Axel
I watched with fixation as the gold ring in her eyes brightened, revealing that the drivers had changed.
“You are an idiot that needs to learn to have more trust,” her voice slid around me in smooth waves, her eyes half hooded as she looked up at me.
“I won’t deny it,” was my reply as I leaned down until our noses brushed against each other.
“We told you our story, yet you continue to be disbelieving? What more is it that you want?” Her eyes flashed brightly with anger, and I found it absolutely sexy.
Don’t you dare say what I know you’re going to say, Ryker warned, yet I couldn’t make myself listen. I leaned ever closer and watched with hunger as her body shivered from my warm breath on her ear.
“I want all of you,” I murmured, reaching up and brushing her cheek with my knuckles softly.
She didn’t say anything but stood with a slightly stiff posture, her breathing coming out slightly ragged.
“Don’t you remember the equation?” she asked rather thickly.
I bent my head down and nibbled her neck. “Screw the equation. I would prefer to just skip to z.”
“But z isn’t even in it,” she replied thickly.
“It’s in mine,” I said before trapping her lips with my own.
She moaned loudly as I pushed her against the dresser, my hands firmly on her hips. I felt her magical fingers come up and grip handfuls of my hair, pulling me down closer to her.
I felt her soft curves underneath my fingertips, and it felt like I was in heaven with her hair brushing my face, the silky strands smelling of lilac. She pulled back, her eyes bright and cheeks flushed.
“Never forget the equation,” she teased and pinched me lightly in the side. I jolted at the sharp pain, and she slid away, her laugh echoing around us.
“Rei, stop moving away.” I made a move to grab her, but she simply slid out of my reach. She stopped in front of the door, her eyes twinkling with mischief and a smirk on her lips.
“You do know I have a job to do, right?” she said, her hand resting on the door handle.
“Babe, I do love your outfit. However, I cannot allow giving the joy to another man to see you as you are now.”
My eyes raked up and down her form, taking in the tight-fitting tank top and ripped Daisy Dukes, showing off her long legs. I licked my lips hungrily, and I took a step forward.
“Yep, definitely not happening,” I said huskily.
“Hmmm, we’ll see.” Before I could take another step, she had opened the door and darted through the opening with swift movements.
And there she goes, Ryker sighed.
“Don’t be such a downer. The game has only begun after all.” I smiled wickedly and followed with slower steps, still bare-chested but now clothed with sweats that Ryker had put on earlier.
Good luck ’cause you’re going to need it.
Thanks, I replied, using our connection to find our little mate. I felt the bond travel throughout the house, and I felt amazement that she had traveled a good amount of distance in that little sliver of time.
Becoming even more motivated, I began to follow her trail. I walked with long, purposeful steps through the halls, passing many other people who stared and bowed. Amazement and a hint of fear from the men, heated and longing glances from the woman. I ignored everything, of course, and focused on winning our little game. I had turned down an empty corridor, pictures hanging on the walls of smiling pups and families from the pack.
I may have a strong dislike for their son, but I had a deep respect for the current alpha and luna. They had a strong sense of righteousness and treated everyone with equal kindness. I had called ahead of time to come onto their land, and we had chatted for a few minutes with Alpha Ray and his wife off somewhere else for pack matters.
I felt the bond go behind a closed set of double doors, the dark mahogany a beautiful contrast to the lighter decor. Intricate designs were carved on the wood. A sea of wooden swirls gave the sense that something important hid behind the doors.
Come on in, King. I have something to show you, Rei’s voice floated through my mind like a gentle breeze yet hid the underlying tone of a ravaging storm.
I didn’t say anything as I reached out and gripped the shiny brass knob, turning with a smooth twist while pushing the heavy wooden door at the same time. I let the door swing slowly open, revealing the room hidden within.
I felt myself freeze in surprise as I stared into a room full of every kind of weapon you could imagine. It was a long rectangular room, looking like it was twenty feet long and fifteen feet wide. From samurai swords to the most advanced gun in today’s society hung on the walls, the metal gleaming dangerously under the light. Standing in the middle of the room was Rei flicking a deadly looking knife up in the air and catching it by the end of the blade.
“Pick a weapon,” she said, extending her arm out in a sweeping gesture.
I walked over to a wall full of rather sharp looking swords and gripped one by the hilt gingerly, keeping my eyes on her.
“What is this for?” I asked, taking a couple of practice swings with the sword, the blade gleaming almost menacingly.
“We are going to have a good old fashioned duel, my king.”
I rolled my eyes and lowered the weapon. “Why must everything end up with a fight with you?”
She shrugged. “Because it’s fun, and you made me wake up late, therefore making me unable to get back in time to train the pups.” A dangerous light gleamed in her eyes.
I sighed, but a smirk edged my lips up. “Fine but please, not the face,” I said seriously.
She chuckled and turned, motioning me to follow her. “Come on, then, I need to stretch my muscles.”
I followed her silently as she walked over to a door hidden in the shadows of the corner of the room, a large wooden cabinet standing beside it seemingly ominous.
We walked into a spacious room, black mats spread across the floor and a floor-to-ceiling mirror covered the walls. We looked at our reflections as we walked to the middle of the room, a couple feet of empty space between us.
“To be honest, King, I really wanted to take you down and make you ours right when we found out that we were mates,” she said casually, twirling the blade with easy grace.
“Why didn’t you?” I asked with just as much ease.
“I knew that it would have been a terrible idea.”
I stared at her. “I don’t see how. You are mine, and I am yours if you had made a move to mark us, we wouldn’t have had made a move to stop you.”
She pursed her lips and flicked the knife into the air, the blade just a blur of silver before coming back down, and her nimble fingers gripped the sharp edge with ease.
“The thing is, King, it would have been too easy. Just think if we had confessed our love and utter devotion right there, and our lives had ended with a happy ending at that moment, wouldn’t it have been boring? It really doesn’t make a good love story.” I twirled the long sword, getting used to the lightweight feel.
“No, it wouldn’t have. It would be terrible to disappoint our future pups with a boring story on how we met.”
She stopped her twirling and faced me, her head tilted. “Already thinking about the future, I see,” she murmured.
“Of course, I am. What’s stopping you?”
She looked at me in disbelief. “Really, you’re going to ask that question? First off, we need to fix your little trust issues, and two, I have a damned sociopathic werewolf hunting my ass. So, my future right now isn’t looking so bright.” She finished her rant, but I had stopped listening after “sociopathic werewolf.”
I felt my temper flare, and my eyes narrowed.
“You never said anything about being hunted.”
Something in my voice made her freeze. “Ah, well, um, you see, I wasn’t supposed to tell you…” She trailed off, and I noticed that she had actually blushed. I would have taken more notice of it if I hadn’t found out that she was in danger.
Why the hell didn’t she tell us? Ryker sounded pretty ticked, and I was almost there.
I didn’t reply to him but, instead, stalked over to Rei, her head down and her hands fidgeting. Once I was right in front of her, I tilted her chin up with my index finger so I could look into her eyes, noticing that the golden glow was gone.
“You’re going to explain the whole situation to me, and I want no bullcrap this time.”
She looked as if she were going to argue but stopped herself. Closing her eyes, she let out a deep sigh.
“This is why I can’t throw damn surprises,” I heard her mutter before shaking her head. Backing up, she turned, reared back her arm, and threw the knife. It flew with such velocity across the room that only a few silver flashes were really seen before it stuck into a target dummy. The impact of the knife was so hard that it caused the target to crash to the ground.
“All right, fine, I’ll tell you everything you want to know about my crazy abductor. But this was not what I had planned at all today,” she said the last part grumpily and stalked over to a couch located at the far left of the room, pushed up against the wall along with a small table and a mini-fridge.
I didn’t take any more notice of the cozy corner, instead, followed her lead and sat beside her, stiff as a board. Crossing her arms across her chest, she reluctantly began to tell a part of her past that seemed darker than I had ever imagined.