by Kimber White
Fully clothed, Asher Tully was sexy. Naked, he was glorious. I could hate him and still marvel at his strong, muscled calves and thighs. He was built differently than Tucker. Leaner, his body nearly hairless. His great cock sprang forward and I turned my head toward the wall. I didn’t want to see him. Still didn’t want to want him.
“I thought you said we didn’t have to fuck at first.”
He sighed, exasperated. “Yeah, but if I shift, no reason to ruin a perfectly good pair of pants.”
“Fair point. Let’s go.”
Asher came around me. He went to his knees and brushed my hair away from the back of my neck. My breath came in quick pants. Sweat beaded my brow and ran a trail down the tip of my nose. Asher locked me in place, resting my head over his bent knee and putting a steady hand at the small of my back.
Air hit the nape of my neck and blood roared in my ears. He’d exposed my mark, leaving me feeling more naked than if he’d ripped my clothes off. The crescent-shaped scar throbbed and burned. I was hungry for his touch.
Then, Asher lowered his head and scraped my tender flesh with his teeth. I shivered and cried out. God, it burned white hot. My body seemed to know that although he was Alpha, he wasn’t my pack. He pressed his hand against my back to still me. He’d be quick, I knew, but nothing about this would be gentle.
“Shh,” he whispered against my neck. The faintest growl tore from his throat. I knew if I could turn to look at him, I’d see his golden wolf eyes flash. His entire body thrummed with the vibration of the wolf inside him, clawing to get out. But Asher was strong and knew how to control it.
I felt him take a breath and exhale, the air sending shivers along my spine.
“Please,” I begged him. Please what? Please just do it? Please don’t? I didn’t even know any more.
Asher growled again. He pressed his teeth against my flesh. I felt his wolf fangs sharpen against me and I braced myself, digging my nails into the dingy shag carpeting of the trailer floor. The contrast of my surroundings startled me. That first night, when Tucker marked me, we’d been alone in the Hidden Forest sanctuary, in a log cabin he’d built with his own hands. Now, Asher would finish what Tucker started in this backwoods no man’s land in a broken down trailer. A strong pang of homesickness filled me along with my burgeoning desires.
When Asher finally sank his teeth into my flesh, I found the strength to scream. Just like he said, it was agony at first. My body convulsed, rejecting the intrusion of a foreign invader. But, Asher held me still. The burning pain blossomed into something else. Warm pleasure spread out from the site of the bite and made my body tingle.
I cried out, groaning with ecstasy as I felt the first slow trickle of blood flow. The bite wasn’t deep. He matched the edges of my existing mark perfectly. Slowly, Asher loosened his grip on me. He flicked his tongue over the mark and I knew the wound had already started to heal.
He lifted me, and setting me gently on the bed he knelt before me. I saw Asher in a new light. It’s like he had an aura about him. Colors burst all around him. Yellow, gold, green. I saw the wolf and the man shimmering before me at once, like some optical illusion.
The world fell silent for just a moment as Asher locked eyes with me. My heart beat with his heart. My blood coursed through my veins at the command of his pulse.
“Look at me,” he said, though he didn’t use words. I heard him in my mind. I cast my eyes to the floor as a first test. He was part of me now, but I needed to know how much was still me. How much I could defy him.
Look. At. Me.
The urge to lift my eyes to him tugged at me like a string. But, I could keep him at bay. It hurt to do so, like holding your breath past the point of pain. Even so, I finally lifted my eyes to meet his when I wanted to, not at his command.
“You look better.” He spoke this time. His eyes were wide as he marveled at whatever change he saw in me. “You look a lot better.”
I felt better too. Powerful. Strong. Though I felt a rage, a hunger unlike any I’d ever known. I wanted to tear Asher limb from limb and part of me wished he’d do the same to me. I recognized it as the first strains of a more powerful calling. Soon, I’d need him inside me. The Heat was coming.
For now though, I could control it.
“I’m hungry,” I said. Asher smiled.
“You ready to face the rest of the pack first?”
I shook my head. “Not yet.” Part of me feared what would happen when I was surrounded by all of them. Would the Heat take over, giving me the urge to rut with all of them right there in the dead leaves?
Asher mercifully gave me space and time. He left and returned with a heaping tray of venison, wild berries, and potatoes. I ate them with ravenous fury. I knew it was sublimation against a more primal urge soon to come.
Could I do it? When the time came, could I give myself to him the way an Alpha’s mate was supposed to? As I tore into the last bite of meat, I knew the answer was yes. The question was more how could I not?
“I’ll be back,” he said. “We need more wood for the fire outside. I’ll give you a little while to get cleaned up.”
As Asher stood, I realized the effort it took him to hold himself back from me. Though my own urge built, his had been there all along. I saw the way his jeans strained at the crotch. I sat on my hands to suppress the urge to lunge forward and free his cock myself.
Asher gave me a quick nod then turned and left the trailer. My body trembled with the urge to follow him. I had reason. I had self-control. I had free will. But this was a lust unlike any I’d ever known. A wave of grief washed over me too. This should have been something I quenched with Tucker. Just the thought of how our mated coupling with me in full heat would have been sent a shudder through me. But, I couldn’t think about that now. Now was about surviving the next minute, the next hour.
I went to the bathroom and stripped out of my clothes. My reflection in the mirror startled me. Color returned to my cheeks. Soft, supple flesh filled out where just an hour ago it had sunken in. My breasts were fuller, my nipples high and pink. I ran a hand over one of them and my knees buckled from the sensitivity. God, I wasn’t going to last long. I was beyond horny.
I stepped in the shower, letting the cool water sluice over me. I felt every drop as a tiny point of pleasure from the top of my head, across the flat plane of my stomach and down to my toes. The sulfur smell from the well seemed more pungent than the last time I ran the water. Every sensation was heightened. Along with the water, I smelled the rust in the pipes, damp earth, the scent of decay from a small animal, likely a raccoon or rabbit just beyond the trailer.
I sensed the pack too. Asher filled my head most of all with his strong heart and will. He sent orders through the pack. Watch. Wait. Stay close. The pack stood on edge. I sensed Luke just beneath Asher. I felt him take slow, measured breaths and knew he struggled to mask some deeper emotion. I said a silent prayer that Asher didn’t pick up on it for the same reason I did. Luke was a threat. I was counting on it.
I felt Dax after Luke. Then Brennan. The two of them stood close to each other. I could pinpoint their position about two hundred yards east. If I closed my eyes, I could make out the fuzzy haze of the horizon they scanned. This was new; I could see what the pack saw. That hadn’t happened yet with Tucker’s pack. Instinctively, I knew this sense could grow stronger the longer I spent with them.
I stepped out of the shower and threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater. My boots had become wedged beneath the bed and I slipped those on. The pack was quiet, scanning the woods and waiting for Asher’s directive. It left me time to collect myself and I had Asher to thank for that. He’d been gone close to an hour. But it was good. I could handle this. I felt a building sensation between my legs. My sex began to throb, but it was manageable. My lust hadn’t yet overpowered me.
I set the room to rights and decided to venture outside. The air in the trailer grew dank as I hadn’t opened any windows. I stepped out into the cool air. The
sun had begun its slow descent. I wondered what morning would bring as it rose again.
Then, everything changed.
Threat came from all sides. A sharp cry from Asher and the whole pack shifted at once. I shuddered as I felt the vicarious pain of a violent shift for the first time. It was a fierce popping of bones and sinew. It caused them as much agony as it looked like and nearly brought me to my knees. I didn’t know how they could stand it except it lasted no more than a few seconds. And then, I felt the power of the pack. They communicated through thought and sound. Not with words, but their emotions transmitted to me and I translated them instinctually.
Danger. East. All around.
They formed a circle of threat all around me. I couldn’t sense what they saw, just their reactions to it. Something was coming. Something menacing and filled with hate.
It broke through the tree line near Dax and Brennan. Now, I could hear it with my human ears. Dax snarled low and Brennan struck. Another wolf emerged. A stranger. A threat.
I had the urge to run to them. Two more wolves joined the invaders and went after Dax. Wolves don’t fight like men. There are no rules of engagement. There is just teeth and deadly claws, the tearing of flesh. Luke and the others moved, trying to get closer to provide backup. Asher called them back. Something worse was on the way.
New instinct flared within me and I wanted to scream out a warning. Something else broke through the tree line just beside me as Asher’s pack’s attention was diverted elsewhere. And all at once I understood. Whatever was coming had come here for me. The invaders had drawn the pack away from the trailers on purpose, leaving me vulnerable.
Asher sensed it too. Adrenalin coursed through him, making my own pulse race. He called out a telepathic warning.
Run. Go East.
I never got the chance. I stepped off the trailer porch and a blur of black whizzed beside me. He shifted so fast a tuft of black fur hovered suspended in front of me. Before I could turn, before I could scream, a hand clamped over my mouth.
He pulled me back against him. The moment his flesh touched mine, his Alpha’s heartbeat burst inside my head, joining with Asher’s.
Mal’s voice was low and ragged as he whispered against my ear and dragged me back toward the woods. “Run as fast as you can. Stay alive. Don’t look back.”
###
Book Five
Choosing an Alpha
Chapter Forty-Seven
“Neve!” Mal turned to me. The high, keening howls of wolves in battle came from all sides. Asher was two miles due east of us and heading our way fast. As hard as I tried to shut down my emotions when Mal burst out of the woods and grabbed me, I couldn’t hide it all the way. I bore Asher’s mark now. He could practically read my thoughts.
“He’s coming,” I said, breathless. Mal’s dark eyes flashed. The last time I saw Mal, he stood on a hilltop locked in battle with the man I loved. His blood flowed freely from a gash across his chest where Tucker had slashed him. Mal stood before me now, naked having just shifted. Beads of sweat trickled down his temple. I reached up and laid a hand over his chiseled chest, tracing the line made by Tucker’s fearsome claws. The wound had healed, leaving just reddish welts.
“He won’t catch up if we keep going. As soon as I get you to the Jeep, I’ll shift and keep him back. Reed and Barrett will run with me. We’ll keep you safe.”
My heart soared. Reed and Barrett were close by. My pack. My family. Except it wasn’t anymore. Nothing brought that reality home more than the voice inside my head telling me to stay exactly where I was. My feet felt rooted to the ground even though my heart wanted desperately to run.
Don’t move.
Asher’s voice. He compelled me to turn and run back toward him. The urge to go tugged at me from the depths of my belly. Mal kept a strong hand on my shoulder.
“Neve?”
I met Mal’s eyes. He had to know. I was endangering him now too. I took a breath, not sure if I could get the words out. He would think I betrayed him. Betrayed Tucker. Asher’s heartbeat thundered in my ears as he began to close the distance between us. When I finally spoke, my voice sounded flat and distant to my own ears.
“Asher marked me. He knows exactly where I am.”
Color drained from Mal’s face. His expression turned accusatory for just an instant. He took a step back, reeling as if I’d punched him in the gut.
“I would have died,” I said, choking back a sob. “The Rise was killing me. There was no other way.”
Mal shook his head. I knew what he thought. Human women don’t die from the Rise. At least not in the time that had passed since he last saw me.
“I can’t get you away from him,” he said, his mouth set in a grim line. “No matter where I take you, he’ll know exactly where you are now.”
Panic rose within me; I fought it back. Would he leave me now? It was my turn to reel back as though he’d punched me in the gut. No. Not after everything. As much as I wanted to bring Asher down, the thought of letting him touch me again, now that I was so close to being with my own pack again, made me retch.
I doubled over and grabbed my knees. Mal paced in front of me, tearing his fingers through his thick, black hair. He turned on me, his eyes wild with rage and lust. Even in his current state, he couldn’t hide the call of his own nature. His erection bobbed before me, huge, hard, and turgid. In the distance, we heard the wolves’ battle cries. They grew ever closer. Asher’s heart beat strong among them and I knew he could hear mine as well. As long as Asher’s mark burned into me, I would never be free of him.
I put my hand to the back of my neck. The wound hadn’t completely healed yet. In near panic, I scratched and clawed at it, trying to rip it from me. Mal’s eyes went wide and he went to me, dropping to his knees in front of me.
He grabbed my wrists. “Stop it, it doesn’t work like that.” Something sparked between us the instant his fingers touched me. It was impossible. In the middle of those woods, with enemy wolves approaching, I knew I wanted him. Had to have him. My sex throbbed and my knees went weak. My own needs tortured me just as his did. I wanted to hate him, rage at him for challenging Tucker and getting between us. If he hadn’t done that, none of this would have happened. I couldn’t hate him though. At least I couldn’t ignore how badly I craved his touch. I sank to the ground in front of him and met him eye to eye.
Mal shook me hard enough to rattle my teeth. “Tell me what you want.”
“You!” I didn’t hesitate even for a second. Because none of it mattered at that moment. Not the approaching threat. Not the things Mal had done. Not even Tucker. My body cried out for an Alpha’s touch and no matter how he got there, Mal was undeniably Alpha. “Please, Mal. Take me. Mark me. I can’t stand it another second if you don’t. You can make it stop. Just like in the barn when you shut out Tucker. Do it again. Shut Asher out for good.”
Mal’s golden wolf eyes flashed and a low growl ripped from his throat. No matter how I got there, I was a marked woman coming into full heat. He could control his urges no better than I could.
A great howl came from the west. Mal turned toward the sound and bared his teeth. He stood and nearly dragged me with him, never having let go of my wrists.
“This way,” he said. My step faltered as I tried to keep up with his stride. He practically lifted me off my feet as he took us a few hundred yards deeper into the woods. There was nowhere to hide. There was no time.
It didn’t matter.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Mal let me go and turned toward me. He didn’t need to tell me what to do or say another word. He stroked himself, my eyes widened as I took in the full length of his thick cock.
I tore at my clothes, pulled my jeans down so hard I got them off with my boots still on. I threw my shirt to the side and stood before Mal. His eyes raked over me, his nostrils flared and his chest rose and fell with labored breaths.
“Get on your back and spread your legs,” he said, his voice lowered at le
ast an octave and sounded almost more wolf than man. Heat flared between my legs. I did what I was told. The dead leaves provided a natural cushion.
Mal stood above me, stroking himself. A fat bead of precum glistened at his bulbous tip and I licked my lips. He snarled as he lowered himself between my legs. He put a hand on each of my knees and spread me wider. I arched my back.
“Please,” I begged him. My sex throbbed; my body ached for his. I had waited for this. Since the first time Tucker touched me, I’d always known it would come to this. Though the thought of Tucker sent a flicker of grief through me, I knew this was what I was born for. I was an Alpha’s mate, and now Mal would give me the release I so desperately needed.
Mal threw his head back and howled. It was dangerous. The other wolves kept advancing. I tried to still my heart to keep Asher at bay but I knew it wouldn’t be long.
“Hurry,” I gasped. Mal dug his fingers into the flesh of my thighs and spread me even wider. He swiped a single finger across my slick folds to see if I was ready. I was. God help me, I was. His touch released a dam and my juices ran down and coated my thighs. I thrust my hips in invitation, not that he needed it.
Then Mal poised himself at my slick opening and speared me with his thick cock in one, great thrust. I cried out, clawing at his back. He growled again. His wolf eyes flared and stayed there. The beast warred with the man as he pumped himself inside me. Every inch of my skin burned hot. Every nerve ending sparked to life. It was ecstasy. Heaven. The more he thrust, the more I wanted. I scratched and clawed at him, almost daring the wolf out of him. Mal bared his teeth and dug his fingers into the ground. He held me pinned beneath him, captive to the pace he set. I cried out, savoring every thrust he gave me.
I came the first time, almost from the moment he sheathed himself to the root. Then, as he kept up his punishing rhythm, I came time and time again. With each thrust, a new orgasm crested and shattered me. So many times I lost count. Over and over, he rammed his cock deep inside me.
