Promised to the Pride: A Shifter Romance

by Candace Wondrak

  Jonas let out a thunderous growl as he pulled himself off me, prowling around my still form until he came up to my head, which sat on the snow. He bent down and gave me a nudge with the side of his muzzle, and I looked up at him, meeting his eyes. He wanted me to get up, to run with him for a bit.

  Snow leopards didn’t quite run like wolves, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to figure out how to use this new form of mine, so I got up and shook myself off. I still felt a bit weird after being claimed, but I had to learn to live with it.

  Jonas smacked me with his tail as he turned, waiting for me, so after I stood up, we ran.

  Chapter Nineteen – Jonas

  My mate was…not very coordinated, even after shifting. Her balance wasn’t as good as it should’ve been either. I took her out onto the lake and watched as she fumbled, trying to keep her balance and not slip and fall on the ice. She hadn’t discovered the use of her claws yet, how they could be used to dig into slippery surfaces and stop yourself from sliding around like a hapless human, but she would. It would just take time.

  It was a good thing I was still in my leopard form, because if I’d have been in my human form, I would’ve been tempted to smile as I watched her run in the snow, frolic and try to body slam Aster and Nikolas in her excitement. Tempted to, much more than I’d been tempted to in a long, long time. She was…ridiculous and stupid, but fun to watch.

  I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d be this happy after I had her in our human forms. Being a leopard, there was only so much you could do. Pretty much only stick the cock in and ride it out—but when you were human? Oh, there was so much more you could do, many more body parts to play with. More games, more submission.

  Yes, when I had her beneath me, her naked human body bare under me, things would not end so quickly.

  I did notice, though, that even though she was shifted, my mate still shivered. She was still cold, even though she shouldn’t be. Perhaps her leopard wasn’t as strong as she should’ve been, perhaps being locked away for so long was detrimental to her leopard-ness, but whatever the issue was, we could figure it out later. Tonight, I needed that girl writhing beneath me.

  I won, and I was going to fuck our little mate’s brains out.

  The first turn was often random in how long it was. She lasted well over two hours, running around the lake, playing in the snow. I remained shifted, so I could catch her if she tried to run. I didn’t think she would, not after everything, but you never knew. People were not something you could predict; I’d learned that years ago, and it was why I didn’t trust anyone other than myself. Putting trust into others was something that would only disappoint you in the end.

  My mate let out a cry when she started to shift back—soon enough she’d be able to control it, but for now, her instincts had taken over, told her it was time to return to her human form. I watched as her snow leopard form shifted into her naked human one, and she curled into herself in the snow, shivering so badly, I thought she’d catch hypothermia.

  I was beside her in an instant, shouting for Nikolas and Aster, both of whom came running over, their boots crunching the snow. “The jacket,” I growled out, and Nikolas handed it to me. I wrapped her in the jacket before picking her up, holding her against my chest, practically suffocating her with my heat.

  This wasn’t right. She shouldn’t be this cold, especially after shifting.

  “What’s wrong?” Aster whispered, his amber eyes heavy on our mate.

  “Her leopard must be weak,” Nikolas said, to which I nodded.

  “I’m taking her back to my cabin,” I told them. I hadn’t planned on doing it at my place, not after what happened the last time I’d caught her alone in my house, but her place didn’t have a fireplace. I would sit her before the fire and warm her up every way I could. She was our mate. I might not be head over heels for her like Aster was, but I would do my best to take care of her when she needed me to.

  Both Nikolas and Aster started to say something, so I tossed them dour looks. “I will call you when I’m done with her.” I had no idea when exactly I would be done with her, but I would call. I was a man of my word. Mostly.

  They said nothing else, and my mate was quiet as I carried her shaking form all the way back to my cabin. Nikolas and Aster followed me, though they spoke not another word. I would return to the lake for my own clothes later. For now, for tonight, everything was about her. I was able to carry her and open the door at the same time, tossing them each a look over my shoulder. They came in only to drop off her clothes and her boots, watching her as I set her near the fireplace.

  “If you need anything—” Aster started, to which I tossed him a glare as I started up a fire. He got the hint, and soon he and his brother were gone, leaving me alone with her.

  She had the puffy coat wrapped around her naked body, shivering as she stared at the growing fire. Her blue eyes drifted to me, and for a moment, she looked so sad. It…it pained me, to see her look so melancholy. It was like I wasn’t doing my job as her mate, to keep her safe and happy.

  No, her happiness wasn’t my priority. Her safety was, but her happiness? That was a job for Aster and Nikolas, not me. I didn’t care about her happiness.

  “I’m so cold,” she whispered, the corners of her mouth turned down in a frown. A beautiful frown that seemed out of place on her pale, immaculate face. Her legs were drawn under her ass, and her arms were wrapped around herself beneath the jacket. She sat two feet away from the fire, but the heat from that would only grow.

  I kneeled beside her, knowing I should get her something warm to drink, maybe some hot food to fill her belly, but I couldn’t drag my mind off what lay beneath that coat, what waited for me. She was a troublemaker, but she was mine. My troublemaker, my mate, my girl to keep warm.

  “I can think of a few ways to warm you up,” I muttered, a low rumble coming from my chest, almost a growl. It was a low sound, instinctual, but she heard it, and when she did, her pupils dilated somewhat, her lips parting.

  Oh, yes. I’d claimed her, made her mine, and yet there was still so much more to do.

  Then my mate did something I wasn’t expecting her to do, not with her past history, not with how she clearly didn’t want me to win the race. I wasn’t stupid. I knew she was hoping Aster would win, or Nikolas. I was the last resort, the one no one else wanted to be the victor—and that was why I had to prove every single one of them wrong.

  Beneath her coat, she moved, extending an arm toward me, beckoning me closer, nearer, wordlessly asking me to move to her side and make good on my word. To keep her warm, to make those freezing veins of hers forget their chilliness, to make her heart beat so fast it would make every last nerve in her body sizzle with heat.

  I moved closer to her, opening the jacket that hugged her slim body as I pushed her down. She lay with her back on the floor, the jacket padding her from the wood, the fire a few feet to our right. The orange flames danced across her naked skin, and I let my eyes wander, taking in every inch of her. I’d seen her naked before she shifted, had seen her wearing nothing but her underwear not too many days ago, but this…this was on another level. This was something else entirely.

  This was everything I ever wanted, everything I never knew I needed.

  Her. I needed her.

  She was small, so much smaller than me. Barely over five feet, she was short and slender, but her body curved everyplace it should. Wide hips, perfect for birthing out cubs. Ample breasts, the perfect size to hold and caress. Not an ounce of extra fat anywhere on her, thanks to her shifter genetics. She was perfect in every way.

  Her lips parted slightly, and I remembered what they felt like on mine. Soft and supple, smooth and inviting. I moved my arms around her head, blocking out the world as I brought my mouth to hers, devouring her in a way I couldn’t stop. Having her here, with me, alone—my inner beast really wanted to come out, to dominate her in the way it so craved.

  And yet…and yet I didn’t want to
break her. I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t want her to keep shivering. What I wanted was to make her better, to warm her up and just…just be with her.

  When our lips met, she let out a whimper, and she was slow to set her trembling hands on my sides. My body was wider than hers, and my skin tensed the moment she touched me. Her lips were not the only soft thing on her, I found out. Her hands were smooth as well, just as the rest of her body was, I realized as I pressed myself down on her, biting onto her bottom lip to try to stop myself from going at her too hard to begin with.

  I wanted to take my time. I wanted to warm her up and show her that I…I could be something, too.

  I knew I wasn’t like Aster and Nikolas, and I never would be. To try to be like them would be a waste of time. I was a loner; I didn’t care about other people or what they thought. But this one, my mate, I couldn’t help but want her to view me differently. I could say fuck off to every single person in the world but her. For her, maybe I would smile.

  Maybe.

  My mouth broke off of hers when I felt one of her legs moving against mine. Fuck. Even her ankle was soft, even her fucking foot. Everything about her screamed innocent, even though I’d already claimed her. Technically, she was no blushing virgin anymore. She was already mine—and I was far from innocent. This, having her beneath me, shouldn’t make me go mad. But it did. Feeling her body squirming under me was the best thing I’d ever felt. My inner leopard was, for once, content.

  I moved my mouth along her neck, running my tongue and my teeth in the most sensitive places. When I kissed her collarbone, she let out a soft whimper. How the hell was I supposed to hold back when she kept making noises like that? My chest rumbled, and I brought my open mouth to her chest, taking in a nipple, sucking and tweaking, my teeth grazing along the hardened pebble much more gently than I wanted to.

  Fuck. I wanted to be an animal. I wanted to let loose, but right now, for some inexplicable, strange fucking reason, I couldn’t.

  Her back arched, and her eyes closed when I moved my attention to the other nipple. My hand teased the breast I’d left behind, and a deep, hungry ache grew within my balls. I wanted to fuck my mate’s brains out and leave her a whimpering, hot mess with my cum dripping out of her pussy. I wanted to ram myself into her so hard she saw stars. Every muscle in my back tensed as I thought: next time.

  I left her nipples a wet, puckered mess, bringing my mouth back to hers, my nose leaning against hers as I asked in a bare whisper, “Who do you belong to?” She wasn’t fighting me, wasn’t trying to escape me, but still, I needed to hear her say it.

  My mate no longer shivered uncontrollably. Her eyes were half-lidded slits as she murmured, “You.”

  One word. One word was all it took to make my cock tingle in all the ways that I knew meant I had to get inside of her, right this fucking moment. She was mine, and she would never forget it.

  I reached a hand down, feeling the space between her legs. I ran a single finger along her, watching her tremble in anticipation. She was as slick as she could be, ready to take me in. No extra lubrication needed. I leaned off of her, spreading her legs, staring at her wet slick for a few moments. My fingers gripped the insides of her thighs harder as I felt a familiar ache in my lower gut. I needed to have her, and I needed to have her now.

  I set a hand on the base of my cock, positioning myself at her entrance. The moment my tip felt her slickness, I knew I could lose it. I could lose what little hold I had on the beast and let him loose. My inner animal wanted to be primal and carnal, to eat my little mate alive.

  Our eyes met, and I noticed her cheeks were already flushed. They’d only grow redder once I was inside of her, once I was pumping her full of my seed and again claiming her as mine. I wanted her skin to sweat and her cries to drown out the cackling of the fireplace. I wanted to lose myself in her, and I knew I would. It would be all too easy to lose myself in this one.

  I pushed myself inside, inch by thick inch, and all the while I stared into her eyes, not wanting to miss her reaction. I wasn’t able to see it when I claimed her when we were shifted; but here and now? I could see her eyes glaze over with desire, could hear the way her breathing hitched and a low moan crawled its way up her throat. It was the best sound I’d ever heard.

  When I was balls deep inside of her, I held myself there for a moment, resisting my urge to pound away at her like an animal. No—this fucking had to be human. This had to be slower. I wanted to relish this in a way I couldn’t when we were in our leopard forms. To feel her hands on my sides, to focus on how tight she felt around my cock and how wet she was. Ready for me, eager for me. My little mate, ready to be bred.

  And then I did what I so desperately craved to do the moment I laid eyes on her: I fucked her. I took her sweet cunt and made it mine. I withdrew my hips, feeling her walls dragging along my cock, and then rammed into her again. Over and over, losing myself to the erotic desires of the flesh.

  She held her hands to my side for a while, holding onto me as I pumped my length in and out of her. Each time I filled her to the brim, she let out a moan, a cry of pleasure that only made me work harder. Even though she was under me, naked, her pussy taking the brunt of it all, she still looked so fucking innocent. So pure. It was ridiculous.

  What was even more ridiculous was that I loved it.

  Eventually, it became too much for her. Her hands slid off my sides, falling to the floor—or, rather, the puffy jacket. My mate’s eyelids fluttered closed, and she looked completely lost. I couldn’t blame her, because I felt like losing myself, too. Losing myself in her, in how her cunt felt around me, how her body would milk me for all I could give. My hands clenched into fists, and I let out a loud, ragged breath.

  I couldn’t fight it anymore. I didn’t want to. I would have her to myself the rest of the night, so there would be plenty of time for more. But right now, my release demanded itself be had.

  I let my orgasm dominate me, take hold of me and not let me go. A low groan escaped me, and I felt my balls tighten before their release. My thrusting became jerks of my hips, and I only pulled out of her when I knew I’d emptied myself in her completely. I rolled beside her, laying an arm over her stomach, still breathing hard, still feeling that post-orgasm high. It was made so much better by her, honestly. I couldn’t remember it ever feeling quite like this.

  “Are you warm enough now?” I asked, my voice almost a growl. If she said no, I would be more than happy to go at her again. As it was, I knew the night was only beginning. I would fill her up over and over, take every hole in that pretty body and make her mine every which way.

  My mate turned onto her side, giving her back to the fire. Her eyes met mine for only a moment before she inched closer, curling into my chest and breathing me in as she nodded once. It was almost like she was tucking herself against me, nesting.

  I should bring her to her own place, take her to her own bed and leave my scent all over it, but this was too…nice. Too normal. Something I couldn’t break apart, nor did I want to. This was how things should be, me and my mate, not another care in the world.

  She tilted her head up, just enough to meet my gaze. With her skin flushed, she was beautiful. I ran my hand along her bare back, taking in the curvature of her body, holding her closer to me. She reached toward my face, running her fingertips along my jaw. It took every ounce of self-restraint in me to lay there and not close the distance between our mouths, to let her touch me so gently.

  “You look handsome shaved,” she murmured, and even though it shouldn’t, her compliment sent my mind reeling.

  “And when I don’t shave?” I couldn’t help but ask.

  Her voice came out in a bare whisper, sending a chill down my back, “Still handsome, but wild.” Her fingertips moved off my jaw, trailing down my chest. I tried to ignore the feeling of my heart rate increasing, tried to pretend that her touch did nothing to me, but it did. I liked having this girl in my arms, and I craved those hands on me.

&
nbsp; Deep down, I suppose I knew the moment I saw her that I needed her. However, I didn’t suspect the level of that need, how deep it would run until I watched her shift, until my inner leopard sensed hers. There was no denying it, no fighting it. She was mine, and she would remain mine until the end of our days.

  Her hand traced some of the scars on my chest, and I let out a low breath, fighting to keep myself under control. Feeling her touch me, so sweetly, so softly, threatened to bring out the beast. My inner animal liked its polar opposite, I guess.

  “This scar,” my mate said, her fingertips trailing along the claw marks on my side. “Where did you get it?”

  I studied her, slowly saying, “That bear I fought off for you wasn’t my first encounter with a grizzly. You were lucky it was a young one, not a full-grown adult. The adults are a lot more vicious.” As I spoke, I couldn’t help but remember that particular encounter. Not the one where I’d saved her from an encroaching adolescent bear, but the one where I’d nearly died.

  That fucking bear had almost killed me—and, truthfully, for the longest time, I kind of wished it would have.

  “Another bear?” She blinked, shocked.

  I ran my hand along her back, and as her fingertips danced across the scarred claw-marks, mine traced her spine. “Yes. A big one, too.” I paused, exhaling a deep breath. “He made his last mistake, fighting me.”

  She buried her face against my upper chest, and I could feel her hot breath against my skin. “I couldn’t imagine fighting a bear,” she whispered. “I don’t know how you did it.” I didn’t know, either. Sheer luck, or stupidity. Still, it made Aster and Nikolas both fear and respect me, so I’d take it.

  My mate turned her face up to look at me again, and her lips pursed.