Chapter 26
Willow
With my heart in my throat, my shoes hit the pavement then damp earth as I raced into the forest.
I wove through the trees and attempted to put as many of them as possible between Wyatt and me.
I knew I couldn’t outrun him, but I was seizing the head start.
A giddy thrill I’d never known before raced through me when I heard the beat of his distant strides.
He’d given me a generous lead but was already catching up.
Blood thudded against my eardrums and adrenaline flooded my senses.
It was dark, but there was enough light from the moon to make the path visible, meaning anyone could see us if they were also taking an evening trek through the woods.
What would they think was happening if they saw me with a wide, lust-drunk grin and Wyatt wearing what I hoped would be the feral gaze of a hunter?
He was getting closer; I could feel him. I gasped as my body zipped with static. Oh, I liked this game. Maybe a little too much.
Daring to peek behind me, I found him less than a hundred yards away and stalking closer. Somewhere between town and forest, he’d taken his shirt off, giving me the pleasure of seeing his rippling torso through patches of light.
“I’m going to catch you, Willow,” he called out, and the sound of that promise made me lick my lips. “And when I do, I’m going to make you howl my name.”
My pulse picked up and I started to run again.
I couldn’t believe how badly I wanted to feel Wyatt unleashed.
I’d seen glimpses of it the other night, but he’d been so careful, too careful.
All those years of kind, sweet, loving Wyatt had been hiding a side of him I wanted untethered.
I craved the dark parts of him that he worried would be too much for me.
Because I was drawn to both, to everything he was. And having respectable, town baker Wyatt by day and ravenous wolf Wyatt by night brought me to such an ecstatic peak, I thought I might combust.
“Ready or not,” he called again.
He was so close that I could feel his body heat behind me. I let out a screech, quickening my pace to a sprint, but it was too late.
I was caught.
A strong arm banded around my middle and hauled me back against a firm torso. My feet barely touched the ground as he held me there at his mercy.
“My mate.” The words vibrated from his bare chest, setting my core ablaze.
One hand slid up to my neck, circling at my pulse points and squeezing. The other slinked down my stomach, into the elastic waistband of my sweatpants, and stroked the moistening fabric between my thighs.
His hard length pressed to my ass through his jeans, and if there were any time to use werewolf claws, it would be now to rip off our clothes.
“Wyatt,” I whined, grinding my ass into him to spur his need. “Fuck me, please.”
His mouth lowered to my jaw, the point of an elongated canine brushing against my skin. “Begging so soon?”
I nodded urgently because yes, I was begging. The heat flooding my body when his skin was on mine was maddening. How could he possibly be this close and still not close enough?
“You’re so wet for me.” His fingers dipped into my arousal, the pads pausing at my entrance before he used my own slickness to tease my clit. My body melted at his touch, and he sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Tell me again.”
My whine pitched higher as his fingers worked me.
“You love both sides of me. Isn’t that what you said? You love this part of me too, hmm?”
I knew my confession had been driving him crazy since I’d made it in his apartment. At the time, I’d wanted to get under his skin and satisfy the present need. But now, it was dire. I would surely die if this man didn’t take me soon.
“I do,” I rasped. “I love every part of you.”
“Could you love me if I told you I wanted to hunt you down during every full moon and rut into your sweet, warm, delicious cunt until you’re dripping with my cum?”
“Yes, I’d love that.” I squeezed my thighs together, trapping his fingers to my swollen clit. My hips searched for friction but only found frustration.
He stroked my clit, giving me only the smallest bit of relief. “Would you love it if I fucked you, knotted and deep, for hours?”
“Fuck,” I cried. “I want all of it, Wyatt. All of you.”
He chuckled against my ear, a dark and victorious sound that told me what he really wanted to hear.
I had it there on the tip of my tongue, knowing the last thread of his self-control would be snipped the moment I said it. “Breed me.”
The hand at my throat tightened before he spun me to look me in the eyes. “Willow, you can’t say that right now. Not if you don’t mean it.”
I swallowed hard against his palm.
The words had been in my head since the moment I’d seen him. It had been torture not saying them aloud for four years. But I was finally free to demand what we both so desperately wanted. “I mean it. Breed me, Wyatt. Fuck me. Hard. Put a baby in me.”
He let out a long, lamenting groan. “You’re really going to kill me talking like that.”
I tried to rock up against him, and his grip tightened.
With a loud snarl, Wyatt moved us, and my back hit the nearest tree trunk.
He pushed my pants and underwear to my ankles, then sank to his knees, burying his face in my dripping sex.
I mewled. His mouth and the way he was looking up at me through hooded lashes were enough to send me spiraling.
I laced my fingers through his silky hair, grinding my hips and rolling my clit over his tongue.
I was so close.
He knew my body too well already and was becoming a fast expert on how to get me off before we even got to taking his pants off.
“You’re so fucking good at that,” I praised, and he hummed in response. “You make me feel so good. I’ve never felt like this before. So fucking perfect.”
His eyes rolled back, and I knew he was fighting his own need. He pressed two fingers inside of me, coaxing the orgasm to crash over me within seconds. I rode out the climax, and his fingers and mouth stilled so I could use him to completion.
Leaning back against the tree, I gasped for breath while he stood to his full, towering height. He made quick work of his clothes as his eyes traced over me. Feral need filled his gaze, and for the first time, I was certain I was staring into the eyes of his wolf.
We didn’t need to speak to understand each other. In one swift movement, I kicked off my pants from around my ankles and he lifted me by the thighs. His hips settled between my shaking legs, and he notched his thick cock at my entrance before letting out a low, guttural growl.
He sank into me slowly, and my eyes rolled back as I stretched with every inch. His head fell to my chest, and he kissed across my skin, then ripped my top right down the middle in one quick move. His mouth took my hard nipple between his teeth over the fabric of my bra.
Gasping and moaning, I writhed as he lowered us to the soft earth.
His hips pulsed, teasing and deliberate.
I dug my fingers into the dirt, feeling the roots of the trees and the grass wrapped around them.
The harder his thrusts became, the more I felt my body sinking into the soft ground under us.
I finally understood what that whole “communing with nature” thing meant.
It made every sensation so much sharper.
We were enfolded within the forest, and the bright moon shone down on us through the branches above. It felt like the stars were an approving audience who wanted our souls to come together. Even the haunted forest knew we were meant to be one. Not two lone people, but mates.
Wyatt’s sounds of pleasure turned monstrous as he picked up the pace. His haggard panting mixed with my needy whimpers. I was his mate. He was mine. And we were both giving each other what we’d needed for so long.
His hand took hold of my hip, mud smearing over my skin and giving him a better grip. Bringing my dirty hands up to cup his cheeks, I pulled his eyes to mine. “Is that all you’ve got?”
The unholy sound that came from him rattled the half-frozen branches overhead.
I locked my ankles around his back, and he drove into me over and over. The bulbous feeling grew until I was certain we were locked together in his rutting. The world faded away, and all that was left was our bodies and souls converging in passion hot enough to scorch the earth.
“Come, Willow.” His gritty voice sounded inhuman. “Come for your mate.”
The orgasm building in my core took hold, blurring the line between pleasure and pain until I was calling out his name. He bottomed out, fucking me with such vigor that I had to dig my nails into his back, hard enough to mark.
I moaned into his ear. He was so close. I could feel him straining to reach his climax.
“That’s right,” I crooned. “You’re my mate. So fuck me like I’m yours.” He quickened, and shocks of euphoria shot through me, filling my head with power. “Claim me.”
He thrust into me, harder and harder, before finally taking us both over the edge and plummeting into a shared orgasm that felt cosmic.
Galaxies burst. Suns exploded. Stars collided.
And everything was built anew in the wake of our shared ecstasy.
We’d just had mind-altering sex—without a condom. I supposed I could add “breeding kink” to my list of things I’d read in romance books that I never thought I’d try. I wanted to do that again and again.
We stayed there for a long time while we waited for his swelling to release us. All the while, I held him close to my chest, stroking his hair and basking in the afterglow.
Everything was perfect.
“I have to tell you something,” he said, and I knew I had jinxed myself by thinking about how perfect everything was. “By pack law, I have to be married under the next full moon to take my place as alpha.”
Yup. That was the cold plunge that took us out of our romantic fantasy and threw us back to reality.
He lifted his head, meeting my gaze. “And I gave them my word that I would.”
I was speechless . . . or so I thought. All the beautiful sentiments I could have given this man who had just ruined me for any other person on the planet. His soul had just fused with my own in a display of raw and unhinged passion.
And all I could say was, “Shut the fuck up.”