Her Brave Wolf (Marked By The Moon Book 1)

by Kestra Pingree

  Her hands were on his shoulders, digging in. He bucked again, picking up speed as he repeated the merciless motion. Gwen was moaning and doing her best to ride him, but he could tell he had brought her way beyond the point of pleasure. She was going to come any second now. He moved harder and faster. Gwen screamed his name, and her pussy clamped tight around his dick at the same time. Her orgasm massaged his cock as he continued thrusting, feeling out her aftershocks. His canines were ready to bite. It took every ounce of discipline he had to force them back. He moaned and murmured her name. He came soon after, filling her with his seed.

  Gwen slumped against him and slipped her arms around his neck. They were still joined, but neither one was moving anymore. Nick wrapped his arms loosely around her ass and felt her breathe against him. He wanted to stay like this. This was a closeness he had never had with anyone else. It was a closeness he wanted with Gwen alone, and he wanted to hold on to it forever.

  “I think we should get going,” Gwen said, her lips shaking as they brushed against his ear. “Naughty wolf.”

  “Tell me you didn’t like it,” he challenged.

  She moved back far enough to catch his lips in hers. All of the heat they were generating dissipated in this kiss. The world came back into focus, the sound of her Jeep’s engine running and the cool air blowing on them.

  Slowly, Gwen moved away, disconnecting them. She grabbed her underwear and shorts from the back seat and slipped them on quickly. She sat back in the driver’s seat and squeezed the steering wheel tight. Her face was burning red. Nick’s heart lurched. She wasn’t pleased? He pulled up his briefs and jeans.

  “Gwen, I—”

  “Don’t apologize,” she said quickly. “I really enjoyed it. I’ve just never done anything like that in a car at sunset. What if someone saw us?!”

  So his lady was a bit conservative. He grinned. “No one saw,” he assured.

  She twirled her right hand in her ponytail in a nervous manner he’d never seen from her. He caught her hand and kissed her knuckles sweetly, paying special attention to each one. He felt the fear leave her as he did.

  “You’re making me do things I never would have dreamed of doing before I met you,” she said quietly.

  “You do the same to me,” he replied. “And it’s good.”

  “It’s good for me too.” She turned her head and smiled at him, no longer nervous or worried. “Think you’d be up to meeting my parents sometime? I think they’d like you.”

  Parents? It seemed like a pretty big deal to get other family members involved. “Of course,” he said, feeling privileged and one step closer to what he wanted.

  Gwen cleared her throat. “So, we have something important to do before we find any more distractions.”

  “Right.” Nick smirked.

  He directed her to the amphitheater. They ended up parking on the side of the road because the parking lot was full for once. Nick got out first, walked to the other side of the Jeep to Gwen’s door and offered his hand. She took his hand eagerly, but he could sense her nervousness again. Her soured scent gave it away. He couldn’t blame her. She was walking into a den of wolves. He wanted to tell her there was nothing to worry about, that nothing crazy would happen, but he couldn’t promise that.

  “I’ll protect you,” he said steadfastly. That was something he could promise.

  “I can protect myself, thanks,” she replied, though by her tone she meant it mostly to tease him. She moved closer to him, hugging his arm for a moment before settling for simply holding his hand.

  Most wolves were already waiting in the amphitheater, but a handful were arriving with Nick and Gwen. Gwen being a human was noticed immediately. She didn’t have the sharp senses Nick had, but she wasn’t oblivious to the stares she was getting. Nick stared those wolves right back. None could hold his gaze. They probably disapproved of them holding hands. He knew they disapproved of the sex they had to smell on him and her.

  He continued holding Gwen’s hand proudly, displaying his approval of her for any who looked as he guided her to the stage. By the time they were standing in front of everyone, the place had gone completely silent. Not even the slightest hiss of whispers could be heard in the crowd. Instead, the birds, insects, and slight breeze rustling through trees were the only sounds present.

  “I’m sure you all have a lot of questions,” Nick began.

  Gwen reflexively squeezed his hand. She would have looked completely brave to the crowd if they were human. She was standing tall and strong like the woman she was, but she wasn’t up against humans. All eyes on her were wolf shifter eyes. It was their sense of smell that gave Gwen’s fear away. Most every wolf probably understood by now that she knew what they were.

  “This is Gwen,” he said, squeezing her hand back to reassure her. “Yes, she knows we’re wolf shifters.” He didn’t bother confirming what they already knew. That he and Gwen had sex just moments before arriving.

  The crowd broke out in whispers, some of them undeniably angry. Nick growled and the place grew silent again. He looked out into the crowd, making sure each wolf knew he meant business, Blue Pack or not. He was going to say what he needed to say. He took note of Julie and Willow, the only two wolves in all the wolves gathered that seemed supportive of what he was doing. He spotted Howard on the other end of the amphitheater, far away from his mate and keeping his feelings far away from his stony facial expression. Nick’s gaze eventually landed on his livid Beta. His yellow-green eyes were darkened, covered in the shadow of his scowl.

  Nick continued, keeping most of his words targeted at his Beta, “We’ve been blaming humans for the Wolf disappearing for as long as I can remember. In my own pack and all packs we’ve ever had any communication with. Ivan, previous Alpha of Storm Pack, even kidnapped my sister because he fucking thought she’d be able to do something to save the Wolf. No one even cared about what she thought or felt. No one asked for her consent. If that kind of shit is what it takes to save the Wolf, is it worth it?”

  Gwen let out a little gasp of surprise at Nick’s side. She snuck him a questioning glance, no doubt wondering what that story was all about. He had every intention to tell her anything and everything she wanted to know about him once this was over. The look of concern and protectiveness she gave him warmed his chest. She was something special, and for whatever reason, it seemed her heart and eyes were set on him. He thanked the Moon for this. He thanked the Moon for the chance of meeting and getting to know Gwen. He almost squandered the opportunity before, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

  “It isn’t worth it,” Nick stated. “What happened to my sister is proof we’ve been letting hate consume and control us. Is anyone here proud of that?”

  Some wolves dropped their eyes to the ground, others softened the severe looks on their faces. All of their tension deflated—except for Christopher’s.

  Willow stood up, singling herself out as she placed her fingers in her mouth and let out a loud whistle.

  Nick grinned at his sister and said, “Our packmates’ well-being comes first. If anyone of you condones what happened to my sister, I’ll fucking see to you personally.”

  Now Nick was getting irritated. His entire pack and all former Storm Wolves were listening to him. Their body language and scents meant he was getting somewhere, but that made Christopher’s defiance stick out as a putrid smell of hate sitting in stagnant air. Gwen pressed her body to Nick’s side, keeping him steady.

  “We’ve been blaming humans for our misfortune,” Nick stated. “Them and the lone wolves that have left their packs to mate with them. We’ve blamed Casey.”

  Nick looked first at Julie. The mention of her son’s name made her eyes glossed over with tears. Willow hugged herself, the pain still fresh. Howard on the other end of the amphitheater still showed nothing.

  “We were all hurt when Casey left,” Nick said. “We are still hurt. While I don’t agree with Casey’s decision, I also don’t agree w
ith the Alpha picking mates for the wolves under him. Alpha’s shouldn’t be so entitled. Maybe Ivan wouldn’t have done what he did if that was the case. Maybe if we were all permitted to pick our own mates, we wouldn’t be where we’re at.

  “We don’t have any proof about what brought us to this point. We’ve only been speculating. We’re proud shifters. There’s nothing wrong with us taking pride in what we are, but it is wrong when we’ve trapped ourselves inside of a hell of our own making. It is wrong when we shut out the rest of the world. What about the way we live? Casey left because he didn’t want a mate picked for him. How different are we from humans really? Other than our wolves, we’re very much the same. If all humans were as closed-minded and callused as we are, I would be dead right now.”

  If he hadn’t had everyone’s attention before, he had it now. Brooding Christopher’s interest was piqued too. Nick could sense Gwen’s curiosity, but she was waiting patiently and quietly for him to do what he needed to do.

  “The night Willow was kidnapped, I was ambushed by some wolves from Storm Pack.” He could pick out the wolves who were a part of that ambush in the crowd—the ones he hadn’t killed anyway. They gave themselves away with their sudden spike of fear. “For the record, I’m not holding a grudge. You were following your Alpha’s orders, and I don’t hold what happened against you—unless you give me a reason to change my mind.”

  Nick glanced at Chris again, the one wolf in the entire fucking amphitheater who didn’t seem the least bit receptive to what Nick had to say. If the wolves that had attacked him had given off the same vibe, he would have been inclined to challenge them right then and there for what they did, but no. It was his fucking Beta, the wolf that was supposed to always be on his side.

  Nick said, “After the initial ambush, I got tangled up with some poachers and one got a good shot at me. Gwen is a Blue Forest park ranger. She heard what was going on and chased the poachers away. I was too injured for her to help me, but she said she would do anything to help me if she could. And she meant it. The Moon heard her words. She accessed Lunas, and the Moon sealed a contract between the two of us with a Lunas Sigil.”

  All eyes went wide and locked on Gwen—even Chris’s. No one here had witnessed anything to do with Lunas in their lifetime. Gwen held on to Nick’s hand just a little tighter, but he could sense her ease. She trusted him. She felt safe with him.

  “Can we see it?” One of the many elder wolves from Blue Pack asked.

  “Unfortunately, you can’t. It’s gone. I didn’t tell anyone about it when it happened. I was contracted to a human. I thought it couldn’t be anything but bad news, and I didn’t want to worry anyone. It was stupid of me and I regret it. And I’m sorry. Sorry for not doing this sooner. Sorry for not being honest.”

  Nick had never seen his father apologize for anything. It wasn’t in an alpha’s nature, but the appreciation he sensed radiating from his pack and the former Storm Pack told him he was doing the right thing by apologizing. He was worried for nothing. These wolves were ready to let go of the anger that had bound them to this lonely life. They were ready to move on. They were waiting for their Alpha to take the first step.

  All except for Christopher.

  “I can’t show you the Lunas Sigil because I fulfilled my end of the contract by saving Gwen’s life when those same poachers came back. We put them in the ground. They won’t be bothering anyone again,” Nick said, telling himself to ignore his Beta until after he finished what he needed to say.

  The crowd clapped.

  “I had resigned myself to never having a mate because of the stupid rules we’ve been living by and the disappearance of the Wolf. I’m prepared to step down as Alpha if you all want to continue living the way we have, but I choose Gwen. If that makes me a lone wolf, so be it.”

  Gwen rested her head against his arm. He could sense her happiness. She chose him too. She didn’t have to say a word.

  Willow sighed and called, “That’s my brother. The hopeless romantic.” Her comment got a few laughs.

  Not all wolves were at ease with what Nick said, but most of them seemed like they might be willing to accept this change. Some were feeling great pain.

  “I know this has been hard,” Nick said. “Some of you have had young, but have given them up because of our obsession to be pure Wolf.”

  One female broke out in sobs, and her mate tried to comfort her.

  “I don’t want to split up any more families,” Nick said earnestly. “Whatever the Moon has planned for us, I don’t know. If it plans on taking back the Wolf, there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s time for us to move on. Wolf or no Wolf. I have no interest in forcing my ideas on any of you, so I’m leaving it up to you. I know it’s not normal, none of this is, but I want you all to decide if you want me as your Alpha or if you want me gone. This is your decision.”

  The response he got at first was silence, but then his sister started clapping. She stood and continued clapping, louder. Soon others joined her. Nick and Gwen were getting a standing ovation. None of this was going at all how he expected. It was so much better. Gwen, his unwavering companion, turned to him and got on her tiptoes. He was eager for the kiss she so obviously wanted and bent down to meet her lips. It was short, a peck, but he craved every touch.

  “Nice speech,” she told him. “It might be enough to get a girl to fall in love with you.”

  “There’s only one girl I want falling in love with me,” he replied.

  “I think she already has.”

  That got her another kiss, a hard one. Possessive. A display for everyone to see that this woman was his and his alone.

  A growl ripped out among the reverie. Nick turned immediately defensive, growling in response as he ushered Gwen behind him. Christopher pushed through the other wolves, showing his teeth the entire time. Once he was in front of the other wolves and in front of Nick, he shouted, “You don’t care about any of us! You’re a weak Alpha who has fallen to a human woman’s charms. She never accessed Lunas. That was a story to warm everyone up to your side, to make them believe the Moon somehow agrees with your actions. This human is a poison for all of us. It would be better if you stepped down as Alpha and never came back. Take your whore sister with you. She had the opportunity to save the Wolf, but she was too selfish to take it. You both are. You could have hopped mates until one produced wolf pups. If Willow had just agreed to be Ivan’s mate in the first place, if you had made her, things would have been fucking easier.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Nick demanded as he jumped off the stage to meet his Beta face-to-face.

  “You’re so damn dense! I was the one who set that up. Not Ivan. If you would have listened to him instead of flying into a rage, you would have known. He was an incompetent Alpha too. I’ve had to pull the strings behind the scenes because you’re all so damn incompetent! If he had gotten his shit together, Willow would be his right now and you would be dead. I’d be the Alpha of Blue Pack.”

  “What the fuck? I can’t believe you would do something like that. I can’t believe you’d betray your pack like that.” Nick snarled.

  “I was doing this for the pack.”

  Growls broke out behind Christopher. Blue Wolves and former Storm Wolves alike enraged by the revelation.

  “How didn’t anyone know about this!?” Nick demanded. Gwen hopped down from the stage and placed her hands on his back, reminding him not to lose control.

  “Only Ivan knew, and you killed him before the shit face had a chance to talk,” Chris said coolly.

  Nick was about to take care of this once and for all, but he had one last question. “Does anyone here side with Chris? Because if you do, you’ve just become my enemy.”

  Absolutely no one stood up for the treacherous Beta. Gwen stepped back, sensing the danger. Nick and Chris tore off their clothes in record time and shifted right then and there. The beta wolf had to understand the situation he was in. If he didn’t shift and fight for
his life now, it was as good as over. As far as Nick was concerned, it was as good as over regardless. He said he wanted to be Alpha of Blue Pack? He wasn’t even an alpha wolf. There was no way he’d be Alpha of any pack.

  Chris’s wolf was a dark gray, smaller than Nick’s, and arguably more agile. He got the first strike, but Nick protected his throat and deflected the attack with a snap of his powerful jaws. The difference in strength from a beta wolf to an alpha wolf was almost sad. The only way a beta had any chance of taking him down was if a bunch of betas got together and had an attack plan, sort of like the wolves that ambushed him in the woods. Their hit and run tactic had been a fucking nuisance, but Chris didn’t have the luxury of allies. And he was out of the shadows.

  Each strike Chris made was a desperate attempt to keep Nick busy. His moves were easy to read. He would jump in for a bite, but he would retreat before he got the chance to leave Nick with a mark. As angry as the beta wolf was, he understood the difference in power. He was too scared to commit to an attack.

  This went on for a few seconds before Nick made his move. He waited for Chris to strike again. He closed the distance Chris tried to create by retreating from another attack he hadn’t committed to and latched his teeth onto the wolf’s throat. He bit down hard and locked his jaw. Chris yelped. He struggled to get away from Nick’s sharp teeth, spilling his blood all over Nick’s fur and on the grass below the stage. All Nick had to do was keep holding on. With each passing moment, Chris grew more sluggish. Nick could feel the life draining out of him. It wasn’t until his body became limp that Nick let go.

  Nick could feel the eyes of everyone on him. He felt Gwen’s most of all. He was sure she hadn’t expected to see anything so brutal when she came today. He wished he could hide the sight from her eyes. He had saved her from a poacher just yesterday, but she didn’t see him do it. She watched every part of this.