His place, on the other hand? He was the one people came to when they needed to talk. That and Noah’s well-known depression made their liaisons possible, any time of the day or night.
He clambered over the fallen trees and branches littering the ground, his paws digging into the soft earth and sending him bounding forward. After a few hundred feet, the sound of breaking twigs reached him. Not from in front of him where Hannah made her way through the woods but to the side. Whoever it was, the shifter made no attempt at remaining hidden.
Noah, maybe? Ethan scanned the forest for him. A pair of eyes caught the light of the moon. Not green but amber. The patch of light gray fur on the animal’s snout told him who’d decided to make his presence known—Ron, one of the Tanner protectors. Don, his brother, had a jagged scar over his eye. Ethan didn’t see him but suspected he was close.
Ethan cursed. He didn’t worry the males would try to mate or fuck Hannah. Both were widowed. No, what stirred Ethan’s unease was the knowledge that Michael wanted to know exactly what Ethan did with her.
Regret tugged at him. He shoved it deep. Choices had to be made, and protecting his true mate came first. Everything hinged on her safety, including the future of his pack.
He lifted his lip on a snarl, then dismissed the other male, turning his back on him and pushing forward. Built for speed and dexterity, he closed the distance between him and Hannah in mere seconds. The moment her slim wolf’s body came into view, he calmed. She was safe. He’d make sure she stayed that way.
He kept her in sight and herded her back onto the path he wanted as she strayed in the wrong direction. He could overtake her. He was bigger than her. Faster too. He didn’t, despite capturing her being his goal. Their location mattered more than getting her body under him.
She skidded into the small clearing where he’d first approached her. He made his move, sliding in front of her and cutting her off. She scrambled backward. He circled her, edging closer and closer with each pass. She moved with him, keeping him in sight. No aggression showed in her stance, only a growing interest as she followed his movements. Finally, he bumped against her, nudging her toward the tree where she’d draped her blankets all those months ago. The thick brush and his Adirondack chair offered some privacy from the protectors who watched.
In his wolf form, he rubbed against her and licked her face. She returned his affectionate caresses. He wanted to cuddle with her. Curl up beside her. Play with her. Time was against them. Later, he promised himself.
He gave a sharp tug on the mystical tether to his wolf. The animal retreated, allowing his main form to emerge.
Hannah followed suit. He snaked an arm around her waist and tugged her close. She let out an oomph he swallowed on a hard kiss. Their passion flared. With the power of the moon intensifying everything, his drives swamped him, from ones of lust to love. The need to lock her to him, body and soul, grew with each stroke of his tongue with hers.
He ran his hands over her smooth flesh. A perfect blend of softness and strength—her body fascinated him. He indulged the craving and explored her, mapping her contours and curves. On a groan, he pulled her flush to him, tipped her back and possessed her mouth. All the while, he caressed her. A squeeze to her ass cheeks tore a groan from her throat. He repeated the rough grasp. She whimpered and spread her legs, an invitation he didn’t pass up.
Wetness met his fingertips. He stroked her, using the back of his hand to tease her sensitive flesh. She squirmed and rocked over him.
More kisses, more suggestive strokes, and she clutched at him, digging her nails into his flesh. He smiled against her lips, then tore his mouth from hers. He dragged his parted lips to her breasts and latched on. Licks teased her nipple into a hard bud. He swept his tongue over the point and sucked.
“Oh God. Ethan.” Lust gave her voice a drowsy edge.
He moved to her other breast and repeated the attention. She groaned and grabbed at his head, holding him in place. He obliged her with more deep pulls of his mouth while he slid his hand between her legs. He thrust his middle and ring finger into her and pumped them in and out of her. She lost it. Her orgasm swept over her, shaking her body. He held her upright and fucked her with his fingers, smacking her wet lower lips with every drive.
Before her release eased, he yanked his fingers free, spun her in his embrace, and locked her body to his with an arm around her waist. He took them to the ground, positioning her so it’d be almost impossible to see their groins.
He slipped his dick between her legs, and her arousal bathed the length on its downward stroke. She tilted her hips. The head of his cock breached her opening. One thrust, and he’d fill her. He wanted to take what she offered. He grabbed her hip instead, holding her still for him.
“Tell me what you want, Hannah. A lover or a mate.”
She turned her head. “Both. I want both.”
“I can be both. Your lover. Your mate. Your everything. Tell me you want that.”
She stretched a hand to his throat, curled her fingers around the back of his neck and urged him closer. He obliged her, bending closer.
“I want that. I want you.”
“As your mate. Say it.”
“Yes, yes, I want you as my mate.” She raised her voice. Her conviction rang out, echoing in the quiet of the night.
The words were for Michael, whom Ethan sensed had joined his protectors. Hatred whipped through Ethan. He wanted to put an end to the game Michael had set into motion. The memory of seeing Noah in tears after Mindy’s death stopped him. Ethan would not risk Hannah’s life. Not again. Neither he nor Noah would survive the loss or her.
“Then I claim you as mine. Right here. Right now.”
He tilted his hips and thrust into her before she could respond. She arched. His name echoed around them on her throaty moan. The silken grip of her inner muscles tightened around his thick length, pulling him deeper and threatening his sanity. Her body molded to him. Every inch of his cock experienced her loving caress. The rippling waves dancing over his dick teased him, stimulated him, and took him to heaven.
“Hannah.” He wanted to ask her if she felt the same wonder he did. Their unfortunate company stopped him, but even knowing they were being watched didn’t dim the moment. It only made Ethan more determined to protect his beautiful female.
“Yes, Ethan. Amazing. You feel amazing.” She skimmed her fingers over his thigh.
One stroke of her hand over his heated skin, and everything clicked within him.
His fingertips tingled, and a throb developed in his gums. His primal side rose to the surface. Images flashed before him. All involved Hannah. And Noah. And him.
Instinct seized him. So did an undeniable sense of premonition. He couldn’t let Hannah walk away from him tonight without joining them. The certainty rang true, but it didn’t eliminate the threat to them. He couldn’t mate her. Michael would find a way to use her against him.
The two drives warred within him, leaving him tensed and frustrated.
“Please, Ethan. Move. I need you to fuck me.”
Hannah’s plea echoed in his heart. His wolf, the silent animal he’d fought all his life, gave him a mental nudge. He opened himself to it. No words passed between them. No knowledge did either. Their animal counterparts couldn’t talk to them, but what it did offer him was a feeling of peace and…
Trust.
He had to trust himself, Hannah, and Noah. Hadn’t Ethan thought several times how perfect both of his lovers were and how they matched him as if made specifically for him? They were his gift, and only a fool let happiness slip through his fingers.
“Then that’s what you’ll get, Hannah.” He eased his length out, then slammed forward. “A good hard fuck, but first I want you to feel everything I can give you.”
A hand on her chin, he turned her face to the side. Hannah caught his gaze. Lust and love burned in her eyes.
He cherished the sight for a brief heartbeat before focusing on bringing her to ecstasy. He rolled his hips, stroking her inner muscles, and kissed her, loving her mouth as deeply as he did her body. He wanted her to feel and forget where they were and who watched them.
For a long moment, they kissed and rocked into each other, but the ache in his dick grew along with the firm squeeze of her core on his length. With a hand planted on the ground to support him, he hooked his other over her upper chest, locking her to him.
He gave himself over to the moment, letting his instincts guide him, and loved her with every stroke and rough caress. In and out, he moved, not deeply. He teased the upper more sensitive part of her core. Her breathing shortened the longer he drove into her. His quickened with the building pressure in his balls.
Their pleasures mixed and fed off each other. The sensations whipping through him grew. Every driving thrust intensified them. He savored the silken slide of his length inside her, but the urge to move took over. He needed more than the reverent loving they shared.
He shifted over her, breaking their kiss. Too tall, he couldn’t command her body the way he wanted while their tongues dueled. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and fucked her, shaking her body with every hard drive.
The moment he stopped moving, she’d come and bring his release. His fangs slipped into place, and every fiber of his being burned with the knowledge of what he had to do. There was no fighting it. He brushed his lips back and forth over her shoulder, then opened his mouth and pressed his teeth against her delicate skin.
She sucked in a breath. “Ethan?”
He didn’t give either of them the chance to question what he was doing. He drove his cock deep once more and let go at the same time as he bit. Blood filled his mouth, and the instinct to mate took over. His soul opened to hers. He couldn’t describe it any other way. In one endless heartbeat, they were one. Her purity and light washed over him, exactly as he’d imagined it would, and she welcomed him inside.
He moved through her and left a piece of himself behind. So subtle. So easy. If he pulled back, she’d be joined with him in the one-way mate bond common among shifters. Often called a breeding bond, it allowed the male to impregnate his mate, but it didn’t bind their souls for all time. The danger of taking a piece of a female’s soul was real. Once he did, they’d be soul-bonded, joined in life and death.
A moment of hesitation settled over him. He knew what he had to do, but part of him roared in frustration. He wanted Noah linked to them too. Noah wasn’t with them, though, and Ethan had made Hannah a promise. He would not face another day without her.
He caressed her soul with mental fingers, then curled them, claiming a piece for himself. He greedily clutched it to him, letting her goodness and light seep into him, filling the hole in his soul left behind from when he’d given her a piece of his.
His wolf didn’t fight him. It stood by him as he soul-bonded to Hannah, but the second after their union became permanent, it growled. The reminder not to lick her shoulder, sealing his scent into her and closing the pathway between them, was one he hated getting. Necessary, though.
Michael could not learn that they were soul-bonded. All he’d have to do in order to eliminate Ethan was kill Hannah. The only way to keep the secret was to allow her bite to close on its own…
Without his scent. Without his claim announcing to the world she was his mate.
He tore his mouth from her shoulder and scrambled back, knocking the chair on its side. He had to put distance between them. The sight of the blood on her shoulder squeezed his chest. He wanted to lick the mark, sealing his scent into her skin so all who were close to her would know she was his mate.
Instead, I’m shaming her. Announcing to the world she isn’t good enough, isn’t worthy enough for me to mate, even though I did mate her.
He was an asshole. A goddamn bastard.
He had no choice. Nobody besides him, Noah and Hannah could know the truth. Not yet.
She whipped her head to the side. Confusion tightened her features. Whatever she saw on his face drained the color from hers. She clamped a hand over his mate mark. “What have you done?”
The sound of twigs snapping stopped him from answering. He glanced from her eyes brimming with tears to the stocky male Ethan wanted to kill. Michael approached, brows pinched.
“I’d like to know the same.” Michael motioned toward Hannah. The blood seeping between her fingers proved Ethan hadn’t licked the wound to heal it and lock his scent inside, the last step in a mating. The one that closed their pathway, allowing them to mentally communicate with each other. “I thought you were going to mate little Hannah.”
Anger burned in Ethan’s gut. His mate hated being called little, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
“I tried. My wolf refused her.”
A smile tugged at Michael’s lips. “Too weak. Is that what you’re saying?”
Bile rose, and the sick feeling in his stomach grew, but he forced himself to nod. “Yes, that’s what I’m saying. My wolf would rather never breed than dilute our strength with her.”
“I feared as much. After our chat the other day, I realized you’d never settle for less than a strong mate. I almost intervened when I saw you zero in on Hannah, but figured it was none of my business.” Michael swept his gaze over her. “Was she a good fuck, at least?”
Ethan pushed to his feet. He locked his knees to stop himself from going to her, then glanced at her, looking down at where she huddled on the ground, one hand on her shoulder, the other covering her breasts. A lump formed in his throat. He swallowed past it.
She owns a piece of my soul. I own a piece of hers, and she knows I love her. She’ll understand once she has a chance to think. He hoped, at least.
He motioned toward the night sky. Only seconds remained of the full moon’s magical hour. He’d lost his chance to defeat his enemy. He’d have to wait another month. “The moon’s influence has passed, and I’d rather not admit how much it had swayed me when I scented her arousal.”
Moisture collected on her lashes, and her lip quivered. Real or faked, he couldn’t tell, even with the piece of her soul within him. Her emotions were all over the place. Then again, so were his. They were a damn mess, both of them.
She blinked rapidly. A single tear rolled down her cheek. He watched it drip off her chin and wanted to scream at the heavens for the twist of fate their path had taken. He reached inside himself and wrapped his love around the piece of her soul he held, hoping she understood what he couldn’t say. He didn’t know if he succeeded. Their connection was too new. It wasn’t as if he could talk to her telepathically either since he hadn’t completed their connection.
They were connected, yet alone. Incomplete.
Michael went to her and tugged her up. He scrubbed the back of his hand over her cheek. “Don’t cry, Miss Kagan. It’s unbecoming of a dominant.” He chuckled. “But I guess this proves you’re not one. Your father should’ve let you die, not tried so hard to make a puny thing like you into a worthy shifter.”
Rage twisted Ethan. He took a step forward. He couldn’t let Michael verbally abuse her. It didn’t fit with the image Ethan had built of himself, the one who reached out to people in need.
“Just because I couldn’t mate her doesn’t mean Hannah isn’t worthy.”
“You’re right, and I’m sure her pack will be happy to know they’re getting Nicholas Kagan’s precious little daughter back because”—Michael released Hannah—“you won’t be welcome here. If Noah still wants you as his wife after tonight, you’ll have to live there. I want you nowhere near my people.”
“I do.” Noah stepped from the shadows. “I love Hannah. Nothing that happened tonight will change that.”
Michael raised a brow. “Even watching your friend fuck your true mate?”
Noah sent Ethan a scathi
ng look. “Ethan’s no longer a friend. I’d told him how grateful I was to have found my true mate.”
Ethan shrugged. “If the connection is so important to you, you should’ve waited for her and not mated Mindy.”
A growl rumbled Noah’s chest. “You don’t know what you’re—”
“Enough. Take your wife and get off my pack’s lands. Neither of you are worth anything to me or my pack.” Michael turned his back on both Hannah and Noah, a dismissal and a slap in their faces, then caught Ethan’s gaze. “Don’t give up hope on finding a worthy female. There’s always next month.”
Noah held his hand out to Hannah. She shook her head, sending her black hair whipping around her in a wild mess. “No. Don’t touch me.”
“Hannah, it’s okay. I—”
She shifted into her wolf form, then took off, running full out toward her pack’s lands. Noah followed. Within seconds, he was gone too.
Ethan stared at the spot where his lovers had disappeared. Regret choked him for the hurt he’d caused them. His only comfort came from knowing Noah would know how to save them all. His trip through depression and loneliness had taught him to listen to his instincts when it came to love. He hadn’t given up on Ethan, nor would he let Hannah go.
“Yes.” Ethan faced Michael. “I’m very much looking forward to next month’s activities.”
“Good.” Michael nodded. “I’ll see if I can’t get some other females to join us for our run. There’s got to be some woman out there your wolf will want.”
I’ve already found her, and I’ll spend my life making up for the humiliation I caused her. Eternity if I have to. Because I learned one very important lesson tonight.
Only a fool would give up on happiness. Or love.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The best part of remaining in her wolf form, Hannah decided, was that she couldn’t cry. The pain behind her heartache hadn’t dimmed over the hour she’d spent running from the Tanner pack lands or her mate. Neither did the confusion.
Why did Ethan give her a piece of his soul, take a piece of hers, then refuse to mark her as his mate?
Shared for Love: Kagan Wolves, Book 2 Page 25