Wild Game (Wilding Pack Wolves 1) - New Adult Paranormal Romance

by Alisa Woods

  “I want you…” She licked her lips between pants. “I want you like this. Always.”

  Always. The word speared through him.

  But he couldn’t have her that way.

  His body shuddered with held-back passion. He pulled back and slammed into her, hard and heart-breaking, because that wasn’t what this could be between them. He’d already told her that. He could give her everything‌—‌his life, his body, his heart‌—‌but not that. Not always. Not a mating.

  He rocketed up the pace, pounding into her. Her head tipped back, breaking that soul-crushing connection between them. She cried out his name, and it bounced off the walls of her bedroom. He had to finish this, stop it before it broke him completely… but even as their bodies moved together, pleasuring and rushing each of them toward release, he already knew it was too late.

  He’d already fallen hard for Nova Wilding.

  And that was a heartbreak there was no recovering from.

  “Owen!” Waves of pleasure washed through Nova, surging higher with every thrust of Owen’s insanely hot body against, and inside, hers.

  He was making love to her, furiously‌—‌her body was so wracked with pleasure, she couldn’t tell if he was suddenly angry or just driven by the same lust-filled haze that had wrapped around her brain. He’d asked her how she wanted him to love her, but as soon as she’d said always, something seemed to unleash inside him. Something that was pounding his gorgeous body into hers in a fit of passion. She couldn’t complain‌—‌all she could do was hold on for the ride.

  He growled into the crook of her neck, nipping small biting kisses that just tormented her‌—‌she wanted the real thing from him. A mating bite. A forever kiss. The thing she’d always dreamed of, that she knew would one day be hers, and yet… she had never pictured it with anyone else before. Never wanted it with a man the way she wanted it from him. Her wolf was practically begging for him, whimpering for more, craving Owen as her alpha.

  Her alpha. She tried to pull back and look him in the eyes, like she had before, but he wouldn’t face her. He just buried his cock in her while hiding his face in her hair.

  “Oh, God, Nova, come for me,” he panted in her ear, tension strung tight in his voice.

  And she was close, so close, but the idea that he didn’t want her, not in that way, was tearing her up inside…

  He pulled back, finally looking her in the eyes again, but his were glazed, even as his cock still worked her body… then his hand dropped to the throbbing nub of her sex, right above where he was sliding in and out of her.

  “I know just what you need,” he whispered, a dead-sexy look of yearning on his face. He gripped her hip with one hand and used the other to shoot lightning strikes of pleasure through her. Then he angled so he could thrust even deeper inside her.

  She shrieked as her orgasm rushed at her, a wave that crashed between her legs and reverberated throughout her body. She bucked against him, riding it, and he kept going… until a roar worked loose from him. He sunk deep, pulsing inside her, then collapsed down on top of her, panting against her shoulder. He stayed there, still coupled with her until he calmed a little, then he withdrew and slumped on the bed.

  Her body felt empty without him. Her heart trembled with the need to know: did this mean something to him? Did he want her the way she wanted him? Or was this just another part of his job? Taking her to bed when she asked? Giving her mind-blowing orgasms when he thought she needed them?

  Owen lay still on the bed next to her, staring at the ceiling. He wasn’t touching her. Her heart clenched, afraid of the answers, but she had to ask. She rolled on her side and placed her hand flat on his still-heaving chest. He closed his eyes, like this caused him some kind of pain.

  That almost stopped her.

  But she was nothing if not stubborn. “I don’t do this.”

  He frowned, eyes still closed, then he opened them and turned to face her. “Don’t do what, darlin’?”

  “Have sex with men.” She held his gaze. “At least, not often.”

  His lips quirked at the corners. He brushed a stray hair away from her face. “You’re damn good at it for being out of practice.”

  She smiled, and his smile in return warmed her soul. Made her brave. “Please tell me it means something to you, Owen. Because… it means something to me.”

  He frowned and edged up on his elbow to face her. Then he cupped her cheek. “You have no idea how much I like hearing that.”

  Her smile grew, although a little uncertainly. That wasn’t quite an answer. “My life has always been clearly laid out for me. My destiny set. When I dated, which wasn’t often, I only went out with men outside the pack, and mostly humans, at that. Because I knew it would never amount to anything… that I would be mating with someone from inside my father’s pack when the time came. It would, by default, be someone he approved of and who could carry on the company… but the decision of which wolf would be solely up to me. I kept waiting for the choice to become clear. For some surge of interest from my wolf, like mates are supposed to have. Then I would know which wolf was my destined mate. But I never… I’ve never felt this way‌—‌the way I feel about you‌—‌about any of them. Ever.”

  She was telling him her heart, but with every word, his expression just grew darker. She didn’t understand it.

  “Nova, I already told you…” His frown twisted into some kind of pained look. “I can’t have a mate. It’s not that I don’t want to‌—‌I can’t.” He dropped his gaze to the sheets between them, clenching and unclenching them in his fist. “Besides, any number of wolves in your pack would kill to have you. I’m sure there’s one that your wolf will fall for, eventually.” He looked up. “Although honestly, I want to punch Brad in the face every time he touches you. Do me a favor‌—‌if you’re gonna pick him, wait until after I’m gone.” He winced a little, like this was already causing him pain.

  She forced him to look her in the eye. “Don’t you see? That’s what I’m telling you‌—‌I’ve never wanted Brad. I don’t want him now, especially not since I’ve been with you. I just never realized before how it could be with someone, not until I met you. It was like being lost in a store full of lemons and wondering why you never thought they were sweet.” She drew a finger across his cheek and then his lips.

  He groaned, reached for her, and pulled her into a hot kiss. She gave herself over to it, and her heart soared. She wanted to make love to this man again and again, always, just like she said.

  But he broke their kiss and pushed her back with another groan that sounded painful. “It doesn’t matter what I want,” he said, the pain seeping into his voice. “And it doesn’t matter what you want, either. The fact is all those experiments left me damaged, Nova. I can’t shift. Or at least, I shouldn’t. I don’t even think I’m a wolf anymore‌—‌I’ve been turned into something else. I don’t know what, and I can’t risk finding out. You weren’t there, in the prison with the cages and the serums and the experiments. They did things to us that… I don’t even know what they were. But they were creating monsters, some kind of hybrid shifter creatures, and I think they at least partially succeeded with me. I don’t even want to know what I am. As far as I’m concerned, they killed my wolf, and I don’t want to know what they created in its place.”

  Her heart was breaking as she listened to him spill all of it. “But there has to be a way‌—‌”

  “There’s not.” His expression turned hard. “The shifters who were changed into something else… it was bad. Not only were their beasts damn ugly to look at‌—‌some kind of weird mixture of creatures‌—‌but shifting into that abomination was a one-time thing. They literally couldn’t shift back because… well… they were a mess. If I take that risk, it’ll probably be the last thing I do.”

  Her chest carved out, hurting for him. She just shook her head, not sure what to say. “I’m so sorry.” She touched a hand to his face again.

  He held her fingers t
rapped against his cheek, closing his eyes and leaning into her. “Nova, I swear to God, you’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. And I want you more than life itself.” He opened his eyes. “But the truth is I can’t give you the things that even an asshole like Brad can. And if all we have together is a short time, then that’s what it is. That’s what it has to be. And when we’re done, you can go on and have that destiny you’ve waited for your whole life.”

  She had no idea what to do with that. He was basically telling her this was just a fling‌—‌but not because he wanted it that way, only because he wouldn’t deny her the things that would come with a mate. She sat there, staring at him, her heart breaking and uncertain at the same time.

  He shook his head sadly. “Or maybe it’s better if we just stop now.” He moved away from her on the bed, and she reached out to grab at him, to stop him, without even thinking.

  “No!” She tugged him back, and he didn’t resist. The pain etched on his face made her want to love him all over again, just to wipe that expression away. “I don’t know how we can make this work, not exactly, but there’s one thing I know for sure‌—‌there’s no way in hell you’re sleeping on the couch.”

  A small smile bloomed on this face… then he gave a small chuckle and leaned into her, snuggling into the crook of her neck. “I can’t make any guarantees about how much sleep you’ll get if I stay.”

  Her body responded to his nearness instantly. She dug her hands into his hair and ran them along the hard muscles of his shoulders. “I think you know just what I need,” she whispered.

  He growled, and there was nothing humorous about it, just dead-on sexiness. His hands skimmed over her, and his mouth nipped at her flesh. She couldn’t believe the surge of happiness that caused her. Her wolf yipped, ready for whatever loving he had to give. She could love this man for a hundred years and never have enough.

  And then it came to her in a sudden flash of clarity. Even without mating, even without submission, with absolutely no magical bond of any kind tying her to him, just the ordinary love that a man and a woman could share, this thing she had with Owen… it was already the best and most powerful and most thrilling thing she had ever experienced. If this was all that Owen Harding could offer her, it already beat the hell out everything she’d ever had before.

  She didn’t care about mating, not at that moment‌—‌not ever, if it meant giving him up. But being with Owen would cost more than just having a mate. How could she choose between her own happiness and her father’s company? Her company. How could she let it all fall apart just because she was falling in love with the wrong man? The stubborn part inside her refused to believe there wasn’t a solution to this problem… but she couldn’t see it, not at this moment with Owen’s hands caressing her breasts and moving lower, wrenching pleasure out of her.

  She just needed a little more time.

  Once the beta was released, once the threat of the hate group was gone, once Owen wasn’t trapped living with her… then they could figure out how to solve this problem. And if Owen still wanted her then, she would give up on having a mate. She would give up having pups, too, because that was part of it‌—‌there would be no magical bond between them to make their pups strong. In fact, she couldn’t have children with him at all, not if he was genetically manipulated the way he was saying. But she would give all that up to be with him, if they could just find a way to keep Wylderide afloat. When this was all over, she was determined to find a way to have both‌—‌the man she loved and the company that was her father’s legacy.

  Filled with that hope, she gave herself over to Owen and his increasingly urgent attentions. There was a way out of this, she just knew it.

  All she needed was a little more time to figure it out.

  The next morning Nova was exhausted… and had never been happier in her life.

  She and Owen were stumbling in late to the office. They’d showered the endless sex off their bodies and dressed like they normally would‌—‌him in a dress shirt and jacket, her in one of the costumes from AfterPulse‌—‌and they vowed to act completely normal. Not at all like Owen had given her more orgasms in one night than she’d had in the last year.

  But the glow must have been evident on her face, judging by the copious amounts of whispering happening behind cupped hands‌—‌and she wasn’t even halfway across the office. When she and Owen reached her office door, she cringed.

  Brad was waiting for her. “Sleep in late?” he asked stiffly. Then he narrowed his eyes, flicked a look from her to Owen, and started grinding his teeth, if the way his jaw muscles were working was any indication.

  “We don’t exactly punch a clock around here.” She let the annoyance drip from her voice, but when she glanced back at Owen, she felt the blood drain from her face. His look of smug satisfaction was unmistakable. If she didn’t already know they’d spent the whole night in bed together, that look alone blared it out to everyone in the office. Her tight-lipped disapproval only made him smirk more… but it was really all for Brad.

  She turned back to him.

  “Well.” Brad’s voice could freeze a waterfall in place. “While you were enjoying time in your bed, the rest of us were working hard to make sure the beta will be ready for release in two days.”

  She scowled at him. “AfterPulse has been tested endlessly. It’s ready to ship now.”

  He arched one brow. “If you’d been in this morning, you’d know that’s not exactly true. We’ve found a glitch that aborts gameplay halfway through when playing a certain combination of players.”

  “What?” She leaned back. “How is that possible? We’ve tested‌—‌”

  Brad coolly held out his hands. “I’m just the messenger. The lead development team’s been brainstorming workarounds. They want to meet with you in the design room.” He sent a chilly look to Owen, who had already taken his normal seat outside her office. “That is, if you’re ready to get back to work.”

  Something was completely off about this. Either Brad was sabotaging the launch intentionally, or they’d somehow missed a major operational failure mode. One that really shouldn’t happen.

  “Of course I’m ready to work,” she snapped at him. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

  Brad swept his hand out, gesturing down the hall toward the design room‌—‌it was a war room of sorts where they gathered with the coders to brainstorm solutions to unexpected gameplay problems.

  Owen rose up to follow.

  Brad glared at him. “It’s the design room. I think she’ll be safe.”

  The last thing she wanted was Owen’s presence in the middle of a design review‌—‌those sessions were heated as it was, and she could tell the two of them were ready to brawl at the slightest provocation.

  She waved Owen back into his seat. “I’ll check back when I’m done.” She gave Brad a pinched look. “I doubt this is anything serious. I won’t be long.”

  He just tipped his head for her to go first.

  Nova marched toward the design room, leaving a fairly pissed-off looking Owen behind. She’d have to figure out a way to keep them from killing each other while she sorted out this newfound relationship with Owen‌—‌for now, she would just have to keep them apart.

  When she and Brad reached the design room, the lights were off. She strode in and waved her hand at the motion-activated controls, looking around at the empty room in confusion. Brad followed her in and closed the door behind him.

  What the hell? “So… I take it there’s actually not a problem with the game.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s this really about?”

  His lips pressed into a straight line as he covered the distance between them in three long strides. He loomed over her.

  “You’re losing your way, Nova.” His voice had a hard edge to it.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” A flutter of panic rose up in her throat. Brad would never hurt her, but something was up… and she didn�
��t like it.

  “You’re distracted. It’s not just your father’s death. Or the attack. It’s this bodyguard… he’s no good for you.”

  Her face flamed. “I’ve already told you, that’s none of your business.”

  His hard expression didn’t change. “Oh, but it is. And you know it. What’s more, the rest of the pack knows it, too.”

  Her heart fluttered again. The rest of the pack? “What do you mean?”

  Brad stepped closer. “They’ve seen the way you look at him. The way you’ve brought him into your apartment. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out you two are fucking each other’s brains out‌—‌”

  “Fuck you!” She jabbed a finger at him. “You don’t get to tell me‌—‌”

  “No,” he cut her off, his dark eyes glittering. “I don’t get to tell you how to run your life. But I told you already‌—‌the pack won’t wait forever for you to pick a mate. And now that it looks like you have… only he’s not one of us…”

  Her eyes went wide. “What are you saying?”

  He nodded, knowingly. “There’s talk‌—‌lots of talk‌—‌of leaving Wylderide. Lead developers, head coders, all the key players. They’re talking about taking the game engine with them and rebuilding on their own.”

  “What? They can’t… they wouldn’t…” She was sputtering with disbelief. “You have to stop them!”

  “With what, exactly?” His expression grew harsh. “Promises that you’ll pick one of them eventually? Or me? They’ve seen us fighting, Nova. And to be honest… there’s not much reason for me to stay, either.”

  Her mouth ran dry. Everything was falling apart. If Brad took the lead staff… they’d never get the game out the door. And even if they did, there would be no support. Wylderide would implode, collapsing due to a talent drain from within.

  “Brad… no…” Tears had jumped to her eyes. Ruined. All of it, ruined. She couldn’t hold her father’s company together for even a month after his death.