The Council Ch. 10

She was so still in his arms, her face pale, her eyes closed. Andrei shuddered wildly, tears springing to his eyes as he held his wolf tightly, praying for a miracle that he knew just wasn't coming.

There was a moment of utter silence as he stared at the woman he loved, his wolf who he had just killed because he was unable to control his base needs. Then she slowly opened her eyes and stared back at him in confusion.

"I'm alive," she whispered in complete shock. She saw her own confusion mirrored on Andrei's anguished face, vaguely aware that her vampire was crying at the moment.

"Loretta?" he whispered softly, a shaky hand coming to her face, disbelief in his tone. "Are you okay? Do you feel alright? Oh, God, I'm so sorry! I lost control. I didn't mean to bite you."

"I feel fine, Andrei," she answered slowly. And she did feel fine, in fact she felt utterly incredible. She was as confused as he was as to why his bite hadn't killed her but she felt a deep joy within her too. If he could bite her then they could complete the mating ritual. Actually, they just had completed the mating ritual only he didn't know it yet.

Andrei moved back slightly, confusion warring with relief on his face as he tugged them back into the centre of the water, still cradling her close to his body. "How is this possible?" he asked shakily. "My bite should have killed you, Loretta." He couldn't believe she was still alive. He couldn't stop touching her, checking that her heart was beating smoothly. She was so precious to him.

She gave a shaky, bewildered laugh. "I know," she whispered. "But I feel fine, Andrei, really I do. In fact, I feel utterly amazing, like I'm floating on top of a cloud at the moment. I don't know why I'm not dead but I'm glad that I'm not."

She reached up to stroke his face gently. "You know what this means, don't you?" she asked quietly. "You've completed the mating ritual, Andrei. We're fully mated now, whatever that means. We may be the first Vampire/Were full mating ever achieved."

Andrei's relief that she wasn't dead or about to die on him was waning and now he was starting to think more logically about it. His wolf was so happy at him biting her and his venom not killing her but he couldn't help being concerned about it. What if this was just a one off? What if he slipped up and bit her again and did kill her the next time? They had to be careful, to think this through, to try and find out how this was possible.

"Loretta, we need to keep this quiet for now," he finally said in a concerned tone. "I'm not asking you to betray your Alpha by holding the information back," he added when he saw a frown start to mar her beautiful face. "I need some time to try and look into this. Just a little time."

Loretta didn't like withholding any information from Jared, especially something this important but Andrei's expression gave her pause. She frowned as she considered what to do. "Okay," she finally answered. "As long as I'm not asked out right about it, I won't say anything for a couple of days, Andrei. But after that I will tell Jared what's happened so you'd better do whatever it is you need to do quickly."

"Agreed," he said instantly, his arms holding her tightly against him as he kissed her gently, his thoughts in utter chaos. He had bit her and she was alive. She had said they had completed her Were mating ritual. He searched inside himself as he kissed her, looking for something different within him now he had bitten her.

He felt just the same as far as he could tell. He could feel the wolf part of her within him as he had since she had first bitten him. It didn't feel any stronger, any different.

Loretta's tongue stroking deep inside his mouth quickly shattered his thoughts away from practical matters and stirred up his lust again. She felt so damned good in his arms that he was soon rock hard and aching for her once more. How any woman could be so desirable and make him ache like this so instantly was beyond him.

"You do the exact same thing to me," Loretta murmured huskily against his lips as she clutched him tightly. "One touch and I'm instantly burning for more. It's quite embarrassing that I'm so 'easy' where you're concerned."

Andrei stiffened noticeably and pulled away from her, looking at her with an odd expression on his face. She stared at him in surprise. "What?" she asked, perplexed. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, little wolf, you said the exact thing I needed to hear," Andrei answered mentally. "The only thing is, I didn't vocalise what you responded to."

Loretta's expression turned completely stunned as she stared at him intently, his lips not moving but his words clearly sounding inside her head. "Andrei?" she whispered tremulously in her mind. A wide smile suddenly crossed his beautiful face and he was once more pulling her back into his embrace.

"I can hear you, my Rose," he answered with a soft laugh tumbling from his lips.

"Oh my God!" Loretta gasped, awe and also pleasure filling her. "We can communicate like proper mates, Andrei. You should be able to hear me in wolf form too, now." She threw her arms tightly around him and embarrassed herself by bursting into tears of joy.

"I can't believe it," she mumbled into the side of his neck as he held her tightly. "I can't believe we can share this, Andrei. I didn't think it would ever be possible."

Andrei soothed his wolf, hating to see her cry but knowing that she was just so overwhelmed by everything that had happened. He was pretty overwhelmed by it too but he felt a fierce joy deep inside. He could communicate mentally with his Rose now. The level of closeness that would bring to their relationship filled him with delight. If he could communicate with her in wolf form too it would be the most amazing experience ever.

He didn't even question why he was taking so much pleasure from this turn of events. He had admitted to himself that he loved her and he knew she loved him too. Sure, he had limited time to work out all the connotations of what had happened but he would get to work on that as soon as he could. He had his wolf and had mated completely with her, making her happy and that was all he cared about at the moment.

He kissed her again, his tongue duelling with hers as he raised her body slightly and lowered himself back inside her sexy body. The moment called for some kind of celebration of the change of their status. He groaned as she sheathed him perfectly, her muscles clenching around his throbbing shaft as she moaned softly.

"I love you," he heard himself say as he raised her up and slowly lowered her back down his body as he thrust up deeply inside her.

Loretta felt more tears gather in her eyes as she brought her gaze to his, her arms and legs wrapped firmly around him. "I love you, Andrei," she whispered, smiling through her haze of tears as she saw joy cross his face as well as a deep tenderness in his eyes.

She held on tightly as he rocked them both together in a slow, tantalising pace. His body stretched her so fully, tiny jolts of electricity flowing through her as he made love to her so tenderly. It had to be the most beautiful lovemaking she had ever experienced, lovemaking she had never thought Andrei was capable of. But he rocked her world with his passion and tenderness, sliding easily inside her as his lips travelled over her wet skin with a light, loving touch.

She was instantly reaching her completion, her wolf rumbling her ecstasy as they made love to their mate for the first time as a fully mated pair. She couldn't hold back the rising crescendo which was threatening to crash over her, moaning loudly against Andrei's lips.

His breath rushed out in a harsh, ragged pant as his wolf took him tumbling swiftly towards his climax. The wealth of emotions rocking through him stunned him as did the strange swelling that suddenly started growing at the base of his cock.

Loretta felt his knot start to grow and her heart faltered, crashing loudly inside her chest. "Push it all the way in," she ground out desperately. "Don't worry about hurting me, just put it inside me."

He thrust deeply, forcing the knot into her body, not knowing why she was desperate to have it inside her or even what it was but trusting it was some kind of wolf thing that was occurring now that they were fully mated. He felt a fierce sense of joy when he fitted the knot inside her body. It locked them so completely together and he liked the feeling of knowing she couldn't escape his hard shaft.

It hampered his movements slightly, forcing his thrusts to be shallower but then he was cumming and he found that it was perfectly shaped and formed to bring his climax to a spectacular end. They came together, both crying out in ecstasy as they reached their completion in a haze of pleasure.

"Sweet Jesus, Loretta, what the fuck is happening?" Andrei groaned through ragged breaths as they stayed locked together after their pleasure had peaked.

Her own breath was harsh and ragged, her body resting weakly in his tight embrace. "It's a wolf knot," she sighed softly. "It's common in my people, a joining only true mates share. It's signifying the fact we are now fully mated." She deliberately left out the fact that it was suppose to ensure conception. That wasn't possible for them because he was a vampire and couldn't have children. There seemed little point in telling him about it.

Andrei found himself oddly pleased that this knot thing was something she had never experienced with anyone else. It was mildly disconcerting that he couldn't disengage from her body and he wondered how long they would remain joined like this. She had said she had things she needed to do early this morning and he was suddenly aware that being joined like this compromised them both. If someone tried to attack while they were locked together he would be hampered in his defence of his wolf.

"Just stay still and the knot will disengage in a couple of minutes," Loretta answered his unspoken thoughts with a little laugh. She was secretly pleased at sensing his thoughts and the deep need to protect her rearing up inside him.

He sighed and kissed the side of her neck, trusting that she knew what was best in the circumstances. It was a wolf thing after all. He was suddenly struck with just how 'wrong' the entire morning had gone. He had come here to teach his wolf a lesson. Instead of doing so he had bit her, fully mated with her and was now joined by a wolf knot to her. Oh, and he'd confessed his love to her too. Yeah, he was one badass vampire, not! His wolf turned him to putty in her hands but he couldn't find himself regretting what had happened.

The knot gradually reduced and he was able to slip free of her body. "Well, that was most definitely an interesting morning," he said ruefully, his brown eyes twinkling with humour. He deliberately hid the bubbling concern he felt about the situation from her. She looked so happy, so radiant in her beauty that he didn't want to shatter this moment for her by speaking about his trepidation. She had agreed to give him two days. He would try and figure out what was going on in that time.

Loretta sighed softly and began to head out of the water, joy filling her completely even as her thoughts whirled madly in her head. Andrei loved her and was now hers completely. They could communicate mentally and he was exhibiting signs of wolf genetics with his knot developing during their lovemaking. She was still uncomfortable about keeping quiet for a few days but she had agreed to it so she couldn't retract her word.

She sighed again. She really did have an early start which was why she was on her morning run so early. She shivered slightly despite the fact that it was a warm morning. The stream was pretty cold. Not that she had noticed at the time but now her passion had cooled she felt cold and her clothes were miles away where she'd left them when she'd shifted to wolf form.

She felt Andrei's arms wrap around her from behind as he nuzzled at her neck. "You're cold," he sighed. "Where are your clothes?"

"Somewhere way over there," she laughed pointing into the forest. "I wasn't expecting to be skinny dipping this morning."

He laughed softly and moved to gently wring the wetness from her hair, then he wrapped his shirt around her body.

"I'm going to shift back to wolf form," she smiled turning around to face him. She was secretly pleased with his protective instincts rearing up, his need to make sure she was warm clearly written all over his face.

He stared down into her gorgeous face, a deep sense of warmth coming over him as she stood there practically drowning in his shirt. She looked so utterly adorable he had to lean down and give her a long, slow kiss before he released her and pulled on his jeans and boots. He didn't bother fighting to get his socks on his wet feet, he just stuck them in his pocket.

She gave a startled squeak as he scooped her up and took off into the trees in the direction she'd pointed in. He had no idea where he was going but he was sure she would tell him if he took a wrong turning.

It took no time for him to reach the spot where she had undressed before shifting. It was quite close to the compound as he had expected it to be.

"Andrei, Jared doesn't want you or Alexei hanging around the compound," she said with a slight frown on her face.

"Fine with me," he answered with a crooked smile. "I don't particularly want to be here either." He lowered her feet to the ground and watched appreciatively as she shucked off his shirt and handed it to him before she pulled on her sweatpants and tank top. She slipped her feet into a pair of low heeled sandals.

"Oh, Jared also wanted to know if you could check your archives for any reference to Weres and Vamps mating. If you can do so without it causing any suspicion among your people. I suppose you're intending on doing that now anyway, after what's happened."

He frowned slightly. "So I'm not allowed here but your Alpha wants me to do him a favour?" He arched a perfect eyebrow at her, disbelief written across his face.

She frowned too, seeing he was going to be stubborn about it and trying to think of a way to head him off. "I suppose if you look at it that way then you have a point," she answered carefully.

His frown deepened, his good mood evaporating instantly. "What other way is there to look at it, Loretta?" he asked archly. He was not pleased to be banished from the compound but expected to help out the wolves too.

"The way I did when I went around the other packs trying to find out information," she answered quietly. "I wanted to find something, anything that would give us the answer to how we could be together completely, properly mated. We may have managed to do that but we don't know how we have. There's still Alexei and Cedar to consider, plus Ashleigh and Nors. Don't they deserve to have what we now have, Andrei?"

He stared down at her silently for a long moment and then he pulled her close and kissed her gently. She looked so disappointed in him that he wanted to wipe the expression from her face.

"I will do this for you, my Rose," he whispered against her lips. "Not for your Alpha. For you, because you ask it of me, and for Alexei because I know how much he wants this too."

It was the right answer because she hugged him tightly and kissed him almost feverishly before she pulled away and gave him a sunny smile.

"I really need to go now," she sighed regretfully. She didn't want to leave him, she never did when they were together. But somehow it didn't feel so bad this time. He was hers completely now and it gave her a certain level of comfort to know that he was inextricably bound to her the way she was to him.

"You'll come to the club tonight?" He held his breath while he awaited her answer, letting it out slowly when she nodded her agreement. He kissed her lingeringly once more and then she vanished towards the compound.

Andrei watched her until she was out of sight then he turned and headed back to his car. He was amused to realise that he had come here with the sole intent on teaching his woman who was boss and instead was meekly leaving having agreed to help the wolf pack out again.

Exactly when had he turned so soft where she was concerned? Was it after she had drenched him in his club or when he had allowed her to bite him? Maybe it was as far back as the night he had found her dying in the forest and he had healed her broken body?

He laughed softly and shook his head. He had a lot to get done today. He would need Alexei and possibly Nors' help with the archive search and he also needed to find a new house. Somewhere only a ten or fifteen minute drive from the compound. So Loretta wouldn't have to be away from him if she had another early start.

He also had to go and see a man about a dog. He wasn't particularly looking forward to that meeting but he needed answers quickly and Caleb Cullen was the only one he thought would be able to supply them. Whether or not the Ancient actually would answer his questions was another matter, but it related to the Weres so maybe Caleb wouldn't be so tight lipped when pressed.

Sighing deeply at the prospect of having to ask the Ancient for help, Andrei slipped into his car and headed away from the compound.

*****

Ashleigh stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Nors while he scowled furiously back at her. He was dressed for work while she was still standing in her robe, her tempting flesh peaking out of the loosely tied garment making Nors wish that they were doing something other than fighting at the moment.

He just couldn't understand her logic, how her mind worked sometimes. She had mated with him for God sake! Why she refused to move into his bedroom was beyond him. She spent every night with him anyway. What was the difference with moving her clothes and things in?

The last few days had been the most amazing and the most frustrating of his life. He finally had his wolf and yet she kept slipping out of his grasp. She kept turning around and doing or saying something so contrary he didn't know which way to turn or how to react to it.

It had been bad enough when she'd announced she was going to be returning to the pack more often. At first he had thought she was changing her mind about being with him but she had explained her reasons why. Once he had thought about it carefully he could understand her need. Sure, he wasn't happy that she would be away from him so much but she needed her own people. She was ready to let the pack back into her life and that was the most important thing.

Now she was trying to explain to him why she didn't want to share his bedroom and he just couldn't understand that at all. It almost felt as if she didn't trust him somehow. That she expected him to let her down in some way. It bloody hurt and that was what was fuelling his temper.

Ashleigh couldn't believe Nors was being so unreasonable. Couldn't he understand that their relationship had just flipped over on its head and that she needed a little time to come to grips with all the sudden changes happening in her life? She loved her stupid vampire so much but she needed some breathing space while she came to terms with everything. Why couldn't he see that?

She hated that he was angry with her but she held her ground. She instinctively wanted to give in to him so he would smile at her again, kiss her until she was breathless and then make passionate love to her. But she knew they were still working out the dynamics of their relationship and despite having needed him so much after the death of her family, she was ready to stand on her own two feet again.

She had been a strong wolf before the war. She'd had aspirations at the time to one day work her way up to be someone the Alpha Bitch could rely on, could count on to help her with her pack duties. Maybe one day that could still happen once she integrated back into the pack properly. It wouldn't happen if Nors had his way all the time and kept her chained to his side and in his bed the way he appeared to want to.