Miller’s stance straightened, as if it were possible for the six-foot male to stand any taller. Shadows lined the tense muscles of his arms. He gripped the neck of his shirt and ripped it down, exposing his heart. “I challenge your claim.”
The words ran counter to the action, and Maya frowned as she watched August’s reaction.
He’d shifted his hands to be their clawed and furred lupine counterparts—typical for lupine challenges. Now he placed his clawed hand flat to Miller’s chest, palm to heart, and snarled. The sound, raw and bestial, echoed through Maya’s very bones. Miller gave Maya a quick side-long glance before kneeling before August and declaring, “I fall.”
August approached each of Maya’s cousins, and one after another, the same challenge and defeat repeated. A few of the males smiled when they declared their loss, but most were grim. Pride and honor weren’t just words to wolves. They were tenants of life.
Tears heated in Maya’s eyes. She understood how much they loved her, each of her cousins. They took a public blow to their pride and receded a challenge for the sake of her. For the sake of giving her happiness. She made a vow to make it up to each of them, in some way, even if it took forever.
By the time August reached her, and her protectors knelt in the background, Maya had lost control of her tears. Emotions overwhelmed her, and Reid’s grasp finally released.
“I challenge you,” August said again.
Maya blinked, and realized he’d spoken to Reid. Her jaw dropped, and she turned to watch Reid. Lost in her own world, she hadn’t noticed that her alpha had shifted into his full lupine stance. He was a towering mass of blood-red fur, and his teeth were bared in a sneer.
A deep rumble rose in Reid’s throat, forming a fierce growl.
August didn’t flinch, but he didn’t take a step closer, either. He stared defiantly up at the alpha, and repeated himself, “I challenge you.”
Maya grabbed Reid’s arm beside her, wrapping it in both of her arms and squeezing. “He’s my mate,” she whispered. “He’s mine.”
Reid’s head whipped around to her. His usually blue eyes were dark amber and glowing but registered that same warmth she’d known her entire life. He brushed his free hand through her hair and cupped her chin.
Little one. I do this for your lineage.
Maya trembled as his words shook through her thoughts in the way only an alpha wolf could speak directly to her in her unshifted form, mind to mind, wolf to wolf. She released her grip on him, something about his choice of words calming her panic.
Reid gripped August’s plain black shirt and tore it away before flattening his claws to his chest. Maya looked on as August continued to stare down the alpha.
Then he knelt.
“I fall,” August announced.
“No,” Maya whimpered.
Her word was lost on the breeze as Reid howled his triumph to the watchful moon and his pack.
“Your mate claim is denied,” Reid announced. “But your petition approved.”
Whispers immediately rose behind them. Maya herself stumbled through the confusing proclamation.
Reid took August’s hand and shook it, and then gripped his claws into August’s wrist until blood beaded from the points.
“You are now August Moore of the Fenrison clan, son of the Bronze pack,” Reid announced. In a lower voice he added, “And you are free to court the lupine of your choice, should she accept your advances.”
Chapter Twelve
Normally when a new lupine was accepted into the pack, there would be celebration. The pack didn’t gather around August to welcome him, however. They were ushered away, told to go home. Mostly by Maya’s cousins, but also by Maya’s parents, who had smiled as they cleared the area.
At first, she mistook the action for a rejection, but as August wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her hair, she realized it was for privacy. She lifted her face and threaded her fingers behind his neck as he bent to meet her lips.
His warmth blocked out her thoughts, and as his tongue slid against hers and his hands dug into her hips, he drove away the loneliness that had built up. By the time he pulled away and gazed down at her, the pack center was empty, and they were alone.
“Where do we go?” he asked.
Her mind was blank. She’d heard the question but was too busy watching his full lips form the words. He was too handsome. It really wasn’t fair.
“We can’t mate where your pack holds picnics and family gatherings, Maya,” he teased, rubbing his nose against hers.
Mate. The tiny word sent a flutter through her belly. She understood why Reid had denied August, now. To give her one last chance to make this her choice, rather than make it a pack decree.
She inhaled August’s spicy scent, letting it unfurl in her lungs and spread warmth. It was tempting to take him back to where they’d met, but it was farther than she thought she could move right now. Impatience got the best of her, and she drifted away from him while pulling his arm.
“Follow.”
They hurried to her home on its small hill and then went deeper into the woods beyond. It was tradition for lupine to claim their mates surrounded by nature. Walking while gazing up at August, still harboring tendrils of disbelief that this wasn’t a dream, Maya tripped over something in the dark. He quickly lifted her into his arms and carried her to a spot of moonlight and set her down with a lingering kiss on her temple.
A moment of quiet peace sank between them, but it didn’t last. Urgency took over, the aching need to touch each other and declare their eternal devotion.
Clothing ripped and was strewn about them in a wild haze of lustful touches. They tumbled to the ground, and August’s tongue flicked across Maya’s bare breast. She shivered and released a breath she’d been holding, finally accepting what was to happen.
“I’m ready,” she whispered.
“Not yet.”
“I promise, I’m ready. I can’t wait a moment longer.” She pushed on his shoulders, trying to free herself under the weight of his body on hers.
He groaned and latched his teeth around her tightened nipple, pulling on it gently before releasing it and sitting back on his ankles.
She rolled onto her stomach and he lifted her hips, clearly imbued with his own dose of impatience. He knelt and curled his body over hers, supporting himself with one muscled arm planted to the ground beside hers. As she breathed shaky, anxious breaths, the arm grew rougher and larger, until it was thick and laden with dusky gray fur.
His breath fell heavy on her neck and she closed her eyes as a tremble of anticipation rushed through her, lifting the hairs on her naked skin, and pushing a swell of heat to the apex of her thighs. He’d shifted into his lupine form, their original body that straddled human and wolf.
She tilted her head to one side, draping her hair away to expose her neck. Lupine mating began with the female’s sign of acceptance. First, she gave him her back, then her neck, as proof of her trust in him.
He swept the remaining curls from her neck and licked the skin there. “Are you certain?”
“Yes,” she hissed.
He nibbled the damp flesh as he moved into place, his strong thighs cradling against her shaking legs as the head of his cock found her slick entrance. His clawed hands gripped her hips, ready to hold her in place.
He’d offered to give her more play first, as it was standard to make the female as wet and pliant as possible, but her body was hot with need. She pushed back against him and the tip of him parted her folds and breached her. He vibrated over her, growling with primal pleasure before thrusting his hips and sinking his length into her desperate heat.
She cried out at the quick invasion, the sensation that balanced between sharp and pleasurable. Lupine males were massive, and though she was made to welcome him, the first time was a dizzying torment. Her arms shook to hold her body up as he withdrew somewhat before plunging deeper in, stretching and filling her as her mouth fell open and she moaned into
the night.
Again and again he pulled out and pushed in, until at long last he was fully seated within her. He paused for a moment, and she took deep breaths as she acclimated to the taut pleasure of being penetrated. He moved then, dragging himself in and out, in and out, his slick hardness caressing her sensitive inner walls.
A tumble of bliss surprised her, as if he’d found some magic spot within her that brought immediate release. She gasped and swayed as her body clutched at him, and he continued to thrust deep, his pace becoming quick and relentless. His sac brushed her already sore folds with each full stroke, heightening her pleasure.
Even as she recovered, a new crest formed, ready to explode. She couldn’t think beyond the pleasure. As she sucked in deep breaths, the scent of the forest faded and was replaced by the spice of sex and sweat. Her vision blurred, at first because of how exquisite he felt inside her now that her body had relaxed, and then because he now pounded into her with primal need.
His arm circled her midsection, holding her up as her arms weakened beneath her. His movements slowed but retained the fierce power, shaking her with each deep plunge. His throat rumbled, the sound carrying over her skin like a sensual touch.
“You’ll bear my children,” he growled.
Not a question, but a statement. A rather obvious one, truly, and yet it made her wild. “August—”
“You’re mine forever now,” he said and yanked their bodies together.
Her bottom slapped against his thighs and his cock bottomed out within her, striking her tunnel’s end and bringing a dark shadow to the edges of her vision with a force of it. His knot began to form, driving a moan from her lips as the base of his length swelled and filled her until she was impossibly stretched and trapped against him.
He licked her neck again but this time she flinched. His teeth snapped down, breaking her skin, making her hiss from the sudden pain that gradually ebbed into a keen warmth. This hold would keep them locked together. Between his bite and his knot, she couldn’t escape being filled with his seed—not that she dreamed of wanting to.
His shaft pulsed, and the initial pressure of it set free her climax. She cried out his name as he ground his hips against her, spilling his hot release against her trembling walls. Her body milked him and a keen howl tore from his throat, a triumphant sound that made her smile and nearly laugh with joy.
After a moment he lapped at her neck, cleaning away the slowing blood. As long as she now did her part, the wound would scar and remain as her mating mark, blessed by the ancestors. Lupine always healed wounds perfectly, with few exceptions such as these. She sank beneath him, no longer having the power to remain on her hands. Her hips remained in the air, anchored by his claws dug into her skin, more marks that would symbolize their union. He panted over her, their bodies still locked together.
One of his hands released her hip and trailed along her spine, tickling her. “I know how to keep it in,” he remarked. “Our pack is very successful at breeding.”
She had to swallow a few times before she could croak out a weak, “What?”
“We knot well. Once I pull out, it’ll flood and spill over, but for now, it’s all in you. Trapped. Where it belongs.”
His declaration caused a tremor low in her belly, and she suspected he was right. A child would come of this union. “We aren’t done yet.”
“I’m aware.”
She wriggled against him, his knot decreasing to enable her the movement. He groaned as his cock slid free and his warm seed gushed down her thighs, just as he’d said.
Before she could turn into another position, he entered her again, still hard and ready. “No,” he murmured. “I want you like this again.”
“I have to mark you, too,” she teased.
“Not yet. You know it’s over once you do, and I’ve missed you too much to fuck you any less than a dozen times before you lift a claw.”
“You can do that in any position,” she teased.
He gripped one of her arms and pinned it to her back, applying enough pressure to make his point but not to hurt her. “No. I don’t want any chance of your wolf breaking free until I’ve pumped and filled you to the brim with my cum, over and over, until you can’t even think.”
She chuckled but the sound died as his hips shot forward, his cock now slick with seed and gliding easier. The sensation was different but still every bit as decadent as before. She slumped beneath him, and he held her hips up as he gave her orgasm after orgasm.
The night passed to the sounds of their moans and gasps, and when Maya thought she’d pass out from exertion, August finally rolled her from her knees and onto her side. The change brought the awareness of every sharp twig that had ingrained into her knees, and yet she didn’t care. An amused smile grew on her lips. A weak wolf couldn’t survive August’s mating. She understood now, exactly how strong she was. It was nice to let that strength blossom, no longer hiding beneath a veneer of complacency and awkwardness.
He entered her gently now, her thighs tucked together to the side, her back flat. The position kept him from going too deep and gave her sore parts a much-desired break. Without checking, she knew her hips would already be bright with color, bruised from his possessive grip as he’d mated her—no, bred her. A delighted shiver ran through her. She wanted his children so badly.
“Touch yourself,” he begged, shaking her from her wandering thoughts.
She smiled, drunk on bliss, and her fingers found their way to her clit, slippery with his fluids and hers. He sucked in a breath and exhaled a feral groan.
“Come one more time for me,” he said, voice rough.
She held her breath as her fingers circled the sensitive nub and pressed her other hand to his sweat-slicked chest. As her pleasure came crashing down, she snarled and slashed his chest, surprised at the energy behind the motion. The tart scent of blood filled her nostrils, and she blinked but couldn’t stay awake to see the mark she’d left.
Epilogue
Three weeks later.
Maya rolled over in bed and nuzzled the hefty arm draped at a diagonal across her body. They’d overslept, she could tell without opening her eyes, and yet for once they could afford to sleep in. Neither of them had obligations today, at least not for a few hours.
August’s welcome to the pack had been promptly followed by a slew of duties commanded by Reid, which mostly involved pack activities that were tiresome and time-consuming. Though they were called punishments, however, Maya saw the true purpose.
In the course of weeks, August had become thoroughly immersed in the Bronze pack. He wasn’t just a member, he was a friend. He was family. The pack had learned they could depend on him.
“I’m craving trout,” Maya groaned, rubbing her stomach as it growled at her.
August yawned and pulled her close, placing her bottom against his erection. His hard bulge pulsed against her. “That’s a manageable craving, at least.”
“You’ll take me fishing?”
“Let it wait. Catch it during the run. It’ll taste better.”
She made a sound of agreement and snuggled against his chest. The wolf moon was tonight, and it would be their first run together as an official mated couple. It would also be August’s first run as a pack member.
“We should get up,” he said with a sigh. “Reid wanted to talk to me.”
“He talks to you every day.”
“I’m aware.”
She forced her eyes open and took in the sunlight streaming through the bedroom. She suspected she knew why Reid requested August’s company often. She had an idea from the moment Reid had welcomed him into the pack.
Reid was more than their admired alpha. He had been, until recently, the only living member of the Fenrison clan. It was a family line that was more legend than reality, a bloodline that stemmed from across the ocean, an ancient pack that had originated outside of the States.
Now August was of that clan, and Maya knew it was more than just whim. Reid could
have requested another clan to claim August for the Bronze pack, but he’d done it himself instead. Reid respected August. It wasn’t just any lupine who would challenge a pack for a mate. He’d honored traditions and the alpha when he’d returned to the pack.
And yet, the wild streak was obvious in August. The patience to plan, the resolve to get what he wanted, whether it required force or wit. Reid had claimed August to make sure he’d always be close at hand. Reid wouldn’t have to ride herd on August, but he was perfectly in the position to now.
August buried his nose into Maya’s hair and inhaled. “Fuck, you smell so good. I didn’t realize you’d smell even sweeter while carrying my child.”
She grinned and turned over in the bed to face him. “I thought you said we should get up.”
He gripped her bottom and pulled her against him, nestling his hard length between her thighs. “I’m up. I’m so up it hurts.”
“Later,” she promised. “I need to shower and do everything I’ve been neglecting lately. Laundry, for one.”
He pouted. “I don’t know why you have to wear clothes.”
“Of course you don’t.”
He huffed and rolled from the bed, one hand scraping over his head through the black curls. She watched him dress, admiring the raised row of scars from their mating. Memories of that night assailed her as they often did when gazing on the mark.
Earlier in the year, she’d fantasized of a different male and a much different courtship. That had been an empty dream, however. Reality had turned out like nothing her creative mind could have conjured.
Her life had changed entirely in the past few months. Truly, from the moment she’d met him and onward had been like tumbling downhill or being swept along by a rushing river.
Falling for Shifters: A Limited Edition Autumn Shifters Collection Page 89