“No jeans?” I ask.He glances down at himself, surprised. “I had to borrow these.” He holds up the fabric he was carrying. He’d dropped it when he went to his knees. It looks like one of Annie’s long corduroy dresses. “I brought you this.”“Thanks.” I take it and slip it over my head. It’s definitely Annie’s, too long and too tight in the boob and butt. You’re supposed to wear it with a shirt underneath, but this is it, so I hook the loops, grateful for the cover.He rises to his feet and reaches for my dress straps, fiddling with the buckles even though the buttons are snapped in tight. He’s doing it because he wants to touch me.I want to be touched.“You didn’t bail,” I say.“I did.” His rough fingers move to smooth the corduroy straps on my shoulders. They’re already lying flat.“But you came back.”“I’ll always come back.” His fingers still, and his eyes find mine. “I will fuck up, but I’ll come back every time. If you’ll have me.” His jaw tightens. “I’ll come back even if you wo
“The skinny kid’s.” He knows Lucan’s name, he’s just stubborn about using it. Darragh’s the one who insists that Lucan and Fallon still watch over Cait and me when he’s away. The human government and the task force Moon Lake is leading hasn’t gotten anywhere with finding the human hunters behind the kidnapping ring yet. Extra security is a necessity, but Darragh still doesn’t like having other males in his territory.“Hah! See, you do need a phone.” Cait screws up her face like she’s going to sneeze or howl, and I immediately regret how emphatic I was when I said it.“See, I don’t,” he whispers back. “I can borrow one.” He flashes me a soft smile so I don’t get too mad.I love his smile. It took a while for it to show up on the regular, but now, I live for it. It’s so shy, and it turns him from this rough wild man to a complete charmer.I’m happy we spend most of our time out at our place. I wouldn’t like the pack females seeing the smiles, figuring out he’s the world’s biggest teddy
FLORAAlec catches my eye from across the clearing and jerks his chin toward the woods. It’s so quick and subtle that no one but me would notice. My heart takes off. My gaze drops to my sneakers, and my cheeks burst into flame.I shrink into my sweatshirt, glad the hood is up. But it’s not like anyone’s paying any attention to me.The unmated males are clustered on the river’s edge further upstream, drinking beers and arguing about the game they just finished. They play a mashup of human sports with the ball from soccer, the scrum from rugby, the tackling from football, and no firmly agreed upon rules. Then they spend the next couple of hours before the pack run fighting over how the plays should have been called.The dams are packing up the leftovers while their males are gathered by the big furnace, smoking pipes. Pups are everywhere—splashing in the shallows, climbing on the huge tires that serve as a playground, crawling under the picnic tables over in the pavilion, annoying the
I open my mouth to say no thank you, to make some excuse, but before I can, Brenda snaps, “Just eat them, girl.” Alpha command underscores the words.Complying is instinct. I reach for a slimy disk with a shaking hand, but it slips from my fingers. Agnes sighs, irritated, whatever discomfort she felt at messing up my name gone. I try again, trap one, and pop it into my mouth whole. My throat convulses, but I force it down.I hate devilled eggs. Mayonnaise is disgusting.I gulp down the second and the third, and before anything else can happen, I bob my head in Brenda’s direction, excusing myself, and escape toward the big furnace. The eggs skate in my stomach.I pass Rhona Blackburn and Greer Munroe, the highest-ranking unmated females, on their way back from the bathrooms. They snicker under their breath as they strut by, casting glances that somehow come from both the sides of their eyes and down their noses at the same time.When I was younger, the snickers freaked me out. I’d chec
He’s so handsome, so different than the other males who swagger and bray around the village, always jockeying for rank, loud and aggressive. He moves with a casual arrogance, saying little, his face giving nothing away. At least not to anyone else.I know his tells. At least some of them. I come to a standstill a foot from him, gazing up into that cool expression of feigned indifference, and note the pulse at his left temple and his clenched jaw. If I glanced down, I’d see that his shorts are fully tented.Folks in this pack go out of their way not to look at me. Their eyes skip over me like I’ve been scribbled out, like I’m an embarrassing mistake. The fat shifter. Our kind aren’t supposed to carry extra weight. That’s a human thing. We don’t have overflowing breasts and pudgy bellies and thick thighs. I’m made wrong.But Alec looks at me. Not around the others, but when we sneak off—his dark eyes eat me up.“Take this off,” he says, plucking at my hoodie as he finally lowers his leg
Alec groans and shoves my head closer, smushing my nose against his pubic bone. Oh. I kind of got distracted and stopped sucking. Not like you can suck much with a dick this far down your throat. I wiggle my tongue as much as I can, and that seems to do the trick. He moans and lets up a little. I can take a full breath again.He used to come in two or three minutes flat. I guess because he has more experience at this point, it takes a lot longer now.My stomach hurts at the thought, but there’s nothing I can do. At least he’s not dating Isla Sinclair anymore. That was the worst three months of my life. I’m sure Alec didn’t tell her about what we do, but she must have sensed something because she ganged up with Rhona and Greer to make my life miserable. It wasn’t like Alec and I fooled around when they were together. He pretended I didn’t exist like everyone else.Alec’s muscular thighs are tensing, and he’s loosened his grip on the back of my head to stroke my hair. He’s close. I rela
I tie my hair back again and pull my hood up, tugging the strings taut even though it’s getting muggy. I want to hide, but if I bail without getting the clothes, someone will snitch to Brenda, and I’ll get shit for it. I slide onto a picnic bench and pinch the foil around the edges of Miss Nola’s plate for something to do with my hands.Bram and Leith are raising their voices.“We go to the waterfall,” Bram declares, peeling off his tank top and flinging it to the ground.He’s got concrete blocks for abs and a pelt like a bearskin rug. I can’t believe I let him in my pants. I was so easy. All it took was him dropping by the laundry, applying some light pressure, and I let him punch my V card in the utility closet. I try not to beat myself up about it, though. I was eighteen, Alec was with Isla Sinclair, and loneliness is a mindfuck.“The waterfall is played out,” Leith scoffs, shucking his shirt, puffing his ripped and waxed chest. “I say Tall Pines Lake.”Bram waves his hand dismissi
Something’s terribly wrong.The males are all naked, and I’m throbbing between the legs, and the air reeks. The only thing stopping me from hurling is the scent of Alec’s shirt. What is that stench? Something died. Something very big.“What the fuck is Fluffa doing?” Rhona says to Greer.Isla finally lifts her foot off the damn shorts and dashes to a safe distance like I’m it, and this is tag. “She’s sniffing someone’s sweaty shirt.”There is a chorus of female disgust, but I can’t put the shirt down. If I do, I’ll throw up in front of everyone. I want to stand, but someone has crowded too close behind me, and if I try to get to my feet without bracing my hands on the ground, I’ll lose my balance. If I brace, I’ll be presenting my ass to whoever’s up in my space.Except for that guy, my packmates are backing away, forming a new ring so I’m on stage left, and opposite me, Alec is standing stage right, his posture deliberately unconcerned, his expression blank.He’s my mate.It’s like a
The humans know about shifters, of course, but there’s no need to draw more attention to us than we already do, as strangers in such a small town. Folks already gawk as Annie leads us to the village commons even though the streets are busy. It’s market day.As soon as we reach the grassy expanse filled with tables and tents, Alroy and Diantha peel off, heading in opposite directions. Griff seems torn, but when he sees that Diantha is making a beeline for a booth with racks of female clothing, he hurries to follow Alroy.Annie leads us down the makeshift walkways, smiling when she’s greeted by name. My mate is still shy, but there’s no trace of fear in her scent. I breathe her happiness and excitement in, letting it flush my lungs clean of the oily town air.She sees her friends before I do and lets go of my hand to run toward them.My mate. My Annie. Running with a smile lighting her face.This is a good, good day.Two females rush around their table, the third making her way more slo
JUSTUSMy perfect, beautiful mate does not like surprises, so she knows exactly where we’re going as we trot through the woods that run along the human highway. At first, I was sad that I couldn’t spring this visit on her, but I love watching her wolf get more and more excited the closer we get to Chapel Bell. Her short little legs are moving so fast, I almost don’t have to slow my pace.Alroy, Griff, and Diantha don’t have my patience, so they’re several yards ahead of us. Poor Griff has to be the buffer between them, and he keeps getting caught in the crossfire when their wolves decide to break the monotony by sniping at each other.I was worried that Annie would be too nervous to venture this far from camp, but she gets more confident every day. I’m pretty sure that’s because when we were out for a walk two months ago, she saw me take out two ferals that were encroaching on our territory to the north, so even though Killian and I pretty much fought to a draw, she knows I can handle
He bares his fangs, yanks the needle from his neck, and blinks at it, bemused.“Did you stab me with a fucking knitting needle?” He holds it up. Blood oozes from the wound, dripping down his bare chest. I didn’t even hit an artery.Justus snarls, squaring his shoulders and bending his knees, readying himself to attack. Every inch of his body is covered in mud and blood, gashes and purpling bruises. White bone shows through a jagged slash on his forearm.A male coughs, clearing his throat. “Can we just take a beat?” Killian raises his hands, raw flesh where his nails should be.I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but he’s as battered as Justus, and he seems to be favoring his left leg, like his right can’t hold weight. Our males spar constantly. I’ve seen all of them beat up at some point, but I’ve never seen any of them mangled this bad. I can’t believe either he or Justus are still upright.“That bitch stabbed me.” Leith points at me with the knitting needle.Justus howls and steps
My wolf skids to a halt several feet away and then slinks forward, keeping the fire between her and the Salt Mountain wolf, letting the smoke block her scent. When she’s too close to dare creep closer, she huddles close to the ground, staring up and up at his tremendous mud-caked haunches. She’s a miniature in comparison. All the females are, and we all stare, powerless, as the wolf’s bones crack and a strapping man rises from the hulk of his beast.His blond hair shines through the dirt. I’ve seen him. Leith Munroe. The new Salt Mountain alpha.He rests his hands on his hips as if there isn’t chaos all around him as his wolves play a game of distraction, breaking after our slower, smaller, or older males and mauling them until our strong males are forced to turn back, away from us, to rescue them.Leith takes no notice of our wolves, even when they get close, or me, skulking behind the fire. Why would he? I’m no threat—skinny and small and stinking of fear.Instead, he’s intent on so
ANNIERun! Run! Run!I squat as low as I can in the wildflowers and tear off my clothes.A few yards away, Killian and Justus are murdering each other. Tye, Ivo, and the rest are just watching, and no matter how much I scream, no matter what I say, their wolves don’t listen.And the Salt Mountain wolves are up to something. They’re edging away from the fight toward the trail to camp. Quarry Pack is so intent on the fight, they either don’t notice or don’t care.I have to get to Khalil, and my wolf is faster.Run into the woods! The woods!I huddle in the tall grass and summon my wolf. For the first time in my life, she’s ahead of me, bursting through our skin before I’m ready, assuming form like she’s surfacing from water rather than tearing herself free from bone and muscle.She runs away from the woods, toward the trail. The Salt Mountain wolves have gotten ahead of her, so she hangs back, keeping low and downwind.Turn around! Now!What are they doing? They can’t think to attack La
“Lavender is light green this time of year. It doesn’t bloom until June or July.”“What are you going to do with it now then?”“Make a sachet. The scent mostly comes from the oils in its leaves.”“Make a sachet for who?”I wade through the tall grass to stand close to her and inhale her sweet rainy scent.“For the den,” she says, glancing bashfully up at me from under her thick brown lashes. She’s wearing my old sweater and another pair of my drawstring pants. Her pulse flutters at the base of her throat. She’s excited, too.Maybe we should cut this trip short and head back to the den.Or take a detour into the woods.She probably wouldn’t do that, but I think she’d agree to return to camp. I draw in another deep breath. Her arousal teases my nose.My wolf snarls.Annie startles.It takes my brain three seconds too long to catch up.Underlying the rain and slick, there is another scent. Earthy, yes, but not the right earth. It doesn’t belong. I’ve smelled it before. A long time ago.I
My grip on the pot handle tightens. Water sloshes over the sides. My jaw clenches, my guts knot, and my dry eyes burn.I can’t do this.I have to.“Justus?” Annie appears in the den entrance. She’s wrapped herself in a light pink sheet, and she’s holding a cup. “You brought water.” She smiles, padding toward me on bare feet.And then she stops. Her smile falls aways.She blinks in the sunshine, the bleariness of sleep disappearing as she takes in my grim face and desperate hold on the pot. If I had dignity, I’d find a way to smile back. Say good morning. Act like everything is fine.Her chest falls as she lets out a long, silent breath. She looks me straight in the eye. Her fear and doubt are clear as day.She’s going to ask me to take her home now.She takes a step closer to me, and then another, until we’re toe to toe. She gazes up at me, and for a second, all I can see is her beauty—her graceful neck, her delicate pointy chin, her soft, curving lips—and then I notice the expression
“Trust me,” he shushes, the hot head of his cock already notching at my entrance. He flexes his hips and sinks into me, a groan of pure relief torn from his throat. He fills me so completely that I ache where I take him, but I love it.I pant through the strain, and he gathers me close as he thrusts, cradling me to his chest, kissing my lips, my brow, my cheeks, the tip of my nose. I start to rock my hips in time.“You’re so beautiful, Annie,” he rumbles in my ear. “So perfect for me. My Annie. Mine.”I sigh and ride his bucking hips, his cock stretching me until I feel like a glove made for him.“Come for me, now,” he growls. “Now, Annie.”Hot cum floods my womb, and his knot catches and swells, tearing a raw shout from my throat. His fingers find my clit while his fangs sink into my shoulder.I scream, bucking against him, but I’m caught, so he moves with me, hushing me.I hover another second on the edge, somehow above myself, watching his strong arms tremble as they wrap around me
I let my hand fall and turn my head away.He snarls. He doesn’t like that.I drop back so I’m sitting on the pallet, lift my chin, and fold my arms. His wolf rumbles unhappily. He shouldn’t have let his man mess with my nest.He dips his head and looks up at me from his lowered eyes, a wolf playing at a lamb. “I’m sorry, Annie. Here it is.”He holds the pillow out.It’s a trap.Of course it’s a trap. I reach for it anyway. As soon as I grab the pillow, he yanks and falls to his back, dragging me with him. I tumble on top of him. He quickly nips the pillow from my grasp, tucks it behind his head, and grins up at me.I push up on his chest, struggling upright until I’m straddling his waist. He crosses his arms behind his head.I lean forward and try to pull the pillow free, but his head is too heavy.“Just ask nicely, Annie.” There’s a new note in his voice, a gravelly depth that has nothing to do with his wolf.I prop myself on his folded biceps. They’re hard and velvet and flexing und