The Council Ch 10

I am off on my travels so will post this a bit earlier to hopefully get a chance to read some of the reaction before I catch my train at the end of next week. This is my favourite chapter so I hope you all enjoy it :-)

WorldHistoryBuff, you are a complete star for rushing through the edits for me. Thank you so much for all your hard work!

My thanks to the Guild for their nagging erm I mean 'enouragement' LOL!

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Andrei was pissed big time! Loretta had stayed at the compound instead of coming home to him, citing pack matters that required her presence too early in the morning for her to make the long journey back to the compound at the crack of dawn.

Only she hadn't told him that to his face. No, she had left a bloody voicemail message on his cell phone and then hadn't picked up when he called her back. Rage bubbled up inside him as he pulled off into the dirt road that led to the compound.

It was early, barely five am. He had stayed at the club until it closed, working on suppressing his anger and finally conceding defeat. His woman was just going to have to learn that she did not leave voicemail messages blowing him off when he'd spent all day putting up with Daniel's subversive attempts to wheedle some kind of action against the Hanlon Pack.

All day long he had spent protecting her beautiful little ass and all of her bloody dogs and she left him a fucking voicemail message? It was a warm morning despite the early hour and he had his window open. Which was why he suddenly slammed the breaks on and came to a shuddering halt.

He scented the air deeply, smelling the hot spicy scent of cinnamon that told him his woman was out there in the forest already, most probably in wolf form. He groaned despite his fury, his body hardening instantly as his feral nature kicked in. The memory of chasing her around his office quickly came to mind and of what had happened after he caught her.

"Fuck!" he cursed loudly staring up at the roof of the car and trying to get his erotic thoughts under control. He wasn't here to fuck her, he was here to let her know just who had the control in their relationship. And it certainly was not her!

He was climbing out of the car before he could stop himself, a low growl sounding in his chest as his head swivelled to the right, picking up her scent. He took off at high speed, flying through the trees towards the woman that was driving him insane with need and setting his heart racing with just one whiff of her delectable scent.

He tracked her easily, following her silently through the trees as his beautiful brown wolf streaked along the forest floor at full speed. God, she was glorious in wolf form! Not that he got to see her as a wolf very often because she kept this part of her life completely separate from him. It occurred to him that he didn't like that there was a part of her world he didn't share, but he shook the feeling away. He didn't want to be associated with her pack anymore than he already was.

He could have overtaken her at any time, but instead he simply followed her. He found it mildly amusing that wolves never seemed to look up. It was a serious flaw in their character. A lot of danger came from above so it was always wise to spare a glance up every now and then. If Loretta had thought to do that then maybe she would have stood a chance against him. But she didn't.

He quickly tired of playing with her, his fury only marginally alleviated by admiring her wolf and feeling a flicker of pride at just how fast she was, how strong and agile she looked running through the trees. He streaked through the branches until he was ahead of her and then he dropped silently before her, landing in a crouch. His long brown hair was wild around his shoulders, his eyes glittering sharply in the pale dawn light.

Loretta screeched to a halt, growling in surprise when Andrei suddenly appeared out of nowhere to land in front of her. For a moment she could only blink at him in surprise, opening her mouth to ask him what he was doing there and only succeeding in growling again because she was still in wolf form. She was about to shift back to human form and then she saw the wild look in his eyes, the hard expression on his face.

Oh, fuck was he pissed! She'd seen him angry before but nowhere near as furious as he was right now. What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he looking at her as if he wanted to rip her head off? Surely, he couldn't be pissed because she'd stayed at the compound? She'd called and left him a message. She felt a shiver of trepidation course through her.

In the blink of an eye she turned around and started running away from him as fast as she could. It was at the back of her mind that this was probably the wrong thing to do, that it would only excite his feral nature rather than calm him down but she was running before she knew it and couldn't seem to stop herself from doing so.

Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, her breath panting out with the stress of running full speed. She'd already covered miles this morning at full speed so she wasn't up to her usual standards having already tired herself out. Still, she tried to put as much distance between them as she could even though she knew it was a futile gesture. He would catch her in no time.

Andrei hissed when his wolf vanished into the trees. He smiled slowly, his eyes flashing with a combination of anger and also pleasure. So his woman thought she could run from him? He was going to take her down so hard she wouldn't know what had hit her. He gave her a little head start. It was the gentlemanly thing to do. Then he streaked after her, staying on the ground as he tracked her this time.

He could hear her clearly even as he followed her scent. Her breathing was laboured and he knew she wouldn't be able to run at full speed for too long. His feral nature exalted in the chase, his body hard and aching for her as he felt his rage lessen a bit more as lust took over the fight for dominance within him. When he caught her he was going to show her just who was the dominant one in their relationship and he was going to thoroughly enjoy every second of it.

Loretta could hear Andrei catching up with her. He made no attempt to move silently, playing with her, letting her know just how close he was. She wanted to scream in frustration that he was gaining on her. She knew it was futile to keep running. She hadn't even been paying close attention to what direction she was going in and was only just realising that she was boxing herself in. Soon she would hit the wide stream and run out of options of which direction to travel in.

She yelped loudly when he connected with her, somersaulting in the air but landing back on her feet as her head whipped around to find him. He was nowhere in sight and she howled loudly. The bastard was playing with her. Chest heaving she looked around wildly and then suddenly looked up. Andrei was balancing precariously on a branch high above her.

"Good little doggie," he laughed softly, his laughter becoming louder as she streaked away to the right and started running again. He was so proud of his wolf's intelligence, of her grace and beauty as she fled from him again. But he was still going to teach her a lesson.

Andrei attacked and retreated again, spinning her into the air before vanishing into the trees. She howled loudly and a low growl ripped from her throat as her head swung around and up again looking but not finding him. His soft laughter filled the morning air at her confusion and irritation.

He began an almost constant attack, flipping her over and over again. He was careful not to hurt her. He just flipped her ensuring he was close enough that if she went to land awkwardly he would be able to break her fall. But she was very good. She always landed on her feet, her howls progressively becoming louder and more frustrated as he bested her time and time again.

But still she ran from him which only made him keep going. When she had the sense to stop running and concede defeat he would stop toying with her. He could tell she was almost exhausted because her speed was clearly dropping off but she refused to cave. She just kept running.

Andrei finally tired of their game. She was going to run herself until she collapsed rather than concede defeat. She was a stubborn little wolf but he felt such pride in her temerity. It was so goddamned sexy and he was so hard for her that he had to have her instantly.

The next time he collided with her, he kept his arms wrapped around her body, pressing against his wolf and pinning her to the forest floor. Her breath hissed out and she heaved against him but he was holding her too tightly and she was just too tired to fight anymore. With a miserable howl she shifted to human form, glaring furiously up at him.

Andrei's greedy gaze took her sweat slicked skin, her luscious naked curves and he growled loudly, his cock jumping painfully in his jeans . He leaned forward and ran his tongue slowly up her cleavage until he came to the delicate hollow of her throat. He kissed her very gently there before he raised his head to look into her beautiful brown eyes.

"The next time you leave me a voicemail message I'm going to paddle your very delectable little ass for you, Rose," he said in a silkily soft tone. "Are we clear on this?"

She stared mutinously up at him, breathing heavily which quickly caught his attention and brought his eyes down to her breasts. The heated expression that crossed his face made her heart pound even harder and her body start to react to him straddling her. She groaned and rolled her eyes in despair.

She couldn't believe she was getting off on his macho crap. It was so embarrassing. But she was. The first throbbing ache of need was starting between her legs and the way his nostrils flared slightly told her that he was scenting her arousal. His gaze returned to her face and a small smile tugged at his sensual lips.

"Your word, Loretta," he said quietly. "Or I'm out of here right now. Your choice, darling."

"You are such a bastard, Andrei," she hissed at him as he rubbed his hardness against her body and she arched up to feel more of him pressing against her.

He laughed softly and leaned down to lick the side of her neck all the way up to her ear which he suckled against lightly for a moment before releasing the lobe and breathing heavily against it. "Oh, I most definitely am," he agreed, a smug note in his voice. "But you already knew that, Loretta. Isn't that why your wolf wants me so badly? Why you want me so badly? You could never mate with a man you could easily force into submission. You'd be bored to death in less than a week."

She wanted to scream in frustration because he was right. It was the wildness within Andrei that called to her so completely. Despite him besting her, their chase through the forest had been so exciting, so exhilarating that she wanted to do it all over again only she was too tired .

"If you'd picked up I wouldn't have had to leave a message," she grumbled trying to free her arms which were pinned by one large hand above her head.

"I called back," he countered, his eyes hardening slightly. "You didn't answer."

"My battery died," she huffed out in exasperation. "Did you seriously think I wouldn't answer your calls if I could, Andrei?"

The look she gave him was so withering that he actually felt a bit chagrined. He had thought she was ignoring his calls which was why he had become so angry. He hadn't stopped to think that it could be something as simple as a flat battery.

"Andrei," she groaned, seeing the truth on his face and shaking her head in disbelief. "I'm the one who keeps coming to you. I've walked through your flea infested pit of a club how many times? I've put up with seeing other women draped on your lap, been disrespected by your people and just had to sit through a very embarrassing pack meeting and admit that I was mating with you. And you seriously think I wouldn't answer your calls?"

He released her instantly, rolling onto his back to lie beside her, a deep scowl on his face. "My club is not flea infested," he said peevishly. "And tell me who disrespected you and I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

He knew he was prevaricating. He couldn't argue with her words and he didn't like to admit that he was wrong. She was the one who had come looking for him the first time and every other time after that. While he had sat back and waited for her to come to him and then gotten angry when she hadn't last night. Not once had he come looking for her. Not after the war when he had known she was hurt. Not even after their first time together when she had vanished for a week.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly feeling uncomfortable saying the words even though he meant them. This was the second time he'd apologised to her in a matter of weeks. He went from never uttering the words to suddenly saying them all the time to his wolf. It was irritating that she brought these feelings out in him, feelings no one else did.

He turned his head to see her watching his expression intently, a slow smile starting to cross her face.

"Well, the run was quite invigorating," she admitted with a sultry smile. "Certainly got my blood boiling. How about you?"

Her instant forgiveness made his heart falter slightly before it suddenly started to race as her desire started rekindling his almost instantly. He grinned back at her. "Chasing you certainly is a very horny experience, my Rose," he admitted huskily. "I see red and all I want to do is catch you and fuck you hard and deep until you scream my name in ecstasy."

His earthiness made her heart stutter and a low rumble escape her as she rolled over to lie on top of him. "Seems a pity to have gone through all that exercise without a little reward at the end of it," she said in a sultry voice before she quickly jumped to her feet.

Her beautiful body shimmered slightly and then she shifted back to wolf form, dragging her long tongue along the side of his neck briefly before she headed off into the forest once more.

Andrei groaned, counted slowly to ten and then sprang to his feet with a wide smile on his face. God, she was so unbelievably amazing. So completely perfect for him. He took off after her, laughing as he went. He knew she wasn't far away, that she wasn't running from him this time. She wanted him to catch her and quickly.

When he did catch up with her she was in the middle of a long, wide stream back in human form and floating serenely on top of the water. She looked so stunning that he just stood there for a moment watching her before he stripped out of his clothes and waded out to her. He was surprised when he had to tread water, he hadn't realised the stream was so deep, it was more like a mini river.

He caught her up in his arms watching in fascination as the cold water dripped slowly from her hardened nipples. His tongue snaked out and he caught the drops of water as they fell, his breath caressing her soft skin without his mouth actually touching her.

Loretta squirmed in his arms trying to bring her breasts closer to his hot mouth but he was intent on drinking the water as it flowed down her body. It was such an erotic sight that she felt liquid heat pool between her legs and she uttered a low moan. "Andrei, please," she whispered softly.

Her soft plea was music to his ears, the scent of her luscious body preparing itself for his possession such a turn on. He suckled a nipple deeply into his mouth, laving the hard nub firmly with his tongue. She tasted so amazing, she always did.

He groaned and suckled harder before releasing her and lowering her body back into the water. He did the same with her other breast, first drinking the dripping water from her swollen peak and then suckling the remaining wetness with his hot mouth. She was moaning continuously by the time he raised his head from her succulent breasts.

He slid her down his body until she wrapped her legs around his waist, his mouth finding hers in a long, hard kiss. He moved closer to the bank, finding a rock outcropping which was smooth enough to rest her against. "Slide yourself onto my cock," he ordered huskily as he pressed her against the shiny wet surface.

Loretta groaned and positioned him at her entrance, lowering her body onto him and sighing her pleasure as he slid easily inside her. He filled and stretched her with his rigid thickness, holding her tightly as they just stayed locked together for a brief moment.

Then the feral, lusty expression that she knew so well crossed his beautiful face and his nostrils flared slightly. "Hang on tight, darling," he ground out huskily before he began to thrust ruthlessly into her body.

She cried out, her head falling backwards as he began to take her with hard, powerful strokes. His hand was there to support her head so she didn't bang it against the rock. Liquid fire coursed through her body as her vampire took her at such a hard punishing pace that she was breathless before she knew it, panting heavily as he surged over and over inside her body. His mouth suckled gently at her nipples as he pounded inside her, the contrasting sensations making her shudder with delight.

Making love with Loretta was the best, most intense experience of his life. He wanted her constantly, craved her so much every moment they were apart that it was slightly scary. He rocked his hips hard, sliding deeply into her scalding heat and growling with pleasure as her body deliciously massaged his aching cock .

He would never tire of being with his wolf, of loving her like this over and over again. She was so firmly embedded in his heart that he didn't even need to ask himself if he had fallen in love with her. He knew it. She was as important to him as Alexei was, probably even more so but on a different level. She was his beautiful wolf, his wild, spirited little Rose.

"You feel so fucking good," he groaned out surging hard and deep inside her. "So totally perfect, Loretta." He couldn't stop thrusting deeply, his groans telling her how much pleasure he was taking from her luscious body.

Their bodies slapped together hard, water rippling wildly around them as their ragged breathing and harsh moans filled the morning air. Andrei could feel the tension begin to coil in his stomach, knew he was seconds away from losing himself within her beautiful body. He increased his pace, slamming into her hard as her body stiffened and she screamed out his name as she shattered on his cock, loud breathy moans dragging from her throat.

"Loretta," he groaned loudly, chanting her name as he swelled inside her and she took him over the edge with her silken sheathe rippling around his aching cock. He jerked hard into her, his hot cum bathing her insides over and over again as his world exploded in total bliss.

His fangs slid easily into the side of her neck, piercing her fragile skin and nicking her artery to allow her sweet life's essence to fill his mouth.

Lost in the haze of his lust he drank greedily, his body thrumming with ecstasy as her sweetness enveloped him completely and he drowned in her delicious flavour. Her utter stillness slowly seeped into the fog that engulfed him and he realised what he was doing. A loud guttural roar of anguish escaped him as he ripped his fangs from her neck, his heart crashing painfully in his chest.

"No!" he groaned in anguish. "Loretta! Oh, sweet Jesus, NO!"

Fear like nothing he had ever experienced before crashed through him. A second after that, a mind numbing pain followed it. The pain was so overwhelming his legs trembled with the force if it and he had to fight hard not to sink to his knees as he cradled his precious wolf in his arms. He'd bitten her! He'd lost control and destroyed the one perfect thing in his life!