I need to do this before I lose the ability to control myself.I paddle for shore, scramble out, and give myself a good, hardy shake. I’m only a few yards downstream, and I can see Annie’s nest, but with the incline, I can’t see her. She’s buried in the middle of a huge leaf pile. I trot back, careful to keep my pace nice and slow. I make lots of noise so she can’t possibly be startled again.And then her scent hits me. It straight up punches me in the face. Full-blown heat. Spicy and yeasty and musky like a pussy that hasn’t been washed in a while. Delicious. My wolf’s throat rumbles. He yearns to taste her. Desperately.I don’t want to let him get near her like this, but I need to see the lay of the land before I shift, and very possibly, tumble into rut. I let him creep closer and lift himself onto his hindquarters to peer over the wall of leaves.Fuck.She’s naked.Mostly.Her skirt and panties are gone. She’s got her shirt on, but it’s unbuttoned and hanging open. She’s sitting u
What am I going to do with it?I stroke her ass and rumble while I consider my next move. I don’t want her to feel neglected or worried that I don’t know what to do. Neither Lelia nor Diantha were virgins when they invited me to bed down with them. What do I know about maidenheads? They’ve got a dumb name. That’s it.If it were me, I’d want it gone quickly. Rip the bandage right off. But I’m male, and I’m not skittish like Annie. Whatever I do, I better give her fair warning.She raises her hips and rocks into my hand, growling her impatience. Yeah. Her heat is on her. She’s ready.I trail my fingers along her folds. I don’t need to spread her slick around. She’s already soaked. I slip my index finger into her hole and watch as the strip of flesh stretches to accommodate me. She snarls and bucks, trying to fuck herself with my finger. She likes it. Good, good.My heart thuds in my chest. I’m fucking terrified. I can’t afford to hurt her too much. Not when she doesn’t know yet that I c
She doesn’t react. She just shakes, fear rolling off her in waves.How do I make it stop?“I know where I can get chocolate.” It’ll cost me, but Diantha has a stash, and she’ll probably trade me for a nice shank steak. I hope I can get an elk so late in the season. The more I run my mouth, the more I’ve got riding on this bull I haven’t even bagged yet.Annie doesn’t answer. She must be worn out. I stop running my mouth and focus on holding her and soaking in the amazing feeling of my knot pulsing against her warm, spongy walls.As time ticks by, I become aware of the bond in my chest. It’s a strange sensation that burns more than I thought it would, but I probably just need to get accustomed to it. Max never mentions his. He doesn’t seem to notice it at all except when he wants to check and make sure that Elspeth is close to the dens. Then, he’ll give it a yank and grunt when he’s reassured that she’s where she always is.I can’t wait to take Annie home and fuck her again when there
She understands what that means. Even Quarry Pack males—with their pulley machines that they work at for hours and make nothing, their constant sparring, and their hoisting weights for no reason, over and over while they admire each other—even they haven’t ventured so far from their roots that they don’t bond with their fated female. Why does she say I can go? She knows I can’t.“You come with me.” I reach out my hand again. “We’ll go to our den now.” I try to make my voice ring with authority like Max does when us younger males get out of line, but I only manage to snarl and scare her more.I hate her fear stench. It accuses me, and I did nothing to her that I didn’t have to do.“N-no.” She whips her head back and forth. Her breath comes harder. She’s almost wheezing, her lungs working like she’s run a mile. “D-don’t c-come any closer. Don’t t-touch me.”I take one step closer. That’s all. I’m still six feet away, at least, but I might as well have lunged for her.She shifts.And it’
Every move I make is a threat. I’ve done nothing to hurt her, nothing that I didn’t have to do, and she looks at me with horror in her eyes.Everything I never dared to dream of until a few weeks ago—running with my own female under a full moon, cuddling our pups in our warm nest, a family, a real home—it will never happen. She doesn’t want me. This scrawny, cowardly female thinks I’m not good enough.“Tell me why,” I growl, my voice deeper than it was even minutes ago. I sound like my sire. I haven’t heard his voice in years, but here it is, coming from my mouth.My mate’s wolf cringes, her thin legs shaking. She tucks her chin. She’s not going to shift and answer me. I’m not even worth her breath.A spiteful rage rises in me like dust in a whipping wind, burning my eyes. What did I do to deserve this? To be left alone, over and over again?“You’ve got nothing to say for yourself, do you? What a sad female you are. I don’t want such a pathetic coward for a mate. What would my pack sa
“Is this going to be a long one?” Abertha waits for a response, but my throat is swollen shut, and so is my wolf’s. “Okay, I’ll assume that’s a ‘yes.’ I’m just going to have a seat on this handy fold-em-up stool then.” There’s a scuffling sound and a long sigh. “Take your time, Annie-girl,” she says and then mutters, “Goodness gracious, my dogs were barking.”The first jab of shame pierces my panic. What a sad female you are. I don’t want such a pathetic coward for a mate.I don’t want to be cringing in a bramble yet again with no choice but to wait it out and feel lower than dirt afterward. I don’t want to have to scrub one more humiliation out of my brain.I am so tired of being sad and broken. I can’t take myself another second.Fueled by nothing but self-disgust, I force my wolf to crawl forward, inch by inch back out the tunnel she made on her way in, and she doesn’t want to leave, but my will is stronger than hers. I drive her out of the dark thicket into the glaring late aftern
She doesn’t give in. She gives up, collapsing to the floor, and again, my bones crack and muscles tear. The pain is blinding, the reconstruction as violent as the demolition. I curl into a ball. Life has always been this way. It’s never once been easy.My mate went from wolf to a man in an instant. He flip-shifted, like Killian. No one else in the civilized packs can flip-shift, except Alban Hughes from Moon Lake, and he can only do it once or twice, like a party trick, not whenever he wants like Killian. Rumor has it that Alban Hughes was raised in the Last Pack, and they can all flip-shift there.Is that where my mate is from? What’s his name?If he’s gone forever, I’ll never know.Good, the voice says. You’re safe.Her reassurance doesn’t let me relax like it usually does. My muscles are still frozen in knots as I drag on the shirt and skirt. My biceps ache. My thighs burn. Every part of me hurts, especially between my legs where I feel tender and torn.My face burns, and I button
I was eight. We’d just finished a full-moon feast, and Declan Kelly had ordered the unmated females down to the lodge’s basement. Aunt Nola left the bag I’d made her on the table. I’d made it from an old denim shirt and cross-stitched it with the treasures she always brought me back from her rambles—walnuts, blackberries, nettles, pretty stones.She loved her bag—it was her favorite thing—so I decided to take it to her. To make her feel better.When Declan bellowed for the lone females, her face went ghost white, and Ma smothered a cry with her fist in her mouth. Half of the great room went silent. The other half—the males—stomped their boots and howled.While Ma was whisper-hissing with the other dams, I slipped away, down the stairs. I’d been in the basement many times before to help Aunt Nola clean. There were no windows, only fluorescent lights with the shadows of dead flies smudged against the plastic.I tripped into the room. The lone females were clustered together, their fear
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