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“And what do you expect us to do then?”
Mam glanced at her brother. “The three of you can enjoy the property. You’re family, so make yourself at home. But...” She paused for effect before continuing. “You’ll know your place and who the alpha is.”
My Mam, Luna, the daughter of the former head of the US Vampire Clan, was the strongest female I’d ever met.
Adryan held his hands out, palms up, in an act of surrender. “As you wish.” And then he looked at the cousins before turning his attention to Da, that shit-eating grin back in place. “How about you show us where the whiskey is, wolf? I feel like we all could use a stiff drink after all this drama.”
And just like that, the tension flowed backward like a retreating wave.
But I wasn’t fooled. It was impossible when there was so much conflict and danger surrounding you.
24
Ainslee
I’d never felt such a whole feeling before, one that was as unfamiliar as it was familiar.
And it was because I was with my mate.
After our first mating in the woods—many times over—Luca had carried me back to the estate.
I closed my eyes and remembered the way he held me, how he looked at me.
As if he could never be apart from me, would never be separated from me. And I was starting to feel the same way, this very possessive feeling rising up in me at the very thought of not having him by my side.
It was such a ludicrous feeling, wanting someone so fully and completely it had all rational thought and common sense leaving.
But when it feels right, it feels right.
We’d come back to the estate hours before, where Luca ran a warm bath for us right away. He’d made sure the water wasn’t too hot or too cold, and only when he was satisfied it was perfect did he lift me into his arms to settle my much smaller body in front of his. He made sure to run his soapy hands over every inch of my body, following it up by cupping water in his palms and washing it all away.
He washed me so gently, something that seemed almost strange for a male his size. He looked like he’d be full of brutality and savagery, but with me, he was a gentle giant.
Then he paid close attention to my hair, his fingers strong yet soft as he massaged the shampoo through my tangle of locks, finger-combing through the tresses with such care.
A flush stole over me as I remembered the way he washed between my thighs. I’d been sticky from my own arousal, but mainly from all the cum he filled me up with. He’d claimed me in those woods more times than I could even count, the soreness between my legs, coupled with his seed marking my skin, a physical reminder that I was good and truly mated now.
Once I was warm, pliant, and clean, he dried me off, lifted me into his arms, and carried me back to the bedroom, where he laid me in the bed and covered me up. He’d stoked the fire and then demanded he “feed his mate.”
And in that time I’d waited for him to return with food, I found the courage to call my family. Well, my mother more specifically. She would be the only levelheaded one in this whole situation, the only one I could talk sense into. My father and brothers would be too testosterone-filled to think rationally.
I had hoped that things would work out, but even if she sided with me and agreed that the males in our family were acting like barbarians, I knew they also were too alpha to let this go. They had protectiveness running in their veins where I and my mother were concerned.
And then she’d told me about calling Adryan and the cousins, and I knew shit had hit the fan twice now.
My father and brothers might be able to come to an understanding and be talked with about this, but Adryan was a whole other problem. He was a tracker, a hunter. And I’d never heard of him letting go of the prey.
Once Luca returned with food, he fed me from his hands, only eating when I had my fill and drowsiness started to claim me.
And then I’d fallen asleep with my big Lycan curled around me protectively. Despite the blankets covering us, they weren’t nearly as warm as he was. And when I was with him, I realized all thoughts of the worries and troubles that would no doubt transpire with my family faded away.
I slowly opened my eyes, sensed Luca resting beside me, and the steady, even sounds of his breathing told me he still slept.
I pushed myself up slowly, not wanting to wake him, the blanket falling away so my chest was now bared. I felt my nipples pebble from the change in temperature.
