The Mating Need (Werewolves of Montana Book 15)

by Bonnie Vanak

  He looked almost adorable, but when awake…she shivered with delight. Watch out. Troy made a formidable enemy, ready to protect those under his care.

  He’d make an amazing lover.

  Thoughts of Troy danced around her mind as Jenny showered and lingered under the hot water, relishing the luxury, then dried off with one of the oversized, soft bath towels, dressed and made breakfast.

  Then she set out to explore the area.

  Any trace of the evil she’d previously sensed seemed gone. Jenny noted this cabin wasn’t far from Sam and Darius’ home.

  Better make sure everything was okay. She walked the short distance and found the Lupine on the front porch, Hunter in her lap as she sat in a white rocking chair. A playpen sat nearby, filled with toys.

  Sam smiled at her. “I was waiting for you to stop by. How did you sleep?”

  Blinking, she tried to conceal her surprise. “I slept well, thank you. You expected me?”

  “Intuition. Fae intuition. It serves me well at times.” Sam indicated a rocking chair next to her. “Please sit. I have time before I have to feed Hunter his lunch. He likes to eat early. Like his dad, he enjoys food.”

  Jenny sat, making funny faces at the baby, who chortled with laughter.

  Sam rocked back and forth.

  “You’re not going to ask me how I destroyed that crystal.”

  A shrug from Sam. “It’s none of my business. I figured you would tell me if you wished. But you should know there are Lupines here who would fear you, and what you can do.”

  Sam kissed the top of her baby’s head.

  “You’re not one of them?” Jenny felt awe that Sam seemed so open and honest with her.

  “No.” A wry smile curved her mouth upward. “I’m used to different, being different myself. On this ranch, different can give you advantages. I hope you’ll give us a chance and stay here.”

  “I’m only passing through. Why would you want me to settle here?” Jenny felt the familiar tug of the open forest, the need to retreat from ordinary Lupines and Skins. Yet Sam intrigued her.

  “I sensed you’re a good soul, Jenny. Not only because you saved Hunter.” Sam touched her own chest. “Here, inside. I have a sense about people. And if you’re willing, I’d like you to be my friend.”

  Something inside her eased. “I’ve never had a friend before. Not in a long time. Troy’s a friend, but…”

  “He’s a guy. Not the same thing.” Sam grinned and Jenny grinned back at her.

  The grin dropped. “We need good people around. Dark times are coming, Jenny.”

  Hunter released a small squeal as his mother hugged him tighter.

  “I know.” Jenny turned and stared into the jagged line of mountains in the distance. “I don’t know how, but it feels like a tremendous battle has begun. And we’re all the pawns.”

  “Not pawns. Soldiers. We have advantages the dark forces lack.” Sam reached out and squeezed her hand. “We have each other and we have the love that binds us together.”

  “Love can be a disadvantage. It can make us foolish and take risks we shouldn’t.” She thought of her family, her starry-eyed mother always trying to please her father. Her parents, who loved their alpha and followed him when common sense cried out to remain hidden.

  “Love can be a powerful weapon against evil.” Sam’s voice went soft. “I look at our friends, like Kyle, who is half Satyr, and how much he loves his mate and would die for her. It makes him stronger.”

  Intrigued as she was, Jenny wasn’t convinced this ranch was for her. The pull to be on the move felt too strong.

  Equally as strong was the instinct of self-preservation. Yet she wanted to be friends with Sam, who didn’t pressure her and welcomed her.

  “I am different.” She spread out her hands. “Only Troy knows, and he doesn’t know everything. I have these… powers… other Lupines lack. They scare me at times because I feel like they’re controlling me, not the other way around.”

  Sam got up and placed Hunter in the playpen on the porch. When she returned to her chair, her expression was thoughtful.

  “You should stay here, Jenny. The Mitchell pack has many kinds of Lupines, and some of us can teach you that discipline. I’d be happy to help as well. I’ve learned, through effort, to control my Fae powers.”

  But Fae powers, as impressive as they were, didn’t equal what she could do with magick.

  I could kill your son right now without much effort, before you had time to open your mouth and scream…

  The ugly thought made her recoil. Nausea rose in her stomach. How could she even entertain, for even a second, such an evil idea?

  Jenny swallowed past her gorge and pushed off the chair. “I’ll let you go, Sam, I, I, have things to do.”

  But the other woman grabbed her wrist, staying her. Her fingers were slightly calloused and lean, elegant but surprisingly strong. Glancing down at her, Jenny saw a toughness to the half-Fae, half-Lupine she’d previously missed.

  “Don’t run away from what you are, Jenny. Until you come to terms with it, and accept, you’ll never be happy.” Sam’s glance at her son wasn’t filled with a young mother’s tenderness, but a steely resolve. “I plan to teach that to our son, because Hunter will have mixed blood because of me.”

  “I’m not like you,” she blurted out. “You have no idea.”

  Then, because she needed to push away Sam, and let her know the dangers she faced, Jenny told her the truth. “I was thinking I could kill your baby and you wouldn’t stand a chance of protecting him. That’s the kind of power I have, Sam. You don’t want me for a friend. Let go of me.”

  But the other didn’t release her grip. “A thought doesn’t mean much, Jenny, unless you act on it. You could have killed Hunter when you were alone with him. I believe you have these thoughts because you want to distance yourself from people so you won’t hurt them. So you can run away before they grow close to you.”

  Then the other woman’s gaze sharpened. “Except Troy has grown close. You didn’t run from him.”

  Jenny’s shoulders sagged. “I tried once, and he came after me. He’s persistent. Fast.”

  Finally Sam released her hand. She laughed. “Sounds like a typical Lupine male who’s made up his mind about his mate. They like to pursue their females. It’s the hunter inside them.”

  “I’m not the mating kind,” Jenny muttered.

  “You say that now, but in the end, you can’t fight your own instincts. Besides, Troy is cute. With his looks and his stamina, he’d be excellent in bed. Or maybe you already know that.” Sam winked.

  A shiver raced down her spine of anticipation as she recalled Troy’s hungry look as he stared at her mouth. “Yep. He probably is.”

  Sam nodded. “Give him a chance, Jenny. Focus on Troy. He’ll help you control the magick you fear. I did the same with Darius. He’s my rock.”

  “Why are you so nice to me?”

  “Because you need nice. I sense it.” Sam went to the playpen and scooped Hunter into her arms. “And I sense we need you. A storm is coming. A big one, and we’ll need every bit of help we can get.”

  She vanished into the house, leaving Jenny to ponder her ominous warning.

  Chapter 8

  For the next five days, Jenny stayed at the ranch, sometimes sleeping in the cabin, sometimes shifting into wolf and staying in the woods. Troy was nothing but patient, understanding when she told him she had to sleep in the woods as wolf. Instead of opting for the comfortable cabin, he accompanied her, sleeping next to her as wolf as they had many times on the open road.

  Confusion filled her. She didn’t know what to be anymore. While being a nomad, she felt alert and knew how to watch her back.

  This was different. Almost too comfortable. Comfortable had a way of kicking you in the back of the knees when you least expected it.

  The air still felt tainted with a darkness she couldn’t figure out. Maybe others had reasoned it away, but she did not.


  On the morning of the sixth day, Jenny took the golf cart at their cabin and drove it to the corral where Troy said he’d be working with the horses. He had a surprise for her for lunch.

  She stopped the cart before reaching the corral and walked to the fence, standing on it to watch Troy work.

  Two horses were in the corral. The chestnut looked like a colt, high-strung and restless, the other, a white horse, seemed calm and gentle. Troy had ropes attached to each horses’ halters. He walked the end of the rope and held up two apples. The gentle horse walked forward and Troy rewarded him with the treat. The younger horse balked.

  “Come on. It’s good.” He waved the apple. “Come get it, it’s sweet and delicious.”

  He’d used the same soothing, deep tone with her the night he’d saved her in the alley. Fascinated, Jenny clung to the rails, wondering if the colt would surrender and take the apple. For a minute the colt balked and then he walked forward. Troy fed her the apple, murmuring to him.

  Such a gentle touch with horses. He seemed peaceful, not like the restless wanderer who roved from city to city, always looking over his shoulder. It’s because this is home to him. He’s found his calling, and his home.

  He turned, saw her and smiled. “Give me a couple of minutes to put these two back in the barn.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Darius asked me to train this colt,” he pointed to the chestnut. “They just bought him. Fireball’s spooked by some of the cowboys, and needs a gentle hand.”

  Troy gestured to the white horse. “Calypso here is an old pro at showing new horses the ropes. She’s older and isn’t used as a work horse anymore.”

  She jumped off the fence into the corral. “You have a way with animals.”

  His smile widened. “I like horses. Thing is, you can’t train them or be around them as wolf. They force you to focus on your Skin side.”

  Maybe that was why this ranch made her uneasy. Maybe it wasn’t evil, but her anxiety being around so many Lupines in Skin, when her wolf side was easier to handle.

  Then again, that crystal in Sam and Darius’ tree…

  “Guess I wouldn’t be good with horses. I’d rather stay in wolf form.”

  “Being in wolf form isn’t the answer, Jenny,” he said quietly. “You have to learn to accept who you are. You’re both.”

  “I don’t want to be both. Being in Skin doesn’t give you any real advantages in life. Pure wolf is the way to go.”

  Hadn’t she discovered that the day her family wanted to dump her?

  “There are advantages to being in human form. Things you can do.” He leaned close and brushed a kiss against her mouth. “Like this.”

  Troy smiled and grabbed Calypso’s bridle. “Other things as well. Like this. Try petting her nose.”

  She reached up to stroke the horse, the skin smooth and velvety. Large, liquid brown eyes gazed at her. When Jenny stopped, the horse nudged her shoulder.

  “She’s begging for a treat. Calypso’s gotten spoiled from me using her to train Fireball here.”

  Troy reached out and patted Fireball’s neck. The colt did not shy away from him, but got closer, pushing his nose against Troy’s shoulder.

  “Ah, you’re spoiled as well,” he said, laughing. “No more treats. That’s enough for this morning. We’ll get back to work tomorrow. I’ve got a special treat for Jenny and it ain’t an apple.”

  “Better than an apple? Give it here.”

  Jenny butted her nose against Troy’s shoulder and grinned. He laughed, but something smoldered in his dark gaze. Her hormones jumped into overdrive as she watched him walk toward the gate, the tight denim hugging every inch of his firm butt.

  Imagination kicking in, she envisioned him riding her hard as she bucked beneath him, drawing him closer, clinging to his bottom as he drove in and out of her body…

  Jenny licked her lips, her hunger turning into something deeper. Between her legs, moisture gathered and need pulsed. She wanted this Lupine, had wanted him for a long time. He waited for her patiently, letting her set the pace.

  She was ready.

  As he led the horses toward the gate, Jenny opened it, shut it behind him. She joined him walking toward the nearby barn. He put the horses into their stalls and they headed for the lodge.

  “Skin form means you can ride a horse, go shopping, take a walk in the moonlight….” He gave her a meaningful glance. “Make love face to face.”

  A flush ignited her from head to toe. “You have a point.”

  “When you were a kid, wasn’t there something you liked doing in Skin?”

  Jenny thought about what he said. A memory flickered.

  “Once, when I was twelve, my parents took me to Florida for two weeks. Mom grew up there and was homesick for the beach.”

  “I gather you visited in human skin,” he said dryly.

  “Wolves sunbathing on the beach would have stood out. Just a little.” She smiled.

  They’d stayed at a little hotel a short walk from the beach. Jenny had never seen a beach before, and the green/blue water fascinated her. Mama had bought her a two-piece pink bathing suit with yellow flowers and an orange bucket with a blue shovel. While her parents sunbathed, she sat at the water’s edge, making sandcastles. Warm water lapped at her feet, and a curious egret had strayed by, searching for fish in the shallows. The air smelled of salt and coconut oil, and the blue sky overhead seemed to stretch forever. She’d even made a friend, a playmate who helped her build the sandcastle.

  Later they had walked, sun burning their bare shoulders as they searched for shells. The orange bucket and blue shovel went into the trash, along with the delicate seashells as they packed to leave for Wyoming because her mother warned their alpha abhorred such human activities such as collecting anything, even objects in nature. Lupines neglected their wild wolf side when they got soft and catered to their human half.

  But those two weeks at the beach had been the best weeks of her young life at the time. She had her parents to herself, no pack responsibilities, no worries about trying to please the alpha or pressure to learn the ways of living as wolf.

  I was free to be a child. Free to have fun. Build sand castles at the beach.

  She studied the pasture in the distance, the horses cropping grass. So serene.

  Did I ever truly have fun again?

  Maybe not. Not with my pack. But Troy is different. He lets me be myself.

  “Stay out here on the porch,” he told her as they reached the lodge. “I’ll be right out.”

  “I thought we were having lunch.”

  He winked. “We are. It’s part of my surprise.”

  Troy went inside to fetch what he told her he needed for their surprise.

  He emerged from the lodge bearing a heavy blanket and a picnic basket.

  “I’ve got the rest of the afternoon off, so I wanted to picnic with you by the river. There’s a secluded spot I checked out the other day.”

  Jenny clapped her hands. “I love picnics.”

  When they were on the road, they seldom were able to let their guard down long enough because they were on someone else’s land. Now they had all the time they needed, and privacy as well.

  He drove a four-wheeler, picnic basket and blanket stashed in the back, to a sand beach on the riverbank.

  After setting up the blanket and basket, they dug into the food. Fried chicken, crisp and juicy, a carton of Nia’s homemade potato salad she’d made especially for them, a bottle of good wine, fruit. They ate and then Jenny took an apple out of the basket, bit into it with relish.

  The sun burned overhead and the river roared, sparkling in the light. She shivered and sighed with contentment.

  He slid an arm her shoulder. “Cold?”

  “I’m all right.”

  “You’re shivering.”

  “Not from the weather.”

  Troy kissed her temple. “What is it, darling?”

  Suddenly she knew what she wanted and when
. “I don’t like being indoors, Troy. Not all the time. And I don’t want my first time to be in a strange bed, in a cabin at night. But outside, here and now with you.”

  His eyes darkened, and he drew in a breath. “I would never hurt you. I may be a werewolf with enormous strength, but I will be gentle with you.”

  She gave a little laugh. “And I promise the same.”

  His smile looked seductive, sinful, as he regarded her. Gone was the playful, tender Troy. This Lupine looked hungry, with a primitive male hunger he intended to slake on her.

  Troy fisted his hands. “I want to be gentle with you, Jenny. But I don’t know if I can hold myself back. I don’t want you to fear me.”

  She tossed aside the apple. “I’m no wilting flower, Troy. You know I can handle myself. And you.”

  They both knew she was on special Lupine birth control pills. Ever since the alley incident, Jenny took no chances.

  This time, she felt strong enough to face her fears and surrender to the passion between them.

  Chapter 9

  She couldn’t have envisioned a better place to finally make love with Troy. Her best friend. Her protector.

  Soon to be her first lover.

  Jenny lifted her face to him and parted her lips. Triumph flickered in his dark gaze, then his mouth descended, hot and hungry, before she could say a word. He cradled her head and deepened the kiss. It felt like all the floodgates had opened, allowing them to indulge in what they both wanted, both needed, since the first night they’d met.

  Barely banked desire flared inside Jenny, then she felt all her resistance to the moment fade, replaced only with pure need.

  She opened her mouth wider to his probing tongue and then flicked her tongue over his, tasting apples and cinnamon and dark hunger. Growling low, Troy pulled her closer and crushed her mouth beneath his.

  Jenny pulled away, panting, touching mouth made swollen by his possessive kiss.

  “I don’t want gentle,” she whispered.

  “Damnit, I wanted to wait for a bed. I wanted to wait for candlelight and roses and champagne, all the things you deserve. For the romance you deserve.” He splayed his fingers across her chin, his thumb grazing her lips. “I wanted to wait. I can’t. I’ve waited too fucking long.”