VICTOR

The sun was coming up as Victor started up the incline of Rizer Mountain. Carrying Nicole half a day, and the entire night had him so hard he was afraid his cock was going to burst or fall off.

Every time Nicole tried to get free or got too mouthy for his liking Victor had punished her by spanking her, stroking her bringing her close to climax but stopping before she got there every time. He didn’t trust himself to keep from ramming his cock into her pussy if she started crying out when she came. His everlasting erection was clear evidence that he wanted her.

Victor didn’t just want to mate with her, he wanted her back. He wanted to be the reason she smiled or laughed. He wanted her to love him back.

Stupid. She’ll never forgive me. I should just convince her to mate with me. Even she can’t fight the need to complete our predestines.

It was the only thing that made sense. Why else would she be so turned on by him and still hate him so deeply at the same time? She’d basically said as much herself when she’d said it was the tigress that wanted him.

Keep pushing her Tigress. I will fuck you so long and good that you’ll bring her back to me, again and again.

“Put me down you, sick son of a bitch,” Nicole yelled as she pounded her fist on his back.

“You don’t have to hit me to get me to touch you, Nicole. Just tell me and I’ll be happy to make you squirm and pant for me,” Victor said holding his temper as her fist connected with his back again.

“Rafi is going to rip your dick off when he finds us and smells your stench on my body.”

Jealousy and anger boiled hot throughout his body. “I warned you to stop talking about your mutt to me. You want me, not Rafi. You want my mouth on you, my dick pumping into you. Your tigress tells me what you won’t.”

“I don’t want you to touch me, Victor. You just happened to pick me up when I was getting ready to mate with Rafi. I’m wet for him. I ache for him.”

That’s it.

Using his teeth and his fingers Victor ripped a hole in her mesh pants at her crotch. “You’re going to scream my name and tell me the truth, you understand?” he said as she cried out in surprise and started wiggling like crazy trying to break free.

Victor ran his tongue over her slippery, wet pussy. Then spread her with his fingers and sank his tongue into her depths. “Mmm,” he groaned. Surrounded by her scent and his tongue buried inside her he ignored the agonizing tightness of his shaft.

Her cry as he pumped his face against her, his cock leaking precum. He had to stop walking. The task was impossible with her about to come all over his mouth. He would be coming all over himself when she did, no doubt but he wasn’t trying to save face for Nicole. She already hated him, it didn’t get worse than that.

“Victor, stop. Fuck, please stop,” she pleaded her voice shaking. Her pussy was clenching around his tongue, one more stroke and she’d come for him. “You were right ok? I don’t want Rafi. Don’t make me disgrace myself more than I already have.”

Victor withdrew his tongue. This wasn’t how he wanted her to come for him, begging him not to make her come. He wanted her begging him to continue.

She was still shaking on his shoulder. He couldn’t stop himself from thinking about her perfect clit when he was holding her like he was. Victor slid her down so she was on her feet.

“Another potty break?” she asked looking at his hand on her wrist.

“No. You’re going to walk.”

Nicole looked up at him. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing. I don’t want you, I never will. It the tigress and as soon as I’m pregnant she won’t want you either.”

“I am trying to help you,” Victor repeated. “You aren’t safe with Rafi. He is going to use you.”

“I want him to use me. I need to get pregnant, remember?”

Victor grit his teeth together. “If you want to get pregnant open your legs and I’ll fuck you until you’re pregnant. That’s the only way you’re getting pregnant.”

“Use your hand,” she glared at him. “I’m never going to touch you, not willingly.”

“Rafi is good enough for you though?” Victor demanded knowing he probably sounded insane the way he was on the verge of freaking out. It was like reliving the same shit over and over again. It was Shan all over again. “Don’t answer that.”

Nicole scanned the forest, no doubt planning her escape.

Victor took hold of the back of her neck. “Move your sweet ass up this mountain. Before I carry you up this incline on my dick.” Turning her, he guided her in the direction of the Rizer fortress. He held her out in front of him. Victor gained another four kicks to the balls and about ten long angry scratches down his arms before he pushed her past the Rizer pack doors.

“Ian,” Victor bellowed holding onto Nicole with both hands as she thrashed and growled in his hold. “We’re here. You lost. Calm the fuck down, Nicole.”

“Kiss my ass.” Nicole hissed a sound that was all pissed off tiger.

He held onto her while he bolted the door. “I’ve been kissing your ass half the night. Can’t get enough of me?”

Nicole kicked him between the legs and then knocked him into one of the stone walls. His exhaustion was catching up with him he realized as he peeled himself off the smooth hard surface.

Her hands were roaming all over the doors as she tried to figure out how to unbolt the door and open it. She wouldn’t be able to figure it out. Darian, the alpha of the Rizer pack, had the doors especially made for the fortress after one of the pack was stolen from the fortress.

Victor grabbed Nicole by the hair since it was all he was able to grab before she leaped out of his reach. He gave her a harsh shake to get her attention. “You’re at the mercy of the Rizer pack here. It’s the largest pack that I know of and the alpha has the kind of authority that could lead a pack over a thousand strong. Think about that.”

“Is that why I’m here?” Nicole slapped at his hand in her hair but he didn’t let go. “You thought you’d introduce me to a real man? Did you think finding a replacement for Shan was going to make me forgive you?”

“Darian is mated, and I refuse to apologize again for Shan so don’t hold your breath on that one.”

Nicole narrowed her blue eyes at him. It was an angry expression on her face but the way her eyes were assessing him, and then her surroundings told him something more was going on with her.

Victor didn’t trust her. He gave her another shake. “You’re not going anywhere unless I take you there. Do you understand? You are not going to be a problem for the pack.”

“I’m getting out of here alright and once I do I’m going to get pregnant with Rafi’s baby. There’s more than one way to rid me of you.”

“There is no way to be rid of me,” Victor growled. “You’re mine.”

Nicole’s electric blue eyes widened at him and he watched in horror as her eyes filled with moisture. She let out a sad cry as tears streamed down her face.

“What’s going on? It’s still early,” Ian said as he arrived in the entryway where they stood. He was dressed in black trousers but was shirtless. His mate as of perhaps a week was still adjusting to all the nudity of the shifter life and she still hadn’t turned after being bitten by Ian.

Victor watched as Nicole turned her big eyes full of innocence and fear on Ian. Nicole’s fingers wrapped around his hand but she didn’t pull or try to free herself. “It hurts so much. Please make him stop hurting me,” she pleaded.

“What are you doing, Victor?” Ian asked moving forward. The four-striped raised red scarring on his face stretched, turning white at his jaw where his skin was stretched the tightest with his frown. “Who is this woman and why are you hurting her? Release her.”

“She’s a wild cat. If I release her you’ll be choking on your testicles in less than half a second,” Victor growled. His crotch was full of pain. His never-ending erection combined with the continuous abuse his balls suffered from her kicks made him feel nauseous and ready to throw her down and end the torment.

Ian approached more carefully with his hands out in front of him. “I won’t hurt you. I’m Ian. What should I call you?”

“I… I’m … Nicole,” she said in a small voice that sounded like a terrified, beaten teenager. “Please just make him let me go. He kidnapped me from my family, he ripped my pants, he’s pulled my hair and threatened me with awful things.”

Ian’s outraged look surprised Victor almost as much as Nicole playing this game of trying to appear the victim. “Don’t look at me like that, I had to get her. Angeline said I had to go and get her, it’s not like I wanted to go get her.” Victor saw the way her nostrils flared and smiled to himself. At least he could jab back without actually raising his hand to her.

“Did she say that you should pull her hair and manhandle her?” Ian scowled at him. “Let her go.”

Victor laughed shaking his head. “She’s a tiger shifter. You’re going to be sorry.”

“He shot me with a tranquilizer gun of some kind. I can’t shift. I’m helpless. You don’t have to be afraid of me just because I’m different than you are, Victor.”

“Like hell I don’t,” Victor growled wanting to cradle his balls. “She knocked me out, tranquilized me back, and nearly cut my nuts off with a rock.”

Ian looked at Nicole with a doubtful frown. She was underweight. Standing only five feet three inches, weighing in at a measly one hundred pounds, barefoot, and crying with Victor’s hand in her hair, Nicole didn’t look like a threat. “I’ll take my chances.”

Victor took hold of her elbow before he released his hold of her soft brown hair at her scalp.

“Let her go, Victor. This isn’t how we do things here at the Rizer pack,” Ian said.

Victor let her go because he would rather have to track her down again and capture her than have her hear from Ian that Victor was with the Herod pack before he was given the chance to join the Rizer pack.

Nicole rubbed her arm as if he’d been holding her too tightly. She smoothed down her brown hair. “Can I please go home?”

“No,” Victor growled.

“Hold on,” Ian said gently to Nicole. “What is wrong with you?” He asked Victor. “You’re acting like she’s liable to suddenly change and take out the pack.”

Victor slapped his hand to his own face. “She is.”

“What goes on here?” Darian asked entering the front room, Cara, the female alpha and Darian’s mate was right behind him. “Where have you been, Victor? Where are Killian and Angeline? I thought they were with you and who is this? You have to have permission to bring anyone here.”

“I’m nobody, he just picked me up from my pack and he won’t let me go. I just want to go home. Please,” Nicole said sounding pitiful to the alpha pair.

Cara at least didn’t buy into what she was saying right away as Darian looked like he did. Her golden blond hair was braided close to her scalp in a crown. “Why have you brought her here, Victor?” she asked.

“Angeline and Killian told me that I had too. They said it would save the Rizer pack.”

“How?” Darian asked. “Why wasn’t I told about this?”

Victor didn’t know where Angeline or Killian was and he’d been planning on them explaining the why of things. He really wasn’t quite sure what Angeline saw in her vision. Victor simply knew that he had to get her away from Rafi’s pack. He could guess why but he didn’t want to put Nicole at risk.

“She told me only that Rafi has formed a new pack, one that is going to mean the end of this one and leaving Nicole with him would mean that we would all be killed.”

Darian approached Nicole.

Victor could hear her heart pounding in her chest. She was afraid. Victor moved closer to her side ignoring the look Darian gave him. He couldn’t allow her to be scared, he wanted her to know that he was right there with her.

“You’re a tiger shifter, I can smell it.”

“Yes, I am but I have no quarrel with you. Only with Victor and I just want to get away from him.”

More of the pack was arriving. With their keen hearing, no doubt everyone in the fortress could hear the conversation happening in the front room. Errol, Ian’s twin brother without the scars arrived with his mate Onyx.

Looking around at their faces as more of them arrived, Victor could see them sympathizing with Nicole. She was winning them over with her innocent act. Nicole was anything but a victim, she was going to do something to try and get herself free.

“I apologize for your being brought here this way. Angeline is never wrong so if she says that your standing with Rafi’s pack will mean the death of my pack I must insist that you stay with us at least until we can clear this up with Angeline.”

Nicole pushed out more of her fake tears. “Do I have to stay with Victor? He scares me.”

“I do not fucking scare you, Nicole.” Victor raised his voice realizing too late that she was doing a great job of making him look like a total asshole. “We grew up together. She’ s my predestined mate. I would never hurt her.”

“He’s not the same as he was when we were kids and that was years and years ago. I don’t know this man. Please, don’t make me stay with him,” her pleading tone was convincing and it made Victor want to bend her over his knee and spank her again, among other things.

Darian gave Victor another once over as if looking for a hidden weapon. “It’s uncommon to have a predestined mate, even more, uncommon to have one that is not the same type of shifter. Are you sure you aren’t feeling confused since so many of the Rizer pack have been fortunate enough to have predestined mates?”

“That must be it. You’re confused,” Nicole said. “I understand how that can happen. If you let me go now, I promise I won’t tell my mate about you ripping my pants and your sexual advances.”

“That’s a little underhanded, even for you, isn’t it?” Victor growled at Nicole.

Cara and Onyx appeared to be the only ones who weren’t being taken in by Nicole. Victor was grateful for this when Darian’s amber gold eyes flared yellow with rage. Cara put her hand on his shoulder and the look she gave him must have told him more than the rest of the pack was able to get from it.

Victor could feel many of them looking at him differently, judging him. “It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not. I know the truth and so does she. We’ve always known, she and I. Nicole just happens to also blame me for everything that’s ever gone wrong in her life.”

“You’re mated to someone else?” Darian asked Nicole. “Who?”

“Rafi,” Nicole lied.

Hearing her claim Rafi when she refused to claim Victor to her family lit the short fuse on his cannon of that old wound and the rage associated with it. “How dare you claim him.” Victor’s growl shook the walls of the room.

Nicole jumped away and appeared genuinely surprised by his reaction to what she’d said but Victor doubted any of the emotions she was portraying were truthful.

“Take it back, Nicole. You will not do this to me, not again.”

Nicole folded her arms, her wet eyes glared at him. “I do not claim you. I never will.”

“Twisted bitch,” Victor growled knowing she was hurting him on purpose.

“Ian, take Victor to eat and rest. He’s not acting like the man we know him to be,” Darian said his gaze glowing yellow again. “I don’t put up with violence of any kind toward women. You will apologize for putting your hands on her and for the language you just used with her.”

His authority was unquestionable. It made Victor fill with remorse that was not truly his own. The reprimand should have crippled him, but Victor was too stubborn to give in to the shame he knew he didn’t really feel.

“I’m sorry that you lied again. Sorry, that you are more interested in punishing me than having a real life again, one where we could be happy.”

Nicole glared at him.

Her heart is pure ice.

“I’ll take her to get cleaned up,” Cara said.

“I’ll help you,” Onyx said, her black hair pulled up in one long curled ponytail.

Darian turns to Nicole. “If you cause any of my pack physical harm while you’re here, I will take your life as compensation.”

Ian gripped Victor holding him back when his monstrous roar ripped from somewhere deep inside at the threat against his mate. “He’s just a fool in love,” Ian said with a smile in his voice when Darian answered Victor with a roar of his own.

Victor was aware of Nicole watching him with a new glint in her eyes. He didn’t know what it meant and prayed it wasn’t Nicole thinking she would rise to this challenge and bring the wrath of Darian down upon them both.