That all had changed the moment he saw Lacy. He’d learned long ago to listen to his instincts. He was also the kind of wolf who got what he wanted. However long it took was irrelevant. Attracting a mate was like hunting a bison. As long as he stayed focused and kept after his prize, eventually she’d tire out and succumb to him.
Flexing his biceps, Diego rounded the cauldron and took the spoon gently from Lacy. “Allow me to stir this for you, mi alma.”
“You don’t have to,” she said.
“I want to help you.”
Her cheeks dimpled when she smiled. “Thank you. You are very sweet.”
“Diego. My name is Diego.”
“Thank you . . . Diego.”
When she said his name, the flush crept down Lacy’s neck, inching toward her bosom. Diego’s hand froze over the cauldron. Steam warmed his fingers, becoming uncomfortably hot, but he didn’t care. All he could do was stare at Lacy.
“Your smile could light up the entire world.”
His words earned him a smile more blinding in its beauty than the first.
With a soft chuckle, Lacy spun around, busying herself at a wood table nearby where she carefully stacked bowls into a basket. After filling the basket, she carried it over to the cauldron where Diego diligently stirred the gruel to keep it from sticking to the bottom or sides of the large pot. A male of average height and reddish-brown hair jogged into the glade, rubbing his fists over his eyes.
“Just woke up, sorry,” he said to Lacy.
“It’s okay. Diego is helping.”
The young male looked at Diego and blinked.
“Hola,” Diego said.
“Huh?” El tonto squinted at him.
“Bring the rest of the bowls over,” Lacy told him.
El tonto did as he was told just as shifters began entering the glade. The twerp had impeccable timing, making it appear as though he’d been helping all along rather than waiting until the last second to show up.
As Lacy walked past Diego, he frowned.
“Is this incompetent young male the only help you have?”
With a startled laugh, Lacy covered her mouth and leaned closer to Diego—so close he nearly dropped the spoon in the gruel.
“We change duties and patrol partners every moon cycle.”
“Until you are claimed?” Diego asked gently.
Lacy lowered her lashes and nodded. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. When shifters began grabbing bowls and lining up at the cauldron, Lacy looked him in the eyes.
“You can hand the spoon over to the first shifter in line. They can dish themselves up.”
Rather than hand it over to the tall, skinny male at the front of the line, Diego kept it in his grasp.
“You should dish up first,” he told Lacy.
“Oh,” she said, smiling and blushing. “That’s okay. I can wait my turn.”
“You were up first preparing this food. You should eat first,” Diego insisted.
Gazing at him closer, she must have recognized his resolve; Lacy grabbed a bowl and hurried up to the cauldron. When she reached for the spoon, Diego pulled it away, scooping up gruel that he dished into her bowl.
“More?”
Lacy shook her head. “This is plenty. Thank you.”
She hurried away, taking a seat on a log. Diego handed the spoon to the male who had been waiting.
“Enjoying yourself?” a silky male voice asked as Diego was making his way to the back of the line.
He stopped and grinned at the hollow’s pureblood, Wolfrik. He hadn’t bothered committing many of the pack’s names to memory, but Wolfrik stood out. Deep scars marred his body, and he had a manic gleam to his eyes, but apparently he was mated and expecting his first child in another eight months. Although he wasn’t warm and fuzzy, he’d been welcoming, and even curious as to the territories Diego and Raphael had crossed.
“I am enjoying your pack’s hospitality very much, gracias,” Diego answered with a grin.
Wolfrik smirked. “But not as much as your brother.”
“Have you seen him?”
“Seen him. Heard him—him and the two females he was pleasuring.” Wolfrik’s brows jumped.
Diego rolled his eyes. “Do you not have your own female to spend the night with?”
“Better put Kallie out of your head, esé. Being mated doesn’t mean turning a blind eye to what happens in my pack.”
Diego squinted at Wolfrik’s use of Spanish. Apparently he and Raphy weren’t the only Latinos Wolfrik had run into. From the look of the pureblood’s numerous scars, he’d been out in the world more than the rest of his pack. Diego offered Wolfrik a placating grin.
“I feel you, hombre. I wouldn’t let my guard down with strangers around either.”
“I’m glad we understand one another.” Wolfish teeth gleamed from between Wolfrik’s lips. “Enjoy the rest of your stay.”
Shifters moved out of the way as Wolfrik sauntered across the glade. Diego was curious as to why he hadn’t claimed the other pureblooded female from his pack, or Hailey from the neighboring. But looking around at all the attractive females in the glade, he had an inkling why.
As Wolfrik disappeared into the forest, Raphael strolled in with a satisfied smile jerking up his lips. Diego half-expected his brother to walk in with each of his arms slung around a female, but he was alone at the moment. He jutted his chin at Diego before planting his feet wide apart and placing his hands on his hips.
“Mi hermano,” he said with gusto. “Thank you for sending your dance partner after me.”
“Anything for you, brother.”
They stepped into line, waiting their turn to get a taste of the unappetizing-looking mush inside the pot everyone waited to get a serving of. Switching to Spanish, Raphael proceeded to share news of the threesome he’d engaged in until the early hours.
“They couldn’t get enough of me. You’d think they hadn’t seen a male in months. So much appreciation, and up for anything.” He winked. “You don’t mind staying a little longer, do you?”
Looking across the glade at the cute blonde chewing a mouthful of mush, Diego grinned and answered, “Not at all.”
The curtains were still drawn over the communal cabin’s windows when Elsie tried a second time to retrieve her white dress before heading into the glade for breakfast.
Once she saw that the cabin was occupied, she spun on her heel and headed for the den. It shouldn’t be too difficult to get her hands on a spare dress, especially since she’d donated the contents of the duffel bag William had brought to the hollow, everything except for the rifle, which Wolfrik had taken away for safekeeping.
Hopefully William had gone straight back home and stayed put. Elsie grimaced. She’d only told Zackary part of the truth. She couldn’t tell him everything without revealing her reasons for rushing things along. It would only hurt his feelings and make him doubt hers—pure as they were.
Instead, she told him that William had come by with clothes for her and to see how she was doing. Assuring Zackary that she had broken things off with the wizard years ago hadn’t eased the troubled look in his eyes. He’d been upset that he had been away from the hollow when the “intruder” wandered in. It hadn’t helped to tell him that William was harmless and that she hadn’t even been alone with him since Wolfrik had appeared. That news had deepened Zackary’s scowl.
She was eager to start patrol. They couldn’t eat breakfast together with Tabor and Sasha hanging out with the pack. Elsie barely had time for breakfast, anyway. By the time she got a dress from the den and returned to the glade, patrolling partners were already heading out. Zackary and Chase had left. Hudson stood waiting with a bowl of porridge. Elsie grinned and jogged over, taking it from him.
“Thank you.”
“Good morning, Elsie. Nice dress.”
She looked down at the faded stripes and strappy sleeves.
“Thanks, mine got hijacked in the cabin while I was performing. Did you have fun las
t night?” Elsie asked between bites of porridge.
“Yup.” Hudson grinned secretively. “Did you?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Good. Ready to patrol?”
It was Elsie’s turn to flash an elusive smile.
The berry baskets remained empty and discarded while Elsie and Zackary mated beneath a tree. Curious to try a new position, Elsie had tossed off her dress and climbed over Zackary. She found a rhythm that caused his eyes to roll into the back of his head and groans of pleasure to bolt from his lips. Elsie panted with her exertions. At least she no longer had to be quiet.
Warm hands held her firmly by the hips. A couple times Zackary hissed, clearly fighting to hold on.
“You feel so good,” he groaned.
She moved against him, loving the exquisite friction of his cock pulsing deep inside her.
His eyes focused on her shaking breasts. A predatory look flashed over Zackary’s face right before he lifted her by the waist and flipped her onto all fours. The breath whooshed out of her as he positioned himself behind her.
Great bright moon above, he was going to take her doggy style.
She was panting and drenched as the head of his shaft dragged down her bottom until reaching her slick entrance. He pressed his thick, bulging tip there but didn’t enter her. A whimper rose from Elsie’s lips, an animalistic plea for him to penetrate her fully.
He spread her cheeks and entered her pussy slowly, taking his time filling her. Elsie’s fingers stretched over the earth. Her nails dug into the rich soil with Zackary’s first thrust. She gasped, feeling as though she would be the one who couldn’t hold on when he was this deep inside her.
Zackary cussed and went still.
Elsie held her position. Her breaths rasped from deep in her throat, anticipation swelling inside her stomach.
“I wish I could stay inside you forever,” Zackary said.
He pumped into her steadily, like he was concentrating on maintaining measured strokes. Bent under him, Elsie felt each plunge forward rub against her sweet spot. She could no longer think or breathe evenly. She could barely hold herself up. Every thrust brought stars floating across her vision and whimpers to her lips. She didn’t hold back, didn’t care that she sounded like a shifter in heat.
“Fuck! You feel so good.” Zackary sounded emboldened by her unraveling.
Elsie clawed the soil, digging in her nails as Zackary thrust faster. His knuckles brushed her belly. Cupping her breasts in his palms, he tugged and held her securely against his chest. She seeped over his cock as he kept his hips in sway at her back.
The shade of the tree blanketed them from the morning sun. The cool air felt like heaven against her balmy skin. She was burning up, but there was nothing left to take off. Still, the pressure built and built. A carnal sob rose from her throat.
Cursing again, Zackary loosened his hold on her breasts and lowered her to the ground. Elsie pressed her arms into the earth, arching her back.
“Elsie . . .” Her name rasped down her spine. “Fuck. This is just . . . Just. Fuck.”
Zackary grabbed her by her hips and moved like a wolf shooting out of the brush to take down a rabbit. His bulky weight slammed into her. Each time he jerked back he pulled her with him, rocking in rapid tandem.
Elsie gave up any further attempt to participate. Ecstasy burst through her body. It was like discovering a hidden power she’d never realized she possessed.
She cried out one last time before her body went slack.
Zackary pumped into her like his dick was on fire and only her wet heat could stop the burn. A guttural roar boomed over the clearing. Zackary’s release felt like a tidal wave flooding toward her uterus. The spell would protect her ovaries. Elsie would continue using it until Zackary claimed her. After that, they’d talk.
Elsie rolled onto her side, catching the gentle wings of a butterfly fluttering past. She smiled happily when Zackary scooted against her back and wrapped an arm around her.
“I now understand the meaning of life.” He’d never sounded so happy as he did when he spoke those words.
Elsie chuckled.
“Me?” she teased. “Am I the meaning of your life, Zackary?”
“You have no idea how much you mean to me,” he whispered.
Zackary ran his tongue along the back of her earlobe. Elsie shivered against him, feeling like she might go liquid again. The way he took his time stroking her body, it was as though he needed to remind himself that she was really here, really his. And she was his. Elsie wondered if he had any idea about that.
“I wish we could stay like this forever,” he murmured, brushing hair off Elsie’s face.
Elsie flipped around to face him.
“Then claim me.”
Zackary’s eyes drifted to the ground, tugging his lips into a frown. “Your brother would never allow it, and for good reason.”
She sat up. “I won’t let Tabor stand in the way of my happiness. Will you?”
Avoiding her gaze, Zackary chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Maybe after more time passes, he’ll reconsider.” The sag of his shoulders conveyed how little he expected such a miracle to take place at any period.
Elsie didn’t have that kind of time. She’d achieved her first goal of hooking a wolf. Now she had to convince him to claim her within a week.
She tucked the hair Zackary had so tenderly swept aside behind her ear.
“I know that I’m young, and I know that I’m new here, but there is no other wolf for me. No other man. No other shifter. No other male in all the world I would rather make a forever life with.” She met his eyes. “There is only you, Zackary. I don’t want to wait. I don’t want to hide our love.”
Zackary rubbed his elbows and stared into the grassy blades around his toes.
“I don’t either,” he said. “I want to eat meals together. I want to be able to hug and kiss you in front of packmates.” He looked up. “I want to do everything with you.”
As though her chest had turned featherlight, Elsie felt her whole being lift with victory. She wanted all the things Zackary had said. She could already picture standing in line at the cauldron together, holding hands; spending her nights wrapped in his warmth; being assigned all future patrols as a mated pair; and raising a family with laughter and love.
“Good, now lie back,” she said, pushing her palm against his chest.
Zackary’s eyes flashed. “What are you doing?”
“I want to try something new.”
Grinning wickedly, Elsie crawled between his tanned, muscled legs. He watched her intently as she wrapped her fingers around the base of his dick and guided the tip into her mouth.
Zackary’s lips parted with a strangled rasp.
“Moon above, Elsie. You will be the end of me.”
chapter fourteen
Zackary felt certain Chase and Hudson would see right through him when they walked over at the end of patrol. He’d spent the entire day mating and snoozing. Over and over he’d told himself he needed to stop. He couldn’t spend every waking moment of the day having sex with Elsie. Tell that to his dick.
They had to hurry to fill their baskets when they realized how late it had gotten. Elsie kept crushing berries in her fingers and laughing. Zackary wasn’t having much better luck with his picking. Rather than eat the ones he’d pulverized, he tossed them in smashed. The pack would just have to eat squishy blackberries that evening.
Elsie’s laughter kept drawing his attention to her. She held up her stained fingers with berry bits all over them.
“You’re cute,” Zackary said, grinning.
“And you’re sweet.” Elsie leaned over and planted a quick kiss on his lips.
It was all he could do to stop himself from lifting her off her feet, carrying her to the shade of the tree, lifting her dress over her hips and planting himself inside her.
He forced himself to grab more berries and tossed them into the little crates.
“This i
s looking more like jam,” Elsie said. “You’re doing better than me.”
“Hmm, what do I get if I fill up my basket first?” Zackary asked in a teasing tone.
A wicked gleam entered Elsie’s blue eyes.
“Another kiss between the legs.”
Zackary’s nostrils flared as Elsie’s eyes traveled down his chest, passing his hips before resting on his length. With no clothes covering him, his cock stood on end in plain sight and was growing bigger the more she stared.
He groaned. “If we don’t get these berries picked, the pack will become suspicious.”
“Then you better hurry and pick, especially if you want that kiss.” Elsie lifted her brows and smirked.
As though he needed further encouragement. Zackary grabbed at berries, not caring as thorns caught on his fingers. He tossed them in carelessly, including stray leaves.
Elsie laughed and continued to pick berries steadily.
After Zackary finished filling his basket, he helped Elsie with hers. Once both baskets were finished, they set them in the shade of the tree over the flattened grass. Hudson and Chase would be arriving at any moment. The petite female tossed her hair back and grinned at Zackary.
“Guess you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for your prize.”
He grabbed his shorts off the ground, bending to get each foot in. After he pulled them up to his hips and fastened them as best he could, he folded his arms and pursed his lips, casting a considering look over Elsie.
“As the winner, shouldn’t I be the one to decide the kiss?”
Elsie tilted her head to the side. “What did you have in mind?”
“Perhaps I would prefer to be the one to kiss you.” His gaze lowered past her hips to the sweet spot covered by her striped dress.
“Oh.” A blush entered her cheeks, something Zackary wasn’t expecting but took great pleasure in. “Oh,” Elsie said again.
His mind hummed with excitement, ready to taste her that second and devour his prize. The thought of her thighs pressed against his head as he lapped her up made his blood burn through his veins like lava. Even the sound of Hudson and Chase gabbing their way into the clearing wasn’t enough to pull Zackary’s eyes off Elsie. Not at first.
Moon Cursed (Wolf Hollow Shifters Book 4) Page 15