Alpha Rising

Chapter Forty

Nikolai’s P.O.V.

Honestly, I hadn’t been sure what to expect from Zachary’s announcement. I’d been prepared to step in and whisk Vira away from the situation, but I hadn’t fully expected the ease with which the younger crowd would fall in line. I suppose I had to count that in for the way Zachary ran his pack. 

But there were some older faces there too, and many who were just as concerned as one could imagine. Some were even downright nasty with their disgusted looks and snide comments to each other. I had to work hard to hold my tongue and my growls for my Mate’s sake. 

That had been nearly three days ago now, and we were packing up to return back to Star Garnet where my pack would also be receiving an announcement. My mother and Phillip had gone back immediately after the Black Opal pack run, on orders to deliver the information of Vira’s rank to Trevor and Trevor alone. I did not need this getting out of hand too quickly. 

Zachary had started with her training the very next day, but with us leaving, we would have to work out a training regimen that incorporated both of our packs, now. Goddess bless her, Alvira was clever enough to suggest a weekly basis. She would spend one week with Black Opal and train there, the following week Zachary would come up to Star Garnet and train her here, and the third week would be her week to learn Star Garnet’s pack from me. 

This was very much preferable to the original plan. From what I gathered during the initial talks, Beta Stephan had suggested that Vira spend every other week with their pack to train. But I think that even Zachary knew of the toll that would have taken on her relationship with me. 

“You’ll be safe?” Luna Katherine said, hugging her daughter tight and looking at me with a wary eye. I nodded silently and hoped that it would help calm some of her fears. “Do you want some of our runners to go with you? They could-”

“Mom,” Vira laughed, looking overly squished in the older woman’s tight embrace. “I promise. It’s just us two in the car this time. The guards went back with Irena.” She breathed in as her mother finally released her and looked brighter than I had ever seen her. 

The last time I’d taken her away from this pack, it had been nearly in tears with her true skills and her true power suppressed. Things were different now. Immensely so. 

“Still,” Zachary said, stepping up to shake my hand firmly with the respect that I still wasn’t sure I deserved. “I’ll have a sentinel see you to the border. No further.” 

“Thank you, Zachary,” I said honestly. I knew the pain that he must feel with this odd arrangement, and understood that this was more for their benefit than ours. “And you’ll bring up Alban when you come in a week?” I asked, hoping that he’d given more thought to my idea. 

“Of course,” Katherine answered for him. Zachary turned to look at his mate, who only winked at him in reply. Standing back behind the pair, I saw the pudgy face of a little boy poke out of the main door, followed by the pitter of his small feet on the pavement as he ran for Katherine’s legs. She nearly toppled over when he slammed into her legs and reached back to pet his chestnut hair. “Jacob,” she chided the young boy. 

Ah, so this was the youngest of the Lundine clan. From what I knew, he idolized his older sister, even though he wasn’t able to be around her all that much because of her combat training schedule. I knelt down until I was eye level with him and let my arms rest on my knees. “Do you want to come visit too, Jacob?” I asked. 

Jacob’s eyes widened, and even though he kept his mouth shut, he looked up at his parents with big expectant eyes. When they nodded, he beamed right up and shouted a strong and hearty “Yeah!” 

Vira scooped up the young child for a tight hug and kissed him on the cheek before handing him off to their mother. I was starting to see more and more of their family dynamic, and I wanted it all that much more. 

The two of us made our farewells and settled into the car for the drive back to Star Garnet. As we pulled out of the long driveway and rounded the corner out of the main gate, I caught Vira looking back and waving to her family. “Are you okay with the schedule?” I asked her a little hesitantly. 

Vira sighed and turned to face forward again, her arms crossed gently under her breasts. “Yeah,” she admitted. “I didn’t think that weekly travel would work that well,” she added. And I had to agree with her.

True, the drive between pack houses was only a few hours. But those hours felt like eons when you were separated from your mate for an extended period of time. Especially since the two of us had to wait to mark each other. From what I recalled, Alban would have to wait to mark his mate as well, what with the young man being a full year younger than himself. 

But now that I could mark my Vira, it was something that my wolf longed to do. We’d had s*x by now, on several occasions. But none were that true bonded experience that would tie us together as one. Her scent was stronger now that she was fully realized, and I could only imagine that mine was too, in her eyes. 

We’d been silent for some time, but the air was thick with unasked questions. “What’s on your mind?” Vira asked me after a while, once we could no longer see the runner that her father had escorting us. I had to assume that she could sense the tension in my grip and my jaw.

“Hm?” My eyes flicked over to her concerned face and I wanted nothing more than to take her in my arms and taste those plump lips again. But she’d asked a question, and I was stalling.  “What?”

“You’re distracted,” she said. Dammit, I was right. “I mean you’re usually quiet. But not this quiet.”

“Why do you think I’m quiet?” I didn’t quite want her to know that I’d been imagining how she would sound with my hand between her thighs as we drove, so I just pressed on with the conversation at hand. Maybe it would quell the growing arousal starting to strain at the fly of my jeans. “Trevor tells me that I never shut up.”

“Well that may be true for him, but you barely speak to me.” She huffed and shook her head, more outspoken now that I assumed she was more comfortable. But what she said next really hit me in my soul. “The Moon Goddess brought us together for a reason,” Vira continued. “I think you were originally fated to be with Amelie.”

I looked over at her, my brow scrunched with worry and my hands clenched on the steering wheel. I worried for her, I truly did. But I also feared what this new rank would do to us as a mated pair. The idea of the Elders forcing us to remain separate had crossed my mind, and the very thought of it damn near ripped my heart out. If she was right, and I was supposed to have been mated to her older sister, then that would mean our wolves were meant for greatness.

All at once, I realized that I was being quiet again and I let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry, Vira,” I said in earnest. “The past few years have been far from easy, as well you can imagine.”

“Then tell me about it,” she insisted, turning in the car seat just enough to draw her leg up and let that birthmark of hers slip into the sunlight. “I appreciate how involved you were with this past week,” Vira added. “But I want us to be able to actually learn more about each other.”

All I could do was nod. She was right. It was something that even my mother had told me, too. I was pushing her away without even trying to. “Alright,” I said, giving her a curt but meaningful nod of my head. “It will take me time,” I said, wanting to be wholly honest with her. “But I know that it’s important.” 

This seemed to brighten her right up, and Vira leaned over the center console of the car to kiss my cheek. It was like a fire rippled out from the spot. Our bond was stronger now, and I knew that with time, we would truly be the absolute ideal for one another. 

Though the car ride settled into a now more comfortable mutual silence, I let my eyes wander over her exposed thigh and felt the primal pull in my very core. She’d said something else, but my mind was filled with the scent of spiced vanilla so much so that my right hand found its way to her knee. “Vira?”

She didn’t tense under my touch. Instead, she moved her leg in such a way that let my fingers glide along the silky smooth warmth of her thigh. “Hm?” She asked, herself now very clearly distracted. 

I felt my breath coming in more ragged as a growl rumbled in my chest and my erection pulsed when I caught the scent of her arousal. “Did you still want to know why I was distracted?” I asked, my eyes dark and narrowed on hers while a grin played at the corner of my mouth. 

Her legs started to part, and I caught the rise and fall of her chest. My left hand gripped the wheel tight, and I looked out along the straight path north. These roads were never packed, but there would be the occasional passing car coming in the opposite direction. I knew I could be safe here. 

"Yes," she eventually responded, and I let a purr of approval roll in my throat. My right hand started to drift up along her inner thigh, the warmth of her arousal growing ever prominent until my fingers brushed against the thin material of her panties. Already, the wetness was growing, and I felt my erection ache in my jeans. 

"Are you sure?" I asked again, wanting to hear it come from her before I continued. 

Vira swallowed, her eyes starting to flutter shut before she looked over at me with flushed cheeks and nodded. "I am, Nikolai." 

My name on her lips was like an addiction I never wanted to quit, and now I was determined to have her screaming it on the ride back. "If you want to stop," I said low, my voice barely over a husky whisper. "All you have to do is tell me." When she nodded, I noticed that her hands were still curled up into fists and toying with her skirt. With a smirk, I glanced back at her face before turning my eyes back to the road. 

"Lift your shirt, dearest," I prompted, gently rubbing my fingers in a slow circle over the heated mound of her s*x. 

"What?" Vira questioned. 

"Lift your shirt." My words were shorter, paired with a slight growl that made her shudder. When she did as much I moved my fingers with more precision, teasing at the slick folds through her panties with a more deliberate line. 

She lifted her shirt up to her neck, and I was suddenly blessed with the knowledge that she had not been wearing a bra this whole time. Goddess bless those tops with built-in bras. "Good," I encouraged her, hooking my finger on the edge of her panties and tugging the material to the side just enough for me to be able to touch her proper now. 

"I can't play with them while I drive," I admitted, thrumming my fingers over the sensitive nub that I felt at the apex of her s*x. "But you can." I punctuated the suggestion with a teasing probe between slick folds, only to withdraw much to her chagrin. I felt her hips rise and follow my touch. But I wasn't going to give it just yet. 

If I had to be tortured through this drive, then I would make sure that she was riled up and wanting this just as much. I didn't start with my ministrations again until I saw her reach up and cup her breasts. They were full and spilled partly out of her hands as she squeezed them and kneaded them. Not to be outdone, I let two of my fingers slip into her and bit my lip at the sensation. 

Vira's voice hummed and shifted into a pleased coo, and I felt her hips roll against my hand. "Good girl," I said, my cheeks hot with desire as I stole a glance over at my mate in the seat beside me. "Keep going, dearest," I added, slowly drawing my fingers in and out of her to a steady rhythm ad she rocked her hips more. She pinched and tugged at her breasts, tweaking her n*****s as her head fell to one side so she could look at me. 

"Nikolai," She said, her hot breath a whine of need that I yearned to hear again. Vira rocked her hips harder in tighter circles as I pumped my fingers harder. I wanted to pull over right then and take her in the woods, but I knew I'd be tempted to mark her. And I wanted to do that in the bed that we would share for the rest of time. 

"Yes?" I asked, my own breath coming shorter now as the scent of her arousal filled the car with every movement she made. "Say my name again, Vira."

"N-" her words curled into a moan, and I felt her clench around me. She was close, and that thrilled me even more. "Nikolai," she repeated. 

The growl in my throat let my pleasure show, and I knew that she could feel it. Her skin was hot to the touch, and her thighs were starting to shudder with every movement. "Are you close?" I asked, not letting up once. 

Vira nodded, her thick and muscular thighs trembling even more now as I felt her clench tighter around my fingers. I slid a third into her, and she moaned my name out again. "Good," I said, a soft moan on my lips as I felt my c**k strain harder in its constraints. "I want you to," I said. Her wetness made the motions easy, and I let my thumb flick over her sensitive nub in small circles. "Come for me, dearest," I said.

And that she did. Vira's legs tensed, and her hips froze. She tensed and pulsed around me, and I was imagining that her walls were milking my c**k of all the seed I could fill her with. It was making me ache, and I groaned in pleasure as I saw her flushed and exposed body start to roll back to motion as the orgasm started to fade. 

I felt Vira's hand on my wrist and was momentarily panicked that I'd gone too far. But that fear was assuaged when she instead drew my fingers to her mouth and licked them clean of her juices. She sucked them and looked over at me with a fierce glint in her eyes that I had a very good feeling about. 

She stole a kiss from me when we hit another straightaway before her hands roamed lower to the button of my jeans. "Your turn," she whispered as she let my erection spring into the open air. It wouldn't take much, I knew. But I didn't care. 

This was the best road trip of my life.