Shifter's Magic (The Wolvers Book 8)

by Jacqueline Rhoades

  He chased her and she chased him, a rousing game of Catch-Me-If-You-Can. They ran together single file or side by side over Nature's obstacle course. They circled piles of brush, belly crawled through others, leapt over fallen logs and tangled hurdles of vines, some real and some imaginary. They played Steal the Stick and Tug of War. They fought mock battles with such ferocity that someone who knew nothing of wolves would expect a bloody result.

  In the past, he would have let her win a share of these skirmishes. He would have relinquished his dominant role in the name of fun, but not tonight. Tonight was a night to display his agility and power. Each time they tussled, he brought her down to the ground, grasping her snout or neck with his powerful jaws. Her whimper of defeat was pleasing, as was the way she nuzzled and licked his face once she was released. She did not cower, however. She had too much confidence in her own worth for that, and this pleased him, too.

  They hunted and dined on a fat rabbit that he caught and laid at her feet. Her human would have wrinkled her nose at the gift, but the she-wolf loved it. The offering was more than a meal. It was an offer of courtship.

  They dozed, curled together in the shelter of a rocky overhang, bellies full, and bodies tired from their run.

  A short time later, they were awakened by the silence. The normal nighttime noise of the woodland had stopped. Cold, white, feathery flakes fell from the sky.

  The she-wolf sniffed at one that landed on a nearby rock. She sneezed as the wet went up her nose. She snapped at another as it floated by her head and at another by her tail. He snorted at her pup-like antics. She made him laugh as she squealed and scampered away.

  She looked back at him over her shoulder and the look she gave him was half-wolf, half human. She lifted her tail and shifted her hips in a clear invitation. Her scent lured him on. He sniffed her. She neither snapped nor snarled. She stepped away and repeated her movements. So did he. This time he caught the sweet scent of her offer. The deal was sealed. A promise made by the wolf was binding on the human.

  She yipped, he echoed it, and the chase began again.

  The magic was coming back.

  "Bring her home, wolf. It's time."

  The wolf balked at the message from the Alpha. The moon was high in the sky. There was still plenty of time to run. While it had an inherent need to obey its Alpha, that didn't mean it couldn't voice its protest to the shining orb in the sky. It sat, pointed its snout toward the moon, and issued a long, high pitched howl.

  To the wolf's surprise, the she-wolf didn't want to return either, and did what she could to postpone it. She continued to shove him with her shoulder, bump him with her hip, and flag her tail high in the air in invitation to play. He accepted it for the first mile, refusing to respond to the delaying tactics, but enjoying her antics. He even chuffed a laugh when she tried to scrape a patchy spot of slushy snow into a pile to toss at him with her nose. The snow didn't fly, but her nose came away covered in muddy water that she tried ineffectually to slap away with her paw.

  After that first mile, he began to worry and became more forceful in his demands. She, more than he, would suffer the consequences. The call to Brad was a matter of obedience. He could exert his will over it and remain wolf until the moon set. Livvy could not. She was at the mercy of the Alpha's will. If she waited too long and was too far away when the Alpha called her home, the long walk back would be a cold and wet one.

  Her welfare was his responsibility. Over the protests of his human, the wolf began to use the physical force of his larger body to steer her in the right direction. As the male, it was his duty to take the lead. Her job was to follow.

  It was when the she-wolf began to lag behind that he lost patience. Twice, he nipped her flank. The second time he made sure it stung. Her surprised yelp made the human Brad wince, but his wolf had little sympathy for the defiant female. He was larger, stronger, and male, and it was time this female understood what that meant.

  Duly chastened, the she-wolf hung her head and trotted obediently by his side, though a little behind. Good, the female knew her place. It was about time. He led the way with his head held high.

  They'd gone another half mile before he heard her chuff and looked beside him to find her watching him with dancing eyes. The chuff turned into a chortle and he was about to chastise her again when she took off. This time when he caught her, he would make very sure she understood who was boss. As her mate, he was duty bound to protect her, even if it hurt.

  ~*~

  The she-wolf knew she'd displeased the male, but she wasn't sure why. They were having a good time. She tried to tell him so, but the male wouldn't listen. He'd nipped her several times. Hard. His message was clear. Obey!

  Livvy, buried in her wolf's consciousness, was both chastened and excited by the display of male dominance she'd seen throughout their romp, and that confused her. She was a modern woman, wasn't she? Shouldn't she rebel against such behavior? Her wolf snickered at the thought.

  "Strong wolf. Worthy male," she said as if that was all there was to it.

  Her wolf was right about that, too. This Brad, this wolf, was different than the one she had known. He had none of the caution and reticence she saw in the young man she knew before.

  "Mine. Yours. Ours," the animal chortled with happiness.

  Livvy's fogged brain couldn't interpret what the animal meant. The call of her wolf's body was overwhelming. The subtle scent of nature's demand was an aphrodisiac for them both.

  They were trotting through the waist high grass of the overgrown field behind her parent's house when the Alpha called her home. The shift usually followed a warning of what was to come. This was for the females' safety. No Alpha wanted his females to be injured by an unexpected shift back to human. A shift mid-leap could end in broken wrists, or ankles, or worse. Ground that could be safely crossed on four legs could be treacherous on two. Livvy had heard the horror stories since she was a pup. Females who ignored their Alpha's direction could end up dead.

  The Alpha's warning was a message to the females to stop running and seek firm ground. Usually it came with an image of where they should be when the shift occurred. Usually, it was the place where the run began, and usually, they were given plenty of time to get there.

  As before, there was no warning. She had no time to prepare. The feeling came over her in an instant; a flicker of tingling discomfort bathed in a burst of blinding light as cells and sinews reformed. Still under the control of her wolf, she stumbled and fell forward into the flash of radiance before her.

  She landed on her knees at Brad Seaward's boot clad feet. Head lifting and tilting back, her eyes followed the long line of his jeans and the muscular legs they encased. She paused at the edge of his untucked tee shirt, gaze glued to the bulge held hostage by his buttoned fly. She licked her lips and raised her hands to release the poor prisoner only to capture it again with her mouth.

  Brad captured her hands in his instead. In disappointment, a tiny whine escaped her lips when he tugged her upward. Her mewl was silenced by Brad's groan as he brought her arms around his neck and his mouth crashed down on hers in a kiss that sent her mind reeling. The kiss was hungry, desperate, all consuming, no gentle touching of lips, or subtle probing of tongue and Livvy responded in kind. This was the need her wolf cried out to have fulfilled until it could cry out no more. This was the kiss that haunted her dreams and filled her body with longing. What a fool she'd been to deny those dreams.

  Back bent to mold her body to his, her already taut and sensitive nipples pressed against the soft cotton of his shirt. The slight friction only served to heighten her arousal. Brad's strong arms held and supported her. One warm hand splayed against her bottom, the other pressed against her back as if he feared her escape.

  His fears were groundless. Her fingers wove through the hair at the back of his head and gripped the short strands. Her only thought was to never let him go.

  Long, blissful moments passed and then Brad pulled away.
/>   "As much as I'm enjoying this, we have to get you home."

  "Why? I don't want to go home." Livvy wanted to stay there forever, caught in the magic of her wolver's arms. "Why can't we stay here?"

  She tried to pull him down into the cover of the tall grass, but Brad caught her about the waist, lifted her, and spun with her. He was laughing when she wrapped her legs around him and clung to his neck, dizzy and giggling from the spin. She sobered immediately when he gave her cold rear end a stinging smack.

  "Ow!"

  "Fine ass that it is, I'd hate to see you lose it to the cold." Her eyes widened when she reached behind to rub the smarting spot. He gave her a quick kiss and laughed again. "You've lost your fur coat, Livvy."

  Almost everything she'd worn, right down to her stretch jeans, was a synthetic fabric or a synthetic mix. What remained of her clothing was in tatters. Only natural fabrics and metals survived the shift. Even her sheepskin boots had lost their manmade soles.

  She hadn't felt their loss. She hadn't felt anything but Brad. Embarrassed, Livvy buried her face in his neck. "Damn wolf," she muttered.

  "Damn elixir, more like." He couldn't stop laughing. "How many of those things did you drink?"

  "Too many, I guess."

  Brad ran his hand up her back and into her hair. He nuzzled at her head, burying his nose in her curls.

  "Just right, I'm thinking," he whispered. He wasn't laughing anymore. "Aw, baby, I've missed this, but I've got to get you home." He began walking with Livvy still wrapped around him.

  "Brad, I can't go home like this."

  It was one thing to strip down to a cotton tee among friends before a shift. It was entirely different to march through Gilead naked as the day you were born while everyone who was watching was fully dressed. And there would be plenty of them left to watch. She could hear them. The impromptu Christmas party was still going on.

  Brad stopped, pried her arms from around his neck, and set her on the ground. He stripped off his tee shirt and yanked it down over her head. "Better?" he asked.

  It was and it wasn't. She still wanted him. She could feel her wolf crying out for him. It no longer mattered if it was the elixir, her wolf, the estrus, or the magic of the run. She wanted him so badly, she ached with it. She reached up to pull his head down.

  "I don't want to go home," she said before she kissed him.

  From the way he returned her kiss, Brad didn't want to go there either. It wasn't as deep and devouring as before, but it was just as pleasant and arousing. They nipped each other's lips, tugged at them with their teeth, and danced with their tongues.

  Somewhere in the midst of it, Livvy found herself wrapped around him and he was walking again. Not wanting the dream to end, she never opened her eyes until Brad stumbled. Something clunked loudly against wood, and he swore softly at the misstep. They were nowhere near her parent's house. She could no longer see the familiar back porch. There was another stumble and clunk.

  "Damn garden gnomes," He muttered as he set her down. "Never know where they'll turn up next."

  She giggled at the complaint, turned to see where they were going and was faced with another familiar back porch.

  "Brad, we can't," she hissed.

  "Of course we can. Where would you rather go, babe? Your parent's? The garage? How about the wrecker?"

  None of the choices were appealing, and the idea of sneaking in held some excitement. Still...

  "What if they're awake? What if they hear us?" They'd call out to the Alpha, something every pack member could do, and the Alpha would raise the alarm. Being caught breaking and entering, or worse, in the middle of the act... She cringed. She may as well walk naked down the middle of the road.

  "They won't hear us. I helped them move their bedroom to one of the parlors at the front of the house, the morning room, they call it. It wouldn't matter anyway. They sleep like the dead."

  "Brad, it's wrong," she said though she was getting excited at the idea of such a clandestine act.

  "No, Liv, it's right. Everything about this is right."

  She couldn't do this. She needed to say no. The thought lasted less than a second, before she was outvoted. Her wolf and her body cried yes, and Brad was using one of those glorious hands to slant her head to better meet his tongue as it plunged between her lips. Instead of pushing him away, Olivia ran her hands up over his shoulders and gripped the back of his neck.

  Without taking his lips from hers, he walked her up the steps to the porch, spun to the side, and walked her backward until she was up against the door. He opened it and they fell through.

  Their short passage through the kitchen was filled with kisses, groping hands, and whispered laughter. Livvy had to press her hand to her lips to keep from giggling aloud when Brad snagged two bottles of elixir from the carton on the table.

  The back stairs, meant for children and servants and not for show, were fully enclosed and accessed through a doorless opening on the back wall. Her tee shirt was gone before they reached the top of landing of the narrow staircase. Brad dragged her into the second floor hall and opened the first door they came to. When they'd staggered through, he used his foot to close it behind him.

  Frantically, they tore at the remainder of Brad's clothing. Their fingers fought over the buttons of his jeans. Once undone, she reached inside. Both of them moaned as she wrapped her fingers around his erection.

  It was like the first time they came together at the shelterhouse. That same feeling was back – that desperate need to clutch and claw, to lick and bite, to scratch and pull. Livvy's wolf gnawed at her insides as if it was captive and determined to escape. It wanted this, too.

  More sober now, caution niggled at the back of Livvy's mind. Shouldn't she question this sudden change in Brad's direction? The thought was fleeting. Her desire for him was overwhelming. There was nothing he'd done since the run that would make her think he didn't want this, too. His desire for her was real. The spark between them, that had never fully died, was real. This was no dream.

  Outside, the wind rattled the room's windows. The previous light spatter of flakes turned into a full blown snowfall, but Livvy was deaf and blind to everything outside the room. Everything she wanted was in it. She pushed against his chest, backing him to the bed. He took her with him as he fell onto it, turning so that she was the one who hit the mattress on her back. Hips between her open thighs, he held himself above her.

  For one frightening moment when their eyes locked, Livvy thought he might pull back. His gaze was so searching and intense, but then he blinked and the look passed, and his head bowed to her breasts. Kissing them, licking them, sucking them, kneading them with his hands, the fire his attentions provoked burned in her belly. She fisted her hands in his hair and moaned when his teeth tugged and pulled at her already sensitive nipple and then flicked it with his tongue.

  The burning in her belly turned into an aching need between her legs when he slipped one finger inside her. Finding a warm, moist welcome, he added another. Her hips rocked to the rhythm of his fingers. Each thrust brought with it a whimper of need. He kissed her neck, the lines of her collarbones, and each tightly pebbled nipple before descending along the center of her body. His thumb drew circles around her clit while his thrusting fingers curled inside her to find that spot no one else ever had. Her body thrummed with sensation.

  She whimpered with the loss when the kissing, circling, and thrusting stopped. Livvy closed her eyes and held her breath in anticipation. Roughened hands, warm and tender against the soft skin of her inner thighs, directed her knees to bend and spread the distance between them. Willingly, she obeyed, and Brad's head settled within the space. This too, was something familiar that belonged wholly to Brad. No one else had ever taken her in so intimate a way and no one else ever would.

  With the first stroke of his tongue, her belly clenched and she had to bite her bottom lip to keep from crying out, the sensation was so sweet. His tongue played over her clit, licked her folds, a
nd delved deeper until every nerve and muscle in her body hummed with an electric tingle. When his fingers returned to add the rhythm, Livvy's belly clenched. She felt the flush rise in her face. Her breasts tightened and her inner core exploded. Her hips came off the bed and her thighs clamped Brad's head between them. She felt the shiver of her release right down to the tips of her toes and fingers.

  Being held in place didn't seem to bother Brad. He continued to lap and suck right through her orgasm which brought on a series of smaller quakes that left her limp and panting.

  Released from the headlock, he reversed his kissing course. This time including her neglected hips, navel, and ribs, he licked and nibbled his way up her body, again lingering at her breasts before reaching her mouth. He braced himself above her, resting his weight on his forearms.

  "Your taste is sweeter than I remember," he whispered against her lips.

  "Your tongue is as talented as I remember," she whispered back and boldly added, "How about the rest of you?"

  "How about we find out?"

  In answer, she hooked her heels over his thighs. "Have at it, cowboy."

  "Oh no, that won't do." He slid down her body again, quickly this time, and hooked her knees over his shoulder. "If we're going for this ride, I want it to be the one you remember for the rest of your life. I want to bury myself so deep in you that you'll still feel it a week from now."

  He plunged into her without asking yea or nay, or if she was ready. He took her from every position she could imagine and made her come over and over until sweat glistened on her skin and her hair curled in wet ringlets and clung to her face. At times, he pounded into her as if he was releasing some pent up anger. He never hurt her and she had no complaint. She wanted it. Needed it. His powerful thrusts brought with them a thrill that her body had long been denied and she met him thrust for thrust. At other times he built her up slowly, so tender and sweet he brought tears to her eyes.

  They kissed, they rolled, and they tumbled, sometimes in laughter and sometimes in silence. After one long interlude of leisurely exploration, Livvy finally took note of their stolen paradise. It wasn't stolen at all. She playfully punched Brad's arm.