by Sophie Stern
“Ronan,” I whisper, and he turns to me.
“Lara?”
“I’m ready,” I say. “I’m ready now. I wasn’t before, but I’m okay now.”
“What are you saying, Lara?” His eyes dilate and if I’m not mistaken, they change color, just a little. That’s his wolf fighting to be free. That’s his wolf being excited. That’s him at his core, delighted to have his mate so close.
“I’m yours, Ronan.”
Ronan instantly closes the distance between us. He strides across the room and pushes me back against the door. His hands pin mine over my head and our chests brush against each other.
“Tell me again,” he says. “And baby, you need to be sure. There’s no going back. Once you mate with a wolf, it’s forever. It’s eternity. It’s for good.”
“Ronan,” I whisper. “I love you. I’m ready to be your mate.”
His lips meet mine and my heart soars.
Who knew love could feel like this?
Chapter 10
Ronan
Kissing Lara is like coming home.
Touching her is like a dream come true, like I’ve finally found a part of myself I’ve been searching for. She moans beneath my touch, groans as I kiss her and touch her. She’s so sweet, so tiny, so perfect.
And she’s mine.
The thought that she wants to be with me is incredible. The idea that she wants to be mine is amazing, perfect.
“I’ve waited so long for this,” I murmur. Years. A lifetime. An eternity. I may have only met her recently, but I’ve been waiting for Lara since I was a cub. I’ve been waiting for her my entire life and I can’t wait to spend the rest of it loving her, caring for her, being with her.
I can’t wait to be her companion through the good times and the hard times. I can’t wait to be hers. I can’t wait to get my mark on her and to see hers on me. I can’t fucking wait.
And the good news is that the waiting is over.
“Where’s your bedroom?” I ask, pulling away. As turned on as I am, I’m not going to mate Lara in front of her door. I’m going to do this properly, sweetly. I’m going to make this memorable because it’s not only our first time: it’s also our mating time.
Many wolves sleep together casually. Some date and fuck for years before finally deciding they want to be mated. I know some shifters who want a real, humanesque wedding ceremony before they’ll mate each other.
I’m not that way.
When you know, you know, and I know that Lara is the one for me and I’m the one for her. I’ve slept with plenty of women who didn’t mean anything to me and that’s not what’s happening now. Lara means everything to me. She’s my entire world now and I’m going to show her exactly how valuable that is.
I’m going to show her how important she is.
She points to a hallway and I lift her up. She kisses my neck and my cheek as I carry her toward her room. She bites my ear, nibbling on it, and the sensation makes my cock even harder.
“You’re so fucking sexy,” I murmur, navigating her house until I find the room that’s obviously hers. I push open the door and carry her to the bed. She jumps out of my arms and kneels on the bed facing me.
“Come here,” she reaches for me, pulling me close. I’m still standing as she wraps her arms around me and kisses me eagerly, desperately.
She kisses me like this is the first time she’s ever felt like this, and I think that it is. It is for me. I always heard stories of mates and knew it would be this special, magical thing, but experiencing it is something else entirely.
Lara’s hands move down my chest and settle on my waist.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” she complains, and she starts to pull off my shirt. I let her take it off. The fabric drops to the floor and her mouth forms a tiny “o” as she looks at me.
“Like what you see?” I raise an eyebrow. Lara nods, but doesn’t say anything. Instead, she leans forward and licks my abs slowly, sexily. She runs her tongue along my skin.
Take her now, my inner-wolf howls at me, begs me. She’s our mate. Mark her. I fight the urge to grab her and kiss her. I fight the urge to pin her down on the bed and make love to her until she can’t remember her own name. I fight the urge because once I start fucking Lara, I’m never going to want to stop.
I know what a huge choice this is for her. I know what a big step it is and I don’t want to scare her off by rushing things. Instead, I let her control the pace for a little while. I let her explore. I let her touch.
She runs one hand over my crotch and cups my cock. She rubs up and down over the pants, making me even harder. Finally, she unzips my jeans, and I step back to kick them off, along with my socks, shoes, and boxers.
“Look at that,” Lara murmurs when she sees my dick. She licks her lips greedily.
“Like what you see, do you?” I step forward, stroking myself as I move back toward the bed. She nods and crawls back to the center of the bed. I join her.
“Now it’s your turn to undress me,” she says, but she reaches between us and begins to touch me, and I stop thinking about anything but her hand on me. Lara runs her hand up and down my length before carefully running her fingers over my balls. She’s gentle, but firm. Her touch is perfect.
But after another minute, I know I can’t hold on much longer.
“That’s it, princess,” I groan, carefully removing her hand. “It’s your turn to be played with.” Lara smiles and quickly strips out of her clothes. She moves faster than a human should. Giggling, she tosses all of her clothing onto the floor and then she’s naked in front of me.
And she looks beautiful.
Her face is flushed with excitement and her hair is down and messy. Her nipples are hard and pointy, ready to be played with, and her soft tummy looks perfect for biting, nipping at.
“Come here, beautiful,” I say, kissing her mouth. “I want you to be in control of this.” I run my hands over her body, carefully pinching and twisting her nipples before I settle on my back with her straddling me. This gives me an incredible view of her gorgeous body. I can see all of her and I love it. She’s perfect in every way.
“I love you,” she whispers, biting her lip. “I know it sounds crazy. This is so new and fresh.”
“I love you, too. It’s not weird. It’s not crazy. It’s just how mating works, sweetheart.”
Lara nods and smiles. Then she sinks down onto my cock and closes her eyes as I fill her up. I watch Lara as she moves naturally on me. She glides up and down like a goddess, like she was made for this moment.
Her hands move over her body, teasing me. She cups her breasts and bounces them. Then she runs her hands up and through her hair before sliding them back down again. My own hands are on her hips, pulling her back down onto me each time she moves up.
“You’re beautiful,” I murmur. “Perfect.”
“You’re not so bad yourself,” she says, but her words come out thick with arousal and need, and I realize it’s time.
“Give me your wrist,” I tell her, and she stops moving long enough to hand me her arm.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to mate you, Lara. I’m going to make you mine. With this bite, I promise to love you forever. I promise to take care of you, baby. I promise to protect you. No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you. Are you ready?”
She nods, and I allow my incisors to elongate to their wolf length. Now that I’m a grown shifter, I’m able to shift certain parts of my body without having to completely change. This is convenient for many reasons, but right now, it means I can give Lara my mating mark without having to completely shift into wolf form.
I lick her wrist in what I hope is a calming gesture, and then I bite her, tearing the skin.
“Fuck!” She closes her eyes, but doesn’t pull her wrist away.
“Almost done, baby,” I whisper and gently lick the blood from her wrist. Then I run my tongue up and down over the bite, sealin
g the wound. I’m happy that my saliva has healing properties in it that allows this moment to end quickly. She isn’t going to need stitches or have a long healing time.
“Look,” she whispers, staring at the mark. “Is that my mating scar?”
“Yeah, baby, that’s your scar.”
“It’s beautiful,” she smiles and runs her finger over it. She’s still straddling me, and now Lara leans down and kisses my lips softly. “Thank you.”
“Now it’s your turn,” I murmur. I bite my own wrist, tearing the skin, and Lara leans down to lick the blood. Once she’s finished, I seal my wound and we both look at my scar.
“I like it,” she says. “You look like a badass.”
“Some people get them covered with tattoos,” I offer in case she doesn’t actually like the way our scars look.
“No,” she shakes her head. “I want everyone to see them. I want everyone to see that we’re mates, that we’re forever.” She smiles and then she keeps moving, riding me faster now, harder.
“Baby,” I say, “I’m not going to be able to hold on much longer.” The emotions from this week and the feelings stirred by the mating act are too much. I’m going to come in Lara, marking her as my mate, claiming her as my own.
“Me too,” she murmurs, throwing her head back. She grinds down on me and I slip my hand between us, gently touching her clit. It’s all she needs to go over the edge, and then my baby flies.
Watching Lara orgasm is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. It’s so incredible that I can’t hold back my own climax any longer. I cry out her name as I come, filling her with my seed.
This is the most incredible moment of my life.
It’s the most important thing that’s ever happened to me.
It was perfect, and it was wonderful, but I know that’s because it was with her.
It was with Lara.
No one else could have made this anymore incredible.
We lay entwined together on the bed, murmuring sweet nothings. I touch her hair and run my hands over her cheeks. She’s so sweet, so fantastic, and I know both Fee and Lyon are going to kick my ass for taking so long to mate her. Not to mention Joyce.
Then Lara looks up at me and I’m certain she’s going to say something sweet, something wonderful, but she doesn’t. Instead, I smell the fear rolling off her in waves as she whispers, “I think the house is on fire.”
Chapter 11
Lara
The smell of smoke wafts into the room. I'm surprised I noticed it before Ronan did. Then again, maybe the smell of sex and the fact that we're mated now distracted him. I'm not sure. What I am sure about is that someone has set my house on fire and I'm guessing I know who.
"Get up," Ronan urges. He doesn't bother dressing, but I grab a long t-shirt from beside the bed and throw it on. Ronan moves to the door and touches the handle. He jerks his hand back. "It's hot," he says, and shakes his head. "That fucker."
"It's fine," I say, jerking my head toward the window. "We're on the first floor. We can just climb out." I should be panicking about the fact that there’s smoke coming into my room. I should be worried, but I’m weirdly calm about the entire thing. We’ll go outside and call the fire department and that’s it. They’ll put the fire out. Everything will be okay. I take a deep breath. Even though I know in my heart that Lester is behind this, the idea doesn’t sit well with me. I hate knowing he’s escalating.
"He's pissed because a human killed his family. Your neighbor filled me in. That doesn't fucking matter, though. You didn't do it. Hell, you wouldn't hurt a damn fly." Ronan growls - actually growls - and heads toward the window.
I'm reeling from the information, though.
Lester's family was killed? No wonder he hates me. No wonder he despises me so much. He must be hurting and so very alone.
"No time for deep thoughts, baby," Ronan has the window up and he kicks the screen out. "Come on." He climbs out of the window first and turns around to reach for me. "Grab your phone so we can call the fire department!"
"Oh, yeah," I grab my cell off the nightstand and turn back around. I head over to the window and Ronan reaches over to help me climb out, but before I have a chance to grab him, a furry blur knocks him down.
Lester.
It has to be.
He’s lit the house on fire and now he’s waiting to make sure we actually die.
And now, panic does set in.
Now I do start to worry.
Now I do begin to wonder whether we’re going to make it out of this alive.
I scream as Ronan instantly shifts. I've seen plenty of people shift, but never someone I loved, never like this. I've never seen it during a fight, and my breath hitches as the two animals begin rolling, fighting, and clawing at each other in the yard.
I crouch down by the window and peek out at them fighting. Help. I need to get help. I need help for my house and help to stop this fight. I quickly dial 9-1-1 on my cell phone from my hiding place. I know I need to get out of the house quickly. It's only a matter of time before this room fills with smoke, but I'm scared that if I climb out of the window, I'll be in the middle of the fight.
"Please state your emergency," a friendly, high-pitched voice says. Quickly, I rattle off my address and tell the operator that we need the fire department, the police, and anyone who can break up a fight. She promises to send help and asks me to stay on the line, but I end the call and peek out the window. The sounds of animals fighting fills the air, but the boys don't seem to be in my yard anymore.
I crawl out of the window and look around until I see them. They're in Lester's yard now. I swallow hard but don't go over there. As much as I want to spring into action and try to stop their fight, I know I can't get in the middle of it. I'm a human. I'm weak. I'm breakable.
And my house is definitely, absolutely on fire, I realize as I turn back around and see the flames rising from the living room.
There goes everything I’ve been fighting for so hard.
Suddenly, I hear a door open and one of my neighbors peeks his head out.
“Help!” I scream, pointing at Lester and Ronan fighting in the yard. “Stop them!” Immediately, the neighbor shifts into a giant polar bear and barrels across his yard toward Lester’s. Another door opens with the same result. Then another. Within seconds, there are a dozen shifters in Lester’s yard and somehow, they manage to tear the two men apart.
Lester is a panther and he’s making these loud, high-pitched noises that are killing my ears. Ronan is a beautiful wolf, but his growls are fierce and angry. He’s pissed that Lester would try to hurt his mate. It’s understandable, of course. I’d be angry if anyone ever tried to hurt him, too, but fighting isn’t the answer.
That’s not the way to solve this.
The polar bear shifts back to his human form. “Shift back,” he growls. “Now!” Immediately, Lester and Ronan obey, although I’m guessing they’re both pissy about this. The bear, whose name I think is Sam, looks from Lester to Ronan and back again. “You want to tell me what the hell this is all about?” He motions toward my house. Sirens sound in the distance as we all look at the two men.
“She needs to go!” Lester points at me.
Ronan just rolls his eyes and turns to Sam. “Lester has filed harassment charges against Lara for being a human in shifter country. I’ll be representing her in court next week.”
Sam glances at Ronan’s wrist and raises an eyebrow.
“We’re also newly mated.”
“Mated to a human!” Lester spits on the ground. “Despicable.”
“Hey!” I shout because this has gone on long enough. Ronan looks like he’s too deep breaths away from murdering Lester in front of all of these people, and the last thing I want to deal with is my mate going to jail for something like this.
I march over to the crowd and squirm my way past Sam and over to Lester. He glares at me, but he doesn’t say anything, which I guess it good. I move close to Lester and lower my
voice. What I’m going to say doesn’t need to be heard by anyone but us. I’m sure the shifters will be able to hear if they really try, but I’m going to pretend they’re giving us privacy.
“Lester,” I whisper. “I know what happened to you, and I’m sorry. I didn’t do it. I wasn’t here. I wasn’t responsible, but I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through or what it must have been like to have to live next to me, but I’m really, really sorry.” I shake my head and wish I could stop crying, but I can’t.
I’m crying for Lester.
I’m crying for me.
I’m crying for all the pain this ordeal has caused everyone involved.
“You don’t have to take me to court next week,” I tell him. “I’ll leave, okay? I’ll leave and you can be in peace. I wish you had just come and talked to me instead of trying to scare me away. I’m not easily frightened, Lester, but I do have a heart. If you had just talked to me, I’m sure we could have come to an understanding. As it is, you didn’t have to burn my house down. You could have just communicated.”
Lester looks at me like he’s shocked, like he can’t believe someone spoke to him without screaming, like he can’t believe a human could have compassion, like he can’t believe I’m actually saying the words that I am.
“I know that words don’t make up for what you lost,” I say. “My apology will never be enough. You were hurt by a human and now you hate them. I understand. I’d probably feel the same way. As it is, I can’t fix what happened, but I can stop the past from haunting you every time you see my face, so as of right now, I’m moving in with my mate, and you’ll never have to see me again.”
By the time I turn and start to walk away, I can hear sniffles in the crowd and I know that the other shifters heard the discussion, too.
Sam grabs my arm, “Are you going to press charges?” He asks. “The police are here now if you want to.” He jerks his head toward a couple of officers who are standing in front of my house.
“Press charges against who?” I ask innocently. “As best as I can tell, this was the work of hooligans, Sam. Maybe parents need to watch their kids better,” I shrug. “It’s certainly not something I can press charges over.”
