Page 21 of Hidden Pain

“No, it will never be enough. I’m guessing you can’t even tell the pack about what’s happening between you and Lily. She’s a bear—that match wouldn’t result in a purebred wolf for a future leader of your pack, either. Is that why Ebony is back?” Kingsley was allowing his anger to overrule his common sense now. He wanted to hurt Hunter. When everything was said and done, giving into their baser desires was all they had left.

Hunter pounced at him and grabbing him hard around the neck, his strong hands squeezed into the corded muscle there.

“I’ll never sleep with Ebony again. She’ll not be the mother of my children,” the wolf growled at him.

“But neither will Lily,” Kingsley spat back. “Just love whoever you choose, Hunter. You are the king here. Make new rules, and the pack will respect you for it. Don’t deny what you want, because if you do, in the end it will leave you bitter and twisted. It will destroy the man you truly are. The one who’s just made my dick hard with his kiss.” Kingsley slid one of his hands down between them. “Did it do the same to you?” He touched Hunter’s groin. The shifter’s jeans were tented tightly around his length which was solid and desperately seeking relief.

Hunter gasped, and his breathing quickened when Kingsley dipped his hand below the waistband of the jeans and wrapped his fingers around the wolf’s warm length. Then using his other hand, Kingsley was able to free Hunter from his jeans. He firmly stroked the shifter’s dick, showing it no mercy. With Lily, they could be gentle, but with the two of them, it would be rough and urgent.

Hunter was still holding tightly around his neck. The wolf let out a long moan and tightened his grip to the point that it was becoming difficult for Kingsley to breathe.

“Let go. Give in to what you want,” Kingsley urged. The pace of his hand moving up and down Hunter’s dick was frantic now. Hunter’s eyes rolled back in his head as the pleasure overtook him. With a final groan the wolf shifter came. Red-hot jets of cum coated Kingsley’s stomach—the evidence of Hunter’s surrender and proof the alpha had the ability to choose to do something to please himself.

Hunter looked down at the painting of his cum. Then letting go of Kingsley’s neck, he stepped away and quickly zipped himself back into his jeans.

“You’re a fine one to talk. You’re a hypocrite in the extreme. I see the real you, Kingsley, the man who’s drowning in his sorrows. You think I can just give into this and allow myself to love you when you don’t even love yourself? You look at your hand and the damage done to it, and you think you’re worthless.” As the wolf shifter spoke, Kingsley looked down at the hand where his finger was missing. Hunter continued, “You’re too scared to pick up a pencil because you think you’re incapable of drawing. But the ability to make something pretty doesn’t come from the hands, it comes from the heart and mind. The talent to design brilliance originates from the artist’s personality. There are ways around the fact you may find it hard to draw, but you’re not willing to explore them. You’re letting your father win.”

The mention of his father sent Kingsley’s head spinning. Hunter was wrong. It was impossible for him to draw now— he was certain. It was his index finger that had been taken. It was the one he needed to hold a pencil and give him sufficient control. He couldn’t do anything without it.

“I-It’s n-not that simple,” he replied, his voice stuttering.

“And you think it is for me?” Hunter retorted.

“Love and drawing are two very different things.”

Hunter shook his head.

“No, they aren’t, and until you realize that, this…” Hunter waved his hand at Kingsley’s cum-covered stomach. “…will never happen again.”

With his final warning delivered, Hunter left Kingsley alone in the bedroom. Kingsley turned around and punched the wall, instantly regretting it when his almost healed wound caught and tore at the skin.

“Fuck!” he exclaimed, heading for the bathroom and grabbing a towel. He wiped his hand first and then removed Hunter’s cum from his stomach. He’d pushed too far. Why couldn’t the wolf understand and submit to this strange pull between all three of them. Kingsley knew what he had to do. He had to prove Hunter wrong. He finished cleaning himself up and threw the towel in the linen basket for washing. He would eventually get his shower, but for now, he wanted to do something to shut Hunter up.

Going to a drawer in his room, Kingsley pulled it open. When he’d move here, Isobel had insisted on him packing his drawing papers and pencils. He’d told her at the time it was futile, but he was secretly glad now she had. He settled on the bed and shut his eyes. An image instantly came to mind: Hunter as a wolf, and Lily as a bear, the two of them side by side. He allowed the pleasure of starting a new drawing to wash over him before opening his eyes and picking up a pencil.

He had no index finger to rest on top to control his movements, so he instinctively moved his middle finger into that position, and his ring finger settled underneath. It felt strange and uncomfortable. He flicked open his sketch pad and started to draw. The first line was wrong—it wasn’t straight enough. He rubbed it out and started again. This one was better, but it still wasn’t perfect. He continued for a bit but eventually threw the pencil across the room in defeat. His work was amateurish, child-like even. It was no match for the beautiful skill he’d had flowing from his body in the past. The pad of paper swiftly followed the pencil with a massive crash onto the floor. The remainder of the tin of pencils were also sent flying.

Hunter was right. How could the wolf love him? He was useless and worthless. There was nothing left of the man he’d been previously. The crap drawing staring up at him from the floor in among a pile of broken pencils was testament to that.

His father had never liked his son’s artistic flair. He’d wanted him to follow in his footsteps as a senator and be the power behind the next generation. His father had once told him that he wished Kingsley would break his hand, so he couldn’t draw again.

Finally he’d got his wish—his fatherhadwon.

Chapter Twelve

When Lily woke after a long sleep, the room around her was dark. A quick glance at the clock told her it was after ten in the morning. She wondered where Hunter and Kingsley had gone. She checked the bathroom, but the shower didn’t even look like it’d been used. She hoped they hadn’t gotten into another argument. She hated it when they shouted at each other. She needed them both in her life and was scared Hunter would ask Kingsley to leave. It was strange to have such an urgent need for two people after only a short time, but whatever cosmic power was drawing them together, it knew what it was doing because this all felt right.

Lily wandered back into her bedroom, showered, and dressed in a pair of black leggings and a tunic covered in butterflies. She preferred casual clothes. A lot of the wolf shifter women she’d seen around wore designer jeans sculpted to their pert backsides, which they paired with equally tight, cleavage enhancing tops. She was curvy around the hips, and her boobs were a few sizes too big, so she liked to keep them covered. Instead, she tied a belt around the middle of her tunic to emphasize her small waist. She brushed her hair and pulled it up into a ponytail. A spot of lip gloss was applied next, and she was ready to go. She felt lighter today as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders.

She opened the door to the hallway and stuck her head out. There was no sign of Hunter or Kingsley—she was starting to get a little worried now. What if they’d hurt each other? Lily fiddled her fingers together nervously. She was hungry but had no desire to eat at that moment.

A baby’s cry rang out from farther along the corridor where the members of the Glacial Blood pack were staying. It grew louder and louder. Lily looked down the stairs. She was desperate to search for Kingsley and Hunter, but the cry was getting more and more urgent. Something was wrong. She’d been told to stay away from Selene, Emma, and the children, but she couldn’t leave a baby crying that desperately. Padding quickly along the corridor, she opened the door where the cries were coming from. Inside she found chaos. Emma was trying to change one of her twins while her foot was rocking a chair containing the other. All the noise was coming from the baby in the chair.

“Selene, thank god!” Emma exclaimed, turning toward Lily. The lioness looked exhausted, and her clothes were covered in blotches of what appeared to be baby sick. When she saw Lily standing there, Emma’s mouth fell open. They both stared at each other in silence for a few seconds until a loud wail drew Emma’s attention back to the baby in the chair. She pushed her foot hard down on the chair to rock it. At the same time, a spurt of liquid shot up in the air from the other twin, and the distinct smell of urine filled the room as it soaked the lioness.

“I’ll g-go find S-Selene,” Lily stuttered, unsure of what was happening in the room. She didn’t have a lot of experience with children.

Tears filled Emma’s eyes, and Lily felt the need to comfort her. She ran across the room, but then realizing what she was about to do, she stopped just short of the lioness.

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