by Kate Douglas
I want you to join me, to be a part of my thoughts when I make the shift. Feel what I feel, sense what I do. Then do exactly the same. Don’t fight the sensation. You will feel vertigo, a massive distortion of perception as your body adjusts. It’s normal. Remember, do exactly as I do.
Anton’s words sounded loud and clear in his mind. Stefan nodded his agreement. His breath caught in his throat. There was something totally elemental about this moment, this sharing with the man he’d grown to love.
He felt Anton’s hands resting lightly on his shoulders. Stefan reached out and placed his own palms against Anton’s warm flesh.
Close your eyes. Concentrate on what I feel. What my body does.
Stefan’s fingers trembled against Anton’s shoulders. He sighed, took another deep breath. Opened his mind, forced his body to relax.
Felt Anton begin to shift.
Naked, Xandi watched the two men from her hiding place in the thick ferns that grew beside the small meadow. Her enhanced night vision made the moonlit meadow as bright as day. Her perceptive mind picked up Anton’s thoughts as if he spoke aloud.
She closed her eyes and felt the changes within Anton’s body as well as Stefan’s, then mimicked them in her own. Her limbs turned loose and fluid, her muscles lost their tone, her bones no longer shaped her frame. It felt like it took hours, but lasted mere seconds, the subtle changes blossoming, racing through veins and arteries, crossing synapses, altering flesh and bone in a million different ways, repatterning her body, her blood, her very brain.
Disoriented, she shook her head, suddenly aware she viewed the ground beneath her long muzzle. Sitting back on her haunches, Xandi held one large paw up to her face, inspecting the thick toenails, the dark pads. Her coloring was not the same as Stefan’s. The fur covering her body was a deep russet, the same shade as her own hair. She stared at her foot for a long time, mesmerized by the difference from its human counterpart, then realized the night around her had come alive with sound and movement. She blinked, turned her head, aware her long ears shifted to catch the sounds from the meadow.
Moving with quiet stealth, she rose slowly to her feet and peered through the shrubbery. Two dark wolves stood nose to tail in the midst of the meadow, sniffing one another like a couple of large dogs. She would have laughed if she hadn’t felt the urge to join them. Stefan’s identity was obvious, the silver tips of his fur already familiar to her, the wolven head essentially unchanged.
Anton was black all over. Only his eyes gleamed amber in the moonlight. He raised his nose and sniffed the air, turning to stare directly at Xandi. She held perfectly still, well aware her scent could give her away. She’d taken the gamble, hoped that her period would wait until tomorrow. She hadn’t considered the fact her scent might already be loaded with the pheromones Anton had warned her about.
She drew back into the shrubbery, hoping to remain hidden. Stefan still seemed unaware of her presence, but Anton knew. His voice came into her mind, his thoughts directed solely at Xandi.
Are you sure this is what you want? You have put yourself at great risk, Alexandria. I sense your heat is only hours away. It will be hard enough for us to control our lusts in human form. Impossible as wolves.
Xandi took a deep breath and stepped out of the thick overgrowth. Let me run with you tonight. I promise to shift back before it’s too late. Please.
Xandi? Stefan’s hackles rose. He stepped between her and Anton.
It’s okay, my love. I couldn’t wait. She opened her mouth, her long tongue lolling out in her closest approximation of a flirtatious grin. I want to run with the wolves tonight.
She turned and dashed into the forest, her tail waving high as a flag. Anton and Stefan raced close behind. Leading the two males, running through the thick woods with her senses alive and her instincts more powerful than she’d imagined, Xandi finally knew the true meaning of freedom.
There was nothing sexual in their run through the dense forest, but it was by far the most sensual thing Xandi had ever experienced. Racing with forelegs outstretched, ears flattened against her skull, nostrils flaring to catch the myriad scents surrounding her, she felt as if this amazing body were one huge nerve ending, sensitive to anything and everything she passed.
The steady sounds of Stefan on her right and Anton on her left, the two huge males keeping pace with her smaller, fleeter body, gave her a sense of power she’d not felt before. Her perception of all around her was different, no longer quite so human, though she realized her humanity still ruled her thoughts. Her lungs drew in huge drafts of air, her eyes saw through the moonlit night as if it were high noon, and her long legs were powerful enough to leap small streams, bound over fallen logs, even outdistance the two larger wolves pacing her.
They ran for hours, covered miles. At one point they chased a rabbit into the ground, finally giving up on the terrified creature when it cowered beneath a huge fallen tree, out of their reach. Laughing, tongues lolling, the three spun away as if losing the race had been their plan all along. But Xandi knew she would have killed the tiny creature without a second thought. She’d salivated during the hunt, snapping ferociously at Stefan when he’d gotten between her and her prey.
For a brief moment she wondered how her human self would be affected by the changes wrought in her tonight, but the worry fled on the night wind, fled with the sheer exuberance, the complete exhilaration she felt in this amazing body.
Snapping joyfully at Anton, she sped off ahead of the two males through the thick woods. They followed close behind, one on either side. It wasn’t until the sky began to lighten on the eastern horizon that Anton turned their mad run through the forest back in the direction of his home. Exhausted now, feet no longer so swift, breathing not as smooth and effortless, Xandi padded along behind the two males. Only Anton’s tail was still held high. Stefan’s drooped behind him, as did Xandi’s. Even with the long runs she’d taken over the past days, she had to admit her conditioning needed improvement.
They reached the broad lawn behind Anton’s home just as the sun crested the mountains to the east. Exhausted, legs quivering and tongue lolling, Xandi collapsed in the cool grass, with Stefan close beside her. They lay close together, panting, eyes half closed, as the morning unfolded. Xandi wondered if Stefan relived the hours past. Finally she sent a questioning thought his way.
He answered her almost immediately. My God! Did you ever imagine?
Never, not in my wildest dreams. Anton? She looked around, searching for the wizard, but he was nowhere to be seen. I wonder where he’s gone?
He’ll be back, you know. He wants you.
I know. How do you really feel about that? Xandi leaned closer and nuzzled Stefan’s muzzle. You know I want both of you, don’t you? Is that so wrong?
Before Stefan could answer, Anton the man, walked down the front stairs. He’d obviously showered and shaved. Dressed in a pair of black jeans and a snug tee shirt, his feet bare, his long hair hanging loosely behind him, he looked relaxed and at home.
Xandi suddenly felt sweaty and dirty, almost embarrassed by her wolven form. Stefan sat up on his haunches, obviously wondering what Anton intended.
“It’s time for you both to shift back to your human forms. I think you’re capable of doing it without my help.” He nodded first at Stefan, then at Xandi. “Can you reverse the process?”
Xandi went into her mind, realized she could sense her humanity as an image that drew her out of her wolven body. This time she was hardly aware of the vertigo, merely a change in perception as her vision shifted from that of the wolf to that of the woman.
Stefan watched her, and she sensed his mind following her patterns. Suddenly his bestial body seemed to waver, to shift. The silver-tipped fur disappeared, the face altered and adjusted, and for the first time Xandi saw Stefan, the man, standing before her.
Naked, without the fur covering his body, he was more beautiful than anything she could imagine. Strong and muscular, his lean chest powerfully scu
lpted with a mat of silver-tipped hair stretching between his flat, copper-colored nipples, muscles rippling across his abdomen, he had the body of an athlete in his prime.
His face, though. She reached up and touched the side of his face, running her fingers along his jawline, tracing his full, sensual lips, threading through the long hair hanging to his shoulders. Black, shot through with silver, thick and straight, it framed his face perfectly. She’d never seen his face, only vaguely recalled what he looked like from his publicity shots while he was still performing as Aragat the Magician.
There was something familiar, though, something that made her turn and stare at Anton. The resemblance was extraordinary. “You could be brothers,” she said. “You look so much alike.”
Anton shook his head. “No. Possibly distant cousins, but I’ve checked our lineage. The resemblance is purely coincidental.” He nodded at both of them, smiling. “Bathe, dress, join me for breakfast. We have much to discuss.” He bent close and lifted Xandi’s chin in his lean fingers, stared into her eyes for a long moment, then leaned closer and kissed her.
Though she’d expected something like this, she was startled by her body’s reaction, the immediate shock of desire that settled in the pit of her stomach, swirled about until it settled in her pussy, deep in the heart of her sex.
He backed away, stared at her for a long moment, then turned and went back into the house. Almost afraid to look at Stefan, Xandi finally turned toward him.
He was smiling. His look was tender, his head tilted to one side, his amber eyes glowing in the morning light.
Feeling lighter than she could remember, Xandi kissed Stefan on the lips, then led him up the stairs to their room.
Chapter 9
Stefan followed her into the oversized shower. Exhausted, exhilarated, confused, Xandi stepped aside to let him enter. His body was hard, the muscles pumped up from their nighttime run, his cock erect, bobbing close against his body. The feral look in his eyes was very much that of the wolf, obviously possessive, broadcasting his need to dominate, to hold.
His hunger slammed into her like a fist to the solar plexus—desire so hot and elemental, it practically sizzled across her nerve endings. She raised her arms beneath the sharp spray from the shower, wrapped them around his neck and opened her mouth to his.
For the first time, she kissed human lips, felt the solid thrust of his tongue inside her mouth, tasted the flavors of the man, not the beast. His long fingers clutched at her hips, and she clung to him, raising her legs up to clasp them tightly around his waist, her body ready for the hard cock surging into her.
There was no need for foreplay, no reason to prepare her body for his assault. Their entire night had been foreplay, the end result here, now, in the shower, with the steam rising and the hot water bathing their fevered bodies. Her flesh practically sizzled from the current racing between them, the shared need, the passion running so hot and hard, she felt like a marionette on strings, as if her arms and legs moved courtesy of the hand of someone greater than both of them.
His cock stretched the slick walls of her vagina, reached deep inside, then slowly withdrew before filling her again. She pressed her breasts against the thick mat of hair covering his chest. The texture was much coarser than the wolf’s pelt she’d grown familiar with, and her nipples peaked, tightened, with each new contact. She experimented with the sensation, rubbing her breasts slowly across his chest as the steaming water cascaded over their writhing bodies. She felt the sizzle race from nipple to clitoris, as if a direct line of power and sensation existed between the three points of pleasure, a connection beyond the physical, beyond sex.
His hands squeezed her buttocks, and he raised her higher on his cock. Muscles in his arms and chest expanded with the effort, and she felt herself responding even more to his arousal. He was human, but the instinct to mate, to mark her as his, was something primal, something more of the beast than the man, something dark and carnal and so damned intriguing.
She responded as the beast, clawing at his tense shoulders, nipping his jaw, clinging to his straining body, as he thrust deep and hard, driving her higher, further than he’d ever taken her as beast.
Sobbing, crying, Xandi felt his sharp teeth against her neck, his fingers holding her with bruising strength, his hard cock driving deep and fast, taking her over the edge, filling her with his hot seed, pumping into her over and over again, until both of them shuddered beneath the stinging spray.
Stefan slid slowly down the shower wall until he sat on the floor with Xandi sprawled across his lap. She raised her head to kiss him once more. His body trembled in counterpoint to hers. His pulse beat visibly in the huge vein at his neck. His nostrils still flared with each deep breath, but his eyes were troubled. “Are you okay?” He slicked her wet hair back with one hand, then glanced down at the water swirling down the drain. His eyes widened.
Xandi followed his gaze and understood the heat that had taken her, the overwhelming carnal desire still pulsing through her veins. A watery pink stain flowed from beneath them, swirling in a perfect spiral before disappearing down the drain.
She’d started her period, a simple thing to a woman.
A powerful event for the alpha female of the pack.
It was time. She’d known this was coming, known she must make her decision. Anton said the female took all the males in her pack sexually, that the drive to mate would be strongest during her heat. She knew instinctively he was right, knew that as alpha female it was her choice to breed, to produce an egg for fertilization.
She’d felt the first stirrings during their nighttime run, had recognized the deeply rooted drive that led her to race the two males through the night, her tail held high, her actions teasing, playful. She’d reveled in her own sexuality, celebrated her power as female, as future leader.
Playtime was over. Was she ready? What about Stefan? “How do you feel about it?” she asked. There was no need to explain. Stefan’s arms tightened around her, and he rested his head atop hers. His cock still filled her pussy, and she felt him complete the link, his thoughts moving easily within her mind.
I do not want to share you. Never. Yet I know Anton is right. The bond of the pack will be strengthened with your mating. We are sensual, sexual creatures. Creatures of the flesh. I understand it now even more, after the run tonight, the bond we share with Anton. We love with great passion. We hate just as passionately. Share your body with him if you must, but please, save your soul for me.
Xandi rose up and kissed him. She heard his unspoken request, though they’d never mentioned children. You have my soul. You have my heart. I control whether or not a mating results in young. Already my body responds to my wishes, and I do not wish children now. This new self is so fresh, I’m still a child myself. When the time is right, my offspring will be yours. This promise I give you, Stefan Aragat. I love you.
She felt the tension leave his body with her pledge, but Xandi remained taut and anxious. She sensed Anton in her mind, knew he waited for the two of them. It wasn’t merely Alexandria the wizard wanted. No, he wanted more. He intended to once more exert his dominance over Stefan. Though Anton’s intentions were for the good of the pack, Xandi understood his personal desire for power as well.
She kissed Stefan’s lips, wrapped her arms around his body, sensed the knowledge in his heart. Felt his strength, his resolve.
Then she shared Anton’s intentions with the man she loved.
He already knew. Xandi understood the quiet nod of his head, accepted his intentions. Stefan knew what Anton wanted, what the wizard expected. She understood the confident look on his face—he had no fear of Anton now. Knowledge gave him power.
Xandi dressed carefully for their evening meal with Anton. She’d never dressed for seduction before. Not really. Of course, if what Anton said were true about the alpha female during menses, she wouldn’t need seduction. She would merely need to attend.
She chose a simple, sleeveless, dark green dres
s with a scoop neck and fitted bodice that emphasized her breasts. The slim, form-fitting skirt hugged the curved lines of her hips and ended just above her knees. She decided against wearing a bra, but she did pull on a skimpy pair of bikini panties, not far removed from a thong.
She had no need of a pad or anything to protect her clothing. The metamorphosis over the past week had been complete. Her period this time was totally unlike anything she’d experienced before, when fully human. Other than the first tiny show of blood when she and Stefan made love, there’d been no other spotting of any kind, just as Anton had predicted. There was, however, a subtle, musky scent on her body, one she’d never noticed before. She knew Stefan was well aware of it. When he was close, it was obviously all he could do to control his hands. His nostrils flared each time she walked by. She felt his desire burning hot and ready beneath his skin, knew he was drawn to her as much by her scent as by the emotional feelings he already had for her.
Her body thrummed with sensual urges. Her skin felt ultrasensitive. She was aware of the simple movement of air across her bare arms, of the heat from the lamp near the bed. Her hearing was superacute, so Stefan’s heartbeat echoed in her ears, and she was almost certain she heard the whoosh of blood through his veins. The air around her seemed to crackle with energy, but she was unaware whether it originated from Stefan or her.
He wore simple black slacks and a white long-sleeved shirt, with the sleeves rolled back past his forearms. His black-and-silver hair was long, like Anton’s, and he’d pulled it behind his head and tied it with a band just above his collar. She wanted to tug the restraining band loose, let his hair flow free around his face. She wanted to feel it brushing across her breasts, tickling the sensitive flesh over her ribs, tangling with the thatch of russet hair at the apex of her thighs.
Xandi glanced at the clock, though her senses had become so acute she knew they were running early. Oliver hadn’t even started the grill. She would have smelled the gas flame, though the kitchen and patio were on the far side of the house from their room. Tilting her head, she winked at Stefan.