Rebel Wolf

by Lowe, Anna

  His eyes went wide, and his cheeks grew hot.

  His inner wolf jumped to attention. She said mating. So get to it already.

  “You…want that?” he asked, terrified he’d somehow misunderstood.

  She looped her arms around his neck. “Of course, I want that. I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine. Forever.”

  Chase hugged her tightly. Mating with Sophie would be a dream come true, but still. Had he heard her right?

  “Mating means…um… It requires…”

  “A bite?” Sophie finally interjected in a low whisper that sounded shy and lusty at the same time.

  Chase’s jaw dropped. “You know about the bite?”

  She laughed. “Anjali and Hailey came over two days ago while you were asleep and explained a few things to me.”

  He swallowed hard. Wow. He’d been meaning to thank the women of Koakea for all their help, but now he owed them even more.

  “What exactly did they explain?”

  Sophie leaned in close and whispered in his ear, “Everything.”

  He didn’t know if she intended those words to arouse all the pent-up need in him, but they sure did. At the same time, he was stunned. The other women had explained mating to Sophie? He’d spent the last few days floating in and out of sleep, but now that he thought of it, he did have a vague memory of naughty giggles coming from the direction of the porch.

  “Everything?” His voice was low, gritty, and full of desire.

  “Everything.” Sophie’s lips brushed his ear, and she nestled closer, her hips right up against his growing erection. “They told me how good it feels. And that I get to bite you back — when I’m ready, I mean.”

  She nuzzled him, and he nuzzled back, high on her words. He ran his hands down her sides, teasing the edge of her breasts.

  “You want that — the mating bite?” he triple-checked.

  “I want it more than anything.” Sophie nibbled his ear.

  “You know it will bind us together forever. Really forever — more than any vows or marriage certificates could ever do. We’ll be together for the rest of our lives and forever after, too.”

  She cupped his cheeks in both hands. “I do.” Then she grinned. “You get it? I do?”

  He laughed and smoothed her hair back, mainly to keep his hands from wandering too far south.

  “It will make you a wolf shifter. Did the others explain that too?”

  Sophie’s throat bobbed, but she nodded firmly. “They explained that it can be dangerous for human males to turn shifter, but that it’s easy for women to do.”

  Chase nodded. Men’s bodies fought the change, and few survived the experience. Women, on the other hand, took to the inner changes more naturally.

  Sophie’s eyes took on a faraway look. “Anjali told me how great it feels — like the best yoga ever, with her joints going all limber. Hailey talked about feeling strong.” She flashed a sad smile. “I figure I could use some of that.”

  He shook his head. “You already proved how strong you were, out by the blowhole.”

  She pursed her lips then went on. “Jenna told me about all the sights and smells — they all agreed on that. How good it feels. How natural. How in touch with the earth.” Then she drew in a deep breath. “They said shifting was a gift.”

  Chase closed his eyes, thinking it over. He’d always taken his shifting ability for granted. But the others were right. It was a gift. One he couldn’t wait to share with his mate.

  So what are you waiting for? his wolf growled.

  Still, Chase forced himself to ask one more time. “You’re really okay with it?”

  She bit her lip. “Honestly, I’m a little scared. But I’m…well…” She blushed harder. “I’m curious too.”

  For the next few seconds, they stared at each other. Then they kissed. Hard. Harder… Sophie hooked her leg around his, making her need clear, and when her hand brushed his cock, he nearly howled.

  But Coco and Boris looked up, sniffing the lust-laced air, and Chase frowned. There was nothing he wanted more than to make Sophie his mate, but he’d prefer not to share the intimate moment with his new buddies.

  “Hang on,” he whispered, pulling Sophie to her feet.

  The dogs scattered — except Darcy who glanced up from his comfortable pillow with a look that said, What, again?

  Chase didn’t stop to correct him. Yes, he and Sophie were going to make love again. But it would be like nothing they’d ever experienced before, and he knew it. Luckily, they were already naked, so all they needed was a little space.

  “Up here,” he urged Sophie, steering her toward the loft.

  She stifled a giggle. “Good idea.”

  The dogs watched them climb the ladder, looking forlorn. But Chase was not about to feel guilty about finding privacy for the most important moment of his life.

  Sophie didn’t seem to mind either. In fact, she scaled the steep stairs faster than he’d ever seen her, and when she reached the top, she turned to face him.

  “This is all new to me, but it feels like I’ve been waiting for this my whole life,” she whispered, welcoming him into her arms.

  Chase wished he could reply with a slick line, but he was too busy kissing her and lowering her to the mattress. Within seconds, they were wrapped around each other and panting with need.

  “So good,” Sophie murmured, tilting her head to the side.

  He nearly moaned when he nipped her neck. An insatiable ache built inside him, making him nip harder. His canines started to extend, which Sophie had to feel, but she didn’t protest.

  “Yes…” she whispered, arching under him.

  Her nipples went hard and high under his hands, and when he reached lower, touching her core, she moaned.

  “More…”

  Sophie started rocking against his hand, and he couldn’t stop exploring her neck. Sniffing and nipping, seeking out the right spot to bite. The world around him faded away until all he could see, smell, or feel was Sophie. He suckled at a spot where her pulse beat closest to the surface.

  There, his wolf howled. Right there.

  Throughout his life, he’d thought about mating in an abstract way, and the bite seemed like the hardest, most dangerous part. But now that he had arrived at the moment, instinct guided him, and it felt simple. All he had to do was slide his teeth in gently, and Sophie would be his.

  “Yes,” she hissed, bucking against his body.

  Everything felt perfect, except for one little detail that nagged at him. He raked his mind for what that might be.

  Bite her. Fill her, his wolf chanted. Make her ours.

  He closed his eyes, tapping into his deepest shifter instincts. What was missing? What was he doing wrong?

  “Chase,” Sophie moaned, going slick around the fingers he swept inside her.

  She twisted slightly, and just like that, he knew what he needed.

  “Turn,” he murmured, guiding her into a roll. “Turn.”

  For the briefest of seconds, Sophie looked at him in surprise. Then her eyes sparkled, and she rolled, coming to her hands and knees.

  Now, his wolf growled. Now.

  He kneeled behind her and gripped her hips. He was on fire. Blinded. Hungry like never before.

  So, take her, a deep voice rumbled in his mind.

  They didn’t have a condom, but they didn’t need one. Not if they were going to be mates.

  Sophie looked back at him over her shoulder with dark, lusty eyes. Take me, her body all but screamed.

  The second Chase slid in, light exploded before his eyes.

  Yes, his wolf panted.

  “Yes,” Sophie cried, pushing back.

  He pulled her hips back, keeping her close, and thrust deeper. Harder. Nearly howling like the voice in his mind.

  Take her…

  He raked his teeth over her neck while rocking into her. The sex was rough, raw, and wild, but somehow, he needed it this way. Sophie seemed to as well, because she bra
ced herself and pushed back, welcoming his thrusts.

  “Chase…” she moaned as he homed in on the correct spot on her neck.

  His senses piqued, and he swore he could hear the blood rush under her skin. Under his teeth, in fact, as he rested them on her hot flesh, making sure he had it right. When he was sure, he rocked harder, bringing Sophie to the very edge of ecstasy. And when she cried out and clenched around him—

  Now, instinct cried.

  He plunged his teeth deep. A white, searing heat ripped through his body. His cock pulsed, and he emptied inside her, climaxing at the same moment she did. When he pushed his teeth a tiny bit deeper, she moaned in ecstasy.

  So good… He swore he heard her voice in his mind.

  Deeper, his wolf insisted.

  He sank his teeth deeper, covering the area with his lips. Holding on while the taste of her swirled over his tongue. Sophie danced under him as his shifter essence traveled through her veins.

  Yes, she cried. Yes…

  Every muscle in his body stiffened as he held on to the bite, then finally released it with a gasp. Panting hard, he smoothed a hand over her neck. Not a drop of blood blemished her silky skin, and the puncture marks instantly sealed over. Sophie cooed and murmured, barely seeming to notice.

  “Oh yes…” She shuddered in an aftershock then slowly settled in his arms.

  Chase’s racing heart slowed down gradually. For the past weeks, he’d been afraid to get close to Sophie, fearful that his wolf would get out of control. But it turned out that getting a little wild was exactly what they needed to find real peace.

  The road to that peace was littered with emotions, though, and they all seemed to gang up on him at the same time. Chase had never cried in his life. Not in his moments of greatest sorrow, nor the best moments of his life. But now…

  He swallowed away the lump in his throat as a couple of tears slipped out. All his life, something had been missing. For all those years, he’d never really fit in. But now, all that washed away, and he felt utterly, perfectly, sinfully content.

  “Sophie,” he whispered, holding her close as he lowered himself to the mattress, completely spent.

  He couldn’t summon any words other than her name, but he could feel his thoughts rush into her mind, telling her just how good he felt. Did she feel that good too?

  “Yes,” she whispered, melting in his arms. “Yes, I do.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Sophie smoothed her hands over her shirt and checked her appearance for the third time. Her French braid looked fine, but her hands wouldn’t stop skittering nervously over her clothes. When she caught herself sniffing the air, she chuckled.

  “What?” Chase asked, coming up beside her. The moment he touched her shoulder, her jumpy nerves eased.

  “Look at me, sniffing the air. Soon, I’ll be howling to the moon.”

  She hadn’t shifted yet, but she’d felt a change the moment Chase had bitten her. That had been three days ago, and she was still tingling from the high. Of course, they had been shagging wildly at all times of day — and night — ever since.

  “Howling to the moon with me,” Chase murmured, looking pleased.

  The notion made her blood race. But then she wrinkled her nose and frowned.

  “Yikes. We smell like sex.”

  “We smell like mates,” Chase corrected, nuzzling her shoulder.

  That only heightened the lusty scent in the air, because the slightest touch from her mate turned her on. That was another side effect of the change unfolding within her — the constant craving for her mate. Of course, she’d been wild about Chase from the start, but that need had intensified. How she’d resisted the urge to hop into bed with him from the very beginning, she had no clue.

  But sadly, now was not the time. The sun was dipping toward the horizon, bringing another day to a close. A day she’d be happy to end in her mate’s arms, but they had a meeting to attend first.

  “Anyway,” Chase added. “I think you smell good.”

  “You do. But everyone else…”

  He shook his head. “Hey, we’re shifters. No one will judge. Everyone is happy for you. For us, I mean.”

  He hugged her, and she closed her eyes in another of those Pinch me, I’m dreaming moments she’d experienced over the past few days. Then she pulled away, because her hands were already sliding down Chase’s perfect ass, which would only get her sidetracked again.

  “Okay, then. Meeting, here we come.”

  “Right.” Chase nodded and moved aside to crouch beside Darcy. “Ready to take over here, Lieutenant?”

  The dog wagged his tail, and Sophie beamed at the sight. Finally, her little warrior had accepted Chase as one of the good guys. Darcy had recovered enough to manage brief walks outside, but mostly he’d been lying on that pillow. They’d caught him dragging it to the front door a day earlier — the better to guard the house from, Sophie supposed. Not that he was in any shape to guard anything yet, but he would be back on his feet soon.

  “Good boy,” she said, petting him. Her brave little Darcy. “Will you guard our home for us?”

  Darcy wagged his tail, and she smiled. She wasn’t the only one who loved their new digs. The dogs had settled in quickly, prancing over the lawn and exploring the grounds. But even when Darcy was fully healed, Sophie had the feeling he would stick close to the house, guarding his home.

  Home. She sighed. It had been ages since she’d truly been able to call a place that. Now, a feeling of contentment like none she’d ever known settled into her bones.

  “Home is where the heart is,” she murmured to herself, echoing her aunt’s words. Then she smiled and remembered the punchline. Being in Maui doesn’t hurt either.

  She stood, sniffing the air wafting through the front door. The aroma of tropical flowers, the distant roll of waves over the shore. The musky scent of the woods, higher up along the slopes.

  Home, a scratchy voice whispered in her mind.

  The voice of her inner wolf was growing ever clearer. That thrilled and comforted her at the same time. Her step uncle Mike had died horribly because he’d resisted the beast emerging within him, but she had accepted hers from the very start.

  Maybe Chase was right. Every human had a hidden, animal side, but she was more in touch with hers than most people were.

  “Okay, then. You’re in charge,” Chase told Darcy. Then he took Sophie’s hand and led her toward the main house.

  She left Darcy with a last Good boy, which made him straighten with pride. Chase had been right about that as well. Every dog had one thing that made them tick, and for Darcy, that was all about earning her praise.

  Coco and Boris were the same; they looked to Chase for approval and treated him like a god. On the whole, though, they were more simple, fun-loving souls than Darcy, and they loved chasing each other through the underbrush as Sophie and Chase walked along.

  The blustery weather had come and gone, leaving Maui as lush and beautiful as ever. The light of the setting sun glinted off Sophie’s locket and made the slopes of the plantation turn gold.

  “All right, guys. Settle down,” she called as they approached the main house.

  They did no such thing, but the second Chase grunted a single syllable, they fell back to his heels.

  “Yay! They’re here!” a boy cried.

  Joey, Cynthia’s son, came hurtling down the porch stairs, heading straight for the dogs. Within seconds, he was chasing Coco in circles and having a great time. Keiki, the calico cat from the neighboring estate, stood on the stairs hissing at Boris. The greyhound stuck his tail between his legs and retreated behind Chase.

  Chase chuckled and whispered to the dog, “Nothing to be ashamed of, man. That cat has the heart of a tiger.”

  Keiki stuck her nose up and turned to the adults on the porch with a look that said, Who shall I allow to pet me next? She settled for Dell and started purring under his hand.

  “Come on, Boris,” Joey squeaked. “We’re p
laying tag!”

  “Joey, sweetie, don’t be too wild,” Cynthia called.

  Sophie smiled. If anyone had ever tried telling her the boy who played with her dogs was a dragon shifter, she never would have believed it. Now, she knew enough about shifters not to be alarmed. Joey wouldn’t actually shift until he reached adolescence, for one thing, and he was really sweet, for another. She had no doubt dragons could be fierce as anything, but Cynthia had only been incredibly kind and welcoming.

  She’s got a soft spot for Chase, Anjali had explained.

  Yeah, Dell had added. Her only soft spot.

  Hailey had laughed at that. Everyone has a soft spot for Chase.

  That was evident as Sophie and Chase came up the stairs, hand in hand. Everyone waved and called out fondly.

  “Chase! Sophie!”

  “Good to see you!”

  “Yeah — finally,” Dell quipped, winking at them while making his baby daughter wave.

  Sophie blushed. Yes, they had spent most of the past three days making love in Chase’s house. But as Chase had promised, no one teased. More than anything else, everyone was happy for them. Happy — and reliving their own first days together, Sophie guessed as the couples exchanged knowing glances.

  Chase was the subject of much back-slapping from the guys, while Sophie was hugged by the women. It was like coming home to a warm, loving family after a long time away. She even choked up a little until Chase looped an arm over her shoulders and shot her a Told you so grin.

  Sophie placed a hand on her locket. Koakea was so full of love. No wonder she felt so at home.

  Still, she felt something special binding her to the other women there. A faint feeling she couldn’t exactly place. Something beyond the fact that they’d all been through similar struggles in the course of finding their destined mates. Sophie looked around, wondering what could account for that.

  She turned and saw Cynthia watching her — no, wait. Looking at her locket? A split second later, Cynthia jerked her gaze away. Sophie pursed her lips. Had that been a look of concern, or was she imagining things?

  “Well, everyone, let’s get started,” Cynthia announced.