“Holden,” she moaned.
“Mine,” he growled then pulled back down on him. She threw her had back, taking him all in, and he fucked her hard, his muscles straining, the veins in his arms standing out and looking so damn hot. He kept up the pace before he pulled her even closer and pressed her into the hard ground. With one hand, he pulled one knee up by her ear and slid in and out of her in fast strokes.
Her nipples pebbled, and he used his free hand to cup one then the other. “Come, Ariel. Show your Alpha you want him. Come on his cock.”
She gave him a wicked grin then slid her hand between them. Her fingers swept over her clit, already hard and peeking out of the hood. At the first touch, her body stiffened and she came, her pussy clenching around his cock.
Holden roared and slammed into her once more, coming deep inside her—this time without a condom. They hadn’t even talked about it, and she didn’t care. She was his now, part of his life, part of this world.
It didn’t matter she hadn’t been born into it, didn’t wear the ink of his mating.
She was his.
And as long as she remained hidden from those who had harmed her, she would rejoice in her new life, her new strength.
For she was wolf, Pack, and so much more.
She was Ariel.
Chapter 9
Holden gripped his mate’s hips and thrust deep inside of her, craving her touch, her taste. If this were how he would wake up until the end of his days, then he’d be one happy fucking wolf. Ariel had her ass in the air, her face down on the bed, and her hands gripping the sheets hard as he fucked her from behind.
She felt so tight, so fucking hot around his dick that he never wanted to leave. Call it a dominant male thing, but he couldn’t help it.
“Harder!” Ariel panted.
Holden dug his fingers into her hips and grinned. “Think you can take it?”
She turned her head so she could see him even with her cheek pressed to the mattress. “You know it. Now fuck me harder.”
He gave her a feral grin and slammed back into her, pistoning his hips until they both called out, screaming each other’s names as they came. His arms shook, so he brought her back to his front then lay down on his side so they spooned.
“Good morning,” he said roughly.
Ariel let out a snort. “Good morning, indeed. Can we do that every morning?”
“Hell, yeah. And at night. And maybe during the day if we can get away.”
“I’ll be pretty sore if we keep that up.”
Holden kissed her shoulder then ran his hand down her stomach to cup her intimately. “Then I’ll just eat you out and fuck you with my tongue.”
She groaned and went limp in his arms. He kissed her shoulder again, not wanting to ever leave this bed. Things had been going well since the hunt. Ariel had begun her role as Alpha’s mate by going from station to station and learning how the Pack functioned within the compound walls. Others started to come up to her and not act like she could out their secrets by her mere existence. His wolf had his mate, and Ariel could shift without losing her life.
Things were finally working out on some front.
Soon he’d tell her he loved her because, damn it, he couldn’t hold it back much longer. He wasn’t one for expressing feelings, but with Ariel, it was different. He wanted her to know she would always have a place in his life, despite how things had started. At first, he’d been afraid things were going too fast for her since they’d mated in the ways of wolves and not how humans married. But now things were different. Things were good.
He scented Soren before he heard him.
Holden quickly threw a sheet over Ariel and sat up as his Beta stormed into their bedroom.
“You better have a fucking good excuse for barging into our room,” Holden growled.
Soren kept his eyes averted, but Holden could see the anger in the other man’s shoulders…and the slight edge of fear on his scent that had Holden standing and reaching for his jeans.
“Claire fucked up big, Alpha. Like really fucking big.”
Ariel scurried off the bed and slipped on her pants and bra. Holden knew Soren’s gaze remained on Holden’s in respect to Holden’s wolf, but shit. This couldn’t be good.
“What did she do?” Holden asked, slipping into his boots.
“She told the guards that she found Ariel, and that she’s a shifter.”
Bile filled Holden’s throat as Ariel let out a shocked gasp.
“Why would she do that?” Ariel asked, her voice shaking.
Holden couldn’t speak, pure rage jolting through his system. That fucking bitch. And he didn’t use that word lightly. What had she being thinking? Why would she risk everything for something as petty as jealousy?
“I don’t fucking know,” Soren spat. “She’s outside on her knees waiting for you. Theo and Ana are guarding her. I don’t think she thought of the consequences of her actions, Holden. I think she’s just that stupid.”
Holden shook his head. “It doesn’t matter if she did it on purpose to kill her people or to just get Ariel out of the picture. Either way, she just sentenced us to death.”
With that, he stormed out of the room, Ariel and Soren on his tail. He forced his wolf back, not wanting to shift and kill the woman who he’d once cared for. She’d graced his bed but had never been in his heart, never been his mate.
She’d known the score and yet hadn’t followed through with her promises.
Now she’d risked the lives of not only is Pack, but those of every shifter in the world under SAU control. If the humans knew what it took to create a shifter, then they’d torment who they could to further their own armies and sciences. They’d been trying to find a connection for twenty-five years, and with one bite from Holden and one woman who hadn’t thought enough about the future, the humans would now know everything.
When he got outside, he searched the perimeter for guards before he looked down at Claire. He couldn’t scent humans yet, but they would come. There was no other possible outcome.
Holden would have to fight for his people or play a hell of a game of politics. He honestly didn’t know what he would do, but he knew he’d do everything to protect the Pack. There wasn’t another option.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Holden shouted.
Claire looked up at him with tears running down her face before lowering her gaze. Good. She wasn’t worth the rank in the Pack she’d fought so hard for. She didn’t deserve to meet his gaze.
“Answer me, Claire,” he bit out. “We might not have enough time to get your answer before the humans sweep down on us for Ariel. Wait. That’s what you wanted, right? You wanted her out of my life, out of the Pack? Well fuck that. You killed us, Claire.”
Claire let out a small whimper. “You killed us,” she whispered.
Holden froze, his wolf deadly quiet. “Excuse me?” he asked then prowled closer. He stood in front of her but didn’t bend down. He wouldn’t go to her level. Never again.
“You are the one who bit her, made her into what she is. You’re the selfish one who risked our lives.”
If she’d been a man, he would have hit her then. But she wasn’t. Instead she was a woman who had once been in his bed and his life. He couldn’t let himself break that far.
That didn’t mean her words didn’t ring true, however.
“Yes, I risked our Pack. I will always know that. I was ready to take that blame, fall on the sword if the humans found her. But I didn’t bring the SAU to our fucking door!”
Claire winced as he yelled. No doubt the rest of the den could hear him shouting, but he couldn’t stop. He honestly had no idea what the fuck they were going to do right then. They didn’t have a plan for this, not for this kind of betrayal.
Ariel came to his side and put her hand on top of his fist. He immediately opened his hand to thread his fingers with hers.
“I know you hate me because of what I could have done to Holden, what I could still do,” Ariel sa
id softly, much calmer than him. “But I don’t understand how you can hate your people? How could you risk them?”
“I didn’t think,” Claire whispered. “I just wanted the threat away so we could go back to how we were. I…I am so sorry. I didn’t think.”
Holden blinked. “Seriously? That’s your excuse? That you didn’t think?” There might not be a war this very second, but everything had changed. He hoped to God she understood that, because she clearly hadn’t when she’d told that guard. It didn’t matter that no one was there to take them from their homes right away. They would come. There was no other way.
Claire looked up at both of them, her face pale, her eyes lacking anything but remorse. “It’s all I have to give.”
Holden shook his head in disgust. “We need to rally the den for the guards,” he said to Soren. “As for you, Claire? If we survive what is coming, then I will leave your fate to Ariel. I can’t even look at you right now.”
Ariel tugged on his hand, her face pale. “Me?”
Holden held back a growl and pulled her away from the others. “You. She’s the one who risked your life. So yes, you get to decide if she dies by our hands or if she lives by your mercy. You’re the Alpha’s mate. It’s a decision for you.”
Ariel thinned her lips and shook her head. “We’re going to have to talk about this later. I get where you’re coming from, but you can’t just hand off someone’s fate to me. You say I’m your mate, yet you keep dictating to me. We’re going to have to find a balance Holden, because right now? It’s not working.”
He felt as if he’d been punched in the chest for the second time that morning, but he couldn’t say anything about it. Instead, he gave her a tight nod. “We need get ready for the guards.”
Ariel searched his face. “Of course. The Pack is more important.” She didn’t reach for him, and he ached for her touch. “I get that. They took me in, Holden. They’re mine now. I’m not going to let them get hurt because of me.”
He froze. “You’re not giving yourself up to them, Ariel. Not only will I track you down and find you, but even if you give yourself to them, it won’t stop them from finding a way to use this new knowledge to hurt shifters as a whole.”
“If I can help our Pack, I will.”
Despite the fact that the humans could be there any moment with their guns and their laws, it wasn’t lost on him that she’d said our Pack. She’d finally become one of them, finally given in and found her place at his side.
And it could all be lost.
“Holden, we’ve got company at the gates,” Soren called out. “There’s a group of humans including a doctor out there. They aren’t coming inside, but apparently, they demanded to see the Alpha and Test Subject A.”
Ariel flinched and Holden let out a growl. “We aren’t letting them take her, Soren.”
Soren look offended that Holden would even say that. “Of course not. She’s my Alpha. She’s one of us. Even if we gave her up, it’s not going to stop them from trying to find a way to use us to make shifters of their own that they can control for their own ends.”
“We’re fucked,” Theo said from Claire’s side.
Claire let out another whimper, but Holden ignored it. “Fuck. Okay, Theo and Ana, bring Claire. We’re going to the gates as a unit in case it turns into a fight. We have strength and our wolves, which will have to be enough.” Holden took a deep breath and faced the men and woman of his inner circle. Ariel put her hand in his and his wolf centered. “We can’t let them take us,” Holden began. “We’ve rolled over for so long because we’ve been protecting those weaker than us, but at some point, we need to remind the humans that we are strong, that we are wolves. I won’t ask you to fight if you feel you need to stay behind and protect the submissives, but if you stand by me today at the gate, then I ask for your strength, your loyalty.”
Soren bowed his head. “You have always had it, Alpha.”
The others followed, bowing their heads in submission. Holden’s wolf howled, the strength of their Pack bonds far greater than anything the humans could hope to come up with.
They made their way as a unit toward the gates, tension rising with each step. Others joined them, and he knew even more would be protecting them in hiding, as well as caring for those who could not care for themselves. Holden had no idea what they would face, but he knew they would do it as a Pack. He might not be able to free his people from the walls, but he could protect them from further prosecution.
At least he hoped he could.
Ariel stood by his side, her hand still in his. Oh, he might have wanted to keep her locked away and hidden from prying human eyes, but they were beyond that point. The humans had heard she was alive, and keeping her away wouldn’t help the situation but make it worse.
At the gate, at least ten guards stood on the human side, batons and Tasers in their hands. He couldn’t see a single gun, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. In fact, he wouldn’t put it past the SAU to keep snipers on hand in case of shifter unruliness.
Holden stood in the center of the gate opening with Ariel on his right but slightly behind him. Soren did the same, but on his left. The others got into position with Claire on shaky legs between Theo and Ana.
Holden didn’t say anything. Instead he stared at the doctor who stood in the center. There was something…off about this man. There was a manic curiosity in his eyes that set Holden on edge.
“It’s him,” Ariel whispered, her voice stark with fear. “The doctor. It’s him.”
Her hand on his hip tightened and Holden had to hold himself back from howling with rage. This little fucker was the one to hurt his mate? To make her bleed?
Soren let out a curse at his side. “We’ll back you, Holden. This man doesn’t get to live.”
Holden gave his Beta a tight nod. No matter what happened today, he’d make sure the man who had hurt Ariel, who had tied her down to a table to watch her bleed would not walk away from this.
“I see the rumors were true,” the doctor said, breaking the tense silence. “Subject A, you look well.” He grinned. “Alive. Interesting, as the last time I saw you, you were on your way to death’s door. I wonder how that happened? I can’t wait to cut you open again to see how everything works. You’ll be a true gift to science like you never were before.”
Holden let out a low growl. Soren. Ariel, and the others joined in, a perfect harmony of wolves, anger and vengeance.
The doctor’s eyes widened ever so slightly in panic.
Good.
“What is your name?” Holden bit out.
“Henry,” the doctor stammered. Looks like the doctor wasn’t all that used to shifters not drugged and helpless. Too bad he wouldn’t live long to learn all aspects of that fear. “Why?”
“Because I want to know the name of the man who I am about to end because he dared to torture my mate. And now you come here to what? Take more of us? Take my mate so you can study her some more? I’m sorry, but that is not going to happen. You might have us in cages, but you all need to remember that we are stronger than you when we’re fighting. We can kill you before you even call out for help for so many other humans. We are in these cages because we choose not to fight. Yet.”
It was time to remind the humans who they’d put in cages.
Henry moved through the guards so he stood only a few feet away from Holden. “Do you know why we chose her? Why we tried so hard to turn her into one of you using all the science and technology we had?”
Holden let out a growl once more.
“I’ll take that animal noise of yours as a yes. You see, she was the perfect specimen. We’ve watched her since before she was born.”
“What?” Ariel gasped. “That can’t be possible.”
“Of course, it is. The SAU had been in its infancy when your mother was pregnant with you. Both she and your father caught the Verona Virus. They were both dying like much of our population.”
Holden stiffened, his mind go
ing down a path he wasn’t sure he wanted to go.
“The shifters had just come out and we found a vaccine. Your mother used it while she was pregnant with you.”
“What does this have to do with why you kidnapped and tortured me?”
“Don’t you see? We used shifter blood to come up with the virus since they were somehow immune to the disease. Since your mother had been pregnant with you when we cured her, that same blood runs through your veins. You weren’t the only baby born under this situation, but you were the closest to me. I needed you as Test Subject A. Don’t you understand that? I needed to see what would happen when you grew up.”
“So you’re a sick fuck, fine. This is getting tedious,” Holden spat.
“Your parents didn’t want to let me have you though,” Henry continued as if he hadn’t heard the threat in Holden’s tone. “So I took care of the matter once you were born. It was easy really. No one truly paid attention to each and every survivor in the wake of the virus. Once they were out of the way, I could watch you in the orphanage.”
Ariel leaned into Holden, her body stiff with rage. “You killed my parents so you could watch me? You let me grow up alone so you could see if I learned to shift? You’re fucking crazy.”
“You see? That’s why I needed to study you. We need shifters. We need their strength and their ability to heal. Imagine how incredible the human race could be if we could harness the shifters’ powers. I had hoped you would be able to aid me in this endeavor; you failed. When your body gave out, we threw you to the wolves. Literally. I wanted to blame your death on the wolves so I could easily ask for another wolf of my own to study. You see, it’s getting harder and harder to take you beasts into my custody for research. It seems you have friends in high places.” Henry smiled and the hair on the back of Holden’s neck stood on end. “Imagine my surprise when I hear from one of the guards that you are alive and well…and a shifter. Now, if I hadn’t heard it from one of your own, I would have assumed that you’d finally found your true calling and the vaccine had something to do with it. However, it seems that it was a bite that changed you.” He grinned. “Interesting.”