Her Alpha Protector

by Gwen Knight

  His hands swept down the soft expanse of her back until they cupped her rear, lifting her into the air. A soft giggle—dear Lord, a giggle—filled his mouth as long, lithe legs latched around his waist, clinging to him. He whisked her away, drawing them out of the pale streetlights and into the muted shadows. Out there, he knew no one would see them; they were hidden within the thickset cover of his trees and bushes. Releasing her mouth, his lips dragged down the smooth column of her throat, teeth nibbling, feeling the fluttering pulse beneath her skin. Her taste...he’d never thought skin could be so delectable.

  He dropped to his knees in the lush grass, gently lowering her to her back. Golden hair spilled around her shoulders, her body spread like a fine meal before him. He was quick to cover her, his mouth trailing down her collarbone. Her breath caught, fingers clenching in his hair, but it was nothing compared to her gasp when he finally took the peak of her breast into his mouth, lavishing his tongue over her hardened nipple. With his eyes closed, the pads of his fingers smoothed down her flat stomach, caressing her skin as he teased her taut nub. Her head fell back into the soft grass as she arched off the ground, a faint moan rising into the night air.

  His hands grazed down her smooth thighs before climbing the inner, more forbidden path. She trembled, her anticipation palpable, and he had to remind himself to move slowly. His fingers grazed her mound, resting there as he reveled at the sound of her quickened breath as she waited for him. He offered the slightest caress, barely even a touch against her center, yet it dragged a low, tuneless moan from her—one that stopped his heart.

  He released her breast and moved back just enough to watch her face when he finally slid a single finger between her folds. Sapphire eyes flew open, her lower lip caught between her teeth. Her shuddering breath and the faint blush of color dusting her cheeks sent an electric shock straight to his groin. His hooded eyes brightened with pleasure and he dropped down, claiming her other nipple with just as much fervor.

  He was so entranced by her body, his pulse spiked when her fingers suddenly closed around his throbbing erection, moving to the rhythm he set. His mouth released her nipple and he slid down the length of her body, his ebony hair shining in stark comparison to her creamy thighs. Her ragged breath plucked something deep inside and he couldn’t wait any longer—he dragged his tongue across her damp sex, delighting in her ardent gasps. The taste of her filled his mouth and with a low moan he suckled and licked his way, working her clit and thrusting his tongue within, listening as her breathing sped. She squirmed beneath him, offering the slightest little bucks, her hands balling in the grass, his name spilling in a half breath from her lips. Oh, it was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard, more divine than her honey-sweet flavor.

  Her hips moved beneath him, her panting breath catching every time his tongue teased her nub, the hard length of his cock pulsing when another pleasured moan fell from her mouth. He continued to stroke her, his tongue laving her moist opening. Not another moment passed before she shattered around him, her body coiling as her cries rose into the shadows. He was rewarded with a gratifying whimper, and a rush of sweet ambrosia wet his lips. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, her back arching into him, head thrown into the grass as she rode out her ecstasy. Hunter drew back, pausing for a moment to wipe his mouth before perching over her. He needed to be inside her—wanted nothing more than to bury himself deep until he felt her end.

  Her eyes lazed open, and for the first time it was her wolf peeking out, golden rays flecking the crystal blue. Mindless want streaked over her face, a daunting need that he felt deep in his stomach.

  “Hunter,” she whispered, reaching for him. “Please—please...”

  He groaned, his erection resting against the blessed heat of her tight opening. A small thrust, that was all it would take, and she’d be wrapped around his pulsing length. It felt so natural, this call of the wild thrumming through him. He moved, about to sheathe himself within her, when she pressed her palm against his chest and guided him off. For a moment he was sure she meant to stop and he struggled to tame the beast, to lock it down before he frightened her off. Instead, she directed him to lie down on the damp earth and hovered over him, a shy little smile crooking her lips. She pinned him with a teasing look, one that had his wolf panting, and Hunter stopped breathing. Perhaps he’d given little thought to finding a mate, but now that he had, he had no idea how he’d lived so long without a woman who looked at him like that.

  She lowered down onto him, her silken folds conforming to his length.

  Hunter’s breath hitched, the feel of her sliding over him freeing a torturous groan. A deafening silence hovered over him as he struggled to keep from moving, even as she bent over him, her hands bracing in the dewy grass on either side of his head. He was given a single moment to wonder where his shy little she-wolf had gone when she caught him in a kiss, her tongue moving against his. It was unbearable, this need to have her, to move within her, all while she settled against him.

  His arms snaked around her waist and he was about to start moving within her when she suddenly rose and set an agonizingly slow rhythm. Such restraint she showed, far more than he. With every shift, every little maneuver, her warmth grew hotter. He couldn’t take it; she needed easy and gentle, he knew that, but his desire for her was too great. He pressed his head back into the grass and closed his eyes as he struggled not to come unhinged, but his resolve weakened every time she pumped over him.

  A touch manic, his fingers gripped at her waist. He was about to move beneath her when her pace shattered, suddenly quickening. Her vigor swept him away and his eyes clenched shut. The way she moved over him, with a grace he’d not yet seen from her, sundered his control and he rose to the challenge, hips meeting her halfway. The sounds she made—like music to his ears—the soft sighs and sharp gasps as she gave herself to him. An animal need burned through him, encouraging him to explore deeper. His name spilled from her lips as she tightened around him, her body shivering and trembling. Her hips drove down a final time, pleasure rippling over her face as he gave in to his own ecstasy, lost to the wild rush of sensation. Buried deeply inside her, he hung there, riding out the lingering pleasure, her shallow breath pooling against his throat.

  He was no amateur when it came to women, but if this was what being mated was like, he planned to welcome his new life with open arms, so long as she was in them.

  Chapter Six

  The sound of her softly pattering footsteps was quite soothing to listen to as she moved about his guest bedroom, dressing herself in what little clothing he’d found that would fit her. From there, she’d begun shuffling from room to room, perusing whatever was laid out on his shelves or hung on the walls. There wasn’t much left in the open for anyone to study, yet he still enjoyed that she was making the effort to know him.

  He settled in and tipped his head back until it rested against the thin wall, choosing to let his thoughts wander without pursuit, lost to the sound of her careful explorations. He could hear her slender fingertips caressing his picture frames, and her steady breath. Such a beautiful sound—no fear, no anxiety. This was how it should always be for her. Quiet comforts with an ease of being around one another.

  She turned on her heel, slowly making her way through the hall and toward him at a resolved pace. Slow steps rounded the staircase, her hand gliding down the polished rail. Hunter cracked an eye open, peering out from his thick mop of dark hair.

  The moment her gaze swept over him, she jumped, a sheepish smile tugging her lips. “I didn’t know you were here,” she murmured as her hand dragged her loose hair back from her face.

  Hunter rose to his feet, his fingers clasping hers as he led the way to the kitchen. “Are you hungry?” he asked.

  An inane question if ever he’d asked one. Of course she was hungry; werewolves’ stomachs were bottomless, and hers had been growling since their romp in the grass. Shifts always left him ravenous, as did the more pleasurable acts. He could smell the brack
ish tang of her newly risen anxiety. The last thing he wanted to do was add to it, but there were still answers he sought.

  He opened the refrigerator door with a sharp yank and studied the contents, eventually settling on reheating the protein-rich pasta dish he’d made the night before. Tossing it into the microwave, he busied himself with the challenge of unearthing spare utensils as she slowly settled at the table, her fingers tracing the intricate lines engraved into his coasters. Self-proclaimed bachelor that he was, it took a bit of time to scrounge up a second fork, and the bowl proved even more elusive. As for the drinks, his ended up in a teacup; it was the only thing he could find. He drew to his full height, studying his kitchen. If Angel meant to stay, changes were required, and the thought brought a satisfied quirk to his lips rather than a groan.

  “Tell me about your pack,” Hunter commented as he caught the fridge door with his heel and kicked it shut before walking into the dining room, his arms overflowing with the steaming bowls, cups and utensils.

  She drew in a sharp breath. When he lowered her meal down in front of her, he found her eyes trained on the veneer and her fingers gripping the edge. The bitter taste of her fear overwhelmed the pasta’s fragrance, and before he dropped into his own seat, he crouched next to her, smoothing her hair back from her soft cheeks. It seemed this topic of conversation frightened her, but he’d always been a patient hunter, and this was no different. Long, pale lashes fluttered and he was suddenly gazing up at her, her anxiety quelling from his simple touch.

  “You’re safe here,” he assured her as he drew his thumb down her jawline. “With me.” Such shadows behind those bright eyes, such nightmares she carried. All he wanted was to soothe her, to abolish what fears she carried, and give her something else to burn with—hope. His fingers swept down her arms until he gathered her shaking hands. When she finally nodded, he felt as though he’d won a battle, and with a soft smile, he shifted back into his chair.

  She was the first to drop her gaze, her fingers fiddling mindlessly with her fork as she stared down on the bowl of food before her. “What would you like to know?”

  “How many are in Seth’s pack?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve been on the run for eight years.” She released a slight sigh and propped her elbow on the table, resting her chin in her palm. “Eight years. It feels so much longer than that.”

  He took a bite, the cold metal of his fork resting against his lips. “That wasn’t the first time Seth’s handled you...like that, was it?”

  The fool he was. Of course it wasn’t, if her rigid shoulders and timid manner were evident of anything. She was more rabbit than wolf, a behavior likely beaten into her. The thought burned deep, and the metal fork in his hand gave way as he bent it in half.

  “It was why I left,” she admitted in a quiet voice, a faint smile climbing her lips. “I’d never felt so free as in that moment, so...human,” she said with a nod. “I didn’t care what the cost was, I had to get away from him.”

  “But you were his mate.” Hunter bit out the bitter words, and a fresh wash of her anger swept through the room. “Surely you saw something in him—”

  “I was never his mate,” she growled, her chin snapping up until she could spear him with a glare. “Never.”

  Her personality swam in the dark depths of her eyes, burning like a candlewick. “Angel—”

  “He forced me to be his mate,” she whispered, a coldness devouring that tiny flame he’d spotted. When her eyes lifted, they stared through him, fading into less pleasant memories, no doubt, ones he instantly regretted making her dredge up. “If I fought against him, he showed me what it meant to be a submissive wolf.” Tears clung to her eyelashes, though they never fell. “For two years I surrendered to him. I did what was expected of me, played the perfect little mate, so that he wouldn’t—” Her jaw tightened, muscles leaping as she choked on her words. “But I couldn’t. Not anymore. He liked pain with his...” Her voice cracked and faded away.

  “Pleasure,” Hunter whispered when she couldn’t, his ruined fork dangling from his fingers. Suddenly he wasn’t as hungry.

  Her head bowed forward as she nodded. His fingers itched with longing to touch her, to calm her, but logic knew such a gesture would not be welcomed at a moment like this, not with such brutal memories haunting her mind.

  “I ran,” she mumbled into her hair. “I almost died in my attempt, but my wolf took over. She showed me how to survive. She kept me alive when I couldn’t, protected me when I had no one else.”

  Silence settled between them, broken only when Hunter lowered his mangled fork down onto his plate with a gentle clink. “You have me now,” he whispered. “I...won’t let Seth touch you, ever again.”

  Laughter shook her shoulders, the bitter sound spilling from her lips quite abrasively. “Don’t you get it?” she scoffed. “No one can protect me from Seth. No matter where I go, he follows. For eight years I’ve run from him, and for eight years he’s always found me. Always. Do you understand? He will kill you to get to me. There’s no stopping it.”

  Such desolation in her voice, such devastation. The table rocked back when he surged to his feet and drew her out of her chair, folding her into his chest. “Not if I kill him first,” he promised her, his lips burying in her hair. She trembled against him, small drops of wetness dampening his shirt. “You have me now,” he repeated once more, his eyes staring out the window behind them.

  Hunter hoped Seth would come. And when he did, he certainly wouldn’t leave alive.

  * * *

  Angel tipped her head back against the bed frame, staring out the window over the vast land Hunter owned. Eerie shadows whisked over her walls, blending with the silvery night.

  Before becoming one of them, her life had been much simpler—happy even. But that had all changed the day she’d met Seth. Whatever hellion he’d changed her into, nature herself seemed to fear her. Never had she heard a forest so quiet as when she stepped into it. It was as though death followed her. Animals took wing, vanishing entirely. So for eight years she’d surrounded herself with cities as a means of evading him, yet he’d always found her. Typically she ran, as she’d intended to today, but perhaps the time for running was long past. Running gave him power over her and she was so tired of feeling weak.

  Lost to her thoughts, sleep was proving elusive. No matter how often she dared to close her eyes, his face swam through her mind’s eye, twisted with such fervent hate. All she longed for was her freedom, the right to live where, when and how she chose. This life—it wasn’t hers; it was Seth’s. Something he’d forced upon her with little concern for her desires. He cared little for others and focused entirely on himself, a habit she’d soon learned was typical among his werewolves. Perfectly miserable creatures, those beasts, taking what they wanted and when.

  She could recall the first time she’d laid eyes on Hunter as though it had been yesterday. At first glance, he’d stolen her breath, something that frightened her more than anything. Another wolf, another dominant—that which she hated more than anything. Wretchedly handsome, but still a monster, like them all. Stunning peridot eyes had swept over her as though she was nothing more than a mutt—a common occurrence for one such as herself. Had she known that he’d actually taken notice of her, liked what he’d seen, she would have—

  Angel released a sharp breath, fingers ensnaring the coverlet draped over her legs. She would have what? Spoken to him? The very idea was laughable. Seth’s leash had been tight then, until she’d all but choked from it. Nothing would have been done; nothing could have been done. But now she was beginning to understand why Seth had declared her his mate the very next day.

  Kicking back her blanket, she pushed to her feet and began to prowl the length of her room like a wild animal, unable to keep to the bed if she wasn’t going to sleep. Her emotional state was far more volatile than normal. Since she’d shifted already tonight, the call of the moon was absent, something she was unaccustomed to, and it was lea
ving her feeling a touch jittery. If she could only sleep...

  After what felt like hours of her feet wearing the hardwood thin, she groaned and spun toward the door. The animal within felt caged; her wolf was howling to be set free if for no other purpose than simply to run. Hunter had shown her to the guest room to rest, but what she needed was to burn off this excess energy scalding her from the inside out.

  To hell with this. She rocked to the balls of her feet and silently crept to the door. Not a single soul had bothered her since Hunter had given her the grand tour. In fact, it felt as though they were the only two within the house. Pondering such a thing, she peered down the silent halls, wondering if there was anyone else present.

  She tiptoed down the corridor, pausing before the third room on the left. The door was slightly ajar, a dim light permeating the darkness of the hall. Angel paused, her heart quickening with the thought that she might be disturbing him. Would he mind such an interruption, or would he think she was invading his space?

  She was about to head back to her own room when she silently scolded herself for being foolish. He’d offered up his house and home, fed and cared for her. When he’d offered his guest bedroom to her, she’d been shocked, expecting him to insist she remain with him. Once again, he’d shown her his caliber and how much he differed from Seth.

  Measuring the door, she gracefully slipped within. There Hunter lay on the bed with an arm thrown over his face, his body tense. She could see that he was just as awake as she was.