Ruined Wolf: A Paranormal Why Choose Romance (Claimed by the Sea Wolves Series Book 2)

CHAPTER FOUR

It turned out to be three times. Three times, that hot, sweet little pussy had squeezed around my fingers as Nova shook in my arms. Three times, I felt her slick under my fingers, like honey that I couldn’t wait to lick from every dip and fold. Three times, I had fought against every urge to drag her trousers down, shove my cock deep inside her, and take her hard against the railing as she leaned out over the sea. Three times, I denied myself.

I would have had no objections to taking her, even if the driver turned to watch, but I didn’t think Nova was up for an audience, judging by the way she sank her teeth into my arm when she came, trying to avoid making a sound. When I felt her sag against me the final time, I lowered her gently onto the bench and headed to the driver who stood at the helm. He glanced over at me and pulled one of his earbuds out. The grin on his face made it clear that he’d at least snuck a couple of glances our way, but I said nothing, not wanting Nova to feel embarrassed. I felt her move up behind me, and the driver merely nodded at her.

“There’s a small beach just up ahead near the Devil’s Chimney. I can drop you both there for an hour if you’d like. It’s where they are planning to stop for lunch on the tour. The weather seems to be holding out, but I’ll give you a radio, and I can let you know if I need to come back early to get you. There are great views of the islands from near the Chimney Pot.”

I looked down at Nova who nodded. “Sounds good,” I said, my eyes fixed on hers. “I’m starving. I could really do with something to eat.”

The colour her face turned let me know she understood my meaning, and I smiled at her. I’d smiled more than normal in these last two weeks with her. Granted, most of my smiles were when I was thinking of everything I was about to do to her delectable body, but others... Others were simply from the sense of freedom she gave me. Maverick had once told me he found his freedom on the horizon, but I was starting to feel like I’d found mine in Nova.

The driver pulled closer to the coastline as we neared the beach, and I readied the small dinghy on the end of the boat. Nova eyed it nervously, but I reached up for her hand, and she let me guide her down into the unsteady vessel without a moment’s hesitation. She trusted me to keep her safe, I realised, and my cock strained against my jeans at the knowledge. Trust was the biggest turn-on she could ever give me. No one trusted me, but she did. I pushed her down onto the seat and turned to unhook the dinghy. I fired up the tiny motor and pulled away from the boat in a wide arc that sent spray everywhere and had Nova grabbing the edges.

“In a rush?” she asked, steadying herself.

I stared down at her. Oh yes, I was in a rush. We had barely reached the beach before I was out, splashing through the water to drag the dinghy up onto the beach so she could climb out without getting her feet wet. I grabbed her hand and pulled her up to her feet, helping her step over the side and gain her footing.

“Lucas, slow down.”

I ignored her, heading up the beach where I knew a rocky path snaked up the cliff. It was the only way up or down, and I made her go in front of me. This meant if she slipped or stumbled, I could steady her, but it also gave me a fantastic view of her ass as we climbed.

She was breathing hard by the time we reached the top, and I made a mental note to get her into some kind of training regime, as well as some self-defence lessons. If she couldn’t shift, she needed some way of defending herself—not that Maverick or I were ever going to let her out of our sight. I should think about getting her a weapon too. Self-defence techniques were fine against humans, but against a wolf, she wouldn’t stand a chance. A knife maybe, or a gun...

The cliff top opened out to scrub, where a few small trees clung stubbornly to the cliff edges. This was one of the wildest parts of the island, remote and desolate. My mind drifted back to my father as it always did in these areas. He’d brought me here once to look at the view and to talk about the coastline and the rock formations. I could hear him in my head even now, and I tried to push the memory away before the darkness fully descended. I could feel my wolf prowling in my mind, and I was filled with the need to hunt and feed and rut.

I turned slowly to see Nova standing farther back from the edge, staring out over the sea. The beach the driver had dropped us near was the calmest place he could get to. The coastline then became a lethal combination of underwater rocks, sharp cliffs, and blinding spray.

She felt me looking at her, and our eyes met. She stood maybe ten yards away, and if I shifted, I could make it to her in two leaps, bringing her down to the ground on the second. I needed clothes for the journey back, however, and I hadn’t thought to bring spares.

I continued to watch her, my wolf growing hungrier as I focused on the small, pale areas of flesh I could see. She was wrapped up well for the wind and rain, but with the spring sunshine, she’d left her jacket loose.

My eyes flicked back up to hers, and she must have seen something in them, because she took a step back. My wolf tensed.

“Lucas, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I told her. I was fighting my wolf’s urge to bring her down under me, turn her over, and...

“Lucas, something’s wrong. Tell me.”

I shook my head and began to remove my clothing. Nova’s eyes widened, but she didn’t look away, and the expression on her face turned from surprise to pure hunger as I removed my briefs.

She’d had her pleasure already, and now it was my turn.

“Nova, I want you to run. Now.”

“What?” she asked, confusion spreading across her beautiful face.

“Run from me. Now. Now!” I roared, shifting into my wolf form and leaping at her.

She gasped then turned and ran, heading down the hill to where the ground was rocky and uneven, with large boulders thrusting up through the wiry grass.

I held back as long as my wolf would let me. I couldn’t keep control any longer. My strong legs easily ate up the distance, and her scent was distinct on the wind—the scent of desire and fear and home all rolled into one. It drove me insane with need for her. I weaved through the rocks, searching for her. She was here somewhere, and I would hunt her down and make her beg for mercy.

I stopped halfway down the valley and sniffed the air. Something was... wrong. I turned, and if I’d been in my human form, I would have smiled. That little minx. She doubled back, covering her scent with her own.

I began to lope up the hill, my pace picking up as I got nearer to the top and her scent got stronger. Fear and desire were a perfect pairing. Her fear was stronger than I’d like, and I felt it get stronger as I got closer. The human side of me tried to pull back, but the wolf was hungry, and he was on her before I could stop him. She was running from us, and he was incapable of refraining, the darkness inside swirling with desire and bloodlust. I felt a moment of panic as he leaped for her, my own fear suddenly surfacing that we’d go too far. His teeth fastened around the hem of her jacket, clamping down and dragging her to the ground.

She gasped and rolled over onto her knees, fighting to get back up. He tore at her clothes, and I heard fabric rip under his teeth.

“Lucas!” she cried out.

I could barely hear her. I was shifting back into human form, but my wolf surged through my veins as I yanked her trousers down, revealing the sweet torment of her pussy. I groaned, pinning her hands to the ground as I slid between her legs, ready to spear her with my cock and take her over and over until she screamed my name into the wind.

“Roses!”

I froze. Somewhere in the dark chaos of my mind, that word filtered through. Roses. Nova’s safe word. I swallowed, feeling the head of my cock pressed against her entrance. One thrust, and she’d be mine, and she’d love it. She always did. She’d scream my name and come around my cock, milking me hard, and fuck, I wanted her so badly I was shaking, but... roses.

I moved down, away from the danger zone as it were, and laid my head on her chest, taking my weight on my elbows. I gasped for breath, feeling like I was drowning.

“Lucas, I’m sorry.”

I lifted my head, and pain shot through me. Tears streamed down her face as she looked down at me. I pulled away, sitting back on my heels, and looked down at her. Her hair was tousled, her face was streaked with tears, and her jacket was torn. Her trousers were pulled down to her ankles as she squeezed her legs together to hide herself.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do this. Not like this.”

Shame filled me in a way it never had before. I reached down slowly, my eyes on hers, and gently drew her trousers up, covering her. She sat up and pulled her knees in to her chest, her blonde hair creating a pale curtain that hid most of her face.

“I’m sorry.”

I finally found my voice. “You’re sorry? For what? I was the one who... I should have asked first, I’m sorry. I thought you might like... I thought I scented... Nova, I’m the one in the wrong. I’m the bad guy here.”

She looked up at me with those wide, innocent golden eyes that always drove me crazy. “They used to hunt me… The people who gave me my scars.”

I stared at her, dragging my eyes away when I realised I could be making her feel uncomfortable. “They hunted you? In what way?” My voice was tight, controlled with an iron grip that I wasn’t sure would hold.

“In that way.” Her voice was small and scared.

“Used to hunt you? As in, more than once?”

She nodded.

“Who?” I asked. I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice. I knew that because she blanched.

“Wolves in my old pack. My father was the alpha. He let them hunt and torture me. He thought it might finally force me to shift. He wanted to marry me off for the good of the pack, but no one would want a damaged wolf shifter who couldn’t shift.”

I dug my fingers into the stony ground, barely feeling the pain as they scraped against rock.

“They hunted you down... and then raped you.” It was a statement, but she nodded.

“I’m sorry, I really am. I know you’re not like that, you’ve got to believe me. I didn’t want to say anything in case you thought that I thought... I tried to be strong for you, but I just couldn’t.”

She buried her head into her knees, hiding from me, and I reached out and gently ran my fingers through her hair. I tightened my grip, lifting her head and making her look at me.

“Omega, you listen to me. You are my mate. You are the mate of the future alpha, and you are one of the strongest wolves I have ever met. If I ever hear you thinking otherwise, I shall personally punish you. How dare you believe I would take someone inferior for my mate.”

She stared up at me in confusion. “I’m sorry?”

“Good,” I said, slipping into my master persona to deal with this in the only way I knew how. “Your trust matters more to me than anything, but I need to be able to trust you too, Nova. Yes, you used your safe word, but you should have done it the moment you felt any hesitation. Promise me that in the future, you will tell me and use it, no matter if I’m horny as fuck or if it will hurt my feelings. You tell me, Nova. Promise me.”

“I promise,” she whispered.

“Next time I will punish you. Now, tell me what happened.”

She told me, and I could feel the rage building inside. I stood up and paced. I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she sat there. She looked so fragile. I wanted to kill something, I wanted to tear this place apart, and I wanted to find the wolves who had tortured her and rip them to shreds. She fell silent, and I continued to pace for a few more minutes.

“Are you mad at me?” she asked, her eyes on the ground.

I took a breath, forcing my wolf down, and knelt in front of her. “Nova, look at me.” I didn’t want to touch her yet, not until I knew she was comfortable with it. Touch wasn’t my preferred coping mechanism, but I knew she might need some physical comfort. I hoped I could manage that. Touch that wasn’t sexual was uncomfortable for me, to say the least.

She looked up at me, bravely meeting my eyes. My cold, black heart ached for her. She was so much stronger than she knew, than anyone else realised.

“I’m mad, yes, so mad I want to shift and run and rip something apart. At you? No. I hate that someone has hurt you. I hate that I wasn’t there to protect you, even though I know I couldn’t have been. I hate that you’re stronger than you think, and that you’ve never let yourself believe it. I hate that what they did to you has made you doubt yourself. I want you to see what I see, not what they told you that you are.”

“What do you see, Lucas?” she asked.

“Strength, courage” —I sighed— “and sunshine.”

“Sunshine?” She looked confused.

I reached out and touched the back of her hand with my finger. Her hands were cold, and I swallowed, forcing myself to concentrate on her face. “You’re like sunshine, just like my life was similar to this island in the winter—cold, desolate, and forbidding with dark clouds overhead. When spring came, you arrived, parting the clouds, and for the first time in what feels so long, I feel... warm. You have a storm raging inside of you, I can tell, but I have one too, and I believe with all of my heart that you can beat it, that you can make the clouds part and the sun shine through.”

“Lucas,” she murmured. Her eyes shone with tears, and she reached for me. I took her hand and stood, pulling her up and into my arms.

“I can’t protect you from everything, I can’t take your pain away and make it seem like nothing ever happened, but I will be your strength when you need me to be, and when you give me the names of those who did this to you, I will be your avenging angel and bring my wrath down on them all.”

She turned in my arms then looked up. “I don’t want that.”

“But—”

“No, Lucas. I just want to put it behind me and start over without their shadows.”

I nodded in understanding, although my wolf still snarled and the desire to hunt them down remained strong in my mind. She didn’t need to know, not until it was done. I would bring her their heads and show her they were dead and could never hurt her again. She needed that closure, even if she didn’t know it.

I rested my chin gently on her head. “A new start. That sounds good.”