by C. D. Gorri
He splashed in and grabbed me before I even realized he moved. I shrieked and tried to stumble back, and then his mouth came down on mine, smothering my protests. His hot tongue moved boldly against mine, by turns invading and stroking. He tangled his big hands in my hair and held my head still while he claimed my mouth. Our fangs scraped, and a burst of satisfaction flared in my mind. It was a bold, bright red behind my eyes.
With a start, I realized it wasn’t mine. The rush of emotion was decidedly masculine.
Rurik transmitted his thoughts.
He deepened the kiss, and my mind blanked, losing the image he projected. Lust shivered a frazzled path from my breasts to my sex, which clenched hard in needy anticipation. He moved a hand to my ass, squeezing my cheek and pulling me into him. My nipples scraped his bare chest. Water swished between us. I wrapped my leg around his hips, desperate to feel his cock against my clit.
He growled, and the vibration flowed into my mouth. Something raw and wild inside me rose in response, and I gripped the back of his neck and sank my nails in deep.
The move seemed to trip a wire in him, and I realized he’d been holding back. He moved his other hand to my ass and yanked my hips into his, grinding my pelvis over his straining erection. His big hands spread my cheeks apart, and his hard fingers delved into the cleft of my ass, grazing my most private place. At the forbidden contact, sparks shot through my sex. I thrust my hips against him, digging my clit into his cock.
The kiss became a battle of sorts, both of us fighting for control. He nipped my tongue. I bit back, catching his lip and tasting blood. It wasn’t gentle or kind or romantic. It was war.
And not nearly enough.
He broke off the kiss and took a great, heaving breath. At the look on his face, my heart skipped a beat. His jaw was tight, his mouth a hard slash in his flushed face. The golden eyes glowed so bright they were yellow—his humanity pushed so deep it was a miracle he didn’t shift. He looked at me like he hungered. Like he would devour me piece by piece, until there was nothing left.
My heart hammered fast against my ribs. A thread of fear snaked its way through the lust fogging my mind—my brain warning my body this was not a male to trifle with. Run away, it whispered. But another part of me knew he would enjoy the hunt.
And he would catch me.
He hiked me higher in his arms and carried me from the pool, water sluicing off our bodies. He put me down but held my gaze as his hands went to his waistband and he unzipped and took out his cock. It was rock hard and nearly purple, with a thick bead of pearly fluid clinging to the tip.
I tensed even as fresh heat flared between my legs and a moan hovered in my throat. My hands clenched, my fingers curling with need.
Then he was upon me, spinning me around and pushing me to my hands and knees. There was a rustle of fabric, and then he yanked my hips back, spread my legs wide, and impaled me in a single thrust.
My sex was already spasming, my orgasm bursting from me in a short, brutal explosion that bowed my spine. I screamed and pushed back, grinding my ass against him.
“That’s it.” His growls were so low they seemed to shake the ground. “Come back and get it.” I heard the crack before I felt the sting of his slap on my ass. He struck me again, hard, before gripping my shoulder and pushing me down, forcing me onto my forearms. The position thrust my ass high and let him plunge so deep my eyes watered.
Bent and pinned in place, I was helpless to do anything but receive him, my knees digging into the dirt as he started to thrust. He set a brutal pace, driving his cock into me over and over. My sex grabbed at him with each pass, my muscles squeezing as one orgasm flowed into another.
“Tight as a fist,” he said, his voice catching in a way that made my sex clench hard. “I can feel your greedy pussy gripping me, drawing the seed from my cock.”
The dark words burrowed hot into my brain, making me moan.
He fucked me faster, his thrusts so hard I had to clench my jaw to keep my teeth from chattering. Smacking sounds joined his harsh grunts as my pussy gushed for him, juices wetting my thighs.
“That scent,” he grated, pumping even faster. He sounded angry. Wrathful. “You’re driving me to madness!”
With my feral senses, everything was amplified. The heady swirl of my arousal. The blunt slap of skin on skin. Even the soft plop of water droplets flinging from our bodies onto the ground. I heard it all. Smelled it all.
My world condensed to dirt and sweat and the cock between my thighs. I bowed my back even more, thrusting my ass as high as it would go with his grip holding me in place.
His thrusts grew frantic and disjointed. My ass jiggled and sweat dripped down my face. “Oh…God…Rurik!” My clit throbbed to the point of pain, my senses scraped raw from the never-ending orgasm.
He came on a mighty roar, hot jets bathing my womb. I collapsed on the ground, my cheek on smooth rock as he emptied inside me, his balls nestled tight against my ass. I sucked in oxygen in great gasps as my heart tried to pound from my chest. The same beat pulsed between my legs.
Slowly, I fluttered back to awareness. Rurik released my shoulder and swept my hair aside, baring my nape. His big hand caressed the back of my neck, soothing my knotted muscles. Sweat cooled on my skin, and I shivered.
Cock still twitching inside me, he leaned forward and spoke in my ear.
“We go to The Vale.”
I closed my eyes.
“Don’t wash my seed from your body. It’ll help you remember who claimed you.”
Chapter Eleven
The second shift was harder than the first, maybe because I didn’t look at Rurik as he pulled me through it.
He didn’t seem bothered by the cold shoulder.
Fortunately, being in wolf form meant I didn’t have to face any questions from Cain or Soren. It was bad enough walking out of the cave and feeling the weight of their stares on me. Knowing they probably heard everything Rurik and I did by the pool. I stood on shaky legs as they and Rurik shed their clothes and stuffed them in the pack. Then they dropped to the ground and shifted in a whirl of flesh and bone that looked nothing like my ungainly transformation. Their shifts were almost graceful—a magical dance of power that lifted the hair on my back.
When they finished, three hulking wolves stood before me. Ferals were bigger than timberwolves, which still roamed the Plains and gave ferals a wide berth. When Lykos-D first spread, norm scientists speculated it came from extinct dire wolves frozen in the ice. Then the chaos of The Fall reigned, and people were too busy trying to stay alive to study anything. By the time the cities built their walls, researchers only cared about making a stronger, more effective serum. Society forgot about ancient dire wolves. They were too worried about the real wolves just beyond the gates.
Rurik was the biggest of the three, with a dark brown coat and yellow eyes. Cain was black as night, and his silver eyes were just as flat and menacing in his beast form.
Soren was most like a regular wolf. His fur was a thick mix of white and brown, and he had a playful dash of black across his rump, as if he’d tried to squeeze through a small opening and scraped against drying paint. His blue eyes were curious as they ran over me, and self-consciousness made me want to dart back into the cave.
I was smaller than the males, but not by much. I’d caught a glimpse of myself in the pool, so I knew my eyes were a deep blue that glowed almost purple in my black fur.
Rurik gave a short, soft growl, then tossed his head toward the ridge. Cain took the pack in his jaws and put on a burst of speed that took him straight up the rocks. Soren gave me a final look before following in the same manner. Within seconds, they stood at the top of the ridge looking down.
My heart pounded. They moved as effortlessly on four legs as they did on two. How was I going to keep up with them?
Rurik tossed his head again. Let’s go.
Anger curled through me. I should be on my way to Black Rock right now, where I could get serum and treat my
patient. Instead, I was in wolf form and headed to some unknown destination with a man who controlled me through sex. If I balked now, he would just drag me back into the cave and mount me again. Or maybe he would simply shift and take me in broad daylight while the others watched.
It was enraging. But it was also…titillating. Which was even more enraging—and one of about a hundred reasons I had to escape him as soon as possible. I needed to get far away, where I could be free of the sexual hold he had on me.
He gave another growl, and I lurched forward before he could follow it with a command. I took the ridge at a run, sliding but digging my claws in hard enough to get me to the top without tumbling back down. Rurik shot past me in a dark blur, and then we were off.
We ran in the same formation we used the day before, with Rurik leading and the other males at his flanks. Cain carried the pack in his jaws for a bit before tossing it to Soren, who caught it in his teeth without slowing down. Running was easier than I imagined, and the scenery flashed by so swiftly it was almost like…flying. Wind streamed through my fur, reminding me of the breeze catching my hair as I stood on the wall.
Only now, my claws ate up the earth and my senses spun with new sights and sounds. The world was brighter and more full of life than I remembered. Animals scurried from us as we flew across the plain. As we ventured deeper into the Alterlands, trees sprouted here and there. In one patch of ground, green grass broke through the cracked dirt. The scent—fresh and earthy—hit my nose and made a bubble of joy form in my throat.
I lost track of how long we ran. Time became a steady stream of blue sky and flat earth. We leapt over crumbling foundations and the occasional remnant of asphalt streets. Soren gave a sharp yip and tossed the pack to Rurik.
Still we ran. The sun sank in the sky and stained the ground red. We kept going. My legs flew and my head emptied of thought. The beast inside me was powerful and fearsome. It ran and ran, until the vibration of my paws striking the ground became a steady beat in my head, driving me faster and faster.
When the sun was almost below the horizon, my claws struck softer ground. The change happened so quickly, it jolted me mid-flight. My front legs buckled. I stumbled, and the ground rushed up. Later, I wouldn’t remember the impact or much of what came after. I only recalled a deep voice and gentle fingers stroking my fur. Twin golden flames burned in the center of my vision. I stared, mesmerized and…comforted. The flames were capable of violence. It was part of their nature.
But they would never hurt me.
The voice spoke, and I wasn’t sure if it came from inside or outside my head.
“You did well, little wolf. Rest now. You’re safe.”
Chapter Twelve
I opened my eyes and stared at a wood-beamed ceiling.
And it wasn’t the ceiling in my apartment.
For a moment, I frowned at it, my mind whirling as I tried to figure out when my apartment got remodeled without me noticing.
Then everything rushed back all at once.
I sat up and a crisp, white sheet fell to my lap, exposing my bare breasts. I sucked in a breath and lifted it away from my body.
Yep. Stark naked. And in human form, which was not the way I remembered falling asleep.
Come to think of it, I didn’t remember falling asleep at all, or how I ended up in a bed smelling very much of Rurik. I was also clean, and someone had brushed my hair.
At the thought, a hazy memory returned—Rurik propping me up and rubbing my wet head with a towel. I fingered a glossy strand that had fallen over my shoulder.
The alpha bathed me and tucked me in bed? It had to be a dream. And yet, my hair smelled of shampoo. My thoughts darkened. Probably, he just didn’t want a dirty, sweaty woman messing up his bed.
I let my gaze wander around a comfortable but rustic room with stone walls and wooden floors covered with woven rugs. There was a huge fireplace and two massive wooden bookshelves stuffed with books. A simple desk and chair sat in one corner, and sunlight streamed through several small windows cut out of the stone. They weren’t ordinary windows, though. Long and narrow, they were too high up the wall for me to see through.
What was this place? A slender candle sat in a holder on the desk, and some kind of old-fashioned lamp perched on the fireplace mantel. Clearly, Rurik’s “stronghold” didn’t have electricity. I lifted the sheet to my nose and sniffed. But at least it had laundry soap.
Curiosity tugged at me. I slid from the bed and stood on shaky legs for a second, one hand gripping the rumpled bedding. When I was steady on my feet, I pulled the sheet free and wrapped it around my body like a toga. Then I wandered to the bookshelves and ran my finger along the spines.
Common Sense by Thomas Paine. Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. The complete works of William Shakespeare. A whole section on agriculture. Several books about law and science. My eyes widened at Gray’s Anatomy.
I kept trailing along the titles. Rurik’s reading choices were diverse, including everything from engineering to…poetry? My finger paused on a thick book with a gold-lettered spine. Tolstoy’s War and Peace.
The door swung open, and the male himself walked through.
I clutched the sheet to my chest.
After a long pause, he shut the door and came to the middle of the room. His hair was clean, and he’d changed his clothes. The morning sun highlighted the angles in his face, burnishing his high cheekbones and rugged jawline. He seemed even larger inside four proper walls. Once again, I had the unusual experience of feeling dainty next to his muscled form.
“You look better,” he said.
“Do you read all these?”
“No, I use them as kindling in the fireplace.”
I blinked. Jokes from the alpha lycan? I cleared my throat. “Where are we?”
“The seat of the Central Territory.”
“Your territory?”
“Yes.” His gaze drifted down my body. “There’s a bathroom just outside if you need it.”
Heat entered my cheeks. “I don’t. Not right now. Thank you.”
A knock rang out, and he answered without turning. “Enter.”
The door opened again, and in came a young woman carrying a tray loaded with steaming food and a glass pitcher. She cast me a shy glance, her gaze taking in my makeshift toga as she crossed the room.
My cheeks grew warmer, and my first instinct was to pull the sheet tighter around me. But as she went to the desk and set down the tray, something thrummed inside me. It wasn’t anything specific. Nothing I could describe or explain.
Somehow, I just knew she was weaker. The knowledge pulsed in my chest, as sure and steady as my own heartbeat. My shoulders relaxed, and a sense of well-being spread through me. The female wasn’t a threat.
She turned and addressed Rurik with her gaze on a spot near his chin.
“Do you need anything else, sir?”
“Not right now, Caris, thank you.”
She nodded and left as quickly as she entered, throwing me another covert look before closing the door behind her with a soft click.
I looked at Rurik, who watched me with an intensity that made my heart rate pick up.
“Is she a servant?”
He seemed to think about it before answering. “Not in the way you mean. She’s unmated. She’s under my protection until she decides she’s ready for a mate.”
“What if she’s never ready?”
His reply was soft. “She’ll just have to try harder.”
My blood cooled. I lifted my chin a notch. “Is she under your protection, or is she your prisoner?”
He moved to the table and lifted covers off the plates. The dishes steamed, and the scent of eggs and charred meat reached my nose. My stomach churned, hunger clawing at my insides.
At first, it seemed he intended to ignore my question. But then he said, “There are no walls around The Vale.” He spooned scrambled eggs onto a plate and murmured, “Unlike your cities.”
I dropped the pr
etense we were talking about Caris. “So I’m free to leave, then? You won’t try to stop me?”
“We’ve discussed this.” He added toast and bacon to the plate, then dusted crumbs from his fingers. “You raise the subject so often, I’m beginning to think you enjoy the outcome.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to claim I hated the outcome, but I bit it back. “You should never lie to me,” he’d said.
He would always know.
The barest hint of a smile played around his mouth as he poured a glass of water from the pitcher. It turned out I didn’t even need to speak the lie. He could sense it anyway.
“Come over here,” he said, settling on the chair. His tone was light, almost inviting, with a shadow of a “please” on the end. “You should eat,” he added. “The shift takes a lot out of you.”
So did marathon sex sessions. I should have been sated after everything we did. I should have wanted nothing to do with him or his cock or his calm gaze that, for some reason, made a restless irritation prick at me. Yet when he leaned back in the chair and crooked a finger at me, my body loosened and my sex grew damp. Before I realized what was happening, I drifted to the desk and stood frowning at him over the plate of breakfast food.
“There’s just the one chair,” I said.
He patted his thigh.
My frown deepened. I was not sitting on his lap. Why not just ask him to hold out his hands so I could play right into them?
“Food’s getting cold,” he said.
“I’m not really that hungry.”
My stomach rumbled.
He picked up a fork and speared a piece of fluffy egg. “Just try it,” he invited.
“I’m a vegetarian.” I braced myself for him to bicker over the food or even force me to eat, but he simply turned the fork and shoved the eggs in his mouth. Then he applied himself in earnest, tucking into the eggs and bacon like a starving man. He ate like he fucked—unhesitating and wholly committed to enjoying himself. His sensual mouth worked as he chewed, and his fangs showed as he bit into a crispy strip of bacon. I stood rooted to the floor, transfixed by the way grease glossed his lip. His tongue darted out to catch it, and I swallowed a groan. When he licked butter off the side of a knife, I found myself swaying forward.