by Sean Michael
His heart melted. His pup was a dear, sweet wolf.
He drew Max into the blankets, the furs that made their nest. They were safe here. Easily defended. They could lose themselves in each other here.
Taking Max’s mouth again, he worked off his mate’s jeans, getting the sweet body as naked as his own once more. Then he rolled Max beneath him, still devouring Max’s mouth.
“I’d just managed to get dressed,” Max murmured, between kisses.
“Clothes are overrated.” They didn’t need them indoors and he rarely left the cabin without wearing his wolf.
And was that a laugh? Was his pup relaxing enough to laugh?
Grinning, he bit at Max’s lower lip. The little jerk he got was gratifying.
He pulled the covers around them, creating a sweet cocoon, in their nest where the air was scented with them.
Max’s legs spread for him and Ulf settled between them, rocking them together. Their cocks bumped and slid, squished between their bellies. Max wasn’t fully erect yet, proof of his pup’s worry, but they were getting there.
He found his mark on Max’s throat and licked at it a few more times. His. Max was his. Every inch. The moon had provided.
Groaning, he moved to nip at the small little bits of flesh that hardened in between his lips. Max chuckled, the sound husky and rough. Smiling, he used his teeth, not biting down hard, but letting Max feel them. Giving his pup a thrill.
When his pup reached down and pinched his nips in response, Ulf’s eyes widened. Half groaning, half growling, he bit at Max’s other nipple. Max stiffened, but responded to the bite with a harder pinch. Chuffing, a delighted shiver going through him, Ulf kissed his way back to the first nipple, worrying it between his lips.
He could feel Max’s heart pounding, slamming against the man’s ribcage. His pup’s prick was growing harder by the second and Ulf wrapped his hand around it, encouraging more.
“I ache inside.” The whisper was partially shocked, perhaps a bit ashamed, but mostly curious.
“I’ll make the ache become almost unbearable, and then I’ll ease it. I swear.”
“I let you take me, fuck me. I came.”
“And we’re going to do it again,” Ulf promised. “That and more.” So much more. They would have all winter with nothing to do but play and love on each other.
He reached down and touched the tiny, swollen ring of muscles, knowing that it would be so sensitive. Max moaned for him and he stroked it again.
“We shouldn’t…” Max whispered.
“One day you’ll believe that my cock is your right.”
“My right?”
“Yes. It’s yours—made for you, to bring you pleasure.” He stroked that swollen hole again. “You’ll beg for it, crave the sensation of being filled.”
Grabbing lube, he got his fingers good and slippery, then played with Max’s hole again.
“I… I ache.” Max offered the words to him.
Ulf knew. Nodding, he pressed his middle finger into Max, the lube making everything slick and easy. The cool touch would feel good, too. He added more lube and pressed in a little deeper, fucking Max with just the one finger. Max moaned softly, legs restless against the blankets.
“Spread your legs for me, pup. Let me in.” With his free hand, he pushed on Max’s knee, guiding the movement.
Max moaned, the sound so deep, and Ulf had to fight the urge to howl. He took a kiss instead, pushing that compulsion and the emotion behind it into Max’s mouth. Max whined, head shaking from side to side, hips rolling up to meet his touch. Such a sweet pup, conflicted, but getting better at following his instincts.
Ulf pressed another finger in with the first, going slowly, carefully, remembering that this was only Max’s second time. Max cried out, but the sound wasn’t pained, raw. No, that was need.
Sending his fingers deep, Ulf managed to push up against the little pleasure gland. Max’s eyes went wide, began to glow. Ulf hit it again and again, focusing on doing that instead of stretching Max open. He could see the arousal, smell it on the air, and he growled happily.
Grabbing Max’s hand, he put the lube in it. “Get me ready to take you.”
When his pup hesitated, he pushed in hard, hitting Max’s gland roughly. That earned him a jerk, a low cry, and lube spurting out onto trembling fingers.
“All you need to do now is touch me, pup.” He wrapped his own free hand around Max’s heat and stroked. “Make me feel as good as I’m making you feel.”
“Touch you.” Max could do that. Ulf saw the eagerness in the way that Max reached for him.
“That’s it.” He groaned as Max’s hand wrapped around him, his pup’s touch so welcome.
Max stroked him from base to tip, once, twice, then again. The way was smooth, slick from the lube still coating Max’s fingers and he pumped his hips, encouraging more. All the while he banged against Max’s gland with his fingers, wanting his wolf mad with need. He would make his pup howl for him.
Moving in again, he rubbed their noses together, breathing in deeply to pull the smell of Max into his lungs. There was nothing as good as this—as the scent of sex and mate and home.
When Max started whimpering with need, Ulf pushed harder, wanting more. Max’s thumb dragged over the slit in his cock, a low cry sounding.
“Yes!” Ulf could come like this, spill over Max’s hand, his need was so great. He made himself hold back, though. He wanted to be buried inside his mate. He wanted to stretch that tiny hole, spill himself inside. “Tell me you want me.”
“I want you.” Max’s words were worried, but immediate.
Yes! Ulf put his head back and howled as he slid his fingers away.
“Don’t go…” Max’s fingers tightened around his cock.
“I can’t have my fingers and my cock in you at the same time.”
Grinning wildly, he set his cock at Max’s hole and pressed in. The sheath of Max’s body accepted him, wrapped around him and held him tight. He stayed buried for a long moment, looking into Max’s eyes and the whole world went away.
Mate.
The thought was total, encompassing, and it came from Max. Ulf howled again, letting the air carry his pure joy at that.
Then he began to move, thrusting into Max’s perfect heat over and over. His thoughts shattered, the wolf there, rejoicing at his mate. They rutted together, Max beginning to meet Ulf’s thrusts, to participate.
Yes. Yes, pup. Just so.
Howling again, Ulf sped up his thrusts, his hips moving double time. Neither of them spoke, there was nothing to say. He got his hand around Max’s erection, tugging in time with every thrust he made.
Come with me, mate. There was joy, pouring through him, through Max. He could feel it.
Ulf squeezed the head of Max’s cock, rubbing his finger across the tip. That perfect ass milked his cock, the squeezing starting a second before Max began to shoot. Ulf howled again, the sound sustained as he came, filling Max with his seed. Marking his pup from the inside.
He would need to find a dildo, a plug, something smooth as glass to hold his seed inside Max’s body. The thought made a bit more come spurt from him.
Groaning, he collapsed onto Max, panting against his pup’s throat. He nuzzled, licking and nibbling so that the fine skin stayed sensitive.
“That’s what it means to be mine, Max.”
“Only yours.”
“Only mine,” Ulf agreed, growling. He would not let anyone else lay claim, let alone take his mate.
“And you?” Max asked.
He met Max’s gaze. “I am your mate. Yours alone.”
Max’s face shifted, the wolf so close. His own wolf was eager to respond, so he slipped out of Max’s body, letting the wolf have him.
Max panted, head down between his shoulders. He licked at Max’s muzzle, rubbed them together. Max nuzzled back, obviously hungry for connection, reassurance. He bit and teased, giving Max his full attention.
This was his pup, h
is mate. The center of his world. He was glad Max was finally here.
Chapter Six
The snow was falling and Max knew his bike needed to be protected, so he headed down when Ulf was napping to bring it closer. There was no way to ride it now, so he’d just push it up the makeshift road. There were things they could use in his pack too. When he got to where he’d hidden the bike, though, it was gone.
Damn it. Damn it. Had someone stolen it? Had the pack found him?
The snow was only just beginning to cover the ground, so he checked the area closely, finding tracks from the bike, headed back the way he’d come. He growled softly, beginning to follow the trail. He had to protect his mate.
The trail he followed lead him right toward the cabin, like whoever had taken it knew exactly where they were going. Max ran faster, not wanting to take the time to undress, shift.
Ulf met him along the trail, wolfed out and snapping and snarling, Ulf’s worry for him clear.
“Someone took my bike and came here toward you.”
The big wolf shook his head from side to side, grabbed Max’s wrist in his mouth and headed the way back toward the cabin—the same direction he’d been headed in while following the faint trail of his bike.
Max went with Ulf, heart pounding. “I thought they might be here. I worry.”
Ulf stopped to lick at his fingers, then loped to a tiny shack about fifty yards from the cabin that Max hadn’t noticed before. It was well hidden and he’d only left the cabin a couple of times, flat out running away the one time, and hunting for prey the other.
The cabin was locked with a big chain, but Ulf brought him over to a tree with a little hole in the trunk that held a key.
“Oh. Oh, did you bring my bike here?” That was at once the best possible answer and one he hadn’t considered.
Ulf breathed out noisily and moved to stand at the door, waiting for him to open the lock on the chain.
Max unlocked the lock with cold fingers, working the chain open. Inside was his bike, along with an SUV that looked a little like a tank. There was also a shovel, an axe and other tools. In the back were stacks of bottles of water and cans of food.
“Oh. Well, I have a little I can add,” he offered, feeling little more than relief.
Ulf shifted, one moment the big wolf next to him, the next a handsome, naked man.
“Emergency supplies,” Ulf told him. “I usually make do hunting, drinking from the river, but it’s good to know these are here in case they’re needed.”
“Sorry. Sorry, I was worried about you.” It was still nagging him, that he could have brought trouble to Ulf. That he still might.
“I moved your bike when you were sleeping the other night. I forgot to let you know.”
He nodded and grabbed Ulf, hugged him. Thank the moon.
Ulf wrapped around him, shivered. “Your clothes are cold.” Then Ulf grinned. “You have an unnatural love of them.”
“I have a fondness for not freezing my nuts off.” He was beginning to learn how to play.
Laughing, Ulf kissed him. “I’ll keep your nuts warm.”
His testicles were cupped, the touch firm, rough, enough to make him go up on tiptoe.
“Come on. We have a perfectly good spot in front of the fire and this snow is not going to end any time soon,” Ulf told him.
“Will there be more?” It was just the beginning of winter, right?
“More snow? Are you serious? The road will become impassible. We’ll be snowed in for months.”
“I’m from Miami.” This was his first winter.
“Right. No snow. Well, if we have a typical winter it’ll be up to the top of the windows around the cabin.
That wasn’t possible. No way. That wasn’t even comprehendible. Ulf had to be pulling his tail.
Ulf chuckled. “You’ll see. It’s normal here. There’ll even be game throughout. Deer, rabbits, foxes. And we’ll be warm together in front of the fire.”
Ulf turned him and led them back toward the cabin. Max nodded and followed along, his heart pounding as he focused on Ulf’s ass. It was an amazing ass, and what a treat, to be able to watch it as the muscles moved, no one around to have to hide his admiration from.
He reached out, stroked with one finger. Ulf turned toward him, a wolflike sound of pleasure coming from his throat.
“It’s okay?” Max had meant no offense and he didn’t think he’d caused any.
“It’s better than okay, pup. It’s wanted.” Ulf gave him another wide grin and slid into the cabin.
Max stomped his boots clean, then removed them, hanging his leather jacket up to dry. Ulf’s hands were on him immediately, plucking at the rest of his clothing.
Max chuckled. “Clothes are good.” Especially with all the snow that was supposed to be coming.
“Totally unnecessary.”
For someone who disliked clothes so much, Ulf sure knew how to get them off a man very efficiently and Max found himself naked in moments, vibrating as he stood there, bare to Ulf’s sight. Bare and hard.
“Have you ever been sucked, my mate?” Ulf asked.
Max arched, fingers wrapping around his prick, the words unbearably erotic.
“No.” Ulf grabbed his hand and pulled it away. “Sucking is my mouth and your cock.”
He bucked, his body out of his control.
Grinning wickedly, Ulf sank to his knees, mouth right there by Max’s erection.
“I’ll… Like a teenager.” Right into Ulf’s mouth.
“Like a man with his mate,” Ulf corrected, mouth wrapping around him, Ulf pulling him in.
Max wasn’t going to last. No way. It was impossible. Ulf’s lips were tight around his cock, head bobbing down as Ulf took him in deep.
“Mate!” Max arched, his balls emptying like he had no control, just as he’d predicted.
Ulf drank him down, still sucking until he’d finished jerking and shuddering. Then Ulf pulled off, licking his lips. “See? Clothes get in the way of things like that.”
Max’s legs were trembling. “Uh. Uh-huh.”
“Come to bed.” Ulf stood and took his hands, tugging him to the nest in front of the fireplace.
“Yes…” Something made a noise outside. Something. “Ulf?”
Ulf growled softly, one hand up. Max could smell Ulf’s wolf, right there, ready to take over.
“Someone’s here.” Max knew it. He shifted immediately, body going fuzzy as he became his wolf.
A moment later Ulf was with him, nudging him toward the back of the cabin. When he hesitated, Ulf growled and pushed him harder.
He snapped. No. No, if they were here, they wanted to hurt him, not Ulf.
Ulf bit at his paws, insistent. Safety.
He growled, but followed Ulf’s urging, his head moving side to side as he fought to hear what was going on.
There was a tunnel hidden at the back of the cabin and they slipped through it, loping along until suddenly they were out in the trees well beyond the cabin.
Oh, better. Max moved, running with Ulf. They circled the cabin, doing reconnaissance. There were three of them—wolves like him, nowhere near the size of Ulf.
Ulf quickly circled the cabin, then looked at him, nodding toward the right, then swinging his head left.
Yes. Yes, mate. Max understood. He went to the right, moving silently.
At Ulf’s howl, he leapt for the closest wolf, trusting that he wasn’t fighting alone this time. Ulf had his back, his fur and his tail.
In the time it took him to dispatch of the wolf he’d attacked, Ulf had taken care of the other two. He stood there, panting, breathing hard, his muzzle aching.
Ulf yipped at him and came over, licking at his muzzle, cleaning him.
Mate. Mate. Mate. He finally began to believe it.
Yes.
Mates.
Ulf continued to clean him for a few moments before shifting into his human self. “We need to bury them.”
Max shifted too, sudden
ly freezing, shaken, but refusing to show weakness.
“What will they do when these three don’t return?” Ulf spat on the body of the closest wolf.
“I don’t think they’re anyone I know.” He certainly didn’t recognize any of them, not by sight or by scent.
“You mean they aren’t from Miami?”
“I mean they aren’t my pack. Hired hands maybe?”
“Ah. I see. I guess that makes sense.” Ulf went to his haunches and began to examine the wolf bodies. “Why won’t they just let you go? They don’t want you in the pack anyway. I would have thought you took away the problem when you came up here.”
“It’s more than just not wanting me in the pack. They don’t think I should exist and just knowing that I do…” Max shrugged. “I know it doesn’t make sense.”
“Hatred never does.”
“They need the bloodline to be pure.” Max had heard that enough times to be able to spout it back.
“It’s not like you’ll be reproducing.”
“I don’t think they want to take that chance. Besides, my living is an affront to them. Actually, no, they didn’t mind me living so much, as long as I was miserable and in reach to taunt, to use as an example of what happens if you don’t follow pack law.”
Ulf touched his arm. “That’s crazy.”
“That’s the Miami pack. Nobody’s ever accused them of being normal, sane, or fair.”
“I still say it’s overkill to send people for you.”
“There were rumblings among the youngest about how maybe times needed to change,” Max admitted. “After the last beating I took nearly left me for dead. I bet dragging me back and giving me a very public execution would keep the rumblers in line.”
Ulf snorted and spat on the bodies again. “And people wonder why I left the pack behind.”
“I’ll go get my boots and a shovel,” Max suggested. They couldn’t just stand there and look at the bodies for the rest of the day.
“Maybe you should get some pants on, too. So those nuts of yours don’t freeze off.”
He looked at Ulf, blinked. Was that a joke? Ulf gave him a slow wink.
“I… Okay. Yeah.” He didn’t know what to do.
“It’s going to be okay, Max. The big snow will be here soon. Then no one will be able to touch us.”
