A wild animal. Something from another world.
A flash of white at her side made her screech, but it also restarted her breathing. She gasped and put her hand to her chest, feeling the pounding of her heart.
A giant white wolf stood in front of her, facing down the red-gray one. Knox had followed her. He had shifted and come after her. How had he known? And how was he standing? And not bleeding? His fur was pure white. Not a trace of blood.
“Knox,” she said. Her voice broke and more tears flooded her system pouring down her cheeks. “No.”
The white wolf growled again and the other stopped advancing. It dropped to the ground and turned its head, showing its neck to Knox’s wolf.
Katherine pulled in a slow breath. The rust and grey wolf wasn’t going to attack. It was submitting to Knox. But why? Who was this wolf to Knox and why had it come after her?
He’d said his brother was dead. Said the pack was dead. Had someone else survived?
Knox had.
Was it so hard to believe that another might’ve?
“Knox.” She took a step forward, putting a hand on his white rump. His fur was so soft. She dug her fingers into it and took another step. “Knox.”
The other wolf morphed into a man, but stayed on all fours, face to the ground. “My alpha.”
Knox snarled and shook his massive head, snapping his ears against his neck. His lips curled up further than Katherine thought possible, showing canines longer than any natural wolf possessed. He took another step forward and loosed a sound that somehow blended a roar with a growl.
Definitely not a normal-wolf sound.
The stranger stayed prostrate on the ground. His body didn’t flinch even for a moment.
“I not know, alpha. Would never hurt yours.”
“Didn’t know what?” Katherine asked, stepping forward until she stood shoulder to shoulder with her giant white wolf.
“You alpha’s mate. I no hurt. Never. I not know.”
Knox swung his head to the side and shoved his muzzle into her side. His animal took a deep breath and then turned back to the man still unmoved from the ground. Knox’s skin shivered beneath her fingertips. Then he was a man again. They could shift so quickly. It was amazing. The old black sweats hung low on his hips and the white t-shirt clung to his torso like a second skin. The bandages were still intact beneath the t-shirt. No blood. The shift hadn’t disturbed his wounds at all. In fact, she mostly couldn’t stop staring at the rippling muscles beneath the white cotton.
Katherine licked her lips. She’d slept right up against all those muscles last night. Nothing had happened, but just being next to Knox all night long had woken her body to thoughts and desires she’d only ever dreamed of having. Her body shivered with want. Her stomach cramped with need. Excitement ran along her skin like a static electricity charge that couldn’t find an outlet. It just kept prickling and crawling up and down her body.
Knox turned to her, his eyes still bright gold and mirrored her own longing. His focus quickly turned back to the man on the ground. “Callum, where are the others?”
“Close by, Alpha. I am the least injured. There was a small animal. We are hungry.”
“You’ve found no other survivors?”
“No, Alpha. None.”
Katherine heard a quick intake of breath from Knox. She put a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry.”
He looked up into the bright morning sky and then looked down at the man he’d called Callum. “The females didn’t remain hidden during the fight?”
The other man’s countenance darkened. “Both remaining were killed.”
Knox sighed. “Stay hidden for now. Try not to cross the streets where people will see you. The dragon will hunt you if you show yourselves.”
“Will protect, alpha. Will protect mate.” The man on the ground lifted his head and quickly shifted back into his enormous red and grey wolf.
“Stay out of sight,” Knox ordered.
The wolf bounded away, disappearing into the thick scrub and trees just a few yards away. But Katherine could still feel him watching. He might be hidden from view, but he was still watching. The hairs on the back of her neck never lied and they were standing uncomfortably at attention.
“How did you follow me? You’re hurt. You need to be in bed.”
“Mine.” His voice rattled deep in his throat. He wasn’t getting off the super-alpha-possessive-train. It’s not that she didn’t like the attention, but he was hurting himself at her expense. She didn’t want him hurting. She wanted him healed.
“You need to be in bed.”
“Then come back to your bed with me,” Knox said, amusement filtering through his pain-stressed tone. “I will stay if you do.”
She felt like huffing, crossing her arms, and stomping her foot like a toddler about to start a tantrum, but she didn’t. She just looked at him and glared. “That’s not fair. I have to work, Knox. I can’t just stay with you all day. I have responsibilities.”
He inclined his head, meeting her gaze straight on. “So do I.”
“What? To him. To the pack members that survived.”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“You.”
Whatever she’d been about to say evaporated into the air and she just stared. Stubborn-man-who-cared-about-her more than his own pack. She couldn’t. It was just too much. How could he care about her so completely, so quickly? How could he not want to help his pack?
He was just saying it. He’d already said it was too dangerous for him to stay. Now that his wounds were really closing up. It wouldn’t be long now. Those wolves would need him and when push came to shove, very few people stuck around with strangers over family.
“I have to go to the community center.”
He eyed her like he knew she had more plans than just work. “Then I shall go with you.”
“No. You go back to the house and rest.”
“I cannot rest with you unprotected.”
“You just told Callum to watch me.”
“You are mine.”
“You keep saying that.”
“It is the truth.”
“Says you.”
“I am alpha.”
“I have to go to work.”
“Then I will go with you.”
“Ugh. Just give me a minute.” Katherine yanked her phone from her jean pocket and dialed Shirley, one of the center employees that usually covered for her if she was sick. Shirley was very reliable and everyone liked her and she knew how Katherine liked everything to run at the community center.
The line rang once, and Shirley’s voice came through the speaker. “I’m already dressed and ready. Need me to open too?”
“Yes, I do. You knew didn’t you.”
“Mmmmhmmm.” She could hear the amusement in Shirley’s voice. “Don’t worry. I had Danny take the kids to school. I’ll be there in a few minutes and get everything ready for the groups today. Carol is coming in for the evening stuff. You do what you need to do, okay. And if you need tomorrow too, just let us know. We got you covered.”
“You are amazing. Thank you. I probably should plan on being out tomorrow too, but I just—”
“Honey, you never take any time off. Consider it handled.”
“But I have to go pick up the food order tomorrow.”
“Nope. I’ll have Danny grab it from Henrietta on his way home tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem. Enjoy your days off and get some rest. Or have some fun.”
“I’m not that much of a shut-in,” Katherine said.
“Yes, you are, but we all love you. We all wish you would do more with that cute boy who’s been coming around the center to see you.”
Katherine’s faced heated and she glanced quickly at Knox. He had a smug grin on his face. “I like Shirley,” he said, his voice deepening.
“Is that him?” Shirley’s voice squeaked through the phone speaker like a mouse
who’d just found the Holy Grail of cheese. “You’re with him! Carol is going to die.”
“No. Shirley, don’t. Please.”
“Nope. Too late. Us two old married ladies with toddlers are going to live vicariously through your relationship with that too-hot-to-handle-Conan-the-Barbarian hottie who’s been visiting you for months.”
“Shirley,” Katherine said, her voice turning to a growl.
Click.
The line went dead.
Crap. Crap. Crap.
The gossip mill in town was alive and well and a lot of it was started by Shirley and Carol. Well, actually a lot of it started either at the Watering Hole or the Community Center. Such was life in a small town.
“Why are you upset. They are letting you stay with me. You don’t have to work.”
“You don’t have a clue. By the end of the day, everyone in town will know that you’re with me. That I stayed home to be with a guy.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “And the saddest part of my life is we’re not even doing anything.”
“Katherine,” Knox said, stepping closer. “Stay with me because you want to stay.” He put a hand on her arm and tugged her closer. A little at a time until she was nearly flush to his chest. His strong arms enfolded and hugged her close. The bulge in his pants pressed into her belly.
She squeezed her thighs together, slightly alarmed at how turned on she was by his simple embrace. Need swarmed through her body and she fought the urge to simply melt into his arms.
It was ridiculous. He was hurt. He shouldn’t even be outside with her right now and yet the only thing going through her mind was how much she wanted to kiss him. How much she wanted him to kiss her.
Sleeping with him last night had awakened a hunger inside her that she thought she could shake off at work. But now she was going to be home with him all day. All tomorrow.
“I want more than anything to stay, Knox, but—”
His mouth descended to hers, cutting off her protest. She gasped as a spark of something she’d never felt before raced through her body like electricity surging through a live wire. What she felt for Knox was unlike anything she’d ever felt with another man. Not that she’d done much. But his wasn’t the first kiss she’d had, even though it felt like it. She never wanted another man ever again.
Only Knox.
She was his.
She felt his power and strength and the beast inside him hungrily consuming her. His tongue swept inside her mouth, tasting her, needing her, drinking her as though she were the last bit of water on earth.
Katherine reached for his head, burying her fingertips in his long hair, pulling him closer. Their kiss deepened and she felt herself slipping into a fog of desire and want and… What am I doing?
“Your wounds. We can’t. You’re—” Her words were muffled by his insistent mouth.
He growled and tightened his grip on her body. One of his hands slid down from her back to cup her ass, drawing her against his erection. She shamelessly ground her body against him, forgetting that they were standing out in the open on a neighborhood road.
Honk!
Knox snarled at the car. His eyes went gold, his fangs descended, and he lifted and turned them without a moment’s hesitation, blocking anyone’s view of her from the road.
“Get a room Manitok!” A female voice shouted from the passing car.
Heat flooded Katherine’s whole body. Someone had seen her practically climbing Knox like a tree. His tongue had been halfway to her tonsils and she was so turned on, she almost considered ignoring her neighbor’s jibe and continuing. Instead, she released her grip on Knox’s hair and pushed against his chest.
He looked down at her and smiled, seemingly not at all disturbed by being discovered. He was staring down at her, his brown eyes flickering with the gold of his wolf. His gaze drifted down her body, appreciating it inch by inch.
She’d had guys ogle her before, especially at the bar, but none of them made her feel giddy and excited. A shiver ran through her, focusing in on her nipples, hardening them beneath her bra and shirt so that they scraped against the fabric and made her suck in a quick breath.
He was about one more kiss from ripping off her clothes and taking her right here on the side of the road.
“No.”
His pupils narrowed and he leaned forward, thrusting his nose into her hair and breathing deeply. He nipped at her earlobe with his teeth and whispered in his ear. “Mine.”
Her whole body trembled. “Yes,” she said. He’d get no argument from her any longer. She wanted him with a passion and desire that terrified and confused her, but she wanted him all the same. She didn’t know what she was doing. The furthest she’d ever gone was letting a guy feel up her boob once on a date. With Knox, she wanted her clothes off as quickly as possible, but at the same time she was worried.
What if she did something wrong?
What if she wasn’t good at sex?
What if he didn’t like what he saw? She had ugly scars. Scars she never let anyone see. What if they made him not want her? Tears rose in her eyes. She wiped them away quickly and tried to pretend it was nothing, but Knox caught her hand and brought her fingertips to his mouth. He licked them.
“Why tears, shuarra?”
“It’s nothing. We need to go before anyone else sees you.”
That comment sobered him some, but he still held onto her tightly. His hand cupping her ass squeezed possessively. “I will have you, shuarra.”
Katherine panted. Her skin was itchy from her clothing. She was warm and wanting and her body felt as though every touch was amplified. Every moment she was next to him added to the pressure building in her abdomen.
What was he doing to her? She’d been fine in bed next to him all night, but now. After that kiss, it was like she’d come alive.
“We need to go.”
“Yes, back to your home.”
“You need to rest.”
A growl rumbled up from Knox’s chest. His eyes turned molten again. His fangs descended in a very vampire-movie-like-fashion.
Gooseflesh rippled across Katherine’s skin. She wasn’t afraid. She was excited. How was she so excited by a man…not a man…an alien werewolf from another planet? It felt like more than just attraction. It felt like an outside force lighting a fire inside her.
“I don’t understand what I feel.”
“It’s the magick, shuarra. You cannot see the soul call. But I can. I can see the light within you, and it calls to me like a moth to the fire. Except I want to be burned by you. I want to bathe in your light and heat.”
“I’ve never—” She started to tell him she was a virgin. That she’d never done this before. That she didn’t have a clue what she was doing. She’d been raised by an old spinster and Harrison. No one had really talked to her about relationships or sex. She’d done some reading. Looked online, but that was only so reliable. And it wasn’t the same as talking to a person. She’d never even brought it up with Tara.
“Never what?”
“I’ve never been with…no one has ever…I—”
Knox’s eyes widened. Katherine saw realization dawn in his brown eyes. The gold brightened for a moment, then melted away. The tension in his arms loosened. He bent down and nuzzled at her neck, taking deep slow breaths.
“I live for you, shuarra. You have no reason to fear. Nothing will happen that you do not desire.”
7
Owen
Tara’s body snuggled closer to his, putting her butt right against his erection. He tightened his arm around her waist, pulling her tight. He kissed along her bare shoulder, nipping just enough to draw a little red to her pale flesh.
“You taste like the sweetest fruit,” he said, moving his hand from her waist and trailing his fingertips up the line of her ribcage and then over to her breast. He took the weight of it in his hand and massaged gently, ending up with his thumb and forefinger pinching the nipple just a little.
Tara hissed and
ground against his cock. “Again?”
“Always.” He could kiss her for hours. All day. Every day. And right now, his body insisted on more. He couldn’t get enough. He wished it was possible to just live inside his mate, forever connected.
Tara made a happy murmur. He didn’t quite catch the words, but the meaning wasn’t lost on him. He released her breast and slid his hand down her waist to her hip to her thigh and lifted her leg, giving him enough room to slide right into her heated core. He groaned and thrust deep.
She moaned, arching into him.
He held her like his life depended on it. It did. Tara was his whole world.
He turned her head so he could kiss her as he drove into her from behind. He pulled out slowly and drove in hard and fast until she was screaming into his mouth and coming like a vice around his cock. He held still for an eternal moment while her body clenched around him like a vice.
Her orgasm retreated. Her body relaxed just enough. He withdrew and drove hard again, pushing her into yet another. Fates he loved this woman more than the air he breathed. Being with her. Inside her. Near her. It was more than he could’ve hoped for. She was his soulmate.
“Owen. Please.”
His name on her lips undid him. He released with a growl that shook the room. Heaven wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how it felt to be inside his mate.
The rest of the cabin was more than aware of their current activities. The walls weren’t thick enough to hide the sounds of fucking from any Reylean.
He didn’t care.
He wasn’t shy, but his mate would prefer more privacy.
In time he would give her that wish, but for right now they shared a cabin with everyone but the dragon and his mate who had moved into the newly completed cabin further from town.
He and Tara had a place with the Tribe. The dragon had accepted them both into their family. The mix-mash of Reylean survivors treated them as if they’d always been there. The women had accepted Tara as one of their own. The men included him in their teasing and joking. Even the dragon was more laid back at times than he’d ever imagined a Li’Vhram could possibly be.
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