Lost Howl

by Zenina Masters

  She looked at his face and hair, memorizing the ash blonde locks and the wide jaw with a very mobile mouth. It was currently smiling at her.

  She blushed. “You are staring.”

  “You are stunning. What did you mean, learning about shifters?”

  “Ah. Don’t take this the wrong way, but humans raised me. I knew that other shifters existed, but I hadn’t met any who were direct about their situation.”

  “Why were you raised by humans?”

  “Because my parents were dead and no one could find any trace of me anywhere in the legal system. The humans that found me adopted me and took me in.”

  “Has your voice always been that low?”

  She blinked. “I…it broke. There was an accident and I called for help. My voice broke.”

  “How old were you?”

  “It doesn’t matter. It happened. So, what do you do when you are not trolling at the Crossroads?”

  “I work at the family quarry. I am in charge of selecting excavation sites. You?”

  “I take tours of the nature-seeking into the wild and bring them back alive.” She smiled. “They don’t seem to mind my voice.”

  His cheeks coloured, and he would have answered her, but their server came to the table and took their order.

  “I don’t mind your voice, but it is huskier than that of most females.”

  She propped her chin up on her fist. “I used to be a dude?”

  He snorted. “Your scent is definitely female. No trace of male anywhere on you.”

  “Yeah, but it sounds funnier than explaining.”

  Lorr grinned. “It is that. So, you take tours around and entertain them?”

  “I take groups of six or seven into the woods and show them how to live with minimal supplies and a lot of effort.” Amira shrugged. “It is what I am suited for.”

  “I see.” He smiled. “Would you take me?”

  “Um. Please define that statement so I know I am not getting my signals crossed.”

  “I would like to learn how to survive in the woods. My beast is built for other terrain.”

  Curiosity assailed her, but she had been briefed that it was the one question she could not ask. If he wanted her to know what he was, he would show her. She had the same restraint on her side. He wouldn’t ask, so she had to decide when and if she exposed her wolf.

  The fur was going to fly.

  Chapter Five

  After a strangely quiet dinner, Amira asked him, “How long have you been here?”

  “Four days.”

  “You haven’t found the one for you?”

  He grinned and drank his iced tea. “The jury is out. I am still in the assessment phase, but I think I may have met the one. I know my beast is content with the selection.”

  She snorted. “My beast is decidedly trampy right now. I am trying to be good.”

  Lorr cocked his head. “Trampy, you say?”

  She laughed at the speculation in his voice. “I have never been around shifters before. Well, not this many. I was already in heat without being tempted with males that could calm the fire in my blood.”

  “Would you care to go for a walk in the moonlight?”

  She snickered at the hopeful tone in his voice. “I would like that. I haven’t seen any of the Crossroads yet.”

  “Then, please allow me to show you.”

  They got to their feet, and he swiped his charm over the pay station so they could leave.

  “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “It was my pleasure for the husky caress of your voice.” He made it sound like a good thing.

  She blushed again. “Right, well, this way.”

  She led him to the door, and when they walked outside, he slid an arm around her waist. She wasn’t complaining.

  He showed her the restaurant, the new salon and the general store.

  “I know the store. They set me up with this dress. I didn’t bring anything that wasn’t practical.”

  “The dress is lovely. It makes you look like liquid moonlight.”

  She ducked her head. “I just wanted it because it was loose enough to get out of if I needed to shift. Since this is all very new to me, it is a practical concern.”

  “Well, you managed to cross lovely with practical. It is not a skill that many women pull off with such flair.”

  The compliments were throwing her. She was too used to doing all the pursuit, and being on the receiving end was sending her dizzy.

  Her pussy ached and she clenched her thighs as they walked. She could feel the slick heat at the join of her thighs spreading with every step.

  She kept herself tucked against him, enjoying the flex of muscle against her with every movement.

  He walked slowly through the town, and then, he paused and faced a huge, open meadow with cabanas set up along one side.

  “This is the shifter meadow. When you want to let your beast out, you can change over there and come out in your other form.”

  Amira smiled. “I like the idea of privacy. I have never been able to change if someone can see me.” She qualified it. “Well, not a complete change.”

  “You can do a partial shift?”

  “Yes. More often than anything else.” She was enthralled by the empty meadow, the stars above and the moon rising. She wanted to transform and howl but that wasn’t going to happen. Her howl had not made an appearance for eighteen years; it was not going to start now. “It frightens wildlife.”

  He chuckled.

  Lorr’s hand was slowly moving on her back, and she turned to him, pressing her hands to his chest and going up slightly on her toes to press a kiss to his mouth.

  He slid his hands up her back and held her tight, keeping her in place as he joined her in the first exchange.

  She could smell the heat coming off her own skin, and it mingled with the musk that was rising from his. Amira rubbed against him in a slow caress, taking a measure of the muscle and bone of his body. There was nothing missing as her body sought his. To her senses, his body was ideally suited to satisfy her.

  Her inner wolf snarled and bit, trying to get her to put Lorr in a position where her dominance could be asserted. Amira held her wolf back, but it was hard when he groaned and bent her back in his embrace.

  His hand in her hair held her as he turned into the aggressor. She released the tight hold on her beast and her own savagery kicked in.

  He lifted her in his arms, and she lashed her legs around his waist, grinding her hips against his in insistent invitation.

  “Let her go, goat.”

  Amira came out of her lusty daze as another voice rang in the air. She turned her head slightly, pressing her cheek to Lorr’s. A man was standing a few feet away, and he was bristling with fury. A quick sniff told her that he was a wolf, but she had no idea why he was here. She hadn’t even danced with him.

  “Uh, who are you?” She tried to drop one of her legs to stand on her own, but Lorr’s grip was firm on the backs of her thighs.

  “The alpha promised you to me, and I will have you.”

  “I doubt that. I don’t even have a pack. Go away; things were just getting out of control here.” She moved her head to look at Lorr, but he was focused on the other male. Damn it.

  “Someone has promised her and you pursued her to the Crossroads?”

  The other male shifted with less confidence than he had previously displayed. “She was promised.”

  She tapped on Lorr’s chest, and he let her legs go. She stood against him and glared at the newcomer. “Who promised?”

  “My alpha. Pack Master Loffwin.” He snarled.

  She took a step toward him, but Lorr put his hand out to block her. “Amira, please. Let me handle this.”

  Amira looked at him and his grey eyes were glowing.

  “Please, Amira.”

  She nodded and stepped back. He had asked politely, and she was eager to find
out what he would do against a wolf.

  As Lorr approached the other man, the wolf furred up and his clothing tore as he leaned forward to shift completely. Lorr didn’t need to shift completely; he shifted his head and shoulders, ramming the wolf as it transformed.

  There was a yelp and the wolf went end over end along the ground. Lorr stood and shook his head before he braced himself between the wolf and Amira.

  Her heart skipped a beat. No one had ever put themselves in between her and trouble before. That was usually her job.

  When Lorr cast a glance at her, she noted that the description of goat wasn’t too far off; in fact, it was dead on. He had huge curling horns coiling out of his forehead to bracket his jaw. His muzzle was long and tapered to a rounded edge.

  She had never seen anything as breathtaking as his half-shifted form. The collar of his shirt had strained and he had lost a button with the expansion of his neck, but otherwise, he was completely suited to the thick muscle and the amazing horns.

  Amira walked up to him and reached up to stroke his jaw. He closed his eyes for a moment and exhaled.

  His eyes snapped open a second later, and he gently moved her aside as the now fully shifted wolf came at them, trailing his trousers.

  Amira watched Lorr bend over and heard the tremendous thwack as he made contact with the charging wolf. Another yelp and, this time, whimpers rang through the air.

  The bartender from the Crossed Star appeared out of nowhere and lifted the wolf in his arms. “Spike is on duty. She will get him back to human and then off to a medical centre for that cracked skull.”

  Amira clung to Lorr’s arm as he resumed his human shape.

  He looked at his challenger. “He will be fine. I pulled back as I struck. He just needs to shift and get an x-ray.”

  The bartender nodded as he carried the canine away.

  Amira sighed. “Well, that seems to have put a cork in this evening’s possibilities.”

  Lorr turned to her and cupped her jaw with his hand. He caressed her lips with his in a slow and light motion. “There is no reason it has to stop.”

  “Perhaps not out in the open then.” She whispered it an inch from his lips.

  He smiled, leaned back and offered her his arm. “Perhaps we can change the venue.”

  She hoped that the moonlight didn’t show her blush. The warmth in his expression bordered on the tender. She was used to lust—affection was something new.

  Sucking in a deep breath, Amira took his arm and walked with him back through the now-busy streets of the Crossroads and toward the Open Heart.

  It was time to learn the difference between need and want.

  Amira was nervous and that wasn’t like her. Her inner wolf was awake and aware but it wasn’t interfering or offering guidance. The damned thing was impressed with his ability to take on one of her own kind.

  Lorr closed the door to his room and offered her a seat on the small couch facing the glowing moon. “Now. We are alone, we have privacy and no wolves are going to charge up here demanding your hand. So, would you care to tell me what that was all about?”

  “I have no idea. Did you want some family history that might explain it?”

  He smiled. “I would rather get back into that clinch we were in before we were so rudely interrupted.”

  “Are you sure? You could be taking on a little bit of baggage if we continue this.”

  Lorr twisted sideways, lifted her and dropped her in his lap. “I am up for the baggage if you are in it.”

  She sighed and looped an arm around his neck. “That is sweet, but I am not sure about this whole shifter thing. I am thinking about asking to be returned home and I will just continue as I have been doing.”

  “Screwing humans for a little relief?” He raised his brows with an amused quirk of his lips.

  “How do you…”

  “My sister was going into heat and couldn’t find a mate in our area. She had to go elsewhere before she had made it through the entire population of our hometown. It was getting ridiculous.”

  “So, it isn’t just me?”

  “No, many shifter females have beasts with powerful drives. It isn’t all females and it isn’t all species, but if you feel a need, you should definitely fulfill it.”

  As he spoke, he stroked her knee and his fingers caressed her outer thigh.

  She parted her knees, and he slowly trailed his hand back down to her knee before bringing it back toward her pussy with a deliberate stroke.

  He found her panties soaked, and he shuddered as he eased the fabric aside and ran his finger along the folds of her sex.

  She stared at his face as he slid two fingers into her. His eyes were alternating between human and beast, his skin was tight over his cheekbones and his lips were full and parted.

  She could smell her heat, and it was obvious that he could as well. Lorr’s musk was starting to surround them both.

  Amira gasped and shuddered when his thumb rotated on her clit. Her inner muscles clenched on his fingers.

  Lorr continued to work his fingers inside her, and she shook with a low moan as her climax struck. He moved in and out of her, letting her draw the full measure of pleasure from his touch.

  When she was limp in his arms, he leaned in and kissed her. She sighed and lazily reached up to cup his jaw as he nibbled at her lips.

  He pressed his forehead to hers. “And on that note, I believe you should seek your own room before I rush things.”

  She clenched her fingers in his hair. “I want to rush things.”

  Her wolf was rising.

  He stood with her in his arms and carried her to the door and out into the hall. “Which way is your room?”

  She pointed and he walked with easy strides to the door she gestured to. She opened the door and he pushed it open, moving through the room to settle her on the bed.

  He kissed her softly. “I will see you in the morning, Amira. Teebie makes a delightful breakfast.”

  Before she could do so much as reach for him, he was out of her grasp and closing the door to her room.

  Aching and alone, she curled around a pillow and held it to her belly. It was going to be a long night, but there was no one else she wanted to spend it with.

  * * * *

  Lorr shuddered in the shower. She had been hot, tight and more than willing. His own restraint had been hanging by a thread, but he wanted one more day with her here, before the real world intruded.

  She was everything on his list and far more. Amira had survival skills, intelligence and a sensual response to touch that was going to haunt his sleep tonight. The slick heat of her sex was dizzying, and he wanted to feel that tight grip around his cock sooner rather than later and for every night of his life thereafter.

  Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.

  Chapter Six

  Amira was sitting in the dining room when Lorr came in. She smiled shyly at him, and he casually walked up to her and planted a kiss on her lips.

  She was bemused as he sat next to her and placed his left hand on her knee under the table.

  “Good morning, Amira.”

  “Good morning, Lorr.”

  Teebie arrived and winked as she poured coffee. “Well, you two. Sleep well?”

  Amira made a face. “As well as could be expected.”

  Lorr squeezed her knee. “I slept quite well after a brisk shower.”

  Teebie chuckled and she returned to the kitchen.

  Amira looked at Lorr. “I am glad one of us got some sleep.”

  He shrugged. “If you wish to sleep tonight, I will take it under advisement.”

  She snorted and reached for the muffin platter, dragging it closer so he could reach it without removing his hand from her thigh.

  The bacon plate got the same treatment, and soon, they were both eating in silence while Teebie welcomed other guests down for breakfast and congratulated one couple on their union.
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  Amira and Lorr joined in the congratulations, but they got their own fair share of looks.

  Amira was amazed that she could see the mated pair glowing in sync. Their bodies moved in a strange harmony and the inner beasts were content. It showed in every motion.

  She smiled sadly as she remembered that her parents had had that same glow and ease of movement. They had lived in a constant dance that had been beautiful and calming to watch. Until this moment, she had believed that it was just her memories that had wrapped them in a glow. Now, she knew better. They had been lit up by the serenity of a true mating.

  “Why the sadness, Amira?” Lorr whispered it in her ear.

  She rested her lips next to his ear. “I was just remembering my parents and how they were bright with light when they were together. I thought it was just a fond memory. It seems to be a true-mate reality.”

  He turned and the whisper turned into a short kiss.

  Amira didn’t remember much of breakfast after that. Her mind resumed its functions when they were out in the street taking a walk toward the shifter’s meadow and the surrounding woods.

  “I think we might want a bit more privacy. Teebie gave me directions to a path that is rarely used. I believe it is time to show you what you are getting into.”

  Amira did want to say that she was more than eager to have something get into her, but she didn’t.

  He kept his arm around her, and they walked through the forest to a path that twisted up until it reached a rocky consistency.

  Amira could feel the change in altitude, but she kept climbing with him. He coaxed her higher and higher until, finally, they reached a plateau that gave them a look at the entire Crossroads.

  Calmly, Lorr removed his clothing and folded each piece as he set it down. When he was naked, aroused and focused, he stepped over to her and kissed her. “All I am is offered to you.”

  Immediately in front of her, he shifted into a tall and broad mountain goat with splendid horns and elegant lines in his back and limbs. A strange combination between brown and grey with cute white socks made up his colouring. Dark lines outlined his eyes and he bent his head to her.