by Lacey Savage
Ali.
An image of the strikingly beautiful woman Alison Hill had grown into flashed across Brad’s field of vision. For a moment, he saw her clearly, one eyebrow arched in invitation as a crooked, playful grin lit up her face. As always, her dark eyes sparkled with mischief. She’d gotten them into more trouble than he cared to remember.
She was also the only woman Brad had ever cared about. And until his encounter with J.C. and Eve, she’d been the only woman he’d ever fucked.
He blinked, his gaze scanning the glade for another glimpse of her, but he saw only the same faces he’d grown accustomed to. Standing out among them, Eve and J.C. held hands, beaming with more happiness than Brad could take.
He shook his head, silently cursing himself for his foolishness. He hadn’t seen Ali in nine years, not since the night she’d left his bed and abandoned the pack without as much as a word of parting, or even a feeble explanation.
Brad released a deep breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding, and forced himself to focus on Eve’s words.
“I, Eve, take you, J.C., to be my husband. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.”
Brad gazed past their clasped hands, his eyes focusing on J.C.’s hard shaft spearing the air before him. J.C. repeated the vows without smiling, with such passion in his voice that no one, not even Brad, could deny the simple truth: J.C. and Eve were meant to be together.
The realization should have hurt, Brad knew, but it didn’t. Instead, a feeling akin to relief settled low in his gut, as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he was finally free to breathe. He sucked in a lungful of night air, relishing the honeysuckle aroma as it tickled his nostrils.
As the final words of J.C.’s vows drifted through the glade, Brad thought of Sean. He remembered the man’s genuine smile, the way his eyes glistened with barely restrained desire while Brad teased him mercilessly before finally taking him to his bed.
He swallowed hard, his cock pulsing as a rush of heat swept over his body. In the center of the glade, J.C. was lifting Eve’s garment over her head, baring her body to the silvery moonlight and the golden glow of candlelight that shimmered in the now inky darkness.
The shifting colors danced over her skin, hugging her curves. Tonight, the moon wasn’t full, so it posed no danger of thrusting J.C. into shape shifting chaos when he least expected it.
Infinitely gentle, J.C. traced the flickering shadows caressing her body with his fingertips before he bent his head and claimed her mouth, again and again. One soft, incredibly tender kiss merged into the next, but when J.C. cupped Eve’s ass and pulled her to him, the gesture left no doubt as to the passion that roiled just beneath the surface of his calm demeanor.
She responded in kind, wrapping her arms around him, pressing her breasts against his chest. Shifting in his grip, she rubbed her mound against his thigh. When J.C. pulled back, a moan escaped her lips, ringing clearly through the meadow.
Their kisses were nothing like what he and Sean had shared. That had been fierce, primal, savage. At the time, every ounce of lust in Brad’s body had been straining to be released. He hadn’t felt that kind of intense need in years, and it frightened him more than he cared to admit.
For an entire week, Brad had stayed away. He hadn’t called, though he’d easily managed to get Sean’s number the next night from one of the man’s friends who was a regular at the park.
Since the royal ceremony had been all anyone talked about for the entire week, Brad had had more than enough to deal with. Besides, he wasn’t ready to analyze the reason his heart constricted with a tender ache every time he’d gazed into Sean’s eyes. There was too much innocence there, too much temptation. He yearned to teach Sean everything about loving another man, and the thought disturbed him.
He’d always fallen too fast, too hard, too soon. First Ali, then J.C. The wounds were still too raw. Worse yet, he realized as his thoughts continued to follow this uneasy path, he wasn’t sure he could resist Sean’s unique brand of temptation. That alone was reason enough to stay away.
J.C.’s mouth followed its own path down Eve’s neck. It lingered on the spot between her collarbones, then swept down her breasts and lower still, over her flat stomach, dipping into her navel, and pausing at the entrance to her glistening pussy.
J.C. knelt in front of his bride and parted her labia with his thumbs. As Brad watched, the throbbing heat flooding his groin made him think of only one thing: tasting Sean’s cock.
J.C.’s tongue swept over Eve’s flushed pussy lips. She tilted her head back and tangled her fingers in his hair, nudging his mouth closer to her cunt.
Brad sucked in a breath. His heart raced violently and he silently cursed himself for not taking the opportunity to sample Sean’s masculine flavor when he’d had the chance. He’d been so enthralled by being in control for once, he hadn’t given enough thought to Sean’s needs.
J.C.’s tongue worked faster, delving deep within Eve’s slit. Her juices coated his chin when he paused for a moment to flick her clit with his thumb. Eve gasped, her moans filling the glade.
Panting, shuddering breaths came from those assembled, and Brad didn’t have to look around him to know that many were indulging in much-needed self pleasuring. Soon, the scent of honeysuckle would be overwhelmed by the pungent aroma of sex.
Eve’s body trembled as she came, her orgasm ripping through her muscles and making her limbs quiver. She held on to J.C. with all her might even as he clamped his lips around her pussy and sucked every last trace of her cum into his mouth.
Then, as Brad watched, J.C. began to shift.
His fingers and toes lengthened, and hair sprouted from his knuckles, chest, arms. His shoulders broadened further. His hips tapered down. He straightened his spine and the lean lines of his back, allowing the full change to take him. A moment later, he stood before Eve in wolf-form, his pitch black fur glistening in the illumination cast by the flickering candles.
She reached out for him, her eyes glittering with love and devotion. The intense power and grace that had surrounded the entire ceremony now seemed centered around J.C., enveloping the Zante Alpha in the commanding glow of authority and dominance.
Brad’s heart pounded a relentless rhythm in his chest. He spun around and took off at full speed through the forest, shifting in mid-stride. His paws hit the ground with a dull thump, and then he was off again, heading in the direction of his cabin.
He was able to run much faster in full shift than he could possibly have done otherwise. A few minutes later, he stood by his bed once again in human form, the phone’s receiver cradled against his ear.
He held his breath while the long ring echoed through the line. Once. Twice.
“It’s Brad,” he said when Sean answered. “We met last week… at Hard Delights.” For the first time since he’d turned fourteen, his voice quivered slightly. Sweat dampened his palms. Uncertainty ran through him, the feeling unfamiliar and more than a little disturbing.
“I remember,” Sean said. He took a deep breath, and Brad could picture him running his fingers through his shoulder-length hair. “I didn’t expect to hear from you.”
“Yeah, I know.” Brad sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry about the way I acted that night. I wasn’t sure about what had just happened.”
Sean’s laugh held little humor. “If you need me to explain it to you, I guess you’re not as good at this man-on-man thing as I thought.”
“That’s not what I meant.” He clamped his fingers tighter around the receiver and slid his free hand between his legs to cup his balls. The strumming ache flooding his groin had only increased since hearing Sean’s voice, developing into a relentless, throbbing need.
He had to have him. Had to.
“Oh yeah? Then what did you mean?”
God, Sean wasn’t going to make this easy on him. “I think there’s something between us,” Brad said wh
en he could trust his voice. “Something deeper, more meaningful than sex.”
“And that surprises you.”
“Yes. No.” Brad shook his head, though he knew Sean couldn’t see him. “I don’t know.”
“So what do you want from me?”
Brad ignored the confrontational tone in the man’s voice. “I want to see you.”
For a moment, he thought Sean would say no. He half expected the guy to slam down the phone and end the conversation, as well as whatever might be between them, right then and there.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” Brad echoed. “Really?”
“Yes. When?”
“Tonight,” Brad said without another moment’s hesitation. “My cabin. You remember how to find it? If not --”
“I know. Ask at the gate.”
Brad slid his hand over the tip of his bare cock, smearing a drop of pre-cum down the length of his shaft. “Right. See you soon.”
He placed the phone in its cradle, feeling hopeful for the first time in a week. His shaft throbbed as he leisurely stroked it. A smile came unbidden, and he thought about finally doing everything to Sean he should have done that first night they were together.
This time, he’d take it slow. He’d lavish Sean’s body with as much pleasure as a man could handle, and then when his lover begged for mercy, Brad would fuck him until they both screamed their passion into the night air. He turned around, still grinning, his palm wrapped around his dick -- and gazed into a pair of wide, dark eyes.
“Hmm… imagine that. I take off for a little while and you’ve already replaced me,” Ali said, arching an eyebrow. The sight of her crooked grin hit home, like the sharp edge of a knife stabbing straight into Brad’s heart.
Chapter Four
“Why are you here?” Brad asked, his voice painfully raw.
“My big brother’s wedding is sort of a big deal, no?” She laughed, and the sound brought back a slew of memories.
Images slammed into Brad’s gut faster than he could catch his breath. Ali riding her bicycle, struggling to keep up with Brad and J.C. Ali shifting for the first time when she turned sixteen, her lithe body changing into the sleek form of a perfect white wolf. Ali laying in bed beside him, naked, her glorious body his for the taking.
And his pillow, still indented from the shape of her head, lying empty one morning.
“Leave,” he said bluntly. He didn’t care why she’d returned. Just hearing her speak tore at old wounds he’d thought he’d learned to ignore, even if they never quite healed. “Turn around and go back wherever it is you came from. We don’t need you here.”
She licked her lips, slowly, deliberately. “Are you sure? I could stay for a little while… just long enough to take care of that boner you’re nursing all by yourself.”
“I’m not by myself,” Brad shot back. “At least, I won’t be for long.”
“I heard.” She stepped in front of the window, and a silvery beam of moonlight hit her flawless tanned skin.
Brad sucked in a breath at the sight of her. Until that moment, she’d been mostly hidden in shadows, her tall, slender body obscured by the gloom.
She stood before him fully naked except for a pair of thigh-high black leather boots. Instead of looking out of place on her nude form, the boots gave her nakedness a raw sexual quality that sent blood rushing into his cock. Her hands were fixed on her hips, her head titled slightly to the side. A playful smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
Brad heard a groan echo through the room. It took him a full two seconds to realize it has been his own.
He gritted his teeth and thought of the way he’d felt after she left, hurt and confused, and then finally, numb. He gathered those feelings around him like a protective cloak and swept past her out of the cabin.
Stopping in front of the small porch, he breathed in a lungful of damp night air. The fresh scent of the forest helped clear his head, though it did nothing for the raging storm pounding in his groin.
“You’re angry,” Ali said, coming up behind him.
Brad stiffened at the nearness of her. He could smell her feminine scent, potent and arousing. The exotic fragrance was the same as it had been all those years ago. Even after so much time had passed, he’d still recognize it anywhere.
She was horny. The musky aroma of her lust floated through the air like a night-blooming flower, teasing his nostrils, awakening every urge to bury himself in the tight, wet warmth of this woman; a woman whose existence he’d been denying since the day she left.
“I really think you should leave. My…” His paused, scrambling for the right word. What was Sean? His date? His lover? He took a deep breath and tried again. “I have a friend coming over.”
“Some friend. Not every pal would give a guy a hand when he so desperately needs one.”
She walked around him, her smile teasing yet predatory. Her teeth glowed white in the moonlight. The lamp hanging from his door had been set on a timer, and it flicked on as she slid past it.
A wave of long-forgotten desire stiffened Brad’s cock further. Ali’s skin glistened in the silver and gold illumination. His gaze swept over her body, and he couldn’t help but compare her to Eve.
Where J.C.’s mate was blonde and perky, Ali was dark and intense. Long, mahogany hair escaped a messy bun hastily gathered behind her head. A few thick strands had fallen out, draping over her shoulder and grazing her breast.
Brad swallowed hard, remembering the way she could always draw every masculine eye when she entered a room. That had been true even before she’d turned into the gorgeous full-grown woman who now stood before him. She’d inherited her striking, exotic bone structure from her father, a man Brad knew little about. Though she and J.C. shared a mother, the similarities between them ended with their dark coloring.
Not that he knew much about the woman Ali had become. He’d heard random pack gossip that implied she worked as a mercenary, but he believed the rumors of her activities had been greatly exaggerated.
He focused on her stomach, flatter and tighter now than it had been in her teens. She’d obviously been working out, as her body made him think of a fighter, sleek and toned in all the right places, ready to pounce at the smallest provocation. Her small, perky breasts called out to him, her dusky areolas and tightly beaded nipples begging for his mouth to clamp around them and suck deeply.
“It’s been a long time, Brad,” she said, running her fingertips down his chest. He held his breath as her touch seared a path over his abdomen and groaned when she wrapped her hand around his straining shaft.
“Too long,” he agreed.
A wolf howled in the distance. Others joined him, their powerful voices raised in celebration.
“Listen to them,” Ali said, tilting her head in the direction of the meadow where the mating ceremony was still going strong. “They’re worshipping their Alpha and the new Queen. The night belongs to them.” She leaned in and placed a kiss on his chest, her tongue sweeping out to tease his nipple. “To us.”
Brad’s cock felt like it was going to explode. He should have taken himself in hand and stroked his dick until he came as he watched J.C. and Eve, but he’d wanted to save everything he had for his encounter with Sean. He’d planned on showing the man the time of his life, a night he’d always remember with a smile on his face and a twitch in his dick. In a heartbeat, Ali had changed that.
What hadn’t changed, though, was the effect she had on him. Even after all these years, the mere nearness of her made him want to spill his seed and watch her lick it off his spent, softening cock.
God, he needed to put some distance between them before his dick began dictating every move he made. He suddenly wished for multiple layers of clothing, a barrier of protection between his lust and her waiting, eager pussy.
Clenching his teeth and willing himself to take a step back, Brad gently dislodged her hand from his hard prick. “Too long,” he repeated, placing emphasis on the first word.
<
br /> “You don’t mean that.” Her full lower lip jutted out in a frisky pout. Damn, but it would be so easy to close the distance between them again, to sweep his tongue over that lip and draw it between his teeth.
“Why are you really here?” he asked, grateful for something else to focus on besides his raging libido and Ali’s sleek curves.
She lifted a slender shoulder. “I already told you. J.C.’s mating was important enough to return.”
“After nine years without a word, how did you even know about the ceremony? J.C. told me he hadn’t heard from you in years.”
Ali grinned. “And you think J.C.’s the only member of the pack I bothered to keep in touch with?”
Darkness clouded Brad’s vision. Fury flooded his brain. “Well, you obviously didn’t keep in touch with me, so what the fuck was I supposed to think?”
She rolled her eyes, the gesture infuriating him further. “Don’t be ridiculous. We were together long ago. As you’re so fond of pointing out, too long ago. So why does it even matter?”
Brad swept his hand through his hair, his frustration stiffening his muscles until his shoulders ached. “It doesn’t,” he said through clenched teeth.
“It is good to see you,” she said, her gaze softening for an instant. Her dark eyes held him captive, spellbound. He remembered the way he used to tease her about having chocolate eyes, about every darkly tanned inch of her being good enough to eat.
“Did J.C. know you were coming?” Brad asked, closing his eyes for a moment to keep the memories at bay.
“No. He doesn’t know I’m here at all. And by the time you tell him, I’ll be long gone.”
Brad frowned. “So the elders didn’t know either? No one knew?”
Ali scowled. “Victor found out. It seems he takes his new security duties very seriously.”
“That doesn’t make sense. I know Victor. He wouldn’t allow any outsider to witness J.C.’s mating ceremony tonight. Not even someone who used to belong to the pack. Not after the Kölen attack.”
