The same

“I don’t need a teacher,” she called after him, following him through the dining and living rooms and into an extended hallway.

He took long, deliberate strides with his shoulders squared, authority oozing from his every pore. As agitated as that made her, she had to admit he looked damned good doing it.

As the lycan had roared behind her in the kitchen she’d known it was him and had not been afraid but intrigued. Alphas possessed practiced control over their shifts, so why, when she turned around, had she looked right into the bright blue eyes of his wolf? Even with his teeth fully bared, hair where there normally was none, and his muscled legs spread wide in the prepared-to-fight stance, he’d awakened something inside her. Something that had immediately sat up and taken notice. It was arousal and a little bit more, which again irritated the hell out of her.

Now he had the audacity to be ignoring her, which only pushed more of her buttons. What was it about this guy that had her so ready to yell with consternation one minute and more than eager to pant with desire the next? She’d asked herself that question too many times throughout the night. And now here she was following him to who-knew-where, to do only he knew what. She hated the act of following altogether, hated the implications, and yet she couldn’t turn away.

Besides, if she did turn away, where was she going to go? Channing had told her that not only were all the doors in the lodge on that electronic lock system, but so were the windows. In addition, there was a perimeter monitor that would also alert them to strangers approaching their property. There were cameras outside the house, heat sensors along the floorboards of the front porch and upper and lower back decks. The trees were another source of security, lodgepole and ponderosa pine so tall and thick the only way to see the lodge was if someone knew it was there from overhead. In essence, it was a well-guarded fortress, one she found herself trapped in.

Temporarily.

She would figure a way out; she had to. But first, she had to put this guy in his place once and for all. Sure, he was right in that he was the alpha of this pack; she couldn’t deny that and generally wanted to respect it. He just kept pushing her, kept saying things and looking at her like she was … like he wanted to— She huffed and stopped right there, trying to get herself together.

Stop thinking. You’re wasting your energy on things you cannot change.

“Stay the hell out of my head” was her quick retort just as he stopped in front of two double doors.

He turned to her partially, his silhouette just as breathtakingly perfect as the rest of him. He wore jeans today, dark denim that looked as if it had been cut and sewn perfectly over his sculpted physique. His shirt was royal blue, fitted to his skin just like the one he’d worn yesterday. At his wrist was a watch, silver, on his right ring finger a ring. The alpha insignia ring that Elaina knew from tradition was passed down to the eldest alpha son of each family.

“Stop stalling. If there’s something you want bad enough, figure out how to make it happen. Lesson one, learn how to keep me and any other lycan out of your thoughts,” he said in a crisp, stern tone before pushing through the swinging doors knowing she would continue to follow him. Gritting her teeth, she did so, determined to not back down from him and his high-handed demeanor. And not to let those smoldering dark as night eyes excite her each time he looked her way. One of those tasks was going to be a lot harder than the other to achieve, she thought as she walked through the doors.

“Sit down over there,” he told her as he moved around the room.

“I know how to block mindchatter,” she told him. “My mother taught me.”

He turned to glance at her, a marginal look of shock on his face. “Your mother taught you how to hone your alpha skills?”

“Yes, she did,” Elaina told him. That had been a mother’s job; Elaina was certain that was a lycan tradition. Why that caused him pause she had no idea.

“What else did she teach you?”

“Everything I needed to know,” Elaina replied.

He raised a brow. “You sure about that?” Edwards asked before continuing his trek across the room.

The room looked like one of the state-of-the-art gyms that cost a small fortune in membership fees every month. She remembered a place like this back in Seattle. Its industrial-carpeted floors and intimidating-looking equipment pulling her into the most competitive environment she’d ever been forced into. It had been two months after her mother’s death when Penn had unceremoniously snapped, “You need to get in shape if you hope to get claimed!”

Elaina had immediately bristled at his words because being claimed wasn’t something she had been looking for, especially if he was talking about her being claimed by one of the members of his pack. There was nothing attractive to her about Dallas, Cody, Milo, or Kev. Each of them was just as ignorant as the other. But one was clearly meaner and more determined than the others to rule. Elaina had found that out the hard way.

“Look, my mother was great. She did everything she was supposed to do.” And yet she’d been gunned down like a rabid animal, Elaina thought with a pang to the center of her chest that almost took her breath away. “Besides, I’m almost positive that a workout is not going to keep you out of my head,” she said, still looking around, searching for a possible exit.

There was none, she realized after a full survey. There were four of everything in here, treadmills, ellipticals, weight benches. Mirrors lined one full wall, while tinted windows filled the other right across. The two smaller walls housed shelves with towels and hand weights, tension bands, and more gym paraphernalia; two rows of drawers were at the bottom of each set of shelves.

That’s where Edwards was standing. All the way toward the back of the gym, staring down at one of the drawers he’d opened. Elaina walked that way, passing several pieces of equipment, her feet silent on the carpeted floor.

“You’re right; a simple workout is not what you need. This is a more serious lesson, one of many that you’ll need to enter this next phase of your life. Take a seat,” he told her, still in that restrained and authoritative tone. Only this time it was tinged with what she thought might be a touch of agitation.

He acted as if she’d done something to him, not the other way around, which was simply ridiculous. After all, he’d gotten her to stay the night here and if she was being totally realistic it looked as if this was where she would be for the foreseeable future. In addition, he’d had the pleasure of knowing all he had to do was say some dirty words and she’d masturbate for him on command. Remembering that moment caused her cheeks to warm, humiliation bubbling inside of her. And he hadn’t mentioned last night at all, making her even more embarrassed by the arousal she still felt when he was around. All of which, combined with her obstinate nature, had her remaining perfectly still where she stood.

When Edwards turned to her, his eyes flashed the mystical blue glare of the lycan and she took a quick, defensive step back. It was only a flash of light, perhaps meant to do exactly what it had done, put a bolt of fear inside of her. Now she was pissed. “I’m not afraid of you,” she told him.

“Good!” he snapped. “Now, I want you right there, on that bench. Sit.”

His muscles looked even more pronounced, the dark slashes of his eyebrows above his now-normal eyes giving him a wicked aura. Suddenly his words didn’t just seem like words anymore; they raked over her body like the softest of fingers even though they were spoken in the harshest of tones. She should just leave. Elaina knew when to cut her losses; she wasn’t a total idiot. And yet again she did not move.

“How does taking orders from you help me gain control?” she asked.

This time, he came to her. His arms down by his sides, his gaze locked on hers as he approached.

“An alpha, whether male or female, needs to have complete control over their own mind, their thoughts, and their needs.” He spoke slowly, as if he were reading from a manual but believing wholeheartedly every word that he said. “Emotion drives you, Elaina. Every thought you have, every step you take, is guided by your emotions. I’ve been told by some that’s not a bad thing. As long as you have control. Not having that is going to slow you down. It’s going to prevent you from becoming what and who you really are.”

He continued moving toward her, with every step Elaina moved back, until the weight bench bumped the backs of her legs.

“If you want to learn, you will take a seat,” he said to her, his warm breath fanning over her forehead as she looked up at him.

She felt flush all over, just as she did each time he came close to her, each time he looked at her. Dammit, she wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him down for a kiss. A greedy, hot kiss, the kind she’d dreamed about but never really experienced. Then she’d wrap her legs around his waist and sighed heavily as he thrust deep into her waiting pussy.

“Why do you care if I learn this control or not? And why should you be the one to teach me?” she asked, her chin tilted in defiance.

He looked as if he could not believe she was, one, still standing and, two, questioning him as if she had some authority.

“You will never be safe from what or who you are running from without the ability to control the situation. I have that control. It’s what I do and who I am. Which makes me the best teacher you could ever find.”

“Confident, are we?” she quipped.

“Most definitely” was his immediate reply. “And soon you will be too.”

He’d been standing so close, smelling so delicious, that Elaina had forgotten what the hell they were discussing. Her gaze had fallen to his lips, watching as he spoke how they moved, the quick peak of his tongue, and her breathing increased, her nipples tightened, breasts growing fuller with need.

What she really wanted right now was for him to fuck her. It was that simple and at the same time that strange. Sex with a partner had never been high on her list of priorities. She’d learned how to bring her own pleasure a long time ago. But that pleasure had paled in comparison to what she’d felt last night with Edwards’s voice in her head, her fingers firmly ensconced in her pussy. That was a dangerous realization she knew but could not deny. He said she needed to learn control, and since her thighs were now quaking, her pussy throbbing with need, she agreed that he might be right. Blinking slowly, feeling as if she’d been drugged, Elaina felt her legs bending, her body lowering to the bench until she was sitting.

“Lie back,” Edwards continued.

Elaina hesitated only a second before doing as he said, lying back on the bench so that her upper body was reclined, her feet still flat on the floor, legs bent at the knees as the bench ended there.

He moved quickly then, taking one of her wrists and lifting it upward. She turned, only to frown as she saw him using a stress band to bind her wrist to the weight holder beside the bench.

“Wait? What are you doing?” This wasn’t what she’d thought would happen next. How would she have control if she was tied down?

“Trust me,” he said as if that task were as simple as night and day.

“Are you kidding me?” she snapped back, yanking at her arm.

Edwards was fast; he had that band secured in seconds. It was tight but not painful.

“That’s not how I work,” he replied firmly.

“Well, I’m not your job,” she continued her protest as he reached for the other arm.

Elaina moved futilely, yanking so hard this time her shoulder screamed in pain.

He’d already tied her by then, so he rested a hand over her shoulder, heat pooling in that spot immediately.

“Relax,” he said, staring down at her.

He was so close and yet, she sensed, so damned far away. His eyes were growing dark again, his jaw firm, his lips barely parted. He smelled like man and beast and everything in between. His power surrounding him like a cloak and thus pulling at her, wrapping around her body and her mind as well. Her legs shook the second she thought about kicking at him as if in warning for her not to even try it.

“If I tell you to do something you do not want to do, you tell me to stop. But do not deny what you know deep down that you want simply out of fear of the unknown. Embrace the courageousness of your alpha spirit. It’s the most powerful part of you.”

And most likely the craziest thing Elaina had ever heard, but her body was already making its own decisions, leaving the questions whirling around in her mind in the dark. She didn’t give any sign of acquiescence, but she did not resist again. Not when that hand slid from her shoulder, down to cup her breast. His hand remained still, not groping or grabbing, simply holding as if it might have been a prized possession.

Up and down her chest moved, her other breast aching to be touched like its partner. He wasn’t in her mind, she knew, because she felt totally alone there but for her own thoughts. But his other hand moved to the twin orb as if he’d heard her speaking of its need. He held both her breasts, squeezing lightly this time. When she looked down it was to see his light-complexioned hands in stark contrast to the hot pink of her shirt, overflowing with the weight of her breasts.

For one instant, a quick pang in her senses, she felt like it was too much, like she was too much, physically, that is. Old doubts breaking through the dark like beacons. What if he didn’t like what he was feeling? What if her size disgusted him?

No, she thought as he grunted, his face twisting as if he was confused. He wasn’t disgusted. What if he was aroused?

Edwards pulled his hands slowly away from her, not as if he’d been burned and hated the sensation, but slowly, almost reluctantly. He moved quickly again, this time tying her ankles to the legs of the bench. Elaina was shaking now, wondering what would happen next, wondering if she’d actually be able to find part of what she’d been looking for all her life.

When she felt his hands at her waist, pulling down her pants and panties, she stiffened. He did not stop, simply kept pulling the garments down her legs until they were at her ankles, similar to the way she was last night. Only then she’d been in the privacy of that room, alone, but for Edwards’s words in her mind.

“How is this … what are you going to do … I mean, I don’t understand,” she spoke quickly, the words tripping and tumbling from her lips.

“Trust me,” he told her once more.

Elaina didn’t know trust. She thought she had, when her mother had been alive, but Penn and his pack had taken all that away from her. She trembled with that memory, with the darkest one of all, biting on her bottom lip to keep from screaming that she wanted Edwards to stop whatever he was doing, to get the hell off of her and let her go. That was the fear clawing at her, that dark ban of betrayal that had so recently ascended over her life. She didn’t want to feel that again. Didn’t want to put herself in the position to be so egregiously let down. But, she realized, she needed to see where this lesson would lead so much more than she wanted to protect herself. She wanted to know if there truly was a power inside of her that would keep her safe.

Edwards’s hands were warm as he slowly pushed them up her legs, over her calves, cupping her knees, along her thighs. Elaina shivered, her body tingling with heat that traveled like sparks throughout her entire body.

“The moment I do something that you do not want or that hurts you, all you have to do is say ‘Please.’ That’s your safe word, Elaina. Just say it and I will stop,” he told her. “You can control every bit of this moment.”

She wasn’t so sure about that.

Elaina couldn’t control the excited thumping of her heart or the involuntary quivering of her thighs as his hands had moved upward, his thumbs just whispering along the crease of her legs. When he applied the barest but most titillating pressure she opened her legs wider, as if knowing that’s exactly what he wanted her to do.

“That’s a good little lýkaina,” he whispered.

She clenched and unclenched her fingers, taking a deeper breath, closing and reopening her eyes. When she looked at him this time and saw the hungry way in which he was looking down at her, Elaina wanted to come right then and there.

“So pretty,” he was saying as he continued to stare at her pussy. “So pretty and so wet because you want to fuck.”

It was an unpretentious statement, a candid and lurid one that had her pussy pulsating, dripping with even more desire, embarrassing her just a smidgen more. She felt her cheeks warming and shifted slightly, not used to being so totally open to anyone’s perusal—and ultimate scrutiny—before.

“Ah, that’s not nice. Don’t try to hide from me. This is exactly what I want to see,” Edwards continued, this time using his thumbs to separate the plump lips of her vagina until she could hear the slickness of her own desire.

“Just relax and let me see. Let me see how good you’re going to be.”

He stroked his fingers up and down her slit and she trembled, gasping at how hot the fact that he was touching and watching her so intently made her feel. It was all about sensation at that moment. The tendrils of heat spreading throughout her body with the gentle touch of his fingers. He said he wanted to explore and yet she was the one feeling as if she was on some type of journey. As he circled around her clit, not touching the tight nub, but spreading her slickness all around it, she’d hissed in a breath, her eyes closing momentarily with how good that very simple motion felt. Around and around his fingers went, as if he was not only stirring her rapidly producing juices but also churning something else deep inside her. She felt it approaching like a door had just been opened, the first tentative rays of light just able to seep through. When he slipped a finger deep inside her pussy, Elaina bucked up off the table, the sensations having quickly grown intense. Used to only having her smaller fingers there, she was tight, and she gasped when another of Edwards’s fingers slid alongside the first.

“That’s right, open for me, my lýkaina. Stretch around my fingers, so hot and so tight,” he whispered. “All that sweet nectar,” he continued. “All that loveliness you have to give.”

Elaina’s head moved frantically from side to side. On instinct her arms yanked at the restraints as she desperately wanted to grab the back of Edwards’s head and push his mouth down over her waiting mound. She’d seen the act done and had often wondered how it felt, but she’d never had a man eat her pussy before. Never thought she would crave it like air, until this very moment.

So when Edwards abruptly pulled his fingers from her she wanted to cry, which made the sob that escaped her only natural and mortifying at the same time.

Shhhh. I won’t leave you like this, sweetheart. I won’t let you go.

His words were spoken so softy, just along the edges of her mind where the intense desire had already begun to take over. It was like last night, but stronger. He hadn’t commanded this reaction as he seemed so eager to direct everything else, but his words, his voice alone, had changed something in this moment, something Elaina couldn’t quite explain.

Take me slowly, he continued. So slowly.

He was inserting two fingers inside her now, two thick and powerful fingers that filled her so completely she wanted to melt right there in his hands. In response her muscles clenched tighter, gripping his fingers as if trying to lock him inside. To hold on to this full and completely delectable feeling for as long as she possibly could.

Do you feel me inside you, Elaina? Do you feel me filling you?

Yes! she replied immediately. Yes!

With the pad of his thumb he touched her ultrasensitive clit and immediately jerked upward against him. Her body hummed with sensation now, her arms and legs shaking as quick breaths slipped through her lips. Tension spread quickly, the need to find her release of upmost importance.

Do you want me to stop? he asked abruptly, his fingers still strumming her like a master guitarist.

No! she yelled. Hell no!

You want me to keep on until you come, don’t you? Yes! Please! He stopped then, pulling his hand out of her immediately, and Elaina’s eyes flew open, waves of panic surfacing the second that connection was broken. “What … what are you doing?”

“I told you that ‘please’ was your safe word. You said it, so I stopped,” he stated as plainly as if he were giving her the time of day.

She gulped, letting his words register. “No. That’s not what I meant.”

“Say what you mean, lýkaina. Mean it with everything in your heart and soul. If you want me or anyone else out of your head, you shut us out. You give the command and it will be so. Take the control of all aspects of your life in the same manner,” he instructed her.

Do you understand? he asked after endless seconds of her breathing heavily, trying desperately to figure out what the hell was going on.

Answer me, lýkaina. Tell me—

His words were cut off, just as quickly and succinctly as the pleasure he’d taken from her when he removed his masterful fingers from her pussy.

Elaina held his gaze then, feeling triumphant at the immediate silence in her head.

“Good girl,” Edwards said. “Good job, my hot little lycan. Now tell me what you want. Tell me what I can give to you.”

“I want to come,” she immediately admitted in a breathy whisper. Then with more strength and clarity she added, “Can you make me come, Edwards?”

He shook his head and Elaina sucked in a breath.

“Ask me can you come,” he told her. “Ask me and wait for my permission to do so.”

Elaina immediately chafed at his words. She was an adult, one who was capable of bringing herself to climax—when she wasn’t tied down and thus rendered virtually helpless.

“Ask me?” he prompted.

“How am I learning control, if that control only comes at your command?”

He didn’t immediately reply but brought his fingers to his lips, licking each one from the base to its tip.

“Sweet and satisfying,” he said, and she realized with a rush of moisture between her legs that he was tasting her.

Her thighs trembled and she licked her lips.

“I know that it’s burning inside you. The need so strong and potent sometimes you can barely think straight. You will not be able to deny it much longer, nor will you be able to slake it on your own as you tried to last night. It is in your control to quench your tremendous thirst, Elaina. All you have to do is ask.”

Elaina didn’t know what to say or how to say it. How did she ask a man she’d just met for permission to do something with her own body? Was this who she really was in the end? And if so, why hadn’t she been able to submit to the will of what Penn and his beta had planned for her?

Edwards remained silent, his gaze going back to her pussy causing more ripples of desire to fill her body until she thought she might actually combust from this need.

The words sounded foreign, but before she could give that any more thought his fingers were on her clit, pinching the tightened bud until she yelled his name. He held right there, the sting of pain radiating throughout her pussy, up her body, to settle in heated spirals in her breasts.

“Damn you, Edwards! I asked the question!” she yelled at him.

He released his hold on her leaning so close she almost climaxed at the very sight of his face so near the clit that begged for his attention.

“Only when I say so,” he told her. “Only then.”

Before Elaina could reply this time Edwards blew a whisper-soft breath over her. Elaina tensed all over, shivering like putty in this man’s hands.

Those devilish fingers snaked inside her once more, this time working with fierce intensity in and out of her opening, coaxing and guiding her to release. Elaina felt like she was flying. High above the mountains she’d loved so much, she soared, her body busting with the tingling sensations of pleasure. She licked and bit her bottom lip in equal intervals, her fingers clenched so tight she was sure to have broken her own skin. Her mind was void of any reasoning, logic, or planned reactions. All she could see, hear, and breathe was him and the moment he would allow … the second he would finally say:

“Come, lýkaina. Clutch me deeper inside you and give me all your sweet nectar. Come for me, now!”

Elaina thought she felt his hand trembling inside of her. She might have even imagined a bead or two of sweat on Edwards’s brow. Those thoughts melted away as the tidal wave of release hit her full force. Her body shook and trembled, her essence gushing out of her so that she could hear his fingers drowning in the outpouring as she continued to work them deep inside her.

It seemed like an eternity that she lay bucking and moaning on that table, her body still shaking in the aftermath of that powerful release. She was afraid to open her eyes at first, afraid this might have been one tortuously delicious dream.

Only she knew that it wasn’t. This was real; every one of her heightened senses could attest to that. And so she did open her eyes and with a start saw that Edwards was staring at her. His human eyes boring into hers as if he was searching for something that only she possessed.

She wondered what she should say. Not only was this the morning after for them; it was also the after of the most soul-shattering release she had ever experienced. Somehow, “thank you” or “this was nice; maybe we should try it again” didn’t quite seem appropriate.

“You should get cleaned up. Breakfast should be ready soon,” he said as he backed away.

He removed the bands as quickly as he’d attached them, going over to the shelf to put them back where they’d come from.

Elaina had been just sitting up when he paused in front of her.

“Do you need help?” he asked, his words cool and aloof.

“No!” she snapped quickly, the humiliation from earlier returning full force. “I’ll be fine.”

He’d nodded curtly, then muttering an, “I’ll see you at breakfast,” before walking toward the door.

Elaina pulled up her underwear and pants quickly, standing so that she faced his back before he could leave.

“Now that I’ve had my lesson,” she said, anger bubbling inside of her, “can you let me go now?”

Edwards stopped but still faced the door.

“Did I ask correctly?” she continued. “Or is there a special word I need to say for this request to be granted also?”

She was beyond pissed. She felt used and discarded, in spite of the wonderfully sated buzz that hummed just beneath her skin.

“I can’t.” was his solemn reply.

“Oh really?” she said, moving closer to him. “I thought you were the alpha. I thought you could do whatever you damn well pleased.”

“It’s about your protection.”

“Or is it about your dick?” she continued, spurred on by the mixture of embarrassment and bafflement. “With less than two weeks until the full moon your need is just as strong as you claim mine is. How lucky of you to happen upon an alpha female traipsing along in the forest at just this time. Were you tracking me, Edwards? Were you planning to complete your pack with the naïve little bitch?”

Her mouth snapped shut when he spun around, grabbing her by the shoulders. “I’m protecting you, dammit! It’s not my job and I don’t know why you showed up when you did, but I’m trying to keep you safe.”

“Protecting me from what? I’m not in danger of anyone at this moment but you. Carrying me in here like I’m some sort of stray, locking me inside this wooden fortress you’ve built, and giving me all this bullshit about teaching me, helping me! You’re using me, Edwards, just like the rest of them planned to do. You’re no better than them,” she said finally, her heart pounding in her chest.

If what she’d just said were true, she was in more trouble now than she had been before. Because Elaina was certain there had been nothing between her and the betas of her father’s pack but disgust, a feeling that had made packing up and leaving all the more easier. Yet here, now, with this lycan whose actions were contradicting what he should be and do, she was afraid of the fact that she didn’t feel that way. Edwards didn’t disgust her; he intrigued her. Even now, at this very moment, as much as her mind screamed she must be insane, Elaina didn’t want to break this heady connection that had so quickly formed between them. In fact, there was a part of her, a deep down in the recesses of her soul part, that wanted to reach out to him. To grab hold and take what she wasn’t even certain he knew he was offering.

His lips had grown thin, brows furrowing as he glared down at her. “Don’t,” he said in a warning tone. “Don’t ever compare me to anyone else you’ve known. I’m better and stronger than they are.” He leaned even closer to her, so close she thought he might kiss her. “And when they come for you, which we both know they will, they’ll catch my scent all over you. That, Miss I-can-do-whatever-I-want, will keep your fine ass alive! And then, when it’s over, you can thank me.”

He released her so abruptly then that Elaina almost fell back on her ass. Instead, she managed to right herself just in time to see Edwards walking away, saying, “Get cleaned up and be down for breakfast. Smells like it should be just about ready,” without ever turning back to her.

Elaina frowned at his retreat. She cursed his arrogance and the strength he’d bragged about and she’d sensed. She closed her eyes to the memory of how good his ass looked in those jeans, how intoxicating his fingers had felt inside her, and how totally awakened her body had felt when she came. And then she dragged her hands through her hair, knowing he’d been absolutely right.

Penn and his pack would come for her, and when they did she would be here, like bait in a trap, because Edwards and his pack would kill them. There was no doubt in her mind that Edwards and his pack’s strength clearly outweighed that of Penn’s pack. With a rush of breath she wondered how she felt about that fact, about knowing that the man she feared she was now irrevocably connected to would kill her father and his pack, the very men whom she’d come to hate.

CHAPTER 6

Edwards ran until his lungs screamed for mercy, and even then he pushed on. Uphill, around sharp bends, down lethally high inclines, through chilly creek water, circling back to where he’d started at the base of the mountain. He relished the burn and tightness in his thighs, his buttocks and calves, felt the sting of air escaping his lungs through his partially opened mouth, and blinked away the sweat that dripped down from his forehead.

She was a Selected.

That had been a surprise. And it was a problem.

The gods and goddesses thrived on their control over all in their domain, the battle for more domains an ongoing quest for them all. But for some the battle wasn’t how many they could control, but how best they could try to prevent the constant uprising in the meantime. Selene, the Luna goddess from which the lycans’ very strength had thrived, had not been strong enough to stop Zeus’s wrath against the king of Arcadia, but she had done something that she’d thought would counteract the new battle the mighty god of thunder had unwittingly begun. She’d Selected specific alpha females to be paired with certain alpha males. The Selected female could never be claimed by any other alpha but the one she was Selected for. These were matches that would enhance them both, creating a mighty force that could hopefully keep the peace among the warring breed. It was said that each one Selene had Selected was marked.

Elaina’s crescent-moon marking came instantly to his mind.

If she was Selected bringing her into his house was an even bigger mistake than he or the pack could ever have imagined. Elaina could not have been Selected for him. That was the last thing Edwards wanted. He’d decided long ago that intimate or emotional connections were not for him. He’d failed the people he’d loved most in this world once; no way was he going to put himself in the position to endure that type of pain and heartache again. Besides that, things were different now—this situation dictated that it be so—and not even a Selected was going to change that for him.

“Let’s stop here,” he heard Malec say from just a few steps behind.

With a frown Edwards turned, still running in place to see two of his closest friends, chests heaving in a similar fashion to his, bodies built for this type of brutal exercise, eyes trained on him, etched only slightly with worry.

After breakfast Edwards had gone into his office, locking himself there while he did some research. He’d needed to know where she’d come from, which Hunter packs were closest to their region. Phelan would have already begun similar research, without Edwards having to instruct him to do so, because that was his job within the pack—to know whom and what they were dealing with at all times. That’s why Edwards hadn’t been at all surprised when e-mails from his second in command appeared while he’d worked on his laptop. Malec, on the other hand, only knew that there was a guest in the lodge. An overnight guest who was most likely going to be there in the long term. True to his nature, as the contemplative one, he’d simply sat at the breakfast table, watching Elaina interact with Channing.

The two of them had acted as if they’d known each other for ages, like today was their reunion and Edwards and the others were somehow intruding. Edwards treated the heated ball at the pit of his stomach as hunger, instead of acknowledging what it really was. She’d changed after their tryst in the gym to pants that hugged her ass and a button-down shirt, one that, this time, barely held her voluptuous breasts in place. His mouth had watered the moment she walked into the kitchen, just as it did each time he laid eyes on her. A more alluring female, lycan or human, Edwards had never seen.

There was a grace to her that was unlike that of the slim and sexy vixens he’d usually entertained himself with. A naïveté that both shocked and enticed him. She hadn’t been vetted; no agreement had been discussed and sealed before their first meeting. It had all simply happened, so fast and so intensely that Edwards was still wondering what the hell he was doing. She’d obeyed his commands and masturbated, then she’d tried to run away, and then she was lying there, tied down, spread wide for him. Only him. Asking his permission to come. There was fear—he’d sensed it marginally at first—but then there was intrigue and pleasure, the likes of which had almost taken Edwards’s breath away. She’d been so beautiful when she’d come, so hot and tight, that it had taken all of his training and living experience to keep from tearing off his pants and fucking her right there in front of those open windows.

It had taken even more control for him to walk away from her moments later. The uncomfortable half hour he’d sat at the breakfast table while she and Channing chatted and laughed, Phelan eyeing him knowingly, and Malec questioningly, had been enough for Edwards. He’d had to be alone. And once he’d found out about her past, he’d had to run.

“There are five of them,” Phelan immediately began when Edwards had stopped running.

A couple feet away from him Malec had already begun his stretching, one leg extended in front of him as he lunged. In addition to being contemplative, Malec was the fitness guru of the pack, constantly getting on Channing about the unhealthy dishes he prepared for them, while also consuming those meals with unabashed fervor. To the rest of them it was humorous, but to Malec eating those meals just meant more hours in the gym for him. More often than not, Edwards figured that was just Malec’s way of escaping the group setting, heading off to be alone to work off a debt he believed he owed, to someone who didn’t matter worth squat.

“Penn Altella, the alpha. Cody, Dallas, Kev, and Milo. They run an auto mechanic shop in Seattle and live on one of those historic houseboats. Penn’s mate was Tora Hepprin from another Hunter pack in the region. She was shot and killed three months ago in the forest near the Olympic Mountains. Penn suspected Devoteds, but the authorities ruled it a possible hunting accident. Elaina is Penn and Tora’s only child,” Phelan stated as if he’d memorized the recap version of the reports he and Edwards had compiled before coming out here.

“Wait,” Malec said, standing straight and gazing from Phelan to Edwards. “I knew she was from a Hunter pack. But you’re saying she’s their alpha female now?”

“No,” Edwards replied instantly, his tone clipped, agitated. “She’s not their alpha female. She’s simply the alpha female in that pack, or at least she was. There are no claimed connections.”

“You sure about that?” Malec asked. “What if getting into our pack is their plan? We’re only twelve days out from the full moon; every lycan that’s breathing is in need right now. It would be simple to flaunt a female in front of us to get her inside. And then what?”

“Ambush? Maybe?” Phelan asked. “If they knew you were here all along, she could be just what they needed to get close to you. To kill you.”

Edwards shook his head, already having considered this very scenario. In fact, he and Phelan had been discussing it on and off all day. What Edwards hadn’t shared was that if Penn knew his daughter was a Selected, if the alpha subscribed to that theory and he was a Hunter, the very last lycan he would want her around would be Edwards, with his pure-blood status. Sure, the Hunters would still want Edwards dead based solely on his bloodline, but Penn certainly would not want to risk his only child being claimed by Edwards first. Connecting a Hunter and a Devoted would be as big a catastrophe as connecting a lycan with a human—at least in their minds.

No, Penn and his pack would come first and foremost because they’d want Elaina back. Once they followed Elaina’s scent to Edwards they would undoubtedly realize who he was, or at least part of who he was. Killing a Trekas, to hit the Devoteds in the very heart of their breed, would be a coup worth bragging about. And then they would celebrate in whoever claimed Elaina. Edwards only frowned, because he had no intention of letting any of that happen.

“It’s not an ambush if we’re ready,” Edwards told them.

“Why don’t we just let her go?” Malec asked. “Send her back to them with a message to keep away before the demise of their pack becomes imminent.”

“I can— I’m not letting her go,” Edwards said, clenching his teeth at the thought of what he’d almost said. “She ran for a reason. Letting her go puts her in danger from not only unknown lycans but also most probably the ones she’s known all her life.”

“So she’s having some sort of temper tantrum and we’re going to ultimately pay the price for it? Since when do we settle domestic disputes?” Phelan asked, with a shake of his head. “I don’t know if this is such a good plan.”

“It’s the plan,” Edwards said adamantly. “I will deal directly with her; you make sure all of our security measures are in place. It’ll be the night of the full moon, when we’re strongest.”

“When we’re rabid and horny, you mean?” came Malec’s curt reply.

“I mean when Selene’s power for once shines brighter than Zeus’s and we are the dominating species,” Edwards said, feeling like he had to give them both lessons on their true origin.

Phelan nodded. “Right, the Luna goddess will prevail. She always does.”

Blaze ignored the flippant comment as it was the norm for Phelan, who for so long had held a grudge against the women of their world. As if he had learned nothing from dealing with one of the goddesses of revenge, who had left him permanently scared. While their kind usually healed almost instantaneously, Phelan’s scars, both inside and out, were permanent because of the powerful being who had inflicted them.

“And in the meantime, she gets to play house with us and Channing. How do you think she’s going to like that, if she didn’t like living with her own father’s pack?” Malec interjected.

Edwards didn’t know the answer to that question. What he knew, and what he wasn’t about to relay to his pack, was that there was no way he could let Elaina leave, especially not after what had transpired between them earlier today. He wanted her. And for Edwards that was all that mattered at this moment.

“I’m heading back,” he told them without further discussion, taking off at a run, pushing his body further beyond its limits because something about the burn and the strain was keeping him from totally losing control. He had no idea if the others followed and didn’t really care. Running was a release; the air upon his face, the wind in his ears, was freeing and almost relaxing. It was another way that he coped.

Still, heat burned inside of him, need pressing against his bones until he felt them threatening to break. Elaina’s scent was leading him like a besotted puppy back to the lodge, back to her.

* * *

Tonight, instead of masturbating and then falling asleep in the wonderfully comfortable queen-sized bed, Elaina had showered and slipped beneath the fresh, new sheets. She figured Channing had been responsible for changing them while she’d been enjoying the extensive library located at the far end of the lodge, near Channing’s and Malec’s rooms.

Channing had clearly taken over the alpha female’s role in the pack. This was only slightly surprising to Elaina, because in any pack where there was no female one of the betas had to take on that supervisory role, it was just their way. More shocking had been the hard-on he’d unabashedly been sporting when she turned around after leaning over the counter in the kitchen earlier this morning. For a moment she’d thought it would be kind of nice to have a lycan like Channing with his honest good looks and perfectly sculpted body want her.

He’d smiled at her as if it was only natural, which she figured it kind of was for him, and he’d be attentive to her every need both in and out of the bedroom. The lycans were a very sexual bunch, some more promiscuous than others, since they weren’t bound by human social protocols. It was nothing to have pack members sharing a female, or a male for that matter. The anything-goes mentality was like their mantra. While Elaina had never experienced anything on that level personally, or seen it done for that matter, she’d heard Dallas and the other betas in her father’s pack talking about it often enough. In fact, she suspected they’d done quite a bit of sharing themselves.

In the end, she’d simply smiled at Channing and the oddly familial bond she’d felt with him instead of the intensely sexual one she’d felt with Edwards. That’s when she’d asked about books or anything she could do to pass the time here. What she really wanted was to see other parts of the lodge to confirm for herself that there was no way out of this fortress.

“If you like to read we have quite a library,” Channing had told her. “I love books. Edwards has a thirst for knowledge too, but other than his personal collection of books, he prefers his computers for research purposes. Malec, of course, favors the gym and Phelan, well, he doesn’t like much at all.” Channing had followed that up with a chuckle, but Elaina suspected that fact was a little more troubling to him than he let on.

“I love to read. My mother always read poetry to me. I prefer mysteries myself,” she admitted, then clapped her lips shut, hating that she’d said those words to anyone. It was odd talking to Channing as if they were actually friends, as the members of her father’s pack only saw her as an object to be claimed, especially in the last few months.

Channing had shown her to the library and left her alone there, trusting her, she thought initially. A few seconds later she realized the trust wasn’t necessary, since she’d likely set off a million alarms if she so much as cracked a window in this place. Not that she was even paying attention to the large windows with the same tinted glass that she’d seen in the gym. No, Elaina was much more fascinated by the gleaming wood floors and bookcases that matched, reaching up to the ceiling. There were aisles just like in the university library she remembered studying in for the past couple of years. Yet this place had a more elegant touch, curving corners that led to even more books in a room that she’d had no idea was as large as it turned out to be.

By the time she’d made it to the other end, she’d passed through the room’s center where four leather couches sat facing one another, a huge area rug covering the floor beneath them. There was also a fireplace nestled deep into the back wall surrounded by an intricate rock design. As gorgeous as it all was, Elaina found herself going farther, to the end of the room, to a section of books that looked terribly old and for some odd reason appeared the most interesting.

There were leather chairs in this part of the room as well, single high-backed ones the color of rich caramel. Reaching out, she let her fingers brush lightly over the tattered spines of a couple books, stopping as if by no control of her own on one. The name TREKAS was printed in letters so worn she could barely see them all. Elaina pulled that one from the shelf without a moment’s hesitation. Before opening it, as if knowing already that this was going to take some time, she’d backed up until she sank into one of those high-backed chairs.

The book was clearly old, so she’d had to turn the pages slowly to keep from ripping them. A couple of those pages were written completely in Greek, which she found only a bit odd, and she wondered what else could surprise her in this place. Her mother had tried to teach her to read in Greek. But Penn hadn’t thought it was necessary, so the lessons hadn’t gotten very far. Names that appeared early on in the book were familiar as she remembered her mother telling her the story of the lycan origination when she was just a little girl. But as she continued to read the story changed, switching, she thought, to Nyktimos’s point of view as he explained why he’d come to the states and fallen in love with a human. A woman whom he’d been unexplainably drawn to; one who made everything he’d thought he believed in “fall to ashes on the ground” was what he’d said.

Elaina’s heart beat faster as she watched the love story unfold, saw Nyktimos’s ultimate mistake, and felt his broken heart as if it were her own. She read about the sons who had been born to him through his wife before she’d taken her own life and how those sons had sons, continuing the pure bloodline until it came to Alec Trekas and his three sons: Cabe, Edwards, and Ryer.

“Hey there, bookworm, you’ve been in here all day. I left you some dinner in the microwave, since I’m sure you’re beyond starved right now.”

Elaina looked up, her neck aching from having been in the position of staring down into that book for so long. It was darker in the library then it had been when she’d come in, and as Channing’s words had registered in her mind she’d looked to the windows to see that night had already fallen.

“He’s a Trekas, isn’t he? My father’s pack are trained to hunt anyone from the Trekas family. You don’t just think I’m here to kill your pack; you think I’m hunting him,” she said slowly, the realization of where she was and whom she was with finally hitting her full force.

Channing stared at her a moment before speaking, leaning against one of the bookshelves. “Are you saying you didn’t know who he was? Is that what you want us to believe?”

If that was the case Channing certainly wasn’t buying it. “It’s the truth,” she replied vehemently. “I left my pack and was headed to the Midwest. My mother had some family there, but I got sidetracked,” she said, not wanting to admit the still-unnamable force that had changed her route so that she’d ended up in those woods where Edwards had found her—similar to the way Nyktimos had described feeling about the human he’d fallen in love with. “I wasn’t looking for him,” she said, a shiver snaking down her spine.

Channing shrugged. “The Hunters want him dead. That’s not something Edwards takes lightly.”

“He doesn’t take anything lightly,” she whispered, thinking of Edwards’s intensity, of the serious and almost dour personality he possessed. She’d originally seen that as just another trait to dislike about him; now she realized by his birthright that it might be warranted.

“He’s in a precarious position,” Channing told her.

Closing the book and letting it sit in her lap, Elaina shook her head. “I know how that feels.”

“Maybe the two of you have more in common then you thought,” he said.

“I doubt that Edwards’s family chased him away,” she said, then went silent, looking away from Channing’s inquisitive gaze. “Anyway, what does he plan to do with me? Am I now going to be part of some revenge plot?” Elaina just couldn’t believe it. What were the odds that of all the lycans in all this world, she would walk right into the path of this one, landing in his arms … and liking it way more than she was ready to admit?

Pushing himself away from the shelf, Channing leaned forward, slipping the book from her lap before saying, “You should have dinner and get some rest. I hear there’s more training for you tomorrow.”

For the billionth time today Elaina had felt embarrassed, now wondering if Channing had any idea what type of training Edwards had taken her through this morning before breakfast. It was a good thing Channing had walked out—carrying that book with him—that at least had saved her a little bit of pride. But now she couldn’t ask the questions flitting around in her mind.

On Channing’s instructions, she’d stopped in the kitchen on her way back to her bedroom, and had been pleased to find a meatball sub drenched in provolone cheese, baby carrots and celery sticks on the side of the plate that had been covered with a plastic lid and sitting in the microwave. The bright green sticky note that read “For Elaina. Eat Me.” was what caught her attention, and she’d smiled at Channing’s thoughtfulness.

She’d eaten the carrots, which she suspected were actually Malec’s idea after she’d heard him talk relentlessly about physical fitness and healthy eating during breakfast. Celery was just not tasty to her and so she’d left that alone and enjoyed the sub after she’d reheated it. The hot shower that followed her meal felt heavenly in the bathroom that looked as if it were meant to be in a five-star hotel, instead of this rustic lodge. She was beginning to think “rustic chic” was a better description of this place.

Now she was in bed, but she’d feared sleep would not come. Greek words replayed in her mind, the story of Nyktimos and the love of his life, the mate he felt he’d been bound to find but too cursed to keep. But sleep did come and with it a dream that felt so real, so deliciously tangible, Elaina had wanted to scream.

The wolf had pushed open the door to her bedroom, its large head, the first she saw of it, held high. With a majestic gait, it entered just as if she’d invited it or, no, rather as if it belonged.

On the bed she sat up, noting how thin the nightshirt she wore was when a breeze coming in from the hallway chilled her until she shivered. She felt her nipples growing hard and crossed her arms to cover them. The wolf, with its piercing sapphire blue eyes, zoomed directly in on her, turned then, using its muzzle in a sideways motion to push the door closed.

It walked around to the side of the bed, its very movement speaking of power and dominance. With every quiet step of its paws over the carpeted floor Elaina’s gaze remained transfixed. She’d never seen a wolf this close up before. A lycan—a human who through a bite or scratch from another lycan possessed the ability to take on wolf-like characteristics and powers—yes, but not a full-grown wolf, such as this. She thought about this fact and vaguely remembered something she’d seen in one of those Greek books in the library. Among its differences and perhaps the most intriguing point of all was the immediate connection she felt to this wolf. As if she’d seen or communicated with it before.

Pausing only momentarily to look at her from a closer range, the wolf turned, going to the other side of the bed, repeating the same action. Elaina inhaled deeply, the wolf’s very primal and earthy scent permeating her senses, inciting every sexual spark in her body until she felt like a firecracker, fizzing and sparking, waiting until the final pop. She jerked with that thought, her thighs shaking, pussy throbbing. Grabbing the sheets, she made sure they covered her legs, tucking them between her thighs and squeezing tightly to assuage the need growing there.

The wolf moved again to the end of the bed, its cheeks lifting slightly as it bared its teeth. Elaina sucked in a breath, still staring because it was next to impossible to tear her gaze away. When the wolf lunged forward grabbing the sheets and ripping them from the bed she let out a yelp and scooted back on the bed, grabbing a pillow—as if that were actually going to provide protection—and placing it in front of her.

In the next moment the beautiful gray and white wolf had shed its glorious pelt, the four legs shifting in a blur to form arms and legs, all muscles rippling as they stood and stretched. The body of the wolf had also changed to that of a man … one hell of a fine-ass specimen of a man. Every part of him looked chiseled as if some deity had taken not just a day or two but possibly months to design every inch of its perfection. From his narrow waist to the wide splayed shoulders, back down again to the contoured thighs and very pleasantly endowed—possibly too much—cock that jutted forward with full-on arousal.

Elaina swallowed, her gaze fixated there, mind soaring with the possibilities. It wasn’t until the man knelt on the bed, crawling across the mattress toward her, did she venture to look at his face, the carefully sculpted jaw, thin nose, medium-thickness lips, and those eyes. They remained the piercing blue searing through her as if they possessed X-ray vision, making her shake with vulnerability. All lycans had blue eyes in their shifted form, but none like this. Elaina was certain she’d never seen eyes this brilliant and alluring before.

“Edwards.” His name came on a whisper, her fingers shaking as she grasped the pillow tighter.

“Don’t hide from me,” he said, his voice deep, clear, dominant.

He pulled the pillow away and still on his hands and knees lowered his head to nuzzle between her breasts. The thin material of her nightshirt stuck to her body as she arched upward, loving the feel of his warm breath against her skin. Falling back, Elaina braced herself on her elbows, her mouth opening with a gasp, eyes still fixated on the top of Edwards’s bald head. He moved lower, rubbing his cheeks, one and then the other, his lips, his forehead, over her torso, her abdomen, and farther down until she was panting with anticipation.

His hands abruptly grabbed her thighs, spreading her legs wide, lifting her until her ass was up off the mattress, her weight supported partially by his strong hands. She was completely available to him, her pussy open, wet, and waiting and him staring down hungrily as if he’d known he would end up here all along.

Those eyes, piercing and hypnotic, as blue as a jewel, found hers again as he looked up and whispered, “Mine.”

Elaina didn’t know what to say or do. Her fingers were clenching the sheets as if they were her new lifeline, her thighs quivering in his hands, breasts tingling with the rush of arousal. When his tongue extended, long and thick, curving slightly at the tip like a ladle, Elaina shivered. He licked her then, from her dripping wet center up excruciatingly slowly to the hood of her clit where the tip of his tongue made a swirling motion that drove her wild. He repeated that action again and again, taking turns looking up at her, then down at her pussy. He could see the throbbing of her vulva lips, lapped up each drop of her essence that dripped incessantly. She gasped each time the pad of his soft tongue touched her awaiting heat. Her breasts jiggled with each tremor coursing up and down her spine. She wanted more, so much more, and she wanted it right now!

“Once I claim you there’s no turning back,” Edwards said seconds before thrusting his tongue deep inside her, lapping up every drop of her release as it racked through her body like a violent storm.

She’d barely caught her breath, teeth were still biting into her lower lip, hands pulling the sheets completely from the mattress, when he pulled back, moving closer so that the bulbous tip of his dick, dripping with a thick white drop of his arousal, was now aimed at the entrance his tongue had just left weeping. Her eyes fluttered open, once again finding his magnetic gaze.

“No turning back,” he repeated. “Ever.”

Elaina blinked, her chest still heaving, heart thumping wildly. His eyes had changed. They weren’t that brilliant sapphire she’d been drawn to, but a lighter, duller shade. His body was the finely sculpted bronze tone she’d first glimpsed, but darker, less contoured. She closed her eyes once more, opening them slowly. He was closer, his breathing coming faster, more erratic. His jaw was covered with a light layer of hair, dark hair, that also covered the top of his head. His forehead wrinkled, swelling into its lycan form, his teeth elongating, eyes burning with a mixture of lust and disgust that had her stomach churning.

“You’re gonna be my alpha bitch!”

The voice was different, not as deep, not dominant, but angry and creepy as hell. She squirmed, trying to get away because this wasn’t the same … this wasn’t Edwards. Oh no, no, no! It was him … it was … he wanted to claim her and become alpha of his own pack. He wanted to use her because she was there, not because he loved her … in fact, he’d told her time and time again how much her body disgusted him, how she was too much woman and lycan.

Elaina shook her head and felt herself scooting back on the bed. He followed, laughing, taunting. “I’m gonna get you. I’m … gonna … get … you!”

She opened her mouth then and screamed so loud and so long her throat burned, her neck cracking as her head arched back.