Wolf Tales III

by Kate Douglas

  “Yeah. That much I can do.” Baylor turned away then, following the narrow trail back to the house. Barefoot and naked, it wouldn’t be an easy trip.

  “Bay?” Jake’s call stopped him. “Let us come with you. We can show you the way.”

  Jake shifted before Bay could answer, then went to stand just ahead of him. Shannon shifted as well. Together, they led Bay through the dark. He rested a hand on the shoulders of each of them, all the way back to the house.

  Still acting unsettled and nervous, Bay chose his own room once they returned to the house. Shannon closed the door behind her and shrugged her shoulders when Jake glanced her way. “I hate to leave him alone. He feels horrible.”

  Jake grinned and held out his hand. Shannon folded her fingers within his stronger grasp. “He should feel horrible. He almost killed me!”

  Shannon raised up on her toes and kissed Jake. “Not a chance. You’re too tough for him. I’ll put my marker on you any day.”

  Jake draped his arms over Shannon’s shoulders and stared deep into her eyes. “Would you? Do you trust me that much?”

  She nodded. “Always. The more I get to know you, the more I find to respect. You were good with Bay tonight. A lot of men wouldn’t have been able to forgive.”

  Jake shook his head slowly. “I realized almost from the first that I love him. It’s my fault he changed here, all alone for his very first time. I should have been with him. Hell, you were forced to make the first shift on your own…killed a man your first time out as a wolf. Now Bay…I’m screwing up lives right and left here, aren’t I?”

  “No, you’re not. Bay will be fine.” Shannon realized she was staring at Jake’s chest, at the flat nipple mere inches from her mouth. “I, on the other hand, was interrupted in the midst of something quite important.” She leaned close and raked her teeth over the hard point. Jake sucked in his breath. When she twirled her tongue around the sensitive tip, he groaned.

  “Something we really should find the time to conclude.”

  Jake cupped her face in his warm palms, tilted her chin to meet her lips in a deep, wet kiss. “Are you sure?”

  Shannon nipped at his lower lip, drawing it between her teeth, then licking the sensitive inner flesh. She felt Jake’s tongue exploring her teeth, the roof of her mouth—which suddenly seemed much too sensitive for his touch.

  She broke the kiss and leaned her head against his chest. “I want you. I need to feel you inside me. Now.”

  Breathing hard and fast, Jake slipped out of his sweat pants. Shannon did the same, but when she tossed her clothing aside, she headed for the front door instead of their bedroom.

  Jake covered her hand just as she grabbed the door knob. His eyes asked the same questions he’d asked earlier. Shannon put him out of his misery with a simple finger to his lips.

  “Yes. I understand this is forever. Whether we mate or not, I’m yours. Get over it. You worry too much about the small stuff.”

  He laughed then, kissing her finger in the process. “Mating for life is small stuff?”

  Shannon grabbed his hand and tugged him out into the chill night air. “In the overall scheme of things, yes. It’s definitely small stuff.” She turned around and cupped the side of his face with her palm. “Ya know why? Because it’s going to happen no matter how much you worry, no matter how afraid of failing you might be. You saved my life and got me as a prize. Get used to it.”

  Shannon shifted, leapt over the deck railing and ran, not waiting at all for Jake. She knew he could catch her, no matter how fast she ran. The chase excited her.

  She ran really fast.

  When Jake finally caught up to her, she stood in the middle of the same meadow where they’d gone earlier. Where they’d shared what could only be described as vows. Words that had seared themselves into Shannon’s heart with their simplicity yet powerful promise.

  After so much fear, so much agonizing worry over whether or not they should do this thing, Shannon discovered that sex with a wolf was every bit as wonderful, yet no more special, than when they were human.

  She loved Jake, no matter if he walked on two legs or four. She knew he loved her just as much, and that in itself was priceless.

  When he nipped at her shoulder, raked his claws along her back, when he finally mounted her and drove deep inside her willing body, Shannon merely braced her four legs to carry Jake’s heavy weight and gave her animal-mind control.

  She’d forgotten about the bonding, the mental link that truly made them one. Forgotten so completely that she almost fought the sensation of Jake slipping silently into her mind. Suddenly Jake was there, so deep inside he was Shannon.

  So completely, Shannon became Jake.

  Like a light shining across a dark page, Shannon finally understood. Truly understood the doubts that ruled him, the questions he couldn’t answer, the sadness and insecurity that often colored every decision Jake made.

  With that knowledge came the certainty that Jake saw all her weaknesses as well. Saw, understood, and accepted. Her need to be loved, to take sexual gratification when her emotions were left adrift. Her unwavering desire to be a mother, to have a child she could love as she had never been loved, and her despair when she’d learned her sexual indiscretions had cost her that joy, had cost her the ability to reproduce.

  She knew he experienced her unbelievable elation when she’d discovered the healing her Chanku heritage had done to her reproductive organs, and she rejoiced with Jake when she felt his indescribable joy, his happiness that, when the time was right, they would have a child.

  All this in a link so complete, so soul-searingly deep, it would never fully come undone. This was what she had committed to when she’d agreed to mate with Jake.

  This was the gift he gave her, the gift she could return in kind. A gift of self, a sharing of thoughts and memories so private, so close to the heart that only an individual’s one true love could keep them safe.

  Still reveling in the sharing, Shannon’s awareness shifted to the sounds and smells of the night, to the alpha wolf driving deep inside her. He grunted with effort, she whimpered, as much from some primal fear as the building sense of completion, a climax unlike that of her human counterpoint.

  Jake’s thrusts came fast and hard, she felt the hard knot slip between her vaginal lips and lock them tightly together. Whining now, caught close against the panting beast she loved, Shannon dropped to the grass and watched him.

  Her mate. In mind now, as well as body. A part of her soul. She wanted to weep with the beauty of this moment, this time in her life when she felt truly complete. It was almost finished, this strange yet necessary act that took them beyond their humanity, fully into the world of Chanku.

  Jake regained his human form as the last tremors of his climax finally subsided. As if she were an extension of him, Shannon shifted to the woman he loved at almost the same moment.

  He felt stunned. Light-headed, and humbled beyond belief. He hadn’t realized how profound such a mating would be. Had only expected a fast, hard fuck as wolf, his bitch beneath him, her body clinging to his when they tied.

  Not the sharing. He’d heard about it, had been told the link was much more complete than anything they might experience during sex, but nothing like this. Nothing so profound, so intimate. This had stripped him bare and left him lying naked under the spotlights, his every weakness and flaw exposed.

  Exposed to Shannon. His cock still throbbed in time with his pulse, buried deep inside Shannon’s warm and welcoming pussy. She met him equally, her muscles clenching in rhythmic spasms, her breathing every bit as labored as his. Her back was turned to him, her wild mass of dark red hair tangled over his arms, covering her face.

  Her warm buttocks pressed against his belly, one arm was flung out over her head, as if she reached for something unattainable.

  “I’m here. I love you. Are you okay?” Jake brushed the tangled hair away from her shoulder and kissed her. Would she reject him? Was it too much inform
ation, too much she’d rather not know?

  Shannon slowly rolled her torso so that she faced him. She propped herself up on one elbow and stared at him for a long, solemn moment.

  Jake’s heart stuttered in his chest. She smiled. Tears coursed down her cheeks, but she smiled at him, reached for him.

  He grabbed her fingers and turned her face to his. His penis, flaccid now, slipped free of her warmth, but it was more important to see her face, her eyes, her beautiful mouth, than it was to keep the physical connection.

  We’ll always be connected. From now on. Your thoughts are mine. Mine are yours. I love you.

  Jake’s breath stopped in his lungs. He felt her words in his heart, as if she were a physical part of him. I love you. I had no idea. None at all.

  Tia tried to explain. She couldn’t. No one can understand until they experience this kind of bond. It’s as if you’re another half of me. As if you’re part of my heart and soul.

  Not as if. It just is. Jake rose to his feet, reluctantly separating himself from Shannon. With that physical separation came the realization the true connection between them would never be severed. Not so long as both of them still lived.

  He held his hand out to Shannon and tugged her lightly to her feet.

  When she stood in front of him, her tall, willowy body leaning close to his, Jake kissed her. Then he shifted, knowing Shannon would be there, knowing she could read his every thought, know his every intention.

  It was frightening and exhilarating all at the same time.

  As they loped slowly back toward the house, back to Baylor and the coming dawn, Jake knew he wouldn’t want it any other way.

  Jake slipped into the shower beside Shannon and grabbed the washcloth out of her hand. She leaned forward without comment and let him scrub her back, then she turned and did the same for Jake.

  They dried themselves, quietly and quickly. Jake didn’t question Shannon at all when she wrapped the towel around her torso and led him toward Baylor’s room instead of to their own bed just outside the bathroom door.

  Shannon tapped lightly on the door and stuck her head in. As she’d suspected, Bay lay awake, his powerful arms folded behind his head as he stared into the darkness.

  He glanced from one to the other and sighed. “Is it done?”

  Shannon sat on the edge of the bed. “You make it sound as if we went to an execution. All we did was make love.”

  “Actually, it was a lot more than that.” Jake cupped Shannon’s shoulders in his palms and planted a quick kiss on the back of her neck. “It was really pretty amazing. At some point, Bay, you’ll find a mate and experience a bonding just like Shannon and I did tonight. There’s no way to describe it, but what we did doesn’t exclude you. It connects Shannon and me in a way that’s unbreakable, but it leaves us both free to love you.”

  Jake slipped by Shannon and reached his hand out to Bay. “We do, you know. We both love you. It hurts us to see you hurting like this.”

  Bay turned his head away, but not before the tears glistening at the corners of his eyes made visible tracks through the growth of beard on his face. “I don’t feel like myself. I’m a stranger in my own body. I can’t explain it.”

  Shannon lay down next to Bay and put her arms around his waist. He kept his back to her, but she knew he listened. “It’s the supplement. We just don’t know that much about how the change affects people. We’re all different. It took Jake a couple of weeks to get it right.”

  She turned and winked at Jake. “Of course, he’s sort of slow that way.”

  Bay rolled slowly over and stared at Jake. “Two weeks? I’ve only been taking it a few days.”

  “Exactly.” Jake sat next to Shannon’s hip. “You rushed things, bro. You shouldn’t have attempted the shift so soon. Your body’s not ready.”

  “No shit, Sherlock.” Bay scooted up and leaned against the headboard. “I’ve been trying to remember what happened. It’s like there’s a big black hole in that part of my memories.”

  “Give yourself a few more days before you try it again. We’ll be careful not to do anything that sets off the wolf.”

  Bay laughed. “What? No sex?”

  Shannon punched him in the shoulder. “You’ve got to be kidding. With this guy around?” She nodded in Jake’s direction.

  “Me?” Jake slowly reached down and grabbed the edge of the thick towel Shannon had wrapped around herself. With a flick of his wrist, he tugged it free and sent it flying. “Actually, sex was exactly what I had on my mind. It’s relaxing. Good for what ails you.”

  Bay’s eyes widened at the sight of Shannon’s nude body. She felt her nipples pucker into tight little beads beneath his stare.

  Jake laughed. “See. What’d I tell you. Feeling better already, aren’t you?”

  Shannon slipped over Bay’s legs and, without any preliminaries, licked the crown of his suddenly very erect cock, then wrapped her lips around the top. Bay groaned and arched into her mouth.

  She took him deeper, positioning herself between Bay’s legs, raising her hips in the air in invitation to her mate.

  Jake knelt behind Shannon and rubbed her buttocks with his warm palms. She expected the solid pressure of his cock against her pussy, but instead she felt the warm, damp caress of his tongue.

  Shannon took Bay deeper into her mouth, suckling hard, her cheeks hollowing with each hard draw. Her fingers gently fondled the sac between his legs, rolling the hard balls between her fingers, stroking the sensitive skin between Bay’s thighs.

  Bay twisted his fingers in the sheets. Shannon felt the tension in his legs, heard his soft moans of pleasure when she explored his cock more thoroughly with her tongue.

  She licked the full length of his erection, tracing the thick vein along the bottom, nipping at the retracted foreskin behind the crown. His sac felt hot and heavy in her palm. She realized there was something amazingly arousing, cupping him this way as she licked and suckled his cock.

  As if the taste and feel of Baylor wasn’t enough to turn her on, Shannon couldn’t ignore Jake behind her, his heat, his touch, his mental caress. His warm palms caressed her thighs, his tongue gently explored between her legs.

  He nipped her right buttock, a gentle bite not meant to hurt. Chills raced up Shannon’s spine. She felt the rush of cool air on damp flesh as Jake backed away.

  She sensed his shift, felt his Chanku spirit and smiled around Bay’s cock when her legs and thighs shivered in reaction to Jake’s coarse wolven coat. A cold nose bumped against her inner thigh, a long tongue snaked deep inside her sex. Shannon shivered again and her entire body clenched at the slick intrusion.

  She was aware of Bay’s tension the moment Jake shifted, understood his fear the wolf inside him would take over, that he’d shift again without control.

  Jake’s tongue swirled deep and his mental voice tickled Shannon’s consciousness. Bay has control. He’ll discover he’s stronger than he thought, that the wolf doesn’t own him.

  Jake punctuated his thoughts with a flick of his tongue over Shannon’s clit, then a long slow lick that swept from her mons to her tailbone.

  Ahhhhh…is that why you shifted?

  She felt his laughter in her mind. His tongue drove deep inside, lapping at her sensitive tissues with quick, smooth strokes.

  Partially. Mostly it was so I could do this…

  He nuzzled her legs farther apart, pressed his muzzle between Shannon’s thighs and literally fucked her with his tongue. In and out, over and over again with deep, curling strokes while she matched Jake’s rhythm with her mouth on Bay’s cock.

  Bay buried his fingers in Shannon’s hair and his hips rose to meet her mouth. She tasted him, tasted the salty drops of fluid, and knew Bay wouldn’t last much longer.

  Nor would she. Jake’s tongue was a thing alive, sweeping deep inside, licking at the spasming walls of her sex. She felt the taut curl of the tip, the rough surface as he stroked tender tissues.

  Jake’s stiff wolven wh
iskers abraded her inner thighs, his tongue retreated to sweep her from clit to anus, over and over again. Bay’s cock jerked within her mouth. He hovered on the edge of climax. Shannon wrapped her fingers around the base of his cock to control his powerful thrusts, tasted him and sucked harder, deeper.

  Bay’s hips bucked. Shannon’s belly clenched as one last sweep of Jake’s long tongue took her over the edge. She arched her back and screamed, mingling her voice with Bay’s shout. Hot spurts of semen splattered Shannon’s breasts and throat and she felt Bay’s body shudder beneath her. Felt the pulsing in his cock perfectly aligned to her own body’s response.

  Her orgasm seemed to go on forever, fading slowly away under the gentle, yet insistent licking, from Jake. When Shannon rolled to her back, Jake lapped the hot splashes of Bay’s ejaculate off her breasts and throat, sprawling across her body like a warm, furry blanket.

  He shifted then, becoming once more the man who loved her. Shannon kissed him, then slowly, feeling almost groggy, raised her head to look at Baylor.

  One of his thighs was trapped under their combined weight. Shannon started to move away, but Bay stopped her. “Don’t go. I like the feeling, the weight of both of you holding me down. I was afraid, after what happened out there, you’d want me to leave.”

  Jake shook his head. “Never. Another few days and you’ll be ready to try a shift under your own terms. We’ll do it with you, help you through it. In the meantime, it feels damned good to know you’re truly one of us.”

  Jake raised up on one elbow and looked at Bay for a long, slow moment. Then he shifted his gaze to Shannon. “You are both my family. The first family I’ve really had in a very long time. Nothing will break that apart. Nothing.”

  He’d barely gotten the words out when Shannon heard the sound of a car pulling into the yard in front of the house. Startled, she raised up and stared first at Bay, then Jake. It was barely four in the morning.

  Not a time when most people came calling.