Wild Instincts - Complete Edition (Werewolf Erotic Romance)

by King, Claudia

  It was hard for me to stay still any longer. Did Thorne really love me? The thought of it filled me with a warm glow so wonderful it made me shiver with elation. And did I love him back? I'd never been in love before, but thinking back over the past few weeks, had there ever been another person I'd fixated on so completely? Who I'd cared so ferociously and intensely about that every little detail of my existence seemed to revolve around my future with them?

  The only other person in my life who held that kind of significance was my sister Ellie, and I knew I loved her with all my heart.

  "I missed your advice," Thorne said, and this time I could hear the smile in his voice.

  "I missed giving it. You're a good boy, but goodness, you do a good job of making life difficult for yourself sometimes. I'm just glad you're back where you belong."

  "Will I see Lyssa again soon?"

  "I don't see why not. I'd imagine that girl's probably bounding up the steps to come see you right now."

  I shook my head, my cheeks warming as I shifted back into my human form. Had the sly old wolf known I was there the entire time?

  "What about the rest of the pack?" Thorne said. "I can't imagine they're all happy that I'm back."

  "Mm, some more than others. Niya did a good job of convincing most of them, but I won't sugar coat it; you're going to be in for a rough time with one or two of your old friends."

  I began to creep forward up the steps, sensing that, if I was going to make an appearance, now would probably be a good time.

  "Especially Rowan," Thorne said. "I could tell he wasn't happy about it when he came to talk to me. I tried to convince him, but... he's different from how I remember him."

  "He's used to being a leader now. He's gotten good at keeping his personal feelings out of any big decisions he makes, and you're making him confront all sorts of things he'd have preferred to keep buried. We've all got something to learn from this, even him."

  I took a deep breath and let my sandals slap against the stone steps as I rounded the final turn approaching the hill's summit, giving Thorne at least a few moments warning before I appeared.

  "Ah, and I think that's the sound of your favourite lady coming," Agatha said, smiling up at me from her seat on a log bench as I reached the top of the steps. I smiled at her, the blush still on my cheeks, but my eyes darted immediately to where Thorne sat beside her. It felt like it had been weeks since we'd last been together, and the sight of him sent a warm rush tingling through my body.

  He wore his usual brown leather jacket, but someone had given him a fresh pair of jeans and a tight white shirt to change into. His hair was ruffled, but just as handsome as always, and a few days worth of stubble lined his jaw. The slightly wild look suited him.

  I waved a hand awkwardly, unsure of what to say. I'd been desperate to see Thorne, but now that I was here, and especially after the conversation I'd just overheard, I didn't have a clue of how to begin. He smiled at me and waved back. His green eyes looked weary, but they lit up the moment they met mine. He must have had a tough few days as well.

  "I suppose that's my cue to leave you two lovebirds alone," Agatha said with a contented sigh as she rose to her feet. The weariness I'd noticed in her movements the night before seemed to have evaporated completely, and she was the same sprightly lady I'd met back in her tent all over again. I began to wonder whether she played up the wise old woman act in public. She was definitely a complex creature.

  "You don't have to—" I began, but Agatha waved a hand dismissively as she walked to the steps.

  "The pair of you need each other's company more than you need mine. Besides, I'm sure there'll be all sorts of complaints and congratulations back at camp for me to deal with after last night. You have fun, goodness knows you've earned it. Oh, and one other thing," she turned and raised her eyebrows, "if you want any privacy, might I suggest slipping out into the woods for a while. There's going to be people coming and going all day if you stay in the orchard."

  I flushed, and Thorne cleared his throat, prompting a chuckle from Agatha as she turned away and began to descend the steps, humming a tune as she went.

  "How are you?" Thorne said at last, rising from his seat.

  "Better, now."

  "It's been a rough few days, hasn't it?" He stepped forwards, but before he could move more than a few feet my sandals were slapping against the grass as I dashed forward to embrace him, throwing my arms around his neck and burying my face in the warm, smoky scent of his jacket.

  "I love you too," I said, my voice cracking as all the tension of the past week spilled out. Thorne's firm hands encircled my body as he returned my embrace with equal passion. He held me fiercely hard, a sigh of relief leaving his lips.

  "Were you listening?" he said.

  I could only nod, trying to swallow my emotions before they overwhelmed. me. I didn't want our reunion to be him holding me as I sobbed for minutes on end, and I knew once I started I wasn't likely to stop.

  "You always were inquisitive, huh Wolfie?" he said.

  I smiled at the pet name. It might have started as a joke, but hearing Thorne use it again was a joyous reminder of everything we'd shared.

  "I almost snuck down here so many times," I said, wrestling with my strained voice until it steadied. "I was starting to plan prison breaks right up until..." I frowned, remembering the previous evening with Ethan and Sirrus. I would have to tell him at some point.

  "I'm sure you'd have done a great job," he said, "but I'm glad you didn't, even if it means I have to stay out here by myself."

  "It's nice out here," I said, "and they'll let you back soon, once they understand you've changed."

  I looked up at Thorne, and he shook his head.

  "I don't know, Rowan made it pretty clear last night that I wasn't welcome to join the pack again. He said I can live here in their territory, for now, but I'm on pretty strict probation."

  "Well... you can just start your own pack, then."

  Thorne grinned. "Out here in the orchard? I don't know, it's a nice place, but it's a bit lacking in members. I wouldn't make much of an alpha without a pack."

  "You've got one member," I said softly, and reached up to kiss him on the lips. It was quick, but the moment I withdrew he slid his hand to the back of my neck and pulled me in again, pressing his mouth to mine passionately. The second kiss was long, smouldering with need, fuelled by the time we'd spent apart. My instinct tingled, my wolf waking up to the presence of her desired mate.

  "I didn't know how much I'd miss you," he said as we broke apart.

  "Me neither. Thorne, I—" I broke off, my eyes falling from his as my fingers played with the collar of his jacket.

  "What it is?" He tilted his head to try and meet my gaze again.

  "I had to be with someone else yesterday, because of my instinct." My stomach knotted with guilt as I said it, clutching Thorne's jacket tight, as though expecting him to pull away.

  "Look at me, Lyssa," he said after a moment, and I forced myself to raise my head again. What was that in his eyes? Reproach? Concern? Sincerity?

  He cupped my cheek with a hand. "Don't ever feel ashamed of yourself because of your instinct. Not when you're with me."

  "But I—"

  "Remember when I told you about Niya, that morning in the den?"

  I nodded.

  "I told you I'd almost killed my best friend after she opened up to me, and you didn't even stop to think about judging me for it. Do you think after that I'd hold it against you for taking care of your own instinct?"

  "No," I flushed, suddenly feeling silly. "I guess I just... it felt wrong being with someone else."

  Thorne shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I'd never make you fight your instinct for the sake of my own pride. I'm not like Cyan. I don't want to possess you."

  I bit my lip and looked down again, my fingers moving to play with the collar of Thorne's shirt, brushing the skin of his neck gently. "I want to be yours, though. Nobody else's."
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  He embraced me again, and I laid my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes as I relaxed into the sturdy grasp of his arms. I could have stayed there all day long.

  "Take me away," I said suddenly, my voice an urgent whisper in his ear. "Before anyone else comes. Make me your mate tonight."

  Thorne's hand found its way to the back of my head again, stroking my chestnut hair.

  "Are you sure?" he said, and I felt the faint tension in his muscles, the apprehensive note in his voice.

  "I'm sure. After everything these past few days... My wolf knows what she wants, and I do too. You know you won't hurt me."

  I felt the tension in his body ease. He only hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Tonight, then."

  Warmth flooded through me, the last of my doubts melting away in Thorne's embrace. My whole body tingled with excitement, my heart soaring as he kissed me. I was going to be his mate. My alpha. My love.

  We spent the day together, slipping away from the orchard as soon as we could. There was plenty of space to lose ourselves in the Wood Pack's territory, and before long Thorne was showing me all the beautiful meadows and secret retreats he'd spent his time in when he was younger. He told me about how he'd first come here, startling a jittery old wolf from the pack when he was out on a camping trip with his college friends, and coming away from the encounter with a nasty bite to show for it. Rowan, Niya, and some of the others had tracked him down quickly after that, but not before he'd started to turn and scared away his friends. He'd been with the Wood Pack ever since, up until the incident with Niya that sent him out on his own. He didn't have much in the way of family back home, so disappearing to begin his new life as a werewolf hadn't been hard.

  I wished I could say the same about my own transition, and before I knew it I was telling him everything about myself and my early life, from my adventures in the forest to the birth of my sister, to my dad's new job that kept him away for months on end, how Mom had started drinking afterwards, and the strange new role as both parent and sibling I'd taken on once it became clear that I was the most responsible person left in the household.

  It was so easy to talk to Thorne. I spent hours telling him anything and everything about myself, none of it too personal or too insignificant to leave out, and he responded in kind. I felt as though we were squeezing every last drop of history out of one another, both of us hungry to know every little detail and tidbit of information before the evening came. I was excited, apprehensive, but happier than I could remember being in a long time. By the time the sun came up tomorrow we would be mated, and I wanted to understand my mate better than anyone by then. It might have been an impulsive decision, but I had never been so sure about anything in my life.

  "Not impulsive," Thorne said as we made our way back to the orchard, the sun just beginning to set behind us, "instinctive."

  I smiled at him, squeezing my entwined fingers around his. Our wolves knew this was right for us on a level that didn't require words or reasoning. Perhaps it was part scent, part memory, part instinctual understanding. Our wolves and our instincts didn't always make sense to us, but they had a deep-rooted wisdom of their own. There wasn't any doubt in my mind that this was the right thing for both of us.

  Later, I stepped through the trees towards the glow of the fire up ahead, soft pine needles crackling beneath my bare feet. I had slipped quietly back to my lodge for an hour to bathe and prepare myself while Thorne set up the camp site. The short time apart had felt like an eternity, and as the anticipation built my heart pounded in my chest, my hands almost trembling with excitement. I didn't have much in the way of a sexy wardrobe any more, but I still wanted to make myself beautiful for Thorne. I wanted both of us to remember this night.

  I wore the same soft gown from earlier, but after I washed I had taken the time to comb out my hair and plait a braid into it. There were a handful of woven grass bracelets in my lodge left by the previous occupant, old and dusty, but beautifully made, and after brushing them off I slipped a few over each of my wrists, before trying my hand at weaving a bracelet of my own around my ankle. It didn't turn out as pretty as the ones I had found, but it still looked attractive adorning my bare leg.

  It might have been a simple look, but I hoped Thorne would like it.

  I pushed aside a hanging branch and stepped into the small clearing. The fire crackled enticingly, and my mate-to-be crouched beside it, feeding dry twigs into the flames. I could see why he had chosen this spot. It didn't have the magnificent views or the airy openness of some of the places in the Wood Pack's territory, but the trees here were tightly packed, obscuring the area from view with their thick, shaggy branches. It was a warm, intimate spot, blanketed in darkness by the curtain of night. The only addition to the campsite aside from Thorne's pack sitting against a tree was a thick bearskin rug laid out beside the fire. That was where he would take me. That was where I would become his.

  "You look beautiful," he said softly as he rose to his feet, tossing his handful of sticks aside, forgotten. He was dressed in his jeans and shirt, hair washed but still ruffled, standing barefoot on the pine needles like me. My cheeks warmed, feeling guilty for a moment as my eyes roved over his muscular body, before remembering that I had no need to feel bashful tonight. We both knew exactly why we were here. There was no need to pretend.

  I smiled and allowed my lingering gaze to continue its journey, admiring his features and pausing on the faint bulge in the front of his jeans.

  "Beautiful enough to be your mate?" I said with a hint of a grin.

  "Oh yes."

  I had never thought of myself as outstandingly beautiful, but the way Thorne looked at me made me believe every word of it. I felt beautiful, desirable, ravishing. The hunger in his eyes made it impossible to feel otherwise.

  He stepped forward and closed his hands around my arms, running his fingers down over the bracelets around my wrists as he kissed me deeply, his tongue warm and insistent inside my mouth. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, murmuring gently as I let him savour my body, his hands roaming to caress the small of my back, slide down my thighs, cup the swell of my breasts. Finally he took my face between his palms, a thumb stroking up and down the hollow of my throat as he withdrew, hot breath panting against my lips.

  "Are you ready?" he said, the hint of a growl in the back of his throat.

  "Yes. Are you?"

  Thorne nodded. The feral glint in his eyes sparked flames of desire in my belly.

  "No fighting our instincts this time. We'll trust them, okay?" he said.

  I returned the nod, then caught his arm. "Thorne, this is... I think this is the first time I've ever really been with someone because I want to."

  "You wanted to those times before, didn't you?"

  "Yes, but it was always my instinct then. I don't know if I'd ever have been with anyone if my wolf hadn't made me. This is the first time it feels like my own choice."

  Thorne smiled and eased my fingers from his wrist. "Good."

  He led me over to the bearskin rug and laid me down, the thick fur stroking my bare legs and arms as I looked up at him, lifting my gown up over my head and tossing it aside. My naked body trembled faintly in the firelight, my chest and stomach rising and falling quickly with sharp, excited breaths, the furry texture of the rug tickling my back.

  Thorne slid off his shirt and knelt down between my legs, my hands rising immediately to caress his bare chest as he put a hand around the back of my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. My thumbs brushed across his pecs, my fingers squeezing eagerly, giving him just the faintest taste of my nails against his skin. I felt his grip tighten in response, and I let out a gasp as his mouth slipped from mine to move lower, his lips straying over my chin and down my neck, kissing and suckling at the tender skin, a growl rumbling in his throat as he bit me.

  I groaned, my will to resist melting away as my alpha overpowered me, his hands finding their way back up to my wrists and squeezing hard as he pinned me down agai
nst the rug. My naked body squirmed beneath the rough texture of his jeans as my hard nipples brushed his chest. My instinct was glowing like a fire inside me, but my wolf and my human side were working together in perfect unison. Both of them wanted this. There was none of the usual conflict, the desperate struggle as one fought against the other, only intense, overwhelming desire as Thorne satisfied both the human and the animal urges contained within my body at the same time.

  "Take me," I gasped. "Please, Thorne, I want you."

  He drew back, gazing down at me with fire in his eyes, his white teeth shining between parted lips. He fixed me with a look so primal, so hungry, so intense, that my eyelids fluttered, a weak moan escaping my lips as I pressed my hips up against him, desperate to feel him inside me. The hot urgency brimming within both our bodies was more than just lust; it was furious passion, love, desire, and instinct all blurring into one.

  Thorne's hungry mouth settled on my skin again, kissing my neck and breasts as his tongue left a glistening sheen of saliva across my chest in the firelight. His hands moved from my wrists to my shoulders with ease, holding me pinned with an insistence that left no room for argument. His grip was powerful, but not as wild and forceful as I remembered. His fingers caressed my shoulders, squeezing my smooth flesh and tracing the softness of my skin with a disarmingly tender touch. I could feel the human lover in there behind his wolf's smouldering eyes, pleasuring me, enjoying me. His teeth closed around my nipple, biting softly, tugging at the sensitive peak until I cried out and writhed beneath him, then harder, and the cry became a yelp of painful pleasure.

  My hips ground unconsciously against Thorne's thighs as my body twisted in ecstasy, the firm bulge in his jeans pressing against my stomach with every buck. His mouth moved lower, his breath tickling my skin as he kissed my stomach, slipping his tongue into the dip of my navel as his hands shifted their grip down to my waist. He took his time with me, savouring the taste of my body all the way from my neck down to my throbbing clit, the afterglow left by his tongue and teeth marking me with my mate's passion. It wasn't the same savage display of dominance he had shown towards me in the past, but his actions were no less possessive. He made me wait despite the growing need building between my thighs, asserting his control not through brute force, but through patient restraint.