C2

Mars Reed POV

"Not enough, nowhere near the end of it. You were running your mouth about my absolute beast of a core, growling about how tight my grip was and how much stamina my wolf had to keep you pinned down all night!"

All those filthy, raw confessions that I would never dare whisper while sober had spilled straight out of my mouth into the dark of that cabin.

I feel the blood rush straight to my throat, completely unable to listen to another word about the mess I made. "Listen, Grant, my body is broken. Can you get one of the enforcers to take me back to my sleeping quarters in the VTN ROOM now?"

Grant's jaw tightens, his golden alpha eyes shifting into a dark, frustrated stare. "You really think you are walking out of my den tonight?"

"Yes, I need to get out of here. I will track your scent tomorrow when the moon sets."

I just need to clear the fog out of my head before I completely lose my mind.

"No way in hell," Grant growls, a sudden flash of panic cutting through his usual calm pack leader routine. "You do not get to just drop that on me and bolt into the woods."

"Is there something else you want from me?"

Of course there is.

He shifts his weight under the thick wolf pelts, his fierce gaze locked onto my eyes before he deliberately forces my attention down toward his lap, where his heavy, thick length is straining fiercely against his leather pants, fully awake and waiting.

"Mars, you cannot leave your alpha hanging like this. It is cruel."

Cruel?

I am about ready to cross the Silverwood border and never come back.

"Goodnight, Grant."

I turn my back to head for the heavy oak door, but the sharp, agonizing hiss of his breath makes me stop dead in my tracks.

"Fuck... damn it."

I spin around instantly, my heart slamming against my ribs as I rush back to the edge of the mattress, checking his bandaged chest. "What happened? Did you tear the claw wounds open? Is the silver burn acting up again?"

I look up, only to find his lips curved into a smug, mocking grin.

"You bastard. You are an absolute rogue."

Grant's thick, scarred hand shoots out like a trap, locking tightly around my wrist, his expression turning completely serious as he pulls me down into his scent. "Mars, I am in pure agony here."

"Where does it hurt then?"

"Right down there. It is aching because you have my wolf completely locked up."

I tug against his grip, but I am terrified of tearing the stitches he got from protecting my pack territory. I hover over him, completely trapped in my own head. "Can you stop messing with me? Even if I stay right here, what can we even do?"

He can barely sit up straight without his ribs cracking, let alone take me like a wild animal.

"I cannot move my lower back, but you have two perfectly good legs to straddle me."

My eyes go wide at the sheer filth coming out of his mouth.

"Weren't you the exact same wolf who kept fighting to stay on top back at the Pacific Crest Resort?" Grant says, completely dropping the quiet, reserved pack leader act, his face free of any shame. "You kept growling that I was too massive, that you wanted to control the pace so you wouldn't break!"

"Stop, just shut up!" I bark, my skin burning hot. "My mind must have been poisoned by the silver that night."

"Just stay with me. Please."

Since I am still frozen, Grant plays the only card that can actually break me.

"Before you came back to Silverwood, I could just use my own hand in the woods to take care of the heat. Now, after I took a silver blade to the ribs to keep you alive, I am stuck flat on my back, useless, and my own mate wants to leave me to burn..."

My throat goes dry as I look at his wounded body. "But... Grant, I was completely out of my head on heat powder last time."

The thought of riding him while fully conscious and sober makes my wolf shiver with nerves.

"Then just pretend the heat has you tonight."

"How am I supposed to fake a wolf's heat?"

"Reach over and cut the lanterns. It will be dark. You won't have to see a thing."

Staring down at his thick, fully aroused length pressing hard against the leather, I wish I could turn back the clock and never mention the marks on his neck. I brought this entirely on myself.

Look at where my big mouth got me.

I am completely stuck.

"My legs are scraped up from the rogue chase too."

"We will go slow, Mars. We have the whole night ahead of us."

There is a way to shift our bodies into a position that works, and his golden eyes are locked onto mine like a predator that has tracked its prey to the edge of a cliff. He is acting like a starved beast tonight, completely different from the cold, chaste alpha he shows the rest of the pack, and he has no plan to let me leave this room.

Realizing there is no escape, I finally let out a hard breath and nod.

"Fine. I will... I will go turn off the lanterns."

"Good."

"Grant, if we do this... it isn't going to tear your chest wide open, right?"

"No. Just climb on and be gentle with me."

Across the territory in the heart of the Silverwood neutral grounds, Jessa Moore is tossing and turning on the heavy furs of the resort bed, completely unable to close her eyes.

Her mind keeps spinning over how she is supposed to deliver the news to Tyler Walker, who is currently sitting at the outer border gate waiting for his travel papers, completely desperate to get into the pack lands. It is going to be an absolute disaster when he rides in only to discover that Grant and Mars are completely fine and sharing a bed again. The rejection will ruin his pride.

After pacing the floor, Jessa forces her fingers to dial the border outpost line.

The line clicks open after a few long rings.

"I was just getting the young scouts ready for the midnight patrol when the line buzzed," Tyler's voice comes through, rough and impatient. "What is the update? Did the rogues get to Mars?"

"No, he is completely safe," Jessa says quietly, her mouth tightening as she feels the awkward weight of the secret. "Listen, Tyler, how far along are those travel permits?"

Tyler pauses, his sharp alpha senses clearly picking up the sudden shift in her tone. "The pack elders already signed off on the seals and the moon tracking photo is done. You knew that already, so why are you bringing it up now?"

"I just think... maybe you should hold off on riding into the valley. Mars is doing perfectly fine, and the rest of the Walker pack isn't giving him any trouble anymore."

Nothing but heavy silence comes through the line. Even though Tyler doesn't let out a growl, Jessa can practically feel the bitter anger rolling off him through the connection.

"Tyler, Mars told the council he will be returning to the outer pack lines in a month anyway. Save yourself the run through the mountains, alright? I am staying at the resort until his path is clear, and then I am tracking back home too."

Both of them know the truth. No rogue or lesser wolf would dare lift a claw against Mars now that Grant Walker has opened his eyes and reclaimed his position as the alpha of the territory.

It takes a long moment before Tyler's voice cuts back through, flat and cold. "Fine. I will stay at the border. Just make sure nothing touches him."

"I will."

Clicking the line shut, Jessa drops the phone onto the furs, a strange, heavy ache settling deep in her chest that she cannot seem to shake off.

She scrolls through her contacts, trying to find a pack member who can bring some strong moonshine up to her room to help dull her thoughts so she can sleep. But the northern pack dialect on the resort menu is completely foreign to her, and she doesn't know the local tongue well enough to navigate the halls. She is honestly worried she will walk into the wrong territory just trying to find the main hall downstairs.

An idea hits her. She slips her boots back on, yanking the heavy wooden door open and marching two doors down the stone corridor before slamming her fist against the wood.

The door swings inward, revealing a massive male wolf fresh from the stream wash, a look of pure irritation written across his sharp features.

"What do you want?"

Brooke Caldwell had just stepped away from the water basin, a loose white tunic hanging open across his broad chest, his dark hair still dripping wet when Jessa's heavy knocking nearly made him shift his claws out.

"I need a strong drink. Go down to the tavern hall and get me some."

"Do I look like a pack omega to you?" Brooke sneers. Nobody in the entire West Coast territory has the nerve to command the pack's top lawyer around except for the Alpha himself.

Jessa blinks, trying to make her eyes look soft and completely harmless. "I never said you were! Grant told you to keep an eye on me while we are on neutral ground, and I need some liquid heat to stop my mind from racing so I can actually sleep. I cannot go down there and face those foreign wolves alone, so you are my only option. You aren't going to leave a pack guest stranded, are you?"

"Watch me." Brooke growls, slamming the heavy wooden door straight in her face.

Jessa stands in the stone hallway, her claws practically itching from the insult. "Hey! Where did your pack manners go? No wonder you and Tyler match each other so well—both of you have the morality of a rogue wolf, pfft!"

She barely takes two steps away toward her own room when Brooke's door rattles open again. This time, he has pulled on a dark leather vest and proper trousers.

His jaw is set, looking completely done with her attitude. "I was putting my gear on. What, did you expect me to walk down to the pack guards wearing nothing but a washcloth?"

Jessa turns back, her chin held high.

"Next time, try waiting three seconds before you start howling your assumptions down the hall," Brooke says, his voice dangerously low as he steps closer. "You are far too quick to judge every wolf you look at."

Jessa stiffens her neck, refusing to back down from his glare. "Oh, so now you are going to lecture me on pack law? What about all those times you snarled at Mars without even checking the scent trails? You were the one who instantly decided Mars had stolen Tyler's rightful place by the Alpha's side!"