Titan ran his fingers through his hair. Hair was long flowing. The streaks of light brown and blonde made her want to run her own fingers through it. Pushing it out of his face revealed a strong angle of his jaw. There was strength that seemed to radiate from even the softest places on his body. Whatever redness she saw faded as Titan pulled his tank top over his head tossing it onto the rock behind her. His pecks flexed, sweat dripped down his abs, and then he dropped his jeans.
His legs, bearing scars of their own, bulged as the breeze blew sending chills down his body. She licked her lips wondering how his skin tasted, how it would feel as her fingers brushed over it, grabbing him, making him beg for her pleasure.
Cara found her chest heaving up and down with anticipation as she was expecting to see his cock but seeing it through the thin fabric of his boxer briefs was enough as he walked past her and eased himself into the hot spring, “Okay, your turn.”
Not wanting to be outdone, Cara didn’t hesitate to strip off her own t-shirt. And suddenly it dawned on her that she still had scars.
“They’re beautiful,” he told her as if he could read her mind. “Besides, it doesn’t matter if you show me yours, I’ve already shown you mine.”
Cara took a deep breath as she wriggled out of her jeans. There was a jagged, dark line, accompanied by healed tear marks, traveling down her thigh. It only brought back feelings of anxiety as memories of the bear tearing into her flesh flashed across her mind. Inching closer and closer toward him, Cara stepped into the hot water.
Once her waist was beneath the surface, she felt Titan’s hands guiding her through the water. They floated toward the middle of the spring and suddenly she couldn’t feel the dirt beneath her feet. Her stomach dropped, but Titan was there holding her steady.
“Breathe,” he whispered to her.
Her breasts moved up and down as they turned a bright shade of red in her bra. The spring was heating her entire body, but a part of her wasn’t sure if it was the water or Titan’s grasp around her. She drifted in front of him with his arms draped across her midriff, and her back against his chest. The thumping of his heart was undeniable as they moved together in unison with the tiny waves circling the small pool.
Cara wasn’t sure what to make of the connection she and Titan shared. They weren’t physical, but the simple act of their skin touching sent a feeling around her body and straight to her heart.
_
Chapter Four
Titan couldn’t believe how much having Cara around changed him. He found himself wanting to open up more simply because she kept herself so guarded. There was still mystery shrouding her past but he was beginning to let his need to know go. The others in his pack, especially Shelly, didn’t quite feel the same way.
It was almost immediately after they soaked in the hot spring together that their bond grew exponentially. While Titan was anxious to show off a side he’d kept buried, he wasn’t ready for the pack to see every piece of him. He found it easier with Cara. Perhaps it was because she hadn’t known him as long as everyone else. Watching her heal, and grow in her ability was a journey he was happy to be on. It taught him more about himself, and how he’d perform as an alpha. The only problem was, the longer she stayed, the more she affected others. His brothers were at the top of that list.
Drew and Chase had always been in competition with Titan. It was almost as if they purposely sought to take him out of the limelight. Being the eldest with a name like Titan gained him the respect they desperately wanted but had barely earned.
Greatness, power, god-like, the words of his father echoed in his head even when he yearned for silence. Titan’s father held high expectations for his oldest boy and Titan was on his way. The only thing he had yet to conquer was finding a suitable mate. Cara could be the one he’d been searching for but from the look in his brothers’ eyes, he’d have to fight for the chance to even test that out. The only thing he had over them was he wasn’t ogling her like they were. He was treating her like everyone else, and Cara was treating him… well, he couldn’t quite call that yet.
It came as no surprise when Titan woke up early one morning to the sound of his brothers quarreling outside of his cabin. He’d purposely built his home far away from the others so that he wouldn’t be disturbed. He treasured his alone time. The only people who didn’t seem to acknowledge that were Drew and Chase.
Looking over to Cara, she was still passed out on his bed. His cabin was a simple space with one room, a bathroom, and a roof. There was a sofa against one wall, a sofa he didn’t mind sleeping on. A coffee table separated the open space from the kitchen. His bed was pushed against the back wall under a large window. The sun was just rising over the mountains, glistening off of Cara’s red strands, and the sound of his brothers scrapping outside in the dirt was trickling in.
Hurrying out toward them, still with sleep in his eyes and his chest bare to the sun, Titan saw the two wolves rumbling and rolling around in the dirt. Fury raged through him as he couldn’t stand when they fought. Most of the time it was over something stupid and senseless.
Chase’s wolf snarled and snapped at Drew’s as they rumbled and rolled around in the dirt. Drew’s mahogany coat beamed in the early morning light as he wrapped his jaws around one of Chase’s limbs. The howls of pain and agony made Titan run over to stop them. It was more than just a little roughhousing.
Titan couldn’t get in between them without changing, so he did. Letting his white wolf out, with its brown streaks was a challenge to his brothers as they stopped fighting each other and charged him. With Chase at his tail, and Drew chomping at his throat, Titan fought them both off. It took a few rolls around with them before he was able to get the upper hand flinging Drew away from him and into a solid tree stump.
Chase was next to take down as he grabbed him by the back of the neck. He held his bite down harder and tighter until he heard the subtle whimpering and began to shift back into his human. Drew approached them, while Titan shifted back himself.
“What the hell is going on out here?!” he demanded to know.
Drew revealed the claw marks and bites he suffered from his fight with Chase, “Look what he did to me!”
“CHASE!” Titan barked shaking his brother, who was still in his grip.
Chase’s anger was resurfacing as he grew red in the face. His eyes were narrowed, full of rage, ready to attack Drew again, “He told me that he was going to mark Cara!”
The emotions charging through Titan’s body suddenly made their fight understandable. He wanted to rip Drew’s throat out as well. He dropped Chase and turned his attention toward him, “What do you mean you’re going to mark Cara?”
“Chase doesn’t understand, and from the look in your eyes, neither do you! I didn’t say I was going to. I said I want to. I think she might be my mate,” he told them.
The feeling Titan felt while he was with Cara told him that Drew was wrong, but Drew didn’t know that. He was certain that his brother wasn’t able to tell the difference between his lust for another and the undeniable bond of a life mate.
“Why do you think that?” Titan asked him calmly. He tried with every fiber of his being to restrain the ferocity boiling inside him. He had to remember that Drew was his brother and not some random wolf encroaching on his possible future.
Drew’s eyes lit up as he ran both his hands through his hair, “Just look at her! She’s perfect for me in every way. Have you seen the way her eyes glow in the sun? The way her hair sparkles as she runs? The way we spar together is like no one I’ve ever trained with! We just fit together perfectly!”
“Okay, and what do you think about her brother?” Titan asked him.
“Brother?” Drew was confused.
“Yeah, and how about her parents? Do you think they’ll give their blessing on your union?” he asked him.
“Her parents? Um?” Drew was still stumped.
“Exactly! And what about you Chase? Huh? How’s the bone in her shin feelin
g? What about her fear of changing? How’s she doing with that during your sparring matches?” he looked to the youngest Finnegan boy.
“She changed just fine the last time,” Chase said shrugging his shoulders.
“Did she? Are you sure? She didn’t hesitate in the slightest? That split second difference where she has to will herself to do it, haven’t you noticed that? She doesn’t go to it naturally. She has to force it. You’re ready to tear into Drew and neither of you knows the woman you’re fighting over! Just leave her be. I’m sure if it’s meant to be, she’ll gladly choose one of you,” Titan told them finally letting Chase go. He pushed him toward Drew and warned them, “And the next time either of you come over here, it had better be by invitation. You will not disturb her while she tries to recover. And if she truly was bonded to either one of you, you’d know that she isn’t even sure whether she’s staying with our pack or not. I think you ought to wait before you start tracing your teeth outlines across her flesh.”
Titan walked back into the cabin. He didn’t wait for his brothers to leave. He didn’t look out to make sure they had gone. He simply sat on the couch with his head buried in his hands. It was only the sight of Cara stepping out of the bathroom with simply his shirt on that got his attention.
It was the sight of her toes in front of him that forced him out of his mood. His eyes traveled up her body, from her slender legs, scars and all, up to his shirt that cut off his view of between her legs. The collar dripped off her shoulder exposing the slightest bit of cleavage.
“You haven’t staked your claim on me,” she said to him. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun as she cocked her head to the side staring down at Titan.
His cock twitched under his boxers. The thin fabric wouldn’t be enough to hide his erection. So Titan tried his best to focus on her eyes, folding his hands in his lap. Maintaining eye contact was his best bet for letting his lust subside, “I can’t stake my claim on anyone until I know for sure they want to be with me.”
“Well after what I just saw and heard, I don’t know how anyone could resist,” she said. Cara stepped closer to him. Titan swallowed hard leaning back on the couch, still trying to hide the burgeoning erection. He didn’t stop her as she slid her knees around his legs, straddling his lap purposely sitting on top of it.
“Cara, I don’t know about this,” he hesitated. His emotions were telling him to give in to his desires, but his mind wasn’t sure how long she’d be around.
“I do,” she said, bending down she kissed him softly on the lips. Titan nuzzled against her cheek before he finally let his inhibitions go. Their lips met and passion ensued. With his mind shut off and his urges in full control, Titan gripped Cara by the waist guiding her hips back and forth over his lap. The bulge behind his shorts made her moan as she yearned to feel every inch of him inside of her, but Titan held her at bay.
Flipping her onto her back, Titan had full access to her under the shirt. Shoving it above her head, he took her breasts into his mouth, licking, flicking, nibbling gently at her nipples. It didn’t take long before his mouth moved down between her thighs.
The sweetness of her flesh on his tongue made him hunger for her more. Cara squealed with pleasure as Titan brought her to orgasm. He stayed down there for a while before she pulled his face up to hers. Kissing him, their tongues danced around each other as his fingers slipped inside of her. Every thrust hooked at her G-spot. Cara’s hips bucked as she climaxed over his fingers once again.
“You’re beautiful when you cum,” he growled in her ear. “Look at me.”
Cara opened her eyes as Titan continued to finger her. Their gaze never broke. He watched her orgasm build and build. He moved his fingers in and out of her and over her clit. The moistness of her walls coating his fingertips.
“I need to feel you inside of me,” she practically begged of him.
“Shhh,” he kissed her, “Not yet. Cum for me.”
He kept moving his hand, quickening his pace until Cara was clawing at his back. He used his mouth to kiss her back into their salacious stare down.
“Do it now,” he commanded her.
Cara shuddered as she climaxed again. Titan pulled his fingers out of her, licking his fingers before kissing her. Tasting her juices made Titan wish he’d never started with her.
“You still don’t know if you’re staying, do you?” he asked her as he backed off the sofa.
“Titan, I’d stay for you,” she told him.
“I don’t want you to stay for me. I want you to stay because we’re the right pack for you. I care about you, Cara, but I can’t pretend that I can just do this with you and not have it mean anything. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have even gone this far with you. Not to mention my brothers,” he sighed.
“What about them? I don’t want them,” she told him shaking her head.
“That’s great but they don’t know that and they aren’t exactly fond of rejection. Listen, until we figure out how to get them off your scent, let’s keep this thing between us quiet.”
“You mean you don’t want Shelly to find out either right? I don’t think you’re just worried about your brothers,” she remarked with disappointment.
“Hold on,” he told her firmly, “Don’t act like I’m doing something wrong here. I don’t want to parade you around like you’re some trophy when you don’t want to be here. What if I decided to mark you just now?”
“I didn’t think about that, but I would have, well we would have figured it all out,” she said, but there wasn’t the amount of confidence he needed to hear in her voice.
“You just said it. You’re still healing and what about Cairo? You still haven’t heard from him. You don’t know where he’s at. You don’t want to make a decision as big as this one without him knowing. Believe me, Cara, you’ll regret it. If he’s as important to you as you say he is, or as important to you as my brothers are to me, then you won’t do this without him. I need some air. I’m going to go clear my mind and I’ll meet you with the guys later for our training session. If I’m not back in time, then start without me.”
“Okay,” Cara nodded.
He hated leaving before they could hash it all out, but his emotions were getting the better of him. As wise and mature he thought himself to be, expressing everything he was feeling after their morning together, was too heavy. There hadn’t been anyone in his life Titan thought worthy of his emotions. With Cara, he felt a deep connection. She had nothing to gain from bedding him, but that also scared him. Falling in love was scary enough and the fact that he could lose her was even more terrifying.
Chapter Five
Cara waited patiently as Drew charged toward her with all his might and speed. Her pulse raced. Her breaths were short. Every step Drew took closer to her was a step into the pain. It tore through her body like a knife slicing into her flesh. She wanted to believe it was all in her head, but it wasn’t. The agony of her bones breaking and reforming into her wolf was a sensation she had to get used to all over again. Her injuries had healed but the psychological scars were still very much present.
“Run and change, Cara!” Chase called out from near the trees.
They’d been keeping their sparring lesson private until Cara could change naturally. Eventually, she’d have to go against the other members of their pack. It would be best for her to spar against Anna or Tryx if she decided to stay. There were so many things running through her mind that she nearly forgot about Drew running toward her.
Cara braced herself and forced her wolf out once again. The pain wasn’t as bad as before but it was still breathtaking. It took her a minute to adjust, and she didn’t have a choice but to take the brunt of Drew’s attack. He sunk his teeth into her, flinging her toward the ground. Cara grew angry as she slid across the dirt and charged him in return.
Her changing was the only thing left for her to master as she ducked his bite and pounced on him, nailing him in the ribs. Snarling and snapping at each other, Cara enjo
yed her sessions with Drew. They reminded her of the fights she had with Cairo. What she didn’t expect was to hear the swiftness of Chase’s wolf running toward them.
It was a play he tried every once in awhile to get her instincts back to full capacity. Leaping off of Drew, she turned just in time to catch Chase with her feet as she fell onto her back. She flung him over her toward the brush. They went around and around for what felt like hours. By the time they were finished, Titan still hadn’t arrived. Her eyes kept navigating through the trees to see if he was there, but the only thing she could do was pick up his scent. It was strong and close but he was in stealth mode. He wanted her to know he was there but he didn’t want her to see him. It was driving her crazy.
Tired and sweaty, Cara, Drew, and Chase sat next to each other against the base of a wide tree.
“You’re getting faster,” Chase told her.
“No, she’s getting stronger,” Drew interjected.
Cara rolled her eyes, “You guys are too much. I just want to feel normal again.”
“Wow, if what we just did wasn’t normal, I’m anxious to see what is,” Chase laughed.
They laughed and talked technique for a moment but were interrupted by the sound of someone approaching. Titan’s scent had faded as Cara picked up another. It was one she was already familiar with.
Shelly sashayed into the clearing with a grin on her face. It was a grin that Cara didn’t like so much. Her voice, the shrill, made her skin crawl. There was something so uncomfortable about her and Cara was sure that Shelly was making her feel that way on purpose.
“Shaw would like to speak with you, Carol,” she said snidely.
“Cara,” she corrected as she pushed herself off the tree and to her feet. “We’ll go again later, guys?”
“Yeah,” Chase nodded.
“Sure,” Drew chimed in.
“No,” Shelly interjected, “They’ll be busy. I just spoke with Shaw and Titan. You two are on patrols with Nathan and Taylor for the rest of the day. And Titan will decide who’s going to take over her training, if, she decides to stay. No more sessions until that decision is made.”
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