Page 89 of Shattered

For once, he didn’t come around to assist her out, instead, he leaned against the hood of his truck, bent over, taking deep breaths.

“Mac,” Aurora asked pensively as she got out of his truck, “everything okay?”

Mackenzie growled. “No. It’s not. The fucker wants out. Wants to mark and knot his mate.”

Aurora knew who the fucker was, it was his wolf. Whereas Mackenzie wasn’t fully comfortable with letting the beast who shared his psyche out to play, Aurora was okay with it, since she’d gotten to know the wolf thanks to all the nocturnal visits. And, of course, the first time they were intimate together, it hadn’t been Mackenzie but the wolf who’d taken her virginity.

“Let him out,” she said softly, knowing he’d hear her.

His intense, blue eyes widened in shock. “I’ll have no control. He could hurt you.”

“No, he won’t. I’m connected with your wolf as much as I am with you. He’d never hurt me,” she murmured.

Mackenzie groaned. “It’s different this time.”

“How?”

Mackenzie gestured to the bright light source of light in the night sky. “Because of that fucking thing. I’m afraid of what he’ll do.”

Aurora snorted. “Nothing he hasn’t already done before.”

“He’s ahh, shit, Aurora. The fucker wants to dominant you in the worst way.” Mackenzie snarled.

Aurora could sense, almost like a sixth sense, the wolf lurking close to the surface. “How does that happen?” She’d been curious to see how much more dominant he could be, considering the times they had already had sex, Mackenzie or the wolf always took and maintained control.

He swore. “I should’ve prepared you more for this. If you were a wolf, I’d force you to shift and fuck you as a wolf.”

Aurora gasped. The image had been kind of hot.

“Fuck me running,” Mackenzie grumbled. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Being fucked as a wolf? Taking our knot.”

She whimpered. “I—Ye—”

“Hey, Mac, everything okay?” Keeley’s light, bubbly tone broke through the heaviness of the conversation as she strolled toward them.

Mackenzie growled low and long at the interruption, his upper lip curling as he bared his teeth to his brother’s mate. It didn’t even faze the smaller woman. Keeley glared at him. “Knock it off, Mac.” The warning tone in Keeley’s voice was something Aurora had never heard the other woman use. It was light, lyrical, and commanding all at once.

“Go prepare a mating bed,” Keeley ordered, her voice still firm and held a siren-like quality to compel whomever she was speaking with. In this case, Mackenzie. It was the first time Aurora had ever heard this lovely, hypnotic sound coming from Keeley. “Not too far up the trail path, though, it’s going to be a cold night.”

Mackenzie nodded and stomped off toward the woods. A flash of bright, white light filled the area where he stood. Aurora blinked and there stood his wolf who rushed up the trail.

“You okay?” Keeley asked as she leaned up against the hood of Mackenzie’s truck.

“Wait, what just happened here? He listened to you,” Aurora said in disbelief as she stared at the area where Mackenzie disappeared into, in his wolf form. “How’d you get him to follow your instructions?”

Keeley giggled, her hazel eyes sparkling with mischief and amusement. Aurora blinked, trying to clear her confused brain. This wasn’t the woman who’d just ordered Mackenzie away. “Become the Alpha female, and he has to listen to me.” Keeley shrugged.

Maybe she hadn’t been paying attention, because the petite female stood strong, self-assured, and with a power Aurora couldn’t explain, except, it was as if a switch had been thrown and the other Keeley was gone. How the hell had Aurora missed that?

“But he’s stronger than you,” Aurora stated still somewhat shocked Mackenzie had disappeared so easily and without much fuss.

“I don’t pretend to fully understand it or even how it all works. I just know it does and has a lot to do with the fact I’m Kal’s mate, bear his mark, and I smell strongly of him. Kal tried to explain it once. From what I gathered it’s encoded in their very DNA to follow the order of an Alpha. I’ve found—over the years—mimicking my mate’s actions works wonders. Kind of cool, huh?”

“Yeah, kind of, I guess.”

“I think it’s more fun for me when I use it.”

Aurora agreed.

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