by Stormie Kent
She held up the wolf. “This is beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful.” He kissed her just as the blush hit her cheeks.
Someone cleared their throat. Nic curbed his growl as his captain’s scent reached him. He stood, pulling Leila up with him. He would need to explain kissing a woman on the job, at the precinct. What would sound human?
“Captain Rochester, this is my fiancée, Leila. She’s also the Brain Surgeon’s latest target.”
The captain’s eyebrows rose. “Is that why you had a hunch he’d show up at the party?”
Leila took Nic’s hand. “That’s my fault, sir. I didn’t listen to him when he asked me not to go. I thought he was being overprotective.”
The captain smiled. “Where has Nic been keeping you?”
“Oh, we had to hide because our families don’t approve. We have different beliefs, you see,” she said. Then she gave a dazzling smile. “After the attack we decided life was too short. Our families will just have to understand.”
She was a brilliant liar. He didn’t see a single tell. She didn’t look down or away. She didn’t stutter. He kissed her cheek. It was a spectacular talent as long as she didn’t try it on him.
The captain clapped him on the back. “Good man. My wife’s family didn’t want her marrying a cop. We’ve been happily married for thirty-five years. You’re obviously keeping this lovely lady safe. Stay on that and keep me informed. It was nice meeting you, Leila.”
Captain Rochester walked into his office. Nic looked around at the men still ogling his mate’s legs. He growled a bit. Then he smiled. Screw them. She was his.
He led her by the hand back out to the SUV. “Our time is almost up. The healer said we only had a couple of hours.”
“Can we go get my car?”
“Sure.” He paused when she stopped walking. “What is it?”
“Whatever Mama Tui did to me won’t last forever. We should just decide now. Do we take our chances with each other or go our separate ways? It felt like I was being ripped apart when I couldn’t have you, yet you were near.” She opened her mouth, then closed it before shrugging.
It stung that all she counted in his favor was an end to her heat. “I would never willingly choose to give up my mate. So the decision is yours.” He ground his back teeth together, then forced himself to say the next part. “I can help you through the heat, and we can take everything else one day at a time.”
Nic waited as she stared into his eyes. There was no aggression in the way she watched him, and his wolf didn’t see it as a challenge. His beast understood that the decision belonged to her.
Finally she spoke. “We make it through the heat and take everything else one day at a time.”
He wanted so much more. He held those thoughts inside as he helped her into the vehicle, then sat behind the wheel.
His phone rang. He looked at the number before answering. “Hi, Mamá.” He’d been expecting her call. He hadn’t checked in with her since the night of the attack.
“Are you safe? Where are you? Manuel has been asking for you.”
Nic was sure his alpha was looking for him since Nic had been dodging his calls. “Mamá, would you mind bringing me some of my things? I’m on a case. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going.”
“Nic, what’s going on?” He hated the anxiety in his mother’s voice.
“I’ll explain when you get here. I promise.” He gave her Leila’s address and disconnected the call.
Leila didn’t comment on the phone call, and he was grateful. He drove to the club and inspected her car before he would allow her to drive it. They drove back to her condo, and when he opened her car door, he realized she was back in heat. The scent of her arousal enticed him. Her sultry gaze locked him in place. The first thing she did was jump into his arms. He had an armful of beautiful witch nuzzling his neck and caressing him in a way that might have been too risqué for the parking lot of her condo in broad daylight.
That was how his mother found them.
“You’re mated.”
“We haven’t mated yet, Mamá.”
She put her hands on her jean-clad hips. “Don’t lie to your mamá. Your scent has changed.”
Shock held him mute for a moment.
“Hello, Mrs. Lobo.” Leila managed to unwind herself and stand on her feet.
Nic grabbed the bag from his mother. “Let’s not stand out here.”
They took the elevator because he was sure Leila wouldn’t make it up the stairs. Already panting, she was having serious trouble remaining still, and on the ride up, she gave him the most erotic arm rub he’d ever experienced in his life.
His mother inhaled deeply for the fifth time and stared at her. “She’s in heat. How is she in heat?”
He led them both into the condo. “Leila, try a cool shower.”
He watched as she headed to the bedroom; then he turned back to his mother. He stared into worried eyes so similar to his. Tall and statuesque, with her long dark hair pulled into a loose bun, she didn’t appear old enough to be his mother. “My scent has changed already?”
“Yes. She’s a witch, isn’t she?”
There was no point in keeping his mother in the dark. He trusted her judgment. He swore his mother to secrecy and then told her everything that had happened. He didn’t blame her for the gape-mouthed expression she wore. They both turned when they heard a whimper from the next room.
“You can’t leave her like that. The damage is done. Your scent is already altered. Heat is…painful in the extreme. She won’t be able to withstand it for long.”
She walked over to him and kissed his cheek. “I will quietly gather our things.”
“Mamá, I can’t take you from your home.”
“We always knew you would have your own pack one day. With your father gone, you are my only family. Your mate will need me now that she is a hybrid.” She shook her head. “Hybrid. Only my son. Now go to her.”
He hugged her before walking her to the door. Leila’s and his scents had altered, so they’d probably been mated since the spirit exchange. His reasons for not taking her were invalid. He strode to the bedroom door and opened it. Leila writhed on the bed. She pinched her nipples with one hand, and the fingers of her other hand worked furiously on her clit.
She was laid out before him as though she were a banquet. Her breasts jerked each time she moved. Her pussy glistened with her juices. Her thighs invited him to spend time between them. He wanted to fall into her softness and feast.
She was already his mate. There wasn’t a thing standing in his way.
LEILA LOOKED AT Nic. If he wasn’t there to fuck her, he was going to get tackled and ravished. All she wanted was him. Her body needed him. At the moment she didn’t care about the Council or his pack. There were only the two of them in the room. Her pussy was running the show, and he needed to get with the program.
“Let’s go, wolfman.”
One corner of his mouth curled up. It was in the top five sexiest things she’d ever seen.
He slowly walked toward her. His palm and fingertips skimmed her instep. She shivered. He trailed his hand up her leg, his touch gentle. Lord, she wanted to coo at him. What would he do next?
“My mother just informed me our scents are already mingled. We’re already mated.”
Before she could decide how she felt about his announcement, his grip firmed, and he jerked her closer to the edge of the bed. Her breath caught before her heart began racing.
“Stay just like that.”
She blinked. He sounded serious. He pulled off his clothes so quickly it was a wonder they didn’t rip. He climbed between her legs. His skin glided along hers, causing little pleasurable sparks to burst over her flesh. Her belly contracted as he touched her there. His large hand slid down and over her belly button until it swept her hand away from her cunt.
“I’ve made you wait so long you’re going to need my cum right away. I promise to spend time worshipping your b
ody later, mate.”
“I can live with that.”
She moaned as he lined his cock up with the entrance to her pussy. She felt every inch as he slid into her sheath. This was more than want. She needed him. He wound his fingers through hers and pressed her hands next to her head. She stared into his eyes. They’d lightened until they were a beautifully clear amber. Like his wolf’s.
Maybe he wasn’t as controlled as he appeared. He slid fully within her. She widened her legs to accommodate him. He almost completely withdrew; then he slid fully within her again. She was overwhelmed by his scent, the feel of the hair covering his torso as his chest grazed her breasts with each thrust.
He kissed her as she tried to process what was happening. Every touch, thrust, and swirl of his tongue was amplified. The sounds of their flesh slapping together spurred her lust. Was everything so intense because he was a shifter or because of the magic of the mating?
He released her mouth, and she gasped. She was ensnared by the intensity of his eyes. He claimed her. Her world narrowed to his gaze, and his cock pounding in and almost out of her pussy. She wrapped her legs around him and squeezed.
He slid along her clit with every rub. She blew out sharply at the burst of bliss in her pussy. Her walls began quivering as the delicious feelings built within her.
“You’re almost there, baby. I can feel your pussy squeezing me. I can’t get enough. You’re so soft and wet.” He lowered his mouth to her neck. He kissed and sucked a path from one side to the other, causing shivers down her spine.
She was so close. He increased his speed, and she sighed in relief. She hadn’t known she needed the pounding force, yet her body responded immediately. Her pussy grasped at him, trying to hold him as his cock withdrew out to the head and then pushed back in forcefully. His hips moved faster than she thought possible.
Suddenly, she felt his teeth scrape against her neck beneath her left ear. The sting of the bite on her shoulder came quickly after that. His teeth pierced her flesh. The pain was intense for a moment; then pleasure swamped her. Her orgasm hit her hard, forcing a scream from her lips.
Dear One, she felt good. Nic pressed his hips to hers; by degrees, she felt fuller than she’d ever thought possible deep inside. The knot. He groaned next to her ear as he came. He gathered her close, and that was how they remained.
She kissed his cheek. “How long are we locked together?” She tried to keep the panic from her voice. She really wasn’t used to shifter weirdness.
“Be glad I’m not a full wolf or we might be stuck here for half an hour.”
“Half an hour!”
His laugh was a grumble against her neck. “Two to five minutes is what I’ve been told. I’ve never been mated before now, have I?”
“Um.” That was a long time to be locked to someone. Not to mention she had a hard time understanding what was happening inside her.
He released her hands and propped himself on his elbows. She resisted the urge to kiss him again. Despite their present situation, she didn’t know him very well. What they had was fueled by hormones and magic.
“The knot is there to make sure we produce pups. The swelling is an extension of the penis that only appears in mated pairs. It ensures my cum is deposited close to your cervix, and it keeps as much as possible from escaping.”
She blinked at him. “I’m on the pill.” She wasn’t sure if she fully understood his little anatomy lesson, but surely even shifter craziness was no match for modern medicine.
He shook his head. She got a sinking sensation, which coincided with the feeling of his knot shrinking inside her. Everything was happening so fast.
“Human medicine won’t work in the face of a true mating. We’d already fully mated somehow before you received my seed.”
Of course. Her luck was not up to par lately. She barely knew the man, and now she had to worry about puppies?
There were some things she needed to know about shifter mating up front. “You bit me.” She wasn’t sure how to feel about that either.
His lopsided grin hit her system hard, forcing her to clench around his cock. “Get used to it. You know you liked it.”
That was hardly the point. “Is it a wolf thing?”
“Yep. How do you feel, by the way?”
“Sweaty, satisfied, and tired.” Just as she should feel after great sex. She wouldn’t add she was a little nauseated at the thought of having puppies.
His eyes widened. “You don’t feel the heat again?”
She was afraid to answer. He kept hitting her with strange shifter-mating facts, and she wasn’t sure she could absorb any more. “No, I feel normal.”
“Oh.” He slid from her body.
She shivered involuntarily. Her pussy really liked him. Her mind didn’t like the look on his face.
“Oh what? Wait. I thought you said the heat would last for a week.”
He stood and headed out the bedroom door. She winced as she rolled out of bed. She steeled herself against the soreness between her legs and followed him. He went into the kitchen, searched for a cup, and poured a glass of water from the pitcher in the refrigerator. He offered it to her.
She shook her head. “Nic?” She knew this conversation wasn’t going to end well.
He set the water pitcher back in the refrigerator. “The only thing that will stop heat before its time is impregnation.”
Her mouth fell open before she shut it quickly. She closed her eyes for a moment, then stared at him. “What!”
“You’re probably pregnant with my pup.”
She tried to sit. He caught her before she fell to the floor. She’d thought earlier he’d meant they would have children in the vague, shadowy future, not nine months from now.
“You don’t mean real wolf puppies, do you?” she whispered.
“No, shifter pups are born in their human form.”
She only felt a little better. “We’re not even married.”
“We’re mated. It is a stronger bond than a few words and a piece of paper.” His features were set in hard lines as he frowned at her.
For some reason tears gathered in her eyes.
“Don’t cry, baby. If you want to be married, we’ll get married.”
She couldn’t speak. It was really all too much. She’d been nearly killed by a sorcerer. She’d swapped a part of her soul with a wolf shifter, then mated him. She’d gone into heat, and now she was very likely pregnant. All within three days.
Guilt ate at her, trying to corrode her acceptance of their bond. She’d done something terrible to him. Something she’d been trained never to do. He would have been within his rights to kill her. Instead, he wanted to start a family.
What would their children be like, anyway? She’d never heard of a shifter mating a witch. Would her children be shifters or witches? For that matter, what was she now that she’d intermingled their souls and magic?
She looked into his eyes. He was obviously worried. He still held her gently by the arms. She needed the support. She was afraid her legs wouldn’t work.
“Are you ready to be a father?”
She saw the pride before he could quickly mask it. For some reason, it settled her nerves a bit. He was a wolf shifter. She was his mate, and she probably carried his child. She would be his first priority. She relaxed her body, and he pulled her in closer. When he wrapped his arms around her, she did the same to him.
Maybe there was some hope they could work out their issues.
He kissed the spot right below her ear. “I am ready to be anything you need. Don’t worry. Maybe the heat went away quickly because you’re not a born shifter.”
She squeezed him tighter. They had one thing to take care of before they faced his pack and her Council. Staying alive was her first priority, and she couldn’t be safe as long as her attacker still roamed the streets. “We have to find that sorcerer.”
Chapter Five
They took showers, dressed, then sat at the kitchen table eating a l
ate lunch.
Leila placed her napkin beside her plate. She enjoyed the quiet moment doing something as simple as sharing a meal with Nic, but they had work to do. “We need to find all the wizards in the area and see if any have gone rogue. Maybe he’s from the county.”
“Your Council is split in half, right?”
“We are one Council. The men and women govern themselves and meet separately. We join each other for major meetings throughout the year and festivals. I need to speak with the men’s historian. He will have the Council count and notes on wizards turned sorcerers.” A sorcerer was a wizard who’d embraced the dark arts.
Nic looked at her strangely. “You keep the men and women separate?”
“No, only for meetings and some ceremonies.” She felt a little defensive. She didn’t get furry and howl at the moon. At least not yet. The thought wasn’t making her feel warm and fuzzy inside.
“Can you call him and ask if we can drop by?”
“I don’t have to. My uncle Kofi is the men’s historian. We can stop by now if you’re finished eating.”
He stood and moved her chair back before crowding between her and the table. He leaned over her, bracing his hands on the back of her chair. Her nipples pebbled, and her pussy moistened. She maintained eye contact. She couldn’t do anything else. He mesmerized her, forcing her to focus completely on him. He kissed her, and her lids closed as she melted into it.
Dear One, this couldn’t all be mated magic. He surrounded her, though only his mouth actually touched her. His tongue swirled around hers, and a throbbing began deep in her core. Slowly, he stepped away. She resisted the urge to follow his lips.
He smiled, and she felt the reaction all over her body. She wanted to jump him, shred his clothes, and take him on the kitchen floor.
“Ah-ah, mate.” He held out his hand to help her up. “You have to wait to do whatever it is you’re thinking. We have work to do.”