The Midnight Foxxx

Chapter 4

MADDOX

Blue eyes look into mine, half lidded. Blonde hair cascades down over slender shoulders like ribbons of sunshine. Her lips curl into a teasing smile and can’t help but smile back at her before leaning down for a kiss.

“Maddie…,” She murmurs softly against my lips. I resist the urge to recoil at the nickname that I hate. Not wanting to sour the mood I decide not to chide her for using it.

“Yeah babe?” I mumble between kisses.

“Claim me,” she murmurs, “I want to do it now, we’ve waited long enough.”

“Yeah? You ready to be mine?” I kiss down her neck, nipping at her pulse point, earning a quiet gasp. Imogen nods her head eagerly before tipping her head to the side, baring her throat. Blood rises to the surface as I suck a mark into the base of her neck, right over the marking site. Sharp canines nip and tease at the slowly forming bruise before moving down to the collar bone. Imogen shivers under my attention, a moan slipping past her lips as I pull a n****e into my mouth.

“Hurry,” she gasps. A growl rumbles deep in my chest, a warning to be patient. Annoyance flashes across her face, barely perceptible.

“What’s the rush Immy?” Blue eyes avoid mine.

“Just tired of waiting,” she says plainly, still looking away from me. Something feels off, though I can’t seem to put my finger on what. When she finally makes eye contact again, I continue, giving attention to the other n****e while lining myself up to her entrance. The slide in is easy and warm, still wet from cumming on my tongue only minutes ago. Imogen sighs in relief once I’m fully sheathed inside her, soft walls tight and warm around my length. The pace starts slow and languid, each stroke calculated and aimed right for her g spot. Her eyes are blown wide with lust, the blue a barely visible ring around dilated pupils.

“Harder,” she begs, tightening her grip on my shoulders. A pleased rumble vibrates deep in my chest before building up speed, thrusts becoming harder with added force behind them. Moans fill the bedroom, nails dig into my back, blue eyes gaze up at me pleadingly. She cries out loudly when my thumb finds her clit, rubbing rhythmically. Sounds of pleasure turn to desperate gasps, her insides start clenching around me. She’s close. Venom floods my mouth, canines elongate, ready to claim. Skin quivers under my fangs as they graze across the soft flesh. I start to clamp down onto the presented throat, ready to claim my chosen mate.

My jaw locks just before breaking skin. A snarl echos through my skull, furious and vicious. I try biting down again, jaw muscles trembling from the strain. My wolf snarls again, louder, as he stalks forward from the recesses of my mind, rage palpable. I growl back and put everything I have into my mandible, but he continues to fight me, refusing to claim Imogen.

“Maddie?” She calls to me softly.

Shit, s**t, s**t.

“Immy, I...,” f**k, how do I tell her my wolf rejects her?

“Claim me,” she begs breathlessly.

“I, I… s**t,” My mind is reeling. My girlfriend of five years, my chosen after never finding my fated, and my wolf suddenly doesn’t want her. Not just dislikes the idea, but absolutely abhors it. Willing to seize all control of our shared bodily form to stop it from happening.

“Alpha,” my saving grace calls from the other side of the bedroom door.

“What,” I snap, with no real heat behind it, really only wanting the women under me to think I’m annoyed at the interruption.

“Hate to interrupt but I have something we need to discuss,” Asher responds. Chancing a glance back down, I’m met with furious blue eyes looking ready for murder.

“I’m sorry, can we continue this another time? I’ll take you out to dinner and everything, make a special night of it,” I plead though my wolf grumbles at the idea. Imogen huffs before sitting up, practically throwing me off her and starts collecting her discarded clothes off the floor. She thrusts her clothes back on before turning back to me, glaring daggers.

“You better make it up to me,” and she storms out of the room, shoving a confused Asher out of her way.

“Uh, what was that?” My Beta asks, pointing his thumb over his shoulder towards the raging female. I dig the heels of my palms into my eyes and groan, “Close the f*****g door.” The door shuts with a resounding click and Asher crosses his arms, blue eyes looking at me expectantly. I take a deep breath.

“I couldn’t claim her,” it rushes out in a single breath. The Beta’s brows scrunch together in confusion. “You couldn’t…? Wait, what?”

“She asked me to finally claim her, and I couldn’t f*****g do it,” frustration starts festering into anger.

“Why the f**k not? No wonder she’s pissed!” Asher scoffs.

“My wolf won’t let me. He rejects her as our chosen mate,” My green eyes meet blue ones.

“Did you tell her?” He finally asks.

“No, I didn’t know how,” I seethe, mad at no one in particular but the situation as a whole. “What the hell am I suppose to do?”

“First of all, you have to tell her,” he says matter of factly.

“No s**t,” I growl. Fully done with this unhelpful conversation, I change the subject. “What the f**k did you want to talk to me about?”

The blonde takes the hint, pivoting easily without skipping a beat, “Remember those case files I brought to you a couple weeks ago?”

“The dead rogues? Yeah, why?” My brows furrow.

“It happened again last night… there were two this time,” Asher remains stoic as ever, but I can feel his unease.

“s**t,” I curse under my breath, “Is there at least any new information?” His expression falls from its neutral position. “Nothing groundbreaking, Zane was able to pick up on traces of magic at the crime scene.”

“Well, that at least confirms our magic theory,” I sigh, running fingers through my hair, pushing dark brown strands out of my face.

The blonde hums in agreement, “Zane is looking into known witches and warlocks in the area, local covens, things like that.”

I nod in approval, “Let me know if he finds anything.” Zane turns and starts to leave but stops in the door way.

“A few of us are going out later tonight, to a popular new night club a few cities over. Maybe you should join us? Get out, clear your head?” The worry in Asher’s voice does not go unnoticed.

“Thanks,” I smile, however small, “but I think I’ll pass this time around.” Blonde curls bounce as Asher’s nods in understanding and leaves, closing the door behind him. Once the door clicks shut it, the walls feel as though they’re closing in. Frustration starts to build, buzzing under my skin like a beehive. My wolf has been infuriatingly quiet since his outburst with Imogen. I prod at him, willing him to give me answers, but he remains silent. The palpable anger from before starts to rear its ugly head, but something lies hidden underneath the rage, something I hadn’t noticed initially. Hurt and sadness, but the cause remains hidden, locked away deep in the recesses of our cohabited consciousness.

What do you know that I don’t? The internal inquiry goes unanswered except for a pained and mournful whine. I sigh but decide to leave the issue be for now and heave myself out of bed. Discarded clothes litter the floor and decide on just pulling on the pair of sweatpants, leaving the rest to be dealt with later. The hardwood floor is startlingly cold on my feet as I step out of the master suite. Excited muffled voices chatter away downstairs as everyone gets ready to leave for their night out. The voices get quieter as I make my way to the office, then completely dissipate once the door closes.

An unfamiliar folder sits on my desk, unassuming and plain. I’m certain it wasn’t there earlier today. I plop down into the rolling chair nestled behind the desk, the force pushing the seat back a couple inches. Flipping the folder open, I’m immediately met with gruesome photos of dead bodies. The report for the latest homicide. Asher must have left it here for me before he left. A quick skim through the files confirms Asher’s earlier statement of nothing new or useful, except our informant's claim of traces of magic which wouldn’t be in these documents. Humans are oblivious to magic and anything supernatural.

I toss the file aside with a growl, frustrated and stressed. The force knocks some documents onto the floor. A loud thud catches my attention, convincing me pick up the mess, rather than leave it for later. The supernatural encyclopedia lies under a mess of paper, having been buried, lost, and forgotten on my disorganized desk. It landed face up, splayed opened to the bookmarked page depicting the subspecies of shifters. As I reach for the book my eyes catch on a specific line of text I had missed weeks before.

‘Unlike their wolf counterpart, coyote, fox, and dog shifters have the ability to wield magic, however limited.’

My brows furrow as I absorb the new information. So rare now a days not much is known about fox and coyote shifters, and dogs were declared extinct hundreds of years ago after being so heavily enslaved and domesticated by humans they lost the ability to shift back to their human form.

I pick up the book, keeping the same page bookmarked before closing it. Though not convinced it’s the answer, I find it to be an interesting new piece of information.