A Taste for a Mate (10 page)

Mel screamed in agony but kept her attention on Willow. The bite in her shoulder was not that of a mate mark, but a brutal assault that forced the change by adding the enzyme to her blood. For the greatest chance of a conversion occurring, the Alpha had to be the one to bring her over. His father released Mel’s shoulder only to bite and tear into the flesh of h V ha was a fer chest and stomach. Blood seeped into the crisp white sheets she lay across, a crimson splash of color against the stark contrast of sterility. Ripping into her side with his teeth and claws, his father continued to bring Mel near death. Her body convulsed and thrashed, fighting the chains and ropes holding her down. She screamed and cried, the sound piercing his heart, before finally passing out from the pain. Still, his father didn’t quit, for she needed to be as close to death as possible to ensure the change, one bite wasn’t enough.

Tears running down his cheeks, Kade screamed and growled, putting his full Heir’s powers into fighting his brothers to get to his mate. Adam pulled his arm back and punched Kade directly in the face, crashing his head into the wall. Reed bent down and shouldered him in the stomach with a grunt, keeping him pinned. Jasper put his elbow against Kade’s throat and the other across his chest. However much pain the brothers inflicted on him, Jasper knew the pain from seeing his mate in distress and practically dying in front of him would be worse.

Jasper looked across the room at Maddox and blink. His younger brother paled to a deathly white. His teeth digging into his lip, cutting into the flesh. He shook, his hand still gripping Mel’s as he took her pain.

How the hell did he do it?

Finally, after what felt like hours later, his father backed from Melanie’s seemingly lifeless body before changing back into a man. His mother quickly left her daughter-in-law’s side and put a robe around her pale husband. For all the Alpha in his father, he still looked shaken. It must have been agony for his father to inflict his son’s mate with that type of pain. Jasper didn’t envy him.

Things moved quickly. North and Cailin expertly took Mel’s vitals before cleaning her and wrapping her in cool cloth infused with herbs that would aide in healing her wounds. All the while, Willow and Maddox continued to hold Mel’s hands and whisper to her motionless body.

He prayed the change took. Prayed another old soul and spirit of a wolf found its way into Mel’s body and blended together in perfect harmony. The enzyme may force the change to start – but it took a magic power beyond their touch for it to stay.

Jasper looked around the room and froze. Every single person wept. The strongest family of wolves in the known world broke down, weeping for their own. The salty taste of his own tears reminded him of the night before when Willow and he had finally mated. The memory proved to be bitter sweet at this drastic difference in situation.

Watching the pain and sorrow in his mate’s face he knew he couldn’t let her change. Though he would love to live his long life with her, he didn’t know if he could see her harmed as Melanie had been. Taking a deep breath while still holding his brother back, he vowed that he would do all in his power to keep her from changing.

Once Melanie’s vitals calmed, Kade did as well. Pushing past his brothers, he knelt at his unconscious mate’s side and wept. Praying the change had taken hold, the family silently left room to give the pair a moment of peace.

As soon as they were upstairs, Willow rushed into Jasper’s arms, clinging to him for support. With only a nod to his brothers, he picked up his mate and carried her home so that they could try to remember that they were alive and possessed each other.

****

Willow rubbed her nose against Jasper’s neck, inhaling his woodsy wolf and man scent. He smelled like home. Curling into his body, she let herself relax. Though she tried to be stoic and strong for Melanie, she’d been as frightened as when the Central Pack had taken her. Watching Edward tear into her new friend’s body had taken all of Willow’s inner strength not to run from the room. Knowing Jasper was there to cling to later was the only thing that kept her calm.

Jasper didn’t let her go as they entered his, no their, home. Closing the door behind him he strode toward the bedroom and set her feet on the floor while dragging his hands up the sides of her body to cradle her face.

“I love you, baby. I don’t think I can live without you.” Warm breath tickled her lips as he whispered his devotion.

“I love you, too.” Her heart ached for him, and she needed him inside her – now.

He brushed his lips softly against hers. Jasper dropped his hands from her face and gently pushed her down until she lay on the bed. He took off her leggings and top leaving her bare before him. Willow’s breath hitched. His pupils grew until only a small rim of forest green remained, a ring of gold glowed around the green. Kneeling before her, he took her legs and spread them so she was completely open to his gaze. The corner of his mouth quirked when he looked at her pussy. His nostrils flared, taking in her scent.

“I haven’t even touched you yet and you're already glistening for me.” His voice lowered, rough as if it was hard for him to speak. Taking her knees in his hands, he abruptly pulled her toward him so her ass lay at the edge of the bed and her cunt directly in his face. He gave a wicked smile before leaning over and licking her from puckered hole to the top of her mound with his wide tongue. Her hips bucked from the bed, but he quickly placed his palms on her pelvic bone to keep her secure. Looking up at her, he licked the juices from his lips, and his eyes glowed gold.

Before she could gain the energy to speak, he suckled her clit. Rubbing her mound against his nose, she moaned and tried to twist her body. It was too much; he sucked and sucked while moving his tongue quickly against her clit. He trailed one palm down to cup her ass as he squeezed the globe and growled against her pussy. The rumbling of his growl caused her clit to tingle and her pussy to clench. Removing the hand from her ass, he took two fingers and circled her opening before entering her quickly. Curling his finge V and hrs, he rubbed her G-spot at the same time he bit down on her clit. Stars shattered behind her eyelids as she screamed his name until her throat was raw.

Even as she began to come down from her high, Jasper didn’t relent. Rubbing her from the inside out and kissing her sweet center, he forced her to her peak again before she cascaded down.

“Oh my God.” Her voice deepened with lust, her throat sore from screaming.
He is going to kill me with pleasure.

“Call me Jasper.” He laughed against her thighs at his lame joke before crawling up her body to lie next to her. Palming her breast in his rough hand, he tweaked her nipple, making her moan again.

“No more, baby. I need a moment.” An idea came to her, and she gave him a sultry smile. “Don’t move.” He gave her a curious look but remained where he was.

As quickly as she could, she scooted down so she knelt on the bed between his legs. Raising an eyebrow in her direction, he knit his fingers behind his head and laid back as if he knew what she was about to do.

His cock was long and wide, with a slight curve to the right. That explained why he’d hit all of the perfect spots last night.
And it’s all mine.
Giggling to herself, she took his cock in her hand and pumped it twice to watch the drop of pre-cum bead on the tip. Smiling again, she leaned down and licked it up. It tasted salty, yet sweet and still full of Jasper’s forest taste.

Before he could stop her, she opened her mouth wide and relaxed her throat to take him fully into her mouth. When her lips reached the coarse hair at the base, she swallowed, allowing the back of the throat to squeeze the tip of his cock.

“Fuck! I didn’t know you could do that! Fuck!” Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw one of his hands fisted in the comforter, and the other grabbed her hair in a tight almost painful grip. She made him fight for control. Nice. Moving back up his cock, she rolled her tongue until she released him with an audible pop.

Willow did this over and over again while rolling his balls in her palm before he gripped her hair tighter and pulled her off him.

“Damn, I was about to blow down your throat. It’s too much.” He panted and looked pained, his face strained. He gripped her hips and flipped their positions, digging her into the bed.

“But that was what I wanted to do.” She stuck out her lower lip and pouted.

“But I want to come in your sweet pussy ,baby, with you wrapped around me.”

Oh. When he put it that way…

Shivers danced down her spine, and she reached up to kiss him.

He knelt above her, their fingers entwined, before looking directly in her ey V ntrol. Nies. Slowing without blinking, he entered her. It was the perfect moment. Poignant and full of love. She could hear the catch in his breath and knew he would love her forever.

Slowly, he slid into her with two soft thrusts before slowly exiting her warmth then slamming back into her. He repeated this over and over until she was panting and moaning and begging for release, but they never broke eye contact.

Finally they groaned and came together before collapsing in a heap of tangled arms and sweat. Jasper leaned over and kissed her, murmuring his love before falling into a deep sleep. It had been an emotional day. That was for sure.

Willow, still encased in his arms, stayed awake a bit longer. The look of determination on his face after Melanie’s attempt at the conversion had not been lost on her. He wasn’t going to let her change. She was sure of it. Closing her eyes, she prayed for guidance, knowing the pain would be terrible, but the outcome of forever with Jasper would be worth it. She would do anything for him and to be with him. Whatever it took, she would be a werewolf. Be his werewolf. She would be a Jamenson in truth. Now she would have to convince Jasper.
No problem there.

Chapter 10

Incorporating one’s self into a Pack of werewolves should come easy to anyone. Right? A snort escaped Willow before she could stop it. Though she had a leg up on others in meeting new people because of her past, she still was at a loss in some respects.

Her parents had died in a car crash when she was a little girl. She’d been sleeping in the back seat when a drunk driver hit them head on. Willow could still smell the scent of burned hair and blood. Could still hear the crunch of metal against metal. She could barely remember what they looked like.

Jasper helped alleviate that. His face and touch sent her to her dreams at night.

But what did she have to give back? Was she even worth it?

A twenty-four-year-old college dropout, she possessed little options in providing a true help to the Pack. She’d been relegated to being surrounded by a protection detail that would keep her from outside harm while Jasper’s keen eye was elsewhere. Willow was learning the art of being a Pack member. Laughter rumbled in her chest at the irony.

“What’s so funny?” Reed, her new brother-in-law, current bodyguard, and Pack artist asked. With a paintbrush in his hand, another brush behind his ear, and numerous splotches of colors from his current project, he looked like the typical struggling artisan. Lanky, with the build of a swi V nmerousmmer, his body held power and strength to fight any attack, though, anyone who faced him might laugh at the red smear on the tip of his nose.

“Nothing, just thinking. Here, let me get that.” She reached for a clean towel behind him before rubbing his nose with it. They both collapsed in laughter as the red merely spread across his face and the towel.

“Great job, Wil. Before I may have looked like Rudolph; now I look like a clown bent on revenge.” Gasping for breath, Willow dampened the cloth with more water, but Reed held her wrist.

“Please stop before I fully resemble a tomato.” He took the towel from her hands and wiped his face the best he could. Honestly, it may have been too late for the tomato. She laughed again.

God, it felt so good to be with people who considered her family, even if they’d only known her for a short while. After surviving the car accident that took the lives of her parents at the age of six, Willow had bounced from foster home to foster home until she finally graduated high school. With the lack of connections to the human world, Reed and Adam told her she was a perfect candidate for entering the Pack, though, according to Jasper, that had no bearing on their mating. Either way, the warmth seeping through their mating bond shook off any doubt of his choice.

Thoughts and questions assailed her,  and she didn’t know whom to ask, but Reed seemed the most open.

“Can I ask you something, Reed?” Willow bit into her lip.

“Sure, Wil, what’s up?” Reed cocked his head. He’d cleaned most of the red from his face, but a pink hue remained on his skin.

“Well, I would ask Jasper, but I don’t want him to get the wrong idea. I mean, I love him, it’s just…” She hung her head. Damn, this was harder to put into words than she’d thought. She stepped back, and her legs hit a stool, forcing her to take a seat.

“Now you’re starting to worry me. Tell me what’s going on.” Reed knelt in front of her, taking her hand in his. Though he didn’t possess the emotional magic Maddox did, nor the bond she shared with Jasper, Reed’s touch cemented her in the present and gave her the courage to ask.