WithHerHunger

by Lorie O'Clare

  “The one in the jeans and green sweater?” Toubec’s female asked. She smiled at Luther and sniffed the air. Her blue eyes narrowed on him. “Is she the one I smell on you?” She had the good sense to lower her voice when asking.

  “Yes, she’s the one.”

  Toubec looked at his mate and she shrugged. When she released her mate, he slapped her rear before she could walk over to Mariah. Mariah watched warily when Toubec’s mate walked up to her. When she shifted her attention briefly and met Luther’s gaze, he nodded inconspicuously and watched her exhale.

  Luther felt a hunger deep inside him stronger than any he’d known before. Mariah’s long blonde hair streamed past her shoulders and down her back. Her creamy-white flesh was smooth, free of scars, showing she’d led a protected and safe life with her pack before the humans burned them out. Her eyes were large and a beautiful shade of blue.

  Her sweater was snug and hugged her perky breasts. It ended at her narrow waist. The blue jeans she wore could have been painted on to her long, slender legs. She looked so damn hot it was all he could do not to start panting just staring at her. A group of single males howling at each other noticed Mariah and growled in her direction. Something hardened inside him so painfully it distracted him. Luther didn’t realize he’d started toward them until Toubec growled a warning under his breath.

  “They won’t bother her.” Toubec stared hard at Luther just as his mate reached Mariah. “If she smells anything like you, they will take her as a mated female.”

  Luther wanted to howl Mariah was mated.

  “You sure you want a lunewulf female?” Toubec asked.

  He wanted to say he wanted Mariah, regardless of what breed she was. “They’ve got to be easier to train than Cariboo lunewulf females,” Luther said instead.

  Toubec threw his head back and laughed hard enough to draw attention from others around them. Luther didn’t appreciate everyone sniffing his direction, their curiosity smelling ripe and mixed with amusement.

  “Catching a female lunewulf is one thing,” Toubec said quietly, and sobered. “Training them is an entire different matter,” he added under his breath.

  His mate was returning with Mariah by her side. She pranced up to her mate, rubbing against him suggestively with an ornery smile before looking away from him and at the young female.

  “May I present Mariah Engel,” she said to her mate.

  Toubec turned from Luther and gave the young, single female his attention. “Your litter has run here from the Yukon Territory?”

  “I’m the only one left in my litter.” Mariah focused on Toubec’s mate when she spoke.

  “You ran down here without protection?” Toubec’s mate asked. “No male forced himself on you?”

  “I ran here with my new pack. We might not have a pack leader yet but I had plenty of protection. And no male forced himself on me,” she added, her scent turning angry with her final words. “In fact, I’ve instigated all sex I’ve had recently.”

  Toubec’s mate leaned closer to Mariah. “You realize how damn hard a Cariboo lunewulf is to tame, let alone train?”

  Mariah’s spicy scent disappeared almost immediately. She smiled but didn’t smell happy. “I don’t know,” she growled sweetly. “So far he’s trained rather well.”

  “How old are you?” Toubec growled, wisely not commenting on what Mariah had just said.

  “I’m twenty-two.”

  Toubec didn’t say anything for a moment and his mate glanced up at him as if she could smell his thoughts. Luther didn’t smell anything. Even Mariah’s smile faded. She looked at Luther and he crossed his arms against his chest so he wouldn’t grab her and pull her to his side. He might need to ask Rousseau for permission to mate with Mariah, but something told him Toubec pulled a lot of weight in this territory. They would do well to have his blessing as well, if they were to run with this pack.

  Toubec’s mate growled under her breath when she asked, “Are you sure you want to mate with this male?” she asked, gesturing to Luther.

  Mariah smiled at Luther. “I’ve already mated with him, in flesh and fur.”

  Toubec’s mate looked up at Toubec and nodded. “I’d have to agree with her there.”

  Toubec cleared his throat. “Alger, you two have my blessing. Since the lunewulf that ran down here haven’t determined who their leader is yet, talk to Rousseau in the morning then bring your new mate with you when you come howl at us after noon. You two will do better with your den on my ranch than in Prince George.”

  Mariah took a step toward Luther. Toubec stepped between her and Luther, facing Luther. “Until you speak with Rousseau, Mariah will be under the protection of myself and my mate at our den.”

  Luther froze. “What the fuck?” he whispered.

  The older Cariboo railed him with a hard, damning stare. “This female can’t be allowed to run alone with you,” he snarled. “Our pack accepts Cariboo but one wrong move and they will howl loudly for you to be outcast.”

  “I can run alone,” Mariah informed Toubec, stepping around the older male and glaring up at him. Once again her spicy anger clouded the air around them. “Telling me to do otherwise would smell rather hypocritical at this point, don’t you think?”

  “What I think doesn’t matter,” he snarled, curling his lip at her. His scent didn’t change though.

  “Has your mate castrated you?” Mariah hissed.

  Toubec’s mate growled fiercely as she started toward Mariah. Toubec grabbed her arm and prevented her from lunging at Mariah.

  “We have their blessing,” Luther reminded Mariah, and growled a warning for her to behave. It was damn near the hardest thing he’d ever done though. More than anything he wanted to grab Mariah and get the hell out of there. He was smelling his first chance of being part of a pack, and it had its appeal. The appeal wore thin when it came between him and Mariah.

  “But we can’t be together until some antiquated law is honored.” She glared at Toubec and turned the same hostile stare at Luther. Then throwing her arms up in the air in disgust, she stormed away from them.

  “Mariah,” Luther howled after her.

  The male who had fiercely spoken to Mariah a moment ago now chuckled. Luther glared at him, unable to keep the spiciness of his outrage emanating from his body.

  “I told you they’re hard to tame,” Toubec grumbled to Luther.

  Toubec’s mate slapped his chest and Toubec laughed louder. Luther growled his frustration and started after Mariah.

  “I’ll go after her,” Toubec’s mate suggested.

  “No,” Luther said, and was barely able to contain his frustration. He wasn’t sure why he had thought he could run to a lunewulf gathering like this and feel as if he belonged.

  Toubec caught up with Luther before he was around the side of Rousseau’s den. They’d managed to grab the attention of those around them. Their curiosity held a tangy scent to it.

  “Once you catch her, bring her to our den,” Toubec ordered.

  Rousseau came up to both of them, sniffing hard and looking from one to the other. “What’s wrong here?” he demanded.

  Toubec held up a hand. “Nothing at this point.” He nodded once at Luther. “Go,” he instructed. Then to Rousseau, “I’ve got the matter covered.”

  Luther might not be known as the fastest breed on the planet, but he was damn close. He didn’t wait to hear what else the pack leader might have said but bound around the front of the den and broke into a run when he hit the street.

  Luther’s blood burned with lust as the change threatened to tear through him. Toubec told him lunewulf females were hard to train. Once he caught Mariah, her training would begin immediately.

  Chapter Five

  Luther stepped into the shadows beyond a patch of evergreen trees and held on to Mariah’s scent as he stripped out of his clothes. The change attacked his senses, barely giving him time to twist his clothes into a rope and tie them around his neck. There wasn’t time to worry abo
ut his boots. He’d get them later.

  Blood burned hot through his veins. The change attacked his system. Both halves made him a whole and controlled strong aspects of his nature and who he was. Luther could no more live his entire life in his fur than he could in his flesh. He was Cariboo lunewulf, the fiercest, most aggressive breed of lunewulf on the planet.

  As his bones lengthened, joints popped and reshaped and his spine stretched and moved with gravity to pull him down on all fours. His new physical appearance took form. Fur spread over his bare flesh. His senses ignited with new life. His vision grew clearer. He suddenly smelled everything around him, from the lingering exhaust coming from parked cars to the remaining burning embers behind Rousseau’s den that had cooked the kill he’d eaten with the rest of the pack members.

  The night air rushed over his fur, lifting it so Luther felt the intensity of it against his hide. He heard every movement of every living creature around him. Even the breeze rustling through the trees grabbed his attention. Luther focused on the only scent that mattered to him.

  Once in his fur, Luther had a completely different perspective on everything he’d just experienced. He let go of all harsh emotions and his growing temper he’d been unable to prevent from creating a stench before he’d changed. Things were now black or white. Luther didn’t hesitate or pause to consider how his actions would be interpreted by others. Call it a more primitive, focused way of seeing things. The moment the change influenced his brain, Luther knew what he would do and exactly how to do it.

  Luther took off racing after Mariah’s scent. He tore across the meadow behind the row of dens where Rousseau’s litter lived. Every small creature around him smelled the predator who was suddenly too close for comfort. Luther heard each one of them race for cover. They could run and hide. It didn’t matter. Nor did the few deer that caught his scent and ran as fast as they could for their lives bother him. Luther only planned on hunting one creature tonight.

  Her scent filled his lungs and he dug his deadly claws into the earth as he bounded after his petite, sexy lunewulf female.

  You will be mine—and all mine, he roared as he leapt into the night and proved Cariboo lunewulf were blessed with speed too.

  Luther raced over uneven ground, following Mariah’s scent as it grew stronger. The little lunewulf might have the grace of speed, but Luther was larger, more muscular, and could clear just as much ground in as little time as she could. If she thought she could outrun him, he had no problem proving to her otherwise. She might be pissed, but Mariah would learn he would always be there for her. He slowed when the strength of her scent began growing weaker.

  Circling back around, Luther padded between a rocky incline and the thick nest of trees and undergrowth. Mariah’s scent was the strongest here. She was either up on the rocks or watching him through the thick trees.

  Where are you, my little lunewulf? he grumbled in his throat.

  His body tightened with need as he breathed in her aroma.

  He leapt onto the ledge of rocks above him and spotted her. Mariah lay just above him. Her eyes glowed from the moonlight and her white coat looked silky smooth. Luther ached to rub against every inch of it.

  The moment he jumped from where he was to the larger, secure patch of grass above him where Mariah lay hiding from him, she jumped from her hiding space and backed up, roaring at him.

  His low growl made his meaning clear when he stood before her. We can fight if you want, my little lunewulf. But we’ll work this out together.

  Mariah arched her back, her hackles up. She lowered her head as she began moving from the back of the large ledge, trying to circle around him. She curled her lip, issuing a warning. He could so easily mount her right now and impale that hot, soaked pussy of hers. Even as she snarled, he smelled her lust growing stronger the longer they were together on the ledge.

  In spite of his primal urge to fuck her, Luther smelled Mariah’s pain, her embarrassment, and understood her urge to run. It was in their nature. Running cleared their soul, freed them of all emotions and allowed them to return to their flesh refreshed and able to take on their problems.

  Talking had never been one of his strong points. He would rather fight than discuss something. Right now, though, the only way they would work anything out was to discuss it. Luther didn’t want to think about what it might mean if he was willing to tuck away his claws and howl instead of attack. Forcing the change, Luther engaged the burning as it started in his spine but quickly moved in his bloodstream through his veins. In spite of not wanting to think his actions through too clearly, he already sensed the truth. It smelled dangerously of love.

  The night dimmed around him, making it harder to see. His hearing muted, all the life around him growing silent and only the drifting of the breeze through the trees remaining. His human hearing and seeing might suck but his sense of touch and feeling were impacted by the frigid night air, and his naked body was soaked with sweat.

  Luther ignored the cold, not even taking time to shiver as his adrenaline took over.

  “Change,” he ordered the moment he was able to utter the word.

  Instead of listening to him, Mariah leapt into the air. She flew toward his shoulder, a white blur coming straight at him. He smelled her defiance, but not fear. He also smelled her lust.

  This wasn’t a game for her. From what Luther knew about Mariah so far, she was defiant, determined and willful. All traits he once swore would turn him off in a female. But they smelled hot as hell on Mariah.

  He leapt into the air.

  Luther didn’t think about being in his human form. He didn’t focus on how much stronger Mariah was in her fur than he was standing on two legs. Luther wrapped his arms around her and knocked them both to the ground.

  Mariah rolled out of his arms and stood, backing away and growling as she shook herself until her fur lay smoothly again.

  “Change,” he demanded again, crawling toward her and away from the edge of the ledge.

  Her body began transforming and he watched in lustful awe. Her shimmering white fur receded until damp, smooth flesh appeared. Her large, almond-shaped silver eyes transformed to a beautiful shade of blue and took their smaller, human shape. As her face changed, he smelled her emotions, raw and too fresh in her now-human body for her to conceal from him. Luther breathed in her excitement, the intoxicating scent of her desire and sexual arousal, and the salty smell of nervousness. It was the clean, pure and incredibly intoxicating smell, a unique scent that was a mixture of both of them that damn near knocked him backward. He wasn’t sure he had ever smelled love before but somehow knew it was what he smelled now.

  The moment Mariah’s damp body trembled on the rocks, and she stumbled, trying to stand, Luther grabbed her and pulled her against him. She was breathing hard and her perky, round breasts pressed against his chest. Her nipples were instantly hard. Her flesh was silky smooth against his rough, seasoned skin. He ran his hands over her long, tousled pale blonde hair then gathered it in his hands.

  “I lost my temper and ran. I humiliated myself,” Mariah whispered, her words coming out broken as her voice trembled from the cold.

  Luther barely noticed the cold. “I agreed with you,” he told her, his voice raw with emotion. He wasn’t sure what to say about the new aroma he smelled on both of them. She had to smell it too. He let go of her and untangled his clothes from around his neck.

  After laying his clothes on the ground to create a makeshift bed for them, he untied her clothes from around her neck and draped her sweater over her shoulders. “We’re going to make love until we wish it were colder outside to cool our bodies off.”

  He laid her down on his clothes and adjusted her sweater so it became a pillow for her. Then, stretching out next to her, he draped one of his legs between hers, pinning her underneath him. She smelled a mixture of the outside and a mixture of emotions that created an intoxicating scent he would be drunk off of soon.

  “If you’re doing this jus
t because I got upset about Rock Toubec growling about me being under his protection…”

  “That’s exactly why I’m doing this.”

  When Mariah started to scoot away from him, Luther tightened his grip on her, preventing her from moving.

  “I’m doing this because I want you under my protection,” he stressed, and kissed her.

  Her complaint turned into a soft moan. After a moment, Mariah opened for him and their tongues began a wicked, promising dance of lovers. Her small hands moved over his body, causing his muscles to twitch and harden under her touch.

  Their relationship had started with wild lovemaking under a sky full of stars. Tonight it would be seared into something stronger.

  “I want you as my mate,” he grumbled, his teeth slightly sharper than they were a moment before when he tore his mouth from hers and began kissing her neck.

  “We’re already mated.”

  Luther raised his head and stared down at her. It was one thing to smell her emotions, but he had to know her mind. Maybe then he would understand his own.

  “Are we mated out of lust?” he asked.

  “No,” she said, shaking her head.

  He couldn’t hide his happiness, and Mariah smiled, her happiness mixing with his.

  “I won’t have our mating challenged,” she added. “We might always have to run according to our laws and traditions. But I don’t care if you’re Cariboo and I’m lunewulf. And if that means living outside the pack, we don’t need their protection.”

  Her nose twitched adorably as she sniffed the air between them. “And how do you feel about me?” she asked.

  “I have fallen in love with you, my little lunewulf,” he grumbled, barely able to voice the words and kissed her again. They would come stronger with time. He wasn’t an expert on the emotion but he knew it would grow stronger as they ran together. Although right now, he couldn’t imagine it being any stronger than it was now.

  Luther was fairly certain Mariah told him she loved him too. He didn’t need to hear the words though. As he mounted her and they began to make love, Luther smelled her love for him, and that was enough.