by Sam Crescent
Her wolf was glorious, white and pure, in complete contrast to her hair in real life.
“Do you want to run?” he asked, speaking to her through their minds.
She nodded and took off. Looking back at their pack, Micah frowned at him. Ignoring their curious gazes, Cade took off, following her.
He sensed her need to run. It didn’t take him long to catch up with her.
“Leave me alone.”
“No.”
Titania forced herself to run faster and harder. Cade kept up with her, following her through the forest. He dodged trees and knew she’d purposefully gone on a reckless trail in the hope to lose him.
He followed her until she reached a small river covered by mountains and trees. The small river wouldn’t be detected from the skyline.
She drank some water and before his eyes she changed back from wolf form, crying. He moved to the edge and drank some water before turning to human. There was no way he’d drink the water in human form.
Her tears cut him to the core. She sat in the river, surrounded by rocks covering her face. He walked up to her and sat behind her. Wrapping his arms around her, Cade was shocked when she tried to fight him. “Don’t touch me,” she said.
Not listening to her, Cade banded his arms around her, holding onto her. “I’m not letting you go.”
She fought him for several moments and then collapsed in his arms. He ignored the chill of the river but he couldn’t stop his response to her nakedness. His cock hardened with the need to claim her as his own. Pushing the thoughts aside, Cade couldn’t stop his need for her, no matter how much she fought him.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“I almost died. I wanted to die. It hurt so much,” she said. He never expected her to be honest with him. Holding her close, Cade rocked her in his arms. This was the first time they’d touched so intimately.
“You shouldn’t be touching me like this,” she said.
“Why not?” Right now all he wanted to do was hold her.
“I’m naked and beneath you in the pack. You should be with someone stronger and more suitable to your standing.” She rested her head against his shoulder. Exhaustion swamped her.
“I don’t give a fuck about that, Titania. I never have.”
“Others do. Micah and the others expected you to turn back and leave me alone.”
He’d sensed the same. “I don’t care what they wanted from me. I do what I want. There was no way I’d let David see if you were safe.”
She chuckled. “What do you have against him?”
Biting his lip, he looked down at her. “Because you let him hold you.”
Her smile disappeared as she looked at him. “That memory you showed me, was that real?”
“Yes. I needed to shock you enough for Micah to finish the change. How long has it been since you couldn’t change at will?” he asked.
“I’ve never been able to.”
Cade stared across the river. Their heartbeats slowed down and he closed his eyes, listening for any potential threats. They were no longer on Rock Wood land. “Do you come here often?” he asked.
“No, I didn’t want to be on our land after sensing the disapproval of the pack. They didn’t want you with me and I understand. I’m nothing.”
Cupping her face, Cade stared down into her eyes. “You’re not nothing, Titania. You’re something.”
She shook her head and pulled away. He watched her stand and move away from him. “Do not walk away from me.” Cade stood. Titania stiffened, turning to him.
“You have no right to think or to feel things for me. I felt everything in that memory, Cade. We’re nothing to each other. I can’t even turn at will. I almost died tonight because of my weakness. Look around you, Cade. Who will respect you as second if you give in to me?” she asked. Tears were streaming down her face.
This was not how he envisioned his first conversation with the woman he wanted more than anything. His attraction to Titania had started from the moment she joined the pack. Her father dumped her in Rock Wood without a word. Micah took her in because she’d asked him for help. His alpha took in strays that wouldn’t cause problems. He’d been second-in-command and since then his feelings for her hadn’t changed. She’d been too young, a young girl of seventeen whereas he’d been a grown man.
“Did you even guess my feelings? Or do you want David to be your mate?” he asked. Jealousy was a horrid emotion and, when it came to David and his woman, he had it in spades.
“No and no. David is not my mate. He’s my friend. When I first came to the pack, he was the only one interested in me. We were friends with no desire to seek assurance from the top.” She turned away only to spin around, pointing a finger in his direction. “And just so you know David likes guys. He doesn’t have a crush on me at all. There is no desire there.”
She stalked off into the trees. The elation replaced the jealousy and Cade moved in her direction. He didn’t care about the pack rules where it came to who he wanted. The pack was his family and he’d die protecting it. Micah had a human female for a mate, he could have Titania and he intended to have her.
* * * *
Rounding a tree, Titania sensed Cade following her. He’d terrified her ever since she’d become a member of the Rock Wood pack. From the moment her father dumped her in town, Titania had never ventured out. The thought of being alone scared her. She liked being surrounded by her pack even when they were mean to her. They ignored her and it was only David and Charlotte who accepted her within their fold. To the other wolves it was like she didn’t exist at all. They never tried to speak to her or get to know her. The rest of the pack simply ignored her. She didn’t mind before Charlotte came along and when David left for his trips around the world, she’d been happy with her own company. There was nothing wrong with being alone. At least she didn’t see a problem with it even though others hated being alone.
She heard him following her. Titania stopped and closed her eyes, trying to calm her nerves. When he shared the memory he held of her, she’d been so scared. There was no way he’d be able to claim her. She sensed his desire to do just that. The connection they shared together gave her a short time to understand his emotions. He wanted to possess and claim her. She couldn’t let him do it.
The pack would line up to fight his claim as second-in-command.
“Don’t walk away from me,” he said.
Opening her eyes, she tried to get as far from him as she could.
Stepping through the trees, Titania tried to make her way home. She wished there was something to cover her nakedness. The underwear she’d been wearing was lost during the change. Covering her nakedness was pointless and Cade would see in the dark.
“Stop!” His command forced her to stop. Turning around, she saw him advancing on her. The glowing amber of his eyes startled her. They were the same amber his wolf possessed.
“I’ve stopped. What are you trying to achieve? There is no hope for what you want. You’d be better claiming Misty—” His growl stopped her from speaking.
Cade advanced. She saw the tattoos covering his body. Her eyes drifted to the woman being fucked on his arm. Returning her gaze to his, she waited for him to stop. He kept walking forward and she had no choice other than to step back. She would have fallen over if she remained standing. His arms gripped both of hers as he pressed her against the tree. The bark bit into her flesh.
She ignored the slight pain. Staring into his eyes she waited for him to speak. He looked frightening. His eyes turned back to dark brown. She may have many faults for her kind but at least she could see in the dark.
“Don’t speak her name to me. I have no desire for her.”
Titania laughed. “And yet you have desire for me? Are you insane?”
“I don’t care what the pack thinks.”
“Yes, you do. You’re second-in-command, Cade. Wanting me is out of the question.” She tried to break his grip.
He held her
tightly. Lifting her gaze to his, she growled.
“I want you, Titania. Whether the pack likes it or not, you will be mine.”
Before she got a chance to argue his lips slammed on hers, silencing her. He was her first ever kiss and she froze. Cade did not give up. He held her against the tree pressing his body to hers.
She felt the hard length of his cock pressing against her stomach. Titania only came to his chest in height. She wasn’t able to contain the moan and the sound surrounded the forest and left on a breeze.
One of his hands moved from her arm to sink into the length of her hair and the other cupped her hip. Arousal sprung up inside her, hard and hot. She wanted him at the same time as not.
There was no way she could feel desire for this man. He terrified her, from his tattoos to his strength. Cade wasn’t the man for her. Her thoughts muddled together confusing her. She circled her arms around his neck holding him close. His tongue licked along her lips seeking entry. Titania gave it to him, opening her lips.
He plunged his tongue inside, stroking along her tongue.
Moaning, she held him tighter. The hand on her hip moved to her stomach and down farther to cup her mound.
She broke the kiss, gasping.
“You can say you don’t want me and we can’t be together. Your scent tells me otherwise.”
“Scent means nothing.” Titania cried out when he slipped a finger between the folds of her pussy.
“Your pussy says otherwise, baby. You’re dripping wet for me.” He pressed a second finger to her clit, stroking her.
Heat filled her cheeks from how much she wanted him.
“There is not denying what your body needs, Titania.”
“And what is that?” she asked, angry with her response. She’d barely had a conversation with the man before her and yet her body was responding to him as if she’d known him her whole life.
“You crave the fucking that only I can give you.” He claimed her lips once again, stopping her from disputing his claim.
Treacherous body.
Cade lifted her up holding her close to his body and trapping her against the tree. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she held on. She was the biggest wolf, apart from the men, in the Rock Wood Pack. Titania didn’t want him to strain a muscle from her weight.
He stroked her clit teasing her.
“I’m so hard for you. I want you, Titania. I’ve always wanted you.”
She shook her head. His words couldn’t be true.
No man had ever touched her the way Cade was. His fingers, besides her own, were the first to touch her so intimately. His kiss was her first.
So much pent up need had her splintering apart in his arms within seconds of his touch. She rode the wave of her orgasm, mindless to Cade’s intent.
She felt the tip of his dick pressing to her entrance stopping all kinds of pleasure. Dread, fear, and a desperate need to get away from him engulfed her.
“Stop,” she said.
Much to her relief, Cade stopped. “You want me, Titania. Why stop me?” he asked.
“I’ve never been with a man. I’m a virgin.”
Did she really just say that?
Chapter Four
Cade didn’t know where he found the willpower to stop. All he knew was he did stop at her command. Her body tensed in his arms. His cock was rock hard with the need to be inside her. Taking a deep breath, he rested his head against hers.
He waited until he’d gained enough control to look at her. “I know you’re a virgin.”
She shook her head. “How?”
“Your scent. I can smell the fact you’ve never known a human’s touch. It was how Micah knew his mate hadn’t been claimed.”
“I’ve never known a wolf can scent that.”
“You don’t know what you’re scenting. Everything has a unique scent, you just need to pick up on it and be concentrating.” Looking into her startling blue eyes, Cade was taken away by her. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
He’d thought it the first time he saw her at seventeen and his feelings hadn’t changed. It was why he hadn’t taken a woman in a long time. From the instant he first saw her, Cade was hooked. His alpha and the other pack members thought he took women regularly, but he didn’t. Cade made them think what he wanted them to think.
No matter how many times he’d tried to sleep with other women, he couldn’t. The tattoo on his arm came before Titania. No other tats or women had come after meeting her.
“You’ve scented me for that?” she asked.
“Yes. I knew you and David were not lovers but his scent is on you. Not in an intimate way and now I know why. Tell me, Titania, I scent your need to be fucked, why did you stop me?”
She shook her head. Her legs were still wrapped around his waist. He refused to put her down. Cade liked holding her.
“You’re unbelievable. I’m not begging to be fucked. I don’t need or want sex.”
He laughed. “You can lie with your lips but the heat I feel from your cunt tells another story. You’re soaking my stomach with your cream. You want to be fucked. Don’t waste my time denying it.”
She opened and closed her mouth, staring at him. Their very first conversation would remain permanently embedded in his mind.
“I’m not having my first time up against the tree. I hold more respect for my virginity than to be taken like that. I want to go home.”
He stared at her to see if she told the truth.
“You don’t know the way home, do you?”
She shook her head. “I don’t.”
“It’s a good thing I came with you then, don’t you think.”
“Please, don’t mock me,” she said.
“I’m not. You’re going to learn to trust me.” Cupping her cheek he gazed into her eyes.
“Why?”
“You’re mine, Titania. Make no mistake about it, your virginity is mine to claim and claim it I will. I’m going to fuck your delectable body and I’m going to mate you.”
“You can’t do that, Cade.”
“Watch me.”
He helped her to the ground and when she was steady, Cade headed in the direction of home. Keeping hold of her hand he weaved his way through trees and over rotting stumps.
Titania stumbled a couple of times but he caught her before she hurt herself. He’d make sure to take extra care of her. Cade refused to put her at risk and force the change.
When they made it home he saw Charlotte waiting outside with a blanket. Their queen didn’t blush when she saw him coming up the garden path. In the few months she’d been in residence, Charlotte had learned to accept nakedness. Titania was different. She always found ways to hide from everyone.
“David is waiting for you. He’s worried,” Charlotte said, wrapping her in a blanket.
Pulling her against him, Cade stared into her eyes. “Remember, no other man but me.”
“You can’t control me like that,” Titania said.
“Okay, let me put it in a way you’ll remember. Any man who touches you is dead. I’ll fucking kill him.”
“No, you wouldn’t.”
“I would and I’d take pleasure in it.”
She pulled away from him and stormed inside the house. He watched her go. Charlotte stared at him in shock.
“What you’re going to do is risky,” Micah said, appearing behind Charlotte. His alpha had been hiding in the dark.
Cade’s senses were filled with the scent of Titania. He’d not paid any attention to who was present.
“I’ll fight anyone who threatens my claim to your side. You know the truth, Micah, and I can take out all of this pack with my strength. I’d rather use my strength to fight for the pack rather than against it. ”
“Are you threatening me?” Micah growled the words out.
“I’m warning you not to send her away. You send her away and you’ll lose more than you think.” Cade walked past his alpha. The threat he’d given the man was
real. Misty appeared out of the library looking smug.
“Did she die?” Misty asked.
“No. She’s perfectly healthy.”
Jordan, Paul, and Wilson appeared out of the kitchen. They looked tense and Cade sensed Charlotte and the alpha entering the house.
“It’s a shame. The pack would be better off without her fat ass lumping around.” Misty stared at Charlotte while she spoke the words.
“You fucking bitch,” Charlotte said. Micah held his mate back. If Charlotte started a fight with Misty then Charlotte would have no choice but to finish it. Misty was a lot stronger than their human queen.
Charlotte may not be able to start a fight. He could.
He sensed the other men’s disgust directed at this woman. They should have gotten rid of her years ago. Before Charlotte came along, she’d been fucking Micah and it was impossible to get rid of her. Now, Cade wanted to kill her.
Charging at her, Cade grabbed Misty around the neck. Slamming her against the brick wall he stared into her eyes. Fighting Misty wasn’t like fighting a woman. She was too strong to be seen as a woman.
He’d seen her fighting other pack members, she was deadly.
She lashed out, punching him in the gut. Cade didn’t respond. His body was hard muscle, there was no getting past him. There was no fight between him and Misty. He was that strong. He could win against anyone, and all the high-ranking members knew it.
“Do you really think you can beat me?” he asked. He slammed her against the wall, watching the fear spark into her eyes. Cade held her like a rag doll. All he needed to do was twist his arm and he’d break her neck. “Your time in this pack is running out, Misty. Say one word against Titania or hurt her and I’ll ruin you.” He leaned in close until only she could hear. “Micah would force you out of the pack. Me, I’ll find you and I’d kill you without a second thought.”
Letting go of her throat, Cade stepped back.
She collapsed to the floor grabbing her neck.
Without saying a word to anyone, he turned and walked away. If any of the other pack members thought they could take his place then let them. He’d show them all how real his feelings were for Titania and he wasn’t going to hide them anymore.
