“It burns some, and I feel like I need you to move, or I need to push you out.”
He laughed with a strained sound. “Well, love, if I get a choice then I vote I move forward.” He began to push steadily forward, going slowly so he didn’t overwhelm her. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he worked his cock into her ass. Finally, after several long minutes, he was seated completely inside her, his balls resting against her body. “Okay, love, I’m all the way in now. I’m gonna rest here a minute and give your body time to adjust. The burn should begin to lessen if I sit still. Are you still okay?”
Ariane grunted and shook all over. “I’m okay. The burn is already getting easier to stand. I don’t understand where the pleasure comes from, Michael.”
“You’ll see in a minute, baby. I promise you’ll feel plenty of pleasure.” Michael leaned over her body and fondled her breasts, tweaking and tugging on the nipples while he began to slowly pump his hips back and forth, his cock in her tight ass. He smiled when her nipples beaded with his efforts. Letting one hand drift down her abdomen, he again began flicking her clit. When her hips began to rock against him, he increased the rhythm of his thrusts while continuing to play with her slippery clit. The juices were literally pouring over his hand with her arousal.
“Michael!” Her voice had a desperate sound to it.
He slowed his thrusts for fear he was hurting her. “What is it, love?”
“God, I need it harder. Please, Michael. I need it harder.”
Shocked, Michael only hesitated a moment before he drove into her from behind until his balls slapped against her clit where his fingers continued to play. Again and again he slammed into the tight, fiery depths of her ass. With one final tug on her clit, his mate screamed out his name and shook all over as she came, her cream covering the fingers of his hand. Not able to hold off any longer, Michael growled out his own climax, leaning over his mate and biting into her shoulder, claiming her once again. He reveled in the way her body trembled in another release with the bite on her shoulder.
When their bodies began to calm down, Michael pulled from his mate and lowered her down to the bed. He kissed her softly and then rose. “I’ll be right back, love. Just lie still for a minute.” He walked into the bathroom and quickly cleaned himself up then wet a washcloth with warm water and went back to clean up his mate. When he was done, he lay back down and pulled her close before covering them both with the quilt. He smiled when he saw she was already falling asleep. “I love you, Ariane. I’m gonna give you a wonderful life. That’s my promise to you,” he whispered.
He listened to his mate’s breathing as she slept and snuggled close to her warm body. He was just beginning to fall asleep when he heard his grandfather’s voice in his head.
I’m proud of you, Michael. I’ve always been proud of you, son. I’m so glad you’ve found happiness in your life. Be proud of the Wolfen heritage you’ve finally discovered and live a long and happy life. I’ll see you again someday, and I’ll always be watching over you and Maddie. I love you, Michael.
Michael rose up and looked around the darkened room for a moment. He could feel the chills running over his body, and he wasn’t sure if he’d been dreaming or not. He lay back down and snuggled up close to Ariane. He started to let himself drift off again and then raised his head and looked toward the ceiling. “I love you too, Grandpa.” Relaxing again, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep with visions of the future in his head.
Epilogue
Two Weeks Later
“Well, Michael, it was a beautiful wedding, although a little quick.” Remus couldn’t help but smirk at the newest member of his pack.
“Why waste time when you know what you want?” Michael replied. He was keeping his arm tight around his new bride. “Remus, we wanted to thank you for the piece of land you gave us for a wedding present. It’s the perfect place for a house which, I will add, has already been designed.”
“That was fast. When do you plan on starting construction?” Remus was surprised more and more by his ambitious brother-in-law.
“As soon as we come back from our honeymoon.”
“Who’s doing the building?” Remus figured it wouldn’t be his company if Mali had anything to do with it. He didn’t think Michael had forgiven him for trying to move in on Ariane when she came back from Houston.
“Yours, unless you have an objection. Mali and I had a nice long talk, and I don’t think he’ll have any problems working with me now.” He glanced at Ariane. “I know I won’t have any problems working with him since I got to keep the woman.” He grunted when she elbowed him in the ribs. “Actually, he’s doing a job for me while we’re away.”
Remus frowned. “What job is that?”
“You know I rented a small building in town to use for an office. Turns out it has two stories and there aren’t any zoning problems about turning it into an apartment. Melissa saw it last week and loved the idea of living upstairs from her job. I’ve got Mali going in the first of next week to remodel the upstairs into a living space for her.” He laughed. “She’s so excited I can hardly stand to be around her.”
Remus laughed. “Where’s she staying now?”
“I’ve got her put up in the little bed and breakfast in town. She’s comfortable enough, but she’ll be happier with her own place.” He glanced around the crowd. “I haven’t seen her for a while. It’s almost time for us to leave. If I miss her, can you introduce her to Mali for me? I think they should meet before he just shows up at the office on Monday.”
“Sure, no problem. But you’d better go and find your sister to say good-bye. That woman will be hell to live with if you get away without giving her a hug.”
Both Michael and Ariane laughed. Ariane went up on her toes and kissed Remus on the cheek. “Thank you for everything, Alpha.”
He scowled at her. “It’s Remus, and don’t you forget it. Now, both of you get! You’ve got a honeymoon waiting. We’ll see you in a couple of weeks.” He watched as they scampered off.
“Remus, may I have a word with you?”
Remus turned around to find Vanard Wind River standing behind him, accompanied by a beautiful young woman. She wasn’t very tall, with long reddish-brown hair falling in waves down her back. Her eyes were a shade of green even more startling than Ariane’s. “Hello, Vanard. We’re pleased you came to Michael and Ariane’s wedding today. Who’s your lovely friend?”
Vanard smiled. “Kitania, I’d like to introduce you to the Alpha of Wind River Pack. This is Remus Wind River. Remus, this is Kitania. She’s going to be our new schoolteacher when classes start in a few months.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alpha, but everyone but Vanard calls me Tania.” Her voice was soft and almost lyrical as she bowed her head, exposing her neck as a show of respect.
“Please, call me Remus. I’m afraid we’re not as formal here as a lot of packs.” He looked at Vanard and then back at the woman and frowned. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name affiliation for your pack.”
Before she could answer, Vanard spoke up. “Kitania doesn’t have a designation because she doesn’t have a pack.” He turned to the young woman. “Kitania, would you excuse us for a moment?”
She glanced up at him and then Remus. “Certainly, sir. It was a lovely reception, Remus. You have a lovely home.”
“Thank you, Tania. I’m happy to have met you. I look forward in the coming months to getting to know you better. Please know you’re always welcome in my home and my mate, Maddie, will probably be calling on you shortly.” He looked at Vanard. “Have you put her up in the teacher’s cabin?”
“Yes, she moved in yesterday,” he replied.
“Please let us know if there’s anything you need to make your cabin into more of a home, Tania.” The young woman puzzled Remus. He sniffed the air as discretely as possible but couldn’t tell much about her from her scent.
“Thank you. I’ll wait over by the trees for you, Vanard.” She walked away
quickly before he could say anything.
“All right, Vanard. What’s going on? Why doesn’t she have a name affiliation?”
Vanard sighed. “She doesn’t have a pack of her own, Remus. She was abandoned as a child and raised by the National Council in one of their homes for children. You know they don’t attach names to any of the children they take in.”
“Abandoned,” Remus said shocked. “Wolves abandoned a child to be raised by strangers?” He couldn’t imagine such a thing happening.
“That’s the problem. She’s not entirely wolf. She’s a half-breed, and that’s all I’m at liberty to say. You know as well as I do that she’s not required to tell anyone of her parentage.”
“Can she shift?” Remus wanted to know as much as he could about anyone coming into his pack.
“I’m told she can, but I’ve not witnessed it. The people I talked to on the Council say she’s quite a loner. She doesn’t mix with other pack members much, but she’s never caused any trouble. She made high marks in school and is reported to be an excellent teacher.”
“Well, that’s something. We definitely need a good teacher. What’s she going to do for the next couple of months before classes start?”
“I thought she might just spend some time getting to meet some of the families with children she’ll be teaching and maybe get to know her surroundings.”
“All right, just keep me posted on what she’s doing. I don’t like surprises. I’ve got my hands full with other things right now. I don’t want to be babysitting a new female.”
“All right, no need to get huffy. She won’t be a problem.” He gave Remus a shrewd look. “Is there anything I can do to help with your problems?”
“Not at this time, but I’ll let you know if I need anything.” Remus’s words were meant to be a dismissal. He was happy when Vanard nodded and left to go after his new project. He glanced up to see Koril headed his way. He wasn’t happy to see the frown on his face.
“Remus, we need to talk.” Koril was always a man of few words.
“What’s wrong?”
“I fucked up big time with Kaugh.”
Remus felt anger taking over his body. “How?”
Koril sighed and looked disgusted. “We thought we’d found all of Constantine’s records and destroyed them when we cleaned out his home and office.”
“And you didn’t?” Remus was furious at getting just a little of the information at a time.
“Apparently, he set up a new dummy corporation before he died that we weren’t aware of. He rented a safety deposit box in the name of that corporation at the bank.” He paused and gave Remus a deadly look. “Yesterday, my man followed Kaugh to the bank. Dr. Constantine had made him an officer of the corporation and forwarded him the key to the box. He walked out of the bank yesterday with an armload of files and computer discs. His three body guards were surrounding him.”
Remus exploded. “That’s fucking great. Where is he now?”
Koril stepped back when his Alpha exploded in anger. “He’s rented an office on Main Street in town.”
Remus thought for a moment. “Tomorrow, when all this wedding and reception nonsense is over, we need to sit down with the elders and form a plan. We’ve got to get those records back and find out if there are any more surprises out there waiting for us.” He looked at his longtime friend. “I want your best men guarding Maddie every time she steps foot out of this house. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“I’m counting on you, my friend. She’s not only my mate, she’s carrying my pup now.”
Koril’s eyes got big, and he slapped Remus on the back. “I’m so happy for you. Don’t you worry. We’ll guard her with our lives.” He nodded to Remus and hurried off.
* * * *
Vanard walked quickly over to where Kitania was waiting by the forest trail. He was worried that everything was going to blow up in his face.
“Well, is he going to let me stay? Did I pass his test?” She gave Vanard a look of amusement.
“Of course he’s going to let you stay. He has no reason to doubt anything I tell him.” He glanced back at Remus. “Of course, when all this comes to light, he’s never going to forgive me for lying to him.”
She patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Vanard. I’m not going to cause any unnecessary trouble. I’ll just do my job and then be out of your hair permanently.”
He looked at her with pity in his heart. “Don’t you ever want to settle down, Kitania? Don’t you long for a pack of your own? Family? Pups?”
For just a moment there was a yearning expression on her face, and then it was gone. “I don’t yearn for what I can’t have. I’m a half-breed, Vanard. Believe me when I tell you no one’s ever going to want to mate and have pups with me.”
“You do shift, don’t you?”
She hesitated. “I can, but I don’t do it very often.” Her tone told him not to question further.
“Oh, I forgot to tell Remus about your pet cat. Well, it’ll be okay. Just be careful about letting it outside. No telling what could happen to it if it met up with one of the wolves out running. At least keep it inside until I can spread the word that you have a pet.”
She sighed. “Thanks, Vanard. I’ll keep her inside until you say it’s safe. I wouldn’t want anything happening to her.”
“Come on, then. I’ll walk you back to your cabin.”
She glanced back toward the house one last time before they left. “Vanard, who are those two men?”
He looked to see who she was looking at and chuckled. “That’s Ethan and Latan, Remus’s brothers.” Both men were staring at Kitania as if they could eat her up. “Better watch out for them, they have a reputation with the ladies, and they like sharing.” He just laughed when Kitania snorted and then followed her into the woods.
* * * *
“Who the hell is that creature of beauty, Remus?” Latan grabbed Remus by the arm and jerked him around to point toward the forest path.
Remus looked where his brother was pointing and sighed. “Her name is Kitania, but she prefers to be called Tania. She’s the new schoolteacher.” He already knew what was coming next.
“Hot damn! Teachers never looked like that when we were in school. Is she gonna be staying in the teacher’s cabin?” Ethan was positively drooling.
“Yes, and the two of you stay away from her.” Remus tried to sound fierce but knew it was a waste of time with his over-sexed brothers. He sure hoped the young woman knew how to take care of herself.
“In your dreams,” Latan replied. He glanced over at Ethan, ignoring Remus. “What do you think, bro? You think the welcome wagon ought to pay the little lady a visit? Maybe take her some wedding cake?”
“Now you’re talking. Let’s go.” Ethan grabbed his arm and walked away before Remus could say anything.
“I feel trouble coming,” Remus exclaimed.
“Remus, I just wanted to say it was a really nice party.”
Remus turned around to see Mali standing in front of him. “Hey, Mali. We’re very glad you came. Michael told me that you and he worked things out well enough that you’re going to be working together on his house.”
“Yeah, there are no hard feelings. I always knew they were mates so I never really stood a chance anyway.” He laughed. “You ought to see the designs for their house. It’s even nicer than yours.”
Remus was surprised. He didn’t think anything could be better than the house Michael designed for them. “That reminds me, I’m supposed to introduce you to Melissa so she knows who you are when you show up on Monday to do the remodeling in their office. Hold on a minute.” He walked off in search of Melissa, confident Mali would wait for him. After a couple of minutes, he found her in the kitchen swapping stories about Michael with Maddie. “Melissa, would you come with me for just a minute? Michael wants me to introduce you to Mali. He’ll be at the office first thing on Monday to start the remodeling for your apartment.”
“Sure, Remus. Maddie, I’ll talk to you later. Maybe we can get together for lunch one day this week?” Melissa got up and joined Remus at the door.
“That would be great, Melissa. I’ll give you a call,” Maddie replied.
Remus walked with Melissa across the yard to where Mali was still standing. As they got near, Mali turned and faced them. “Melissa, this is Mali Wind River. He’s a contractor and will be at your office on Monday to remodel the space for your apartment.” He glanced at Mali and was surprised to see the man moving closer, obviously sniffing the air. “Mali, this is Melissa Rogers. She’s Michael’s personal assistant.”
Mali walked closer and took the hand Melissa offered. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Rogers.” As Remus watched, he tugged on Melissa’s hand, moving her closer to his body.
“Uh, nice to meet you, too. Please, call me Melissa.” She seemed to be pulling back on her hand, attempting to free herself.
Still holding on, Mali leaned forward and inhaled deeply. “You can call me Mali.”
Alarmed when he heard a small growl, Remus stepped up and separated Melissa’s hand from Mali’s, earning a look of gratitude from the woman. “Melissa, do you already know what you want done in your apartment?” Remus was trying to break the tension between the two people.
“Oh, sure, it’s pretty simple. There’s not much work to be done.” Melissa seemed to be in a daze. “Well, I promised Maddie I’d come right back. Guess I’ll see you Monday.” Without waiting for an answer, she scurried off.
Mali started after her, and Remus caught him by the arm. He stared at him hard when Mali let out an angry growl. “What the hell is wrong with you, Mali?”
“She’s my mate!”
Remus sighed. “Oh, shit! What next?”
* * * *
Latan approached the small teacher’s cabin with a plate of cake in his hand, excitement making him feel as if he were bursting at the seams. His brother Ethan walked beside him, probably driven by the same feelings of anticipation. The new teacher was beautiful, and he sure hoped she was interested in getting to know the two of them better.
Martine, Missy - Denying His Wolfen Heritage [A Wolfen Heritage 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 24
