He lifted her to her feet, pinning her up against the tree once more. His mouth covered hers, hungry and desperate as he lifted her skirts, then entered her with one swift, hard thrust.
She screamed. Not because it hurt. It didn't. It was the shocking suddenness that had drawn the sound out of her, but she was more than ready for him. Her body slick and aching with a simmering desire that had never gone away during the time that she'd been trying to focus on his pleasure.
There was nothing gentle about him this time as he rammed into her, driving into her so hard, that he lifted her right off her feet with each and every thrust. She could do nothing but cling to him, holding onto his shoulders as he took her body.
And she surrendered.
Her inner muscles clutched at him, needing more of the thick feel of him inside her. Needing, in a way, this wildness in him. It was primitive and animal-like, appealing in its raw need. She felt him pulsing again. Throbbing as he swelled thicker and harder inside her.
Then the waves of climax swept over her, submerging everything except for the sheer pleasure of being joined with this man. They cried out together and she felt him stiffen against her. Flooding her insides with his seed.
As their breathing slowed, he leaned into her and pressed his forehead against hers. His breath puffed hot and fast against her lips. "Did I hurt you?"
"No." She was still shaking. Quaking on the inside and out and she realized that he was still hard inside her.
He shifted his hips in a slight movement, his hands coming down to hold her bottom. "I want to stay inside you forever..."
"I'd let you, if we could."
His head snapped up and his dark eyes were wide as he stared at her. "Does that mean"
"I'm not talking marriage. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet." She wasn't sure she would ever be ready for that. "But I want to be with you."
"Your mother won't like that."
"I don't care." It was a horrible thing to say, but it was the absolute truth. "You're all that matters to me now."
"Then you'll run away with me?"
She hesitated, then nodded. Ran her finger down his chest, tracing the line of one of the horrible, jagged scars that had been carved out of his flesh. The mark of the wolf. "If we don’t leaven, then she'll do everything she can to make your life miserable."
Now it was his turn to hesitate, then he said. "She already has."
"I know." Theresa reached up and touched his cheek. "I'll go wherever you want to go."
A brief grin flashed. "You know I'll keep trying to talk you into joining me at the altar."
"I wouldn’t expect you not to.” Especially since he had been so good at talking her into things when they were kids.
"Just so we're clear about that."
"We are." She inhaled sharply as he slowly withdrew that still-hard flesh from inside her, moaning softly at the loss.
He kissed her mouth. "When you make sounds like that, I want you all over again."
"You'll have plenty of time for that. We both will, once we're away from here."
"Is that a promise, Theresa?"
"Definitely."
Chapter Four
She never returned to her mother’s house. They stopped only at his house long enough for him to grab a few things. Including the amulet that her mother had given him. "I want to make sure you are safe with me, even on a full moon."
"I know I'm always safe with you."
They headed to the coast first, to a large city where they could lose themselves in the crowd. Mother was chasing after them. Christopher often spoke of detecting her scent. Close and constant. Haunting them like a ghost.
That was when she agreed to marry him. Knowing that her mother was in pursuit, Theresa wanted to make sure that there was a legal bond between herself and Christopher. One that even her mother would be unable to break.
After the wedding, they traveled further down the coast. It was the first time either of them had spent time near the ocean and Christopher found work as a laborer on the docks. Helping to load cargo and supplies onto ships.
Then the night of the full moon arrived. He headed into the woods beyond the town and in the morning, she waited for him, his clothing neatly folded in her lap.
Though she had seen him like this before, the sight of his wolf-form was still striking and impressive. He was much larger than an ordinary wolf, nearly as large as he was as a man. His dark brown hair gleamed under the light of the moon.
He was wearing the amulet that her mother had given him. Trotting up, he lay down beside her, resting his head upon the pile of clothing in her lap.
As the moon set, the fur faded away and his limbs and body altered back to its more natural shape. He remained in her lap, breathing hard, and she stroked his sweaty brow. The transformation took its toll on him. He’d told her that it was always like that. Always a strain. “At least we know one thing works.”
He ran his fingers along the talisman. “I don’t think I should keep this.”
“What are you thinking of?”
“I think we should find the brothers.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re likely going through this too. Changing with the full moon. And…”
“You would give that up for them.”
He bit his lower lip and looked away. “It’s the only way that I can make up for what I’ve done.”
They had rarely talked about that night, but she knew it still haunted him. He often thrashed about in his sleep, tormented by nightmare images of what he’d done. Sometimes waking in a cold sweat. “If that’s what you need to do, then we should go.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay with that. Seeing him again?”
“I didn’t love him.” She knew that with a certainty now. “He doesn’t have the power to hurt me any longer, because I love you.”
“I love you too. I always have.”
“Then we’ll work to save up as much as money as we can.” She was also working in an inn again, for they needed both of their incomes to survive in this much more expensive world.
A thought struck her and she paused to run her hand over her stomach. She suspected that she was already with child, but wouldn’t speak of that just yet. Not until she was a little more certain. But if she was pregnant, that would make traveling more difficult after a while. “After that, we’ll look for them. But how will we find them?”
“I don’t know. But as long as you’re with me, I’m certain that we can do anything…”
The story of the princes continues in The Cursed Princes trilogy. Starting with Luke’s story, The Wolf Prince. http://www.amberjantine.com/books/the-wolf-prince/
Description:
Ella has been treated as a servant by her stepmother since her father died. In a rare moment of defiance, she sneaks out to the royal ball and ends up seeing Crown Prince Luke stripping down in the palace garden before turning into a wolf.
Luke’s curse condemns him to shift into a wolf every full moon. When he realizes a young lady at the ball has witnessed his transformation, he hunts her down and finds an exquisite beauty whom he will do anything to make his.
Excerpt:
The trunk in question was small but exquisitely carved both on the sides and the lid. It was an heirloom passed down through her mother’s family, and in that sense, it would be one of the most valuable things that Ella owned. Perhaps she was fortunate that it wasn't the kind of value that her stepmother could appreciate, because she would have wanted to see and destroy the contents: an ivory silk gown that had belonged to Ella's mother.
It had been her wedding gown, saved, by her request, for the day when Ella married.
Her prospects for finding a husband were nonexistent now, but that didn't mean the dress had to remain locked away forever. It was the one thing she owned that would be suitable attire for the Midsummer night's ball.
Not that Ella had any hope or illusion that she might end up dancing with one of the princes.
Or anyone else, for that matter.
It was too dangerous. If her stepmother ever found out there would be a heavy price to pay. Her body still wore the scars of the last time she had disobeyed one of her stepmother’s orders, carved into the skin of her back and shoulders.
Getting dressed on her own was difficult, but there was no way she would have risked asking Maria for help. Not that she didn’t trust the maid, but she wanted to protect her. If this all went bad and became public, she didn’t want anyone else to suffer for her decision.
Ella brushed out her hair and tied it up in a simple not. Not elegant at all, but it was passable. Then she set out for the palace on foot.
She crossed through her family’s estate rather than walking through the town. Again, she didn’t want to attract attention, if at all possible.
Her nose wrinkled as she passed by her stepmother’s walled garden. Lady Isabelle had said it was full of the ingredients you need to create her favorite beauty remedies.
Ironic that something meant to make women look good could smell so foul, though the fumes were always worse at this time of the year.
Ella vividly remembered the one time she had slipped into the enclosed space as a child, shortly after her father died. All she had done was brush up against one particularly unremarkable looking plant, with its pointed, oval-shaped leaves and purplish brown flowers, and had ended up with horrible sores all over her body.
Her stepmother had laughed, saying that it was proof that Ella would never be beautiful, not if the so-called ‘beautiful lady’ bush made her so ugly.
She stared wide of that section of the estate, but the sense produced by it seemed to be following her on the wind. She picked up the pace, slipping a few times in her ill-fitting leather slippers.
It was nearly sundown by the time she arrived, and though the footmen gave her strange looks for arriving the way she did, they didn’t try to keep her away, either.
She didn’t go directly to the ballroom. Ella knew her way around the palace fairly well, having visited there as a child. Her father had advised the king on occasion, though that had stopped shortly after he had married his second wife. Lady Isabelle had always resented the time that her father spent away from his family. Or rather, she resented any time that was not devoted to her and her own daughters. She had certainly never approved of Father spending time with Ella.
As she slipped around the back of the palace, her breath caught in her throat. Although the main party was being held with the indoors, the gardens had been decorated beautifully. Strings of miniature lanterns were set up all around the walkways, giving the entire area a fairy-like glow.
The music from the ballroom was audible even from this distance, and she recognized an old favorite of her mother’s. She swayed slightly, twirling about in the same steps she remembered mother and father using when she was a child, as they had waltzed about their parlor together. Neither of Ella’s parents have been very fond of attending formal balls or other events, but they had always loved to dance.
She stumbled several times, as her worn leather shoes continued to slip off her feet at the most inconvenient times. They had been handed down from Daphne, who had slightly larger feet than Ella did, and had never fit her properly.
An odd noise caught her attention.
She heard voices. Following the sounds, she peered through the bushes to see what was going on. She immediately recognized the two princes who had recently returned home. Prince Luke and Prince Adrian.
The entire kingdom was aware of how the king’s three sons had gone off to find adventure in foreign lands, but only two of them had returned. There were some rumored whispers about what had happened to the other prince, Edward, but no one was certain whether he was alive or not.
Both princes wore agitated expressions, constantly glancing over their shoulders. Were they sneaking away from the ball?
It seemed a bit… strange, to say the least.
There was no secret as to the main reason for tonight’s event. King Nicholas was seriously ill. It was not known if he would see the end of the season, much less the year, and he had made it clear he wanted to see one or more of his sons wed before he was gone. That was why they had made a point of emphasizing—no, requiring—all young ladies of marriageable age and of certain family status to attend and be introduced.
So why would the princes be sneaking away? Ella doubted there had been enough time to meet everyone at the ball who was desiring their acquaintance. They had cut their travels short at their father’s request—making it clear that they would not be completely averse to sacrificing some of their pleasures for the king’s sake. So one evening surrounded by debutantes and scheming, ambitious mothers should not have been too much for them to bear.
And yet…
She caught her skirt in her hands, holding it higher than was proper in order to move as silently as possible. Following them deeper into the gardens. They finally paused at the edge of a wilder, wooded area that was reserved for hunting parties held by the royal family. Off-limits to everyone else, except by the strictest invitation.
The two men were carrying lanterns, for the sun had set and the outside was completely dark. The moon was just beginning to peek over the horizon and was casting little light at the moment.
Outside of their strange behavior, something about them simply fascinated Ella. In particular, she couldn’t take her eyes off the elder Prince, Luke. Perhaps it was because she had some familiarity with Adrian. They were close in age and had known each other as children.
The eldest prince was ten years older than his youngest brother and twelve years older than Ella.
He had always been a rather striking young man, with his black hair and bright blue eyes, but the years had made him into something more. He stood head and shoulders taller than most men, and there was an air of strength in the cut of his jaw and the way he held his shoulders.
Then, as if this evening wasn’t already strange enough, both brothers began to do something even more unexpected. They removed their heavy brocade coats and tossed them to the ground, without a care for the expensive fabric.
Luke took off his shirt, revealing golden tan skin and a powerful, muscular body that made Ella’s mouth go dry. A funny little pulsing took up residence between her legs. It felt like her heartbeat had dropped down there and she was flushing hot in a way that she had never experienced before. It felt like there was an open flame coursing through her body, just under her skin.
Ella knew she should look away, that she was seeing something no proper young lady should observe. Her heart was pounding so hard that she half-expected that the two princes would be able to hear it.
Luke reached for the fastenings on his trousers. She caught a glimpse of slightly paler skin and firm and rounded buttocks, strong legs and as he turned partly in her direction, of something else.
Something she didn’t have a name for.
Both princes now stood in the gardens as naked as they were born as the moonlight began to touch their skin. Luke started, as if startled, and glanced in her direction, though Ella was certain that she had not made a single sound.
His eyes widened and she thought he would certainly call her out, to shout at her for invading his privacy, but instead he threw back his head and let out a howl.
It was an eerie sound, more animal than man.
Ella shivered as it was echoed by Adrian, the chorus of cries freezing her in place.
It was a sound that every young child in the kingdom had learned to fear, despite the fact that wolves had been hunted out of the region nearly a century ago.
The princes twisted and turned, convulsing and letting out pained whimpers as fur sprouted everywhere and their faces elongated into distinctive snouts with wickedly sharp teeth. The whines turned into mournful pleas, as if some small part of them that was still human knew what was happening and was mourning the loss. As the full moon illuminated the gardens with its eerie glow, the princes were gone.<
br />
Replaced by a pair of wolves that were each larger than any man.
About Amber Jantine
Amber Jantine grew up dreaming of happily-ever-afters, and now she loves writing about hot shifters and the women who love them. You can connect with her online at her website: http://www.amberjantine.com/
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The Cursed Wolf Page 4