The Ulfic's Mate

by Leona J. Bushman

  Nolan growled low in his throat, his need evident. She growled back and nipped his lips, opening her eyes to see his reaction. His eyes were open as well. The deep brown wells of lust and love in them made her sigh out loud, the sound echoing in the dressing area.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered. “The dressing room attendant! She’ll hear us.”

  “No, she won’t,” he said huskily. “I’ve convinced her you needed some time to try things on without strangers looking when you came out and showed me. We have the place to ourselves.”

  Her heart raced at his words, and she leaned closer and closed her eyes, letting his lips brush hers. “More please,” she whispered.

  He caressed her with his lips, following her jaw line to her ear, then down her neck. At her clavicle, he slowly let her down to the ground, then lowered himself until his mouth grazed her nipples. Piercing points of pleasure centered on her breast, and the other one ached for some of his attention. Dropping her hands to his shoulder for support, she let him suckle.

  He reached his hand over and began rubbing the tit between his thumb and forefinger. She felt herself wet in preparation for more. Were they going to do more? She searched his mind and saw his intent to pleasure without completing the act. She also saw he was having a hard time restraining himself.

  This made her smile as she looked down at him, their skins blending together like a caramel mocha. It felt good to know he was willing to please her when their actions couldn’t go to the natural conclusion. It also made her want him more. He moved his mouth from one nipple to the other, lapping and licking at her like an ice cream on a summer day.

  She groaned as she realized her analogies were all running to food. She hungered for him. She let her head roll back to feel every drop he gave her, but it was not enough. It would not be enough until they had come together completely and started the mating process. He brought her close to release, then grazed her nipple with his teeth. The edge was already crumbling, and he knocked her over. She started to cry out in pleasure, and he swiftly stood up and covered her mouth with his. She leaned into the kiss, enjoying the sensitivity of her nipples against his shirt’s fabric.

  He pulled away and straightened his clothing, as reluctant as she was to stop. Even after he left her dressing room, her state of awareness only intensified as she replaced her clothing over her sensitized body.

  Everywhere they went, he managed to help her forget her claustrophobic feelings and replaced them with much more pleasurable ones. Things got really heavy in the store she bought her ladies’ lingerie from. He particularly liked a black lacy bra. She made sure to buy it and wear it from the store when she caught the intensity of his desire to see it on her in his bed before taking it off her.

  By the time they finished shopping, she had two pairs of jeans, five shirts, underwear, bra, socks, and shoes. When the last purchases were made, she took the bag and walked hand in hand with him to his truck. They paused outside the truck, reminiscent of the time after they had responded to the call at Jenny and Darren’s house together.

  He asked again, as he had then, “Will you come home with me? Try this again?”

  She laughed, happily and freer than she had ever been. “Yes. After a shopping trip like that, you’d better take me home with you!”

  Alex felt nervous and excited all at once. The call of the mate was strong in the cab of the truck. She could not believe she was doing this, but she wanted nothing else. The anticipation built until the need to be with her mate became a living thing.

  They barely shut the door to the house before they were tearing at each other. His arms circled her as she threaded hers around his neck. Their lips met in an explosion of primitive need and the mating call of their kind. She felt it stirring in the air between them. She grabbed his shaggy hair with one hand and pulled herself closer to him, wanting to feel him with her whole body.

  They backed to the stairs and frantically tried to undress each other and walk up them at the same time. She fiddled with the belt buckle she had admired earlier. Now she cursed it. It would not let go of its grip on the leather. He had her pants unbuttoned and unzipped by the time they reached the top of the stairwell.

  Her relief at being with her mate again combined with the lust and love was a powerful aphrodisiac. Her nerve endings felt like she had touched the open wire in a light socket as she had done a few weeks back when she tried to fix a plug at her house. Every nerve in her body felt like it had tripped to overload. Instead of turning off the fuse, they melted together into a mass of tingles and heat.

  Finally! She got the belt buckle open and his pants unzipped. She put her hand on his engorged penis and squeezed. He stopped in mid-motion and groaned. He then leaned back and pulled his shirt off, grabbed her shirt, and tore it open to reveal the black lacy bra they had bought that afternoon.

  She loved that he had fantasized about that bra more times than he liked to admit. Now he pulled the cups down. He lowered his head and nuzzled on her nipples. The rough edge of his five-o’clock shadow scraped her soft skin, and it became her turn to moan. He put one arm around the small of her back and lifted her closer to him.

  She dropped her head back, holding onto his upper arms for support. Her attention centered on her breast, the nipple he feasted on like a glutton at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Her senses reeled. Never had she felt such intense desire. The idea that she needed to be one with him, to feel his body slide next to hers was even stronger than in the department stores.

  He groaned, and she realized she had thrown the picture of his body sliding down on hers into his mind. He pulled back and swung her up in his arms. He strode down the hall, then pushed the door open with his boot.

  He dropped her onto the bed and followed her. She was naked of everything except her socks while he still had his jeans and boots on. She pushed his jeans and boxers down as far as she could. He kissed her neck and traced her clavicle from one side to the center, then moved to her breasts again. He sucked hard, then gently grabbed with his teeth before licking with his tongue.

  She arched into his caresses until she could stand no more. She pressed up with her hands on his shoulders, shoving him until she was on top. She took off his boots and jeans and crawled her way up his body. His gaze was hot, watching her every sway.

  It was intense, sharing his mind and feeling what he experienced at the same time. She felt power flowing through her from two sources and meeting in a blinding blast of lights. She was dizzy with the sensations.

  She trailed her hand up his side as she leaned over to kiss his chest. Her hair slid across his belly, and she felt his body’s reaction under her fingertips.

  She gave a low, appreciative laugh and scraped her nails over his nipple while licking the other one. He sucked in a breath and grabbed her long hair in one hand. She rose up and kissed him on the lips. He was rough and demanding, plunging his tongue in over and over. Their tongues dueled.

  He rolled over and pinned her beneath him. He gentled his kiss then trailed his fingers through her hair. He rose up on one elbow and used his other hand to find her most intimate spot. He parted her and slowly ran two fingers between the folds. Up and down, his fingers becoming slick on her juices. Her hips undulated with his rhythm, and she let out small whimpers.

  She wanted him. He was going slow for her. She read it in his mind. But her lust, the mating call of the were, was on her. She wanted him badly. He pulled back and smiled down at her, not changing his pace. When he did change his tempo, it was to find her clit. He rubbed until she let out a small scream and bucked against his hand. Only when her orgasm finished did he pull his hand away.

  He parted her legs and settled between them. He kissed her then rocked his hips into hers until she was moaning against his kisses. He guided himself to her opening and pushed slowly in. He pulled away to watch her face, and she flushed. She was looking at his darkened eyes and letting him see her pleasure on her body and in her mind.

  She arced h
er hips up to meet his thrust and egg him to go faster. She felt feverish, her body wanting more, wanting fulfillment. He kept the pace steady, not letting her rush him until he was sure she was close again. He pushed over that sweet spot over and over, sending her into a fit of heat and pleasure.

  She grabbed his forearms and used them for leverage, meeting his thrusts harder with her hips. Things burned out of control as his body crashed into hers, hard and fast, his breathing erratic as hers. Her insides tightened around him. He growled low in his throat and her beast answered. She pushed against him seeking the pinnacle she felt coming again.

  She lost focus and arched her back as a scream of release tore from her. Bright pinpoints of light exploded behind her eyes in a kaleidoscope of colors. He came with her, his own shout merging with hers. But they did not stop thrusting.

  The intense sensitivity following her orgasm kept her on the edge. A thrust slipped over her G-spot, and another burst of pleasure poured through her. All her muscles clenched, squeezing him. He came again, this time changing his deep driving motions to short vibrations within her. He collapsed on her, breathing as heavily as she.

  Neither one of them moved. Her body was too languid in the aftermath of their release. Finally, Alex laughingly pushed on him.

  “I can’t move.” She chuckled again at the smirk on his face. “I can’t breathe with you like this.”

  “What? You’re complaining?” He lifted himself up on his elbows.

  “No, it’s just that I like breathing.” She smiled and kissed his cheek to confirm that she was not complaining. She wriggled under him, and he lifted his eyebrows at her.

  “You can’t possibly,” she said in response to his lascivious look.

  “Oh, yes. I can,” he said. And proceeded to prove it.

  Chapter Fifteen

  A few hours later, Nolan met with Sherona. “What did you find out?” he immediately asked, pacing.

  “Not much more than what I already told you about the fire from what I saw and what the fireman said. Although I did learn something else interesting. But first, how are the guards?”

  “The guards were ashamed, as they should be, but Joseph apparently had help. Someone switched clothes and hat with him in the restroom, which is how he got away. Now I have to find out if the one who changed clothes with him, knew why. I hate politics.”

  Sherona laughed, and it ended in a cat’s purr. “You finished ranting, Ulfric? I do have other news for you. When you’re ready.”

  Nolan stopped the frustrated pacing and put his hands in his pockets to hide the outward signs of his emotions.

  “Sorry. What do you have for me?” He hoped it was better than what he had.

  “Joseph is having sex with the Lupin’s alpha female, none other than our beloved Roxy,” she finished with sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

  “He’s what?” he exclaimed. “Roxy’s fucking that low-level piece of cat dung. Uh, no offense,” he said, suddenly embarrassed by the age-old werewolf name for those wolves who’d done something particularly distasteful or despicable.

  “None taken. I don’t particularly like excrement, regardless of the species it came from. Unless I’m gardening.” She laughed.

  He appreciated her humor as always. The cats were definitely more playful than his wolves. “How did you find out?”

  “I caught up with Joseph and watched him. He approached me where I sat and he was drunk. He wanted to brag. Just said he was screwing, um, his word more explicit than that, the alpha female of the Lupin pack. Then he got a weird look in his eye and said and maybe the alpha male too. I couldn’t get him to expand on the male remark. I’m glad. Some things can’t be unheard.”

  Nolan shuddered. Joseph was a known homophobic racist. If there was another man involved, it was not by choice. Talk about cruel and unusual punishments. “No, there are some things better left unheard and unseen.”

  “Don’t your kind mate for life?” Sherona sounded derisive at the idea, but he thought he caught a whiff of longing. One day, he would get to the bottom of her heartbreak and try to do something for her as she had him. It would be a fitting return on all the help she had given him.

  “Yes, but we have human minds. It’s possible, although rare, to cheat on your mate. You have to be a disloyal son of a bitch to do it. Seriously. After a werewolf is mated, most don’t find other females more than mildly attractive. Something is wrong in that wolf’s head. His mate is pregnant, and normally, the mated wolf can barely leave her side during this time. Even going to work can be a hardship on some males. We lose too many of our young.” Joseph would have to publicly be given the choice between human or were justice. The pack needed to hear it in an official pack setting, otherwise the gossip would tear them apart with infighting, and Joseph might escape.

  “I’m sorry, Nolan. I don’t know what I’d do if one of our shadow were to turn traitor. What’s the next step?”

  “Lure Joseph to a place I know on the restricted lands. I’ll have guards ready to take him in. We can’t do it in town in case Joseph fights. I don’t want one of my wolves accused of the other murders because of similarities in claw marks.”

  Sherona shrugged. “As long as there’s no problem with me being there. I’m not an enrolled tribal member like most of Roxy’s pack. We were running in a gray area when we went to Heather’s house.”

  “That could be a problem if you’re stopped, but you’ll be escorted by the guards. I’ll clear it.”

  ***

  He finalized his plans with Sherona, calling Kamiakin and arranging to meet at the warehouse in Yakima. He hated what he was about to do, but it was necessary.

  He drove to the warehouse, preparing mentally for the words that would solidify one of his submissives as a traitor. His heart hurt for Joseph’s mate and the unborn child, but he could not let kidnapping and pack betrayal go unpunished for the protection of all the mates and unborn children. Joseph had tried to instigate a challenge, using Darren as his front. How many more subtle mechanisms had he already pulled which were ingraining themselves in the pack’s minds and hearts?

  “What is it, Nolan? I can feel your heart breaking from here,” Alex asked.

  “It’s Joseph. He’s the one who’s telling Boris and Roxy where you are. There’s someone from the precinct as well that I’ll have to take care of.” He knew his sigh was strong enough to move through their telepathic line, but he did not stop it.

  “I’m sorry, my love. Betrayal is hard to bear.”

  Now it was his turn to feel her hurt across the miles that spanned between them. “As you know all too well. For what it’s worth, your mom wasn’t trying to hurt you. She made her mistake in silence. A mistake that her conscience is making her pay for over and over.”

  Alex was quiet for a moment. He was afraid he had hurt her more. “Thank you for that, Nolan. It helps to know she didn’t set out to hurt me,” her voice clogged with tears. It always amazed him how much emotion crossed the telepathic lines. “I will stay with you while you do what you need to do, if that helps.”

  “More than you know, my love. Sometimes, being the leader is the loneliest job in the world. You’ve changed that,” he told her, making the last turn to the warehouse. He pulled into the closest spot, then sat in the darkness, longing for peace between the packs.

  “You’ll get it soon. As much as there can be peace anyway. I believe in you, my heart.”

  Kamiakin’s car pulled in. “Kamiakin’s here. I hope he holds up under this new strain.” Right behind Kamiakin, another car drove into the area and parked in Nolan’s usual spot. Nolan went on alert and sent the images to Alex.

  He did not recognize the car, and the darkness hid the man’s face. He could see Kamiakin’s face clearly in the light. His second was not pleased. He felt the fear from Kamiakin as well as determination. He was facing an enemy.

  Nolan turned off the dome light, pulled his boots off, and quietly opened the door, listening for emotions or thought
s to reveal who had tailed Kamiakin and wanted to hurt him. There was a red haze of hatred and anger. The man stepped out of the car, intent on killing Kamiakin. Nolan shifted and sprang after the stranger.

  The unknown man turned and shifted into wolf form when he saw Nolan, easily transferring his anger to the new wolf on the scene.

  The renegade wolf met Nolan in the air and tangled their forepaws. He batted the side of the unknown wolf’s head hard, letting out some pent-up anger. The smack knocked the wolf into the warehouse’s concrete foundation, he whimpered, then got up, the red frenzy now only a light haze. All that kept going through the other wolf’s mind was, “But Joseph said Kamiakin was weak and unprotected.”

  Damn Joseph and his manipulations.

  Nolan batted the wolf upside the head again but not as hard. The idiot. He could have been killed. The were was a stranger to him. Somehow, the were had become a target for a cold-blooded killer to use as a pawn in the political arena of the packs. Now, with the anger and hatred gone, Nolan could sense the other wolf’s disorientation.

  He pushed the wolf over and laid a paw on the stomach. The other wolf completely submitted and showed no further signs of aggression.

  “Change,” Nolan growled at the fearful and confused wolf. The wolf’s features shortened and the body elongated. Nolan never took his paw off the man, even when he heard Alex’s gasp in his mind.

  When Kamiakin trained his gun on the assailant, Nolan shifted and went to the truck for clothes. It gave him time to think. He was alpha for a reason, and he wanted to fight. Since the man wasn’t of his pack there would be less immediate reaction to him killing one who had attacked them on their own turf. But he sensed the attacker wasn’t in his right mind. He sensed drugs by the way the mind felt.

  He started to dress with his anger building to a crescendo the more he thought about things. Roxy was not going to get a choice. It would be pack justice. This poor young were had no idea why he had gone off on a rampage other than what Joseph had said. One more reason to take Joseph down.