by Jamie Klaire
"Yes."
She heard his soft laugh, and was glad her eyes were still closed tight. She was glad she couldn't see whatever expression he had on his face as he looked at her.
His answer though, made her eyes fly open in surprise.
"I will protect you, of course. We will stay here. I will guard the tunnel, and keep every other wolf at bay until your heat passes. You are to be mine, remember? You have seen the visions yourself. You recognize this place from 'seeing' it, do you not?"
He smiled at the panic in her eyes, trying to reassure her.
"It will take everything I have to resist your begging, your throwing yourself at me, your sight, your smell, but I will resist you, if that is what you want. You are meant to be mine, forever. I won't let any other male get anywhere near you.
I may need to recruit a couple of other females, to help. It will be hard to fight the males off and resist you, otherwise, but I can wait, until you come to me sure. Rational. Undriven by heat. If that is what you want."
She just stared at him, desire raging with rationality already.
She tried to absorb his words. She would want him more? Even more than she did right now? How could that be possible?
It was taking everything she had not to touch him now. It was starting to hurt her not to kiss him, and he was saying this would only get worse?
"Is that what you want?"
He asked the question, but her brain had trouble processing it.
"You know what happens when we touch." He was still talking. "That is the only reason I haven't kissed you again. I have the feeling that a decision like this is something you would rather make rationally, not driven by an animal instinct that you still don't understand. I get that. It is painful to be this close to you, to smell the aroused, heated scent you are giving off, to know you were meant for me, and not kiss you again."
"I have to decide now? All or nothing?" She finally forced the words out, the desire to know stronger than the desire for self-protection.
"I have to decide whether to take you as a mate, forever, barely knowing you, or have you stand guard over me, protecting me from a hoard of wild, sex craved wolves while I throw myself at you, and you and a couple of female wolves protect me from myself? Do I have this right?"
"Basically. There is a third option, though."
"Oh? And what, pray tell, is that?"
"You have a few days until you are mindless with need. Meaning your body won't take over completely just yet. And I can control myself, as well. We could try a little experiment. Another kiss. Here, now. And see what happens."
Her gaze dropped to his lips.
He was smirking, damn him.
Did he really think that one more taste of his kiss would... what? Answer all of her questions? Calm all of her fears? That was insane.
Even as her mind kept up a list of reasons why this was a bad idea, her body didn't seem to be listening.
Her eyes still focused on his full mouth, his annoyingly sexy little smirk, as she leaned in. She raised her lips, tilting her head, until their lips were only separated by the tiniest space. She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent again. She felt his teasing breath on her lips, and parted them in invitation, leaving the last gap for him to close.
She felt his lips press softly against hers, and all was lost.
His mouth started to move against hers, with hers. The soft pressure deepening as they explored each other.
His hands found her face, cupping it gently and holding it still as he deepened the kiss. His tongue slid between her lips, finding hers, and she moaned against it as she tasted him for the first time in weeks. No crowd, no bon fire, just the two of them, alone together.
Her moan triggered something in him. She felt his hands slide further, burying themselves in her hair, tilting her head and pulling her mouth harder against his.
She found his waist with her hands, his skin warm and firm under her palms. The bare skin reminded her that he was naked, and she slid her hands up, needing to explore every inch of the chest she had been fascinated by for weeks.
His chest was as fun to explore as she knew it would be. Her thumbs and fingertips slid over every curve and dip of his muscles, pressing against his warm skin. She slid her hands around, following his rib cage toward his wide back. She felt her way up, over his back muscles, toward his shoulders, and letting her instincts guide her, she clawed her hands so that her nails dug into his skin a bit, and she drug her nails down his back from shoulders to waist.
It was his turn to moan. The hot, animal groan rumbled in his body, thrilling her hands as she felt the vibrations, and driving all sense from her brain as the sexy sound reached her ears.
He left one hand buried in her hair, but he wrapped the other around her waist, pulling their bodies close and allowing no air between them.
She felt the hardness of his naked cock against her stomach, and erotic need flowed through her. She had no time to react to his naked body pressed against her clothed one, though, before he was walking her backward the few steps until her back hit the cave wall and his weight pressed harder against her.
She pulled her arms from around his back, wrapping them around his neck instead, using the leverage to pull his mouth harder down on hers. She rose on her tiptoes, back against the wall, trying to get even closer to him.
He adjusted his grip, bending at the knees for a moment, and standing tall again, pulling her feet off the ground.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, hugging him tighter to her, both with her thighs and her arms as their kiss became less exploratory and more primal.
Her body was rocked with need and she returned every kiss with the same hunger she felt in him. Her brain was half in this moment, and half processing the images she was 'seeing' as they held each other tight.
This time she did 'see' two options, like he had mentioned before.
One scenario showed her letting him guard her through her first heat, here in this cave, but not letting him have her. She flashed on the next few months following that decision. She felt division, and pain, his pack split in two. She saw herself leaving here a year from now, alone, but not happy.
The second scenario played out next to the first. In that one, she mated with Elam, the same hot, torrid scenes she 'saw' before, getting even more detailed. Oh fuck, the sex she saw there was mind-blowing.
She saw only raw passion, at first. But then, as the months played out in her mind, she saw love, and tenderness as well. But there, behind all that, she still saw division, and pain. She still saw his pack divided, split in two, but there was more. There was danger here, in choosing to stay. And something else. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she saw change as well.
A core change to her very soul. Fear, danger, but joy there as well.
The visions played out, finally, leaving her mind and body fully in the moment.
She reveled in the feel of Elam, warm and solid between her legs. She rocked her hips against him, her body seeking out his hard cock, rubbing against it even though she was hidden away from him under jeans and panties.
She unwrapped one arm from around his neck and found the back of his head with her palm, fisting his hair in her grip and tugging as she turned her head. She ripped his mouth from hers, aiming his mouth to her bared neck instead.
Her breath came in gasps as she felt his teeth nip her behind the ear and kiss a trail down her neck.
He held her up with one arm under her ass, and her weight held pinned against the cave wall. He used his now free hand to tug the fabric of her shirt away from her neck, pulling the neck hole wide and exposing one shoulder.
His mouth found the newly bared skin, licking and nipping at her collar bone and shoulder before his hand went seeking the hem of her shirt, and tugging it up to bare her bra.
His hand cupped her breast, his thumb finding and teasing a tight nipple through the thin fabric.
"I need you, Emma."
He moaned t
he words against the hot skin of her neck as his large hand teased and kneaded her breast.
"I've known since the minute I saw you that you would be mine. You know it, too. You have seen it. Feel how good we are together? I can smell your need. You want me as badly as I want you."
"Elam!"
"Oh fuck. Say it again, Em. I love my name on your lips."
"Elam, I...do want you. But, Elam, I can't think. Not like this. Not while you're doing that. Elam, I've never..."
"You've never what?"
He adjusted her in his grasp, lifting her some, and dipping his head down, seeking out her puckered nipple with his mouth. He bit gently, licking the lace covering her nipple and biting the nub, sending shocks of heat racing through her.
"Oh god, Elam. Do that again."
His rumbled laugh against her skin tickled her. He did what she asked, sucking on her nipple, drawing it deeply into his mouth before releasing it, and then biting the nub again.
"You've never done what, sweet Emma? Never had sex in a cave on furs before?"
"I've never had sex at all before, Elam. Cave or no."
"Mmm, I didn't think I could want you any more than I already did, but fuck, Em. Knowing my forever mate was mine, and only mine, in every way? That just makes me want you more, love."
"Forever mate?"
"Yes. I will not take you without claiming you, Emma. I want all of you. Forever. If I take you, and you walk away from me at the end of your year, you will kill me, claiming or no. Mate or no. This was supposed to be a test. To show you what we could have, together. I know you 'saw' something. I don't know what it was, but what this test has shown me is that I will not be able to control myself during your heat. I can barely control myself now. If you let me guard you during your heat, it will be to mate you. To bite you. To claim you with my mark, like Galen claimed Kate. If that is not what you want, I will send my best females to guard you, here. You will be safe until your heat passes. It will be miserable for you, but it will pass, eventually."
"Elam, I don't know. I want you. Damn, I want you. But..."
"I could try to persuade you. I could lay you down right here, strip you naked, and take some of the edge off, so you can think."
"How would that work?"
Emma could not imagine a scenario in which her getting naked with Elam would allow her to think about anything besides having him inside her.
"I could taste you. I could lick you until you come, that would take the edge off. Some. For a little while. Then you could think. You have a few days before your full heat to decide."
"What about you?"
"It would give me great pleasure to take the edge off your lust, my sweet. Of course, it's purely for selfish reasons. I plan on making you so addicted to me, that you can't imagine not mating with me. It seems naked would be a great way to do that."
He held her gaze, his eyes promising every pleasurable sin, if she'd only give in.
He kissed the very tip of her nose, and smiled.
"Why fight it, love? It's inevitable. You will be mine."
Before she could respond, he dipped his head toward hers again, pressing her lips open and sliding his tongue against hers.
He stopped suddenly, pulling away from their kiss and turning his head to face the cave's entrance.
"What? What is it?" Emma asked, still breathless.
"Not what, who. It's Galen. He's coming."
"Well hell, put me down then."
It was too late, Galen cleared his throat just before stepping into the cave from the tunnel. Damn, he was quiet.
Emma tried to escape Elam and stand, but he held her tight. She settled for tugging her shirt back down instead.
At least she was fully dressed, she thought. It was Elam who was buck assed naked, not that Galen seemed to even notice.
"Good. You are securing a mate? She is coming into her heat, yes?"
"Hello, I'm right here!"
Elam just said, "I'm trying. And yes. Why? What is wrong?"
"It is Thomas, Alpha."
Chapter 3
Emma felt Elam's body change, tighten, as Galen spoke the words. He inhaled a deep breath, and somehow gained an inch or so in height. His shoulders tensed, but Elam rolled them back, opening his chest, somehow appearing larger, all while still holding her around his waist.
His chin rose, in defiance or acceptance Emma wasn't sure, and his jaw clenched. He didn't speak, but he acknowledged Galen's words with a nod and a sigh.
At that, Galen's eyes shifted to Emma's, finally acknowledging her as well.
"Emma."
"Galen."
Emma wanted to say more, to ask questions, but the mood in the cave had darkened, even to her human senses. Something had happened.
Without another word Galen turned and left.
Elam stood still a moment, looking after him, and then faced Emma still caught in his arms.
"We will continue this conversation later. We need to go, and quickly. The fastest way is for you to ride me."
"I'm sorry?"
"When I put you down, I'll shift. Climb onto my back and hold on tight to my fur. Keep your knees and elbows in and your head down, we need to get back. Now."
He released her then, and when she stood on both feet, he kissed her lips. Just a quick, calm peck, like she was already his and they'd been together for a long time, but his eyes were anything but calm.
"Why Elam? What happened to Thomas? Is he worse? Ziva got him some camphor earlier."
"Thomas is dead."
"What? How do you know? Galen only said..."
"Galen addressed me as Alpha. There is only one reason he would do that. Are you ready?"
Emma only nodded, too shocked and saddened to say anything.
She watched as Elam stood back and shifted, his body growing, stretching and sprouting hair until his wolf form stood before her.
She had yet to get used to the sight, the flow of the shifting, and found herself staring, admiring his wolf until he let out a quiet yelp to get her attention.
Even in his wolf form he somehow looked bigger now that he held the responsibility of Alpha on his shoulders. The responsibility he'd never wanted.
He looked at her, intelligence shining in his dark eyes as he waited for her to remember she was supposed to climb on. Intelligence, begrudging responsibility, and much sadness just radiated from him and Emma took a second to reassure him.
Somehow she found it easier to talk to his wolf. Maybe because his human form just drove her emotions to distraction, the nearness of him, the scent of him making her crazy. But his wolf form was somehow more approachable, even as he looked like he could tear her limb from limb and eat her for dinner. Defending against that she seemed to be able to handle, it was defending against his human desire she had no resistance to.
"I'm so very sorry, Elam. If it was my dad, well I can't even imagine the pain you are feeling. And having to take over...Elam, I'm here for you. If there is anything I can do."
He lowered his head, sighed, and then stepped toward her, leaning his weight against her for just a second.
She put her hand on his shoulder and slid her fingers through his fur until she could also feel the heat of his skin underneath the pelt. They stood like that for just a second, the urge to get going just under the surface.
She gave him a quick scratch and then climbed up on his back as he lowered himself some to help her.
She did what he'd told her to, settling in, squeezing her knees against him, and leaning over him. She held on tight, and buried her face in the fur on his neck, staying tight to him as he hurried though the tunnel.
She inhaled the scent of him, clean, woodsy and outdoorsy were the words that came to mind as he moved under her.
Once they cleared the mouth of the cave he started gaining speed. Slowly at first, giving her time to adjust to each faster gait for a heartbeat or two before cranking it up a notch. Soon everything was a blur, and it was all she could do to ha
ng on as he raced around trees and leapt over roots and bushes to get them home as quickly as possible.
* * * * *
Thomas's body was laid out, in his human form, on the bed in the cabin he'd shared with Ziva. Elam wove his way through the cabin full of pack members, some in human form, some in wolf form, pulling Emma along behind him by her hand.
A path opened up before them, everyone moving aside so their new Alpha could get to the deathbed of their old Alpha. Some murmured as the pair passed, making comments about Emma's hand in Elam's.
Emma couldn't take it all in, being pulled behind Elam so quickly, but it seemed to her that not all of the whispered comments were welcoming.
When the pair finally reached the bedroom, and Thomas, Emma could see Kate, Galen and Ziva were already here.
Emma watched as Ziva pulled her gaze from Thomas's body and focused on Elam. She saw many emotions flit across Ziva's face at Elam's appearance, but the only one that Emma was able to pin down was fear.
'Well, that's weird,' Emma thought. 'Why would Ziva fear Elam?'
The question was knocked aside though, as Ziva's gaze followed Elam's arm, pausing on the clenched hand holding Emma's, and then kept moving, locking on Emma's face.
"You can't have it! I'm not leaving!"
Ziva spat the words, suddenly turning toward Emma and Elam, blind grief mixing with anger and despair on her face.
"Have what?" Elam was first to answer, pulling his attention from his dead father and Alpha, and trying instead to focus on what Ziva was suddenly shouting.
"This room. This cabin. How dare you bring your meddling whore in here?"
"Ziva, what in the hell are you talking about?"
"Your Alpha lies dead, and you bring her! Her! Here, into this cabin? Where is your respect?"
Emma barely registered all the gasps of breath and furiously mumbled responses from every pack member in ear shot as Ziva turned to her with a tear streaked face, and venom continuing to fly from her lips.
"You think you can come here and ruin everything? After all I've done for this pack? For Thomas? And for Galen? I don't even have to have wolf blood to smell you two. Have you mated yet? Have you marked her? Have you taken Reine's bitch for your own?"
