by Lacey Thorn
“Here you go, ladies.” Fresh beers and a new bottle of tequila were set on the table. “Band is setting up now. Give me a wave if you need anything else.”
“What if you take the initiative and pick the one you want?” Ivy suggested after a few more shots. “Think about it. You turn the tables. Pick one of them, and say you want him or none at all. Hell, you could demand Bastion James himself. See how he likes the shoe on the other foot.”
“The whole point is I don’t want to be mated to any of them,” I reminded her.
She waved her hand, and I realized she was feeling the effects of the alcohol. Ivy’s personality was so large I sometimes forgot how much smaller than me she was. While I topped out at five-feet, eight-inches, Ivy was barely five-two in her bare feet. That meant it didn’t take as much liquor for her to feel it.
“Then we should think about running, which means I should probably start sobering up.”
“Not yet,” I said, pouring fresh shots and pushing one toward her. “So you think I should appeal to his reason.”
“It’s as good a suggestion as any. Just be sure not to fall for his magnetism. I hear it’s pretty strong.”
I laughed. “Who have you been talking to?”
“Anyone I could find,” Ivy admitted. “From what I hear, there are a lot of female wolves willing to sprawl out for him to mount. Hell, for any of his group, for that matter.”
I glanced at her over the top of my beer. It cracked me up how we nursed our beers slowly but downed tequila as if it were water. Priorities, right? The music thrummed, and I thought it was time we exercised something more than our minds and mouths.
“Let’s dance,” I urged, needing to get lost in something other than my head. My thoughts raced, and my wolf pressed against my skin. Right now, the best thing was to get up and move.
I’d just started to lose myself in the music when I felt the charge in the room. I lifted my eyelids to see a bunch of lethal-looking wolves making their way across the room. Other shifters moved out of their way. My gut told me who the new group was before my ears caught the whispers.
Alpha pack. Bastion James.
I stayed where I was on the dance floor. Either Ivy hadn’t noticed the change in the room or didn’t care as she continued to dance. I saw several of the men with James watching her ass shake then found myself captured by a pair of dark eyes. I swear the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. Or maybe, it was just my lungs. Either way, the heat he put off singed me. I felt it in the soles of my feet, working up my legs to pool between my legs, making my most intimate parts moist and achy. I licked my lips, feeling parched. Ivy said something, but I couldn’t tear my attention from the man I knew had to be Bastion James. I couldn’t look away. A shiver worked through me. My breasts swelled as my areolas tightened, turning my nipples into taut buds. I ached. For him.
One arrogant brow lifted, and a corner of his mouth twitched insolently. That was all it took for whatever spell he’d had me under to snap, freeing me. I returned the look with interest, letting my gaze skim over him from head to toe. The man was huge. He’d easily tower over me, and that was saying something. His chest was broad, thick with muscle, and part of me wanted to rub all over him, marking him with my scent. I blinked with shock at my thoughts. Mark him with my scent? What the fuck was my wolf thinking?
I flicked out my tongue to slick my lips, feeling parched and ready for more tequila. His gaze narrowed, and my belly tightened. I forced my gaze from his, glancing around the room, noting other females preening and posing in attempts to pull attention their way. When I glanced back toward him, his attention hadn’t wavered. His gaze was still glued to me. He said something to one of the men with him, and the guy nodded. A few of his men fanned out across the room, and the bar began clearing out. The band kept playing, and I kept moving, waiting to see what he planned.
The music moved me. I swiveled my hips and ran my hands over my body as I gyrated to the beat. It wasn’t long before more eyes than his followed my movements. He didn’t seem to like that, and I smirked. A few of our community still hung out, and apparently, one of them was feeling ballsy. I didn’t mind when he joined Ivy and me on the dance floor. I did mind when he reached for me. A growl built in my throat, and I was ready to embrace the mean coming on when he was suddenly gone. A huge beast of a guy stepped in front of me, the same one James had spoken to earlier.
“It’s time for you to go home, Miss Byrd.”
What the ever loving fuck? Seriously?
“Funny,” I countered. “I’m pretty sure it’s time to dance.”
“Your father would like you to go home,” beast man said again, probably tacking on the father bit in hopes of getting my ass moving. The joke was on him.
I glanced around the room, making a point of peering around his massive chest. My gaze skimmed over Bastion. I registered amusement on his face.
“My father wants me home? Do I look twelve to you?”
“What the hell?” Ivy demanded as she moved between me and beast man. She slammed both her palms against his chest, but I knew he stepped back only because he wanted to. “Step off, asshole.”
“We’re dancing. Now, if you’ll excuse us.” I turned, refusing to allow my attention to stay on him. I resumed dancing, really getting in to it. I bumped into him a few times, noticing every time I did he backed away. So beast man didn’t like to be touched either. Good to know.
I swiveled my hips, backing my ass up…and encountered a set of hard thighs. A large hand wrapped around my waist, the palm splaying wide over my abdomen, anchoring me to the solid frame behind me. My breath seized in my lungs. I’d felt this heat earlier. Only not nearly so close. Liquid pooled between my thighs as my channel grew damp for the taking. I was so out of my league here.
Chapter Three
Bastion
When I’d walked into the bar, I’d still been reeling from the phone call I’d received earlier, then I’d found the woman I’d already claimed as mine dancing seductively for anyone to see. I didn’t like the way others stared at her. Not when I’d yet to even taste her.
I’d made my intentions clear to her father. I’d take on their pack and be their alpha under one condition. Raina Byrd was mine. There would be no courtship. No easing into things or any other bullshit he’d spouted. One look at her and I’d known I wouldn’t be able to wait. Seeing her, feeling her scent wrap around me, I knew we wouldn’t even make it through the night before I was buried deep inside her. My brain had mostly shut down, and my cock was ready to do the thinking. And all it imagined was being buried inside her.
“Clear the room,” I told Cyan, my second. “No one touches her.”
He nodded and dispersed the team with us to follow my orders. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She mesmerized me. It took all I had to stay across the room from her. I knew my control would be over if I put my hands on her.
Her father had called earlier, warning me she’d run. My little wolf didn’t want to mate me. According to her father, she’d made no bones about the fact I wasn’t her alpha. I knew she’d lost her brother, knew the two of them had been close. Hell, there were things I knew about Rowan Byrd’s death I wasn’t sure she knew. None of it mattered right now. Now was about her and me and how quickly I could get her stripped and under me.
That was when some asshole with a death wish decided to step close to Raina. He reached for her, and there was no holding back the growl from my throat. Cyan moved immediately, and the guy was flung away like the garbage he was. No one touched what was mine.
The roar in my ears blocked out whatever Cyan said to Raina, but I could tell she was pissed. Her anger hit my cock like a firm stroke, and a grin of anticipation tugged my lips. God, she was gorgeous. All long, blonde hair and big eyes that smoldered with passion. Her friend moved in then, slapping her tiny hands against Cyan as if she had any power to move him. But he did move. I watched him inhale then blink, and I almost laughed when I realized I was watchi
ng my second fall. The woman might not realize it, but she’d just been claimed.
Raina started twitching her ass, her body dry humping to the music, and it was too easy to imagine her naked and performing solely for my pleasure. She bumped her lush ass into Cyan, and my growl was back even as he shook his head and stepped back. I watched his attention move from the little one back to my mate, and he managed to avoid her next attempts at contact. My body moved to intercept her next attempt to shoo Cyan away.
Then she backed her perfect ass into me. My hard thighs cushioned her buttocks, and I wrapped my arm around her, spreading my fingers across her belly and anchoring her to me. There was no way she missed the swell of my cock, and I made no move to hide it from her. I was a big man, and as my mate, she’d take every inch of me as often as I could give it to her.
“I’ve been looking for you,” I whispered in her ear and enjoyed the way she shivered against me. I smelled her arousal. My little wolf was horny, and I was the only man who’d satisfy her.
“Lucky you,” she said. “Here I am. What can I do for you?”
I pressed my cock against her, a growl rumbling from my throat. What would she do if I told her to strip and get down on all fours? Would she fight me? Or readily comply to give us what we both wanted? I felt a hard elbow in my ribs and knew without a shadow of a doubt she’d fight me every inch of the way. It only made my dick harder.
“You could go home with me,” I offered.
The vixen turned in my arms, so her belly cushioned my cock, and I wanted to howl at the exquisite torture. Her breasts brushed my chest, the tight buds of her nipples drilling into me. I wanted to touch them, suck them until she came screaming my name.
“Is this really how you pick up a woman for the night?” she whispered.
“What kind of man do you think I am?” I asked, cupping her ass and lifting her into my straining dick. I felt the heat of her pussy and flexed my fingers. It took all my control to keep from ripping our clothes out of the way.
The woman beside her chose that moment to make her presence known again. “Don’t answer that.”
I turned my head and growled at her then found myself dealing with two pissed off women.
“Don’t growl at her,” Raina said, smacking me so hard I worried she might have hurt her hand.
“Don’t growl at me, wolf boy,” her friend echoed.
“Ivy,” Raina snapped. “Let me deal with this.”
“Ivy,” Cyan purred beside me. “Perfect.”
The friend’s gaze snapped to him. “Listen, beast boy. Take your pal there, and get the fuck out of our way.”
Cyan’s lips twitched, and I knew he felt the same urge to claim as I did. Thank God, it wasn’t for the same woman, or I’d be looking for a new beta.
“Why is her name perfect?” Raina demanded.
“Ivy’s a clinging vine, right?” Cyan noted. “Which is perfect since she’s going to be wrapped around me for the rest of my life.”
Ivy’s mouth dropped open, her eyes growing wide, and I almost laughed. Cyan had left his mouthy future mate speechless.
“Take her,” I said, and she squeaked as Cyan scooped her up over his shoulder and headed toward the door.
“Wait!” Raina yelled. “You can’t just take her.” She hit me again, and I took her hand in mine, bringing it closer so I could make sure she wasn’t hurting herself. “Where is he taking her?”
“Somewhere they can be alone,” I informed her. “He won’t hurt her.”
“I don’t know what kind of pack you run, but this shit won’t fly here,” she warned me, sparks shooting from her gaze.
“This shit?” I questioned.
She shoved at my chest again, and now that we were alone, I let her put a little space between us. Not much but enough to suit her.
“This barbaric display you and your beta put on.” She fisted her hands and beat her chest, her tits bouncing and capturing my full attention. “I’m alpha male. Kneel before me, and do my bidding.”
My nostrils flared, and a drop of pre-cum leaked from the tip of my dick at the thought of her on her knees before me. Jesus! The woman might make me cum in my pants like a wet-behind-the-ears boy at this rate.
“Kneel, stand, bend over or drop to all fours. I’m not feeling real particular at the moment.”
Her eyes widened briefly before narrowing on me. I saw fire in her and knew she was my equal. She’d never cower before me or bow to anything I wanted. She’d question and challenge, keeping me on my toes with anticipation. Even better, she was a woman who’d have my back, always. She’d defend me to the death as I would her. I wasn’t looking for another beta in my mate. I wanted an equal to meet me head-on, and she was all that and more.
“I know what kind of man you are,” she muttered, and I was completely enthralled.
“Tell me,” I commanded.
“You’re a man who gets what he wants,” she told me, and I knew she saw the smug satisfaction filling my face.
“Always,” I agreed.
“I imagine women drop their panties for you, thighs already damp, when you turn that smoldering look on them. I imagine they’ll do anything to please you.”
I growled, not wanting either of us thinking of other people. Frankly, I’d been too busy asserting my place and forming my own wolf pack to have time for a woman. I’d worked hard for everything I had, and I expected my mate to require no less effort. But her mention of other women irritated me.
“Will you do anything to please me?” She was the only woman I cared about, and that wouldn’t change until the day she gave me some female pups to watch over and protect.
“I know why you’re here, Bastion.”
My name on her lips was like ambrosia. I planned to hear her screaming it before the night ended. I planned to make her scream it loud and often in the years to come. I merely lifted a brow in response to her statement. Words failed me at the moment. My wolf was too close to the surface, both of us past the point of return. We wanted our mate, and we wanted her now.
“My father told me the elders asked you to take us in. I hope you’ll still agree, despite the change in plans.”
“What change is that?”
“My mating,” she stated bluntly. “I’m not a bitch in heat you can pass off to the male of your choosing.”
My growl filled the air. No one else would touch her. Ever. Where the hell had she gotten the idea I’d pass her off? I’d heard some wolf societies practiced multiple mates, and I had nothing against them. To each their own and all that. But the only dick my mate would worship for the rest of her life was mine. And my mouth would be the only one drinking her juices and swallowing her cries of pleasure. I’m a greedy bastard. I don’t fucking share.
“I’m not greeting you tomorrow and parading in front of you and whoever happens to be with you to be served up to the one who decides I’ll do as a mate.”
“Where the fuck did you get an idea like that?” I demanded. Had her father put that idea in her head? I’d made myself quite clear when I’d spoken with him. Raina was mine and only mine.
She shook her head, not answering me. “Whatever deal you’ve made with the elders, leave me out of it.”
Leave her out of it? There was no deal without her.
“Where do you think you’re going?” I demanded when she turned and walked away from me.
“Goodnight, Bastion,” she said, glancing over her shoulder but not stopping.
“Don’t walk away from me!” The command left my lips with more fire than I’d intended. All I could focus on was her intent to leave me, and I couldn’t let her go.
Suddenly, she was in front of me, rising on her toes, teeth bared as she snarled in my face. “Why? You’re nothing to me, Bastion. You’re sure as hell not my alpha.”
I tried to remind myself of what she’d suffered at the loss of her brother and that her words weren’t meant to strike me like physical blows. My wolf wasn’t listening though. All it kn
ew was she was denying us, planning to leave us, and there was no way that was happening.
I leaned down until we were nose-to-nose. “You…will…not…walk away from me.”
“Watch me,” she snarled again and took off toward the door.
“Raina.” My voice was soft in direct opposition to the tightly leashed force inside me.
She glanced over her shoulder warily, pausing with one hand pressed toward the exit.
“If you run, I’ll chase you. I’ll hunt you, and my wolf won’t be satisfied until I’m buried balls-deep in your tight cunt. So choose your next move carefully.”
She stared at me, her pink tongue flicking out to slick over her lips. It reminded me that I still hadn’t tasted her and marked her as mine. I planned to fuck her so much in the next twenty-four hours that my scent would cover her inside and out. I watched her like the hunter I was. I wanted her for the strong woman she was, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be my prey if that was the choice she made. God help me, I wanted her to run just so I could let out the beast inside me.
I was so attuned to her I felt the exact moment her body tensed in preparation to flee. One moment, she was there; the next, there was nothing but the slamming of the door. I ripped my shirt over my head, kicking off my shoes as I followed. I left my jeans by the door, already in mid-shift as I exited. The balmy night was ripe with a breeze that carried her scent to me. Throwing back my head, I howled a warning to any who might dare to interfere then set out to claim what was mine.
Chapter Four
Raina
I felt a pounding in my veins as I hauled ass toward the woods that butted against the parking lot. There was no time to spare. I could have headed toward my car. I might even have made it, but what would be the fun in that? For the first time since I’d returned to my hometown, I felt alive. I shouldn’t want Bastion James. He was arrogant and cocky and everything I hated about alpha males. But I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.
