“Everything?” The word came out a whisper as my lips parted and my breathing slowed.His fangs extended and he stepped closer, blocking out the sun. “Everything and more.”Don’t tease me with a good time.I forgot to inhale.“Alpha contestants, line up over here.” Molly was clapping, signaling the end of the day’s events and breaking me from the lust-filled haze.What is it with this Alpha? I took a step back, shaking my head as the other Luna contestants came out from the tent.The guys stood in line after pulling on shorts from wardrobe and getting touched up by the makeup team. Ranger didn’t bother to change, leaving the cargo pants hugging his thick thighs, but he shrugged off the tattered remains of his shirt so the whole world could see the art tattooed on his chest.I clamped down on my wolf’s possessive growl, trying to get ahold of myself. It didn’t help that Ranger’s eyes never left my face. My cheeks flushed from the knowledge that he was watching, waiting.The beast of an
“Um…” I bit down on my bottom lip, looking up at Ranger as my fingers fumbled with the button on his cargo pants. This was awkward, but the least I could do was return the favor.Ranger caught my wrists, trapping them easily with one hand, and rested his forehead against mine. “No.”“No?” I jerked back, wondering if I’d misread the situation. The signs were glaringly obvious that he wanted me, but I didn’t have much experience with Alphas other than the assholes I’d grown up with. Was this some sort of Alpha power trip? Did they like to get random girls off as a control thing?Heat flushed my cheeks as I realized how easily I’d cum. He barely touched me and didn’t even take off my pants. I’d ridden him like his hand was a saddle on a bull and orgasmed in two-point-five seconds.That wasn’t even supposed to be possible.I was so screwed. How was anyone else going to compete with that?“Do you always think this much?” Ranger caught me by the chin, forcing me to look at him and not letti
Acting on this was an entirely different matter and it was possible I’d messed up by giving in too fast. I could have teased her longer, drawn out her desire, but there was no harm in giving her a little taste of what I’d do once I had her completely at my mercy.We could do that now, my wolf growled, still pissed I forcefully dragged him away from the resort where Aspen was tucked into bed with Beau guarding the hall.Patience, I snapped back. He wasn’t a rash beast, but he’d been driving me hard to complete the mating mark and seal our bond. It will happen, I reassured him.First it was time to face the music with my pack.*Mattox met me in wolf form outside the boundaries of the resort property. The scent of a female still clung to his dark gray fur and I sniffed discreetly, placing her smell as one of my pack.“When did Ava get here?” I asked as we walked through the forest together.He looked up with a wolfish grin. “She came this morning to drop off some supplies.”“And they he
As much as I wanted to explore her reasons for the change of heart, she was right. “I can’t ask any unmated McCaw members to stay here much longer.”It wasn’t like I wanted to be here much longer either, but I could control myself. My shifters needed to be home on our own land and with our pack elders to help them during the season.Mattox was still in wolf form as he came back to the fire with Justin and Foster behind him. Foster laid down at Jones’ feet and the big guy leaned forward to scratch his mate’s ears. I looked over at Jenna who was wrapping a plate in tin foil, no doubt planning to save it for Beau when he got off duty.Other than the four of them, the rest of my pack needed to be heading home in the next two or three days before the start of the mating season urges began. I placed my hands on my thighs, ready to stand and make the declaration. I’d lost today and didn’t achieve what I came here for, but I wasn’t going to needlessly drag this out when so much was on the li
“We signed a confidentiality contract,” I reminded her despite knowing full well she was in prison where the rules were always a little bent.“I don’t care about the show details.” I could practically hear her roll her eyes. “Are you and Ranger a thing now? What do we call you? Rapen? Asger? Okay, both of those sound wrong. How about team McNu?”“Can you please stop smushing our names together?” I begged. “This isn’t high school. I like him. My wolf likes him. We’re going to see where this goes.”“If it doesn’t go straight to Alpha dick soon then I’ll never forgive you,” Clara deadpanned.“First of all, it’s none of your business what I do in the bedroom.”“You’d starve your best friend?” She gasped.“No,” I cried. “I mean, yes. Can we please leave this alone?”“See now you just sound embarrassed,” Clara said. “Don’t be. Own your sexuality like the slutty wolf-shifter goddess you are.”Wolf-shifter goddess?She’s right. My wolf licked her paw.Between the two of them, I should’ve had
“That was quite a show you put on yesterday.” Meghan walked up to my table.“That’s what we’re here for, right?” I swallowed my breakfast, making sure to look her directly in the eyes. “To put on a show.”“Right.” Meghan smiled. It was faker than the cheese they’d used in my eggs. “Are you coming out with us tonight?”“I’m not sure yet.” I had no clue what she meant, but I didn’t want to let her have the upper hand. She was definitely on my list of suspects for the cupcake situation now despite not speaking to her until recently.“I hope you do.” Meghan gave me a little finger wave, carrying her granola bar out the door.I bit into my doughnut again, shushing my wolf as Fallon came walking into the cafeteria. She had a black hoodie on that was big enough to swim in and her sunglasses hid her face.“Hey Fallon,” I called, waving her over like she’d done a dozen times to me.She nodded, holding up a finger, and filled her coffee before hurrying to my table like something was on fire. “A
Which meant it was someone with money. That could be almost any one of the contestants here. I cracked my neck from side to side, trying to ease the building tension in my muscles.“Roses or tulips?” I asked.“Huh?” Ivan blinked.“What flowers do you like better?”“Um…” Ivan looked over his shoulder as if this was some sort of joke.There was a kick at the door, causing both our beasts to tense, followed by Fallon cursing as she hit the keycard against the lock.Ivan rushed to open it for her. My sister came storming in the room, bypassing us both as she slammed her bedroom door shut.“Are you okay?” I called out, wondering what had gotten into her now.She screamed into a pillow before yelling at the closed door, “I will be when we get the fuck out of this place!”17Aspen“Have you seen Ranger today?” I sat in front of the mirror, being as still as possible, while Jesse got me ready for the interviews this afternoon.“Why would I have seen him?” Jesse wouldn’t meet my eyes in his re
“I’m guessing Alpha Derek saw this as the beginnings of another challenger like your father was.” Jesse hummed his disappointment.“Something like that. He pulled me in his home office when I was twelve and beat the attitude out of me though.” The funny thing was I didn’t remember the pain as much as I did the humiliation of being forced to bend the neck. “Trenton was always a cocky jerk, watching as his friends roughed up the lower ranking wolves and saying nothing. He didn’t really participate, but it was almost as if the silence was worse, you know? Especially for someone who is supposed to lead the pack someday.”“And what did he do when his dad hurt you?” Jesse asked.I saw Trenton’s eyes as clearly in my mind as I saw them that day. “Nothing. He stood in the hallway, watching, and didn’t say a single thing until his mother shooed him away.”“I knew I didn’t like that punk,” Jesse hissed.“It gets worse,” I laughed.“How so?”“On our first mating season–”“Shut up. He didn’t.” Je
I reached up and turned the TV off manually, scratching the back of my head as the room quieted and eight pairs of eyes looked my way. “Can someone tell me what’s going on?”“Wasn’t he on the show?” The coyote shifter looked at Aspen. “I swear I saw him there.”“You can be on the show and not have a clue what’s going on. Ask me how I know.” Aspen giggled, leaning back so her head rested against Ranger.He affectionately squeezed her shoulder as he pulled out his phone and scrolled. “It’s true. They finally got enough dirt to bring her in. Took them long enough. It’s been almost three months since our settlement against the network.”“Thank the Goddess.” Aspen sighed. “Wait, this doesn’t mean we have to go back to court, does it?”Ranger pocketed his phone. “No. They have her on a technicality and the feds are involved with the interstate gambling. Jesse’s testimony should be all they need. It’s bigger than us now.”We all glanced at the cheetah shifter. Jesse laid back on the leather
My beast thumped his tail as she smiled at me.“Are you ready to go?”I finished off my beer and tossed it into the trashcan, moving around Andrea as she tended the bar. Crossing the hardwood floors, I met the owner of the bar halfway, then scooped her up into my arms. “You missed my show.”I didn’t care if I sounded pathetic; Fallon was the one who insisted I put on a festive performance each Thursday night for the month of December. “We need more fun in this territory,” she’d said. “Make them want to stick around.”Fallon was a tough Luna, but she had a vision. It was something beautiful to watch it come alive. Because that’s what she’d done. Slowly but surely, she’d brought more life into this pack.A public playground sat by the new elementary school. She’d recruited some small businesses and created a boutique shopping center right outside the resort. Shifters were coming back and bringing their families with them. Especially now that Chase and Kimberly Williams were running the
“Well. I didn’t think…” Tim looked around the room as he stuttered. “She just…”“Come on, man.” Bryant laughed as he clapped the old man on the back. “Did you lose a nut or two back there?”“I need you to leave. Now.” John growled.Tim scrambled out the door.Bryant sighed as he followed him. “We’re going to have to burn this table.”“Out.” John’s Alpha strength washed over me, giving my wolf a heady rush as it mixed with my own power.I gave him a seductive smile, practically tasting his pheromones and desire pulsing in the air. “What seems to be the problem, Alpha?”“That was so fucking sexy.” He moved me over so I was standing in front of him, spreading my thighs apart with his knee. I was bare under the makeshift dress I’d made from his flannel shirt.Bare and already aching with need.His hand slid up between my legs and he groaned at what he found waiting there. “How did I get so lucky?”“Ask the Goddess,” I teased, gasping as he pushed me back so I lay flat on the table.He mad
I placed her scent as soon as I’d shifted and entered the lodge through the back door. The widowed Luna of Williams Pack. It was only a matter of time before she showed up. I pulled on one of John’s flannel shirts from the hooks in the mudroom and cinched it at the waist with one of his belts, grabbing my spare thigh-high black boots from the mat in the hall.Reminder to self:Leave more clothes easily accessible here.Especially if we’d be hosting representatives from the neighboring packs at random times.“Fallon.” John smiled at me as he came out of the bathroom. His eyes traveled hungrily up my thighs as I zipped my boots.“Later.” I put my hand in his. “Do we know what Janice Williams wants?”“Probably something about the debt from the show and my bargain with Chase.” A menacing aura pulsed around John that made my beast purr in delight. We hadn’t seen him in his dominant stance yet. He’d been mostly cinnamon roll around me and the pack. But this version of him was definitely get
“Are you going to let your Alpha in on these plans?” I asked as I tossed the towel into the laundry basket.“There will be signs,” she said mysteriously.And like a love-sick pup, my beast wagged his tail, ready to do whatever she asked.“Come on.” Fallon grabbed my hand and dragged me off the bed.“Where are we going?” I hobbled after her, realizing I’d probably be doing this for the rest of my life. Which didn’t sound all that bad.Fallon pulled open the front door as the cool spring breeze entered the warmth of the cottage, blowing a gust of her intoxicating scent around me. The morning sun shone down on her raven-black hair, giving her an ethereal glow. Her fangs descended through her smile.“My wolf needs her apology now.”11FallonBits of green sprouted through patches of muddy snow that crunched under my wolf’s paws as she raced through the quiet forest. The morning sun peeked down past the branches overhead. My beast’s lungs burned deliciously with the exertion. She was fast–
With my hands full of plastic bags, I jumped out of the truck onto the dirt road to the lakeside resort. I had a feeling she’d like it here. Her own little safe haven, especially when it was off-season and the pack stayed inland where the hunting was better and the air was less cold. Come summer, they’d all be out fishing and swimming and soaking up the sun. Fallon could have full range of the lodge then.I tapped into our mental connection, not wanting to disturb her if she was sleeping. Her emotions washed over me. The anger. The loneliness. It squeezed at my heart.My beast whined as I sat down on the front porch, putting the bags beside me.“What’s your favorite type of candy?” I rested my arms on my knees and waited. Back at the show, I’d gone through so many questions and she never answered. But maybe, just maybe…“Dark chocolate with salted caramel.”My beast howled his triumph as I looked into the plastic bag. Hopefully milk chocolate with caramel filling was a close second. O
“But you won’t because, despite your tough exterior, you aren’t a complete asshole.”“I…” I didn’t know what to say to that.“Listen, I know you and Ranger had a shit life. And we’re wolves. We’re used to fighting for what we get. But it’s different when it comes to you and your mate–especially one who is the Alpha. He’s going to protect you. It’s in his nature. You don’t have to fight every battle alone anymore.”“But–”“No buts. It’s biology, girl. Your wolf could only be tamed by the male strong enough to be an equal, but being equal doesn’t mean you do the same type of work all the time. He’s supposed to protect you in his way. You’re supposed to protect him in yours. He’ll take care of you when you’re sick and when you can’t do something. Just like you’ll do the same when he falls short. You don’t have to prove your worth anymore. If you did, then he wouldn’t be your perfect mate.”“What if fate got it wrong and he’s not perfect?” I swallowed down the lump of emotion in my throat
I shook my head. “How did you do it?”“Do what?”“One second everyone was talking shit. The next, they were eating out of the palm of your hand.”“Not everyone,” she huffed.“More than half the pack.” I started to unbutton my shirt, loving the hungry look in her eyes. “It was magic. Princess magic.”“I’m serious.” She licked her bottom lip as I dropped my shirt to the ground. “Don’t call me that.”“If you want me to stop, I’m going to need your passcode.”Her fingers traced the neckline of her shirt. “Passcode? I prefer the light system for safe words. Green to keep going. Yellow means slow down. Red is–”“Damn it, woman.” I groaned as I held my cock through my jeans with one hand and waved her phone with the other. “Your passcode.”Her eyes narrowed. “Give that to me.”“Are you hiding something?” I teased.She better not be.“It’s none of your business if I am.” A dismissive tilt of her chin had my beast growling.“I think everything about you is my business.” I caught her by the ank
“But the dams sure think so.” Aiden nodded.“It’s not your fault though.” Alice patted my hand. “You can’t help being a pampered city girl.”Did she just call us…I guess she did.I burst into laughter, laughing even harder at the horrified expressions on their faces. This was great. More than great.The O’Neil Pack thought I’d left my comfortable position in McCaw, with my own house where I made all my own rules and had more money than I knew what to do with, for a life like this?They were all high as a kite.8JohnIt took a massive amount of liquor for shifters to get and stay drunk, but that didn’t stop the O’Neil Clan from testing the limits. Pitchers of beer and jugs of homemade apple pie moonshine were passed around the picnic tables out front of the lodge. The far tables were laden with potluck casseroles and Shirley’s kitchen creations.Young pups came running through the maze of adults, causing chaos as I searched the crowd, looking for Fallon. My mate. It still had a ribbo