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She reached behind her and flicked the hooks of her bra. It slid down her arms onto the painted cement. She didn’t know why she did it. She’d be mortified if someone came down and found her stripping. Whatever she tried, she couldn’t stop herself.

  Josiah growled. “Stop.”

  Sarah laughed and whimpered at the same time. “I wish I could.”

  “You have to try. You need to get a fucking grip. Please, beautiful. You’re the strongest of us. It’s one of the things I love about you.”

  Sarah pushed her shorts and panties to the ground and then kicked them off. “Josiah, language.”

  “You just stripped for me like a wanton slut, and you’re on my ass about my language.”

  “Like I said, I didn’t do it. Something has control of me. It’s not that I don’t want it. I do. I want you to open that door and make love to me.”

  Josiah leaned against the wall and cocked a grin at her. “Make love to you, huh? Is that what we’ve been doing? It seems to me that we’ve been having hot, raunchy sex.”

  “Josiah, please.” She pointed behind him to the simple silver key hanging on a nail by a leather cord. “The key is right there. Please open the door and come in here with me.”

  He shoved off the wall and crossed the room to her cell. His gaze wandered over her naked body. “I want to, Sarah. You have no idea how much I want to. I want to taste you. I want you wrapped tight around me. But we can’t do it.”

  Her lower lip popped out in protest. Never before in her life had she acted like a spoiled brat. This would be the last thing she would pout about. And she wasn’t entirely sure it was mystical force that possessed her doing it. “Why not?”

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  “Try me.”

  He leaned into the bars until his nose grazed hers. “If you don’t fight for Rock and Cort, your life will be on the line. My life will be on the line, my family’s lives will be sacrificed. Sleeping with you right now will fuck that up royally. Trust me.”

  Sarah lifted her mouth and captured his and then did her best to deepen it. She caressed his tongue with hers as she gripped the bars to pull her closer. She could hear him moan through the kiss.

  “Lay down on the floor,” he demanded as they parted.

  Sarah bit her lower lip as she obeyed. She gazed up at his towering frame. His cock pressed tight against the zipper of his jeans. She didn’t know how it didn’t pop open. She watched as he dropped to his knees. She gasped as he grasped her ankles and tugged her across the cold, smooth floor until the bars shoved into the back of her thighs.

  Sarah cried out as she felt his tongue swipe against her swollen flesh. He dipped his tongue inside her. He nipped at her clit then sucked. His hands gripped her hips tight. It didn’t stop her from thrashing in ecstasy. She tried to sit up to touch him, to hold him closer. The bars kept her at his mercy. And Josiah Hallow had a problem with mercy.

  She did her best to buck against him as he slid a finger inside her and thrust it in and out. A knot twisted in her belly, begging to unwind. She clenched her fists tight as she teetered on the edge. Josiah slipped another finger inside her and rubbed a finger against her clit. She screamed out as she released, her back arching hard as the fire burned through her. Her heartbeat thundering in her ears echoed loud enough to muffle the sound of his zipper.

  She watched him reach into his briefs and tug them down. He pulled away from her long enough to spit in his hand before he resumed his tender onslaught. She watched him pump his hand up and down his length as he nipped, licked, and sucked. She wasn’t sure how many times she peaked. She wasn’t sure how many times he released. She only knew when he did. His growl vibrated against her skin each time he came. It sent another shiver through her.

  She wasn’t much more than a puddle of goo on the floor when he let her go. He wiped the mess on his hand off on his jeans and sat back on his heels. It sated the lust in her a bit. But it was still there, a smolder that would rage again.

  He stood and tucked himself back in his jeans. “You should probably get dressed,” he ordered. “I don’t know when anyone will come down here. They don’t need to watch us. I have enough reason to tear a bloody streak through this town.”

  Sarah sat up slowly. She picked up each article of clothing and slipped it on. Then she rose up on shaky legs. She leaned against the cell and wrapped her fingers around the bars. “I heard something outside last night. Many somethings. It sounded like wolves.”

  He stared at her for a moment. Then he crossed the basement to her and leaned against the cell also. Even though the steel kept them apart, his presence so close to her was a comfort.

  He reached through and brushed her hair from her face. “It probably was. We’re in northern Maine. Place is crawling with them.”

  She turned her lips into his palm and kissed it. It aroused her again. “Stay with me.”

  She heard him moan. “I need to go talk to Atticus. I have to find a way out of here for both of us. You’re in danger here, and I can’t rest until you’re home. I’ll be back in an hour or two. I promise.”

  “I’m holding you to it.”

  “Counting on it.”

  He kissed her hard, his tongue dipping in to tangle with hers. She could taste something on his tongue. She could only guess it was her. It should have repulsed her. Instead, it turned her on. She gripped hard on his shirt to pull him closer.

  He nudged his nose against hers as they parted. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll die first.”

  He brushed his lips against hers and then pulled away. He glanced at her one last time before he disappeared up the staircase. The tap of his boot steps echoed his farewell.

  Sarah stepped backward until she flopped down on the flimsy mattress. The words leaped to her lips as they broke their kiss. She almost said them, but he took off before she could. She frowned as she pondered them.

  She almost told Josiah that she loved him. Did she? She shook her head as she lay back on the pillow. He was the only thing on her mind now. Was he the only thing in her heart?

  »»•««

  The massive house was deadly quiet. The sound of Josiah’s boots on the polished caramel colored hardwood floors reverberated off the walls. He didn’t have to ask where everyone was. Most were probably sleeping. The lucky ones were mating. That is, if this place was like the Hallows’ camp.

  In truth, he needed some shuteye too. It took everything in him to keep his human form all night. He felt like his gut was torn in two. He had a newfound respect for Caleb. How he held his human form all through the military was mind-boggling. Guess there was a reason the middle Hallow was a certifiable asshole.

  However, if he was going to sleep, it would be outside Sarah’s cell. Not that he could. She was too tempting. He almost gave in to her pleas and joined her in the makeshift jail. The consequences were too great if they mated. Even though something deep inside him wanted to see her swell with his child, and it wasn’t the crazy power that possessed them.

  He wasn’t lying when he said he would give his life before anything happened to her. He didn’t know what changed. When Roman appeared on that video chat and threatened to take her, Josiah’s world was shattered. It was true they didn’t see eye to eye whatsoever. But he needed her. He couldn’t imagine life without her.

  He was so consumed in his thoughts he didn’t notice he wasn’t alone.

  “You didn’t change last night.”

  Josiah’s gaze snapped up to the fireplace of the formal sitting room. Atticus stood there, his arm draped along the mantel as if he were posing for a painting.

  Josiah stopped and returned the glare. “No, I did not.”

  “Why fight it?”

  “Because I don’t trust you bastards that you wouldn’t have contrived some way to hurt Sarah.”

  “You’re more powerful as a beast.”

  “But that craze comes over me. I can’t concentrate. Not changing might have hurt like a son of a
bitch, but at least I can keep my thoughts straight.”

  “You need to trust us, Josiah.”

  “Trust you? You sent that fucking bastard Roman to kidnap her and drag her here. Why did you do that?”

  Atticus straightened. “First of all, in my house, we don’t curse. I want you to keep the foul language to yourself.”

  Josiah huffed. He was tired of getting lectured about his foul mouth. But his father had taught him respect for his elders. Unfortunately, Atticus qualified. “We are cursed, Atticus. It releases the tension and pain from being this way. That’s why I cuss. Now, answer my question.”

  Atticus stroked his long, white beard before he continued. “I needed you here. You didn’t come the first time I sent Roman. I thought you would be curious about your true heritage. Who you really are.”

  “My parents and my brothers are my heritage. We’ve figured out things so far. And my brothers will be here soon. Count on it.”

  Atticus gave him a weak smile. “We will see. You are the only one I want here.”

  “Why me?”

  Atticus clasped his hands behind his back and paced the width of the massive fireplace. He looked like a Southern general from the Civil War era contemplating his next strategic position. “Zane was my only son. I had a daughter, Tabitha. We are a patriarchal pack meaning Tabitha was a beta female. Neither she nor her offspring could take over leading the pack. When Zane left, it set the pack on edge. I am the alpha. When I die, there would be no one from my line to take over, to lead them, to protect us all.

  “But then I heard of a tiny pack of werewolves in northern Minnesota. I sent a few of my most respected hunters to investigate. I loved my son so much. He was my pride and joy. You talk about being cursed? He was cursed by the almighty power to be mated to that human.”

  Josiah growled. “That human is my mother. Be careful what you say, old man.”

  Atticus huffed. “They reported back to me. My beloved Zane was already dead, the victim of supposed cancer. However, he left behind seven sons. Seven alphas who could take my place as the leader of this pack. Yes, no one here is happy that their future alpha will be a half-breed. But for peace, they will accept it.” Atticus stopped his pacing and glared at Josiah. “I took the woman in my basement to lure you to me. I needed to get you here, to lead this pack. They need you to be their alpha. You belong here, Josiah.”

  “I belong with my brothers.”

  “They’ll do fine without you.”

  “So they aren’t getting your gracious invitation? I won’t find Eve, Meg, Henry, and Delilah in your little cage in the basement?”

  Atticus frowned. “I thought only four of you had mated?”

  “Sam managed to land himself two. I take it two men or two women mating is taboo here?”

  “It’s more common for werewolves of the same sex to mate than you think. They normally foster the young of families where the parents perish. We have some wonderfully large and happy foster families here. And they could be yours to lead.”

  Josiah bit his lower lip as he shoved his hands in his jeans pocket. It was a common trait of the Hallows. Even their mates did it when they were anxious. He chided them over it. Hallows should stand tall. They shouldn’t slouch like hoodlums.

  But right now, he needed the comfort of an old habit. He sighed. “And Sarah? How does she fit in all this?”

  “She doesn’t,” Atticus answered. “I won’t have our bloodline tainted further.”

  “She’s my mate. Eternal bond, remember?” Josiah turned and pulled up his T-shirt. He couldn’t feel it, but he stroked his fingers lovingly over the design etched into his back the best he could.

  “It won’t be pleasant, I know. But you must have a son to lead after you. I will find an alpha female worthy of you. You will be able to suppress the nausea after time, I’m sure.”

  “And Sarah? You didn’t answer my question.”

  Atticus just stared at him in silence as he stroked his beard.

  Josiah shook his head. “You can go fuck yourself. Sarah is mine. I am hers. I will protect her with my dying breath. No one, and I mean no one, including your band of furry degenerates, will come between us. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to return to my mate.”

  Josiah stormed out of the room toward the door of the basement. He was no longer tired. Instead, he was furious. The thought of living in such decadence, of leading those outside these walls, was appealing. He couldn’t deny it.

  But he wouldn’t do it without Sarah.

  As he threw open the door to the basement, he heard Atticus’s voice. “We shall see.”

  Josiah slammed the door behind him to silence his grandfather.

  Chapter Nine

  The next twenty-four hours of Josiah Hallow’s life was a perfect combination of nightmare and paradise. He didn’t leave the cage where Sarah was kept. They spent hours staring at each other, sometimes in silence, sometimes in small talk. He learned about her normal childhood with two working parents, a brother, a sister, a dog and cat and the white picket fence. She was her high school valedictorian. She went to church and Sunday school every Sunday. It was the perfect picture of Americana if he ever heard one.

  She was a wild child in college. She drank. She smoked weed. She slept in her boyfriend’s dorm room bed almost every night. That was until she caught him near banging another girl on the dance floor of the bar they liked to go to. It broke her heart. She straightened her ways, upped her grade point average, and graduated with honors. Then she took her first teaching job. Slowly she made her way to Bemidji. She joined the MMA gym there to keep in shape. Her coaches saw potential in her and prepped her for the cage. She didn’t know why. She hadn’t gotten one win yet but instead two concussions.

  She pried at him to tell his story. She asked questions about his childhood, his brothers, and his parents. She wanted to know what he did for a living. He managed to deflect each one. Every facet of his life returned to his origin. He was a werewolf. She called him a lunatic. Where else could they go from there?

  Little did she know that the noises that kept her awake the night before were hundreds just like him prowling outside her window, sniffing out the human flesh inside. They wanted it. They would have to kill him to get it.

  He studied her the entire time they talked. She was far beyond beautiful. Her clear, deep blue eyes sparkled with innocence. Her long blonde hair flowed like a waterfall past her shoulders and down her back. It was perfect to knot around his fist to draw her closer. Her curves were perfect for him. He had been such a lust-ravaged monster lately that he never took a good look at his mate. Her smile sent his heart pounding like a school kid with a crush. Her laugh was music. He wanted to fuck her senseless one moment and then pick her a bouquet of wildflowers the next. No woman had ever made him want to act more man than beast.

  Was this what love was? He’d never been in love before. He had no clue.

  They interrupted their conversation with long, slow pleasure. He feasted on her, his tongue exploring the soft, sweet, tender flesh that the bars allowed him to taste. She screamed his name over and over. Her cries drove him insane. He freed his cock to stroke himself. He forgot how many times he came. He just wished he was buried inside her when he did. At some point around sunset, she shoved his hand away and took control. For being inexperienced, she brought him to orgasm faster than he ever did in his entire life.

  Atticus sent someone down to him every other hour like clockwork to encourage him to come upstairs and to get something to eat. They enticed him with a hot shower and a warm bed. Josiah turned each time down as coldly as he could.

  At twilight, as the inhuman growls seeped through the cracks in the plaster around the windows, Sarah succumbed to sleep. It was the only time Josiah gave into the urge to let himself inside the jail. He took the key hung on the wall, slipped it into the lock, and turned until it clicked. He fought the urge to wake her up, to strip her bare, to give in to what they both wanted.

&nbs
p; Instead, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the cot. He pulled the covers over her and then tucked them securely around her. Once he laid a chaste kiss on her forehead, he slipped back outside and locked the door behind him.

  Then he slumped to the floor and returned his concentration to his body. He willed his cells to stay human. He didn’t know how he did it. His body waged war against him. It wanted to transform, to go feral and become the beast. His skin dampened with sweat. His muscles ached. His stomach churned violently. He swallowed hard over and over to keep the bile out of his throat. It would be so much easier to run upstairs, to join the pack, to roam the countryside.

  But he wouldn’t let any of those bastards near her. He took a deep breath and struggled to meditate instead.

  When the first rays of sunrise bathed the basement in a golden light, his body gave up. He caught Sarah’s confused gaze just before his eyelids grew heavy and he fell asleep on the cold concrete floor.

  He woke up out of a dead sleep to two pairs of hands jerking him to his feet. His knees buckled as he glanced around, confused. Sarah was on her feet with her hands gripped tight around the bars. He watched her body thrash as she shook them like a crazy woman.

  “What the fuck?” he mumbled groggily as he glared at Roman and Albanus.

  “Atticus wants your sorry ass at dinner. No is not an option. Tell your sweetheart goodbye.”

  Josiah struggled against their grip. “Fuck you.”

  “Stop acting like a big shit, you asshole. Atticus is giving you the world on a platter. Did you know we’re cousins? Tabitha was my mom. This whole place could be mine. Except she was the beta female and you sons of bitches were born to Atticus’s favorite child, his baby boy.” Roman pointed at Sarah. “And you would give it all up for that bitch? You’re insane. Come on. I don’t need the old man chewing my ass.”

  Josiah pulled free from Albanus and clamped his hand around Roman’s throat. He tightened his grip until he saw the concern in Roman’s eyes. “Never call her a bitch again. I will kill you. Don’t put it past me.”