Finding Our Way (Werewolf Wars) (18 page)

“I know I had to, but... all I can see is his eyes. How do you do it? How do you get over it?” Nora questioned rolling over to face him.

Daniel frowned and licked his lips. “In instances like this you had no choice, Nora. If you hadn’t struck, he would have. I don’t think you really want to think about what would have happened if you hadn’t of acted.” He paused, thinking of how he could possibly make her feel better. “My dad had me make my first kill when I was fifteen. He said the man was a traitor. I didn’t even question him. I should have,” Daniel sighed.

“You were just a kid,” Nora answered.

“I messed up a lot because of my dad. Did things I didn’t want to,” Daniel admitted through gritted teeth.

“You never stood up to him?” Nora asked.

Daniel flinched at her question, though there was no malice in her voice, it still stung. “I tried once. Dev had snuck out and Emmett had caught him. I think he was fifteen at the time. Dev was old enough to take care of himself. Emmett promised my mom he wouldn’t lay a finger on Dev, but that didn’t stop him from having others do it for him. He made me watch. They beat him until he passed out and then Emmett told me to wake him so they could have another go at him. I told him no. Instead of taking it out on my brother, they took it out on me. That was the first time my dad had me beat. Dev and I had always coexisted before that day, but after,” Daniel shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. “After that day everything changed between us. Not that I blame him.”

“Is that why the two of you don’t get along?” Nora asked in a hushed voice. Her free hand went to his chest and she traced tiny patterns across his pecks.

“That was just the first time it happened. I watched my own father do a lot of things to Dev. I always wanted to stop him, but I couldn’t, not after that first night. After Emmett was finished with me, I had to clean the barn, scrub all the blood away. Dev had been sent inside. When I got back, my mom and he were fighting. It got physical. I tried to stop it. Like an idiot, I challenged my father. That’s how I got these.” His hand went absently to his back where the long jagged claw marks were. “I lost. A thirteen-year-old adolescent wolf is no match for a grown were. Emmett told me if I ever defied him again, in any way, it would be worse, and not just for me.”

Nora gasped her eyes widening, and her fingers squeezing his tighter. “Your mom?”

Daniel nodded and sighed. “I never openly went against him again, but he found other things to pick at. Nothing was ever good enough.”

“It sounds like you and Devon were both victims, and he doesn’t even know what happened to you, does he?” Nora’s brow crinkled down as she studied him.

“It doesn’t matter now. There were lots of other times I should have done something that I didn’t. I got older, stronger, I could have done—“

“Don’t do that to yourself. Parents should never put you in that position. My mom always used to make me think it was my fault she left. She’d come back and then when she’d get bored she’d say I was  annoying, and she just had to leave.” Nora drew in a long breath. “It’s never your fault—it’s them,” Nora leaned in and kissed the tip of his nose. “Thank you for telling me that. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.”

“I’ve never told that to anyone,” Daniel realized. “I haven’t ever really talked to anyone—not like this.”

Nora smiled and leaned forward brushing her lips against his. “I’ll always listen.”

She pressed her soft lips against his again. Her mouth parted and his tongue darted out, tracing along her lower lip.

Daniel groaned as his cock tightened and her soft breasts crushed against his chest. The shirt she wore was so thin, he could feel her nipple's pebble beneath it. Nora’s hand ran through his hair, melding them together.

His hand slid to her hip and slowly trailed up the bare flesh of her belly. Her skin was silky beneath the pads of his fingers and he needed to know how it would feel sliding against him as they made love. The heat of her core pressed against his length and he rolled, pinning her beneath him.

Nora moaned her slender fingers burned against him as they trailed up and down his back. Her legs wrapped around him as he slipped his hand further up her shirt until he found the swell of her breast. Rolling the tight bud between his thumb and forefinger, he kissed along her jawbone and down to her throat.

A tiny gasp escaped her lips and she stiffened beneath him. Daniel looked up to meet her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, starting to pull away. “I know you wanted to take things slow.”

Nora bit her lip as she stared up at him breathlessly. After a long moment, her hand skimmed down the back of his neck and pulled him back to her lips. Her tongue met his and they danced hungrily against each other.

Daniel swallowed not wanting to push her. He cared about her and didn’t want to mess this up. “Nora?” he questioned.

Her fingers ran through his hair as she blinked up at him. “We both almost died tonight,” she whispered. “If something would have happened to you, I would have regretted that I held back.” Her breath caught and cheeks reddened. “I want this.”

“Are you sure?” he needed to be positive this was what she truly wanted.

Nora nodded, pulling him back to her. She crushed her lips against him and wrapped her legs tighter. He groaned as he hardened and ground against her.

As if sensing his need, her hands went to the waistband of his pajama pants and slowly slid them down. Her palms traced along his bottom and dipped down over his pelvic bone. He watched with bated breath, as she took his cock into her hands and gently stroked it.

Daniel grunted shoving her shirt up, he found her breast and took it into his mouth. Nora bucked up into him and he tugged her shirt up higher, and over her head.

Her hands stopped their ministrations and went to her chest. At first, he thought she was shielding herself from him, but her mounds were almost fully exposed. He raised an eyebrow in question and slowly she moved her fingers away, revealing a fine silvery scar. It stretched from the crook of her neck down to the middle of her ribcage.

She averted her eyes and swallowed. He bent down and placed a tender kiss to the tip of the scar by her neck. He had more than enough scars of his own—it didn’t matter to him that she had one too. Although, he was curious how she’d gotten it. That didn’t matter now. He peppered kisses along the mark until he felt her hands run through his hair. Moving down, he shifted his thumb into the waistband of her shorts.

He looked up, silently asking if he could proceed and she gave him a firm nod. Daniel took her shorts and panties off and dropped them to the floor, laying back down, he nestled himself between her legs.

With a growl, he met her lips and pushed into her tight, wet heat. Nora moaned, her hips rising up to meet his. Daniel thrust his tongue into her mouth as he slid in and out of her. Her legs wrapped around his waist and ankles locked together pulling him deeper.

He’d never been with a woman like this before. It had always been about reaching their mutual peak. With Nora, he wanted to take his time and worship her. Bring her pleasure and then take his own.

Nora moved her tongue with Daniel’s as it glided against hers in perfect time to his thrust. She moaned loudly when he found that special place inside of her. Lifting her hips to meet his thrusts, she grazed her fingers along his back, feeling his muscles flex as he ground against her.

His mouth moved to her jaw, placing open-mouthed kisses down her neck, to her shoulder, and then breast. Daniel licked and teased her nipple as his hand found the other. Nora’s breath quickened as her inner walls tightened and then white heat burst through her. A scream tore free from her lips and she called out his name.

Daniel’s mouth covered her lips, stifling her yells. He pumped against her faster, harder, their slick bodies rubbing against each other’s in the most sinful way. His body went rigid a growl vibrated from his mouth into hers, and then he relaxed on top of her.

His forehead rested against hers and Nora closed her eyes as she tried to regain control of her breathing. Her heart beat rapidly against her ribs and she shuddered still feeling the aftershocks of their coupling.

No one had ever taken the time to make her feel like this before. Daniel had made this special—he didn’t even comment about her scar. In fact, he’d worked extra hard to ease her fears. She was sure he would ask about it eventually, but for now, she just wanted to enjoy the moment.

“Stay the night with me?” she asked, kissing him.

Daniel pushed matted, sweaty strands of hair off her neck. “Yeah.”

D
aniel blinked his eyes open. A heavy weight lay across his chest and something tickled his nose. He looked down into a mass of hair.
Nora!
Her soft, creamy, naked flesh pressed against his. One of his arms was wrapped around her torso, the other behind his head. She lay peacefully against his chest. Long, even breaths puffed against his bare chest.

He sighed savoring the moment. This was a new experience for him, having never woken up with someone like this before. It was special—she was magnificent. If only this moment would never end. Right now, he could forget about the attack last night and breath in the scent of the beautiful woman he held.

Light footsteps fluttered by the door, casting shadows on the wall. He should get up and go about his duties—not that he was really sure what they were. With the attack, he wondered if they would still be leaving first thing tomorrow. He assumed not.

The bedroom door twisted and the door burst open.

“Hey, Nora, you...” April trailed off, her eyes widening as she took him in. “Oh,” she smiled.

Nora bolted up, clutching the green comforter to her chest.

“I hope I’m not interrupting.” April winked. “I’ll just fix this here and you can come find me when you’re not preoccupied.” She reached in and flipped the lock on the door, then pulled it closed behind her.

“Oh my god.” Nora flopped down, her hands covering her face. “I can’t believe that just happened.”

Her body shook, and at first, Daniel thought she was crying until she moved her hands back exposing the wide grin. “She’s never going to let me live this down.”

“Just be glad it wasn’t Vincent. He wouldn’t have left,” Daniel chuckled, propping himself up on an elbow.

“I didn’t even think about the lock last night. I definitely didn’t plan on doing this,” she said, motioning between them with her hands. “But, I’m glad we did.”

Daniel wasn’t sure what to say, so he answered with a kiss to her lips. Nora sighed, her lips parting. His cock twitched and he slipped his tongue into her mouth.

Voices boomed outside the door and Nora pulled away. Her eyes drifted to the closed white entrance then back to him.

“Everyone’s up and moving,” Daniel said.

“Yeah, we should probably pick this up later.” Nora kissed him and then rolled to the side of the bed, gathering her discarded clothes from the night before. She slipped her shirt on and then walked to her dresser. “What are you doing today?” she questioned.

Daniel stood up and found his cotton pants. “I’m not sure yet. I’ll have to check in with Gene and Dev.”

“We were supposed to finalize plans today. Do you think we will still go?” Nora asked as she pulled out a pair of jeans and a light red tee. She put her outfit on top of her shower bag before turning back to him.

“If it were my pack, no. We lost quite a few men last night and many were injured. Right now, we need every able bodied person available. Juarez is close and who knows when the next attack will be,” Daniel explained. That didn’t mean that Devon would agree with him though.

Nora picked up the small rectangular box that contained her pills and popped one of the lids open. She placed them in her mouth and then picked up a bottle of water on the back of the dresser. After swallowing down the medicine, she turned to him.

“April will be disappointed,” Nora sighed, slipping a pair of underwear on.

“We have to do what’s best for the majority,” Daniel sighed. “April will understand that.”

Nora frowned and nodded. “I’m going to go get a shower, then we can get something to eat and find out what’s going on.”

***

F
ernando stood at the large, glass window watching as his men regrouped in the parking lot. The majority of the men appeared fine physically, though there were more bloodied and haggled men then he would like to see. There was also quite a few less men than he expected. Not that it really mattered. Any men he lost were easily replaced. He had three contingents nearby awaiting orders. They could be here within a day and would be ready to do his bidding.

Malakai who had been speaking to some of the leaders of the attack, broke off from the group and made his way over to him. Fernando met him at the door, ushering his grandson inside, before closing it.

“What is the final word?” he asked eager to see how things had worked out last night.

“There are sixty-eight men unaccounted for. I presume they are dead or prisoners,” Malakai spoke up.

“I sent one-hundred-twenty-five,” Fernando fumed. “You mean to say we lost half of our men last night? Who is training them?”

“I believe these men came from the West training camp,” Malakai said, keeping his eyes peeled on his paper. “I’m not entirely sure it was all their fault. Apparently, the fence they have built is electrified. Some of the men died before they even entered the Harris’ property.”

“And they didn’t figure out what was happening sooner? There is no excuse for that kind of stupidity. I will need to have a word with West about his training methods. Did we complete the two tasks we went there for?” Fernando inquired. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

Malakai sighed and Fernando growled, balling his fists at his side.

“We were able to make contact with Maddie and secure her with a phone. The men who spoke with her don’t believe anyone saw with the chaos around.” Malakai paused. “If you don’t mind my asking, are you entirely sure we can trust her?”

“She approached me at the McKinley’s and asked about a mate. She might not be an alpha, but the girl wants to go places, and there is no way she’ll ever get anywhere at the Harris ranch. I’ve promised her to one of your younger brothers. I always reward those that help me and she knows that I punish those who turn against me. I don’t foresee there being a problem,” Fernando explained. “Now tell me you have more good news?”