Wild Game (Wilding Pack Wolves 1) - New Adult Paranormal Romance (20 page)

He smiled, but then a thought crashed in to kill it. “Even if I can control it, even if I’m actually some kind of wolf, I still don’t know what kind, not really. What about pups? I don’t know what I would pass on to them.”

She threw her arms around him. “If they’re anything like their father, they’re going to be something amazing and beautiful.”

And with that, he finally let himself believe it might be possible. He let himself hold her, then he pulled her closer. Even that small motion made his body ache. He must’ve lost an insane amount of blood to feel this weak, but Jace was the best shifter medic he’d ever seen, at home or when they were serving in Afghanistan. Owen was sure he would survive at this point; it would just take some time to recover his strength. And the idea that he might have somehow, someway, won Nova for a mate… he could hardly believe this wasn’t some kind of fever dream from his wounds.

She pulled back and gave him a serious look. “Can you stand?”

He frowned but nodded. He had to lean on her for support, but he managed to rise up from the cot. “Do you want to get out of here?” he asked, sending her a questioning look for why they were on the move. He prayed she wasn’t sending him away. That he hadn’t misunderstood all this.

She smiled. “I’m thinking maybe I need to spend some time at the safehouse. But there’s something I need to do first.”

She helped him to the door, and when she opened it, there was an entire party of wolves outside. And not exactly a happy party. Jace and Noah were still holding off Brad‌—‌behind him, the rest of his pack had assembled. They didn’t look hostile, but if a fight decided to break out, there was no way that Jace and Noah could hold them off.

Jace’s face fell he saw the two of them hobbling out of Nova’s office. It had only been a few minutes.

Before anyone could say anything in the awkward silence, Nova turned to Owen. “Shift for me, Owen Harding.”

He frowned and leaned back. “Shift?” Why was she doing this?

She smiled at him in a way that was so full of love, there was no way he could say no to anything she asked. “Yes, shift.
Please.
I want everyone to see your white wolf.”

He didn’t understand it, but he trusted her. With his life and his heart. He gave her a short nod, then stepped back to teeter on his own for a moment before shifting. He was more stable on all fours, and it actually felt good to be in wolf form while he was healing. The magic surged through his blood, and he could even feel it rushing to the points that needed to repair themselves. He still had the long blade-like claws that were the signature of his new wolf, apparently, but this was the first time he had a moment to look at the rest of his body. His paws and front legs stretched before him, covered with a thick, shaggy white fur. It tufted around the blades. He looked like an Arctic wolf on steroids, nothing like his normal black fur and claws.

A gasp went up through the crowd, pulling his gaze forward.

Nova had shifted too.

He just stared as she dropped into the submission pose‌—‌tiny paws stretching forward, rump in the air, tail tucked. She held his gaze for a moment, then dropped her head to complete the submission. The magic of it surged through him like a lightning bolt, lifting him and bolstering him with new energy. The healing in his body accelerated‌—‌she was literally pumping new life into him with her submission bond. This caught him completely off guard, so it took a long moment of reveling in the magical connection between them before he realized… he was supposed to release her.

Rise, my love.
The ritual words he never thought he would be able to say tripped from his mind to hers.

She leaped up from the submission pose and hurried forward to run her muzzle against his. For a moment, there was just the two of them, rubbing faces. Owen’s heart soared to such heights that he didn’t think he even had claim of it anymore. It belonged completely to her. And this was only the submission… if he was right, a claiming lay ahead for them, and that would be unimaginably better.

A roaring growl pulled him out of his intimate moment with Nova. The pack, not to mention Brad, were outraged, teeth bared, snarls all around. Even Jace and Noah had looks of shock on their faces. Nova shifted back to human and stood before them buck-naked and proud. That simple act subdued them‌—‌they dropped their gazes, trying to shield her nakedness by not staring at her.

“I have chosen Owen for my mate.” She reached down and started pulling on her clothes, nodding to Owen to do the same. Owen quickly shifted back to human and tugged on his own. He was stronger now, healing at a faster rate due to her submission. His mind was still reeling from that fact.

Just as the grumbling started to rise up in pitch again, Brad surged forward. The look on his face was fit to kill, and he was aiming it straight at Owen. Jace and Noah blocked his way, but it was Nova’s outstretched hand that stopped him without even touching him.

“I have pledged submission to
two
men,” she said, not to Brad or Owen, but to the pack. “Only one of them wants to force me into being his mate.” She drilled a hard look at Brad. The rest of the pack looked at him, too, and subdued again. “I’m not going to be manipulated into taking a mate not of my own choosing,” she declared to them all. “That’s not how we run things here at Wylderide. Owen risked his life for me, saved me multiple times, and even guarded me before he knew me, just because I needed it. That’s the kind of alpha I want for our pack. That’s the kind of man I want by my side, running my company. And I’m going to make this
my
company, not my father’s. I loved him, but he’s gone now… and it’s up to
me
to make the decisions that will keep Wylderide moving forward. I’ve already chosen Owen for my mate. That decision is not up for debate. If you want to stay, stay. If you want to go, go. But anyone staying will be pledging their submission to Owen as alpha of our pack.”

Jace and Noah’s eyes had gone wide, and Owen could hardly believe the words that were coming from her mouth. In submitting to her, she had freed herself from Brad’s domination‌—‌she was pledged to
two
alphas, and that allowed her to speak her true mind. And she was choosing
him.
And, in doing so, she was taking a stand, bravely telling her pack exactly where she stood. Owen had no idea why this surprised him‌—‌he’d known all along how brave and stubborn she was.

The fury on Brad’s face was priceless. It was all Owen could do not to smirk. But this was Nova’s moment, and he wouldn’t do anything to diminish it.

Brad sputtered for words, then finally forced out, “I’ve worked here for
years
! You owe me more than this, Nova Wilding.” But his bitterness seemed to turn the pack against him. Their faces opened in shock, then narrowed into glares. He turned to face them. “She’s been promised to me. That’s what Arthur wanted. You
know
this is true.”

There was a lot of whispering, but no movement.

“It’s not what
I
want.” Nova’s voice was strong.

He snarled at her, then turned back to the pack. “She’s lost her senses. How do you think she’s going to run this company with an Army grunt for an alpha? I’ll tell you how‌—‌she’ll run it right into the ground. I’m not sticking around while some interloper comes in and takes over Arthur Wilding’s company. We don’t need his wayward daughter. We can do this on our own. Who’s with me?”

No one moved a muscle. It quickly became clear that he was on his own.

“Fine.”
He turned back to Nova. “Congratulations on destroying everything your father built!” Then he turned on his heel and marched out of the office.

Nova waited until he left before turning to those who had stayed, pride shining in her eyes. “Thank you,” she said, her voice rich with unshed tears.

Brad was gone. Nova had chosen him.
But the euphoria of the moment started to wear down, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. Even with the bolstering of the submission from Nova, he wasn’t healed yet.

Nova noticed and frowned, coming to his side. “You need to rest.”

He smiled and looped his arm around her shoulders to draw her close. “Rest isn’t the thing I want most at the moment.”

She grinned and pulled him down into a kiss.

Owen wasn’t sure if everyone in her pack truly approved of him. Or whether Jace and Noah were still hovering around them. All he knew was that he was holding the women he loved in his arms, and he would never let her go.

Nova watched as Owen slept.

They were back at the River pack’s safehouse, up in the mountains, far from the craziness of the city and the dangerous whirlwind of the last two weeks. It amazed her that in the short span of days since she kissed Owen for the time that she could be here with him, in a cabin in the mountains, ready to have him claim her for the rest of her life.

She had never been so happy.

Owen made a soft rumbling sound and burrowed into the pillow, but he didn’t wake up. He’d slept pretty much continuously since late the night before when they had arrived at the safehouse. He’d passed out on the way up the mountain, and even the jostling of his pack carrying him to the cabin didn’t wake him. She’d closed the blinds, but the noontime sun was beating its way around the edges, trying to waken him. She got up and put towels over them, hanging them from the curtain rods at the top to block out even more light.

Just as she was finishing the last one, his voice made her jump.

“Probably easier just to let the sun in.”

She whirled toward him, heart hammering. “I just was trying to‌—‌”

“I know what you were doing,” he said, eyes glittering with mischief. “I’ve been watching you for the last half hour.”

Her mouth dropped open.

“Come here.” He held out a hand, gesturing her over. It wasn’t a command, although he could have used his command voice on her, now that she’d submitted to him. But the truth was, with him sitting up in a rumpled bed with no shirt and his hair mussed in a bed-head kind of way, sleepy-eyed with that lazy, half-awake smile… well, overpowered futuristic militia from her game
AfterPulse
couldn’t keep her out of that man’s bed.

She quickly crossed the room, and just barely resisted the urge to jump into the bed‌—‌she’d been waiting all morning for him to recover enough to wake up. Instead, she eased gently onto the mattress next to him.

“Well, that’s nowhere near close enough.” He pulled her into his lap.

She let him but tried to be careful about it, gently running her hands over the dozens of scars on his chest. “Are you sure I’m not hurting you?”

He nuzzled into the crook between her shoulder and her neck. “You mean that little dance your hands are doin’ on my chest? You keep torturing me like that, and you won’t be wearing clothes much longer.”

She grinned and tilted her head, offering her neck to him. A growl rumbled in his chest as he nipped and kissed his way up to her jaw. She sucked in a breath, her heart racing with his touch. She’d never wanted something so badly as she wanted Owen Harding to strip off her clothes and claim her.

But he stopped at her jawline and pulled back.

She glared at him. “I’ve been waiting all morning for this. Don’t tell me you’re not healed enough to kiss me.”

He bit his lip, but it was doing a poor job of holding back the grin. “Oh, I’m definitely healed enough for that. And a whole lot more, baby girl. But don’t you have a company you should be running?” He peered intently into her eyes.

“I have something more important to do.” She leaned down to kiss him, and she gave it her complete attention‌—‌one hand in his hair, the other splayed across his chest. She could feel the unevenness of his scars under her fingertips, rough over the hard steel of his muscles, but knowing how he got them and why… they just turned her on even more. If that was possible. Wetness was already starting to pool between her legs. She explored his mouth with her tongue, and he let her have free rein, but he couldn’t miss the scent of her arousal. He had to know how much she wanted him. She certainly didn’t miss the hard flagpole of his cock rising between them and pressing into her. Her hand slipped down his chest, shoved aside the blanket, and grabbed hold of it through his sleep pants.

His answering groan to her stroke just made her body ache more for him.

But he grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her hand away. Then he broke their kiss.

“Nova.” His voice was hoarse. “Tell me again that you want me. That you want
my bite.
Because I swear to God, now that you’ve made this submission bond between us… I’ve spent the last half hour telling myself I can’t just wake up and ravage you immediately. That I need to ask you if you’re sure‌—‌”

She stopped him with fingers to his lips. “I’m sure.”

“We can wait‌—‌”

“
I
can’t wait.” God, she wanted to jump this gorgeous man. “Why do you think I’ve been sitting here by your bedside for the last twelve hours?”

One side of his mouth tipped up. “Because you wanted to nurse me back to health?”

She gave an exaggerated sigh. “Well, yes, that, too.” Then reached down to pull off her t-shirt. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath. Satisfaction coursed through her as Owen’s gaze immediately dropped to her bare breasts, which, since she was on his lap, were within licking distance of that talented tongue of his‌—‌and he damn well better use it on her.