The Den (Knot Wanted #2)

Prologue

GLENN

It’s a supermoon tonight, the black sky illuminated by the shining sphere as it orbits Earth. It’s beautiful, so large and bright, but what makes it even more special is what happens on nights like this.

The Den, a tavern in the forest above the town of Wolverston, hosts an event: the Heat Hunt. It’s an opportunity to go back to our roots, to a time when we shifted and hunted. When we were both human and wolves. When we took what we wanted.

The Heat Hunt is for omegas in heat and the alphas who want to chase and catch them—to push them onto their knees and take.

I’ve never participated in the event before, but was convinced by a friend to partake this time.

“It will change your life, man,” Fisher said. “You really feel like a fucking wolf when you run through the forest and rut with someone, all primal.”

It took little to convince me to sign up. My life is pretty boring. I paid my fee to take part, had a short interview with the man who runs it, and now here I am.

I glance at my reflection in the windowpane of the room I’m waiting in.

I’m completely naked except for the wolf features painted onto my face, hiding my true identity.

This event allows you to come, chase, fuck, and then leave at the end with no one knowing who you are.

No one needs to know the depraved things you’d do when given the opportunity.

A place where fetishes can remain secret.

I run a hand through my hair and then down my bare chest.

I can smell the telltale signs of heat in the air, the musty scent of slick. Tonight, I’m going to hunt an omega, bring them back here, and fuck them until they cry. Gonna make them mine.

I walk outside The Den, a mist hanging in the air, the looming trees in the distance shadowy and swaying eerily in the moonlight. It rained last night, so the ground is wet and muddy.

All the better to fuck in, I think.

My eyes swivel to several torches placed outside The Den and at least a dozen naked alphas, who are pacing back and forth, getting ready to find someone to bring back, to rut. Similar to me, their faces are all hidden, some even wearing pelts of wolf fur over their bare shoulders.

The scent of anticipation flows through the air, and I feel my lungs expand.

Suddenly, a low voice booms through the night. “The moon is high, the time is now.”

A howl reverberates around us, and manic laughs reverberate through the trees as the alphas take off. I can feel the pounding of their feet, and of my own.

I can hear my heartbeat as adrenaline surges through me.

My bare soles dig into the damp earth as I rush forward, the other alphas moving in opposite directions, hunting their prey. We’re not shifters anymore, but we can pretend. We still have some of those wolf genes, and the primal part is welling up inside of us in this moment.

The knot, the pheromones. The superhuman eyesight and hearing.

We’re not far off from the clans that can still shift.

A branch hits my bare arm as I turn a corner, trying to catch sight of one omega I can hear running through the forest. I can’t scent omegas as well as our ancestors could, but I catch some of the stronger notes, and this individual smells delicious.

None of the fainter hints of other omegas appeals to me. None of them smell particularly enticing. But this one…

I keep moving, leaves crunching under my bare feet as I move further into the forest.

And then I see it—the flash of silver makes my pupils dilate and my breathing grow labored.

A lone, unclaimed omega appears before me.

Not a woman. A man.

Hm. A man. Something different. Something I’ve never tried before.

And this close, he smells different from anything I’ve smelled before. Like he’s not fully an omega. Like he’s more.

The scent drives me faster, the vision of him making my cock hard.

My legs pump, sweat rolling down my neck and chest as I get closer.

His gaze catches mine over his shoulder, and he gasps at how close I’m prowling, almost as if he didn’t expect to have an alpha after him.

I inhale, his smell stronger now, the scent of warm vanilla, like a freshly baked crème br?lée. My mouth waters, and a growl leaves me.

He hesitates slightly.

Maybe he thinks he’s safe because of the way he smells. Unusual, but not bad.

Sweet, new.

Something inside me twists and roars to life, something unknown and new.

I realize now that I’m fucking hungry and I want to feast.

My growl deepens, and I speed up, chasing after him. He’s wearing nothing but a mask and silver lace panties, his nude body reflecting the moonlight.

He’s ready for the taking. And I’m ready to rut.

The omega suddenly turns right, and my feet dig into the leaves and twigs as I pivot to follow. He’s not as fast as me, his masked face continuously twisting back to look at me as he pushes forward. He’s making a mistake in doing that. It slows him down, allowing me to catch up.

As I get closer, his scent grows warm and deep.

The slick of his heat hits my senses like a ton of bricks.

Another growl leaves me, and I reach out, my arm wrapping around his waist and tugging him into me.

He grunts and wiggles out of my grasp, but not for long. I leap and engulf him in my arms. His skin is glossy and damp with sweat, his need radiating from his pores.

He feigns a struggle, but I hold on. I’m not giving him up.

“Got you, Omega,” I rasp, pushing him up against the nearest tree. His hands fall forward against the bark, his back arching, ass on display, presenting himself. With a loud grunt, I rip his panties from him and step between his legs. I don’t hesitate, don’t even give him a chance to speak.

I take what’s mine.

I don’t even consciously think about it, allowing my baser instincts to take over. I slot my cock at his hole and push inside.

He whines at the intrusion, wiggling in my hold, but he’s slick and tight, and takes me easily. Willingly. He was asking for it. His scent deepens, and I swear his skin begins to glow, but I must be imagining it.

It’s been so fucking long since I’ve been inside anyone.

And I’ve never been inside an ass. It’s different. Good. Hot.

What a fine fucking ass this is, I think as I feel the convulsion of his hole around my length. From the way he’s moaning, I know he’s coming, that he’s spilling all over the forest floor.

Mmmm, I groan as I slam into him all the way, balls-deep inside of him.

He whines again, but I don’t slow down, don’t have a tender touch. I just fuck him hard and unrelentingly until he’s coming again. And still, I don’t let up. I thrust in and out of him, our hips slapping together, my fingers digging into his hips, his hands clawing at the bark of the tree.

He’s feral for it, and so am I.

I like how rough I can be with him. There are no tender touches, no need for sweet, whispered words. It’s just slick and warmth and moans.

Everyone can hear what we’re doing. I know this because I can hear them. All around us, omegas are being taken by alphas. Screams mix with moans, begging, pleading.

“More. More,” I hear my omega beg.

Don’t worry, pretty omega. When I’m done fucking you, I’ll drag you back to The Den and fuck you there as well. Fuck you for as long as you’re in heat.

The idea of it makes me wonder why I’ve never tried this before, why I’ve never participated in the Heat Hunt, or thought of fucking a man.

This is just what my wolf needed.

My omega is perfect.

Harsh grunts escape my throat as I slam into him over and over.

His moans sink into my skin, and I feel him come again.

My hands slide up his back and move into his unruly golden hair, holding him roughly as I pound in and out of his tight, slick channel.

When I grab onto his shoulders, my cock out of his hole for a second, he slithers down and veers right, escaping my grasp.

“Fuck!” I shout as I rush after him, pissed that he got away, wanting to knot that ass, wanting to claim him all over again.

I want to punish him for being so irresistible, for making me feral.

Lucky for me, he’s not fast enough to truly escape. He doesn’t even really try. He’s easily caught.

This time, I make sure to give him no advantage. I shove him onto the ground, onto his hands and knees, and impale him again. He groans and writhes, fucking back against my cock until I start to lose control. He’s wet and smells like fucking dessert.

I want to eat that ass.

I want to see if it tastes as good as it smells.

“You were born to be bred,” I hiss and then shift his hips up more, his knees off the ground, and angle my cock down into him.

He screams, his face in the mud as I rut into him.

The feel of him tight around me, the complete surrender of him on the forest floor, has my knot expanding, my orgasm pulsing through me for several minutes until I finally sag against him, my fingers loosening their grip on his waist, his knees set gently back onto the ground.

I can feel his skin buzzing, that glow settling into a warm tone.

What is he if not fully omega?

I don’t know. I’ve never met someone like him before.

Neither of us attempts to move, lying still, breathing heavily, not saying a word, just listening to the howls and groans echoing around us. The omegas have all been caught, the alphas fulfilling the bone-deep desire to hunt, capture, and take.

My hand runs down his glowing skin until it lands on his ass.

I spread his cheeks and stare at my dick inside of him, the swollen knot making his hole spread wide.

I slide my finger around the slick, pink entrance, and he huffs, leaves rustling under his breath.

“You’re my first male omega,” I tell him, and he whimpers as I push a finger inside of him. He must be unbearably full right now, but that doesn’t stop me.

I’m so fucking fascinated with the way he feels, how different and so right.

“Do you like it, Alpha?” he asks, and I pull my finger from him, sliding it into my mouth and tasting him.

Yes, he tastes just as good as he smells.

Like a warm vanilla pudding.