Three pairs of wolf eyes locked on me, each of them sparking with more than a hint of amber. Only one pair of calm golden ones in the mix.
Wolves did not function well in heightened emotional situations. It certainly didn’t help when my muscles started to vibrate and soft fur began to sprout along the backs of my hands once again.
My wolf stood in a protective stance, legs apart, muzzle up in my mind.
Danny broke the tension and strode forward. He walked to me in a surrender pose, shoulders hunched, eyes carefully downcast. “Easy there, Jess,” he murmured as he knelt down in front of me. “I promise you the lot of us here aren’t going to do anything to bring you any harm. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, really. Wolves can be really bloody stupid, it’s true. We’re stubborn and aggressive, and we never take kindly to change. But I promise, you’re safe with us.” He placed one of his hands over his heart. “I swear to it on my own life.”
I stood very still. I didn’t trust myself to respond. My wolf watched Danny carefully. The lines between her and me were still blurred from our encounter with the rogue. I’m not sure what had happened during the fight, but for now she was on this side. There were no dominance issues between us at the moment, only an equal unity to keep us both safe.
Danny’s eyes met mine for a moment and skittered away. He glanced quickly over his shoulder at James, Tyler, and Nick, who stood slightly behind him. “I think I can speak for everyone in this room, the very ones who watched over you as you grew up”—his face changed to a devilish grin—“and may I interject here to say you grew into quite a ravishing beauty.” He winked. “All of us plan to stand by you and we are fully prepared to lay down our lives to protect you, Jessica McClain. We always have been.” Leave it to Danny to defuse an awful situation with a pseudo pickup line and end with a heartfelt statement.
I smiled warily. My wolf relaxed a tad at his words and fur stopped sprouting along my arms.
“We have always known,” he continued, “that having a female among us would be risky. I knew it when I joined this Pack, and we all chose to stick it out despite the myths and rumors. Any one of us could’ve left anytime we wanted to, but we didn’t. We chose to stand by you and your father. Callum McClain is a great leader who deserves our respect, just as you do.” Danny bowed his head. “I gave my vow of fealty freely to my Alpha. I swore to follow this Pack to my death. Now I give it to you. I intend to hold up my end of the bargain and to protect you at all costs. I promise, you have nothing to fear from me, Jessica McClain.”
Shockingly, he dropped his head back and exposed his neck to me.
My wolf responded immediately with a rough bark. She accepted his posturing like it was her right, and growled with pleasure, nudging me to accept what he was giving us.
I blinked. My human side was wildly uncomfortable.
I trembled where I stood. I didn’t understand any of this.
This was all wrong. It had to be. Instead of moving forward, I took a small step backward. My wolf responded with a sharp, angry yip.
My eyes darted to my brother. He met my stare for a second before his voice sounded in my mind. It’s okay, Jess. Tyler was quiet. This is normal. Danny’s wolf has recognized your dominance over him, so he’s acting as he should. He can either choose to fight you for status or he can yield to you. He’s choosing not to fight you, which is extremely smart of him, since I would rip his goddamn throat out if he tried.
Tyler, my voice vibrated with emotion, I don’t understand what’s happening to me. This can’t be true. None of the myths and rumors were supposed to be real. I’m not supposed to be strong. I’m a female, which means weak in our world. I’ve always been less. A wolf like Danny should not be submitting to me. It has to be a mistake.
Jess, it’s going to be okay. When Dad gets here, we can sort it out. I have no idea what’s going on either. It’s going to take us some time to figure it all out. When you changed, your wolf was fully realized. It came the way it was meant to be. Your job is to shape and control it the best you can. We were both alpha-born. It’s not something you learn. You just need time, and I promise everything will fall into place.
I’m not sure I have that kind of time. I glanced at the dead body rolled up like a mummy in my lavender sheets. Then to Danny, who was still on the floor in front of me, neck back, waiting patiently for me to do something. What am I supposed to do now?
Flash him your teeth, meet his eyes for the count of five, and then walk away like you don’t give a damn.
That’s it?
Tyler snorted. That’s it, sis. Then we try to get back to fucking normal as fast as we possibly can.
I did what he told me to do. I flashed my teeth, growled, courtesy of my wolf, and turned my back and walked away. I headed purposefully into my kitchen. What I needed was a bottle of whiskey, but I settled for a glass of water instead.
My brother headed back to my bedroom. I heard him open my closet doors, and he came back to the living room a minute later carrying a big navy blue canvas duffel I used for carting my dirty laundry. I followed him into the living room.
“We can cram him in here,” he told James. “Then we toss it off the balcony. It isn’t body-shaped, and if anybody asks, we’re headed to the Laundromat.”
Everyone was moving around like normal. I pointed to the body. “He’s not going to fit in there. He’s twice as long as that.” I ran my eyes over the shrouded shape on the floor to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.
“Not for long.” Tyler grinned.
Right. I excused myself and went back to my bedroom to change out of my dirty, bloodstained clothes. Hacking up bodies and tossing them off balconies was hardcore. Life as a wolf was going to take some getting used to.
After I changed, I headed back to the living room slightly more refreshed, just as James and Nick stepped in from the balcony empty-handed. The deed was done.
Time to clean up. That was something I could do.
I grabbed a mop and bucket from my kitchen closet and went to work. Even though I was still trying to calm myself down, my limbs hummed with adrenaline, which made me jittery. The endorphins in my system nipped at my nerve endings in quick, staccato beats. There was nothing I could do about it. I had too much buildup between my fight with Drake and the rogue. I was hopped up with no place to go.
Half an hour later, with more muscle than necessary, the room appeared spotless to the naked eye. The smell of blood and werewolves still permeated the air, but to a human the scene would look and smell normal.
Tyler had already left with the body. Danny had gone to tighten security around my building. Nick had left, taking my bloodied bag of clothes and shoes with him, presumably to burn. He’d also bolted my front door back into place with a toolkit I kept for emergencies. The door wasn’t going to keep anything of substance out, but I had a big wolf with me for the night to help me maintain order.
My father had ordered James to stay with me, which was fine by me. If anything else happened tonight, I wasn’t sure I could physically handle it, and having company was nice.
“Here, let me get that,” James said as he plucked the bucket, along with the rags I’d been using, and walked them out onto the balcony.
I rested my back against the brick wall and ran my hands through my hair. It’d been a long night. One of the longest of my life.
James stepped back into my apartment empty-handed. He was wearing almost the same thing I’d seen him in yesterday, a black T-shirt and a pair of faded green cargo pants. I’d never really seen him in anything else. Both pieces of clothing were stretched tightly across his body, producing the maximum effect of powerful man. He had no clue how good he looked.
My wolf’s ears perked and I shifted slightly.
James stopped midstride, his gaze snapping to mine.
My breath hitched without my permission. I stared back. There, just below the surface, a hint of yellow danced across his irises.
Hmm.
When wolves fought, adrenaline raged through their veins, as it did through mine now. With the excess buildup from all the stress and excitement, they often ran for hours to get their systems back to normal.
Or sometimes they just had sex.
I dropped my eyes and fiddled with the hem of the tank top I’d changed into. “So, here we are,” I said quietly.
He growled in response.
My skin pricked and lust shot to the surface, hot and fierce. My wolf let out a long agonized howl, ending in a series of short, frantic barks as a dam inside me ruptured. Everything ached at once. My fingertips gripped the wall tightly so I didn’t fall down as the lust wrapped around me, tugging at my body, pouring through me with its urgent craving.
James stayed where he was. Waiting.
I didn’t dare look at him again. I knew his eyes would be blazing.
My wolf whined. She wanted this. There was no question.
But did I?
I knew feeling lusty was part of the newborn deal; add in all the chaos of the night and nobody had to spell it out to me. I needed a release. I also knew wolves had sex a lot. They didn’t view it as humans did. It was something to be fulfilled. A base urge. No emotional ties needed.
But I hadn’t grown up a wolf, I’d grown up human.
Hold on, Jezebel, I told my wolf. I’m not sure if I can do this— check that—if we can do this. I’m not interested in becoming a slutty werewolf, no matter how good it sounds right now. Being the only female wolf around, we’re going to have to watch it. And James is not our mate.
Don’t ask me how I knew that fact, because the man could fit the bill, there was no question about it, but James was not ours. I’d always heard finding your true mate was a gift, something rare. It didn’t mean James and I couldn’t sleep together, it just meant there was a slim to none chance we would ever pair up permanently.
My wolf gave a frustrated huff and threw a picture in my mind of an Alpha wolf taking his pick of females.
We are not the Alpha!
Huff.
Another flash of an Alpha wolf choosing a female, and—Helllooo, that’s enough of that! I get it. You want him.
A fierce growl.
It was a little too late to argue with her. The scent we were leaking into the air was pure, unadulterated sex, fueled for the most part by my horny wolf. It was so thick, I could almost see it. Geez, can you tone it down a few notches?
I inhaled and caught a new smell.
A wild, earthy scent flooded my senses like a sweet, inviting offer. All the cells in my body simultaneously popped and everything that was already aching started pulsing with a new, delicious heartbeat. My skin erupted in a million inviting tingles. I tightened my hands into fists, my regular nails pricking my palms.
I was losing myself to the overwhelming sensations.
And I liked it.
James moved, taking a single step closer. I lifted my head slowly and pinned him with a heated gaze. He was a warrior, his irises locking on mine, blazing full gold. A new tide of desire ran through me, his eyes triggering something deep inside me. His hands were fisted, his body tight with strain, his wolf at the very forefront. I’d never in my life noticed him like this before, but no one could deny he was a beautiful man. His olive skin shone, his dark hair just long enough to be deliciously tousled, his jawline strong and masculine. He looked thirty at the most, all of us destined to stay young forever.
I opened my mouth and a growl-laced purr came out.
My consent.
One step and he had me pressed up hard against the bricks. He snarled, his lips taking my neck, his tongue ran along my shoulder blade, his wolf seeking my taste. I groaned at his rich scent, pressing my nose and lips into him as far as they would go, inhaling deeply. His wolf sang directly to mine.
He pulled away and I mewed at the loss of contact. He brought his hands down and with one fierce tug my shirt was off. He stripped his away in the next motion, and my hands immediately found his chest, my fingers stroking the defined grooves, caressing the soft skin. I licked my lips in anticipation. My wolf yipped. James growled and put his head down in front of me, snapping my bra with his teeth. I dropped my arms and it fell to the floor.
His head was still bent, and I writhed on him like a drunken siren, dragging my hands through his hair, grabbing fistfuls, pulling him closer. My wolf howled in ecstasy.
His lips sought my nipples. He took one into his mouth with a fierceness that made me shudder. My head rolled back and I moaned. He lapped and pulled on the sensitive peak, making the sensations inside me strum and heighten at an exhilarating rate. I’d never experienced anything like this before. Everything as a wolf was more amplified, each touch a greater flood of sensation than the next.
He broke the seal on my breast and slid his lips slowly up my body, his mouth and lips running over my neck, growling in my ear, “This is it, Jessica. I won’t be able to stop myself if we go forward. So say your piece now.”
I couldn’t answer. Instead, my nails raked up his back and into his thick hair then traced back down to his backside, urging him closer.
He took his delightful lips off my skin and cupped his hand around my neck, tilting my face up to meet his, his thumb languidly caressing my jaw.
It took me a second to focus on him.
“Jessica … my wolf is too far gone.” His voice gruff with need. “You must tell me right now if you want this. I won’t be able to stop otherwise. If you don’t want this, all you have to do is tell me and I will leave your apartment and return in an hour.”
The adrenaline pounded in my veins, demanding a release. It was either this or change and run for hours with him.
“I want this,” I said simply.
He bent his head, his mouth finding mine. I opened myself to him, tasting, pulling, sucking. His lips were hot, firm, and lusciously soft, but there would be no sweetness between us, no wooing. This was going to be exactly what it needed to be.
I rubbed against him, lost to the delicious lust. He nipped my lips, my neck, and my breasts over and over. His body was so hard, so full of strong angles. The only thing keeping him out of me was the fact that we were both still wearing our pants.
I reached down between us and yanked blindly at his buttons. I buried my tongue in his warm mouth again, lapping at him while I eased the soft cotton down around his hips.
He gave me a throaty growl as I freed him. My hand ran along the smoothness, and he moaned into my lips. I rubbed my fist along the length as his hands slid around to my back, his thumbs dipping into my waistband. He flexed once and the flimsy yoga pants I’d chosen ripped apart at their seams, dropping around me in a pool of material.
He guided my hips forward, my shoulders tilted back against the wall, and entered me in one smooth motion.
I arched to meet him, taking his fullness deeply. I was more than ready and the pressure of him was delicious and intense. He stroked in and out, his hands pressed tightly into my hips, gripping me, guiding us together faster with each meeting.
I laid my forehead against his chest and cried out. My hands clutching the back of his arms, his muscles flexing in my palms. My nails dug in, following his movements, urging him. I whispered, “More … Please, more.”
He broke his hold on my waist and ran his hands down to my wrists. He grabbed hold and stretched them above my head, pinning me fully to the wall, pounding into me fiercely with his hips. The strength and power radiating between us made me dizzy. Each thrust sent shock waves though my body, amplifying everything until I screamed with pleasure.
“Jesus bloody Christ,” James ground out, releasing my arms and encircling my waist. “I’m not going to be able to keep up this pace for much longer. It feels too damn good.”
My hands found his firm ass and I grabbed his finer, tighter curves, pulling him closer to me. “James,” I breathed. “I want it harder … please.” I guided him faster, my nails urging him on. I met him thrust for thrust. We were both coated in a
slick sweat.
He threw his head back and roared, the intensity between us reaching its peak. “Jessica, please … you need to come now … I can’t …”
Two more and I was finished. I cried out, pressing my face against his chest as I came. The orgasm hit so powerfully I clung to him as frantic spasms rocked every cell in my body.
His response was immediate.
He let out a savage howl, crushing me back against the bricks as he pumped his furious release into me. My body exploded again as I came for a second time, delicious currents raging though me, my nerve endings pulsing with heat. With the last thrust we collapsed against each other, panting heavily.
My body rang with pleasure.
We were both satiated, exhausted of all remaining usable energy.
So we did what wolves do.
We made our way back to my bedroom and crawled into bed together naked and satisfied, curling around each other for warmth and comfort.
Neither of us moved a muscle until the next morning.
When we were rudely awakened by incessant pounding on my still very broken door.
11
Someone was jackhammering their fist against the wood. I was amazed the door still held. If they were trying to wake the dead, they were succeeding. I jumped out of bed and threw on the first robe I could find. It was a smooth black silky number with large pale flowers and a decidedly geisha feel. I didn’t have time to be picky, since the pounding reverberated around my empty apartment like an echo with a vendetta.
James rolled off the bed behind me, running an absent hand through his hair. He looked completely unfazed by the early morning wake-up call, which was good news. It meant our visitor wasn’t a serious threat. I was happy to know I wouldn’t have to start the day off with my fists.
“Morning, Jessica,” James murmured as he strode toward the bathroom. “Call me if you have any trouble.” He shut the door behind him.
The pounding intensified as I belted my robe. I hurried out of my bedroom wondering who the mad knocker was. It could be my father, but I hadn’t sensed him. That didn’t mean much, since I hadn’t sensed last night’s attacker either. I sampled the air, but there were still too many other lingering scents in my living room from last night. A residual blast of pheromones gave me a little jump. Yikes.
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