by K R Hall
Everyone froze. Nathaniel felt the change as it flowed through him. One second he stood before them, and the next, his wolf was leaping at Creed.
Disbelief flashed in Creed’s eyes, followed by horror as he realized the wolf wasn’t afraid of the gun and knocked it out of his hand. The wolf tore into his throat in one smooth move. Exhilaration flowed through his wolf as he watched the life leave Creed’s body. Their mate was no longer in danger.
Simultaneously, the wolf attacked Creed; Darias leaped towards Tracie, grabbing her and hurling her to the ground. A searing pain shot through him as he covered Tracie with his body.
“Nate? Please come back to me, Nate,” Tracie called.
Nathaniel’s wolf padded to Tracie’s side then sat next to her. Darias pressed his hand to his side; his palm came away covered in blood. The gun must have discharged and shot him when Nathaniel’s wolf knocked it from Creed.
“Are you alright? Whose blood is that?” Nathaniel asked Tracie after he shifted back to his human self.
“I’m fine; the blood isn’t mine. I think it’s from Darias.”
“It’s nothing serious. If it had hit Tracie, she would have died.” Darias assured them.
Darias pulled off his shirt. The bullet had entered his side close to his waist and exited through the front. Using his shirt to wipe the blood, he could see it had already begun to heal.
“Once I shift, it will be completely healed.”
Darias shifted to his wolf form. The Shifter Council’s Elite Force gathered up the remainder of Creed’s pack to be jailed while they awaited their trial. Only the higher-ranked pack members were involved in the capturing and hunting of shifters. The rest of the pack was allowed to remain. The Shifter Council would send a temporary alpha to take care of things until a new alpha could be found.
Nathanial carried Tracie back to the plane. The rest of the Lykos pack walked behind them. Tracie stared at him and their eyes locked. She could feel his intense emotions. That was odd; she had never felt anyone’s emotions before. Was this part of the mating bond stuff everyone had been telling her about?
“I can walk.”
“Not fast enough. Besides, I need to carry you. My wolf and I are in agreement that we can’t let you go now that we have you back. You’re mine, Tracie. All mine. I can’t fight my wolf anymore. He’s won. I’m going to claim you as my mate when we get back home.”
“No, Nate. Wait.”
“Wait?” he asked, surprised. “I’ve been waiting for you since we were twelve. Please don’t ask me to wait for you anymore.”
“I need time, Nate. After being kidnapped, I just can’t jump into bed with you. Can’t you understand?”
Nathaniel was silent the rest of the way back to the plane. He tried to hide his emotions from her. That wasn’t what she needed from him right now. She needed a friend, not a bed buddy. It saddened him that his mate still didn’t want him, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. With Tracie being a human, she didn’t feel the mating bond’s pull as strongly as he did.
Nathaniel carried Tracie onto the plane and gently placed her on a seat. He wanted to say something, and he ran a hand through his hair, making the brown locks standard disarray.
“You always were the independent one,” Nathaniel smiled sadly.
The mussed look was cute on Nathaniel, and she fought the urge to move closer. Why did he look a little sad when he said that?
“I don’t want to mate right now,” she said, which wasn’t entirely true.
Tracie wanted to be sure. She trusted him, but what if he decided he was wrong and they weren’t mates. He still hadn’t apologized to her about sabotaging her dates while growing up and in college.
“What is it? There’s something you aren’t saying.”
“Now isn’t the time. You’re tired and need to rest. I’ll have the healer come and heal you. I can only imagine how much pain you’ve been in today,” Nathaniel said before walking to the front of the plane.
A week later.
“You know, this is the third time I’ve been over to see you,” Rosalie complained.
She settled herself into a lawn chair. Nathaniel sat on the oak bench and waited for her to continue.
“I pounded and pounded on the door, but you never answered. Your car was in the driveway.”
“I… haven’t been sleeping well at night. So, I’ve been napping during the day.”
Nathaniel had put in earbuds and had music playing to drown out the outside noise. The longer he was away from Tracie, the worse he felt because of the mating bond.
“I was afraid something was wrong,” Rosalie observed. “I’m not like you. I can’t just sit here watching the walls, no matter how prettily I’ve painted them. I need to see real people, talk, and laugh. I have to hear their stories and jokes. They give me an energy I can’t get any other way.”
“You have your mate and your kids,” Nathaniel argued.
“It’s not the same. As a parent, you have to censor yourself to shield your children. They are too young to understand how cruel the real world can be. All Dante talks about is his work. Sometimes I need more,” Rosalie explained.
“I guess I never thought about it before. You know you can always talk to me.”
“Right. You know how possessive shifters can be when their mate is around an unmated shifter. Dante would kill you.”
“I value our friendship too much to risk getting your mate upset enough that he would feel the need to kill me,” Nathaniel joked.
“Hardee, har, har. Seriously though. You need to stop moping. You have a business to run. You can’t keep hiding in your home licking your wounds.”
“Tracie doesn’t want me, Rosalie.”
“That’s utter bullshit, and you know it, Nate. Call her and talk to her if you are too afraid to see her face to face,” Rosalie looked at her watch. “I got to go get the kids from school. Go shower. You’ll not only smell better, but you’ll feel better. Then call Tracie.”
And with that, Rosalie got up and left. Nathaniel knew she was right. He got up and put his stuff away, then went to take a shower.
Nathaniel knew he needed to ask Tracie for forgiveness and tell her how he felt no more vagueness. He dug his cell phone out of his pocket, and just as he began to dial Tracie’s number, it rang. It was her number. He was startled and almost dropped his phone. He swiped the cell phone to answer the call.
“Hello?”
“Nathaniel?” Her voice was tight, almost breathless.
“Tracie?”
“We need to talk.”
“I – yes! I was just about to call you.”
“I need to see you. Now.”
“Now? Yes. Perfect.”
“Are you at your office in the bed and breakfast?”
“I am home. Come over.”
A few minutes later, the door opens, and Tracie steps in. Nathaniel’s heart seizes up. She’s here. Her eyes burn into him. He’s frozen in place—fear and desire whirling through him.
Tracie closes the door behind her. For a long, aching, terrible moment, they simply stand there, staring at each other.
“Hi,” Nathaniel said uncertainly.
“Thanks for seeing me.”
“I was about to call you. I have so much I need to say. Please have a seat.”
“You were trying to call me? Why?” Tracie asked skeptically.
“I’ve realized my mistakes. I was young. I didn’t understand. I was foolish.”
Tracie was listening intently as if nothing in the world was more important than Nathaniel’s words. His heart was racing. She had to understand him. The tension between them was so thick; he felt like he was underwater.
Nathaniel stared at Tracie. His wolf eyes shining through instead of his human ones, causing her to shiver. He’s not fully human. She needed to remind herself that he was a wolf shifter. Both man and wolf were dangerous. His wolf was so close to the surface, listening, waiting to hear what she would say.<
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“I’ve realized a few things about myself today too. Things I didn’t understand. About myself and about you. I was scared. I kept pushing you away. I felt vulnerable. I realized I couldn’t keep running away from you. From us and what we could be for each other.”
Nathaniel rose from the seat behind his desk and moved around it toward Tracie. They’re moving in to capture her. She realized that she wanted to be caught. She didn’t want to run anymore.
“But?” prompted Nathaniel, voice soft.
“But I needed to make a new start. I needed to discover who I am and what I want,” Tracie said, her voice a little more than a whisper.
“And what do you want?” Nathaniel stepped close enough to reach out and touch her hair, moving a loose strand behind her ear. His skin on her’s sends excitement building through her.
“You.”
“Tracie,” Nathaniel growled low and rough. “You smell so damn good.”
Tracie’s pussy began throbbing, her heart fluttering.
Nathaniel’s hands moved to Tracie’s hip, his other hand sliding across her lower belly. Her skin was tingling, and heat began blossoming inside her, overflowing with lust and desire. She couldn’t believe she was there with the boy she grew up with. She couldn’t handle how intensely she needed him. Wanted him.
“Is this a dream, Tracie?”
Tracie stared up at him with wide eyes. “Not a dream, Nate.”
Tracie reached up to cup his gorgeous face with both of her hands and pulled him towards her. Their lips touch, and he’s stiff, unsure, but her passion flows through their mating bond, melting his hesitation. Nathaniel’s reserves fall away, and his hunger comes roaring forward like a howling wolf. He deepens the kiss passionately, and their tongues rub over each other in a sensual dance.
“I want to fuck you,” Nathaniel growled. “Fuck your pretty mouth, slide deep inside you. Take you hard.”
Nathaniel’s lips brushed across Tracie’s neck, causing her to shiver and close her eyes. Each kiss felt scorching like he was branding her. He scraped his teeth across her neck where it met her shoulder. He would bite there when he claimed her as his mate. She opened her eyes and looked into his seeing the gold of his wolf’s eyes. He pulled the neck of her shirt wide so that he could kiss her bare shoulder, and then he gripped the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. She breaks her kiss long enough for him to drag it over her head and drop it to the floor.
Nathaniel unclasped Tracie’s bra allowing her breasts to fall free. He cups them and kisses their tops as if they’re more precious than gold. She felt hot wetness enclose one of her nipples, which instantly becomes painfully hard.
“Oh, Tracie,” Nathaniel breathes. “Your tits are fucking perfect. I want you. All of you. Body and soul.”
His hand was massaging her breast, and the other slides between her legs. Her pulse skipped a beat as the palm of Nathaniel’s hand was moving in tantalizing, torturous circles. Tracie pushed her hips forward, wanting the sweet ache to find release.
“Yes,” Tracie whispered. “Body and Soul.”
Nathaniel’s tongue was driving her wild, circling and flicking across her nipple, driving her wild. His hands moved to open her jeans. They kissed as he unbuttoned her jeans and slid his hand down over her mound to her wet pussy. His long fingers pressed on her pussy lips, teasing her entrance, which parts quickly. If it weren’t for her panties, he’d slide right in.
“I need to taste you,” whispered Nathaniel.
Tracie gasped as Nathaniel lowered himself to his knees and gripped her jeans, peeling them down over her hips to fall around her ankles. Nathaniel leaned forward so that his face was less than an inch from her pussy, and inhaled. It’s primal, and his rumble of desire was all lupine. He pushed the fabric of her panties aside and shook his head.
“You’re so fucking beautiful.”
Tracie had never had her whole body caressed, admired, and kissed like this. She wanted to luxuriate in Nathaniel’s embrace, melt into his body, allowing his hands to own her. She needed his tongue in her cleft; she needed the fire that’s raging through her to find release.
“I’m going to lick you do you scream,” whispered Nathaniel. “I want your taste on my lips, on my tongue. Your wetness on my face.”
Nathaniel leaned forward and flicked his tongue like a lash over her lips. A quick upward stroke caused her whole body to spasm. Tracie gasped, and Nathaniel laughed deep in his chest, holding her tight. His hands were almost cruel on her hips. He slowly worked the tip of his tongue down over her mound, following the route of her clit down to the little nubbin, where again he flicked her, a gentle, fiery touch that caused her to shiver.
“Do you know how long I’ve longed for this?” Nathaniel asked. “Years. Years and years. To hold your naked body. To feel you shiver with pleasure. To hear you scream.”
Nathaniel’s tongue traced the folds of her lips, and she couldn’t even think. Her whole body was throbbing with sensation. She spread her legs wider and fought the urge to push his face deep into her. Instead, she allowed him to torture her further. Up and down, then in tight circles around her clit. It’s too much.
“Please,” Tracie begs. “I can’t take it. Please. I need you. I need release.”
Nathaniel grinned up at her, the first smile she had seen on his face in years. It’s wicked and boyish and devastatingly handsome.
“Are you begging?”
“No. I’m a grown woman. I’m demanding,” Tracie scowled at him as she wrapped her hand around the back of his head.
Then she pushed his face closer, and he willingly slid his tongue deep into her canal and then did a sensual undulation that caused her to cry out. Around and around, deeper in then back out, to flick her clit and then plunged back in. Nathaniel knew what he’s doing. He owned her pussy, explored it, and drank her in. Her muscles tensed and shivered. The sensations were building, rising, and if Nathaniel weren’t holding Tracie up, she knew she would’ve slid to the ground.
“Nate,” Tracie whispered. “Yes, like that.”
Nathaniel hooked one of her thighs and slid up onto his shoulder, opening her further.
“I didn’t even dare to dream about this,” he said. “Imagine you’d come back to me.”
“I’m here,” Tracie said, moving her head from side to side. “I’m here for you. Take me.”
This was better than any fantasy Tracie had. Nathaniel was caressing her, kissing her, worshiping her body. It feels beyond good. It feels perfect.
Nathaniel drove his tongue deep into her channel again, and when he withdrew, two of his fingers slid into her, deeper than before; she was startled at the intensity of the sensation. He closed his lips over her core and growled, the vibration driving her wild. His strong fingers were bringing her to climax. Her body was shaking like a leaf in the wind. Everything clenched, pushing her higher, deeper into her orgasm. She couldn’t breathe; she’s wholly wracked by the pleasure that obliterates her senses.
Letting out a gasp, she came down from the initial high peak. Nathaniel continued to move his fingers, and aftershocks hit, causing her belly to tremble, her knees gave out. As she began to sink to the floor, Nathaniel reached to catch her in his arms. He leaned forward and kissed her. His kiss was gentle, making her feel loved and alive like never before.
She leaned her head against Nathaniel’s arm, feeling secure in his embrace. Her body was still tingling from the orgasm.
“I’m hungry. How about we get something to eat? We’ve got a lot of things to catch up on,” Tracie said.
“Food sounds good.”
Nathaniel grinned, his expression wry, and light was burning in his eyes that reminded Tracie of his younger self. A happy, mischievous, delighted expression. Then he leaned in for a deep soulful kiss. Tracie got the sense that everything was finally aligning perfectly in her world.
Chapter 8
Nathaniel was driving them to a restaurant in town. He looked at her wanting to say s
omething to reflect on the big step they took today making love with each other, but he didn’t know what he truly wanted to say. He wanted her to move in with him. Instead of being able to speak, he heard her scream and turned to his left.
Bright lights filled his vision, and the sound of crunching metal and her screams were the last things he heard before a fiery pain slammed into his body. He tried to hold out an arm, tried to protect the woman somehow sitting next to him, but he couldn’t.
Darkness engulfed him, pulling him under.
***
Tracie hadn’t wanted to die, hadn’t wanted to spend her last breath on a scream for a man she really hardly knew even though she’s known him all her life. And she hadn’t. Instead, she found herself in a hospital room, bandaged and bruised. She also found herself unable to speak to anyone, afraid she’d let her tears she was holding back fall.
Tracie wasn’t sure what happened. The car had come out of nowhere. It had run the stoplight and slammed into the driver’s side door. The police had mentioned that the other driver was drunk. Her mind had only been focused on Nate and the blood that coated her clothing. She knew that it didn’t all belong to her. She didn’t even know if the other driver was alive.
Nathaniel hadn’t been conscious when the EMTs had pulled them out of the wreckage. The EMTs had said they were taking them to a shifter hospital in Rainbow. They said it was a miracle that she hadn’t broken a bone. The airbag saved her. Except for a few cuts here and there and her body feeling like a giant bruise, she hadn’t been hurt at all. For that, she was grateful.
“Here.”
Tracie looked up as a nurse held out a paper cup filled with water. In her other hand were a few pills.
“Thank you,” Tracie whispered, taking the cup and medicine from the nurse.
She gulped half of it down quickly with the medicine.
“The doc said they would help you to relax and sleep.”
The pain medicine was in the IV connected to her arm.
“Thank you,” she replied, taking a few breaths before closing her eyes and trying to rest.
The door to her room opened, and a nurse wheeled Nathaniel inside. He was wearing a hospital-issued gown, much like the one Tracie was wearing, since theirs were now covered in blood. The nurse helped him into the bed next to hers. His body was covered in cuts and bruises, much like hers. His left leg was in a cast.
