Rogue Alpha: Wolf Shifter Romance (Wild Lake Wolves Book 1) (7 page)

Chapter Nine

I dreamt the black wolf came to me in the predawn
hours. He stood at the foot of the bed watching me, those familiar golden eyes
flashing. I reached out and placed a hand on his great head. He whined, pressed
his ears flat, and put his paws on the mattress, making the bed sink to one
side. He sniffed the air and his nose went to my upper arm. A low growl made my
body vibrate as he licked the worst of the bruises, sending waves of soothing
heat through me.

He’d been there that night. He knew what Flood tried
to do to me. He came to protect me. Somehow, I knew he belonged to me. Or that
I belonged to him. Then, sun stabbed through the window, warming my skin. When
I opened my eyes, the wolf was gone and I knew I’d dreamt the whole thing.

But, Mal was gone too. A mourning dove sang right
outside the window and a breeze picked up, rustling through the trees. I’d
slept like the dead and woke with my head clear. Mal had been right. I needed
sleep more than anything else. Now though, I needed a toothbrush.

I startled when the door to the cabin creaked open.
Mal stepped inside. With the sun behind him, for an instant I saw nothing more
than a great, black shadow. Then, he closed the door and came to me.

“All quiet out there?” My voice was groggy with
sleep and I cleared my throat.

Mal nodded. He’d changed. He wore a fresh pair of
jeans, hiking boots, and a white t-shirt that stretched taut across his biceps.
He pointed to a small table by the bed.

“I keep some hotel-sized supplies in there.
Toothbrush, soap. That kind of thing. You can use the pump well outside if you
need to. It’s potable. Don’t be afraid to drink it.”

“Oh, God bless you!” I said, throwing the covers off
me. I took what I needed from the drawer and headed for the door.

“Breakfast when you get back,” he said. “Nothing
fancy. I’ve got trail mix bars and some fresh fruit.” He seemed to have my body
trained to his voice because my stomach let out an audible growl.

I shot him a sheepish grin and went out the door. A
light fog settled over the treetops and cool air raised the hairs on my arms. I
found the red pump in the back of the cabin. Despite the sulfur smell, the
water was cool going down. The bruises on my arms had deepened to an ugly black
on both sides. God, in the heat of the moment, I hadn’t realized how rough
Flood had actually been. He could have wrapped those hands around my neck and
choked the life out of me.

My knees went a little weak at the thought of it. I
splashed more cool water on the back of my neck. As I washed some of the grime
and sweat away from the night before, a new clarity filled my head. I had to
get back. Over the last few hours, this cabin had provided a little bubble of
protection against all the ugliness that had happened. But, I had to face it. I
had to call the university and file a report. I couldn’t let that asshole ruin
my academic career as he’d threatened. If he’d pulled that shit with me, he had
to have a pattern of doing it. I couldn’t let this get swept under the rug or
he might try it with another girl. The wolves had to be gone by now.

I reached down to cup my hand under the water. My
knuckle scraped against a sharp piece of metal at the base of the thing,
slicing the skin open. It wasn’t a deep cut, but it stung and the blood flowed
freely.

“Shit,” I muttered. I ran my hand under the water to
clean it out. I hoped Mal had some bandages stashed somewhere along with the
trail mix bars and hotel soaps.

Sucking on my finger, I headed back into the cabin.
Mal had already made the bed and pointed to the kitchen counter where he’d laid
out the food such as it was.

“Do you happen to have a first aid kit somewhere? I
sliced my finger on the pump. It’s not deep but I need to stop the bleeding.
Come to think of it, why don’t you let me have a look at that cut above your eye?
I noticed you reopened it last night.”

Mal reached under the bed and pulled out a brown
paper bag and dumped its contents on the bed. It was gauze, the bottle of
iodine, and the bandages I’d given him at the store the other day.

“See? I told you those would come in handy. Have a
seat,” I said, pointing to one of the cane chairs. “My turn to take care of
you.”

Mal let out a noise that was part growl and part
laugh. I smiled as he handed me the basket. I pulled out two lengths of gauze
and medical tape and set one on the other chair. I wrapped the other quickly
around my own finger. Then, I took a cotton ball and dipped it in the iodine.

“You never said how you got that,” I said as I
pressed the cotton ball to his cut. On closer inspection, it wasn’t really a
cut. Not a clean one anyway. It looked more like something had taken a chunk of
out of him.

Mal hissed through his teeth when the iodine touched
his skin. “Don’t be a baby,” I teased him.

“Be careful, Princess,” he said. “I bite.”

He was teasing, but his tone sent a flash of heat
through me. I pulled my hand away for an instant. Shaking my head against my
newly jittery nerves, I pressed my finger against his forehead again. I was careless
though. The gauze around my own finger came loose and a drop of blood fell, as
I pressed my finger against Mal’s cut. So careless. Our blood mixed. I was
about to make a joke about what a shitty a nurse I’d make.

But, then the world fell away.

Heat. Light. Sound. Blood coursed through my veins.
My own heartbeat filled my ears, joined by another even stronger one. For an
instant, I wasn’t me. Or at least, I didn’t see as me. Every sense sharpened.
The scent of pungent, rotting leaves just outside the door filled me. I heard
the footfall of some creature moving softly through the woods. A rabbit.

Then there was Mal. His eyes changed, flaming
bright. The pupils widened, and the amber flecks spread, taking over the whites
of his eyes. He growled low and gripped my wrist. Whatever happened to me,
something similar happened to him. He was
in
me somehow. It was like I
saw myself through Mal’s eyes. Heat rose on my own skin, making it glow. His
heartbeat filled me, became part of me, if only for an instant.

Then, I pulled away. Mal dropped his grip on my arm
as I staggered backward.

“What was that? Who . . . what are you?”

 I don’t even know who asked the question. I ended
up with my back pressed against the far wall before I sank down to the ground.
Mal rose and loomed over me. His eyes flashed again. I squeezed mine shut
tight. When I opened them again, Mal’s eyes were normal but filled with menace.

His whole body rippled and quaked. Beads of sweat
formed at his temples.

“Go,” he said, his voice barely sounding human as he
tried to contain whatever made him tremble. “Now. Don’t look back.”

And again, when Mal gave a command, my body felt
compelled to follow it. My heart beat nearly out of my chest as I found the
strength to get to my feet. I grabbed my pack by the door and the shotgun.

Then, I ran outside and didn’t dare look back.

Chapter Ten

East. I think I needed to go east. The Jeep would be
there, parked just where Mal left it. My heart beat nearly in my throat as I
ran as fast as my legs would carry me. I slung the shotgun over my shoulder and
watched the trail in front of me. I couldn’t afford to fall. Not now.

Getting to safety. Getting far away from this cursed
forest and whatever hell lived in it. That was the only thing that mattered.
And yet, it seemed like I might be running from it for the rest of my life.

I took a wrong turn. The forest closed in around me.
My ankles became ensnared in thick weeds. Panting, I pulled one foot out, then
the other. The trees seemed to spin around me, making me dizzy, disoriented. I
couldn’t get my bearings. This
had
to be the right way. I lunged forward
until I found my footing again. Blood coursed through me as I tried to put
distance between myself and the cabin. And Mal. Oh, God. Mal. With each step I
took, stabbing pain tore through my chest. I wanted to go back. I wanted to
run. It was like I didn’t know myself anymore.

I burst into a small clearing and stopped. I put my
hands on my knees and took a deep breath, trying to quiet the clanging in my
ears. Panic would not help me now. It was broad daylight. I had a shotgun and I
knew how to use it. The Jeep and a country road were not that far away.

Finally, my pulse started to slow and the fog lifted
from my brain. I straightened my back and looked toward the sky. The sun rose
to my left. I’d been heading the right way. I blew a breath out hard. I set the
gun down and threaded my arms through the loops of my backpack, evenly
distributing the weight of it. Then, I reached down, grabbed the gun, and took
my first sure step since fleeing the cabin.

I never had a chance to take a second.

The black wolf burst through the trees near my right
shoulder and stood beside me. He held his thick, black tail high and took a
slow step forward. I raised the shotgun, jamming the butt against my shoulder.
At this range, I could blow its head clean off.

Time slowed then seemed to stop altogether as I kept
the shotgun aimed at the wolf and he stood before me, unblinking. He let out a
low, rumbling growl that seemed to move through my whole body.

He took another step forward, his golden eyes
flashing with intelligence. Blood crusted just above his left eye where Flood’s
bullet had ricocheted. Recognition slammed into my brain and my finger trembled
over the trigger. My breath left my lungs and my blood heated.

The black wolf raised his head just a fraction of an
inch. I knew him. Knew those eyes. He came to me in my dreams. He came to me
when I needed him most. Some rational part of my brain told me I must be going
crazy. Except I wasn’t. As we stood there in the middle of the woods in some
strange stalemate, everything I believed about the world shifted. I don’t
remember lowering the shotgun. But, all of a sudden it was on the ground beside
me and it was my turn to take a step forward. My backpack slid off my shoulders
and I let that drop too. I held out my hand, my fingers shaking as I reached
for the wolf.

A rumbling sound came from within him. He reared up
on his hind legs while his fur rolled and his bones shifted inside of him,
stretching, pulling, his front paws drew up and reached out for me. Then, he
touched me, but his paw was gone. In its place, a strong hand with tanned flesh
and a fine dusting of dark hair trailing up his arm. The wolf was gone and Mal
stood before me, naked, strong, powerful.

I shuddered as he threaded his fingers through my
hair, tilting my head back as he looked down at me. His golden eyes still had
more wolf in them than man. Dark desire flared deep inside me. I wasn’t afraid.
I knew this. Knew him. I belonged here, even though I knew it was impossible.

“Who are you?” he whispered.

I never got to answer. Mal lowered his head and pressed
his lips against mine. I melted into him. As he kissed me, he poured warmth, strength,
and power into me. I reached up and slid my hands across his chest, his broad
shoulders. I wanted to know every line of his body, every cord of muscle. I
hungered for him in a way that shocked me. But, as he kept on kissing me, ran
his hand down my back and pulled me even closer to him, I knew that I had to
have him. All of him. Now.

Before I could even think, I reached down and
fumbled with the button of my jeans and tugged them down. Mal lifted the hem of
my t-shirt and pulled it over my head. Just that fraction of a second when I
had to stop kissing him to get the thing off seemed too long. He took a step
back, and his eyes sparked as he watched me. I wriggled the rest of the way out
of my jeans and stood before him wearing nothing but my black bra and panties.

He waited. A slow smile spread across his lips,
swollen from kissing. Heat flared between my legs more primal than anything I’d
ever known. I’d almost lost the ability to form thoughts except for
this . .
. yes . . . his.

Gasping, I reached back and unhooked my bra, letting
it fall to the ground. My breasts swung free. As Mal watched me, I couldn’t
take my eyes off his perfect form. Chiseled muscle and sinew, a dark trail of
hair ran down his rippled abdomen. My eyes followed it as I took in the sight of
him. His cock swung huge and hard before me. I couldn’t help startling a bit at
the size of it. He was thick and long and perfect.

My own sex throbbed as I hooked a thumb into the
waistband of my panties and shed those too. Then, Mal was done looking. He
needed to touch me again as much as I needed him. He whispered my name against
my temple as his fingers played across the small of my back then cupped my ass
and drew me to him.

We ended up on the ground together. He didn’t have
to tell me what to do; my body was tuned to his already. He had me on my back
in a fresh pile of leaves, the tall maples forming a canopy above us. I drew my
knees up and spread them wide, offering myself to him like some wild, wanton,
shameless thing. Right then, it’s what I was. All I wanted to be.

Mal positioned
himself between my thighs. He drew a single finger down
between my breasts. My breath hitched and I quivered as he slid that finger slowly
down over the slope of my stomach, over my bellybutton then all the way down.
He tapped my poor, swollen clit with his fingertip. Just that light touch, that
tiny motion made the heat between my legs peak and a gush of juices trickled
down as if he’d commanded it. On an instinctual level I knew he could. Oh, God,
he could. Just the slightest touch, the crook of his finger and my body seemed
to respond instantly. I knew I should be shocked at how ready I was for him.
But I wasn’t. Instead, I found myself arching my back, spreading my legs even
wider in offering.

This. Always this. I wanted him to fill me, claim
me, own me. Nothing else that ever happened before or would happen after seemed
to matter in that instant. There was just now, the heat between my legs, the
hard length of Mal’s erection as he pressed himself against my thigh.

Then, Mal pressed my knees flat against the ground,
spreading me impossibly wide. He settled himself between my thighs and lowered
his head. A single flick of his tongue seemed to send stars shooting across the
sky.

“Please!” I begged him once and knew it was just the
beginning. I would do anything just to have him touch me like that again. And
he did. He took two fingers and spread me wide, exposing my sensitive little
bud for his inspection. Just the slightest kiss of air across that tight bundle
of nerves had me writhing for him, stretching myself, struggling to spread
myself even wider.

He kissed me there, sending a jolt of electricity
through me to the roots of my hair. I bucked and thrust before him, tearing at
the ground as he teased and coaxed me with his skillful tongue and fingers to
the edge of desire and madness.

“God, oh God. Please.”

“Say it,” he said, his voice low and deep.

“Yes. Please!”

“Say it!”

His voice made the tiny hairs on the back of my neck
raise as he commanded me. I would do anything for him. I could belong to him.
And then I knew exactly what he wanted and I gave it to him.

“Yes. I’m yours. I need you. Please.”

Mal drew himself up, kneeling before me as he
stroked the thick length of his cock. God. He seemed even bigger, harder than
before. He worked himself up and down and I swear my mouth watered at the sight
of it. I wanted him deep inside me. I wanted to taste him, tease him with my
mouth and tongue the way he’d done to me.

Mal positioned
himself between my legs and put a steadying hand on my
shoulder. He didn’t have to say it. I knew to grab my knees and keep them
spread wide so he could ease himself into me. I gasped and shuddered as I felt
the tip of him brush against my hungry, waiting sex. I was so wet, so ready.
Even so, my eyes went wide as I felt the first slow push as he entered me. He
was so big I thought he might tear me apart.

His eyes glinted gold as he guided himself in the
rest of the way. I felt a tiny, stinging stab of pain as he stretched me. But
then it gave way to exquisite pleasure unlike anything I’d known. He fit me and
filled me completely as if I were made just for him.

I arched my back and wrapped my legs around his
hips. Mal put his hands on my shoulders and looked down at me, blocking out the
sun behind him. At that moment, I knew it’s what he was. My sun. My moon. My
everything. As he began the first slow thrusts inside me, it was like I came
alive for the first time. The grass beneath me, the trees above, even the timid
creatures around us seemed part of him. Part of me.

Mal started slow, but only for a moment. Before
long, instinct took hold and he began to fuck me hard and deep. I kept my legs
wrapped around him and held on as he pressed himself into me, filling every
corner of my being. The first slow build of desire washed over me. I gripped
Mal’s shoulders and hung on. My fingers dug into his back. I drew blood, but
that only seemed to spur him on. His eyes flashed from man to wolf and back
again. I leaned up and brought my lips to his. He kissed me hard and deep,
devouring me body and soul.

Then finally, I felt him tense. His balls seized beneath
me and he let go. He came deep inside me, filling me with his seed as I
squeezed my legs around him tighter to contain it. Careless. Reckless maybe.
But I couldn’t stop. I hungered for him in a way I’d never known before.

As Mal began to crest down, he pulled out of me. For
an instant, I felt empty and bereft. But Mal slid his hands under my back and
flipped me. I got my hands out in front of me as he angled my hips, raising
them backward to get me in position. I knelt on all fours, pressing my chin
against my hands, spreading my legs as wide as I could. And he entered me
again. Not slowly this time, but rough and strong. My teeth rattled as he
pumped the rest of his seed into me. He squeezed my ass with one hand and
reached around with the other, finding my sex again. As he came, he worked me
until my thighs quaked. My knees buckled as I tried to lay flat. I had no
strength left. But, Mal would have none of that. He kept a strong hand on my
hip, holding me in position with my ass high in the air. He coaxed my orgasm
out of me. I threw my head back, my hair arcing behind me as Mal rode me. Each
pulse of ecstasy rippled through me, wave after delicious wave. I came hard and
deep as Mal kept himself inside me. My walls clenched around him, milking the
last drop of seed from him.

Then, when he knew he’d wrung every ounce of
pleasure out of me, he finally withdrew. He pulled me against him, cradling my
head and hooking his hands under my knees. I was glad for it because I didn’t
think I’d be able to walk. I didn’t have to. Mal stood and carried me back
toward the cabin.