Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 69734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
“All this time, I thought my dilemma was between my wolf side and my artist side. I thought I had to stay away from Wolf Ridge, or it would stop my career. But now that all feels irrelevant. My wolf wanted me back here to find you. My artist side did, too. You’re my destiny, Asher. My tomorrow. My forever.”
“You’re my everything.” He kisses me, lips slanting across mine, tongue sliding between my lips.
A throat clears on the other side of the door, and we pull apart, both gasping.
I let out a breathy laugh as Asher pulls me away from the door and drops me to my feet.
When he opens the door, we find my mom standing there. “Come back in. Both of you.” There’s high color in her cheeks, but I can’t read her agitation.
Asher squeezes my hand as we enter the council room.
Alpha Green beckons us forward. “We’ve reached a decision.” He does the power move of letting silence descend for a moment before he delivers his sentence.
“Carlotta, I found your defense of Asher thought-provoking, and I do take your criticism of my leadership to heart. I’ve made mistakes as an alpha. And you’re right, perhaps if I had done things differently, population wouldn’t be declining in Wolf Ridge.”
I suspect he’s referring to his banishment of his own son from the pack when he was just eighteen.
“Asher, your instincts do seem to be good, as Carlotta pointed out. But you need to learn restraint. You endanger this pack every time you act impulsively.”
“Yes, Alpha.” Asher takes the rebuke like a man.
“We believe your fated mate will help with the temperance. While we understand the impropriety of your relationship given that Carlotta is a teacher at Wolf Ridge High this semester, we’re ordering you to claim her immediately. It’s too volatile for an alpha wolf to hold off on marking his mate.”
Asher shoots me a concerned look.
I squeeze his hand. If I lose this job, I lose it. My future is Asher.
“The two of you will keep the relationship secret from all humans until Asher has graduated.”
“So…I can remain in the art teacher position?”
“Yes. Wolf Ridge High needs your talent,” Alpha Green says. If my mom had said it, I wouldn’t believe her. I would assume she was just saying that to keep me here. But considering I just threw down over them not recognizing our talents, I’m willing to receive his words as genuine appreciation. Or an attempt at genuine appreciation, anyway.
“That’s all. You’re both dismissed.”
I look up at Asher and find he’s grinning down at me, dimples at full setting, looking transformed. I laugh when he scoops me up into his arms and carries me out on exuberant steps. When we bust out of the pack hall, he spins me in circles, lowering and lifting me like I’m on an amusement park ride. I shriek with laughter, my arms tight around his neck, my joy exploding from my chest.
“Let’s go, sweetheart. You heard the alpha. I’ve been ordered to claim you. And it’s gonna be good.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Asher
Carlotta lit candles again. I picked up take-out containers from the deli for later. Right now I’m taking my time with her. I tied her spread eagle to the bed, and I’m kissing every inch of her pale skin.
She trembles beneath me, tugging at the bonds, shivering in response.
“You want my tongue here?” I nip her inner thigh, close to her sex.
“Yes.” She arches, sending her pebbled nipples toward the ceiling. I fondle one, brushing the pad of my finger over the tip as I flick my tongue closer to where she needs me. “Please,” she warbles.
“You’ll get your pleasure when I decide, sweetheart.” I remind her who’s in charge. Not because I still need to be but because she deserves to let go. To not have to worry about anything. To lie back and receive.
I’ll never forget what she did for me tonight. No one has ever stood up for me like that before and damn if I don’t want to be the male she thinks I am–a leader. Her protector. The alpha to a pack.
“This little body belongs to me now.” I brush my thumb over the seam of her pussy with a feather touch.
She bucks for more.
“I’m the guy who gets to give you pleasure. No one else.” I suddenly remember the events of this afternoon, which feel like a lifetime ago. “Who the fuck was that guy today, anyway?” I can’t help the growl of jealousy from lacing my voice.
“He was one of my roommates in Chicago. I used him for sex sometimes because I needed it, and it was convenient, but we were never even friends. He’s an asshole.”
“He came here for sex?” I try to keep my roar of anger out of my voice.
“You protected me,” Lotta soothes.