by Scarlet Fox
His resistance lasted no more than a moment. He stared up at her, his eyes troubled. Then he was enveloping her in his arms. “You’re absolutely right.” His hands buried in her hair, and his lips found hers.
Red gave a soft whimper, and her hands went to the bottom of his button-up shirt. She tugged it free of his jeans. Then she slipped her hands underneath, running her fingertips along his beautifully defined abs. “I know this might sound insane, but I missed you so damn much.”
“It is insane.” He smirked against her lips. “But I missed you too.”
Laughing, she slid her hands down his waist until she came to the snap of his jeans. With two fingers, she confidently flicked it open. All the while, she writhed on his lap, moving against him in a sensual dance. It was like she couldn’t restrain herself. She couldn’t think about anything but getting close to him.
His hand closed over hers. “We don’t have to do this. I’m happy to just spend time with you, to simply kiss you.” Despite his calm words, his eyes blazed with passion, and she could feel his erection pressing up against her.
“I know. It makes me want you even more.” She freed him from the confines of his jeans, and he lifted his hips to slide them down his legs. Her breathing came in harsh, rugged pants of anticipation as she shifted her panties to the side and eased down on top of him.
They both let out simultaneous groans of approval as he slid into her depths. Her skirt covered his legs, offering them a smidgen of modesty while she slowly began to rock on his lap. Their first time together had been frantic and fast. Now, she moved slowly, and he helped keep the tempo by cupping her hips and guiding her rhythm.
Max’s mouth moved against hers, just as slow and erotic as the rocking of their hips. He thrust up into her, his movements unhurried. “I’ve thought about nothing but you for three days,” he confessed. “Your smell, your taste, your power.” He nuzzled her throat, leaving a gentle kiss. “God help me, I know I should, but I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you either. I was so worried…” She lifted her hands to his face and trailed her fingers along the scruff covering his cheeks. She’d found Max attractive the moment she laid eyes on him, but a day’s worth of stubble made him even more gorgeous.
She moved against him, her mouth never leaving his. Each kiss grew deeper, more heated. She nibbled at his bottom lip, trapping it between her teeth. She’d always worried her lack of sexual experience might make things awkward or difficult for her, but things with Max were so natural. Her body seemed to know exactly what to do, and if his soft groans were any indication, he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
She felt the warm pleasure of an orgasm building between her legs. Her breaths became more sporadic, and she exhaled them into his mouth. His hands tightened on her hips, his fingers digging into her buttocks as he pulled her more roughly down onto him. Their bodies mashed together, straining and striving for that glorious release.
Red let out a helpless cry as an orgasm slammed suddenly into her. Her entire body trembled and she shook on top of him, unable to control her reaction to the intense pleasure.
Max stiffened underneath her, and he gave one last upward thrust. He emptied himself inside of her with a strangled cry of completion.
The whole while, Red stroked his face and caressed lips swollen from their frantic kissing with her own. It was the most heartbreakingly romantic moment of her young life. She wanted to commit each moment, each sense to memory. She knew in this moment, there would be no one else for her but Max. He was her everything. He made her feel complete.
When they’d both finally recuperated some, Max fell back against the blanket and pulled her down with him. He cradled her against his chest, his cock still buried inside of her. “I don’t think I could ever get enough of you.”
She nestled her head under his chin—a perfect fit. “So don’t.” As she listened to his heartbeat beneath her ear, she took a gamble. He was worth it. “Stay here. With me. Join our pack.”
“I would love to, Red. I would enjoy nothing more than staying here and being with you. I’m just not sure if that’s in the cards for us. Your pack is hunting for me. If they think I’m feral, they might not give me a chance to plead my case. They’re going to chase me out of town, or worse.”
“If you’re my mate, then my father will have no choice but to give you a chance.” She tilted her face up so she could gaze into his startled blue eyes. “I’m willing to risk everything for you, Max. All you have to do is say yes.”
Chapter Eight
Red entered her kitchen on a mission. She needed to talk to her father. Now. She was done tiptoeing around the issue of the supposed feral werewolf and his nefarious intentions. She knew the relationship between herself and Max could be a source of anger for her father, but she would rather anger him than see Max hurt.
“Dad, I—” She stopped short upon seeing Hank at the kitchen table. He was drumming his fingers against the tabletop and looking quite pleased with himself. Her father was nowhere in sight.
Crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive stance, she eyed her father’s second-in-command with a wariness she knew wasn’t unwarranted. “Where’s my father?”
“Gone.”
“Gone?” She blinked at him for a moment in confusion. Her father was always home this time of day. It was set aside for pack business, a sort of open-door policy for members to bring forth questions, concerns, or ideas. “Gone where?”
“Away.” Hank’s lips spread into a smarmy grin, and he spread his hands wide. “I gave him information on where he could find his feral werewolf, and he took off, hunting rifle in hand.”
She inhaled sharply, fear clutching at her chest. Max. Her father had gone after Max. With a gun. It was such a frowned-upon way of handling things, but if the wolf in question was suspected of being feral…
“I sent him to the woods behind the Ridgewind Elementary School. I informed him of the feral’s plans to launch an attack on all of those innocent school children. You know your father, he jumped right into action.”
“Ridgewind?” Confusion flitted through her mind. Max was nowhere near Ridgewind, and he would never harm children. “I don’t understand…”
“No. You wouldn’t.” He grinned again. “Let me explain what’s happening here. I sent your father on a wild goose chase. All it took was a threat to innocent children, and he raced off without so much as checking into the details.”
“But why?” She couldn’t fathom what benefit there was to sending her father off. It wasn’t going to produce any results that would help his goals, whatever they might be. Max wouldn’t be there.
“Because I realized I needed to take this situation into my own hands. After seeing you and that man in the woods this afternoon, I realized my future control of this pack was in jeopardy.”
As his words sank in, bile rose in her throat, and a chill swept down her spine. “You followed me.” She shuddered at her next thought. “You watched us?” She couldn’t keep the horror out of her voice at such an intrusion.
He nodded. “I stayed long enough to know that boy is a threat to my position in this pack.” He sent her a disapproving look. “Wouldn’t your father be disappointed to know what a dirty little slut you’ve turned into?”
She’d never felt so violated in her entire life. The things she and Max had done—they’d been private. It had been meant for just the two of them. Knowing this sick man had watched them make love made her ill. She’d always disliked him, but in that instant, she hated him more than she’d ever hated anyone in her entire life. Straightening her shoulders, she tried to act as if his intrusion didn’t embarrass the hell out of her. “So you know about me and Max. So what? How is that going to help you keep control of the pack? If you think I’m going to let you hold this over my head, that I’m going to let you blackmail me, you’re insane.”
“No. I think I’m going to kill your little boyfriend and drop his bo
dy at your father’s feet. Once he hears that the feral wolf attacked and attempted to kill me in cold blood, I’ll be a hero. And when I ask for his daughter’s hand—the daughter I save in the attack—he’ll have no choice but to say yes. He’ll be obligated to marry you off.” He waved a hand triumphantly in the air. “Then, through you, the pack will become mine.”
“You think I won’t tell him the truth?”
“Who is he going to believe? His second-in-command or a confused child who was recently the victim of a vicious attack? Think about it, darlin’. He hasn’t been listening to you this entire time. He’s been listening to me. Do you think that’s going to change anytime soon?”
His words struck a chord in her. Her father hadn’t been listening very well recently. He’d let fear get the better of him. Who was to say he wouldn’t continue to do so?
Still, one thing was certain—her own free will to say no. She ground her teeth together angrily before spitting out, “I will never marry you.”
“You won’t have much of a choice, as I see it. A pack is full of politics. Not even a spoiled little bitch like you can weasel out of all of them. There are no other mates in this pack for you. We both know that. After I save you from a feral attack, you’ll be beholden to accept my proposal of marriage.”
She recoiled at his proclamation, because it held too much truth. Eventually, she would be expected to marry. If Hank was the only suitable mate available… Well, there was a chance he could force the issue, whether her father approved or not. Such a situation could get very dangerous for everyone involved.
“You know…” He paused and tapped his chin, as if an idea had just occurred to him. She knew it was bullshit. Whatever he was about to say had been his plan all along—it was his endgame. “I’d be willing to let your boyfriend walk away from all of this unharmed. You agree to marry me now, without the open involvement of politics, and he can head back to whatever hell he came from. I won’t hunt him down, and I won’t put a bullet in his brain. You can save him. If you truly care about him, you’ll let him walk away. That’s the only way he comes out of this situation alive. You and I both know that’s the truth.”
Red sucked in a breath of horror. His proposition was so cliché, so unoriginal, but it still crushed her spirits and dragged her down into a pool of misery. Things like this didn’t really happen, did they? She couldn’t be as trapped as she felt. The way she felt about Max… As crazy as it might seem, there was no denying she loved him. She would do anything to keep him safe. But marrying Hank? Her jaw dropped, her mouth making the motions of speech, but she couldn’t seem to find any words. Acceptance was just too horrible for words, and she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“Come on, Red. What’s it going to be? We both know there’s no happily-ever-after outcome to this situation…at least not for you. Just agree to the terms now. It’s the only way you can live the rest of your life guilt-free. You fight me, and that boy’s death will forever be on your hands.”
“I…I …” Her breath started coming in heaves. She was hyperventilating. She couldn’t say yes. But she couldn’t say no either. It would feel like sealing Max’s fate. “I…”
“She will never marry you.”
Red whipped in the direction of the kitchen doorway at the sound of a familiar voice. “Max!” She gaped in astonishment as he pushed into the room, hostility rolling off of him in a brutal wave. He was here.
Chapter Nine
Red watched in astonishment as Max crossed the kitchen to stand at her back. He placed his hands on her shoulders and glared at Hank over the top of her head. “This ends here,” he said darkly. “It’s done. I won’t sit idly by and listen to you threaten your pack leader’s daughter.”
Hank gave a soft tsk in the back of his throat as he shrugged out of his suit jacket. “It ends when I say it ends, boy.” He set the jacket carefully to the side, his eyes never leaving Max. “If you think I’m going to let you just waltz in here and steal my control over this pack, you’re out of your mind. This pack is mine. It was my destiny to rule it. No punk kid is going to stand in my way.”
“I don’t want the pack,” Max said through clenched teeth. “I just want Red.”
“That’s such a pity,” Hank said with a mocking note of disappointment in his voice. “Unfortunately, control of this pack comes along with control of Red here. Without her at my side, the others won’t fall in line.”
“You’ll never have control of me,” she spat in disgust. “No one will ever have control of me. I’m my own damn person. I wouldn’t watch you destroy everything my father strived to build and keep my mouth shut. That’s not who I am.”
“You’ll be who I tell you to be,” Hank said sharply. “And nothing more.”
Max emitted a low growl. She reached up to touch his forearm and felt the muscles twitching underneath his skin. He was fighting to hold back a shift. She could feel through that simple touch that he wanted to shed his skin and go after Hank. If that happened, one of them would die. She knew it. And if Max killed Hank…would there be any coming back from that? Would he even be given a chance to explain himself, or would he be executed? She didn’t want to risk finding out.
“Max,” she whispered, trying to get his attention. “Let’s just go.”
“You’re not going anywhere.” The reply came from Hank. As he spoke, a tremor ran through his body, his bulk preparing to shift form.
“Hank, don’t do this.” She hated the pleading note in her voice, but she knew if they shifted, they would tear each other apart. “You don’t need to do this.” She didn’t see what the older man could get out of this. In theory, all of his plans sounded plausible, but there was no way her father would force her to marry him if she protested so strongly. He had to see that, right? He was not going to win. He was merely going to drag them all down with him.
When Hank gave another growl and his skin began to bubble, his bones popping, Max guided her back a few steps. “Stay back. I want you out of harm’s way. I won’t be able to concentrate if I’m worried about your well-being.”
“Max, no. Don’t fight him. That is exactly what he wants.” She watched as Max’s body began its transformation despite her objections. His hands elongated, his fingernails stretching out into razor-sharp claws. Fur sprouted along his arms, and his face morphed, transforming into an intimidating muzzle.
At this point, both men were snarling and snapping. It would only be a matter of moments until they were both fully turned and on top of each other.
Clothing tore as each man’s physique changed. Just as she’d suspected, in the blink of an eye, they were both different. Where men once stood were now beasts. She gave one last helpless cry of protest before they lunged at one another.
Hank stepped forward in a menacing fashion, but Max did not hesitate. He leapt the counter to get at him and tackled the older man to the ground. Both went down in a blur of limbs and fur.
They were momentarily blocked from her view, but Red could hear the vicious snarls and the snapping of teeth. The scent of blood coated the air so thickly it was nearly choking. She took a tentative step in their direction, but then the wolves tumbled around the side of the counter.
Max had a gash in his side left behind by a set a sharp claws; Hank was missing an ear. Blood poured down the side of the older man’s face, dripping into his eye. He shook his head, and blood flew, splattering the cabinets.
“Please, stop!” She watched helplessly as blood crept down Max’s side, coating his thick fur. He was hurt. If he took another blow like that, he would be out of the fight. And she knew in her heart that if he was unable to continue, Hank would kill him. “Stop!” Her scream reverberated off the walls, mixing with the echo of growls.
Both men—wolves—ignored her. They circled one another, looking for the next opportunity to attack. She debated shifting herself, but throwing a third werewolf into the mix wasn’t going to help anything. It would only heighten the men’s awareness of her a
nd cause their aggression to spike. This inability to shift left her feeling helpless. There was no way she could assist Max, not without putting herself in harm’s way, and that was the one thing he requested she not do. She would not be a distraction to him.
With a gasp, she pressed back into the cabinets as the wolves collided again, sliding across the floor near her feet. Streaks of blood coated the tiling in their wake. She heard the stomach-churning sound of ripping flesh, and then Hank let out a yap of pain.
Blood splattered, spraying out of a nasty shoulder wound. Hank hobbled and nearly went down. He was at a disadvantage, distracted by a wound that seemed severe. All Max had to do was make the killing blow.
Panic filled her. If Max killed Hank, no matter how justified, no one would ever believe his innocence in this entire affair. They would hunt him down, chase him out of town. If such a thing happened, they would never see each other again, and she wouldn’t be able to survive that. They were better off leaving Hank alive and trying to prove to her father and the rest of the community what a horrible, lying predator he was. “Max, stop! Max, he’s not worth it!”
As she fought to gain control of the situation, movement out of the corner of her eye caught Red’s attention. A flash of metal glinting in the sunlight shining through the window entered her senses, and her mind quickly processed it—gun. Her eyes lifted to find her father on the other side of the barrel. He stood in the kitchen doorway pointing the weapon at the two wolves.
In horror, her eyes swung to the battling men. Max had Hank pinned to the ground, and the older man was cowering in a defensive crouch. For all intents and purposes, it looked like Max was about to kill their second-in-command. Their second-in-command who conveniently had taken on a submissive, docile role. She knew what was coming. Her father would not allow Max to kill Hank. He would take down Max instead.