Winter Valley Wolves 7-9

by V. Vaughn

  I recall grocery shopping in my stained sweats and how my whole body responded to Paul’s voice when I heard it again after months of being apart. I stand and hug myself as I think about Trixie’s boys and the desire that pulls at my heart for more children of my own. A life with Paul is what I want. So what’s holding me back?

  My mother couldn’t commit either. Each new guy was the one for her. She hated to be alone. I think it made her decisions rash, because months later she’d tire of the current guy and move on. What if that’s all Paul is for me? What if in a couple months I realize I’ve made the biggest mistake of my life?

  My lungs expand with my deep breath. As I turn to go back to Paul, I realize I’m not ready. I hope he’ll understand.

  25

  I hold the tiny black kitten up to my face as his body vibrates with a purr. His fur is soft on my cheek as he nuzzles me. Emma, the young girl at the pet adoption center, says, “He’s claiming you.”

  I glance at her in surprise at the choice of words, but she doesn’t give any indication that her statement had a double meaning. “He is a cutie,” I say.

  My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I set the kitten down to answer the call. “Hi, darling daughter.”

  “Mom! I can’t believe you had a date with Paul last night and you haven’t called to tell me all about it. Spill.”

  I sit on the floor to let kittens crawl on me. “Sorry, honey. I thought you had a life of your own.”

  Trixie lets out a sigh as a meow sounds. She asks, “Was that a cat?”

  “Yes. I’m at the humane society.”

  “Oh man, this is bad. What happened?”

  “Nothing bad happened. I had a wonderful time with Paul.” I lift a gray kitten onto my chest. Tiny claws poke at me.

  “So why are you shopping for cats?”

  “I’m not sure Paul is right for me, honey.”

  “Do not get a kitten, Mom. I’ll meet you at your house in five minutes.”

  “Don’t get all bossy pants on me. I’m fine.”

  “I’m totally getting pushy with you. Now be at your house when I get there, or you’ll suffer the consequences.”

  I chuckle at my daughter. “Yes, Mother. You know, I understand now why you got boys.”

  “Very funny. See you soon.”

  Trixie manages to get to my house before I do, and I enter to her lifting Dylan out of his car seat. She walks over to me and says, “Hold him.”

  I take the squirming child. “Hello, precious.” I pull him to my chest. “How’s my little man today?” I kiss the top of his head and lift my gaze to Sophie and Trixie watching me. “What?”

  Trixie says, “You want more children.”

  I knit my brows. There’s no denying my desire for a baby. “Well, sure, I’d like another child, but that’s not a good enough reason to become a werewolf and sign my life away to Paul.”

  Sophie. I glance over at my sister when I realize she doesn’t know about werewolves yet.

  Sophie waves her hand at me. “Trixie already filled me in.” She asks, “So you’re going to run from forever love, with the alpha, and become the crazy cat lady instead?”

  I gaze at my sister and daughter over the baby as I smile. “One. I’m already crazy. Two. You should have seem them, Soph. They’re so cu--”

  “No,” says Trixie. “Cats are not what you need.”

  She holds her hands out for Dylan, and I give him to her. “Honey,” I say. “Paul is wonderful, but if I commit to him, there’s no turning back. You don’t get to divorce the alpha of a pack.”

  “You won’t want to,” says Trixie.

  I shake my head at her. “I’m really glad I raised you in a way that you believe that.” I gaze at Sophie as I hang my coat on a hook. “Your aunt and I know differently.”

  Sophie says, “Caro, you are so not Mom.”

  “Really?” I think of how Sophie and I went from crying over the men in our lives when they were gone to never getting close to a new one because we knew it was a temporary situation. I walk over to sit on the couch. “How do you know?”

  My sister glances at Trixie who’s removing Dylan’s coat. “Because you never once wavered when it came to your daughter.” Sophie joins me on the sofa, and it sinks when she sits next to me. “You know how to do this, and I can’t watch you let Paul slip away.”

  Trixie hands Drake to Sophie as she says, “Me either.” Her eyes widen, and she says, “Wait. Did the sex suck?”

  Sophie chuckles as I answer. “No.” Heat rises to my cheeks when I think about the things Paul Ryan and I did last night. “It was freaking amazing.”

  Trixie says, “And it only gets better when you change. I swear to you, Mom, the love you’ll feel as a werewolf isn’t going to die. There’s no way Paul would choose you if he thought there was a chance of it happening.”

  I recall Paul telling me that he thinks I’m as close to a true mate for him as one can get and that our love is forever. I do want that. I glance around my trailer and recall how happy Trixie and I were here. I turn my gaze to her as she snuggles with Dylan. She’s content with a family of her own now. She doesn’t need me to show her how to be strong and independent. I’ve spent so many years proving I can live without a man, I’ve forgotten that it’s okay to want it. I gaze at Trixie and ask, “Does it hurt to change?”

  “Nope. Make sure Paul bites you during sex.” A sly grin covers her face. “I’m told it’s amazing.” Trixie was bitten long before she got physical with her true mate, Parker, so she must know this from other women that were changed.

  I think about how I left Paul last night after I told him I needed time to process. He kissed me tenderly at my door and told me to take all the time I need. Paul Ryan may be an alpha, but he doesn’t use his power to get what he wants. I smile, thinking about how he made me beg. On second thought, maybe he does.

  Sophie asks, “Caro, do you love him?”

  “Yes. I do.”

  Trixie says, “One. You and Paul will be in love forever. Two. You can have babies. Three. You’ll love being a werewolf.” She plops down on the chair across from Sophie and me. “I don’t see the big deal.”

  My sister says, “Four. Freaking amazing sex, Caro. There is no problem.”

  They’re right. My fear is an issue I think Paul will be willing to help with. “There is one problem,” I say. I stand up and grab my coat. “But it’s easily fixed.” A silly grin covers my face as I think about what I’m about to do. “I’m going to see Paul.”

  As I walk out the door, Sophie yells, “Ask him if he has a friend for me!”

  I will, Soph. Because I want everyone around me to be this happy. When I get on the main road, my engine roars as I step on the gas hard to speed up quickly. Suddenly, I can’t wait to be with the love of my life.

  26

  My knuckles rap lightly on the wooden door of Paul’s house. It’s impressive in daylight, and I wonder if it was built with a large family in mind. A family Paul wasn’t fated to have with Sheila, his late wife. But one he’s destined to have with me. The door clicks open, and I smile at the man before me.

  Paul’s in jeans, without shoes, and his chest is bare. I gaze at firm muscles I plan to explore with my tongue, my fingers, and anything else I can think of. I raise my eyes to his face and discover his eyes dance with amusement as he says, “Come in.”

  I drag my fingers across his taut belly as I walk by. The heat from him practically sears my fingers, as if he’s marking me. Or did I mark him? I turn to face Paul as I remove my coat. “I’m told you should bite me during sex. Is the rumor true?”

  Paul threads his fingers through my hair to hold my head in his hands. He locks his gaze with mine. “Yes.”

  I place my hand on his chest. “And we’ll be in love forever, no matter what?”

  “Yes.”

  “How many children?” I lower my palm to above the waistband of his pants, and the trail of hair that leads lower is coarse on my skin.


  “As many as you want.”

  I slide my hand into his jeans to discover he’s commando, and I grip his cock as it thickens from my touch. “I like the way you dominate me in bed, but sometimes I need to be on top.” I stroke him with a tight grip.

  Paul’s belly trembles. “Request granted.”

  “And I’ve been single a long time. I’m not good with orders; I respond better to a partnership arrangement.”

  He tilts his head at me as if I’m foolish for my concern. His voice is breathy as he says, “Understood.”

  I swirl my finger over the top of his dick, and moisture is slick on my skin. "What if I stop loving you?”

  Paul growls. “Never going to happen with our bond.”

  I yank my hand out of his pants and step back. “Goodness. I forgot to ask.” I wander into his living room. I turn to walk backward and discover his bemused smile as I speak. “Got any plans for today?”

  * * *

  I’m beginning to think I’m going to spend a lot of time naked for the next phase of my life. Paul laps at the top of my breast where he bit me. I can barely move from the orgasm his teeth sinking into my flesh induced. I sigh, and he asks, “Does it hurt?”

  “No. But when I can move again, I’ll let you know for sure.” Paul lies beside me, and sheets rustle as I roll to face him. My heart is so full with love, I think I might be glowing. “You make me deliriously happy.”

  “I feel the same way.” He traces my arm with his finger. “Do you have any questions for me?”

  I inhale deeply, and our combined musk makes me want to breathe us forever. “I know that my senses are now heightened.” An aftershock makes me shudder. “And I must say, I kind of love that.”

  Paul chuckles. “Good, because you can attack me in the doorway anytime you wish.”

  “Hmm, that wasn’t an attack. But now that I know you like it, look out. I hear I have big, sharp teeth.”

  “And claws.” Paul kisses my lips. “Big.” He moves his mouth down to nibble at my neck. “Long.” Now he’s back to my fresh scar, and he swirls his tongue over it. Electricity shoots to my core, and I gasp as he says, “And so dangerous.”

  I let out a growl that is real, and I roll onto him. “I believe someone said he didn’t mind me on top.”

  Paul growls back. “He doesn’t.”

  My new werewolf self has more energy than my human self did, and I test the limits as I make love to my mate. When his hot seed coats my insides, my burning desire is satiated, and I let myself hope for a baby. I lay my spent body on him and say, “I’m holding nothing back with us, Paul. Nothing.”

  “Me either.” He slides me over onto the mattress and wraps his body around mine. The extreme heat I used to feel is gone now that my body is the same temperature as his, but I don’t miss it. Our love has replaced the warmth, and it pulses through my veins. Paul whispers in my hair, “I love you, Caroline.”

  Sleep is close as I say, “I love you too, Paul.”

  When we wake from our nap, Paul slides a large sweatshirt over my body. The cotton is thick and soft on my skin as I follow him downstairs for a late lunch. He pulls leftover pasta from the fridge, and the microwave beeps as he sets it to warm up our meal. I hop up to sit on the counter, and it’s cold on my legs as he says, “You must be starving. Your body just changed, and it needs food.”

  My stomach growls in response. “When we finish eating, do I get to shift into a wolf?”

  Paul steps between my legs as he wraps his arms around my back and tugs me to the edge. My sex is against his bare stomach, and amazingly, I think I could go another round. “If you want. I think you’re going to like it.”

  My eyelids lower as lust threatens to take over. “I may have become a sex addict. Is it normal that I want you again?”

  “It’s mating season, Caroline.” Paul slips his fingers into me and begins to work my clit with his thumb. “I told you that you’d be insatiable for a few weeks.”

  “Well, yeah, but--” I gasp when he hits my g-spot before I croak out, “I guess I thought it was an alpha ego thing.”

  Paul takes his hand away to undo his jeans. He steps out of them and pulls me off the counter. When he twists me around to bend me over the edge of the cold granite, he says, “This”—he thrusts his cock into me—“is an alpha ego thing.”

  After one more orgasm and food, I think I’m able to think straight. We’re in the living room, where I’m going to shift, and Paul stands across from me, fully clothed. I’d laugh at the protective layer if I could, but his scent is so tantalizing that it clouds my mind. I shake my head to clear my thoughts.

  Paul says, “To shift is easy. You need to focus on the wolf inside you.”

  “Okay.” The idea a wolf is inside me is strange, and I frown as I think about the changes I feel. A strength I don’t recognize begins to fill me. “I can sense her, but how do I let her out?”

  “Once you think about only her, she’ll come. Trust me, she’s strong.”

  I nod and close my eyes. Once I shut out any other thoughts, my beast leaps, and my skin tingles with the sensation of stretching. I fall to the ground, but when I hit it, I realize I’ve landed on paws. I did it!

  “You sure did,” says Paul. He’s stripping out of his clothes, and I watch in amazement as he shifts into a large black wolf with silver markings. I think about the tiny black kitten I almost got as his replacement. It must have been temporary insanity, because I can’t imagine I’d be anywhere close to happy without my mate.

  “Now what?” I ask.

  “We run.” Paul leads me through a swinging back door, and he launches off a deck to the ground below.

  The impact of my jump radiates through my legs when I land, and my feet beat steadily as I gallop beside Paul. I’m a wolf! Oh my god, I’m a wolf! Trixie was right. I love it. I nip at Paul’s shoulder, and he falls back to return the gesture on my flank. If I were human, I’d squeal. And damn if my mind doesn’t return to the sex we had in the kitchen a half hour ago. I shake the thought as I race to keep up with my mate.

  Paul takes us to a clearing, and he scrambles up a huge rock structure. I don’t think, and do the same. I manage to get up with ease, and I sit next to him to gaze out at the lake. Paul says, “This is our kingdom. What do you think?”

  Pride weaves its way through a sense of power. It’s like when I was a child and would climb on something that let me tower over the world below. Only this time, it’s real. “I think being your queen might be what I was born to do.”

  Paul leans against me, and I snuggle into his neck with my head. “I know it is, Caroline.”

  I realize I do too.

  27

  Conversation buzzes in the large room of the Silver Lake lodge. Delicious scents fill the air as my stomach rolls with nerves. This is my night to come out as a new werewolf and the alpha’s mate. But that’s not why I’m nervous. It seems there’s a competition among the women of the pack to have the best food dish. Trixie warned me, and I’m sure Paul is sick of curried shrimp, because I’ve made at least ten different versions to create the perfect recipe. With my new heightened sense of taste, everything is intense now. And my recent condition only makes it harder.

  To make matters worse, I was told to make a lot, since every member of the pack will want to try mine. Talk about an initiation ceremony. Sweat is damp on my palms as I stand in line with Trixie. She whispers, “Stop worrying.”

  I hiss back, “I can’t help it. Do you think they’d kick me out if it’s awful?”

  Trixie chuckles. “Too late. The alpha claimed you; they’ve got no choice.”

  I smile when I think about all the places and times Paul’s claimed me in the last month. I put my hand on my stomach. I took a pregnancy test this afternoon and discovered I’m about to make Paul a very happy werewolf. I can’t wait to let him know. I’m dying to share my exciting news with my daughter too, and it wasn’t that long ago she’d have been the first one I’d tell. But now that I’
ve got a true mate, he’ll hear it before she does.

  Paul’s voice sounds in my head. “Reports are coming in.” I search the room as he speaks. “The shrimp is a hit.”

  I find him at the entrance with his beta, Warren. They walk toward the food table. I say, “There you are.” Paul had a leadership meeting before the dinner, and I haven’t seen him since this morning.

  I hand my plate to Trixie. “Can you do me a favor and fill this with the food I must eat? I need to talk to Paul.”

  My daughter glances at me and then down to my belly, where I’ve still got my hand. Her eyes widen, and I lift my arm to casually comb my fingers through my hair. “I’ll be right back.” I hurry away before she can ask me anything.

  Paul greets me with a kiss and says, “Do you need a quickie to get through the night?”

  I hit his arm in response but then drop my chin to gaze up at him. “Maybe.”

  He chuckles. “I’m going to miss this when mating season is over.”

  “There’s always next spring. But right now I need to tell you something.” I gaze into the face of the man I love. He’s more than a mate for me. He’s my partner, and in the last month, as we’ve learned the dance of being roommates and lovers, I’ve realized Paul makes me complete. Tears prick at my eyes, and I blink.

  Paul’s fingers are strong as he takes my arms. “Caroline, what’s wrong?”

  I smile as hot tears fall down my cheeks. “Nothing. I’m pregnant.”

  “What?” He swoops me up by my waist and swings me around. Paul sets me down and kisses me as voices hush. His kiss is passionate, and I’m embarrassed that we’re making a spectacle. Not only can they see what we’re doing, but my desire is strong, and sensitive noses can detect it. I speak in his head. “Paul, everyone’s watching.”

  “So they are.” He breaks away and gazes at the smiling faces of his pack. “Ladies and gentlemen. Usually we all eat before I make any announcements, but I can’t keep this news to myself.”