Wolf Tales IV

by Kate Douglas

  “I’ll start at the beginning, okay? Just hear me out. I really am not nuts, though what I intend to tell you will convince you I must be.”

  Lisa grinned at his silly but serious admission. If anyone was nuts, it was her, letting a strange man into her bed only minutes after meeting him. She never did things like this. Never. “Okay,” she said, nodding seriously. “I’m listening.”

  “Okay.” He took a deep breath, and Lisa was reminded of a little kid getting ready to recite a memorized speech. She managed to keep her opinion to herself.

  “Before recorded time, there was an ancient race of people who lived on the rugged plains in Tibet, an area known as the Himalayan Steppe. No one knows where they came from, if they evolved independently or were maybe part of some alien race that got stranded or planted there, but for whatever reason, they lived in that rugged area for millennia before eventually emigrating to other places. They were unique on this planet, though, because they had the ability to shift from one form to another. They called themselves Chanku.”

  Lisa blinked, remembering. “You called me Chanku. I heard it in my head when we…uh, when…”

  Tinker chuckled softly. “When we climaxed together. That’s when the bond between partners is the strongest, at the height of orgasm. I was sure then that you were one of us, that you share the same DNA as me and the other Chanku.”

  “What do you mean? Like shapeshifters?” Lisa blinked the minute she said that. This entire situation felt surreal, as if it were happening in some grade B horror movie.

  Tinker pushed himself away from the headboard and sat on the edge of the bed. He looked back over his shoulder at her. “That’s where it gets tricky. In most situations, I wouldn’t be able to tell you any of this until I was absolutely sure of your heritage, but since we know both Baylor and Tala—uh, Mary Ellen—are Chanku, we know you must be as well, and that leaves me free to be a lot more open with you than I normally might. Anyway, the gene is passed through females, so even though your mother never shifted, she had all the components of the Chanku species, as do all her children. You can pass it on; Bay can’t.”

  “Wait a minute.” Lisa frowned and grabbed Tinker’s forearm. She scooted around to sit next to him, aware of a powerful need to anchor herself and at the same time to touch him. Immediately she felt the strength in him, the tension under his skin. He practically vibrated. “You’re telling me that both my brother and sister are shapeshifters? That they can turn into something else besides what they are? Like I’m supposed to believe that?” She shook her head in disbelief. “If you say my mother was Chanku, why didn’t she shift? And what’s she supposed to have shifted into?”

  Tinker covered her hand with his. His palm felt warm. Steady. Unbelievable, when her world felt like it was tilting off its axis. “There are certain grasses growing on the steppes that add nutrients to the Chanku diet, nutrients we need to help a tiny little gland unique to the species develop. Without those nutrients, the person goes through life as a normal human.”

  He chuckled quietly, as if he laughed at some private joke. “I will admit, most of us, before we found out who and what we are, were pretty screwed up. With the nutrients, everything changed. We’re immune to disease. Chanku don’t get cancer or any sexually transmitted diseases. Not even head colds. Senses become more acute, an already active libido goes into overdrive, a female gains total reproductive control and is consciously able to release an egg for fertilization—or not. It’s entirely up to her. Among the Chanku, it’s definitely a woman’s world. Anyway, the human becomes fully Chanku. Embraces his or her heritage, the part that has always felt like a missing piece to a convoluted puzzle.”

  Lisa realized she’d forgotten to breathe. She’d spent her life searching, yet never knowing what she looked for. Was it a part of herself, unfulfilled and incomplete? Was Tinker explaining why she’d always suspected something very important had been missing in her life? Why, then, had her search brought her here, to this lonely outpost in northern Colorado? To a wolf sanctuary run by an eccentric, reclusive millionaire, where her only duties were finding food for the wolves, cleaning their pens, feeding them, observing their behavior?

  Tinker stared intently at her, watching her as if he knew she was working through what he’d said and finding her own answers. She gazed into his amber eyes and realized how much they looked like her own. How they reminded her of something else, something wild and free.

  Suddenly it all came together. Every question she’d ever had, every dream, every wish. It all finally made perfect sense. As unbelievable as what Tinker McClintock was telling her, Lisa understood exactly who and what she was. Who she could become.

  She twisted around and straddled his thighs, gripping both his arms with more strength than she realized she had. “We’re wolves, aren’t we? We shift and become wolves. It has to be. I’ve dreamed of running through the woods at night, running with wolves beside me. Last night, for the first time ever, when I sat in the compound, I knew we were communicating, that somehow the wolves recognized a kindred spirit in me. That’s it, isn’t it? That’s who I am? What we are?”

  She was crying. She could hardly see Tinker through her tears, but she knew he smiled, felt it in the way his arms came around her, the way he held her against his chest and rubbed her back.

  “I thought I was crazy sometimes. Thought I must be losing my mind. When I finally started to get my life together, I gave up a perfectly good job to come here because I had to be with the wolves. The need wouldn’t go away. Wouldn’t let me rest.” She raised her head and wiped her streaming eyes with her wrist. “How? How do you do it? How can I? Tell me!”

  He lifted her off his lap as if she weighed nothing, set her back on the edge of the bed, and stepped away. She watched him, her fist jammed in her mouth, blinking back tears and sniffing. She watched his face, saw his smile, realized he’d wavered, twisted, and was suddenly gone.

  Lisa bit back a scream as she looked down into the amber eyes of the most beautiful wolf she’d ever seen. Without thinking, she slipped to the floor in front of him, threw her arms around his neck, and buried her fingers in the coarse black fur covering his back. Buried her face in his throat and cried again.

  He made a soft woof and licked the side of her neck. Lisa rubbed her face in his thick fur and suddenly broke into a fit of giggles. “Oh crap.” She sat back on her heels and held her hands over her face. “I’m wiping my snotty nose in your fur. That’s about the tackiest thing I think I’ve ever done, and believe me, I’ve done tacky!”

  The wolf shook his head, and his long tongue lolled out the side of his mouth. Lisa was almost certain he was laughing at her. She scooted back across the floor and sat and stared at him. He was beautiful. Huge, with glistening black fur that shimmered with gold highlights when he moved. His paws were big and broad, the nails tipped in black. He leaned close and licked her neck again, then backed away, shimmered, and shifted.

  Once again, Tinker stood in front of her. He held out a hand and pulled Lisa to her feet. “I was afraid I’d frighten you.”

  “Never. My God, you’re beautiful when you do that!”

  “What? And chopped liver when I don’t?” He laughed, a big booming sound that seemed to destroy whatever tension might have remained in the room.

  “I want to do that. I want to be a wolf. How? What do I need to do?” She’d figure out the details later, figure out why she wasn’t afraid, why this all seemed so logical, something that was obviously impossible and couldn’t have actually happened right here in her bedroom.

  Tinker pulled Lisa down on his lap as he sat back on the edge of the bed. She felt his cock pressing into her thigh, but he wasn’t as big now. Not soft either, but at least not huge. She liked the way it felt, nestled there against her.

  “I’ve got the supplements in my car,” he said. “Take one capsule a day and you could have the ability to shift within the week. For Tia Mason, it only took about three or four days. Shannon Murp
hy did it in three, but that was damned fast. I don’t know how long it took your sister.”

  “Who’s Tia? And Shannon…who is she?”

  “Other members of the pack. Both of them are Chanku.” Tinker cupped her face in his hands. When he spoke, there was no sign of laughter in his voice. Nothing but raw emotion and a need so rich it made Lisa tremble.

  “There is so much I want to tell you, so many things you need to know. Right now, though…now, I need to make love to you again. I have to feel your body taking mine deep inside, feel your heart beating next to mine. I realize you don’t know me, that you don’t have the same emotions about this, but I feel as if I’ve waited for you my entire life.”

  Lisa touched the side of his face, ran her fingers over his closely cropped hair, then leaned close and kissed him. “I do understand, though. I feel the same way about you. It’s scary, really. Very scary stuff, but I can’t wait to know you better. To understand myself better. How long can you stay? Stay with me, Tinker. The bed’s almost big enough.”

  She laughed, looked at the queen-size bed that wasn’t nearly enough room for a man his size, then glanced back at Tinker. The look on his face went straight to her heart.

  “Are you sure? I mean…how do we explain me to your coworkers? Your boss.”

  Lisa thought about it a minute, tapping one finger against her jaw. The answer was obvious, though it definitely went against her sexual history. “You’re an old boyfriend, and I’m giving you a second chance. Does that work for you?”

  “I’ll make it work. Make love to me.”

  She laughed. Felt complete joy for the first time in forever. “That was a quick recovery.”

  He twisted her meaning and glanced down at his cock. It jutted out from its nest of silky black hair, as large and hard as it had been when he’d loved her only minutes ago. “I always recover quickly.” He grinned when he said it. Then he set Lisa aside, stood up, and reached for his pants. He dug in the pocket for a condom. “And I’m always prepared.”

  He stood there beside the chair looking cocky and self-assured with the foil packet in his hand. Lisa gave him a sideways glance, dropped to her knees, and grabbed him around the thick base of his erection before he realized her intentions. She threaded her fingers through the unusually silky curls at the base and looked up into his glittering eyes. “So am I, Mr. McClintock. So am I.”

  When she took him in her mouth, he groaned and reached for the wall for support. The thick muscles on the tops of his thighs jumped. Lisa heard the soft thunk of the wrapped condom hitting the floor as Tinker dropped it to weave the fingers of his free hand into her hair. It still felt surreal. The entire morning carried a dreamlike quality about it.

  She’d been shoveling roadkill into her pickup and now this.

  Of course, hadn’t her life always been a little off the wall? A bit on the edge? She glanced up and watched Tinker’s face for a moment while gently licking the soft underside of his glans. His eyes were closed, his head thrown back and pressed against the wall. Dark and perfectly formed against the light wood paneling, he looked like a god to her. His body so beautifully sculpted, his taste calling her, his masculine scent weaving its own perfect spell. She stroked his thigh, ran her fingers along the ridge of muscle that stretched across the top. She felt it jump beneath her touch and heard his soft groan.

  Perfect. A perfect stranger, but nothing had ever felt so right before. Lisa wrapped her tongue around Tinker McClintock’s perfect cock and decided to follow her destiny, whatever it was, wherever it decided to take her.

  Chapter 4

  Tinker’s entire body shuddered when Lisa’s lips wrapped around the flared end of his cock. Her slim fingers rested first on the tops of his thighs, tickling the dark hairs sprinkled over his legs, and then moved slowly, stroking the line between his thigh and groin before skimming lower over his sensitive skin. Slowly, so slowly he almost cried, she wrapped her fingers around his sac, stroking the tender balls inside. His fingers tightened in her hair.

  Tinker groaned when she lightly squeezed and then released him, mimicking the rhythm of her mouth. He practically whimpered when she held him in both her hands, fingers wrapping around his ball sac, lifting him up, stroking the base of his cock and slowly rolling each testicle between her fingers.

  His knees quivered, and he knew he needed more than the wall for support; but before his legs gave out, Lisa sucked him deep, then withdrew. The cool burst of air on his hot, damp length cooled him enough to reach for a bit more control. He knew it wouldn’t last.

  Lisa looked up at him with glittering eyes. “Take me. I want you inside me now. Please!”

  It was more a demand than a request. Lisa’s fingers fumbled with the condom he’d dropped on the floor, and she finally tore the wrapper with her teeth. Tinker’s chest was heaving like he’d run a mile, and his cock was hard, the blood inside pounding in time with his raging heart. He ached with need. His cock curved up until the tip of it brushed his belly. Even that simple touch made him fight for control. Glancing down at Lisa kneeling between his feet almost took him across the finish.

  She was so beautiful. Her hair fell across her shoulders and curled over her small breasts. She peered at him out of those gorgeous wolf eyes and licked her moist lips with the tip of her tongue. He had to have her, had to bury himself inside her now.

  Tinker reached for the condom, but Lisa grabbed his cock in her fist and slowly rolled the rubber over his length. He gritted his teeth, so sensitive now that her gentle touch and the soft pull of the rubber against his damp skin took him even closer to that sensual precipice.

  Lisa grinned up at him, then palmed her breasts, lifting the small peaks up for his view.

  “Oh shit. You don’t have to tempt me. It’s too late for that.” Tinker grabbed Lisa under the arms, lifted her up, and turned her around. He bent her over the edge of the rumpled bed. Her smooth bottom was flushed, the line of her backbone running down to the crease between her buttocks; it was so tempting Tinker dropped to his knees and nipped at one perfect globe.

  She arched her back and spread her legs wide for him, opening completely, showing off her swollen lips surrounded by a thick nest of dark hair. Tinker pushed her higher up on the bed so that her feet no longer touched the floor. He grabbed a pillow and shoved it under her belly, lifting her higher, opening her wider.

  Then he knelt behind her once again and took her with his mouth, licking from her clit to her ass in long, slick sweeps before concentrating on her labia and the hot depths of her sex. He wished she were capable of shifting so he could become the wolf as well. He’d use his long tongue to delve deep inside her slick heat, but it seemed wrong to take her that way now.

  No, she had to have made the shift herself, had to understand the sentience behind the beast or it would somehow feel like a bestial act. That wouldn’t work. He didn’t want anything uncomfortable between them.

  Her flavors inflamed him. Tinker nipped her buttock again and she cried out. He rose to his feet quickly, unable to wait any longer. His cock was still high and hard, and he grabbed himself and pressed against the slick opening of her sex, pressed hard until she gasped with what could have been pain or pleasure or a mixture of both.

  He felt the hot sheath of her pussy close around the head of his cock. Felt the ripples of clenching muscle holding him, drawing him deeper. He thrust hard, finding the perfect angle for penetration, filling her in one long slow plunge that took him as far as he could go into her welcoming body. Finally his cock pressed up against the hard curve of her womb. He pictured the tiny eye in the end of his cock meeting up with the small opening of her cervix, and the image made his balls draw up even tighter between his legs.

  He wrapped his hands around her upper thighs, and Lisa raised her hips against his thrust, tightened her thighs around the hard line of his hips. He thrust into her hard and fast, driven like a wild man trying to claim her, to take her so that she’d never want another man, never need a woma
n in her bed, never need anyone but himself. He wanted to mark her body, her soul, her every thought, and make them his.

  Tinker leaned over her back, set his teeth against her left shoulder, and bit. Lisa screamed and climaxed; her body shuddered beneath his weight, and Tinker felt himself flying off the edge as well, felt the painful pressure in his balls release in long bursts, and then he saw the brilliant light of her thoughts. As his body convulsed in unbelievable pleasure, Tinker merged with Lisa Quinn, a link more profound than anything he’d ever experienced.

  It was so intense it could have been a bonding, but Tinker knew it couldn’t happen. Not yet. Not until her body changed, not until the metamorphosis from human to shapeshifter was complete.

  Still, he felt her orgasm as if it were his own, knew she shared the deep throbbing in his body, the almost painful tightening of his balls within their sac, even as her vaginal walls compressed and held his cock. Their sensations melded, their minds linked. With one last roll of his hips, Tinker licked the mark he’d left on Lisa’s shoulder and collapsed across her back.

  Driving back to the sanctuary with Tinker riding beside her, Lisa felt punch-drunk. The mark on her shoulder tingled, and she knew it would leave a bruise. Tinker hadn’t broken the skin, but the implications of ownership were not lost on her. With any other person, she might have been angry, but oddly enough, his mark of possession left her feeling warm and protected.

  She’d have to figure that one out later. They’d showered and grabbed a quick lunch, and Lisa had taken her first pill, a big ugly looking capsule that smelled like alfalfa and tasted worse. After she choked it down, they talked like old friends and Lisa had caught up on news of Baylor and Mary Ellen. It wasn’t easy to think of her little sister as Tala, a shapeshifting Chanku now living with two men. Leave it to Mary Ellen to do things her own way!

  “I don’t get it,” she said, glancing to her right for another quick look at Tinker. Damn, but the man was gorgeous, especially now that he’d changed into more casual clothing. His jeans hugged his legs and butt like a second skin, and the dark blue T-shirt he’d put on fit his massive chest as if he’d sprayed it on. Lisa noticed that his nipples, small though they were, left an outline on the fabric. She thought for a moment about licking him through the soft cotton, then forced her mind back to their conversation.