Crossed Fates by Lexi C. Foss

Alaric

Makayla blew out a breath.“Just thinking through everything. The auctions. The girls. I should have picked up on it sooner, you know? It was all related.”

“You sensed that relation.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t follow it all the way through. And to find out the trafficking wasn’t even the main scheme?” Her lips twisted to the side, and she shook her head. “It’s a bit of a blow. Because it shows there will always be layers to everything. And I’ve spent all this time focused on one aspect of crime, without factoring in the others. So I missed the obvious link.”

“You didn’t miss anything,” I argued. “You found the initial links. That’s what matters.”

“But we lost lives in the process.”

“And that will always happen,” I told her. “That doesn’t make it our fault, though. It makes it the faults of the monsters out there like Bortex.”

Just thinking about what he did to Savannah, to me, and to Makayla had me wishing we could have prolonged his death.

Alas, he’d died with a hell of a lot of bullets inside him. And Jude would be cremating the son of a bitch to ensure he didn’t return.

“Yeah, I know you’re right,” she said. “I’m just… I’m thinking about how my life is going to change. Not just for work stuff, and jobs, but also leaving my family. I might not have gone home often, but we were still close.”

I frowned, afraid of the direction this conversation might take. “Are you considering going back to your old home?”

She’d shared a heartfelt goodbye with Nathan and Asher before we’d left, and I hadn’t sensed any hesitation in her. Hell, I’d been the most hesitant of the pair because they intended to take Savannah back to their home realm. They had some advanced therapies they felt would help her. There was also her whole wavering link that I still sensed inside the hive mind, like she wasn’t meant to be here.

I wondered if that was what Nathan had felt about Makayla all these years. Had she blinked in and out, too? Her life strand connecting to me and my pack rather than her own?

She fingered the amulet around her neck and moved her head from side to side without hesitation, similar to what I’d observed from her goodbyes earlier. “I have the ability to visit, but I’m still a world away from them. Literally.”

Thank fuck for that, I thought, momentarily appeased by her acceptance to stay.

Her lips twitched, having heard my relief. But she didn’t comment on it, instead inhaling deeply as she considered me.

“It’s just a lot at once. The fully developed bond between true mates can be overwhelming, not that I have any regrets. I mean, it’s the most real and incredible thing I’ve ever felt, but it will still take some getting used to. Especially this whole hive-mind thing. Not to mention figuring out how to balance it all—my duties to our pack and my need to help humans.”

The coffee maker beeped, and she stood before I could. She headed over to take out a mug and fill it with steaming liquid while I silently observed her graceful movements. One of the most attractive things about my mate was her complete obliviousness to how fucking sexy she was doing even the smallest things.

She poured me a cup as well, bringing both over to the table.

“We really need to master the ability to block our thoughts,” she muttered as she sat again. “Pouring coffee is not sexy.”

I grinned and sat back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest. “You’re right. Unless the woman pouring said coffee is you.”

She rolled her eyes, but I sensed her playful energy returning.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying our coffees and allowing our minds just to exist with the other.

I felt her acceptance of our situation, just as she sensed mine.

And after several blissful beats, I reached out to squeeze her hand, saying, “Anything you need, Makayla, I will support you. That includes you taking on freelance jobs and venturing to your home realm. Whatever you want, I’ll do my best to give it to you.”

Her lips curled. “I know. I hear all that in your head.”

“Just as I hear similar thoughts in yours.” She wanted to support me. To be there for the pack. To be a good alpha, even if her wolf tended to prefer freedom and alone time. “You’re not the only one with a lone wolf inside, baby,” I reminded her softly.

She studied me as she drank her coffee, her mind running over my words and so much more.

I chuckled when her thoughts slipped south, her body lining with tension for an entirely different reason than before. My wolf perked up at the scent of her growing arousal, his interest a deep-seated need inside me that only Makayla could satisfy.

Yet she seemed rather content with her coffee.

Maybe even a little too content.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d worry that you loved coffee more than my mouth on you,” I teased.

Makayla’s blue orbs lit with desire, and the corners of her mouth lifted. “See? Annoying.”

I laughed, feeling the rest of my stress melt away, giving the hunger for my mate room to surge to the surface once more.

She drained the last of her drink and stood to make herself another cup of coffee. At the machine, she hesitated. “Maybe I shouldn’t have more coffee,” she muttered suddenly, her expression torn between longing and resignation. “I just want to collapse in bed.”

I stood and walked right up to her, crowding her against the counter, caging her in with my arms on either side of her hips.

“Oh, you’re going to bed, Makayla,” I whispered in her ear.

She turned around and gave me a dirty look, causing my mouth to widen into a grin.

“Have as much coffee as you want, sweetheart. You’re going to need the energy.”

Her brow knitted, but she rotated to pour herself another cup, then nonchalantly faced me again. She leaned back against the counter and peered at me over the rim of her mug as she took a drink. “Aren’t you exhausted?” she asked.

I pushed my pelvis into her and smirked. “I’m tired, but I’m not that tired, baby.”

Makayla raised a single eyebrow while the rest of her face remained neutral. Although, I didn’t need our link to know she was full of shit. The heat simmering in her eyes gave her away.

“And what if I’d rather get some sleep, Alpha?” A sly smile gradually curled her lips, as if she just couldn’t keep it in any longer.

All the blood in my body drained to my cock, and I swelled to painful proportions, while my wolf tried to barge to the surface. When she called me alpha in that tone, it was hot as fuck.

“Guess I’ll just have to change your mind.” I didn’t bother to hide the eagerness in my voice.

“Cocky,” she uttered in a low, raspy tone, the simmer having grown into flames.

“You bet your sexy little ass.” I took the mug from her hands and set it away from her before catching her around the waist and stepping back.

This time, when I swept her into my arms, she didn’t fight me. Her breathing picked up, and I could hear her racing pulse. It turned me on even more as I stalked to the bedroom.

After kicking the door open, I tossed Makayla onto the bed and climbed over her, pinning her to the mattress, my body covering her nearly from head to toe. I stared boldly into her eyes, my gaze burning with the promise of untold pleasures. “You’re mine now, Makayla.”

Her lips curled. “Yeah?” She licked her lips once, then unexpectedly rose up to sink her fangs into my neck.

I arched into her and growled in satisfaction, the sound more animal than man. My wolf fought to surface, desperate to be with our mate, but I growled at him. Mine. Makayla’s claws scratched down my back, and I felt her need mixing with her wolf’s as well.

She shredded my shirt, leaving it in tatters on the bed.

My dick pulsed as I rocked into the scorching heat at the apex of her thighs. I dropped my head to her neck and sank my teeth into my claiming mark near her throat. Electricity zipped through me, my body fevered with an intensity that made me think I might burst into flames at any second.

She pulled back and licked over the wound in my flesh, sending a shudder of pleasure through me. When I retracted my own teeth, I dropped my gaze and locked it with Makayla’s again.

For a moment, we lay there in complete stillness.

We’d already slept together, but this time would be different, and we didn’t need words to know that. Our bond had fully developed, and I could only imagine the rapture we would experience when we physically became one as well.

Makayla’s emotions mirrored my own, and her eager response brought our wolves to the surface, nearly breaking through. We gave in to our animalistic desires and aroused bodies. Our need overpowered everything outside the bedroom.

I didn’t care who heard us. I didn’t care if our pack felt us. I didn’t care if her old alpha sensed us.

This was about me and Makayla.

Our bond.

Our mating.

And no one—and nothing—would come between us now.

Teeth and claws made quick work of shredding the rest of our clothes until we were flesh against flesh.

“Alaric,” Makayla moaned, rubbing sensuously against me.

I crushed my mouth onto hers, and there was something new in our kiss. Our tongues danced around each other, tasting and fighting for ownership, and it hit me. Makayla wasn’t holding back any longer—she’d laid her mind and body bare to me. It was easy to do the same, and something between us shifted, something almost otherworldly.

Our touches became wild and abandoned. Makayla arched her back, pressing her breasts against my chest as she writhed beneath me. My mouth ravaged hers, and eventually I retreated to track shivery kisses down her jaw, neck, and the valley between her breasts.

I paused, and my hot gaze slid slowly and seductively over them. “You are so fucking sexy,” I murmured.

She gasped when my tongue caressed one sensitive, swollen nipple. She cried out and growled in approval as she bucked her hips against my hardness. I switched to the other taut bud and gave it the same attention.

Makayla’s hands delved into my hair, clutching at it as though it would keep her from flying away, but I felt her continue to spiral upward with every tug and nip from my mouth.

My palms skimmed either side of her body to her thighs, and I gently parted them before gliding down until I stared at her glistening mound. I licked my lips and whispered, “Still fucking sweet, baby.”

I didn’t tease either of us, just dove in to devour her with my hunger fueling my movements.

As my tongue hit her most sensitive areas, she moaned, soaring higher and higher until she shattered, cascading waves of ecstasy across every inch of her body. Experiencing her release… there were no words to describe it. I growled and nipped at her thigh in appreciation, causing the muscles there to tremble, then I bit her soft flesh, and she shuddered violently while calling my name. It nearly took me over the edge with her, but I wasn’t ready for that yet.

“Holy fuck,” she gasped when she finally caught her breath.

“I intend to,” I said with a smirk.

With one last lick, I worked my way back up, my tongue leaving a shiny trail in its wake. When I reached her mouth, I captured it in a drugging kiss. Knowing she could taste herself drove me crazy, almost forcing my actions, but I was an alpha for a reason. Control lived in my blood.

My hands traveled down over her taut stomach to the swell of her hips, and I held them in place while I coated my shaft in her wetness. Then I shifted my caress to her thighs, guiding her legs up to lock around my waist.

Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with the need to possess my mate, to claim her entirely, to ensure she knew whom she belonged to. Hell, I wanted the entire world to hear her cry out my name.

“You’re mine, Makayla.” My tone left no room for argument. And yet, I needed to hear the words, so I followed them up with a demand. “Tell me that you’re mine.”

She hesitated, but I felt her laughter in my mind. She was fucking with me.

“Makayla,” I growled, sending another shiver through her and causing her heartbeat to speed up.

“I’m yours,” she whispered.

Hearing it from her lips snapped my patience, and I could no longer push back the rising tide of hunger and need to be inside her. She rose up and brushed her lips along my jaw and across my lips, to settle over my mouth. Then she nipped at my lip, encouraging me.

My hips moved back, and in the next instant, I’d filled her completely with one thrust. Makayla inhaled sharply and her back arched, rubbing the tips of her breasts against the damp skin of my chest. It added another layer to the ecstasy of feeling my mate wrapped tightly around my cock.

“You make me feel so full,” Makayla moaned. I held still, letting her body stretch to accommodate me. The feeling of being whole lingered between us, then grew to cocoon us in our own little world.

Her body clenched, and I groaned as my hands anchored onto the roundness of her hips. I started with a slow, steady rhythm. Now that she’d accepted her place as my mate, I wanted one more thing.

Her submission. It was incredibly hard for a female alpha wolf to submit, and when they did, it indicated a level of trust that was absolute. I didn’t question our bond, but I wanted the act anyway. I wanted her to acknowledge that I’d earned it.

Besides, I’d promised to make her crawl.

But I could be magnanimous enough to accept her begging instead.

I continued to torture her with my slow, steady rhythm.

Yeah, that doesn’t work for me, she snapped, her growl of annoyance an aphrodisiac for my wolf.

She grasped my shoulders and tugged me down so she could bite my earlobe as she clenched her inner muscles again. A secret smile stole over her face when I lost a bit of my control and grunted, speeding up. Raking her claws down my back, she hummed in approval and nipped my throat where she’d left her own mark.

My body froze for a single heartbeat before I dropped my head into the crook of her neck and muttered, “Shit.”

I gave her exactly what she wanted, my movements becoming wild. I thrust in and out with a force that had her nearly crying out for release, but at the last second, she swallowed while thinking, I don’t beg.

We’ll see about that, won’t we?

My hands were everywhere all at once, and she touched as much of me as she could reach. Blood pounded in my ears, and I breathed in deep, soul-wrenching drafts. A buzz floated over my skin, and the world began to spin before my eyes. She was pushing me higher, closer and closer, almost there. No. Not yet.

Abruptly, I ceased all movement.

What the fuck? Makayla shouted.

“Beg me,” I demanded quietly.

“Excuse me?”

“I didn’t make you crawl like I swore I would. So you’re going to beg. I want your submission, Makayla.”

Hovering right on the precipice of climax, I almost gave in. My wolf snarled at me when I remained silent.

I began to move again, but I returned to the agonizing pace with which I’d begun.

“Oh G—”

“No, sweetheart,” I interjected. “Beg me.”

My hands searched out the bundle of nerves between her folds. I teased and tantalized until she was ready to kill me. With her teeth clenched tight, she gritted out. “Alaric, if you value your life, you will stop torturing me and give me my fucking orgasm!”

I shook my head. “Beg me, sweetheart. That’s all you have to do, and I’ll give you everything you want.”

My wolf shoved at me, growling, impatient to take our mate to completion. She continued to hesitate, but I could see her fighting for the will to do it. She wanted to; it simply wasn’t in her nature.

On instinct, I suddenly said, “Outside of the bedroom, you are my partner in all things, Makayla. But when it comes to fucking…” A devilish smile curved my lips. “I’m in charge.” Somehow, I knew she needed those words to submit.

And I felt her acceptance before she said it.

Sensed her capitulation in this one thing.

Here, in our bed, she would let me take complete control.

She swallowed hard, her body shuddering violently beneath mine. Then the sweetest, most beautiful word crossed her lips. “Please.”

My wolf surged to the surface, and I knew she could see him in my eyes, both of us filled with satisfaction and pride. He finally retreated and I breathed, “You’re mine forever, Makayla.” For some reason, I loved hearing that out loud. But it set me off like a bundle of fireworks.

I wasted no time, thrusting in over and over with a fierceness worthy of the animal that shared my soul. Makayla and I both climbed higher and higher, closer to the pinnacle that I knew would change us forever.

I felt her rising passion, sweet and explosive, and it pushed me the last of the distance. I reached between us again and pressed my thumb over her sensitive bud.

I needed her to come. Right. Now.

With a scream, she fell over the edge.

As I followed her, I shouted and shattered into a million pieces, each fragment glowing with bliss. Then the world exploded all around me. I’d never felt pleasure so intense, so pure. That feeling of something otherworldly returned, only this time, the power of it hit me like a freight train.

Then it became clear, like a veil lifting from over my eyes. Our gazes locked, and I knew she’d experienced the same epiphany.

We’d breached both realms. Our crossed fates had merged into one as much as our souls and bodies had. We were bonded metaphysically, shared a passion deeper than many could understand, and belonged solely to each other.

I knew in that moment that even if fate had given me a choice, I would have chosen Makayla over anyone and anything. A surge of emotion filled me as Makayla echoed my thoughts.

Love.

Our time together had been too short to truly develop those feelings in full, but it didn’t really matter, because we had chosen each other on a soul-deep level.

Words were unnecessary, so I just dropped to the bed beside her and gathered her into my arms. Just days ago, I’d thought I knew my place, my purpose. But I’d had no damn clue, and now, I couldn’t understand how I hadn’t seen the emptiness inside me.

“You were pretty blind,” Makayla said, breaking the silence.

I pinched her delectable ass. “We’re not having this discussion, baby,” I told her. “If anyone was blind, it was you.”

She scoffed, and I decided to shut her up with my mouth.

Yeah, I could do this forever.