Call of the Wolf (27 page)

She was glad in a way that they hadn't. As long as they weren't certain, then they were all going to hang around—at least until they figured it out.

And that would give her at least a little more time with all of them.

Evidently, they figured out where she was headed. They zoomed around her before she was halfway to the fair grounds. When she pulled in, they'd already parked their bikes and gotten off.

As soon as she parked the car, they dismounted from their bikes and started toward the car—which she'd driven down nearer the woods.

Getting out, she tossed her keys into the seat and began to pull her clothes off, watching them. The moment she pulled her shirt off, all four of them halted as abruptly as if they'd hit a brick wall. Smiling faintly, she nudged her shoes off with her toes and shucked the jeans and panties.

When she straightened, she saw they'd come out of shock and were striding toward her again. She closed her eyes, focusing as Beth had told her—hoping, praying that she could do it again. She'd only tried the once before.

She felt the change coming over her almost immediately, though. It hurt. She gritted her teeth, focusing on calling the wolf. It took longer than she'd expected. They'd nearly reached her when she felt the pain easing off and looked down at the reddish brown fur that covered her forelegs.

She looked up at them expectantly, feeling a thrill run through her when she saw that they'd stopped again, were staring at her in stunned amazement. A smile curled through her. She yipped at them. She couldn't speak—not human—in this form, but the sounds that emerged from her throat, she knew instinctively, were the call of the wolf to her mate.

Abruptly, they four of them began to tear at their own clothes. She waited, watching until all of them were naked and then whirled, racing down the path that led to the gathering place. Within a few moments, she heard them behind her, heard their baying. Her heart thundered in her chest with a thrill of excitement. She poured on more speed, determined to give them a run for their money.

She was only a few lopes ahead of them by the time she reached the clearing. Skidding to a halt, she whirled to face them, admiring their strength, their beauty as they rushed toward her. They skidded a halt as they reached her, milling around her, sniffing her, nuzzling her.

In a few moments, though, they began the battle. She nipped at Seth when he tried to mount her, letting him know she expected him to prove himself to her. He uttered a snarl, whirling away from her and attacking Cameron. Adrian, obviously hoping to use their battle as a distraction, leapt at her, trying to mount her. She snarled at him, leaping out from under him before he could get a good grip on her. Jerico dove at him even as she ‘discouraged’ his advances, however. The two of them tangled and began whirling in the dirt, snapping and biting at each other.

Satisfied, she put a little distance between them, watching them, uttering an occasional yip of encouragement.

They were magnificent! No wonder she'd had such a hard time trying to decide who she loved best! They were all wonderful! Any woman would have a hard time choosing between them.

The match between Cameron and Seth was a viscous one. The battle between Adrian and Jerico wasn't much less ferocious. It unnerved her, but she firmly tamped her uneasiness. They had to satisfy their need to dominate.

In the end, she realized, it didn't really matter beyond satisfying them. Her senses were far sharper in her wolf form than they had been in her human form. She was carrying Seth's baby. If he hadn't already sensed it, he would when he came for her.

The two pairs fought until Cameron and Jerico finally yielded, limping a little distance away. Seth turned instantly and attacked Adrian. That battle didn't last nearly as long. Both of them were tired and hurt, but Adrian was in worse shape than Seth when he started. He yielded with a yelp of pain when Seth caught his throat in his jaws.

Satisfied, Seth lifted his head and howled his victory, then trotted over to where she waited for him. Excitement flooded her. She tucked her tail, crouching slightly to show him she accepted his dominance. He nuzzled her face, licking her, and then covered her.

She hadn't given a lot of thought to what it would feel like to mate in her wolf form. She discovered, however, from the moment he drove into her and began pounding thrusts that it was as wild as the form she'd taken. Pleasure flooded her. Her body exploded with it.

The only complaint she had was that it was far too short.

Then again, she reflected wryly, it
had
been weeks!

He gripped her tightly, nuzzling his face along her neck until the swelling went down in his cock and finally dismounted, staring at her with eyes bright with pleasure, satisfaction—love. Nudging at her until she collapsed on the ground, he dropped to the ground beside her, nipping at her lightly and rubbing all over her. She nuzzled him in return until he seemed satisfied and finally lifted his head and glanced around at the others.

Abby looked at them, too, waiting ... hoping.

Cameron trotted toward them. Dropping his head in submission to Seth, he waited a moment and finally moved to nuzzle Abby. Seth uttered a warning growl, just to let him know he'd claimed her, and then got up and trotted off. They mounted her one by one—not symbolically—they fucked her brains out, but she wasn't the least unhappy about it.

In point of fact, she was overjoyed.

She lay resting among them for a little while, enjoying the closeness of belonging to a pack but, unlike them, she had to struggle to retain the form of a wolf. Maybe, when she'd had more practice, she thought, it wouldn't be so hard?

Yielding finally to the weariness pulling at her, she braced herself for the shift back to her true form. They studied her for several moments and then, one by one, changed into their human forms.

There was a question in their eyes. “It's called the passion of the wolf, Beth says.” She swallowed with an effort.

Seth studied her a little doubtfully. That was only a myth. More likely it was because she'd been infected ... by him, although, if she had been, she should've recovered much faster than she had ... and he'd never heard of any Were going through first transition before the first full moon after exposure. The important thing, though, was that she was alright ... and
she
believed it was because of her love. “Maybe it's because you're carrying my pup? When were going to tell me?"

She grimaced. “I couldn't. I didn't know myself until I shifted—not that it was yours.” She glanced around at the others. “It could've belonged to any of you."

"When did you discover you could shift?” Cameron asked after a long moment.

Abby shrugged. “Beth said that she had the passion of the wolf. She'd loved her man so much that she'd changed—for him.” She looked down at the grass, plucking at it. “I knew she couldn't possibly have loved him any more than I do all of you. So, I looked to see if it was there and I found it—my own beast."

She looked up at them. “So you see—I can't leave. My heart's here—with the four of you.” She shook her head. “I don't want you to stay with me just because of the way things happened. Don't feel like you have to, that you owe me anything. You've all taken care of me, protected me, given me a life again when I'd thought I would never have the chance to have a real life again. I'm grateful for it. I wish you'd asked me before you took the risks you did. I would've told you it wasn't something I wanted, that it wasn't worth it to me to take the chance that anything might happen to any of you.

"But ... I'm staying here, regardless of what the four of you decide. I like teaching. I like the new life I have."

Seth gathered her into his embrace, holding her tightly. “We went because we needed to know that your decision to stay had nothing to do with the need for protection,” he murmured against her throat. “I love you. Stay with me. It's want I want."

Releasing a sigh of relief, Abby burrowed more tightly against him, content just to be held.

"I doan suppose Beth bothered to tell you we aren't a pack,
chère?"
Cameron muttered irritably.

Abby disentangled herself from Seth and looked at him a little uncomfortably but decided not to lie. “She did.” She chewed her lip. “That doesn't change the way I feel about all of you or the fact that I believed ... that I think of you as my pack."

Cameron and Seth exchanged a look. After a few moments, Seth released her and turned to look at Adrian and Jerico questioningly. Jerico shrugged, but grinned abruptly. “I'm your man. Whose ass do I have to kick to get my old pack ranking back?"

Uttering a thankful chuckle, Abby launched herself at him, kissing him with enthusiasm when he caught her in a tight embrace. His kiss warmed her more than a little and when she finally pulled away from him she beamed at him a little drunkenly.

"You got one of those for me?” Adrian asked gruffly.

Abby grinned at him. “One
just
for you!"

She smiled at him dreamily when he finally lifted his head. He stroked her cheek. “I don't know if I'm crazy about you or just plain crazy,” he murmured wryly.

Abby leaned close enough to nip at his earlobe with her teeth. “You're crazy about me because I'm crazy about you."

He grinned at her lazily when she leaned away to look at him. “That might be it."

She turned from him after a moment, looking at Cameron questioningly, unhappily aware that he hadn't said anything.

He met her gaze for an endless moment and finally flicked a scowl at Seth. “I'm more inclined to demand a rematch,
mon ami
—but you already won the prize.” He looked at Abby again. “Seein’ as how I can't leave my woman here with you, I guess I need to find out whose ass I've got to kick to be your second."

Relieved beyond measure, Abby hurried into his embrace gratefully, clutching at him a little frantically. “I thought you were going to leave me,” she murmured when he'd kissed her thoroughly.

His eyes gleamed. “How could I do that,
amour
? You're here ... in my heart.” He smiled faintly and then lifted his head to give the others a challenging look. “Besides, the next pup to nestle there's gonna be mine,” he said, cupping his hand over her belly.

The End

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