Fated Legacy Complete Collection

Chapter 7

Chapter

Seven

F our patrol officers met them at the loft, and Travis rolled to a stop at the direction of the officer who seemed to be in charge.

“Mr. Nichols? I’m Jeremy Fife. The chief sent us over. Betts and I will stay out here with you two while the other officers clear the house.”

“Officer Fife, I’m with the police department as well,” said Skylar.

“Yes ma’am, I’m aware of that. I’m also aware that somebody is targeting you. As soon as we’re sure there aren’t any surprises inside, we can help you bring this furniture in. And there will be somebody parked outside 24/7 until y’all get the security upgraded.”

Travis nodded. “I called the security company, they’re going to automate the gate into the parking garage and add a gate for the entire restaurant front. Plus I’m adding additional security for the restaurant, the freight elevator, and the loft itself. They’re set to come out and start in the morning. They said it could take a couple of days. I’ll be taking Detective Gautier to and from the office.”

“Only until I either get a new car or a rental,” she said.

“Until you or someone else catches this guy or puts him down,” growled Travis.

Officer Fife grinned. “What he said.”

It took more than half an hour before the other two patrol officers came out to report there were no signs of anyone having entered while Travis and Skylar were gone. Officers Fife and Betts followed the couple into the underground loading area, pulling down and locking the iron security gate behind the cars before helping to unload the back of the truck.

“Just put my clothes on the bed and Trav and I will put them away later,” said Skylar as they brought in the last items. “Can you fix them all something to eat?”

Travis grinned. “I can indeed. How about a quick pasta with blackened shrimp and pesto?” Betts and Fife looked at each other. “I have enough for everybody.”

Betts called down to the other two officers. “Y’all are going to want to stick around. Chef Nichols is making us something to eat.”

She watched Travis simultaneously cook and entertain the two officers. They already had a good idea where they wanted to put the furniture they bought, and until it arrived, Skylar started looking for places to put their things. She took a break to walk over to the windows and call Dispatch.

“Robyn? It’s Sky.”

“I just got here and heard what happened. Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m with my fiancé.” If Travis was going to use that, she would too . “But I lost my police scanner. If any murders of young women come in, can you call me?”

“I don’t know…”

“Come on, Robyn. I’ll be careful. In all likelihood I’ll have Travis with me most of the time now.”

“Travis, that big hunky cowboy?”

Skylar smiled as she glanced over her shoulder at him. “One and the same. Don’t tell him I said this, but he might be a better shot with a rifle than I am. And he’s ex Delta Force.”

“Okay, but you’ve got to be careful and share what you know with us.”

“I will when I’ve assembled what I need to confirm my hunch. Right now, they’re just dismissing the murders as random and unconnected, but I know I’m right. Your grandmother said as much.”

Robyn sighed. “I know. She keeps wanting me to tell you to be safe.”

Robyn was a direct descendant of Marie Laveau, the famed voodoo priestess of the late 1800s. Skylar had met Robyn’s grandmother, Chantal, when Robyn had confided to Skylar that Chantal had been experiencing disturbing dreams of darkness with Skylar at their center.

“I know you, wolf-child,” Chantal said. “I’ve seen you in my dreams. Darkness surrounds you.”

“Our families have been a part of New Orleans’ past and will be a part of its future.”

“You have seen it too. I knew your grandmother. She had the gift.” The old woman cackled. “She had an overly possessive, passionate wolf at her side. You have the same, but he is not of your pack.”

“Your vision is flawed. I see the darkness, I have since I was a child. But there is no wolf to call me mate.”

She cackled again. “So say you. But he says different, and I have known far too many she-wolves who thought they could escape their destiny and their fated mate. You will be no different. He will come for you, and he will not be denied.”

It would seem Chantal had been right about that too.

“Sweetheart, come sit down and eat. I’ll take plates out to the other two officers,” called Travis from the kitchen area.

Skylar pocketed her cell phone and went to join them. Taking one forkful of the pasta with shrimp and pesto, she moaned. “Oh my God, that’s good.”

Travis leaned over and kissed her. “See? There are advantages to your fiancé being a chef. I’ll be right back.”

He left to take food out to the other officers.

“Nice guy,” said Betts.

“Most of the time,” Skylar said with a smile. “We’ll see how he deals with living with a cop.”

“Sometimes it can be hard for a guy, but he seems to love you. I think you all will do fine. We sure could use him as a ringer in the annual jambalaya and gumbo cookoff,” said Fife. “If he can do this with a hot plate, I can’t wait to see what happens when he has a real stove.”

“In other words, I need to take one for the team, so we have a ringer.”

Both men chuckled.

When Travis returned, Fife and Betts were putting their dishes in the utility sink.

“Thanks for dinner, it was great. We’ll be right outside if you need us. We’ll let you know when we change shifts and who the new officers will be.”

“Thanks for helping me keep Skylar safe… or at least as safe as she’ll let me keep her.”

“I don’t envy you that job,” said Fife with a knowing smile.

T ravis followed the two officers out of the loft and ensured the iron gate into the parking area was secure. When he came back to the loft, he locked the heavy door and activated the alarm system.

He turned from the door fully intending to sit down with Skylar and lay down the law. It was a great plan, until he realized that her plan was better. He looked for her along the wall of windows, but she was no longer there. His eyes narrowed onto the spot where she was lying naked on the bed—their bed.

Skylar reclined on the comforter like a goddess, her body relaxed and aroused, arms open and beckoning. A she-wolf beckoning to her mate—a mate she knew she could depend on to see to her needs. Right now, those needs were laser-focused on one particular need, and Travis knew that he couldn’t deny her.

He pulled off his shirt and unbuttoned his Levi’s, pushing them past his rump before sitting down on the edge of the bed to pull off his boots and strip his jeans all the way off. Once he too was naked, he lay next to her, running his hand down her body, just above her skin, not quite touching. He watched as goosebumps rose along the wake of his fingers. Travis growled low and seductively, and she purred in answer to his call.

He rolled over on top of her, letting her take his weight as she spread her legs so he could take his place between them.

With his elbows on either side of her head, he brushed back her hair. “I had planned to tell you how things were going to be. Tell you that until you convinced me you knew your place in our relationship, I’d only fuck you in the most submissive positions. I was going to remind you that even though there were no witnesses to our exchange of vows, you are still bound by them to me. So many things I planned to say to you before drawing you up onto your knees and fucking you soundly.”

Skylar wound her arms and legs around him, her expression as open as her body. “That’s nice, Travis. Shut up and fuck me.”

And he knew he was lost. Realized that the stories had it all wrong. Now he knew what his father had learned from taking his mother to mate. He would do anything for her; anything to keep her happy and wanting him. Skylar knew the power of her own sexuality, but until now she hadn’t used it. She’d waited, in her own way, for him to claim her.

Positioning himself over her, he maneuvered his cock so that it was poised at her entrance. He could feel her heat and need and smell her arousal. He began to work his staff into her sheath. She was tight and her pussy contracted all up and down his length, drawing him in.

Skylar moaned and Travis watched her face closely, making sure the moan was one of acceptance and need and not discomfort. No, there was nothing but lust shining back at him from her eyes as she wriggled beneath him to take him deeper. They fit together like hand and glove. All of her curves had been sculpted for him and him alone. He thrust up into her and she gasped, enjoying the same sense of sheer perfection and perfect pleasure.

They’d known each other most of their lives. He had fantasized about having her from the moment he’d realized she was his fated mate. Thrusting into her now, looking down at her smiling face, was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. There was a rightness to being with her—being in her. This was not an alpha male conquering his mate. No, this was two souls joining and realigning their universes.

The pain from her nails scoring into his back only served to remind him that she was here with him, feeling the same thing too. Skylar’s entire being tensed. Her nails dug into his flesh and her pussy clamped down as she sank her teeth into the base of his neck, climaxing almost violently and yet quietly.

He twisted his fingers in her silky mane, drawing her head up so he could kiss her deeply and drink in the sounds of her pleasure. It only took a few strokes with his cock and the beginning of his own orgasm hit him like a ton of bricks. The wildfire of need raced through his veins as he began to spill himself in her.

It took every ounce of energy to keep the knot from forming, to drive it up inside her and let the cycle start all over again.

Skylar nuzzled his neck, and when he began to roll off her, she squirmed to stay underneath him.

“Stay. Please,” she whispered in his ear—a desperate plea he knew had cost her.

He couldn’t deny her. Clutching her to him, he rolled to his back, bringing her with him. She smiled down at him.

“Is this what it’s like when you fuck with one of your own kind?” she asked.

Travis realized she wasn’t being provocative; she really didn’t know.

“No. This is what it’s like with your fated mate. Or at least I think it is. I won’t lie to you Sky, I’ve enjoyed the company of other she-wolves, but it has never, ever been like this. Not even close.”

“Travis, I don’t know how to do this. I know my parents are celebrated and held up as a shining example of passion and love, but I don’t know what their secret is. My father is who he is, and he forced my mother’s vows from her, but I’ve never once felt as though she resented it.”

“I don’t think she did. I know my mother never has. If you ask her, she’ll tell you she knew my father was her fated mate. Even after she had acknowledged it to herself, she still wouldn’t admit it to him or anyone else for a long while. Like you, she felt a need to make something right; to avenge all those who DeMoncada had done wrong. She felt as though she had to deny herself—to sacrifice her own happiness—to atone for what had been done. But she was wrong.”

He brushed her hair from her face and rubbed noses with her. “Everyone else thinks you’re like your mother or Catherine DeMedici, or even your namesake. They, including your father, think that once you take your vows, once you have been brought to heel, you will take your place at your mate’s side and assume the mantle of mistress. They’re wrong.”

“You don’t think I could be mistress to the Wolf Meadow Pack?” she asked softly.

“I think you could do anything you put your mind to. But unlike everyone else, I think you’re more like my mother. Sitting on the sidelines is never going to work for you. You are a warrior and need to be involved, fighting at the forefront. I think that’s why you were given the Gift. Somehow your ancestors knew you’d need the knowledge before anyone else, in order to defeat whatever is coming. I’ve always known, or at least always guessed, that loving you, being your fated mate, meant forging a new path together. Another alpha will rise to take my father’s place. My place is with you—at your side, fighting whatever it is we need to fight. You didn’t join the police department to thwart your father or make some kind of declaration of independence. You joined because justice and protecting others is ingrained in your DNA.”

Skylar looked thoughtful at his words, considering them as she searched his face. He could feel the moment she gave over to him and understood he was speaking the truth.

“Jean-Edouard is a fine alpha for your pack,” Travis continued. “Rémy could be as well. And Lucien will make a fine beta with Octavio as omega. But of all those your father sired—you are the one most like him. Like everyone else, he doesn’t understand the tightrope my parents traverse, doesn’t know half the things my mother has done. But I do, and I recognized that any path I took with you would be the same. I have chosen this path with you.”

Tears glistened in her eyes, and he kissed them away before they could be shed.

“You’re giving up so much…” she said, smiling.

“I am giving up nothing and gaining everything.”

H e loved the sound of terror…

In the storage bunker, under the city streets, the industrial music pounded a rhythm that he found useful in perfecting his throws of the whip. He’d heard it said that the crack of the bullwhip was actually the thing breaking the speed of sound. He liked that—being faster than sound.

It had taken him a number of practice sessions to learn the most effective way to use the single tail. He liked being able to torture and not be splattered with blood or other bodily fluids. This was what he’d been born for.

The petite blonde was now tied at the wrists with her back against the wall. As he’d finished signing her back, she’d slumped in the restraints, slipping into a blissful unconsciousness—that would never do. It did, however, make it easier for him to turn her around to face him. She needed to be facing outward for the final act.

Now that she was repositioned, he could awaken her. A couple of dousings with cold water should do the trick. He wanted her to be awake and to see it coming when he finished her. He threw several buckets of icy cold water over her naked form. When finally her eyes fluttered open, she screamed.