Crying Wolf, Shoot for the Moon, Thrown to the Wolves

by Rochelle Paige

  “Leave my girl alone,” Elias cautioned as soon as he reached the table. He towered over us, his arms crossed while he glared at the man kneeling at my feet.

  “She’s Parker’s mate, Daddy,” his daughter said, pulling on his arm to move him away from us.

  “Mate?” Elias asked with a doubtful tone. “Not unless Annora says he is.”

  A low growl of warning erupted from the man—Parker, as Elias’s daughter had called him—but he didn’t turn his gaze away from mine.

  “Not ‘your girl,’” he snapped. “My mate.”

  “Annora?” Elias called to get my attention, and he waited until I tore my gaze away from Parker to glance up at him. “You want to get out of here? We can go check into the motel. Give you some space.”

  Parker stood and stepped between us as soon as the word “motel” passed Elias’s lips. I felt the anger rolling off him in waves, but I didn’t feel scared. He was a stranger to me—and a wolf shifter. In normal circumstances, my natural reaction should have been fear. Instead, his show of strength aroused me. Not a little bit, but a ton. Enough that any shifter near me was bound to be able to smell it, which was kind of embarrassing. But it was well timed, because a huge grin spread across Elias’s face and his daughter giggled a little.

  “I think you’ve got your answer, Daddy,” she said.

  “Not until she actually says the words,” he argued, but it was halfheartedly. Then he looked at me like he was expecting the answer I felt compelled to give. Like he had known it before I’d even understood the words I was struggling to hold back.

  Parker swiveled and pulled my body towards his, protectively wrapping his arms around me and letting me lean against him so I wasn’t bearing all my weight. “Tell him you’re mine,” he ordered. “Tell him you feel the same connection to me that I felt the moment I walked into the room. That you’re the mate I’ve been waiting so long for to claim as my own.”

  The plea in his voice unfroze my tongue, and my answer popped out before I realized I was even speaking. “Yes. I’m his mate and he’s mine.”

  “Okay, then,” Elias said before turning back to his daughter.

  “Don’t worry about the bill. I’ve got it covered since I’m sure you don’t want to be around anyone else right now,” his daughter said, smiling at both of us like she was a matchmaker who’d paired us together.

  Glancing around the diner, I noticed that everyone’s eyes were on us as they eavesdropped unashamedly. I felt my cheeks heat with embarrassment. I hated being the center of attention since it had always been a bad thing in the past. My gaze fell to the ground as I struggled with the odd mixture of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me—desire, fear, hope, longing, pain, and self-consciousness. So I was startled when Parker lifted me into his arms and strode out of the room and to a car parked right outside.

  After he got me settled in the passenger’s seat, he gave me a quick kiss on the lips. When he got in and started the engine, my fingers were still on my mouth, like I was trying to trap his kiss and keep it forever. The smile he sent my way gave me goose bumps, and I shivered slightly.

  “You cold?” he asked as he fiddled with the heater.

  “No. Just a little weirded out that I’m in your car and I don’t even know your last name. I wouldn’t even know your first name if Elias’s daughter hadn’t called you Parker,” I pointed out.

  “Shit. I’m fucking this up after I’ve waited so long to find you,” he mumbled. “Okay. How about a quick rundown so we know a little bit about each other?”

  “I’d like that,” I agreed shyly.

  “I’m Parker Tate,” he began. “I’ve lived in Wolf’s Point my whole life. My father used to be the alpha. When my parents died, my oldest brother, Hunter, followed in his footsteps. My other brother, Spencer, is his beta and the pack enforcer. They’ve both mated within the last year. Grace is human, and she’s with Hunter. Eliza’s mated to my other brother, Spencer. She’s a wolf too, but I’m guessing you know that already since you came to town with her dad.”

  “Yeah, I kinda figured that one out on my own,” I agreed.

  When Parker didn’t say anything else, I realized he probably wanted me to take a turn, so I thought carefully about what I wanted to share right now.

  “I’m Annora Channing. No brothers or sisters. I found out I was a bear shifter on my eighteenth birthday several weeks ago, which was a surprise to my parents since they’re both wolf. It caused some problems since my father realized that I’m not really his daughter. So I guess you could say I don’t have any family left now.”

  “Discarded by your family,” Parker said under his breath, almost with a sound of wonder in his voice. But I couldn’t have heard that right because that wouldn’t have made any sense.

  “I guess you could put it that way,” I agreed with sarcasm heavy in my voice.

  Parker pulled into the driveway of a rustic log cabin. It was two stories tall with a wraparound porch, and it looked like it had only just recently been built. After he turned the car off, he twisted in his seat and locked his gaze with mine.

  “My brothers and I have known about our mates for years because our grandmother had a vision. Hunter’s mate would be stalked by danger, and Grace came to town when she was on the run from her ex. Spencer’s mate would be able to walk in dreams, and Eliza has had the ability since she was a little girl even though she hid from everyone but her mother,” he explained.

  “And your mate?” I asked, waiting to hear how I would be described since I had no doubt, after the way I’d reacted to him, that I was fated for Parker.

  “My mate would be discarded by her family,” he answered, sadness for my plight clear in his tone.

  The last thing I wanted was for my mate to pity me, but I couldn’t help the tears that gathered in my eyes. Even with the horrible treatment I’d suffered at my father’s hand, I hadn’t recovered from the devastation of knowing they’d basically sold me to the devil. It was bad enough that this man knew they’d thrown me away—I wasn’t ready to share the rest of the story with him yet.

  “Well, there you go—confirmation that what we’re both feeling is right, because I certainly fit that description.”

  “And I swear I’ll do everything in my power each and every day of your life to make it up to you. I’ll do whatever it takes to make what you’ve had to suffer through worth the pain because it brought you to me,” he vowed, the promise of better days shining in his eyes.

  “Is it really that simple to you?” I asked, in awe of how quick he was to accept me as his mate and fully commit himself to me.

  “Come inside and let me explain.”

  I followed him into the cabin and was pleasantly surprised to see how neat it was. The leather couch, the recliner, and the big-screen television screamed bachelor pad, but there wasn’t the mess I’d expected to find since he lived alone.

  Or at least I assumed he did. On that thought, my entire body stiffened as I thought of the man who would be my mate in a serious relationship with another woman. I breathed deeply but couldn’t scent anyone other than him in the room.

  When Parker enveloped me in a hug, the tension seeped from my body.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “It’s silly,” I protested, not wanting to explain my thoughts.

  “If it’s something that upsets you, then it matters to me,” he urged.

  Pulling away from him, I sat on the couch since the pain was starting to flare up again. “Your place seems pretty clean for a bachelor pad.”

  Parker flopped down next to me and looked at me with a furrowed brow, his confusion clear. “That’s a bad thing?”

  “I thought maybe you had a live-in girlfriend or something,” I admitted, staring down at my hands as I twisted them nervously in my lap until he lifted my chin gently with one finger.

  “Never,” he swore. “I’ve known for years that you were out there somewhere. That you were probably being mistreated by your fa
mily and eventually would be thrown out of your home. What type of mate would I be if I got romantically involved with some other woman knowing you were suffering without me?”

  “Really?” I asked, incredulous. “You spent all this time waiting for me?”

  An apology shone in his eyes for a moment. “I wish I could say I never sought comfort with anyone else, but I can’t. It didn’t happen often, not even when I was a testosterone-laden young wolf. But I was always left with a feeling of guilt, and eventually, it wasn’t worth the effort when I could burn the energy off in the gym and just jack myself off in the shower when the need became too much for me.”

  I knew how horny male wolves were, so I hadn’t expected him to be a virgin, but it still hurt a little to think about him with other women. I knew it wasn’t fair to him though, especially since it sounded like he’d played much less than most wolves did before they found their mate. Resisting the urges that drove him out of a sense of loyalty to me when he’d had no idea how long it would take before we would meet? That said a lot about his character, and all of it was good.

  Parker moved closer to me on the couch. Then he cradled my cheeks in his palms as he lowered his mouth to mine until our lips were only centimeters from each other.

  “Forgive me?” he murmured, his tongue sliding against my lips after he asked the question.

  “There’s nothing to forgive,” I assured him.

  He moved the slight distance needed so he could capture my lips with a gentle kiss. “Then there’s nothing stopping you from letting me mate you and mark you tonight?” he asked after he ended his worship of my mouth.

  “Other than barely knowing you?” I said, trying to joke, but it fell flat because it was true.

  “Some of the closest couples I know started their lives together the same day they met,” he pointed out. “My parents included.”

  “Are you sure you want me?” I asked, some of my insecurities getting the better of me.

  “Without a doubt,” he answered, not hesitating at all. “More than anything in this world, but only if you want me too. So tell me now, Annora. Do you want me to make you mine?”

  “Yes,” I sighed, licking my lips to savor the taste of his kiss. “Make me your mate, Parker.”

  “Then I’d better do something about that since I’ve promised to give you everything you want. Everything you need."

  Five

  Parker

  There wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to take my mate for the first time on the couch, so I lifted her into my arms and carried her into my bedroom. Then I thanked my fucking stars that I’d washed my sheets the night before last and barely slept in them since then. My room didn’t have a lot of frills, but at least my tendency to be a bit of a neat freak had paid off because I didn’t feel embarrassed as I dropped my mate onto the mattress.

  Annora didn’t let go of my neck when she landed, so I tumbled down with her, but I was careful about where I fell because she was so tiny compared to me. Her fingers tangled in my hair and her lips slid across my chin until she nipped at my lips.

  “Kiss me,” she murmured in a throaty voice. Her eyes were at half-mast and hazy with lust.

  The feel of Annora’s lips touching mine and her curvy body pressed against me had me throbbing with need, so I captured her mouth and swept my tongue inside. Wrapping her hair in my hand, I carefully tilted her head—conscious of her injuries even with lust pounding in my blood—to deepen the kiss until I was practically devouring her. With the sound of her moans ringing in my ears and the smell of her arousal filling my nostrils, I broke our kiss and worked my way down her body with my lips, removing her shirt so I could get to her breasts. The sight of dark bruises against her pale skin made me want to roar with fury, but I didn’t want to startle Annora and ruin this moment for her, so I reined my anger in and kept my focus on pleasing her.

  As I flicked my tongue over one of her nipples, I squeezed the firm mounds and pressed them together. Then I gently bit down before running my tongue along her skin, but I was distracted along the way to her other nipple by the valley between her breasts as an image of my cock fucking her tits popped into my head.

  “Your tits are fucking amazing,” I complimented her.

  “Not too big?” she asked, a shadow of doubt coloring her voice.

  “Perfect,” I reassured her as I trailed my finger between them. “I can picture my cock driving between them, your lips wrapping around me with each stroke between these creamy mounds.”

  “Oh, God,” she moaned, her head dropping back while I squeezed them again.

  I sucked on her other nipple and felt her hips jerk in response, which let me know that my mate enjoyed breast play.

  “More!” she whimpered.

  “Anything for you,” I murmured against her skin.

  Her hands moved to the hem of my shirt and she lifted it up and over my head. “Please,” she begged as the scent of her desire grew even stronger when she ran her hands along my naked back.

  I licked my way down her torso, pausing to gently kiss her bruised skin, until I reached the waist of her pants. Sliding a finger inside, I flicked the button open and then tugged on the zipper so I could drag them down her legs. When I gripped her legs and parted them, I couldn’t contain my growl of need at the sight of her pretty pussy wrapped in simple, white, cotton panties. They hadn’t been designed to be seductive, but seeing her in them was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen in my life.

  I almost hated to do it, but I pulled the panties down her legs. When my hands glided back up her smooth skin, she opened them with no resistance. Once they were spread wide, I leaned down and licked along the seam of her thighs. Her pussy was glistening with her need, but I wanted to make this last and savor every moment. Breathing deeply, I drew her sweet scent into my lungs, wanting to carry it with me always. Then I couldn’t resist any longer, so I ran a fingertip over her pussy lips.

  “You’re fucking drenched for me,” I rasped, dying to find out how she tasted.

  “I need you,” she explained with a wiggle of her hips.

  Her hips jerked off the mattress when I blew against her pussy. She hooked her legs over my shoulders and grabbed my head with her hands to bring me closer. Stiffening my tongue, I ran it along her pussy lips and up to her clit.

  “So sweet,” I complimented before diving into her pussy and fucking her with my tongue.

  Once she was writhing with need, I pulled my tongue out of her drenched hole and flicked it over her clit a few times.

  “Crave you,” she begged.

  It sounded like the compulsion to mate was driving her as much as it was me. Her pretty, brown eyes were filled with desire, her skin was glistening in the moonlight, and her cheeks were flushed. She was so far gone that there wasn’t any sign of the pain she’d been feeling earlier.

  Seeing her dark hair spread across my pillows as she watched me unbutton my jeans had my cock hardening even more—to the point that it felt like my zipper would be imprinted on it forever. Her eyes followed the movement of my thumb as I drew the zipper down my hardened length. After I shoved my pants and boxers down my legs and my cock sprung free, she licked her lips and I almost came right then and there. Then I ran my cock along her pussy lips, coating myself in her moisture.

  “You’re so wet for me,” I murmured before I slid my cock to her entrance.

  “Wait,” she whispered, a hint of nerves in her voice. “There’s something I should tell you.”

  “Fuck!” I moaned, my muscles trembling with the need to take her. “What is it, baby?”

  “I’m not very good at this,” she admitted softly. “I’ve only done it once before.”

  My wolf wanted to howl at the thought of anyone having had what we considered to be ours and ours alone, but as a man, I knew that wasn’t the point of what she was telling me. For a shifter to have only had one lover at her age was rare, which meant she probably hadn’t had a good experience that one time. When I paired
that with the flashes of insecurity I’d seen in her in the short time since we’d met, I knew my mate needed me to bolster her confidence.

  “I want you so much,” I breathed out. “I’ve never been this hard in my life. Seeing you in my bed. The scent of your need surrounding me. The taste of you in my mouth. It’s better than I ever imagined.”

  “Parker,” she sighed.

  “I’m so fucking lucky it’s you, Annora,” I told her. “Don’t know what I ever did to deserve you as my mate, but I’ll thank my lucky stars for the rest of my life that you’re the one fate gave to me.”

  Every bit of tension left her body at my words, and happiness lit her eyes as she looked up at me in wonder. I took that moment to slowly sink inside her, inch by inch, as her body gave way to mine. It was like my brain melted when I felt a pleasure unlike any I’d ever experienced before at the feel of her wet pussy around my cock. Holding myself stiffly above her body, I waited for Annora to adjust to my size.

  “So fucking tight,” I moaned.

  “So fucking huge,” she sighed before wrapping her legs around my hips, driving me further inside.

  When her walls clenched around me, my cock jerked. I hadn’t even started thrusting yet and she already had me on the edge just from being inside her. I circled my hips, and more fluid gushed from her pussy on the upswing, letting me know where she was the most sensitive.

  “You ready, baby?” I asked.

  “So ready,” she breathed.

  “Thank fuck!” I groaned before I slid out and then quickly drove back inside.

  It had been too long and she felt so good that I knew I wasn’t going to last as long as I wanted. Locking my eyes with hers, I pounded into her as hard I as could, moving with a frenzy of need while I watched the passion build on her face.

  “Now! Please make me your mate now,” she pleaded with me as her pussy walls began to tighten around me.

  Leaning farther down, I slid my hands under her body until I gripped the back of her neck. As her pussy began to flutter, my balls drew tight against my body and I knew the moment had come for me to mate and mark her.