Page 32 of Cruel Alpha Beast
Luckily for her, I don’t want that either.
I have enough sense to go slowly at first, then build up. The faster I go, the more the beast takes over. I’m hardly myself anymore. The only thing keeping me down to earth is hearing her low moans, her begging.
“You’re mine,” I seethe down to her. “Tell me you’re mine.”
“I’m yours,” she whimpers out.
Gripping her hips as tightly as I can without hurting her, the wave crests inside of me, and I throw my head back, growling out as I fill her with my seed. Lacey cries out in pleasure at the very same time, tensing around my stiffness as her body shakes.
One cheek to the carpet, she looks back at me, her lips moving, but no words coming out. She doesn’t have to say anything out loud, however.
What just happened between us transcends words.
Chapter 13 - Lacey
My stomach still flutters at the memories of Sawyer this morning. Our mating was nothing short of pure primal pleasure, and if I think about it too much, my knees start to shake.
Fortunately, all I need to do right now is focus on my daughter, who skips ahead of me on the sidewalk. Instead of doing another tour of the valley, we’re merely getting some wiggles out and some fresh air in.
I direct Shea toward the farthest edge of town, where our paved roads turn to a dirt path leading out to the nearest highway far in the distance, just in case we ever need to venture into the so-called normal world. Surrounding the roads are beautiful maple trees, but as we get closer to them, I notice that something is off.
“What are you looking at, Mommy?” Shea asks.
I approach one of the trees and notice its roots shriveling from the earth. The base of the trunk is turning a sickly black. It’s only a matter of time until the rest of the tree goes along with it. And it’s the same story with several more of the trees in the area.
My chest fills with dread. This is bad. This is really bad.
“Come on, baby.” I turn and grab Shea’s hand. “Let’s go back home. I’ll make you some lunch. How’s that sound?”
***
As I make Shea a grilled cheese sandwich, my knees start shaking again, but this time, it’s for a vastly different reason. My visions of rot across the village are coming true. Much quicker than I feared they would.
I carry the frying pan over to the table, using the spatula to lower the sandwich down onto Shea’s plate, and then separate the grilled cheese into two diagonal pieces with the tool itself.
“Blow on hot food!” Shea recites the instructions I’ve given her many times since she’s been able to eat without me feeding her. Then she sucks in a deep gulp of air, filling her like a chipmunk preparing for winter, and blowing cartoonishly on the sandwich before her.
“Good job,” I say, trying to maintain my facade of normalcy.
The front door finally opens, and Sawyer returns from a meeting with Jasper, Ellis, and Greg. He ruffles the back of his hair and breathes out a haggard sigh. It’s clear things are not progressing in a positive way. I’m almost reluctant to tell him what I saw on our walk.
“Hey,” I murmur, gesturing for him to meet me by the stove.
Catching my drift, Sawyer comes closer and puts his hands on his hips. The same hips that bucked against mine on the living room floor last night…
No, I have to focus.
“I hate to give you such bad news,” I start. “But the trees on the edge of Roseville are starting to go bad.”
“I know,” Sawyer murmurs. “I went for a run this morning to, uh, work off some extra energy, and saw it for myself. Lacey, I was concerned before, but I’m getting really worried now…”
Unsure of what else to do or say, I reach out and grab his upper arm. The bicep, only partially covered by his short-sleeved T-shirt, is strong. Hard as a rock.
Focus, Lacey, focus.
“We’re going to figure this out,” I tell him. “Together.”
Sawyer covers my hand with his and nods his head. But before he can say anything, a loud banging comes from the door.
