by Sarra Cannon
Zack sat down abruptly, hitting rocky ground with a jolt of realization.
Holy shit.
He’d heard the legends, of course, but never imagined they were true. Legends of a great huntress with speed and stamina to match any prey. A huntress who guarded the creatures roaming her territory, keeping the herds—and by extension, her pack—healthy. The kind of hunter who tended the earth and maintained a natural balance thrown badly off-kilter in modern times.
The pronghorn struggled to its feet, wobbled a few steps, and stopped, letting its head drop in exhaustion. There wasn’t a drop of blood on its pelt; Rae had been careful. Then the doe gave a clicking kind of grunt and shot off into the night, heading for the green valley in the north where she would find her mate.
Mate, came a faint echo from his wolf.
His eyes settled on Rae, who had eased into a sitting position and was studiously licking her paw. Most shifter packs—wolf and coyote—had master hunters. But a master huntress… His mind fumbled for the term he’d heard whispered, long ago. Mistress…Mistress of the Hunt. She who tended the herds as a servant of Mother Earth.
It had been generations since a true huntress had walked the earth. So long that the Mistress of the Hunt had fallen into the realm of legend.
But it wasn’t a legend. It was true.
It was Rae.
He lowered his head slowly with a reverent huff.
Rae. His Rae. Mistress of the Hunt.
Chapter 16
Rae watched the pronghorn disappear into the night.
Godspeed, my friend. Good luck. She pushed the thought, loud and clear, from her mind to the doe’s, then dropped her chin. The usual post-hunt high washed over her like a drug: she felt weary, yet triumphant. Humble, yet all-powerful. So much of her life was lived at the whim of an alpha’s command; this was her chance to run free, to sing her song.
A rare chance, too, because soon, this magical night would be over, and she’d be back to just plain Rae, hiding her secret, fretting about her future.
At least it had been a successful hunt. Rewarding, too: that pronghorn was on its way to a safer place and one of her own kind. If Fate smiled on the doe, she’d find her mate, breed, and add another generation to a long, beautiful line.
Rae was one in a long line, too, and one just as rare. She sensed the connection during every hunt: a link to her grandmother, great-grandmother, and so many others, so long ago. They’d come to the New World in centuries past to tend the once-plentiful herds: bison, antelope, elk. But even the great huntresses couldn’t hold back the relentless onslaught of pioneers and trophy hunters. All they could do was guide the last survivors to safe havens where they might hide and persevere.
Part of her itched to give chase to the pronghorn once more, while another part was glad to see it run free. Hope rang in its footsteps, and who knew? Maybe there was hope for her, too.
She sighed and bent her head to lick a paw trampled in the fight. Zack was watching her, but she wasn’t quite ready to face him. Having him join the hunt had given her a thrill that a hundred brass horns couldn’t provide. The thrill of leading others on a hunt.
It was just like her grandmother had said.
A little like the old days. Her wolf smiled.
Well, it was a long way from the old days, but she’d take what she could get. If only she could hunt openly with a pack that appreciated her gift. But those packs were few and far between. Roric’s Westend pack couldn’t give a damn about hunters or prey or balance; their souls were sold to the casinos. Other packs might value a huntress like her, but there was a danger in that, too. The wrong kind of pack would rein her in, tie her down. She needed to range wide and far in search of worthy prey, something the splintered pack territories of today would hardly support. If the wrong pack claimed her, she’d be reduced to hunting sheep or javelina when her blood called for the rarest of the rare, like bighorn, pronghorn, and other species toeing the thin line between survival and extinction.
And now Zack knew her secret. What if he gave her away?
Rae growled, pushing her human anxieties away. Tonight—what there was left of it—was for celebrating small triumphs: a successful hunt, and a single doe on her way to safe territory and a mate.
Mate.
On cue, her wolf turned to Zack. His green eyes were dark and deep and honest. Wolf, coyote, or human: a trio in one, who looked at her in wonder and surprise, then dipped his head in respect.
Something primal in Rae stirred, and she wanted it again: that feeling of being worshiped—not as a Hunter, but as an ordinary woman who couldn’t deny her attraction to this man.
Mine. Mate. Her wolf growled and stepped to his side. He’d be a worthy mate. Honest and true. A friend. Who could understand her better than a tracker?
He kept his head low as she approached and circled him.
This hunt is finished, she wanted to say.
But we’re not, her wolf grinned, grinding her shoulder against his.
His eyes shone as if he still couldn’t believe what he’d seen, so she butted him lightly with her hip. Only this time she got stuck there, and the contact slowed and stretched until it was a full-body rub along his side. Long and sleek and close, she slid along the length of his coat. The coyote coloring made him appear smaller from a distance, but he loomed over her now, big as a wolf—bigger, in fact, than most. She rubbed all the way around him and down the other side, sending up sparks.
He turned his head and his eyes met hers, and they said everything. That he was long done with the hunt, but only getting started with her.
Heart thumping, she forced herself two steps away and took a measured breath. Hunting brought out her passion, and that passion wasn’t easily quenched. In hunts past, she’d slip home and find herself a wolf lover to take the edge off. She could do the same now with him. Her wolf wanted it, and his, too.
But tonight… Tonight was different, somehow. She didn’t want fast and hard and gritty. She wanted slow. Graceful. Satisfying—not just for her body but her soul. And wolves, well, they weren’t much good at anything but a hard, fast fuck.
Hey! her wolf huffed.
But her mind was made up. Humans were much pickier about choosing partners. Rae was picky. She wanted Zack—the man.
But would he want her? Would he want slow, graceful, and sweet?
She turned and looked into the warm peat of his eyes for a moment as Zack stood impossibly still. Wishing, wanting, waiting. For her.
And just like that, she slipped from arousal to full heat. She wanted him, all of him, for all of her. She pushed forward, shifting smoothly in midstep to her human form. Her back lifted and straightened, her shoulders stretched, her jaw clicked. She breathed deeply and stood naked on two feet in the desert night. It was cooler like this. Invigorating.
Zack stood still as a canine statue, holding his breath. His wolf stood so tall, she could run a hand along his back without dipping a shoulder. His fur was wiry and thick against her palm, and she couldn’t resist working her fingers down to the skin as she circled him yet again. She ran the back of her hand along his right side then stepped in front of him, naked and exposed. She shivered, both from the night chill and the primal heat licking through her body.
Decide, wolf, she strained to tell him as her nipples hardened into tight peaks. Take me or leave me. Take the risk.
He blinked, slow and ponderous, and she stepped forward to circle him again. Her hand rose as he shifted and came to two feet, his human side stealing the night back from the wolf. Fur gave way to smooth, supple skin as her fingers continued her path, sliding down from his hips to a rear so tight and square with muscle that she shivered again. She came around his shoulder, a dancer in a slow waltz, and stepped right into an embrace.
Zack—human Zack—pulled her close, nose to her hair, and continued the movement without missing a beat. His arms stroked the length of her the way she had stroked his wolf, making her body throb with building need.
“Rae,” he whispered, and left it at that.
He rubbed the pad of his thumb over her lower lip before kissing her exactly as he had the very first time. The scent of wolf hung on him still, and the flavor of coyote was on the tongue that tangled with hers, soft and sweet. Yet he was all human, all man.
She couldn’t help glancing down when he reluctantly broke the kiss off. Definitely all man.
He smiled that secret smile, and her knees wobbled just a little bit. She wanted to hand herself over to him, then and there. The hunter in her was gone with her wolf, and now she was all woman. She wanted to surrender, to give herself over to his touch. To lean into him and to trust.
Trust. She turned the word over in her mind. When had she ever really trusted a man?
She closed her eyes and sighed as his hands slipped up her ribs, ghosting along the outside curve of her breasts.
Tonight. Tonight she would trust.
His hand cupped her fully, setting her on fire. She pressed into him, trying to squeeze away every last atom between their bodies.
Zack…
It was an inner sigh more than anything else because speaking now might break the spell of this magical night. Her body cried for more, and he readily gave it, toying with both breasts, pushing his erection into her stomach. She could feel the heat pulsing off his chest as his mouth explored hers, swift and sure.
His hands slid down to the small of her back, then climbed up, and finally dove again, scooping her close. So close that her balance was thrown, her body tipping backward.
Trust. The word echoed in her mind as she forced herself to let go. She tipped farther and farther off-balance, so far she was sure she would crash gracelessly to the ground.
“Gotcha,” Zack whispered, locking his arms firmly behind her. She felt feather-light as he lowered her to the ground and followed, settling carefully along the length of her body. The rock beneath her was flat and smooth; above, he was all heat.
Take me. Love me. Mate me. Her wolf was begging inside, and it was all she could do to lock the words in.
Zack dipped his head and went to work on her breasts, and she arched into his mouth, wanting more of what she’d tasted earlier that night—that screaming, soaring high. The physical high was only one part of it, though. The rest went deeper, sending her soul singing and dancing. Rae wanted to drag this out and make the last hours of the night stretch on forever.
But her body was skipping ahead, dropping her knees wide and guiding his hand down to stroke her sex. She caught a grin—Jesus, that smile—before closing her eyes to the sweet sensation of his fingers tickling her folds. She gasped when his lips grasped her nipple at the same time, bringing her higher and higher. One finger, then two slipped inside her and stirred a moan from her throat.
“Good,” she couldn’t help whispering. “So good.”
The grin stretched, the green eyes narrowed, and just when Rae was sure he’d nudge her legs wider and push his cock home, Zack took firm hold of her hips and rolled them both. She reared above him, knees straddling his hips.
“You want the bottom?” She gaped at him.
“I want this view.”
She sucked in a breath, let it out slowly, then leaned back on her heels to sit tall over his prone body. She tilted her chin up toward the stars. “They are beautiful.” The sky was almost free of clouds now, and the stars sparkled in one of those nights of million-mile clarity that only come after a storm. “Like jewels in the sky.”
“Not the stars,” he murmured. “You. Riding me.” He tipped his hips up.
She caught her lower lip in her teeth and formed a triangle over him, one arm on either side of his muscled chest. Then she lifted, slid a little higher along his body, and lowered herself slowly over his cock.
“Oh!” she cried, feeling him sink deep.
“Oh,” he chuckled.
She rocked back on him, taking him deeper, forcing those perfect lips open in his own silent Oh. Then his hands gripped tighter and he pushed up slowly, seating himself deep as her inner muscles gripped tightly.
We make a good team, her wolf purred.
That we do, she could have sworn she heard him think, but her mind went blank with his next grinding thrust. She let her muscles ripple over his cock, gripping him one inch at a time, tightening and loosening in a sensual wave.
His eyes closed while he groaned, long and unsteady, like a rolling log in a swirling river. “Ohhhh.”
“Gotcha.” She smiled, liking what she saw.
Zack opened his eyes and found a new grip on her hips, guiding her into another plunge. Down she went, wet and wide and aching for more. She let her muscles tug on him as she pulled up, hovered over the broad head of him, and slid down again. She could have played there forever, but a new inspiration seized her. On the next up, she slid her whole body back and away, her breasts bouncing over his thighs as she took his cock with her lips. No lazy lick, no slow glide down; she made a mental oath to deliver that next time. Instead, she rushed to inhale him, pushing down and extracting another groan from her lover.
Mine. All mine.
She took him again and again until he was slick and swollen, his body still but for the fingers twirling madly in her hair and the garbled words pouring from his throat. A rush went through her as the balance of power tipped toward her end of the scale. Though power wasn’t the point—it was about trust. He was trusting her to take him this way—a rare act for a dominant wolf. The question was, how far did her trust go?
Far enough that when he jackknifed up a moment later, rasping her name, she let him take control and roll them until he came out on top, wearing a devilish grin that said, Watch this.
Chapter 17
Zack could have thrown his head back and howled when he came out of that roll. Rae was beneath him, wide-eyed and hungry and ready for more. She’d given him the ride of his life and now he would reciprocate, so she’d never want anyone else again. It would be him, only him.
Mine! the wolf inside him roared.
The way her wolf had teased him with those long drags on his fur had nearly been his undoing because his wolf had nearly taken her then and there. But when she’d shifted back to her human form and let her fingers play along his back, his wolf started humming inside, leaning into the touch. When she circled him the second time, the shift snuck up on him, so smooth and so fast he barely found his balance on two bare feet.
Vague inner warnings like Forbidden were forgotten the instant Rae molded herself to his body in a perfect fit. Her trust wasn’t given lightly, and that alone was enough to push aside duty and honor and pack. He had to touch her, taste her, fill her.
Her skin was soft and warm, and underneath was a taut layer of muscle: thin as sheet metal in places, corrugated over her abdomen, thicker in the thighs. Thighs that were gripping him now, drawing him in. The thunder and lightning had long since moved on, but he could still feel the electricity in what she did to him. His lips moved over her shoulder, tasting her again and again, and then everything became the squeeze on his cock as he slid home.
He thought he’d climbed as high as a man could climb without actually hitting climax, but he soared even higher when he saw Rae tip her chin down to watch his cock disappear inside her. Her face glowed watching him slide in, one hot, tight inch at a time. Her lips parted in a deep sigh, her eyes slid shut, and deep inside, he could feel her tremble. He wanted to memorize the feel of it all. The sight of her under him, around him. The perfect fit at the juncture of their bodies, the tight tangle of their legs.
He went so deep, he nearly lost himself on the first plunge. Rae’s eyes were glassy now, and he penetrated again, burning with pleasure every inch of the way. A pull back, then another thrust, and another; he let the momentum build until the movement was a thing of its own. His breath was ragged, barely in control.
“Zack,” she groaned, tightening her legs behind his back.
Mate, his wolf growled inside.
&nbs
p; When she clamped down over the length of his cock, all thought fled, all but the desire to fulfill her. Fill her to overflowing.
“Now,” she cried.
“Now,” he echoed while he still could. Then his hips took over in a crescendo that seemed to rock the stone they lay upon, harder and faster like an out of control wave. It built and crested inside then came in a rush as he emptied his wet heat into her.
He kept his tight grip on her hips as his body went stiff, feeling Rae clutch him with every muscle and limb. She convulsed with a cry then went limp and breathless against his chest.
Somehow, he found just enough coordination to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight, listening to the wild beating of her heart.
Rae. So full of surprises, so much more than what was visible from the outside. A few minutes ago, she’d been a mighty huntress; now, she was all woman.
All his.
The scent of her filled his nose; the heat of her filled his arms. Their breathing evened out, and he felt time stretch and decelerate, as if the Fates were giving him the gift of time.
Mistress of the Hunt. He wondered if he’d imagined it all. The chase, the pronghorn, the scene that had appeared in his mind. Could a woman like her ever settle for a half-breed like him?
He glanced down his chest and found Rae stroking him like a harp. She sighed, sinking deeper into him as the stars arched slowly overhead.
“Is this what you came out here for?” He ventured at last. “To hunt?”
She gestured toward the valley, the mesas, the endless miles beyond. “I need space,” she said, determination creeping into her voice.
Zack peered into the starry night, wondering how much space she needed. Wondering whether she might be willing to share.
“But you…you held it,” he whispered, snuggling her closer in case the words set off her instinct to flee.
Rae shook her head slowly, her hair rubbing against him. She looked weary, yet satisfied. “Wolves have always been the guardians of the herds. We keep them strong.
