Lifesong (16 page)

Emma stared at us. “Did you have a good run?”

I glanced at Luna, who opened her maw, giddy from our run. “Indeed, we did.” I licked Luna’s muzzle before hopping up onto the bed with Emma. “What’s going on?” My nerves were too shot for me to shift, so I nuzzled under her chin instead of taking her in my arms.

“You said it was urgent,” Luna added as she climbed onto the bed, resting her muzzle in Emma’s lap.

Emma stroked the she-wolf’s scruff as she spoke. “I know what we have to do.”

“Do?” Luna looked up at her.

“About what?” I raised my ears in her direction.

“The song,” Emma replied, reaching behind her for her notebook. She opened it to the page I’d written on, the verse looking more complete than before.

“What about it?” I read over the lines she had down so far. “On my perch, a ridge of white, I watch the sky as it fills with light?”

“What’s it mean?” Luna asked, closing her eyes as she hummed the beginning to the melody. “It sounds pretty.”

Emma furrowed her brow. “Doesn’t the place sound familiar to you?”

“How do you mean?”

“A perch. A ridge of white? Doesn’t that remind you of the western ridge?”

“There are ridges like that all over, Emma.” Then I gave her words a bit of thought. “But if it does mean the western ridge, what do you plan to do? There must be a reason you brought it up.”

“What if it’s like a scavenger hunt?”

“I don’t think the songs work that way.”

“Well, we can’t just keep waiting. This verse didn’t even happen until I had that nightmare, and the only reason we have it now is because you wrote it down.”

“I just don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

“I know, but I’m tired of being locked up in the house. I’d like to go there.”

“Now?” Luna asked, surprised.

“Day after tomorrow,” I promised. “So long as you’re well, we can go two days from now.”

“I’ll take her,” Luna volunteered. “If we’re heading to the western ridge, you probably shouldn’t be there.”

At first I was offended by her insistence, but she was right. The western ridge was the last place we’d seen Zarrius, and where Emma had become the pack’s alpha. Going there now would’ve brought back too many memories. Too soon.

I bowed my head. “Fair enough. Day after tomorrow.” I curled up beside Emma. “No sooner than that.”

“It’s a date.”

I winced at the words, but pushed the feeling from my mind. I’d had my chance with Luna. It was Emma’s turn to do the same.

* * * *

Emma

Seeing Tucker kiss Luna aroused me almost as if his lips were pressed against mine. I leaned on the doorframe and glanced at the bedroom window, where a swirl of white flakes were hitting the glass. It had got painfully cold overnight, and with the wind gusts as strong as they were, Luna and I had decided to postpone our trip to the ridge until the storm was over.

Tucker pressed his hands to her cheeks, pushing the stray hairs away from her face. She pulled him against her, moaning when he lowered a hand to her neck. My stomach clenched as a chill danced up my spine. It wasn’t just seeing them like this that turned me on. It was the fact that this, all of us together, felt so right. Natural. And seeing them together, exploring one another, excited me even more.

The last time they’d been together, they were in the woods, far from the house. I hadn’t got to see their first time, or enjoy that first moment with them. But now was even better. Tucker was as comfortable with her as he was with me, and neither one of them seemed to be in any hurry at all.

He bowed his head to lick behind her ear, but froze halfway, taking in her scent. My heart fluttered for them both, having memorised Luna’s sweet smell, which was almost as delicious as her lips.

Her hips lifted off the bed when he bit her neck. I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted to feel her soft skin against mine, taste her lips and hear her moan against my ear. Shuddering as I took my first step, I scrambled onto the bed, lying on the other side of her. 

Luna whimpered as she turned to face me, her eyes just as daring as before. I propped myself up on an elbow and dipped my head, kissing her lips. She moaned against me when Tucker’s hand glided down her stomach, and my clit throbbed with anticipation.

I envied her. I envied both of them.

She broke our kiss, gasping for breath when Tucker’s fingers circled around her clit. I bit at my bottom lip, moving my hand to join his. We exchanged glances, and Tucker returned to fondling her breasts, his eyes on me. I swallowed around the knot in my throat, my hand resting alongside her pussy. Luna’s hips shifted, her clit brushing against my fingertips, inviting me to play.

I pressed a finger against her folds, and a gasp escaped her lips. Tucker moaned, and I looked up just in time to see Luna’s hand on his cock, stroking it ever so gently. He thrust his cock against her palm, matching her rhythm.

A tremor shook her body, forcing goosebumps to rise against my skin. I sucked in a breath, holding it as I slipped my finger inside, not moving any further, in order to feel her body pulling at me, drawing me deeper.

Curling my finger, I made the come-hither motion I’d read about in my books, moaning when Luna’s body tightened around it. I withdrew the finger, adding a second one to it, before plunging back inside.

I wasn’t sure how long I stayed like that, but the next thing I knew, Tucker had his hand wrapped around my wrist, removing me from Luna’s folds. He licked at my fingers, and I squirmed when his tongue circled around them. He removed every last drop, then leaned in to kiss me.

He deepened our kiss, Luna’s sweet taste dancing across our tongues. I groaned when I felt a petite hand squeezing my breast, Luna’s fingers pinching the nipple so hard it almost hurt. Almost. I arched my back, and Tucker broke our kiss. When I met his gaze, he nodded to Luna’s pussy and the sweet nectar he’d just sucked from my fingers.

Closing my eyes, I removed all expectation from my mind. And as soon as I did, I moved to the foot of the bed. I had to taste her, to lick her and please her in the best way I could. My body craved their attention, and I’d get my turn. It would be worth the wait.

Lying on my stomach, I dipped my head so I could lick her clit, moving my tongue in tight circles until her body quivered beneath me. I went down on her even more, pressing my tongue to her opening, my mouth watering when her sweet, heady taste entered my lips.

As I pressed my tongue further inside, Tucker leaned over me, kissing the back of my neck. I gripped the bed sheets, and I sucked in a breath when he pressed his fingers against my clit. Luna gasped above me, tangling her fingers in my hair.

Tucker growled behind me. “You have no idea how much I want you right now.”

I leaned on my elbow, licking Luna’s wetness from my lips as I thrust a finger inside her, mimicking the slow strokes Tucker used on me. Luna pushed my head closer to her body, and I started the slow circles around her clit all over again.

Tucker’s hand slid against my thigh, and I widened my stance. My pace inside Luna quickened, and we both gasped for breath as her body shook around me. I licked at her again. Harder. Faster than before.

“Ooh… Like that…” She arched her back, pulling at my hair.

Luna released a silent cry as an orgasm raked through her body. I slowed my strokes as she came down from orbit, her body going limp beneath me. Tucker kissed the side of my neck, grinning when he saw the tears in my eyes.

“Was it as good for you?” he asked, then kissed me on the lips.

“Almost.”

“Well then, we’ll have to fix that.”

He and Luna exchanged glances, and she pulled me up beside her. She pushed me onto my back, our lips touching moments later. And as Tucker traced circles around my clit, she deepened our kiss. I wanted to shake my head from one side to the other, to pull Luna on top of me, to…

“Gods,” Tucker breathed, thrusting a finger inside me. “You two sure know how to send a guy to madness.” A second finger. I arched my back. “Patience, Emma. Soon. You’ll find your release soon.”

It was a promise, and while my body craved an earth-shattering climax, I didn’t want this to end. It was too fast. Too soon.

Luna’s fingers pinched my breast, and I inhaled, breaking our kiss.

“What does my alpha want?” the she-wolf asked, her voice sounding more serious than I thought she actually was.

“I… I…” I couldn’t speak.

Tucker’s pace quickened, his strokes hitting against my G-spot, slowly propelling me into a sea of bliss. I wanted to keep going, I wanted to—

“Oh, God… I’m gonna…”

Tucker’s pace slowed.

I clenched my jaw and held back.

One stroke.

Another.

Luna brushed my hair from my face, her eyes boring into mine. I inclined my head, our lips barely touching when she parted them with her tongue. I clawed at the bed, and rocked back in Tucker’s direction. His fingers stopped, slowly pulling out before resting on the outsides of my hips.

“Emma.” He was panting, one hard breath right after another.

“Yes.”
God, yes.
“Someone, anyone…”

Luna silenced me, her deep kiss stealing the air from my lungs. She held me steady, her nails digging into my skin as Tucker’s hard cock pressed against me. I rocked back, taking Luna with me, freezing when Tucker slipped in—inch by delicious inch. His grip on my hips tightened and in one last thrust, he pushed deep inside.

I growled around Luna’s lips, biting at one. She moved a hand over my clit, and I whimpered as she and Tucker matched their pace, one teasing stroke after another. My body shook, and I rocked my hips against Tucker.

I screwed my eyes tight as the first tremor raced through my body. So very close.
Too close.
I released a ragged breath as Tucker panted above me. Hard. Harder. His pace quickened, and Luna nipped at the side of my neck.

“Fuck.” The word came out in a strangled gasp, and I buried my head against Luna’s shoulder.

Tucker bucked into me so hard that my vision turned white. I blinked back tears, crying out as the second tremor of my climax hit, followed by another. Luna smoothed my hair back as I inhaled all the air in the room.

Tucker wrapped an arm around my waist. He gave one last thrust, his breath coming out in short pants against my neck as we both surrendered. My body released, convulsing around him as I rocked back and forth, taking in every last bit of him before crumpling back down beside Luna.

Luna licked the sweat from my brow as Tucker went to throw away the condom I hadn’t even seen him put on. “Who’s our beautiful alpha?”

“Mmm.” It was all I could manage, closing my eyes as I snuggled beside her.

Tucker returned and rolled to the other side of her, his hand resting on her stomach. “Best snow day ever.”

Damn the snow and the Earth. All that mattered was inside this room, this house. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Emma

I hugged my arms around Tucker, frowning from his stiff embrace. It was clear to the pack that going to the ridge pained him, which was why Luna had offered to take me in his place. Still, it wasn’t exactly something I was looking forward to.
Especially not after the wonderful time we had inside yesterday.
My mind was on Zarrius, on his lifeless form and the possibility of finding his body once we got there.

As if she could read my thoughts, Luna squeezed my hand. “Enough time has passed,” she said, holding the collar of one of my coats to her neck.

The cream coat with white trim almost mirrored her coat when she was a wolf. Still, any form of clothing looked wrong on her, as if we were hiding her from the Earth. I’d invited her to turn back into a wolf, but she’d said it wouldn’t feel right. Something about me not being able to do the same thing.

I shoved my hands under my arms after zipping up my grey jacket. We were only a few hundred feet away from the house, and I already wanted to head back inside.

“At least it isn’t snowing,” Luna mused aloud, her shoes kicking up the snow that was left on the ground.

“True,” I said, watching the she-wolf as she pressed ahead.

Snow dusted the tree line, and if a cardinal had flown nearby, the landscape would’ve been perfect. I’d spent so much time inside I’d almost forgotten how it felt to walk in the snow, or to feel the wind on my face. Granted, I’d rarely gone outside when I was back at the ward, but that had been out of necessity.

The air was cleaner here.
It’s quiet, too.
Back home, I’d always had to worry about the constant clanging of machines, the brittle Earth and the fumes. But not here. Inside Tucker’s world, everything felt perfect, and if it hadn’t been for my recent string of nightmares, it would’ve been. The dark dreams were a constant reminder that there was still a world beyond the life I’d fallen into, and that, like it or not, we were still a part of it.

Digging my hands into my pockets, I followed Luna south. The last time—the only time—I’d gone to the western ridge, Luna had taken us though the forest. This time, the she-wolf avoided the woods as much as possible, heading south-west. It wouldn’t make a difference. The ridge would still be facing in the right direction, overlooking the part of my life I’d hoped I left behind.

Luna skipped ahead in the snow, obviously more energetic than I was in the cold. The wind blew behind us, pushing me forward. The scent of pine filled the air. It was something I thought I would’ve got used to by now, but the forest’s earthy scent was as strong as ever.

Without machines to clog up the atmosphere, everything around here smelt the same as it did when I first arrived. Luna’s pace slowed as we reached the top of a hill miles away from the house. I was so focused on keeping up with her I hadn’t even realised how far we’d gone. The house was barely visible, its roof covered with snow.

Luna held my hands between us. “You probably already know, but I want to tell you what happened the other day, after you sent me after Tucker.”