Well, Shit!

Soren

Dinner has gone by smoothly. We have mostly talked about work and how things are running.

“So, Devlin tells us that you might be coming home for a week,” Analeese’s chipper voice floats across the table.

“Wait, when did you decide to come home? I’m surprised you’d be able to leave Zayla for that long.” Craven’s curiosity rings through as well.

Setting my fork down, I can’t help but clear my throat, uncomfortable at my answer.

“I marked her. It’s not safe for her around me right now.”

“Then why don’t you just let your wolf do what it wants?” Having never found his mate, I understand Zennen’s confusion, but also know, if in my shoes, he would probably be worse than I am.

“I will not kill her! My wolf wants to make her immortal so that he can keep her safe. Funnily enough, she has to die to make that happen, and I fucking refuse!”

I can’t help but slam my hands on the table. The loud bang has my brothers’ faces going sad, and a tiny, scared squeak coming out of Gracie.

Tears brim in her eyes. I can’t stop myself from jumping up. I run to her side, picking her up right before her mother can, cradling her to my chest while sending rapid-fire apologies her way.

“I’m so sorry, princess, Uncle SoSo is so sorry!” Rubbing small circles on her back, I start walking around the room.

My brothers’ faces still show the pain they feel for me—the hurt they see in my own eyes reflects in theirs.

Mates are a powerful thing. For the four of us they’re everything.

Every breath, every sunrise and sunset; they are the future of ruling Purgatory.

After a few minutes, soft little snores fill my ears. Gracie is now sleeping peacefully on my chest. I don’t stop, though, I just continue to slowly pace around the table.

“I’m sorry for scaring her, Ana. I didn’t mean to,” I finally say after one minute too many of silence, all the while laying my face on her tiny head.

“Don’t worry about it, Soren, clearly it didn’t affect her too much. She loves her Uncle SoSo.”

“I love her so much too!” Kissing her head, I walk back to my seat, sitting slowly so as not to wake her, then I finish eating my food.

The room is silent but not for long. Craven’s overactive mind makes itself known. “So how did she trick you into marking her?”

“Why do you assume she’s done something?” Zennen asks the question for me. It’s a perfectly good question yet Craven and Devlin laugh at it.

“Of course it was her, Soren’s too much of a pussy to mark her on his own.” The words come out jumbled in between Devlin’s far too dramatic laughter.

I sigh behind my scowl.

“She was basically dry humping a human.”

“Ah, there it is.”

Rolling my eyes, I set my fork down before standing up with Gracie still tucked into my chest.

“Yeah, there it is, I’m weak when it comes to her! And now she knows it. You guys have no idea what that little wolf has been up to. I feel like I’m horny more than I’m awake.

“I’m about to lose my fucking mind if she masturbates in front of me one more time!”

I huff out my frustration while my brothers and Ana laugh at me.

“Yeah, great talk, guys! This is why Gracie is my favorite.”

Kissing her head again, I start walking out of the room to yells of, “Hey, you don’t mean that!” behind me.

“Yeah, I fucking do!” I snicker, heading toward the little princess’s room.

The hall is silent but I can feel Ana behind me.

Laying Gracie down in her bed, I kiss her once more.

“She adores you, you know.” I turn slightly to look at Ana, who is leaning against the door, then back to the beautiful little thing curled up to the wolf plushie I got her for her birthday.

“As do I her.” Running my fingers over her little face one last time, I walk over to Ana.

“Don’t let them break your balls, Soren, we all know Devlin was the biggest suck-ass when we first met.”

I laugh at the memory. “Yeah, he was, and you hated his guts.”

“I did, and you see that’s the advantage you have, because your fated doesn’t. Maybe you should just tell her the truth, Soren, I’m sure she’d understand.”

I see nothing but truthfulness in Ana’s words. Still, I can’t help the doubt that swirls around in my head.

“I’m positive she would, I just can’t take her life from her. I can’t risk killing her to be with her, and I can’t take the risk she’ll willingly agree to it just to be with me…because I love her! I love her so fucking much, this kills me.”

Though her face shows she understands, she still sighs and slightly rolls her eyes at me.

“I understand, but it’s also not your decision, and you shouldn’t make it for her.”

“I can’t take her life, Ana. I can’t!”

“I know you don’t want to, but it’s her life. It should be her choice.”

“I know,” I sigh.

“I just can’t.” Leaning in, I kiss the side of her head.

“I’ll see you in a few days. Call me if you need me.” She nods slightly before letting me pass. Creating a portal, I walk through it and right to my front door. The simple movement shouldn’t have my wolf on edge, but it does.

Something’s not right…

There’s a smell here that seems so familiar. Yet it’s so faded from the breeze that I can’t place it.

It smells almost like Zayla, but the smell is so faint that it could be anyone with a similar scent.

Opening my door, my suspicion that the smell is in fact Zayla’s is answered really fucking quickly, and I do mean really fucking quickly.

The smell is so strong that I feel my wolf burning in my veins to shift. How the fuck did she find this place? How did she get in?

The smell of her and I mixed around the house is heavenly. My wolf practically purrs at the thought of our little Lux enjoying our home.

Following the scent around, I try smelling out her movements. What did she do while here? What did she look for?

Making my way into the kitchen, I see a casserole dish sitting on the stove. Tin foil is neatly tucked around it and a note card lies on top.

Picking the card up, I inspect it like it’s fragile. My name lies beautifully on one side and on the other, written in my naughty little Zayla’s cursive, is:

~Hey baby, I figured you would be hungry once you got home. I know I sure was once I ruined your sheets.~

The wink at the bottom of the page has me gulping and dropping the paper before running to my room.

The door is fully closed and looks almost like how I left it; however, Zayla’s scent is strongest right here.

After several deep breaths, I finally twist the knob and open the door. The smell of her arousal and cum suffocate every molecule in my body.

The scent is so strong that I fall to my knees right there in the doorway.

The smell has my resolve snapping, and my hold on my mental control dissolving, allowing my wolf to literally rip his way out of me.

Once I’m fully on four paws, my wolf starts pacing around the room. He’s pacing so much, yet he’s avoiding the bed.

It’s almost like he’s scared to disturb the wet spot on our sheets.

I try hard to hold him back as his erratic, rapid-fire thoughts push around.

When he finally jumps on the bed, his tongue comes out, licking some of her cum off the sheet.

The taste of her has our spine shivering in pleasure.

I try to stop him, I really do, but once he gets that taste of her, he takes off. Running out of our house and toward our mate.

His need to finish the bond and make her ours is stronger than ever.

I had started this day planning to avoid her, planning to go home to Purgatory for a week or more to save her.

But one smell of her has all of my resolve dissolving.

I need her.

And I fucking need her now.