Elsie set her own basket down. She still had one more layer of crates to fill up the top.
“Congratulations,” she said, unable to mask her pout.
“So?” Zackary asked, placing his hands on his broad hips. The khaki shorts he wore were unbuttoned and partially unzipped. There was just too much of him to fit inside his clothes. He should take them off and work naked. But he didn’t want to offend her. He didn’t want to kiss her, either, and that really did offend Elsie.
“Why do you want to kiss me?”
Elsie glared at him. Zackary cocked his head, looking taken aback. It was humiliating enough that he’d rushed to beat her so he wouldn’t have to kiss her. Answering his question would only make it worse.
But a bet was a bet.
Elsie stared at him for several seconds before looking into the sky. “Because you’re the most beautiful male I’ve ever seen. You’re attractive and thoughtful and . . . Ugh. I didn’t realize how difficult this was going to be.” She kept her head tilted up, mindful of the sun. She didn’t need her eyes watering on top of everything else. “I’m drawn to you, but the feeling obviously isn’t mutual so—”
Zackary was on her so fast it was as though he’d shifted and lunged in beast form. But it wasn’t a furry wolf who gathered her into his muscular arms. His grasp was surprisingly gentle, as though she was one of the berries he didn’t wish to crush. Because of that tenderness, she wasn’t prepared for the blistering force of his mouth claiming hers. He didn’t just kiss her, he commanded her lips, forcing them apart with his own. A possessive growl rose from Zackary’s throat and entered her mouth, vibrating down to her core. She moaned in answer. It was as though she’d never been kissed until now. It felt as though his mouth was mating hers, more so when his tongue pushed between her teeth and swirled inside.
Elsie never thought she’d be the kind of female who went weak in the knees, but she found herself clinging to Zackary for support.
Slick heat seeped between her legs and her nipples prickled.
His kiss was exquisite. Absolutely exquisite.
Her fingers itched to yank down his tight shorts, lift up her dress, and join their bodies against the open field.
Zackary’s searing lips continued without pause while his hands held her against him. He kissed her until they were both panting then pulled away and stepped back, leaving Elsie swaying on her feet. They stared at one another speechless. Elsie’s heart thrummed inside her chest. Her entire body felt alive. Her mind was screaming with joy because she knew now without a shadow of a doubt that Zackary was more than just her savior, he was the mate she’d always wanted.
Sunlight streaked over Zackary’s ripped torso as he got his breathing under control.
“I guess we both got what we wanted out of that bet,” he said. His voice was smooth, not winded at all.
Elsie smiled. “And I didn’t even fill my basket.”
“I’ll help you.”
Working together, it didn’t take long to top off the berries. As with the day before, they set the baskets beneath the shade of a tree. Elsie bent down and grabbed one, offering it to Zackary to eat from her raised fingers. His eyes glinted at her before he closed in and took the berry from between her fingers with his teeth. Elsie shivered, the quakes sending her body back into reaction mode.
Hesitantly, Zackary lifted his hand and ran his thick thumb over her nipple. It tightened on contact. Elsie took in a sharp breath. Zackary touched her other nipple, leaning forward to watch it press against the white polyester. Deep in concentration, he rubbed circles around each bud, working them into hard points that he stroked into obedience like a fire he refused to let burn down. All she could do was rasp for breath, which only seemed to fascinate Zackary more. He leaned closer with a slow smile that spread up his cheeks.
When she tried to run her hands down his chest, he gently pushed her arms aside and continued touching her. When Elsie went for Zackary’s groin, he captured her wrist, keeping her hand out of reach. Then he took her lips with his while his hands lingered over her breasts. Kisses hotter than sunbeams scorched Elsie’s lips.
Just when it felt as though her mouth would blister, Zackary let up and touched her nose with his.
“Are you thirsty?” he asked huskily.
“Parched,” Elsie answered.
He curled his fingers around hers and, holding hands, they walked to the river. Wading in, they cupped handfuls of cool, fresh water and watched one another drink with an intimacy that curled inside Elsie’s belly like a soft tail.
“So, your mother was a wolf?” Zackary asked, making Elsie laugh at the change in conversation.
She rubbed her elbows and grinned at him. She’d always considered him handsome, but after the kissing and touching, she found him downright scrumptious. Zackary’s abs rippled with muscles that descended into a wide V to his groin. With his shorts partially opened, she was able to follow the triangle to a patch of wiry brown hair—not entirely hidden. Elsie’s throat went dry. She bent down and scooped up more river water. After she took another drink and stood, Zackary raised his brows.
“Yes, my mother was a wolf.”
“But she didn’t want you to grow up in her pack?”
“She wanted to live with my father. They were madly in love.” She locked eyes with Zackary and widened her smile.
“What happened?”
“She died when I was a baby—natural causes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I still have my father, which is more than most shifters in Wolf Hollow have.” Elsie considered herself lucky.
Zackary’s frown deepened. “He doesn’t mind you living in the wild?”
“He’s never wanted me to suppress who I am. He understands that I’m part wolf with animalistic needs.” With a wicked grin, Elsie scooped water from the river and flung it at Zackary. He looked way too serious. Maybe if she got his shorts wet, he’d take them off.
Smirking, he pranced out of the river, and out of reach. Elsie trailed him back to the shade beneath the trees. Zackary sat on the ground. Elsie sat beside him.
“Can we kiss again?” she asked.
Elsie liked the confident smile that puckered his lips. She liked that he didn’t hesitate to pull her into his lap and turn her around so that she straddled him. Once his lips were on hers, Elsie closed her eyes and took in all the sensations his mouth brought to life inside her body.
She tried again to touch his shaft, finally giving up when it became clear Zackary had no intention of giving her access—at least not today. Tomorrow might be a different story. Once they mated, Elsie had no doubt Zackary would insist on claiming her as his life mate. He was an honorable male. He’d owned up to his mistakes and volunteered his help the moment packmates went missing. He would claim her and treat her with tender loving care.
She could already imagine Brutus’s roar of outrage echoing inside his cave. Wizards would triumph over bears yet again.
Elsie pushed that thought aside as Zackary thrust his tongue inside her mouth. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pushed her breasts against his chest, kissing him until her lips were puffy and swollen.
chapter seven
Zackary was so screwed. Totally fucked.
Elsie’s moans had nearly made him explode inside his shorts. The way her nipples speared through her dress at his touch made his teeth ache to nip her sensitive flesh and turn her gasps into cries of release. At this rate, they’d be humping like rabbits the next day. His face flushed with equal parts terror and hunger.
“You lucky dog,” Justin crowed as they sat on a cluster of stumps with their bowls of stew near a small bonfire.
“Shut up,” Zackary hissed, staring across the glade at Tabor.
The half-shifter sat alone at the moment, scanning the crowd.
If Tabor knew Zackary had touched his sister, he’d kill him. Or, if not murder, he’d shrink his dick or make it disappear altogether.
Zackary needed his dick more than eve
r . . . to stick inside Tabor’s sister.
He sneered at his own crude thoughts.
“Do you think Elsie has a sister?” Wiley asked while chewing his food.
“Well, we know she has a brother.” Justin jabbed Zackary with his elbow. His friend’s grin was way too gleeful. “Can I have Elsie after Tabor kills you?”
Zackary’s nostrils flared right before he grabbed Justin’s neck.
“I said keep it down, unless you really do want me to die.” He released Justin’s neck as suddenly as he’d grasped him. No harm done. Zackary knew how to hold back his strength—unlike Wolfrik, whose temper had only recently been reined in after claiming and impregnating a mate.
“Don’t be a prick,” Wiley admonished Justin. “We’re rooting for you, Zack. We’ll refer to you-know-who as Annabelle.”
“Annabelle?” Zackary quirked a brow.
“Wiley’s invisible girlfriend.” Justin snorted.
“Not true,” Wiley said.
“She the one you jack off to every morning?” Justin asked.
Zackary grumbled. “We are not calling her Annabelle.”
“What are we calling her then?” Wiley stuffed more stew into his mouth, chewing loud.
“Nothing. No names. Just don’t even talk about it, okay?” Zackary tried eating, but the only hunger he felt was for the she-wolf whose name he couldn’t say out loud.
Justin set his half-empty bowl on the ground and leaned forward on his knees. “Come on, dude. You have to tell us something.”
Wiley swallowed a big chunk of stew. “Yeah, don’t be a prick.”
Zackary snorted. “Now I’m the prick?”
Wiley ran his tongue over his lips before smacking them. “We’re your best friends. You can’t go popping your cherry and not tell us about it.”
“Nothing got popped.”
Zackary put his face in his hands and groaned. He should have never told his friends about the trade Elsie arranged. But if he hadn’t, she might have, and the pair of them would have given him an even harder time. Either way, they’d be hounding him every spare second until the new pairings. Would Elsie find a way to switch partners again? The thought sent a thrill of pleasure through him. He wished he could just claim her as a mate so they wouldn’t have to sneak around. But that was never happening. Not so long as Tabor breathed.
“You should be careful, though,” Justin said.
Zackary lowered his hands. “Why’s that?” he asked, even though he knew the answer.
He and Tabor had years of bad history together. That alone would have been enough to ensure Zackary was the last male Tabor would ever allow to claim Elsie.
Then Zackary had done the unforgiveable and helped Garrick abduct Tabor. Garrick had made Zackary believe they were dumping him at the gates of Balmar Heights to be with his own kind. The elder had lied, revealing he had no intention of taking Tabor to his father’s people—he meant to leave him for the humans to imprison. The whole ordeal had made Zackary sick to his stomach. He would have rather left Garrick behind in that pit outside the wasteland, but the elder had bullied and threatened him the entire way. Zackary still hadn’t been able to let it go—couldn’t have lived with himself if he hadn’t gone straight to Sasha to tell her what happened. But it would never be enough to make up for what he’d done. Tabor had every right to hate him until the end of time. If only Zackary could go back and do things differently.
“Once a mongrel, always a mongrel,” Vallen’s cruel voice clawed through his mind.
When Justin didn’t answer right away, Zackary sighed. “Tabor’s going to kill me. You don’t need to remind me.”
Justin laughed. “No. Well, I mean that too. But I was thinking more along the lines of breeding.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Zackary snapped.
“Um, hello? She’s part witch. She doesn’t need a full moon to get pregnant.”
Zackary’s eyes stretched in their sockets. He’d never considered that. Well, he’d never considered he’d find a female willing to sleep with him, especially not one as lovely and kind as Elsie.
“Witch pups,” Justin mouthed, smirking when Zackary’s mouth hung open.
“Shit,” Wiley said, staring into his empty bowl of stew.
“Yup. If our boy here blows his load inside you-know-who, there’s gonna be a little Zack Junior on the way.”
Friend or not, Justin really needed to wipe the smirk off his face.
Wiley leaned in and lowered his voice. “But maybe if that happened, you-know-who’s brother couldn’t you-know-what because the council would protect our friend here. They wouldn’t allow a family to be broken up that way.”
Justin considered Zackary with a sideways look. “Maybe.”
He barely heard him over the thundering of his heart as it pounded in his eardrums. Now he truly was terrified, and it had nothing to do with Tabor. Zackary would make a terrible father. Disastrous. He knew nothing of childrearing. He’d had no siblings and spent no time in the den. Not to mention, he’d had the worst role model in the pack.
His breathing became ragged, on the verge of a panic attack. They’d only kissed, he reminded himself. Thank goodness he’d stopped things before going too far. They hadn’t mated.
The council had forbidden him from taking a mate, anyway.
They didn’t say anything about breeding, a wicked voice whispered in his ear.
He gritted his teeth. Same thing. Worse. He wasn’t such a scoundrel as to impregnate a female without being free to claim her as a mate.
I’m not a complete mongrel, no thanks to you, Father.
It wasn’t until the next afternoon that Zackary wished he’d never thought of the bastard. Even in his madness, the vicious beast always seemed to find his way back to the hollow. It was as though Vallen intended to terrorize his son for the remainder of his life.
“Did you leave behind close friends?” Zackary asked Elsie as they picked berries the following day.
Elsie nodded as she reached deeper into the bush, her movements mindful of the thorns. With no bet to spur them on, they worked side by side carefully.
“My two closest friends are Charlotte and Mia. I promised I’d keep in contact and visit when I can. They’d love to see Wolf Hollow . . . especially the males.” Elsie looked over and winked in her cute way.
Zackary chuckled. “Don’t tell that to Wiley and Justin unless you want to be hounded every day.”
“Ha. Too bad my friends aren’t part shifter like me. I doubt anyone from Balmar Heights could hack living in the woods for long, not when they have so many comforts on the mountain.”
Zackary’s fingers hovered above a ripe berry. “And you don’t miss them—the comforts, I mean?”
Looking over at him with a reassuring smile, Elsie said, “They were nice, but not necessary . . . not for me. But I have an advantage over my coven.” She rubbed her lips together, looking thoughtful. “It’s funny to say I’m half witch and half wolf. When I’m in wolf form, I am full wolf, you know what I mean? And I have the same powers as the rest of the coven. So really, I’m not half anything—I’m double.” Her wide grin was infectious.
Unlike Tabor, Elsie’s self-confidence came across as attractive rather than superior. Maybe it had to do with her being female, but Zackary believed it was more than that. She was someone who looked for the good in others rather than jump straight into defense. Elsie wasn’t just whole or double, she was everything Zackary could have ever wanted.
Too bad he could never have her.
Why? He snarled at himself in silence.
Because of Tabor. Because of the council. Because of the real reason . . .
He was unworthy of love.
Mood darkening, he squished the next couple berries, shoving them in his mouth so they wouldn’t go to waste. Even the sweet, sun-warmed blackberries tasted bitter on his tongue.
Luckily, Elsie kept her focus on the berries—and thorns—and didn’t notice Zackary f
rowning.
What would happen if he pushed her away? Would she find another male to kiss and touch?
Zackary huffed in a sharp breath. He glared into the bushes. Elsie looked over.
“Is everything all right?”
No, things were far from okay, but he couldn’t tell her that. The thought of another shifter laying his grubby mitts on Elsie cleaved his chest in half. Zackary knew he didn’t deserve her, but Mother Moon help him, he couldn’t let her go.
Gripping the basket against his side, he asked the question that had been weighing on him all night.
“Do witches require a full moon to get pregnant?” His cheeks heated, but he didn’t care. From the corner of his eyes he saw Elsie pause and turn toward him.
“No. We do not need a full moon to procreate,” she answered slowly. “We use spells to avoid pregnancy . . . unless we’re trying for a baby.”
Zackary resumed berry picking, all too aware of Elsie watching him. After several seconds had passed, she faced the bush and began filling her basket.
“Do you want children?” Elsie asked in a serious voice.
“I am not allowed a mate,” Zackary answered gruffly. Elsie might not know. She wasn’t present for his punishment.
“The council seems a lot more lenient these days,” Elsie remarked. “And you didn’t answer the question.”
Zackary’s fingers curled around the next berry, squishing yet another one. His hands were too big, too meaty to hold something as delicate as a baby.
“I would not make a good father.” He held his breath, waiting for Elsie to contradict his statement. Wisely, she remained quiet. Good. Maybe she was beginning to see reason. Zackary still couldn’t figure out why she’d sought his attentions in the first place. She said she found him attractive. Pity for her.
They finished picking berries in silence. By the time they were done, Zackary had worked himself into a foul mood. Like burnt stew, there was no coming back. Nothing to salvage.
After setting his basket in the shade, Zackary turned around, preparing to suggest Elsie spend the remainder of the afternoon elsewhere.
Moon Cursed (Wolf Hollow Shifters Book 4) Page 7