The Wolf's Mail-Order Bride

by Ella Goode

  He nods as if this is completely ordinary. "We’re a mess. Want to help fix us up?"

  I start to grow excited. I don’t know anything about running a company, but I do know numbers, and looking at the disaster that is the OBS office, I feel like Ronnie was right. I can’t screw up more than they already have.

  "Get out." I start to roll up my sleeves.

  "Why?"

  "Because I can’t think when you’re here. You’re too distracting."

  A huge grin breaks across Edon’s face. In two strides he has me in his arms and up against a wall. I let myself kiss him until his fingers start unzipping my jeans.

  "No, if we start, we won’t stop," I murmur.

  Disappointed, he reluctantly sets me down. "I guess I should work, too."

  After a couple more kisses, he leaves. My panties are wet and my core is throbbing, but I figure all that can wait until tonight. It gives me something to look forward to. I start by sorting the paperwork. Junk mail to the right, invoices to the left, payments in the center. After the sorting, I find several bills that are either past due or due. In one drawer, there’s a checkbook. I write out the payments and run-down Ronnie, who eagerly signs them.

  "Where’s the mailbox?" I ask when she’s done adding her signature to the last check.

  "At the gate." She hands me a set of keys. "Take the cart and one of the young pups."

  "I can do it alone."

  "The gate weighs a ton. Literally. You’ll need one of them to move it for you. Leif is here. You remember Leif, right? Leif, get over here."

  The guy who drove me to the airport trots over. "Hey, Cassie. Long time no see."

  He slaps my hand and then does a complicated finger clutch ending with a fist dab, which I fumble badly. "You’ll get the hang of it," he promises. "This time you drive. Are you enjoying yourself? Everyone here is pretty great, aren’t they?" He nudges me playfully in the shoulder.

  "Everyone’s great," I agree as we walk to the cart. The cart dips when he climbs aboard. Despite his slender shape, he’s dense and full of muscle. “Were you born into the pack?” I ask. I’m so curious about everyone and everything.

  Luckily, Leif enjoys talking. “Yup. My parents are part of the pack, although they’re traveling. Once we made some money, Edon sent all the elders on a vacation. They’d worked hard to keep us together after Edon’s parents died.”

  “Was it a rough time?”

  “Very,” Leif affirms. “We didn’t have an alpha because no one pack member was powerful enough to keep claim on the leadership for long. There were lots of leadership challenges and we lost wolves because of it. It was a relief when Edon took charge.”

  “How long has he been Alpha?” I ask.

  “Since he was fifteen.”

  “Fifteen?” I nearly drive off the lane in surprise.

  “Yup. He was a man amongst boys even then. He won all the challenges and didn’t even kill anyone,” Leif says cheerfully. “Everyone fell in line, but then we got these new wolves from a pack that had lost its alpha. You saw how it was in there. The new wolves want to show that they belong so they’re always picking fights. Edon’s responsible for controlling everyone and it was wearing him down. Ronnie’s solution was to find the alpha’s mate.” He points a finger at me. “Which is you. And now that he’s found you, it’s easier because you help shoulder the burdens.”

  “Me? I haven’t done a thing.”

  Leif shrugs. “I don’t know how it works exactly. I just know that a pack is stronger when the alpha has his true mate. Ronnie and Kristain are true mates, too. It’s cool seeing you guys together. Gives me hope.” He rubs his hands together. “The sex is good, right? I heard it’s better with a mate. Not that Edon would know the difference because he waited for you.”

  He waited for you. Edon had said something similar before but I hadn’t fully grasped exactly what he meant. Even now I’m not sure. “Because Edon was a virgin.” I say slowly, pretending like I understand.

  “Yup. He said that if you waited, it’d be better. That’s what I’m doing.”

  Leif chatters on about other packmates while my mind whirls. Edon was a virgin? He didn’t act like one. Then again, how does a thirty-five year-old virgin act exactly? There are books and videos out there for anyone to learn. And I suppose he had a lot of time to plot out exactly how to make love to a woman.

  I’m kind of glad he was a virgin. If he had more experience, I might not have been able to rise from his bed this morning. A kernel of concern pops in my head. Is he upset that I wasn’t a virgin? He didn’t seem like it. Perhaps he didn’t know that I wasn’t. I groan, wondering how disappointed he’ll be when I confess.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll get the gate,” Leif announces.

  I look up to see the black iron gate in front of us. The boy jumps out and drags the gate out of the way. As Leif huffs with effort, I realize how strong my mate is. When he moved the gate, it looked effortless.

  "I’ll be right back." I zip around Leif and head for the mailbox. I want to get back to the lodge and talk to Edon. It’s important that he know what he got himself into. I don’t want there to any secrets or surprises in our lives.

  Before I can reach the mailbox, a black Chevy pulls in front of me. I slam on the cart breaks and watch with dismay as a familiar figure steps out of the driver’s side.

  "Thought you could get away from me, didn’t you?" Cody says. His hand hovers near his waist where his gun belt sits.

  Behind me, Leif calls out. "Who’s that?"

  Cody flicks the harness off his gun belt. "Better call off your boy unless you want him to get hurt."

  Edon told me that he could move faster than Cody could, but I don’t have Edon with me. I have Leif, who is clearly not as strong and probably not as fast. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if Leif got shot. This was the danger I’d feared all along. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

  Heart in my throat, I raise my hands. " I’ll do whatever you want."

  "‘Course you will. Because you’re a dumb cunt."

  He reaches for his gun, but before it can clear his holster, a terrifying roar fills my ears. A blur of silver streaks by the cart. I see Cody fall backward. The blur of silver coalesces into familiar figure.

  “No,” I cry. I don’t want Edon to get hurt. I start to get out but another wolf clambers into the passenger seat. Instinctively, I know it’s Ronnie. She paws at the ignition, indicating I should start the motor and get out of here, but I need to know my mate is safe.

  Ronnie whines impatiently beside me, but my eyes are pinned on Edon’s back. Cody’s arm comes up to strike Edon on the side. I tense, but my mate doesn’t flinch. He’s bent over Cody, his muzzle down by Cody’s other arm. I hear a growl and then a piercing scream of pain. Edon turns his face to the side and something bloody drops from his mouth.

  Ronnie headbutts the ignition.

  “All right. I’m going.” Reluctantly, I swing the cart around. I can’t resist throwing a glance over my shoulder. It’s then I see several other wolves lining the road, their mouths pulled back so that their dangerous teeth are exposed.

  I’m glad I’m not the one who brought a gun to a werewolf fight.

  By the time, I’m safely inside the gate, my big silver wolf appears by the cart, keeping pace as we bump down the lane. Leif and another wolf slip out while two others shut the gate. Ronnie jumps off and Edon takes her place. I keep driving.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of light and then a large, human hand comes to rest on the steering wheel.

  "Pull over here," he says.

  I do as he commands. I can tell by the tenseness in his voice that he’s on edge. He steps off the cart with his usual grace and plucks a blanket that I didn’t realize was there out of the cart. After draping it over his shoulder, he comes to my side and scoops me off the seat.

  "Shh. It’s all right now. The danger’s gone," he says.

  I’m shaking, I realize. I don’t know when
I started, but now I can’t stop. "I-I-I d-d-don’t kn-know why I’m scared," I whisper against his bare chest.

  "You’re not scared. It’s just your adrenaline high." He carries me farther into the woods, not stopping until we reach a small clearing. He drops the blanket and then lowers me to the ground.

  I cling to his shoulders and bury my nose into his neck, filling my lungs with that wonderful, fresh, clean scent of his.

  “He’s not going to hurt you ever again.”

  My mate isn’t going to go into specifics, but I know that bloody thing he had in his mouth came from Cody. It should bother me more than it does.

  “Thank you,” I say because I’m glad Cody’s gone. He was a bad person, and if he had lived, he would have hurt other women.

  “You’re welcome.” His hands attack the buttons on my shirt. “I’ll never allow a threat against you to exist.”

  It was the only apology I’d ever get, but I don’t need it. I shrug off my top and smooth my hands over the hard slabs of his chest.

  “And I’ll never let anyone hurt you, either.” I want him to know I’ll do my part to protect him. “I’ll handle all those pesky business matters that bother you so much.”

  “I accept your protection,” he says somberly. His fingers fall to my waistband. “I need you to be naked in the next thirty seconds. If you like these pants, take them off. Now.”

  I jerk my head up to meet his gaze. The big moons fill his eyes. The playful teasing was a cover for his barely checked lust. I hurry out of my jeans. The minute they are off, he has me on my back.

  He parts my thighs and makes a small grunt of pleasure when he finds I’m already wet. The blunt tip of his cock quickly replaces his fingers.

  "I can't wait," he whispers. "I need to claim you.”

  “Take me then.” I arch my neck as I’ve seen the other wolves do. It must be a sign of submission and I want him to know that I am completely his.

  Without warning, he plunges deep, stretching me, filling me. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and lock my ankles at the base of his spine and hang on. He fucks me with an unbridled ferocity I hadn’t experienced the other night.

  This is Edon Rule, wild and unchecked. The skin across his cheekbones is pulled taut. His silver eyes glow like the moon.

  I want him, but more than that, I love him and I need for him to make me fully his.

  “Take me completely. I want to be yours.”

  He pauses, mid-stroke. His feral gaze sharpens. “You don’t know what you’re asking for,” he ___.

  “I do.” I caress his cheek, loving the feel of his hot skin against my palm. I’m going to wake up each day to his silver eyes glowing like the moon. At night I’ll fall asleep secure in the knowledge that my wolf rests beside me. The path to this wondrous person was bent and hilly but the journey was worth every bit of pain experienced along the way. “I, Cassandra Jeanne Madson, ask you Edon Connall Rule, to complete the mate bond. Bind me to you more securely than any human vow or any man-created ceremony. Make it so that every place I go, there will be no doubt that you are mine and I am yours.”

  His lids flutter shut. Next to my head, his arms shake with strain. He mutters a curse, a prayer, and an exultation. When he opens his eyes once more, they are filled with a lake of molten mercury. He rams forward, piercing me so forcefully that my vision blurs. The orgasm startles me. I hadn’t realized I was so close to the precipice but that one stroke pushes me over.

  He hammers his massive shaft inside of me, driving into the welcoming earth. The wet sounds of our fucking are punctuated by his guttural expletives about how hot and wet and tight I am and my pleas for more and more and more.

  We whirl ourselves into the abyss and let the fountain of pleasure consume us. I scream when the first splash of his hot seed jets from his cock. He pulses inside me over and over and just when I think we’re done, just when I catch my breath, he surges once more until he’s seated fully, the root of his cock buried in my pussy.

  That’s when I feel it. That’s when the knot unfurls and locks into place. I gasp and open my eyes. He stares down at me with burning intensity.

  “You are mine now,” he says fiercely. “Mine. Now and forever.”

  A fire ignites inside of me—an almost painful ecstasy that starts at my core and shoots outward, spiraling down my nervous system. It swirls and throws me in the air and catches me only to propel up again and again.

  “Take me.” I cry. “Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop.”

  He roars, loud and long. The sound echoes in the trees. Birds screech in response and shoot into the sky, flying off. In the distance, I hear an answering howl. Then the air is full of the song of his pack. I should be embarrassed. Yesterday, I would’ve, but today the Pack protected me and this is their full-throated, open-armed welcome.

  This is not fucking. It is not a mere exchange of words and empty promises that some keep and some discard like yesterday’s tissue. This is a discovery. Out of the billions that walk the earth, our souls—his magical, mine human—have found each other and have created a bond so fierce that I don’t believe even death can separate us.

  As the sun sets and the moon creeps up, he keeps me warm with the heat of his body. I lie within the protective circle of his arms. We share our dreams of a future full of babies and laughter and fellowship.

  He shifts and I wrap myself around his wolfly form, marveling at the softness of his pelt and the terrifying length of his fangs. He licks my cheek with a rough tongue and then chases me around the clearing like I’m a tasty doe he can’t wait to devour.

  And devour me he does. Again and again until we’re both replete.

  “Edon,” I whisper, lazily drawing circles around his nipple with the tip of my finger. My finger is all I have the energy to move.

  “Yes.” He, too, is exhausted.

  I feel a sense a pride that I’ve worn him out as well. “I have to tell you something.”

  “Mmmhmmm.”

  “I…” I swallow hard and push the words out. “I wasn’t a virgin.”

  “So?”

  “So?” I raise on one elbow to see if he’s listening or lost in some post-coital haze. Those silver eyes blink up at me. “So you saved yourself for me. Aren’t you mad that I didn’t do the same?”

  “Are you a wolf?”

  “No.”

  “Did you know about true mates?”

  “No.”

  “Did you love anyone before me?”

  “No. Never.” I shake my head.

  “Am I the first in all the ways that count?”

  “Yes.”

  He tugs me onto the ground and cages me underneath his body. “And will I be the last to kiss you?”

  “Yes.”

  He leans down and plants a scorching kiss against my mouth. “And will I be the last to touch you?”

  He moves lower, ending with his lips hovering inches away from my belly.

  “Yes. Yes!” I wriggle with excitement.

  My reward is another wet, loving caress of his mouth.

  “And will I be the last to taste you?”

  He presses my thighs apart.

  “Yes,” I sigh breathlessly as he takes my clit into his mouth.

  He pleasures me with his tongue for a few delicious moments before rising onto all fours. “And will I be the last to fuck you?”

  “The very, very last.”

  The broad head of his cock pushes inside of my swollen tissues. It hurts so good.

  “And will I be the last to love you?” He whispers into my ear. His hips move slowly, dragging his cock inside of my aching cunt.

  “As I will be the last to love you.”

  There are no more words. They are unnecessary. We say all that is necessary with our bodies, making love until the moon crests in the night sky and blesses us with its unearthly glow.

  I am my beloved and he is mine.

  The Runaway Mail-Order Bride

  by Alexa Riley

&n
bsp; Read on for an excerpt from The Runaway Mail-Order Bride.

  1

  Willow

  The Runaway Mail Order Bride by Alexa Riley

  I wring my hands together as I wait for Bebe to get here. I know I’ve only been here for a few minutes but it feels like forever. It’s always does when I stay in one place too long. Irrational thoughts begin to flood my mind and all I can think is the more I stand still, the closer he gets to me. I clench the bag on my arm. It’s filled to the brim with all I could carry, and the weight of it is starting to make my shoulder ache.

  “Will!” I turn to see Bebe running toward me. She almost knocks me over when she wraps me in a warm, tight hug. I want to cry as I do the same, knowing this might be the last time I see my best friend for a very long time. If ever again. Who knows how long he’ll chase me.

  Bebe and I haven’t gone a day without talking since her family moved next door to mine in the second grade.

  “God, I’ve been so worried.” I hear the tremble in her voice and I hate that I have brought this nightmare into her life. “I want to kill him.” She squeezes me even tighter.

  We hold each other for a second, and then I look around as I cling to her. “Are you sure you weren’t followed?”

  “Promise. I snuck out the side door when I left work today and took the bus instead of my car.”

  I let out a sigh of relief at her words. I’m so close to getting away that I can almost taste it. I just didn’t expect it to be bittersweet.

  I pull back and look at her. Her blue eyes are watering and I know she’s fighting tears and doesn’t want to upset me. I’m doing the same thing, though I’m not sure I have any tears left in me. I’ve cried them all out this past week on cheap rent-by-the-hour hotel room pillows. They’re the only places that will let me rent a room without asking for ID.

  “How are my mom and dad doing?” I ask. Guilt weighs heavy inside me at the thought. My dad lost his job because of me.