Chapter 17 - Pieter
Walking from Moira’s clinic back to Dominic’s cabin gave me an opportunity to think. Think about Quinn and her mystery pregnancy, think about the fact that soon one of her mate bonds would be severed, think about my own mate bond, think about my first shift, think about my first—
Fuck. Yes, think about our first fuck…with Fern. Our first fuck EVER and with Fern…
I shook my head, hoping that if I shook it hard enough Pieter might actually fall out - one could only dream. I wondered if it was like this for everyone, a constant battle with a smart arse inside your head. I felt like I had a whole other entity inside me, like my animal subconscious was a completely separate being that had just taken refuge in my brain to tease and torment me.
I’d spent years in Hell thinking that Pieter was just my imaginary friend, someone that I had completely fabricated to keep myself company; but that clearly wasn’t the case. It both excited and scared me. Moira seemed to think my animal was powerful, an Alpha, a leader. Honestly, that kind of life sounded pretty unappealing to me.
Speak for yourself.
I was!
Closing my eyes, I stopped walking and pinched the bridge of my nose. A headache again, becoming stronger and more frequent since departing Hell. I hadn’t mentioned anything to Quinn or Moira. Quinn had enough going on and I was sure Moira would just say that it was to be expected considering I was adjusting to a whole new realm and atmosphere. I took a deep breath, but my whole body froze as something sickly sweet and floral hit the back of my throat.
Ahhhh. Fern, where are you hiding?
No! I opened my eyes and looked around. I could see Dominic’s cabin, a few more yards and I’d be safely inside. In the distance I could also see Kyanite and his sister sitting under the tree by the creek, they appeared deep in conversation - but no sign of Fern, good.
Good? No. We need Fern—
Picking up my pace I reached the front door of the cabin and pulled it open, stepping inside and closing it firmly behind me.
“Dominic? You home?”
No answer. I sniffed the air to see if I could pick up the former Alpha’s scent, but the only thing to invade my nose was Fern’s heady aroma - a lot stronger now that I was inside the cabin.
Oh fuck no!
Oh fuck yes!
She was here, Fern was inside the cabin. But why?
She wants the d—
Shut up!
I turned back around, my intention being to walk straight back out the door, but something stopped me. My hand reached for the door handle but then froze, I couldn’t move it any further, the signals from my brain to my arm being completely cut off.
Motherfucker.
Not your mother we need to fuck…
“Flynn?” came the silkiest sweetest voice from the back of the cabin. My skin erupted in tingles and my nostrils flared. “Is that you?’
She knew it was me, who else would it be? If this bond thing was like Mason and Dominic had explained then Fern would be experiencing all the same feels as me at the moment - but not necessarily as strong considering she wasn’t twenty yet. But, in saying that, apparently hormones and lusty feelings tended to peak leading up to your birthday…I just had to hope that Fern had her’s all safely in check.
My hand lowered and before I knew what I was doing, I’d turned back around and started walking in the direction of my own personal Siren. I was guided by my nose and my—
Cock.
—Ears! I could hear Fern’s breathing, it was heavy, just like mine. Pausing in the hallway, just outside my bedroom door, I took another deep breath and tried to compose myself. She was in my room, my mate was in my room. All I needed to do was go in there and tell her to leave, it was for the best. I needed to control this animal inside me - how could I be so sure that he wasn’t going to hurt her.
We would never hurt our mate!
I gripped the sides of my head as another sharp pain ripped through my skull like hot knife through butter.
“Fuck!”
“Flynn, are you alright?!” Fern’s high pitched, alarmed voiced came from the bedroom and I braced myself against the wall, slowing my breathing and pushing the pain to the side before I answered.
“Yes. Just a second”
As quickly as the headache had come, it was gone. If I was not mistaken I would have said that Pieter was intentionally forcing them on me - but that would have been impossible, right?
Ha! Impossible….I was a Warlock-shifter that had just spent the last seventeen years in Hell. My sister was a tribrid and The Shifter Queen - clearly nothing was impossible.
I stepped into my room with everything I needed to say to Fern on the tip of my tongue, that was until my eyes fell on her and my mouth lost all capabilities of speech.
Fucking Goddess!
Fern - her red bouncy ringlets cascading over her bare shoulders, her perfect cheeks flushed the same shade of pink as her lips, her petite angelic body hidden only by a small white nightdress - knelt gracefully on the end of my bed, her knees together and her hands clasped softly in her lap.
My eyes combed over every inch of her face and body until I was convinced I’d memorised every freckle, every blemish, every mark. She was the most magnificent creature I’d ever seen - and she was mine.
“Flynn. Say something” she breathed, her hands fidgeting in her lap.
“What are you doing in my room?”
Fern’s hazel eyes lost a bit of their twinkle. Maybe she’d been expecting me to say something else, but at the moment I was as close to speechless as they came.
“I— I felt silly for the way I acted yesterday. You must have thought I was so immature, so silly—”
“—Goddess no. I was the one who acted out of line and that is exactly why you shouldn’t be here”
The headache came again and I winced, trying my hardest to will it away. Pieter clearly wasn’t happy with the way I wanted this interaction to play out and he was making me pay for it.
Sensing my obvious discomfort, Fern jumped to her feet and closed the distance between us. She stood in front of me and looked up at my face with concern etched in her features. Fuck me she was breathtaking - those eyes, that hair, that smell—
—If she smells that good, imagine how she tastes…
Shit!
My hands dropped in front of my groin and I took a step back from Fern, turning my body slightly to the side.
“Flynn, please tell me what’s wrong. Can I help?”
Yep! You better believe you can help!
I felt trapped, cornered. On one side I had Fern, setting my body or fire and triggering responses that I couldn’t control. Then on the other side there was Pieter, my pain in the arse animal subconscious that was encouraging those responses and clearly couldn’t be trusted.
Sighing, I turned back to face Fern and moved my hands. Her eyes rolled down my body and stopped briefly at the obvious bulge below my waistband. Her eyes averted immediately and the pink hue in her cheeks developed into a deep shade of red, closer to that of her hair.
“Oh” she mouthed, looking around the room.
“I think you sh—should leave…” The words strained from my lips and it took all of my focus just to complete the sentence.
Fern bit down on her bottom lip and I had to stifle a moan. Jesus fucking Christ, I was going to explode.
“Is that— Is that what you…want?” She breathed, her eyes coming back to rest on mine.
Fern took a step towards me and it was only then that I realised my back was up against the bedroom wall. Her tongue darted out of her mouth and coated her top lip in a light sheen of saliva before she sucked her bottom lip back between her teeth. The next noise that escaped me I was unable to control, it vibrated through my chest and I could see the goosebumps that immediately covered Fern’s skin and the obvious hardening of her pert nipples under the thin material of her dress.
“Was that a…growl?” She asked, her lips curling up slightly at the sides.
She was enjoying this! It should have worried me but instead this new found cheekiness just turned me on even more.
“Fern. This thing inside me, I can’t control it. I don’t want to hurt you”
“Does it want to hurt me?”
“Well, no…”
“Then what are you worried about?”
Before I could answer, Fern’s hand lifted and she, ever so gently, let her fingers trace the side of my head. My heart hammered in my chest and I closed my eyes, desperately trying to grip on to that focus that I needed more than ever right now.
“Your head hurts and fighting your animal is only going to make that worse. Maybe you need to just stop fighting it”
I could almost feel Pieter nodding his head frantically, urging me to listen to our mate.
“If I stop fighting him then I won’t be able to— Aghhh! Fern, I don’t think you understand the restraint it’s taking to not act on my urges right now”
“Then act on them”
My whole body tensed at the feeling of Fern’s hand cupping the outside of my pants. I couldn’t move, except for the uncontrollable twitch of my cock in her palm.
Oh Goddess yesssssss.
“Fern—”
“—Shhhh Flynn. It’s ok, I need this too”
Her hand rubbed me slowly and I let out a long, pained groan. My head lolled back against the wall and my mouth hung open like some kind of drug addict that had just had the best hit in his life.
I knew this was wrong, that it was exactly what Moira had told me not to do, but I couldn’t stop.
Fern continued rubbing and stroking me through the material of my pants. The sensation was both euphoric and uncomfortable, like I wanted it to keep going but I also felt smothered and strangled. I wanted to feel her skin against mine, to feel the softness of her hands sliding effortlessly over the velvety hardness of my erection.
But no. I knew exactly where that would lead and this was not how I wanted it to happen. I reached down slowly, sweat beading on my forehead and my brain pulsating painfully as if Pieter was trying to burst through my skull. I took Fern’s hand in mine and held it still.
“Please” I hissed between clenched teeth, “This is not how I wanted our first time to go”
“You don’t— you don’t…want me…?”
The quiver in Fern’s gentle voice almost broke my heart and Pieter growled inside my head.
She’s upset. You happy?
No.
So, fuck her then!
No.
“Of course I want you, I don’t actually think I’ve wanting anything more in my life— Just not like this”
I should have walked out the door, I should have just left it at that and made a break for it whilst I held on to the small amount of control I had. But when I saw that glistening tear run down Fern’s face, my hand, with a mind of it’s own - reached up and wiped the tear away. But instead of dropping my hand, I let it linger. The warmth of Fern’s skin against mine ignited a fire within my soul and then, when her eyes raised to lock with mine, I was lost - lost inside the small hazel galaxies that seemed to swirl around in her perfect round face. And when she raised herself up on her tippy toes and pressed her soft lips against my own…I was completely disabled, the small glimmer of control that I’d held on to evaporated away with the heat of our embrace.
The kiss. Oh Goddess the kiss. I hadn’t known a kiss could make a person feel the way this one did. Her mouth was gentle against my own, her lips soft like silken pillows that seemed to fit perfectly against mine. My chest swelled as her fingers on one hand entwined with mine, her other hand finding it’s way behind my neck where she pulled me down to deepen the kiss. I was completely at her mercy, melting into her body like she’d cast a spell on me.
The feeling of Fern’s tongue teasing the gap between my lips stirred me. She wasn’t forceful, she was gentle…yet seductive, and it wasn’t long before my lips parted with a moan and her tongue slipped inside my mouth. Her grip tightened on the back of my neck as if she was worried I might move away - and it was only then that I realised my hands were on her body too.
The small swell at the base of her spine where her bottom curved out was by far my favourite place so far to rest my hand. My fingers gripped the material of her dress and she nibbled on my lip in response.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
Don’t you fucking dare pussy out now!
I squeezed my eyes closed as the uncomfortable sensation of my pants tightening reminded me of where this kiss was going to lead. As if Fern had sensed my sudden change in mindset, she lifted her lips from mine ever so slightly so I could still feel her breath against my mouth.
“Flynn…I need you inside me” She whispered, the yearning in her voice tipping me over the edge.
Fuck!
I shoved Fern away from me, more roughly than I’d intended, and she stumbled backwards on to the bed.
Now we’re talking.
No. This is not happening!
Fern looked at me. I could tell she was trying to read my face and not even I had any idea how my expression must have looked in that moment. I’d shoved her on to the bed, unintentionally, but I stood in front of her now, hard as a rock, my eyes roaming up her legs and taking in the way her nightdress had moved to expose her lace panties.
I clenched my jaw and took a step to the left. Fern raised her brow quizzically. I balled my fists at my side and took another step in the same direction.
No! We were not leaving this fucking room!
The sweat was literally dripping down my forehead and back now, the concentration to hold Pieter back causing me physical pain. With one more shaky step I was in front of the doorway but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t bring myself to turn around. Fern stared at me and I thought I detected almost pity in her eyes as she watched me battle my animal. I was doing this for her! I was ready to explode, ready to tear this fucking place apart - and she pitied me for it.
“AGHHHH!”
I yelled out in pain and grabbed my head as Pieter ripped through my skull with something that felt like a million shards of glass. I dropped to all fours and dug my fingers into the carpet as I tried to fight the animal.
“Flynn!”
My head shot up in Fern’s direction as she jumped off the bed and ran towards me, but as soon as she saw my face, she stopped. Her skin paled slightly and she even took a fraction of a step backwards.
“Flynn, your— your eyes…”
I was losing control. The more Pieter disorientated me with these attacks, the more my concentration wavered.
Look at her…So beautiful, so soft…so needy. She wants us, she wants her mate…
My eyes trailed from Fern’s face, down her slender neck. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed and I licked my lips in response. I noted the unsteady rise and fall over her chest, her small yet full breasts straining against the neckline of her clothing. She was beyond perfection. The gentle curve of her hips, the softness of her creamy white thighs…
Imagine what lies between those thighs, the warmth, the wetness…
Shit. I turned my head away from Fern as Pieter’s voice momentarily snapped me from my dazed state, but before I had a chance to contemplate my next move, I felt something sharp snap in my hand.
What the fu—
Looking down at my hands, the colour drained from my face. Another snap and sharp pain in my leg, followed by three more in my ribs quickly confirmed my worst nightmare.
Fighting Pieter with every last thing that I had, I looked back up to Fern, the fear in her face more than evident. My voice tore through my clenched teeth, sounding more wild and animalistic than anything that could resemble human—
“Fucking run”