Chapter Ninety-Seven
A pair of hands grabbed her by the shoulders and she shrieked. Still woozy from the surge of energy, she kicked and punched as her tears returned.
“Dammit, look at me!” Graham roared. Catherine stilled and looked hesitantly through her arms which had been shielding her head. Graham shoved her hands away and grasped her cheeks. His black eyes missed nothing as he took in her state. “Come.”
Graham grabbed her and lifted her into his arms. He cradled her against his chest as he barked orders and moved across the room. She could feel his heart hammering through the fabric of his suit jacket. She felt his skin shiver and heard the crack of bones beneath flesh.
The room was in complete chaos. Lucas, Theo and Jensen were nowhere to be found. The Blackmoore men in the balconies were now stationed at all the exits, keeping anyone else from leaving. Dane and Gerald were livid, asking any Blackmoore men they could get their hands on how this could happen. Lucien stood beside Elliot who was trying to console his frightened luna. Paul suddenly appeared beside Graham.
“Nine, nine, seven, two. Change the code once you’re in,” Paul said, before handing him a card.
Graham ate up the ground beneath them until they reached a private room. The chaos outside quieted as he entered into the room. He didn’t stop as he crossed the floor and pulled the thick red curtain at the back. There was a hidden door with a keypad and a card reader. He typed in the code Paul gave him and used the card to unlock the door. He shoved the door open with his shoulder and slammed it shut behind them with a swift kick.
The room was small, maybe ten feet by ten feet. There was a couch, a mini, fridge and four computer monitors. He placed her on the couch and went for the monitors. One click had the monitors humming to life. Three of the monitors showed footage from all the various security cameras around the bar while the other appeared to have codes to all the doors. As he worked, Catherine stood up from the couch. She was still shaking and her mind hadn’t quite processed what had happened. Had she been dreaming? Was this just some big nightmare that she was walking through like her memories?
The tapping of Graham’s fingers stopped and she glanced over at him to find his hands gripping the edge of the table with white knuckles. His head was bowed and his shoulders strained against his suit jacket. A rip sliced up the spine of his jacket and his hair stood on end.
“Gr-Graham?”
A low growl rumbled through the air setting her own hair on end. She backed away until she hit the wall. Tears tumbled down her cheeks. He turned and she realized he was a hairsbreadth from shifting. He stalked toward her and her breathing increased. His hand came down on her collarbone, pinning her to the
wall.
“Graham,” she whimpered.
His eyes slammed shut and he groaned. She could hear his bones realigning. “I need… I need you to calm me down, Baby,” he said between clenched teeth.
“I… I can’t, I have none to give. I’m sorry”
His eyes opened. They remained brown for a split second before his pupils dilated. He closed his eyes again. “I’m going to… shift,” he tried to explain. “If I do… I won’t be able to shift back until I’ve found him and…” a large bone in his back snapped and his head fell back. “Fuck.” His head fell forward and landed on her shoulder. His grip on her tightened when he inhaled. A whimper left his mouth, a desperate sound she’d never heard him make before. “His scent. It’s all over you. I can’t…” He released a pained groan.
“What do you need?” she asked, feeling helpless. She could do nothing to stop the fear of Dominic, but she could help her mate.
“I need…” His teeth grazed her neck, drawing blood. “I need to reclaim you,” he whispered against her skin.
Her breath hitched and she realized that was exactly what she needed too. “Yes,” she answered. She encouraged him by lifting her chin up and exposing her
neck.
He whined, a high, helpless sound. “Not just here,” he told her as he brushed his teeth over his mark. His left hand skimmed down her front to where her thighs met. His fingers traced through her dry heat that quickly liquified at his touch.
“Do it,” she told him.
“But…”
“I can still feel him, Graham. I need this too. Please, please take him away,” she begged on a sob.
1/3
She lowered her hands and started to pull at his belt. His hands shoved her against the wall. One hand kept her hips pinned while the other finished working on his pants. They slid to the floor and he grabbed a handful of her ass and lifted her up. Graham growled and sunk his teeth into her skin without warning. The sharp, possessive bite sliced into her being. Her soul reached out for his and they intertwined in a desperate need of commitment. She hissed as his teeth dug deeper than ever before. With his jaw still locked and his venom leaching into her bloodstream, he thrust roughly upward. Catherine cried out and jerked back, ripping his teeth from her shoulder.
“Mine,” Graham growled in a voice more similar to his lycan form.
“Yours,” she breathed.
He pressed a flattened palm against the wall by her head as he continued to rock ruthlessly into her. Her nails dug into his shoulder as she held on. Graham filled her up in every possible way as he chased away what had just happened to her. She begged him to go harder, faster, to not stop until there was nothing left of the man who threatened to take her from him. His hot cum coated her insides as he finished. Neither of them could call what they experienced an orgasm. It was an apology, a desperation, a primal necessity… a reclamation of each other.
After he was spent, Graham kept her pressed against the wall. His head felt heavy against her shoulder as he fought to regain his breath. His arms and legs shook. Catherine remained completely wrapped around him. Her arms and legs were locked, and she honestly wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to let go. After a few minutes of holding each other in this position, Graham straightened. She whimpered, thinking he was going to pull away. Instead, he walked with her and collapsed back on the couch. One hand smoothed circles on her back while the other held her head against his chest.
Someone banged on the panic room door causing Catherine to shriek. Graham shushed her and held her closer. He reached to his left and lifted the phone she hadn’t noticed before. He clicked the blinking light and held the rotary phone to his ear.
“It’s clear,” Lucas said on the other end.
“Do you have him?” Graham asked above her head.
Lucas sighed. “No, Man. He disappeared into thin air.”
Catherine’s already rigid body tightened further. “Then it isn’t clear, now is it?” Graham growled.
“We need to talk,” Lucas grumbled. “Once you both have calmed down enough to where you won’t go into a haze if she stumbles over a crack, meet us in the
main room.”
Graham didn’t bother to answer, he just hung up the phone.
“Graham… I’m so sorry,” Catherine whispered.
“Don’t.”
“I wasn’t under the spell. I should have done something, I should have…”
Graham shoved her back in his lap and wrapped his hands around her throat. His thumbs pressed into the soft flesh under her jaw, urging her face up. “No,” he growled. “No. You did exactly what you were supposed to do. You do not apologize to me. I don’t want to hear what you think you should have done. I don’t want to hear how you could have done more. I don’t want to… No. You did nothing wrong. If anyone failed here it was me and my men. I protect you. You freed me from Curtis’ spell and that in and of itself is more than anyone else in your exact position would be capable of. Don’t fucking apologize to me for something like this ever again. I won’t hear it, do you understand me?” His thumbs moved to her cheeks where he furiously wiped away the tears streaming down her face. Catherine closed her eyes and nodded. “That just won’t do. I need to hear you say it, Baby.”
Catherine opened her eyes to find his own eyes red with unshed tears. His jaw ticked and he swallowed deeply. “Graham, I can’t keep going like this. I can’t live like this. Please,” she begged, sobs starting to rise in her chest. “Please, don’t stop until he’s gone. Please.”
“I promise. I won’t rest until you’re safe. I fucking promise you.”
“I love you, Graham. Only you.”
He let out a shaky breath and nodded. He pulled her against him again. He held her head against his shoulder and started to rock her as the sobs caused her entire body to shudder.
“I love you too, Catherine. Goddess, I fucking love you so much. I’m so sorry.”
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Surrendering to Destiny
