“Kiss me,” she purred, longing and desire thickening her voice.
Lowering his head his mouth covered hers in a scorching hot melding of their love. His hips rocking against her as he plunged in and out, her heart rate shooting up as she rose toward another orgasm. The time was near, for both of them, bodies slick with sweat, skin slapping on skin, movements now frenzied with lust.
Tearing his lips from her mouth, he wound his fingers in her hair, tilting her head to the side and tugging it toward his neck. At the same time his mouth sought that sweet spot of hers, his teeth grazing her skin where he’d marked her before. Tasha releasing her canines and scratching his skin almost caused him to spiral over the precipice into ecstasy, barely holding on as he released his own fangs.
Burying his cock deeper with each thrust, he opened his mouth and bit down, hard, jerking as Tasha mirrored him. Blood pooled in his mouth, sliding down his throat . . . a sense of utter euphoria engulfing his entire being until finally he saw her Wolf in his head gamboling with his: their mating bond was sealed.
Releasing his bite, he drove into her faster and faster, head falling back as a roar like no other tore from his throat. The roar of an Alpha claiming his mate. A roar that announced to the entire Pack that their mating was complete. A roar that proclaimed that Tasha was his and he was the happiest man, and Wolf, alive.
Sunbeams shone through the window, settling on the far corner of the room, telling Rafe it was early afternoon. They’d slept for hours. Stretching carefully so as not to wake Tasha a poke in his ribs alerted him to his mistake. She hadn’t been alseep at all.
“Hey, beautiful.” He grinned down at her, no sign of sleep in her face. “How long have you been awake?”
“A while,” she answered. “I’ve just been watching you sleep. You look so peaceful and like a boy when you’re sleeping.”
“A boy?” Rafe frowned. Nobody could mistake him for a boy.
“Well, you just look relaxed and, it’s hard to describe, kinda young and innocent.”
Rafe couldn’t believe it. Young and innocent. Those were definitely not words anyone he knew would use to describe him. “I think you’re mistaken. The only one young and innocent here is you.”
Her face flushed before she waggled her eyebrows. “After last night I don’t think I can ever be called innocent again.”
Rafe chuckled, moving quickly to cover her body with his. “I love you, Tasha Montgomery. More than you’ll ever know.”
Her fingers reached up, running down the side of his face, sending every blood cell straight to his cock. “I love you too, Rafe Blackstone.”
“Glad we got that out of the way.” He dipped his head, caressing her shoulder with feather light kisses.
“Are you hungry? Can I fix us something?” She breathed heavily at his touch.
He looked deep into her eyes, his hunger shining brightly, his heart full of love and contentment as he proclaimed. “Yes, I’m hungry, but no longer for food. My hunger is now for you, my mate.”
Read on for a hot Highland adventure.
© 2017 by A K Michaels All Rights Reserved
This book, or any portion thereof, may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission by the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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For everyone who loves strong Alpha men and Shifters as much as I do. Sincerely hope you enjoy the story. I had a lot of fun writing it.
Also, a special mention to Haley Rathbone for designing the tattoo that Kade gets over his heart. Thank you so much.
The light brown Wolf slid to a halt, slamming into the wooden stairs of the cabin, blood covering its body and dripping on the ground. Its hunger still raging inside even after its recent kills.
Shaking its head, body quivering as the sound of snapping bones cut through the breaking dawn. A moment later, the tall muscular man looked down at his blood-soaked body, shaking his head.
“Damn,” Kade cursed, rushing inside to shower and change before his scheduled meeting.
This was the second night he’d slipped away on his own to hunt and try to quench the all-consuming strange hunger that had overtaken him. His need to keep it secret not something he was proud of, or indeed, knowing why he felt he had to. No matter, he had Pack business to attend to and, as Alpha, he had to get his arse in gear or he’d be late, again.
Luckily, he managed to avoid Skye, his housekeeper, who seemed to spend every waking moment in his home. She was either cleaning, washing, or cooking up a storm. He’d barely made it to his room when he heard her enter downstairs, humming to herself as she started breakfast.
Good. Kade was still hungry.
Less than an hour later Kade MacKenzie sighed, muttering, “What?”
Fraser, one of his three Betas frowned, head tilting to the side as he scrutinized him. “What in the blazes is going on Kade? You’ve not heard a dang word I’ve said. Have you?”
Raising his ice blue eyes, looking out over the camp toward the distant Cairngorm mountain range, Kade shook his head. The snow-capped tips beautiful as ever, but they didn’t bestow on him the peace they usually provided. The gnawing hunger in his belly now at the painful stage, even though he’d eaten enough overnight to feed several Wolves.
“Sorry, I’m not sure. I feel . . . strange. I have this hunger in my belly and it’s not abating, even after I’ve eaten. I’m going to go hunting and see if some fresh meat will put an end to it because it’s driving me to distraction. I can’t concentrate and my head is all over the place. Top it off with my beast howling constantly in my head and, yeah, I’m not feeling too great.”
Fraser leaned in, giving him a long look, the wrinkles on his forehead puckering even more as his wise eyes studied him making Kade feel very uncomfortable. “How long have you been feeling like this?”
“I’m fine,” Kade snapped irritably, refusing to answer the question. “I’ll see you later.”
Turning away, Kade strode toward the edge of camp, trying to decide where he’d go to hunt. Their Pack land was huge, sprawling in a glen and hidden from view by nosey humans. They had fenced in either end so the animals they stocked the forests with couldn’t escape. It also kept out unwanted visitors. Human or otherwise.
“The Loch,” Kade muttered, hoping his favorite place on earth would calm the inner turmoil raging inside him.
The crescent shaped body of water looked green in color. Overshadowed by a large torr on one side and forests all around the other banks, their emerald shades reflecting off the surface. At certain times of the year, when the heather was in full bloom across the hillside, the loch took on a purple hue, looking most magnificent.
This loch, however, was not to be found on any Scots map. No, it had belonged to the Pack for centuries and they had guarded it well. It was sacred to them. After all, it was from where their Pack got its name: Crescent Loch Pack.
When technology brought satellite maps, they’d been contacted by several authorities asking for details. Each and every one had been told to politely “bugger off.” If they persisted in trying to get information, then politeness flew out the window.
Kade smirked, remembering when his father and Fraser, who’d been his dad’s Beta, had found one such person sneaking around on their land. Fraser had transformed and scared the shit out of the guy, and afterwards, word got around and they were never bothered again.
Another pain lanced inside him. This time in his chest as he thought of his father. Dead almost five years now but he still felt his loss, along with his mother who died at his father’s side. Rogues. Bampots, the lot of them and if he ever caught any on his land he’d rip them apart. No fucking questions asked.
As usual, thinking of his parents had him thrumming with fury. Adding that to the damn hunger gna
wing at his guts, and he was, in his mum’s words, “Up to high doh.”
Reaching the edge of the forest, he started to strip, tugging his top off first. The rest following quickly and without his usual OCD behavior of folding everything neatly and placing them on one of the shelves they had erected around the perimeter of the camp. This time his clothes lay where they fell, his boots kicked off to land with a thud, a sock flying up to latch onto a branch, the other in a muddy puddle.
For once he didn’t care. Didn’t even notice as he forced his transformation, allowing his beast to break free. His skin tingling for a brief second before fur broke through, like a thousand pinpricks all at once, then the rest of his body caught up. Bones broke, stretching, realigning as the tendons and muscles joined them.
His first few years morphing were difficult, painful, but now he barely acknowledged the discomfort, getting it over and done with as quickly as possible. When his Wolf shook, head to tail, then lifted its head and howled, he felt relief. Relief at being able to sate this damn hunger.
Surely a deer would stop this insatiable feeling.
Lifting his nose, scenting the air around him, he caught the delectable aroma of some rabbits nearby. His enhanced hearing told him they were gamboling around in the grass, an easy kill for his beast, but not nearly enough for his needs. He was too near the camp for deer. He needed to go further afield for a chance at one of the herds that thrived on their land.
He had his pick from Roe, Red, Sika, and Fallow deer, but he was hoping to come across a herd of Red. They were the largest and with the appetite he had right now, he was sure only a Red deer would do. Only trouble was he knew their herd had a particularly nasty stag that hung around protecting it. It was unusual for that to happen but for some reason this old boy just wouldn’t wander too far from the herd. Too bad. If he came across the herd then he was having one, no doubt about that whatsoever.
His subconscious fluttered a warning, something about the Pack being banned from hunting Red deer.
He pushed it back, ignored it. He was Alpha. He made the damn rules and he’d do whatever the hell he wanted. Releasing his beast fully, he took off, huge paws eating up the ground as he raced toward the north. That’s where the herd was last spotted, so that’s where he was going. He had to find them and he had to get his jaws around one of those deer.
All thought of the Loch flying away as his feral instincts kicked in.
His Wolf sped through the forest, ignoring smaller prey in search of something far more substantial. Leaping over burns, darting around trees, with incredible agility for such a large beast. His Wolf was huge, lethal, deadly, and it was intent on one thing only.
A sweet aroma wafted on the air, drifting over his nose, twitching, and he veered toward it. Deer. Not Red but his beast was now in a frenzy and any prey would do. His Wolf almost howled with glee, barely containing its excitement and alerting the quarry that it was in the area.
Slowing his pace as the herd’s scent grew more pungent. His beast surveyed the area, getting his bearings. Dang. He’d come further from the camp than he’d planned, but truth was he didn’t care. The one, the only thing he cared about was abating the hunger eating away inside him.
His beast slunk lower, sliding along the ground, knowing every square inch of his land like the back of his hand, and that there was a small clearing just ahead. One lush with fresh grazing ripe for a herd of deer.
Testing the air with his nose to gauge which way the wind blew, he adjusted his approach, veering around to the right and sticking his nose through the thick bushes. Yes. There they were. The full herd was not visible, some must be in the surrounding trees on the opposite side, but there was enough for him to single one out and make the kill.
Although he wanted to scramble through and rush headlong toward his prey, he waited and watched. His keen eyes searching for one that wandered just a little too far away from the others, one that he could pounce on before they alerted the dominant female in charge. He didn’t want to have to kill her, not if he didn’t have to. The herd relied on her guidance to keep them stable.
There. One of them was grazing away from the group, easy pickings.
His stomach clenched, hunger pains lancing through it and urging him to attack. Bunching his hind leg muscles, preparing for a sprint to reach his target, he realized his total focus on food had made him forget about everything else around him. Sounds of another predator hit his senses a second before something large, hard, and powerful bowled into him, sending him sprawling as their bodies tangled with claws, huge paws, and jaws snapping.
Kade growled savagely, opening his jaws wide, ready to snap them around the neck of his opponent.
“Kade, what the hell are you doing?”
The voice in his head startled him so much he let out a yelp. He refocused his eyes on the Wolf that had attacked him but who’d now leaped away. “Lennox?”
“Aye, who the hell did you think it was? What are you doing?”
Kade’s beast rose unsteadily, shaking his head and saw Lennox wasn’t alone. Shit. Dara was with him. “What are you two doing here?”
Kade went on the offensive. A position he much preferred than defending himself. Dara’s dark brown Wolf paced back and forth, eyeing him curiously as Lennox’s front paw rose and slapped the ground angrily.
“We’re your Beta’s and we’re worried about you. Don’t think it’s gone unnoticed that you’ve been sneaking out to hunt,” Lennox replied shortly, always the one to call out any BS from anyone.
Kade snorted, tail swishing as he realized his nighttime escapades hadn’t gone unobserved. Again. Why was he surprised? Lennox was one sharp cookie and knew everything about everyone. Damn.
“Who sent you?” Kade snarled, allowing his Alpha power to seep out, just enough to remind them who was boss.
“Cut it out, ya numpty,” Lennox said, lowering his body to the ground.
Dara was already prone, whining. The sight causing Kade to feel more than a little regret. Maybe he’d sent more of his power out than he’d thought. Dara never submitted to anyone, apart from him, and even then, it was grudgingly.
“Answer the question, Len.”
“Nobody sent us but I saw you talking to Fraser earlier and I was worried about you so . . .”
Kade’s head lifted, a growl rumbling up from his chest. “I knew it. That old man needs to keep his nose out of my business.”
“Alpha, it is his business. It’s all three of ours. We are the Pack Betas and it’s our job to protect the Pack, but also to look after you. Especially when you’re acting like a complete eejit. What were you thinking? You were the one that put the law in place about hunting deer. We only do so on specific Pack hunts and never alone. And don’t even get me started on just how far you’ve come alone. Jeez, you could’ve been attacked by rogues while you were on your own, Kade. That is not good and you know it.”
Kade prowled around, hearing the deer scattering in a wild rush to escape from the predators they now knew were in their midst. A rumble grew in his chest, growing until it erupted from him in a howl of . . . what? Definitely anger at losing his prey. But there were other emotions vying for supremacy, doubt was rushing through him at his actions. As Alpha, he should be able to control himself, and his Wolf, but his actions were the opposite of control.
He’d go so far as to admit he was losing it. Well, to himself he would. He would never concede that to anyone else. Not even to his best friend. One who just would not shut the hell up.
“Kade! What is going on? I’ve never seen you act like such a bawbag, and don’t go all Alpha on me, ‘cause that’s exactly what you’re acting like.”
“Will you just shut up so I can think?” Kade snarled viciously, Dara backing up as Lennox stood his ground, watching Kade’s every move.
Kade pawed at the ground, tension rolling through him, almost turning him feral with the strain of keeping a hold on himself. His beast wasn’t making it easy. All it wanted to do w
as go hunting but . . . wait . . . its focus was no longer on the deer but it didn’t seem to know what it was it wanted to go looking for.
“Great.” Kade forced his Wolf to concede control, transforming quickly to pace around naked. Running his hands through his hair, sighing, looking up to the sky for some damn divine intervention. Anything to help him understand what was happening to him.
He had worked hard to hold the Pack together after losing his parents, and he’d be damned if he would let it all fall apart. No way in hell was he going to lose everything now.
He jerked around, scowling as a hand landed on his shoulder. Lennox in human form, his knowing eyes staring hard. “Alpha, I’m sorry for upsetting you but we really need to talk.”
“Aye.” Kade glared back, raising an eyebrow. “Bawbag?”
Lennox squirmed then shrugged. “Let’s be honest, that’s a fair assessment of you these past few days.”
His friend’s cheeky smirk broke some of the tension that was thick in the air. Kade contained a grin, looking around for his third Beta, Dara. He was still in his Wolf form and eyeing them cautiously. The more serious of the two, he knew Dara would be struggling with his behavior, and Lennox’s approach. Kade gave him a brief nod before focusing on Lennox again.
“So let’s talk.”
His Beta blew out a puff of air, lifting his arms to the side then dropping them. “Shit, okay, but you have to promise not to lose the heid.”
Kade speared Lennox with a cold stare. “I never lose the heid. In fact, if anyone around here is prone to that, I think everyone would agree that’s you. You’re always giving it laldy about something or other.”
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