by Eve Langlais
“It’s too late because I don’t want to leave,” Mia interrupted. “Gods.” She let out a disdainful bark of laughter. “I can’t believe I’m saying that.”
Honestly, Owen was just as surprised. That’s not to say he wasn’t pleased as hell to hear it. “I can’t have you here, Mia. We have no idea what to expect. There’s bound to be chaos, confusion. If you get caught in the crossfire, I might not get to you in time.” Owen’s breath caught in his chest at the thought of losing her. They might have only known each other for a few days, but the intensity of the connection that bound them was undeniable.
“I can take care of myself, Owen,” Mia replied. “You don’t need to worry about me.”
He laughed. “Obviously you have no idea how intense a werewolf’s mate bond can be. Protecting you is tantamount. I would die to keep you safe.”
Mia’s lips parted, softening her beautiful mouth. “Owen, that’s crazy.” She sat up straight and scooted over until their thighs touched. “I would never ask you to sacrifice your life for me. I would never want you to.”
Owen couldn’t help himself. He reached up to cup her cheek in his palm. “I’d die anyway.” It was the truth. Without his mate, Owen couldn’t be allowed to live. “It would be worth the sacrifice to keep you safe.”
Mia leaned in and put her mouth to his. Her petal-soft lips moved over his slowly, the kiss so deliberate and full of heat that it made Owen sweat. His arms went around her and he hauled Mia onto his lap. She leaned into his body as her arms went around his shoulders. One hand reached up to tease the hair that brushed the nape of his neck. His cock hardened behind his fly and Owen shifted. The timing couldn’t be worse but he wasn’t about to stop. Not when this might be the last time he’d ever hold his mate in his arms.
Mia broke their kiss. Her mouth brushed his jawline, his cheek, his ear. Her breath was like a cool breeze against his warmer flesh as she took the lobe between her teeth and bit down gently. Owen grunted as his hips gave an involuntary thrust. Her lips came to rest at the outer shell of his ear. “I want you, Owen. I’ve wanted you since the moment I laid eyes on you.”
He couldn’t have asked for sweeter words. He’d despaired that they’d ever be on the same page. Finally, it seemed like everything was beginning to fall into place. Too bad they might not survive the night.
Mia pushed away. Owen immediately missed the weight of her body against his as she stood, positioning herself between his legs. She reached for her shirt and stripped it from her body before discarding it to the floor. Her bra went next and Owen’s breath caught as he took in the perfection of her high, upturned breasts. His gaze followed the path of her hands as they came to rest at her waist and remained there as he watched her slowly unfasten her pants and slide them down her thighs along with her underwear.
“Mia.” He nearly choked on her name as his eyes wandered greedily over her naked body. “You’re so gods-damned beautiful.”
Her cheeks flushed as she averted her gaze. The compliment had been paltry in comparison to what he wanted to say to her. If they made it through this, he would shower her with compliments every day until she got tired of hearing them.
Mia leaned in close. She wrapped her fingers around the hem of Owen’s shirt and stripped it from his body. Her gaze heated as she reached for his belt and unfastened it. Owen shifted on the couch, scooting his butt out to the edge of the cushion as she unfastened the button, dragged down the zipper, and pulled his jeans and underwear down to his ankles.
“You want to kick off your shoes or should I take care of it?”
The promise in her husky tone was all the encouragement Owen needed. He kicked his boots off with so much force, it was a wonder he didn’t rip them. His feet fanned out like flippers as he kicked his jeans the rest of the way off. Mia’s lips spread into a seductive smile that tightened Owen’s gut. She kept her gaze locked with his as she climbed back onto the couch and straddled his hips.
He had no idea if they’d survive the night, but if not, she was about to give him one hell of a send-off to the afterlife.
* * *
Mia was tired of fighting her attraction to Owen. He’d occupied nearly every single one of her thoughts since the night they’d met, and as hard as she’d tried, she couldn’t get him out of her head.
Every inch of her burned with need. Like the first time they were together, Mia couldn’t be bothered with foreplay. The moon would be high in the sky soon enough and she didn’t want to waste a single second.
Mia came up on her knees as she positioned herself over the rigid length of his erection. She reached behind her and took him in her hand as she guided him to her opening. She gasped at the shock of heat and let out an indulgent moan as she lowered herself fully on top of him. He filled her completely, stretching her inner walls. She began to move, gentle rolls of her hips that created the perfect amount of friction as he slid in and out of her.
“Oh gods, Owen. That feels so good.”
His arms came around her and he pulled her down hard on top of him as his hips thrust upward. The sharp stab of pleasure caused Mia to gasp. He repeated the motion and she arched her back as her head rolled against her shoulders. “Yes.” The word came out with all the forcefulness of a breath. “Just like that. Don’t stop.”
The pleasure was blinding in its intensity. It nearly paralyzed Mia’s brain to the point that she couldn’t form a coherent thought. She continued to roll her hips, meeting every one of Owen’s desperate thrusts with equal fervor. She was out of her mind with want, wound so tight with the need for release that she could barely breathe. The only sound in the house was that of their racing breaths and low moans.
With every wild thrust of Owen’s hips, power built and crested within Mia. The air sparked with magic and filled her with a sense of strength that she’d never felt before. Owen evoked something in her. Something primal and powerful. She felt as though she existed outside of her body, a being of infinite light that couldn’t be contained by her physical form.
“Mia.” Owen’s voice filled with wonder as his hands came to rest at her hips. He continued to fuck her with wild abandon and she gripped him harder, letting her nails bite into his shoulders. “Can you feel that? The energy, it’s amazing!”
She knew exactly what he felt and it was unreal. The foreign magic continued to build within Mia to the point that she didn’t know how she’d be able to contain it. It was a force of nature. A summer storm, lightning, wind, and rain. It was a blizzard, blinding and fierce. It was the heat of the sun and the chill of ice, the crash of ocean waves and the rumble of the earth as it quaked. Mia felt its power in every cell that constructed her and her body went rigid as the deep pulsing shock waves of her orgasm overtook her.
Her cries of passion turned to deep wracking sobs of pleasure. Owen’s fingers gripped her tight, biting into her hips as he thrust up once, hard, and went still. His head went back to rest on the cushions of the couch and a low, sultry growl rumbled in his chest. Tiny spasms shook his solidly built form and each little movement triggered another intense round of sensation that fired along Mia’s nerve endings, leaving her feeling energized and exhausted at the same time.
She leaned forward and her head came to rest on Owen’s shoulder. “I’ve never…,” she began between panting breaths. “Wow. What in the hell was that?”
Owen gave a low chuckle. He sat up straighter and his mouth met her shoulder, her throat, and then her jaw. “I have no idea, but let’s hope it happens again.”
Mia laughed. “Don’t worry. If I have my way it’ll definitely happen again.”
“Good.” Owen smiled against her skin. “Because that was amazing.”
Mia had never experienced anything like it and she’d thought the last time they were together had been amazing. It was nothing compared to what they’d just shared. Maybe there was more to their mate bond than she’d thought.
She lost track of time as they remained on the couch, bodies entwined, skin
to skin. Owen groaned but it spoke more of pain than anything pleasant. Mia pulled back to look at him. Concern tightened her chest. “Are you okay?”
“Moon’s almost up.” Owen forced the words out and another wave of crippling fear stole over her. “I need to meet Liam and the others at the back of the property. Stay here. Lock the door. Don’t leave. Promise me.”
Mia didn’t want Owen to leave. She didn’t want him to step a foot out the door. Her own worry nearly crippled her. Owen lifted her as though she was the most precious of cargo and set her down gently beside him. His gaze delved into hers, deathly serious.
“Promise me, Mia.”
“Okay.” She couldn’t say the exact words he wanted to hear because she knew if he got into trouble there was no way she could sit here and do nothing. “Be careful though, all right?”
Owen pushed himself up from the couch. He gave her a reassuring smile as he headed for the door. “I plan on picking up where we left off in the morning. I’ll be more than careful.”
The response coaxed a smile to Mia’s lips. “Just gonna run out there in your birthday suit, huh?”
“Yup. Werewolves don’t have a lot of use for clothes during a full moon. Be back soon. Lock the door when I leave.”
Mia nodded. Locking the door wouldn’t do a damn bit of good and he knew it. “See you soon.”
He gave her a wink in parting before opening the door and stepping out into the cold winter air.
Mia didn’t bother to lock the door. Instead, she hurried to dress and pulled on her boots. Unspent energy cycled through her body, causing her limbs to shake. She didn’t know what it was that had happened to her, but she swore she’d find a way to put it to good use. Whatever her father was up to, he wasn’t going to get away with it.
Five minutes passed, and then twenty. Twenty turned to forty and then fifty. The first howls pierced the quiet night and coaxed chills to the surface of Mia’s skin. She waited for something, anything, that might signal danger. She hoped her father had come to his senses and given up on his quest to run the werewolves out of the territory. Mia’s anxiety crested and she paced the confines of Owen’s cabin. Around the living room, through the kitchen, up the stairs, and into his bedroom. She leaned against the doorjamb as she gazed at the bed they’d shared for one intense night. There was a lot that Mia didn’t know, but one thing was certain. She belonged to Owen and he belonged to her.
She started at the sound of an angry snarl in the distance. Others joined in to create a cacophony of sound and Mia’s heart leaped up into her throat. She rushed down the stairs and threw open the door. Under the light of the full moon Mia watched in horror at the ensuing attack. The wolves were outnumbered at least three to one. She didn’t know who they fought but she damn well knew who commanded them. In the distance, she spotted her father watching the chaos from a safe distance away.
It was a good thing she hadn’t outwardly promised to stay put. Because Mia was about to enter the fray.
CHAPTER 13
Owen cast a nervous glance back toward his cabin. His worry for Mia surpassed his own instincts of self-preservation. The animal part of his nature occupied too much of Owen’s mind. The wolf cared only for its mate and nothing else. All the worry in the world wouldn’t matter if they couldn’t manage to stay alive. He needed to keep his head in the game. He needed to focus on the danger in front of him. He needed to eliminate the threat to his pack so he could turn his attention to his mate.
He hoped she’d done as he’d asked and locked herself in the damned house.
Apparently, Mia’s father wasn’t so interested in asking nicely before using force to evict the pack from the Sawtooth territory. Owen wasn’t surprised. This wasn’t about them encroaching on anyone’s turf. This was about their inability to succumb to the wood nymph’s influence. He couldn’t control the werewolves and that made them dangerous to whatever he had planned. Owen wished it didn’t have to go down this way. The last thing he wanted was to start a relationship with Mia amid so much strife.
The report of a gunshot rang out and Owen took off at a sprint, zigging and zagging to avoid being hit. From what he could tell, the army that had been sent to drive them away was primarily human, which meant the chance of them firing silver bullets was slim. That didn’t mean Owen was interested in getting plugged. He let the wolf take charge. The animal part of him was stronger, faster, more intuitive. Magic resided in that part of him and Owen let it be a guiding force in the fight.
“There’s one! Get it!”
The angry shout sent Owen darting to his right. The sound of the bullet’s passage whizzed by his ear. What the hell sort of night-vision scopes were these guys using, anyway? This far from town, no one would pay any attention to the sounds of a few errant shots. If all Mia’s father had brought with him were a handful of humans with rifles, the conflict would likely be over before it began. Liam had given strict orders that no one was to be harmed since they were likely being influenced to act. But if any member of the pack was mortally threatened, all bets were off.
Owen glanced back at the danger behind him, only to miss the one right in front of him. He might as well have run into a brick wall, and the cartilage in his snout crunched from the impact. What … the … Owen gave his head a rough shake to clear the haze from his rattled brain as he looked up to see what had knocked him on his ass. Fuck.
Since moving into the remote Sawtooth territory, Owen could safely say he’d seen his fair share of rare supernaturals. Like he had wood nymphs, Owen had always doubted the existence of the creature that loomed above him now, teeth bared and giant hands clutched into boulder-sized fists. But like Mia, the troll that swung its massive fist toward Owen was flesh and blood.
He let out a yip of surprise as he narrowly avoided the blow. The troll’s fist pounded into the ground, leaving a three-foot-deep divot in the crusty snow that went all the way to the frozen ground. Owen’s four-legged status gave him an edge in the balance and weight-distribution departments. The snow didn’t slow him down like it did the cumbersome troll. He wished he could say it slowed down the humans, but thanks to their snowmobiles, they navigated the snowy landscape just fine. As the troll swung around with its left fist to deliver a second blow, another round of shots rang out. Owen couldn’t avoid them both and he yelped at the burn of the bullet as it struck his right shoulder blade. The crunch of bone as it shattered echoed in his preternatural ears and the scent of blood permeated the air. The pack was scattered, each of them fighting their own battles within the building war. Owen was on his own.
He took a stumbling step as he waited for the bullet wound to heal. Had it been a silver slug, he’d be down for the count. Luckily, he just needed a few minutes for his body to push out the bullet and heal itself. On the downside, he had precious few minutes to spare.
“Oh my gods, Owen!”
Owen turned at the sound of his mate’s voice. If he had a palm right now, he would’ve planted his face in it. What part of lock the door and don’t come out hadn’t Mia understood? He’d yet to learn his mate’s strengths and weaknesses. Owen didn’t think she was as impervious to a stray bullet as he was. Through his worry, a sense of smug satisfaction puffed his chest. She’d seen him in his wolf form only once and yet had managed to identify him in the dark and chaos of the fight. Their bond was strong.
Mia appeared to float on top of the snow as she ran toward him. Owen put the humans, who continued to fire their rifles at him, and the troll who tried to smash him, to the back of his mind as he changed course and sprinted toward his mate. Mia didn’t pay any attention to the battle that raged around them. Her sole focus was Owen and he wanted to give her a solid shake for not paying better attention to her surroundings. A twinge of pain tugged at his shoulder but he shook it off as he noticed a dark form headed straight toward Mia from her left. He let out several warning barks but she paid his warning no mind. Damn it. He wasn’t going to get to her in time.
Her pursuer over
took her in a few long strides. Owen gave a mournful howl as she was jerked backward and held immobile. With every ounce of strength he had, Owen pushed himself faster until he noticed the wink of metal under the moonlight. A dagger was held just below her chin, the point poised at her throat. Owen came to a tumbling stop as the snow gave way beneath him. He regained his footing and his fur stood on end along his spine as he bared his teeth and issued a menacing growl at the male who held his mate captive.
“My daughter seems quite concerned for you, wolf. Curious, wouldn’t you agree?”
Daughter? Fuck. Owen’s breath fogged the air as he took a tentative step backward. Looked like his first encounter with the old father-in-law wasn’t going to be a pleasant one.
Mia didn’t show an ounce of fear. Her forest-green eyes sparked with an angry fire and her jaw squared. Owen’s inability to communicate with her frustrated him to the point of pain. His stomach knotted and his muscles ached with tension.
“Tell me, Mia, is this the male you thought would buy you your birthright?”
Mia’s eyes darted to Owen’s and her scent soured with anxiety. What in the hell was her father talking about? How could he have possibly helped to secure her birthright and what exactly did that entail? Never had he wanted so badly for the full moon to set. He needed this business with her father over and done with. And he and Mia needed to have a long talk.
“You and I both know you were never going to let that happen.” The rage that simmered in Mia’s tone could’ve melted the polar ice caps.
“True. I’d planned to pair you off with someone weak and easy to manipulate. Instead, you spread your legs for a werewolf, and look at the trouble it’s caused you.”
Owen snarled. One more insult and he’d tear the male’s throat out.
“More to the point,” Mia said. “Look at the trouble it’s caused you.”
Owen let out a chuff of breath at Mia’s snarky comeback. The rest of the pack were holding their own. Liam had everyone organized and on task and as far as Owen could tell, there hadn’t been any casualties. The issue wasn’t the band of attackers, but rather the single force that controlled them. Owen could end this. Right now. All he had to do was kill his mate’s father.