CHAPTER 16
One week later…
Tessa sat on the crest of Bear Mountain, looking out at the swirling mist around the base of the nearby mountains. Her feet were bare and she took exquisite pleasure in feeling the cool grass between her toes. She looked over at Atticus, still nude from his shifting, his body glorious in the evening sun.
“Nice ride?” he asked.
“Wonderful as always,” she said, a wide smile on her face.
The last week had been one of the most amazing of her life. She spent the days with Atticus in the woods, exploring nature, taking occasional breaks to admire the scenery or to make love. And while she was back at the compound, she got to know the brothers better, who, despite the differences in their personalities, all seemed to take a shine to her. She was beginning to feel like she had a place to belong.
She learned more about the pack, how they’d been charged with protecting Bear Mountain, a task their people had been entrusted with for generations. The men of the pack who weren’t members of the Swift family were drifters, mostly. They were men who couldn’t seem to find a place in the world, burdened with their strange power, lost until drawn by a strange compulsion to come to Bear Mountain, where they found the compound.
And what’s more, Tessa, learned from Ian after sharing a bottle of wine one night when Atticus was outperforming an emergency electrician call, that Atticus was shirking his responsibility to the pack. As the Alpha, he needed to take a bride first, choosing the best woman available to pass on the line of the tribe. And once he chose, the rest of the tribe, brothers first, could select wives of their own. But Atticus found that he had grown accustomed to the single life. Tessa learned that it was fast approaching the point when the brothers were growing intolerably frustrated with his inability to settle.
But despite all of this, the problems with Lucas and the meth gang were getting to the point where she and Atticus could no longer ignore them. The incident at Hannigan’s was only the beginning. From the compound, the pack received news daily that the meth gang had robbed one store or another, or attacked a police officer, or raided a nearby property. The gang seemed to be based in the house in the woods where Tessa found Lucas that night almost two weeks ago.
Thoughts of Lucas troubled her as well. Though she hadn’t been there when the house was ransacked, the message was loud and clear: Lucas wasn’t to stand by and let Tessa walk out on him. She knew that the only reason she hadn’t seen him was because she’d been secreted away at the compound, and she couldn’t stay there forever…as much as she might want to.
But for now, she was content to enjoy the day with Atticus. Looking over at him, her eyes fell onto his arms as he supported himself with them, observing how the muscles flexed and tensed; she couldn’t imagine ever getting tired of his body.
And as if reading her mind, Atticus moved closer to her, slipping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her in. Tessa leaned her head against him, taking in the strange, animal smell that hung on his body after a long run through the woods.
“I’ve been up here for as long as I can remember, but this view never stops being amazing,” he said, looking out over the vista beyond.
“It’s incredible,” said Tessa.
Then, taking her chin into the crook of his finger, he pressed his lips to hers. Tessa let herself fall quickly and deeply into his kiss, the soft breeze of the wind rising up the gentle slope of the mountain as soft and sweet on her skin as Atticus’s touch. She turned herself to face him, her eyes searching down at his hard, muscular body, watching his cock grow harder by the second. Reaching down, she wrapped her hand around his prick, feeling a shudder of pleasure run through her body at the joy of holding him so intimately.
“Cutting right to the chase, huh?” said Atticus through their kiss, a sly smile on his sensual lips.
“Why wait?” asked Tessa.
She began stroking him, softly at first, letting her fingertips drag against his skin. And as she touched him, Tessa felt Atticus’s own hand slide down her body until it reached the hem of her dress. Atticus slipped his hand under it, placing his fingertips on Tessa’s sex through her silk panties.
Tessa let out a gasp as he touched her, his hand slipping under the fabric and grazing her, the feeling of his skin on her lighting up her body with pleasure. Then, as Tessa continued to stroke him, he slid a finger inside of her, Tessa’s pussy already slick with anticipation. They stimulated each other for a time, Tessa jerking Atticus’s cock at an increasing pace, and Atticus working her sex with his fingers, fingering her with expert precision.
Then, a smirk crossed Atticus’s face. He removed his fingers from Tessa, the pleasure running through her body replaced with a wave of disappointment. But that soon faded when Atticus lunged over, grabbed Tessa by the hips, and moved her onto her hands and knees, manhandling her in a way that aroused her for reasons that she couldn’t quite explain. Atticus was strong, very strong, and Tessa loved nothing more than when he tossed her around during lovemaking, feeling dominated by him in just the right way.
Tessa looked out onto the rolling mountains as Atticus flipped her dress up, exposing her ass to him. He slapped one cheek, squeezing a handful of Tessa’s ripe flesh, the anticipation of him being inside of her building by the moment. Then he moved her panties to the side, exposing her pussy to him. Tessa smiled as she awaited him being deep, deep inside of her.
She didn’t have to wait long. One hand on the supple curve of her hips, the other on his cock, Atticus slide into her easily. Once his cock was fully sheathed in her, he moved his other hand to her hips, holding her in place as he began to fuck her. He pounded her hard, her dark hair whipping back and forth at the rhythm of his thrusts, the pleasure filling her body within seconds.
Just like every other time she and Atticus made love, Tessa felt orgasm quickly approach; sometimes she wondered if his cock had been made specifically for her body. A silly idea, but it was the only way she could explain how perfectly he felt buried into her.
Atticus fucked her hard, his hips slapping against her ass, the striking of his hand against the flesh of her cheeks crackling through her body like a lightning bolt.
Soon after, Tessa’s body exploded with orgasm. Her arms went limp as the pleasure ran through her, and she pressed her face against the grass under her, wrapping her arms around her head as she tried to contend with the sensual pleasure that hit her. It was such intensity that she felt her body might be ripped to pieces. She let out long, passionate moans as she came, taking advantage of their secluded position, not feeling the need to keep quiet in the slightest.
Atticus came soon after, grunting as she fucked her, spraying his cum deep into her pussy, filling her with himself in every imaginable way, Tessa taking sensual pleasure from him draining himself into her.
Atticus slowed down and with one final slap of Tessa’s ass, finished, sliding out of her. He moved back to her side as she sat down, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her in close for one more kiss.
“I think we need to be getting back,” said Atticus, noting that the sun was inching closer and closer to the horizon, the sky slowly shifting from blue to a smoky lavender mixed with a creamy orange.
“As much as I think I could stay up here forever, you’re probably right,” said Tessa.
Atticus stood, and after a moment of focus, shifted into his bear form. Tessa climbed onto his back, savoring the feeling of safety and warmth that she always experienced when holding him in this way. His shifting was strange, easily the strangest thing that Tessa had ever seen, but as she began to understand it as just another trait of the man who she was falling for more and more by the day, she found herself being less startled by it each time he shifted.
Atticus started off down the woods, stomping back to the compound. Tessa, as always, closed her eyes and hung on tight, letting wind whip through her hair.
Soon, they arrived back at the compound and after passing through the gate, Atticus shifted back.
He put on his track pants and t-shirt that he had left behind, and as the two of them made their way across the compound grounds they were struck by a realization: There was no one else there.
“Where is everyone?” asked Tessa, looking around.
“Not sure,” said Atticus. “But they should’ve been back by now. And there should be a few of the pack still here.”
The two of them approached the main house, entering through the basement door and traveling up to the main floor. And as Tessa ascended the stairs, a strange, medical scent struck her.
“You smell that?” she asked.
“Yeah,” said Atticus, his face tense. “Stay close.”
They entered the main floor, and to their horror, saw that the kitchen was trashed. Tessa gasped when she saw the scene. Pots and pans were thrown everywhere, glasses were broken, and plates were shattered on the floor. The strange smell grew more intense, and Atticus and Tessa could now hear a commotion coming from the other room.
Atticus and Tessa approached the living room, and as they entered they saw that it was occupied by a dozen or so grungy-looking men and women, all in various stages of meth use, from lighting up to running around the compound, smashing whatever they could get their hands on.
And seated on the couch, calm and steely-eyed among them all, was Lucas.
“Long time, no see, Tess,” he said, a sinister smile forming on his lips as the rest of the gang members formed up around him.
“Take a seat,” he said, his eyes cold, and his tone murderous.