Untamed (Wolf Lake)

by Kohout, Jennifer

  Nafarius ran.

  ****

  Roland headed away from the den, Natasha's words ringing in his ears as his wolf paced eagerly. Desire and apprehension warred, tightening his belly and swelling his cock. It had been a long time since he'd run with a female.

  Natasha jogged to keep up, Roland's grip on her wrist like a vice. He hadn't said anything since walking away from the pack's den, just kept pulling her after him. For a moment, she wondered what she had unleashed with her taunts.

  Roland stopped a short distance away from the den. When he turned, it was to slide his hands into Natasha's hair, cradling her face as he dove them head first into a kiss. Sweeping inside, his tongue glided past Natasha's parted lips to tangle with her own. She tasted sweet, like she'd been sampling the preserves, and was a little bit sticky.

  Natasha's body bowed backwards, her hands gripping Roland's forearms in an effort to keep her balance, and she knew he would never let her fall.

  Breaking the kiss, Roland licked at her bottom lip. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, letting the leash on his control slip and his wolf closer to the surface.

  Power rippled beneath Natasha's hands, her hackles rising as fur brushed up against her mental barriers. "Never been more sure," Natasha growled.

  To prove it, she released Roland, stepping out of his grasp and pulling her dress over her head.

  Roland tried to swallow but found he lacked the necessary saliva. "God, but you're gorgeous," he whispered, his eyes caressing her from tip to toe as he reached for her. Wrapping his hands around her waist, he drew her to him, his cock throbbing between them.

  "Join me?" Natasha asked, reaching for his t-shirt.

  Roland caught her hands. Staring down into her face, he knew there wasn't anything he wanted more. "There is a part of me that is still feral," he warned. "That will never change."

  Natasha knew he was trying to tell her something, to warn her.

  "I can control it," he assured her. "But it's hardest when I shift. Sometimes I fear I really am becoming an animal." He admitted quietly, his chest tightening when her hands slid around his waist and she pressed her cheek over his heart.

  Wrapping his arms around her, he pressed his cheek to the top of her head, inhaling her scent and letting it settle him. "I wish I could be better for you, but this is all I have."

  "It's enough," she said, holding him tighter. "I promise, it's enough."

  She felt him nod, his body loosening in her arms. Easing back, she slipped her hands under his t-shirt, quickly pulling it over his head and dropping it to the ground.

  Eyes locked on Natasha's face, Roland watched as she reached for him. His body tightened as she slipped the button of his jeans free, her nimble fingers sliding down the zipper. He couldn't stop the shudder, his skin rippling when she slipped her hands inside, easing the denim from his hips and down his legs.

  Roland sprang free, his cock bobbing lightly in the air. Tempted as she was, Natasha avoided touching him, knowing that she wouldn't be satisfied until she'd tasted all of him.

  Stepping back, she eyed him with appreciation. "Not that long ago," she said, her voice husky,"I remember thinking that I wanted to unwrap you slowly, like a birthday present."

  "When is your birthday?" he asked, his voice thick even to his own ears.

  "Looks like today," Natasha said, her fingertips tingling with the desire to touch him.

  "I would buy you a better gift," he said softly.

  "Then you would deny me what I really want," Natasha told him, reminding herself that it was going to take time for him to believe her, to see himself the way that she saw him.

  "Come on," Natasha said, offering him her hand. "Run with me."

  Roland ignored her hand, stepping into her space and wrapping his arm around her waist once again. This time he drew her in slowly, staring into green eyes already turning gold, as he lowered his head and captured her mouth.

  Natasha let herself sink into the kiss, her body heating as Roland lowered them to the forest floor. Leaves crackled beneath her knees, releasing an earthy scent as they knelt face to face.

  "Promise me one thing," Roland said, breaking the kiss. He could feel his wolf, the animal ready to spring free. "If anything happens you'll run straight to Nafarius. Head for the den and don't look back."

  Natasha searched his face, concern darkening his eyes. "Nothing is going to happen."

  "I haven't run with a female since..." Roland hesitated. "In a very long time," he finished. "My wolf, he doesn't always do well with others and he wants you almost as much as I do."

  Natasha blinked at that. Roland had done everything possible to keep his wolf from her. She hadn't realized that it was for her protection.

  "Well, if that's the case," she said, moving closer and brushing herself against him. "Then he and I should do very well together."

  "Tasha - " Roland said when she failed to take him seriously.

  "Let him out, Roland," she whispered. "He won't hurt me. You won't hurt me." Done talking, Natasha released the hold she had on her wolf, the animal surging to the surface and shifting to freedom.

  Roland watched Natasha shift into a small silver wolf, waiting until she was done to run his hands over her powerful body.

  Hmmmm...Roland. Natasha's wolf recognized the male, pressing herself into his hands. Lifting her head, she nuzzled his chin, licked at his jaw.

  "My turn, huh?" Roland asked, laughing when Natasha head butted him gently. Letting her go, he braced himself and dropped his barriers. His wolf launched himself, exploding to the surface and tearing his way out.

  Natasha had never seen such a violent shift, Roland disappearing as the wolf exploded from within. She could only imagine the pain, the power of his shift nearly knocking her off her feet.

  Mine, her wolf claimed, and took a step towards Roland.

  Roland snarled at her, his hackles rising.

  Natasha froze, Roland's warning ringing in her ears. Pure white, he easily outweighed her by a hundred pounds. Heart pounding, Natasha lowered herself to the ground and army-crawled to him, taking it as a good sign when he stopped snarling.

  Roland watched Natasha approach, his lips pulled back in warning. His shift had left him disoriented, his wolf momentarily eclipsing all thought and understanding as the animal took form.

  Natasha eased herself forward until she was lying at Roland's feet. Carefully, she lifted her head, once again nuzzling his chin and licking at his jaw.

  Slowly, information seeped in.

  Female.

  Scent...her scent...our scent...

  Their scent.

  Tasha.

  Roland lowered his head, rolling his forehead against hers in greeting.

  Mine, her wolf claimed again and this time Natasha didn't stop her from going to him. Rising to her feet, Natasha leaned into him, rubbing her body down the length of him, and covering her fur in his scent.

  Roland stood still, letting her circle him, turning only his head to keep her in sight. She was beautiful, her silver color more metallic than gray as she moved around the forest. Nose to the ground, she crossed back and forth, checking the area for scents. Apparently, finding nothing of interest, she returned to him, standing before him with what he was fairly certain was a smile on her face.

  Mine, his wolf claimed.

  Ours, Roland corrected, surprised by the animal's first coherent thought in decades.

  Natasha yipped at Roland, dancing a few paces away and back again when he didn't immediately follow.

  Humph...ours, the animal agreed gruffly before starting down the path after her.

  ****

  "Maddie, get out of the water." Sam ordered.

  "What? Why? We just got here." Maddie turned back to look at Sam, her brows drawn down over bright blue eyes. She had been looking forward to her swim with Sam.

  "Get out. Now." Sam didn't bother waiting for Maddie to comply. Wading in, she ignored the water soaking the front of her dres
s and grabbed Maddie by the arm.

  "Ow! Sam, what is the matter with you?" Maddie stumbled as Sam yanked her up the rocky beach.

  "Go get Nafarius," Sam said, her eyes fixed to some point up stream.

  Maddie followed her gaze. "What is that?"

  "Just go."

  Sam waited until Maddie was gone before wading back into the water and heading up stream. The snow runoff was cold and shallow this late in the season, the gentle current coming to mid thigh.

  The deer had gotten caught up on a large boulder. Three of its four legs appeared broken and the birds had already taken the eyes.

  Grabbing it by the legs, Sam used her strength to pull the deer free from the rock and into the water's current. Letting the water do most of the work, she guided the carcass to the beach, pulling it up on to the rocks before heading back into the water and making her way to the next one.

  She had four carcasses lined up on the beach by the time Nafarius arrived.

  "Jesus Christ," Nafarius waded in, helping Sam haul a small doe onto the beach.

  "There's more," Sam said, brushing the hair back from her face. "Where's Maddie?"

  "I sent her to get Roland." He'd met Maddie on the path leading to the water. More confused than afraid, Maddie had told him what happened, heading on when he ordered her after Roland.

  They worked in silence, pulling another five carcasses from the water. They had just pulled up the last one when Roland arrived, Natasha and Maddie hurrying behind him.

  Roland, back in human form, scanned the bloated bodies, the air growing thick with decay. "Disease?"

  Nafarius knelt down beside a small doe, examining the animal without touching it. Shifting on his haunches, he turned to a couple of the smaller animals. "I don't think so."

  "Don't - " Sam started to object when Nafarius reached out to touch one of the dead deer.

  "It's not disease," Nafarius said, unfolding to his feet. "Their necks are broken."

  Sam blinked, watching as Roland and Nafarius circled the display of death. There were a couple of deer, a young elk, a fox, a couple of rabbits and something she thought was a badger.

  "All of them," Roland confirmed.

  "How is that possible?" Sam asked.

  "And how did they all end up in the stream?" Maddie asked.

  "Somebody dropped them there," Nafarius said, sharing a look with Roland.

  "My father," Natasha said, her stomach sinking. She'd follow Roland and Maddie, drawn by the young woman's urgency.

  "But why?" Maddie asked. "What's the point of this?"

  "Poison our water supply?" Sam asked. "Maybe he didn't intend for the bodies to get loose. If he left them to decompose upstream it would infect the water down here."

  "Maybe," Nafarius said. "But that wouldn't be enough to kill us. A werewolf with a bad case of what amounts to food poisoning would be unpleasant for everyone, but it's not fatal."

  "Nafarius! Nafarius! You need to..." Marcus broke from the trees, skidding to a stop at the sight of the bodies. "Holy shit."

  "Whatever it is, it will have to wait," Nafarius growled, rubbing at his forehead. He did not need another crisis right now.

  "You're going to want to see this," Marcus said.

  "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be out hunting." Nafarius hadn't expected Marcus back for another two days.

  "I was." Marcus said, locking eyes with his alpha. "Nafarius. It's bad."

  "Worse than this?" Nafarius asked, indicating the dead bodies at his feet.

  "Yes." Marcus insisted.

  Nafarius looked at Marcus, a sense of foreboding creeping up the back of his neck. Nodding, he turned and waved Marcus on, Sam and the others stepping in line and following behind.

  Marcus circled around the pack's den and headed south.

  "I couldn't bring it back," he said as they passed their second mile, his way of explaining the distance.

  Nafarius was just about to demand answers when he smelled it. Urine. Blood. Decay. Hackles rising, his lips pulled back in a snarl. "Where?" he demanded.

  "Everywhere," Marcus said quietly.

  Sam pressed the back of her hand to her nose. Stepping up to walk beside Nafarius, she slipped her other hand into his.

  Nafarius gripped his mate's hand and clenched his teeth, cutting of the rage rising up his throat like bile.

  "Son of a..." Roland pulled up short, swallowing convulsively to keep from gagging. Beside him, Natasha's hands flew to her face, covering her mouth and nose.

  Marcus had led the small group to the pack's southern hunting grounds. A wide expanse of fields, the surrounding trees, burrows and bushes combined with a nearby water source led to an abundance of wildlife.

  But all that remained was death.

  Animals had been slaughtered, their throats ripped out, chest cavities torn open, spilling their intestines. A tornado of death had touched down, tearing through every living thing, leaving bits and pieces behind in a macabre debris field.

  "There's more," Marcus said softly. He'd had time to adjust to what he was seeing and the sight still left him horrified.

  "Tell me," Nafarius fixed his eyes on the scene before him.

  "It's the same throughout most of our hunting grounds," Marcus said. "I found the first a day's run from here, I was on my way back to report when I found this one."

  "And the others?" Nafarius asked.

  "I tracked down Jack and Declan," Marcus said. "They found some of the same. From what I can tell this is the worst of it but I haven't heard from everyone."

  "The urine?" Nafarius' lip curled. "Whose is it?"

  Marcus shook his head, he didn't recognize the mark. "I don't know but as far as I can tell there was only one of them."

  "One werewolf?" Sam asked, her voice rising in surprise.

  Marcus nodded.

  "He marked my fucking territory," Nafarius snarled, his eyes glowing gold.

  "Dimitri," Roland supplied.

  "One man couldn't do all of this," Sam said.

  "He's not a man," Nafarius bit out. "He's a goddamn animal!!"

  "Why?" Sam asked. "Why this? Why the ones in the stream? Why not come after us directly."

  "This is an attack," Nafarius said. "Make no mistake. He went after our water, cut off our food supply. It will take months, a year maybe before game will come back to these woods. Dimitri knew we would be preparing for winter. He'd see us starving and weak."

  Sam looked out at the carnage. She could feel it now, the absolute lack of life. There were no birds signing, no bushes rustling. Everything was just...dead.

  Nafarius uncurled his fingers, letting Sam's hand slip from his grasp as he stepped forward. Walking into the center of all that carnage, Nafarius unclenched his teeth and roared out his fury.

  Crippling rage boiled up through the pack bond, echoing along the mate bond, cowing the small group and dropping them to their knees.

  Helpless, Sam watched as her mate shifted, his wolf bursting through his clothes, shaking off the remnants before dashing off into the woods.

  "No," Roland said, putting a restraining hand on Sam's arm. "Let him go."

  Sam looked up at Roland, searching his face, she understood that in this, he knew Nafarius better.

  Nodding, she turned to Marcus. "Find out the affected areas as the others check in, we'll need to clean up as much as we can. Burn...everything," she said. "Starting with the ones by the stream."

  Marcus nodded.

  Sam stood with the others, silently looking out over a field of death.

  ****

  Natasha worked alongside Sam and the others moving the carcasses away from the den and setting them to burn. She listened as more and more of the males returned, all of them reporting more of the same - hunting grounds spoiled by death and decay.

  A few had managed to snag small game on their way back, but she knew it wouldn't be enough to feed a pack the size of Nafarius'.

  The alpha male returned a short time later. Stil
l in wolf form, he slipped into the den, returning a few minutes later dressed in jeans and pulling a t-shirt over his head.

  "Thank you," Nafarius said, reaching for his mate and running his hand down her arm. "For taking care of this."

  "They're my pack, too," Sam said. Nafarius' touch was light on her arm, a stark contrast to the riot of emotions swirling along the mate bond.

  "I know, but you shouldn't have had to deal with this alone." Nafarius had run through part of his territory, following the scent of death and decay from one field of carnage to another. Eventually, the trail had led out of his territory and straight to Dimitri.

  "I'm not alone," Sam said, casting a quick glance at Natasha.

  Nafarius turned to the red headed female. She was covered in dirt, sweat and other things he hated to guess at, and she refused to look at him. Reaching out, Nafarius snagged her wrist, waiting until she raised her eyes to say, "This isn't your fault."

  "I know," Natasha said, grateful for the kindness in his eyes. "But I still feel responsible."

  "This all started because of me," Nafarius said. "Because of choices I made. If anyone is responsible, it's me."

  Natasha shook her head. "Maybe if I had gone home after - "

  "You'd be dead," Roland said, his voice hard. He'd been working nearby, keeping an eye on Natasha. It wasn't hard to guess at her thoughts as she worked quietly.

  "My father wasn't in his right mind," Natasha said, needing to speak up for him, for the male he used to be even as he became more of a stranger.

  "You're right," Sam said. "Which means he could have just as easily fixated on you, your pack or any number of things. There is no predicting a twisted mind."

  "Dimitri has to be dealt with," Nafarius said softly, his eyes full of regret.

  Natasha nodded. "When?"

  Nafarius sighed, he was bone weary and there was still so much to do. "Soon," he said. "But first we need supplies, meat for the pack. The snow line is dropping and we don't have enough to see us through even half of a decent season."

  Sam shaded her eyes and looked up at the surrounding mountains. The rich green of summer was slowly giving ground to an advancing blanket of white, the peaks already buried in snow.