The Bucklin Wolves Next Generation: Revelations

by Jessica Ryan

  “Stay back, Seth,” she said, a look of panic written across her face. “You’re not yourself right now. Don’t hurt me. Stay back!”

  Seth saw it before Maribel felt it. Her heel caught a rock and before she knew what was going on her arms were flailing and she was tumbling backwards toward the water. There were so many other jagged rocks in the water. The chance was too great that the back of her head would strike one and put an end to Maribel’s life for good.

  He sprang into action faster than gravity. In the blink of an eye he was shifted into his human form and diving into the water behind Maribel, catching her in his giant arms. It was like she had fallen onto a log; there was no give in his mighty muscles. Maribel’s eyes snapped open and she began to scream and reach for Seth like she was still falling.

  “It’s okay,” he whispered. “I have you. You’re not going anywhere, baby. You’re safe. I told you I wouldn’t let anything hurt you.”

  Maribel’s ample breasts were heaving as she tried to regain her composure and find herself. Recognition began to play across her face as she realized that Seth was the one holding her.

  “Seth,” she said. “I thought I was a goner. There was a giant cat and then a wolf… no, wait, that was you. Then I was falling and I thought I was going to die or hurt myself really bad. Oh my god, Seth.”

  He started to smile, but her hand snaked around behind his head and pulled his face to hers. Now it was his turn to be shocked as her lips closed around his and pulled him in for the kiss he had been waiting for for over a week.

  He was squatted down, creating a chair for her to lie across as she kissed him. As she continued to kiss him, he felt himself rising to full mast. His sensitive head found resistance as it poked against the smooth skin of Maribel’s backside.

  Her eyes opened wide as she felt the product of his arousal and she quickly stood up off of him, immediately killing the moment.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, grabbing at her cheeks as she turned away from him. “I didn’t mean to do that. Oh, my, I don’t mean to lead you on. It was just, I was scared to death and then you saved me and you were right there and…”

  Fuck, Seth thought. Another false start. He rose and put his hand on Maribel’s shoulder, trying to appear as non-threatening and soft as possible. Admittedly that was a pretty difficult task for someone as imposing as Seth. “It’s okay, Maribel. I understand. I shouldn’t have kissed you back.”

  “Really?” she asked.

  No, he thought. It was the perfect thing to do. It’s my right as your mate to claim you.

  Where did that come from? That wasn’t how things were done anymore. His thoughts shouldn’t have been turning to such a dark, animalistic place. It was the shift and the kill that had done him in. It had been so long since he had felt the thrill of the shift. Why did William caution him against it so much? Maybe Aster and Rowan were on to something.

  “Yes, really,” he said after an awkwardly long pause in which he gathered his thoughts. “You made your feelings clear to me. I was caught up in the moment too. I’m sorry.”

  “Do alphas actually apologize?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you give me a statistic on that?”

  “There isn’t one that I know of.”

  “Then maybe you should be the one to research it. You can write a big book of werewolf statistics for the other nerds to learn.”

  “I thought you said statistics didn’t work when you were dealing with a wolf.” She winked at him after she finished her jest—and Seth’s cock hardened again.

  “You can put that little tidbit in the disclaimer.”

  There was something in the air. Maybe it was the awkward sexual tension between the two of them. Maybe it was the fact that they were both stark naked and Seth was covered in blood. Maybe it was the fact that they were both so horny they couldn’t see straight—even though Maribel was trying to squash it. Whatever the case, they both erupted into an inappropriate laughter that dragged on far longer than either of them intended.

  When they finally regained control of themselves, there was another painfully awkward pause before they both started looking at the ground, the trees, and the water, anything but each other.

  “You have blood on your face,” Seth said.

  “What?” Maribel shrieked. And with that the awkwardness ended.

  Chapter 5

  Maribel was sure she was going to fall off and break her neck at any moment. People in full riding gear strapped into a saddle found themselves paralyzed after one bad fall from a horse. Statistically it was more dangerous than riding a motorcycle. Yet somehow here she was, a large pack strapped to her back and another strapped down in front of her as she bumped and moved through the forest riding Seth like a small pony.

  At first she had been afraid she would hurt him, because he really was the size of a pony and girls her size were not intended to ride ponies, but Seth had reassured her that he would be able to handle all of her weight and more. Now he was proving that right as he zigged and zagged through the forest and over the path, dodging rocks and sliding under tree limbs so Maribel didn’t take one right to the face. She had to admit, he was very graceful.

  If her grip around his waist had been strong during their motorcycle ride, then the grip she had on his fur was superhuman. He had told her over and over again that she could pinch up as much of it as she wanted and she wouldn’t hurt him, and he had also promised her it wouldn’t come flying out, leaving her with no grip, if she pulled too hard. So far he had been good to his word.

  How do I keep getting into these situations? she wondered. This is the second time I’ve gone on a dangerous ride with Seth.

  The first time it had been on his motorcycle and this time it was on his back. Still, she had to admit that he made a beautiful wolf. His hair was jet black and it was streaked with silver. His eyes were the deepest blue she had ever seen. His jaws were huge and filled with large, razor-sharp teeth like none she had ever seen before. Yet somehow she felt safer with them there. She wasn’t intimidated by the great beast at all—not like she had been at the water.

  That was truly the most frightening part of the trip up to this point, even scarier than her current ride through the forest on wolfback. She hadn’t noticed the cougar at all. He had been stalking her, preparing to strike. He was a shifter; Seth had told her that much about him. Had he planned on killing her or raping her? Or was he going to do both? Seth had told her that big cats didn’t lie with humans, but she just couldn’t trust that. She’d been naked and wide open for him.

  Luckily Seth had followed her scent and found her. How could she have been so foolish? Generally she wasn’t that stupid, but there was something about waking up in the middle of nature that had awakened something inside of her.

  She had spent so much of her life cooped up in offices or classrooms with her nose buried in a book. The most time outdoors she’d spent before this trip had been the walk from her car to whatever building she wanted to enter. She could see joggers going down the street from her apartment window every day, but she couldn’t ever bring herself to take that plunge.

  She’d actually bought Nu Balance running shoes and Lululemon running gear, but she still couldn’t bring herself to move past looking at her rolls in the mirror before stripping it all off and defeatedly watching television on the couch for the rest of the evening.

  But all of that was back in Dallas. She wasn’t in Dallas anymore, she was in the forest outside of Bucklin. This was a new place, and she had the baddest werewolf around protecting her. It was foolhardy, but when she’d woken up with the birds chirping and the morning breeze blowing she couldn’t help but explore. She’d taken her pack in case she needed her first aid kit, but when she saw the crystal-clear spring water she couldn’t help but want to be completely covered in it.

  She was dirty and sticky from the trek the night before and she wanted nothing more than a shower. Instead she found herself bathing in the cool
spring water. It had looked like something from a bottled water ad.

  She hadn’t even thought Seth would wake up in time to find her bathing. That had been a grave miscalculation on her part. Surely he’d been turned on by her naked body. Unfortunately she’d been just as turned on by his naked body. It was probably a good thing that she’d been soaking wet from her bath, otherwise he would have seen how slick the insides of her thighs were getting as she looked at his hard body.

  Luckily she had made it through the whole ordeal unscathed. She had even survived a brief kissing encounter with Seth. Although as she bounced up and down on his back, as the sun disappeared behind the horizon, she had to admit he was an expert kisser. She didn’t exactly have a lot of experience with this kind of thing, but it had been such a great kiss. The pressure was perfect and even after devouring another living creature his breath was perfect. She had tasted the coppery saltiness of blood as she kissed him, but that only added to the eroticism of the moment.

  If she hadn’t gathered herself, she would have spun around and taken his cock deep inside her just like that. She was so wet and ready for him, and even though he was larger than any man she had ever seen, she knew that he would fit perfectly inside her. He wouldn’t even have had to stand up; he could have remained squatting and used his thickly muscled arms to slide her up and down on him, impaling her until they both came.

  As she thought about it, she could feel herself getting wetter as Seth made his way over the wilderness path. The beautifully cleared path was completely gone now, replaced by some beaten grass, rocks and trees. There wasn’t a good place anywhere here for them to fuck if it came to that. He would have to bend her over in front of a tree and take her from behind while they stood.

  That thought completely flooded her pussy, making her moan slightly as Seth’s thick back muscles shot up with his jump, rubbing against her clit and causing pleasure to shoot through her body. Just as that happened he froze when he hit the ground, sniffing the air and craning his head to look back at her.

  Shit, she thought as the realization dawned on her. He can smell juices. Oh, no. Can he do that when he’s a human?

  If he could, then she was completely screwed. If he could smell her arousal, then that meant everything she had said in the boardroom to ward him off had been betrayed by her body. She did want Seth more than anything else, but she also knew it wasn’t feasible at this time in both their lives. If she had been stern and avoided him, then she would have been able to easily make it back to Dallas with no more funny business. But then she had been thrust into this trip. Even then it would be okay if she could just maintain the façade she had set up, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen now—he was on to her.

  Sure, she could say no and hope that he was a gentleman. But she knew that “no” was just a flimsy defense in this case. If Seth came after her and tried to claim her, she would be powerless to stop him. She wouldn’t want to stop him, she would just give in.

  No, she thought. You shouldn’t just give in like that. You have to be strong. But he’s so dreamy and he wants to protect you. He cares about you, silly girl.

  It was rare to find a guy who would care about a woman so much these days, especially a woman who wasn’t exactly a prize pick, like Maribel. Maybe she did have a good thing here.

  She pondered that and other mysteries of the universe, but mainly just where she was at in her life, as they continued to travel through the forest for the next several hours. By the time they came to a large clearing in the forest it was dark outside, but the moon was still hanging high in the sky. It wasn’t as large as it had been the night before when it was full, but it was still bright enough to illuminate the field that lay before them.

  In the middle of the field was a massive construction project. Someone was building a two-story home out here. There was already a slab laid with plumbing jutting up out of the concrete. There must have also been a well close by. Several windmills had been erected behind the house and she thought she even caught a glimpse of solar panels lying on the ground. Whoever was building this place was building a home that was going to be completely off the grid.

  Not far from the house was a single-wide trailer. All of the lights were out in it, leaving it a silent sentinel sticking out in the field. Whoever was building the house was probably living in the trailer.

  Seth lowered himself to the ground, indicating that Maribel needed to get off. She slid off and unhooked Seth’s pack, letting it fall to the ground next to him. He stood up and looked back at her, motioning with his nose towards the trees. He didn’t want her out in the open until he had cleared the area.

  Maribel put her back to a large tree trunk and sunk down onto the packs that she had stacked on top of one another as Seth stalked his way through the tall grass of the field—much like the cougar that had come so close to flaying Maribel alive.

  She couldn’t help but admire his wolf form again as he crawled through the grass with every thick muscle on his body flexed. It would take a truly special creature to get the jump on Seth right now. Unfortunately that was exactly the type of creature that had been watching them since they entered the clearing.

  Seth stood up and growled as he caught the other wolf’s scent. Maribel stood to warn him, but the other creature slammed into his side, sending them both tumbling through the grass in a blur of gnashing teeth and slashing claws.

  “Seth!’ Maribel screamed. She opened her pack, looking for anything that could be used as a weapon to help Seth out. The wolf that had gotten the jump on him was actually bigger than Seth—she couldn’t believe it. There was no way there was a wolf that large in the world.

  “I’m coming, baby!” she screamed. Unfortunately the closest thing she had to a weapon was a pair of scissors she had packed in her first aid kit to cut any bandages she had to wrap. She spun them around in her hand so that she could stab down and began to head out into the grass. Once again the situation had completely clouded her better judgment.

  For the first time in her life all the numbers and statistics in her head had taken a backseat to cold, hard instinct. She was completely focused on Seth and nothing else. That would prove to be her ultimate undoing. She never noticed the other one sneaking up behind her. The only indication that she wasn’t alone was when she felt the cold, hard barrel of a shotgun being forced into the small of her back as she heard the deadly click synonymous with this type of gun being cocked.

  “Don’t fucking move, lady,” a woman’s voice said. “If you try to shift I will blow your spine out the front of your stomach. This thing’s filled with silver slugs.”

  Chapter 6

  Seth rolled through the attack, managing to plant his paws on the ground and push as he slung the larger intruder off of him. It was a pissed-off looking wolf with a familiar scent. He knew the fight wasn’t in his best interest, but his half-brother was worked into a frenzy.

  He thinks I’m a wild wolf intruding on his territory, Seth realized as he tried to take control of his rage-filled wolf mind. The wolf was fighting on instinct and if he didn’t grab the reins good and hard, then they were both going to end up bleeding out here in the field. He knew Rowan was a badass, one of the strongest wolves in history, but Seth was no slouch in a fight either. There would be no winners.

  Rowan growled and leapt at him again, trying to pin him to the ground so he could close his powerful jaws around Seth’s throat and end the fight quickly—just as Seth had done to the cougar earlier today. That moment seemed a hundred years ago.

  Seth ducked the ill-timed leap and rolled out of the way again, but this time he forced himself to shift as he rolled across the ground. It wasn’t easy to shift when you were moving, and he had done it three times today with his only meal being burned trout that he had caught from the river before they headed out. His energy was sapped from so many shifts and from forcing the pissed-off wolf he shared a mind and body with back into the recesses of his brain.

  Now he w
as completely naked, with no weapons, staring down the biggest wolf he had ever seen. Rowan had always been an impressive man and an impressive wolf. He was the alpha’s true son, not Aster. Aster had only become alpha because Rowan had refused the command. Aster had never been as strong as Rowan and he had known it during his entire rule—it was why Rowan was his top enforcer.

  “Rowan, stop,” Seth barked, still crouched low, not wanting to rise to his full height. Rowan might take it as a challenge if he did that.

  The wolf stopped and cocked its head as he said its human name. Just as quickly as it recognized him, it melted back into anger and began to snarl and circle Seth.

  “Please, just hear me out,” Seth said. “I’m not here to cause you any problems. I don’t want to fight you, brother. Just hear me out. I’ve come in peace, brother. You have to believe me.”

  Rowan snapped and growled, taking a few lunging steps at Seth in hopes of getting him to freak out, but he held his ground and remained crouched with his eyes on the ground, refusing to make any kind of contact that would be misconstrued as a challenge.

  “I’m not here to fight, brother. I’m here to talk—about Bucklin. Please.”

  The man who rose up before him had always been an impressive sight to Seth. Even in his grief and depression over losing his sister, he had been intimidating. It was strange; Seth had never desired a relationship with his half-sister—the only thing he had ever sought was the approval of his half-brother.

  “Why do you keep calling me brother?” Rowan asked. It was dark, but in the moonlight Seth could see the fury in his eyes. Rowan’s jaw clenched was so tight that Seth thought his teeth would break.

  “Because I’m your brother,” Seth said, rising to his feet.

  “You lie,” Rowan scoffed. “I only have a sister.”

  “Your father had another child,” Seth said, swallowing hard. He knew the words he was about to say would anger Rowan. Only Aster knew about Seth’s lineage, and he had kept it a secret for so long. It was why Seth had been able to meet with Aster for advice shortly after he took the reins of Bucklin, but never Rowan. Did Leena know as well? “Out of wedlock.”