Chapter Four
Dex was making his way back home when he came to a stop as he caught sight of Lucinda at the edge of the forest near his parents’ house. He rarely spoke to Lucinda as she liked to keep to herself.
There were a few times growing up when he’d sneak into the forest, and she’d catch him playing. She’d always bring him back while also giving him a stern warning about not coming into the forest, especially near her home.
“Hey, Lucinda,” he said.
She looked at him, lips pursed. When she did this, he had to wonder why. Was she trying to assess him, or was she seeing something else? She had hinted that she sometimes saw images that were not there.
“You need to keep her well away from temptation,” Lucinda said.
“Casey?”
“She is a wolf. Her wolf is there, but it needs to come out on its own.”
Dex frowned. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I see two paths. One path is filled with love, a future, and hope. The second path is nothing but pain, loss, and an end to all things you hold dear.”
Whatever she held in her second palm disintegrated into dust, and she waved it in the wind.
“What happened?”
“Casey stumbled into my zone. I have no problem with the pack coming to see me, but I do not offer magic. I cannot and will not help her. She needs to figure this out on her own,” she said, then turned around as if to walk away.
“Wait, stop.”
“I do not have to do as you tell me, at least not yet,” Lucinda said, and she stopped anyway and looked at him.
“She is a wolf?”
“Of course she is a wolf.”
“Will her wolf … appear?”
Lucinda didn’t say a word. “I will not say anything that could ruin the future. There are still two outcomes. It is not up to me to decide, it is up to you and her.”
With that, she turned on her heel and Dex frowned. “You know this is not very helpful—leaving little tidbits that don’t really tell me what is going on.”
He could already hear her saying, “It is not my job to tell you everything I mean.”
Dex blew out a breath, and then headed into his home, only to find it empty. His parents were probably in town, mingling, having a date, or helping the pack. He had a long day of storing the wood, and he was tired and hungry.
Entering the kitchen, he saw a note from his mom stating that his food was in the microwave. He hated microwaved food, and he opened it up to find pasta. Now he was pleased he didn’t just go ahead and heat the damn thing up. The pasta would have tasted like rubber.
His mother very rarely coated the pasta in sauce, and this time was no exception. There was just a nice dollop of sauce on top. He transferred his food to a bigger bowl and stirred it all together. Grabbing a fork, he carried his food to the window and looked out toward the spot where Lucinda had stood. It was rare to see her. She didn’t venture out too often from her space in the forest.
If there was a chance Casey could change into a wolf, he knew he needed to help her. He didn’t like the potential outcome of their future. One was happy, the other was a course of pain and misery. How? What? And who?
Lucinda wouldn’t help him. She’d only give him clues and little riddles and he wasn’t in the mood to try and figure them out.
Go and find her.
His wolf spoke clearly through his mind, and he finished up his food, quickly. There was no need to leave a note, and he left his home, heading out into the forest, picking up Casey’s scent just like he did every single time. She loved being in the forest.
He lost count of the number of times he found her, either sitting among the earth, staring up at the sky, swimming in the small lake, or dancing. She loved to dance.
He kept his movements slow, taking his time so he could sneak up on her. This time, he found her in the lake.
When they were kids, they were told stories of a sea creature living in the lake, wanting to eat children’s toes. It was all a big joke around Halloween, and his father would be waiting for that kid that tended to think he wasn’t afraid of anything. Of course, he’d always been that kid. The first time it happened, Dex had been terrified, but then he’d laughed it off.
Since then, it was a good prank to play on people. Standing at the edge of the forest gave him a clear sight of Casey, and he saw her pile of clothes as well as her shoes. Even though he was quite a distance away, he saw she still had on a bra and panties. This pair was a pretty blue set, which he might have already snuck a glance at.
“You don’t have to sneak,” Casey said.
This is what he didn’t get. Casey hadn’t changed into a wolf, yet her senses were some of the best of the pack. He snuck, and he was legendary for going undetected. Even his father had been impressed with his ability to move without being seen or heard. And yet, Casey wasn’t a wolf. He also knew she was able to scent as well.
“I’m not sneaking.”
She spun around in the water. “What would you like to call it?”
“I’d like to call it keeping an eye on you.”
Casey laughed. “Why?”
“Lucinda came to see me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Can no one do anything inside this pack without someone tattling?”
“Did you go see her?” he asked.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Are you lying?”
She scoffed. “No, I don’t lie.”
He took a step closer toward the edge of the lake, and when he got level with her clothes, he began to remove his own.
“What happened?” he asked.
Dex saw her gaze at him, and he slowed, tensing his body, so she got the full appreciative view of him.
“I was walking and thinking and I got distracted. Before I even realized where I was going, I was at Lucinda’s. That is all.”
He stripped down to just his boxer briefs, and he looked at Casey. He was not going to keep playing coy or constantly dance around her to get what he wanted. Pushing his boxer briefs down his hips, they landed on the floor, and he heard her gasp. Her gaze was on his dick, and he was already hard. He stepped into the pool.
“You’re naked.”
“That is what happens when you go skinny-dipping.”
“But I am skinny-dipping and I still have my underwear on.”
He tutted. “Maybe you should take them off.”
“I … no, I don’t think I should.” She nibbled her bottom lip.
“Why not?”
“Because you don’t know who could … you know, be watching.”
“Casey, you’re the only person I know that comes to the forest as much as you do. There is no one else. Just you and me. Besides, once they saw I was here, they wouldn’t dare try to take me on,” he said.
“You’re that big and powerful wolf that no one wants to mess with.”
She moved back and he advanced into the pool, getting closer to her.
“I’m glad you see that. Maybe you should take some notes.”
He loved her laugh.
“Wow, you are so full of yourself.”
“Come here,” he said.
“Is that a command?”
“Yeah, it is, or do I have to come and get you?”
He had no problem chasing her.
“No, I’ll come,” she said.
She moved toward him, and the moment she was close enough, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. The moment she touched his body, he couldn’t deny how good she felt. The fullness of her tits, the lushness of her ass. Everything about her was perfection.
He knew she always would be.
****
There was no fear as Casey walked toward Dex. There was just trust and as his arms wrapped around her body, that panic of moments before evaporated. Her panic wasn’t because of him, far from it. Even in moments when she wasn’t even thinking about the transition, she’d suddenly find herself panicking.
The hardness of his cock pressed against her back, and she closed her eyes, sinking against him, not wanting him to leave her alone.
“Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me?” he asked.
She smiled as she just couldn’t help it. “I’ve got an idea.”
One of his hands moved down, resting on her stomach, and she couldn’t help but gasp.
“Do you like that?” he asked. “My hands on your stomach?”
“You know I do. Can’t you sense it?” she asked.
“Yeah, I sense a lot of things when I’m with you.” His lips pressed against her neck. “Tell me you don’t want me.”
She frowned. “Why would I do that?” There was no point in denying what they both wanted. She craved him and feeling his arms wrapped around her, she now understood more than ever how much she did. He was written deep into her soul.
This connection they shared wasn’t because of some vague attraction. It went deeper than that. On another level, they had known they were mates. Their souls had sensed one another, and now they were together, or at least partly together.
“Casey?”
“What do you want me to do, Dex? Reject you? Tell you I’m not ready?” She slowly turned in his arms and pressed her hands against his chest but then started to glide them up, and she smiled at him. “That’s not going to happen.” She licked her suddenly dry lips, and she couldn’t help but glance down and look at Dex’s lips.
“You’re making this hard for me.”
She pressed her body against his so she felt the hardness of his cock as he was so close.
“Good. Dex, I thought I was ready to turn into a wolf.”
“You will, you just—” She pressed her fingers against his lips and shook her head.
“I’m not saying I won’t. What I’m saying is that I was ready. I was excited. I don’t know what has stopped this from happening. It has made me realize that sometimes in life, it’s not about how ready you are, or how not ready you are. Life is going to throw whatever it wants, and you’re going to have to deal with it.”
She saw the slight frown on his face.
“You’re not a problem, Dex, you’re a … reward.” And then, she went up onto her tiptoes and kissed him.
The feel of his hands were so good as he ran them down her back, and he suddenly gripped her ass within his palms. She couldn’t help but moan as his touch sent a shockwave of sensation rushing through her body, and it made her not want it to end. She loved the hardness of his cock, the feel of him against her. She couldn’t get enough of him.
Dex took over, and now his kisses were all-consuming. He grabbed her ass, and their bodies squashed together. She didn’t even care that all she was wearing was a flimsy pair of panties.
“I want to make you feel good,” he said.
“You already do.”
But then, he spun her around so her back was pressed against his chest. His cock was long, thick, and hard as he rubbed against her ass. One of his hands went back to her stomach, but this time he didn’t linger there. He began to slowly work down, sinking toward her panties.
She glanced down as his hands slid beneath the elastic of her panties and cupped her pussy. Casey couldn’t keep the pleasured sounds from coming out as she gasped.
“Are you wet for me?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He slid a finger between her slit, and this time she did cry out, whimpering as he touched her, working her to a fever pitch. She didn’t want him to stop. It felt so damn good. So magical.
And then, she realized she didn’t want him to be the only one touching. She was about to reach behind to touch him, but then his other hand glided up her body and cupped one of her breasts. He pinched the full nipple, then soothed it out, and she whimpered.
The pleasure was intense and seemed to go from her tit toward her clit and back again. Dex didn’t just stop at one nipple, he moved toward the second and back again.
For a few seconds of the sensations rushing through her body, she completely forgot what she was doing, and then her memory came back and she reached for him. He wasn’t wearing anything, so she wrapped her fingers around his cock and began to work from the root to the tip.
He growled. It was such a sexy, guttural growl. One that was deep, and she sensed his wolf beneath the surface.
Dex smoothed his fingers between her slit, going from her clit down toward her entrance, but she felt that he didn’t plunder inside her. He came back up and began to circle and tease her clit. Each stroke sent her higher toward her orgasm.
She didn’t want to come without him, so she began to work his dick, feeling how it pulsed within her fist. Even though they had water up to their hips, she still felt the softness of his cock as well as how stiff it got.
He hissed against her ear, and then she cried out as he kissed her neck, but then bit down, not to draw blood. He kissed and teased her neck, sliding his tongue back and forth across her pulse, making her whimper. She didn’t want it to stop. It felt so good.
“Please,” she said.
“Do you want to come?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Then come for me, Casey. Trust me. You’re my mate. Trust me.”
She did trust him. She trusted him more than anyone in the whole world, and in a strange way, that also terrified her.
“Trust me,” she said.
“I do. I would gladly put my life in your hands.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle seeing as she was currently holding his cock within her grip. She worked from the tip back down to the root. Her movements had begun quite slow, but now she sped up, working his cock, feeling what aroused him, and knowing she wanted to drive him to the edge.
Up and down, she worked his cock, and then she felt that change within him and she couldn’t quite explain how it triggered her own. She felt that climb toward her peak, drawing her ever closer, and then, when they were both at that edge, he pushed her right over.
Together they came, their names spilling from each other’s lips, and it just felt like everything was finally going to be okay.
Dex brought her back down, and she slowed down her movements when he nibbled at her neck, giving her a warning that he couldn’t take much more.
“Do you know what this means?” he asked.
Casey spun around and circled her arms around his neck. “You’re going to want to visit the lake more often?”
He chuckled. “You’re my mate.”
“And that means you’re mine as well.” She tilted her head back. “Does that scare you?”
“No, it doesn’t scare me.”
“It means no other pack females. I may not be able to turn, but that doesn’t mean I can’t claw their eyes out.”
“Other pack females?”
“You know, from the ones you might have enjoyed when you went out at a full moon?” She looked down because she didn’t want to know the truth if he’d been with other females.
There were a lot of women in the pack, young and old, who wanted him. His title, as well as how handsome he was, would be a draw to many.
“There hasn’t been any other female,” he said, pushing some of her hair off her shoulder.
This revelation certainly made her look up at him. “What?”
“You heard me, Casey. I’ve not been with any other female.” He leaned in close. “I’m as virginal as you.” He scrunched up his nose. “Probably not, because I know I’ve taken my dick into my hand and lost count of the number of times I’ve masturbated thinking about you.”
This made her gasp, but then she couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re being serious.”
“Deadly serious.”
She closed her mouth and then opened it.
In that moment, she was pretty sure if she didn’t already love Dex Arlington, she’d have fallen madly in love with him right then and there.
“You’re insane,” she said.
“No, just crazy about you.”