His Stray

Chapter 29

Present Day

Lucas had been on edge all day, ever since his confrontation with Landon. All he wanted was to see Celia again. To hold her, to feel her heartbeat against his chest. That thought alone had carried him through drills, lunch, and another grueling round of training.

He was halfway across the field toward the pack house when a hand clapped down on his shoulder.

He turned sharply, only to find himself face to face with Hendrix.

Lucas’s jaw tensed. “What do you want?”

Hendrix gave him a lazy, mocking smile. “So what’s the deal with you and the stray?”

“Don’t call her that,” Lucas growled, stepping forward.

Hendrix didn’t flinch. His grin only widened. “Touchy subject. Thought so.”

Lucas clenched his fists at his sides, forcing himself to stay still.

“That what you and Landon have been fighting over?” Hendrix went on, circling a step around him. “Didn’t think she was worth it. But maybe I was wrong.”

Lucas narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

Hendrix gave a casual shrug. “Well, when you left... Landon got real close to her. Real fast. They didn’t tell you, huh?”

Lucas’s gut twisted. “Shut up.”

“Not my place to spill secrets,” Hendrix said, all mock innocence. “Just figured you should know what your brother was up to while you were off pretending to be important.”

Lucas turned, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of a reaction.

“Speaking of secrets,” Hendrix called after him, “how do you think your dear old dad’s gonna react to you screwing the stray?”

Lucas stopped.

“Must be some magical p***y,” Hendrix continued, voice thick with amusement. “Does she live up to her reputation as a freak?”

Lucas spun around and slammed Hendrix against the nearest post, one fist gripping the front of his shirt. Hendrix’s smirk didn’t waver.

“Say one more thing about her,” Lucas said, low and dangerous.

Hendrix chuckled. “What? You gonna hit me in front of the whole pack? You know your old man’s watching.”

Lucas’s jaw ticked, his hand trembling with restraint. Then, with a hard exhale, he shoved Hendrix back and let go.

“You’re not worth it,” he muttered, turning away.

He barely made it ten steps before Hendrix’s voice drifted after him again, smug and sharp.

“What are you gonna do about the match the alpha’s planning for you?”

Lucas froze mid-step. Slowly, he turned back. “What match?”

Hendrix raised a brow, feigning surprise. “You didn’t know? Thought your daddy would’ve mentioned it by now. There’s talk of an alliance. He’s planning to pair you with the daughter of another alpha. Real pretty, I hear. Definitely not a stray.”

Lucas stared at him, his blood turning cold.

“You’re lying.”

Hendrix laughed. “I wish I was. But that’s how these things go. Power first. Love… well, love’s for fools and storybooks, isn’t it?”

Lucas said nothing. Just turned again and walked away, fists clenched so tight his knuckles ached.

Each step felt heavier than the last. The words echoed in his mind: the alpha’s planning to pair you... another alpha’s daughter... not a stray.

Celia.

After everything, after all the ways he’d tried to fix the mistakes of the past, he wasn’t going to lose her again.

**

Lucas found her just after dinner, standing outside the pack house with her face tilted toward the dusky sky. The last of the light caught in her hair, streaking it with gold. She looked peaceful, but when she turned to him, her eyes were shadowed.

"Want to walk with me?" he asked.

She nodded, and together they set off down the familiar trail that wound through the trees. The air had cooled, the leaves rustling softly in the breeze, and the smell of pine and damp moss rose from the forest floor.

They didn’t speak for a while. They didn’t need to. The silence between them was different now. Comfortable, intimate.

When the trees opened up to reveal the wide clearing and the little lake at its center, Celia exhaled softly.

"I missed this place," she murmured.

"Me too."

They stood at the edge of the water, the surface still and glassy, reflecting the lavender tint of the sky. Lucas glanced at her, hands buried deep in his pockets.

"Hendrix came after me today."

Celia rolled her eyes. "That doesn’t surprise me."

Lucas hesitated. "He said something about my father planning a match for me. For an alliance. The daughter of another alpha."

Celia stilled beside him.

Lucas turned to face her, reaching out to tilt her chin up. "I want to tell him about you… about us. I’m not going to agree to this match, if it’s even real." He still wasn’t sure if Hendrix was just trying to provoke him.

"Your dad won’t like it," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. "He won’t want me as your mate."

"I don’t care, Celia." He stepped closer. "You’re the only person I want. I’m not going to be like my parents. I won’t reject my mate just to fulfill some stupid duty."

She chewed her lip, scanning his face like she was trying to decide if he meant it. He held her gaze steadily. Finally, she took a step back and wrapped her arms around herself. He wanted to pull her into his arms, to keep her there.

Instead, he bent and picked up a rock, skipping it across the surface of the lake. Three solid bounces before it sank.

"Show off," she said, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"You’re just jealous."

She crouched and picked up a rock of her own. It plopped into the water without a single skip.

Lucas grinned. "Impressive."

"Oh, shut up." She nudged him with her shoulder.

He stepped closer. Their arms brushed, and the electricity between them flared to life. He looked down at her, eyes searching hers.

"I hate that I left you the way I did," he said quietly. "I should’ve stayed. I should’ve fought for you."

"You were trying to become the person your dad expected you to be," she said, not quite meeting his eyes. "I never wanted to be the thing that held you back."

"You were never that. You were the only thing that made any of it make sense."

They stood still for a long moment. Then Lucas reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering against her skin. Her eyes fluttered shut.

He leaned in slowly, giving her time to stop him, but she didn’t.

Their lips met softly at first, cautious, searching. Then the kiss deepened, hunger rising between them like a tide. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against him. Her hands fisted in his shirt. They sank into each other with the kind of desperation that only came from years of silence and unresolved ache.

Celia gasped when his tongue brushed hers, and he swallowed the sound greedily, trailing kisses along her jaw and down her neck.

Lucas kissed her again, slower but deeper, letting the moment stretch as his hands moved along the familiar lines of her waist and back. Her body fit against his like it always had. But this wasn’t the heat of teenage longing. This was hunger sharpened by absence and years of buried desire.

Her fingers slipped beneath the hem of his shirt, exploring the taut muscle of his stomach, the curve of his ribs. His breath hitched when her nails scraped gently across his skin.

"Still ticklish," she teased with a smirk.

"Only when you touch me like that."

He pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it to the ground. Her gaze followed, lingering on the lean muscle and warm skin he’d grown into. Her hand followed her eyes, trailing down his chest until he caught her wrist and brought her fingers to his mouth, kissing each one.

"You’re beautiful," he murmured.

She blushed but didn’t look away. "You didn’t always say that."

"I always thought it," he said, brushing his lips along her jaw, then down to the pulse fluttering in her throat. "I just didn’t know how to say it then."

Her breath caught as his hands reached for the hem of her shirt. He paused, meeting her eyes.

"Okay?"

She nodded, her voice barely a whisper. "Yes."

He peeled the shirt over her head, followed by her bra, and let them fall. The sight of her, bare under the moonlight, stole the breath from his lungs.

"Goddess, Celia."

She leaned into him, her hands now bolder as she explored his skin. Her mouth found his neck, his shoulder, the sensitive place beneath his ear that made him groan. His hands skimmed down her back as their hips met.

Every nerve sparked. Every part of him remembered her.

They sank onto the soft grass near the lake’s edge, their kisses growing hungrier, touches more desperate. Lucas explored every inch of her skin, relearning what he’d only dreamed about.

Celia pulled him down with her, gasping as his lips moved from her breast to her stomach. He moved with care, reverence, as if afraid she might disappear if he rushed.

"You feel like fire," he murmured against her skin.

She whimpered, threading her fingers into his hair as he kissed lower. He undid her jeans, easing them down her hips. He pressed his face against the satin fabric of her panties, inhaling deeply.

"You smell like heaven." He traced a finger over the wet center as she arched beneath him.

"Lucas, please," she gasped.

He looked up, meeting her hazy eyes. "What do you need?"

"You. Always you."

He slid the fabric down her legs, then kissed his way back up her thighs. She writhed, her fingers in his hair again.

When he licked up her center, it was slow and deliberate, savoring the way she moaned and rocked against him. He sucked her clit gently between his lips and flicked his tongue, making her hips jerk.

He palmed himself through his pants, groaning at the friction, but quickly let go. He didn’t want to come too soon like he had that morning.

He slipped a finger inside her, curling it until he found the spot that made her cry out.

"Lucas," she moaned, her head thrashing.

He didn’t stop. He kept licking and sucking until her release hit hard, soaking his chin. He lapped her through it, kissing his way up her body when the tremors finally stopped.

Every inch of her skin was sacred to him, and he took his time memorizing what he’d forgotten over the years.

When he kissed her again, she could taste herself on his tongue. He burned for her.

He stripped off his pants and boxers, baring himself completely.

When he slid inside her, he groaned into her neck and kissed her again. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him deeper. Her hands clung to his back and shoulders.

"This is even better than I remember," he gasped. "Goddess, you're so f*****g tight."

He moved slowly at first, savoring the heat of her body. But he couldn’t hold back for long. The way she gripped him, the sounds she made, the way she whispered his name. It drove him wild.

"Are you close?" he whispered, his forehead pressed to hers.

"So close," she gasped.

He slipped a hand between them, rubbing her clit in slow, tight circles.

"Lucas!" she cried out as she came again, her core tightening around him.

He followed with a groan, burying his face in her neck as he spilled inside her. His body trembled with the release.

They stayed tangled together, their breathing slowly evening out. His fingers traced soft shapes on her hip, and she curled into him with a sigh.

Neither of them spoke, but they both knew something had shifted.

Something that wouldn’t disappear this time.