Chapter 13

“I didn’t think that I had a future. I had accepted that my fate was set. One day, I was certain, I would die at the teeth of my captors. But out of the darkness, you charged in—a mighty wolf, rescuing me from evil. I was destined to be yours. And in the short time I’ve known you, I’ve come to want to be yours. There are so many unknowns, yet I feel that as long as you are by my side, I can stand before anything life has to throw at me and not fall.” ~Bethany


Bethany wiped the sleep from her eyes as she focused on the closed door. She’d locked herself in the bedroom, unwilling to face Drake once he returned. She was still angry and she was still reeling from all the information Jen and Jacque had shared with her. She didn’t know how she could look at Drake without blushing from head to toe.
Bethany vaguely remembered hearing the door to the suite open and close last night, but she didn’t know if Drake had attempted to get into the room with her. She wondered if he was angry with her, if he’d come looking for her after she’d stormed from the suite? A tiny part of her felt bad for leaving him the way she did, but the rest of her felt justified. He’d been acting like an ass hat—that had been Jen’s description. Bethany had said that he’d only been being a jerk, but Jen said male wolves were never something as minor as a jerk. She said they are always at least an ass hat—that was the lowest level of jerkiness they were capable of. It only got worse from there, unfortunately. Then she’d said a whole bunch of other descriptive words that Bethany decided she’d save for only the most severe of situations.
She climbed out of bed, realizing that she didn’t want to be braless and in her pajamas when she faced Drake, so she gathered up some clothes and headed into the bathroom.
Just as she was combing out her freshly blow-dried hair, Bethany heard a knock on the bedroom door.
“Bethany?” Drake’s deep voice rumbled through the door. Hearing it caused chills to race up and down her body. “I know you’re still angry, but I need to see you. I need to see that you are…okay.” He paused and then growled. “Please.”
Letting out a resigned sigh, she walked over to the door. “I’m going to open the door, Drake. No touching.”
He growled at her and she couldn’t help the smile. He was like a kid who’d had his toy taken away.
Bethany unlocked the door and then pulled it open. Drake stood only a foot away, looking as though he hadn’t slept at all. His eyes took in every inch of her greedily, and Bethany had to force herself not to fidget under his scrutiny. When his eyes finally met hers, she saw that they were glowing.
“Are you alright?” he asked her, his voice guttural and dark.
“I think the better question is, are you alright?” she asked.
His eyes narrowed. “No, I am not alright.”
Okay, so he wasn’t going to beat around the bush. Fine. She could be just as blunt as he was.
“Who’s fault is that?” she asked as she folded her arms in front of her and leaned her hip against the door jam.
He dropped his head and his shoulders seemed to sag as though the weight of the world had been laid upon them. “Will you just let me hold you? Please.”
Bethany fought the urge to scream Yes! at him and throw her arms around him. She was going to have more dignity than that. She also wasn’t going to admit that it was taking something akin to a miracle to keep herself on the opposite side of the doorway. As soon as she’d opened the door and laid eyes on him, she realized just how much she missed him. She didn’t like being away from him, not even for one night. She hated that she’d gone to bed alone, without anyone to tell her goodnight, like she’d done so many times during her captivity. She hated that the sound of soft breaths coming from the other room hadn’t been the sound that helped her drift safely off to sleep.
“Dammit, female! I can feel your need as strongly as my own. You can’t keep something like that from seeping through the bond. And my wolf can smell it on you—your desire, anguish, regret, and fear. Why do you continue this nonsense? Why are you torturing us both?” He was on one knee now. His forearm across his thigh as he leaned forward, resting his other hand on the ground to support himself.
“Nonsense?” she asked slowly. “You think how I feel about something is nonsense?”
“That’s not what I said, Bethany. Don’t twist my words.”
Bethany clenched her hands into fists at her sides and snarled as she stomped her right foot. “It is not nonsense, Drake. You hurt me. You refused to listen to me. You yelled at me and threw a lamp.”
“I didn’t throw it at you,” he grumbled.
“I didn’t say you did. But throwing objects is not something that will be a part of our fights.”
“Well if that’s the case, then our Alpha female didn’t rub off on you too much,” he said as he raised his head and looked up at her.
“Jen didn’t live in violence for eleven years,” she answered coolly. “She hasn’t been bitten almost daily, struck repeatedly, and thrown about like an old ragdoll. If you feel like you are getting angry enough to throw things, then I need you to walk away for a while.”
“Bethany, you threatened to seek out another male.” Drake surged to his feet, energy suddenly infusing him.
She nodded. “You’re right, I did, and I’m sorry. I didn’t realize the effect those words would have.”
He stared at her open-mouthed. He hadn’t been expecting the apology.
“It seems we have some things we need to talk about.” Bethany walked past him, and from the corner of her eye, she saw his face cringe as though he was in pain. She must have gotten too close. She went straight for the kitchen, her stomach growling. She’d had nothing but hot chocolate the night before. Drake’s eyes were on her the entire length of the suite and he stalked her like the predator he was.
“Are you hungry?” she asked him over her shoulder as she reached for two glasses from the cabinet. She heard a grunt and took that as an affirmative. Bethany didn’t know how to cook. Her meals, if you could call them that, had been provided by the monsters. She could only recall being able to make one thing before she’d been captured—peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. So she went to work searching out a butter knife and bread before hunting the peanut butter (crunchy) and the jelly.
Thankful she’d found everything she needed, Bethany made them both a sandwich and poured them each a glass of milk. When she turned to take Drake his plate, she had to take a step backward to keep from bumping into him.
“Here,” she said, thrusting the plate at him and the glass. He’d rattled her, though she didn’t think that was his intention. As Drake took the offered breakfast, Bethany paused long enough to look at Drake’s face. She saw then that Drake, the man, was not the one in control. His wolf had taken over.
Calmly, she turned and grabbed her own plate and drink from the counter. She walked over to the breakfast table and eased into a chair. Instead of sitting across from her, Drake took the seat right beside her. He was careful not to touch her, but he got as close to her as the magic would allow.
“So do you talk when your wolf is in control?” she asked before taking a bite of the sandwich.
“Mine,” Drake growled as he continued to stare at her.
“Okay,” Bethany said as she watched Drake sniff his sandwich. “One syllable words will have to do.”
“Touch,” Drake huffed as he reached his hand out to her but quickly pulled it back before reaching her arm. He snarled but she knew it wasn’t at her. He was snarling at the magic that kept him from her.
When his glowing eyes rose to hers once more, Bethany’s heart nearly stopped at the emotion that poured out of those eyes.
“Hurt,” he grumbled at her.
“I’m not trying to hurt you,” she practically whispered. “I need your touch too. I need—” she breathed out as she attempted to get control of her emotions. “I need you to believe me when I say that I know what I want and what I need. I may have gone into that coven as a little girl but I emerged as a grown woman.”
“Touch,” his wolf growled again.
Bethany looked away as the tears filled her eyes. She hated that she was so emotional over this. She didn’t even understand it; she just knew that she needed Drake’s touch like she needed water to quench her thirst.
“Mine! Touch!” The wolf nearly howled making Bethany jump in her seat.
Her eyes snapped back to him and she watched as his breathing increased and his nostrils flared. He was holding on by a thread. And so was she.
Bethany nodded. “Okay, okay.” Her voice was weary as if the previous night’s sleep had done nothing to restore her energy. “You can touch me,” she said quietly.
Drake’s wolf rumbled his approval but he didn’t move. Bethany looked at him, her brow raised, but he just stared back. She opened up the bond and immediately felt him flood her mind. She couldn’t just tell him he was allowed to touch her, she had to want the touch as well. Pack magic was apparently very specific.
“I want you to touch me, Drake,” she said clearly as she held his gaze. A single tear fell as she added, “Please.”
Between that breath and the next, she was in his arms. Drake had picked her up faster than she could have believed possible and was cradling her to his chest. His face was buried in her neck and she felt his tongue ghost across the bite mark he’d left on her neck that first night she’d ‘met’ him. She trembled in his arms as the act caused all sorts of reactions inside of her.
“Mine, mine, mine,” she heard his wolf growling over and over and then he said something that made her laugh. “Stupid human,” the wolf snarled and through the bond, Bethany could read that the wolf was calling Drake stupid, not her. As his wolf pushed information into her mind, she saw that the wolf didn’t think like the man. He wanted to claim Bethany in every way possible as soon as possible. That was what it meant to be true mates—to be one. The wolf didn’t see all the complications that humans added to the equation. All he knew was that his human half was pushing their mate away and it was pissing the wolf off.
One minute she was in his arms, and the next she was on her back on the couch, and Drake was kneeling beside her. He wasn’t looking at her face. His eyes were glued to the markings that showed beneath the shorts she was wearing. Drake lifted her calf until it was bent at the knee with her foot resting on the couch. He slowly pushed the hem of her shorts up until all of the mark was bare to his eyes. Bethany felt electricity running through her body and her blood felt as though it was heating up inside of her veins as Drake ran a finger over the dark design. His eyes still glowed with the wolf as he leaned closer to her. Just as he had done the first time he’d seen it, he pressed his lips to the flesh that bore the mark. When he was done, he rose up and covered her body with his own. He held himself up so that he wasn’t crushing her beneath his much larger frame. He shifted them so that she was laying on the inside of the couch and he on the outer. One of his arms was beneath her head, while the other reached across her and grabbed her hip, pulling on her to angle her body more toward him. Then his hand moved down her hip and on down her thigh until he reached the back of her knee. Drake grasped it and pulled it up so that her leg was wrapped around him.
Bethany found herself relaxing in his arms and enjoying the eager attention. His warm breath on her skin gave her goosebumps and his hand roaming over her body caused the emittance of more than a few gasps.
“I’m sorry,” she heard several minutes later. “I’m sorry I hurt you,” Drake told her as he pressed a kiss to her forehead, cheek, and neck. Apparently, the wolf had allowed the man to take back over control.
“I hurt you too,” Bethany admitted as she trailed her fingers across his corded neck and down his shoulder.
“I should have listened to you instead of making my own choices for you. I’m just so scared of screwing this up, Bethany. I don’t want to lose you before we’ve even really started.”
She pulled back so that she could look at him. “Are you going anywhere?”
He frowned at her. “No.”
“Good, because neither am I,” she breathed out before pressing her lips firmly to his. Drake caught on to her intentions quickly and his lips and tongue moved just as eagerly as hers. He pulled her tightly against his body, molding her from head to foot. Bethany wrapped her arms around his neck pulling herself closer, needing to be as close to him as possible.
“Mate, mine,” she heard Drake’s wolf through the bond.
“Yes, I’m yours.”
“You’re ours,” Drake added.
Bethany lost track of time as Drake showered her with his attention. Each kiss and touch was like a balm to the wounds their fight had caused.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured against her collarbone as his lips traced it and then traced the v-neckline of her shirt. Bethany’s head tilted back and her eyes fluttered closed.
“You’re precious,” he continued as his mouth continued its exploration. “You’re lovely beyond words,” Drake whispered against her neck. Her breathing was a tad erratic as she listened to his deep voice purr at her. “You’re mine. I need you. I want you. I thirst for you like a parched desert that hasn’t seen rain in centuries.”
Bethany felt more tears well up in her eyes and her breath caught as emotion filled every empty place in her. It wasn’t only her emotion she was feeling, but Drake’s as well. Through the mate bond, their feelings and passions entwined, morphing into one. She wasn’t sure which were hers and which were Drake’s.
His fingers danced across her skin as he played her like a piano and her body sang for him. Bethany loved seeing the passion that filled his eyes as he pulled back and looked down at her, taking one of her hands and lifting it to his lips. He kissed each fingertip, her palm, and wrist, holding her gaze the entire time. He ran his nose up her arm to the bend where he inhaled deeply. When Drake’s tongue darted out to taste her, Bethany sucked in a quick breath. He was assaulting all of her senses, overwhelming her with his presence.
“Drake,” she breathed out his name.
“Hmm,” he answered, never taking his mouth from her skin.
“Jen explained more of the Blood Rites to me. To complete it, I have to—” she sucked in a breath, pausing her words when he pushed up the hem of her shirt, exposing her stomach and ran his hand across the expanse of her flesh. “I have to bite you,” she finished and squirmed under his attention.
“Be still,” he grumbled as he held her hips still.
“I’m ready,” she said unable to obey him and continuing to wiggle against him. “I’m ready to bite you.”



Drake froze as he stared down at the flat stomach and smooth flesh he’d been reveling in only seconds ago. Bethany was everywhere. Her scent covered him and his wolf loved it. He rose slowly until he could look her in the eye. He had an arm under her head, supporting his upper body, bracing himself above her. “Do you really understand what that would mean? I’m not saying you aren’t capable of understanding. I just really need to know if you understand,” he said, his voice was thick with emotion and gruff with his wolf so close to the surface.
She nodded.
“Our lives would be tied to each other. If I died, you would lose your life as well and vice versa. Our souls would become one. Being apart would be very difficult, much more difficult than what we just experienced. Our need of each other would increase and touch would become essential to the health of our wolves. Do you really understand how serious and permanent this is?” He wanted her to bite him more than he wanted anything else, but he didn’t want her to do something in a moment of passion only to regret it later.
“Drake, I didn’t expect to have anything. I thought I would be a slave to those monsters until they finally drained me. You think I’m worried about being tied to a man who loves me, adores me, and needs me? I’m more scared that you’ll wake up one day and see how damaged I am and ask why the Great Luna gave you such a pathetic mate. But you want me now and I’ll take that. I want you for as long as you will have me.”
Drake leaned more heavily on one arm as he lifted the other to wipe away the tear sliding down her cheek. “Forever,” he said softly. “I will have you for all time. You’re mine.” He slipped his hand behind her neck and pulled her toward him while at the same time turning his head and lowering his neck to her.
As her teeth broke through his skin, he didn’t wonder how this was possible. Bethany wasn’t a full Canis lupus. But Drake trusted the Great Luna. If she had given Bethany to him as his true mate, then she would work out the details of the Blood Rites.
The bond grew stronger as the call of the Blood Rites was satisfied and Drake let out a relieved sigh. His wolf was practically rolling around with satisfaction. Of course, both wolf and man wanted to complete other things, but Drake knew Bethany wasn’t ready for that, not yet. She was curious, he caught that much through the bond when he’d been kissing and touching her, but she still had reservations and that was okay with him. He would wait centuries for her to be ready if that’s what it took. She was worth waiting for.
When it was done and she pulled back from him, he looked down at her and his heart was flooded with joy at the smile on her face.
“You are stuck with me now,” she said a little breathlessly.
He chuckled. “You were stuck with me the second I saw you.” His smile faded as he grew serious. “Bethany, my beautiful mate, please don’t ever forbid my touch again. It was torture.”
“Drake, my handsome mate, don’t give me a reason to forbid your touch.”
He groaned and laid his forehead against her chest. “Great, maybe Jen rubbed off on you more than I thought.”
She ran her fingers through his hair and he rumbled in pleasure at her touch. He would never grow tired of her touch.
“What now?” she asked softly.
Drake bit back the words his wolf was riding him to say. The last thing his little mate needed to hear was that now that they’d completed the Blood Rites, he was just as eager to complete all of their mating. His wolf was practically salivating at the thought of consummating their relationship. Not yet, he growled at his wolf, who snarled back at him. Stupid human, the wolf told him again. Drake nearly rolled his eyes. His wolf had become quite obstinate since they’d found their true mate. Before meeting Bethany, Drake had begun to wonder if maybe the abuse he’d suffered under the leadership of his former Alpha had caused the wolf irreparable damage. It seemed that since finding their true mate, his wolf was beginning to heal.
“Drake?” Bethany’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.
He pressed his lips gently to hers. “For now let’s just enjoy this part of our story. It will change quickly as time passes. We will never get this time back. Let me enjoy you. Let me meet whatever needs you have.”
Bethany smiled warmly up at him. “Any need?”
The mischievous glint in her eyes gave him pause. But he finally nodded.
“I’m pretty sure I need a foot massage.”
Drake laughed. “Okay. I can handle that.” He sat up and pulled her feet into his lap. She had tiny, cute feet which were attached to sexy, shapely calves. Focus, Drake, he snapped at himself. Just her feet.
“Unless you really want to massage my sexy, shapely calves. I’m okay with that.” Bethany’s voice filled his mind.
Drake’s eyes snapped up to hers. She was staring back at him with a look in her eyes that was having an incredible effect on him. And he was pretty sure that she didn’t even realize it. “Behave,” he growled as he began to rub her feet. “Don’t start something you aren’t ready to finish, beautiful.”
Bethany laughed. “Just keep telling yourself that I’m not ready to finish it; maybe soon you’ll believe it.”
Drake decided not to examine that statement too closely and instead focused on his mate’s feet. It was such a simple act, rubbing her feet, and yet the fact that he was once again touching her—was free to touch her—pulled the breath from his lungs. He never wanted to stop touching her; he never wanted to be separated from her, not for any reason, even for a simple disagreement.
“Don’t,” Bethany whispered as she laid her head back against the couch and closed her eyes.
Drake stopped and looked at her. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t ever stop touching me.”
He felt his heart swell inside of him and his wolf laid down, feeling contentment for the first time in a very long time. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll never be far enough away from you not to be able to touch you.”