Chapter 50

Caturix rapped on Shemika’s window again. He was certain she was home. Why hadn’t she come over to his place? She’d always come over. Every night for the past few weeks. What had changed? Maybe he was overthinking it.

He was about to knock again when the blinds suddenly opened. It reminded him of the night he’d first come to her. The first night of her heat, but not this time…

This time, she was dressed in unusually modest clothing. Not like his Mika usually dressed. She loved to flaunt her body. But now she wore a long, baggy sweatshirt and loose sweatpants. She didn’t look flushed and aroused. She looked sickly pale and devoid of emotion. Something was off.

She let him in this time, unlike when she’d gone into heat.

“Mika,” he greeted, grinning as he held out a fresh piece of game. “I caught this for you. I remember you were craving rabbit meat in the middle of the night a few nights ago,” he said, rubbing his neck bashfully.

“Thanks,” she replied flatly. “You can put it in the fridge and go,” she instructed, before moving to crawl into her bed.

A sudden pang of worry hit him. “Are you okay, Mika?” he asked, setting the kill onto her dining table and following her to her bed.

She didn’t respond.

She was in pain but wouldn’t tell him why.

He sat gently on the bed beside her.

His Mika was in pain. He could almost feel her pain. He was hurting for her.

Despite himself, he moved in behind her, trying to comfort her. But it didn’t work. She burst into tears and her body shook as she sobbed uncontrollably.

“Mika, my love. Tell me what’s hurting you,” he pleaded, but she didn’t. She just continued to cry.

A lot of time passed before her crying fit ended. By then, the night was almost over and he’d have to sneak off. He didn’t want to. He wanted to stay and comfort her. It felt like his duty, more than his pack duty ever had, but he was failing at this.

She turned around in the bed to face him and his heart shattered. Her eyes were swollen from crying, her face blotchy.

“My love,” Caturix cooed, holding her face in his hands. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, then her swollen eyes, the tip of her sniffling nose, her tear-stained cheeks, and finally her trembling lips.

To his surprise, she not only returned his kiss, but wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. The kiss grew intense, passionate. Unlike any of their other kisses. This kiss was desperate, as if Shemika needed this to survive whatever she was going through.

He gave her everything she needed, letting her set the pace.

Shemika discarded her pants under the blanket and quickly removed his. She threw them off the bed. They joined hers on the floor.

She lay in front of him and moved her leg over his side, guiding his cock to her entrance. He wanted to object, fearing that after hours of tears, she wasn’t thinking clearly and probably wasn’t ready for swift penetration, but he lost his words as she impaled herself.

That’s when the pace slowed. Shemika let Caturix take over. He moved slowly, gently, in a way he never had before. He’d always been rough and quick with women. He’d always felt the need, the urge to finish, but this wasn’t about climax. This wasn’t about finishing.

Shemika needed to be intimate with him. She needed to be fully touched by him, fully claimed, as much as she could be without being marked. She wanted to forget all about Lyosha and be present with ~HER MAN~.

Caturix touched and kissed her all over. They rolled around the bed, taking turns on top. Shemika’s hand glided over Caturix’s scars, caressing them. Respecting them, honoring them, but never sexualizing them the way other women had. He appreciated that.

They made no sense together, as a couple. But they weren’t rutting now, they weren’t fucking. They were making love, worshipping each other’s bodies. He could feel her in his bones, feel her in his soul so intensely. He could feel her sorrow, her pleasure. Her love for him.

She had completely blindsided him when she’d showed up, but he wouldn’t change it for the world. He didn’t know what to do, to say, to show her how he felt about her. His heart was hers. Fully, entirely, completely. He was hers.

They writhed and moaned and brought each other to ecstasy.

Caturix came harder than he ever had, than he ever thought possible. He hadn’t smacked, spanked, or clawed at her, but he came so hard.

Shemika followed after, arching into him with a high moan.

He rolled off of her, but then pulled her into his side. He wasn’t done touching her and she didn’t seem satisfied either.

They fell into a comfortable silence, but Caturix decided…he wasn’t leaving until she told him what was causing her such intense pain. He’d confided much in her, all his past pains and sorrows and he wouldn’t allow her to keep anything from him. At least anything of that importance.

After some time, he cleared his throat. “Mika, please tell me what’s hurting you,” he begged softly.

Her whole body tensed in a way it never had before. She said nothing for a while, as though carefully considering her words. “Lyosha needs to die,” she finally said firmly, bluntly.

Caturix jerked away from her, sitting up. His eyes bulged so much he thought they’d fall out into his lap from the force of his surprise. “Why do you say this, Mika? Where is this coming from?” he asked.

Her jaw set in determination, eyes narrowed. She turned away from him to look across the room. “He won’t let us be together,” she said angrily.

“I know, he said that months ago, Mika. Why does this disturb you now, my love?” he asked quietly, brushing a blonde curl behind her ear.

She sucked in a breath. “He knows we’re still seeing each other, Caturix. I saw him yesterday. He threatened me—”

“With what?” he demanded.

“He said he’d mark me to keep others away from me,” she confessed.

“Maybe he didn’t mean it, Mika. Maybe he was just exaggerating to get you to obey. Claiming someone against their will is a fundamental lycan law. Everyone obeys,” he suggested.

“No, he meant it,” she cried. “He said he’d do more next time.”

“More? More than…what, Mika?” Caturix asked, dangerously calm.

“He assaulted me,” she admitted.

Caturix froze, not even breathing.

“He—” Her words caught in her throat, her body trying not to let her relive the moment. Her brain was trying to protect her. Don’t say it, stupid girl. If you say it, it becomes real. It wasn’t real. It was all pretend. Close it out. Shut up.

But she forced the words out the best she could. “He shoved…himself…into my mouth, Cat. He hurt me. I was too weak to fight him off.” The tears started up again.

“You don’t have to be strong, Mika. You shouldn’t have to be. No one should have to be strong enough that someone can’t assault them,” he snarled, leaping up from the bed. He began to pace the room like a caged animal.

He was angrier than she’d ever seen him. Far more dark and dangerous than ever before. She couldn’t believe it…and yet it pleased her. He really cared. He did. It wasn’t her imagination.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to her. His eyes held a dangerous gleam. A crazed look. “Lyosha needs to die,” he stated, agreeing with her.

She nodded in agreement. “Does this pack have some kind of jury of peers? I can tell everyone what he did.”

Caturix shook his head. “No,” he answered flatly. “I have to challenge him. To the death,” he said.