Leashed by a Wolf

by Cherie Nicholls

  “You know there are some things a brother never really wants to know about his sister,” Duke said into the silence that followed Laney’s departure.

  “Like?” Heath asked, not at all sure he was going to like where this was going.

  “Like why my sister left here with lips swollen like she had been well-kissed,” Duke stated matter-of-factly. “Especially when the only man in the room is a man I call friend.”

  Heath stood straighter and looked at Duke directly. “Your sister is an adult, Duke, and you have to know that I would rather lose a limb than cause her any harm.”

  Duke laughed.

  “Boy, if you even give her the hiccups I will have a wolf-skin rug in front of my fire before the night is out.”

  Heath bristled at the tone, but he couldn’t fault the man. He would do the same for Clara; in fact, he would probably already have the guy laid out bleeding.

  “You’re not warning me off?” Heath asked, confused.

  Duke shook his head. “Nah, I know Laney better than most. If she wants something, she’ll go after it. Mary keeps telling John it ain’t healthy for a woman her age to be alone. Personally, I would like nothing better than for my little sister to stay sweet and untouched for the rest my life, but I’m man enough to realise that is probably never going to happen. So if she has to stick with someone it might as well be a man I know I can find if I have to.”

  Heath waited, sensing he wasn’t finished yet.

  “But just so we’re clear, you had better pray she never loses interest in you because if she does, I’ll be there waiting.” Duke turned and walked out.

  Heath watched the man leave and felt his body start to relax slowly. Rolling his shoulders to loosen them he headed out of the room. How could one little bit of a woman be so much trouble?

  * * * *

  “So, big brother, are you going to tell me about you and Laney St. Clair?” Clara asked a few minutes later as Heath drove them both away from the salon.

  “No,” Heath told her plainly as he negotiated his way out of town, back towards the pack house.

  “No? Hmm, you realise that the pack may not like a full human Alpha, don’t you?” Clara asked as she sat back and raised her feet onto the dashboard. Heath rolled his eyes at the matching nail polish on her toes.

  “Who said anything about Laney being my mate?” Heath asked gruffly. “I’m not stupid, Clara. I know she could never be strong enough to handle things the way they need to be, and now with Christophe causing trouble again she would never be able to deal with the responsibility.”

  Clara snorted out a laugh, causing him to glance at her in case she was choking. “Are we talking about the same woman here?”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Heath knew, just out and out knew that Laney couldn’t be the woman for him. Yes, he wanted her, yes she had been one of the first things he thought about in the morning and the last thing at night but that didn’t mean she could handle the pressures and dangers of being the Alpha of this pack. She had been protected by her brothers for her entire life, she didn’t know real hardship and danger like he did. Even Clara hadn’t been as protected as Laney. Shifter women had to be tough if they wanted to be accepted in to a pack; no pack wanted weakness diluting its bloodline.

  “It means not only did she stand up to her brother, she basically told you where to shove it.”

  “So? She knows neither her brother nor I would ever hurt her. It was a risk without any real danger,” Heath said dismissively. Laney had known that Duke would be all bellow and no bite, and she had to have known that Heath wouldn’t lay a finger on her in anger. That didn’t mean he wasn’t fully intending on punishing her later—repeatedly—for her little tantrum. Oh yes, that would be fun, watching her beg for her release as he ate at her wet pussy, bringing her close but never pushing her into the orgasm she would be screaming for.

  As he pulled up outside the pack house, Clara turned to him before she opened the car door. “I love you, Heath. You’re my brother and my Alpha; I would die for you, but just so you know, you can be a blind idiot sometimes. Dumbass.” She sighed as she climbed out and walked into the house.

  “Yep, that’s me, lord of all I survey,” Heath muttered as he followed her into the house.

  In the wild, wolves are pack animals; they live, eat, and sleep together. Heath’s pack might not be complete wolves, but they still held some of the mentality of those wild animals. The pack lived in one large old house. All members of the ten-strong pack had their own living areas with bedrooms and bathrooms, but they shared the kitchen, living room, and study. The only one who had his own house was Heath, a perk that came with being Alpha. Not that he used it much; he had always preferred to be with the others whenever he wasn’t working. Yet again another way in which he differed from the last Alpha.

  “Dude, where’d you go so quick?” Heath turned to the six-foot brick wall standing behind him.

  “Went to pick up Clara, Wall,” Heath told the other man.

  “No he didn’t!” Clara’s voice echoed from down the hallway.

  “Dude?” Wall asked, confused.

  Heath made a mental note to kill his sister later on.

  “Wall, who is Alpha?” Heath asked on a sigh.

  “You are, dude.”

  “So why would I feel the need to explain myself to you?” Heath put his hand on Wall’s shoulder.

  “Dude?” Wall repeated, clearly confused. Heath loved him like family but Harvey “The Wall” Wallbanger—yep, that was his actual name; his mother had thought naming him after a cocktail was “too darn cute”—wasn't the sharpest pin in the pack. Wall was loyal to a fault; he had supported Heath when he had taken over the pack when many had thought he was too young and untrained, but sometimes Heath still had to remind him of the protocols the pack demanded.

  “Wall, I went to pick up Clara. That’s all you need to know, okay?” Heath smiled down at the man.

  “Dude, why didn’t you say so?” Wall smiled as he strolled off towards the kitchen.

  “You were not picking me up!” Clara shouted again.

  “Shut up, brat!” Heath yelled as he stormed to his office. Clara was forgotten as he settled back into his high-backed leather chair. His thoughts were filled with Laney.

  He couldn’t wait until he had her naked again. He pulled his phone from his back pocket and tapped out a text message. As the Sent message appeared on his screen, Heath leaned back and smiled to himself. Oh this is going to be all kinds of fun.

  * * * *

  Laney picked up her phone and stifled an aroused groan as she reread the text message. Parked outside Heath’s home, she sat in her car, vibrating with such need she wasn’t sure she would last through all that he had promised. She glanced down at the little screen again.

  That’s three, my beta. Be at my house tonight, ready to be punished.

  Her first reaction had been to throw the phone across the room; her second was to imagine all the things he would do to punish her. Each of her thoughts had sent her pulse racing faster and faster until she had no choice but to come to him tonight.

  A knock on her car window had Laney jumping out of her skin and screaming.

  “Are you thinking of staying in there all night?” Heath asked as he bent down to look in at her through the window.

  “God damn it Heath! You scared the hell out of me,” Laney gasped as she rolled the glass down.

  “I was just wondering if you were planning on staying out here all night worrying about what’s waiting for you, or if you were going to actually man up and come on inside,” Heath said as he leaned in the open window.

  “Are you saying I’m scared to come into your house?”

  Heath shrugged and smiled, showing off his white teeth. All the better to eat you with.

  “If the cap fits, my beta.”

  Laney didn’t wait for him to step back as she threw open the door. If he hadn’t moved quickly she may well have ruined the night before i
t had even started.

  After climbing out of the car she nearly sat back down hard. Heath was standing there with his hand on his hips, his very naked hips, glaring at her.

  “Er, did we forget our clothes?” she asked as her breath stuttered. Damn the man and his to-die-for body.

  “No, we didn’t forget our clothes. Some of us were out in the woods when some of us pulled up and sat outside the house looking all kinds of sexy sitting there chewing our bottom lip.”

  “Well, aren’t we a little bit sarcastic tonight,” Laney said as she stood and leaned back on the car. She frowned and looked into the woods that bordered his land. “What were you doing in the woods naked? Oh Lord tell me you weren’t doing some sort of weird cult thing out there!”

  “What?” Heath looked at her open-mouthed and Laney thought that maybe asking that of a naked wolf shifter may not have been the smartest idea. Not that she was scared of Heath, but really, he was naked on his front lawn, for crying out loud.

  “Jeez, just asking is all.” Laney shrugged.

  “We are not a cult. I was just hunting,” Heath said as he folded his arms over his chest, forcing Laney to bite back a groan.

  “Hey dude,” Wall said as he approached them, naked.

  Laney just looked back at him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

  “Hey.” Heath didn’t look away from her but Laney’s smile grew as slowly the rest of the pack followed out of the woods.

  “Dude, you left the hunt early. We were worried, thought we would come check on you,” Wall explained.

  “Hmm, interesting." Laney winked at him as they were surrounded by naked people. Laney knew on a deep level she really should be embarrassed about all the bare skin standing around her, but she was more interested in the blush that was creeping up Heath’s neck and face.

  “I had plans,” Heath finally told the group.

  “So we can see, big brother.” Clara moved forward, smiling at Laney.

  “Hey, girl.” Laney smiled at the woman.

  “Dear Lord, people, this is not a public meeting. Why don’t you head on back to the pack house and I will speak to you tomorrow,” Heath growled.

  “Dude, we thought we could watch the game on your large-screen TV.” Wall started to walk towards the house until Heath reached out and slapped a hand on his forehead, shoving him back.

  “Not tonight, people,” Heath told them.

  “Dude!” Wall huffed.

  “No.”

  Laney watched the byplay, shaking her head. Were all packs this goofy?

  “Dude.” Wall smiled with open arms.

  “No.” Heath said again.

  “But dude.”

  It was just too shameful watching two grown naked men standing there speaking in one-word sentences. Laney moved forward and tapped Wall on the shoulder.

  “Hey Wall.” Laney knew most of the shifters standing around, if not to speak to, then to say good morning to. Wall had been in the garage on more than one occasion for parts for his souped-up car.

  “Hey Laney-girl, what you doing out here?” Wall smiled at her.

  “I was kinda planning on spending time with Heath, but if you guys already have plans I can always come back.” Laney gave him her best sweet smile as she ignored the low, quiet growl behind her.

  “Really?” Wall smiled again. “You like football, right? You can come watch with us. Heath won’t mind,” Wall said as he dropped an arm around Laney’s shoulders.

  The low growl behind her turned deeper and louder, causing all the shifters to stop their own conversations and look at what had caused the aggression from their Alpha.

  Laney rolled her eyes as she felt Wall stiffen and turn wide eyes on his Alpha. Heath had dropped his chin to his chest, his eyes that of his wolf’s. The growl grew as the Alpha stepped closer to Laney.

  Slowly Wall raised his arm away from Laney and backed off. The entire time he kept his gaze on the ground. Laney watched as Heath moved closer to her; reaching out, he took her hand and pulled until she was standing behind him, hidden by his height and broad shoulders.

  Laney’s first reaction was to slap his butt and walk away, but even she could feel the tension radiating from the group. She didn’t want to call any more attention to the fact that they had a nonshifter standing there than she had to.

  “My Alpha,” Wall said before Laney heard him move farther away from them.

  Heath’s growl went deeper still for a second before it stopped and he stood straight again.

  There was a stilted silence in the moments afterwards until Wall broke it with a disgruntled, “Dude, the game!”

  “Oh my Lord! Men are so simple sometimes!” Clara shouted as she reached up and smacked Wall around the head.

  Laney tried to step out from behind Heath but he held her back.

  She looked up at the side of his head and glared. “Yo! You can let me go now.” She tried to pull out of his grip but Heath held tight, not tight enough to hurt, but enough to keep her in place.

  He didn’t acknowledge she had even spoken. Laney looked over at Clara with a wide-eyed look that said save your brother before I kill him.

  “Hey Laney, you should come by the pack house this weekend. We’re having one of our barbecues,” Clara said as she walked over to them.

  “Pack house?” Laney asked as she again tried to pull out of Heath’s grip. One eyebrow raised, he was still watching the rest of the males in the group, daring them to say anything. All except Wall looked anywhere but at him. Wall was still moaning loudly about having to watch the game on the small screen.

  “Yeah, it’s where the rest of us live. My brother too, when he’s not dragging poor innocent girls off to have his dirty disgusting way with them,” Clara said matter-of-factly.

  “Hmm, interesting, so sort of like a cult then,” Laney said, trying to pry Heath’s fingers off her hand.

  “We are not a cult!” Heath yelled as he finally looked away from the other males to glare down at her.

  “Yes, well, we prefer pack to cult,” Clara said as she looked pointedly down at the hand still wrapped around Laney’s wrist. Heath looked at his sister, then in the direction of her gaze. His frown deepened as he glanced over at the other males again before he finally released Laney.

  “Thank you!” Laney sighed as she rubbed her arm.

  “Okay, dudes let’s move out, there’s a game to watch,” Wall called to the group. “On a small screen,” he moaned.

  The Alpha shook his head as he crossed his arms over his chest.

  Laney stood with Clara as they watched the others head back into the trees and to the pack house.

  “Want a little advice from a lady who has seen that particular look on the face of many a wolf shifter?” Clara asked her quietly as she spared a glance over her shoulder at Heath.

  “Sure.” Laney shrugged, interested in what the other woman had to say. It wasn’t like Laney had much experience with many men, let alone shifter men.

  “Kick off your shoes.” Clara looked down at the small heels Laney had opted to wear in a vague attempt at being a “proper girl” for the evening. “And run.” Laney turned wide eyes on Clara, but she kicked her shoes off nonetheless. Clearly the other woman was insane.

  “Head towards the house. He will catch you, but you wanna be caught, don’t you?” Clara said with a small smile. “You make his ass chase you down.”

  Laney still wasn’t convinced and she knew her expression said as much.

  Sighing, Clara looked back at her. “Seriously. Now run!” Clara shoved her towards the house. Laney didn’t miss a beat and she took off running.

  Shit shit shit! What the hell was she doing?

  As she hit the porch around the front of his home, she had expected to hear him right behind her. She swung the front door open and turned to close it. Her heart hit her throat as she spotted Clara disappearing into the trees but nothing else. Heath was nowhere to be seen.

  Shutting the door, Laney turned to g
aze into the dark house. Slowly she took a step forward, trying to see into the shadows of his home. She didn’t turn on the lights, hoping to use the darkness to her advantage

  Where the hell is he? Laney moved farther into the house. Though her heart pounded, she wasn’t scared; she was excited. Excited in a way she had never felt before. Her body vibrated, craving Heath’s touch.

  Moving along the hall she passed the living room. Scanning the room she didn’t see any movement. Slowly she progressed towards the kitchen. Looking in, she could see his table and chairs, the breakfast island, and the outline of the biggest fridge she had ever seen.

  She couldn’t see anything else. Taking a deep breath, she tried to slow her heart down. Damn the man, he was here somewhere; she knew he was.

  As she took a step backwards, she slammed into a hot solid body. Heath was standing directly behind her. Laney’s brain was screaming for her to run, but her body refused to let her move.

  Laney swallowed hard as he leaned down and moved her hair away from her face. He grazed the sensitive area where her neck met her shoulder with his fangs. Her eyes closed and she angled her head, allowing him better access as she felt his growl rumble against her back.

  The skirt of the summer dress she wore, borrowed from Mary, was slowly pulled higher and higher as Heath pushed his thigh between her legs, keeping them apart.

  Laney groaned as he stroked his hand down her body and over her mound.

  “Don’t think I have forgotten you are to be punished, my beta.” He spoke directly into her ear. Slipping a finger under the elastic of her underwear, Heath’s rumbled growl deepened even more as he found her wet and ready for him.

  Laney reached back and wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing her chest out, straining against the fabric of her dress. Turning, she nuzzled into him under his chin.

  “Mmm, my beta, don’t think you can rush me. You have been very bad today. You shouted at me down the phone, suggested my pack is a cult, stared far too long at some of the naked males in my pack…” With each transgression he rubbed his finger against her clit. Laney’s hips bucked against his hand. “And you can’t make me forget that you ran from me.” He dipped two fingers inside her, pulling a low moan out of Laney. Oh Lord, her body was on fire; she burned for Heath in a way she had never burned before. Laney didn’t think she would ever burn like this again without her one and only Alpha.