Moon Child (The Year of the Wolf #2) - Serena Akeroyd Page 0,3
he took some of the weight off me and my belly.
“I swear, I love being with you in bed, mate, but here? Fuck.”
A weary, shaky laugh escaped me, and I hid my smile where I burrowed away, still loving his scent, needing it close to me. Where I’d bitten, the blood rushed to the surface, and I could feel the throb of his heart, not only where our chests touched, but where our sexes were joined, and at his throat where I’d injured him.
I slumped a little, exhausted and fatigued, but overwrought with energy too.
It was always weird having sex here.
Regenerative but strenuous.
The best caffeine drink in the world as well as the best Valium for the most delicious night’s sleep ever.
Of course, that had been before I was pregnant.
I knew it sounded crazy, but I was pretty sure my mates’ dicks had minds of their own. With one of their seed having taken root, the knots never lasted as long as they usually did, and forty minutes later, I pouted when the throbbing deep inside me began to lessen and we eventually broke apart.
When he slipped out of me with a gush of our mutual arousal, I felt the slick fluid drip between my asscrack—the wet spot sucked—and felt the circle accept it like an offering.
No, I didn’t know that it was an offering, I just knew that every time this happened, I felt stronger. The whispers in the circle, hushed sounds that were audible only to me, the mental voices of each pack brother and sister, were clearer in my mind. Sex here deepened my ties with my pack. Made me more aware of all the nuances that Eli, Ethan, and Austin needed to run it smoothly.
When he pushed his forehead into mine, yawning, he whispered, “We shouldn’t sleep out here tonight.”
I yawned back. “Why not? I don’t want to move,” I said with a pout, enjoying his laughter.
Each chuckle of Austin’s wasn’t hard won like it was with Eli and Ethan, who were my more somber mates, but equally, the sound of his joy always lit me up inside like a Fourth of July fireworks show.
I ran my fingers down his spine, humming as I felt the muscles contract—Kali Sara, I loved how stacked he was—and when he shivered, I smiled because I loved his responsiveness to my touch.
“Why? Because it’s winter,” he said dryly. “You’re pregnant. You need your den.”
“I like it here,” I complained, then I shivered, my nose crinkling as suddenly, the totem circle contracted then relaxed in a way I’d come to know meant someone was joining us.
The fact that Austin hadn’t pushed away from me to cover me told me it was one of my mates, and I let the walls in my mind, the few barriers I’d learned how to construct, fall as I reached out to connect with the mate who was here to hustle my ass into moving.
When I felt Eli’s dominance, I shuddered, because even though I was used to it, his power would always overwhelm me.
In the best possible way.
I loved his strength, was nourished by his dominance, and felt secured by his power—no one could or would touch me.
Even though I knew some were plotting to try.
Like she knew what I was thinking, the alpha bitch and my protector, Berry, howled, which set up an orchestra of songs from the packs.
The two had merged, one from the very natural world, and the other that hailed from our little sojourn on ‘planet Lidai,’ the place where I’d claimed my mates.
They worked as a team now, and I knew their primary directive—I knew that was insane, since they were wolves, not trained operatives—was to keep me and my family safe.
I was surrounded by protectors. People who’d lay down their lives for me and mine, and that was another reason I slept so well now.
Safety was a precious commodity, and it came infrequently to people like me.
Ever since I’d become theirs, I’d always felt secure, even though there were political issues within the pack.
“Come on, it’s not good to sleep out here,” Eli rumbled, making me heave an impatient sigh because I got this crap every night.
Hey, just because I was mated and fated to be with these dudes didn’t mean we always agreed on everything.
“My back aches less out here.”
“You need your den,” Austin reasoned.
“I think I know what I need,” I muttered with a huff.
“No, that’s what we’re for,” Austin told me with a laugh. “We know