Chapter 15 Asher
ASHER
“Your adopted family, the wolf pack, doesn’t trust humans, just as your den doesn’t. Have I got that right?” Weston was staring out at the large expanse of snow and drumming his fingers on the armrest. I reached out to squeeze his thigh.
“They base that opinion on their past experiences, and until now, they’ve had no reason to change it.”
Growing up, my pack never went near the den because of what Kipp had done to me. Now that he was dead, and I’d been the one to avenge the hurt he’d wrought on me and Father, this was a new beginning, one where I had a human mate.
And going to the site of the incident, which I’d considered doing with Weston, was no longer necessary.
“It’s not surprising because humans are in the process of destroying the planet. Not sure why any animal would trust us to keep them and their habitat safe.”
He sighed. “Fun fact.” Weston shifted his butt into the corner of the seat so he was looking at me as I drove.
“While I can’t speak of the dynamics in a shifter wolf pack—and from what you’ve told me, hierarchy is a thing—wild wolves are more of a family unit.
Leadership is more situational than hierarchical. ”
I’d never studied a wild wolf pack because they stayed away from us because of the human scent tangled in with our wolves.
But I was a little embarrassed that my human mate had to point that out.
Perhaps having a human life partner would open my eyes to new experiences, not just with humans but with the animals who shared this land.
“Nearly there.” I pointed out where I’d built a treehouse with Anita and the place where I’d first shifted after being brought to safety.
“Were you othered by the pack?”
I hadn’t been, but that was possibly because I was so young when I arrived.
“Not at all.”
“Here we are.” I pulled up in front of my cabin, and we carried our bags inside.
“Oh, this is cute.”
I tried to see it through Weston’s eyes.
It didn’t look much different from Zach’s place, with a fireplace and plenty of well-thumbed books.
But I also had indoor plants and my artwork.
During the long winter months when there was little daylight, I sketched how I imagined my beast. It was ironic that he was part of me and yet I’d never seen his face other than a watery vision on the surface of the nearby lake.
“We have to meet Alpha.” But when we emerged, Anita was waiting for us, saying she’d escort us to her father.
I did the introductions, and my eyes darted from my mate to my bestie, hoping they’d get along. When we were growing up, pack members used to point out how Anita and I finished one another’s sentences, which was kinda annoying to other people, so we’d been told.
We chatted about superficialities as we strode to the communal kitchen where Alpha was having his mid-morning coffee. Usually at this time of day, people were at work, but this morning, everyone was congregated in the kitchen.
Way to make my mate nervous.
They want to meet Weston!
I bobbed my head at Alpha, and Weston did the same because I’d prepared him for this visit. When the formalities were over, Alpha addressed him.
“Am I right in thinking you’re going to be studying the wild polar bears that live near Bramble Woods once you acquire more funding?”
“Yes, sir.”
He could have stopped there, but my mate was passionate about his work.
“With the modern world encroaching on their environment, we’re hoping we can help reduce human-bear conflict, tracking the bears’ routes to prevent hunters stumbling on their dens and working with local communities so we can co-manage the programs.”
No one spoke. They were all aware my mate was human, and Anita had told me some were relieved I hadn’t mated a bear, thinking I would be lost to them if I had.
Alpha finally nodded. “I wish you every success.” He may not have liked that my mate was human, but his respect would help solve any uneasiness.
We were invited for tea and cake and were swarmed by pack members wanting to meet Weston.
He was more popular than me, and we spent the rest of the day with pack members explaining the pack’s forest and land management business.
The pack was involved with habitat restoration, wildfire control, selective logging, and reforestation.
This work dovetailed with my mate’s, and he spent hours asking questions as we roamed over pack land.
We ate dinner in the communal kitchen but escaped back to my cabin soon after because we had unfinished business.
After I’d killed Kipp and altered Weston’s worldview by explaining he hadn’t been hallucinating, we’d talked about him marking me. And while he had vague memories of doing it, he’d accepted that it had a purpose and he’d been waiting until the reason was revealed.
“It’s time for me to mark you and complete the bond, and it’s appropriate that we do it here, where I was nurtured and became the man I am.”
My mate closed the distance between us and grabbed my belt loop. He yanked me forward until we both toppled onto the bed and we were face to face, with me on top of him.
“There’s something wrong with this picture.” He smirked and wriggled his hips. I grew hard, which I guessed was his purpose. Not that I minded.
“We’re both fully dressed.”
“Oh, yeah, that.” He chuckled.
“We better do something to change that.” I got up and pulled my pants and underwear down and kicked off my boots. Neither of us bothered with getting fully undressed. We just undid shirt buttons, and I fell back onto the mattress and hovered over my mate.
“Much better.” Weston spread his legs, and the musky aroma of slick washed over me. He stroked me, and I shivered.
My cock nudged his hole, and I fingered the rim. He closed his eyes and whimpered and told me how much he wanted me, before he grabbed my length and shoved the head inside him. Now it was my turn to pant as I slid into his slippery tight warmth.
“Mmmm.” My mate raised his hips and told me to bury my cock deep inside him.
But I took my time and slid into him gradually because I wanted him to feel every inch as I filled him.
But Weston was intent on speed, and he bucked his hips, squeezing me and letting go, enticing me to fuck him rather than make love.
“Don’t make me wait. I’ve been wanting you all day.”
Putting a hand on the mattress on either side of him, I lowered myself and pecked at his lips. I nibbled the bottom one, and he moaned, and my tongue darted into his mouth. Our tongues dueled as my length withdrew from his channel before plunging back in.
“I love you being inside my mouth and my hole,” he mumbled.
“Did you want my dick in your hole or just my tongue?”
He giggled, and the sensation rippled through my body. “Right now, a cock in my hole is just fine. We can discuss the places your tongue can go later.”
“Why not now?” I nipped at his peaked nipple. He yelped, and I licked the tip before sucking it.
“You planned that, didn’t you?”
I did love a good plan.
My mate ran his fingers through my hair. It was such a tender soothing sensation that made me feel safe and wanted.
With one hand on the bed, I traced a finger over the soft skin on his hip. A trail of goosebumps followed like baby ducks chasing after their mama.
“Just like that, but with more thrusting. I want hard and fast.”
Weston draped his hands around my neck, and I rammed into him three times before pausing.
“Hard enough?”
My mate ran a finger over my lips. The gentle touch sent ripples of desire through my veins, and I couldn’t resist biting his fingertip. He breathed in hard, his chest rising and falling.
“Hey, I want that back so I can have some of you in my mouth.” He sucked his finger. “I can’t get enough of you.”
Now he smeared saliva over my lips, and I lapped around my mouth, savoring the combined taste.
“Good.” I never wanted him to have enough.
I pumped my length inside him, wanting and needing to possess him and hold him close, wanting him to be mine while he slid one hand between us and grabbed his cock.
“Do you like it when I jerk off?”
“Mmmm.” It was hot, and I fucked him faster as he pumped his dick.
I leaned over him and sucked his lower lip before grazing it with my teeth. He tugged his dick harder, and the rhythm of his breathing changed.
“Let go, my love. I want to watch as you come.”
Weston’s eyelids closed, and his head tilted to the side as I slammed into him, and he pulled on his length. His whimpers became moans and then cries, and he arched his back as cum spurted over us. As his body became limp, I filled him once and twice more before I released inside him.
And while my knot was lodged inside my mate, I scraped my bear’s claws over his shoulder and broke the skin. Blood trickled over his chest, and I pressed him close to stem the flow.
“Now we’re truly mates, forever and always.”