The Wolf's Mate

by Sophie Stern

  Yeah, my girl is a naughty girl.

  “Tell me what else you like,” I demand, eager to take everything she’ll give me, anything she wants to offer. I’ve missed her and our banter, our dirty talk, our jesting. I’ve missed everything about her.

  “I like it when you run your hands down my spine,” she says, biting my ear.

  “Like this?” I run my nails down the center of her back. I don’t press hard enough to hurt: just hard enough to give a little bit of pressure.

  “Exactly like that.”

  Dana’s breasts rub against my chest as she leans closer to me. She kisses my neck and runs her tongue along it up to my lips. Then she kisses me again as I continue touching her.

  “Do you like anything else, pretty girl?” I ask, and this time, Dana hesitates for just a second. I wonder what she’s going to say that she didn’t just blurt it out, but she doesn’t make me wait long, and she doesn’t speak at all. Instead, she climbs up me until she’s straddling my face.

  “This,” she whispers. Then she lowers her pussy to my mouth, and I am in heaven.

  I’ve always loved tasting Dana. She’s always been perfect, sweet. Everything about my mate’s body calls to me and this is no different. She used to be fairly shy about oral sex, so her boldness surprises me, but I’ll take it.

  I’ll take anything she wants to give me and then I’ll take a little bit more.

  I lick her, tasting every inch of her body, enjoying every bit of herself that she’s offering to me.

  “That feels so good,” she groans. “Please, please don’t stop.”

  I couldn’t stop if I wanted to, and I definitely don’t want to. We’re past the point of no return and right now, the only thing on my mind is making her come apart, is making her explode on my face.

  All I want is for her to come so hard she forgets every reason she could possibly have for leaving, for her to forget every problem she has, for her to forget about everything but the moment we’re sharing right now.

  And then she comes.

  Dana sinks onto my face and I grab her hips, holding her in place as she cries out in ecstasy. My heart soars as she comes long and hard against my mouth, and then she moves so she’s laying flat against me. Her head rests against my chest and I can feel her heart racing.

  “You’re so beautiful,” I whisper.

  “I missed you,” she says.

  “I missed you more.”

  “I’ve missed this,” Dana whispers, and she kisses me. My cock twitches as she does, and she seems to notice because then she slowly lowers her body down mine until her pussy is pressed against my cock.

  “Are you sure you want this?” I ask. “There’s no going back this time, Dana. You’re my mate.”

  She hesitates for just a second, and I’m not sure whether love or instinct takes over, but she lowers herself onto my dick, and now it’s my turn to groan.

  “Fuck, baby,” I thrust up into her as she grinds against me.

  “Don’t stop.” Her words are breathless, needy. “Oh, please,” her body tightens around me and it’s all I can do to keep from losing myself. I’ve waited so long for this moment. I’ve needed this, wanted it for so long.

  And now that I’m with Dana, I never want to let her go.

  I run my hands over her breasts. She grinds against me as I pinch her nipples and gently massage her body. She’s so beautiful with her hair messed up and her eyes closed. She’s perfect, incredible, and I’m so fucking lucky to be here right now.

  “Come for me,” she whispers, gripping my hair. “Come in me, Tony. Fill me up. Mark me.”

  Her words are all it takes to shatter what little self-control I have left, and I come inside of Dana, marking her as my own.

  She collapses next to me in the grass and throws her arm over my chest. Dana nuzzles next to me and kisses my cheek, but doesn’t say anything else. She just holds me for a minute, and for a little while, the entire world feels perfect.

  The entire world feels complete.

  Chapter 9

  Dana

  It shouldn’t have been that sweet, that romantic, that perfect.

  It shouldn’t have happened at all, to be honest, but it did, and now I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say or do. I lay in the grass in the middle of the woods, and I run my hand over Tony’s chest. He doesn’t move as I touch him, doesn’t speak. He just gives me this moment to clear my head, to think about what I want to say, to think about what I need to say.

  But the truth is that I’m not sure.

  “Are you ready to tell me why you ran?” His words cut through the silence, and my heart sinks. Somehow, I hoped to avoid having this conversation. I’m not really sure what I thought could happen. I guess when we started making love, I didn’t think about anything else but the way I felt. I didn’t think about anything but the moment, about the way our hearts and bodies felt so connected.

  I didn’t think we’d have to have this painful, difficult discussion so soon.

  I didn’t think he’d be asking me so quickly to explain myself.

  “I don’t really want to talk about it,” I say stubbornly. I’m a grown woman. I don’t have to tell him what my issues are. He can take it or leave it.

  “I didn’t ask what you wanted,” he says with a growl, but Tony doesn’t move. He stays perfectly still, like he’s afraid any movement will scare me away. I’m not dumb. I know he has the upper hand here. No matter what I do, no matter how fast I am, he’ll find me and catch me. Then he’ll make me talk to him. It’s a wolf’s way.

  “It was a long time ago.”

  “It still feels like yesterday.”

  “I didn’t think you’d miss me,” I say defiantly. “I didn’t think you’d mind at all.”

  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” He glares at me, and suddenly I smell his anger, his frustration. Suddenly, the special, tender moment we shared is gone. Hurt and pain takes the place of contentment and satisfaction.

  “I mean Cynthia told me,” I spit out. “She told me all about you two.” Now my heart clenches as the tears start to fall. “She told me all about your relationship, about how sorry you felt for me, how I was roping you into a marriage you didn’t want.”

  Suddenly, a look of confusion passes over Tony’s face.

  “What?”

  “What do you mean, ‘what’?”

  “I mean what the hell are you talking about, Dana? I never had a relationship with Cynthia.”

  “You did. She told me. She showed me the texts from you.”

  “She might have shown you texts from someone, but they weren’t from me. I never touched her, baby. I only ever had eyes for you.” Tony looks certain. He looks completely sure.

  “What?” Now it’s my turn to be shocked as the realization sets in. I was wrong? All of these years and I was wrong?

  “You really never knew how jealous she was of you, did you?” He shakes his head. “After you left Wolfe City, Cynthia tried to start something up with me, but I never touched her. I was never interested in her, baby. I only ever wanted you.”

  “But, I thought…”

  “I don’t know what you thought, Dana, but you were wrong. You were so wrong. Damn, you never even thought to ask me? Never even thought to give me the benefit of the doubt, did you?”

  I shake my head as the tears fall because at this point, I realize the weight of what I’ve done.

  I’ve wasted two years.

  I’ve broken both of our hearts.

  I’ve destroyed the future I could have had.

  And all over a big, fat, stupid lie.

  “I didn’t want to believe her,” I say, remembering the way Cynthia had seemed so concerned for me, the way she had seemed like she truly cared. She brought me her phone and showed me the texts between her and Tony. She showed me the messages, showed me all the sweet nothings he’d said.

  “I should have guessed,” Tony sighs. “I should have known you wouldn’t have just run off
, but you know what? Being stood up at our fucking wedding really hurt, Dana. You should have just told me. You should have confronted me.”

  “I was embarrassed. Humiliated. I was completely devastated because I thought you were sleeping with my friend. Well, someone who was supposed to be my friend.”

  “You should have come to me,” he whispers, and his heart calls out to mine. I can hear his inner wolf crying, howling, and mine is, too. My heart breaks all over again as I realize I shouldn’t have run. I shouldn’t have left. Even if I needed time before the wedding, even if I needed some time to myself, I should have just talked to him.

  I should have communicated.

  Talking never hurts anything and in this case, it would have saved us both a world of pain. It would have saved us two years of screwing other people and two years of missing each other and two years of being apart.

  “I’m so sorry,” I tell him.

  “She could have just changed the name on her contacts list,” he says. “She could have easily made it look like those texts were from me, but if you had come to me and talked to me, we could have figured it out together, baby. Dana, I never cheated on you. I never would have done that to you. I never would have hurt you in that way.”

  “I know. I know that now. I messed up, Tony.”

  Tony stands and starts pacing back and forth in the clearing. The scent of our sex has faded, replaced now with sadness and anger. Any shifter who wanders by will know we’ve been fighting, arguing, but I don’t really care. Right now, all I care about is Tony and the fact that I hurt him so deeply.

  Right now, all I care about is the fact that my mate is hurting because of me and I don’t know if this is something I can fix.

  After a minute, I get up and go to him. I walk across the grass and get as close as I can to him without touching him. Tony just looks at me warily.

  “What?” He says, but he doesn’t growl. His voice isn’t demanding. He seems broken, damaged. He seems like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. He seems like his heart is heavy and his load is large and there’s nothing he wants more than to catch a break.

  I press my hands to his chest and just look at him.

  “What?” He says again, but this time, his voice is a whisper.

  “I’m sorry.” I want to break eye contact, but I don’t. I want to run away, to hide, to cry. I want to find somewhere secret I can go nurse my wounds, but I don’t. I’ve done enough running to last me a lifetime and apparently, running doesn’t solve your problems.

  Who would have guessed?

  “I’m sorry I ran. I should have talked to you. I should have come to you, but I didn’t, and I’m really, really sorry, Tony.”

  He reaches for me now and wraps his arms around me, pulling me close to his chest.

  “I love you, Dana. I never stopped loving you. You hurt me more than I ever thought I would possibly be hurt, but I fucked up, too. I should have chased after you. I should have come for you. I should have demanded that you stop running and give me a straight answer about what was bothering you, about what you were scared of.”

  I don’t say anything.

  I don’t know what to say.

  I just stand there with his arms wrapped around me and wonder if there’s any way we can move forward from here, if there’s any way we can find a future together despite the pain, despite the mistakes, despite the ways we’ve fucked up our entire relationship.

  And then Tony steps back and kisses me on the nose.

  “Let’s get back to your dad, firefly. I think you two have some catching up to do.”

  I nod, trying not to cry as he takes my hand. We walk back out of the woods together and gather up our clothes. We dress in silence and then Tony gives me one last hug before he tells me goodbye.

  “You aren’t coming back to the hospital?”

  “I need some time,” he says. “I’m going to go home for a little while. Come see me later, all right?”

  “You still live in the same place?”

  “The very same one.”

  I nod, wishing he was coming back with me to the hospital, but knowing that I’ll see him again soon. He starts to walk away, but then turns back. Tony strides toward me, grabs me, and kisses me.

  “Don’t forget,” he whispers. “Come see me.”

  Then he walks over to his car, gets in, and drives away, leaving me in the parking lot.

  Alone.

  Chapter 10

  Tony

  As soon as I’m out of eyeshot of the hospital, I tear up. I’m not sure whether I’m happy or sad, angry or confused, relieved or terrified. I don’t know. There’s not exactly a manual for how to deal with a situation like this. There’s no guide that explains what you’re supposed to do when you find out that two terrible years are the result of a misunderstanding.

  A mistake.

  A lie.

  Cynthina is a wolf who should have learned long ago to mind her own business, but somehow, she didn’t. Somehow, she didn’t get the memo that you don’t get to screw with other people’s lives. Somehow, she didn’t learn that it’s not okay to screw up someone’s marriage simply because you’re selfish.

  And oh, Cynthia is selfish.

  I find myself driving to her house on instinct. I know where she lives; she’s lived in the same place since we graduated high school. When I arrive, I park my car on the street and just stare at the little home. It’s blue with white shutters and she even has a picket fence. She’s engaged, last I heard, and I think she has a cub on the way.

  Maybe I should forgive her and just move on. Maybe I should forget about what she did, about what she said to Dana, but I can’t. I’m not that good of a man. I probably should be, but I’m not, so after a deep breath, I march up to her front door and ring the bell.

  And then I wait.

  It’s only a few seconds before Cynthia opens the door. She seems surprised to see me, but she smiles.

  “Tony,” she says. “What brings you here? Come to invite me to dinner?”

  “On the contrary, I’d like to know why you decided to ruin my marriage by telling Dana you were sleeping with me.”

  Her face pales and I know I’ve got her. Even without a shred of evidence, her guilt is obvious. She looks surprised, and then scared, and finally, anger settles on her face.

  “That’s quite the accusation,” she says. “Maybe I should be asking you why you think it’s socially acceptable to come over to my house and start dredging up shit from the past.”

  “That’s just the thing,” I glare and take a step forward, purposely invading her space. If I can make her uncomfortable, that’s better for me. People are more likely to talk when they’re uncomfortable, when they’re nervous. People are more likely to say things they didn’t intend to say when they can’t think straight. “It’s not the past for me.”

  “And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “It means Dana is back in town, Cynthia. She’s my mate and I’m going to marry that woman, so you’d better think long and hard before you tell me again you didn’t lie to her. You’d better think carefully before you tell me you weren’t the one behind our breakup because if you don’t, I’ll make sure every wolf in the pack knows exactly what you did.”

  Cynthia looks up at me and she doesn’t speak.

  “Where’s Kaleb today?” I ask. “Maybe he’d be interested in knowing exactly how seriously you take personal commitments and relationships.”

  “You wouldn’t dare,” she whispers.

  “Oh, I would, Cynthia. You destroyed my dreams, my life. You destroyed everything I care about. You really think I wouldn’t tell Kaleb what you did? You really think I wouldn’t ruin your life the way you ruined mine? You don’t know me at all.”

  “I was in love with you,” she says finally. Tears are streaming down her face, but I can’t bring myself to care. It goes against every natural instinct I have. Wolves love to nurture others. It’s the shifter’s way. This is
one of the reasons that shifter communities are always so close; we’re good at taking care of one another. When someone is hurting or alone or in pain, the community gathers around them.

  This is different, though.

  This is Cynthia.

  This is the woman who destroyed my world, who damaged my future.

  “You loved me, so you stole everything from me?” I ask her, aghast. I take a step back and run my hand through my hair. “What could I have possibly done to make you do this to me, Cynthia? I thought we were friends.”

  She just shakes her head sadly.

  “We were never friends, Tony. You never saw me that way. No matter how hard I tried, you always looked right past me. It was always only Dana for you. There wasn’t room for another woman in your life. There never was.”

  She closes her eyes, and suddenly, Cynthia looks very tired. I can see her growing belly and the dark circles under her eyes. I can see her worn-out clothes and the fact that she doesn’t look like she’s slept very much lately.

  Cynthia looks like she’s very, very alone.

  “I just wanted what you had,” she said. “I thought if Dana was gone, then maybe you would look at me. I thought maybe I’d have a chance. It was stupid, and I’m sorry. A lot can change in two years. Two years doesn’t sound like a lot of time: not in the grand scheme of things. It is, though, and I’m not the same person I was then.”

  “Cynthia, are you okay?” I have to ask. It’s not my place. She’s right: we’re not close. I thought we were friends, but apparently, I wasn’t as attentive to the people in my life as I thought I was.

  She’s right.

  I only saw Dana.

  It was always Dana for me and apparently, I pushed the other people in my life away in order to pursue my relationship with my mate. That’s not okay. What Cynthia did was wrong, but maybe she has a point. Maybe I was completely delusional. Maybe I was pushing everyone else away because I wanted to be close to my bride. Maybe I was ruining everything in my life.

  “I’m not okay, Tony,” she says. “This pregnancy is hard and I’m sick all the time. Kaleb is always working and to be honest, I don’t think he really wants to be around me very much. He says he wants to marry me, but I have my doubts about it. I don’t have a mate mark yet. I don’t even have a ring.”