Stolen and Forgiven (Branded Packs #1)(34)

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 f*ck 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 f*cking 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 f*cked up big, Alpha. Like really f*cking 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 f*cking 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 f*cking 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 f*ck 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 f*ck 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.