Amnesia - The Matlock Pack: Book One

Tuesday 29 December

~*Nat’s POV*~

“Bells? Nat? Have you got a minute?”

“Sure, Takeshi. What do you need?” I gathered my lunch rubbish at the same time Bells did and headed over to his office, dumping our rubbish in the bin as we went. We were about halfway through our lunch break, and I needed to get to Kennedy in about twenty minutes to set up for the afternoon session.

Takeshi let us in to his office and shut the door behind us. “This won’t take long. I just needed to catch you up on some things. Take a seat.” He motioned to the two visitor chairs in front of his desk.

We sat down and watched Takeshi expectantly as he settled himself into his own office chair.

“Bells, I’ve spoken to your Mum, and sorted out this nonsense of you not being allowed back home.” He picked up one of the many pens on his desk and started doodling nervously on the paper in front of him. “You’re welcome to go home anytime you want now, but I must let you know that she still believes Spence’s words about it being just a brotherly spat.”

Bells’ face had lit up about being welcomed at his Mum’s again but fell when he heard Takeshi continue.

“There’s more.” Takeshi sounded annoyed. “Tatum and Zelda have both postponed their start at university next year and have put in a late application for the Warrior Training course.”

Bells went still, the colour draining from his face. He leaned forward, placed his elbows on his knees, and started taking several long, deep breaths. I put my hand on his back and rubbed circles to try to ease his anxiety.

“Is there anything we can do to block their applications?” I asked Takeshi, still patting Bells on the back to calm him.

“No. We have to accept applications until the selectors have their final meeting to decide on who gets in and who doesn’t. That meeting doesn’t happen until tonight, after camp finishes for the day.”

“What are their chances of getting in?” I asked curiously.

“Honestly? I don’t know.” Takeshi sat back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Each applicant needs three of the five selectors to approve them. I know they’ve got Spence on their side, but I’m not sure if they’ve got anyone else, and I won’t know until tonight.”

I moved my hand when I felt Bells sit up. “Accommodation? I can’t stay with Mum if he’s there.” Bells sounded flat and utterly defeated.

“Once the camp finishes, those rooms will all become empty until well into next year. I was thinking of leaving both you and Nat in the two-bedroom apartment that you’re already staying in or shifting you both into a couple of the single bedrooms if you want your space. Would that be acceptable?” Takeshi got up to rummage in the filing cabinet behind him for some paperwork.

I looked at Bells cautiously. “I’m happy to keep things the way they are now, if you want?” Selfishly, I hadn’t had a single nightmare since I started sleeping in the same bed as Bells and I didn’t want to go back to the way it used to be.

Plus, the sex was fucking fantastic.

Ultimately, I’d leave it up to him to decide. What we had decided only a few days earlier was purely meant to be a stopgap measure; it was never meant to be long term. I would completely understand if he wanted his own living space.

Bells smiled, grabbed my hand, and held it to his lips. “We’re doing well so far, aren’t we?”

I nodded and grinned at him.

“Then I’m happy to keep things the way they are.” He leaned over to me and kissed me. I held his cheeks as I kissed him back.

“Looks like we’re moving in together.” I wasn’t going to lie; that made me feel delighted.

“Okay, you two,” Takeshi interrupted us, beaming at each other as he sat back down behind his desk. “Here are some forms I need you to fill out, so I’ve got a record of the change of residence.” He placed a second page on top of mine. “Nat, I need you to fill this one out, too. It’s your application to become a permanent member of the pack.”

I gasped, picked the form up and looked at Takeshi with wide-eyed wonder. “Are you serious?”

Bells shook my arm. “Finally! Some good news!” He sounded ecstatic.

Takeshi chuckled. “Yes, Nat. I’m serious. You need to have two non-related people sponsor you for membership, as well as the blessing of the Alpha. I can assure you that you have my blessing. Might I suggest you approach Auden and Kennedy to sign off as your sponsors?” He looked at Bells apologetically. “Ordinarily, I’d say getting Bells to sign off as one of them would be enough, but with Spence being a major pain in the arse at the moment, I think it would be smoother if we had two council members sign off. Sorry, Bells.”

“Oh, no problems at all, Takeshi.” Bells was beaming with delight. “Nat, this is fantastic!” He jumped up and brought me to my feet to bear-hug me.

I held on to him for dear life as he lifted me off my feet and swung me around the room. Takeshi leaned back in his chair and laughed at Bells’ enthusiasm. Once I’d been put down, I leaned on Takeshi’s desk to get rid of my dizziness while Bells punched the air in excitement. “Takeshi, are you sure about this? I know how Spence feels about me. I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”

Bells settled down as he took in what I had asked. “Aren’t you excited, Nat?” He sounded worried that I wasn’t as happy as he was.

“Oh, I am, absolutely,” I said to Bells with confidence as I watched Takeshi get serious. “I just know what Spence is like. He’s not going to be happy about this.”

Takeshi nodded in understanding. “I was always going to offer you a permanent residence here in Matlock, but I hadn’t planned on doing it this soon.” He got up and started pacing the office. “Spence has threatened to have you expelled from Matlock entirely because of your ‘rogue’ classification. He’s going to bring it up at the next council meeting. If I can make you a member before Sunday, then he can’t say anything.” He stopped and stared at me with very serious eyes and placed his hands on my shoulders. “I need you to get this form filled out and back to me as soon as possible, Nat, but you must do it quietly. I don’t want this getting back to Spence until you’ve already become a member, okay?”

“Okay,” I said, before taking a deep breath. I picked up the paperwork and folded the pages small enough to fit into my back pocket. I planned on getting Kennedy’s signature before we started the set up for the afternoon session. Auden, however, I was going to need to track down. “I’ll get these back to you as soon as I’ve got both signatures.” I wrapped my arms around Takeshi and hugged him. “Thank you. For everything.”

Takeshi froze for a moment before relaxing into my hug, eventually bringing his own arms up to embrace me. “You’re very welcome, Nat.”

I broke away first, turning to Bells, who still had the biggest grin on his face. “We should probably get moving. I need to help Kennedy with the set-up.”

Bells nodded, picked his own form up, and headed for the door.

“Leave the door open,” Takeshi said as he went back to his chair. “I’m expecting someone to drop by in about half an hour.”

“Sure thing, Takeshi.” Bells propped the door open and waited for me to walk through before following me down the hallway to the storage unit to help me get the equipment for the afternoon session.

~~~

“Thank you so much for doing this, Auden.” I picked up the fully signed paperwork from the kitchen bench and put it back in the envelope Kennedy had given me when I got his signature.

Bells and I had asked Cody earlier in the afternoon if she minded us inviting Auden over for dinner tonight, and she’d literally given us the thumbs up. Once Auden had finished eating, I had pounced on her with the paperwork, to which both she and Cody had become quite excited about. Cody hadn’t stopped beaming since.

“Not an issue at all, Nat,” Auden said with a huge smile on her face. “You’ve become like a daughter to me. I’m incredibly honoured that you would ask me to be your sponsor.”

I leaned over from my seat at the kitchen bench and hugged her. She stiffened beneath my arms but patted me on the back, regardless. “You’re the mother I didn’t know I needed,” I murmured. “I can’t thank you and Cody enough for stopping and picking me up a month ago.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. Now let me go before I spontaneously combust.”

I laughed but let her go, as per her wishes.

Auden turned to Cody and Bells, who were sitting on the couch watching TV. “I’d best get going, my lovelies. Night, Cody. Night, Bells. Cody, I’ll see you downstairs tomorrow at two for your shift, okay?”

Cody gave her mum the thumbs up, then waved.

“Night, Auden,” said Bells, lifting his hand in a small wave before returning his attention to the TV.

I walked Auden to the door. “Cody asked me to be there tomorrow too, so you’ll see me then too,” I told her. “I plan on giving the paperwork back to Takeshi at the same time.”

She nodded. “I know Cody has been nervous about her first shift. You’re a good friend to her to help her through this.”

“Honestly, Auden, it’s the very least I could do.” I opened the door and waited for her to walk through.

“Pfft. Don’t tell Cody that or she’ll give you a list of things to do.” She grinned at me and winked. “Night, Nat.”

“Night, Auden.” I shut the door once she turned away and returned to the lounge area. “I’m going to bed, guys. This has been a long day and I’m wiped.” I grabbed my phone from the coffee table and set the alarm for tomorrow as I walked to my room. “Night.”

“I’ll join you,” Bells said, getting up from the couch. “Night, Cody.”

Cody waved to both of us and returned her attention to the TV.

I dumped my phone on the bedside table and disappeared into the ensuite to brush my teeth. I heard Bells rustling around in the bedroom seconds later. He came into the ensuite just as I was finishing up.

“Are you ready for your shift tomorrow too, Nat?” he asked before he started brushing his teeth.

“I think so. It’s not like I’ll have a choice in the matter, is it?” I grinned as I changed. “What should I expect tomorrow night?”

There was a pause as Bells finished up. “It’ll be a pack run,” he said as he shut the ensuite door. “The entire pack will be there and everyone who shifts will run through the forest together.”

“Sounds like fun.” I climbed into bed, waiting for him to join me.

“It is.” He turned the overhead light off and got under the covers, wrapping his arms around me, and drawing me in close to spoon me. “We have a barbecue before it, and those who can’t shift, or choose not to, will remain in the pack house, and have a bit of a get-together where the kids can play games and the adults sit around and chat.”

“It sounds like a real family thing,” I murmured.

“It is.” He drifted his nose along my chin. “I can’t wait to meet your wolf.”

I chuckled. “I can’t wait either.”

“Talking to me isn’t enough?”

“It’s one thing talking to you, Alex. It’s something else entirely to see what you look like.” I grinned into the darkness of the room.

There was a pause long enough that made me think I wasn’t going to get a response. “I hope you won’t be disappointed.” Alex’s voice was distant and completely unsure.

“Why would I be disappointed? You’re a part of me, Alex. Probably the best part of me.”

No response at all this time, but still the anxious feeling remained. I shrugged it off. As much as I was eager as Bells to meet Alex tomorrow, I couldn’t deny being worried. I figured Alex was going through the same. I kept reminding myself that everyone in this community went through this when they turned eighteen, but it didn’t stop the nerves. Something else everyone went through, I was sure.

Speaking of being worried… “Bells?” I nibbled my bottom lip at what I was about to ask. This could go one of two ways. He was going to talk to me or get angry with me.

“Mm?” He was still snuggling into my neck, his lips pressing gentle kisses down my chin-line.

“Do you think you might need to talk to Auden?”

He stopped. A slight tension filled the air before he said anything. “About what?”

“I saw you with Murph and Owen today.” I felt him let go of me. The bed shifted as he moved away from me. I rolled over to face him. “You seem to be fine when you’re around me or Cody, but you’ve been freezing up around any male that’s not Takeshi.”

An icy silence filled the room, but I wasn’t going to let this go. He was now lying on his back, but his head was facing away from me.

“They’re your friends, Bells. Murph, especially.” I reached out to him, letting my hand sit lightly on his chest. He flinched from the initial contact but didn’t move away. “They care about you. Just like I do.”

He turned his head back to look at me, a cheeky grin on his face that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Hopefully not exactly like you.” A blind man could see that he was trying desperately to lighten the mood and change the topic of conversation.

I pursed my lips and swatted him on the chest. “You know what I mean, doofus.” This time, his grin was more natural. “I’m serious. What’s going on?”

His smile slowly disappeared, then he sighed, a hand wiping his face in annoyance. “I can’t stop seeing him, Nat. Feeling him on top of me.”

I grimaced. “It’ll take time, Bells.” I drifted the hand I had resting on his chest up to his collarbone. “Not that I can compare what you’re going through with what I went through, but it took me ages to get used to being around people other than Cody, Auden, and Takeshi.”

“It’s only males,” he mumbled under his breath. “When Murph landed on me yesterday, it reminded me of what happened.” He looked at me with fear in his eyes. “Then when Emery tried to touch me, and then Owen today…” He trailed off, his gaze shifting off into the middle distance, lost in his memories from yesterday. “I can’t bear the thought of them touching me.”

I let my fingers wander over his chest. “I’m touching you.”

He brought his focus back to me. “Yeah, but you’re different. You’re not male, for one. I know you.” He reached out a palm and cupped my cheek with it, his thumb brushing my cheekbone. “And, I love you.”

I shifted in position to lean over him, then kissed him softly on the lips. “I love you, too.” Letting my tongue slide over his bottom lip, I gently probed to see if he would allow me access. It didn’t take long; his lips parted, and his tongue emerged to meet mine. I felt a low rumble start, getting louder as his chest started vibrating.

His hand went from my cheek to my shoulder, then down my arm, coaxing me to slide over on top of him. I sucked his tongue as I tried to find my balance above him, letting my hands fall to his firm pecs to gain stability. His hands moved down my back, halting at my backside before gripping each cheek to pull me against him, his thick, hard cock already rubbing against my stomach.

He pulled my thighs apart in order for me to straddle him. Pulling me up his body, he ground his pelvis into mine, making me groan from longing. I pushed myself up above him and rotated my hips on his, feeling his body tremble underneath mine. He slid his hands from my butt, around my hips, then up and under my shirt, letting his thumbs flick my nipples as he cupped my breasts.

I felt my panties get wet as my pussy flooded with desire. I slid my hands up his body, pushing his shirt off him. “God, I want you,” I panted. “This. Off. Now.”

He chuckled at my complete loss of the English language, lifting his torso up enough for me to hurriedly drag his shirt over his head and throw it to the side. I leaned down immediately and started sucking one of his nipples, nibbling a little and flicking at it with my tongue, before moving my attention to the other one. One of his hands moved from my breast to my back, holding me to him; the other continued massaging my breast, occasionally flicking my nipple to elicit a moan from me.

“Are you fond of the panties you have on?” he asked, his voice a husky growl, both of his hands drifting to the item in question.

“Would it matter if I said yes?” I mumbled against his skin.

He immediately tore them apart and tossed the scraps to the side. “I’ll buy you more.”

I grinned, then kissed my way down his torso, heading for his rock-hard length. As I moved, I pushed his boxers down, until he lifted himself off the mattress to let me remove them entirely. He pulled my shirt over my head and threw it to join the remnants of my panties.

I let my tongue slide over his cock, feeling the pulsing vein on the underside. Wrapping my hand around the shaft, I kissed the tip, tasting the pre-cum that was emerging. With his cock pulsing in my hand, I moved my head down, letting him enter my mouth more deeply. I felt his hand gently resting on my head as I sucked, bobbing up and down.

“Fuck…” Bells moaned as he started thrusting into my mouth to go ever deeper. I could feel the tension in him rising, his balls tightening, letting me know he was close. I sucked him one last time before I released him with a pop. Looking up his body, I smirked when I noticed him watching me with great disappointment that I had stopped what I had been doing.

I slowly moved up his body, letting my skin glide over his as I went. His cock was standing at full attention as I rose above him and hovered, allowing the anticipation to build. He kneaded my thighs as his cock twitched in the air under me.

I heard him groan as I let one hand drop to one of his nipples to pinch it, the other hand going to his cock. I slid the tip of his shaft over my outer lips before making contact with my core. We both moaned with pleasure as I slowly lowered myself onto him, letting him fill me. Once he was fully seated, I leaned forward to kiss him passionately.

Then I started moving.

Slowly at first, then faster. Up and down, again and again, occasionally mixing it up with a little swivel of my hips that made him growl with pleasure. I pushed myself up to a sitting position and held my hands to his pecs, flicking his nipples every so often, making him thrust into me more.

As the familiar tightening feeling emerged, letting me know an orgasm was on its way, I lost my rhythm. I ground my clit against his pubic bone, feeling a wonderful friction that sped up my oncoming climax. “Oh, God… I’m gonna come…” I moaned, my head throwing itself backwards. I pushed my pelvis forward as I leaned back, holding onto his ankles for stability.

Bells sped up his movements, his hands finding their way to my breasts. Pinching my nipples at the same time finally sent me over the edge, and I cried out again and again as my orgasm ripped through me. I felt him tense up from the squeezing my pussy was inflicting on his cock before he shouted out his own climax, his cock jerking repetitively as he came inside me.

As our breathing slowed, I moved forward to lie down on his chest, letting his cock soften inside me but not making any move to remove it. I enjoyed feeling it pulse with aftershocks, each one making me smile with satisfaction that I could get this reaction out of him.

He held me close, his arms wrapped around me as our bodies calmed. He kissed me on the forehead, then nuzzled his nose with mine. “Each time is better than the last, isn’t it?” he whispered.

I sighed happily. “I thought it was just me thinking that.”

I felt him chuckle, his body shaking slightly underneath me. He kissed me, long and steady, on the lips. “It’s never just you.”

I relaxed fully on top of him, my head resting under his chin as I felt sleep start to overtake me. “I love you, Bells,” I mumbled incoherently.

His hands softly drifted over my back, coaxing me into slumber.

“And I, you.”