Heart of the Pack

by Jenny Frame

  “You did?” Lena was quickly forgetting all her hang-ups, as Caden was making her feel utterly desirable.

  “I have been dreaming of sinking my teeth into them ever since.”

  In response, Caden slowly eased down Lena’s pantyhose, giving each bit of flesh a kiss as it was uncovered. When Lena groaned, Caden’s canines slightly grazed her inner thigh, and Lena pushed Caden’s head toward her center.

  Caden used her teeth to rip off Lena’s panties in one movement, and she pressed her nose into the patch of hair protecting Lena’s sex. “I need your flesh.”

  “Take me, Cade,” Lena moaned. She was lifted and laid on the bed without ceremony. Lena’s breathing hitched when she saw Caden crawl up the bed toward her, her predator eyes burning yellow and bright. She should have been frightened, perhaps, but she wasn’t. She wanted Caden touching her, making her moan.

  Caden stopped by her thighs and looked up at her with hunger. “I will never hurt you, Goddess. I’m going to worship your body and show how much you are loved. Tell me how you feel.”

  “I’m scared, but in a good way. I just don’t want to disappoint you.”

  “You never could.” Caden pushed her onto her side. “I’ve dreamed of these hips, these thighs.” Caden’s hands were hot as they kneaded her thigh and buttock. “I want them.”

  “Please, take what you want, Cade.” She couldn’t see exactly what Caden was doing, but she gasped when she felt two sharp teeth grazing her thigh. “Oh God, more, please?” The sharp pain shot straight to her clit, and she moaned into her pillow. When she felt Caden bite down harder, she grasped her own breast and squeezed it.

  “Tell me what you want, Goddess.”

  Lena’s head was swimming. What did she want? How could she ask for all the base, lusty thoughts that Caden was drawing from her body? “I want to feel your tongue, your teeth, your hands on me, everywhere.”

  Caden growled, flipped her on her back, and used her tongue to lick all around her sex and inner thighs. “I need to taste you,” Caden said before parting her folds and lapping at her sex with a growl.

  The feeling of Caden’s tongue made her feel desperate, desperate for Caden to give and take whatever she wanted. Whatever her lover wanted, she would gladly give to her.

  Lena’s hips started to move in time with the wave of pleasure that was building inside her. It was scary, but at the same time there was nothing she wanted more. She looked down to Caden’s hand, which was resting on her abdomen, and saw the tips of her sharp claws scratch along her belly. When Caden’s hands scratched, or her teeth pierced her skin, the hot pain stimulated her clit, and she knew she was going to become addicted to that feeling.

  Lena pulled her head up and said, “Please, come up here. I need you to be close.”

  Caden crawled up her body. She gently nipped and licked at the soft flesh of breasts before finding her lips and kissing her deep and hard. She sucked at her tongue as she had with her clit, and acting on instinct, Lena took Caden’s hand and kissed it with great tenderness.

  “Please, Cade. You’re my first and will be my only one. Make me yours.”

  Caden looked down at her silently. Lena could read the uncertainty in her eyes, as if she was trying to keep a handle on her desires.

  “Please?” Lena had never known anything in her life to be so right.

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” Caden said with a shaky voice.

  Lena cupped Caden’s cheek with her good hand and whispered, “You won’t. I need to be yours, Caden. I’ve never needed anything more.”

  She felt Caden’s fingers slip inside and she groaned at the feeling of being filled.

  Caden begged. “I want to bite you so much it hurts, Lena. I can’t yet, but I want to.”

  On instinct, Lena laid her head to the side and offered up her neck. “I’m yours.”

  Caden pounced on her offered neck and pierced the skin she had marked before with her teeth, while her fingers pushed through the final barrier between them. Lena cried out and sank her fingernails into Caden’s shoulder, making her howl into the night.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The dawn sun shone its light gently through the french windows of Caden’s den, onto Lena and Caden, who were wrapped together tightly. Lena was wide awake and studying her contented partner beside her.

  She’d fallen asleep, utterly exhausted from Caden’s attentions, but was now wide-eyed and ready to take in the scale of what had happened to her. She was lying in bed with a werewolf, she thought, in a surprisingly calm fashion.

  A werewolf who had loved her like no one else in her life. She had made Lena’s first time unforgettable by making her feel like the goddess Caden called her. But something niggled at the back of her mind. As much as Caden had been passionate and loving, there was something that told her Caden was holding back.

  She gave Lena everything unselfishly and took nothing in return. If Lena was to be Caden’s mate as she wanted, then Lena was determined to give her what one of her own kind would.

  “You’re so perfect, Cade,” Lena whispered to her sleeping lover.

  Lena never thought that someone like Caden could love her, but after last night she was in no doubt. She stroked her lover’s hair and gave her a scratch behind the ear, remembering Caden’s wolf liked that. Caden made sounds of complete contentment, which encouraged Lena in her explorations.

  She was curious to see if werewolves and humans had many differences when in human form, apart from size and strength, so she began exploring.

  Lena ran her fingers down the center of Caden’s chest and circled her fingers around Caden’s well-defined stomach. She giggled when Caden growled softly and tried to bat her hand away like a dog having a dream.

  When she went lower, Caden’s growls got deeper and sounded much more serious. She ran her fingers through her lover’s hair and the lips of her sex. Although Caden was her first, she knew from her own body that her lover’s body was slightly different. Her clitoris was set lower and was bigger than her own, and it appeared to be gaining size as Lena stimulated it. And Caden’s opening was also smaller than hers.

  Caden’s moans grew, and she hoped she would get to make Caden come before she would take over. From nowhere, Caden grabbed her good wrist and said, “Be careful teasing a wolf, Lena. You might get bitten.”

  She leaned over Caden’s mouth and kissed her softly. “Maybe I want to be bitten. Did you ever think of that?”

  This brought a smile from her lover, who flipped her over onto her back. “There’s nothing on this earth that would make me happier, Goddess, but a wolf can’t bite until their mating ceremony. It’s like a marriage, only more permanent,” she joked.

  This was the opening Lena needed to ask about the differences between human and werewolf mating. “Caden? Can I ask you something?”

  “Of course. I’ll answer any question you have.” Caden lifted her lover’s hand and kissed it.

  “Werewolves like you and Dante, and others I’ve met, are much bigger and stronger than the wolves who are like Eden, Stella, and Vance.”

  “All wolves are born either dominant or submissive. Dominants like Dante and me are the hunters and protectors. Submissives nurture, produce cubs, and take care of the den.”

  “Wait a minute.” Lena gave Caden a questioning look. “Dante and Eden have kids. I’ve met Dion and the baby, Conan, and they look exactly like Dante. How…?”

  Caden caressed her lover’s face. “You’re right. And their middle daughter looks like Eden—she’s a beautiful blond submissive cub. They have another on the way, I understand it wasn’t planned, but a wonderful surprise.”

  Lena’s eyes went wide. “A dominant wolf like you—”

  “A dominant wolf, whether male or female, can make any submissive female pregnant.”

  Lena was shocked to say the least. “That’s unbelievable.”

  “Why? There are many wondrous types of reproduction in the natural world. Some animals change sex,
some use asexual reproduction, and some regenerate. Human females can orgasm the way we dominants do, the only difference being that when we do it, our ejaculate contains the genetic material required to impregnate a female wolf. We’re just different, like all the other animals on the earth.”

  After the initial shock, Caden’s words did make sense. After all, Lena realized, she was in a whole different world now, a world where werewolves existed. She was desperate to ask how it was done but didn’t yet have the courage. “Is that how a dominant gets their pleasure? Mating that way?”

  “A dominant wolf gets pleasure from pleasing their mate,” Caden said coyly.

  Lena was now even more sure that her lover was holding back a part of herself. Maybe she could talk to Eden and get the truth. Then something more important hit her. “Caden, can wolves and humans breed?”

  “A dominant male could impregnate a human female in the traditional way, but for a dominant female…” Caden shrugged. “Well, it’s never been known, in my experience. I hope you know I would never mate with you without taking the proper precautions, if I thought I could make you pregnant. Don’t worry.” Caden began to kiss Lena’s neck and shoulders, while stroking from her breast to her hip, hoping to have another opportunity to make her mate come.

  “I wasn’t worried about that, you silly wolf. I’m worried about you.”

  “Why would you be worried about me?” Caden stilled her hands and seduction for a moment.

  Lena had tears forming in her eyes as she said, “I love you with all my heart, Cade, but if you stay with me, you won’t have children.”

  “Don’t cry, my Goddess. I never expected to have a mate. I thought I’d go through life on my own because my grandmother told me my wolf mate didn’t exist. She was right—the Great Mother didn’t have a wolf mate in her plans for me, but she had a human female in mind for my mate. So you are more than I ever expected to have. I don’t need to have biological cubs with you to be happy. You alone will make me happy every day of my life.”

  “Do you mean it?”

  “Of course I mean it. Besides, if you ever want to have a family with me, there are always needy cubs who come up for adoption.”

  “Really?” Lena asked enthusiastically.

  “Yes.” Caden smiled and lowered her lips to give her lover a kiss, which quickly turned passionate when Lena grasped Caden’s neck with her one good hand and pulled her closer.

  “Cade,” she moaned, “I want you so much. Please, take me the way you would if I was a submissive wolf.”

  Caden broke away from the kiss and seemed unsure of what to do. Lena watched her lover look up and down her body, gulp hard, and sit up on the side of the bed. “I think you should have a break. It was your first time and you’re bound to be sore.”

  Lena sat on her knees behind Caden and stroked from her neck down her muscular back. “I’m just pleasantly achy, Cade. I want you, all of you.”

  She felt Caden’s back muscles tense as if she was arguing with herself, before she stood and walked away from the bed. “Soon, I promise. Soon. But I promised Dante that I would help her and Dion set up some tables at the park—there’s a company picnic tomorrow.”

  Lena couldn’t help but feel rebuffed at this. “Oh? Okay, can you drop me off at my apartment on the way?”

  Caden must have realized Lena was hurt because she immediately apologized and said, “I didn’t mean it that way, my Goddess. I want you to come with me. I don’t want us to be apart if we can help it. We can have some more time alone tonight if you’ll come back with me.”

  “Yes, of course I will.” Somehow she would get Caden to let her wolf out to play.

  *

  Eden opened the door to find the pack Second wrapped around Lena Miller. “Lena, you came back to us.”

  Lena smiled shyly. “Yes, I couldn’t stay away.”

  “And you’ve found yourself a mate, it would seem.” Eden smiled broadly. “Dante and Dion are dismantling the picnic tables out in the garden, if you want to go and help them, Caden. I’ll look after Lena for you.”

  “Oh? Thank you, Mater.” Caden pulled her lover close and kissed her. “Will you be okay without me?”

  “Of course she’ll be fine, won’t you, Lena?”

  Lena was equally wrapped up in Caden, stroking her hair, and smiling at her adoringly.

  “Lena?” Eden repeated, a bit louder.

  “What? Oh yes, of course.”

  They walked through to the kitchen, where Megan was looking after her brother. Megan rolled her eyes when Caden pulled Lena to her and kissed her.

  “I’ll just be outside. I love you.”

  Lena was a bit embarrassed at showing affection in front of others. “I love you.”

  “Off you go, Second,” Eden said to Caden.

  When they finally got her out the door, Eden pulled a seat out at the kitchen table. “Take a seat, Lena, and I’ll make us some fruit tea. This is our daughter, Megan, and you know the big cub over there.”

  “Yes, hi, Conan. Hi, Megan—nice to meet you.”

  Megan smiled brightly. “Hi, Miss Lena. It’s great to meet you. I’ve never spoken to a human before.”

  “Meggie,” Eden warned.

  Lena laughed. “It’s okay, Eden. I’m glad I’m your first human, Megan. I hope I’m not a disappointment.”

  “Nuh-uh. You seem really nice. What’s that on your arm?”

  “Oh, this? It’s a cast. I broke my arm.”

  Megan looked fascinated. “Wow. So you don’t just heal when you shift?”

  Eden brought over two cups of fruit tea and said to her daughter, “Humans don’t shift, remember?”

  “Cool. So you just wait till it’s better?”

  Lena smiled and nodded. It was strange explaining something so everyday to someone, but she reminded herself that she was the alien in this land.

  “Why don’t you go and play with your pater, Caden, and Dion? Den talk time, Meggie.”

  “Yeah, if you’re going to talk about yucky dommos, I’ll go outside.”

  As Megan ran out of the kitchen, Lena asked, “Dommos?”

  “Dominant wolves,” Eden told her, shaking her head, “in teenager language. So, you came back.”

  Lena tapped her fingernails nervously on the table, working herself up to talk. “Did Caden tell you what happened?”

  “Yes, she lost control of her wolf. I’m sorry you found out about us in this way, Lena. We had counseled Caden to do it gradually, so as not to shock you, but the alcohol brought that plan to an end.”

  Lena stirred her tea and took a sip. “My idiot brother. My family didn’t like me having such a protective friend, so they tried to make a fool of Caden.”

  “How did you leave it with your family?” Eden asked.

  “I don’t have a family. They told me if I came back here to be with Caden, I had no family anymore, and that’s because she’s gay. Can you imagine if they had found out about her being a wolf?”

  Eden placed her hand atop Lena’s in a comforting gesture. “Lena, I’m sorry about your family, but I hope you know that you’re not just gaining a mate in Caden, you’re gaining a whole wolf pack as your family, and if I as Mater can do anything to help, I’m here.”

  “Thank you. That means a great deal to me. Loving Caden has given me the strength to stand up to my family. I love her, and I won’t let anyone come between us.”

  “That’s good to know, because Caden will love you till her last breath. She has been alone too long and deserves the happiness that only a mate can bring.”

  “I will do everything I can to make her happy.” Lena wanted to ask more but couldn’t quite work up the nerve.

  Her anxiety must have shown on her face, because Eden leaned close and said, “You look concerned. Is there something you want to ask?”

  Lena felt her cheeks go hot, and she knew Eden would realize something personal was up.

  “Please don’t be embarrassed, nothing you tell me will go an
y further. Has Caden upset you?”

  “Oh no, nothing like that. Caden has been so gentle and caring with me. So gentle, in fact, it’s as if she’s afraid I’ll break. When we made love, it was…well, she was passionate, but I felt she was holding back a part of herself. I want to be everything a wolf partner would be for her. I want her to make love to me like—”

  “Like the dominant wolf that she is?” Eden asked.

  “Exactly. I don’t want her to be different with me, Eden.”

  “She’s probably frightened of scaring you off. Sex with a dominant wolf can be rougher than normal, if you are a human,” Eden warned her.

  “I’m stronger than I look. I want us to be mates in every sense,” Lena said forcefully.

  “If that’s what you want, I can teach you what to say and do to coax the dominant wolf out to play. First, you have to challenge her…”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  “Pater? Is Caden okay?”

  Caden had hardly said a word since she’d gone outside, and constantly looked back to the den where her mate was.

  “Second? Are you with us?” Dante asked.

  “Sorry, I was…oh, it doesn’t matter.” She lifted one of the tables and piled it up with the others.

  Dante turned to her daughters and said, “Dion, take some chairs and put them beside the truck. Meggie, you go too, but don’t lift anything heavy. I want a word with Caden.”

  “But, Pater, I can talk about adult wolf stuff now. I’m an expert on dommo-missie stuff,” Dion said.

  Megan laughed. “Oh, yeah, you’re an expert in following Tia around like a little cub.”

  Dion snarled at her sister. “When you get a mate, Meggie, I’m going to tell them what a lame freak you are.”

  “Enough,” Dante said. “Go now.”

  Dion sighed, picked up one of the piles of chairs, and said, “Keep up.”

  The cubs finally out of earshot, Dante said, “Sit down, Second.” She indicated the garden bench. “So, what’s wrong? You should be howling to the trees, you got your mate.”