Mac (Mammoth Forest Wolves Book 2)

by Kimber White

  I peeled off my jeans and dove into the warm water. There was a natural hot spring running beneath the caves. It was as if God had put it here just for us. Well, God and Molly. I knew she was responsible for the candles. I emerged, letting the water cut a high arc as I threw my head back. Eve gasped as I came up between her legs. She spread them for me.

  I ran my hands up her smooth, slick thighs, parting them even more. Her sex was swollen and ready. I used my tongue on her, loving the tremor that went through her. Her moan of pleasure echoed off the walls.

  “Mac!” she whispered. “Oh. Oh!”

  Oh, yes. I found the sensitive little bud between her legs and swirled it with the tip of my tongue, drawing her out. I pressed Eve’s thighs as wide as they would go. She twitched and shuddered as I worked her. She threaded her fingers through my hair as I tasted her sweet, sweet honey. It was mine. All mine. I curled my tongue and entered her. Eve bucked, but I held her in place. Letting out a wicked laugh, I looked up at her.

  “Mac,” she said. “It’s too much. I won’t last.”

  “Yes, you will,” I whispered. Then, I went back to work on her, sliding my tongue along her delicious folds, torturing her with a light touch. She tried to shift, bringing my tongue to her clit. I held back, wanting to savor it and draw her out as far as she could go. And it would be very far. Eve was made for this. Made for me. I knew from now on, her body was mine to pleasure. And she would submit. She would crave it. And I would submit to her. She was born for this, but so was I.

  Finally, when the strength went out of Eve’s legs, I fastened my lips around her sex. The nub had grown hard and throbbed for me. Only then, did I use the rhythm I knew she needed. She bucked again, fucking my mouth as she folded her body over mine. She came for me, and I took it, every last drop. We had only just begun.

  When Eve’s first orgasm subsided, I pulled myself out of the water and gathered her in my arms. I laid her on the ground and curved my body around hers. My cock pulsed with need. I would sate it. Then we would start all over again.

  “Come here, baby,” I said. Moaning, Eve rolled to her back. I spread her wide again. She had no strength in her legs. I held her ankles and she hooked them over my shoulders. From there, I slid deep inside of her. Her eyes snapped open as she took me in. I was bigger and harder than the last time. Eve’s walls stretched to accommodate me. She threw her head back and moaned again as my balls tightened and I began to fuck her in earnest.

  “Mac.” She whispered my name over and over again. I was hers. She was mine. Nothing would ever come between us again. I would claim her. Make her mine. Own her forever. And she would own me.

  Eve was limber. I drew myself up on my knees and pulled her legs into a wide vee. Her ankles nearly touched her ears. I couldn’t help myself, I had to take in the view.

  “Do you have any idea how fucking sexy you look right now?” I asked. “Look at you.”

  Eve’s pussy gaped for me. She was slick and wet, begging to be fucked hard. I held her legs wide as she thrust her hips, urging me to give her my cock again.

  “I want to tie you up like this,” I said. “Soon.”

  God, just the thought of it and I nearly spent myself then and there. I would tie her up like this. I wanted her wild and wanton like this all the time.

  “Yes,” she gasped. “Oh. Yes. All of it. Oh Mac, please. Don’t make me wait.”

  I couldn’t. I plunged into her. She hooked her legs over my shoulders and squeezed her thighs. I put my hands on her hips and angled her just right. I was buried balls deep. Eve’s juices coated us both.

  She came again, hard and fast. I couldn’t hold back another second. As Eve cried out my name, I told her I loved her over and over as I poured my seed deep inside of her.

  Then, Eve went limp in my arms. I drew her to me, wrapping my arms around her as she nuzzled the back of her head against my shoulder.

  “Can we stay here forever?” she whispered. It would be so easy to say yes. I belonged to her. I prayed I would be worthy of this woman.

  There was something magical, hypnotic about lying naked in each other’s arms. I had no sense of time or place. There was just the two of us. This moment. This feeling. Eve’s eyelids fluttered and she turned to face me. She cupped a hand against my cheek and leaned up to kiss me.

  “Now, my love,” she whispered.

  I didn’t have to ask her what she meant. In my heart I knew. I balked at first. It would change everything. I had never dared to hope for it before Eve came into my life.

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  Her sweet smile melted me. “I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.”

  In the end, my Eve knew exactly what to do. She slid out of my arms and rose, pulling me with her as she took me by the hand.

  It couldn’t be here. Instinct drove us both as we stole through the secret passageways and out into the woods. Dawn had come, leaving a purple band of sky above the treetops. But, the moon still gleamed, lighting the way.

  Eve picked the perfect spot in a clearing a few yards from the cave entrance. She smiled back at me and let go of my hand. Now, she was a wood nymph. Her nipples pebbled as the cool autumn air hit them. She wouldn’t be cold for long. Eve went to her knees in a soft, mossy patch of ground.

  For the rest of my life, I knew this would be hallowed ground for me. Our secret spot. The place where my life began.

  Eve went down on all fours. The sight of her naked body, open, willing, ready, with the woods and wild things all around nearly undid me. Then, she reached back, gathered her hair in one hand, and showed me the back of her neck.

  A primal howl ripped from my throat as I went to her. If fortune smiled on us, we would have all the time in the world to explore each other as we wanted to later and often. For now, it would be swift. Licking a trail up her spine, I loved the way she twitched with pleasure. I plunged deep inside of her again, finding her open and ready for me as she would always be.

  “Do it!” she gasped. “Oh, please!”

  There was nothing on this earth that could have stopped me. As I rooted myself deep inside her, my fangs came out and I marked Eve the way she was meant for. I felt it as she did, an instant of pain that blossomed into the deepest pleasure of either of our lives.

  As my teeth broke her skin and I claimed her in the ancient way, we became a part of each other. Her heart was my heart. Her joy was my joy. But with it, her pain would be my pain. Sacred. Unbroken. Forever.

  Twenty-Three

  Eve

  “I had no idea,” I said. For about the hundredth time since Mac claimed me, my hand was drawn to the tiny crescent-shaped scar he’d left at the nape of my neck. It was nothing like what I’d seen on Nikki or April. This was smooth, natural. It had begun to heal seconds after Mac had made it. At the instant my Alpha bit me, the mark connected me to him, pulsing along with his pulse. It became a pleasure zone, arousing me in the same way it did when he kissed my breasts or touched my sex.

  “It’ll get stronger over time,” he said. “The connection. I’ll mark you again and again. Every time we have sex if you’d like. And you’ll want it. A lot.”

  I felt a hot blush color my face. He was already right on that score. We’d been back in the caves for a day and a half, and I’d lost count of the times we’d coupled. He’d even gotten to tie me up like he promised down in the grotto. Heat speared through me, settling in my core as I thought of it. Mac had brought out a new, wild, wanton nature in me. It thrilled me and gave me a power I never knew I had.

  “Someday,” he said. “We’ll read each other’s thoughts. And maybe someday...if it’s ever safe enough...we can make a baby. He’ll be a shifter, perhaps.”

  “Mmm. I’d like that. Someday.”

  For now, it seemed too much to hope for. What we had was everything. It was enough. It would have to be.

  “Eve,” he said, his voice becoming grave. I had been waiting for this. This was a conversation that we needed to have, though
I dreaded it.

  “I know, my love,” I said, putting my hand to his cheek. “I don’t have to be able to read your mind to know what’s on it.

  “We can wait until as long as tomorrow,” he said. “Then Liam and I have to try and find out what happened to Gunnar and Payne.”

  “They sacrificed themselves for me,” I said, my voice thick with emotion.

  “Yes,” Mac answered plainly. “And for me. And for Lena and the other girls.”

  “I owe them everything. I owe you everything.”

  Mac smiled and shook his head. “You think you didn’t save me just as much? I came alive when I met you, baby. But, are you sure? I don’t have much of a life to offer you.”

  I leaned in and kissed him. “Being with you is the only life I want. And Mac, we were meant to be, yes. But, I think it’s more than that. I think I was meant for this place too. I belong here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, when Molly gave me the grand tour, when she started to explain her mission here. Your mission here. Baby, I want it to be my mission too. We’ve liberated Birch Haven. But, it won’t be the end of it. As long as the Alpha is still in power, he’s going to build another Birch Haven. Or there already is one. If there’s any way to try and save those women, I want to be a part of it. I don’t want another woman to be marked against her will.”

  Mac took my hand. “You know, if I had my way, I’d lock you away. I’d never let you so much as think about the Chief Pack or go near them. But, I think you might be right. I think there’s more work to be done. Baby, there’s something you need to know though, about what we are to each other and what can happen now.”

  I rubbed my fingers over Mac’s palm. Molly had already told me about that too. “I know,” I said. “She told me about Keara and Jagger. I saw him. It broke my heart. But, I want to try and help him too. Molly says there’s hope, and I believe her.”

  Mac’s smile made my heart soar. “She’s right about a lot of things. It’s irritating as hell.”

  “She said you’d say that.”

  “I heard that!” Molly’s voice echoed off the walls as she came down the passageway. Liam was with her. They stopped at the entrance to Mac’s cavern. Molly was all smiles, but Liam’s expression turned grave.

  Molly McConnell was a marvel. She couldn’t be more than five feet tall. She had wide brown eyes, a round face, and dark brown hair with straight cut bangs. I loved her immediately. Her devotion to the Mammoth Forest Wolves was fierce. It was becoming mine as well.

  “Busybody,” Mac teased.

  My heart lurched as we all knew what Liam and Molly were doing here. It was time for our wolves to go. Sensing my distress, Molly came inside and hooked her arm through mine.

  “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “They can’t get away with anything without us knowing about it. It’s the one part of the marking they can’t do anything about.”

  “Right,” Liam said, winking at her. “Plus we’ve both got something pretty special to come back to. We’ll be careful. We’ll stay safe.”

  Mac gave me a solemn smile as he rose to stand with Liam. They led the way down the corridor. Molly squeezed my hand as we fell into step behind them.

  As we reached the mouth of the caves and sunlight stabbed through the shadows, my heart broke in two. I knew Mac had to find out about his friends. I knew Liam would watch his back. But, it tore me up to say goodbye even if it was only for a little while.

  Lena hadn’t come up to see them off. She was growing stronger every day, but she was more comfortable keeping to herself. She barely had anything to do with the growing community of shifters and humans who sought refuge in these caves. Molly said it would take time. Her scars would heal.

  We’d had word from one of Molly’s contacts topside. The women of Birch Haven had made it over the border into Ohio. April had even sent a note back. Nikki had been among the girls to flee from Camden Hall. The moment Joel’s heart stopped beating, his hold over her had ended. She was traumatized, but doing well. She’d sent word along that she knew what we’d done for her. She hoped we’d find each other again someday. I hoped for that too.

  “Come here,” Mac said, pulling me into an embrace. “Don’t look so worried. Liam’s right. I’ve got a hell of a good reason to get back here quickly.”

  “Good. And it better be in one piece, or I’m going to tear you up.”

  Liam laughed. “You two are starting to sound like each other,” he said, swatting Molly on the behind. She dodged and punched him in the arm.

  “Maybe it’s because you two drive us to it,” she said. Then, her own expression grew grave and she kissed Liam good and hard.

  It was time to say goodbye. I couldn’t breathe. Mac held my hand and we walked into the sunlight together.

  Just as he was about to let go, his body stiffened and his wolf eyes flared silver. Liam was having a similar reaction. He whipped around and growled, taking a ready stance with his legs parted and his knees bent.

  A red wolf burst through the clearing. He was big, broad, and foaming at the mouth. A deep gash ran across his right flank and blood flowed freely.

  I didn’t have a chance to react. Molly shoved past Liam and went to the wolf. She dropped to her knees and started feeling along the wound. The red wolf dropped to the ground and rolled to his side.

  “Get my kit!” Molly yelled.

  I acted quickest. I ran into the caves, down the winding passageway until I got to Molly’s infirmary. She was studying to be a veterinarian. For the moment, she was one of the most medically skilled people we had down in the caves. I grabbed her leather bag and tore back up the corridor.

  By the time I got back to the woods, the red wolf had shifted. Payne writhed on the ground; three huge claw marks left angry welts through his back.

  Molly took her bag and found gauze and disinfectant. Liam and Mac held him down as she cleaned the wound and assessed the damage.

  “You’re lucky,” she whispered through tears in her eyes. “You hear me? It’s just skin and muscle, Payne. A week of bedrest and you’ll be good as new. Uglier, but good as new.”

  Liam and Mac helped Payne to his feet. His grunt of pain cut through me. But, he found the strength to smile at me as they brought him back into the caves.

  Molly shooed us all out once Payne was settled on a pallet in her infirmary. Mac paced in the main rotunda. Payne’s howls as Molly stitched him up cut through all of us. How she managed to keep him still was some secret magic all her own. A few times, Mac had to hold Liam back from charging back in there. Wounded or not, he wasn’t about to let Payne hurt Molly by accident. But she had it all well in hand. She came out dripping with sweat and wearing a good amount of Payne’s blood, but Molly had a smile on her face.

  “You can go in now,” she said. “The bleeding’s stopped. He’ll heal.”

  Mac and Liam ran into the infirmary. Molly put an arm around me. At first I thought it was for comfort, then I realized she was seriously about to drop. I held her up and we went over to the ledge and sat.

  “He’s a shifter,” I said. “Why didn’t he heal by himself?”

  “Takes longer when it’s another shifter doing the damage. He’s lucky he didn’t bleed to death before he got to me. Come on. No sense you hanging back here. He’s been asking about you.”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah,” Molly smiled. “Payne didn’t believe me that all those women got out of Birch Haven. He wants to hear it from you.”

  Twenty-Four

  Mac

  Payne’s return made things easier and impossible. “You can’t go back there,” he said when Liam told him our plan to look for Gunnar. Payne took the news hard. He and Gunnar had gotten separated in the melee. Gunnar had killed the muscle head, the Alpha’s body guard. Eve told me his name was Sobel. Payne went for the Alpha. He’d been overcome by about five of the Birch Haven guards. They’d left him for dead and went to protect the Alpha when Gunnar killed Sobel. They
spirited the old man away and Payne managed to crawl to the river.

  “He could be dead,” Liam said. “Or he could be lying in a pool of his own blood like you were.”

  “Or he could have been taken prisoner,” I said, the words tasting bitter in my mouth.

  “If he’s dead, there’s nothing you can do by putting yourselves at risk,” Molly said. “If he’s lying in a pool of his own blood, he’ll find his way back just like Payne did. That’s what I’m putting my money on.”

  The third possibility was too awful for any of us to contemplate. If Gunnar had been captured…

  “If he’s been captured,” Eve said. “Then they might be able to get him to tell the Pack where to find us.”

  Payne knocked his head against the wall. “No,” he said.

  Molly sat by Payne’s side. She took his hand. “Hush. You’ve still got to rest. It’s been three days. Does it make any sense at all that the Pack would wait three days to send the patrols down into the caves for us? If they knew, they’d already be here. Why in the hell would they give us lead time to run?”

  She was right. But it didn’t make any of us feel better. It meant the odds were, Gunnar was dead. Eve’s sob tore through me. She sprang from her seat and started to pace. We all felt the same way. One of our own was out there. We couldn’t leave a man behind. Alive or dead.

  But, Payne was right too. Charging back to Birch Haven and putting ourselves in the path of the Pack wouldn’t help. They’d be smarter. Birch Haven was liberated. The Alpha would have installed a general or two to keep order there now. They’d be looking for us.

  So, as much as it tore us all up, there was nothing to do but wait.

  “You don’t understand,” Payne said, struggling to sit up. Never mind the wound in his back, or even Gunnar’s fate. Payne was agitated. His need to tell us something came off him in waves.