Defying Pack Law (5 page)

Not wanting to give her up too quickly, John
strode away from Nathan, who gave last-minute instructions to Kody.
John made his way to the plane. He moved gingerly up the rickety
metal stairs, trying not to jostle Dana more than necessary, and
went through the open door. The eight-seater plane wasn’t quite as
comfortable as the truck, nor were the seats spaced in a way he
could sit without squishing Dana.

Not that he got to keep her for long. Nathan
came pounding up the stairs with a growled, “Okay, asshole, hand
her back.”

John didn’t argue, not with her injured and in
the way. He handed her back and surveyed the seating
dilemma.

“
Do you think your buddy will care
if I rearrange the seating?”

Nathan’s eyes flicked over to the cramped seats
and back. “If he has a problem, I’ll handle it. Make some
room.”

John didn’t have the same kind of brute muscle
Nathan did, so he didn’t bother trying to arm wrestle the offending
seat out of the way. He took his boots to it—and didn’t move the
damned thing.

Nathan sighed. “Hold on to her again, and try
not to cop a feel, would you?”

John happily obliged, snuggling her into him
protectively while Nathan bent over and grabbed the offending seat
and lifted it straight up and off the bracket that held
it.

John frowned at him. “Why the hell didn’t you
tell me I had to lift it instead of trying to wobble
it?”

Nathan grinned. “And miss watching Mr. Cool
look like an idiot for once?” Nathan seated himself in the seat
behind the vacated one and, with plenty of room to stretch out his
legs, held out his arms for Dana.

John gave her back and headed to the
rear of the plane for their luggage and his more extensive medical
kit. Armed with a stethoscope, among other things, he derived great
pleasure in saying, “Peel the blanket off so I can get a look.” And
horrible as it might be given the situation, John didn’t just mean
her wounds either.
I’ll probably burn in
hell for ogling her naked body while she’s passed out, but I never
claimed to be a saint.

* * * *

Nathan could see John’s interest in Dana. He
didn’t like it one bit. There was a time long ago, before Dana had
left, when he’d imagined John would be one of the men he’d share
his future mate with as per pack law. But, now, having her back
again, Nathan found himself less than keen with that idea, a fact
he’d share with Dana if she ever gave him a chance to say his
piece.

Jealousy or not, though, he couldn’t deny Dana
needed the attention of a doctor. While her Lycan blood would heal
her, broken bones still needed to be set straight, and while rare,
there was still a chance of infection.

Nathan pulled back the blanket, exposing her
upper chest and breasts that were more defined than he remembered.
The cooler air of the cabin made them pucker, and his mouth dried
up even as lust shot through him, hardening his cock. A quick
glance up caught John staring with his mouth open, his eyes
glazed.

“
Get on with it,” Nathan
growled.

John didn’t reply, just went to work checking
her heart rate, blood pressure, and other vitals. He then proceeded
to gently clean the myriad scratches that covered her from head to
toe. Nathan cursed himself all over again for not having arrived
sooner. It killed him to see the pain she must have
suffered.

Never again. I promise.

The exam done, John injected her with some
antibiotics to prevent infection, along with another dose of
tranquilizer. Exhausted, Nathan closed his eyes, memories of the
past catching up, memories of Dana from a time before she hated
him.

He’d noticed her from a young age, not that he
let her or his buddies know. He did, after all, have a reputation
as a tough-ass to retain.

When she’d finally gotten old enough, he’d
begun to court her in secret. He’d had no choice, even as she
assumed their furtive meetings were because of her own stringent
father. The truth was it would have driven Nathan’s father wild if
he’d known. At the time, Dana wasn’t considered good enough for the
son of an alpha. But eventually Nathan had reached a point in his
feelings he didn’t care. He loved and needed her.

Dana had drawn him with her smiles and
laughter, with her tough inner core and the way she looked past his
sometimes brutish nature. In fact, she’d told him on more than one
occasion, with blushing cheeks, that she enjoyed it when he pulled
the dominant male on her.

And he’d loved making her melt. Then the night
he’d claimed her body, everything changed. He’d had lots of years
to regret the fact he hadn’t marked her that fateful night. But
he’d foolishly believed in pack law, and he’d lost her.

And now that I have her back, I
won’t make the same mistakes of the past.

Chapter
Five

Dana knew she was caught in a dream, a
recurring one, but she couldn’t wake herself, and she was forced to
watch and relive the pain of the most defining moment of her
life.

“
Marry me. Be my mate.” Nathan
dropped to a knee and gazed up at her with shining blue eyes. It
awed her that this hunk, strongest of all the boys, wanted
her.

She tousled his dark hair, unable to
resist its thick waves. “Are you insane? I just graduated from high
school and haven’t even started college yet.” She protested, but
with a smile. Who could resist the romance of the moment, and who
could resist Nathan? She’d loved him it seemed like
forever.

“
So what? You can still take
classes as my wife. Why wait? You know we’re meant to be together.
To become mates for life.”

His use of the word “mates” reminded
her of one uncomfortable fact. “But I can’t shift into a wolf like
you, which means it won’t be a true mating bond.” Not to mention
they couldn’t have children because, like a human, dormant Lycans
couldn’t get pregnant from a shifter. Wolves could only mate with
wolves if they wanted pups, and although born of wolves, the fact
Dana’s beast remained dormant meant the only children Dana would
ever enjoy would belong to others.

“
I don’t care if you’re a dormant.
Actually, it’s kind of a blessing because that means I can keep you
all to myself.”

His words were an uncomfortable
reminder of the society she belonged to, even flawed as she was. As
a Lycan who couldn’t make the transition to wolf, pack law didn’t
require that her mate share her with his pack brothers. She was
considered no better than a human. However, her defect meant they
could belong exclusively to each other.

“
Your father will never agree,” she
said softly.

Nathan’s brows drew together. “I
really don’t give a fuck. You’re the one I want, the one that makes
my wolf howl. Once he sees ours is a true mating, he won’t be able
to refuse.”

Dana wanted to believe him, but
Nathan’s father was scary, and not just because of his alpha status
in the pack.

His hand clasped hers tightly, and
she could read the uncertainty in his eyes as she hesitated. How
could she let him doubt a moment longer her love for him? The only
thing that mattered was their love for each other. Everything else
would work out.

“
Yes, I’ll marry you,” she cried,
throwing herself at him. She hit his body, and they tumbled in the
soft green grass, his body cushioning her fall. They wrestled as
they embraced, the laughter of their youth, music to accompany the
setting of the sun.

When his touch became too bold, she
pushed away from him, tempering her rejection with a smile. “Now
that I’ve said yes, surely you can wait a little longer?” Strictly
raised with a heavy-handed father, Dana had preserved her
virginity, waiting for the one. Waiting for Nathan to realize she’d
grown up.

“
You’re killing me,” he groaned as
he feigned stabbing himself with a dagger.

She giggled. “You are such a
ham.”

“
I prefer the term ‘dog,’” he
replied with a leer.

She brushed his hair from his
forehead. How she loved him. Almost nineteen and finally filling
out his lanky frame, he was everything she could ask for in a mate,
and even more amazing, he wanted her, flawed or not,
too.

Why was she denying them both? Her
body and desire burned as hotly as his. He’d chosen her above
others, and she wanted no other man. She kissed him again, softly.
He responded back with the same gentleness, and she made a bold
decision. She pushed him down onto the soft grass and straddled
him. When he quirked a brow in question, she replied by tugging off
her shirt. The immediate burning gaze he turned on her made her
insides melt.

“
Are you sure?” he asked even as
she could feel his erection pressing against the crotch of her
pants.

She didn’t reply, although she did
blush when, with fumbling fingers, she unclasped her bra. But
embarrassment over her bold action faded when his hands drew her
down for kiss and he murmured, “You are so perfect.”

He rolled them so that she lay
beneath him. He tore his shirt in his impatience to remove it, but
her giggles were stifled when he pressed his body against hers,
skin to skin. Her nipples pebbled against his chest as his tongue
explored her mouth. Caught up by his enthusiasm, her hands roamed
over the smooth skin of his back, clutching at him tightly when he
inserted a thigh between hers and pressed against her cleft. Even
with the clothing separating those regions, it excited
her.

She moaned against his mouth and
clutched him tighter. He tore his lips from hers and scorched a
trail down her neck, his hot mouth on her bare skin making her
gasp, then cry out as he caught her puckered nub in his mouth and
sucked.

Dana arched against him, the
electric sensation filling her with a warmth and longing she didn’t
understand—but wanted more of. He switched his mouth to her other
breast while Dana writhed and moaned with pleasure.

His lips trailed lower, tickling
over her soft belly and stopping at her waistband. She held her
breath and opened languorous eyes to peer down at him. His blue
eyes glowed and his lips quirked as he used his teeth to unsnap her
jeans then pull down the zipper. His hands tugged her pants down,
leaving her clad only in her cotton briefs. Dana now wished she’d
worn something sexier, not that he seemed to care if his burning
gaze was an indication.

Nathan stood, and his hands went to
his own zipper. Her cheeks flushed, and she closed her eyes, but
heard him as he stripped himself as well.

“
Look at me, Dana.”

She didn’t want to, suddenly
embarrassed. Nudity among Lycans was one thing, nudity for the sake
of lovemaking, a whole other.

He covered her body with his, the
shocking heat from his rod pressing against the cloth of her
panties. Startled, she opened her eyes and found him staring
intently at her.

“
Do you want me to
stop?”

And disappoint him—disappoint
herself? “M-Make love to me,” she replied, her trepidation fading
at his possessive look.

His hand slid down her side to her
hip. A ripping sound, and her panties were gone. She spread her
thighs at his urging, and he settled his body between her legs. He
bent down to kiss her, and she clasped at his shoulders, tensing at
the probing of his cock. He pulled back and bent himself to suck at
her nipples until he had her arching. As he laved her breasts, he
slid a hand between their bodies and cupped her sex. She couldn’t
help the moisture that seeped at his gentle touch.

Her moist sex acted like an awaited
signal because he braced himself above her again, the head of his
shaft poking at her pussy. Then he pushed his way in.

Her breathing hitched at the
stretching sensation. Slowly he inched into her until he met the
barrier of her innocence. With a swift thrust, he swept past
it.

The pain of her breaching made her
cry out, but he remained gentle with her, letting her adjust around
his size before moving again. The sensation was odd at first, but
as he butted up against and in her, while kissing her, her passion
reignited, and soon she met him, thrust for thrust. She panted, her
body building toward something, something that felt so good she
keened and perspired. When her orgasm hit, a mind-boggling event
that saw her crying out his name, she knew she’d made the right
choice in letting him claim her body. She clasped him to her when
he bellowed his own pleasure and collapsed on top of
her.

“
I love you,” she whispered,
overcome at what they’d shared.

He nuzzled her neck, placing soft
kisses on her skin. “And I love you, baby. From now on, it’s just
going to be you and me, forever.” She liked the sound of
that.

He rolled them so he lay on the
bottom, and they snuggled together in the aftermath, her body
draped over his. Passion assuaged, she blushed to think of how she
would dress again under his avid gaze. Her ardor now cooled, her
shyness increased. She reddened against his smooth chest as she
realized she’d have to stand up and clothe herself soon. They would
both have to, for the sun had set and night fell, bathing the glen
in shadow, which meant her father would be expecting her
home.