STORY EXCERPT

Dani sighed as she walked under the starlit sky. The scents of wildflowers and pine drifted through the air as she stood at the edge of the forest. Dry leaves and small toothpick branches crackled under her feet as she walked into the woods. Dani knew she should be going home after the double shift. But she heard Fletcher say he was going on a run with his brother and some others.

She knew Fletcher was her mate when she first met him. But back then, she couldn’t take the chance of revealing herself to him. Not when her father was still searching for her and her mother. It had been over a year since she met him. Dani didn’t know how much longer she could control her wolf. Her beast wanted her mate, and it was getting harder and harder to appease her.

They had become close friends since he returned. She knew, unlike his brother, Isaac, who had affairs with any female, Fletcher was waiting for his other half. Of course, he occasionally dated but nothing serious. He was attracted to her, but he kept their relationship on a friendship basis. He took her out for meals, and they would spend some nights together watching a movie, but that was the extent of their relationship.

She sighed, walking farther into the forest and gazing at the stars. They reminded her of the lights on a Christmas tree.

Dani glanced in the direction she heard some rustling coming from. She paused for a moment when she saw two baby rabbits frolicking in the grass. Her steps became lighter, not wanting to scare them. The path she wanted to take was just ahead. Wild mushrooms lined the path. Dani could smell the earth drifting in the air as the waterfall came into view. It was one of several the lycans had in their territory.

Water splashed over the rocky outcropping in the plunge pool. Dani was at the top where a tree hung over the cliff above the fall. She smiled as the howls of the lycans wafted through the forest. Dani walked over to the aged tree she used to store her clothes. Dani removed her clothes and placed them under the roots. She stood in the moonlight and took a deep breath as the change began. Her bones cracked, muscles reformed, hair sprung over her body, hands and feet turned into paws. In the place of a woman stood a dusky gray wolf with a spot of white on her left front paw.

The snout of the she-wolf went up to sniff the air. She caught the scent of the lycan and headed in that direction. She jogged through the tall grass scattered with wildflowers and berries. Dani navigated the uneven ground and leaped over the ivy-covered logs. Several lycans were drinking from the small lake ahead of her. Trivial deposits of organic debris floated on the surface of the water. A couple of them were lying near the shoreline. Water splashed them occasionally when the water spattered the rocky shoreline.

Fletcher was one of the lycans taking a drink from the lake. She knew his beast form from spying on him when she knew he would be on a run. She always stayed upwind from him when she was in her wolf form. For some reason, the formula that altered her scent didn’t work when she shifted into her beast. The lycans could walk on two legs as well as four. When they transformed and walked on two legs, they looked like the lycanthropes in the old monster movies. Maybe that is where the old legends came from.

The she-wolf snorted. Humans were strange, creating horror stories from things they didn’t understand. Today people still tried to make up stories about shifters even though they were here long before humans. The wolf’s attention was brought back to the lycans when one of them, Fletcher, started to sniff the air.

Does he smell me? The question popped into her head. The she-wolf started to back away when he began moving in her direction.

ADULT EXCERPT

Fletcher pulled her closer to his body as he brushed his chin over her hair. His brother told him why her father wanted her. He planned to sell her to humans for money. Oscar Lopez was a dead man. He had caused her and her mother enough pain. But he would contain his beast until after his trial. Fletcher would be challenging him by their ancient laws in combat to the death.

He took her hand and pressed it to his mouth. Her father had contacted the humans and planned to take her to them. Nicholas talked to her father again and found out where they were to meet. Lucien called the felines with the information. The council had plans for that meeting since it was in their territory. Fletcher’s focus was on his mate, keeping her safe. His arms tightened around her as he rolled to his side, her head on his shoulder. Dani whimpered in her sleep. Her body twisted as if she was having a bad dream.

The lycan clawed at his control to go to the tombs and rip out the shifter’s heart. He smothered the snarl in his throat before it escaped. The thought of her own father selling her made his beast of his beast roar with rage. The small moan that escaped in her sleep helped to control his lycan. His mate needed his tenderness, not his wrath.

Fletcher caressed her hair, his fingers entwined in her hair. He drew her head up. He traced her lips with his tongue. Fletcher’s tongue slipped inside when she sighed, parting her lips. He heard her hum as her arms circled his neck.

“Mine,” he said, his voice husky as he pulled away from her lips. He drew in a breath, the sheet falling from her, giving him a full view of her breasts. He pulled her back to him as his mouth roamed down her neck and to her breast. She trembled as he licked her nub and circled it with his tongue before sucking the bud into his mouth. His hand cupped and squeezed her other breast. He released the nipple to move to the other one. He sucked the hardened peak into his mouth.

He slid a hand along her calf, her thigh, to her core. His fingers opened her swollen lips to tease her clit. Fletcher kissed each nipple before slipping down to settle between her legs. His hands gripped her hips, drew her forward, his shoulders between her thighs. “Your scent is sweet,” he said before he placed a kiss on the inside of her thigh.

Fletcher’s hands pushed her thighs wider, his mouth inches from her aching core. Her legs shifted impatiently as his hot breath drifted over her sensitive flesh.

Dani’s hips arched and swayed close to his face, an enticement to taste her. A low growl emitted from his throat, seeming more beast than man.

His tongue stroked her puffy lips. He slid his arms under her thighs, pressing his hands over her chest. His palms covered her breast. Her hardened nipples stabbed the center of his hands.

Fletcher’s tongue licked every crevice of her core. He rolled her stiff buds between his fingers, tweaking them lightly. His hands moved from her breasts to wrap around her thighs, stretching them wide. He released a thigh to plunge two fingers deep into her core, at the same time capturing her swollen clit between his lips and sucking.

* * * *

Dani shattered. Her whole body shuddered as she came, the pleasure so intense she thought she might pass out. Her heart pounded as she shook with release. Gradually, as his fingers slowed their movements, her body was reduced to the occasional tremor.

Dani felt boneless as she lay there on the bed, fully sated. She opened her eyes and gazed at him, a blissful smile on her lips.

The hunger etched on his face gave her pause. Fletcher’s eyes reflected his need for her. They devoured her as he rested on his knees. His hand gripped his hard cock, pumping it. A bead of liquid draped across the tip as she watched him. She licked her dry lips, questioning the taste, needing to replace his hands with hers.

“Whatever you want,” he told her as if he could read her thoughts.

Dani moved to her knees, facing him. She put her hands on his thighs. She felt the muscles tighten under her touch as she pulled his legs apart. She lowered her mouth toward his cock her eyes staring into his.

Her tongue darted out, licking the tip as her fingers wrapped around him. She slid her hands up and down the length of his cock.

“Harder little wolf.” He hissed.