Her Brave Wolf (Marked By The Moon Book 1)

by Kestra Pingree

  She wondered when the regret would kick in. Surely it would. She waited and waited as she held on to Nick, the two of them still joined together. The feeling never came. All she felt was peace. There was nothing to regret because this was right.

  She sighed into his neck. “That was amazing.”

  “You can say that again,” he agreed.

  “You weren’t nervous at all for never doing this before!” Gwen accused.

  “I didn’t have time to feel nervous when everything felt so right,” he replied.

  “You… do plan on sticking around, right?”

  Nick kissed her. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Good. I don’t want you to leave. I want to keep seeing you. I want to know more about your life and being a wolf.”

  He hugged her tight and brought her away from the shower wall so she felt only him and the water spraying them. Finally, they separated. Gwen was back on her feet and Nick was washing her with a softness his strong hands didn’t seem like they should be capable of. She enjoyed every moment of it. When she was clean, she washed him in return. She loved running her hands all over his perfect body. This shower turned into the longest shower Gwen had ever had, and she felt kind of guilty for wasting all of that water, but the time she spent with Nick made it worth it.

  Gwen threw on an oversized t-shirt and shorts when they finished, her normal sleep attire, while Nick had to settle for his own clothes or wear some of the extra stuff kept in the cabin. He went for his own clothes. She didn’t blame him. It did disappoint her though.

  “Are you leaving?” she asked.

  “I need to set things straight with my pack,” he reminded.

  “This late? I mean, I know you’re wolf shifters, but…”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “Maybe you’d prefer to stay the night with me, then?” she asked hopefully.

  He smirked. “Can’t get enough of me?”

  Gwen folded her arms and looked away. She was being ridiculous after all.

  “I’d definitely prefer to spend the night with you,” Nick said, dispelling her fears.

  She sidled up next to him and grabbed his left hand. “Who would have thought today everything between us would change?”

  “This is how everything should have been to begin with.”

  CHAPTER 14

  WHEN NICK WOKE UP this morning, he held a beautiful woman in his arms. Her back was facing him, the same way they had fallen asleep together. Gwendolyn Laney. She was a park ranger and an all around stunning woman. She was fearless, compassionate, strong. She was everything Nick could have ever wanted. Last night had been a dream come true. He hadn’t expected Gwen to forgive him, so he certainly hadn’t expected to explore every inch of her body or to have the privilege of holding her even now.

  As far as he was concerned, he was still in the process of begging for forgiveness. He wanted her to know how serious he was. She had wanted him from the beginning. She would have accepted him right away. He was the reason it took them so long to get to this point. He hoped they would only get closer from here. He was going to do everything in his power to make that happen.

  He buried his face into her long dark hair covering her neck. He wanted to wake up to her every morning like this. The urge to claim her was so strong he was impressed with himself for not giving in to it. He definitely wasn’t going to do it until he talked to her about it. He wouldn’t claim her unless she wanted him too.

  His canines made his gums hurt. They were being persistent this morning. All it would take was a small bite anywhere on her body with the intent of claiming her, and then his and her scents would be combined. He loved her sweet scent like tree sap. He wanted it all over him at all times, and he wanted his all over her. He wanted the whole world to know that she was his and his alone.

  Gwen stirred in his arms. He held her tighter, and her hands went to his. He loosened his hold when she shifted, rolling over to face him. He could gaze into her dark brown eyes all day. They were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. They hid nothing. Her strong and caring nature was easy to see in them. She wasn’t the kind of person that hid things. She was proud, bold. Alpha.

  “Good morning,” she said, her voice crackly from sleep. She smiled warmly.

  “Morning,” Nick replied, smiling in return.

  Gwen gave him a short kiss. Then she wiggled in his arms again. This time he let her go, allowing her to stretch. He stayed lying down as she sat up, stretching one last time before getting out of bed.

  “You staying for breakfast?” she asked as the big short sleeves of her oversized shirt rolled down her arms as she stretched.

  “I really need to get back to Moonwatch. There are wolves in Eastbrook I need to call over for tonight.”

  “Tonight you’ll talk to your pack?” she asked, tying up her long hair so it wouldn’t be in her face.

  “Yes.”

  “I’m off tonight and for a couple days after. Would I be in the way if I came to Moonwatch?”

  Nick sat up, bare chested, but his briefs were on. He and Gwen actually hadn’t messed around anymore last night. Gwen wanted to be held. She was tired. Nick was totally fine with that. Any closeness with her was good.

  He commented, “It’d be a big help. Then everyone could see how great you are.”

  “They can’t know how ‘great’ I am just by looking at me,” she protested. “You don’t even know how great I am.”

  “I know you’re great in bed.”

  Gwen walked over to him, arms folded, and tried to give a stern face, but her lips were threatening a smile.

  “And that’s not all,” Nick continued, lowering his voice. “You saved my life. You saved that little boy’s life. I think I know how great you are.”

  Her eyes glossed over at his words, and she quickly wiped them. She cleared her throat. “You saved his life and mine.”

  “Yeah, but that was only because you challenged me to be better.”

  Leaning down to reach his lips, Gwen kissed him softly. Her lips moved slowly against his. He matched her stroke for stroke, gently sucking on her upper lip. With each careful movement, he tried to convince her of his words.

  “Mmm,” Gwen hummed as she placed her hands behind Nick’s head, tangling her fingers in his very short dark curls. She lingered there even after their kiss had stopped. “That still doesn’t mean your pack is going to see how ‘great I am.’”

  Nick caught her behind the back of her head and urged her forehead to rest against his. “You’ll see. They were just being territorial last time you came. C’mon, you’ve spent enough time with animals to know they’re a good judge of character. Dogs especially.”

  She smiled. “So now you’re comparing yourself to a dog? I thought you wolves were too proud for that.”

  Nick grinned. He let her go and she did the same to him. Then he hopped out of bed, catching Gwen around the waist as she squeaked and half-heartedly pretended to struggle in his grasp. He held her in front of him firmly, sliding his hands to her hips as she placed her hands on his arms.

  “I’ll come,” she said. “Should I bring extra clothes?”

  “If you want to stay with me, it might be best. Unless you want to borrow clothes from Willow.”

  “I don’t want to put her out.”

  “Are you kidding? She’d dress you up like a doll if you gave her the chance.”

  Gwen laughed. “Maybe she’d manage to make me look fashionable.”

  “I like you the way you are.”

  “Stop sweet talking me and get going,” Gwen teased as Nick let her go. She picked his shirt up from off the floor and threw it at him. “I’ll see you this evening.”

  “Fine.” Nick pulled on his shirt and grabbed his pants from off the floor, putting them on as well. Then he stole a final kiss for the morning. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Nick.” Gwen grabbed his arm. He loved the way she squeezed his arm almost desperately. It made him feel valued. Wante
d. “You’re brave for doing this. I hope your pack understands. I think they’d be stupid to lose you.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  When she let him go, he wished she hadn’t. He already decided he was going to talk to his pack, propose to change and run things the way he wanted. Regardless of his fears, he was doing it. Gwen was going to be there too, but until she came, he’d have to deal with his pack on his own. Then there was his Beta. Christopher was going to be the hardest to deal with. Sure, Nick could silence him and put him in his place, but he didn’t see how that was helpful or what the pack needed. He would be truthful, speak his mind, and then they would decide for themselves. They’d either continue living the lonely and sad life where they blamed everyone else for their misfortunes, or they would see the world of possibilities that awaited them. The same world Gwen showed him.

  The moment Nick got to Moonwatch, he had this sense of foreboding. That feeling amplified when he saw his Beta standing on the Alpha Den’s porch steps with his arms crossed. His face was always severe in a way. Most would say he never gave anything away by his expressions, but that wasn’t the case now. He was hella pissed, and he wasn’t hiding it—not even from his Alpha.

  Nick parked his Silverado. He thought his Beta might come to him, but Chris stayed standing on the Alpha Den’s porch, shaded by the sun. The sight irritated Nick, but he reminded himself to be calm. He had no interest in beating his own opinions into his Beta’s head. He didn’t want his words to be law like his father’s were. He didn’t want any more arranged mates. He didn’t want any more cases like Willow and Casey. He wanted something better. At the very least, he wanted change. Blue Pack needed change.

  “Do you need something?” Nick addressed his brooding Beta, keeping his cool.

  “Where have you been?” his Beta asked, keeping his tone level despite the obvious aggression begging to come out. “Willow came back before you, saying you found the boy you went out looking for. Why didn’t you come back with her?” Now Nick could hear the aggression clearly. His Beta was growling with every word.

  Nick growled, warning his Beta to keep his fucking angst to himself. “You’ll learn everything this evening, along with the rest of Blue Pack and the Eastbrook wolves.”

  “I’m your Beta,” Chris reminded, barely holding back his anger. “I should know what’s going on before everyone else. And why do you have that human woman’s scent all over you?”

  Of course Chris remembered Gwen’s scent. He was too observant not to. “That’s right, you are my Beta. As Alpha, I can choose what I do and don’t tell you.”

  Chris’s eyes grew dark, but he didn’t talk back.

  “You’ll understand everything tonight,” Nick said with calm authority. There would be no negotiation on this. “Call Howard and tell him that all wolves in Eastbrook must be gathered here by five this evening.”

  “Of course, Alpha,” Chris replied with a forced bow of his head. “It will be done.”

  Nick allowed his Beta to walk past him, but he kept his eyes on him. He was being compliant for now, but his disapproval shined like the sun. He was pissed about Gwen already just because she was a human. It was as Nick feared. Likely the rest of the pack would react the same way. Whatever happened tonight, he would need to be prepared. He hoped it wouldn’t come down to him having to protect Gwen from his own wolves, but there was a possibility it would. He would fight for her and lead her out of danger if it came to it. And then he would become a lone wolf with Gwen at his side. Willow would likely join them. Maybe Julie too.

  Whatever happened, everything was about to change.

  CHAPTER 15

  THERE WAS MORE MOTION and energy in the town today than Nick had seen in the pack since Casey left them. Things got even worse when Nick’s parents died. This proved Blue Pack was on the verge of breaking. It was a good thing he was doing this now before it was too late.

  They were more in numbers today because the wolves from Eastbrook were there as well. If things went well, they would pledge to him tonight on the Full Moon and became new members of Blue Pack. If things didn’t go well, they’d either pledge to a new Alpha or leave. He felt powerless doing things like this. He wasn’t going to use his strength to force anyone to believe anything. Whatever happened was up to his wolves and these new wolves.

  All wolves were gathering at the amphitheater. It was the largest and easiest place to have town-wide meetings. That was all it was used for these days. In the past, it was used for performances too, but like the school, it didn’t get much use these days.

  So far no one had acted out, not that Nick was expecting any backlash at this point. As far as anyone knew, their Alpha was calling them together for a meeting. It wasn’t that abnormal.

  Nick hadn’t left for the amphitheater yet. He was waiting at his home. He hadn’t asked Gwen for her phone number, so he couldn’t call her. With where she was located inside Blue Forest, having it wouldn’t have done him any good most of the time anyway, but he fully intended on asking for it today. Moonwatch was small, but it wasn’t a dead zone for cell phones or anything like that, unlike most of Blue Forest. When Gwen wasn’t working, it’d be nice to be able to stay in contact with her. If he couldn’t see her every day, he hoped he’d be able to hear her voice.

  The sun was beginning to set. Nick was sure Gwen would be arriving at any moment. As if to answer that feeling, he glimpsed her yellow Jeep in the distance. The sight made him grin. Everything felt right now that he wasn’t fighting against his feelings for the park ranger. He could smile about it, and the previous guilt he felt wasn’t there. This thing he had with Gwen wasn’t betraying his pack like he feared it was before. If Gwen was a betrayal, he didn’t want to stay true. Perhaps he was being selfish, but he really did have his pack’s best interests in mind too.

  Nick stepped off the porch when he was sure Gwen would see him. He waved her over and walked up to her Jeep as she parked in front of the mansion.

  “We’re meeting at the amphitheater,” he told her, hiking his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the direction.

  “Okay,” she replied, smiling sweetly. The way she looked at him meant she was as pleased to see him as he was her. The way she smelled meant more. His dick got hard in response. Oh, did he ever want a repeat of last night. Not a repeat. He wanted to have her time and time again. He wanted to make each time better than the last.

  “Hop in and point me to it,” Gwen said, snapping him out of his fantasies.

  Nick got into the passenger seat and pulled out his phone. “Mind giving me your number?” he asked before she started the car again.

  She rattled off her number from memory, and then she pulled out her phone to get his in return.

  “I’m pretty sure we’re doing this thing out of order,” she told him. “You should have asked for my number way before you slept with me.”

  Nick shrugged. “I didn’t plan it that way, you know. I was going to do the ask for your number first approach.”

  She placed her hand on his arm. “Somehow it’s working out so far.” It was more than working out. Her pupils were dilated. Her hand on his arm was needy. The smell of her arousal was intoxicating.

  Nick took her hand, her right hand, the same one that was once marked by the Moon, and kissed it. He thought he could see the slightest color change in her tan skin, mostly in her cheeks. How she could be bashful about a simple kiss like this after what they did last night didn’t make sense to him, but it was cute. God, if he wasn’t trying to be a responsible Alpha, he would have taken her fast and hard right here in her Jeep.

  She took her hand back and patted her cheeks, trying to cool herself down, and started the car. “I kept thinking everything that happened last night was some crazy perverted dream or something. I have to keep reminding myself it was real.”

  Did she just admit to having wet dreams about him? But last night was so much better than a dream. “I’ll just have to refresh your memory when this is all over
. This time you’ll have no doubt about it being real,” Nick vowed. Just thinking about being inside of her again made his cock throb, something he didn’t need at the moment. He was really debating about giving into the whole car sex idea.

  “I like the sound of that,” she said breathlessly. Her lips were parted softly. Her scent was strong with want and begging him to give in.

  That was it. He couldn’t take it anymore. He reached over for Gwen and kissed her hard. She let out a little moan that got him wild. She gripped his arms tight, begging him for more. His lady was okay with rough. Right now, she wanted rough. He bit at her lips, tangled his tongue in hers until she was practically panting. Her scent burned through his nose and dispersed through the rest of his body. It was a good thing her Jeep was still running and blowing cool air. It was hot enough outside without their bodies adding to the sweltering heat.

  “Shorts and underwear off,” Nick ordered. He hadn’t taken in her outfit before. She was wearing booty shorts and a tank top. She looked good in both, but right now he just wanted her shorts and underwear off.

  Gwen gripped the back of Nick’s strong neck as he pulled off her shorts and plain underwear in a matter of seconds. He tossed the unwanted fabric onto the back seat and then he pulled down his jeans and briefs to his thighs so they’d be far enough out of the way to do what he needed to do. His cock bounced free, hard and ready for the woman who wanted him so badly. The woman he wanted so badly.

  Already, Gwen was climbing over her seat to his. She was nimble, elegant. He wouldn’t have even thought they were in such a cramped and limited space based on how she moved. He grabbed his swollen dick when Gwen was hovering over his lap. Once his cock was at her entrance, he allowed her a short moment to ease down onto him. She was shuddering as little by little he slipped inside of her. His canines threatened tearing out of his gums so he could claim what was his. Then he grabbed her hips and bucked, burying himself deep into her pussy and making her gasp.