Charmed Wolf

by Davis, Lia;

  Dana pushed playfully at her brother, then signed as she said, “You scare her. Now back off.”

  Hope laughed. The sound relaxed Cooper. The little girl must feel safe with them. Another reason why Cooper hadn’t taken his sister and Hope and simply run.

  “My name is Hope,” the four-year-old signed with pride and a smile that warmed Cooper’s heart.

  Darin smiled back at her. “You are very special, little wolf.” The Alpha straightened and sat in the chair across from Dana. Then he spoke without using sign language. “I’m guessing the injured female got that way by protecting Hope.”

  Dana nodded and glanced at Cooper. He took that as his cue to speak. “Two enforcers came to my house, saying Edwin saw Hope as a weakness. They were going to take her.”

  “Edwin is an idiot. Then again, he isn’t descended from a witch.”

  Frowning, Cooper studied Darin for a moment before turning his attention to Dana. “What do you mean?”

  Darin gave a half shrug. “My and Dana’s grandmother was a witch. Magic runs in our veins. It also makes our twin bond stronger.” His brows drew together briefly before he relaxed his features. “Anyway. Hope is part witch. Because she is deaf, her other senses, as well as her power, will only grow to compensate for her not being able to hear.”

  “Edwin needs to be stopped. If he ordered a little girl to death, then there’s no telling what else he has done. Or will do,” Dana chimed in like she wanted to shift the conversation back to the matter at hand.

  Darin set his jaw. “I can’t do anything. I will not bring a war to my Pack.”

  At that moment, Piper entered the living room and waved to Hope. Dana signed to the toddler that it was okay, and that Piper had coloring books. Once Hope left the room with the Healer, Dana said, “I’m going to challenge him to be Alpha of his Pack.”

  “Hell, no.” The words shot out of Cooper’s mouth before he even realized he’d thought them.

  A low chuckle escaped Darin before he spoke. “I cannot get involved.”

  “I know,” Dana whispered as she stood and moved to the door. “And you don’t need to be. Not directly.”

  Cooper narrowed his eyes, knowing the twins were plotting something big. “What is going on?”

  Darin glanced at him and studied him for several long moments before returning his attention to Dana. “He is your mate, yet you don’t trust him.”

  “I trust no one.”

  Again they fell silent and stared at each other. Cooper fisted his hands, hating the fact that he was the outsider. He was, after all, a member of the Bloodrose Pack. Why should they trust him? “I pretty much sealed my fate with Edwin when I killed his enforcers. Edwin has most likely turned Celeste and me in as rogues. So, whatever you have planned, I’m in.”

  Dana snarled, then stalked closer with all the beauty and lethal grace of an Alpha about to snag her prey. “I don’t need your help. Edwin has been asking for an ass-kicking from the first time I met him.”

  Darin stood and stepped between them, facing his sister. “Go back to your hideout and form a plan. I’ll take care of Hope and the female.”

  Confusion powered Cooper’s annoyance as a result of the twins and their secrets. However, he sensed the power coming from Darin. It was like no other Alpha power Cooper had seen or felt. If Celeste was safe anywhere, it was in Whiskey Hollow. He was sure of it. “Thank you for taking them in.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. I am still limited on what I can do.” Darin turned and then disappeared down the hallway.

  “Are you coming?” Dana’s annoyed tone drew Cooper’s attention. She stood in the doorway, her brows drawn and lips pursed. His dick hardened at how beautiful she was.

  With a half-smile, he followed her to his truck. The sassy alpha female was going to be fun to tease, play with…and seduce. He would claim her if it was the last thing he did. “I don’t want you to challenge Edwin.”

  “You can’t stop me.” She climbed into the truck and added, “You can stand with me, or leave me the fuck alone.”

  The passenger door slammed shut. For a brief moment, he saw a flicker of pain in her eyes. She’d been betrayed, deeply. It wasn’t going to be easy to break through her walls, but he had the mating urge on his side. She wouldn’t be able to push him away for too long.

  He climbed into the driver’s seat. “I’ll stand with you, but we work as a team, no going off on your own.”

  She worked her jaw as she rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

  * * *

  Dana opened the truck door and hopped out before Cooper had even stopped the vehicle in her driveway. She couldn’t get away from him fast enough. Thinking was impossible when he was so near. Well, at least thinking about anything but sex with him.

  Damn it.

  She’d just placed a foot on the first step of the porch when Edwin’s scent hit her. Letting out a fierce growl, she whirled to her left—the direction his scent was the strongest. The bastard stepped out of the line of trees and smiled at her. Anger tightened in her gut. “What do you want?”

  He stalked closer with one brow raised. “You know why I’m here.”

  “Do I?” She played coy. The asshat needed to learn whom he was dealing with. Dana didn’t play games like Darin did. She was far too impatient.

  “You are harboring a rogue, and I want him turned over to me for punishment for his crimes.”

  Crimes? As in more than one? She made a mental note to ask Cooper about all of his “roguish” activity later. However, Edwin’s arrogance and the growl in his tone told her she’d struck a nerve. Good. “He was protecting his child. It was justified.”

  Dana turned to go inside the house and ran into Cooper. Fucking wolf stood too close to her. Just as she moved to walk around Cooper, Edwin said, “He stole the child from my deceased mate.”

  She flicked a glare at Cooper, searching for some kind of truth to Edwin’s claims. After all, Edwin would say just about anything to get under her skin. Knowing the rogue Alpha, he’d scent Cooper on her and draw his own conclusions. Edwin would use every advantage he’d could, including making threats against her mate.

  Cooper’s jaw worked, and he glared at Edwin over her shoulder. “You killed Hope’s mother and then ordered your enforcers to lock the girl up.”

  The truth in Cooper’s words reached out to her. Fury exploded inside her, and she pivoted on her heels, coming nose-to-nose with Edwin in seconds. She didn’t bother to contain the power she usually kept hidden deep within. If she were going to challenge the Alpha, she would give him a little taste of the ass-whooping that was coming to him. “You ordered her to death, so I claimed her! She is mine.” The last word was spoken on a growl, like her wolf had spoken it. “You have no further business here.”

  Edwin narrowed his eyes, but she smelled the fear he tried to swallow. Then his gaze flicked to Cooper beside her. “He is a fugitive. He killed two of my enforcers and the council will hear about it.”

  Damn the Alpha for pulling rank. Edwin was right. Cooper was considered a rogue now, even though he’d been protecting Hope and his sister. According to Pack law, she had to turn Cooper over. Yet, Dana wasn’t an Alpha, and they were on neutral ground.

  “I challenge you for your Alpha power and your Pack. If I lose, you can have him.” Dana turned, grabbed Cooper’s hand, and tugged him to the house. “See you in forty-eight hours.”

  Edwin let out a growl. “Where?”

  She glanced over her shoulder. “The Bloodrose Creek Pack circle, of course.”

  Four

  “You can’t use me as collateral for the challenge.”

  Dana slammed the door behind them and rolled her eyes. “I don’t plan on losing. Edwin needs to be taken out, and I need my own Pack.”

  “That solves everything. Yet explains nothing.” Cooper threw his hands up and closed the distance between them. He skimmed his knuckles down her cheek, sending hot need straight to her pus
sy. His nostrils flared as if he knew just how deeply he affected her. “You make it hard to stand by you when you push me away.”

  She shook her head while watching his mouth. “I need to take over his Pack.”

  Cooper leaned in and nipped her ear lobe. She whimpered as he whispered, “So you said. Why?”

  Closing her eyes, she flattened her palms on his chest but couldn’t push him back. Her body begged to let this male touch her. “The wolves in Bloodrose Creek deserve a happy, healthy life. To be free of a rogue Alpha.”

  “Why do I sense that there is another reason?” When she remained silent, he lifted her chin to meet his stare.

  She closed her eyes and sighed. “The power you sense in me is growing. If I don’t do something to balance it, I fear it will consume me and turn me rogue.”

  There, she’d said it. Something she couldn’t tell her brother, even though she bet he already knew her fears. Saying them out loud made them all too real. She sagged into Cooper. Instantly, he wrapped her up in his large arms and held her.

  “You can trust me.”

  Could she? The last male she’d trusted had almost destroyed her Pack. She pulled out of Cooper’s arms and stared into his green eyes. He was her true mate. There was no doubt when she looked at him, smelled him, touched him… “Let me be clear about one thing. If you ever betray me, my family, or my Pack, I will kill you. It will be slow, and very painful.”

  His lips lifted in a sexy smile. “I would cut out my own heart and hand it to you.” She folded her arms and glared at him. Before she could sass off to him, he pressed a finger to her lips. “You are my mate. I could never hurt you or anyone you love.”

  “Pretty words turn ugly, and promises break.” Her heartbeat increased as he slid a hand around the nape of her neck.

  “My words aren’t pretty, nor are they promises. They’re facts. Facts I plan to prove to you as much as I have to. For as long as I have to.” He stared at her, his green eyes darkening with passion. “How do you and your brother know sign language?”

  A smile lifted her lips while an ache formed in her chest. “Our mother was deaf. We grew up with it as a second language.”

  “Was?”

  She shook her head and tried to tug out of his arms, but he held her in place. “I can’t.”

  Cupping her chin, he lifted her gaze to his. “You’ll have to let me in sooner or later.”

  “Then it’ll have to be later.”

  Without another word, he dipped his head so his mouth covered hers in a raw, hungry kiss. Every nerve ending in her body flared to life as if they’d been shocked by electricity. Desire burned in her belly and traveled lower.

  She fisted her hands into his short hair and tugged him closer. Yet he wasn’t close enough. “Too many clothes.”

  Cooper didn’t comment as he jerked her shirt off and quickly removed her bra. His eyes darkened with the promise of passion as he held her gaze and cupped a breast. She closed her eyes and moaned as he rolled her tight nipple between his fingers. Pinpricks of sensation covered her skin, and her pussy throbbed, begging for his touch, his caress.

  A moment later, Cooper grabbed her ass and lifted so her feet were off the floor. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he walked toward the hall. Each movement sent a jolt of electrified desire straight to her core. Her wolf growled and whimpered at the same time. It’d been too long since they’d had the release they needed.

  She gasped as the cool, satin sheets touched her bare back but she didn’t take her eyes off the gorgeous male hovering above her. There was no denying that he was hers.

  No, this is just sex. A means to expend some of her pent-up energy.

  His warm fingers caressed her belly as he undid her jeans and slid them, along with her panties, over her hips and down her legs. The soft thump of the fabric hitting the hardwood floor was followed by a soft growl. When she focused on Cooper, he stared down at her, hunger in his green depths.

  “You are so beautiful.” His voice came out husky.

  He dipped his head and pressed a kiss to one nipple and then the other before he nipped his way down her stomach to the inside of her right thigh. A half-growl, half-moan escaped her when he gently bit down.

  When he slid a finger inside her, she nearly came. “Fuck, that feels good.”

  He chuckled and held her gaze as he lowered his head and licked her from her entrance to her clit in a slow, lazy stroke. Pleasure overtook her as Cooper closed his mouth over her, sucking her lips as he slid another finger inside and pumped them in and out until she was drunk with pleasure.

  She fisted her hands in his hair and moved against him, riding the wave of passion. Each lick of his tongue sparked the flame within, making it grow brighter and hotter. Her own magic flowed through her, wild. Pleasure built, and she picked up the pace, her body jerking as she climaxed.

  Cooper withdrew his fingers and crawled up her body, stopping to suck on her nipple as he did. Goosebumps covered her body, and her pussy ached, wanting more of him. She grabbed his arms and tugged. “I need you inside me, now.”

  The power was growing. She felt as if she’d explode at any moment.

  Wrapping a leg around him, she flipped them over and sank down on his impossibly hard cock. Fuck, it felt good to have him inside her. She moved her hips and began to ride him. Cooper gripped her hips, squeezing.

  As her pleasure built, so did her magic. When she slowed the tempo, worried she’d lose control, Cooper flipped them once more so he was on top. He cupped her face, forcing her to meet his concerned stare. “Don’t fight it.”

  She didn’t have time to respond before he thrust inside her and bit her neck. She cried out, scoring his back with her nails and tightening her legs around him. Pain from the bite turned to dizzying pleasure that flowed through her like liquid heat.

  Cooper’s body jerked, and his muscles tightened under her hands, then he roared in release. A moment later, Dana screamed as the orgasm slammed into her. Her control over her magic slipped. A flash of power blasted through the room.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and waited. The thump, thump of his heartbeat made her relax. “Cooper?”

  “I’m fine. In fact, that was amazing.”

  Yeah, it was. Up until she’d almost killed him. She pushed against his chest. When he rolled off her, she got out of bed. She reached the bedroom door and said, “That will not happen again.” Then she rushed to the bathroom and shut herself in.

  Five

  Dana exited the cabin and inhaled the cool morning air. Her body hummed from the power mounting inside her. Sex with Cooper had only amplified things. Surges of electrical currents made her skin tighten, and her nerves twitch. She felt as if she’d explode at any moment.

  Fuck.

  What did it all mean? Was she going insane? Or worse. Rogue?

  She’d left Cooper asleep in her bed and fought the urge to turn around and use the male to expend some more energy. However, after the amount of power she’d released in the room last night, she feared that next time, she would hurt him—or both of them. So she needed to get away. Hence the walk with no destination in mind.

  A few yards into the thick trees of the forest, she caught a scent that was familiar and frightening. The slight notes of sage mixed with a spicy earth fragrance stopped her in her tracks. She scanned the area but didn’t pick up on anyone there. But someone had been there.

  Ross. The name was a whisper in her mind. No. He was dead. She’d watched Darin kill him in the Pack circle.

  Inhaling again, she tried to find the scent but it was gone. Pinpricks of magic nipped at her skin. A spell? But how? Edwin. He had to be behind it. A spell for her to scent Ross, to throw her off and confuse her.

  A wave of dizziness suddenly washed over her. She reached out to touch the closest tree to steady herself. A vision of Edwin with bloody hands flashed in her mind, and a sense of deep loss settled in her heart. Tears spilled from her e
yes as she crumpled to the ground.

  There were only two people Edwin could use to hurt her that deeply. Darin, and now Cooper. She’d never had a vision before and wasn’t sure how to bring it back. If she could bring it back. Focusing on Edwin, she tried to see what he was doing in hopes that she’d get another vision. No luck.

  Wrapping her arms around her legs, she hugged her thighs to her chest and pressed her forehead to the tops of her knees. As much as mating scared the shit out her, she couldn’t lose Cooper now that she’d found him, tasted him. Edwin had to be stopped. Whatever plan he had needed to be eliminated.

  She began to shake as the rage she felt for the bastard Alpha fueled the already too strong power within her. A dull ache formed in her skull. She gripped her head and tried to calm herself. She hadn’t had an attack like this since before Ross was killed.

  Warmth enveloped her, easing her headache a little. Cooper’s cool, minty scent soothed her. She snuggled against him, allowing him to pull her into his lap. They sat on the ground of the forest for several long minutes as Cooper ran his fingers through her hair in gentle, massaging motions.

  Finally, she whispered, “I thought the power was partly because of my connection with Darin. That’s why I left the Pack. I feared I’d challenge him and end up killing him.”

  Cooper squeezed her gently. “You are a born Alpha, like Darin. A Pack doesn’t need two Alphas.”

  She nodded. It was something she’d told Darin over and over when they argued about her leaving. “I’m losing control of the magic.”

  “Have you sought help from the Coven?”

  “They can’t help me.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. They wanted her to embrace the power, let it run free in her veins. Dana didn’t want to give it free rein to do anything. Then there was the fact that it was getting worse.

  “I know a witch that could help. She owes me a favor.”

  Lifting her head, she stared into his green depths. “Why would you use the favor on me? There is no guarantee that she can do anything to help.”