The Mechanic's Mate

by Mikea Howard

  Once cleaned to his satisfaction he stood, nipping her tail until she approached the buck. Drawing her lips back, with hesitation she picked a small piece free with front teeth. Taking two or three more nibbles, he assumed hunger overrode curiosity as she dove in wholeheartedly, pulling large pieces of muscle from bone.

  Chapter 10

  Once Sadie ate enough, Domek forced her down again, settling next to her. He placed his paw on her neck, holding her head down, and stretched forward cleaning all the blood off her face. He’d wanted to do so as humans the first time he fed her. Now he decided not to hold back. Once cleaned to his satisfaction, Dom dragged the carcass into the trees for scavengers. Lifting his muzzle he howled a prayer to Gaia, in thanks for the successful hunt, also letting her other children know they would not go hungry tonight.

  A reply howl in the distance took him by surprise. It didn’t belong to Marek, nor any of his enforcers, yet still resonated familiar. Sniffing the air yielded nothing with the breeze coming from the wrong direction. The howl cried out from downwind, further away from the enclave than where they stood. Every member of Blue Wolf knew not to hunt this side when a new wolf’s training took place.

  Instinct rang that something was not right, when the wind shifted directions he knew what trouble prowled out there. He sprinted back to Sadie who waited right where he left her. That’s my girl. They needed to get out of this open meadow . . . fast. Having her shift to human was not an option. Her first time would take too long, and she wouldn’t be able to move for quite some time after. No, she needed to stay in wolf form. But she had to run fast and keep up. The wolf heading their way ran almost as fast as Domek. Almost.

  Yipping and snapping to express the urgency of the situation, he ran toward the forest glancing back to make sure she followed. Considering the rate the other wolf would be coming for them, and Sadie’s top speed, they would never make it home in time. Domek needed to find a defendable location nearby. He remembered an abandoned black bear’s den he’d discovered a couple of months ago while hunting solo. It hid just on the other side of this hill. Please Gaia, let it still be vacant. He didn’t have time to defeat a bear, or wildcat, and still prepare for what might happen.

  He reached the hill’s crest and sure enough, there sat the opening. Leading Sadie to a patch of trees just right of it, he signaled with his muzzle for her to lay low and stay still. Dom needed to check it first. Stalking toward the entrance he breathed deeply, taking in all the scents. Nothing yet. Domek eased in just beyond the darkness, and exhaled in relief to find it remained empty. No fresh smells. No signs of use for many months. Perfect.

  Its small mouth opened wide enough for just one small bear, or in this instance, wolf to enter or exit. He slipped inside. The den itself widened large enough for two big wolves to move about comfortably. He exited to round up Sadie, herding her inside. She stood in the center of it with ears pinned back, tail halfway down, her hackles beginning to rise. Sadie must have sensed his anxiety as he prepared to fight if necessary, to protect her, to care for her. He blocked the entrance, making sure to prevent anyone’s ability to enter, or leave.

  “She’s not yours, Dom. I’m the one who found her. Sadie accepted me as her mate, not you,” Eridon called out from somewhere close by. “I’m quite surprised you chose to take her into the same woods as all the others. Obviously I’d know where you’d be on the night of my mate’s first change. Because it’s the same location you took me.”

  Damn it. That sack of shit had shifted to human. The physical differences would complicate things. Domek ducked into the den, checking on Sadie. As he expected, she had heard the other voice and began panicking. She shook, pacing the den whining. If he shifted now, with her so upset, it would throw her into the transformation as well. He’d have to deal with Eridon in wolf form. A little burrow opened just big enough for Sadie to curl into a tight ball. Domek forced her there, nipping at her heels, emphasizing his command to stay where he placed her by growling deeply. Eyes opened wide, she obeyed.

  Returning to the entrance he found Eridon had moved within visual range. He stood there, gray eyes showing no emotion. The bastard leaned naked against a tree as though he didn’t have a care in the world, the mecha arm crossed atop his other. Eridon did not have the solid muscle mass inherent in born wolves, instead his composition consisted of a leaner build. Domek knew this act set the scene for the bastard’s mental game, by showing no fear, even naked in his human form. That even though, smaller than him, Eridon had what he considered to be an advantage over Domek. But that had always been Eridon’s game. Avoiding physical combat as long as he could, he would try and get the upper hand by just messing with his opponent’s head. He used to refer to himself as a ‘Master of the Mind’, stating that within minutes he could get into anyone’s psyche and know their weaknesses.

  “Would you actually fight me for her?” Eridon glared at him. “She’s not worth it you know. She’s just some motherless city rat dying for any man’s attention, a natural submissive, ripe for my picking. Sadie may insist she fought the bond, but she didn’t. That’s why she’s mine, Dom. You know it too, or I would have smelled you on her. Your superior morals just won’t let you do that. She’s someone else's mate. My mate, and it drives you crazy every time you smell me on her.”

  While the bastard tried to goad him into a fight, Dom needed to calm himself. Eridon always angled for an edge up during battles by pushing him into a rage. When Domek lost all logic, his strategies faltered. Not this time. This time it meant more than just some battle for hierarchy, but a battle for salvation. Sadie’s salvation. He’d never let his old beta have her back, under any circumstances. Not to mention that Domek recognized his deception. After years of dealing with him, he picked up some of Eridon’s little tells, like the occasional scratching at his hip.

  Eridon straightened sauntering toward the den. Domek’s clear wolf vision showed that his old beta’s temples started to go a bit gray when he brushed the messy black hair from his face. Approaching closer, the werewolf’s expression seemed void of any emotions, even his usual arrogance. Domek, with ears raised, also moved forward, with his forehead furrowed. His muzzle creased with lips lifted high and nose puckered, teeth bared. Hackles raised, he adjusted his stance in a crouched position, ready to leap the moment that bastard got close enough. The tip of his tail, now raised high, began twitching to one side. Dom had all of his attention bearing down on Eridon at that moment.

  The rogue stopped just outside of range, but remained close enough that even though he dropped the volume of his voice, Domek heard him perfectly.

  “Fine, Dom, have her . . . for now. She’ll end up running back to Eureka, and back to me soon enough. When the chippy clears her addled mind and remembers she left behind the one thing that has ever meant anything to her . . . realizes I know the precise location where she left it.” He turned, walking away.

  Once he disappeared from Domek’s line of sight the click of a switch being tripped, followed by the whir of a small machine sounded. He must have activated the arm Sadie made. Once the noise stopped, Eridon shouted, “Oh and train her well while you have her. But make sure to ready her for me; she is mine and I will have her again. You remember how I like them prepared don't you, Dom? How is Kara’s sister doing by the way? Did she ever get her mind back, or is she still the babbling mess I left behind?”

  The memory of Kara’s twin sister’s fading sparkle after Eridon destroyed her struck the final blow on Domek’s control and he charged out after him. Eridon, already in wolf form, had started running away. The clank of the metal striking the ground betraying the direction he headed. Giving chase for a moment, Dom remembered he’d left Sadie behind, unprotected in the den. He stopped and ran back. Surely that sack of shit wasn’t working alone, and he’d just left her vulnerable.

  He found Sadie alone, still curled in a ball. Her eyes closed tig
ht, the fur around them glistened wet. He nudged her hindquarters forcing her out of it. Popping to her feet, she bared teeth snapping in a wild manner at him. He backed away giving her a moment to come back to herself, because he understood her panic. It almost swallowed him too, but not for the same reasons.

  Eridon had been successful in getting into Domek’s mind and planted seeds of doubt. Sadie wasn’t his mate, and if truth existed in his words, she might run back. Choosing to leave the enclave, she would become rogue, just to save whatever Eridon held over her. Dom’s possessiveness toward her meant he couldn’t let that happen. Eridon spoke right about one thing. He did need to start tutoring her in pack hierarchy and etiquette, but not for Eridon’s tastes. He huffed to himself, Like I’d ever prepare someone for that psycho.

  He escorted Sadie to where he’d left the supplies needed to help her change back. He’d stashed the woolen blanket under a bush and grabbed the corner, dragging it to the spot he deemed safe. Pawing to straighten it out as best he could, Dom guided her until she stood in the middle. That’s when it hit him. He never explained how to shift back. The wolf, being free for the first time will often refuse to leave, prolonging the pain by fighting the process. But earlier he didn’t get the chance to finish describing what she needed to do, since her wolf came in a rush and cut him off.

  After what just happened, Sadie’s nervousness prevailed. She stood on the blanket glancing around in the trees. What if Eridon came back? Took her and kept her imprisoned? She couldn’t survive being locked up and beaten again.

  Domek approached to rest his head across her neck and huffed in a rhythmic pattern, redirecting her attention. Bringing his face to hers, he began to nibble and lick her lips. She attempted nipping back at him earning a disapproving growl.

  Her cinnamon wolf held still, she liked her alpha’s attentions. It seemed so odd, having another consciousness share her body. Yes, she knew they occupied the same mind, the same being, but remained aware of their separate natures. Like two people wearing one set of clothes at the same time. She and the wolf could either move together smoothly, or fight each other’s movements and get nowhere.

  Domek brought her focus back again by rubbing his side against hers heading down toward her rump. There, he proceeded to give light nips at her hindquarters, making her lay down. He circled around settling across from her, nose to nose, and licked her muzzle again. She looked up. He locked eyes with her, growling when she tried to divert hers away. It conveyed the command to keep her attention on him, as clear as when he spoke it. She got lost in those ice-blue eyes, mirroring her alpha as they both stretched back. Bones began snapping again, and Sadie fought the terror of her wolf trying to come forward to overpower the shift being forced on her.

  Sadie cried out in a whimper when the pain in her joints and bones intensified. The burning sting when that beautiful cinnamon coat drew back into her skin increased and subsided. She remembered this lull from last time and knew the next wave of pain, as bone and muscle reknitted, hurt worse than the rest.

  She slumped back on her knees, bottom sitting on her feet in human form again. Her alpha spoke into her ear from behind. “This will help you with the pain.”

  When did I close my eyes? How did he get behind me?

  His hands grasped her hips firmly, raising her ass into the air. The warm lick of his tongue, from clit to anus, flooded her core with moisture. Emotions warred within her. She wanted to revel in being touched by him at last, but her mind kept going back to the hell required to complete her change.

  He whispered, “Ah, that’s my good girl, my little rabbit.”

  He readjusted her, his cock teasing her opening once, twice, her heart pounding with both exertion from her shift and anticipation of being taken by her alpha. His low, rumbling growl embraced her in a sheltering net as, with one hard thrust, he entered her all the way. They remained locked together for one long moment as her body adjusted to the thick hard length of him buried deep inside her.

  She became conscious of her body pulling itself back together, his hands on her hips gripping her more firmly as he began to pump. The pain of her change coalesced with the overwhelming pleasure of him slamming into her again and again, creating sensations unlike anything she’d ever felt before. Harder and harder he moved. His hands clamping her hips so firmly she was sure he’d leave his mark on her. She dropped her head, moaning, the pleasure/pain so intense she felt like her body would explode.

  Domek slid one hand up her body, burying his fingers into her hair and forced her head back as far as it would go. His hard body pressed along her back, He commanded with a husky growl, “Hold that feeling, and don’t come yet. I’m not done with you.”

  Moving his other hand to her belly, he eased it down between her damp folds. He used two fingers to circle her clit, as he continued to fuck her hard, then pinched the sensitive flesh between his finger and thumb. Pain and pleasure rolled through her, building her euphoria higher, while driving it back simultaneously. Like riding a carousel, her urge to come continued to rise and drop with equal measure.

  “Oh goddess, Sadie, you feel so damn good. So fucking warm and wet.” The sound of his satisfied groan reverberated in the air, as he pulled out almost completely, then plunged deep once again. “I will teach you to come on my command. You will prolong your pleasure for me.” He paused pushing into her again, dragging a low blissful moan from her lips.

  “And only me, Sadie . . .”

  With another hard thrust he demanded, “Come for me now. Come for your alpha.”

  And just like that, fire erupted from her core, flooding her body with waves and waves of blinding pleasure. It exploded from her belly, traveling in short bursts to her chest, caressing along her throat, and then escaping her mouth in a scream of pure ecstasy.

  She’d never experienced such explosive bliss. So intense, Sadie’s arms gave out and she collapsed, her chest resting on the blanket. Keeping a secure grip on her hips, he lifted her up to him as he plunged into her again, once, twice, three more times, before pulling out and spending his seed over her lower back, warmth sliding along her spine.

  His breathing ragged, Domek sat back and placed a kiss on each of her butt cheeks, then eased her hips down and rolled her onto her side.

  As the pleasure slowly faded, Sadie’s body began to shake, increasing into what could be compared to grand mal seizure activity.

  So cold. I’m . . . I’m so cold.

  Domek curled up behind her, and wrapped them both in the wool blanket, trapping in their body heat. He rubbed his hand up and down her arm, the friction tingled her flesh as blood returned to the surface of her skin. She wanted to believe he was caring for her with his heart, not his logic. Sadie wanted to believe her unattainable dream.

  “Shhhhh, it’s okay, little rabbit. I’m here. I’ll keep you warm. This will pass soon. Shhhhh. You did it. Your first shift is over,” he lulled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

  So tired, her mind was tired, her body was tired. She was tired. The darkness of exhaustion rolled over her as she fell asleep.

  ‘I want to be changed and accept you as my mate.’ Hearing herself say the words again in her head made her stomach sick. Their joining had started so right, he took her hard and rough, the force so perfect she reveled in the feeling. When the mating’s metaphysical bonds grabbed her, she glanced over her shoulder to meet his eyes. Ready to see the merging of their futures, she found something else. There in the gunmetal gray she saw . . . triumph? Eridon’s pleasure showed he got something that he wanted, but she didn’t see love.

  She always scoffed at people who claimed to see love in a person's eyes, as though the emotion could be something tangible. Sadie didn’t believe it possible, not until she glimpsed cold steel, and the maniacal joy mixed with anger in his . . . the absolute lack of love. His lips curled at the corners, like a m
ad scientist making some new evil potion. She played a part of some plan for Eridon, but not as his true love.

  Black smog wove through the threads and she began fighting the bonds, unable to speak, she pleaded to Gaia in her head. This wasn't what she wanted, he wasn't right, she wanted someone who loved her. It seemed like such a little thing to ask for. The pressure receded, relaxing the binding slightly. Yes! She turned, looking back over her shoulder again when he growled and slammed harder. Rough passion turned to pure violence now. The force of the thrust causing his slicked back black hair to fall forward, covering eyes and nose, leaving just his mouth visible. Eridon’s lips twisted into a cruel smile, mouthing ‘too late now’.

  When his jaw shifted, enormous teeth grew and he brought them down on her shoulder. Fear and panic engulfed Sadie, freezing her in place. He used his mecha hand and grabbed her hair to yank her head to the side. Eridon bit her. When she didn't scream he bit harder, gnawing at her bone, pulling on the wound, increasing the pain. Then Sadie screamed. She screamed until she passed out.

  When she came to he just finished cleaning her blood and fluids off himself with a towel. He scowled, looking disgusted at the remnants of their bonding, disgusted by her. Throwing the damp cloth to the ground, he turned on his heel and stalked out without glancing back.

  “You can't escape,” he whispered clicking the latch behind him.