Claimed for their Pleasure by L.V. Lane
CHAPTER TWENTY
Brandon
WE RIDE THROUGH the night, every beat of the hooves taking us closer to home.
Inside, my wolf is restless. My mind and body are in a state of flux that neither time nor the proximity of Jessa can bring down. Her sweet scent fills my nose, her tiny, lush body pressed to mine, is a source of comfort and arousal.
I have been patient for many days since I first set myself to woo her. We have pledged to one another. Our wedding vows are all but a formality.
I want her. I want her in the way a man wants a woman, to rut her, to fill her with my seed and mark her as mine. A tendril of Gage’s scent lingers on her skin, and it drives my wolf fucking nuts.
I saved her.
But Gage saved her first.
Gage.I fucking hate that Alpha bastard. He will be sorely disappointed if he thinks slaying his bastard father will win him charity or respect. He should have killed the monster long ago.
I am not entirely rational, I recognize this. Killing your own father, even a monster like Rand Lyon, is a task I wish on no man. It is done now. Things will change. How much depends on how he handles the fallout with his clan. They are rotten, and the rot goes deeper than a single man.
If the infighting we witnessed is any indication, they have given a fair go to culling the disease.
I hope the Lyon clan takes a turn for the better. We have enough problems to deal with as winter will soon approach. It would be better for everyone if Lyon would stop their warring ways. But that does not mean we are friends. It doesn’t mean he can look at Jessa like he wants to claim her for himself.
My wolf recognizes the threat he represents. I’m convinced the knife Jessa is determined to keep was once Gage’s. I can’t see Jack striking an alliance with the Lyon clan any time soon. But that he might is a risk neither the man nor wolf in me is prepared to accept.
I need to claim Jessa. Once that is done, there will be nothing Gage can do.
Better yet, I get her with a pup in her belly, then the matter will be well and truly done.
The sun climbs the closer we draw to Ralston. It has been a long day and night since we left, and as we emerge through the trees and onto the shore of the loch, I suffer a sense of relief in being home and in seeing all appears well. The loch glistens, reflecting the pine-covered slopes of the mountain. The little jetty poking out into the water is surrounded by fishing boats.
As soon as we are spotted, a cry goes up, and villagers hasten from tasks to welcome us home. We have lost a few men, not as many as the Lyon clan, but any loss is too many.
Soon, some villagers will be holding returned loved ones close, and others will be grieving.
I never thought much about the fragility of life before today, about the way those you love can be snatched from you in an instant. My hands tighten around Jessa, and I lean in to draw her scent into my lungs, letting it calm me.
Her small hand closes over mine where I grasp the reins.
Inside, my wolf howls. He wants to claim our mate. It is the way of the clans that a Beta would usually wed, but my wolf does not care for such intricacies.
As we draw closer still, I see familiar faces among the crowd. My mother and father. Jessa’s parents, her siblings dancing about and squealing with excitement when they see their big sister returned.
As we come to a stop and I dismount, I hear the first wails of grief.
Fen carries Hazel inside. His little mate is badly hurt after Nola’s cruelty, bearing far more welt marks than Jessa. Jack takes a position on the steps of the hall to address the village.
I lift Jessa to the ground only to have her snatched from me. Her mother, father, and all five siblings crowd around in a giant hug full of tears and mumbled words of relief.
Then my mother and father are there with me. It has been many years since I have been hugged, but my ma does not hesitate to draw me into her arms. “We were terrified when we learned Jessa and Hazel had been taken,” she says. “Your father said you would not come home without them.”
On my periphery, I see Jessa talking to her mother. A clanswoman brings over supplies, and they head together for the steps to the hall.
“I need to go,” I say. “My wolf needs to be close.”
My father nods. He is a wolf, too, and he understands. “There is a home waiting for you,” he says. “We were hoping to make it a surprise. Well, things don’t always work to a plan. It’s not finished yet, but I dare say you can fix the rest in your own time now. Ed and I will help you with the bigger jobs.”
I frown in confusion. “What home?”
“The old cottage that belonged to the Bennets afore they left,” my mother says. “Jack was keeping it for Fen. He won’t be needing it anymore since he will be living with Jack and their mate.”
I rock back on my heels. The old Bennets’ place is beautiful, if a little unloved. It comes with a decent size vegetable plot and a small sheep paddock.
“A newly bonded couple need a place of their own,” my father says gruffly.
“There are fresh bedding and blankets there,” my mother adds. “We all knew you would not want to be separated from Jessa after you returned. And well, it gave Betty and me something purposeful to do while we were worrying.”
I glance across to see Ed doing his best to contain his brats with the aid of the older ones. “You brought her back, son. You have my blessings. Happen it’s time you had somewhere with a bed rather than sneaking off into the woods all the time,” Ed says… and is that a smile?
Fuck! I have gotten Ed to crack a smile!
“Thank you. Thank you so much,” I say. But my eyes shift to the hall entrance where Jessa and her mother have disappeared from my view. “I need to go.”
Not waiting for a reply, I shift to my wolf and push my way through the crowd listening to Jack.
