by Jessica Ryan
"Why?" he asked.
"It's coming from her, Rowan," she said, looking back with tears welling in her eyes. "Whatever is doing that to the forest is coming from her."
"How can you tell that?"
"I heard it while we were in the forest. Whispering and laughing in the distance. It was a female's voice."
"That doesn't mean it was her."
"I had a dream about it last night. I relived us leaving the forest repeatedly, and each time the words became clearer and clearer."
"That's just a dream, though," he protested.
The look Eva shot him was serious enough to stop Rowan dead. It was no normal dream; she really was reliving that day. "Go on."
"Each time I dreamt I could hear a little more, until my final dream," she said. "Rowan, the voice said your name and laughed. It said Abaddon's name and laughed. It said Aster's name and laughed."
"So?" he asked. "If it was Leena, then she was just recounting the men in her life."
"That's not all," she said, looking down at the table. "After all of that, the voice said my name. Rowan, it knows about me. It said my name and then it growled, it honest to God growled."
Rowan leaned back in his seat, turning that thought over in head repeatedly. "She won't come around you, baby. I won't let anything happen to you, even if it is my sister."
"Thank you," she said. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"You'd still be living in that cramped apartment," he said, smiling. "Now you get to move half your crap to my place."
"The place could use a little modernization!" Eva said, giggling.
He could tell what she had just told him was still weighing heavily on her mind, but she appeared to be trying to move on and think about something else. Rowan had to help her take her mind off of these problems. He had to do something for her.
"Do you want to take a walk?" he asked.
"Shouldn't we be getting back to Bucklin?"
"It'll be just a minute," he said, throwing money down on the table and grabbing her by the hand. "I want to show you something."
"You said I didn't have to go into the forest," she said, looking across the street with a worried expression on her face.
"We're not going there." He shook his head. "There's something behind the diner I want to show you. I used to come here a lot in my younger days."
"Okay," she said, jumping out of her seat. "Let's go."
Rowan led Eva out the door by the hand, taking her around behind the diner. The diner was set in front of some trees and then a steep drop off leading down to a small pond below. Rowan held Eva's hand tightly as they navigated the steps that were cut into the side of the hill, leading to the water below.
"I didn't even know this place existed," Eva said, yelping as she almost slipped. Luckily Rowan easily caught her and set her upright, continuing their trek.
"Not many people do," he told her. "The owner comes down here to fish a lot, but he doesn't want anyone else to know about his secret spot."
"Then how do you know about it?"
"I've hunted here before," he said, laughing.
"You hunt?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"I used to when I was younger," he replied. "Quite frequently, actually. When you're a young wolf living in the city, you naturally want to rebel. Most of the older wolves in Bucklin are very into living the human life. Obviously the council still puts on a show with their furs for outsiders who are let into the circle and the Oakdale pack hunt a lot, but the majority of wolves just want to go to work and then go to the grocery store with the occasional full moon run sprinkled in. Our youth are just like any other youth, they want to be different. Aster and Leena and I would shift a lot and go hunting. Sometimes we'd end up here, trying to catch fish out of the water."
"Did you eat the meat raw when you caught it?" she asked, her upper lip curling in disgust.
Rowan laughed before looking back at her. "Yes, but only when I was shifted."
"Gross," she said, shaking her head.
"I am part wolf."
"I know," she shot back, patting him on the arm. "I'm not complaining. I think it's sexy."
"Good," he said, stopping at the water's edge. Rowan looked back up the steps. He couldn't see the top of the hill or the diner through the trees—they were completely hidden from sight.
"This is a cozy place," she said, looking back up the way they came. "Very private."
"It is." He pulled her to a tree. "Look at this."
He watched Eva's face as she read the carving on the large oak tree.
"A and L forever," she said quietly. She turned to him, her eyes growing wide. "Aster and Leena."
"Yes," he said, looking down.
"This was supposed to cheer me up? This is sad!"
"I know. It was from a time when they were both much happier."
"You mean when you were all much happier."
"No," he said, shaking his head and reaching into his pocket. He pulled out his pocket knife and smiled at Eva. "Even though everything is crumbling around me, I don't feel unhappy at all. You know why?"
"I think so," she said, smiling.
"I'm happy because I have you," he told her. "I've never been happier. I care about my pack and I care about my family, but I know as long as I have you everything will be okay."
"Really?" she asked, a smile wider than two football fields appearing on her face.
"Of course," he said. "I love you, Eva."
"I love you too, Rowan," she replied, diving into his arms and burying her face in his chest. Rowan held her close with one hand and used the other to carve out "R and E forever" before carving a large heart around it.
"We'll always be happy," he promised, kissing her on the forehead. Her skin was so soft and creamy, it felt perfect against his lips every time they touched it. Her skin was always just the right temperature and it always had just the right taste. "Happier than they ever were. Nobody will take you from me, nobody."
"Good," she said, looking up at him. "I've never been happier either."
As Rowan smiled at Eva he realized there was something else at hand. Her greedy hands were working the buckle on his belt, ripping it open with no regard for the old leather that comprised the belt. Her hands were on a mission, and his choice of clothing wasn’t going to stop her.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Nobody can see us. I'm showing you how much I love you."
"No, you're not," he said defiantly, gently pushing her hands away.
"Why not?" she asked, pouting at him.
"Because I'm going to show you," he said, a sinister smile playing out across his face.
Rowan didn't give her a chance to react; instead, he spun Eva around, pushing her up against the smooth bark of the tree. She pushed against him with her perfect ass, trying to create distance, but he took a hard grip on the tree, forcing her to stay in place.
“It’s hard to breathe,” she sputtered out, smashed between him and the tree.
“Just breathe with me,” he whispered into her ear, smiling as he felt her entire body shudder in response. He pulled her away from the tree a bit, one large hand shooting up in front of Eva to grip her under the chin. His other hand easily worked the button on her pants, pulling them down as he undid them.
With the hand that held her face he turned it to the side, his lips coming down to meet the soft skin of her neck. She moaned as his lips began hungrily devouring her neck, the moment being lost in a bombardment of kisses and nibbles.
She tasted and smelled like the Japanese Cherry Blossom body spray she used. It had gotten to the point that Rowan’s manhood reached full attention when he smelled the scent, even without Eva present. As he drank in his favorite scent he felt the rhythm of her breathing as her back pressed hard against his chest.
His heart was nearly beating out of his chest, his blood pressure rising as he became more and more excited. For a second he wondered if Eva could feel his heart, beating like
a bass drum at a rock concert. Did she know the effect she had on his body? Did she know how quickly she made his blood race?
If she didn’t feel his powerful heart, the heart that belonged completely to her, then she felt the other thing that belonged completely to her—the long, hard shaft that was currently grinding against the smooth curve of her bare ass.
Eva moaned in delight each time he pressed it against her, driving him even more wild. She had begun to slowly rotate her hips, each revolution pressing her perfect rear against his throbbing member.
The hand that had pulled her pants down began to explore the moist folds of her sacred spot. His fingers began to explore her swollen folds, trying to find their way into the tightest of spots. Finally his middle finger broke through, plunging into Eva’s pleasure. She reached back, gripping him as his finger began to work back and forth inside of her while the pad of his thumb continually brushed against her swollen nub. He could feel her body shuddering, spasming as he went to work.
Each shudder, each deep breath brought him closer to the edge. His wolf was growling inside of him, demanding to enter his mate and stake his claim. He had spilled his seed into her enough that no wolf would ever mistake her for anyone else’s. For his wolf it was primal; he needed to mark his territory and let the world know who she belonged to. For Rowan it was more than that, it was about pleasuring the woman who gripped his heart so tightly that she knew how much that heart belonged to her.
He knew Eva had probably made love to plenty of selfish lovers in her time, never fully getting the treatment she deserved. Rowan wasn’t going to do that to her, he was going to make sure he knew that her body's every need was his chief concern. It made the moment he entered her even more satisfying as his wolf was finally given what it wanted, howling its approval as his cock slid through the moist folds of her pussy, hitting the perfect spot from behind. He fit inside her perfectly, their bodies both knowing it and responding in kind.
The walls of her vagina clamped down on his cock as he began to thrust back and forth into her, his hands squeezing her ass as he pumped.
“Oh god, Rowan,” she moaned. “Right there.”
Rowan’s pace began to quicken. He could feel the blood rushing to his swollen member, nearly forcing him to explode his seed into her quickly. He couldn’t give in so soon.
He quickly pulled out and spun her around, using his brute strength to lift her off the ground and push her against a tree. She reacted immediately by wrapping her legs around his waist and digging her fingernails into his back to hold on.
“I love you,” he whispered, looking into her beautiful, ocean-like blue eyes as he lowered her down onto his rigid staff.
“I love you too...oh!” she cried out as the head of his penis found its mark. She gripped him hard as he pushed her against the tree, slamming his cock up and down into her tight pussy. She moaned and threw her head back as she bounced.
Even with a bra on her beautiful tits jostled up and down, drawing Rowan’s gaze to them. He had never seen two more perfect objects before in his life. He looked back at Eva, whose eyes were starting to roll into the back of her head as he continued to fuck her.
That’s too fucking hot, he thought, watching the drugged look on her face. There was something about the look she was giving him that forced his entire lower body to clench as he felt the come rushing through his cock.
At the same time Eva let out a primal scream and stiffened up completely, her nails digging into his back. She had reached climax as well, her entire body now shuddering with the force of her orgasm.
Rowan grunted and huffed as his legs got weak from the sudden orgasm that had gripped him. With no strength left he collapsed backwards into the dirt with Eva still sitting on top of him.
“That’s perfect,” she purred, looking down at him.
“I am yours, Eva,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her.
“I am yours too, Rowan,” she said, looking down on him.
“No you don’t understand,” he told her. “I claimed you as my mate, to forever have you and protect you. But you’ve done something more, you’ve claimed my heart to forever hold and control. You are the reason I wake up in the morning and the reason I want to protect this town. This town is nothing without you in it, as my heart is now nothing without your love in it.”
As he finished his speech, the words just pouring out of him spontaneously, he could see the glimmer of a small tear forming in the corner of one of Eva’s sapphire eyes. She quickly wiped it away, never wanting to appear to be a crybaby to Rowan.
“I will cherish it and take care of your heart forever, my alpha,” she said, pulling herself down beside Rowan in the dirt.
He wrapped his big arms around her and held her tight, not saying another word.
Chapter 6
Ciara finally stopped running again after at least twenty minutes. Her legs were on fire and her calf was starting to cramp up as she ground to a halt. Her lungs were on fire and sweat was trickling down her face and stinging her eyes.
She collapsed against a tree, trying to rub out the cramp in her calf.
"What the hell?" she finally said in between gasps of air. "Surely he isn't still chasing me."
She stood up straight and limped forward on her tight calf. Where the hell was she? She looked around at the area around her—it all looked the same. This area of the forest literally looked like every other area of the forest she had been in.
"Fuck!" she screamed before clasping her hands over her mouth. Her eyes grew wide as she looked around. In her moment of frustration she had completely lost sight of where she was and what she was doing. If he was close by he had to have heard her.
Ciara whimpered and began to limp away, trying to put more distance between her and her invisible pursuer. She was miles away from where she had first met him, but he looked to be in much better shape than she was.
This is probably all a game to him, she thought. He's just toying with me right now.
Why the hell hadn't she listened to the park ranger? Her conversation with him seemed a lifetime ago, but she should have heeded his words more closely.
Then she froze. There was somebody close by. She couldn't hear anything, but she knew there was somebody watching her, waiting for her to make the wrong move.
She looked around at the trees that surrounded her, but she saw nothing. There was nobody in sight, but she definitely knew someone was watching her.
"Whoever you are," she shouted. "Leave me the fuck alone! I'll fight! I'm not afraid to!"
She knew she was probably the least threatening figure possible. What was she going to do, bludgeon someone to death with her boobs? Claw their eyes out? Do a flying butt attack? She was defenseless without her gun.
Then she heard it, the low growl behind her. She spun around to see a scraggly wolf stalking low towards her, his lips pulled back to review a row of sharp, yellowing fangs.
"Good boy," she said, walking backwards. "Please don't hurt me."
The wolf continued to advance, his eyes studying her like he was memorizing her form.
"Doggy want a bone?" she asked weakly. It was the only thing that came to mind, despite how stupid it sounded.
She yelped as the wolf began to shift and turn, twisting into something new and different. Before her eyes the scraggly wolf turned into the same skinny meth-head-looking man who had pursued her earlier.
"As a matter of fact, doggy does," he said, laughing at her.
"Fuck," she said, backing into a tree. "What the fuck are you?"
"Your new mate," he said, smiling. "You've been claimed and there's nothing you can do about it."
"Claimed?" she asked. "Don't hurt me."
"Don't worry, pretty girl," he said, drawing ever closer to her. "I'm going to treat you real good."
Just as he almost reached her, a large hand appeared on his shoulder, his eyes growing wide as he was suddenly yanked off of his feet and tossed backwards, his head crashing into a l
arge tree several yards behind where he had stood.
Ciara looked up at the creature that threw him, her heart fluttering as she realized it wasn't a creature at all. It was a hero, a savior like none other. Standing before her was God's gift to women, at least she thought so. The light coming through the trees shone down behind him, illuminating him like some sort of guardian angel who was sent from above to rescue her from the evil that was her life. Maybe he was her inner spirit, here to deliver her to a better life? Whatever the case, he was now looking at her, concern on his perfect face.
He wore a black t-shirt that did little to hide the lean muscular form beneath it. He wasn't overly muscled, like the bodybuilders she would see in magazines at the gym; no, he was perfectly toned, like an athlete. He was tall, much taller than she was, with a long, chiseled face. His beautiful blue eyes were nearly hidden by moppish blond hair that hung low. The only thing that one would consider a flaw was the beak-like nose that poked out of the hair, but she found it only added to his overall charm and beauty.
"Are you okay?" he asked, calmly and stoically.
"I…I…think so," she said. She glanced behind him; the other man had recovered and was now rushing forward, malice in his eyes. "Look out!"
Her guardian angel smiled and spun around, driving his fist into the man's stomach as he reached him, driving all the air out of his body.
He stood over the fallen man, glaring at him as he struggled to breathe.
"Who are you?" her savior demanded. "What pack do you belong to?"
The man just whimpered and curled up in a ball, trying to ignore the intimidating man who stood above him.
"Are you with the Oakdale pack?" the blond man demanded.
The fallen man shook his head no as he lay there.
"Why were you accosting this girl?" the blond man asked, his voice powerful and commanding. Ciara could feel a tingle in her nether region as she watched the command he had over the situation. This was his world and the other man was just living in it.
"She's in my territory," the naked man said, breathless.