Somewhere outside there was howling and James’ body went tense against mine. He pushed himself up on one elbow and cocked his head to aim an ear in the direction the howl had come from. I turned my head slightly to listen as well, confused.
Chapter 7
“Is that one of us?” I asked.
He nodded. “I stay in contact with the main pack in San Francisco and they normally warn me before coming out here. I don’t know who this might be.”
I watched the apparent concern on his face, which made me frown. “Is it likely to be a problem?”
“It is if it’s another male who caught your scent.”
“What do you mean? Like he’d come and fight you for me?”
His eyes moved to mine again and he nodded once. “It’s possible. You have to understand, female werewolves are really rare now.”
“How could the women in a population be rarer than the men?” I protested. “Did something happen to them?”
He wrinkled his nose slightly, nodding again. “The alpha pair from the city told me they recently had to slaughter a pack that had been preying on female shifters. They’d been killing about a dozen of them every three years, for centuries. We’re rare anyway, but that’s probably a big reason why the females are rarer.”
“Well, that’s...creepy.” I flopped back against the bed, just as another howl rang out through the air. Closer this time. “I’m not some prize to be won. Can’t we just tell him to go away?”
“Oh, I’ll tell him,” James agreed darkly.
I laid there on the bed wondering what to do as my ears strained for some sign of how close the other wolf was. James remained sitting upright, tense and watchful. I wasn’t entirely sure that I really liked the idea of men fighting over me under normal circumstances, but for some reason it felt comforting in that moment to know that James was so on guard. Maybe when the hormones cleared and I could think straight I’d be disgusted with how patriarchal it was, but for the moment I felt safer having someone who understood things better watching over me.
There were no more howls to hear, but I felt the hair at the back of my neck prickle even so. There was a greater silence outside than there should have been. The omnipresent background of birds chirping had fallen quiet and in its absence there was a palpable presence.
“He’s here.” I pushed myself up on the bed, turning my head as if I could use my ears to peer through that silence and find his position outside.
James frowned as he climbed off the bed. “Are you sure?”
“He’s here,” I repeated firmly.
That seemed to be enough for James. Any remaining uncertainty drained from his face. I watched as something else took its place, sliding over him like a shadow as he began to change. I had felt my own change before, but it was different to watch from the outside. It made me hurt in empathy to see how joints rearranged themselves and bones grew and shrank and twisted as needed, though I knew it didn’t really hurt. It was something more like a full-body sneeze. Strange, but not terrible. I had thought, perhaps, that seeing James turning into an animal would disgust me, but there was none of that. He was a beautiful man and made a beautiful wolf as well.
I had never seen living wolves very close in person. A few wolf-dogs on occasion, some taxidermied animals, and the shy wolves at the zoo that preferred to stay at a distance rather than approach the edges of their enclosure. Watching James, I was mesmerized at how very different he was from other canids. The resemblance to a dog was there, but he was unquestionably different, His legs were long and lean, his body powerful without an ounce of extra bulk. His ears were turned forward and alert with his grey eyes showing an intelligence and awareness no dog could ever have. His coat had a lot of black in it, mimicking his human hair, but there was grey and white in it as well, which would serve him well for slinking through the shadows of the forest.
He looked at me briefly as if verifying I was still safe, then turned away. His legs gathered under him and he leaped down from the loft to the floor below. I hardly hesitated before wrapping a sheet around myself and following in the more mundane way by the stairs.
I hadn’t paid much attention to the doors before, but now I realized they all had handles instead of knobs. A paw could easily pull a handle down to turn it rather than turn a knob, so that he had opened the door and dashed out into the land around the cabin before I had caught up with him.
Outside there were low growls that made me pause, worried. They were deeper than most dog growls, with a different quality to them. I felt as if it was closer to a language than just angry animal sounds. I continued forward until I stopped in the doorway to watch.
Another wolf with a buff colored coat was hovering around the edges of the clearing, pacing back and forth. His eyes moved from where James stood, hackles up to make him look even larger and scarier, to me in the doorway. As soon as I looked into those pale eyes I was sure that this was no mere animal. James had been right that it was another werewolf, because no real wolf would have that sort of cunning.
“Please go away,” I said softly, hoping that he might listen to me and not actually fight with James.
The words seemed to surprise him. He cocked his head to the side, considering me for a moment, then shifted. His body twisted, changing to that of a tall man with light brown hair in his mid-thirties. He was a bit more muscular than James, perhaps taller as well, with light blue eyes. There was no pull of need as I looked at him, though. He was attractive enough, yet whatever agony James sparked in me wasn’t touched by this new wolf.
“He’s barely more than a pup,” this new man protested. “Wouldn’t you rather have a male who can really take care of you?”
My eyes flicked toward James, noting a different kind of tension in him this time. His body still bristled with rage at having his territory invaded, but there was a slight rounding of his shoulders, as if there was worry mixed in there as well.
“I don’t need taking care of. Just go away,” I said.
“A male’s value as a mate goes up as he gets older,” the man said in a cajoling tone, as if he could somehow talk me into changing my own preferences. “He’s more established, more secure in his territory. Money helps in the human world, too.”
I took a step backwards from the cabin door, pulling the sheet around me up a bit higher to cover me all the way to my neck. I wasn’t entirely sure about declaring my everlasting devotion to James, but I knew who I preferred in that moment. “Go away.”
Instead of listening to me and leaving, the new wolf started moving forward. James’ warning growl didn’t stop him, but triggered a snarl in response. Hearing that sound coming from a human throat was startling, yet fitting at the same time. They weren’t actually human, regardless of what disguise they might wear temporarily. James had been right when he had said it wasn’t like it was in movies. This was no curse that came over an ordinary person. It was what someone always was, from the moment of birth.
It was what I was, I reminded myself.
The new wolf partially shifted his arms, letting them take on that same furred and clawed appearance that James had shown me earlier. He growled again at James, making clear his intent to continue closer and claim me. Unmoved by the threats, James lunged forward, teeth barred and ready to attack all the vulnerable, unguarded flesh the stranger had to offer.
The new wolf caught him with one clawed hand around the throat and threw him at a tree. The impact tore a yelp from James and then he tumbled bonelessly to the ground. I watched in horror, wondering how badly he might be hurt, then turned my eyes back to the new wolf again. The predatory look in his eyes as he came toward me was perhaps in some ways similar to the looks James had given me, but the intent was different there. This man wanted to claim me, regardless of how I felt about that, but I was not his to claim.
“No!” I started to struggle when he took hold of my arms. The sheet fell away as I thrashed and kicked at him, not caring what season it was or what instincts mi
ght supposedly be stirring me. This wasn’t someone I wanted and he certainly couldn’t make me change my mind about that.
The new wolf curled one of his clawed hands in my hair and started to drag me down to the ground by that grip. The partial shifting I had seen him and James do seemed to be beyond me, but I still had my human finger nails and I reached out to grasp his genitals and dig my nails in around them as hard as I could. Maybe they weren’t claws, but I was sure they would hurt.
He snarled and released my hair to backhand me across the face. The force of the blow was breathtaking and left me stunned for a moment, but not as dazed as I might have expected. Maybe like my senses, shifting gave me added advantages like this as well and I wasn’t so easily harmed as normal. As soon as I could get my wits around me again I began scrambling past him, intent on getting away from the cabin, because it was too likely I’d be trapped here.
He didn’t try to grab onto me again like I’d expected him to. I heard a strangled sound from behind me and turned to look, spying James standing there in a partially shifted form like a nightmare wolfman, one clawed hand tight around the new wolf’s throat and holding him off the ground. His head looked very wolflike, but was in a position so he could stand on two legs comfortably. His body was covered in the same coat and markings as before, though his body was much closer to a human shape, save for his clawed hands and feet.
Growled words came from James’ muzzle and it took me a moment to be able to decipher them. “She doesn’t want you.”
By his grip around the new wolf’s throat, James slammed him roughly into the side of the cabin, hard enough that I heard the windows rattle with the building’s shudder.
“Leave,” James said, before tossing the new wolf down onto the ground. He stood over him in triumphant rage, just waiting for the other male to make a move.
The new wolf looked at James for a moment as if he was maybe debating his chances, then looked to me, briefly, before he seemed to come to a decision. His body rippled with the shift, settling down into a four-legged form before he rolled to get his legs beneath him and then slunk off into the forest.
Chapter 8
I watched him go, my heart still pounding madly over the fight. Only when he was completely out of sight and I could hear no sign of him returning did I finally feel safe in turning my eyes away. Then I could look at James and assess his level of injury. He settled back down into his human form once more and I expected to see him exhausted and hurt, from shifting multiple times in a short amount of time and from being thrown into that tree.
Instead, he looked positively energized. His eyes met mine, blazing with passion, and then he stepped closer to cup my cheek and catch me in a demanding kiss. Unlike the other wolf’s unwelcome assault, this was more than welcome. I invited James’ touch with every fiber of my being as I melted into him and threw my arms around his shoulders. I clung to him shamelessly, the both of us naked in the doorway of his cabin as we kissed.
I could feel the rising of his arousal against me and felt an answering pull in my own body, sending pleasant shivers through me. I remembered what he had said earlier about going into heat not just being about fucking, but mating. I would react to a male I wanted, not just anyone with a penis. He was absolutely right and it made me far more aware of how personally desirable I found James. He was the man I wanted, my needed mate.
His hands slid down my back slowly, massaging and rubbing at the flesh there before moving down to grip my ass and squeeze. I made a quiet sound into the kiss and found myself automatically rolling my body to rub and slide against him, needing so much more than just a kiss and groping.
Sensing my need and perhaps overcome with his own, he broke the kiss and spun me around. With his hands on my hips, he nudged me forward to lean against the door frame. His lips brushed at the back of my neck, then around to tease my ear.
“I don’t want to be gentle this time,” he whispered.
I whimpered under my breath, nodding. “Don’t be.”
To my relief, he didn’t wait another moment after that. His hands at my hips slid down to my thighs and guided them further apart. I readily adjusted my stance, my back automatically arching a touch to tip my hips back toward him, following the ancient instincts of a female in need. I felt the brush of his cock as he slid his head against me, testing my arousal, and then he thrust forward to bury himself in me.
I could have attempted to stay quiet, but I was fairly certain I would have failed. I cried out as I rolled my hips back to meet him, hungrily accepting him into my body. He drew back and then thrust forward again, then again, working his thick length deeper into my tight and waiting body.
The feel of him inside of me was unlike anything I had ever felt before, even more overwhelming in this position than the last. The changed angle had him rubbing new places inside of me, drawing my body close to the edge with shocking speed.
His thrusts were fast, almost brutal, but I didn’t care. There would be time enough to be sore and recover later, once the need had faded. In that moment, all I wanted was more. I kept moving to him, eagerly meeting his thrusts, accepting his cock into me over and over again. One of my hands gripped the doorway, knuckles white as I held on for dear life. My other hand reached behind me to bury my fingers in his hair and hold him close.
“James,” I gasped out, tipping my head back to him. “God, you feel so good.”
“So do you,” he assured me breathlessly, before kissing along the side of my neck.
The rhythm of our bodies moving together was hypnotic, driving away the rest of the world so that all I knew was the splendor of being with him. I gave myself up entirely to it, gasping and crying out in pleasure to the forest around us. His lips never left my skin, always kissing along my neck or teasing at my ear, or nuzzling at my cheek. One of his hands stayed at my hips to guide my movements as I rolled back to meet him; his other hand slid around my body to cup my breast and massage it. His thumb rolled circles over my nipple, making me hiss inward sharply through my teeth.
The passion kept growing with every stroke until it reached a crescendo and sent the both of us tumbling over the edge together. He pulled me back against him and his hand slid up my body to touch my face so he could guide my head backwards and catch me in a breathless kiss. Our gasps and moans of pleasure were swallowed up in the kiss as we kept working together, my body hungrily grasping his as he flooded me with heat. There was something so blissfully right in feeling him that way.
As we came down again I tipped my head forward once more to rest my forehead against the door frame while I caught my breath. He leaned in against me from behind, nuzzling and kissing along my shoulders.
“When do you need to go back to Berkeley?” he murmured.
I thought for a moment, having trouble even thinking of anything so linear and ordinary as what day it was. “Um. I have work in two days. I’m not taking any summer classes, though.”
He made a soft sound of acknowledgement, then kissed the back of my neck. “Hopefully this will be done in two days.”
“Hopefully,” I agreed with a sigh. I wasn’t sure I’d be capable of leaving him at this point, not without some of the need fading from my body first.
“Come on. Let’s go back to bed for now,” he suggested as he nuzzled into my hair affectionately.
There was no way I could argue with that. Later, perhaps, I’d have time to think straight. Later, I could be concerned about what insanity I’d given into. For the moment, however, all I wanted was my newfound mate.
About the Author
Lilith T. Bell lives in the upper Midwest with her cat and garden. She daydreams of mermaids and pirates and is always thinking ahead to the next story.
If you have enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review. Reader feedback helps greatly in choosing what to write next.
http://lilithbell.wordpress.com/
https://twitter.com/bonbonsnbodices
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Chosen Mates (Beasts of the Bay Bundle) Page 23
