by M. L. Briers
“I don’t know if I can do this…”She admitted. The absolute reality of him hit her and it wasn’t something she was able to dismiss, it was a constant presence in the back of her mind, even though every inch of her wanted him…
Rudd didn’t move. He didn’t want to scare her, didn’t want to brush any part of his body against hers for fear she would think he was going to try to force her. He had never taken a female against their will, all of his partners had readily consented, and he certainly would never force his mate…
“That’s ok if you’re not ready. I would chew my right paw off to make love to you right now…”the look that she gave him was priceless, it was disbelief mixed with amusement, and he thanked the spirits that she was coming around to him, that she could see the funny side of things… “Ok, maybe not a paw…” he admitted and then twisted his head on his neck as he considered it. “Maybe a paw…”He added and she snorted a chuckle.
“Maybe not a human male, but species aside, where your penis is concerned, you’re still a male.”This had to be one of the strangest conversations she had ever had. Here she was, lying naked and definitely needy under a gorgeous man, who wasn’t really a man, well not in the general sense. He was a man, she could see every inch of his maleness as it hung thick and proud from his hard body, pointed at her, like a promise, a very wicked promise… and yet he wasn’t human, not entirely, well not at all…
Damn, but this was confusing. How could things have escalated to the point where she was naked and about to have sex with a… person of non human origin…? Macy shook her head, trying to push away the confusion within her. Her body was telling her full speed ahead, her mind was in league with her body, almost; there was still that little part of her that was going- ‘are you out of your fricking mind?’- What was a girl to do?
“I can sense that you’re conflicted…”He offered gently. Trying to push aside his needs and concentrate on hers. The snort of laughter that came from her was enough for him to move away from her, but not far.
Macy’s eyes saw him move and her body felt the loss… So close and yet so far… damn, but she didn’t want him lying beside her, she wanted his warmth above her, over her, inside her… but then she’d been the one who had called a halt to this, and she couldn’t fathom why right at that minute.
Rudd reached for her hand and lifted it in his. Lacing his fingers with hers he noted how small and fragile she looked against him. He had his mate in his bed where she should be, and he wanted her, wanted her with every fibre of his being, and yet he knew that they had a lifetime together…
“Conflicted yes, confused…”He watched her face in the semi darkness of the room. The moon was full and the night was clear, just the kind of night to go for a long run, but other things were more important right now, she was more important now, and with the moonlight coming through the window and highlighting her face and body in its glow, there was nowhere he would rather be.
“It must be a lot to take in.”He curled his body towards hers. His natural desire to be wrapped around her, protectively guarding her with his body was stronger than he’d ever known it to be. He was protective of every member of his pack, but this was ingrained in his very psyche.
“Werewolves, Vampires and mating…?”She lifted her brows upwards and took a long deep breath, one nod of the affirmative as she blew it back out again. “Kind of, yeah.”She bit out dryly.
“Lycans, not werewolves…”
“Lycanthrope, doesn’t that mean Werewolf?”She found herself turning towards him in the bed. Her body seemed to have a mind of its own where he was concerned…
“In layman’s terms, yes. But Werewolves are centred around the moon to change, and a Werewolf can bite and create another Were, but a Lycan, well we’re a far superior race.”She couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face and his eyes questioned her.
“Listen to you, Mr Arrogantly superior race… wait, so you bite and make someone a wolf?”Well that eased the little corner of her mind that was waving a rather large ‘beware of the wolf’ flag at her.
“No. I can bite you, I will bite you, but you’ll never be a Lycan, you weren’t born one.”
“Y-you will bite me?”She latched onto that giant red flag going up again. Her body tensed at the very thought, even though Link had admitted biting her, she didn’t remember that, how much did it hurt? Why would he need to bite her if not to change her? Did he feed on blood?
Rudd felt the change in her emotions. Fear, he scented fear from her and it sent his protective gene into overdrive, but he would be protecting her from himself and he had no intention of leaving the room…
“It’s not like that, Macy…”He saw the fear when it reached her eyes and he could fell that she was torn between moving away from him and the pull on her body from the mating to stay right where she was. “I need to claim you as mine. A small press of my fangs into your shoulder where it meets your neck. The tiniest of pin pricks that will remain in your skin for your own protection…”
“Wait, what?”She didn’t understand. This had gone from sex to claiming, to biting, to protection. What the hell was going on here? “Protection?”
“I’m an Alpha, the leader of my pack, you’re the Alpha’s mate, nobody takes on an alpha unless they have a death wish, or they are challenging for the leadership of the pack, are you with me so far?”He gently cupped her chin and brought her eyes up to his. He still sensed her fear, but he could also see that her mind was racing, trying to grasp hold of these new concepts.
“Yes, and no, but don’t let me stop you, I can ask questions at the end, right?”Sarcasm was the best that she could give him right now. There was so much information flowing into her mind that she needed to process, and she didn’t want to miss anything by constantly asking questions now.
He gave her a small smile of encouragement. She needed to understand all of this, and he’d probably been remiss in not explaining it to her before he tried to mate with her, but damn did he want to mate her.
“Ok. So as the alpha’s mate, you’re pretty much protected by my mark from most supernatural predators…”She winced and that caused him to frown. “Maybe predator is a strong word.”She nodded her agreement. “It’s just that anyone, be it vampire, or wolf, or…”
“Don’t do or, my brain can’t handle anymore species right now.”The comment was laced with sarcasm, but it was an honest one. She really didn’t want to know what else was out there lurking in the shadows, not yet anyway.
“Alright, any questions so far?”
“How much does it hurt?”That’s a pretty reasonable question, she thought.
“A little, but I’d distract you, I wouldn’t place the mark until you had an orgasm so…”
“Oh I get one of those too?”She looked innocent enough when she said it, but he couldn’t tell how much of that comment was sarcasm.
“More than one. That’s a promise…”The way he growled at her left her mind and body in no doubt he’d meant it, and to say the excitement level within her surged to new heights would be an understatement. Macy swallowed down the rush to asking what they were waiting for as her body seemed to edge closer to his without a conscious decision to do so on her part.
“So…”She squeaked and clamped her lips shut, swallowing hard and then clearing her throat in an effort to appear calmer, but if he really could hear her heartbeat, he’d know it was doing its own version of the Highland fling right now. “So, distract me and rip the band aid off, got it, then what?”
He brushed his fingertips down her arm, leaving a trail of goose bumps and a shiver that ran the length of her in its wake.
“You want to know about the bite?”He asked, keeping his voice as gentle and soft as he could make it.
“I want to know about the bite.”She felt his hand tighten around hers and she wasn’t sure if that was a comfort for him or her, or maybe it was to stop her from running away screaming… “Am I going to be running away screaming in the ne
xt few minutes?”
“Hopefully not, because that would be very bad…”There was seriousness in his eyes that wasn’t there before, and she swallowed her reservations about asking him why.
“Very bad how?”
“You should never run from me, it’s like a challenge to the wolf side of me…”
“A challenge how. Wait, I did earlier…”Or was that not considered running? Maybe he meant like really physically running, play chase, tag…Ohh…
“Yes you did and it took, Rick, Jack and Link to hold me down from coming after you…”He saw the fear flash in her eyes and stroked his hand back down her arm, trying to sooth her. “But, that was different because my wolf doesn’t know you yet…”
“You changed into a wolf?”
“No, that was earlier…”
“Earlier when you were naked?”Her eyes flashed with understanding and then she narrowed them on him. “And you made me feel guilty with that whole coffee thing…”He did look suitable remorseful, or as good as, there was a gleam of amusement in his eyes, but she could overlook that for now.
“Well I couldn’t very well tell you that I’d changed into my wolf could I?”
“Back to the bite.”Her brain was hurting again. This was just so damn confusing, maybe she could read a book, brush up on the subject…
“That will be when we bond…”
“Bondage? I don’t know if I like bondage I’ve never…”his low growl made her clamp her lips together in silence as she took him in under the moonlight. He looked somewhat pained… “You ok?”
“Let’s just say some very wicked images went through my mind…”It was becoming torturous to be so close to her naked body and not claim her for his. “Not bondage, bonding, my soul to your soul for ever…”His gentle growl of desire rolled through him as his fingertips skirted from her arm down over the curve of her hip, slowly, so very, very slowly and her mind followed the path his touch took.
“Forever is a long time.”She managed to get out on one long breath. She could feel her skin on fire from his touch, that fire spread outwards. Her nipples became achingly hard and her heart skipped to its own tune inside her. She saw him smell the air, this time she didn’t need to question it, she knew why, he wasn’t human, and that knowledge didn’t bother her so much this time around.
“It’s how deeply we love, Macy.”His voice was so soft, so gentle and yet so very devastating to her body and soul, it was like a calling, and she found her hand reaching out and stroking down the hard muscles of his abdomen of its own accord, as if her body knew what to do even when her mind was floundering in a sea of uncertainty.
Macy could feel his muscles quiver beneath her touch and she liked it, liked the feeling of power it gave her to know that she could do that to him. The side of her hand brushed against his erection and he growled, long and hard, but it wasn’t a threatening sound, more exciting in its need and intensity. His lids closed over his eyes and she could see the tension within his jaw and neck muscles as he tried to hold himself in check.
She didn’t want that anymore, she wanted to feel him, touch and taste him, and she ran her fingertips so gently over the tip of his shaft that his eyes snapped open and downwards to make sure that was what he was feeling. His growl intensified.
“Touch me.”She whispered into the space between them. It may have seemed crazy stupid, but she trusted him. This could have been a one night stand and she never would have known who or what he was, but she did know, and she was going into this with her eyes open, well, almost.
“Thought you wanted to know about the bite?”He couldn’t keep the grin from his face if he tried.
“Is it going to happen now?”She stroked her fingers down the length of him and his grin faded, he wanted her so damn much he could taste the need on the tip of his tongue. His hand pressed against the small of her back and he eased her towards him, giving her no choice but to move her hand away from his shaft and up to his chest. Their bodies were pressed together at the hips and he denied her the fiery touch that was sending him close to insane.
“No.”His mood had changed from playful to intense as he stared at her. Turning her onto her back so he could run his hand up her inner thigh, she opened for him.
“Then we can talk later.”He bent his head to kiss her, but held back. She had to know. He couldn’t do this with her before she understood that there was absolutely no going back from this moment, this night, and this time together.
“Once we do this, once I’ve been inside you, mated you, I can never let you go.”Rudd growled out long and hard, just the thought of it made his soul ache for hers.
“No pressure then…”She teased back at him, but she was done talking. She got it, or she thought she got it. Obviously there was so much more to this whole supernatural thing than she could ever imagine possible, but she was his mate, that she did accept, and she wanted him, that she couldn’t deny.
“Do you want me, love?”
“I can’t even describe how much I want you.”
“Trust me when I say that is never going to stop for us.”She did trust him, inexplicably so considering how long she had known him, but it was there.
“Then what are you waiting for?”
“You.”
‘Alpha, we’ve got trouble…’ His body tensed, every muscle, every sinew was more than ready for action, both in the bedroom and out of it, and he couldn’t help the groan that escaped his lips.
CHAPTER TEN
“What is it?”Macy saw the change in him. Not just the tension, but the look of a man who was torn…
“I have to go…”He disentangled himself from her and spun off the bed.
“Now?”Macy balked. Her head was reeling again.
“My pack need me, there’s danger. I can explain but…”He was on his way towards the bedroom door and yet she could see that he was still in two minds about leaving her like this.
“Go.”She motioned towards the door. She could see he was holding himself back from the need to leave. God knows she didn’t want him to go, but if something was wrong she couldn’t be the one to stand in his way.
“I’m sorry…”He growled out over his shoulder as he yanked the door open, butt naked, literally, and she grinned at the rear view of him as he left the room. “Stay inside.”His deep growl reached back up the staircase as if he was standing next to her and she dropped backwards against the mattress, her hand reaching for the cover on the other side of the bed and she wrapped herself inside it, his scent and his warmth enveloping her senses and soothing her.
‘What’s happening?’ Rudd growled into the collective mind of the pack. He knew his Beta wouldn’t have called on him without a good reason, given the circumstances, and his gut clenched at that knowledge.
Leaping through the air, his paws easily cleared the downed tree stump, as he sped into the woods.
‘It’s not one Werewolf, it’s two.’ Rick growled his disgust. One on their land was bad enough, but two was just inexcusable. It wasn’t a superiority thing; Werewolves were like rogues, unpredictable and ruled by their bloodlust during the change. They weren’t just dangerous to the pack; they were a danger to humans as well.
It was probably more of a blessing for a human to die from a Were attack. If the change itself didn’t kill them on the first full moon after being bitten, then they would become a Were, changing every full moon and becoming a danger to themselves, family, friends and anyone unlucky enough to wander into their path.
‘We don’t have a lot of night left, they’ll be changing back to human soon. We need to end this now.’ Rudd knew that there was only one member of his pack that would still want to take the kill after the Were’s changed to human, and that would be Jack, but even she might have a problem doing that.
Once a Were was back in human form they had no knowledge of what they had done as their beast. Staring into the eyes of an innocent human and deciding to take the kill wasn’t as easy as it would seem to be.
‘Link and Jack are chasing down one near the boundary line. I’m pursuing the other back towards the river…’
‘I’m coming to you, can you steer it towards me?’ Rudd’s heart was pounding with the thrill of the hunt. This was what his wolf lived for, be it for food or necessity, the hunt was an integral part of who he was. And a Were was a worthy opponent, they would fight hard and to the death when cornered.
‘I don’t know, this one’s all over the place, possibly a newbie, damn things not reacting as it should, something has it spooked…’
‘I’ve got the scent. It’s a female, fear, I scent fear…’ Rudd had never scented on a damned Were before and it made no sense. The thing wasn’t even cornered yet… but soon.
Rudd turned towards the river, if he timed it right he would be coming out just in front of the thing. He would be able to take it down before it even saw him coming…
‘It’s turning. You’re going to overshoot it unless you turn towards me now.’ Rick growled out. The confusion in his voice was evident, even across the collective link between them. ‘The damn thing’s running in circles…’
Rick virtually put on the brakes when he saw the Werewolf ahead of him slowing to a stop. The beast turned its head towards him. Tossing back its head, it let out a piercing howl into the quietness of the woods.
‘What the hell is it doing?’ Rick spat out, half circling the beast and scenting the air to see if he could scent the fear that his Alpha had picked up, but it wasn’t fear he found on the gentle breeze…
Rudd’s wolf broke through into the crescent clearing and eyed his Beta as he circled the beast before him. The beast looked scrawny compared to the Lycans. A thick black coat of rough fur covered the beasts frame, and red rimmed eyes starred back at them, taking in both wolves as they moved in for the kill.
