54 - Reign and Reignited
ZARA
I groaned, my brows scrunching together and I shifted positions in bed. But still, I couldn't seem to shake the feather-like tingles on my bare stomach. I moved again before blinking my eyes open, only narrowing them as they adjusted to the sudden intrusion of light.
And there he was.
The feature-like tingles on my skin came as a result of Haden leaving a trail of kisses on my stomach.
"What are you doing?" I groggily asked him as I peered down at him, my fingers unconsciously sweeping over the strands of hair in his face.
He gave me a cheeky smile.
"Enjoying this quality time with my mate," he offered before his kisses continued, leading him from my stomach up to my breasts. He took a nipple in his mouth and my back instinctively arched, the pleasure soaring through me.
I had never felt anything like this before. The heights of pleasure this man could give was beyond words. But I surrendered to it, to him as my body completely relaxed in his arms.
I pulled on his hair, dragging him up so his lips could connect with mine. The heat trapped us in, as if its only goal was to forge us together as one. We twisted and turned, both of us lost in the depths of the mate bond. It was a magnetic pull that almost seemed to strengthen with the acts of last night forging the bonds like fire to steel.
Passionately, we kissed as if our lives depended on it – and it did. He hooked my leg on his hips as our lips moved in sync before he sunk into me.
"Fuck," we both cursed, almost breathless as the new sensation.
He was still for a moment, almost relishing the way my body clenched to his, before he started his slow, agonizing strokes.
My soft moans filled the room and my eyes fluttered close, choosing to feel nothing but the pleasure this man gave. My mate. Mine.
"You feel so good," I groaned, my hands running down his back, tracing his toned muscles and pulling him closer to me.
I didn't miss the devilishly playful smirk on his lips or the gleam in his eyes, I only felt his pace pick up and his hands grabbed my waist as he drilled into me.
Flesh against flesh, skin against skin, two souls merging into one. My breathing labored and his grip tightened, both of us knowing that we were charging towards a cliff that would help us see the stars.
"Open your eyes, look at me princess," he demanded and, if he didn't say it, I wouldn't have realized they were closed. They shot open on command, my body responding to his every need – my body belonging to him and only him.
His chest shook at the low growl of approval and his eyes morphed into a light shade of gold.
His wolf.
In that second, his canines extended and immediately sunk into the mark on my neck. My vision blurred and my body shook viciously as the orgasm pulsed through me.
"Oh yes!" my scream echoed in the room.
"Fuck," he groaned, pulling out of me and finding his own release before flopping down beside me in the bed.
Ragged breathing and rapid heartbeats found company in the silent room as we both descended slowly from Cloud Nine.
"Mmhm, you're addictive, princess," he mumbled after a while, chuckling as he glanced at me before launching himself up from the bed and walking stark naked to the closet.
I breathed out a lazy laugh, my gaze following him with interest as my fingers gently ran across the soft silk bed sheets.
"Who's bed did we defile anyway?" I questioned, looking around the room decorated with dark decor.
"Mine," he threw the word over his shoulder.
My eyebrows bunched together and I looked back at him. "Yours? I thought your room was down the hall. The one where..." I trailed off, my thoughts invaded by the night I was taken from this house.
"I had our things moved after you were attacked," he mentioned. "It's slightly smaller than the other one, but it'll do for now. Besides, this is only temporary. I'm having a house built for us not far from here."
I gaped at him,
"You're serious?" I asked, disbelief coloring my tone as I processed his words.
Turning to face me, Haden flashed a sly smile over his shoulder, his gaze holding mine with an intensity that sent a shiver down my spine. "Well we can't stay in the pack house forever, princess," he replied, his voice laced with assurance. "I want us to have something that is ours. Once this mess with the Rogue King is all sorted, we can start settling into our lives as mates and leaders of this pack."
The realization hit me like a wave, stirring a mix of emotions I struggled to comprehend. The scary thing wasn't that I couldn't see a future with him, it was that now I couldn't see one without him.
All this time as a rogue, I had never truly considered the notion of having a home of their own. The idea of settling down in one place, of building a life together, felt foreign yet strangely enticing. I wanted this, and I wanted him.
Lost in thought, I barely noticed as Haden approached, his presence comforting and reassuring as he peered over me. With a gentle touch, he leaned in, his warmth enveloping me as his nose barely brushed against mine.
"If that isn't what you want..." he trailed off.
My hand reached up to his jaw, my own way of reassuring him as a smirk came to my lips. "Well, it doesn't sound like the worst idea you've had."
His chuckle didn't come as a surprise. Instead of a retort, he pecked my lips before saying, "I'm going to be in the field training with the men. Could you save us both the trouble of an argument after a very satisfying night and just stay in the room?"
I frowned.
"What why?"
He pulled back, crossing the room and stuffing his phone in his pocket. "Because you're still in heat and I'd like to not kill my pack members today simply because they lost control of their wolves."
I sunk back into the bed and let out a sigh.
"If you want, you can have Natalia or Rebecca keep you company while I'm downstairs, and if you need me you can use the mind-link and I'll come right back."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I muttered, staring at the ceiling.
"Thank you," he sang as he happily headed out the door. As he left the room, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease at the realization that mating with him had left me more vulnerable in ways I didn't anticipate.
As the silence enveloped the room, I let out a pleasing sigh as I stretched my limbs, wincing at the ache between my legs. God, this man knew every way to please me, I mused as flashes of last night came to my mind. Round after round, we pushed our limits and finally collapsed after exhaustion won the battle.
After a refreshing shower, I tossed through Haden's closet and decided on one of his short-sleeved T-shirts before being drawn to the full-length window. My arms folded across my chest as I watched the men training in the field below, catching sight of my mate barking orders at the men in his line of sight.
My hand reached out to the latch on the sliding doors, drifting it open and feeling the warmth of the afternoon sun hit my face as I stepped outside. I learned on the balcony railing, my gaze focused on the session down below. Their training would pay off, I was sure of it. Whatever the Rogue King and Alpha Caine were planning would be no match for the –
"Well, they won't last long if they keep fighting like that," a voice sounded from beside me.
I jumped, completely startled, and my shocked expression turned into a glare when I saw who it was.
"What do you want Drake?"
He smirked, unfazed by the deadly glare in my eyes. "Can I not visit my bestie?"
I scoffed. "We are not friends."
He feigned hurt, putting a hand over his chest. "You wound me, Blondie. I think I'll have to go home and write this wicked day in my diary."
I rolled my eyes but stayed fixed in my position. "Don't you have better things to do than poof yourself in my bedroom? Speaking of, you better get lost before Haden gets back in here."
Drake simply waved a hand dismissively.
"Haden Prickleheart is far too busy chasing squirrels down there than to worry about little 'ole me," he shrugged and ignored my glare as he continued, "Your man couldn't hurt me if he tried."
"He could and he would. Now leave," was all I said.
"Awe, come on, can't I just visit a friend?" he pouts.
"Again, we are not friends," I repeated. "You decided it was in your best interest to kidnap me and hurt my friend – my true friend – in the process. We are far from friends, Drake."
At the mention of Rebecca, I noticed the teasing gleam in his eyes fade and a sigh escaped his lips. Saying nothing, he turned back to the field and leaned on the railing, looking off into the sea of green.
"I..." he started, clearing his throat, "I didn't mean for that to happen – to hurt your friend. What happened that night... things escalated quicker than I would have wanted. I planned to take you, yes, but when your friend started towards me I couldn't..."
I raised a brow when he trailed off, but he wasn't looking at me. It seemed that he was lost in thought, the memories flashing before his eyes as he spoke.
"Power is a really funny thing, isn't it?" he chuckled humorlessly, "Part of the curse for having too much power – too much magic – is that you don't always have control over it. There's no balance in the scale. Once it gets to a certain point, it develops certain characteristics, instincts, and emotions. The need to protect is one of those instincts," he added, lifting his hand and twirling around a ball of light in his palms.
Then he looked at me, "I didn't want to hurt your friend, Zara. I pushed her out the way gently, and my magic increased the force wanting to protect me."
"To protect you?" I repeated.
"Yeah, kind of like a force field. It's weird, I know, but I can't tell you how many times it's come in handy," the small smirk returned to his face as he trailed on, "The number of people who have tried to take me down is insane. They never learn, tsk tsk."
"So your powers are... what, exactly? Are you saying it's its own person?"
"My powers evolved over time. I wasn't always like this. Growing up, I had the makings of being just another average warlock, spending day after day dealing with the... injustices of my family drama. I won't bore you with the sob story, but I knew I was destined to have more. More magic; more power. The things I dreamed of doing could never be accomplished if I was one of these regular warlocks.
So I did quite the extensive research, finding out that the power I had was merely scratching the surface. There was magic out there that would make me untouchable. Traveling across the globe, visiting city after city, following lead after lead until one finally led me to the first true source of immense power. A pair of Alpha twins in Creston Bay – Greyson and Hudson. They were young and ripe for the picking."
"Surely you can hear how crazy that sounds,"
He blinked at me.
"You did something," I deduced with a blank look on my face, "it would explain why Greyson hates you so much. And Harley mentioned that you tricked them into doing something."
He shook his head as he chuckled. "Tricked them? They were more than happy to do what I asked. They wanted to rule the pack together, as co-Alphas. They were brothers after all, what could the harm be in ruling the pack they grew up in side by side? Everything they wanted me to do, I helped them do. They were young and naive, but who was I to turn my back on those who needed me?"
"What did you do?"
"Nothing they didn't want me to do. I told them both the risks – I told them there would be no easy way to rule the pack together unless they merged their strength."
My brows furrowed in confusion.
"This story doesn't make any sense. Alphas rule together all the time. My relationship with Haden is one example, and so are my parents who were both Alphas of their own packs before they found out they were mates."
"Both the examples you just gave are mated couples. Naturally, once wolves are mated, the full power of the Alpha role falls on the men while the women start developing in their Luna role. It isn't the same as two brothers ruling the pack together. Not to mention the fact that Hudson's mate was in fact another Alpha."
"What?" I gapped.
"Oh you know her quite well," he replied with a mischievous grin, "but that's not the story. When the young wolves came to me with this ridiculous notion, and they dismissed the warning signs, I performed a spell to bind their beings together. I tried creating a sense of balance so that the pack wouldn't have two mad Alphas running around their lands plotting to kill them all. The spell was almost perfect," he muttered, his gaze looking down at his hand as he conjured the ball of white light again, "it would have worked if it didn't rebound. It blew us all to hell, sending us in different directions."
"So the spell didn't work?" I pressed.
"Oh it did," he answered, "the spell worked so well that both brothers walked away completely unphased by it – or so I thought."
"What are you saying?"
He sighed, snapping his palm shut and I watched the light disappear. "The balance I thought I was creating didn't take. Instead, their powers merged into one, so Greyson absorbed the full role of Alpha and the excess latched on to the only life source it could think of," he stated before shifting his gaze to mine, "me."
We shared a look, and for the first time since I met him, I could see some level of regret in the depth of his bright hazel eyes. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for him, although I made sure not to show it outwardly.
Instead, I responded, "So what you're saying is, you're now made up of fifty percent wolf and you want to help the wolf species because you're feeling all warm and gushy inside."
Despite the tension, he chuckled and a relieved smile etched onto his lips.
"I've never told anyone that story, Blondie," he started, almost looking shocked at the realization. "Well, I guess friends tell each other this sort of thing."
"We aren't friends, Drake," I said through my laugh.
"Oh come on, that story has to give me some points in the friend department. I'm a pretty good friend, you know," he added, "besides, I don't have many friends and we're two peas in a pod. You said so yourself the night that we met."
My eyes surveyed him for a minute longer. Beneath the tough exterior and the witty jokes, he was someone who was drowning in loneliness. That much I could see in his eyes, and I saw it in his eyes the night we met.
"You want to be friends? Prove it," I told him, "show me and the others that we can trust you because right now it seems as if you've made an enemy out of every friend you have here. If you want my trust, you'll have to earn it."
Drake nodded solemnly, understanding the weight of her words. "Yeah, okay, fine by me. For this, I'm on your side anyway so it all works out in the end."
At that moment, I saw a glimmer of determination in his eyes, a silent vow to prove himself worthy of the trust and friendship we could have. He would have a ton of making up to do if he wanted us to trust him, but he seemed up to the task.
As we stood there on the balcony, content with the quiet that surrounded us, a shout came from below us.
Glancing down, I watched as men approached the wolves in training, walking casually across the field. Immediately, I recognized the man leading the charge – James had finally returned.
A sense of relief filled me, only it wasn't my own. My eyes drifted to Haden, following his move as he crossed the field to meet the men halfway. Once they stood in front of each other, they bumped fists before engulfing each other in a bear hug.
I watched them chat for a bit while the men behind James bowed respectfully to Haden and wandered off, no doubt tired from their journey. Then my eyes zoned in on the woman standing timidly behind James. Her head was cast down so I couldn't see her face from her, but she seemed to cling to James. This must've been the...
My thoughts trailed off when I saw James step back and put his arm around her waist, causing her to lift her head and step forward. My breathing faltered as I looked at a woman I thought I left in the past.
I... I knew her.
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Dun dun Duuum!
Zara knows something and once again, things might get a bit shaky for this core group ;)
Hey again everyone! An extra long weekend calls for an extra update ;) I hope you all are enjoying your break, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter
What did you think of Drake's little back story - do you think he's telling the truth or do you think it's another one of his mind games?
Or better yet, can we trust Drake?
The next chapter dives into the bits of Zara and Amelia's intertwined past - how do you think they're connected?
And let's not forget the Roge King and his men are coming - sooner than you think hehe
See you in the next one ;)