Claimed by the Grizzly (6 page)

She turned her head, seeking his mouth and meeting his hunger with her own. This was heaven. This was how she wanted to wake every day for the rest of her life, wrapped in her mate. She groaned as he plucked her nipples with his other hand, teasing the points into hard nubs that strained for his lips. She craved his touch over every inch of her body, desired his lips and hands, the brush of his hair along her skin.

Koby broke the kiss and nuzzled her neck up to her ear where he licked and nipped the lobe between his teeth.

“Roll over onto your knees, baby,” he said with a growl that sent shivers racing along her skin.

He moved with her, managing to keep his cock buried as they turned on the bed. He pressed one big hand between her shoulder blades, urging her to lower her chest to the mattress while lifting her ass higher. He gripped her hips, holding her just how he wanted, and with a low, greedy moan, he began fucking her, shafting deep and hard. She’d told him last night how much she liked this position, how she loved the depth his cock reached inside her.

She clawed the sheet with one hand, slipping the other down to rub her clit, reaching for that first orgasm. She heard his chest rumble, knew he could feel her pleasure mounting through the link they’d begun forming. Their connection ramped up the pleasure even more. She knew how much he enjoyed the snug grip of her pussy, knew just when to contract her sheath around his pistoning cock to satisfy his lust. He knew when she wanted him to speed up or slow down, to be harder or softer, without her saying a word.

“I can feel you fluttering around me, baby. Come,” Koby ordered gruffly. “Let me feel you choke my cock with your pleasure.”

She thrashed her head back and forth on the bed, holding it back just a little longer to make it all the better when she gave in. She felt it building. Her nipples stabbed at the twisted sheets beneath them, the material teasing the hard points with soft abrasions. Her finger circled, rubbing faster around her clit.

“Stop holding back,” Koby commanded, and his hand smacked over her ass cheek.

There was a burn, and she knew her skin would bear his print. She liked that thought, but it was the pleasure that raced around to lick at her clit that had her exploding into orgasm.

He rode her hard as she came, his cock surging through her juices as he worked toward his release. She gripped the bed tight, braced her knees and rocked back into each thrust, wanting him with her. He came with a roar, hips flexed, cock buried so deep he’d lifted her knees off the mattress. She felt each hot spurt of cream filling her womb and squeezed her channel around him, eager to milk every drop from his cock.

She swore she felt something, a warmth far different from his seed, one that made her wonder if they’d just created a new life. She remembered her mother saying she’d felt it every time one of her children had been created, a warmth in her womb that never really faded. Only time would tell for sure, but Sidia’s instincts told her she and Koby had made a baby. She’d wait until she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt before sharing it with Koby.

He slowly eased her knees back down to the bed. She liked the way his body trembled in the aftermath, as if the pleasure he’d found with her had almost been too much to handle.

“Don’t leave yet,” she requested, reaching back and grasping his hip when he made to move.

“Let’s try this then,” he said and pressed his chest against her back, turning and taking them both down to rest on the bed, so he was once again spooning her. She slipped her hands into his where they rested on her belly.

They lay there for a long moment, neither of them speaking. Finally, Sidia broke the silence. “I’m glad you were the one who came to find me.”

“I knew you were mine.” He paused for a moment, and she knew he was trying to find a way to tell her about what had happened with him, Holt and her sister, Jaeda.

“Jaeda told me what happened.” She turned, hating the loss of him deep inside as he slipped free but needing to see his face. “I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been for you. To sense me in my sister, without even knowing I existed.”

“I scared her, the same way I did you when I came out of the woods like that.”

She shook her head. “You’re my mate. I could never be scared of you. I wanted to touch you when you walked out of the trees. I would have loved to have been able to run to you, to wrap myself around you and show you how happy I was to see you. You killed for me. How could you think I’d be turned off by the blood of our enemies on your skin? Men who would have killed me without a thought? You turned me on.” She licked her lips. “The way your cock rose from your groin, begging for my touch. I wanted you then the same way I do now. That will never change.”

“I don’t ever want to frighten you.”

Sidia laughed and shook her head. “All my life, I’ve been told about the Holloways. My parents spoke of your father often. He was a very respected alpha. My mom always teased that she had four daughters, and there were seven Holloway boys.” Her voice choked, and a tear spilled down her cheek. There were only three daughters now.

Koby’s arms wrapped around her, and she buried her head in his neck.

“We’ve all lost so much,” Koby stated. “So many shifters caught unaware. I’ve always wondered how they were able to get to families without being detected. It never made sense to me. Even my father. How did a group of hunters get to him?”

He tensed up beside her, and she rubbed her hands over his chest trying to soothe him.

“It was because they smelled the scent of someone familiar,” he said. “Somewhere, among the survivors, lies the one person who knows who betrayed us. They just may not realize it yet. When we find out who betrayed us in such a way…”

He didn’t finish, and she didn’t need him to. She knew what would happen as well as any other bear would. Death. She prayed it was slow and torturous. Maybe, they’d allow every surviving person who’d lost someone to inflict a wound before it was all said and done. That would be vengeance. She’d lost her mother, father, baby sister, and for five years had been denied contact with her two remaining sisters. Every time she’d asked about her brother, she’d been informed no one knew where Malachi was. Then there was Nicholas.

“Did you find his body?” She didn’t say his name. Koby would know who she meant. She felt him tense again and knew his answer before he even spoke. A tear glided down her cheek.

“His body was in the house,” Koby affirmed.

“He wanted to go to the Holloways immediately,” she informed her mate, wanting him to know the Nicholas she’d known. “He always believed in your family.”

“What?”

“When we were discovered, he argued that the elders should go to Laramie and explain their suspicions. He never stopped trying to convince them. He even made me promise that if anything happened I would head to you right away. He never once doubted Laramie as the alpha. I want your brother to know that.”

“Why didn’t the others listen to him?” Koby asked, and she heard the confusion in his voice.

“Your brother has never officially declared himself alpha of the pack. It’s understood, but the elders want the ceremony, the official passing of the mantle. It’s tradition, and those traditions are important.”

“We’d just laid our father to rest and were still in mourning when the attacks happened. In the aftermath… Well, hell, we were informed every female had been hunted and killed. It was a blow we’d never recover from. Our pack, our species, would cease to exist after our generation. We could mate with humans, but without a female bear shifter to carry our offspring, our children wouldn’t carry our bear DNA. Ceremony wasn’t Laramie’s main concern.”

“There were some elders, like Emmett, who feared the Holloways would take us and claim us for themselves, if they knew we’d lived. He was afraid only the Holloway bloodline would continue and the rest of the bears would die out.”

Koby snorted. “That explains much of your sister’s fears when she arrived. Of course, I did nothing to help alleviate those.”

“I’m glad she feared you,” Sidia admitted. “I’d hate to think of my sister claiming my mate. I’m not certain I wouldn’t have killed you both.”

He grinned. “Possessive, huh?”

“Like you aren’t,” she snorted. “I felt it the moment I saw you. It’s why I was so surprised you weren’t here when I woke up.”

“I thought you didn’t trust me,” he told her, making her ready to unman Jensen all over again. “The last thing I wanted was to scare you even more than I thought you were.”

She snuggled in closer, letting him feel how much she trusted him. “What is Laramie going to do? Jaeda said he’s planning to bring the other females here? Then what? Animal law?”

Koby nodded. “Most likely, though it won’t just be the Holloways, as some of the elders seem to fear. It will be a selection from among the different breeds of bears, the strongest and fittest. The ones most likely to breed a powerful next generation. It’s about the survival of our species.”

Sidia nodded. It was about survival, especially with someone helping the hunters try to destroy them. She understood the necessity of animal law and moved on to what else was on her mind.

“Do you know what happened to my backpack? I asked Jaeda earlier, but she didn’t seem to know.”

“I’m sure Jensen brought it in. It’s probably upstairs on the main floor somewhere. Do you need it now?” Koby asked.

“It has a few personal items in it that I took with me when I went to stay with Nicholas.”

“We’ll grab it when we head up for breakfast,” Koby offered. “Shower?”

“Are you offering to wash my back?” she teased.

“Oh, I’ll wash much more than that,” he promised.

“As long as I get to return the favor, mate,” Sidia agreed then hopped out of bed and took off toward the attached bath. She was definitely going to love having the insatiable Koby Holloway for a mate.

Chapter Seven

Sidia was playful and charming and stole Koby’s heart from the moment he’d first encountered her. She’d accepted him, fully and without question, even knowing what had happened with her sister. Sidia Blackstone was his perfect mate. Koby wanted to keep her to himself all day, spending the hours exploring her body and sating the desire they both had for one another. Instead, they headed upstairs for food and to figure out the next step against the threat surrounding their pack.

Sometimes, life was a real bitch.

“I remember my mom telling us about coming here once, when she was younger,” Sidia said as they crossed through the large dining room. “She said this room was decorated like something out of a fairytale.” She glanced up at him. “It was when your dad mated your mom.”

“Laramie will have the same when he takes a mate,” Koby said.

It was a ritual expected of the alpha. He was the head of the pack, and when he mated, his mate would become an extension of him. The entire pack would gather to witness the woman he chose and to welcome her. Yet another reason for Koby to celebrate not being the one born with their father’s Kodiak gene dominating. His mating with Sidia wouldn’t be put on display for others.

“He should formally proclaim his status as alpha first,” Sidia murmured. “Soon. Before the rumblings among the elders crescendo over the entire pack.”

“So your mate thinks to chastise me already?” Laramie asked, stepping from the kitchen to stand before them. “You’ve not even been mated a day.”

“I’ve been a member of this pack since I was born,” Sidia said, stepping in front of Koby to face his brother. “I remember when your father was killed. The entire pack mourned. I remember my father waiting for the official word to come down. For all the families to be called to gather for his farewell and the change of command to you. A call that never came. My father said to be patient. You were young and in mourning. That we should understand your grief and give you the time you needed. Then we were attacked, and my father was killed.”

“You blame me for his death?” Laramie snapped out the question, the growl spilling around it.

Koby stepped forward. A growl rumbled from his chest and had Laramie’s gaze jerking to him instead of his mate.

“Stop,” Sidia said, placing a hand on Koby’s chest. She spared him a quick glance before facing his brother again. “No, I’m not blaming you. I understand what it is to lose a father, a mother. I know the weight of that grief.”

Koby wrapped his arms around her and tugged her back against his chest, offering comfort as he felt Sidia’s anguish through their developing bond. “My mate lost both of her parents, as well as her younger sister. Then she was ripped from her remaining siblings and forced to live in fear, while the elders decided what to do. The weight of her grief is far greater than ours.”

He emphasized the word grief. Koby wouldn’t deny that Laramie shouldered the greater burden. As alpha, he was responsible for the safety of their pack. Koby understood that, whether anyone blamed Laramie for the attacks or not, his brother blamed himself.

Laramie eyed him for a moment then his gaze flicked back and forth between Koby and his mate.

“Have you eaten?” he asked, his tone softening the slightest bit, letting Koby know his temper had cooled.

“We’re heading there now,” Koby answered.

“Would you like to join us?” Sidia asked.

“I’ll leave the two of you to dine together for now,” Laramie said. “I have some business to take care. I’ll expect both of you in the family room as soon as you’re finished. We need to know what you can tell us, Sidia. Compare it to what we’ve learned from Jaeda.”

“Have you heard from any of the others?” Koby asked. His brother had called in some of the enforcers who’d taken a leave in the aftermath of their father’s death. Laramie should have called them all back and appointed Koby as the lead enforcer when Laramie officially stepped into the role of alpha. Laramie had never done that though. Something Koby knew his brother planned to correct soon.

“I’ll go over everything when we’re all gathered,” Laramie answered. He looked down at his watch. “I’ve got to go. I’m expecting a call any minute.” His glance took in Sidia again. “You’re feeling better? No lingering effects from the drugs used on you?”