Page 149 of Conner's Luna

"I'll deal with Trey. Bailey is my friend. She stays with me,"he says abruptly.

"Please make her leave. I don't want a war with Trey,"Lydia begs.

He kisses her forehead gently."It will be all right, OK?"

The video cuts out.

I'm breathing heavily, my phone clutched in my hand. Bile surges. Fury scalds me. Lydia was Conner's first choice, just like I told Papa Smurf. His papa said to fight for him. Velia said the same. Conner told me that he loves me.

My phone chirps again and I flinch. I don't want to look. All of the makeup that Velia slathered on my skin is being washed away by the hot tears sliding down my cheeks. My breath is caught in my chest, but that may be the too-tight dress.

I look at my phone to see another text, this one from the real Braxton.

Brax - SOS Bails. Conner's coming and he's pissed. Let me know when he shows, yeah?

Conner's pissed? Conner. Is. Pissed? He has no idea what pissed is. No idea.

The tears dry up under the heat of my fury. Standing, I almost fall from the restricting material hugging my thighs together like squashed cheese, but I manage to catch myself and stop wobbling. When I can, I hobble downstairs and look outside. I don't see Conner's truck. I can't even see headlights. Everything looks calm and picture-perfect in the neighborhood.

A howl splits the air. Something deep in my gut tugs. I stumble to the garden in the back of the house, my phone clenched tight in my hand.

"Conner!" I shout, stomping into the beautifully-landscaped garden behind the house.

A massive dark-colored wolf steps out of the shadows. His face is level with mine, maybe a little taller. He must weigh three-hundred pounds. I freeze, my heart galloping. Lydia's words from the video race through my mind. It was old, right? Conner didn’t suddenly change his mind about us. He’s not a flake, although I feel like one right now.

I turn to run back inside, but then two more wolves appear. They shift back to human right in front of my eyes.

"Oh, my God," I whisper, torn between watching this eagerly and my previous anger with Conner. Sean and Sarj approach the giant wolf cautiously. Both males are standing awkwardly, heads tilted downward, almost bowing. Submissive, I realize.

Then, like a tidal wave, anger returns slams back into me. "Conner Hannibal Grim!" I scream. The wolf peels back his upper gum and flashes his super-sharp teeth at me. "Don't you dare yell at me," I give him my own snarl. Stalking toward him, I shove my phone right in front of his big, wet, dumb nose. "I got a video. I just saw you tell Lydia that everything will be OK. That she's your mate and how important she is to you." Seething, I move closer, almost smacking his nose with the phone. "You kissed her forehead," I snap, holding back my vomit.

The wolf tilts his head, his yellow-green eyes glowing, regarding me with solemn curiosity. I'm practically panting. I've started crying again. Conner is as still as a statue. Only the incredible body heat radiating from him and the soft puffs of breath across my face tells me that he's alive and breathing.

"What do you intend to 'do with me,' hmm, Conner?" I hiss.

Faster than I can blink, Conner's giant maw opens. A small bunch of... radishes or potatoes, I'm not sure which, fall out of his mouth. Distracted by the food (because potatoes are my fave), I don't see Conner's mouth near my hand until it's too late. My phone disappears between those huge canines. I hear an awful crunching sound. Pieces of glass and plastic fall out of his mouth to the ground while I stand in front of him, only inches away, staring in horror.

"You ate my phone," I whisper. Conner spits out some of it on the ground at our feet, but most of it is gone. "You'll have to poop that out," I say faintly.

I hear Sarj and Sean snickering on either side of me. I shoot them both glares, but they don't stop laughing until Conner lets out a low, warning grumble.

Both men start to back away, their shoulders still shaking suspiciously. Tears prick my eyes again. "Conner," I whisper, "I was going to seduce you into biting me." I heave out a sigh. "Sorr-"

I see nothing but black. The world disappears in a haze of shocking pain so bright that it nearly feels good. My body quakes and shudders. I hear shrieking, like a thousand voices screaming in shock. My nerves are trying to find purchase, to ground myself back again. I think I'm dying, but a glow, deep inside of me, sparks. The flame grows, hotter and hotter until I'm on fire and the only way to douse the flames is to cling to the man in front of me. Drenched, soaking wet between my legs, I wrap myself around Conner's waist, whimpering my demand for some relief.

"Ah, shit, honeygirl. Let me-" he eases inside. Thank goodness I wore this stupid dress. If I had to wait even a second later I would have died. I'm sure of it.

I ride him, practically purring as waves of pleasure rock me back on forth. Conner is cursing, growling, saying words that only filter into my consciousness briefly before the feeling of orgasm takes back over. Did I think I was dying earlier? This... this is death but in the best way.

Light explodes behind my eyes. I can still feel Conner, grunting, surging deep into my pliant body. I feel wetness between my legs, can hear the sounds of our sex as he rides his own orgasm out. Under my ear, I listen to his heart pound, my own matching his.

I try to shift. Heck, to lift my head, but everything feels heavy and sore. "Conner," I sob. His erection, lodged deep in me, is still hard and heavy. It hurts. Did he shift back to human and leave his penis in wolf-man form. That's a little too close to bestiality for me.

"Sorry, baby. Hold on, gorgeous. Just..." he grunts, and that pressure between my legs eases just a bit. My arousal recedes, still there, but not the unquenchable thirst it was. Sucking in deep breathes, I look into Conner's eyes.

Worry. Satisfaction. Lust. I can feel his emotions as clearly as I can my own. "What just happened?" I slur out.

"I Marked you," he explains quietly. Turning, he walks to a long garden bench, conveniently with a cushion, and sits down. We just did it standing up. Again. Maybe that's our thing.

---