Cameron let out a low moan of satisfaction as she took my full length. Slipping my arms under her knees, I shifted her to get a better angle. My wolf demanded I move faster, harder, and finally make her mine. Cameron dug her nails into my shoulders, urging me on.
Pressing my forehead to hers, I stared into her eyes as I rocked against her. She was warm, wet, soft. This woman was my home. The world around us faded in our frenzy. The sun could have burst outside, and I doubt we’d have noticed. We were too enthralled with each other.
A faint sheen of sweat coated my neck and arms as I fucked her. Cameron’s breathing changed, becoming more erratic. Her eyes, still locked on mine, had taken on an unfocused, half-lidded look as she drew nearer to orgasm. Pleasure flooded through me. I was close. So fucking close.
“I’m going to bite you,” I said, still thrusting into her. “It’ll only hurt for a second.”
“Take me, Nate. Make me yours.”
Hearing her say the very thing I’d dreamed of sent me over the edge. Uttering a muffled cry of release as I came, I sank my teeth into the soft flesh where her shoulder met her neck. Cameron stiffened beneath me, letting out a cry of pained surprise that morphed into a scream of ecstasy. Her pussy clenched around me as she came.
Fully spent and satiated, I pulled my lips away from her neck. Her shifter healing was already going to work, but the mark ofmy teeth on her elated me. Joy, pride, comfort, and awe rushed through me.
Cameron wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of saying that or hearing her say it to me.
“Okay,” Cameron said after she’d cleaned up and pulled on her pants. “What were we doing?”
“I was going to walk you to the subway,” I said.
“Oh. Right. Sorry,” Cameron said. “Some sexy guy just fucked my brains out on the kitchen counter, and I forgot.”
“Let’s go,” I said with a chuckle, and led her to the door.
Whenever I wasn’t out on a mission for JC, I walked her to the subway. My new job for the pack didn’t have me on the road as much as my old job, but I hated being away from her for more than a few hours.
Outside, the air was cold, though not bitterly so yet. It was nearing Halloween, and the neighborhood was decked out in skeletons, witches, and black and orange décor. It would be the first holiday season I’d had a family, and a heavy knot formed in my chest.
Over the last couple of months, I’d thought more and more about my parents. JC had found an old photo album from when my uncle was alpha, and I now had photos of them. My favorite was one of me as a baby, cradled in my mother’s arms, my father grinning at her side. Even now, it was hard to comprehend the fact that I’d had loving parents who cared for me. Almost every night, I said a silent apology to them for all the awful things I’d thought about them over the years. Wherever they were now, I knew they probably understood, but that didn’t change the shame I still felt.
“How were things down in Ottawa?” Cameron asked as we crossed the street, hand in hand.
“We got it sorted out,” I said. “The guy Ollie knew put me in contact with the shifter we needed. The Russian mafia is trying to move into one of the poorer areas. The guys are humans, but the neighborhood has a lot of shifters. One of the guys they’d initially hired as muscle wanted to flip and got to the cops, but…” I shrugged. “He wasn’t the mostlaw-abidingshifter in JC’s pack. He was worried the police might screw him over. That, or JC might kick him out because of his crimes. Once I talked to him, I managed to convince him that JC was more worried about the thugs moving in than some random shifter doing petty crime.”
“Sounds intense,” Cameron said. “Is it always like that?”
“Not always,” I said. “Sometimes it’s simple stuff.”
I’d more or less taken a role as a go-betweenfor JC and pack members. Lots of folks didn’t trust the human police and pack laws in general. I went in when people needed someone they could talk to and iron things out. My reputation had spread since being accepted into the pack. I still freelanced for other packs, and that work had picked up since shifters could now move between packs.
The Toronto-Ottawa pack held more political sway than I’d realized. Everyone and their brother were tripping over themselves to enact new laws and repeal old ones to mimic what JC had done. From the looks of it, most people had been ready for change. JC had simply tipped the first domino over.
There would be some bigoted holdouts. Packs around the world who were less accepting and more likely to resist. That wouldn’t last long. As new generations came up and realized how backward and pointless the laws were, all the packs would be pressured to change.
The execution of ferals had also been halted. Now the packs were attempting to capture ferals and actively working on experimental rehabilitation therapies. It was surreal.
As we walked down the steps to the subway car, I patted Cameron on the butt. “Have a good day,” I said.
“You too,” she replied, giving me another kiss. “What’s on your schedule today?”
“Ollie messaged me late last night. Asked if I could stop by. I’ll head that way in a few hours.”
“Sounds boring.” She stepped into the train car. “See you tonight. I love you,” she called as the doors slid closed.
“Love you, too!”
Back home, I did the dishes, then folded the laundry. Doing all these domestic duties was still weird, but in a good way. My good mood soured slightly. I hadn’t told Cameron exactlywhyOllie wanted me to come by. He was fairly certain he’d found a lead on her father. Cameron’s hope of finding her father had faded over the last two months, and I didn’t want to get her hopes back up unless it was a legitimate lead.