by Ramona Gray
* * *
When he woke in the morning, she was still in his arms and she had her thin thighs wrapped around one of his large ones. She was rubbing herself against him once more and he could feel the wetness from her pussy sliding down his leg.
The human was insatiable. His wolf howled happily and without thinking about it, he flipped her to her back, keeping his thigh wedged firmly between hers. Her eyes popped open and she stared at him in a sleepy daze before glancing down at her body.
“Oh no,” she moaned softly as she halted the motion of her hips. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean – “
“Aye, you keep saying you don’t mean to but I believe you to be lying,” he said softly.
She shook her head and tried to squirm free, gasping when he took her thin wrists and pushed them above her head and pinned them to the floor. He stared at her small breasts in their thin top before tugging it up around her throat and baring her breasts.
“Perhaps I should give you what you so desperately need.”
She flushed miserably even as her nipples hardened. “No, I – “
He dipped his head and licked the tip of one nipple. Her reaction was hot and immediate. His cock throbbed when she arched her back and made a soft mewling noise of need.
“Do you like that, human?”
“Yes, oh yes!” She cried out.
He grinned and bent his head to her breasts once more. He licked and sucked at her nipples. They swelled in his mouth and he bit them gently as he moved from breast to breast. The human was writhing beneath him and he sucked firmly on her right nipple. He had never seen such a reaction before and he grinned fiercely. Her nipples seemed to be more sensitive than most and precum dripped from his cock as he thought of all the ways he could tease her. He circled his tongue around one hard nipple and then swiped across the tip of it.
“Oh please, Radek!”
“Please what, human?”
“Please suck on them!”
She turned bright red at her needy cry but continued to arch her back. She was pulling helplessly at his hand, trying to free herself, and he growled loudly before giving her what she wanted.
She made a loud cry of pleasure at the feel of his hot, wet mouth surrounding her swollen nipple and rubbed her pussy furiously against his leg. He sucked hard as her entire body stiffened. He realized with a mixture of shock and red-hot desire that the woman was coming. Her body shook under his, desperate cries of pleasure spilled from her lips and wetness flooded his thigh.
She collapsed, panting harshly, and he nuzzled her breast before licking her collarbone. His cock was throbbing and he rolled her onto her stomach before lifting her to her hands and knees and kneeling behind her. He reached under her skirt and stroked her bare ass as she moaned softly. He would take the human. There was no harm in it – she wanted him and his wolf, at least, wanted her. He would need to go slowly and gently. She was so incredibly small compared to female shifters but he was confident he could take her without hurting her. He buried his hands in that gloriously soft mass of hair and pushed it to the side as he leaned over her to nuzzle her throat. He stared at the collar around her neck and stiffened, his head flooded with the memory of the humans who had collared him and choked him.
With a harsh gasp, he pushed away from the human. He buried his face in his hands and breathed deeply. When she touched his back, he snarled and jerked away from her.
“Radek, what’s wrong?” She asked softly. “Did I do something to upset you?”
“Leave me be, human.”
“No, tell me what’s wrong,” she said with unexpected bravery. “Obviously I did or said something and I – “
“I gave you what you wanted! Now leave me be!” He shouted. He staggered to his feet and nearly ran from the shack, slamming the door behind him.
Chapter 6
She was sitting quietly on the chair by the window when he returned with an armful of plants and charkas, and a dead rabbit in one large fist. She jumped up and approached him nervously.
“Radek, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“You didn’t,” he grunted as he dropped the plants on the table. They were wet with snow and he peeled a charka and ate it as she returned to the chair.
“Eat, human,” he snapped.
“I’m not hungry.”
“You need to eat.” He skinned the rabbit and tossed the fur outside before tearing into the bloody meat.
Sara, her stomach queasy, looked out the window at the blowing snow. She tried to ignore the smell of the blood in the air.
“Eat, human.”
“You can’t tell me what to do,” she said.
He growled angrily, “I can make you eat.”
“Go ahead and try!” She gave him a defiant look and he growled again.
“Fine! Don’t eat! It matters not to me if you starve to death!”
“I’m sure it doesn’t!” She shouted.
“It doesn’t!” He shouted back before shifting into his wolf form. He picked up the bloody body of the dead rabbit and stalked to the corner. He ate it quickly, his large teeth crunching through the bones as she stuck her fingers in her ears and stared out the window.
After a few minutes she unplugged her ears and glanced at Radek. He had finished the rabbit and she muttered, ‘ugh’ under her breath when he licked the blood from his mouth.
He snarled under his breath and she scowled at him. “If shifters hate humans so much why did you even save me from that stupid bird thing?”
To her surprise he shifted to his human form and glared at her. “You could try being grateful that I saved you.”
“I am!” She snapped. “I told you thank you.”
He folded his arms across his chest and she sighed loudly. “Radek, I – I don’t want to fight with you, all right? I just want to know why your kind hates humans.”
“We don’t all hate humans,” he said. “My alpha’s mate is human.”
“What?” She sat up straight and stared at him. “You have a human in your pack?”
“We have three human females,” he said.
“Why?”
“What does it matter?”
“I’m just curious.”
“Our former alpha wanted a human as a mate. My cousin and two others in our pack bought three female humans from the slavers and brought them back.”
“Slavers,” she whispered. “You bought slaves?”
Her hand reached up and she touched the collar around her neck as he scowled at her. “We don’t treat them as slaves.”
“What happened to your former alpha?”
“My cousin killed him.”
Her eyes widened. “Why would he do that?”
“Because he fell in love with one of the humans,” there was a note of distaste in his voice, “and our alpha wanted her for himself. Kane killed him and took his place as alpha.”
“Did the woman want – I mean, is she in love with your cousin?”
“Aye,” he said impatiently. “Of course she is. Do you think Kane would take her as his mate if she was not?”
“How would I know?” She asked. “I’ve never even met a shifter before you. I don’t know anything about you. For all I know you could have saved me from the bird just so you could take me back to your pack and allow them to hunt and torture me for fun.”
“We don’t kill for sport like humans or those creatures you spoke of. Kane had no interest in being alpha but was left with no choice. Besides, our alpha had gone mad and he deserved to die.”
“How long has your cousin been alpha?”
“Not long,” he replied.
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Radek sighed loudly. “I want you to eat something, human.”
“What do you care if I eat or not?”
“If you are to find your friends after the storm ends, you need food in your belly. You will not get far if you are weak from hunger.”
“Fine.” She stood and walked to
the table, peeling a charka and eating it slowly before eating a few of the plants.
“Eat more,” he said.
“I told you, I don’t eat very much,” she argued.
“One more charka,” he said.
She rolled her eyes and quickly peeled a charka before popping the meat into her mouth and chewing in exaggerated fashion. She swallowed and then opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out. “Happy?”
“Aye,” he grunted.
She wiped her hands on her tiny skirt and marched back to the chair. She stared out the window as he studied the lean length of her thighs. He could see goosebumps on the pale skin and he made a harsh grunt.
“What?” She scowled at him.
“Come over here. I will warm you.”
“No, thank you,” she said before turning her gaze back to the window. “I’m not cold.”
“I can see you shivering from here, human.”
“I’m fine.”
He growled and stomped across the small shack before scooping her up.
“Put me down!” She smacked him in the chest and he made another warning growl before sitting down and leaning against the wall.
“Stop squirming, human.”
“I don’t want you to hold me. I’m not cold!” She said angrily.
“Your skin is like ice. Stop being so stubborn,” he said. He folded his arms around her and tucked her against his chest.
“Shift to your wolf form,” she demanded.
“Why?”
“You’re warmer in your wolf form.”
“I am just as warm in my human form,” he lied. “Now stop your wiggling and stay still.” He tightened his arms around her until she could barely breathe and with an angry squeak, she gave up her struggling and relaxed against him.
He should have been shifting to his wolf form but for some ridiculous reason he wanted to feel her bare skin against his. It was so soft and despite his dislike for her, it had been a long time since he had mated.
Not that he wanted to mate with the human, he told himself hastily. His wolf might have scented her but his momentary lapse of judgement this morning had been just that. Hell, any shifter in his place would have fucked the human. She had just come all over his leg for God’s sake and she had obviously wanted him to fuck her.
His cock stirred at the memory of her soft voice moaning in pleasure and he made an angry growl. She stiffened against him and tried to lift her head but he threaded his hand through her hair and kept it firmly against his chest.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he muttered. “Be quiet.”
“I don’t feel like being quiet,” she said. “Tell me about your pack.”
When he didn’t reply she pinched him on the side. “If you don’t tell me about your pack, I’ll start telling you my entire life story. I swear it.”
She would too. The little human talked more than Kane’s mate. He shifted on the floor and pulled her a bit closer. “My pack is large. There are more than thirty of us, most of them male, and – “
“Is that unusual?” She interrupted.
“Yes, a little. Most packs have more females than males.”
“Why do you have more males?”
“Many of the females mated with shifters from other packs and joined their packs.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know,” he lied.
Once Dagon had become alpha and his cruelty to his mates became known, many of the families in his pack had urged their daughters and sisters to leave the pack as quickly as possible. He had, in fact, been planning on finding a suitable mate from another pack for Raina in the next year or so to keep her away from Dagon’s cruelty.
“Why are you lying to me?” She asked.
He jerked against her. “Why do you think I’m lying?”
She stared up at him as best she could with his hand holding her head. “I can see it on your face, Radek. You’re not a very good liar.”
He growled at her and she shrugged. “Don’t be angry with me just because you can’t lie. Tell me why the female shifters left the pack.”
“Dagon, our former alpha, had four mates before he bought the humans from the slavers. All of the mates died suspiciously.”
“Did he kill them?” She asked.
He hesitated before nodding. “Aye, we believe so.”
“So the female shifters were afraid and that’s why they left,” she said.
“Aye.”
“Your kind doesn’t seem very nice.”
“You shouldn’t judge us based on the action of one,” he snapped at her.
“You do,” she replied. “I’ve never done anything to you and you hate me just because a human has hurt you in the past.”
“I haven’t been hurt by a human.”
“You’re lying again,” she said calmly.
He looked away from her and studied his arms. Although he had been young and his healing abilities were not as strong as they would be once he hit puberty, there had been enough to heal him from the wounds inflicted on him by the humans. It had taken longer and he had suffered in agony while they healed but no scars or marks had been left on his body to remind him of the pain. Still, he could remember it easily enough. How it had felt when the flame from the candle had licked at his skin. How it had reddened and blistered and how he had finally given in and screamed as the humans had laughed.
“Radek,” Sara whimpered.
He twitched guiltily. He had tightened his hold on the fragile human until his biceps bulged and he relaxed his grip as she made another soft whimper of discomfort.
“I’m sorry,” he said gruffly.
“That’s all right. Will you tell me what humans did to you to make you hate us so much?” She asked.
He shook his head. “I will not.”
“I won’t ever hurt you, Radek. I promise,” she said suddenly.
He barked harsh laughter. “As if you could hurt me, human.”
“I’m tougher than I look.” She scowled at him and then shivered when he ran one rough hand over her flat abdomen.
“You weigh next to nothing, human. A strong wind would blow you over. Do you even know how to fight?”
“I – no, but I’m going to learn.”
“And who will teach you?”
“Will you please stop doing that,” she said.
He realized he was still rubbing her stomach and that his hand was, in fact, inching higher toward her small breasts. He pulled his hand away as the smell of her desire drifted to him.
“Do you have no shame, human?”
“What do you mean?”
“I can smell your need for me,” he said.
She blushed to the roots of her hair and tried to struggle out of his arms. He growled and held her more tightly until she collapsed against him.
“You were the one touching me,” she said defensively. “And you were mistaken, I don’t want you.”
He laughed, this one full of genuine amusement, and she gave him a dirty look. “I was having a dream, that’s the only reason I…”
“Came all over my leg?” He suggested.
She blushed again and shifted uncomfortably on his lap. “You don’t need to be so rude.”
He grinned and let one hand drift down to her smooth thigh. “You were the one who marked me with your sweet cream and yet I am the rude one?”
She pushed his hand away. “I told you – it was because I was dreaming.”
“Right.” His hand moved up to her head and as though it had a will of its own, tangled itself into her soft, utterly intoxicating mass of curls. He tugged until she was staring up at him.
“Did you know that a male shifter bites his female to mark her as his mate?”
She shook her head, staring wide-eyed at him as his gaze drifted down her slender neck to the tops of her breasts. “They bite them to show other shifters that the woman belongs to them. No other male will touch her when they see the claiming mark.”
“Female shifters are not allowed to bite their mates,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “A male shifter would be seen as weak if he allowed his female to bite him. But our females are clever and have their own way of claiming us.”
“Wh-what do they do?” She whispered. Radek’s eyes were changing colour to a brilliant jade and his beard was thickening. She stared fascinated at him as his gaze dropped to her crotch.
“They do what you have done to me, human. They mark them with their scent. When I return to my pack, the females will smell your sweet cream and know that you have taken me for your own.”
His hand tightened in her hair. “They will be displeased with you, little human.”
He wondered if she would see this lie on his face. He had no particular interest in any of the females in his pack and they had no interest in him.
Not true. Kavine has been trying to mate with you for months.
A thread of irritation went through him. The female shifter would not accept his lack of interest in her and it was a daily annoyance to him.
When she smells the human’s scent on you, she will leave you alone.
Aye, or perhaps she would try and injure the little human. The girl had a mean streak. When Kavine had discovered that Mia, his little sister’s best friend, had a crush on him, she had been particularly cruel to her and Kane had been forced to reprimand her.
“I – I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t know.”
He didn’t reply and she shifted again on his lap. He gritted his teeth. If she didn’t stop moving, he would have to release her. His cock was already half-hard and any minute she would feel it.
“The females in my pack may not believe you,” he said.
She swallowed nervously before suddenly giving him a strange look. “It doesn’t matter, Radek. I won’t be meeting anyone in your pack. Once the storm ends, we will say our goodbyes and I’ll never see you again.”