by M. L. Briers
“Put me down wolf-“ She started to chuckle again, “Wolf!” she snorted a laugh as he slammed the door behind them and started taking the stairs three at a time until they reached the top, his eyes locating the bedroom. He stalked inside with her, right up to her bed before he foisted her up his shoulder and tossed her down onto the bed.
Nicole squealed as she flew through the air, hitting the bed with an unceremonious double bounce, her arms and legs flaying about her as she shrieked her annoyance, pulling herself up to her elbows, she tossed her hair from her face and glared at him.
“Neanderthal!”
“Get used to it- this Neanderthal is your mate.” He smirked down at her and she snorted out a laugh of disgust.
“Over my dead body.”
Ryan glared down at her- his wolf growling within him for her rejection of them, the female needed to be brought to heel, show some respect for her mate and her Alpha.
The long hard warning growl that rolled through Ryan’s chest had Nicole’s eyes widening as she saw him start to come towards her and she pushed herself up the bed further as he dropped down onto his knees on the mattress, with his hands either side of her body, he started to slowly prowl up over her body and she used her heels to force herself up the bed as far as the headboard would allow her.
“Stay away from me-“ she hissed as a predatory smile stretched his mouth and lit those dark eyes, gaining on his prey inch by inch until his face was above hers, his body running the length of her own and she swallowed hard as he lowered his mouth to her ear, her heartbeat beating out an unnatural rhythm within her chest as he whispered against her ear.
“I won’t take you over your dead body Nicole- I won’t need to- when you sober up I’m going to taste every inch of your skin- I’m going to lick your breasts- suck them into my mouth and run my teeth over the hard nipples until you beg me to touch you here-“ he ran a gentle finger down over the seam of her jeans at her sex and she gasped in a breath- even that delicate touch set her on fire, heat washed through her body as wetness flooded between her thighs.
“And sweetheart I’m going to oblige- I’m going to touch you there with my tongue- licking at your sex until you can’t take any more and then I’m going to slide my fingers into you and let you ride them until you come-“ Nicole closed her eyes and forced her head back into the pillow- her whole body alive with the power of his words- her mind conjuring up the images to go with them as she fisted the covers beneath her.
“Then I’m going to taste your juices- lapping against you- delving my tongue inside you as I work that little nub of yours with my fingers until you come again and then while your body is still clenching with your orgasm I’m going to bury myself deep within you- put your legs over my shoulders and stroke into you with long- hard- deep thrusts that will have you begging for release-“ He ran his tongue up the long vein in her neck from the erratic pulse to her earlobe, his teeth gently biting down into the soft flesh as she moaned and squirmed on the bed beneath him.
“I’m not going to be done with you then- I’m going to put you on your knees and take you hard and deep until you scream with the pleasure that rushes through you and then I’m going to take you over the edge again and again, putting my mark on your neck right here-“ He licked over the soft skin and felt a hard shiver rack through her body. “And when you can’t take anymore- I’m going to spill my seed so deep within you you’ll come just with the force of it hitting your womb.” His lips closed over the pulse in her neck and he sucked hard causing her body to arch towards him as she moaned her desire.
“Do you want me my love?” He breathed against her ear.
“Yes.” The word slipped from her lips without thought or reservation and he growled his need for her, his willpower all but gone as he pressed his body against hers only briefly, collecting her into his arms as he lay on his back and pulled her to his side.
“Sleep now- soon you will be mine.”
Ryan’s willpower was at an all time low after a couple of tortuous hours lying with Nicole in his arms and yet unable to wake her and claim her for his mate- he would not take her while she was intoxicated, he wanted her to be fully compliant in everything he planned to do to her and with her, she was his mate and he would spend a lifetime worshiping her body and sharing his life with her- he could wait a few more hours for the honour of claiming his mate and his damn wolf could whine and prance around as much as it liked- he would not dishonour her.
He had kicked off his shoes and left them long since forgotten at the end of her bed as he padded around her kitchen making coffee in his low slung jeans and faded tee that he had worn to move the god awful wardrobe into her house. It was a monster piece of furniture, but it gave him no problem to shift it around under his own strength- he had meant to give it to her and leave but when she had turned up intoxicated in a damned cab he found his protection gene had kicked in with full force.
The thought of leaving her alone and unprotected when she had no chance of protecting herself was abhorrent to him, but the moment that he had kissed her sweet lips and tasted her mouth- he knew that he would not be leaving her side ever again- not for any length of time- she was a part of him, his soul mate and she would stay within his protection whether she liked it or not from this day forwards.
Ryan raised his arm and lent against the doorframe of the back door, his eyes scanning the darkened woods behind her house for any sign of movement- a sense of habit that he had developed as a youth that would be with him until his dying day- he never expected to find anything- not unless Jake had taken to sulking around her back yard- which wouldn’t actually surprise him, Jake had taken a liking to his mate- he felt the Beta was rooting for her to become his Alpha’s mate and tonight he would get his wish.
The breath of a movement in the far left hand corner caught his eye and he turned his full attention towards that small space, his eyes narrowed to allow his superior vision to take over- he concentrated on stilling his own heart and therefore his own movement that came from the simple act of drawing a breath as he centred himself and stared at that spot- another gentle movement of the foliage had him putting down his coffee mug and reaching for the lock on the back door, snapping it open and pulling the door wide he took a step out into the darkness of the night.
A sound to the right took his attention as he turned his body in preparation of danger as his eyes locked onto the tall frame of his Beta strolling towards him, a smirk on his lips.
‘You old dog-‘ Jake chuckled as he gained ground on his Alpha and Ryan took a long breath and sighed.
“What are you doing here Jake?”Ryan turned his attention back to the top left corner of the garden.
“Came to check why you hadn’t returned from dropping off that ugly excuse for a wardrobe- didn’t know if the lady Fae had you in one of her electric spell things-“ Jake teased, trying to rile his Alpha just a little but when he got no rise out of him he followed Ryan’s gaze into the woods.
‘Problem?’
‘ Not sure yet- there was movement which is why I came out-‘ The gentle crunch of a branch underfoot had them both on alert- Jake was already naked and shifted to wolf form halfway across the garden as Ryan started to strip the clothes from his body.
‘Stay with your mate- protect her-‘ Jake growled as he raced through the foliage, the sound of two sets of paws across the earth causing Ryan to hesitate between protecting Nicole from any potential danger and following his Beta into the chase.
‘What’s happening Jake?’ He growled out, the frustration at not being there was a powerful emotion for both him and his wolf- but he needed to make sure Nicole was safe and right now if he left to give chase, she wouldn’t be.
‘Lycan- not of our pack- gaining on it- damn.’
CHAPTER THREE
Jake lost his footing on the soft earth over the ridge and slid down the steep embankment, his calf muscles protesting under the speed and angle he needed to use to get himself back up the other s
ide and into the chase.
He picked up the Lycan’s scent easily- female- what the hell was a Lycan female from another pack doing on their land, she must have sensed the presence of the markers left by his pack- she should have come and made herself know to the pack Alpha to gain free pass over their territory and yet he hadn’t found her on pack land. Originally she had been on Nicole’s land.
Jake saw the flash of white fur that ran down her back ahead of him and smiled to himself- he had her now, she wouldn’t outrun him over even ground and his wolf was enjoying chasing down this female a little too much for Jake not to smile to himself about it.
‘You done yet?’ Ryan’s anger and frustration wasn’t lost on Jake, hell he wouldn’t have wanted to be standing guard back at his mates house while the chase was going on out here either.
‘ Patience Alpha-‘ Jake mused as he closed the distance on the female ahead of him, his claws churning up the earth beneath his pads as he made a tactical decision and peeled off to the right of her.
The slight outcrop ahead would give him the elevation he needed to be able to not only get a slight advantage on her distance wise- he wouldn’t have to slow as she would through the thick closeness of the tree trunks- but he would be a good eight feet above her by the time she passed him.
‘Jake?’
‘Close brother- so very close.’
He launched himself from the outcrop and took her down easily- wolf on wolf they rolled together across the ground, churning up the underbrush as they went- he heard the snarl a moment before they came to rest, dodging her fangs as they snapped back at him- his own fangs bared as he used his superior bulk against the female to pin her beneath him, his fangs locking down on the soft flesh of her throat and he applied just enough pressure for her to still beneath him.
His loud deep growl of warning could not be misunderstood as he squeezed his jaws tighter over her windpipe until she lay submissive beneath him, the whine that escaped her throat making his wolf’s blood run to fire around him as her scent filled his senses and called to his human blood with the knowledge that he desired nothing more than to take her.
‘Oh Crap.’ Jake let go of her flesh and glared down at her, neither wolf moving as she turned her head to stare up at him- the anger he had seen there washed away by the knowledge that she had a bigger problem than being unable to escape this male.
‘Don’t leave me hanging Jake?’
‘I have her- she’s no threat to you right now- I’ll get back to you if I find out anything different- just stay with Nicole.’
Jake needed to break the bond with his Alpha in order to reach out to this female with his mind- she was not of his pack and he needed to reach her on a different level, he couldn’t do that so easily with his link to Ryan open and he didn’t need his Alpha listening to what he had to say.
‘Do you hear me?’ Jake saw her register the connection by the way her eyes seemed to soften their gaze at him.
‘I do.’
‘Who are you- where is your pack?’ Jake demanded standing over her- her scent reaching out to him and when she moved on the ground nervously he could tell that’s she had felt the connection between them.
‘ I have no pack.’ He heard the low growl in her voice and wondered at it- if she was a lone wolf- a rogue she would be unpredictable, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down right now even if his wolf was eager to accept her submission- Jake knew rogues better than that.
‘Shift to human form.’ Jake took a step back away from her to allow her to shift without being right on top of her.
‘I have no clothes.’ She spat back at him and he growled low and hard at her, in her wolf form she would be more dangerous than if she shifted to human and right now- her modesty was worth less to him than having her fangs embedded in his body.
‘Shift.’ He growled- his eyes locking on hers as he forced the change within her- her form shivering into human as she shook off the forced change from her psyche and pulled herself up onto her hands, her body twisted away from him as she glared up at him, the fire of anger in her eyes would have burned him to a cinder where he stood if she were able.
Jake shifted into his human form and stared down at her, his eyes unable not to take in her beautiful body, the gently muscled tone of her legs, the firm rounded globes of her backside, the gentle twist of her spine as she shielded the feminine parts of herself with her back.
“Name?” Jake demanded as his eyes came to rest of her face- short mousy blonde hair framed a perfect cherub face, sapphire blue eyes glared up at him as the twitch of anger at her full blood red lips had him mesmerised.
“Shay.” She begrudgingly admitted, a moment before her eyes took in the length of his body, making her own appraisal of him and he found himself breathing heavy- less from the chase and more from the touch of her gaze across his skin.
“What were you doing back at that house?” Jake felt the pull towards her- the need within him to just cover her naked body with his own and sink into her- this was not the way he had envisioned meeting his mate.
“Looking for food-“ She offered, her eyes flaring with the lie she gave him and he dropped down to his haunches, reaching out he grasped her chin and kept her eyes on his as he stared down at her.
“Liar. Try again.” Jake demanded and she tugged her chin from his grasp, turning her face away from his, a long sigh leaving her lips as he watched her shrug her shoulders.
“Watching the witch.” She hissed quietly into the silence of the woods as Jakes heart skipped a beat within his chest.
“Why?”
Shay didn’t move, didn’t speak- Jake felt the frustration tare through him, this was his mate and yet she was a threat to his Alpha queen and therefore his pack. He reached out and grasped her arm pulling her around to face him, his other hand grasping her upper arm and he used his strength to drag her up onto her knees in front of him, his eyes locked on hers as he gave her a slight shake.
“Why? What is the witch to you?” He demanded, the low warning growl of his tone informing her that she needed to comply with his questioning.
“She’s a damned witch- isn’t that enough?” Shat spat out with all the venom inside her for Fae- all Fae- any Fae. The hatred evident in her face as she stared up at him.
“Ah, But she’s a good witch and a part of my pack-“ The shocked look on Shay’s face told him all he needed to know about her- she was a hater- probably one of the rogues that took it upon themselves to fight the Fae at their own game. Strike before struck against.
“You’re a hunter.” It wasn’t a question and she nodded her answer as he took a breath and let it out on a sigh. “Then we have a problem-“
“How so?” Shay wrenched her arms from his grasp and he made no effort to keep a hold of her as his eyes took in her nakedness, this time his heart raced for other reasons as he grew hard at the sight of her.
“It would appear that we are mates and yet you want to kill the Alpha’s mate- you can figure out where the problem lies.” He mused and watched her lips twitch with the anger that ran through her.
“I’m no one’s mate- let me go and I will forget about that one witch and move onto the next.” Shay pulled herself to her feet, unashamed of her nakedness in front of him now as he stood before her, his eyes drinking in her beauty.
“You do not want a mate?- Something I said perhaps?” He teased and she snorted back at him, dragging her eyes away from his body to stare at the ground with all the willpower she could manage.
“Perhaps I just don’t find you worthy.” The acidity in her tone didn’t match the flare of amusement in her eyes.
Jake felt the ripple of challenge that engaged his wolf so completely within him, “I took you down didn’t I?” He growled closing the gap between them and growling down at her, the flash of his beast in his eyes as she looked up at him, all emotion gone from her face as she raised one brow at him.
“I don’t go for the kill with my own-“
; “You prefer helpless Fae than to prove your worth with your own kind.” He pushed and saw her tense before him, her eyes firing with anger.
“Fae are not helpless- they kill our kind and you protect them and take them into your pack’s protection- what kind of a Lycan does that?” The anger that ran through her was as deep as her DNA and although he liked the fire that sparked through her, her words challenged him and his beast.
Jake’s hands were on her upper arms in a heartbeat- a moment later her back was against the thick trunk of the nearest tree, his body dwarfing hers as he glared down at her, “You question my loyalty to our people- you question my morals and you refuse to show respect to the beast that bettered you- what kind of Lycan does that make you?” He may not like her very much now but that didn’t stop every fibre in his body from wanting her- taking her.
Shay opened her mouth to berate him some more when his mouth came down on hers, hard and demanding- his tongue demanding entry, she clamped down not allowing him to taste her- the low deep growl that rumbled through his chest set her blood on fire with the need for him and when his hardness pressed against the flat plain of her stomach she gasped in a breath- cursing her Lycan DNA for making her this weak, a weakness she had never know before.
Jake felt her lips open on the gasp and pushed into her mouth, the sweet taste of her sending his mind and heart soaring with the knowledge that this was his mate’s taste, her arousal evident as he scented her juices, imprinting them on his mind and body- glorying in the feel of her against him. His mate.
Shay held on to the last of her willpower, knowing that if she didn’t get away from him now she would never want too, the bond between them would keep her at his side forever, in his arms, in his bed and she couldn’t allow that to happen- her life was elsewhere- her duty to her parents and others that had been slaughtered by the Fae was to important to allow something as medieval as mating to stand in her way.