Page 56 of Ruin

He flicked his head and threw me across the ground. The back of my neck stung and I could smell blood. He prowled towards me his wolf’s predatory gaze fixed right on my face. He bared his teeth. I couldn’t submit. It wasn’t in my nature, even though I was beaten and I knew it. Fire stirred, but I locked her away; I wanted to fight with just me and Mea. Yes, I could turn this situation around easily with my phoenix’s power, but that wasn’t the purpose of this. My attention flicked to the trees beyond the compound. It was drawing me in, the smell, the promise of freedom, the solitude, all of it. Stone was almost where I wanted him. I kept up my pretense of being weak, drawing him in until I could leap up and grab his throat, when a huge roar rocked the air and a blast of power knocked Stone sideways.

Connor! Shit, he’s going to be pissed at me for doing this.

Mea whined her agreement, and ignoring Connor’s battering of power, got to her feet. Stone watched his Prime, no, hisking, bound across the compound towards him. There was no understanding in Prime’s eyes, none. Damn! I met Stone’s gaze and took off over the compound, heading for the guarded entrance. A furious howl told me Connor wasn’t far behind.

Come on Mea, faster. Let’s get him away from Stone.

Mea’s muscles tensed, pushing more power into her stride, leading Connor away from the wolf who had drawn blood on his mate.

No way would I allow Stone to take a serious beating because of my own emotional meltdown, and I knew Connor would hunt me down. Like any predator, he couldn’t resist the chase, and he would never let his mate run from him, especially if she was injured. He’d scent my blood and pursue me, no matter how far I got, or where in this forest wilderness I went.

He was so close, anger, determination—and fear seeping through our link. My heart raced and I forced Mea to go faster. I darted between the trees and jumped small jutting rocks. The pine needles stirred under my paws, that damp earthy smell invading my senses. Mea panted hard, her reserves of energy fading.

You can’t outrun me, little wolf.

Connor?

A growl sounded behind me. I made Mea look behind. He was so close, he could stop me whenever he chose. Prime was even bigger now that the King had revealed himself and merged with them. My heart pounded hard at the realisation. One leap and Mea would be under his body. He was letting me run, letting me exhaust myself.

Who else were you expecting?

No matter the danger he exuded, Connor’s jealous tone also excited me. I wanted to push him before I collapsed from exhaustion...

Hmm, there are plenty of males in that compound, so let me think…

Before I knew it I was under Prime. Mea’s legs collapsed under the sheer weight of his huge body. Prime rumbled in his chest as he flattened her to the ground, the air heating between them. Despite the desire that rippled through me from her, I didn’t fancy being party to their coupling.

Nope. No you don’t missy…

Mea snarled, but all I could concentrate on was Connor’s deep rumbling chuckle in my head. His power pushed on Mea, compelling her to retreat. And soon I was lying on a carpet of pine needles, naked, with Prime sprawled on top of me. He chuffed a laugh as I tried to move him—and couldn’t. So naturally I kept trying.

“Urgh, get off me, you great oaf!”

He just licked my face. Once I’d exhausted myself trying to shift him, I fell back panting against the ground.

“Connor! Move!” Demanding that of a Prime alpha was not the smartest thing to do. In a second Prime was gone and Connor lay butt naked across my body. The feel of his skin against mine took my mind offline. I couldn’t think about anything other than his scent and his weight bearing down on me. I was too tired to fight, and when he lifted his weight, grabbed my hips and flipped me onto my belly, I squealed.

He grabbed my wrists and held them above my head, laying his body down on me, his thighs eitherside of mine, his hard body imprisoning me, and the steel of his sex rubbing along the crack of my ass. My heart hammered against my ribs. My whole body was tense, desperate for more.

“What was that back there?” he growled in my ear, his voice tight and low and dripping with fury, but I could feel his fear as he inhaled.

I twisted my head so that my cheek was flat against the pine needles. They poked in my naked breasts and stomach lending jabs of pain to his dominant treatment. He bit gently on my right shoulder, then laved the stinging pain away with his tongue. I moaned, secretly enjoying that primal treatment when I didn’t respond to his question.

“Tell me.” He bit me a little harder on my other shoulder when I remained quiet, unwilling to tell him about my guilt and need for punishment. I shuddered as he ran his tongue, slowly this time, over that sting. He pushed his manhood against me, rolling his hips against the softness of my behind. I groaned, sweat breaking out on my body, as I pushed against him. He pulled away so that I couldn’t reach him. I mewled in frustration. He, of course, gave a deep and gravelly chuckle.

Oh gods, my escape, that little reprieve from his ire, had been to let me get further away from the camp. He could have caught me at any point.

“That’s right, my Firecracker. So that you can scream to your heart’s content...and youwillscream. You are about to be punished for allowing another male close enough to harm you.” He licked the back of my neck and the stinging pain reminded me that Stone had drawn blood. Connor was healing me. It was so erotic, the sensation of his soft tongue along with his firm hold of my wrists and the way he ground his pelvis into me, only to retreat when I tried to entice him to enter me. It sent me both to Heaven and Hell. My desire to move to get up on my hands and knees and let him take me from behind was something I couldn’t deny, but no matter how hard I tried, he held me captive. Once done healing me, his weight lifted and he lowered his body to the pine needle carpet at the side of me, keeping hold of my wrists and trapping my lower half with a heavy leg over my thighs. A slap echoed around us, followed a split second later by a stinging hot pain that bloomed through my right ass cheek.

“Hey!” I wriggled as the burn hit me.

“Tell me why you let my brother harm you.”

“No,” I ground out between my clenched teeth, guilt at what I'd done to Reed riding me high.

His sinful tongue licked up the side of my neck circling my outer ear. I shuddered as a tingle of power washed over me and through me, tugging on my heart and mind. Mea whined, wanting to give into his compulsion to talk. I squeezed my eyes shut and ground my teeth to keep from admitting my reasons.

His voice softened. “It’s okay, Firecracker, I know why. I just wanted to see if you’d tell me. You should trust me enough to tell me anything.”

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