Poison Ivy Ch. 09

ETA: This is the revised version of Chapter 9, the last revision before I post the final chapter, so if you're re-reading this or are new to the series, we're now totally caught up and ready for the conclusion. I'll be posting Chapter 10 in two parts, as well as a teaser for Aella and Trevino's story. I can't thank you enough for your continued support and patience.

Authors note: You'll notice there's not a ton of exciting action in this chapter. Ch. 9 is mostly setting the stage for the conclusion of Ivy and Hunter's story, which will play out in Ch. 10, possibly 11. However, sadly, we are approaching the end. I've heard from a lot of you that you'd like to hear about Aella and Trevino, so I plan to continue with their story once this one has finished. They're both complex characters with dark pasts, and I look forward to telling their story.

Thank you all for sticking with me! I know I say this every time, but it's so true and I can't not say it. Your support and feedback are overwhelmingly supportive and helpful. If not for you guys, I don't think I'd be able to put the stories in my head to page. This is something I've truly grown to love, and I owe all of it to those of you who, somehow, read and enjoy the stories I write.

I've made you wait and teased you with the wrong chapter, so without further delay, here's Chapter 9.

If this chapter had a soundtrack....

Nature of the Beast, by My Darkest Days, from sick and Twisted Affair

Heavy in your Arms, by Florence + The Machine, from Lungs

Wicked Game, by Theory of a Deadman, from Wake Up Call

Pieces, by Red, from End of Silence

White Flag, by Bishop Briggs, from Church of Scars

...

Heavy boots pounded like thunder against the stairs leading up to the cabin porch. Blood stained hands gripped the knob of the entrance door, throwing it open with a resounding crack, the lightning to accompany the veritable storm brewing behind the Alpha's tempest eyes. All thoughts revolved around one single thing, one single purpose, the only reason, he would have argued in that moment, that he was currently pulling air into his lungs.

Protecting Ivy.

His heart struck a staccato rhythm as he reached their bedroom, sifting through the protective burrow of pillows and blankets (and where the hell had she gotten all of this?) she had created, both furious and terrified when her too-thin frame did not materialize when called upon.

Sucking in a pained breath, he burst through the hall and into the kitchen, finding a small, blonde female perched upon a kitchen stool, slender fingers flying across a clacking keyboard. Aella.

"Ivy," he rasped, sure that if he did not find her soon, he would perish. Aella startled and looked up at him with a surprised, fearful expression. And why wouldn't she be afraid? How he must look, towering over her, sucking in deep, barely controlled breaths, blood still spattered across his neck, face, and exposed forearms.

"Sh-she went for a run. She's with Trevino, he wouldn't let her leave on her own." The female swallowed thickly, the downward glance and slouched shoulders indicative of her submission. She was terrified; the sharp, unpleasant scent of a distressed Omega pulled the man a little closer to the surface and just barely suppressed the instinctual predator currently fighting for control. He closed his eyes. Clenched and unclenched his fists. Took as deep of a breath as his lungs would allow. Another deep breath. And another, before he trusted himself enough to open his eyes without killing the skittish female with a single look.

"They should be back any minute," Aella's small voice pulled him further back into the land of the living, though he was still frantic with need.

He nodded once, not entirely confident he would be able to speak without shouting and snarling. Aella was a sweet girl, an incredibly strong one, wo had gone through unimaginable terrors with the man whose blood was still drying on his dark fatigues. She was also quite possibly the fated mate of one of his closest friends, a man he owed both his and Ivy's life to. If he didn't leave now, he risked terrorizing the girl, which was the last thing she needed. No, she wasn't his Omega, but he was an Alpha, and it was instinctually ingrained in his DNA to want to protect all of those belonging to the submissive dynamic.

He turned, about to walk back the way he came, when her voice, still small and cautious, sluiced through the fog of instinct and stopped him cold. "You'll kill her, you know."

Ice cold shock, more than anything, made him turn back around. Before he could say anything, Aella spoke fast, her words suddenly louder than her fear of him. "Not physically, of course. But there's more than one way to die, you know?" Her little fists were balled up on her legs, a curtain of silken gold hair hiding her expression aside from the downward curve of her lips.

"This is all so new to her. You took her away from everything she knew. Her uniform. Her job. Her purpose. Her family."

He snarled. "I am all the family she needs now. I will give her a new purpose. A better one."

Aella scoffed, her fear of him apparently wrestled into submission once she realized his intentions were not to harm her. "I've heard those exact words before. So many times." She looked away, swiping quickly at a stray tear before she thought he could see. "You hold your possessive instincts back. You try to make her happy. I see that. But it's in your nature to try to make her fit you." Finally, she looked up at him, and the overwhelming sadness he saw in her glacier blue eyes made him sick with the need to comfort and shelter.

"That girl is strong, Hunter. But there is only so much she will be able to bend before you break her. And the girl you try to piece back together? She will never be the Ivy you love right now."

"You don't know what you're talking about." His voice was considerably calmer, even as he clenched his jaw so hard he feared his teeth would crack. "You don't know everything." Though every fiber of his being physically punished him for not turning around to hunt down his mate, he was inexplicably rooted to the spot.

Never taking her eyes off his, now that she'd found the courage to meet them, she cocked her head to the side and continued. "Don't I? It's subtle, but it's still there. Mixed in with the part of her scent that became yours when you claimed her." A corner of her mouth twitched, but he couldn't tell if she was holding herself back from smiling or frowning. "I've known since the moment I stepped off that plane in Torrin. I'm not surprised you didn't recognize it. And she would have no idea of what the shift should feel like. So much else was changing for her." She looked down again, absently winding a lock of sun-gold hair around her finger.

"She's already been through too much. I'll protect her. I can provide everything she needs." Hunter looked distractedly down the hallway leading to the front door, impatient and frustrated.

"Is that all you think she wants? Your protection?" Aella's soft voice drew his attention toward her once again. He opened his mouth to answer, then closed it.

Aella's lips twitched up in a knowing, sad smile as the front door slammed open, turning back to her computer with a soft hum.

" -- didn't need you to come along in the first place, you big, stubborn oaf!" Ivy's irritated voice tore his attention away from Aella and her heavy words as he turned back to the cabin entrance.

Trevino grunted his response to his irate mate.

"It was a fucking hedgehog, you crazy asshole! What the hell did you think it was, a fucking trained assassin? Thought it would kill me with its adorable little -- Oof!"

Ivy had walked straight into Hunter, so intent on verbally chastising one of the deadliest Alphas on the planet that she hadn't noticed his hulking form blocking her path. She stumbled back, gaining a few footsteps away from him before he shot his hand out to capture her wrist. "Hunter! What are you..."

Ivy trailed off as she caught sight of his expression. If he'd been thinking clearly, he would have at least attempted to contain some of the predator that had once again seized control, but once again, his world had narrowed down to the Omega gazing up at him with those viridian eyes narrowed in confusion. The need to both protect and dominate flowed so thickly through his veins, he was certain it would eventually stop his heart, regardless of Aella's words.

"What's wrong, Hunter? What happened?"

Instead of answering her, he just walked her backwards, his grip on her wrists just short of bruising, until they had reached their room, kicking the door shut behind them. He would explain. He would explain everything, would unravel the mystery of Aella's words, but later, and when he was buried so deep inside of her, they wouldn't be able to make out where she ended and he began if they tried.

Not remembering when or how he had stripped them both completely bare, he lifted her up, growling in pleasure when their skin touched. Clutching her to him as if he was a man drowning, and she the only one who could save him, he carried her to the pile of pillows and blankets he knew to be her nest, arranging them both in the middle just before he drove into her fully. A sweet little gasp escaped her devastating lips, and he drank in her moans and cries as he took her with as much restraint as he could muster.

The predator that had emerged the moment he learned the truth would simply not allow any harm to come to the female beneath him. It would go to any lengths to shield her, even from himself, if needed. Two warring impulses fought a savage battle, one snarling and tearing at the other, neither able to fully gain the upper hand. One side wanted to take her slowly and gently, worshipping her body in a sensual display of his affections. The other side wanted to fuck her furiously until she screamed his name. He found an uncoordinated rhythm, sometimes drawing out of her with agonizing restraint, other times thrusting himself into her so hard she lost her breath.

Growling in frustration, he finally abandoned all thoughts and merely restrained himself just enough not to harm her with each lashing stroke. Too soon, they came together, and the feel of his knot trapping his released seed deep inside her womb, was an altogether different and infinitely more pleasurable sensation, now that he knew what was nestled inside. And her little body took it all and more, the slick walls of her pussy contracting around him as she cried out, finding her own release, milking him of every drop.

He watched as the thin ring of deep, rich emerald around her darkened eyes slowly faded back into the sea-glass green he loved best.

When their breathing evened out, and Ivy was nestled safely beneath him, completely caged in by his massive body, his thoughts roamed free of the fog of instinct. The animal was sated, placated by his dominant, protective position above and around her. Aella's words danced through his head, demanding impossible things.

Ivy wanted the freedom she had come to expect while living as a Beta female. Her multiple escape attempts had proved as much. His primal self thrashed and tore against the idea of leaving her alone and unprotected for even a second. It was impossible to reconcile the two competing desires, and he was unwilling, unable, to compromise when it came to her safety.

She would never be able to do the things she had once loved, at least not in the way she had been going about them before. Faded anger still broiled in his veins when he thought about where he'd found her, so close to sacrificing herself for the sake of the young Beta soldiers on that bloody field in Torrin. It still made his heart seize and his jaw ache.

Despite her strong aversion to how things were, Omegas were hardly able to step foot outside without a chaperone. Their scents were too tempting, the pull too powerful to allow them to roam free.

It was safer this way. In an ideal world, yes, Omegas would be able to walk down the street without fearing rape or kidnapping. They'd be able to take jobs and live alone, outside the safety of a compound. But this was not an ideal world, and he would not risk her life for the sake of giving her the freedom she was so desperate to reclaim.

Ivy stirred, possibly in response to the frustrated growl that had interrupted his purr for a moment. Her little hands curled around his shoulders as she tried to bring his attention back to the present moment. "What's wrong, Hunter? Did something happen?" She swallowed. "If it was about my run, Trevino was no more than two steps away from me at any given point. Well... I mean, if you excuse the few seconds he was off tackling the formidable adolescent hedgehog on my behalf..." She huffed. She was so fucking adorable. "The animal lost a few quills and may never look at that stretch of sidewalk quite the same way again, but I think she'll survive."

He met her concerned gaze and smiled. "No, precious. Nothing happened, and I am not upset about the run. So long as one of the Alphas are with you, you may take quick trips around the cabin." And there it was again. The impossible balance of allowing her independence and protecting her from harm.

Hunter felt his knot receding. Ivy hissed as he slowly pulled out, a mixture of his fluids and hers seeping from her swollen sex. He dipped his head to flick his tongue lightly over her nipple. Both peaked in response, and he groaned as his lips locked around the dusky skin at the center of her firm, perfect breasts. His tongue swirled around the swollen bud as he sucked more supple flesh into his mouth. Relishing the little gasps and moans he elicited, his hand closed around the opposite breast, massaging and kneading, before deft fingers plucked and pinched until the abused bud was a deep red color. God, she was so fucking perfect.

Her breath hitched as he rocked his semi-hard cock against her clit, and her small cry of pleasure, along with the gush of slick that coated it, brought the appendage to immediate attention.

Releasing her nipple with an audible pop, Hunter planted an elbow on each side of her head, keeping her completely caged beneath him, as he examined her as if she would suddenly disappear from him forever. Her slender legs wrapped around his thick waist, her heels digging into the back of his thighs as she rolled her hips up to meet his rock-hard erection. He was grinning as he detangled himself from her, holding her still with a hand that fully spanned across the width of her stomach.

She held her breath, looking down at him as he sucked and nipped and kissed his way down her delectable body. He paused between her legs, locking eyes with his Omega. Would he ever get used to that thought? The tingle of pleasure that climbed up his spine whenever he thought of her and thanked whatever kismet had spilled her, albeit a bit clumsily, into his path. She was his fated mate. She was his everything.

Her eyes had darkened again, a small ring of emerald green the only hint of color. Her chocolate colored hair fell in messy locks around her shoulders. "Breathe, Ivy." He nearly growled the command, his voice a few decibels lower than his usual deep timbre, noticeable even to his own ears.

She sucked in a breath and gasped as his tongue flicked over her clit. Thick fingers parted her folds as he lapped up their mixed fluids seeping out of her like a slow-moving stream. He pushed his thumb inside as his tongue moved back to her clit, pleased when he felt her inner muscles clench around the intruding digit, before he replaced it with two drenched fingers.

His lips closed over her clit, causing her hips to nearly buck off the bed when he bit down gently, simultaneously curling his fingers to find the spongy spot that always made her come undone. A heavy forearm, sinewy muscles clenching and relaxing as tension slowly built inside his core, came down across her hips in order to hold her still. He breathed a laugh against the sensitive nub when she tried to squirm closer and growled in frustration. His tongue replaced the slick fingers that slowly pulled out of her tight channel.

The sounds she made were torture. Each gasp and moan made his dick twitch until he was impossibly, painfully hard. Her slender fingers came down to clench his hair, until a warning growl that vibrated against her clit had her drawing her hands back and above her head, one hand grasping the wrist of the other. Good girl.

She tasted fucking incredible, and if not for his cock's insistent twitches, he could have stayed there all day, lapping up whatever she gave him like a man starved. Instead, he focused on bringing her to climax, swirling his tongue expertly over all the right spots, in the exact way he knew made her crash the hardest. Leaving his heavy arm across her hips, he shoved two fingers back inside her slick, warm, inviting pussy. If he wasn't inside her soon, he was sure it would cause permanent damage to his aching cock. As her moans and cries became more insistent, her breathing now coming in desperate pants, he added a third finger, fucking her in earnest until her hips bucked violently against his arm and a scream was wrenched from her chest in the form of his name.

Sitting up, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes boring into hers as she came down from her high. His other hand stroked her swollen labia, eager to burrow himself into her slick heat.

Enough of this. Hunter's massive hands wrapped around her ribs, his thumbs flicking against her still erect nipples. He lifted her easily, her tiny frame even smaller from the time she spent under Maverick's sick care. It did not escape his attention how her hip bones had jutted against his forearm, or how pronounced her ribs were beneath his hands. His jaw clenched as he forced away a distracting pang in his chest, demanding that all his attention should focus on his squirming Omega.

They crashed against the far wall, his hands wrapped around her to shield her from the collision. He supported and protected her with the reassuring press of his body. His lips crashed against hers, and she responded beautifully, as hungry for him as he was for her. Ravaging her, he swallowing up the sounds of her pleasure, sinking his teeth into her bottom lip before he invaded her mouth with his tongue. Domineering and commanding, he slid in and out of her mouth in a rhythm that would match the pace of his thrusts as soon as he was inside her.

Reaching between them, a calloused hand fisted his cock and squeezed once before he lined himself up and shoved into her in one rough stroke. A ringing in his ear, a distant voice demanding he handle her with the utmost care, turned his desperate rut into a pace slightly more accommodating for the small female writhing on his throbbing cock. She whimpered as he slowed, tugging on the back of his neck with her linked arms, trying to force him closer. "No, don't stop," she panted, breathless. "Fuck me, Hunter. Please. Fuck me hard."

His control snapped. Releasing a low growl, he resumed his prior pace, rutting between her spread thighs without mercy. Her back, slick with sweat, slid up and down against the wall in time with his pummeling strokes. The clenching and pulsing of her tight heat struck its own rhythm around him until she tensed, and her pussy clamped down around him like a fucking vice. She cried out, the sound muffled when his hand came over her mouth to hide the sounds that had certainly already escaped the confines of the four walls around them.