STORY EXCERPT

Without warning, Liam attacked. He had to quit feeling sympathy for this other wolf! He was in a fight to the death, and even if he was almost guaranteed a victory, he knew it would be stupid to let his guard down. The smaller wolf danced out of the way, his tail flashing just past Liam’s nose.

The alpha pivoted, his claws digging into the ground for purchase. He rounded on the stranger and managed to sink his teeth into his haunch.

The red wolf squealed in pain and kicked out his leg, trying to shake Liam off. Liam let go on his own and used his momentum to jump onto the other’s back. He rode up on the smaller wolf and snapped at the back of his neck. To his surprise, his rival managed to snake out from under him, his thin body easily wriggling out of Liam’s hold. He skirted away from the bigger wolf, limping a bit as a thin stream of blood trickled down his hind leg.

The smell of the other wolf’s blood hit Liam’s nose, and suddenly he felt his own blood pump faster and hotter. His stomach twisted with some indefinable emotion, and he couldn’t suppress a full-body shiver. A fresh spurt of adrenaline surged through his veins, and Liam shocked himself when he paused to give a long, loud howl. Something about the other wolf’s blood called to him, and if he hadn’t been focused on other things, it would have freaked him out a little bit.

Liam assumed that what he was feeling was bloodlust, an emotion borne of the wild, animal part of himself. He didn’t like it and didn’t understand why it was surfacing now. When he had killed before, he had never felt like this. All he had felt then was deep revulsion and pity for both his rival and himself. This was different, and it frightened him.

In Liam’s moment of distraction, the other wolf took advantage and leapt at him. Liam was caught off guard and winced as he felt the other wolf mount him from behind, just as he had done. It was a dominant move and, coming from the littler wolf, it surprised him. The outsider certainly had balls. Liam was even more surprised when he felt his body respond strangely to feeling the wolf atop him. Rather than fear or anger, he felt another surge of lust, primal and heated. He’d heard of the occasional wolf that got turned on at the scent of blood during a fight, but he’d never thought he was one of them. What the hell was going on tonight?

Liam shook his head as the smaller wolf abruptly sank his teeth into Liam’s ruff. The sharp pain helped clear his brain a little, and he thought quickly how to get himself out of this situation and end the fight once and for all.

He lowered his body to the ground, pretending that he was submitting. He heard an approving growl from above him; the red wolf clearly thought that Liam was giving up.

But he wasn’t done quite yet. Summoning all his strength, the alpha tucked his back legs under him and then bucked upward as hard as he could. He whimpered as he felt a rip at the back of his neck as his rival’s fangs were torn from his flesh. The smaller wolf sailed through the air to land roughly at the edge of the pack circle. He made an abortive attempt to get up, but then flopped back over with a low whine and went still, passed out from hitting the ground headfirst. There was a hum of sympathy from Ben, who was closest to the wolf.

Liam quickly trotted over to his fallen opponent, in a hurry to finish the duel. His blood was still pumping rapidly though his body, and he could feel that he was almost fully aroused now. Rather than sicken him, the smell of the smaller wolf’s blood as he drew closer only heightened his lust. God, Liam wished this were all over so he could forget it ever happened.

With a huffed wolf sigh, Liam opened his jaws wide, ready rip out the smaller wolf’s throat. He plunged his head down, drawing closer to the wolf than he had yet been. As he moved nearer, the wolf’s personal scent whooshed into Liam’s nostrils. Up until now, it had been obscured by the scents of his fear and madness as well as Liam’s own adrenaline clouding his senses. But, in that last moment, Liam smelled something else entirely.

Cinnamon and chocolate filled his nose, as well as the scents of warm wet places and dark moss. It was intoxicating, and Liam knew in an instant what it meant. He had not felt bloodlust during the fight—he was experiencing a completely different kind of lust.

He snapped his jaw shut just in time, getting a mouthful of fur rather than the smaller wolf’s throat. He whined and nosed the still form on the ground, looking for signs of life.

The scent of another shifter floated to him, and Liam looked up to see Ben staring down at him curiously. Without even thinking about it, Liam growled and showed his teeth to the beta, warning the other man off. Ben backed up quickly, his hands up in defense.

“Woah, Chief. Not that I want to see you kill that wolf, but we’re all wondering why you stopped. Is something wrong?”

Yes. Yes there was. Liam whined again and sat on his haunches, never taking his eyes from the outsider. He shifted back into his human form and looked up at his best friend sorrowfully.

“I can’t kill him, Ben,” Liam said softly. “He’s my mate.”

ADULT EXCERPT

“Now kiss me.”

Liam grinned. “Who’s the alpha again?” he asked, but he was already leaning down to do as Jayce demanded. He took a breath, and then pressed his lips down over his mate’s for the first time. The taste of cinnamon and chocolate burst in his mouth, and Liam moaned happily. How the hell could another man smell and taste so delicious?

He had been waiting a week to do this, and taking it slow was not an option. He ate at Jayce’s mouth, trying to taste as much of his mate as he could. Finally getting to even this level of intimacy was intoxicating, and his inner wolf rejoiced at the feeling. Jayce did not object to the passionate attack but gave as good as he got. Liam thrust his tongue into Jayce’s mouth and used his jaw to force the smaller man to open for him. Jayce sucked on his tongue, slurping messily and making the sexiest little sounds in the back of his throat. Lust thrummed through their bond, urging both men on.

Liam gave up all pretense of keeping things casual between them and laid his full weight down over his mate. Jayce moaned and put his arms around Liam’s back, gripping his shoulder blades. Still kissing, Liam gave an experimental thrust down into Jayce’s hips.

The red wolf broke away from his lips with a whine. “Mmm, yeah, do that again,” Jayce said breathlessly.

The alpha did, rubbing his front against Jayce’s, using his weight to his advantage. Their jeans rasped as the two of them began to move in tandem, and after a bit of wriggling, Jayce opened his legs to Liam and managed to line their cocks up just perfectly. It was Liam’s turn to groan out loud at how good his mate felt under him. He knew they were rutting like pups and it wasn’t particularly dignified, but he couldn’t bring himself to care what they were doing as long as it continued to feel that good.

He moved his kisses down Jayce’s neck as they started to thrust against each other in earnest, both fighting to get off as quickly as possible. He nipped and licked his mate’s milk-white skin, breathing in his scent that was thick under his messy hair. An exceptionally wild buck from Jayce made fire shoot up his spine, and he bit down hard on his mate’s tender neck in response. Conversely, the bite caused Jayce to let out a funny little squeal, and he drove his hips up again with bruising force, mashing their dicks together.

“’M so fucking close,” Jayce growled, digging his blunt human nails into the skin over Liam’s spine.

Liam was too. He could feel the heat building quickly between his thighs—just a couple more thrusts and he would be there too. He reached down between them, worming his hand around to the front of Jayce’s pants. He grabbed his mate’s balls and squeezed them firmly, still moving against his mate. Jayce howled out his orgasm, an animalistic sound coming from a human throat. It was hot as hell.

His mate’s yell was enough to send Liam over the edge. He snarled his own completion into Jayce’s neck, locking his lips around the chord in his mate’s neck. Liam longed to sink his teeth into the fragile skin and complete their mating. Things between them may not be perfect yet, but Liam had already made his decision—he wanted Jayce to stay and be his. And not just because he had just come harder than he ever had in his life. After a few moments where both men focused on catching their breath, Liam released Jayce and relaxed against him.

“I can’t wait to do that for real,” Liam murmured in a state of post-orgasmic bliss. “I can’t wait to be inside of you.” He leaned down to kiss Jayce again, but his lips met with the man’s hand instead of his mouth.

“Woah, hold up,” Jayce said. His voice was shaky with what Liam assumed was fatigue. “Repeat that last transmission. I must not have heard you properly as I was focused on the fact that I just came harder than a freight train.”

Liam frowned and shook his head to dislodge Jayce’s hand. “I said I want us to be together. I want to claim you while I’m inside you.”

He was thrown off Jayce and dumped on his ass so fast it took him a moment to realize he had been moved. Jayce rolled out from under him and scooted to the other side of the blanket.

“Man, if that’s a joke it’s a pretty crappy one,” he said.

The alpha recovered from his fall and sat up, staring at his mate. “It wasn’t a joke, Jayce. I want to claim you. I thought we make a good pair. You seemed into it.”

“Not that part, Muscles. The part about fucking me. If anyone’s going to be on top, it’s me. I don’t bottom.” The finality in his voice invited no disagreement.

Liam growled low in his chest. He’d had just about enough of Jayce’s mood swings and bad attitude. Why did he have to go and ruin something that had been good between them just moments ago?

“Well, I’ve got news for you, mate. Neither do I.” Liam considered himself a reasonable guy and he was willing to compromise on many things to make his mate happy and comfortable, but a man had to draw the line somewhere. “I’m the alpha and I top. That’s final.”