Page 32 of The Alpha's Grave Secrets

“I wouldn’t be poking around the body if we hadn’t,” the medical examiner says and offers a tight-lipped smile.

“Then you are good to go,” I say. “He’s forsaken the holiness of his graveyard to play a quicker game with us. He wants our attention, and he has it. We don’t know what he will do next or how he will continue to break his patterns.”

I take one last look at the girl as the medical examiner hauls her by on a gurney. Even covered by a sheet, I can’t unsee the similarities between this poor young woman and Elara. It’s a total gut punch knowing that she probably would still be alive right now if it weren’t for me. I can’t let this happen again.

Chapter 17

Elara

Kato’s bare chest pressed into my back is too delightful. I ache for him, in my breasts, between my legs, and in every cell in my body. I haven’t spent one night in the guest bedroom. How could I when Kato lays in the room next door?

His breath against the back of my neck sends shivers down my spine and I can’t help myself but arch my back, pressing into him. His arms tighten against my stomach, a hand gently caressing its way up toward my breast.

He was waiting for this. Waiting for me to show him that I want him, oh Goddess how I want him. How I’ve wanted him and indulged with him every night we’ve spent in this bed together. How I want him beyond these nights…

Heat swells between my legs as Kato’s fingertips caress the bottom curve of my breast. His other arm pulls me further into him, letting me feel his cock fully erect and pulsing against me. A soft moan escapes my lips,Goddess.

Grinding myself into him he lets out a moan of his own, palming my bare breast beneath the oversized t-shirt of his I’ve been wearing to bed. Craning my neck back and turning toward his face his lips meet mine and electricity shoots through my body like bolts of lightning waking my every desire.

His lips move slowly, deliberately, and he savors every moment of this contact just as I do. There’s a melding of our bodies, flesh heated with wanting, pressed so close together we could be one — I never want this to end.

I nearly explode the moment Kato slips his fingers beneath the waistband of my underwear and dips between my legs, his fingers sliding into me easily, moist by my arousal. The pressure from his long fingers pumping in and out of me builds and I can’t help but growl against his mouth nipping his bottom lip.

Ecstasy washes over me as he expertly slides aside the crotch of my underwear and presses the bare head of his throbbing cock against my entrance. The anticipation nearly kills me as he stays there for a moment, slipping his tongue into my mouth.

“Please,” I manage to gasp when our lips part, “I need to feel you inside of me.”

And with that Kato’s thick cock slides into me, stretching me out and the intensity overwhelms me, my body spasming with pleasure. Kato does not stop; he continues to fill me up and stretch me out as my walls tighten and clamp around him.

His breath hot against my cheek as he groans into my ear. His own throbbing intensifying inside of me until, “Oh Goddess,” he cums and our bodies slicked with sweat, muscles trembling, remain entwined on the softness of the mattress.

Kato paces near the door,the ease and calm of the early morning hours spent together in bed replaced by tension rolling off him like a thundercloud about to burst.

His eyes flicker between me and the hallway, his body poised as if he could be in two places simultaneously. With each passing second, his brow furrowed, worry etches deeper into his features.

“I’m not leaving you here alone,” he says, his voice sharp with the kind of authority that quickly makes others tremble in fear but makes me tremble for another reason altogether— need. “Not with him still out there.”

He glances at the security panel on the wall, the flashing green light indicating the house is locked down tight. The alarm system is a beast—state-of-the-art technology backed up with layers of magic enchantments. But Kato still looks unconvinced.

I sigh, stepping closer to him, close enough that I feel the heat of his body and smell the familiar scent of leather and rain clinging to him.

“Kato, I’ll be fine,” I say, firm but calm. “You need to be with your team, your whole team. This case isn’t going to solve itself. You can’t keep leaving a vital team member here with me. I’ll be fine without any agents, but I’m double-fine with the agents you post here.”

His jaw remains clenched, a war raging inside of him. He hates this. He hates being pulled between his duty and his instincts to protect me. As an Alpha, my mate, those two things should be naturally aligned, but now, the world is a different place, and duty extends beyond our animalistic needs.

“Elara, he knows you survived,” Kato says, his voice low, eyes darkening with that fierce determination. “He’s unraveling. The last thing he’ll do is let you slip away again. I can’t risk?—”

“I know. I know what’s at stake,” I interrupt, reaching out to place a hand on his arm. His muscles tense under my touch, but he doesn’t pull away. “But you’ve already assigned agents to the perimeter. The house is warded. The alarm system is connected directly to your command center. Between the spells and the technology, I’m practically untouchable here.”

He narrows his eyes, scanning my face as if searching for any trace of doubt. I don’t let any show. I won’t let him even guess what I’m planning. It’s a good thing we learned to shield our minds from one another long ago, or I’d be completely screwed right now.

His gaze lingers on me, and for a moment, I see the struggle in his eyes. His wolf is pacing, and his protective instincts are at war with the reality that his home is a fortress. I need him to believe that. I need him to focus on what matters most—catching the man who buried me alive and left me to die. The same man that likely has another poor woman in his clutches at this very moment.

“The quicker you catch him, the quicker we can all stop looking over our shoulders. You need the full strength of your team for that,” I add softly.

He exhales sharply, his free hand running through his hair. For a long moment, neither of us spoke. Finally, his shoulders sag; I’ve gotten through to him. He closes his eyes for a second, gathering himself, and when they snap open again, he’s sharp and focused. He’s not only my mate but-- the agent, the Alpha.

“You’ll keep your phone on you at all times?” he asks. His tone is softer now but still tinged with concern.

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