by Kimber White
He leapt forward and picked up the dead rabbit. He turned his head back toward me, his eyes flashing. What he did next I can’t quite describe. If a wolf could shrug, that’s what he did. Then Jake trotted past the tree line and I heard the sound of flesh being ripped apart as he ate the rabbit.
“Yuck,” I said. Barrett had come out to join us. He’d shifted back and thrown on a pair of boxers. Standing shoulder to shoulder with me in between them, I felt so tiny. They towered over me, their broad forearms wider around than one of my legs. They could easily snap me in two. But they didn’t, these men . . . my wolves had treated me with unutterable tenderness, just as their leader had commanded.
I caught Barrett looking down at me. His eyes glinted with what I knew was a lustful memory of last night. My breath hitched but I laid a hand flat on his broad chest. “Don’t even try to give me that look,” I said. “I’m going to need at least a half a day to recover.”
Both Reed and Barrett laughed low. Jake stepped back into the clearing, blood covering his snout.
“And you make sure he cleans himself off before stepping foot back in this cabin unless you three know your way around a mop.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Reed said. Some other unsuspecting creature rustled the leaves a few feet from where Jake stood. The three of them exchanged a glance, and then they moved in position to catch whatever it was. I’d been grossed out enough by the rabbit, so I took the opportunity to go back inside and leave them to it.
I went to the front of the cabin, and opened the rest of the windows. The air had become stuffy from the close quarters of three large bodies and little old me all holed up together. One of the windows stuck and I pushed hard with both hands to get it to open. As soon as I did, a cool breeze blew through the cabin, raising the curtains and bringing pollen with it. I sneezed once and waved the air in front of my face.
The hairs on the back of my neck raised and I felt a thousand tiny needles pricking along my spine. The breeze kicked up again and a scent reached my nostrils that sent my heart racing. I ran to the front door and opened it, ready to take the woods at a full run, my body . . . my heart . . . driven by something deep inside.
Reed, Jake, and Barrett howled from the other side of the cabin. I got about three steps before Tucker bounded through the trees, his silver eyes flashing in the sunlight. I dropped to my knees as the air went out of my lungs. As I took my next breath, it felt like my heart had begun beating again and I’d never realized it stopped.
He stood before me, his ears pressed flat against his head, tail held high. I took a step forward and reached for him. Tucker nuzzled his head against my hand. Then he curled into himself and shifted right before me. Slowly, he rose to his full height as my eyes drank in the sight of the heavy weight of his erection as it bobbed between his powerful thighs. A thin sheen of sweat glistened over his sinewy chest and shoulders. His nostrils flared as his breath came heavy.
“Tucker.” Tears sprang from my eyes. My throat felt sand paper dry. He took another step toward me, and gathered me in his arms. “I missed you,” I said.
He put a gentle kiss at the top of my head. “I’m back,” he whispered. “And I don’t plan to leave your side anytime soon, baby.”
I had so much to tell him. I had questions about what happened to me last night, and what it meant. But, as Tucker held me in his arms, the biggest questions were answered. I loved him with an intensity that almost scared me. Nothing that had happened with Reed and Barrett could touch that. What happened between us was important. I understood more what belonging to the pack really meant. They were a part of me, and I was a part of them. But this . . . Tucker . . . he felt like the center of my universe. Only his absence, however brief, had driven home how much I needed him.
And of all the things I wanted to say to him, he already knew. I could feel it in the way his heart beat against mine, strong and steady as he whispered my name and took my hand in his. We walked into the cabin together. The others were still out back somewhere. Tucker transmitted some unspoken message to them just as he did to me. They knew he was back. They knew we needed these precious moments alone together. They knew I belonged to him above all else.
Chapter Twenty-One
Tucker was filthy. Brambles and burrs stuck to the hair in his chest. Two days’ worth of dirt and grime covered his face and caked under his nails. We stepped into the shower together. As he lathered up, I set about picking the burrs off of him. He shook his hair just like the wolf he carried within him, making me squeal as I dodged a spray of bubbles.
His lips curled in a snarl and he pulled me close to him. I reached up and smoothed the soap away from his brow. I took his hard cock in my hand and stroked him up and down. Tucker’s eyes rolled in the back of his head and he let out a low, guttural noise. He’d said no words to me yet. The beast within him had run free for almost two days. It would take time for the man to come completely back to me.
But with Tucker, I didn’t need words. I knew him in the beating of my heart, in the flash of his eyes, his strong arms as he grasped my upper arms and turned me toward the bathroom wall. He growled again as he bent me at the waist. I reached out and put my hands on either side of the tub. Tucker pushed his leg between mine, shoving them apart as he put a hand on my ass and squeezed. My breath came in quick pants as heat flared from my core and flooded through me. My pussy throbbed and clenched in anticipation of what would happen next.
Two days. I had taken my pleasures from Reed and Barrett so the need within me hadn’t consumed me. Tucker hadn’t. His lust blazed strong, and he would not be denied. I angled my ass upward, arching my back to give him better access. With two strong hands on either of my hips, Tucker drove himself into me. Every other time we’d coupled, he’d gone slowly at first, letting me get used to the feel of his massive length and width. This time, he rooted himself to the balls on the very first thrust. I cried out in a mixture of pleasure and pain.
Tucker. My Tucker. With each forceful thrust, he claimed me as his own over and over again. I belonged to the pack, but I bore the alpha’s mark. I was his to dominate, his to command. I didn’t want it any other way. With every grunt and each stab of his thick dick, I grew hotter and wetter for him. The harder he fucked, the more I responded. My legs shook and my sex quivered as he took what he needed and gave me what I craved.
“Yes,” I cried out. I wanted him harder, deeper. I gripped the sides of the tub to brace for each powerful lunge. My head rocked and my breasts swung heavily as I kept my position, bent low for him.
Then I felt the rising tide of my own desire, pulling me from the center out. He hadn’t even touched my swollen sex. Just the pounding rhythm of his thrusts was enough to send me to the shattering edge of my orgasm. I screamed his name over and over. The others could hear. I could sense them, though not as strong as I could Tucker. But, they were nearby, I felt the rhythms of their own heartbeats quicken. Reed. Barrett. Jake. One of them let out a fierce howl as I hit the apex of my orgasm.
Then Tucker growled again, driving thoughts of the others from my head except to know in some distant corner of my brain that they, too, would soon need the release only I could give them. And God help me, I wanted that too. I wanted to spread my legs before all of them and let them sate themselves inside me again and again.
“Tucker!” I gasped as I felt his balls hitch against me. He tightened his grip on my hips. I felt him grow even longer and thicker inside me, stretching me almost to the point of pain. My walls pulsed around him as I crested down from my own ecstasy. Then Tucker’s body stiffened, and he pressed himself into me until he could go no farther. Then, he cried out as he spilled his seed into me, hot and deep. There was so much of it I felt it start to drain even before he’d pulled himself out of me. I held myself perfectly still, letting him take what he needed and give so much back in return.
Tucker gave one last pump before he slid his hands across my chest, cupping each of my breasts. He helped me straighten, and then fi
nally pulled himself out of me and drew me against him.
He’d been rough and dangerous just moments before, now he was soft and gentle, whispering my name over and over as he ran his hands over my body and cleaned me. His glinting wolf eyes had dimmed, leaving behind his beautiful pale gray ones. He’d quieted the beast and was wholly the man I loved now. So I said so.
“I love you,” I whispered. Tears welled in my own eyes as I leaned up on tiptoes to kiss him. “I love you.”
“Will you stay?” he asked. My heart flipped in my chest. How could I have ever thought to leave him? As much as I was his, he was mine. I belonged to the pack, and they belonged to me. I loved the others, too. Not with the intensity as I did Tucker, but I needed them, too. Jake, Reed, Barrett, even Mal. I didn’t feel Mal within me like I did the others, and that concerned me. But, now we had time. I could maybe grow to love him too.
“Yes,” I said, reaching up to cradle Tucker’s jaw. “I’ll stay forever. I’m as much a part of you as you are for me now.”
Tucker smiled, flashing a straight row of white teeth, no trace of the deadly fangs.
We stepped out of the tub and dried off. I didn’t know how long we’d been in there, but a full, bright moon hung low in the sky. Reed and the others had prepared dinner and had long since eaten it. Tucker and I scavenged the leftovers. Chicken and rice.
Then, we joined the others in the front room. I folded myself into Tucker’s arms as he sat on the couch. Mal stood at the fireplace. Reed, Barrett and Jake filled the other couch shoulder to shoulder.
“There’s no sign of Ash’s pack for at least a twenty-mile radius,” Tucker reported.
“We can’t stay here though,” Mal said. “Not for long. We need to be on the move.”
I lifted my head to see Tucker’s expression. His mouth was set into a grim line as he looked at Mal and nodded. “We need to go home.”
“Home?” I said. “I thought Hidden Forest was home for now?”
Reed shook his head. “Home is north.” He held up his hand, palm side out and pointed to the tip of his middle finger. “Wild Lake.”
I smiled. A true Michigander, Reed used his hand like a map of the state to show me where he meant. Just as Tucker explained, Wild Lake rested on the northernmost point of Michigan.
Tucker nodded and rested his chin on the top of my head. “And into the Upper Peninsula and Canada. Like I said, we’ve been down here scouting places to expand the business and our hunting grounds.”
“And Asher has been trying to drive you out ever since,” I said, pieces of the puzzle starting to slam into place. “That’s his beef with you, isn’t it?”
Mal looked back toward the wall and ran his thumb across his chin. The rest of them looked away from me, toward Tucker, then down at the floor. They weren’t telling me something, and it didn’t look like anyone was going to remedy that without Tucker’s say so. For his part, he pinched my bottom and rose off the couch. “Get some sleep,” he said. “Mal, you take the first watch. We’ll leave at first light. Jake, you’ll take the Jeep with Neve. The rest of us will go through the woods.”
My heart dropped. It meant another separation from Tucker, for however long it took us to travel to the northern tip of the state. Hours, but still, I wanted to be by Tucker’s side as much as I could.
He knew my thoughts and gave me a soft smile. The others carried out their alpha’s command. Mal went out the front door, Jake, Reed and Barrett claimed their spots on the couches and chairs. Tucker motioned for me to follow him into the bedroom.
For once, he just meant sleep. We had a long day of travel ahead of us, and I knew from the looks that passed between them, and the adrenalin that coursed through Tucker’s heart, he worried where Asher might be.
We stripped and climbed into bed. Tucker folded me against him and placed soft kisses along my temple. “Don’t worry,” he said. “You’re going to love Wild Lake. It’s the most beautiful place in the state, maybe in the whole country.”
I nodded. My future with Tucker had taken me so far away from the path I thought I would follow. Now, it would take me physically away. But, as I nestled against him and felt his strong arms around me, I knew I’d found the place where I belonged. Tucker was already snoring like a freight train as I rested my head on his shoulder and let the heavy blanket of sleep fall over me, too.
***
Tucker’s arms around me blazed hot, searing my flesh. I struggled to free myself, but he only held me tighter. I was suffocating under the weight of him, my breath choked in my lungs. I was drowning.
“Neve!” Tucker’s voice was inside me, above me, and so far away all at once.
“Neve!”
The world spun. I was upside down. I got my hands out in front of me to brace against the fall. All I could see was the snaking ink swirling on Tucker’s back. I coughed and choked, trying to catch my breath. Tongues of flame lapped at my face. I screamed.
Tucker had me flung over his shoulder. My legs flailed, hitting nothing but air until his strong arm pressed my thighs against his chest. He ran until the night air hit my skin and cool fresh air stabbed into my lungs.
Tucker set me down and put an arm around my shoulders to keep me from falling. I looked up at him. His eyes were wild, and the wolf glimmered within them. His skin rippled against mine as the wolf struggled to break free.
“What’s happening?” I said, my voice raw and burned. I turned. The cabin was in flames. The world was in flames. Tucker had run to a small clearing, but smoke billowed from every direction as the trees crackled and fire danced across the night sky.
We were surrounded. The cabin, where we’d slept soundly just a few moments ago, was engulfed in flames. The front windows exploded outward.
The woods were ablaze as well. Branches ignited all around us. We were surrounded by flames in every direction. Tucker called out for the others. Once. Twice.
But his only answer came from crackling fire and smoke. They were gone.
###
Book Three
Rising Heat
Chapter Twenty-Two
Flames licked at my feet, while thick smoke clouded my vision and filled my mouth. If not for Tucker’s strong arm around my waist, I wouldn’t have known the way to safety.
“I can’t see them!” My voice burned in my throat. I could see no more than a few inches in front of my face as Tucker ran with me through the woods. I’d grown so used to feeling Reed, Barrett, Jake, and Mal nearby that their absence left me empty inside. I fought back a rising wave of panic as I ran by Tucker’s side. He held my head against his chest as we pushed through the flames. His heart beat strong and steady despite the chaos around us and it’s what kept me from losing it altogether. But I couldn’t feel the other members of the pack and, even with Tucker’s strong presence, my heart tripped.
“We need to keep moving,” Tucker shouted. I felt the muscles of his chest tense and pulse beneath my cheek. The wolf within him struggled to break free. I knew every cell in his body wanted to shift. He wouldn’t, though, not until he’d gotten me through the flames. I prayed the others were on their way to safety too.
Then the ground shook beneath us, making even Tucker falter as the cabin exploded behind us as the fire hit the gas. A fresh wave of heat enveloped us, and I felt like my lungs might blister with each breath I took. Tucker lifted me over his shoulder, and ran with superhuman speed. He leapt over fallen branches and pushed through the thick brush until finally, the air cooled and we were past the worst of the danger.
We’d run all the way to the main ranger station where I’d first met him, several miles away, and it had only taken a few minutes. Finally, Tucker stopped.
“Stay right here,” he shouted. “I’ll be back in two seconds.”
Catching my breath, I nodded. Tucker smashed through the door of the cabin, not even bothering to unlock it. He came out just as quick carrying a set of keys.
“What about the others?”
Before T
ucker could answer, the rest of the pack came busting through the tree line together in an avalanche of fur and limbs. The sight of them filled me with both relief and primal terror as their wolf eyes blazed hot, and I was suddenly surrounded in a circle of threat and snapping jaws. They were wild, out of control with fear, and driven by the instinct to fight.
Mal drew near me. His wolf was as large as Tucker’s, but Mal was midnight black with flashing golden eyes. One look from Tucker, and the pack came to heel, but not before Mal swung his great head back toward me. His pupils narrowed to pinpoints, and his black nostrils flared.
Tucker’s own eyes flashed silver, and again I knew he fought an overpowering urge to shift along with the others. “Jake,” Tucker said. “You ride with Barrett in the Jeep. We stop in Mount Pleasant for gas if we need it. Otherwise, keep going. Mal, you and Reed go on foot if that suits you. Neve, you’re with me on the Harley.”
Mal growled low, his inky black fur standing on end, and I had the urge to reach out and smooth it back. Though I couldn’t sense the pack’s feelings as well when they were in wolf form, he held his tail high in a gesture of defiance. Tucker gave him a look. The bones of Tucker’s face warped as he fought hard to hold his wolf in. When he spoke, his words were inhuman. His vowels and consonants formed hard around a growl.
“We have no choice,” he said to Mal’s wolf. “The five of us can’t hold off Asher’s pack forever.”
Mal bared his teeth and snapped his mighty jaw shut. Tucker’s whole body shuddered with the effort of fighting back his wolf. Whatever was going on between them, now wasn’t the time for them to hash it out. Not with the heat from the approaching wildfire and Asher’s pack most likely on the way.
Something rose up in me. An instinct took hold, and I stepped in between Tucker and Mal. I pressed a hand flat to Tucker’s chest, and put my other hand on the dome of Mal’s head, just between his ears.
