To the Edge and Back [The Royal Wolves] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Honor James

  She was scared. She couldn’t pretend that she wasn’t, but he made it better. “When I say that I want forever, Janos, I really do mean that I want forever.”

  “We have a long time to talk about forever. There are things about getting that forever that may have you changing your mind, or not,” he said with a smile. “For now, let’s just enjoy the present and we’ll worry about the tomorrows…tomorrow.”

  “Fair enough, Janos.” She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder again and sighed. “All right, I think that maybe we should get up, clean up our mess, and then go for a walk or do something or I will be napping, and I really don’t need to be napping any more than I have been today.”

  “I’ll take you for a walk around the property and you can get a feel of it, or what can be lit by the lights.” He’d also have to mention and introduce her to the wild Wolves he had as security on the property. “I’ll introduce you to my ‘pets,’” he added with a grin.

  “Oh, I’ve always wanted a pet. What kind do you have? Kittens? Puppies?” He was pretty sure that never in a million years would she dream of it being wild Wolves that he kept as pets, he thought to himself as he listened to her. “All right, I will wash and you can dry, sound fair enough?”

  Getting to his feet, he pulled her up carefully so as to not hurt her more fragile human body. “Sounds fair,” he said with a smile, kissing the end of her nose. Stepping back, he gathered the dishes up onto the large plates and carried everything into the kitchen. “Soap’s under the sink with the stoppers,” he told her. “Everything else you might require is under there, too.”

  Grabbing the soap, stopper, and sponge, she filled the sink and began to wash the plates and cups first, the silverware and pans last. As she washed, she rinsed and placed everything into the strainer. Her eyes watching out the small window, she suddenly turned. “Oh god, what is that?” There was something massive that moved quickly through the shallow light cast by the window.

  Looking up as he picked up a plate, he chuckled. “One of my ‘pets,’” he said softly. “Don’t worry, they are wonderful and very gentle,” he added as he set aside the plate and went to work on the rest.

  A few minutes later, he draped the towel for drying over the railing and looked to her as he put everything away. Her eyes were still glued to the window, searching the dark as he stepped up behind her. “Come on, love, grab your jacket and we’ll head out to meet them.”

  “Are you sure that that they won’t chew me up and spit me out, Janos?” she asked quietly, and when he touched her, she leaned back into his touch and felt better with that one single touch. His large hand a comfort on her back made her nod. “All right, hopefully they will like me enough to allow me to be a part of your life.” Her teasing grin was all he would need to know that she really was doing just that, teasing him.

  Shaking his head, Janos went to the door and waited for her. Eyes glowing in the dark waited patiently for him, for them, to come out and meet them. They knew she was on the property, they even knew who she was, that he was positive of, and they now needed to pass judgment.

  When she rejoined him, he took her hand. “Come on, love, just remember, don’t run,” he whispered with a grin and a wink as he opened the door and led her out into the yard after hitting the low-level lights, enough for her to see but not bright enough to ruin the Wolves’ night vision. Leading her to the center of the patio, he pulled out the bench seat to the table there and straddled it before encouraging her to sit before him. Looking to her, he touched her cheek. “Relax, love,” he said before sending out a low whine to the Wolves.

  She took the seat in the V of his thighs and leaned back against his heat with her eyes closed for a moment before she opened them and looked at the large Wolves coming toward her. “I won’t scream. I won’t run,” she whispered more for her own encouragement than anything else in the world.

  Chapter 24

  “Good girl,” he murmured against her neck as the largest of the Wolves stopped a few steps back from where they were seated. Lowering his head slightly, Janos let out a low growl and the big guy moved closer. He sniffed at Mina slowly before butting his head to her leg once and then a second time more insistently. “He wants you to pet him, love, let him know that you are okay with him.”

  “If he bites me, you have to kiss it and make it better, Janos,” she teased, but her hand reached out shakily toward the large Wolf. Her hand touched his fur slightly and she smiled. “He’s so very soft,” she said with a grin as she leaned back into him. “Tell me about them. Do you look like this?” Her face turned to him, sheer joy in her eyes as she stroked the thick pelt of fur and felt the rumble of the Wolf beneath her.

  “I’ve had them since I bought the land, well”—he chuckled—“not them, but their pack. These are the great-great-great-grandchildren of the original Wolves I brought onto the land.” Reaching out, he scratched the big guy’s ears and then under his chin when he stuck his nose up in the air.

  “Most Wolves are about his size or a bit smaller. Females naturally are smaller than he is. But some of the bloodlines are larger just from being so strong. The purer the bloodline the larger the Wolf. My brothers and I are about his size plus another quarter to half again larger. Our hair color is the same color as our pelts. We’re all fairly dark, but some are a little lighter while Mik is likely the darkest. He’s nearly pure black while Ben is the lightest and sort of a sable brown.”

  “What would I look like?” she asked as her nails scraped and scratched under the chin that was lifted for her. She added, “I think he likes me.” The thumping of the tail was a good clue, as was the twitch of his back leg as she scratched and gave him the petting that he seemed to want.

  “He’s just a big puppy,” Janos said, watching her with a grin. “Another clue that he loves you is his reaction and the sounds he’s making. You’d be the color of your hair if not a little bit darker and very sleek,” he told her, stroking a hand down her spine. When the Wolf growled at him, Janos growled back. “Mine,” he said to the Wolf and held his gaze until he gave ground, reconfirming Janos’s Alpha status of the pack. Shaking his head when Mina went back to scratching him, Janos rolled his eyes. “He’s trying to claim you, and he’s definitely fallen hard for you, Mina.”

  “He can’t have me.” She looked at the Wolf and smiled. “Janos is mine and I am his, mister. I don’t mind petting and scratching you, but you try to growl at him again and I will cut you off, buster.” When he whined, she smiled. “I’m still going to pet you now though. You relented.”

  Grinning, Janos kissed her neck gently and nibbled on her skin. “Just a little longer, love, and then we should do a little walk around. And you still need to meet the others if the big guy would let them come over to get your scent. But he’s being rude and hogging you all to himself,” he said, reaching out to ruffle the fur at the large Wolf’s neck.

  “He will let me meet the others, won’t you?” Her hand moved from the Wolf to Janos’s knee as her other hand stroked and scratched his jaw, and she began to stroke Janos just as she was the Wolf. “All right, I think I’m ready to meet the other ones, Janos.”

  “Ask him,” he said, tipping his head to the large Wolf. “He’s their Alpha and, though he sees me as Alpha, he’s the one that keeps the pack under control and deals with problems. He’ll have to either step back to allow them to come forward to meet you or he’ll chase them off.” Janos had a feeling the big guy would want the others to meet her, but he was acting weird tonight, much too friendly with Janos’s mate.

  “I would like to meet the others of your pack. I want to be able to walk around in my new home and not be afraid. Would you mind terribly letting them meet me?” She felt the intrigue from the Wolf that a little human was speaking to him as prettily as she would another being. In Mina’s mind, he was another being. He was another intelligent soul and was as much if not more humane than many of the people she knew.

  Janos watched as the Wolf stared at
her before shifting his eyes to Janos, who just grinned and shrugged. Letting out a huff of air, the big animal stood and moved to the side to sit. Far enough away to let the others have room to approach one at a time, but close enough to interfere should it be needed.

  Letting out another sound, a low almost keening growl, he signaled the others of the pack. One at a time they approached with their heads bowed slightly but their eyes on Mina as they sniffed her hand and let her pet them before they moved back for the next, one and all shooting Janos a look before lowering their eyes briefly out of respect. All in all there were thirty-two in the pack, not including the big guy, and it did take a little while to get through them all.

  “He certainly isn’t letting them have any of the long petting and scratching he received, is he?” Mina asked as she leaned back against Janos. The feel of his heat at her back and the massive Wolf on her leg was making her sleepy. “I think that since you came into my life in the physical and not dreaming, I have slept more than I have in a year.”

  It was true. She felt safe with Janos, she felt safe and loved, and the combination was what allowed her to let go of her reservist attitude and take a chance at being with him and letting him fully in.

  “He’s feeling a bit possessive, not necessarily a bad thing”—or a good thing. “He’ll get better in time. I think it might just be because he’s had to wait so long for me to bring home a mate.” Rubbing her back gently, he leaned his head against hers and smiled. “Sleep is good for you, love. It will allow you to not be nearly so tense. Too much stress is not good for my mate.”

  Mina laughed and shook her head. “Your mate has been tense and stressed all her life, Janos. It is good to be able to go to sleep whenever I want, however.” Her hand was resting on the alpha’s head, lightly petting him even as her eyes dropped heavily. “But I don’t want to sleep yet, Janos. There is so much yet that I really want to do. I want to be with you and be yours.” Darn it all to H-E-double-hockey-sticks and back again.

  “You will be. We have all the time in the world, love,” he said gently to her as he rubbed his cheek over her hair. “We will get up and go for a little walk with your new friend and then we can go in and get a good night’s sleep before we do anything. You need to be very well rested, love.” He smiled slowly, biting her neck gently before licking at the tiny wound. “Especially for what I have planned for you.”

  The promise in his voice coupled with the small love bite had her shivering from head to toe and made her nod. “I like this plan. I want to see a little of our home before we go to bed and then tomorrow you can show me more in the sunlight. For now I want to view everything by the moon, it makes it all so…” She had never been out on a moonlit night. It was magical, and she loved it. “It’s beautiful, the night.”

  Chuckling, he nodded. “Yes, it is,” he said softly before he eased from behind her and helped her to her feet. “Come on, love, let’s walk,” he suggested, snapping his fingers to get the Wolf to back off a bit so Mina could walk without tripping.

  She moved a little closer to Janos, the possessive attitude of the Wolf slightly disconcerting. “He doesn’t see me as a treat or a meal, does he?” Why she had thought that was beyond her, but stranger things had happened, right? “No one will come onto your property and attack us while out here in the dark, will they?”

  “No and no,” Janos said with a shake of his head. “He’s just protective of you, love. He knows who you are to me and he needs and wants to protect you. And if anyone came onto the property they’d be dead before their second foot hit the ground. Besides, the only morons that might come onto my land at night would be my brothers,” he said in a grumbling tone. “Laz and Kris have the north side and I am in the center with Mik and Ben to the south. We all own about ten acres a piece, give or a take a few feet.”

  “I like that he’s protective of me.” That gave her time to be protective of Janos. “What’s it like being in such a close family, Janos?” Would they approve of her? She hoped so, because regardless of their thoughts about her, she was keeping Janos and planned on being in his life forever.

  “A lot of the time I love it. Other times it annoys the piss out of me. I’m the baby of the family so I get a lot, and I do mean a lot,” he said emphatically, “of unwanted and unsolicited advice. But it’s great to know that they are there for me if I need them.” Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her closer. “I can’t wait for them to meet you. They will love you so much and be absolutely thrilled, too.”

  “How did you know that I was worried about that?” she asked as she looked up at him with a slight frown. “How did you know that I was just wondering how they would feel about me?” Looking up into his eyes, she then grinned. “Are we really that close already?” It amazed her, but somehow, she wasn’t surprised.

  “When you asked, you started to worry your lip. It was easy enough for me to figure out. That and the fact that your scent changed, letting me know you were slightly agitated, another clue,” he told her softly.

  “You don’t need to worry, honey. They will love you. You are my mate and you are absolutely perfect.” He grinned, kissing her temple softly as they continued at a slow pace toward the gardens.

  Stopping, he pointed toward the low-lying greenery. “A miniature maze, the surrounding is all roses of various colors. In the center is a circle of wildflowers and a fountain that comes on with a flick of a switch in the kitchen.”

  “I bet in the summer this is a glorious place and likely smells great.” She could almost imagine it as she looked out across the maze. “I would like to see that when it gets warm. I would like to be able to see the fountain bubbling, smell the roses, and simply lie on a blanket in the middle with you there with me.” She was a romantic at heart, very much of one.

  “We can arrange that,” he assured her with a grin. “The really good thing is that there’s a lot of land between us and everyone else, so clothing is completely optional.” Squeezing her gently, he urged her on to the next portion of the land and the fenced-in pool area.

  “I only have the fence here because of all the hair”—he glared at the Wolf at her side—“that gets left behind and clogs the filter. If they’d just learn it wasn’t for them to swim in, we’d be fine, but they seem to think since it’s part of their land they have a right to it.”

  “Clothing optional? We can do that outside?” She was completely out of her element, she was sure. “I would like to maybe figure out how to do this and keep myself from turning red in a deep blush,” she said grinning and then nodding. “So you have the winter and spring to prepare me for this in the summer. Think you can?”

  Stopping her, he spun her into his arms and kissed her as he bent her back slightly, his mouth moving hungrily over hers. “I’m up for the challenge,” he assured her before kissing her again and again, each deeper and needier than the last.

  She felt her body burning in need for him with each kiss he gave her. The feeling of sleepiness fled and in its place was a hot and burning need. Her leg moved slightly, rubbing up and down his leg even as she wanted to feel more, feel more of his touches and caresses and most definitely more of his kisses.

  Sliding a hand down, Janos cupped her bottom and pulled her tighter to him, rocking against her. Long minutes later he lifted his head just enough to clearly see her whole face. Licking his lips, he felt a breath shudder from his lungs. “We should keep moving or we’ll be giving the Wolves a real show.” And he didn’t plan on having their first time out in the chill of the backyard. He wanted candles for her, gentleness, and slow caresses as they learned one another in reality.

  “I really, really like all of this so far, Janos. Please tell me that we will do more of this when we are inside and away from the watchful eyes of our children?” She had taken the Wolves as her own now, just as she had Janos. “I’m ready to go inside, if you are ready, too?”

  “More than ready,” he assured her, letting her stand up again on her own fe
et. Looking to the big Wolf, he let out a low series of growls and grumbling tones.

  Chapter 25

  Shaking his massive head, the Wolf turned and headed off into the night as Janos urged Mina toward the house. “I promise more of the kissing and more of many other things if you are interested,” he murmured in her ear with a smile.

  “I am very, very interested, Janos.” She touched his hand as they parted and squeezed, holding his hand as they walked toward the house. “Do you need to feed them or will they find their own food?” she asked, somehow not wanting to know the answer to that question.

  “They find their own. A lot of the land is a preserve, so there is other wildlife. I occasionally feed them, but I keep it to a minimum so that they don’t start depending on me to continuously do it,” he said, guiding her up the steps and into the house.

  Closing and locking the door, he shut off the outside houselights and then the indoor ones. “Hang on, sweets, don’t want to lose you in here,” he teased, pulling her close to wrap an arm around her shoulders. He guided her through the house, his night vision letting him see where he was going.

  “How can you see in the…d’oh, all right, never mind. That is a silly question, isn’t it?” she asked with a smile and allowed him to do as he would. “Janos.” She paused then in their opening to their bedroom door. “I’ve never done this before. I’m scared. However, I still want this. I still want to be with you. You won’t stop, even though I have never made love before?”

  Cupping her face in his hands gently, he leaned close so she could see his face. “We will only go as far as you want. If you want me to make love to you fully, completely and make you my mate this night, I won’t stop. If you want me to wait for part of it until another night, that’s fine as well, love. I promise you, I won’t do anything to hurt you and I promise I will be gentle.”