Chapter Thirty
Finding eggs for breakfast was the easiest part of Sorin’s morning, picking berries without squishing them the hardest. The pack omegas did the gathering. He’d be picking thorns from his hide for the next few days. Storing the fruit in a bag at his feet, he tried to suck the purple stains from his fingers.
“What’s this? Berry picking? Pussy-whipped so soon?” A familiar male voice spoke from the other side of the bushes, downwind of him.
Sorin growled. He’d been so absorbed in finding food he could have become some predator’s meal. “What are you about, Tor?”
“Looking for you.” The large, brown-furred hunter paced around the bushes. The old male was a good friend. Two younger hunters accompanied him, but they waited far from their conversation. “Lailanie said both you and the human were trapped out in the storm last night. Search parties are covering the valley to find either of you.”
“We’re fine.” Sorin picked up the bag of berries and eggs. “We stayed in one of the hunting caves.”
The male observed Sorin’s naked state and snorted. “Nice bite.” He pointed to his neck. “Is it an official mark or is she just practicing?”
Sorin clapped a hand on the small bruise on his neck and narrowed his gaze on the male. Susan couldn’t help it if she lacked the canines to leave a proper bite. That she tried was enough for him. He bared his teeth at Tor.
The hunter folded his ears back and crouched onto all fours, his gaze on the ground. “So the rumors are true?” His voice didn’t reflect his posture. “You want more than to lay with her?”
“I plan on keeping her. She will carry my mark. Will you or the others give me trouble?” He crossed his arms over his chest. It was difficult to appear intimidating with berries and eggs in his possession.
“I’ve never known you to take to any female so quickly.”
“I know my heart.”
The hunter met his gaze, and his ears came forward. “I’m glad. I was beginning to wonder if you had one.” Stepping forward, the male rubbed his muzzle against Sorin’s shoulder, a sign of submissive affection. “A happy alpha is a happy pack.”
Sorin released a breath he’d held. Tor was the second pack mate to tell him that.
The hunter sat on the ground. “Will you bring her home today?”
“I planned to.” He rubbed his chin. “But we need to be at the Temple by morning. The Payami are holding Peder hostage. I have to go negotiate his release.”
“We should come with you.” Tor gestured to himself and the other two hunters.
“The pack is still too weak. You need to stay and protect the den. We shouldn’t be gone long.”
“There’s no hurry to return.” The male winked, his tongue lolling out the side of his muzzle. “Take some time with your new mate.”
“But the sick—”
“Are doing well. Susan’s medicine is working wonders.” Tor leaned forward. “If I were a young male with a new, pretty mate I’d want some time…alone.”
“Yes.” Rubbing the back of his neck, Sorin chuckled at the unsolicited advice from the old dog. “Alone time would be—nice.”
“I’ll tell the others you’re taking Susan to the Temple and will be back in a few days.” The shifter rose and made his way to the younger ones waiting in the shade. “Better teach her how to bite though.” He shouted over his shoulder.
Sorin planned to. He grinned as he returned to the cave and his sleeping mate.
He crept through the narrow tunnel, relieved to see his small fire still burned. With purple fingers, he cracked the eggs onto the hot frying pan. They popped as they contacted the heat.
Susan stirred on the pallet across from the fire. She stretched, her arms raised over her head, the blanket slipping low on her breasts. The perfect mounds rose as she sighed.
His breath caught in his throat. Tilting his head to the side, he tried to get a better view around the flames, urging the blanket to slip a little more. A half-naked woman could be a hundred times sexier than a fully nude one.
She rolled on to her side, grabbing the blanket as she moved. “Hmm…smells good.”
Smell? He blinked then glanced at their breakfast, flipping the eggs before they overcooked. His thickening cock needed to take a rest so she could eat.
Bed-tangled hair hung from her head, covering her bare shoulders. She rose onto her elbow. “What I wouldn’t do for a cup of coffee right now.”
He quirked an eyebrow but kept his gaze on the pan. He had a list of things she could do for him or to him, but he didn’t know coffee so couldn’t offer the trade. The eggs stuck to the unused pan but he salvaged most. He sat next to her, holding a wooden spoon, and offered her some. “Careful—it’s hot. I couldn’t find bowls.”
“What about you?”
“I already ate.” His traitorous stomach growled at the smell.
She ran her hands over his forearms. “You’re full of scratches.”
“I almost forgot.” He pulled the bag of bounty he’d struggled to collect closer to them. “Berries.”
She looked inside. “I can’t eat all this. We’ll share.”
Share—such an odd word for his heart to quiver over. As pack they shared everything. Yet Susan wasn’t Apisi. Not yet. They sat so close, her alien scent traveled over the egg’s smell. She was so delicate and fragile, yet strong and fierce—a mixture very different from any other female he’d met. She didn’t smell things like shifters did, not his present arousal or anxiety. Communicating with her would be different, if not difficult.
She took the wooden spoon from his hand where he’d stopped mid-air then offered it to him. He took the bite.
They’d done well so far.
It didn’t take long to finish the meal. Neither of them had eaten the evening before so later this afternoon he’d hunt and make them a bigger meal. “I’ve been thinking we could spend the day away from the den.”
“Okay.”
Grinning at her quick reply, he kissed her forehead. “We could take our time and travel toward the Temple.” He worked his way along her brow to her ear with kisses. “Camp out under the stars,” he whispered. “Make love all night again.”
She moaned and leaned into his body. “What about the sick?”
“I met a search party this morning. They said all are recovering well because of you. My pack is self-sufficient—they don’t need me hovering. We’ll be back tomorrow with Peder.”
“Have you thought of what to say to Kele?”
“That I’m not trading you and have taken you as my mate. She’ll need to ask another price.”
She remained silent.
“Do you think the Payami would harm him?” asked Sorin.
“Kele’s mother might.” Susan chewed on her bottom lip. “Maybe you should let me do the talking.”
“Don’t worry.” She cared about omegas as much as he did. Truly, she’d been created for him. “Peder is very good with females.” He winked. Most omegas were gifted in social skills. The pack needed them to survive. He couldn’t imagine a bunch of hunters capable of living together without killing one another. Omegas defused the aggressive energy within packs somehow. To him it was like magic.
Peder had better be fine.
“Okay.” She didn’t sound so sure.
“As for the rest of the day…” He pushed her back onto the pallet, tugging the blanket from her luscious body.
She blocked him with her hands. “I stink.”
The heady scent of her arousal filled his nostrils. Bypassing her defenses, he pressed a kiss on her stomach. “You smell like mine.”
“No, I smell like old sex and sweat. It’s making me nauseous, and I can’t feel—sexy like this.” She squirmed away.
Following her off the pallet, he tried to grab her. She belonged in his arms, not running from them, no matter how she smelled.
She squealed and laughed, the sound free and happy. It reflected his heart that had been imprisoned in bad memories for so long. “Let me wash, let me wash.” She danced away, covering her breasts.
He leaped from the floor and snared her. Slipping his hands under hers, he caressed her breasts. The hard nubs pressed against his fingertips, and he traced small circles around them. “I know of a waterfall.”
She moaned and stopped struggling.
“The water is clear and cold. It’s a small hike from here.” He pinched her nipples, delighting in them.
“Sounds wonderful.”
Slithering out of his arms, she grabbed her dress. “Are you going like that?”
He glanced down at his naked body. “You don’t like it?”
“What’s not to like? I don’t want the important bits getting snagged on something.”
He couldn’t help but grin like a fool. As alpha, most people didn’t banter with him. Susan’s quick wit made her even more precious. She gave him spirit and—and fun.
By the Goddess, when was the last time he’d had fun and laughed?
With a hunter’s speed, he captured her again in his arms. He ravaged her mouth, tongue and lips. Tasting, he consumed her delicate flavor as he trapped her against his body.
Using his hair as leverage, she pulled him away. “Waterfall.”
“If you didn’t obsess about washing so much, you wouldn’t have to worry about my bits, and you’d have the whole day to fondle them.”
“Keep this up, and you may need to protect those bits from me.”
He growled. “Promise?” Watching her bathe in the cold waterfall would be a joy though—hard nipples, goose flesh and so many drops to lick. “Let’s go.” He set her down, shifted to feral form and gathered a few supplies.
“You shift so quickly. Does it hurt?”
“No.” He tossed the things in a large pack—blankets, flint, cooking gear. “Can you carry this on your back as you ride me?”
She ran her fingers through the fur on his chest. “Honey, I can do anything while riding you.”
His knees weakened at the image those words inspired.
The trip took an hour of climbing at shifter speed. If Susan had walked the distance it would have taken a day. She’d misjudged the distance and speed to the Temple when Sorin brought her to the Apisi den. She never would have made it on her own.
She dismounted from Sorin’s back and stared at the oasis he’d spoken of. Water trickled from a high cliff thirty feet above in a steady stream and collected in a sandy, oval pool. “You know the best spots, Sorin.” She kicked off her moccasins and dipped her toes.
Cold, but the sun rose overhead and promised to be warm. The light danced on the clear liquid, sparkling in a thousand diamonds. She undressed, tossed the dress on the grass and stepped into the pool.
After Sorin’s thorough exploration of her body last night, she didn’t feel timid. Tingles played over her skin but not from the brush of cool water on her thighs. She glanced over her shoulder at the source.
Sorin stood on the grassy slope watching, his avid attention almost solid enough to caress her skin.
Electric currents of sexual energy charged through her body. No one had ever looked at her quite this way. He made her feel sexy, desirable. With Sorin around, she wanted nothing.
He strolled to the edge, thick muscles moving under his fur, and lounged across the ground. The sun sparkled on his silver fur, giving it an almost metallic sheen. She’d never seen a creature more deadly—or more beautiful.
“Won’t you wash with me?”
“I’ll bathe after. I want to watch.” He shifted back to civil form. After only a few days, the act didn’t faze her anymore. The silver color of his long hair and his amber eyes always remained the same. “I want to look at you.”
Oh, she was in deep shit. She’d fallen so hard for him. She didn’t have any experience with these kinds of emotions. Clutching her stomach, she tried to settle the butterflies rioting inside. Would she be like Lailanie one day? Trapped living in the Apisi den forced to watch as he seduced a different female?
No wonder the female shifter hated her. “Were you and Lailanie—um—”
“No.”
“You didn’t let me finish.”
“You didn’t need to.”
The butterflies in her stomach dispersed and set her heart free. She hadn’t realized the guilt she carried until now. She didn’t want to be known as a male stealer.
His gaze wandered over her body. “No scars anywhere and no calluses on your hands. You’re so smooth and soft, I can barely keep from pouncing on you.” He sighed and plucked at the grass, one strand at a time. “You lived an easy life. I wish I could offer you the same.” He sounded hurt.
It twisted her gut that he thought he had so little to give. She came ashore and knelt in front of him. “I don’t think Eorthe could offer me what I lost.”
He flinched.
She caressed his face until his chin rested in her palm. “I never knew how empty and meaningless my life was until I met you though. You saved me, Sorin. I only existed in my world, but you showed me how to live.”
He turned his face against her palm and placed a kiss on it.
She slipped back into the pool. “Swim with me.” Floating in the center, she observed a couple of cumulus clouds passing across the blue sky. She’d never bothered to look at them on Earth. She’d been too busy meeting deadlines, secreted away in her lab, going over calculations and arguing theories. She should be trying to figure out how to return home. Instead, she rode shifters bareback through the mountains, bathed in hot springs and fell out of trees.
If the portal opened again while at the Temple, she wouldn’t step through. This world with its vicious creatures held Sorin, and he in turn owned her heart. How could she ever live without him?
Waves rippled around her. Sorin swam close, circling. “You have an advantage over me.”
She wanted to laugh. She had nothing on him—he had all the power.
“You know of my world. Tell me about yours.”
Settling her feet onto the sandy bottom, she stopped drifting away from him. “I told you some things. Only humans exist there as far as I know. Our technology is much more advanced. What else?”
“How many lovers have you had?”
Her breakfast rolled over and played dead. “Not many.”
With a grave expression, he swam closer and inhaled. “You’re not lying but I find that hard to believe.”
She opened and closed her mouth trying not to sputter. He wasn’t joking. “I wouldn’t lie about that.” Men chased after women like Lailanie, not super-geeky her.
“Children?”
She shook her head then pinned him with a glare. “Are any of the pups in the den yours?”
“No.”
“Any pups anywhere?”
He grinned. “No. I haven’t taken a lover in years.”
“Why not?” Lailanie had hinted at this when they’d had their heart-to-heart. “I mean—a guy like you shouldn’t have trouble finding one.” She spoke softer.
Raking his hair from his face, he sighed. “It’s complicated.”
The cold water became frigid. “Try me.”
“I explained the other night how the alpha is the heart of the pack. My…father was the alpha. His feral side was more dominant than his civil. This doesn’t happen often, but when it appears we try to put the shifter down before someone gets hurt.” He cleared his throat and stared at the waterfall. “My father hid it well until he grew too strong for anyone to challenge him.”
A chill ran through her limbs. She reached for Sorin and pressed her body to his back. She recalled the night of the burial when he’d mentioned something about abuse.
“There are many terrible rumors about the Apisi—beatings, murder, rape. They were all true while my father was alpha.”
She hugged him tight, unable to imagine a childhood in that kind of environment. What could she say?
“Every time I made a connection with someone he destroyed it. He saw it as a weakness and wanted me to take his place. Eventually, I stopped reaching out. I had to wait.”
She sensed the blood leave her face. “For what?”
“To grow stronger and do what he wanted by becoming alpha.” He twisted in her arms to face her. Any playfulness had disappeared. “I killed him.”
Her fingertips touched her open mouth as she struggled with the what-the-fuck moment. Murdered his father? Granted, that happened on Earth too, but not to anyone she knew, let alone cared about. She understood pack law was very different from human but she couldn’t bury years of her beliefs in just a few days.
Sorin grasped her elbow and kept her from drifting away. “He was hurting them, Susan. I had to protect the pack.” He hung his head. “You don’t understand.”
She straightened her shoulders and gripped his biceps. What would happen to her if they had a disagreement? Would he put her down? “Explain it then.”
The pain in his eyes when their gazes met cut through her doubts. “It’s instinctual for me to protect. I think my father didn’t have this natural instinct as an alpha.” His stare glazed over. “I found Peder early one morning. He was barely thirteen winters old.” He swallowed. “The blood—what my father—I mean…”
“Sorin?”
“It made me so angry. My feral side took control. Alphas take care of the pack, not destroy it. I hunted him down within the den in my feral form, which is against our laws, and attacked.” He shuddered. “No one tried to stop me.”
The ache in her chest grew. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. Sorrow choked her voice and made it hoarse.
“Don’t be. I don’t regret it. I showed him mercy and killed him quick. That’s more than he deserved.”
She leaned her head on his resilient shoulder.
“After that I couldn’t take any female in the pack. Even in his death, my father’s shadow followed me. Any poor judgment on my part reminded the pack of him. I couldn’t indulge, not without damaging our fragile bonds.” He caressed her cheek. “No one sees me. They see an alpha, the son of a tyrant, or a savior.”
Closing her eyes, she struggled not to shed tears. “You’ve been as alone as I have.”
“Not anymore.”