The Wolf's Heart

by Jenna Leigh

  “Hi yourself, baby, I’ve missed you.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and grinned down at her.

  “You missed me, huh? I guess there was one thing that you didn’t miss.” Her long hair was up in a ratty ponytail and there were dark circles under her eyes, but she looked more beautiful to him right now than he remembered her being. Even with the impressive snarl.

  “Um, what?”

  “Let’s just say, that on your last visit to the Temple of Lainie, you left a little something behind.” She pointed at her belly. “When in the hell were you coming to get my pregnant ass?”

  Uh oh, she knew about that too. “I—” he began but she cut him off.

  “You let them take me away again.” Tears glimmered in her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. “You’d think I was a mushroom as much as I’ve been kept in the dark and fed a steady diet of bullshit. Well, I’m not takin’ it no more, you hear me?”

  He couldn’t help but grin. Even in the middle of a fit, in front of his whole pack at that, she made him smile. “I love you, Lainie,” he whispered.

  That took the wind out of her sails. She frowned for a minute then opened her mouth. He forestalled the rest of her rant by jumping down from the rocks to stand in front of her. “I didn’t think you remembered me, and I was told it was best for you if it stayed that way.” He stroked his fingers down her cheek.

  “What a load of crap.” However, she stepped into the circle of his arms easily enough. “I love you too, Scooby.”

  Marcus filed the insult away. She’d pay for it later, when he got her into bed. He noticed the eyes of his pack on them; some were frowning, but most seemed impressed by what she’d just done. “How’d you figure it all out?”

  “I was at the grocery store. Oh shit, I forgot my ice cream!” She pouted for a second. “Anyway, I saw big boy over there, as if I could miss him.” She glared at Mick, who shuffled his feet and grinned sheepishly. “And everything sort of fell into place.”

  Marcus looked at David, who was looking everywhere but at him. Aha, so, she’d passed the test and this was how. He breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re home now, that’s all that matters.”

  “I guess so. But if I ever have to say what I said to Mick, ever again, I’m going to skin someone,” she grumbled. “Cheesy bullshit.”

  “What did you have to say that was so awful?” He pressed his face to her hair and inhaled deeply.

  “Take me to your leader.” She huffed out an exasperated sigh and cocked out her hip. “How cliché is that?”

  That startled a laugh from him. His head fell back and the noise echoed around the small valley. Some of the others joined in, but a few naysayers remained.

  “Bitch,” one of the younger women, he thought her name was Carley, hissed. She’d had her eye on him for a while. She pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes and showed Lainie her impressive canines.

  Lainie held her chin at a regal angle. “Honey, that’s Queen Bitch to you and don’t you ever forget it.” She wiggled the stun gun meaningfully. “Unless you want another taste, you’d better back that shit up.”

  “She’s right, back up.” This came, astoundingly enough, from Charlotte. While her husband was rather high in the pack, she usually kept silent. Now, she came forward to stand beside Lainie. “If you don’t, I can make you wish you had.”

  One by one, the females came to stand beside the Lupin’s chosen mate.

  “Charlotte,” John growled meaningfully at her.

  “Oh, be quiet. It’s silly to think that we can’t be civilized enough to deal with a Breeder in the pack. She makes him happy.” Charlotte glared at them all in turn. “He’s done so much for us; can’t you do this one thing for him?”

  “I can.” Allen stepped up beside Lainie. She grinned and put her hand on his arm. Allen gave her a small nod before turning to glare at the assembled pack once more.

  “None of you have to stay. I won’t have you hunted down; I won’t think less of you.” Marcus’s voice rang out. “I’m your Lupin, but I’m not a dictator. By that same reasoning, you won’t dictate who my mate is. My head, my heart, my very soul belongs to her. If she goes, so do I.” Lainie drew in her breath but he squeezed her hand, asking her to remain silent. She pinched him, but otherwise, complied.

  Finally, all of the elders, including John, said a collective “aye”. Cheers followed, turning into yips and howls beneath the full Arizona moon.

  She turned to him and smiled. “I never got to tell you just how beautiful I think you are in all your forms.”

  “Thank you, Lainie.” He let out a breath, unaware how much it meant to him to hear those words until she said them.

  His cousin brushed past her in wolf form, his black shaggy coat identical to Marcus’s own. “Hey!” She grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. “Who is this?”

  “Jordan.”

  “Who came into the bathroom with me that first night?” Jordan, always up for a good scratch, leaned against her. She readily complied, but kept glaring at Marcus.

  “Oh, that was me.” He smiled back at her, ignoring his cousin’s wolfish snickers.

  “You’re a pervert.” She put one hand on her hip and tapped her foot on the ground. Jordan butted her hand to remind her of her duties. “Oh, sorry.”

  “Well, yeah.” Marcus grinned unrepentantly.

  “I guess I’ll forgive you just this once, Scooby,” she said, still scratching Jordan’s neck. His tongue lolled out and his eyes closed in ecstasy.

  “Excuse me, but that’s mine.” Marcus shoved him away. “I get all the good scratches; you go find your own woman.”

  Jordan tossed his head and stalked off to join the others in the hunt for the ever-elusive rabbit. The rest watched her from a distance, but he knew that soon they’d all clamor around her; she’d draw them into her web just as she had him.

  Lainie grinned. “Honey?” Her voice was pitched low.

  Marcus leaned down and kissed her, sinking into the warmth of her mouth. They stayed that way for a long time, before he raised his head. “What were you saying?”

  “You’re going to turn all furry in a few, right?” She looked away and bit her lip. Was she frightened of him? He knew that she wasn’t of Jordan, but they’d always fought, and that probably helped ease a lot of her fear.

  “Yeah.” He slid his hand through his hair, and sighed. “Later on, I will.”

  “I guess this means that you have PMS too, huh?” She looked up at him mischievously.

  “You’re gonna get it.” He lunged for her.

  She squealed and danced backwards, sliding around David and peering from behind him. “Promises, promises.”

  David groaned and shook his head. “I’m going to be naked in about five minutes. That’s your final warning.”

  “Ew.” She wrinkled her nose and took off running.

  Marcus ran after her, leaving the howls of his companions behind. She laughed as she turned to make sure he kept up. He let her get a little ahead, before he poured on the speed and grabbed her. He swung her up in his arms and carried her toward one of the more private areas. “Oh, look, a blanket.” He wiggled his brows at her.

  “Hey, where did this come from?”

  He sniffed the air right before he lay her down. “Allen.”

  “I don’t want Allen to know we have sex.” She tried to wiggle away but he was too fast for her.

  “I think it’s a little late for that.” He put his thigh over hers and pinned her down on the ground. “I’m so glad you figured it all out.”

  “Yeah, I’m not happy about that test thing. Like the Emergency Braincast System. This is a test. This is only a test. If it had been an actual cock-up, I’d have never remembered a damn thing.”

  “Joanna and David cooked it up. They said if you were strong enough to break the psychic bonds, you’d get here. Only then would the pack accept you. This has been the longest three weeks of my life.” He grimaced. “It’s all David’s faul
t.”

  “You like blaming him, don’t you? Blame him for the Taser in my purse too.”

  “It is his fault, he set it all up,” Marcus insisted.

  She smiled up at him. “I know, I remember the exact words he said.”

  “What?” His fingers slid beneath the hem of her shirt to rest on her belly. It was barely even round, but soon, she’d be big with his child.

  “Damn it, Joanna, don’t make it too hard. I gotta see my grandbabies sometime.” She gave a fair imitation of David’s voice. “Then, I went all foggy for a few days, and woke up in my house with no memory of anything. Where’s Sam?”

  “He died in the explosion, or we think so.” He pulled her close.

  “Good.” Her bloodthirsty tone made him smile.

  “I thought he hurt you and I went crazy. It just got worse when I found out the truth. The pack council forced me to stay away from you. They argued that if you weren’t strong enough mentally to break the bonds, then you couldn’t lead the pack with me.” Marcus’s eyes glowed with the rage he still felt.

  “I’m too stubborn to forget you. So, don’t think you’ll get away that easily. And you were right, you know.”

  “How’s that?” He pulled the ponytail holder out of her hair and slid his fingers against her scalp.

  She closed her eyes and purred. “You promised it would be okay, and it is. I love you.”

  “Damned if I don’t love you too, even if you are crazy as hell.” He smiled in the face of her mock glare. He could practically see the gears turning in that brain of hers.

  Sure enough, she tugged gently on his hair to bring him closer. “I thought you said something about me getting it.”

  His hands cupped her ass, pulling her hard against him. “Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me.”

  She giggled seconds later when her sweats flew into the branches of the tree above their heads, soon followed by her shirt. “It is my job as ruler, to remind you of your duties.”

  When she lay on her back in nothing but a pair of underwear he was sure she wore just to make his brain melt. He sat back on his heels to stare in appreciation before sliding them off. “What are my duties?”

  “That.” She sighed when he skimmed his fingers back up her legs. “And t-that,” she stuttered when he spread her open and thrust his tongue inside her. “Ohmigod, that. Please.”

  His tongue halted her words and her breath for a long moment. His husky laugh sent her over the edge. She muffled her scream, biting the edge of the blanket.

  She squirmed, but he held her. “Mine.” He slid his fingers inside her, flicking her clit with his tongue before he suckled it.

  She stiffened, moving her hips up against his mouth, mindlessly responding to him. He loved every damn minute of it, and drank her down greedily. He almost came when she did; the smell and taste of her made his cock so hard it hurt.

  “Yeah, and that too,” she said a few minutes later, after she stopped writhing beneath him. She seemed subdued as he rolled onto his back in an attempt to gain control of his reactions.

  He didn’t want to hurt her. The fact that she was pregnant scared the shit out of him and he told her so.

  She hooted at that comment and came up on her knees. “I’m pregnant and queen of all I survey.” She threw her shoulders back, drawing his attention to the lush fullness of her breasts. “You will bow down and worship me.”

  Were they getting bigger? He squinted and decided that, yes, they were. Maybe this pregnancy thing wouldn’t be so bad. “Yes, you’re my queen,” he agreed, his hand snaking out to capture one full mound, stroking the distended peak.

  She arched her back and smiled right before she took his cock in her hand. “Then, this shall be my scepter.” She leaned down and licked him, swirling her tongue along the broad head before sucking him in her mouth.

  “Hell, yes,” he gasped out, tangling his fingers in her hair. She squeezed his shaft as she sucked, her teeth grazing the sensitive flesh on the underside of the flared tip. “Damn, Lainie, stop.”

  She did, pulling back with an audible popping noise. Her smile widened as she threw one leg over his hips and slowly slid down onto his cock. Her pussy stretched over him, embracing him in a fist of warm silk.

  He shuddered and closed his eyes at the sensation only to open them wide when she clenched her inner muscles around him. He watched the play of the moonlight on her skin as she rode him here beneath the trees. Her head fell back as she abandoned herself to him totally.

  The warmth of the night was no match for her heat. Their bodies moved in perfect tandem, thrust for thrust as the pressure mounted. She had her legs clamped tightly around him, refusing to let him go. With a wicked smile on her face, she moved her hips in a slow circle, grinding against him.

  That was just enough to send him over the edge. With a shout, he released his seed inside her, thrusting mindlessly until he couldn’t move anymore. His cock swelled inside her and he heard her groan, “I could get used to this.”

  “You’d better, there ain’t gonna be nobody else doin’ this.” He lightly smacked her ass.

  “Ha.”

  “Ha? I’m the boss, not you. You might be the queen, but I’m the king.” He frowned.

  “The big bad wolf, huh?” She snuggled closer, apparently enjoying being tangled together.

  “Damn right,” he told her in the hard, mean tone he employed to intimidate everyone from shareholders to the subordinates in his pack.

  For a second or two, she at least attempted to look frightened then sputtered with laughter. “Oh my, what big teeth you have.” Putting her chin on her hands, she gave him a mischievous grin and used her inner muscles to squeeze his cock, hard.

  He yelped, and his eyes rolled back in his head. However, he still had the presence of mind to answer, “All the better to eat you with, my dear.”

  By now he should have known she’d get the last word in, after all, this was Lainie, the love of his life, the center of his world. “Damn, I hope so. But I ain’t coloring my hair red, so get over it.”

  He’d never get over it, and as long as she was here, by his side, he didn’t want to get over loving Lainie.

  About the Author

  To learn more about Jenna Leigh please visit www.jennaleighzone.com. Send an email to Jenna Leigh at jennaleigh35@gmail.com or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Jenna! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Southern_Fried_Romance_Writers/

  What’s a girl to do when she can’t change into the family wolf and Mr. Beast kidnaps her man? Take the evil on and kick some ass—with or without a furry coat.

  The Beast Within

  © 2006 Kelly Ethan

  Now Available in print

  Cassidy Quinn, Private Investigator extraordinaire, helps down and dirty humans and monsters of Memorial City…for a price. But when a friend phones with a puzzling medical case, Cassidy knows the big bad has come to town—in the form of a rogue Werewolf out for blood. Making herself known to the new evil, she fights against his web of deceit and lies, battling to save her friends, family and sexy police detective Patrick Logan.

  One problem—the beast has targeted Cassidy for his mate and he has the upper fang since she’s stuck in human form. When Cassidy finds Logan an all too seductive distraction, the beast’s anger explodes and Logan is kidnapped by the werewolf.

  Can Cassidy find Logan before it’s too late and he becomes the main course?

  Enjoy the following excerpt for The Beast Within:

  There was pain and misery in the room, as well as an intense feeling of dread from whoever was in there. She took a deep breath. “All right. Let’s go.” As she entered the room, Cassidy mentally reached toward the bandaged figure on the bed. The pungent, gagging odor of pain and terror that beat at her was overlaid with the sharp, metallic tang of blood. The impression of a shadowy figure pleased with its handiwork jumped out at her. Peering further into the room, all Cassidy made out was a crumpled form covered in
bloodstained white gauze. The figure twitched and yelled at them.

  “No, no, stay away. No closer. You stink. Can’t you hear the pounding, too? It won’t go away. Make it stop.”

  “Stay here, Maya.” Cassidy inched toward the man and watched while he cringed back into the bed. She saw his wizened face, aged prematurely beyond his years, dirty brown hair liberally dashed with streaks of pure white. Shock and trauma had aged this man and encroached on his life. Cassidy angled toward him and sniffed.

  Someone else’s marker was on him. One unlike any other. It was not quite right, the tang of a predator, but twisted. Her stomach tightened with nerves as a feeling of distrust grew in her. She clenched her hands, joints protesting, her nails cutting into her palms before she forced herself to relax her taut fingers. Gaze narrowed, Cassidy inched closer and bent to pry open his shut eyelids. The figure screamed as he focused on her.

  “For gods sake, Cassidy, be careful.”

  Cassidy crept backward and motioned for her to exit the room. They slipped down the hall and into a spare room. She closed the door, rested her forehead on it, and took a deep breath.

  “Cassidy, what the hell is going on?”

  “He was admitted with what looked to be deep lacerations to his chest, lower abdomen and his arms, right?” Cassidy turned and fully faced Maya. “He’s had a large amount of blood loss and seems hyper-reactive to light and has super sensitive ears and nose.”

  “Yes. Do you know what happened to him?” Maya clenched her fists.

  “The patient seems to showing signs of becoming a Were. But it’s not possible. Not possible at all.” Cassidy slammed her fist into the door and cracked the wood. “Oops. Sorry, Maya.” She looked at her un-bruised hand, it did pay to be part wolf sometimes.

  Maya waved Cassidy’s concern over the door away, a frown on her face while she puzzled the problem. “You’re saying he’s a lycanthrope.”

  “That’s the thing.” Cassidy turned toward the window. “It’s not possible. To be a Were, you have to inherit it through birth.”