Crystal nodded slowly and, after he broke his gaze with her, she stumbled back and rushed out. She glanced around and saw her dirty dress lying folded on the chair. She grabbed it and pulled it over her head in a rush. A few seconds later, she noticed she’d put it on backwards and had to shift it around while Hank finished washing up.
He emerged just as she finished smoothing the creased and crumpled dress. He stopped and frowned. “Is everything okay?”
She shook her head and hugged her arms over her chest. “No!”
Hank stepped closer and pulled her into his arms. Crystal remained stiff only for a moment and then she melted into his iron grasp and let the tears flow. Hank held her for a moment and then moved enough to scoop her up into his arms and carry her back to his bed. He set her down on the bed and carefully pulled her dress up her body. She resisted at first, holding her arms at her sides, but his gentle persistence won her over. She lifted her arms so he could pull it over her head.
He pulled the blankets back on the bed, all without saying a word. Crystal turned and slid over, scooting beneath them and moving over so he could slip under them beside her. Sweat still glistened on his skin but he ignored his discomfort and settled against her. She rested her head on his shoulder and rolled into him, throwing one leg across his thigh. He held her tight and pressed his lips to her forehead.
“I’m sorry about the bathroom,” he rumbled in a gentle voice.
“Me too,” Crystal whispered. “I thought you’d left me.”
“Never,” Hank said. “I claimed you, remember?”
She picked her head up and looked at him. “Claimed me? But we didn’t, um, finish.”
He shrugged the shoulder not under her. “So? They don’t call them love bites for nothing.”
Crystal gasped. “Oh my God, I almost forgot about that! I couldn’t believe it. You made me, um, you know.”
“Orgasm?”
She pressed her face into his chest instead of answering. A moment later, she felt his chuckle deep in his chest. “It’s not funny,” she mumbled.
“No, but you’re cute,” he said. “Adorable. Beautiful. Sexy. Irresistible.”
“Stop it. I am not.”
“I’m a writer,” he said. “You are, and I can keep coming up with other synonyms if you like.”
Crystal bit her lip and then allowed a smile. “I love you,” she breathed.
“I love you too.”
Crystal squeezed her eyes shut but couldn’t stop the tears from slipping out. She held him and cried without knowing why. She was happy and terrified. She’d found someone who she wanted to be with. Someone who she knew would help her and care for her. She was young, something her mom kept trying to pound into her head, but this was different. This wasn’t a stupid high school fling. This wasn’t an infatuation or puppy love. This was different. It was natural. Primal.
Except she was a freak. A freak among freaks. She couldn’t even be like her pack. For that matter, did that make her a member of the pack, or was she just an imposter? A fraud? A stupid girl pretending to be something she wasn’t?
“I want to be like you,” Crystal whispered.
“You are,” Hank reassured her. “Prettier and you smell better, but still like me. Like all of us.”
“Then why can’t I shift? Why do I just grow this stupid fur and ugly hands and feet? Why can’t I become a wolf?”
“Crys, you just started,” he chided her. “For anybody else, it’s four weeks of misery before we fight for our lives. Only when we survive that do we get the chance to try to learn how. You can’t expect to figure it out overnight.”
Crystal pouted and said, “I’ve been trying for days!”
He sighed. “You’ve done more in days than anyone else I know ever has.”
“But—”
He pulled her up on top of him until she was lying on his chest and belly. She frowned and looked down at him. “No buts,” he said. His hands moved down her back and cupped her cheeks in his hands. “Except for this one. It drives me wild.”
“Stop it.” She almost laughed. “This is serious.”
“It is,” he agreed, giving her a pinch, “and it’s not. It will come. You’ll shift when you’re ready.”
She held up her hand between them. “But this white—it’s gone!”
“See? Nothing to worry about,” he said.
Crystal clamped her mouth shut and took a breath to steady her rocketing heart. “I don’t know how you can be so calm,” she said. “What if every time we do that I turn into that thing?”
“Do what?” he inquired.
“You know, out there.”
“Uh huh.”
She sighed. “We had sex!”
He shook his head. “Nope. We’re way past that. It was kind of rough and raw, but the bites and everything? That’s how people like you and me make love.”
Crystal felt the heat in her cheeks spread to her chest. She shook her head, unable to come up with a response, and then let him pull her down and kiss him. It was a long and tender kiss that slowly put her fears and insecurities at ease. Some of them, at least. He loved her, she knew that much.
When they broke the kiss, she settled onto his broad chest and rested her head beneath his chin. He was so warm and hard, yet soft and perfect. Her thoughts trailed off as she began to drift into a hazy state. She yawned and shifted, and then realized that as wonderful as he was, she couldn’t use him as a bed. “Will you hold me?” she asked.
“There’s not enough people in the state to stop me,” Hank responded.
She smiled and kissed his chest before sliding off and rolling into her side to face the wall. She used his arm as a pillow and tugged on his other arm. He rolled up behind her with a chuckle and let her pull his hand up until she placed it over her left boob and held it trapped against her. She felt his penis nestled in the crack of her ass and she let out a throaty chuckle as she pushed back against him and shifted her hips enough to help it burrow in like a hot dog caught in her buns. More of a sausage, in his case.
Hank’s breath caught in his throat. “Careful,” he warned her.
Crystal felt her blush and bit her lips. She wanted him so badly, but she was afraid. What if she shifted again? And what if she went all the way? He’d said he didn’t want that. Would he be repulsed by her if she did? She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head to press her lips against his arm. “Sorry,” she whispered a moment later.
Except she wasn’t. She wanted him against her. She wanted to feel his hot flesh touching hers. Hot as she was and even with the blankets, she wanted to be next to him. She wanted to feel like he was surrounding her and protecting her. And in her. Oh God, she wanted him in her again. She bit her lip to stifle a moan and tried to push the thoughts away. It was going to be a long night of denial, even if only a few hours remained until dawn.
Chapter 14
Crystal stretched out and ran through the woods, heedless of the obstacles and uneven ground. She leapt over rocks and ducked under branches and logs. Those that brushed against her slipped off her snowy white fur. It was her woods, or at least the woods surrounding her pack. She knew where she had to go and she knew she had to hurry. She dug her claws into the ground and drove herself harder.
Crystal saw the fence and leapt over it, clearing it with inches to spare. She landed and turned, digging into the dirt to stop herself. She turned her head and watched through the weeds at the edge of the trees. There, just above the muddy banks of the pond, was what she’d come to see.
Stephanie was lying in the grass on her back. Her hands were between her legs, which were spread wide with her knees drawn up towards the stars overhead. Stephanie’s head was whipping back and forth, her blond hair covering her face while she mewed and cried out.
Crystal’s attention was pulled towards the cheerleader’s legs. Or more appropriately, towards the man crouched between them. He looked big but she couldn’t be sure since Steph’s knees and arms hid his fac
e.
Stephanie cried out and threw her head back. Her hair went flying and exposed her sweaty skin as she stiffened. Her chest heaved and her back arched before she collapsed to the grass and let her head roll to the side. She blinked her eyes open and Crystal took a step back and sat on her haunches. Stephanie’s eyes were a brilliant shade of light blue. Just like—
“Crystal?”
She turned and saw Hank rise up from between Stephanie’s legs. He stared at her, his lips parted. Then he smiled and walked forward on his knees. She saw how swollen he was before his hips disappeared between her spread legs. He lifted her groin to his level and sank forward, impaling her in a single smooth motion. Ecstasy washed over his face as he started to rut against her. Stephanie made grunting and cooing noises while Hank continued to stare at her. “So much better with a normal girl,” he told her.
“Crystal!”
Crystal shook her head violently. She twisted, turning away and wanting to be sick. How could they do that to her? How could Stephanie—she claimed to love Crystal!
“Crys, it’s okay,” Hank said again. She spun; the voice came from behind her, not in front of her. What was going on? She looked back across the pond and saw the two people she’d come to trust betraying her and enjoying themselves. She snarled and lunged forward. She’d show them! She’d rip that bitch’s throat out and then ruin Hank for any woman!
“Crystal, wake up!”
Crystal pounced and landed on top of them. She struggled and snapped her teeth amid a flurry of limbs and fabric. She scratched and kicked, her legs getting tangled up in the blankets.
Blankets?
Crystal slowed and blinked the tears out of her eyes. Someone was holding her. Someone hot and strong and hard. Hank? She lifted her head and stared up at him. She gasped when she saw the blood on his chin and torn skin hanging loose.
“Oh my God!” Crystal yelped. She struggled and pushed herself away from him. The added distance let her see the blankets were soaked in blood. His blood. Scratches covered his chest in addition to the tear on his chin.
“Crys, are you okay?” he asked.
“What? No! What happened? I was—you were—you’re bleeding!”
“You were struggling,” he said.
“Struggling?” Crystal asked. A vision of what she’d seen in her dream filled her mind. “Oh! Um, I had a dream.”
“A dream?”
“No, a nightmare,” she admitted. She shook her head. “You were with Stephanie.”
“With—you mean, I was having sex with her?”
Crystal nodded and dropped her head. “I’m so sorry.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“I know!” Crystal bit her lips and blinked away more tears. She looked up at him and saw the concern and tenderness in his eyes. Eyes that were the same shade of bright blue that she’d seen in Stephanie’s face in her dream. Except Stephanie’s eyes were a dark blue. So dark they were almost gray.
“What’s wrong?”
“Eyes?” Crystal mumbled. “I mean, nothing. Everything!”
He reached for her and rubbed a hand up and down her shoulder. “It’s okay. It was just a nightmare. I’ll never do anything like that, I promise.”
Crystal sniffed and nodded. “I was a wolf in the dream.”
Hank smiled. “See, it wasn’t all bad.”
She allowed a flicker of a smile across her lips. “Yeah, I guess. I ran through the woods and found you and her. God, that was so terrible! You were between her legs and eating her out and then—”
“Hey, let it go,” he said before she could finish. “I’m with you. You’re my mate, remember? We’re not like norms—for us, relationships mean something more than just convenience and raising kids. We’ve claimed each other. That’s in our blood, not just our hormones.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
She risked another quick smile. “I didn’t know that. I mean I’d heard some things, but that’s good to know.”
A fresh drop of blood ran down Hank’s chest from the scratches and spread onto the sheets beneath him. He ignored it. “Relax, okay? You’re not a freak, you’re a—”
“What did you say? I’m not a freak?”
“No, you’re not. Why?”
“In my dream you said I was.”
Hank frowned. “You’re not. You’re not a norm—you’re better. You’re one of us.”
Crystal stared at his chest and winced. It looked painful. The flap of skin hanging from his chin was even worse. She leaned forward before she knew what she was doing and started kissing his chest. She ran her lips over his scratches and added licks to her kisses. She heard a startled gasp escape his lips but then he lay still and let her tend to him.
Crystal finished nursing the cuts in his chest and lifted her head up to his. She reached up and gently patted the skin that had pulled away back in place before kissing the injury and then backing away. “I’m so sorry,” she mumbled.
“You shifted in your sleep,” he explained. “Not all the way, but enough.”
“Wish I knew how,” she whined.
He shrugged. “You’ll figure it out.”
Crystal nodded and kissed one of his scratches again. “How sick is it that I think you taste good?”
Hank let out a startled laugh. “Sorry, some of the things I write made me take that completely wrong!”
“Pervert,” she teased him.
He shrugged. “Doggy style is only the beginning.”
“Oh my God!”
Hank grinned and then became serious. “When I bit you, earlier, you tasted different.”
“Different?” she asked with a frown. “Is that bad?”
“No,” he was quick to answer. “Or at least I don’t think it is. Just different. Probably because either you haven’t been changed very long or maybe because of how you changed.”
Crystal nodded. She leaned forward and kissed him again before throwing the bloody blankets back. “Get up.”
“What?”
“I’m going to help you change your sheets and see if we can wash these before the stain sets in.”
“Oh, um, okay.”
“And then I’m going home.”
Hank scowled. “This is home.”
She smiled back at him. “Someday soon, I hope. But right now I want you to get some decent rest. I don’t want to risk hurting you again. Or anyone else.”
“Crystal—”
“No, I mean it. And I need to be alone too. I have to figure some things out. I still love you. Even if we only just met, I know how I feel.”
Hank nodded. “I didn’t doubt.”
“Good. Now get up,” she repeated.
Hank nodded and rolled out of bed. He stood and took Crystal’s hand to help her out. She rose and kissed his chest again before leaning back and looking at his injuries. “You’re already healing?”
“You’re a great nurse,” he said.
Crystal raised an eyebrow. “Must run in the family.”
She turned and started stripping off the bloody sheets. As soon as she was done, she left them in a pile on the floor and straightened. She turned back around and saw Hank’s gaze focused on her bottom. She glanced down and saw that his interest had translated into more than just a visual thing. She cleared her throat. “Eyes up here?”
He focused on her face and smiled. “Sorry. You’ve got an awesome ass.”
“Wow,” she teased, “I bet you win the ladies over with that every time.”
He shook his head. “Only one lady I’m interested in.”
She felt her heart beat harder and she stepped into his arms to kiss him. His hands wrapped around her and she realized she was in danger of getting swept up in something again. She pushed herself away and held up her hand to keep Hank from following after her. “Stay back,” she warned him.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t trust myself yet. I don’t want to lose control and end up doing something I d
on’t want to.”
“You won’t,” he promised.
She nodded. “I won’t, you’re right, but that’s because I’m going home.”
Hank sighed. “All right, let me get some clothes on and I’ll take you.”
“No, I’m going to go on my own.”
“What? It’s miles away! You can’t—”
“I can,” she said. “And I will. I need to do this. I need the time alone to think. And who knows, maybe I’ll figure something out along the way.”
“Crys—”
Crystal blew him a kiss. “I’ll be okay,” she said. “There’s nothing scary left in the area. Or at least nothing scarier than me.”
Hank’s nostrils flared. She grabbed her crumpled dress and pulled it on. She had no idea where her sandals were and was secretly glad. She didn’t want to have to carry them. She grabbed her purse and made sure it was zipped shut before turning and kissing Hank at the door to his trailer a final time.
“Baby, I—”
“I love you too,” she said while putting a finger to his lips. He kissed her fingertip and made her legs wobble. “I will figure this out,” she said a moment later. “Because there’s nothing on this earth that’s going to keep me away from you for long.”
“Good,” he said. “Hurry up and get it done then!”
Crystal laughed before turning and starting towards the road. She stopped and tilted her head. The road wasn’t the fastest way home for her. She turned again and started towards the woods. She waved at him before she broke into a jog that quickened into a run. She hoped that this, finally, would be the thing that set her free.
Chapter 15
Crystal clutched her purse to her side to keep it from bouncing and slapping against her while she ran. It felt amazing to slip through the trees so soon again. It was dark but she could see everything in shades of black and gray. She’d seen movies and TV shows with men wearing night vision goggles but this was nothing like that. What she saw wasn’t filled with static or shaded unnatural colors. She saw the world at night in all its glory.
She made it her own, darting along paths and even startling deer and coyotes as she padded past them. The only things that deterred her were her purse at her side and the obnoxious dress she wore against the unlikely chance she ran into someone.
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