Mated to the Billionaire Werewolf: BBW Paranormal Bad Boy Billionaire Werewolf Romance (Kingwood Pack Book 3) (5 page)

A flash of sympathy lit Frank’s eyes as he loomed over her. “It’s nothing personal, Miss Eva.”

The big lycans grabbed her arms and she squeaked, struggling against their hold. Although she seemed to be stronger now than she had before, it was no match for their full lycan strength and within a minute she hung, defeated in their hold.

Frank leaned in. “This is the best way, honestly. You don’t want to be named as a pet.”

Confusion rolled through her and she lifted her head. Frank must have seen the question in her eyes because he spoke again,

“A pet is the lowest of the low in the pack. Anyone can use a pet, however they want, and with you not being able to shift to protect yourself…” He uncoiled the whip with strong hands. “Take the lashes, I’ll be gentle. Believe me, you don’t want the alternative.”

The lycans turned her bodily, her feet dragging the ground and laid her over the big boulder in the center of the clearing. Her heart pounded, so hard and fast she felt lightheaded. They were really going to do this, really going to whip her for arguing with Alex.

Crap, she’d argued with him loads back in the city. She wouldn’t have if she’d known this was the likely outcome. Hell, she wouldn’t have walked into the bloody building and asked for his help in the first place. Screw that, she’d have found some other way… even made a deal with the vampires. They couldn’t be any crueler than this. Whipping someone for an honest mistake.

Fear and her pounding heart turned the scene into something surreal. Lycan faces, human and wolf, swam in front of her eyes as the guards lashed her down. A woman screamed “make her bleed”: in the background and somewhere in the distance she heard a wolf howling with pain and anger. Or was that her? She couldn’t tell the difference.

The whip cracked and a line of fire raced across her back. It bit deep, so deeply she was sure it had scored her to the bone, her back laid open. Wet heat washed over her sides, making her top cling to her skin. She didn’t want to think about what it was.

The whip cracked twice in quick succession and she gasped. She’d never felt pain like it. Her body arched backward, her spine in a hard arc as she tried to process the overload of sensation. She couldn’t, it was just too much. Gray crept into the edges of her vision, the wolf faces turned into something from a nightmare.

“More, harder!” a woman screamed and Eva wondered if it was the one who thought she was the one strong enough for Alex. Perhaps that was her plan, to kill Eva and clear the path.

She started to laugh as the whip cracked again and again, so many times that she lost count. The other bitch needn’t worry, if she survived, no way she was hanging about the pack. Not when she wasn’t even a wolf. Why should she be subject to their fucking archaic rules when she got nothing out of it, not even a wolf form so she could shift and rip that bitch’s throat out?

The gray turned black, the fire muted to dull agony as her body refused to process any more pain. The scent of blood, her own, filled her nostrils as she slumped over the rock and fell into blessed darkness.

When she woke again, the clearing around her had emptied. Not a soul left to either help her or witness her humiliation. Lifting her head, she couldn’t hold in the cry as agony sliced through her back. It felt red-raw, as though she had no skin left.

Panting for breath through the pain she closed her eyes and rest her forehead against the cool stone beneath her. She lay still where they’d whipped her, like a broken rag doll. And she felt broken. Thrown into a new world she didn’t understand, and punished when she put a foot down.

Tears welled up again and she let them fall. Who cared if she cried? The pack hated her and Alex had walked away and let them… She gasped, choking up at the memory. Misery crowded in, wrapping around the pain every time she took a breath. Even the cool breeze that washed through the clearing, rustling the leaves of the trees overhead was only a momentary relief before the pain set in again.

Turning with effort, she slid off the boulder and into a little ball. The movement opened the wounds across her back, the scent of blood blossoming in the air as it ran warm and wet down her back. Her soft whimper rasped in her ears as consciousness came and went. Each time she opened her eyes, the night sky had changed and she prayed to any deity that might be listening to pass out completely.

Or worse. She was alone and in the world she didn’t know anything about, with no one who cared if she lived or died. Her heart shattered, and she turned her face against the rock.

Perhaps it would be better if she let go…

“Shhhh…shhhh…”

A deep male voice brought her back to consciousness. She opened her eyes to find Alex crouched in front of her. Concern wreathed his features as he tucked strong fingers under her chin and lifted it so she had to meet his gaze.

“Get the fuck away from me.”

She tried to pull from his grasp. He was the last person she wanted to see, even in this state.
Especially
in this state. Had he come to gloat? To tell her
I told you so
? She’d finally gotten what she wanted, access to the lycan world, and it had all fallen to shit around her.

He didn’t speak, but neither did he let go forcing her to hold his gaze. He was so beautiful to look at, the moon emerging from behind cloud cover to bathe him in silver light that highlighted every line and ripple of muscle in his hard frame. Tears filled her eyes. Here she was, cold, tired and in pain, and very firmly put in her place in the pack.

Sure, he’d saved her from what amounted to sanctioned abuse, but neither could she aspire to a place by his side. Her heart shattered. She’d been good enough as a human to share his bed, but as a wolf, she was less than nothing. What did that say about her?

“You should have let me die,” she whispered and closed her eyes, shutting herself away from him in the only way she could.

Chapter Five

The soft words almost broke Alex.

He closed his eyes for a moment and fought to contain the howl of rage from his wolf. The last few hours had been agony, wanting to come and fetch her and not being able to. If he had stopped the punishment, or come out here earlier, Eva’s status in the pack would have been compromised.

“I couldn’t.” The admission was torn from him as he tilted her head up.

No longer quite human, she could survive a whipping, but she wouldn’t survive what lay in store for her had the pack seen her as his pet. Physically, maybe, wolves were hardy creatures, but mentally it would shatter her. It would shatter anyone.

He hoped he hadn’t broken her to save her.

Increasing his grip on her chin, he pulled power from his wolf to surround them. Every moment since he’d walked away had been agony and he’d run faster than he’d ever thought possible to get back to her.

Seeing her huddled against the boulder, her back still bleeding had nearly killed him. Her scent was still mostly human, but there was a note in it that screamed wolf. Deep, primal, and female, it made both the man and the wolf sit up and take notice. So why hadn’t she tapped into it to heal herself?

Opening the door between himself and his wolf, he pulled power from it, power the wolf happily gave up to heal their mate.

No, not their mate. He could have taken her as a human wife, but unless she could shift, the pack would never stand for him to mate her. The wolf inside howled at being denied. It wanted Eva. Wanted her however they could get her and it let him know its displeasure.

“I couldn’t let you die, Eva. Not now, not then.” He gripped her chin and used the dominance of his wolf to charge the air around them. “Look at me.”

She shook her head, her lips pursed into a stubborn little pout he wanted to kiss away.

“Eva, look at me. Now.”

The order was backed up by a push of compulsions from his wolf and her eyelids fluttered. A little. Her eyes still didn’t open. A hiss of frustration escaped his lips. Even hurt, she was as stubborn as hell. “Fuck. You.”

“Eva…” This time he growled, and sliding his claws free, pressed them against her skin almost hard enough to puncture. She gasped, her eyes snapping open. Her expression of pain and misery speared him to the core.

“Shhh,” he murmured, smoothing his fingertips over her cheek. “Don’t think. Just let me help you.”

Reaching out with his other senses, he wrapped her in the power of his wolf and called to hers. She sighed, swaying toward him as amber leeched slowly into her dark eyes. He murmured sweet nothings in a low voice as he stroked her cheek and pushed more power into the link between them. More and more until he felt it shiver over her skin.

She whimpered in pain, and he kicked himself. Weak from blood loss, this had to be hurting her. He couldn’t stop though. She couldn’t heal herself, he had to do it for her. Her eyes fluttered closed and he felt her body go slack. She’d passed out.

Pulling her into his arms, he cradled her against his chest, still pushing power into and over her. The scent of fresh blood from her back faded as the skin closed over. Perfect, she might not think herself a wolf but her body was reacting to an alpha command to heal.

A soft growl warned him she was more awake than he’d though and he looked down.

Her eyes glowed amber, her wolf watching him through her eyes. Assessing. Wary.

Triumph surged through him.

“So there you are.” His hand slid into her hair, sliding through the silken strands. “You’re a shy little thing, aren’t you?”

Her lip curled back but her body remained slack, tucked in safely against his harder form. Where she should be. Where she belonged.

“Less of that,” he chided, rubbing his thumb against her full lower lip. “You don’t need to hide in there. She needs you. Needs you to be strong.
I
need you to be strong, for both of you. Understand?”

She blinked, an unreadable expression crossing the amber. Whether it understood or not, he didn’t know, but didn’t get a chance to question as the wolf slid within and her eyes returned to normal.

Deep within, his beast howled at the loss of its mate, demanding that Alex bring her back. But he couldn’t. Some people’s wolves never manifested more than a flare of amber in the eyes. Hers couldn’t be like that. She just needed time, he told himself and leaned down to brush his lips over hers.

Her lips were still, impassive under his. Cold. His heart sank. She really was lost to him. But just as he was about to pull away, they parted. It was the smallest of movements, but he registered it. Froze with his lips against hers. Hoping beyond hope.

Her lips moved against his. Clung softly.

The groan rattled in the back of his throat and he claimed her lips. Covering them with his, he stroked his tongue against her lower lip and requested entry. She held out for a moment, her body unmoving, then relaxed, parting her mouth more to let him in.

He didn’t question, just kissed her. Long, soft and deep. A seduction of all her senses as he tried to put everything he felt into the caress. His cheeks were wet, but he didn’t care. She was his, even if only for this one night and he refused to give her up.

“Eva…”

She murmured in pleasure when he said her name, turning her head to seek his lips blindly. He stopped her. “No, Eva. I need to know you know where you are…”
And who with.

“I know where I am.” Her soft whisper was aware, no hint of slurring in the words. “Take me home, Alex. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

He didn’t say a word, merely lifted her into his arms. Through the forest and back toward the house, his footsteps measured and his precious cargo in his arms. Instead of taking her to the main building, he turned left at the boundary and headed toward the small cottage tucked away at the back of the manor.

Silently, he let them in and walked through the dark corridors until they reached her old bedroom. The door creaked as he pushed it open with one broad shoulder.

She murmured softly, lifting her head. “You didn’t change anything.”

He shook his head, setting her on her feet by the side of the bed. “Spent too many years thinking of you in here. Imagining… fantasizing… about claiming you as my own.”

She shook her head, eyes dark even in the dimness of the room, and opened her mouth to speak but he stopped her with a finger over her lips. “No, please. No words. Let me have this, even if you walk away tomorrow. I’ll arrange a transfer to another pack if you want, or the Master has offered you a place at court if you wish, as lady in waiting for his mate. It’s a good offer. You should take it.”

It would kill him to let her go, but if it was what she wanted. If it was what was best for her. He didn’t know that he deserved what he wanted anymore. If he ever had.

This time it was her to shush him with a finger over his lips. She had to reach up to do it, the move accentuating the difference in their sizes.

“Less talk, more action,” she said and pressed her lips against his.

He growled, heat igniting in his body like a chain of explosive charges, and caught her to him.

*

Alex’s lips parted under hers, allowing access to her questing tongue and Eva murmured in pleasure. His body was hers to explore, and since she had no idea what tomorrow would bring, she intended to make the most of the opportunity. For tonight. Tomorrow she’d walk away, never see him again. Ever.

She whimpered as they fell to the bed, Alex twisting to cushion her from even the gentle impact. He’d healed her, the presence of his wolf’s magic still whispering over her skin, but for some reason she’d still expected pain. There was none and her body relaxed.

She took control of the kiss, hiding her smile at his grunt of surprise. He lay back and let her, his big, powerful body leashed as she lay sprawled over it. His abs rippled at her touch and immediately she realized one advantage of dating a shifter; he was completely naked.

Her touch ventured down, over his lower stomach and the stubble of his pubic hair. Unlike most shifters she’d seen (which was a little too much, given they had been naked in the clearing), Alex preferred to shave. She liked it, a lot. His cock was already hard, arched proudly as if desperate for her touch. A touch she was happy to give.