by Lynn Howard
Forgive herself for what? For killing Melinda? For ending the suffering of dozens, maybe even thousands of women? But if Melinda died, the location of those women died with her. If Hollyn let her live, they could turn her over to the Shifter council and let them deal with her as if she were a Shifter. Their laws didn’t pertain to Fae, but since they no longer had their own government, and since Melinda had been working with Shifters to sell off not only Fairy women but Shifter women, as well, she’d let the men and women of that government deal with her punishment. If Hollyn let her live, perhaps they could save all those women and deliver them back to their homes and families.
Force slammed back into Hollyn so hard it took her breath. Her flames retreated back into Hollyn so fast she felt like she’d burst into flames herself.
The wolves they’d been fighting looked at Hollyn with varying expressions, but they all held terror. There was no way they’d be able to hold these men for the Council. If they tried, it’d be another fight. She could always use her flame to keep them until someone came, keep them from fighting her family, but just because Noah was immune to the damage didn’t mean the rest of them were.
The first wolf seemed to understand what was going on and backed away slowly, his head whipping back and forth between Hollyn and Melinda. When he hit the tree line, he turned and sprinted. Then, one by one, they all followed suit. Howls erupted deep in the forest until they faded to nothing.
Melinda was on the ground, lying in a fetal position. Smoke rose for her clothing and her skin was blistered.
“Someone call your people and have that bitch taken away,” Hollyn said.
Everyone but Luke Shifted to their human forms. No. Luke continued to pace back and forth along the tree line. He was thinking about chasing after the men who’d helped Melinda steal females.
“It’s too dangerous, Luke,” Carter called out when he realized what Luke was doing.
Luke’s bear looked over his shoulder at the stand-in Alpha and snarled.
Her people were still alive, still standing, but they’d been beat to shit. Only Hollyn was unscathed. They’d fought to keep the wolves away from her and had come so close to paying with their own lives.
Chapter Fourteen
Noah closed the bar on Monday. They were healing, but they were still all sore as hell. Hollyn had a feeling there would be more than one disgruntled customer when they returned to work. But she didn’t care. And she knew he didn’t. As he wrapped himself around her as if he were afraid she’d disappear the second he moved away, she knew the only thing that mattered to either of them were their family.
Big River had been pissed when they found out about the attack. Gray and Micah more or less went off on Carter for not calling them. But in the end, Hollyn was pretty sure they understood. They’d gone through enough and had children to worry about. Blackwater didn’t want to endanger the pups or their parents.
Melinda had been taken into the Shifter Council by Nova’s dad who was a member. He used to be higher up but chose to step down when Nova had come into his life. Since Melinda didn’t have the same healing as the Shifters, she’d been seen by a Shifter doctor before being locked up. Noah had stopped Hollyn before she could do any permanent damage to the bitch, although she deserved it for what she’d done to all those women.
Hollyn hadn’t slept much after the fight yesterday, but she couldn’t make herself get out of the bed. She loved the weight of Noah’s arm across her middle, the way his big body spooned up behind her, the way his muscular leg tangled with hers.
She could’ve lost him yesterday. She could’ve lost them all. And then there was the regret of losing her parents. Had she had the ability back then to stop what had happened to them? She knew she shouldn’t dwell on it, that she was just a child, but it would always stay in the back of her mind.
Hollyn pulled Noah’s arm tighter around her and thread her fingers through his. If it was up to her, they’d stay just like this for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, her body had other ideas. She had to use the bathroom and her stomach was growling.
“Wake up,” she whispered, turning just her head to try to look over her shoulder. Noah’s face was buried in her hair and pressed against the back of her neck, his breath warming the skin there.
He grunted but didn’t move.
“Your mate is hungry,” she said, hoping to appeal to his nurturing and protective nature.
That made him shift a little, but he just pulled Hollyn closer until the breath whooshed out of her. “Too tight,” she squeaked. She chuckled when Noah instantly reduced the pressure of his hold.
“Aren’t you hungry?” she asked, turning to face him now that he’d released his death grip on her.
“For you,” he grumbled, his eyes still closed.
“I’m starving.” She tried to slip out from under his arm, but he hooked his hand around her hip and dragged her back. He nuzzled his face against her neck again, his thick beard scratching and tickling her.
Hollyn squealed and giggled. Unfortunately, that encouraged him and he attacked her ribs with his fingers. When she was able to get out from under him and off the bed, the air left her lungs in a rush. He was so battered and scarred. There were fading bruises on his face, his arms, his chest. Silvery pink scars criss crossed almost every inch of his flesh from his neck down. He’d taken that beating to protect her.
“Do they hurt?” she asked, kneeling and running a finger along one of the puckered lines.
Noah’s eyes opened and he tucked his chin to watch her stroking the scar that would be nothing more than faint lines by tomorrow.
“Not really.”
“You could’ve died,” she breathed out, her eyes watering and blurring her vision.
“You wouldn’t have let that happen.” His voice was strong and confident, and a little scratchy with sleep. He rubbed the heel of his hands against his eyes and pushed up to lean against the headboard with a grunt and a groan. “You were amazing. My little bad ass,” he said with a slow smile.
“If I’d figured it out earlier, I could’ve avoided all of you getting injured.”
“If you’d never done it before, how the hell do you think you could’ve figured it out earlier. We heal fast, Hollyn. This is nothing,” he said, waving his hand down his body. “Should’ve seen us after Shawnee’s family Pride attacked.”
“I don’t want to think about that. And I never want to see you like this again,” she said, angrily swiping the tear that rolled down her face away with her fingertips.
Noah gently wrapped his fingers around her biceps and pulled her closer. When she was close enough, on her and knees, he cupped the back of her head and pressed a kiss to her lips. It wasn’t sexual. It was comforting. It was possessive. It was a reassurance that everything was fine now, they were safe and together.
He pulled away but stayed close enough his face was out of focus. “I love you so much,” he said.
As if a switch was flipped, all that fear and anger fled and was replaced by the warmth coming from Noah, the love he felt squeezing her heart.
“I love you more,” she said, sounding like Shawnee the first day they’d all met.
Pounding on their front door echoed through the house. Hollyn tensed, but Noah just growled and shook his head. Throwing the blankets off, he moved toward the bedroom door and threw it open hard enough for it to hit the wall and bounce off.
“What are you doing? Who is it?” Hollyn asked, jumping to her feet and yanking on her clothes.
Noah didn’t seem even a tiny bit nervous, which meant either he could hear whoever it was or scented them.
“Reed,” he said and stepped into the hallway.
“Wait! You’re naked,” Hollyn called, running after him as he pulled her shorts over her butt.
The fact he was about to answer the door with his junk flopping in the wind didn’t seem to phase him. He just yanked the door open and glared at Reed.
Reed instantly threw a hand up to
block the view. “Dude! Put on some pants.”
“What do you want?” Noah grumbled in that gruff tone he used with everyone but Hollyn.
“Here,” he said, thrusting a rather tall pile of DVDs at Noah while still keeping his eyes averted.
Noah continued to glare at Reed with his arms crossed over his chest. Hollyn knew her man was big, but seeing him standing in the doorway, his head barely a couple inches from the top of the frame, she finally realized she’d married a freaking giant.
“Thanks, Reed,” Hollyn said, taking the movies from him.
“I heard you didn’t have any movies. Shawnee said she had to loan you a few. I wasn’t sure what you were into, so I brought over a few different genres.”
Lola had told Hollyn all about her mate’s obsession with movies and that he’d named their daughter Grace after Grace Kelly. This was a moment Hollyn was grateful for his obsession.
“Oh! I haven’t seen that one,” Hollyn said as she skimmed over the titles.
Reed turned to say something, then turned his face to the side when he remembered Noah was naked. The Shifters were always naked around each other when they Shifted, but maybe it was the way Noah was glaring at him while buck naked that was making Reed so uncomfortable.
“If there’s anything else you’re in the mood for or a movie you’ve been wanting to see, just let me know. I’m sure I have it.”
“How do you have room for all those movies when you have a baby?”
Reed shrugged. “I rented a storage unit in town.” He said it as if it should be obvious and made Hollyn laugh. Reed looked at her this time, completely ignoring Noah. “I heard what happened. What you did. Thank you for protecting everyone. But next time, give us a call. You know we would’ve been here in a heartbeat to help you guys. They’ve helped us plenty of times,” he said, jerking his chin toward Noah.
That seemed to soften Noah a little and he dropped his arms and cupped himself in both hands. ‘Cause yeah, it took both hands to hide his man meat.
“I’ve got to get back. Lola and I are actually going on a date tonight, without all of Big River,” Reed said, his brows high as he smiled.
“Have fun,” Hollyn said.
Reed hesitated on the porch for another minute. He looked like he wanted to ask something or say something. But he just stepped forward and hugged Hollyn around the shoulders, earning a growl from Noah. He stepped back and Hollyn could’ve sworn his eyes looked a little misty.
“Seriously, though. Thank you. And I’m glad you’re okay. And still here. You’re part of this screwed up gang now,” Reed said. His grin got comically big and he practically bounced down the stairs and climbed into his truck. He put his hand out the window for one last wave as he bumped along the gravel drive and disappeared around the corner.
“He’s a weirdo, but he means well,” Noah grumbled, pulling Hollyn into the house so he could close the door.
“I can’t believe you answered the door naked. What if Lola had been out there with him?” she asked, plopping onto the couch and flipping through the foot tall stack of movies.
“I would’ve heard or scented her,” he said, confirming her earlier question.
Noah sat next to her and she suddenly had a hard time focusing on the DVDs. A naked Noah was something she would never be able to ignore. Hollyn leaned back, lifted his arm, and ducked underneath, resting her cheek on his chest and listening to his heart thump to the same beat as hers. She spread her fingers on his chest. Closing her eyes, she sighed with contentment. They’d made it. And maybe now that the jackasses who’d helped Melinda realized she wasn’t an easy target and had people who loved her and would fight for her, she might just be able to live her life without constantly looking over her shoulder.
And then maybe…
“What are you thinking about?” Noah asked. There was a smile in his voice.
“Why do you ask?” she replied without opening her eyes. She was just fine snuggled into his side and would prefer to stay right there for the rest of the day. Or at least until she could no longer ignore the hunger pangs.
“Because I just got a wave of excitement and your heart is beating a little faster,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head.
Hollyn pulled back and smiled when Noah pouted at the loss of her in his arms. “You’re going to think I’m crazy,” she said and wondered if her cheeks were pink.
His eyes bounced all over her face. “Tell me.”
She sucked her lips into her mouth and dropped her eyes as she wondered how he’d feel about what she had to say. “I was just thinking…since we know I’m not exactly a damsel in distress and have these super hero powers, and Melinda is no longer a threat, and those assholes probably aren’t stupid enough to come back…” She trailed off, the rest of the words stuck in her throat.
His eyes narrowed. “What?”
She picked up his big hand and played with his fingers. “I was just thinking…maybe it’ll be safe for us to have a family together.”
When Hollyn finally raised her eyes to his face, she almost melted. Noah’s eyes held the tiniest glow and they glistened.
“A family. Kids,” he said, his voice thick. She nodded. “You want to have babies with me? Even if we don’t know if they’ll be a bear or a Fairy or a mixture of the two?” She nodded again.
Noah grabbed her roughly and pulled her forward. She hit the warmth of his chest the same time his lips crashed down on hers.
He didn’t part his lips, didn’t touch hers with his tongue, just kept his lips smashed against hers, holding her so tight she once again had to push him away for a little air.
He released her just enough for her to look in his eyes, but kept his arms wrapped around her.
“I take that as a yes? You want to try for children with me?”
Noah stood and scooped her in his arms so fast she squealed and jogged toward the bedroom. “Hell yes,” he said as he dropped her onto the bed and began to peel her clothes from her.
She’d meant eventually, but who was she to stop her mate if he wanted to make love to her.
####
If you enjoyed Noah’s Fire, Lynn would be over the moon if you left a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. You can also find her on Facebook here.
About the Author
Lynn Howard lives in Cedar Hill, MO, where all her sexy Shifters exist. She lives and breathes hot Alpha males and sassy brassy females. She feels the most at home knee deep in mud and chicken muck and prefers to be outside under the stars, cuddled up under a blanket in front of a bonfire than in the big city.
When not typing away or feeding her chickens, you can find her fantasizing about hot country boys for her next book or wandering the woods in search of wildlife. She loves all animals and insects…except spiders. Her favorite foot accessory is barefoot and she owns at least twenty sets of salt-n-pepper shakers, yet only uses one.
Gray’s Wolf is the first in the Big River Pack series. And just like in Gray’s Wolf, there are more hot country boy Shifters just waiting to their turn for a little love and romance.
Reading Order
Big River Pack:
Gray’s Wolf
Micah’s Match
Emory’s Mate
Reed’s Girl
Tristan’s Voice
Blackwater Bears:
Colton’s Kitty
Noah’s Fire
Character Index
Big River Pack
Grayson (Gray) Harvey – Alpha – wolf
Micah Matthews– Second – wolf/coyote hybrid
Reed Peterson – wolf
Tristan – wolf
Peyton Mathes – wolf – mate to Tristan
Nova Harvey – wolf – mate to Gray
Callie Taylor – mate to Micah
Lola Braun – wolf – Reed’s mate
Blackwater Clan
Carter – bear
Colton Barnes – bear
Luke – bear
/> Noah – bear – owner of Moe’s Tavern
Shawnee Baker aka Fancy Pants – lioness – mate to Colton
Ravenwood Pride
Aron – Alpha – panther
Mason – panther
Brax – panther – brother to Daxon
Daxon – panther – brother to Brax
Deathport Pack
Anson – Alpha – wolf
Felix – Second – wolf
Barrett – wolf
Kaleb – wolf
Tanner – wolf
Tammen Pride
Rhett – Alpha – lion
Trever – lion
Brent – lion
Brian – lion
Chuck – lion – owner of Dodson’s Garage
Council Members
Alan Price – wolf - Nova’s biological dad
Frank – wolf – Colton’s dad
Hope Pride
Eli – lion - Alpha
Emory – wolf – Eli’s mate
Luna – lioness – sister to Eli
Amber – lioness
Petra – lioness
Remsen Pride
Jace – lion – Emory’s former mate
Morse Pack
Eric Branes – wolf – Second
Koda – Alpha
Carl Braun – wolf – Lola’s dad