by Anna Abner
“How do you do that?” Lukas marveled.
“I’ve always been good at this stuff.” She nudged him with her elbow. “Why did you purposely stay away from the packs?”
“I told you, I don’t like being told what to do.” Alphas wanted to be in his business. He needed room to run and space to be free.
“Actually,” she said, sliding the cell out of sight and snuggling in tighter to his side, “you told me you like it when I boss you around.”
Her scent was doing something warm and pleasant to his insides. Dropping his voice, he said into her ear, “That’s different, häxa.” Images of her body flitted behind his eyes, and his cock stirred to life. “Did you have something in mind?”
Unblinking, she met his stare. “Get off your ass and in that bathroom. Now.”
The tone of her voice had Lukas on his feet, pulling her up, and dragging her along. They careened into the bathroom, Roz giggling as the door slammed shut behind them. Her smile vanished, though, as Lukas loomed over her.
“On your knees,” she demanded.
He dropped to the rug and dragged a rough breath into his lungs as his erection swelled behind his fly. He’d do anything she said. Anything. But her next words were a sweet relief.
“I want to come.” She shimmied a pair of red lacy panties out from under her skirt and lifted her right knee to his shoulder.
No further prompting needed. Lukas grasped her hips and buried his face between her sweet, silken thighs. She tasted like cherries and cream, and he suckled with enthusiasm. While he lathed her clit with his tongue, he teased her entrance with a fingertip. First, just a gentle nudge, and then a more persistent circling. He suckled her nub and pressed his finger to the first knuckle inside her.
Roz’s thighs clenched around his head, and he groaned in appreciation. He pushed his finger in her to the second knuckle and then swirled her slick, warm inner core. He sensed her tensing, and he slipped a second finger inside her.
He knew she was near the edge when her hands smacked into his head and she tugged on his hair.
“Keep doing that,” she panted. “Right there.”
While he nibbled appreciatively at her sex, his fingers teased and prodded. He’d happily remain between her legs indefinitely.
She came with a gasp and a full body quiver, and Lukas remained pressed to her slit, enjoying the taste and feel of her orgasm.
“On your back.” She pushed at his shoulders, and he rolled upon the rug.
“You gonna make me come again?” she asked, yanking at his fly.
“Tell me,” he prodded, helping her free his cock.
Smiling, Roz said, “Make me come again.”
“With pleasure,” he growled.
#
Lukas smelled grilling meat through the truck’s open window before he ever saw a pack member. Michael Hull must be preparing an entire bull’s worth of meat, and as Roz drove the F-350 closer, it was plain he was. An assortment of smokers, BBQs, and open grills were letting off steam around huge chunks of pork, beef, and what might have been buffalo. The driveway curved up in front of a sprawling, Spanish style ranch house buffeted by towering palm trees and two separate detached garages large enough to house private planes. Or tanks. Or several artillery vehicles.
Though not visible from the front, Lukas smelled a chlorinated swimming pool and rose bushes. The majority of the property, apart from the area directly around the pool, had no fencing, and it seemed a likely guess that most of the visible land was private property. It felt wide open, quiet, and safe. In the distance, low mountains capped flat plains. Not another vehicle, building, or community in sight. Michael was alpha of all he surveyed.
Roz parked, gave Lukas a steadying look, and climbed out.
He didn’t want to be there. He’d purposefully shunned shifter packs near Stockholm. He wasn’t a pack kind of guy, but Roz was so excited at the prospect of interviewing shifters, he felt obligated to go along with her.
But he had no intention of enjoying himself, let alone joining up.
Roz, though, looked good enough to eat in a short skirt and silver stilettoes. He was proud to offer her his arm as they crossed the driveway. For his part, he hadn’t wanted to look like he’d tried to impress anyone, so he’d thrown on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
“Lukas!”
His chin snapped up as Michael came through a side gate with two frosty beers, one in each hand.
“Glad you could make it.” Michael handed one bottle to Roz and the other to Lukas. “Welcome to my home. Let me show you around.”
“Thanks,” Roz said with zero hesitancy. “We appreciate the invite. I was wondering,” she jogged to catch up with Michael’s long strides, “if you could tell me how long there’s been a Vegas pack?”
Lukas smirked, thinking Michael had no idea the mistake he’d made inviting Roz to his home. She would hound him with questions all night.
“My father gathered the pack,” Michael said, glancing at Lukas, “about twenty-five years ago.”
Roz nodded as if putting pieces of Michael’s puzzle together. “The same time as the paranormal burst, as I call it.”
“It does seem like there weren’t any shifters or vampires before then, doesn’t it?” Michael said.
“Were there?” she pressed. “How far back in your family does the gene go?”
Rather than answer, Michael clapped Lukas on the shoulder. “Speaking of families, who was the shifter in yours? Your mother or your father?” Michael asked. “Or are you a first generation mutation?”
“Uh,” Lukas hedged, not comfortable discussing his personal life with this alpha tool. “I never knew my biological father. My mother divorced him when I was still a baby.”
“Okay,” Michael said, his expression falling slightly. “Do you mind if I ask why she left him?”
“She said his temper scared her.”
“So, we’ll assume you inherited the gene from your dad.”
“I think all we can assume about my biological father,” Lukas corrected, “is—he was an asshole.”
“Fair enough.” Michael raised his palms as he chuckled. “I’ve been doing my own, unofficial research on the gene. More times than not, males only pass to their male offspring. Females only pass it on to their daughters. Nobody knows why.”
“Fascinating,” Roz said. Lukas could practically see her inner notepad filling with more questions.
Michael raised his hand, waving to one of his wolves. His son Markus loped over, grinning. “Markus will finish the tour,” Michael said. “I’ll catch up with you two later.” He weaved into the crowd.
“Hey,” Markus greeted keeping both hands in his pockets. “Have you gotten anything to eat yet?”
“Not yet,” Lukas answered.
They meandered around folding tables weighed down with steaming meat, aromatic sides, and gooey desserts.
“That’s a lot of meat,” Roz said, wrinkling her nose. “Do you have any fruit? Or salad?”
Markus just laughed. “Sorry, but we’re mostly carnivores around here.” He nodded to the tables laden with food and drinks. “Help yourself to anything you see.”
“Thanks.” Finally, she chose a plate and filled it with au gratin potatoes, German sausage, and fruit salad.
Just to fulfill some primal instinct, Lukas made himself a double burger with all the fixings and ate with gusto as Markus led them inside the house.
“I was talking to your dad,” Roz said between bites, “about your grandpa. He turned about twenty-five years ago?”
“No,” Markus said, “My grandfather was born a shifter. We were only identified about the same time vampires were, but we’ve been around for decades. So have vampires.”
“Right,” she said thoughtfully. “If Olek hadn’t been such a megalomaniac, you all might still be a secret.”
“So,” Lukas spoke up, having devoured his burger and licked his fingers clean, “do you like being in your dad’s pack?”
“Yeah.” Markus shrugged. “I guess. It’s the only life I’ve ever known.”
“What if you didn’t like it?” Lukas asked.
“I’m not a prisoner.” He laughed. “No one here is. I’d tell my dad I wanted to leave, and I’d leave.”
“But you could never contact a member of the pack again, right?” Lukas prompted.
“No.” Markus chuckled nervously. “We’re not a cult or a church or anything. We come and go as we please. We have the same rights and freedoms as anyone else. I could leave the pack and still hang out here with my family and friends.” He stared worriedly at Lukas. “Did you have a bad experience?”
“There was a pack in Sweden, where I’m from. Once you join, there’s no leaving without abandoning your entire life and starting over in a new town.”
“No, man.” Markus eyed Lukas up and down. “That’s not how we do things here. My dad is all about supporting and protecting shifters, whether they’re part of our pack or not.”
“Good to know,” Roz said, cutting through them and peeking into a sewing room. “Is this your mom’s?”
“Yeah,” Markus said, looking relieved for the distraction. “She loves to quilt and embroider. Watch out, or she’ll be making you both something soon.”
“I’d love a quilt,” Roz said. “I live in a hotel, so anything that makes it feel more like a home is wonderful.”
“I’ll tell her you said that.”
They took a slow circuit around the north side of the house before Michael caught up to them in a cavernous kitchen with plenty of windows and French doors leading out to the pool.
“Did you get some food?” he greeted.
“Yes, thanks.” Lukas nodded.
“You have a beautiful home,” Roz added.
“I hope Markus was a good tour guide,” Michael said.
“See you guys later,” Markus said and quickly fled.
“So, you date a witch and hang out with a vampire,” Michael said, narrowing his eyes. “It’s certainly an eclectic group.”
“It works for us,” Roz answered for him. “We’re not exclusionary.” She speared Michael with a penetrating gaze. “Are you?”
“Of course not.” The man’s friendly chuckle was starting to grate on Lukas’ nerves.
Michael added, “We’re an enlightened pack, open to all shifters.”
“I guess that makes us a pack of our own,” Roz said, smiling to herself. “I’d never thought of it that way before.”
Not looking particularly enthusiastic, Michael turned on Lukas. “We play a little game before the sun goes down. A wrestling match out by the pool. It gets a bit of our energy out. Wanna join us?”
Not sure if this was some kind of trap, Lukas didn’t say anything as Michael led them onto the back patio. Some of the wolves, both male and female, were tussling good-naturedly around the edges of the pool. The kids wrapped themselves in fluffy towels and gathered in an open-air cabana to watch an animated film. Markus and the human spouses congregated along the fringes, observing.
One of the wives, a tall and willowy brunette with a glass of red wine in one hand, waved Roz over. With a wink over her shoulder for him, she joined the females in the pack, no doubt peppering them with questions.
Lukas crossed his arms and watched the wolves scrapping like a bunch of overgrown pups. He snickered as a couple of wiry teens rolled into a lawn chair.
“Hey,” Markus’ cousin Drew called, coming at Lukas from the right. “Do bears know how to fight?” He was grinning when he said it, but as he tackled Lukas, his weight and strength was no joke. The kid might not have been full grown yet, but he was solid as stone when his shoulder hit Lukas square in the belly and took him down.
As soon as Lukas was on his back, the nearest shifters joined in, and Lukas’ inner beast surfaced. He rolled and kicked one off him, but another flipped him on his belly. Lukas laughed, unexpectedly. He hadn’t had fun with other shifters…ever. In fact, he didn’t know other shifters.
Another shifter jumped on the pile, and Lukas and the pup rolled. After an elbow and a well-placed knee, Lukas scrambled to his feet, panting but unable to wipe the grin off his face. He caught Roz’s eye a second before the entire pack slammed into him as one unit, and they all careened into the pool. The water was bracing, but Lukas grinned as he climbed out and reached behind him to help Drew and a few others out.
He found Roz’s gaze again, and she smiled. She approached with a clean towel. “You’re changing your mind, aren’t you?” she whispered.
He just laughed, whipping water from his hair. Yes, he was. Maybe being part of a pack wasn’t such a bad idea.
Michael clapped Lukas on the back. “Go take a shower. Markus will leave you dry clothes outside the bathroom door. We’re about to start the bonfire. You don’t want to miss the s’mores.”
#
The drive to the cabin was quiet, the radio the only sound between them. Roz had so many thoughts and questions running through her mind, she couldn’t sort them all yet.
A few minutes before the final turn-off, Lukas began to fidget.
“Pull over,” he said, his voice loud in the quiet between them.
She glanced at him suspiciously. “Why?”
“I don’t want to go back yet.”
She steered the truck to the side of the deserted road and sat, staring out the windshield, her hands stuck at ten to two.
She could feel his eyes on her, and she smiled warmly at him. “That was fun. Don’t you think?”
He made a guttural mm-hmm, and then spoke in a soft, husky voice that sent shivers through her. “You’re so strong.”
“You are ridiculous,” she said, reaching to turn the engine on before he started spouting iambic pentameter.
“Don’t,” he pleaded, his fingers on her arm. “I’m trying to explain to you what makes you special to me.”
She didn’t move, let his fingers rest on her bare flesh.
“I’m not good at relationships,” he said, removing his hand and slouching against the bench seat. “I’m great at hanging out and having fun, but real relationships? Not a clue.”
“Go on.”
He gave her a look before continuing. “I’m glad you convinced me to go to the pack meeting. You were right. It was fun.”
“Do you think you could join?”
He sighed. “If I were going to stay in the area, I’d consider it.”
Ah, the haunting threat hanging over her head. At some point in the near future, Lukas would return to his life in Stockholm, and she’d be forced to go on as if he didn’t carry her heart with him.
He reached across the seat and pried her right hand off the steering wheel. His fingers were warm, dry, and a little rough. “Would you consider coming to Stockholm with me?”
“Me?” she blurted out. “In Sweden?” The thought was so absurd, she laughed. “I don’t think I’d like it there.”
“Why not? You don’t know anything about it.”
“I know it’s not the epicenter of paranormal activity,” she told him. “And it’s cold. I don’t like the cold.”
He released her hand. “I’d be there.”
She hated causing that pained look in his eyes, so she said, “I’ll think about it.”
He seemed relieved by the answer. “I’m going to kiss you now,” he said with a teasing note in his voice.
She crawled closer, and he met her halfway. His kiss was hungry, but so was hers. She pushed him onto his back and straddled his hips, dropping sweet kisses onto his cheeks, his nose, and his eyebrows. She felt him grow hard beneath her. In a couple of kicks, her panties hung on by one ankle and his jeans were riding just above his knees. She popped open the glove box and after rooting around in it, came away with a condom. Roz unrolled it along his length, and guided him inside her. The hot, sticky friction was delicious pain.
“Go real slow,” he panted. “I want you to come first.”
She didn’t answer, only w
iggled, forcing him out of her slowly. His fingers probing her cleft, tickling her clit, making it sing with pleasure. She ground her hips down, her clitoris rubbing against his belly. She moaned, raising one hand to the roof of the cab to steady herself as she rode him. Screw going slow. She was so close to climaxing, it didn’t matter anymore.
“Look at me,” he said, seizing her face in his hands.
Their eyes met as her hips gyrated between them. She got caught in his flinty blue eyes, unable to draw away. His right hand rose, caressing her cheek, keeping her near. There was a desperation in his eyes, a need that went beyond sex, a yearning. He only broke eye contact when he came, throwing his head back. She followed on his heels, grinding herself to climax even as he spent himself inside her. She collapsed on top of his chest, covered in a thin sheen of sweat.
“That was,” he stuttered, unable to find the right words. “That was—”
“Shattering,” she supplied, draping herself against the thump of his heart.
Chapter Twenty-One
Roz’s phone beeped with multiple alerts at seven on Saturday morning, waking her from a very decent dream about a pack of werewolves infiltrated by an overgrown bear. “What the hell is going on?” she grumbled, digging her phone out from under her pillow and squinting blurrily at the screen.
“Oh, shit.” Instantly awake, she sat off the couch and tossed a throw pillow at Lukas’ sleeping face.
“Huh?” Bare-chested, his hair askew, he sat upright. “Roz? What’s wrong?”
“The Four Sons have attacked a school bus in the Summerlin South neighborhood,” she said, rising and pulling on clothes, not caring for modesty. “They abducted all 21 high school students on board.”
There was silence, and then, “‘Oh, shit’ is right.”
“Connor? Ali?” she called, heading down the short hallway. “We need to have a family meeting. Now.”
Though obviously not pleased about being woken so early, the four hunters gathered in the living room.
“I received the first alerts about fifteen minutes ago,” she said. “Sergei and his brothers kidnapped twenty-one high school students on their way to school this morning. It’s obvious they’re building an army.”