by Sophie Stern
In fact, the longer I watch the battle, the more I start to think it’s every wolf for themselves out there. They nip and bite and scratch at each other so quickly that I struggle to follow what’s happening.
And then Tessa starts looking bad. The red on her fur spreads, and Lex claws at her neck. Suddenly, she stops fighting. Lex turns to Nash and snaps at him, then tries to go for his throat, too. Nash darts out of the way and they tumble again.
Lex and Nash are going at it when Tessa begins to wobble on all fours, then she falls and shifts back to her human form. A couple of pack members run to her and pull her from the fighting area. I can already tell her wounds are fatal and as evil as she might be, I hope the wolves are able to make her last few minutes as bearable as possible.
I can’t watch her right now, though. I turn back to Nash and Lex, anxious to see what happens. They’re fighting and snarling, rolling around on each other. Somehow, Nash manages to pin Lex and bites him. Lex protests loudly, shrieking and howling. The sound of a wounded animal shoots to my heart, killing me.
This is it.
This is the end.
For a brief moment, I wonder if Nash will show him mercy, but I know that’s not an option right now. This was a fight to the death and everyone knows it. If the Alpha can’t even end a fight correctly, how will he run a pack?
“Go in peace, my brother,” Ryder whispers the words, but they hang in the air as I look away. I could barely stand to watch him fight. I can’t watch him kill Lex.
Ryder wraps his arms around me and holds me tight until it’s done, then he lets go.
“Go to him,” Ryder says. “Nash is going to need you.”
Eleven
Nash
The fight is over almost as quickly as it began, and Red is back in my arms. I hold her close, ignoring the way the other wolves are carefully moving the bodies of our two pack members.
I killed them.
I killed two wolves.
And I’d do it all again in a heartbeat if I had to.
“You,” I say to Aunt Germaine, who is hovering around, making sure I’m all right. “Find old Thomas.”
“I’m right here,” Thomas says, shuffling forward. The old wolf is, in fact, pretty fucking old, but he’s in good shape for his age. As a wolf he’s still sprightly and lean. As a man, he’s a bit slower, but still has remnants of the strong, youthful wolf he once was.
“I want to mate Red.”
“Nothing’s stopping you, son.”
“No. I want to be mated to her. Now. Today. I want our mating ceremony now. Can you do it?”
“Of course I can,” Thomas looks pleased.
“But her dress!” Aunt Germaine protests.
“I think we’ve spent long enough worrying about a stupid piece of fabric,” I say. “I don’t want to do anything else before I know Red is mated to me for the rest of our lives.”
“Hey,” she protests lightly, but I can tell she doesn’t really mean to argue.
“Baby, I need you. I love you. You scared the hell out of me when you ran.”
“I know,” she admits, tears streaming down her face. “I scared me, too. I’m sorry, Nash. I’ll never run again. Ever. Not from you.”
I grab her and pull her close, kissing her deeply, then turn back to Thomas.
“Now.”
“Very well, very well.” Thomas doesn’t waste time with fancy words. Instead, he simply gives us the chance to say our vows to one another.
In a few days, Red and I can head to town and worry about getting a human marriage certificate, but the vows we make as shifters will be legally recognized in the meantime. Shifters aren’t required to go through the human process of marriage licenses, but I’ll do it for Red. She worked in a legal office before running into the woods and falling in love with the likes of me, so she knows the importance of having as much legal paperwork completed as possible.
“Nash,” Thomas says, forgoing the use of my title Alpha. In a mating ceremony, Thomas is the highest ranking shifter: not the Alpha. As the spiritual leader of the pack, he’s the one who says whether or not we’re able to wed. He’s the one who decides whether or not Red and I can devote our lives to one another. Of course, if Thomas refused to let us go through the mating ritual, I could always have him excommunicated, but he’s been in The Silent Canines even longer than I have and I trust him completely.
I take Red’s hands and we stand facing each other in front of Thomas. A small crowd gathers to watch. Some of the pack has already gone inside and a few are cleaning up the bodies, but for the most part, the shifters want to see this.
It’s not every day an Alpha gets mated, after all.
“Yes, Wise One?”
“Do you give yourself to Scarlett of the humans of your own free will?”
“I do, Wise One.”
“Scarlett?”
“Yes, Wise One?” She repeats my words even though I know she doesn’t really know what to expect or what to say.
“Do you give yourself to Nash of The Silent Canines of your own free will?”
“I do,” she blushes, then adds, “Wise One.”
“Nash,” Thomas’ eyes go soft. “Your vows, my son.”
This is the part where I promise to love her. This is the part where I tell her everything is going to be okay. This is the part where I promise that no matter what happens, we’ll always have each other.
When I look at Red, my heart swells. She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. She’s sweet and kind and generous and brave, but suddenly, I’m choked up and I can’t say the words I long to. I close my eyes for a moment and squeeze her hands, but she pulls away from my grip and I feel her hand on my cheek.
“It’s okay,” she whispers. “Take your time, baby.”
And then I know exactly what I need to say.
“Scarlett, I promise to love you. I promise to be kind to you. I promise to care for you as I do for my pack. The road will not be easy, but I will be with you every step of the way. You make me feel like I can conquer any kingdom, win any battle. You give me the strength I need to lead, to protect, and to care for my pack. You are my mate, Scarlett. To you I will be true.”
“Scarlett,” Thomas says. “Your vows, my daughter.”
Red doesn’t hesitate. I don’t know if she’s been thinking about what she might say or if she’s just so filled with emotion that it’s easy to find the words, but she begins to speak in her sweet voice and my heart feels full.
“Nash, I promise to love you. You are my one and only. When the road gets dark, I will be your light. When you feel alone, I will be your friend. When you start to wander, I will be your anchor. You give me the strength I need to keep going when I feel like the world is caving in. You are my mate, Nash. To you I will be true.”
“Very well,” Thomas says, then looks at Scarlett. “Have you been told about the blood ritual?”
She nods and bares her throat. We don’t need much. Just a small amount of blood to seal our promises and Scarlett will be my mate forever.
“I’ll be quick,” I promise.
“I trust you.”
Shifting only my hand, I bare my claws and cut a small, one-inch wound on her neck. Scarlett hisses, but holds still, and I shift my hand back.
“Blood of my mate,” I whisper. “I take thee.” Then I lick the blood.
“My turn,” Scarlett whispers, and Thomas hands her a small knife since she doesn’t have claws to cut me with. I bare my neck to Scarlett and she moves forward. She cuts me and while it hurts, I can tell she’s trying to be gentle. Besides, it’s still nothing compared to the battle wounds covering my body from my recent fight.
Carefully, she licks up the blood the pours from my neck, then she whispers the words.
“Blood of my mate, I take thee.”
“United as one,” Thomas says. “May you be mated forevermore.”
A cheer shoots through the crowd. The shifters are hollering and laughing, happy their Alpha is finally
one with his bride. I’m happy. I’m fucking thrilled. Red is mine. I grab her and pull her close, kissing her for the first time as a mated couple. This is it: we’re together forever. Red and I are one.
Nothing can tear us apart now.
I see Thorn moving through the crowd and he smiles and nods.
“Just one more thing,” he holds up the tattoo gun and I turn to Red.
“Ready?” I ask.
“Ready.”
***
“It looks good,” Red says, looking at her new tattoo. She twists her hand around, looking at it from different angles. “It still hurts, but I like it.”
“Mine too,” I tell her, admiring the way our skin matches now. She chose to get hers on her wrist. Mine is on my left shoulder.
“Are you glad we went with something custom instead of just getting regular rings tattooed on?”
“Of course.” Somehow, after all we’ve been through, getting regular ring tattoos seemed wrong. Thorn was able to design something perfect for us that we’ll be able to show off for the rest of our lives. “You look beautiful with yours.”
Red and I have the pack’s initials – SC – and the outline of a howling woof. It’s appropriate, I think, considering how much of an impact the pack has had on our relationship and our lives. We both love it, though, and that’s the important thing.
“Thorn does good work. I had no idea he was a tattooist.”
“He’s full of surprises,” I murmur.
“He doesn’t have a mating tattoo though,” she says. Mating tattoos are different from regular ones. Thorn used a special ink that won’t just show up on my skin now, in human form. It also shows up when I shift. It’s one way wolves can tell another is mated even when in shifter form. The tattoo will speak for itself. There will never be any question about the fact that I am mated for life.
I’m spoken for.
“That’s a story for another day.” Honestly, it’s not my story to tell. Thorn has his reasons for not being mated. Part of me thinks he’ll come around someday, but that day won’t be for awhile. He’s been hurt in the past and he’s seen a lot during his 30 or so odd years. Finding a mate is hard enough as a human. Learning to love someone who can handle a shifter – and all it entails – is even tougher. Thorn might be single forever, but something tells me there’s someone out there for him.
Red raises an eyebrow, silently letting me know we’re going to come back to this. As much as I want to tease my mate, though, and as much as I want to be playful, there are a few things we need to talk about before we can celebrate our mating ceremony.
“Tell me about this note,” I whisper, picking up the folded piece of paper she left on the table. The note doesn’t make me want to run. It doesn’t make me want to cry. It doesn’t break my heart that she left. It breaks my heart she felt there was no other choice.
“I…” Red suddenly looks devastated as she stares at the note. Moving swiftly, I pull her in for a deep kiss, then I lead her to a chair. I sit and pull her so she’s on my lap. She has no choice but to stay put for me while we talk. Her side is to my front and I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close.
Red automatically leans her head on my shoulder in a gesture of comfort and acceptance. Yeah, this is where my baby belongs. She belongs right here with me.
“I don’t care that you ran, baby. I care that you ran without talking to me about it.”
“I thought you’d be better off without me,” Red admits, her voice scared and shaking.
“You know that’s not true.”
“I know, but I doubted that I was good enough for you, Nash.”
“Because you’re human?”
She nods and I can smell the tears running down her cheeks without even having to see them.
“I’m human and I’m just…I don’t look like the wolf females here, Nash. I’m different.”
“I like you different,” I kiss her hair and stroke her back softly.
“I’m curvy.”
“I like your soft curves.”
“I’m fussy.”
“I’ll kiss away that fussiness,” I murmur, kissing her forehead.
“Nash! This is serious.”
“And I’m seriously in love with you, Scarlett.”
Her whole body relaxes as I hold her, but there’s still more to be said.
“Baby, you can’t run again.”
“I know.”
“There are going to be lots of times when you feel like you aren’t good enough. There will be wolves who want to destroy us, wolves who want to tear us apart. There will be humans, too. People will say nasty things to pit us against each other, but we can’t let them win.”
“You’re right, Nash. You’re totally right.” Red nuzzles her cheek to my chest and it’s all I can do not to throw her on the bed and ravish her right now, but we need to finish this first.
“What happened when you left?”
“I ran until the rain started, then I hid in a cave.”
“Scarlett! There could have been predators in there.”
“You’re a predator,” she points out. “Besides, it’s better than getting pneumonia from the cold rain.”
“What happened next?”
“I just started thinking, Nash, about all we’ve been through. I thought about how you kept me safe after my grandmother died. I thought about how you took care of me when I had no one else. I thought about how you confided in me about Elise’s death.”
Red sits very still. Her head is still on my shoulder and I’m still stroking her back, but she lifts her wrist and holds it to me.
“With this mark, I promise to be yours forever, Nash. I won’t run again. When I was in that cave, I realized that I might not be a wolf, but I love you more than anyone else ever will.”
“I love you too, baby.”
“I know things will be tough for us, Nash, but I want to try. I want to have a family with you. I want to raise our babies with you. I want to have adventures with you. I want to fucking grow old with you.”
“I want that, too, Red. Forever, baby.”
“Forever,” she murmurs. “I’m sorry I ran.”
“That’s okay,” I grin, picking her up and carrying her to the bed. “Now I get to punish you.”
“What?” She squeals, and I just laugh.
Twelve
Red
“A punishment?” The words come out in a squeak.
“Oh, yes. I think that’s fair. Don’t you?” Nash crawls up on the bad and I scurry back until I hit the headboard, but he just chuckles and keeps coming toward me. He grabs my legs and yanks me toward him, then flips me onto my belly.
“No, no, no,” I protest. “I don’t think that’s fair.”
“No?” He pulls my pants down in one quick yank, taking my underwear with them. My pants are gathered around my knees now, but my bottom is on full display and I’m more than a little curious about what Nash plans to do now.
“No. I don’t think I need a punishment. I mean, we talked about it already. Forgive and forget, right?” I chuckle, but then Nash’s hand comes down hard on my backside and I squeak in surprise.
“But punishments are so much fun,” he murmurs.
“Your hand is too big.”
“All the better to spank you with,” he growls, and swats me a few more times. His hand comes down hard and soon my butt is warm. I imagine my soft, pale skin is now bright pink, but I don’t ask. I’m not sure if I want to know.
“It hurts,” I whisper, still feigning protest, but the truth is that the warm swats are settling between my legs. The warmth he’s offering is spreading across my skin and I want more.
Nash has never been like this in bed before and I want to find out what happens next.
“Do you know how wolves like to fuck their mates, Red?”
“How?”
Nash doesn’t answer me with his words. Instead, he drags a finger through my pussy lips which are soaking wet, betraying my words. He
doesn’t stop touching me, though. He brings his finger higher, further back, between my bottom cheeks.
Then he slips a finger inside.
“Nash!” I squeak, but he begins to massage my bottom, kneading my cheeks, and I immediately relax into the bed. What is he doing to me? I can imagine what he wants to do, but that’s not what I was expecting him to do. I thought he’d jokingly swat my ass, then flip me over and make love to me.
I didn’t expect this raw, dirty side of him tonight.
“When two shifters mate,” he reaches up and rips my shirt off, tearing the fabric in half. “Their first time together as a mated couple is like this. We’re all just animals at heart, Red. Even humans are.” His nails slide down my spine and then I feel them sharpen. Did he shift his hands? My suspicions are confirmed a moment later when I feel his fur brush against my back.
This doesn’t frighten me, though. Somehow, it makes me even more wanton and push backwards, into his hands.
I feel his hands morph back to normal and he peels my pants and panties the rest of the way off. Now I’m naked, save for my torn shirt and bra that are still pressed between my stomach and the bed.
“What happens next? Once the groom has spanked his beautiful bride, I mean.” My words come out thick, heavy. I want his cock in me now. I don’t want to wait any longer. Images of wolves mating their darling brides fill my head and I realize the rest of the pack knows exactly how Nash is fucking me right now.
That doesn’t bother me as much as it should. Somehow, it feels right that they know. It makes me feel wanton and a little bit naughty as I wiggle my ass on the bed, waiting for Nash to take his prize.
He moves up and uses his knee to spread my legs.
“I’m going to fuck you here,” he says, running his finger along my asshole once more.
“What?” I squeak. I thought he was going to fuck me from behind. “You won’t fit.”
Nash only chuckles and positions himself over me. He leans down and swipes his tongue over my skin. I moan with pleasure, wanting more, needing more. I haven’t come yet and despite the fact that I’m a little nervous about anal, I’m also a little excited.