by J. S. Scott
Noah reached up and wiped her tears, chuckling softly. "No, Grace. You aren't a slut. It isn't your fault. You're my mate. You are drawn to me as I am drawn to you. My reaction is stronger, but you feel the mating instincts to a lesser degree."
Grace shot him a perplexed look as she answered him, "I don't understand."
He sighed. "I'm a werewolf, Grace. A wolf Changeling. You’re my destined mate. Somewhere in your ancestry you must have had a Changeling descendant. It may be an extinct breed, but you have some Changeling blood. It's probably the reason you’re so attracted to wild animals, feel the affinity with them, even though you don't have the Changeling abilities."
Oh. My. God. The man was crazy. A raving lunatic. She drew her hands from his and crossed them over her chest. "I'm a veterinarian, Noah. I love all animals. I'm a scientist. There is no such thing as Changelings."
Noah looked at her with a resigned expression. Grace felt a pulse of electricity in the air. She actually recognized it as a touch of magic, but she refused to acknowledge that fact. I’m a scientist. I’m a scientist.
One moment she was looking at Noah and the next...at a large white timber wolf.
Her eyes grew as wide as saucers and she flinched. Grace had a healthy respect for wolves, and this was a beautiful animal that was almost entirely white except for a small black patch under its chin. Its eyes were Noah's. Deep blue, and at the moment, very entreating. It moved closer to her slowly, nudging its soft fur against her crossed arms.
Grace’s heart was pounding wildly in shock, but the animal lover in her couldn't resist. How often would she have a chance to pet a beautiful timber like this? This was no hybrid…this was definitely all wolf that probably weighed in at around one hundred and eighty pounds. Huge...even for a wolf.
She ran her hands over Noah’s soft fur. She stroked him all over, loving the feel of his silky pelt. His body squirmed in delight at her attention.
A werewolf? Shit! She couldn't believe it was true, but she couldn't deny it. She was petting the actual proof.
The wolf morphed instantly back into Noah, and her hands ended up on his torso. She drew them away, more frightened of the man than of the beast.
"You have cognitive awareness while you are in wolf form?” she asked curiously. The scientist and vet in her needed to ask questions.
"Yes. My animal instincts are strong, but I can think exactly as I do as a man, although I do have a driving instinct to chase rabbits sometimes." He gave her a small, lopsided smile. "Now that I'm under the influence of the mating instincts I'm afraid that I see you as my prey and I have the uncontrollable urge to chase after you in human form. I need you to mate with me, Grace. I can't take you unless you agree."
"Noah...I'm confused. This has all been too much for me. I don't even know you." Her voice was soft, her expression dazed. She hadn't even gotten over the fact that Changelings actually existed. Not that she could deny it after that demonstration, but she needed…time. She’d just had a lifetime of beliefs wiped away within moments.
"You have to decide, Grace. It won't be a happy life for either one of us if you don't. If I need to push...I'll push."
"What does that mean?" It sounded suspiciously like a threat...and she didn't like threats.
"It means if you don't decide to mate with me within a week...I'm pulling my funding for your sanctuary." He told her in a matter-of-fact voice.
"I can't make it without your funding, Noah. You know that. That sanctuary means everything to me. I thought it meant something to you too since you donate a hefty sum." Her voice was a mixture of anger and panic.
"You mean more. You have a week to decide." Noah’s hard voice told her that he meant what he said. He would do it.
Grace stood up and got in his face, standing toe to toe. She was angry now as she glared up at him. "You're blackmailing me. Give in or lose my sanctuary. What kind of mate will I be to you?"
"I need you and you need me. I'm hoping you’ll get over it once you realize it's for the best." He told her simply.
"You bastard" Tears of anger streamed down her face and she wanted to slap him. She clenched her fingers into fists to resist the urge. She was a healer and she knew she’d regret it later. It wasn't in her nature.
"Actually...I was born from mated parents, but I understand why you think I’m an asshole. One week, Grace." His voice trailed off as he disappeared, his figure just fading away in the blink of an eye.
Grace stood there in shock. What the hell had just happened? It was like a really bad nightmare...but she knew she was awake.
She had questions, an endless amount of things she wanted to ask… and he had just left her.
I didn't leave you. We can still communicate. We’re acknowledged mates. We can talk. It's just better if I am not near you physically right now. I have to admit that it isn’t helping much. Your scent is imbedded in my memory, with me even though we aren’t in the same room.
Oh shit! He was talking to her mentally? What the hell else didn’t she know? I’m a scientist. I’m a scientist. "I'm not speaking to you. I'm pissed."
She heard his light laughter before silence fell.
*****
Five days to go, and counting.
Grace cursed as she left her office in the city and walked to her car. It had been a long day and she was exhausted. She had a good practice in the city and she enjoyed what she did here, but her heart was always with her sanctuary, which was located twenty miles outside of the downtown area. She had all types of wildlife there, animals that had been injured or displaced. She even had all of the necessary paperwork to take in big cats that some idiots had decided would make good pets...until they grew up and started doing what came natural to big cat, things that weren’t acceptable to humans, like hunting or protecting themselves.
She sighed, frustration rising inside her as it did any time she thought about the selfish nature humans sometimes displayed with animals. When would people realize that wild animals would never make good pets? They were born to be wild and free. She tried to rehabilitate and release if possible, but not all of them could make it on their own in the wild. The health and wellbeing of those animals meant everything to her.
She had well-trained employees who cared for the animals, but she still spent most of her free time there and she was the founder as well as the resident vet.
Grace drove the small distance to her lonely apartment with a heavy heart. She stripped immediately as she entered the bathroom and dropped her clothing into the hamper. She might love working with animals, but she needed a shower immediately after a ten hour day.
Her muscles relaxed as the hot water spray massaged over her body. She lathered herself up, trying not to think about Noah. He had been on her mind since he left her alone in the bathroom two nights ago. Her body ached for him and she had so many questions she wanted to ask, but her stubbornness wouldn't let her talk to him. He was blackmailing her. The damned bully. She refused to give in to blackmail.
Oh...but part of her wanted to. She felt fundamentally connected to him. She had always felt lonely, like a part of her was missing, even when she was surrounded by people. She dated, but no one had ever filled those empty parts of her…until Noah. Nothing she had ever felt compared to this pounding need for Noah. It didn't make sense. She barely knew him.
Her hand caressed her breast and another snaked down her body toward her needy core. Every time she thought of Noah she felt like an animal in heat.
I can help you with that.
Noah! Her hands flew off her body in a guilty rush and she started to rinse. "Get out of my head!"
I was just trying to be helpful. You were calling for me.
His voice held a hint of laughter.
"I wasn't calling for you. I was just thinking about something that pertained to you." She answered him in a pseudo dignified tone, knowing damn well that her body had been calling to him.
I know exactly what you were thinking about, love. The same t
hing that haunts me night and day. We belong together, Grace.
Shit. He was using a low, seductive voice that aroused her to the point of insanity.
"You are not going to blackmail me into this. I am going to find a place for my animals." She lied as she tried to be strong. She knew she couldn't place them all. She was scrambling for more funding...but failing miserably. Even if she put every penny she had personally into the sanctuary, it wouldn't last long. After struggling through school on her own, she was still paying on an enormous amount of student loans. And her savings were pathetic.
You have to be the most hard-headed woman I've ever met.
She could feel his soft sigh drift through her mind.
"And you are the most arrogant, high-handed male I've ever met." She told him adamantly. "You have to be an alpha," she muttered to herself.
I've always been an alpha, love.
His tone was casual, as though he were stating a simple fact.
She left the shower and dried herself, taking a nightshirt from the drawer and pulling it over her head. As she slipped into bed she asked him softly, "Will you answer some of my questions?" Her curiosity overcame her anger. She didn't have to be his mate to get answers.
Ask me anything. Just talk to me.
She heard the loneliness and yearning in his voice, calling to her, compelling her to ease his pain.
She started questioning…and he answered without hesitation, baring his soul to his mate.
*****
Zero days to go, and no more counting!
Today was her deadline and Grace was in turmoil. It was Sunday and she had the day off. She wanted to go to the sanctuary, but for the first time in her life, something else took priority over her beloved animals.
Her heart felt torn apart. The truth was...she wanted Noah. They had started talking five days ago and rarely stopped. She was as used to having him in her mind as she was accustomed her own thoughts.
There was little she didn't know about him. Her werewolf might be an alpha, but he wasn't a bastard. He had a good heart. She could sense it. She knew his passion for protecting animals and many other things about him intrigued her, drew her to him. They shared so many common interests that it was almost frightening.
Like we really are destined for each other.
She knew that what he said was true. Neither of them would have a happy life without the other. Noah was the only one that could fill all of the vacant holes in her lonely life.
Grace’s real problem was his ultimatum. She hated his blackmail tactics and didn't want to give in. Succumbing to blackmail was no way to start a very long life together. Once he marked her, they would live on for hundreds of years and it would grate at her at how he had obtained her agreement to become his mate. If she agreed, the resentment would always be there, always come between them.
She glanced at the clock. Four o'clock. She had four hours to decide.
She threw in her laundry and cleaned her apartment, but her stubborn butt didn't go to him. I just can’t do it. I can’t.
Tears streamed from her eyes as she looked at the clock, blurred by the flood of moisture that seemed never-ending. Five more minutes.
I'm not pulling my funding, Grace.
Noah. Her heart skipped a beat. His voice sounded sad and resigned.
"Why? I'm not coming to you," she asked him curiously.
I can't. Since I've come to know you...I can't do it…and I don’t want you that way. I know how much the sanctuary means to you. I can’t let you lose it. It would break your heart.
Grace smiled, her heart leaping with joy. She grabbed her keys and purse and raced to her car. She had all of his personal information and knew exactly where he lived.
"Thank you, Noah. That means a lot to me," she answered softly, her heart thumping rapidly.
No problem. I just wanted you to know. I didn't want you to worry about it. I can feel your sadness, and I can’t bear it. I want you to be happy. I should have never threatened you. The mating instinct had control.
She felt him slip out of her mind as she drove the ten minutes necessary to get to his house, the jagged pieces of her heart mending. Noah had put her needs before his own, proving she was more important than him getting exactly what he wanted. Now…she wanted to give him what he wanted, meet his needs. Every single carnal one he had.
She smiled as she pulled into his open front gate. His house was beautiful. The two-story brick structure blended with nature. Ivy climbed the sides and his house was surrounded by an array of flowers and plants. His lawn was green and perfectly manicured.
A sense of peace settled over Grace. She breathed in the fragrant flowers as she got out of her car, feeling like she was finally home.
She could hear dogs barking as she neared the front door and she smiled.
Of course he has dogs.
Noah opened the door before she could knock, and she was very nearly bowled over by two large German shepherds. She laughed as they crept around their master and rushed to greet her. She murmured to them softly as she let them scent her, stroking their heads.
"Go play." His voice was stern and the dogs raced off into the yard.
"You knew I was here." She cocked her head and looked at him.
His face looked tormented and he didn't meet her eyes. "I could scent you. I can always scent you stronger when you’re close. Why are you here? I gave you what you wanted."
She nudged him into the house and closed the door behind them. "Yes and no. I didn't want to be blackmailed...but I didn't get what I really wanted."
"What do you really want? If it's more funding...it's yours. You can have whatever you want." His voice was monotone, but she knew he was anything but uncaring.
She reached up and grabbed his head, forcing him to meet her eyes. "I want to mate with you, Noah. I just didn't want to be blackmailed into it. That would have eventually destroyed us. I'm miserable without you."
His gorgeous face transformed as he looked at her with disbelief. "You'll mate with me?"
"I love you, Noah. I know we haven't known each other very long...but I know I can't be happy without you." She told him honestly.
He growled as he scooped her up into his arms. He took the stairs three at a time, an action that had her in his bedroom in seconds.
"You work fast." She laughed as he set her on her feet beside his king- sized bed. The bedroom was classy - subdued earth tones with classic furniture.
"I don’t want to give you a chance to change your mind.” His voice was a mixture of longing and a trace of fear.
Grace reached for her tank top and pulled it over her head. She yanked the ties of her drawstring shorts and wiggled them off her hips, letting them drop to the floor. Her sandals slipped off easily. She stood before him in a black bra and thong before she answered. "I'm not about to change my mind." She pulled the clip from her hair and let it hit the floor. "Fuck me, Noah. I need you. I'm not afraid of your wolf anymore."
Noah’s jaw dropped and his face flushed with desire. "I won't hold back, Grace. Not this time. I can't," he warned her in a husky voice as he tore open his jeans and pulled them off, never taking his eyes from her. His shirt was unbuttoned and he let it slip to the floor.
He was gloriously naked and extremely aroused. His cock stood at attention and she knew he was rock hard. She also knew how to inflame the wolf. "I'm all yours. If you can catch me."
She scrambled over the bed, landing on the other side. Noah had once told her that nothing made a Changeling wolf in the mating phase more insane than the thrill of the chase.
She laughed as he rolled over the bed and she scampered away to the other side.
"Don't push me, woman." His voice was feral and wild and she shivered as it vibrated through her body. She liked this game. The hunt was on. Her instincts told her to let him work for her…and she did.
She kept darting away from him and he pursued her hot and heavy, stalking her with intensity and fire in his eyes. The
dance continued until her panties were drenched and she was panting with need.
He caught her as she failed to move fast enough to roll across the bed to the other side of the room. He took her down, pinning her to the bed as he ripped at her bra and panties. They were toast, but she didn't care. They were both gasping, wild with volatile need.
His hand dipped between her legs, groaning at the wetness that met his fingertips. His mouth covered hers with savage desperation.
Grace met his wildness with her own primitive passion. She felt it rise up to meet his, knowing she needed this mating almost as much as he did. She met his tongue with a fierceness she didn’t know she was capable of. Her tongue dueled with his, fucking his mouth as she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. His fingers stroked through her wetness, sliding over her clit at a frantic pace.
She was desperate for him. She tore her mouth from his and grasped his hard cock.
"Fuck me, Noah. Hard. Deep. Fast. Make me your mate," she panted.
He flipped her over. Her face hit the pillow as he pulled her ass up toward him, his hands caressing the perfect globes. "You have a delectable ass. Just perfect for this" His hand came down on her cheeks firmly. The smacks were just hard enough to sting, leaving her squirming, and even more aroused.
Grace moaned, knowing what was coming. She was about to get her punishment for making him chase her. Noah’s mating instincts flared into red hot need, and he wanted her submission. She smiled as she felt the burn, as her pussy flooded. The erotic jolts felt good.
She heard him grunt as he stroked over her burning ass cheeks, apparently satisfied that he had mastered her. His hand slid into her saturated folds, stroking her lightly, infuriatingly teasing her.
"Please, Noah. Fuck me." She knew every button to push…and she pushed them without remorse. Her need made him insane and her begging made him come undone.
"Mine," the feral word ripped from his throat as he grasped his cock. He plunged into her welcoming, wet channel with a hard thrust. He spread her legs wide and buried himself to his balls, grabbing her hips to pull them up to meet his hard entry.
