“No, he’s with Elaina by now.”
“There’s no way he could be. Damon was angry with me about Elaina leaving. He’s probably cooling off somewhere and will return before long. If he does, make sure he doesn’t search for me. I can handle the clan, but I can’t allow them to harm Damon. I won’t allow them to.”
Hannah offered the three clansmen stew, but they declined. “Like I’d risk you poisoning me,” Atar had said.
Cullen strode into his hut, inhaling Elaina’s fragrance from one of the animal pelts that didn’t smell of Shauna. He cut off a chunk and stuffed it deep in his pocket. He didn’t know how Damon would react when he found out Gerirr and Hectar had killed Shauna, even though they themselves had planned to not long ago. That was much different, but it would have been so much better if they had killed Shauna before she was able to funnel information to Gerirr and Hectar. Cullen had intentionally rutted with Shauna to disperse her scent in his hut. He had hoped that if the clan had shown back up that it would have thrown them off the trail. He never expected for the clan to show up so quickly, and Elaina didn’t have too much of a head start. Cullen would do whatever he had to take them in the opposite direction.
Atar strode into the hut and ordered Cullen out. “Time to get moving.”
Cullen gazed over at him. “Why do you think I’ll be able to find Elaina?”
“You have imprinted your scent on her. You’ll be able to find her without any trouble. I have faith in you.”
Cullen gritted his teeth, but remained silent as he led the way from the village, with the two bears pulling up the rear. He sighed as he led them opposite from where he knew the wolf den would be located.
* * *
Hours later, Atar asked, “Where are you leading us, Cullen?”
“There’s a cave not far away. Elaina or Damon might be hiding out there.”
Just then a bear walked by, knocking Cullen to his knees. “Try to lead us in circles further, Cullen, and our first trip will be to murder your cub,” Atar spat.
Chapter Nine
Elaina ran from the sound of branches being torn aside as two grizzly bears pursued her, deep in the forest. She arched her back to shift, but couldn’t. She thrashed in her dreams and with a cry awoke, panting in her human form.
As Elaina gazed up at the silver wolf she had snuggled up next to, he shuddered and shifted into human form. Liam’s eyes softened as he said, “Bad dream?”
“Yes. There were two bears chasing me in the forest, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shift.”
Liam took Elaina into his arms and kissed her softly on the forehead. “It’s okay. I’m here now and I promise I won’t let anything happen to you, ever.”
“You can’t promise me something like that. When we find Samson, I have visions of him locking me in chains.”
Liam caressed the side of Elaina’s face. “I promise I won’t allow him to do that.”
Elaina sat up, her lips close to Liam’s. “You won’t be able to stop your grandfather from doing that.”
“When I make a promise, I keep it.”
“There’s only one way I can see to assure that Samson won’t lock me away.”
Liam’s brow shot up. “I’m listening.”
“You must imprint on me. Once I carry your scent, he’ll have to see reason.”
Liam removed his hand as if burnt. “It’s forbidden.”
“By the clan.”
“Werewolves also have many of the same laws.”
“It’s forbidden, but Cullen and Damon mated with a human without repercussions. Samson also has mated with a human, Marla. I refuse to live by the rules made by others.” She pressed a hand against her chest. “All I know is how I feel about you. You’ve been in my heart for a long time now, and I see no harm if we are together as only a man and woman can be. Do you not understand this?”
Liam’s eyes closed for a moment ... and he took her lips with his in a searing kiss that left her panting after it stopped. Electricity shot between Elaina’s legs and the floodgates between her legs opened.
He smiled down at her slyly, touching his tongue to first her upper lip and then lower, sucking it into his mouth. She jerked as he bit her gently, but as the blood trickled its way into her mouth, she became even more hungry for this man.
She palmed his chest as his lips took hers and they writhed against each other, skin against skin. The friction was almost more than Elania could bear. She reached for Liam’s hard member, and he chuckled low in his throat. When their lips parted, he breathed into her mouth. “You’re certainly not the Elaina I remember. I much rather like it, though.”
He cupped one of her generous mounds and squeezed it playfully. “My, Miss Werebear, what lovely breasts you have.”
“The better to tempt you with, Sir Wolf.”
He dipped his head and took a nipple into his mouth, tormenting it with his tongue and teeth until Elaina felt a wave building. She gripped the back of his head and tried to thrust the peak into his mouth further. He shifted his head and found her other breast, trailing his fingers down her stomach.
Elaina gasped, wanting, waiting to feel Liam’s strong fingers work magic between her legs, but instead he ran his fingertips ever-so-softly down her thighs, causing goosebumps to appear. His mouth came off her nipples and he moved above Elaina, straddling her.
Liam’s member jutted out and was both long and thick, with a curvature. Elaina touched the head and Liam’s eyes closed with teeth gritted. Elaina wrapped her hand around it and gave it a hard tug. Liam’s eyes snapped back open and he brought his member to rest against Elaina’s full lips. Reaching behind and finding her folds, he worked a finger between them. She trembled as a wave rippled over her and a sigh escaped her lips, but instead of giving in to the sensations, Elaina concentrated on pleasing Liam by licking the head of his manhood with enthusiasm. As Liam rocked his hips forward, Elaina took him into her mouth. He didn’t go deep, just enough to create a good rhythm, one that Elaina was quite comfortable with until Liam pulled his member out.
Liam’s pupils were slits now as he took a knee and parted Elaina’s thighs. He pulled them wide apart and parted her folds. He wet a finger and touched her clit ever-so-gently, working it alongside her bud. Elaina screamed as she came hard, bucking wildly against him. “I want to feel your fingers inside,” Elaina begged.
“Not until after I taste you.” He dipped low and tongued her until she took a handful of his hair in her fist, bucking against his face. He laughed for a moment, but worked her into a frenzy while his fingers found her saturated canal.
Elaina was taken to a place she had never been before as wave after wave crashed over her and she tightened around his fingers that continued to pump in and out of her in a frenzy.
His tongue left her and he pinched her clit between his fingers, working Elaina up a bit more. Only then did he position himself above her, and squeezed his thick member into her tightness. Elaina’s eyes widened slightly, but she enjoyed how he filled her, even though it pained her a bit.
Elaina’s hips rose and fell to each thrust, crying out as an orgasm hit her. She found the flesh of Liam’s shoulder, but before she was able to mark him with her fangs, he pulled out and away.
He turned her away from him, finding her wetness once again. He pumped into her and Elaina began to shake uncontrollably in pleasure. He took her round bottom into his hands and used it to impale her with his hardness.
Liam alternated from taking her slow, to hard and fast, to slow again.
Elaina enjoyed every stroke and loved it best when he pulled himself almost out, and slammed back in to the hilt, but she also loved feeling him move it slowly in so that she felt every glorious inch of him.
He moved her to her side, lifting one leg over his hip, and found her channel once again. This way, he took his time as his hand found a breast and he kneaded it in his hand, pinching her nipple until it was a stiff peak. His fingers then found her engorged clit and
he stimulated her as his manhood continued to work inside her. Her love channel tightened as an orgasm ripped through her, sending her soaring to the other side of the clouds.
Liam pulled out and helped her to her feet, leading her to the wall of the cave. He pushed her against the wall, pulled her hips slightly away and took her hard and fast. Elaina’s palms were against the wall, her fingers spread wide. She was pounded against the wall with Liam’s aggressive thrusts and Liam’s thickness got even thicker as he drained his seed into her.
She fell, and Liam caught her and scooped her up into his strong arms, carrying her back to where they had laid on the floor of the cave. He laid her head against his shoulder and after Elaina caught her breath, she asked, “Why wouldn’t you allow me to bite you?”
“It’s too soon for you to decide who will be your perfect mate. For me, I’d much rather be the one to mark my true mate when I decide I have found her.”
Elaina tried to absorb that. “I see. So if we’re not to be mates—”
“Shhh, let’s not speak more of this for now. I have imprinted on you and Samson will know it. He wouldn’t dare lock you away now.”
“Is that all it was?” Elaina wanted to scream, but she remained silent. Liam was probably right. It wasn’t time to speak of these matters. There was so much they didn’t know yet and needed to before either of them would be able to decide what the future held.
Chapter Ten
Damon stared deep into Nala’s eyes. “So you fear my death at the hands of the clan?”
Nala shifted under his stare. “Not at all. Why should I care?”
Damon moved in closer to Nala, and with a wink, he said, “So have you never rutted with another shifter, possibly a werebear?”
The color took over Nala’s face. “Of course not. It’s forbidden.”
“Perhaps, but forbidden fruit always tastes the sweetest.”
Nala moved away from Damon, wincing when Adara said, “Who would want her? She can’t even carry pups. If she wasn’t the protector of the pups, she’d have been banished long ago.”
Nala whirled with fangs bared. “That’s not true! How dare you speak to me this way when the alpha is away? One day Liam will see you for the shrew you really are.”
“I’m as good as his mate already, and when he makes me his official mate, I’ll be the alpha female of this pack. And you’ll be the first to go!”
Nala didn’t back down a bit, but was soon in Adara’s face. “You might talk big, but who is Liam with now? Certainly not you.”
“I have nothing to fear from that werebear. She’s nothing next to me.”
“Obviously you’re blind, then. I saw the way he looked at Elaina. He’s smitten with her.”
“It’s forbidden for the alpha to bring another shifter to his bed as it is for all of us to bed down with anyone not a werewolf.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder and continued. “Liam would especially not do it with a werebear, our sworn enemy.”
“Ignore her,” Damon said. “I have seen how Elaina acted when she spoke Liam’s name. There’s something more there than friendship. Only time will tell if they are to be true mates and not anything you say will change that, Adara.”
Adara strode away with her head held high. “We’ll see about that.”
Once Adara was out of sight, Nala choked out, “She’s such an evil she-bitch. I swear I’ll leave this pack if she ever becomes Liam’s mate.”
Damon patted the boulder next to him. “Calm down. Take a seat and tell me where the men of the pack are. I can’t imagine leaving females to defend themselves would be a good idea.”
“Oh, Jessup is somewhere, but most of the others are on the hunt. I’m worried that if they find you, things won’t go so well.”
Cullen’s lips turned down. “Jessup. That’s a name I’m familiar with.” He actually wished he would run into this Jessup. He was the werewolf that abused Klesa before she was found by Cullen wandering in the forest.
“Really? How so?”
“I’m not sure, actually, but all I know is that I hope I don’t run into him while I’m here. I should press on soon anyway. Where did you say Elaina and Liam went?”
“Searching for her protector, Samson. I’m sure the Bear Claw Pub is the first stop since that’s where Elaina first escaped Samson.”
“What do you know about Samson?”
“I don’t really know much, but I’ve heard his name before. He left the pack many, many years ago and raised Elaina, but that’s all I know. It’s important for Elaina to find him, I think. He might just be able to clear up her past, or so she thinks. I just hope you don’t plan to interfere with their quest.”
Damon shook his head. “And what makes you think I plan to do that?”
“Well, you did come all the way here for one.”
“Yes.”
“And, I’m more observant than most. I’ve also noticed how your face softens when you speak Elaina’s name. A shifter doesn’t fervently enter enemy camps unless he’s lost someone very special to him.”
Damon sighed. “Yes, you are observant, but I also know that Elaina’s destiny does not coincide with mine.”
“How can you be sure, though? Surely you have mated with her.”
Damon felt uncomfortable discussing Elaina with the one woman who might be his true mate. “I’d rather keep what happened back in our village there. The main reason I search for Elaina is that my brother Cullen did not treat her kindly, and I wish to both make sure that she’s okay, and that she is well on her pathway to learn the truth of her true identity.”
Nala stood, stretching her arms to the ceiling of the cave. “I’m no fool. I know you and your brother shared Elaina. Is that typical of werebears?”
“It is in our village. We’re trying to produce enough offspring to assure that our family line doesn’t die off.” Damon left out the part of him being of royal bloodlines. Some things were better left unsaid.
“Oh, and how many sons and daughters do you and Cullen have?”
“I’d rather not say. I’m sorry, but you already seem to know far too much about me already.”
“Only what I have said. I know how the mating fever can be. I suffer as most women do. I’m sure that werebears can’t control themselves once they get the scent into their nostrils.”
“I’m sure the same could be said for werewolves.”
“Big difference. When werewolves take a mate, they are true to her forever.”
“So I take it you have no mate, then?”
Nala went for the corridor of the den. “I’ll show you where you can sleep.”
Damon followed her. “If you must, but sleep is not what I have in mind.”
“Well, it’s all you’re going to get here, unless you prefer shrews. In that case, I’m sure Adara might let you rut with her.”
Damon was hypnotized as he watched the sway of the Nala’s slim hips. When she entered a smaller room, Damon patted the pelt-covered bed. “Come lay with me for a while. I promise I won’t bite.”
“You’ll have to contain your libido until you journey to the Bear Claw Pub. I’ve heard Marla doesn’t discriminate on who she takes to her bed.”
Damon took his shirt off and next his pants slid to the floor in a heap, his manhood thickening by the minute.
“I want no part of you, Damon. I’d like to call Elaina a friend, and I’d hate for her to find out I rutted with a man that might just mean something to her.”
As Nala strode away, Damon crawled into bed solo. He really couldn’t stop himself from thinking about making this werewolf his. For the first time in his life, he thought about what it would be like to have a mate, one he wouldn’t share with his brother or anyone else.
He rolled over in bed and tried to ignore his engorged member. He’d find no satisfaction by pleasuring himself tonight. It’s not like he didn’t enjoy doing it. It’s just that with Nala now imprinted on his mind, he could think of nothing but her.
Damon
closed his eyes and it wasn’t much longer before someone crawled into bed with him. As the female rubbed her breasts against his back, he froze even before she touched him. Werebears’ sense of smell was quite sharp, and his nose told him this was not Nala, but Adara.
He gently but firmly pushed her out of bed, and she landed with a thump on the floor.
“What did you do that for?” Adara wailed.
“Isn’t bedding down with me against your rules?”
“I won’t tell anyone if you don’t. I’ve always been curious what it would be like to be with a werebear.”
I have no plans to rut with you is why. I much prefer a woman that isn’t so willing. One who denies me at every turn, like Nala.”
Adara squeezed into her frock. “Huh. What’s wrong with being willing?”
Damon leaned on his elbow. “Nothing, but I rarely bed a female unless I like them, at least, and you hardly fit the mold.”
“She’s barren, and as such, isn’t worth the trouble.”
“Where I come from, even the barren shifters have merit and I have never turned one from my bed before. We might have strange views at my village, but we do have values.”
Adara stomped from the room and it was all Damon could do not to laugh. He’d met some strange females before, but this one he really didn’t care for. He wasn’t positive if Liam had bedded her, but she certainly wouldn’t be a worthy mate. She’d make Nala’s life a living hell on earth, of that he was certain.
* * *
Early the next morning, Damon awoke to a tin can being knocked on a nearby table by Nala. “Rise and shine. It might be best if you head out for the Bear Claw Pub early before the men return. Werewolves don’t react so well to werebears in their den.”
Damon’s brow shot up. “No? When was the last time a werebear was here?”
“Elaina, but even with her, she was only allowed to stay a short time. That was when our old alpha still walked the forest of the living.”
Clan of the Werebear, The Complete Series Page 18