Forever Mine
The poison from Milan's nails that had gotten into my system has taken its toll on me. My energy is completely drained out of me after the adrenalin rush of fighting ended. I fell asleep in the car with my head firmly tucked under Constantine's chin and our arms wrapped around each other.
I know we arrived at the palace in the wee hours of the morning, but for the life of me, I couldn't force my heavy eyelids to open. I vaguely aware of being lifted and given a bath by Constantine.
I wake up on the plane feeling clean and fresh, not sticky and gross and covered with blood anymore. My mate is taking good care of me. Right now, he's lying beside me. His arm is wrapped around me tightly, protectively and possessively even in his sleep. I sigh as I look up at him. He looks peaceful and kind of harmless when he's sound asleep.
Harmless. I almost giggle at the word. The word harmless shouldn't be used to describe Constantine. My Constantine. His long sooty lashes fan out against his cheeks. It's funny how his long thick eyelashes never make him look girly or anything. I guess he's too manly to ever look girly. His high-bridged nose is straight and perfect. His lips full, pink and sensual. I know what those lips can do to me.
His lips twitched, and the corners lift up all of a sudden. My eyes move up to look into a pair of bright silver-gray eyes already staring down at me. We just lie there staring into each other's eyes for the longest time. I got lost in his eyes. I can look into his beautiful, unusual pale gray eyes for days and days. He seems as equally lost and mesmerized by my eyes.
Then I feel his fingertips lightly tracing my cheek.
“You have the most amazing eyes, sunshine,” he murmurs. “It's like they can't make up their mind what color they want to be, so they take every color they can...gold, green, blue, gray—” His thumb is now tracing my lower lip gently “—and they're mine. You are mine.”
“Yours,” I say.
“Nobody's taking you away from me.”
“Nobody,” I agree.
“You're mine forever.”
“Forever,” I reply.
His lips twitch up again, and a naughty glint enters his eyes.
“And I'm going to eat you up for breakfast.”
What? “WHAT?” I nearly jump out of bed.
He laughs, and his hand comes up to pull me back to him.
“Ever heard of the Mile high club, sweetheart?” he whispers wickedly into my ear.
I smacked his chest playfully. I know my cheeks are turning bright red. Curse my pale skin. I wish I could stop blushing. I know how much he enjoys saying outrageous things just to make me blush.
He chuckles, cupping my warm cheek in his hand and says, “I thought I'd take advantage of your agreeable mood today, but I know you're too loud for us to do it here. Everybody on this plane would be able to hear us.” There's a hint of challenge in his voice.
“I am not loud!” I protest. Now I'm feeling hot all over. Don't they have air condition on this private plane?
“Oh, wanna try it out?” he lifts an eyebrow up challengingly. “I don't mind,” he adds, grinning wide.
I smack his broad chest again before I hide my flaming face against it and he chuckles.
“Why are we going home already? I didn't even get to see the palace you grew up in. I didn't get to see much of Russia!” I try to change the topic. The brief tightening of his hand on my hip tells me that he's aware of what I'm doing.
“I'm sorry about that, sweetheart. You were at the palace, but you were mostly sleeping. King Alexandros and Queen Sophia really wanted to see you, but they understand. They know your body needs to repair itself after having the poison in you. You barely recovered from the last time.”
Oh, how embarrassing! I groan and burrow deeper into his chest.
“We have to be back in school for our exams tomorrow.”
So many things have happened that I completely forgot about exam week!
“We're going to visit Russia and the palace again. If Caspian doesn’t mate with Lady Celeste or someone soon, we'll probably be there for a very long time.” He sighs. We'd be there as the king and the queen of the lycans and werewolves. He left that unsaid, but there it is. That, in itself, is a very scary thought. I don't have the slightest clue how to be a queen.
“Sweetheart,” he says, lifting a few locks of my hair away from my face. “Don't worry about it. We have the rest of our lives together. I'll take you to see the world. I'll give you anything your heart desires. All you have to do is say it, and I'll give it to you. Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it. You own me.”
He lifts my chin up so that I'm looking into his eyes again. Tears well up in my eyes. I love this man with all my heart. I fall deeper and deeper in love with him every day. My heart is brimming with love for him. I don't need to say it. I know he can feel it as I can feel his love for me.
“Will you wear this ring again for me?”He produces the ring out from his pants pocket. “I had it cleaned.”
I lift my hand up so that he can slip it on my finger. He raises my hand up to his lips and kisses it.
“I love you,” he murmurs before his warm lips find mine. Ripples of pleasure run down my whole body. I open my mouth for his tongue to delve inside, finding my tongue, tangle, and dance together. Teasing and tasting each other. I miss the intoxicated taste of him. My hand goes into his hair while his hand tugs my body to be under his. I love the feeling of his weight over me. I wrap my legs around him as he grinds his lower body against mine. I can feel his straining bulge grinding against my core.
His mouth travels along my jawline and down my neck, kissing, sucking, licking, nipping. When his mouth finds that little spot behind my ear, a little moan escapes my mouth. He quickly covers my mouth with his again.
“Uuummm... not… too... loud... love..” he murmurs between kisses. His voice is husky and so sexy.
How can I be quiet when he's doing things to me? Oh, Constantine.
His hand comes up to cover my mouth as his lips move lower down my body. His other hand slowly pulls my top down while his mouth follows. When his mouth closes over the peak of my breast, I moan aloud despite his hand that's covering my mouth.
He removes his hand, and he pushes up to look into my eyes. His face flushed and his breathing ragged. His hair is all mussed up. Hunger is evident in his eyes.
“Goddess, your moans are sexy and driving me crazy,” he groans before he dips his head down to place his magical mouth on my skin again.
Once we started, it's hard to stop. We might or might not have joined the Mile high club.
***
When we emerge from the bedroom later to get ready for the landing, I notice Darius and a couple of other lycans from the task force sitting at the front. Apparently, they're joining us to go back to investigate the involvement of several high ranked werewolves from our pack in my kidnapping.
My first thought is, I didn't know they're coming with us. The second is—cuddly bunnies and fuzzy slippers— I hope they didn't hear anything!
My hope is crushed when Caspian gives us a mischievous look. He smirks knowingly and says, “Painting session in the sky? Damn, I'm jealous!”
Constantine smacks him upside the head while walking past him. I hear Serena giggle while Lazarus clears his throat. The two lycans stare out the window without any expression on their faces. I guess they're trying to be respectful. Darius just gives us a brief nod while a tiny smile is playing on his lips, softening his hard features. His icy blue eyes look amused.
Arrghhh! Kill me now! So I spent the entire flight hiding my face against Constantine's broad chest.
We arrive back late night, Sunday. My family and friends are waiting for us inside the house. My mom, dad, Autumn, Reese, River, Penny and even her parents are here. I’ve known Penny's parents since I was still in diapers. Constantine had called and asked the caretaker to come and let them in earlier.
I was hugged tightly by everybody. We introduced the three lycans to my family and friends, then they updated us on what had happened here during our absence.
Both Logan's and Mia's bodies were brought back to be buried on Wednesday. Alpha Carrington is crushed. Logan was his only child. Mia's parents are devastated too, especially with the circumstances that lead to her death. The elders refused to let them be buried in the regular higher ranked werewolves cemetery. That's where Logan's long line of Alpha ancestors was buried. That would be the ultimate disgrace to his family and to his memory. That saddens me. I decided that I would go and talk with the elders about it.
I notice Penny is awfully quiet. That doesn't happen very often. She seems distracted.
“Persephone Aspen Ruiz, did you hear a word I was saying?” asks her mom after she didn't answer her mom's question the third time tonight. Penny's smooth tanned cheeks turn bright red, and I notice her glancing very quickly to Darius before her eyes dart away.
This is very new. I've never seen Penny blush before. Blushing is my thing! Something is definitely up.
***
The mood at school is sober today. The death of Logan and Mia weighs heavily on everyone's mind. I don't see Hunter, Zeke, Caleb or the rest of their group at school. I wonder if they're allowed to take the test separately or later than anyone else. Logan's empty chair during English lit test is a stark reminder that he'll never walk the hallway or sit in that chair ever again. There's a little twinge of pain in my chest. He was after all my born mate.
Penny is quiet today too. I don't think this is caused by Logan's or Mia's passing. She's never fond of the two, especially after Logan rejected me. After my last exam for the day, I can't take it anymore.
“What's up, Penny?”
Her eyes are wide as she stares at me when I pull her aside.
“Nothing's up. Why do you think something is up?” she squeaks.
Now I know something is definitely up. I raise an eyebrow, telling her that I'm not fooled.
“Okay, okay....” She relents, but her eyes are busy scanning the hallway.
“Who are you looking for now?” I ask her, feeling exasperated.
“Your mate...and all the other lycans,” she answers.
“They're not here. They still have another exam. Why?”
“Okay then.” She sighs with relief. Then she pulls me to sit on the grass outside. The weather is beautiful today. Not many students are around right now.
“Well?” I ask her when she just sits there fidgeting with the strap of her bag.
She puffs out some air, blowing the bangs off her forehead. “Okay...uh..you know that lycan the other night?”
“Which one?”
“Uh...Darius?”
“Okay...what about him?”
She blows her cheeks like a cute chipmunk and raises her face up to look at the sky before she let it go.
“He's...” She stops, then groans, then flops herself to lie on the ground.
“Hot?” I supply. Of course, he's hot, and Penny is boy crazy. Nothing new there.
“Yeah...he's crazy hot...but there's something more.” She sighs. “I don't know Gen. When I look into his eyes, I forgot where I was. There's this... magnetic pull. I couldn't stop looking at him, I couldn't think when I was near him, and I can't stop thinking about him. I mean, I know I have a mate out there for me...This is crazy!”
That sounds familiar. I know that feeling. For a minute I just stare at Penny. She's looking up at the sky, watching the clouds drift by. Her silky short, dark hair fans out behind her. There's a dreamy look in her big brown eyes.
“That sexy Russian accent...so so so hot.” She sighs under her breath.
Students are rushing out of the entrance. We are no longer alone.
“We need somewhere private to talk, Penny,” I tell her.
“Genesis,” says another voice. Evan. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
No. “Yeah, sure,” I turn to look up at Evan, the new human student that I stumbled upon in the hallway a few weeks ago.
“In private?” he asks.
“Why not here?” another voice drawls out lazily as an arm wrapped itself around my shoulders from behind possessively. Constantine pulls me close as he gives Evan a measured look. Evan is eyeing him the same way.
Penny is eyeing both guys with widening eyes.
Then my mate starts nuzzling my neck. The way he does it shows possessiveness. It shows to everyone looking there should be no doubt that I belong to him.
“Wait. Are you... engaged? Married?” asks Evan, staring at the rings on our fingers, looking baffled.
“Yes,” says Constantine, but doesn't elaborate further as he kisses and nips my neck. Goddess! How am I supposed to think when he's doing that?
“Well...okay then,” says Evan, seems like he's lost for words. “Don't you think we're too young for that?” he mumbles before he walks away. I feel Constantine's arms tighten around me. I don't expect a human to understand our situation, but I should tell my mate to lay off a little bit. I should be mad for the high-handed way he's handling this. If only my brain isn't all mush right now.
“I love you,” he whispers against my neck. Warm lips are teasing my skin. Chills running down my back. Oh, gosh. How can I be mad and stay mad?