by V. Vaughn
“Huh,” says Chelsea. “This wolf thing is starting to grow on me. Are there female alphas too?”
“It’s not typical, but I’ve heard of it happening. And there are a lot of packs that have the mate of a deceased alpha take over. But you have to remember, females are very important to werewolf packs in terms of providing future generations. Because they’re scarce in comparison to males, they’re protected at great cost. Many pack warriors are willing to die to keep a fertile female alive.”
Jayden lets out a sigh. “That’s so romantic when you think about it.”
“Logical, too,” says Chelsea. “Your kind is fascinating, Juliet.”
I smile at my friends, impressed at how they’re not only accepting werewolves but are inquisitive about us too. “Do you guys know how much I love you?”
Alisha sets her can of soda down with a thud and reaches across the table to touch my arm. “We love you too.” She grins. “Now for the most important question. What do we wear?”
Fourteen
About an hour after my friends and I eat lunch, Roman shows up to take us to the meadow where we’ll perform the intention ritual. While Alisha, Chelsea, and Jayden did their hair and chose attractive clothing, I dressed in loose things that can easily be stripped off for me to shift. The guys are in in similar outfits.
As we gaze around the meadow, Jayden lets out a squeal and grabs Chelsea’s arm. “I’m having an outdoor wedding in a field like this. We can carry wildflowers. What do you think about cowboy boots?”
“I think it sounds great,” interjects Alex. “Besides,” he tilts his head at Byron. “Achey Breaky over there thinks he’s going to capture the heart of one of your friends at the wedding with his line-dancing moves.”
“No way,” Alisha says as she eyes Byron with suspicion.
Byron puts his hands on his hips and gyrates them. “I work jeans in a way the ladies love.”
Alisha banters back as she twirls her finger in the air. “Let me see that ass, Byron.”
He turns around before dropping his shorts to reveal a very bare, but very firm, bottom. Alisha gasps and then knits her brow in serious study as he alternates flexing each butt cheek. “Not bad.”
Byron faces us again and flashes a sexy grin as he lifts his shirt over his head to take it off too. Roman speaks to me telepathically, “You sure you want to help me lead these clowns?”
I reply, “I bet it’s good training for when we have pups.”
Roman groans in my mind. “We’re going to get a Byron and a Dean, aren’t we?”
I laugh as Roman shakes his head and says to Byron and Dean, “You two may as well shift and give them a real show.”
They comply quickly and become two gray wolves. Byron walks up to Alisha and rubs his head against her thigh before staring up at her with eyes the color of melted chocolate, like a dog looking for a treat. She chuckles as she slides her hand over his shoulder. “This is the part where Achey Breaky wins them over?” He nods making her laugh.
Dean, not to be outdone by Byron, nuzzles up to Chelsea. When she stiffens in apprehension, he sits before her to work the puppy-dog eyes too. It must be successful, because she sighs and pets him tentatively, which is saying a lot since I’m sure she’s wishing for hand sanitizer now. As she leans down, Byron sticks out his tongue and licks her face in one big slurp, making us laugh, because he’s clearly got her number.
Chelsea gasps and stumbles back before she grimaces and wipes the slobber off her cheeks. Roman saves her from further discomfort when he stops the shenanigans by giving the two werewolves a stern order telepathically to shift back. He looks at Jayden and says, “Dean and Byron are going to be on guard. Juliet and I,” Roman takes my hand and glances at me with a look that sends the warmth of his love rushing through me, “are going to shift first and perform the ritual to show you how it’s done, while Alex explains what’s happening.”
Jayden says, “I understand,” in a somber tone.
“If at any point you decide you don’t want to do this, just say so,” says Roman.
“There’s no doubt in my mind, but thanks.” Jayden leans against Alex and gazes up at him with adoration in her eyes as he puts an arm around her shoulder.
“Let’s begin,” says Roman.
Dean and Byron scan the area with their gazes. There isn’t an ounce of playfulness in their expressions as I see the serious side of two fierce warriors.
Roman and I stand across from each other as we remove our clothes, and he speaks in my head. “Are you ready to spend a lifetime with me?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” I take a moment to focus on my shifting and welcome my wolf form as the sense of freedom it allows fills me. I look at Roman across from me and we begin the intimate dance. He circles me once before he leans in to inhale my scent. A low rumble comes from his chest as he stands still to let me repeat his actions.
I’m surprised to hear Alex describe what Roman and I are feeling with a high level of accuracy. He says, “When we sniff each other, the true-mate connection makes the scent the most amazing thing you’ve ever smelled. You know how people say they know when they’ve met the one? This is the werewolf version of knowing.”
Jayden asks, “Is that how you knew I was right for you? That first night when you told me I smelled like sunshine and cookies?”
“Yes,” he says.
I stop listening to the rest, because Roman and I are nuzzling as we lap each other with wolf kisses. I focus on how Roman smells like a moonlit night on Silver Lake, Thanksgiving dinner and a fresh snowfall. And love. In the truest form I’ve ever known.
“My mate. My Juliet,” he says. “I vow to protect you and our family with my life. I want you by my side to lead the Smokey Falls pack. Please be my anchor in any storm and the one who will share my victories.”
Tears of joy burn in my eyes, and I say, “Roman, my mate, and my true love, I vow to be your guiding light, to join with you to be the force of one for the pack, and to care for the family we’ll create together. I love you, Roman.”
“I love you, Juliet.” Roman throws his head back and lets out a primal howl, and I join him with my own song to create a harmony as perfect as our love.
When we finish, I shift back and notice all three of my friends are crying. As soon as I’m human, I ask, “What’s wrong?”
Alisha sniffs. “That was beautiful, Juliet. We’re crying tears of happiness.”
“Oh.” I manage to slip my shirt on before she pulls me into a big hug. I return the embrace, because even though I’m not nearly as sappy as she is, what just happened with Roman was super sweet. And when I notice Chelsea watching us, because Jayden is all about Alex right now, I says to her, “Get over here.”
She grins as she wraps her arms around me and Alisha. I pull away after a moment. “Okay.” I swipe a stray tear from my cheek and look at Jayden. “Are you ready?”
She nods and takes a deep breath, and we hear the whoosh of Alex’s shorts as they fall to the ground. I step next to her and watch my friends while they stare in awe as Alex shifts. Even though it’s something I’ve seen a million times, I have to admit it is an incredible transformation to see. A human form shrinks down and morphs into a wolf in what appears to be a seamless action.
I notice Jayden grimace as Alex’s muscles stretch and bones crack and pop. “It’s not painful,” I say.
She lets out a sigh when he’s done and reaches her hand out toward her werewolf mate. “My gosh Alex, you’re a magnificent creature.” He lowers his head to Jayden, and she strokes the fur on his head. He lets her pet him for a while before he pulls away.
“Now he’s going to scent you,” I say. Jayden holds still while Alex circles her, sniffing at her legs and feet. She gasps when he shoves his snout into her crotch.
When Alex staggers back, Byron says, “Damn! That must some good sun—"
Alisha whacks him hard in the stomach with the back of her hand. “Shhh! This i
s a serious moment.”
Roman nods at Alex, and I hear him speak to his entire pack telepathically. “Alex, you and Jayden may complete your bond and will be recognized by the Smokey Falls pack as true mates until death.”
“Woo-hoo!!” yells Byron as he pumps his fist into the air.
Alex shifts back into human form, and Jayden throws herself into his arms as Dean says, “Congrats, you two.”
I turn to Roman and smile. “You realize that Alisha and Chelsea might be next.”
He puts his hands on my arms and smiles down at me. “If that’s what you want, I welcome them with open arms, Juliet.” He glances over me toward Jayden and Alex. “You and your pack of humans could be the best thing that’s happened for the Smokey Falls wolves in a long time.”
I reach up on my tiptoes to kiss him. “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me, ever.”
Fifteen
After we returned from the meadow we decided to celebrate at the RV with steaks and plenty of alcohol. A fire crackles as Alisha, Chelsea, Byron, and Dean tell stories. Jayden and Alex snuck off together in the truck earlier, and Roman and I are having a silent conversation telepathically as our friends pretend not to notice.
“Think they’re all drunk enough we can go for a run?” asks Roman.
I stand up and hold out my hand to him. “I think they’re wondering why we haven’t yet.” But as soon as I speak, a rustling in the woods captures my attention, and the scent of a certain female werewolf accosts my senses. “Regina!”
Dean and Byron jump to their feet, and my girlfriends get the message. The women quickly begin to move toward the RV. My skin tingles with the need to shift, but when Roman says, “Go to the RV,” I fight my urge to engage the werewolf who almost killed my mate and wants me dead.
“I come in peace,” Regina calls out as she steps forward in human form with her hands in the air. She’s wrapped in a towel I suspect she stole from someone’s campsite, and her long hair is ratty. Her face is haggard as if she hasn’t slept in a while. Dean and Byron let out low growls as a warning that they’ll shift and attack her at a moment’s notice.
Roman says to the woman. “Speak.”
Regina drops her hands and looks at me. She reaches up to touch her neck where my fresh mark is. “You are his true mate, and you had the power to save him.”
Her eyes are sad, and if I wasn’t so full of my desire for revenge I might feel sorry for her. “Yes,” I manage to say without growling or lunging to attack.
She nods. “My pack has disowned me for what I did.” Regina turns her attention to Roman. “I don’t want to live as a human watching my back and wondering when someone will kill me for my crime. I don’t deserve to live as a wolf ever again, and I’m here to accept my fate.”
I’d give her props for the admission, but she’s clearly smart enough to realize how miserable life would be as an outcast with a kill order on her head.
“Very well,” says Roman. “But not here.” He begins to walk, and I’m grateful for the fact that while he’s trying to keep what we’re about to do away from human detection, he also is keeping Alisha and Chelsea from one of the evil sides of the werewolf world.
Leaves rustle and cicadas hum as the five us walk silently along a path in the woods with Dean in the lead and Regina behind him. We stop at the clearing where I first met Roman as a wolf, and we all disrobe and shift. Byron and Dean are struggling as much as I am to keep their anger toward Regina at bay in their wolf forms, and growls rumble in all our throats. But Roman is eerily calm as the two of us stand side by side.
Regina lifts her head toward my mate and approaches us. She lays down on her back and exposes her neck to me in a display of acceptance that it was my life she would have ruined had she torn my true mate from me forever. Anger is boiling in me as I focus on Regina’s vulnerability, and I flash to the moment she sunk her teeth into Roman as she gazed at me with hatred in her eyes. She’s offering me the chance for revenge, and I want it.
Deep down, my primal urges are screaming for me to bite into her jugular. I inhale the scent of her fear, and the stench makes my stomach roll. If I hadn’t had the potion to save Roman, I’d have been destined to a painful existence without my true mate. But I did, and I’ve found the love and life I never imagined I could have. I struggle to believe I deserve such happiness, because my actions of defiance and need for control almost cost me the very mate I found. It’s in that moment that I realize what I need to do.
I step back from her and say to Roman. “My alpha.” I lower my head to him. “I’d be honored if you’d avenge the act that almost took away the meaning of my life.”
“Juliet.” He leaves my name hanging for a moment as his golden-brown eyes bore into mine, and I nod at him before I back away.
In a flash, Roman lunges toward Regina and with one swift movement, tears out her throat.
Byron, Dean, and I stand perfectly still in silence, before the sound of Roman’s shift back to human breaks us from our trance, and we all do the same before we dress and follow him silently back to the RV.
Killing one of our kind is a necessary punishment in a world without formal law and order, but it’s never easy to live with. I don’t speak to Roman as we walk and let him have the time he needs to process what he’s done.
When we get to the end of the path by the campsite, he stops. “We’ll report the dead wolf to the authorities in the morning so the humans here can rest easy that the threat is gone.”
He looks at me. “Do you need to explain what happened to the girls, or can Byron and Dean do it?”
I realize my mate needs me, so I look at the guys. “I trust you both to use tact.”
They both give me a solemn yes before they leave me and Roman to return to the RV. I gaze at the man I love and hold out my hand. He takes it and tugs me against his body to embrace me tightly. My mate’s heart pounds beneath his chest as he shudders with a heavy sigh before he says, “Let’s run.”
I think running as a wolf to the point of nearly complete exhaustion is something Roman needs to do to deal with his demons, and as his mate, I do my best to keep up. I’m about to collapse when he finally stops at a cliff overlooking the valley. He shifts back to human form and lies down on his back to rest. I do the same and lie beside him. The ground is cool under my bare skin as we both pant to recover, and we gaze up at the stars. It’s a while before my mate finally speaks. “I’ve killed for punishment five times.” I reach for Roman’s hand, and he threads his fingers through mine as he lets out a heavy sigh. “My wolf makes it easy to kill, but afterward…. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to it.”
His admission tugs at my heart. As alpha, I’m sure he’s never told anyone how he feels about the burden he must bear. And truthfully, the pack wants to believe he has cold-blooded tendencies because we see it as a powerful trait. But I’m glad my mate has a good heart. “I hope you never do, Roman. That’s what keeps you compassionate.”
“I know.” He lifts up on his elbow to gaze down at me, and he smiles as he shakes his head. “I still can’t believe I found you. In a coffee shop of all places.”
I chuckle as I reach up and place my hand on his cheek. “I go on vacation and find myself a hot fireman. What are the odds?”
Roman looks up at the sky. “Destiny knew what he was doing.”
When he looks back at me I say, “She sure did.” He chuckles as I pull him down for a kiss. It starts off slow, but things heat up quickly, and I feel Roman’s need to lose himself in me when he breaks away to nibble his way down my body. Our wolves dance at the surface as we both let the primal urge of our bond fuel our desires.
I squirm under Roman’s mouth when he drinks in the nectar of my sex, and while I’m still crying out from my release, I don’t resist him flipping me over to my hands and knees so he can drive deep inside my channel. His movements are rough, and the rocky earth beneath my limbs is cutting into my skin as he fills his need for intensity. And I urge hi
m on, because my mate would do the same for me.
When Roman is spent, we both collapse in a tangled heap, and I let the weight of his body nearly crush me with the hope I can relieve his burden. He finally rolls off of me, and I climb onto his chest to kiss his neck softly. “Ah, Juliet,” he says as he strokes my hair. “You really are perfect.”
I lift my head and smile down at him. I’m a little surprised that even when he had me pinned to the ground, I didn’t feel trapped. And I know it’s because I’ve truly found a mate who completes me in ways I didn’t even know I needed. I say, “I feel the same way about you, Roman.” I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly as the revelation of what being true mates really means seats itself deeply in my mind.
“You’re ready,” says Roman, as if he can read my mind.
I nod and lean down to lick the spot where I plan to sink my teeth and seal our true-mate bond forever. His skin is salty on my tongue, and the scent of our combined musk sends waves of pleasure through me. I move down his torso with a strong desire to taste that heady combination of us as well. Gripping his hips tightly, I tease his engorged cock with my tongue until he’s begging for more.
Roman’s erection fills my mouth when I finally wrap my lips around it and suck as I move up and down. I focus on the sounds he makes as I exercise complete power over my alpha male in a way nobody else can ever do, and when he’s close to his orgasm I pull away.
“Juliet,” he croaks out as he tugs at my arms to pull me up and over his body. I move my mound over his cock and sink onto it. Roman’s thickness stretches me, fills me, and sends delicious pleasure throughout my body as I ride him and create the friction we both crave.
He holds on to his control for me so that we can explode together. When I’m almost at my peak and lower my mouth to his neck, Roman tilts his head back in the ultimate display of submission. But I don’t latch on with a sense of dominance. I plunge my wolf teeth into my mate with the power of two. As the metallic flavor of his blood coats my tongue, the strength of our bond surges through my veins. And when I release Roman to rise up and gaze down at him, the euphoric haze I’m in is also apparent in his eyes.
