by R. J. Blain
When I got Nicolina back to my car, she stared at me with dead, tired eyes, and I wasn’t sure she knew who I was. In her desperate determination to act like nothing was wrong, she blamed her sister’s kitten for the crash. Caught by surprise, I laughed.
What exhaustion and stress couldn’t accomplish, the seat warmers did. Within moments of me turning them on, Nicolina relaxed; she let out a soft sigh, and her eyes fluttered closed. It didn’t take long for her breathing to settle into the steady rhythm of sleep. Even with the new bruises and the blood caked on her face, my wolf relaxed with her, on guard but content she was nearby and safe.
If Nicolina Desmond ever found out I loved watching her sleep, I was a dead man.
For the moment, until I delivered her to her father, she was mine; mine to watch, mine to guard, mine to protect. My wolf didn’t even care she wasn’t our mate yet. I did, but I was helpless against her and my wolf.
I should’ve kept her awake to be safe; concussions had a way of sneaking up on people and causing problems. I had experienced them often enough to know better. My nose and instincts, however, were telling me to let her rest. Whether it was from the crash or the resulting trip to the hospital, someone had snuffed out her fire, leaving her off-balanced enough she hadn’t protested my presence.
She had even gone so far as to hide behind me, using me as a shield against the overbearing doctor. Nicolina didn’t hide, not her. She hunted, she fought back, she threatened. She defended her den with the ferocity of a Fenerec for all she was a Normal human girl. My wolf loved her spark, and someone had smothered it.
I wanted to kill whoever had done it, but their scent was lost under the harsh stench of disinfectants. I’d also have to return to the hospital, which was out of the question. If I did, they might try to take Nicolina away from me.
If Desmond caught a whiff of the unhappiness, anxiety, and stress on his daughter, accompanied as it was by fear and anger, I wouldn’t be able to control him a second time.
My wolf wasn’t satisfied with Nicolina close and safe. He longed to rip apart those responsible for the problem with the plane’s landing gear. I wanted them, too, but I recognized the futility of the hunt.
All I could do was take her home.
With a little help from my Porsche’s navigation system and my phone, I found an open pharmacy and parked the car where I could see it from inside. So early in the morning, no one was around. I reached over, nudging Nicolina’s shoulder.
She murmured something in her sleep, but settled once more without waking up.
To fill her prescription, I would have to leave her in the car, which my wolf protested. I clenched my teeth, got out, and pulled out the blanket from the trunk. Tucking it around her, I breathed in her scent.
In sleep, her fear and worry lessened to a more tolerable undertone, something less likely to send Desmond into a killing rage. My wolf didn’t like it, but he relented long enough to let me leave her in my Porsche.
I locked her in the car, set the alarm, and stalked inside. While they were filling the prescription, I stood where I could watch her through the window. Only one car parked in the lot in the time it took me to get the medication, and the man and woman were more interested in each other than they were in my Porsche and its precious passenger.
My wolf didn’t want to take her back to the Desmond residence. He wanted to find a den and stand guard, keeping all of the wolves far away until she could defend herself. Claiming her as our mate was the last of his priorities.
When she was in her prime, we’d pursue her. He wanted to savor her fight and lure her to us until we were confident she’d accept our courting. He could be patient. So could I, even if it took years to win her. I wouldn’t make the mistake of other rutting wolves.
It took several minutes of flexing my hands against my steering wheel before I could drive her home.
Forty minutes later, I pulled into Desmond’s driveway. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about him catching Nicolina’s scent; my anxiety was putrid and strong enough to overwhelm hers. If my worry didn’t confuse his nose, nothing would.
He was out of the house and beside my Porsche before I had a chance to kill the engine. I made him wait, taking my time setting the emergency brake. I reached under the blanket to unbuckle Nicolina’s seatbelt. When I got out, I stared him down.
“Nicolina?” he whispered, shifting his weight from foot to foot with his gaze fixed on the sidewalk. If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve thought him a submissive. He didn’t touch my car. All it took to keep him at bay was a single growl.
I had his puppy, and I had overpowered him once already. He’d obey, so long as he believed I was acting as an Alpha should.
Sometimes, it was easier to just let go and allow another Alpha to take control.
My wolf’s competitive nature roused, but I ignored him. “Concussion, a cut. Banged up. She didn’t like them ignoring her wishes. The doctor thought to make an issue over her throat, but I put an end to it. There are medications for her. I don’t like them.”
I had listened to the pharmacist. Gabapentin could do a lot of things to her. They could steal away her vibrancy, make her dizzy, and worse, disorient her and make her pliable. The other medications, two of them, hadn’t concerned me as much as Gabapentin.
Desmond whined, once again shifting from foot to foot. I jostled him aside to open the door and considered carrying Nicolina inside to prove I was the one in control, but I relented. Instead, I let him lean against me. I could, through my wolf, feel the restlessness of his. Without pack bonds to steady him, with his mate unsettled, he was alone.
My wolf understood, and for several long minutes, I stood there and sheltered Desmond from the reality of what he was and always would be. While he wasn’t pack, I gave him the illusion of belonging to one. When he calmed enough I could control him without even needing my pack, I stepped away and granted him permission to approach my Porsche.
My wolf wasn’t happy about offering Desmond the privilege of touching Nicolina.
“Gentle,” I warned.
He sank to his knees beside my car, resting his head against his daughter, breathing deeply. When Nicolina didn’t stir, he gathered her close to him, keeping her wrapped in my blanket. His nose flared as he caught her scent—and mine.
“Overbearing doctors,” I explained in a snarl.
Desmond’s eyes glinted gold, and he nodded his understanding. I lengthened his chain, giving him more freedom. I waited for him to carry his puppy halfway to the house before closing the door and stalking after him. I tailed him all the way to Nicolina’s room, watched while he put her to bed and left her with her mother, and waited in the hallway.
As soon as he crossed the threshold, my control over him snapped. He was on me before I could react, his arm pressed to my throat. Slamming me against the wall, he growled in my face.
I shut down the link with the pack, cutting off my access to their strength. I didn’t realize how much I had been drawing on them until my link with my pack was gone. I slumped, shuddering as Desmond’s wolf crushed me beneath his presence.
Desmond’s aggression turned into alarm as I slid bonelessly to the floor.
“Richard!” Kneeling beside me, he pressed his hand to my throat. I’m not sure what he meant to say, because I started laughing at his infuriated expression.
Wendy left Nicolina’s room, staring at us with wide eyes. “Are you okay, Richard?”
“He hits like a truck,” I complained, wondering if I had the energy to get up.
“You dominated me,” Desmond hissed at me, giving my shoulders a shake.
Wendy touched her throat where I had nipped her, and she flushed a bright red. I meant to say something, but when my wolf succumbed to the exhaustion of having held the Desmonds for so long, I went with him.
I was unconscious long enough for Desmond to carry me downstairs to the kitchen, where he proceeded to lean me over his sink and run water over my head. The shock o
f the cold and wet woke me, and he ruthlessly pinned me by my neck and ran the faucet until I was choking and spluttering.
When I could stand on my own with my hands braced against the counter, he stood beside me, tapping his fingers against the granite.
“Are you awake?” he demanded.
My cell was ringing somewhere nearby; Desmond grabbed it and answered, “Whatever you want, the answer is no.”
I struggled to catch my breath, shaking my head to clear it. “Who is it?”
My question came out a mumble, but Desmond paused and replied, “Frank.”
Of course it was Frank. When I was in trouble, Frank was the first to call. At the rate I was going, Frank was going end up talking more to Desmond than me. It took far too much effort, but I lifted my arm and waved in the general direction of my phone. “Hi, Frank.”
“Your Alpha seems to believe that you have clairvoyant abilities and can see him waving at you. He also says hello,” Desmond said. When he fell silent, I heard Frank saying something, but I couldn’t hear what.
My wolf heightened my senses, but in order for that to happen, he needed to be awake. Unlike me, he was still out cold. I envied him.
“He wishes to know why you shut down the pack bonds again.”
“You were about to kick my ass into next week,” I replied, deciding it was too much work to try to stand up. Slumped over Desmond’s stainless steel sink was comfortable enough. My stomach churned as the consequences of a forced transformation followed by dominating a wolf stronger than me struck hard.
“If you’re going to throw up, do so there,” he replied before relaying my answer to Frank.
I groaned, closing my eyes and wishing Desmond hadn’t woken me up. It felt like a hangover, but far, far worse. “Kill me,” I pleaded.
“No,” Desmond replied. “Frank says to stop being a baby.”
I grumbled, sliding my way to the kitchen floor while the room spun around me. Desmond stood over me, nudging me in the side with his foot. “Hey, Frank. Question for you. On a scale of one to ten, how ill does Richard need to be in order to lower himself to writhing on the floor?”
I draped my arm over my eyes to block out the bright white of the kitchen light and said, “Nine.”
“Okay. I’ll take care of him. If you sense him trying to change into a wolf, let me know so I can control him. He’s been one for too long. His change took over two hours earlier, and he was talking in growls and yips for over an hour afterwards.” Desmond snorted. “Don’t count on it, Frank. He got away with it once because my wolf let him. End of story.”
Setting my phone on the counter, Desmond crouched at my side, once again touching his fingers to my throat. “You did good work, Puppy. You know the drill, don’t you?”
“What drill?” I grumbled.
“Your wolf’s out for the count,” he reminded me, tapping my neck with his fingers. “You need to stay awake until he comes around.”
“I’m willing to risk it,” I grumbled. If my wolf ran wild when he woke up, I didn’t care if they shot me so long as it made the throbbing in my head stop.
“I’m not,” Desmond informed me, grabbing hold of my elbow and forcing me to sit up.
Wendy came into the kitchen carrying several towels, one of which she tossed to her mate. “I woke Nicolina up long enough to make her take her medicine. She was a bit confused, but fell asleep again before I could tell her what had happened. Are you okay, Richard?”
“No, your mate refuses to kill me,” I groaned.
“That will teach you to dominate me, Puppy,” Desmond growled, turning to me and biting my throat. He hit a nerve, and I gasped and went limp against him.
When I recovered enough I could speak, I stared up at Wendy and begged, “Please make him stop.”
She knelt at my side, smirked, and sank her teeth into the same spot her mate had bitten me. Not only did it send bolts of lightning down my spine, it left me tingling. I twitched and shivered as she took a towel and went to work on my hair. “Oh no, Richard. I don’t think so. Charles, darling, let’s play with him.”
I didn’t like the way Desmond grinned at his mate. I had no idea what they had in mind, but it wouldn’t end well for me. Whenever I recovered enough to make a move to escape them, one of them went for my throat. Most of the time, they hit one of the nerves in my neck, leaving me incapable of fighting them. Wendy seemed to enjoy missing, taunting me and leaving me breathless from her nips until she latched onto my throat hard enough to draw blood.
Once Wendy was finished drying my hair, she draped a dry towel over my shoulders. They left me alone long enough for me to retreat deeper into their kitchen. Desmond stalked after me, smiling down at me. My heartbeat throbbed in my neck as he stood over me.
Leaning over, he grabbed me under my arms and hauled me to my feet, shoving me in the direction of his living room. Wendy shifted her weight from foot to foot, making eager little noises in her throat. I tried to sidestep her, but she was faster. Standing on her toes, she scraped her teeth against my neck, herding me in the direction of the couch. I backed up, my eyes wide as both of the Desmonds pursued me. When my legs bumped into the sofa, Wendy pounced, straddling me in her effort to knock me down.
I landed on the couch hard, and her weight on me drove the air out of my lungs.
She met my gaze with narrowed eyes. Without my wolf to support me, hers pinned me in place beneath her, paralyzing me as she exerted her dominance. I shook in reaction, unable to do so much as lift a finger to fight her off.
Ducking her head down, she nipped my ear before whispering, “Scrabble, Monopoly, or Trivial Pursuit?”
My mouth dropped open and I couldn’t say a thing, my mind going completely blank as I comprehended what she was asking me.
Desmond snapped a picture of me with his phone. “They say pictures are worth a thousand words, but this one’s worth millions.”
Wild Wolf
Richard’s desperation to dominate Desmond and his mate has done far more damage than anyone ever suspected. With his human half in trouble and fading fast, it falls to his wolf to find a way to save them both. To make matters worse, it’s Christmas Eve, and Richard’s past comes to haunt him once again.
The full moon was in a week. All I wanted to do was embrace my wolf, head into the woods behind the Desmond residence, and leave everything behind. I really just wanted to take off and keep going until I couldn’t take another step. If I tried, Frank would call Desmond, Desmond would hunt me down, and he’d dominate me yet again, making sure I stayed a human.
I was thoroughly sick and tired of being a human. My wolf and I were restless, and we couldn’t even pursue the girl we wanted for our mate. Her father had driven us off already, establishing the pecking order in the den. While his little girl was under the influence of medications, while my wolf remained exhausted and temperamental from the aftermath of the plane crash a week ago, we weren’t to be in the same room together, let alone close enough for her to soothe me or my wolf.
I couldn’t tell Desmond or Wendy I needed her to keep the wildness of my wolf contained. If I did, they would know the truth. Desmond would give Lisa the blanket made of my fur she wanted. All I needed was a few minutes, and Nicolina would restore my wolf’s calm—my calm.
I growled, running my hands through my hair, bracing my elbows on the oak desk of Desmond’s spare office. Desmond thought I was an older wolf; old enough to have developed resistance to the winter mating season, old enough to no longer desire a mate with every fiber of my being, and old enough to be immune to his daughters, but he was wrong.
I wasn’t all that old.
I definitely wasn’t immune to his daughters. Lisa I could ignore; my wolf wasn’t interested in her, and neither was I. She was just like every other bitch who crossed my path in the winter season. She acknowledged my wolf and wanted a try at him, and he knew it. I knew it.
We didn’t like it.
Fenerec bitches liked hunting me because I
was an Alpha of a large pack. They liked knowing if they chased me down, they’d have rank, wealth, and authority. They waited for the winter full moons and would hunt me as wolves, often in small packs, working together to corner me in their hopes of establishing a mating bond. They’d wear me down and have their way with me, but I never claimed any of them. My wolf enjoyed their attention and rewarded them well for it, but it always left us tired and empty.
I understood Nicolina. I didn’t like being passed around either. My wolf accepted it as natural for our kind, but we needed a challenge.
Fenerec-born bitches couldn’t help it; they somehow sensed my wolf’s need for a mate and responded to it, as Lisa did. She was interested only because some part of her knew my wolf was on the prowl. I avoided Normal, human girls whenever possible during the winter season, and Desmond knew it.
That’s why he had called me, because he thought I’d be able to resist them both.
Nicolina was different, and because of it, my wolf needed her. She saw my wolf, knew him for what he was, and stood up to him. She saw past my wolf, saw me, and knew me for what I was.
If I didn’t escape Desmond’s house, I was going to lose my mind. My wolf wouldn’t even let me pursue the one we wanted for our mate, not yet. We already considered her ours, but we had to wait and prove it to her. We had to win her. If we were going to win her, she had to come to us. She had to be the one to instigate the mating bond. She had to claim us.
Nipping her and waking her instincts in the winter wouldn’t lure her to us. It’d drive her away. She’d run, and if I had a single taste of her, I’d chase her for the rest of her life, unable to truly have her, all thanks to my impatience.
I growled and paced the lower floor of Desmond’s den, halting at the bottom of the stairs, blindly staring in the direction of the master bedroom.
Maybe with the Desmonds asleep, with it being so early in the morning, I could get away. First I’d run in my Porsche. Then, once I was safely out of his reach, I’d change into my wolf and keep on running. It was well before dawn. Frank would be asleep. Desmond wouldn’t wake up for another two or three hours. If my wolf was willing, I could be gone long before they were able to stop me.