Chapter 86:

Bradley

I’ve been taking advantage of my rehabilitation to get to know Trena. Maybe some days I make it seem like I’m weaker than I am, but I don’t do that often. Trena has already been manipulated by Simon, lied to, mistreated—you name it. So I don’t want her to ever think I’m that kind of man. But, if I’m struggling to breathe, maybe I didn’t need to sit down for quite so long. I just wanted to spend more time with my mate.

At first, she only let me touch her when she was helping me walk. She was great about making sure she didn’t wrap her arms around my waist until we were away from the packhouse. I hate feeling weak, and she seems to understand that I don’t want others seeing me that way either. So she waits to assist me until we’re away from the pack. That’s also been a good excuse to separate ourselves so I can have some private time with her.

It was a couple of days after I left the hospital when I’d been able to walk her to a small pond on our pack lands. No one had really ever been able to enjoy this spot since we’d all been at war most of our lives. But I knew it was here, and I wanted to show Trena. It’s a quiet area where the sun filters through the trees, and if she ever needs space or to get away, this is a place she can go that’s safe.

“It’s really pretty,” she’d said, looking out over the water.

“Yes, you are.” I’d been looking at her, unable to take my eyes off her. She is beautiful. I had no doubt this was why Simon chose her. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, with long, thick brown hair that gets wavy at the ends and soft brown eyes that are still haunted by what Simon did to her.

She looked up, saw me looking at her, blushed, and stepped away. I let her go, never wanting to force her into any physical contact. I’d chosen honesty, knowing that was the only path that would ever lead us to a relationship.

“I’m sorry. I’m practically desperate to kiss you. Your lips are pink and perfect, and I know you don’t realize it, but when you’re talking to me, you frequently lick them, which makes me really want to kiss you.”

She’d looked out over the water. I could see her mind turning a mile a minute, her eyes looking all around as she thought through my words, and I could practically see the steam coming out of her ears at my comment. I had no idea if I’d completely offended her, scared her, impressed her, or anything else until she’d finally turned to me and smiled shyly.

“I’ve never been kissed.”

I frowned at that. How was that possible? “You’ve never… but…” How do you ask someone who’s been raped why they’ve never been kissed?

“Simon didn’t kiss me. He did things to me, or he told me what to do to him, but he never kissed me.”

My anger at Simon flared, but right behind that had been a deep, powerful possessiveness. I wanted this woman’s kisses, all of them, every last one, for the rest of my life.

“Can I kiss you?” I asked gently.

She nodded, and I had to hold back the urge to pull her into my arms and kiss her the way I’d been wanting to since I first saw her—passionately and desperately. Instead, I stepped up to her, stroking my fingers over her cheek. “At any time, if it becomes too much, pull back. You don’t have to kiss me if you don’t like it or if it scares you.”

She nodded, and I smelled the slight scent of her fear, but she agreed. So I slowly moved in, watching her as I did, until I gently pressed my lips against hers. I slowly and softly deepened the kiss until she started to lean against me, her hands fisting in my shirt. I carefully slid my hand into her hair, holding her head as I tilted mine, deepening the kiss even more.

When I’d slid my tongue over her lips, she’d gasped and pulled back. I waited to see if she’d pull away, and when she didn’t, I gently slid my tongue over her lips until she opened them. Her scent of fear changed to a scent of arousal, her spiced cider taste mixing with her scent and making me groan with pleasure.

When I’d finally pulled away, I pressed my forehead against hers as we caught our breath.

“I hope you liked that, because I would love to do that again.”

“I did like it,” she said shyly. She bit her lower lip as she said it. I knew it wasn’t meant to be sexy, but with her, she’s sexy without even trying.

I reached up, using my thumb to gently pull her lip from her teeth. “I should be the only one allowed to bite that lip,” I said, making her smile.

After that, I’ve been stealing kisses as often as she’ll let me. I never do it in public. Based on what she’s told me, Simon never cared who saw them and, in some instances, it seemed he preferred it, getting off on her embarrassment and humiliation. So, I knew that was a trigger for her. Since we walk in the forest multiple times a day to help strengthen my lungs, it works that I can sneak kisses then.

It was a couple of days later, while we were resting under a tree, that I noticed she was nodding off. She has dark circles under her eyes most of the time, and when I asked her about it, she shrugged and said she has nightmares, so she doesn’t sleep well.

I had pulled her against me, being careful when she went rigid in my arms to just massage her head and rub my fingers over her back. I made sure it was loving and not sexual in any way, and it hadn’t taken her long to fall asleep. She’d slept for hours while I’d held her.

I’ve offered to have her sleep with me at night, and last night, for the first time, she finally agreed. It took her longer to fall asleep; being in a bed made her uncomfortable at first. But Declan had started purring softly, and I’d massaged her head, letting my fingers slide through her soft hair. We’d waited until she’d fallen asleep, and then Declan and I had fallen into the deepest sleep I can ever remember having.

When I woke up this morning, I had the most painful erection I’ve ever had. I moaned, shifting, and when Trena yelped, my eyes flashed open. Somehow, overnight, she had moved so she was lying on top of me, her head nestled against my chest.

Her eyes were wide. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know…” she said, scrambling off me.

“It’s okay, Trena. I’m sure your wolf felt comfortable and wanted to be closer to me. I know mine wants to be closer to you. And…” I gestured to my hard length standing at attention under my shorts. “I can’t exactly do anything about that. You’re beautiful, you’re my mate, and you were lying on top of me. But you don’t have to be afraid of me. I won’t do anything. I won’t hurt you, ever.”

“I should… go,” she said, quickly getting off the bed.

“Can we go for a walk after breakfast?” I asked, wanting to know that we were okay.

She was already at the door, practically running to get away from me. But she stopped, turned to look at me, and nodded. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“Good. I’ll see you there,” I said, sighing as she left like she couldn’t get out of my room fast enough. Maybe this was a bad idea.

I got up and showered, dealing with my hard-on while taking a cold shower. The cold did nothing to help me when I remembered the feeling of my mate lying on top of me, and I had to take care of things again before I finally finished my shower.

Chapter 87

Bradley

The pack was gathering, and Trena and I were there. I was thrilled that Alpha Warren and Beta Charlie were here. It gave me hope that we would have a future together.

We went for a few walks before the ceremony began, where she let me steal a few kisses. When it was time for the ceremony, she and I stood side by side, and when it was time for me to go forward to recommit to my rank as Alpha and to the pack, she came with me.

After Alpha Warren and Beta Charlie announced that our Luna and Beta female were pregnant, the pack howled, and I did as well, excited for the good things happening in our pack. Trena, however, remained quiet.

“What’s on your mind, beautiful?” I asked her, leading her away from the party.

“This is all a bit overwhelming for me right now. I think I’m going to go to my room,” she said.

“Do you want me to go with you?” I asked her.

She shook her head. “You should stay and enjoy this,” she said, and I could see the tears starting to form in her eyes. I wasn’t sure what it was about this party that had her upset, but if she needed space, I’d give it to her, even if it went against everything inside me to do it.

“If you need me, or just don’t want to be alone anymore, come find me. No matter what time it is, okay?”

She nodded, then used the shadows to get back into the packhouse without anyone seeing her.

The anger that I was able to keep at bay when she was around came flooding back, and I was furious all over again that my mate was suffering because of that sh*thead in our cells. I knew that Alpha Warren would be planning his execution, so I approached him, telling him that I wanted my pound of flesh.

I was surprised when he offered to let me kill Simon, but I meant what I said about it needing to be him. Many in our pack had suffered because of Simon, not just me and not just Trena.

I was even more surprised when I turned around and saw her standing behind me.

“Trena, I thought you left. Are you okay?” I asked her, instantly concerned.

“I came to make sure that you knew I wasn’t leaving because of you,” she said.

“Oh,” I said, smiling at her kindness. “I knew that. I don’t know exactly what is upsetting you, but I understand that there will be times when you just need to get away.”

She looked behind me at Alpha Warren. “What are you going to do to Simon?”

“Finish what you started, like I told you I would,” I growled.

Her eyes moved back to mine. “You don’t have to,” she said.

“Yes, I do. Mostly for you, because you’re my mate, and he hurt you. He’s made our lives more difficult because of what he did to you. But I’m also doing it for me, and for Declan. It’s hard for us to know that we didn’t protect you. I know that I didn’t know you then. But I do now, and I hate that you suffered, and I wasn’t there to keep you safe.”

She smiled at me, cupping my cheek and lifting up on her toes. It was the first time she’d initiated a kiss between us, and I didn’t hesitate to accept what she was offering.

“Why don’t you go inside, and I’ll find you when I’m done,” I said when she pulled back.

She shook her head, putting her hand in mine. “I want to go with you. I don’t want him to see me, but I want to be there for you.”

I stroked her cheek. “Okay, let’s go. I believe our Alpha and Luna had some words for him, so I’ll have to wait my turn.”

When we got to the cells, I looked at one of the guards. “I need something to cauterize a wound,” I told him. I needed to make sure I didn’t kill Simon. I was sure Alpha Warren would make it a public event for the entire pack to witness.

The guard gave me a wicked smile. “We’ve kept an iron hot, just in case anyone gets overzealous,” he said.

I guessed Simon had been suffering at everyone’s hands. Good.

I led Trena down the stairs, listening to Luna Yara as she told Simon what a great man our Alpha was and why he deserved her submission. When I turned the corner and saw that she was actually submitting to our Alpha, I stepped back. Alpha Warren wouldn’t want anyone to see that. Well, other than Simon. I realized that our Luna knew exactly how to hurt Simon, and by the time they left, he was frothing at the mouth with fury and jealousy. He looked rabid.

I sent Trena back upstairs to wait. The smell down here was atrocious, and I didn’t want Alpha Warren getting upset if he thought that we saw our Luna submitting to him. When they were done, they passed me on their way upstairs.

“He’s all yours,” Alpha Warren said.

I smiled, walking in to see Simon staring after our Luna. When his eyes met mine, he snarled.

“You! I thought you were dead.”

“I’m not so easy to kill,” I said, smiling maliciously at him.

“What do you want?”

“Now that is a very interesting question,” I said, standing in front of him. “What do I want? What I want is to make you suffer for hurting my mate.”

“Let me guess, the girl whose throat I ripped out?” he asked, not at all concerned that he nearly killed one of my pack members and possibly my mate.

“No. And for the record, you didn’t kill her either. She’s alive and well, thanks to our Luna,” I said as the guards opened the cell doors.

“Who then?” he asked, taking a step back.

“Trena,” I said, and I saw a flash of fear in his eyes before he covered it with malice.

“She’s got a great mouth for sucking c ck, doesn’t she? A nice, tight p ssy. Although, I did stretch it out for you,” he leered.

I wasn’t sure if he was hoping that I’d kill him, but even if Alpha Warren hadn’t told me to leave him alive, I would want him to suffer for what he did.

“I heard she ripped your b lls off,” I said, making a point of looking at his limp d ck hanging between his thighs. It looked bruised, so I was guessing that some of the pack members had been kneeing him and kicking him in the crotch. “So, I’d say she’s got great hands for turning an Alpha into a eunuch,” I said, hearing the guards snicker.

He snarled again, stepping farther back into the cell as I stepped in.

“She got her revenge. So what the f*ck are you doing here?”

“I told her I’d finish what she started,” I said, and his eyes went wide. He tried to rush past me, but my hand slapped against his d*ck, grabbing hold as my claws extended.

“No! NO!” he screamed.

“I wonder how many times she said that to you,” I said, my voice deadly calm.

“She never did. She never denied me,” he said, his heart rate spiking.

“Well, you were her Alpha, weren’t you? You didn’t need to do anything other than command her, did you?”

“Please,” he begged.

I snarled, and with one hard yank, I ripped his d*ck off. He screamed in agony.

“What I should do is shove this down your throat, like you did to her,” I snarled, holding his d*ck up for him to see. “But… my Alpha says it’s not time for you to die yet,” I said, casually as if we were talking about the weather.

Before too much blood was spilled, a guard came in, pressing the hot iron to the hole in Simon’s crotch. He screamed again, and I was a bit surprised that he didn’t pass out from the pain. Maybe it was the Alpha genes.

When the guard was done, Simon was left panting on the floor.

“I guess you won’t be needing this anymore,” I said, and extending my claws, I shredded his d*ck before dropping the pieces of it on the floor beside him.

“As my Alpha said, sweet dreams,” I said, turning and leaving a sobbing Simon rolling around in pain on the floor of his cell.

When I got upstairs, Trena was pacing, waiting for me. She turned as the door opened, hearing Simon’s screams and sobs. She saw my hand and body covered in Simon’s blood. When her eyes returned to mine, I saw her body relax.

“I was wondering if I could lay with you again tonight,” she said softly.

I smiled at my sweet mate. “Let me wash the scent of vermin off me, and then I’m all yours.”

This time when I lay with my mate, she asked me to curl up around her. I wrapped my body around her, cocooning her in my arms, letting her know that she was safe and that from now on, I’d always be here to protect her.