Predator's Claim

by Rosanna Leo

  “I don’t know.”

  “Bart, I’m making this decision of sound mind. We’ll deal with whatever comes our way. Come inside me.”

  “Oh, God,” he murmured as he rolled her onto all fours.

  And before she could snatch a breath, he drove inside her with a force that almost forced her to the floor. If he hadn’t been holding her so tightly, surely she would have flown. However, Bart gripped her hips and fucked her like the animal he was. With each velvet thrust, he plumbed deeper, scoring her insides with pleasure. She cried out in awe, shocked she could be feeling the stirrings of another orgasm so soon. Yes, she knew she responded well to him, but this was insane. No normal person could handle such endless rapture. If she hadn’t been a shifter, surely his fucktastic cock would have killed her by now.

  And yet, here she was, her body throbbing with a steady musicality, her heart singing. Her pussy ached in such a way she knew another orgasm was inevitable and headed her way soon. He slowed his pace, making sure to hit the spots which elicited the most plaintive cries from her. Stroking her G-spot, he settled deep inside her, and she felt him grow.

  Yes. Yes!

  As his already-engorged cock surged, she held still and gripped him. In a moment which seemed almost sacred, she felt him lengthen and thicken. He continued to pump, and his sweat dripped onto her back. He dug a hand into her hair and tugged. As her neck arched to accommodate him, her pussy vibrated with intense feeling. He increased his movements to a speed that seemed demonic, it was so frenzied. And as she shattered all around him, he clutched her torso, shouted, and shot his cum into her welcoming body.

  Charlotte barely breathed, but felt him grab at shallow breaths behind her. His cock continued to reach as it emptied a steady stream into her. It lodged itself deep inside her, and he stilled. He rolled to the mattress and pulled her into his embrace, still connected to her. She knew they’d be tied for some time, perhaps up to half an hour.

  And she didn’t mind at all.

  Nuzzling her ass against him, she smiled and settled in, holding his arms around her.

  “Are you okay?” he whispered as he kissed her temple.

  “Better than okay. That was fuckalicious.”

  He laughed and buried his face in her hair. “My mate. I’ve never felt so good.”

  And as his seed mingled with her woman’s moisture, she rejoiced and imagined his sperm as it traveled its determined path. She silently rooted for the little swimmers, almost laughing as she envisioned them climbing all over each other. She felt like a bizarre cheerleader at the sidelines of a big game, rooting them on, wondering who the big winner would be. She couldn’t stop smiling, and if he hadn’t been holding her, she would have been shaking in excitement.

  It hit her then. For the first time in her life, Charlotte realized she was praying for a baby. And it terrified her.

  Chapter 12

  When he awoke the next morning, Bart sat up with a jolt, realizing his mate wasn’t in their bed. Panic sliced through him, cold and irrational, freezing him through. Within seconds, he caught her scent coming from the bathroom. An enormous sense of relief infiltrated his bones, and his body began a quick thaw.

  Shit, would it always be this way? Frantic desperation if he couldn’t see her? How would they ever function? Ryland had said the feeling calmed after a while. He supposed he’d have to trust in that knowledge.

  He took a deep breath and realized Charlotte’s scent was somehow different. In fact, the more he breathed her in, the more altered it seemed. And then he realized it was because he smelled her blood.

  Officially in freak-out mode again, he jumped out of bed and raced to the door. “Charles!” He didn’t knock and just let himself into the bathroom, glad to see she hadn’t locked it. “Are you okay?”

  He found her sitting on the closed toilet, her bare legs knocked at the knees and splayed to the sides. No blood anywhere, he was ecstatic to see. She wore one of his T-shirts and had put on a pair of her panties. Clearly, she was alive and well, but not happy. He arched a brow at her underwear. “I didn’t think you had any of those with you.”

  “I keep a spare pair in my purse.” She looked at her limp hands. “I got my period this morning.”

  He crouched next to her. Ah, the blood scent. Of course. The smell of her menstrual blood changed her normal scent, making it richer and stronger. All woman, and strangely appealing even though it had alarmed him at first. As he breathed her in, his pulse skittered as if he were under the influence of a drug. He ran a soothing hand up her thigh. “You seem sad.”

  Her breath caught in her throat as she responded, “I’m a fucking basket case! All night I’ve been a mess. Since you locked inside me, my body has been seizing and shivering. Something’s changed. I suddenly want things I’ve never wanted before. Pictures fill my head and I can’t get rid of them. I hear children’s voices in my ears, and my stupid wolf keeps telling me I need to have your pup. Like now.”

  “Oh, baby,” he said softly, understanding. God only knew, the strange pull had beset him too, making him want her like a madman wants out of his cell. Making him want to attach himself to her at all costs.

  “I know it’s crazy to even be contemplating a kid at this stage. But every step we take, I’m bound more deeply to you. I couldn’t help being disappointed when I got my period,” she confessed. “I know you must think I’m off my rocker. I wouldn’t blame you if you ran away. I’d run away.”

  He stood and pulled her into an embrace. She slid her arms around his bare waist and let them settle on the curve of his ass. “Does it look like I’m running? I promise one day we’ll have a pup. As many as you want.”

  “But that’s the thing, Bart. I never wanted this for myself. I feel as if I’m changing before your eyes. I don’t recognize who I am, and then I think I’m recognizing myself for the first time.”

  “I recognize you, and I love what I see.”

  She offered him an endearing smile that wobbled all over her face. “You don’t think I’m a mental case?”

  He laughed and rested his forehead against hers. “God, no. At least not any more than usual.”

  “Thanks, cumwad.”

  “See? You’re still in there.” He kissed her on the nose. “I’m proud you’d want my pup.”

  Her intake of breath was laced with relief. “I feel like a fever is raging inside me. I’ve never felt anything so…profound. It’s as if I can’t breathe if I’m not touching you. If I can’t see your face, it’s as if someone turned off the sun.”

  Gratitude bloomed inside him, filling every corner of his heart with love. Bart had already known he’d do anything to keep Charlotte safe and happy, but as she declared such powerful feelings, he knew he’d gladly tear apart anyone who ever tried to hurt her. In an attempt to calm his erratic heartbeat, he hugged her closer and breathed her in. “I feel it, too. I look at you and want to smile like a goddamn lunatic.”

  She laughed quietly against his chest. “We’re quite the dismal pair.”

  He tipped up her chin, kissed her softly, and let his inner lunatic manifest in a goofy grin. “We always were.”

  * * * *

  Charlotte figured they couldn’t hide away from the world, or from pack business, for long. One of Bart’s younger cousins, a sweet kid named Rory, texted him to say he was considering a career in security and wanted to bounce some ideas off Bart. They all sat now in the resort pub. She occupied a table by herself in the corner so they could chat in private, and so she could update some docs on her laptop.

  She watched Bart converse with the younger man, noted the way he listened and offered good advice. As much as he rolled his eyes at pack matters some days, she could see he was getting a kick out of his new role.

  He really would make a great father one day.

  Her stomach lurched with period cramps and she rubbed it, cursing her monthly visitor. When she’d realized she wasn’t pregnant, the sense of devastation floored her. She’d literall
y had to pick herself up from the bathroom tiles. She felt better now, but every time she contemplated having Bart’s babies, her stupid wolf did a crazed happy dance, making her organs rattle and her womb feel like a ghost town.

  She’d never considered herself the maternal type, and now she was ready to play fucking Suzy Homemaker. Incredible.

  She grinned. Left to their own devices, it probably wouldn’t take long for them to become pregnant anyway. Why, Bart had even taken her again this morning. She hadn’t met a man yet who was 100% enthusiastic about screwing a woman on her period, but Bart hadn’t seemed put out in the slightest. He’d taken her in the shower, up against the cold tile wall. His zeal had been that of a man possessed. She actually wondered if the scent of her blood had roused him further. There had been a crazed light in his eyes, so primal and earthy, so focused on making her come.

  She breathed in and out, feeling hot, and wondered if someone had turned up the temperature in the pub. However, Bart then caught her eye, gave her an evil grin, and she knew he was thinking the same thing.

  Shit. Life would never be boring with her mate.

  Her raunchy daydreams came to an end when Fletcher entered the pub and made straight for Bart’s table. Charlotte left her spot and went to stand behind Bart, laying a hand on his shoulder.

  “I need to talk to you about Flynn,” said Fletcher.

  Bart nodded at Rory. “Let’s pick this up later.” Rory scurried off and Bart turned to Fletcher. “Please tell me your ass of a brother is finally off this island.”

  “Not quite.”

  Bart’s jaw ticked in anger at being defied, so she gently massaged the back of his neck.

  “Fletcher, you know my feelings on this. I want him gone. Flynn crossed the line. He’s hurt this family for the last time. Now do I need to personally boot him off the island?”

  His cousin took a seat across from him. “He feels like shit, Bart. He knows he went too far and he’s hit rock bottom. I know my brother is a dickhead but he still never meant to let things escalate like this.” He ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. “He’s sorry and wants to tell you in person.”

  Charlotte couldn’t resist interjecting. “Flynn has challenged Bart every step of the way. Bart has already been patient. Why should he listen to him now?”

  Her mate squeezed her hand in acknowledgment of her support.

  “Please,” said Fletcher. “Just talk to him tonight. One-on-one, no pack distractions. Flynn would like to make this right. Give him one more chance, Bart. He’s family.”

  Bart held his cousin’s gaze for a long moment. He finally let out the breath he’d been holding and nodded. “All right. But I make no promises.”

  Fletcher smiled in relief. “Awesome. He’s holed up in my cabin. Come by later and I’ll make myself scarce so you guys can talk.” He pushed away from the table, stood, and nodded his submission. “Thank you, my Alpha.”

  Charlotte watched Fletcher walk away with an unsettled feeling in her stomach. Blaming it on cramps, she dismissed it. Bart patted his lap and she sat, slinging an arm around his shoulder. “I want to come with you. I don’t like the idea of you talking to Flynn alone.”

  He grinned. “Don’t worry about me. I can handle myself. Besides, I’ll give him exactly five minutes of my time. If he doesn’t convince me of his utter penitence in that time, I’ll march him to the dock.” He tucked her hair behind her ear. “But I appreciate you getting all butch for me.”

  She moved to punch him in the shoulder. He caught her fist before it could make contact and laughed. “No, I have another idea,” he said under his breath, waggling his brows. “You stay in the cabin and wait for me. In bed. It’ll be incentive for me to resolve things with Flynn more quickly.”

  “All you ever think of is sex, you beast.”

  He leaned in, captured her lip, and nibbled it, causing her body to explode in a traitorous display of goose bumps. “And what are you thinking of right now?”

  “You,” she admitted. “Fucking me.”

  He leaned back and smiled smugly. “There you go. Kindred spirits.”

  * * * *

  As Bart prepared to set out to talk to Flynn, he couldn’t help noticing Charlotte’s unusual state. She’d never been the sort to get rattled easily but for the past half hour, she’d been pacing, kneading her belly with angry vigor. As he threw on his coat, he walked over and pulled her hands off her stomach. “You’re going to hurt yourself if you keep it up. What’s wrong, Charles? Is it your period?”

  “It must be,” she said, her pretty face scrunched up in a frown. “Although I’ve never suffered from such bad cramps before. My wolf is restless too. It keeps attacking me.”

  He brushed two fingers along her cheekbone and grinned. “Do I have to get my wolf to talk to your wolf?”

  She ground her fist into her gut again and winced. “I wish you would.”

  He eased her hand away. “Tell you what. You rest up, and when I get back, I’ll treat you to a full-body massage. Oil, candles, the whole nine yards. Sound good?”

  She grinned and nodded, but he could see her mind and body were far from comforted. He’d make sure to give her the royal treatment when he got home from talking to Flynn. He hugged Charlotte, running his hands over her incredible curves. Man, he had to be an idiot to leave her to play Dr. Phil with his asswipe cousin. “Do you want me to stay, baby?”

  “No, you need to do this. It’s just cramps. They’ll pass.” She looked at him, her pale eyes searing him. “You won’t be long, will you?”

  “I’ll be back before you know it.” He kissed her on the mouth and tasted something different on her lips. The slightly acidic tang struck him an awful lot like fear. “Charlotte, are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I know it sounds ridiculous, but I don’t want you to go.”

  “It’s just our mate bond making you feel a little crazy. We haven’t left each other’s sides since I locked inside you. It’s normal we’d feel a little desperate for each other. I do, too.”

  “I don’t trust Flynn.”

  “I promise you I can handle him. I’ve been reading his moods for years. Look, if I get a bad vibe, I’ll get Fletcher to stick around. He’ll back me up. Okay?”

  She sighed. “Okay. But if Flynn back talks you again, I will fuck him up.”

  “That’s my woman.” With one more heated kiss for the road, he left her in the cabin and headed into the cold night.

  Before he’d taken ten steps on the snow-encrusted ground, Bart felt eyes on him and turned around. Charlotte stood at his window, watching him, her face etched in worry.

  *

  Charlotte spent the first five minutes after Bart’s departure pacing. She spent the next five cursing her wolf for causing such a painful ruckus in her gut. She shoved her fist up under her ribs in a foolish attempt to make the pain subside, but it only got worse.

  “What do you want from me, you flea-bitten hound from hell?”

  The wolf finally stopped its incessant howling and biting and focused its glowing eyes on her. Our mate’s in trouble.

  “What do you mean he’s in trouble?”

  I just know the smell of danger is all around him. We have to go to him. We have to protect him.

  As panic wound an insidious path from her womb up through her intestines, Charlotte debated what to do. No doubt, she was merely acting under the influence of a potent mate bond that made her paranoid about Bart’s safety. He’d said so himself, and God only knew she’d seen shifters driven to distraction over their mates before.

  On the other hand, he would meet with Flynn, a strong shifter who hadn’t thought twice before attacking Joseph and challenging Bart. He was pigheaded, had a martyr complex, and focused all his enmity on Bart’s family. Would her mate really be able to make him see sense?

  “Okay, breathe,” she said as she paced. “He has Fletcher on his side.”

  Fletcher. The man who’d sliced up Bart’s face when they were youngsters
, leaving him with a dreadful scar. Clearly the more composed brother had his own anger issues. Would he really support Bart if push came to shove?

  Her wolf lunged inside her core, its fangs bared, its mouth dripping with saliva and the need to inflict pain.

  Without wasting another second, Charlotte slid into her granny boots and laced them and threw on her coat.

  Would Bart be angry she hadn’t stayed put? You bet. Would he lecture her at length about listening to and obeying one’s Alpha? She expected nothing less. Would he spank her ass until it glowed pink?

  She certainly hoped so.

  However, recognizing all these truths, she set out after him. She’d never been much of a “stay put” sort of woman anyway. When Jake had been dying of cancer years ago, her parents begged her to limit her visits so her heart might not be so utterly broken when he passed. She’d said, “Fuck that shit,” and stood by her man, even though it had torn her heart to shreds.

  She’d be damned if she wouldn’t do the same thing now.

  Chapter 13

  It took some time to reach Fletcher’s cabin, as it lay at the other end of the sprawling property. When Ryland had designed the Ursa Lodge he’d wanted to ensure his guests always enjoyed a sense of tranquility and privacy. As a result, some of the guest cabins were nestled deep in the thick woods, connected only by winding pathways. As Bart trudged along, he cursed his luck that Fletcher’s cabin was one of the most remote.

  Bad enough he had to confront his cousin, never mind having to hike to get there. Good thing shifters didn’t tire easily.

  His natural energy would serve him well as Alpha. With a wry grin, he realized he’d gotten accustomed to the idea without realizing it. Numerous schemes had already formed in his head with regards to the pack’s future, everything from helping young Rory with his security aspirations to seeing if Ryland might have work for a couple of pack members who’d lost jobs recently.