A Ravenous Pack: Wolf's Hunger 5 Books

by A. K. Michaels

  Didn’t appear there was going to be a problem with them getting on. They appeared to be happy in each other’s company, chatting away as they went about the kitchen at ease. His Wolf howled inside his head, desperate to claim Tasha as his and seal their mating bond. “Cool it,” Rafe admonished.

  Tasha had been through a nightmare and he didn’t want to scare her off.

  The smell of the cooking food pulled him to the door, opening it and slipping inside. Neither woman noticed him for a few moments but then his mother saw him, her eyes widening in shock.

  “Son! Oh my, are you okay?”

  Rafe looked down at his naked chest, caked with dried blood, shrugging. “I’m fine. The rogue, not so much.”

  Tasha slid around the kitchen table, stopping in front of him. He noticed she wasn’t limping. Good. She must have healed while he was gone.

  “Are you sure you’re not hurt? That’s an awful lot of blood.” Her pale eyes gazed up at him, worry clearly visible.

  He stared down. Taking a moment to feast on her beauty. She’d had a shower, obviously, as her long auburn hair fell in soft waves down her back and no longer was her face smudged with dirt. She was freaking gorgeous.

  Rafe leaned down, stopping when his lips almost touched hers. “I’m fine. It’s not my blood.”

  He couldn’t resist inhaling slowly, allowing her delicious fragrance to envelop him. Her eyes widened, pupils dilating, his lips tugging up at the sides at her reaction to him. Tasha’s head tilted slightly, bringing her lips to his, but only just. Their skin a mere whisper apart, his mind racing with thoughts of how her soft body would feel against his rock hard one.

  Rafe reached up, his fingers running through Tasha’s hair to tangle at the base of her neck. Her eyes stayed with his as she moved into his touch. He could wait no longer, his mouth covering hers in their first exquisite kiss. She opened to his tongue’s prodding, her fingers slowly caressing his abs as he deepened the kiss.

  Her touch was magical as she moved upwards to place her palms on his chest. His cock hardening in his jeans so quickly it surprised him. He knew she felt it, her gasp into his mouth and the quick thud of her heart so erotic he barely contained himself.

  He almost picked her up to carry her off to his room. The thought of spending hours learning everything he could about his mate so alluring it was practically impossible to resist. He’d scour her body, and discover what would give her the greatest pleasure. His mind so focused on their kiss and her body against his that he forgot they weren’t alone.

  “Hmm, sorry to disturb you two, but Rafe, you need to go get cleaned up.”

  His mother’s interruption felt like being doused in a bucket of ice-cold water. Tasha springing back from him, her cheeks blushing scarlet as one of her fingers ran over her luscious lips. A look of wonder in her pale eyes as she stared at him.

  “Later,” Rafe whispered before spinning away to go shower and dress in clothes not tainted by the stench of the bastard rogue.

  Rafe stood under the shower, allowing the cascading water to cool his ardor. He only managed to damp it down to a gnawing ache. Much better than the ravenous need he’d felt when he left Tasha though.

  His hands splayed on the wall as he regained control. “Dumbass.” He ground out thinking of the way he’d almost picked her up and carried her to his room. “She’ll need time so just cool your jets.”

  The water continued to flow over him until finally his cock was no longer steel hard and painful. His ears pricked up, his heart thundering in his chest when a sound he dreaded broke through his inner reprimand.

  Crying. Someone, no, not someone, Tasha. She was sobbing and the sound elicited emotions in him he’d never encountered before. A hand slammed on the wall as his other turned off the shower, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist he flew out of his room.

  Honing in on the sound he stopped at the door to the room Tasha had been in earlier. Her crying calling to him in ways he couldn’t control. He had to go to her. Help her. Do whatever he could to ease her suffering and grief.

  Rafe knocked softly on the door before opening it and going in. Tasha lay on the bed, her face pushed into a pillow as she cried. “Tasha, baby, are you okay?”

  Dumb question.

  Shaking his head at himself he slowly walked over, sitting on the edge of the bed and patting her back. “I’m sorry.”

  She turned toward him, eyes red and puffy, cheeks stained by her tears. “What for? You’ve nothing to be sorry for.”

  Rafe frowned, confused. “I thought I’d upset you earlier. You know, downstairs, when I kissed you.”

  He watched as her pale eyes widened as she shook her head, her gorgeous hair flying around. “No, it wasn’t you that upset me. It’s me that’s upset me.”

  “Uhh? I’m puzzled. How can you upset yourself?”

  Tasha flipped over onto her back, running a hand down her face as she sniffled. “Because I enjoyed that damn kiss so much.”

  Her face flushed scarlet as she admitted her reaction to his touch. Rafe barely managed to stop his lips tugging up into a grin, instead he reached out to hold one of her hands. “And that’s wrong?”

  He asked, more baffled than ever.

  Tasha’s eyes closed, refusing to meet his stare as she nodded. “My insides are all over the place. I’ve not even had time to grieve for my parents, my loved ones, or my Pack. Yet here I am all hot and bothered whenever you’re anywhere near me. I feel ashamed of how I responded to you. Surely I shouldn’t . . .”

  Rafe couldn’t allow her to continue her tirade against herself, tugging on her hand and pulling her up and into his arms. His embrace was tight as he held her to his naked chest. “I don’t ever want you feeling bad about yourself. You’re amazing. Shoot, you managed to escape and alert us about this threat to Wolves. You got away and stayed ahead of those fucking rogues. You’re strong, brave and the most beautiful person I’ve ever met.”

  Tasha buried her head into his shoulder, her arms circling him and holding onto him as if she were drowning. “I feel so sad inside but then you make me feel anything but sad. It’s strange and scary.”

  “We’re soul-mates, Tasha.” Rafe ran a hand through her long tresses, marveling at how silky it felt. “Nobody can fight against that. Trust me, I’ve been trying for days.”

  “Days?” Tasha looked up into his face, her eyes wide.

  “Yeah,” Rafe confirmed, a half smile tugging at his mouth. “I’ve been a little crazy for a while. Always in Wolf form and hunting like crazy. I was eating enough in a day that would normally do me for weeks. I wasn’t in control and finally my mom told me about . . .”

  “Oh my gosh!” Tasha sprang back from him, her hand flying to her chest. “The Hunger. You had the hunger?”

  Rafe was surprised at the shock on her face as her eyes twinkled with something other than surprise. He wasn’t sure but it looked like she was happy. Weird.

  “Yes, I had this hunger thing, apparently.” He shrugged. “Because as soon as I actually communicated with my beast and mentioned our mate, it was on board and actually seemed relieved. It was then I came looking for you.”

  Rafe stopped as the full implication of his pissing around for days hit him. Shit. If he’d started looking earlier then maybe he could’ve helped Tasha’s Pack. His heart almost stopped beating, his eyes dropping guiltily from hers.

  “Rafe?” Tasha scooted closer, a finger tipping his chin up so she could see him. “You couldn’t have done anything. I promise.”

  He couldn’t prevent the remorse inside him, eating away at his guts. “Maybe I could have. I’ll never know because I was so . . .”

  Rafe stopped, unable to continue as the weight of his indecision came crashing down upon him.

  Tasha moved closer, her hands either side of his face as she gazed into his eyes. “How long ago did the hunger take over you?”

  “Days ago,” he admitted sadly.

  “I’ve been on the run for days,
” she whispered. “By the time your hunger struck, my Pack was already doomed. It’s not your fault, Rafe.”

  “Then why do I feel so guilty?” Rafe asked quietly.

  “Because you’re a good man,” she muttered before her lips touched his in a brief kiss. “One that I look forward to getting to know better.”

  “I promise I’ll get to the bottom of this,” Rafe told her firmly. “I’ll find out who did this to your Pack and . . .”

  Tasha’s finger on his lips shut him up. “I know you will.”

  Rafe nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t come for you sooner.”

  “That’s behind us now. I’m just amazed that you went through the hunger.” She raised an eyebrow. “I’ve heard tales about it and some Wolves go nuts. And by nuts I mean completely losing their human side and turning feral. It’s quite scary you went through it. I might’ve lost you too.”

  “I did think I was losing my mind at times,” Rafe admitted, both to Tasha and himself.

  He dropped his head back, looking at the ceiling as he exhaled loudly. That little snippet causing him to realize he’d almost lost everything: his mate and his Pack.

  His stomach lurched at the thought. Pack was everything to him and he’d worked damn hard since taking over from his father to ensure they flourished under him. He would do anything for his Wolves but he’d almost allowed it to slip away. That wasn’t something he’d forget anytime soon.

  “Hey,” Tasha’s soft voice brought him back to the present, his eyes dropping to lock with hers. “You made it through. That’s a feat all in itself, many don’t.”

  “I nearly lost everything.” Rafe couldn’t still his rapid heartbeats as he continued to think of what could have happened.

  “But you didn’t.” Tasha reached up, her soft hand caressing his face. “You didn’t lose your Pack, or me, or, more importantly, yourself.”

  “Tasha.” Rafe’s voice came out low, husky, full of emotion as he leaned into her touch. “I’ve seen this before, other Wolves when they’ve met their mate, but damn it, I never understood. Not until I saw you in that fucker’s arms in the forest. At that moment I would’ve taken on Satan himself to free you. I couldn’t bear it that he was touching you, threatening you. It almost was my undoing.”

  “I know.” She gave him a shy smile, her eyes coming to life and twinkling up at him. “I felt our pull earlier. I’d jumped over a little stream that cut through the forest and as soon as my feet landed I saw your Wolf in my head. It was bizarre but I had to push it away. I knew they weren’t far behind me so I pushed on until I ended up falling down a dang rabbit hole. Just like me to do something stupid like that.”

  He could feel her, sense how her emotions were warring inside her. She wanted him. There was no doubt about that but he could also feel her holding back. No matter. He’d wait for his Tasha to be ready to take the next step.

  Rafe huffed out a breath as images of what that next step would be: her luscious body beneath his as he took her, body and soul, to ecstasy.

  “What are you thinking?” Tasha asked, her head tilted to the side. Her eyes so damn gorgeous as she gazed up at him through her long dark lashes.

  He chuckled. “That’s not something I’d like to admit right now.”

  “Oh.” Her eyes widened as her mouth dropped open, a flush creeping up her neck.

  She was the most exquisite thing he’d ever seen and he wanted nothing more than to devour her and cause her to scream his name. Rafe tried to rise. “I think I better go before I do something that I shouldn’t.”

  Tasha’s hand landed on his thigh, holding him in place. “Can we kiss?”

  “Babe,” Rafe groaned as blood rushed south to breathe life into his cock. “We can kiss anytime you want. I just don’t want to pressure you . . . ya know . . . about the rest of it.”

  “My Wolf is giving me a headache,” Tasha whispered.

  “Mine too.” Rafe smiled, reaching to entwine his fingers in her hair at the base of her neck. “The mating call is driving me crazy, but I know you need time, sweetheart.”

  Tasha leaned forward, her lips brushing along his chest. Damn, he should’ve put clothes on. If she continued doing that he was certain he’d embarrass himself. When her tongue darted out and licked around one of his nipples he hissed through his teeth.

  “Damn, Tash, you better stop or . . .”

  “Or what?” She looked up, her eyes hooded and her pupils dilated to almost encompass her entire eye, leaving only a slight rim of grey around it.

  “I think you know what.” Rafe smirked down at her.

  “Rafe.” Tasha kissed first one nipple then the other before glancing up at him. “Would it be so wrong of me to want this now? To want to mate with you? I know it sounds weird, we barely know each other but . . .”

  “You are my mate, Tasha, time won’t change that.” Rafe raised an eyebrow. “The only thing time will give us is getting to know each other, our likes, dislikes but regardless of all of that, we are mates. I want to mark you as mine but I don’t want to force you into anything. Not with everything you’ve gone through.”

  “I don’t want to be alone,” Tasha sighed. “I mean tonight. I don’t want to sleep alone. I’m still scared and I feel guilty about wanting to do stuff with you but then I think of what my mom would say. I know she’d tell me to ‘get my head out of my ass and mate already’.”

  “Sounds like she was a wise woman,” Rafe said solemnly. “I’d much rather you were beside me tonight too, so, I guess tonight we’ll sleep in my room. What do you say?”

  Rafe knew it would be the most extreme torture to have her in his bed, lying next to him yet not seal their bond. He’d spend half the night under a cold shower.

  “I think I’d like that.”

  He pulled her head toward his, desperate to feel the sweetness of her mouth once again. Tasha moaning into his mouth forcing every last drop of blood in his brain to drop to his groin. Rafe deepened the kiss, her hands running across his bare skin and causing his cock to throb with need to be inside his mate. He clearly heard her heart speed up, keeping pace with his own, as their tongues danced together in a tango of lava hot desire.

  He never wanted this moment to end. His mate in his arms, responding to his touch, her desire matching his.

  Then he was drenched in ice-cold water when his mom yelled, “Where are you two? Dinner’s ready.”

  Reluctantly pulling back, Tasha’s eyes widening as she looked at the tent in his towel. “Sorry, you’ve gotten me all hot and bothered. I’d better go and try and get rid of this before I go down.”

  Tasha’s head fell back, laughter erupting. Her hand flew up to stifle it as she gasped. “Yeah, you better. I’m sure that’s not something any mom wants to see.”

  Rafe chuckled along with her. Happy that her earlier sadness seemed to have abated. “I’ll be down shortly.”

  “Don’t call me shortly.” Tasha grinned cheekily.

  “What?” Rafe frowned, taking him a few seconds to get the joke. “Oh, very funny.”

  “I thought so,” Tasha quipped as she rose. “I’ll wash up and see you downstairs.”

  “Definitely.” Rafe gripped the towel that showed his arousal. “I might have to slip in for a cold shower first.”

  Tasha burst out laughing again as she disappeared into the bathroom. He was certain it was the finest sound he’d ever heard. Her merriment following him down the corridor. It was far better than hearing her sobbing, that was for damn sure.

  He would be counting the hours, minutes, the freaking seconds until he held her in his arms, in his bed, and made her his for eternity. It couldn’t come quick enough. Maybe he should drop some hints and see if his mother would stay with a friend tonight?

  Jacy greeted him when he finally made it downstairs. He’d had to spend an uncomfortable five minutes having that cold shower he’d mentioned before he was able to dress.

  His best friend eyed him closely as he raised a hand. “Hi, how’r
e you feeling after earlier?”

  “I’m fine,” Rafe said honestly. He had no trouble in taking out the rogue. None whatsoever. He’d do it again if he had the chance just because the dirty mutt had touched his precious mate.

  “Okay, good to know.” Jacy smiled over at Tasha. “How’re you settling in? Is there anything I can do for you? If so, just ask.”

  Rafe couldn’t stop the rumbled growl that erupted, his teeth baring as he snapped, “That’s not necessary.”

  Ellie shook her head as she placed a huge pot in the middle of the table. “Rafe, behave yourself. Sit down and everyone tuck in.”

  “Where’s my steak?” Rafe grumbled when he saw the hotpot. “I smelt it earlier, deer, where is it?”

  Jacy smirked. “I ate it while we were waiting on you.”

  Rafe threw a filthy look toward his Beta. “That better be a joke.”

  “Nope.” Jacy held out his hands. “Sorry, but I was hungry and it was just sitting there. I couldn’t resist.”

  Rafe scowled, his eyes slitting to glare at Jacy. His mom smacked his back as she returned from the stove. “He’s pulling your leg, Son. Here’s your steak. It might be a little dried out because you were away for so long and I had to keep it warm in the oven.”

  His eyes scooted to Tasha’s noting the blush and shy smile as she gazed back. “Sorry, I was filthy. It took me a while to get clean.”

  Tasha’s eyes dropped and he was certain she was trying not to giggle. The sight making him want her all the more. Then he realized where she sat, too far away.

  “Tasha,”—he reached over, pulling out the chair right next to him—“Come and sit here.”

  She cocked an eyebrow but did as he said, sitting down and looking at him questioningly. He shrugged. “You were too far away.”

  Her eyes sparkled, her smile wide as she nodded. “I think that’s one of the nicest things a man’s ever said to me.”