by Beverly Rae
“Don’t try to tell me I didn’t see what I saw.” Her gaze dropped lower, his cock poised and ready. “And cover up. I can’t talk to you while you’re butt naked.”
A slight smile formed on his lips but was gone before he’d finished wrapping the blanket resting on the end of the bed around his waist. “What you saw was real. That’s the way we are.”
“You changed into wolves.”
“Not wolves. Werewolves.”
“So the wolves I saw this morning…”
“Yeah. Those werewolves were Michael and the others coming in from a run last night. We’re Night Runner werewolves and this is our pack.”
She had to sit before her legs gave out. The fear flowed out of her as she sat on the bed then nodded, giving him permission to sit beside her. “Werewolves. I still can’t get over it. So the stories, the rumors? They’re true?”
“They are. Look, I know it’s hard to take in.” He slipped a hand down her back to comfort her.
“Then you lied to me.”
He set his jaw. “I did and I’m sorry. But would you have believed me last night? This morning? Without seeing us shift?”
“Shift?” Her head hurt from trying to understand.
“It’s called shape-shifting. Shifting is when we change into our werewolf forms.”
“Oh.” At a loss for words, she tried to sort through the many questions running through her mind and couldn’t. Instead, she let him pull her closer. Above all else, she needed to feel his warmth.
“Is Sara a werewolf, too? A shape-shifter?”
“She wasn’t when she first met us. But later, once she decided to be part of the pack, Michael bit her and made her one of us.”
She’d thought her life had changed by meeting Max, but she’d had no idea just how much. “And she’s happy?”
“Yeah, she’s very happy.” He took her chin, making her look into his dark eyes still flecked with amber. “I want you to join us. We want you to become part of the pack.”
She inhaled, her heart pounding at the idea. “We? Then all of you have discussed this?”
What would her life be like as a werewolf? She studied him. He wanted her enough to make her one of them? Did she want him as much? The answer came swiftly. Yes. She wanted him more than she’d ever thought possible. In the short time they’d known each other, he’d grown to be a part of her. A part she couldn’t live without. Even if it meant she had to change.
“Then we’d be mated? Is that what you call it?”
“Yes, but you have to understand how the pack works. We’re different from other packs.”
Her eyes widened. “There are other packs?”
He chuckled then kissed her cheek. “There are hundreds in America alone. Even more in other parts of the world.”
“How are you different?”
“The pack has to approve of new members, especially any new female members. Sara was our first and she’s our alpha-female. All of us share her until we find our own mate.”
“Will you still have sex with Sara even if I agree to stay with you?” Could she handle Max being sexually involved with another woman? Yet hadn’t Michael done the same thing with her?
“She’s the alpha-female and because she is, we’ll always be drawn to her even after we take our own individual mate.” He took her hand and squeezed. “But we don’t have to have sex with her after we find our own mate. Cally, I don’t want to be with anyone except you.”
“But what about Michael? I thought he was with Sara.” The connection between Michael and Sara was strong. She’d sensed it as soon as he’d winked at her.
“You’re talking about what happened last night. That was different.” He took a deep breath and let it out in a shudder. “I’ve handled this wrong. I should’ve explained first, but I was afraid I’d scare you off. What happened last night was your initiation.”
“My initiation? You mean, into the pack? You did that without telling me what was happening?”
“The pack had to know if they could accept you first before I could tell you about me, about us. I couldn’t ask you until after. But you’re not pack yet. Not until I bite you and you change.” He twisted toward her to take both her hands. “When one of us finds a mate, we bring her home to meet the rest of the pack. If they approve—by being with you in bed—then we find out what Sara thinks. After all, the females have to get along with the alpha-female. If she approves, then you can go through the transformation.”
Cally let what he’d told her sink in. “If Sara says yes—”
“Which she already has.”
“Okay. So now that Sara has said yes, does that mean I’m mated to the others, too?” As wonderful as last night had been, she wanted Max for hers alone.
“No. You’re my mate and no one else’s. Providing you want to stay now that you’ve heard everything.”
She stood and moved to the window. Carl and his friends were nowhere to be seen. Returned to their human forms and dressed, Ranlon and Jimmy worked on an older car, and she could hear them arguing about who should get under the car to change the oil. William and Nick played cards at a small table while Michael chased Sara around the yard. Her giggles turned into squeals once he caught her and dragged her to the ground.
“Cally? What do you think? Can you see yourself as part of our pack? Can you see spending the rest of your life with us? With me?”
Could she? Not only would her life change, adding so many people to it, but her physical body would change, too. The alternative, continuing to live alone and work at Sadie’s, would leave the same hole in her heart that she’d longed to fill.
“What about my dream of becoming a songwriter? I don’t want to give that up.”
“I’d never make you stop doing what you love. If that means working at Sadie’s or selling your songs, then I’ll stand behind you no matter what. All of us will.”
“But what if I have to travel?”
“If I can go with you, I will. If not? Then I’ll be waiting for you when you come home. All of us in the pack support each other, Cally. We’re a family and we want each of us to live the best life they can.”
She had never believed she’d find anyone like Max. How could she let him go now? “But it would just be us, right? You and me, and no others?”
“Except during initiations. Whenever one of the other guys brings a mate home, I’ll have to join in just like Michael had to join in. It’s the way we are, the way our ancestors were and the way our children will be. But I will never love anyone more than I love you. Can you understand? Can you accept the way it is?”
She shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t know.” She saw the hopeful light in his eyes die and couldn’t stand how much her heart hurt to see it. “But I want to try.”
He was on his feet and wrapping his arms around her. “Are you sure? Never mind. Don’t answer that. I wouldn’t want you to change your mind.” Picking her up, he swung her around, making her laugh, then set her back on her feet.
His kiss lifted her into the air again as he enclosed her in his strong arms. Sliding his tongue inside her mouth, he moaned, his breath flowing into hers. He tasted strong, sexy, and wild, a bundle of maleness she knew she’d never find again if she searched for a lifetime. Max was the man she’d longed for, the man she’d dreamed of, the man she hadn’t believed existed. No way would she lose him now.
She dragged in a breath, her mind light-headed from the kiss, her body trembling in anticipation. “Tell me what’s it’s like. Does it hurt? I heard bones breaking when you…shifted. Is it horrible?”
Max brought her back to the bed and laid her against the comforter. “It does hurt, especially the first few times. But the pain gets less the more you shift. Have you noticed how our eyes turn color?”
“I did and I wanted to ask, but…”
“When we shift, our eyesight changes, too. Instead of seeing the colors of the world, you’ll see everything in amber. But it’s okay, because you see so
much more, even at night.” He nuzzled into her neck, nibbled at her earlobe. “And the runs. God, the times we run at night make up for the pain. You’ll feel the air in your fur, the ground sifting between your claws, and hear sounds you’ve never heard before.”
“Is it really that wonderful?” She helped him pull her shirt off.
“It is. I can’t wait for you to experience everything with me.” He swept his tongue over her nipple. “I can’t wait for us to have sex after you change. The sex is amazing, better than any human can ever experience.”
She turned her head to the side, luxuriating in the feel of his tongue as he traced patterns over her breasts. Undoing her jeans, he slipped them off her, pushing his after hers.
“What about children?” She planted her palms on his shoulders. “Can we have children?” Did she dare hope that her greatest dream could come true?
“Yeah, we can. In fact, male werewolves are born, not brought into the pack as adults.” He cushioned her head between his palms. “I’d love to have kids. Lots of them. How about you?”
“I’d like as many as I can have.” She pressed her lips to his wrist.
“Then it’s not a problem. You just have to remember not to change while you’re pregnant. The fetus can’t handle the transformation.”
“Which means, I guess, that I won’t get to go on any runs after I’m preggers?” She frowned. “That stinks, but I guess it’s worth it.”
Max lifted up on his elbows. “Wait a second. We’re talking like you’ve made your decision, but you never really answered other than saying you’ll try. So I’ll ask again. Will you stay with me? Will you become one of the pack?”
She searched the eyes of the man she’d fallen in love with and realized she’d never had any other answer to give. “Where it counts? I’m already yours.” She kissed him quick. “Change me, Max.”
Chapter Seven
Max couldn’t believe his ears. She wanted to join them, wanted to stay with him. He’d found his mate and was about to connect her to him forever.
Putting his lips to hers, he kissed her, reverently, cherishing the first kiss of the rest of their lives. She didn’t kiss him back, instead letting him take charge. Her breath smelled as sweet as any flower and her lips were as soft as a baby’s bottom.
“I love you, Cally.” He had to say the words, had to speak them out loud for her to hear. She closed her eyes and drew him to her. An expectant glow made her features seem otherworldly like an angel fallen from heaven and into his arms.
Her skin shone as well and he hesitated, delaying the delicious moment when he would touch her. When at last he did, she mewed then wrapped her arms around his neck. Their bodies meshed together, her hills curving into his valleys, like a human puzzle.
Lifting her legs, he repositioned her on the bed and slid his palm along the smooth skin of her thigh. “I want to taste you.”
She watched him, eagerness written in the way she bit her lower lip, the way she kept her gaze fixed on him. Kissing a path lower, he played his tongue along the crease between leg and mons then growled. She jerked at the sound, but he knew it was only time before she’d welcome his growls.
Spreading her, he drew in a long breath, inhaling the scent of womanhood, a sweetness so different from her breath, yet even more intoxicating. He kissed her folds, teasing her, loving how reactive she was. But a man could only stand so much.
Using his fingers, he parted her, took in the pinkness, and flicked the tip of his tongue over her clit. She cried out and reached for him, but he darted away. She wouldn’t hurry him. Not when he was so close to tasting her nectar.
He tempted her more, licking her with a quick sweep then bringing his mouth down to cover her nub. Wetness flushed from her, giving him more to take in, and he did so. He nibbled, then sucked, then nibbled more as she bucked under his hands.
Adding his finger had her sitting halfway up, but his mouth on her clit took the strength from her, making her lie back again. Sliding his finger inside her, he finger-fucked her, licking, nibbling, and biting her until she called out his name.
He ran his hands over the swell of her stomach, over her ribcage to cup her breasts. She clamped her hands on top of his. He thumbed her nipples, his gaze set upon them from his position between her legs. She was more than he remembered now that she was his.
Lifting from her, he wiped her juice from his mouth then crawled up her body, taking quick bites along the way. Quick bites that would soon turn into one agonizing bite to bring her into the pack.
He nipped at her breast, fondling the other. She traveled her hands over his shoulders and slinked her legs around his waist. Grinning wickedly, she pulled him closer, locking them together.
“I love you, too.”
No one had ever said anything better. The animal inside him clawed, wanting to get out, needing to take its mate. But he held on. Knowing the changing bite would bring her pain, he wanted to give her pleasure first.
Bringing his cock to her, he slid inside, reveling in the glorious sensation of her vaginal walls opening then closing around him. She moaned then tightened her legs even more.
Taking her nipple in his mouth, he pushed to the end of her core, seeing just how far he could go. She arched, offering him more of her breast and pushed her pelvis against his. Unable to restrain himself any longer, he pulled back out then plunged into her.
Together they cried out, together they clung to each other, and together they thrust. Taking her with him, he rolled, pulling her on top. She clutched her breasts then ran her hands up her chest, along the sleek slope of her neck, and into her hair.
A look of pure ecstasy filled her face, and that alone almost sent him over the edge. Circling her hips, she dared him not to come, and he gritted his teeth against the release so near. She fell forward, draping her hair over his body, the smooth texture reminding him of the silkiness between her legs.
“Make me yours, Max.”
Rising, he kept her on his lap and his shaft inside her. Her breath came in short pants, music to his grunts. Brushing her hair back from her shoulders, he gazed into her trusting brown eyes and sent her an unspoken question.
The answer he saw made his heart take flight and the wolf inside him dance with joy. Shifting just enough to bring out his fangs, he paused again, letting her see them. She didn’t flinch. Instead, she tilted her head to the side, offering her exposed neck.
Laying back his head, he shifted part way and howled, heralding his mate’s arrival to the world. Then, tightening his grip, he rammed into her, going farther than before. He howled again before sinking his fangs into her and held on. Her scream reverberated around the room.
* * * *
Cally fought against the darkness and sought the light she could sense more than feel.
“She’s coming around.”
Is that Sara?
“Here’s the drink, Max.”
Max is here. She sighed, the memory of their lovemaking giving her encouragement to waken. But the darkness wanted her to stay.
“Cally, baby. Wake up. You need to wake up now.”
She wanted to do what Max said. Wanted to do whatever would make him happy. She pushed, struggling to open her eyes. Blurry images surrounded her and voices mixed with others.
“That’s it. Here. Drink this.”
She let him put the cup to her lips then tried to twist away. “Urgh. It’s awful.” The stench of the liquid, so vile and pungent, made her eyes tear up. She blinked, bringing the blurry images into focus.
The pack stood around her bed, their expressions varying from worry to grins. Sara sat on one side of her, her hand patting her arm while Max sat on her other side, holding the cup. She clutched the comforter and pulled it under her chin.
“I know the drink tastes like dirty feet, but it does the trick. You need to drink it to regain your energy.” Sara smiled at her then gave Max a harder look. “If we’d known ahead of time this was about to happen, we would’ve prepa
red.”
“Like I’ve said a hundred times already, I’m sorry. But what was I supposed to do? Give her time to change her mind? Hell, no.”
Max offered her a sip again and, at the urging of everyone, she drank. “Can I at least get something good to eat after drinking this crap?”
Jimmy slapped Nick on the back. “Sure thing. We’re on it. Right, Nick?” Nick nodded and followed Jimmy out of the room.
Ranlon wiped his mouth. “You sure taste good, Cally. Welcome to the pack.”
She frowned, unsure how to interpret his words, but Max came to the rescue. “After I bit you, you passed out. Most people do. To help you heal, we get you to drink this potion, but we also lick your wounds. The saliva helps heal the wound much faster than it would heal on its own.”
“All of you licked it?”
Michael motioned to Sara and the others to leave. “Max can explain everything. We’ll get out of your way and let you two talk. Call us if you need anything.”
“Wait.” Cally glanced around her. “What happened to Lena and Brittany?”
“Oh. I can’t believe we didn’t tell you.” Sara’s face brightened. “While you were resting, I managed to get hold of her sister who lives in a nearby town and she offered to take them in. Michael and the boys took her there and made sure they had some men from a neighboring pack to watch over them. But after the beat down Carl got today, I don’t think he’ll give her any more trouble.”
Cally squeezed Max’s hand and sent them a weak smile. “Thank you for helping her. And me.”
Max placed a kiss on her forehead. “What else would we do? You’re one of us now.”
Cally waited until the others had left the room then pulled Max down for another kiss. One not on her forehead. She cupped him behind the neck, teasing him by touching the tip of her tongue to his lips.
Taking her by the wrist, he placed her palm on his chest. His eyes gleamed with amber flecks and his heart pounded under her hand.
