Page 19 of Pack Ruin
Brand snorted, holding the door for me to enter. “No one will. This lake is off limits.”
“Whatever,” I scoffed. “Packs are nosy. They don’t stay out of somewhere just because you say so.”
“They do if you beat the living shit out of any pack member who comes within a quarter mile of a place,” Glen chipped in.
“No one should approach. Lock the door anyway, Glenda,” Brand said calmly, then took the flowers and arranged them in a glass Mason jar, adding water and placing them on the small table.
After Glen shut and locked the door with a broad wooden bar, he looked around. “Reminds me of another lake cabin. I wonder if the bed is as comfy.” He opened his arms and fell back onto it like a starfish.
I gawked. “How can you be so relaxed? Brand’s dad is under some ultra-powerful Council command to do what they tell him and execu—” My voice cracked on the word, and Glen hopped back up, folding his arms around me.
“Shush now, princess. You know that won’t happen. We’re working on a plan.”
I let myself go boneless in his arms as he lifted me up to hold me tighter, for a moment pretending that the world worked that way. That a strong, handsome man could just waltz in, declare that everything would be fine, rub his erection on your leg, and… rub it again, a little harder. I groaned in exasperation. “Glen, are you humping my leg?”
He gave a soft, “Woof.”
Brand snorted softly. “I’m going to find a good branch.” I had no idea what he meant by that, but Glen murmured a thank you, and the door closed behind my mate.
“Now that our chaperone is gone…” Glen yanked off his shirt, throwing it on the floor. Then he used his strong arms to maneuver me up and down so his erection was grinding into my thigh, and made what I thought might be his attempt at an O face.
“You’re ridiculous,” I muttered, allowing myself to appreciate the feeling of his warm skin under my hands as he nuzzled my neck. Glen had just enough chest hair to give my fingers something to tug on. I was doing just that when his mouth cameclose to Finnick’s bite, and I shuddered at the tiny burst of cold pleasure that blossomed there. Could Finnick feel that?
It felt odd, having a mate so far away. Painful, and a tiny inner voice whispered that Finnick could have done what Glen did. He could have left his entire family and pack for me.
What a selfish thought. When had I turned into such a greedy bitch? It wasn’t like I could fuck more than one at a ti…Huh. That might be possible.
My inner wolf roused at that thought, sending a few images.
“Ridiculous,” I said again, but this time to myself.
Glen chuckled. “I don’t know. This could be my last time to commit frottage on your person, sweet wolf.” I didn’t ask him what frottage meant; I could kind of put it together from context, and Glen’s hands were doing something else now.
“What are you doing?” I moaned as he held me closer, using one hand to work the muscles of my neck.
“Shhh. Relax.” He tugged at my sweatshirt, and I let him slip it off, over my head. Then, he pressed me down on the bed, rolled me over onto my stomach, and began to rub rhythmically, working from my neck down to my shoulders, then to my lower back, pressing deep into the tense muscles. “Have you ever had a massage?”
“No. I used to give Del massages, though,” I said quietly, my heart aching as it always did when I thought of him. “His stump would hurt, especially at the end of a long day, or when it rained. I got pretty good at it.”
“I’m so glad he had you.”
“He was my… everything. My father figure.”
“But not your father.”
“No.” I took a deep breath. Glen deserved to know that he wasn’t the only one here against pack law. And I trusted him to keep my secret. I let that thought float through my head.
He was kind, funny, thoughtful and romantic. He’d raced to save me, and followed me without question. Once he’d realized how he’d been blinded to the injustices at Northern, and learned his own parents’ place in it, he’d taken a stand.
He’d fought for me. If the Council got their way, he’d die for me, too. He deserved my trust.
“My biological father is Calvin Callaway.” Glen hummed slightly, but didn’t react. “You already knew?”
“I’d put a few things together. You know that the kind of power you have, so much that you could meet almost any other shifter’s eyes and hold their gaze, is beyond rare? It only exists in the ruling Alpha families, pretty much. I knew whoever your dad was, he had to be someone powerful. And powerfully stupid, not to take care of you.”
I almost laughed. Callaway was that. “Del was the best father I could have ever had. My real father in every way but one.” Of course, that had to be the one way the Council cared about.
“I’m sorry you lost him. I’m sorry you had to live for so long in a pack run by your own father, who should have loved you…” He cursed, then let out a long breath, focusing on the massage again. “I wish I’d been there to take care of you. But I can do it now.”
