”

Just everything. She didn’t love him yet, he knew that, but what she did feel filled in the dark gaps and cracks in his heart. Zeke’s family had tried their hardest to break him over the years, but Lorelei took her healing beyond that pain. She didn’t just soothe his wolf, she rubbed off the rough edges of his shattered soul.

No one could understand that. No one. To lose her…

“I understand, Dylan.” Levy whispered the words. “I know and it kills me to come to you like this, but we don’t have a choice. It’s taking Miles and Holden too long. Even with Lorelei’s blood,” he shook his head, “it’s not enough.”

“I’ll do it.” The lyrical voice was a little hoarse, her screams and sobs from last night stealing the smoothness.

Dylan pushed away from the wall and turned to face his mate. She was wrapped in the blanket that’d covered the bed, not a hint of her body visible to the men. That wasn’t enough for the wolf though. No, the fact that she was naked beneath the fabric had the beast snarling. Where the hell was Zeke? He should have kept her hidden inside or at least forced her to put clothes on. Then he heard a very familiar snore. Damn man slept like the dead.

“Lorelei…” He took a step toward her and he nearly crumbled beneath her pleading gaze.

“I have to, Dylan. I
have to
.”

He swallowed through the emotion clogging his throat, fighting for breath to speak. “Lorelei, I can’t lose you. I
can’t
.”

She didn’t understand. No one did. Not even Levy, really.

Lorelei came to him and leaned against him, resting her head on his chest. “I know.”