Chapter 122 - You kept us awake all night

HADRIAN

*“Mate, mate, mate.”* Nero purrs in my mind. It’s a call for her wolf, but there is no response. His eager presence in the early morning rouses me from my sleep.

I’m ecstatic that Nero is coherent and gaining back his strength. I noticed it the moment that I marked Emma.

*“Mate, mate, mate.”*

Living months without my wolf has been a lonely journey in more ways than one. But for the love of the Moon Goddess. *“Shut up.”*

Nero whines and urges me to help him. *“She’s sleeping.”*

I yawn when sleep is fading and my body starts to wake up. *“I did everything in my ability to wake up her wolf.”*

*“Mating her senseless is not going to wake her wolf.”*

He’s not wrong. I didn’t have to wake her the second or third time. But my deprived body was craving the fine body of my mate. Still is. “It was worth the try,” I mutter out loud.

*“You only made her exhausted.”*

“I’m exhausted too.” I tighten my arm around Emma and bask in her presence. Her hair brushes against my bare chest. Her heat has simmered down. Her scent is rich and delicious without commanding me and forcing me to my knees. Although I would gladly go to my knees again.

*“The third time was unnecessary.”* Nero mutters in my mind.

I was already inside her before she could wake fully. My hand was pressed over her mouth to shush the sounds coming from her. I fucked her hard and fast until her soaking pussy tightened with her release and took me over the edge. I was brutal to her last night and I fear the repercussions.

“I needed to.” The hunger I felt last night was incomprehensible. I can’t even say that it was perfect. Emma was in heat and I abused the situation. My appetite needed to be quenched, so I took her over and over again.

“Who are you talking to?” Emma croaks as she wakes from her sleep. She turns over in my arms and her mark is exposed.

The mark is stark against her flawless skin. The imprint of my teeth is red and swollen. It doesn’t heal like other injuries. Her body recognizes the importance. The sight gives me a burst of pride but is paired with an equal amount of guilt.

“Nero.”

“Oh.” There is surprise in her eyes, but also relief. “That’s good.”

“Yeah.”

If I’m completely honest with myself, I don’t think I would’ve let her leave last night. I think that the moment she walked away I would’ve followed her. I would’ve marked and mated her right there on the spot. Even if it was in the middle of the square for the whole town to see.

My restraint was gone, it had been completely depleted. I was weak and now I made things harder in another way. Only when the fog of lust was gone, I started to realize what position I'd put us in.

I pull away a little to look at her. I remove the few locks of hair that obscure her face and run my thumb over her swollen lips. “How are you feeling?”

Fucking her all night in a house full of humans was a decision that was dictated by my dick. There was also the need to regain myself, a part that was exhausted and couldn’t fight the pull anymore. Logic was thrown out of the window when Emma appeared in my room with her soaking heat.

I want her to be as ecstatic as me with the mark, but I know she won’t be. I run my thumb over the bitemark and a shiver runs through her body.

“Sore, very sore.” She huddles closer to my chest again. Newly mated wolves need lots of physical contact in the beginning. If we don’t we turn hollow and depressed.

I crush her naked body against mine and take in her scent. “Sorry.” I caress her smooth back. “If it helps, I feel raw too.”

Her naked body is pressed against mine and this is the first time that my dick is not ready to pounce on her. It’s sensitive from all the mating and it’s content for a moment.

Her stomach growls in an angry, attention-seeking kind of way. My mate is hungry.

“I’ll get you some food.” I tear myself away from her body and leave my mate in bed in an attempt to hunt down something to eat. The moon has only just descended past the horizon and I feel the decline of energy. But compared to the surge of power and strength the mating has given me, it’s marginal. Through the ache, there is still much untapped power.

I know I can shift back into my wolf and holding back feels painful. I want to run through the forest and feel the wind blow through my fur. I want to see how much of my strength I have regained.

I walk down the stairs and scratch my bare chest. Emma has dug her nails and teeth into my chest and shoulders multiple times. The little cuts have healed, but the skin is still sensitive.

I don’t expect people to be downstairs, but I sense them before I see them.

Lucas is sprawled on the sofa with his arm draped over his face. He looks like he’s sleeping, but his breathing is too rapid.

Dex is sitting at the head of the table stirring his coffee and peers up when I walk into the room. “Good god, Jack. Is the girl still alive?”

I notice the strain in Lucas when he tenses. Dex knows.

“I don’t want to tell you what to do, but…” Dex shows concern and I’m confused. “The girl is still recovering.”

This was not how I expected this to go. Maybe he didn’t connect the dots or he is not as infatuated as I thought.

“What are you talking about?” I ask carefully.

“You and Grace,” Dex says as takes a swig of his black coffee. “You kept us awake all night.”

Dex points his chin to the robe hanging from the chair. “By the way, we found her bathrobe in the hall.”

It’s the one Emma wore yesterday, but her scent is mixed with that of Graciella.

“Lucas mentioned it was from the new girl.” Dex takes another sip.

“Right,” I mutter. So Dex believes that Graciella was with me last night instead of Emma. The fact that this lie exists makes my skin crawl, but I can’t make any rash decisions now. I already did too much of that last night.

“Next time, get her some flowers first and take her out to dinner.” Dex finishes his coffee and rises from the table. “Speaking of, I’m going to get some flowers for Emma.”

*“He’s going to do what?”* Nero roars in my head. His fury fights a way to the forefront.

*“Calm down.”* I bark back at him with command.

Lucas lifts his arm and assesses me with a questioning frown.

*“How can you say that?”* Nero growls. He has his focus on Dex, who brings his cup to the kitchen. Unaware of the fury coming from my wolf.

*“We should bite his hands off.”* Nero growls with bared teeth.

Dex accesses me when he returns from the kitchen. “Seems like your bug has miraculously disappeared.” He says with a chuckle and slaps my shoulder. “If you wanted privacy you could’ve just said so.”

*“Did he just slap your shoulder?”* Nero asks and his anger is overruled by confusion.

*“Humans tend to do that. A lot.”* I grumble at Nero.

*“I don’t like him.”* Nero mutters as he keeps his attention on Dex walking out of the house.

When the door closes, Lucas jumps up from the sofa. “I can’t believe how stupid you are!”

*“Beta.”* Nero turns his attention to Lucas with a wagging tale.

It sparks a memory from when I first encountered Lucas in the palace. Even though he had a silver dagger pressed against my back, Nero immediately took a liking to him. I’ve only ever seen this kind of enthusiasm from him directed towards Emma.

“I’m—“

“Don’t you dare talk right now,” Lucas holds up a hand and walks past me. There are deep shadows under his eyes.

*“What is wrong with him?”* Nero asks with genuine concern.

*“I think he’s angry at me, again.”*

“You’re such a selfish asshole,” Lucas mutters as he moves towards the stairs. “This could’ve ruined everything.”

*“I like him.”* Nero says with a chuckle.

Lucas stops at the bottom of the stairs. He has his fist perched against the wall and sighs in defeat. “Is Emma okay?”

The bond between Emma and Lucas is strong. His loyalty towards his sister trumps any annoyance or anger he might feel. It’s why I find myself tolerating his sometimes overbearing presence. And why I feel the need to make things right with him all the time.

“Yeah.”

“Good,” Lucas mutters and leaves.

*“Has he met his mate yet?”* Nero keeps his attention on Lucas for a moment longer.

We listen to how he walks to his room and falls down on his bed. His room is next to mine and I can safely assume that he didn’t sleep there last night.

*“He has a girlfriend.”*