His eyes

Two weeks later

The more she squirmed the harder his dick became. His arms were wrapped around her tightly, the heavy weight of her breasts resting over them. His mouth watered, incisors biting into the skin of his lower lip, claws threatening to rip free.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Edwards growled into her ear, his mind warring with his body to keep his shift at bay.

“I was walking,” came her clipped reply. “How about you? Is grabbing strange women a part of your regular routine?”

No, there was nothing routine about this. Edwards knew that for a fact. He’d been searching the woods, looking for something, following up on the feeling that had plagued him all afternoon. The one that had warned of danger.

And he’d found her.

Yet it was something else entirely clenching him at the throat just this second. Something so basic it might have been funny if he weren’t who he was and she weren’t where she should not have been.

He blinked once more trying to clear his mind of the thick haze of lust that was now blanketed there. He took a breath and almost faltered. Her scent, so potent and intoxicatingly sweet, wafted straight up and into his nostrils, as if it were meant solely for him. Instinctively, his arms tightened around her, the soft globes of her ass like a cushion to his powerful erection.

If she was afraid she was doing a damned good job of hiding it. As for her arousal, that wasn’t working too well for her. The scent of her dewy folds was what caused him to reach out and grab her close, to have the soft globes of her ass rubbing against his now-raging arousal.

Edwards held firm, grinding into her when she attempted to break away. The effort had him hissing through his teeth, and when she tilted her head to look back and up at him he almost moaned. Her eyes had glowed when she’d first turned to see him; hints of gold amidst the hazel color were bright and cunning in the seconds before he reached out and grabbed her. If her gaze had been meant to warn him of her anger and annoyance, he ignored it, opting to pull her back against him, enjoying the feel of her body against his for a second longer.

“You’re not from around here!” he snapped. “It’s dangerous to go traipsing around in someone else’s territory. Didn’t your alpha tell you that?”

She moved quickly, much faster than Edwards had expected, so that now she was facing him. But his reflexes were faster—much faster than even a lycan’s should be—and he kept hold of her at the waist, her breasts flush against his chest. Her hair was disheveled, long dark strands framing her face to give her a distinctively wild and wicked look. At her sides now his fingers clenched and unclenched as the unfamiliar ache to run them over her scalp, tangling his hands in the dark mass and pulling her head back, threatened to take charge. Her mouth would open as she gasped from shock and he would take her then, his lips on hers, tongue stroking the moist recess of her mouth.

He shook his head quickly, as kissing was not something that Edwards did often. It wasn’t something he’d ever wanted to do with any other woman, ever. Not in his dreams and certainly not in reality.

“No. I’m not from around here and I don’t have an alpha. Are you going to report me?” she asked in a voice that was equally husky and sensual, snippy and cheeky.

“You’re lucky I’m not the type to take and claim you for my own pack,” he replied, the real reason for his anger toward her finally reaching the surface.

Lycans as a whole were not a domesticated bunch. There was no doctrine of rules or any thoughts of fair play when it came to building the most powerful and lethal pack. The same type of reckless abandon laid the groundwork for their insatiable desires. Next to hunting, their lust was a ruling factor in their lives, especially on the night of the full moon.

That, most likely, was not the intent of their kind. Then again, when a species was born of a god’s selfish and arrogant rage it was no wonder said species didn’t see life through rose-tinted glasses. Instead, the descendants of Nyktimos who had been lucky enough not to live in the deceptively utopic world of Arcadia now roamed the earth either struggling to find their place or threatening to kill anyone who crossed their paths—namely, their own.

This too was a result of their unnatural birth into a world that was neither ready nor equipped to deal with them. Had the battle between Zeus and Lykaon not gone to the extremes of the god using his power to turn Lykaon into a wolf and killing all but one of the king of Arcadia’s sons, then maybe, just maybe, they would not be in the predicament they were in now. But Lykaon, angry and feeling hopeless in his newfound form, let jealousy overrule and bit his only remaining child, Nyktimos, turning him into a werewolf. In the vein of the apple not falling far from the tree, Nyktimos had taken his own anger and distress straight to the humans, settling in Seattle with the intent of wreaking havoc there, only to betray himself by falling in love with the most prohibited species—a human female—whom Nyktimos eventually turned into a lycan. From there the hybrid lycan was born and Edwards and his kind were doomed.

“I don’t give a damn about you or your pack!” Elaina snapped back at him, her stance and glare depicting nothing but distaste and disdain.

Her body, on the other hand, was sending off a totally contradictory vibe. She was aroused—there was no mistake—her body just about vibrated with the need. Her nipples had grown hard, brushing like tiny spikes over his chest, thighs trembling with the urge to be spread.

He wanted her.

And Edwards Trekas did not want anyone or anything.

“You will not be killed on my watch or my land. That’s not the kind of attention I wish to draw. So you’re coming with me,” he said, easily stepping away from the tree she had him backed against. The temporary entrapment had only come at his allowance. The fact that her turn of defiance had only succeeded in bringing her body even closer to his had been his sole reason for allowing it at all. As he had no intention of dropping to the ground and riding her until she begged for his permission to come, Edwards knew it was time to get them out of the open, out of the scenting range of any other pack looking for a bitch.

“I am not coming with you,” she said to his back, as he’d already begun to walk away. “I’m not a part of your pack, so I don’t obey your commands. I don’t obey anyone’s commands!”

The last was said with every bit of defiance that lived within that soft, curvaceous body of hers, and it might have been commendable if it were directed at her enemy and she were the alpha bitch of her own pack. But she wasn’t and Edwards was not a lycan to be toyed with or disobeyed.

Turning on her with the speed and agility only an alpha would possess, he lifted her clear from the ground, tossing her easily over his shoulder, and began his trek back through the woods to the lodge where he and his pack resided.

She squirmed, pounding her fists into his back, attempting to kick but for his arm wrapped tightly around the backs of her legs.

“Let me go, you idiot! You don’t own me! I’m not one of yours!” she screamed as he walked, her perfectly rounded ass rubbing against the side of his face.

On instinct Edwards lifted his free hand to smack that delectable globe. The sound echoed throughout the woods, or was that only in his ears? His body certainly had its own reaction to the sting of his palm against the softest ass he’d ever imagined.

He did not stop walking, nor did he stop thinking of slapping her ass again and again, his dick growing harder against his thigh and his mouth watering at the thought.

* * *

“Sonofabitch!” Elaina yelled and screamed and continued to fight back against what felt like a body of steel.

She knew the logic of what he’d said to her, had heard it just about every day of her life. So his saying it was not only tiresome and familiar, but it also really grated on that last shred of lycan patience she possessed. It had been one thing to hear this from her parents, another entirely to have him daring to speak to her that way when he didn’t even know her, and now he was carrying her around like they belonged in some pre-historic time.

And he’d smacked her ass!

That had been the clincher. No, actually, that had been the moment Elaina knew for certain she was in trouble. Because the action that should have enraged her to the point where she shifted and showed this alpha asshole just who she was and what she was about had instead aroused her to no end. Her vulva lips had pulsated, throbbing as the sting of his palm against her ass had sent spikes of pleasure throughout her body.

After he’d taken a few steps without even a hint of letting her go or another comment to keep their argument going, she figured she’d better rethink what she’d managed to get herself into this time.

She knew the rules; just like he’d said, he could “take and claim” her, and there would be no one to stop him and not much she could do about the situation. Except kill the sorry bastard!

Only something told her that wouldn’t be as easy as she thought, not with this one. His physical strength was obvious, the deep and commanding tone he spoke with another telltale sign that he was an alpha to his own pack. What she was having a hard time pinpointing was this aura that surrounded him. It had come quickly as she’d first glimpsed him, seconds before he’d grabbed her, holding her so tight against a very impressive arousal. In a flash it had been gone, or rather her attention had been focused elsewhere, but Elaina knew she’d seen it and now she wondered at what it had actually meant.

“Look, why don’t we try this,” she said, hating this vulnerable position she found herself in and not too keen on talking to his back either. “Put me down and we can talk like mature adults. Instead of resorting to these basic primal instincts that are bound to get us all killed one day.”

“I don’t plan on getting killed, or letting you get yourself killed. We can talk when we get to the house” was his clipped response.

He had spoken to her like he was talking to a child or one of the betas in his pack. No, she thought with a huff, even they would receive more respect than he was currently showing her. That’s simply how the packs worked and one of the big reasons she’d decided as she’d been traveling that she didn’t want to belong to another one. She had never cared for the hierarchy of the packs—the alpha male as the all-knowing ruler; his alpha female just as strong and smart but relegated to staying in the house and offering strategic hunting plans, not going out to hunt or defend with her pack; and the betas, male and female, who simply did what they were told, when they were told, no questions asked. She was an alpha female, which meant she was smart enough and strong enough to do anything any alpha male could. Besides, her mother had told Elaina there was more out there for her, more than simply being some alpha’s mate. And she dreamed of more.

At least she’d thought it was a dream, because when it was over she’d been sitting on the wet ground, her back against a huge tree, head swimming in dizzying circles. She’d been standing on a deck or a porch of some kind, looking out into the night as the calls of an enemy pack had sounded their arrival. The battle plan was hers, spoken in her voice, a commandment to whoever was there with her. And then she’d run, wild and free, cool air ruffling over the thick layer of lycan skin that covered her face once she’d shifted. She was going into the battle, claws extended, teeth bared, the alpha female ready to strike.

That scene had made her believe all that her mother had said even more strongly. It had, in fact, inspired Elaina to switch directions and to head to the Montana mountains instead of going farther south as she’d originally planned. Now she wondered if that had been a mistake after all.

“I didn’t plan on getting dragged off into the night,” she reluctantly admitted. “But we know what they say about the best-laid plans.”

Her mouth was going to get her into trouble. Her mother used to tell her that and Elaina had ignored her. It wasn’t her mouth at all, but her too-round ass, too-big boobs, and the notion that she should be able to select whom she would give both to, that’s what had gotten her into trouble. And now her mother was dead. Gone. Unable to help her only daughter in the time she’d needed her most.

Elaina’s fists balled once more, but she didn’t slam them into the alpha’s back. She didn’t open her mouth to curse at him or about what he was doing to her again. Instead, she clenched her teeth, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall, the self-pity that had begun to stalk her daily.

With one carefully aimed bullet Elaina had become the most wanted piece of ass in Seattle, and Penn, her father, still wrapped in his grief and thirst for revenge against those he thought responsible for Tora’s death, had done nothing to protect her. At least this alpha with his stony gaze, deep, authoritative voice, and the sexiest butt she’d ever seen had thought about her safety first.

Then he’d smacked her ass and the thought of her safety had slipped, no, dripped away as her vagina had immediately clenched at the contact, desire wetting her plump folds instantaneously. It shouldn’t have aroused her and she used the fact that in two weeks there would be a full moon to explain the reaction.

“You shouldn’t take me. Just leave me alone and I will be fine. I’ll steer clear of the forest,” she told him, knowing that was a lie. Even though she’d gone to human schools, done all the human teenager things—i.e., hanging out at the mall and going to boring as hell parties, then heading off to college, where she continued to do much of the same—the woods had always been home for Elaina. They were her shelter, the only place where she’d ever felt any real connection.

“I’ll do with you as I please,” he replied quickly, his tone clearly intending to leave no room for argument.

Again Elaina’s fists were clenching, so tightly her nails almost broke the skin of her palm. She struggled for calm, knowing it was necessary, especially in this situation. Because this was no ordinary lycan. Of that Elaina was certain. Any other alpha would have claimed her. It wouldn’t have been about keeping her safe, but more so about keeping her, period.

“I don’t belong to you,” she told him finally. “As a species living in a human world we have to dislodge this notion of taking whatever we want, dominating whoever we can, just because we believe it’s our right.”

Elaina half-expected him to drop her to the ground at that moment, looking at her with a mixture of bafflement and disgust just as Penn used to whenever she’d say these types of things to him. Her father was the alpha of a Hunter pack—which meant his sole purpose was to hunt those from the Devoted packs, the ones who were inclined to live in peace among the humans, while being certain not to cohabitate with them the way Nyktimos had. The Hunters believed in something totally different, they believed and craved total dominance, but to gain that they had to be rid of the Devoteds who would undoubtedly continue to preach their simplistic coexistence with the humans.

Penn hated not only that Elaina had wanted to study the lycans’ minds more deeply but also that she thought she could change his and the minds of the other Hunter packs with what he called “ridiculous words from human books.”

“Our world lives by different rules,” Penn had told her on one occasion.

“Rules of jealousy, vengeance, senseless killing and basic bullying,” she’d replied. “Not so different from the human world at all.”

“I’m not taking what I want; I’m protecting what I can,” the deep rumble of his voice yanked Elaina firmly from that memory.

“What if I don’t need your protection? What if I’m as strong as you and can do just about all the things you can?” she countered.

As if saying in response that he didn’t give a damn, his booted feet stomped upward. They were going up steps, although she could barely see them in the dark of night. She could scent, which worked better than vision for lycans anyway, to see if there were anything familiar about where he’d taken her. Instead, when she inhaled deeply her nipples tightened to painful peaks, her thighs clenching involuntarily, and confusion quickly set in.

“You are nothing like me. I can stake my life on that fact,” he said only seconds before dropping her to her feet.

Elaina struggled momentarily to land upright and not flat on her back. The book bag she’d hastily stuffed all her belongings in threatened to pull her down anyway. Righting herself, she took a precautionary step back. But in seconds realized that precaution meant absolutely nothing.

A light had come on, probably sensor motivated, and she could see that she was standing on a wooden porch. She could also see that the alpha standing in front of her—more like towering over her—was unlike any lycan she’d ever seen before. He was more than six feet tall, she knew because she was five feet nine inches tall herself and she still had to crane her neck upward to see into his eyes.

His skin was the tone of melted butter, smooth and taut over the bulging muscles of his biceps, his neck, his legs. He stood with his legs parted, his arms at his sides, fingers opened wide, ready to release his deadly claws if need be. He had a strong, clean-shaven jaw, a light mustache, and a bald head. He wore Lycra, shorts that fit his thighs and that toned ass and a shirt that melded over what she knew would be a perfectly sculpted upper body. He looked equally fierce and drop-dead gorgeous and she gulped in an attempt to keep her composure.

“I’m going to take you inside,” he told her, taking another step toward her, closing the small space she’d managed to put between them.

“And you’re going to sit down and tell me exactly why you were in my woods.”

Her breathing came in quick pants now, desire pooling in the pit of her stomach like molten lava. She licked her lips, saw his gaze dip lower, then quickly pulled her tongue back inside. He appeared too good to be true, tall, strong, an alpha bent on protecting his alpha female … only she wasn’t his and this was the last place she wanted to be.

“And what if I don’t?” she taunted, refusing to give in to the arousal that had already taken over her body and was now ready for her brain to join the party.

He took another step, pressing his body flush against hers, reaching his hands around to grip the globes of her ass, pulling her so that she went up on tiptoe with a sharp intake of breath.

She couldn’t help it; a little gasp sounded with his motion. Elaina wasn’t sure if it was those damned pleasure spikes shooting through her body from the point where his hands again made contact with her ass or the quick flash of bright blue in his eyes. At any rate, she couldn’t speak, could barely do anything more than stare and wonder.

“Then I’ll have no choice but to punish you for being disobedient. Is that what you want, lýkaina?”

Again words were just lost. Her mother would never believe it, but Elaina’s mouth remained closed. Until he moved in closer. When she didn’t immediately respond he leaned in even farther. “Do you want me to spank you until you come?” he asked, his lips brushing the lobe of her ear, her mound rubbing flush against the thick length of his erection. “How quickly would you come if I did?”