Obsession (The Mate Games, #1)

by K. Loraine

My blood ran cold as my gaze connected with the one man I never wanted to see again in my life. Kingston Farrell. Son of the Farrell pack Alpha and future leader of their Family. And, according to my grandfather, my destined mate.

If his looks alone weren’t enough to make a woman drop her panties, all that big dick alpha energy would.

He was hot as fuck. Dark, wavy hair, cropped close at the sides but long enough to run your fingers through. The harsh slashes of his defined brows spoke of someone used to commanding respect. And then there was the jawline. Sharp, strong, sexy. What a waste. Curiously, even though Kingston called the Irishman a priest, his complexion bore the trademark pallor of a vampire.

"Come in and kneel at the altar, Miss Fallon." "Excuse me?" Kneel? He expected me to kneel? "You heard me. Inside, on your knees. We have work to do." "Listen, you're hot and all, but I'm not getting on my knees for you. I hardly know you."

“I gave you an order, Miss Fallon. Obey it.” “I’m not in the habit of taking orders from bloodsucking leeches.”

I’d be like, yes sir.

Oops. Wrong thing to say. His eyes flashed dangerously. “And I am not in the habit of repeating myself.” He grabbed me by the back of the neck and forced me to the cold tile. “On. Your. Knees.”

Mhm, yes sir.

“Now you will close your eyes and—” “Pray?” I quipped. “Sorry, Father. I don’t think the big guy is going to listen to a heathen like me.” “Miss Fallon, you are going to shut your mouth and do as you're told. Do I make myself clear? If that proves to be challenging for you, I will have no problem removing the temptation.” “How? You going to gag me, Father? I didn’t realize priests were so kinky—”

“Caleb,” he said, his voice rough. Those dark brows were furrowed, pulled together in a pained expression as confusion and conflict warred for control of his face. “Call me Caleb when my hands are on you.”

“You know, you might be hot, but I’m not really a fan of being abused and treated like shit, so I think I’m done with these sessions, Padre. Have a nice eternity. See you never.”

“What will you do if I don’t show up? Spank me, Daddy?” No reaction. The man was a statue carved of stone. Except for that slight twitch in the fingers of his left hand. Barely noticeable, but there. I opened the door and strode outside, but not before he whispered, “Don’t tempt me.”

“I’ve tried to reach you, but the shields around you were too strong until now.” “What shields?” “Oh, my daughter, there are so many things I wish to tell you. But I haven’t much time. Know that I tried to protect you. To place you in the care of those who could keep you safe. But they’ve found you. They’re coming for you. You need to unlock your power; it is the only way you will survive. Embrace what makes you feel strong. Give into it. Do not let them deny you your birthright. Do not let them make you weak.”

“They hate you, daughter, for what you are. They will kill you if given the chance. Do not let them. Do not fight the pull of who you were born to be.”

Tall, pale, dangerous, with thick wavy black hair and disarming eyes the color of molten amber. He took my breath away in that this-guy-is-bad-news-guard-your-virtue kind of way. I couldn’t tear my gaze from him, needing to inspect him and make sure he was real. Full lips? Check. Penetrating stare? Check. Chiseled jawline? Check. Vampire, able to kill me with the flick of his wrist? Check.

“Apparently, your milkshake brings all the supernatural boys to the yard, Sunday. But which one gets the cherry?”

“Sunshine, I need you to listen to me. You need to find your wolf. Look at me.”

“As much as I like it when you wear your hair up, you should reconsider. You’re vampire bait, showing off that pretty throat of yours.”

“She’s jealous. Thorne wants you, and he’s supposed to want her.” “He wants to eat me. There’s a difference.” “Oh, he wants to eat you, all right. That’s the problem.”

“Submit,” I snarled, my voice more wolf than man. She swallowed. “To you? Never.” As an Alpha, the act of defiance should have pissed me off. But coming from her, all it did was turn me on. My dick was already thick and heavy between us. I couldn’t get much harder if I tried.

Sunday glanced back at me and smirked. “Now be a good boy and stay.”

“But it’ll be you I’m thinking of if I’m forced to be inside her. How does that make you feel? Knowing that I’ll fuck her like a good little heir but fantasize about you while doing it?”

Absolutely tf not. That’s not a compliment. He done pissed me off.

“Your confession should make me want to be gentle. But the truth is, it only makes the monster in me that much more desperate for your screams. I want to utterly ruin you for anyone else.”

“You have been. And, yes, if you choose this punishment, I’ll put you over my knee and spank your insolent arse until you can’t sit down without a reminder of what my palm felt like on your skin.”

I lifted my hips as he raised his hand once more, shifting just enough that his blow landed, not on my ass, but on the drenched lips of my pussy. This time, I cried out, but not from pain. Fuck, he was going to make me come.

Kingston must have read it in my body language. A shudder ran through him, as if he’d reached a decision he wasn’t entirely sure about. Then, still holding my gaze, he slowly tipped his chin up, baring his throat to me in submission. My heart fluttered, frantic and wild. He’d submitted. Wait. He’d submitted? Holy shit. “Only for you, Sunday.” His words were breathy, as though this had cost him everything.

“Sunday,” I said with a sigh, “what you don’t realize is it doesn’t matter. I chose you. That’s it for me. You might have other mates, but I am yours. Wherever you go from here, I’ll follow. I’m not going to run from it.”

“You’ve got something . . . just there,” I said, pointing to the bit of intestine that had escaped his hold as he crumpled to the floor in a twitching heap.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I sighed, stepping between them. “Let’s just do our best to be discreet, and when the time comes to reveal our hand, we tell her the truth. Until then, it might be good if you two stay away from each other. You’re about as pleasant to be around as a bare ass against a cactus.”

“Men,” she sighed. “You all seem to forget the things I can do with my fist are far more impressive than what you can do with that piece of meat between your legs.” That shut us all up.

They’re all the right choice dummy. I swear it’s like she doesn’t remember any conversation with her Mom.

Uncontrolled rage built in my chest, exploding before I could stop it. “Don’t you dare speak of my mate that way, you pathetic little maggot.”

Moira caught me staring at my reflection in awe. She smiled at me over my shoulder, her expression teeming with smug satisfaction. “Bibbity bobbity boo, bitch.”

“Shit,” I whispered. “You make one sexy snake.” Moira smirked. “I know. Careful now, your harem is full. But if you want a bite of my apple, I’m willing to share.”

Noah moved to stand beside me, catching one of my hands in his. Alek stood on the other side, his palm resting on the small of my back. I turned my head slightly, catching Caleb’s searing gaze, knowing it had been on me ever since he tasted my blood. And then I returned my focus back to Kingston. Proud. Regal. Head alphahole himself, Kingston. My mates. All of them. Something clicked in me as I finally let myself admit it. I needed these men. All four of them. I was stronger, faster, more in control—mentally and emotionally—when I was with them. They completed me. I couldn’t choose between them. I needed each and every one of them.

But the pain receded, and clarity returned, a familiar unease curling in my gut as my mind stumbled upon a faint memory from twenty-three years ago. The very night Sunday Fallon was brought into this world. My fingers traced the decades-old burn over my heart. The small circle barely the width of my fingertip had been there all this time. Signifying that the first seal broke open when she’d been born. A larger circle, raised and angry, ringed the first. Dread twisted through me as I traced the new, still raw scar that had appeared the moment Noah Blackthorne bonded with Sunday. The second seal of the Apocalypse was broken, and I’d failed in my task to stop it.

Excuse the absolute fuck out of me!