Chapter 16: Chapter 16

ANNA

His mouth is on mine. I let out a moan.

He slips off my underwear, moving his mouth to my sensitive spot, circling and twirling before delivering long firm strokes over it that have me clawing the mattress.

He moves back up, kissing every part of my body till he locks on my lips.

He pushes inside me, almost sending me over the edge. He sets a steady pace, taking his time pleasuring me, placing gentle kisses on my neck, sending shivers down my spine. He grabs one of my thighs and pushes in deeper.

~Holy shit!~

That is all I need. I feel the pressure leaving my core and my whole body tingles with the release as I call out his name.

~“Roland!”~

I jump up, totally in shock.

~What the hell! Did I just have a sex dream?~

My body is still tingling and sweat is beading on my forehead.

~Shit, I need something cold. That man even haunts my dreams…or more like pleasures them.~

I shake my head at the thought.

Amethyst is still fast asleep in her bed. I make my way quietly out of the room and head to the kitchen. I see the light is still on.

~I wonder who could still be awake this time of night…oh, for fuck’s sake!~

Roland is sitting on the kitchen counter eating ice cream.

~Ice cream. Of all the things in the kitchen, he decides on that. Oh, how I would love it if he licks that off me…Anna, ~no~! Bad girl!~

I shake my head, trying to clean my dirty little mind. I clear my throat, causing Roland to look up. I stroll past him, grab a glass, and pour in some water.

Roland is watching my every move. I take a huge sip of water and stare right into his eyes.

A drop escapes my mouth.

He leaps off the counter, strides over to me, and wipes it off with his thumb.

I suck in a deep breath and he gives me a devilish grin. The air is full of sexual tension; our eyes are practically taking off each other’s clothes. My heart is racing and my breathing is unsteady.

He takes a step closer, towering over me. He is so close now there is no room for air between us. My whole body is tingling, just wanting this man to touch me. I move my gaze down to his mouth, biting my bottom lip.

He runs his thumb over my lips, freeing the bottom one from my teeth.

“Oh, baby, don’t bite your lip. That’s my job,” he says, in his sexy, husky voice.

I let out a breath and look into his eyes, drowning in him, wishing he would just kiss me. His hand is still on my jaw, drawing circles.

~I need to get a grip. This man has some sort of spell on me.~

I move my gaze from his and look down to my feet.

“I…I have a…um, I have a boyfriend.” I whisper.

He lets out a small chuckle, moves his hand under my chin lifting it so our eyes meet once again, and smirks at me.

“Oh, baby, your boyfriend has nothing on me. I will pleasure you till you scream my name over and over again.”

I gulp.

~I sure as hell hope that is a promise.~

~For crying out loud, Anna, get it together!~

“I—I have to go.” I push him out of the way, trying to escape the tension.

“Annabeth, can we talk? Please?” he asks as I flee for the door.

I turn around and look at that sex god standing there, “just wanting to talk.”

“Tomorrow.”

He flashes me a sweet smile and nods his head in response.

“Sweet dreams, baby.”

~Oh, if you are in them, believe me, they are pretty damn sweet.~

~Oh, shit, there I go again.~

“Ugh!” I shake my head and make my way back to my room. Burrowing into my bed, I drift off into a dreamless slumber.

***

When I wake up, I decide on a shower. I grab my towel and sleepwalk to the bathroom.

~Ugh, I can’t seem to wake up. A shower will be great.~

I push open the door only to find a bathroom filled with naked, showering men.

~Shit!~

I shut the door and sprint back to our room just as Amethyst comes out with her towel in her hand. She frowns at me.

“Anna, are you okay?” she asks.

I lean in close to her ear and whisper, “The bathroom has been invaded by naked men!”

She pops her eyebrows and walks down the hall with me following her. She pushes the door open. The room is empty.

Amethyst bursts out into laughter, doubling over and grabbing her stomach. I look around, baffled.

~I could have sworn it was not empty.~

“Anna, you went to the wrong bathroom,” she says between peals of laughter.

I narrow my eyes at her. She catches her breath and turns on the shower.

“What is up with you today? You’re acting weird,” she says while she strips down and gets into the shower.

“Nothing,” I answer quickly as I follow her lead.

She cocks an eyebrow at me.

“Yeah, sure, nothing,” she says in disbelief. “You know you can tell me anything.”

“I had a weird dream last night,” I answer sheepishly.

“Care to elaborate?”

“I had a dream about Roland.”

Amethyst smirks at me, turns off the shower, and starts to dry off and dress. I do the same. She just keeps on smiling at me not saying a word.

“What?” I ask, frowning at her.

“I bet it was a nice, eventful dream.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me.

I flick her with my towel and we start to laugh.

Downstairs, Roland is leaning against the dining room doorframe with his hands folded over his chest, deep in conversation with Collen.

Roland’s eyes immediately fall on mine, and as we pass he flashes me a sexy smile and wink. I give him a soft, sweet smile in return and follow Amethyst.

We start to dish up some food. I can feel Roland’s gaze on me, but every other male in the room looks down when I get near them.

~That’s weird.~

Amethyst just grins at me.

~She knows something and she’s not telling me. I will ask her later, but first, let’s get the thorn out of my side.~

“I’m not going to sit with you this morning—I’m going to talk to Roland,” I tell her.

She flashes me a bright smile and winks at me. “See you in a bit.” She walks over to an empty table.

I go back over to Roland, who watches me as I approach. He smiles a sweet smile at me, pushes himself off the doorframe, and nods to Collen as he leaves.

“Hi, Anna,” Collen says as he goes by. I smile at him.

Roland takes my plate and leads me to an empty table.

“Slept well?” He places my plate on the table and pulls out a chair for me to sit down.

“I did, thank you.” I sit and start to eat. Roland pulls out a chair next to me and sits.

“Anna, I’m going to start by saying I’m sorry for being such an asshole toward you. It’s just—you challenge me, and nobody ever does that,” he says, folding his arms on the table.

~Yeah, I bet everybody jumps when he speaks.~ I roll my eyes at the thought.

He narrows his eyes at me, leans in closer, and whispers, “If you roll your eyes again, I’ll take you right here till I’m done having my way with you—and that, baby, is a promise.”

I widen my eyes and swallow hard on the food in my mouth, almost choking.

He sits back in his chair, smirking.

~Hell, this man is going to kill me. This tension between us is driving me crazy.~

I flash him a sweet smile, place my hand on his arm, and move away.

“I forgive you, but you’re being an ass for thinking you can have me.” I stand up and walk away with my plate in my hand, leaving him with a confused look on his face.

Amethyst comes over to me.

“Are you going to the blood moon games tonight?”

I look at her, uncertain. “What games?”

She shakes her head in disbelief.

“I keep on forgetting you’re not from here. Once every year unmated male werewolves from all the packs come together and play lacrosse—for keeps. It’s a blood sport, but it’s fun.”

Collen stands up and clears his throat. He has the attention of the room in seconds.

“Tonight we will be hosting the blood moon games. I ask all unmated males to keep it clean. Three other packs will be joining us and we have a secret weapon this year—Roland Vladivostok will join our team!”

The other males start hammering on the tables. It’s chaos in the dining room.

~Well, now I must see this game. I’m not good at sports and I’ve never seen lacrosse, but this just got interesting.~

Amethyst leans in close to whisper in my ear.

“The Hastings pack always wins, but with Roland on Collen’s team I don’t think they’ll have a chance,” she says over the commotion.

Men are ripping their shirts off. Some are even howling like wolves. We start to laugh at them, pushing past all these sexy half-naked men.

To kill time, Amethyst and I go to the limited shops in the wolf town. All the stuff is handmade, mostly wood-crafted. The money even looks weird—gold, silver, and bronze coins with a small hole in the middle.

We reach a clothing store. To my surprise, there are a lot of clothes, some very nice. We browse through all the shelves, even trying some on for the fun of it.

It reminds me so much of Ray and our shopping trip, and I find myself suddenly swallowing hard on tears. I miss my friend.

When we are done, we head to the field where the game is taking place. There are hundreds of people and a huge bonfire. I cling to Amethyst like a child; I don’t want to get lost in this crowd.

It’s a beautiful night and the moon casts a red glow on the ground. Amethyst finds us a nice spot to sit and watch. She tells me a bit about the game and how it works while we wait for it to start.

There is a loud roar and four men walk up onto the field. Amethyst tells me they’re the alphas of the packs. I spot Collen among them.

They are all very large men. Granted, all the men here are large. It seems to come with the werewolf package.

The alphas settle who is playing who and which players will start. There is silence in the audience as they call out the teams. Collen’s pack will kick off the games, playing against the Berserker pack.

The teams assemble on the field. The tension in the air is thick. There is total silence as the two teams stare each other down. Roland is dead center, facing off against the alpha of the other team. Collen is at his right side.

The Berserkers look nervous.

The whistle blows, the game starts, and the field turns into a battlefield.

Roland has the ball, and in one swift move he throws it to Collen. The Berserkers try to stop him, but he is too fast and shoots the first goal, putting Collen’s pack in the lead.

~Is this sport usually this violent, or is it just because it’s werewolves playing? There’s actual blood being spilled.~

Collen’s pack takes the first game with ease, seven to two.

The next game is Hastings against the Blue Moon pack, whose players look as small as Tom Holland standing next to Dwayne Johnson. The Hastings men are big even for werewolves.

Hastings plays dirty, knocking out almost all of the Blue Moon pack, brutally plowing into them and breaking bones. The game is over fast as all the Blue Moon players are injured, and Hastings takes the game three-nothing.

“That pack plays dirty. I hope they lose.” I pout and fold my arms, angry at those assholes for playing like jerks.

Amethyst starts to laugh at my reaction. “I need a beer.”

I stand up and make my way to the mobile bar. “Two, please,” I say to the bartender.

Roland appears at my side. “Make that three,” he says.

He carries the drinks as we walk back to Amethyst. “Enjoying the games?” he asks.

“They’re…interesting.”

Back at our spot, he gives Amethyst a beer and hands me one as well.

“So, would you like to place a bet on the next game?” He arches his eyebrows at me in a challenging way.

I never back away from a challenge.

“Okay, what do you have in mind?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.

Amethyst looks at us like she is watching a very interesting movie.

“If I score five points, you have to endure a conversation with me. If not, you get to throw a barrel of beer over me.” He gives me a devilish look, waiting for my answer, daring me to accept.

I’ve seen him play, and he’s good, but that Hastings pack is pure evil.

~I really don’t think that he will even land one goal~.

I smirk at him. “Game on, baby.”

He starts to laugh and Amethyst claps her hands in excitement.

“This is going to be the game of the century!” she shouts and pulls me down to her as Roland strolls over to Collen.

Lev appears out of nowhere and plants himself next to me. “So, I heard you made a bet with Roland?” He smiles a full-mouth smile at me.

“Yes. I don’t think they stand a chance of winning. I mean, look at that guy,” I say, pointing at the alpha of the Hastings pack, who is even bigger than Lev.

Lev and Amethyst burst out into laughter.

“Oh, Anna, didn’t your mother ever tell you never to make a deal with the devil?” Lev says as he wipes away a tear.

“Sweetie, you don’t know Roland at all. That team? He could face them alone and still kick their butts,” Amethyst adds between gasps.

The teams trot out onto the field, and the crowd goes wild, howling and cheering on their packmates.

But when the players take their places, it is dead silent again and the tension in the air is brutal. These guys are ready to kill and will not show mercy.

I swallow down a big gulp of beer.

~I really hope Collen’s pack kicks their asses.~

Roland is starting in the center with Collen on his right side again. This time, Collen’s back is turned to the opponent’s side.

Roland looks at me and winks just as the whistle goes. He sweeps up the ball and within seconds hits the goal. The crowd goes wild.

Roland flashes me a grin and saunters back to the center.

I just sit there sipping on my beer.

~I can’t believe how fast he is.~

The whistle goes again, but this time they box Roland in. He throws the ball to Collen, who works his way across the field to the goal—but he doesn’t shoot.

Roland pushes his way through the opponents and jumps up into the air to avoid colliding with one of the Hastings pack defenders. Collen spots Roland and throws the ball to him.

Roland catches it mid-air, flicks it into the net for the score, then lands on his feet, blows me a kiss, and takes a bow.

~He is so arrogant.~

I feel a blush creeping up my face as I take another sip of beer, ignoring the butterflies in my core. Lev grins at me as he sees my blush.

The whistle goes again, and this time the Hastings alpha runs straight into Collen and sends him flying through the air, causing Roland to lose focus.

Hastings takes the ball and heads straight for the goal while Roland runs over to Collen and helps him to his feet. He says something through his teeth that makes Lev rise with his jaw clenched.

The match turns into a blood game for real. The Hastings players deliberately injure Collen’s pack. Roland scores twice more, but Hastings is leading by two points when the whistle ends the third quarter.

With one quarter left to play, Collen’s pack looks exhausted.

He is on his last players. If they lost more there would not be enough players to play regular lacrosse, but werewolf rules are the game goes on even if there is just one player left standing.

~I don’t think they’ll be able to hold Hastings off any longer.~

While Collen strategizes with the remains of his team, Roland glares at the Hastings pack, looking like he is about to kill them.

“You know, Anna, if you want them to win, just tell Roland you would love it if he opens up a can of whoop-ass,” Lev says as he sits down with a beer in his hand.

“I would kiss him if he kicks those bullies’ asses,” I say sincerely.

Lev and Amethyst start to laugh, and I realize Roland is staring straight at me with a huge smile on his face.

~Oh, shit, he heard me.~

My whole body is on fire.

Roland turns his gaze back to the field. This time, he looks dangerous, his eyes blood-red.

The teams make their way back on, taking their places.

The whistle goes. Roland has the ball, and he runs through the opponents like a hurricane, slamming the ball into the goal. The crowd cheers his name, for he will lead them to victory.

The Hastings players look furious. All their eyes are glowing like fire. They kick their feet into the ground and clutch their hands on their sticks.

The game is turning even more brutal. Both teams are ready to kill; they are even growling at each other.

Roland steps in place, facing the Hastings alpha now. The whistle goes and the alpha shoulders Roland, pushing him one step back.

Roland grins viciously. When the opposing alpha throws the ball, Roland intercepts it and barrels into the other man, sending him staggering across the field. He shoots for a goal but misses.

Luckily, Collen is there to scoop up the ball and take a swing at the goal. He shoots and scores. It has the crowd on their feet, everybody cheering them on.

Now the score is tied, seven each.

Roland’s eyes have a weird glow. He smirks at the alpha.

“You’re in my domain now, alpha boy,” he says.

The whistle goes and it is like the alpha hands Roland the ball.

He grins and sprints for the goal. The Hastings players try to box him in but he manages to dodge them all. He flicks the ball to Collen, who leaps up and catches it—

A huge man storms Collen and hits him mid-air, sending the werewolf plummeting back to earth. If he were just human, he would most certainly have broken all of his bones with that hit.

I jump up on my feet.

~Shit, is he okay? He’s not getting up.~

Roland runs to Collen, picks him up, and carries him off the field. When he returns, I can see this is it. He is done playing around. He looks into the alpha’s eyes and growls, and the Hastings player squirms.

~I have never seen such a death look in someone’s eyes. Shit, he’s even scaring me.~

He clutches his stick, tilts his head side to side as if to crack his neck, and narrows his eyes.

The whistle goes and in one swift move, Roland goes crashing into the alpha, sending him flying, punching the big guy with his stick in his gut on his way by.

Roland goes for the goal, shoots, and scores. He is on fire. Earlier he was just toying with the other team. Now he is destroying them, taking them out one by one. They can’t even touch him.

Even so, the Hastings players manage through sheer brute force and numbers to get in one more goal, tying the score eight all in the last few seconds of the game.

The tension in the air is immense. Everybody is on their feet now. Amethyst, Lev, and I are cheering madly along with everyone else.

Roland grabs the ball and speeds off. I swear there is fire on the ground as tears across the field to the goal. One guy tries to intercept him, but Roland leaps into the air, backflipping over him.

~What the hell!~

Roland throws the ball to one of his teammates who catches it with ease and runs for the goal, but gets hit and goes down.

Roland sprints over, knocks the Hastings player out with his stick, scoops up the ball and wings it halfway across the field, an impossible shot.

I take in a deep breath as the ball goes flying through the air.

~“SCORE!”~

Lev jumps up and down in excitement as the ball hits the goal and the end whistle goes. Everyone storms the field to congratulate the winning team.

Roland’s eyes meet mine. I give him a huge smile. He looks happy, smiling and celebrating with his team.

~I’ll congratulate him later.~

Leaving the field, I am heading back to the packhouse when I feel someone’s hands on my waist.