Read Ivan's Captive Submissive (Submissive's Wish) Online
Authors: Ann Mayburn
Tags: #Erotic Romance
Ivan's Captive Submissive (Submissive's Wish) (37 page)
He’d thought he’d return to the Pack he’d known, but that had not been the case.
Four years was a long time to be gone.
Everything had changed and not for the better. Though one thing might offer the light on his horizon.
He’d left her alone so he could find his place and be better for her. Now it was time.
He’d find her soon. His Becca.
“You must be thinking about a woman,” Alec teased as they made their way back to Liam’s home. “You’re smiling.”
Hunter grunted then walked inside the place with Liam and Alec following. He turned on the lights and stretched his arms over his head. He was damned tired after that run even though he still felt a bit on edge since he hadn’t hunted big game.
“I don’t smile,” Hunter growled.
Alec just shook his head and stole a beer from Liam’s fridge. Liam scowled and slapped the back of Alec’s head.
“You never ask to take my shit,” Liam snapped.
Alec frowned. “I didn’t think I had to, Murray,” he drawled.
Hunter blinked at the two of them, their tension different than it had been before he’d been gone. While before the two had always bickered and annoyed each other, this felt different. Before they’d always smile and get over it, the tension dissipating after a few moments. Now, though, there seemed to be an underlying current between the two that Hunter couldn’t quite put his finger on.
“Guys? It’s beer. Get over it.”
The two men swiveled their heads at him and glared. They might have looked nothing alike, Liam with his dark looks and blue eyes, Alec with this brown hair and green eyes, but right then, they had the same expression.
Hunger, anger, and confusion all rolled into one.
What the hell?
Looking at Liam, Alec twisted off the beer cap then took a long swig. Liam’s jaw clenched as he ground his teeth together, and then he handed Hunter a bottle.
Hunter looked between the two men but put his questions aside. He had enough to deal with without delving into whatever drama they had.
“Tell me about what I missed,” he said after a minute of awkward silence.
“Everything, Hunter,” Liam said.
“No shit,” Hunter snapped. “Give me specifics.”
“When you left—” Alec began then cut himself off. The other man clenched his jaw then took a deep breath. “No, when you were
taken
, things went to shit. We still don’t know how you were taken to the demons, Hunter. You have to believe that.”
Hunter nodded and meant that. He knew the two men in this room wouldn’t have sold him to the demons,. That was all he knew though. He had his ideas of what had happened, but no proof.
Finding out how he’d been sold as a slave to the highest demon bidder was high on his list of priorities.
Liam cleared his throat then put his hand on Alec’s shoulder before sitting down on the couch. Alec shot him a look, and Liam pulled his arm away.
“When you left, Masterson, Lloyd, and Jacobs thought they found an opening for their plan,” Liam continued. “They’ve never hidden from those who’ve looked as though they want to take over the Pack. They want to bring the wolves into the twenty-first century, as they put it, and force a democracy.”
Hunter cursed. “We’re wolves. That cannot happen. None of the other Packs who have tried that have survived. We’re not humans. We have wolves wrapped around us, deep within the very aspects of our souls and beings. Denying an Alpha should hurt.”
Liam nodded. “You’re not telling us anything Alec and I haven’t said before. The amount of pain, though, depends on the Alpha.”
Hunter held back a grimace. “Josiah is getting older, but we don’t age like humans. His power should only increase with age.”
Alec shook his head. “Not without a Beta who can support him or without the magics that got him the position anyway. An Alpha can’t survive without a Beta. Josiah holds all the magic and strength of the entire Pack on his shoulders, but he can’t rule and be himself without another to lean on.”
Hunter nodded. “He would have been fine if he hadn’t lost Clara.”
Liam ran a hand through his hair. “She’s been gone for a decade, Hunter. Josiah is stronger than he gives himself credit for, but he can’t do it alone. He shouldn’t have to do it alone.”
“And Samuel, may he rest in peace, wasn’t strong enough to protect him,” Alec whispered.
Hunter didn’t wince or move at the mention of his late brother’s failures. No, that wasn’t quite right. He couldn’t call his brother’s decision a failure since the boy had done all in his power to protect the Pack. It just hadn’t been good enough. There had never been any question that Samuel hadn’t been strong enough for the position, but the kid should never have been put in harm’s way to begin with. If Hunter had been there, Samuel would be alive.
That above all else would be something that would haunt Hunter until the day he died.
“Have you found his killer?” Hunter asked, his voice low, deadly.
Alec shook his head. “No, but we can make guesses.”
“The three bastards who think they can take over the Pack.” Hunter clenched his fists, his fury riding him hard.
“You’re here now and named Beta in truth,” Liam said. “We couldn’t do it alone, not and keep our families alive and the Pack fluid, but we’ll be by your side, Hunter.”
Hunter nodded but stayed silent.
“The struggle has only just started, Hunter,” Alec put in. “We don’t know what the others have in store, and we don’t know exactly what they’ve done in the past. All we know is that we’ll protect Josiah and you with our lives.”
Hunter inclined his head at the two men who had been his best friends since they were pups. The three of them had always been thick as thieves, and when they’d grown into adult wolves, they’d taken their positions as council members and Beta in stride.
Alone they were strong.
Together they were stronger.
“This will cause a war if we’re not careful,” Liam murmured.
“We’re already in a war,” Hunter said flatly. “We just need to make sure it’s contained.”
The last thing he wanted was to bring their conflict into the other realms and hurt the humans.
Especially one particular human. She’d already been hurt once from a supernatural battle, and he’d be damned if he’d let another touch her.
He’d walked away from her once to ensure her safety.
He wouldn’t do it again.
For the rest of this story, check out Carrie Ann’s website to find your local retailer.
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From Bestselling Author Lia Davis’s Ashwood Falls Series
Surrendering to the Alpha
Ashwood Falls’ leopard Alpha, Keegan Andrews holds onto the pain of his deceased mate as his own personal hell—a reminder that not all things are what they seem. The Pack Scribe, Addyson Lewis is no exception. She’s intrigued him like no other since the day she stumbled into Ashwood territory about twenty-five years ago. When he discovers that just being near her calms the storm inside him, he can’t stay away even if it means exposing her to the evil she tried to escape.
Over a hundred years of psychological torture at the hands of the rogue Onyx Pack has left Addyson with no memories of her life before captivity and with the inability to control her psychometric nature. Anything or anyone she touches sends her into their darkest past and secrets, causing her pain she wouldn’t wish on anyone. Without the ability to control it, she’s forced to deny her leopard the connection she craves from the Pack that welcomed her with love and without judgment. That is, until the day Keegan involuntarily touches her bare skin and she finds the peace she’d craved for far too long.
Warning: Contains one sexy alpha leopard who craves the most decadent of dreams, a hidden treasure contained within a spunky woman, and the ability to create a mating bond that’s the most explosive yet.
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From USA Today Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan’s Redwood Pack Series
Shattered Emotions
Maddox Jamenson is the Omega of the Redwood Pack, the one burdened by emotions stronger than his own. He's spent his entire life shrouded in the secrets of his "gift" and the price he has to pay to keep it, yet the cost just escalated. He's known a mate could be in the cards for him, but he can't have what he wants. Not when the battles he has yet to fight could destroy her.
Ellie Reyes was the Central's princess, the daughter of the most hated Alpha of all time, yet not prized. No, she's spent her life as the toy of her brother's sadistic torture and has endured a pain that no one else should have to even contemplate. Though when she's rescued, the one person who could help her, her mate, turns his back on her for reasons unknown to her. As each day passes, the strength that everyone sees in her dwindles to a point that there may be no coming back from.
When the Centrals find a new way to attack, leaving Ellie's only protection a mate that she doesn’t think wants her, they’ll both have to overcome their fears and fight for something stronger than their pain. The war isn't over and new players are coming that will decide the outcome. Maddox and Ellie's connection will be tested even as their fragile bond is only newly forming.
Table of Contents
Ivan’s Captive Submissive
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
A Thank you from Fated Desires
About the Author
Also from this Author
An Unlucky Moon
Surrendering to the Alpha
Shattered Emotions
