- Home
- Catherine Banks
Royally Enraged: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (Her Royal Harem Book 4) Page 4
Royally Enraged: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (Her Royal Harem Book 4) Read online
Page 4
Leona sat with Thor beside her, their heads close together, and adorable smirks on their faces. They were an adorable couple. Now that they were officially dating, Thor had been at our house almost every night.
“What’s the plan for today?” I asked as I sat.
“I’m hiding at the house today,” Nico said, sitting on my right. “I need some decompression time.”
“Actually, I was hoping you would come with me today,” Thor said as he faced me.
“Me?” I asked, looking at Leona who was piling her plate with food.
“I’m going to visit my pack with Martin. We thought you might want to go with us,” Thor said.
“Your pack!” I screeched, excitement coursing through me. “I haven’t seen them in years!”
“I’m coming, if you go,” Deryn said.
“She’s not in any danger with my pack,” Thor said and I could tell he was holding back an eye roll.
“I didn’t suggest she would be. I just want to meet your alpha and talk to some of the wolves there,” Deryn explained.
“Trying to find out if I’m hiding secrets?” I asked.
He kissed my cheek and took the seat on my left. “No, gorgeous. I just want to find out more about the pack and your involvement.”
Thor and I exchanged a look that let me know I wasn’t the only one not buying it. Whatever his reason, I had nothing to hide.
“I’m sure Alpha would love to meet you. He’d always said he’d love to meet whoever could handle me as a mate,” I said.
Thor chuckled and began filling his plate.
“When are you going?” Deryn asked.
“In about three hours,” Thor answered. “Martin is finishing up some work and then he’ll swing by to pick us up.”
“Sounds great!” I said.
After eating, I went to Fox’s room and lay with him on the floor. He gently stroked his fingertips up and down my arm, his eyes focused on the ceiling above us, and his thoughts somewhere unknown.
“What’s up?” I asked him. “You’re rarely quiet and so serious.”
“Just thinking about your dreams,” he whispered.
I rolled onto my side and rested my head on his chest, wrapping my arms around his torso. “I won’t let it come true,” I whispered.
He kissed the top of my head and whispered, “As long as you are safe, that’s all that matters.”
“No. I don’t…can’t live without you. I need you all,” I said, tightening my grip.
“We’re working on making ourselves stronger. You should summon your new friends soon. So you can work out whatever deals you may need before a time of crisis,” Fox said.
He was referring to the two magical tattoos now on my forearms. One was of a fox, a kitsune to be exact, named Nar. The second was of a unicorn and had been given to me by my mother.
“I’ll do that this weekend,” I promised.
“I love you, Jolie. I love you more than I thought was possible to love someone. Nico’s father dying reminded us that we aren’t invincible. And, that we must be as strong as possible to keep you safe. We’ve almost lost you a couple of times, and I won’t let it happen again. When I see Justina, I’m going to tear out her heart and shove it down her throat.”
Fox’s eyes were bright with power and his body was tight, coiled for a fight. I had never heard him say such threatening things before. I was shocked and sadly, smug that it was because of me.
“When you didn’t remember us at Atlantis, I was furious. It hurt so much to have you look at us like strangers again, to not see the love you usually show when you look at us. Plus, you had shut down our bonds so tightly I couldn’t feel you. It was terrible.”
I squeezed him. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve caused you a lot of trouble since we met.”
He chuckled. “That’s an understatement. But, the thing is, I wouldn’t trade a moment of it. Having you in my life is worth any amount of trouble you might bring.”
“You’re so sweet,” I whispered, leaned up, and kissed him.
“How long until you have to go?” he asked and kissed me again, his hand roaming up my side.
“We have at least an hour,” I said in a breathy voice, my lower body already warming in anticipation.
He sighed. “Only an hour? I shall have to make it a worthy hour then.”
He flipped us over and with me pinned beneath him, he kissed me deeply, pressing his lower body into mine and making me all too aware how happy he was to be there. When we had mated, it had been incredibly passionate and when the bond snapped into place, it was bordering on overwhelming. Ever since the mating, sex between us had been incredible. Not to say that it was in anyway unenjoyable before, but Fox was usually more sensual than sexual overall. Lately our love making had been so intensely passionate, my mind refused to process that this was the same man. Fox undressed me slowly, sensually, but with a feverish need edging into each of his motions. He kissed along each piece of skin as he exposed it, licking and teasing my naked body as he stripped me down. As he came to my pert nipple, he flicked his tongue over it teasingly then took it into his mouth and sucked hard on the sensitive peak. I moaned and arched up into his skilled touch.
“Are you too worked up for this much foreplay?” He asked as he slid two fingers deep inside of me, his eyes widening when he felt how very wet I already was.
“Yes,” I whispered, arching as his fingers began to slide out of me.
“Damn, baby, you are supposed to tell us when you are this wet and ready.”
He stood in one smooth motion, making me reach for him and start to beg him to come back to the bed. I lost all my words as his shirt fell to the floor and his upper body was revealed. As his hands went to the top button of his pants I slid my fingers down my body and began touching myself while he undressed. His eyes tracked my movements and I watched his body spasm against his still closed zipper. I continued to work that oh so sensitive nub while his pants fell to the floor next to his shirt. He was suddenly on top of me, kissing down my throat and collarbone.
I kept working that sweet spot at the top of my center even as he slid his erection within me. He filled me and stretched me and made my body spasm around him with that initial thrust. One thrust, two, three, and he found a rhythm. We both moaned at the same time. I could feel the orgasm building both from where my fingers still teased my body and the deep strokes of Fox as he pushed in and out of me.
“Damn, Jolie! You haven’t been this wet in a long time.” He began to thrust into me harder and faster and the orgasm broke over me in a wave of dizzying heat and release. And still he pushed into me. As the orgasm subsided I tapped him on the shoulder with a devious smile. He pulled out slowly and rolled to his back beside me, still rock hard and waiting for his own release.
I rolled to my knees and kissed him deeply, then straddled his hips and lowered myself over him, blissfully enjoying each inch as his body was sheathed inside mine. I began to rotate my hips in a slow rise and fall. It only took him a bare minute to catch the rhythm of my hips and match it with his own slow and even strokes. I knew he was close and so was I but I wanted to make the moment last, as we only had an hour to enjoy one another’s company. I leaned back until he almost slipped out of me, then rode forward across his body and rocked my hips back and forth over his shaft while I kissed him deeply.
“Now. Please, Fox. Now. I’m so close.”
“Me too, Jolie.”
I felt his hips arc into me as I rode his body down and suddenly we were both crashing over that glimmering edge. I fell forward into his arms and we both lay there, panting as we tried to catch our breath and find feeling in our limbs again. It may have been a short hour but we were both sated.
Chapter 4
Jolie
I sat in the front passenger seat while Martin drove. Deryn and Thor sat in the back seats, talking quietly, too quietly for me to hear.
“Are you excited?” Martin asked.
I nodded, thinking about Abraham, the alpha
. “I haven’t seen Abraham since I moved out of my dad’s, er, step-dad’s house.”
“He’s always asking about you.”
“He was such a great alpha,” I said. “I am lucky to have been part of your pack.”
“You like him better than my dad?” Deryn asked.
I spun and stared at him. “What? I didn’t say that.”
“You talk about him in an almost reverent tone,” he said.
“He was my first alpha and he treated me like one of them,” I said. “He made me feel wanted when I was unwanted at home.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Deryn pointed out.
“I don’t like one more than the other. I like them differently,” I said.
“How?” Deryn asked.
“Abraham was like my cool uncle. Dan is like the father I always wanted,” I said. “Not sure if that makes sense.”
Deryn nodded and relaxed back in his seat. “Yeah, it makes sense.”
I was glad, because I didn’t really want to discuss it anymore. It wasn’t fair to ask who I liked more. That was like asking a parent who their favorite child was. Or asking the child who their favorite parent was. Or asking who my favorite mate was.
We entered the pack’s compound and people rushed out of their houses to come see us. There were many I had never seen before, but so many I knew were still there.
I climbed out of the SUV and was immediately inundated with hugs and cheek kisses. I was in the middle of a group of girls I’d known in high school when Abraham stopped before me.
I turned to face him fully and smiled up at him. “Alpha,” I whispered and bowed my head respectfully.
He tilted my face up and tapped the bloodstones. “Mated?”
“She is,” Deryn said.
All eyes turned to him. Deryn stood a bit away from us, his posture relaxed, but his eyes hard as he focused on Abraham.
Abraham turned to face him and asked, “You’re one of her mates?”
Deryn nodded. “I am.”
“I suppose he might be alpha enough for you,” Abraham said. “Though, I always rooted for Ezio.”
Deryn’s lip twitched as he held back a snarl.
“Alpha,” I said in a reprimanding tone.
Abraham turned and embraced me. “I’ve missed you, child.”
I hugged him back and rubbed my face on his shirt, a habit I still couldn’t break. “I missed you, too.”
He pushed me back and turned to face Deryn. “You came to speak with me?”
Deryn nodded. “Privately, please.”
“This way,” Abraham said and waved Deryn towards his house. Deryn turned towards me and opened his mouth, but Abraham cut him off. “She’s safer here than with any other pack. This is her pack.”
Deryn scowled. “She’s not—”
“She’s ours,” Molly, a shorter female werewolf with a shaved head said and wrapped her arm around my waist. “None here would harm her.”
“Come on, let’s go hunt!” Linus called and several shouted in approval.
“No,” Deryn growled. His growl and word were laced with command and it caused everyone to still. “I won’t allow her to hunt with you.”
I scowled. “Deryn, I hunted with them for years.”
“You know we wouldn’t let anything happen to her,” Thor said and walked to stand behind me with Martin on his right.
“I can’t risk it. Jolie, please stay within the compound,” Deryn ordered. He turned and walked into the house without another word.
“What the hell was that about?” I asked Thor, looking up at him.
He was scowling and looking at the house Deryn had gone in to. “I don’t know.”
“Well, if we can’t hunt, let’s play!” Linus said, not missing a beat.
I walked to Linus, hugged him, and then slapped his arm and yelled, “You’re it!” as I ran away.
The pack scattered, some turning into wolves while most stayed human. The pack ran about the compound, swerving around buildings and dodging the person who was it. With over fifty people, the game became a squealing and laugher-filled event. Not once did someone get mad or growl about being tagged. That was one of the biggest reasons I loved this pack. Everyone got along. Abraham created a sense of belonging, and we all genuinely enjoyed being around each other. Sure, there were bumps in the road or drama, but they were rare occurrences.
I ducked out of Linus’s reach as he tried to tag me, laughing as he chased me around a building. I ran into Deryn, and Linus ran into me.
Linus staggered back, his head bowed. “Sorry.” I could smell the fear wafting around him.
I grabbed Linus and tugged him around Deryn. “Hurry!” I yelled.
Linus ran after me and Deryn stared at me with a scowl.
“Deryn’s it!” I yelled, finally releasing Linus’s hand now that he was away from Deryn and the scent of his fear was gone.
Deryn exhaled, letting his head drop forward a moment, and then he raised it with a full smile in place and raced after me.
I screamed and dodged around Linus and then Thor who was closest. Deryn tagged Thor. “Thor’s it!” he yelled.
Thor chuckled and ran after one of the other pack members who was closest. He chased after a toddler, but then swerved around the toddler to tag an adult. We liked the kids to be involved, but tried not to make them the targets so they could just enjoy the chase.
Deryn slid his hands around my waist and pulled me back roughly against the front of his body, stopping me from running. “You look so beautiful right now,” he whispered. “Seeing you with your face lit up with a smile and enjoying yourself with wolves is a definite turn on.”
I pushed away from him and kissed his cheek. “You can be turned on later. I can’t lose!”
Martin raced towards me, and I ran away from him. A big grey wolf stepped out in front of me, and I tripped over him, landing on my butt next to him.
He growled a moment and then nuzzled my cheek.
“Sorry,” I whispered and rubbed at my sore butt as I stood.
The wolf shifted, and I immediately threw my arms around the old man. He’d become fully grey while I was away, but there was no doubt that it was Peter, the second-in-command of the pack.
“Peter!” I squealed as I hugged him.
He hugged me back and chuckled. “Hello, troublesome human.”
“I’m not human,” I said when we separated.
He winked. “You’ll always be the troublesome human girl I chased out of my gardens.”
Deryn had stopped, standing several feet away from us.
“Peter, meet one of my mates, Deryn. Deryn, this is the second of the pack, Peter.”
Deryn stepped forward and shook hands with Peter. “Nice to meet you.”
Peter bowed his head. “Nice to meet you, too. I hope Jolie’s not too much trouble for you.”
“She’s definitely a handful,” Deryn said with a smirk, and draped his arm around my shoulders.
“That she is,” Peter agreed and chuckled at my frown.
“So, you came to learn a bit more about Jolie’s past with us?” Peter asked.
Deryn nodded. “Yes.”
“She’s quite a girl,” Peter said, making me blush. “Take care of her, understand? I don’t want to hear anymore sad news related to her.”
Peter pinched the tip of my nose, smiled, and then shifted back into wolf form and trotted away.
“They really love you here,” Deryn said.
“Are you surprised?” I asked, looking up at him.
He smirked. “No, but it is shocking to see a werewolf pack so readily accept a non-werewolf into it.”
“It surprised me when I was younger, too,” I admitted. I pulled Deryn to a nearby porch and sat on it with my legs dangling over the edge. “The first time Martin brought me to meet everyone, I was terrified. I thought they were going to eat me. I mean, I knew many of them from school, but I didn’t know what they would be like here. As soon as Marti
n introduced me to Abraham, he pulled me into a hug, kissed the top of my head, and told me I was always welcome to come. I cried a bit, but honestly, they saved me. I was so broken from the vampire father who raised me and abused me, I’m not sure what type of person I would have turned out to be if Abraham hadn’t brought me into the pack.”
“He told me a bit about how you were in the beginning,” Deryn said. “I’m sorry you had to endure so much as a child.”
I kicked my legs back and forth and smiled. “It’s okay. It made me who I am and whatever the path, it led me to you.”
He bent and kissed me. “I love you, Jolie.”
“I love you, too. But, I don’t understand why you wouldn’t let me go hunt,” I said.
He sighed. “I didn’t want you to go off somewhere and possibly get into danger while I was talking with Abraham.”
“Thor and Martin would protect me,” I reminded him.
“Yes, but it’s not their job,” he said.
“As my friends, it is,” I countered.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be a rude jerk earlier.”
“Can we go hunt now?” I asked. “Since you outrank them all, you should be fine hunting with them, right?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Hunt!” I yelled and jumped down from the porch.
Several people yelled and others howled, and within a minute, most of the pack was waiting before me.
“Hunt!” I yelled again.
Deryn shifted, and I climbed onto his back. “Martin, lead the way!” I said.
Martin, and the rest who weren’t already in wolf form shifted, and then Martin howled. Everyone, including Deryn, howled in response and the hairs on my arms stood up. Martin ran towards the trees and Deryn followed. Thor ran on our right, and I smiled over at him. He let his tongue loll out the side of his mouth as he ran, and yipped happily.
Into the trees we ran, and I hunkered down on Deryn’s back, gripping his furred neck and holding on with my legs. He ran in the center of the pack, letting others take charge of the hunt.
There was some yipping, and then I saw the herd of deer ahead. Deryn slowed a bit more, letting more of the pack race past him to take the deer down. The first deer was taken down, and Deryn slowed to a stop.