Bonded Beyond Trickery (Trick or Treat Monsters)

CHAPTER 11

WHITAKER

Fuck. The moment Tilly sheds her skin for fur and races toward the tree line, my wolf lets out a roar in my mind. I fucked up. And since my mate has tried to give me space to process and hasn’t pressured me to forgive her, even though we marked each other, this is all on me.

“I told you that you should have used the bond to reassure your fears,” there’s an accusation in my wolf’s snarled words.

“You did,” I agree as I give my wolf control and shift into his form.

I take a second, only a second, to take a deep breath and allow the scent of my mate to fill my lungs. But it’s not just the scent of my mate. That’s part of it, but there is also the scent of the earth, the trees, and my pack in the air. The way it mixes with the chocolate and orange essence of my mate is beyond perfect.

It’s home.

“Find our mate,” my words would normally be a command, but right now, considering I’m the one who wasn’t willing to let go and fall into our mate completely, it’s a request.

“Gladly.”

Our feet are swift as I follow the scent trail left behind by my mate. My wolf will find her and then it will be up to me to close the distance between us.

I should have never made her feel like I didn’t trust her. And following her had nothing to do with fear for my pack. I was curious and it was difficult as hell to not be glued to my mate’s side all the time.

Sure, I had work to do for the pack, Alpha duties don’t stop just because I’m obsessed with my mate. But I couldn’t focus. Tilly was all I could think about.

Following her was the best I could do.

Because she was avoiding me as much as possible.

Yes, we slept next to each other at night, but that was the only time the air between us seemed to relax. If we were near each other while awake, which was mostly at breakfast and dinner, the tension between us was thick. I wasn’t sure how to ease it.

Because I knew I caused it.

I hurt my mate by wanting to put off her Luna ceremony. Even though the reason I gave her is true, that I wanted her to have a proper ceremony and not one thrown together, it sounded hollow.

“I think mate could have handled that reasoning if you had announced her as our Luna and let the pack know who she is,” my wolf grumbles, the scent of our mate growing stronger as we come to our favorite place in the pack.

Fuck. He’s not wrong.

“I just didn’t want to overwhelm her,” my excuse sounds flimsy even to me.

“You made her feel like a dirty little secret. Good enough to warm your bed, but not to be your Luna.”

My heart sinks because I hadn’t thought of it that way. “The only one to warm my bed, that has to mean something,” I try and defend myself to my wolf even though I know it’s pointless.

The huff he lets out tells me everything I need to know. There’s no more time to argue about how stupid I’ve been when we come to a stop at the edge of a large lake. There’s a willow tree nearby, the same tree I have hidden from the world in more times then I can count.

Tilly is sitting on the edge of the water with her legs pulled up to her chest and her forehead resting on her knees. She’s naked, her golden skin shining in the waning sunlight. Goddess, she’s gorgeous.

Even mad at me.

Even with tearstains on her cheeks which feel like a knife to the heart when she turns my way. I can see the hurt and anger in her eyes, but it’s the defeat and the hopelessness that cracks my chest open.

She croaks, “Why?”

She closes her eyes like she’s trying to get herself under control. But it’s the last thing I want. We need this, without facades, without anything between us. Raw. Open. Vulnerable.

Her voice is steadier, but not by much when she opens her eyes, “Why did you mark me?”

That…was not the question I was expecting. I shake my head, shaking away my shock before closing the distance between us. I sink down to the ground next to her, feeling something like peace wash over me.

Is it because of this place or because of her?

“Doesn’t matter,” my wolf grouses. “Make mate stop crying.”

“Because,” I find my mate’s gaze and hold it, hoping she can see the truth in my words, “I can’t live without you, Tilly. You’re mine. My mate. I need you in my life. I was just,” I shrug one shoulder, “scared.”

“That I would hurt you again?” She reaches for me, and I let her, taking solace in her touch. “That I would make another choice to lead me away from you and the pack?”

I swallow hard and nod once, hating that she’s so fucking right and how weak it makes me feel. I’m the Alpha, but this woman, my mate, can bring me to my knees.

It’s as it should be, I know. I watched my parents together. I watched the way they made choices for the pack and not themselves.

“And that is why our mate made the choice that she did,” my wolf points out and I know he’s right.

I need to let it go. The years we lost can’t be the reason I continue to let fear rule me. Not when I can’t say if I would make the same decision if I were in her place. She deserved to follow her dream and do it without the weight of a pack on her shoulders.

“I won’t leave you, Whitaker,” Tilly’s voice is small. “Just,” she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, “open the bond and feel it.”

When her eyes open, our gazes clash and hold. I’ve avoided her side of the bond for days, but now I lean into it. I open myself up completely to her and let myself feel.

Adoration.

Contentment.

Joy.

Loyalty.

Excitement.

Hope.

My mate’s emotions slam into me and steal my breath.

“I’m sorry,” my hoarse apology has my mate smiling. “I shouldn’t have doubted you. You deserve my trust and my devotion.”

Time seems to stand still for a moment, but then I’m reaching for my mate. My gorgeous mate who I don’t deserve, no matter how we started and the time we lost.

I could have allayed my own fears and worries days ago, but I didn’t want to know. Because then I would have to move forward with my eyes wide open. Being stubborn and afraid of weakness makes me a good Alpha, but that doesn’t mean anything when I need to be a good mate.

With the bond open between us completely, it feels like Tilly is flowing through my veins. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

When I reach for her, she comes to me willingly. Even though I haven’t followed through and sparred with her so she can start training with my warriors, I have no doubt that if she didn’t want to come to me then she wouldn’t.

Just another way I’ve failed my mate.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper against her neck when she straddles my lap, and I bury my face there.

Her fingers comb through my hair, making my cock, which is always hard around my mate, throb with need. It’s been days without being buried inside of my mate. I need her. My wolf needs her.

And with the bond open, I know that she needs me too. Her desire for me is like a pulse, constant and tempting.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been a good mate to you.” Tilly freezes on my lap and I can feel the way she gears up to argue with me, but I don’t let her. I bark, “Don’t deny it. I should have allowed the bond to alleviate my worries. I shouldn’t have shut you out, especially after we agreed to move forward, and we marked each other. I should have followed through with sparring with you so you could train. I definitely should have explained myself better about the Luna ceremony and announced who you are to me and the pack.”

“Whitaker,” her voice wobbles, filled with so much damn hope that if I weren’t an Alpha then I would admit that my eyes mist over.

I move us easily until her back is cradled against the ground. How she knew to come here, to a place where I’ve always found peace, I’ll never know. It doesn’t matter.

All I can see her is, the need we have for each other echoes and amplifies through the bond. As our hearts beat in time, my hands glide over her body. She’s so damn hot to the touch even as goosebumps break out over her skin.

“You’re so damn beautiful, my little wolf,” I murmur and fall a little more for her as her eyes sparkle with happiness.

Her hands come up and cup my jaw, holding me there in her thrall. It would be so easy to forget everything else. The responsibilities. The worries. The stress.

“Give it all to me, Whitaker,” she murmurs so damn softly that if I weren’t looking at her then I would question if she was speaking at all. “I can handle the burden with you. Let me.”

I break as my wolf howls in my head.

Since our clothing was lost in the shift, we’re both gloriously naked and my cock is so fucking hard that it’s on the verge of painful. I dip my head and suck one of her nipples into my mouth with my eyes locked on her face. The way she tilts her head back, pure fucking bliss covering her features, is a sight to behold.

“Please,” she mewls, “I need you inside of me.”

“Have you been thinking about my cock filling you, mate?” My voice is a guttural growl, “It’s all I’ve been thinking about.”

The gasp that comes out of her as I plunge two fingers deep inside of my mate’s pussy has pre-cum beading on the tip of my cock and then falling onto her skin like a brand. A primal, feral feeling overtakes me.

“Fuck,” I grunt, “I want to cover you in my cum. You’ll smell like me,” I snarl, “and everyone will know who you belong to.”

The sound of approval comes from deep inside my mate and is enhanced by the presence of Tilly’s wolf. I can see her there, right under the surface and taking me in through her gaze.

I barely got a glimpse of my mate’s wolf as she was running away from me, but I can’t wait until we can run through these woods together side by side. My wolf ruffles his fur, clearly just as excited about the prospect as I am.

“I want that,” Tilly’s voice is pure sin and seduction.

The head of my cock, angry red and covered in pre-cum moves across Tilly’s hip, leaving the sticky evidence of my need for her behind. I rear back when she reaches down and rubs it into her skin. My eyes widen and I’m sure I look shocked as fuck with her actions.

“Fuck her,” my wolf pushes and snaps me out of my shock.

Before I can grip the base of my cock, Tilly’s hand is there and wraps around my length. She positions me at her entrance and the heat coming from her along with the feel of her hands on my dick is almost too much for me to take.

I push inside of her slowly even though everything inside of me wants to plunge in quickly and fuck her until neither one of us can breathe. But my mate deserves better.

“Fuck, little wolf,” I growl, “the way your pussy squeezes me is so damn good.” I pull out just as slowly and her body tries to suck me right back in. “Don’t worry,” I murmur. I’m going to make you feels so damn good.”

“Don’t tease,” she pants the words, and I can’t help but grin.

With every slide of our bodies, every thrust where I’m filling her to the hilt, I start to move faster and harder. I can taste our combined arousal on the air, and it makes me feel dizzy as fuck.

Just when I don’t think I can hold back any longer, but refusing to come first, my mate explodes. It’s like watching the northern lights. So damn powerful and beyond amazing.

I pump inside of her three more times and then I let myself go, spilling my seed inside of her and hoping, fucking praying, that it takes root. The thought of Tilly round with my pup, our pup, has a guttural groan spilling from my throat followed by her name like a sacrifice to the Goddess.

Even though I collapse on my mate, our breathing ragged, I only let myself take a moment to recover. It’s past time that I announce my Luna to the pack.

I should have done it much sooner, but I’m going to make it right. Knowing that everyone will know who she is and that she’s mine has my wolf letting out a possessive chuff. Yeah, we’re on the same page.

We don’t have to lead this pack by ourselves anymore. We have our mate at our side and soon, officially, our Luna.