Dark and Dangerous: Six-in-One Hot Paranormal Romances

by Jennifer Ashley

  As he reached across her, Arianna shrank back against the seat. With a heavy sigh, he opened her door.

  Her insides knotted. She hated hurting him. Why couldn’t she let him close enough to kiss her? Why did she have to be so damned scared?

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. Arianna jumped down, rumpled coat in her shaking hands. And then she noticed Aiden standing on the porch. Oh, joy. The pack alpha must have seen.

  Heart rising to her throat, she waited as Aiden climbed down the steps. Black-bearded, his shoulder-length black hair tousled as if he’d run a hand through it, the alpha stood over six feet tall. He could strong-arm everyone in the pack, but ruled through respect, not intimidation.

  “You disobeyed Kyle’s orders,” he rumbled in a deep voice.

  “I had a good reason.”

  “Do you know how worried we were about you?”

  Throat dry, she stared miserably at the ground.

  Aiden squeezed her shoulder. “We’ll talk in the morning. Go upstairs, get some rest.”

  “In the lodge?” She swallowed hard. “I thought it was too dangerous for me to be around other males.”

  “It is, but that’s the least of my concerns right now. Take Beth’s old room. It’s one floor above the single males.”

  Uncertain, she looked backward at Kyle, who nodded.

  “You’ll be safe, little pint. No one will try anything with you. They’re too scared of what I’ll do.”

  “Can you do the same to Tristan?” she asked. “Because there’s a guy who really needs to dial down his thermostat.”

  Aiden shot Kyle an inscrutable look, but Kyle gave her another reassuring smile. Not like earlier when he’d stared at her as if he wanted to pin her to the ground, spread her legs open and mount her...

  “I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he said quietly.

  Kyle touched his hat’s brim in a quick salute. She clutched her jacket and mounted the steps, knowing he and Aiden watched her every move.

  She had absolutely no idea how much she tempted a male.

  Upstairs in his room, Kyle headed for his private bathroom. Aiden wanted a briefing in his study in ten minutes. First, he had to attend to the business at hand, so to speak.

  He closed the bathroom door behind him.

  Why had she asked about her ass? Arianna was beautiful. Delicious. Filled with lovely female curves. And her ass, her lovely, plump ass...

  As a virile Lupine, his wolf savored the idea of bending her over and thrusting hard into her soft, wet heat, slapping against her soft, sweet ass.

  A fierce possessiveness filled him as he imagined being her first lover. Darius had tried. Oh yeah, he’d tried, but failed when Arianna’s primitive fear had surfaced.

  Every day—hell, every moment—near Arianna proved agonizing. Ever since her nineteenth birthday, Kyle had craved her. During the full moon, he avoided her, afraid he wouldn’t be able to control his savage sexuality.

  Like most female Lupines, Arianna was soft and voluptuous. She had a wealth of silky blond hair spilling down her lovely backside. And her bottom, very round and soft and squeezable, made him think very wicked thoughts.

  He longed to slide his hands down the slope of her spine, part those sweet cheeks, and run his tongue down her ass.

  Kyle grew rock hard thinking about it, imagining grasping her soft, round hips and feeling her sweet, soft ass cushion him as he sank his cock so deep they’d feel like one person, and would always remain so.

  Dreamer.

  It had taken all his discipline not to growl when she’d mentioned Darius. Good thing Darius had failed. If the male had fucked her and bragged about it, the cheerful beta could have released Kyle’s primitive animal. One never wanted to trigger the beast because the consequences would be deadly...

  He must let her go. Damn, he didn’t want this, but it was time to move on. Arianna would never warm his bed. Hell, he hoped she never found out exactly what he was.

  He was hybrid, half Lupine wolf... and half Satyr. A beast like the one she feared.

  Every full moon, his sexual cravings became insatiable. Long ago, he’d sought to fill his needs with meaningless encounters with female Skins. They enjoyed his intense sexuality, screamed and shattered as he delivered a steady stream of orgasms.

  And then the damnable hunger would begin anew with each full moon. Lupines in his former pack whispered about him, the pawn of a feral Satyr who’d stolen away a Lupine and held her captive, raping her until he’d planted his seed in her belly.

  They called Kyle cruel names. Deviant. Bastard. Pervert. And this deviant hybrid just happened to be crazy about a beautiful Lupine with a sweet, round ass, who happened to be terrified of sex.

  Could things get much worse?

  Bracing his hands on the sink, he stared at the mirror. On her fifteenth birthday, Arianna had burst into his house and caught him in full sexual transformation. His lover had been enthralled and oblivious to his beast. Arianna had not. Revulsion coiled in his stomach as he remembered her stark terror when, caught in the throes of sexual ecstasy, he’d snarled and started to shift into his Satyr form. Fortunately, she’d run off before seeing him fully transform.

  Oh, they’d talked much later about what she’d seen. Without lying, he’d told her it was a side effect of his mixed blood. Satisfied, Arianna recovered from the trauma and they’d continued on, same as always.

  But Kyle silently vowed when it came Ari’s time to mate, it would be with a loving, gentle male who would slowly inflame her passion. Not a rough brute like him who could not control his insatiable lust. How the hell could he even hold her hand, knowing she’d nearly witnessed him in full sexual thrall, horns and all?

  Cursing, Kyle opened the bottom cabinet and found a bottle of scented lotion. Cherry Blossom. What irony.

  Easing a sharp breath through his clenched teeth, Kyle unzipped his jeans. He squirted a handful of lotion into his palm, then grasped his painfully hard erection.

  As he worked his male flesh, his eyes closed as he envisioned Arianna bent over submissively, her legs spread as he thrust into her wet, warm channel. His balls drew up tight to shoot his seed deep inside her, his hands gripping her generous hips, his sex organ stimulating her to orgasm as she cried out his name.

  Only he would claim her in the flesh. No other male would have her, for he branded her with his scent, his touch, his body. His mating mark on her pale, tender skin.

  Shuddering, he climaxed, biting back a deep groan as he stiffened and his seed spurted. But still, he felt no relief. No satisfaction, just a pallid emptiness. Only the real Arianna would suffice.

  And he could never have her.

  Ever.

  Not even if his beast demanded it...

  CHAPTER 3

  The smell of frying bacon hit Kyle’s nostrils as he showered and then dressed the next morning. He ran a comb through his thick hair, slapped on his hat and rubbed the slight bristles on his jaw.

  Tucking heavy yellow leather gloves into a back pocket of his worn jeans, he headed downstairs. Aiden wanted him to break in the new stallion they’d acquired before Kyle resumed the hunt for the missing Lupine young. The stud was too wild to ride.

  Tension squeezed his guts. He’d talked into the night with the pack alpha, explaining what happened. No use sugarcoating the wizard’s words.

  You’d better select a mate for Arianna this week, or she’s dead.

  Then, when he finally fell asleep, he’d dreamed.

  Arianna stood naked as the full moon shone. Hooking her arms around his neck, she’d lifted her face to him, the curve of her lower lip plump and wet. How sweet it would taste beneath under his tongue as he traced it, then dropped tiny, biting kisses along the rim. He stared at her mouth, needing her badly.

  His wolf howled as she brushed his lips in a light, teasing kiss. Kyle had lowered her to the ground and buried his head between her spread legs, savoring other equally tender flesh. He caressed and loved he
r with his mouth until she squirmed and screamed her pleasure.

  And then he’d turned her over, his Satyr blood surging hot and thick, eager to finally claim her nubile body. Running a palm over the arch of her back, he’d taken his rigid cock in hand, pressing it against the feminine flesh that had never taken a man. As he sank into her sweet, tight body, hearing her whimper from the pain, he tried to assure her it would be over soon, but no words came. Only guttural growls as he grasped her hips and began thrusting, the feral need for sex overriding all else. Her cries turned to screams as he experienced a Satyr’s moonlight thrall, transforming into the beast she feared...

  Kyle had awakened in a cold sweat, his penis rigid against his belly as his heart pounded hard and a sickening feeling knotted his stomach.

  Now, walking into the kitchen, he saw Dale at the twelve-burner stove, turning over bacon in an iron skillet. Kyle’s nose twitched. He grabbed a cooling slice off a paper towel as the other Lupine scowled.

  “What happened? Beth came to her senses and decided to kick you out of the cabin?” Kyle asked around a mouthful of bacon.

  Dale’s scowl turned into a dreamy grin. “She had a hankering for pancakes and bacon, and our stove is broke.”

  Judging from the Lupine’s satisfied expression, they broke the bed as well. Kyle felt a pinch of real regret. Dale was happy and newly mated. What would it feel like to be that close with a mate?

  Hell if I’ll ever know.

  “Pussy,” he said. “Where is the lovely light of your bloodshot eyes?”

  “Dickwad, she’s upstairs, having girl time with Arianna,” Dale replied, removing the bacon and setting it on the paper towel.

  Taking two more slices, Kyle turned a chair around and straddled it. He enjoyed the relative quiet. Usually the lodge was filled with males elbowing each other as they grabbed coffee and a bite before heading out on the range.

  “Speaking of upstairs, when did you start sleeping here? What happened to your nice, secluded love nest in the woods?” Dale asked.

  “Aiden asked me to move into the lodge and be more accessible.” Probably to involve him more in pack life, lure him into staying. Even though he wasn’t fully considered pack, they needed his skills. Kyle finished the bacon. This place was getting too comfortable, and he was getting way too fond of the pack. Especially one particular female.

  Time to move on.

  “Must be a bitch when Arianna goes into heat.” The Mitchell pack’s chief of security gave Kyle a knowing look.

  His chest tightened. “I gave her my cabin when Aiden decided to separate her from the males.”

  “Tough one.” Dale looked sympathetic.

  Oh, yeah. In the truck when Ari leaned close, her wet, red mouth pursed in a kiss... his blood surged hot and thick, triggering the primal urge to mate. And then he’d growled.

  Chest tight, Kyle dusted off his hands. Arianna’s fear last night shattered him. Never again.

  Beth burst into the kitchen, her long black curls tousled, her eyes filled with worry. “Arianna’s gone. I’ve searched everywhere in the lodge.”

  The two males exchanged glances.

  “She probably returned to the cabin.” Kyle hoped so. “You know, that time of month.”

  Aiden’s niece gave him a sharp look. “That time of month isn’t for another three days.”

  “Yeah, well it’s getting a little stronger.”

  Right. Arianna once emitted a fire extinguisher filled with pheromones, now it was more a fire hose.

  Beth went into the pantry and returned a minute later. “I knew it. The entire stash of beef jerky is missing. Why would anyone take that, unless they were on a long hike or a hunt?”

  Oh shit. It dawned on him. The missing kids.

  Pushing off the chair, Kyle gestured to Dale. “Call Aiden.”

  Minutes later, the alpha walked into the kitchen, clad in low-slung jeans and a T-shirt, a scowl on his black-bearded face. Kyle summed up Arianna’s desire to find the missing young.

  Aiden rubbed his chin. “Gather the best hunters,” he directed Dale. “Meet in the corral in ten minutes.”

  As the pack leader headed back upstairs, Beth’s worried gaze met her mate’s. “I’ll search the grounds.”

  “I’m coming with you.” Dale hesitated and glanced at Kyle, who nodded. Newly mated male Lupines were extremely protective and loath to leave their females.

  Another good reason never to settle down. He enjoyed his freedom too much.

  “Go with her. I’ll tell your team.”

  But Dale, the pack’s head of security, gave him a scrutinizing look. “Who’s heading the hunt?”

  Kyle drew in a deep breath. “Me. I know her style—hell, taught her my tactics.”

  No choice. He’d have to do it, hunt down the very female he’d vowed to protect since the day he’d found her on the mountain, naked and trembling.

  Dale shook his head. “You know Aiden will order her to mate to save her life.”

  “Yeah.” Sweat covered his hands. “She’s not going easy.”

  “Damn. Tough choice.”

  Throat tight with emotion, Kyle managed a brief nod. He’d track her down, find Arianna and bring her back to the ranch to meet her fate.

  He only hoped he could find her before Tristan did, and before the next full moon.

  Cold vanilla, hot sunshine and freshly cut grass.

  The scent she’d caught the other day was faint, but distinct. The missing young.

  Arianna shifted her backpack and climbed a trail snaking up the mountain from the ranch. Though Kyle was the best Lupine hunter in the west, even he struggled to distinguish a young’s scent. But she didn’t.

  A dim memory tugged. Her parents taking her to the fields where Lupine children had played, urging her to flush through the varied scents until she could pick out a Lupine young eating an ice cream cone in a freshly cut field on a summer’s day.

  The memory winked out like a light.

  Dew lay thick upon the crushed pine needles and dead leaves crunching beneath her hiking boots. A short while later, she spied a scrap of blue among the bushes rimming the pathway. Arianna plucked it free and inhaled the rich scent of cold vanilla laced with wood smoke. A male Lupine, approaching puberty.

  Excitement poured through her. She was on the right trail. And one of the young had been clever enough to leave a clue stamped with his stronger, more distinctive scent. Tucking the scrap into her pocket, she kept hiking.

  She wasn’t running away. Not escaping the inevitable fate Aiden would choose for her. Mate or die.

  Nice choices. Neither one interested her. Think I’ll choose to live.

  Every month intensified her body’s natural urges. Frustrated and edgy, she’d finally swallowed her pride and asked the pack leader for help.

  Darius volunteered to be her first lover. With his shoulder-length ebony curls and dreamy blue eyes, the charismatic beta was nicknamed the pack’s stud king, servicing unmated females who needed sexual relief. She’d fought the surge of panic, managed to stay calm even when Darius’ light kisses became deeper. And then he’d touched her breasts... and her claws came out.

  Fortunately, he had fast reflexes. The vicious scratches on his throat healed, but every male now regarded her with caution. Except when her mating heat made them growl with hunger and their own need.

  Now if she didn’t mate, Tristan would fry her big ass. But damn, if she was going down in a blaze of silver fire, she wanted to find the young first, make something of her life and return them to parents who loved them.

  Ponderosa pine, fir, spruce and juniper trees flanked her as she ascended the narrow pathway. A thick fog shrouded the serpentine trail snaking up the mountain past brilliant vermillion and yellow bushes.

  Half a mile later, she lost the scent trail, sensing only small game mingled with thick pine and decaying vegetation.

  For a moment she wrestled with the sinking feeling of defeat. She remembered these same woods as s
he’d crashed through bushes, trying to escape the bad man who’d wanted to do such awful things to her...

  Don’t give up. You have to keep searching.

  Shifting into wolf would sharpen her senses. The Change happened swiftly as bones lengthened and fur rippled along her spine.

  Nose to the ground, she searched the surrounding area, scenting a sharp stench of sweat and unwashed bodies. Skins. Recognizing the scents, she growled. The human hunters she’d seen at the bar were hiding something.

  Her wolf growled deeper as she picked up the scent of icy cold vanilla and old blood.

  Arianna searched the ground, controlling the frantic human emotions roiling through her. A scrap of cloth trapped on a thorn brush caught her eye. She shifted back, clothed herself by magick, and examined the square of navy fabric stained with rusty droplets. The eldest of the three missing young, a male, had been wearing a blue baseball jersey.

  Good boy. He’d probably torn the shirt and left the clue.

  Arianna picked up her backpack and kept climbing. After two miles, she left the path and collapsed on a flat rock. Sweat plastered the shirt to her back, and her heart pounded hard. Retrieving her water bottle, she took a long pull and stiffened.

  In the distant valley, a wolf gave a mournful howl, the eerie sound a clear signal to the pack. The hunt for her had begun.

  She could only hope to find the young before Kyle found her. Never had she imagined being hunted by the guardian who’d vowed to protect her.

  The thought of mating released a fresh wave of old terror. But far scarier was the knowledge her beloved guardian was not immune. The way Kyle’s eyes had glowed in the truck...

  A shiver wracked her spine. With every ounce of strength, she climbed, hoping to outrace the powerful hunter before he reached her and dragged her back to mate against her will.

  Or handed her over to the Silver Wizard to die.

  CHAPTER 4

  “She left us.”

  Disbelief colored the deep voice of the Mitchell pack alpha. Sitting on the fence, Kyle kept his thoughts guarded as Aiden paced in the cow pasture. In the ten years Kyle had been with this pack, he’d never seen the leader so agitated.