Beast of All

by J. C. McKenzie

  My mountain lion perked up and purred. Her support somehow finalized a decision I’d already made. I smiled. My cat grinned and disappeared to the other side.

  “Everybody out.” Wick’s voice, though quiet, held a steely command.

  Guess he had enough of waiting, too.

  I gulped down the rest of my beer and gently placed it on the coffee table beside me as everyone straightened and snapped their attention to Wick.

  Taking in his tense posture, scent, and trained gaze on me, understanding spread across their expressions. Mel giggled, grabbed Dan’s hand and practically skipped out of the house. The others shuffled behind them, some smiling, and some frowning.

  Except Stan.

  He hesitated and turned to me. “Andy?”

  Wick growled deep and low.

  Stan stiffened, but held his ground, his hand drifting to his sidearm. “You going to be okay?”

  I certainly hope so. Not trusting my voice, I nodded my head.

  Stan grunted and stalked out of the house, muttering about “bat-shit crazy supes” along the way.

  “Andy.” Whiskey and cream vibrated the room. Wick stood still, muscles tense, gaze Werewolf gold.

  “Wick.” The corners of my lips curled up.

  “I don’t have much control left. If you plan to back out or push me away, or you’re not sure you can go through with this, you need to leave. Now.”

  I had no plans to ever let this man go again. I knew his worth, always had, and now I’d pay any price to have him, consequences be damned.

  Instead of replying, I pulled my borrowed shirt over my head and flung it across the room. The cold air hit my bare skin and goosebumps pebbled along my arms.

  Wick closed his eyes and clenched his fists. “I don’t think… I won’t, can’t, be gentle.”

  Hell yes. I was in no mood for slow and sweet. There would be time for that later. I pulled my jogging pants down and let them drop to the floor by my feet. Wick’s scent ballooned up from the discarded clothes.

  Wick’s yellow gaze popped open. His nose flared. His chest rumbled with a deep growl. He pulled off his shirt. The soft whisper of fabric landing on the floor fanned the ache growing between my thighs. His strong chest and abs caught the light, and my mouth watered.

  “If you stay, I will claim you,” he warned. His gaze swept over my naked body from three feet away and sent warmth rolling through me.

  I stepped out of the pants pooled around my ankles and used a foot to flick them away. With my feet shoulder width apart and hands relaxed at my side, I waited, naked and vulnerable. I wouldn’t run from this man, this Alpha who’d shown me patience, understanding and vulnerability when it went against his nature. Wick had also shown strength, leadership and power. The dichotomy of his actions—how such a formidable figure could bend to show what ignorant people considered weakness—made my pulse race.

  Wick’s gaze remained trained on me, unsmiling, unyielding, holding on to his humanity with a string as his wolf pushed for control. His wild lupine energy rushed forward and licked my skin. The animal nature within me rose to meet Wick’s wolf energy as it spiraled out and wrapped around me.

  “Your eyes.” Wick frowned.

  My eyes prickled telling me they’d shifted, but Wick had seen this before. Heck, he’d seen all of me before. But tonight was different. Tonight was special. My skin tingled with the promise in Wick’s gaze.

  “What about them?” I croaked, my voice well-passed sultry. I’d rather do something else with my mouth. Wick’s body bordered on perfection. I’d seen it many times, touched it, licked it, but never experienced the full potency like I planned to tonight. Over six-and-a-half feet tall, with broad shoulders, his chiseled abs led down to…his pants, with a definite bulge. My memory replaced the clothes with vivid recollections of the uncensored version of what lay beneath. I licked my lips.

  “They’re Werewolf yellow,” he explained.

  Huh? I ripped my gaze from his ready body, and scrambled to recall what we’d been talking about. What was yellow? The sun? What the hell… Oh, that’s right. My eyes. Guess my chameleon nature could pick and choose without any direction.

  Right now, the choices of my nature could go fly a kite. My mind preferred to think about positional choices.

  Wick’s zipper broke the tense silence following his words. He pulled his pants down. The dull thud of his belt against the cold floor sounded as a starting gun for my breathing. He’d been commando like me, and his sizable erection jutted out.

  And still, he remained infuriatingly out of reach, three feet away.

  “What are you waiting for?” I asked.

  Wick’s jaw clenched. “For you to bolt.”

  “I’m not run—”

  Wick was on me before I finished the sentence. His strong body slammed into mine. His hot mouth claiming as his wolf energy swirled to merge with mine. Strong arms circled me as we fell to the floor. Weightlessness flowed over my mind as time seemed to slow down. Wick pushed inside before I hit the hard wood floor. His arms protected me from the brunt of the impact.

  The heavy weight of Wick’s body pressed me against the cold wood as his searing warmth pulsed inside and his wet tongue tasted my mouth.

  He flexed his hips and pushed deeper.

  “You feel so good,” he mumbled into my mouth. The heat of him filled the emptiness inside. My body sent shooting shivers across every cell in response, anticipating what was to come. As incredible as this moment was, every inch of me yearned for him to move. With slow precision, he withdrew, his gaze boring into mine, daring me to look away, to break this connection building between us.

  Another moment of stillness settled over us, like the moment right after jumping off a cliff before gravity takes hold and barrels your body toward the waiting sea. And just like that, Wick slammed back in with a groan.

  With my arms wrapped around his muscled torso, I rose to move with him, and feed the searing ache in my core. He dragged a hand down to cup my ass and pull me closer, spreading my legs wide. The hard wood beneath us warmed as my body slapped against it with each thrust. Nerve endings stirred and tingled. My breathing quickened, growing shallow and fast. Wick’s tongue drove into my mouth in time with his hips.

  The room around us faded away, time slowed to the point it no longer existed. Nothing existed but this moment between us.

  He slowed his pace, pushed deep, and changed his rhythm, his hips grinding in a spiral, sending shockwaves of pleasure through me. His hard body moved over mine, encasing me in warmth and muscle.

  Wick’s intense gaze trained on my face. His full lips parted and the tips of his partially shifted canines jutted out, as he continued to stoke the searing heat building inside me.

  Sweat broke across his brow and his strong arms tensed as his hold on me tightened. I rocked to match his rhythm, slow and deep, then quick and shallow. His skin seared mine with every touch. As my heart beat in tune with Wick’s, it expanded, pushing against my bones and tissues, as if it wanted to get outside my body and touch Wick, or merge with him.

  The exquisite ache continued to build. When he leaned down to trail hot kisses along my body, and changed to a shallow scooping motion, a guttural sound escaped my mouth, more animal than human.

  “I need more,” he groaned.

  I braced against the floor as he drove into me while holding me in place with his strong arms. His hands drifted down to rub against me. The move shot pleasure through my veins like a lightning bolt. My lips parted. My animal rose up to entwine with Wick’s wolf. His lupine energy dove inside, invading my core with each pump of his hips. The energy expanded, all consuming until I couldn’t tell where I ended and Wick began.

  Wick’s hoarse breath caressing the soft skin on my neck drowned out the slapping of our bodies. Sweat broke out across my skin. He gripped my hips so hard, his fingertips dug in. The expanding heat in my chest continued to press against my skin, as if I’d burst if I didn’t let it out to claim Wic
k.

  The beast joined the intense energy and spread out. My eyes and gums tingled. Blood pooled in my mouth as fangs descended.

  Wick looked up from the breast his hot mouth claimed. Blazing yellow irises bore into me, as if he saw the scorching power expanding and demanding release. He snaked his hand to grip the back of my neck and pulled me in for another dizzying kiss. His tongue twisted and swirled with mine, tasting, consuming, claiming. When the pressure built to an unbearable level, I pulled back.

  Wick licked the blood off his lips, and his challenging gaze met mine.

  My animal nature leached into my fiery veins and melted my bones. My body throbbed, my core ached. As the pleasure reached its peak, I sank my fangs into the tender flesh of his neck. The orgasm broke in waves over my senses. I moaned into his skin as the pleasure rippled through my body, and Wick’s blood coated my tongue, delicious and sweet.

  Wick’s wolf howled inside my mind. The beast growled. Wick shook as my animals claimed him. His muscles tensed, yet he continued to stroke, thrusting again and again with his powerful hips.

  Mine. All mine.

  With retracted fangs, my head snapped back. Blood dripped down my chin.

  I roared.

  Wick’s rhythm faltered, and he leaned forward. Dragging his nose against the skin of my neck, he brushed my hair to the side. Tingles raced down my body. Long fangs pierced my neck, penetrating, as the wolf energy claimed me. He thrust one last time before he shuddered.

  A second orgasm slammed through my body. Unexpected, but not unwelcomed, it vibrated my bones. I cried out as my body bucked against Wick’s.

  When I settled, and my breathing calmed, Wick lathed the trickling blood on my neck.

  “Mine,” he growled.

  The sensitive flesh where he’d bitten my neck throbbed in response.

  “Yours,” I agreed.

  I ground against Wick and rocked out the lingering tendrils of the most potent orgasm of my life. The constriction around my heart released, as if sunken barbs retracted and let go. My chest expanded with warmth and freedom. I smiled against Wick’s neck as all tension flowed from my body and my muscles grew limp.

  He leaned forward and rested his sweaty forehead against my breast. More warmth spread across my chest as Wick pulled me closer, his strong arms shaking as he encased me. Our animals sank into each other, and Wick’s contentment hummed through my veins.

  I felt him. He existed inside my body, my mind, my heart. He was inside my soul.

  “And you’re inside mine.” The tips of his lips twitched. Blood from his bite had smeared across his face.

  The beast’s low voice rumbled, I am you, you are me, we are one.

  Wick stiffened. “What the hell was that?”

  “My beast. She likes you.”

  Wick chuckled and relaxed as he rubbed his scratchy cheek against mine. He kissed his bite mark. Tendrils of pleasure danced along my neurons from the contact.

  Distant, as if he fenced them on the other side, multiple wolf energies howled and milled around. The pack. Their energies pulsed through my bond with Wick.

  His arms tightened around me briefly before he ducked down to kiss a nipple. “You’re officially invited to join the Lower Mainland Werewolf Pack.”

  I laughed, and Wick’s chest rumbled.

  “I accept.” There’d be a ritual later, but now was not the time to think about the pack, or anything else other than the man with me right now.

  Wick twitched against the sensitive skin of my thigh, the tension returning to his body, and a hungry look replaced his content gaze.

  “Already?” I trailed my finger down his back to his ass, and gripped the corded muscle.

  He chuckled in response. “We’re not done here.”

  Wick’s wolf howled inside my mind.

  “I can go slower this time. Gentler.” He pulled me up so I straddled him.

  I hung my arms around his neck to hold him close. “Please don’t.”

  Wick’s bare chest rumbled, and rubbed against my breasts. Delightful tingles zipped along my nipples. Definitely not done here.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Simple is as simple does

  “I don’t always do cardio, but when I do, it’s called sex.”

  ~The Most Interesting Man in the World

  Wick spent the rest of the night proving he was a considerate lover, and he could, in fact, be gentle. He put my needs above his own, and, well, it was a good thing no one had remained in the house. The sounds that man made me make…

  Fresh cut grass and the aftermath of musky coconut swirled around Wick’s bedroom, evidence of our happiness. We lay wrapped around each other in Wick’s supersized bed, the sheets in disarray, our hair wild and crazy, and if my content smile looked anything like Wick’s, we both wore large, ridiculous grins. Hipsters would vomit at one glance.

  “You don’t mind hearing my thoughts in your head?” Wick asked out loud.

  I didn’t catch everything going through his impressive brain, but I caught the powerful ones, the emotional ones, the ones that turned my limbs to goo. My heart swelled, as if doubled in size with the mate bond. It beat in tune with Wick’s. “Not at all. I’m used to hearing voices in my head. You?”

  Wick’s chest rumbled, and he nuzzled the soft skin on my neck, the bridge of his nose running along the scars of his mark. My body trembled. My nipples pinged.

  “I’m used to housing the angsty emotions of a whole pack of delinquents in my head. I’m good.” He paused and ran his hand along my naked skin. “I love you, Andy. Always have.”

  I smiled as the truth of his words wound around me in an invisible hug. “I love you, too.”

  Wick leaned in and kissed me. His hands continued to stroke, and potent need rose again.

  The air in the room rushed over my body, as if someone opened a door into the room quickly. I pushed away from Wick, but the bedroom door remained closed.

  Like the air above hot pavement in the summer, the space at the foot of the bed shimmered. Before I could react with something more effective than “Uhhh,” Sid appeared with Veronika clinging to his side.

  I bolted upright in bed, pulling the sheet with me. Wick jumped up. His menacing growl rumbled from his chest. With a flashing yellow gaze, he fought the change. Hair grew and his skin darkened. My bones ached, itching to shift with him. Unease, both his and mine, coiled inside my chest.

  Sid and Veronika remained still. Thankfully, instead of his normal naked state—if you called that normal—the Demon wore stylish form-fitting jeans and an old school reggae shirt. Veronika had also dressed casual in jeans and a purple T-shirt.

  What the hell?

  “Bad time for a social call,” I said.

  Veronika blushed and looked away from Wick, still vibrating with anger, poised to attack, and still very much naked. My gaze travelled down his glorious body and every inch of skin I had kissed, licked and sucked the night before.

  Burnt cinnamon shrouded the space between us and ruined my fantasies.

  Sid’s lips curled into a sneer as his gaze snapped between the two of us. “I suspected as much. Be grateful I waited as long as I did.”

  My eyes narrowed. “If you fed…”

  He held his hand up. “Please, Carus. Now that you’re mated, you’re one of the few entities I cannot feed from. Instead of looking like a fat, juicy steak, you’re about as appealing as a salad.”

  Did he just call me fat?

  And juicy, Wick snarled in my head.

  I laughed. I hadn’t meant to project that thought. Everyone turned to stare at me, gazes wide, as if I finally lost it. Maybe I had.

  “Is Tucker dead?” I sighed and dropped back against the headboard. Impending doom seemed unlikely.

  Wick remained tense, ready to pounce and rend at the slightest provocation. The part of my body reserved for him and the bond shuddered.

  “Most painfully.” Veronika glanced up. Her gaze turned cold and her body tensed. �
��He begged for death in the end.”

  “Good.” My limbs tingled with warmth. Looking at Veronika, and the tremors racking through her petite frame, she needed to exact her revenge, her way. “Is that why you are here?”

  “I came to wish you congratulations,” Sid said.

  “Could’ve waited,” Wick seethed.

  “Remember who I am, Wolf.” Sid turned his dark Demon gaze on the Alpha. “My anchor is no more. Instead of smiting her, I am here to wish her well.”

  He squeezed Veronika to him. They exchanged a soft look, and a small smile touched Veronika’s lips.

  Well, that’s an interesting development. A lot of what Sid just said and did was interesting.

  I sat up. The constricted heart from last night, the release of the talons once sunk into muscle, made sense now. The freedom I’d felt had been the removal of Sid’s claim on me. “You released your mark?” My voice came out more incredulous than intended.

  Wick relaxed, following my thoughts. He shot me a grin. We were free. Free of Lucien, free of Sid, free of my nightmares, finally free to make our own decisions with only the intense bond between us.

  Sid laughed. “I did no such thing, little one. You did the one and only thing that could remove the mark.”

  Mating.

  Tristan’s words from an eon ago floated through my mind: There’s no room for a third person in a mate bond.

  I smacked my forehead. It was so obvious, so ridiculously simple. The mating bond had pushed out all other marks and claims.

  “Could mating have removed Lucien’s mark as well?”

  Sid nodded.

  “Could it have prevented him from controlling Wick?”

  Sid hesitated. “Not fully. He didn’t have a bond with Wick. Lucien controlled Wick by controlling his wolf. However, as his mate, you’d have equal sway over the animal, and the power to prevent Wick from harming you or others.”

  Anger vibrated through my bones. Stomach acid bubbled up my throat as my gut twisted. If only we had known. We could’ve prevented so much heartache. If I had jumped in and embraced the mating call when I first heard it, instead of running from Wick in fear, I could’ve avoided so much death and pain. Tristan would still be alive.