That soon proved not to work at all. The bales of straw that hid her were tossed away by Taylor and Durlach as if they weighed nothing, exposing her to their sight. Meadow let out a shrill scream and tried to make a run for it, but Durlach had a hold of her before she could make any attempt.
He held her in his arms, keeping her pressed against him. “Meadow, calm down. It’s fine.”
She pushed at his chest. When that didn’t get her anywhere she resorted to using her fists, which had no effect at all. “Let me go.”
“Not until you quit freaking out.”
Meadow continued to struggle until she tired herself. She breathed hard as she finally lifted her gaze to Durlach’s. He gave her an apologetic look. A quick glance at Taylor showed he did the same thing.
“Are you calmer now?” Durlach asked.
“Not really.”
“Will you be able to stay calm enough for Taylor and me to explain what we are?”
“I don’t know. You both turned into animals.”
“Yes, and we want to help you accept that.”
“We can go upstairs to my apartment,” Taylor added.
Meadow gave a shaky nod. “I guess.”
It wasn’t as if she had much choice. The way Durlach held her, she doubted he’d let her go until he had his chance to talk. And to prove that theory correct, he picked her up off her feet and carried her as he followed Taylor out of the stall and to the apartment above.
Durlach settled on the couch in the small living room with her on his lap. Taylor sat on the armchair across from them. Meadow clasped her hands together to hide the fact they shook. She also had a hard time looking each man in the eye.
“So who should go first?” Durlach asked Taylor.
“You can,” Taylor replied. “Meadow has more at stake with you than she does me.”
“All right.” Durlach placed a finger under Meadow’s chin and forced her to look at him. “First of all, I would never, ever hurt you. You mean more to me than life itself. You are my mate.”
“Okay,” she said in a trembling voice.
“I guess it’s best if I do this as my mated wolf brothers did with their mates when they found out they were werewolves. Be blunt and to the point. I’m a sentinel, one of the very first werewolves. Unlike modern-day of my kind, I’m immortal. I was turned by the shaman of my tribe during the ice age. After my wolf brothers and I made sure the new race of man would continue, the same shaman put us to sleep in a hidden ice cave on a glacier. And there we slept for ten thousand years. My alpha’s mate was the one who found us and woke Edensaw from his slumber, where in turn he woke the rest of us. We were created to fight the dark wolves. And that time has come.”
Meadow swallowed. It was all so much to take in, but she couldn’t stop from feeling a little bit of excitement about the fact Durlach was an ice age Tlingit hunter, one of the people she’d spent all of her career studying, finding remnants of their culture during that time buried in the ground.
“So you aren’t a wolf hybrid,” she said.
“No. I’m a dire wolf.”
“Because there were no timber wolves during the ice age.”
Durlach smiled. “Precisely. The shaman picked the animal of that period.”
“And I’m your mate. How? Shouldn’t your mate be one of your own kind?”
“That’s what I’ve been wondering,” Taylor said.
“I wasn’t born a werewolf like the modern-day ones. I was turned. So it only makes sense that I would have a mortal as a mate. We knew that would be the case before we went into our long sleep. It’s also the reason why our shaman gave us the ability to turn our mates once we found them. Make them werewolves.”
“Holy shit,” Taylor said. “You can turn your mates?”
Durlach looked at the other man and nodded. “Yes, but we have learned the same goes for any mortal. The person doesn’t have to be a mate.”
“I’m guessing you’ll want to turn me then,” Meadow said, drawing Durlach’s attention back to her.
“When you are ready, but you have to accept me as your mate first before I claim you. Once I do our souls will join and there will be no undoing it.”
“How would you go about doing that?”
“The first time I make love to you fully you will be mine.”
That would explain why Durlach hadn’t pushed to have sex with her last night, even though they’d gotten really hot and heavy.
“Okay, I think I need time for that to sink in,” Meadow said. She turned her gaze on Taylor. “While it is, I want your story. You’ve been living here for three years and not once would I have guessed you could change into a cougar.”
Taylor shifted on his chair, looking uncomfortable. “Because I didn’t want you to know. I usually don’t let that side of myself out very often.”
“How did you end up here with Meadow?” Durlach asked. “Up until today I had no idea cat shifters existed. I know nothing of your kind.”
“We’ve tried to keep you werewolves from finding out. There are so few of us. We don’t have packs like you and we keep to family groups only. As for why I ended up here, I sort of jeopardized my kind’s secret when I went after a lone wolf who picked a fight with one of my mortal friends. He hadn’t stood a chance. I broke up the fight, then shifted to my cougar form to teach the werewolf a lesson. I won, but the lone wolf decided he wasn’t happy about it and tried to kill me. I ended up taking his life instead. As punishment, I was banished from my family.”
“No wonder you never talk about them,” Meadow said. “You hardly ever speak about your life before you came to work for me.”
“I can’t ever go back so what would be the point?”
“And now I understand why you hate werewolves so much,” Durlach said. “You have to know we’re not all like the lone wolf you fought. They are alone for a reason. They’ve been kicked out of their packs.”
Taylor shrugged. “I wouldn’t know since I’ve done my best to stay clear of your kind. I know there’s a pack here in Juneau, which you must be a part of.”
“Yes, there is. And no, I’m not. My wolf brothers and I have remained separate from them. Edensaw is my alpha. Brice, even though he is a good friend of ours, will never be our pack leader. Not that he’s ever tried to force us to join his pack. All werewolves are descended either from me or one of my wolf brothers. Plus, besides being immortal, a dire wolf and able to turn our mortals, we have one other ability they don’t have. In wolf form, we can communicate telepathically as well as read another’s mind.”
As Durlach spoke, Meadow found she was able to look at him without a sense of fear trying to take hold of her. Even Taylor no longer incited that emotion. She had been given the facts and her mind had now accepted it as the truth. Though before she could make any kind of commitment to Durlach, she needed to see him in his dire wolf form again when she wasn’t scared out of her wits. She had to put everything she’d learned into perspective. Her feelings for him hadn’t changed, but it was a major life change she’d make if she allowed him to claim her as his mate.
Meadow slid off Durlach’s lap and looked at Taylor. “Now that both of your secrets are out in the open, I think it’s time Durlach and I talked in private.”
Taylor stood and came to stand in front of her. “Just promise me you’ll think through everything before you make a decision. And as I told you before, if you don’t want to become a mate to a werewolf, I’ll be here if you need me.”
Durlach rose to his feet next to her and let out a quiet growl. “Watch what you say, cat. Don’t let your hatred of one of my kind overshadow the rest of us.”
Meadow shifted to stand between the two men and put her hand on Durlach’s chest. “Relax. Watching you two fight in animal form once already is more than enough for one day. Durlach, let’s go to the house.” She looked at Taylor. “I’ll make the decision that I think is best. It might not be what you think is, but it’s still mine to make. I don’t need you tr
ying to influence the outcome.”
Taylor nodded and held up his hands in surrender. “I’ll back off, and do my best to accept whatever you chose.” He set his gaze on Durlach. “If you’d allow it, I’d like to get to know you and your wolf brothers better. Maybe I have been kind of biased when it has come to werewolves. I can’t say it will change my mind about you, but it could help me tolerate you more.”
Durlach smiled. “You’re more than welcome to come over any time. I know I’m interested in learning more about cat shifters as the rest of the sentinels will be, especially our new shaman, Ryder.”
Her mind awhirl with questions, Meadow took Durlach’s hand and led him out of Taylor’s apartment. As they passed her office on the way to the house, she realized all the unanswered questions she had about the ice age would finally have answers. She had a living, breathing witness who would be able to describe a world she’d only ever been able to imagine.
* * * * *
Durlach sat on the couch in Meadow’s living room and watched her pace the length of it. She hadn’t said a word since leaving Taylor’s apartment above the stable. He, however, had told her he regretted the way she’d found out about his being a werewolf. And that the only thing he could blame his bad behavior on was losing control of his wolf. Having Taylor push him as he’d done, Durlach had let the reins slip on his animal side. His mating urge had also made it harder to pull it back.
But he’d been just as shocked as her by what Taylor was. He also told her that Brice probably had no idea cat shifters existed, and he had been alive for a lot longer than a mortal. It went to show how well the cats had remained hidden. Plus, their numbers had to be so few as Taylor had said.
After watching her pace back and forth a couple more times, Durlach asked, “Won’t you come sit with me?”
Meadow didn’t stop. “I think better when I’m moving.”
“Well, I find it very distracting.” Durlach stood and caught her around the waist to halt her pacing once she was within reach. “You said you wanted to talk with me in private but so far you’ve been lost inside your head. It makes me wonder what you’re thinking.”
She gave him a small smile. “Sorry. It’s all so much to take in.”
“I know. Talk to me, ask me questions so I can help you understand.”
“There are so many I don’t know where to start, but okay. You sound so certain I’m your mate. How would you know that already? We just met yesterday.”
“Actually, it was the day before that.”
Meadow remembered her first meeting with the “wolf hybrid”. “That’s true.”
“Even in dire wolf form I knew the instant I smelled your scent that you were the one for me. You set my mating urge off and only a mate can do that.”
“So it can be set off even if you don’t love me?”
Durlach kissed her forehead. “Why would you think that? I fell in love with you almost from the time I set eyes on you. When werewolves find their mates we tend to fall in love at first sight.”
“You love me?”
“Of course. I know mortals usually take longer, but I hope your feelings for me run deep enough that you will be able to.”
Had she already fallen for Durlach? Meadow was almost certain she had. The thought of turning down what he offered her and never seeing him again made her stomach clench, and not in a good way. Plus, he was literally offering her an eternity. And once he claimed her and their souls joined, he would never leave her, even if she spent months on a dig and she got caught up in her work. Hell, he could be part of her work.
“Can you shift for me again?” she asked. “This time I won’t be afraid.”
“Okay.”
Durlach took a step back. Meadow watched with fascination as his body blurred and shimmered before the familiar black dire wolf took his place. He closed the small distance between them and nudged her hand with his wet nose. She squatted and scratched the top of his head. This was Kèitel. The “wolf hybrid” she saw on the trail when Durlach had supposedly come looking for his pet had to have been one of his wolf brothers.
“Who was the other wolf who came running up the trail yesterday?”
She heard Durlach chuckle in her mind. That was my wolf brother, Capac. Carson, our newest sentinel, thought it would help with my story about looking for my wolf hybrid if we actually found one. He didn’t think you’d notice the differences between Capac and me in dire wolf form.
“Well, he wouldn’t have known I can be very observant. And now that I know what kind of wolf you are, there is no way I would ever be able to see you as a hybrid. You are a dire wolf. I’ve studied so much about the ice age I’ll have no problem spotting the difference. And you know I’ll be pumping you for information about your former life, you and your wolf brothers.”
I’ll be more than happy to tell you whatever you want to know.
She ran her hand down his back. “And once you turn me, will I be the same type of werewolf like you?”
Yes. You’ll be the fifth mate to be turned. So if you need any help adjusting, you can always look to Cassidy, Eryn, Haven and Jaren. They’ve been through it.
“You said that when you claim me our souls will join. Will I be able to feel that?”
Only when the mating bond forms. But once we’re mated we won’t be able to stand to be apart from one another. Our minds will play tricks on us, making us think something has happened to the other. We call that separation anxiety. I’ll do everything in my power to keep us from ever experiencing it.
“So I would have to take you with me on digs because I don’t think I could ever give up what I do.”
It would be no hardship for me to do that. I’ll be happy just to be with you.
“Shift back.”
Durlach’s wolf body blurred and shimmered and he was man once more. “The decision to accept me as your mate is yours, Meadow. I don’t know what my mating urge will do to me if you reject me, but I will never force you.”
She knew he wouldn’t. Durlach didn’t come across as the type of man who would take what he wanted. And that was part of the reason why she had fallen for him.
Meadow gave him a small smile. “Once mated, will you take over all of the cooking?”
He grinned in return. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”
“Well, it sounds pretty crowded at your place since you have to share a room with Ryder. And I don’t want to give up mine. It means too much to me. I don’t know how close pack members stay together, but you wouldn’t be too far away from the others.”
“I’d love to move in here. The others won’t mind, I’m sure. Carson doesn’t live with us so I wouldn’t be the only pack member not to be living under the same roof.”
Meadow went on tiptoe and pressed her mouth to Durlach’s. Against his lips she said, “Make love to me and make me yours. I didn’t really know it, but I think being claimed by an ice age Tlingit hunter turned werewolf was something I’ve always wanted.”
Durlach’s arms came around her and held her tight against him. He took her mouth fully, angling it for a tighter fit. Arousal surged through Meadow like a freight train. It more than felt right to be held by him. No other man had made her feel like that before. And she liked it.
Once they were both breathing hard, Durlach released her mouth. “Are you really sure this is what you want?”
She nodded. “Positive. If my feelings for you didn’t change once I saw you shift into a dire wolf, I don’t think anything will do that.”
He picked her off her feet and carried her toward the stairs to the upper level. “You have no idea how happy you’ve made me. I waited thousands of years to find you. I promise I will never make you regret your decision.”
At the top of the staircase, Meadow directed Durlach to her bedroom at the end of the hall. She held on tight as he put on a burst of speed no mortal would ever be capable of achieving.
As he took her lips in a heated kiss, the mattress met Meadow�
��s back. Durlach stretched out next to her, his mouth not leaving hers as he ran his hands over her body. An ache built deep inside her pussy. Oh how much she wanted this man. He knew just how to touch her to give her the most pleasure.
Meadow yanked at Durlach’s t-shirt until he roughly tore it off over his head. She lifted her hands to his chest to stroke the smooth muscles there. Everything about him turned her on.
He lifted his head and removed her shirt, then her bra. Durlach looked down at her. “My mate is beautiful. There will never be another for me.”
She gave him a crooked smile. “And my mate isn’t so bad himself.”
The passion ignited between them as Durlach took her lips again. The more he touched her, the more sure Meadow was that she’d made the right decision. She couldn’t get enough of the man who was her mate. He made her body sing with the slightest of touches.
Soon Meadow wanted more. She tugged at Durlach’s jeans until he stripped them off along with his underwear. Once he was naked he removed the rest of her clothing as well. Skin to skin, she rubbed herself along his hard cock, causing wetness to leak from her pussy.
Durlach thrust his hips, not entering her, coating himself in her juices. Meadow lifted hers, desperately needing the hard length of him buried deep inside her. She clutched at his back, urging him closer when there was no more space between them.
“Please, Durlach. Now. Don’t make me wait any longer.”
He met her gaze, his eyes glowing. “I won’t.”
He slowly entered her, pushing more of his cock into her pussy with each stroke until she’d taken all of him. He stretched her to capacity. Meadow moaned, then held on to his biceps as he pulled back only to sink into her once more.
She kept her gaze latched on to Durlach’s. Meadow saw the love he had for her inside his eyes. She met him stroke for stroke, his shaft plunging deep. The pleasure built, her orgasm growing in strength. His erection grew even harder as he stepped up the pace.
Ice Claimed Page 7