Raber Wolf Pack Book Two (8 page)

WE WALK FOR WHAT FEELS like hours, but I’m not tired. I’ve actually never felt so…alive. The fresh air, the quiet of the woods along with the soft breeze—hell, I could probably lie down and take a nap, which doesn’t sound like a bad idea. The entire time, Max doesn’t let go of me. He’s touching me in some way, shape, or form. I’ve never been a really touchy-feely kind of person, but with him, I don’t mind it. No, that’s a lie. I like it. Like really like it. Maybe he is right with all this mating stuff. Lily totally believes him and trusts him without a doubt. Maybe I should, too.

He did save me and brought me somewhere safe. He’s not a bad guy in the slightest. All of this is just a lot to take in.

“Come on. I bet you’re starving and I can smell food cooking.” I instantly sniff the air, my nose twitching this way and that, searching for the scent. Nothing. I smell dirt and trees. No food. Damn. I’m a bit let down by this and even that shocks me. Max shakes his head in an I-know-what-you-just-did kind of way. Whatever.

“I’m starved.” And I am. Like really, really hungry. I’m not really sure I’ve ever been this hungry. It’s like I haven’t eaten in weeks instead of just hours. “This hunger thing. Someone said this is part of it, right?”

He keeps walking, snaking us this way and that, knocking branches out of the way as he goes. “Yes. You’ll get hungrier and hungrier until the change happens. They say food helps you in the transformation process by giving your human self the nutrients that the wolf side is depleting as you change.”

“That’s gonna be pretty crazy when it happens.” And scary…very, very scary.

“It will be, but you won’t be alone.” I find tremendous comfort in those words and hold on to them like a lifeline.

“Let’s eat!”

WELL, IF I THOUGHT THE first meal with the crew was crazy, this is beyond batshit and into horseshit. Yep, that’s one step up. I wonder if they have bats and horses that are humans that shift.
Hmm
. I’ll have to remember to ask Max about that.

Two things happened to earn this new rating.

One, when we first entered the room hand in hand, the entire room erupted in cheers and I froze on the spot. I mean a huge
pack of wolves
cheering for me is better than attacking, but still, shocking. Then came the hugs and congratulations from the wolves—yes, that’s right.
Hugs. From. Wolves
. And they were nice ones. And even more bizarr-o was that I started hugging back as if they were my long-lost friends instead of wolves I just met. I even had a shit-eating grin on my face. I could tell this because the apples of my cheeks hurt. Max had whispered to me that he’d told them we were mates, but didn’t know how the reception would be because they wouldn’t be able to smell us. He even acted surprised at the cheers, but was a good sport.

The second thing stunned me. They talk about sex at the table as if it’s talking about the weather or what they are going to do today.
Seriously. They. Talk. About. Fucking. Openly.
In my home growing up, I had to learn about the birds and the bees all by myself. My parents have sticks so far up their asses, they poke through their heads. Hell, I wasn’t even allowed out of the house until I was sixteen. A sixteen-year-old at her very first sleepover, and worse, they all knew. That was embarrassing.

My parents would have rather cut off both their arms and ate them before they talked to me about sex. And the wolves just throw it around like it’s all the same. Kids aren’t next to them, but I’m sure with all their supersonic hearing they catch some of it. Is that okay in this world? Another thing I have to ask Max.

Also, what Max neglected to tell me about the mating ceremony is a doozie. The mated couple screw in front of everyone as wolves. They have to tackle each other in the woods and all the attendees follow. Then the man takes the woman. This gets all the other wolves riled up and they have sex too. He got a glare from me for that one, but it didn’t faze him in the least.

The one awesome surprise is a little girl named Natalie. I thought she was Zara and Xavier’s daughter but was told at the table that both of her parents passed. My heart ached for her and I wanted to hug Zara for taking her in as her own. It may not be official, but the way that woman looks after her, it’s as if she’s blood.

That brings us to now. Little Natalie is on my lap and playing with my hair, twisting it this way and that. I never had any little kids around when I grew up. I’m an only child so no nieces and nephews. Children are a mystery to me. When she first hopped up, I felt awkward to say the least, but as soon as that little girl opened her mouth there was no awkwardness left. She is so kind and sweet. I’m pretty sure I’d hold her all day if I could.

“I think we should play beauty shop,” she exclaims loudly to Zara. Natalie’s face lights up at the idea.

“And we can do hair and nails,” Zara adds in cheerfully.

“Kenly’s hair is beautiful. I think we should put lots of curls in it,” Natalie tells anyone who’s listening while thumbing through my hair. “Would you let us?” She puckers her lips and I have the word sucker all over my face.

Ugh
. “Of course.”

“Yeah!” She claps her hands and bounces up and down. I hold on to her hips, trying to make sure she doesn’t fall. Then she surprises me and wiggles completely down. “I’m going to Zara,” she declares adamantly.

“You full, babe?” Max asks, sitting next to me. Again during the meal, one of his hands was on me at all times. Even when he ate, he found a way to do it one-handed. It’s pretty amazing actually.

“I am. I think I overdid it though. I never eat that much.” I pigged out. Majorly. Two plates full of food and I have no idea where it went, because I’m pretty certain that my stomach is not that large. Wherever it went, it’s in my body and I don’t feel bloated. At. All. If anything, I could grab another handful of peanuts off the counter and eat away. Nuts, I tell ya.

“It’ll be all right.” Max’s thumb gently caresses from my neck to collarbone, up and down. It’s unbelievably soothing and making me wet. Holy shit. I sit up straight and cross my legs like that’s going to help any. When talking ceases and all male eyes come to me at the table, a slow blush creeps up my neck to my throat.

Shit. Their super-sensitive smell. They can smell my arousal. Can’t they? Oh shit. Embarrassment isn’t even a word in this situation. Mortification is more like it. Even though they talk openly about sex, I do not.

Max growls loudly and I jump at the noise, his finger stroking again. Slowly, the men in the room turn away and I can feel the pressure release in my chest. Shit.

“Oh, come on. You can’t possibly tell me that you want this…this
human
,” an attractive blonde woman spouts bitterly. I glare at her. Who the fuck does she think she is? Well, she is a wolf who could kill me, but the human side. What the fuck?

“Marissa.” This warning comes from Zara who is now holding Natalie. Immediately, I like Zara ten times more than I did before. She doesn’t even fully know me, but she’s defending me.

“Oh, not again. Bringing home strays, really?” Marissa growls.

My temper flares and my hand goes directly to my hip, even though I’m sitting. “Who in the hell do you think you are?”

Marissa laughs, “You think you can take me, human?” She rises, pride dripping off of her as the word human comes out in a derogatory tone.

“Against the rules to fight a human,” Zara snaps. “But I’ll take you up on the offer.” She tilts her head in challenge and the air in the room becomes electric, dangerous, and a bit scary. Shit. Are they going to fight right here? And while it is true I can’t beat down a wolf, my pride says otherwise.

Marissa’s face falls, her jaw slack. “You want to fight me?” Her voice quivers in what I’m guessing is fear.

“Sure. Been wanting to kick your ass for a while now. You know that whole Xavier-is-mine thing. Now, I bet you think Max is yours and want to stake your claim.” My entire body constricts. I want that bitch. I want to beat her ass. “Too bad. He’s taken. As every other male here is because you would have smelled them by now. So please stop with that shit. You need to get over it. Not. Gonna. Happen.”

“But…you want to fight me?” Bitch is set on one thing and she’s not giving up.

“Go, Marissa, before I rip out your throat and you don’t have to worry about finding a mate.” Zara is so damn calm, cool and collected. I want to be like her when I grow up. Marissa doesn’t say a word, but she moves at the speed of light and she’s gone.

“Sorry about that,” Zara says to me.

I shrug. “Thanks.” She winks and I fall into more like with her.

“Babe, let’s go.” Max rises from the table and I follow.

“I should help clean up,” I tell him, because it is the nice thing to do. Even if they feed an army and only had to make enough for one more. It’s still polite.

“Nope.” Zara throws her napkin down and rises, Natalie still on her hip. “We’re on dish duty.” She turns to me. “See, when I got here about a month ago, I tried to make it so these guys liked me.” She waves her hand flippantly. “Anyway, I told them I would take kitchen duty and found out I liked it so, I’m hanging on to it for a bit. And this little one.” She pushes into Natalie’s tummy and she giggles. “Loves to help me.”

I’m envious of the joy on their faces. I may never get that. Ever. In the next few days, I’ll find out if it’s part of my future.

BACK IN THE BEDROOM where I woke up earlier, the doctor is long gone, along with his big equipment. “Where did he go?” I ask, searching around like an idiot, as if he’s hiding in a damn closet.

“Xavier had him moved to his own quarters.” All right. That’s good.

“Where are your quarters?” I ask hesitantly, but I already know the answer. I feel it somewhere deep. I just need the confirmation.

“Right here with you, babe.” He steps closer to me and I breathe him in. I don’t know what scent he smells with his super-sniffing abilities, but the one I smell is all outdoorsy and hot, sexy man. My tongue darts out to my lips to try to cover the dryness.

Something hits me, like a foot to the gut. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s a powerful surge. What I felt earlier at the table, that was not turned on. This, whatever it is, is undoubtedly turned on. Holy shit. Inside my body, everything tingles in the best possible way. My stomach does a roll of delight as I wet my underwear in anticipation. You know that moment back in grade school where you accidently peed your pants because you couldn’t get to the bathroom fast enough? Well, that’s me and it’s not even close to pee.

I’ve been horny and lustful. I’ve been turned on. But this, this is something much, much more. It is a need so huge that if I don’t get some relief like now, I’m pretty sure I will spontaneously combust. I clamp my legs together, rubbing. The light bit of friction isn’t enough and the ache is getting stronger, more demanding, needier. Shit.

My brain takes a vacation and the lust takes over. I’ve never been sexually inhibited and I really don’t know Max, but my body tells me that this is what it wants, and it wants it now. Max’s nostrils flare and his green eyes go sexy hot. Need you. I try to say, but the words don’t come out. Instead, I bark “bed,” like I’m giving him an order. He says nothing, but sits on the edge of the bed and tilts his head. He knows what I need, why isn’t he giving it to me?

I don’t bother with niceties. I rip the clothes from my body and stand in front him completely naked, not feeling an ounce of self-consciousness. I raise my brow. I don’t even ask. I tear his clothes from his body, leaving only his boxer briefs. His body shakes with laughter and right now, I may rip his head off for it. He wants to be my mate, well, my body needs something, right the fuck now.

I crawl up his body and straddle him, my hot pussy resting on his stomach, my hands on his chest. God, he is so damn sexy. I lean down, our naked chests touching, and kiss him. I try to control the kiss, but he doesn’t allow it. As soon as he feels it, he threads his fingers through my hair, moving my head exactly where he wants it, and deepens the kiss. I’ve been kissed, but never in my life like this. Never like all the air is being sucked out of my body leaving it a withering mess. He doesn’t wait for me to open my mouth, he makes me, and takes my tongue in his, massaging, teasing. Wetness pools in my pussy, and I rock my hips back and forth on his hard abs needing stimulation.