by Godiva Glenn
“I can’t stay and wait for your friends to come pick me up. Don’t you get that?”
She rested her forehead against the bars. “I wish I could.”
“Do you mean you don’t know how?”
“I know how. I just…”
He held the bracelet up for her to see. “If you don’t tell me how to fix it, my only choice is to leave the collar on. You know what that means.”
“Don’t do that.”
“It means I’ll get to live free for about two weeks before the full moon pulls me down. I can’t control that change. No matter how much pain this collar would put me in, I would shift.”
She closed her eyes. “I don’t want you to die, Kalle.”
“Then help me.”
She shook her head. He’d had hopes for her, but now he didn’t know what to say. He brought his hand back and pinched the bridge of his nose, hearing a mechanical whir as the bracelet he held came close. His hand froze. The sound vanished.
He stared at the metal and brought it closer to his neck. The whirring returned. The bracelet pulled from his grip and curious, he released it. Sure enough, it clung to the collar like a magnet. He slid the bracelet around the circumference of the band and the whirring continued. Then there was a click and the collar sprang open on the front.
He threw both pieces down and stood. He’d never been so thrilled to touch his own neck. He howled in triumph.
“If I were a cruel beast, I’d put that collar on you,” he remarked.
Sky had turned away from him and now huddled in the far back corner of the cage. He squatted down to peer at her. Her eyes flickered with that same reflective silver he’d seen once before.
“What the fuck is that?” he asked.
“What?” she snarled. The silver was gone, though.
“Your eyes. When you’re really angry, they get metallic. Silver.”
The expression on her face spoke volumes. Mainly that she thought he was insane. “My eyes are brown.”
He studied her. It didn’t matter. She hadn’t freed him, even when she knew it meant he’d die. His mission to save her was over. Let the Wardens choose her fate. The bar lock on the cage held his attention. Someone would find her eventually. Or he could set her free and…
He slid the lock loose. The moment she had the opportunity, she took it, but he caught her and pinned her against the wall. She became dead weight against him and tried to sink to the floor, but he yanked her back up. She punched at his chest, feeble movements that barely registered to him.
The surge of emotion carrying her amused him. It was either brave or stupid to attempt to fight him now that he was free of his torture device.
“Let me go,” she shrieked.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t collar you and shove you back in that cage.”
“I didn’t have a choice.” She squirmed but he had her trapped against his body. “You have a choice.”
“You always had a choice.”
“If I’d let you go, they’d kill me.”
He frowned at the response. “You said they’d forgive you. That they were family.”
“They raised me,” she reasoned. “We’ve had good times, I suppose. But this mission was supposed to be my final test. And if I didn’t pass, I didn’t get to stay with them.”
“That’s not death.”
She blinked and looked away. “They won’t let me leave, knowing what I know. I’m not stupid.”
“Then they aren’t family.”
“They’re the closest I have to family.”
He growled at her words. Not because she angered him, but because they did. The ones who raised her only to put her in this position. But she didn’t know his thoughts, only heard the menacing sound and panicked. The racing of her heart distracted him. Fear didn’t usually interest him, yet her fear was enticing.
She struggled against him, but he held both her arms. He pressed both her wrists into one hand and raised them over her head to keep her trapped. It would be no good if she came after him, and knowing her, she would. So, what to do with her?
She stomped his feet, and though it hurt a little, he didn’t budge.
“What do you think I’m going to do to you?” he asked.
“Well—I… you’ve mentioned the collar twice.”
He closed his eyes and leaned forward, still thinking. Their proximity became painfully obvious in a way he hadn’t considered before. His prey was exactly where he wanted her, and she felt soft and pleasing. The sweet scent of her curled into his nostrils and he took a deep breath. Though her pulse and breaths sped, she didn’t smell like fear. She smelled like her. A scent that was entirely distracting.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a whisper.
“I’m wondering if you’re worth trying to save,” he replied. “Though to be honest, you’re damn confusing. I’m furious at you. I should hate you, but I don’t particularly want to leave you to die.”
“I don’t need saving.”
“If those assholes want to kill you because I got free, then yeah, you could use some saving.” His wolf appeared in the back of his mind. Both sides of him saw the value in saving a life.
She shifted against the wall and lifted her face. “What does that have to do with sniffing me?”
You noticed that. “That’s the confusing part.” He stared into her dark eyes. “I’m tempted to collar you to bring you with me. Figure everything out.” His hand squeezed her wrists until she winced, and that tiny action fascinated him. “But I also have a strange urge to put it on you and take you on the floor.”
Her mouth fell open and he winced upon realizing what he’d said. They were thoughts meant for him alone, and when said aloud… Well, now he sounded depraved.
“It sucks to be proven wrong,” she muttered. “Or rather, to realize they were right. You. This mission. I guess I am weak.”
“Weak?”
“They said it was a woman thing. That I’d be softened by the enemy.” ‘
Her face contorted as if in severe pain and he loosened his grasp without thinking. The moment he gave her that inch, she gave him the strongest shove she could muster, slamming her entire body against him. It worked to make him shift his position, and she yanked herself free of his hands. She raced down the hallway and he followed, internally kicking himself for falling for her trick.
As she dashed through the living room, she slid on the worn rug covering most of the floor behind the couch. He caught her just as she reached the doorway and yanked her close.
There was no thought involved. His head dipped so he could capture her mouth. Something about her running out of his life made it worth testing. Is this what she meant by softening?
She struggled, fists pounding his chest. The sound was like a dull, distant, drumming in his ears. Her heart was telling a different story than the fight her body put up externally.
His arm slid around her waist, hoisting her against his body until his hard bulge pressed against her hip. She gave his chest a final thump with her fists, then she gripped his shirt and jerked on it, pulling him closer.
Her lips parted and welcomed his tongue even as her body melted against his. A soft noise escaped her throat and slid into their kiss. It sounded like relief and shock and more, but he didn’t know which of them was more surprised by his body’s urge to hold her and taste her like this.
His hand tangled in the silky nape of her hair. Their first kiss wasn’t this intoxicating. This had to be the real Sky.
She licked her lips and stepped back. He let her. Behind her, the dark forest seemed the likely escape for each of them. They could part here. It fit the scenario. She turned around and walked to the edge of the cabin’s front deck.
“I’ve been right, and I’ve been wrong,” she said over her shoulder. “You are a beast. Just not the type I thought.”
He rested against the door frame, surprised she wasn’t a blur in the trees yet. “Meaning?”
“I hate
you too, but maybe you should chase me.”
SEVEN
Sky’s delicious scent blended with the sweetness of the moonlit night. Between the taste of freedom and the taste of her kiss lingering on his lips, Kalle was nearly delirious. The last time he’d chased her had ended in hell, yet this time he predicted absolute rapture.
He let her elude him until she’d led him to the perfect spot—flat ground with a sparse patch in the overhead leaves to allow the moon to dance through. Power surged through him and in two seconds he cleared the gap between them, caught her, and tackled her to the ground.
They tumbled to the cool forest floor, his arms a cage to keep her from getting too scraped up, her voice a high-pitched gasp that cut through the trees.
“Is this what you want?” he growled.
“Yes.” She licked her lips and stared up at him.
They were close enough that their noses touched. His stare was a golden and glowing reflection in her wide eyes. “I want to punish you. Do you know what that means?”
“I don’t care,” she said shaking her head. “All I know is when you kissed me back there you threw a blanket over the rest of the world. It was just us. I need that.”
“Are you sure?
Her hands, trapped between their bodies, tugged at his shirt. “I don’t understand anything right now, and I don’t want to think. I’m a mess of fury and… I feel lost. I don’t want to feel anything. Just you.”
He inhaled her scent and braced himself against the rush it brought to his blood. Something about her overpowered his logic. Intoxicated him. He pressed his lips to her ear and spoke low, “I thought I wasn’t your type.”
“You aren’t,” she insisted. “But that doesn’t stop you from feeling perfect.”
“You hate me.”
“And you said you hate me. So what?”
He licked her jawline then sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, trapping it between his teeth. Biting down, he listened to her racing heart and felt her body heat against his until she finally flinched and whimpered. He kissed her and tasted a faint trace of her blood.
Between himself and his wolf, his mind was flipping between making her his and making her pay. He could do both. The tremble emanating from her aroused him in ways unfamiliar and intriguing. He’d never been in such a mood before. Sure, he liked rough sex. Who didn’t? But what was playing out in his thoughts went beyond his usual tastes.
He wanted to punish her. Hurt her. Make her feel as helpless as he had when following her day after day, drugged and collared. He wanted to taste her emotions and watch them parade across her face.
“Say something,” she whispered.
They were past words, though. Drawing back, he took hold of the front of her thin sweater. A single thought and his fist grew claws which he used to shred the fabric and expose her perfect breasts. She gasped at the tearing sound, but it wasn’t fear widening her eyes.
The pale gray fur retreated, and he palmed one of the trembling mounds, rolling the stiffened pink tip between his fingers. As entertaining as her face was, it occurred to him that it would be easier without looking into her hypnotizing eyes.
This was just fucking, after all.
He rose on his knees and rolled her over with a firm hand on her hip. Gripping her waist, he pulled her back to be on all fours. She started to say something, but his hand tore open her leggings and that shut her up.
Even in the darkness, he could see the moisture glistening on her folds and could make out the trimmed strawberry blonde curls between her thighs, somehow paler than the hair on her head but enticing all the same.
Heat radiated from her though she shivered. He shoved his pants down and teased the head of his cock into her pooling arousal. Fuck she was wet. Perfectly soaked to take his thick cock, which ached to be buried to the hilt inside her.
The moonlight shimmered on the smooth, pale skin of her back and drowned the color from her hair. Her head hung down and the muscles of her arms were flexed taut, bracing herself for the inevitable frenzy. He thumped his cock against her and watched her fingers dig into the ground. The scene was almost perfect.
He tangled his right hand into her silky strands and yanked up. She whimpered as her back arched and hands sought new purchase, but he held her up until only the very tips of her fingers scratched the dirt. She didn’t get the luxury of balance or control. Everything was in his hands—literally.
Sky hissed as he repositioned his hand, wrapping her hair around it firmly. He could imagine her discomfort, but she wasn’t complaining. Now the moment was perfect.
He absorbed the view of her struggling to remain upright, which brought an honest smile to his lips. Then he slammed his length into her and made her scream.
The high pitch bounced off the trees around them, absolute music to his ears and the perfect accompaniment to how tight and magical her pussy felt clenching him. He steadied her hips with his free hand and pulled out before driving himself back in. The first stroke hadn’t hit home, but this one did, bringing a deep moan from her lips.
A nagging voice in his head told him to be selfish, but he wasn’t that colossal of an ass. Sure, he could use her and leave her begging for release. That would satisfy a part of him. Balance would be restored to his ego. Alternatively, it seemed more perverse to ensure that she enjoyed every moment.
After all, he wasn’t her type. He was just a beast.
What better revenge than fucking her like a wild animal and making her love it? Even making her beg for more of it?
Each time he pistoned forward, she made sharp sounds. He was hitting too deep, but it felt too good to hold back. Eventually, the sounds became those of pleasure, and his hand tightened in her hair as he pounded her to both their content.
Sliding in and out of her heat, he marveled at how amazing the sensation was. He’d had a lot of sex in his lifetime, but this was legitimately blowing his mind. He held his breath as he pressed his sac to her entrance, burying himself deep into her slick pussy.
Unless he was mistaken, Sky was on the verge of her orgasm. If his mind wasn’t constantly battling with itself, he probably would’ve exploded by now.
He wrapped his left arm around her torso, right beneath her bouncing breasts, and hauled her up until her back was pressed to his front. Burying his nose into her gathered hair, he took a breath.
The scent startled him.
Sky’s aroma had changed entirely, in a way that wasn’t possible. She smelled almost lupine. Not quite, but close. She definitely no longer smelled like a pure human. But the strangest part was how his senses reacted to the change. His heart raced and a new urge rose in him.
He no longer wanted to use her or hurt her. He no longer felt angry at her, even. Now all he wanted to do was claim her as his own. His wolf crouched close within his thoughts, eyes glowing with curiosity. He mentally shooed it away.
Sky wanted rough, but he wasn’t going to lose control and give her his wolf, even if knotting inside her would be a dream come true after everything she’d put him through. Fuck. Just imagining it made his cock swell inside her. Her scent grew stronger as if she were somehow encouraging him, yet he would bet she had no idea what she was doing. It was something to ask later, if later even happened.
For now, he held his breath and turned his face away from her hair. Damn the forest was gorgeous tonight. But damn if he could enjoy it while he had an amazing redhead bouncing on his dick.
He gripped her breast and massaged it as she once again struggled to balance. His choice wasn’t just about making it difficult on her, but it pleased him that she didn’t complain.
Her knees inched closer together and she gave up on trying to hold anything but him. The tips of her nails dug into his arms as she clung to him, allowing him to keep her stable.
He released her hair and stroked his fingertips across her jaw then flattened his palm against the base of her neck. The length of his arm settled between her breasts, supporting her upper body.
Now his left hand was free to roam, and it snaked down her soft stomach and continued dropping until his knuckles brushed her mound. His fingers split onto either side of her clit and teased the wet folds as his cock continued to thrust inside.
She trembled against him and soft noises escaped her to float up and reach his ears, like pockets of harnessed bliss that popped against his eardrums and stunned him.
“I want you to come,” he rasped. “Then I’m going to empty myself into this hot pussy.”
“Whoa-what?” She squeezed his arm. “Not inside.”
His thumb circled her clit, barely applying pressure. “But isn’t that the best part? It’s what you wanted. To be fucked like this.” He nuzzled the top of her head, scenting only arousal coming through. “It’s been weeks since I got off, and I want to give it all to you.”
Though he’d never stopped moving, she’d frozen while he’d spoken. Her racing heart told him she’d absorbed every word. Her head drifted to the side and she moaned softly.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I want it.”
He growled against her, making her shiver and clench around him in an unexpected chain reaction that nearly made him lose control. He stroked her slick skin and coated her clit with her own arousal so that his rough fingertips slid easily across the swollen nub.
Sky exhaled a sharp gasp as she came, and it seemed to shake the ground they knelt on. Her pounding pulse and following cries of pleasure left him deaf, but with closed eyes, he continued to hold her and tease her.
Her muscles spasmed around his cock, efficiently breaking the tether holding back his own release. He stood no chance of lasting another second once her walls began to squeeze him so fervently.
All he could do was steady the both of them as he throbbed and emptied into her. Each pulsation was met with a tight clench from her ebbing climax, milking him until he felt sore and drained and absolutely pleased with it all.
He was spent.
Releasing Sky, he took a moment to stare wide-eyed at the stars and wonder if he was dreaming. Sex was usually no-nonsense. An in-and-out mission. Whatever they just had felt complicated. Messy. Tied up with questions and emotions. Not at all what he’d expected when he’d chased her down.
