Mate Not Needed

by Michelle Ziegler

Her soul quaked as he pulled down the flimsy fabric of her costume, yanking down the strapless bra along with it, exposing her breasts.

  Arching her back, she welcomed his mouth as it closed around one nipple.

  A squeak escaped her lips as his teeth grazed the sensitive skin.

  Oh God.

  She kicked off the shoes, running a bare foot up his leg until it stopped at a very impressive bulge. Ellen rubbed him through the fabric. She wiggled, trying to reach down to free him. He pulled away and she groaned.

  "So eager? We have the whole night. Remember how I said by the end of the evening you would be begging for my name?"

  She gasped.

  Oh. My. God.

  He gripped her hips and pulled her down to the edge, her wet panties resting against his crotch. Hard, impressively hard underneath the fabric, and oh, did she want him.

  "Please. Just, please. Don't make me wait. I need to feel you inside me before I wake up and realize this has all been a dream."

  Ellen shuddered as he pushed her knees together, his palms kissing her skin as he slid her panties over her legs.

  "If this is a dream, then I hope I never wake up," he said.

  She did too.

  No more words, just feeling. Ellen yanked at the dress, pulling it.

  She ripped at the neckline as frustration grew. She needed to get out of this.

  Her body shook as his hands found their way between her legs.

  God, no. She was stuck, and completely at his will.

  A finger slid between her folds, her eyes nearly rolling in the back of her head.

  What would the cost of this pleasure be?

  God, did she even care? He slid a second finger in, stroking her. A static hum, beginning to build in her head, and her body burned with pleasure.

  Ellen couldn't catch her breath as he worked her faster and faster, a pressure growing.

  Just as she was about to come crashing down, her body tensed, ready to release, and he pulled out.

  Her eyes flew open.

  In the dark she made out his frantic figure ripping away his pants, then his shirt, the clink of buttons flying.

  Just as fast as he'd retreated, he spread her legs, his hands on her knees.

  In the moonlight she could see him without the mask and her mouth ran dry.

  He leaned forward, gripping the fabric prison and pulled. Her arms slid free and the dress finally cleared her head.

  Leaning in, he kissed her.

  There was only him. As the pressure of the head of his dick sat at her entrance, the coil of anticipation filled her.

  She hooked her heels around his back, but he fought her.

  Her heart thudded in ears. Waiting. Waiting for him to satiate her. Finally, with a smile of his lips still against hers, he started to press in.

  The burning stretch of muscles accompanied the pleasure of feeling him sliding along her slick heat.

  He was much bigger than anything she'd imagined.

  Ellen groaned as he filled her inch by inch and all she could do was hold him. Kiss him. Submit to him.

  6

  Things that he didn't think through, number one million. What if this blond vixen was part of his intended's pack. Fuck.

  Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

  This would be a problem because he would have to somehow smooth some ruffled feathers and then ask for her. That wasn't too bad, right?

  He's never seen her before, but it wasn't like there were that many packs here. Maybe five. Shit.

  He couldn't show up at the meeting of the packs and see this woman there. I mean, he could. But, God. He wouldn't be able to go through with this mating. Please God, let her be in a different pack. Please.

  She stretched and the sheet slipped from her breasts. Her nipples teased him. Didn't they know he was supposed to be focused on something else. Like what? What was he supposed to be focused on? How about getting out of his arranged mating. He couldn't go through with that now. This had to be what everyone talked about. Knowing. Knowing soul deep that she was it. The big IT.

  His eyes flicked to her nipples again. Back to her sleeping face and...

  Oh, fuck it.

  West couldn't take it anymore. He needed to taste her.

  Bending down, he took in one of the pink nubs, sucking until it peaked under his tongue.

  She stirred. West loved her moans. He loved how she arched into him.

  His hand played and kneaded the other breast. He smiled against her when her hands wound in his hair.

  "Aren't you tired?" she asked.

  West flicked his tongue against her nipple before looking up.

  "I don't think my body could ever tire of you."

  Glancing up, he paused. His heart, felt, felt like what, as he took in the sight of her?

  Full? That was a crappy description, but maybe it was right. He was a damn sap. Looking into her half-lidded eyes, though, he realized that he felt complete.

  Abandoning his lust, he crawled up to her mouth. Claiming her lips with his own. The taste of dreams. God, she was everything.

  "Shit," West said, and sat up.

  "What?" It took her a minute. Her arms stretching over her head. His dick twitching, ready for another round. But that wasn't going to solve anything.

  "This wasn't supposed to happen," he said.

  West sniffed the air, trying to figure out if anyone was up in the house. He tried to listen, his wolf-sense taking over.

  West felt something die inside as she gripped the blanket and sat up, resting her back against the headboard.

  He watched her look around and her eyes grew wider and wider.

  "You. You're, oh no. Yeah. No, this wasn't supposed to happen."

  A churning in his gut started as she scrambled to the edge of the bed.

  "It wasn't," she muttered.

  Her voice wavered.

  "Hey. It's okay."

  She shook her head. "No. It's not. I screwed up."

  He clambered across the bed. "Hold on. It's okay. We screwed up together. Last I checked, it takes two people." He grabbed her hips, stopping her in her tracks. She pulled against him, and finally gave up, her posture slouching.

  "No. I mean. I really screwed up. You, you're part of the pack from the mountains? The Salix pack?"

  He nodded. "Yes? Why?"

  She turned to him.

  "Last night was the best night of my life. I mean it. But, I can't see you again. No matter what. I can't see you again. I, I'm already promised."

  He sucked in air as she sucker-punched him with her words.

  "That's not possible. You can't be promised to anyone in my pack. I've never seen you before."

  She turned away as he swore her eyes reddened.

  "I can't do this right now. Please let me go." He did, shock setting in.

  "Where's my phone," she asked. Blindly he watched her grab up her costume, putting in one leg then hopping around trying to get the other in.

  Where the hell had she ever put a phone? He didn't remember seeing one.

  "God. Where's my bra? I need to get out of here. I can't-"

  She broke off. The dress was up, but it did nothing to support her breasts, and God. Every time she bent down, he could see her bare ass.

  No. Stop. She was engaged to be mated to someone in his fucking pack. What the fuck. Sense hit him all at once.

  "Forget it. Keep it. If you find it, just toss it. I have to go." She spotted a small, wrist-style bag, and made a b-line as he got up. He stepped in her path.

  "Who the hell are you mating in my pack? Where are you from?"

  She studied his face, and he hated that she was thinking about her answer. Maybe thinking about someone other than him.

  "You knew I wasn't him last night. Why did you come with me?"

  Her lip trembled. "I. I don't know."

  He growled. "You do know. You know because I know. Whoever that wolf is, he isn't the right one for you. I am."

  A tear slid down her
beautiful cheek and now he just felt like an asshole. He took her face in his hands, brushing a thumb in the path of an unwelcome tear.

  "Look. I'm sorry. But you know I'm right. You feel it."

  Dropping a hand to her chest, his hand rested against her heart, the beat already mating to his own.

  She nodded.

  "I can't lose you. I won't live without you. I will abandon my pack, do whatever I have to do to have you. You tell me when." And he meant it.

  Really, he didn't see this being an issue. All she had to do was give him a name and that wolf would be finding a new pack. Fuck. No. He wouldn't do that to a brother.

  But, shit. That guy would have to know she was wrong for him. Wasn't his mate. Why the hell would she have agreed to a mating with someone that she was so wrong for? Fuck. Why had he? He needed to fix this.

  He lowered his face to hers.

  "I will never give up until you are mine."

  She shivered under his touch.

  "But, what if. What if I can't be yours."

  His wolf snarled.

  "That is not an option. I always get what I want." His lips nearly touching hers. "Always."

  There was no stopping him, he slid his hand down the bodice of her dress, past the ruffles of the skirt and didn't stop until he found her soft skin.

  "I. I need to go." Her words soft, lacking any conviction to his ears.

  "I do not stop until I have claimed what is mine."

  His forehead rested against hers as his fingers found her slit. No panties yet. He liked this game. Sliding along her folds he slipped a finger between the lips and found the warmth of her entrance. Her breath hitched.

  "Please. I can't. I need..."

  West smiled as her words caught. "Tell me what you need."

  A quick intake of her breath was all he needed to know when he slid inside.

  "Tell me. What do you need?"

  A quick intake of air through her perfect lips, music to his ears.

  "You. I need you."

  Crushing his lips to hers, wrapping his arm around her waist, holding her as she began to quiver, he knew he couldn't walk away.

  She pulled her lips away.

  "Please," she begged.

  He kissed her again.

  Stretching his thumb up, he pressed it against her clit. The nub swollen, ready. A whimper caught in her throat. She was close. He could smell her arousal, smell her all over him.

  He needed to claim her. His wolf was pissed. Pacing. Panting. Begging. How could he fight instinct.

  West pulled his fingers out, his hand covered in her.

  As she threatened to collapse, he held her closer.

  "What is your name?" West asked.

  "What? My? Name? El. Call me El." She couldn't catch her breath.

  "El. You're mine. Do you understand."

  She focused, catching him off guard with the intensity in her eyes.

  "Yes. Take me. I'm yours."

  Hooking his hands behind her knee, he lifted her off the ground.

  "Say my name. West. My name is West."

  He laid her down against the disheveled fabric. A reminder of the night before.

  "West. I'm yours. Make me yours."

  He leaned over. Spreading her for him, his dick ready, ready for the release, poised at her entrance. The heat of her teasing him.

  "You understand what I'm offering?"

  She nodded. Her hands twisting in her hair.

  "Yes. I understand. I can't be anyone else's. I can't go back."

  His palms slid down her thighs. "It can't be undone. If I claim you, it can't be undone."

  He watched as her hands released her hair, her eyes meeting his.

  "I know. Do it. Take me as yours. I don't want to be with anyone else."

  Instinct needed nothing else. He growled as he pushed into her, sinking in between her tight muscles. He started to thrust. Pushing into her over and over again. Her body growing tighter, her moans growing to cries of pleasure.

  This was mad. Insane. And yet he couldn't and wouldn't be with another female for the rest of his life even if she left him right now.

  He couldn't. West held back, until now. No. He couldn't hold back. He was lost to her. Lost in her. Their eyes met as he thrust once, twice more and as he started to lose it he pushed once more as he bent down and bit into her shoulder, spilling into her everything he had. Her hands pulled him down further, and he was lost to the magic.

  7

  They had to be able to tell. Didn't she smell different? Why the hell did she come back? She should have listened to West and run off already. No. They were meeting in a few hours and she couldn't leave her parents with no information.

  A loud slamming sound made her cringe. A second thud and a shatter hitting the ground outside. She swallowed her next words.

  Great. There goes the sign to the bar.

  "What do you mean you can't go through with it?" her dad hollered.

  Well, at least he'd come back in.

  "I mean that I think I found the one I was supposed to end up with. You can't expect me to mate anyone else."

  Ellen twisted the hem of the dress her mother insisted she wore to meet her future mate. Only, she wasn't going to meet him.

  "You can't walk out. We worked very hard on this. We consulted a matchmaker. You can't. The preparations have already started. They're already in town. Why did you pick now? Where have you been all day, anyway?"

  Her mother walked closer, sniffing the air around her.

  Ellen had snuck in and showered. She scrubbed her skin so raw that she was surprised she wasn't see-through. She knew she should have run off, but she'd wanted to say goodbye. She loved her parents.

  Her mother's eyes narrowed into slits."Ellen. What did you do?"

  Well, she'd liked her mom up until now.

  "Nothing."

  Her mother's eyes flashed between wolf and human.

  "Dear? Please go outside and see if you just destroyed that sign?"

  Her father grumbled, but he did as she asked.

  Once the door shut behind him her mother leaned in.

  "Show me your shoulder."

  Ellen shrugged. "What do you mean?"

  Her mother growled. "I was not born yesterday, Ellen. Show me the mark. Now."

  Well, shit. This was such a mistake.

  Slowly, she slid off the shoulder of her dress, pulling the collar away just enough to expose the newly healed skin.

  "You let him mark you? Knowing full well you were to be mated to someone else in his pack, his alpha? You just made a death sentence for him if they find out."

  She pulled the fabric back. "They won't find out if you let me go. I'm supposed to meet him. No one has to know. Just tell them I got cold feet and couldn't. I couldn't go through with it."

  Her mother's face burned red.

  "Oh, no. I love you, but this is your mess. He's meant to be the next alpha. What were you thinking? Mating someone else. Someone beneath you. All you had to do was meet him and I'm sure you'd have seen what a good match it would have been. What has gotten into you?"

  Her mother backed away, plopping into a chair as she knocked into one behind her.

  Ellen couldn't decide if she should cry or run.

  "Mom." The words were weak at best. "I'm sorry."

  Her mother shook her head. "I know." She paused.

  "What?" Tears dripped off her face, falling on the exposed skin of her chest.

  Her mother stood up."I know you're sorry."

  She sniffed. "I couldn't stop him even if I had wanted to. My wolf, she wanted him more than you can imagine. He, he is strong and worthy. She wouldn't have let me make a mistake."

  Her mother nodded. "I know. Your father and I, I was meant to mate another. My father had sent me here for diplomacy and then when I got back, I was meant to mate the strongest wolf in the pack. Only, I never went home."

  Ellen's jaw dropped. "What?" Blinking away tears, Ellen tried to wrap her min
d around her perfect mother's words.

  "You, you went against your father's will?"

  She shrugged. "Well, when you know he's the one, you know."

  Her mother stood and straightened her cotton dress, smoothing it down.

  "I will support you and this mystery man will be welcomed into our pack. I hope he knows there is little doubt he won't be accepted back into his own. But, you will have to lay low until your father comes around."

  Although Ellen's stomach still twisted into knots, the tightness in her chest eased. She bounded up from her seat and hugged her mother.

  "Oh, thank you, mother."

  "Yes. Well-"

  The door swung open. A large wolf stomped his way in, followed by several more. Ellen looked away. She couldn't look at him. She couldn't look at the man she was supposed to mate. Her hands began to shake as she listened to the thunking of heavy footfall.

  "Bryant, my son here has something to tell you."

  Ellen did recognize the voice, but she knew it was the other alpha.

  "Warren. It seems my daughter does as well. Although, I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding-" he began before her mother cut him off.

  "Bryant, I suggest you let the children talk. There is no misunderstanding. There will be no mating ceremony."

  "What?" Her father's voice boomed through the bar. Perhaps they should start drinking now, rather than leave the celebratory drinks sitting out on the bar like a forgotten audience.

  "Sir. I have to agree. There will be no mating ceremony."

  Ellen cocked her head.

  "No, I want to hear from them first, son. What do you mean there is no mating ceremony?"

  She heard her father's grumbling before her mother started to talk. "It would seem, that perhaps we were a bit premature in our discussions."

  Ellen didn't hear the rest. She racked her brain. That voice. Slowly, she turned. She tried to keep her head straight and her heart calm. Oh hell, there was no keeping her heart calm.

  Blinking, she processed the wall of men until her eyes stopped on something unexpected.

  Oh, God. Please tell her that West wasn't one of the alpha's inner circle.

  Voices were raised, but she barely noticed the yelling ensued around her.

  She couldn't stay away from him, even if this might be the last time she saw him. Certainly, he wouldn't survive if he were challenged by the pack?