Wolf in his Heart (Salvation Pack)

by N. J. Walters

  Sage had her flat on her back in a heartbeat. He hooked his arms beneath her thighs and hitched her legs high on his arms, spreading her wide. Then he began to fuck her.

  He meant to take it slow and easy, but her inner muscles tightened around him and he lost it. He drove into her again and again. Never able to get quite deep enough to satisfy the desperate need beating at him.

  A bead of sweat rolled down his spine as he continued to thrust. Rina gripped his biceps and dug her nails into his skin. Her pussy spasmed and she cried out his name. Sage lost all awareness of his surroundings, lost in the explosiveness of the orgasm that ripped through him. He was blown to bits and then reformed, stronger and more determined than ever.

  The base of his cock swelled, locking him inside her. She gasped and moaned, and he felt another orgasm ripple through her. His cock responded and he came again. Impossible for a human, but not for a werewolf. Even a half-breed like him.

  The muscles in his arms trembled, and he released her legs and collapsed on top of her. They were both breathing harder than they’d been when they were running earlier this evening. Neither of them spoke, simply allowing the quiet of the night to surround them.

  Finally, he forced himself to move. His cock was still hard, but the base was no longer swollen, allowing him to pull out. Rina groaned, turned onto her side, and pulled her knees up to her chest.

  “Are you all right? Did I hurt you?” He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he had.

  She shook her head but didn’t answer.

  “Rina? Baby, look at me.” Worried, he rolled her onto her back and brushed several strands of damp hair off her forehead. Her eyes were clenched shut but her breathing was almost back to normal. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lose control like that.” He should have kept his dick in pants and seen to her pleasure. Instead, he’d rutted on her like a raging bull, and it had been her first time.

  “Why not? I did.” It took him a second to understand what she was saying and then he slowly smiled.

  “So you lost control too?”

  She opened her eyes. They were luminous and filled with some dark emotion he couldn’t quite understand. “You know I did.”

  Sage rested his hand on her stomach. “Truthfully, did I hurt you?” He had to know.

  Rina shook her head. “You didn’t hurt me.” She nibbled on her bottom lip and he bent down and ran his tongue over the small sting. “You destroyed me.”

  “That’s only fair because you did the same to me.”

  “Really?” she asked.

  “How could you not know?” He shook his head, flopped back on the quilt, and sighed. “I totally lost it at the end.”

  She rolled to face him. He lifted his arm and she snuggled up next to him. “I’m not sorry this happened.”

  He stared up at the stars, letting the peace of the night wash over him. There was so much he wanted to say to her but settled for simply holding her in his arms. His cock was still hard, but he ignored it. That wasn’t what Rina needed right now.

  “What did you do after you left home?” He had a burning need to know about the time she’d spent on her own.

  She tensed, but he ran his hand up and down her arm and side, soothing her. Rina didn’t speak for so long he began to think she wasn’t going to answer him.

  “I didn’t have much money, but I caught a plane down to Canada. I had to get out of Alaska. Too many people knew my family, knew I’d been banished from the pack.

  “From there, I zigzagged eastward through the prairies and down into Montana. After that, I just kept moving around until I ended up in Tennessee. I wasn’t sure if they’d send anyone after me at first.” She curled her fingers against his chest. “I was afraid.”

  Those three simple words almost broke him. He kissed the top of her head. “You don’t need to be afraid any longer.”

  She lifted her head. “How can you say that? I have a human hunting me.”

  Sage patted his shoulder, and she eventually lay back down. “We’ll take care of that. No matter what happens now or in the future, you’re not alone. Do you understand?”

  She shook her head and kissed his jaw. “This is not your problem. I’m not your problem.”

  Fear, thick and ugly, churned in his gut. “You’re not a problem. You’re everything to me.”

  Rina was still feeling relaxed and sated from her multiple orgasms. This was the first time she’d ever really talked about what had happened to her. Maybe it was a temporary situation brought on by their lovemaking, but she felt closer to Sage than she ever had to any other person.

  She appreciated him telling her she wasn’t a problem, but they both knew differently. The fact that he wanted to help her, to shoulder her burdens made her love him even more.

  “What did you do to live?” he asked.

  In the dark, under the moon and stars, she told him. “I lived in the woods for a while, camping out.” Licking her emotional wounds was more like it.

  He tightened his arm around her, as though he wanted to protect her from the past. “And your parents just let you go?” He seemed to be having a hard time with that idea.

  “Yes. The alpha had spoken. That’s the way it is in the packs.”

  He snorted. “Not where I come from.”

  She was curious about his unusual upbringing. “Tell me about your parents.” She wanted to know everything about him. How he’d turned into the amazing man he’d become.

  Sage ran his fingers up and down her back, his touch reassuring and relaxing. “Dad first saw my mom when he was in Anchorage. He always said he knew she was the one for him the moment he set eyes on her.”

  “What did she think?”

  Sage chuckled. “That the big, bad wolf was after her. Seriously though, he was a full-blooded werewolf and she was a half-breed. She was scared to death of him.”

  Rina could understand that. Most packs raised their members to disdain those not of full blood. “How did they get together if she was so afraid?”

  “Dad was persistent, and she finally accepted that he was earnest. They made plans to run away together because Dad knew his pack would never accept her. My Uncle Elias and my father were close. When Uncle Elias found out about my parents, he went with them. By then, they’d discovered Mom was pregnant, and that left her more vulnerable.”

  It was like something out of a fairy tale for Rina. She couldn’t imagine a male werewolf giving up his pack for a woman, knowing he’d never see the rest of his family again. “And your uncle just went with them?”

  “Yup. They moved around a bit at first, working in construction. Eventually, they settled in Michigan and started their own business. We stayed there until Mom and Dad were killed.”

  “I’m so sorry you lost them.” He’d told her his parents had been killed in a car crash. She petted his taut abs and then put her hand over his heart. The loss must have been enormous for the small family. She knew what it was like to lose the ones she loved, only her people had voluntarily let her go.

  “Me too. But I had Reece and Uncle Elias.”

  Rina snuggled even though it was a warm night. She just wanted to be closer to Sage, to offer him some comfort. “What I don’t understand is how you ended up here.”

  He lightly dragged his nails over her back, sending shivers down her spine. “That’s a long story for another night. But we found a new home here with the Salvation Pack.”

  She accepted that, for now. His life fascinated her. It was so different from her upbringing. “What’s your brother like?” She couldn’t imagine being part of a twin.

  She tilted her head back when he didn’t answer right away. Sage was smiling. “Reece is a force of nature. He might be the only half-breed werewolf able to shift. Technically, we’re three-quarters werewolf, and that likely makes the difference.”

  Rina couldn’t w
rap her head around that one. Half-breeds weren’t supposed to be able to shift. Of course, the odds of Sage’s parents having a child were astronomical. The odds of them having twins was completely off the charts. She’d never, ever heard of such a thing happening. Since the twins were special, it wasn’t all that surprising that Reece could shift.

  “Do you resent him?”

  Sage kissed the crown of her head. “For about five minutes when we were teenagers. Reece is my best friend.” He shook his head. “I’m not sure I can explain it. I know how he’s feeling and when he’s upset. If he gets hurt or bothered about something, I’d know.”

  “He knows about me?” She wondered if Reece would approve of her or not. Then she wondered why she cared. She wasn’t staying long enough for it to be an issue.

  “He knew something had me worked up. I told him about you when I spoke with him earlier.” She sensed there was more Sage wasn’t telling her but let it go for now. She didn’t want to push. The evening was one of the best of her life and she didn’t want to ruin it.

  “What about your brother?” Sage asked.

  “Mikhail?”

  “Yeah. Were you two close?”

  “He’s older than me. Quite a bit older. I was a later-in-life baby for my parents. In many ways, Mikhail was more father to me than my own was.”

  “Then why didn’t he stop what happened?”

  She didn’t want Sage to think badly about her brother. “He was away on an extended hunting trip. Mikhail often goes into the wilderness by himself, sometimes staying a month or more. He hires out as a guide to a lot of hikers and climbers who come from all over the world, as well as researchers and camera crews.”

  “Impressive.”

  She nodded. “He is. I was long gone by the time he would have returned.”

  “And you’ve never called him?” She could hear the disbelief in Sage’s voice.

  “I’m afraid,” she admitted. “If I don’t call him, he can’t turn on me the way my parents did.”

  “Oh, Rina.” He banded his arms around her and rocked her in his embrace. She blinked, holding back the tears that threatened. “I think you should call him. You don’t need to tell him where you are if you don’t want to, but if you were as close as you say, he’d want to know you’re alive.”

  She knew Sage was right. It was time to stop being a coward and put her past to rest once and for all. If Mikhail turned on her, she’d be okay because she wasn’t alone. Once again, Sage was giving her a gift she could never put a price on.

  They both went quiet for a long time, each of them lost in their own thoughts. When the sky began to lighten in the east, Sage stirred. “Want to see my gardens?”

  “I do.” It surprised her just how much she did want to see where he worked. He patted her butt. “Up you go.” She stood and stretched, feeling slightly sore but more content than she’d ever been in her life. It was a pleasure to watch Sage pull on his jeans and sneakers.

  She looked down at her bare skin. “I’m feeling slightly underdressed.”

  Sage tugged her into his arms and skimmed his hands over her sides. “I think you look perfect.” The sensual growl in his voice made her nipples tighten, and she rubbed them against the warm heat of his skin.

  “Keep that up and we won’t be going anywhere.”

  “Is that such a bad thing?” She nuzzled his neck and licked his collarbone.

  “Not bad.” He cupped her ass and squeezed both mounds. “I just figured you wouldn’t want to be out here naked when Uncle Elias or the others come looking for us. And they will look.”

  She hadn’t thought of that. She was so used to being on her own and answering to no one, she’d forgotten others didn’t live that way. Especially in a pack. “I’m still naked,” she pointed out. Not that she cared. She could always shift if one of the others came along.

  Sage reached down and plucked the quilt off the ground. He shook it out before he wrapped it around her. “There you go. We’ll detour and get the clothes you left outside when you shifted earlier.”

  She’d forgotten all about her clothes. That wasn’t like her at all. She didn’t have much. She’d had to abandon clothing and her few belongings when she’d fled the diner. There hadn’t been time for her to gather them. Everything important was in her knapsack, but she was severely lacking clothing. “Sounds good.”

  He wrapped his arm around her and they strolled through the early morning light. It didn’t take long for them to find her clothing. She dropped the quilt and grabbed her underwear.

  A low groan behind her made her glance over her shoulder. Sage’s gaze was on her butt. Bent over as she was, she was giving him quite an eyeful. “Close your eyes,” she ordered.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He closed them and crossed his arms over his chest. “I can tell you it’s too late. The picture of you bent over is indelibly inked on my brain.”

  She laughed and tugged on the rest of her clothing. Most men would be irritated because they were aroused, might even accuse her of being a tease. Not Sage. Instead, he was playful and made her smile.

  There was no denying he was aroused. The bulge in his jeans was much larger than it had been only seconds before. She shook out the quilt before folding it. “I’m ready.”

  Sage’s eyes popped open, and he smiled. “Come here.”

  She went, wanting to be close to him, to kiss him, to touch him. He opened his arms wide and she walked into them. He bent down and kissed her. It was filled with passion but it was tender too. The combination was deadly to her senses and her heart. He moved his lips over her, giving and taking. She returned it, parting her lips and offering him more. Then she slid her tongue into his mouth, taking what she wanted.

  The quilt slipped from her grip and fell to the ground at their feet. He framed her face with his large, strong hands and held her as if she was something infinitely fragile and special.

  Her chest tightened and she suddenly wanted to cry. So much emotion, from the past and the present, welled up inside her like an overfilled balloon, threatening to burst if she didn’t do something.

  She pulled away from Sage and bent down to pick up the quilt. “Show me your gardens.” From the look he gave her, he was well aware something was bothering her, but he let her be. She was grateful for that.

  “This way.” He took the quilt from her, folded it and tucked it under his arm. Then he offered her his free hand. She clasped it and they walked through the woods. The birds and wildlife were just stirring to life. Several bees buzzed past them and a dragonfly zipped by.

  A crow announced its presence and a raccoon scurried through the underbrush. The closer they got to the houses, the more Rina smelled the other wolves. Cole had gone by here recently. She knew his scent. She hadn’t figured them all out yet, but another wolf had been through here last night as well. Not Gator or Jacque. Maybe Louis.

  “Just over here.”

  Rina turned her attention back to the man she was with as they stepped onto a small footpath that ran behind Sage’s home. They followed it until they came to a clearing. His garden was surrounded by dense woods and was larger than she’d imagined. Different too. She’d pictured plants growing straight from the ground. Instead, it was a series of raised beds. Each of them was overflowing with plants, most of which she didn’t recognize.

  “This is incredible.”

  “Thanks.” He set the quilt on the edge of one of the wooden frames and tugged her down the narrow path that separated the individual gardens. His eyes glowed with pleasure and pride. “Everything is organic. I have potatoes, carrots, various lettuces, herbs, and more. The peppers and tomatoes are in the greenhouses along with some of the more delicate herbs. This is just the first garden. I have another one where I’m growing a variety of squash and some pumpkins as well. Peas and beans are in another section. I’ve also planted some apple trees, but
it will be years until they’re mature enough to start producing.”

  “Wow. This is really impressive.” She reached out and ran her fingers over a plant, releasing a fragrant smell. “You sell your crops?”

  “We use a lot of it ourselves, but I sell what’s left at the farmer’s market in town every weekend. Sue takes a good portion of the herbs and makes soap and sachets. We sell those too, at the market and online. Anny and Miss Elise bake cookies and cakes and pies that sell really well too. Sylvie and Cole’s mom make quilts. They mostly sell those online.”

  The more she learned about this pack the more remarkable she realized they were. “Does anyone work outside the pack?” All packs were usually self-sufficient and self-contained, but many of the men took construction jobs or work that kept them outside, like her brother being a wilderness guide, to bring in extra money. This pack seemed to make their own opportunities.

  “Reece is the only one. He’s a cop in Chicago. Everyone else lives and works here.” They strolled through the garden and he pointed out some cucumbers and radishes.

  “What do the others do?” Rina was curious about the people who shared Sage’s life.

  “Gray is a well-known artist. Her paintings are sold in galleries across the country. Cherise does mostly pencil sketches, some watercolors. She has a line of cards and prints and also sells her original sketches online. Gwen is a writer.”

  Rina was beginning to feel very inadequate. She really didn’t have much in the way of marketable skills. Like most females in her pack, she’d been homeschooled and had never been encouraged to pursue her education beyond high school. She could survive in the wilderness, cook, and wait tables. Not an impressive resume.

  It wasn’t until she’d been banished she’d realized her pack saw her prime value as a breeder and nothing more. That had damaged her self-confidence.

  “You okay?” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You’re awful quiet.”

  She shrugged. “Just thinking about how ill-equipped I am to really live in the outside world.”