Alpha Dragon: Alpha Bites Book 3 Page 14

  Katie was getting high off this new form of control. It felt good to be in command of a strong alpha dragon, to know that he was making these sounds, that his powerful body was trembling with pleasure, because of her. Her mouth, tongue, and lips were doing this to him.

  If she’d known it would feel like this, she would have gotten started here years ago. Now she had to make up for all the lost time.

  Was it strange how proud she felt that she was apparently a natural at this? Jax likely would think so if those noises were anything to go by, and listening to the deep tremors of his moans had long since started to dampen her sex. Katie’s nipples hardened and her sex throbbed.

  God, listening to him was better than a night with that toy she kept locked away in the drawer beside her bed, and it was stimulating as all hell.

  She wanted him inside her again. Katie needed that feeling, and though she knew Jax would probably like it more if she finished him off like this, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She pulled back from him, noting the way he stared down at her with what appeared to be panic in his eyes. She wanted to laugh at him, almost did, but she was too eager for him. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to leave you like this.” Katie quickly stood, undressing just enough so she would be exposed to him, so he would be able to do what needed to be done for them both to feel good.

  The panic in Jax’s eyes turned to a sexy, half-lidded lust. He reached for her hips, pulling her down onto him, easing her into position on his lap.

  “Oh, baby, that’s it.”

  The heat that was already there when he was inside her intensified to something so molten hot that Katie almost didn’t have a name for it. She didn’t need a name for the things that were swirling inside her. She just knew how much she needed her mate, and that was enough.

  Katie curled her arms around Jax’s shoulders, canting her hips as she stared him in the eyes.

  “Don’t be afraid to be a little rougher with me,” she said, briefly biting her lips together. “Don’t treat me like glass, that’s not what we need.”

  She said we instead of just referring to herself because this involved the both of them. It always had, and Katie was done acting like she was all alone in this.

  Jax’s eyes blazed. For a few brief seconds, she saw the dragon inside him. It breathed fire. Jax couldn’t breathe fire, could he?

  Katie didn’t get the chance to ask before Jax actually made a noise that seemed to be part howl and part hiss. It was raw and animalistic. His fingers on her waist hurt as he pulled her back and forth, up and down on his shaft.

  And Katie absolutely loved every minute of it.

  The pleasure, the sensation of his hot skin against her own, all brought her closer to him, made her feel what he was feeling, and she needed that. God, she’d needed this for so long and she hated that she’d stopped herself from having it.

  “J-Jax.” Katie panted his name. She wanted to tell him that he was doing it just right. He was making her feel everything she needed to, and if only he would push into her a little harder, and a little deeper, it would be perfect.

  She couldn’t get a word out because it felt so good. The only things she could say to him in that moment were the small, animalistic panting noises that came out of her throat as she reached for the height of her pleasure.

  It found her before she was ready. It crashed over her in a hard wave that stole her breath, forcing her shout into a soundless little thing as her body tensed.

  Jax didn’t stop. He groaned deeply in his throat and chest as he continued to push into her, his movements picking up speed as he neared his own edge of pleasure. Each forward and back thrust pulled another shock of pleasure from Katie’s body; the aftershocks were still strong. She needed him. She needed to hold on tight or else she was going to fly away.

  Just as her sex started to feel a little too sensitive as the pleasure ebbed away, Jax groaned hard. His hands left her hips as his arms curled around her back. He held onto her as tightly as she did to him.

  Oh God. Katie had been wrong. It hadn’t been the sex she’d needed. Though it felt good, this was the part of it she’d needed, the part she’d craved for so long without realizing it.

  The part that came after their pleasure had been reached. The part that happened after Jax slumped, almost as if he’d lost the vast majority of strength in his entire body, allowing Katie to hold onto him, to hold him up and run her fingers through his hair. It was the part where he looked up at her as if she was the most amazingly beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life and kissed her hard, as if she would fade away if he didn’t kiss her.

  This was what she’d needed. The intimacy.

  Jax smiled at her, a lazy thing as Katie eased her hand along his jaw line.

  “You should see yourself right now,” he said. “You look amazing.”

  More heat rushed through Katie’s chest and neck before it settled into her cheeks. “Well, you’re something special yourself.”

  Jax chuckled. Then Katie said something she knew was going to break the mood.

  “I want to see the prisoner in the basement.”

  Chapter 16

  Katie wasn’t so sure what she’d expected to see when she made it downstairs to the basement. Maybe a monster, something so utterly inhuman she would be able to sense the evil rolling from his flesh. That said a lot, considering there was almost no one in this house who was actually a human.

  No. He looked like a kid, probably no older than Anna.

  “I’ll be right here if you need me.”

  Jax’s voice was welcome in that moment. Katie turned away from the prisoner to face her mate. His brows were drawn tightly together. He wasn’t looking at her. That intense stare was fixed on the prisoner, as if Jax would melt him with his eyeballs if the man so much as looked at Katie the wrong way.

  Yeah, it definitely felt good knowing Jax had her back.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  Jax’s eyes glanced from her, to the kid, and back again. His lips pressed together in a thin line. He really wanted to beat the man in the room to within an inch of his life.

  He couldn’t. Katie had already talked to him about this.

  None of the alphas or betas had been able to make this guy talk. He needed a gentle hand if they were going to get any information out of him. Katie was convinced an omega needed to be the one to talk to him if they were going to find out where Anna was.

  “Really. I can handle this.” She reached out and took Jax by the hand, squeezing his fingers.

  His expression softened, though he still glared at the prisoner. “If you’re sure.”

  “I am. I’ll call you if I need you.”

  Just because he looked young didn’t mean he couldn’t also be one of the people who had done those horrifying things to her, but seeing him now made it a little easier for her to handle. The man had almost looked different when he and Jax had been fighting. Not at all like a young man with his hair hanging in his eyes. He was familiar in a way she couldn’t place, though.

  “We can’t be long.”

  Katie nodded.

  She and Jax hadn’t told Garret they would be down here. Zelda had been guarding the door, but Jax pulled rank on her, as well as lied about their permission to be there.

  It wasn’t likely that Zelda would double check that with Garret. What reason would she have to do such a thing when Jax was a trusted member of the pack? Still, Katie had to be quick.

  With one last glare at the man in the cage, Jax silently stepped out, but he didn’t leave Katie alone. He would be on the other side of the door, and Katie was fine with that.

  As she turned back to the man shackled by the ankle behind those bars, she realized she was only brave because Jax was just a few feet away. Even though the young man was locked up, and had healing bruises that swelled out on his face, there was something so imposing about him.

  The man growled a low, menacing noise at her. “What are you looking at?”

&nbs
p; Katie cleared her throat. There was a stool in the corner, well out of reach of the cage. Katie took it and brought it up close to the bars. Well, as close as she could get to the line of yellow tape on the floor. That was how far the prisoner could reach out with his arms if he tried attacking her.

  She wasn’t going take that risk. This man wasn’t one of the betas who’d attacked her so many years ago, but just knowing he was from Dennis’ pack was enough to give Katie pause.

  The prisoner rolled his eyes and shook his head, turning away from her. The epitome of angry teenager. Some men in their early twenties still had that air about them. Katie got the feeling this was how it was for him. He didn’t seem much interested in her at all. He stayed leaning against the back of the cage. There was nothing in there with him, not even a cot.

  What had he done that Garret hadn’t allowed him to so much as a blanket?

  “You here to tell me what a bad man I am or something? Your pack’s been doing that my whole life.”

  Not so tough now. Now he sounded a lot more like he was getting scared. Katie took in the sound of his voice, analyzed it, and then, against all common sense, inched her stool forward, closer to the bars, and beyond the line of tape.

  “Say that again.”

  The man lifted a single brow at her.

  “You serious?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, I want to hear your voice.”

  So many years had passed since that day that Katie didn’t think she would remember the faces of her attackers. Dennis’ father had been an obvious one since he was the ring leader, but there had been others as well, young betas who wanted to prove themselves. Some had been friends of Dennis’ father, friends of Dennis, or friends of hers. Katie had been so distraught, and had fought so hard that not much had been clear, not to mention the fact that she’d been little more than a child when it had happened, just a teenager.

  On top of all that, the younger men who’d held her down would have aged. Even with the extended lifespan, a person’s look could change. It wasn’t often that someone stayed looking like a kid for decades, but Katie didn’t think she would ever forget the sounds of their voices.

  She was already positive that he wasn’t one of the men involved, but now that they were talking, now that she could hear his voice and have a conversation with him, it seemed so much better than before. Her confidence picked up.

  “Do it. Say something.”

  The man rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Christ, if I’d known being here would surround me with a bunch of crazy people, I would’ve saved you the trouble and stayed the fuck away.”

  Katie’s heart slammed in her throat as she picked apart the sound of his voice and put it together again. She breathed a heavy sigh, relieved. She hadn’t been wrong. This was the ultimate proof that he wasn’t one of the men who’d stolen her out to the lodge and raped her in the woods all those years ago.

  He seemed a little less like a monster, and more like a young, stupid, angry man who was following his leader.

  “What’s your name?”

  The young man behind the bars snorted. “Yeah fucking right. No way, lady.”

  “I don’t want to use it against you. I’m just curious.”

  “Show me your tits and I’ll consider it.”

  The tiny muscle under Katie’s eye twitched at that. Goddamn brat.

  She let it go. This man hadn’t hurt her, was probably not even alive back then, and just because he was trying to hurt her now didn’t mean she was going to fly apart. She wasn’t that person anymore. She wasn’t the weakling who ran away and hid behind a fake mask of strength. This time, she actually was strong.

  “If I were to bring you a Playboy magazine instead, would you do it?”

  Both his brows lifted, and a smile pulled at his mouth. “Not sure if you’re serious or not, but you know they don’t do nudes anymore, right?”

  Katie shrugged. “I’m sure I can find you some old copies.”

  “It’s not the real thing.”

  “But you’ll have access to it for longer than me flashing you my tits for five seconds.”

  He actually rubbed his chin, and he did look a little super villainous in that moment. “Good point. Very good point. I think I like you, lady. Still won’t give you my name, though. Unless you’ve got an iPad with an Internet connection, then maybe we can exchange names”

  It had been worth a try. It wasn’t as if Katie would have been able to give him a magazine anyway. Garret never would have allowed something like that.

  Either way, she was already getting farther with this kid than Garret had.

  Okay, it was time for a different approach. “Why do you follow Dennis?”

  The man shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Are you loyal to him?”

  The young man hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “You guess so?”

  He glared at her.

  Katie bit her lips together. “How old are you?”

  He hesitated again before answering. “Twenty-four.”

  Not as young as she thought, but still young. Young enough to be an idiot, but this was an adult she was dealing with.

  “Did someone change you? Or were you born as a shifter?”

  “What if someone changed me? What if it was one of your pack that did it?”

  Katie sincerely doubted someone from her pack had changed him. “You’re a born shifter then.”

  His eyes widened.

  “You feel as if you owe him something. He treats you well then?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah, as best as he can. He’s good to all of us.”

  Katie wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth of not. “You don’t have any major scars on your face or hands, so I guess that could be true.”

  The kid glared at her. “He doesn’t kick innocent people out of the pack. He takes in people who were changed and he teaches them how to control themselves.”

  “All the while asking your pack to attack us. Does that sound like the actions of a good person?”

  “Garret started it.”

  Katie nearly choked. “Is that what he’s telling you?” Okay, she was pissed again. That asshole was telling the people in his pack that Garret had started this? No, it had been Dennis’ father and his sick and twisted friends. “What exactly do you think’s been going on?” She had to know this, had to ask when the kid said nothing to her.

  He shrugged. “Someone got hurt pretty bad. Dennis’ dad did it, but he and all the people involved are dead now. Dennis asked to be let back into the pack over and over again, and every time, Garret and his dad said no. Wouldn’t take anyone else in either. No one who was involved with us, as if we were all monsters, as if I was a monster just for being in the same pack.” He was getting angry now, his shoulders bunching up tight. “Now Laurence is being a dick and trying to take over. He trying to kick my—” He stopped himself abruptly, then continued. “He wants to kick Dennis out. That’s not right. Laurence wouldn’t have been anything at all without him

  Katie paid close attention to that. “Did you tell this to Garret, or Dane?”

  The man cocked his head to the side a little, just like a dog would. Katie had to wonder if he realized he was doing it. “No. Why would I?”

  “Why would you tell me?” She already knew why he was talking to her, but she wanted to know what he thought about it.

  He shrugged before staring down at his dirty fingernails. It looked almost as if he’d bitten them down to the skin. “Don’t know. You’re a girl. It’s different. Doesn’t feel like you’re about to hurt me if I don’t say anything. Maybe I’m just chatty for you.”

  Yeah, he was definitely chatty for an omega that wouldn’t beat the hell out of him like an angry alpha would.

  He smiled at her in a way that would have made her shiver, get up, and walk out of the room without a word or expression a couple of weeks ago. Now she could better handle it. In fact, she didn’t think he was the pe
rverted sort. He was just dirty and tired, looking for any sort of power he could grasp in a powerless situation.

  “Tell me your name.”

  He got that suspicious glint in his eyes again. “Why do you want to know so bad?”

  Katie shrugged. “Just so I know who I’m talking to. My name is Katie, if that helps at all.” She was hoping Dennis had told him her name. Maybe that would be enough to make the kid answer her.

  By his sullen reply, she wasn’t sure if Dennis had told him who she was or not.

  “Derek. My name is Derek.”

  “All right, Derek, and if I was to convince Garret to take you into the pack, this pack, right here, where we have a nice house, running water, and Internet, would you tell us where Dennis is hiding his sister?”

  His soft brown brows lifted high. “Fuck off, you’re not going to do that for me.”

  Katie shrugged. “I can’t say there are any guarantees, but like you said, you’re tired of being cold and hungry, right? Would you rather live here, or go back to the woods, barely surviving off what you can catch and eat every night?”

  The man pressed his lips together in a fine line. His eyes scanned Katie up and down, as if he was searching for some physical proof that she was lying. Maybe she should put an asterisk on this before he got the idea that she was more powerful in this house than she really was.

  “Can Dennis come, too?”

  “Probably not.” Katie wouldn’t have minded it if Garret let Dennis in, but there was too much history there, too much fighting. This was more than just what had happened to Katie at this point.

  The young man frowned. He crossed his arms and turned away from her. She was losing him.

  “You care for Dennis?”

  A shrug.

  “If you think he cares for you, then he would want you to take this deal, don’t you think?”

  He looked at her, holding her gaze. She could see the wheels turning through his eyes. He was torn. She just had to give him that little extra push.

  “Dennis is your father, isn’t he?”

  Derek’s eyes flew wide.