Page 167 of Crystal Luna

His pace increased, his hand dropping down to find her clit again.

“You feel so fucking good,” he groaned, finally bottoming out.

Vel only gasped in response as he filled her completely.

Asher’s thumb adjusted to his hips’ rhythm, and it wasn’t long before his pace fell uneven. He peered down between them to see his length disappearing inside her, which only hurled him closer to the edge. Vel was close—and Asher couldn’t hold it any longer.

He pressed down on her clit, a growl clawing up through his chest as his orgasm raced through him. Vel’s nails dug into his shoulders, drawing out his climax. She crashed over the edge, the tightening of her walls around him making him shoot again and again. His hips stilled as he began to gasp for each breath.

Asher dropped his head to her shoulder and nuzzled her throat. He could feel her pulse racing through her artery against his nose. Still utterly speechless over how grateful he was to have her, he took his mate in his arms,

Vel’s fingers gently caressed his back while her mind was leaning into his—she was soaking up every bit of it as well. She still hated his guts, that was for sure. But he could feel it: slowly but surely, his mate was warming up to him.

Chapter Forty-Two

Velora

Isaiah returned just after breakfast while Asher was washing up. He was covered in a light sheen of sweat, but his mind seemed more at peace. He detoured to the couch to kiss her hair before walking into the kitchen and snatching a leftover pancake, humming in delight once he tasted it.

“Did you make them?” he asked, grabbing a second before the first was even finished. “They taste fantastic.”

“Apparently I was missing the vanilla all these years,” Asher grumbled.

“Maybe I should have kept quiet and let you suffer through dissatisfying pancakes a little while longer.”

“They weren’t a total disaster,” Asher pouted, crossing his arms. “They weren’t horrible.”

“If they were, Isaiah may have starved to death,” she giggled, watching after Isaiah as he walked upstairs.

Asher dried his hands and sat next to her. “Would you like us to arrange for Ax to come see you?”

Velora curled up next to him and laid her head in his lap. He froze in shock at first, then began to gently massage her scalp. “No, I’ll just look for him later.”

“You might run into Larissa that way.”

“I need to get used to the idea.”

“How are you healing?”

“I feel good. It still pinches a little here and there but with you two nearby it’s healing faster than anything ever has.”

“I guess we’re good for something after all,” he laughed.

She closed her eyes and simply let everything sink in. Even though she didn’t want to, she was beginning to enjoy their company. The comfort a single touch from them brought was growing on her. She still felt conflicted, as if giving in would reward them for their behaviour in the past, but she’d begun to lose the will to fight it.

When Isaiah approached again, Asher stiffened beneath her. When she opened her eyes, she could read the tension in the room. Isaiah sat down on an armchair, face hard as stone.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, fighting the quiver of fear in her voice.

“Isaiah wants us to pick a new beta,” Asher explained.

“I don’t want to. We have to. The pack needs reassurance and structure. Especially now with so much uncertainty.”

“What about Axel? I think he’d be a good fit” she asked, unable to picture anyone else in the role.

Isaiah shook his head and sighed. “He was my first thought as well but he’s our first warrior. If we make him beta, we have to rearrange the warriors too and that’s just too much.” Isaiah jolted himself out of the seat and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Fuck.”

“Maybe it’s something you two will just have to figure out with time. It’s not a hasty decision to make.”