by Lia Davis
“I know that you are a foolish female. Humans are worthless.” He struck before he finished his statement, catching her off guard.
Searing pain exploded across her forearm. She cried out and jerked away. Blood spilled out of a deep cut running from her wrist to her elbow. When she glanced at Lester, she noted the small silver knife in his right hand. Bastard.
Silver was like a toxin to many wolves, but not lethal. However, the cut wouldn’t heal as quickly as other wounds. Fury raced over her, and she charged him, catching him in the stomach with her shoulder and knocking him into a nearby tree.
He roared and punched her in the side. Stumbling back a few feet, she gasped to catch her breath. Lester advanced, backhanding her. Pain erupted through her skull, and she fell to the ground. She kicked out, trying to swipe his feet from under him, but he caught her foot and twisted it. A scream escaped her lips.
Suddenly, Lester let go of her and ran into the forest. Her brother’s scent enveloped her, and tears of relief rolled down her cheek.
“Fuck, Lonnie.” He scooped her up.
If she hadn’t been in so much pain, she would have smiled at the nickname he gave her when they were kids. She pressed her cheek to his shirt, inhaling his scent. The scent of family and pack. Opening her mouth to speak, she let out a grunt, unable to form words.
“Shh. Don’t speak.”
She did as she was told as he placed her in the cab of his truck. He ripped the fabric from his sleeve then wrapped a piece of his cotton shirt around her arm. Once he secured the makeshift bandage snugly in place, she nodded, laid her head on the cool vinyl bench seat, and closed her eyes.
It only took Brock twenty minutes to reach her cabin, a record time for anyone. He carried her inside and straight to her bedroom. He ran his hands over her ribs, then down her legs to her ankles. Most likely checking for broken bones. Releasing a breath, he sat beside her and unwrapped her arm. “Nothing’s broken, but this was done with silver. I can clean it as thorough as I can, but it will heal as slow as if you were human.”
“I know.”
“Damn it, Alanna, what were you thinking going after him alone? Didn’t you smell his sickness?” he growled.
She and Brock were closer psychologically than normal siblings. Almost like twins, they could sense each other’s pain. “I wanted to see why he was after Bastian and why he shot Cody.”
He growled low and left the room. A moment later, the bathroom faucet turned on. She let out a sigh and stared at the ceiling. How the hell did everything get so fucked up?
***
Bastian sat in his dark, quiet apartment, watching how the streetlight reflected off his beer bottle. He’d taken some vacation time, the first he’d had since he lost his job at the hospital in Naples, Florida. How was he spending it? Thinking about a woman who wasn’t human, not fully anyway.
His phone buzzed on the coffee table. Glancing at it, he noticed Alanna’s number, but couldn’t bring himself to answer it. What would he say to her? Before he’d found out she was a Werewolf—no, shifter—he’d wanted to date her. Now, he wasn’t sure if that was even possible.
It wasn’t like the library had books on how to date a werewolf.
A knock on his door made the hairs on his neck rise. Who the fuck would come over at this time of night? Leaning forward, he picked up his phone and checked the time. Oh. It’s only eight thirty.
Setting his beer on the table, he rose and stumbled to the door. After looking through the peephole, he jerked the door open and glowered at the man on the other side. Alanna’s brother raised a brow at him, but didn’t comment. Bastian stepped aside so Brock could come in.
“What do you want?” Bastian asked as he dropped on the futon.
“The only thing I envy humans for is their ability to drink themselves stupid.”
Bastian grunted and reached for his beer only to have it disappear. “What the—” The lights flashed on, blinding. He blinked several times to adjust his vision. “What is your problem?”
Brock answered from the small kitchen tucked in the right corner of the apartment. “You need coffee to sober up and listen to me. I don’t do public service often, so you need to pay attention.”
Bastian studied the man as he started a pot of coffee. “What are you talking about?”
“Alanna. Do you know what she did? Of course not. You kicked her out after she trusted you with a secret that could get the both of you killed.” Brock faced him, his eyes darkening slightly, proving he wasn’t human.
His words didn’t make sense. “I don’t understand.”
“She told you about our kind, trusted you to understand.” Brock shook his head and turned to the coffeemaker. “She tracked Lester down today.”
Bastian jumped to his feet. A wave of dizziness overtook him, and he had to grab onto the back of the futon to steady himself. “W-why would she do that?”
Brock poured a cup of coffee, not bothering to put anything in it before bringing it to Bastian. “Drink this.”
Raising his brows, he said, “There’s no cream or sugar in it.”
“Drink it. I need you sober.”
With a frown, Bastian did as commanded. The bitter, unsweetened coffee shocked his taste buds and his system. “Tell me why she’d hunt him down.”
“It’s who she is. She’s a tracker. She tracks down rogues and deals with them. Only this time, she underestimated Lester.”
Fear did a better job of sobering him up than the coffee. “What happened?”
“She was roughed up a little, nothing serious.” Brock picked up Bastian’s beer and took a drink. “She’ll do it again. For you that is.”
“Why me?”
Brock glared at him for several moments before answering. “Because you’re her mate.”
Dumbfounded, Bastian stared at the other man. Her mate? “What does that mean, exactly?”
Shaking his head, Brock paced to the kitchen and turned off the coffeepot. “I think she better explain the details, but you’re a smart man. It’s exactly what it sounds like. I can tell you that when a Wolf finds his or her mate, it is a sacred thing. Not very many find true mates. Come on.”
Bastian gapped at him, unmoving. “Where are we going?”
Brock smiled. “I’m taking you to my sister, so you two can work this shit out.”
“What’s in it for you? I mean why do you care?”
With a deep sigh, Brock turned to the door and opened it. “I get peace. That’s all you need to know for now.”
Bastian followed the Wolf out to his truck. This has got to be the weirdest night of my life. Well one thing was for sure, he’d find out how to date a werewolf.
Chapter Nine
Alanna stared into the flames in the fireplace, her knees drawn to the chest. Her arm still hurt like hell, but most of her other bruises had healed. Her ribs were tender but bearable as long as she didn’t press down on them. Running a finger along the top the scabbed-over cut on her arm, she snarled. Damn silver.
She inhaled deeply then released a slow breath. Her Wolf refused to do anything tonight besides curl up and sleep. To make things worse, Bastian wouldn’t answer her calls. She needed to talk to him, explain to him about her kind and her way of life. It really wasn’t much different from his other than being faster, stronger, and able to shifter into a Wolf.
However, she could understand he unwillingness to listen, his fear of the unknown. After all, it was why shifters kept their existence a secret from humans. They feared the unknown, hunted it down, and destroyed it. All because it was different.
She wanted to destroy something at the moment. Lester. She would track him down again, and the next time she would be prepared to play dirty. Bastard would get his due.
A rough knock on the door brought her out of her musings. Drawing her brows together, she stared at the wood for a moment then uncurled from her position on the couch to answer it. She opened the door, and her chest tightened.
Bastian l
ifted his gaze to hers and, without a word, stepped forward, cupped her face, and kissed her. Warmth bloomed in her abdomen then spread through her. A soft growl rumbled from her throat as she opened to allow his tongue to plunge inside her mouth. Their mouths glided over each other’s, intensifying the growing need racing in her veins. She caught the hint of coffee on his lips.
Breaking the kiss, Bastian peered into her eyes, his pale green gaze shiny and a little unfocused. He drew his brows together. “I’m sorry. I—”
She pressed a finger to his lips. “Shh. I understand.”
His shoulders sagged, and he ran his hand down her arm. She winced slightly and tried to move away before he saw the cut, but he gripped her hand. “Damn. That should have had stitches.”
“It’s fine.” She linked her fingers with his and tugged him farther inside.
“Why aren’t you healing like Cody did?”
She tried to pull her arm away, but he tightened his grip. Lifting her brows, she met the challenge in his stare with a low, playful growl. The corners of his lips twitched as he looped his other arm around her waist and tugged her closer. “Answer the question.”
God, he was hot when he got demanding. “Lester sliced my arm with silver.”
A slight scowl entered his gaze. After a moment, his features softened along with his hold on her wrist. “There are so many questions.”
“Come sit and ask your questions.”
Sitting sideways on the sofa with one leg tucked under her, she watched him take a seat beside her. “Brock came by my place. At first, he didn’t make sense. He said I was your mate. To be honest, I don’t know how to react. I guess a part of me knew we weren’t alone. My grandmother talked about other beings and creatures among us, but like I said before, my family believed she was crazy.”
She looked away, not wanting him to see her nervousness caused by the dread whirling in her mind. What if he didn’t want to be mated to her, to have his life bound to hers for the next hundred fifty years or so? “Um, well, some Wolves believe we are all fated to be with someone. Others think that’s a bunch of crap. My mom told me once that a true mating binds the souls together.”
Her chest rose and fell as swarms of butterflies fluttered in her belly. Studying her hands in her lap, she didn’t dare look at him. She didn’t want to see the rejection in his gaze. When his warm hand touched her chin and lifted so she would face him, she closed her eyes.
“What is it?” he asked.
She shook her head, but when his lips brushed against hers, she popped her lids open. Blinking, she almost cried at the concern on his face and the warmth in the green depths of his gaze. “There is no divorce in mating a Wolf. And you can’t tell anyone, not even your family, about my kind.” She lowered her gaze again and said in a softer tone, “After a while, you’d have to cut off connections with the human world. Your lifespan will be tied to mine, and you’ll age slower.”
“I see.” He stood, and her heart slammed to the floor. She couldn’t go through another rejection from him.
Jumping to her feet, she walked over and poked him in the chest. “Don’t you dare come here, give me hope, and then say, ‘Sorry, but I can’t handle this.’ Fuck that.” Her vision blurred, and her Wolf paced beneath the surface. “I think you need to leave. I’m not even sure why you came here in the first place.”
She whirled around and marched toward the hallway. About halfway to her room, Bastian caught her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight against his chest.
With his lips to her ear, he whispered, “I came here to understand why I can’t sleep without you in my dreams. Why, no matter how unbelievable and scary this whole thing is, I can’t stop the overpowering need I have for you.”
Sagging against him, she laughed and cried at the same time. Her body filled with an abundance of joy, she lost control of containing her emotions. “It’s the mating. I feared you didn’t feel it.”
His lips were soft as he kissed her cheek. “I can’t get you out of my mind, the way you smell, the sound of your voice, the feel of your lips against mine.”
She turned in his arms and framed his face. “Imagine everything you said tripled and that is how it feels to a Wolf who has found her mate. It only grows stronger after we are mated. If you want to be my mate, that is. If there is even one spark of uncertainty—”
He stopped her by meshing their lips together. When he broke the kiss, he rested his forehead to hers. “Everything is happing so fast, but I can’t imagine a future without you. It terrifies me. What does that say about me?”
“That you are my true mate and I yours.” She pressed her ear to his chest, listening to the thump, thump of his heartbeat. “We don’t have to form the bond now. We can wait a little while. I do have to warn you that my Wolf is a little possessive.”
He bent to scoop her up in his arms. “I might be a control freak.”
“Oh, good. That means lots of makeup sex.”
After carrying her into her bedroom, he laid her on the bed. “Is there anything I should know about making love to a shifter?”
When he pulled his shirt off, she bit her lower lip and stifled a groan. Her mouth watered as she roamed her gaze down his chest to washboard abs. She licked her lips, fighting the urge to run her tongue over every inch of him while she sat up and reached for the button of his jeans. “I can be a little aggressive, but somehow I think you can be, too.”
After threading his fingers through her hair, he fisted a handful and gently pulled her head back so she looked up into his face. Tingles made her shiver and, if she’d been a cat, she would have purred.
The corners of his lips lifted as his eyes darkened with desire. “Only if you want me to.”
Fuck yeah.
He lowered those sensual lips to hers, and she melted into him, drowning in his cedar and spice scent. When his tongue swiped across her lips, she opened and met it with her own, tangling them in an erotic dance. Desire bloomed in her abdomen, growing into a fiery need too strong for her to control. She lightly raked her nails up his back, drawing a shiver from him. Satisfaction made her grin as his arousal enveloped them.
Trailing kisses across her cheek then to her neck, Bastian nipped at the sensitive part where her throat met her shoulder. A ripple of hot pleasure flowed through her, drawing a growl from her Wolf while the woman moaned at the dizzying sensation, her breath coming quicker. Every movement of her clothes against her flesh irritated her. She growled, gripped the hem of her shirt, needing to feel his skin against hers.
Bastian rose above her and removed her shirt, then worked on her jeans and panties. Once unclothed, she watched him undo his own pants. She licked the lips, but forced herself to be patient and not attacked the doctor. When he paused with his zipped halfway down, she growled low.
“Bastian,” she warned.
A sensual smile turned up the corners of his mouth before he lowered the zipper the rest of the way. He reached inside his jeans and cupped himself, drawing another moan from her. Damn, he was going to kill her. He pussy grew wet and ached for his touch. But two could play his game. She cupped one of her breasts, pinching and rolling the nipple between her fingers. He tracked the movement, hunger lighting up his green gaze.
With her other hand, she flattened her palm on her belly, slowly slipping it down, dipping her fingers into the folds of her sex. She spread her thighs to give him a better view as began circling her clit with two fingers. Her arousal heightened as her mate watched her pleasure herself. Rubbing faster, she lifted her hips and inserted the same two fingers inside herself and pumped.
Bastian climbed on the bed, brushing her hand away as he settled between her thighs. When his mouth covered her and his tongue teased the sensitive bundle of nerves, she cried out. He slid two fingers inside her, intensifying the pleasure rushing through her. Closing her eyes, she gripped the sheets and rode the orgasmic wave as it crashed over her.
Crawling up her body, he nipped at her sensiti
ve skin, making her jump slightly each time his teeth connected with her flesh. When he reached her breast, he flicked one nipple then the other. She groaned and arched her against him, wanting more.
“Beautiful,” he said in a whisper, barely audible, but she heard him and smiled.
When he hesitated, she frowned and met his gaze. “What is it?”
“I don’t have a condom.”
She relaxed. “Wolves can’t carry, give, or get any sexual diseases.” Watching him process the information, she laughed and cupped his face. “Nor can I get pregnant unless I want to.”
“You have control over it?”
“In a way, yes.”
One dark brow rose. “You don’t, do you?”
A laugh burst from her. She couldn’t help it. She pulled his face down and kissed him. “No, not for a long while.”
Hooking a leg behind his, she flipped him over and straddled his hips. His eyes grew large as he stared up at her. She bent and bit his lower lip. “Enough talking.”
She took his cock in one hand and guided him inside her, groaning at how he stretched her in the best possible way. He sucked in a breath before gripping her hips and pumping his own. She followed his lead, riding him faster and harder with each movement. Pleasure heated every inch of her as it built and then exploded in another bone-melting orgasm. Bastian roared out his own release a moment after, his body jerking under her hands.
Chapter Ten
“Does it hurt?” Bastian traced the outer edge of the long, slightly red cut on Alanna’s forearm. “You should let me take a closer look at it.”
“It’s fine. The pink is from a reaction to the silver. I can’t get infections easily.” She twined their fingers together.
Leaning in, he kissed her hair, inhaling her jasmine scent. For the first time in what seemed like a lifetime, he felt content, like a missing piece to his puzzled life had been found. He tightened the arm she rested her head on around her shoulder, pulling her closer. “What about Lester?”
