I can’t see Mari and Kennedy exchange looks, but I hear them shift meaningfully in their chairs. Neither dares to say it for a minute, but finally, Kennedy takes the leap.“Do you think you’re in heat?” she asks.I squeeze my eyes shut. “I don’t know. How can you tell?”There is a long pause before Mari ventures an answer. “Well, I guess you get really hot and turned on, and you recognize your mate. Do you know who he is?"I moan. “If I knew who he was, I’d know that I was in heat.”There should be a class on this at the Academy. I can solve for X, and I know that iambic pentameter has ten syllables made up of alternating stressed and unstressed syllables, and that each of these pairs is called a foot, and each foot is called an iamb, and the opposite of an iamb is a trochee, but my body is burning up, and I have no idea if it’s heat, and I don’t even write poems.“Well, are you horny?” Mari asks.I turn my head so my nose and lips are mashed against the cool tabletop. Your mother is
Some of the tension seeps out of my shoulders after I pop the lock in the bathroom. It’s not strong enough to keep anyone out, but if someone forced the door while the shower is running, it’d be loud enough to give me warning. I slide the wicker hamper in front of the door for good measure, wedging it as best I can under the knob. Then I get the wooden broom out of the linen closet and lean it on the wall next to the tub so it’s within reach.I know a male shifter can burst through a standard door like it’s nothing, and this broom would probably break if I hit him with it, but I need the ritual so I’m strong enough to ignore the voice and take my clothes off.What are you doing? You can’t get naked. What if you have to run? You’ve got no shoes. Nothing between you and them. Nothing to stop them.I undress quickly, hanging my skirt, shirt, bra, and panties over the towel rod so that I can slip them back on as soon as I dry myself. I am a very efficient bather. Even with turning the wat
Inside my head, I scream, but my throat has choked off my air. My lungs have seized mid-inhalation.Don’t make a sound. Don’t move an inch. Don’t breathe.No, no, no—this is the moment to run. I need to run.I can’t. I don’t have the strength to stand. My legs are weak from terror. A droplet of warm pee dribbles down the crease of my thigh.The wolf in the strawflowers rises to his four feet, up and up and up. He’s huge. A full-grown male. I can’t see his teeth, but they’ll be razor sharp. His ears are up and canted forward, like he’s listening for something.My lungs seize.My heart pounds louder, too loud. It thunders in my ears, ready to burst into mangled, meaty chunks.The wolf lifts himself even higher, his head swiveling on his neck, scanning the horizon. He’s scouting for danger. Are there others?I track his gaze, but I don’t see anything except flowers and shrubs and the shed where we keep the mower.He lifts his snout in the air, his nostrils flaring. His furry brow knits.
He sniffs a sunflower and then glances over his shoulder to see if I’m watching. I am. I can’t tear my eyes away. He’s the clear and present danger. For once, it’s not in my head.He casually wanders to a hydrangea bush and sticks his muzzle deep into the pink blossoms. The flowers are on their last leg, so when he delves his snout into a bunch, a handful of petals flutter to the ground. He sneezes. Another bunch of petals burst into confetti and drift down, sticking to his fur.He glares at the bush, startled and a little put out. Then he casts me another look. This time, it’s expectant.What does he want me to do?He waits.My stomach knots tighter and tighter the longer he stares. If my intestines were rope, they’d be frayed close to snapping.Sometimes I marvel at all the ways I can mess up my body with the power of my mind—all the parts of my body that I can make ache. My belly, my head, my neck, my shoulders, my jaw. I wonder which part I’ll break first. Probably my teeth from g
I swallow. I can hardly get the spit down my throat.“Y-you should leave,” I say. “B-before they find you here.”He glances at me out of the corner of a golden eye and snorts.“They won’t care that you’re my mate. You’re on Quarry Pack territory without permission. My alpha will kill you.”He blinks, unfazed, and keeps watching the sunset, but I know he’s as aware of me as I am of him. The silence stretches. My nerves would, too, if they weren’t already strung as tight as they can go.“This isn’t going to work anyway.” I stare at the scuffed toes of my boots, peeking out from the hem of my long denim skirt. “I’m…I’m not right. I can’t do this. I can’t have a mate.”His tail twitches, brushing the grass. My heart lurches at the sudden movement, and I gasp. He jumps to his feet, searching the distance, looking for the threat.Kennedy’s wolf does the same thing when I freak out. He smells my fresh burst of fear, and in the second before he remembers that I’m just messed up, he starts how
JUSTUS, AGE EIGHTEENMy mate’s name is Annie. She’s beautiful, but she smells bad, and there’s something wrong with her.She sent my wolf away. That’s not surprising. Colm’s female screamed at him every time he got close to her for moons and moons when he first brought her back from North Border, but she still ate.Annie wouldn’t eat the squirrel I brought her. She took it out to the backyard and buried it. I thought she was hiding it from the other females so she didn’t have to share, but she just left it there. She did the same with the black snake and the hare.Maybe she’s picky. I hope so. If she’s sick—No. I can’t think that.I drop the dead goose dangling from my maw onto her front porch, spitting out as many bloody feathers as I can. When I’m done, I’ve only got a few still stuck in my teeth.She should definitely like this. Goose is delicious, and this particular one is plump and juicy. My wolf and I definitely earned our fair share after the hassle of hunting it down, but we
I don’t know how to make her understand that I won’t hurt her. I keep low around her, but I’m a big wolf. I can only make myself but so small. I show her my neck, too. Doesn’t seem to make a difference.She’ll be calmer after I mount her. Then she’ll know she has nothing to fear and that I know what I’m doing.I will be very careful to please her. Lelia and Diantha both let me mount them when they’re needy, and they’re the pickiest females in the pack. I must be decent with my cock. It’s thick, but Alroy’s is much thicker, and they won’t let him near them.Once Alroy asked me why they liked me and not him, and I didn’t want to tell him it was because I do exactly what they say to do when I mount them, so I told him it was because I had a deeper rumble. He spent a month rumbling as deep as he could whenever the females were around, annoying the hell out of everyone.I pad quietly along the porch and peek in the next window. The room is dark. It belongs to the hobbled one. She’s not old
I don’t want to hurt Annie. She’s lovely. Like a sparrow. Or a swan with her long, graceful neck. And I sure as hell don’t want her any more scared. Her fear already has my nerves on a hair trigger. My wolf’s, too.I creep forward. She doesn’t pay me any mind. She’s gone back to piling leaves and plucking twigs from the heap and tossing them over her shoulder. She mutters as she works, but I can’t make out the words.When I get to the edge of her nest, I stop. I’d never come closer without invitation. Nests are sacred, even a makeshift one made out of leaves.My paw brushes a leaf, and she casts my wolf a baleful glare. What has displeased her? It could be so many things.I haven’t brought her home, so she doesn’t know that I have a good, warm den for her. Besides the goose, the squirrel, the snake, and the hare, she has no proof that I can care for her, and females need more than just meat. They like sweets and pretty, soft, clean things, and they need to know that you’re vicious eno
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