Rose tore along the shoreline, following Jules’ scent. Where were they? Jules was in danger. These two weren’t what they seemed. If they were, then they still weren’t safe. If her father and Jack were out to get them. Where were they?
She could hear Ty pursuing her. He’d shifted into the largest wolf she’d ever encountered, and her father was large. Ty, she was sure, was larger. He followed her and was gaining on her each time she looked back. Gods, what was she going to do?
She rode her panic attack mostly and tried to think logically. It wasn’t working. Suddenly, Ty was running beside her. As his wolf, he wasn’t even out of breath, while she ran full out.
He made contact with her side. Knocking her off her feet. He was on top of her in no time. His jaws on the back of her neck. Ty could snap her neck like this, but he just held her in place. Growling each time, she squirmed under him.
Rose soon realized if he’d wanted her dead, she would be. Her resistance slowed, and he finally released her. His growl rolled over her from head to toe. He was so close to her. She shuddered, knowing what he wanted. He was demanding she change form back to human. To end this and appease his nature, she shifted. Putting herself into a very vulnerable spot. With her heart racing, she felt him shift and lay his very naked body over hers. Pinned down, she could only listen.
“Good girl, my love. You listen very well. Now, you have nothing to fear from me. It’s your father and his people you need to worry about. With me, you’ll be safe. I give you, my word.”
“I can leave, I have plans. You don’t need to kidnap me and I’m not your mate.” Rose wanted him to admit he was getting ahead of himself. “I only met you yesterday, for crying out loud.”
He put his nose behind her ear and loudly drew in a prolonged smell. “I would say otherwise. If I touched you, would my fingers find your need for some… intimate care?” She couldn’t see his self-satisfied smile, but she could hear it.
“What do you mean?” She gasped when he instead showed her. His knee slid between her thighs and his fingers caressed her inner thighs. She panted in eager response to his touch.
“See. You are more than ready for me. Gods, I want to risk everything for this.” Rose felt the same urge. She wanted more. Rose struggled to resist, begging him for more. Rose couldn’t believe how her body responded. This wasn’t her normally. No, it was her discovering what it meant to find her mate and trigger her first heat.
Ty shifted off her just enough for him to caress her hip and belly. It flooded Rose with sensations and emotions. Thrilling and panicking at the same time. If he’d triggered her first heat, he was her true mate, and her heat would trigger his until they both were satisfied. Gods, she was trouble.
With only his hand touching her, she scrambled away from him. Missing his fingers as soon as they were gone. She shifted again, as quickly as she could. It was painful shifting so close to the last time. That’s why you only did it like this in battle and she wasn’t a fighter. That meant she didn’t have the skill practiced enough to avoid the pain.
Rose heard him growl as he, too, shifted and gave chase. She needed to talk to Jules. She needed the one person in the world she could trust.
Ty was right behind her. She could hear the ground cover shift under the weight of his running steps. Her sense of smell could pick up scents everywhere. That included fresh scents. Scent she was sure came from both of them. Could it be the scent of her mating heat? Gods, she wasn’t ready for that. Not yet. She had to get away from her father’s control first. Didn’t she?
They ran through the forest. She wasn’t sure which way she went, toward the packhouse or away from it. She just ran, looking for Jules. The knowledge that of her mate chasing her and her indecision as if she should let him kidnap her was frightening to Rose.
She needed a sign, any sign. What should she do? Did she believe him and let him take her? Or did she risk her father wrath? Her father was rumoured to be a monster hiding as a saint. Rose didn’t feel confident with either decision. Though, if Ty wanted her dead, she would already be.
In her distracted state, Rose missed the fact that Ty was herding her somewhere. She didn’t know where he was forcing her to go, but he wasn’t showing any anger. In fact, he acted like this was a great game he was winning at.
Rose understood soon enough when a dark green SUV came into view a distance away. The door opened and there sat Jules and Ben in the far back seat. She looked scared and desperate when she called Rose’s name. Rose was so confused by her conflicted emotions, she jumped into the SUV. She couldn’t do much saving when the SUV became a tight fit when Ty jumped in behind her. There was no room.
“For crying out loud, shift!” Ben yelled as he slammed the side door shut. “Go Jay. Get out of here. We’ll sort this out.”
This forced her to shift again, back into a naked human. Ty followed suit as Ben forced the door closed, and it took the choice Rose had from her. The SUV moved, driven by someone Rose didn’t know, but recognized seeing around town. She figured Ben was talking to the driver and his name was Jay.
“Gods, we’re in so much trouble.” Jules said as she shifted in the seat behind Rose.
“You’re both safe right now.” Ty stated to her as he accepted a couple of blankets from Ben. “This is all part of the plan.”
“So, your message said you wanted to show me something?” Jules left Rose at the lake. Ty was with her. She’d be safe while Jules followed Ben’s lead. He smiled and gently took her down the shoreline. “Just a little farther, love. You’ll never want for anything again.” Ben’s deep voice promised so much that it sent shivers of excitement down her spine. “Kiss me again. Gods, your voice just fires me up.” She turned toward him, and he picked her up. He presented her back to the rough back of a tree as she wrapped her thighs about his waist. Gods, she felt so different. So free and powerful. Jules gasp when she realizes she could feel Ben respond to their now intimate embrace. “Be careful, little witch. You might not like where this ends. I’m not playing games.” Ben’s lips were exploring hers, demanding more each time she gave up a little more. She couldn’t help but bury her fingers at the base of his dirty blonde hair. Jules loved the soft feel of his
Ty struggled with so many people near Rose right now. She’d got him going and he just wanted to go down on her something fierce. The mating heat between them was showing and he couldn’t be happier. Rose was his key to getting the Hollow Wood Pack back without a return to the wars. She was the current Alpha’s daughter and Russell didn’t have any sons. That meant he either gave his pack away to another, or he makes his daughter’s mate the next Alpha. It seemed like a nice and ironic outcome to Ty. He got the beauty beside him and the pack. Russell got nothing in the end, because Ty would make sure that Russell learned exactly what it felt like for his father to be burned alive. He knew it made him no better than Russell, but it would end there. Rose would be with him, and their pups would fear for nothing. The wars would truly be over and done with. Being in heat complicated things. Ty knew there were pack injured to look after. Russell’s men chose to rough them up. It was done to
The vehicle pulled up to the entrance of the small packhouse. It wasn’t much, but they weren’t a big outfit yet. The Shadow Pack was selective about who they allowed in, because there wasn’t room for egos or selfish fools. “We’re here. Come on, we’ll show you around. Let you meet the guys.” Everyone piled from the vehicle as Ben announced this. However, it all came to a stop when a guy ran down the front steps to meet them. “Ty, we have a bit of a situation inside that needs your undivided attention.” He came to a stop, looking very flustered. “We’ve tried to keep them out of the way and quiet, but they’ll only talk to you.” “Eric, what are you talking about?” Ty tried to figure out what Eric was talking about in such a vague fashion. It wasn’t easy with how distracted he was by the blanket covered minx beside him. She wasn’t giving him an inch to work with, and he was desperate to get her in private. The blanket he held up around himself wasn’t hid
The small group followed Ty up the few stairs into the packhouse. It was chaos. Clearly, they were moving into the space. Boxes and bags were everywhere, and the furniture needed to be setup properly in the building. Large men were busy dealing with this, while in what Rose believed would be the dining room, a group of people she knew very well grumpily harassed several other men. The men didn’t respond; they stood there as if they were on guard and didn’t answer anyone’s insistent questions. She had to be careful not to get the blanket caught on anything on the way there. “What is going on here?” Ty didn’t waste a moment. His tone went straight to that of an alpha. It told everyone in the room, he would not accept any back talk or disrespect. The fact he wore only a blanket didn’t matter a bit. What Rose liked was that he chose not to focus that tone on an individual. He used it to take command of the room and to cut through the chaos. “Why are you all here? Can you not see
Rose let Tyler guide her through the packhouse. She didn’t remember this place being here before, but it didn’t smell like new construction. What pack used this as their home? Where had they gone? She was pondering this as he guided her up the stairs and into an apartment at the end of the corridor. The place was massive and looked like it was in fairly good condition. The apartment itself was fully furnished and ready to live in. “When the guys realized I was bringing you home, they insisted on having this ready for you.” “The guys? A pack of rogue male wolves thought to have a place for me to sleep ready. Now, I can safely say I’ve heard everything.” Rose raised an eyebrow and looked over her shoulder with a slight smile. She dared him to continue claiming that story as the truth. “We are far from animals, Rose. You’ll find we’re quite reasonable and civilized. Though if you keep looking at me, like I might not stay civilized.” A lazy feral smile
They were mating. Rose didn’t care about anything but how right this felt. Ty leaned over her now and her nose was buried in the base of his throat. Her senses were on overload. His chest kept her breasts wanting more, his shaft pushed her core toward new heights of pleasure. His hands held her wrists on either side of her head. Ty’s head was against her throat. She could feel his wolf so close to the surface as it drew hers out. “Not like this. We aren’t a couple of humans. We’re going to do this right.” Suddenly he pulled away and was moving her. She barely had time to register the hollow abandoned feel of him leaving her body open, exposed, and wanting. “Ty. Please! I need to end this.” “Not yet. Soon, baby. I’ll give it to you like you really need it.” No guy was ever this dominate with her before this, and she thrilled at knowing he planned more. Ty placed her on her hands and knees, her buttock up and her thighs wide. Then he was back
Ty opened the door, unhappy at being interrupted. What greeted him on the other side was the last thing he expected. Ben stood there with just as unhappy a look on his face as he had. “What’s wrong now? We’re busy. Is the packhouse on fire?” “No, but your uncle is asking for permission to enter your territory to talk to you about something. Before you ask, he won’t say, and he doesn’t look thrilled.” “Bad timing. Fine, she’s asleep, anyway. I’ll leave her a note. This better not take long. What does he want now? Stay there. I just need some pants.” Ty left Ben at the door. He took a notepad from the nightstand and wrote a note for Rose. With it on the pillow beside her in case she woke up, he left the room and followed Ben. “What did you do with Jules?” “I may have locked her in my room. Just like you, only she wasn’t asleep. I’m surprised we can’t hear her yelling at me through the door still. I guess the apartments are soundproof for each
Ben stayed back well out of the way of the two alphas as they argued on the front lawn of their new packhouse. Ty at least gave a good show of strength, even if some of what he was standing up for was iffy. But Ben could only tell him so many times before it became nagging or fear mongering. However, who would have thought that both girls would be their mates, and he dreaded going up there to him? She was not happy with him right now for locking her in his apartment. That temper of hers would be fun to turn into passion. Yup, he was smitten really good. Ty’s uncle finally left with a nod to Ben, and an angry huff for Ty. Nothing really was solved by his visit. But at least now they’d gotten a warning out to the town and local packs to prepare for this war. Ben’s mind went in several directions with thoughts of security, among other things. He’d need to speak to Jay and make sure that there were enough people on guard duty at all times. It wasn’t just the mai