Page 10 of Deadly Ties

“It’s the old ways.” He runs a possessive hand down my spine, and I know it’s as much for my wolf as for me. “The wolves of powerful lunas demanded it. If her mate can’t keep up, he wasn’t worth having.”

I have an image of Arben’s wolf herding me towards his den last night. But my wolf quickly changes it, until she’s the one doing the chasing. I’m not exactly sure what Arben can see through the bond, so I decide I better warn him. “Well, just so you know, my wolf is feeling all kinds of predatory right now.”

Instead of looking worried, my mate grasps his impressive hard-on in one hand and offers the other for me to take. “Then we better give her some room to stretch those fine legs of yours.”

My wolf preens at the shared compliment, but my human eyes are glued to his busy fingers as I let him draw me from the bed. We’re both naked, and badly in need of a bath, but I figure from the way my wolf is panting down the bond, cleaning up would just be a waste of time. When we’re standing near the open front door, the scent of the woods swirling in on the brisk air, Arben releases his erection and runs his hands down my prickling arms. “Do you want to let her out yourself, or would you like me to give her a nudge?”

I feel a deeper shudder run through my wolf at that. This is her mate, even if she needs some kind of doggy style ceremony to cement the bond, but our reaction to an alpha command comes from our hindbrain. We know Arben’s offer of help is genuine, but we proved last night we don’t need it. And my wolf goes one step further, sharing an image of her snapping her teeth at Arben’s very muscular butt cheek. “Um… I think we’re good to go.”

He smiles, and I wonder again exactly how much he can see down the bondlink, but I just shake my head. I really didn’t expect this when I promised my wolf I’d let her out again, but a deal is a deal. And her excitement puts a bit of a skip in my step as I smirk at Arben over my shoulder, “See you on the other side, my dark prince.”

He rumbles at that, but I’m already running into the clearing in front of his cabin, my wolf pushing at my skin. She slides right out between one step and the next, and I feel myself move effortlessly into the back seat as she takes over. It already feels more comfortable than last night, more in tune with the surge of her primal instincts. She doesn’t waste a moment looking back at Arben’s wolf; we can both feel him behind us, the surge of his magic brushing over us like a possessive hand.

You better run your ass off, I warn her, but she sends me another image of Arben’s butt cheek between her teeth.Ew. You’re serious about that?

She just gives a barking kind of laugh, veering sideways after a blurred black shadow. If that’s Arben’s wolf, he’s moving like the wind. I feel a momentary clench in my chest that we’ll never catch him, but then my wolf’s competitive spirit kicks in. She takes off, head down and tail whipping behind. Her prey doesn’t make it easy for her, using his larger bulk to crash through the underbrush, but my wolf doesn’t give up. In fact, I think she might be drawing it out a little, savoring what I’m pretty sure is a wolfy kind of foreplay.

And then she flies over a thorny bush and I see a flash of white through the trees. It doesn’t mean much to her distracted brain, but I’m aware enough to recognize a massive stone building before my attention snaps back to Arben. His wolf is at the edge of the woods – beyond him are the sloping green lawns of the human world – and it’s clear he won’t go any further. My wolf gives a satisfied yip at having run him to ground, but as I eye his massive chest, I notice he’s not breathing very hard. Clearly, he’s been saving something for the next part of the chase.

My wolf doesn’t make him wait for long, strutting towards him like a victor to the spoils. Thankfully, she shoves me down deep, locking me out of the grand finale. I’m vaguely aware of the pleasure coursing through her body to a backdrop of snarls and howls, until a coppery tang fills my mouth, filling me with a humming energy. We shift back, and I’m grinning at how smug she feels until I see the massive bite on Arben’s ass cheek. “What the hell?”

He smirks over his shoulder at me, looking thoroughly pleased. “I told you. Your wolf wanted my furry butt.”

Oh. My. God.

My wolf really is a feral little bitch.

Of course, he chooses that moment to wave his hand in front of my face and I see his chewed-up wrist. Okay. So, maybe I’m also a little feral when it comes to Arben Marku.

Not that he seems to mind. He’s grinning as he pulls me into the shower, and after thoroughly washing the dirt and sweat and cum from every inch of my body, he dresses me in a plain white tee that smells like him and props me on the kitchen bench. He’s wearing only a pair of old black fatigues, which I guess is an assassin’s version of sweatpants, since they hang low on his hips and give me a delicious view of his eight-pack. I’m pretty sure he has a few knives slotted away in his pockets, but he uses the ones in the kitchen block as he goes about preparing an omelet. As soon as the bacon hits the pan with a sizzle, I give a happy sigh and look around the cabin, finally letting myself soak it all in.

It's a perfect blend of rustic male and expensive flourishes, the walls and roof unvarnished wood, but the stone floor covered in beautiful silk rugs. The furniture is old but elegant, each piece clearly handcrafted and lovingly tended. It’s mostly open plan, with just Arben’s bedroom, the bathroom, and a study off the main living space, but the height of the ceiling makes it look larger. From where I’m perched on the counter I can see to the far wall, and I can easily imagine Arben sitting at the head of the ornate dining table, or sprawled on the long leather sofa in front of the fireplace, reading one of the stodgy biographies from the bookcase by the window.

“What are you smiling about?” Arben asks as he pops asheqerparein my mouth. The little butter cookies are soaked in sugar syrup and I groan as the flavor curls over my tongue. When I’ve got my mouth back under control, I tell him, “This place looks like the lord of some royal manor had a yard sale, and you snapped up all the best bits.”

He grunts and nods me towards the table, two loaded plates in hand. I follow with a watering mouth and slide onto one of the velvet-topped chairs. When he sets a steaming plate in front of me, I obediently eat a bite of the egg-white omelet with red peppers, onion, and spinach. Yummy, but it has nothing on the pile of bacon I devour like a ravenous wolf. Since there’s thick Turkish coffee to wash it down, you could say I’m in foodie heaven.

But when I come up for air, I focus on his face, feeling a niggling unhappiness in my chest. It’s different now we’ve bonded, but that doesn’t mean all my insecurities and hurts are gone. It just means he can feel them more keenly, and he puts his fork down, clearly waiting for me to speak. “You knew they weren’t my stepbrothers. Why didn’t you tell me?”

He studies me while he chews, the silence giving me his answer. Until a few days ago, Arben wasn’t exactly a close confidant. In fact, he’s always been ruthless about keeping his distance from me. He never returned my phone calls or answered any of the lovesick letters I sent him from boarding school. I thought he hated me and regretted every part of my first heat. And while he more than made up for it with my second, the bruised part of my soul needs some clear boundaries going forward. Lying to me – even to spare my feelings – is a hard no. “If you’d told me that day you came to the house, their plan would’ve been blown wide open. I could have left with you.”And shared my heat with only you.

Maybe he can feel that unspoken part through the bond, because the air prickles between us. He’s now staring at his plate with a frown, and I guess I must have killed his appetite because he gets up to clear the table. He doesn’t speak until he’s stacked everything in the sink and is gripping the counter, his head hanging low. “You were safe with them, for a time. I kept watch, and planned to take you away the night you came to the club.”

“But I went into heat instead.”

Arben strides back to the table, drawing me up from my chair and brushing a rough thumb over my pale cheek. “I was a fool. I could see the connection you had with them and I thought better two scheming wolflings than an assassin soaked in blood.” He tips my neck, nuzzling at his bite mark as if to reassure himself it’s really there. “You went into heat and they proved they were useful to you. They promised to come clean, to tell you everything. But then the kopil double-crossed them and took you to the auction.” His hand tightens on my chin, his lips claiming mine in a long, hard kiss. I can feel his tension through our bond, but he forces it back, his dark eyes steady on mine. “You were never in danger, my love. Ferrier was monitoring everything. The only way you’d have left that building with another alpha was if his eyeball was stuck to the bottom of your very sexy shoe.”

I gape at him. “You heard me say that?”

“I was dealing with another matter, but I had people in the security team. I assure you, the male who dared put his hands on you will never think about touching an omega again.”

From the wicked gleam in his eyes, he must mean Sinclair, the alpha who wanted to feed me to his pack. I feel a surge of satisfaction that Arben caught up with him, but I’m frustrated, too. Maybe I wouldn’t have been threatened, drugged, insulted, or chased if people just started being honest with me.

I ease away from him, crossing to sit on the black leather sofa. He follows, but only as far as the back of the chair, leaning on his elbows so he can stare down at me. My wolf likes the view, but I refuse to me distracted by his alluring biceps. “So, tell me the rest of it. Who are they really? Hila’s sons, like Link said?”

Arben rubs a hand over his jaw, his scent growing muggy between us. So many emotions flood the bond, but mostly I can feel his concern for me. His need to protect me from further hurt. “Keeping me in the dark isn’t the same as keeping me safe, Arben. I’m tired of all the bullshit. Just tell me what you know.”

He finally gives a nod, but his hand drops to my back, where he strums my spine like a taut string. Shivers ripple out from every careful stroke. “After Roan took over the Head Alpha position, Enkel Hila’s widow went into hiding upstate. She’d taken up with one of Hila’s lieutenants. Erik Steiner.”

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