"I need you."
Annalise smiled at him, nodded her head toward the towel hanging over the sink. "Hand me the towel, will you?"
"Need help?" he asked, smirking.
Annalise held out her arms, grinning as he slid the fabric against her body, her eyes holding him in place. Seth let the towel fall, ran his hands along the soft warmth of her thighs. Her breath caught.
In the small bathroom, the only sound to be found was the steady, quick rush of their pulse. Seth stepped closer, nudging her legs apart and letting his hands delve between her legs.
Annalise gasped, propping one leg on the edge of the tub as his fingers began their slow, hungry exploration. As she leaned into him, Seth let one long finger ease inside of her while his thumb worked her clit. She laughed breathlessly as she rolled her hips in time with his hand.
"Seth," she moaned, a breath away from his lips. "It's not nice to tease."
Seth dropped to his knees, supporting her weight as he brought her down to the tub's edge.
"What are you—"
Annalise's words trailed off as Seth's tongue delved between her legs, licking, circling, and savoring every inch of her. "Goddamn." She licked her lips, "That's not what I meant but—" A moan broke through her words, her hand anchoring in his hair as he slipped two, then three fingers inside her. Her body jerked forward, deepening the stroke of his hands as they fucked her. She quivered under his touch, her legs tightening around him, pinning him in place.
Seth growled as she rode him, working her pussy until her moans reached a fever pitch. Annalise tensed as the first wave of her orgasm took her. Seth pulled back, licking his lips as we watched her ride that wave, leaving a trail of kisses against her inner thigh.
Her eyes drifted shut as she sighed, content. "If I'd have known emotional vulnerability was your kink, I'd have opened up a long time ago."
"You've always got a comeback," he responded with a laugh, voice thick with restraint.
Her eyes opened slowly, and she gazed down at him still between her legs. Annalise raised her leg, gently pressing the sole of her foot against his chest, nudging him backward.
One moment, he was kneeling between her legs, the next his back was knocking flat against the open door, her lips on his, her tongue teasing his lips apart as they stumbled into the hallway. He couldn't think as they tasted each other, her hands grasping at his body, hungry and desperate. He reached down to palm her ass, press his hips into the part of her he ached to be inside of.
"Seth," she breathed, moving her mouth to kiss his neck. "I meant what I said earlier...about the things I wanna do to you."
She had him on the floor in the blink of an eye, legs braced around him as she straddled his hips. Annalise raked her nails down his chest, biting her lip as an electric current cut straight through him.
"I can imagine," he whispered, staring up at her. Mesmerized, he watched as she took his hands in hers, using them to caress her slick, naked body. He was at her mercy. "Cruel things."
"Cruel?" She repeated, leaning down to kiss him. "Me?" Her lips left a trail of heat down his chest and stomach as she kissed her way to his navel. Annalise tugged at the waist of his pants.
She looked up at him from beneath her lashes as her mouth hovered over his dick. She smirked at his awestruck expression.
He'd fantasized about this more times than he would admit, but the sight of her looking up at him, eyes dark with longing, was better than he'd ever imagined.
She licked her lips, her tongue dancing around the head of his cock. He tensed up, hands eager to bury themselves in her hair, to feel her as she sucked him, to show her how he liked it. "Mmm," she moaned, parting her lips to take him down the hilt, just like he'd wanted.
Seth hissed, his hands clenched into fists as she devoured him. Annalise looked up at him, her hands gripping his thighs. She moaned around him as she bobbed, her nails biting into his skin, almost painful…except, the harder they bit, the closer he got to cumming.
He groaned, eyes drifting shut against his will. "Baby, keep that up and I might—"
She laughed quietly, the velvet warmth of her mouth tightening around him as she sucked and teased him to the point of madness. His hands reacted on their own, reaching down to feel her mouth around him as she brought him closer and closer to climax.
Without warning, she leaned back with a wicked smile. His body throbbed in protest, aching for a release that had been so close. "Maybe just a little cruel," she conceded as she guided the length of him inside her. She hissed, biting down on her lip as her body accommodated his size. "But I want you inside me when you cum."
Seth couldn't respond. He had no idea how it was possible for a person to feel like heaven, like home, like everything wrong in the world made right. He gripped her hips, driving himself deeper. Her eyes fluttered open, showing him the same adoration mirrored back at him.
She rode him slow and deliberate at first, grinding against him just the way he'd imagined, like she knew exactly what he wanted on instinct. Her scent clung to his skin, her pussy tight around his dick as she met each of his thrusts. He groaned her name, bringing her chest down to his as he held her tight to his body. "You feel so fucking good," he hissed.
Annalise responded with her lips on his neck, her teeth grazing his skin, her breath in his ear. As he buried himself in her over and over, he gave into the rapture of her touch. Annalise braced herself, matching the frenzied, desperate way he drove himself into her. "Oh, fuck," she groaned, pulling them upright, clinging to him as her body began to tighten around his. "Harder," she moaned, "Don't stop."
"Come for me, Annalise," he growled, using her body as leverage to pull her tight against him with each thrust.
She gasped, one hand braced against the wall, the other digging its nails in his back. The sudden pain almost sent him over the edge. He bit down hard on his lip, doing his best to stave off his own climax.
His name danced on her tongue as she held him tight, thighs locked around him, as if to hold him in place, as if they could meet each other deep enough to become one. She called out to him as their bodies found each other again and again, her moans mixing with his own.
Annalise tensed, arching her back as her legs began to quake. Seth pulled her lips to his, to taste his name there as she came. His head swam. There was nothing about this woman Seth didn't want to get lost in.
Breathless, skin glistening with sweat, the cage of her legs tightened as she continued to meet each of his strokes. "Your turn," she whispered as her hand closed around his throat, bringing his own pleasure to a head.
Seth's grip tightened as he came, holding her tight in his arms as he filled her. Annalise's other hand toyed with him, her fingers gently grazing his back. It was his turn to quiver at her loving touch.
"Annie," he whispered, attempting to catch his breath, "Baby, a man can only take so much."
She laughed, nipping at his ear. "Only if you say please," she whispered.
When she said it like that…Did they even need to leave? His mind conjured images of her under him, whispering his name, of her on all fours while he fucked her from behind.
His eyes fluttered open as realization dawned on him. Dammit! He'd forgotten about the pack meeting. "We have to go," he sighed, looking up at her. Her lips were slightly plump from their kissing, her face flush, wet hair still dripping down her body, and he was still inside of her. He groaned, pulling her face to his. Five minutes, he thought. That was all he needed to have her screaming his name again.
She kissed his brow, his cheek, his lips. "What's one meeting?" she whispered as she nuzzled his neck.
She was right. What would it hurt to miss one meeting?
A vision of an angry Jacob cursing them both filled his mind, much to his disappointment. As tempting as it was, he couldn't bail.
Sensing as much, she sighed and slid off him. Without her body wrapped around his, he felt suddenly…cold.
"Let me go get cleaned up," she said, shuffling back into the bathroom. "I'll meet you at the truck."
Seth pushed the RAM faster than he'd ever done before, one hand on the wheel, the other resting on Annalise's thigh as she leaned over the center console. The clock on the dash said they were running half an hour behind, but Seth could only be partially concerned.
The world inside the cab of this truck was peaceful, Annalise's scent still clinging to his skin, the memory of her touch burned into his mind in a way he never wanted to shake.
As if sensing his thoughts, she leaned to kiss his jaw, his earlobe, to move her lips against his neck. "We're already late," she whispered, her breath against his skin sending a shiver down his spine. Her hand slid across his chest before gently closing around his throat.
He inhaled sharply, trying to ignore the way his body started to harden at her touch. "I don't know why I love when you do that," he whispered, "And I'd love to take you up on it…" He took her hand in his. "God knows I do," he breathed, kissing her knuckles.
Annalise sighed, "I know, I know," she mumbled, nodding to the quaint house coming into view. She settled back into the passenger seat as they rolled to a stop. Embry met them on the porch, his face bright in a way Seth hadn't seen in years. "'Bout time you showed up," he said. He paused, his nostrils flaring slightly, before he smirked at them. "'Sup, Annie? You guys are kinda late, aren't you?"
Seth blushed, rolling his eyes. "Whatever," he muttered, taking Annalise's hand in his as they followed Embry into the crowded house.
Seth and Embry left the only free seat open for Annalise at the table. She winked before taking the seat next to Quil, who greeted her with a quick fist bump.
Seth grinned at the ease with which his imprint fit in.
"All right, looks like everyone's here." Sam's thundering voice sounded strangely light as Jacob entered in from the hallway. Sam wrung his hands, looking extremely awkward as he spoke. "So, Emily's getting ready pop any day now and, as most of you already know, Jake's sticking around for good…which is why I'm going to be stepping down as alpha, effective immediately."
"What?"
Seth's shock was mirrored in most of the faces around the table, save for Jared and Embry, who both seemed more upbeat than usual. The pack without Sam was like…like a car without brakes. It just didn't work. Even Embry had deferred to the older wolf in Jacob's absence.
Seth turned his attention to Jared, whose face held nothing but happiness for his former alpha.
"Before everyone freaks out, Jake has finally agreed to step into his birthright and lead you."
Jacob cleared his throat. "Don't worry, guys, Sam's still gonna crawl our ass for breaking rules, but he's got more important things to protect now. Only thing that's going to change is, well, now there'll be even more voices in your head. We'll keep territories blocked out as they are. Collin, Brady, and the others have agreed to ramp up their patrols while they're finishing school. Even Leah's keeping an eye on things in Seattle."
As the news settled in, Seth couldn't keep the grin off his face. Embry nudged him. "It was about damn time. Tired of wrangling these idiots."
He rolled his eyes. "Good to have you back, Jake."
There were nods of assent, good-natured jabs, as the others showed their support for the move.
Jacob leaned against the counter, failing to keep the satisfaction off his face. "Now, I could have texted all of this to you guys, but I also wanted to bring up the two elephants in the room."
He cleared his throat, meeting Annalise's gaze. She gave him a slow smile, her eyes giving him a once-over that said she was counting down the minutes until they could leave. Embry pinched his mouth shut, lips twitching as he held back some off-color remark.
Ignoring their odd exchange, Jacob continued. "We know it's been awhile since Annie got here and, save for that one shifter, there's been zero activity. We still can't count out a possible attack. The other major thing is, Ness is still the fixation of a lot of creepy vampires, so there may be a slight uptick. We took out two this morning, one of them could dematerialize at will." He sighed. "With us just north of here, it shouldn't impact the rez too heavy. Still wanted to be upfront about it."
"Nothing we haven't faced before," Paul chimed in.
Jacob nodded, thankful for the vote of confidence. "Annie, you have a good eye for spotting weird behavior. I want you and Jared running point for our territories. You've also got some fighting skills we could use. I want you to train us, twice a week. You up for it?"
Annalise grinned. "Heck yeah, boss. Sign me up." She nodded at Paul who rolled his eyes.
Jacob clapped his hands together. "Well, that's that. Jared, Quil, can you two hang back? The rest of you…Take it easy the next two days, but stay alert. We'll pick up patrols again Sunday."
"Don't be late next time," Embry teased, wagging his eyebrows.
Annalise ignored him, rising with the others, her smile spreading from ear to ear. Seth held an arm out to draw her close. Things felt almost back to normal. One pack, one mission. Only now, he had someone to call his, someone who gave him a run for his money in a way no one had ever done.
He expected to feel at ease, but something gnawed at him...Annalise's giddy expression slipped, her nostrils flaring. He smelled it too. Coyote.
One by one, the wolves in the room grew still, their eyes on the windows, ears trained to the forest around them. Seth closed eyes, focusing through the noise, the woodland creatures, the heartbeat of the innocent humans on the reservation, the sounds of everyday life so close to potentially being ripped away…
Seth held up his hand to the others know what they were dealing with. One. One unknown coyote-shifter was still too many.
The others seemed to relax some, realizing they weren't surrounded. But not Jacob and Sam, and Seth least of all. Annalise seemed frozen in place, her eyes glazed over as if trapped by the past.
"Act normal," Jacob mouthed to everyone. Seth turned his attention to Embry with a small nod. His pack-brother moved to take his place near Annalise as he inched toward the back door.
While the others pretended to carry on their conversations, Jacob went to the front door and Jared slipped through the open window on the opposite side of the house.
Act normal. Calm. Natural.
He could do that.
Right until he had an opening. Then he'd end whatever piece of shit had let Annalise suffer.
Seth pulled the back door open. "I'll be right back, Annie," he called loudly over his shoulder, hoping to keep the rogue shifter interested and in place.
Their uninvited guest shuffled, their breath hitching. He pulled out his cellphone, keeping his eyes on the small screen to avoid cluing them in as his ears pinpointed the coyote-shifter's location.
He could hear Jacob and Jared, already in wolf form, waiting. Calm. Collected.
Not Seth. As the coyote moved, snapping a twig to Seth's left, all bets were off. Seth phased and charged straight for the shapeshifter.
Seth, don't kill them. We need to know if there are more. Jacob's words no longer mattered.
The coyote-shifter scrambled to get away, kicking up dirt in Seth's face as he descended on it. Seth snarled, kicking off the ground.
Jake, we're this close. Seth growled as he landed in front of the coyote-shifter. Don't call me off.
The coyote whimpered as it looked for an exit. Jacob and Jared blocked its escape.
Seth, this isn't you. If you really want to help Annie, you'll stand down.
Bullshit, Seth snapped, his lips curling back over his teeth. Annalise's memories flooded his mind. The snap of bone, the cry of anguish. Jacob and Jared flinched as her emotions crashed over them both.
The coyote knelt in the dirt, bowing its head, dark eyes terrified. Like Annalise had been. Her words filled his head, "Damian's coloring is off...You might mistake him for one of your own."
Seth eyed the cowering coyote beneath them. With the same sandy coloring as him and Annalise, this clearly wasn't the psychotic alpha...and it was for sure female. "Val..she's smaller. Even smaller than me."
Jacob glanced his way as they recalled Annalise's warning. We can't rule that one out. We need Annie to ID this one.
I won't let that happen, Seth shot back. Even if what Jacob said made sense, he couldn't bring himself to okay that. He couldn't force Annalise to face the people who had let that deranged alpha, Damian, torture her.
Jacob sighed. I understand where you're coming from, kid, but I'm not asking for your permission. It's an order.
Seething, Seth huffed, knocking the coyote backwards as they herded it toward the Uley cottage. Just because he had to comply, didn't mean he had to like it. Friendly shifter or not, this coyote had just carved a straight path to Annalise for Damian and that was something he couldn't forgive.
At least this is a lead, Jared said quietly, The longer this draws out, the more likely we are to miss something. We can't pull double patrols indefinitely.
I know, I know, Seth grumbled. I just…
We understand, they chorused, the images of their imprints' faces flashing in front of their eyes.
Jacob pinned the coyote to the ground as they re-emerged from the forest. I've done worse than this for Ness, Seth. It's in our nature.
The others spilled from the cottage in human form, Embry and Quil guarding Annalise as if she were their own flesh and blood, much to her disdain. Seth could see the defiant furrow of her brow from here, the firm set of her jaw. She hated being treated like she was helpless.
Annalise cut her eyes to Seth, her features softening—but not before she gave him a look that said she was only letting Embry lead because of him. He'd catch hell for it later, but he'd rather see her angry than injured...or worse.
Cautiously, Embry and Quil stepped to the side enough for Annalise to see the coyote trapped beneath Jacob's paw. She sniffed the air, moving closer despite the tense look of his pack-brothers.
Annalise froze, recognition clouding her face. "Y-Yara?"
The coyote barked, attempting to free itself from Jacob's grip.
Annalise rushed toward them. She fell to the ground next to the coyote, pulling its giant head into her lap. "What the hell are you doin' here? It's bad enough there's a kill order on my head."
The coyote whimpered before transforming. Jacob stumbled backward to avoid crushing the woman beneath his weight. Petite, with soft, round features, the woman huddled in Annalise's arms appeared to be the exact opposite of dangerous.
She rose to her feet, her arms still hugged around Annalise's midsection. Standing, Yara must have only been 5'2," nearly a head shorter than his imprint. "Annie," she cried, "I'm so fuckin' glad you're okay. It's insane there. Damian's killed three of us already just for steppin' outta line, a-and he's got half a' them convinced you're comin' to kill us all. The others think you're dead. But we knew. Zel and I, we knew. God, Annie, I'm so sorry. I-I-I couldn't—"
"Shhh, it's okay," Annalise cooed, smoothing Yara's curly hair out of her face. "Look at me," she said, her voice turning stern as she tilted the Yara's face up by the chin. "Were you followed?"
Yara shook her head. "N-no, I don't think so."
"I need you to know. Were. You. Followed?"
Yara fell silent, tensing the same way Seth did whenever Jacob used the alpha order on them. Her eyes pinched shut for a moment before she opened them again. "I'm the only one here for at least a hundred miles. Damian was about to execute Val's pup, there was a whole fight, Zel told me to leave now or I'd never get another shot, so I left."
With a heavy sigh, Annalise held Yara's head to her chest, rubbing small circles into her back as the younger shapeshifter calmed down.
To anyone else, Annalise looked like she was comforting her friend. But Seth knew better. Her hazel eyes met his, blazing with fury and fear. He didn't need telepathy to know what she was thinking.
Time's up, Seth warned the others. They're coming.