“Yes! More, I want more,” she pants and inhales deeply when I slightly relax the hold on her throat.
“Use your hand to tap me if it becomes too much or if you feel like you’re going to pass out,” I tell her and wait for her nod of approval before I squeeze. Her walls tighten around me the moment I steal her breath. I use it as my cue to nail her to the bed with rapid thrusts. “That’s my good girl.” My other hand brushes over her curves to where our bodies are joined. I press the pad of my thumb into her clit. Sliding it up and down, then moving it in circles, I use Ava’s tiny whimpers like a map to guide me in finding the type of touch she likes best.
It doesn’t take long before we crest together in a blinding orgasm. The reverb of our cries a sweet, sinful melody as we tumble over the edge and wave after wave of pleasure slams into me.
24
Ava
“So, what you’re saying is that witches, demons, and vampires are real?” I ask before swallowing a piece of perfectly done steak Logan cooked for us after he fucked me slowly against the shower wall and then washed me and wrapped me in a fluffy towel. We’re now sitting at the rustic dining table nestled between the kitchen nook and the couch. The blizzard finally stopped about an hour ago, and the night sky has started to clear, the moon halfway visible in the canopy of dark clouds.
I know I should still be mad at him, but hearing his side of things made me understand the confusion and the conundrum he was faced with. I don’t know what I would have done in his position. And then there’s the mating bond and the mind-boggling fact that he is my fated mate. I can’t even explain the connection I feel to him; it’s like our souls have intertwined, and we are an extension of each other.
With the mating bond completed, I feel so attuned to Logan, to his soul, to the very fabric of his being that I know without a doubt he is a good person through and through.
There was a moment I thought I was nothing more than a replacement for Hope. That it wasn’tmeLogan was attracted to, but Hope’s heart. However, as soon as the mating bond snapped into place, I no longer felt jealous. I am simply thankful that Hope has given me another chance at life. And even if it’s not close to what I imagined, becoming a wolf shifter and being someone’s fated mate, I’m still grateful for it.
“Yeah, and other creatures, too,” Logan replies as he cuts a piece from his steak. He’s already told me all about what being a wolf shifter entails, him being Alpha, the pack dynamic, and his responsibilities within the Obsidian Conclave. To say my mind is blown is an understatement.
“I can’t believe this whole world that humans have no idea about exists. That I had no idea existed.”
Swallowing, he puts his fork down and looks at me. “Well, there’s a lot of folklore surrounding dark creatures, so it’s not like they don’t have an idea. A lot of books and movies, too, but with the advancement in technology, it was easier for them to believe that dark creatures were no more than the result of the overactive imagination of the medieval human. That made it simpler for us to slip into the shadows and not get hunted anymore.”
“Will I have to get a tattoo like yours and Emily’s too?” I pop a crispy potato wedge into my mouth and chew slowly.
“It’s pretty much mandatory. If you don’t, then it will mean you don’t want to abide by the rules of not killing human beings and not biting them, in our case. And that you won’t accept theprotection given by the Obsidian Conclave. Hellseekers will be able to kill you.”
“Hellseekers are the demon hunters, the ones in the Order of Sariel, right?”
Logan slumps back in his chair. “Yeah. Back in the day, before the Celestial Treaty was signed and the Obsidian Conclave was created, hellseekers hunted dark creatures alongside demons. They aren’t allowed to get involved in Conclave business now, though. The Obsidian Conclave deals with all things regarding dark creatures, even punishing them whenever they step out of line. Still, hellseekers don’t always care about the rules, and there have been instances of them abusing their power, even if a dark creature was under the protection of the Conclave. They think of us as lesser beings.” His jaw ticks, and I don’t miss the way his fingers tighten around his fork.
My eyebrows draw together as I take a swig of water from my glass and place it back on the table. “Well, that sucks. Especially since they’re supposed to be the good guys with their bloodline sanctified by the archangels. God, I can’t believe archangels and demons are real,” I mumble the last part to myself and shake my head incredulously. “So, that’s why catching the rogue is your responsibility, because he is a dark creature, and he broke the number one rule of not killing humans, right?”
He nods and stabs the last piece of steak left on his plate, chewing it thoughtfully and then swallowing before replying. “It would not be the first rogue we’ve had to kill. There have been many over the years, even working in groups to form packs, biting humans, and turning them into feral wolves. It wasn’t pretty, but we eventually managed to stop them. This one, though, has managed to evade us for months by hiding its scent. That’s why we believe it’s working with a witch.”
“I think that person I saw in the dark cloak collecting the hearts might have been the witch. I didn’t see a face, though,or anything that could help me identify it, but the wolf had auburn fur and icy blue eyes, and it was definitely male. And you’re right, besides Tony and the other guy’s blood, I couldn’t smell anything else.” Everything I have eaten threatens to make a reappearance. With a few tears, I drop the fork and the knife I’m holding on top of my plate. They clatter loudly in the silence.
Logan pulls me onto his lap like I weigh nothing more than a feather. His woodsy smell and the warmth radiating from his glorious body are like a safety blanket, enveloping me in calming waves. “I’m so sorry about Tony,” he says softly, his fingers caressing the side of my face.
“Me too,” I choke out, and I can’t stop the tears from flowing. “I haven’t known him for long, but he was such a good person, so bright, and he kind of took me under his wing from the moment we met. In the short time we have known each other, he was such a good friend to me.”
He thumbs my tear-streaked cheeks. “Emily loved him too. She used to talk about him all the time.”
“He didn’t deserve to die like that. You have to find the rogue and make him pay for it,” I say with venom in my voice, and I mean it. I hope the Conclave will give him a painstakingly slow death. I know it won’t bring Tony back, but the rogue deserves the worst kind of torture for murdering so many innocent people. My wolf growls in my head in agreement, which in itself is a shock. Logan told me that with my wolf awakened, I will be able to feel her more and more.
“We will. I’ll make sure of it.”
“C’mon, try again,” Logan encourages me.
Sweat dots my forehead, and my whole body shakes with the effort. “I can’t, Logan. I just can’t,” I grit out in frustration.
Logan’s trying to teach me how to control my shift, and so far, in the two hours we’ve been at it, I’ve only managed to make a fool of myself and sweat. That’s it. At least I have something nice to look at. Logan’s incredible body is on full display, making me all hot and bothered as he demonstrates yet another shift. It takes him just a few seconds to go through it and for his wolf to make an appearance.
He stalks toward me, making clicking sounds with his gigantic paws on the hardwood floor. I let my fingers run through his soft, ash-brown fur as he brushes his massive body against my side. He’s so tall his head reaches my chest. I bend slightly to scratch behind his ears, earning a happy rumble from his throat.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how freakin’ majestic you are,” I say. He licks my face before taking his place in front of me in the middle of the living room area that we cleared earlier to make space for us to shift inside the cabin.
Logan reappears in his human form faster than I can blink. “You’re thinking too much about it. You have to push past the mental block. It was a very traumatic experience for you, and not knowing it was going to happen made it all worse. It only hurts that bad the first time. By the fifth shift, you won’t even be able to feel it anymore. I promise.”
