Chapter Thirteen
Not the smoothest thing Ken had ever said, but there wasn't any good way to approach the subject of shifting. Tearing it off like a Band-Aid had seemed like a good idea at the time, except now there was murder in Betty's glare.
He held up his hands in surrender to ward off a pending attack. He didn't want to hurt her. It was the last thing he wanted. If Ken had it his way, they would tell the packs to fuck off and live their lives as they wanted.
But where? Werewolves lived everywhere, even in some places that humans refused to permanently settle, like the Antarctic. The threat on Betty’s life would be present no matter what they did unless she either shifted or he left her.
The latter would not happen. Not unless he had no other choice. What he had to explain to Betty would most likely end up with him missing some teeth though.
“I warned you. This is part of the discussion that you're not going to like.”
“The part where you wanted witnesses so I don't kill you.”
“You really can't kill me.” He was a beta for a reason—he'd been studying martial arts since the day Ryota had signed his adoption papers, but he needed to make that clear to his mate before she tried.
She narrowed her eyes. “If I’m your soulmate, then you’ll never lay a hand on me.”
She had him there. Damn, she was good.
“That’s supposed to go both ways, where you can’t hurt me either.” The way she fisted her hands didn't have him convinced though.
“Speak, now. Fast.” She spat out the words as if they tasted bad.
He guided her to the chairs she had set out in the waiting room and they sat facing each other.
“I made a huge, huge mistake.” He hung his head and closed his eyes. “I told the pack you’re my soulmate without thinking of the consequences.”
Would she understand the error of his ways?
“Oh, Ken.” She covered her mouth with her hands.
“I was so excited.” He lifted his gaze to hers. “I’ve been searching for you for years. Here you were, right under my nose the whole time. My pack knew about my quest. Some even dared to make fun of me, so when I found you I told the biggest gossip in the pack.”
Betty slowly shook her head. “I bet everyone thinks I can shift because I'm your soulmate.” She slid her hands over her cheeks, her eyes wide with fear. “I can't fake this. What will your alpha do if he finds out?”
Ken sank deeper in his chair.
She sat up straighter. “Oh my God, he already knows?”
“Your old pack’s alpha had asked Ryota to keep an eye on you. My father has been keeping quiet tabs.”
“Which alpha? The old one or new one?”
“Uh, does it matter?”
She jumped up and paced the room. “Yes it does. If it's the old alpha, then no problem. But if the new one…”
“The young one who won the challenge at eighteen?”
“Same year I was banished at eighteen.” She looked at him as if expecting some reaction, but his mind was a blank. “We were an item in high school,” she continued with exasperation. “We dated. A lot.”
“The present alpha of Riverbend Pack is your ex-boyfriend?” He growled at the thought of anyone else touching her. That her ex was an alpha made Ken grind his teeth. “Did you love him?”
It was the only thing he couldn’t bear. Her loving another man.
She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “He was a thing. A rebellion against the pack. I was the one girl he shouldn't date so I pursued him. A few months later, I was banished as a human. My parents told me that he petitioned to have me returned. When our old alpha denied him, Chris lost his shit and attacked. That’s how he inherited the pack.”
“And he's been keeping tabs on you.” Ken liked this less and less. “Has he ever tried to contact you?”
“No! It was never a serious thing.”
“He defeated an alpha over you. I think that’s pretty serious.” Ken had been having similar thoughts. He would fight everyone to keep Betty.
Apparently, Betty had that kind of effect on men.
“Chris is kind of intense.”
“Most alphas are.” He massaged his temples.
“So what did your father say when you told him your soulmate was a half-breed who couldn’t shift?” She sat next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. She seemed so tiny and delicate next to him, yet so fierce and beautiful in spirit, his heart wanted to burst.
He rested his arm over her shoulder. “He'd like you to give shifting another try with new teachers.” He kissed her forehead as he twisted Ryota's threats into something sweeter. “You're my soulmate and only shifters can trigger that response. There's more werewolf in you than you think.”
She met his stare, something most shifters couldn't do. “I know there's more. I always have, but nothing I try works. Don't get me wrong, I would do anything to shift.” She almost growled out that last part. “I'm not sure my heart can take it. Being cast out almost killed me the first time. If we do this and fail I might not survive.”
He squeezed her against him, her scent filling his nose, and her words a dagger in his chest.
Betty buried her nose against Ken’s exposed neck. His scent was a drug in her system.
Was this the soulmate smell he kept referring to? She traced the tip of her tongue along his throat. He tasted nice, like earth and salt.
His arms tensed around her. His protective instincts toward her were a reminder of what she’d lost with her pack. She missed this, knowing someone had her back twenty-four seven. There was no pushing away or not now. In the short time, they’d known each other, he hadn’t said no to any of her demands. Though, he had negotiated quite a lot. Those skills probably made him a great financial officer.
She crawled onto his lap, arms caging him in. “I smelled this scent last night too.” Moving her nose to the other side of his throat, she inhaled deeper. Spicier than cinnamon with a hint of citrus and sunshine. It spread through her, burning away the dark shadows of her past.
She closed her eyes. Her aching heart drumming in her chest. “It's true. The soulmate scent is true. How is that possible?”
“What do you smell?”
“Hope.” She didn't want to move, afraid she'd lose this moment. Proof that she truly was shifter like she had always believed. All those times her father had told her to just believe and trust in her instincts. She’d thought they were lies after the crushing truth of not shifting. It made no sense. She fisted Ken’s T-shirt in her hands. “What the fuck?”
“We'll figure it out. What matters is that you believe me now.” He lifted her face so their gazes clashed, his scent still fresh in her nose with sunlight pouring through the window behind him. A halo framed his golden head and his amber eyes glowed with an inner light as their souls connected. His lips parted. “Betty…”
With one sharp tug, she pulled his T-shirt over his head and tossed it across the floor.
His intense gaze narrowed with a predator’s focus, a feral growl rolled in his chest. Oh dear, what had she unleashed? She gasped as he tackled her. One hand cradling her head so it wouldn't knock on the floor.
Hard muscle slid under sun kissed skin. She'd seen Ken in all his glorious nakedness, but having it pressed against her, between her thighs, she suddenly realized how much power his body held.
Gathering the hem of her shirt, he dragged it slowly along her torso while trailing his nose along her abdomen. He groaned as he reached her bra and paused to lick over the lace. His gaze darted to hers as if assessing her reaction, all predatory and feral.
Her nipples perked at his attention.
He twirled the tip of his tongue around her hard bud. So moist and hot.
She dug her nails into his shoulders, arching her back.
His teeth grazed over the material just before he nipped the sensitive area.
She cried out. Pain and pleasure playing off each other.
Sensing her need, he pressed his mouth to Betty’s, taking her in a deep, sweet kiss. She loved it—he tasted like heat and spice and all the things missing in her life. Things she’d been craving with each passing hour. She moaned into his mouth as he caressed her face. Touching her cheeks, her forehead, the shells of her ears with delicate brushes of his fingertips. She couldn’t think about evictions, or pack, or anything else other than the feel of this beautiful and powerful wolf shifter claiming her—the banished, the half-breed.
“Betty,” he growled as his tongue stroked against hers.
She shuddered and ran her hands over his broad, muscled shoulders, tracing every detail and committing it to memory.
With an expert’s ease, he undid the front clasp of her bra. He hovered, his possessive stare sweeping over her exposed breasts, heavy with desire.
She shook them so they bounced with enticement.
A sharp inhale and he pounced upon them—sucking, caressing, cupping.
She tangled her fingers in his short, silken hair, her mind filled with the white noise of sensation. All air seemed to vanish and she couldn't catch her breath.
Feral noises filled the room. Ken tugged at the fastenings of her jeans. Fingers desperate and rough as he undressed her, flinging her clothes like parade ribbons over the furniture.
She…loved it.
He knelt between her legs and spread them wider, his gaze scorching. His big hands smoothed down her inner thighs, slow and firm.
Betty sucked in a breath, muscles shivering in anticipation. “Your hands feel good.”
He shot her a fast, smug grin before lowering his mouth over her lady parts. His hot breath blew over her exposed flesh as he ran his raspy tongue between her folds.
Shudders rippled through her, shudders of desire. She loved the feel of his mouth against her, the dangerous power in him…knowing he could be so gentle with her, his entire focus on giving her pleasure.
Ken rumbled and sank against her, his mouth buried between her thighs. She gasped because it made things feel even better—the vibrations moving through his mouth seemed to transfer directly to her pleasure centers.
Her hands went to his head, and despite herself, she clung to his hair. “Oh, have mercy,” she cried out breathlessly. She savored every long stroke, every flick, every swirl, every rasp against her most sensitive spots. He increased the intensity of his attentions as if he could magically sense she needed more.
Of course he could sense it. They were connected. Soulmates.
She came with a rush, crying out his name. Her muscles clenched tight, and she shouted again even as he continued to pleasure her, dragging out her climax. The world exploded in a haze where only Ken’s mouth existed and she was oblivious to everything else.
Slowly, she returned to reality, panting. Her body feels like a spring uncoiling. She flung her arm over her eyes. Okay, they had just done that. Wow.
Ken kissed a line along her inner thigh. His chuckle full of self-assured satisfaction.
Pressing her bare foot to his chest, she shoved him back onto his perfect ass.
He grunted in surprise.
She rolled forward with her momentum and straddled his supine form. The hard bulge in his jeans strained his zipper as she undid the fastening. “Payback.”
This was how soulmates were supposed to act. Passionate, hungry, needing to be together. It all made sense now.
A feral grin was his response. “I look forward to it.”
The waiting room door flung open. Sunlight flooded the room, blinding her for a moment.
She squealed and covered her breasts with her hands. What had they been thinking, getting it on here in the public area? That was right. They hadn’t been thinking. Instincts had taken over.
Ken sat up, arms hugging her tight as he blocked anyone's view of her nakedness with his broad back.
She peeked over his shoulders, expecting shocked bitty ladies returning early from their walk.
Betty’s eyes widened, straining at her intense surprise. “Daddy?”