And soon there would be no alternative.

  She would bear my cubs.

  I yanked my beast back into his lair, remaining the man who hungered just as much as the tiger prepared to protect his mate.

  Even if it meant losing his life.

  “Playtime is over.”

  Chapter 11

  Nicolina

  “Playtime is over.”

  His words sparked another volley of irrational desires dancing throughout my body. I’d known the beast would hunt for me, refusing to let me go. I’d sensed his presence on the outskirts of my property, his scent wafting in through the open windows and vents of the aging vehicle.

  Akuma.

  A larger than life figure, a man I hadn’t been able to get out of my mind, even after the disturbing visit with Yasmine. I’d known he’d been the one to attack the soldiers. It would seem my sister’s fear as well as her damning story held merit. I found it difficult to face the harsh reality, even though some crazy part of me knew there was no other choice but to trust him. Besides, the thought of returning to the school made me sick.

  Every part of me had tingled from the anticipation of seeing him again. I still couldn’t process our connection, but I’d remained with butterflies in my stomach the entire day, my thoughts constantly drifting to Akuma. He was so powerful, the draw so intense that by the time I’d left my sister’s house, my panties had been soaked, my nipples aching and the pressure of the tight shirt too constrictive.

  I’d also left with a feeling of dread, a knowing from my sister’s behavior. I’d felt overwhelmed. Sickened.

  Horrified.

  I’d always known my sister barely tolerated the Breeds, but I could see in her eyes just how much she hated them. She couldn’t care less if they lived or died. She had no desire to help them succeed.

  Or survive.

  From everything she’d told me, I now feared for her life as well as every other teacher. I’d tried to call Cassie again, but she hadn’t accepted the call and I knew better than to leave a message. If Joseph had found out that Yasmine and Markus had been working on something entirely different than what had been mandated, he would likely abduct the teachers for additional experiments. While maybe I shouldn’t have left Yasmine, I couldn’t stomach the thought of seeing her again. Not after what she’d done.

  Something awful was about to occur. She’d placed me in harm’s way as if everything was going to work out. Now I had a target on my back. But there was a reasonable explanation as to why the visions had begun in earnest, whatever amount of Breed DNA I’d been injected with allowing me to enter into their world in small ways. Akuma. Maybe he was truly my mate, but did it have more to do with the concoction swimming in my body?

  I’d even been forced to stop on the side of the road, images rushing into my mind.

  While my intense fear had likely allowed my mind to play tricks on me, the very visions I’d seen over and over again in my dreams had been altered, driven to an entirely different world. The same trees. The same beautiful river. The same foliage.

  Yet everything was covered in blood.

  A premonition that I’d ignored.

  My guess was that Akuma had seen it through my eyes. He’d also gathered my nagging fears, although I’d done everything I could to mask the truth from him. I wasn’t certain why other than it was obvious I couldn’t trust anyone.

  Anyone.

  What the hell was I supposed to do now? Live in fear that her ridiculous experimentations would be discovered? Would I be trapped and caged, kept like some guinea pig? Given what I already knew, that was a plausible answer, unless Akuma was able to protect me. I held my breath, trying to will her words out of my mind. I needed relief, a little peace in order to be able to think clearly.

  As if that would ever happen again.

  I sensed a shift in him even as the desperate hunger he felt raged on. I’d yet to come to terms with the way my body reacted around him.

  The intense longing.

  The hardness of my nipples.

  The wetness of my pussy.

  All. Day. Long.

  Right now, I couldn’t seem to get enough of him. A drug addict needing a fix. A drunk killing for a drink. That was the ugly truth to my attraction. I was physically unable to resist him. I was intoxicated by his scent of testosterone, the rawness of his needs filtering into every cell. I couldn’t think straight. I hadn’t been able to eat. I couldn’t even remember how I’d gotten back here.

  But the same overpowering chill remained even though the wave of heat his body exuded could light a fire. The sick knowing sweltering in my mind seemed powered by the raging storm outside, the feeling so ominous that I couldn’t gain a grip on the fear.

  I closed my eyes when he gripped my arms, pulling me aloft. Immediately, I cried out from the loss of his cock buried deeply inside. Panting, I pushed hard against his shoulders as he chuckled in the same kind of gravelly, seductive voice that threw me every time.

  Even more forceful than before, he tossed me against the headboard, keeping me on my knees. When he leaned over, his hot breath skipping along the side of my neck, I was forced to take deep breaths.

  While his growl was possessive as hell, I continued to quiver, adoring the sound. He rolled the tips of his fingers up both sides of my spine then took my right arm, placing my palm against the wall.

  “You will learn to obey me, Nicolina. Not just some of the time. All the time.” He repeated the move with my other arm then raked his nails down from my neck to my bottom.

  “And what if I can’t?” I knew better than to ask.

  The hard crack of his hand against my bottom was his answer.

  “Then you’ll remain kept in a cage.”

  “That’s not fair.”

  “Who said life was fair?” he asked, chuckling. “It will be your choice. Surrender and you’ll receive the kind of blissful pleasure few women ever experience. Do not move.”

  “Why, yes, sir.”

  I shuddered as he eased his hand between my legs, pushing several fingers into my pussy. When he flexed and curled the tips, hitting my G-spot, I almost climaxed. He continued to thrust, the angle he used entirely different than any man had ever attempted. I couldn’t stop panting, every portion of my body quivering as if on fire.

  “Oh, God. I…” The sensations crawled down the back of my legs like pricks of electric pulses. Within seconds, stars floated in front of my eyes. I spaced my fingers wide open, clawing the wall as the pleasure wound itself around every synapse and muscle.

  When he pulled his hand away, he swatted my bottom several additional times. The combination of my pussy quivering and my bottom aching was pushing me toward sheer insanity. I gasped for air all over again, wailing when he fisted my hair, yanking on my head.

  “Or I can provide utter anguish,” he breathed before dragging his tongue across my cheek, wrenching my neck before smacking me several additional times. He thrust his hand between my legs again, pinching my clit.

  A moan slipped past my lips, my hips shifting back and forth as my mind tried to process the fleeting but incredible feelings. He slowly swirled his finger around my clit then drove his fingers down the length of my pussy, sliding them up the crack of my ass.

  “It’s entirely up to you,” he added before pushing two fingers, breaching my dark hole. He kept his face next to mine, his animalistic growls and heavy breathing arousing me to the point a bead of perspiration trickled down the side of my face.

  “Not… fair,” I struggled to say.

  He laughed softly then nipped my ear. “So you continue to say. What will it be, my little pet, pleasure or pain?” When he thrust his fingers in and out of my asshole several times, I couldn’t stop the scream from erupting.

  “Pleasure.” The stars and colors danced around my peripheral vision like a kaleidoscope. I half laughed, half whimpered as he drove a third finger inside.

  “Then you will obey me.” His words weren’t a question but a statement, yet I felt compelled to answer.

  “Yes. Yes, sir.”

  He nuzzled against my neck and in the next few seconds, I fell into a dreamlike state as he bit down on my neck. The world beneath us seemed to vibrate, the howling wind only adding fuel to the moment. This was utter bliss, my skin awakening from a deep slumber, my heart bursting from a series of emotions. He released my hair, running his fingers through my long strands.

  “Fucking you is a great joy,” he whispered, using his knee to push my legs further apart.

  I arched my back in anticipation, holding my breath until he plunged his cock inside my pussy. My muscles immediately reacted, clamping around his shaft and drawing him in deeper.

  “So tight, little pet. So wet.” He kept his fingers buried in my asshole, fucking both holes with hard strokes.

  I pushed my hands against the wall, every brutal thrust driving me forward. My body was like a live wire, the butterflies flitting from my stomach to my extremities. His savage growls sent vibrations into the room. He was so forceful, relentless in taking me.

  Claiming me.

  Possessing me.

  The passion exploding between us, I realized I was slapping the surface with one hand, continuing to scrape my fingers down the wall with the other. With every guttural sound he made, every thrust of his thick cock, I was pushed closer to ecstasy. Within seconds, there was no holding back another climax from ripping through my muscles.

  “Uh. Uh. Uh. Uh.” There were no other sounds I could make, no manner of thinking clearly, the orgasm was so powerful. My muscles clenched around him like a tight vise, aching from the roughness as well as his size.

  And I loved every second of it.

  We were like wild animals instead of humans, obsessed with sharing our passion. When the orgasm increased, one rolling into a beautiful wave, I threw my head back and screamed.

  He removed his fingers from my ass, smacking my bottom again and again as his growls became ferocious. I could tell he was close to coming, releasing his seed. When I squeezed my muscles, all I could do was smile as hot cum spewed deep inside.

  “Fuck!”

  We were as one.

  Mates…

  The humidity remained high even after the storm passed, rain continuing to drip from the trees. I was surprised how loud the noise seemed. I was able to hear the wind whistling through trees at a distance, crickets and other night crawlers scampering through the mud and moss. My eyesight seemed clearer, allowing me to see items in the darkness I never would have thought possible. Even the taste of the wine in my hand was entirely different. Every nuance of the flavor recognizable.

  Raspberries.

  Blackberries.

  The most succulent grapes.

  While I prayed it was all in my head, the incredible sex had awakened all my senses in a way I didn’t think was possible. The fear continued to claw around the edges of my sanity, dragging me closer to losing my mind. I would be forced to talk to her again, even though a part of me no longer gave a shit. How could my sister do such a horrible thing? I took a deep breath, catching a stench that hadn’t been there before. “There’s a fire somewhere close.”

  “Yes, one caused by gasoline.” Akuma’s tone was entirely different than before. While remaining a deep baritone, full of a husky tone, it was much colder. Angrier. “One caused by humans.”

  “They want to burn everything that could protect the local Breeds.” I turned my head toward him, able to see a golden shimmer in his eyes. The rage surrounding him was more significant than before.

  “Yes.”

  “And the government is helping them.”

  Sighing, he gave me a quick glance. “Not everyone within the government. The president and certain members of his cabinet are honorable.”

  “You say that as if you know that for certain. What if he approved of new experiments on the Breeds?”

  His eyes held such an iridescent shimmer I was forced to suck in my breath. “I have it on good authority, Nicolina. The president will also find himself in danger.”

  “You’re going to have to explain what you mean.”

  “I will in good time.”

  “I thought you said it was imminent that we leave.”

  A slight chuckle pushed past his lips. “Forever defiant.”

  “Yes, because I need to know the truth. I haven’t been getting a hell of a lot of that lately.”

  “Interesting.”

  He stood staring out at the trees, a drink in his hand. He was completely naked while I’d grabbed his tee shirt, remaining in bare feet. The glass of wine felt heavy in my hand or perhaps I was just exhausted from the oddity of the day. He was a man of few words, but the closer we became, the more I was able to sense his moods. And I could sense he was prepared for a battle unlike what he’d experienced before. I hated the feeling pooling in the pit of my stomach, forced to believe everything he’d told me.

  Forced to understand that I was no longer entirely human.

  “Tell me about your sister,” he said in a commanding voice.

  “My sister? How do you know about my sister?” Once again, I did everything I could to block my thoughts, even though they drifted to the ugly scenario I’d been forced to face. I wasn’t entirely certain what the hell to tell him. That my sister had betrayed me? That she was working with people who had no guilt if Breeds were slaughtered?

  He turned his heated gaze in my direction, a smile curling on his lips. “I know everything about you, Nicolina. You seem to forget. I’ve been able to read your mind for weeks, at least to some degree.”

  “I don’t understand how that’s possible.” Were the inoculations she’d given me allowing that to occur?

  Shut down. Shut down.

  Was he reading my mind now?

  “Because we are connected. Because the Breeds have the ability to communicate with other Breeds by using their minds. You are still attempting to mask your thoughts. What are you so worried about, Nicolina? And what are you refusing to tell me?”

  “I’m not a Breed,” I insisted with far more aggression than I’d intended. But you soon might be. My inner voice nagged at me, the words drilling into my brain.

  “No, but you are my mate. The fact you have a gift has accentuated my abilities with you.”

  “Maybe that’s not entirely true.”

  “Meaning?”

  My God, his voice was commanding.

  I shook my head, still uncertain of what the combination of my cognitive skills along with the inoculations really meant. “Gifts. I hate being able to read anyone’s mind or tell the future. As a matter of fact, I realized early on as a child never to disclose the curse. I even learned how to shut off these great gifts. I did such a good job that I have to concentrate in order to catch almost anything anyone is thinking. Except for you. That’s how you knew I was at my sister’s house.”

  “That and because I followed you.”

  “I was right. Was it all about protection or were you worried I’d run away?”

  I had a feeling he wasn’t going to answer me.

  He exhaled before turning his attention to the forest once again, swirling his drink and taking a gulp before answering. “The darkness has always been our peaceful time. Time to hunt. Time to allow our beast to go free. Even when hunting was prohibited, that didn’t stop someone like me.”

  “A rogue beast, one refusing to follow the rules.”

  “Sometimes that was the only way to tolerate what I’d become.” There was such sadness when he said the words.

  “I understand. I learned there is a mutation of the original reaction to the chemicals affecting humans. It’s very similar to the diseases that are plaguing the Breeds.”

  He shifted against the railing, brushing his fingertips down my arm. As usual, prickles danced all across my skin. “Your sister told you.”

  “Yes, not that she knows but so much about what the Breeds are going through. However, she is working on the human vaccine.”

  “And the experiments are not going well.”

  I shook my head. “Not at all.”

  “You’re trying to block me, Nicolina. You can’t do that. We must work together. There is significant danger not only within this city but throughout America. It’s only going to get worse.”

  “I’m not really trying to block you. I’ve having a difficult time believing what Yasmine told me.” I knew my lie wouldn’t be tolerated for long. All the pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together. She and her partner created a vaccine that had driven Akuma to me, the electricity something neither of us could deny nor avoid.

  “She told you that humans will die sooner than expected. Is that not correct?”

  “I can’t seem to hide anything from you. You’re right and I don’t think very many people know that yet. If they did, there would be disruption.”

  “In truth, there would be total anarchy, which I believe has already started. My guess is certain government officials have allowed the information to leak, which is why the dissidents are preparing to wage a war. Many humans will succumb to their fear of the Breeds.” He growled, fisting his hand. “Luca was right.”

  “Luca?”

  “The lion who first mated with a human.”

  I shuddered from the thought. “I didn’t know all of you were in contact.”

  He took a sip of his drink. “We learned to trust each other out of necessity.”

  Anarchy. The thought was difficult to stomach but entirely possible. I was no fool. The anger expressed from my sister was like another sickness eating into the minds of intelligent and usually compassionate people. If anyone knew what had really occurred, they would stop at nothing in order to survive.

  Including murder.

  Hunting…

  The word lingered in my mind.

  I wasn’t shocked that he knew, but I wondered if his knowledge was based on reading my mind or because of something else. There was no doubt he was purposely holding back telling me exactly what was going on with regard to the dissidents and a possible new war. Maybe he wasn’t certain if he could trust me.