Rejected Wolf (Grim Wilds #3)

16. Morgan

Chapter 16

Morgan

I slammed my foot down on the gas pedal, the force of our momentum pressing me back into the seat. I kept one eye on the road, the other on the rear-view mirror. We needed to put as much distance between us and that crime scene as possible. Would Jude be arrested for attempted murder? But it was self-defense! I would testify!

Just as I was skidding around the corner, I saw several SUVs come roaring up the street behind us, screeching to a halt. They were black, the same model as Eric’s. They certainly weren’t cops. Who were these people?!

And then, I straightened out the truck, speeding off toward the busier downtown area, and the trucks were out of sight.

Jude had called Eric Dr. Taylor. I tried to imagine Eric’s face on the doctor who’d done those atrocious things to my mate. He hurt him, an innocent child, killed his family one by one. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, the truck’s speed ticking up as I lost track of my temper.

Jude, he… he was going to give himself up to that monster, was willing to go back to that house of horrors, all to save me. I was grateful, obviously, but mostly I was fucking pissed!

“I am so fucking mad at you!” I snapped, angry tears tracking down my hot cheeks. I dashed them away with the back of my hand, swerving around a taxi going far too slow. “I do not want to live in this world without you. You hear me? You will never hand yourself over to them. Never!”

Jude didn’t answer. He just kept staring blindly out the windshield, not talking, not crying. He was just… empty. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the trauma he was reliving. Memories from his childhood after coming face to face with his abuser. I had zero doubt that he would’ve killed Eric if I hadn’t stopped him. Maybe I shouldn’t have interfered…

But was what Eric said true? Was Jude’s father alive?

I immediately felt bad for having yelled at Jude. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. I’m not mad. I love you.” I reached across the seat and took his hand in mine and squeezed. He squeezed back, though weakly, but I took that as a good sign. My mate was still in there .

So, I did the only thing I could for now—I drove. I kept watching behind us to see if we were being followed, but I didn’t see anyone. I didn’t even know where I was headed, but I assumed his pack was located somewhere near to where I’d always seen him, so that was the direction I went. We soon left the city and headed down the highway.

Little by little, Jude seemed to come to his senses. He stroked his thumb over my knuckles, his breathing evening out. Finally, he seemed to come out of his stupor, blinking at me. “Pull over.”

I did as he asked, flicking on my hazards and pulling out along the shoulder. I hopped out from the driver’s seat and met him on his side of the truck as he was getting out. I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him, and after a moment, he brought his arms up and pulled me close.

He buried his nose into his favorite spot against my neck and breathed deep. “Thank you,” he whispered, his lips tickling the sensitive flesh. “You saved me back there.”

I pulled back and looked up at him, confused. “What are you talking about? You’re the one who saved me!”

He held my face between his palms and kissed me tenderly, before resting his forehead on mine. “No, baby. You’ve been saving me every day since I first laid eyes on you. And you did it again tonight. I wouldn’t have made it out of that standoff alive if it weren’t for you.” He kissed me again, with a little more heat. “Come on. We still have a ways to drive left, and it’s getting late. Let’s get you home.”

I liked the sound of that.

Jude took over driving, since he knew the way home, and he held my hand the whole time, refusing to let go for even one second. The number of cars we saw on the highway slowly diminished as it got later and we put more distance between us and Fairhome.

I turned in my seat, facing Jude. Gazing across the dark cab at my lover’s face lit dimly from the dashboard lights, I took in the tightness of his expression, the intensity in his eyes. I didn’t want to dredge up the past, but I wanted nothing more than to help. To do that, I needed to have some idea about what to expect in our future. “What’s next?” I asked cautiously. “He said your dad was alive.”

The line of his mouth flattened, and he sighed. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t trust a single word that comes out of that prick’s mouth, but…” He paused, and I knew exactly what he was thinking.

“What if he isn’t lying?” I finished for him.

“Yeah. Exactly. But did he really just tell me in order to save himself?” He let off the gas and flicked on the turn signal, guiding the truck onto a rough back road. There was a lot more snow here, but I could see a set of tracks, likely from when he’d left earlier. “If my dad is still alive, it means they’ve had him all these years. It means I abandoned him. I can’t help but think about all the tests they’ve been—” He cut off, shaking his head sharply; that was a road he couldn’t go down right now. “Getting him back won’t be as easy as knocking on the door and saying, ‘Hey, Dad, hop in.’ It’ll take planning, and now that Eric’s told us, they’ll know we’re coming.”

“Unless he doesn’t regain consciousness to tell them he let their secret slip,” I said darkly, feeling zero guilt for hoping.

“Right.” Jude gave me a sly smile. “I need to talk to my Alpha, but it can wait until tomorrow. For now, I just want to take care of you. Can I do that?”

“Okay,” I whispered, nodding. Jude’s eyes seemed to glow an unearthly shade of green in the dark, and I knew my wolf was taking care of me too.

We eventually pulled through the close-growing trees into a clearing, and I gasped. The moonlight reflected off the snow, making the entire camp seem to glow. “It’s beautiful,” I whispered, in total awe.

I could feel Jude watching me, holding his breath as he gauged my reaction. “It’s not too… remote?” Jude asked skeptically .

“Are you kidding? I’ve been dreaming of your home for so long. After all my disastrous camping efforts, I was looking forward to living in a cave or a burrow, hoping for somewhere warm and dry. This is practically a palace!” I looked around, taking in the small collection of buildings. “Are those solar panels?” I asked, wishing I could borrow my wolf’s night vision. “And a greenhouse?!”

“I can’t wait to show you around tomorrow and introduce you to everyone. I know they’re excited to meet you.” Jude chuckled as he hopped out of the truck, letting in a draft of frigid air.

I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. The adrenaline drain paired with the warm truck had lulled me into a sleepy exhaustion. My body was urging me toward sleep, but my brain was still firing on all cylinders.

“Where is everybody?” I asked Jude when he opened my door to help me down. “It’s so quiet.” Jude laughed. “What’s so funny?” I asked, wondering if I’d said something naively human .

“Trust me, they know we’re here. It’s impossible for a vehicle to pull up without alerting the entire pack, but they’re giving you some time to settle in before they unleash the chaos.”

“Oh. That’s nice of them. ”

“Come on, let’s get cleaned up before bed.” Jude grabbed my suitcase from the back then took my hand, and together we crunched through the snow and down a shoveled path through the trees to a small building at the back end of the camp. When Jude opened the door, I was greeted by a wave of warmth, and a motion-sensor light clicked on to reveal a bathroom.

In the yellow glow from the overhead bulb, I got a better look at my mate. “Oh, Jude,” I said sadly. He was splattered with gore. I had smears of blood on my clothes too, but nothing so gruesome as he did.

We both stripped off the offending clothes and washed up in the freezing water in the sink. I took the time to help clean all the blood from around his fingernails. I wanted not even a single drop of Eric in my new home. I found no sign of injury anywhere on Jude, no matter how much he swore shifters healed quickly, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t hurting on the inside. I gave him extra hugs and kisses, just in case.

“I promise you a hot bath tomorrow,” Jude said, pulling out a change of clothes for me from my suitcase. Nothing had ever sounded so amazing.

Jude didn’t have a fresh change of clothes with him, but he promised he’d be fine. I was skeptical, but I watched in wonder as my mate walked barefoot through the snow through the camp. Steam lifted off his body in a curling vapor; if I hadn’t already been enthralled by him, I certainly would be now!

We headed to a gap between cabins, but it wasn’t until Jude stepped aside, shoulders hunched and head down, that I caught sight of the canvas tent. “I’m sorry. I know it’s not much. If I hadn’t been so stupid, if only I’d been able to admit how much I wanted to keep you, I would’ve been better prepared, but I—”

I set a finger against his lips, cutting off his steam of self-doubt. “It’s fine, Jude. I’m fairly certain my alpha will work hard to keep me warm?” I suggested cheekily, strutting past him and crawling through the tent flap, leaving my boots outside.

Jude was right, it wasn’t anything fancy, but as he wiggled into the sleeping bag with me and drew me closer into his arms, it got surprisingly toasty. I tucked my socked feet between his calves to warm my toes.

Jude rubbed his hands up and down my back and arms to warm me up faster. “I really am sorry. First thing in the morning, I’ll talk to Shan about building a cabin. Whatever you want, I’ll ensure it’s yours.”

“I just want you,” I assured him, cuddling closer and placing a kiss on his jaw. “And what about you? Are you sure you’re okay? That was a lot, and I wouldn’t blame you if it’s too much.”

“I’m… okay,” he said after a moment. “My wolf helps share the burden of all my trauma.”

“That sounds nice. Kinda like having a best friend living inside you that knows all your secrets and accepts every part of you.” Honestly, I was a little jealous I didn’t have one myself. “Maybe I could spend some time with him tomorrow?”

“It’s a deal.” Jude pressed a gentle kiss on my forehead, and we tucked in to sleep…

Yeah, right! There was no chance of sleeping. It might’ve been damp and cold when I got in, but soon I was sweating. This shifter body heat was no joke! I kicked and squirmed, struggling to peel my socks off inside the sleeping bag without exposing myself to the cold air.

“What are you doing?” Jude asked, though it sounded suspiciously like he was trying not to laugh at me.

“I can’t get comfortable. It’s too hot for all these clothes. Jude, can you please help take some of them off me?” I tilted my head up and batted my eyelashes coyly; it was too dark to see him clearly, but I knew he could probably see me just fine.

He let out a little growl I felt vibrate through his chest. “It would be my pleasure.” He slipped his warm hands under my shirt, and together, we worked at stripping me, until we were both deliciously naked, skin on skin. We turned toward each other, and I hooked a leg over his waist to draw him closer between my thighs. He arched his hips in response, our inevitable erections rubbing.

“How did I get so lucky,” he murmured against my lips, before claiming them in a searing kiss. The silky glide of his tongue against mine ignited a hot ache I felt all the way to my core.

When I licked past his lips, though, I felt that his teeth had gone sharp, and it made me think of something Eric had said about Jude biting me, and Jude told Eric he hadn’t marked me. And once the thought had infiltrated my brain, there was no ignoring it. There was still so much about shifters I needed to learn, but this biting, marking… it seemed urgent.

I pulled away, struggling to catch my breath. “Jude, I… I want you to bite me.”

He went still and tense against me. “What makes you say that?” he asked, and I could hear the wariness in his voice as he attempted to stay casual.

“D-Don’t you want to mark me?” My eyes burned with the threat of tears. It wasn’t logical, but I felt like he was rejecting me. I gave a little hiccup, and Jude gripped my jaw to tilt my head up. His eyes glistened in the dark .

“Trust me, I do, but… you don’t know what it means to shifters.”

I tried to look away, but he had me held tight. “I know what it would mean to me ,” I said boldly, my resolve rock-solid.

“Marking each other would bind us as mates officially. It’s forever, Morgan. Do you understand? There’s no divorce in shifters. You’d be stuck with me.”

Even as a tear slipped free, I felt love and hope blossom inside my heart. “That sounds perfect. You’re the only one I’ll ever want, Jude. You’re my alpha, my forever mate.”

The eyeshine disappeared as he closed his eyes, and his fingers dug into my ass. I could feel his resolve weakening. He wanted this as much as I did. “It’ll hurt…” he whispered. “I promised myself I would never hurt you again.”

“And I told you, I won’t break. I can take a little pain, especially when it means getting what I want most in the whole, wide world—you.” I threaded my fingers through the hair at the back of his head, holding my breath as I hoped for the world.

Jude whimpered, like he was fighting some sort of internal battle. “My wolf wants you… and so do I. I’m not strong enough to resist.”

“Then stop resisting,” I pleaded, stroking his neck and down his back. “Have you ever considered what accepting me as your mate would be like? That maybe I’m not your weakness, but your strength?” I could feel his hope as his breath stuttered. “I will love you and support you unconditionally for the rest of my days, and you will love me too. We will build a cute little cabin, have ridiculous amounts of mind-blowing sex in order to have all those kids you want, and we will be stupidly and blissfully happy. We will build a life together, and it will be beautiful.”

Jude froze, thinking it over, then he expelled a huge sigh, sagging against me in relief, in submission. “Oh, omega mine, that sounds exactly right.” He brushed soft kisses on my brow, both eyelids, down the bridge of my nose, unless he reached my lips, where he lingered, making love to my mouth just like I was hoping he would do to me in a minute. “I should’ve known better than to fight against fate. She always knows what she’s doing.”

Jude rolled us so that he was lying on top of me, though he was keeping too much of his weight off me, propping himself up on his elbows. I spread my legs, inviting him between them.

Hooking an arm under my knee, Jude spread me wider and slipped the head of his cock through my slick crack to notch at my entrance. He whispered words of love and devotion as he eased inside, stretching and filling me until all I felt was the joining of our bodies .

This wasn’t the first time we’d had sex, but it felt… different. It was slow, unhurried, more about the emotions we shared than the climax that was building. As it drew on, though, and sensations built—heat, pressure, desperation—our kisses turned bruising, and a sense of anticipation seemed to wrap around us. It was almost time.

Deep inside, his cock brushed against my prostate, sending a tremor through me. “Jude… my alpha… bite me. Hurry, I’m so close!” I bared my neck, offering him what I truly wanted and only he could provide—a lifetime of everlasting love.

Jude descended on my neck, pressing a soft kiss along my pulse point. He hesitated for a moment, his lips on my skin. I could feel his teeth as they raked over the tender flesh, and then, as he drove his cock into me… he bit down.

I cried out, but not because it hurt. No, it was the exact opposite. My entire body was filled with the most incredible warmth and light. I almost felt invincible, like I could do anything! And it was riding that high that drove me to do something I never would have considered before—I set my mouth to his neck, and I bit him back.

My teeth were dull, but I was determined. I didn’t think I would actually be able to break the skin, so I was shocked when the copper taste of Jude’s blood painted my tongue. His lips were still sealed around the bite, and the light suction as he drank my blood made my world spin. His hips stuttered and stalled, and I swore I felt his groan vibrate through my veins. I felt him release, pulsing inside me, before his knot expanded, and my eyes rolled back. The overload of sensations set me off, and I came hard between us.

Jude sagged, completely spent. “Morgan… my Morgan.” He licked my wound lazily, though I could still feel a trickle of blood. I couldn’t wait to see his mark on my skin.

I hooked my ankles behind his back and my arms around his back, holding him close, telling him without words that he was my one, my only. My forever.

It was a good thing Jude took control after that, because I was a boneless bag of satisfaction. He rolled us carefully, the sleeping bag tangling and sticking around us, until I was on top, draped across his torso, our bodies still locked together.

That was until he said, “You don’t think that hurt the pup, right?”

My brain stalled. Surely he didn’t mean— “I’m sorry, what now? Did you say pup ?” I sputtered, pushing off his chest to look down at him, before remembering it was pitch dark. Even with my eyes adjusted, the canvas was too thick to let in more than the faintest glow from the moon, allowing me the barest outline of his features. “Is that, like, a shifter saying?”

“Well, we won’t know for sure that they’re a wolf shifter or not, seeing as you’re fully human and half my DNA is too, but it’s a dominant gene, so—”

“In English, please!” I gasped, slapping gently at his bare chest as my nerves tightened, strained to their breaking point. “Am I… am I pregnant ?” I needed him to answer me this very second!

Jude went still and quiet, and I felt his flinch through where he held my waist. “Oh gods, you didn’t know. I thought you…” he said before he realized his mistake. “Shit, you’re human, of course you didn’t know yet. You probably need to take a test or see a doctor or something, but I can smell it on you, the change in your hormones.”

I felt stupid for not at least considering the possibility. I mean, I’d guess I’d had morning sickness, but not once had I even thought about it. We’d only had sex the one time, but the words of my sixth-grade sex-ed teacher popped into my head. “ All it takes is once .”

“Are you mad?” he asked.

Tears were leaking down my cheeks, so I couldn’t blame him for making that assumption. “No, I’m not mad, silly. I’m fucking thrilled! ”

“You are?” He sat up, keeping me cradled in his lap, and kissed the tears from my cheeks. “And you’re okay if they’re a wolf?”

“Of course I am.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him as tightly as my measly human body could. “Everything is so different—so much better—with you in my life. I love you so, so much.”

He didn’t stop holding me, not when his knot slipped from my ass, and not when we fell asleep. Whatever came next for us, I knew we would face it together.