Her Hidden Pack (House of Wolves and Magic Book 4) Read online

  “We’ll see,” she said as she pushed to her feet. “For now, your mate is back with food. We should cook and eat. You are all welcome to stay the night. The pack in these woods won’t venture onto my land, so you’re safe here.”

  I wanted to ask how she knew Roman was back when he hadn’t even come into the cabin yet, but I was starting to think that it was pointless asking those kinds of questions with a witch. Apparently, they just knew stuff. I only hoped she knew where we could find the oracle.

  4

  Blake

  “Come with me,” I said as I reached for Nina. She’d been on edge ever since her chat with the witch about Jax. I think her fingernails were officially bitten down to the quick, something I’d only noticed her doing recently, and the habit was getting worse.

  “Where are we going?” she asked, though her eyes shined with excitement and curiosity. Her hand slipped into mine like silk, and I tugged, pulling her to her feet and leading her out of the cabin. I’d noticed the open area on the other side of what were essentially vegetable beds earlier. It looked like the perfect place for us to spar.

  When I stopped in the middle of the clearing area, she just raised an eyebrow at me. “Hit me,” I said as I released her hand and backed up a few paces. The pine scent from the surrounding trees filled the air, which felt cooler than it probably was.

  “You want me to hit you?” she asked, sounding suspicious.

  “If you can,” I challenged.

  “I think we both know I can,” she said as I saw her body relax into a fighting stance.

  “We’ll see.” She had a few tells that I’d picked up on during our last few fights, ones that I didn’t think she knew about and that I’d use to make sure she didn’t land a hit.

  She gave me the first one a moment later and took in a deep breath, telling me she was about to throw a punch. Right as her arm came up and struck out, I danced backward, avoiding contact. Her leg followed up with a kick to what would have been my ribs if I hadn’t moved at the last moment.

  Frustration rolled off her in waves as she tried again and again to hit me and failed. Her lips curled back into a snarl as she came after me again. This time, her attacks were faster, had more of an edge to them, and I knew this was letting out some of the frustration and anger that had been building up within her, which was what I’d wanted in the first place.

  “What frustrates you most—the fact that you feel drawn to Jax, or that we have to watch you deal with it?” I asked between punches.

  The question made her stumble, and I caught her before she fell to the ground. As she was righting herself once more, she said, “All of it. Everything is frustrating. Why can’t we just have a normal life?”

  I darted a punch out, which connected lightly with her shoulder. Yes, we were sparring, but I never wanted to hurt my mate intentionally or unintentionally, so I held my punches and kicks back from what they would normally be. Part of me wondered if I’d been doing that the first time we fought. I knew I’d been distracted, but had I been holding back as well?

  Her fist clipped my jaw, and I knew I wasn’t paying as much attention as I had been, letting my thoughts run away with me. When I looked at her, after moving out of her reach, I began to circle the area as I said, “If you had a normal life, you’d only have one mate. You’d probably live in a pack and never question why things were the way they were, or if you did, then you’d be satisfied with the ‘because that’s how we’ve always done it’ answer. We’re not normal, Nina, and I think that’s true for the others as well. None of us are normal or fit into our previous packs for one reason or another. I, for one, am incredibly grateful for that. With you and the others, I have a family that I never expected. A pack that I mesh with, even if it’s just us. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

  “How can you be happy when I feel drawn to that monster as well?” she demanded, her voice torn with anguish.

  “Because I have you and he doesn’t. It’s as simple as that. Our bond is in place, as is your bond with Roman, Micah, and Tate. The bond you could potentially have with him is just a shadow of what we already have together.” I paused for a moment, wondering if she’d think I was crazy for what I was about to say. She was my mate though, so I had to trust that the bond put us together for a reason. “I know that there’s something that the fates have in store for us, that much is obvious, but we need to be patient with them. They’ll tell us when we need to know.”

  We both stopped circling each other, stopped sparring, and just watched each other as she considered what I’d said. It wasn’t that I was into all that woo-woo stuff, but I also thought our stories had to come from somewhere and there had to be a reason that so many of them were similar.

  “It’s not fair to keep people in the dark about their own lives,” she muttered.

  I stepped closer to her and brushed some hair out of her eyes. “No, it’s not. If all that stuff is real—and I’m not saying that I believe it is—but if it is, then I feel like we have to trust the process and make the best choices we can. I have faith that we’ll get where we need to be eventually.”

  She stared up at me, and I felt like I could see the whole universe in her eyes. Her soul was there for all the world to see, and I was so glad that she’d decided to share it with me. She was the most beautiful being I’d ever met, inside and out.

  I cupped her face, and she leaned into the touch. The warmth radiating out of her body was like wrapping myself in a big blanket. The longer I watched her, the harder it was to resist the urge to kiss her, so I gave in and lowered my head to hers, brushing my lips against hers.

  She didn’t hesitate to kiss me back, her luscious lips claiming my own in a way that I hoped would never change. I slid my hands into her hair, messing up her ponytail, but neither of us cared. As I cupped her head, I tried to pour all my emotions, everything I couldn’t say out loud, everything I didn’t have the words for, into the kiss.

  The bond let me feel her reaction, and she responded in kind, the two of us kissing like we were each other’s air and we couldn’t breathe without the other. I hated to break the kiss, but I didn’t want to make love to my mate in the middle of the open space, where the witch could walk out and find us at any moment.

  I eyed the area and saw a cluster of trees that still looked like they were on the witch’s land without leaving us completely exposed. I slipped my hand into Nina’s and led her over to the trees. As soon as we were out of sight of the cabin, I pressed her up against the tree trunk, caging her in with my arms as I kissed her once more.

  She was so sweet. I’d never kissed a woman before whose kisses were sweet and made me crave them like an addict. Her hands ran over my body, sending blood rushing south so fast that I was lightheaded. My cock was painfully hard in my jeans, and I wanted nothing more than to bury it inside her and feel her orgasm pulse against me. There was nothing better in the world than that feeling, except maybe the orgasm I usually had the moment after she came on my dick.

  “I need you, Blake.” Her breathy voice reached my ears like a prayer between kisses.

  “My mate always gets what she wants,” I replied with a growl. I rocked my hips against her to show her how much I needed her as well.

  Nina’s dainty hands were at the fly of my jeans a moment later, pulling it open and freeing my cock to the night air. Once she had a hand wrapped around it, she looked up at me and said, “I don’t want dainty or gentle. Fuck me like I’m your mate. Claim me.”

  Her words went straight to my cock and almost had me coming undone in her hand. Thankfully, I didn’t though, instead I removed her hand from my cock and undid her jeans, pulling them down around her thighs until they were almost at her knees. “Bend over a little.”

  She did as I asked, and I swiped my fingers against the exposed lips of her pussy, the moisture there letting me know how ready she was for me, even without much foreplay. I rubbed my slicked fingers over my cock, spreading her essence over myself as I li
ned myself up with her entrance, which was more than a little awkward, given how much shorter than me she was.

  I hesitated a moment, the tip of my cock pressed against her folds. When I didn’t move fast enough for her, she pushed herself back onto my cock, sheathing me inside her tight, molten pussy. I couldn’t help but groan as she wrapped around me, and I heard her make a similar noise. Both of us needed this. We needed to reconnect after everything that had happened recently.

  I pushed farther into her, edging out slightly before pushing in even farther, until I was completely inside her. Once I was, I pulled back out completely, making her whimper from the loss of my cock, and if that wasn’t one of the most potent sounds in the world, then I didn’t know what was.

  When I thrust back in, she moaned in satisfaction. We went on like that for a minute or two, me completely pulling out before thrusting all the way back in once more. The pace was slow but punishing as each thrust was as powerful as I could make it.

  “More, Blake, please,” Nina panted.

  I obeyed and began fucking her hard and fast like I knew she wanted. Since my thrusts were shallower, I was able to reach around and find her clit as I rocked up into her, circling her little pleasure button with my fingers. With each stroke of my cock and my fingers, I pushed us both closer to our pleasure.

  Her body bounced back against mine as she tried to meet me thrust for thrust. She was bracing herself against the tree with her hands or I would have had her playing with her nipples. As it was, I just didn’t want her to fall over. The last thing we needed was to have to have the witch heal us from our sexcapades.

  As we kept moving together, I had to focus on not blowing my load before she came. Ladies always came first, especially my mate. Usually, she’d get multiple orgasms, but this was a sneaky quickie behind some trees, so we’d both have to be content with one.

  My fingers circled her clit, and I could tell she was close, but she needed something a little more to push her over the edge into her climax, so I pinched her clit. She took a deep breath as though she was about to scream from the pleasure that was overwhelming her, but I clamped my free hand over her mouth. Her scream reverberated against my palm, and she drew in shaky breaths as her body clamped and bucked around my own. When the second wave of her orgasm hit, I lost it.

  My cock jerked as I thrust into her one last time and unloaded myself completely in her hot, wet pussy as it continued to clench around me. When we were both spent and propped up against the tree, I pulled my pants back up from where they had fallen down before doing the same to Nina.

  “I know that was just a quickie, love, so I promise when I can get you somewhere with a decent bed, I’ll make sure your mind is properly blown.” I leaned down and kissed her forehead.

  “If that was just a quickie, then I can’t wait to see what actually getting you in bed will be like.” She grinned up at me.

  I couldn’t help but claim her lips one more time, needing the sweet kisses she gave me before we parted once again. After all, we never knew what tomorrow would bring these days.

  5

  Nina

  We’d slept in the witch’s cabin, not bothering to put up the tent since she had enough space for all of us. It was nice to have slept somewhere that was protected and safe, where we knew we weren’t going to be attacked, and that was warm and cozy, even if the wooden platforms weren’t the most comfortable things, or at least not as comfortable as beds. They were topped with a boat load of blankets though, so that helped, and they were most certainly better than the ground.

  I couldn’t help but think that it was actually getting some decent sleep that had me awake in the early hours of the morning. I snuck out of the cabin, intending to get a workout in. Fate had other ideas though.

  The witch was already out there, leaning against a tree as though she’d been waiting for me, even though I could have sworn I saw her form in her sleeping area.

  “Finally. I’ve been waiting long enough.” She squinted at me, and for a moment, she looked different, like she was older, wiser than she’d first appeared. She seemed that way, even now as I looked at her.

  “I didn’t know you were waiting for me,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. Yes, I was feeling defensive. I’d woken peacefully and had intended on getting a workout in, not to be accosted by the witch, even if she was helping us. It made all my warning flags go off.

  “I know why you’re here, child. I know who you really are, and I’m willing to help you. I’ll use my sight and my powers to help you if I can.”

  “You’re the oracle?” I demanded. Anger washed through me, battering at my skin like it was demanding to be let out, as I thought about the time we’d wasted playing along with her being a witch. I began to pace to try and shake some of it from my body so I didn’t lash out and hurt the oracle. Somehow, I didn’t think that would exactly put us in her good graces.

  “That’s part of what I am, yes.” She nodded.

  “Why didn’t you just tell me in the lavender field? It’s not like you didn’t know we were looking for you already. You came to me in my dreams, you knew who I was.” I hissed the end part, feeling vulnerable stating something so strange out loud.

  “I guessed who you were, but I needed to be sure. Seeing you here, with your mates, healing you, it all confirmed what I suspected.”

  “And what is it that you suspected?” I practically snarled at her as I took a step toward her, but she just took it in stride as though she’d expected this, which I supposed she had if she could see the future.

  “I suspected that you are a key figure in the upcoming rebalancing of the world, and I was right. You have the ancestral origins to make this work, and you’re most of the way there with your mates, you just need one more. And to resist him of course.” She sounded like she was rattling off a to-do list, not talking about my life and the lives of my mates.

  “What on earth are you talking about? Ancestral lines? Rebalancing the world? Are you the oracle, or are you actually just some crazy lady in the woods who pretends to be the oracle?” My anger was back, and I had to walk away from her or I was going to shake her to try and get something out of her that made sense.

  “What I’m talking about is not of this earth. That’s exactly it. I’m talking about the games the gods play, the prophecies that have been foretold again and again, each time giving the world a chance to shift and change. Until now, it hasn’t, not really. You are the true herald of the end times.”

  “Excuse me? End times? Gods? What the fuck is going on here?”

  “I said I was partially the oracle, and that is true, but I’m part witch and part goddess. My sisters and I are the Nornir. I’ve been trapped on Earth, thanks to the decrease in magic for centuries now, ever since the last time a step toward Ragnarok happened. All the stories you’ve heard throughout your life about the Norse gods are true. You have, in fact, been to Asgard already. You and all the other wolf shifters are descended from the wolves in the myths. It’s the magic from the gods that allows you to shift.”

  I sat down on the ground. Hard. Okay, I basically fell. Could I even believe her? What if she really was just a crazy lady? But then what was the magic she’d healed us with?

  “You can believe me. I am a bit crazy. And the magic that I healed you with is the same as the magic you use to shift.”

  “How did you…”

  “You project quite loudly. It’s how I was able to find you in the hospital in the first place.”

  “That was you…”

  She nodded. “I gave you money for drinks and snacks. Helped you out of a panic attack. Hurried you along when you started to dawdle. It’s been me all along. I’m only a tiny part of this though. You’re the important part. You’re who will decide how Ragnarok falls this time.”

  “So you’re telling me Thor is real?”

  “Why is it always him? Thor, Loki, Odin, why are they always the ones people remember first. What about Bragi or Tyr? Or better
yet, what about some of the goddesses? Idun, Sif, Hel, and your ancestor Freya, do they not count among those worth remembering?”

  “You said a moment ago that I’ve been to Asgard, but that’s not possible. I’ve been here this whole time looking for you for most of it. Why didn’t you find me earlier?”

  “You’re on a path and it splits in the woods, which way do you go? I can’t find you until you tell me which path you’re on. Do you see? As for Asgard, you’re telling me you don’t remember meeting the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen, or a strange old man with one eye and two ravens?”

  The dreams I’d had filled my mind in excruciating detail. More details than I’d ever remembered before. The woman I’d met both times had been painfully beautiful but fierce, and the man, I’d been scared of him, but even at the time, I’d known he was important.

  “So was that Valhalla? I thought you could only go there when you died.”

  “Not Valhalla. Folkvang, Freya’s hall.”

  My head was truly spinning at this point. I had no idea how to make sense of any of what she was telling me.

  “You don’t need to make sense of it, sweet child, just accept it for the truth that it is. You met Freya and Odin, you know this if you really look within yourself, just like you’ve known I wasn’t a witch this whole time. You merely need to open yourself to the possibility that more exists in this world than you first thought, and as someone who shifts into a wolf, I would have imagined that would be the easy part.”