~ CASIMIR ~ Without leaving her body, I had rolled Jesse onto her side and buried my face in her hair… I took a moment to simply breathe and let the thrumming in my veins ease, tracing fingers up and down the dips and valleys of her side feeling more sated and content than I could remember in a good long while. As she lay panting in my arms, I reached for her in the bond, inhaling her scent, measuring her for stress—it had been her first time bound and she had been nervous. But I was pleased to find her relaxed, her scent unhindered by fear. Instead, she smelled of contentment, like a cat stretching in the sun. And in the bond… in the bond she pulsed. Memories of her pulsing around me jolted through me and I smiled. I wanted t
~ CASIMIR ~ Images flooded my mind from Ghere—his memories of the grainy, human footage from CCTV in a human city street as a team of Reapers swept a woman up and into one of the vans, while a group of human men looked on from across the road— —then much clearer, colorful video that appeared to be from a phone but taken from a distance so it was shaky and blurred, zooming in on one of the clusters of young men out in the forest… And one of them looked very similar to one of those men on the street in the other video. It was hard to tell because the clothing was different. But the set of his shoulders, and that backwards baseball cap… Were they the same man? Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.
~ CASIMIR ~As that wave of pain reached me through the bond, I slammed the wall down between us just as surely as I closed that door, and stalked up the corridor, clearing my mind of anything and everything to do with my mate.This was not the time.It could not be.She was just going to have to live with that.I’d already given her more of myself than anyone in my life. Ever. If it wasn’t enough… well, she was just going to have to learn to deal—Behind me, the door I’d just used clicked and creaked.“Cazz!
~ JESSE ~I swallowed hard and blinked out of the vivid memory.It stunned me a little when Cazz hesitated—scared me that he might get aggressive like he had when I’d accidentally called the pack at the Den. And yet… he hadn’t turned it on me. Hadn’t blamed me. He had asked me a question like an adult, and then… persuaded me. And honestly, I had been nervous, but his assurances had given me hope that maybe this wouldn’t be a bad experience. And now… now that I saw what he was doing, I would follow him over that particular cliff any day of the week.There’d been something very unexpectedly intimate about being so helpless. And I could feel
~ JESSE ~ “…my mother always told me every male can only be led by two things—his stomach, and his prick. So there’s little point trying to engage his heart before you’ve satisfied the other two.” I spluttered, choking on the mouthful of popcorn and leaning forward in my seat because I was afraid I might actually inhale it. Around me, gales of giggles and snorts from the five women—females—I had gathered and eventually brought back to my room because I didn’t know anywhere else we could just sit around without worrying about other people. Wolves. Without worrying about other wolves, I reminded myself. Brenna, the oldest of us, who I gathered was nearing fifty, just grinned and popped a berry into her mouth while the rest of us snickered. Wylde, the servant I’d been speaking to in the visitors wing before Cazz found us, was laughing the hardest. She was a year younger than me and clearly enjoying being included in this circle of female wolves. I was learning about all of them as
~ JESSE ~ “That’s…. that’s interesting that you bring that up,” I said carefully. Tynker’s eyes cut to me sharply. Wylde’s brows rose. “Oh?” “Yes, I mean… I had heard about the Selection coming up and I wondered which of you were going in it, or already had mates, or… whatever…” I trailed off because Wylde’s eyes went wide at the same time Tynker choked on her apple. I knew Brenna and Alys were already mated, but I wasn’t sure about the other three. Reeca stared at me like she’d never seen me before, and Brenna and Alys exchanged wary glances. “What?” I asked them all, looking back and forth between them. “None of us will be in the Selection,” Brenna said briskly. “We either already have mates, or aren’t high enough ranking to do so.” Oh. I frowned. “But… I thought it was the males who were ranked for this?” “It is. Alphas and Betas, and a few heirs, probably. But understand that there are many, many wolves. They’ll be drawn from every nearby pack for this, as well. Only the
~ JESSE ~ Alys smiled at me and clasped her hands together at her chest, but it was Brenna who looked truly concerned. “Sire—sorry, Jesse—I don’t think you understand. When a high ranking female puts another forward in this way, the younger carries her reputation. If you were to select poorly—” “I know a good female when I meet one,” I said firmly. “Maya has been telling me to trust my instincts, and to start showing my leadership and initiative. Besides, you all came to me commended by Maya, which is the highest regard, right?” They all nodded, though half their mouths were open like they were stunned. I frowned. “I don’t get it, what’s the big deal?” “It’s just… someone like yourself… the mate to the King… the Queen. The Queen would usually present one of the highest ranking young females in the packs. Select someone of the highest quality. In terms of its attraction to the packs, your presentation would be second only to the King’s.” “Okay, so am I wrong in thinking that if I
~ CASIMIR ~I shouldn’t have come for her myself. I knew that. Ghere had almost swallowed his own tongue when I said I’d do it. But the truth was, it had been… uncomfortable keeping my space from her after that delicious time in the visitor’s wing. I had needed to move, so I had said I would come for her myself. But I hadn’t wanted to reach for her, to warn her that I was coming, because I had wanted to see what state she was truly in. And no matter how she might needle me, it was a relief to see her not shrinking after I left.So why was it making my neck itch that she’d been… just fine? I had been braced for her shivering and pleading. To find her eating and talking with others was a welcome step forward from our previous separations. Yet, I couldn’t shake that irritation, like a gnat buz