Carter woke in the dead of night. He smelt his mate.His mate and... Iron? They had not tested their bond again. Worry ate away at him for the days they were parted. All he knew was she was alive, and relatively unscathed. But she was angry. Her anger had seeped its way into his bones. It made him extremely unpleasant to be around. All of the pack avoided him. Even the omega Emma, who he had a loose relationship with, kept her distance. He had been unkind to her as he tried to let her down easily. He had gone on a run and done laps in the lake, to exhaust himself and the feelings of mate's that overwhelmed him.
It hadn't worked. Arthur had been the most sympathetic. He found his son before he returned to his room from his exercises. He told Carter that Finn would come when she was able and he needed to learn to separate her feelings from his. He had told his father that he was too old to be told what to do. Arthur had laughed and told him to go to bed, he was affecting the pack.
He glanced at the clock on his night stand, it showed 2:33 am. He was about to get up when his door opened slowly. Finn stepped in and shut it softly behind herself, a small click from the latch chimed. She was bathed in moonlight that filtered in from his window. She stood silently, her back pressed against the frame. He could see her chest as it rose and fell quickly. He felt a wave of emotions from her. Anxiety. Anger. Regret. Loneliness.
"Are you okay?" He asked her somberly. Finn took a moment before she moved to his bed. She stopped at the foot of it, her eyes downcast. Slowly, she began to crawl onto his mattress. She shuffled herself down until she slipped on top of him.
He sat up while she straddled him. Carter took her fabric covered things in his large hands and pulled her into himself. He ran his hand over her skin, searching for wounds. The smell of blood wafted from her, encircling them.
"It's not mine," Finn replied.
"What happened?"
"I told Obeus he would not be immune from the consequences of his choices... I also told my sire I would burn down his world. I was keeping my oath." Her voice was flat, spent.
Carter flipped her over to lay on top of her. He gripped her arms in his and looked at her bloodied hands. It was dry and old. "You killed the Merlin?" He breathed out in disbelief. "The council..."
"They will come after me, eventually. I had an audience. I killed their leader, but it'll take them a while to muster the forces to take me on. I promised you I'd come. I didn't promise I'd stay. I started this and now I need to end it," she looked so tired.
"We should leave. Soon."
"No, Carter. You need to stay. You have to protect the pack and our family."
She said 'our', Carter and his wolf cried together. "But..." He began to protest.
"No," was all she said. She brought her reddened hands to his face and pulled him to her mouth. She kissed him again and again, running her lips lightly over his after each subsequent kiss.
Carter wrapped his own hands around her head and let all of his weight press down on her. He rubbed her scalp and pulled her into him as he returned her kiss. Slowly he let his lips slide down to her chin and then to her neck. He brushed his lips against her neck. He ran his teeth lightly over her colourful skin. Flesh gave way when he reached her scars. He kissed each of the four indentations. He let one hand fall from the back of her head and ran a finger down the other side of her face to her neck. His hands continued to work their way down until it landed on her breast.
Finn's breath caught in her throat. She let out a soft sound of encouragement. He squeezed gently and felt her nipple harden at his touch. He pressed harder and bit into her neck without much force. She released an intimate gasp. She ran her hands through his soft hair, down his back and pulled up his shirt to dance her fingers across his skin. Her nails left the gentlest of scratches in their wake. As he started to circle his thumb over her nipple. Finn gasped and grabbed at his shirt and pulled it up. Carter moved himself up only enough to allow her to pull his shirt quickly over his head, remorsefully removing his hands from her. She threw it behind him, into the darkness.
She took him in, the outline of his well toned body in the moon's glow. Finn reached out to touch his chest. He took the opportunity to grab her sweater and pull it off over her head. She wasn't wearing anything under. Carter took in her intricate chest and lowered himself down to her breasts. He wrapped his mouth around her nipple and bit her gently. With his other hand, he grabbed her free breast and kneaded tenderly. Finn grunted with pleasure. He bit down softly on her and a whisper escaped her parted lips. She twisted her legs around him to settle between them and began to grind with her hips into his pelvis.
He released her supple bust from his mouth to gasp, "oh my gods."
Carter grabbed the back of her neck, pulled her down to kiss him. His tongue slid over hers as he pushed himself into her wetness. She growled into his mouth, "take off your pants." Carter obeyed. He slipped his hands deftly under the waistband of his sweatpants and pulled them down to free his erection. She smiled as she ran the tip of her fingers over the head of his cock before gripping him firmly in her hand and gave a slow caress of his shaft. He sunk into her fingers, "fuck..."
"Your turn," Carter said in a husky voice. He flicked her leggings with his finger. Finn let go of his cock as her mate let out a soft protest. She propped herself up with her elbows and reached her fingers under the waistband of her leggings and underwear. She lifted her legs from around him and stuck them into the air to remove the bothersome fabrics.
"Better," he growled out. He pushed her down onto her back with his hand. Then he grabbed her by the hips and hauled her into him. He pushed his erect member into her flesh, the tip of his cock pressing against her clit. He slid himself slowly back and forth. He looped his arm under the curve of her back and lifted Finn, her legs encased him. Their mouths met as Carter pushed his hard cock into her. He grunted as she moaned out his name into his mouth, "Carter..."
They lost all sense of the world around them, focused solely on one another. They moved together, gasps of pleasure orbited them. Finn rocked her hips as he thrust in and out of her wet cunt. Carter's movement slowly forced her into the mattress, his large build illuminated only by the soft light of the waning moon. He felt her clench around him, her climax nearing. With a few final drives, he felt his own orgasm upon him.
"I'm close," she whispered breathlessly into his ear.
Carter groaned and kissed his mark on her skin. At the moment of his peak, he cried out her name and bit down on her. It was gentle, caring. He drew no blood. A reminder that she was his. Forever. She felt herself fall and wrapped her arms and legs around him as she rode her own waves.
They stayed wrapped together, one entity. When the last of their pleasure faded and the stickiness between them became too much, Finn wiggled to get her mate to move. Carter pulled himself free with a groan, pleasure and overstimulation mixed. He roughly fell onto his side beside her and smiled. The minutes ticked by and neither had anything left to say.
His breath began to deepen as sleep tugged at him. He pulled his mate close and nuzzled her. His hand rested on Finn's scarred abdomen as he nestled his face into her neck. His warm, steady breath and touch were a comfort but in the soft glow of Terra's satellite, she saw that she still had Obeus's blood on her fingers.
(2)
Finn had slipped out from Carter without waking him and dressed in the clothes they had discarded in the night. She entered the kitchen. She looked around to see how it had changed. The appliances had been replaced since she had last been in the room, the modern gleam of stainless steel in the morning's new light. The cabinets were the same stained wood, the walls an eggshell colour. It was still very early, just after six. She hadn't managed to sleep, laying there with Carter nestled against her. Her mind was a flurry of thoughts and plans, giving her no space for rest. She had only slept beside one other person intimately before him, Amina. She had been an excellent sleep companion, she did not breathe nor stir.
Two young women were busying themselves making breakfast for the pack. Omegas, Finn thought to herself. She walked up to the coffee maker, enjoying the smell. "May I?" she asked.
"Of course!" one of the women said in a very cheerful voice, a large smile on her face. Finn fought the urge to punch her, she was tired and cranky.
"Thank you," she said, reaching into the cabinet that had housed the cups when she lived here, still finding them there. She noticed the women were staring at her.
"Hi! I'm Rachel," the pretty blonde smiled at her. "And this is my sister, Emma."
The darker blonde woman did not smile at Finn, she nodded her head to both of them. "I'm Finn," she started, rummaging in the spice cabinet for cinnamon. She remembered Emma from her first night visiting the Ironbloods.
"You're Carter's new mate," Emma stated.
Finn paused a moment, before continuing on, sprinkling the cinnamon into her coffee cup. She debated for a second using her finger to stir but saw they were still crusted with dried blood. She placed her cup down and deftly moved between the women, ensuring she did not touch them, to the sink. She washed her hands, scrubbing under her nails with the brush that was normally used for removing dirt from gardening not murder.
"Right?" Emma pushed.
