by Alice Gaines
“Oh, no. You don’t make models,” Ilse answered. “You create life.”
“Cut the crap. I don’t do anything like that.”
Ilse pointed at the head. “Are you going to give it a brain?”
“I’m going to give it a central processor.” Connected to sensors finer than she’d ever designed before, but she didn’t have to admit that.
“This isn’t right.”
“Please, spare me the don’t-mess-with-nature lecture.”
“You can’t deal with your own pack -- family who love you -- so you’re building yourself a companion,” Ilse said. “That’s sick.”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Are you going to let it fuck you?”
Ilse wouldn’t believe her if she lied, so she kept her mouth shut.
“By everything holy, you’re building yourself a mate,” Ilse shouted.
“All right,” Cara yelled back. “I’m tired of the pack. I’m tired of the rules. I don’t want to submit, and you can’t make me.”
Ilse’s expression turned ice-cold. “We’ll see about that.”
“I’m going to have that combination changed.” Cara pointed toward the outer door. “Don’t break back in here.”
“I won’t have to,” Ilse said. “The pack will find you, and we’ll take that damned machine apart and give you a real mate, whether you want one or not.”
Cara bared her teeth at her sister and snarled in a deep, low warning. Ilse only snapped back and stalked from the room.
Damn it. Cara went to close the door behind Ilse and then pounded her fist into the wall. Damn it all to hell. Her sister hadn’t issued an idle threat. Ilse would call the pack together and tell them all what she was doing. Mom had surrendered more and more of her alpha status to Ilse, along with decision power. The males would get on a testosterone high and would come looking for Gray. They’d destroy him before he’d have a chance at life. They’d probably bring another male to punish her by forcing himself on her and claiming her. All for her own good. Fuck that shit.
She’d have to finish putting Gray together tonight and get him the hell out of here. Once he’d become sentient, they could fight the others off together.
* * *
Cara woke up in the middle of an orgasm. A long, lingering one. Sweet and powerful. She hadn’t even been dreaming.
As soon as she opened her eyes, the cause became clear. A snout was pressed between her legs. It probed and sniffed, pressing the nose against where her clit still throbbed behind the denim of her jeans.
She reached down, her fingers sliding through soft fur, and pushed the beast away. He went off a step and sat on his haunches, staring at her out of silver eyes.
“Gray,” she whispered. “When did I turn you on?”
He didn’t answer, of course. He only looked at her, his head cocked.
She’d worked so late she’d finally fallen asleep hunched in a chair over her computer. The last bit of programming, all the bugs removed. Everything ready for her to send the last command that would bring Gray to life. Had she actually ever executed it?
“Hey, boy, did you smell me?” she asked. “Could you tell I’m female?”
As he studied her, new intelligence entered his gaze. He was learning by the minute, it appeared. No, faster. By the second, by the nanosecond.
“You’re not a boy, though, are you?” she said. “You’re a fine, strapping male.”
He came forward again in slow, fluid movements. Her pussy clenched, remembering the feel of his explorations and needing more from him, so much more. That would have to wait. He had to learn to run. He’d need to try out the powerful legs she’d given him, find his coordination and center of balance. He’d have to be a wolf before he could become her mate.
She password protected her work and powered down her computer then looked at her watch. They still had a little time before sunrise, enough to explore the woods that surrounded the lab compound.
The staff kept long hours, but no one besides Cara spent the whole night here, and no one came in any time near dawn.
They had the whole space to themselves, as they walked along the empty corridors. Gray’s nails made clacking sounds that echoed off the bare walls as they went. He sniffed at each open doorway but didn’t seem to find anything more interesting than the woman leading him. She’d become even more interesting to him once they got outside and she shifted.
The sky was just beginning to lighten along the horizon as she let them out of the building and headed with Gray across the parking lot to the woods beyond. Beneath the trees, the night still reigned. In near total darkness, she kicked out of her shoes and undressed. Gray watched the entire time, his eyes pricks of light that seemed to shine from inside him. She hadn’t built anything within him that should do that, but eventually he’d become more than the sum of his parts. After he’d experienced the world, he’d become his own creature, only subservient to her. Maybe he’d started the process already.
He let out a little whine. Impatience? Disappointment at her human shape? Or maybe, excitement.
She shifted slowly so he could watch. Truth be told, she hadn’t spent much time in her wolven form lately, and the change took some thought. Her body became smaller but more powerful than her human shape. Immediately, her heightened hearing and scent told her what she needed to know about her surroundings. No other humans nearby and no other wolves. Only the sounds of birds stirring and the scent of her mate.
He walked toward her, his head held down. The posture might have been submission but more likely caution. He’d never seen one of his own kind before, and he must have detected her perfume the way she had his.
She held absolutely still, letting him come near. A low rumble from his chest warned that he knew he had the advantage of size and strength. What he didn’t know, though, was that she had more cunning. If she didn’t want him, he wouldn’t have her.
She’d built him for this, though, and if he did things the way she’d programmed, he’d have her before the sun came fully up.
Now near her, he sniffed along her flank, close to her sex. Her musk filled the air around her as the hunger built inside her. When he walked behind her, her legs trembled. For the first time in her life, she was only moments away from her body’s ultimate fulfillment, but if she’d made even one serious mistake in his programming, she’d still go uncompleted.
He pressed his snout in the space between her legs, his breath hot on the sensitive flesh. Then his tongue came out and lapped at her. She jumped at the shock, and her voice came out as a yip of surprise. But, he licked her again -- a long slow pass of his raspy tongue, and her whole body quaked. Yes. Oh, yes!
He could continue now, and he’d make her come, but the full mating ritual demanded the chase. Now that he’d tasted her, he’d follow -- at top speed until he dropped. He had her in his blood.
She bounded away from him. Not far, just enough to let him know he hadn’t won her yet. He stared back at her, silver fury in his eyes. When he stepped in her direction, she leapt again, now well out of his reach unless he agreed to come after her with everything he had. Staring back at him evenly, she waited for some sign that he’d made his decision. After a moment, he crouched. Only a creature perfectly attuned to him could have caught the change in his posture, he did it so subtly. She couldn’t miss the coiled strength, so before he could leap and take her where she stood, she raced off into the underbrush, dashing between ferns that came up to her haunches.
She’d run at full speed before, but never when the heat was fully on her. Her brain tuned out all but the most basic thoughts -- the driving rhythm of her footfalls as she extended her forelegs and then pulled at the ground beneath them, the power of her hind legs pushing her forward. The sound of her breathing and the pounding of her heart. Most of all the tension building in her womb with each jarring motion as her paws hit solid dirt.
Every inch of her sensed the male behind her. Now, he had to find his footing and chase t
he scent she’d left behind. Soon, he’d have his balance and would hit full speed. She’d need to make evasive movements to make him earn his reward.
Crashing from behind her told her he’d found his stride. When the sound of his breathing came through, too, she stopped abruptly, zigged, and dashed behind a tree. While she headed off in a new direction he came to a stop, hesitated, and then went after her. Those few seconds gave her another lead, and she used it to head down a ravine, skidding much of the way. At the bottom, she leapt from stone to stone across the stream, and went up the other bank.
Closer now, he splashed behind her and grunted as he closed the distance on the upward slope. He’d have her in a moment, and the glorious chase would end. She’d fought surrender all her life, but this time she’d lose. It was almost a shame that she could power down this beast she’d created, but she could bring him to life again whenever she wanted. She owned him, not the other way around.
Just when she couldn’t outrun him any longer, she found another escape. A downed tree, close enough to the ground that she could just fit beneath it, but he’d be too big to follow. She scrambled under it, the bark digging into her back. He’d just managed to nip at her heel, but she pulled her foot away, flattened herself against the ground and watched him.
Growling, he paced the ground in front of the log, while her heart hammered in her chest. His flanks heaved from exertion as he prowled, back and forth, back and forth. What a magnificent animal -- as much and more as her fantasies. Her womb clenched as she caught the scent of his desire. Both of them at fever pitch now, they only needed to conclude the final act of this mating.
She retreated on her belly, turned, and dashed out from under the other side of the tree. Without looking back, she headed at full speed ahead of her. Her perfect sense of him told her he’d bounded over the log in one motion and was bearing down on her. Fine. The time had come.
With her last burst of speed, she cleared some trees and sprinted into a clearing. A meadow of sorts, soft grass springing under the paws. She still ran with everything in her, but not to evade him any longer. With each stride, her excitement mounted. Just a little farther, a few more strides. Make him wild with need so he’d take her hard and fast. Now, now.
With a snarl, he launched himself on top of her, knocking the wind out of her. For a while, they rolled together, limbs tangled, teeth nipping. He ended up on top, nearly smothering her, as he bit down into the fur and flesh at the back of her neck. No more running. Now, he’d put all that ferocity into fucking her.
Acknowledging her master, she pushed herself up to offer him her hindquarters. He rose over her, still holding her neck, and shoved his sex inside her.
Perfect union. Exactly how she’d pictured it, only this time it was real. His muscles really did strain as he thrust himself into her. Her sex really did clamp around him as she climbed toward the pinnacle. There was nothing gentle about this coupling, but neither was there anything tawdry. Pure lust, the way nature had meant it.
Too soon, the orgasm overtook her. If only she could have made the mating last forever. But she’d driven them both too hard. His whole body shook as his movements became frantic. He couldn’t wait, and she’d come with him.
When the explosions started deep inside her, he howled, thrust deeply, and spilled his seed against her womb. Her voice joined his as the moment caught them both up and made them into one being. As they rode their lust to its final conclusion, the sun appeared on the horizon, bathing them it its first rays.
Chapter Two
The brothers showed up before Cara’s scrapes and bruises had had a chance to heal. Her pussy still tingled with the memory of that amazing fuck -- the first she’d had in her wolven form. Joe might miss the change in her, but she’d never been able to hide anything from Peter. What a curse to have one brother with enough authority to get his way with bluster and another who could cajole you into doing what he wanted.
Joe took the lead up the walk to her house, as usual, but Peter’s face held the same look of determination, if not outright anger. They’d come to get their little sister in line, no doubt. Exactly why she’d wanted a mate she could dominate -- so she didn’t have to take orders from some male.
Joe ignored the doorbell in favor of pounding on the door itself. “Open up, Cara. We know you’re in there.”
“Let us in, or we’ll go back to your lab and make them track you down,” Peter added.
She went to the door and yanked it open. “You’ve been to the lab?”
“Nice to see you, little sister.” Joe pushed past her and stalked into the living room.
Before Peter could follow his brother, Cara grabbed his arm. “Have you been to my lab?”
“You haven’t been here for days, and you don’t answer your phone,” Peter answered.
“They didn’t let you into my workspace, did they?” she asked.
“They didn’t have to,” Joe said. “Ilse told us what you’re up to.”
Cara dropped Peter’s arm. “Damned busybody.”
Joe glowered at her. “She’s your sister.”
“She’s a pain in the ass.” Cara pushed by Peter and headed toward the kitchen. Joe stopped her as she went by him, grabbed her collar, and stared at the back of her neck where Gray had bitten her as he mounted her.
“Did you come by that honestly?” he demanded.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Someone marked you,” he answered. “Who?”
“None of your business.”
“We’re concerned about you, Cara,” Peter said.
“Great. A tag team.” She sighed. “He’s the bully, and you’re concerned.”
“You want to call me a bully? Fine.” Joe crossed his arms over his broad chest. With his dark eyes and nearly black hair, he made as impressive a human as he did wolf. Somehow, he’d managed to grow into a solid beast while the rest of the family was slimmer and lighter in coloration.
“What you’re doing is sick,” he went on. “Ilse knows it, we know it, and you would, too, if you ever came out of that damned lab.”
“That’s where I work,” she answered. “That’s how I make my living.”
“Making mechanical rutting machines?” Joe demanded.
“Gray’s not like that,” she said.
Major mistake. The brothers exchanged glances as if they’d diagnosed her and only had to decide what kind of locked ward she needed.
“You gave it a name?” Peter asked softly.
“I don’t have to answer to you two,” she said.
“Sit down, Cara. We need to talk about this.” Peter took a seat on one end of the couch and stared at her until she joined him.
“You’re a skilled engineer, honey.” Peter left the “but” hanging, unspoken.
“Gee, thanks.”
“If you built something…”
“He’s a wolf,” she said. “Not a thing.”
The look shot from Peter to Joe and back again.
“I’m sure he’s very realistic,” Peter said.
Oh, for crying out loud. “Would you just cut the crap?”
“Okay, I will,” Joe answered. “What Peter’s trying to tell you is we’re not going to let our sister fuck some damned machine.”
“You’d rather I keep fucking faceless humans?” she shot back.
“Ah, shit.” Joe raised a hand as if he’d like to hit something, but then, he waved it in a helpless gesture. “You talk to her.”
“That’s what I was trying to do.” Peter turned back to her. “Honey, what you’re doing isn’t healthy.”
She didn’t answer but sat in silence, hugging herself.
“We’re social creatures. We need family around us or we don’t… well… work right.”
“You think I’m crazy,” she said.
“I think you’ve isolated yourself for too long. You’re not seeing things clearly.”
Joe assumed his issuing-orders stance, legs spread, hands on hips.
“Come home to the pack and forget all this crap.”
“We all love you,” Peter added.
“I know that.” Love wasn’t the issue, though, although they probably couldn’t see that. They filled their roles well enough. Provider, protector, father -- all that sounded like a lot, but it boiled down to simple things. Life was different for a female, and she didn’t measure up. Not by a long shot.
“I’m better off doing what I do,” she said. “You guys don’t need me for anything.”
Peter put a hand on her shoulder. “That’s not true.”
“Oh, really? What is it I contribute?”
“Well…” Peter hesitated. “Yourself.”
The same lame answer she always got to that question. All three of them knew she couldn’t really fill a role in the pack until she found her own, special way of doing it. She hadn’t discovered it in childhood, when most of the females in her family did. She wasn’t about to discover it now. Her stomach sank. “Right.”
“It’s about your gift again, isn’t it?” Peter said.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t have one,” she answered.
“Yet,” Peter said. “You just haven’t figured it out yet.”
“Ilse could see things when she was ten. Ruth was a healer before Joe married her.” She raised her arms in a helpless gesture. “I’m a little late to still be searching.”
Peter squeezed her shoulder, to reassure her, no doubt. “It doesn’t matter. You’re part of us. We need you.”
“That’s sweet.” She pushed his hand away. “Really. Thanks a lot.”
Peter glared at her. “No need for sarcasm.”
She glared right back. “I disagree. Sarcasm comes in handy sometimes.”
“Enough of this.” Joe reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys. “You’re coming home with us.”
“I am home.”
“To the family,” he said. “We’ll settle the problem as a pack.”
“No.” She stood and stared back at her elder brother. He couldn’t order her around, and the more he tried, the more convinced she became that she’d selected the right kind of mate for herself.