Wolf Tales IV

by Kate Douglas

She’d never felt this kind of dependence on another living soul. In a way, it was almost frightening. Made her feel vulnerable, to need someone so powerfully. It would definitely take some getting used to.

  Lisa glanced at the clock on the wall and realized an hour had passed since she’d arrived home. It was fully dark now, except for the almost ghostly moonlight filtering through the trees. The woods would be empty, the air cool and crisp. She could run. She had to run or she’d go nuts. If she stayed close to the cabin, stayed away from any trails where she might be seen, it should be safe.

  On the other hand, maybe, just maybe, she’d spot the trucks again tonight. If she did, Lisa fully intended to follow them, if only for a short distance. Maybe Hal was merely patrolling the roads, looking for clues to the missing wolves.

  Or perhaps he had his own agenda—one that involved missing wolves.

  Scribbling a quick note, Lisa left the single sheet of paper lying on the kitchen table. She cast her thoughts outward in a last search for Tinker. Nothing. He wasn’t close enough to hear her.

  The night called to her. Questions niggled at the back of her mind. Suspicions. Setting aside her misgivings about running alone, Lisa undressed and stepped out on the porch. She stood in a pale swath of moonlight, glanced around, inhaled the myriad scents of the night, and shifted.

  The night was meant for the wolf. She was wolf. Lisa checked her surroundings once more and raced across the meadow, into the depths of the forest.

  “Lisa? Lisa, I’m home.” Tinker pushed the front door of the cabin open and searched for his mate. The sense of emptiness was almost blinding. Where the hell was she?

  He shut the door behind him and rushed through the small living room, into the kitchen. A piece of notepaper fluttered to the floor as he entered the room. Tinker leaned over and picked it up.

  Shit. She’d shifted and gone for a run on her own. After asking questions around town today and talking to Luc tonight, after learning what Luc had found out about Charles Dunlop, the last thing Tinker wanted was Lisa out in the forest as a wolf, running alone.

  There’d been suspiciously little information about Hal Anderson. It was almost as if the man had suddenly sprung into existence as supervisor of the sanctuary. Luc was checking on him. Tinker cast his thoughts for Lisa.

  No answer. Damn. What if she ran into Anderson out there in the dark?

  Shaking with a sudden rush of adrenaline, Tinker stripped off his clothing and left everything in a pile on the kitchen floor. Naked, he raced for the back door, flung it open, and shifted as he hit the deck. The huge black wolf that streaked over the deck railing snarled as it hit the ground and searched for his mate’s scent.

  Once he found her unique aroma, Tinker charged into the forest, praying he wouldn’t be too late.

  Lisa followed the scent trails of deer and rabbits, using each one as an exercise to hone her skills as a predator. She had no appetite tonight, not without Tinker beside her. She’d discovered that much of the joy of running as a wolf was lost when she ran by herself. For that lesson alone, tonight was a valuable experience. For the first time since meeting Tinker, she consciously accepted she was not complete without him by her side.

  Her independent side amended the thought—at least for now, while her skills were still new. At some point, she would be more confident, more sure of herself. Less needy.

  She’d been out for more than an hour when Lisa realized she was near the series of enclosures where the sanctuary’s permanent wolf population lived, not all that far from the spot where they’d seen the trucks the other night. No wolves had gone missing, which meant Anderson hadn’t been out here to steal one. Maybe he’d merely been patrolling, but she hated to give him the benefit of the doubt, the little bastard.

  She ran swiftly past the huge fenced areas that were ten to twenty acres each. Many of the enclosures were home to entire packs of wolves, most of them threatened subspecies. Because of their endangered status, the wolves here were allowed to breed and exist in an almost natural wild state.

  Nose to the ground, Lisa followed her own trail from the night before. It led to the largest of the fenced areas where a good-sized family group roamed in almost natural freedom.

  Almost being the key word. They were still restrained by fences, but there was game aplenty within the enclosure, and it was the best situation that man could provide for the animals.

  No matter how she felt about Charles Dunlop, at least he’d used his wealth to provide a safe place for animals unable to peacefully coexist with man in the wild. So long as humanity expanded into the wolves’ territory, sanctuaries like this would have to provide the solution, imperfect though it might be.

  Lisa sensed wolves nearby, knew they were curious about the female running outside their fence. This group, unlike some of the others, also sensed she was different. They knew she was one of them, yet not the same.

  Could she converse with the wolves the way Tinker had? Lisa wasn’t sure. She hadn’t tried it yet on her own. She trotted along the service road, concentrating on the wolves, using her nose to lead her closer to the animals.

  She sent her thoughts flying, searching once more for Tinker. When he answered, Lisa was so surprised she yipped.

  Lisa? Where are you?

  On the trail near the wolves’ enclosure.

  It’s not safe. Come home!

  Lisa stopped, halted by Tinker’s frantic mental voice. Cautiously, she answered him. What’s wrong? It’s quiet out. I don’t hear anything.

  It’s Dunlop. Luc found out he may not be what he seems.

  Dunlop? The man who supported the sanctuary? Lisa opened her mind completely to Tinker. I don’t understand.

  No details yet, just suspicions. I’ll fill you in later. Right now you need to come back to the cabin. Stay off the road. Get into the forest where you won’t be seen.

  Nervous now, absorbing Tinker’s anxiety and feeling the effects of his urgent warning, Lisa slipped off the service road and into the thick brush. Silently, carefully, she worked her way alongside the road and headed back toward her cabin.

  She didn’t see the one who shot her. Barely felt the sting of the dart in her right hip. Turning to snap at the object, she felt a strange lassitude overtaking her body. Tink! I’ve been shot with something. Looks like a tranquilizer dart. It’s making me really woozy! She stumbled, caught herself, stood spraddle-legged and panting, her muzzle almost touching the grass.

  Shit! Lisa! Sweetheart, don’t shift. Whatever you do, stay wolf. I’m coming. Lisa. I love you, Lisa. Don’t shift.

  Her legs went first, and she toppled hopelessly to the ground. Then her eyes clouded over. The night grew suddenly dark. Tinker’s frantic pleas reverberated in Lisa’s mind, until the only thing she was even remotely aware of centered on his beloved, anxious voice.

  Don’t shift. Don’t shift. I love you, Lisa. Don’t shift. Damn it! Luc, Tia, I need you. Lisa, don’t shift!

  She didn’t. If she understood only one thing when the drug overtook her, Lisa knew she was still a wolf.

  Tia Mason rolled over and caught herself against the firm chest of her sleeping lover. No, revise that, she thought. Lucien Stone was so much more than her lover. He was her mate, her companion…soon to be her husband. He was also her alpha, and sexy as hell, which was the only reason she’d let him talk her into going to bed so early. Damn, would she never fall asleep? Generally, sex with Luc left her totally wasted and ready to sleep for a month, but tonight she still felt wound tight.

  Tia punched at her pillow and tried to get comfortable, but her mind wouldn’t stop racing. Luc seemed distracted, too, after his long series of conversations with Tinker, and his sleep now was troubled. Maybe that was the problem. He’d been distracted during sex. Luc was never an inattentive lover. No wonder she couldn’t sleep.

  Damn, she missed Tinker so much. He wasn’t her significant other, not her mate, but he was important to their relationship in so many ways. She wondered sometimes if
Tinker’s prowess in bed kept Luc on his toes—nothing like a little competition to keep a man sharp, and damn, but Tinker was amazing.

  She thought of Tinker as the brother she’d never had, the companion always willing to take a chance, the one who understood Tia when she wasn’t certain she understood herself. He was as close to Luc as he was to Tia, and Luc loved Tinker more than any man around. Tinker McClintock completed them. Made Luc and Tia more than what they were by themselves, completed their ménage. Now everything had changed, just as she’d feared.

  “Tia?” Luc raised his head and stared at her through sleepy eyes. “What’s the matter? Are you okay?”

  She smiled and dipped her chin against his chest. “Just worried about Tink. Do you think he really loves this woman? They hardly know each other.”

  Luc’s smile spread slowly across his face. “Jealous?”

  Tia shook her head. “No. Just worried. I mean, I loved Tala from the first moment AJ and Mik brought her here. If Lisa is anything like her sister, she’ll be wonderful. A perfect mate for Tinker, but if she’s not like Tala…if she’s not right…” Tia sighed. “I want him to be happy. Is that asking so much?”

  This time Luc laughed out loud. “You want him to be happy and still available to use that tongue where you need it most.”

  Tia giggled. “Well, there is that.”

  Luc raised himself up over her and grinned. His eyes sparkled with love and lust and a whole lot more. “I’ve got a tongue.”

  Tia covered her mouth with her hand in mock surprise. “Well, you could have fooled me!”

  Luc leaned down, moved her hand aside with his lips, and kissed her, and she knew he’d taken her jibe as a dare. She felt his tongue searching the seam of her lips, then sweeping across her teeth, tickling her sensitive palate, tangling with her tongue. Lord, how she loved this man! Tia opened her mouth wider to his kiss and sighed in disappointment when he kissed her quickly and then backed away.

  Disappointment melted away as Luc nuzzled her chin and then kissed his way down her middle, licking and nipping every sensitive spot she’d ever known and finding new ones along the way. Tia almost reached for his thick, dark hair to direct his kisses, then thought better of it. Instead, she tightened her fingers in the bedding and arched to Luc’s experienced touch.

  His lips found her right nipple and brought it quickly to a tight, sensitive peak. Then he used the tip of his tongue to flick the taut little bundle of nerves. Shivering under his slow but steady exploration of her body, Tia felt her arousal grow, felt the rush of blood through her veins, the pounding of her heart.

  So many times now, Luc had made love to her, yet each time might have been the first. Each searching kiss, each flick of his tongue, as if he’d never tasted her this way before. He licked and sucked her left nipple now, flicking the tip with the point of his tongue, then drawing the entire nipple into his mouth. The heat was incredible, the sensations sending shockwaves from her breast to her womb.

  Tia arched her back, offering herself to his touch, to his lips, to his amazing tongue. Luc was right. He was every bit as skilled as Tinker.

  Luc’s fingers were as busy as his mouth, slipping into the moist valley between her thighs, stroking her soft and damply swollen labia. He found a rhythm between lips and tongue, his fingers, and the palm of his hand. Tia felt her peak rising, felt the climax growing deep in her center.

  Once again, Luc slowed. His fingers left the soft folds between her legs and rested atop her thigh. He kissed his way slowly now, finding each rib and licking, then suckling her skin between his lips. He swirled his tongue around Tia’s navel, and then nipped the sensitive patch above her pubic bone.

  She cried out and arched into his bite, hovering on the edge of climax. So close. Not nearly close enough. Tia’s orgasm simmered beneath the surface, waiting impatiently for more stimulation. Luc slipped lower, parting her knees and kneeling between her legs. He grabbed a pillow and shoved it under her hips, raising her for his touch. His teeth scraped the tender flesh along the inside of her thigh, and he nipped her there before gently soothing her with his tongue. He leaned close and licked her once between the legs, his tongue barely touching her clit.

  She thought of begging but refused to give in, though this teasing, barely there touching had her strung tight. Luc held her in place, right below her peak, her body quivering with need wondering what would come next, what torture he had in mind.

  Once again he nuzzled between her legs, licking and suckling her labia but completely ignoring her clit. Tia tilted her hips forward, blatantly begging for more. Luc sat back on his heels and grinned at her.

  “Still not as good as Tinker, eh?”

  “Well, he certainly doesn’t make me wait around! Don’t you dare stop.” Laughing, Tia reached for his hand, but Luc pulled it out of her reach. “Luc, I’m so close!”

  “Poor baby.” He dipped down between her legs, nuzzling and licking.

  Tia lay back and closed her eyes as Luc’s tongue finally found her clit. He touched her gently, barely enough to bring her back to the edge. She opened her thoughts and found a blank wall where Luc’s mind should have been. Blocked, damn it! What in the heck was he up to now?

  She reached over her head and grabbed the iron headboard. Anchored now, Tia spread her legs wider in invitation just as a long, hot, rough tongue snaked from her anus to her clit, then delved deeply into her weeping pussy.

  Luc’s thoughts swept into her mind, the thoughts of a wolf taking a woman, and when she opened her eyes, it was the wolf who stared at her from between her legs.

  She sensed his laughter, but all Tia could do was moan in response. Luc’s wolven nose was wet and cold where it nuzzled her clit, and his tongue darted deep inside to stroke the inner walls of her pussy.

  When he concentrated on her clitoris with that rough but mobile tongue, Tia screamed and arched her back. She reached for Luc, but he was already shifting, sliding forward now as a man, driving his cock deep inside her spasming walls, filling her with one powerful thrust that almost lifted Tia from the bed. She felt his balls against her ass on each downward stroke, felt the sweep of his rigid cock dragging at her swollen clit.

  The second climax caught her by surprise, took her breath away with its power. Body shuddering, Tia gripped the headboard once again to keep from flying to pieces.

  She had to turn it loose, though, when Luc gathered her in his arms and sat back on his heels. Tia wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. This time, when her climax hit, she took Luc with her. She felt the hard jerks of his cock, the pulsating, throbbing size of him inside as he filled her with his seed. She felt his heart pounding against her chest, the hot rush of his breath when he finally drew air into his straining lungs.

  Luc rolled over onto his back with Tia draped across his chest. His cock slipped free of her folds, and she felt it, now soft and pliant, resting damply against her thigh. When she finally caught her breath, Tia rose up with her arms folded under her and stared into Luc’s amber eyes.

  “Okay,” she conceded. “I admit, you’re just as good as Tinker.”

  He growled, then laughed out loud. “Just as good? Lord, woman. What’s it going to take to impress you?” He tilted his head up and kissed her gently on the lips. “I love you.”

  Tia felt the tears well up in her eyes. “That’s all it takes. I love you, too.” She kissed Luc again and felt him stir against her thigh. This time, when they made love, there was no laughter, but there was a deeper sense of commitment than Tia had ever known.

  And, at the peak of their climax, there was something more. A cry of need, a silent yet still powerful call for help.

  Tinker needed them. His mate was in danger, and he needed Luc and Tia. Sobbing with her release, Tia gave in to the power of her orgasm and held on to Luc. She almost laughed through her fears when the thought hit her—Tinker’d managed to find his way into their bed after all.

  Chapter 8

  Ti
nker arrived at the place where Lisa had been abducted just as a shadowy figure shut the driver’s side door on one of the sanctuary trucks. The engine roared to life, an obscene sound in the depths of the woods. Even more obscene was the metal cage in the back of the pickup. Tinker couldn’t see Lisa, but her scent was strong, and he knew she was in there.

  He searched for her thoughts and found nothing. The drug must have knocked her out completely. Tinker prayed Lisa had the strength to remain in wolven form. The consequences of their Chanku species being discovered were unthinkable…as unthinkable as harm coming to his mate. Tinker saw what looked like a heavy lock on the front of the cage. Even if Lisa were human, she’d be unable to free herself.

  How the hell was he going to get her out?

  The truck backed up slowly, and the driver turned it around, then headed out the service road, away from the main compound. Tinker hadn’t gotten a good look at him, though his scent was familiar. He loped along behind, staying in the shadows, well aware the driver wouldn’t be watching for a black wolf following.

  His mind spun with plans, rejected as soon as they arrived. He needed his packmates, needed the combined logic of his brothers, but they were far away. Out of reach, not only by mental communication, but cell phone as well.

  Tinker recognized the direction they were headed and knew it would take them away from the main part of the sanctuary, toward an area of sheds and storage buildings, many of them remnants of the old cattle ranch this property had originally been.

  About two miles down the road, the driver pulled into a spot next to a dilapidated barn. Tinker waited in the shadows and wondered if he should merely attack the driver and free Lisa, or wait and see what the bastard had planned.

  The door opened and Seth climbed out of the truck.

  Seth? What the hell was the kid doing? Tinker tried scanning the boy’s mind, but he’d never been all that adept at reading someone who wasn’t actually projecting. Not like Tia, who could pick thoughts out of his mind as if his brain were an open book.